A/N: At the end!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Pinky promise.
A/N: If you are reading this after 16-02-16 be glad because I just corrected LOTS of grammar mistakes so your reading will be even better than those who read it before, thanks to CrossoverAddict from pointing them all out.
The time Arthur managed to save Merlin… from his clumsiness.
Merlin was already in Uther's chambers, he had dashed inside the room after driving away the guards. Merlin could count the times that he liked Uther with one hand, when he was asleep had to be his favorite one. Merlin would never come to love his King but he wasn't about to just let him suffer. Liked it or not, Uther loved Arthur and Merlin felt, for the first time, pity towards the King who had forgotten the one person he loved the most.
Merlin set himself to work, pulling a few quick spells on a deep sleeping Uther to test the result, in the end, Merlin was sure that at least no potion had been drank since he couldn't feel any kind of magic running in his veins- a spell he had learned a few months ago from the dragon- so no, Uther wasn't being controlled. There was a difference between acting on your own influenced by magic and another one when magic was controlling you. Giving up on spells he had looked under the bed to locate any strange trinket to find nothing but dust and then inspected the king's robes for anything unusual. No jewels, no runes, nothing out of place. Nothing enchanted.
Merlin had shaken his head. Obviously, there had to be something, his eyes had scanned the room, all kinds of vases and rich tapestries adorned it but he had no idea what was out of place. He closed his eyes but he could feel no magic at all. He sighed in defeat. Something was, of course, missing or cursed but whatever that was it was escaping him. He wondered what type of magic this was, or if it was magic at all. He was praying that Uther was not going senile.
As he looked at Uther again—peacefully snoring—he eyed the stone Arthur had told him about resting on the chest of the king— now tied to a metal chain and Merlin had an idea, however, when he touched the stone it radiated with such intensity that the whole room shined blue, he let it go in an instant, terribly afraid that Uther had felt the energy and woken up, however, he was never so glad Gaius made the best sleeping potions in the whole Kingdom.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Merlin was in Gaius's chambers reading for any information that could help their predicament when said man walked in with slow steps. Gaius looked around like he noticed that something was missing.
"I just returned from Uther's chambers. I couldn't find anything useful and my powers didn't tell me much…" Merlin said as he went to grab another book, not bothering to raise his head from the book he was glued to. "I mean, who forgets their own son?" Merlin snapped his head up. "Maybe a way to break the enchantment is for Uther to see him. Nothing is greater than love, didn't you say so once?"
Gaius was quiet before he closed the door behind him. "I thought he would be here."
Merlin blinked and looked at Gaius before he raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you mean Arthur? Maybe he needed time to process what we just told him...after all it should be quite a shock."
"Maybe…" Gaius conceded.
"Is there any potion that can make you forget one person?" Merlin asked, not losing time in looking into the book he was reading. Found it. Forget me not potion… (Merlin rolled his eyes at the name of such a thing) He placed the book open at the end of the table and motioned to Gaius to come near. "Here's a potion that can make you forget who you are, maybe we can try the remedy?"
Gaius sighed and walked to see the book Merlin was showing him, he scanned the page and then nodded. "It might help, though Uther still remembers who he is very clearly…" Gaius hummed deep in thought, then he turned towards Merlin with sharp eyes. "Potions act in a very general way because they are done with a general purpose, Merlin. Either heal or kill, most of the time. While enchantments are made with and for a purpose. Morgana did this with a goal. With an exact trace of mind."
"To make Uther forget Arthur… What I don't understand is how this will help her reach the throne. In that case, she would have made Uther forget her treason, isn't it? Or make him forget he's the king. It just doesn't make sense."
Gaius didn't know the answer to that question so he stayed silent.
Merlin sighed and he closed his book with resolution. "I'll bring Arthur. If Uther wakes up tomorrow still with no knowledge of who he is we need to be prepared for the worse."
Gaius walked till he was facing Merlin. "Merlin…I have a bad feeling that he's not here."
"He's probably with Uther," Merlin said offhandedly. "He's a-see-before-believe kind of man."
"He told me…" Gaius said tersely. "That he wanted to seek Morgana...and left."
Merlin looked at Gaius and stubbornly he looked down again, tossing that book to the side and taking another one. "He wouldn't."
"How do you know? He looked angered when you left, and even angrier when he finally left me."
