Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Had the ideas, just couldn't seem to get the words out. Hopefully that will change!

Holding his breath, Arthur carefully lowered himself off the bed, wincing as his bare feet met the coldness of the floor. He had to use both hands in order to make the drop from the bed to the ground, but grinned in satisfaction when he realised he had made it. Crawling under the bed, the child sneezed as he searched for his old boots. His father had ordered him to get rid of them, claiming they were not fit for a prince, but the five year old had refused, hiding them away under his bed. They were comfy, and the nice farmer lady from the lower town had given them to him when Arthur's feet had been hurting when the knights had taken him down there. He still didn't understand why he had to go, it was so boring and he nearly always got brought back early because he was falling asleep. But they all muttered something about the prince having to maintain a presence.

Even though half of the words both the knights, his father, Gaius and even his newly appointed tutors used going over his head, Arthur knew he was doing the precise opposite now. He wasn't going to be taken around places that bored the young prince senseless. He wasn't even going to be sat in the great hall, told not to move or speak and let his father show him off to the visiting nobles. He didn't want to be a prince any more, he wanted to go away and have proper fun! And in the way only a five year old could decide, Arthur had made up his mind. He was going to run away.

It wouldn't have been too bad if it had just been the boredom lately. But the boy in the stables had been nice to him, holding him up to pet the horses when the knights were looking the other way. He had spoken to Arthur like the prince was all grown up, and the child had loved it. His father addressed him coldly, but still managed to completely patronise him at the same time. George had treated him like he was a proper knight, and Arthur had almost swelled with pride. Until one of the knights had turned back and immediately snatched Arthur away from the man as if something horrible was going to happen. Arthur hadn't been allowed back in the stables since.

That had been the final straw for the prince. He had refused his dinner, staring moodily in the opposite direction despite the fact that it had been one of the rare occasions where he had been allowed to dine with his father. Instead, he had just had his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. The silence Uther was met with eventually tried the king's patience and he had his son sent to his room. He didn't see the grin on Arthur's face.

For a five year old, he had been around the knights a lot. He knew what he was doing. He knew that no one would be allowed in to see him until the king thought he had learnt his lesson. And judging by the fact the incident had taken place over dinner; Arthur knew it wouldn't be until the next morning now. Uther may be a rather distant father, but even he knew his young son normally fell asleep within the hour.

Not this time though. This time, Arthur was going to show them! Finally managing to pull his boots on, the prince yanked his coat off the chair where it had been left, wriggling into that as well. Creeping across his room, he had almost made it to the door when he suddenly gasped, running back across and throwing himself under the bed once more. When he emerged this time, Arthur blew out a sigh of relief, knowing that nothing would be able to stop him now. For clenched tightly in his small fist, a small, wooden sword rested.

Holding on tightly, Arthur made it out of his door this time. Throughout the night, there were usually guards posted outside of his door. But thanks to his failed dinner, Arthur had been returned to his chambers early and they hadn't yet taken up position. Pretending that he had planned it all rather than it just being pure fluke, Arthur ran lightly down the corridor, making sure he didn't drop his sword.

The prince jumped down one set of steps, giggling at the fact that he knew it wasn't allowed, almost lost his balance and then ran on, his destination firmly in mind. Knowing the corridors well, it didn't take Arthur long until he had reached the main doors. Skidding to a stop, the prince took a moment to catch his breath, knowing that he couldn't draw suspicion to himself. The fact that a five year old boy running around with a wooden sword after dark was automatically a point of interest for anyone passing didn't even cross his mind.

Arthur pushed against the door with one hand, trying to imitate the way he had seen his father open them. But it was one thing for a fully grown man to open the double doors with one hand; it was quite something else for his five year old son to do the same thing. After a moment, the prince realised that he was getting nowhere. Biting his lip slightly, he stuck his sword through his belt, put both hands on the door, and pushed.

There was still nothing. Arthur's feet were practically sliding across the floor from where he was trying so hard to open the door. He couldn't be stopped now, not when he was in the middle of running away.

"Need a hand?" The quiet voice made the prince jump, and he whirled around, trying to get his sword back out at the same time. He almost hit himself in the chin as he attempted to pull it out of his belt, but eventually levelled it at the man, looking as threatening as a five year old could. The stranger was a palace guard, and Arthur couldn't help but grin at how suitably scared the man looked at the sword. He even backed away, hands rising.

"Please don't hurt me, oh mighty prince..."

