#for elyan he’s his sister’s best friend

[bisexualmultifandommess]

I wonder if the people of Camelot realise that almost all of the knights of the round table are more loyal to the king’s servant than the king himself

[sneakyboymerlin]

It’s a shame that the core four’s ages are never confirmed in canon. Arthur’s age is the best we get, and even then, it’s not that simple.

The dragon was captured exactly 20 years before Merlin came to Camelot. This means that Arthur is certainly over the age of 20 in 1x01. I’d argue that he should be over the age of 21 if the Purge had not only been going on for some time, but had already progressed into Kilgharrah’s capture by that point 20yrs prior.

If we take each episode as ~1 month (making each season ~1 year long), then Arthur’s birthday being in 1x09 would indicate about 9 months’ difference from 1x01, meaning that — if Arthur is 20 here — he was born only 3 months prior to the dragon’s capture.

This would mean that it only took 3 months for Uther to 1) wage his war, 2) escalate it so severely that Balinor summoned Kilgharrah to make peace with Uther, and 3) manage to capture Kilgharrah in chains specially designed to keep a dragon. This is incredibly unlikely.

I propose that Arthur is actually 21 in 1x01, giving Uther ~1 year and 3 months to wage war and orchestrate Kilgharrah’s capture.

From there, we can guesstimate Merlin’s age, since his birth is a direct result of this event. 20 years prior to 1x01 is when the dragon was captured, and so too was Merlin’s father. Then, he would have spent a period of at least a few months or 1+ years in Ealdor (long enough for him to fall in love with Hunith, and enough to never love another woman like that ever again). Then, he left Ealdor before he could discover Hunith’s pregnancy (i.e. she was not showing).

Accounting for the time Balinor spent in captivity, then the time spent in Ealdor, and of course the 9 months of pregnancy (which would have had some overlap, but small enough that Hunith was not showing), we get a period of at least one year, possibly even 2 years, after the dragon’s capture (again, exactly 20 years before the events of 1x01).

Subtracting 1 year, or 2, or whichever number we decide is most realistic from that 20 year figure, Merlin could be any of a wide range of ages in 1x01. At the oldest, he is a little over 1 year younger than Arthur (21 - 1.5 = 19.5). The youngest he could be is ~16 (based on appearances and relative age, since the numbers alone don’t place a limit on his minimum age) but it’s safe to say he’s at least 17 when he leaves Ealdor. So, 18 or 18 and a half would make for a functional average.

There is little to go off of for the Smiths, but Gwen is likely to be somewhere right between Merlin and Arthur’s ages since she has romantic plot-lines with both. She is likely ~19 in 1x01, older or younger depending on which figures we’re using. Elyan is implied to be younger than Gwen in 5x06 (when he says that Gwen “practically raised [him]”), so he may be Merlin’s age or younger. Only tangentially related, but Gwen says in 3x07 that it’s been 4 years since Elyan left. This places his departure ~6 months prior to 1x01.

As for Morgana, her age is dependent on when Uther slept with Morgana’s mother. Gorlois was off in battle when this happened, so it may have been post-Purge. However, because Morgana’s magic is an inherited trait (as it is with her sister, Morgause) and she and Morgause have the same mother but not the same father, this makes the magic a matrilineal trait in their family. It is highly unlikely that Morgana’s mother — a woman with innate magic — would have slept with Uther during the Purge. It was likely pre-Purge, and at least a year before Arthur’s birth.

Furthering the latter possibility, Uther having a child out of wedlock would be the evidence he needs to confirm the reason he has no child with his own wife (only his best friend’s wife): Ygraine is the infertile one. (Uther, on the other hand, is a little too fertile for his own good).

Compiling the timelines of these events, with enough time passing for the conception of Morgana to be realized, enough time for Gaius to persuade Nimueh to help Uther and Ygraine conceive, and enough time for Ygraine to complete a full 9 month pregnancy, we’re looking at a minimum of ~1 year and a half, but probably 2+ years if Uther and Ygraine looked into other (ineffective but time-consuming) fertility options first (via Gaius?).

Therefore, Arthur and Morgana might have a good 2 years between them. If Arthur is 21 in 1x01, then Morgana is probably ~23.

So my best guesses for 1x01 ages are:

Morgana: 22-23

Arthur: 21

Gwen: 19-20

Merlin: 18-19

Elyan: 16-18

[justaz]

merlin convincing morgana to remain in camelot and bonding over magic. uther dies and arthur becomes king and merlin and morgana are eager for arthur to repeal the ban but it never happens. then arthur and gwen are courting and morgana and merlin are a bit upset but are happy for them (sorta) but mainly they’re waiting for the ban to be repealed. it never happens. then gwen and arthur get married and morgana and gwen (+ lancelot) are devastated but hanging on by a thread for the magic ban to be repealed. it never happens. morgana is growing angrier and angrier while merlin is growing more and more reckless. morgana picks fights with arthur while merlin sticks to the shadows and protects arthur from unseen threats like always but he stops putting up much of a fight. he keeps coming back beaten black and blue, bloodied, on the brink of death.

morgana finally snaps at merlin and is like “i’ve been waiting for the ban to be lifted like you promised it would be and nothings changed. i cannot stay in this kingdom and watch the love of my life be happy with my brother while hiding myself away! you can be fine with the lying and hiding but i’m done! i’ll make my own damn happy ending” and storms off to flee camelot. lancelot finds merlin and they talk about it and lancelot is like “honestly, she has a point. i’m in love with gwen and that’ll never change. it pains me to see them so happy even though i wish nothing but the best for them. the only reason i’m still in camelot is you, merlin. if you want to stay, i’ll stay with you. if you want to go, then we’ll go.” merlin unsure and lance goes “it was you and me in the beginning, it can be you and me again” and merlin tears up but is still unsure and lance compromises with “we don’t have to leave forever. just a month or two, a year or five. however long you need.”

merlin finally agrees and lancelot goes to pack while merlin finds gwaine and tells him his plan bc if he doesn’t tell gwaine then the man will hunt him down like a bloodhound. gwaine ofc immediately agrees to go with him and they all pack their things. merlin shuffles into arthur’s chambers and turns in his resignation from his service and arthur starts freaking out like “wait what?? what’s wrong?? what happened??? let me fix it. was it a nobleman? a knight? was it me?? please tell me it wasn’t me. what happened??” and merlin can’t handle it so he just restates that he’s resigning, bows and says it was somewhat of an honor, and then turns and leaves. he finds lance and gwaine in gaius’s chambers with mordred. merlin rolls his eyes but is also kinda grateful for his friends. arthur storms in and finds three of his knights also packed at they’re like “oh shoot we were gonna tell you in the morning but since you’re here, we’re resigning too”

now arthur is faced with three less knights and one less manservant than an hour ago (he has yet to find out about his sister’s fleeing). he questions them again and the room gives merlin and arthur some privacy for merlin to tell arthur that nothing is wrong but that they just need some time away. it probably won’t be permanent but they have to leave. arthur isn’t begging because kings don’t beg but he’s doing a damn good impression and merlin is on the verge of tears again and is begging arthur not to make things harder than it needs to be. arthur grows angrier now and is like “then tell me why. why are you leaving? why are my knights leaving? tell me.” and merlin can’t think of an excuse bc he doesn’t want to push his troubles of unreciprocated love onto arthur so he just stands there and arthur is like “i thought you were one of the bravest men i ever met. turns our you’re nothing more than a coward.” anyways they split on bad terms.

merlin, lancelot, gwaine, and mordred leave camelot and have their own little adventures and run into morgana again and they form their own little band of travelers. arthur, gwen, leon, elyan, and percival are still in camelot with gwen and arthur completely in the dark while the rest of the knights Know. it’s like a few months after merlin and them left and arthur and them are drunk and he brings merlin and them up and asks what happened. the knights are quiet and gwen sits up and asks elyan and her voice is desperate enough that elyan breaks and goes “morgana and lancelot were in love with you” and they all just stare at each other and elyan rushes to fill the silence with stuff like how they wanted gwen to be happy but couldn’t bear watching gwen and arthur be so in love all the time, he explains that morgana left on her own but lancelot followed merlin. arthur asks if merlin was in love with gwen too and the knights shift before percival goes “no, he was in love with you” and leon sighs before explaining the rest.

“morgana and lancelot were in love with gwen while merlin was in love with arthur. morgana left on her own and merlin was influenced by her choice to leave and lancelot and gwaine followed him. mordred followed both morgana and merlin, i’m not sure what he would’ve done had merlin stayed and morgana left. gwaine followed merlin bc he’s in love with him.” he rubs his eye bc he can’t believe the mess things are even though it’s been this way for years “morgana couldn’t stand it. lancelot was loyal to merlin. gwaine was loyal to merlin. mordred was loyal to merlin and morgana. and merlin…merlin has been protecting you for years, arthur. he’s charged into battle against the threats you can’t see, the ones in the shadows. i’ve kept an eye on him since he got here but he’s had it handled. but recently, after your wedding, he grew reckless. he came back from every fight beaten like a pulp. he stopped trying. not to let you die, but to let them get the upper hand over him. he was dancing with death. it wasn’t healthy for any of them. that’s why they left.”

the knights leave arthur and gwen in their chambers to stew in silence, drunk and guilty and missing their friends and wondering how they could’ve missed the signs. merlin and them on the other hand are traveling from town to town, village to village, kingdom to kingdom and protecting villages from raiders, protecting druids from raids, stepping in on executions and freeing sorcerers.

[an-entity-i-think]

Merlin to Gwen: will you do me the honor of being my sister in law?

Morgana, whispering to Arthur: is he trying to marry Elyan?

Arthur, whispering to Morgana: he better fucking not

Gwen to Merlin, completely in tune: yes! I can't wait for us to be family!!

Arthur, now frantically whispering to Morgana: do you have any idea what's going on? who's getting married? What's happening????

Morgana, whispering back just as frazzled: I have no fucking clue- oh shit they're walking towards us- act natural

Merlin, to Arthur: :)

Gwen, to Morgana: :)

Arthur and Morgana making quick panicked side eyes to each other: 👁👄👁

Morgana, trying to be casual confident girlboss: congrats! Who's getting married? Haha

Gwen and Merlin, glancing to each other with barely there smirks: well we are I suppose! Let's go!

*takes the arms of their best friends/crushes*

Gwen, seductively to Morgana: so I'm thinking at our wedding we should go with reds and purples, God you look amazing in purple

Morgana: *bluescreens*

Merlin, nonchalantly hanging onto Arthur's side like Arthur isn't already about to have a heart attack, getting really close to his face: so if I'm technically the Druid King, our wedding- yours and mine of course- will have to be a mix of cultures. I'm sure everyone will understand.

Arthur: ou- our? Um our? Ou- *bluescreens*

Gwen and Merlin: *high five* efficiency!

[worthyprnce]

What type of pet would the Merlin characters have in a modern au?

OMG I LOVE THIS QUESTION 🤩 would you mind if I make this a long post with pictures and all?? I hope not because I will. let's go!!!

gwaine — i have this little headcanon of mine that modern gwaine spends a few years traveling around the world alone except for the company of a black cat he rescued in one of his early adventures. but in his childhood and teens I can definitely see him with a pet iguana.

merlin — merlin would also have cats. a cute calico he rescued and soon realized she was pregnant, and so he also has one of her kittens, an orange one. when gwaine comes back with his own cat and starts living with merlin, the three of them get along very well and become an inseparable trio. but for some reason I can also picture merlin having an borzoi dog as well as the cats. I don't know how friendly they are with cats though, and I see him more as a cat person, but I added a picture of the dog as a reference anyway (she matches with his first kitten because I love when animals match, you'll see). but to me he probably has the cats only. moving on....

gwen — gwen also has a cat. a pretty brown/white cat. however she also has a dalmatian. she got them both when they were very young, so the two of them are two beautiful ladies who get along with eachother perfectly. and the reason I gave her a dalmatian is simply because, and hear me out please: arwen 101 dalmatians au.

arthur — arthur is 100% a dog person to me. and I looooooove this little 101 dalmatians arwen au I have in my mind. they met just like in the movie, they were both walking their dogs and the dogs had them wrapped around their leashes. later arthur found out gwen was his sister's best friend who she was talking about ever since she came back to camelot (morgana lived somewhere else for a while, uni reasons, and also let's pretend camelot is a modern place too because I'm too tired to think of some alternative and I don't want to say london because that's lazy and a ridiculous cliché. anyway). boom. love at first sight, met cute, soulmates finding eachother with a little help of their dogs.

morgana — I'm not sure about her, actually. I have three options in my mind, so you can decide for yourself what you like best for her. I think she would have either two black sphinx cats, two black borzoi dogs or three black dobermans, cerberus kinda vibe. she's a baddie, her pets would be too

percival — I love the trope big muscular guy with tiny cute kitten. that's percy to me. I'm not sure about how many cats he would have, I can see him with only up to three, but idk. maybe he helped to rescue three little kittens that were abandoned somewhere and he kept them all because he is a gentle giant <3

lancelot — I can see him both as a dog and a cat person. maybe he has both cats and dogs, but idk.... I think he would have one or the other. however, if he had a dog it would be a brown labrador. idk why... I'm not 100% sure about him, but I think a labrador would fit him somehow.

leon — I see him having very knightly dog breeds, if that makes sense. dogs that still give off the "my owner is a knight" vibe. like either a scottish deerhound, an irish wolfhound or a greyhound.

elyan — a bernese!!! and a calico cat too, one of the kittens merlin's cat had :) elyan is that kind of person that is also traveling to many different places and he is very active even when he is at home. and to me, he fits a bernese perfectly. it's a cute dog, very very cute, but he is also big and active, he needs attention, space and a good routine, and elyan is a perfect owner for him imo. his cat loves to make company for him too, even if she is not as active as her little brother dog. she likes to walk around with him too.

mordred — a pair of bunnies :) he got one when he was a child and got used to them, so he doesn't see himself owning a dog or a cat now.

