Through the Veil

by arthuriangeek

When Merlin first meets Arthur, he's just a friend among others. But as his feelings grow stronger, he comes to realize that something about Arthur is lingering beneath the surface - something that could change everything.

1. Chapter 1

It was strange, he reflected sometimes in the weeks and months following that fateful day, how one day, insignificant among so many others, could change so much. How it could tilt the world as he knew it.

That day had started just like any other, and by midday had transformed beyond belief. But it wasn't those first, trembling hours, not really, not in the long run. It was what came after. In the midst of horror, every procedure was followed by the book. It had to be – there was no time to do anything but react.

But when the smoke cleared, and it didn't clear for a long time, something had shifted. People were swarming the streets, not sure what to do or how to do it, and all they knew was that they didn't understand. The newspapers told the story in names, numbers, diagrams, but those were mere statistics. No article could encompass the raw frailty that followed that day.

For the people wandering the streets, lingering among the ruins, nothing was simple anymore. But for him, September 11, 2001 was the day everything became clear in a way it had never been before.