Merthur Merthur Merthur Merthur :D I finished chapters 12 and 13 over the weekend because I decided I want to keep posting every week even in November (even though I'm doing NaNoWriMo... well, it'll be a busy month :D ). I want to keep posting because chapter 17 is supposed to be a Christmas chapter and it should be posted on December 24, which is guess what... Saturday! :D I already know what should happen in every chapter until the end, and this fanfic should have 20 chapters... you do know that this story is a tragedy, right?

CHAPTER 9
Meeting "New" Friends?!

The beautiful dream about Arthur and him in a forest ended the moment Agatha cracked open the door to Merlin's room. It started when Merlin's ears had woken up and he heard her footsteps outside his room. Then the rest of his body followed as she peeked inside to check if they were still asleep.

And even though he didn't know what time it was, Arthur was still sleeping and he didn't really want to get up either.

Agatha smiled at him from the door when she saw Merlin's eye was half open and staring at her. And at first Merlin didn't know what was she smiling about because there was certainly nothing funny about his appearance... yeah, except maybe for the ridiculous (yet quite comfortable!) position he was in.

Before this new information could make it to his still half asleep brain and he could react, Agatha gestured with her hands downstairs and left, closing the door behind her.

Maybe she was about to go make some coffee and breakfast, or maybe it was early morning and she was about to drive back to Bristol because she hadn't realized she had job in the morning when she left home. Merlin wasn't sure. But closing his eyes again felt like the best way to deal with it.

He inhaled deeply through his nose and realized that apart from the night before, all he could feel now was Arthur. His smell, all over his bed and... yeah, maybe it had something to do with the fact that Merlin's nose was pressed against Arthur's mop of blonde hair.

Not that he cared though. He was perfectly aware of Arthur's position too. He was lying on his stomach, with one hand under the pillow and the other spread over Merlin's back. Merlin on the other hand, was lying on his side, curled into fetal position, facing Arthur and... well, his mop of blonde hair.

Merlin allowed himself another deep breath and a smile spread over his face. He couldn't remember much about his past, nothing to be honest, but this moment... the closeness with Arthur... it made him feel a little funny.

There was this feeling in his stomach when he concentrated on it, and he wasn't sure, but he didn't think he felt like this ever since the car crash. New people and new memories of feelings, he guessed.

At least that was what he was telling himself and his almost awoken brain.

After another ten minutes of blissful breathing in and out, with Arthur's soft breaths right next to him, Merlin decided enough was enough and that whatever time it was, he should get up.

He opened his eyes and shifted away, carefully not to wake Arthur up. When his face was farther away from Arthur's hair, he gently took Arthur's numb forearm (that was on Merlin's waist now) and laid it down on the blanket. And with one last happy look at Arthur's peaceful and relaxed expression, Merlin tiptoed to the door and left the room, going to the bathroom first, and then following Ag to the kitchen downstairs.

As it turned out, Agatha was already sitting in the living room, having breakfast and tea, while sitting on the couch by the little table. She smiled when she saw him approach.

"Someone had a good sleep," she greeted him as she patted the spot next to her, offering him the breakfast she had made. Merlin only nodded in answer and sat down, sipping the hot tea. He knew that Agatha was watching him. "I forgot to ask yesterday, but I didn't want to worry Arthur as he was pretty disoriented." She started and took a bite of her slice of bread with honey. "What happened to your arm?" She laughed softly. "I mean, look at you! Brand new!"

Merlin smiled at that. "I know you're probably going to get excited about this and I can't avoid that, so I'll just say it." He turned to look into her big curious eyes and smirked. "I found a book of magic."

"No!" She exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth with her palm so she would not wake Arthur up, who was sleeping right above them. "You're serious?" She whispered.

Merlin nodded. "Dead serious. I went back into that room and found it beside my bed, under the floor."

"How long had it been there?"

"Probably a long time, the book looked maybe even older than me." Merlin raised his eyebrows, tilting his head. Then he took a bite of his own slice of bread. "So I used magic to heal my arm. At first it didn't work, but after I found the right spell, it did. It must have been a really hard spell because I found it in another book of magic, my own sequel. I wrote there that healing spells were never something I was particularly good at."

