#morgana and merlin smack talking

[fuckingfandomfreak]

Just read a fic about the Hunter’s Heart and had to find a gif post just to rant about it

I’m about to get controversial.

Merlin is so completely awful here and the fact that no one ever points it out is insane. Fandom stop sucking Merlin off challenge. (It’s not sucking off actually it’s woobifying and that’s so much worse honestly) Arthur gets frequent criticism for his treatment of Merlin but Merlin never gets ANY.

First, why does no one mention the fact that Merlin has the AUDACITY to act offended that Arthur kept a secret from him???? Like wtf do you do everyday Merlin? And while Merlin’s magic does actually affect Arthur (Merlin frequently ENCHANTS Arthur) who Arthur marries is literally NONE of Merlin’s business. If you want to argue that Merlin doesn’t owe Arthur any of his secrets, then grant Arthur the same courtesy.

And then Merlin’s insane, out-of-fucking-line pressuring Arthur to take back his CHEATING FIANCÉ. Merlin thinks Gwen cheated on her own volition, and he still INSISTS Arthur needs to get back with her. He literally does not care what Arthur feels. This is like the only time where I actually thought that Merlin cared more about his destiny than he did about Arthur bc if he actually did care about Arthur, he would not WANT Arthur to get back with someone that betrayed him and broke his heart. I would literally be losing my mind if my friend tried to do that.

Of course, Arthur threatened to banish him. In what world is what Merlin’s saying not just fucking shitty??? Like why are you rubbing it in his face that he still loves a woman that cheated on him??? This conversation right here would’ve broken any trust i had in Merlin if I was Arthur. Merlin never once showed any real sympathy for Arthur’s broken heart, he only cared Gwen was supposed to be queen. Even in 4x09, Merlin is asking Arthur if he can find it in himself to forgive Gwen.

Not to mention Merlin’s angry expression. And let me fucking tell you why he’s angry. It’s bc Merlin feels just as entitled to Arthur as Arthur does to Merlin. Arthur cannot keep secrets from Merlin that’s ridiculous. Arthur cannot keep emotions from Merlin that’s RIDICULOUS. Anything Arthur has ever thought or felt is Merlin’s to opine over. Arthur wants privacy—and Arthur gives Merlin privacy ALL THE TIME—but Merlin does not allow that. Merlin is not only mad bc Arthur dared to make a decision about his heart WITHOUT Merlin (and how tf could Arthur know own heart obviously?) but Merlin DISAGREES about the decision Arthur made.

Merlin is literally just furious bc he thinks he’s right and he thinks Arthur is wrong when Merlin honestly, rationally has no fucking leg to stand on. Arthur didn’t ASK Merlin for his opinion, and who Arthur marries is Arthur’s business.

Why do people act like Arthur fucking beat Merlin bloody? All he did was tell Merlin to either mind his own fucking business or they’re done.

Usually, I love Merlin’s toxicity and entitlement. I find it just as enjoyable as Arthur’s. But I can’t stand that people act like Arthur’s an abusive, narcissistic asshole that doesn’t realize he needs to worship the ground St. Merlin walks on when Merlin is manipulative, gaslighting, and just as entitled to Arthur’s entire life: Merlin decides he should have the final say on all of Arthur’s decisions.

It just fucking drives me nuts. Bc everyone fucking multiples Arthur’s reactions to anything by 1 million. They make Arthur banish him, they make Arthur hit him, and they make Arthur threaten to kill him because without Arthur overreacting, Merlin might actually not be as righteous as we want him to be.

Endless Merthur scenes (6/∞)

[soulfullives]

James slithered inside the compartment, slipping down on the spare seats.

“Hello, gents,” He nodded, putting his arm up on the headrest and grinning. “Sirius’ll be shortly, he got, ah, caught up with Mary, if you know what I mean.”

Next to Remus, Peter rolled his eyes. Remus chuckled; he knew what he meant by that gesture, but Sirius and James didn’t; it was their little thing, one of the few they had in the sea of secrets that the other two harboured.

“Blimey, Pete, you’ve grown.”

Remus turned his head around, then probably had to pick up his jaw from the floor. Sirius had shot up by at least ten centimetres over the summer, his hair had grown longer, brushing past his shoulders, and a silver hoop pierced through his nose. He had wearing large jeans and a t-shirt, boots on his feet, and his lips split into one of those mischievous grins. Something stirred in Remus’ stomach; mother of Merlin and Morgana, Sirius looked good.

“Oi, Moony, you alright?” Remus had been so impolitely out of it by Peter, who had an amused twinkle playing in his eyes. “Evans is waiting for you.”

That was true; Sirius had, in the meantime, sat down and now Lily Evans was standing in the doorway. She had feathered her hair into a hairstyle that resembled Farrah Fawcett’s, and she had already gotten dressed into her uniform, her skirt brushing just above her knees.

“Alright, Evans?” James asked, his hand reaching instinctively to ruffle his hair; Sirius smacked him over the head.

She looked for a second at him. “Alright, Potter,” She nodded. “Come on, Remus, we have to talk to the junior Prefects.”

Remus sat up quickly and promptly exited the compartment, feeling his cheeks and ears heat up.

“Black’s changed a lot over the summer, hasn’t he?” Lily asked jovially, her heels clicking against the floor as she made her way, along him, to the Prefects’ compartment.

“Uh-huh,” Remus uttered. Well, he was properly fucked.

[multifandombullshitbabes]

Random Merlin Rewatch: Where a random number generator gives me a season and an episode from BBC Merlin; and then I comment on it as I go.

Today's episode: Season 4 Episode 7 - The Secret Sharer

Before I start, let me just say and I have done my uni exam and that's why I haven't been posting these even though I really wanted to. Not joking, I had to let my fingers rest 'cause I wrote all my notes and shit. It was a lot. Anyways, let's fucking do this.

LET'S GO INTRO!!!! YOUNG MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOH

EWWWWW WHY IS AGRAVAINE TOUCHING MORGANA LIKE THAT I'M GONNA PUKE BRO

Damn, Morgana's eyes are so GREEN, that makeup really does it for her. Kinda funny she's wearing it to bed though. Girl.

GOOD LORD MAMA, HELLO

Agravaine needs to chill the fuck out. Every time he's on screen he gives me the ick. Ugh. Also Morgana looked so damn paranoid talking about Emrys. "He knows everything. All our plans, all our secrets." Girl.... RIP Morgana you would've loved therapy (or not).

Ohhh... interesting Morgana's reaction to Agravaine's accusation of Gaius, saying that he's the ones working with Emrys. She almost looks... hurt? Like. She really doesn't want to face the reality that Gaius exists, in the sense that she's just so hurt by everything these people that "loved" her have done. She just feels so betrayed by everyone, so hurt, so ANGRY. It's so tragic.

Oh my GOD. I NEED PEOPLE TO STOP MANIPULATING MORGANA!!! I'M SICK OF IT!!!! The way she hesitates!!! When she knows that it means that they're going to use Gaius or maybe even kill him!!! The way that she moves away from Agravaine, processing this, the way he INTERRUPTS THIS and insists, again, that it has to be Gaius, they have to do something. And for a second she almost looks so fucking scared, like!!

LOOK AT HER!!! ANOTHER PERSON THAT'S BETRAYED HER!!! SHE'S SO HURT AND SCARED!!! OH GOD HER AND ARTHUR ARE SO SIMILAR.

She even blinks her eyes after that line from Agravaine, like blinking away tears, her eyes are so shiny bro, I'm gonna cry :((. And after blinking she turns all smirky and "evil" and shit. Jesus Christ. I could write a whole thesis about Morgana and her character progression holy shit.

LET'S GO MUSICCCCCCC

AHHHHHH the iconic breakfast in bed scene!!! Yay!!!

I don't blame Arthur for spitting that out, shit looked dry as FUCK. Also there's a bunch of crumbs on the bed, Merlin, YOU'LL have to clean that up!!! Don't give yourself more work!!

"I don't know anything about Polishing." We really need more appreciation about how Bradley delivers his lines, this one is just too funny, only hearing it, bro. Also. Merlin writes Arthur's speeches. One of the best pieces of canon in my opinion. It's just so comical, for some reason. And they must be good too, 'cause no one's questioning them. It's just such a subtle way to show that Merlin IS smart. Sometimes. A little bit.

Merlin, babe, you cannot be serious. You writing the new bible or something, what the fuck is this.

"You don't have hours." Most threatening and terrifying Merlin's ever sounded. Arthur's better than me, I would've have an anxiety attack so bad it'd send me straight to hell.

THIS INTRO IS EVERYTHING!!! WHY ARE THEY SAYING THINGS SO PERFECTLY SILLY!! I LOVE IT!!! Also, damn, Arthur's BUSY. I guess we do forget that kings had to, y'know. Do basically everything, like be a judge sometimes. Hello??

Ah yes, what I've been waiting for: the wrestling Arthur out of the bed scene. Love it. No notes, really.

"You're doing very well, Arthur." WHAT IF I CRY???

"I don't think so."???? ARTHUR WHAT IF I SMACK SOME SENSE INTO YOU, SHUT UP!!! YOU'RE DOING PRETTY GREAT IN MY OPINION, LISTEN TO YOUR MANSERVANT FOR ONCE.

A tiny bit of appreciation for Arthur's chest hair.

Thank you.

Love that Agravaine just. Ignores that it's Merlin writing Arthur's shit. He must have gotten such a shock right at the start and now nothing's surprising anymore.

The fact that Morgana, all in black, has a white horse is so fucking cool to me. Work that shit, queen.

OK GORGEOUS?????

Hate the way Agravaine speaks. Shut the FUCK UP.

Arthur. Arthur, honey. Yeah, you've got to stop being so easy to manipulate. I know it's hard, but your uncle is so fucking obvious doing it, please, please, just. Please. Holy shit.

Morgana's dress (cloak?? hood?? idk) is so pretty.

Morgana being the last of her kind, High Priestess of the Triple Goddess. Merlin being the last Dragonlord. Something something...

Also. Some obvious orientalism is this episode. Kinda icky, but unsurprising giving it's BBC and also like. 2011 or whatever. But still. Ugh.

Welp. Welp, welp. Can't really say much about that, can I??

I can't remember, but I'm assuming that bracelet she gives to the Catha is from Morgause, simply by the look of pain in her face when it's out of her grasp. Literally, when will my wife's suffering end?

I wonder just how many different kinds of magic beings and users there are in JUST the five kingdoms. What about the rest of the world?? Like. that's just so cool!! I love world building, maybe one day I'll waste away some days just building up lore and lore, probably some made up, but mostly from all cultures and countries. That would be cool as fuck actually.

Agravaine's smile is so FAKE, FUCK OFFFFFFF

Ew, why does he just touch everybody. Weird uncle vibes, for sure.

Oh, I just don't like how Arthur's so quiet. I bet Agravaine's just gotten in his head so bad. He already looks ready to cry, like Gaius has already betrayed him. He's so used to that, what's one more?

Jesus, this hurts to watch. The fact that Gaius knows exactly what's happening, and he's trying to be as truthful as he can but Agravaine's just. making it all worse and horrible. This is so bad.

Ok, Gaius, I know you're better at lying than this. Fucking damnit.

EW. Agravaine's little smirk?? What the fuck is wrong with him? Jesus, I feel so sick watching this, knowing that he's just basically sentenced Gaius as a liar!! Fuck!!!

Well, at least Arthur noticed that Agravaine was being a fucking bitch. Not all is lost.

"... we might find some (proof)." Oh, ok, so you're just admitting that you're going to fabricated evidence against Gaius? Oh ok.

JESUS THESE MAN'S TITTIES ARE JIGGLING GOOD LORD

OH MY GOD, NOT THE PECS FLEXING??? I'm assuming normally you don't see that when you're on a horse adjusting yourself 'cause you got clothes on but this guy DOESN'T and you can SEE EVERYTHING.

The way that Merlin opens the door is so funny. He is NOT amused to be called upon by Agravaine. Mood.

Why is Agravaine's smile literally so disgusting, I cannot.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WHY DOES HE SMILE SO MUCH???? VERY MUCH WEIRD UNCLE VIBES. VERY MUCH "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, YOUR UNCLE'S COMING." VIBES. EW. EW EW EWWWW

Love seeing Agravaine getting humbled, thank you big titty man.

Really? Really??? A book boldly proclaiming that it's about magic and sorcery, kinda hidden by one (1) sheet of paper as your proof? Really??? Are you for real right now?? Fuck off.

It is actually so upsetting seeing Agravaine in Merlin and Gaius's space. Like that's not for you, disgusting bitch.

Not Merlin finishing polishing the dagger and setting it on Arthur's nightstand JUST as the warning bells start to sound. Lol. Lmao even.

OH MY GOD THEY'RE DESTROYING GAIUS' SHIT??? WHAT THE FUCK

No no no. I hate this. The fact that Merlin now get's why Agravaine made him polish that dagger. He's fucking blaming himself right away, oh I can't do this.

Merlin literally looks like a baby in this shot, holy shit. My baby :(((.

Agravaine's acting (not the actor's, is the actor acting the character acting!! which is so fucking cool) is so fucking annoying. It's so obvious, dammit, Arthur, you're a king, how can you not see it!!! I know he's family, but you barely know him!!! I know he's from your mother's side and you want THAT side to be good unlike your father's side that's brought you so much pain, I know, but come ON!!!

Oh, Merlin's so mad, not at Arthur, at Agravaine and himself, but he's so hurt, so scared, so pained that it comes across as quietly, restrained angry, and it's fucking heart breaking.

Oh god. This is one of their most painful fights in my opinion. I think they get so fucking heart breaking when it's Merlin just. trying to show his side, trying to get Arthur to understand but Arthur just cannot because he's been given a certain information that WOULD make his actions sensible, but WE know they're lies!!! We do, Merlin does, but he can't just say that 'cause it might reveal HIS lie, and it's just UGH!!!!!!!!!! FUCK

MERLIN IS FUCKING TEARING UP I CAN'T. "He would not leave without saying goodbye to me." I AM GOING TO PUKE.

The way Merlin turns away when he's close to crying, ohhhhh. Oh BBC Merlin writers when I catch you. Colin Morgan when I catch you.

"I don't wanna lose another friend." I think these are the moments that really make me wanna chortle Arthur. I truly feel like he cannot understand the depth of the power that he has compared to Merlin. 'Cause what does that threat mean? Just them stop being friends but Merlin's still employed? Arthur sacking Merlin? Arthur treating Merlin how he's treating Gaius right now? Because, truthfully, with the power that Arthur has, any of these options is viable. I think this is what scares me, Arthur just cannot comprehend that he just cannot threaten his friends, his loved ones, like this just because he's king now. He simply cannot. The weight of it is different. Even if he would never hurt them, it doesn't matter, he has the POWER to. That's what's so scary. And then he wonders why Merlin doesn't tell him things. How can he?

The way things just. Change between the early seasons and now. The way Gaius talks to Morgana, knowing she wants to kill him, when he saw her grow up. I'm gonna be so fucking sick, y'all, what the fuck.

Does she braid some of her hair with leaves?? Or a green ribbon? What is that in her hair??

Not gonna lie, Morgana is so hot in this scene. Jesus. Love that voice, and that's all I'm gonna say.

HE LOOKS SO BABY!!!!!!!!!!1

I love that Gwen doesn't even question that Agravaine's behind it. She's like "I'll use my charms to get Arthur to see reason, don't worry bestie."

ICONICCCC GAIUS USING MAGIC!!!!!!!!

Oh, I love when Merlin doesn't even use words. Just golden eyes and BOOM. Magic.

MERLIN FOR FUCK'S SAKE BRO YOU CAN'T EVEN SNEAK OUT CORRECTLY WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!! That's so fucking funny though, I'm losing it-

GWAINE!!!! MY BABY!!! You look like a puppy :,).

Oop. Cock blocked.

Merlin is just in a fucking mood and honestly he deserves to be. But it is interesting how differently he acted with Gwaine and Gwen. I wonder if he's being shorter with Gwaine 'cause he's a knight now, and he knows that knights talk and are closer to the king's views than the servants. Classic class division and such, even if Gwaine is not like other knights. He just cannot be sure now. Also 'cause he almost got found out my Agravaine which does not good for your nerves I bet.

WOW. Gwaine, baby, STAND UP. Get some self-respect. Good god. At Merlin's back and call, it's really ridiculous bro.

Immediately on a secret mission, love these boys.

Not Agravaine seeing his plans fall apart, GET REKT LOSER.

I wonder if Morgana's a good cook. I think she isn't actually. Just never gets recipes right. Burns things, undercooks others.

Oh, poor Gaius... he really tried to fight it but...

It's really fun watching the series and recognizing common clips used in edits.

The way Gaius speaks about Merlin with such wonder and pride... crying rn.

LMAO NOT MERLIN JUST COMPLETELY TRIPPING BOTH OF THE GUY'S FEET. ALSO THE WAY THE CATH TURNED??? HELLO??? HE LOOKED LIKE A SQUIRREL.

"We should split up." "Yeah." two dumb bitches saying "exactlyyyy"

"If you find him, don't wait for me." Gwaine IMMEDIATELY disagreed with that, Merlin dearest, he's not gonna let that happen.

Oh my god, Morgana hasn't met Gwaine yet. All she knows, from Agravaine, is that he's a "hothead". Lmao. lol even.

I love how Agravaine, literal dagger to Gaius' neck, is disagreeing with Gwaine's very keen observation, that he's the kidnapper and traitor. Girl, shut the fuck up.

Gwaine is so handsome. Also, yes, not completely stupid because, if Agravaine didn't kidnap Gaius, how did he know where he was, hm?? Bitchass.

Jesus. Credit when credit's due, he can be a good liar. Also, I feel like Gwaine's acting like he believes Agravaine's innocent, mainly because he can sense something fishy about him. His question, "So you agree he was abducted then?" is so SMART. 'Cause what else can Agravaine do but agree and declare Gaius an innocent man? Yeah that's fucking right, bitch.

Morgana is literally so hot and tragic when evil, good lord.

UGH, Morgana using magic without words, YES!!! Love her being powerful.

Face card never declines for either one of them, good god. Y'know what, more and more I understand Mergana. Just. Look at them!!!

OH THE WAY MERLIN KNOWS THAT ALATOR KNOWS HE'S EMRYS. OH MY GOD?????

Oh jesus, the way Morgana's just RELIEVED to finally know who Emrys is, she's so scared of him she just doesn't want to be scared anymore. Her voice is so soft here :(.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT HE YEETED THE FUCK OUT OF MORGANA WHAT THE FUCK, WOAH!!!!!!!!1

Oh wow that scene just gave me chills, holy shit holy shit. The way Alator just kneels and allies himself to Merlin. Jesus Christ, that's my drug bro.

Gwaine and Arthur interacting. Gwaine being so soft about Gaius, so worried :(. Arthur too :(((.

I really do love how royals just think the servants can't fucking hear. Gwen is right there as they speak very sensitive matters. Like bitch?? They have ears I promise??

The way Gaius and Merlin communicate their fears and anxieties :((( I'm so emotional bro.

"My worry is Arthur." and THOSE are your loyalties, while Alator and other's loyalties are to YOU, Merlin, 'cause you're supposed to bring forth Albion, but you're too busy having a fucking CRUSH TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, the way Arthur walks into the room and Merlin cannot even BEAR to look at him. He's HURT. As is his right.

The way Merlin immediately lightens the mood, 'cause he wants things to be easy as possible, even if it gets hurts swept under the rug like this. UGH. AGHHHHHHHHH.

Boys. Stop eye fucking. You're supposed to at least be a little mad at him, Merlin, you kinda deserve that, y'know.

Love that Arthur believes without a doubt that Gaius withstood torture for him and Camelot and won. Like. He truly sees Gaius as this strong figure. Just always there since he was born, bro. Even before, while he was being made!! That's bonkers.

I love how Arthur understood Gaius' lied even though Agravaine talks in the "evil manipulative guy" voice all the time. Fuck off bro, I swear.

The Gaius is trying to teach Arthur to understand the complexities of magic, that it's all evil or all good, it's all different. I love this scene so much.

Pretty boy.

And that is it!!! God, what an episode!! I feel like this episode is a good starting point for a show rewrite, in which Arthur gets more and more curious about magic and tries to understand, and maybe we'd get a magic reveal and shit like. I like that a lot.

