Hello, everyone! It's me again! And I'm so sorry for taking so long to give you guys this chapter - I finally got a new laptop (RIP my old one) - but when I did, school was just about to start. And then I was swamped in work and extracurricular activities and life problems and...bottom line - lots of things have been going on, and I can only just barely squeeze in writing time these days. However, I hope this will be a fairly suitable peace offering...? *hopeful smile*

This was requested by Highrise148 - enjoy!

Plot: It was a bad idea to bring Merlin along on the hunting trip.

Halfway Through the Wood

"Gwaine, that was the fifth time you've sworn you saw something."

"Ah, but I was serious! I saw the leaves rustle. They were rustling."

"It could have just been the wind."

"Or it could have been a hawk."

"I don't think we want to kill hawks."

"Fine. It could have been a…rabbit that climbed…a tree."

"I don't think rabbits actually climb trees, Gwaine."

"Ah, Elyan, let me dream."

"If you're going to dream about anything, Gwaine, maybe you should dream about actually finding something to hunt after instead of rustling leaves," Arthur called over his shoulder. He heard his knights laugh, even Gwaine. "Perhaps I should dream about apples instead," Gwaine replied, a smile in his voice. "I'd have better luck with apples than actual animals…that move. And think."

"You're only going off like that because you know the animals can probably think faster than you," Elyan said matter-of-factly. There was a small thumping sound as Gwaine punched Elyan on the arm, though the laughs that erupted after that told Arthur that everything was just as casual as it felt.

"I'm smarter than I look, Elyan – we all know that you're just jealous of my good looks and charm," Gwaine laughed. "And I'm sure Merlin can back me up on that." There was a pause before Gwaine called out, "Merlin? This is usually where you – ah – tell Elyan that I'm right."

Arthur turned around with a grin, half-expecting to see Merlin rolling his eyes or laughing or something else of the sort – only he didn't come to that sight.

Instead, Arthur felt his heart plummet.

"That doesn't make any sense," Gwaine was saying, "Merlin was right behind me, wasn't he?"

"He can't be too far," Leon ventured. "I saw him, too."

Arthur pressed his lips together. Tried to present himself as calm as possible. Tried to organize his thoughts and emotions as he said, "Move out – find Merlin. Find him."

His men didn't need to be told twice. They dispersed, walking off into different directions. Arthur started down the path, pushing past the foliage and batting away wayward branches. He could hear the others calling out Merlin's name, their voices growing increasingly louder and more panicked when no response came. Why wouldn't Merlin respond?

He would – unless he was too far away to hear the calls. Or if he –

"Merlin," Arthur whispered. He came to a slow stop in front of another mass of trees. He bit down on his lip, chewing at the soft skin – as though in this way, he was chewing away his own worries.

"Merlin," Arthur repeated, a bit louder. He walked around the trees, almost tripping over an upturned root. He muttered a swear under his breath as he caught himself, leaning quickly against the wet bark of the tree. The root was large and dark – Arthur wondered why he hadn't been able to see it before.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed, kicking a foot against the tree. "Merl – oof!"

Arthur slipped backwards on the wet ground, his head knocking against the dirt and his mood dampening even further. He was glad that no one else had seen that.

"See, Merlin, this is why you shouldn't wander off," Arthur muttered, slowly standing up. Stupid things like this happen all the time when you disappear. He started to take a few steps forward, but before he could, he felt something fall over his ankle. Arthur froze, his hand already placed over his sword. He counted only a single second before unsheathing it, spinning around and mouth open to call for backup –

"Merlin," Arthur breathed, quickly sliding his sword back into its sheath. He stumbled down to his knees, grabbing Merlin's cold hands and tugging him up from the ground. Merlin, eyes half-closed and hair matted with dirt and leaves, staggered straight into Arthur's chest, head bumping up against Arthur's chin.

"What happened to you?" Arthur asked worriedly, brushing the leaves away from Merlin's hair. "We – Gwaine turned around and you weren't there."

Merlin's bright eyes re-opened. He looked up at Arthur once, and only mumbled, "Got dizzy."

"Dizzy," Arthur repeated. He looked around the forest, trying to see if any of his men had noticed the spectacle – no such luck. Arthur would have to walk back to their original spot with Merlin.

