A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

53. Chapter 53

Merlin truly was a spiteful person, Arthur was thinking with a touch of bitterness, as he also glared at the boy that was turned away from him. After the results of what had happened back in the council meeting, it was almost enough to make Arthur regret that he'd gone ahead and switched the favors. If only to save him all the trouble and grief that had been caused afterwards.

"She's not my girlfriend." Arthur growled, the kind that was deep and rumbly and came from the back of his throat, as he reached up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. This aching headache of his was very familiar, of course it was, he always seemed to get a headache when he talked to Merlin. "She is some random girl I just met. Besides, it wouldn't exactly be proper for us to be anything more, as I am a married man!"

As if Merlin needed reminding of it. Arthur just felt as if it needed to be said and pointed out, but he was still trying to work through his anger, still trying to make sense of it all that was happening. Was Merlin really such a bitter and awful person, that he'd gone this far, to just completely destroy and shatter his reputation in what seemed like mere minutes, even though the council meeting had lasted much longer than that. And maybe Arthur was just trying to make some excuses, to bat away what Merlin was accusing him of, now that the tables were starting to turn onto his own earlier actions instead of what had been happening in the chambers.

Merlin let out a laugh, a kind of scoffing and bitter laugh that wasn't really a laugh at all, it disturbed Arthur long before the boy had even turned back around to face him, "You're married?" Merlin asked with sarcasm in his voice, the cold and apathetic tone he'd been talking to Arthur with, driving him up the wall with it actually, had given away to something that could only be described as pure heat. "It might just be me," he said sarcastically. "But you sure don't act as if your married, if there wasn't a ring on my finger and everybody has been addressing me as 'consort' I wouldn't even know it myself." He held up his hand to indicate the ring on his finger, shining and gleaming just as it had the day he'd gotten it. Arthur had to resist the urge to tuck his own hand behind his back lest Merlin notice that he wasn't wearing his own, hadn't worn it since he took it off during the second round of matches. Luckily though, Merlin seemed to be on to much of a tirade to notice Arthur's distinct lack of ring. "And yet you just go on around, carrying her trinkets for all the world to see!" Merlin didn't even know who thr hell this girl was, or what she was bloody thinking offering something to a married man. But he sure as hell knew that he didn't like her one bit. "Especially, since I gave you my own so it's not like you were going out there without one!"

Merlin finally seemed to stop screaming at him, the cold way he'd been dismissing his 'husband' earlier had evaporated completely to make room for his anger.

Arthur couldn't take it, and he slammed his hand back onto the table, coming 'this' close to snatching up his tin can with his quills and just throwing it at his head. "It was an embarrassment!" He shouted at Merlin, not willing to just stand there and let this boy yell at him. He was Arthur Pendragon, the prince of Camelot and next in line for the throne. He was the one in charge. Who exactly, was Merlin to challenge that? "Why on earth had you given me such a thing!"

Maybe Arthur was looking for an answer that was more than 'I love you.' He hoped that the answer wasn't the most obvious one that he had been stuck on ever since he'd had that red cloth tied around his bicep. That there must have been a reason for all of this. Merlin must had given him the neckerchief for some obscure reason that he hadn't figured out yet, and that Merlin's deciding to get his revenge by orchestrating this entire mess just because Arthur had rejected it...rejected him, was just some messed up dream.

But this wasn't a dream.

And Merlin's answer wasn't the one that the prince had been hoping for.

Merlin turned his head away as his cheeks colored, he really should have known that his neckerchief wouldn't be good enough for a man like Arthur, "It doesn't matter now, does it?" His voice cracked in the middle before he cleared his throat. All Merlin had wanted was his neckerchief because the blonde didn't deserve to have what he once considered his most prized possession, he didn't exactly own much. But if Arthur was planning to die since he seemed to have no concerns about Valiant running around, he wasn't going to allow the prince to think what he had done was okay. It wasn't. And he wasn't going to just wonder about on which dusty drawer Arthur had shoved his neckerchief into while Arthur ignored what was going on right in front of him. "I've already got my answer." He finished as his voice went cold again. As if he was just trying to put some distance between him and Arthur, and their fighting.

It wasn't the answer that Arthur had been wanting, the one that he'd been dreading, but the flushed cheeks were pretty telling. It was just so frustrating to have Merlin in front of him like this, to hear his voice talking in a way that was most definitely un-Merlin like. It was incredibly annoying, and Arthur seemed to realize something as well.

There was no point in pretending as if this conversation was completely blindsiding him. He'd known that it was coming even before he'd agreed to Lady Clarissa's switch, Merlin wasn't the type to just let things go. Merlin was in love with him, that was more clearer than ever, and it was up to Arthur to put a stop to it before it got even more out of hand then it already was.

"Did you really expect a different one?" The blonde demanded, putting one hand on his hip and throwing out the other. "Or did you really expect you could just give me that... that thing! And then think that we'll just be what? Together afterwards?"

In Arthur's eyes, the neckerchief had been like a signal to everyone else. A sign to the entire kingdom that Arthur was spoken for, it was a declaration to make sure that there was no doubt in anybody's mind exactly who Arthur belonged to. Merlin wore the stupid thing everywhere he went, so it wouldn't be to hard for people to connect the dots.

It had also made Arthur feel as if he'd been chained up, as if he was just a dog that Merlin had collared in an attempt to keep him right where he belonged. Rather Arthur had agreed to it or not.

Merlin's eye's seemed to go solemn and dull, the life that Arthur was accustomed to seeing in them practically gone. "I wasn't expecting anything." He said quietly, reaching one hand up to rub at his other arm, awkward. He had never exactly done this whole 'talk' before, he'd hadn't been expecting to explain himself over a simple offer. "I was just making you an offer..."

An offer where they wouldn't be so lonely, an offer where they could at least learn how to work together. An offer where maybe...they might be able to find some kind of common ground between them, that one thing they may be able to bond over and grow their little relationship. But Arthur clearly wasn't even interested in trying and at this point...Merlin didn't even know why he'd bothered in the first place.

Arthur ran his hands through his bangs again, really struggling to get out what he wanted to say. Despite what had just happened with the council, this particularly conversation had been a long time coming. Rather Merlin had done all of this to get back at him or not for the favor...it was time that they finally got something out of the way.

"I just want you to know, I mean, I need you to know," Arthur said sternly, sounding stronger than he was actually feeling. "I just don't feel the same way about you that you do me!"

There, it was out in the open now. And there was nothing that Merlin could do to change that. Arthur had already made up his mind about this long before he'd even actually met Merlin. It hadn't mattered who Merlin was, he could have been the greatest guy in the city, no, on the earth! He was still a guy, and that had been enough to curb whatever interest that could have otherwise formed in they had met in different circumstances.

"...Funnily enough, I've figured that out for myself." Merlin said. He hadn't handled the rejection well, but he'd had to stem off whatever flow of tears forming that he hadn't allowed to come out. He'd held everything in so tightly that it was nearly killing him, but he'd had to put his emotions on hold because 'someone' wanted to kill his husband. Which wasn't all to surprising, that might just be the bitterness talking though.

Arthur scowled at the lackluster reaction, he had been thinking Merlin would have had a bigger reaction to him finally rejecting him straight to his face. Maybe like throwing a tantrum to try and force him to change his mind. Maybe throw things at his head while screaming all of the many curse words he knew at him. Or breaking down and crying like a baby cause he seemed like the type that couldn't handle anything. But that just might be Arthur's own anger talking.

Arthur clenched his jaw before he enunciated slowly, just in case Merlin didn't understand quite what he'd said, and maybe he was just trying to force a reaction out of him, "I'm not," he stopped, hesitating over the last word. He had a lifted eyebrow from Merlin in response, looking dismissive and unconcerned, and this just infuriated Arthur who forced him to finish his sentence. "Gay." He said in a hushed tone, as if just the utterance of the word was going to have the Spanish Inquisition bursting in to have him arrested and stoned to death due to the laws of their land. Back generations ago when being gay was also considered a crime punishable by death.

