Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Merlin or the characters presented by the show. This writing is meant strictly for entertainment purposes.

So this is my first time writing a Merlin fanfiction. I'm excited! Anyway, since I'm new to this whole Merlin thing, I would appreciate it if anyone could point out any character mistakes I've made. The plot for this story isn't included in any of the episodes of Merlin; it's just something I made up. Enjoy!

"I think it's going to rain," Merlin stated, looking at the grey clouds above them.

"I never would have guessed," Arthur replied sarcastically.

Merlin frowned. "There's no need to be a prat. I was just saying. Why are we still out here anyway?"

"Because we haven't made it back to the castle yet," Arthur said in annoyance. "Honestly, Merlin, can you be any duller?"

Merlin opened his mouth to retort, thought better of it, and snapped it shut again, settling on glaring at the Prince's back.

They'd come far this time, yet with still no luck in finding Faerthurin's Well.

Arthur wanted to find out what Faerthurin's Spirits knew of Morgana; they had been searching for the Well for weeks now — ever since Morgana had gone missing, — going a day at a time. Merlin was glad, however, that the Well had yet to be uncovered. Gaius said that Faerthurin's Spirits had a knack for tricking you into wishing your life away.

Water slowly began to drip through the trees as they continued on their path back to the castle, accompanied by a soft breeze that made Merlin shiver. It was the start of October and beginning to get cold.

"Merlin…"

The young warlock's head snapped up at the sound of his name being called. Looking around, he found that no one was talking to or even looking at him. Thinking it was just the wind playing tricks on his mind, he ignored it. But then he heard it again.

"Merlin… Over here, Merlin…"

The voice was light and airy. There was no way it could have come from any one of the knights. Confused, Merlin looked around again. After a moment, he realised that he seemed to be the only one who could hear it.

"Merlin…"

Glancing back to make sure that no one was watching, the servant turned his horse in the direction the voice had come from.

He soon found himself in a small, round clearing. In the very centre stood an old-looking stone well. The rain pattered harder through the leaves.

"Come to us, Merlin…"

Checking again that he was indeed alone, Merlin slid off of his horse and made his way cautiously towards the well. Faerthurin's Well.

A strange, heavy feeling began to settle in Merlin's body as he peered into the misty water at the bottom of the stone structure. His mind grew hazy, and he wondered vaguely if this was a dream.

"You have come, Emrys… We are glad…"

"'Ow d'you know who I am?" The question was much harder to form than it should have been. Merlin thought it might have something to do with the way his tongue felt as if it had been turned to lead.

"How could we not know who you are? We know all, Emrys…"

"Wha' d'you want with me?" Merlin asked, trying not to be distracted by the fact that he sounded highly sedated, even to himself.

"Would you give your life for your Prince, Emrys?"

"Yes." Though Merlin was faintly surprised by the question through the haze in his thoughts, the answer was given without a moment's hesitation. He wondered if it was a mistake to tell Faerthurin's Spirits how willing he was to give his life for Arthur's. Gaius had said…

"We can see the forthcoming danger, Emrys… We can protect the Prince…"

"Wha' danger?" Merlin tried — and failed — to look around quickly, only managing a lazy tilt of his head. This frustrated him on some nearly nonexistent level.

"We can protect your Prince, Emrys…"

He thought for a moment. There was no way he would be able to protect Arthur, not in this state. There were the knights of course — Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot — and he hoped that the affects of… whatever this was would wear off by the time he left the clearing, but it was better to be safe than sorry, right?

"An' wha' d'you want for it?" he asked, knowing that there had to be some sort of a price.

"It costs only a coin, Emrys… Only a coin…"

Merlin considered it briefly once more before being interrupted by the sound of someone calling his name again. Recognising the voice to be Gwaine's, he struggled to get a coin out of his back and into the Well. It dropped into the water with a soft plunk.

The boy could already feel the haze in his mind retreating as he lead his horse out of the clearing, only stumbling once or twice on the way.

"There you are, you idiot," Arthur snapped upon seeing his servant. He grasped his shoulder firmly and gave him a quick once-over.

"All right there, mate?" Gwaine called, grinning. "Been drinking again? Lord knows you can't hold your liquor."

"Where have you been?" Arthur demanded after finding no obvious injuries. He glared at Merlin.

The younger man shrugged. "Just got distracted, I guess." It wasn't a lie. Not really.

The Prince rolled his eyes. "Back on your horse, then, Merlin," he ordered, mounting his own horse. "We haven't got all day."

Merlin couldn't help but wonder what 'forthcoming danger' Faerthurin's Spirits had been speaking of, and what significance a coin could have to things that seemed to be only voices. He cursed himself for not having asked more questions.

The rain was growing steadily harder as they continued. Merlin almost didn't hear it over the sharp sound of the drops hitting the leaves. Almost.

"Arthur, what was that?" Merlin called, halting his horse and looking around.

"What was what?" Arthur asked in annoyance.

"It sounded like —"

"Bandits," Leon finished.

Everyone turned to find at least a dozen men running towards them, yelling. It rained harder. Thunder rolled overhead.

The knights dismounted immediately, Merlin quickly following suit.

"Merlin, stay here!" Arthur shouted, taking up a defensive stance, his sword drawn.

And he did — for the most part. He watched as they fought, shivering with the pouring rain and harsh wind. But as soon as he saw that bandit knock the bolt in his crossbow, Merlin knew he couldn't just stay there.

Arthur didn't have time to react as he was suddenly shoved to his left, and he didn't have time to see what happened before he was engaged again.

