AN: Wow, this ended up turning out a LOT deeper than I meant it to. :P
Prompt: "Ink Upon Parchment:" Compose a letter from one character to another
Characters/Pairings: Arthur
Ratings/Warnings: Bit dark at the beginning, Post-Reveal
Word Count: 362
Shouldn't Have
The sun rose that morning. It shouldn't have had the gall or the energy to do so… not after the blackness and the crossed silver blades and the blood and fire and thunder of the night.
It was all so natural. So normal. Peach tinged gold light filtered in through the chamber windows, and its brightness and warming, comforting energy surprised him. With unseeing sapphire eyes clouded with exhaustion and flickering with dazedness, Arthur sat heavily on his large bed and gingerly ran his fingertips over the crisp white bandage coating his forearm.
The blade had been poisoned. He shouldn't have survived.
He shouldn't have survived to see this morning that shouldn't have come.
And yet he did.
And surprisingly, there were few casualties.
After such a battle, after facing such a threat, it seemed impossible. Maybe it was so much harder because it was his first battle without M—
No, he wouldn't think of him.
But it was true, and instead of being relieved that his Knights, his Queen, and his people and city had survived, Arthur found himself in a state of awed disbelief...
Until he caught sight of a piece of parchment sitting perfectly folded in the exact center of his desk and found the necessary motivation to pick it up and flip it open…
You're welcome.
A brief smirk flickered across Arthur's face at the insolence that practically screamed through the parchment, and realization dawning upon him, he read on:
Did you honestly believe that banishing me would change anything, Arthur? I am never far, and I will be here to protect you and your own. Until the end. Whether you want me or not. I can only hope that one day, I can prove to you that…that is who I am and what my magic is. Give my well-wishes to the Knights and Gwen, and take care of yourself, prat, or I'll have to illegally infiltrate Camelot to smack some sense into you.
Merlin
Something wet trailed down the King's cheek, and without thinking…
He called for a horse to be prepared, and suddenly, he opened his eyes for the first time and welcomed the new morning.
AN: I know I have a few prompt requests that need to be done, so forgive me for taking my time with them. ;)