Hey, guys! :) Time for drabble 3! Quick announcement for my PJO readers: if you read my other fics, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! :( I meant to write a PJO today, but somehow this ended up getting written instead. Sorry!
Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited! You guys keep me motivated! :)
Disclaimer: BBC owns all…
Drabble 3- WAY More than One Secret
"Rise and shine!" Came Merlin's cheerful voice, yanking Arthur from his sleep. The hike in the forest last night had left him exhausted, and-
At the thought of the forest everything came back to him and hit him all at once, like he'd been pushed in an icy river. Merlin. The dragon. Merlin talking to the dragon.
Merlin, who was not just a manservant, as it turned out, but also a Dragon Lord.
Wide-awake now, Arthur snapped upright, looking at his friend through new eyes. He certainly seemed the same- clumsy, too cheerful, and just annoying in general.
"Uh, Arthur?" Merlin prompted, looking a little freaked out, and Arthur realized he'd been staring.
"Have you got my breakfast yet?" Arthur demanded quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"No, but-"
"What are you waiting for? Go get it! Honestly, Merlin, are you completely useless?" The words just rolled off his tongue naturally, and only a second later did he realize what he'd said.
Snapping at a Dragon Lord? Not smart. Merlin could probably call the dragon to burn the whole kingdom down if he wanted. But the manservant just rolled his eyes, muttering something about "clotpoles" under his breath as he left the room to get the King's breakfast.
Once Merlin's questioning eyes were gone, Arthur allowed his mixed emotions- shock, confusion, disbelief (just to name a few) slide across his face. Merlin didn't seem like a powerful Dragon Lord- he'd never seemed like a powerful anything, now that Arthur thought of it.
But he was. What was the King supposed to do now? Execution was out of the question, but was he really supposed to just pretend nothing had happened? He was breaking his own law, for gods' sake!
You could always ask Merlin about it… whispered a small voice in Arthur's head. He quickly shushed it. Him, forced to ask his manservant about his personal life? That wouldn't do at all.
If he was being honest with himself, he wanted Merlin to tell him the truth himself- although he was certain it was because the king wanted to keep up his appearances. It had nothing to do whatsoever with that little hurt feeling he'd pushed to the back of his mind, the little hurt feeling that whispered he doesn't trust you. No, that was obviously completely unrelated.
"You're not dressed yet?" Merlin asked, walking back in to the king's chambers, the door swishing shut behind him with a dull thud.
"It's your job to dress me," Arthur responded dryly, his kingly mask back in place.
"You're a full grown man expected to fight wars, yet you can't dress yourself," Merlin muttered.
"What was that, Merlin?" Arthur asked, knowing full well what he'd said.
"Nothing, sire." Coming from anyone else, the words would have been a respectful sign of obedience. Coming from Merlin, on the other hand, they sounded like an insult.
"That's right, nothing," Arthur said, as regally as possible for a king still in his nightclothes. "Now get my clothes."
"You haven't told me what you're doing today," Merlin prompted, cocking an eyebrow. "Do you need armor? Formal clothes? Riding c-"
"Just get some clothes Merlin," Arthur ordered, rubbing one temple. "I'm looking over the tax reports today. Possibly hunting later, but for now, normal clothes will do."
"Hunting," Merlin grumbled. "Always hunting. Shooting poor innocent bunnies. Makes you feel very manly, does it?"
"Merlin!"
By dinner that night, Arthur was very, very frustrated. All day, and Merlin hadn't so much as whispered a word about dragons. Now, as the servant in question poured the king some wine, Arthur decided he needed a little "push" in the right direction.
"There's an execution scheduled for tomorrow, by the way," Arthur lied idly. "So I'll need my formal clothes washed."
"An execution?" Merlin asked, replacing the wine pitcher. "Who's getting executed? I didn't hear anything about someone getting thrown in the dungeons!"
"That's because you're not the king, and people don't report to you," Arthur said evenly, although mentally he was praying that Merlin wouldn't see through his admittedly half-baked lie. Luckily, Merlin seemed to believe his master.
"What did the person do?" Merlin asked, handing Arthur his plate.
"Oh, a high offense," Arthur said off handily. "Lying to me, of course." Merlin's face paled immediately and he turned away, hiding his expression.
"Lying," Merlin muttered, his voice slightly unsteady. "And now he's going to die? Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"
"Well, if he'd told me the truth, maybe I'd have had a bit more mercy. But he didn't, so…" Arthur let his voice trail off. Merlin remained silent, not meeting Arthur's gaze.
"You know, meeting liars has made me appreciate the people I can trust," he continued. "You, for example. Of course, you can't lie to save your life, but still." Although Arthur couldn't see his servant's face, he could see Merlin's shoulder tense. Guilt. Honestly, Arthur had no idea how he hadn't picked up on these signs earlier.
"That's me, trustworthy through and through," Merlin said, a little too cheerfully as he re-faced Arthur. "Ham or turkey?"
"Turkey," Arthur replied, cursing inwardly. He'd been so close, he could just feel it.
Dang it, Merlin, he thought sourly. Just tell me!
"Tell you what?" Arthur froze at Merlin's question. Had he said that last part out loud? Oops… he briefly considered lying and saying he was wondering if there was any beef, but decided against it. He wanted the truth.
"I saw you," Arthur told him, watching his face carefully. An outsider would have said Merlin looked normal, but Arthur picked up on the raw terror and panic in Merlin's eyes.
"Saw what?" Merlin asked desperately, and Arthur suddenly remembered something his friend had told the dragon: Arthur almost saw me. Merlin thought he was referring to something else. Well, this could be interesting.
"I saw everything," the king replied. The blood drained from Merlin's face at the words, the terror undisguised now.