"You've got to show me the books once Arthur wakes up." Agatha smiled. "Also, do you mind if I stay over the weekend? I can sleep over my friend if it's a problem, and I'm not going to sleep in Arthur's room anymore, I promise."

"That's totally okay." Merlin smiled. "I'm not sure I'd be able to make it only with Arthur with me here."

Agatha grinned at that and glanced up at the ceiling. "So he's back, isn't he?" She smiled at him. "If we had met more than a week ago, before the accident, I'd never have believed you. I would have thought you're some psycho who loved the legends too much or something."

"Oh come on, you'd never think that."

"No, you're right." Agatha smirked. "The first thing I'd think would be oh my god I'm talking to the Ghost of Glastonbury lake!" She laughed softly, not realizing Merlin didn't understand her.

"What do you mean a ghost?" He asked, putting the mug with hot tea back on the table.

She paused and nodded, realizing Merlin didn't know about the nickname. "Well, it's how some people call you in Glastonbury." She explained. "You kept going to that lake so often and weren't talking to anyone that some people thought you were a ghost. Some meant that literally, some metaphorically, but that's how your nickname started. The Ghost of the Glastonbury lake."

Merlin raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his tea again. "Well, I guess we don't have to ask that question anymore. I'd been going to the lake to wait for Arthur."

"And now you don't have to wait anymore." Agatha smiled at him.

"The Once and Future King has returned."

xoXÖXox

The first thing Arthur did when he sort of woke up was that he squinted his eyes, trying to turn his head on the other side. The sun was shining at him through the window, informing him of the new day. And Arthur hated it. If it was up to him, he'd stay in bed for as long as he wished, but he was the king and he had duties.

Which reminded him of the lack of a warm body sleeping next to him in his bed. He frowned and tried to palpate the person with his right hand that was spread over the other half of the bed. But it was empty. Still a little warm, but empty.

He smacked his lips and tried to open his eyes, turning his head back to the empty side of the bed. "Guinevere?" He mumbled. It was barely audible, but if she was in the room, she'd hear him.

Only she couldn't hear him. It has been a long time since she last heard his voice, way longer than an average lifetime should be. And Arthur soon came to that realization when he opened his eyes more and looked around the room.

Because it wasn't his room. Of course it wasn't his room. And the chaos from the night before, that wasn't a dream. And Merlin wasn't there to say his usual "Rise and shine!" and they were not in Camelot.

And he was not a king anymore. How could he be a king if he had no kingdom? All he knew was the lake and this strange house, and Merlin. He was the only one who kept waiting for him.

He was probably the only true friend he'd ever had. And the only one he had left, everyone else – his knights and family – were long gone.

Arthur didn't want to linger on that thought, but he couldn't think about anything else either. And he couldn't stop the tears from forming in his eyes, even though he tried to blink them away.

He sighed and removed the blanket, sitting up in the bed. It wasn't Gwen who slept next to him that night. It was Merlin. And though it might have sounded a bit strange, he didn't mind actually. They'd shared a bedroll one or two times when they were in a forest.

Those forests were now probably gone too.

He stood up and realized he was still wearing Merlin's clothes. He'd need to buy some new clothes for him, but he had no idea how the world worked now. Not that much could have changed though, there still had to be some kind of a market or a shop where he could find and buy what he needed.

For now though, he'd stay in these new comfortable clothes.

He stretched with his arms over his head and wandered toward the window, looking outside. He saw the lake with the tower in the middle on the little island. He remembered that place, that tower had been there long before he was even born. Perhaps Camelot was still standing too!

That thought made Arthur smile. As he leaned out of the window and looked to the left and right, all he could see were hills and the strange road where that strange... car was the day before. He could see the car parked in front of the garden. And he didn't notice this in the night, but the garden was really beautiful.

As he was admiring the view, his stomach made an unhappy sound. Damn, he really was hungry. But where was his tray with breakfast?

