Merlin woke up from the noise.
Oh man, so much noise.
His head couldn't handle it.
Blinking he tried to make his vision straight, trying to find out where he was. Merlin reached a hand up to his forehead. Oh god his head really hurt.
His surroundings soon became clear and his hearing as well. The noise; it were the town bells. Merlin frowned as he looked out the window. Why would the bells ring? By the looks of it, it wasn't noon any time soon.
The door opened and Merlin pulled his head back to see who entered and he saw a tired looking Arthur who softly closed the door behind him.
As Arthur turned he saw Merlin sitting up at the bed and they shared a look between them before Arthur pulled his gaze away. "You're up." Arthur said as he reached to the tumbler to pour in some water. "How are you feeling?"
Merlin frowned. Arthur didn't sound like his usual self, he sounded… flat? His head be damned by hurting at every movement, but he needed to get to Arthur and so he slivered off the bed.
"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, laying down a gentle down on Arthur's arm. "Do you know why the bells are ringing?"
Arthur stared at the hand on his arm with a big sigh.
"You don't need to worry ever again." Arthur said, still sounding flat and taking a large swig of water. He put the cup down with a little too much force.
Merlin's eyebrows crinkled together and with his hand he pushed against Arthur's jaw, making him look at him. He slightly shook his head in confusion. "What do you mean? Why are you acting so different?"
Arthur stared into Merlin's eyes for a few seconds before getting distracted by the bells and he walked to the window. "Uther," Arthur breathed out and Merlin's confused look stayed plastered on his face.
"Uther?" Merlin repeated as he had walke up to Arthur and suddenly everything clicked in his head. The bells, they weren't signalling the time… they were bells to signal the time for mourning.
"Arthur," Merlin breathed out, reaching out for his love once more. "No, tell me you have nothing to do with this."
Arthur lifted his head with a long inhale of breath through his nose.
Merlin sharply breathed in. "No," he shook his head. "Arthur, what did you do?"
Arthur turned to Merlin, a soft and loving expression on his face. "I couldn't bear to see you in fear any longer. That man had it coming, he didn't deserve to live, Merlin. It's over now, it's all over."
"It's really over?" Merlin mumbled, not quite believing it yet.
Before he knew it he was enveloped in a crushing hug and Merlin brought his arms around Arthur's back, holding him close. It must really be over now.
~oOoOo~
Arthur hadn't talked about what he'd done to Uther and it quite infuriated Merlin. He wanted to comfort the man, who was buried under a heavy burden. He could see it, he could sense it. Arthur had just been saying to leave it, but Merlin somehow couldn't.
He had dropped it for now, but had been up the whole night as Arthur tossed and turned beside him. He was happy to be released from Uther and didn't had to fear of ever seeing Uther again, but he couldn't bear the sight of Arthur. He shouldn't have done what he'd done just because of him.
Merlin had been going to Gaius at night because his head kept pounding, he just didn't know it was because of his headwound or that it was his mind gnawing at him.
His old mentor gave him a pain relieving draft and then told him that it appeared that Uther had died as a result of his injuries, because he didn't suffer any other injuries, but Merlin didn't believe that for one second.
The next morning, he kept asking Arthur about it.
"Merlin," Arthur sighed. It was the day after his father died and the funeral would happen later that day and Arthur started to get dressed and had urged Merlin to do the same. "Why can't you leave it?"
Merlin hovered around him, hands wringing in each other. "I don't know. I still can't find peace."
Arthur sat down at a nearby chair. "What do you want me to say?"
"The truth." Merlin stated. "I need to know what you have done. Arthur I can see that the guilt is weighing you down."
"It's not guilt." Arthur mumbled. He looked into Merlin's eyes when the man crouched down, with his hands on his knees and his thumbs caressing the skin.
"Then tell me what's bothering you. I cannot bear to see you like this because of me."
Arthur sighed deeply, pulling the other man up and made him sit down on his lap. "You have done nothing wrong, understand that. I'm just feeling a little low. Even though I didn't see him as my father any more for all those years, I cannot deny the feeling that is telling me that he was. And the thing that weighed down on me is that both my parents are gone now, but that feeling will pass soon, I know. And I will be happy again because I still have you in my life." Arthur ended, reaching his hand to place it on Merlin's cheek and Merlin curled into the touch.
