#Leon knew about Merlin having magic

[emlynphoenix]

Just a little bit of Merthur

[thedeadestartist]

To escape a time loop, the witch demands virgin blood. And well, everyone thinks they know who the virgin of the group is. And they're wrong – or are they?

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“Are you completely sure they are to be trusted, Merlin? What if the witch goes back on their word!” Arthur exclaimed.

He was frustrated. But so too were the knights and Merlin. They had been wandering a neverending woodland path for what had felt like hours. After all, why would they give in to a witch’s demands before exhausting every option?

“No, Arthur!” Merlin snapped. “I am not sure we can trust them at all, but what other option do we have at this point?”

Merlin was the first to notice that they’d been looping the same path several times over, before any of the knights. This sort of magic was something he had seen before, and he knew it was the type of curse that was near impossible to break from inside the incantation area. In his mind, the witch’s words repeated endlessly.

When the knights had come across the witch, they were simply sitting by a humble campfire, watching a pot of water with herbs and leaves boil over. Of course, Gwaine had been desperate enough to accept a drink from this total stranger. And after just one sip, the witch had risen to their feet and laughed – a sound so shrill and chilling.

“And thus, thou, King of Camelot and thyne beloved knights of the round table are cursed to wander these woods for the rest of time. The world shall continue on without thee as thy kingdom crumbles. But do not despair, men of the sword. Lest you bring me 9 drops of a virgin’s blood, I shall grant thee freedom once more.”

“Alright, bickering will get us nowhere!” Leon interrupted. “Even if we were to do what the witch asks, where are we going to find a virgin in these woods if it simply keeps repeating itself?”

Percival quickly quipped, “Well, what about one of us?”

An abrupt silence descended upon the men as they exchanged glances.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve never seen a woman within five feet of Merlin,” Elyan spoke.

The rest of the knights turned their faces towards Merlin.

Arthur smirked.

“Well go on then, Merlin. If you really think we can trust the witch, then go ahead. 8 drops of blood is barely much of a sacrifice.”

Merlin grit his teeth. It was true that he had never been… intimate with any of the ladies he had admired. But he had a feeling deep down that something was wrong. Was it because he had the blood of a sorcerer? Would it potentially backfire – put them in danger?

As he racked his brain, he heard the familiar metallic rush of a sword being drawn.

“Gwaine, what do you think you’re doing?” Arthur said firmly, as Gwaine drew his sword.

“What, he needs a blade if he’s gonna bleed, right?”

“And you think a sword is a good idea? What if he accidentally impaled himself?” Arthur barked.

The king quickly drew his dagger and handed it very carefully into the hands of his servant. Gwaine rolled his eyes and put his sword away.

“Here, Merlin,” Arthur spoke. His words were ever so slightly more gentle than his usual biting tone.

Merlin raced through his thoughts to try and come up with an excuse. The creeping feeling that this was wrong refused to subside.

Finally he blurted, “I can’t. I can’t do it.”

“Oh come on, Merlin,” scoffed Gwaine. “It’s not like we’re asking you to cut off your entire arm.”

Before Merlin could think of a good excuse, the words slipped from his lips:

“I can’t be the one to do it… because I’m not a virgin.”

There was a beat.

Then, before anyone could react, Gwaine had swiftly taken Arthur’s dagger and lightly swiped Merlin’s arm.

“Ow, Gwaine!” Merlin huffed, but it was too late.

Small red beads of blood dripped quickly from the sorcerer's arm to the forest floor. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Nine. The sky above them whirled and hissed, darkening in only a few seconds.

And then, the witch’s voice boomed from all sides.

“This is not the virgin blood I seek. Do not deceive me again, lest thou art willing to suffer the consequence.”

“Huh, guess he wasn’t lying,” Gwaine shrugged.

If anyone had seen Arthur’s face as the witch had spoken, they may have noticed the slight snarl of his lips, the quick flush of his face. But it soon was gone and replaced with raging concern. Tearing some cloth from his cape, the King skillfully wrapped the wound on Merlin’s arm.

“Are you alright?” he asked quickly. A little too quickly.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” Merlin quivered.

Perhaps if it were any other situation, he may have had his suspicions about Arthur’s tender touches. The way his king so swiftly and gently cleaned up the wound as best he could. But his mind was worrying about something else.

He was close to connecting the dots, he was sure. Virgin blood. He was a virgin, but obviously it hadn't worked. What did the witch mean by virgin if not a person who had not had sex? Virgin - what did that word mean? Pure? Untainted?

As Merlin fretted in silence and Arthur tended to him, Leon had quietly taken the dagger. And without warning—

“Ow! Okay, that actually really hurt!” Gwaine yelped.

The others turned quickly to him and watched as blood rolled down his palm and rolled off onto the forest floor.

And then, for Merlin, it clicked. Virgin blood – he had read about it before. Dark magic required ritual blood. And the most powerful of spells required blood that had never been used in magic before. And after so many escapades with numerous magic users, of course, Merlin’s blood had been used in magic before!

Once more, the sky hissed and darkened and the witch’s voice filled the forest.

“The deal is fulfilled, oh King of Camelot. Thou and thy company may leave this place freely.”

“Holy shit, Gwaine’s a vir–”

But before Elyan could finish his exclamation, the forest fell away and the men found themselves stirring awake by the witch’s camp fire.

Arthur was the first to scramble to his feet and brandish his sword at the woods surrounding them, his knights quick behind.

“Show yourself!” he demanded.

“It's too late,” Merlin said, simply, checking his arm – still wrapped up in Arthur's makeshift cloth bandage. “The witch would be long gone by now. That sort of spell is one you cast to get as far as you can from the people you're trapping. I've read about these spells plenty of times.”

Tired, Arthur resheathed his sword and collapsed onto the floor next to Merlin. The knights also sat themselves down, exhausted.

“Does it hurt?” Arthur whispered quickly.

“Not anymore,” Merlin answered, also in a hurried, hushed tone. “Thanks for the bandage.”

Arthur felt the words claw at his throat. He so desperately wanted to know. Who was it that Merlin had let into his heart to share a bed with? Who had this servant boy met that he did not know about? Merlin told him everything. Or at least, Merlin was such an open book that Arthur knew it all. Or at least he thought he did.

His heart beat heavy in his chest. And the question never made it into the air.

Finally, Leon broke the solemn silence that hung above all their heads.

“Look, Gwaine, you really don't need to lie about being a lady-killer. We'll love you either way.”

The knights burst into a much needed uproarious laughter and even a chuckle escaped from Merlin and Arthur.

“But I've been with loads of women!” Gwaine protested. “The witch was mistaken!”

“Sure, sure,” Percival spoke dismissively. “We definitely believe you and not some super scary witchy curse, Gwaine.”

And with that the knights rose to their feet and continued on with their journey. Arthur’s eyes lingering on Merlin's arm just a fraction of a second too long.

[resu-w-ana]

Merlin noticed it soon after the magic ban was lifted.

Every time someone used magic around Arthur, the king flinched.

Really, Merlin wasn't expecting Arthur to embrace all magic users with love and trust. He really shouldn't do something stupid like that.

He wasn't sure if Arthur knew about his own reaction or not. It hurt nonetheless.

Constant paranoia and perspective to be burned alive took the best of his desire to show people his magical talents. But the freedom was intoxicating, and whatever Arthur was afraid of magic or not, he would never took it's freedom again.

He had enough work as newly appointed Court Sorcerer to not let his magic idle. The knight and Gwen were here to enjoy pretty tricks too.

So Merlin reduced his magic around the king to doing only necessary things.

Making Arthur comfortable were more important than Merlin's desire to enjoy the beauty of magic with his king.

But the problem accrued from where he least expected.

«Why won't you use magic?»

«I- Ehm, It's possible to do without magic just as easy.»

«I saw you moving dinner plate because you were to lazy to stretch yesterday.»

«I thought I was alone! How do you even know that? Were you spying on me?»

«Oh, come on, Merlin. As if you are that interesting. Doors were open, I was just passing by.»

Even if doors were open, Arthur couldn't accidentally catch him, considering the fact, that there was only one way to Merlin's tower.

Arthur's weird explanation aside, the crisis was averted.

Or so Merlin thought. Because Arthur hadn't stopped.

Every time Merlin did something remotely hard by his hand, Arthur asked the same question: «why won't you use magic?»

Now Merlin was the one running out of weird explanations.

He had no desire to explain his reasoning to Arthur, nor asking Arthur for something he clearly wasn't comfortable with.

Merlin even paid attention to king behaviour around magic more precisely, in case it had changed. But no, the flinching was still there.

Contradicting his own reaction, Arthur cornered him with more determination them ever before.

«So tell me, why knights have no idea about yours so called "proper use of magic".»

«Well... They do know very little about proper use of anything. Especially Gwaine.»

«Yeah, Gwaine, who's apple your turned from green to red because he wished for another variety.»

«I-, Merlin started, as Arthur continued:

«Or should I mention fire figures you do for Leon constantly? The story about Lance's and Gwen's dinner table? Gaius' flying potions?"

Merlin felt guilt creeping onto him.

«Do I need to continue? Because I'm cer–»

«No! No! I got your point!»

«So?»

«So...»

«Explain yourself.»

When Merlin still hesitated, Arthur decided to use lethal weapon: «you promised no more secrets.»

Merlin deflated. «It's not a secret.»

«Then tell me.»

«I've noticed you've tensed whatever magic was around. Decided to spare you the trouble.»

«Oh.»

Suddenly, Arthur wasn't angry anymore. He looked sad and... Guilty?

«It's okay» and «I'm sorry» they said at the same time, than stared at each other.

«You have nothing to be sorry for!» Merlin argued.

«It's not nothing and it's not okay!» Arthur replied.

«That's why I didn't want to tell you! Now you feel like you're doing something wrong or not enough or whatever!»

«Well, that's because I do!»

«No, you're not!»

Arthur sighed. «Look, Merlin... You're not wrong, magic does make me nervous. For all my life, every time someone used it, it was with intention to hurt me.»

He stopped, thinking about his next words. «You are an exception. Yours feel safe.»

«Safe?»

«I don't know how to describe it. It feels warm and... safe. I like it. And I like watching you do magic, too.»

«Oh.»

«Yeah.»

«I'm sorry.»

Arthur smiled. «You can repent your crimes by stopping hiding your magic from me,» he said in playfully serious tone.

Merlin smirked. «Of corse, sire. What would you like to watch now?»

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Alright, time for another Merlin au! This one won the last poll, marked as "an au featuring Arthur being an idiot"!

