AN: New Story! Hope you like it. Definitely hurt!Merlin. Thanks again to Anna Davenport. (I think you can pretty much assume she'll be helping out with all of my stories in some way whether it be reading it over or writing Arthur, Gwaine, or some other character I don't always know how to write. Anyway, thanks!)

Hope you enjoy :)

It was one of those days. You know, the terrible type when Arthur was actually excited to get up merely because he knew that he had the day off to go be joyful and kill little animals. That was Merlin's take on hunting days, anyway. Arthur's take on hunting days differed a bit.

"The sun is out, the wind is nice, and I'm ready to go! What's taking you so long, Merlin?" Arthur complained, stretching his hands behind his head as he looked away from the window of his chambers.

"Just packing the saddlebags," Merlin called, looking around for everything Arthur would need for a day out. He frowned at Arthur's reply.

"Saddlebags?" Arthur scoffed. "No, today we go on foot. It'll be much quieter and maybe if we're lucky, you won't scare off every animal in the forest with your terrible riding skills."

"What? Why do we have to walk?" Merlin whined. Today was just getting worse and worse...

"Because I said so, now are you ready yet?" Arthur glared at Merlin, who have a resigned nod. "Good, then let's be off!"

Arthur enthusiastically led the way down the stairs, his crossbow in Merlin's hand. Leon stopped Merlin to ask him where Arthur was headed, and he nodded in understanding when Merlin simply replied "hunting".

Leon told him to keep an eye on the prince, and then hurried off to wherever he was going. Merlin hurried to catch up with Arthur, sighing when he was reprimanded for being slow.

Soon the two were within the canopied forest, enveloped in a sudden coolness much different than the otherwise warm late spring day.

"Come on," Arthur declared excitedly. "We're going to that valley not to far off where there's load of good hunting. We'll have to climb a bit of a mountain and go down another to get there, but it'll be worth it!"

"I'm sure," Merlin muttered, sighing as the began to ascend a rather steep hill. By the time they reached the top, Merlin was huffing and puffing (as was Arthur though he'd never admit it). Still, the moment Merlin's eyes fell upon the valley stretched out in front of him, he gaped in awe.

It was a secret hidden away, green and lush and beautiful with a stream going down the middle and spurts of forest around the edges. There was an open meadow in the middle fairly far below the two, and a few deer grazed peacefully.

Arthur laughed in triumph declaring that it was perfect, and then he reminded Merlin to keep quiet as they silently hurried down the hill. Nevertheless, part way down Arthur laughed and began to hurry.

"Bet I'll beat you," Arthur declared. The two friends down down the hill, laughing. Indeed, Arthur managed to make it down first.

"Next time I'll win," Merlin promised, to which Arthur rolled his eyes.

The two then hurried into a bunch of trees on the edge of the valley. The meadow and deer had disappeared from view, though Arthur silently led the way, Merlin pouting as he followed. He never enjoyed this part of the hunting trips.

By the time they arrived on the meadow, however, the deer had disappeared off somewhere leaving the flowing grasses empty of all but some brilliant blue butterflies.

"You must have scared them off!" Arthur complained, however Merlin simply shrugged and asked if they could have lunch now.

"I brought some dried meat," he explained, to which Arthur sighed.

"Fine, hand it over," Arthur frowned, settling himself on a rock and munching the salty food. "Why do you hate hunting so much, anyway?"

"Because, what'd a nice little rabbit or a deer or whatever else do to you anyway?" Merlin asked, to which Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You're such a girl Merlin," he laughed. "Give me some more dried meat."

They sat for a while before Arthur decided to check over the cross bow, and Merlin got up to walk around the meadow. The breeze ruffled the long grasses, so tall that they covered where Merlin was walking fairly effectively. In fact, some were up to his waist!

When Arthur wasn't looking, Merlin held out his hands and watched as a butterfly left them to dance around with the other ones. Merlin laughed to himself, following after the brilliant blue insects into the middle of the meadow.

Arthur glanced up and shook his head, chuckling to himself. They'd never get any good hunting done at this rate. Arthur watched Merlin for a moment more before he once more resumed checking over his arrows. It was then that Arthur jolted as he heard a scream of pain, and when he looked up, Merlin had disappeared.

"Merlin?" Arthur leaped to his feet. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Arthur shouted. "Merlin! Where'd you go? If this is just some ploy to end the hunting trip, so help me I'll..."

He was interrupted by another cry of pain, and Arthur abandoned his crossbow as he waded into the field. His heartbeat picked up as he called for Merlin again.

"Ar.. Arth... Arthur," the prince thought he could hear panting to his right, so he ran in that direction, parting the grasses as he grew more worried by the second.

Finally he happened upon a dent in the grasses, and Arthur's heart fairly stopped. Merlin was gasping for breath as he lay on his side in a tiny ball, his hands outstretched toward his ankle and his face tight with pain. Arthur's eyes traveled to Merlin's ankle, and in a moment he was by Merlin's side, his own hands shaking.

