For Love Or For A Friend

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was hurriedly packing his things. He did not have much time to make a get away from the castle, so he had told Merlin to meet him around this time. The sooner they left, the sooner they could bring back Guinevère. Gwen. Arthur worried for her more than he would ever admit to anyone . . . other than her of course. With his growing love for her, he found the distance they were forced to maintain difficult to bear. Even Merlin did not know of his affection for her, nor did Arthur have any immediate plans to tell him. He would make up an excuse if Merlin was so curious as why the Prince was this desperate to find her. So far, he had not said anything which was good. Arthur wanted to focus on finding Hengist and bringing Gwen back to safety, for he absolutely refused to believe that she was dead.

He stuffed a couple more things in his pack before grabbing a coat and putting it on. They could not dress in full out armor as they would be going to Cenred and that alone was enough to cause a tremendous amount of tension. The kingdoms were not exactly on peaceful terms, so Arthur was going to try to sneak in as inconspicuously as possible. He looked around the room, making sure he had everything, when he heard a knock on the door. Arthur went to it and opened it. It had better be . . .

"Merlin!" He exclaimed in a harsh whisper. He yanked him by the shirt and pulled him into the room and out of the hallway. "Get in here!" He demanded while doing so. When he did a quick glance in the hallway to make sure no one followed, he closed the door behind him. "Did you get everything you need?" He asked as he began to fasten the sheath to his belt. Arthur was determined to bring her home; no matter what the cost.


_{Setting: Starts in the Camelot Castle, but eventually extends to Hengist's land
Time of Day: Late night
Timeline: In Lancelot and Guinevère, when Arthur and Merlin set off to rescue Gwen
Tag: Merlin Caradoc}

[pie]

When Merlin had been instructed to get the things they would need for the journey to rescue Guinevère, he had wasted no time in rushing off to do so. He had no intention of staying behind while Arthur went out and risked his life to save their friend. Though he must say that he was rather curious as to why Arthur was so concerned with Gwen... He just passed it off as a general worry for a friend. After all, Gwen was his friend, he couldn't deny that much to Merlin.

He knew they were in a hurry, with every second, Gwen got further away, or was put in more and more danger. She could also be... No, he wouldn't think of that, that wouldn't happen, not to Gwen. Besides, he felt bad for whoever managed to get Arthur as their enemy - he knew he wouldn't want to be up against him, except for those few occasions when he had no choice, or when they had first met (though... that didn't mean he wanted to).

Hurrying, he grabbed the bag he usually carried with him in such situations and stuffed many things in it. Thankfully Gaius never came in on him, so he didn't have to explain. He had already prepared the horses, and they were waiting, so he rushed up to Arthur's chambers. Knocking softly on the door, he was relieved to see that Arthur was still in there, even as he was yanked into the room.

Could have just asked, I would have come in on my own... he thought, resting his hands on his knees and gasping for air - he had run up the stairs and through the castle as fast as he could. "Yes, everything is prepared, including the horses. I think we should hurry, though," he informed, taking deep breaths still, "It can't be long until someone just notices two freshly prepared horses ready for travel with no one around."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was relieved to see that Merlin had prepared everything. He trusted him of course -- even if he did not exactly express this strong trust he had for him in so many words -- so he knew he would come through. But still. There was so many things that Arthur was worried about regarding Gwen. He could not afford one thing to slow them down as he had no intention of resting until she was brought back safely. Knowing Merlin was a good friend of hers as well was what made him sure that his servant would be very determined to find her as well.

"No, really? And here I thought that we should move as slowly as possible and no one would notice anything out of the ordinary," he said completely sarcastically, refraining from rolling his eyes. He was more stressed than he had been in a while and Merlin may be his only outlet for his frustration, stress, and fear. And he would have to endure the entire journey with Arthur. He did not pity the man; nor would he later apologize for his intensified rudeness. Then again, everything could go just against the norm and Arthur could react completely differently. He had never been in this situation before; going out to rescue the woman that he loved. It was new, and not at all in a good way.