In this au, set sometime in the three years between season 4 and season 5, Arthur, Merlin, and the knights of the round table get ambushed by a large pack of ferocious wyverns while on a quest. This time, Merlin couldn't be subtle about using his dragonlord commands to pacify them, and that was the only way to ensure that they would all make it out alive. So, Merlin uses dragonlord commands to make the wyverns leave and, in the process, reveals that's he's a dragonlord. However, he at least managed to keep his magic a secret through the ordeal, so he's got that going for him.

Arthur is, of course, rather upset about Merlin keeping this secret from him, and is even more upset when he learned that Balinor was Merlin's father and guilty that he didn't support his friend through mourning his father as Merlin had for him. However, Arthur can also keep things in perspective. After all, dragonlord powers weren't actual sorcery, apparently it was a magic-adjacent gift that Merlin had inherited at the moment of his father's death, whether he wanted to or not. Besides, it wasn't like Merlin chose to have the ability, so Arthur couldn't really hold the ability itself against Merlin.

And anyways, Arthur mused to himself at their camp after Merlin came clean to the knights the night after the the wyvern attack, it wasn't like there were any dragons left. The only thing Merlin could do was command wyverns. While that could perhaps make him a threat if he wasn't the most harmless person Arthur knew, they didn't even encounter wyverns that often.

So, Arthur was willing to just let this be a useful little trick that Merlin could use on the off chance that they ran into wyverns. Still, the image that the whole situation gave Arthur, an image of Merlin being a formidable, powerful dragonlord with devastating dragons under his command, was rather amusing.

So, as Arthur settled in for the night after hearing the last of Merlin's explanation, this wasn't going to be a big deal. Sure, he was still hurt that Merlin kept this a secret from him, but Arthur could understand why. Uther had killed all of the other dragonlords, so it made sense that Merlin felt unsafe with his father still on the throne, and since they didn't run across wyverns often, there was a very real chance that Merlin just forgot about his ability entirely until it was relevant again. That was a very Merlin thing to do.

So, everything was fine. Everyone with them looked comfortable with Merlin, and he knew that they would keep this a secret for Merlin's sake. If word of Merlin's dragonlord abilities got out, Arthur could always publicly grant him a pardon. After all, it wasn't like he had ever hurt anybody with it. The only thing he seemed to do with it was send wyverns away.

Arthur quietly snorted to himself at the thought. Oh no, the terrible powers of Merlin the dragonlord, telling some wyverns to shoo.

Arthur relaxed into his bedroll, listening to the knights settling in to sleep and their fire crackling a few feet away. The quiet noises were peaceful, but were broken a few minutes later by Leons seemingly innocuous question.

"Merlin, if you were already a dragonlord when we rode out to face the great dragon, did you do anything with your powers? I assume you're the reason Arthur made it out alive through the whole ordeal."

Merlin froze where he was sitting, a myriad of emotions passing through his face before his expression settled on a grimace. Arthur sat up, interested in hearing Merlin's answer. What truly happened that night with the dragon? In the comfort of his own mind, Arthur admitted that Merlin's explanation of Arthur slaying it was... unlikely, at best, considering that Arthur was unconscious at the time.

"Well, you'd be correct Leon. It took me a while to figure out how to use dragonlord commands, since I never got any instruction on how I was supposed to command Kil- the great dragon. I'm truly sorry that I wasn't quick enough to save the other knights."

Merlin hung his head low, with what looked like shame. Arthur frowned at his manservant. Surely Merlin couldn't hold himself responsible for their deaths? Every knight had similar guilt, telling themselves at night that they should've been faster, should've been better, should've been more aware, then maybe some of their friends would still be with them.

Every knight learned the same lesson: those thoughts were the path to madness. It was disheartening to see that misplaced guilt on Merlin as well.

Luckily, before Arthur had to try to articulate that, Leon seemed to have similar thoughts, and spoke to Merlin with a soft, reassuring smile.

"Merlin, they volunteered for that mission, and they knew the risks. You are not to blame for the dragon's actions. Now please, tell us, how was the dragon actually defeated?"

Merlin nodded at Leon's words, but the guilt remained on his face.

"I, uh, was able to find my dragonlord voice after Arthur was knocked from his horse. He hadn't managed to hit the dragon, and he was about to kill Arthur, but I couldn't let that happen."

Merlin glanced over at Arthur, who was valiantly trying to ignore the warm fuzzy feelings blooming in his chest at the thought of Merlin slaying a dragon single-handedly just to protect him. He wasn't some maiden in a children's tale!

"But, when I gave the order to the dragon to stop attacking, I- I couldn't-"

Merlin swallowed thickly before continuing.

"I couldn't kill him. He was the last dragon, the last of my kin. So, I ordered him to leave. I banished him from Camelot and forbade him from ever harming another human again."

This time, Arthur froze where he was sitting, and he could see that the knights were in similarly tense states. Poor Leon turned a rather disturbing shade of pale.

Finally, Arthur spoke up with a forced calm tone, the type that was only a thin veneer to panic.

"Merlin, you don't mean to tell me that the dragon is still alive? And it could return to Camelot to finish what it started?"

Merlin looked at Arthur and tried to reassure him, but Arthur could barely comprehend Merlin's words through his rising panic.

"Well, yes, he's still alive, but dragons physically cannot disobey orders given by their dragonlord. He cannot return to Camelot at all, unless I call for him."

Merlin tried to give him a comforting smile, but Arthur wasn't sure he could feel any sort of comfort at the moment. He locked eyes with Leon, who wasn't faring much better with his own panic. Dear gods, that monster was still out there! They had all been living under a false sense of security! And all the while, Merlin was smiling at him like there was nothing wrong at all!

Arthur took a deep breath and tried to think through the haze of his panic. Right, Merlin hadn't killed the dragon. That made sense, since Merlin hated killing anything at all, much less the most dangerous monster on the planet. Right. But, according to Merlin, the dragon physically couldn't enter Camelot or hurt any humans.

Information, what Arthur needed was more information. If he had more information, he could come up with a strategy to keep Camelot safe from the dragon indefinitely. Merin's orders had worked for now, but there was no guarantee that those would work forever.

Forever... wait a minute...

"Merlin," Arthur called out frantically, fueled by an awful thought. "How long does a dragonlord's order bind a dragon?" Please say forever, please say forever...

Merlin's eyebrows shot up, apparently not expecting Arthur to ask such a question.

"Well, any dragonlord's order is fully binding to a dragon up until the original dragonlord rescinds the order or the dragonlord dies, whichever comes first."

Arthur felt panic's icy fingers wrap around his heart. Arthur despised even thinking about any hypothetical death of Merlin's, couldn't fathom an empty life as the king without his friend, but this, this information put a whole new layer of dread onto the though, which Arthur previously thought wasn't even possible. He could see the other knights catching onto his logic as well, while Merlin still sat on his log, looking at all of them confusedly.

If Merlin somehow died, then his banishment on the dragon was lifted. And if that happened, there would be no dragonlord left to stop it from reducing all of Camelot to ash. If Merlin died, then Camelot was doomed.

This new knowledge sat heavy in Arthur's gut, putting him on edge. Balinor had been killed from a bandit's crossbow bolt, something that Merlin faced regularly while following Arthur around. All it would take was one lucky shot on a bandit's part, and all of Camelot would die.

One bandit attack gone wrong, one assassin from Morgana, one accident on the training field, one illness contracted from a patient, and all of Camelot would go up in smoke.

Wait... dragons lived for thousands of years... and Merlin would, if Arthur had his way, live for at least a hundred years, but everyone died eventually. The dragon would surely outlive Merlin, and then the only way that Camelot would still stand was if there was another dragonlord! But Merlin was the only one left, and it was passed down from...

from father to son.

Arthur choked on air as he realized it. Good god, what had his life come to?!

If Camelot was going to survive, Merlin needed to have a son, and have one quickly. For the continued survival of Camelot to be ensured, Merlin needed to find a wife and get laid.

Arthur wanted to start laughing hysterically. The fate of his kingdom rested upon Merlin's ability to sire a child.

Arthur stared at Merlin as the other man tried not to squirm under the shocked gazes of all the knights. Ok, he could do this, his kingdom would be safe from the dragon, he just needed a plan.

First, they needed to get Merlin back to Camelot, where he would be safe and away from murderous bandits. That part was easy enough, they were already heading back to the kingdom anyways. The knights had estimated that it would have taken them another three days to reach Camelot, but with all of the knights sharing Arthur panic around Merlin's safety, for both the sake of their friend himself and the kingdom, they were able to make it back in only two days.

For those two days, Merlin seemed more confused by their frantic and panicked behavior than anything else. His shocked and embarrassed face when Percival had helped him on and off his horse - "so he doesn't fall and get hurt", the gentle giant had rationalized - had been very amusing. All the while, Arthur planned out what they would do when they returned and repeatedly reassured Merlin that no, he wasn't too mad about Merlin letting the dragon live since Merlin could at least keep it away.

Then, they needed to ensure Merlin's protection in Camelot. Granted, there weren't many dangers in Camelot, but the clumsy fool could find danger anywhere. With his luck, Arthur would bet that Merlin would trip over some stairs in the castle and wind up bleeding out! That could be remedied by assigning knights to guard Merlin at all times in Camelot and keeping Merlin physically by his side as much as he could. Merlin raised an eyebrow at his new guards and schedule, which kept him glued to Arthur's hip at all hours of the day, but otherwise said nothing (besides a little mocking about how Arthur couldn't get anything done without him. Arthur tried not to think about how the familiar taunt rang far more true than he had ever realized.).

(Merlin, on his end, took these measures as a sign that he had lost Arthur's trust with the admission of letting the dragon live. What else was he supposed to think about knights following him 24/7 and being kept in Arthur's line of sight more than ever before?! Merlin consoled himself that it was by far more lenience than he had been expecting. Arthur hadn't threatened him, he wasn't being executed or exiled, Arthur was still treating him as a friend, and he had every chance to earn Arthur's trust back again. Really, if his punishment as just having to be with his knight friends at all times, then he could happily live with that.)

Still, Arthur didn't know how to go about the final part of his plan: ensuring that Merlin would have an heir to inherit his dragonlord powers and keep Camelot standing for generations to come. Of all of the trials and quests he'd faced, this one seemed to be the most daunting of all: finding a woman attracted to Merlin.

Arthur eventually settled on a plan. He'd have Gwaine accompany Merlin on long walks around the castle and the lower town, and the knight would report back to Arthur on which ladies had caught Merlin's eye, and which ladies Merlin had caught the eye of. Gwaine had a way to spotting attraction between people, something he frequently used to gather ammunition to tease his fellow knights with. With any luck, there would be some overlap between the two lists, and they could find some nice woman for Merlin to settle down with.

