"Merlin." Prod.
"Merlin?" Prod.
"Merlin." Prod.
"MERLIN!" Slap.
Merlin jolted awake with a yell came face to face with his waker, yelled some more, scrambled backwards on his bed and hit the wall.
"OW! WHA-" The girl clamped her hand over his mouth to cover up his shout.
"Shhh-" She hissed with a glance to the door. "You don't want to wake Gaius."
Merlin gave her a murderous look. "What," he shoved her hand off him, "the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Waking you up." The girl replied easily.
Merlin stared at her with an 'are you kidding me' face and groaned. "It's still dark outside." He grumbled. Sure enough outside his window, his view of Camelot was hidden by the darkness of night. Or at least, very early morning. "Go back to bed; we don't have to be up for hours."
"I know," She said defensively, and then her face spilt into a wide, excited grin. "But there's something I want you to see."
And that was that.
There was no arguing when she was like this; her eyes full of fire and her body practically quaking with anticipation. Merlin had only ever seen her eyes dance in such a light once before; when a troupe of travelling acrobats had visited the castle and performed for the court. She had been giddy the entire day and enthralled with the graceful beings that had seemed to fly effortlessly through the air. Oh yes, her body was radiating with such the same excitement. It was nigh impossible to say 'no' to her when she was like this.
And yet; he had been having such a good dream, and it was so early. He could still send her away and lie back down in bed. His sheets could still mould themselves into a cocoon around him, and he would be enchased in warmth once again. Whatever she had to show him could wait, couldn't it?
"Alright fine," He sighed. Across from him she let out a small, excited noise and jumped lightly off his bed, throwing a bundle of clothes at him.
"You won't regret this, I swear." She stood with her back to him facing the window as to give him some privacy while he changed.
"I better not," Merlin muttered, and pulled off his nightshirt. The room fell silent for a couple minutes as Merlin changed and she fell deep into her own thoughts, humming under her breath though still unable to keep still. What an earth she could possibly have to show him at this hour of the morning, Merlin dreaded to think. Everything was always a surprise with her. And not always a good one.
"You ready then?"
Merlin gave one last long look at his bed before nodding and following her out the door. They tiptoed across the physician's quarters, careful not to wake up Gaius, and then slipped quietly through the door and out into the castle. Outside the dark sky was beginning to lighten; the dark black turning to Indigo blue as, unseen to them, the sun climbed toward the horizon.
Merlin followed slightly behind her as she led the way through the silent castle to wherever it was they were going. Slumbering guards, who were meant to be on duty, nodded awake as they passed and looked at them with bleary yet suspicious eyes. No doubt their early morning wander would be the talk of the castle by midday.
-It was common knowledge to all the servants that the guards of Camelot gossiped worse than the washerwomen. It made sense, how else would they keep from dying of boredom and they did see practically everything that went on within the high stone walls. Merlin always joked that the guards knew more of the runnings of Camelot than the King did.-
Wherever they were going, Merlin noticed, it was defiantly up. Every staircase they came to led them up not down and soon they reached the top floor. It was here that Merlin finally felt the need to question her.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
They turned down a corridor and that led to a dead end. But instead of turning back around, she carried on down the hall, ignoring the doors to her left and right and stopped in front of the large window. Flicking the latch, she flung the glass wide.
"Well come on, then." She said to Merlin with a gesture of the head, and climbed out onto the castle roofs.
"This can only end in disaster." Merlin muttered, and yet followed after her anyway, half curious and half concerned.
The frosty morning air nipped at his face. Just outside the window she had laid out a blanket on the grey, slanted roof and was now sitting on it her legs stretched out in front of her. Merlin awkwardly sat down to join her while trying not to stumble. If he fell it would only be a quickly roll and a six story drop down to the stone courtyard. A scenario he did not want happening. Ever. She didn't pay him any attention to him as he sat down as her gaze was focused unwaning on the view in front of them. Merlin followed her gaze and caught his breath.
She had chosen a section of roof that allowed them to see the whole of Camelot laid out before them, the new morning sun still hidden under the height of the horizon, though it's light stretched up across the sky in pale streaks messing with the light of the fading stars. The entirety of the Citadel stood around them. Domes, arches, chimneys, skylights and turrets formed a world of stone and smoke cast in blues and greys in the new morning light. Dots of bright burning lights from flaming torches spotted here and there amongst the brick giving the illusion of stars.
Below and beyond that, the wooden world of the Lower Town could be seen, shrouded in mist and smoke. Where the sounds and smells of the morning market being set up were carried on the western wind. Thatched roofs coupled with ash covered stone chimneys could be seen poking through the haze.
To the west, in a thick semi-circle of dark green was the forest, blanketing the land in dense woodland, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the other side, shadowed fields, pastures, meadows and farmland completed the view, all surrounded by large green hills.
The whole picture took his breath away though that was more due to the sharp, cold morning air. Wordlessly, she picked up another blanket and threw it over them, still not taking her eyes off the horizon. Slowly, the indigo sky faded more into dawn as the sun rose marking a new day, bringing gold to the blues and greys of Camelot. Now he could see why she had brought him up here. Camelot at sunrise was truly one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen; it made him proud to call the place his home.
He sat drinking in the view for a moment before sneaking a glance at the blonde beside him. She didn't acknowledge him but instead carried on staring expectantly at the horizon. And so he sat with her in silence, simply content to watch the sunrise, though Merlin could not shake the feeling that she was waiting for something. But they didn't speak, they didn't need to. Then slowly, Merlin started to notice. As the sun rose even higher, it gradually passed behind a dark shadow. At first, it was only a small corner of the sun turned black, but then the curved shadow spread to cover the it completely, consuming the light itself and they were left in semi-darkness.
Now all that could be seen of the sun was a brilliant ring of golden light, a dark black circle blocking its centre. It was one of the most beautiful things Merlin had ever seen.
"Solar eclipse." Merlin breathed in awe, breaking the silence.
Next to him, her eyes gleamed at the sight and she smiled, taking his hand. "Happy Birthday Merlin." She whispered.