[quotidian-oblivion]

Abridged epilogue of LMDLMD

[spoilers of the fic below]

For the love of God, do not imagine Gaius watching the boy he considered his son writhe and scream in front of him, unable to do anything. Don't imagine him holding back his puke and tears for Merlin's sake as he cleaned the wounds he saw often in battle soldiers on his boy. Don't imagine him struggling to enter his chambers and still making meals for two knowing his ward was right under his feet, suffering. Don't imagine Gaius sneaking into the cave under the dungeons, ignoring the cell Merlin used to be in, and meeting The Great Dragon only to scream at him about Merlin's death then break down into tears. 

Don't imagine Kilgharrah roaring in anger only to spend his years in mourning until Gaius requested Arthur to free him. Don't imagine Kilgharrah flying to Balinor and telling him stories about the son he never met. His son who died. Don't imagine Balinor going back to Hunith and supporting her as she mourned Merlin, listening to all the stories she told him of their cheeky and bright-eyed son. Don't imagine Lancelot hearing the news from Gwen's letter and going back to Camelot in disbelief, only to find that it was true. Don't imagine Lancelot drinking himself to sleep after his knighting, knowing he couldn't have been there without Merlin.

Do not imagine Gwen watching her best friend scream about wanting to be human. Do not imagine her picturing all the times he had made her laugh, saved her life and helped her court Arthur. Do not imagine her sneaking into Merlin's room to sleep there, remembering when he had offered it to her once before when her father died. Do not imagine her kneeling with tears when the crown was set on her head, wishing more than anything that he was there.

Whatever you do, do not imagine Morgana watching Merlin be collared and chained and tortured knowing it could have been her. Don't imagine her feeling guilty for her fear when Merlin was living the nightmare. Don't imagine her running to Arthur's room at night, terrified. Don't imagine her waking up with real nightmares along with Seer visions every night. Don't imagine her reading the annotations in Merlin's book of magic and sobbing as she remembered her boisterous friend. Don't imagine her accidentally killing Morgause when she talked about killing Arthur. Don't imagine her sobbing into her brother's arms, with the knowledge she had killed her sister.

Please, just don't imagine Arthur just watching and not being able to make a single noise lest he hurt Merlin more. Don't imagine him watching as he licked the water off the floor while he couldn't do anything with four guards on him. Don't imagine Arthur feeling worthless as Merlin screamed in pain at his voice. Don't imagine him crying as Merlin was forced to admit he wasn’t human. Don't imagine him shaking with anger, pain, humiliation and sadness on Merlin's behalf as Merlin was forced to apologize to him and call him by his title. Don't imagine Arthur yelling and firing his next servant when he called him by his title. Don't imagine him waking up from a nightmare full of Merlin's screams, pleading and admittances of him being a monster. Don't imagine him seeing blood anywhere for the next few months and only seeing Merlin's. Don't imagine him sobbing in front of the butterfly Merlin subconsciously bonded to stay with him. Don't imagine him breaking himself apart when the butterfly left his sight for even a minute.

Do imagine Balinor and Hunith marrying and living peacefully and without fear, in remembrance of Merlin for the rest of their lives until they got to meet him again. 

Do imagine a strange force compelling Gwaine to travel to the Perilous Lands. Do imagine Percival taking the risk to befriend a depressed Lancelot and lifting his spirits. Do imagine Elyan feeling the bizzare need to visit his sister. Do imagine a strange, magical force bringing them to meet Arthur and Leon at a Round Table in an abandoned castle. 

Do imagine Morgana and Arthur looking away when an assassin from Harden kills Uther on Alisa's behalf. 

Do imagine Arthur taking the crown after telling the people about how the previous rulers of Harden had poisoned Uther’s mind into torturing a boy. Do imagine Gwen building a school to teach magic safely. Do imagine Morgana going on frequent diplomatic missions to Harden as Court Sorceress in making sure all magic-restraining weapons are destroyed. Do imagine Gaius taking on a young boy under the name of Daegal to pass on his physician legacy and spewing endless stories about another apprentice he once had named Merlin. Do imagine Morgana finding Mordred again and taking him under her wing as a sorceress's apprentice. Do imagine Mordred learning a spell and creating a portrait of Merlin to the exact liking. Do imagine Arthur and Gwen raising their child on stories about a brave friend they had named Merlin.

Do imagine Arthur staring down at his people, magic-users and non magic-users alike, with Merlin's voice of him being a great king ringing in his head, trusting in his friend's words and knowing it to be true.

Do imagine, one day, an old woman handing Arthur the horn of Cathbhadh.

[the-pen-pot]

Gwaine chortled as Percival tucked a silver coin next to his plate. 'Again?'

'Again,' he acknowledged mournfully. 'I thought you were exaggerating.'

'He was.' Leon spoke from where he sat to Gwaine's left, only for a pained expression to twitch across his face. Duty and honour meant the Knight Commander appeared to live in a happy world of denial, but even he could not ignore the evidence playing out at the High Table.

Gwaine ran his gaze along its length, not caring about the visiting nobles or Uther in his finery. Even Morgana, as lovely as ever, could not hold his attention for more than an appreciative moment. He was too busy watching Arthur and Merlin, who in theory were murmuring among themselves, but in practice were sharing some of the most prolonged, intense, indecent eye contact he had ever had the pleasure to witness.

'How have I never noticed?' Lancelot mused from the opposite side of the table. Feasts always started out with everyone facing towards the centre of the room, but it always dissolved into disarray as the evening went on. He and Elyan sat straddling the bench across from Gwaine so that, technically, their backs weren't to the High Table, but it meant they could all cluster together, rather than passing the conversation back and forth along a row.

'Because you're too busy making the same eyes at my sister,' Elyan teased, guffawing when Lancelot gave a quiet, wistful sigh.

'Lancelot's looking respectfully,' Gwaine pointed out with a grin. 'There's nothing respectful about that. They look like they want to –'

'Quiet.' Leon's warning was fond and friendly, but it was one to heed. The court, loud and raucous as they were in that moment, still had ears, and Camelot's rumour mill was vicious. Not that it needed any help from Gwaine. Anyone who cared to look would see their prince staring at his manservant like he was trying to work out the quickest way to get him naked and spread out under him.

'Well, they do.' Gwaine shrugged, grinning into his cup. 'Don't know why they don't put each other out of their misery.'

'How do you know they haven't... you know?' Percival asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

'Too much tension,' he replied. 'It's a miracle they're not setting things on fire, looking at each other like that.

Elyan let out a pained sigh as he rubbed at the bruise on his shoulder from that morning's training. 'Arthur carries a lot of frustration into the duelling ring, if you know what I mean.'

They all winced at that, because he wasn't wrong. Arthur was still the best of them, and he was a punishing taskmaster.

'Maybe one of us should interfere?' Gwaine mused. 'You know, give them a nudge in the right direction?'

'Absolutely not. Leave them alone, all of you.' There was more than courteous respect in Leon's voice. Something thrummed, urgent, beneath his words. He picked up his cup and took a drink. 'They'll get where they're going in their own time. Not before.'

Gwaine sighed, setting his goblet on the table and spreading his hands in surrender. 'If you say so.'

'Some things can't be rushed. Especially not love.'

That made everyone pause, all of them giving Leon a sideways look before, slowly but surely, turning their attention back to Arthur and Merlin.

Leon was a practical man, not often prone to flights of romantic fancy. Maybe that's what made Gwaine search a little deeper and realise that he was right. If it was just about what was in their breeches, Arthur and Merlin would have been at it like rabbits years ago. Instead, their hearts had got involved somewhere along the way.

Maybe it was when Arthur had defied his father to gather his knights to him, indifferent to their lack of so-called nobility. Perhaps it was when the secret of Merlin's magic had come to light, confessed to his closest friends. Or maybe it had always been there, right from the very first day.

Either way, neither one of them would be the man they were today without the other's presence. If not for Merlin, Arthur would still be an arrogant, bratty prince, too wrapped up in himself and the lessons of his father to be the king Camelot needed. Without Arthur, Merlin would never have found his purpose. He'd have been forced to drift through the shadows of a half-life, always hiding, all the power that was his to command and nothing to feed it but his own loneliness.

The gods knew how that might have ended. Arthur would probably have become like his father, harsh and cold. For his part, Merlin may well have ended up as barmy as the other sorcerers they found, drunk on power and lacking in compassion, filled with nothing but hatred for a world that reviled him.

Instead, they brought out the best in each other. Together, they were the fulcrum on which the scales of Camelot's future hung. They were the ones who would tip the balance from greed and corruption. They'd rewrite laws and peel back decades of hardship, not just for the kingdom, but for each other. He was pretty sure they'd lay the whole world at each other's feet, given the chance.

Gwaine picked up his goblet again, letting his gaze sweep around the room as if seeing it for the first time. Already there were subtle changes. Normally the tables would be groaning beneath the burden of their bounty, but for once there were signs of moderation. While some lords were deep in their cups, loud and boisterous, others spoke companionably with each other, their expressions intent and lit with a hope that had not been there a year ago.

Uther may be present – living still – a man made of shadows and resentment, but he was no longer the one to whom the court turned. Gwaine knew how these games were played. He'd been noble once.

Now, people went to Arthur for help. They spoke to him, quietly, of their concerns, and he was not the only one. Maybe Merlin was nothing more than the prince's manservant, but the councillors listened when he spoke. They respected him. Maybe they, too, could see the future that awaited them.

One with two good men ruling side by side, rather than a tyrant standing alone.

'Love?' he asked, his voice little more than a murmur. 'Yeah, I can see that.'

'And so will Uther, if he looks closely,' Lancelot warned, all trace of his amusement fled. He stared at the King like he might an enemy on the battlefield, all anger and dread. 'He'll try and put a stop it.'

'Then we don't give him the chance.' Gwaine shrugged, draining his goblet and setting it aside, feeling his resolve settle in him. 'We keep him busy and let those two get on with it.'

'You think they'll admit how they feel?' Elyan asked.

Gwaine raised an eyebrow as Arthur leaned in to gain his father's attention, no doubt making his excuses for the night. He spoke quickly and respectfully, but Gwaine didn't miss the way that, when Uther nodded, Arthur cast a slow, hot look in Merlin's direction, nor that Merlin returned it, full of promise.

'Maybe sooner than you think.'

They watched them go, and not even Leon bothered to hide his subtle grin. Gwaine returned it with one of his own and wondered if they were all thinking of the future they hoped to one day witness.

He'd lived in bitter, corrupted courts. He'd seen first-hand the hardships that the powerful could rain down on the helpless, and he had promised himself he would never be part of it again. Yet he could see, with a clarity any seer would envy, how the world Arthur and Merlin would build together would be different – better. Not only a powerful citadel and a mighty throne, but a prosperous, peaceful kingdom that anyone could call home.

