"You really are completely hopeless, Merlin." Arthur laughed as his personal manservant struggled to his feet after tripping quite dramatically over a root. His poor footing had thrown him to the ground scattering the various items he had been left in charge of. A smirk played on the young king's features as his servant finally righted himself and began wiping off the dirt and dried leaves that clung to his shirt. A resolute glare was sent to Arthur from Merlin's blue eyes. Arthur smirked when a telltale redness collected on his servant's face. He stopped to watch Merlin stumble around collecting the items he had strewn about after the fall.

"Well maybe if you didn't need so much stuff for a hunting trip I would be able to keep my balance." Merlin huffed as he picked a few twigs off one of the bags. "We could have easily left most of this where we set up camp, but, no, you just had to make my day more difficult." Arthur gave Merlin a playful slap across the back of the head which he tried in vain to avoid. This only resulted in more items dropping to the ground. Arthur smirked at the scowl that spread across Merlin's face.

"Come now Merlin," Arthur began with the slightly pompous tone that he often used with his servant. "Is that any way to speak to your king?"

"Yeah Merlin," Gwaine said nudging the manservant with his arm and handing an item he had dropped. Merlin caught the twinkle in the knight's eye and fought a smirk. "Princess over there has that to freshen up for Gwen after hunting. Heaven knows he needs all the help he can get."

At that comment Merlin, Gwaine, Leon, Percival, and Elyan were sent into a raucous fit of laughter. Percival seemed most amused as tears welled at the corners of his eyes. His entire large frame shook with each laugh. He gave Gwaine a pat on the back that nearly sent him tumbling forward from shear force. Gwaine took several steps to regain his balance and gave Arthur a grin to combat the scowl written on the king's face. Arthur cleared his throat effectively killing the laughter.

"As your king-"

"Princess." Gwaine interrupted obviously not taking the hint that Arthur's steely gaze gave. This triggered several snorts and stifled laughs from their companions.

"Gwaine," Arthur said dangerously. The knight held up his hands in mock defeat. Arthur sent him a glare that would frighten the best knights and continued.

"As your king, it is not your place to question what he needs to be comfortable."

"But of course, sire." Gwaine said using a heavy dose of sarcasm for emphasis. He sent a wink to Merlin. Merlin rolled his eyes at Gwaine's childish antics. He had been lucky to make it this far in one piece. With his nonchalant attitude towards royalty and his often dreadful drinking habits, it was ludicrous to think that Gwaine had even a drop of noble blood.

"It is my desire to serve you and make sure you are comfortable until my final breath. I only hope that my last thought is for my king and his kingdom." He finished dramatically with a low bow for emphasis.

"Shut up." Arthur said smiling slightly at Gwaine. The king was hard-pressed to find the strength to hold his stoic composure when his knight acted like this. He turned to Merlin and jokingly asked, "Are you taking notes on proper etiquette?"

"Of course, King Prat." Merlin said copying Gwaine's bow exactly.

Arthur scowled, but humor was shining in his eyes as another chorus of laughter sounded among the group that would have scared any wildlife in close proximity away. Arthur enjoyed conversations such as these. He would never tell Merlin or any of the knights this, but it helped him feel like he was just one of the knights instead of the king of Camelot. These were the afternoons he would remember as some of his favorites. There were no worries, just time out of the castle with his closest knights and his annoying manservant. The camaraderie between all of them was a welcome feeling compared to the proper etiquette that Arthur wore like a mask while at court meetings or any other miscellaneous and often pointless gatherings that required the King of Camelot's attendance.

Arthur directed his attention back to task and the path ahead of them. He gripped his crossbow tightly and listened for any sound off in the woods that would indicate something to hunt. Arthur rolled his eyes often as he heard his manservant drop an item loudly or nearly trip. The most recent noise had been him cursing loudly under his breath after he had stubbed his toe on a protruding tree root sticking up from the forrest ground. Arthur simply ignored all of his manservant's antics to the best of his ability. The group continued on for several more minutes in silence quietly searching for a kill before a certain manservant spoke up.

"Why are we this close to the Valley of Fallen Kings again?" Merlin questioned with a slight bit of worry in his voice.

It's true they had been hunting, but the game trails closest to Camelot had grown cold, and Arthur grew impatient. As the valley seemed to be a magnet for bad luck, Merlin grew more and more worried. He was constantly looking around using magic to improve his vision and attempting to spread a web of power around the area to help him sense any threats, magical or not. This took up much of his focus and played a part in his fall earlier. Not that his lack of focus was the reason for all of his clumsy actions.

"Don't be such a girl, Merlin." Arthur sneered. "Besides, people are too superstitious to hunt here or even in the area which results in more game for us."

