Merlin's funeral wasn't quite as grand as Arthur would have liked.
Sure, it was the same as Uther's had been; too many people crowded around a casket bought at the highest price, surrounded by decorations of black with red and gold embroidery. However, at Merlin's funeral there were quite a few more genuine tears, and possibly more people in attendance. Arthur was again astounded by Merlin's popularity, but his emotions were too heavy for him to find it amusing like he might have. Today he put his best friend in the ground. While he'd had several days to adjust to the idea, he still hadn't quite come to terms with it.
Arthur had envisioned fanfares to his honor, tears enough to fill a river, but also grins as stories were told of his various humorous endeavors at being the world's worst servant. Instead, it was just a dull group of people with wet eyes and somber expressions, completely silent as they watched the polished casket enter the Tomb of Kings.
It was easy to see that Merlin had been well loved, at least. The knights had quickly volunteered to bear the casket to its final resting place, had even fought over the chance to carry the boy. The servants had gone above and beyond to prepare a feast in his honor. Everyone had brought some kind of tribute in the boys' honor… well, most everyone. There were still those who disagreed with the manner in which they treated the sorcerer when magic had so long been an enemy of the kingdom. They weren't aware that big changes had already occurred in Camelot, and more would happen as time went on. Arthur wasn't his father, and Merlin's death had served to only deepen the chasm between the two.
Arthur closed his eyes as emotion started to bubble up inside of him. He had to stay calm. Not only was it expected for the king to be composed, but Gaius had warned him that getting worked up was what had caused his previous… problems. And that was the first step in his new training, to keep some control of his emotions. Even though he wanted to sob and scream and punch someone all at the same time, he forced himself to remain still and passive.
It was much harder than he'd expected. But then again, he was saying goodbye to a best friend that had dropped a major problem/gift into his life.
After the funeral, the feast quickly turned into reminiscing about the boy. When he'd first come to the kingdom and been made Arthur's servant. When he'd drunk the wine from the poisoned goblet to save the future king. Every single time he'd saved Arthur's life, and every time they'd had to save his. When he'd saved the king's life after Mordred had tried to kill him. When he'd found Arthur's location in the small prison cell and had saved him…
No one wanted to talk about after they'd escaped the prison, because that was still too close and too hard. But his heroics were discussed, of course, and his antics. There were a few joking comments about his ears and that silly scarf he always wore.
By the time Arthur excused himself to go to his room, he was exhausted and just barely keeping his emotions in check. He hurried to Gaius' chambers and as soon as the door closed he felt it. The magic bubbling up inside of him and bursting forth in tears. He didn't know what was going to happen when his eyes flashed yellow. He never did. Merlin hadn't had time to teach him what to do before he died.
Fortunately, this time, the tears that fell to the floor just caused small plants to burst from the stone. They grew a foot tall before collapsing and withering, falling into a pile of dead leaves almost as quickly as they sprouted. Arthur just sat on the floor and let it out for a moment. Then he stood, wiped a sleeve across his face, and adjusted his clothing. Gaius had invited him to come to the small room whenever he felt he was going to break down, in order to keep his magic a secret from the rest of the kingdom. At least he wasn't expected in the physician's home, now that Merlin wasn't around.
Gaius was away, despite Arthur's protests. The man had needed some time to heal from Merlin's death, away from the memories and the tears. He had promised that Arthur would be fine, if he just controlled himself. The king, however, was in a hurry to get some mastery over the strange new power so he could go back to a semi-normal existence again.
Most everyone as still at the feast for Merlin when Arthur left Gaius chambers, so he didn't have to explain his splotchy red face or the dust on his trousers. And once he was in the room, he stripped himself of his clothing – with a little difficulty – and immediately fell asleep. It had been a day that lasted too long and took too much effort, and all he wanted to do was forget about it for a little while.
After all, he had worse battles to face in the near future.
AN: Hey all, this is the tentative continuation of With the King. Please review? That would be super helpful for me. Also, thanks for reading! Hope you'll stick with me as I continue to explore... Yep.