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The morning had started off about the same as all the others before it. Merlin woke up and rose with the sun, he got Arthur’s breakfast and went to wake him up, he was dismissed for a couple of hours to go back down to the physician's chambers and help Gaius while Arthur was working with some of the knights.
Merlin had already gone out to the forest and collected a couple of herbs for Gaius had been low on, and was in the process of cleaning some instruments and putting medicinal herbs in their proper places. Gaius was packing his medicine bag for a few stops in the lower town he had to make to see some patients.
Both Merlin and Gaius startle when the door slams open with such force that it rebounds back and hits the man standing closest to it, who curses loudly as it hits him in the nose, which then begins to bleed.
The physician sighs and starts clearing his things from the patient's cot and motions for the two men to come over to it, “Over here, and Merlin, take a look at his nose.”
“Already getting some supplies ready for it,” Merlin says.
Gaius just nods appreciatively and returns to examining the other man's wounds. Merlin makes short work of fixing the man’s nose, whose name he found out was Tom. Though what Merlin found interesting was that while Tom was happy to talk about nearly anything, he would immediately clam up about his friends' wounds. After a few insisted, “It was just an accident, that's all!” Merlin let it go and went to help Gaius finish up the other man and just ask him about what he got from him after.
Though it seems that Gaius couldn't get much from that one either.
“He just insisted he had an accident while doing some work in the lower town.”
Merlin can’t help the incredulous look that crosses his face, “He is a woodworker. He looked like someone beat him with a torch, how does a woodworker get those wounds working.”
“They don’t, but that’s all he would tell me.” Gaius shrugs and turns back to his workbench and puts his glasses back on. “If your so curious, why don’t you go look around the lower town until Arthur needs you later. You don’t get time to yourself often, take a break.”
“But what about you? I can-”
“-you can go take a walk through the lower town. I can do this on my own. Now go on,” Gaius waves his hand to the door and turns back to his work.
“Alright, if you’re sure you don’t need me…”
“I am quite sure Merlin, I will have supper ready when you finish with Arthur tonight.”
And so Merlin found himself aimlessly wandering through the lower town. He started pretty far out so that way he could work his way back to being closer to the castle, that way he will be able to get back quickly when he has to go back to work. He’s walked through quite a few alleyways out this far already but hasn’t really seen anything that has caught his eye yet. It’s already been a couple of hours so he’s hoping he’ll find something soon before he has to go back to the castle.
He quickly steps onto a busy walkway. The lower town was bustling with people, all hurrying about to get their work for the day done. He’s looking for anything which might be out of the ordinary. Most people don’t just randomly get injured like that in woodworking accidents, something is going on here.
He grunts when someone impacts with him hard. Merlin spins around with wide eyes, “I am so sorry. I should have been paying better attention to where I was walking. Are you alright?”
The man had stumbled a few steps to the side. He looked at Merlin with a scrutinizing gaze for a few moments before shaking his head. “It's fine, I wasn't paying the most attention either.”
Merlin notes that he seems to be favoring one leg, “ Are you alright? You seem to be injured…”
“I’m fine, thank you though.”
Merlin smiles and nods at the man saying, “Well have a good day,” before he turns away to continue walking in the direction he had been headed. Though this time Merlin was watching where he was walking much more even as he scanned his surroundings for anything that may point him in the direction he was looking for.
Maybe he could check where the man came from? A quick glance behind him shows the man isn’t looking at him, so Merlin ducks into the walkway he came from.
At first glance, it seems like a perfectly normal walkway. There are a few doors along the wall, some with signs on them to presumably lead people to those businesses or various buildings. But when he looks closer, he notices the subtle oddities.
One of the doors without a sign had a small hole at eye level. And next to the door, nearly at the ground, was a strange carving. He had never seen anything like it before, but it was an intricate carving so it must mean something.
The building was large, so there would be plenty of space inside for anything that someone could need. He crouches and leans forward to look at the carving, running his hand over it, trying to remember it so he could show Gaius when he saw him at supper, but then he noticed the feel coming from it. It felt powerful. It felt like magic.
Merlin is definitely going to be investigating this further. He grasps the door handle and twists, hoping it would just open, but it seems that the small amount of luck that he had earlier throughout the day had run out.
Slowly, trying not to look suspicious, he looks around himself. After making sure that the area around him was clear of anyone that may see him, he whispers the spell quickly and smiles when he hears the quiet click of the lock releasing.
When he tries the door this next time, it immediately pushes back to reveal a small room with some shelves around the perimeter and a large door on the far side of the room. He steps inside to look around, but nothing in the room seemed to be out of the ordinary.
He moves in further and sees a shimmer in the air. With furrowed brows, he goes to examine it.
It was almost like a clear, glittering wall, though he could put his hand through it fine. He steps through completely and is startled when shouts and screams suddenly become audible to him from behind the door.
“What is happening in there?” Merlin mutters to himself.
He cautiously moves to the door, ready to defend himself if need be. He opens it quickly and jumps back, holding a hand out in front of him. But no one is jumping out at him to attack. No one is even looking at him. There’s a crowd of people all facing away from him.
Merlin looks into the doorway of the next room curiously. After the large door, it opens up into a large room, but he can’t see much with everyone inside.
A quick look around reveals a chair shoved into the far corner. Once Merlin makes it over there he uses the chair to stand on top of, so that he can see an… arena? There was a near ceiling high fence in the center of the room and in the middle were two fighters, a light-haired man and a black-haired woman. Both wore masks to cover the bottoms of their face and neither had any protective gear besides some leathers and vambraces which were being used occasionally to block some blows. Around the fence, there were at least a hundred people standing around all screaming and cheering.
The fighters are trading blows towards one another when a loud horn blows, the shouting from the crowd increasing to an almost unbearable level. Both fighters stop for a moment before the woman summons a fireball and throws it at the man. The man summoning a burst of wind that blows the fire down toward the ground.
Merlin almost doesn’t believe what he’s seeing, they were fighting with magic? He hadn’t thought anyone would be brave, or stupid enough, to start a magic fight ring in Camelot. And not just anywhere in Camelot, but a twenty-minute walk from the castle.
The fight continues until the woman manages to knock a staggering blow against the man. She looks around at the people surrounding the cage and raises her sword while wisps of fire surround her.
She looks familiar…
When she looks directly in Merlin’s direction, he recognizes who it is, even with the mask covering the bottom half of her face.
Morgana.
Their eyes meet and Morgana’s eyes widen as her stance falters, her opponent taking the chance to try and gain the upper hand over her with a harsh spell throwing her against the side of the cage.
Merlin's feels his heart in his throat as he watches, but remains helpless to do anything. Luckily, Morgana’s opponent doesn’t have the upper hand for long. And in the end, he is laying unconscious on the ground inside of the cage.
