The Hearts of Camelot Collection

by Heatherlly

A collection based on a special challenge over at The Heart of Camelot, featuring a brief chapter based on 10 different Merlin characters. The purpose of this challenge is to explore a moment on the show where each character's actions really stood out in a positive way.

1. Merlin

Written for our special challenge: "The Hearts of Camelot"

Featured Character: Merlin
Rating/Warnings: K
Word Count: 361
Summary: Set during 2x09, when Merlin risks his life in order to help an unknown Druid girl. I've always had a great deal of respect for his kindness and compassion, and the truth he recognizes in others.

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One look at the bedraggled young woman shackled helplessly in the back of the bounty hunter's wagon was all it took for Merlin to decide he'd do everything in his power to help her. Nothing else registered in his mind – not Gaius's stern warning, or the threat to his own safety if he were caught assisting a magic user who was already condemned to die by the king's decree.

All that mattered was the loneliness reflecting back at him from those innocent eyes; a palpable isolation that called out to him like a scream in the quiet night.

She's just like me, he realized in amazement, understanding the truth in her soul before he'd ever even learned her name. Forced to live a life of secrecy and shame for no other crime than being herself. I can't let her suffer even more than she already has, no matter what Gaius says. I can't...

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," he told her gently, as she shrank back against the bars and stared at him uncertainly. "Tospringe!"

And as the cage broke open, it felt as if the freedom he sought for her were also his own. He heard the murmur of destiny in his ear, promising that this was a tiny step forward upon his path to stand beside Arthur and create a better world, where those who were gifted with magic would no longer have to hide in the shadows in fear for their very lives.

Merlin made no attempt to conceal his powers as he hovered a hand over the shackles that bit cruelly into the girl's delicate wrists. "Unspene þás mægþ!" he murmured quietly, glorying in how natural it felt to reveal himself without meeting even a trace of judgment in the soft, dark eyes that looked upon him with sudden faith.

When they joined hands and fled into the darkness together, it was not only immediate safety they were seeking in their hearts. Deep within their souls also lay the hope for a brighter future, where no magic user would ever have to suffer from unjust persecution again.