AN: So this was for a tumblr request for a demon au... so here it is, in all its crappy glory!
Merlin gazed into the furious eyes of Uther, holding his burning cheek. "IT WAS YOUR JOB TO PROTECT MY SON!" the king roared, drawing his sword to hold to the trembling boy's throat. The raven haired boy made no move to defend to himself, what reason did he have to try, his prince was gone.
"Uther! Please!" the queen reached out a hand but did not dare to touch her king. Her shining silver eyes, so different from the gold ones that surrounded her, shone with pity that Merlin felt he didn't deserve.
"No! His duty was to protect Arthur, and he failed. Arthur is now in the hands of the new angel king!" The sword in the king's hand pressed into the skin of Merlin's neck, warm blood trickling down his neck in a steady stream.
"Sire," the head knight of hell stepped forward, gaining the king's attention, "Merlin was not with the prince at the time he was taken. Arthur had insisted on going into the city without him."
"And the both of you allowed this?" the consort and bodyguard of the prince could feel the king's blade shaking where it pressed into his throat.
"Yes sire, on the condition that he take a full garrison with him as guard. The number of angels that managed to infiltrate our citadel managed to overwhelm them, not one of the guards was left alive sir." Leon's eyes were downcast, he refused to look at either the king or Merlin.
"Uther, think of Arthur. If he were to return to find that you had killed the man he loves, he would never forgive you." Morgana pushed her way to the front, eyes blazing with liquid fire. Merlin lowered his gaze to the floor, he did not deserve the people who were fighting for him.
"What would you have me do then?" Uther glared at his ward, golden eyes flashing.
"Banish him," the soft suggestion made the king spin to stare at the knight that had spoken. Lancelot took a deep breath before opening his eyes and stepping forward, "Banish him to the realm of the humans. He belongs to Arthur, when the prince returns he can decide what Merlin's ultimate fate should be."
Silence stretched throughout the room until Merlin felt the blade retreat. "See that it is done, I do not want to see this boy again until I see my son safely returned." Uther swept out of the room without a glance back.
Merlin pitched forward as the injury finally took its toll. Gwaine and Lancelot rushed forward to catch him, Gwaine pulling out a cloth to press into the wound.
"I'm sorry," Lancelot whispered as he and the long haired knight hefted Merlin up between them. The dark haired boy gave him a strained smile before he let the darkness of unconsciousness overtake him.
15 years had passed since the day that Arthur had been stolen from Merlin's side. 15 years Merlin had lived amongst the humans. The only contact he had with the world he once knew came in to form of a letter that he received once a year. The letters spoke of the war that had broken out between Heaven and Hell. They brought news of the spies that had infiltrated the realm of the angels only to find no trace of their prince. Still battles raged on while the human world continued none the wiser. Merlin had learned how to live among them by now. He knew when he needed to move on because of his lack of aging. He knew that he needed to have trades to live by in order to avoid suspicion. He knew there were places in the world he should avoid. He survived in the hope that one day his prince would return to his rightful throne and that Merlin could then return to his side. He lived for the letters, awaiting the day that they would say the prince had come home. That day never came, but as the war stretched on, other news came, they were losing. Nearly 10 years ago now, the last letter had arrived, the king and queen were gone, hell had fallen. That was the last Merlin had heard from Hell.
The rest of the knowledge that Merlin had gathered on the demons had come from the lips of men. The people of Hell had fled the underworld in the hopes of finding safe haven among men. Humanity was not as welcoming as they had hoped. Demons became recognized for their strange power and fighting prowess. It took no more than 5 years for man to find a way to bind them, and then the hunt began. There was no way for the demons to hide themselves, their eyes flashed a brilliant gold anytime light touched them. How many demons remained free, Merlin did not know, but he did know he was not among them.
"Your majesty, I thank you for the honor of bringing my show to your halls for an event as momentous as your son's birthday." Merlin knelt to one knee as expected of him as his master began the usual speech of gratitude he always made when they made special trips like these. It always amazed the raven haired man how the ringmaster could make the speech over and over again and still never have a single note of sarcasm accidentally slip in. The boy began to tune out the formal babbling, in the past 5 years he had been a slave he wasn't sure how many times he had heard the same speech.
Merlin pulled absent mindedly on the neckerchief that hung around his neck, accidentally making his engraved bindings on his wrist clang loudly. "He's a demon! And he's armed!" the king's baritone voice was accusing, making Merlin's master sigh inaudibly.
