As Merlin sat around the fire with the knights looking at him, he was scared for his life, but excited all the same. He had been dreaming about the moment his closest friends would find out that he was the boy with the wings from the tales they heard as children. He should have dreaded the moment. The harsh eyes and accusing glares from everyone but the prince and lance were excruciating. The people he had called friends were now pointedly ignoring him.

Merlin still collected firewood, light the fire, made dinner and set up the bed rolls-all without someone asking him too. Arthur was definitely confused by Merlin's behavior. He was the almighty sorcerer from the legends. The one with huge black wings. And those big raven wings with veins of gold were the subject of many a fantasy for poor old Arthur. Seeing them gently curl in as Merlin was on the edge of-

No. this would never work between the two of them. EVER. He was the prince, nearly king, of Camelot. And Merlin was his manservant. His sorcerer manservant that he was madly in love with. Well shit, this was going to cause issues.

But, seeing him still act like a servant, even though Arthur knew he could get rid of them all with the snap of his fingers, was extremely puzzling to him. He had no reason to serve anyone. If anything, he should be the one with servants. And yet, there he was- wings strapped to his back, gathering firewood for those very knights that ignored him. All except for lance and Arthur of course.

And Arthur being the royal prat he is, he decides to go up and ask Merlin why he still acts like a servant.

He simply says, "It's what I was born to do sire."

This confuses Arthur even more. Needing to think, he decided that after everyone was asleep on their bed rolls, he would head out into the forest to think. He must have dozed off for an hour or two, because when he woke up, Merlin was not in on his bedroll. Figuring he needed to get up and find him before he tripped into the river, he reluctantly emerged into the frigid night air to wander around looking for his manservant, Merlin.

His mind still clogged from sleep, he didn't immediately register the huge dragon flying down as a threat. Only when he saw Merlin, standing right where the thing was going to land, did his brain snap together that Merlin was standing next to a giant dragon that could kill him. He charged forwards with his sword drawn, ready to cut the head off of this thing that was going to hurt Merlin.

But as he got closer, he realized that the dragon and Merlin were laughing. That didn't make sense, the dragon almost destroyed Camelot, and now Merlin was laughing at something with it? No, this wouldn't do.

The dragon seemed to have noticed that Arthur was standing there, so he craned his huge neck and said something that sounded along the lines of 'your destiny awaits emrys.'

"Why did the dragon call you 'emrys'?"

Merlin blushes and even in the scant light of the moon, Arthur can tell that the tips of his ears are bright red.
"The druids. That's what they call me. They believe I'm the most powerful sorcerer to ever live."

"oh." Is as much of an answer as Arthur can give. How is his sweet innocent Merlin suddenly the most powerful man ever?

"We should get back, if we're going to sleep at all."

"Yeah, good idea."

They walked in silence for most of the trip, until Merlin tripped on a rock and flung into Arthur's back. Arthur turns just in time to see Merlin fall down to the ground face down in the leaves.
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Merlin woke up in a sort of daze. He saw the prince kneeling over him dabbing the cool cloth on his forehead. He wanted to sit up, he knew he could – but Arthur wouldn't let him. He clearly cared about Merlin a little more than he was letting on.

No. he couldn't get his hopes up about that. He knew Arthur didn't feel that way about him, his manservant. He couldn't.

Noticing Merlin was awake; he brought the cloth off of Merlin's forehead and cupped his cheek in his hand.

"Good to know you were stubborn enough to stick around Merlin."

"Never could leave"

"You mean it?"

"'course I do Arthur. I will be at your side until the day you die."

Arthur just smiles and looks down at Merlin. One look at Merlin's face and even the most inexperienced person could tell what he wanted right then. So, of course Arthur was willing to oblige. Arthur cranes his head down and the second that his lips touch Merlin's, he knows this is only Merlin's first real kiss. Slowly, he lifts one leg over Merlin's hip so that Arthur is straddling Merlin's waist. As Arthur is licking the seam of Merlin's lips, Merlin realizes what he's supposed to do and grants Arthur entrance. From then on, it was a hot fluffy of tongues and wandering hands.

Arthur broke the kiss to stand up, and pull Merlin with him. After pulling Merlin's tunic over his head, he did the same to his own tunic, discarding them somewhere to the right on the forest floor. All that was left as a barrier for skin to skin contact was the bandages. He slowly reached up and untied the knot he had done a few days ago. While Arthur unraveled the bandages, he watched Merlin's face to see any discomfort or anger. He only saw fear.

Upon realizing that Merlin was scared, he started murmuring reassuring things under his breath. Merlin had apparently heard a few of them, because he started to relax. As the last strip of gauze fell to the ground, he launched himself at Arthur. Their lips crashing together that sent a message of need, want and passion. As Arthur's hands entwined themselves into Merlin's glossy black feathers with veins of gold, Merlin's fingers skimmed along the waistband of Arthur's breeches, but Arthur pulled back from the kiss.

"Merlin," he pauses, as if trying to find the words. Not finding a more poetic way to say this, "I will not allow your first time doing something... extremely intimate with someone be in the middle of the forest at dawn."

Merlin looked ready to object, but the look on his prince's face said otherwise. Underneath the rigid off-putting sentence lies a promise. A promise made by the prince, that he himself wouldn't allow Merlin to lose something that could never be brought back, on the forest floor at dawn. If that didn't speak volumes about how much he cared then Arthur didn't know what would.