"Merlin?" He called, slowly turning around. No answer. He rolled his eyes at his former servant's typical behaviour and walked over to the door inside the room. "Merlin?" He peeked inside and gasped, not daring to move.

It was Gaius' chambers. A little smaller, not entirely the same, but it looked so similar to it! There were books, tables, benches, the window, and even the door to Merlin's tiny room. Arthur's eyes were wide as he stepped inside and looked around. It was almost exactly the same, he could even see the real Camelot from the window! It even smelled the same. It felt like he was back in Camelot and everyone he knew was still alive.

"Arthur?" Someone called from the other room and he looked at the door. It was Merlin, probably looking for him from the room where they slept. Arthur realized there were tears on his cheeks, so he quickly brushed them away and cleared his throat.

"I'm here."

Soon after, Merlin's head appeared in the door and a smile spread over his face. "Good morning," he said as he entered the old room as well. Then he frowned when he noticed Arthur's eyes were a little red-rimmed. "Were you-"

"You kept the rooms?" Arthur silenced him with a question as he turned around and gestured around the room.

"I guess so..." Merlin narrowed his eyes, looking around as well. "I don't really know what this is supposed to be, but I have an inkling that you do." He kept staring at Arthur, urging him to answer.

"It's... there used to be a room in Camelot that looked almost exactly the same." Arthur started. "It belonged to an old man, the court physician."

"Gaius?" Merlin asked.

Arthur smiled at that. "You remember him?" To his disappointment, Merlin's smile disappeared and he shook his head.

"No, I read about him in my diary and the book of magic." He answered. "I found those in that little room in the back, I guess it must have been mine."

"It was," Arthur confirmed it. "You lived there from the first day you arrived at Camelot. Gaius and you have grown very close, and there were times when you told me Gaius was like a father to you."

A little smile graced Merlin's lips as he imagined what Arthur was talking about. "That's nice to hear." He said. "And what about my real father? Was he living in some village or did he come to Camelot with me?"

"I'm sorry," Arthur bowed his head. "You told me you never met your father. I don't know who he was or if he was alive by the time I got to know you."

Merlin pursed his lips and nodded sadly. "Alright, let's go downstairs, there's breakfast waiting for you." He tried to smile and cover the nervous feeling in his stomach again as he changed the subject. Arthur nodded and followed him downstairs, but before they reached the stairs, Merlin stopped him and pointed to the bathroom. "You can brush your teeth now or return here and do that after breakfast..."

Arthur only nodded and headed to the bathroom, closing the door. "Turn left after you're down the stairs!" Merlin called after him and returned to the living room, where Agatha was still sitting.

Arthur joined them a few minutes after that, sitting besides Merlin on the sofa and looking at the strange food.

"Oh, that's a bread with butter and honey." Agatha smiled at him, finishing her tea.

"And that's tea," Merlin added as he saw Arthur looked curiously at the mug in front of him. "Careful, it's hot." He smiled, but Arthur didn't look at him. Instead, he took a bite of the bread and shrugged slightly, not paying attention to them. He really was hungry.

Merlin kept smiling at his resurrected companion when Agatha suddenly nudged him with her elbow. He looked curiously at her and she was smirking.

"I see your corrections were correct." She told him and when he raised his eyebrow in question, she added. "Your description of Arthur in the books! Remember? You said he was blonde and had crystal bl-"

Merlin kicked her leg under the table to stop her from finishing the sentence and when she looked at him, confused, he just looked at her a little dangerously to let her know he did not wish to talk about that in front of Arthur.

And the king, who was watching them the whole time, frowned in confusion as Merlin looked at him and smiled reassuringly. "Do you like the tea?" Merlin asked to put an end to the discussion Agatha opened.

"Um, it's too hot," he told his former servant and looked over at the mug with steam going up from it.

While Agatha muttered, "hot damn," Merlin smiled at Arthur and said, "don't worry, it'll get colder in a few minutes."

"It's strange to drink hot water." Arthur continued. "In Camelot, we only had cold water and juice from all sorts of fruits. Oh and wine and mead and other alcohol."