The door to the cage opens and Morgana strolls out, people cheering and clapping for her. Though she doesn’t stop for a moment, merely nodding to some in thanks as she beelines to where Merlin is standing.
Merlin quickly gets down from the chair and walks up to her as she gets to the edge of the crowd. She grabs him by the arm and drags him back towards the way he had come in, there were fewer people in that area than where Merlin had been standing.
“What are you doing here?” Morgana asks angrily.
“I was investigating the area, there were some strange injuries that showed up at Gaius’ so I thought I would look and see what was going on. What are you doing here?”
“Obviously you saw exactly what I was doing, and you said before when I told you about what was going on with me that you wouldn’t tell anyone. You can’t tell-”
“-Morgana! You don’t have to worry! I’m not going to tell anyone.” Merlin insists.
Morgana’s eyes narrow. “You’re Arthur’s manservant, why should I believe that you're not going to tell anyone?”
“Because I-” He’s never actually willingly told anyone before, he almost feels sick trying to get the words out. “I…”
“You what?”
Merlin glances around them before pulling Morgana into a nearby room. It turned out to be a supplies closet, but Merlin isn’t exactly very picky when it comes to hiding spots.
“Merlin! What-”
“Just let me show you this, please Morgana.”
“Fine.” Morgana crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently, tapping her fingers along her forearm in a jittering motion.
Merlin cups his hands and brings them to his mouth, whispering the few words that would bring the tiny flame to life in the palm of his hand, harmlessly and painlessly. His eyes light up a glowing golden and Morgana stills.
He opens his hands to show Morgana the flame flickering in his hand.
Morgana’s eyes are wide with shock, then her face shutters to show nothing, and she takes a step back. “You have… you have magic? Why didn’t you tell me before? I came to you about my dreams, you could have told me then.”
Merlin looks down, an old shame and guilt flooding back through him. “I know, I should have. I just- I got scared. I’ve been taught for as long as I could remember not to tell anyone, not to let anyone know, that I have magic. I am sorry, Morgana.
She shakes her head, closes her eyes, and looks down. “No, you don’t have to be. I understand. I had been terrified when my magic started manifesting. And it is especially scary in Camelot,” Morgana mutters wryly.
“So are we alright?” Merlin asks worriedly.
“Yeah, we’re good.”
And then Merlin hears the bell tolling, marking the beginning of the next hour. An itch forms in the back of his mind, he’s forgetting something.
Something with the bell?
The bell?
Oh no.
“The bell!” Merlin cries out as realization hits him. “Morgana I am so sorry, I have to go. I was supposed to be back and serving Arthur at that bell toll.”
But luckily Morgana doesn’t seem bothered, simply letting out an amused laugh. “Well, then you should be getting moving.”
Merlin smiles gratefully, “If you want, tonight you can come to my room and we can talk more?”
Morgana nods, uncrossing her arms and moving forward quickly to pull Merlin into a hug. “I’ll be there after Arthur goes to bed. And Merlin? Um, thank you. For telling me about your magic, I know I didn’t give you much of a choice but, thank you.”
Merlin smiles slightly and nods before hurrying back the way he came. Arthur was going to give him an earful for being so late.
Merlin goes to see Morgana that night after he has finished up with Arthur. She lets him in quickly, glancing around outside her door to make sure nobody saw before shutting the door behind herself.
They end up seating themselves on her bed, getting comfortable for the surely not very comfortable talk they were about to have.
Morgana ends up being the one to break the silence. “So, how long have you had magic?”
“I was born with it.”
“Really? So you’re like me?” Morgana asks curiously.
“Yes, kind of. My magic manifested itself much earlier than yours did. According to my mother, my eyes were glowing a bright gold for over a week after I was born. I could move stuff since I was a baby, though my mother taught me to be careful and to control myself. Even in Essetir having magic is dangerous, though you would be more likely to be enslaved by the King than to be executed for it as you would in Camelot.”
“Wow,” a hurt expression crosses her face before she tries to hide it. “So when I told you about mine, why didn’t you tell me about yours? Do you not trust me?”
Merlin’s eyes widen and he shakes his head vigorously. “No! That’s not it at all! It's just… I have been taught since I was young to hide my magic, I’ve never even told anyone else before. The only person that knew was Will and he found out by accident. I did want to tell you though, I was just… really scared. But it wasn’t about not trusting you,” Merlin says firmly.
“Alright, well thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about your magic. So do you just not use your magic at all?”
“No, I usually use it to stop some magical creature or sorcerer from killing Arthur. You would not believe how many things or people want to or have nearly killed him.”
“Oh, I’d believe it,” Morgana laughs.
“So you’re fighting with all those people and creatures? That sounds dangerous to be doing on your own.” She says worriedly.
“Oh I’ll be alright, I’ve learned how to do it in secret and I’m still alive so far so I must be doing something right.”
“You can ask me for help if you need it, I don’t like the thought of you going out by yourself.”
Merlin smiles, while he doesn’t want to endanger Morgana anymore than she’s already endangering herself, he does appreciate that someone other than Gaius or Gwen is showing care towards him. “Maybe, but you’re already participating in the fight ring, I don’t think you should also have to go fight magical creatures and sorcerers with me.”
Morgana scoffs, “I can handle it.” Then her eyes light up with excitement. “You should join me, and participate in some of the fights! After my first fight, and especially my first win, I felt amazing!”
“I don’t need to join a fight ring to fight with my magic Morgana, you know that.” Merlin purses his lips, thinking about the possibility of joining the fights.
He already has to fight with magic on a regular basis, so he technically doesn’t need to join the fight ring, but if Morgana is right it could be good practice. He would be going up against other sorcerers, he could learn new spells, and hopefully, he would be better equipped in the future instead of the constant scrambling he has to do to solve the issues when they arise. But he also still has to do all that, and then adding on fighting in a fight ring?
“Come on Merlin, maybe you can just try it once? See how you like it?” Morgana pleads and then in a singsongy voice, “I bet you will like it.”
Merlin shoots her an unamused look, before groaning. “Fine, I’ll try it.”
Morgana cheers before they start discussing various spells the other knows.
Merlin’s first fight comes quicker than he ever would have imagined. It seemed like just last night they were laying in Morgana’s bed and then it has been a week and Merlin is standing in the middle of a cage with a shouting crowd surrounding him.
The beginning of the fight goes… not great. Merlin likes to think he’s average in a fight but he is not holding up well against his opponent. The man has a fierce expression on his face as he swings harshly.
And then the horn blows.
Merlin suddenly feels invigorated, this is it.
Being able to defend and attack with his magic, Merlin does much better during the fight. He and his opponent are now evenly matched. The man appears to know plenty of spells while Merlin doesn’t, but Merlin is more powerful and instinctual than him, so he does have some of an advantage.
