Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin but I think it would be really cool to be on the creative team for it.
About this fic: So I am a nostalgic sort of writer and reader. My favorite part of Harry Potter was when he was walking to the forest and remembering all the adventures he had at Hogwarts and the friends he had made. Also, that part where he said that Hogwarts had been his home. Insta-tears. That being said, this fic being my first of the Merlin fandom, it is probably going to be a bit nostalgic. I will try to tone it down, but it is the basis of this story. It's a reveal via memories basically. I would put a tearjerker warning in here, but I think I am probably the only one who has this intense of an emotional response to the past. All the same, it is there for those who need it. There may be adventure later on, but in the forseeable future there are no battles or anything so no character death (except the ones who are already dead). Oh I guess I should state that Uther is dead in this fic. Sorry Uther fans, but it is necessary.
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Camelot was all abuzz on that evening. All the citizens of Camelot had lit lanterns, placing them all throughout the lower town so that it was the town that seemed to be lit up with stars in sharp contrast to the black sky above. The night air was cool, but not uncomfortably so. This night, the children of Camelot had no curfew. The young children could be seen catching fireflies, singing, and dancing throughout the streets. Adults put aside their differences for one night of communal celebration. The taverns were full and families rejoiced together because a new king of Camelot had been crowned. The castle occupants looked out on the celebrations with great joy. Everyone needed this celebration to forget the terrors of Morgana. Families were torn asunder and none would forget that day in the square when innocent bystanders were slaughtered in an attempt to break the knights to the sorceresses will. The dawning of a new age had everyone forgetting that terror for one night. The mourning for Uther's recent passing had just ended. Uther had won Camelot from its previous ruler, but the people had watched Arthur grow and mature and he had their loyalty.
So it was that the castle servants had all been sent home to celebrate with their families. The knights of Camelot had gone to the tavern to celebrate. Gwaine, Percival, and Lancelot had been easily integrated into the fold of the protectors of Camelot as they were hailed as heroes that had rescued her from the dark reign of Morgana. They had all gone above and beyond in their duties and Camelot was now their home, the first rule of knighthood forgotten. That night they toasted to new friends, new lives, their friend Merlin, and the long life of the King.
Inside the castle, Arthur, Gweneviere, Merlin, and Gaius remained at the royal dining table, Gaius and Gwen regaling Merlin with some of Arthur's prepubescent adventures. Arthur and Merlin then told Gwen of some of their more lighthearted adventures while laughing merrily throughout the night.
"So then, Arthur's horse takes off, running him right into the branch. He fell on his bottom right into a puddle of mud."
"Well at least I can say that I have never fallen off my horse from falling asleep while on an important mission like you Merlin."
All four of them had a good laugh at that, not delving into the important mission that was the rescue of Gwen. After all, there was no reason to dampen the mood on this night.
"Well your majesty, I am not so young a man as I once was. I think it is time that I retire." Gaius stood, taking leave of his new king.
"I think it is about time I head out as well Arthur." Gwen yawned.
"Okay. Merlin, after you clean up this mess, you can wait in my chambers to prepare me for bed. I am going to walk Gwen back to her house."
Gwen and Arthur left the room hand in hand, smiling at each other as Merlin prepared to clear the table, since the other servants all had the night off. He didn't see this as a chore due to the happiness that was coursing through him. He had fulfilled his destiny after a long, hard journey. Arthur had become a mature, responsible man and had taken his rightful place on the throne. However, the nervous twitters began in Merlin's stomach. He had always promised himself that he would keep his secrets from Arthur until he was on the throne. Once the threat of Uther was gone, Merlin knew that he would have to find the courage to tell Arthur the truth. Though neither man would admit it, Merlin and Arthur were friends and would always protect one another. Merlin was still afraid of Arthur's reaction, though he knew that Arthur wouldn't send him straight to the pyre as Uther would have. With Arthur, Merlin was more afraid of losing Arthur's trust and friendship. He knew that if Arthur cut him out of his life, it would be much more difficult to protect him from the shadows. At the same time, if he remained silent, he would be betraying Arthur's trust and the entire magical community.
As he walked toward Arthur's bedchambers he reflected on how he and Arthur had both changed over the years. Merlin had come to Camelot as a young boy, not really sure what his place was in the world. All he had known was that his village had become too small for him. It didn't take long for Camelot to become his home. He had risen to the young, immature prince's taunts and had stupidly used his magic right in front of a large crowd. His time and trials in Camelot had changed him as much as they had changed the other man.
As Merlin fumbled with his key and entered Arthur's chamber, he recalled the first time he had killed someone. His magic had almost resulted in the death of a local farmer back in Ealdor, but the first time he had really killed someone was when the old woman had tried to kill Arthur. His reward for this act was his position as Arthur's manservant.