"Because he wouldn't leave without me." Merlin snapped without turning. "Now, I need your help Gaius, before Arthur comes back we need to have this figured it out. What do you think it was? It was no potion, so maybe a spell? Or maybe an object, I just don't know which one—nothing in the room seemed out of ordinary."
"Merlin…"Gaius sat on a stool and put himself to work on the Forget Me Not remedy that Merlin had pointed earlier. "My boy, you should—"
"He didn't." Merlin said stubbornly. "I trust him. He didn't."
Merlin found himself staring at the door every few seconds but the prince of Camelot didn't enter, soon he found impossible to keep his resolution on looking for a cure anymore. He forced himself to concentrate and once again took another book, thicker and older as Gaius worked silently, every few second throwing anxious glances at Merlin when he thought Merlin wasn't looking.
Merlin passed page after page. A spell to forget things, an object that made you lose a piece of mind, something that made you forget the things you loved the most… he managed to stay still for five minutes before he finally sighed closing his eyes in defeat. He forgot the book, took his brown jacket in a swift motion and he dashed out the door without saying another word.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Merlin ran past the empty hallways, it was already well after dinner time and most halls were empty, a few guards shot him amused glances as he dashed towards the entrance of the palace where he skidded on the floor and grabbed the doorknob to avoid falling, once back on his feet he turned to the guard on his right.
"Arthur." He basically snapped, forgetting that a guard was on higher hierarchy than he. "Where is he?"
The guard shot Merlin an annoyed glance but the guard on his left answered amiably. He had stood on that same position way too many times, watching Arthur and this manservant throttle in and out of the castle and though Merlin and he had shared few words the guard liked the humor of the boy.
"He left with Sir Alistair and Sir Owen a few minutes ago." Merlin snapped his head in his direction. "They went for a patrol. I believe."
Merlin nodded, babbled a thanks and dashed down the steps—to the guards amusement without tripping on his feet.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Merlin caught sight of Lancelot, he had just come back from a patrol ready to get a well-deserved rest when Merlin basically crashed against his horse. Merlin told him quickly about what had happened. The knight assured Merlin that Arthur had not gone with the rest of the knights since he had seen them on his way in and that certainly Arthur wasn't as stupid as to seek Morgana on his own.
Merlin had his doubts.
"Have faith in him, Merlin." Lancelot assured Merlin that Arthur himself had dispatched the patrol, so it would make no sense for him to go alone when five knights were already on the task of finding the traitor, after seeing Merlin in such state Lancelot put a hand on his arm.
"Do you really think he left?" Lancelot asked and he saw the confusion on Merlin's face. If he said no he would be lying. If he said yes it would mean he didn't trust Arthur. Lancelot sighed and shook his head. The things he did. Maybe Gwaine was right and he should stop being so loyal and good hearted at times. "If Arthur is really seeking Morgana I'll find him." Lancelot promised with a soft smile as he mounted his horse once again for a second self-assigned patrol. Merlin blinked before he sighed relieved.
As a thank you, Merlin, conjured a spell and soon the sword and the shield of the night shined bright blue for a few seconds before it died. Lancelot raised his brows in a silent question.
"It will keep you safe from magic attacks." Merlin sighed. "And Lancelot? If you do find Morgana… remember that this is a fight you can't win. Ran the second you see her. Tell Arthur that… if you find him."
"I'll bring him back." Lancelot said before leaving. "You keep an eye from him here."
Arthur wasn't in his room, in the armory, neither on Uther's chambers, he went as far as to search for him in Gwen's home, maybe Arthur had gone to her seeking some kind of reassurance that everything was going to be fine, however, when he reached her house the light was out and a quick look through her window told Merlin that Gwen was sleeping peacefully alone.
Merlin was getting restless as the night wore on. Where the hell was Arthur. He began to think that maybe after all Arthur had indeed gone on his own. It had been just a few months ago that Merlin had told Arthur he was proud of him. The prince acted more on logic and reason than messy feelings like revenge; however, Merlin was questioning himself if that was indeed the case anymore.
He sighed and went to Arthur's chambers again in hopes he could find a lead as to where he had gone, anything that could pinpoint him in the right direction.
It couldn't end like this. He had to trust he was somewhere in Camelot. He had to trust Arthur, even if a little thought on his mind was nagging him that maybe, just maybe, Gaius had been right and it would had been better to not say anything to Arthur at all.
-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.