He barley noticed that Merlin was out of breath, and continued to rummage around, making sure he had everything. How many guards did you see on your way up here?" Either they could take the traditional route; through the hallway, down the stairs and straight to the stables. Or, they would have to take a more creative route outside the castle: climbing through the window and down the wall. Or well, Arthur would have to anyway. Merlin could just waltz out the front door since he was not the one who was trying to sneak out.

[pie]

Arthur seemed more frustrated than usual to the young warlock. Or maybe it was just the awkward angle Merlin was staring up at him from. Either way, it didn't seem to matter that he was out of breath, though that didn't bother him much. After all, Arthur was correct, though he didn't actually say anything. The sooner they left, the sooner they could save Gwen. Merlin had no intention of staying behind, so he would have to keep up with Arthur.

"Of course, who would notice the Prince sneaking around anyway?" he mumbled, standing up as he was a little less exhausted. It appeared that this would be a pleasant journey - all sarcasm intended, of course. If Arthur was more grumpy than usual, obviously Merlin was the only one there to take the anger and cruel remarks... He was mostly used to them though. He just hoped Arthur wasn't too grumpy, although he would understand, he was just worried for Gwen.

He watched Arthur as he moved around, and leaned against the door to catch his remaining breath. "A few on my way up here, but not so many that we can't avoid them, I think. But that was a few minutes ago, who knows how many guards have come since then? He doubted that many more guards would be there, but you could never be too cautious... Especially when you were sneaking out of Camelot with the Prince to go on a rescue mission you weren't told to...

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was so distracted, and in so much of a rush, that he did not even comment on Merlin's sarcastic remark. There would be plenty of time for that. Upon hearing the number of guards, Arthur made his decision about how to escape from the castle. He was unwilling to take that risk. A few was too many. He could not risk being thrown in the dungeon by his father, as had been the result last time he sneaked out to find the cure for Merlin's poison. He could not afford spending the night in the dungeon by his father's demand and allow Gwen to be out there for another knight, under who knows what kinds of conditions. Hengist was a cruel man and Arthur was not willing to let her be in his clutches a second longer than she had to.

Arthur grabbed what he had been working on earlier today. It was a few sheets, tied together so that it could serve as a rope. "I'm going out through the window," he started as he began to tie one end of the rope onto the bed post. "If you see the knot loosening on the rope, be sure that you grab it and slowly lower me down." He paused, looking at Merlin, knowing he lacked upper body strength and wondered if he would be able to hold him. "Meet me near the horses. Once I'm down the wall, he have to go immediately before I'm sighted." He moved towards the window, peering down at the distance from his room to the ground. Then he looked back at Merlin. "Ready?"

[pie]

Thankfully Arthur ignored his comment, at least for now. He couldn't help but wonder if the prince had even heard it at all, if not, he might get away with it, if so... well, Merlin didn't know how he would react to that comment. He'd have to worry about that later, if at all. It was even likely that if he had heard it, he would forget about it in his worry for Guinevère.

He already could pretty much figure out what Arthur intended to do even before he said anything. It was dangerous enough to be sneaking out of Camelot without anyone knowing, but actually through the castle and with guards around it was even more so. Now, Merlin himself wouldn't have worried much about it, he could distract the guards with magic, but Arthur didn't know that he had magic, so he couldn't use it like that.

Personally he thought going out the window wasn't too smart, but hey, when it was the only way, it worked. Merlin stared at the tied together sheets that Arthur planned on using as a rope. He watched the prince expressionlessly, than nodded to the question, grinning innocently. "Of course I'm ready." he answered. "Don't you trust me?" A more proper question would be "Should you trust me?"