"Did you enjoy that?" Merlin smirked, at which Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I should ask you, you spent many days in the tavern over the years." He commented and smirked when he saw Merlin's face got pale and a bit flushed. "We had a mutual friend, Gwaine was his name. I knighted him when my father and kingdom were in danger, but he visited the tavern almost every day. I suspect he dragged you there with him."

"I... don't remember that." Merlin said.

"I know," Arthur smirked and let it go after a while. He could sense Merlin had questions though, and Agatha had too. They were both watching him as if he was a ghost or something. But he was used to that from Camelot. He was the most known person in the kingdom after all, a royalty. The prince and then king.

"How many years have we been friends?" Merlin asked all of a sudden, not even waiting for Arthur to swallow the delicious breakfast. He did miss the ham and cheese, but he was sure those didn't disappear from the world over the years.

"A little over ten years." Arthur answered honestly. He didn't smile at Merlin though. He didn't want to admit he was counting the years Merlin spent as his manservant in Camelot.

"And all this time I was serving you?" Merlin frowned in disbelief, making Arthur smirk again. Oh, the things he didn't know! But he wouldn't tell him until he remembered himself, it would only bring embarrassment to tell him Merlin used to give him baths. It was normal for a manservant to do that after all, but most servants didn't have to scrub their master's back. Arthur only did that as a little revenge on Merlin. He wasn't the best servant in the castle after all. But after the years, it became normal for them. Arthur even let him have baths in his chambers when he knew he'd have to use the bathwater after Gaius. Who'd want to make multiple trips to the courtyard for more water after the sun was already down?

Arthur blinked and realized Merlin was waiting for his answer. He opened his mouth when suddenly a strange noise echoed from... Agatha? Arthur stood up to defend the lady from the strange magic sound, but Merlin made him sit down again, shaking his head and saying it was alright.

He looked at Agatha, who apologized and stood up to pace around the room, with a strange box by her ear.

"That's a phone," Merlin explained, and Arthur couldn't stop watching it as Agatha talked into it. "It's a device for communicating with a person that isn't in the same room."

"Magic?" Arthur raised his eyebrows, but Merlin was already shaking his head.

"Magic isn't in this world anymore. Most people believe it doesn't exist and I'm afraid I'm the only one who possesses its power."

Arthur nodded and together with Merlin, they focused on the conversation Agatha was having with the person on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Agatha said as she nodded and rolled her eyes. "No, don't worry, I- yep, I'm in Glastonbury. Yeah, I know. Hm. Hm. No, I called him and said I was sick, but don't worry, I'll be back by Monday, I was planning on going here for the weekend anyway. Yes. Yeah, thanks. You too, bye!"

When Agatha turned back to them and put her phone back into her pocket, she didn't expect them both to be watching her closely. She laughed and sat back down. "It was my sister, she was worried after the storm."

"You never told me more about your sister," Merlin smiled at her. "We're both very curious, come on!" He laughed as Agatha rolled her eyes and Arthur silently listened to their comfortable conversation.

"Well, she's older than me." Ag started. Then she looked at Arthur who was holding his mug of tea that wasn't that hot anymore, and smiled, adding, "I'm 24." She turned back to Merlin and continued. "She's almost thirty, and has a husband and one kid. A little boy named Frankie."

"So you're an aunt already," Merlin grinned and Agatha nodded, smiling.

"He's only five though. And the last time I saw him was like... half a year ago." She shook her head slightly. "My sister's name's Sara."

"Beautiful name." Arthur smiled slightly and Agatha smiled at him in return.

"Thanks, I'll tell her that." She grinned. Then she quickly stood up and turned to both of them, putting her hands on her hips. She looked so excited. "I have an idea. You probably don't have anything to do today or tomorrow anyway, so I was thinking... would you go to a concert with me?"

"Con-what?" Arthur asked, while Merlin was already nodding with a grin on his face.

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, pausing a little when he realized Arthur had, yet again, no idea what they were talking about.

"Concert is basically a... a... " Agatha started explaining, searching for the best word in her mind.

"A party!" Merlin said.

