Merlin
When Arthur wakes up the sun is already shining and it promises to be a beatiful day with a clear sky. In his drowsy state he nearly screams Merlins name because he forgot to wake him again but fortunatly he remembers what is going on and can stop himself before doing so. Funny how much one can accustom to another person being around. Merlin has always been there for me. How angry I was when Gaius had told me that Merlin spend the day in the tavern when he was actually fighting for his life or for the sake of everybody around him. I really shouldn´t have given him so many chores. It is a wonder that he managed to do everything at the same time. Arthur stands up and tries to dress himself without making a complete fool out of himself. Merlin did his chores, worked errands for Gaius and saved Camelot on a daily basis and I cant even dress myself properly without help. He hears a giggle from the door. He had been thinking aloud again while fighting with his clothes and the scene in front of the princess must have been ludicrous.
„Good morning, oh mercyful King and hero of Camelot" she says sarcastically.
„Well, a very good morning to you too, Mylady, and happy birthday if you allow me to add" he says with as much dignity as he can and bows his whole upper body in her direction. She runs to him and embraces him in a hug. At first Arthur is startled but then he hugs her back resting his head on hers. Together they take a morning stroll through the city. Everyone is busy and only once or twice the people realize that their princess is just next to them walking throught the streets with a stranger. Dorothea shows Arthur her favorite places in Camelot. One of them is a little stage. A dozent children are sitting on the ground waiting in anticipation of what will happen next. A man appears on the stage and welcomes everyone. After a little introduction he starts performing a kind of magic that Arthur had never seen before. The man mumbles some words Arthur does not understand and a second later it looks like his hands are on fire and he starts drawing in mid air. The children applaud and cant take their eyes off the scene in front of them. Arthur realises that Dorothea is looking at him. She grins.
„I come here every now and then to watch the perfomances. It is beautiful. I cant imagine Camelot without magic. It must have been boring" she says and they start walking to the big gate.
„Well, it was quite different to now for sure. We still had a lot of fun though" he says with a smile thinking of all the things he did as a young boy that made his father crazy. They stop on the bridge and look upon the wide field in front of them. Only a few meters away from the gate they sit down on the grass in the shadow of an old oak tree.
„When I left Camelot this tree was only a scion" he says lying down and looking up at the mighty old tree. They lie there and watch the clouds floating over their heads. After a while Arthur starts dozing when suddenly he hears Dorothea screaming.
„Merlin!" she exclaims jumping up and starts running in the direction of the nearby forest. Suddenly Arthur is wide awake. He stands up and searches the horizon for some movement. Indeed, there is something. Arthur squints his eyes against the bright sun and tries to see what it is. A lonely rider guides his horse in a slow and calm pace in his direction. He wears a long dark green cloak and to Arthurs surprise he rides without saddle and bridle. But even without it the tall brown stallion reacts to every little movement of his rider. Arthur tries to see the mans face but it is covered by his hood. His movements look too agile for a hundret-and-fifty-year-old. Could that really be him? In his stupor Arthur keeps standing in the shadow of the tree not moving a muscle. All this happens in the fraction of a second. Dorothea runs faster and faster but then maybe 40 meters away from Arthur she trips badly and falls down face forward. Arthur gasps and takes a step towards her but stops realizing that she somehow did not hit the ground. When he saw her stumbling the rider had reacted very quickly. With one hand outstretched he had stopped her fall in mid air and now, lowering his hand slightly, he slowly lets her sink to the ground unharmed. He stops his horse a couple of meters away from her and with a smooth movement slides down from his horse. Arthur watches him walk over to Dorothea and it feels like everything happens in slow motion. The newcomer lifts his hand up and removes his hood to reveal...Merlin. But not at all looking like Arthur had pictured him. He looks like maybe 40 years old, his hair is a little longer than before and a bit curly, his face is emballished with a short beard and he is not as skinny as he had been when Arthur last saw him. Merlin reaches the young princess who is still sitting on the ground.
„Thanks" she says blushing.