The King woke up in the middle of the night, he opened his eyes and blinked the darkness. He had woken with a heavy feeling of doom on his chest and a nagging feeling like he was being observed. After a moment of assessing this, he turned his head to the side towards the window trying to locate the reason for this feeling.
"Who are you?" The king demanded, sitting on his bed in a second, blinking owlishly as he saw the vague form of a man seating on a nearby table just down the window, outraged he went to grab his sword by his nightstand table and the man startled on his seat at his reaction. "What do you think—"
"Sorry, Sire I didn't—I—" The boy— or a young man—raised from the chair and now was standing hands raised in surrender in front of him. English apparently had left the clumsy boy as he went rigid where he stood, almost like waiting for Uther to say something first but the King was intrigued by the overall calmness of the young man. After a moment the young man lowered his hands and came to stand under the window where the pale night illuminated his form.
Uther opened his mouth and closed it at once. He had meant to call for the guards, who were apparently not doing their job correctly, but he was speechless.
Those eyes.
He would know those eyes anywhere.
With his blond hair almost platinum shining in the dim light of the room, his blue eyes and pale skin he looked… God's. If someone had told him Ygraine had a son, Uther would have bet this kid was. The king coughed, trying to push away the pain at the memory. The anger that had risen inside the King died instantly, he decided to let the man explain himself instead, however the blonde man didn't say anything for a long time.
"Well boy, are you going to answer?!" The king demanded with little patience.
The boy… man… Uther couldn't quite decide looked to the floor and blinked, trying to ease the heavy feeling in his heart once again.
"You… you don't… you don't remember me? Fa—Sire?"
"Should I?" the king snapped as he glared but for the life of him he didn't have any idea of who he was. He squinted at his face trying to place him with a memory and found himself unable to do so.
"My name is Arthur." The boy said looking at the King with such a stare the king had begun to wonder if he had indeed met him before. Then he clasped his hands with recognition, still seating on the bed, glad that he had made the connection.
"You are the boy Gaius and Agravaine were talking about. Yes, yes. I remember." Uther said amiably as he sat comfortably on his bed, his back against the wood. He didn't know why he hadn't called up the guards but he felt like this boy could do him no harm. "Do you work in the Castle? Did Gaius send you? He said something of the sorts. He said you could help me with my—predicament. Are you a strategist young man? Gaius spoke very well of you."
The man nodded, however, he looked unable to speak and did not comment. Uther glared at the boy. Was he… was he crying? His shoulders were shaking but then again in the middle of the night he couldn't be sure.
"Boy?"
"I'm… a knight." And the knight raised his face. No tears whatsoever. "Uh—Gaius told me, about uh—you wanting to f-find a… heir?"
"For pity's sake, Arthur," Uther said and the boy snapped his head on his direction. Like if something had clicked back to normal. "Don't babble. Knights don't babble. What has been Sir Leon teaching nowadays? In any case, Gaius is right, I'm afraid. So what's this thing you felt like you needed to wake your king at this unholy hour for?"
Arthur was very quiet and the King of Camelot was starting to feel uncomfortable. The boy looked way too emotional and Uther rolled his eyes. Why, pray tell, all his knights were always so afraid to talk to him he would never know. A peasant he would understand, but his knights?
"I don't remember having ever made you knight, Sir Arthur" Uther said trying to connect the face of the boy with any other title or family. "But you must understand, so many knights and just one King after all." Uther turned his head to the side trying to recall, he took pride in his memory of remembering every knight that worked for him and right now he was confused as to how he could forget someone like Arthur, after all, the resemblance to Ygraine was almost unbelievable. "Arthur… Arthur… May I ask Son of whom?"
The blond man bowed suddenly and then with a soft but strong voice that carried around the room Arthur spoke.
"I'm sorry, Sire. You are right. I have a—I have a plan, and I felt to tell you at once. Gaius said it was of the most importance" The man babbled looking at a point above Uther's head when he straightened. "It can wait until tomorrow, though, it was disrespectful of me and out of place. I apologize if I wasted your time, Sire."
Uther watched amused as the man departed, once at the door—he didn't even wait for him to be dispatched! He would have a word with Sir Leon first thing tomorrow—Sir Arthur turned and bowed once again, apparently this Sir Arthur had remembered at last who he was talking to.
"Sir Arthur?" Uther called with such an omnomious voice that only the king could carry even when seated on the bed and in his night garments.
