~ Chapter 2: The Magic that Saves ~
- Merlin -
Arthur looked at me uncertainly. "Merlin?" He asked quietly. I wondered if he realized what had happened - that he was alive and well. Or was he concocting his own narrative of what was going on?
I just looked at him; the only emotion I could feel was joy. He was alive. The king was alive. My friend was alive. "Arthur," I said, trying to hide my emotions.
"What happened?" He asked. He looked down at his chest again as if expecting to see the bloodstain or a gaping hole.
"The usual. I saved your neck," I joked.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "As if someone that is such a complete idiot would be capable of saving the king of Camelot," Arthur tossed back.
"Well if you weren't such a dollop head, maybe I wouldn't have to keep saving you," I retorted. We fell into our old banter with comfortable ease. It gave me hope that maybe Arthur meant what he said before. Maybe, just maybe, we could actually move forward from this and build a land big enough for both of us.
Arthur shot me a smile, then his amused expression disappeared and was replaced by a serious one. "What I said before Merlin, about your abilities. I meant it. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I want to understand it," he said to me.
"What do you want to know?" I asked him.
Arthur looked at me, looked away, and then looked back at me. "I don't know if I actually know. I have so many questions and yet no questions." He sighed dramatically. "Does that make sense?"
"No," I answered before I could catch myself.
Arthur chuckled. "I guess it doesn't make sense. I guess I want to know when you've used magic and how you've used it and why you've used it." Arthur looked at me with a look of concentration. As if asking the initial question helped, the questions started flowing out. "Did you know about Morgause and Morgana and Mordred? Did you use your magic to stop them? And how long have you been using magic? How far back does it go? Did you use magic when you were first in Camelot? Like when my father married that troll or when that knight, oh what was his name, used those shield snakes, or when our water was poisoned? What have you done?"
I shook my head at him. I was about to speak when he interrupted. "So you didn't use magic with those? We really just figured it out?"
I shook my head once again. "No, I used magic just about every time you mentioned, but none of those were the first time I used magic for you," I told him.
"You already told me the first time. When you stopped me from killing you," he pointed out.
"No, Arthur," I told him. "That was the first time I used magic around you, but the first time I used magic to save you was when the witch was pretending to be Lady Helen. I made the chandelier fall on her head and then to get you out of the way of the knife."
He stared at me shocked. "Why would you save me?" He asked me curiously. "When we met, I was such a… a…"
"A prat? A dollop head?" I asked, providing him with insults.
He rolled his eyes at me. "I would remind you not to insult your king Merlin," he said, trying to sound authoritative but really he just sounded amused.
"Doesn't change the fact that you're a prat," I muttered under my breath.
"I heard that, Merlin," Arthur said, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice. "So why did you do it?"
"You were my destiny," I told him simply. "You are the once and future king. It is my destiny to protect and to help you unite the lands of Albian."
He considered me carefully. "You know Merlin, I think I may have underestimated your courage and your loyalty," he told me sincerely.
"Does that mean I get a hug?" I asked jokingly.
Arthur punched my arm lightly. "Way to ruin the moment," Arthur joked.
I rolled my eyes at Arthur. "So the shield was the second time?" Arthur asked curiously.
I nodded. "I'll have you know I stayed up all night to learn that spell to make his shield come alive," I told him. "It seemed so difficult at the time. I didn't want the burden of saving your life, but something wouldn't let me stop. What I would give for my biggest problem to be practicing a spell all night." Merlin wondered if Arthur could hear the wistfulness in his voice. At some point, life got so much more complicated than a reanimation spell.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "You needed something to do. You certainly weren't putting much time into being my manservant. You were quite possibly the worst manservant in the history of manservants," Arthur told him. He tried to sound snobby, but it had been a long time since he'd succeeded in the condescending tone that used to come easily to him.
I realized that we'd both changed. "And you were undoubtedly the most spoiled, pigheaded prat I ever served," I told him.
"I'm the only person you've ever served," Arthur pointed out.
I shook my head at him. "That's not true. I served half of the visitors to Camelot," I reminded him.
"Half of our visitors have tried to kill me. Are you saying I'm worse than them," he asked me incredulously.
I pretended to consider it. He wrapped his arm around my neck and started rubbing his fist through my hair. "Are you sure about that Merlin?" He asked me menacingly.
"You weren't the worst," I gasped out.
He released his grip on me and I stumbled back. I looked up at the sky. "We should start heading back to Camelot. It will be several days before we get back since we have to travel by foot," I told him.
He nodded. "And I would really like to hear about all those other times I nearly died," he told me.
I smiled at him. It may take a long time for me to explain to Arthur all the ways I've saved his life, but at least Arthur would realize just how much I have been there for him. And maybe, just maybe, Arthur would come to realize that magic can have a place in Camelot.