„I was just so happy to see you again" she explains. Merlin smiles and without hesitation crouches down to sit next to her in the grass, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning on his arms behind him. He lifts one hand in front of the girls eyes and after an elegant twist a beautiful rose appears out of nowhere. Dorotheas eyes lighten up even more and Merlin hands the flower to her.
„Happy Birthday Thea" he says smiling and the young girl is beaming at him. Arthur is standing close enough to see what is going on and the wind is opportune so he can even listen to their conversation. Upon hearing Merlins voice and seeing him smile again he feels a weight lifting from his chest. Merlin is here. And he looks alright too. Arthur feels stupid for hiding but he does not want to interrupt the heartwarming scene in front of him. Besides, what am I supposed to say? ´Hello old friend, long time no see?´. That would be ridiculous. But I cant just stand here forever. While Arthur is torn between hiding and revealing himself the scene infront if him goes on.
„How is everybody? Is everything going its way?" Merlin ask looking up at the citys walls. For a short moment Arthur thinks that he has been discovered but Merlin turns his eyes back on Dorothea.
„Everything is alright. Thanks to you the fever that was spreading a couple of month ago is long gone. Me and my mother helped the druids to distribute the medicine to the people and in less than two weeks everybody was fine" the young princess says and looks behind her where the stallion is calmly browsing.
„How about you and Tonitrua? Last time he was slightly limping" she says with a worried expression on her face.
„Well, you can see for yourself" the Warlock answers, lifts a hand to his lips and a high whistle travels to Arthurs ears. The horse turns his ears in the direction the whistles came from and then lifts its head to look at Merlin. With a slow trot it walks over to the two people in the grass and sniffs at Dorotheas hair. The girl giggles and strokes the horses nose.
„Nice to see you save and sound" she says to both the horse and Merlin. She looks at Merlin and her eyes start sparkling.
„I have a surprise for you!" she exclaims cheerfully. In his hiding spot Arthurs heart starts pounding against his ribcage so loudly that he is sure everybody in Camelot can hear it. Merlin furrows his brows.
„Did they change the custom? I thought, since it is your birthday, that you would be the one who gets all the surprises" he says teasing.
„No, this time you will get the biggest surprise. Beside, it was also very surprising for me I must admit" she says ignoring his tease completely. Merlin tilts his head to one side and makes a funny face.
„Ok, you´ve made me curious. What is the surprise?" Merlin ask leaning slightly towards her.
„Well, after all these stories you told me...about you and King Arthur...I thought that it would make you crazy not to know when exactly Arthur will return. You never said it outloud but I think that there is a reason you never really left Camelot behind even though it hurts you to see all these people and get reminded of who you lost." Merlin sits up and looks at her with a serious expression on his face.
„How could I leave Camelot when you live there" he says his features softening. Dorothea smiles but continues.
„I think that you are waiting...you are waiting for Arthurs return even though, in your knowledge, it could be hundrets of years in the future"she says seriously. Merlins eyes grow sad. Arthur had never seen his friend like that his whole life. The usually so happy and cheerful man gets silent and looks on the ground in front of him fumbling with some grass stalks. Without noticing Arthur stops breathing for a second. He is waiting...for me? All these years he stayed near Camelot to be there when I come back. I have to show him...
„You are waiting...and if it takes forever. The hardest part though is not knowing when it will happen. And that is my surprise for you." Merlin looks up at her in confusion. She stands up and lends him a hand to do the same.
„...I can tell you when it is time for Arthur to come back" the princess says looking up at him. The warlocks brows lift up so high that they nearly disappear under his hairline. His eyes grow big in hope but they still show a lot of disbelief. Arthur thinks that his heart finally stopped completely. He feels as if he would fall over in the next moment. A tremble wanders through his while body.
„And that time...is right now" she finishes dramatically and moves a step to the right. In this moment Arthur steps outside of the shadow of the old tree.
So finally Merlin appears in this story! I picture him to look like Colin in the series "The living and the dead" because I think that it suits him very well.
I hope you enjoyed it and as always I would be really happy for a review. Take care!
FYI: Tonitrua is latin for thunder
