Merlin-

Warning: No Slash, just friendship. This is my first fan fiction so bare with me and try to keep the comments constructive, reviews are welcome. This is set after the last episode of the third season, just an idea that I had to write down. I hope you like it! Thanks for reading! :D

Copyright:Merlin belongs to BBC, not me, sadly:(

Prologue-

All those times Merlin got lucky, the arrows that only just missed his head, every battle, every time his life was in danger Merlin's magic saved him. Of course, he always put Arthur first, it was his destiny to watch over him….and keep him alive. But what if he forgot about himself? What if the arrow didn't miss, and it was Arthur's turn to be worried? And why would anyone purposely harm Merlin?

"I don't care about the prince, just kill the boy. With the boy gone Arthur will never stand a chance and I will have my revenge on Camelot once and for all." the hooded figure said quietly to the hunter tossing him a bag of coins.

"Why the boy? He is just a servant! That's no reason to waste my time on him…..Tell me!" the hunter grew impatient with the lack of knowledge. Just what did this servant do to this mysterious person?

"You would not understand, he caused me great pain, and I want him to suffer in return. I want you to soak the arrow with this poison," the fiqure handed the hunter a small vial of liquid, a dark yellow color.

"What shall I do if the prince fights me? What if he tries to kill me?"

"Let him kill you." And with that the figure muttered a few words and disappeared, leaving the hunter alone in the woods with a bag of gold and a bottle of poison in his hands.

Chapter 1-Luck's Run Out-

Merlin hated hunts. Killing an innocent creature for no particular reason was not his very favorite thing to do. Not that he did much. Actually, he even tried to scare the poor creature away so it wouldn't be impaled by Arthur's crossbow bolts. Sometimes he would raise his voice or run into something to make lots of noise.

Of course Arthur thought that he was just being clumsy. Stupid Merlin, idiot Merlin, dollop head Merlin. Arthur was just to stuck up to see that hunting for pleasure was a waste of time. What was the point in hunting when you have enough food to feed on? Merlin had no clue.

Merlin also hated how Arthur still thought of him as a lowly servant. At first, he thought the round table would change his feelings toward him. But as soon as they returned to Camelot, he returned to his normal ideals to how a servant should act. He has gone with Arthur through dozens of battles and still Arthur thinks nothing of his poor servant. He thinks Merlin is coward, because he "hid behind a tree." What Arthur didn't realize(because he was always conveniently knocked out), was that Merlin had magic. He was a warlock. Of course Merlin had his reasons for not showing Arthur his true self, mainly he would be executed by King Uthur, but also he wasn't sure if Arthur would understand him and be his friend anyway, magic or not.

This was constantly on his mind, but today he was focused on protecting Arthur.

"Merlin, hurry up, you idiot! This is a hunt and in order to kill something you have to be fast and stealthy.

" Arthur turned waiting for his servant to catch up. Merlin, carrying all the prince's gear, came stumbling up the hill gasping for breath.

"Well, it's not my fault you make me carry all this crap! Tell me why you need all this?" he huffed.

"Merlin, you are to dull to understand. We've gone on hundreds of hunts and you still complain. Now quiet!" He moved forward quickly with his crossbow in hand, leaving Merlin behind.

"Prat," he said under his breath, moving toward the prince once again with the equipment dragging him down. Merlin did what Arthur said though, despite the ache in his back and the emptiness of his stomach. He didn't have time to eat this morning, he slept in late and had to rush to be on time. His stomach growled when Arthur was eating. Merlin expected Arthur to share, after all he has done for him, but no, Arthur just made fun of him. Nothing has changed. His back was sore from yesterday, Arthur made him carry the target for almost three hours straight, until he nearly passed out with exhaustion. Now having to carry his bags made it ache even more.

"Arthur, can you please slow down? Its not like you need to rush! You have all day." Suddenly a noise came from behind his back. There was the rustle of leaves and something else…..the sound of a bow being drawn? No, Arthur was far ahead of him, and he used a crossbow. "Huh….Arthur? Is that you? This isn't funny, you can make me carry all this but that doesn't mean you can tease me!" He looked around, but he couldn't see anything, but again their was a noise. Then he saw a shadow dart between two trees further up the hill. "Arthur! ARTHUR!" Then Merlin ran, dropping all the bags and equipment on the forest floor. He'd been in plenty of situations like this before. He only cared about Arthur's safety, and he didn't care if he made it out alive or not. All his thoughts bent toward Arthur, he only hoped he would be unscathed as well. But this time he didn't make it unharmed.

The next moment he stopped and turned around something flew through the air and hit him in the flesh of his left side, in his lower abdomen. Then his magic fought back and almost forced him to react with a spell. Vision getting dull, Merlin could hear Arthur yelling, a powerful wave of magic, and a heavy grunt produced by the hunter as he fell to the ground. Merlin looked down at the wound, hands covering the now heavily bleeding flesh. An arrow pierced him ripping a hole in his thin blue shirt and he desperately grabbed at it, wanting to pull the burning arrow from him. Then slowly his vision faded, the last thing he saw was Arthur's blonde hair and blue eyes, his mouth open saying something. But he couldn't hear, or see anymore.

Ok, so tell me how bad it is, I know pitiful. Just my take on a story I had. I can continue if you guys want. Just let me know!