After a few weeks, however, Arthur found himself having to re-evaluate his plan. While Gwaine had reported that there were a good number of young ladies in the lower town that seemed to fancy Merlin, Merlin didn't seem to have eyes for anyone, which made their mission trickier.

Eventually, Arthur resorted to inviting Merlin over for dinner with him and Gwen, hoping to flaunt to Merlin how great the married life was and how Merlin was getting older and was running out of time to settle down and have children. To his disappointment, Merlin didn't seem to get the hint, instead telling both of them how much he appreciated them including him in their time together when they didn't have to. Arthur had to swallow back frustrated screams at his friend's obliviousness.

(Gwen, meanwhile, was perplexed by Arthur's push for Merlin to find a wife. At first glance, she would think that Arthur was worried about Merlin never settling down and starting a family, which was something Gwen sometimes worried about as well.

However, Arthur's push was more vehement than a concerned friend's. There was something there, some underlying passion forcing him to push Merlin towards a wife.

When Gwen finally realized the truth behind Arthur's efforts, it broke her heart. Gwen knew that her husband could be a bit old-fashioned in some ways, and that the prejudices that he must have grown up with as a noble were not easily shaken off, but still, that wasn't an excuse to be homophobic towards Merlin!

Gwen had figured out about her friend's preferences during the Lamia's attack, since Merlin was the only man unaffected. Truthfully though, Gwen had suspected long before that, given how Merlin had looked at both Lancelot and Gwaine. And while it was shocking for Gwen, she would support her friend no matter what!

So, she was very disappointed in Arthur's behavior. Arthur must have somehow learned about Merlin's preference towards men during their last quest, and now he was trying to pressure Merlin into finding a wife! She agreed that Merlin deserved a lovely family, but Arthur should not force him into the nobility's narrow definition of family! If Merlin wanted his lovely family to involve a husband instead of a wife and that's what made him happy, then that is what they all should wholeheartedly accept!

Gwen really needed to give her husband a stern talking-to before he could hurt Merlin with his prejudice!)

(Merlin, meanwhile, is far too sleep-deprived and stressed over keeping Arthur safe and the prophecy to even think about romance or starting a family. His disaster bisexual ass has too much on his plate right now.)

So, Arthur tries everything he could think of to find Merlin a wife. Unfortunately, Arthur is not nearly as good of a wingman to Merlin as Merlin was to him. Arthur had hosted many balls and feasts, making sure to invite attractive ladies around Merlin's age, but Merlin didn't even bat an eye at any of them.

Perhaps the only thing more frustrating than Merlin's lack of attention towards any of the young ladies of the court was the fact that, now that Arthur was looking for signs of anyone's affection towards Merlin, he could see how many members of his own court were smitten with his manservant.

And Arthur was just baffled because how?! How was that possible?! That Merlin, a lanky beanpole of a man with a blinding smile and charming wit and unending loyalty and eyes he could get lost in...

Where was Arthur going with that? Oh right. Merlin, with all of the suaveness of a wet sock, was somehow the object of desire for most of the ladies in waiting. Arthur was entirely baffled by it.

And just when Arthur thought that it couldn't get any worse, it did. It got so much worse when his wife sat him down and started lecturing him for some sort of prejudice that he was showing against Merlin by pushing him towards a wife, because apparently Merlin's eyes didn't stray towards women at all.

Look, Arthur knew that some of his own knights preferred the company of men, and he wouldn't begrudge them something like that. To each their own. But if Camelot was going to still be standing for Arthur's heir, Merlin needed to sire a son of his own.

After Arthur explained to Gwen the situation that they were in with the great dragon still alive and Merlin's life being the only thing holding the beast back from destroying Camelot, Gwen also became grave with the realization that they were stuck without a solution that would keep Camelot safe for the next generations.

Arthur moped around for a few weeks, unable to think of a single solution for the situation he had found himself trapped in. How on earth was he supposed to get Merlin to have a biological son if Merlin doesn't even like women?!

Wait, but Merlin had liked a woman, at one point. Perhaps his preferences had changed, but at one point, he was willing to sacrifice himself, to willingly confess to sorcery in front of Uther Pendragon, in order to keep the woman he loved alive. And Arthur knew that love like that didn't die easily. And Arthur should know, since he loved the same woman in the same way.

From then on, Arthur kept a keen eye on Merlin and his wife. He knew that his wife would never be unfaithful to him with Merlin, and Merlin had been nothing but supportive towards Arthur and Gwen's relationship, even when Arthur himself had given up on it. Still, Arthur knew that if Merlin had eyes for one woman in the world, it would have to be Gwen. He saw the way that Merlin looked at Gwen sometimes. Merlin didn't look at any other woman that way.

Gwen had confessed that she had romantic feelings towards Merlin at one point, and Merlin certainly had some sort of feelings for Gwen that went beyond platonic. Arthur swallowed dryly as he thought about it. Could... could that be the only way?

(Cue slowburn Mergwenthur, with Arthur trying to set up Gwen and Merlin together with a heavy heart, while the other two are kinda oblivious and mistake it as Arthur wanting a threesome, which they would be more than happy to go along with, along with Arthur slowly realizing his own feelings for Merlin.)

(Meanwhile, since Arthur's crap at communicating, Merlin doesn't actually realize that it all started because they thought that they needed Merlin to have a son to keep Camelot safe from the dragon after Merlin was dead. Upon Arthur finally telling him, Merlin then has to awkwardly informs them that he's immortal and doesn't really need to sire an heir.

Arthur, understandably, screams into a pillow at the news that his efforts were pointless, while his lovers laugh gently at him and start kissing him to make up for all the stress he had to go through.)

And that's all for this au! I hoped you liked Arthur's himbo-ness shining through one again!

Thanks for reading through my ramblings! :D

[tinyavenuesailor]

Crack Fic! Where Everyone thinks Merlin is the reasonable one.

Everyone loves Merlin and thinks he’s the sweetest person, who couldn’t hurt a fly. So, they’re all annoyed when they see how Arthur treats him. The King is constantly overloading his manservant with work, ordering him to do massive tasks and coming up with ridiculous excuses to keep Merlin from taking a break. So, the knights and others constantly try to find ways to pull Merlin away from Arthur’s side and give him a break but Arthur always finds a way to mess up their plans.

Gwen and the other maids sometimes try to help Merlin with his chores

Gwen: Arthur you can’t actually expect Merlin to clean the entire throne room by himself

Arthur: *shrugs* Yes. I’m hardly asking him much

Gwen: It usually takes five maids to thoroughly clean the throne room. It’s ridiculous to ask one person to do so much work and then, to place Lancelot as a guard to make sure none of us can help him. 

Arthur: Lancelot wouldn’t have to guard anything if you all weren’t so ready to disobey my orders. I said Merlin will clean the throne room ALONE and that is final

Gwen: I never knew you could be such a cruel person and to Merlin of all people

*Gwen storms off*

Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan and some of the other knights try to steal Merlin away to the tavern to relax

Gwaine: Come on Princess. I’m sure you can survive one night without Merlin 

*Gwaine tries to pull Merlin to their side but Arthur grabs hold of Merlin and pulls him back*

Arthur: Need I remind you, Merlin is my manservant and doesn’t have time to play around. He still has very important duties to complete

Elyan: What could he possibly have to do at this time? Most servants have gone home for the day?

Arthur: Well Merlin is the King’s manservant as I keep reminding you and still have very important things to do

Gwaine: Like what?

Arthur: *pauses* For one, he needs to clean the mess he made in the closet

The knights: *trying to process the bullshit Arthur just told them* 

Arthur: *crossing his arms, 100% serious, daring them to challenge him*

Merlin: It’s fine guys really, probably next time *pulling Arthur and himself back into Arthur’s chambers and locking the door*

Or when something terrible happens to Merlin like the time he got kidnapped and everyone went into full panic

Arthur: *staring hard at Lance* Merlin’s been kidnapped?

Elyan: They ambushed us out of nowhere and before we knew it they were off with him.

Leon: Don’t worry sire, I’ll gather a search party immediately to have him found.

Gwaine: We’ll make them sorry they ever thought to mess with our Merlin

Arthur: *holding up a finger and turning to Lance again* Merlin’s been kidnapped?

Lance: ..... That is the story

Gwaine: Princess, have you not been listening. We need to hurry every second counts. 

Arthur: I heard, just wondering why he couldn’t have chosen a better day to get himself kidnapped

*Everyone gawks at Arthur in disbelief*

Basically, everyone thinks that Arthur doesn’t appreciate Merlin and that their cinnamon roll deserves better and formed a protection squad to help Merlin get the treatment he deserves.

Meanwhile in Reality....

Arthur knows about Merlin’s magic. He is fully aware of how powerful Merlin is and finally sees that his manservant isn’t an idiot. He’s just a bloody madman.

===In the throne room=== 

*Arthur and Merlin both staring at a dark purple swirling vortex on the floor*

Arthur: *takes a deep breath* Merlin, why is there a hole in my throne room?

Merlin: Well, it's not a hole. It’s a sort of gateway to the dark dimension.

Arthur: Oh, okay. Why is there a gateway to the dark dimension in my throne room?

Merlin: ..... I can fix it

Lancelot: Arthur, I heard you- *looks down at the menacing purple gateway on the floor and then back to Arthur and Merlin* 

Lancelot: Should I go guard the door?

===After Gwaine, Elyan and Percival tried to take Merlin out for drinks===

Merlin: You know we both could use a break. I am a bit hungry. Been a while since I had a drink too

Arthur: Well maybe, we can join them after you explain why my Uncle is tied up in my closet

*Arthur opens his closet doors revealing a tied-up and gagged Agravaine making muffled noise*

Merlin: You told me to get evidence that he was working with Morgana

Arthur: And your solution to that was to kidnap him?

Merlin: What better way to hear it than from the man himself? 

Arthur: What’s going to happen when people realize he’s missing

Merlin: Don’t worry, one memory wipe spell and he’ll be back tomorrow in his chambers like nothing ever happened

Arthur: You told me those spells were dangerous

Merlin: *laughs* Well, yeah, I’m not using it on us

Agravaine: *making muffled and panicked pleads to Arthur*

Lancelot: Sorry, Arthur, Gaius told me that Merlin needed m- *sees a tied-up Agravaine* 

Lancelot: *nods* I’ll go stand guard

=== Arthur, the first to find Merlin after his “kidnapping�� ===

Arthur: *folds his arms and looks behind his manservant to see a trail of bodies* Kidnapped?

