To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold-brothers who know now they are truly brothers"
-Archibald Macleish.
Prince Daegal
"We did it," Merlin's breath of relief was somehow compiled into words-words that he had said so many times before that it was truly a miracle that he could even find victory in them anymore. But he could always find victory in the situation because yes, Arthur was alive.
He was alive, alive, alive! Merlin hadn't been too late, had not failed. He felt a smile tugging at the edges of his lips, and he swiveled around to see Daegal right behind him. The younger boy was openmouthed, his dirty brown hair disheveled and his impish face contorted into shock. He stared at Merlin with icy blue eyes, wide.
"You mean," the other one croaked. "You mean you did it," he corrected. Merlin grinned and put a hand on his shoulder. "Not without you I couldn't have," he said, honestly. "But you…Your magic," Merlin's hand slid up to gently squeeze the back of Deagal's neck, not only because he needed to shush the boy before anyone heard, but because he was dead serious and would hear nothing against it.
"Look at who you saved," he commanded, pulling Daegal forward to look down upon Arthur, the man Merlin had come to love as a brother with bright blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. He was examining the dead king right then, his face a mask of regret and sorrow.
He hated it when people died. Arthur put a high cost on human life, it was by no means expendable to him, warrior or not. Merlin felt his chest swell with pride as Daegal eyes widened when he saw Arthur, king Arthur.
"I…" his voice wavered. "I did something good?" He wondered, softly, as if he couldn't believe it. "Of course you did," Merlin replied. Daegal turned around, and there was a sparkle of hope and joy in his eyes. Merlin returned the look, feeling affection and respect for this youngster grow in his own heart. "You're a hero," he informed Daegal.
"Not only have you saved Arthur's life-and thus all of Camelot today-but mine as well," he nodded. "I will forever be grateful to you, Daegal," he stated as seriously as he ever did when someone else saved him for once. He never got any thanks, so he made sure to make his as fiercely thankful as he could.
Daegal blushed, the reddish freckles in his face blazing out at Merlin, who shook his head in amusement. So modest, this child. Suddenly, the stomping of heavy Knights barreling up the stairs alerted him to a new problem. What was he going to tell Leon when he asked why Merlin was up there?
I guess I'll just have to tell…An abbreviated sort of truth, Merlin supposed, glancing at Daegal. The younger boy was going to love this. Daegal, at hearing the Knights, had jumped behind Merlin, eyes wide. Merlin patted him on the shoulder. "It is only the Knights," he assured him just as said Knights appeared in the doorway, swords drawn and faces grave,
"Merlin!" Percival cried upon noticing him. "Merlin?" Gwaine echoed, pushing his way up front. Merlin waved at the dead assassin at his feet. "I believe you're looking for him," he said in response to their befuddled looks. The others turned to stare at the assassin leaning against the wall.
"He killed the king?" Mordred asked, leaning in to press fingers to the dead man's neck, just in case. He handed Leon the man's crossbow, prying it from cold, stiff fingers. "He was aiming for Arthur," Merlin began to explain when a new person entered the fray.
"Leon? Did you find…?" Arthur's question was cut off as he stormed into the gaggle of his closest Knights, eyes afire with fury. He stopped dead upon seeing his absent manservant. Daegal's grip on his arm tightened painfully as the younger boy ducked behind Merlin fearfully. "Merlin?" Arthur asked, confusedly. "What are you…Where've you been?" He demanded then.
"We found the assassin sire," Percival piped in, sparing Merlin the struggle of coming up with a reasonable excuse for that, too. He could hardly say he had been attacked by Morgana, because that would raise all sorts of odd questions that he did not need to answer at that moment.
Arthur, his fury momentarily distracted, though he gave Merlin look that said that they were not done, knelt next to the man that Percival pointed out, also pressing fingers to the pulse in his neck. He closed the man's eyes respectfully, moth set into a grim line. "Who was he? How did he die?" he fired off.
Leon cleared his throat. "We don't actually know, Sire," he turned to Merlin. "Do you? You were here first," he asked. "And are you hurt, Merlin?" Gwaine added, his brow furrowed as he caught sight of Merlin's stiff leg. Merlin ignored that question. He didn't have a story for that either yet.
"He was an agent sent by Morgana and let into the castle by the traitor we suspect is roaming about, sire," he explained, skipping over the part about him knowing exactly who the traitor was. "He came up here to kill you, not the Sarrum. The only reason that the arrow missed you was because Daegal here," he snatched the younger boy by the arm, dragging him from behind him firmly. Daegal squeaked when he was revealed infront of the King and his Knights.
"Came to me and warned me about Morgana's plans. She had offered to pay him to bring me to her, so she could ask me how to get into the castle, but instead he lured her on a different trail and came to warn me. I came up here to stop the assassin, and Daegal managed to hit him with that," he pointed to the stick he had used to strike the attacker with.
"Which was enough to bring his aim out of balance," Merlin was rather impressed with his story. Arthur turned his eyes to Daegal, who Merlin knew was staring at him with astonishment and awe. "Is that right?" Arthur muttered thoughtfully, studying Daegal, who shuffled in place and stared down at his feet, blushing beneath the admiring gaze of the king.
"And," Merlin added, not done yet. "He saved me too, Arthur. I met him in the woods, you see, he was afraid someone might hear if we stayed in Camelot, and Morgana caught up with us. She did some weird…Thing with her magic," he waved his hand, pretending to not know anything about what he was talking about. After five years of doing this, he was pretty good at it. "Morgana attacked you?" Leon gasped. "Is that what's wrong with your leg, mate?" Gwaine piped in worriedly. "Are you alright?" Arthur wondered.
