Here you go! I hope you enjoy.
Falling in love with Sophia was…intense.
It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
But he wasn't sure that was a good thing. It didn't feel right. He was sure, however, that he had felt love before, true, powerful, wonderful love, and this wasn't it.
Falling in love felt like he was tumbling down a hill, head over heels, deeper and deeper into the pits of emotion until the subject of his affections had held every part of his heart. With Sophia, it felt more like he'd been shoved off a cliff and left to freefall into a dark abyss, not knowing what was below.
Yet, he couldn't stay away from her.
It had started out as nothing more than a matter of hospitality. He was being kind to Sophia because she had just been attacked by bandits in the forest and had her kingdom raided. He would have been an awful person had he not offered her his kindness after the traumatic events she had been through only days before.
He simply wanted to take her out in the woods to distract her, possibly learn more about her and her kingdom. Who knew, maybe a peace treaty of some sort could come out of their chance encounter.
"I'm taking Sophia out for a ride today," Arthur told Merlin. He was leaning against the post of his bed, arms crossed, watching as Merlin made up the sheets. "You know, show her around."
Merlin picked up the pillow he had slept on and pulled another over. Ah, so that's how Arthur's pillow somehow seemed to remain as puffy as ever every night. Merlin rotated them. "Where do I come into this?" he asked, pausing his ministrations of Arthur's comforter to watch the prince's lips. He was so used to it, that Arthur didn't even blink an eye at the action he at one time would have considered rude enough to be treasonous.
"I'm supposed to be on patrol with a guard of my father's this morning, so I need you to cover for me." Arthur said it matter-of-factly, but that didn't help the guilt. He felt like he was taking advantage of the raven whenever he used his unfathomable loyalty for his own gain. In truth, he also wanted to take Sophia out as an excuse to get out of the castle and spend time with someone new, seeing as the one he actually wanted to spend time with would have to be covering for him.
Not to mention he was putting Merlin at risk with his father. It was no secret that Uther wasn't at all fond of Merlin; he made it quite clear on multiple occasions he regretted ever giving Merlin the position in the first place. He would rant about how Merlin made the entire household look bad, to which Arthur could no longer hold his tongue and would end up getting into a shouting match with the king, defending his manservant's honor. To himself, Arthur thought giving Merlin the position as his manservant was the best decision the king had ever made. Merlin was certainly the best thing that had ever happened to Arthur.
"What? Lie to the king?" Merlin's eyes shifted to the side, nervous. "No, no way. He'll see right through me. He'll have me in the stocks quicker than you can say rotten tomatoes."
Arthur shifted, feeling even worse. Merlin was terrified of the stocks. He had found that out the hard way. Merlin had nearly had a panic attack after Arthur had sent him there for mouthing off to a visiting lord, just to keep up appearances. In reality, he should have had him flogged, but there was no way in the seven hells that was happening.
Even though Merlin had never technically told him what the panic had been about, it wasn't hard for Arthur to draw his own conclusions. Being restrained and having things thrown at his head wasn't exactly a good combination, Arthur knowing what he knew about his manservant's past.
Needless to say, Merlin hadn't been back to the wooden prison since. And Arthur would hate himself if he got him sent there just because he was going stir crazy.
But he just couldn't help himself. Something about Sophia was just so…compelling. "Merlin," he said, heart aching when the boy sighed shakily. "I need you to do this for me." And there was him taking advantage. He knew Merlin could never refuse him saying he was needed. He really was an ass.
So, why did he keep going?
"I am a terrible liar. I start sweating, my vision blurs, my brain stops working…"
Arthur rolled his eyes. The opening was right there. How could he be expected to pass up an opportunity to rile his manservant up a bit? "Hm, no change there, then."
Merlin looked at him with hurt in his azure eyes, not looking riled in the slightest. Immediately, Arthur felt bad. "Look, I promised Sophia I'd take her out, and if I don't turn up, it'll blow my chances."
Merlin's eyebrows shot up. His hands froze where they had nervously been wringing out the fabric of Arthur's sheets. A thousand things seemed to fly through Merlin's head in a matter of seconds before he sighed and his shoulders slumped, looking put-out. "You like her then?" Merlin asked quietly, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. But it was all wrong. It wasn't a Merlin smile. It barely even counted as a regular smile. It looked sad and pitiful, resigned.
