The italicized part is a flashback.
TWENTY-EIGHT: COME TO LIFE (282 days)
"Merlin!"
The sorcerer groaned, not wanting to be anywhere near the owner of that voice at the moment. For perhaps the hundredth time, he cursed himself for kissing Kerenza like that. Not that he regretted kissing her, because he absolutely did not - they'd kissed a few more times since the first day of the festival, though they were careful not to do it in front of anyone. He just regretted doing it in the middle of the marketplace, literally in front of every important person in his life.
The knights, as per their usual obnoxious selves, had been ruthless in their teasing since then. Gwaine was especially annoying, making lewd comments whenever he had the chance - he especially loved to make those comments when Merlin and Kerenza were together, which would always get a slight blush out of the two of them. After the first couple of times it happened, Kerenza started slinging lewd comments right back at the knight, which only served to encourage him.
And then there was Arthur. The king hadn't been teasing him nearly as much as Merlin had been expecting. He did seem genuinely happy for the sorcerer. But he was being insufferably smug, as though he had orchestrated the entire thing!
Merlin's eyes widened as he skidded suddenly to a halt, forgetting the knight rushing to catch up to him. "That prat!" the sorcerer exclaimed, just as something solid collided with his back, pushing him onto his stomach on the castle floor. That was probably going to leave a bruise.
The warlock pulled himself up, glad that at least Gwaine hadn't fallen on top of him. The knight may not have been particularly large, but he was quite muscular, making him heavy.
"I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"
"Avoiding you." He'd tried to get to the festival taking a round-about route, in order to avoid Gwaine and any of the other knights that might be lurking in the castle.
"Oh, come on. There's no reason to avoid me."
Merlin snorted. "There is when you insist on making obscene comments about me and Kerenza every time you see us together. Yes, we're courting - at least, I think we are. But we are not…lovers. Please stop. Even if we were, our love life would be none of your business."
"Whoa. I never thought you would be such a romantic." Gwaine frowned, studying his friend's face. "I'm only teasing. You know that, right?"
Merlin sighed. "Yes, I know."
"You know, you usually don't mind teasing. Why is it different this time?" When Merlin didn't answer, Gwaine smiled. It was a genuine smile, not a teasing one. "You really care for her. Don't you?"
Merlin nodded. "I do. And I just don't want to...I don't want comments like that to destroy what we have, even if it's not much yet."
The knight laughed. "We are talking about the same Kerenza, aren't we? You've heard some of the things that she's said to me in return. She's almost as creative as I am." He held up his hands, before Merlin could protest-Kerenza didn't really seem to mind. She threw insults back at Gwaine without any problems. "But I can see that it's upsetting you. So, I'll try to back off. I can't make any promises because, well, it's me."
The sorcerer rolled his eyes, but he supposed that was the best he was going to get. Gwaine was crass, but he was a good friend. And Merlin did know that he only meant it in jest. It had just been getting overwhelming. He couldn't sit and sort through his own feelings with his friends always on his back. And he had no idea what Kerenza's thoughts were on the whole situation. "Thank you."
"I really was looking for you, and not to tease you. Today's magical performance is going to begin soon. Arthur was worried that you would miss it. He thinks it would look bad if the Court Sorcerer wasn't there. And Treasa was asking for your help with something."
Treasa.
Merlin blushed, even as he started following Gwaine out of the castle. Kerenza's mother had also witnessed that mortifying kiss - as well as his own mother. His blush deepened as he remembered the event.
Her breathtaking smile was directed at him. And when he looked into her green eyes, he saw his own desire reflected back at him. He didn't think; he simply acted. The world around him faded away, as he focused on only her. In this moment, she was the only thing that mattered.
He took one step closer, releasing her hand. In the next instant, he had cupped her face in his hands, tilting it slightly. This close, he could see tiny, barely visible, freckles spattered across her nose. Her lips parted ever so slightly, a subtle invitation. So he leaned down, and kissed her.
It began as a soft kiss, nothing more than a light touching of their lips. And Merlin was content with that, happy with it. He simply wanted to be connected to her in that simple way. He didn't need a fierce, passionate kiss.
But, unsurprisingly, Kerenza had other ideas.
She threw her arms around his neck, leaning up on the tips of her toes to push her mouth harshly against his. The kiss morphed into something much more raw than he had intended. He wasn't complaining, of course. He loved that she was willing to be bold. She never backed down from what she wanted.
A sudden, shrill laugh reminded him that not only were they not alone, they were in a very public place. He reluctantly pulled back, heat flooding his face. He dropped his hands from her face, to rest lightly on her waist. Her breathing, like his, was a little more rapid than usual.
