Hope you like this one shot! Again, so sorry it's taken so long! I'm trying to do better, but schools got me hog tied, lol!

Prompt: Merlin is hit by the bolt of a crossbow.

Idea by: Little ol' me

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say I don't own Merlin?

Please send in some ideas! :D
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Merlin's POV

Merlin ran through the forest, Arthur in front of him. Neither of them would look back. He didn't know if the Knights of the Round Table were following or not, and as much as it would hurt him to leave them behind, he just knew that they had to run. He knew he had to get Arthur away from here at all costs.

Morgana was gaining on them fast. It would be near impossible to outrun someone on horseback. He knew that there was no outrunning her. She was a powerful sorceress who could use her magic to track them down, but Merlin still had to try to throw her off.

Something threw his magic off. Something coming for them. He tackled Arthur to the ground, the two rolling down a long hill. They stopped at the bottom, and Merlin pushed himself up on his elbows sore from the sticks and stones that had poked him on the way down.

Merlin sprang to his feet. "Get up, Arthur!" he shouted in a whisper, dragging the King to his feet.

Arthur didn't argue or even yell at him for pushing them over the edge of the hill, and Merlin was grateful for the time being. Now was not the time to get angry.

They kept on running hoping to get away from Morgana. A sensation swarmed over Merlin like he had been hit by a massive wave. He swung his head from side to side sensing Morgana's presence. She was close.

Arthur stopped up ahead, and turned toward him. "Merlin! Come on! We can't stand here!" Arthur began sprinting back toward him sending Merlin into a panic.

Everything inside of him went off like an alarm as his heart began to beat wildly against his chest. His eyes popped open, and he thrust his hand forward at the arising danger. "Arthur, look out!"

Merlin's irises glowed gold as a bolt from a crossbow came zooming toward Arthur. Fear wrecked his mind as the color in his eyes faded quickly. He couldn't use his magic to stop it. Arthur would find out. He had to save his king! His friend!

Without taking another second to think, Merlin threw himself behind Arthur. He felt the agonizing pierce of the bolt as it entered his side. He stood dumbfounded, unable to describe the pain he felt. At the moment, his whole body felt to numb from shock, and the whole world around him went silent.

He felt strong arms wrap around him as he began to tumble backward, his hand clenching the bolt in his side. He couldn't keep his feet underneath him, and neither could the extra pair of hands keep him upright. He landed on the ground on his knees and free hand staring at the leaves in the dirt.

He slowly lifted his head upward as the witch, Morgana, emerged from behind the trees, a crossbow hanging at her hip.

Arthur's POV

"Run, Arthur!" Merlin tried pushing him away. "Leave me! Save yourself!" He tried standing to his feet, but quickly fell.

Arthur reached out and caught his servant before he could hit the ground giving further damage to his wound.

"You think you can get away from me?" Morgana asked with a stern voice. She laughed. "Oh come on, brother! Don't tell me you've grown soft for this servant!" She gestured toward Merlin who laid in Arthur's arms.

Arthur's hands were trembling in anger. "Why?" he practically spat at her. "Why do you hate me so much?"

Morgana clenched her hands tightly into a fist, her knuckles turning white. "You know why, Arthur. I am the rightful heir to Camelot's thrown!"

Morgana's men surrounded them in a matter of seconds. Arthur could see no means of escape. He knew this was it. They were going to be captured by Morgana, he would more then likely be tortured, and Merlin was going to die.

He gritted his teeth wanting to shout out in defeat, but how could he? He couldn't just give up. There had to be a way out of this, but what?

As an answer to his prayers, the Knights of the Round Table burst through the trees. They charged toward Morgana's men, swords raised ready to protect them. They were badly outmatched, but Arthur had faith in his men. What was he to do? Should he get up and fight? Or should he stay beside his friend making sure that Morgana couldn't capture at least one of them.

He stayed back, gripping Merlin's arms tightly as his servant's eyes began to slowly shut. "No, no, Merlin! Stay with me!" He tapped Merlin's face a little more then lightly to keep him awake.

Arthur turned his attention back to his men. It was a miracle! One by one, the knights cut down Morgana's men like wheat.

Morgana's POV

Morgana shouted in anger! How could her men be so weak? She had been promised better warriors! How were they so easily defeated by a few men?

She glared at her brother with fire in her eyes. She wanted him dead. More then anything.

She noticed how Arthur still cradled the dying servant. A thought occurred to her causing a grin to tug at her lips. This was perfect! If Merlin died, Arthur would be crushed, and what is a kingdom without a king?

A smile broke out on her face as she raised both her hands into the air. She closed her hands into a fist and swiped her right fist away away from her left, her eyes glowing a quick shade of gold.

Arthur flew backward into the air, but Merlin stayed on the ground where he had laid with his head on Arthur's lap. Merlin's grip loosened around the bolt in his side. His eyes were closed and his head rolled to the side. Arthur couldn't regain his feet fast enough before she reached the servant.

She knelt down on one knee next to the servant and smiled as she gripped his chin. "With you gone, Arthur will finally be broken, and Camelot will be mine!"

Arthur's POV

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted.

Morgana swiftly raised a hand, her irises once more glowing gold. Something unexpected happened. A burst of light exploded from Merlin's body sending Morgana flying backward. She landed hard on her back and fell unconscious. The rest of her men, seeing their leader was down, retreated toward the woods.

Arthur stared at Merlin's body in shock. He had no idea what could have happened. What had Morgana done? Did she cause that light? He couldn't get his feet to gather underneath him. He was too stunned by what had just happened.

