DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters.

"So, shall we camp here for dinner?"

Arthur's suggestion was met with a rousing cheer from Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Leon. He raised an eyebrow. "Were you honestly all that bored?"

"Not bored," said Leon at once. "Just tired."

"And hungry," said Gwaine feverishly. "Very hungry."

"Well, why don't you go out hunting to bring us back something to eat?" suggested Arthur. "In fact, you'd better go and get us some food, or else we won't have anything to eat tonight."

"All right, I'm going!" said Gwaine. "Come on Elyan, Percival, Leon."

The four knights rode off and Merlin and Arthur dismounted their horses. "Merlin, make us a campfire," said Arthur, collapsing against a tree and closing his eyes.

"You're not the only one who's tired," Merlin pointed out. "What if I refuse to make you a campfire because I'm too tired?"

Arthur opened one eye. "I said our campfire, not my campfire. Anyway, you shouldn't be questioning my orders, Merlin, you're my manservant, after all."

Merlin rolled his eyes, a faint expression of annoyance crossing his face. "How could I forget?"

Arthur ignored him and settled down again, yawning widely. For a minute he lay quite still, listening to the sounds of Merlin bustling around making a campfire, and the soft wind rustling through the trees. Now and again he could hear birds twittering, and the peaceful sound relaxed him, although it was occasionally punctured by Merlin's loud and disgruntled sighs. Arthur continued to ignore him - after all, Merlin shouldn't be complaining, it was his job to serve Arthur.

Arthur's mind drifted to the reason they were on this trip anyway. It was refreshing, to be honest, to finally have to go hunting for someone who isn't Morgana, but a group of bandits. He sincerely hoped they would be able to find them tomorrow and be able to return to Camelot, as he wasn't in the mood for trekking through the woods for days, looking for a bunch of petty criminals.

Arthur stretched, yawning again, and opened his eyes, to where Merlin had already lit the campfire. Arthur frowned at him.

"How did you do that so quickly?"

Merlin shrugged. "It wasn't any quicker than usual. Plus," he added with a faint smile, "I've become quite used to making campfires by now."

"Well, at least there's one thing you can do Merlin," said Arthur, smiling. Merlin's eyes searched Arthur's face for a few seconds, before his smile widened as he moved to sit at the other side of the fire, opposite Arthur, not seeming the slightest bit offended by the insult.

"I hope we catch the bandits tomorrow," said Merlin, picking up a nearby stick and idly snapping it in half.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," said Arthur, looking across at his manservant. The flames were reflected in Merlin's face; his blue eyes looked almost golden. He stared back at Arthur across the fire and his lips flickered into a small smile. Arthur wondered what he looked like to Merlin, reflected in the flames, and then wondered why he was bothered about what Merlin thought of him.

"Anyway, we should be able to catch them tomorrow," he said. "I don't think they'll be hard to find."

Merlin smiled sadly. "They'll be easier than Morgana is to catch, anyway."

Arthur frowned. "Yes, I suppose you're right. At least these bandits aren't sorcerers; it would make it so much harder if they were, and kept using their dark magic against us like Morgana does. It should be relatively easy, once we find them, to take them back to the castle without a fuss."

Merlin said nothing. Arthur raised his eyes once more to look at his servant, who was wearing a strange expression, of mixed emotions. Arthur was able to discern sadness, but he was unsure what else was there. Maybe Merlin was simply feeling uncomfortable because they had mentioned Morgana, although, to be fair, it was Merlin who had brought Morgana's name, so why was Arthur now feeling guilty?

"The knights are back!" said Merlin suddenly, jumping to his feet. Arthur, watching him running off to greet them, dismissed his feelings; maybe he had just been imagining things, and Merlin was feeling fine after all. He was talking to Gwaine now, looking excited about something. Probably dinner, thought Arthur, smiling inwardly. He certainly seemed perfectly cheerful now; which came as a relief to Arthur, as Merlin was rarely subdued or quiet, and it always worried him when he was.

Arthur watched as Merlin said something to Percival, who pretended to hit him lightly on the head. Merlin dodged out of the way, laughing. Arthur felt a sharp pang as he watched them. Sometimes he wished he wasn't the King, and could truly have fun with Merlin once in a while; actually treat him like a proper friend and not a mediocre servant. Although, Arthur reminded himself quickly, Merlin was a servant after all. He couldn't forget that.

However, they were friends, and Arthur couldn't forget that either. Merlin's status didn't stop him wishing he could laugh and joke with Merlin like the other knights could…..or was it? Something was definitely stopping him, as he could joke around with the other knights at perfect ease. Why couldn't he do the same with Merlin?

Arthur sighed and shook his head. It was Merlin's status as a servant that was preventing him from treating Merlin like a friend, that was what it was. After all, what else could it be?

A loud shout shattered his wistful thoughts like glass. "ARTHUR!" bellowed Merlin. "Supper's ready!"

Arthur scrambled to his feet, resolutely pushing his thoughts away, and made his way over the leaf littered grass to where the small group stood, feeding the horses and chatting. For some reason, this made Arthur feel strangely lonely.

"Hello, my Lord," Leon greeted him, turning away from his large dark horse, who nudged his arm impatiently, looking for food.

As always, the words, "My name is Arthur," sprang to Arthur's lips before he bit them back. He had used to enjoy being addressed as "my Lord" but the novelty was undoubtedly beginning to wear off. It set him apart from the others somehow – they could all call one another by their names, but called Arthur "my Lord" or "sire," reminding him that he was different from them. Well, Merlin still didn't of course, but for some reason that no longer annoyed Arthur. He was becoming quite used to being called a prat or an idiot by Merlin, and secretly quite liked it. It was certainly a refreshing change to be treated like a normal person for once.

