A/N: (Crawls out from under the rock she'd been hiding under) PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I know that I haven't updated the Sherlock Holmes story in months but, as silly as silly as it sounds, I ran out of ideas. I mean, I had it all planned out and everything and then I went back to school and forgot it all. That'll teach me to write everything down...Plus when I look back on what I wrote, as much as I like the idea, the actual quality of my writing was terrible. I promise I'll get around to re-writing it at some point when I get all my ideas back. Pinky promise! But in the meantime, enjoy this Merlin story that popped into my head when I was watching the season finale! Enjoy! Read and review please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from my original characters and some other stuff that you'll find out about later on.

Prologue:

The girl urged the horse on faster, feeling the strong limbs move beneath her. She glanced behind her for a second to see the fading faces of her pursuers. But she would not allow herself or her horse to rest; she couldn't afford to be lax now. The horse's breathing grew shallow and she knew that if she wasn't careful she may very well work her horse to death. It panted and groaned but it's tempo never slowed; it didn't want to displease it's mistress. Another glance behind her and she could no longer see the bandits. Satisfied that she'd lost them, she slowed her horse to a stop. The pair wheezed, adrenaline still shooting through their bodies. Taking slow breaths, the girl reached down and stroked the mane of her horse, whispering thanks into it's ear.

Once their breath had been regained, the girl searched with frenzied eyes. She couldn't see him anywhere. Dread pooled in her stomach, so strong a feeling she felt ill. She called his name. There was no reply. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She'd lost him. Despair took over and she rested her head against her horse's neck and wept.

The trees behind her rustled. Immediately she sat straight and strained her ears, her hands wrapped tightly around the reins. The sound seemed to come from every direction. She was unsure whether to look and almost lost her strength and fled. But then she saw it. The white flanks of a familiar horse and mauve tunic of a familiar man. She almost cried again, this time of relief. She turned her horse and met the man in the middle. As soon as she was close enough, she threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. The man, clearly fatigued, still found the breath to chuckle and embed his hand into her hair. They stayed like that for a little while longer, each enjoying the security of being in each other's arms again.

Finally, the girl wiped her tears and drew away. "Do you think we lost them?" She chocked on the last few words, both from the tears she had just cried and how exhausted she still felt.

The man nodded. "I think so." He said in reply, checking over his shoulders as if to make sure that they had.

The girl nodded in return and attempted a smile.

"Oh my dear girl." He chuckled, pulling her into his arms once more.

She shook uncontrollably, fighting back the urge to cry again. She was just so glad that he was alive. As much as she knew that he was more than a competent fighter, he was growing old now and his leg wouldn't allow too much strenuous activity. She wouldn't risk his life like that again.

The two horses had been nuzzling each other affectionately since their reunion, greeting each other in such a manner similar to their companions. The girl glanced at them and laughed.

"They seem to have missed each other." She stated with a small smile.

The man nodded with a smile of his own, but said nothing.

The sudden sound of rushing hooves interrupted their blissful silence. They hadn't completely lost them at all. One appeared by the girl's side as if by magic and another threw a rope around the man. The girl's horse spooked and threw her off. She hit the soft earth on her right leg and felt it crack beneath her. She screamed as the pain shot through the rest of her body, travelling down every tendon. She thought she heard the man yell her name but she couldn't be sure; the pain seemed to have blocked her from reality. Colourful spots danced before her eyes and with each passing second her vision grew blacker. She blinked hard, to rid herself of the tears in her eyes and to help correct her vision. But she couldn't hold on; her grip on reality was loosening. Eventually, she gave up and just succumbed to the inviting darkness that plagued her.