Merlin: Well they did try to kidnap me. I just decided not to resist. 

Arthur: *sighs* Is everyone dead?

Merlin: I was supposed to leave someone alive?

Arthur: *rolls his eyes* Come before I have to explain how my “innocent”, “weak” manservant took out a group of mercenaries.

Lancelot: *already standing guard* 

[achillesuwu]

Au where merthur have soulmate identifying mark but merlin is the only one who know they are because if Arthur knew he would find out about his magic 👀 (arthur's mark being a beautiful dragon mainly on on his back but its tall is draped on his torso, a wing stretch on his right shoulder, another end on his hip and its head rest upon his stomach. As if it were jealousy protecting him. its scale are of a blue so dark it nearly look black. It has golden eye and tread of gold on is horn, gold shimmer on its body highlighting its scale at some place.

It screams powerful sorcerer.)

And thus it doesn't change anything from the show. Merlin doesn't tell him not even at the very end (Merlin's mark is a smaller red dragon with its head on his shoulder and who is is holding itself on his shoulder)

It would be very angsty but also SO FUNNY if in a post return futur where arthur (Gwen, the knights) are very confuse and lost but luckily for them there exist multiple center for "People who got Teleported at the wrong place/Bought back from the dead? We are here to help!/ your five yo drank a weird potion? No problem! Etc" basically Magic help center.

Just imagine basic social worker sorcerers who tries to do their job at 3 am and see THE Emrys mark ™ on a random dude and they are like *gasp*.

Them : what the fuck

Arthur :???

Them :WHAT THE FUCK

the others :????

Them : we are calling your soulmate RIGHT NOW. WHAT THE FUCK should I call the government too???? I'M NOT PAY ENOUGH FOR THIS.

Arthur : my???

Them : YOU. DO NOT MOVE IF I LOSE YOU I'M DEAD. DEAD.

You can imagine arthur pendragon pacing like a 13 years old stressed before an oral presentation because even if he was afraid then thought he globally didn't really care about his soulmate. He realised that it wasn't so much that he didn't care but he thought it would simply never be so he just... Kinda forgot about it. Now he just can not put it away because is soulmate IS coming and WHERE IS MERLIN WHEN HE NEEDS HIM (he is blocking any thoughts about Merlin potential dead thank you very much)

(Gwen is currently finding the situation extremely funny because she figured out in 5x13 and she is 80 yo (in a younger body but still) . And she is waaaayyyyyy to old to see her former husband stay in his denial.

Leon is 78 years old and he is slowly recognising the dragon in question that look very much like Merlin's family crest. He is looking at his wife in a very conspiracy way.

Gwaine is currently not really giving a damn about the whole soulmate thing. What do you MEAN you can send messages to people in less that a second?!?!?

Elyan would usually not give a damn but he is very much not happy ™ to find out that his sister (first) husband had a soulmate mark who isn't dead and he is glaring at Arthur but he is also getting a hug from gwen so it doesn't look menacing at all.

Perceval (57) is right behind Gwaine but he is currently watching himself in the mirror because seeing his younger self again is weird asf

Meanwhile Lancelot is talking with the assistant (on the verge of a break down because they are going to see the GOD OF MAGIC OH MY GOD) about magical history

[escespace]

Read part three of this here

Arthur didn't know what to say after that because he himself had been thinking that he had never really known Merlin (And He was not going to admit it, but it had also hurt).

Merlin came into his life like a whirlwind of disaster and Arthur, who had fought all his life to be the prince his father wanted him to be, felt a slight threat that all his effort would fall apart. The boy continued to act like everything a subordinate should not: too talkative, too critical, too clumsy. Sometimes people heard him talk to him as if he were not a prince and Arthur had fear his father come and scold him.Then Merlin would ruin a dinner by spilling something or speaking ill of a nobleman and the stain would fall on Arthur.

Arthur knew he would be a problem from the moment his father made him his servant without consulting him.

And now here they are, in a lodge forgotten by the gods, wounded, confused, with a political problem that could cause a stir among the peasants and Merlin proved that Arthur was right in the beginning, it is a weakness to trust. Merlin has dared to humiliate him, challenge his beliefs, spit on Arthur's legacy...

And Arthur would be lying if he said he hadn't conscientiously allowed him to do so.

Just as Arthur allow him to call him names, to hit him back, to make jokes, to question his instructions, just as he allow him to have opinions that contradict everything that the council members instruct him. Merlin became the person he let see the side he let no one else see. The one he turned to for resonance for his thoughts and insecurities, and damn! The person whose advice he value the most. All because from the first moment many years ago that Merlin stood before him as if Arthur were a simple man, to defend what was right, Arthur knew that Merlin had something. Something he wanted, that he needed, that he craved: Merlin was honest.

Honest to values, honest to people and honest to oneself

But it was all a facade, right?

Merlin hadn't been honest with him in gods knows how long...

Merlin has magic. Powerful magic that has healed every single person in the room (except him, of course) and he didn't even mutter a word. He said that if he thinks he's learned magic then he's not what Arthur thinks he is, but what does that even mean in principle?

Arthur sees how Gwaine is the first to approach Merlin, and it's not that he doubts that he would be (Lancelot doesn't count because he doesn't seem to leave his side since everything happened). And he was quite of smiling, really, like there was a joke that only Gwaine knew about, but that's just Gwaine every day so it didn't surprise him. He was surprised that the next one to approach was Leon, solemn and stone faced as se is only when he presents in front of a knight who should not stay in the line of service by mutilation or old age, only to break to ruffle the hair over Merlin's forehead.

And it was all so confusing because HOW IS EVERYONE SO CALM ABOUT THIS? Because Arthur feels like he's the only one with thoughts rioting from two very disorganized and violent sides of his mind. Percival and Elyan haven't moved at all, but the former doesn't even seem surprised and the latter is too shocked.

(I'm opening parentheses here because I didn't want to mess the previous paragraphs, but note that Arthur doesn't exactly repeat what Merlin said in the previous fragment because even though he never said it out loud, he and Merlin cannot be defined as just "close").

At some point even Elyan and Percival approached Merlin and seemed to have so many questions but Arthur was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice. Leon returned to his position as close to Arthur as he would allow, knowing that although Arthur probably wouldn't see him approach, he wouldn't really appreciate it as soon as he came to himself.

Night fell and no one slept, either because they were watching the captured, because they still didn't feel safe (Merlin) or because they had a lot to think about (Arthur).

As the sun began to show its first signs of rising, Arthur had a new resolution.

He walked faster and more determined than any of the knights could have prevented and ended up grabbing Merlin by the lapels of his jacket to slam him into the wall.

«Heal me»

Seconds of expectant silence was all Arthur could bear before he repeated himself in a more aggressive voice, rolling out what could well have been a growl:

«HEAL.ME»

Feeling the contact of Merlin's palm against his wound, he turned his gaze there. Concentrated more than he should have in scars, veins, tendons... Any small detail that could distract him from the golden glow that would take away the cerulean gaze that was one of the few certainties he still held.

And as Merlin's accelerated breathing beat against his golden bangs, he can't help but notice that these are the hands of a worker. For while no one could attest that Merlin was even decent at his job, it was known that he still had a way of standing out in his very rare way

«Why didn't you do it before?» Arthur asked, looking up, once the warm sensation ended.

Arthur had thought that what made him stand out was that no one was more dedicated to him than Merlin, not his knights, nor the castle servants, not even those who had watched him grow up; and if someone as honest Merlin was so invested in him that had to mean something.

«You don't seem like the type to be comfortable with magic being used on them»

Perhaps that would be another certainty that remained after all but there was still so much to know before determining how deep the betrayal ran.

«You, the sorcerer who believes that Royalty it is corrupt, do you care about my comfort?»

But Merlin has no memory, right? Why would he care about Arthur? That still wouldn't erase that he is a liar.

A liar

A liar

A liar

« don't think deeply about it... Using magic on a few knights is not the same as using magic on the prince»

«You didn't want me to bleed out? To harm Camelot once and for all?»

«Cry me a river. That barely bled, You moron!»

THAT! That was a truth. And if Merlin can still be his absurd self, and his honesty is still there, then of all the doubts he has, only two might matter. Arthur was beginning to fear that the answer to whether Merlin feared him would be worse than hearing him say that it had always been a strategy to end the kingdom.

With a smile, too mocking for the nostalgia in Arthur's eyes, he finally asked:

«If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?»

The throne of camelot

The head of the Pendragons

A sea of blood for every drop spilled by a sorcerer

«Just freedom»

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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I don't know what to say. I don't even know what I just wrote.

It took me so long to continue this because I wanted to make this concept a proper fic. But i'm in a terrible block. Either way I want to give it closure (This is not the end! But soon) because I know how it ends and it's not a big deal, but the idea has to get out of my head somehow.

[pondermoniums]

AU where Arthur wakes up next to the lake. He feels cold and tired, like he can't fully wake up. He's sore, but for the most part he's able to get himself back to Camelot. The city and his queen welcome him back with relief and jubilation...but Merlin is not there.

"We expected him to come back with you," Gwen says.

"He'll turn up," Leon says, but it sounds hollow. Arthur knows he's waiting for his brother knights, and as the days go on, neither the knights, nor Merlin return home.

Arthur is slowly losing his mental fortitude, and Gaius is the only person who is honest with him. "Something must have happened, sire."

"You think he's a prisoner of war?"

"No. I think Merlin...did something. What do you remember?"

"I remember...I believed I was dying. But then I woke up and I was fine."

It takes another day and a half for Gaius to build up the courage to tell him, "Your majesty, I have reason to believe that you did perish at Mordred's blade."

"Then why am I sat here talking to you? You can see me. Hear me. I can touch things."

"Sire...do you remember the illusion Morgause gave you all those years ago? About your mother?"

Arthur had willingly pushed that memory to the back of his mind, where the darkest and quietest waters made no sound unless forcefully stirred. The look on his face, however, encourages Gaius to continue, "Do you remember what she told you? About your conception?"

Arthur tried to make light of it. "Nobody wants to think too much on their conception."

Gaius, ever the stoic physician, persevered, "Except Ygraine could not. Bringing you into this world evoked an ancient magic, the magic of life and death. The sorceress who utilized it, did so in such a way that allowed you to be born, but at the price of your mother. Souls trading places in this world."

Arthur knew what Gaius was telling him, but he did not want to know. Did not want it to possibly, ever feasibly, be true. Out of politeness, he hears his voice say, "What are you telling me?"

The old physician's demeanor did break as he took a deep breath. "I'm telling you...that I believe Merlin traded places with you."

