.
.
"Merlin, breakfast!"
"Coming!"
The brunet got downstairs, slowly and carefully, with a hand holding his back. He walked – or rather – waddled into the kitchen, where Gwen was just finishing putting the eggs and the toast on a plate.
To be honest, he was quite ridiculous when he moved around, due to his size. His six-months belly was huge, making him look like a whale, as Gwaine had insensibly commented once, earning himself an exemplary punishment that taught him not to play with a pregnant person's mood swings: Merlin had spilled a massive dose of honey on his beloved hair, which forced the brown-haired man to cut it shorter that it had ever been... They had ended up not speaking to each other for a week after that! But even Merlin couldn't deny he was kind of right with his comparison…he was definitely too big for someone who was only six months gone. However, since he and his friends went into hiding about three months ago and since he was male, he couldn't risk by going to see a doctor as any normal person with child would do. Until now, Gwen, who was studying to become a nurse, had been taking care of him and found no explanation for his size…according to her, the baby was perfectly fine and Merlin agreed with her. He could feel it too that his son was healthy and strong! And that was all that mattered to him…
"Where are Gwaine, Lance and Freya?" Merlin asked Gwen, as he sat and started eating at the kitchen table.
"The men have gone into the city early this morning to buy the necessary to repair the fence that separates the garden from the field of the Highland cows. Freya has gone fishing, though in all honesty, I think she's gone to observe a group of seals living not far from here. You know she cannot resist the call of the sea... I believe that if she could, she'd become a mermaid..." Gwen smiled.
Merlin ventured a smile that didn't reach the eyes. He hadn't slept well the previous night... actually, he hadn't been sleeping properly since he left Camelot.
Noticing his gloomy expression, Gwen ran immediately to his side, hovering over him like a mother hen and with her usual babbling, "Merl, what's wrong? Are you all right? Is it the baby? Are you in pain? Breath, Merlin, breath..."
Her hands were all over him, touching his forehead, analysing his pupils, his pulse and massaging his shoulders. Merlin had goose bumps and his stomach twitched because of the prolonged unwanted touch... he wanted to throw up. Since he got pregnant, he had been hating being touched, even though he still didn't know when that hatred had become his own and not only the child's...
Suddenly, he snapped and slapped Gwen's hands away, shocking her, "STOP TOUCHING ME, DAMMIT!"
He stood up. The chair fell on the floor. He was panting and clearly angry. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours. No sounds. Gwen's eyes were wide opened and she was holding the hand he had just slapped against her chest. An unreadable expression crossed her face and Merlin found himself unable to look at her any longer.
"I'm going for a walk…" Murmured the brunet boy, before rushing to the door. He took his coat and backpack and exited the house.
He never noticed that after snapping at Gwen his eyes had turned red…he didn't, but Gwen did.
.
.
He was out of the house and spared only a second to look at it. It was a rustic two-story cottage with white walls and a red roof. Hunters has been using it as a secret hiding place for years now. It was at Portvasgo, a small bay near Melness, in the northern Scottish Highlands. It was located a few steps from a cliff, facing the sea. It had a vegetable garden and lots of lawn of the brightest green he had ever seen all around, not to mention the cattle of Highland cows grazing there. Five minutes walk from the house there was a path leading directly to the beach, which was usually deserted, too windy for normal tourists. But Merlin liked it exactly because of the sense of solitude and tranquillity it transmitted and that was why it was the destination of many of his walks.
Since arriving in Scotland, Merlin had got into the habit, no, he had felt the need to go out and just walk around and then sit in a place to think, to relax, just him and his child.
At the beginning, the reason for this was that staying at home with his friends had become too much, especially when his body had started to change and he felt like suffocating, overwhelmed by mixed feelings. But then, came the nightmares, the second reason...
He had not thought much of them at first, but then he had started to have them every night and they were so realistic that he woke up in the middle of the night sweating, scared and unable to go back to sleep. They were always the same, like the one of the previous night…
Merlin was in his room in the cottage of Portvasgo, rocking his baby in his arms, wrapped in a light blue blanket. He was the most beautiful child in the world, with blond hair and shocking blue eyes. He was smiling up at his mommy, especially when Merlin touched his little nose with a finger. The brunet giggled, too happy. His heart could burst due to the pure and endless love he was feeling for that little miracle. He lifted him up and spun around.
"I love you so much! I'll always protect you, my sweetheart. Come what may, you have my body, my heart and my soul"
He kissed his baby's forehead, not noticing the shadows behind him.
Then the scene changed and Merlin found himself once again in his bedroom after hours of work outside. Only now, the room seemed darker and colder. He walked directly to the cradle where his son slept. By now, he should be awake and ready to be fed. However, instead of the usual lively and smiling child, Merlin found him still, too still. He went even closer and it was then that he saw the silver dagger in the infant's heart.
