They both lay on their sides, facing each other, blankets up to their shoulders, lying close enough to feel each other's warmth, their legs tangled already.
"What happened?" Merlin finally asked, looking at Arthur's distant expression. They were both tired, and yet Merlin could see that Arthur looked like he didn't expect sleep to come.
"I went to a brothel." Arthur admitted and Merlin was surprised that Arthur answered him.
"Why?"
"I wanted to learn… how to make this whole experience… at the very least enjoyable for you." Arthur said. Merlin smiled at the way Arthur slowed down his words when he was embarrassed or uncertain of what to say or both, as was the case now.
"I mean… I'm not complaining but… again, why?" Merlin asked. Arthur looked at him for a few seconds longer than usual but Merlin met his gaze head-on and it was Arthur who ended up looking away.
"The crown prince doesn't have to explain his reasoning to anyone, Merlin." Arthur said simply. "Not that it helped, it was a nightmare just like last time." He seemed to recall something that haunted him.
"What is it?" Merlin asked.
Arthur reached to him and placed his hand on his arm, giving it a firm squeeze and that fierce look he was capable of making. "I swear to you that I will never send you away." Arthur said. "No matter what."
Merlin wondered how true that would be when the prince learned about his magic and looked away. "As if you could survive a day without me." Merlin teased.
"I'm sure I can find someone skilled enough to stumble over their own two feet in due time." Arthur answered back and Merlin laughed. Idiot Arthur, if only he knew how much he did for him.
"Putting up with you is an art form, not a skill." Merlin said and Arthur rolled his eyes at him.
"Shut up, Merlin."
"Go to sleep, Arthur."
"Yes, sire." Arthur said sarcastically and they both chuckled as they closed their eyes to sleep.
Arthur's arm rested on Merlin's hip, their legs remained tangled and in the end they ended up curled up in each other's arms for no reason whatsoever.
For Merlin, it was like being wrapped in a cocoon of his own magic. Warm, safe, and impenetrable. For Arthur? Merlin didn't know.
oOoOoOo
Arthur woke up to the feeling of Merlin moving away from him and he frowned, pulling Merlin back up against him.
"Don't go, your crown prince is cold." Arthur mumbled in his sleep.
"I know it's cold, you turnip. I'm going to light your fireplace and get you some breakfast." Merlin said either genuinely annoyed or sarcastically amused but Arthur didn't have the willpower to open his eyes to figure out which was true.
He heard the fire start far too quickly in the fireplace to have been done without magic and soon the door clicked behind Merlin as he left.
Once Merlin was gone he couldn't really get back to sleep so he took a deep breath and went to the window, looking down at the courtyard. His eyes waiting to catch a glimpse of Merlin. Arthur scoffed at his own behaviour. What was wrong with him? Magic or not, Merlin was still his idiot manservant. Even if it seems like he does save his life now and again.
He looked to the side, seeing the finished fur-lined coat. Arthur picked it up, inspecting it up and down, looking at the careful stitching. It was one of his plain coats.
"Here's breakfast!" Merlin announced placing the plate on the table. Arthur looked at him and brought the coat over. "Uh… what's wrong? Didn't I stitch it right?" Arthur didn't answer as he took off the other's thin leather jacket, feeling the coolness of the other's arms over the other's shirt.
Arthur put the jacket on Merlin. "It suits you better." Arthur said.
Merlin tried to take it off but Arthur held it in place. "Too bad servants don't wear fur." Merlin said.
"My manservant will wear what pleases me." Arthur said simply.
"Are you seriously giving me the coat?" He asked in disbelief.
"I'll find your shivering very annoying otherwise." Arthur said and went to have breakfast. "Have you had breakfast?" Arthur asked as Merlin proceeded to make the bed and organise the room.
"I had something." Merlin said. Arthur frowned but kept having his food. At what time could he possibly have had his breakfast?
He picked up one of the sausages, eyeing it suspiciously.
"Merlin, get over here." Arthur said. Merlin looked up from where he was fluffing up the pillows. "Do these sausages taste strange to you?" Arthur asked. Merlin frowned and took a bite.
"Mmh… I don't think so." He said.
"Try this one, I feel like it has a strange aftertaste." Arthur said. Merlin frowned and tried the second one, a frown of concentration on his face.