[keitorin3]

Short: Finding Merlin

Arthur: What do you mean you can't find Merlin?

Leon: I mean we can't find him, Sire. We've asked all the servants and before you ask, yes we've checked the Tavern.

Arthur: *Paces* Then search the forests I want him found understood!?

Leon: Yes Sire. *Walks out the door but hears the King mutter*

Arthur: *mutters* Idiot thinks he can escape this marriage... Ha just wait until I show him his wedding robes, he'll look like a noble and absolutely hate it. 👰🏻‍♂️

Leon: *suffers and leaves quickly*

Gwaine: So what did the princess do this time?

Leon: Apparently he gave Merlin his mother's sigil awhile back and Merlin only just found out, thanks to Gwen, what a noble offering a sigil means to their intended.

Gwaine: No way! The princess proposed marriage to Merlin without even telling him?!

Leon the long suffering: Indeed. Merlin is a commoner and while he has improved since he first arrived here, he still doesn't know all the intricacies of nobility.

Gwaine: So Merlin got mad and went off to who knows where?

Leon: It would seem.

Gwaine: How long do we have before his royalness starts going off to find Merlin himself?

Random Servant: *Shouts* The King is gone!

Gwaine: ... 😅

Leon: ... 😭

Merlin: *Returns dragging an unconscious and dirty Arthur on horseback*

Gwen: Oh, what happened? Did you get attacked? Are you both OK? Where have you been Merlin? Everyone has been looking for you.

Merlin: I'm ok Gwen, I went to talk about something important. Nothing bad happened, I left a note with Gaius on where I went.

Elyan: Ah, he got called on an emergency birth with one of the down town ladies, hasn't been back yet.

Merlin: *Huffs* And so that was reason for this idiot to go off and start a kingdom wide hunt for me? The Dollphead...

Gwen: *sigh* We did try to tell him he was being a bit paranoid. But he thought after your argument on the sigil he might have scared you off... *Looks to the unconscious King resting on the horse* What happened to him?

Merlin: Pfft, *smirks* the King fainted.

Elyan: He... Fainted...

Merlin: Yup. I found the idiot riding like a madman and when he finally calmed down enough to actually listen to me I told him I just went off to talk with Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

Gwen: Ok, that explains where you went, but then what happened to make Arthur faint?

Merlin: Aha, well... 😅

[BEFORE, IN THE FOREST]

Arthur: So what was it that you need to talk to dragons for? Did you get your answers? *Trying and failing not to stare at Merlin while walking beside him*

Merlin: Hmm I did *Reaches out to grasp Arthur's hand and paused their walking*

Arthur: Merlin?

Merlin: *Breathes deeply before taking something from his pocket and into Arthur's hand*

Arthur's heart dropped when he felt a round shape of a coin and it showed in his eyes what he believes this to be.

Merlin: *Noticed Arthur's sudden sad mood, rolled his eyes* Dollphead, opened your hand before jumping to conclusions! 🙄

Arthur: *Opens hand* Wait, is this...

Merlin: *Squirms and fidgets* I wanted to ask Kilgharrah about Dragon Lord Courting triditions. And well, he wasn't too informed in that but knew of Dragon Lords giving a Dragon scale as gifts and I asked Aithusa for one of hers, being her Dragon Lord after all... And well he said I could shape it, so I used my magic to carve it and well, being a dragon lord and you a Pendragon I thought why not Twin dragons?

In Arthurs hand was a white-silver sigil that shines faintly with Twin dragons circling each other and behind them he recognises the druids triskel symbol.

Arthur: *In Awe and too speechless for words*

Merlin: It also is embedded with my magic and acts like a... Connection between us. I'll be to find you as long as you have it and you'll be able to find me. My magic would guide you. Maybe then you won't have to go on a kingdom wide search for me. *Laughs*

Arthur: *Smiles* Heh, so a Merlin Finder? About time, do you know how hard it is to find idiot warlocks lately?

Merpin: *Smiles fondly* Prat.

Merlin: *Looks serious* That's not all either. Arthur, your a prat and a dollop head. I know I tell you you're always a bit thick in the head but I never knew how much until I realised the significance of your mother's sigil. You had to go about proposing to me in the most infuriating way without even telling me.

Merlin: But I know more then anyone how good of a man you are, how much you work to be fair to your people. And the thought of you having those kind of feelings for me was too good to be true. Because I would have said yes. Always I'd say yes. I feel like I was born to love you Arthur. Prophecys and destiny may play a part, but I would always chose you.

Arthur: *Dumbfounded*

Merlin: *Rolls his eyes* I'm proposing cabbagehead. I'll marry you. ❤️💍

Arthur: ... 😳🤯💞 *Faints and falls into a puddle*

Merlin: ...

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Merlin: *Blushes with a laugh* I accepted his proposal. He ended up going into shock after and fell over into a small puddle.

Gwen: Oh! 😃 Merlin I'm so happy for you!

Elyan: Yeah, cheers mate. *Mutters to himself* Thank god all the pining is over.

Arthur: *Wakes up* I had the most fantastic dream! Merlin gave me a sigil and accepted my proposal~!

Merlin: *Speaks from the fireplace* It wasn't a dream Arthur!

Arthur: 😍 You love me! 💖

Merlin: 🙄❤️ *Walks up and kisses Arthur* Yes I do.

Arthur: 💘🥴💕 Merlin Loves me~! Merlin will marry me~

Merlin: *Fond and in love* 🥰

The (Merlin's) Knights: FINALLY!

Castle Servants: FINALLY!

All of Camelot: FINALLY!

Kilgharrah: The two halves have finally become one.

Aithusa: *Chirps*

[merrilinie]

TW: mentions of torture, talk of scars

Merlin who doesn’t like it when people touch his back. Arthur and Leon notice it first and near instantly when Leon gives him a friendly pat and the boy tenses so hard it’s a surprise his shoulders didn’t pop out of place.

Elyan and Gwen notice it when they invite him over for a late dinner once he and Gwen are finished with their duties and he refuses to press his back to the chair.

Gwaine figures it out on the first day, with it being him who tells Lancelot and Percival about it. Lance tries to ask the other if it has something to do with his magic, but upon Merlin’s face going cold and a shadow of fear crossing his eyes, he promises not to bring it up again.

They all just know not to touch his back or anywhere on his torso or even his upper legs, there’s bo need to question it both because they respect his boy dies and, well… they’re scared of what the answer might be.

It’s when Merlin gets hit in an ambush that the truth of it is revealed.

The gash along his side is not all that deep, but the cowardly bandits who attacked had laced their blades with poison. With no choice, they remove his jacket and shirt to properly clean out the wound as best they can.

There are a few gasps, a lot of purposeful ignored tears, but they all steel their nerves and pretend not to see the vicious scars on his body. None of them could deny the sight, try as they might, not when the scars were big and jagged and so clearly from some kind of whip. They tried not to look at the ladder like lines across his stomach, going up to his lower pecks before turning into vicious swirls that seemed to mock the Druid mark.

It was useless.

Merlin was conscious enough to tell them what to put on his wound, to order them to make him drink as much as he could so wash what they could out of his system. He told them to find a river for him to lay in as the fever broke, which they did.

No one said a thing about the burns littering his legs.

When he awoke with full consciousness, he knew instantly that they had seen even though he had been given clothes. If they weren’t different to what he had been wearing, maybe he wouldn’t have.

Alas, their saddened eyes gave it away.

It’s Arthur who asks, “Merlin… who did this to you?”

Merlin cries openly, always refusing to hide his tears unlike every other man, he spews apologies over and over. Even as Lance and Gwaine hold him close he continues, ignoring their assurances that it’s okay until eventually he answers.

“It was Uther. He found out my father was a dragon lord. He only spared me because he wanted to see a dragon lord become a slave.”

Arthur’s tears join his in the soil.

[overlyspecific]

Part 10 of Merlin Hood

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 11, Part 12

Merlin didn’t have a lot of regrets in his life. Sure, he wished he could spend more time with his friends and do more with his magic than what he was doing, but he understood the constraints of his life. He accepted it through and through. What he did regret however was not eating back at the hideout when he got the chance.

Okay, maybe he was a little loopy from pain and blood loss, but that didn’t stop his stomach from rumbling. Merlin half excepted the noise to echo off the walls.

Merlin: *mumbling a little deliriously* Hey, Mr. Witchfinder, sir! You wouldn’t by chance have a sliver of bread or a sweet meat I can have? I would be forever grateful and I may even forgive you for the whole nasty torture business for a sausage.

Aredian: I have tortured hundreds of sorcerers to the point of madness. I have interrogated thousands of people for very important information. Never once have I ever wished for someone to be silent rather than be subjected the utter rubbish you have spewed to me and I still know absolutely nothing. You are either the most intelligent person in all of Albion or the craziest idiot I have ever met.

Merlin: Hey, I only allow one person to call me an idiot and he is currently busy retrieving a mythical sword from a lake.

Aredian: How do I even respond to something like that?

Merlin: *thinking with a determined look on his face* I mean you could ask me who the person is or why they are retrieving the sword.

Aredian: Who is the person and why are they retrieving this mythical sword?

Merlin: *smiling* The once and future king is retrieving the sword because a forest druid friend of mine told him he needed to in order to be able to follow a beacon of magic which is connected by the strings of destiny.

Aredian: *regretting every life decision he has made that brought him to this point* I really don’t know whether to let you go to put an end to your madness or kill you for wasting my time, but either way I would be going against the king’s orders.

Merlin: *sympathizing* King Uther is really picky about orders. Found that out the hard way when I ruined his favorite shirt but I couldn’t exactly offer to clean it with magic at the time. Do you think he would be mad if I broke in and fixed it now? No, don’t answer I know its too risky for something unimportant. Its still gonna bother me though.

Aredian: *storming out of the dark room* DO YOU EVER SHUT UP?!

Merlin: *alone now* I think that may have been rhetorical.

Merlin shrugs his shoulders and closes his eyes.

Meanwhile, Leon is pacing where he is stationed at the front of the castle. He helped Arthur sneak out hours ago when they returned and Arthur learned of his father’s plans. Uther expected Arthur to be thrilled that their problem would finally be put to an end and Arthur played the part well, but Leon knew Arthur. He had known him since they started training to be knights together. Leon would even go as far as to say he was the one who taught Arthur how to lie when they stayed out too late at the tavern or when he disagreed with his father.

Leon saw the signs in Arthur. He saw the tightening of his fist, the crinkle of his brow and the locked in focus of his gaze. He knew Arthur was going to leave the castle and warn Merlin. What Leon didn’t know was why.