And Gwaine, who had never stayed in one place for long, would be happy to do just that.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

To Build a Home

I hope its not too rude to ask this, and if it is please ignore!!! but i would absolutely adore if u could write a fic abt arthur finding out abt Merlins magic and banishing him, morgana (which at this point is already an antagonist) finds him n after a while (figuring out merlin was banished) becomes absolutely furious with Arthur and protective of Merlin, but guess what!! Arthur regrets his decision and doesn’tknow how to fix this or even find merlin!!! – laconiceuphony

Hey! Would you be willing to write some Merlin/Gwaine? I don't really mind what about, but angsty Merlin and hurt/comfort are always good. Thank you <3 – anon

Hey, idk if you’re accepting asks still but if so I’d love it if you would write some h/c with Merlin! I love your writing <3 – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: unhealthy coping mechanisms

Pairings: gwaine/merlin, merthur, gwaine/merlin/arthur

Word Count: 5770

"Sorcery is illegal in Camelot." Merlin bows his head, awaiting the swing of Arthur's sword. The metal stings where it kisses his bare neck. A slight breeze as the sword is raised. He closes his eyes and waits for the end. He startles at the thunk of the sword impaling the ground mere whispers from his kneeling body. "I hereby banish you," comes Arthur's voice, only it is cold and foreign and the voice of a King, "do not return to Camelot. Ever." Arthur banishes Merlin from Camelot. Gwaine goes with him and they carve out a little piece of the world, just for themselves. Is it enough?

"Sorcery is illegal in Camelot."

Merlin bows his head, awaiting the swing of Arthur's sword. The metal stings where it kisses his bare neck. A slight breeze as the sword is raised. He closes his eyes and waits for the end.

He startles at the thunk of the sword impaling the ground mere whispers from his kneeling body.

"I hereby banish you," comes Arthur's voice, only it is cold and foreign and the voice of a King, "do not return to Camelot. Ever."

***

Gwaine has never been a man to pursue the 'grand things' in life. Born into nobility that scorned those they deemed less than worthy, competing with a sister that looked at him as though he were the scum of the earth just for daring to want something other than the life of simple easy luxury, and a former knight of Camelot with little to no regard for the formality of that station, no one could ever accuse him of chasing the riches of the high life.

His wants are, and have always been, quite simple. Good food, good drink. A warm place to sleep with a roof over his head. The freedom to enjoy all that which life has to offer. The comfort of another's touch and the warmth of another's laughter.

He comes to Camelot not for riches, not for glory, not for a King or a Prince, but for a friend. A friend met in the midst of a tavern brawl—which was when all the best friends are made—who made him believe that there were things were fighting for that weren't the small comforts. He walked at the man's side, not at his back, and believed that maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be as he remembered them.

For a time, he was right.

Certainly the other knights were not the typical ones of Camelot's station, save for Sir Leon, who was the last of the Old Knights (his words, not Gwaine's), but that man was an entity all to himself. Elyan, the son of a blacksmith, whose knowledge of armor far outstripped anyone else's that he'd ever seen. Percival, a man who was an army by himself, larger than life. Lancelot, who had come to the knights the same way as he, drawn in by a friend's charm and inspired by his drive.

And Arthur Pendragon himself.

Gwaine isn't sure that if he'd met Arthur before knowing Merlin, he would be as willing to serve him. The man is, well, he's a Prince. A King. A noble born into such that believes he's entitled to it. Is he as bad as some of the others Gwaine has known? No, but that's an impossibly low bar that certain determined individuals have taken hoe and axe to get beneath. Arthur was…a man, yes, and he certainly had the capacity to be a good one. When away from the pressures of the castle, he was one of the knights, joking and laughing with them as though they were blood brothers, not just brothers in arms. And he made rulings that upset those pricks that decreed some should die to serve the rest, caring for the people and supporting them as he should. But he could be careless, inconsiderate, capable of those small acts of cruelty known only to those wielding incredible power without the acknowledgment of what that power could do if not managed correctly.

No, if Merlin had not been the one to introduce them, he would not have been a knight.

Merlin is unique. Not just because he's the Greatest Sorcerer to Walk the Earth, or the Last Dragonlord, or whatever other titles they want to give him. No, Merlin is unique because he's never met a man so achingly of the earth. Merlin is petty and clever and kind and resentful and endlessly loyal and hopelessly bitter. Merlin is just a man standing in the path of a river and the force of the waterfall at its mouth. Gwaine's had too much to drink and Merlin is there, ephemeral and tangible all at once, and he is the best man Gwaine will ever know.

And he is desperately, terribly, irrevocably in love with Arthur.

Those who are blind will say that Merlin's greatest secret is his magic, but he flaunts that at every chance he gets. Merlin's true secret is also not much of a secret, but he will never breathe word of it the way he'll declare himself a sorcerer if he thinks it will spare the life of someone innocent (even if Arthur will never believe him until it's too late). Merlin has tied himself to Arthur in a way that would surely destroy the both of them if the tether were to be cut. Everything he does, he does for Arthur, and it would take a man of impossible strength to come anywhere close to the devotion he shows a man who has no idea who he truly is.

How could Gwaine resist such conviction?

He knows his reputation, knows the fond eye rolls and resigned smiles that he coaxes from the faces of the knights, from Arthur, from Merlin himself. But just as much as he knows that, he knows there is no use in denying himself the truth. Could he pretend not to be in love with Merlin? Certainly, he could, but what would the use be?

He has loved Merlin since he met him in that tavern, loved him since he saw that first spell cast and his eyes turn gold, loved him since he looked at Arthur as though he were the world and felt his own chest twinge with the soft oh that has devastated bards and poets alike. In some ways his reputation protects him, able to flirt so openly and yet have none of the heartache that comes from an awkward rejection when he's taken seriously. There he can hide how much he pines for the man who only has eyes for another, there he can stay by Merlin's side, just standing, watching, there if he needs to be while Merlin hustles after Arthur. Sometimes he wants to shake him, tell him can't you see how precious this is, this love of a man who has decided to give his soul to you, but he won't, he can't, for just as he will never force his love onto Merlin, no sooner will he expose Merlin's heart to Arthur than fall on his own sword.

Then Arthur discovers Merlin has magic and all hell breaks loose.

Merlin is banished and Gwaine, ever the romantic, up and goes with him. He spares not another word for Arthur, his own rage boiling so closely under the surface of his skin that he would surely burn the King alive, and hangs up the red cloak in lieu of spilling blood, riding after Merlin. Merlin, the bastard, tries to convince him not to come, to stay, and he has to choke on his words before getting something out along the lines of it's not worth it if you're not there. And Merlin, who has never once been to the tavern, who does not know what to do with something that is only and solely for him, just sets his mouth into a thin line and allows Gwaine to travel with him.

They wander for a while. They visit taverns, visit Merlin's mother—Gwaine kisses her hand and thanks her for raising such an incredible son and she blushes, pats his cheek and tells him she's happy Merlin has him—and roam the farmlands in search of work. Gwaine's years of wandering alone have given him many friends in out of the way places, so they avoid the patrolling guards and knights and make their way to a small corner of the world where an old farm sits idly, waiting for someone new to come and tend it.

The cabin is small, drafty, lacks a proper fireplace, and the farm has been all but razed by bandits and wildlife alike. Merlin takes one look at the shoddy excuse for a bed and sighs, shouldering off his pack and going back outside to stable their horses.

Gwaine takes the floor for the first few nights and won't hear a word of protest.

Bit by bit, the farm comes back. They fight off bandits and put up fences against the deer, they trade for better seeds and wood to fix that cabin. Merlin uses his magic behind the closed door and they do not go hungry, they do not go cold. They have precious little coin taken from Camelot and they use it sparingly, stretching and stretching until they have enough from the land to take to the nearby village to trade and sell. The markets pass them by when they let them and they go only when it is safe, and little by little they carve out a place for themselves here at the edge of the world they once belonged to.

Merlin doesn't say much. He works and he listens to Gwaine's babbling and he holds his tankard of ale between too-old, too-young fingers, staring into the fire as the nights grow long. He smiles when Gwaine makes particularly bad jokes and he leans into his shoulder when he grows weary. He snaps at him to come up off the floor when the weather gets cold and they squeeze into the too-small bed, knees knocking and elbows bumping. Gwaine doesn't push and nurses his own bleeding heart in the comfort of his own chest.

Then one night, when they've managed to trade for a small barrel of wine, Merlin sets his cup down with a thud and kisses him.

He tastes like wine. He pulls and shoves Gwaine up onto his feet, only letting their lips part long enough to tug his tunic over his head and wrench Gwaine's from his chest. He shoves him down onto the horrible bed and there are hands in his hair, a tongue in his mouth, a knee between his and his chest is aching, splitting, bleeding Camelot red as Merlin gasps against his lips. One of them bites the other and deep purple bruises begin to spread like dying flowers.

When it's over, and they lie chest to chest, too hot and too cold, he looks up at the ceiling and lets his hand card gently through Merlin's hair. Merlin stiffens and rolls off of him, walking across the floor to drain the last of the wine. The firelight dances over pale skin and knotted scars and Gwaine has long ago numbed himself against the desire to kiss them, ask where they came from, wordlessly promise to protect him, but in the dying haze of pleasure, he wonders.

Perhaps in a different life.

Merlin is a selfish lover. He supposes it makes sense; the man gives every other aspect of himself over to anyone who so much as looks in need. When it comes to what he wants, then, he takes and takes and takes. Gwaine is all too happy to give him whatever he desires and tries not to look too smug when Merlin's voice cracks on a moan or his eyes roll back in his head. Merlin talks now, smiles more, and he takes it because Merlin looks happier and that's all he could ask for.

But then, oh, when he comes in to see Merlin hunched over, huddled around a scrap of cloth he knows was taken from one of Arthur's old tunics, well. He is only a man. And so he goes and sets his boots carefully by the door, picks up the blanket warmed by the fire, and drapes it over Merlin's shaking shoulders. He brackets the smaller man with his body, pressing kiss after kiss gently to his clothed shoulder, all the way to the crook of his neck where he lets his lips part just long enough to taste the skin before kissing him there too. He hears and feels the hitch of Merlin's breath and scoops him up, like a bride on their wedding night, and carries him over to the bed, lying him down as though it were the finest of fabrics. For the first time, he allows himself to be gentle, tender, even, as he coaxes Merlin's shaking hands to his own chest, soothes the hitching sobs with soft kisses to his aching throat. He slips his hands under the tunic to feel the soft curve of his hips, his ribs, to smooth along his pale stomach as he tastes salt on Merlin's lips.

"Arthur," Merlin cries, begs, moans, gasps, "Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur."

Gwaine doesn't kiss him to silence him. He pours his heart out in the gentle slide of their bodies and the touch of his mouth to the vulnerable parts of Merlin that the other man tries not to let him see, and when Merlin has finished, spend drying on his chest, he cleans him up without a word and lets him drift off to sleep. He sits by the fire alone that night, drinking from Merlin's cup, and sighs.

If he can only ever have this, then he will savor it.

***

In the end, finding Morgana feels almost anticlimactic.

He's walking in the forest, alone, while Gwaine rides to the village to fetch something for the persistent leak in the roof, when his magic tingles and he throws up his hand just in time to shield himself from the blast. Morgana launches another with a vicious screech and he deflects it just as easily.

"I'm not going to fight you, Morgana."

"You," she seethes, emerging from the shadows, "all this time, you—"

"I have magic. I was born with it. It is—was my destiny to help Arthur become the One True King of Camelot and unite the land of Albion. I was mistaken in betraying you. Every day I regret it." He sinks to his knees. "If you want revenge, you can take it."

Morgana stares at him. An unfinished spell crackles in her hand. She is the Last High Priestess of the Old Religion and they both know her magic is strong, but his is stronger. Should it become a proper fight, it would destroy them both.

After a long, long moment, her hand lowers and the spell fizzles into nothing. She walks forward, still eyeing him warily. He waits. Eventually, she sighs and offers her hand. He takes it and pulls himself to his feet.

"Why are you here?" Some of the venom leaves her voice. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Arthur?"

"He banished me."

Her eyes widen. "You. He banished you. He tore Camelot apart to save you more times than I can count and he just—what, let you go?"

"He discovered I have magic. Magic is illegal in Camelot."

"Arthur Pendragon is an arrogant, pompous arse, but he is a fool for you. He's been strangely fond of you since Uther made you his manservant," she spits, "and yet he tossed you aside."

He raises his eyebrows. "Are you angry at Arthur for me?"

"I loathe any person who would use and discard someone else so easily. You of all people should understand that."

He bows his head. "I am sorry, Morgana, really. If I…if I'd known—"

She sighs and bids him to walk with her. They weave through the trees, the forest glimmering in the late-afternoon sun around them. Birds call back and forth and rabbits scurry across their path. "I wish you had told me you had magic."

