Chapter 13
A/N: Very sorry for the leave of absence, but thank you to everyone who stuck with me. I started on an interlude about Merlin's time in the dungeon before Arthur arrives and he escapes and I'm thinking about adding it as either a bonus chapter or editing it into that chapter (which would kill a little bit of the Aithusa surprise, if there ever was one). If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
An extra thanks to Shadowdragon1317 for continuing to come through for me in editing these chapters!
"So… what's going to happen once we get to Camelot?" Merlin asked, breaking the former uneasy silence. Crickets had been the first to answer, as the sun was already prepared to sink, but the sky was still entirely blue. Arthur absently tossed his apple core into a bush on his left. They had been walking for at least two hours and his feet were starting to get sore, but they needed to get back to Camelot – and soon.
"You're going to visit Gaius; he'll give you something for your burns." Arthur tried to look at Merlin, but Merlin was staring ahead obstinately. Merlin managed a few feet of space in between them, surprisingly, due to the abnormally dense section of forest they were currently walking in. Merlin was also trailing behind him, just slightly. Arthur couldn't help contrasting this with the first time they walked back to the castle together; Merlin was supporting him and chatting excitedly. This time, he had barely said a word since they left the stream, and it was becoming unsettling. Arthur was almost glad when Merlin decided to open his mouth, but his nervous tone didn't quell Arthur's unease.
"That's not what I was talking about" Merlin mumbled, just loud enough for Arthur to hear. Merlin had taken to staring at the ground as he walked. Arthur didn't respond. It was so much easier to just leave it alone, to not take a side or make a decision, to pretend nothing had happened and that Merlin was still the paradoxically bumbling-sly generous thief. Apparently Merlin didn't think so.
"You saw it – what I did. I know you did." Merlin stared at him expectantly, waiting for an answer and Arthur attempted to close the gap between them unnoticeably "Camelot has laws and as the future king you need to uphold them"
"I will follow every law when I am king, when I make the laws. Until then I will follow what I believe is right." Arthur retorted, surprising even himself. He had just openly stated that his father was wrong, if only indirectly. A peasant would be arrested for treason for saying what he just had. And what would the king do if he had heard those words?
"So… what do you believe is right?" Merlin was putting him on the spot on purpose, looking directly into his eyes and forcing him to make a decision. Whatever he says now will shape what is to come. He is setting his stance, for eternity, right at this moment.
Arthur took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was to say,
"I believe that a man should not be punished for saving a life, and I believe that a good man should not be assumed evil by using something nondescript as… magic" Arthur had to force the last word out. This was treason; he is going against everything he stood – everything his father stood for. One of the fundamental ideals of Camelot, and he was going to betray it, without regret.
Merlin took a few steps closer. They were almost side-by-side now. Now that the stance was taken, Merlin felt relief for the first time in a while. So he decided to release the tension between thief and prince, the impish nature of Merlin emerged without Arthur even seeing.
"Does that mean I'm allowed back in the walls of Camelot?" Merlin asked with a smile tugging at his face. Arthur's head swirled around for a moment, serious for only a flicker of time.
"Not a chance" Arthur countered, smiling ahead as Merlin let out a chuckle. Back to normal, then, at least for now. The friendly fugitive that gave money back to the peasants was now strolling at his side, like a long time friend, or a knight. 'Perhaps even a brother' thought the prince of Camelot before the thought slipped away and he walked on silently, without thought.
Some time passed before either spoke again, but it wasn't the uncomfortable, guilty silence of before. It was content, like no words were spoken because none were necessary.
But then it was broken by one of Arthur's pondering questions.
"So if you know how to use magic, why can't you just heal yourself" Merlin raised an eyebrow at him and quirked a small smile. Flexing his fingers in a sarcastic 'magic' gesture, the warlock replied,
"Sure. Lemme just conjure up a little healing spell, right here" Arthur looked at him blankly. Merlin had to chuckle once at the royal's expression. "You really don't know anything about magic, do you?" Merlin assumed, giving an inquisitive raised eyebrow. Arthur looked a little affronted, and more than a little embarrassed. Magic wasn't exactly a subject taught heavily by his tutors, more the dangers of magic than the intricate details of it. Otherwise the king would have their necks, and be sending them to the pyres.
"I know what I need to" Arthur defended himself belligerently. Yet even Arthur could tell that his words sounded false to even his own ears. It made Merlin laugh for a long time.
