To Love But One For Eternity

A/N: Hey, haven't been on in a little while, and haven't posted anything for this fandom in ages (by my time, anyhoo). I was reading one of these sort of things the other day, and I thought I'd give it a go. You get 100 word prompts and write a short (or long) story based around that word. Obviously, I'm way too lazy to do 100, so I made aforementioned (in another A/N) friend Molly pick a number (she chose 22) and I would choose 22 of the words/phrases and do those. And this is the first chapter. Evidently. So, it'll be a twenty-two chapter fic, some of the chapters will be linked, and I'll tell you which ones when I get to them, but for the most part these can be read separately. I'm still doing a plan for the rest of the chapters, but I might post the second chapter later tonight (this morning?) if I write it. Maybe. God, this was a ridiculously long author's note. My apologies. Happy reading!

Word Count (Not including A/N's or titles): 1, 085

Chapter One – Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, in the great land of Camelot, there was a handsome young King. This King had hair like finely woven sunlight, and his eyes were like that of the summer sky. His skin glowed with an unearthly golden shimmer, and his jaw line was strong and bold. He was, to put it bluntly, incredibly handsome-

Merlin snatched the book and pen from Arthur's hands. He had been reading over his shoulder, and he laughed at the words written in the messy scrawl that was Arthur's handwriting.

"Arthur, I know that your lecturer is Gaius and he's forgiving and nice and everything he was in the first life, but even he won't excuse the blatant description of yourself, you clotpole!" Merlin exclaims, grinning, his eyes curving into a crescent shape.

"God, I wish it was still the first life, because then I could have you put in the stocks for your insolence, Merlin! Then again, you said worse in that life and even then I didn't put you in the stocks, so-"

"Shut up, Arthur. Look, let me write something. You can copy it or whatever. Or you can keep it for future reference.' Here, Merlin winks, before clutching the book and pen to his chest and moving to sit in the rocking chair in the corner of the room as Arthur tried to grab his things back.

Arthur smiled. His head often hurt from holding so many memories of so many different versions of himself. He – they – had lived through much together. They had been Prince and manservant, eventually King and Court Sorcerer, of Camelot. They had been teacher and student, artist and apprentice. They had been English, Spanish, American. He can't remember all of his past lives, but he's pretty sure that Merlin had been a woman in one of them.

Arthur finds it easier to write his memories down in one way or another. This, he believes, is why he finds writing so appealing. In this lifetime, he has known Merlin since he was a small child. Their mothers, who are not Ygraine and Hunith in this instance, were friends in university. Whilst Arthur's mother married young and had him, Merlin was born as the result of a one-night stand. So, with Merlin being a constant since birth, he had always had his old memories. Similarly, ever since he could speak, he told great stories of epic battles, and heart-wrenching ones with such sorrow and heartbreak that he reduced his mother to tears. At university now, he studies English literature and Arthurian legend. He likes seeing the differences in the legends from what truly happened. Like Gwen, she was never a noble, and Merlin was younger than him, not older. Arthur never attempted to burn Gwen at the stake, and Mordred was a considerable amount younger than the myths told him to be.

He thinks that Merlin's magic kept all of his memories from giving him a headache. Magic had been a part of Merlin in each and every form, and they had both maintained the same looks they had been born with in what they called the first life – the life they lived in Camelot. They had met many reincarnations of their friends over the years, the most recent being Gaius as Arthur's English literature lecturer at university. But every time, Arthur and Merlin had found each other, and, mostly, stayed together. Sometimes, just occasionally, their meetings would simply be a brush against each other whilst passing in the street, two strangers. Their memories would not return to them until they had met. Arthur dreaded the day when he did not meet Merlin.

His thoughts were interrupted as Merlin passed him his book back. The paragraph written in his own handwriting had been crossed out, and replaced with some in Merlin's rounded print.

Once upon a time, in a land of myth and evil and magic, there was a young man. He was, unfortunately for him, the manservant of one Prince Arthur of Camelot. Arthur was the lone son of King Uther, but Uther decreed magic to be illegal, punishable by death, after his wife – Arthur's mother, Ygraine – was killed at its hand. Unluckily, not only was the young man the servant of Arthur, he was also born with magic.

The Prince thought very highly of himself; he thought he was so handsome and brave and clever. He thought he knew everything. The young man laughed at Arthur's arrogance, for he did not see all. He did not learn of his manservant's magic for many years. The young man, the manservant, was a powerful warlock, known to the druids by the name Emrys (which he adopted as his surname in the lives that followed this), but known to most as Merlin. Merlin's destiny was to protect Arthur from the evil that sought to kill him, and to assist him in one day uniting the land of Albion.

They hated each other on sight. Arthur was a bully, and Merlin tried to stop him in his ways. Eventually, after several occasions of saving each other's lives, they realised they had become friends. Merlin, in all his innocence, thought that the strange sensation that ran through his body whenever Arthur was near was just his magic reacting to the presence of his destiny. It took him several years to realise that the feeling was, in fact, love. He had fallen in love with Prince Arthur.

Arthur was very thick-headed, and he did not fall in love with the absolutely gorgeous manservant until he was King, and Merlin was his Court Sorcerer. Arthur was already married to a lovely woman named Guinevere, and she was a wonderful Queen. She was just and fair and everything a Queen should be. But she and Arthur were not in love. She loved Sir Lancelot, one of Arthur's knights, and he, of course, loved Merlin. History would only recognise Gwen and Lancelot's love, and never Merlin and Arthur's, but they preferred it that way.

All that mattered to Merlin was that he loved Arthur and Arthur loved him. And that's the way it stayed until the sky came crashing down and the sun burned out.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Arthur felt a tender smile spread across his face, and he pulled Merlin onto his lap, winding his arms around the thinner man's waist. Merlin settled his cheek on Arthur's shoulder.

They both hoped that it truly would last until the end of days.

A/N: Sorry! Me again! So, yeah, that was the first of 22 chapters, which probably won't be posted in any particular pattern. Reviews are appreciated (so that means review! It doesn't take that long!) Thanks! Much love...