It is while he slept that a strange being of light and mist crept into the Prince's chambers. He shifted fitfully, as if he knew that he was not alone, but he was powerless to wake. Her form glimmered in the moonlight, revealing curves and a poisonous smile. She sits at the edge of Arthur's bed and whispered unfamiliar words-- words in a secret, lost language.
Her eyes flashed and her fingers traced over Arthur's face, delicately feathering over his eyelashes. "Sleep, sleep, sweet prince. You will not die by my hand, but that does not mean that I cannot keep you quiet."
She leaned in. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and she kissed his lips softly.
She whispered, "And only true love's kiss shall wake you."
With a wicked smile, she dissolved.
--
Usually Arthur wakes with the dawn and has to wait on Merlin to show with his breakfast. When Merlin arrives, he's often parrying shadows--as quick with a quip about Merlin's laziness and lax schedule as he is with his blade. But this morning, Arthur's chambers were cold, and he didn't stir when Merlin arrived.
It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Merlin set his serving tray down, ignoring the growl in his belly that the crisped pork causes. He paused, wondering if it wouldn't be kinder to start the fire so that Arthur could wake to a warm room. Grinning impishly, he knows that though he is a loyal manservant, and though it would be the right thing to do, that way was less fun.
Instead, he crept towards the bed, keeping as quiet as he could. He'd really only seen Arthur asleep like this when he was ill or in recovery. Briefly, he wondered if there was something wrong with Arthur, if maybe he should wake him carefully. Temptation was too great. Opportunities like this didn't present themselves every day. Still, he'd be careful and kind. Not for Arthur's sake, naturally, but more because Merlin worried that Arthur might awake swinging.
So, standing at the end of the bed, Merlin yanked down the covers to expose the sleeping prince to the cold of the room and whooped loudly to surprise him from his slumber.
Arthur did not so much as stir.
"Boo!" Merlin tried, brows furrowing as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He wondered if this wasn't just a big put on. Perhaps Arthur was just waiting for him to get close enough to grab. One thing Merlin knew, though, was that Arthur was hopelessly ticklish, particularly at the bottoms of his feet. Each time he put on the prince's shoes, he had to do so delicately, so as not to send Arthur into fits of unmanly giggles.
Merlin wriggles his fingers menacingly towards Arthur's feet, warning, "I'll do it, you know."
No response.
So he brought his index finger to the arch of Arthur's foot, stroking lightly. Still nothing from the dreaming prince. After a full-scale tickle on the bottoms of both feet, Merlin became concerned. If Arthur was playing a game, he was good at it. Too good at it. Merlin walked around the bed and sat next to him, pressing his hand to Arthur's forehead. He was warm, skin slightly flushed, but definitely showing the blossom of life.
Merlin leaned in, pressing his ear to Arthur's chest and heard the strong beat of his heart. "Arthur?"
Still nothing. And it was then that Merlin felt a twinge of dread. He looked around the room and saw nothing out of place, nothing strange at all. The cup next to Arthur's bed was empty, but when Merlin sniffed it, he smelled nothing but the remnants of wine.
Standing from the bed, Merlin pulled the covers back over Arthur, tucking him in securely. "I'm going to get Gaius," he said, trying not to think too hard on what this could mean. "You'll be all right. You'll see."
Before Merlin left to get the court physician, he built a quick fire to keep Arthur warm.
--
King Uther stood next to the bed, his arms folded. Gwen sat on the bed next to Arthur, holding his hand. Merlin stood next to the fire, stoking it now and then. Uther made him uncomfortable, probably because he knew if Uther knew of what he was, he'd have him beheaded. That knowledge was pretty unsettling.
From the other side of the bed, Gaius made his final pronouncement, "There is nothing wrong with him, sire. Nothing physically wrong that would keep him in this sort of stupor."
Uther rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And you've tried everything?"
"I've made elixirs for him that would rouse a stampede of horses. Nothing is waking him from his slumber. I am afraid... afraid that is..." Gaius's eyes darted to Merlin and then back to the king.
"Magic," said Uther grimly.
Hesitantly, Gaius nodded and looked down, knowing the ire that was about to come.
The king did not disappoint with his rant about the evils of magic and his vows of wrath to those who would harm his son.
