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He marched forward into it eagerly, and did not look back.
He could hear the knights calling to him outside the cave, asking him to reconsider, but Arthur ignored them. They obviously could not feel the tug, the need to go into the cave. Arthur did not know what it was that was creating the feeling, and, at the moment, he did not really care. All he cared about was that he followed the feeling and found...whatever it was that he was supposed to find in the cave.
After a few minutes of walking, the cave walls began to narrow, and the ceiling was almost touching Arthur's head. He was beginning to worry that he would not be able to fit through the tunnel the cave had become, at least not while he was still wearing all of his armor.
Finally, the tunnel led Arthur into a cavern, much larger than the cave he had originally entered, and full of luminescent crystals. He couldn't help but wonder at what was making them glow. There was no other light source in the cavern as far as he could tell.
Arthur realized that the glowing crystals had distracted him from his original quest. He was looking for his manservant. His manservant who had not been seen for over two weeks.
He had lied to his father, the king, and said that he and the knights were merely going on a hunt, and certainly made no mention that he would not be coming back until he found his wayward friend. The king would not have never granted Arthur the use of the knights if he had known the reason for the "hunt". The last time Arthur had gone on a quest to help Merlin, Uther had locked Arthur in the dungeons upon his return to Camelot, and the quest was almost a failure.
Uther could not know about this quest, at least not until after it was a success, when there would be nothing he could do.
Arthur looked around the cavern, ignoring the impulse to get lost staring into the crystals that seemed to grow everywhere in the cavern. He knew something other than the magic the crystals emitted drew him to this place.
After about five minutes, Arthur tripped over something while he was walking and looking up at the ceiling. His reflexes kept him from falling completely to the ground. He looked behind him at the ground to see what it was that tripped him. What he saw made his breath catch for just a moment. When the moment was over, he sprung into action.
It was a leg. A leg attached to a man. A man sprawled face-down on the cavern floor. A man who happened to be, unmistakably, Merlin.
Arthur knelt on the ground next to the younger man, and carefully felt for signs of life. Merlin was alive, although his heartbeat was faint and his breathing too shallow for Arthur's comfort.
Arthur slowly and carefully turned Merlin over so he could check him for injuries. He did not want to try to move the young man too much and risk injuring him further.
There was a large gash on Merlin's forehead that extended down the side of his face and touched the top of his cheekbone. It had been left unattended, and it was clear, even to Arthur, that it was at risk for infection. Since that was the only injury Arthur could find, he decided it was worth the risk to move Merlin to get him out of the cave and back to Gaius in Camelot.
There was a collective, but silent, sigh of relief from the knights as Arthur emerged from the cave carrying the still-unconscious form of his manservant. All of the knights knew and liked Merlin, and it was a relief to know that he was alive.
The ride back to Camelot seemed to take forever for Arthur. He insisted they ride slowly so as to not jostle Merlin too much, yet he was eager to get his friend back to the comfort of the castle.
They did not make it back to the castle before nightfall, so the knights set up camp while Arthur tried to clean Merlin's wound with a cloth he had dipped into a pot of boiling water.
Merlin stirred a little while Arthur was taking care of him, but did not fully wake. His eyes fluttered open for a moment, and he muttered something about Morgana before he settled back into unconsciousness. He would not wake again until later the next day, after Arthur had snuck him into the castle and to the workshop apartment Merlin shared with Gaius, the court physician.
After he was assured that Merlin's life wasn't in any immediate danger, Arthur allowed himself to be shooed out of the workshop by the elderly physician, and preceded to make his report to the king about the "large animal" that he and his knights followed for two days before they lost it, and were forced to return home empty-handed. Uther had known nothing of Merlin's disappearance, so the knights and Arthur had decided it was best not to mention him in any way.
As soon as Arthur could get away from his princely duties, he sneaked back to Gaius' workshop and was pleased to see that Merlin was awake and alert. Gaius reported that there were no other injuries, and that, while there was a slight infection in the wound on Merlin's head, the young man would make a full recovery after a few days of rest and fluids. He took his leave to check on his other patients around the castle, leaving Arthur alone with Merlin.
"So, Merlin....did you have a good vacation?" Arthur asked, with a hint of disdain, as though to indicate that he was unhappy that his manservant had taken a unauthorized holiday.
"Mmmmmmmm, not really. I was just out gathering herbs for Gaius when I thought I heard something in the cave. I'm not really sure what happened after," Merlin said. Arthur could tell that Merlin was keeping part of the story from him, but decided it was not worth pressing the matter.
"Really, MERlin, if you needed some time off, there are better ways to go about it than running off and hiding in some cave," Arthur teased, but Merlin could tell that he was holding back what he really wanted to say.
"I will keep that in mind." Merlin yawned. Arthur wanted to stay longer, make up for the time they were apart, but he knew it was important for Merlin to rest and recuperate.
"Get some rest, Merlin. After all, you have two weeks worth of chores to catch up on."
Merlin ignored him, and rolled over in the bed to get more comfortable. Arthur stood to leave, but just as he reached the door, he heard Merlin say, in a voice so soft he almost missed it, "Thank you for finding me, Arthur."
Arthur smiled to himself,and left quietly, softly closing the door behind him.