"Yeah! What's not to like?" Arthur said despite the heavy stone of guilt and concern weighing in his stomach. She really wasn't bad to talk to at all, and he truly did like her. Not like Merlin, of course, no one could ever be like Merlin, but he would still like to enjoy the company of someone outside his normal pace.
Merlin turned away to tuck a final corner of the bedding in. "I want to spend some more time with her, but I need to get my father off my back."
Merlin didn't respond. Arthur grumbled and smacked him lightly on the shoulder so he would turn back around. "Why must you turn away in the middle of conversations? I know you do it on purpose, Merlin! You can't use your lack of hearing to ignore me. I am your prince!"
Now it was Merlin's turn to roll his eyes and huff exasperatedly. Arthur suppressed a smirk. "I can't order you to lie to the king, but you'll be a friend for life if you do."
Or more than a friend if you'd like he thought to himself.
Arthur and Merlin stared at each other for what felt like hours, Merlin's eyes flicking around as they searched the prince's face. Finally, his shoulders slumped further. "Go on, then. You don't want to keep her waiting."
Arthur grinned and clapped Merlin on the shoulder. "Thanks, Merlin. I won't forget it."
Arthur had felt concerned over Merlin's sudden sullenness. He wanted to find out what was wrong, to do anything he possibly could to make it better and get that smile back on Merlin's face where it belonged, but something held him back. All he could think about was spending time with Sophia. At the time, he hadn't thought anything strange. He only wanted to take a break from the citadel with a new face.
In hindsight, brushing off Merlin's obvious hurt should have been his first clue that something was horribly wrong.
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His second clue should have been the fact that he had actually enjoyed holding Sophia's hand.
Never before had he been attracted to a woman. Even from a very young age, Arthur could remember enjoying the muscled physiques and battle-swept hair of the knights more than he ever had the lithe figures of the ladies. As he got older, he had accepted the fact that it wasn't about what he wanted, but rather what was best for his kingdom. He would marry a princess someday, and he would do so without complaint. That's what a good ruler did.
Then, Merlin had walked into his life. Ever since that day nearly eight months ago when Merlin had tried to take a swing at him on the training field, Arthur had only had eyes for the raven.
How could Arthur possibly be expected to give the unending line of eligible maidens his father paraded in front of him monthly even an ounce of his attention when Merlin was right there in the same room? How could Arthur possibly find make-up so over-the-top and dresses so flamboyant they hurt to gaze at attractive when Merlin was watching him with that soft look, all pale skin and high cheekbones?
Sophia had taken his hands in hers while on the way to the river. He was just about to remove them from her grip, for some unfathomable reason feeling like he was being unfaithful, when she had begun to whisper words in a foreign tongue.
Somewhere in his mind, he knew it was sorcery. He'd heard enough of the magic's evil tongue to recognize it. Unfortunately, he was too slow and the magic too quick.
His mind went blank. Every single thing he'd been thinking about, everything from how much fresher the air was out in the forest to the boy who occupied his mind all the time regardless, was forgotten. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he could barely even breathe. His mind felt as if it were wrapped in one of his winter wool tunics, blocking any thoughts from being transmitted.
His limbs began to tingle. Starting at the tips of his fingers, a tingling warmth slowly traveled up his arms and to the rest of his body until it all surrounded his heart, moving in towards it-
And then it was gone.
Arthur felt cold, yet strangely relieved after it was gone. The warmth hadn't been unpleasant exactly, but once it was gone, it was as if his body realized something had been there that never should have been.
He didn't even truly know what had happened. It was as if he had blacked out of his own consciousness still standing on his feet. As much as he tried, with every passing second, his grasp on what had happened got foggier and foggier.
He had barely managed to tackle Sophia before the crossbow bolt imbedded itself into the tree directly behind where they had been standing only a moment before. As Arthur jogged up the hill to yell at the knights for nearly killing them, he thought he saw something akin to anger in Sophia's eyes.
He really didn't have the mental capacity to figure out what that was about.
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His mental capacity hadn't been helped any when he arrived back to the citadel and learned that Merlin had, indeed, been sent to the stocks by his father for Arthur's little escapade.
He could still feel the ghost of Sophia's kiss lingering on his cheek, making his conflicting emotions all that much worse when he realized he didn't mind it.
So, it was the least Arthur could do for Merlin to be up and ready by the time the raven arrived to his room the next morning.