"I think you're imagining things. They taste great." Merlin said and Arthur sighed.
"Perhaps. Carry on, I need you to get me ready for training." Arthur said and Merlin walked back to what he was doing, while Arthur drank his water, trying to hide a smirk.
Arthur gave Merlin the morning off while he was training and Merlin seemed to brighten with gratitude.
oOoOoOo
Merlin made his way to Gaius' chambers and entered quietly, watching the physician grinding some herbs on the pestle. He glanced up to meet Merlin's eyes.
"Need any help?" Merlin asked softly. Gaius smiled.
"Plenty of chores to do. How about you do my deliveries while I go gather more willow bark?" Gaius asked. Dread filled Merlin as he pictured himself going to the lords and ladies of the court to deliver things. He somehow felt that with the knights ticked off the list, it was only a matter of time before everyone in court discovered his extra service to Arthur.
"No, no, I'll gather the bark." Merlin said.
"Are you sure? You might be late for the prince's lunch." Gaius said.
"I'll be quick." Merlin promised.
"Very well then. At least you're dressed warmly." Gaius said eyeing Merlin's coat and gloves knowingly.
"I lined the coat." Merlin said shrugging.
"I take it Arthur purchased the furs?" Gaius said as Merlin grabbed the herb basket.
"And I'm very grateful." Merlin said putting the cloak over everything.
"Merlin… I'm sorry. I thought… Arthur would not go through with it." Gaius said. Merlin looked up at him and smiled sadly.
"It gets worse. The dragon says I accidentally married myself to Arthur before the triple goddess." Merlin said. "Until the union is finalised… I may start losing control of my powers."
"You… what?" Gaius said horrified.
"It's fine, I just have to complete the union and make sure Arthur never hears anything about it. He'll be free to marry." Merlin said.
"Merlin… such unions are sacred. If one party is dishonest and pursues someone else… the innocent party will feel unimaginable pain." Gaius said. Merlin looked down and shrugged.
"I've already accepted that there will never be anyone for me. As for Arthur… I'll endure what needs to be endured for him to live happy and be the king I know he will become." He said.
Gaius looked sceptical at him. "Merlin… your loyal friendship is bordering into something much greater... something that will indeed cause you unimaginable pain. You can't let the current situation fool you. Arthur is obeying his father. Nothing more." He said.
Merlin gulped and looked down, thinking about Arthur sneaking off to the brothel just to try and learn how to make him enjoy the whole thing. Maybe it was just so he wouldn't feel as guilty.
"And these gifts send entirely the wrong message. You should have refused." Gaius said and Merlin held the coat closer.
"I tried."
"Not hard enough. You might not have accepted Uther's gold, but these gifts are the same thing." Gaius said. Merlin almost bristled with rage.
"Arthur is not paying me!" Merlin said horrified. "I mean… beside my usual salary…" He mumbled looking down, conflicted as he tried to figure out what it all meant. He looked up to see Gaius' worried expression and clenched his hands into fists. "I should go, Gaius, or I really will be late." He turned and left to collect the winter herbs.
oOoOoOo
Arthur finished training early. He got another servant to undo his armour before making his way to the dungeons. The guards paid the crown prince no mind and after he was out of sight, he made his way down to the caverns deep below.
The dragon was nowhere to be seen. He looked around but the light of his torch didn't go far enough to see. "Great Dragon! I've come to speak with you." Arthur said.
"Bold of the son of my captor to come and speak with me." He heard a voice and soon the gush of wind moving as the dragon dropped down, landing on the mound of stone. "Tell me why I shouldn't just burn you to a crisp where you stand?" Arthur let his hand rest on the hilt of his sword and the dragon laughed. "Lets see how long your sword can withstand my fire."
Arthur took a deep breath. The dragon was right.
"Like you said… we are kin now."
A joyous rumble of laughter erupted from the dragon's throat. "Indeed. What I would not give to see Uther hear those words. It would almost make up for the butchering of my kind."
"The dragons were threatening the peace of Camelot. Chaos ran rampant through the land back then." Arthur defended his father. "My father did what had to be done."
"I will forgive those words because you were not there. I will forgive you because you simply were not educated on the truth." The dragon said.
"Well… I'm here. What is the truth?" Arthur asked. The dragon narrowed its eyes at him and got closer, as if trying to catch his scent.