Merlin stared into the fire, waiting for the siege to pass, feeling nauseated with the anger and implied threat. But even as he listened, he searched his mind for what he might do to remedy the situation. He'd need to get Arthur alone again, to have his book with him. He could read, find a way to conquer this magic. When he looked up, Gaius was shaking his head at him as if he could read his thoughts.
The room settled into another foreboding quiet as Uther stared at his son, worry with a dash of annoyance on his face. "What can I do?" Uther asked finally. His gaze did not divert from his son.
"There is a legend... an old one, about a princess who comes under an enchantment that causes her to sleep," Gaius began.
"Oh yes, I've heard that story!" said Gwen. She looked up at Uther and then to Gaius. "True love's kiss wakes her! I love that story!"
"Arthur is no princess," said Uther, "And he is too young to have a true love. He's always been more interested in hunting and..."
Gaius held his hand up in a passive plea for silence. "True love comes in many forms. It must be a pure love for him, something true and without ulterior motive. There must be no room for any doubt of the sincerity of love for Arthur."
All eyes were on Gwen, who looked slightly alarmed. "I...I am just a servant. I..." she blushed and stuttered as she looked at her hand clutching Arthur's. It was true that she fancied him, but as a servant, she saw no real hope in it and fancied others as well.
"What truer love is there than a subject for her prince?" asked Uther as he stepped forward.
Gaius rolled his eyes, but said, "I don't think there is any harm in trying."
"With all of you... here?" Gwen was visibly flustered, but with Uther's anger as lethal as it was unpredictable, she turned to face Arthur and then leaned forward to press her lips to his. She thought of all that Arthur had done for her, all that he had meant to her. She thought of his eyes when he expressed regret about her father, about the king that she could see in him that had yet to fully emerge. But faith, she had faith that he would be everything that his potential promised.
Arthur's lips twitched.
Then she thought of Lancelot.
When she opened her eyes, his were still closed. His hand was as limp in hers as it was before. She sat back, feeling like somehow she'd betrayed the kingdom and looked sheepishly at Gaius.
"She is young, sire," said Gaius. Uther was glaring angrily at Gwen.
"How dare you not love my son!" he snarled.
Merlin stepped forward before he could bear down on her and said, "Maybe it's because she's a servant. Maybe the love needs to be pure of..." Merlin couldn't believe he was about to say this, but he had to, for Gwen, "pure of blood."
Uther rounded on Merlin and he stared at him as if he'd never seen him before. "Meaning?"
"Royalty, sire. Maybe someone who isn't his equal can't love him in that pure way," said Merlin. He edged back towards the fireplace. He knew that if it came down to it, he could always escape, but it would mean revealing his magic and abandoning Arthur and that he could not abide.
For a moment, Uther stood still, angrily stunned. Then like a revelation, his expression cleared of malice and revealed hope. "Yes! Yes, of course! Gwen, fetch Morgana."
Merlin tried not to groan. If there was anyone who did NOT love Arthur, it was Morgana. But Uther seemed immune to simple observation of how the two got along. If the simple fact of that had escaped Uther in the past, surely the expression on Morgana's face when she was brought into Arthur's quarters and told she must kiss the dreaming prince would have said it all.
Still, she did not hate Arthur, and did not wish to see him dead, so she agreed to kiss him. She approached the bed with the same caution Merlin had, as if she thought he might jump up and throttle her for getting so close to him while he slept. Her face was creased with worry and Merlin thought that it was perhaps impossible not to love Arthur a little. Even in spite of what a prat he could be. But he couldn't believe that Morgana loved him with the fierceness required to break the spell.
That theory was proved out when she pressed her lips to his. She didn't even close her eyes, but instead she looked up and away from him. After a quick peck at his lips, she sprang back like he was on fire and she smoothed down her gown.
"That was hardly trying, Morgana," said Uther. "Go again."
She was leaning down when Gaius cleared his throat. Morgana looked back at him in relief when he said, "What is purer than a father's love?"
It was Uther's turn to look uncomfortable and Gaius quickly looked away. At times like this, Merlin couldn't help but feel badly for his prince. Never had anyone been so loved and yet unloved, he thought. He stared at Arthur's body, the way his chest rose and fell steadily, how vulnerable he was like that. And as brave as he was, and as hard as he tried, still no one loved him enough to break the spell.
"I love my son," said Uther quietly.