[Arthur Pendragon]

Merlin's question was enough to make Arthur stop what he was doing and just look at him with a hesitant expression. "I don't trust your strength, or lack there of, thats for sure." But Arthur did trust him, more than he cared to admit . . . not that he admitted it in words at all. He knew his actions proved otherwise, no matter how much he tried to counter them by mocking the man and ridiculing him to no end. "Just, pull out every bit of strength you have and hopefully thats enough . . . though I doubt it." Never the less, he had no choice and would have to take his chances.

He turned back to the window, and took the end of one rope, tugging at it a bit to test the strength. "Don't be late," he demanded as he began to lift one leg at a time over the window, and with a very strong hold on the top, began to descend, using the very small inches of space between the brings as some sort of way to brace himself so that he did not just fall. It was more difficult than it looked though, and before he knew it, he was half way down the wall . . . and there was no more rope. Arthur rolled his eyes at himself. So he didn't exactly think this entire thing through. Damn it! "Merlin!" He called in a harsh whisper. This was ridiculous! If anyone saw the Prince hanging by a rope in the middle of the night half way down his bedroom window . . . well, it would just be a very difficult thing to explain. "Lower the rope!" He added, hoping that there was at least a bit of actual 'rope' to lower.

[pie]

Merlin gave Arthur a curious stare, as if he didn't know what the prince was talking about, and that he was quite capable of holding onto that rope. Arthur was right, of course, though. Merlin probably didn't have the strength to hold onto the rope if it was required of him. He just hoped for Arthur's sake that the fall wouldn't be that rough...

"Don't worry, Arthur, I wont let you fall." he assured. Or rather, he tried to assure. He'd give it his all on holding the rope. Beyond that... he couldn't promise much. "I won't be late," he replied. He didn't have any reason to this time, after all, he couldn't forget that fast or suddenly have something else to do this time.

He watched Arthur climb out the window and begin to descend down the makeshift rope. Like he could have predicted, something went wrong a few moments later: The rope had run out. Just his luck, now he had to lower the rope and manage to do so with Arthur's weight added. He rushed over to the bed post and untied that end of the 'rope'. Upon doing so, he was nearly yanked over from the weight, but managed to retain his hold on it. He inched forward slightly, using all his 'strength' to pull back at the same time (so he wouldn't go flying out the window too). It was then that he came to the base of the window, not having moved much further.

"Uh, Arthur? Are you almost at the ground yet?" he grunted out, bracing himself by pushing with a foot away from the wall. He looked at the rope one more time and added in a subdued voice, "There is no more rope."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur felt like banging his head on the brick wall. No more rope, and he had lowered it as far he could? Well, this wasn't good at all! Arthur let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that no one could hear him but too irritated to suppress it. "Just. . . " Arthur didn't know what to suggest, and he was feeling the cloth begin to tear. That was something he could not blame Merlin for though. He turned his head, trying to see how far he was from the ground. There was a wagon at the bottom so if he could control his fall, he would land on that. If not, then thank god he was wearing his armor because otherwise . . . he would have certainly broken a bone. With his armor, his chances would just decrease.

He looked back up, taking a deep breath and released his grasp on the rope, trying to move himself in the air, but the fall had been quicker than the thought. He ended up hitting the end of the wagon, and then falling off of it onto the ground. Oh well; at least that had managed to break his fall. Arthur lay there on his back, looking up at the night sky with a highly annoyed expression. And that was when he just needed to think of one word to get him up: Guinevère. He awkwardly raised himself and looked around, making sure no one heard or saw him. He stayed close to the wall, hiding in the shadows and slowly made his way to where he saw the two horses were ready for departure.

[pie]

It appeared that Merlin couldn't do anything. He couldn't use magic to help because Arthur didn't know he had magic, and there wasn't any rope left for him to do much else. So, what then? It appeared it didn't matter, because as he thought, he felt the rope begin to tear. His eyes went slightly wide. Bitting his lip, he pulled tighter on the rope, thinking that maybe he could pull the prince back in (yeah, right), but it tore before he could do much.