[sailtomarina]

The Best Gifts are Large and Red

Ron Weasley x Pansy Parkinson | @hp-yuletide-bliss Day 2: Only one blanket | WC 3048| Rating: M (implied/referenced sex)

She woke up feeling like she’d been whacked over the head by the Whomping Willow, or perhaps sat on by Millicent Bulstrode, only that was impossible because Pansy hadn’t been a student for years now. The bitter taste on her tongue suggested she’d been drinking, but the details were fuzzy. There’d been that delightful cider concoction made by the Weaslette, correction, Potterette, and then Blaise had thrust a mug of unknown liquid he swore would blow Pansy’s mind.

She couldn’t remember a blasted thing after that, and she’d bet a million Galleons Lovegood had something to do with it. She and Blaise had gotten together recently and were already talking circles around their friend groups. Pansy flapped her hand around in search of the edge of the bed, but smacked against a warm body instead.

“‘S goin’ on?”

She knew that voice.

Oh, no. Please, Morgana, please don’t tell me I—

“Parkinson?”

She opened her eyes to the sight of a disheveled redhead sitting up with the sheets piled around his waist.

He was bare chested.

She’d bet another million Galleons that he was bare everywhere else, too.

He clutched his head and groaned, and because of her close proximity she couldn’t help but notice the way that the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed. Her eyes drifted down as if they had a will of their own, tracing the tip of his throat, the defined lines of his chest, and the smattering of hair a shade darker than his head.

Ron Weasley was ripped. When had that happened?

Now that she thought about it, he’d played Quidditch in school, even if he’d been shite at the start, and played frequent pick-up games with the boys. She knew he’d been an Auror for a number of years before leaving to work with his jokester brother. He looked more like that other brother of his, the dragon-crazed one. Pansy remembered seeing him with the rest of the trainers back in Fourth Year with the Triwizard Tournament and had thought him the hottest of the Weasley clan by far with all those muscles and scars and his darker auburn hair that curled in perfect ringlets around his face.

Ron wasn’t quite at that level, but he was still quite nice to look at.

“Gah, I need to piss.”

But not listen to.

“By all means, go to the loo. There’s certainly nothing else more pressing at the moment other than the fact that we’re naked in the same bed and I don’t remember a damned thing!” By this point, Pansy was also sitting up, her hands clutching the blankets tight to her collarbone.

He at least had the graciousness to blush at her panic, light blue eyes taking her in. No doubt he was cataloging her smeared makeup, or maybe the hair which she knew must have reverted from its charmed straightness back to unruly waves.

“Merlin, you’re perky in the morning. I’m not kidding. I really have to piss—”

“Fine! Just go!” Pansy gave up, rolling her eyes and flopping onto her back.

“I’ll be right back and then we can talk.”

At least, that’s what might have happened if he had even a shred of common sense. As he stood up, he dragged the blanket with him, subsequently tugging the protective sheet off of Pansy.

“What do you think you’re doing? I’m naked and there’s only one blanket!” she shrieked, yanking the covering back towards herself.

Ron dropped down almost out of sight, leaving only his head visible over the side of the bed.

“Well, what do you want me to do? I’m naked, too, you know!” he complained, fingers digging into the blanket like he meant to grab it back. 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe put on some clothes?” 

“You put on clothes.”

“I’m not the one trying to leave the bed!” Her voice rose to that pitch she hated, if only because it sounded much too similar to her mother and had driven nearly all of Pansy’s past boyfriends crazy. They usually walked away by this point.

Ron obviously wasn’t like any of the others, if only because she wouldn’t let him take her last line of defense.

He bellowed back at her instead.

“Then close your eyes, you daft witch!”

She could feel her lungs filling in preparation for a string of accusations. Oh, he would regret sparring with Pansy Parkinson. Nobody came out on top of a verbal spat but her, not even Granger.

Relish must have shown in her eyes, because he let go of the blanket in a dramatic wave of his hands, and then, then, he started to stand up.

“Weasley, stop!” Her eyes slammed shut and she ducked her head under the blanket just like she had as a child hiding from the big bad werewolves who gobbled up naughty children like herself.

“Calm your tits, Parkinson.”

She could hear rustling, then the unmistakable sound of a zipper. The moment she popped her head out, she was hit in the face with one piece of clothing after another. 

By the time she pulled the last of her clothes off of her face, he was already striding away from her wearing only a pair of jeans that hugged his arse like a damn piece of art. The door to the loo clicked shut before she could say anything else.

Their room looked like someone had tossed a fanged frisbee inside. There wasn’t a single item remaining on the tables or nightstands; they lay on the floor, mostly intact. Clothes trailed towards the bed from the exit. 

They must have been desperate to do whatever it was they had done.

How was it that they woke up with only a thin flat sheet covering them?

Wrapping the blanket around herself more firmly, Pansy crawled forward to the end of the bed to find what looked to be a thick quilt bunched up on the ground and partially shoved underneath the bed frame.

What in Circe were they even thinking?

The door re-opened, startling her from her investigation and sending her scrambling back up towards the headboard.

“I thought you’d be dressed by now,” he said in what sounded like amusement. She scowled over at where he leaned against the door frame, filling it far too well with his broad shoulders.

“I got distracted.”

“I see that.”

She opened her mouth to say something scathing about, about…

She couldn’t think of a single negative thing at the moment.

“Do you fancy a go?”

Her eyes snapped to attention. Did he honestly think she was just going to shag him without—

“To use the loo, I mean. You can get changed, too. I’ll just face this way.” He walked towards the door and folded his arms up to prop up his face.

Oh.

“Yes, I’ll go ahead and do that.”

How embarrassing.

She scurried towards the washroom still wrapped up in the flat sheet and grabbing her skirt off the nearby chair on the way.

By the time she re-emerged, she’d washed up, dressed, and set her hair and makeup to its usual flawless charm. There was just one problem.

She couldn’t find her knickers.

The unmistakable green lace hadn’t been in the pile of clothes he’d thrown at her, and she hadn’t seen it on path in. Pansy was slightly uncomfortable at the idea of going bare with her memory all mucked up, but surely he wouldn’t do anything. It’s not like he even knew she was currently knickerless.

Pansy tried to look around discreetly as she made her way to a chair. No luck.

“Looking for something?”

Could it be?

But no, his face was devoid of any deceit. He sat on the edge of the bed, knees spread wide with his elbows resting atop them and his fingers twisting into knots. He finally looked concerned about their situation.

“I misplaced something, but I can look for it later.”

He didn’t push her, just nodded and sat up straight, hands coming up to cup each knee.

“So, last night…”

“I don’t remember anything,” Pansy quickly said.

He slowly shook his head. “I don’t remember much either.”

“What do you remember?” She couldn’t help the curiosity that bubbled up at his phrasing.

“There were the Christmas crackers, that awful Secret Santa ‘Mione made us do, then drinks. A lot of drinks.”

She wrinkled her nose at that childish nickname he used for Granger. She wouldn’t go so far as to say she and the other witch were best mates or anything, but they got on well enough these days. It was kind of required, what with her being engaged to Draco and all.

“What?”

“Did you drink anything from Blaise or Lovegood?”

He snorted. “‘Course I did. Weird, wasn’t it?” His face relaxed, then went slack. “That’s actually the last thing I think I remember…”

“I’m going to eviscerate Blaise,” Pansy snarled, her nails biting into the skin of her palms.

“Blaise? What about Luna? Odds are she’s the one who concocted whatever this was.”

“Oh, I didn’t forget about Lovegood. She’ll get hers.” She said it with the finality of a death sentence.

“I don’t really know much about Blaise, but it isn’t like Luna to do something like this without good reason.”

Weasley’s comment rang true, and Pansy was forced to pause her mental murder to re-evaluate. 

As puzzling as she usually found the dreamy-eyed blonde, there was an uncomfortable surety to her comments. Lovegood would say something that sounded outrageous, only for it to later be proven correct. She’d basically predicted Theo’s entanglement with George Weasley, a pairing nobody had seen coming. They hadn’t even known he liked blokes. Then, there they were, ridiculously happy together.

Why would Lovegood set this all up for them to only forget the next morning?

She wouldn’t. There had to be something they were missing.

Trying to think like Luna was impossible. She’d have to go about this from Blaise’s point of view. He knew Pansy, could predict her every move whenever they played chess. What did he bet on Pansy doing the moment she woke up and found herself naked in bed with Ronald Weasley?

Scream.

Slap.

Shriek some more.

Demand absolute secrecy.

Secrecy…

She could just hear herself demanding that they both forget anything ever happened. Past Pansy certainly would have acted that way towards someone she’d only ever seen as a blood traitor.

But now?

He shifted under her gaze. “What?”

“Maybe our memories rely on intent.”

His nose scrunched up. “What, like because we don’t want to remember, we don’t?”

“Yes…” she said slowly, warming to the idea. It made a twisted sort of sense.

Thinking about the possibilities of such a drink, particularly when taken unwilling or unaware, was terrifying. In Luna and Blaise’s hands? Everyone might as well vow to never drink again.

Movement in her periphery caught her attention, and she realized the redhead had gotten up and was in the process of pulling on his jumper. “What are you doing?”

He paused with only his head through the opening. “Getting dressed? You’re probably relieved to not remember anything so we might as well get on our way. Are you on the potion?”

“I am, but don’t you want to know the truth?”

He sighed as he finished pulling on his top, leaving her to mourn the loss of muscles in exchange for yeti with wreaths around their necks. He made to shove his hands into his jean pockets, then frowned. His hand slowly pulled out, dragging a familiar bit of green.

“I assume these are yours?”

She could feel heat rising up her neck, but fought the urge to snatch them out of his hand.

“I was wondering where those went.”

Pansy reached out an expectant palm, but he didn’t move. 

“If I pocketed these,” he slowly raised his hand to his face, “then I probably meant to keep them.”

Her jaw dropped as he pressed her knickers against his face and breathed in deep. Never, in all her relationships, long term or one offs, had anyone done that. It mortified her to even say it.

As his hand dropped and bright blue eyes zeroed in on her once more, Pansy sat frozen in anticipation.

“I’m willing to remember if you are,” he said quietly, the hand holding her scrap of lace closed in a tight fist.

 “I…I…”

His head cocked at her struggle. “You?”

“I think you need to take your shirt off again.” The words were out before she could stop them, and she colored immediately.

“Pardon?” Even he seemed to doubt what he’d just heard.

“I can’t think with those damn yeti parading across your jumper. Take it off.”

He started to bend and grab the sheet she’d left lying in the middle of the room on her walk through, but she darted forward to step on it, earning her an incredulous snort.

“Look, you’re fit, okay?” she tried to explain. “It’s the least you could do, really, since you’ve stolen my knickers.”

Not only did Weasley own a sinful amount of muscles, but he could smirk, too. Who would have thought?

Pocketing the lace, he pulled off his shirt in one smooth motion.

Paradise.

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

She focused on his abs and the ginger trail leading down and out of sight. 

Remember!

Using her eyes, she traced the freckles of his torso up his chest and to his mouth.

Was that a beauty mark or a freckle?

“Parkinson?”

She started at her name, and realized a number of things in quick succession.

She’d walked forward and now stood a mere breath away from him.

She was looking up in the perfect position for a kiss.

She wanted to kiss him, to see if he tasted as good as he looked.

“Isn’t there that Muggle story about how a kiss can break an enchantment?”

Laughter danced in his eyes. “Isn’t that to wake them up?”

“Let’s wake up our memories, then.”

He held her gaze for a moment, as if to check for any doubt or gauge whether or not she was joking. Whatever he saw must have convinced him, because the next thing she knew, his large palms cupped her elbows and he bent slowly down, bringing his face closer to hers. She rose to her toes in anticipation and took a deep breath.

He smelled sweet and a little spicy, like vanilla with a dash of cloves. It was a common enough combination, but for some reason the fact that it was him, Weasley, smelling good enough to eat and only a second away from kissing her made Pansy reach up and tug him down the rest of the way.

He grunted at the unexpected pull, his hands tightening their hold on her, then he huffed a laugh before slanting his lips against her own and swiping the seam in a clear request.

She opened to him like she’d been hungry for it.

Rather than plunging into her mouth like she’d half expected, he nipped at her bottom lip. A pulse of want shot through her and Pansy couldn’t help but moan into it.

She just wanted him to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her flush against his body like he had last night, for him to grind his hardness into her belly so she knew what was waiting for her. She wanted him to make good on his promise to make her feel him in the deepest parts of herself as long as she still wanted him in the morning. She wanted to come against his fingers, his tongue, his cock, to take him into her mouth so she could render him helpless, muttering and cursing her name, her first name.

She wanted—

Her brain stuttered as his hands shifted and he nearly collapsed around her, his mouth hot against her ear.

“Fuck, Pansy.” 

She licked her lips in nervousness. “Y-yes?”

“I remember.”

“Me, too.”

He pulled back to press his forehead against her own, eyes blazing. “Tell me what you want.”

Less than a minute ago, what she wanted had been so clear.

Now?

She remembered the way she’d admired how he’d beaten Blaise over and over again at chess during their group get-togethers. She’d noticed the figure he cut flying across her view at pick-up Quidditch games. For the first time in what seemed forever, she appreciated his blunt observations, how his loyalties were always so obvious. 

She remembered how she’d seen his jumper last night, and thought it cute in an ugly sort of way, particularly paired with those arse-hugging jeans. Blaise had noticed her eye fucking and shot her a knowing look.

She remembered how after that drink, she’d boldly asked him to dance and that he’d agreed almost immediately. Only a few dances later, and they were giggling on their way to a guest room, shedding clothes the moment the door clicked shut.

She remembered how they’d stopped and stared at each other in a sudden moment of clarity. He’d asked if she’d be angry if they waited until they were both sober. She’d nearly cried in relief, though he initially mistook it for outrage. They curled up around one another, swapping descriptions of their favorite Christmas memories.

She looked up at him now, knowing that last night had been her favorite, by far.

“I still want you.”

He whooped in glee and lifted her up to twirl in a circle around the room. The rush of air between her legs reminded her of just how exposed she still was.

“Ronald, put me down this instant!”

He dropped her on the edge of the bed and was down on his knees in front of her in seconds, that bashful smile of his back in full force.

“I really, really like the way you say my name.”

She raised a brow. “Is that so?”

“Mhm.” Mischief returned to his face and he slowly leaned into her.

“Ronald?”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up and let’s shag already.” Pansy still planned to give both Blaise and Luna a piece of her mind, but maybe, just maybe, she’d send them a Christmas gift, as well—something large and in the most outrageous red she could find.

Cross-posted on Tumblr and [eventually] AO3

I had way more fun with this prompt than originally expected, and I think a large part of that has to do with the ship. Ron and Pansy are such ridiculously dramatic characters to write individually, so put together, how can you not get up to some trouble?

[merlinwriter]

Ch 2: Sickness and Health

Merlin quickly grabbed Arthur’s breakfast from the kitchen, clearing his throat he entered the chambers without knocking as usual. He set the tray beside the bed and swiftly opened the curtains letting the sunshine through.

“Rise and shine, sire!”

He heard a groan from underneath the covers and a ruffled Arthur peered through, his eyelids peel open, the glow from the massive fluorescent light prompting him some heavy blinks. His golden hair messy and toned chest bare. Merlin always liked this part of the day, apart from having to drag him out of bed every morning, grumbling and throwing stuff at his head when he’s tired. Like a child. The thought of Arthur being dragged across the floor had Merlin force down a smile.

When Arthur suddenly realized who he was, he abruptly sat up straight from the bed.

“Merlin! Where have you been?” He demanded, looking at him as if he hasn’t seen Merlin in a whole week.

“Um..just caught a little hay fever, so Gaius decided for me to stay in for the day. But I’m better now!” Merlin gave him an assuring grin.

Arthur stared at him, his eyes roaming around Merlin’s face and his brows furrowed. “Really? You look as if you would kick the bucket soon.”

“Seriously, I’m fine.” Merlin stated.

Arthur looked at him again for another few seconds before smacking his lips, “Well, If you are so fine then you can clean out my stables, do my laundry, sharpen my armor and clean my boots.” He said simply before reaching over to grab his breakfast.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Yes, Sire.” He said before turning to leave.

Merlin felt awful. His head was heavy and his body was aching. He knew how much Arthur despised George, so he couldn’t take another day off. Guess this is his punishment for leaving Arthur with him. He was sharpening Arthur’s armor and started a coughing fit. His body begged him to rest but he had work to do, otherwise Arthur might order him for more tasks for being lazy.

He was on his way back to Arthur’s chambers to put away the clothes he cleaned, some of the servants were looking at him in concern while others ignored it. Untik he ran into Gwen and Morgana. He hit the ground with a thud, Arthur’s clothes sprawling over the floor.

“Oh! Merlin my apologies! Are you alright?” Gwen asked with concern in her eyes.

“Yes, are you okay? If Arthur didn’t have you running around everywhere at once, we might have not hit you.” Morgana added.

“I’m quite alright, thanks.” Merlin said, picking up the clothes on the floor, when he stood up he was hit with another wave of dizziness causing him to crash against the castles stone wall. He groaned from the impact and the sudden heat whelming up in him.

“Merlin!” They both yelled, Gwen immediately rushed to his side and placing a hand on his forehead, looking back at Morgana with worried eyes. “He’s burning up.”

“I’m fine.” Merlin mumbled, trying to wave Gwen away.

“Like hell you are, Merlin. Gwen take Merlin to Gaius, I’ll bring Arthur his laundry. I need to have a talk with him.

“Of course, my lady.” Gwen said while wrapping an arm around Merlin’s waist and hoisting him up. “It’s going to be alright, Merlin.” Nodding goodbye to Morgana, Gwen walked them to Gaius. Morgana on the other hand, picked up the basket and headed to Arthur’s chambers.

“Gaius!” Gwen exclaimed. Gaius was seated at the table and looking through a book, his head shot up when he heard his name and his gazed dropped to Merlin leaning against Gwen, head hung low. Immediately, Gaius stood up and rushed over to them.

“What happened?” He demanded.

“I don’t know, he suddenly fell backwards and he’s burning up.”

“Take him to his room.”

Gwen nodded and stepped up the stairs into his room, it was a bit of a hassle but they made it work.

She laid him down carefully, making him comfortable. Merlin kept grumbling words she couldn’t decipher, his voice sounded so weak, as if it was hard to even speak. She grabbed a nearby chair and placed it next to him, sitting down, Gwen grabbed his hand into hers. Hopefully bringing some kind of comfort for him.

Gaius entered the room holding a glass vial, looking at Gwen. “Could you please get me some water?” He said while placing a hand on Merlin’s forehead.

“Of course.” Gwen nodded, letting go of Merlin’s hand she stood up and exited the room.

Gaius scanned over Merlin’s face, his breathing was quick and sweat built up on his face. Gaius sighed, he shouldn’t of let him leave until he was properly healthy.

A mumble was heard from Merlin and Gaius leaned closer.

“Not…your fault.” Merlin said, his voice barley audible.

Gaius looked at him softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, “You’ll be better soon, Merlin.” He promised.

Gwen entered the room again with a bowl of water and a wash cloth hung over her shoulder, Gaius gave her his thank you’s and sat the bowl down next to Merlin, grabbing the cloth he dipped it into the water and gave it a little squeeze so it wouldn’t drench Merlin.

He gently patted down his face with it to cool him off, then he placed it on top of Merlin’s forehead.

“Here, help me take off his jacket and boots.”

They both took off his jacket and boots and Merlin seemed comfortable enough besides the bed he’s laying on, but it would have to do for now.

Gaius have him the vial, lifting up his head and pouring bit by bit into Merlin’s mouth so he doesn’t choke.

“Will he be okay?” Gwen asked, biting her lip as she looked at Merlin.

“He will, he has a fever but he just needs some rest then he will be back on his feet.” Gaius answered.

Gwen exhaled in relief, “I’m glad.” She gave a small smile.

“Arthur Pendragon!” Morgana’s voice boomed behind the doors until she shoved them opened, walking over to him and slamming down the basket on top of his desk where he was sitting. He jumped slightly at the sudden noise and glanced at the basket.

“I can see that Merlin can’t even do the simplest tasks.” He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you even start, Arthur.” She scowled at him.

“What the bloody hell are you talking about, Morgana?” He blew a huff of annoyance from being interrupted of his work.

“Tell me, where is Merlin?” She gave him a death glare.

“He is supposed to be doing his job, as my manservant I suspect him to be doing them, but with you here. I’m guessing he isn’t.”

“You really are blind, Arthur. Merlin is sick and you overworked him.” Morgana stated.

“Merlin would tell me if he was sick.”

