What if Uther is right and all magic is evil? The power within Merlin grows insufferably, and he is consumed by the darkness within him. He loves Arthur but will that love be strong enough to save him from himself.
Merlin approached Arthur as he sat eating dinner in his chambers. "How is your dinner, sire, "he inquired respectfully.
"It's fine, but perhaps you could tell me what is going on with you lately." He quirked an eyebrow at Merlin.
"What do you mean, Sire?"
"That! You haven't called me a prat in nearly a week! Honestly, it's kinda weird. Also, I've seen you walking about the courtyard at night. It's suspicous. I wonder, what secret could Merlin possibly be keeping from me?" He motioned dramatically to himself.
"No secret's," he said quickly, too quickly but Arthur hardly noticed. His trust in his servant was insurmountable. The prince couldn't imagine not knowing something about Merlin; he felt he knew him inside and out.
The truth was that the prince didn't know Merlin inside and out. Merlin's powers were only one of the few secrets that the prince was not privy to. There was also that over-powering love that swelled in his chest whenever he thought of Arthur, and there was another.
Merlin wasn't sure if it was something to worry about or not, but every few nights or so, he would fall asleep with thoughts of Arthur, imagining what his body would feel pressed up against his and all the things he wanted to do to him. But, once sleep hit, he would be thrown into dreams...no, nightmares of destruction. Trees fell, fires burned brightly, and darkness would rule in these nightmares. The worst part was that in the morning, Merlin would hear of this beast that rampaged through the woods and the outskirts of the lower village. Villagers brought news to the King of the beast breathing fire, uprooting trees, and destroying everything in the area of its attack. Thus far, no one had seen this beast.
He was almost sure that these attacks were caused by him sleep-attacking or something, because he was always tired even after long nights of sleep. He began to get dark circles under his eyes and his reactions were slowed. He felt weary and older, decades older, than he was. It hurt to keep these secrets from Arthur, but the prince was ordered to kill the creature responsible for the destruction. Not to mention the death sentence for anyone practicing magic. How could he tell him any of this?
Merlin watched Arthur's sinewy upper-half move wbout the bedroom complaining to Merlin about not having a clean shirt. He had been meaning to wash his clothes, but never got around to it.
"Merlin, I don't know what is wrong with you lately, but whatever it is, it's leaving me without a shirt. I suppose you'll have to explain to my father why I cannot leave my chambers until you clean my clothes."
"I'll go do that."
"Good and I'll just wander aimlessly around my bedroom until you return."
Merlin took a bucket of water and the clothes and brought them into an empty room. He shut the door and sat in a really comfortable chair in the corner of the room. He looked at the heap of clothes on the floor and tilted his head. Lifting his hand and murmuring a few words, the clothes abruptly began to wash themselves. Merlin smiled to himself and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to consume him.
Arthur walked down the hallway slowly, contemplating what he would say. He knew that something was up because Merlin had seemed...off. He didn't complain or give him a look or anything when Arthur asked him to go clean his clothes. He wanted Merlin to open up to him. They were friends, so he could tell him anything. Still debating how to best weed out whatever was up with Merlin while not appearing as worried as he really was, Arthur opened the door to the room and stopped dead in his tracks. There in the very center of the room was his clothes washing themselves.
"What the-" then he saw Merlin in the corner. "Merlin. Merlin!"
"Hmm," he replied in the fogginess of his nap. Then, his eyes shot open and the clothes fell where they were as he sprung from the chair, gaping, wide-eyed at Arthur's indignant expression.
"I can't believe it! You're with me nearly 24-7 and all this time, I never would have guessed that you were a sorceror! I let a sorceror live in the castle under my very nose!" His eyes widened further. "I trusted you."
"Arthur, I would never use magic for evil." Merlin begged. He couldn't bear another second of Arthur hating him.
"You know, I could actually believe that, but its the fact that you didn't tell me."
"So what, Arthur? You know me. Not everything about me, but you know the person that I am. After everything, there is no way that you could stand there and tell me how annoyed you are of not realizing earlier, and disappointed you are of me for something that I had no control over. I was born this way! There is nothing I can do about it."
"If you had told me, then perhaps I wouldn't have let myself..."
"Let yourself what? What are you talking about?" his heart leaped but he tried to squash his hope. There was no way that Arthur felt anything towards him except hatred right now.
"Nevermind." He turned his back to Merlin and took a deep breath in. He realized now that even though his was angry with Merlin, he still loved him. He could never turn him over to his father, but at the same time, Merlin could not continue living so close to the king. He was putting himself in danger just by stepping foot into the kingdom and there he was, in a chamber in the castle just down the hall from the crowned prince. There was no way for this to be able to stay a secret forever. He could not allow Merlin to risk his life any further. "You should leave."