"Yes? Fa—Sire?" The Man turned back slowly.
As the man stood straighter Uther caught the look on his eyes and Uther felt compelled to do an act of kindness that Ygraine would have been proud of.
"Good night," Uther said with a nod. "And Thank you. I will listen to your report tomorrow after breakfast. I'll send for you with Gaius."
The man looked startled before he bowed one last time and finally bolted out the room, closing the door slowly behind him till it clicked close.
Uther was left alone in his chambers staring at the door before he chuckled amused. That young Knight had a long way to go, however he was impressed that the lad had already figured out a plan of what to do about the issue at hand. He would have to thank Gaius later in the day. Making a mental note to talk to Sir Leon after the meeting with Sir Arthur the king of Camelot went to sleep with a light heart.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Arthur was watching Camelot from the ceiling of the highest tower on the east wing. The night was chilly and he crossed his arms in a futile attempt to keep warm. From this height he could see the castle citadel and courtyard displaying in front of him and beyond that the entire city. He couldn't distinguish which house was which, or see what guards were posted on what entrance. He only saw flickers of light, shadows moving and the peace that night could bring. The moon was shining bright and the wind blew softly by his sides, rustling his hair as it passed.
When he was little and wanted to hide from the world he would come here. When Morgana was being her annoying self and was always ordering him around—even at a young age Morgana have had a knack to boss him whenever she could, Arthur had been a little bit nicer and naïve back in the days and he had complied to most of her requests, absurd as they might been… soon his thoughts drifted away, no point on thinking about her anyway, his sister was long gone— when his Father would be mad at him or when he was a teenager and he wanted to skip sword practice he would sneak into the high tower.
The tower had an attached staircase from the outside to the side, made of uncontinuous gray bricks, almost invisible from the distance and impossible to see them from inside, maybe a foot wide and a few inches large. He had once leaned way too far into the window and had spotted them. He had to climb eight of them—in a spiral way—in precarious equilibrium to get to the top of the tower ceiling. Arthur supposed that before being useless the tower was used by archers, but time had wasted it purpose and Uther apparently had never bothered to repair it since it technically led to nowhere. It was the perfect hiding spot. The flat top of it was barely two meters wide but that was enough.
It had been a long time since he had come but he found out that today, of all days, it was the best place to go. No one would see him cry from up here.
God, he had never felt such impotence in his life. He couldn't do anything. And Arthur wasn't used to just stand around and watch. He was a man of action so he had gone here in hopes to appease his soul. He couldn't go and face Morgana. He would die and dying was out of the question. He couldn't help Gaius at the research, he wouldn't even know where to start looking for, he would be more as a nuisance than help. He couldn't help Merlin. He owned no magic.
For God's sake he couldn't stand in front of his Father and face him with a straight semblance.
Arthur shuddered as his feet dangled from the rooftop.
His Father's eyes had seen him, he had looked at him and called him by his name but for the first time in his life Arthur understood how much his Father had loved him. It was something that Arthur had just taken for granted he figured. It was true than more times than not, he felt like failure, but it still hurt to see his Father like that. They just weren't the same eyes.
How could Morgana do this to him? How heartless could she be? What would be next, he wondered, would she kill Gwen? Kidnap Merlin? Just burn Camelot to ashes? He wouldn't put it past her.
In the end, he had done the only thing he could do. He ordered five knights to go on patrol on a very unused route— at least according to Agravaine's book and annotations it hadn't been used in six months— in hopes of catching the secret messenger that had betrayed Camelot but besides that he couldn't do anything else and he felt powerless. Useless. Trapped.
He hastily cleaned his face free from tears. Ashamed. A Failure. Alone. Other things to add to the list.
Suddenly he heard a crash, it was barely audible but in the middle of the night, he heard it clearly. Daringly— like only Arthur the Prince could—he put his hands on the edge of the tower and leaned down to see, his eyes looking for any sight of—light. There was light in his room three floors down, blinking the remaining tears he glared, by now the candles should all have blown out so then why—
He scoffed. Of course. He looked around and found a sizable piece of brick near his left hand, he precariously looked down, shrugged and sent it flying, it landed on his balcony with a loud crash, he grimaced. Good bye royal blue tinted glass. His Father would kill him when he finds out.