Arthur was a very smart and talented warrior and hunter. He should have tracked Merlin down years ago, but he didn’t. Leon has never understood it. However, Leon came to the conclusion that when it comes time to pick sides between Arthur and the king, Leon will support his best friend. He’s seen the good in Arthur and he decided he doesn’t always need to understand his friend to support him. All of that doesn’t mean he is any less frustrated about being left in the dark.

A couple of shadows approaching pull Leon out of his thoughts.

Gwen: *smiling* Hi, Leon.

Leon: Hello, Gwen. What has you out so late? Surely, Morgana doesn’t keep you that busy to work dusk to dawn.

Lancelot: Sorry, that would be my fault. I offered to buy Gwen a drink at the tavern and we lost track of time.

Leon: *narrowing his eyes a little* Have we met before?

Gwen: Lance here is from a neighboring village so you might have seen him around.

Leon: *unsure* yeah, maybe…

Lancelot: Well, Gwen I’d better be on my way back home. *he leans down to kiss her hand*

Gwen: *embarrassed* That’s really not necessary!

Lancelot: For you, the world, Guinevere! *Lancelot takes off back through the courtyard to the forest*

Leon: *clears his throat*

Gwen: *blushes* Sorry about that, Leon. I’d better get inside to help the Lady Morgana to bed.

Leon clears the way for Gwen to pass through, thoughts going back to Arthur. Where was that friend of his?

In the woods, just outside the clearing with the lake, Arthur was trying to traverse very quietly. His companion didn’t seem to get the memo.

Arthur: Could you be any louder?

Gwaine: Depends, what kind of noise making tools you got?

Arthur: *turning around and approaching Gwaine angrily* I’m already worried about making it to my friend in time before something really bad happens to him which will most definitely happen if the person keeping him hears us coming. So quiet down before I make you!

Gwaine: *whistles sarcastically* hey you’re the one who threatened me for help. I’m the one trusting you to keep your word, your majesty.

Arthur: *under his breath* its actually your highness.

The two continue walking in silence until Gwaine steps on a loud branch.

Gwaine: Okay so that was actually on accident, I swear.

Arthur holds up a hand to silence Gwaine. Gwaine scrunches his face in disbelief but stays still. The wait for a minute and nothing happens

Arthur: Sorry, I thought I heard-

Arthur is cut off by five bandits emerging from the trees, weapons drawn. Gwaine and Arthur immediately close ranks and stand back to back like they have fought together many times.

Bandit 1: Gwaine, fancy seeing you here. If I remember correctly, you owe me and my friends here a round. Care to pay up?

Arthur: *whispering angrily* You know these guys?!

Gwaine: *to Arthur* Unfortunately *to the bandits* You apparently don’t remember correctly. I believe I was forced to empty you and your friends cups when I knocked your sorry behind over the table for insulting a lass. I’m happy to clear up the confusion for you though.

Bandit 2: Where’s your little crew, Gwaine? They get fed up with you yet? Word on the street is you mess up everything eventually and have to leave town.

Gwaine breaks rank to attack Bandit 2, leaving Arthur to deal with the others for a moment. Arthur being the advanced warrior he is, barely breaks a sweat incapacitating Bandit 1. Excalibur moves in fast graceful arcs as he works through the bandits.

Gwaine, similarly dispatches his bandit easily and closes back in with Arthur to watch his back. They fight like a well-oiled machine and make quick work of the remaining bandits.

Arthur: *laughing and pushing Gwaine’s arm in familiarity* Where did you learn to fight? I wish some of my men were have as good as you.

Gwaine: *laughing with Arthur* Oh, here and there. You aren’t so bad yourself. Wait, what do you mean your men?

Arthur: My knights.

Gwaine: *smile dropping* Your knights as in they serve you.

Arthur: *realizing that Gwaine is peicing together that he is the prince and getting serious* Yes.

Gwaine: The person you care greatly about, it’s Merlin.

Arthur: *drawing his sword suddenly* How do you know, Merlin? Where is he?

Gwaine: Well, princess, I have good news and bad news.

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

Things I've worked out so far for my Merlin Soulmate AU:

Soulmates and soulmarks are their own subset of magic, and one that Uther can not eradicate, because everyone is born with soulmates

So he does the next best thing and makes it practically illegal to find one's soulmate, mandating the use of gloves and long-sleeves around anyone that is not immediately blood related (soul bonds are solidified through touch)

(Except in the cases where he found someone with a soul mark that moved (a sign that their soulmate was born with magic) in which he would force a parade of citizens to come touch until he finds them. (Very rarely does he find them in this way))

Uther repeals most of the laws surrounding soulmates that ensure their rights. Such as the law that protected bonded soulmates (soulmates who have solidified their bond through touch) from having to testify against each other. In fact, under the new laws he made, if someone refused to testify against their soulmate, both/all would be assumed guilty of the crime in question and punished accordingly

Uther, being very classist and viewing common folk as inferior, also passes a law nulifying marriages between noble and common born soulmates, and outlawing any future marriages of the kind. So people that had been noble for decades were stripped of their title and standing and forced to return to their lives from before (in many instances this part was not strictly enforced, and it caused a lot of outrage when a noble spouse DID abide by this and shun their common born soulmate that had been their partner.)

Uther also repeals a law that allowed nobles to lend their noble status to their platonic soulmates, suddenly making GENERATIONS of nobility commonfolk.

This causes resentment from these nobles, as well as their friends. Sorcerers are not the only ones trying to kill Uther in this au, he wrongs just about everyone.

The only reason he continues to stay in power is because he's so brutal and he fosters a strong inner circle with similar views as his (or so he thinks in some cases)

Uther only had one soulmate and it was Ygraine. However, Ygraine had another soulmate and it was Nimeuh.

Nimeuh tried very hard to dissuade Ygraine from agreeing to the enchantment that lead to her giving birth to Arthur, and it was Ygraine that had to persuade Nimeuh into agreeing to even do it, as Nimeuh knew the risks and did not want to risk losing a part of her soul

She does anyway, despite her every effort

Uther makes it illegal to talk to others about their soulmates or soul marks or to show them to anyone.

Now even before Uther's bullshit, it wasn't polite to just ask, or to ask to see someone's marks (unless that mark was your own, then it was fine, lots of people wanted to know what the representation of their soul looked like)

But this made it so the generation(s) raised following the purge had next to no knowledge of soulmates (Same as with magic) or what made them "evil"

Well, they're magic. Measures of destiny, pieces of ones soul displayed on the skin of the people most important in one's life. And when a piece of one's soul dies, it's agony.

It was no secret that Queen Ygraine was King Uther's soulmate.

In the years of and following the Purge, those particularly bold and angry would whisper, "His entire soul died with her."

Everyone's soulmarks are as follows:

Merlin's is a fluttering blue butterfly

Arthur's is a gleaming golden crown

Gwen's is a forge bucket filled with lavender

Morgana's is a crescent moon with a bright star rotating around the bottom tip (thank you to @clotpoleofcamelot for the idea!)

Percival's is an acorn that is beginning to take root (thank you to @jgvfhl for the idea!)

Leon's is an owl in flight holding an arrow in its talons (I'm not entirely sold on this one, so if anyone has other suggestions, I'm open to it)

Gwaine’s is an oak with his necklace's symbol carved into the trunk (thank you to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the symbol idea!)

Lancelot's is a sword crossed diagonally over a shield with the crest of a winged beast

And Elyan's is a forge hammer circled by chainmail links (thank you again to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the idea!)

Arthur, Elyan, Gwaine, Gwen, Lancelot, Leon, Merlin, and Percival are all soulmates with each other. Gwen also has a soulmate in Morgana, and Merlin has a soulmate in Freya

(Merlin's soulmark for Freya does not start moving until she is cursed, and Merlin asks Gaius what it means. He has a crisis when he finds out, as he puts together that Arthur and Gwen (and Lancelot, but thats not an issue) must know that Merlin was born with magic.)

Merlin before that point is not aware that his soul mark on his soulmates moves, marking him as a born sorcerer. Should he have known this, since Huneth would know due to her soulmate being Balinor? Yeah, he probably should, but there's a lot Huneth didn't tell Merlin in the show and it might not have occurred to her to tell him, or even that he'd find his soulmates in Camelot.

Morgana's other soulmates are Morgause and Mordred.

Leon, Gwen, and Elyan find out they are soulmates when they are kids. The thing about young kids is that they don't really care a whole lot about rules that they don't understand, rules that no one explained, rules that don't make sense. You cant go swimming and catch frogs in full clothes with gloves! So they don't. And it's just the three of them present when they find out that Leon is soulmates with both Gwen and Elyan

(Gwen has known that she and Elyan are soulmates since she held him for the first time. Siblings that are soulmates are unusual but not unheard of)

They agree not to tell anyone, as they don't want to get in trouble

Leon and Arthur soulbond by accident.

Arthur comes over one day to Leon's estate and Leon, who does not have gloves on as he is in his home, greets Arthur with a hair ruffle without thinking.

This is in front of Leon’s parents and a guard, so there is no covering it up when both boys have the exact same reaction, and Arthur asks what that feeling was

Leon (a teenager at this point, maybe 15-16) is TERRIFIED. He just broke the law in front of several witnesses, and soulbound with the king's son. He's expecting to get executed or banished

Neither of those things happen.

In fact, Uther is not even mad. Leon is well on his way to becoming a skilled and respected knight, and he comes from a loyal noble family going back generations. If anything, Uther sees Leon being Arthur's soulmate as a sign of his loyalty and a garentee he will serve him well (Never let it be said that Uther isn't a hypocrite)

It's not long after this that a young Arthur asks Gaius what it means when a soulmark moves. Gaius stiffens and slowly explains that it means that the soulmate was born with magic. "But I thought magic is evil?" "According to your father, it is illegal, yes." "But I thought soulmates were supposed to have positive lasting impact on your life. Leon does." And Gaius is feeling a mix of emotions, cause if Arthur is implying what he *thinks* he is... "Arthur, do you have a soulmark that moves?" And Arthur nods and shows him the butterfly with the gently flapping wings. Gaius instructs Arthur not to tell or show anyone this, especially Uther, as it could be dangerous not only for his soulmate, but for him as well.

Arthur listens to Gaius and doesn't say a word to anyone, including Leon (if he had, they might have figured out they had all the same soulmates, and Leon could have pointed him towards Gwen and Elyan sooner)

Gwen almost doesn't take the job as Morgana’s servant because TWO of her soulmarks move and her parents warned her and Elyan (who shared most of the same soul marks as her) never to let anyone see, to never talk about it, or it would put both them and their soulmate(s) in danger.