"You got to find the spell first, then learn it and then you have to practice until you can make it work properly. Sometimes you just can't, you don't have the power to,"
"So you never thought that maybe a healing spell might come in handy one day, or are you just not a very good sorcerer?" Arthur asked, cracking a smile when Merlin glanced away embarrassed.
"Well I'm… not exactly good at every type of spell. For example, I can't heal. It's just really difficult, I can't do it. Like some people are better at farming and others are good at blacksmithing" Merlin's face lit up "But I can do this!"
Suddenly, Merlin's eyes turned gold and a wispy golden dragon, about the size of Arthur's hand, flew in a circle around them. Arthur instinctively reached for his sword and took a few steps away from it, eyeing it warily. Merlin's eyes stayed gold and he tilted his head as he controlled the miniature dragon, making it hover midflight before Arthur until he removed his hand from the grip of his sword. He reached the same hand slowly up to touch the existential creature, when it flew a small circle around his head and landed on his shoulder before fading from existence.
Arthur tore his eyes away from the spot on his shoulder the creature had previously occupied and turned to Merlin, reinitiating the walk to Camelot. Merlin's eyes had reverted to sky blue and he seemed to be searching Arthur's expression, lips curled in a cat's grin.
Arthur's face turned curious as he realized something "You didn't say a spell. Earlier, you said you had to say a spell, but you didn't"
"Oh, that's… sorta complicated. I don't really know how, I just don't use a spell sometimes; sometimes things just do what I want them to with or without the words. Gai- I, um, I've never heard of anyone else doing that. Even druids use spells, but I don't think I'm a normal sorcerer. I wasn't taught anything about magic, not when I started using it at least."
Arthur had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he needed to think over his new information first. Maybe his father could share some information, but he wasn't too keen on asking him. Uther may want to know why he was suddenly so curious, and Arthur didn't like lying to his father more than necessary, and Uther did not like to be lied to. Arthur decided to change the topic.
"That creature, it's a hydra" Arthur shared. Merlin looked surprised at his comment, but not for the reason Arthur suspected.
"Apparently, they are very rare. It's strange that we managed to find it, twice even."
"Yeah" Merlin agreed "I thought it would've left after you ran into it the first time. They're normally isolated from people and nomadic" Arthur startled at how much Merlin knew about the creature. I didn't even know that, and I had to look up everything about the creature, Arthur thought, surprised at the young man's knowledge. Merlin knows more about the dangers to Camelot than its future king! This thought unsettled Arthur and he made a mental note to add this to the list of questions for Merlin. He decided for the moment to just play along.
"Generally I wouldn't claim a creature would have some personal vendetta for Camelot, but a creature of magi-" Merlin turned to look at him "anyways, I've never encountered this creature before and I wouldn't put anything past something I know so little about"
Merlin walked onward, deciding to let Arthur's slip pass. He didn't think the hydra had any sort of plan, he thought it to be a generally intelligent creature – not as intelligent as a dragon but not as primal as, say, a horse or a dog – but it would take a lot of pushing to get the creature to specifically target Camelot. It seemed more likely that they were just treading on its territory, but that doesn't explain its continued lodging there.
He decided to keep his opinions on the Once and Future King's theory to himself and instead asked what Arthur planned to do about the creature. He hoped to dissuade any possible plans to attack the creature; violence often seems to be the general response to possible threats against the kingdom, especially if the threat involves magic.
"I'm not sure" Arthur responded "I'll talk it over with my father, but I definitely want to keep track of it until I'm sure it isn't a threat"
"So… nothing too drastic?" Merlin asked hopefully. He never liked unnecessary killing, even if it's for food. One of the philosophies that the warlock had, the future king supposed. But it still made Arthur eye the raven haired man curiously. As if trying to pry into his thoughts.
"Nothing of that nature will be decided until there is significant evidence pointing to a malicious intent" Arthur read out, like it was out of a book. This was, actually, the answer he heard his father give so many times when faced with people asking for peace, almost word for word. He felt a little bad about using it on Merlin, especially after seeing his knowing look, but he couldn't take back his word now. Second guessing shows weakness.
The sun was sinking lower in the sky, and with only at most an hour of daylight left, Arthur increased his speed. Either their estimate was a little off or they were closer to Camelot than he thought. He looked back at Merlin to make sure he was keeping up. Arthur smiled at the sight of Merlin trudging ahead in the fading daylight with his shirt tied over his back. Arthur will have to ask Gaius to treat Merlin secretly. It would be much easier than trying to explain the fugitive's presence and Arthur's familiarity and trust in him.
It would be a bother, but it would have to be done to keep Merlin safe from Uther.