He becomes so preoccupied with dodge, attack, dodge, dodge, attack that he just loses himself in the fight.
And in the end, he doesn’t even realize it's over. When he yells out and the man's shield, which had previously been knocked to the side, comes flying at him and hits him in the side of the head. He falls to the ground unconscious.
Merlin won. He can’t believe it.
Merlin runs from the cage and runs into Morgana who runs to him and wraps him in a hug. “You did it! How did it feel?”
“Great! Is it like that all the time? That’s so much better than when I normally have to fight with my magic. I wasn’t worried about dying or anything!” Merlin says ecstatically.
“Let's go back to my chambers, we can have a celebratory dinner there, I gave Gwen the rest of the day off…just in case.”
“Oh, ye of little faith?” Merlin laughs.
“No, I knew you could do it, you just can never be sure with these things. Now, let's go!” Morgana grabs Merlin’s arm and pulls him in the direction of the door.
Merlin gets used to participating in the fights after that. He goes and cheers Morgana on whenever she is doing one and she does the same for him.
They grow a lot closer now that there aren’t really any secrets between them. Of course, there are some things they both prefer to keep to themselves but for the most part, they tell each other everything.
And Morgana had been a big help in winning some of the fights with her coaching for before the horn blows to the point where he rarely loses anymore. Merlin is also able to give Morgana tips for after the horn blows which she had some trouble with in the past due to her nonexistent magical training.
It had all been going great, until one fight quite a few months after Merlin started participating. Merlin was in the ring, Morgana just visible in his periphery through the bars. His opponent was a large man, and he took a lot out of Merlin during the first portion of the match, but Merlin was starting to recover and defend himself when the man summons a ball of fire, pushing it in Merlin’s direction.
Merlin just reacts, it’s almost like his mind goes back to his fight with Nimueh, even though the circumstances couldn't be more different.
Merlin dodges as quickly as he can, but his momentary distraction had been enough, and the fireball strikes him in the middle of his abdomen. He reflexively throws a hand out and the man is knocked off his feet and falls to the ground. Merlin grabs the battle axe laying off to the side and brings the handle down against the side of his head, knocking his opponent unconscious.
Merlin gasps and puts a hand on his chest. It’s not even where the injury is, but his chest feels as if it were on fire.
The second the cage door opens Merlin runs out, ignoring the shouting and cheering. He can see Morgana trying to make her way to him, concern was written plainly on her face, but he just keeps running.
Out the door. Down the street of the lower town. Into the upper town.
Merlin stops and leans against the side of a cart and tries to catch his breath. After that, he walks back to the physician's chambers as quickly as he can. He tries to move as he normally would but his injuries pull painfully, the rush from the fight that had helped him ignore the pain now wearing off. In a strange turn of his luck, he manages to get back with minimal contact with people.
He heads straight back to his room once he gets there and throws himself down onto his bed. He gasps when it irritates his wounds.
The blow had been to his stomach, it wasn’t even in the same place as the last burn scar. But Merlin can’t help but also remember what had happened immediately after that blow.
He had never been so angry before.
He was scared to be that angry again, he didn’t want to be a monster.
So many sorcerers lose themselves to their anger and hatred, to revenge. And that is exactly what he had done with Nimueh.
He is happy with how everything turned out, he would rather Nimueh be gone than Gaius. If he had realized what he could do, he’s not sure he wouldn’t have chosen to replace Nimueh with Gaius anyway, but he never wants to lose himself to vengeance like that again.
He hears the door to the physician's chambers open and close, and then quick footsteps leading back to his room before the door opens and Morgana steps in and lightly closes the door behind her.
“Merlin? Merlin, what's wrong?” Morgana asks, voice full of concern. “And before you try to use it as an excuse, I know this isn’t about the loss in the ring, I’ve seen you lose before and you were barely even upset.” Morgan sits down on the bed at Merlin’s hip and looks down at him with an amused, but kind, smile.
Merlin sighs and throws his arm over his eyes, trying to inconspicuously soak up the tears that bubbled up in his eyes. “It's not important.”
“Well clearly it is or you wouldn’t be this upset, scoot over.” She pushes at him and climbs up to sit at the top of the bed. “Talk to me.”
Merlin lets his arm fall to the side and looks at Morgana with narrowed eyes, “Why does it matter?”
“Because we are friends and I care that you’re upset, and bottling it up never helped anyone.”
And well, Merlin can’t exactly argue with that logic. He pushes himself up and moves to sit back against the small headboard next to Morgana. He stays silent, trying to think of the best way to say what’s on his mind.
“I do want to talk to someone about it but-” The nauseated feeling in his stomach seems to get worse after he starts, how can he tell someone something like this?
But Morgana’s eyes only hold worry and curiosity. “...but?”
Merlin tries to swallow past the lump in his throat, but then his mouth is too dry. He doesn’t want to tell someone about it, but he does…
“But, I don’t want you to think differently of me. I don’t want you to see me as some terrible person, as a monster.”
“Merlin…” Morgana looks stricken at his words.
He sucks in a breath and looks up at the ceiling to try and prevent the pools of tears that have suddenly formed in his eyes from escaping. “Don’t say nothing could make you view me like that, people say those things all the time and yet, some of their loved ones or friends are capable of unspeakable acts.”
Morgana shakes her head and looks down at her hands. “If you of all people could be considered a monster, then what would that make me? You know my past mistakes, would you consider me a monster?”
“No! Of course not!” Merlin denies vehemently.
“Talk to me Merlin,” Morgana pleads, “I just want to help.”
“Alright, alright…” Merlin nods and tries to fortify himself in his mind.
He can do this, all it really is, is talking to someone, he can talk. He can talk quite well, considering Arthur is always complaining about it.
“To help explain I should probably just show you something first,” Merlin leans forward and gingerly tries to pull his shirt off.
“Well, this is an interesting turn of events. I certainly think Arthur would be quite envious if he saw us right now.” Morgana says with a smirk.
“Shut up,” Merlin mutters, his cheeks rapidly turning pink. “And no he wouldn’t, you're just seeing things that aren't there.”
“I think only a blind man couldn't see the way Arthur looks at you Merlin, well, a blind man and you. Maybe Uther as well, because he still seems not to mind your presence around Arthur.”
Merlin pauses, seeming to think for a moment before shaking himself out of it. “I don’t want to talk about Uther, or think about Uther.”
Morgana nods quickly seeming to regain her seriousness, “Understandable, I’m not even sure why I brought him up considering I don’t really want to speak about him either.”
Merlin sits, frozen as he tries to make himself pull the shirt off. He tries, but he just can’t . “I-”
Morgana places a hand gently on his shoulder, “Merlin, you don’t need to do anything you aren't comfortable doing-”
And for some reason, that seems to be the push he needed to do it. He quickly pulls the shirt off and drops it on the ground.
