Hello I am back!

Sorry for being gone so long... but now I actually know where I want this story to go, which is good!

DISCLAIMER: yeah I own nothing aside from the story and OCs.
WARNING: Antagonist introduced! ... kind of... okay not really but you'll see.

Please refer to the bottom of chapter 3 for a recount of all the Druid OCs. I doubt I'll be adding more haha

Enjoy!

Druid camp

It was midday, and the Druid children had run back to their families to get themselves fed.

Merlin, Mordred, and Morgana headed back to Geroldin's tent to grab themselves a few small rolls of bread before heading back outside. They then walked all the way back out of the camp, coming to a stop at a thick tree stump protruding from the ground in the centre of a small clearing. There was a long, fallen log beside it, making for quite an effective picnic table. Only when the three of them sat themselves down comfortably did they allow themselves to begin eating. None of the other Druids frequented this area, and it was difficult to see from the village; it was the only place where the three Emryses felt truly safe. Not even Geroldin's tent was impregnable, as there were disapproving lurkers right outside the thin canvas walls at all times. Proximity had little to say on the matter of who could overhear whilst in a village of magic-users.

"What do you think Geroldin did about Evalac?" Mordred suddenly piped up, mouth full of bread.

Morgana frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Morgana. We all saw them talking. And Geroldin didn't seem too happy."

"Yeah… that did seem a bit strange," Merlin added. "Geroldin usually always approves of anything Evalac does, no matter the situation."

Morgana hummed. "Maybe this was one time too many. I mean, Evalac did deliberately exclude him from an important meeting. Geroldin isn't completely senseless—"

"I should hope not; he practically runs the village himself," Merlin muttered.

"—so he can't always agree with Evalac, right?"

"Maybe… maybe this is a good thing," Mordred said submissively.

"Yes, but maybe we just lost the only mutual friend we had with Evalac. Maybe we just doomed ourselves to never be accepted," Merlin grumbled dispassionately.

"Oh, stop being so pessimistic, Merlin." Morgana rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Well, you can't say I'm completely wrong. Geroldin and Evalac have been walking on eggshells since that day with Caspar, and all because of us. If the Secret Council really was the last straw, and Geroldin is giving up on Evalac, then he can't protect us anymore."

"We don't need protection," Morgana groused, but none of them said anything else for a long while.

Meanwhile, in a denser part of the forest

Arthur and the three knights had been riding for hours, but the king didn't call for them to stop.

No matter how much Gwaine complained.

"Come on, Arthur! We've been riding for so long! Let us stop and eat lunch, at least."

Arthur whirled around on his horse, glaring at him. "Oh, don't be such a girl, Mer—" He stopped abruptly, eyes widening.

None of the knights said anything, staring in mild horror at their king.

After a few seconds, though, Arthur let out a small cough. "We should stop to eat." No one commented on how rough his voice sounded, but they eagerly jumped off their mounts, rubbing their sore backsides.

Leon unpacked the container of stew, placing it on the forest floor, along with four wooden bowls. "We'll need some kindling," he stated.

Gwaine was the first to stand up. "I'll go."

No one objected, so the knight made his way into the deeper parts of the forest.

Gwaine had been walking for a long time, but most of the wood was rotting, or damp.

Well, he told himself that was the reason he was taking so long.

But honestly, the entire situation with Arthur was exhausting him. He'd missed just being able to admire just how beautiful the world really was, and he took the first chance he got.

But it was also true that the wood was not of the proper quality, so he did have a productive reason to be delving so far away from the camp. He walked and walked, alternating between watching the sky and watching the earth, until he was distracted by a noise on the edge of his consciousness.

He stopped and listened, not quite sure if he'd been imagining it or not. It sounded like… people. Lots of people. A full and thriving community, going about its daily business… but that wasn't all. There was residual buzzing, something you heard with not your ears but with your mind, to every sound, and Gwaine recognized the sensation.

Magic.

Okay, he decided, he'd unwittingly discovered the whereabouts of a magical community. It was pretty far away, judging by how muted the sounds were. It shouldn't have particularly bothered him; Arthur had long since repealed the ban on magic, and they more often than not left the magical world deal with itself. They'd come across a few small Druid camps in the past, and they'd suffered no trouble from them.

So why did Gwaine feel so uneasy and excited of the prospect of this village he couldn't even see?

Eventually, after much pondering, he decided that it was high time he'd turned tail and headed back. He picked up a few random sticks, regardless of how dry they were (he didn't really care; he wasn't that hungry), and walked away, crunching through the leaves.

He couldn't chase away a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, though.

Perhaps he'd propose the matter to Arthur.

At the Druid camp

The three warlocks had just finished their meal when they felt a stir in the air around them.

Merlin shuddered slightly, looking around. "What was that?"

Morgana looked equally perturbed. "I don't know. Maybe we should head back."

None of them quite liked the idea. The small clearing with the stump was their safe haven; if something went wrong here, they would lose the sense of home that the Druid camp gave them. Of course, some of the adults—namely Geroldin—and all of the children enjoyed their presence, but others—namely Evalac, along with most of the Druid village—made it very clear that they were not wanted.

Mordred's blue-green eyes were wide with apprehension. "Should we investigate?"

Merlin nodded. "Yeah, that sounds—"

"No," said Morgana.

Merlin frowned. "What?"

"It doesn't feel right. I don't think it's a good idea. We don't know what's out there; we don't even know if there is anything out there!"

"Well, if there isn't anything out there, then there's no harm done."

"But what if there is, Merlin?" Mordred, who seemed to have changed his mind entirely on his own plan, was once again gazing fearfully into the deeper woods.

Merlin narrowed his eyes at the surrounding trees. The hairs on the back of his neck were bristling. The air seemed to drop several degrees as they sat there, and he felt goosebumps rise along his arms and legs. "Fine. Let's head back."

But just as they all rose to leave, a dark figure emerged out of the surrounding bushes, unnoticed by any of them.

Aaaand that's all for today!

Sorry this chapter was so short... but things will actually happen now, I promise!

Feel free to ask any questions, point out mistakes, etc.

And please review!