Heya! Happy Wednesday AKA A Sorcerer? Of Course Not day!
Time for Merlin and Arthur to actually start talking. Enjoy!
Chapter 5
After the whole enchanter debacle, Arthur had started to avoid Merlin again, and this time Merlin really didn't understand why. All things considered, the enchanter debacle ended relatively well – no one was wounded, the young women were returned home and they were relatively fine…
Really, there was nothing much that should make Arthur avoid him like the plague. Unless it was about the magical prowess he had displayed? Merlin certainly had used magic that was more visible, more 'flamboyant' as Gaius had put it once Merlin had told him about the quest. Maybe it had reminded Arthur of how much Merlin was not just a manservant.
Case in point, George, whom Arthur absolutely loathed, was now the king's manservant. When Merlin asked why in the name of Albion he had lost his job, he was told – by George of all people – that Merlin was much too busy with his new tasks. Said tasks were to get new, magic-proof cells built because the current dungeons should remain for the non-magical prisoners, as per Arthur's orders. Oh, and to write a literal book called Magic Users And How To Recognise Them.
Now, the first task Merlin was quite all right with – he had already been working on that with Gaius ever since his whole 'this isn't a sorcerer' scheme miraculously worked. It wasn't Arthur's idea at all, really, to separate the non-magical from the magical dungeons, but Arthur didn't know that. Merlin had simply mused about the idea aloud in Arthur's presence a week ago and voilà.
No, what bothered Merlin was this ridiculous encyclopaedia of magic users. Especially since Merlin had only come up with the ridiculous distinctions on the spot. Sure, people liked to refer to themselves by different names. The druids were a whole culture and branch of nature-based magic. Witches seemed to have their loosely defined group but Merlin didn't really know much about it. Merlin called himself a warlock because that is what Kilgharrah called him – he wasn't entirely sure was that distinction truly entailed.
And now he was supposed to write about it all? Put everyone in neat categories that were broad enough to fit most people, but also specific enough so almost no one would fit the 'sorcerer' group? This was going to be an absolute nightmare. And when he asked Gaius for help, the old man just laughed in his face, saying this was Merlin's mess. Which was true, but there was no reason to let Merlin sort it all out on his own. (He got Gaius to help him regardless; Merlin threatened with putting all of the old man's characteristics into the Alchemist label and Gaius almost had an apoplexy.)
Merlin tried. Really he did. He'd written dozens of pages. And when he reread them he realised two very clear things. First off, he was a terrible writer. The worst. Even he couldn't understand what he was blabbing about. And second, this was never going to work, because he could never categorise everyone and put them in boxes, because no one just kept to one type of magic – it all depended on people's different affinities and skill and access to knowledge.
Who was just a mage or just an enchanter? Most would be a wizard-alchemist-druid or an enchantress-priestess-witch or a warlock-mage-shaman-shapeshifter-conjuror or who knew what else. They couldn't be labelled like that. They were all just magic users.
So Merlin focused on the secondary task, the dungeons – it turned out there was plenty of unused space underground, an old armoury here, an old wine cellar there. Just shift some pantries a few rooms up and you had a perfect row of rooms that could be fitted with bars and magical warding. There was no natural light, unfortunately, but Merlin was working on a magical light source that would follow the pattern of the sun.
He was in the middle of edging magic-warding runes he'd found in a book into the ceiling when Arthur finally joined him. As always the prat managed to find the worst possible timing – Merlin couldn't stop before he finished the row, so here he was, saying a long spell aloud, eyes glowing, the worst possible sight that his skittish king could find. From the corner of his eye he already saw Arthur slowly backing up, ready to slink away. Merlin spoke a bit faster, pushed a bit more magic into it, and the runes glowed a molten red as they drew themselves into the stones, but he got there just in time to call after Arthur before his cloak disappeared around the corner.
"Sire! Let's go hunting!"
That certainly managed to stop the King of Camelot in his tracks. He stalked back into the bluish room, temporarily lit with magic torches. "Are you well, Merlin? Has the magic gone to your head? Or have you drunk a botched potion, perhaps?"
"What? No! I've just— Been cooped up. For too long. Yes. I need some air. Time in nature, you know, to replenish. So let's go hunting!"
"You hate hunting."