"He is one of my performers as well as a bodyguard, come boy, stand up!" Ringmaster made a rough gesture on the edges of Merlin's vision from where it was fixed on the floor in front of him. In a smooth, graceful move Merlin was on his feet, hands resting at his sides so the king could have both in view.
"A small one, isn't he?" the blue eyed demon watched as the kings boots made wide circles around him, inspecting him, "You say he is a bodyguard? Surely there must be others in your group better suited than this one." Merlin fought against the smirk that tried to twitch on his lips, it was amazing how many people wrote him off for his small size.
"Skinny he may be, but I have yet to find anyone, demon or human that can match him in a fight," he could hear the proud grin on his master's face, there was a reason that in all this time, Ringmaster had never once thought of trading him.
"Perhaps everyone who has tried was taking it easy on him." Merlin twitched in anger as his master laughed at the king's suggestion.
"You may be right, but it will be difficult to ask, most of the people that truly challenged Merlin to a fight died in the process."
"You seem confident; it makes me want to see for myself." The king placed two fingers under Merlin's chin to lift his face. From the corner of his eye he saw his master bow in approval at the request. "Percival, you should be match enough." King Balinor released the slave's face and turned to a large demon that was positioned behind the throne. Merlin's eyes widened at the familiar face and a grin spread across his mouth.
The quiet knight of hell gave a bow to his king before stepping forward. "Hello Merlin," there was a soft smile playing at the corners of Percy's lips.
"Sir Percival, I'm glad to see you well," Merlin nodded in reply, drawing out his blade. The large demon followed suit, eyeing Merlin's blade warily, the man knew what sort of damage the prince's once consort could do with a blade. The gathered members of court backed away to watch from the fringes of the room as the pair circled each other. The old friends made tiny feints toward each other, gauging the other's current skill without actually engaging.
Percival broke their dance, arching his blade toward Merlin, only to have the boy dance away. It continued on like this, Percival making attacks, nearly faster than the humans watching them could see, only for Merlin to either playfully bat the bone shatteringly strong attacks away, or dance out of the way at the very last moment.
Awe grew on the spectator's faces as the small boy not only held his ground against the demon at least twice his size, but that he was merely playing with the other man. A slight pause was all Merlin needed to dart in and knock Percival's sword up and out of his hand, cleanly catching it in his own. A practiced sweep had the large knight of hell on his back, dazed eyes gazing up at Merlin as both swords pressed into his throat.
Silence replaced the clanging of swords as the noble's stared mesmerized for a few moments until a thunderous applause broke out. Merlin lowered the swords; placing them both in one hand, he reached out his right hand to help lift the larger knight off the ground. "You've gotten better Percy," he told the man with a teasing smile.
"And you are as good as ever old friend," his low voice hardly carried past Merlin's ears.
"You know this boy Percival?" the king stepped forward, eyes far more wary as they surveyed Merlin.
"He was a part of the royal guard in Hell," Merlin's eyes flew up from where they had turned to the floor to find Lancelot's smiling face among the guard. A quick sweep of the room brought a few more familiar faces, Elyan, Leon, and Gwaine all stood among the guard along the wall, Percival gently removed his sword from Merlin's hand before rejoining them. Morgana stood behind the queen's shoulder, gleaming sword at her belt. Gwen stood behind a noble lady, timidly smiling at Merlin through her lashes.
"It seems a waste for such a fine warrior to be confined as a circus performer," Queen Hunith stepped down from her throne, approaching the slave who now stood at the center of the room, sword placed back at his belt and hands clasped behind his back. He purposely fixed his eyes to the stone floor, trying to process that nearly every one of his old friends were not only alive but here. "I'm sure that he would make a wonderful addition to our Demon Guard. Perhaps you would be persuaded to part with the boy?" the queen turned away from him and looked to his master. Morgana was close enough now that she discreetly reached out a hand and gave his elbow a squeeze.
"I'm afraid that would be impossible my lady, this boy has become quite the center piece for my circus. His blade dance is rather famous and highly sought after." The ringmaster's eyes narrowed.
"Come now ringmaster, how about a bet. For the performance tomorrow your swordsman will our best swordsman, the winner of the fight keeps the boy!" Balinor clapped Ringmaster on the shoulder. Merlin could picture the look on his master's face as he weighed his options of getting out of this without either losing or offending.
"My liege, you have already seen this boy best one of your knights; surely you know that his skills are unmatched!"