"It's not a bad word you know." Merlin said, as he put his hands on his hips. He just couldn't believe how childish Arthur was being, acting as if he was ten and had just been caught by his father saying his first curse word. "It is okay to say the word. Gay. Gay. Gay. Ga-"

He was cut off by Arthur hissing at him to shut up, honest to god hissing at him. It was almost ridiculous that Arthur couldn't even stand to say the word, as if he thought it was going to cast some kind of curse on him if he dared to.

Arthur clenched his teeth together, rubbing harshly at the small bit of skin that was between his eyebrows before he'd strode forward. Merlin narrowed his eyes as he saw him come closer, not sure if he should be getting ready to run or wait it out and see what he was going to do next. But then the blonde was standing in front of him, looking just a little less angry and a little more awkward.

He seemed to hesitate, and then Arthur was reaching out. Merlin leaned back, but all the prince did was put a hand on his shoulder to give it a very awkward pat. One time, two times, three times... "Merlin," Arthur said to him. "I know it might be difficult, but as I don't want you, nor do I want you to just be wasting your time being infatuated by me," it left Merlin blinking dumbly. "I just need you to tell me what I can do to make myself just a little less desirable to you."

Merlin blinked again, his mouth parted just a bit as he looked at Arthur stunned. What a load of egotistical...Merlin had never heard of something so ridiculous in his life, he had never thought there was a person out there that could think so highly of themselves...it was a contemplative moment for Merlin as he realized just how spoiled and self-centered the prince was.

"Well," Arthur asked, just a little too eager to get an answer for Merlin's taste. "Tell me," he stepped back to sit on the edge of his table in front of Merlin, giving him his full and undivided attention. "What is probably the least desirable trait you find in a man. Maybe I can do it just a few times, to help you get over me."

There was only one real response to that in Merlin's mind, "...Opening your mouth is a pretty good start." Was this really the man that Merlin had just spent a week crushing on, or had he just been blinded because he was desperate to be happy in his marriage.

Arthur scowled, before he started talking to Merlin in a condescending voice, "Now, now, Merlin. I know that this could be difficult, and I am the last person to start talking about our feelings with, we aren't girls after all. But this has clearly gone to far, with the favor and the council meeting...enough is enough. Now, I can understand that it may be hard for you to get over somebody that you love, but-"

"I don't love you." Merlin interrupted, but he was still stunned by all of this. His voice hadn't came out all desperate, like he was trying to hide this embarrassing secret of your crush just tolerating your feelings for him till it became to much. It had came out more 'matter of factly'. Merlin could admit he had been naive enough to have a crush on the blonde, was even disappointed to know that he still felt a brief hint of it having not gone away. Which brought him to an obvious question, how could he still like Arthur after everything he had done? Crushes were the one thing that was supposed to make a person all giggly and happy, or at least that was how Merlin interpreted it from all the times he'd seen the village girl's in Ealdor giggling over their latest crush. He'd never thought a crush could...hurt...so much. But his only saving grace was this: he knew for a fact that he didn't love Arthur Pendragon.

He hadn't know Arthur for to long, hadn't had the proper time to be able to develop those kinds of emotions for him. He knew that love, even if he'd never felt it before-the romantic kind of love that brought about candles and walks in the moonlight and slow kisses being shared in between conversation...Merlin was unable to picture doing any of those things with Arthur. Especially after the conversation they were having. Heck, he wasn't even able to imagine wanting to talk to Arthur ever again after all of this.

Arthur blinked confused, pushing himself off of his desk, "What are you talking about?" He asked. "Of course you do!" Arthur knew that he hadn't been imagining al of the things that had been going around. He knew that Merlin watched him for an uncomfortable amount of time, almost as much as Arthur kept an eye on him. He knew the boy had given him that favor because he loved and wanted him to be loved by him back. And he knew that Merlin had only done all of this 'council' business because he was a lover scorned, and hath have no fury...or however that particular phrase was supposed to go.

Merlin stared at him, "...Pretty sure I don't." It was ridiculous, was Arthur really going to try and start an argument over rather Merlin was in love with him or not? Sure, Merlin had been hoping that a little 'something, something' could be developed between them. But that wasn't love. That was just Merlin hoping he wouldn't have to look at his marriage and see what an utter disaster it was. That was Merlin wanting to find something that could grow into love overtime, and Arthur had been the most obvious choice to do it with as they'd been stuck together.

But Arthur wasn't willing to let this go, wasn't willing to be made a fool of all over again, "Of course you do!" Arthur repeated, convinced that Merlin was denying it probably because he was just trying to save himself some face. Arthur supposed if he had a crush on somebody, he'd be embarrassed about this conversation as well. So he searched his mind for a good example. "Don't you remember just before I went out to fight in the first round's...?" But Merlin just looked at him blankly, making Arthur sigh in exasperation before he was forced to spell it out. "You wanted to...to kiss me...I know you did."

Merlin could feel his cheeks start to color as he realized what Arthur was talking about. It he been back before the tourney had started officially, Merlin had been dressing Arthur in his armor for the first time. It had been just before he'd realized his crush on Arthur, had probably been the main cause for making him realize it himself. But he'd had done a lot of staring at Arthur, and his lips, overdriven by his curious nature to find out what a real kiss between him and his husband would be like. Not just the lackluster one they had shared at their wedding, but a real honest to god kiss. In the end, he hadn't done it because he figured Arthur wouldn't want him to, and he hadn't felt like getting punched in the face if he tried. He hadn't realized that Arthur had noticed him watching...

Merlin crossed his arms defiantly over his chest even as his face burned, "And? What are you going to do about it? It's not like your going to satisfy my curiosity." He said in a challenging way. He was challenging Arthur to try and kiss him, challenging him to prove that he was able to rise up to the occasion.

But this was one challenge that Arthur wasn't going to take the bait to, "Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you?" The prince snapped out. He bet Merlin would enjoy it if Arthur did do it just to shut him up. He'd enjoy it if Arthur just grabbed him by his face and jerked him into a steamy and desperate kiss, no...Merlin would probably like something more gentle and soft but consuming in it's own way. Like a girl would.

"You clearly are thinking way to highly of yourself." Merlin spoke up, his face screwing up in disgust at the thought. If he had any desire for a kiss, it had all but bent washed away by this conversation. But hey, he did know Arthur apparently, enough to know that Arthur wasn't going to try and kiss him. "If you want a kiss so bad, just go find that girl if your desperate. Because you aren't getting anything from me."

And then he struggled. Merlin struggled to keep everything inside of him, not sure how to process what he was feeling. He just had so much anger brewing in him as he finally allowed himself to feel it. He was just so... pissed off, and frustrated, and furious, and every other synonym there was for angry. He also felt...

"Are you jealous?" Arthur suddenly asked him, the lilt of his eyebrow giving off his great amusement. Plus the way his lips had twisted as he said that, giving off a hint of cruelty. As if he would take great pride in seeing Merlin start to crumble in front of him, offended by Merlin's attitude.

Merlin looked up startled as Arthur said the exact word he'd been trying to avoid thinking about. "Jealous?" He repeated, even as this mantra formed in his mind that no, he wasn't jealous. He wasn't thinking about the girl who had given Arthur a favor. He was most definitely not thinking about who she must be, or what made her so special that Arthur had turned him-his own husband-away. She was probably pretty, Arthur seemed like the type that would flounce around the pretty ones. And she would probably be able to give Arthur a decent kiss...she probably knew what she was doing compared to Merlin who would have to flounder his way through it if he ever got the chance. "Of what?"

Arthur took this chance to finally get to one up Merlin, who always seemed to be one step ahead of him rather he liked it or not. Merlin's jealousy was clear to him, there was nobody that he knew who would get mad unless they had something to really get mad about, "That she has my attention." Arthur said cockily, he sounded just like he had the first day they'd met, when he'd been asking Merlin if he knew him after Merlin had dared to call him a friend. "Instead of you."

Merlin's jaw dropped open just a bit at the audacity of Arthur. Alright, maybe it was just a little true. But Arthur didn't have to be so crass as to mention it! "Jealous?" Merlin said hotly, his eye's flaring to life because Arthur had no right to say anything of the sort to him. All of this was because Arthur couldn't stay away from...whoever the hell she was. "Why would I be jealous?" He exclaimed in a loud tone, his last words practically coming out in a shout. "She can keep you, for all I care!"

