Summary~To say the knights were a bit protective was an understatement. 

To say that Arthur and his knights were protective of Merlin was an understatement. They all love the young boy. They found out he was only 17 when he told them in a meeting when they tried giving him some meed. He didn't want to take it due to him being too young so when they asked how old he was and he replied 17 they were all awestruck. They all thought he was at least 23 making him about 5 years younger than most of them. Now he was about 10 years younger than all of them and they made it there mission to make sure he was okay and safe. Which leads them to a day that they couldn't protect him as well.

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It was a sunny day not a cloud in sight. Merlin and the others were out on a hunt due to the king needing a break from his daily duties of being a king. Arthur has been working a lot due to him becoming king recently. His duties have become a great burden on his shoulders making him more irritated than normal. He would get angry at everyone about anything that is until he couldn't take it and sent Merlin to ready the horses and get the knights ready. He needed to shoot at something.

As soon as they all gathered they rode off into the woods in search of an animal that they can kill. Something that Merlin didn't like to do unless really necessary. He sighed as he rode next to Leon and Percival looking for any creature he could scare off before it attracted the attention of the bloodthirsty king. He sighed again attracting Percival's attention.

"What's a matter, Merlin?" He asked in a low tone not wanting to attract the attention of the others knowing Merlin hated being crowed as they asked questions. He stirred his horse closer to Merlin as he looked for any sign of him answering his question.

"Just hate hunting Percy" Merlin replied as he rode up to Gwaine to make fun of the man who was a bit tipsy. Percival smiled fondly as he watched the man he thought of like a younger brother. When he found out how young he was he couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he knew how the rest of the knights were going to get, included. He smiled even more at the nickname he gave him. He can remember all the nicknames he has given the knights. Himself being Percy. Lancelot being Lance. Elyon being El. Leon being Lie. Gwaine being Wayne. Mordred being Red. Lastly, Arthur being Arty, but Merlin rarely calls him that. Really only when he was scared or exhausted. That is usually when the knights know he is tired beyond his capabilities and has to force him to sleep and eat.

As he was watching Merlin an arrow suddenly ended up in his saddlebag dangling out of it making his horse buck. Percival fell to the dirt unable to stable his horse to stay on. He looked up to see each of the knights fall off there horses which ran away from the battle that was commencing. Men flew out of the bushes swords and daggers raised. The knights all jumped up reading their swords as the formed a circle around Merlin knowing he was unable to grab his due to it being with his stuff on his fled horse. Once the bandits got closer swords clashed and clang. Men falling as the Knights battled them off. Unknowing that they all abandoned the circle that was formed around their unarmed command.

"Drop your swords or I slice his neck!" a voice called out. The knights all spun around to see who was in danger. Gasping when they saw their little brother standing in front of a bandit with a knife to his throat. Merlin stood trembling as the knife got closer to his neck due to the knights not dropping their swords yet. Merlin could smell the alcohol on his breath, making him want to gag.

"I said drop your swords!" The man yelled. Merlin flinched as the man yelled into his ear. The knights quickly dropped their swords raising their hands as they surrendered. The man smirked as he gestured to the men behind the knights. They each grabbed a knight forcing them down to their knees as they each tied their hands behind their backs. More on Percival due to him having a rep on being able to break them easily. The man threw Merlin onto the ground as a man rushed forward to tie his hands up.

"Congratulations men you are now my paycheck. " the man laughed as he looked at each of them. Noticing there were only the King and 4 of the knights that were battling.

"Where are the other two knights there is suppose to be 6 not four!" He yelled at one of his men. He was now going to lose his head due to him losing two of the knights that Morgana hired him to capture. He paced thinking of what he was going to do. He could either tell Morgana he lost two of them and risk losing his head or he could send a search party out for the two and hope they found them before they reached Camelot and take his prisoners right now to there camp that laid just over the ridge. The latter plan sounded a lot better than being beheaded.

"Here is what we are going to do. We are going to take them back to camp while 6 of you go and search for the missing knights. If we don't have all of them we don't have a paycheck from Morgana and will most likely lose our heads" He told the men his plan before walking in the direction of camp hearing cheers of agreement as they pushed their captives to their feet and towards their camp.

As they walked they noticed that the forest they were in was getting deeper and thicker as they walked. Taking note of the twist and turns they make so when they are able to get out of the ropes they were able to leave easier and not have to worry about losing their sense of directions. Yet, that wasn't the only thing that was on their minds. They also noticed that they were keeping Merlin back some to make sure that the knights wouldn't do anything stupid on their accounts. Keeping Merlin back made each of the knights worry about what was going to go on to their youngest member. The rocks made each of the knights stumble as they walked making them concerned for what was going on with Merlin.