"No one doubts that you do," Gaius said far too quickly.
"I love him more than myself," Uther protested.
"Yet..." Gaius said.
"Yet, if I had to choose between him and his mother..." Uther clenched his jaw and whirled around so that his back was to Arthur's sickbed. Morgana clenched her fists and looked prepared to speak, but Gaius held his hand up again.
"I understand," said Gaius. He sighed then and looked at Merlin, tilting his head slightly. He looked to Arthur and then back to Merlin again. "Perhaps we will find someone who can break the spell."
Uther looked helplessly around the room, hope having left his face. "I will find this sorcerer, whoever they are, and I will make them break this spell. Mark my words."
With that said, he left the room in a swirl of cloaks and anger.
"Watch over him, Merlin," said Gaius with a meaningful look.
"What can we do?" asked Morgana. She took Gwen's hand as they both fretted for their prince.
"Come with me. Perhaps there is yet more research we can do to find a way to break this curse." Gaius led them out of the room and shot Merlin another look before shutting the door behind them.
Exhaling, Merlin turned his attention to the fire, putting on an extra couple of logs. It was too quiet in Arthur's room now, just nothing but the solid breathing and crackle of the fire. Even though he knew that Arthur was sleeping, there was something expectant in the quality of quiet, like he needed to say something to break the devastating tension of Uther's announcement that he would rather have his wife than his son. And that no one loved him enough to break the enchantment.
"If I could, I'd take that enchantment on myself, you know," said Merlin as he pulled a couple of blankets off of the foot of Arthur's bed to create a makeshift bed on the floor. "And as long as I'm being honest here, I don't know that anyone would love me enough to break it. I know my mother loves me and I love her, but she did send me away."
He frowned, kneeling on the floor to create a pillow from his red scarf. "I mean, I know she did it to protect me. But sometimes I wonder if that's all it was. People in the village were figuring things out and..." Merlin broke off, realizing that Arthur didn't know the whole story and even if he were awake, he wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of this. Besides, it was unwise to say such things in the castle. He was in the lion's den. It wasn't the time or place for such a confession.
Suddenly he felt incredibly lonely. The secrets pressed in on him till he felt like he couldn't breathe. He stood from his bed on the floor and sat down next to Arthur and took his hand as Gwen had. He was so warm and looked on the edge of just opening his eyes. Merlin entwined their fingers and thought of the Great Dragon and what he'd said about their fates. And surely it did seem that Arthur loved him. He had been all too willing to give his life for Merlin's. He'd fought for him, taken on Merlin's causes as his own. But, Merlin wondered, would he be so inclined if he knew what he really was?
He kissed the back of Arthur's hand and rested his cheek against it. Arthur's fingers twitched at the contact, stopping Merlin's heart.
Looking around the room, Merlin wondered if he was alone with him here, truly alone, or if some enchantress was playing tricks on him. Holding out his free hand, he whispered an incantation, attempting to make anyone nearby reveal themselves. Not even the curtains fluttered.
Merlin looked down at Arthur, who had returned to his motionless slumber. "I will find some way through this, Arthur. That much I swear to you. I don't care if I have to die to do it. I don't care if I have to reveal myself. If it will spare your life, if it will bring you back, I'll do anything. Anything in the world for you." He stared at him for a moment and impulsively pressed a kiss to his forehead.
Arthur's eyelids fluttered, Merlin felt it on his chin. He backed up enough to look at Arthur's face, the long lashes, aristocratic nose, lips slightly pursed. Merlin wasn't breathing, waiting for Arthur to stir further, but he remained motionless.
Licking his lips, Merlin lowered his face to Arthur's again. He'd never done this before, not with anyone. He'd kissed his mother's cheek, but never really kissed anyone. He felt ridiculous for being so nervous. Arthur wasn't even awake and he found it impossible to believe that his kiss would wake him. Yet, he felt a certain conviction that he should do it. There couldn't be any harm in it, really. And the idea of it thrilled him in a strange way he had never felt before.
First he just brushed their lips together. Arthur's head shifted to the side slightly and Merlin tilted his in the other direction and parted his lips, only to feel Arthur below him doing the same.
Their tongues met, and he couldn't imagine anything that would ever feel as fragile, as delicate as this. His mouth was warm and Arthur's body felt alive beneath him. For a moment, Merlin gave himself over to it, enjoying the pliant plush lips against his. Then all at once it was over. Arthur's lips closed until he said, "Merlin?"