As soon as the ropes tore, he looked out the window and cringed as Arthur fell. It wasn't a pretty fall. "Sorry!" he called down loud enough for just Arthur to hear him. He pulled away from the window, then, and took his half of the torn rope, shoving it under Arthur's bed's pillows - he'd have to untie them and all that later. Quickly leaving the room, he quietly shut the door behind him after glancing down the halls and made his way out of the castle, successfully managing to avoid guards and suspicion.

Keeping away from any guards in sight, Merlin made his way to where the horses were stationed, hoping Arthur was already there. "Arthur?" he called softly almost as soon as he got there.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur continued to creep through the shadows and was relieved to see Merlin there. Good! Now they could set off. He lurked up behind him, and put his hand on his shoulder, motioning silently for him to mount on his horse as Arthur did the same. He took a hold of reigns, taking a deep breath at the same time. He did not plan on sleeping, or taking any form of rest until he was back in the castle, with the peace of mind that Gwen was safe. "Come on," He stated as he lightly kicked the side of his horse to it to move, expecting Merlin to follow suit.

As they rode towards the gates, Arthur saw the guards, and this only made him ride faster, making the horse move as quickly as possible. By the time the knights readied their own horses, and followed him . . . he would be too far ahead. He knew he would have to deal with the consequences when he returned, and his father would be less than ecstatic about the idea of him running off to save someone who he regarded as insignificant. But Arthur knew his actions were justified, and he would not apologize to his father for disobeying him. Not this time. Not when her life was at stake and the king refused to do anything about it.

[Sorry that I moved Merlin a bit by making them ride out quickly. . . figured they couldn't exactly stay near the castle for too long ]

[pie]

Merlin jumped a little when a hand was placed on his shoulder, but turning around, he saw that it was only Arthur. Following the prince's silent orders, Merlin mounted the horse next to the one Arthur took. Grasping the horse's reins in his hands, he looked over at the other man, thoroughly worried for him. He was taking a great risk in this journey. Not only were they going to a foreign kingdom to rescue Gwen, but, perhaps more worse, were doings so without the king's orders.

However, even if he had been asked what he would do, he wouldn't choose any differently. Guinevère was their friend, and Merlin would gladly risk his life for her if it meant her safety. When Arthur told him to come on, he also kicked the sides of his horse and followed him. It wasn't long until they came into view of the gates, and the guards. He'd speed his horse up to, following the prince, and wouldn't stop until he stopped...

[Lol, fine by me! Staying at the castle too long probably wasn't such a good idea anyway!]

[Arthur Pendragon]

When they were well outside the gates, Arthur began to slow his horse to a stead walk. He did not want to tire out the animal even though he was very eager to get there. He did not plan on stopping once for the night, but maybe when the sun came up. He also knew that he would not find sleep easily; not when he was this worried about her. He knew Morgana was probably in the same state; restless. She had after all come to his chambers to beg him to go, yelling at him for not challenging Uther, questioning how she could be willing to just let her remain with Hengist.

Little did Morgana know just how intent he was on going after her. If anyone asked why, he would use that as an excuse since he still could not disclose his feelings for Gwen to anyone. Morgana was a perfect cover, as bad as that sounded. He knew he would probably go had he not have such strong feelings for Gwen, if only to alleviate Morgana's worries. But his motivation for going was very different than was he knew most probably assumed. He just rode quietly, deep in thought, half expecting Merlin to say something -- as he normally did -- to end the silence that filled the night air.

[pie]

When Arthur slowed his horse, so to did Merlin. While his horse walked beside Arthur's, Merlin turned his attention to the trouble prince. It surprised Merlin how much he had grown to care for the man, and how much he had changed, since they first met. It was actually a surprise, or really it shouldn't of been. First he had absolutely detested Arthur, and now he gladly, willingly, went into danger and others with him, and would even if the prince didn't want him to.