"That is if he ever remembers…" He muttered under his breath still staring at the balcony below, waiting—sure enough a moment later a shadow came to the balcony, silhouetted by the light the dark figure leaned on the balcony to stare down at the courtyard. Arthur rolled his eyes, Idiot. Arthur threw another rock, this time smaller.
He heard the distinctive "Ow" as Merlin looked up, in the middle of the night Arthur was sure Merlin couldn't see him but Merlin, apparently, understood that the only person who would throw a rock to his head in such manner could only be him.
Arthur didn't know how to feel about that.
Light suddenly burst from his room. For a moment he thought Merlin had put his chambers on fire when a few spots of bursting light came floating to where he was. It flew up till Arthur could see the dancing lights in front of his eyes and he smiled softly. Really, he was always amused at the most minimal things of magic, in that aspect he was just like a child. Merlin shouted something but Arthur was not paying attention seeing how the light floated around him in a silent melody.
The light kept him company till a few minutes later he could hear someone crashing up the staircase and then Merlin's head popped from the open window looking up at him with—was that annoyance he was seeing? Arthur looked down, his feet dangling above and he smirked.
"I'm glad you didn't break a leg or two, Merlin." Arthur chimed. "Although I can bet you tripped, at least, three times on your way here."
Merlin raised a hand to kick Arthur's feet but he was far away still.
"You, Prat—annoying, stupid…"Merlin pushed himself up the windowsills and once he caught the sight of the bricks that lead to the ceiling he took them in stride.
"Merlin, careful, the second one is loose—!" Arthur cut himself as he leaned with one hand to steady Merlin by the shoulder and the other one clenching for his life by the edge of the tower, Arthur feel his heart beat fast. Merlin was going to fall. Oh god, what now what now? In a swift movement Arthur was on his chest against the floor and both his hands were trying to keep Merlin against the wall just by power will. Not wasting a moment Merlin shined his eyes gold, all the eight steps grew larger and one brick went out the tower to meet his dangling foot. Then like a normal staircase, Merlin walked up like nothing had happened. Arthur was shaking as he recoiled and sat again, his adrenaline still kicking in feeling even colder that he should had felt, had he not been paying attention Merlin would have fallen. He took air into his lungs and then after a moment let it go at once, pushing his hair back.
"Can you be—can you be more reckless, Merlin?" Arthur snapped, he was still breathing hard and the phrase left him without anger.
When Merlin was finally standing on even ground along with Arthur, Merlin kicked Arthur with his foot, right on the left side. Arthur raised his hand annoyed and batted his foot away, not prepared for such a reaction.
"What is wrong with you, you idiot?!" Arthur had just saved Merlin's life! For god's sake.
"What—what is wrong with me, Sire?" Merlin snapped and kicked Arthur again and the light that had merrily shined died. Arthur didn't understand what was going on, but sure as hell he wasn't going to sit and let Merlin kick him around. That was his job. So with almost an easy punch with his fist he tumbled Merlin with an assertive kick in the back of his knee and the sorcerer fell on his rear with a soft thud and a huff. Arthur just in case had hold on to Merlin's ankle in case the idiot rolled and fell down the tower. Merlin clumsiness had no limits, he was sure.
"Kick me again and this time I will let you fall, Merlin!"
Merlin glared at Arthur and Arthur scoffed in his general direction, retreating his hand, after realizing Merlin wasn't about to punch him again he settled comfortably on the edge of the tower, his back towards Merlin ignoring him like he wasn't even there.
"You useless, ungrateful Prat!" Merlin suddenly exploded as he crawled and sat beside Arthur with a huff and an annoyed expression.
"Excuse me?" Arthur snapped in a deadly whisper aghast at such words. This is what happens, Arthur thought, when you show your best friend not only the best spot in Camelot but also, in the meantime, save his life. "I saved your life and you call me ungrateful?"
"I thought you were dead!" In the scarce light of the moon, Arthur wasn't sure if Merlin was trembling from the cold or from anger. He was dumbfounded. "Or at least on a short trip straight to it."
"Dead? Why would I be dead, Merlin?" Arthur said annoyed.
"This is where you been all this time?" Merlin asked angrily, but seeing that Arthur was fine and in one piece put his mind at ease. He looked at Arthur one last time before Merlin's sight danced away to the city in front of them. "Gaius told me you had left to seek Morgana."
Arthur followed his stare landing on the dark masses of the far away woods, somewhere in those woods Morgana was hiding… so close and out of reach it nagged him to no end. "Thought of doing so."