"Merlin I... Oh Merlin," Arthur's face blaunched and Merlin's eyes snapped open, his hands quickly moving away from his ankle, which was beginning to turn red from blood.

A fox trap had secured itself to Merlin's ankle, and though Arthur had heard of such traps being used, he'd never imagined using such a thing. Even he believed them to be inhumane. He felt a rush of thankfulness that the teeth were very blunt and hadn't snapped into Merlin's ankle, but still Arthur could already tell the damage was not good.

"Arth... Arthur..." Merlin stared at up the prince, who snapped to attention and nodded.

"Right, uh, sit up and stop whining. I'll have it off in a minute," Arthur barely recognized his own voice. He reached forward and searched for some way to release the trap. He found a sort of button, which he pushed, and the jaws fell slack as the springs let go.

Merlin scrambled away before he collapsed, gasping for breath, his eyes pressed shut tightly. Wave after wave of pain shot through his ankle, and Merlin groaned softly.

"Oh, stop being so... Stop being so pathetic and sit up. Come on, Merlin, you can sit up, can't you?" Arthur's voice was derisive, but when Merlin didn't reply, he grew more forceful. "You can sit up, can't you? Merlin?"

Merlin forced himself to lean forward and he whimpered loudly. Arthur swallowed, an uneasy lump in his throat.

"Well, no wondering you don't like hunting," Arthur chuckled uneasily, his breath fast.

"Arthur," Merlin whimpered. "Shouldn't we... Do something about it?"

"Do something..." Arthur trailed off, before his worried mind realized what Merlin meant and he nodded.

"Sorry, if you don't mind..." Arthur yanked Merlin's neckerchief off and tied tightly around the ankle in hopes of stemming the blood. "There, happy? Merlin? Merlin!"

Merlin seemed to faint, sliding to the ground and panting softly.

"Are you awake? Don't fall asleep!" Arthur commanded, trying to figure out what to do next.

"I'm not asleep," Merlin mumbled. "Gaius."

"Getting there might be a bit hard..." Arthur trailed off. "I think we should wash it off first. The stream, over here. Think you can make it?"

Arthur's voice was sarcastic, but the worry was there. Merlin use his hands to push himself but, but he collapsed, gasping.

"No," Merlin yelped.

"Here, if you're going to be difficult," Arthur hoisted Merlin to his feet, but he saw immediately that Merlin's ankle would not be able to take any weight whatsoever.

Arthur sighed indignantly and picked up Merlin, glad that he was surprisingly light, and hurried toward the stream. Once they got there, Arthur ripped a bit of his own shirt off and dipped it in the water, ringing it out. He unwrapped Merlin's somewhat less bleeding ankle and brought the cold cloth to it in order to wash the wound. Merlin let out a choked cry and tried to scramble away, which only made him gasp in pain.

"Hold still," Arthur frowned, easing Merlin's boot off and wiping the ankle. Arthur's stomach began to churn. The injury didn't look good at all.

"How's it look," Merlin gasped out.

"It..." Arthur coughed. "It's not too bad. I don't know what you're making such a big deal about. It'll get better, I'm sure. Gaius... We need to get to Gaius. Oh Merlin, we need to get to Guias."

Merlin glanced down at his ankle, and immediately he pressed his eyes shut in horror.

"How do we get up the mountain?" Merlin asked quietly, to which Arthur only shook his head, seeming to have lost his voice.

"I can try to walk?" Merlin pried his eyes open again.

"No!" Arthur barked, angry at the thought. "You can't walk on that. I'll... I'll just have to carry you again, that's all."

"Who'll carry your crossbow?"

"Forget the crossbow!" Arthur shouted. He paused, trying to calm himself. "Here, it's a long way back, we should get started."

Once again, Arthur wrapped Merlin's ankle and picked him up. Arthur hurried toward the hill, swallowing as they arrived.

"How're you... Going to get up... That?" Merlin panted, and Arthur frowned.

"Why're you out of breath? I'm the one carrying you!" Arthur frowned up at the hill. "You just relax and I'll figure it out."

Arthur began the trek up the hill, stumbling once or twice and gulping as he almost dropped Merlin each time. That would do nothing to improve his ankle.

Arthur had finally reached the top of the hill, and he sighed in relief.

"Now we just have to go down the other side," he told Merlin, who didn't reply.

Arthur found going down to be harder, and he was about halfway down when his foot hit a loose rock and he slipped, Merlin tumbling to the ground with a cry. Arthur's eyes widened in horror as Merlin continued to tumble down the hill, reaching the bottom in moments, another cry echoing from his lips.

Arthur ran the rest of the way down the hill, asking what had happened.

"Just my... My ankle," Merlin gasped out before a cheeky grin found it's way onto his face. "I beat you down the hill this time. I said I would."

