DISCLAIMER: I do not own BBC Merlin (outside of my dreams).
Merlin and Arthur stood there, helpless, Arthurs sword drawn as the villains approached from all sides through the trees.
Arthur turned to Merlin, pulling a ring off his finger, and handed it to him.
"If anything happens to me, I want you to give this to Guinevere." he said, his breathing shaky with fear; they were outnumbered twenty to one by powerful sorcerers, sent by Morgana.
"You're not going to die!" Merlin said, defiantly. "I won't let that happen."
"Like you're going to be able to stop them." Arthur said, laughing slightly, as he turned back to face his opponents. Merlin kept his mouth shut.
"Bewaepnian!" An approaching sorcerer shouted, causing Arthur's sword to fly from his grasp and land a few feet away, he ran to retrieve it, but was blasted back by another spell, cast by a nearby witch:
"Astrice!"
Arthur retreated to his previous position; back to back with Merlin. Merlin watched horror-struck as the sorcerers prepared to kill them. Merlin and Arthur were unarmed, helpless. There was nothing they could do, nothing except...
No, Merlin thought; he couldn't possibly use magic without Arthur noticing.
It's the only way, A little voice in the back of his mind told him, it sounded oddly like the dragon's voice. It is your destiny...
Merlin looked from Arthur's fear-stricken face to the magical army, with malice in their eyes.
It's the only way... The voice echoed. Merlin made up his mind, he took a step forward and looked around, what could he use that could get rid of the army for sure? There were trees, lots of them. That would use up a lot of his power, but it was bound to work. He raised his hands and started chanting:
"Acumba, hiersumie me..."
"Merlin! What are you doing?" Arthur breathed, harshly.
"Saving your life." Merlin replied, and continued. "...Bebeode thae arisan cwicum! Ic can stanas acumba arisan cwicum! Hiersumie me!" Merlin gasped for breath as he felt his limbs weaken; never had he performed such a powerful spell...
CRACK! CRUNCH!
"MERLIN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Arthur yelled, disbelievingly, over the sorcerers screams when the trees heaved themselves out of the ground with their roots and branches, filling the air with a fresh, earthy aroma.
The trees reached out with there roots and branches, wrapping themselves around sorcerers, throwing them high and far. The sorcerers desperately threw spell after spell, but nothing worked. The trees chased the sorcerers away, and then returned to their old resting spots, as if nothing had happened.
Merlin looked to the king's shocked face, dreading their return to Camelot; he hoped these weren't his last moments alive. He was so weak, he felt his knees buckle beneath him, and then everything went black.
Merlin awoke in his own bed, daylight seeping through the window. He sat up and lifted a hand to his head; he had a terrible headache. Merlin crawled out of bed slowly and went to the door, he hoped there wouldn't be any knights waiting to drag him to the dungeon and later chop his head of after what he had done.
Merlin opened the door to an ordinary sight; Gaius stirring up potions on his cluttered work bench. Gaius looked up.
"Ah, Merlin, awake I see. How's your head? Arthur told me you got knocked out by some bandits."
"W-what?" Merlin stuttered; did Arthur really lie to Gaius? "My head's fine." he managed to say when Gaius gave him a suspicious look. "Just a headache."
"Oh," said Gaius, still looking at Merlin suspiciously. "Well, Arthur told me that when you woke up, you were to see him immediately in his chambers."
"Oh, okay." said Merlin, wondering what Arthur would do to him. He quickly retrieved his scarf and jacket and set of towards Arthur's chambers.
"Ah, Merlin." said Arthur, as the sorcerer knocked and walked in. Arthur was sitting at his desk with Sir Leon standing beside him. They were obviously discussing some stupid knighty things, Merlin thought. "Leon, would you mind leaving; Merlin and I have some matters to discuss concerning his shoddy work." Arthur said.
"Yes sire," Sir Leon said, giving Merlin a smirk and a friendly slap on the back as he went. Arthur waited for the door to close before he spoke.
"You're a sorcerer." The King stated, simply.
"Yes," said Merlin, not knowing what else to say.
Arthur swallowed, Adams apple bobbing, and nodded, all the while avoiding Merlin's gaze.
"I don't know what to do Merlin," Arthur said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I don't even know if I can trust you any more."
"You can trust me." Merlin said, desperately trying to reassure his friend. Unfortunately, Arthur lost it, then and there.
"HOW?" He yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO ME SINCE I FIRST MET YOU! I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU BETRAYED ME! HOW CAN I EVER TRUST YOU AGAIN?"
Merlin gulped back the growing lump in his throat, "I couldn't tell you," he explained, voice cracking with emotion. "I couldn't know what you'd do to me."
Arthur sighed and got up from his seat to go and stand by the window. "I've lost both my parents to magic. My own uncle and sister turned evil because of it. How do I know the same won't happen to you?" Arthur said, his voice now filled with sadness instead of anger.
"Arthur, listen, today wasn't the first time I've saved your life. It is my destiny to protect you. If I wanted to kill you, all I had to do was stand back and watch people do it for me. So many have tried to kill you, and I've stopped them all. You have to believe me."
The young king turned to look at his servant, studying him for any signs that he was lying. Finally, he let out a final sigh and slumped back into his seat. "What am I going to tell everybody?"
Merlin gave a gasped laugh of relief, that he wasn't going to be killed. "Don't tell them about me, yet. You've got to slowly make them believe that magic can be good. Start with only punishing those who use magic for evil."
Arthur thought for a minute before nodding. "It's a start, I suppose."
There was a silence between the two for a moment, before Arthur looked up and spoke abruptly. "If anyone asks, we were attacked by bandits who knocked you out, okay? No one can know about you, for now." The king ran a hand through his hair. "This is gonna take a lot of getting used to."
Merlin shrugged, "It took a lot for me to get used to having to protect such an arrogant prat."
Arthur scowled. "Don't push it."
"Sorry, sire."
"Right," said Arthur. "Does anyone else know?"
"Just my mother and Gaius," said Merlin. "Pretty much everyone else who knew ended up dead."
Arthur frowned. "Should I be getting worried?"
Merlin grinned, "You've got a sorcerer to protect you, remember."
"Now lets not be so modest, Merlin," said Arthur sarcastically. "It's a wonder you were never caught."
Merlin shrugged, "It's easier to hide it than you'd think."
"Whatever," said Arthur, as he rested his feet upon his desk. "Now, my ever useless and pathetic servant, my armour needs polishing, my sword needs sharpening, my boots need polishing, my clothes need cleaning, this place is a mess, oh, and someone one needs to muck out my horses." he finished, smugly. Merlin frowned at him. "Don't give me that look," Arthur said with a wink. "It's not like your anything special." Merlin sighed, but couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips.
"Yes, sire." he said, and got to work.
Yeah, I redid it. I agree that it was a bit simplistic, but, in my defence, it was just a cure for writers block.
Anyway, if you like this story, I'm writing an original story that completely belongs to me. It's full of magic, so what are you waiting for? Go check it out here: http:/bowtiesrcwl[dot]deviantart[dot]com/gallery/#/d4on594 just remember to replace the [dot] things with: .
And please review my lovely readers