Chapter 12 - Merlin

After centuries on his own, it took Merlin awhile to realize that he had someone else with him now. Normally when he was travelling he would wake up relatively early, get dressed, eat a quick bite, then be on his way. Having Arthur around meant he had to make sure his travelling companion was ready to go as well.

Arthur was lazy in the mornings.

At exactly 7:30am, Merlin was dressed and ready to leave the hotel room, his bag with his few worldly possessions repacked and over his shoulder. It was at that point that he realized that Arthur had not actually gotten out of bed when the alarm had gone off.

With a sigh, Merlin set his bag down and proceeded to shake the bed violently, shoving the mattress back and forth until Arthur actually woke up.

"Waaa-ah!" Arthur cried, sitting bolt upright. "What was that?!"

"Get dressed, your highness," Merlin said with a smirk, indicating the shopping bags that contained all of Arthur's worldly possessions. "We need to get on the road."

Arthur made a face at him, knowing full well that he was not royalty any longer, nor was Merlin obligated to serve him. They were equals now, in at least one sense, and the mutual respect that had always been there was now more clear between them.

Once he had managed to get jeans and t-shirt on, Arthur picked up the rest of his bags and headed towards the lobby, where Merlin was checking out for them.

Merlin looked up as Arthur walked in and smiled, gesturing towards the parking lot and mouthing, "I'll meet you there." His friend started to head off in that direction while Merlin quickly settled the bill.

Hurrying out towards the car, which Merlin had realized a beat late that he still had the keys too, he saw the former king standing grumpily beside their vehicle.

"Sorry, Arthur. I forgot I still had the keys." He unlocked the car and popped the boot, tossing his own bag in and then taking Arthur's bags as well. "C'mon then, let's move out."

"I'm going back to sleep," Arthur muttered. True to his word, Arthur was asleep before they hit the freeway.


After a full day of driving, Merlin estimated that it would take them about another two days to get to the Crystal Cave. In some ways that was no time at all, and in other ways he was overly impatient to arrive. Arthur had slept until almost noon, at which point Merlin had elected to turn on a classic rock station full blast. It wasn't really his favourite music, but it was loud, and the look on Arthur's face when he jolted awake to Starship was priceless.

"WHA-"

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," Merlin called, turning down the radio and shooting a glance at his groggy best friend.

"Not funny," Arthur muttered.

"Hey, if you don't keep me awake, then I'll fall asleep and we'll crash into something," Merlin threatened teasingly.

Arthur examined his expression critically before deciding that Merlin was probably kidding. "Fine," he grumbled. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You pick," Merlin shrugged. "I've got lots of knowledge to impart, and talking will keep me conscious."

"Okay. Um...favourite historical period?" Arthur threw out a random question, not really sure what he wanted to know at this point.

"Probably the reign of Queen Elizabeth I," Merlin answered after a moment's thought. "It was far more peaceful than the turmoil before she became queen."

Arthur nodded in agreement, remembering the article about the queen he had read the day before. "How did you deal with the whole Catholic versus Protestant thing back then?"

"I didn't get involved," Merlin replied. "I didn't want to lie about any particular allegiances, so I just stayed out of the way. If I didn't get involved, I couldn't be executed. As you're aware, I'm pretty well practiced in avoiding execution."

Arthur made a face at him. "I wouldn't have executed you!" He protested.

"I believe that," Merlin acknowledged. "Uther would have though, in a heartbeat. You can't blame me for being paranoid."

"Why did you even stay in Camelot?" Arthur wondered, thinking of all the close calls Merlin must have had. "Surely being with your mother would have been safer!"

Merlin thought about that for a moment before responding. "I'm not sure it would have been safer," he disagreed. "That was part of the reason my mother sent me to Gaius in the first place. Trust me, it was obvious from the get go that I was going to have to be really careful to survive in Camelot. The day I arrived your father was executing a sorcerer. Which, incidentally, led to me saving your life and getting stuck as your servant." Merlin smirked and glanced at Arthur. "After that, our destinies were too entwined for me to be anywhere else."

Arthur was quiet for a moment as he recalled the first time he had really properly interacted with Merlin. That had been so long ago! In fact, far longer than he cared to admit, taking into account his new century. "One thing I've always wondered," he began, "why did you still challenge me in the village after you knew who I was?"

Merlin laughed at that. "I was really young," he admitted. "It was kind of a stupid move. You have no idea how made Gaius was at me after I was thrown in prison after that. I guess I stood up to you again because I thought you were a bully and you needed to be put in your place."

Arthur gaped at him. "I was not!" He insisted.

"You were absolutely a bully, Arthur," Merlin admonished. "Even if I site myself as the only example, that's plenty of proof."

"You were my servant!" Arthur protested. "I was supposed to harass you!"

Merlin snorted. "You nearly broke my arm by beating on a shield because you fell asleep in your stew."

Arthur paused for a moment before giving a small giggle. "Fair enough."

"It wasn't all bad," Merlin admitted after a moment. "I got my revenge on occasion."

"How?" Arthur asked, eyes narrowed.

"Remember the goblin?" Merlin asked, lips twitching towards a smile.

Not appreciating the reminder, Arthur simply scowled at him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Merlin continued, grinning now. "I may have...extended the vocal effects of the curse you were under once the goblin had been dealt with."

Understanding dawned on Arthur, and only the fact that his best friend was currently driving prevented him from strangling Merlin. "YOU-"

"I have never laughed so hard," Merlin said fondly. "The look on your face was priceless."

Huffing, Arthur crossed his arms and sulked. "I was braying for two days!" He complained.

Merlin didn't comment, he just laughed in response.

"It's hard to control your knights when you can't stop braying like a donkey!" Arthur scolded him, still cross.

"Then there was the time I turned you into an idiot for a few days," Merlin continued as if Arthur hadn't spoken.

"You did what?" Arthur asked, his voice dangerously calm.

"Remember when you woke up in the forest after we had escaped Camelot and you were mad because of the ridiculous clothes you were in?" Merlin prompted, recalling Arthur's actions leading up to that morning with a smile.

"Yes," Arthur recalled suddenly. "That was when we met Tristan and Isolde." Sadness coloured his features as he remembered how that particular meeting had ended in Camelot."

"Well, before that, you wouldn't leave Camelot. I know I told you that I carried you out while you were unconscious, but it was more like I enchanted you into agreeing with me that we should leave before Morgana killed us. You were sort of...out of it. When we met Tristan's gang I decided that telling them you were a simpleton was wiser than revealing that they had Arthur Pendragon on their hands." Merlin frowned slightly, remembering that his plan had not gone exactly as he might have wished.

"That's why they all thought I was an idiot at first," Arthur realized. "Why couldn't you just knock me out for a few hours and drag me out of the city?" He complained, not appreciating the fact that multiple people had seen him act like a fool.

"You're heavy," Merlin said simply.

"I am not!" Arthur protested, recalling several instances in which the two friends had debated the size of Arthur's girth.

Declining to respond, Merlin simply chuckled and re-focused on the road. It was nice to know that even a few centuries of time couldn't change their friendship.