He almost regretted it when Merlin just smirked and snarked at him. He really needed to keep the boy from spending so much time with Morgana.
"You're dressed?!" Merlin cried in surprise, nearly dropping the armor in his arms.
Arthur bit his lip, inexplicably annoyed with his manservant's presence.
That should have been the third clue. He had never once been annoyed with Merlin's presence. Sure, he got annoyed with the boy all the time, but never enough to send him away. Just enough to give him the silent treatment for a few minutes.
"Nothing gets past you, does it, Merlin?" Arthur asked, saying it with his back turned just to spite him. He could be an ass, too.
"You're supposed to be wearing these!" Arthur could hear Merlin shaking his armor behind him to make his point. "Your father's bestowing a knighthood on one of your men this morning!"
Arthur turned his head over his shoulder so he was sure Merlin would know what he said next. "I'm giving it a miss."
He heard Merlin sigh behind him. "Wouldn't the king mind?" he asked in that curious, naïve voice of his. Usually, Arthur found it hopelessly adorable. Then, he had the sudden urge to smack him.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Arthur had to stop himself from visibly recoiling. Why the hell had he thought that? He had vowed long ago to never, ever raise a hand to a servant. That vow had only gotten stronger since he met Merlin. He was sure he'd rather break his own arm than raise a hand to the boy. What was wrong with him?
As quickly as the thought had come, it was passing, being replaced by that same brewing annoyance. "Not if you, uh, cover for me again," Arthur said coolly. It was easier this time, the words making him feel less guilty. The longing to see Sophia again was stronger than any urge he felt to keep Merlin out of the stocks.
He was just a servant. It's not like he deserved special treatment.
"By the way, thanks for yesterday. I heard you ended up in the stocks. Bad luck," Arthur said, smirking as he eyed the way Merlin flinched.
Merlin's feelings weren't a priority here. Seeing Sophia again was.
"They were throwing potatoes at me," Merlin whispered, eyes trailing to the floor, "It's only supposed to be rotten fruit."
Arthur barely held back a groan. "I'm not sure there's any hard and fast rules, but if it's any consolation, I think it was worth it."
A look passed over Merlin's face so quickly Arthur barely noticed it. He found it odd. Merlin's face had held the exact same expression the day before when Arthur told him he'd be taking Sophia for a ride. He was pretty sure it had bothered him. Why had it?
"It went well?" Merlin asked quietly, running his hand over Arthur's armor nonsensically.
"Great. Fantastic," Arthur's mind drifted as he thought of Sophia's long brown hair, her rosy cheeks under the afternoon sun. "She's incredible."
"Don't worry," Merlin said, looking resigned. "I'll find a way to get you out of it."
"Just make sure you don't end up in the stocks this time," Arthur grumbled as he walked towards his chamber doors, trying to escape the useless conversation and get to Sophia.
He barely heard Merlin's "I won't" as the doors closed behind him.
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"Wait!" Arthur called as he ran after Sophia. She laughed in delight, the sound echoing throughout the woods. "Careful!"
He was flying through the woods, the wind whipping through his hair. He was running in a way he hadn't ran in a long time. The only time he'd ever felt so free was when he…
When was the last time he had felt so free?
He knew the answer. Somewhere deep in his heart, he did. And it wasn't here with Sophia.
Arthur stopped his momentum on a tree as Sophia turned around, her cloak billowing in the air around her. "Don't worry." She moved towards him. "I will be."
Arthur furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Sophia continued forward. She didn't say a word, yet her eyes seemed to pick him apart, to hunt for the deepest parts of his soul with a single look.
It was unnerving.
Quietly, she began to chant in that same foreign tongue she had used during their last trip to the woods.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked warily.
She took his hands. Hers were soft in his, delicate in a way only appropriate for someone as elegantly beautiful as herself. Still, it felt all wrong. Her hands were too small, too perfect in his. They weren't the hands he wanted to be holding. The ones he wanted to be holding should have been calloused and strong, built on hard work, yet just as delicate as any maiden's.
As the words flooded his brain, the meaning behind that thought slipped farther and farther away until it was nothing but a blip at the end of his mind. The foliage around him blurred until all he saw was Sophia's face, lips soundlessly moving even as words penetrated his mind. They kept coming. Words he didn't understand.
The familiar tingle reappeared, travelling up his appendages with a fiery warmth until it once again surrounded his heart. Except this time, it didn't disappear. The heat only amplified until it was almost unpleasant, almost burning. His heart sped up until Arthur thought it was going to pound out of his chest.