They sat in silence for a few moment, until Arthur broke it. "I did want to kill him myself."
Merlin sat a bit back, watching Arthur's face in confusion. "I thought –"
Arthur shook his head. "He was already gone when I came back into the room."
~oOoOo~
Arthur had been going alone to listen to Geoffrey of Monmouth to give Uther the final rites and then with a nod he signalled to the guards that Uther could be put in the family tomb.
He hurried back to his room to gather Merlin and they knew they had some explaining to do. The people of Camelot didn't know Merlin had been back yet. Most of them still believed he had died all those years prior. Arthur knew he had to properly explain the people of Camelot why they had chosen for this course of action.
The moment Arthur and Merlin had been coming into the throne room and sat down at the chairs, the murmurings started. A few people were shocked to see the former King Consort alive and well and didn't understand what was going on, while another group already heard the rumours since the day after Merlin was pronounced dead and that he was actually not, but they hadn't believed it until this very moment where they could see him.
"This is outrageous!" Lord Philip screamed suddenly. Arthur knew he was one of Uther's followers and wasn't too keen that he was the next King. "He's the one out great King went mad!" Lord Philip pointed his finger towards Merlin who suddenly felt very exposed.
Arthur not yet flew from his chair. "It'll be wise if you held your tongue."
Lord Philip huffed.
Arthur looked around him. "Yes, Lord Merlin is alive. He always has been. King Uther had been a cruel man during his life. He'd been forcing someone to love him, keeping him locked up as a pet, threatening him and myself. I do not need to give you an explanation, any of you, but we are giving you one because we feel we need to." Arthur watched a group of Lords in the eye, the group of which he knew had been the most loyal to Uther. Some looked up defiantly, others looked away.
"And for any of those who won't agree that Lord Merlin is back can leave." Arthur stated, taking a second to see if anyone was going. "Now!"
A few Lords shuffled to the doors and Arthur looked at them with his head held high.
The other Lords had understood their reasoning though. They had seen their former ruler's influence when he had made Merlin his consort, and a lot of them knew it wasn't voluntary from Merlin's part as they knew the true feelings Merlin had were for the Prince. But they couldn't go against their King, it would be seen a treason for sure!
The rest of the council meeting luckily went well. Most people had come to forgive Merlin and Arthur for what they had done, some still needed some time to come to terms with it. Arthur simply reasoned that they could choose to follow him in his upcoming reign or were otherwise more than happy to leave.
~oOoOo~
It was a beautiful day and Merlin beamed. Jonathan was there to pass over some garments and he put them on.
It has been weeks since Arthur had addressed the council and afterwards the people about his sudden return, and now the moment had come that he and Arthur would be united in marriage. The day he hoped and longed for, for quite some time.
"You'll look great." Jon had stated, brushing away a few specks of dust from Merlin's shoulder. Jon himself asked Merlin if he could be his personal servant once more, he had missed the man. Merlin had said that he didn't need a servant, but Jonathan still insisted. And so it would be.
"Thanks Jon."
Merlin fidgeted a bit with the cuff of his sleeve, but Jon's hand on his made him stop. "Don't be nervous," Jonathan said, a smile forming on his lips. "You'll be fine, this is a happy moment, Merlin."
"I know. Let's go."
Both men walked down the hallway and up to the throne room. The doors were closed with guards standing next to them. The doors opened and trumpet sounds were heard. Merlin saw from the corner of his eyes a lot of people, but he only had eyes for one person in particular. Arthur.
His smiled beamed across the room and he couldn't wait to stand next to him. He could finally start this new chapter and his life and he was happy to do so. It hadn't been the easiest couple of weeks. Nightmares had plagued him for the first few days, but Arthur had been there to hold him and ease his mind. And he was grateful for that.
Merlin finally neared the first few row of seats and he had a radiating smile on his lips when he saw his mother there, and she smiled broadly back at him.
Then, at last, he could make his way up to the few steps and he held out his hand for Arthur to grab.
Geoffrey of Monmouth cleared his throat. "Lord and Ladies, today is a joyous occasion. Today these two men will be bound to one."
THE END.