"Yeah, a party." Agatha nodded. "There's a lot of people, but no food, although you can bring that of course. And there's music! Concerts are mostly about music, so you can come and find out what modern music sounds like."

"What do you think?" Merlin turned to Arthur who still hasn't even finished his breakfast. "I'm going either way, so..."

"I can accompany you." Arthur attempted a smile. "I like music," he added. "And I'm quite curious to see how much the music I know changed over the years."

"Great!" Ag smiled as she bent down for her phone on the table. Arthur still found that little device quite odd, but she seemed so comfortable around it. She touched it a few times with her fingers, smiling after a few seconds. Then she looked up at them. "The concert is tomorrow evening and my other friend from Glastonbury is also going. I can't wait until you finally meet her! The last time she was here she didn't even come inside and she was so busy..."

xoXÖXox

Agatha continued talking and they were having quite a good time until they finally finished breakfast. They spent the whole day with Agatha, getting to know each other, and she slept in Arthur's room again because her friend wasn't home that night. The next day was almost the same. Agatha spent the morning with them, and then in the afternoon she left to go over to her friend's flat again to make plans for the evening.

And in the meantime, Merlin took Arthur into the city.

They received a few strange stares, and Arthur didn't seem to mind that much (he was probably used to that from Camelot because he was a well-known person), but Merlin felt a little uneasy. He knew he never used to go to the city that much, and definitely not with another person, let alone someone who's curiously looking around at everything that is normal today, like an ice-cream.

Merlin took Arthur to a few shops that he was sure he'd never visited before, and they bought new clothes for Arthur. Arthur was used to letting Merlin help him out and into clothes, so he didn't think it was weird to let Merlin inside the dressing room with him. On the other hand, Merlin found that very unusual, but he didn't say anything and he left every couple of minutes to bring Arthur new (bigger) pair of trousers. Oh, and a belt. With a lot of holes in it.

In the end, they bought three t-shirts, two pairs of trousers (jeans and sweatpants), new socks and underwear and new pajamas. Or whatever Arthur was used to sleep in. And once they left the shop (and the shop owner grabbed her phone to tell her friends she just saw the ghost of the Glastonbury lake in her own bloody shop), they went back home to put there their new clothes, and then they walked to the place they agreed on meeting Ag and her friend.

"Have you met her friend before?" Arthur asked all of a sudden when they sat down on a bench near a little park with a cemetery in the back.

"Yeah, but only for a few minutes." Merlin answered. "It was about a week ago and she went to the gate of my garden and didn't even say her name, she just informed Ag her things were in her flat, said she was busy, and left again."

"That doesn't sound like a lady," Arthur commented under his breath, but Merlin heard him.

"She looked like one, though." He chuckled. When Arthur looked at him curiously, Merlin continued. "Long, dark hair with... green eyes? Yeah, I think they were green. But hey," Merlin smiled and stood up, pointing to a blue car approaching them. "You'll see her soon, come on, they're here."

Arthur stood up and followed Merlin to the car, and curiously stared at the door as it opened and Ag's head appeared in the window.

"Come on, guys, we're almost late!" She grinned at them, urging them to move and get inside the car. "One next to me and one in the back, hurry up!"

Merlin smiled as he ran to the car and opened the door for Arthur in the back. When he was sure Arthur knew what to do, he hurried to the front and sat right next to Ag. When Ag started the car again, Arthur finally had a chance to look at the lady sitting next to him.

"Hi, I'm Morgan." The woman said.

But no, that was no Morgan. Arthur's eyes widened and he instinctively reached for his sword, only to find a useless pocket from his new jeans there. This wasn't a lady and she definitely wasn't his friend.

This was his sister. Morgana Pendragon.

TBC

I had to add a whole day into this chapter because I forgot they woke up on Friday morning and the concert was on Saturday :D But anyway, if you don't know, then concerts in Glastonbury are actually well-known. Well, they're not exactly in Glastonbury, they're in Pilton, but they call it Glastonbury Festival. And I hope you liked the chapter! I tried to avoid Morgana's name until now, but I guess it was a bit obvious it was going to be her :D

Let me know what you think please! :)