He turned around to see Morgana lying behind him in the leaves. Now was the chance to kill her, and end all this suffering she has caused upon Camelot. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it. She was still his sister and they had loved one another as siblings once before. What could've made her so evil? He turned his head back to his wounded servant, putting out of his mind the thought of hurting his sister.

Gwaine was the first one to reach Merlin. He knelt beside the dying young man, and wrapped a hand around the shaft of the bolt.

Arthur knew what Gwaine was about to do. "Gwaine, no!" he screamed, dashing toward the Knight. He tackled Gwaine away from Merlin. What was he doing? Was he mad? How could he put his friends life at risk like that?

"Arthur, what are you doing?!" Percival shouted, pulling him off of Gwaine.

Arthur yanked away from Percival. "You can't pull the bolt out! He'll lose too much blood! He'll die!"

"He'll die if we leave it in." Lancelot knelt beside Merlin. "We can't leave him like this."

Arthur lowered his head as tears formed in his eyes. He knew his knights were right, but he couldn't take that chance of Merlin dying. This was a bad idea.

"We're removing the bolt, Arthur," Leon spoke up. "I won't stand by and watch Merlin suffer."

"So you'd rather him die?" Arthur asked, his voice quivering. None of the knights said a word.

Percival gently picked Merlin up from off the ground with such ease and care, but Merlin grunted at the pain this one movement brought.

Arthur followed behind his knights as they headed back toward where their horses had run off. He turned around once more noticing Morgana still laid unconscious. He was eager to escape from her, and by the actions of his men, none of them planned on taking her life either.

Percival placed Merlin down on the ground resting on top of Leon's red cape. Elyan rolled his own cape up to give to Merlin to use for a head rest.

Arthur continued to stare at the bolt in his best friends side, edging him ever so closer to death. The longer it stayed in, the riskier it would be to save him. He knew what his knights were about to do and he wasn't going to stop them this time. He was letting his friendship for his servant cloud his judgement, and now wasn't the time for that.

Lancelot fetched some bandages from Merlin's medical kit, and Elyan prepared to remove the bolt. The others stood back and out of the way.

Elyan gripped the bolt tightly in his hands. "Gwaine, you might need to hold his shoulders down."

Arthur straightened himself at Elyan's words. Were they going to hurt him?

"Don't try to stop them," Leon said, stepping in front of him to separate him from Merlin.

Arthur shook his head. "I won't." He backed away, and looked toward the ground for a brief moment until Leon stepped away.

Gwaine held down Merlin's arms right as Elyan yanked the bolt from his side. Merlin screamed out in pain as the bolt left his flesh, blood oozing from the wound. Lancelot immediately applied pressure to the wound with white cloths to stop the bleeding.

Elyan stared at the bolt, his darkened face turning pale.

This distressed Arthur even more. "Elyan, what is it?"

Elyan didn't respond with words. Instead, he raised the bolt with the tip broken from the shaft.

Arthur covered his face with his hand. The tip of the bolt was still in Merlin's side. His heart was beating faster then he'd ever felt before as rage mixed in with his fear.

"We're going to have to dig it out," Percival spoke up. None of them answered.

"You should have just left the bolt in and let Gauis take care of it!" Arthur exploded, balling his hands into fists.

Leon stepped in front of him once more.

"We can't leave that tip in, Mate," Gwaine told Elyan.

Were none of them listening to him? Their king?

Gwaine undid his belt from around his waist and shoved it into Merlin's mouth. "He can bite down on that."

Elyan nodded his head. Lancelot returned to Merlin's side with a tool that pinched closed he found in Merlin's medical kit.

Gwaine braced Merlin's shoulders against the ground as Elyan dug the tool into his friends flesh.

Merlin bit down hard on the belt in his mouth, but that didn't stop the screams. His shoulders shook as Gwaine held them down. Leon had to jump on top of Merlin's legs to prevent him from kicking Elyan. The dark skinned knight continued to dig for the bolts tip.

Arthur ran his hands through his matted hair, and turn his head away as the screams grew. He couldn't bare to see Merlin in such pain. His screams alone were enough to make him march off.

He couldn't stand to be anywhere near Merlin. Not while this was going on. But even a mile away, he could still hear the cries of pain from his best friend.

Arthur fell to his knees. "Why?" he shouted, pounding the ground with his fists. "Why was it him and not me? It should be me!" He cried until he found that no more tears would flow.

After a few minutes, the screams ceased. What could've happened? Did they get it? Did the save him? Or... He dashed back towards camp, fearing the worse.

When he arrived, he saw his fellow knights sitting beside a fire, Elyan cleaned the blood from his hands while Lancelot bandaged Merlin's side. Again, no one said a word.

Gwaine was the first to speak— as usual. "The tips out," he told Arthur. He must've noticed his worried glance.

"He should be fine, Arthur." Percival smiled. "Elyan's going to make sure of that. We'll all watch over him like a hawk and make sure that that wound does not get infected."

"Arthur."

Arthur's head shot toward Merlin as his eyes fluttered open. He quickly ran to his friends side and knelt down, smiling widely at his friend. "How you feeling?"

Merlin tried to move, but his face twisted in pain causing him to stop. "I've been better," he replied with a chuckle.

Arthur chuckled himself. He gently and carefully patted Merlin's shoulder afraid that any kind of touch would hurt. "Get some rest, Merlin. The rest of your friends want to talk to you once you've been allowed some peace."

Merlin nodded his head. "Thank you, Arthur."

Arthur frowned, guilt pricking his heart. Merlin shouldn't be thanking him. He didn't deserve to be thanked. It was Merlin who had risked his life for him. He was the bravest man he had ever known. "No, Merlin," he corrected. "Thank you."