And when he was finished, Merlin was left breathing rapidly, his chest moving up and down with the anger coursing through his entire body. He also found that he wouldn't mind giving Arthur up, to the dogs maybe, instead of the girl. If Arthur wanted to act like a horndog, then it was only right that he go sleep in the bloody kennel with them.

"Right," Arthur said, a laughing and scornful kind of laugh. He was over pitying Merlin for being in love with him when nothing would be developing between them. And Merlin trying to lie about it, to talk his way out of this...he was firmly ready to taunt the boy with it. He'd deserve it, after the council meeting. "As if anybody would give up a throne just to go back to being some farmer in the middle of nowhere's."

Merlin reeled back away from him, looking at Arthur with a stunned expression. It was truly an awful expression of shock and horror, it was enough to make Arthur come up short as he saw it. It was made all the worse as Arthur finally took note of Merlin's eye's. The boy, he wasn't full out crying but his eyes were wet. It was the late afternoon light that streaming in through the windows that got caught on his eyes, and Arthur could even see that Merlin's eyelashes were damp. Merlin looked as if the blonde had just slapped him.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something to him, although he didn't know what to say. It wasn't like he had said anything wrong, he had never before met somebody that would prefer the life of a farmer over the 'easy'' life that was perceived of for nobility. So, stubbornly, Arthur snapped his jaw back shut, reaching a hand up to scratch at the back of his scalp in a awkward motion.

"Actually," was the first word Merlin said, and it was all soft and quiet. Shaking but held a truth that rung with it. "I would rather be there spending eternity in the farmlands and the fields, then being within one hundred miles of you."

Arthur wasn't sure if he should believe Merlin, the boy had already lied to him just so many times before. About Valiant's assault, and the magic shield...could he really believe that the boy didn't love him as well? Merlin's face was just so real, no hint of deception in it...it was the same trick Arthur had fallen for when he'd believed Merlin the first time. He'd believed him because of Merlin's honest expressions, and he could feel himself falling for it all over again. If he was to be believed, then Merlin really didn't love him...he tried to make his excuses anyway as he put that out of mind, getting back to their original topic.

Anything was better than arguing over rather or not Merlin was really in love with him.

"Your...the neckerchief." Arthur said, he didn't wanting to dignify it by calling it a favor. "Did you seriously expect me to wear it?" Because Arthur couldn't see any scenario where he'd willingly walk around with that travesty tied to his arm. It had been bloody awful! That was when Merlin gave him the stink eye, because of course he had been expecting Arthur to go out with it on. Arthur took this as the chance it presented itself, "I'm a prince!"

Merlin just looked at him confused, eye's still damp with tears. Why did Arthur even care to notice it? He should be thrilled that he was so clearly upset. Serves him right for everything he'd put Arthur through.

Arthur still decided to elaborate on what he'd meant, "I couldn't go around with something like that on me!" He exclaimed, talking about Merlin's neckerchief. "So when someone else offered me there's..." he trailed off, he almost felt like a tool when he finished up with what he considered to be a reasonable answer, "I took it."

Merlin looked offended, blinking rapidly to try and force his tears back. Arthur, the absolute fool, thinking that was going to negate what Merlin was feeling, "Well, I'm so sorry!" Merlin said hotly, and before Arthur could accept his apology, he was quick to finish, "So sorry that the only thing I had to give you hurt your oh so very fragile male ego!"

If Arthur had been wanting Merlin to feel as if he was inadequate, as if he just wasn't good enough to be married to a prince, then he'd done a pretty good job of it.

"Why are you so bent up out of shape about all of this?" Arthur demanded as he blew a huff of air out of his mouth. If Merlin really wasn't in love with him, then why did he care so much that Arthur had replaced it. "As far as anybody is concerned, they think the favor I wore was yours! So it's not like anybody else is going to know that they were switched!"

Except for the lady who gave it to you, Merlin thought angrily to himself.

Merlin clenched his fists at his side as he was coming to realize that they weren't exactly getting anywhere. None of this was helping the solution, none of this was fixing what was apparently something that couldn't be fixed.

"And I guess you think I'm supposed to be thankful." Merlin spit at him, feeling the way his eyelashes were sticking together as he'd blinked from the wetness accumulating in his eyes. "You utter prat!" Deciding he was done, and he couldn't stand to be around Arthur for another second more, he turned around and stomped across the room to the door.

Maybe he shouldn't had bothered saying any thing about the favor to begin with. He could have just cut his losses and left the first time Arthur had told him to get out. It would have been loads better than standing here and just listening to excuse after excuse pour out of Arthur's mouth. As if Merlin was going to just be 'thankful' that Arthur had 'oh, so, graciously,' switched up the favors because heaven forbid a prince wear something that wasn't made out of silk.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He heard Arthur calling after him as he reached the door. Make up your mind, Arthur, Merlin thought huffing. You either want me to leave or you want me to stay here so you can come up with more reasons for why he'd done what he had.

Merlin whipped around from his place in front of the door, all righteous fury as he shouted at Arthur, "You don't get to make a fool out of me, and then go acting as if I should be damn grateful for it!"

Was she grateful? The lady that had given Arthur a favor that was so much better than his own. She probably was, she was probably bragging to all her friends about how easily she managed to get the prince to step out on his own husband.

Fuck, it pissed him off so bad, and he just knew that he was going to regret this, but he threw one more question out there, "I heard that you never accept favors." He spat out at Arthur across the room. "So why hers? What makes her so damn special?" And not his. He was Arthur's husband, they had to see each other all the time, but Arthur seemed to be purposely going out of his way to antagonize him.

Arthur rolled his eyes, just completely done with this all. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you, Merlin." Arthur said, not actually giving Merlin an answer to his question. "You need to stop acting as if you're special, because you seem to think I'm cheating on you. But how can I be? We aren't a real thing. We are only here because of our parents, and not a reason more."

It was the first time either of them had really brought up their predicament. The first time that either one of them had mentioned that blasted contract. And Merlin couldn't even argue against it, because for the first time, he was actually right. The only reason Merlin and him were here at all was because of the contract. He hadn't came to Camelot for whatever reason and then fall into a relationship with Arthur naturally, they had both been forced into this. And Arthur's words now searing themselves into his brains-he would do well to remember them.

Merlin was only in Camelot because of his parents signing a piece of paper, practically giving away his soul to the devil, he would do well to remember it. He didn't have any right to be jealous if Arthur was finding comfort in somebody else. What he and Merlin had...it was absolutely nothing but a few words on a piece of parchment tied together with a pair of matching rings.

"I was just trying to make the best out of things," Merlin said solemnly. Was it really so wrong of him to go after his happy ending, so wrong of him to just make the attempt? "If we were stuck together...we could have at least been more than...we are now."

There was really nothing left for Merlin to say after that. And Arthur turned his head away so that he could glare solemnly at the ground beneath his feet. "Lady Clarissa..." the prince said grumbly like. "She's just a girl I met who offered me a favor, so I took it. So she's not exactly special herself or anything either."

Her only advantage had been born with a noble heritage, and of course, being female. Arthur didn't even know why he said that last part, or why he was just trying to make that clear. Merlin may not be special, but neither was Lady Clarissa. Maybe Arthur was trying to placate Merlin so that he wouldn't run to his father and get things started. He'd already disappointed his father enough for one day. The last thing he needed was to be lectured about how reckless he was for all but gambling the kingdom away on a whim.

Thank god Merlin didn't know about the small clause in the contract that would grant Merlin the kingdom if Arthur actually cheated. There was a very fine line that Arthur could tread in this matter.

Merlin wasn't sure if he believed him or not, it

just seemed a little too convenient for Arthur to just happen to run across a woman looking to give away a favor. But either way, Merlin was dog tired. He was tired of their endless arguing, and the fights, and them never actually working anything out. He was tired of being in this castle with no real help getting him adjusted to 'consort life'. He was tired of being helpless to do anything while men like Valiant roamed the grounds. He was tired of...being in this room.

"Just give me my neckerchief," Merlin said one last time, his own weariness dragging his voice down. "And I'll go." There was no point in him being here any longer if nothing was going to get resolved. He finally had his long awaiting favor conversation with Arthur, and all he got out of it was feeble excuses. And Arthur acting as if he'd done no wrong doing what he had because 'Lady Clarissa'-whoever the hell that was-was obviously a much better option than him.

