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legends-of-time · 7 months

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Amelia’s Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 8: The Mark of Nimueh

Masterlist

A/N: I felt like I should incorporate more other POVs into this.

——

Anne's POV

One morning Anne leaves her home carrying a bunch of flowers in her hands and walks to Gwen and her father's house as she and Gwen often met up with one another when walking to the Castle.

As she approaches, Gwen's father exits and gives her a nod and smile before walking off to the Blacksmiths to begin work. Gwen then appears at the door holding a similar bunch of flowers and greets Anne. They both proceed to head off to the Castle.

They are about to cross the Drawbridge when both Anne and Gwen notice Merlin and Gaius wheeling a cart over the Castle Drawbridge. Anne and Gwen approach them.

"What are you doing?" Gwen asks.

"Er... just moving something." Merlin awkwardly says.

"Looks heavy," Anne says trying to lean around Merlin to try and see what is on the cart. Gaius just stands on the other side of the cart waiting for them to finish talking.

"Earm, it's nothing really. Erm... did someone get the two of you flowers?" Merlin says, diverting the conversation, which causes Anne to frown. Something is going on here.

"Oh! No." Gwen giggles. Anne gives her a slight smirk, forgetting her suspicions momentarily.

"We picked them ourselves," Anne says. "Would you like one?"

"A purple one." Gwen decides, handing Merlin one of the flowers but then began to ramble, "Purple suits you. Not that I'm saying red doesn't suit you." She flushes red.

"Thanks. Well, er..." Merlin puts the flower in his scarf. Gwen smiles.

"Er... see you," Merlin says turning away from the two girls and begins to push the cart again.

"Bye," Gwen says wistfully. Anne narrows her eyes at Gaius and Merlin's retreating figures. Something definitely is going on.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia is sitting in Morgana's Chambers, talking, when Gwen and Anne enter with a bunch of flowers each. She is not surprised to see Anne as it makes sense that Anne would also walk into Morgana's rooms as both her and Morgana are often found together in either one of their Chambers.

Morgana stands up from where they are sitting to walk over to them smiling and says, "You two look happy."

"We picked these for the two of you," Gwen says holding out the flowers in her hands.

"Oh, that's so sweet," Morgana says taking the flowers from Gwen's hands while Amelia stands and takes her bunch from Anne's hands. "Thank you, Anne." She says in gratitude. Anne smiles.

"Something to cheer you up," Gwen says.

"We know the two of you are not sleeping well," Anne says.

"You two cheer us up," Morgana says.

"We do not know what we would do without you." Amelia compliments.

"Would you like us to put them in water for you?" Gwen asks. Morgana nods smiling.

As they do this Amelia turns to them and asks, "How has your morning been?"

"Nothing interesting, though Merlin was being very secretive when we met him and Gaius at the Drawbridge earlier." Anne answers.

"Oh?" Amelia asks. Is this the beginning of another episode? Wasn't it something to do with Nimueh?

"They were pushing this cart with a blanket covering what was on it. I'm sure it is nothing." Gwen answers this time. Mmm...

——

Amelia decides to go to Gaius' after talking to Morgana, Gwen and Anne for a while to find out what is going on. She knocks on the door and Merlin comes to answer it, letting her in. Amelia walks in and sees that Gaius is leaning over a body that lies on a table in the middle of the room, looking at it with a magnifying glass.

"What's happening?" Amelia asks.

"We found this body on the street." Merlin answers. "Are you alright? You look exhausted."

This causes Gaius to look up as Amelia answers, "Oh it's these dreams I have. They have been happening since I was a child."

"I've never seen anything like this before." Gaius interrupts. Like it is intentional.

Merlin walks back to the table with Amelia following behind him. "Do you think it could be some kind of plague?" He asks.

Amelia bends over the body looking at it. "Don't poke the body!" Gaius suddenly says.

"But- I wasn't—" Amelia splutters. Gaius gives her a look. Okay, maybe she was. She always seems to have the urge to prod things a lot of the time. It is probably a good thing that Gaius stopped her from poking a dead body.

"Mmm..." He says, clearly not believing her before turning to Merlin. "No. I fear that something like this could never come from nature. But who has this kind of power?"

"You think it's caused by magic?" Merlin questions.

"Merlin!" Arthur yells from the other side of the door. Merlin opens the door before Arthur can come in and see the body.