As Merlin was walking he was coming up with a plan on how to get out of the situation they were in. Yes, the knights know he has magic but he couldn't use it with the men always breathing down his neck. He was going to have to resort to plan B.

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Once they made it back to the bandits camp they noticed that tents were set up for each of the bandits. Nicely laid out in a circle around the fire but back a little way. Making a sense of organization and neatness. Off a little way but could still be seen as a small cage-like structure. Thick heavy metal bars protrude out of the dry ground. A few more were tied to them with chains going vertically to the ground making it two were they weren't able to escape through the bars. Some more laid across the top sealing them in. A door was placed on the side of the cage making it easier for them to be able to place the captives in or out if they so desired.

The men pushed the knights towards the structure cutting their ropes as they pushed them in. Knowing not even the strongest were able to escape. Once they untied Merlin, he grabbed onto the bandit's shirt looking at him with teary eyes.

"Please, sir don't put me in there it's scary. I promise I'll be good if you let me stay out. I promise. Please, sir." Merlin quivered as he tightened his grip on the man dropping a little to make him look smaller than what he already is. Few tears escaping his eyes as he started to sob into the man's shirt. The man looked up at the man who was in front of the door with pleading eyes. He couldn't stand to make the boy cry or be scared. He had kids of his own and the boy crying on his looked nothing more than 15. The man sighed as he slammed the door shut and gestured for him to take him to the campfire. He nodded as he picked up Merlin taking him towards the fire. A blanket was passed to him as Merlin sat trembling on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest. He let a few more tears escape before placing his head down to make it look like he was sleeping but in reality, he was trying to think of a plan. Knowing he wasn't with the others. Which was good cause he could find the keys when they all went to sleep and they could escape. He decided he would sleep for a while due to actually being tired.

The knights, on the other hand, could not sleep despite it being night time. They were too worried about Merlin. His actions made them believe he has gone crazy and were worried that the bandits were going to harm him.

"Why would Merlin do that?" asked Gwaine as he stared at his sleeping friend who sat against a tree next to the fire wrapped in one of the bandit's blanket.

"I don't know but we have to think he is planning something that we are unaware of. " Arthur replied as he laid his head back against the bars still staring at were his manservant was. No one really knew this but Merlin was his best friend has been for a couple years now. He wished he could go and take him away from the bandits and get him back to Camelot along with the rest of the knights. Get Leon back to his family. Get Elyan back to his sister and to see Gwen himself and hold her.

"At least he is warm and not in the cold. He gets sick to easily." Said Elyan as he curled in on himself wrapping his arms around his knees trying to get warm under all the armor. The others agreed with him. They were all not in the mood to deal with a sick Merlin. He had a tendency to overwork himself despite being sick. He would never rest and get better or take a day off. Heck, none of the knights have really seen him have a day off he is always running around for either Arthur or Guias.

"Just hope Lancelot or Mordred can save us before we are traded to Morgana., said Percival. After saying that the group went into an uneasy silence as they all drifted off into sleep unwillingly.

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After a few hours, Merlin woke up knowing that the Bandits were all asleep due to them drinking before capturing them. Merlin than looked around at the silent scene before him. Bandits laid across the logs snoring as they dreamed. He could tell even the ones who made it to the tents were sleeping as well. He stood up silently making sure not to wake anyone up. He then walked over to the guy who held a dagger to his neck. Subconsciously rubbing his neck where a small cut was. He let out a small breathe as he bent down to look for the keys to the cage were his brothers all were held captive. He looked around noticing a small bulge in the pocket of his coat. He reached for what was inside the pocket. He grasped the cold metal as he pulled it out slowly wanting to get to his brothers. He smiled as he pulled out the key that went to the door. He slowly stood up before quietly walking over to the cage. That was when he realized that the knights and Arthur were asleep.

Each of them cuddled up to each other in desperate need for warmth. Merlin took notice of how Percival was grasping Gwaine in his arms like a little child. He knew something was going on between the two men. He also noticed how Leon and Arthur cuddle up on either side of Elyan keeping the Queen's brother safe from the bitter coldness. Merlin sighed as he realized he had taken the easy way out and begged to be able to stay out of the cage away from the cold. He sighed knowing that the men he thought of as older brothers were cold.

He was brought out of the trance he was in when he heard rustling behind him. He gasped as he turned towards the woods behind him. He was scared of what was going on. He stood there like a deer in headlights as he heard the quiet rustling of leaves and the cracking of branches echo out of the forest. Almost like footsteps that were walking towards him to either take him away from the danger he was already in or make it much worse than what it already was. He suddenly knelt down next to Arthur gripping his hand as the footsteps got closer. Arthur stirred as he felt his hand being grabbed he looked up to see Merlin clutching his hand as he knelt down on the ground keeping his face hidden in his knees.