Percival, however, saw everything. He inhaled sharply as he watched the bolt pierce Merlin's right side just under his ribcage. Anger quickly rose within him, and in minutes the man who had shot Merlin was dead.

Merlin swayed slightly with the wind and winced as he pulled the bolt out of his flesh. It didn't hurt, not really, and that surprised him. Instead of the pain he had been expecting, there was a dull burning sensation and a curious numbness spreading throughout his torso.

The young warlock was confused as the image of the knights and the bandits was abruptly replaced with one of the canopy of green above him. He turned his head against the rain that was making it hard to breath and found that he was on the ground.

What happened to the Spirits protecting Arthur? he wondered vaguely, closing his eyes. I gave them my coin, didn't I?

Merlin frowned as bits of his conversation with Faerthurin's Spirits danced in his thoughts.

"Would you give your life for your Prince, Emrys?"

"Yes."

"It costs only a coin, Emrys… Only a coin…"

"Oh," Merlin groaned as the pieces clicked in his mind. "Oh no."

The wind howled, biting sharply at Arthur's skin as torrents of rain made it nearly impossible for him to see. He cursed and pushed his sodden hair away from his eyes furiously.

"Damn it, M-Merlin, I t-told you to stay p-put," Arthur snapped, his teeth chattering. He put more pressure on the wound, trying desperately to stem the blood flow.

He didn't want to think about the fever that burned from his manservant's skin at first touch, or the deathly chill that had settled beneath it. He didn't want to think about the pale blue colour Merlin's lips were undoubtedly tinted, or the fact that his blood was cooling far too quickly as it seeped from his body, or the way each laboured breath rattled in younger man's chest. He didn't want to think about the fact that his servant's — his friend's — imminent death lurked somewhere in the shadows, waiting for Merlin's body to stop fighting.

"You w-will stay with me, Merlin," Arthur said fiercely. "That's an o-order."

"It's… just like you to… order me about on my… on my deathbed," came the weak reply, much to Arthur's relief.

"Well, what are m-masters for?" the Prince joked. Then the realisation of what his manservant just said hit him. "You are n-not on your deathbed, M-Merlin!"

But Arthur knew that he very well could be.

"Stupid… prat," Merlin sighed, almost affectionately. Then he was still.

Arthur could see that the servant was unconscious again even through the sheets of rain obscuring his vision. He could also see, though he didn't want to, that if they didn't reach the castle soon, Merlin would not live to witness another day.

"G-Gwaine!" Arthur called. "Have you f-found the h-horses?"

"N-no such luck, Princess," the knight replied, closer than Arthur had suspected. "H-how is he?"

"Not g-good," Arthur said, sliding one arm under Merlin's knees and the other under his shoulders before standing. "Round up the others. We need to go n-now."

Gwaine nodded and began calling for Percival, Leon, Lancelot, and Elyan.

"We need to l-leave," Arthur said once they had all gathered round him. "Merlin's not going to get any b-better out here."

There were low murmurs of agreement.

"Just one p-problem," Elyan said. "H-how are we supposed to get back in th-this?" Arthur could barely see him as he gestured around himself to the rain.

Arthur cursed in frustration. How indeed.

"Did you see the w-way the horses ran?" he asked finally.

"That way," Leon replied, pointing to his right.

"Then we go that way," Arthur concluded, already heading in the direction Leon was pointing.

The rain was merciless, the cold wind equally as unforgiving, and it seemed to mock them as they struggled through the storm. Arthur was trembling as though he might fall to pieces at any moment. His knights were no better off. Merlin had long since stopped shivering.

They walked for what seemed like hours, silent save the occasional query on Merlin's ever-worsening condition shouted over the din of rumbling thunder and lashing rain.

The Prince was quickly becoming frustrated, because the rain wouldn't let up and they had been at this for hours and damn it Merlin was dying. Arthur had never felt so helpless in his life.

Just as he was about to voice his irritation aloud, however, Gwaine yelled, "I can see the castle!"

Those few words ignited a burning fire inside of Arthur. He would not let Merlin die. He picked up his pace, now catching sight of the castle himself.

Finally, finally, they made it past the gates and into the vast stone building, dripping with water and still shaking fit to come apart. Arthur immediately began to call for Gaius. The physician was there within minutes.

Gaius knew with one look at his ward that he needed treatment now. They took him into the nearest chambers and a maid was sent to fetch the required medical supplies as Arthur helped get Merlin's sodden tunic off.

"Is he going to be alright?" Gwaine asked after a moment, his eyes trained on the injured man before him.

Gaius exhaled slowly. "I believe so. Nothing seems to have been punctured internally."

"Destiny really… has it out for me, doesn't it?" Merlin's voice surprised them.

Gwaine chuckled sympathetically. "I'll say, mate. What have you done to deserve it this time?"

Merlin laughed weakly. "I wish I knew."

"I told you to stay where you were," Arthur reminded him. "Don't you ever listen?"

The young warlock grinned at Arthur, opening his eyes lazily. "Now what fun would… that be?"

"The kind where you don't get shot," the Prince replied hotly.

"Would you… calm down? I'm perfectly… fine," Merlin sighed, wincing as Gaius prodded at his wound.

"Right. Perfectly fine," Arthur repeated, rolling his eyes. "That explains why you in pain and struggling to breathe."

"Ah, let him be, Princess," Gwaine chuckled. "He'll be alright. Won't you, Merlin?"

"Of course I will."

Is it good? Should I continue? I would really love some feedback!