“Well you’re wrong. Merlin almost fainted trying to get up. Gwen had to help him get to Gaius.”

“What?” Arthur immediately put the papers down he was staring into, and stood up from his chair.

“Is he alright?” Arthur questioned, with anyone else they would see a normal expression on his face but not Morgana. She knew he was deeply concerned about his manservants well beings, but he wouldn’t dare say it.

“I don’t know, Arthur. He seemed in pretty bad shape.” Morgana said softly.

Arthur stilled for a moment before walking straight to the door and opening it in one motion. He speed walked towards Gaius’s home and leaving Morgana in his chambers. Throwing open the doors he stepped in.

“Where is he?” Arthur asked.

Gaius seemed to hear the worry and impatience in the kings voice, he answered simply. “He’s in his room, sire.”

Arthur nodded in thanks, stepping up into Merlin’s room where he found Merlin laying in a uncomfortable bed, looking awful. Gwen was next to him. She looked up at Arthur and gave him a smile and nod, looking at Merlin one more time she turned and left.

“Merlin?”

next chapter might be final part!! let me know what you think so far as this is my first time writing merthur!

[legends-of-time]

Amelia’s Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 60: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

Masterlist

Anne's POV

It's all been a bit too much recently and Anne as found that both she and Merlin aren't really having much alone time together. After finding out about Amelia and the arrival of Mordred, along with Merlin being busy with working for Arthur and Gaius and Anne with helping Gwen (neither of them could quite trust Yrene, Gwen's new maid after what happened with Sefa) as well as them both looking after the children. And Anne really needs it.

Anne had hoped that they could perhaps have the day together today but then Merlin had to go on a hunting trip with Arthur for a couple of days. But when they return, they come with an interesting object.

Arthur hands Gaius an object wrapped in a cloth as Merlin and Anne watch on in the Physician's Chambers. Gaius unwraps it to reveal a small horn made of bone, with metal detailing.

Gaius analyses it. "The Horn of Cathbhadh. When Uther attacked the Isle of the Blessed, the Horn of Cathbhadh was smuggled to safety before the Temple fell. It hasn't been heard of since."

"The old woman said it could be used to open a door to the spirit world." Arthur tells them. Anne frowns curiously at him.

"I have seen it with my own eyes. Long before the time of the Great Purge, I took part in such ceremonies." Gaius explains. "Each year at Beltane, the High Priestesses would gather at the Great Stones of Nemeton and summon the spirits of their ancestors. It holds powerful magic." Gaius returns the Horn to Arthur. "You must keep it safe." Gaius looks knowingly at Merlin.

Arthur stares at the Horn in a daze.

"Arthur?" Anne prompts.

Arthur shakes himself out of it. "I'll make sure it goes into the Vault." He quickly leaves the room.

——

Anne and Merlin still couldn't spend some time alone together because it was the anniversary of Arthur becoming King which calls for the usual feast.

The Banquet Hall is full of Knights and various Courtiers as they feast. There is music, talking, and laughing. Arthur sits next to Gwen, at the top of the table, looking pensive and stoic, in contrast to the jovial atmosphere of the feast. Anne knows why he's like this, it's the anniversary of his father dying not long after Arthur's birthday. Honestly, Anne is relieved and she knows Merlin is too. To not be constantly looking over their shoulders, fearing any misstep will reveal who they are is gone. She wishes Amelia was here to enjoy it.

The only one remotely pulling a similar face to Arthur is Percival who is always subdued at events these days. He had long since stopped helping Anne and Merlin with joining in on the secret Camelot protection team. The man has been mourning the loss of his wife ever since Morgana took her but there had always been this hope that she would come back but now the hope is gone. Anne doesn't know what was said, but she knows that Percival had spoken to Amelia at Ismere and had confessed that he had a daughter but had said nothing else.

Anne is relieved to hear that Amelia and Percival's child is alive. She had worried they had been lost after hearing Gwen and Merlin's descriptions of how badly injured Amelia was.

Leon stands. "To the King!" He toasts.

Everyone stands, joining the toast. "The King!"

This brings out a slight smile from Arthur, who waves them away. They all take their seats once more. Anne watches as Arthur says something to Gwen and leaves the feast.

——

Anne lights the final candle on the table. Gwaine and Elyan volunteered to watch the kids for an evening, and even though the last time she had let any of the Knights babysit, Faye was smacking anything and everyone with a wooden sword for days, Anne knows they can at least handle things for one night.

Anne had spent the whole day making their meal from scratch, even dressing her best. She blows out the match when she hears the door to their Chambers open.

Merlin walks in, and he frowns at the sight of the set-up. He pauses, then holds up a finger. "Did I miss an anniversary?" He asks, an extremely nervous look on his face.

"What? No." Anne hurriedly relies. "I thought it'd be nice to have a fancy meal with just the two of us. We haven't spent much time together recently and I thought it would be nice."

Relieved that he is not in trouble, Merlin picks up a tomato from the salad. "Where are the kids?"

Anne winces. "With Gwaine and Elyan."

He chokes. "You left a baby and a toddler with those two?"

"No one else was available!" Anne defends. "Look, we finally have a night to ourselves. Don't you think we should make the most of it?" She wraps her arms around him, hopeful.

Merlin sighs. "I wish we could, but I can't." He presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth and slides out of her arms. Anne's arms flop to her side as he wanders over to the wardrobe, leaving her standing by the table, dumbfounded. "Arthur needs to go somewhere."

"What?" Anne questions. "Where?"

"I don't know." Merlin replies as he opens the wardrobe. "He wouldn't say." He pulls out some supplies and shuts the doors. "He was acting really secretive about it too."

"Well, you can still sit and eat!" Anne argues. She doesn't want all this hard work to be for nothing.

"Can't, Arthur wants to leave now." Merlin says.

"So, I guess this is all just going to go to waste?" Anne huffs.

Merlin pauses in his frantic packing. "Oh, not to waste, I promise." He reassures her. He shoves everything into the bags, comes over to the table, picks up a piece of chicken, and pops it in his mouth. He chews a few times then offers a thumbs-up before pecking Anne's lips. "It was delicious. I'll see you when I get back."

"Bye..." Anne mumbles as he walks away.

He steps out the door but soon ducks his head back into the room, holding on to the door.

Anne frowns in confusion. "What is it? Did you forget something?"

"Yeah." He says, smiling. "I forgot to tell you that I love you."

His words bring an instant smile to Anne's face. "I love you too."

——

Merlin doesn't explain where he and Arthur had gone but Anne can tell there's something off about the two of them and that Merlin doesn't want to talk about it. She simply accepts the flowers he gives her, knowing if it's big, he'll tell her.

Anne feels off the entire day since their return and the day after. It's almost as if an unnatural presence has entered the Castle. She would find herself walking through the corridors and feel an ominous wind come through, disturbing the candles. Anne would look around, unsettled, but notice nothing.

Apparently, that's not the only strange occurrence that's been happening.

"The doors... burst open on their own?" Anne asks as she pulls a shirt over Faye's head. Anne and Merlin are in the Nursery, helping them get ready for bed. Anne had heard whispers earlier in the day about something strange happening during a meeting today, but she hadn't gotten the full details.

"Yes." Merlin replies as he fights Euwen's wiggly limbs as he tries to dress him for bed.

"Mama, no!" Faye protests, tugging on the tunic.

"You told Mama that you wanted to wear this shirt." Anne reminds her though she wonders why she's arguing with a three-year-old.

Faye shakes her head. "No no no!"

"Come on, darling." Anne pleads. She runs her fingers through her daughter's soft locks. "Just for tonight, okay? Mama's very tired."

"No, no, no!" She whines.

Anne barely represses a groan as she takes Faye's tunic off her and sits her down. "Stay here while Mama gets a new shirt."

Thankfully she obeys and instead watches as Merlin tucks Euwen into his cot. "It wasn't the wind, either. No wind is that powerful."

Anne digs around the drawers, turning every so often to suggest a new tunic to Faye. "I mean, that's not that unusual." She argues. "We've had stranger things happen." Once she finally picks one, Anne moves back to her.

"That's not all." Merlin continues. He leans over and presses a kiss to Euwen's forehead. "The candelabra fell from the ceiling."

Anne is just putting Faye's head through the hole as he says this, and her hands freeze. Merlin comes over and tugs the shirt the rest of the way down.

"That's strange." Anne admits.

"Exactly." Merlin says. He tucks his hands under Faye's arms and picks her up. Anne pulls back the blankets, and Merlin sets her down gently in the bed. They both pull the blanket up to her chin. Anne plants a kiss on Faye's cheek, then goes over and kisses Euwen's forehead.

They say goodnight and blow out the candles before leaving the room. They close the door and wait for a few moments to hear their even breathing before leaving back to their Chambers just around the corner.

Anne turns back to their conversation as they make their way down the hall. "What do you think it was?"

"I have no idea." Merlin says, rubbing his face with his hands.

Anne makes a sympathetic noise rubbing his arm when suddenly they hear a distant cry. They run to the Armoury to find a bleeding Percival clutching his shoulder.

"Percival?!" Anne exclaims worriedly as she and Merlin rush over to him. "What happened?" She notes an axe lying on the ground next to him. A bloody axe.

"An axe fell from the rack in the Armoury." Percival explains, groaning.

Merlin slips straight into training. With a quick murmur of "Forclyccan duguð folcgewinn", the bleeding stops but it's still a bad wound. Merlin grabs a bundle of cloth and ties it tightly around the Knight's wound. "Let's get you to Gaius."

——

Gaius is bandaging Percival's shoulder. "I'm surprised that a falling axe would cause such a deep wound."

"Not as surprised as I was." Percival remarks. "Luckily two Sorcerers were nearby to help." He flashes a small grin at the two to which they return. It's nice to have Percival with them once more, bringing back memories of them all plotting and planning in Gaius' Chambers, the only one missing is Amelia.

"It's just lucky that you weren't more seriously injured." Anne says. She takes a seat across from Percival as Merlin steps in to help Gaius.

"It's strange..." Percival murmurs.

"What's that?" Merlin questions.

"Just before it happened. I sensed something, like there was someone there watching me." Percival explains. "I'm sure it was just my mind playing tricks on me."

Gaius finishes wrapping the wound and holds out a poultice to him. "Apply a second poultice in the morning. And no training."

"Thank you, Gaius." Percival says with a slight smile. Merlin helps Percival into his sleeveless gambeson, and he leaves.

It is silent for a bit as Gaius rolls up the remaining gauze while Merlin tidies the Chambers.

Finally, Gaius breaks the silence, "Is there something wrong, Merlin?"

Merlin pauses, then looks over his shoulder at Gaius. When he doesn't say anything, Gaius prompts, "Merlin, I have the distinct impression that there is something you are not telling me.

"No," Merlin scoffs. "Why do you say that?"

Anne winces. "Oh, love even you know that wasn't convincing."

Merlin looks between the two of them and relents. "We went to the Stones of Nemeton."

What?!

Gaius glares at him. "Merlin, I warned you of the dangers..."

"I tried to stop him!" Merlin defends. "He was insistent!"

"Is this what Arthur was being so secretive about?" Anne asks.

"Yes." Merlin replies, but then quickly adds, "But I swear I didn't know where we were going until we got there. He desperately wanted to speak to his father."

Anne sighs. "The anniversary of Arthur's coronation just passed." Anne breathes, putting the pieces together. "He must have missed Uther so much he was desperate to do anything to see him."

"Exactly." Merlin says, but it's clear he wants to say more.

"What is it, Merlin?" Gaius questions.

"It's just, the whole candelabra situation, I in the corridor outside the Council Chambers, I could sense something. It was like Percival said—a presence of some kind." Merlin explains.

Anne's eyes widen in realisation. "I felt that too, multiple times. I have felt like there's something that's entered the Castle ever since the two of you left."

"In the days of the Old Religion, the Priestesses trained for years before entering into the spirit world." Gaius moves to a table to sit down; Anne and Merlin sit across from him. "It was fraught with danger. There was one thing they were schooled never do. As the Veil closed, they were never to look back at the spirit."

"What happened if they did?" Anne questions.

"They'd release the spirit into this world."

"Arthur must have looked back." Merlin realises.

This is not good. "What can we do?" Anne asks.

"You must force Uther's spirit back to the other world before it can do anymore harm." Gaius explains, flicking through his books.

"How do we do that?" Merlin questions.

"You must use the Horn of Cathbhadh to reopen the veil between the worlds. Only then can Uther's spirit pass over." Sounds simple enough.

Merlin shrugs. "Easy. I'll fetch the Horn. I know where Arthur's hidden it."

But Gaius shakes his head. "It's not as simple as that. Only the person who summoned the spirit can force it from this world."

"Arthur..." Anne murmurs.

——

Uther has struck again.

Anne helps Gaius treat an unconscious Gwen, who lies on Merlin's old bed. Merlin and Arthur look on. Gwen had somehow gotten trapped in the Kitchens, and the room was then set on fire. Anne had been walking by when Merlin, who had gone to speak to Arthur, passed by with Gwen in his arms, and Anne followed them the rest of the way to the Gaius' Chambers.

"You know it was Uther." Merlin murmurs to Arthur.

"We don't know what happened." Arthur insists weakly.

"So, Gwen mysteriously ended up locked in the kitchens, which mysteriously caught fire." Merlin states dubiously. "You told yourself Uther disapproved of your marriage to Gwen."

"He wouldn't do that." Arthur persists.

"I know how difficult it is for you." Merlin starts as Anne and Gaius finally draw themselves away from Gwen.

"How is she?" Arthur asks.

"The smoke has entered her lungs, but over time it will heal." Gaius explains. "We gave her a sleeping draught. She was lucky to escape with her life."

Arthur shakes his head in disbelief. "I always knew my father could be cruel, but why would he have done that that Guinevere? He knows how much I love her."

Anne scoffs, tearing her gaze away from Gwen long enough to look at Arthur. "Like Uther's respected your feelings for Gwen in the past." She quirks a brow. "Remember when he tried to have her banished because you dared to love her?"

Arthur's face darkens at her words, and just as Gaius is about to leave the room, Arthur holds out a hand to stop him. "Gaius," with a resolved sigh, he asks, "What do you know about ghosts?"

——

Anne stays behind to help Gaius brew the potion that will allow them to see Uther's spirit.

When Anne and Gaius enter Arthur's Chambers, no one is in the main area. Odd. They move through to find Arthur and Merlin peeking into a cupboard, but they must've been quiet as when Arthur and Merlin both turn, they jump out of their skin at the sight of them.

"Seen any ghosts?" Anne remarks with a grin but she receives some unimpressed looks, and her smile drops. "No?" She awkwardly nods her head over to the table. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

A moment later, they sit at Arthur's table. Gaius places three vials of potion before them. Anne glances at her own dubiously. This part she's not looking forward to.

"The potion will allow you to see Uther in his spirit form." Gaius tells them. "Once you are in his presence, you must blow the Horn. It's the only way you can force him to go back to the Spirit World."

Arthur examines the potion while Merlin pops the cork and sniffs it, then recoils.

"Is it safe?" The former asks.

Gaius opens his mouth but hesitates, sharing an unsure look with Anne, who grimaces. "I can't say I'm entirely sure."

"Drink and find out." Anne remarks. "That's my motto."

Arthur rolls his eyes at her, but he turns his attention back to Merlin. Anne, Merlin, and Arthur make 'cheers' gestures. Merlin brings the vial to his lips and Anne does the same but they both pause when they notice that Arthur is not doing the same.

"What are you waiting for?" Merlin asks.

"To see if it's safe." The King replies.

"So, if we don't die, you'll take yours."

"Precisely. Get on with it."

Anne downs it and oh god, it's horrific. She quickly swallows it down, her face pinching together to keep herself from outwardly reacting. Anne can see Merlin is holding back a grimace and trying his best not to gag.

Arthur frowns suspiciously as the two of them shrug at him. "Well, at least we know it doesn't kill you instantly." He remarks. He tips his vial into his mouth and immediately moans. "Eurgh!" He spits, setting the vial down. "That– oh. That is the foulest thing I've ever tasted.

"Sorry about that." Anne says with fake pleasantry, coughing and gagging slightly. "Did we forget to tell you about that part?" She laughs, but at Arthur's souring glare, she sobers up.

——

The three of them begin their hunt for Uther. Arthur carries a torch through the dark corridors with Anne and Merlin trailing after him.

Naturally, there are some false starts, one being Merlin mistaking a shadow for the dead King causing Arthur to smack Merlin in the head. The second is that they've come across Leon with no explanation of why there sneaking through the Castle corridors in the middle of the night.

Leon looks startled as he takes them in. "Anne. Arthur. Merlin."

"Leon." The three of them say simultaneously.

"Is everything alright, My Lord?" Leon questions.

"It's perfectly fine." Arthur replies awkwardly. "We're... Anne, tell Leon what we're doing."

"Uh, we're, um, we were just... Merlin and I are teaching him some poetry?" Anne splutters out. She's definitely sounded surer in her life.

"Poetry?" Leon questions incredulously.

"I love poetry." Arthur reluctantly replies.

Merlin awkwardly laughs. "We were as surprised as you are. He can't get enough of it!"

"I'll leave you to your poetry, then, My Lord." Leon leaves looking back at them strangely.

Once he's gone, Arthur turns on Anne. "Poetry? That's the best you could come up with?"

"What did you want me to say?!" Anne hisses. "You put me on the spot!"

"I don't know. Something that didn't make me sound like a love-struck girl." Arthur retorts. Then his head snaps to something behind Anne and Merlin. They turn and see nothing.

"What was that?" Merlin questions.

"It was my father."

——

Merlin has gone to check the Storeroom while Anne and Arthur continue to slink down the corridors when the ominous wind suddenly gusts around them. Arthur's torch then goes out and Anne hears footsteps approach.

"Merlin? Merlin, is that you?" Anne whispers as loud as she dares, hoping it's her husband and not the spirit of Uther but there's no reply from Merlin.

"Father?" Arthur utters.

Then there's the feeling of someone walking behind them. Anne and Arthur turn but find no one. Arthur tosses aside his now useless torch and takes the bone-carved Horn out of his soft leather belt.

"Where did he go?" Anne whispers as they creep along the corridors, finding themselves outside the Council Chambers.

"I don't know." Arthur whispers back, opening the Council Chambers door. "Maybe in—"

Anne doesn't hear the end of his sentence as Arthur cuts himself off when the doors slam shut behind them and lock. Then she finds herself being sent flying backwards across the room and into the wall causing everything to go black. The last thing she hears is Arthur yelling, "Anne!"

——

Merlin's POV

Merlin, after being able to get himself out of the Storeroom after being trapped, follows the noise to find himself entering the Council Chambers from a back door. He enters to find Uther's spirit looming over the prone bodies of Arthur and Anne.

He feels rage boil up inside him. "Get away from them, Uther." He spits, stopping the spirit in his tracks. "You've caused enough harm. You don't belong here. You must return to the other world."

"This is my Kingdom. You think you can drive me from it?" Uther growls, and he turns around to face Merlin. "You are nothing but a serving boy."

Merlin almost scoffs as he tries to rain in his emotions, speaking a truth he can't believe he's uttering to Uther's face. "I am much more than that."

Uther tosses a bench – which, if it wasn't for the situation, Merlin would laugh at as it's so close to magic – at Merlin, who deflects it using magic. The bench crashes against a wall, then to the floor. Merlin stares at Uther, a challenge.

The look of utter shock and disbelief glitters over Uther's face. "You have magic."

"I was born with it!" Merlin declares almost tearfully.

"I made you Arthur's servant." Uther realises. "You are a Sorcerer."

"Even while you were King, there was magic at the heart of Camelot." Merlin declares, feeling almost gleeful.

Uther angrily strides towards him. "I will not allow you and your kind to poison my Kingdom!"

"You're wrong. You're wrong, about so much." Merlin says causing Uther to pause. "Arthur is a better and more worthy King than you ever were."

Uther roars. Merlin quickly uses magic to push him away. Uther goes flying through the door.

——

Anne's POV

Anne feels someone shaking her. "Anne, Anne!"

She groans awake, her body aching. Anne looks up to find Arthur, who has a bruise forming at his temple, looking at her in relief.

"What happened?" She questions. She looks around to find a broken bench lying by a wall and a shield lying not too far away from them.

"My father." Arthur replies shortly as he helps her stand.

There are some loud noises in the distance. Arthur and Anne's heads snap towards it.

"Merlin..." Anne murmurs worriedly.