"Perhaps," there was a touch of humor in the King's voice now, "but if that is true, what do you have to lose? Unless it is not true and you are afraid your slave will be bested in combat?"
Ringmaster twitched, "I fear of no such thing sire," his voice was harder than Merlin had ever heard it.
"Excellent, then we shall look forward to the show tomorrow!" Balinor's tone was a clear dismissal as he offered his arm to his smiling wife. Merlin gave a final glance at his old friends around the room before he followed his seething master out.
Merlin contemplated his options as he balanced his blade in his hand. He was waiting for his turn to enter the banquet hall; he was the last act that would perform. If the once guard of hell purposely lost this fight to whoever the king chose as a champion, his current master would know and declare the deal void. However, how could he leave this place where all of his friends had somehow gathered? The only person missing was… no, he still couldn't think the name. Merlin shoved the line of thought out of his mind as the drums signaled that it was his turn to enter.
The crowd in the room was lively, and very likely drunk. Merlin had seen a thousand rooms like it before in his time as a slave. He stepped into the center of the room and bowed to the head table. Ringmaster stepped forward, "Ladies and gentleman of the court, may I present to you the gleaming jewel of my collection, Merlin the blade dancer. Tonight you will get to see his grace and strength as he challenges one of your own champions!" He made a grand bowing gesture toward the doorway behind Merlin. The slave did not turn to look at his challenger, it wouldn't matter anyway, he had yet to find anyone who could match him with a blade and he doubted it would start now. He would have to content himself with knowing that his friends were alive, well, and together.
Closing his eyes Merlin turned readying himself for battle, but what he found when he opened them again was not what he had been expecting. Blue eyes were analyzing Merlin, sweeping up and down. The man's eyes flashed opposing colors, one silver and one gold as firelight flickered across them. The raven haired demon blinked hard, trying to decide whether or not this was some cruel mind trick, but when he opened his eyes, Arthur was still standing before him.
The golden prince made a diving thrust at him, knocking Merlin out of his stupor. He brought his sword up to block, the prince's blade barely managing to miss his shoulder. "I thought you were supposed to be some great swordsman!" came a whispering taunt that relit a long extinguished flame inside of Merlin.
The dark haired demon broke into a quick attack, invigorated that every strike was matched and blocked. The banquet hall faded away as Merlin fell into the habit of sparing with the man he loved. Arthur had always been the only one to come close to matching Merlin on the battlefield. The fact that Merlin was the only swordsman to ever defeat the prince in a tournament was what had originally gotten him his place as Arthur's guard. After that first battle they had challenged each other nearly daily. All the knights would gather around to watch them fight and listen to them bicker. It was through these matches that they had grown from Prince and Knight to friends, and from friends to lovers.
Lost in his memories Merlin blinked as his sword was knocked across the room and a blade was placed against his ribs above his heart. "Do you yield?" In a move that was purely instinct Merlin swung his arm up, smacking against the hilt of the sword, knocking it from the prince's hand. While Arthur blinked in surprise Merlin grabbed his now free hand around the wrist and launched the prince over the demon's shoulder, dropping down with him to pin the blonde to the ground with his knee.
"Do you sire?" Merlin couldn't stop the teasing tone that escaped him. He grinned down in triumph only for Arthur to swing his leg up and hook it around his torso, swinging them around and switching their positions.
"Never," Arthur practically growled. Merlin held up his arms in surrender as Arthur's forearm pressed into his windpipe. Applause broke out but Arthur stayed put, blinking with his eyebrows furrowed down at Merlin.
"Well done son!" Balinor descended the stairs, seeming to bring Arthur back to the moment. The blonde released Merlin and stepped away, leaving the slave lying on the ground, catching his breath. From the corner of his eye Merlin watched as his master gave the room a fierce glare before grudgingly passing over the key to Merlin's bindings to the king and sweeping out of the room with a flare of his cape. "So Arthur, what do you think of your new Demon Guard?"
Arthur's eyes turned toward Merlin, and that's when he noticed, there was no recognition in them at all. Something inside Merlin twisted as Gwaine and Lancelot hefted him up by the forearms. "He'll do," was all Arthur said before returning to his seat at the table. The dark haired demon turned a questioning gaze to Lance who shook his head, mouthing 'later'. Merlin nodded, stuffing down his feelings as Balinor gave the order to show him to his new quarters. Arthur did not give him a second glance as he was led from the hall.