A grin crossed his face, and he decided to break the silence with his usual barrage of talking -- he seemed to do it a lot when they traveled. "You worried?" he asked in a light tone. "I think it's brave of you to go in search of her, even when you aren't supposed to, being the king's son and all. You're still a prat, but you've become less of one." Where usually that would be an insult, in this, it was just a lighthearted jibe. He didn't mean anything about it.

In fact, the one person, amazingly to even himself, that he wouldn't spare a second thought about going into battle with (though he wasn't much of a help), was said prat. He hoped to draw Arthur's attentions away from any silent contemplations he had, and break the silence. Even an angry Arthur was better than a troubled, silent Arthur.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Merlin was rambling again, but oddly enough, Arthur welcomed the distraction, even if he would not admit it . . . and even if the topic was rested on his worry. He even overlooked the fact that Merlin had just called him a prat, a term that his servant was getting far too familiar with using. He did not even tell him to shut up. He had too much on his mind to insult Merlin and make snide comments to him. Instead, Arthur just looked at him, giving him a subtle glare at the term, and at his words. While Merlin was more open about discussing his feelings and such, Arthur was not.

"Morgana asked me to," he mumbled, testing to see if that was a plausible excuse. Of course, Merlin knew him better than most people so he wondered if he would get away with this lie. He did not intend on telling anyone about his strong feelings but at the same time, how apparent would it be once he found Gwen because all he could think about doing right now was holding her in his arms, in an intimate embrace that went far beyond the limits of friendship. "You must be worried about her too." That was another attempt to get the focus off of his worry and on to Merlin's worry, for he knew that him and Gwen were good friends.

[pie]

Merlin grinned wider at Arthur's glare. He didn't take it to heart, having much more become used to such things than when they had first met. Now, most of the time, they just amused him. Though he knew when to not continue a subject or do something. In the long run, Merlin enjoyed his position under Arthur. He gave a quiet chuckle and turned back to face the land in front of them. Shifting the horse's reins to his other hand, he looked back at Arthur, knowing already he didn't plan to stop for now. Not that Merlin wanted to.

He knew that, while not exactly a lie, Arthur's excuse wasn't the full truth, either. He didn't doubt that Morgana had asked him to go, but he also knew that Arthur would have gone anyway. Arthur was more noble than that. Gwen was his friend. He didn't mention that he could see through the lie, though, but let it slide, giving a small nod to indicate he believed him. When Arthur spoke again, Merlin kept his attention ahead of him, turning serious. He hadn't expected for Arthur to discuss his feelings. "... Of course I'm worried about her," he spoke, noting that Arthur had said "too" in his sentence. "She's my friend, I won't let her get hurt as much as you won't." He paused before adding, "That's why we must rescue her soon. She'll be okay, though. Gwen's tougher then she looks." He was trying to alleviate both of their fears. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was already safe on her own!"

[Arthur Pendragon]

Merlin was so optimistic, and while Arthur did not think she was dead or anything . . . he still had his worries. So in a way, it truly was refreshing to have someone reassure him of Gwen's strength and the possibility -- no matter how unlikely it was -- of her being safe on her own. That would be the ideal outcome; that they would find her as easily as they had found Morgana. But it had been a while since she had been kidnapped, only making Arthur wish it had been possible to set out sooner to find her. Merlin was right though; she was a strong woman. She had dealt with the death of her father, she spoke up for what she felt was right . . . recalling instances where she had done so made him miss her even more.

"We will," Arthur said, at Merlin's mention of them rescuing her soon. They had to. "She's definitely stronger than you," Arthur said teasingly. Though he knew Merlin was talking about her strength in character, but he was just using it as a distraction before Arthur let on too much. "I think she would stand more of a chance than you when faced with danger. I mean, I have seen you with a sword. Its a rather ridiculous sight." While Merlin was progressively getting better at learning how to use a sword, Arthur still had to give him a hard time about something.