"I wish I had too."

"Why didn't you?"

Merlin sighs. "I listened to someone I shouldn't have."

"Arthur?"

"Kilgharrah. The dragon that Uther imprisoned under the castle. He said that you were sworn to be my enemy, and so I…" He scrubs a hand over his face. "I swear, not a day goes by that I don't wish I'd done it all differently."

Morgana goes quiet for a while as they walk, save for the crunching of her footsteps. "When Morgause took me from Camelot, she told me what you'd done. At first, all I could feel was anger. This…black and poisonous thing that ate me until it was all I had. I never thought to ask her why she never told me that I was the source of the magic."

"You didn't know."

"No." She swallows. "That day…when Arthur put the sword in my hand and told me to protect Uther…I didn't want to kill him."

They walk in silence for a little longer. Then Merlin slowly reaches out to grasp her hand. "Gwen told me about something her father said once."

"Oh?"

"Someone had come to the blacksmith's angry that one of the swords he'd made had been used to kill his child. Her father asked him who it was that truly deserved the brunt of the anger: the one who made the sword, the one who wielded the sword, or the sword itself."

She scoffs. "What's the use in being angry at a sword?"

Merlin squeezes her hand. "That's what I thought, and then Gwen…"

He lets out a shuddering breath and stops walking. Morgana turns, confused, until she sees the contorted expression on his face. She walks a few steps closer, warily calling his name. When he looks up again, his eyes are filled with tears.

"I forged the sword," he says hoarsely, "Morgause wielded it, and you…Morgana, I'm so sorry."

Morgana's eyes widen. Her hand twitches in his. Some vile and terrible fury rises behind her eyes but just as quickly, something else douses it and she looks so young, so old, so tired. With the selfishness of a cold child, she takes two quick steps and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back and the forest parts just for a moment to allow the two to grieve the versions of themselves killed thoughtlessly.

"Come back with me," Merlin whispers into her shoulder, "come—just come for the night."

"Where?"

"It's not far. We have a farm. And a cabin."

"'We?'"

"Gwaine came with me."

A huff that warms his shoulder. "Of course he did."

Gwaine tries to draw his sword when he sees them, only for Merlin to rush between them, holding up his hands, saying she's not here to fight, she's not our enemy, it's alright. He looks at her, his eyes far more knowing than anyone has ever given him credit for, and shrugs, smiling and welcoming her inside. Merlin spends the rest of the evening in something of a daze, watching the two of them make small talk by the fire. No small part of him wishes that this could've happened in Camelot's halls, where Morgana looked as lovely and radiant and at peace as she did, where Gwaine's hands weren't so torn and scraped and his smile less tired, but they are both here and for the moment, his chest doesn't feel quite so empty.

It's a fleeting sensation.

Two sides of the same coin. The words that have ruled him since he first heard them spoken. The words that still rip his chest apart with every breath, the words that have his magic straining, aching, reaching back towards Camelot with every waking moment. It buzzes relentlessly in his fingers, strains his chest and lungs. It loves Arthur more than it loves him and he can't even blame it, for he left his heart there under the blade of Arthur's sword the day he was banished. Every day he wakes up, hoping to see the inside of Gaius's chambers, that this was all some horrible dream, and he can go with tears in his eyes up to Arthur's rooms and have Arthur tease him about being soft, weak, all with the quiet concern in his eyes that something might really be wrong.

But this is real. This cabin, this farm, this is the reality. He is no longer welcome in Camelot and he nurses that wound constantly. He closes his eyes and wishes away the worst of the pain so that he might breathe a little easier. He closes his fist over his heart and cries when Gwaine is asleep that it might come back to him, that he won't have to mourn its loss the same way he mourns Freya, Will, Balinor.

What is worse is that he knows he's being horrible to Gwaine.

Gwaine, who came with him without asking, without hesitating. Gwaine, who complained not once at how hard it was and how much work they have to do. Gwaine, who loves him, truly loves him, and loves him enough not to leave when Merlin is so clearly and helplessly still in love with Arthur.

He tries to ask him one night, when the tears won't stop coming and he's laid out on his back with Gwaine's mouth gently working over the vulnerable skin of his throat, his hands clasped tightly in rougher, callused ones, why he's here, why he lets this happen, why he's being so kind. It's not fair, he knows it's not fair, and he can't fathom why Gwaine is allowing it.

Because Gwaine is wonderful. He's kind and sweet and attentive and everything that Merlin isn't. He holds Merlin and the amount of love tucked into the embrace is enough to make his head spin. He kisses him like he's grateful Merlin's letting him get close enough to touch him. He loves him like he loves him, and Merlin can't understand why.

"Oh, Merlin," Gwaine breathes and the warmth makes him shudder, "it's alright. Shh, shh, it is. Don't you worry, not right now, just let me care for you."

"Why can't I just love you?" he sobs, hiding in Gwaine's shoulder. "It would be so much easier."

"Shh, shh, shh…that's enough, now." He's caught in a tender kiss that still manages to steal his breath away. Gwaine doesn't move away, murmuring against his mouth. "Just relax, lie back, shh, shh…"

Gwaine never leaves him wanting. If he were someone else, Merlin thinks he could hate him for that.

***

Arthur receives a scroll with the words the edge of the caves at the full moon, come alone, and knows that for the first time in a long, long time, he will truly be going alone.

He rides out under the noses of the patrols and gallops to the forest, making his way to the caves on foot when the terrain grows too steep. He keeps a hand on his sword as he goes, wary of the ambush he's almost certainly walking into.

When he reaches the top, there's a figure in black waiting for him. His hand falls away from his sword as Morgana turns to face him.

"You actually did come alone, I'm impressed."

"You requested it."

"There was a time where you'd never go alone anywhere."

"Yes, well, those days are behind me."

Her eyes flash with anger. "At your own doing."

"What do you want, Morgana?"

"Do you feel no remorse for what you've done?" She steps closer, the wind whipping about her skirts. "For any of it?"

"If you mean stopping you, then no, Morgana, I will not apologize for saving the innocent lives you sought to end." He takes a step too. "Do I regret what happened to you? Yes—I don't know what it was that sent you over the edge, but I wish—"

She laughs, high and loud and merciless, sounding like a murder of crows. "You wish? You wish what, that I hadn't?"

"Yes!' He steps closer still. "I wish that you'd told me you had magic, I wish that we'd been able to work something out together, I wish—"

"That you could've banished me," she snarls, spittle flying from her lips, "is that it? Instead of the wretched sorceress who swore vengeance, you wanted to send me off, pretty as anything, to save your own skin?"

"No!"

"What, then killed me yourself? While I was still Uther's beloved ward?"

"Morgana—"

"Or would you have burnt me at the stake?"

Arthur throws caution to the wind and strides up to her, grasping her shoulders and pulling her close. "I wish I could've stopped this! I wish I'd have known so I could help! I never wanted any of this, I don't want this now, I—don't you think I'd rather have you both with me?"

Morgana's teeth gleam in a cruel smile. "'Both?'"

His hands shudder. His knees quake. A lump appears in his throat and chokes him. "Do you know where he is?"

"What, don't tell me you care now—"

"I have always cared!"

"Liar!" She shoves him away. "You sent the most loyal man in the world off like a disobedient mutt the moment it was convenient—"

"They would've killed him!" He runs a hand through his hair, panting. "There were so many of them, Morgana, I couldn't—what else was I supposed to do? There was no way to stop the knights, not all of them—"

"You are the King," she sneers, "what good are you if you can't control your own knights?"

"I'm not a good King!"

Several birds take off from the forest below. The wind whips up into a frenzy to carry the words high into the sky and scatter them like broken shards of glass. Arthur pants as though blood would come to his lips any moment. Morgana, ever the steadfast, falters.

"I'm not a good King," Arthur says again, his voice thick and his head heavy, "I'm not. I carry on pointless cycles of violence because I lack the courage to break them. I put my trust in people who betray me and don't listen to the voices of my people. I—the only good I have ever done has come of the people who I surrounded myself with and I've managed to ruin that too."

He raises his chin, looking up to the heavens. He looks too young for his armor.

"I am King because my father was King. Nothing more."

Morgana swallows. She walks closer to him and puts her hand on his shoulder. He flinches, not for fear of her, but for shame of himself. For a moment, the two of them stand there, the broken children of Uther Pendragon, and that is all they are.

"Make it safe," she says finally, "then maybe we can come home."

"How," he croaks, "how do I make it safe?"

"Legalize magic. Root out the rot. Be the King Camelot deserves. That we deserve."

He looks at her, still in the half-dark, and carefully covers her hand with his. "Will you help me, as much as you can?"

She swallows. "When you prove to me that it's safe for me to do so."

***

The day word reaches them that magic is legal in Camelot, the candle in the back of Gwaine's mind begins to burn down to the base.

He knows it's a matter of time now. Arthur Pendragon is many things, but determined is perhaps one of his greatest qualities. If magic is legal in Camelot, then their days at this farm, in this cabin, are numbered and those numbers are not quite as high as he once thought.

He doesn't begrudge Merlin's hope. He never has, he never will. He responds enthusiastically to Merlin's renewed vigor, in and out of their bed—the bed, he should start thinking of it as the bed again—and tries to let his smiles slip only at night when no one else can see. Truly, he is happy; the lifting of the ban will ease the suffering of so many people and it's high time Arthur actually used the power he has to do something like this. Innocent people can practice their religion, no one group has to be exiled for an unjust reason, the druids can live in peace without persecution or fear any longer.

Merlin can go home.

He wonders if he'll return with him. He's grown quite fond of this little farm and cabin. Really, though, he knows it's because once he gets back, he'll have to watch the slow dance between the two of them and…and he's not as strong of a man as he pretends to be. But Merlin keeps looking at him with these hopeful little smiles and saying when we go back and when we're there and I hope they're happy to see us and he's weak, he always has been for Merlin, so he smiles and nods and says when we're home.

He comes back from the forest one day and sees a familiar horse standing in the grass outside their door—the door. Arthur Pendragon looks at him with that Camelot red cape flowing over his shoulders and he's every bard's dream of the knight in shining armor, come to claim his lost love. Gwaine walks up to him slowly, face of stone, and when Arthur confesses softly to him about how much he regrets it, how much he's done, and how scared he is now, he reaches out and clasps the man's hand.

"Take care of him," he says, and Arthur vows he will.

He doesn't watch their reunion. He winks flirtatiously until they shoo him off and he's glad of it, tending to the horses with a solemn finality that they pick up on, nudging his face with their noses until he pets them. He dons his own armor—the kind he wears to the tavern and to long feasts—and talks the whole ride back, laughing and joking and teasing the both of them.

Morgana joins them for the last leg of the journey and she looks at him with knowing eyes. He shrugs and she reaches over in the shadows where they won't see and squeezes his hand.

They are friends, then, and that is all they will ever be, and they will kill for each other without hesitation.

His brothers welcome him back. Leon looks at him for a moment too long and he turns away, not willing to have his heart split from his chest so soon after returning. There are things to celebrate, after all, and he is well adept at losing himself in fine spirits and food. The celebrations last long into the night, the next morning, and the next night as well. He doesn't look up to the high table, doesn't entertain the looks and winks he gets from the other guests, and doesn't touch the wine.

Leon catches him in a corner briefly and pulls him into a hug so tender he almost shatters right then and there.

"My door is open," he offers in words only meant for the two of them, "you've been away so long, little brother. I missed you."

The unspoken offer is there and Gwaine has never been more grateful for him. But he can't, not now, not while it is still so fresh, and so he dives back into the fray and laughs and jokes and makes merry.

When the party finally, finally comes to an end, he goes to sneak off to his own little room with a cup of wine when a long-fingered hand catches his shoulder. He knows who it is without having to turn around and knows in the same breath that he will go wherever the hand tugs. He leaves the wine on a table and goes, following Merlin up to the King's chambers. Arthur is already there, his crown laid on the side, pouring more wine. Merlin doesn't let him go as the doors close behind him, which is a surprise, but not as much as the one where Arthur holds out a goblet to him.

"I'm not a very good King," Arthur says, with his voice pitched low as Merlin's hands dance over his shoulders, "and I'm not a very good man."

"You're not that bad," he manages as Merlin's hands slip beneath his shirt.

"You're better than you give yourself credit for."

"I'm not," he gasps as fingers explore his chest, "I'm—I'm really not."

Arthur's hands are warm, callused in the way that his are, but gentle in a way that would make Uther Pendragon roll in his grave. Merlin's mouth finds his pulse.

"You are," he says, and he would never dare argue with Merlin, "you really are, Gwaine."