Silence again. After a few minutes chilly air passed them and both of them crossed their arms. There was a shine of gold and a moment later, from Arthur's room yards below, a few dozen lights arrived and began dancing around where they were seated providing welcome light and warmth.
Arthur smiled a bit at the little show. It was truly amazing.
"What stopped you?" Merlin asked and Arthur shrugged, a light came to rest close to his face and he blew on it, expecting it to go out but the light floated merrily away before it joined the rest above his head. He didn't want to elaborate on his answer and Merlin didn't push. "Well, I'm just glad you are alive. I went to the woods. Found the patrol you sent. Then oh gods—poor Lancelot, I told him to look for you—give him a day off after he returns from your 'you didn't but might as well have' excursion in the forest."
"Oh shut up, I'm not that impulsive."
"You are," Merlin said gravely and Arthur wondered if he indeed was as reckless and impulsive as Merlin believed. "Next time you think of hiding here, can you please be more considerate and leave me a note instead of throwing a rock at me? I was about to blast you!"
"Why didn't you?" Arthur returned the question and Merlin rolled his eyes.
"Who else would throw a rock at me? I could feel your prat-nesh radiating from it."
Arthur scoffed indignated and a moment later he chuckled against his will but it died as quickly as it had come. They were silent again, looking to the city beyond them, the lights merrily floating above them, making random patterns of light and shadows.
"Have you found anything else?" Arthur asked after a while. "Information of what to do?"
"Three things: one bad, one worse and an assumption. What first?"
Arthur sighed obnoxiously and just shrugged comically. "Is this how life is going to be with you from now on?"
"What?"
"It just looks that since you told me who you were basically everything that can go wrong, goes wrong," Arthur said annoyed. "Why can't everything go right for once? Are you a magnet of bad luck, Merlin?"
Merlin sighed silently. "Well, Sire. I do believe the magnet of bad luck it's you but that could or could not be up to discussion."
Arthur tried to kick Merlin on the head but the later ducked before Arthur succeeded.
"You are learning, Merlin."
The two of them were deep in their thoughts before Arthur began speaking, this was an anomaly as it best and both of them knew it, most of the time Arthur just kept things to himself but right now he didn't think he could cope with anything else. Merlin was a sorcerer. Morgana wanted to kill him. Uther had forgotten who he was and there was a messenger conspiring in his own house.
"When I was little I used to come here all the time. It's the higher spot in the castle." Arthur commented, his eyes lost in his memories. "In the day is the best place to spot the city but at night is the best place to come and think."
And hide— he thought to himself.
"I can see that," Merlin said good-naturedly as his feet dangled merrily by the edge. "What did your friends say about it? Did someone ever die trying to climb?"
Arthur had never brought any friends here, not that he had much of them growing up but he wouldn't tell Merlin that. "I don't know, what do you say?"
"Well. I almost died climbing, but hey—a day that goes without that fear it's a day wasted and…" Merlin looked beyond, taking his surrounding before he smiled softly. Then he leaned towards Arthur and whispered. "I do think is the best but if you say to anyone that I agreed with you I will deny it."
Arthur nudged him. "God Forbid. We still have a reputation to take care of."
"Oh. Yeah." Merlin nodded seriously. "Me— the useless but good looking servant. And you the Prat but sadly the future king of Camelot. I get it."
Arthur didn't retaliate and Merlin knew he had screwed up. He cringed.
"Sorry, sorry. Bad jokes at bad times, I'm good at those ones."
"Merlin?"
"Shut up?"
"You are definitely getting better."
They didn't talk for another hour or so. Just staring as the night turned from deep black to royal blue again, in a few hours the patrol would be back and even in fewer the night sky would start to fade bringing a new day and with it their destiny.
"Fine then, let's climb down and go to my chambers. There we can talk." Arthur said as he rose from his spot and he stared at the lights that surrounded him. He could feel the magic floating around and it was quite captivating. The warmth he felt was not only from the light. The Sorcerer stood up too.
"Why? I liked this place as good as any to talk."
Arthur looked to his feet and then beyond the city.
"I have good memories of this place, Merlin. I will like to keep it that way."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Merlin was silent after Arthur told him how it had gone with his Father and his spirit went down for a moment; he had believed that seeing Arthur would help matters. Merlin had apologized but Arthur waved a hand away, it wasn't Merlin's fault after all, however, Arthur had blinked a few times and Merlin had quietly said he needed to go and fetch a book from Gaius's chambers and see if Lancelot had come back to give the prince some time.