Merlin glanced around the room, ignoring the purple favor slung over the chest, trying to find his own. But nowhere he looked did he see the familiar red of his most favorite piece of cloth. Merlin scoffed under his breath with bitterness, Arthur was probably far too 'embarrassed' to keep it out in the open with all of his other stuff.

Arthur sighed, feeling as if this day had just completely zapped his energy. But whatever, he'll give Merlin back his stupid scarf or whatever it was he called it, and that'll be that. The two of them would just have to have some silent agreement where they pretended that none of this had ever happened.

"I'll give it back," Arthur grumbled, taking a few steps over to where his armor was slung out over his chest. Merlin watched him as he saw the prince picking up the cape and start going through the pockets. Bored and almost agitated at first, and then after a second, his hand was moving a lot more frantic.

"...Don't tell me..." Merlin said slowly as his eyes narrowed in on the sudden frantic on Arthur's face as he seemed to realize that something was wrong.

Arthur winced as his hand came up empty, he knew that he had put the neckerchief into his cape, but it wasn't there any longer. He'd taken his ring out earlier, and it was close at hand inside of his pants pocket if he needed it to keep up the appearance of a 'loving' and 'respectable' marriage. The neckerchief had been in there then, but he'd left it behind with no interest in seeing it. It was gone now, and there was nothing in the pocket at all.

"...It was in here," Arthur said feebly, dropping the cape back onto his chest. He saw that he had no reason to keep digging, it wasn't as if the neckerchief was just going to show up if he kept on.

Merlin's face went blistering red for a second and Arthur was sure Merlin was about going to blow up at him. But at the last second, the boy bit down on his lip as if to keep his spark of rage contained. "She's nothing special, my arse." Merlin said, his voice stiff. Arthur could literally here the sullen bitterness leaking out of it. "You lose mine, but you sure as hell did not lose hers." And he glanced down at the purple favor slung over his chest as if he was trying to prove this fact.

Somehow, Arthur thought, this was so much worse. He had been preparing himself for the yells, for Merlin to just start screaming at him in a jealous rage. Like some kind of bitter old woman who just realized she'd spent the last twenty years with a man only to find that he'd been cheating on her the entire time. Merlin hadn't done that though, even though Arthur could see all of the disappointment and all of the hurt shining in his eye's. Why did it bother him so much? He should just be grateful that Merlin knew better than to yell at him over all of the decisions he made.

And like he would always do when he felt this tug on his heart concerning Merlin, the prince was a man that was going to lash out when he was confronted by his own emotions, "Did you really think I was going to waste my time keeping track of it?" Arthur demanded in a harsh tone. "It was given to me by a dirty peasant boy!"

Merlin didn't move. He didn't flinch, or shout, or try to throw another punch. All he did was stand there and look at Arthur with eyes that suddenly seemed a lot older than he actually was.

One may had even thought, in the moment, that Merlin wasn't even breathing as he was silently musing over what Arthur had just said to him. It was that term again, the one that he had used on Merlin back during the meet and greet. A dirty peasant. That was all Merlin was to Arthur, it was the only thing the prince saw when he looked at him. Just a boy in his ill-fitted clothes that would feel more at home in the middle of a field than he ever would at a banquet. A boy that preferred getting right into the work instead of sending out servants to do it for them. A boy with no...remarkable skills that pertained to what Arthur needed in his life.

Merlin nodded once, even the single motion looked stiff. "You know," Merlin said quietly as his voice hovered in the air between the two of them. "I really do think we could have been something...if you'd only given me the chance." And okay maybe Arthur wasn't gay like he claimed, but Merlin could have been okay with that. They didn't need to have this relationship be romantic to work out, even if that was what Merlin wanted. They could have been friends at least, they could have learned how to work together and all that jazz.

But Merlin didn't think Arthur wanted to have a friendship. He just didn't want Merlin, rather that be a romantic relationship or something far less than that. He didn't want Merlin in his life...period.

Something inside of Arthur seemed to crack until there was nothing there to put back into place. He was just so sick and tired of Merlin being in his room with the guilt tripping about the favor, and all of the lies about Valiant that had brought him here in the first place. The way that he'd claimed Lady Clarissa was his girlfriend when all he'd done was use her for his own means. He was sick of Merlin, sick of him acting as if Arthur was the bad guy here, when all he wanted was Merlin out of his face.

Arthur stomped straight up to Merlin so that he could scream-ironically-directly into his face, loudly and with spittle flying everywhere, "I don't owe you anything!" Because that was what it all came down to essentially. Merlin acting as if Arthur owed him just because they'd gotten the misfortune of being married to each other. Arthur didn't owe Merlin his time, or his attentiveness. He didn't owe Merlin enough to wear his favor just because he wanted him to, he didn't owe Merlin the protection of the crown against unsavory men.

And still Merlin didn't flinch, even with Arthur in his face like he was. He just blinked at him, with no expression on his face. Arthur didn't know if Merlin was upset with him, if he was rightfully pissed off. He had no trace of the earlier tears in his eyes, his expression was just...muted, silently watching Arthur as if to see what his next move would be. It was just so infuriating for Arthur, who wanted to see some kind of emotion out of Merlin. Some kind of clue that indicated Merlin knew what he was saying, that he understood that he could give Arthur all the favors he wanted, he was never going to accept them.

Finally, Merlin spoke but not with any of the anguish Arthur would have thought someone who'd just been undeniably rejected would have, "That was one of the only possessions that I owned, and you lost it."

Merlin had only came to Camelot with a bag full of clothes. Just a few different changes of outfits along with a handful of silver coins in a handmade pouch. And that wasn't just want he'd brought with him from home. That was literally all he owned, everything could fit into the one small bag he had. He even could have stuck his sleeping roll inside of it if he wanted to, instead of tying it to the top.

Arthur looked around, his head frantic and his chest heaving with all of the untamed rage he had coursing through him in the face of Merlin's indifference. As if he was trying to find something to throw at Merlin, but they were already hovering in front of the door so he had nothing within arms reach. Nothing but his own armor and like hell was he going to waste a perfectly good shot with his armor. Merlin's head alone might dent the pristine metal.

So instead, Arthur pointed at his door as he loomed over him and shouted, "Get out of my sight!" It wasn't nearly as satisfying as it may had been to throw something.

Merlin finally stepped away, but it felt less like he was running away from Arthur and more like he was just as done as Arthur was. It felt strangely patronizing, in a way.

"Don't worry, Arthur." Merlin said, putting out his hand and grasping the doorknob. "I won't be bothering you with another gift again. I wouldn't want to embarrass you again." He might be feeling a bit of trauma, because it'd be a cold day in hell before Merlin would ever be able to give Arthur something else without thinking of this moment. "Besides, you would probably just lose that one too."

And then Merlin was throwing his door open, nearly slamming it straight into Arthur's face. It was only as Merlin stepped out and started to close the door, was Arthur able to say something. "I wouldn't want any gift of yours anyway!"

The door clicked behind Merlin with a soft sound, leaving Arthur staring at his closed door. Merlin hadn't even slammed it shut in a fit that would have betrayed the anger Arthur had been trying to drag out of him. He had closed it softly, as if he couldn't be bothered with Arthur anymore.

It strangely enough, made Arthur feel as if he were a child being punished. As if Merlin was somehow punishing him for his discretions. It was, also strange, how deafening the silence now was since he was alone. He had gotten somewhat accustomed to Merlin just making himself at home within his space. And now he was gone...the silence seemed to scream out at Arthur far louder than Merlin had.

X

Merlin didn't go very far. He actually only made it to just outside Arthur's door, where he slumped against the hard oak and let out a shaky breath. Fuck, that had been hard, way harder than he had thought it was going to be.

At some point during their fight, Merlin had closed himself off. In a way that he'd never really done before. He hadn't wanted to give Arthur the satisfaction of seeing him getting under his skin. He hadn't wanted to show him just how much everything had pained him like a shot straight to the heart. He hated feeling this way, for allowing Arthur to make him feel this way.