Arthur did not want to come back to Camelot empty handed again. There had been far too many times that prey had been right in reach with his crossbow only for a certain idiot to scare it off. Merlin complained endlessly about him killing innocent creatures and Arthur was beginning to believe that Merlin's well timed clumsiness was to keep the animals from being killed. Something that Arthur would have to confront him about later.

"I'm beginning to think that hunting trips never turn out as planned." Merlin began in an annoyed tone. "Do you remember the unicorn?"

"Yes, Merlin." Arthur answered. That would be something he would never forget. He had almost doomed Camelot because he simply shot and killed the magical creature. It had not one of his finer moments.

There was silence for several moments. Arthur continued on hunting with less gusto than when he left. He could feel Merlin's worry. A quick glance behind to his manservant proved his guess to be correct. His eyes were darting all over and not with the intention of searching for prey.

Arthur sighed and turned to look at Merlin who had been watching him. "What is it now, Merlin?"

"Nothing good ever happens here." Merlin replied. "Need I remind you?"

"No Merlin, Shut up." Arthur stopped walking suddenly. A sudden noise had caught his intention. It was an odd sound, almost as the ground had shifted. Merlin ignored him entirely, continuing on his rant.

"You were shot and poisoned," He began counting off with his fingers. "And I was hit by a mace trying to save your ungrateful ass-"

"Shut up Merlin." Arthur repeated in a harsher and quieter tone. He grabbed his obstinate servant's shoulder roughly, effectively stopping him in his tracks. The idiot silenced, finally sensing Arthur's concerned tone.

"What is it sire?" Leon asked while cautiously looking around with his hand on the grip of his sword.

"I thought I heard something." Arthur responded quietly. They all stood silently. Each one of them barely breathed as they attempted to listen for any potential danger. Arthur, deeming that there was no threat laughed and said.

"No doubt it was Merlin's incessant whining." Arthur shoved Merlin's shoulder. "Your worrying is putting us all on edge."

Arthur looked to Merlin waiting for his side of the playful banter, but it never came. The anxious look upon Merlin's face was enough to make the young king feel anxious.

"What?" Arthur asked in a bored tone to hide the growing feeling of concern that was creeping its way into his senses.

"Something feels off."

Merlin couldn't describe it. He did not hear or see anything out of the ordinary. He felt it. His magic settled deep in his gut, letting him know that there was potential danger around. Something was wrong in their surroundings. There was no safe way to describe it to the others because that would in turn force him to describe how he knew. He was not about to blatantly state to a king that persecutes people like him 'Hey, I know something is wrong because my magic is telling me.'

That was one conversation he would not be walking away from in one piece.

"Another one of your funny feelings?" Arthur sarcastically asked.

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's lack of concern. Although Arthur had no idea that his "funny feelings" stemmed from his magically heightened senses, Merlin still thought that he would have at least paid them more heed. After all they had been through and all the occasions his "funny feelings" had been correct Arthur still wasn't showing any concern when he got them.

Arthur met Merlin's worried eyes. For a moment Merlin thought that he might just listen to him. His eyes seemed to hold some sort of concern for what Merlin had said, but as soon as Merlin thought Arthur would truly listen to him he gave Merlin an arrogant smirk that flattened his hope.

"Honestly Merlin, I'm surprise I even put up with you anymore." He turned away from Merlin and took a step forward to continue. His magic clenched tightly in his gut and Merlin immediately cried out for Arthur to stop.

"Arthur Wait!"

His words came a second too late. As soon as Arthur's foot had placed itself on the ground in front of him, the forrest floor caved in. Time slowed for Merlin as he watched his King descend into the ground like Gaius when he fell from the platform on Merlin's first day in Camelot. Merlin instinctually reached at an incredible speed for Arthur's right hand which he attained a firm hold of. As time righted itself and became normal, Merlin heard the knights shout in alarm at the sight. Merlin slammed to the ground at the edge of the hole all while miraculously managing to keep a grip on Arthur's hand. Both arms were nearly pulled out of their sockets and protested the sudden strain that Arthur's weight had caused. The ground quivered ominously as Merlin attempted to continue to keep a hold of Arthur's dangling body.

Shock settled in Arthur. Merlin had just defied any expectation. Saving him from falling immediately to his death had been seemingly impossible. Arthur dazedly glanced to the dark hole threatening to swallow his dangling feet. It was surreal to be so close to death, stopped only by the one person least likely to be successful in accomplishing the feat he just witnessed and felt from the pain in his arm.

"You- idiot." Merlin struggled to say as Arthur's body swung slightly in his grasp.

"Merlin, don't let go!" Elyan shouted edging near where the ground gave in.

"You know, that was the last thing I was thinking at this time." Merlin shouted sarcastically.

Pain had laced his voice. Merlin could only hold on to him so long. Arthur would never admit this to anyone but he had put on a few pounds. All the added responsibility of being the king had decreased his training time. There was also the banquets that he had to attend. The added pounds were now weighing heavily upon his friend.