Almost fearfully, Merlin flicked his gaze around, trying to be subtle about it as he searched out the faces of each of his friends. He hoped that his friends and family had been too preoccupied with the festival to notice him and Kerenza.
He winced at the smirks being sent in his direction from several different people. They had all seen it. Arthur, the knights, Gwen, the visiting royalty, Gaius, his mother, Kerenza's mother.
He would never hear the end of it.
"Merlin!" Gwaine's voice pulled him out of the memory. They had already left the castle, though Merlin had been too distracted by his own thoughts to pay much attention to his surroundings. Now Gwaine was staring at him, obviously trying to hide a smirk. "Is your head out of the clouds now?"
Merlin nodded, his face still hot. The blush was fading, though, as far as he could tell. He was extremely grateful for that.
"What did you mean earlier, when you said that you thought you and Kerenza were courting? Don't you know?"
"We…haven't exactly discussed it." Merlin and Kerenza had both been busy, and had had very few moments together. Certainly not enough to have a discussion of that kind. Merlin had also been somewhat avoiding that conversation, since he still hadn't been able to sort through his feelings yet. "I don't want to just assume."
The knight rolled his eyes. "I've seen you two lovebirds around each other. Trust me, you're courting."
"How would you know?" Merlin demanded. "Gwaine, have you ever actually courted a woman yourself?"
Gwaine gave his rakish grin. "Me? Of course not. I prefer my dalliances to any respectable courtship. But I know women, Merlin. You two are courting."
Merlin sighed, choosing not to argue the point any further. It was something that he needed to discuss with Kerenza, anyway.
They remained silent as they joined the crowd in the marketplace. Gwaine was distracted almost immediately by a curvy blonde beauty, leaving Merlin to approach Treasa's booth on his own.
The druid woman smiled warmly at him. "Ah, Emrys. I need your help with a spell, if you're willing?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"Let's watch Arlen first, though. His performance should be quite amazing. And I really shouldn't miss it."
Merlin nodded again, turning to face the platform. He leaned lightly against one of the posts of her booth. An older druid man with dark red hair - Arlen, he supposed - was sitting on a three-legged stool, holding a…book?
Merlin's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why is he holding a book?" he asked, mostly to himself. Reading a spell from a book was not nearly as impressive as reciting one from memory. He would have thought that all of the performers would have their spells memorized. The ones who had performed so far had done so from memory.
A warm hand rested on his wrist. "Ooh, I should have guessed Uncle Arlen would tell a story," Kerenza said. She and Hunith - Merlin wasn't sure he wanted to know why Kerenza was walking around with his mother, the thought was too embarrassing - had joined him and Treasa. "The people will love this."
Merlin glanced down at her, even as Arlen opened his book. "Uncle?"
Treasa nodded, answering for her daughter. "Arlen and I are twins."
"Ma loves to remind him that she's older, if only by a few minutes. Merlin, his stories are amazing. I think you'll love it."
So he turned his attention back to the sorcerer. "Scieppan min wordcwide," Arlen chanted, passing a hand over the book. The book was obviously a compilation of stories, as Arlen had it open to somewhere near the middle. Then he began reading.
Merlin felt his eyes widen. As the druid man spoke, shapes began to form around him, the story coming to life in a way that Merlin had never even imagined possible. Whatever Arlen read, the shapes did. And they looked so real. If Merlin hadn't known better, he would have sworn that the mermaid leaping out of the water was real - he would have sworn that the water itself was real.
But it was all just an illusion.
Kerenza sighed, leaning her head against Merlin's shoulder. "I've never been able to do that spell very well. My mind wanders too easily."
"It's…amazing."
"I'll teach you," she offered, "if you want."
"Absolutely." He fell silent then, continuing to watch Arlen weave a tale of the mermaid being separated from her lover, and transformed into a bird as a curse. The figures moved, enacting the tale of the cursed mermaid as she sought a cure. He never would have thought to use magic to bring a story to life like that before. The way that the shapes played out exactly what Arlen was reading was mesmerizing.
Merlin wasn't the only one entranced, either. The entire crowd watched, speechless, as the mermaid was reunited once more with her lover, and they swam off into the sunset, a happy ending.
Arlen closed the book, and the lifelike figures around him slowly dissolved. He stood and bowed deeply. Merlin clapped enthusiastically with the rest of the audience. That was definitely a spell that he wanted to master someday.
"It is so wonderful to see magic performed so freely in Camelot once again," his mother said.
The young sorcerer smiled at her. "It is." He hesitated before asking a question. It was one that he'd been considering for some time. "Mother, why don't you stay here, in Camelot? I'm sure Arthur would be happy to make permanent arrangements for you."