Sophia's eyes glowed red.
It was all he could see.
It was all he wanted to see.
For the rest of his life. All he wanted to see was Sophia. Forever and always.
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In the days that followed, Arthur barely saw Merlin.
He barely saw anything at all for that matter.
Every waking moment he spent thinking of Sophia. Every breath he took, every beat of his heart, it was all for Sophia.
When she spoke of being parted, Arthur felt anger like he never had before flare within him. No one would ever take him from his love. Nothing could ever part them. He would tear apart every kingdom before that happened. He would let hell ran down upon anyone who dared to touch his love.
So why, when he thought those powerful thoughts, did it feel as if he were not thinking of Sophia?
That couldn't be possible. There was no one else in the world for him.
Right?
Of course, he never doubted himself for long. He knew his feelings, and he knew he was in love with her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to give her the moon and the stars and anything else she could possibly ask for.
He also didn't have time for Merlin's dramatics. The few and far between times he saw the raven, he would seem distant and withdrawn, sadness practically flowing off him in waves. Only the gods knew what he could possibly be throwing a tantrum about this time. Arthur really didn't have the time, the patience, or the want to figure it out.
That was why he had requested the audience with his father. Though he had not approved, Arthur didn't care. He would have his love one way or another, without the king's approval or not.
He didn't need anyone's approval. Certainly not Merlin's.
It actually quite ticked him off when Morgana stormed out of the audience, following his theatrical manservant who had left the Great Hall in a blur, the door slamming definitively behind him.
If looks could kill, he was sure Morgana would have killed him on the spot.
What the hell was going on in his life anymore?
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"Arthur," Sophia giggled as he pulled her by the hand through the halls, their hurried footsteps echoing off the surrounding stones.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere to be alone," Arthur said, throwing a grin over his shoulder at her.
A sly smile formed on Sophia's face as she tugged on his arm, pulling him to a stop in an empty hall. She pushed him up against the wall, smile widening along with his eyes.
"It seems we're pretty alone," she murmured, hands trailing down his sides. He pulled her waist closer as her eyes flashed red, that beautiful, wonderful red. Arthur loved red. It was Camelot's color, a symbol of power, and he especially loved red on those he sought after.
Sophia never wore red. How peculiar.
Her lips slowly floated towards his. The red snuffed out of her irises as her lids fluttered closed. Arthur felt his heartbeat speed up as her lips approached.
A muffled sob broke through their little bubble of silence, causing Sophia to wrench her lips away, leaving nothing behind but the ghost of a breath on his lips.
Arthur grumbled in annoyance as he strode down the hall, Sophia following curiously behind him. He held his hand out to keep her behind him, to keep her out of harm's way. The quiet sobbing trickled out from behind a broom closet at the end of the corridor, followed by indistinguishable voices.
Slowly, he reached for his sword, only to grasp at empty air. He cursed himself when he realized he had left it in his chambers in his haste to be with Sophia.
No matter. He would take on the assailant barehanded to protect his beloved.
He peered around the doorframe, fully expecting to have a body launched at him or a sword swung at his face, only to see Merlin on the ground, knees pulled to his chest, head buried in his arms. Morgana and Gwen were on either side of him, Gwen with her arms around him and her head on his shoulder and Morgana rubbing a hand over his shaking shoulders as they both spoke to him in quiet, gentle voices.
"What the hell is going on here?" Arthur demanded, irritated. Of course, his sniveling manservant would interrupt him and his lady.
Morgana's head whipped up, and her face morphed into one that Arthur could only describe as pure rage. Arthur thought he could count on one hand the number of times he had seen that particular look on Morgana's face in all the years they had grown up together.
"You absolute arrogant, selfish, pompous asshole, Arthur Pendragon!" Morgana shrieked. She pushed herself off the ground and stormed towards him, putting her hands on his chest and shoving with all her might. He stumbled backwards, more shocked than actually knocked off balance.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Morgana?" he demanded.
"Don't play innocent! You know what you did, you-you…uh! I can't even think of a word bad enough to describe you! You know, I knew you were a lot of things, but I never thought you could be this cruel, Arthur," she hissed in a very Morgana-like fashion.
"You have no right to accuse him of anything!" Sophia cried as she clung to Arthur's arm.