"Erm... I'm on my way. Sorry I'm late." Merlin says.

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to it." Arthur says exasperatedly. Arthur furrows his brow when he sees the flower in Merlin's scarf.

Merlin looks down at it. "Oh, er... Gwen, she gave it to me."

"Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now." Arthur orders.

"Okay," Merlin says closing the door once Arthur begins walking back down the corridor. "Gaius..." Merlin begins to say turning back towards Amelia and Gaius.

"I heard." Gaius interrupts.

"Wait, why couldn't he just tell you himself?" Merlin asks walking back towards the table with the body.

"Because that's the way it is. You're a servant." Amelia says.

"Wha... if he knew who I was, what I've done..." Merlin reasons.

"You'd be a dead servant. Right, get this covered up." Gaius says. Amelia sniggers at the comment.

"Hey, I'm not your servant," Merlin says clearly annoyed at the two of them.

"No, you're my dogsbody. Come on, hurry up." Gaius answers.

——

Amelia follows Merlin and Gaius into the Council Chambers where some of the Court have congregated. A dead body lies on the floor. Gaius bends down to observe the body.

"What's happened to him?" Uther asks.

"I don't know, Sire. It's the second case I've seen today." Gaius says while still kneeling next to the body. Merlin and Amelia continue to stand behind him.

"Why didn't you report it to me?" Uther demands rather than asks. He's a little busy mate.

Gaius stands up. "I was attempting to find the cause."

"What did you conclude?"

"I don't think it's time to hurry to conclusions. The scientific process is a long one." Gaius stalls.

"What are you concealing from me?" Uther insists. Okay, he's a little smart to detect that Gaius is hiding something from him.

"Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours, and it's spreading fast." Gaius says.

"What is the cause?" Uther asks.

"I think you should say that the cause, the most likely cause, is sorcery," Gaius announces. Bit dramatic.

Uther immediately pulls Arthur aside having a quick quiet conversation with him. Amelia knows Uther is asking him to do searches in Camelot to find the Sorcerer. She can't help but think how stupid this is. Why would the Sorcerer who caused this be in Camelot? It would be a bit stupid of them to do that.

——

Amelia has retreated back to her Chambers as Uther instructed that it is best that she is to stay in the Castle due to the plague spreading. As she is reading a book, Arthur and a number of Guards suddenly burst into her Chambers.

"Arthur!" She exclaims. The Guards immediately begin searching through her things. Amelia can't help but be glad that her notes on the show are well hidden.

"Sorry Amelia," Arthur says. "I'm just doing my job."

"I doubt the Sorcerer is going to be in here," Amelia says in an exasperated tone.

"I know but I have to search every room in the Castle no matter who inhabits it," Arthur says.

Amelia simply slumps back into her chair as she watches them mess up her things before they eventually leave with Arthur muttering a "sorry" to her as he closes the door behind him.

Just another day in Camelot. She gets back up to sort out her things so Anne won't have to.

——

Before Amelia knows it, Uther imposes a curfew which means no one out in the streets after the great bell. As well as the Lower Town being cordoned off. She feels like she can't continue to do nothing so she saunters down to Gaius' Chambers to see what he has found so far.

When Amelia arrives, she notices they are about to start looking at another body. How lovely.

"Ah Amelia," Gaius says when he notices her. "Now what do you two think is different about this victim?"

"Er... she's a woman." Merlin guesses.

"Really I had no idea," Amelia says sarcastically.

"Sometimes I do wonder whether you're magical talents were given to the right person," Gaius mutters indirectly agreeing with her. "Anything else?"

"Erm... she's a Courtier." Merlin guesses again.

"Ah," Gaius says in encouragement.

"How does that help us?" Merlin asks.

"She's a Courtier," Amelia says trying to help Merlin figure it out. "That means she likely would rarely go down to the Lower Town."

"So what does that mean?" Gaius prompts.

"Erm... that, that she hasn't spoken to any townspeople." Merlin further guesses. Gaius looks pained and Amelia can't help but sigh.

"Yes, it suggests that the disease is not spread by contact," Gaius tells him.

"Oh, and they probably ate different food," Merlin says.

"Good. Anything else?" Gaius prompts again.

"Erm... I doubt they breathe the same air." Merlin says.

