Title: Frozen Heart
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Arthur/OFC, Merlin/OFC
Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)
Prompt: N/A
WARNINGS: This is based roughly somewhere series 2, however as I am want to do, some series 3 stuff may creep in so there may be some accidental spoilers.
Disclaimer: Merlin not mine *sob* It's the BBC's though I want to rob them and get away with Bradley and Colin ^_^
Summary: Winter is a dark time for Camelot, but this year is made even worse when something, or rather someone raises her beautiful head and has her revenge.
Note: Cause I am both stupid and sado-masochistic for the first part of this year's advent I am writing a multi-parter. When my chapters run out I will fall back on tradition and do prompts I have been given! I am well aware the title sucks. If I think of a better one it will get replaced! Thanks to the lovely ladytanyata for beta-ing and if there is anything wrong it's my fault.
Chapter 1
"Arthur!" Morgana sat bolt upright, shivering uncontrollably. The echo of her voice carried on the air becoming higher in pitch until she had to cover her ears. She could feel the build of her magic within her and knew she could not stop it. The noise had become so shrill; she wanted to scream in pain when the window closest to her shattered. She stared at the window in horror. Uther would soon start asking awkward questions, what with all the things breaking in her room lately.
Outside there was a flurry of snow. Winter had come quickly and cruelly. She gazed at the snow, wide eyed with fear from the shadows of the dream she had. As she watched the white shower, the flakes twisted and swirled before her, seemingly forming a face, a face that moved towards the window, towards her.
Morgana shrieked and clambered out of the bed, backing away. For once she hoped it was her magic doing that and nothing else. There really couldn't be a face in the snow. Trembling, she slid down the wall and hid her face from the window, praying that the thing wouldn't enter. Cold tears of fear ran down her cheeks.
"My lady!" Morgana suddenly felt warm arms wrap around her, she looked up cautiously, not daring to hope. What she saw made her weep with joy.
"Gwen."
"Yes, I'm here. Are you alright?" The maid asked, worried to see her mistress in an even worse state than normal. Morgana's night terrors were frightening enough as it was without finding her shaking on the floor as well.
"There- there was a face. At the window." She turned to look, fearing the vision would indeed still be there. All she could see now was swirling flakes of white as they fell heavily past the broken window. Gwen turned to look herself.
"There is nothing there. You are safe... but you're frozen." She rubbed Morgana's arms a little before she rose and found a shawl to drape around the shaking woman's shoulders. She gave Gwen a tentative smile.
"Thank you, Gwen. I don't know what I would do without you?" Gwen smiled kindly,
"Never fear of that, my lady. I am always here for you. Let's find you a different room; it is far too cold in here now." She carefully helped Morgana to her feet. Morgana looked back at the window once more, still trembling from her fright. She couldn't see anything but the fluffy flakes, but she had to be sure.
"Are you certain there is nothing there?" Gwen looked at the window again, wondering what had actually scared her mistress so much.
"I am certain. Perhaps it was just your imaginings brought on by one of your nightmares?"
"Nightmares?" Her eyes flew wide. "Arthur." She pulled away from Gwen and ran to her door.
"Where are you going?" Gwen asked in concern.
"I have to find Arthur." Morgana called back as she rushed out of the door.
-x-
His skin felt heated, clammy to the touch, his breathing left in harsh pants as a warm mouth trailed soft kisses down his collar bone. Long fingers trailed through his hair and he could feel another hand tracing the muscles of his body. His eyes were closed and when he managed to open them, all he could see was the canopy above the bed. He moaned deeply as the roving hand brushed against where he wanted it most.
"Please!" He managed to gasp out, begging, begging for something he couldn't quite...
"Tell me, tell me what you want." A voice, deeper, lower than he had expected but one that sent ecstatic shivers through his entire body asked him.
"I- I" A face appeared in his vision, hair, dark as night and skin as pale as milk except for the red flush across both cheeks. A smile, bright, knowing. Eyes a sparkling blue like a summer sky.
"Arthur, tell me." He purred, his voice dropping deeper again, made him want so much more than he had ever known.