Arthur and Anne hurriedly go in search of Merlin. They reach the Armoury to find Merlin pinned to the wall by a pair of spears snagging his jacket. Uther stands in front of him with a sword in hand.

"It will give me great pleasure killing you." Uther declares angrily.

Arthur and Anne quickly run in. "Father!" The former yells, raising the Horn above his head.

Uther turns and panics at the sight of the Horn. "Arthur... no. Please. Whatever I have done, I've done for Camelot."

"You've had your turn. Now it's mine." Arthur raises the Horn to his lips, and—

"Merlin has—" Uther tries but it's too late.

Arthur blows the Horn causing Uther to discorporate. Merlin slumps in relief while Arthur looks at the spot where his father once stood, looking upset. Anne ignores this and sprints over to Merlin, wrapping him up in a relieved but awkward hug due to the spears.

——

"I can't believe Uther found out about you." Anne says, linking her arm with Merlin's as they walk back to their Chambers.

"Well, he is dead. I didn't have anything to lose." Merlin shrugs casually but Anne can see that he's happy but also emotionally drained.

"Still." Anne argues. "Do you think Arthur will be alright?"

"He'll be fine. I think he's with Gwen now." Merlin replies.

"At least it looks like he's made peace with Uther's legacy." Anne says as they step into their Chambers. "Who knows how much longer that would have hung over his head."

"I know." Merlin says. He collapses onto their bed with a groan, and Anne giggles as she joins him. Merlin wraps his arm around her and hugs her to his side. Anne sighs in content and nestles herself into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia watches the two through the water that sits in a basin. She sees how happy and at peace they are. She splashes the water angrily, disrupting the image as tears well up in her eyes. Amelia wipes them away furiously.

She is in her new room in the Fortress where she and Morgana have set up with their Saxons. It's definitely warmer than Ismere was.

"My Lady?"

Amelia turns to see it's Beroun, the leader of the band of Saxons who follow Amelia and Morgana. Amelia smiles slightly at the sight of him. The Saxon had always been nice to her and loyal. While he's loyal to both sisters, he has often helped Amelia sneak this and that past her sister.

"Beroun, what can I do for you?"

"Your sister requests your presence in the Throne room, she needs your thoughts on the final plans for invading Nemeth with." Beroun explains. "King Odin is with her."

Amelia nods. Of course. Another plan to capture Arthur so that Morgana could gain the throne of Camelot. This time by utilising the hatred Odin has for Arthur for killing his son.

"I'll be there shortly."

Beroun nods and leaves. Amelia grabs the basin and tips the water into the unlit fireplace. She should really stop watching her old family and friends, it only causes her pain just like Morgana told her it would. She really needs to leave that world behind. It's not her life anymore, her life is with her daughter and Morgana. They won't betray her.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[tiodolma]

Hahaha, Arthur is now playing matchmaker for Henry and Anna! If Morgan and Merlin got wind of that, they'd have their revenge. 🤣😂

it'd be so funny if morgana just storms into merlin's estate at dawn, goes straight to his room, and smacks him with a pillow.

btw everyone knows that Lord Henry sometimes take the Lady Anna to his estate for god knows what reasons (they're actually testing their magics but there's been talk about them for months)

Anna: THIS IS WHAT I WAS SAYING!! (smack smack smack)

Henry: Ow! wait! AnNa? Is that you? what are you doing here so early?!

Anna: WHY IS GUINEVERE ASKING ME ABOUT MY WEDDING CLOTHES?!

Henry: ...what? OH CRAP

Anna: (levitates henry) ANSWER ME!

Henry: PUT ME DOWN!

Anna: (slams merlin to the floor, merlin reacts quick enough to cushion himself)

Henry: CHRIST LET'S HAVE BREAKFAST FIRST!

servants come rushing into henry's chambers with food and setting up a table for their lord and then they leave him with the lady anna (whom they've come to grow fond of cos she's always with the master)

Henry: look it's a misunderstanding. I don't know what's gotten into the king. First he threatens to put me to the stocks, then he gives me more land, then suddenly he asked when i was planning to marry you. It's not my fault. He jumped to conclusions. And oh.. he probably told Lady Guinevere.

Anna: this is what happens when you kept messing with destiny!

Henry: hey we'll fixed this

Anna: By now Lady Morgan and Lord Merlin would have heard too, you stupid oaf!

Henry: It's no big deal. It will all blow over when their child is born.

Merlin: (bursting into Henry's chambers where he and Anna are having breakfast)

Servant: My-my Lord, w-we couldn't stop him...

Merlin: OH IT IS A BIG DEAL.

[kaiwrites-if]

I would pay money to slap Uther in his head without the consequences of getting killed like Gaius in BBC Merlín.

Oh yeah? How much we talking? Because I’ve already got notes with some hijinks involving Uther and Merlin to add in…

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

How would everyone react when their partner or surrogate went into labour?

I said surrogate in case you don’t like mpeg.

I would like at least one of the pairings to be Arthur/Merlin. But I would really love the rest of the group to also be paired up!

(Headcanon Masterlist) (Full Masterlist)

You would be right in saying I don't like mpreg!!! It freaks me out and I, to be honest, hate it😅

I'll do a real mix of pairings for you!! (Which means a few people will be repeated as well)

Merthur -  Arthur FREAKS, from beginning to end without pause. Merlin has a jolt of adrenaline when he's first told "it's started" but otherwise manages to keep himself calm. He worries, of course he does, but he's rational about it, probably helped by his medical knowledge. He does have to smack Arthur on the back of the head a couple of times when he's being silly (the stress is bad for the surrogate AND the baby), and has to take him out the room to give him a proper hug and stroke his hair when he gets hyperventilate-y at one point. Because of what happened to his mother, he tried to demand that Merlin was the one to donate, in case it ran in the family and it happened again, but Merlin changed his mind in the end (which is good really, because the council, though they begrudgingly accepted Merlin as King, likely would’ve demanded the bloodline continue on Arthur’s side). Arthur still worries because he doesn't want to be responsible for the death of the surrogate (she's fine of course).

Arwen - Gwen is fine. She’s the one to very politely ask the guards to fetch Gaius and Merlin for her whilst Arthur is panicking in the background. They have a few hours before things really get going, so maybe she sings to him or reads to him. No matter who the partner is, Arthur freaks out every time, fuelled by what happened to his mother. He doesn't want to lose Gwen. (Again, he doesn't, but it's something understandable to worry about).

Mergwen - They're both pretty chill. They're more excited than they are nervous so they have to remind themselves to like... calm down and relax. Though if they weren't together, say George burst into Arthur's chambers to tell Merlin that Gwen had gone into labour, he IMMEDIATELY drops whatever he was doing to SPRINT to her, before George even finishes speaking. Once he sees her, he's fine and they both turn into excitable puppies, but he's nervous and worried before then.

Perwaine - Percival is quietly nervous, in that he sits still and fiddles with his hands, but Gwaine is grumpily nervous, in that he paces up and down with a scowl on his face. They do manage to help calm each other down a little, but neither of them fully relax until it's all over and they can see that surrogate and baby are ok. They're pretty quiet as well, maybe someone (probably Leon or Merlin) pokes their head in to ask a question ("Thought about names yet?/Thought about how many you want?" Etc) because they're clever and know that the two of them need a soft conversation to keep them calm and distracted.

Morgwen - If Gwen is carrying, Morgana panics, but no where near as badly as Arthur, and Gwen can calm her down really easily. She is aggressively protective though, she's loath to even let people wait outside the room, and almost scratches Arthurs eyes out when he makes a comment about her being possessive. Gwen talks her down and the Gang wait a little further down the corridor as a compromise. If Morgana is carrying, she's super blasé about it. Like... she carries on walking around and doing things right up until she has to push, and Gwen follows her around with snacks and water because she KNOWS she isn't going to be able to convince her to sit down and relax.

Gwencelot - Ok so Lancelot panics, but in a very calm way?? He’s speed walking around the room gathering various bags and snacks and water and blankets and calling for Gaius and Merlin and The King... at which point Gwen gives him a hug and tells him to calm the hell down. He also absolutely dotes on Gwen, which is sweet for a little while before the pain really starts and Gwen shouts at him to stop getting blankets and to sit down and shut the fuck up and hold her hand please. He does so, and he doesn’t complain once, not even when he subtly has to ask Merlin to wrap his knuckles when it’s all over because Gwen has one hell of a grip.

Merlyan - Let’s get into the rarer pairings, shall we? Merlin is calm, but a little less so than he would be in Merthur. Elyan is calm as well, and if Merlin doesn't have to focus on keeping Elyan calm, there's room for his own panic. Though it doesn’t last long before Elyan and Gaius, and probably the surrogate as well, talk some sense into him, and he has some epiphany moment where he’s like “I am literally magic incarnate, I can fix anything.”. He doesn’t need to fix anything of course, but it’s the thought that calms him down so no one denies it.

Mergana - Merlin and Morgana’s magic is so intertwined at this point he probably knows the exact time, down to the second, when Morgana is due to go into labour. If it comes unexpectedly due to stress or just... the weirdness of the human body, he feels it from across the castle. He panics at first, because the two of them have been through so much horror, they’re finally getting the happy ending they deserve, but what if it doesn’t work out? What if something goes wrong? Of course Morgana just rolls her eyes (and potentially persuades Arthur to drug him) and plays with their magic until he calms down.

Arthur/Lancelot - Once more, Arthur is panicking. Lance starts to panic, and then sees how freaked out Arthur is, so forces his own worries aside to help him. Except then all the comforting he gave Arthur actually sort of works on himself too, so it all works out great in the end. He also just keeps reminding himself (and Arthur) how much he trusts Merlin and Gaius; he knows surrogate and baby will be fine.

Morgana/Leon - Leon is worried in his head, but is an absolute pro at keeping it to himself. They have plans, and contingencies, and blankets and servants and snacks and everything ready to go, they just have to go with the flow and stay prepared. Leon is also a pro at being prepared. He knows that panicking outwardly will only annoy and stress Morgana, so the best thing he can do for the whole situation is just keep his cool, which he does very well.

Merwaine - It’s getting rather repetitive now, so the last few will be brief. Gwaine is scowl-y but that quickly stops so he can comfort Merlin. Merlin who isn’t panicking, but is very quietly worried, but not wanting to annoy Gwaine or get in the way of his pacing.

Mercalot - They just look at each other and take a breath before hurriedly moving around each other, perfectly in sync, the way they always are. There’s lots of pacing together and staring at each other, but they’re fine overall, if a little quiet.

Merleon - Leon calms Merlin down with a little work: some breathing exercises and some encouraging him to let his magic go. Once they get over the first very stressful hurdle, they’re fine. Maybe as a distraction, Leon reads aloud to him, or Merlin makes shapes and figures with his magic.

~

Hope that was the sort of thing you’re after anon!!

[mca-attack21]

Damsel in Distress part I

This is a two part Arthur Pendragon x Reader based on the season two episode four of the show. Enjoy! Also you can find more of my writing here: Masterlist

Merlin woke up to a feeling of foreboding. There was something in the air that made his stomach turn with dread. As he prepared to go wake his clotpole of a master, he tried to push this feeling out of the forefront of his mind. But even as he made it down to the kitchen there was this sense of apprehension in the air. He hoped that he would run into you somewhere in the halls and that you would be able to set his mind at ease. He however was not so fortunate.

Instead, he trudged onward, setting Arthur’s food down and opening his curtains before declaring a half-hearted, “Rise and Shine” before quickly gathering some of his clothes to be washed. Arthur didn’t even have time to come up with a jest before Merlin was out of the door. Merlin busied himself, quickly polishing Arthur’s armor and completing other daily chores. He mentally prepared himself to deal with the prince as returned to his door.

“Ah, there you are, I was beginning to think you were avoiding your duties. And what’s this?” he asked, watching as Merlin laid everything out, “You’re actually doing your job for once? Are you feeling alright?” Arthur joked.

His smile soon turned to a frown as Merlin ignored his comments. He shrugged it off and allowed Merlin to help him dress and put on his armor. While Arthur was looking over some papers on his table he noticed that Merlin had already made his bed and was starting to take the dishes from the table.

“Merlin, clearly something is upsetting you,” Arthur pointed out.

“It’s nothing sire, do you need anything else?” Merlin asked with his back against the door.

“No, that will be all,” Arthur dismissed, sending a concerned glance towards his friend as he exited.

Merlin took leave and went back to his chambers to help Gaius. He tried to occupy his mind, but nothing he did seemed to ease that burning pit in his stomach. Something had happened, was happening, or was about to happen, he could feel it.

Somewhat abruptly, he decided that he needed to see you. He went to seek out Morgana, as you were filling in for Gwen while she was taking care of her brother. He knew that wherever Morgana was, you wouldn’t be far away.

It was in his search that he saw a few of the knights rushing for an audience with the king. Something had happened. Merlin followed at a close distance and listened in.

“As you know Sire Morgana, her maid, and a few knights rode for a pilgrimage to her father’s grave early this morning. They were meant to be back by now, but there is no word or sign of them. That was until one of the patrols came across one of the knight’s horses. I am afraid something went wrong..”

“Send men out immediately. Arthur, you will lead the search, do whatever you must to bring her home,” the King ordered concerned for his young ward.

“Of course father,” Arthur answered before hastily making an exit. Merlin was right on his heels, and left to prepare their horses.

---

The mercenaries had both you and Morgana in a tent with a guard posted right outside the doors. The two of you had come up with a plan, it was risky at best. However you were both aware of the fact that the further away from Camelot you traveled, the less likely you were to ever see it again.

“Are you ready for this?” Morgana asked, preparing herself.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”

She was about to step forward when you grabbed her arm, “No matter what happens, I want you to take any opportunity you get. Don’t worry about me. Promise.”

“There is no way I’m leaving without you.”

“Morgana, you have to promise me. I cannot bear the risk otherwise.”

“I promise, but only as long as you promise me the same. We take any opportunity we get.”

With that, the plan was in motion. Morgana demanded that she be allowed to bathe and you both were escorted to the river by two of the men. You took the distraction of her undressing to manage to disarm one of the men and tossed Morgana the sword just in time for her to take out the other. The two of you started running back towards the castle, but there was another mercenary that intercepted you. Being as you were the one with the sword you opted to fight him, thankful for the many hours you had spent training with Arthur when you were younger. Morgana turned back to help you.

“Go, I will be right behind you!” you shouted, watching her hesitate, “Morgana go! Now!”

She turned and ran only looking back when she heard your scream in the distance. She quickly picked up her pace again and ran without looking back. She pushed through the aching in her muscles until she was faced with a crossbow aimed at her face. Relief filling her features as soon as she saw its holder.

“Where’s Y/n?” Arthur asked immediately.

Morgana merely shook her head and Arthur turned before his face could give him away. Merlin pushed down his own feelings and went to Morgana to make sure she was okay and offer her water and food. They set off immediately for the castle and soon came the reunion between Uther and Morgana. She begged him to send out another search party for you, after all you had saved her life.

“I am not going to waste the time and resources on a servant girl who has most likely already been executed as she provides no worth to the mercenaries without you,” he explained to Morgana. The words cut Arthur deeper than any sword ever had.

“Please, there is still a chance. Arthur?” she turned towards him hoping he would take her side.

“I’m sorry Morgana, father is right” Arthur managed before turning and exiting a very angry Merlin on his heels.

“How could you say that? How could you possibly agree with him after everything that you and Y/n have been through? I knew you were a clotpole, but this, this is unforgivable!” Merlin all but shouted.

“Merlin Shut Up!” Arthur raised his volume before regaining his composure as he entered his chambers, “Of course I don’t agree with father, but there was no point in making a scene about it. We will pack and leave at first light. We will find her, one way or another.”

Merlin was speechless for a moment, before uttering an apology for overreacting before. He was then quick to leave and make the preparations for the next day as it was already early night.

The next morning he was surprised to see that Arthur had managed to not only wake himself up, but dress himself. He was looking over maps as Merlin entered. Soon the two of them were off on their quest to save the damsel in distress. The rode for the better part of the day before coming to a caves that were inhabited by wilddeoren. As they made it through the other side Arthur let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding, “I can’t believe the Gaia berries actually worked.”

“Hold up, you mean to tell me that you didn’t know that they would work before you lead us in a cave with giant flesh eating rats!”

“I mean not for sure, I heard stories, but I figured we’d find out one way or another.”

“Now you tell me?! Oh! Oh, what's that wilddeoren eating? It's all right. It's just Merlin. You trying to get us both killed?”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't've risked your life like that,” Arthur said a new hint of seriousness in his voice.

“I didn’t realize that even the great Arthur Pendragon could fall victim to the blindness of love,” Merlin joked.

“What in the world are you going on about?

“Your feelings for Y/n. Why can’t you admit that you like her? I mean you are risking your life and even your father’s wrath just for a one in a hundred chance of rescuing her.

Arthur scoffed rolling his eyes, “She is just a friend, I’d do the same for you. In fact I seem to remember disobeying my father before in order to get you an antidote when you decided to get a few days off my drinking out of a poisoned chalice.”

“That was different and you know it. Besides, anyone who has ever seen the two of you together can pick up on it. Why is it so hard to admit you like her? It’s only me, just say it,” Merlin encouraged.

“I can't! How can I admit that I think about her all the time. Or that...I care about her more than anyone. How can I admit that...I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her?” Arthur confessed struggling to keep his emotion in check.

“Why can't you?”

“Because nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings knowing that...hurts too much.”

“Who's to say nothing can happen?”

“My father won't let me rescue a servant. Do you honestly believe he'd let me marry one?”

“You want to marry Y/n?”

“No! I mean maybe someday...I...I don't know...Regardless, it's all talk, and that's all it can ever be.”

“When you're King, you can change that. If she feels the same way, she would wait for you.”

“I can't expect her to do that, it’s not fair to her. Besides, we don’t even know if she’s alive,” he said regretting the words even as they left his mouth because they caused his stomach to drop.

“I’m sure she’s fine Arthur. She knows that you’ll come for her and that hope will keep her alive.”

The words seemed to offer Arthur some comfort, “Come on. We've got a long trek ahead. Oh, and Merlin...if you dare tell anyone about this, I promise I will make your life a living hell.”

“You mean more than you do now?” Merlin joked, earning a playful smack from his friend.

[winterinhimring]

A BBC Merlin Concept:

“The Death Song of Uther Pendragon,” except instead of summoning Uther, Arthur uses the horn to call his mother.

Maybe he figures that his only memory of her is of a magical deception (he thinks) and decides he’d like at least one real one. Maybe his mind just wanders to her when he’s doing the summoning. Either way, Ygraine is the one who meets him inside the veil.

There are no harsh words or recriminations, no accusations of weakening Camelot. Ygraine Pendragon is a very proud mother. She would support Arthur no matter what he was doing, but she also genuinely thinks he’s doing the right thing.

Arthur still looks back as he goes back into the world of the living. Ygraine’s spirit is released into the world just as Uther’s was. Unlike Uther, however, Ygraine has no interest in rattling doors, knocking down chandeliers, or setting fires. She does have an interest in getting to know her son’s knights (she’s a smart lady, she knows that they’re more like brothers than vassals to him) but most especially his wife. She sets out to be the Team Mom, and the fact that she’s invisible and intangible is not about to stop her. She is a Pendragon, after all, and they are nothing if not tenacious.

Percival doesn’t have an axe throw itself at him. His vambrace politely unlatches itself and sets itself in his hand and he has never been more confused. (Gawain gets smacked, gently, on the head by his glove when his teasing gets a little too sharp. He is also confused.)

Gwen doesn’t get knocked out and nearly set on fire. She keeps finding wildflowers and trinkets in her room, because Ygraine can’t actually communicate with her and wants to make friends anyway. She kind of thinks Arthur is having a romantic fit or something but Arthur’s denying everything so she’s just confused too.

Ygraine catches Merlin doing magic for something entirely mundane, figures out the situation pretty quickly, and immediately adds him to the “to adopt” list because he’s got to be something special to have stuck around her wonderful but slightly bratty son that long, especially when it puts him in so much personal danger. 

Because Ygraine is being nice and not breaking things, it takes much longer for everyone in Camelot to figure out what’s happened. When they finally do, it takes a lot of convincing to get the knights to let her go, because as soon as they find out about her team mom schtick they adopt her right back. Finally, Gaius has to cook up a massive batch of his seeing-ghosts potion, and Ygraine talks to all of them, and admits that this isn’t her place or her time, and that Arthur has to send her back. She’s immeasurably grateful to have met them all, she says. She hopes that Arthur keeps on going as he is going, and recommends that he legalise magic -- after all, how many times has Merlin saved him with his powers? (Arthur has a mild existential crisis at this point but puts it off for later because his mom is talking.) She promises to carry a message to Tom, for Gwen, and to Balanor for Merlin. In the end she gets a message from just about everyone, because who wouldn’t take the chance to send a letter across the veil to a loved one who’s gone on?