Merlin froze in place, his mouth open now against Arthur's stubbled chin. His mind was a riot of things to say, excuses to make. But his mouth would no longer work and he was left gaping at Arthur as he repositioned them so that Merlin was sitting up on the bed and Arthur propped up on pillows against his headboard.
Arthur didn't appear angry so much as shocked. His eyes darted from Merlin, to the bed on the floor to the night sky outside of his window.
"You were enchanted," Merlin finally said. His face felt hot and he wondered what Uther did to boys caught kissing the prince.
"Oh?" Arthur asked, looking puzzled. "You seemed pretty enchanted yourself."
"It... I was... it... there was a spell," Merlin sputtered, only slowly realizing that Arthur wasn't being caustic, but that he might truly believe that Merlin was cursed to kiss him.
"All right, but... this never happened, understand?" asked Arthur. He licked his lips and then blushed and looked away, pulling the covers up higher over his waist. "Whatever just happened... didn't happen. And if it did, it was an enchantment."
Merlin couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the pronouncement, especially in light of the fact that he now knew that he must be the only one who really and truly loved Arthur. Their fates were entwined, their destiny together, and yet Arthur was trying to make Merlin keep yet another secret.
But then, Merlin couldn't think of a sensible reason not to keep it a secret. So he looked down at the sheets.
"Don't worry, Merlin. I don't think any differently about you." Arthur reached out to take Merlin's hand, but as he did, he blushed a little. "And you can't think differently of me, right?"
"Of course not, sire," said Merlin.
Arthur kept his hand in his and then reached out to tilt Merlin's face up. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Merlin finally looked up into Arthur's eyes to see the hurt and confusion there.
"For whatever I've done to make you so sad. I don't know how we ended up... why that... and I don't regret it, Merlin. It just can't happen. It would be... I'm your prince..." said Arthur.
Merlin pulled his chin from Arthur's fingers and snapped, "Right, and I'm but a lowly servant."
"No, no," said Arthur. His voice was thick and pained and he reached out to pull Merlin's face up again, forcing him to look into his eyes. "I'm in a position of power over you. I wouldn't want you to... feel you had to entertain me. Understand?"
"I wouldn't," said Merlin flatly.
They looked at each other for a serious moment until Arthur smiled and shook his head. "You know, I believe you wouldn't."
"I kissed you, not the other way around," said Merlin. He sat up a little defensively, daring Arthur's response.
Arthur blinked, "And why did you do that?"
For a moment, Merlin thought about telling him the truth. He hadn't kissed Arthur believing he could break the enchantment, he'd kissed him because he'd wanted to, because he'd felt lonely and he felt the same loneliness on Arthur's behalf. He'd kissed him because he loved him. That just happened to break the enchantment. But staring into those astonished blue eyes, realizing that he'd have to tell him of all of the kisses that didn't break the enchantment, all of those people who didn't love him as much as everyone supposed they did, he said, "To break an enchantment."
Arthur looked past Merlin then and nodded. "I guess that's why it's nighttime and I have no recollection of daytime passing."
Smiling with a trace of bitterness, Merlin said, "Can't put anything past you."
He looked down at Merlin's bed on the floor. "You were going to stay here and watch over me?"
"That was the plan, yes," said Merlin. He hopped off of the bed and squatted to pick the blankets up. "But no need for that now."
"You know, it's silly for you to sleep on the floor. This bed is big enough for a dozen people."
Merlin stopped folding the blankets and shook his head. "That wouldn't be proper."
"What, I've slept on the floor with you before. And if you're protecting me, you should be comfortable, at the very least." Arthur grinned and rolled on his side. "Not that it matters now, since you're leaving and all."
"I don't have to," said Merlin. He couldn't believe he'd said that and blushed.
"Yes you do. I'm starved and not in the least bit sleepy. I smell dinner and I would like it brought up to my room. And after that, I wish you to draw me a bath and see to the mess on the floor. It looks like I've held audience with half the kingdom in here."
He was a prat, a big prat, but Merlin was pleased that he was feeling better anyway and grinned in spite of himself. "Yes, sire," he said as he tossed the unfolded blankets at Arthur and scuttled off to retrieve his dinner.