Gaius was asleep by the table, books scattered around and a finished potion on a vial. Merlin smirked, took a few books, tossed them in his satchel and took the vial along with him, then he took a blanket and covered Gaius the best he could before he departed, taking pieces of cheese and ham from last night to eat on his way.
When he came back Arthur was deep in thought reading overs some papers in his hands, however, the sadness had left him for the moment and when Merlin came in he sighed and leaned back in his seat, looking every piece of the prince he was.
"So? Any news?" Arthur asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. "At least we know that seeing me won't break the spell… it is a spell right?"
Merlin explained what he knew and then put the books on Arthurs table along with the vial. "Here's a remedy that you can give to someone who had forgotten who is if that person was poisoned. If it is a mental affliction it would do no harm but no good either so I say we should give it a try."
Arthur eyed the potion with wary eyes. "You said he was not poisoned."
Merlin leaned back on the seat, tired too. "I have been thinking for hours, Arthur and the truth is I don't know. You father doesn't look like he had been poisoned, but if it was a spell Morgana should had been here to perform it. We knew she wasn't. It's impossible for her to break in."
"Objects?"
"I thought about that already, nothing on his clothes or jewelry, but then again if there is something amiss in his room I wouldn't know. I was thinking of asking Alfred, he's your father's manservant. Brave man."
Arthur rolled his eyes and let it go. "So an Object then?"
Again Merlin shrugged and tried to explain this careful matter to the prince in simple words. "I know this frustrates you, but sometimes there are no easy ways with magic, its hard. It takes time. Always. All I know is that at least from now Uther is safe, whatever the spell he is under will not suddenly make him fall dead, as long as we keep this… uh—lapse a secret I don't think we should be in problems. Even if he says he has no son everybody knows he does."
Arthur put his palms on his eyes and rested his elbows on the table.
"I will make this right," Merlin vowed, he always did anyway and then to his surprise Arthur shook his head.
"We will. We have to." Arthur then pointed to the papers he had been reading with dread and Merlin took them to read them. "Lancelot… came just a few minutes ago and reported me some dreadful news… The patrol I sent—he found them dead."
Merlin froze on his seat. "What?! Where is Lancelot?"
"I sent him to sleep, he wanted to talk to you but he looked ready to faint where he was. I already sent a patrol to look for the bodies first light." Arthur leaned back on his seat letting the news sink for both of them. "So I'm telling you now. If the whole patrol is dead… that means someone of great power is helping the messenger. I have no doubt now, though, that it is Morgana behind this, Lancelot said he wasn't sure but he assured me that he didn't saw the bodies marked with any sword or attack. It had to be magic."
Merlin was quiet for a long moment trying to focus on the fact that Lancelot was alive and less on the guilt he felt by sending him on a suicide mission even if he had not been aware of it. "Did he see anything else?"
Arthur shook his head.
Silence again. It appeared that the night wasn't ending soon enough for any of them.
"So you already told me the bad news, the worse is…?"
Merlin took a few minutes to consider what Lancelot had just said before sighing, Morgana was playing well.
"The worse is that Gwaine was at the tavern today…and he didn't bring any money." Merlin said in all seriousness that was meant to light up the mood, Arthur didn't have the heart to complain. He eyed his pack of gold and wondered how many gold coins he would have to pay.
"And the assumption?" Arthur asked gravely but as Merlin's eyes flickered away from the paper he looked pale. "Merlin?"
Merlin put the paper that Arthur had given him on the table with an air of tiredness.
"You already figured it out." Merlin said. Arthur had scribbled down the name of the people he thought could be the man they were looking for and then he had crossed each name when he had come to one fact that pulled the man free.
The only name not crossed was Agravaine. Both friends looked at each other for a long time and finally Arthur nodded darkly.
"It makes sense. Gaius told us that only him and my uncle knew about my Father state of mind. Who else would know the castle so well enough to sneak around? To have the grace to fool us, even my Father? Who else has access to my Father chambers with no questions beside me? Someone placed this spell on my Father by night, who else Merlin could have done that? He knew perfectly well the patrol routes... he always insisted on being present at meetings... always made himself scarce at nights... I already went to look for him and guess what I found…en empty room." As Arthur kept talking a more tired and almost angry voice shook his words. "Thinking back I almost feel ashamed I didn't figure this out sooner. Probably my man were way too near of Morgana's whereabouts and she killed them. Casualties in her game…"
Merlin didn't know what to say as Arthur's face just contorted from anger to sadness to utter guilt. "Im sorry Arthur."