Now, Merlin wasn't exactly a jealous person by nature. He usually just took things as they came. Somebody else got a sudden influx in money and could fix their leaky roof, congrats Merlin would say. Somebody else managed to get the cute neighbor boy's attention long before Merlin could work up the nerve to be able to approach him himself, alright. He just hadn't been fast enough, no big deal.

But Merlin was finding the jealousy that had been absent all his life. He was jealous, of the girl who'd gotten Arthur to accept a favor. Of the girl who had something that Arthur found lacking in Merlin. Of the girl that'd probably be a much better queen then Merlin could be a consort. He was just so...hurt, and pissed, and angry, all mixed into one big ball of harsh jealousy.

What he wanted to do more than anything was slide down the door and cry himself silly as he mourned what may have been. He was starting to wonder though, just a niggling of doubt that was starting to circle around in his head the more time he spent with Arthur...did he really ever like Arthur at all? Because for real, what was there to like about Arthur at all?

The prince was selfish, and rude, and the most spoiled man Merlin had ever had the misfortune of meeting. He acted as if the sun set on him at night and only rose so that it could greet him in the morning. He wasn't all that smart either, since Valiant had managed to manipulate him so easily into thinking it was Merlin that was the liar.

So...what was there to actually like about him? Maybe Merlin didn't actually like Arthur per say...maybe he was just more interested in the 'idea' of Arthur. Arthur seemed like his only option for love, since they were already married. For so long, Merlin had wondered if he'd ever be able to find love, like his parents had before tragedy ripped them apart. But he had a secret that was just to large, so he had to be more aware of certain things. Maybe it had closed him off to those around him more than he wanted to be. But he still wanted to be loved, and if he'd met someone he would be willing to share his secret with, then that meant he trusted them with not only his own heart, but with his life as well. It would almost take nothing for this mystery lover of his to betray him, going straight to the king before Merlin even realized what was happening.

... He couldn't see Arthur being that guy. One could argue that it was just too soon to tell, it hadn't been long enough for them to have formed that kind of bond. But Merlin was starting to have his doubts, he didn't think Arthur was ever going to be the kind of man he could tell all of his secrets to. But what else had he'd expected from the son of the man who killed his people?

Merlin stood outside of Arthur's door as he contemplated his life choices and what he'd possibly done to end up here. And as he did this, he also found that he was hating himself.

He hated himself because despite this ache in his heart caused by Arthur, he just wasn't ready to let go yet. He was still clinging onto the little hope he still had that everything was going to work out in the end. That Arthur was this fantasy man in real form, the one man he had hovering like a shadow in the back of his mind that he'd been subconsciously looking for all of his life.

Maybe it wasn't fair to put all of his hang-ups and hopes onto Arthur, who was just this one man and not the person Merlin wanted him to be, but it was there all the same. And Merlin was in no way ready to put all of his childish daydreams to rest quite yet.

But he didn't know what to do about fixing his problems either. With Arthur, or with that Valiant. He just felt so...helpless, and down on his luck. He would probably never get the chance to make things right between Arthur and himself. Arthur was going to die soon all because he didn't believe Merlin when he said Valiant was trying to kill him...nobody believed him.

Merlin took one glance towards his bedroom door and left down the stairs instead. It was still pretty early, the sun hadn't even started to dip over the horizon yet. All he needed was a quiet place, somewhere he could just sit and think...somewhere where there was no Arthur or favors or Valiant hanging about.

As he left, Merlin only vaguely noticed that there still wasn't a guard on duty.

X

Merlin hadn't been going there originally, he honestly didn't know where he had been planning to go. He just knew he wanted to be somewhere alone, somewhere he wouldn't be found if people even bothered to look for him, if they even noticed he was gone in the first place.

That was how Merlin ended up at the cave where the dragon was being held captive. He hadn't came to see the dragon since that one time many weeks ago. He hadn't even been married to Arthur just yet. He didn't know why he hadn't been back to see the dragon, maybe he just hadn't liked what he'd been told the last time.

About Albion, and how it was Merlin's great 'destiny' to help Arthur create this land where all the great kingdoms were united under one banner, Arthur's. He still didn't get it, and he couldn't picture a world in which Arthur-who was already so spoiled and self-centered on his own, could become such a great king. His head was already big enough with just one kingdom, let along having all five of the great nations allied behind him.

That was something that had never before been done in all of history. Sure, all of the different kingdoms had their allies and their treaties and worked together. But those were liable to break and be reforged with new ones as the centuries passed over time. And at least one of the kingdoms was always at war or having 'troubling times' with another one of the kingdom's at any given time.

Merlin had been quick to put all of that out of mind. He'd had his own problems to worry on let alone whatever crypticness a talking dragon had been spouting at him. But the least Merlin could tell him was that this whole thing wasn't going to work. How was Merlin supposed to help Arthur if the man couldn't even be bothered to listen to him? How was this 'Albion' supposed to happen if Arthur was unable to see what was right in front of him?

It wasn't dark yet so the guards that had been there the first time Merlin had gone down here was nowhere to be seen. With his new unlocking spell, Merlin was able to undo the brass lock that was held over the door to keep people out during the day.

It was just as dark and foreboding as it had been the first time Merlin had been down there. But he ignored all of this, practically jumping down the stairs two at a time to get there faster. The faster he got this over with, the faster he could put everything behind him. He only stopped long enough to snatch up one of the torches in the bucket at the foot of the stairs and with a flash of his golden eyes, the edge was caught with a roaring fire.

He would need the light as he made his way down into the tunnels, keeping the torch high above his head to light the way. It only took a few measly turns, and then he was there. In the darkness of the abyss, he was standing on the very edge of a cliff that he had no way of knowing how deep it was. One slip and he may be free falling straight to his death which may not be such a bad idea right about now.

After a minute, Merlin realized that there was no dragon in the cave. Or at least none that he could see. Merlin held up his torch a little higher, trying to see deeper into the tunnels. But all that did was make the light bounce off of the cave walls, casting shadows off into every little direction. But still, he saw not tail nor hide of the dragon he'd come looking for.

"Where are you?" Merlin called out into the cave, waving his torch this way and that way to get a full view of the cave. But the cave was too deep, too massive, for him to see all the way through. It would have to be, being that it was supposed to house an actual live dragon...a talking dragon...Merlin had never considered before that the dragons he had heard in childhood stories could talk. Maybe it was just this dragon who was different, who was special...like Merlin was 'different' and 'special'.

But no matter, Merlin hadn't came here to ask the dragon about the biology of his species... or what was left of said species after Uther had rid the world of them.

"I just came here to tell you..." Merlin called out again into the empty cave, hesitating as he hoped the dragon would have revealed himself by now. But no cigar, the dragon still made no move to come out from wherever it was hiding at. So he continued on, hoping that maybe the dragon could at least hear him from wherever it was he was at, "What you think my destiny is, whatever you think it is that I'm supposed to do...you've got the wrong person!"

Merlin was always the wrong person, always had been and always would be. He wasn't fit to be the son of the kind Hunith because he was a bastard whose father hadn't seen fit to stay. He wasn't fit to be a sorcerer because he had no idea what he was doing, he had trouble casting spells when just doing things on instinct came so much easier for him. He wasn't fit to be consort because the first time he'd actually been asked to be 'Consort' and to be heard, he had screwed everything up. It wasn't right for him to be in Camelot at all, if all he could do was make a bigger mess out of things...he wasn't exactly fit to be Arthur's husband either. Not with everybody always reminding him of his common status, and this meant that he wasn't good enough for the prince.

The guard who had tried to challenge him to a duel because he didn't know he was the consort. The kitchen matron who had called him a thief simply for wearing what had been given to him. Valiant, who clearly thought him being a peasant was grounds for assaulting him, with no fear of the consequences one would usually face by attacking a member of the royal household.

And still, the dragon didn't come out. Well then, Merlin thought bitterly. Not even the bloody dragon wanted anything to do with him. Fine then, at least nobody could say that Merlin hadn't at least tried to tell the dragon that all of this was just to much for him, that he wasn't this other person that the dragon was really looking for.

He was just a boy who had the misfortune of being born with magic in a world where that was considered a sin punishable by death. It wasn't him, this...this other side of the coin that the dragon was looking for.