"You've lived as both a noble and a commoner," Arthur says, even as his hands card through his hair, "and seen the world from both sides. I need help from advisors I can trust. I imagine you have quite the breadth of experience."

The low slide of his words sends heat pooling into his stomach. "I've—I've lived a life, yes."

"Would you consider it? You could be a knight and an advisor." He doesn't have enough blood in his head for his. "I would be grateful for your guidance."

He chokes as Merlin's fingers dip lower and lower. "Is this how you recruit all your advisors?"

"No," Merlin chuckles, "just you."

"I—"

He doesn't have time to say another word before Arthur's mouth closes over his. The King tastes of wine and spice and one hand settles on his hip like a brand. His head is spinning and he feels Merlin coaxing the goblet from his hand.

"I've a lot to learn," Arthur says against his mouth, "so teach me."

"Teach you?"

He feels more than sees Arthur grin. "Unless you think you're not suited for it?"

He slides a hand into Arthur's golden hair and holds his head still, slanting their mouths together until the King is panting, shaking against him, and Merlin is laughing over their shoulders. Another mouth kisses his neck as arms wind around his waist and he smiles into the kiss.

"Shall we begin now, then?"

They've a home to rebuild, after all.

[1asbrightasthestars3]

Okay just.. hearmeowt.

I have this insane idea for a Merlin fanfiction and I need y'all to tell me if you'd read it!

So basically it's a Modern merthur au + modern royalty. Imagine this.

~~~~

Gwaine and Merlin are detectives of the FBI. One day they get a tip from their friends in the royal palace, Sir Elyan and Sir Leon, that the huge drug lord, that has been on the streets for weeks which Merlin and Gwaine have been busting their asses to find the identity of, is Uther Pendragon. Camalot's own king.

Now that they have a suspect they only need to find a way to prove it. They decided to go undercover. It won't be too hard for them to make up a backstory since Gwaine is technically nobility, but they do need some kind of entrance.

That's why they have Guinevere Blacksmith. Gwen worked with them in the force a couple of years beforehand, but she had to quit because someone was threatening her father so she had to go off the grid for a while, Gwen settled in Camalot with her younger brother Elyan, her dad and her best and oldest friend Leon. She became a servant and has been trying to keep a low profile ever since until she could make sure her family was safe.

Gwen introduced them to Sir Lancelot, Gwen's fiance who spent some time with the druids growing up and knows about;

1. Gwen's time in the FBI, 2. Merlin's magic. she said Merlin could go undercover as Lancelot's partner and get into the banquet Uther is throwing as his plus one.

The only problem? He has to be a woman for that.

They can't take anyone else, they decided, since Merlin and Gwaine know this case better than anyone else, and they don't want to risk Gwen in any way.

So Merlin turns himself into Mary - Sir Lancelot's 'girlfriend', the daughter of Sir Lot and Lady Morgan of Caerleon and Gwaine's 'sister'.

But what happens when Lancalot gets injured three nights before the banquet? They can't send Merlin alone without an explanation! It's too dangerous. And Gwaine is refusing to be around some 'stuck up noblemen'.

So Gwen offers her other best friend instead, since she can't offer Leon who has to stay behind and take care of Lancelot, another knight of camalot. Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. Of course.

~~~~~~

So.. let me know what you think! Btw it's my original idea and I hadn't seen anything like this before so PLEASE do not steal! If this sort of thing has been made before I am so sorry and please inform me!

Love y'all~ L

[morri-draws]

Gwaine x Reader - 'The Threads That Bind Us' - Chapter 9

Story Summary:

You, a humble dressmaker from Camelot’s lower town, are commissioned to make a new gown for Queen Guinevere. Impressed by your skills, she offers you the position of Royal Clothier. During your time in the castle, you catch the eye of one of the knights of King Arthur’s inner circle, Sir Gwaine. What starts as a sweet courtship is turned upside down when misfortune strikes and you must deal with the aftermath, as well as an unwelcome visit from Gwaine’s unpleasant sister.

Rating: Mature

Tags: Female Reader/Gwaine, set between seasons 4 and 5, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

Words: 2,699

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Gwaine’s mind is a mess of hurt, anger and sorrow, each blow to the training dummy serving as an outlet for his intense emotions.

“You alright Gwaine?” Percival asks as he looks on with a teasing grin. “Did the dummy insult you in some way?”

Gwaine scowls in reply as Arthur announces that it is time to swap to sparring. He pairs Percival with Leon, and Gwaine with Elyan. They begin trading blows, changing between offence and defence, blocking, parrying and striking. Gwaine’s style is particularly aggressive, giving Elyan hardly a chance to defend himself, let alone strike any blows, before Arthur calls an end to the bout.

“Bloody hell, Gwaine, are you actually trying to kill me?” Elyan pants, eyes wide.

“Apologies, my friend,” Gwaine replies, patting Elyan on the shoulder gruffly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind,”

Gwaine crosses the training field to return his sword to the rack, where Merlin appears next to him, a training dummy under one arm.

“Are you alright?” He asks, frowning concernedly at his friend.

“Yeah,” Gwaine answers automatically, forcing a smile. He glances at Merlin, who’s grimacing back at him, clearly not convinced. Gwaine drops the smile. “No, not really. Have you got a moment to talk after this, in my chambers?”

“Of course,” Merlin nods. “Once I pack all this away, I’ll be there,”

~

Gwaine paces the length of his chambers, deep in thought and face set in a frown, until there’s a knock at his chamber door.

“Enter,” He says.

The door swings open and Merlin steps inside, latching it behind him as he looks at his friend with concern. Gwaine gestures to a small table behind him, and he and Merlin both sit down.

“It’s (Y/N),” Gwaine begins. “I’ve finally managed to speak with her. It’s bad, Merlin,” He sighs, running a hand over his face. “It seems my sister has been running her mouth, spreading nasty rumours about me, and (Y/N) came to hear of them. She’s been led to believe that I’m some kind of skirt-chaser and that I don’t care for her at all,”

“Did you tell her it’s not true?” Merlin asks.

“Of course I did. I told her that she can’t believe a word my sister says, but I don’t know if she believed me. I was too angry to say any more so I left,”

Merlin frowns, crossing his arms. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know… I thought maybe I should give her some space to think things over. Then she can decide what she wants to do… whether she wants to speak to me again,” Gwaine turns his head away, hair falling in front of his face, hiding the emotion beginning to show itself.

“So, you’re going to wait for her to come to you?” Merlin asks.

Gwaine shrugs.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Merlin says. “(Y/N) seems like the kind of person who might find that difficult, especially since I’m sure she’s feeling pretty terrible right now. She might wait for you to make the next move. Then you’ll both be sitting around, waiting for the other, torturing yourselves in the process,” He shakes his head. “No, you both need to talk this out, and the sooner, the better,”

“I don’t know, Merlin. I don’t want to harass her. She might not want to talk,”

Merlin’s chair scrapes back as he stands. “I’ll go and talk to her,”

“No,” Gwaine stands so swiftly that his chair falls back with a loud thud. “I don’t want her to think I’m sending someone else to fight my battles,”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it clear that you haven’t sent me. I’m a concerned friend, that’s all,”

Merlin smiles reassuringly before exiting Gwaine’s chambers.

~

You begin applying gold trim to the king’s doublet, the garment having reached your favourite stage of creation (besides the finished result), which is when it actually starts to look like something. If only you could feel the satisfaction that you usually would at this stage, but your mind is clouded and unfocused. No matter what task you set yourself to, always in the back of your mind is guilt and heartache.

You take a step back to inspect your work when there’s a knock at your chamber door. Your stomach drops. It must be Gwaine. You’re not ready to speak with him yet. Even though a full day has passed, you haven’t thought up anything you could possibly say to him. But now’s the moment, whether you’re ready or not, you have to answer that door.

You cross your chambers and open to door, surprised to find Merlin looking back at you.

“I waited this time,” He says with a lopsided grin.

“Indeed,” You reply. “The king’s doublet is not yet complete. I’m just working on it now,”

“Hmm?” Merlin raises his brows. “Oh, I’m not here about that,”

“Alright… why are you here?”

You open the door wider to admit him and he steps inside, a thumb and finger on his chin, brow furrowed in thought.

You cross the room to the dining table. “Would you like to sit?”

You gesture to the chair opposite you and Merlin nods. You take a seat as he does, clasping his hands in front of him.

He clears his throat. “You know, Gwaine is a good friend of mine,”

You avert your eyes guiltily, steeling yourself for a tongue-lashing.

“He told me what happened,” Merlin continues. “But he is afraid to speak with you again, in case you don’t wish to speak to him, and he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to come here and ask you to please speak to him as soon as you can,”

“Does he not hate me?”

“No,” Merlin shakes his head. “He’s just hurting. He’s extremely upset with his sister and… I think he’s afraid he’s lost you,”

Tears prick your eyes and you reach into your pocket to retrieve a handkerchief, dabbing the moisture away.

“I’ve spent the last day trying to think of what to say to him, but I just can’t find the words. All I can think of is how dreadful I feel,”

“In situations like these, it’s impossible to think of the perfect thing to say, because there isn’t one,” Merlin’s blue eyes look earnestly into yours. “You just need to speak from your heart. When you see him, you’ll know what to say,”

You sigh, fiddling with the handkerchief in your lap. “I don’t know about that,”

“Well, I know this,” Merlin straightens. “Gwaine is a good man, one of the very best. There was a time when Gaius was framed and accused of treason. Everyone believed he was guilty, but I knew he would never betray Arthur. I was angry and I was afraid, and I felt that I had no one to turn to. I returned to my chambers one night and there was Gwaine, waiting for me. He wanted to see if I was alright, and when I told him that Gaius had not fled to avoid punishment, but was kidnapped, he believed me. He came with me, no questions asked, to find Gaius and to save him. Gwaine found Gaius and brought him home,” Merlin’s eyes glisten with the emotion of the memory. “He is a true and loyal friend. I’m afraid I overlooked that for too long. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. He has been, and will be, true to you as well,”

You nod sombrely as hot tears fall down your cheeks and into your lap. “I can tell you speak from the heart, Merlin,” Your voice wavers as you force out the words before standing and walking to the nearest window, looking out at the sky. “Do the knights have training this evening?”

“Of course,” Merlin replies.

“Then I shall speak with Gwaine after that,”

“Excellent,” Merlin stands with a smile. “Speaking of training, I need to make sure Arthur’s armour is in order,”

You leave your spot at the window and approach Merlin.

“Thank you for coming to speak with me. You’ve given me courage,”

“You’ve found that courage yourself,” Merlin smiles. “Good luck for this evening,”

~

You spend the next few hours continuing work on the king’s doublet, then swap to Gwen’s gown. The plan is for them both to be completed at the same time so they can be revealed together. Your body feels tight as you work, full of nervous tension for your upcoming conversation with Gwaine. While there is no certainty about how it will go, there is at least a small sense of relief in knowing that he is open to talking. You had worried that you’d hurt him too badly.

You sew until the sunlight filters through your window in that particular way, and you know that the time has come. You briefly check your appearance in the glass, tucking away any fly-aways and smoothing your skirts, before heading out.

You arrive in the wing of the castle containing the knights’ personal chambers and realise that you’re unsure which room belongs to Gwaine. You overheard his and Erika’s voices from one of the rooms those weeks ago, but weren’t close enough to discern exactly where they came from. You decide to just try one of the doors, and if another knight answers, you can simply ask for direction to Gwaine’s chambers. You knock on the door closest to you. Receiving no response, you move onto the next door, but also receive no reply. Your make your way down the passage, knocking on each door, until you’ve tried all, and do not receive a single answer.

You pace for a few moments, flustered. You’d worked up the courage to do this, your stomach twisting itself into knots in anticipation, and now… nothing. Taking deep breaths to calm yourself, you think what to do next, when the idea strikes you to find Merlin and ask him if he knows where the knights may be.

You arrive at Merlin and Gaius’ chambers, knocking on the door firmly.

“Enter,” Gaius’ voice calls from within.

You unlatch the door and step inside. Gaius stands up from behind a desk and removes his glasses, placing them atop the pages of an open tome.

“How may I assist you, (Y/N)?” He asks with a friendly smile.

“I was just wanting to speak to Merlin,” You reply.

“I’m afraid Merlin is not here currently. Is there something I could help you with?”

You consider whether or not to be open with the physician, and ultimately decide that there is no reason for secrecy.