When Arthur blows the horn again, what echoes in his ears is not his father’s angry yells, but his mother’s whisper of So, so proud...

There’s not a dry eye in the room when she does disappear. Everyone, of course, stoutly denies this.

Magic is quietly but firmly decriminalised. Mordred never has a reason to betray Arthur, and he never has the time, either, even if he wanted to -- he’s far too busy being the Round Table’s first sorcerer-knight, with occasional consultation from Merlin, who somehow goes on carrying out the duties of Arthur’s manservant in the intervals of helping to save the entire Round Table from the latest world-ending threat and studying with Gaius (whose beloved Helen returns from her exile to help him found Camelot’s first magical hospital) and Mordred.

When Morgana meets them on the battlefield (it was always going to happen, one way or another), Merlin and Mordred close ranks in front of Arthur before he can do anything about it. Against a Druid, trained from birth, and the world’s most powerful sorcerer who at last has no need to hide, Morgana never stood a chance. (Arthur tries to talk her down, one last time, brother to sister. Maybe there’s a moment when she wavers. Maybe not. Maybe she flees the battlefield and goes into exile rather than kill herself trying to kill him. Maybe she will not flee, and falls.)

Camelot stands, and Arthur comes home, and the knights laugh and slap Merlin and Mordred on the back and spin tall tales about their defeat of Morgana, each more impossible than the last, and everything is, finally, all right.

[thesleepy1]

My King Shall Have Everything

A/N: A fuck load of people seemed to like my last Merthur fic. I even got a request for a sequel from @antobcq who wanted a 5+1 fic where Arthur couldn’t get anything done without Merlin on his lap. I haven’t done one of these fics in ages but I’m down with this prompt. I also love the headcanon where Merlin is a better court member and adviser than Arthur and completely leaves Arthur in the dust during diplomatic meetings. Unbeta’d as always, we die like Arthur.

Extra note, this turned out much longer than I expected it to. This might be my longest fic yet. I didn’t mean for it to be like this but I spent too much time on it to just leave it alone. And much to my surprise, it’s a linear storyline as well. I hope you all enjoy it and feel free to give me some feedback. Do you prefer the linear storylines or short snippets of scenes? Also, kind of sorry for the slight angst. My bad. It got worse towards the end, I was getting really tired and wasn’t completely sure how to end it. It’s not on the highest note is all I’ll say.

Pairings: Merlin x Arthur, slight Gwen x Morgana

Summary: Five times Arthur couldn’t get anything done without Merlin on his lap and one time where Merlin couldn’t get anything done without Arthur on his lap.

Word count: 10,485

Warnings: Lap sitting, fluff, physical touch, sexual content, grinding, angst, wounds, violence, character death, more warnings to be added, more tags to be added, proceed with caution, breeding kink, impregnation kink, mentions of dub/con, possessive behavior, obsessive behavior, eugenics, blood, gore, hurt/comfort, angst/comfort, whump, injuries, begging, character death, mentions of public executions, long fic, foul language, asphyxiation, strangulation, choking,

Arthur was good at many things, but being on time was not one of them. Especially, when at the end of the hall he had to attend a council meeting with some of the most stuck up people he had ever met, and that was saying something considering he had to spend the last winter with his extended family. His advisers had been up his ass all week about the new rising kingdom beyond the continent. A kingdom so far away, he had just heard of it several months prior. It was like the kingdom had appeared overnight, suddenly a new ink blotch taking over the lower side of the map.

Personally, he didn’t believe it was real in the first place, having a squadron of knights and hired mercenaries sail over to investigate this so-called Kingdom of Le Lubrique. Much to his disbelief, they didn’t come back empty handed and instead returned with a message. A greeting, as his advisers and Merlin had called it.

To Arthur, it was merely stiff aristocrats getting together in too large a room to talk about dull nonsense. Something he had enough of in his own kingdom. Every other month he was already forced to put on a brave face and converse with the other ruling kings and queens of the continent; he didn’t need another to add on to the mix. He already loathed the balls he was required to host.

“You’re late,” Merlin hissed at him as he entered through a side door so as to not alert the others of his presence.

“That’s kind of the point of me coming here long after the time I was supposed to, Merlin,” Arthur rolled his eyes, sneaking behind the other advisers present to his seat. Merlin begrudgingly followed right on his tail.

“This is serious Arthur, you should have been here ten minutes ago!” Merlin nagged a tad too loudly.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the great king of Camelot himself. I’m delighted to see you have graced us with the honor of your belated attendance,” said an adviser from the guest kingdom with a tone that made Arthur want to stab him, wars be damned.

“I hope you could excuse my tardiness just this once,” Arthur began, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. He looked over to Merlin for help, but the warlock looked clueless as usual. “It...was just that I was caught up with...making sure my...uh...husband’s family were making themselves at home. The in-laws are visiting, you see. You know how hard it can be to keep them happy.”

Merlin looked like he wanted to hang Arthur with his own entrails at the king’s quick thinking. Camelot’s advisers seemed to be considering throwing themselves from the window. And the guest advisers seemed content with Arthur’s answer; though not pleased.

“Oh, believe me,” one of them began, a tall woman with high cheekbones and piercing brown eyes, “I know exactly how tiring in-laws can be.” She let out a high pitched laugh like the sound of dying blue jays; the sound made Arthur want to join his advisers as they inched towards the open windows.

“Well, yes, hahaha, they can be quite a hassle. Especially people that are related to my husband here,” Arthur clapped his hands, smiling at Merlin as he took his seat at the head of the table, “Shall we properly begin then?”

Arthur truly and wholeheartedly regretted agreeing to the whole thing. It was hour after hour of mindless words with little to no meaning. They just went on and on about things that meant little to nothing. He tried to tune out their voices but the tall woman’s laugh was like the crack of a whip, bringing him back to reality each time someone made a vaguely funny comment.

“Are you alright, Arthur?” Merlin said in a hushed tone next to his side. Concern had brought his dark eyebrows together. Arthur was tempted to take his fingers and smooth out Merlin’s worry, but perhaps that was too intimate an act for a meeting. Then again, when did Arthur care about what other people thought of him and his husband.

“I’m fine, Merlin,” Arthur sighed, “Just so bored with all of this.”

“How could you be bored? Have you been listening to half of what they’ve been saying? For a kingdom so small they have so much potential. Their farmlands double ours, as well as their ores, and their medicine is even on par to Gaius’s.” Merlin continued on with such a light in his eyes that Arthur was distracted like a moth to a glowing flame.

“Arthur, have you been listening to what I’ve been saying?”

The king shook his head softly, slightly ashamed for not paying attention to his husband. “I’m sorry. I’m just so distracted. I need something to ground me if I’m going to survive another dreadful hour of this,” he groaned, thinking over if the fall from the window would kill him or lethally wound him. Either way, he’d be away from this horror with Merlin at his bedside playing nurse. At the private thought, an idea crossed his mind that had him delighted.

“You know what would help me?” Arthur began, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“What?” Merlin gave him a suspicious look, having seen the grin on the king many times before.

“It’ll really help if you were on my lap.” Merlin gave him an incredulous glare, ready to smack him across the back of the head for such a suggestion during such a crucial conference. “Please, Merlin? You really do help me focus.”

The warlock seemed to be thinking over Arthur’s request, a frown twisting his face. He looked like he was going to say no, but the pleading look on Arthur’s face made him change his mind. “Just this once. I don’t want to make a habit of this, Arthur,” Merlin warned in a hurried voice.

“Just this once,” Arthur lied through his teeth.

The second king of Camelot sat himself on the first, his side pressed against Arthur’s chest. Arthur wound his arm around Merlin and held him tightly. The action seemed to have garnered the attention of the visitors who looked at the pair strangely. And for some odd reason, the visiting ladies of the guest kingdom seemed to be glaring intently at Merlin.

“We are ever so sorry to be boring you, your majesty, but there is still much to discuss,” a visiting high lord coughed, glaring at the pair. “I apologize that our talk of declining population, racial biases against commoners and sorcerers, and ever so low birth rates have made you tired, but considering it may be the undoing of Le Lubrique, I deem it vital,” he practically snarled.

Arthur’s grip on Merlin tightened, his other hand palming Merlin’s thighs. The warlock couldn’t hide the grin that was stretched across his beautiful face at the touch. The king absolutely loved that grin. Arthur glared right back at those who dared question his behavior, for him showing his love for his king. He sounded in a stern voice that left no room for argument, “No apologies needed. Please, continue.”

“Don’t let us disturb you,” Merlin added with a more snarky tone, commanding the same amount of respect. “You have our full attention.”

-----

“Must I attend? You’ll be there, is that not enough?” Arthur whined as Merlin buttoned up his shirt.

“We are hosting a party in the Kingdom of Le Lubrique’s honor. Their queen has traveled all the way here to properly meet us,” Merlin pressed a kiss to Arthur’s cheek for the effort. “Must I continue?”

“Only if you wish, my dear,” Arthur pointed to his other cheek, waiting for the same treatment as the other.

Merlin rolled his eyes, pressing another kiss to Arthur. “I’m serious, Arthur, this could mean an all out war or the strongest of ally ship. I mean, have you read the reports of what their kingdom is like? It sounds, and excuse for my word choice but there really is no other way to describe it; magical. I would love to visit the country myself. If we make a good impression they might invite us for a stay,” he continued, tying a red handkerchief with Camelot’s crest around his own neck.

“And that’s why the second king of Camelot would be in attendance.”

Merlin left Arthur in their room after that, knowing that Arthur would follow him. “Are you really going to make me sit there and listen to them go on and on about their plan to repopulate their country, or over tax their people for the food that’s in abundance? Come on, Merlin, we could have our council handle it.” Arthur stepped in front of Merlin to block his way. “Why don’t we head back to our room and make this a more entertaining night?” he wiggled his eyebrows to make sure Merlin got his point.

Merlin heard him loud and clear and rightfully ignored Arthur’s attempt to get into his pants. He sidestepped the man to continue on his path, turning a corner to the ballroom. “Do you hear yourself? What kind of impression would that give Le Lubrique if you just suddenly disappeared?!” Arthur turned to run back to their room just to prove Merlin’s point, but the warlock quickly magicked him back to his side. “You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”

And that was how Arthur ended up sitting on his throne, bored out of his mind and unwilling to be civil or sociable when he could have spent the entire evening snuggled inside Merlin. He could have been in bed by now, having Merlin moaning his name underneath him, but instead Arthur watched as the guest and court mingled and danced. The instrumentalists bobbed their heads in tune to their upbeat song.

Despite refusing to speak to anyone besides Morgana, and Merlin, and occasionally Gwen when she could spare a moment from dancing; he had learned quite a bit about their guests. The fact that although they had a vast amount of farmlands, they had little people to work in them. Which came as a shock to Arthur because he had learned earlier on that Le Lubrique consisted of mostly sorcerers.

Le Lubrique’s queen was the tall woman with a voice that made Arthur’s ears bleed. Her lady in waiting seemed to be a distant relative from their shared trait of high cheekbones, drowning brown eyes, and dark hair. The two were glued at the hip, her lady in waiting obsessively trailing behind her like a newborn duckling wherever they went. They were both strong magic users if Merlin’s gushing was anything to go by. And also very beautiful with fancy perfume that complimented each other so nicely that they smelt like heaven, from Merlin’s words of course, not his. If Arthur didn’t know any better, he would think Merlin fancied them; the queen and her lady in waiting.

Even when the queen was dancing with a number of council members, the servant would be right next to her. It was quite amusing to watch them struggle to sway in time with the music. Arthur had already made bets with Gwen on the number of times party guests would refuse dances with the pair because they refused to separate. So far Arthur was winning.

That was until the queen smugly asked Merlin for a dance. Her lady in waiting immediately stepped away like someone had called for her assistance, leaving the queen alone with Merlin. Much to Arthur’s disappointment, Merlin happily accepted the dance. He took the queen’s hand and off they went, twirling around as if they were the only ones in the room. His hands on her shoulder and waist, her hands virtually tearing his clothes from his chest.

The way the queen of Le Lubrique looked at Merlin made a sick feeling build up from the pit of Arthur’s stomach. She was undressing him with her eyes, the brown in her gaze turning an almost pitch black from lust. The woman said something that made Merlin taken aback, something about dragons and druids, but it was hard to hear from the chatter of the room. For all Arthur knew, it could have very well been a spell.

Merlin recovered quickly with a grin and laugh that had Arthur’s heart skipping a beat. Then the two of them had the audacity to continue dancing as if nothing had happened, the queen still shamelessly pulling at Merlin’s fine clothes that only Arthur was allowed to rip away.

Arthur didn’t know why Merlin didn’t stop the queen when she pulled his handkerchief from his neck. The king was almost killed for even playing with Merlin’s handkerchief and now this woman was doing the same without losing an arm and a leg? Completely unfair. That was proof in itself, she had casted a spell on Merlin.

“Merlin,” Arthur called out to his husband sternly only to be ignored once more. “Merlin,” Arthur stepped away from his throne, making his way towards his husband and the queen.

“I think you should go to bed before things get ugly,” Morgana gently warned Gwen, gesturing towards Arthur’s outburst. “It could either go well or we’ll die of secondhand embarrassment.”

“Thank you for your concern, my love,” Gwen replied with a smirk, “But I want to see how this unfolds.”

Morgana laughed at that, glancing between Arthur and Merlin. “Suit yourself.”

The two high ladies watched as Arthur pulled Merlin away from the queen of Le Lubrique, dragging him away from the woman as she stared on in horror. To Gwen's and Morgana’s surprise, the queen tried to pull Merlin back into her arms. Merlin seemed to be in a daze throughout the whole skirmish. His eyes glazed over, even from afar.

“Should we step in?” Gwen asked with concern, ready to intervene.

“Arthur can handle it, probably.”

The queen called her lady in waiting to help her. Three heads tugged at poor Merlin like he was flax rope at a kingdom fair. The lady in waiting tried to block Arthur from getting a good grip on Merlin while the queen tried to take more of Merlin’s clothes off. A crowd was forming and Morgana distinctively noticed coins being passed around in bets.

“Are you sure, my love?”

“Oh, It's just getting good,” Morgana grinned like a Cheshire cat. “How much are you willing to bet, my beloved?”

Finally, as the crowd began cheering, Arthur twisted out of the lady in waiting’s grip and grabbed hold of Merlin’s waist. The king lifted the warlock up in a bridal carry and turned on his heel for his throne, the crowd parting in heckles and laughs. Arthur blatantly ignored them, sitting down on his throne with Merlin in his lap. Unfortunately, he was unable to retrieve Merlin’s handkerchief, a matter he will surely not hear the end of for quite some time. But between a measly piece of fabric and Merlin’s life, Arthur would choose Merlin time and time again, his own life be damned.

Taking a moment to throw a sneer at Gwen and Morgana who were snickering, Arthur tried to shake Merlin out of the haze. “Are you alright, Merlin?” He stroked Merlin’s arms gently, trying to bring him back to the present. His blue gray eyes were a stormy glaze, seemingly out of it. It made an ugly feeling swirl around in Arthur’s head, the fact that some queen had touched his Merlin in such a way made Arthur sick.

Merlin shuddered in Arthur’s hold, looking down at himself and then at the ballroom floor where others had returned to dancing. Confusion crossed his face, “Of course, I’m alright,” he furrowed his eyebrows, “How did I get here?” Merlin rubbed at his temple, trying to soothe the ache that had formed there.

“Arthur carried you like the jealous brute he is,” Morgana explained, passing Gwen a handful of coins.

“Jealous brute?” Merlin questioned, looking at the trio for a real explanation.

Arthur was about to defend himself when a member of Le Lubrique’s court approached them. “Haha, I couldn’t help but notice the spectacle that you put on there, sire,” the man addressed Merlin.

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow.”

The man laughed again, mirth in his eyes. “I guess you wouldn’t,” he said vaguely, “The queen does have a way with words.”

“What do you mean by that?” Arthur butted in, holding Merlin a tad too tight. Merlin squirmed in Arthur’s lap but Arthur seemed to hardly notice.

“Well, you are a warlock, aren’t you, sire?” the man addressed Merlin once more. Merlin nodded despite himself. “A warlock as well as a dragonlord under the queen’s attention is bound to feel the efforts of her magic. And her special attention for that matter, hahaha.”

“Sorry,” Merlin began, more confused than before. “What do you mean by that expactly?”

“Our queen is a lovely dragon tamer. Her family is the last of their kind. Although taming a dragon is much easier when you have someone who can speak to the creatures,” the man laughed as if telling a joke only he knew the punchline to and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Least to say, the rest of the night Arthur didn’t let Merlin out of his sight. He had no idea what a dragon tamer was and Merlin seemed as lost as he was, but he wasn’t taking any chances. No one was going to “tame” his lover. Whatever that meant. Morgana and Gwen could laugh and call him jealous all they want, Arthur only had Merlin’s best interest at heart.

“I doubt having me be a lap warmer is in my best interest.”

-----

It had been weeks and Arthur naively thought they were done interacting with the kingdom of Le Lubrique. He had hoped to be finished with the rising kingdom, to leave them alone as long as they left him be.

He was rarely fortunate these days. Never even.

Apparently, Merlin was not deterred by almost being kidnapped by the queen and her lady in waiting. Merlin even said he enjoyed their company and their attention to his every breathing word. Arthur loved the man, but sometimes he could be quite an idiot.

Merlin, without Arthur’s knowledge, had invited a member of Le Lubrique’s court to stay at the castle. Who else to volunteer to come to Camelot but the queen’s lady in waiting. She was only supposed to be in the kingdom for a couple of weeks, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. That couple of weeks turned into a couple of months and eventually the woman practically lived there. She had made herself at home on day one, much to Arthur’s dismay. He couldn’t really kick her out without making a bad impression towards her kingdom, despite what her queen had already done.

He was a king. Much to his reluctance, he had to act like it. And that meant acting like you liked people that you hated to the core.

“And these are our forests,” Arthur gestured to the thick wall of trees that signified the beginning of the woods. “I typically take neighboring kings hunting here. If you’re interested, we can go if you’d like.”

Sylvy, the lady in waiting, sat on her horse with her head held high. For someone with a position like her’s, she acted like she was queen herself. Arthur had spent the whole day trying to show her around for the utmost time. She was never satisfied with what he showed her, as if she were looking for a break in the walls of the kingdom.

Every morning she demanded to be taken around on a tour and every afternoon she was left with a deep frown on her face. Nothing made her happy it seemed, and Arthur had truly tried to make her feel at the very least, welcomed. It was just so difficult to do so with the knowledge of what she had done to Merlin. Had enchanted him, put him in a daze of some sort.

If Camelot still had the ban on magic, she would’ve been dead the moment she laid a hand on Merlin. On the crown’s orders, she would have been hung or burned, some form of public execution. Her dark hair would go up in flames as the fire burned higher and higher, her head would hang low as the bucket was kicked out underneath her. Arthur was still considering having her prisoned for what she did and simply explained to her queen that there had been a freak accident. If he were a lesser man, a lesser king, he would’ve done so and let it be a warning.

“I despise hunting as a sport, it’s just mindlessly cruel,” she snarled, her lips curling as a show of disdain. She held the reins to her horse like a vice, afraid that she’d be ripped from the saddle and forced to participate in such barbaric practices. At least, that was what Arthur thought was swimming through her mind.

“Yes, yes, but some like the adrenaline rush of a good hunt,” Arthur explained without real passion, merely a form of continuing the dry conversation. Sylvy had woken him up so early that morning he barely had a chance to give Merlin a goodbye kiss. “Some have to do it to survive.”

“There are other ways to live,” Sylvy began, urging her horse to turn by towards the main part of the kingdom, seeing as they were on the outskirts. “Le Lubrique for one replies solely on farmlands. We have no need for meat or the slaughtering of innocent animals. Everyone can live without such a horrible act; people and sorcerers alike. Meat is simply murder.”

Arthur half heartedly nodded, trailing behind her while trying not to fall off his horse. “I can’t argue with you there.” He didn’t want to argue with about anything her to be truthful, he had had enough of that already.