Arthur shook his head, lump suddenly catching in his throat.

"Oh, shut up Merlin. You're not supposed to be happy when your foot gets practically ripped off. What's wrong with you, anyway?" Arthur swallowed hard.

Merlin laughed shakily, his breath catching as he pressed his eyes shut again.

"Come on, can we get back to Gaius now?" Merlin whimpered, and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, uh, we should," Arthur reached down and picked up Merlin again. "By the way I... Sorry this had to happen, you know. I don't use those traps, ever, now you can see why."

"What's the difference, though?" Merlin whimpered. "Trap or crossbow, it's still hunting."

Arthur was silent, however he pondered that thought over.

It wasn't for a while, but finally Arthur found his legs growing shaking and he had to pause, putting Merlin on the ground.

"Sorry," Arthur mumbled. "You're light, but you're not that light."

"Lighter than you," Merlin managed, his eyes flickering shut. "At least... That..."

"Merlin?" Arthur shook his friend, yet Merlin was now unresponsive, whether from blood loss or the pain, Arthur wasn't sure. Either way, he tried to wake Merlin up, shaking him hard. "Now who's being lazy? Merlin! Wake up, please?"

Merlin slumped lifelessly, his face pale, and Arthur forced himself to his feet. If he could find a path, he might run across people! This was a common route for patrols, if he could find the path.

Despite his shaking legs, Arthur pulled himself to his feet and picked up Merlin heading to where the path might be.

Finally he found it, and he stumbled along it as quickly as he could. Merlin was becoming increasingly heavy. Finally, Arthur's legs simply couldn't hold him any longer, and he stumbled to the ground. The sound of approaching hoof beats startled Arthur, and he pulled Merlin behind a tree. Just in case, Arthur unsheathed his sword and waited for the riders.

A minute or so later, Arthur laughed with joy as three knights rode along the path. Arthur leaped out of the tree line and waved his arms at them. Shocked, they came to a stop and stared at him.

"Sire?" One asked slowly.

"Yes!" Arthur laughed madly again. "Thank goodness. Help, we need help!"

"We?" One knight shared a look with the others. "Sire, are you alright?"

Arthur hurried behind the tree and reappeared, dragging Merlin behind him.

"My servant. He's injured, badly," Arthur pointed to Merlin's ankle, and two of the knights winced. The third simply frowned.

"How'd that happen?" He asked.

"I'll explain when we're on our way. We need to hurry. Where were you headed, anyway? Just a patrol?"

"Yes, and to check the knights' traps, Sire," one the knights nodded. Arthur froze.

"The what?" He asked slowly.

"You know, the traps? For hunting?"

"No I don't know. When did you start putting up traps?"

"They're in a valley, no humans go there. Don't worry, Sire, the king agreed it was a perfect place to put them. We catch food for the kitchens."

"You put traps out in a valley?" Arthur asked slowly, the knights exchanging glances on unease.

"Yes Sire," one admitted. "Is this a problem in your mind?"

"I'll tell you what happened to Merlin's foot," Arthur growled suddenly. "It got stuck, in a fox trap."

"Oh..." The knights paled slightly.

"In a valley just west of here."

"Oh..." the knights paled further.

"You are perfectly aware that I never, ever approved of those traps. You have all been hunting with me numerous times, and you know that, in my opinion, those traps are inhuman and should never be used by anyone who has a shred of honor. Whose idea was this?"

The two knights on the sides looked to the one in the middle, who straightened and tried to harden his expression.

"Admittedly, it was mine, Sire. It was a quick way to bring food to the cooks, who were complaining that we weren't hunting enough. So-"

"So it's the cooks faults, is it?" Arthur interrupted. "If I went to ask if they told you to use traps, they would say yes?"

"Well, not exactly, Sire," the knight kept his expression schooled and haughty. "They simply expressed annoyance, so I created a solution."

"A solution that could take someone's foot off! A solution that caused that!" Arthur shouted, pointing to Merlin's ankle. "We need to get back to Camelot. Get off your horse and make room for Merlin. You will be walking."

"Sire, I hardly see that to be necessary. I'm sure if you woke him up he could walk," the knight suggested. "He's just a servant, Sire. I'll get off my horse if you'd like to ride, though."

Arthur saw red as he barely restrained himself from yanking the knight off of his horse.

"I gave you an order. Servant or prince, it makes no difference. Now get off, or you may find you are no longer in possession of a knight's horse from Camelot," Arthur spat.

The knight huffed, however he got down and allowed Arthur to drape Merlin over the front of the horse. Knowing he'd probably just fall off, Arthur got on the horse as well, guaranteeing that Merlin wouldn't fall.

"We'll see you back in Camelot!" Arthur hissed at the knight, kicking the horse into action and disappearing down the path. The other two knights followed silently.

AN: So, please review! I can't wait to see what you think of the story! And what about 'the knight's traps'? Arthur is not happy... I look forward to hearing from you :)