The next morning, when Merlin woke up, Arthur was already gone. Before Merlin was able to get out of "bed", William brusted into his room.
"Good Morning William." Merlin flashed William with a large smile.
But this did not wipe the frown from William's face. "You need to stay away from Arthur." He warned.
Merlin did not understand the sudden shift in attitude. "Wil? I don't understand."
"Just stay away from him."
Merlin was sensing true hostility from William and tried to rebuke Will, "He is a nice person, I have been with him for a long time and - "
He was interrupted by William. "So, he knows you can use magic."
There was a pained expression on Merlin's face, and William cringed. He knew himself, that he has touched a sore spot, but he wasn't willing to back down. He was not going to let someone hurt Merlin.
"I can't tell him." Merlin hung his head down and William went up to hug him.
"I m sorry. That was out of line." William squeezed Merlin hard. He really missed him.
Merlin hugged him back, it was nice to have someone who knows him and understands him. He also understood why William dislikes Arthur. His parents were victums of the nobility, but Merlin did not want to think about he past. Not today, they still have a villiage to defend.
"Merlin, I missed you." William whispered. "I missed you so much." His lips were brushing against Merlin's ear, making Merlin blush.
"I missed you too. " Merlin smiled and William released Merlin from his hug. "We can recall fresh memories later, we still have a village to defend."
"Oh that." William smirked. "Prince Arthur is doing a great job of training the peasants. " He said, dripping with sacarasm.
"Hey, play nice." William became sour faced, Merlin decided to cheer him up by tackling him playfully.
"Why do you think that would cheer me up?" William laughed.
Merlin smiled, "It always cheers you up." He looked William in the eye, "I guess somethings never change."
Arthur saw all of this outside of the tent, and was upset. He did not know why he should be. Merlin's smile at William pissed him off, why does he never smile and laugh with me like that? Angrily, he decided to stop all childhood recollection moments and shouted, "MERLIN! How long are you going to sleep for? It is almost noon! Who is going to cook my lunch?"
Merlin hurriedly got off of William, and sighed.
Are you that upset to see me? Arthur stared at Merlin.
William quietly left, he never took his cautious eyes off Arthur, he did not know his intentions and wanted to protect Merlin.
Merlin was just tired and did not want to cook, he was hoping he would get a break from all his choirs if he returned home.
"Yes yes, sir." Merlin was quite unenthusiastic and it unintentionally kept hurting Arthur.
Last night's promise still stands, yet why am I feeling such pain?
After Lunch
Arthur knew these people were not soldiers, so he strategically laid out traps and methods to prevent the villiage from being robbed and destroyed. However, it was not enough to stop these people from coming in. He tried to fend off all the attacks, but there were too many people. He felt helpless and overpowered, he was not able to prevent the death of several villagers, and his own strength was beginning to drain out. Swords were clashing against swords, the swooshing of arrows was going against his ears. Arthur had gashes on his arms and legs, and his eye sight was starting to blur from the blood lost. It looked like all was lost.
All of a sudden, a wind started to blow. It was unnatural and forceful, blowing only the attackers and protecting the defenders.
Arthur would recognize that anywhere. It was magic.
He frowned as the battle began to come to an end. Magic was not allowed, who has used magic? Before he was able to entirely finish the thought, he spotted a marksman, and he was aiming towards someone. He was aiming towards Merlin. He was trying to kill one last person before submitting to defeat.
Arthur felt a wave of panic rush through his blood. No no no, not Merlin.
The arrow shot and Arthur shouted, "Merlin.", but it was too late, it was going to hit him.
Arthur felt his eyes tear up and a dull aching pain in his chest. He charged against the marksman.
Suddenly, a flash of black appeared in front of Merlin.
It was William.
He blocked the arrow and was shot in the chest.
Arthur beheaded the marksman and rushed to where he thought Merlin was shot.
And he was relieved to see that Merlin was not hurt, but his heart broke in pieces when Merlin hugged William and kissed him on the lips.