Morgana angled her withering glare towards the brunette. "You have no right to speak on matters that have no concern to you, you bitch!"
"Do not speak to her that way!" Arthur roared, seeing red. No one insulted Sophia and got away with it, not even Morgana.
"I'll speak to her however I very well please! Can't you see something's going on? Open your eyes, Arthur! I've tried to warn you, yet you're too pigheaded to listen! She's up to something; there's no way you could have fallen for another so quickly, especially her." Morgana wrinkled her nose as she looked Sophia up and down.
That was the final straw for Arthur. He had no idea what she was on about, saying he had fallen for another. There was no one else other than Sophia. There never had been, and there never would be. With a shout of anger, he grabbed Morgana's arms and pinned her to the wall, bringing his face withing mere centimeters of hers. "Watch your tone. I'll have you locked into the deepest, darkest cell in the dungeons for the rest of your days."
Morgana sneered at him. "Take your best shot. Because," she shoved his chest again, "you are despicable."
"Do tell what makes me so horrible, then. Because from where I'm standing, the only thing I'm guilty of is love. Why is that such a bad thing?"
"I'll tell you why," Morgana said. "It's because you wouldn't listen when I tried to warn you about Sophia. The fact that you so quickly "fell in love" with her is testament to trickery in itself. Your heart already fully belonged to another. And then you had the audacity to ask for your father's approval in marrying her in front of the one person you actually love. You love him, you know you do deep down! He does nothing but devote everything he has to you, and this is how you repay him. He loves you and you broke him, Arthur! This isn't real! What you have with Merlin, that's real! This isn't. None of this is!" Her chest was heaving even as Arthur advanced on her, towering over her with cold fury written across his face.
"Stop it! All of you stop it! Can't you see you're upsetting him more?" Gwen shrieked from where she was holding a trembling Merlin whose frame was still being wracked by silent sobs. He had both hands out in front of him now, his right one making a shaky chopping motion into his other palm, over and over again.
He was silently begging them all to stop.
Arthur felt something akin to guilt bloom in his chest. He had the sudden desire to hug his manservant and tell him how sorry he was. Sorry for what, he wasn't sure.
He took a tentative step towards the raven, reaching out like he was going to touch him. Gwen eyed him warily as she rubbed a hand over Merlin's shaking shoulder. The boy was rocking back and forth, arms wrapped tightly around his knees.
"Arthur," Sophia said, a warning in her voice. She grasped his bicep, and Arthur stopped in his tracks. "Come now, dear. She's delusional; she knows nothing of our love. You in love with the deaf bastard. It's almost laughable! Leave them. I would hate to see your kind heart torn between loyalties."
Gwen gasped, "Don't speak of him like that!" at the same time Morgana screeched, "Watch your tongue before I cut it from your mouth!"
Sophia tugged on Arthur's arm. The blonde looked between the imploring eyes of his betrothed to the anger filled girls and finally to his whimpering mess of a servant.
He followed Sophia down the hall.
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Two days later, when Arthur awoke to Merlin and Gaius at his bedside, he immediately knew something was wrong.
The bits and pieces he could remember of the last few days were foggy at best. Merlin and Gaius filled in what they could, saying that he had eloped with Sophia and Merlin had only managed to get him back to Camelot by knocking him out with a piece of wood.
Something told him they weren't telling him the full truth. And it wasn't just because the idea of Merlin managing to knock him out was absolutely absurd.
Even though he may not have been told the truth, he wasn't fool enough to question it. Whatever had happened, everything had obviously worked out.
However, one look at his manservant and he remembered something that he almost wished he hadn't.
Even as he tried to subtly apologize to Merlin without letting the raven know what he knew, Arthur still couldn't bring himself to tell him how he felt. He just couldn't.
Still, as he nearly gagged at the thought of being with Sophia in the way he almost had and drowned himself in the guilt of it all, the prince knew Merlin was the one. He watched the raven as he swept the hearth, chattering away as if Arthur had never said or done the horrid things he had. The blonde had never heard a more wonderful sound.
Arthur knew then from that moment on, his heart would only beat for one boy. One beautiful, wonderful, sarcastic, idiotic boy.
There you are! Get ready for the next chapter because it's going to be the episode where they go back to Ealdor. It's the perfect recipe for hurt Merlin, angst, fiercely protective Arthur, knowing Hunith, and a magic reveal all in one!
