4-18-20
To Save Camelot
S2,Ep13- The Last Dragonlord
"Merlin, if I die, please-"
Merlin looked up. "What?"
Arthur hesitated before turning around, his jovial manner replaced by sobriety and what Merlin could have sworn was concern. "The dragonlord today. I saw you."
Merlin's gaze fell. He knew what was coming- he'd heard the words before. If Arthur only knew- if he could only understand the cause of Merlin's grief-
The prince grasped his shoulder. "Something I tell all my young knights. 'No man is worth your tears.'"
"And what if that man is your father?" Merlin realized what he'd admitted only as the words left his mouth. His skin grew cold in fear, but he held his master's gaze with all the confidence he had left.
Arthur's eyes were narrowed in confusion. He made to speak a couple of times before finally asking, "What are you talking about?"
Merlin took a steadying breath. "I think you already know."
Arthur's hand fell from his shoulder as he glanced about the room blankly. "Balinor was your father."
Merlin nodded, blinking his eyes clear. "He told me… that the gifts of a dragonlord are passed from father to son."
Arthur's eyes widened. "Merlin-"
"Your father will probably have me killed or banished, but… if there's a chance I can stop the dragon, you have to let me try first, Arthur."
"He's not going to touch you," Arthur insisted. "...Because he isn't going to know."
"...What?"
The prince gripped his shoulder once more, seeing Merlin- if only in the smallest way- a little more for who he truly was. "Will you ride out with me, Merlin? I'll send my men to another part of the forest so that no one will know what you're to do."
Merlin didn't understand why he looked so discouraged until he realized he was shaking his head. Arthur couldn't know it was in disbelief rather than refusal.
"Please, Merlin," the prince begged him. "To save Camelot, will you do this?"
"It doesn't bother you that I have… this power?"
"How you were born was not of your choosing. And it may yet be our salvation."
This acceptance was only a small ray of hope, but Merlin clung to it with all he had. "I was going to come with you anyway," he said, a breath of laughter escaping him. "To protect you."
Arthur snorted in return, squeezing Merlin's shoulder. "I know I tease you a lot. But for all of it, Merlin… You may be the bravest man I've ever met."
Merlin smiled through a haze of tears. He leaned in for a hug and, for the first time, Arthur obliged him. In spite of his strength, the prince was remarkably gentle.
"I know what it's like to lose a parent you never had the chance to know. I'm sorry about your father."
Merlin sniffed, unbothered by the sweat and grime on Arthur's skin from the last few days. Rather, he found it comforting. "Thank you."