The wounds he received from the fight earlier don’t even cover the large burn scar in the center of his chest, which is also surrounded by many smaller ones. Though those have never bothered Merlin as much, he’s actually felt proud that they were there.
But never the burn.
Morgana freezes when she sees Merlin's chest, a hand reaching out towards the large burn scar, pausing to just hover over it as she looks at Merlin. At his nod, her hand reaches out to make contact with the skin
“What… uh, what happened?”
“You remember Uther mentioning the sorceress Nimueh?” At Morgana’s quick nod, he continues. “Arthur had been dying so I made a deal, but she tricked me and someone else was going to pay the price for our deal-”
“-A price?” Morgana cuts in sharply.
“Yes…” Merlin hesitates, not sure he wants to bring this part of the story up to Morgana, but he’s already come this far... “The price was supposed to be my life for Arthur’s-”
“-Merlin!” Morgana gasps.
“Arthur had been dying, Morgana!” Merlin says, trying to get her to understand. “If my life were the only price to be paid to save him I would have gladly paid it. But she tricked me, she tried to take my mother…” Merlin trails off, remembering the horrific sight he walked into that morning.
“Is Hunith alright?”
“Yes, she’s alright now. I was going to go back to make Nimueh take my life as I had initially said, but Gaius knew of my plans and went before me. When I got there he was lying on the ground and Nimueh was standing above him about to complete the spell. I had been so angry. First, she had tried to kill my mother and then Gaius, I had thought he had already been killed. We fought some, that's where this scar comes from.” Merlin gestures to the burn scar on his chest. “She shot a fireball at me, kind of like that one you shot at your opponent in the ring yesterday but about 3 times the size, but I had been too slow to get out of the way. It hurt so much, but it just made me angrier, and then I couldn’t really feel it at all. And she- she seemed so amused with the whole thing like she hadn’t been trying to kill my family.”
Merlin’s eyes burn as a small flicker of the fiery anger he had felt that day returns by thinking about it. Morgana remains quiet beside him, merely watching him with a hand on his shoulder and concerned eyes. Concern for what, Merlin isn’t sure. But Merlin doesn’t want her to make a judgment based on half the story. He presses the heels of his palms into his eyes and breathes deeply to try and compose himself. Once he feels able, he continues.
“Sorry about that, anyway-”
“-You don’t have to apologize for your feelings, I can’t imagine what it must have felt like that day. Sorry for interrupting, I just needed to make sure you knew that, continue.”
Merlin smiles gratefully. “So I got up, after she had hit me with the fireball. And the anger I felt, was ferocious. But I was calm, I knew what I was doing I was just so angry, it was like it took me over. I summoned some clouds, and I struck her with lightning so many times there was nothing left of her. And I didn’t even feel bad about it.” Merlin chokes out, the emotions welling up starting to overwhelm him. “I ran over to Gaius, and then he woke up. It turned out that when I killed Nimueh it had taken her in return for Arthur’s life instead of Gaius, so he was safe. And I felt relieved, that someone else had died because of a deal that I made, because of my anger. After everything she had done, she had hurt so many people, but I didn’t want things to end like that.”
“Have you spoken to anyone about this before?”
“No, I was scared. All I could think was that anyone I told would hate me. I mean Gaius of course knows that I used Nimueh in his place, but I never told him exactly how it happened.”
“Merlin-” Morgana pauses, pursing her lips. “I’m sorry.”
Merlin's head snaps to the side to look at Morgana with confusion. “What are you sorry for?”
“I just- I can’t imagine.” Morgana clears her throat and looks at him. “Why did you tell me all of that? You could have just said you were injured by Nimueh and left it at that.”
“I don’t want to see you go down that path, Morgana. You’re my best friend, I couldn’t bear to see you lose yourself to the hatred and feelings of vengeance that drive some of the sorcerers that come to Camelot.”
“I would never let it go that far Merlin, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m more worried about you.”
“It's just- I don’t want something to happen where all that matters to you is getting revenge on Uther for his wrongs.” Morgana goes completely quiet. “I know what happened with Uther at Gorlois’s grave, and I’m not upset with you about it or anything. Believe me, I understand. But I don’t want you to start towards the path of revenge. And giving into feelings of anger and revenge as I did with Nimueh is a very easy way to fall into that trap. And I know that it wasn’t what you were asking about, but it just came into my mind and I felt I needed to say that as well.”
Merlin had expected maybe some anger, or annoyance, but Morgana just wore a thoughtful expression on her face. “Thank you, Merlin. But, Tauren’s men, they never showed up. Everyone assumed that I had managed to fight them off somehow while Uther was distracted, but I know for sure that I didn’t. It was you, wasn’t it? You stopped the other men?”
Merlin nods slowly, feeling unsure of himself. Should he say something? Or should he just let Morgana process what he just told her for a moment?
But luckily Morgana takes the decision out of his hands, and the feeling of unsureness is replaced by confusion.
“Thank you, Merlin. You’re a good friend.” She says as she takes ahold of his hand and gently squeezes it with a smile on her face.
“What are you thanking me for?”
“What I did, it wasn’t right. We shouldn’t stoop to Uther’s level, and make ourselves murderers because of him. Uther will be stopped someday, but working with assassins isn’t how I would like to find myself rid of him.”
Merlin nods. “Gwen said something similar to me, I hadn't been sure if I should try to stop it and asked her for her opinion. She had said that it would have made her no better than Uther to go through with something like that, it would have made her a murderer.”
“She’s right.”
“She usually is, I could have saved myself a lot of worry if I had just had that conversation with her earlier.” Merlin jokes.
Morgana laughs. “I have been there. I’ve had problems that I had been stewing over for days but once I confide in Gwen it seems that I get the sense knocked into me.”
“Hmm, maybe I should ask Arthur to give Gwen a raise. I didn’t realize how much more difficult her job was.”
Morgana shoves Merlin and scoffs, “Oh, shut up. Besides, you and I both know that you both should get a raise, what with all you put up with from Arthur.”
Merlin bursts out laughing, laughing until there are hot tears running down his face.
That feeling he feels right now, what is it? He isn’t used to this one.
Oh wait, he knows what it is.
Relief.
They had worked out a system, so Merlin could come to Morgana’s room discretely or Morgana could come down to see Merlin without a medical issue. Morgana had sweet-talked the Head of the Household into marking Merlin down as under her employ as well as Arthur’s, stating that she also needs a manservant for the less pleasant things that a woman would not be able to carry out.
Merlin certainly isn’t going to protest the extra pay he gets this way.
And Morgana isn’t exactly not working with him at all. Morgana declared that she would teach him how to fight with a sword, claiming it would help him in the arena.