"Merlin- I..." Arthur blinked his eyes open suddenly. He took a deep breath and wondered if he had been holding it. He sat up carefully and rubbed his face. His body was slick with sweat and his skin burned with a heat that he hadn't felt in a long time. He stared out into the darkness of the room, almost surprised that his dream bed mate wasn't actually in the room. It had been so vivid, so realistic... but Merlin? Really? His body certainly thought so if the heat between his legs was anything to go by. He swung his legs round and sat on the edge of the bed and took deep calming breaths. The last thing he needed was to start dreaming about his servant, especially in that way. He didn't see Merlin like that at all... did he?
Arthur rubbed his face again. This was too much thought for the middle of the night. The cool air was finally starting to hit him, cooling his skin. Now that he was awake, Arthur didn't want to return to sleep just yet, he almost feared what he would find there. No, he needed to clear his head first. Pulling the sheets back, Arthur rose from the bed and walked over to the window.
It was dark outside, the sky heavily clouded but what brightness there was from torches in the courtyard and faint lights in the city below, lit up the thick snowflakes that were falling. The courtyard was already blanketed in white. Arthur grimaced; he really didn't want to train in the snow in the morning. He leaned heavily against the wall, bracing himself with his arm and stared blankly out at the snow, watching it swirl aimlessly, covering Camelot in a thick blanket. He knew with the sun rise there would be more bad news. The death toll would be high again. It was bad enough at winter but this year seemed particularly cruel. The cold seeped into even the warmest of rooms; a chill crept into your bones even if you were wrapped up in the warmest firs. The poor couldn't afford that and it was with a heavy heart Arthur realised, many wouldn't make it through the winter.
The heavy sigh he gave left a mist across the panes of glass and half heartedly he wiped them away only to jolt back. He stared intently at the place where he had just wiped and sure enough he saw the snow swirl there. Moving closer he looked back out the window, he saw the snow shift and hover. In front of him there was a face, a face made up of tiny snowflakes, almost like a constellation. Arthur blinked, thinking that perhaps he was more tired than he thought. He looked out once more and this time the face was closer, almost as close as he was to the window on his side. The face was soft and feminine and it was only as Arthur continued to look that he noticed that the flakes that whipped around the face were in fact her hair. Staring into snowflake eyes, Arthur found himself entranced. He had thought the snow beautiful once, but this was something else. She seemed to smile at him, the denser snowflakes of her lips moving upwards.
"Arthur." Those lips whispered. He could feel that whisper down his spine, his nose almost touched the glass as he tried to move further forward to see this strange and magical creature that glittered in front of him like a dream. He held up his hand slowly and pressed it against the glass, slowly and carefully in case he startled the thing on the other side away. He watched mesmerized as an arm and hand materialised out of the snow and reached to meet his.
"Arthur!" The blond head snapped round almost painfully at the worried voice.
"Morgana?" He gave the young woman a concerned look and she hurried over to him. He opened his arms to her and hugged her tightly. Her shaking concerned him. "What's wrong?"
"I'm so glad you are alright. I was so worried." He rested his cheek on her head and held her until she stopped shaking.
"Of course I'm alright. What's brought this on?" She pulled back and gave him an unsteady smile.
"Nothing, nothing. It's just... no, it's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Arthur could see she was lying but he also knew that if he tried probing any further he would simply be brushed off.
"As long as you're alright?" He asked her, holding the top of her arms gently so he could look at her.
"Yes, yes I'm fine. I'll go back to bed now." He nodded as she turned away. He noticed Gwen hovering by the doorway and he nodded to her, shared glances that they both knew was for Gwen to look after Morgana. Gwen smiled back at Arthur as she wrapped her hand around her mistress's shoulder and led her away. Arthur frowned after Morgana. He really was worried about her. This sort of thing was becoming more frequent, he had thought Gaius had solved the problem but apparently not. He sighed heavily and turned back to the window.
The vision that had appeared to him was gone. Arthur moved back to his position and looked out hoping for some sign, but there was none. Maybe he had imagined it after all. His own dream about Merlin was long forgotten.