"That's it." Merlin called out into the abyss as one last ditch attempt to get any attention from the dragon. When nothing happened, he started backing away to the tunnels, there was no point in him being down here at all if the dragon wasn't going to come out of hiding. "Goodbye!"

This was going to be the last time Merlin came down here. He was going to put all that the dragon said to him out of mind, about him and Arthur being connected in some strange way that he didn't understand yet, about the prince being the one person that could unite Albion...none of this was real. It was probably just the dragon trying to have some fun with him, taking pleasure in getting Merlin's hopes up about finally discovering the reason that 'he' of all people, a simple farmboy, had been gifted magic from birth. It was probably really boring down here after all, with nothing but the cave walls and the bugs to keep you any company.

Merlin turned around to leave, knowing that this had all just been one big wasted trip and a fool's errand as he had been trying to find some kind of clarity, an answer for everything he was having to endure...Merlin hadn't even made it to the tunnel before he heard the wind as it picked up, ruffling his hair and his clothes. He heard the sound of the chain that held the dragon prisoner rattling from some place behind him.

Then he heard the dragon's voice, "If only it was so easy to escape one's destiny." He was sounding old and wise, as if the dragon had lived for more eons than Merlin would ever be able to see. And it was this kind of age that Merlin needed to talk to, to get some kind of perspective on why this was his life.

Merlin was quick to turn around, eye's wide as the torchlight flickered. He had almost been considering that his first encounter with the dragon was nothing more than some kind of dream. But no, there the dragon was now, landing with careful claws onto one of the old rocks that jutted out of the cave wall right across from Merlin. The torchlight made the dragon's scales seem to shine, and his green eyes seemed to shine with mirth and rising amusement.

As if Merlin's entire life wasn't uprooted and problematic.

"So," the dragon spoke with what seemed to be the hint of a smile forming on his face, it didn't seem possible for a dragon to be able to smile, but there it was. "How is your marriage to the young Pendragon fairing?"

Merlin swallowed hard before he carefully moved closer to the edge of the ledge that he was on, holding the torchlight as high as he could above his head to get a better look up at the dragon, "Well, I haven't killed him yet, so that's a good sign." Merlin said with a weary tone. "But I swear, each day I'm getting closer to it."

Each day just made it seem as if his life was getting worse and worse. With his marriage, and the favor, and Valiant, and Arthur...it all added up to an uncomfortable degree. Most anybody probably would have broken by now to be talked to with such disrespect, but not Merlin. He already felt like a failure, there was no reason he should add murderer to the list by finally deciding to off Arthur.

The dragon laughed at his misery, all breathy and amused. Figures the dragon would find all of this amusing, when Merlin himself was definitely not amused. "All is going well then, I see." The dragon said in a dry tone as his laughing quieted.

Merlin shook his head, he had no time for the dragon or his cryptic ways. He had only came here to try and get some answers, answers he had been searching for his entire life, and the only one who could answer them was the mythical talking dragon, "Please," he called up to the dragon as he stretched his arms out on either side of him. "Arthur hates me, how is it my destiny to protect somebody who just despises me!"

That much had been made clear to Merlin. It wasn't like he had done anything to the prat, other than existing. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Arthur that he'd hated him the moment he arrived in the city.

The dragon, with all of his infinite wisdom and sage advice, told Merlin, "A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole. Very soon, you shall learn that."

Here they go again, the dragon was talking about half's and wholes, and Merlin could only assume he was talking about Arthur and himself. It was the whole 'two sides of a coin' all over again. Which was actually no help at all to his current dilemma. He had came here for help, not for...whatever this was.

"Great." Merlin said, throwing one hand down to hit at leg, the only reason he didn't do the other hand as well was because he needed it to hold the torch. "Just what I needed, one of these riddles of yours."

Why couldn't he just get a straight answer to anything? He had Valiant that was lying as if he was as skilled as any snake charmer who was able to use tricks of the trade to get the snake into dancing. He has Uther breathing down his neck over his perceived failures as Merlin unwittingly proved him right by being looked at as a burden. He had Arthur who was willing to believe everybody under the sun even as they lied straight to his face, as it was apparently too hard to trust him-the one person who was actually telling him the truth. And he now had the dragon...why had he thought the dragon would be able to help him, again?

It wasn't as if he had told him anything more than more half-arsed riddles the first time, it only made sense that he would continue on the trend.

The dragon lowered it's long neck and large head so that he was more eye leveled with Merlin before he said, "That your own path as well as Arthur's which lay together, forever intertwined, is but the truth."

Merlin stared at him because...what? He'd already known that him and Arthur were just 'lucky' enough to be tied together for the rest of their lives. The ring on his hand was proof of this, and their wedding was forever stained in his memory. But the dragon had sounded as if he was talking about more than just holy matrimony. He was talking about something that was much older, ancient...and Merlin was almost scared to discover the truth.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Merlin asked with disappointed trepidation. He had been expecting, hoping, for something a little more. The way the dragon had spoken, it had made what feel like his very blood sung. As if this was something that he had been meant to know from the start. And he hated it simply because Arthur was also involved in it. He'd been looking for answers all his life, of course his luck would include the one person who'd hated him into it.

"You know, young warlock." The dragon said, gazing down at him with intelligent shell green eyes, making Merlin frown. Warlock? It had to be the first time somebody had ever called him a warlock. He had always used the term sorcerer himself, it was the more common name for those with magic. But warlock had a different meaning. It meant a magical person that was powerful, somebody that had a kind of strength that few had. It was only the most powerful sorcerer's in the world that would get granted the title of 'warlock'. And him? He wasn't nowhere near that powerful. He was just...Merlin, just Merlin. Sure, he could do things that other people couldn't but...he'd never thought of himself as powerful before, "This is not the end." The dragon continued to talk over his raging thoughts. "It is only the beginning."

Merlin could feel his frown deepening and his eyebrows furrowed together to show off his confusion. Beginning? The beginning of what exactly? It had sounded ominous, as if there was something foreboding about the future that only the dragon was aware of. Maybe it was just his own paranoia, the dragon could have literally meant anything. This was just the beginning of...his marriage? Was Merlin expected to have a life filled with upsetting moments induced by Arthur? This was just the beginning of...his foray into the world of magic that he'd always been apart of, but had also only ever been on the fringes? His uncle had given him his first spell book, he had only just begun to really study it, and had yet to crack even a fraction of what was inside. This was just the beginning of...Albion?

But from what Merlin had seen of Camelot, of Arthur, it didn't seem real. He had a rough time believing that 'Arthur' was this other half of the coin the dragon talked about. The one half that was supposed to make him into a whole.

There was the sudden harshness of returning wind that appeared inside the stiff cave, the air damp and cold, that ruffled his hair and clothes all over again. The dragon had started to flap his wings and looked as if it was ready to take off, leaving Merlin behind with all of his many questions that never got answered.

Why was Arthur the other side of his coin?

Why was Arthur the one who could unite the lands?

Why was Merlin destined to help him?

Why had the Old Religion gifted 'Merlin' of all people with her natural abilities?

"Wait, wait, please!" Merlin begged up to the great beast. He nearly fell over the edge of the ledge in his haste to stop the dragon, and had to scramble back before he could fall to his doom. He could hear the sounds of small stones that had dislodged out of the cliff's edge bounce their way down into the dark of the deep below. He spit out the first thing he thought of that may just get the dragon's attention before he could leave, "Uther believes that Arthur can become a king that will lead us into the golden ages!"

Merlin was talking, of course, of his long and painful conversation with the king after the meet and greet, when they had stood out on the balcony. The king had said many things to him that night, but one of them had been how he truly believed that Arthur had the potential to become one of the great kings of legend. He wondered if Uther still believed this after the shit-show that had just occurred.

To his amazement, the dragon's wings, all veiny underneath and covered in scales on top, started to slow down until they stopped all together. It appeared that the mention of Uther's name had been what caused it to crease it's attempt to leave. And there was an emotion in the creature's eyes, but Merlin couldn't tell what it was. Was it anger? Or it might just be a deep contempt? He didn't know, but if the dragon wasn't going to leave quite yet, Merlin was going to take a chance to get an answer-any answer.