And while Merlin hates to admit it, some of the things she has taught him have helped him in the fights.
They planned another training session for this afternoon, but Merlin needs to play at his actual job for Morgana for a little while in between taking care of Arthur and the training. And he still needs to go collect some herbs for Gaius.
His schedule is much busier nowadays, but he won’t complain, much at least. He won’t admit it to Morgana, but he kind of loves it.
The thrill of fights that won’t lead to his death if he loses. Learning to defend himself with and without using his magic. And spending his other time helping Gaius is always nice, whether it’s walking around the peaceful forests and seeing the animals and plant life or spending time together, chatting quietly while making various potions, or cleaning the room.
So now Merlin is on his way to Morgana’s chambers, cheerily greeting others as they pass or making conversation with them. Sometimes he’s asking about one maids daughter and newborn, other times he’s chatting about pigs with a farmer. And he always looks forward to the times when he’s actually able to stop and actually talk to people and not just run around back and forth and past everyone in the hallways.
He knocks on Morgana’s door bright and early that morning, a knock they had devised between themselves so she knows it's him. He hears a muffled ‘ Enter!’ and waltzes into the room, letting the door shut firmly behind him.
“I was thinking-” Merlin starts before stopping short with a snort. “Is it Gwen’s day off? What happened?” He asks, several laughs escaping from him.
Morgana glares in the mirror from her nightstand and picks up another brush set to the side. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and help me.” Merlin, still grinning, takes the hairbrush and starts on a section of hair to get to work on. “And if you must know, I was tired last night and didn’t brush my hair before I went to bed.”
“Ahh, I understand. You let Gwen have the night off and so she didn’t brush your hair before you went to bed.” Morgana smacks Merlin’s arm behind her without even looking, quiet laughs escaping from him.
All the training, magical and otherwise, he has been doing with Morgana must be really paying off. He feels more strong and capable than ever. But even still, he doesn’t think he’s good enough at fighting for the fights he participates in to not even present a challenge to him.
Merlin is laughing, this fight must be a joke. He’s not even using any magic and his opponent is still not able to bring him down. The man must be new at this sort of thing. Merlin almost feels bad for having to knock the man out at the end of this.
Merlin draws the fight out a little longer just trying to figure out how he wants to do this. He doesn’t really want to hurt the man, he may even find him afterward and try and give him some help before he injures himself too seriously.
Merlin stops momentarily and looks around at the cheering and jeering crowd. He can feel his eyes glowing, and the misty wisps of the glowing blue magic flowing around him, he’ll make it quick for the poor man. Just as he’s about to make the surely winning blow, something in him compels him to look towards one side, like an itch in the back of his mind. A familiar cloaked figure is standing on that very chair Merlin had used what feels like forever ago to see over the crowd.
Arthur .
And Merlin feels like his world has stopped.
Merlin feels as if he were walking to his death on the way to Arthur’s chambers. Arthur had seen him in the ring, there was no denying any of it even if he hadn’t spoken to Arthur for a moment and only gotten a quiet ‘ Meet me at my chambers once you get yourself cleaned up.’ He had just walked away after that. The rest of that fight had been somewhat of a blur, he only remembers vigorous slaps on the back and cheering in his ears.
Once he reaches Arthur’s chambers he quietly opens the door and walks in, gently shutting it behind him and wincing at the loud sound the latch makes as it catches.
Arthur is standing in his window, staring out at the courtyard.
They are both silent for a while before Merlin gains the courage to speak. “Arthur?’
Arthur sighs before he turns around, he looks tired. The pit in Merlin’s stomach increases further, “Arthur, I-”
“-What were you thinking?” Arthur asks quietly.
“What was I thinking? What?” Merlin asks in confusion, he had been expecting this to have gone completely different by this point.
“You joined a fight ring !” And in a much quieter but no less stern voice, he says, “A magic one at that. Why did you teach yourself this? You don’t need magic, and you of all people know what happens to magic users if my father discovers them. Are you really that eager to throw yourself onto a pyre?”
Merlin gasps. “No! How could you even think that? I was- I was born with magic, but I didn’t choose it! I’ve had it for my whole life, and I can’t not use it!”
“Born with it? I didn’t even think that was possible?”
“Why aren’t you angry with me? Pulling a sword and threatening to run me through, or anything else sorcerers usually get? I thought you would be angry…”
“Angry about your magic? No, I’m not angry about the magic, what I am angry about is that you are participating in a magic fighting ring in the heart of Camelot! Besides you certainly don’t hide the magic very well, you’re lucky I’m the only one that’s seen you use it.”
“You knew about my magic?” Merlin asks in surprise.
“Yes, and I’m not going to say anything about it or anything like that if that's what you’re worried about, I haven't said anything so far and I’m not going to change my mind now.” Arthur says as if it's completely obvious, and not something huge that the prince of Camelot is hiding a sorcerer.
Merlin nods slowly, trying to make sense of it in his head before another thought pops up. “How did you find the fight ring?”
“I followed you.”
Merlin’s eyes widen. “You followed me! Why were you following me?” He exclaims.
“Because you’ve been running off everywhere lately! You barely even hang around me more than is necessary anymore and I think that that's something I should know!” Arthur shouts, his previously slightly dimmed anger burning brightly again. “If my father doesn’t find out about your magic and sentence you to death then you’re going to get yourself killed in these fights!”
“Arthur, please just calm down some,” Merlin pleads.
“Do not tell me to calm down! This is as calm as I can possibly be at the moment! You're going to get yourself killed!” He takes a shuddering breath and swipes a hand over his face, saying quietly, “You know what my father would do to you if he ever found out about you, I don’t want to see you become one of the casualties of his war.”
“Why are you so okay with magic all of a sudden?” Merlin can’t help but ask, that's the one thing he can’t make sense of.
“I saw you use your magic, and at first I was angry, but when I thought about it with a calm head I just couldn’t imagine any scenario where you were evil. It’s not who you are. And after Morgause showed me my mother and you said she was tricking me, I went to Gaius. He was at my birth and he used to use magic, so if anyone would know it would be him.” Arthur sighs and leans against the wall, slowly sliding down and lowering himself to the ground. “He told me the truth. About everything, what my father had done, and he answered some questions about you. Though he wouldn’t tell me much, he said I needed to talk to you for the answers to those questions. I asked him to keep the conversation between the two of us, I just didn’t know how to talk to you about it.”
Merlin walks over and leans back against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor next to Arthur. “I may not be able to answer all your questions, some of those secrets aren’t mine alone to tell.”
“Alright,” Arthur says slowly.