"Legends have foretold that you, Arthur Pendragon, are the once and future king of Camelot, destined to return peace and magic to the land of Albion. This task is not one you can complete without the chosen child of the triple goddess herself, Merlin."
"Merlin? Are you saying that Merlin is some kind of… sacred being?" Arthur scoffed.
"Merlin was put on this earth by the triple goddess herself as a gift to you, Arthur, to aid you in your mission." The dragon got angry then. "However, nowhere in any of the prophecies has there been a single mention of you defiling a sacred creature such as him and ending up bound in marriage!"
"I did not want to force Merlin into anything!" Arthur said defensively.
"And yet, you did."
Arthur gasped at a loss for words. "I realised that… now. How could I disobey the king?"
"You are so desperate to gain your father's approval, when it was he who signed your mother's death sentence, it was he who murdered millions of innocents in his purge, brought precious noble breeds to extinction. It is Uther Pendragon who stands in the way of your destiny. You were born to be king. Uther Pendragon is your enemy."
"Why should I believe you? You're a prisoner in my father's dungeon. You have magic and are trying to turn me against my father. You're an enemy of Camelot!" Arthur yelled.
"And have I not good reason to hate Uther?"
Athur said nothing to that and looked down. "What happened during the purge?"
"I believe, more important is what led to it." The dragon said. "Your father was at war with what is now Cenred's kingdom. He sent his good friend Gorlois to war, a war that took a long time. Your father became infatuated by his friend's wife, the lady Vivienne who was at the time, carrying Gorlois' child. A young girl was born, the pride of her mother. She named her Morgause."
"…Morgause… is Morgana's sister?" Arthur said horrified.
"Uther took advantage of Vivienne's longing to see her husband and asked his court sorcerer, Nimueh, to make him look like his friend. Your father snuck to his friend's home and pretended to be Gorlois, where he lay with lady Vivienne cloaked in a lie. He left in the morning without explanation."
Arthur looked at him ashen, shaking his head, feeling almost sick. "My father would never… how would you even know?" Arthur whispered.
"Lady Vivienne was with child once more. She soon realised her husband had not been the one to visit her, horrified by her betrayal, and terrified of what her jealous husband would do, lady Vivienne asked the royal physician, Gaius, to smuggle Morgause away and give her to her teachers, high priestesses of the old religion."
"Morgana's mother had magic?" Arthur felt like his mind was taking too long to register everything he was being told.
"Oh yes, and your father knew. Back then, a select few of lords and ladies openly practiced magic." The dragon tilted its head, looking at Arthur intently. "Morgana was born to lady Vivienne. When Gorlois finally returned from war two years later, he was told the child simply had stunted growth. It saved lady Vivienne then, but Uther Pendragon already knew who fathered the dark haired child that Gorlois proudly presented to him."
Arthur felt out of breath. "Morgana is my sister." He whispered.
"He'd already seen the threat to the throne and asked Nimueh to find any way to get his wife Ygraine swollen with child. She warned him, there would be a price to pay, but Uther Pendragon demanded she do whatever it took. Nine months later you were born and the queen died. When Uther realised she was the price to pay, it was too late, and he set off the purge in a vengeful swing. Magic was outlawed. Lady Vivienne was the first to plead against him. She was the first to be sent to the pyre. Convenient, wasn't it?"
"No! My father wouldn't have… he… tell me it's not true!" Arthur yelled. Was the purge just a massive way of Uther destroying all evidence of his sins?
"The evidence is somewhere, if you care to find it." The dragon said. Arthur had no words to say to that and the dragon continued. "The dragon lords came next, my noble children, one by one, murdered to hide one man's fear of his sins, fear of a power he could not control."
"What Morgause said… what my mother told me… that was all true?" Arthur asked.
"The dead can be brought back for brief periods of time. Manipulating them and their words is impossible."
Arthur took a deep breath and shook his head. "I feel so lost… what on earth am I to do with this information?" Arthur demanded.
"If it makes you not follow Uther Pendragon with blind faith, then it's good enough for me.
"I must go." Arthur said, turning his back to the beast. He left as quickly as his legs could carry him, rage at his father's hypocrisy burning in his veins. First of all… he had to find Morgana. He would tell her the truth.