Arthur shook his head. Agravaine. Uther. Morgana. Apparently every person he was connected by blood in some way or another always ended up hurting him. He sighed, feeling terribly old in just one night.
"So what now?" Merlin asked. Arthur gaze shifted between Merlin and then the vial.
"Now we plan, make a strategy for me to tell my Father tomorrow, deal with Agravaine… Stop Morgana, find a cure. Tomorrow I will find a way to administer this potion to my Father, see if it helps."
"Too many plans." Merlin cringed as his mind was already moving with ideas. "Will you kill him?"
Merlin asked so seriously that Arthur had to wonder if Merlin had killed before in order to protect him. He decided he didn't want to know.
"No, I will use him to get to Morgana, but for now on we play like he had fooled us, we will keep an eye on him."
Merlin nodded and yawned, he just put his thumbs up.
"Now lets get some rest." Arthur said irritably. "I feel like I will just drop dead... Jesus Christ, what will I tell my Father tomorrow? I have no idea how to find an heir, I am the heir."
"I'll think of something tomorrow." Merlin said with a smile. "I have an idea."
"You are always full of them, aren't you?" Arthur said grimly before he finally nodded and waved a hand towards Merlin. "Alright, off we go."
Merlin nodded already falling asleep as he walked out but before he left the room—Arthur was already getting under the covers, not bothering to even take his boots off— he grinned.
"Arthur?" Merlin called from the door. "Thank you for showing me your secret place tonight."
Arthur blinked before he threw his covers over him. "Go to sleep, Merlin. Get out!"
"Prat." And the door closed behind the sorcerer, the lights dying along leaving just one merrily dancing on the side table. Arthur threw the closed door the nearest pillow but he blamed it on the sleep and tiredness that he had missed. He fell asleep in an instant a second later. His heart heavier than it had ever been in his life.
Arthur still felt powerless. Useless. Insecure. Betrayed by his own uncle (Which was still up to discussion after all) and for the first time, he felt unloved. He had never thought how much losing his Father—and he was still alive—would hurt him, but Alone?
No, Alone just didn't quite fit anymore.
What a long chapter, wow, but I didn't want to cut it in two like all the others.
Anyways hope you like that Arthur had a little bit of trust in Merlin and that he is indeed growing up.
I had always thought Arthur is this kind and brave man, however very insecure about himself, he had a lot of problems growing up and I'm trying to bring some of them up. In the series, we saw just a bit of Merlin, but Arthur? He didn't have a mother, no siblings besides Morgana, who he loved as a sister and she betrayed him. Wants him dead. I think it was a very sad and more a 'why god why' and 'breaks his heart' issue than just the part they showed in the show. Arthur would have died for her and to think Morgana wants him dead... I mean Arthur should just be broken and crying but he copes with it... (Or maybe I just love my siblings that much)!
Then Arthur was trained to be this perfect kid since he was little but I imagine he was tired of it when he was young, hiding away in the castle was the only way to scape lectures and training, on the other hand there would be days were he would be always trying to impress his Father, I hated it in the show, but after all his Father was all he had left but as a King he wouldn't spent as much time with Arthur was Arthur would have needed. Arthur probably didn't have many friends when growing up either, he was a prince and people would seek him for other things than just being friends and Uther I don't think would hear of Arthur meddling with lower town kids, and then Im sure no one would stand up against him when he's being a jerk (I think Arthur had bully friends because he didn't know how to be anything else, he was designed to impress people). That's why I think he liked Merlin and let himself care enough, Merlin just doesn't care If Arthur is a prince or not and that's just so nice after so many years of hearing everyone say 'Yes, milord' to everything he said!
ANYWAY, I could write a thesis about these two. I'll stop! Post a comment to see YOUR way of thinking, maybe I'm repeating everything every other Merlin fan already agrees on (most probably, hehe) and thanks again for each review! They made my day!
To the lovely guest CrossoverAddict who reported my last chapters grammar mistakes: Thank you! I already corrected all of them. Hope I did better on this one.
-Juliet'lovestory-