They traveled at a moderate trot in silence before she spoke up again. “Why haven't you invited me to a council meeting? I’ve been here for ages. Surely you have these sorts of things at least once a month.” She tried to act nonchalantly, but Arthur could see right through her. “I mean, there must be all sorts of things to discuss. An heir to the throne for one, seeing as neither you nor king Merlin can bear children.”

“We just haven’t had any council meetings, nothing interesting to report that couldn’t be done with a quill and parchment is all,” Arthur lied with a fake smile she could not see. “And an heir doesn’t need to be of blood. They just need to be taught how to properly command a kingdom like a fair and just ruler. To know what’s best for a kingdom, who to trust and who to leave behind in the woods.”

A look of abhorrence lingered on Sylvy’s face at Arthur’s words, bothered that he would even say such a thing. But Arthur was right, it didn’t matter if his heir was not his child as long as they were just and fair to all that passed them. Arthur could only imagine what Le Lubrique was like if all their subjects thought the same way Sylvy did. It must be all out war for them if a bastard appeared in court one day; though in reality royal bastards were a dime a dozen.

Sylvy went quiet for a moment, calculating her words while mulling over what Arthur had said. “With a kingdom as large as yours, surely there’s action all around? Suitable women all around. Something worthwhile must have happened during my stay,” her voice took on a tone that Arthur didn’t like, a light flush painting her cheeks like some teenage girl with a crush, “What about king Merlin?”

“What about my husband?”

“What has he been up to?” Sylvy asked indifferently, trying to hide her curiosity from Arthur. If only she would try to hide that damn blush. Merlin was physically attractive, Arthur knew this as an undeniable fact, but to be so unabashed while in front of the man’s husband? What was he? The first king of Camelot reduced to chop liver. Unbelievable!

“Well, he’s the second king of Camelot. A king’s job is never done. There is always more work than one man can handle. I should know, I used to be the one doing all the work.”

They reached town just as Sylvy took on an accusatory tone, “Then what are you doing here?”

Arthur resisted the urge to strangle her in front of so many people. His fists clenched around his reins so hard his knuckles turned ivory. “I’m showing you around, just as you had requested,” Arthur gritted through his teeth, trying so very hard not to glare at her.

“And here I was, hoping to attend a meeting with the second king.”

“Really now?” Arthur could feel the mare under him shuffle on her hooves at his fury. “You know what? There might be one later today.” What he had planned was so unbelievably petty and a tad childish, but at this point, he didn’t give a damn. Sylvy was getting on his last nerve. “I’ll have a servant call you when it’s time. For now, why don’t you explore our lovely town by yourself? Walk around without a king hovering over you and all. That way, I could get back to doing my job.”

Sylvy brightened up in spite of Arthur’s words. A smile was forming on her face, her high cheekbones pushed up even farther. Her brown eyes crinkled at the notion that she’ll be able to see Merlin. “I can’t wait,” she said, unsaddling and handing the reins to her horse to Arthur. “I must get ready,” she said to herself loud enough for Arthur to hear.

“Take all the time you need.”

Arthur would regret those words later that night when he sat among his advisers. Sylvy, their honored guest was over half an hour late and the others were beginning to feel on edge. Many of them were not planned for a meeting so soon after the one they had earlier that week. It was an unprompted get together for the lady in waiting’s sake, Arthur had explained to them.

On days like these Arthur was glad he was king and that there’d be grave consequences if he were murdered by one of his advisers. They would be in the right to do so, kill him that is; but he was hoping to live long enough to raise a couple of children with Merlin.

“Why are we doing this, Arthur?” Merlin asked, hiding a yawn with his hand. While Arthur was riding around the kingdom with Le Lubrique’s queen’s lady in waiting, Merlin was left to run the kingdom by himself. The haunted task of commanding and keeping an eye on so many people was taking its toll on the sorcerer. Merlin hadn’t properly slept in days, too busy keeping the kingdom in one piece.

“Sylvy wanted to be present for a council meeting. As a member of Le Lubrique’s court, we have to answer to her call until her stay is up.” Merlin gave him a look that called Arthur out on his poorly constructed plan. “And I may or may not want her to know that you’re taken.”

Merlin rolled his eyes along with most of the present court. They should all be used to Arthur’s antics at this point. What were they expecting? An honest to god meeting to discuss important topics with their visitor from foreign lands? Never. A fake meeting just so Arthur could flaunt the fact that Merlin loved him and not some conceited queen and her lady in waiting? That was more like it.

“Sometimes I can’t believe I asked you to marry me,” Merlin yawned again, giving Arthur a tired look in more ways than one.

“Feels just like a dream, doesn’t it?”

“More like a nightmare.”

“You love me,” Arthur opened up his arms so Merlin could take his place on the king’s lap. Merlin shook his head at the gesture, so incredibly done with Arthur. “Come on, Merlin. You know you like it here.” He teasingly patted his lap. “You can rest until our guest arrives.”

“Fine,” Merlin said begrudgingly after a moment of hesitation, his mind clouded by the want for sleep. “But you better wake me up when she comes.”

“Of course,” Arthur assured, inviting Merlin over once more. This time Merlin made himself home on Arthur’s lap, his head going to rest on Arthur���s chest. He curled in Arthur’s lap like second nature, having done this so many times over the years. Arthur wrapped his arms around the younger man, making sure he was supported and comfortable. Merlin fit perfectly nonetheless. Within moments, a soft snoring sound could be heard from the man on Arthur’s lap, content in where he sat. The second king finally got the rest he deserved. “I wouldn’t wake you for the world,” Arthur whispered, rubbing soothing circles on Merlin’s arm and leg.

Another half an hour passed achingly slowly without the esteemed lady in waiting’s presence. Arthur was about to call off the whole thing and make his way to his bedchamber when at last, the doors to the room opened to reveal Sylvy. She was no longer dressed in her usual servant attire with its cream apron and blue gray dress. Instead she had ransacked the queen’s wardrobe, wearing something befitting a ball.

The dress was elegant and detailed with silk and satin; a deep shade of bourbon that brought out her brown eyes. Her hand was even done up in cascading dark curls that perfectly fell from the knot atop her head. A glittering wine hair piece sat nestled against her hair, matching perfectly with the studs in her ears. She was beautiful even without the time spent enhancing what was already there, but now she stood ready to rule a kingdom.

Sylvy took her seat across from where Merlin would have sat. “Where is king Merlin?” she asked, not noticing that the man in question was currently sleeping on Arthur’s lap.

“I’m sorry for how unprepared we were, but I can relate to your troubles of not having enough hands to run a kingdom. My husband had taken the task of ruling all alone while I tended to your needs.” Arthur pressed a kiss to Merlin’s hair when he stirred in his sleep, continuing on his over sweetened words. “He’s beyond exhausted, but still wanted to take part in our meeting. Please understand that he really did try his best to stay awake.”

The emotions that crossed Sylvy’s face came in a blur; she was unreadable. But one thing was for sure, Arthur had won this small battle. He had shoved Merlin’s unquestionable favor for him in the lady in waiting’s face. Merlin was his and his alone. For good measure Arthur pressed a deep kiss onto Merlin’s lips, the sorcerer smiling in his sleep.

His advisers on the other hand felt cheated. If the death glares shot his way were anything to go by. Though there was one from Sylvy as well. A lot of people wanted him dead at the moment. But he was perfectly happy. They could string him up after the meeting for all he cared, the unintelligible look on Sylvy’s face was worth it. She was utterly speechless.

“I’m ever so sorry we were late to start, but would you like to commence this meeting?” Arthur asked like a gentleman with a cocky grin, making sure to stare right at Le Lubrique’s envoy.

-----

When Sylvy left Arthur rejoiced. She was finally out of his hair. Things could go back to normal and he could go back to spending his free time with Merlin instead of on horseback through a bare orchard. No matter how many times Arthur explained to Sylvy that their crops were not aided by magic like Le Lubrique’s, Sylvy insisted on seeing their “mortal” development.

Everything was put back into its rightful place. He couldn’t wait to put everything about Le Lubrique behind him and move on.

He was back on the throne with Merlin, leading the kingdom just as they were before the whole ordeal with Le Lubrique. Their advisers especially liked the fact that Arthur was back with Merlin; it meant less work for them. The moment that Sylvy left their grounds, Camelot’s advisers piled parchment after novel after demands on his table.

Those selfish bastards.

The so-called requests were so thick that Merlin didn’t even make a sarcastic comment comparing it to Arthur’s ass, and, or his thick skull; the warlock simply went to work. If Arthur himself wasn’t already terrified of the workload, he would have shocked himself to the grave at Merlin’s willingness to submit to their advisers. The two kings of Camelot knew when they met their match.

What felt like weeks passed where Arthur and Merlin did nothing but what their advisers ordered. They were slaves to their own court. The two didn’t leave their room for anything, not food, not training, not even a breath of fresh air. Their knights would occasionally knock on their door to make sure they were both still alive, but once the knights of the round table had been turned down a couple dozen times, they stopped caring. Merlin and Arthur shut off the world. They were practically locked in there, all because of their own doing.

Well, mostly Merlin’s doing. He was the one who invited the envoy over and wanted to make peace with the new kingdom. Arthur had nothing to do with that prolonged visit from the devil, he was only paying the price. His hands ached like it had been shorn off at the wrists, his back screaming for him to rest. He didn’t remember the last time he touched his bed, the neatly tucked in linens calling him to slumber. But he couldn’t, neither of them could until their work was done. Their kingdom depended on it and their kingdom came first, Arthur and Merlin’s comfort second. They both knew what they had signed up for when they decided to wed.

“A-Arthur,” Merlin groaned late one night, the sun mere minutes from the horizon.

Arthur immediately looked up from his book, putting his full attention on Merlin who was on the other side of the room. Neither of them had talked in days besides the few grunts they exchanged while passing over important text. The fact that Merlin was straining his voice now meant something serious was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur coughed, his throat parched and dry as a desert.

“I-I-” Merlin began, rubbing harshly at his hurt eyes, “I think that’s the last one.” The sorcerer signed one more parchment with a flick of his wrist, setting it aside to dry along with the rest.

And the thing was, Merlin was right. There was no more work to go through, to tirelessly read; everything was finally done. “I’m so tired I don’t think I can see straight, b-but that was it!”

“What?”

“We’re finished, you clophole," Merlin smiled, taking Arthur’s breath away.

Arthur leapt out of his seat, pure joy masking the aches and pains as he rushed over to Merlin’s side. The king pulled the sorcerer from his chair, lifting the man into the air, Arthur kissed Merlin like it was their wedding day. Deep and full of all the longing he had for the man, grasping at him as if he could protect Merlin from the world.

He only pulled back for air, inhaling lungfuls before pressing his lips back against Merlin’s. Arthur missed his husband so damn much despite having worked across the room for each other. He hadn’t touched the other man in ages, it was heaven to feel his heartbeat beneath his pained fingers. To kiss down Merlin’s pale neck and mark him until the whole castle knew exactly what they had been up to. To pull at Merlin’s clothes, ripping his tunic right off of his chest, the buttons flying across the room.

“Arthur,” Merlin moaned, gently pushing Arthur back so he could speak. “I liked that shirt.”

Arthur thumbed at Merlin’s trousers, holding his hips tight enough to leave marks that Merlin would feel for days to come. “I’ll get you a new one.”

“But my mother made me that one,” Merlin complained, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck. His strong hand went to cup Arthur’s cheek, making the king look at him. Forcing the king to calm down and evaluate things. “We have to get something to eat too, dear,” Merlin told Arthur in a loving tone. “We’re both too exhausted for this.”

“I’m never too tired for you,” Arthur bit back, leaning into Merlin’s hand. He may have been putting his weight on Merlin’s desk so as to not fall over, but Merlin didn’t need to know that. Arthur could most definitely ravage Merlin while on the brink of death.

Merlin pulled Arthur close to kiss him softly, “If we go to bed now, then we can spend all of next day together,” Merlin tried to bargain, eyes teary from lack of any sort of sleep. “You’re going to hurt yourself, you ass,” he chuckled with a small smile that made his eyes crinkle with mirth.

“I don’t want to,” Arthur whined, “I’ve worked for weeks on end. Now I want my reward for behaving.” Arthur sat back on Merlin’s desk, pulling the man on top of him. The desk groaned under their combined weight, but Arthur hardly cared when he had Merlin on his lap and straddling his thighs. “You’re all I want.” He embraced Merlin, the warlock half naked and moaning as Arthur kissed along his arm. His mouth sucked at Merlin’s skin, teeth leaving markings on pale skin claiming Merlin as his. Arthur worshiped Merlin until his stormy eyes were hazy with unabated lust.

“Just you….”

Arthur slumped forward, out like a dying candle before he even knew it. Merlin had to stifle a laugh, though he doubted anything would wake Arthur then. The king was out cold, snoring like there was no tomorrow. Too bad Merlin had to carry his fat ass over to their bed. The warlock was beginning to rethink their plans for tomorrow. Sometimes he wished Arthur wasn’t such a stubborn ass and listened to him. It would save them both the trouble, Merlin was right most of the time after all.

“Get some rest, you oaf,” Merlin said to the asleep man, tucking him into their bed. Arthur’s blonde hair was like a halo against their stark white pillow, the dark bags underneath his eyes a contrast with the paleness of his skin. His old tunic was a dull red from overuse, the buttons holding onto the fabric for dear life. Merlin stripped Arthur of his boats and stuffy tunic leaving both men in their trousers. A much better way to sleep if anyone asked.

“Good night, Arthur,” Merlin whispered into Arthur’s ear, snuggling up against the king. He threw the blankets over himself and laid on Arthur’s chest. The pull of sleep had Merlin out just as quickly, the moment he allowed his breath to even out, there was nothing that would stop him from getting the well earned sleep that he so needed.

“Rest well, Merlin,” Arthur answered in a murmur, pulling Merlin in close. “Sweet dreams, you idiot.”

-----

“Arthur, calm down and try to see reason!” Merlin all but yelled at the king without his crown. The man in question was in his knight gear, armor and chainmail strapped tightly to his body for protection. His sword hung to his side, within reach at all times. Arthur could feel something ominous looming on the horizon, it was Merlin who was still seeing the world with rose colored glasses.

“I tried to see reason. I tried to play nice. And this is what I get in return,” Arthur gestured to the pile of charred wood on the round table. Wood that was once the homes of innocent farmers who played no part in the altercations of royals. People that Arthur was supposed to protect, their livelihoods and homes included. “We were nothing but good to them and this is what happened. Dozens of houses burned to nothing overnight!”

“We have to act now, Merlin.”

“Going in there with your swords raised in offence isn’t going to do anything but start an all out war,” Merlin insisted, urging Arthur to reel himself in, to not lash out at the closest thing. If it were anyone else Merlin would have already smacked them over the head for raising their voice at him. Unfortunately, Merlin was sleeping with the man and didn’t want to be smothered in his sleep. “That’s what Le Lubrique wants; a reason to fight. We can’t give them that.”

“Then what exactly do you expect us to do, Merlin?” Gwen piped in across the table from Merlin. Morgana stood to her side, eyes darting between all the speakers in a frenzy. “They attacked first. It’s only right that we return what they have given us.” Gwen picked up a piece of wood, charcoal rubbing off on her hands as she turned it over. “Arthur is right, we just can’t sit idle.”

Merlin stared at Gwen, hoping that she would be on his side on this. She solemnly shook her head, denying her friend’s offer. Gwen wanted to go on the offence just as much as Arthur, her friends were harmed when Le Lubrique’s soldiers set fire to a section of the kingdom. They burned down acres of farmland, dozens of homes with children and elderly. Luckily, nobody was killed in the process but many were harmed. Gwen wanted vengeance for them. She was a loyal ruler, loyal to her people.

“And we won’t,” Merlin bargained, “We won’t let them gain any more than they already have. No one here knows exactly what they want from us, but we do know that they’re willing to play dirty to get it,” he went on, talking with his hands to release some of the tension. “Let me be a spy and-”

“Absolutely not.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“No,” Arthur said firmly, daring Merlin to argue. “You stay right here with me. I will not have you risking your life for measly information.”

“It's not measly information, Arthur. It could be the difference between thousands dead and a simple treaty. We don’t know what Le Lubrique wants, but if we do, we could try to bargain with them. No blood needs to be shed,” Merlin tried, laying a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, forcing the man to look at him. “The queen wants me. She made that very clear. She won’t hurt me if she thinks I’m on her side.”

Arthur stared at Merlin, watching the sorcerer for any sign of hesitation. When he saw nothing of the sort Arthur sat down in his chair with a huff. Merlin really wanted to do this. Spy work is equal to a as rushing in with their flag flying and swords shining; both could end with Merlin buried six feet under. Even the implication had Arthur feeling like hell.

“How am I supposed to get anything done with you gone?” Arthur questioned genuinely, much to the snickers of the knights and ladies. “I can’t function without you,” this was whispered softly to Merlin, just for Merlin.

The anger and stress dissipated from Merlin’s eyes, his shoulders slacked in resignation. Realization slowly but surely dawned on the sorcerer. Arthur was simply afraid. The first king of Camelot was worried, on the brink of tears from it if anyone looked close enough. Merlin rolled his eyes, even after all these years Arthur was still undoubtedly the same.

Without a care for the other people in the room, Merlin sat down on Arthur’s lap, hands on the other’s chest to stabilize himself. Merlin leaned in close and pressed a kiss to Arthur’s lips, cradling his jaw like it was something breakable. “Everything will be alright, Arthur. I can protect myself just fine,” Merlin reassured in a careful voice, stroking Arthur’s cheek. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“I always feel empty without you, Merlin." Arthur pulled Merlin in for another kiss, this one deeper than the last. The two only pulled away for air and even then they went back for more. They couldn’t have enough of the other, constantly needing to feel the other person. A give and take only the other could provide. “What am I supposed to do if you don’t return?” Arthur asked quietly, resting his forehead on Merlin’s. “How am I supposed to live?”

“I promise to you, you’ll never have to find out. You’re stuck with me," Merlin smirked, running his fingers through Arthur’s hair. "Till death do us part, darling.”

Arthur wished he could believe Merlin’s promise. He swore on his mother’s grave that if Merlin fulfilled his promise that he’ll listen to everything Merlin has to say. He’ll never question Merlin again, never talk back to the warlock, shove his stubbornness down and never speak of it again. Arthur would have done anything for Merlin, only the man asked.

Not a month later Arthur received news in the form of a messenger. Le Lubrique had declared war on any who dared try to take the last living dragonlord from them. Merlin was theirs, they stated, the dragonlord belonged to dragon tamers. The two are vital for the continuation of dragons in the old religion. One to gain their trust, the other to keep the creatures in chains where they belong. Any and all who tried to take away their dragonlord would be faced with lethal consequences.

At that Arthur sent the messenger to be put into the stocks. Lethal consequences. Arthur will show them just how deadly he could be. Le Lubrique will pay, a month without Merlin was torture but if they dared to lay a hand on Merlin they would all burn. Gwen was absolutely right, Arthur required vengeance, he wanted them all to feel just what angering Camelot will do, what angering him will do.

And after making such a claim over Merlin’s life, Arthur will show them no mercy. Le Lubrique had declared war on Camelot and Arthur would answer tenfold.

------

It took around two weeks for Arthur to prepare for battle against a kingdom full of sorcerers. Another week was spent traveling with his soldiers over land and sea. Through it all he couldn’t help but be eaten alive by the nagging feeling that he was too late. That he would arrive only to find ash; bones if he was lucky. Day and night he was slowly being killed by the fact that he could very well be walking into his husband’s grave.

“He’s going to be okay,” Morgana reassured him one day as he leaned against the railing of their ship. They were perhaps an hour if not less from shore and Arthur hadn’t slept a wink. He could feel exhaustion mixing with the worry brewing in his mind, ready to overflow at a single inconvenience. His sword was once again at his side, the memory making everything so much worse. “Merlin will be teasing you for worrying so much if he were here.”

“But he isn’t, is he, Morgana?” Arthur said more harshly than he intended. “He could already be dead for all we know.” And it would be all Arthur’s fault, though he kept that notion to himself. By the look on Morgana’s face, she must have been thinking the same thing.

“It's not your fault, Arthur. Merlin chose to go on his own free will.”

“But I was the one who allowed it,” Arthur bit back, standing straight on his feet. “I sent him to his death.”

