In a land of myths, and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name: Merlin.
Arthur was walking hastily down the corridor of the castle. He stopped a guard in passing. "Have you seen my father?" he said.
"No sire," the guard replied.
"Do you have any idea where I might find him?" Arthur asked.
"I'm afraid not, Sire."
"If you find him, tell him I'd like to speak with him."
"Yes sire."
Arthur continued hastily, Merlin trying to keep up with him. "Where could he be?" Arthur asked impatiently.
Suddenly, Arthur stoppped in his tracks and turned to Merlin. "Merlin, go and ask Gaius if he knows where my father is. I must convince him not to let Sir Valon fight in the tournament. He is much too old, and should be retired. My father has far too much faith in him. I must convince him otherwise, to spare his life. Quick as you can," Arthur said.
"Yes sire," Merlin replied, and then dodged off in the other direction, weaving through the serving girls coming down the corridor.
….
Merlin burst through Gaius's door. "Gaius!" Merlin said.
"What is it, Merlin?" Gaius asked, disturbed yet unsurprised by Merlin's bounding energy.
Merlin shut the door and hastily took a few steps toward Gaius. "The king. Do you have any idea where he is?"
"Well, I believe he's gone down to the vaults."
"The vaults?" Merlin asked.
"Well yes, there have been some reports over the last few nights of strange noises coming down from the vaults. Uther suspects sorcery."
"Sorcery?" Merlin asked.
"Indeed," Gaius replied. "And so he's gone down to investigate. And as I've been told, Uther sent word out for Arthur to go down with him."
"The king is looking for Arthur," Merlin said incredulously.
"Yes," Gaius replied.
Merlin looked up in exasperation. "Fantastic," he said. Merlin turned and hastily left out the door.
"Merlin! What do you want with Uther?" Gaius yelled after him, but it was too late.
…..
Deciding it would be faster to go to Uther rather than run after Arthur, Merlin made his way down to the vaults. "Where is Arthur?" Merlin could hear Uther yelling. "Well then, find him!" Two guards appeared and shuffled past Merlin in their hurry to obey their king's command. Merlin turned the corner and walked down the stairs to find the king standing right outside the door to the vaults, apparently waiting for Arthur.
Merlin cleared his throat. "Sire, Prince Arth–" Suddenly, there was a low rumble and the floor began to shake. Merlin and Uther crouched down to the ground. The rumble got louder as dust started to poor out from small cracks in the ceiling.
Merlin was still standing halfway on the stairs when without warning, the ceiling above him collapsed, and Merlin had just enough time to dodge out of the way and watch the rubble pile up until he and Uther were completely sealed away in the small space between the stairs and the locked door to the vaults. As the dust settled, Merlin began to feel very dizzy, so much so that he lay on the ground on his side with his hands on his head.
Uther chose to ignore Merlin for the moment and began to try to move the rocks infront of him– to dig himself out. After a moment, he grew frustrated and turned to look at the servant angrily. "Do you care to help, boy? My son may be used to your laziness, but I assure you I will not be so kind."
Merlin boldy refused to move and instead stated, "I'm very dizzy, Sire," with his eyes closed.
Uther rolled his eyes and looked at the wall of rocks in resignation. "It is no matter. The guards are well aware that I am here. It is only a matter of time before they dig us out." With that statement Uther turned around and spared Merlin a glance before walking over to the gate and sitting down in front of it. He leaned his head back against the gate and closed his eyes.
For the first 5 minutes, Uther was dreading that the servant might open his mouth, but after awhile he became slightly concerned that the servant was being unusually quiet. He glanced over at the boy and saw that he was in the same position he was in before. Against his better judgment and after quite a bit of hesitation, Uther said, "What's wrong with you? Did you hit your head?"
Merlin opened his eyes and slowly sat up. "No, sire. Just dizzy." He added a short, "Sorry," at the end, for good measure.
"Well, if you didn't hit your head, then why in God's name are you dizzy?" Uther asked, feeling irritated that the boy did not answer his question.
"Gaius says I should eat more," he answered. Uther stared at him for a minute, taking in both his physique and the expression on his face, before looking forward again, the awkwardness lingering in the air.
After minutes of silence, Uther finally spoke again, "Perhaps you would serve my son better if you did." Merlin looked at him in confusion. "Eat more, I mean. You fall over just about everything you see. I've never seen a servant so clumsy."
"Sorry, Sire."
Uther sighed, trying not to feel bad for insulting Arthur's loyal servant. "And yet you are unwavering in your loyalty to my son. You are most devoted to him, aren't you?"
Merlin hesitated a moment before answering. "He is my friend."
Uther looked at him, and they held eye contact while Uther thought that despite the absurdity of the idea that a prince could be friends with his manservant, Merlin believed in that statement, and Uther found that to be endearing. He decided to entertain the idea, despite his doubts. "Then I'm glad. Loyalty for someone like Arthur is hard to come by."
"It is an honor, Sire." Merlin stood to stretch his legs, but was quickly overcome by dizziness once again, and he staggered to the floor, hand to his head.
On instinct, Uther was now by Merlin's side, asking him if he's alright. "I'm fine, just dizzy. Shouldn't of stood up so fast."
Uther couldn't help his sharp tongue. "Yes, that was very stupid of you." Merlin looked up at Uther and Uther could never describe the look that Merlin gave, other than that it was wildly innocent, and wrought with confusion, as if he was trying to understand why Uther had said that.
And yes, it was handsome. Uther suddenly found himself very curious. More curious than he had ever been in his life. He leaned in almost all the way, before he stopped himself. Realized what he was doing. But then Merlin's eyes closed ever so slightly, and Merlin leaned in a bit closer, not daring to go the whole way. Encouraged, Uther kissed Merlin. It was soft, it lingered, it tingled, and it stirred a warmth inside of Uther that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was not lust, but affection.
Hello, everyone. I admit that this chapter is quite barebones, but I just wanted to spit the idea out there. I plan to write more chapters soon about the awkwardness and chaos that ensues between Uther and Merlin, not to mention Arthur. I hope to make this as realistic and canon as possible. I hope you enjoyed. Any suggestions or criticisms are most welcome!
LONG LIVE THE MERLIN FANDOM!