"Absolutely!" Arthur's voice agreed. Merlin turned to see Arthur and Queen Annis walking toward them. He hadn't seen Annis much since the first day of the festival. He'd been busy avoiding his friends, and answering questions from the people of Camelot about magic - they were quite curious, which was the kind of reaction that both Merlin and Arthur had been hoping for. Merlin had seen a few people looking at the platform in disgust as a performance was going, but that was the worst of it. "Hunith, we would love to have you. I hear that you have a way of making Merlin actually do as he's told? Is it true, or is Gwaine telling me tall tales again?"
She smiled. "I'm his mother," she said, by way of explanation.
Merlin groaned. "Never mind, Mother. I couldn't ask you to leave Ealdor. I know how much you love it there."
Chuckling, she shook her head. She looked at Arthur. "I truly appreciate the offer, but Merlin is right. Ealdor is my home. I'm not ready to leave it. And I'm a farmer, King Arthur. I'm not meant for life in the city."
The sorcerer breathed a sigh of relief. He loved his mother dearly and would have certainly enjoyed having her live much closer. He didn't get to see her nearly as much as he would have liked. But he did not want Arthur to exploit the power Hunith had over her son.
And as soon as he and the king were alone, he was going to yell at him for - again - trying to marry him off.
Arthur sighed. "That's a shame. How are you enjoying the festival so far?"
Merlin's mother smiled once again. "I love it. Camelot is finally able to see what I've known all along: magic is a beautiful thing." She was looking directly at her son as she said, causing him to blush slightly. She was obviously meaning him when she said magic.
"Mother," he muttered.
"Yes, speaking of Merlin," Queen Annis said suddenly. She was watching the young warlock speculatively. "I'm rather curious. Did you learn magic before or after you came to Camelot? Either way, I am rather impressed that you had the gall to study it in the heart of a kingdom where it was illegal."
Merlin shrugged, trying not to appear too pleased at her rare praise - though he secretly was, of course. Not much impressed Annis. "Uh, actually, I hadn't done any studying before I arrived in Camelot. And even after I came here, I didn't study as much as most sorcerers would need to. I was born with magic, so there are some spells that I've never needed to study. I can do them on instinct."
Annis's eyebrows rose. "You were born with magic?"
Hunith chuckled. "Imagine my surprise when he opened his eyes for the first time, and they were gold! He was using his magic to rock his cradle. Not even a day old, and he was already bending the world to his whim," she said proudly.
Annis looked Merlin over again. And this time, she actually looked impressed. "Huh," was all she said in response, though. Then she looked at Kerenza. "Well done, with your performance at the beginning of the festival. You are obviously quite skilled."
Kerenza inclined her head slightly. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
It fell silent.
When Merlin decided he couldn't stand the quiet anymore, he cleared his throat and looked at Treasa. "You said earlier you needed my help with a spell?"
"Yes. Come here. What I need you to do is…"
I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, to be honest. Maybe it's just because I absolutely loved the last chapter so much, and this one just doesn't feel as good. Oh, well. Let me know what you think.
Scieppan min wordcwide-Shape my words
To xxxLeanniexxx: The part with the little boy was a last minute addition. And I'd been wanting that kiss between them for a while, but it finally felt natural.
To Juliana Brandagamba: You're very welcome.
To hateme101: Did this chapter answer your question?
To mersan123: Thanks! I think that, so far, Breathtaking was officially my favorite chapter. It just flowed so well as I was writing it.
To guest: Aw, thanks! That's the first time I've been told that my writing is magic. I know I'm not perfect, so that is a wonderful compliment and makes me extremely happy.
To fortheloveofcamelot13: Thanks! And of course their banter is one of my favorite things to write.
To littleflor1: It took me a bit to realize what moment you were talking about since Gwaine was barely in that chapter. Then I got it - the kiss! And then, because my heart sometimes goes missing, I almost did exactly what you told me not to. Almost. I hope the time jump between the two chapters didn't kill the moment for you. And I'm so glad that you're enjoying it - especially Kerenza. Even though she's becoming a main player in the story, I've tried really hard to keep her from taking over. And you are very welcome for writing. I'm glad that my obsession can at least be entertaining for others as well. :)
To SisterOfAnElvenWannabe: That was exactly what I was hoping for. I had a smile on my face as I wrote it. And of course your reviews weren't annoying! Very loveable. Thanks for taking the time during your binge-reading to review each chapter. I wouldn't have had the patience to pause between them to review, so I appreciate it.
To NirdGirlAlert: Yay! Glad you liked it. I love reading random ideas. They don't always provide inspiration, but sometimes they do. Feel free to keep giving them. I probably won't always use them, but I will always consider them. And even though she's my OC, I've been a little surprised with Kerenza's ability to keep herself in check lately. I've been waiting several chapters for one of them to make a move.
To shadowswihouthope: Pat on the back received, thank you.