“You don’t know that,” Morgana crossed her arms. She should be used to Arthur’s self destructive behavior but even this was getting too much for her. “If what that messenger said was true, Merlin’s probably being pampered to death.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to have said because Arthur’s despair did not lighten. It seemed to have gotten worse. “What if he likes it better with Le Lubrique’s court? I’m no warlock, I can’t compete with their magic!”

“Arthur, you’re overthinking this,” Morgana was done with Arthur’s antics. She was ready to gag him and throw him in the ship’s makeshift prison cell until they had properly docked. “Merlin will run right into your arms the moment he sees you. I’m willing to bet on it, just you wait and see. Merlin loves-”

At Morgana’s silence, Arthur looked over to the direction of her gaze. Their ship was making speed but Arthur suddenly wished they had stopped right where they were and sink. The sight took Arthur’s breath away, making his blood go cold. Le Lubrique was burning and it looked like it had been burning for a very long time. There was no shoreside to speak of, just endless flickering flames. Where the castle should have been standing tall like a beacon was nothing but flames, ruble, and ash.

“Merlin!” Arthur yelled even though his voice would not carry that far. “Merlin!” he called again, his heart sinking to his stomach. He wanted to drown at sea. He never wanted to reach the shore, to be lost in the ocean and never have to face what he already knew was there. The absence of what he knew should’ve been. “Merlin!” he shouted even though it was futile.

“Arthur, please!” Morgana struggled to pull him back from the side, afraid he’ll jump and swim the rest of the way himself. Or worse. “Just an hour, please. That’s all you have to wait for. You- you don’t know for sure.” Even Morgana was not so sure of her words, the picture in front of them was hard to paint as lies.

“I sent him to his death….” Arthur whimpered, “I killed him. I killed my husband.” The king sank to his knees, kneeling next to Morgana. The woman could barely hide the tears in her eyes at the sight. Everything she wanted to say, every reassurance died on her tongue. Whatever she said could very well be a lie and nothing more.

“We will make them pay, Arthur. We will make them pay for what they’ve done,” Morgana decided instead, pulling Arthur to his feet. “They won’t get away with this,” she stated sternly, much like their father when he had set his mind to something.

Less than an hour passed where the tension was so thick, one could slice through it with an unsharpened sword. All on board prepared for battle, despite the fact that the fires never stopped burning. Regardless of the fact that they might be too late to be of much good. The fighting had already begun long before they docked, a civil war where the same flag was flying on opposite sides.

“Go search for what is left, we’ll handle everything else,” Gwen informed Arthur when they stepped foot on the raging battlefield. She was dressed in chainmail armor just like everyone else, Camelot’s colors making her blend in with the searing fires. Her helmet was covering most of her face, giving her the appearance of a frightening soldier ready to take lives at a moment's notice. If Arthur was in a better mood, he would have been sorry for the folks who would come face to face with Gwen, the quick footed soldier instead of Gwen, the gentle, kind hearted high lady. At the moment he was on the verge of breaking and was ever so glad that Gwen was as cut throat as she was.

“Thank you,” Arthur told her from the bottom of his heart, “We should have listened to you from the start.”

“You followed your husband’s request, I can’t fault you for that.” She pulled Arthur in for a hug before sending him off. “Go find our king.”

Gwen didn’t have to tell Arthur twice, he was off before she finished speaking. The only thing is his mind was finding and holding Merlin. Nothing else mattered. Not the war thriving around him, swords clashing, arrows flying, Camelot’s red against the duality of Le Lubrique’s purples; nothing. The sorcerer was all that was worth living for and Arthur had a guess as to where Merlin would be.

The castle with Le Lubrique’s flag flapping against the blistering wind was as good as any place to start. Arthur climbed the hill that the palace stood on with lead in his stomach. It felt like every step he took he was merely walking into a trap. The castle should not still be in one piece, the battles around the structure should have made it no more than debris. However, it still stood on weak support.

Going against the nagging voice in the back of his head Arthur called out for his husband, “Merlin!” He walked closer to what would have been the courtyard. Around the perimeter were burning shrubbery that must have been a sight to behold at one point in time. Now there were nothing more than flares and the source of black smoke. The cobblestone center was stained with a drying red that Arthur did not want to face the source of. “Merlin!” Arthur sounded out in the courtyard.

“Arthur,” a hoarse voice groaned weakly. Arthur ran in the direction it came from, his sense of self preservation be damned. Merlin’s life could be on the line.

“Merlin, stay with me. Keep talking!”

“I-I’m over here,” Merlin hissed out helpfully, not informing Arthur where, “here” exactly was. Why did Arthur have to marry such a buffoon? Sure, no one could compare to Merlin, but at the very least he could have courted a smarter man.

“I’m coming, just stay where you are,” Arthur said hastily, rushing through the crumbling courtyard. “Don’t you dare die on me, I’ll kill you myself if you do!” he threatened, searching every nook and cranny for the warlock.

“That’s my line, you ass,” Merlin moaned in complaint, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. “Come up with your own catchphrases.”

Sometimes Arthur couldn’t believe his choice in a partner. Merlin was really making banter with him while possibly on the brink of death. He was definitely going to kill Merlin for this. “Make me, you bastard,” Arthur cursed, rounding a sharp corner that fell apart as he passed it. His breath was taken away for the second time that day when he saw Merlin on the ground.

They were in what must have been a parlor, the stained glass windows shattered on the ground as a number of the fine furniture burned to cinder. Arthur could imagine the room as something beautiful if he were to be invited over for tea. Now he just saw it as a smoking mess, something that he was glad was going up in flames. Though, without him or Merlin in it would be nice.

“There you are!” Arthur exclaimed, rushing over and kneeling on the floor next to Merlin’s frame. The sorcerer was half naked with sharp nail marks littered across his pale skin. Merlin’s neck was a raring red as if a hand had been wrapped around his throat which didn’t let up until he passed out from the lack of air. His form was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and tears, his rib cage stuck out in unpleasant angles. It looked like he hadn’t been fed in days. The sight made Arthur furious, but Le Lubrique’s court could wait. Arthur had to get Merlin to safety first.

“Took you long enough, you oaf,” Merlin hissed through his teeth, his lips chapped from dehydration. The corner of his mouth was bleeding as if he had been back handed across the face. Arthur reached out a hand to touch it, to make sure Merlin was real and not just some illusion made by a sick sorcerer. “Stop that, it already hurts to talk,” Merlin coughed, his eyes hazy.

“What happened?” Arthur couldn’t help but ask, shrugging off his cape to throw over Merlin’s bare chest. It didn’t offer much coverage but it was protection against the flying embers. As a bonus it covered the markings that made Arthur’s skin crawl.

“I arrived under the guise of an envoy, just as we had planned. Everything seemed to be going fine, but they found out I was a spy early on. It was like they could read my mind, and I don’t doubt that they have the knowledge just for the spell,” Merlin explained, pulling Arthur’s cape close, the soft fabric offering a sense of shelter. “But they didn’t seem to care that I was there under ulterior motives. They were only glad to have me, mind and body,” Merlin shivered at the thought. “Le Lubrique’s queen wanted me to father her children.”

Merlin paused to let the thought sink in. He watched Arthur for his reaction. Arthur’s face twisted in a disgusted sneer, baring his teeth at the implication. The king clenched his fists until his nails dug deep enough into his palm to drag blood. Arthur wanted to feel the pain, something to ground him farther so he didn’t march off to kill someone who might already be dead.

“Le Lubrique wanted dragons as slaves, no king would be dumb enough to go to war with a kingdom with dragons on their side; no matter its size,” Merlin went on, his eyes glowing yellow at the notion. “They needed me as a stud.”

Arthur was repulsed at the notion that Le Lubrique would even conceive of such a thing. He must have looked ready to vomit because Merlin quickly added, “Le Lubrique’s queen even tried to make herself appealing to me when I denied her advances.” Arthur could only imagine what the woman did. Sylvy’s antics immediately came to mind. “She magicked her hair blonde and made her eyes your shade of blue.”

Arthur couldn’t help but darkly chuckle at that. Of all the ways to make Merlin fall for someone, blonde hair and blue eyes weren’t it. “Did she really think looking like me would get you to bed her?”

“No,” Merlin began again with a pained yelp that he tried to hide. “What she said was what made me comply.”

“What did she say?” Arthur growled, his earlier fury seeping back into his bloodstream. “What did that harlot say?”

“She threatened your life, Arthur. Your honor, your dignity, and reign as king. Everything,” Merlin got teary eyed at the memory. “The way she took her pleasure from me was painful, but it was nothing compared to the thought of what she said she would have done to you.”

Arthur was shaking with rage, his whole body trembled with the urge to tear Le Lubrique’s queen apart, limb by limb by his own bare hands. His hand hovered over his sword subconsciously. He wanted to kill her, needed to destroy her for what she’s done. For the fear she incited into Merlin. Arthur was bloodthirsty; he hoped that Gwen was just as demanding of blood.

“I wanted to kill her.” Merlin’s quivering voice brought Arthur back to the present. “Let me kill her, Arthur,” Merlin begged his husband, his lip beginning to bleed.

“Of course,” Arthur wiped Merlin’s tears away with his thumb, his hand caressing Merlin’s cheek gently. “Anything you want, I’ll give it to you in a heartbeat.”

“Now, Arthur. I want to kill her now.” Merlin tried to sit up but the cry of pain had him falling right back to where he was. “She deserves to suffer.” His eyes lit up in a gold light, trying to magic his way upright but failed and fell down once more. The warlock’s body was in a worse state than he appeared, he shook in a cold sweat like an infection induced fever.

When Merlin began coughing fistfuls of blood at the strain Arthur was forced to act quickly. The king straddled Merlin’s legs, sitting down on his lap to keep Merlin on the ground. “Shhh, I’m here, Merlin. I’m safe, I’m alive,” Arthur barricaded Merlin with his arms. “I’ll bring you her head, I swear.”

“Let me do it, Arthur. I can kill her myself,” Merlin barked, another fit of coughs had him squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’ll bring her to you, alive. You can do anything you want with her court,” Arthur tried a different approach, tears forming in his eyes at the sight of Merlin in this state. “You can make her pay for what she’s done, make her feel the same pain. But please, Merlin,” Arthur begged, stroking Merlin’s face as tears fell on the man’s face. “Stay with me. Keep talking.”

Merlin opened his eyes at Arthur’s request, pain painting them a disorientating blue. “It hurts, Arthur. She did so, so many horrible things,” Merlin admitted in the burning parlor room. He reached out angry scarred arms to wrap around Arthur, pulling the king flush against his chest. “Everything aches, it feels like I’m being burned alive.” Merlin had Arthur in a death grip, there was barely enough room for either of them to breathe. It felt like home.

“They will pay, this I swear,” Arthur made an oath, kissing Merlin to make it true. “By the end of this day their bodies will be put on display for all to see.” He kissed down Merlin’s neck, burying Le Lubrique’s queen’s markings with his own. “Do you want her kingdom as well, Merlin? Say the word and it's yours.”

“I want you. I want her gone. I want her kingdom. I want it all,” Merlin’s mind was spinning with searing fever, screaming pain, and the constant pleasure of Arthur licking at his throat. He squeezed Arthur’s neck with his shaking arms. “Give me everything.”

In a burning parlor of a dying country with a queen and court that abandoned it, the first king of Camelot made a vow to the second king; an apology and a promise. Everything the licking fire was eating, everything destroyed by its own queen; the country, and the sea that surrounded it. The never ending farmlands, the people that survived, and the bones that would be buried by ash of its own making. The entire kingdom; dead, dying, or thriving. All of it would be Merlin’s.

All of it is Merlin’s.

“My king shall have everything.”

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

Moments that highlight the dynamic between Gwaine and Arthur:

3x04: Arthur and Gwaine’s first interaction is Gwaine strolling up commenting on the pickle Arthur and Merlin have found themselves in and Arthur replying "You should get out of here while you have the chance," and Gwaine saying "you're probably right," taking a drink, and then decking a guy. What a first impression.

3x04: Gwaine charging the guy who pulled a knife on Arthur defenseless on the floor. Arthur is concerned for Gwaine. Gwaine is put on Arthur's horse for transport back to Camelot (he's like a sack of potatoes its very funny)

3x04: Arthur is grateful to Gwaine for saving his life and tells Gaius "he's to be given anything he needs"

3x04: As soon as he learns that the man who's life he saved was Prince Arthur, Gwaine’s reaction is an eye roll and "If I'd known who he was, I probably wouldn't have." And he is le doubtful that Arthur is a good man.

3x04: Arthur asks Merlin how Gwaine is

3x04: Arthur pissed about the bar tab that Gwaine amassed. The 4 dozen pickled eggs in particular piss him off.

3x04: "Arthur is a thoroughbred little braggat" Gwaine is outraged Arthur is making them clean the shoes for the entire army.

3x04: Arthur vouching for Gwaine with Uther "I can vouch that he has a noble heart" and asks he be shown clemency. Arthur insists that Gwaine is a good man.

3x04: Gwaine tells Merlin to look after Arthur who is in danger. Gwaine says about Arthur, "Maybe that one's worth dying for, eh?" :(

3x04: Gwaine saving Arthur’s life by entering the melee and slaying the imposter knights

3x04: Arthur laughing when he sees that Gwaine was the knight who saved him. "I should have known. No one fights like you do."

3x04: Arthur is disappointed over Uther being stubborn over banishing Gwaine from Camelot. Gwaine sees this and assures him he doesn't need to explain himself.

3x04: Gwaine agrees that Arthur is a noble man and is greatful he stood up for Gwaine.

3x08: Gwaine rolling his eyes at Arthur when they meet up

3x08: After Arthur pulls out the stone and a bunch of bugs spill out, Gwaine slaps Arthur on the back and tells him "Well go on then. Don't be such a princess" (the first use of princess!) And he reminds Arthur that is is his quest. Arthur makes eye contact with Gwaine and does that thing with his glove

3x08: Gwaine comments that maybe he will be able to go back to Camelot one day "When Camelot gets itself a half decent king" and Arthur is amused but it an exasperated begrudging way. "Be careful. He is my father."

3x08: As he rides away, Arthur tells Gwaine he will remember what he did and he gives a little wave

3x12: When Gwaine recognizes Arthur and Merlin in the pit he approaches and puts a hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur reacts with hostility until he recognizes Gwaine and asks what he's doing there. Arthur seems distantly amused and Gwaines answer "nothings changed there then" and Gwaine lightly smacks Arthur on the chest and Arthur doesnt seem upset by this.

3x12: the reveal of Gwaine as the champion is a golden moment

3x12: Arthur and Gwaine fighting. "Take it easy will you?" "Its gotta look real, hasn't it?" Gwaines face here is hilarious and it gets me every time. Arthur gets annoyed and starts righting more earnestly. And then they roll around on the ground sticking hands in each other's faces. Neither dumb ass had a plan.

3x12: as they are crawling away from the fire, there is a frame where Arthur has a hand on Gwaines lower back/ ass. Does this contribute to their dynamic? Probably not really, but I figured someone would appreciate this moment

3x12: Arthur being evasive on why they were there and Gwaine pushing to find out why

3x12: Gwaine goads Arthur about how he should tell Gwaine where the thing they are looking for is since Arthur couldn't kill him if he wanted to. Arthur raises to the challenge, pushing into him with his arm a bit as they walk "yeah? Try me" and Gwaine is amused. "I already did. Back in the arena. I had you bang to rights did I not?" (Gwaine you were on the bottom of that floor fight, just saying) and the two of them continue to bicker back and forth in the manner of two kids going "did not" "did so!" Over and over until Merlin cuts them off.

3x12: Gwaine sees Arthur struggling to open an door and pulls Arthur back by the arm "here let me" and kicks the door in.

3x13: Arthur is amused by Gwaines agreement to help him retake Camelot "I think we've no chance. But I wouldn't miss it for the world"

3x13: Arthur knights Gwaine (who lowkey looks like he has some internal conflict going on)

4x02: Arthur complaining about Gwaine’s constant chatter "You're quiet" "thats what happens after three days listening to Gwaine"

4x02: Arthur's reaction to Gwaine pissing off the bees

4x02: Gwaine arguing with Arthur about taking the cave tunnels

4x02: Arthur calling Gwaine a fool for killing the Wilddeoren as they hunt in packs

4x05: Gwaine along with the other knights going to Arthur to reiterate that they would gladly die for him.

4x06: Gwaine going with Arthur to look for Merlin and Arthur's reaction is to tell Gwen (who didn't want him to go alone) "you've condemned me to a day of mindless chatter"

4x06: Gwaine talking Arthurs ear off, talking up Merlin

4x12: Gwaine is surprised by Arthur agreeing to leave Camelot but he rolls with it.

5x01: Arthur is determined to find and rescue Gwaine and his other missing men. He will not leave them behind.

5x02: When Arthur and Merlin find Gwaine, Arthur comments "Trust you not to be doing any work" and Gwaine slaps Arthur on his armor saying its about time for a rescue.

5x02: Arthur supporting a still healing Gwaine as they run from Aithusa

5x05: Gwaine getting offended on Arthur's behalf by the disir's words and gets blasted back for his efforts.

5x06: Gwaine lightening the mood a bit when he also agrees to go to the dark tower saying he was built for that moment. Arthur smiles a bit

5x07: Gwaine promises Merlin he will stay close to Arthur and do what ever he had to to protect him

5x10: Arthur catching Gwaines helmet and instead of giving it back to Gwaine, who had his hand out and smiling politely, Arthur tosses it to Percival. Gwaine looks fed up.

5x13: Gwaine tells Morgana he would rather die than tell her where Arthur is.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Did You Know?

Prompt: the merlin fic you wrote with a crying arthur who didn't realize he had a hand in normalizing merlin to physical pain/punishment is HEARTBREAKING and i couldn't help but think while reading it that merlin may have just assumed that the knights and arthur //knew// visting knights were handsy w him and just didnt care, like he just thought it was normal and they would expect nothing less. anyway if u wanna write something that has that kind of idea/vibe i'd be delighted to read it! love u <3

Ahh yes more h/c here we go

Read on Ao3 Part 2

Warnings: visiting nobles and knights are dicks. implied/referenced rape/non-con and abuse NOTHING EXPLICIT

Pairings: merthur, can be platonic or romantic I don’t care

Word Count: 3031

 Merlin is…confused.

 He’s doing his job as a servant—not that he’s begrudging his position that much, destiny is destiny, after all—and putting up with all the things that servants are supposed to put up with.

The learning curve was very steep, don’t get him wrong. Coming from Ealdor, where the only authority figure he absolutely had to listen to was his mum, and straight into Camelot’s complex authority structure with rules and consequences and all the messy trappings of those horrid make-believes he and Will used to do when they were little boys. Hell, he ended his first full day in Camelot arrested, relying only on Gaius’s social powers in court to get him released. He’s not exactly a beacon of well-mannerisms.

 So if it took him a while to get used to the type of work Arthur was going to have him do, that’s fine! He’s never had to put armor on anyone before, let alone the Crown Prince, who expected him to do all that and then some. He’s never known how to clean shiny pieces of metal that just serve to attract more attention than they’re worth, they never had shiny pieces of metal other than coin. And he’s certainly never known how to dodge swords being swung at his head. Never.

 It wasn’t expected—no, it wasn’t, you prat—for him to be able to shrug on all these new responsibilities, even if he had been trained as a servant, because he’s never done them before. Thank the gods for Gwen, honestly, who was more than happy to make sure he at least knew how to hold a sword without cutting himself.

 “Here’s the next one,” she’d called, handing him the next training sword from the batch, “now, try again.”

 “This is the rag, this is the polish, and we just—ow!”

 “Try not to polish the edge of the blade, Merlin.”

 “I knew that,” he had muttered sheepishly, rubbing the cloth over the flat of the blade this time, “but thank you.”

 Gwen had rolled her eyes fondly. “Just keep trying, you’re doing great.”

 So he had just…done his best to learn what to do. Which would’ve been easier had he also not been learning how to act.

 ‘Yes, sire.’

 ‘No, sire.’

 ‘As you wish, sire.’

 ‘Sire’ this and ‘sire’ that and bloody hell, why is he not allowed to say anyone’s bloody name?

 Formalities have never really been Merlin’s strong suit, not that he’s ever really needed them. And now that he has to use them, he’s starting to regret not paying attention to his mum’s scoldings. Just a little bit. Not that much. It’s not entirely his fault, is it, that those lectures were so boring and there were things he could’ve been doing.

 But here…

 Here, if he doesn’t address someone the right way, he gets cuffed around the head. The first time it happened, his hand flew to his head in shock. It wasn’t a particularly hard slap—he’s had worse walking into the door by himself—but the fact that someone was allowed to hit him, was expected to hit him, and it was his own fault was…jarring.

