Arthur nervously walked to through the corridor to the familiar door of Giaus's old chambers. All this way he had been planning on what to say and still he could think of nothing. The creaky wooden door was shut. And listening intently could hear no noise coming from within the room. He raised his hand about to knock when he noticed something. Three bunches of flowers, all in a neat row, had been left beside the door. Arthur stared at them. They were all different types. None he could name, purple, blue and white. Gaius would be so disappointed with his lack of herb lore. He would have stood there in front of him, eyebrow raised with mock anger and prattle on about how it was a wonder that Arthur was alive at all, and that somehow the meaning of his living depended on his knowledge of plants. He smiled sadly, his eyes welling up.
Suddenly the door opened, and Arthur looked up expecting to see Merlin, or even, just for one second, he thought maybe Gaius. But it was Gwen. They looked into each-others eyes, the crystal blue and mahogany brown. Arthur could see that she had been crying, and his heart went out to hers. She reached out and lightly squeezed his arm. She said nothing, and only shook her head as she walked past him and down the stony corridor he had just come, leaving behind only the sound of her velvet skirts trailing on the cold floor.
Arthur could see that she had left the door open a crack, and through it he could see the shadowy thin figure of Merlin sitting by the windowsill, looking out into the court-yard. As quietly as he could the king pushed open the door and winced as its creaking broke the icy silence. Merlin must have known he was there, but he did not turn round. He didn't even move. It was as if he was a very lifelike statue. Standing by the door, Arthur still didn't know what to say or do. He wasn't that good at dealing with emotions.
"Merlin…" he bowed his head in grief. He knew he had to be strong, for Merlin's sake. They all had to be strong. It hurt Arthur more then he liked to admit, even to himself, seeing Merlin in this level of pain. It was like a life-line, a tread that ran between them that didn't seem to be affected by time or place. Arthur always knew how his friend was feeling, and he felt it to. They were connected. Gaius was, for all intents and purposes, Merlin's father. And he knew exactly that pain. He could not say that in words. He was never good with words. He decided to put it in the simplest terms possible, said it with as much weight and feeling that he could muster. "…I am so sorry." He turned to the door and was about to leave the room when suddenly-
"Arthur." Arthur winced at Merlin's voice. It was dead. Emotionless. He had never heard Merlin's voice sound like that before; he had always been so full of life and joy. He looked round to see Merlin looking at him. His eyes, once kaleidoscopic blue and sparkling were black, cold, and- with a trickle of dread and fear running down Arthurs spine, he realized they were angry. Never before had Arthur seen his friends eyes like that before. His friend, Merlin, who never before had Arthur ever put into the same thought as angry, looked…well…what did he look? Dangerous…He fought to swallow compulsively.
"Yes?"
" I hope for your sake that you truly don't care for your sister anymore. Because when I see her again, im going to kill her."
If said in a different situation that might have sounded like a joke, or a metaphor. But not here. There was not a single ounce of joke in Merlin when he said that. He meant literally what he said. And though he never would have thought he would think it, Arthur totally believed him. Merlin's eyes seemed to bore into his, and Arthur was the first to look away. Without saying another word, he walked through the archway and closed the door behind him.