Author's Note: I've been watching an immense amount of Merlin lately and this idea simply will not leave me. This is set after Arthur is king, so sometime in the current season, I suppose. I'm honestly not sure if I will continue, as life is very busy at the moment, but I would love to hear what you all think. I say I won't continue, but you know, I almost always do. Thanks always for reading.
I own nothing, unfortunately.
The title is inspired by a very fantastic Coldplay song. It has nothing to do with the story, really. I just like it.
"Merlin, stay behind this time. It's going to be dangerous." Arthur's eyes were solemnly fixed on his servant's as Merlin adjusted the king's armor.
"As if I've never experienced danger," Merlin cocked his head to the side and grinned, but Arthur showed no happiness in return.
"This is different."
Merlin finished tightening Arthur's armor but did not move away from him. "I can't let you go at this alone, Arthur."
"I'll have the knights," Arthur replied quickly. "You're not a knight, Merlin. You aren't trained for this type of fight.
Merlin shrugged. "You need me. Haven't we talked about how many times I've saved you before? I can be useful!" Merlin smiled again and this time Arthur seemed to realize that nothing he said would keep his servant away.
He smiled back at the man and narrowed his eyes. "You're odd, Merlin."
"Says the clot pole," the man replied immediately.
"Says the servant of the clot pole!" the king was quick to retort.
"Ha!" Merlin let out a single laugh. "I knew you were a clot pole. You've just said it yourself."
And just like that they had returned to their usual, light banter. The battle would be hard, but they had faced hardships before. Merlin had his magic. He would ensure that everything turned out okay. No one was going to get hurt while he was around.
The sky was grey and scattered with dark clouds as the knights stepped onto the battle field. Merlin trailed directly behind Arthur, his face raised to take in their enemies. Trolls were brutal, nasty creatures, and when they had shown up along the outskirts of Camelot, Arthur had immediately assembled a charge against them. There were only 9 of the creatures, but together they were murdering everything in their path. Five children and four grown men had been murdered already.
As the trolls rapidly approached, Arthur turned to face his knights. "Don't underestimate them. We all know that trolls are much smarter than they appear. Fight valiantly, men. For Camelot." Arthur pointed his sword at the creatures and broke his horse into a full gallop towards them.
Merlin followed suit and the knights weren't far behind. The battle, despite consisting of a fairly even number of men and trolls, was not easy. The knights attacked and stabbed over and over again, but the tough skin of the trolls proved nearly impossible to penetrate. Only after repeated hits to the same spot did the skin of the trolls give way.
Arthur, being Arthur, had rushed straight towards the leader of the group. The largest troll in the crowd stood nearly four heads above even the tallest man. Arthur leaped off his horse to meet the troll in a sword fight.
Merlin hopped off his horse as well and lingered behind Arthur. He rarely took part in these battles, but he kept a watchful eye for any need for magic. A quick scan of the field told him that the other knights were handling their smaller, weaker enemies easily. Arthur was caught in a one-on-one battle with the strongest, most intelligent of the group.
The troll swung its heavy sword at Arthur and the king dodged his attack skillfully. He was able to cut at the troll's chest, but unfortunately, his attack did little damage. Again the troll lunged at Arthur, this time connecting the heavy sword with Arthur's arm. Blood seeped through his armor in a thin line as the sword fell from Arthur's hand.
The man fell to the ground, cradling his arm and momentarily forgetting the enemy that was now towering over him. Merlin froze. His mind virtually stopped working and he found himself unable to say anything. No spell would come to mind as the troll lifted its sword above Arthur's head.
"Arthur!" he yelled, barely thinking as he jumped in front of his king. The world fell away as unbearable pain swept over Merlin's body. A whirlwind of colors met his eyes as he fell back onto the ground.
His eyes threatened to close as he felt himself growing more and more weary, but he forced himself to stay conscious and watched from the ground as Arthur found some new strength, retrieved his sword, and stabbed the troll directly in the neck. A burst of momentum seemed to have taken over the king as his sword found its way through the creature.
Leaving the troll dead on the ground, Arthur hurried to his servant. Blood poured out of the tear in Merlin's chest and the servant continued his struggle to stay awake.
"You got him…" Merlin whispered as Arthur pulled away the armor to reveal the wound on his chest.
"Shh, Merlin. Don't speak." Arthur's eyes were wide with a look that Merlin couldn't remember ever seeing before, even during their most difficult of quests. His expression was one of fear and despair. His voice was shaking, loud and panicked.
"Arthur, I'm okay…" Merlin struggled to sit up, but found that he was unable to move his body. He was glued to the ground. He realized suddenly that perhaps his wound was far worse than he thought.
He needed to use magic. Arthur would see, but it was the only way. But again he found that he could perform no spells. Perhaps he was already too weak. Perhaps whatever had wiped his mind earlier was continuing its attack. The warlock attempted to draw his hand up to his wound.
"Merlin, stop moving!" Arthur pressed his own outer shirt to Merlin's chest, desperately trying to stop the flowing blood that covered the ground around them. Merlin could swear his eyes were glimmering with tears.
"Hey!" Arthur cried, turning his head to the knights who had just killed the last of the trolls.
They rushed toward him and Merlin heard Arthur utter one last broken phrase before the darkness overtook him.
"It's Merlin," he said, his eyes never leaving his dying friend.