Merlin screamed, "NOOOOOO!" He took him in his arms and placed him against his chest when he noticed he was not breathing. He cried desperate, tears marking his cheeks, as he continued to deny the obvious. "SOMEBODY! HELP!"
He heard footsteps and his friends appeared in the room.
"Gwen, Lance, you know medicine, pl-please help him!"
They didn't move.
"We're sorry, Merlin, but it's too late. He's gone. He joined the angels" Said Gwen.
The brunet lifted his face from where it was buried in the child's hair and looked intensely at them. Despite their apparent sympathetic expressions, he could clearly see they weren't truly sorry. There were shadows in their eyes and on their faces.
His already broken heart stopped as he whispered, "What have you done?"
"What we had to…" Said Freya.
"For the good of all humanity" Said Lancelot.
"This is what we are: Hunters!" Said Gwaine.
Merlin couldn't breathe.
Then, time stopped. His 'friends' became still like statues and a child of about six years-old walked forward from between them. He was blond and blue-eyed, but he was pale, so pale, and entirely covered in blood. Merlin recognized him immediately.
He looked down at the dead infant in his arms and then back at the older child. He chocked and sobbed, "My love…"
"MOMMY, LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO ME! They killed me…they think I'm evil! Please, stop them, mommy. Save me! I love you, mommy, and you love me…THEY WON'T UNDERSTAND this, they never will…only daddy can understand our love and keep us safe…"
Merlin didn't know what to do or what to say. His eyes were wet with tears, "I, I…"
The child raised a hand, as if he wanted to touch Merlin. He was clearly scared as he called out, "Mommy, mommy…MOMMY!"
That was always the moment when Merlin would wake up.
He flinched as he remembered the dream. Sometimes it was the blond child, other times there were more than one child, but the end was always the same: they got killed by his friends and fellow hunters. This confused him a lot and made being in their presence more and more unbearable, day after day, ending up in Merlin isolating himself. At first, he had locked himself in the well-stocked library in the basement of the house, reading for hours. Later, he had discovered the joy of roaming around.
He touched his big belly, stroking it, "You know, little one, you should stop appearing in my dreams like that. I can't sleep afterward, and it's no good neither for you nor for me"
He wasn't surprised when the baby didn't move, since he was always calmer when Merlin was outside of the cottage and away from the others. On the other hand, he didn't stop moving and kicking when he was inside, especially if his friends tried to touch his belly.
The brunet finally reached the desert beach and sat comfortably on a rock, facing the sea, which that day was slightly rough, with waves crashing on the sand, but he had to admit that their sound was quite relaxing.
He took a fairy tales book out from his backpack. He took the habit to read some to the child every day, hoping to teach him to be good and to believe in love from an early age, and because Merlin could feel the baby was always happy to hear his voice.
"Let's see…which one would you like to listen to today, little bean? We have: Snow White..." No movement. "...The Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel - this one is quite creepy, I know, and after you kept me awake all night after reading The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the most disturbing tale of all, I have no intention of reading this one too - Peter Pan, The Snow Queen, The Sword in the Stone - this is my favourite. I'll read it to you another time, so I can take my time making you understand what a prat King Arthur actually was - Beauty and the Beast..." A kick. "Ah, here we are. This one? Aw, you're such a romantic, sweetie. Do you like the idea of a pure, innocent girl being held captive by and falling in love with a monster?"
A warm and hopeful sensation rose from the depth of his belly and Merlin laughed as he caressed it, knowing all too well that it meant the baby was happy or agreed with him. "All right then, my Prince, let's start..." He opened the book at the right page and cleaned his voice, "Once upon a time…"
.
Hours later, long after finishing the story and after getting some leisure moments with his child during which he had told him stories of his childhood and family, never stopping touching his bump, Merlin decided it was time to return home. It was almost sunset and he was quite hungry.
He got up and stretched. Then, he turned his back to the sea and started walking slowly toward the path leading to the house.
He failed to notice the blond-haired head of a female human emerging from the waves of the sea. She looked at him for a while, watching his every move, and when he disappeared from sight, she smirked and smiled, showing sharp teeth.
She had found him at least! Now, all she had to do was informing her Master.
She dove under water… the last part of her body that remained visible for a second before also disappearing in the cold waters was her fish tail.
00000
In the middle of the night, in the castle of Camelot, George knocked on the wooden doors of the library before entering. It was pitch black in there, and the servant asked hesitantly, "My-My Lord?"
Two bright red eyes shone from the darkness, followed by a deep and cold voice, "Any news?"
"Y-Yes. One of the mermaids patrolling the north has sent words: SHE HAS FOUND HIM"
A loud chuckle. Then, the tall figure of the Prince of Darkness appeared from the shadows. Arthur was still deadly beautiful, even if slightly worn due to the forced separation from his 'bride'.
"Finally! Well then, get my cloak. We're going on a hunt!"