"Thanks to Daegal," Merlin placed both a hands on his wiry shoulders, keeping him in place. "I'm fine," he assured them. Daegal shrugged. Eyes on the ground. "I only got the herbs you told me to get," he mumbled. "He saved my life," Merlin summed up, ignoring that statement.
"Well," Arthur decided, giving Merlin a concerned glance. Merlin nodded at him to let him know he really was alright, even though his leg was sending jolts of agony up his body. "Come here then," casting Merlin a panicked look, to which Merlin grinned at and pushed Daegal mercilessly forward, the younger boy obeyed.
He stopped before Arthur, eyes on the ground. Arthur lowered his voice, eyes gentle. "Where are your parents, Daegal?" he asked. "I don't have any, milord. They're dead," Daegal admitted, and his voice was strained as he stuttered. "Well then, it seems there is only one person I need to thank," Arthur leaned down, and gently took Daegal's chin in his hands, tilting his face up to look him in the eyes.
"Not only for my life, and the safety of this kingdom, but for the life of my useless manservant too. I owe you much, Daegal. Anything you want-anything at all-you just name it," he said. Daegals' eyes grew wide, and he stare at Arthur with the same awe as Merlin sometimes felt at the sight of his forever king before he glanced around, a bit nervously, and caught Merlin's eye.
"In truth, sire," he gulped. "I only want to stay with Merlin," he confessed, eyes begging Merlin for permission. "Merlin?" Arthur repeated, surprised. "Merlin?" Gwaine, Percival and Leon echoed in the background. "Me?" Merlin added, just as surprised as the others. Daegal nodded, and a small smile grew on his face.
"Yes. If-if you don't mind, Merlin," he stammered. Merlin shook his head, mind spinning. "You saved my life and the life of my king Daegal, of course I don't mind, but…Don't you want, I don't know? Endless riches? A monument? A royal horse? A castle?" he wondered. Daegal gave him a 'who cares about those things?' look and shook his head, turning back to Arthur.
"I just want Merlin," he stated plainly. Merlin was oddly touched by the child-like simplicity of his statement. No one had ever really wanted just…Him, before. Arthur gave Merlin a look full of confusion and question, rubbing the back of his head uneasily, but Merlin shrugged. "Honestly, I can't think of why anyone would want me either. I'm aware I'm annoying," he admitted to Arthur's unspoken question.
"Can I stay?" Daegal interrupted, pleadingly. "I have an idea," One of the older Knights piped in. Arthur turned to him, the fact that someone actually wanting and liking Merlin around obviously baffling him speechless.
"Why not make him a ward of the crown, my king?" Sir Tristan asked. "Since he has no parents and you and the Queen have yet no heirs… He has already demonstrated a good heart," here Daegal's eyes glistened with moisture. Merlin stared the Knight, finding a sudden love for the older man. This was just what Daegal deserved!
"And a loyalty to Camelot and the greater good that is astonishing. I think it would be a great idea to make him apart of your royal revenue," he suggested. Arthur's brow furrowed.
"Only the children of nobles or Knights can be..." he began haltingly, as if he were rehearsing the words from a rather difficult and onerous book. Merlin interrupted after he had made a scene of rolling his eyes.
"You married a serving maid! You created a Round Table! You gave power to Gwaine!" he said with exasperation. Arthur sent him a nasty glance, but Merlin saw that he had gotten his point across.
"We could train him to be a Knight," Gwaine suggested after Merlin's outburst, grinning roguishly. Merlin blessed Gwaine. "He'll be a part of the Round Table brotherhood!" Percival continued in a quiet cheer.
The other Knights nodded and muttered in agreement, studying Daegal thoughtfully, even Leon looked pleased by the idea of Arthur having someone so loyal close to him. Arthur looked to Merlin for guidance.
Merlin nodded enthusiastically. "He is a good kid, Arthur," he promised. "He'll learn well under you," he agreed wholeheartedly. Daegal was staring around in bewilderment, obviously too shocked to understand.
Arthur looked at Daegal contemplatively for a moment, seeming to weigh something in his head, perhaps thinking about the last ward a Pendragon had possessed, before he found whatever it was he had been looking for in Daegal, and nodded. "Very well," he decided. "Daegal, is this what you want? Would you like to become my ward?" He asked.
"W-what's a ward?" Daegal asked, voice wavering. He looked around, confused and overwhelmed. "You'd be a prince," Merlin explained mercifully. "A prince of Camelot," he said. Daegal looked ready to faint, or run, or perhaps both not exactly in a corresponding order.
Finally, when he had gone so pale Merlin was beginning to worry, Daegal looked up, and his innocent eyes were trained on him. "Will I get to see you?" he asked. Merlin almost threw up his hands in vexation. Here Arthur was offering the boy prince hood and he was still worried about Merlin?
He was touched. And he let it show on his face. He grinned. "I'm with Arthur every day," Arthur grumbled agreement. "You'll see me around all the time," he assured him. "You'll help me?" Merlin saw a plea for assistance, for compassion from a young boy who had just had the world placed upon his shoulders.
Merlin knew the feeling. He smiled sloppily. "Are you kidding? Who do you think trained these block heads to be Knights?" he asked, perking his head towards Gwaine, Percival and Leon. "And I'm the one who made Prince prat into King Dollophead. You'll be the best ward in the history of Camelot," he promised.
Daegal laughed softly as Arthur punched Merlin in the shoulder gently and Gwaine ruffled his hair. "He's right, ya know. None of us would be here without Merlin," Percival pointed out, smiling. "So, what do you say? Wanna be the newest addition?" Gwaine wondered. Daegal's answering smile was so large it split his face in two. "I'd love too," he confessed, to the excited cheering of the Knights. Arthur smiled, a bit shyly, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Prince Daegal," he whispered. "I like the tune of that." So did Merlin.