"You don't."
They stared at each other in silence, debating the matter with their eyes only. Arthur sighed. "Fine. I'll go tell the knights."
"Whatever for?"
"I am king. I can't just go hunting on my own, Merlin."
"You won't be on your own, you'll have me!"
Arthur had the gall the snort. Really? Really? After all this time of watching Merlin do magic right in front of him, after hearing him tell of the things he could do – he could throw fireballs, for goodness sake! – Arthur was still just seeing him as a feeble servant.
Fine. Fine. Merlin squared his jaw and walked away, not sparing Arthur a glance. It wasn't like Merlin actually wanted to go on a hunt anyway. Arthur could go fu—
"Merlin, wait! I didn't mean it like that! Let's go hunting, yes? Just you and me, like in the old days. But with magic."
Merlin stopped in his tracks. "With magic."
"Yes. Well, except if you're throwing my arrows off course. Then no magic."
Merlin turned around and smile sweetly. "Naturally." He picked up his pace again. "Let's go ask George to ready some bags."
Arthur sighed obnoxiously loudly behind him. "I'm not going to get a single kill in, am I?"
Since Arthur couldn't see, Merlin smirked widely. No Arthur, you would not.
OOOoooOOO
It was chilly, it was drizzling, and the more they stomped through the undergrowth the more Merlin was regretting his brilliant plan to get Arthur alone with him with nowhere to hide.
"So, what did you plan to do exactly on this curious endeavour of yours?"
Merlin stayed silent. He endeavoured to stomp along broodingly until he came up with an actual brilliant plan, thank you very much.
"You're not planning to kill me, are you? Because I know you are definitely not here to kill a deer or something."
"No, I'm here to commune with nature in a very warlock-like way," Merlin grumbled. Couldn't Arthur just let him think in silence?
"So that's why you like to pick herbs for Gaius? To commune with nature?"
"What— No, Arthur, I was jesting! I dragged you out here so we could talk."
The light rustle of footsteps behind him stopped. "We could have talked at the castle," Arthur said. Merlin sighed and turned around.
"You would have found an excuse to flee the conversation. Like, 'I need to go train the knights now', or, 'I need to urgently read petitions because I am king', blah blah blah," Merlin said, including the high-strung kingly tone and over-the-top kingly gestures.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "You do realise that I am king and those things are actually my job?"
"Well right now your job, my liege, is to listen to this humble warlock, citizen of Camelot. And there are no other tasks to distract you from this particular petition."
"I'm looking for a deer, actually."
"You won't find any. Haven't you noticed? There isn't a single animal around us. Not within an arrow's shot, anyway."
"You are the absolute worst hunting partner."
Arthur stomped past him. For the next good while they just walked on in silence. This was Merlin's fault, really. He should have had a plan. Getting Arthur alone didn't guarantee a conversation. Especially not if he could escape it by just walking fast. Really, Merlin should have locked him up somewhere. If only it wasn't so frowned upon to kidnap and sequester your king.
Arthur suddenly stopped and whirled around. "Fine! What is it that you so urgently need to talk about and has me stroll about the woods forever?"
"I… Uhm…"
Arthur's eyebrow executed a first, irritated twitch."Yes?"
Before another twitch could put Arthur into a foul mood – or a fouler mood, in this case – Merlin blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"How did you figure it out? That I'm a warlock?"
Not exactly the most important thing here, Merlin. Really, why didn't he plan this conversation?
Now both of Arthur's eyebrows were up. "What do you think? I saw you use magic."
"Yes, but when? I really don't see when—"
Arthur stared at him in silence for so long Merlin thought he wouldn't answer. Especially when Arthur turned away to look at the silent forest. But then he did speak. "When we fought the headless man."
But— How could that be? "That was months ago!" How could Arthur have hidden for so long that he—
"Yes. It was."
Oh! Of course! "It took you that long to figure out what you saw?"
"Merlin! Why do you always believe me to be so thickheaded?"
"Because you are?" Merlin smirked.
Arthur crossed him arms. His expression was painfully serious. "I've known you had magic for months and you didn't realise. Remind me who's thickheaded here?"
Merlin scoffed at that. "I've hidden my magic from you for years so no need to get smug."
"Do you even listen to what you're saying?"