 He learns his lesson about trying to hit back much quicker.

 He still slips up from time to time, even now, after so many years, but his reflexes have gotten a lot better. Goblets, combs, hunks of bread, boots, staffs, just about every object he can think of, he’s had thrown at his head. With Arthur, it’s fine, he can snipe back perfectly well on his own, and it’s not like he’s going anywhere. He just bites back enough to make it a little more bearable. And besides, Arthur hasn’t ever seriously hurt him, maybe because he’s always lauding about how strong he is and how weak Merlin. Doesn’t want to break him.

 And he can get away with it with some of the knights. The close ones, sure. Leon—well, he doesn’t try that much shite with Leon. Leon’s terrifying, not just because he’s one of the oldest knights and the longest-serving of Arthur’s inner circle, but because he knows things. Leon’s perception scares the hell out of Merlin, not in the least because he’s got so much to hide.

 Does he ever think Leon would seriously hurt him? No, but he might tell people who would.

 Percival is a big man. His arms are about the size of Merlin’s skull. He doesn’t want to get near that man’s bad side, even if he hasn’t found it yet.

 Elyan is sneaky. He’s got just enough say to be dangerous, not enough to be an obvious suspect. And he’s got Gwen on his side—or more specifically, Gwen’s got him on her side. Gwen would never hurt him, he knows, he trusts her too much.

 Lancelot is the only one he’s not afraid of, him and Gwaine. Mainly because he knows that they know.

 …look, you do what Merlin’s been doing for as long as he’s been doing it, you slip up. It happens.

 But Lancelot never looked at him differently. Never raised a hand to him to hurt him, always touched him gently, spoke softly, sparred with him in good faith. Even when he swings a spear at him in jest, it’s never too fast to actually bruise him if it connects.

 Gwaine slaps him on the shoulder, claps him on the back, hard enough to bruise sometimes, but he cares. He hides it well—well, sort of—and looks out for Merlin when Lancelot can’t. But he knows Gwaine has a breaking point, and he’s not super keen on looking for it.

 He can get away with it. A little. Not a lot.

 But only with them.

 With the other knights…

 One of the hardest things he had to learn was that no one cared.

 When a knight smacks him over the head with the flat of a dulled blade, it doesn’t matter that the sight of a blade swinging at his freezes terror in his throat, nor that the ring of the blade won’t go away for three hours. The others will just laugh and tell him to move his arse.

 When a knight knocks the equipment out of his hands and snarls at him to get moving, it doesn’t matter that it’s often accompanied by a boot to his ribs. He’ll always get elbowed in the exact same place later and they won’t care about his wince.

 When a knight decides that he’s had enough of Merlin just looking at him, he—

 The other thing that Merlin’s had to learn very, very quickly, is that it’s better him than the other servants.

 He has Gaius. Gaius will patch him up, no questions asked. And when he can’t go to Gaius, it’s not like he’ll be caught lurking suspiciously in his own quarters. And when he can’t do that, he has his magic.

 None of the others do.

 So he learns. He picks up the things he needs to know, puts his head down, and bears it.

 That’s what servants are supposed to do.

 So you can imagine that when the others look absolutely horrified as he explains to them that he knows how this works, he’s learned, he’s confused.

 “Come on, guys, it’s not like the other servants don’t know this.”

 “It’s funny,” Gwaine growls, his fist tightening on the table, “how you think that makes this any better.”

 Merlin rolls his eyes. “I’m not a gossip, Gwaine—“

 “That,” Elyan says, “is not true.”

 “—okay fine, I enjoy a bit of the servant’s gossip as well as anyone, but not about this!” He shakes his head. “It’s fine, they know about it, it’s not like anyone cares.”

 “See, Merlin,” Lancelot says quietly, “that’s where you’re wrong.”

 Merlin frowns. What are they talking about? Who’s noticed? Is he doing it wrong? What does he need to fix?

 See, his confusion only grows when he voices those concerns and the knights only seem to grow more upset.

 “I can’t believe this,” Gwaine mutters, turning away, “how long has this been happening, Merlin?”

 “Which part?”

 Gwaine is doing a remarkable impersonation of someone who is extremely constipated. “…all of it.”

 “I mean, it began as soon as I set foot in Camelot, if you want to go from the very beginning.”

 Leon swallows. “And if we asked for you to be…more specific?”

 Merlin huffs, throwing his arms up. “Why are you so concerned about this? It’s nothing to worry about!”

 “You’re being abused, Merlin,” Arthur—since when has Arthur been this quiet?—says finally, looking at Merlin the same way he looked at Morgana when Uther strangled her against the back of the throne—see? It’s just something that happens here— “that’s definitely something to worry about.”

 Merlin scoffs. “I’m not being abused, I’m just being treated like a servant.”

 “If that’s what you think being treated like a servant means,” Gwaine says, standing, “then this conversation is going to take a lot longer than we thought.”

 In response, Percival moves to stand in front of the door. Merlin sighs.

 “You don’t have to block the exit, Percival, I know I’m not allowed to leave.”

 A choked-off sound comes from Merlin’s left, followed by a muffled curse. Percival shakes his head.

 “I’m over here to make sure no one else comes in to hurt you,” the knight says calmly, “not to make sure you don’t leave.”

 “But if you want to,” Elyan says quickly, “you can.”

 “No, no, I know a trap when I see one, no thank you.”

 “It’s not a trap, Merlin,” Lancelot says, even as he looks to be about two seconds from crying for some reason, “if you truly wish to leave, you can. We won’t stop you.”

 Merlin raises an eyebrow. “…sure.”

 Arthur lowers his head. Merlin frowns, watching his shoulders tense.

 “Are you alright?”

 He gets his answer in the form of many unshed tears welling up in Arthur’s eyes as he raises his head.

 “No, Merlin,” he says in a remarkably steady voice, “I’m not. But don’t worry about me.”

 “That’s my job,” Merlin insists, striding forward, “let me help.”

 Arthur catches him gently—gently?—gently by the elbows as he reaches for him, smiling sadly.

 “Can I give you another way to help me?”

 Merlin swallows heavily. “…what does it entail, exactly?”

 “For starters, explaining why that question has you shaking in your boots.”

 “I’m not—“ Merlin looks down to see Arthur’s hands are just about the only thing holding him up— “oh.”

 “Sit,” Leon encourages, bringing a chair over and crouching in front of it. Around him, the knights lower themselves to the ground, with the exception of Percival, still by the door.

 “Merlin,” Leon calls again, “can I ask you some questions? If you don’t want to answer any of them, that’s alright, but may I ask?”

 Merlin blinks. “Sure?”

 He gets a nod of thanks. “What do you understand your duties as a servant to be?”

 “To help with the running of the castle and take care of Arthur’s needs.”

 “Which are?”

 “What—“

 “Please,” Arthur says softly, “please, Merlin, I know it sounds silly, but…please?”

 Well, he’s never been very good at saying no to upset Arthur. He sighs.

 “Keeping his chambers clean, keeping track of his laundry, dressing him in the mornings, polishing his armor, bringing him food, escorting him to court affairs, and any other odd jobs he asks me to do.”

 Leon nods. “And what about the knights? Do you have duties with us, too?”

 “I’m supposed to help you train and see to your immediate needs with those, too.”

 “Such as?”

 “Equipment, water, food, chambers—“

 “Chambers?” Lancelot frowns. “Why would you need to see to our chambers?”

 “Not yours, but the visiting knights.” Merlin frowns as Arthur’s hand twitches on his elbow. “What?”

 “Do they presume that you are their servant,” Leon asks in a low voice, “when you do so?”

 “I am, aren’t I?” He looks to Arthur. “You assign me to them.”

 “No, Merlin,” Arthur corrects gently, still looking like he’s about two seconds from crying and still taking Merlin by surprise at how soft he’s being, “I ask you to get them settled, that’s all.”

 Merlin blinks. “Oh. Uh…”

 “What do they ask you to do,” Leon asks, “as their servant?”

 He furrows his brow, trying to remember. “Uh, change their sheets, see to their armor, start a fire, bring them dinner…”

 Leon raises an eyebrow when he trails off. “Anything else?”

 “They, um—“

 Hands. Hands on his skin. Voices in his ear.

 “Merlin.” Arthur gives him a shake. “Merlin.”

 “Sorry,” he says instantly, “I just…”

 He trails off again when he sees the absolutely heartbroken look on Arthur’s face.

 “…Arthur?”

 “Why,” Arthur whispers, “why do you let them…do that?”

 Merlin frowns. “It’s fine.”

 “It’s most certainly not fine.”

 “It is,” Merlin argues, “it’s what servants are supposed to do, anyway, and it’s better me than the others.”

 Gwaine muffles a curse again, and to his surprise, so does Lancelot.

 “Merlin,” Leon says, calling his attention with how hoarse he sounds, “Merlin, why is it better you than the others if there’s nothing wrong with what’s happening to you?”

 Oh.

 Oh.

 Oh, no.

 Merlin’s hands start to shake.

 Something in his throat wells up and pushes against his jaw. It hurts. The bruises on his back start to smart.

 “Why do you care,” he says instead, “why now?”

 “We didn’t know,” Leon whispers, sounding every bit the man confessing his worst sin, “and we are so, so sorry that we didn’t.”

 “And if you’re asking why we care,” Lancelot says, equally heartfelt, “then we are more sorry than you could ever know.”

 Merlin frowns. “But you lot do it too.”

 The room freezes.

 Arthur yanks his hands away from Merlin like he’s been burned. Leon stifles a noise of his own as Elyan’s mouth drops open.

 “What,” Gwaine manages after a few moments, “the fuck does that mean?”

 “You—you hit me, you order me around, you—“ Merlin swings his head back and forth, looking at their shell-shocked faces— “why are you all looking at me like that?”

 “Because you’ve just told us we’ve been abusing you since the moment you set foot in Camelot, Merlin,” Arthur whispers, tears finally starting to roll down his cheeks.

 “But you knew!” Merlin’s hands fly to his hair as he cries out. “You knew this was happening, you could see it happening and you didn’t care!”

 “I’m sorry, Merlin—“

 “If we knew it was like this—“

 “If you think we’d ever hurt you like that—“

 “No, gods no, Merlin—“

 “Of course we care—“

 “Merlin,” Arthur whispers, holding out a shaking hand, “Merlin, please, please believe us that we would never be okay with you being mistreated like that. Like this.”

 And godsdamnit all, the amount of sheer heartbreak in the room is enough to coax a lump into Merlin’s throat and spring tears down his cheeks. Arthur lets out a wounded noise as he sees them, reaching forward to gently, still gently, wipe them away. The naked concern on not just his face, but the others’ faces as well, only encourages more.

 “I’m so sorry, Merlin,” he keeps saying, “I’m so, so, sorry.”

 “Arthur, I—“ He’s cut off by a gasping sob— “Arthur—“

 “Shh, shh, shh,” Arthur hushes frantically, cupping Merlin’s face in both hands, “shh, shh, Merlin, it’s alright, no one’s ever going to hurt you again, I swear it—“

 “You’re damn right,” he hears Gwaine mutter as the other knights agree.

 “—and I’m so sorry that you thought I’d be okay with it, that I was helping—“ Arthur’s voice cracks— “no, no, you’re—you’re my Merlin—I never want to see you hurt like that—I never mean to hurt you—“

 “I know,” Merlin murmurs, “I—I know you don’t.”

 Arthur, gentle Arthur, pulls him into the softest hug he’s ever had, cradling him like he’s something precious, something fragile, something to be savored and oh, oh, gods—

 “Easy,” he hears Leon soothe, “easy does it now, come sit—come sit with us.”

 He can’t quite manage to pry himself out of Arthur’s grip as he feels the knights come closer, huddling around the two of them in a protective circle. He even hears Percival’s heavy steps coming closer, a silent guardian, keeping watch.

 “I don’t—“ he gasps— “I don’t understand.”

 “We’ll help you,” Arthur promises in his ear, “we’ll help you figure it out.”

 “But if anyone ever,” Gwaine growls, “and I mean ever does anything like that to you again, you tell us.”

 Merlin nods frantically. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.”

 “Thank you, Merlin,” Leon murmurs, “may I…?”

 Merlin nods and Leon’s hand cards tenderly through his hair.

 “Oh, Merlin,” he mumbles, almost to himself, “you came into our lives blustering about how servants were people too…and we never noticed this?”

 The knight shudders and steels himself.

 “We will do better.” He gives Merlin’s head one last pat. “We all will.”

 “I can—“ Merlin swallows— “I can…ask for help?”

 “Yes, Merlin,” Arthur promises instantly, “you can ask me for help, and if you think I’m letting another one of those knights near you ever again—“

 Oh. Oh, wow.

 The wave of protective fury that hits Merlin’s chest is—

 Wow.

 He’s still confused. Confused and more than a little scared.

 But as he curls up in Arthur’s arms, held and kept with Camelot’s strongest knights curled around him too, protecting him, shielding him, he thinks he may finally start to feel safe.

[tiodolma]

🤣 Morgana, Morgan and Morgause + Merlin and Mordred = dysfunctional villainous family.

funny thing about this scenario is that Starz Merlin is often gone for days or sometimes months at a time and nbd knows where tf he is. Sometimes he visits BBC Merlin in Camelot. Their conversation goes like this:

BBC Merlin: aren't you worried for your arthur?

Starz Merlin: nah. he's fine. he got knights and all.

BBC Merlin: how old is he?

Starz Merlin: dunno...about 17? i think he was 17 when i last saw him 2 months ago.

BBC Merlin: ALONE?!?!?!? and he's YOUNGER THAN ME?!?!?

Starz Merlin: He was helping build the castle with his bros and whatnot

BBC Merlin: HOW ABOUT HIS SAFETY? MAGIC BEASTS?? TREASONOUS ASSASINS?

Starz Merlin (bewildered): He's a grown ass man and can handle himself. Do I look like a damn babysitter? Hell no. I got sht to do. I already got him a library and loyal knights. If he's my king then he better act like it. If he cant keep himself alive then what's the point of putting him there on the throne.

Starz Merlin: wait why are your questions like that? Are you implying that you are with your Arthur 24/7?

BBC Merlin: He won't survive without me if I let him out of my sight. There are always threats to his life,

Starz Merlin: and how old is he?

BBC Merlin: 25

Starz Merlin: (stands up) waste of time talking to you when you cant even do your job right.

BBC Merlin: but...

Starz Merlin: I invite you to dinner with the ladies tho. they'll be thrilled to see you

BBC Merlin: no they wont

Starz Merlin: relax, i'll be there.

.....

Starz Merlin suddenly wakes up in his bed and sees Morgause, Morgan and Morgana at the foot of his bed.

Starz Merlin: hello ladies.

Morgan: now that is how you chain him up! Neat isn't it?

Morgause: in bed?

Morgan: yes my dear.. and then you can take as many body parts of him as you want! like nail clippings!

Morgause: For?

Morgan: for future purposes (winks)

Morgana: (takes notes)

Morgana: hey Morgan, i think it'd be more entertining if he's wet.

Morgan: I like the way you think.

Mordred: so nice of you to let them practice on you

Merlin: (sighs) look no matter how much i warn them about the consquences they wont listen. At least this prison is comfy. They'll be in pain from using sorcery in about 2 hours anyway.

.......

FAMILY DINNER

Starz Merlin: I HAVE BROUGHT A GUEST! (drags BBC Merlin by the arm inside)

BBC Merlin, seeing Morgana: HISSSSSSS

Morgana, seeing Merliin: HISSSSSSSS

Morgause: she's always like that when it comes to that servant boy

Morgan, sauntering up to the Merlins: ISN'T HE ADORABLE (pinches bbc merlin's cheekbones) THESE ARE SO SHARP THEY'RE GONNA CUT ME

Starz Merlin: Don't scare the boy.

BBC Merlin: I'm not a boy, I'M LIKE 22

Morgan and Morgause: That's so deceptively cute.

During dinner BBC Merlin and Morgana are made to sit from across each other.

Merlin and Morgana: grrrrrr grrrr

Morgan: what's with those two?

Morgause: He poisoned her.

Starz Merlin: ...why would he do that?

BBC Merlin, not taking his eyes off morgana: I DIDNT WANT TO.

Morgana: YOU STILL DID grrrgrrrrr

Morgan: oH MY

Mordred (hisses at bbc merlin too): HOW DARE HE

Starz Merlin: (smacks mordred in the head): shut up all of you and eat.

Morgan: I'm bored. Don't you wish we had naked ladies for entertainment?

Starz Merlin (warningly): DON'T

Morgan (smirking): Morgana you must strip

Morgause: (cackling)

BBC Morgana and BBC Merlin: HELL NO!

Mordred: ooh they're in synch

...in the end nbd died at least XD

btw starz merlin and morgana peel and eat apples together all the time <3

[kaiwrites-if]

How would the RO‘s react if they walked in on Merlin undressing ? If this ask makes you uncomfortable I’m sorry and pls ignore it

Don’t worry anon, unless it’s anything that would be considered “taboo”, there’s not much that makes me uncomfortable, in that sense.

This will be set after they’ve found out Merlin’s identity if relevant.

Under the cut because it got long.

Arthur is annoyed.

Merlin was supposed to meet him outside with the horses fifteen minutes ago. Instead, Arthur finds himself stalking towards Merlin’s room to drag them out by their ear. He makes sure to stay as quiet as possible so as to not alert Merlin to his presence, before bursting through the door, expecting to find Merlin still asleep in bed.

“Are you utterly incapable of…” the words die in Arthur’s throat as his eyes settle upon the sight in front of him. He feels vaguely mortified at the heat spreading over his cheeks and spilling down his neck, but he’s more preoccupied with forcing his limbs to move and get him away from this situation. The image of Merlin’s (nearly) bare chest is seared into his mind, making him clumsy as he hastily retreats. Arthur doesn’t once look at Merlin’s face, he can’t.

“Hurry up, idiot!” Arthur yells, not turning back. “We haven’t got all day.”

————

Morgana has been waiting to talk to Merlin about her dreams all morning. She had accosted Arthur about where his servant was, but he had just rolled his eyes and told her to try their room.

So, here she is, waving at Gaius as she makes her way to the back where Merlin’s room is. Morgana is so caught up thinking about what she needs to say, that she doesn’t realise that she has walked straight into Merlin’s room without knocking until she hears a yelp.

Focusing on Merlin, she sees the wide-eyed look they’re shooting her, before her eyes flick down to where Merlin is pressing a shirt against their chest in an attempt to hide it from her. Morgana makes eye contact with Merlin once again.

“I need to speak with you, Merlin, so I suggest you put that shirt on.” she smirks, flashing her teeth briefly. “Before we both become too distracted.”

————

Merlin had asked her to borrow the book she had been reading a couple of days ago. Gwen had since finished it, and decided to drop it off to them. She makes her way to their room, and gently raps her knuckles against the door.

No response.

Gwen frowns. Perhaps they aren’t in? She figures it won’t hurt to just leave the book in their room, so she opens the door, and promptly shrieks at Merlin’s half naked chest, dropping the book and covering her eyes.

“I am so, so sorry!” Gwen squeaks. “I knocked, but you didn’t answer, not that it’s your fault! I should have tried again, or left the book outside, or called for you- oh gosh, I really am sorry.”

Gwen is so flustered that as she whirls around to leave, she smacks straight into the door.

“Oh, there’s - there’s a door there. Right. I - sorry again,” she yelps as she practically runs out of the door.

————

Lance and Merlin had arranged to meet in the Physician’s chambers so Lance could drop something off before they went to meet Gwen and Morgana at the market.

“Merlin?” Lance calls in the direction of Merlin’s room when he sees that they aren’t in the main room.

“Just a moment,” comes the reply.

Lance places the herbs that he had picked on his patrol on Gaius’s worktable, and then leans against the opposite table to wait for his friend.

He would never have entered Merlin’s room without explicit permission usually, but when he hears a yelp of what appears to be pain, he’s moving faster than his mind can catch up.

“Merlin, are you alright?” He asks as he throws the door open.

Regret comes immediately. Merlin is standing there with the bottom of their shirt clenched between their teeth, revealing their bare torso and (nearly) bare chest. A red mark is blossoming over their ribs. Lance quickly schools his face, shoving any feelings aside in order to make sure that Merlin is okay.

He’s relieved when they drop the shirt in order to talk to him. A small part of him though, can’t help but feel disappointed.