[pie]

Merlin shrugged, but was amused himself. He was glad that he had Arthur's attention, he just hoped he could hold it until he was told to shut up because he was being annoying -- wasn't a very surprising thing when he was told so. But he wanted to hold the prince's attention for as long as possible without making him angry. Any jibes would be in a friendly manner, and only to further conversation. He knew that Arthur was genuinely worried for their friend, although he didn't know the real reason that Arthur really wanted to save her. He didn't know how much the prince cared for her, though he was beginning to catch on that it was quite a bit. With his horse moving alongside Arthur's, Merlin cast him a smile.

"Yes, she can hold her own," Merlin replied. Knowing the truth in Arthur's words, even though both knew that Merlin hadn't originally meant physical strength, he added, "At least I'm getting better! It can't be too long until I'm as good as you!" He paused here, and couldn't hide his laugh. "Okay, that would take forever. I'm terrible with a sword." He cleared his throat, and looked back ahead of them. "I don't always get in your way, though, right? That has to account for something, doesn't it?"

[Arthur Pendragon]

Merlin's comment about him being as good as him was so funny, that Arthur could not even manage to laugh. It was the most amusing thing he had ever heard and even Merlin did not fail to see the humor in it. "Merlin . . . I could beat you with a broom." Meaning that he was being cocky in how his skills exceeded Merlin's. And he technically had, that first time they met. He knew of course Merlin was joking. Arthur had been trained since he could walk and had Merlin been that experienced, then perhaps he would be as skilled . . . but he was his servant; he was no noble and he did not have access to such advance trainings. It made Arthur curious as to what it would be like to not have to train that vigorously from a young age. He was grateful for the opportunity and he had his moments of different perspectives; once when they went to Ealdor to help Merlin's village, and the other when he stayed with Gwen, hiding during the jousting tournament.

"I will credit you to that. You are indeed getting better at clumsily staying out of my way, rather than clumsily interfering while I am in battle." He spoke with obvious sarcasm, mocking him. When they were ambushed or faced with some sort of danger, Arthur always felt more at peace when Merlin was out of the harms way; he would rather him hide than try to fight in extremely dangerous circumstances. It was not worth the risk and Arthur did what he could to defend him. But now, as it was becoming more of a frequency, he had seen Merlin with a sword at times and he could at least block any mortal blows -- to some extent --. Though it never ceased to amaze him how lucky Merlin would get; either something would fall on his opponent, or he would trip, or some other miracle that always put him at the advantage. Curious indeed. "A sword really doesn't suit you anyway. You're better off with a very large stick. That would make you look equally threatening." In other words, he really didn't look threatening at all.

[pie]

Merlin grinned at his friend's words. He was almost tempted to say that Arthur could beat him with less than a broom. They both knew he could, Arthur was much more skilled in combat - and many things truth be told - than he was. Besides, he technically already had beaten him with a broom, the first time they met, or technically second if you wanted to go into the matter. Either way, Merlin knew Arthur was capable of beating him with a broom. He had had many more years of training than he had - the only training he had was the basic training that Arthur had given him. Which, along with his "skill", made everything seem pretty useless anyway. "Oh, you could, could you?" Merlin asked, forcing a serious tone. "I must warn you, I can get pretty frightening when I have to."

Merlin turned away again, hiding a grin. Arthur's sarcasm and mocking didn't go by without notice, but he didn't care. "Getting clumsily better at something is better than getting clumsily worse at something, though, right?" he joked. Yes, at least he wasn't getting worse. "Besides, you can handle yourself in most situations." Yes, most. He wanted to see if Arthur noticed that. He knew not to get in Arthur's way if it would benefit the man with him not fighting. He'd still remain close to Arthur, to remain there as the hidden, secret protection that he couldn't tell the Prince about. And when Merlin just happened to be at a disadvantage, or when Arthur was in danger, magic always worked to fix the situation to a better one. It amazed Merlin how Arthur hadn't noticed yet... "Oh, a stick suits me better, than? At least with a very large stick, I could fight at a slightly further distance!" That still probably wouldn't help him though, unless he used magic still.