A/N: I've done this basic prompt before, but never for Merlin. The rules are simple:
1. Put your iPod on shuffle
2. Write a short piece prompted by the title and/or lyrics of the song that comes up
3. You must finish writing by the end of the song (if the song ends while you are writing a sentence, you may finish that sentence afterward, but only the one.)
4. Post song title/artist and song length (m:s) above the piece.
5. Publish!
So, because I've lost creative momentum for Recrudesce and am still trying to outline Stand, Speak, Listen, Learn, please enjoy these pointless drabbles courtesy of my iPod and the fastest typing my fingers can manage.
I Need to Know – Kris Allen – 3:38
Arthur was a strong king, uneasily hurt or knocked down.
But there were wounds.
Sometimes, in the dark of night, in the sound of thunder and in the quiet moments, something in him shuddered, and wondered. Wondered if he could believe it all, after what he'd lived through.
He'd look at her, and wonder if he believed all she'd said.
He'd look at him, and wonder if there were any more lies.
He'd look at them all, and try to discern what might lie behind the smiles and the cloaks and the oaths.
They'd all promised, they'd all sworn loyalty, and proven it over and over. But they'd all lied. And though he'd forgiven them, grown closer to them, sworn he'd never doubt them, he couldn't help it.
Sometimes, he wondered. Sometimes, he asked the questions he'd sworn he'd never ask.
He just needed to know.
Far Away – Nickelback – 3:58
It came with age, and knowledge. It began when he started visiting the Crystal Cave more often, when he delved deeper and deeper into his studies. At first, Arthur had put it off to his absorption in his experiments and strange personality. But as time progressed, he began to wonder if there was something happening to Merlin, something that couldn't be stopped.
He'd sit on the edge of the battlements in all weather, sunny, rainy, stormy, snowy. He'd just sit there and look out, at nothing in particular, a million miles away. Once in a while, when the weather was unforgiving and Arthur knew Merlin needed to come inside, he'd go out and sit with him. Eventually, he'd ask him to come inside, many times, he'd have to repeat himself, more and more with every time. When Merlin looked over at him, for a split second, there would be a look of complete non-recognition, and it scared Arthur. Then, his eyes would soften, he'd smile, and agree.
Arthur wished he could say it was nothing, those far away looks. But deep down, he feared the day when Merlin would answer him and the look of incomprehension wouldn't leave, the day when instead of a smile, he'd receive a frown and hear his best friend say, "Do I know you?"
And then, that day came. Merlin was too far away to hear.
Save the Day – Spur58 – 3:44
It wasn't even his job, Merlin wanted to say. He knew Kilgarrah would say differently. But that was only because Kilgarrah didn't have to do it, Merlin thought.
Alright, it wasn't his job. But apparently, 'job' and 'destiny' were two different entities. Which is why Merlin had to wash Arthur's dirty socks and save his sorry arse from potential assassins every other day.
In the end, it was generally worth it. But sometimes, Merlin wondered why it was him who had to save the day – or, more accurately, why he didn't get any credit for it when he did. His reward for saving Camelot typically amounted to a roomful of dirty boots and a deadline for their cleanliness. Sometimes, he fantasied what it might be like to receive a little glory for all he did – just a tiny, teensy bit.
Then he'd get hit in the face with another load of Arthur's laundry, and he forgot about glory.
Saving the day might have been his job – of sorts – but apparently, glory and credit weren't part of the paycheck.
Marital Sabotage – Hans Zimmer – 3:44
After the debacle with Lancelot, Morgana, and Necromancy, Guinevere and Arthur shared a very harmonious marriage. They rarely fought, and held Camelot's record for some of the quickest makeups.
But then, in the midst of their bliss, was a knight named Gwaine.
Although Gwaine had a reputation as one of the more promiscuous knights of the Round Table, it wasn't his romantic habits that interfered with the marriage of the king and queen. It was just Gwaine being Gwaine.
He really was like an over grown child, sometimes, and Arthur and Guinevere were his exasperated parent stand-in doubles. He was too old to be a child and far too skilled with a sword to be punished like a child, but he sure liked acting like a rebellious teenager, including the ways in which he drove a sore spot between Arthur and Guinevere as his 'parents'.
Incidentally, the biggest topic of contention was his overzealous consumption of alcohol and Guinevere's suggestion of a curfew. Because, Gwaine, as a grown man, would need a curfew. He was also, the queen would insist, eating Camelot out of every apple to her name.
Gwaine, for one, found the whole sabotage operation immensely entertaining.
Arthur wasn't inclined to agree.
Blunt Object Trauma – Magnus Christensen and Ryan Franks – 1:02
Merlin squinted at Arthur's head, and wondered how thick his skull was.
He didn't mean it in a condescending way, but a medical one.
Honestly, how on earth had the man survived being knocked out practically every other weekwithout sustaining any brain damage?
Merlin may have possessed magic in sense of sorcery, but he was beginning to wonder if Arthur didn't possess magic as well – the magic of an indestructible head. He continued to squint.
It wasn't natural.
Father Christmas – Harry Gregson-Williams – 3:20
It was late winter when Merlin had met him.
He was another sorcerer, born with magic, like Merlin. He was older, shorter, rounder, and ruddier than Merlin, with a infectious smile, cheerful, beady eyes, and the most impressive white beard that Merlin had ever seen. Surprised to have never heard of a sorcerer of his caliber before, Merlin asked the man about himself.