Merlin shakes his head with a small smile, “But not tonight, I think we’ve had enough of serious talks for tonight.” Merlin looks to the side before turning and completely facing Arthur. “But- I won’t stop using my magic or participating in the fights. What’s the point of living if we don’t do some of the things we enjoy? If your father finds out about me and tries to execute me-”
“-I would never let that happen,” Arthur says vehemently.
“There are some things that are out of your control Arthur, and if something did happen it wouldn’t be your fault. I make my own choices, and what happens as a result of those choices isn’t on you,” Merlin insists.
“I won’t let it, I don’t know what I would have to do to stop it but I would do whatever needed to be done. You’re not being executed.” Arthur says firmly, “Now it’s about dinner time, why don’t you go down and get me something to eat.” Arthur pushes himself to his feet and walks over to his desk, beginning to rifle through some papers on his desk.
Merlin can tell that Arthur won’t be discussing the topic anymore, so he gets up and goes to get Arthur’s dinner.
It’s so usual and completely not at all what Merlin had been expecting to happen when leaving Arthur’s chambers that he can’t help but still feel happy as he leaves despite how the conversation ended.
The following weeks go much like the preceding ones had, though there was one huge change. Arthur starts joining Merlin and Morgana during their training sessions, for both sword fighting and for fighting with their magic.
After Merlin had talked to Arthur he talked to Morgana and encouraged her to talk to Arthur about her magic, he knew that Arthur wouldn’t be angry with her like she thinks if the way he reacted to the reveal of Merlin’s magic was anything to go by.
Morgana had been ecstatic after she returned from her conversation with Arthur. She had still wanted Merlin to stay nearby in case it didn’t go as well as hoped, but to both of their relief, it went much better than Morgana had been expecting.
So now they were all working on their skill together at training sessions, and Merlin was loving every minute of it.
And Merlin’s skills were improving much faster with two master swordsman trainers and the extra training time that Arthur knowing gains them.
They were laying on the grass of a small field, much further away from the castle than they usually are after a training session. Merlin had managed to bring plenty of snacks and drinks so they have a moment to snack on things before he and Arthur have to go ready for the feast that night, which Merlin is dreading. He hates feasts. The proximity to Uther for almost a whole night being one of the main reasons.
But these moments of just relaxing with his two best friends are very nice before a stressful night. And knowing those two are going to be there as well helps too.
But all good things come to an end.
The feast had been going well, until Morgause showed up and challenged Arthur to a fight.
Of course, Arthur accepted, which Merlin had been expecting, but he had been expecting him to lose.
And Merlin doesn’t care that Arthur lost, he cares that Arthur wants to go meet her and do whatever she asks him to do, even though he doesn’t know what it is. But Merlin can’t seem to convince him now that he promised Morgause he would after he lost the fight.
The events after Arthur’s fight with Morgause are like torture to Merlin. If Arthur had just listened to him and not trusted Morgause none of this would have happened. After Arthur met up with her, Merlin knew that Arthur was going to do something, he had been too quiet the whole ride home. He hadn’t expected Arthur to try to kill his father, but he understands why he did.
But if all Arthur needs to calm himself knowing what Uther had done to his mother is one brutal training session then Merlin will take it. The actual conversation with Arthur had been hard enough, especially since he had lied to him in the moment to stop him from killing his father, but it went much better than he had been expecting.
Morgana was sat off to the side, quietly watching Arthur and Merlin fight, her hand on her bracelet, which Arthur had tried to get her to get rid of it but Morgana had refused.
They all go their separate ways at the next bell toll, the silence between them all so tense it was making Merlin uncomfortable.
Merlin goes about his duties the rest of the day, he’ll stop and talk with Morgana after he gets Arthur ready for bed.
He’s just about to knock when he hears hushed voices from within. He’s about to leave, not wanting to breach Morgana’s privacy when he hears a slightly raised voice. “If you don’t, you will regret it!”
He nearly barges in at that before restraining himself to just listen through the door.
“What loyalty do you have here? Anyone in this wretched kingdom would see you dead, except for me, sister. If you still believe Uther wouldn’t see you dead for your magic then you are being a fool!”
“You think I want to stay for Uther?” Morgana’s voice speaks up laughingly before continuing sternly, all traces of laughter gone. “I couldn’t care less about Uther, but there are others I do care about, and I won’t join you or allow you to harm them.”
“Fine then,” The other voice, that Merlin now realizes is Morgause, says. “Let's see where that gets you.”
Then Merlin hears howling wind and the sound of objects breaking and colliding with things. He shoves the door open, ready for a fight, when he sees the dissipating sight of whirling wind. Morgause had teleported out then. Merlin looks at Morgana, seeing her looking around her room angrily, he decides now isn’t the best time to talk about whatever just happened.
He bends down to pick up a hairbrush. “Have I told you about that time Arthur and I had to climb up a tree to escape some bandits?”
Morgana spins to look at him, the hard look on her face softening before she shakes her head and a small smile spreads instead. “No, I don’t believe you have.” She walks over to her vanity and begins picking jewelry out of the remains of her jewelry box.
“Oh man, it was exhausting! We had to run through at least a league of bushes and forest and then Arthur has the bright idea…”
Merlin wakes up slowly, groaning and trying to swat at the hand on his shoulder shaking him.
“Merlin, get up.”
Arthur?
Merlin turns over and blearily looks up at the glowing figure standing by his bed. “Arthur? What are you doing in my room?” A glance at the window shows that it's even earlier than Merlin would normally be up, so that makes it much earlier than is usually possible for Arthur to be awake.
“You have to get up.”
Focusing on Arthur’s face, Merlin realizes that he has a large frown on his face and is standing quite tensely.
Merlin sits up, dread filling him. “What’s wrong?”
A pinched look appears on Arthur’s face. “It’s Morgana, Uther had her thrown in the dungeons not even a candle mark ago.”
“What! Why?”
“Apparently the sorceress Morgause appeared in my father's bedroom early this morning claiming Morgana has magic and showed him something that was enough for Uther to throw Morgana in the dungeons.”
“We need to get her out.”
Merlin jumps at Arthur’s vehement “No!” and looks up at him in confusion, “Well why not?
“We can’t just break her out of the dungeons. Where would she even go, she’d be easily recognized anywhere in the citadel that she went. We have to get my father to let her out.”
Anger that Merlin hasn’t felt in some time bubbles up. “Then I will go and speak my mind, maybe he will realize how idiotic this is.”
“Are you mad?” Arthur asks incredulously. “My father would probably just have you locked up with her!”
“Well, I can’t do nothing!” Merlin shouts, “Now get out, I need to get dressed.”
Arthur huffs and stomps out the door and down the stairs.
Merlin is quiet as the council meeting goes on, there hasn’t even been a single mention of Morgana.
But by the end, when everyone still avoids bringing up the one thing everyone is wondering, he can’t help but speak up.