“I was meaning to speak with Sir Gwaine actually, but he wasn’t in his chambers. None of the knights were in fact, so I came here, hoping Merlin might know something,”

“Ah,” Gaius’ eyes brighten with understanding. “The knights were called away on an urgent mission with the king. Merlin has gone with them,”

“I see,” Your anxiety flares. “Do you know when they are expected to return?”

“It is hard to say,”

You nod. “Thank you, Gaius,”

He bows his head in response and you exit the physician’s chambers.

You begin heading back to your own chambers in a sort of daze. You were already anxious when you headed out to see Gwaine, but now, not only are you unable to speak with him, he’s off on an urgent mission, and surely urgent means dangerous? You need to know more, so you change direction and head for the royal chambers.

You receive and answer immediately after you knock, and let yourself inside. Gwen turns to greet you from in front of the antechamber’s window.

“(Y/N),” She smiles. “This is a pleasant surprise,” Upon seeing your expression, her smile falters. “Is everything alright?”

“I went to speak with Gwaine,” you say, closing the gap between you and joining her by the window. “But he’s away,”

“Yes, Arthur and the knights have set out on an urgent mission,” Gwen replies.

“I heard such from Gaius. Do you know what they’re doing?”

“Villages on Camelot’s borders have been attacked,” Gwen speaks in a low voice, as if worried of being overheard. “Arthur wants to know whether it’s simply raiders, or whether it’s enemies crossing the border,” She turns to gaze out the window. “I shouldn’t say simply raiders. There’s nothing simple about them for the poor people whose homes are being targeted,”

“What happens if it’s raiders?”

“Arthur and his knights will defeat them,”

“And if it is enemies crossing the border?” You ask.

“Then it’s an act of war,” Gwen frowns.

“Then for the kingdom’s sake, I hope it’s raiders,”

“So do I,” Gwen turns back to you, her expression troubled. “Though I have seen first-hand the damage raiders can do. Those poor villagers,” She shakes her head, as if to dismiss the unpleasant thoughts. “Have you eaten yet?”

“I have not,”

“Then will you dine with me tonight?”

“I would like that very much,” You answer truthfully. You would prefer not to be left with only your own thoughts tonight.

Gwen smiles before heading to the door, opening it and poking her head out to speak with the guards outside. She closes the door again and gestures for you to sit at the dining table and she takes the seat adjacent to you.

“I’ve arranged for two dinners to be brought up,” She says.

You thank her, but find yourself not knowing what else to say in the moment. You can’t seem to think of anything conversational. You strain to think of something, anything to talk about, when Gwen breaks the silence.

“I feel I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t bring this up. I knew there was something wrong when you conducted my fitting the other day, and Gwaine hasn’t been his usual cheerful self either. Has something happened between you?”

You certainly hadn’t planned on unburdening yourself tonight, but when Gwen looks at you, the question in her eyes as well as friendly concern, you reveal all, every wretched detail, your composure completely lost as she holds your hand in hers.

“And I went to try to fix things tonight,” You continue your story. “But now he’s gone on a dangerous mission and he doesn’t know how sorry I am,”

“You talk as if tonight was your only chance to speak with him. He’ll be back,” Gwen smiles reassuringly.

“I’m just so worried something terrible will happen while he’s away,” You sniff. “Do you not worry about the king?”

“I worry for Arthur every time he leaves on a mission,” Gwen says. “And Elyan too. But I also have faith, in Arthur and his knights. They’ve been through so much together and look out for one another like brothers,”

You nod along to Gwen’s words, trying to find in yourself the same faith that she has.

“How about this,” Gwen says. “We can dine together every night until they return. We’ll keep each other from worrying too much,”

“I like that idea,” You wipe your eyes. “Thank you, Gwen,”

The dinners arrive soon after and you periodically remind yourself to slow your eating, since the meal is so delicious.

“Perhaps I should spend more time on my own cooking,” You remark. “I only make very plain meals. But it hardly seems worth the effort to make something like this for just one person,”

“Perhaps you’ll soon invite someone over for dinner, and you can put in a little extra effort for the occasion,” Gwen replies suggestively.

You feel a warmth in your cheeks at the thought. How you long for things to go back to how they were before, to feel easy in Gwaine’s presence and to laugh with him again.

You and Gwen spend the rest of the night chatting about a number of topics, until drowsiness kicks in, the conversation lulls and you decide it’s time to go to bed. You head back to your chambers feeling much lighter than you did before. Your anxiety for Gwaine is still present, but you feel as if you can bear it a little better now.

[yorit1]

Merlin was excited. It was the day of his wedding. He and Arthur have been dating since Morgana and Gwen's wedding. Gwen was Merlin's best friend, and Morgana was Arthur's sister. Merlin and Arthur met when Gwen and Morgana moved in together. At first, they did not get along. But they soon became fast friends. They finally admitted their feelings for each other at Gwen and Morgana's wedding. Merlin and Arthur had proposed to each other at the same time. It was magical. Their friends were all there watching as they proposed to each other. Merlin was preparing for his wedding with Gwen, Lance, and Gwaine. He wore his wedding suit and thought he looked good if he could say so himself. "You look so handsome, Merlin," Gwen cooed. "You look good, my friend," Lance said. "Princess is one lucky man," Gwaine leered and winked at Merlin. "Okay, let's get going. We don't want you late for your wedding," Gwen said. Merlin looked at himself in the mirror one last time and left to get married.

Arthur was nervous. Today, he was marrying his best friend. His other half. The idiot Merlin. Arthur could not believe that the day had arrived. It feels like he has been waiting for years to marry Merlin. He was in his suite with Morgana, Leon, Elyan, and Percy, helping him prepare for the wedding. "How do I look?" Arthur asked. "If I wasn't a lesbian and you weren't my brother, I'd marry you," Morgana said. "You look good, man," Percy said. "I'm so happy that you are marrying Merlin. You deserve to be happy, Arthur," Leon said. "Maybe I'll meet my perfect match at this wedding," Elyan said. Arthur looked at himself in the mirror. He thought he looked good. He appreciated what he saw in the mirror and thought Merlin would enjoy it. "Time to go. We don't want Merlin to wait," Leon said. Arthur looked at his reflection one last time and turned to leave the suite.

Merlin was walked down the aisle by Hunith. He and Arthur would walk down the aisle one after the other. First, Gwen and Morgana walked down the aisle hand in hand. Leon, Lance, Elyan, Percy, and Gwaine followed them. Finally, it was Merlin's turn to walk down the aisle. He was excited to walk down with his mum. He was marrying the man of his dreams. Growing up gay in a small village in Wales, he never thought he would get married. But his best friend introduced him to the man that he was marrying. He arrived at the alter, and Arthur arrived a moment later. Merlin and Arthur turned to face each other. Merlin thought that Arthur looked handsome in his suit. He looked regal with his blonde hair and the suit. He could not believe that soon he would be his husband. Arthur took Merlin's hands, and they stared into each other's eyes. Merlin could see Arthur's love for him shining in his eyes. Merlin was happy. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Merlin and Arthur," the registrar said. "If anyone knows why these two should not get married, speak up now or forever hold your silence." Merlin looked around and saw that everyone was smiling at them. Merlin was happy that no one objected to him marrying Arthur. "Good, no objections," the registrar said. "Let's get started. Merlin and Arthur have prepared their vows." "Growing up gay in a small village in Wales, I thought I'd forever be alone. Then I went to uni in London and met my best friend, Gwen. Gwen met the woman of her dreams and moved in with her. There, I met her brother. At first, I thought he was a prat. But soon, I got to know the person under the clotpole persona. He was kind and brave and stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. We became friends, and I fell in love with him. I worried it would ruin our friendship, so I decided not to tell him. Then, we had a situation at Gwen and Morgana's wedding, and finally, we admitted our feelings to each other. Since we started dating, I have been the happiest ever. All my dreams came true. I had an amazing boyfriend who I loved. I was loved back. Today, my last dream comes true: I get to marry the man of my dreams. So, Arthur, I am ready to marry you," Merlin said, looking into Arthur's eyes. "When I realised I was bisexual, it wasn't easy for me. I knew that Uther wouldn't accept me. I was worried about what he would think. Morgana was already out as a lesbian, and he was furious. Morgana was moving in with her girlfriend, Gwen. At the housewarming party, I met an idiot. He spoke to me like no one has ever before. I was bewitched. You got under my skin. I couldn't get you out of my head. Uther still hoped I'd marry a society lady since I also like women. But from that moment on, it has only been Merlin. You have bewitched me heart and soul. I am so happy to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. You, my idiot," Arthur said, staring into Merlin's eyes. "Great, let's move on to the next part," the registrar said. "Repeat after me. I, Merlin Emerys, take you, Arthur Pendragon, as my lawful wedded husband." "I, Merlin Emerys, take you, Arthur Pendragon, to be my lawful wedded husband," Merlin said. "I, Arthur Pendragon, take you Merlin Emerys to be my lawful wedded husband," the registrar said. "I, Arthur Pendragon, take you, Merlin Emerys, to be my lawful wedded husband," Arthur said. "With this ring is a symbol of my love," Merlin said as he slid the ring on Arthur's finger. "This ring shows all my love for you," Arthur said as he slid the ring on Merlin's finger. "Great, I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss each other," the registrar said. Arthur and Merlin kissed. Merlin could not believe that he was kissing his husband. The kiss was sweet, and they swayed slightly as they kissed. It was one of their best kisses. Merlin took Arthur's hand, and they walked down the aisle as everyone threw confetti at them. Merlin could not believe that he was married. All his dreams had come true.

As Merlin and Arthur walked to the hotel's reception room, Arthur thought he was now married. He could not believe that he had a husband. Merlin was Arthur's husband. He and Merlin were entwined for eternity. They walked into the reception room and saw that all their friends were there. He and Merlin walked to the table where Hunith, Morgana, and their closest friends sat. "Little brother, you finally joined us in marital bliss. Uther must be fuming both his children in same-sex marriages," Morgana said. Gwen kissed his cheek and sat down next to her wife. After eating the first course, it was time for their first dance. He and Merlin knew the perfect song to play for this, and Arthur was excited to dance with Merlin as husbands. "May I have this dance?" Arthur asked Merlin as he put his arm out for Merlin to take. Merlin stood up, and they went to the dance floor. Merlin and Arthur put their arms around each other and started swaying to the music. Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes as they danced. Arthur could see all the love in Merlin's eyes. He knew that the same love was reflected in his own eyes. Arthur was so lost in the dance that the song soon ended. Soon, everyone was joining them on the dance floor. Arthur danced with Morgana, and Merlin danced with Hunith. Arthur was enjoying his dance with Morgana. He was lucky to have her support and at least one family member there on his wedding day. After dancing, it was time for the main course. The food was exquisite. This hotel has outdone themselves. It was finally time for Arthur and Merlin to cut their wedding cake. Merlin and Arthur were in sync while cutting the cake. Then Arthur shoved the piece of cake into Merlin's face as Merlin shoved the cake into Arthur's face. Merlin laughed, and Arthur thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. His husband laughed in delight for shoving cake into his face. Arthur took Merlin's face and kissed it. He tasted like the cake. His husband tasted good. Arthur could not wait to get to the wedding night part and for them to show each other exactly what they meant to each other. "I love you, idiot," Arthur said. "I love you, clotpole," Merlin said. They bid everyone goodbye and celebrated their wedding in their hotel room.

[crithaus]

Morgwen Bodyguard!AU where it's the whole gang in mostly modern times. This is extensive, bear with me.

Through some series of events I haven't thought of yet England has not become England as we know it yet though most of history remains the same and Uther Pendragon is King Regnant of Albion, and he does about just as good a job rearing two kids as he does running a country and has a great vast many enemies so his heir apparent Crown Prince Arthur and his ward Morgana, now Duchess of Gorlois after the death of her 'father', are now in desperate need of a constant detail of bodyguards.

enter gwen and the gang

his capital city can only bear to send CIS' - Camelot Intelligence Services - finest on recommendation by his own friend and personal physician. Sends him 2 3-cell teams of their best intelligence agents or at least, least likely to kill each other while guarding bodys yknow.

And Morgana gets hers. Her team leader, sniper and combat specialist Lancelot, ex combat pilot turned all around agent Elyan and to her immense surprise, Elyan's super super gorgeous sister, Guinevere.

Arthur gets his cell, team leader Leon his getaway driver and head strategist, defense and combat specialist Gwaine and hacker Merlin, though the poor boy gets a secondary job as Arthur's PA too which takes up much of his time.