"Oh, I live a relatively quiet life," He'd said. When Merlin asked him what he did with his magic, he'd gotten a strange twinkle in his eye. "I have a few things to keep me busy. Everyone needs a little magic now and again," he'd said cryptically, shrugging a sack on his shoulder that looked small, but Merlin's magic sensed was far more than it seemed. His eyes must have said something, and the older man grinned.
"Well then, Merlin, it was nice to have finally met you," He said, and climbed up on his horse, which was furry and white. Small bells rang from their ornament on the reigns. Before he rode away, an inexplicably childlike part of Merlin called to him,
"I never caught your name," The man turned in the saddle and smiled, a look that could have been five years old or a thousand.
"They always call me something different, but you, you can call me Nicholas."
"Nicholas," Merlin repeated, and smiled. "Well, it is a pleasure to have met you, Sir."
"Likewise, Merlin. I may just see you next year. Until then, Merry Christmas." He rode off through the snow, and Merlin only realized the next day.
He'd never told Nicholas that his name was Merlin.
Brotherhood – James Dooley – 2:02
As any girl, Gwen was often baffled by men.
True, she understood them better than some. Domestically, she understood the men in her life well, although she rarely shared their thought processes. Growing up with a brother and a father as her only family made her more familiar with the male psyche than some women. But there were many things about men that she just didn't understand. Their relationships with other men was high on the list.
Her primary example of this conundrum was Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights. It was a weird sort of brotherhood consisting of a handful of people who couldn't seem to stand each other and liked nothing more than giving each other a good wallop, but somehow came out from it all with bruises and black eyes and smiles, calling each other their brothers.
They were the brotherhood of the Round Table. And they were, Gwen thought, perhaps the strangest example of family that she had ever seen.
Men were strange.
Safe and Sound – MercyMe – 3:43
As a physician, Gaius was supposed to be able to take even the most gut-wrenching situations in stride, a mask of professionalism to cover any concern so he could do his job and do it well.
But he was only human, and though he had a lifetime reputation of sternness to keep him from revealing the fact, he had a very soft heart. He'd lost too much to not care about that which he still had, and Merlin was perhaps the most valuable thing he'd ever had to his name.
Merlin was the son that Gaius had never had. He was the drive that kept Gaius working despite all that weighed him down, he was the bright spot that had taught an old bitter man to smile after years of persecution and grief. And Merlin had no idea how much he'd done, and he probably never would.
Which is why, despite his love and care for the boy, Gaius would never tell Merlin how wonderful it felt to know that the boy was sleeping safe and sound in the room next door. He would never gush for as long as he wanted to whenever Merlin returned from one of his quests or adventures. He would never let Merlin know that he was never asleep when he returned in the dead of night, that he lie awake in bed until he heard Merlin come home.
The door opened, and a pair of lanky legs crept through his chambers. Gaius sighed in relief, and rolled over.
His son was safe. He could sleep.
I Am Free – Unhindered – 5:46
When Arthur found out about the magic, Merlin thought it'd be the end of him. He thought it'd be the end of their friendship, that Arthur would make a huge fiasco out of it. Banishment. Burning. Scorn. Rejection. Merlin feared it all.
Quiet acceptance had never crossed his mind.
As it turned out, Merlin's revelation was the crowning jewel atop of a long train of thought that had been growing over the course of several years, a cumulative idea that Arthur had been slowly growing to accept with more and more of his heart. Maybe, something told him, magic didn't have to be evil. Maybe, just maybe, it could be something better, something good. By the time the idea finally matured in his mind, finding that his most trusted friend and loyal servant had magic sparked something in Arthur's mind and finished the task that had been started years ago.
Weeks after finding out, Arthur had announced his intentions at a meeting of the Round Table. When he did, he was the only one there that knew that Merlin had magic.
His unique knowledge was the reason why, after he'd announced his intention to legalize magic, Arthur was the only one who understood. The paleness of Merlin's face, the way the man's knees gave out and he fell into his chair, the tears on his cheeks that registered an expression of pure shock and wonder, the rest of the group saw it all in confusion, but Arthur's eyes looked on in bittersweet apology. Arthur could imagine but not quite understand the thoughts that were going through Merlin's head at that very instant.
I'm free.
Caught in a Lie - Epic Score – 1:43
Merlin hadn't asked for this. He hadn't planned it. He didn't want it. He wanted out.
So many years, so many close calls, he'd learned to lie to live, to protect himself and the ones he loved. He'd never had to lie to the ones he loved. He didn't want to. When he began lying to Arthur all those years ago, he hadn't anticipated the friendship that followed.
Now, he was lying to his best friend every day, and had no way to stop without tearing hearts in two.
And he didn't know what to do.
He was trapped.
For the First Time – The Script – 4:01
They'd known each other for six years. So much had happened in those years, so much had changed. Neither of them noticed until the very end, at the ultimatum and the betrayal, how little they knew about each other.
It hurt, to feel scars all at once that you never knew existed, to know that they came from someone you thought was your friend, and have to rely on that friend to heal them for you. Dependency did not come easy to either of them.
But somehow, they made the effort, and found something they hadn't expected, hadn't ever thought about, an event that they had taken for granted when it hadn't happened before at all.
After six years of knowing each other, in the midst of their pain, they finally met each other for the first time.
It was a start.