A downside to always having to wear gloves it it makes it rather difficult to dress someone, even if tools had been invented to help with the process. One day Gwen gets frustrated and Morgana tells her to take them off if it would be easier. And Gwen freezes a bit. Because Morgana is the king's ward, and this is a bad idea, she's encouraging her to break the law. But then Morgana takes off her own gloves and wiggles her fingers at Gwen "It's fine, Gwen. No one needs to know. It's a stupid law anyway." And Gwen turns away, heading for the door, and for a second Morgana thinks she's gone too far and is about to apologize when Gwen flips the lock on the door, ensuring it's secure and coming back, removing her gloves as she does so. Morgana grins and promises that nothing that happens before that door gets unlocked will be repeated to anyone.

Morgana holds out her hand for Gwen to shake and after a long moment Gwen takes it. And their marks for each other go warm and and this feeling of *rightness* settles over them both, they've found another piece of their SOUL

This is how Morgana gets confirmation that she has magic, by asking to see her mark on Gwen and realizing what it means that her mark *moves*

I have more that starts moving into what changes and stays the same to canon, but this is already so long that it will have to be another post. If anyone has any clarifying questions, please feel free to ask me!

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Lancelot was not the only knight with honor.

Yet, the fandom is determined to paint the other knights as monsters, because of one scene. 🔑

I think it’s so weird how this fandom will take one scenario (Queen Gwen accusing Merlin of murder) and the knights locking him up for a single night to somehow act as if that throws five seasons of friendship/love out the window.

Queen Gwen (who the knights knew to be a sweet and kindhearted friend ) was the one who gave the order and they obeyed out of respect.

How else were they supposed to react?

We’re the supposed to turn the tables and lock their queen up for accusing him?

It seems like the fact that the knights didn’t immediately stage a coup and go on the run in protest of Merlin being arrested is somehow proof that they didn’t love him or wouldn’t try to protect him. 😬

Meanwhile, the knights merely reacted as anyone would understand the circumstances and locked him up for a single night, until it was proven he was innocent.

I mean obviously none of the knights would ever protect Merlin, if his magic came to light and if they had to choose. (sarcasm)

I don’t know how anyone can conceivably watch this show and believe the knights would standby idly watching as Arthur decided to kill Merlin for having magic and just let it happen?

If Merlin was actually in danger of being executed, the knights (excluding maybe Leon) would have 100% broken him out of the dungeons.

They would have 100% tried to intervene, if they thought Arthur would kill him.

I’m aware the knights swore their loyalty to Arthur and to serve him, but that doesn’t mean that they would accept him killing Merlin.

If you believe them swearing loyalty to their king, equals becoming a mindless zombie that kills without question and has no sense of honor.

Then I don’t know what to tell you, because that’s not the show I watched.

Lancelot swore his loyalty to Arthur, (even before he learned about Merlin’s magic) and he would have unquestionably protected him against the prince.

So if you think Lancelot is the only knight with any sense of honor or a heart…

Then I think that speaks volumes about how media representation nowadays has to be painted in neon colors and have colored coded tabs, for an audience to even conceivably reach conclusions that should otherwise be obvious. 🎨 👀

The knights (Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Percival included) have a sense of honor and do not kill indiscriminately.

Otherwise, the knights would be villains.

And they are NOT.

[mandoriana]

WHAT IF... Merlin and Arthur had children.

So, I wrote a post about an alternate universe where Arthur and Merlin had a night together, leading to Merlin having a magical pregnancy known only to Gwaine, Lancelot, and Gaius. But in this universe, Merlin wouldn't tell Arthur about their children, and Arthur would die without knowing he had heirs with the most important person in his life. However, I felt a bit sad about this tragedy and thought it would be interesting to imagine what Arthur's relationship with the children would be like if Merlin had told him or if Arthur had found out.

Anyway, after Merlin and Gwaine fled together in the middle of the night, Arthur would first be worried, thinking something had happened to Hunith or something else. Then, he would be sad that Merlin didn't trust him enough to call him, and then he would interrogate Gaius and Lancelot, knowing they were the closest to Merlin. Gaius would lie, saying that Merlin needed to be taken elsewhere because the "parasites" were worse and Gaius couldn't do anything to help (this was the lie he told Arthur to justify Merlin's belly). So, Gaius sent Merlin to another doctor. Arthur would question where Merlin was sent, but Gaius would refuse to answer. Of course, Arthur wouldn't fully believe Gaius, which would make him question Lancelot. Lancelot wouldn't mention the pregnancy but would be responsible for informing Arthur about Merlin every week.

In the first week, Arthur would hold on, living calmly though anxiously. In the second week, Arthur couldn't stand being without Merlin anymore and would send a letter to his uncle Agravaine, asking him to "guide" Arthur as the king's advisor. Agravaine would kill Uther in the third week, and everyone would believe it was a peaceful death, but in reality, Agravaine suffocated Uther. In the third week, Arthur would try to communicate with Merlin because he needed him by his side during that difficult time. By then, the whole kingdom would be worried about their new king, as Arthur would be increasingly bitter and sad. After a month without Merlin, Arthur would stop speaking unless it was to give orders. Morgana would be trying to infiltrate the kingdom through Agravaine, but Arthur would barely notice due to the lack of Merlin to warn him, although he also wouldn't fully trust his uncle, as he would be irritated with everyone who wasn't his servant and friend.

Only when it was already the second day of his reign, Arthur would tire of waiting for Merlin and decide he was done waiting. He would wait for Lancelot to leave to fetch Merlin's letter and follow him from a distance, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Leon and his uncle. Of course, Lancelot wouldn't reveal the druids' hideout, but a druid would deliver the letter to him personally. Arthur would then follow the druid to the camp, and that's when he would see Merlin. Merlin, who has pointed ears, golden eyes, messier hair, smoother and paler skin, dressed like a druid and looking beautiful like an elf, and with a huge belly thanks to his 7-month pregnancy with Arthur's quadruplets.

Arthur: Merlin? *Arthur calls breathlessly at the sight of his friend who now looks almost ethereal.*

Arthur was at a loss for words to begin expressing himself. No druid would stop Arthur from approaching, as they were all aware of the prophecy and knew that "no half can truly hate the one who makes them whole." Merlin was also speechless upon seeing his beloved prince, now king, before him after so long apart. Usually, Merlin would be worried about approaching, fearing Arthur's reaction, but with his hormones and emotions controlling him now, Merlin tries to approach for a tearful hug. Arthur steps back, surprised by the sudden reaction, which makes Merlin withdraw, scared and crying.

Arthur: Merlin... *He tries to approach to apologize, but Gwaine appears and points his sword at Arthur* Gwaine!?

Gwaine: I don't know what you did to him, Arthur, but if you touch my friend, I'll kill you and then myself.

Arthur is furious at first until he notices Merlin still crying and looking desolate. Gwaine realizes that Arthur is not there to harm Merlin and lowers his sword to let the king pass. Arthur approaches Merlin carefully to prove to Gwaine that he does not wish to harm the servant. Arthur kneels beside his best friend, and as soon as he is close enough, he pulls Merlin into a desperate hug. Both were desperate to be together again.

Arthur: What happened? *He whispers against Merlin's curls*

Merlin: I... *Merlin stammers, feeling almost ashamed to speak* I have magic... *Merlin hesitates to continue, almost afraid, and Arthur tightens the hug to give him confidence* and... and I'm pregnant...

Arthur: What... but, you're a man, how...

Merlin *sobbing*: I'm not human... my body doesn't follow the same rules as a common human body and... and I needed to leave so no one would find out...

Arthur quickly connects the dots about the times they both drank to celebrate and ended up in the same bed. Arthur trembles as he realizes what Merlin means.

Arthur: You... you were hiding from me...

Merlin *nods between anguished tears*: I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I didn't want to leave you, but I was scared... I...

Arthur looks at Merlin, noticing the other man's knees bleeding from being on the ground. He steps back and stands up. Merlin thinks his king is going to leave or kill him and cowers before him. This breaks Arthur's heart, who just bends down and lifts Merlin in his arms.

Merlin: Huh? *looks confused*

Arthur: How many children are we expecting?

Merlin is too surprised to respond, and Gwaine, who is crying with relief while watching the scene between the two, speaks for him.

Gwaine *emotional*: Four, sir, there will be four.

Arthur's eyes shine with emotion and admiration as he looks at Merlin. He is upset to be the last to know everything, but he is so happy to have Merlin back and even happier to know he is going to be a father, that he couldn't care less about the painful revelation that his beloved hid from him.

Arthur: I'm going to be a father... *he whispers*

Merlin watches with shining eyes as Arthur seems to hold back from jumping for joy. Everything after that is quick. The druids pack their things and prepare to return to Camelot with the king, the knight, and Emrys. Merlin tells Arthur about his first months during the journey and says how difficult it was to stop himself from running to talk to Arthur. He also talks about all the cravings he had during the first months (Arthur makes a mental note to remember to ask the cooks to bring Merlin everything he desires). When they arrive in Camelot, everyone quickly "connects the dots" upon seeing Merlin with a pregnant belly and Arthur riding with him. At first, everyone thinks Merlin was a woman all along, but when they notice the servant's golden eyes, they simply know it's magic.

Agravaine: Sir...

Agravaine is the first to receive Arthur and his guests. He seems nervous about the presence of the druids, but even more nervous about the new presence of Merlin (remembering that Agravaine arrived after Merlin was already away from the kingdom).

Agravaine: Who is *hesitates*... the lady?

Arthur dismounts and picks Merlin up in his arms to carry him to Gaius.

Arthur: This is my spouse. *Merlin looks surprised at Arthur* He has been away for a long time, I decided to bring him back now that my father is gone and I am the king.

Agravaine stares at Merlin's golden eyes and protruding belly and immediately knows that Arthur's "woman" is going to be a problem for Morgana's plans.

Agravaine: Sir, she looks like an elf, *stares at Merlin with disgust* and you know that faerie creatures are not to be trusted...

Arthur: That's enough! Merlin is trustworthy, and I don't want to hear you speak about him in that tone ever again.

Arthur then carries Merlin to Gaius's quarters, ignoring all the looks they are getting. Gaius is relieved to see his boy looking healthy but terrified at the idea that Arthur might do something. Fortunately, Arthur proves his love for Merlin by stating that the druids will stay with them until Merlin gives birth.

