Okay, my first Merlin fic. Here goes!

Bandits? Again? REALLY? Merlin thought, staring at each of the men before him, frozen mid-charge. They couldn't think of anything more original? He sighed. Sensing danger, Merlin had thrown a time-stop over the whole darkened camp, pausing bandit and knight alike in their moments of chaos. He rolled his eyes. I TOLD you, Arthur. I really did. I said a hunting trip wasn't a good idea right now. But did you listen? No! Of course not! You had to be your usual clotpole self and drag us all along, didn't you? And NOW look at what's happening! I mean, really. You could listen to me once in a while. Merlin continued to grumble to himself as he walked carelessly through the rows of bandits, knocking this one over, sending a branch to smack that one in the face but stopping it millimeters away, positioning a boulder an inch above this other's head. Proceeding to thus set traps for all of the intruders, Merlin made his way over to stand next to Arthur, ready to examine his handiwork. Careful to stand out of range of the King's sword, he crossed his arms and allowed time to resume with a golden flash of his eyes.

What met the knights' eyes was utter confusion. Upon drawing their swords, they paused, looking at the foes who had seemed so orderly moments ago. They were seemingly trampling themselves; rocks flew, branches thwapped, men swung at their comrades. Immediately, confusion swept through the ranks, urging them to hightail it back into the wood from which they came. Merlin chuckled, causing Arthur to whip his head around. Wasn't he just sitting beside the fire? Arthur wondered.

Merlin answered the silent question. He shrugged nonchalantly, "Time-stop." Realization hit Arthur. Once again, he had completely forgotten about Merlin's magic. It was just so… strange.

Across the camp, Gwaine whooped. "Oh, yeah! Nice one, Merlin! Now that was entertainment!" Merlin grinned tiredly in reply. Gwaine noticed immediately. "You look beat, mate. How long was time stopped?"

Merlin shot over to him, "You know how little sense you made, right?" Gwaine thought about what he had said, then nodded, a wide grin splitting his face. "To answer your question, though,… long enough for me to booby-trap each man by hand! And no, it was not one of the easiest things to do, but I'm fine," he said quickly, cutting off the predictable next question. He knew they all cared for him, but he knew his limits better than they did. He had been born with magic. Still, it was already late, and he had to admit that holding that difficult of a spell had taken a bit out of him. He was tired. Arthur picked up on this, too. Instead of pestering Merlin about it, though, he decided it would be easier to get Merlin to rest if they all did.

"Alright, everyone. We have to be moving at dawn. Yes, Gwaine, dawn," he said, rolling his eyes. Gwaine mocked him. "We should get some rest," he stared pointedly at Merlin who, like a little child, stuck his tongue out at Arthur. Arthur let it slide -mostly- and laid down on his bedroll with a sigh, shaking his head at his friend. Merlin did likewise, as did Gwaine, Elyan, and Leon, leaving Percival to stand guard.

-M-

Merlin had fallen asleep as soon as he laid down, leading the rest of the company to think that he was more tired than he had originally revealed to them. But this was not new; anyone who knew Merlin would know that he never told anyone he was not feeling well unless he was in serious danger, and even then he would play it down. I'm fine, he would say. This led Arthur and the knights into a hushed conversation about Merlin's annoying habits before drifting off themselves, still completely oblivious to the black-clad man lurking in the shadows.

-M-

Percival had expected another mind-numbing night on watch, but that expectation was quickly dashed as he felt an invisible icy blanket press against him from all sides, immobilizing him. His eyes widened and he was about to call to the others as the cold raced up his chest, reaching his mouth before he could utter a sound. He struggled against his invisible bonds, but to no avail. Suddenly, a man crept into the camp, silent as a panther on bare feet. His hooded black cloak was pulled tight against the night's slight chill, making his feet the only part that identified him as human. He padded toward the fire, stopping a couple of feet away to sharply turn to look at Percival. As he waved his hand in front of his body and muttered something under his breath, Percival felt his eyes grow heavy. The man swiftly disregarded Percival to turn back to the figure sleeping on the ground closest to him. He crouched down toward the man, and with the hand previously hidden in his cloak, covered Merlin's mouth and nose with a ragged, once-white cloth. Then Percival tumbled into nothingness.

What do you think? Please let me know… even if it's bad. ;)