"Okay," Merlin said, obediently rushing for the door.
"I don't just mean the room, Merlin." Arthur still faced away from him. Which was good because his face was void of emotion pushing away the pain he felt for pushing away Merlin.
"What? Arthur, no-"
"You have to leave. If anyone were to find out..."
"I'm not going to leave you!" Arthur turned slowly to face Merlin and look him dead in the eye. Merlin was internally shocked by how powerful those words sounded to him. He could never leave Arthur's side. The thought of it hurt too much. The pain mixed with the passionate resolve he felt gave him courage he probably would never have been able to tap into at any other time. "I love you," he confessed as the heat of the moment washed over him.
Arthur swiftly closed the space between them and pulled his face close, pressing Merlin's wet, pink lips to his. The kiss was long-lasted and filled with the strength of their emotions. It had promise in it. One of Arthur's hands dropped and keeping their foreheads together but seperating their lips so both could take a deep breath, there was a moment's pause before Merlin curled his hand behind Arthur's head and pulled him into another kiss. This one was sweet and passionate at the same time. Arthur's hands moved to Merlin's back pulling the rest of Merlin too close for even a breath of wind to pass through their two bodies.
Merlin thread his fingers through Arthur's smooth, blonde hair, while Arthur hand slipped beneath Merlin's shirt, anxious to stroke bare skin, particularily the skin of Merlin's lean stomach.
He felt into the groves of Merlin's abs and then wrapped it around to his back. Arthur ran his fingers up and down Merlin's spine sending jolts of pleasure through him. He gasped but Arthur lightly bit onto his bottom lip to keep him from pulling away from his lips. Merlin trailed his hands over Arthur's tight chest and down further to slide them under the edge of his shirt. It lifted slowly, as he felt the smooth skin beneath and let it bunch up at his wrists. Arthur let go of Merlin for a moment so he could pull the shirt over his head. When the shirt laid on the floor beside them, Arthur grasped Merlin and resumed his exploration of Merlin's mouth.
Arthur began the wandering of his hands over his annoyingly still covered stomach and over the curve of his ass. He gently grabbed at it and that put Merlin over the edge. He simply had to get those pants off of Arthur. It took two quick movements to get the royal breeches to hit the floor.
"Wow," Arthur said exasperated. "You're better at undressing me than you are at dressing me."
Merlin smiled devilishly. "Thank God for that." He took hold of Arthur's soft, plump lips with his own for a single passionate kiss before he moved his attention lower planting a fluttery kiss on his neck. He continued with these teasing kisses over to each of his shoulders, one on his nipple, three in a line down his stomach and one last one just above his cock. He stopped for a moment to admire the length and thickness of it before holding onto his hips and bringing his lips around it. Slowly at first, then working up to a steady pace, Merlin dragged his lips and tongue up and down the length of the prince's cock.
Arthur hadn't been sure what Merlin was planning to do, but when he found out, there was no chance of fighting it at that point. He allowed himself to just feel for the first time in his life. All pressures of being a prince were lifted, leaving Arthur feeling lighter than he had felt in a long time. He focused on the sensations that Merlin was stirring in him and not just the physical ones. It felt right to be with him in this way. They fit together, like two sides of the same coin. Suddenly, an overwhelming pleasure was taking control, and he wasn't sure it would be possible to hold out any longer. A moment later, he spilled into Merlin's mouth. He could hear a struggled swallowing sound and looked down to see Merlin smiling up at him.
They went back to kissing, and while he wanted to return the favour to Merlin, the kisses where sweeter than those before which were filled with arousal. Merlin decided that this was not the time. The prince had to show up at the King's side at some point today, and the last thing he wanted was for Arthur to get into trouble. They sat side by side, backs against the wall, fingers intertwined, and watched as the clothes started to clean themselves again.
"You surprise me sometimes, Merlin," he exasperated.
Two secrets down; one to go, he thought, wondering whether Arthur should ever know about the nightmares. "Honestly, I'm more surprised by you right now."He was referring to Arthur's reaction to everything. It was still unbelievable how things turned out.
"Well, although I don't want to think about the fact that you've been keeping secrets from me, I kind of understand why you couldn't tell me. Being the son of a king like Uther, it definitely has its down-side." He solemnly stroked Merlin's hand with his thumb, wrapped up in his thoughts.
"That's it though. You are so much different than him. You understand, and you're giving me the chance to prove to you that magic may not be as hopelessly evil as Uther believes. I think, you'll make a great king one day," he said, looking into Arthur's bright, blue eyes to accentuate his point.
Arthur stared back at Merlin with a hard, determined look. "When I am king, things will be different. You'll see."
Merlin was sure of that.