"Ah." Yes. That was one of the reasons Arthur was shunning Merlin. Even though it wasn't fair."Well. I'd apologise again but I've told you why I didn't tell you, so."
"Yes, the whole not a sorcerer but a warlock debacle." Arthur sent him a nasty smile. "How's the book going?"
"Aaargh, don't remind me."
"Is that why we're here?" Arthur asked, his arms uncrossing to encompass the whole forest in one gesture. "Because you're fleeing from your book-writing duties?"
"Well…" In a way, Merlin supposed it was true. "A little, yes. It's awful, Arthur! I don't think I can do it! It's just not feasible."
"Why? I thought you were a great writer."
Where in Albion did Arthur get that insane idea from? "What are you on about? I've never written anything so long!"
"You mean apart from all my speeches and diplomatic replies and drafts for new laws—"
Merlin sighed. "Yes, all right, fine. I can write at length."
Arthur started walking again. For a minute Merlin thought that was the end of the conversation and he was struggling to find something to say to start it up again. Luckily Arthur did it for him. Though it wasn't the follow-up Merlin would have chosen.
"It's a wonder people ever believed you were just a manservant."
Merlin repressed the first things that wanted to slip out. You never believed I was a manservant, Arthur, given how much you ranted about my poor performance. No one else believed I was just a manservant even when they didn't know I had magic, Arthur, because other people aren't blind to my talents.
He opted for, "Yes, well, people don't believe that anymore. I'm a sacked manservant now."
"You're the Court Warlock."
Merlin's steps stuttered and he almost slipped on a mossy root. Court Warlock? Since when? "Oh, so that's what I am?" That did make an awful lot of sense. He'd received the stink eye from some servants – so that must have been either jealousy or fear of magic – and random people kept sending him nods of little bows – which must have been those who now thought his title required noble etiquette. "Funny, no one ever told me my title. Or what the promotion entailed."
"Well, with your…" Athur waved a hand until he found his next word. "…shenanigans,"—really not what Merlin would have called his disaster of a life—"I had to come up with some title on the fly. It's not like it's the promotion I had intended to give you."
"Ha, right. If it was up to you I'd have been your manservant forever," Merlin said, and he couldn't hide the bitterness in his tone. Where would he be if Arthur hadn't found out about his magic? Working as his manservant, exactly.
"First off, it is up to me. And second, no, not forever. I'd have hoped you'd accept your promotion."
"If I'd accept? Why, was it something unpleasant? Like warden of the dungeons? Oh wait, I am part-time warden of the dungeons now, aren't I?" Arthur grimaced, and that made Merlin feel a little bit better. "So, what was it?"
"What was what?" Arthur didn't look at him. Hmm.
"The promotion."
"Shhh, is that a deer?" Arthur pointed at a bush. Fishy. Fishy indeed.
"What? No. I told you there are no animals anywhere near…" Arthur was still intently looking at the bush, his hand resting on his sword. And then he started to creep towards the bush. Wait, was he serious? "Why, did you hear something?" Merlin whisper-shouted.
Merlin followed Artur as he silently stalked to the bush and pulled his sword out. When he got close, he rushed to the back of the plant, Merlin on his heels, and stopped short, straightened, and sheathed his sword.
"I was wrong, there was nothing after all."
Merlin just stared at him open-mouthed. What in Albion was happening here? How could Arthur be so calm after he'd just looked so seriously suspicious? He'd drawn his sword instead of an arrow, and now he was just brushing it off like it was nothing?
"What did you hear?" Merlin scanned the area with his senses as much as he was able – which to be honest wasn't very accurate, he was truly not very sensitive to non-magical sources – but there was nothing. All life-forms he could feel were all held back by his magical barrier.
"Oh, I thought I heard some rustling. Guess it was just wishful thinking."
Arthur smiled in that way he always used when he tried to hide something – the smile everyone fell for but Merlin had got used to years ago. In other words… Arthur hadn't heard anything. He had made up a story to distract from that fishy promotion story.
Merlin smiled back. "My fault for not letting you actually hunt, I guess."
He was so going to needle Arthur until he knew what the mystery promotion was.
Well, I guess they did talk a bit, but there certainly is more that needs saying! What is that promotion? Come on Arthur, stop evading the question XD
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