Secrets of the past - Prince Merlin fanfic

Chapter Fifteen

Sun dazzle Arthur when he stepped out of his tent. It was past midday and people were doing their normal duties. Children were running between the tents, playing to be knights in a battle. A small boy struck his friend with a wooden sword and yelled victoriously when the friend pretended to die.

"Sire," Sir Leon came next to Arthur. "There's still no sign of Merlin."

He had noticed the same thing. Merlin hadn't been eating breakfast on the clearing where everyone ate. While people there had been sitting on rocks and chatting, Arthur had been wondering around with breakfast, trying to find his manservant.

The king turned to his knight. Behind Leon, the others walked towards them. They looked worried. "We need to go to the prince James," Arthur noted while starting to walk to the prince's tent.

Last night, the prince had said, Merlin was with the servants but surely, his black-haired friend would have come to sleep in the same tent with Arthur and the knights.

Now prince James was apparently, having a heated argument with some of his knights. They were the same ones who had come to the Camelot. Immediately, when he saw Arthur coming, he suspiciously stopped talking. Arthur noticed how tense they all seemed. James stood completely stiff and his knights were glancing around nervously.

What could have happened that made them act so strangely?

"King Arthur," the prince started. "There's something you need to know."

Finally, some answers. Although, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear this news. Arthur stayed quiet so James continued.

"One of our knights left for an urgent mission and Merlin, your manservant decided to go with him." He said it like it was normal that Merlin would leave with an Airasan knight which obviously was not normal. Merlin was known for being always the one who was helping everyone but why he couldn't just this once stay with Arthur and focus on the mission. Why he had to leave?

He waited because it felt like there was more of the story.

"And they haven't come back."

So this was why they were nervous. They were worried about their knight and thought Arthur would get mad. As a matter of fact, he wasn't so mad. Not at them anyway. He was mad at Merlin for leaving without explanation. And a little worried too.

The prince James and his knights were waiting for his reaction but he wasn't going to give it because, over the times, he had learned from his father that you should never show your true emotions to your enemies. The word enemy was maybe too abrupt but right now he didn't trust the Airasans so much. It was suspicious that they let Merlin leave and more importantly didn't tell Arthur about it. Now he was eager to find out what made them act like that.

Arthur's knights had more reactions to the news. They started asking questions and Arthur saw how they were trying to keep their temper down because James was a prince and they couldn't be yelling at him. Gwaine had hardest time to manage to do that.

"We need to go to search for them. Where they left?" Gwaine asks. Other knights nodded at his words.

The Airasan knights glance at the prince. "They went to Airasan," James answered calmly. He started to explain how one knight had had his son captured and how Merlin had said he was going to help.

Arthur wasn't sure how to feel. His knights were quite anxious and ready to go after him but something was making James hesitant. Like he wasn't ready for the attack, although it had been their intention all along.

They had had their discussion in the middle of the camp and people started to make curious glances towards them. Seemingly, the prince noticed the same thing because he suggested that they would contemplate their next move in his tent.

Before he had time to lead them there, they heard shouting from the entrance of the hideout.

The knights who had been guarding in front of it had their swords pointed at someone. And a second after it, a man walked into the hideout, his hands raised. He was dressed like an Airasan knight, although he looked like he had run a long way. His clothes were dirty and his hair messy.

The king of Camelot didn't recognise the comer but beside him, he heard the prince astonished voice.

"Andrew?"