The babies are healthy. Gaius assures Merlin and Arthur that their children are fine, and Arthur takes Merlin to his room, where he orders Gwen and George to be Merlin's attendants. Gwaine and Lancelot are assigned to be Merlin's personal knights. Agravaine questions whether it's a good idea for Arthur to give so much power to someone who isn't even his queen yet, but Arthur is no longer listening to his uncle. All Arthur can think about is Merlin and their children.

During the last months of Merlin's pregnancy, Arthur is the best companion possible. He loves Merlin, loves the children, and is always thinking about Merlin's desires and what he wants. And yes, he is giving too much power to the man he hasn't married yet, but who could blame him? Merlin looks divine and is all emotional and affectionate. Arthur has never felt so loved and cherished before. The two are more connected and in love than ever, and everyone in the kingdom can see how happy their king is, which makes them happy too.

Of course, not everything is perfect, and Morgana discovers the pregnancy. She connects the dots about who Emrys is and realizes that her best chance to take over the kingdom and seize Arthur's throne will be when Merlin is at his weakest, that is, when he gives birth to the babies.

The day finally arrives, and everyone in the kingdom is eager for the arrival of the heirs, excited to see their future sovereigns. The whole kingdom is celebrating, and all the knights and druids are on full guard, ready for any unexpected attack. Agravaine is outside the room waiting for Morgana's signal; Arthur and Gwen are in the room holding Merlin's hands and helping him endure the pain. Since the pregnancy is magical, the druids are present to feed Merlin with magic, as the babies are feeding off Merlin's magic.

The first baby is born, a boy with brown hair and golden eyes full of magic. When the baby cries, the candle flames burn brighter, and the whole kingdom hears the roar of a lion. The future king of Camelot is born, and his name is Gordic Pendragon.

The next to be born is a girl, a baby with black hair and eyes shining like gold. This is Princess Rowena, a beautiful girl who, when she screams at the top of her lungs, shatters windows, and the whole kingdom can hear the flapping of an eagle's wings.

The next to be born is Helga Pendragon, with golden hair and eyes full of light. Unlike her siblings, when she cries, the earth does not tremble, but flowers bloom, and everyone in the kingdom can feel a slight tremor under their feet as small flowers appear.

The last to be born is a boy with black hair. His birth causes anguish because, unlike his siblings, he does not cry or scream. Salazar Pendragon is held by the druids, who stop feeding Merlin with magic and start transferring the magic to the youngest of the family. There are long minutes of pure despair before Salazar finally starts to cry and breathe. His cry is not as loud as his siblings', but the sound of a snake echoes in the waters of the kingdom's rivers.

The druids blow a trumpet to celebrate the birth of Emrys's children, and the people rejoice. Unfortunately, this was the signal Morgana was waiting for. She leads her army of immortals against Camelot, and hell breaks loose, similar to the Kyuubi attack during Naruto's birth. Morgana appears inside the quarters where Merlin, Arthur, and the children are. She takes Helga as a hostage. The knights try to fight, but Merlin knows it won't work due to the magical nature of Morgana's army.

Arthur, Gwaine, and Lancelot fight Morgana and manage to make her release Helga. Still weak and exhausted, Merlin gets up and goes to the battlefield. With all his remaining strength, he uses his magic to paralyze the entire army, but this leaves Merlin vulnerable, and Morgana takes the opportunity to cast a fire spell that burns Merlin. The army remains frozen in time, but Merlin "dies."

[specialagentlokitty]

Arthur x reader - our secret

Can you do Arthur with Merlin’s sister who also has magic and uses it to save him and he keeps her secret because he cares about her.🙃🙂 - @faithm120601 💜

Running through the hallways, you were cursing your brother out for making you do this.

You didn’t want to be a part of anything, but he made a good point of Arthur probably had no idea about the intruders, and that somebody had to warn him but it was too last.

Since Merlin could keep them back a little and use his magic without Arthur being there, he then left telling the prince of Camelot to you.

“Is everything alright (Y/N)?” Leon asked.

“Intruders at the front! Merlin trying to hold them off!” You called.

“What?!”

“Go! I’ll tell Prince Arthur!”

Leon nodded his head and ran in the direction you had just come from while you carried on your route.

You were close, just a few more hallways and you were be there.

Running around the final one, you stopped to take a few breaths, walking over to the doors where there were supposed to be guards.

But there were none and that put you on edge as you approached the large doors.

You could hear the signs of struggling, and you peaked through the gap in the door.

You could see anything, but you could tell there was a fight going on inside, so, cautiously you opened the door a bit more so you could slip in.

Arthur was in there, pinned to the wall, struggling to hold back the sword that was against his neck.

You didn’t know what to do, and in your panic of not wanting to let him die, you raised your hands, eyes turning gold as you whispered something under your breath.

You threw your hand to the side, and the attacker went flying on the floor.

Quickly you lowered your hand and hid yourself behind a cabinet.

“Who’s there?” Arthur called.

He looked around, but couldn’t see anybody.

He couldn’t search the room, he needed to deal with the attacker.

After a few moments you stood up.

“Sire, there’s been intruders, Sir Leon has been told and he has gone to my brother who is at the front of the castle with them.” You said.

Arthur looked at you, then the unconscious man on the floor.

“I think the warning came a bit too late.” He snapped slightly.

“I’m sorry, I came as fast as I could.”

Arthur sighed, shaking his head.

“It’s fine, who else has been told?”

“King Uther, as well as the other guards.” You explained.

Arthur slowly nodded his head, narrowing his eyes at you a little bit.

He carried on binding the man so he couldn’t break free, and began to slowly move around the room.

You watched him carefully, making sure that he was okay.

Seeing movement behind him you looked at it.

“Arthur behind you!”

He wasn’t going to be able to turn around quick enough, you saw that.

So, you did the one thing you’re good at.

Using your magic, you used it to throw a book at the man, and you quickly put your hands behind your back.

“You have magic?!” Arthur hissed.

You said nothing.

He marched over to you, standing right in front of you, sword still clutched tightly in his hands.

“Please don’t tell my brother… or Gaius…” you whispered.

He furrowed his brows.

“They don’t know?”

You sighed, looking at him, shaking your head a little bit.

“No, I knew what would happen to me if anybody found out, I never wanted to bring them into that. They know nothing of it.”

Arthur looked a little confused.

“You know what will happen to you but still you chose to use magic in front of me? Why?”

You gave Arthur a little smile.

“Because you’re the prince, it may not be my duty to protect you, but you were in danger. I would do it over again, between you dying to some intruders, and me being executed for using magic, I guess the choice is as simple as any.”

“You were the one behind the defence last week, aren’t you? Bandits suddenly disappear, what did you do with them?”

“I am, but they didn’t get hurt. I simply trapped them in a different part of the valley to you is all. Then scared them away.”

Arthur slowly nodded his head.

“Why will you not run away?”

“What’s the use? You already know, I knew what my fate would be when I made that choice sire, why run?”

He looked at you and you smiled at him.

“Please Sire, Merlin and Gaius may be confused, but don’t tell them. Tell them I left, I had to go home, I’ll write a note, it’ll be easier on them.”

Arthur sighed softly, nodding his head.

“Of course, I’m sorry it has to come to this.” He said quietly.

You smiled slightly.

“It’s okay.”

You both turned to the door as it was opened, and Uther came rushing in with some guards.

You bowed your head in respect, stepping away from the Prince.

You listened to them as they talk, but stayed lost in your own mind at the same time, not really taking the words in.

You were trying to think of what would happen to your brother, your best friend, you just wanted at least for him to be okay.

“You did this?”

You snapped out of your head, turning to the king, nodding your head.

“Yes sire, I did.”

He looked at you, walking closer.

“You brought down a fully grown man? How?”

You went to speak, but Arthur beat you too it.

“She threw the book! She has a good throw from what I saw.”

Uther turned to his son.

“Threw a book?”

Arthur quickly picked up the book you had used your magic on, and set it down on the cabinet.

“I see.”

Uther turned to you.

“In that case, thank you. I dread to think what would have happened if you hadn’t of come.”

“You needn’t thank me. I would do the same again if I had to.”

Uther smiled a little.

“That’s reassuring to hear, I will have these two taken out and guards placed at the door, more this time. Find somebody to clean this up.”

“I will do it Sire, I’m here already.”

He nodded and left, and you began to clear up the mess that had been made in the room.

After a few minutes when you were sure everybody was gone, you glanced up at Arthur who was just about to leave the room.

You decided not to bring it up there, so you waited.

Maybe he was still going to tell his father, but over the next few days nothing happened.

You found the Prince stood near some shelves, so you walked over, pretending to clean them.

“Sire?”

“Yes?”

Arthur turned to look at you.

“Why haven’t you told anybody?”

“Why would I?”

You glanced at him before turning away.

“You saved my life, I owe you that much to do the same to you at least. But you need to promise me no more.” He whispered.

You slowly shook your head.

“I can’t make that promise, I would do it again if I had to.”

“Then you risk being exposed, please, no more (Y/N)…”

You sighed, turning your attention to him.

“Okay…”

He smiled, looking around before he stepped closer.

“Thank you..”

With that, he brushed his hand against yours as he left with a little smile on his face, and you smiled as well, know at least for now everything was going to be okay.

But who knew what the future would bring

[achillesuwu]

Still obsess with my idea of the Knights, Arthur and Gwen coming back but stubbling on a spell that curse them so nobody can see their face and know their name (can only be broken if the person guess their name by themselves. No it doesn't work to say think like I'm the king of Camelot to make them guess quicker. They will only hear I'm [. ] "

So you get arthur and the other able to see merlin face and recognised him but not the other way around)

Anyway I'm obsessed with it because I keep finding song about witches and sorcerery that merlin would NEVER sing in front of arthur if he knews because he wouldn't want to make him feel guilty.

However if he thinks he is surrounded by sorcerers and some cursed people travelling with them to reach a place where they can lift the curse*? He would definitely sing along when people sing song of their sorrow like that one or song about not fearing to burn, to being born to burn or song for young magician or warning that could scare arthur and the other even song about himself

*merlin tries not to lift curse that are "easy" or not harmful to keep the knowledge of sorcery and not take the job of less powerful sorcerer.

Just arthur being able to meet merlin once again, Gwen & Leon & Perceval being able to see a side of him they could not see because bringing back magic users on their land took time and their number grew very slowly as it's a craft very hard to learn and there weren't a lot of teacher left,...

Also, you know how we reclaim many insulting term? Well I think merlin & sorcerer should reclaim term such as wicked etc. I think it could be interesting to have merlin call himself wicked, oat-breaker (warlock meaning btw) or non-human but with pride and Arthur having a bit of an hard time with it but being able to do nothing because he is just a random to Merlin and Merlin wants to be nothing less than himself.