Merlin licked his lips and continued on, "The way he was talking...it sounded a lot like what you said that first time, about Arthur being the one to unite the lands." Which, now that Merlin was thinking about it, wouldn't that be considered world peace? Or at least the peace of their country, since the great space of their country was broken up into five great sectors. Something like that was essentially unheard of, it was something that people only dreamed about. And what about his people, what would happen to those with magic? All of the great lands had their own ways to deal with magic. Camelot was by far the worse as they executed those who were even accused of it in an attempt to get rid of it. Then where he came from, Cenred's kingdom, he'd had to stay hidden or he'd had been taken, forced to use his magic how Cenred wanted him to, by fighting for him and whatever pointless war he was trying to start up. Bayard's kingdom was the kindest by far, giving people with magic trials and determining if they should be executed for how they used their magic, or if they should be banished for having it. Either way, they wouldn't be allowed to stay within the country. The other two Merlin was unsure of, but he had heard that they weren't much better with their treatment of magic users. It was unfair to know there wasn't a single safe place for his kind to go, unless you counted the Druid hideouts in the woods. But one had to know where they were going to find those, Druid's were secretive and stuck out of the way to not attract any attention. "How do you know," Merlin tried one of his questions on the dragon. "How do you know that Arthur will be the one to do it?"

The dragon seemed to contemplate rather or not he should tell Merlin anything, and right when Merlin thought he was going to take off and leave him behind, the dragon finally gave a great nod of his head. "Very well," he said. "I know all of this because it had been written in the stars long before the two of you were even born."

If Merlin thought he was going to get any answers this way, clearly there must have been something in his drinking water that had made his brain addled. Written in the stars? It wasn't exactly clear, none of this was clearly understandable to him. It was just one big ball of utter nonsense! "What does that mean us being written in the stars?" Merlin asked urgently, trying to make sense of things.

Written in the stars, that sounded romantic or destined for each other. But how could that be possible, when all they've done since the day they've met was argue and fight. It hadn't exactly been what he'd considered a 'match made in heaven' between the two of them.

"Us dragons have the knowledge of being cursed with the gift of foresight." The dragon explained. "It's not exactly like being a seer, it is seers who sees things that will effect them. Their gift sends them a warning in the form of dreams, of troubling times to come. Dragons are different, we are able to read the stars to decipher what is to come, and all of the many different possibilities certain outcomes will bring with it."

Merlin didn't like this, all this future talk. He didn't even know what he wanted to have for dinner, and yet the dragon was clearly talking about something so much more. Something that was...final. "What have you seen in the stars then?" He asked quietly, he was almost sure that he most definitely didn't want to know. But still, he found himself asking this question without his own permission.

"I have seen much," the dragon spoke up to his inquiries "I am old, and know many great things. The stars themselves had spoken to me and I have seen it all. Every prediction is different, everything changing subtly and it is always worse than the last. I have seen total destruction, and chaos. I have seen magic as it dies and breathes it last, I have seen as our kind is ripped from the earth by those who do not understand us. It is...cruelty, as our kind is being destroyed even as we speak. And it is like I said, this is only the beginning. Things are going to become a lot more concrete in the next few years to come."

Merlin knew what the dragon meant when he referred to 'us'. It wasn't just Merlin and the dragon, it was all magic users. Merlin was shaking, not able to comprehend such destruction of this magnitude. His uncle, back when Merlin had first met him, had told him how Uther tried his hardest to eradicate magic and all that holds it, from the tiniest of creatures to the strongest of sorcerers, not a single aspect would be safe. But this was something else entirely, this was the total extinction of an entire race of people, the Old Religion and all those that follow it would be gone forever.

Merlin didn't know much about the Old Ways, but he did know how important it was. He'd been able to feel it for as long as he could remember, the magic in the air and the trees and the leafs. Magic was everywhere, rather people wanted to acknowledge that or not. It was a lot more...stiffer, though, in Camelot. It wasn't that noticeable but Merlin could pick it up when he was alone at night, trying to get some sleep and all his mind could do was try to wander. It was as if magic itself could feel that it's mere presence in Camelot was going to be a danger, and hid itself from the king's sight.

But only sometimes, because Merlin hadn't even realized what it was until now. Why he'd try to sleep only to feel this emptiness in his soul, as if something was screaming for him to help it...magic itself was in danger. And to think, he had been thinking he was starting to get homesick. Magic was still there though, it was hiding just out of view so it wasn't like it was a constant scream. It's presence was still vibrant in the wind, if one was only magically inclined enough to feel it.

"What can I do to stop it?" Merlin asked in a dreading tone of voice. Magic was...it was everything to him. It was beautiful and could be innocent and playful, it was really the only thing he could do. And to see it gone away from the world because of ignorant people, it wasn't a world Merlin wanted to live it.

The dragon lifted his wings as if he was about to take flight, the wings arching so high that they almost touched the sides of the cave. "Isn't it obvious?" The dragon asked in a mildly amused tone, as if they weren't just talking about the eradication of something that was so...pure, if only people would stop using it for their own evil purposes. Magic needed to be treated right, if one wanted to wield it properly.

Merlin stared at the dragon, "...Maybe a little hint?" He asked awkwardly. If he could do his part, just a little something to make the world a better place than how he found it, well then sign him up. He wasn't willing to see anymore magic being destroyed, the execution of that one man when he'd first arrived hadn't been something he ever wanted to see again.

The dragon let out a breathy laugh, "The prophecies of old do enjoy being quite odd. It likes to be a little poetic, I do quite enjoy what Uther's face will look if he knew his son's own destiny. He was quite right that Arthur will be a great king, but if only he knew what I knew on the kind of king he can become."

Merlin stared at him blankly, not really sure what this had to do with anything, "...What does that even mean?"

"Out of the thousands and millions of the old prophecies, predictions, that I have seen over the eons, I have only seen one prediction that has the desired outcome." It was the one he had seen where magic roamed free without prosecution, where the creatures of old were reborn and returned to grant good fortune to those who deserved it. It was a time where one wouldn't have to live in fear for simply existing, just because they had felt the call of magic that precious few ever truly felt.

Now, that was what Merlin was talking about, it was what Merlin needed to hear. "Tell me that then, how does that prophecy come to pass?" Merlin was almost willing to do just about anything to see that kind of world, the world where Merlin would never have to hide who he was. He could have told people that he'd stopped that witch from killing Arthur on their wedding day because of magic, instead of claiming it was dumb luck that he'd been close enough to shove Arthur aside.

The dragon answered him, "The son of the man that has destroyed magic, is the only one that can restore it. But the decisions he'll make in the future, rather he'll restore magic or destroy it even worse than his own father has, rests sorely on the sorcerer born with magic already in his veins. The one hidden in the shadows, his silent protector."

Merlin stared at him dumbstruck, trying in vain to wrap his mind around what he had just heard, and what it may mean for him, for Arthur...for everybody.

Before Merlin could ask anymore questions, before he could talk this out with the mythical beast in front of him, the air picked us as the dragon flapped his wings. And then he was gone, flying off into the distance high up into the cave above them. The loud rattling of the chain bound to the dragon's foot seemed to be echoing off the cave walls.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted after him, his voice echoing up the chamber in vain. "I still have so many questions! Please!" But either his voice was unable to travel so high up, or the dragon was ignoring him because he never answered Merlin's pleas.

After shouting up the cave for more answers and to come back, till his voice was feeling nearly hoarse with all of his screaming, did he finally leave the chamber.

X

Merlin never made it back to his room, nor did he even make it back to his uncle's for the longest time. He'd left the dragon's cave with a mind full of half-answered questions, weird riddles, and sights of the stars roaming inside his mind, trying to work through what he had just heard.

He only made it as far as the grand staircase that led up to the inside of the castle. He had made himself comfortable by sitting in the far end of the stairs by himself, slumped into the shadows formed by a great statue of some man on horseback. The plaque claimed that it was Arthur's great-grandfather, but that was just a side note Merlin barely noticed.

The sun was getting lower in the sky but not so low that the sky had started to change it's colors. There was still a bit more time left in the day, a bit more time for Merlin to stew in his misery and think about what he was going to do next.