"Don't come any closer." Merlin ordered to the knights behind him. Arthur couldn't see it from where he was but he imagined the knights trying to think of any way to aid the king. They were running against time now. They couldn't come close to Merlin to help him because the ground could cave in further and consume them all. At the same time, Merlin could not hold onto Arthur indefinitely. Leon's level headed commands could be heard above the pounding blood in his ears as he ordered the bags be searched for ropes or anything else that might help get Arthur to safety.

"Are you alright Arthur?" Merlin asked his king in a concerned tone. Even in the midst of all this mayhem Merlin's thoughts were for the wellbeing of his king.

"I'm fine." Arthur said in a shocked voice. His brush with death and his manservant's quick actions had deeply unnerved him. His shoulder continued to ache on the arm that Merlin had a hold of.

"Are you?"

"Never better, clotpole." Merlin replied.

Arthur wouldn't have had to know Merlin for years to figure out that his statement was a complete lie. He knew that his weight was putting a strain on Merlin's arms and that he would soon let go if he had to hold him much longer. He was surprised that he had even managed to hold him at all, let alone this long. His hands began slipping from Merlin's grip, but with a renewed vigor, Merlin tightened his grip and fought past the pain.

"I won't let go." Merlin said determinedly as though he read Arthur's thoughts. Arthur knew that that statement was true. Merlin was exceptionally stubborn. Arthur felt suddenly grateful for this horribly useless man that had come into his life so many years ago. The knights were frantically trying to help in some way behind Merlin, but he seemed to decidedly put his entire focus into keeping Arthur from falling into the ground.

"This would be a lot easier if you weren't so fat." Merlin teased in light of the serious situation.

"I am not fat." Arthur said trying to focus on the banter instead of the thought of imminent death.

He tried to grab hold of Merlin's arm to help him but only succeed in slipping slightly more from Merlin's grip. His heart beat hard in his chest and fear coursed through him, but Merlin immediately reaffirmed his grip tightly with a strength found out of nowhere. Arthur realized that he couldn't help in any way. This was all up to Merlin.

"Will you stop trying to kill yourself?" Merlin asked redundantly. His muscles had begun to spasm from the strain they were being put under. Doubt filled his mind. What if he couldn't hold him as long as the knights needed him to. "If you're not fat then you are rather rotund."

Arthur scoffed, but didn't argue any further. Merlin's grip had become clammy and Arthur's worry increased exponentially. His heart beat faster than ever as his hope dwindled. He looked to Merlin's pain filled eyes. His servant was loyal to a fault, but no man could keep something like this up forever. Arthur's mouth worked itself open and closed but no words came from it. He had no idea of what to say.

His thoughts turned to Gwen in what could possibly be his final moments. The entire kingdom would be left for her to rule. It was not a situation that he would ever want her to be forced to deal with. The council was still not entirely certain if Arthur had made the right choice in choosing her as his Queen. How would they respond if she were to be left to rule the kingdom? Arthur finally found his voice as tried to think of his final words to her.

"Tell Gwen that-"

"No," Merlin interrupted. "You'll be telling her everything. Like how I saved your life yet again and deserve a day off."

A smile played on Arthur's lips. Even in dire situations like this Merlin had an uncanny ability to make situations all the less terrifying. It was a skill that Arthur was often annoyed with. At times like this he was thankful for it. It helped Arthur through some of the most difficult situations in his life.

"Maybe you'll get two days off."

"How generous." He heard Merlin sarcastically say. "Can you get a footing on anything that could help you climb up?"

Arthur began to try to find a foothold on the edge but only succeeded in loosening more of the rocks and debris from the hole. He watched as it fell into the dark pit that was threatening to swallow Arthur. There was a lack of sound indicating the rocks hit the ground. The pit was deep and a fall from this height would seriously injure or even kill a person.

"No." Arthur answered. He looked up to Merlin and saw that his eyes were closed and focused. Arthur felt his grip beginning to slide and he felt a wave of fear hit him.

"What are the knights doing?" Arthur asked in an attempt to distract Merlin from the pain.

Merlin hadn't noticed the knights had begun to edge their way towards the hole armed with a spare crossbow they hoped to be long enough to reach down to Arthur. Before Merlin could tell them to stop, the ground shifted ominously again. The added weight from the knights caused the remainder of the ground around them to give way. All six men fell mercilessly into the dark abyss. The last thing any of them remembered was a faint golden light just before they all hit the ground and lost consciousness.

Author's note

I know, a bit of a cliche to end a chapter with them all getting knocked out. I have a bit of a heads up for this story. Most of the chapters are already prewritten and awaiting final editing so I hope to not keep anyone reading this waiting too long. Also, to everyone reading please know that this is my very first fan fiction. I appreciate any feedback given through reviews, whether it be positive or negative constructive criticism. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.