Arthur, Merlin and Isabeella set off for Haepsfleet in the heat of the afternoon sun. Arthur was astride his horse Degore while Isabella had her palomino horse Faremane and Merlin rode another horse that was black that was called Piggott that carried all the bags. They travelled west towards the slowly setting sun which became more blinding as it sank in the sky, not as bright but closer to there eyeline. They went through the forests their hoofs crusunching on the dead leaves that had fallen in the heat but glad for the shade the woods provided from the burning sun. Merlin could feel the peaks and troughs of his face burning from the exposure as he was almost transulacent in paleness and was not used to the harsh beams of the sun like Arthur was,m who trained outside all day sometimes with his knights.
As they trotted along on their horses Isabella and Arhtur's cloaks flowed out behind them in the baking summer wind. Merlin followed captivated by the sights noticing how Arthur's hair gleamed golden in the glorious sunshine and how Isabella's fiery locks catching the light like visions of the playful gods of the old relgions. Somewhere in the forest was the flurry of small animals chasing oneanother lazily Merlin saw the pair's ears pirck up at the noise, insure if they were picking up on potential danger or just idly dreaming of creatures to hunt.
Arthur leaned across from his hores back to say something to Isabella which Merlin could not catch and she laughed shaking her head, her hair shaking and catching the sun like a river of the purest sunset captured in silken soft solid form. Merlin looked at Arthur's smiling face and fel the trecherous beast of jealously unfurl and sniff the air in his chest. He wanted to resist it but the two of them together, glowing etherially, they seemed like soul mates, bound together through time like characters in an epic poem or an long lost tail of luckless lovers torn asunder by beasts of legend and cruel kings reunited once more. They glowed.
Merlin shook his head to shake the thoughts off. He remembered Arthur's gentle face as he hd said "but she's not you..." not 2 days past. He felt the warm fire of love reignite in his cheast lulling the beat back to sleep. In front of him Arthur turned his horse around to face Merlin.
"We make camp" He called looking every bit the future king in the beams of the setting sun. Merlin nodded and clicked his horse on to catch up with the magnificent pair. They both smiled at him and he drew close. The sun was setting and soon they would lose the light. Merlin tied the horses off to some trees and the set up camp under the canopy of the bare trees The leaf litter would at least make the ground more comfortable. With the camp unpacked Arthur stood.
"I will go and hunt for some dinner!" Arthuer smiled at the prospect of this fun and handed Merlin his sword.
"Protect Isabella if anything comes." He told them. Both Merlin and Isabella looked doubtful of Merlin's ability to do this and as Arthur walked off at a jaunty pace Merlin passed the sword to Isabella with a knowing grin. She took it and shifted it in her hand expertly and stood to walk over to her horse. As she was stroking Farramane's mane and whispering to him soothingly Merlin took the oppurtunity to get the fire going. Darkness and fallen, and they needed the light if not the heat, as the heatwave that had rocked the kingdom provided heat, well into the dark of the night.
Sneaking a cautious peak at Isabella Merlin threw caution to the wind and lend forward to the fire pit that had already been built.
"Forbærne firgenholt" He whispered and his eyes flassed golden in the darkness. Sparks flew from his fingerstips to the pre prepared bunle of tinder and kindling that sat already before him in the little fire pit. Then had dug the fire into a pit to prevent the dry leaves on the ground from catching, in wehather like this a forest fire would be a catastopic event.
"You have magic" He heard Isabella's voice, emotionaless, much closer than he'd expected to be. He hadn't heard her approach her tread softened as it was by the leaves but they should have been crunching as dry at they were, he should have heard, he should have known, and now she knew, and he was panicking.
"No!" Merlik sqeaked almost falling in the fire pit and scrabbling to find his ground. He looked at Isabella and tried to smile as if he was confused why she thought that.
"You just lit that fire with magic" pointed out Isabella as she pointed to the fire. She was lightly amused at hiss distress.
"No I didn't you're imagining things." Said Merlin as he nodded slightly and his eyes burned with falsehoods and lies as the fire danced, reflected in them. Merlin knew that he was not convincing her and staired back into the flames in the fire pit. His mind was racing like a stallion on its first run after the end of a long winter, fast but directionless. His train of thought kept circling back to the overwhelming dread that Arthur would find out. That he would tell Uther. That he would be executed or worst banished and forced to live a life like his father hiddened in cave and alone until his death.