"Merlin" he gasped, waking up Leon and Elyan in the process. He moved to face the scared boy in front of him. He then heard the footsteps that were scaring the poor boy. He gibbed Marlin's hand to reassure the young man. The men surrounded Merlin the best they could as he sat before him. The boy was scared out of his mind and he didn't know why. As the footsteps keep getting closer the men kept getting ready for a fight. Gwaine and Percival have also woken up to the sounds of the men restlessly moving around the cage.

They gasped as the bushes behind Merlin moved out of the way for the people who were trying to sneak up on the camp. They gasped as they saw the men. Chainmail shirts glimmering in the light of the dying fire. Swords shimmering in the glow that radiated off the chain mail. They sighed in relief as they realized who it was standing before them. Mordred and Lancelot stood there smiling as they saw there friends. Sighing in relief as they ran up to there friends. Lancelot instantly went to Merlin first as he was the only one out of the cage-like structure. He gently placed a hand on Merlin's back knowing he must have scared the boy as he walked up to the camp. Merlin jumped at the sudden touch. He looked up fast at Lancelot with bright eyes that were filled with tears. Lancelot then noticed how his eyes were dilated like he was drugged with something.

"We got to get him back to Guias. I think he has been drugged." Lancelot whispered as he looked back at Mordred who was trying to figure out how to unlock the cage without waking up any of the bandits. The men in the cage gasped before noticing how his eyes were. They then wondered how he was drugged after watching him the whole night knowing what water he took from the men along with the blanket he had. So it was a bit mind-boggling on how he was drugged and why it was only affecting him now.

Lancelot was pulled out of his train of thought along with the rest of the knights when Merlin pulled out a small metal key and placed it into the palm of Lancelot. He smiled before handing it off the Mordred to get the rest of the knights out of their prison. One by one the knights came out of the cage before slowly walking up to Merlin who was still in a fetal position on the ground leaning against Lancelot. His heavy breathing could be heard as he sobbed.

"We need to get his to Guias" Gwaine whispered. The knights nodded. Lancelot gentled picked up Merlin after prying his fingers from his pant leg. Merin linked his arms around his neck as soon as he was picked up. Burying his head into the crook of his neck as he drifted off into sleep. Lancelot nodded to the others as they followed him and Mordred out of the camp as quietly as possible. If it were up to them they would kill every last man but Merlin came as a priority.

"Lance?" Merlin quivered as he cried into his shoulder. He didn't know why he was afraid but he had a feeling he was drugged. The boys looked at each other now knowing that he truly was afraid. He never used his nicknames unless he was afraid or just plan out wanting to annoy other lords and knights who didn't like how close they were to a simple servant, but to them, he was their brother. Lancelot nodded before running off in the direction they came from. He and Mordred managed to gather all the horses for them to ride back to Camelot.

On the ride back Merling rode with Percival. He was the only one able to ride with a fully grown adult clinging to him like it was the end of the world. As they came to the gates of Camelot, Elyan and Leon rode ahead to fetch Gaius.

The Knights came to a stop and unmounted before going to Percival. Gwaine took Merlin to allow Percival to dismount. Gwain ran towards the medical room with Merlin. Percival and Arthur running ahead to get people out of the way and to open the door. Once to the room, they noticed that Guais had set everything up that he was thinking he would need based on what the knights told him when they fetched him.

"Put him on the bed." He said. Gwaine placed Merlin on the bed having to pry his arms from him. Merlin didn't like the comfort of someone near him so he curled around himself trying to disappear from the fear he had. Guais noticed and instantly knew what poison it was.

"This drug will wear off by tomorrow. Someone is going to have to stay with him and reassure that he is safe and nothing can harm him now. The drug was probably administered either through a piece of cloth or water." After he said that he saw the look on the knights that scared him a little bit. Each of them masked with anger and bloodthirst.

"Merlin acted as though he was someone who was too innocent to be in the cage they tried putting us in. They kept him out gave him water and a blanket. After everyone was asleep he grabbed the key and afterward it kicked in and made him act like this." Leon said explaining why the knights were all angry not just at the men but at them self as well. Guais nodded before said he will be okay and that he just needed company and all. The men all nodded taking place next to Merlin surrounding him in a protective embrace.

The next morning Merlin woke up surrounded by his brothers. The drug out of his system. Feeling the love of his family that stayed with him throughout the night.