The councilors are all getting up, ready to go back to their useless activities or whatever else it is they plan on doing when they all freeze at Merlin’s raised voice.
“So that’s it, no one is even going to talk about Morgana?” He can see Arthur shaking his head at him with wide eyes. “You have a kind, and innocent woman down in your dungeons and you're just going to leave her there? Ignore the fact that she’s there?”
Uther raises from his seat so swiftly it nearly falls backward. “You watch how you speak!”
Arthur jumps up, speaking jokingly. “Father, Merlin is a bit of an idiot, he clearly doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
“Well, the idiot better learn how to conduct himself in the presence of his betters!”
Merlin narrows his eyes. “I’m only saying what needs to be said, and what you all are too afraid to say. Morgana doesn’t belong down there, being punished for the mistakes of the king .”
Uther’s face turns an interesting shade of red at that, “GUARDS!” The doors burst open as two guards come in going over to Merlin at Uther’s directive. Merlin pushes at them, trying to stop them from forcing him from the room, if he’s taken away he won’t be able to do anything.
“STOP!” The whole room freezes at Arthur’s bellow.
He turns an irritated eye to the other councilors who had been watching the unfolding drama take place with interest. “All of you, OUT!”
The councilors all scurry out. The guards follow when Arthur waves a hand at them.
Uther turns to Arthur, fury still pulling his face into an ugly frown.
“Father, I meant to speak with you about this later, in private .” Merlin definitely feels like that last bit is directed at him. “Morgana shouldn’t be kept in the dungeons. She has done nothing wrong, and you are keeping an innocent woman down there by keeping her there.”
“ Innocent ? She has practiced sorcery! She has betrayed all of Camelot and me by her actions! Her claims of her innocence mean nothing in the face of her crimes.” Uther spits out, turning to walk further away from Arthur.
She even told you she was innocent and you still didn’t believe her?” Arthur asks in shock.
“If she has become corrupted by magic then telling a lie like that will be nothing to her.”
“Father, do you even hear yourself? You’re taking the word of a sorceress that has already lied to me, about Morgana's guilt?”
“She had proof, in Morgana’s room were magical artifacts.”
“That she most likely planted there herself! You said it yourself to me before, after she had told me about my mother, Morgause is a sorceress, Father! Would you really trust her word over Morgana’s or mine!” Arthur asks desperately.
The anger on Uther’s face slowly melts away. “No…you are right-”
The doors to the council chambers burst open and Morgause struts in, in her hand is a length of chain connected to Morgana’s shackles, who stumbles in as the bindings around her ankles and wrists make it more difficult to walk correctly. Merlin was able to get a quick glance out the doors and sees the two guards lying on the ground outside, pools of blood surrounding them, and their own spears impaled into their chests.
Uther and Arthur both pull their swords, brandishing them toward Morgause, but with a wave of her hand, they both fly backward and slam into the stone walls behind them.
“See what I was telling you, Morgana? You have been locked in a dungeon while these two are up here, most likely bickering about something meaningless.”
Merlin quickly moves behind one of the large stone pillars, eyeing Arthur’s sword that hadn’t fallen too far away from him. He could grab it, stab Morgause with it, and then everything will be okay again.
For a time at least.
Things never stay okay long with Uther on the throne.
Morgause is arguing with Uther, Arthur remaining silent, his eyes straying to where Merlin is hidden every once in a while. But not too much so as to lead Morgause to discover Merlin is there. They all would like to get through this with no one's magic being revealed to Uther, especially now that Arthur had managed to convince Uther of Morgana’s innocence.
Merlin quietly steps over and picks up the sword, wincing at the slight sound it makes as he picks it up. Luckily neither Morgause nor Uther notices him.
He’s sneaking up on Morgause, thankful that Uther at least didn’t give him away, when Morgause spins around. He swings the blade quickly, but not quick enough. The blade nicks her, a small spurt of blood coming from the wound as she dodges out of the way. With a shout and a harsh swing of her arm, Merlin is thrown back against the opposite wall, his head slamming against it and bursting with pain as he falls back to the ground.
Things are somewhat foggy to him after that point. He can hear shouts coming from everyone in the room, but he’s more focused on the splitting headache he now has. And when he’s able to open his eyes again, the large spot of red he can see on the wall above him.
Huh, he must've hit the wall pretty hard.
He pushes himself to his feet, he can’t let anything happen to Arthur or Morgana, he can’t just lay here. Morgana is crouched down next to the large table trying to get her chains off while Arthur and Uther are battling Morgause. Morgause herself has a large patch of red growing on her chest coming from her neck, as well as a golden liquid running from the wound that looks to be bigger than the nick Merlin had originally thought it was.
Merlin had forgotten that he had enchanted Arthur’s sword. Without his knowledge, of course, Arthur would never have allowed Merlin to knowing Uther could have possibly found out about Merlin’s magic.
It was enough to weaken her, though she is still a challenge to take down with her weakened magic.
Merlin gets to his feet, picking up Arthur’s sword once more, and goes to Morgana, muttering some quiet spell to release the chains. She smiles gratefully before taking up Arthur’s sword.
With all three of them against Morgause, she seems to grow desperate though. She puts her arm up into the air and one of the spears from around the room flies into it. But she doesn’t let it stop at her hand, it keeps going through the air until it stops at its real target.
The spear hits Uther in the dead center of his chest, he falls back against the wall as it forces him back and impales him against the wall.
Morgana strikes a killing blow then, while Morgause is smiling at Uthers now dead body, because Merlin could tell that it had been a near-instant killing blow. Morgana drives Arthur’s sword through Morgause’s chest, forcing her to the ground and yanking the sword out.
Morgause gasps, putting a hand to her chest, before collapsing to the ground.
Merlin leans back against the tabletop, the table having been flipped over on its side at some point during the fight.
Now that the danger is gone, Merlin is going to take a quick nap, he’s exhausted.
There’s a far away “Merlin!” shouted but Merlin is already falling into the comfortable blackness of sleep.
When Merlin wakes next, it's in his room, and there are raised voices coming from the main room of the physician's chambers.
Merlin stumbles out of bed and down the stair to the main room, seeing Arthur, Morgana, and Gaius all talking at the table.
Arthur looks up at Merlin, starting to talk though Gaius seems to be arguing against telling Merlin whatever it is in favor of letting Merlin heal some more first. Arthur grins up at Merlin, “Merlin! How would you like to be a Court Sorcerer?”
“What?”
After that, time passes rather quickly. Uther’s funeral is a large affair, Merlin sticking to Arthur’s side, knowing that despite all the differences between Arthur and his father, Arthur still loved him.
Arthur’s coronation takes place the following day, Merlin felt the pride swell up inside him as he stood next to Morgana and Gwen at the front and watched Arthur be crowned king of Camelot.