"Its okay Merlin" Isabella told the fightened man.
"I used a flint." He blurted out. There was a pergant pause between them filled with dread as they looked at eachother in the eye, Merlin hoping so hard that she would believe him and unable to read her vibrant green eyes, usually so expressive but now empty of all feelings. There was a small thud on the leafs on the ground and Merlin looked down. It felt as though time has stopped and he could not draw breath into his longs. It was the flint. The only flit they had brought. That he clearly hadn't used.
"This flint?" she asked gently as she raised two incredible eyebrows.
Merlin was shaking with fear despite heat. His naturally pale skin blanched more white still until he was the shade that the clouds that lazily scatter the summer sky. He looked at Isabella in desperate imploration before he spoke.
"I... I... don't tell anyone. Don't tell Arthur. Please!" he finally stammered out after a silence that stretch through the dimming light of the evening duks. Isabella crouched next to him and smiled, her head tilted to one side and her hair cascading down like a waterfull of rubies in the semi dark. She smiled at him and reach out a hand to gently clasp his upper arm, slowly as though he were a skittish animal that might bolt away.
"Your secrets safe with me Merlin. So Arthur doesn't know?" Merlin offered her a shaky smile.
"No. I want to tell him I do, but what with the king and everythingn...I don't know how he'd feel about it." Merlin said ernestly.
"I will help you. Why don't I feel him up and see if I can work out how he feels?" Isabella propesed. Merlin stared at her dumstruck. His breathe left him in a short woosh.
"You'd do that? For me?" Isabella laughed lightly, a beautiful sound like the tinkling of bells.
"Of course! it's the right thing to do and I can see it troubles you so" Merlin couldn't help it, he hugged her, still crouching, and she laughed again and wrapped her wiry strong arms around him as well.
Arthur was heading back to the camp merrily with a spring in his step. On his broad shoulder he carried a stag, trussed up, and ready to be butchered after a successful hunt. He knew Merlin wouldnt approve, but he was looking forward to sharing more hunting stories with Isabella. As he approached the camp, mouth-watering with the excitment at the thought of deer meat, he caught sight of something through the parched trees that stopped him in his tracks, his proud joy deflating from his chest with a sudden whoosh like a gust of cold air rushing down a corridor and slamming a heavy wooden door.
Sitting by the fire and holding each other close he saw Merlin and Isabella. Their skin was luminous with betrayal in the moonlight. Their heads held so close together that the inky black and firey orange blended together in a stark contrast like the fluff of some bumblebees. As they pulled away from each other, Merlim's hair danced in the firelight with a lustrous shine equivalent to that of moonlight glistening on water.
The pair didn't even notice Arthur trudging into the campsite with his quarry of Adeer until he threw it down in a heap at their feet. They looked like startled deer, Isabella instinctively lunging for her swrod while Merlin broke into that large smile of his, the one that usually made Arthur feel like he was looking into sunshine, today today left him cold.
Merlin was crest fallen and it took a lot of Arthur's resolve to ingore the puppy dog eyes being flashed at him as he bent down to start carving up the deer hide. They ate quickly and packed up the rest of the meat for the future journey. Merlin collected the plates from Isabella and Arthur but the stake of that and the pots they had used for cooking mean that he could not see that he was about to make a mistake. As he was carrying the plates, merlin tripped over his own feet, and with an enormous noise, he ended up face down in a puddle, with the cooking pot upturned on his head.
"Merlin!" Arthur rolled his eyes at his manservent who smiled cheekily at him with a streak of mud across his cheeck and matting in his hair.
"How did you manage to find the only puddle in the entire kingdome?" Isabella said laughing out loud.
"Go and clean yourself up Merlin" Arthur said frustratedly in a huff. Merlin's wide smile faltered and he stood.
"You can't go alone, it's dark and there might be bandits. I will come with you" Said Isabella standing and lifting the sword. Arthur looked at Merlin, still in the puddle, surrounded by plades with the mud soaking through his clothes. He was going to have to wash his clothes as well. hen they weren't on his body.
"No, I'll go. I will guard him. You stay here Isabella and...keep warm." Aurthur hoped she wouldn't rememebr the scorching heatwave and Isabella didn't say anything and just nodded. Arthur stood and held out a hand to Haul Merlin out of the puddle.
"Bring the plates, you can clean them while you're at it." Merlin rolled his eyes and they walked off into the forest.