Morgana's spent every moment of her life that she can remember simpering with high society boys and girls, all of them either vapid and idiotic or worse yet, cruel and calculating and never ever has she met a woman more fascinating than Gwen. She's her new personal assistant much like Merlin is Arthur's, with an eidetic memory and the management skills of Hannibal fucking Barca, a parisian boutique's worth of seamstress ability and the personal upkeep, maintainence and even some smithing of all her cell's weapons. She runs shit like the navy and when Morgana asks why she isn't team leader, Gwen just laughs and oh man is her laugh pretty, and shrugs, "someone needs to be focused solely on you yknow." While looking at her with the biggest doe-iest eyes and Morgana finds herself blushing a lot more?? Beaming ear to ear, too. And

Idk Morgana dragging Gwen off to galas and Gwen taking her off to more low key spots, the club perchance, and Gwen getting wowed by morgana's rapier wit and political acumen and Morgana getting wowed by this absolutely radiant beam of sunshine who snatched a gun out of a mugger's holster before he could do anything and popped some other dude 30 paces away without a hair out of place and adventures. Gwen absolutely despises Uther, Morgana hates all the snooty folk that expect Gwen to kowtow to them. Gwen finds that though her job is to personally assist, the Duchess is actually quite nice, fiercely loyal to her as if just the doing of her job is enough to warrant such, though shes achingly lonely so maybe that's why, is very funny, and kind, and compassionate if a little impulsive and rash, and comes up with the funniest insults imaginable murmured directly into her ear as she stands at her post in the back of x meeting of uther's privy council or y public function. Also that her eyes are theeee most brilliantly clear shade of green, like the still clear pond near her house, like garnet-

Morgana has awful nightmares of totally not suspicious events that come true an odd amount of the time and Gwen is receiving back Intel from CIS and Uther about potential stirring of war from a King Cenred across ye Olde channel and they go on cool car chases and maybe there's a shopping montage or two but yea. Idk how to end this but uther realizes he doesn't have to die a shitty old man and legitimizes Morgana as a princess of the blood before he chokes and when she and Gwen get married it's princess style babyyy

Oh and definitely morgana giving herself up to some assailants cuz gwen is hurt and some baddies cracking poor morgana on the head and Gwen frantically trying to keep her awake and morgana is just griiiiiinning at her all restored even as concussed as she is cuz this angel is cupping her face in her hands and yea, that thing

[kashilascorner]

New entry for @queer-ragnelle May Day Parade!

Prompt: May 10-16 Month of May {Free Space/Flower Festival}

Behold --my attept at a comedy! You can read it here if you prefer. This is probably the last short story I write for this challenge. Enjoy ^^

He was meant to be someone's uncle, maybe. Definitely not someone's father at any rate. As the hot midday sun shone above his head, Sir Bors wondered what it was about him that he had ended up surrounded by kids. No, not kids. Kids were cute, with their chubby cheeks and their untamed opinions. What he had attracted was far worse: teenagers.

It was a beautiful day in mid-May. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, horses were happy, and he was not being paid enough for this job. Actually, he was not being paid at all! In fact, by not being in his lands, he was losing money by the minute –but alas, he was not good at accounting anyways, that was work for his brother and his sister-in-law. It's not that Bors didn't like the lads, but he was beginning to understand Sir Kay's irritation towards the world at large given how much he dealt with youngsters all day, every day.

Galahad was a quiet boy. He thought of him as good nephew although he was a second cousin. That was good, with that he could deal. Perceval, on the other hand talked too much. He talked all the time. But there was someone who talked even more: his sister Dindrane. Good lord how much she spoke! Why was she even there in the first place? he wondered. And then there was the elephant inside the room. An enormous elephant all the way from India that definitely had no business in Britain’s forests: Elyan. His son. His actual, real, blood-of-his-blood son. Bors had never had much of an idea of how he should speak to him, so at some point he had decided to talk to him as a fellow comrade. It was his brother's advice: become friends with the lad, he said, get him to trust you, he said, all will be fine and follow the natural course, he said. Well, probably not the best idea to take advice from a man who had not yet been a father and had lost his own at a tender age. But alas, he didn't have much better opinions to go by. Who else was he going to ask for fatherly advice? Arthur? Lancelot? So Bors took the advice at face value. If Elyan had been a child maybe he could have worked out something, but no, of course none of the Lord's designs could ever be that easy. He was (almost) fully grown by the time they met. He even had a shadow of a shadow of something that kind of resembled a beard.

Elyan seemed content enough by the treatment, Bors thought with some relief. A good lad he was. His mother had made a good job, Bors nodded to himself, she should be proud. But Galahad visibly cringed every time they interacted. This angered Bors. Was he doing it so wrong? He felt very judged, negatively, by Galahad's gaze. And who was Galahad, of all people, to judge? And why did Bors even care about his opinion? Bors thought of himself as a competent enough father, even if not a good one. Sure, he had not provided for his son, but only because he didn't know he existed at all! Come think of it, maybe only God was a good enough Father, and still his main fathering method was throwing His children into the world without warning and with only thin skin as their protection. Not even scales or a thick poisonous tooth or two to defend themselves. Bors did better than that: he’d given his lad an armor, and a seat in the most prestigious knight order of the age. So, actually, he had done fairly well by comparison, had he not? Even if the reasoning was a bit sacrilegious in nature.

“Say, Uncle,” spoke Dindrane. Bors, at the head of the party, had to fight his innermost demons not to roll his eyes and let out a long, long sigh. Her excessive familiarity annoyed him. Lads he could deal with, but how in Heaven was one even supposed to deal with a fifteen-year-old girl? “Who would win a fist fight, Sir Gawain or Sir Lancelot?”

“Obviously Gawain!” retorted young Melehan, with a tone that informed Bors the kids had been, no doubt, arguing about this one thing all morning. Obviously Melehan was going to defend his uncle. Bors had not intended to travel with a band of teenagers, but least of all had he planned to borrow Sir Mordred's eldest son, a boy of twelve, as a squire while they went to meet with the rest of the knights. How much he missed his loyal Achilles! Should have never knighted him, honestly, but it was too late to regret it now. Bors had never realized how hard it was to get a good squire until he lost a great one –which Melehan, certainly, was not.

“They would never fist fight in the first place.” Bors said, trying to sound very grave. “And knights don't fist fight.”

“But if they did,” insisted Dindrane, Elyan and Perceval in unison.

“He's going to say Lancelot, he's not impartial.”" complained Melehan, very softly for them to pay attention.

“Obviously Lancelot would win if he ever happened to lower himself to such standards,” commented Galahad, who, even by his standards had been astonishingly quiet.

“Are we talking midday or night fight?” Asked Perceval all of a sudden, like he had just realized it was an absolutely crucial difference.

“Gawain at midday, definitely,” said Elyan, trying to sound very serious (or had his voice really become this deep?) “But at night...”

“Still Gawain!” insisted Melehan.

“No way, not at night.” Galahad scoffed.

“Oh, so you admit he would lose in the morning?” Melehan smiled. Bors turned slightly to look at the little blond boy. Damn, did the boy look like his father.

“Knights don't fist fight.” Insisted Bors.

“I know you have fist flighted,”" said Perceval, cryptically, disconcerting Bors and forcing him to turn his body on his horse to look at him, like an owl turning its head.

“When?”

“You have a brother, sir Bors,” said Perceval, “and brothers fist fight all the time.” he added, in unison with Dindrane, like it was an obvious fact everyone knew. What kind of relationships did the offspring of Pellinore have? Bors thought with horror for a moment, what horrors went behind those walls--then he thought of how Lamorak had turned out. Ah, it made sense.

“We could say that sometimes it can happen, yes,” he conceded. "But I never in my life fist fought Lionel." He had, indeed, fist fought Lionel and broken his lip in the process multiple times, but no reason for the youngsters to know that. It seems like they had enough examples about it not to need any more.

“My cousins and I once had a very big fight, I don't see how it would not be the same between brothers.” Melehan commented.

“And who won?”

“Florence.”

“Ah.” Bors nodded. The boy was a marvel. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree –especially if the tree is Gawain. Right before breaking a smile, he remembered he was trying to give a good example. “Well, you should try to avoid those things. One day you will be knighted, so you keep your hands to yourself and use your sword and your lance honorably, as it is meant to be.”

“Ha! Tell that to the boys, I will throw punches my whole life.” Dindrane laughed, tilting her chin up petulantly. Galahad all of a sudden seemed very uncomfortable. He had grown in a monastery, had he not? He probably never saw a woman talk so shamelessly. Had he ever even seen a girl his own age at all? Probably not. Women could be terrifying, Bors had to give him that. And Dindrane, it seemed, was at least half savage. Melehan had made the horse trot a little faster so now he was on Bors' left side, blushing, instead of nearer Dindrane where he had been riding all morning. He blushed a lot when it came to Dindrane, Bors realized. Maybe he didn't like her? Only the Lord could tell, these youngsters were a mystery.

Bors stole a glance from Elyan, on his right side. Come think of it, perhaps they shouldn't be knighting boys this young. Then he thought of how Perceval was a good two years older than his Elyan and still had much less common sense, so maybe it didn't have anything to do with age after all. Bors smiled at his son, and got his horse a little closer to his. Elyan smiled back, shyly, but pulled out his chest in a show of being a great horseman.

“Who do you think won when they fought, my Lord the King or the Seneschal?” asked Perceval, breaking the silence.

“The King,” said Dindrane and Elyan.

“The Seneschal,” replied Melehan, Galahad and Bors. The lads stared at Bors, and Dindrane smirked maliciously. They had trapped him.

“So who would win, Uncle, Sir Lancelot or Sir Gawain?”

“Who would, who would?” all of them asked.

There was no escape. Bors took a deep breath.

At least this would only go on for a couple more days, then they would meet with Gawain and Lancelot's parties, switch members and begin the quest proper.

But as things were going, he wondered: was the Grail and its promise of divine redemption even worth this much effort? Maybe he should turn back to tournaments and rescuing ladies. It was certainly a more reasonable line of work.

[thebroccolination]

ELYAN!!!

I NEED ELYAN FIC RECS.

I NEED THEM LIKE I NEED LIFE.

I just watched "A Herald of the New Age" for the first time and my god????????? This moment between Elyan and the Shrine Boy was hands-down the sweetest I've seen in the entire series.

THAT IS THE BEST KNIGHT. THAT ONE.

After Elyan disturbs the shrine in the forest by drinking from the well because Gwaine drank all his water (I already shipped the hell out of it before this and now I ship it even harder), this ghost boy shows up before him twice and terrifies him.

And yet???

His first impulse is to hug and protect this child.

I made the most wounded animal noise when he did this??? Like, especially in an episode where he's punched unconscious by Gwaine and then Percival, Elyan's gentle and protective nature is so, so beautiful. He immediately offers to help the child, too, and I don't think the insinuation is that the child was using magic to influence him. I think it was just Elyan's empathy.

Man, what a great episode.

To recap, I watched season 1 of Merlin as it was airing, lost all interest when season 2 began, then just exclusively read fic from then on until my friend was like, "PLEASE WATCH THE OTHER SEASONS WITH ME," and I said, "Yeah, okay," so we've been gradually doing that for the past two years.

Therefore, I only knew Elyan through fic until now and, like??? I knew plenty about Gwaine and Percival and Leon and Lancelot from the fic I read (canon and AUs alike). But I only remember Elyan being mentioned in fic occasionally? And it was either just in passing or as The Older Brother of Gwen. At the time, I always figured, "Well, maybe it's because Elyan didn't get a whole lot to do in the show." And, sure, he doesn't seem to have as much screentime as Gwaine or Leon so far (I haven't seen S5 yet), but this whole episode was about Elyan! And we find out so much about who he is!

I've now seen more of Elyan's personality than I have of Sir Ripped His Chainmail Sleeves Off, and I've seen lots more of Percival in fic. Even when Elyan's possessed in this episode, we find out plenty about him through the other characters reacting to it. The general consensus is, "Whoa, Elyan went after Arthur?" even though his sister was just banished and a few characters think that would be enough to turn his loyalties (I still can't believe the writers expect me to believe that nonsense was consistent for Arthur's character like the writing in BBC's Merlin was very weird sometimes).

This one episode has made Elyan my favorite knight.

HOW IS THERE NOT MORE FIC ABOUT ELYAN.

OR AT LEAST BIGGER ROLES FOR HIM IN ENSEMBLE FICS?

On the bright side, I just went looking for Elyan/Gwaine fic and there was literally one posted two days ago set after this episode and I'm going to read it ASAP and then scour the rest of the tag for more. \:D/

Like, man, I've never written Merlin fic before despite the hours of my life devoted to reading Merthur fic but I think I have to write some Elyan/Gwaine when my friend and I finish watching the series. :')

(If anyone with Elyan fic recs of any kind reads this please please please feed me.)