Things are good, though his new position will take some getting used to. He’s glad to be able to help bring magic back to the kingdom, though the hardest part was actually just convincing the people. Twenty years of prejudice doesn’t just go away overnight, but even now, after a whole year has passed after Arthur’s coronation, and the people are much more accepting now than they had been, the constant fear of magic that had been ingrained into them significantly reduced to a select few who cling to those beliefs.
Merlin is in the middle of preparing for the council meeting they would be having at midday when there’s a knock at the door as well as a voice calling ‘ My lord?’ through the door. He was, not hiding , but sometimes he would come back down to the physician's chambers and help Gaius in between doing his own Court Sorcerer duties and generally, nobody knew where to find him, except Gwen and Morgana, who were the only ones who knew that he would come down here. He didn’t want to be unreachable, just in case anything happens, just undisturbed. So he was surprised there was anyone else other than Gwen or Morgana knocking on the door and looking for him.
Gaius looks down at him with an amused expression spread across his face, “It appears your hiding spot has been discovered.”
Merlin scowls up at him from his seat on the bench. “I told you, Gaius, it is not a hiding spot. I merely enjoy spending time here. And I lived here for ten years, I miss it sometimes.” He says the last part much quieter than the rest, though Gaius must hear it if the softening of his face is any indicator.
“I miss you being here as well, but you can’t stay here forever. And I suspect you are happier where you are now than you would be here. But, it will always be home for you if you need it though.”
“My lord!” The voice shouts again, followed by more knocks on the door.
Merlin sighs as Gaius chuckles, turning back to the vials he had been cleaning. “You should probably get that, Merlin, before he pounds down my door.”
Merlin pushes himself to his feet with a groan and swings the door open. The servant on the other side is frozen mid-knock, his mouth open and ready to shout again. He rights himself quickly and clears his throat.
“The king wishes to speak with you in his chambers.”
“Of course, thank you.” And with a quick nod, the servant hurries off, Merlin shutting the door behind him.
“I guess I will have to finish these reports later,” Merlin mutters to himself and gathers his papers spread across the workbench. “I’ll see you later, Gaius? For the council meeting.”
“Yes, of course. Now go see what your King wants.” Gaius says, making shooing motions toward Merlin and the door.
Merlin quickly walks out of the chambers, keeping a quick pace down the hallways. The hallways that were much different than they had been even a year ago. The final year of Uther’s reign had been bloody and terrifying, what with his hatred of magic strengthening with a vengeance after his discovery of Morgana’s magic thanks to Morgause. And had nearly led to Merlin’s own early demise
But that was over now. Merlin tries to banish the dark thoughts from his mind, it did him no good to dwell on the darkness of the past.
He reaches Arthur’s bedroom rather quickly, having been so preoccupied with his thought that he didn’t even remember the walk there.
He greets the guards walking nearby for their patrol before pushing open the door.
“So, I had an idea that I wanted to gather your opinion on…” Arthur starts as soon as Merlin walks into the room.
Merlin quirks an eyebrow, then smirks. “Hello to you too, Arthur. It's lovely as always to see you on this fine day, can I sit down?”
Arthur flushes before hastily rising from his seat to pull the chair next to him out. “Of course, how has your day been Merlin? I hope your new duties haven’t been too much?”
Merlin sits down and chuckles as Arthur quickly pushes his chair back in. “No, they really aren’t too much. Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?” Merlin asks before reaching out and grasping Arthur’s right hand, then realizes what he had done and quickly lets go.
Arthur uses his left hand to shuffle some of his papers around and picks one up from the pile, sliding it across the table to rest in front of Merlin. “It’s this…”
Merlin lifts the paper, glancing quickly at the top, but pauses in confusion when he sees the title. “What is this, Arthur?
“It's an idea I had, after our… conversation about you participating in the fight ring.” Merlin lets out a snort of amusement at the thought of that argument being anything close to a conversation . “ Mer lin I’m trying to tell you about this. It's an idea I had. Now I know you said you don’t want to give up participating in the fight ring, and I don’t want to try and stop you or have this being a constant blight on our relationship. So I came up with this…it would be a magic tournament! And obviously I’ll speak with Morgana about it as well to get some of her input, but I wanted to talk with you first. This way you could participate in your magic fights still, but it will be in a safer way, there will be a physician right there for any injuries, and well- it will actually be legal.”
“Are you serious? Oh my, you’re actually serious…” Merlin looks at Arthur in shock. “I don’t even know what to say, you made this for me?”
Arthur shifts uncomfortably and shifts his eyes away from Merlin. “Well, yes. And you could start by telling me what you think of it.”
Merlin nods and turns to face Arthur more. “I love it! This is amazing!” He can’t help the wide smile that breaks out on his face. “I mean, I don’t think you would have had someone jailed because of the fights, but a tournament - and a magical tournament at that. This will be the first one in ages! Arthur, I can’t even tell you how much this means to me, and I know that Morgana is going to love it as well.”
Arthur nods, a relieved smile taking over his face. “Of course she will, now I am going to go speak with her so I can bring this up during the council meeting. I would like you to come as well to get your input.”
“Well, let’s go, we don’t have long before the meeting starts.”
“I’m the King, Merlin, the meeting will wait for me” Arthur replies haughtily.
The first tournament goes off without a hitch. There had been so many people that had wanted to participate, and everyone that had been a part of the fight ring came over to be a part of it. Merlin had been quite nervous in the days leading up to it. He had been so worried something would go wrong, that now that it's over he just feels so relieved.
And the fact that he came in first place hasn’t seemed to quite sink in yet, Morgana coming in second place right after him.
Merlin and Arthur had walked Morgana back to her chambers after the celebration feast, wishing her a good night and congratulating her, before they both headed to Arthur’s chambers.
Though Merlin is no longer Arthur’s servant, helping him before bed and in the mornings was something they both wanted him to keep doing.
Both of them sit down in front of the fire in a comfortable silence. Until Merlin realizes that Arthur keeps looking at him before his eyes dart away and back to the fire before Merlin can lock eyes with him.
“Arthur, whatever is on your mind, you can tell me. It’s obviously bothering you.” Merlin says reassuringly.
“I want to court you.” Arthur blurts out.
“What?” Merlin asks, mind going blank.
“I would like to court you, if you would also want that…”
“You do?”
“...Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? You mean you want to as well?”
A wide grin takes over Merlin’s face and he jumps up from his seat to hug Arthur tightly. “Yes, I would like that as well.”
Arthur slumps down, relaxing now that he knows Merlin reciprocated his feelings, and holds onto Melrin just as tightly.
“Oh, and Merlin?”
“Yes?”
Arthur smiles brightly and presses a quick kiss to Merlin’s lips.
“Congratulations.”