He had his arms wrapped loosely around his legs, resting his feet on the step below the one he was sitting on. He ignored the maids and the soldiers that passed him by-the men ignored him as if he wasn't even there, while some of the maids who recognized him gave him a curious look. Then there was the very low whispers when a small group would pass him by, giving him looks that indicated they were talking about him.

Merlin just knew they were discussing what had happened in the council meeting. Those that were in the council chambers weren't just members of the council who had been sworn to secrecy of what happened within its walls. It had been less formal and more open towards those interested in watching, and it was clear that the news had spread.

Merlin didn't saw a word to those people, he barely even acknowledged that they were there. That was the thing about Merlin. When he was in his normal mood, he was talking up a storm, his mouth running faster than his brain could keep up with. But when he had an actual problem, he was as silent as the dead was. He didn't utter a word, he was far more comfortable sticking to himself and trying to think of a solution for all of his problems. That was the easiest way to tell Merlin was in this dark mood.

'The son of the man that has destroyed magic, is the only one that can restore it.' He was musing over the prophecy the dragon had told him. Forget about Valiant, and Arthur not believing him, or acting as if he'd done no wrong by switching his favor, acting as if it was somehow Merlin's fault. He had some more important things to think over right now.

-The son of the man that has destroyed magic-this clearly indicated Uther and Arthur Pendragon. Uther was known for all of the destruction on magic, the key crusader to rid the world of it forever. The man that had been executed when Merlin had first arrived was only the first that he'd witnessed, but it wasn't the first by a long shot. Hundreds of men, women, and even children had lost their lives to the king's ruthlessness. Many magical creatures just like the dragons had all but been eradicated from Camelot's boarders, or would be the second they were caught.

And obviously, Arthur had to be the other member of this line, being Uther's son and all...unless Arthur had a brother he didn't know about. That might actually be one thing he should find out. It would just be so much easier if Arthur had a brother the prophecy meant, someone who was gallant, and brave, and the kind of man that came straight out of legends. Someone that wasn't Arthur bloody Pendragon.

-is the only one that can restore it-now it was this line that had Merlin baffled. His husband was the son of the man that destroyed all of the magic in his kingdom, or was at least he was trying to since magic still lingered within Camelot's borders. But how was Arthur going to restore magic? Merlin still didn't know for sure what Arthur's personal views on magic were, but he was having trouble believing this wasn't too far off from his father's views.

'But the decisions he'll make in the future, rather he'll restore magic or destroy it even more than his own father' was the next line of the prophecy, and he took his time to muse over this one.

-But the decisions he'll make in the future-he wasn't exactly sure what decisions Arthur'd make that could effect the magic in this land? What right did Arthur, someone with no drop of magical blood in his veins, have to declare anything pertaining to the magic community?

-rather he'll restore magic or destroy it even more than his own father-this was the line that worried Merlin the most. He has already seen first hand Uther's cruelty when he so callously had that man executed. Could the blonde somehow be the answer to fix all that was wrong with the world, to bring magic out of the shadows it had been forced to hide out in just to survive total annihilation. Or was he somehow worse than Uther? How could the prince he knew be wicked enough to be even worse than Uther? Sure, he could see Arthur the bully, and Arthur the jerk who didn't know a good thing when he saw it, but he also just couldn't see Arthur destroying everything. He had a sort of faith that hadn't been destroyed quite yet, that Arthur wasn't this kind of man. And what could Arthur do that was possibly worse than what his father would do? Was he going to finish what his father started, and destroy the final semblances of magic that still hung about?

'Rests sorely on the sorcerer born with magic already in his veins, the one hidden in the shadows' was the next line of the prophecy, and Merlin rolled it around in his head. This line, it was the one that had freaked Merlin out the most. It obviously spoke about him, who else could it be? He was the only one he knew that had been born with magic running through his veins, even his uncle had claimed that he'd never heard of somebody like him before, somebody who had magic before he was old enough to know what magic was, or that it was bad to use lest you got caught.

And now to know that the fate of all magic rested with him? That whatever he did may effect Arthur's decision in some way...not for the first time he questioned why him? Why he was the one chosen, the one destined...him? A farm boy from a small town nobody had even heard of. This was almost worse than being consort, at least he could say he was a consort, even if he wasn't all that good at it. It wasn't like he could go around declaring that he was, how had the prophecy said it...

'His silent protector'. Was that what he was supposed to be? Was that what Merlin's fate, the destiny he'd been looking for, the reason for his magic...was it just to protect Arthur? Is he supposed to stay in the shadows, hidden as the prophecy had claimed, to keep Arthur safe? Safe from what? Sure, the witch at their wedding had wanted to kill him, and Valiant planned on it as well, was there going to be a lot more of these people? Coming out of the woodwork to come after Arthur?

Well, he couldn't exactly blame them, he'd wanted to kill Arthur to. But he also knew that murdering Arthur wasn't the answer. It wasn't going to fix anything, might make things just a bit more worse since he'd be living his life in the dungeons, if he wasn't outright executed.

He wasn't a very good 'silent protector' if he was contemplating over Arthur's death, was he? And how was he supposed to protect the prat if he couldn't even protect him from this person trying to kill him, from Valiant. Crap, it was his head and the pounding in his temples that was starting to give Merlin a headache.

How was he supposed to protect Arthur, help to somehow bring magic back from the deep end of destruction, if he wasn't even able to convince Arthur that his life was indeed, in danger right now?

"...Merlin...?"

Merlin's head jolted up at the hesitant voice as he was forcibly ripped out of his troubling thoughts. He had been so deep into his own mind, so solemn and troubled, that he hadn't noticed Gwen quietly approaching him, she'd caught sight of him as she'd been coming up the stairs. She was looking as frazzled and as harried as Merlin probably looked.

"...Gwen." Merlin said simply, turning back to where he had been looking ahead with this blank expression on his face. He rested his chin into the fold of his arms, tucking his legs closer towards his chest. He wondered if she was here to make fun of him to, to criticize him for thinking such foul things of Knight Valiant or for making up 'false' stories.

Gwen settled down beside him, close enough that their sides could have been touching as she rearranged her skirts to fall over her legs in a ladylike manner. She didn't want anybody to hear what she was saying, she'd been so scared this entire time because all she could think about was what Merlin had said. Merlin had never struck her as a liar, despite what was being whispered about among the court.

The point was...she believed him. And she was worried about what was going to happen to Arthur, to their kingdom if something did happen to him.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Merlin asked sullenly, when Gwen hadn't say anything for the longest time. "Or did you just come here to laugh at the big failure?"

He'd failed to make the court believe him. He had failed because Arthur had lost any faith he had in him. He'd failed at whatever the dragon claimed was his destiny because the prince was going to die because Merlin was failing to protect him.

Gwen looked towards him, biting down on her lip before she followed his gaze out into the distance. She just felt so bad for him, it must have been so hard to come to a strange land and then have all of these expectations put on you. Gwen knew that she wouldn't have survived being put into a position of power like that so suddenly. She was most perfectly happy with her station in life, content to do her work for Lady Morgana before heading to her home to spend her night's with her father.

It was a simple life, a quiet life, but it was her life.

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was, for everything." Gwen said. He'd come all this way just to discover a plot against the prince and was all but laughed right out of the room when he tried to stop it. She sighed as she fidgeted with the ends of her dress, pulling her legs up so that she could lean over them and reach the bottom of said dress. "Not just about what happened with the council, but also about the favor. I feel so guilty, encouraging you to go for it and all."

It was the first time she'd seen Merlin since the whole debacle. And she'd been stewing in her own guilt before this whole Valiant thing had came up, remembering how she and Morgana had practically shoved him at Arthur. If only she'd known then what was going to happen. Merlin may not tell her the truth, and she was content to wait until the consort decided to open up about it, but it was more clear than ever to her that he and Arthur hadn't married for their love.

People in love didn't do what Arthur did to Merlin. They didn't go out of their way trying to purposely hurt the other.

Merlin wanted to laugh, shaking his head as his lips curled into a sarcastic grin when he ducked his head down. He wasn't even worried about the favor anymore, had said everything he'd wanted to Arthur and had gotten it all out of his system. So much had happened since he had his fight with Arthur, the favor seemed almost insignificant when compared to everything else that was going on.