Merlin's fingers moved slower than normal as he put the bedpan in Arthur's bed because he was lost in his memories. He thought of the strength and fairness Arthur had shown over the years. Arthur was willing to risk his life for that of a servant and friend; be it Morgana, Gwen, or Merlin. He had seen Arthur give money back to the poor townspeople when Uther had raised the taxes. He had seen the lengths Arthur would go to in order to rescue his kingdom. Though he may not have trusted the young, arrogant prince he met on his first day, he knew that he must trust his new King otherwise everything they had been working for together would be a lie.
Merlin stood up from his place on the bed when Arthur entered the room with a large smile on his face.
"Merlin, you are a king's servant now." Arthur smiled. His face grew more serious and his voice grew quieter as he spoke. "Merlin, now that I am king, I want to offer you a place in the servant's quarters. I know that in the past you have acted as Gaius' apprentice in addition to your duties to me, but I think it is time that we find another apprentice for Gaius. I hear the beds are comfortable in the servant's quarters. You don't have to move if you don't want to, but you might consider it. I will soon be moving into the King's chambers which are better situated for security and emergency situations."
"I will talk to Gaius about it milord."
They remained in companionable silence as the King prepared for bed behind his changing curtain.
"Do you wish your father had been here to see this day?" Merlin braved the emotional conversation.
Arthur's eyes became unfocused as he strolled over to the window to look out on the celebrations. "He told me after the melee that I had proven I was ready to be king, and I know he was proud of me, but yes, I do wish that my father could have been in the front row for my coronation."
"I know that no matter what comes ahead that you will be the king that will unite the land and inspire confidence and trust in the people. Your father raised a great son." Arthur's gaze bored into Merlin.
"Merlin, sometimes your confidence in my abilities astounds me and other times you keep me grounded. Sometimes I feel like there is this other side of you that I only rarely witness." Merlin dropped his gaze to the floor at Arthur's words. He really couldn't ask for a better lead-in to the request he needed to make of Arthur, but he noticed that a nervous smack made its way past his lips as he prepared his speech.
"Arthur, I always promised myself that when you became king I would allow you to see that other side of me. I have secrets that I have kept from you for far too long. To keep them from you any longer would be to betray your trust in me. That being said, when you have a reprieve from your new kingly duties and get settled in as King of Camelot-" Merlin gave Arthur a proud smile at the title, "-I would like to go on a hunting trip with you. Only this time it won't be any beast, magical or otherwise, that we hunt, but the answers to the unspoken questions you have had about…me…" here Merlin paused with a blush and could no longer hold Arthur's crystal gaze, "…and everything."
Silence hung in the air around the two of them until Arthur's deep chuckle shattered it. He clapped his still scrawny manservant on the back and with a glimmer of lightheartedness in his eyes said, "Okay Merin. You do realize that I call the shots around here, right? However, I can see that this request is important to you, so I will go on this trip with you upon my first availability. You may go to bed now and I will see you at dawn."
"Yes your pratesty." Merling responded with a grin. He understood that this sort of deep conversation was uncomfortable for Arthur and so fell easily into their normal routine.
"Merlin." With one hand on the door handle, Merlin turned when he heard his name.
" Thank you"
Merlin bobbed his head slightly and bounced down the hallway to Gaius' chambers, his heart racing and limbs shaking from the nervous excitement of his talk with Arthur.
A/N: Okay, I should warn you that I have a motivation problem with finishing fics. I know where I want this story to go, it's just a matter of sitting down and writing it. I really have to thank Ultra-Geek for inspiring me to sit down for these four hours and write 1,600 words. I really don't know how she does it with a 3,000 word minimum per chapter. So I am seriously going to try and finish this one and if I don't, anyone who cares is free to yell at me or try to make me feel guilty which usually works better. I should also apologize for all the commas. When it comes down to it I am a total comma-…girl! (Yeah keepin it K+) I like to pause for dramatic effect (insert comma here). This is also unedited because if I had a beta, then I might have someone making me feel guilty for not updating in a timely fashion. I also tend to ramble on so if my writing ever becomes slightly stream of consciousness it is because my thoughts are always taking me in five different directions at once, which is the reason I have to write, but also makes writing rather difficult for me at the same time. My English GSI said that I like to use run-on sentences (and way too many commas) and I would have to agree with her, but that is also how I talk normally. My mouth is always going on and on without stopping, so sometimes my writing does too. Hence the extremely long Authors Note, but hey it is my first, so yeah! Okay, I am going to conclude with a sentence that contains no commas. Thank you all for taking the time to read all the way through the first chapter of my first Merlin fanfiction.