"Arthur, I swear, I only used a little bit. She had a knife, she was going to kill you, and I had to stop her, and-"
"Hang on," Arthur said, holding one hand up, his mind reeling. An assassin? Merlin thought he'd seen him stop an assassination?! Beyond the blunt disbelief, Arthur managed to wonder why hadn't he told him he'd done that. He could have been rewarded! And why did he look so… scared?
Arthur, I swear, I only used a little bit.
A little bit of what?
"What did you do exactly?" Arthur asked slowly. Merlin blinked in confusion.
"You didn't see… but then what…" he stammered, looking lost.
"Merlin, I did see you do something. But not stop an assassination, for gods' sake."
"Oh," Merlin's face relaxed momentarily, then he froze again. "Wait. Then what did you see?" Arthur, for his part, couldn't believe it. How many secrets did Merlin have?!
"What. Did. You. Do?" Arthur asked, ignoring Merlin's question. Forget waiting for Merlin to tell him himself- he obviously didn't know all of it. And Merlin seemed to think he was in serious trouble.
"I-uh-" Merlin gulped, shifting. "I… slipped and crashed into her… and, uh, she accidentally stabbed herself." He finished lamely.
The king couldn't believe it. He was lying. Again!
"Then what did you use 'a little bit of?" Arthur snapped. "Stop lying to me, Merlin!"
"But I-"
"Merlin!" With a groan, Arthur let his head drop into his hands. Merlin really didn't trust him- that much was obvious.
"I thought I knew you," the king muttered.
"You do know me, Arthur!"
"Really, Merlin? Do I really?" He snapped back. The other man's silence was enough of a reply.
"So much for being friends," the king muttered under his breath. Across from him, Merlin's eyes widened.
"But-"
"No 'buts'. You obviously don't trust me," Arthur accused, and there was no denying the hurt that cut to his core now. Merlin didn't trust him. The concept was plain and simple- so why did it hurt so much?
"I do trust you-"
"Then tell me the truth! For once in your life, Merlin, tell me the truth!" A heavy silence followed his outburst. Then:
"Ok." A nervous gulp. An uneasy breath. "What do you want to know?"
"I didn't want-"
"It's ok, Arthur," Merlin assured him, although he was pale as a ghost. "I had to tell you eventually, anyway. What do you want to know?"
Another pause.
"The truth," Arthur managed, locking eyes with his servant. "Who are you really?"
"I am Emrys, the warlock who will help you unite Albion. I'm Emrys, the Druid savior who will return magic to the land. I'm the last Dragon Lord, son of Balinor. But," Merlin paused, looking almost pleadingly at his friend, begging him to understand. "I'm also Merlin. Merlin the manservant. Merlin, Gaius's ward. Merlin… your friend."
Arthur felt like he'd been hit over the head. He stared at his friend stupidly, mouth agape. Warlock? Albion? Druid savior? And, worst of all… returning magic to the land?
There was only one way magic could have returned.
"You're here to kill me," Arthur managed, feeling like he was trying to swallow a six-pence.
"What? No, Arthur! Never!" Merlin said quickly. "I'm here to protect you and serve you."
"Return magic…" Suddenly he felt light-headed. "You're a sorcerer."
"No, I'm a warlock," the other man corrected. "I never learned magic- I was born with it."
"That's impossible," Arthur stammered. Merlin just shook his head.
"Impossible!" Arthur repeated, anger surging forward to cover the hurt throbbing through him.
"It's the truth."
"I can't believe this," Arthur cried, standing up and pacing across the room. "I was prepared to guard your Dragon Lord secret, but this-"
"You knew I was a Dragon Lord?! How?" Merlin asked suddenly, looking shocked.
"I saw you! Talking to that dragon!" Arthur gave a humorless laugh. "Looks like that's not the only thing you can do, is it?"
"Arthur-"
"And I thought I knew everything about you! Did you ever tell me the truth about anything?!"
"Arthur!"
"All these years, and you've been-"
"ARTHUR!" The king turned to his manservant, his sentence hanging in the air half-finished.
"Look, I'm sorry," Merlin said, his face clearly showing his guilt and hurt. "I'm sorry. I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it. But if I'd told you the truth, you would have had me killed. You still might," he added, his voice faltering slightly.
"I thought I knew you," Arthur murmured again, his anger fading away to be replaced with a raw numbness.
"You do," Merlin said firmly, taking one step closer, but still keeping his distance. Maybe he thought Arthur was going to run him through with his sword.
That's what his father would have done.
That's what he would have told Arthur to do.
Was that what he was supposed to do?
"You do know me," Merlin echoed. "I've been here all this time… protecting you." Holding out his right hand, he murmured a few words. Before Arthur could react, a familiar blue sphere formed and floated over to Arthur. The King froze.
"Is that-"
"Yeah," Merlin confirmed. Hesitantly Arthur reached out and touched the sphere, and immediately his mind was flooded with memories. Merlin's memories.
Merlin disarming assassins, Merlin spilling the cup of life, Merlin fighting Morgana- memories and memories, stacking up around him like cards, swirling in the air. Then, just as suddenly as they'd come, they were gone. Sucked back into the orb like they'd never been.
Arthur could only stare at his friend.
"You-that was- but I- how-" the King stammered, speechless for once in his life.
"Banish me if you want, or you can try to execute me," Merlin said after a moment with a wry smile. "But I'll just escape and wait."
"Wait for what?" Arthur asked.
"For when you need me again," Merlin said, his voice full of conviction.
There was only one thing to say.
"I'll keep your secret." Arthur meant it. Every word. "Now sit down. You've got a lot to explaining to do."
Eh… hope that was okay-ish :/ It felt kind of off to me, but oh well. I like the other reveal fic I wrote better (When Druids can't keep secrets) Review, please! They make my day! :) Until next time!