Merlin's Beard! I never expected this much interest in my little fic! Thank you to all who read, but special thanks go to the electric phantom, Me, Wilkwo, Death Knight of Camelot, Sheila90, 96 Hubbles and emotionalpoemgirl for reviews, alerts and favourites! It's only been one day and 2000 words!
the electric phantom - I'm glad you like my sense of humour. I've never heard of The Electric Company, but I'll look it up. I don't know if I'll be able to do lots of humour next time, 'cause I want to save some for after the really depressing ones. How about a mixture of humour and heartwarming? =D
Me - Thank you! Here's hoping I don't disappoint.
Wilkwo - I may end up disappointing you, as there are some slightly less light-hearted reveals ahead, like the one below. I like to come from all angles on these things, for variety. And yes, Dragoon's tirade is hilarious, but I think my personal favourite is the line: "I take it you didn't come all this way just to smash me favourite pot!" Genius.
I decided not to do the really angsty ones yet. It'd be too much of a downer. So these are some of the sombre ones. Enjoy!
Arthur felt himself quail slightly as the Great Dragon angrily loomed over him. When it spoke, he felt the earth rumble beneath his feet.
"What did you come for, Arthur Pendragon?"
The Crown Prince had to steel himself before answering.
"I – I came to see Merlin."
The Dragon's eyes narrowed and the air thrummed as it snorted in contempt.
"With no army? Your father sentenced the young warlock to death, and I came to save him. You cannot think I would give him up willingly."
Arthur faltered at this. He really had no idea what possessed him to come here. He had been running on automatic ever since his father ordered him to arrest Merlin. The shock had numbed him, and he obeyed his father, as he had been doing for years. He wasn't even sure of his feelings on his servant's hidden powers. Was he angry at the deception? Relieved that such a danger had been uncovered? Distraught at Merlin's near execution?
No…he felt betrayed. Betrayed that Merlin would practise sorcery under his very nose. Betrayed that Merlin didn't trust him enough to tell him.
Sensing the Prince's rising ire, the Dragon spoke once more, his voice softening slightly.
"Merlin may have betrayed you, but you in turn have betrayed him. To see someone he thought was his friend condoning his execution was not easy for him."
Arthur exploded.
"Well he shouldn't have used magic! He compromised the whole of Camelot! Magic is a force of evil!"
His voice cut of as the Dragon furiously interjected.
"Merlin is a creature of magic. To deny his magic would be to deny who he is. If you are indeed to be a great king, you must see the world as it truly is; not simply as you have been told to see it."
Seeing he had the Prince's attention, the Great Dragon continued, forcing down his own rage at the young Dragonlord's treatment.
"Magic, like all things in this world, is neither good nor bad. It all depends on how it used. Power of all kinds can corrupt its wielder, just as it did Morgause. Just as it did your father. Both have taken their grief and have used their power to do great evil. Merlin, however, has only ever tried to do what he believed to be right."
Arthur head bowed, his wrath subsiding, giving way to a pensive calm.
"Think hard, young Pendragon. I hope when next we meet that you realise how much you need Merlin. And how much he needs you."
The Great Dragon rose to the skies, leaving the Crown Prince of Camelot to ponder over his loyalties.
There are some days were King Arthur gets up only to realise he's allowed magic back into Camelot, is best friends with a powerful sorcerer and he's going against his father's wishes. And it hurts. To think that his father is in fact not proud of him, because he's undone everything Uther achieved in expelling sorcery, hurts. And then he sees Merlin, which also pains him.
Because Merlin knows. Merlin knows his mere presence causes conflict in Arthur as he tries to reconcile his father's beliefs with his own. Merlin knows that sometimes Arthur hates him for causing him to betray his father. Both youths suffer at the knowledge that Uther's reign had set them up as enemies. Sometimes they still feel the tension.
But then Merlin will give a small, tired smile, and Arthur will throw either sarcasm or a pillow at him and everything will fall back into place.
Because Merlin was right. He was destined to rule…but he has a choice as to how he does it.
The air was choked with dust from the collapsed rubble. Two men were now trapped in a somewhat claustrophobic environment, with no escape. The older figure leant away from the younger, pointing an accusing finger, voice shaking with anger and disbelief.
"You…you're a sorcerer."
Merlin smiled grimly at his accuser.
"If I wasn't, you'd be dead right now."
The warlock eyed the debris blocking their exit.
"We might still die, unless we can find a way out of here."
The Pendragon recoiled at this suggestion.
"I will never help you, sorcerer!"
Merlin favoured his fellow captive with a pitying look.
"Then we'll both die here."
Under normal circumstances, the warlock would have no trouble blasting his way out of the rubble. But the dagger meant to assassinate the royal had instead struck Merlin when he had pushed the King out of the way. He was bleeding quite heavily, and needed help to patch it up, or he would soon collapse. In which case he would either bleed out or suffocate in the airless space.
Proud eyes regarded the servant suspiciously, while said servant began to sway on his feet. Just as he fell, however, strong arms caught him. A strip off the royal tunic soon made for a bandage, and Merlin found himself facing the obstruction while steady hands supported him from behind.
"Just get us out of here, you buffoon."
"Yes, sire."
Once the way was clear, Arthur immediately stepped out from behind the blockage. Sir Leon also stepped forward.
"Sire, are you alright? We couldn't see anything after the assassin blocked the way," the Knight asked. Though he addressed the King, he eyes were scanning Merlin up and down for injuries.
Arthur looked at Merlin, before asking:
"What happened father?"
Uther looked at the sorcerer. The boy – the monster – who had fooled them all. The monster – the boy – had saved his life. Merlin looked at him with a mixture of fear, acceptance and sorrow. Sorrow not for the threat of execution, but for the bloody path Uther had chosen to walk. That Uther's pain had turned his love to hatred.
"Father? What Happened?"
For the first time in a long while, Uther had no idea what to say.
Arthur had always wanted to see the future. Knowing what could happen could only be a good thing, right?
As he stood in the Crystal Cave, watching as Merlin trembled under the weight of his knowledge of what was yet to come; he decided maybe ignorance really was bliss.
Arthur lay in bed in the middle of the night. Awake.
The Druid boy had forgiven him. Embraced him, even. The restless spirit had found peace and Elyan was himself once more. Camelot was at peace.
But Arthur could still hear the screams. So he lay awake, trying to chase away shadows.
The Druid boy had forgiven him. But he had yet to forgive himself.
A very old man stood in the ruins that were once Camelot. The tide of centuries and relentless march of Progress had torn it down, until all that was left were the foundations, still solid and reassuring to one who had seen both its rise and its fall. He held in his hands a faded scrap of material, too dull for the eye to see its original appearance, though if you looked closely, you would perhaps make out a strong, proud neck; a flared wing; a flash of red and gold.
A breeze picked up, pushing gently against the ancient figure, coaxing a tired chuckle from him.
"Not yet," he muttered, "Soon. But not yet, the magic's not quite faded completely."
Sighing deeply, he smiled, blue eyes twinkling.
"But then, you never were that patient, were you?"
The breeze blew stronger. The grin widened as he shook his head.
"…Prat."
That first one is a fully-fledged fic just waiting to happen. If anybody wants me to expand on it and write the full story, you need only ask. You can actually ask for any of them to become full stories if you want. For the 'trapped' one, I kind of wanted you to assume it was Arthur with him, rather than Uther. Did it work? Or was it just confusing? Probably the latter. Sorry =S
Next time could be a mixture of humour and heartwarming. Or do you want some angst? Let me know and thanks for reading! =D