[hannahhook7744]

Modern Merlin Moodboards (Part 2) (Revamped);

Character: Queen Guinevere Pendragon.

Modern name: Gwen Smith.

Age: 37 years old.

Modern job: Owner of a floral and boutique shop called 'Camelot Beauties'.

Short rundown of their modern life: Gwen Smith was born to a poor family in Brooklyn and grew up very happy until the death of her mother, which caused her older brother, Elyan, to runaway from home when she was 12.

Her mother was a seamstress and her father was a factory worker—both of whom would die from separate illnesses when she was 11 and 19 respectfully (not long after she first started her business). Leaving her on her own for a few months aside from her childhood best friend— Morgan's—family until her brother returned.

She would later go on to attend the weddings of Mithian and Elyan & Morgan and Del (as well as several others as she continued to meet people that her new friend Merlin kept introducing her to)—and she'd go to volunteer at Tristian and Izzy's Youth Center. Which was very fulfilling.

However, she could never quite shake the feeling that something was missing. A feeling that only slightly lessened when she adopted the baby boy she found on the doorstep of her shop when she was 26.

A feeling that continues to grow with every dream of the blonde with a charming smile in red who feels like home.

Character: King Arthur Pendragon.

Modern name: Arthur Smith.

Age: 38 years old.

Modern job: Stay at home dad (until he becomes more acquainted with the modern day).

Short rundown of their modern life: King Arthur Pendragon has not yet risen but will likely become a stay at home dad (until he becomes more acquainted with the modern day) when he does.

Character: Arthur the lesser and Artie Pendragon.

Modern name: Artie Smith.

Age: 11 years old.

Modern job: None. He's a student.

Short rundown of their modern life: Little Artie was left on the doorstep of 'Camelot Beauties' where he was found by the owner, Gwen Smith, who took him in.

She went on to raise him with the help of Morgana, Elyan, and the others.

Which caused him to befriend most, if not all, of their kids.

Character: Morgause.

Modern name: Morgause le Fay.

Age: 43 years old.

Modern job: Lawyer.

Short rundown of their modern life: Morgause le Fay was born to an unfaithful stay at home mom (and former socialite) and a soldier (who loved her very much).

Eventually though her father died during combat and her mother disappeared in a fire (caused by an oven that was developed and sold by the Penace Industries— Morgan's father owned), leaving her in charge of her younger sister and permantly disfigured at 17 years old.

She then had to fight tooth and nail to become emancipated and then fight to gain custody of her sister against her sister, Morgan's, biological father (who was a very bigoted and classist man). Which wasn't easy to do but she managed. All the while beginning to hate the man more than she already had before the incident.

She went on to rent a house with a wannabe magician named Edwin so she could properly take care of her sister while she took up different jobs to provide for them both. And later the little street rat her sister took a liking to, Mordred.

After Morgan graduated, Morgause started to seeing Edwin—who she had already befriended and bonded with over their shared burn scars—and went to law school. Still working multiple jobs to feed herself and Mordred (with help from Morgan who had gotten a scholarship and access to a trust fund after her bio father died).

And eventually, Morgause graduated and began a lawyer—one who fought for those who couldn't fit for themselves. One who fought for businesses like the one her sister ran.

Character: Edwin Muriden.

Modern name: Edwin 'Ed' Mercer.

Age: 43 years old.

Modern job: Famous Magician.

Short rundown of their modern life: Edwin 'Ed' Mercer grew up in the circus, raised by magicians until he was 7 when an oil lamp made by Penace Industries caused the trailer he lived in with his parents to burst into flames with them inside while he was playing outside.

Once he realized that his parents were in fact still inside, Edwin threw himself into the flames trying to save them and became disfigured in the process.

From that day on, he swore vengeance against Penace Industries—more specifically the owner—and ended up becoming roommates with the man's daughter and her older half sister, who Edwin took a fancy to.

He dropped his plans for revenge after Morgan's father died and continued on his path to becoming a magician.

Eventually crossing paths with Magicans Sophia and Gili, and street performer, Daegal, who he kinda became friendly rivals with.

Now he's a famous magician but still lives with Morgause who he is dating (niether are into the whole marriage thing) and he is very happy.

Character: Lady Morgana Pendragon.

Modern name: Morgan le Fay.

Age: 41 years old.

Modern job: Owner of Morgan's Palace (a restaurant and gay club/bar).

Short rundown of their modern life: Morgan was the product of an affair between rich business man Uther Penace and her unfaithful stay at home (and former socialite) mom.

For the first fifteen years of her life, she was unaware of this fact as she was raised by her mother and her mother's husband—who was a solider—alongside her older half sister, Morgause.

Then her step father died in combat and a fire broke out because of a faulty oven that caused her mother to disappear and her sister to become disfigured.

She was in the foster system for months as her sister and father fought over custody of her until her sister finally won and took her in, working her ass off to provide for her.

When Morgan was 17, she found a little boy around 4 digging around in the trash trying to find some food after his own father died and convinced Morgause to take him in as their brother.

The boy's name was Mordred and he now works at the club/bar/ restaurant that Morgan opened up as soon as she had the proper licensing (at 21) and built with the leftover money from her trust fund (that her bio father left her).

Her business is located right next to childhood friend (Gwen Smith)'s shop, Camelot Beauties, and she (along with her wife, Del, who owns an occult shop just up the road) has helped Gwen raise her adoptive son, Artie, since the very beginning alongside her own son, Morgie.

Character: Forridel.

Modern name: Del le Fay.

Age: 41 years old.

Modern job: Occult Shop Owner.

Short rundown of their modern life: Del le Fay (Nee West) was raised by her elderly grandmother who remained her only family until she died when Del was 24.

Leaving Del grieving and the proud owner of her grandmother's occult shop (West's Occult Shop).

The shop where Del would meet her adoptive little sister, Kara.

The shop where Del would meet her wife, Morgan le Fay, one day when she was 26 and looking for a present for her little thirteen year old brother, Mordred (who it turns out Kara knew when she was little if the pictures she had on her were anything to go by.

They quickly became friends and after three years of being friends, they started dating and eventually married.

She is also hiding a white baby dragin named 'Aithusa' that she found that only Morgan's son knows about. Well, officially anyway. Plenty of people have seen the dragon and it has become a bit of a local cryptid around where they live.

Character: Morgie le Fay.

Modern name: Morgar 'Morgie' le Fay.

Age: 13 years old.

Modern job: None. He's a student.

Short rundown of their modern life: Morgar 'Morgie' le Fay was born under mysterious circumstances to Morgan le Fay before Morgan and Del started dating.

He was raised alongside Artie and has always looked up to his uncle Mordred.

When he was three he started having visions of his mother's past life and because of that he's become somewhat disillusioned to the world around him. And he's started to resent Artie.

And ever since he learned how to read, he's been practicing magic in secret. Including dark magic.

He's been helping his other mother, Del, hide and take care of Aithusa and thrives on hearing the stories people throw around about the supposed 'cryptid' that he knows is just the dragon. He finds them hilarious.

He is very happy with his parents despite his growing mental health issues and resentment towards the world around him.

Character: Sir Mordred.

Modern name: Mordred Barlow le Fay.

Age: 28 years old.

Modern job: Waiter (at Morgan's Place) and Medical Intern.

Short rundown of their modern life: Mordred Barlow (Now Moedred Barlow le Fay) was born in a Wiccan compound who kept to themselves who he lived with for the first few years of his life.

When he was four, his father was sent out for supplies and took him with him—only to be killed in a mugging. Causing Mordred to have to fend for himself for a couple of days until he was found by Morgan le Fay who convinced her sister to take them in as their father.

So his name was changed to Mordred Barlow le Fay and he was raised as their little brother.

When he was 13, Morgan got him some Wiccan books for his birthday from the shop where she met her girlfriend, who just so happened to be fostering Mordred old childhood friend, Kara.

Now he lives in a flat above Morgan's Palace with his fiancée, Kara, where they both work while he interns at the local hospital under Dr. Merlin Everstone as he studies to become one himself.

Character: Kara.

Modern name: Kara Galdur.

Age: 28 years old.

Modern job: Waitress (at Morgan's Place) and Overnight Stocker (West's Occult Shop).

Short rundown of their modern life: When Kara was 11, her guardian abandoned her into the custody of Del West who's treated like a younger sister ever since.

When she was 13, whe was reunited with her old childhood friend, Mordred, and her adoptive sister befriended his adoptive sister.

When she was 16, Del and Morgana married, and she started dating Mordred.

Now she works as a waitress at Morgan's Palace and an overnight stalker at at West's Occult Shop, and lives in the flat over Morgan's Palace with her fiance, Mordred.

🔮🪄🧿🔮🪄🧿🔮🪄🧿🔮🪄🧿🔮🪄🧿🔮🪄🧿

Mood boards for my Merlin story 'it's time, it's time, it's time' where the younger characters of Merlin get reincarnated and have a second shot at life. Minus Leon and Merlin who are immortal and have to find a way to prevent history from repeating itself.

Big thanks to @hufflepuffpirate20 , @gwaine-lover , @genderfunky-lesbian , @everything-but-the-not-natural , @witchmd13 , @sautedonions , and @purpleblobfrompluto for the help they gave back when this au started off (which was a lot). Tag list: @history-of-stories .

Here is a link to the story on ao3.

Part 1 is here.

[karamazovim]

s5 canon divergence

After Ismere, Merlin reflects on his conversation with the Diamair (instead of seemingly forgetting about it??) - he interprets the bit about Arthur being his own bane rather than Mordred to mean that, if Mordred does try to kill Arthur, it will be because the King has done something to deserve it.

Naturally, the result of this is that Merlin doesn’t treat Mordred with the same distrust, particularly after their conversation about why Mordred sided with them over Morgana. They have a proper conversation about the prophecy and the conclusions Merlin has now drawn regarding it.

This turns out to be mildly unfortunate for Arthur who is trying very hard to adopt his new and youngest knight, but Mordred consistently looks first to Merlin for approval rather than Arthur (who can’t figure out why his manservant’s opinion is worth more than his and he’s lowkey salty).

Meanwhile, seeing Aithusa at Ismere has shaken Merlin badly enough that he tracks Morgana down again and, despite a lot of very raw anger and distrust, they actually have a proper conversation in which Morgana agrees to let Merlin treat Aithusa’s injuries/chronic pain as best he can.

Afterwards they basically act like bitter co-parenting divorcées, but they also end up talking more and more. Merlin reveals his magic because Fuck It (he didn’t know Fuck It was an emotion but he’s been feeling it increasingly (perhaps worryingly) often lately).

And while Merlin isn’t quite ready to give up on Arthur yet, and Morgana certainly has no intention of just trusting that the King will come around eventually, they learn to compromise on things like not needlessly harming peasants (Morgana) or killing righteously vengeful sorcerers instead of incapacitating them (Merlin).

Eventually, they settle into a kind of good-cop-bad-cop approach to making Arthur legalize magic: Merlin more earnestly forces the King to confront the good sides of magic while Morgana and her allies (now including those who follow Emrys) loom threateningly on the border, prepared to invade again if magic isn’t freed.

It helps that Merlin is slowly letting more of his friends in the loop about his magic and gaining their trust and support in his efforts to sway Arthur (Gwen is the pivotal player here, esp. once she gets confirmation that Merlin was the one to heal her father all those years ago - a fact which later also helps win Elyan’s loyalty).

It’s still a slow and messy process, and it only works at all because Merlin and Morgana don’t let on to anyone (except Mordred) that they’re coordinating their efforts; it’s simply too late to regain any trust on that front. In the end, though, Arthur concedes and (somewhat grudgingly) repeals the magic ban.

Arthur offers Merlin the Court Sorcerer position - though he says it in a way that sounds uncomfortably like “I’m putting you in charge so keep your people in line.” Merlin refuses on the grounds that he’s due for the complete mental breakdown he’s been staving off for nearly a decade.

In a fit of (evil) genius, Merlin nominates Kara for the position instead, which successfully turns ‘keeping their people in line’ into ‘professionally bullying Arthur into learning how magic actually works and not being a dick because he literally has access to dozens of books on the subject and no excuse not to have read them by now’.

(Kara is very good at this job, and Merlin considers “having the best sister-in-law ever” to be of great benefit to his mental health and speed of recovery from aforementioned breakdown.)

And they all live (reasonably) happily ever after — the end.