"Open the door." Arthur said. He tried to sound commanding, but it was lost in a giggle that escaped him. The guard nodded, moving forward and pushing the door open with ease. Within a moment, Arthur had escaped outside into the night air. As soon as the prince had gone, the guard dropped the pretence, shaking his head with a fond smile. That would make it the third time this month Arthur had done something like this. Glancing out, he caught sight of the boy struggling to navigate the steps and turned away. He would have time to find someone who would put an end to the prince's adventure without causing a fuss.

Not knowing that his plan was about to be ruined, Arthur was still trying to make his way down the steps. He didn't want to put his sword away, but found that he needed his hands to be able to hold onto the bar that ran alongside the steps. Not helped by the fact that the bar was practically over his head. Eventually, he managed to get somewhere though, each foot joining the other on the step below before he took another step.

Either way, Arthur was tired when he got to the bottom, and found that his grip on his sword was slacking slightly as he rubbed his eyes, looking around. The courtyard was scary in the dark! Not that he would ever admit that to anyone, but with the gargoyles perched on the roof and the statues littering the ground, the moonlight reflecting off them mysteriously, it gave a slightly horrifying image to a five year old. Shuddering, Arthur clutched his sword with both hands, holding it to his chest as he tentatively took a step forward into the courtyard. It took a great deal of effort to take another, and for a moment, the prince was tempted to try and climb back up the steps and run straight back into the safety of the castle with its burning torches and warmth.

"Going somewhere, Sire?" To say that Arthur jumped was an understatement. The child let out a muffled squeak, clutching his sword ever tighter and whirling around. For a moment, he eyed the statues with mistrust before his gaze fell on a lanky figure making his easy way down the steps that Arthur had struggled with. He nodded seriously at Leon's question.

"I running away." He declared, feeling the fright of the courtyard leaving him now that certain man was present. The young Knight looked down at the prince, a fond smile on his face and eyebrows raised in amusement. Luckily, because of the dark, Arthur didn't see his expression.

"Are you now?"

Arthur nodded seriously, taking a few more steps out into the courtyard. It really didn't seem as bad now, and Arthur was angry at himself for even thinking of going back inside. He was a prince, he wasn't scared of anything. Except his father's horse, but that was a different matter entirely. Even so, it meant that if he wanted to run away, that was precisely what he was going to do and no one was going to be able to stop him!

"Can I come?"

"'Kay." With a bright smile, Arthur granted permission for his favourite knight (if not person) to accompany him. Leon fell into step with the little boy as Arthur clutched his sword, staring around him as he slowly made his way across the courtyard. It was almost as if he was checking for danger, the way he had seen the knights do on the rare occasion he had been out of Camelot. The fact that he was walking straight across the middle of the courtyard and every single guard stationed around the area could see what was happening was of no concern to Arthur. The guards knew not to interfere, especially now that a Knight was accompanying the prince on his adventure. Try and stop Arthur, and the whole castle would be woken up. Many of the closer ones who had overheard the exchange shared fond smiles. Arthur clearly hadn't realised one does not normally grant permission for a knight to accompany them when in the process of running away.

Leon, however, didn't say anything. He didn't want to risk Arthur's temper. Besides, the prince might have thought that he was managing to conceal the yawns that were slipping out more and more, but the sharp-eyed young man saw every one. There wasn't a lot Leon missed when it came to Arthur. They crossed the courtyard in silence, Arthur taking the lead and clearly on the lookout for anything that could stop his adventure. Quite what he was looking for, Leon had no idea, but he let the prince continue to do so.

It did come as a surprise, and something of a worry, when Arthur walked past the stables. Last time he had tried to make his escape, that had been where the young prince had ended up. This time, however, he was heading straight for the main gate.

"Where are we going, Arthur?" Trying to sound curious, Leon found his own eyes darting around now. He thought he knew what Arthur was playing at. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Running away." Arthur responded simply, picking up his pace and actually beginning to run slightly now that he was past the stables. Leon simply lengthened his stride, but found himself swallowing hard when he realised where Arthur was leading him. Surely the child was not seriously thinking of leaving Camelot? No doubt he was hungry (the Knight had heard about the failed dinner) and it was way past his bedtime. There was no way Arthur could keep this up, but Leon had learnt long ago not to doubt a Pendragon when it came to matters of sheer stubbornness. He didn't respond to Arthur's comment, just stared at the child, trying to work out what it was that Arthur was up too.

For his part, Arthur was feeling very proud of himself. This was the furthest he had ever got when it came to running away, and he knew that it meant that he was doing it properly this time. He was going to get out of Camelot, he was going to run around the countryside like a wild child and show his father that he knew how to have fun. He didn't want to be a stifled prince any more, and this would show the man. That would have been the last time he would be escorted to his rooms with no dinner.