"MERLIN I'M SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE!" As soon as the trio were safely out of earshot of the once again bustling banquet hall Gwaine swept Merlin up in a hug.
Once his feet were back on the ground Lancelot clapped him on the shoulder with a wide grin, "It is good to see you old friend! I'd nearly given up hope of you making your way here. I thought you had met some cruel fate and we would never hear from you!"
"Lance…" Merlin began, eyes wide, "was that Arthur? Our Arthur?"
Gwaine's eyes dimmed and he scratched his head nervously. Lancelot let out a sigh nodded for them to keep walking, "Yes and no, from what we can tell it seems the angel's used their magic to hide the prince among humans, they made the correct assumption that we would never guess they would hide him here. We don't know the particulars, but Arthur appears completely human, aside from the eyes. Somehow the angels have made the entire kingdom believe that he is the king and queen's son. In everyone's eyes he is the prince of this kingdom, and he has no memories of being the prince of hell." Merlin stopped walking as the air seemed to leave his lungs, Arthur did not remember them, did not remember him!
"Why?" it came out as a whisper.
"We don't know mate," Gwaine's smile was grim as he shrugged, "but he's still the same arrogant prat he was back then. Don't know how he managed it, but he did."
Lancelot opened the door to a simple room that was leaps and bounds better than the hole that Merlin had spent the last 5 years living in. "They like to keep us in good shape so that we can do our jobs, it's not hell, but it could be worse." Merlin nodded, feeling numb. The noblest knight made a gesture toward a door on the far wall, "Just like your old rooms back in hell, that door leads to the prince's room"
"Not that you used those rooms back in hell very much eh Merlin?!" Gwaine laughed until Lance sent a hard elbow into his stomach along with a glare. "Sorry…"
"It's alright," Merlin gave them a strained smile, "he's alive, it's more than we could have hoped for after all this time. He's alive and he's happy, even without…" Merlin's voice and smile wavered. Lance nodded, understanding the unspoken words.
"I'm glad you are here," he spoke in a low voice, glimmering brown and gold eyes sincere, "We need to return to our posts, will… will you be alright?" The dark haired demon gave a nod, clasping arms with his comrades a final time before they disappeared down the hall.
Once they were gone Merlin sat down on the wide window ledge. The moon hung full above the city of Camelot, the demon's eyes shone as he finally let himself remember.
Life in Camelot, it turned out, was an easy thing to fall into. Balinor explained his duties the next morning, "Do you think that you can manage that…?"
"Merlin sire, and yes, this was my job in hell as well. I'm well aware of what it entails," the boy gave a low formal bow to the king.
"Very well, do your job well and you will be rewarded, fail in anyway and you shall be punished." The the dark haired king gave the boy a steely glance and left the room.
Merlin spent the next 2 months as the prince's shadow whenever he left his rooms. He never approached his once lover, fearing what would accidentally spill out of his mouth. He never let the man out of his sight, but was never within the blonde's. It was obvious to him that the prince knew he was there. Every one of Arthur's little quirks that Merlin had engraved into his heart were still there. Arthur's head would occasionally twitch in his direction, his hand would automatically go to his hilt before relaxing once again, or he would sometimes pause in his conversation to listen as if a sound was just of the edge of his ability to hear.
For the first time in many years Merlin felt content. During meetings, banquets, or late in the night he was free to spend time his friends around the castle. It would be impossible for him to tell how much he had missed his family among the knights, and to watch his prince once again living and thriving was more than he ever hoped to have.
"Demon!" Arthur called, startling Merlin. The prince was sweeping his gaze over the general vicinity of Merlin's hiding place, unable to pinpoint where the pale boy actually was.
"Yes sire?" he answered, stepping from the shadows to kneel before the once demon prince.
"So you are there, spar with me." A wooden sword was tossed in front of Merlin's foot. The knight of hell glanced up at his prince in surprise.
"What?"
"No one else is out here and none of them can give me a decent fight even if they were. Spar with me!" He held his sword up in a ready position, motioning for his guard to pick up the matching one. Merlin wrapped his fingers around the wooden sword, checking the balance before falling back into a defensive stance.
The usual thrill went through his system as Arthur lunged at him with all the grace and beauty that he had ever had. Merlin darted away and parried with a few strikes of his own, managing to playfully poke the end into Arthur's side, where he knew the prince was ticklish.