"Alright," Arthur said, adjusting his grip on Merlin. "We're going to have to walk – do you think we can do that right now? Merlin?" He stared down at his manservant, only to find that Merlin's eyes had closed again. Merlin was pressed against Arthur once more, his body slackened and his arms limp.

"No, no, no, no," Arthur quickly muttered, picking Merlin up before they could both fall back to the ground. "Now is not the time…!"

But Merlin was completely dead to the world, oblivious to the panic revolving around him.

"Right," Arthur huffed. "We have to get back."

xXx

"Where did you find him?"

"Is he alright?"

"What exactly happened?"

Arthur lifted up his hands, saying, "I don't know the answer – just…give him some space." He settled his cloak around Merlin's limp form, taking quiet notice of how his friend shivered even despite the cloak and the fire in front of him.

"Will he be alright?" Elyan asked worriedly. "We don't know how long he's been missing, after all."

"He'll just need some rest," Arthur replied, though he didn't bother looking back at his knights. He adjusted the cloak over Merlin, adding, "And after this, we're heading back to Camelot. It's not a good idea to keep up this hunting trip if Merlin's not feeling well."

Arthur didn't miss how his friends didn't bother arguing.

"I'll find some more wood," Gwaine offered, standing up. "Percival, come on."

"Why do you always make me come with you?" Percival muttered, though Arthur heard him stand as well.

"Because a lad like you always needs a lad like me," Gwaine replied with his usual cheerfulness.

Arthur heard the other knights laughing at this – and though he managed a smile, he only moved closer to Merlin. The younger man was stirring under the cloak now, a shuddery breath trembling out of his lips. His eyes flickered open once – twice – before focusing on Arthur.

"Hoped it'd be you," Merlin mumbled, his words slightly slurred together. "Thought it was someone else."

Arthur fell back on his ankles. "Well," he replied, "someone needed to make sure you were still with us."

Merlin closed his eyes. "Didn't want to come," he murmured, "don't like hunting trips."

Arthur couldn't help but smirk. "I know," he responded affectionately. "But we'll return home once the sun rises."

"'m tired."

Arthur nodded. "Just give it one night," he said. "And then you can…"

"Sleep."

Arthur laughed lightly. "That."

xXx

Arthur woke up suddenly. He stared up at the sky, which was still pitch-black, sprinkled only by a few stars. He watched them for a while before realizing that the fire had gone out. Arthur sat up quickly, taking quick note of how there were still some embers left in the pile of wood that had been for the fire. He could re-start it quickly –

Arthur looked back at Merlin and realized that it was he who had woken him.

Merlin was shivering furiously, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to his upper lip and his forehead. He was mumbling incomprehensible words under his breath, making them come out more as rasps than actual phrases. At this, Arthur felt worry kick at his stomach.

"Fire," Arthur murmured, standing up. Stomach pressed down to the ground, Arthur started to blow on the embers. He watched as the little glows of orange flared – and then they dimmed again. Arthur frowned. He looked over his shoulder to see Merlin, still shivering and still cold.

"Come on," Arthur muttered under his breath. "Come on."

He blew again on the embers, praying that he wouldn't be strong enough to completely extinguish the embers. He puffed out another breath, when suddenly, he heard someone else stirring from across the fire.

"You're not blowing hard enough," Percival said matter-of-factly, leaning down by the fire. Arthur watched with half-interest, half-envy as Percival got the fire going again with almost no effort at all. Sitting back on his heels, Percival gave a nod in Merlin's direction. "He'll be fine."

"I know," Arthur replied quickly.

A strange smile quirked at the corner of Percival's lips. "You ought to get some sleep," the knight pointed out. "We can't have you feeling ill tomorrow, either."

"I won't," Arthur responded defensively. He sat back against a log. "I'll just stay up with Merlin. Make sure the idiot doesn't get any worse than he already is."

Percival smiled again.

Arthur only pretended to be more interested in the fire than anything else.

A/N - I actually started this prompt a few months ago, and I was working on this in fragmented pieces. I kind of kept going back and forth - last weekend, I came very close to finishing this chapter, but then the school week was starting and I got swept off again. So I'm sorry.

Hopefully, updates will become more regular! I just need to get adjusted is all, I think.

Reviews would be nice! Constructive criticism is allowed, but flames are not.