Full of courage and rebelliousness, Arthur's run got faster. For Leon, it was just a matter of walking at his normal speed, but Arthur was not going to back down now. His destination was getting closer and closer, he had almost done it.

"Arthur?"

This time, the prince didn't answer Leon, his gaze locked firmly on where he was going, a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes as he broke into a full sprint. Leon let him draw ahead this time, knowing that something had changed in Arthur. Before, they had just been moving, now it was as if he was nearly there. But for the life of him, Leon couldn't work out where "there" was supposed to be, there was nothing out here. Much further and they would end up in the countryside, and then the Knight knew he would be forced to take matters in hand. It was one thing playing along with the child; it was another to let the Prince of Camelot go running around the woods in the dark. Even so, he decided to give Arthur the benefit of the doubt for a little longer and see what happened. There wasn't a lot Leon wasn't sure how to handle. Arthur having a tantrum, however, was the exception to the rule, he tended to just dump the prince on the physician and let Gaius deal with him.

Arthur got faster and faster, a laugh leaving him as he grew ever closer to his destination. And then...he had done it!

Flopping onto the ground and breathing hard, Arthur suddenly stopped. Leon nearly fell over him as Arthur sat down in the middle of the path.

"Sire?"

"Done it!" Arthur panted, his face flushed with success as he looked around him, beaming. Leon glanced around, and began to smile himself. Arthur truly had left Camelot this time. He was exactly one step past the gate. And that, judging by the way his gasps turned into another yawn and he practically curled up where he was sitting, was precisely where he had wanted to go.

"Well done, Sire. You have officially run away."

Arthur grinned, trying to hide another yawn even as his free hand rubbed at his eyes again. Now that his adventure was over, Arthur was feeling just how late it was.

"What happens now?" Arthur muttered sleepily, practically hugging his sword to his chest and yawning yet again. Leon crouched down beside him. Now that they were past the guards and Arthur had relaxed, he knew he could get away with his as he let his hand brush over the prince's hair.

"What do you want to do now?" He responded gently, knowing Arthur had run out of energy. He should have been asleep nearly two hours ago, not be running around the castle. It was still safer to let the prince think he was the one making the decisions.

"Tell Gaius all 'bout it?" Arthur asked hopefully, his eyes beginning to regain a little of their sparkle as he sat back up again. Leon grinned. Now that he had officially managed to run away from Camelot, it came as no surprise that Arthur wanted to tell Gaius all about it. The physician was practically a second father to Arthur, especially when Uther became distant. Gaius would give Arthur the reaction he was after – scold him for being naughty, then tuck him up in the old man's bed until he had fallen asleep before carrying him back to his chambers. Arthur wouldn't get that reaction from his father.

"Come on then," gently, Leon drew Arthur to his feet. He couldn't help but frown as the child seemed to almost sway slightly.

"I can't walk back in..." Arthur muttered stubbornly, now in a battle to try and keep his eyes open. "Not when I runded away..."

"Want a lift?" Leon asked with a grin, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief as Arthur's face lit up and he nodded. He could understand the reasoning, why walk back in when you had just run away, but he was merely thankful that Arthur had accepted another way back in. Crouching in front of the prince, he held out his arms behind him and Arthur almost took a running leap onto his back.

Straightening up, Leon narrowly avoided being hit in the head with the sword as Arthur wound his arms around the knight's neck even as Leon looped his own arms around Arthur's legs, hitching him into a more secure position as he set off slowly back into the castle. He deliberately kept his walk slow and smooth, and each step he took, he could feel Arthur relaxing more and more.

This time, the fond smiles on the guards' faces were all the more apparent as Leon walked past, the future King sagged against him. He nodded thanks to the one that opened the door for him and set off towards Gaius' chambers, knowing that was where Arthur wanted to go. It was the easiest way to keep him calm, and Leon knew that Gaius would want to be made aware that Arthur had tried to run away again. The physician was the only one Arthur would truly listen to when it came to accepting his place here in Camelot.

Gaius did fuss and scold when they walked in, just as Leon knew he would. He also knew it was what Arthur wanted, someone to tell him off simply because they cared. For a young child, the prince was highly perceptive. He did tuck Arthur up in his own bed for a few hours as the two adults talked quietly by the flickering candle, keeping both the noise and the light levels low and soothing. Leon did carry the young prince back to his own room several hours later when it was time for them all to retire. There was no need for anyone to alert Uther of his son's latest adventure, for it would result in nothing other than Arthur trying again. And if he had made it out of the gate this time, who knew where he would aim for the next?

The situation played out exactly as they knew the prince had been hoping for ever since he had refused his dinner.

But Arthur never knew, for he was asleep before Leon had even entered the castle.

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