Merlyn's Final Truth

Aithusa P3

Merlyn could just sense that something was about to go wrong. It was too quiet. She stood next to Arthur, listening for some kind of movement as they traversed the valley, uncomfortable in the openess. The walls of rock stood tall, reaching far above their heads, covered in a thick layer of wet moss. It would be a brilliant place for an ambush, that, she could be sure of, but it was the fastest route to the dragon egg. Borden couldn't be too far ahead of them now, she was sure of it.

Her certainty wasn't unwarranted; just as she thought they might make it out of the valley alive, she heard a cry from behind her. Spinning around, she saw Percival clutching his leg, an arrow protruding out of his thigh.

"Take cover!" Arthur shouted, pulling Merlyn against a face of stone. The knights followed, Gwaine grabbing Percival's arm and practically threw him out of range of the shooter just as another arrow landed in the ground between Arthur's feet. It took a moment for Merlyn to realise that, through the commotion, Gwaine's hand never left Percival's arm.

But that didn't exactly matter when they were all so close to getting themselves killed. There was a moment where all Merlyn could hear was Leon's deep breathing and the blood rushing through her ears.

"Are you alright?" the king asked Percival, who had eased himself onto the ground, taking pressure off his wounded leg. Merlyn could've sworn she saw Gwaine's hand brush across his cheek, before reaching for his own sword, staring upwards, waiting for another arrow.

"Yeah." the knight groaned, wincing as a bolt stuck fast in the rock just above his head.

Merlyn searched the treeline, trying to spot Borden between the leaves.

"Where's he firing from?" Arthur murmured, obviously having the same idea. He glanced worriedly towards Percival, who was no shape to sprint for cover. Tapping Leon's armour with the flat of his blade, the king leaned over Merlyn, gesturing pointedly at Percival.

"I'll draw the fire. Get him to safety." he ordered, pushing himself into range before Merlyn could protest. Leon and Gwaine grabbed Percival as an arrow flew passed Arthur's head, missing him by inches.

Once again, silence reigned over them, only this time, Merlyn managed to truly concentrate. Watching the shrubbery, she found Borden sprinting towards cover, pinpointing his position amongst the foliage.

"Arthur." she hissed, just about gaining his attention. She looked from him up to where Borden was hiding, doing her best to communicate what she'd seen. The king, thank god, seemed to understand, ducking his head around a piece of rock in order to see Borden, even for just a second. He signalled something Merlyn didn't understand, before taking off in a sprint, putting himself directly in Borden's sight.

Merlyn sighed. What an idiot. Her eyes burned gold; Borden's crossbow mysteriously flew out of his hands, breaking against a tree. He was left weaponless; Arthur survived his ridiculous mission. She saw Borden run, escaping just before the king reached him, disappearing into the green.

"What happened? Where's he gone?" Arthur shouted down to them, causing the knights to slowly retreat from hiding.

Merlyn looked up at the king, realising he would probably like an explanation. "Perhaps he ran out of bolts."

The king didn't seem satisfied. Merlyn followed his lead, running around the stones, climbing up to where Arthur had ventured off, apparently in a world of his own.

"Careful!" Arthur called as she narrowly avoided running into a spiky tree branch, pulling her back towards him. "Who knows what he's left lying in wait for us."

"We can go round that." Merlyn swiped his hand from her, pointing at the branch.

Arthur shook his head grimly. "No. He knows we're coming. We'll make camp, continue at dawn."