"You all right Arthur?" asked Merlin breathlessly, struggling with a large bucket of water for the horses.

"Fine," said Arthur, shrugging. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't know," panted Merlin, almost falling over as he dragged the bucket a few more inches. "Just you seemed a bit….look, can I have a bit of help here people?"

Elyan laughed and picked up the other side of the bucket, helping Merlin carry it over to the horses.

"You're such a weakling Merlin," said Arthur, looking at his friend. He hadn't meant this remark to come across as unkind or offensive, but, almost as soon as the words were out his mouth, he realised it sounded mean, mocking, almost cruel. Merlin straightened up and Arthur winced; his blue eyes were like ice.

"I notice you don't seem to do a lot around here to help – always getting me to do it, aren't you? And then you make fun of me – well, at least I'm doing something around here Arthur!"

"Well, of course you are!" said Arthur, taken aback by Merlin's sudden anger, but equally angry himself. "It's your job isn't it?"

Merlin's face twisted into an ugly scowl. "You're exactly like I always thought you were – a stupid snob! You're exactly like you're -"

"Merlin!" Leon interrupted him in shock. "Think about what you are saying! This is the King you're talking to!"

"He's still an ordinary person Leon, just like you and me!" Merlin snapped.

"Merlin," said Elyan quickly, "why don't we go and get some more food for the horses before we eat?"

Arthur knew this was an excuse to get Merlin away from him, as the horses had enough food, but he was immensely thankful to Elyan all the same. To his relief, Merlin nodded curtly and left, not even bothering to spare Arthur a single glance.

Arthur let out a deep breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding once Merlin and Elyan were out of sight. He was uncomfortably aware that the eyes of all the knights were on him and stared at the forest floor to avoid making eye contact with any of them.

"That was a bit of an overreaction," he said quietly, more to himself then to any of the other knights.

"I know what you mean," mumbled Leon. "But Merlin's been a bit…..annoyed about that lately."

Arthur raised his head to look at Leon, who seemed slightly nervous. "Annoyed about what?"

"About the fact that you don't treat him like a human being!" said Gwaine.

Arthur stared at him. "Merlin's words, not mine," added Gwaine hastily.

"He….he said that?" said Arthur numbly.

No one spoke, which, in Arthur's opinion, answered his question better than words could.

"They're returning," said Percival eventually. Arthur squared his shoulders and put on a brave face.

He remained relatively quiet for the rest of the evening, speaking only when he was spoken to, and going out of his way not to start up conversations with people. Part of the reason for this was that he was tired, and the other part of the reason was that he simply couldn't be bothered. He was feeling rather low and miserable, although he told himself that it was not due to his earlier argument with Merlin, and blamed it on lack of sleep.

xxooxxooxxooxxoo

"Sire?"

Arthur mumbled inquiries as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, rolling over to face Leon.

"What is it?" he sighed, stifling a yawn.

"I think we've found the bandits," said Leon grimly, and Arthur gave a start, as he remembered the reason they were on this trip in the first place. He had spent most of last night brooding over his argument with Merlin, and had completely forgotten about the criminals they were supposed to be catching, probably because he hadn't taken a very active part in the conversations. Now, he jumped up and grabbed his sword.

"Are they anywhere near us?" he asked Leon in a low voice.

"Well, they certainly were," said Leon. "They'll be somewhere nearby, that's for sure."

"Is everyone else awake?" asked Arthur, feeling immensely grateful that he had fallen asleep wearing his armour.

"Don't worry, they are," said Leon, looking around him. "They should be-"

A distant yell interrupted him. Without saying anything, without even stopping to think, Arthur and Leon tore off in the direction of the sound. As they grew closer, Arthur heard more yells, and the distinctive crash of swords.

Scrambling impatiently up the grassy bank, he grasped the sword tighter in his hand as he looked at the scene below him….

Percival was fighting a dark, hooded figure, who appeared to be giving him a run for his money, as was the figure currently fighting Elyan. None of these figures seemed to be armed, but they were clearly good at fighting without swords, which was surprising to Arthur. He looked around wildly for Merlin…..and Gwaine of course.

Leon was already racing forward to join the fight, and Arthur, after one last sweeping gaze of the battlefield, imitated Leon, running forward to assist his knights. He hit the nearest figure with his sword, but the sword flew out of his hand. As the reality hit Arthur, his eyes widened…..these people had magic.

"Merlin!"

Arthur turned sharply in the direction of the shout. Two of the figures were dragging a struggling Merlin on to their horse…..Arthur didn't stop to think; he went flying in the direction of them but it was too late. Gwaine was trying to fight them off but the nearest figure punched him, sending him flying against the nearest tree.

"Merlin!"

This shout was from Arthur's mouth now; ragged and desperate. One of the figures glanced round – they picked Arthur up and threw him bodily against a tree. He struggled, wincing, into a sitting position, staring in the direction of his friend, horror rising rapidly in his chest. Merlin looked back at him with large frightened eyes as the horse began galloping away….

Arthur struggled to his feet, however, it turned out he didn't have as much strength as he had thought, as he ended up collapsing against the tree again. When he had managed to gather up enough strength to sit up and look in Merlin's direction, his worst suspicions were confirmed.

Merlin was gone.

A/N: I'll really appreciate any reviews! :)