The squack that escaped the prince's mouth was not something that he would ever admit to, and his face was turning a rather hilarious shade of crimson. "Why sire, are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you!" Merlin let mock concern flood his voice and widened his eyes.
Arthur let out a roar as he flew at Merlin, blows rained down from all sides. A crowd grew to watch it, the demons smiling at the familiar scene. The boys broke away from each other, circling warily as sweat dripped from their foreheads. "Come on prat, you can do better than that!" Merlin teased.
Arthur's eyes widened, "What did you call me?" Merlin faltered, realizing his mistake too late.
Hoping that this Arthur would react the same as his Arthur had the raven haired boy put on a cheeky smile, "Prat, a slow one at that!" Merlin used Arthurs shock against him to disarm him and place a blade at his throat. Something flashed behind the prince's eyes too quick for Merlin to decipher the meaning of as the prince stepped back, accepting defeat. His eyes swept Merlin up and down before he spun on the spot and walked away. Merlin joined the shadows once more and followed the prince until he reached his room and slammed the door.
That night Merlin awoke to two palms being slammed down on the bed on either side of his head. His eyes flashed open and his hand reached for the blade under his pillow before the two colored eyes registered in his brain. He forced his body to relax and his heart rate to slow as Arthur glared down at him. "Who are you?" the prince demanded.
Merlin blinked up at the blonde at the sudden question, "What?" he answered intelligently.
"Who are you? How do I know you? When we fight, I know exactly how you are going to move or respond! When you first saw me you recognized me, who are you!?" Unconsciously Arthur leaned forward to his in Merlin's face.
Merlin' s eyes widened and his mind went blank. He had no answer he could give the prince that would make sense, any denial of previous knowledge of the prince stuck in his throat. The only thing that managed to make it through was his name, "Merlin…"
Arthur's eyes widened as they seemed to flash silver and gold brighter than ever. Merlin watched in fascination as panic seemed to fill the prince's eyes before something seemed to click into place. "Sire?" he asked when the prince continued to star down at him in silence.
One side of the blonde's mouth pulled up in a crooked smile, "Now, I thought that we broke you of that habit a long time ago." Merlin felt as though he had turned to stone, unable to do anything but stare up at the man above him as he sat more fully on the bed, still leaning over the raven haired boy. One hand raised off the bed to touch the jagged scar that marked the front of Merlin's neck. Arthur ghosted his fingertips over it, eyebrows furrowed, "This one is new, did your master give it to you when he caught you?"
Merlin automatically shook his head, "Uther."
Pain flashed behind the prince's blue eyes, "They're gone…" the warmth of the blonde was suddenly gone as he sat up and buried his face in his palms, "all this time and I never even realized." Merlin's floundering brain finally caught up with what was happening and he rushed to sit up.
His hand flew to the prince's shoulder, "Arthur?" Wet blue eyes turned to meet his and the weight lifted from Merlin's shoulders. His prince was staring back at him. The raven haired man fit his palm against Arthur's cheek, heart soaring when the man nuzzled into it. With no further prompting Merlin crashed their lips together.
The next day Arthur arrived at court with Merlin behind his shoulder instead of hidden in the shadows, that was all it took for the court of hell to know that he remembered. Years began to pass and if the king or queen noticed a change in their son, they did not mention it, except for Hunith occasionally teasing Arthur when she noticed how close he and Merlin had become.
Once his memories returned Arthur set to work gathering every demon slave he could find and inserting them into a place in Camelot. Under Balinor's rule demons were not free, but they were treated well. Camelot became a safe haven for the people of hell, and soon earned the nickname Kingdom of Hell. Because of this the days in Camelot were not always peaceful, war broke out but the armies of the attacking nation crumbled before the defense that was Hell's Royal Knights.
15 years after Arthur's memories returned Hunith took ill and passed away in the night. Balinor, unable to live without his wife passed soon after. The people would forever claim that their king had died of a broken heart.
Merlin watched from the shadow of the archway as Arthur stood before his people, human and demon alike. Pride swelled inside of him, Heaven might have defeated hell, but it had risen again. Arthur, the son of an angel and a demon, rightful heir of hell had grown into a kingdom of his own. His people adored him and his enemies feared him. His King was going to be the greatest king the world of man would ever see, and Merlin would never let him disappear from his side again.
AN: I'm sorry for how crappy this is, I'm not extremely happy with it but there it is. I'm willing to either rewrite it or write the prequel to it, just let me know if you want to see more from the storyline!