"So what would every person need to survive no matter their station?" Amelia asks him.

"Water. Water? You think the disease is spread through water?" Merlin finally gets it.

"Merlin, you're a prodigy," Gaius says sarcastically handing Merlin a bucket. Merlin then turns to walk to the Lower Town well. Love Gaius' sarcasm.

——

Amelia is still in Gaius' Chambers when Gwen comes rushing in with tears in her eyes.

"Gwen!" Gaius exclaims in surprise.

"Gaius." Is all that Gwen says.

"Are you ill?" Amelia asks concerned.

She shakes her head and begs, "My father! Please, Gaius, he's all I have."

"Gwen, I have no cure." Gaius answers.

Gwen sobs, "I am begging you!"

"I wish there was something, anything, but so far the remedy is beyond what I can achieve," Gaius utters taking her hand. Amelia notices that Merlin had entered by this point. "I'm sorry, Gwen."

Gwen doesn't answer and runs out of the room.

"I'll follow her," Amelia says before running after her.

She catches up with Gwen as she leaves the Castle. "Gwen!" Amelia calls. "Wait!"

"Oh, Amelia!" She sobs. "I do not know what to do!"

"Come here," Amelia says pulling her into a hug. She doesn't know what to say so she figures the best way to comfort Gwen is to just hold her and be there for her. Amelia wants to come with her to her house but she knows the Guards would stop her before she even enters so Amelia walks with Gwen to where the Lower Town begins telling her she should stay with her father and not work for now. Amelia feels as if she is missing something important.

——

Anne's POV

Anne, after Amelia's asking, agrees to stay with Gwen to be with her as she watches over her father. After a while the two of them fall asleep, Gwen kneeling on the floor with her head resting on the bed and Anne in a chair in the corner.

Anne is suddenly startled awake when someone begins to shake her. She opens her eyes and lifts her head to realise it is Gwen, who has a big smile on her face.

"Gwen?" She asks before glancing around Gwen and noticing that Tom's face is completely clear of any sickness. "Tom?!" She exclaims rushing over to him. "What happened?" Glancing between him and Gwen.

"I do not know! But is it not amazing!" Gwen cries. She leans forward to hug her father.

Anne, worried about how this could have happened, reaches over and touches her on the shoulder. "Maybe we should leave him to rest Gwen."

"Of course." She agrees. Gwen then moves to her own bed so that she can rest.

Anne waits till she is asleep before checking under Tom's pillow and notices a glowing poultice. Anne wants to check the magical signature of the poultice and quickly mutters something under her breath before her eyes flash gold. She then tucks it into the pocket (Amelia insisted pockets were necessary) of her dress. Someone had used magic to heal Tom she realises, though she is not sure who.

As she steps away to sneak back into her own home now that Tom is better. What she does not notice as she slipped out of the house is the poultice slipping from her pocket and onto the floor.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia is walking along the corridors the next morning wondering if she can sneak into the Lower Town to see how Gwen's father is. Anne has been in an odd mood this morning and she wonders why though if Tom had died she probably would have told her. Amelia then hears screaming. She turns the corner and sees Arthur walking towards her and Guards behind him dragging Gwen down the Upper Corridor.

"No, please. You've got to listen to me! Please, I haven't done anything wrong! You have to listen to me, please! I am innocent, I swear! Let me go! I swear to you!" Gwen begs but no one was listening. Gwen turns her head and sees Merlin, who had approached behind her.

"Merlin! Merlin, please help me!" She begs him before turning to the Guards. "Why won't you listen to me?!" Gaius takes Merlin's arm and escorts him out of the corridor.

"Please listen to me!" Gwen begs, seeming to not notice Amelia watching in horror as she passes.

Amelia quickly walks towards Morgana's Chambers as that is the direction Gwen had come from.

"Morgana?" Amelia asks as she enters. Morgana is pacing around the room. "Why is Arthur arresting Gwen?"

"Arthur found a magical poultice in Gwen's house after seeing that her father has suddenly recovered, he has decided she is the Sorcerer!" She explains.

Amelia then remembers what her brain has been trying to tell for hours. Merlin had gone to cure Gwen's father. The idiot! she wishes Merlin would have spoken to her about this! She could have done something. Not necessarily let Gwen's father die but make it so it would have been less obvious? Like cure more than one person?!

"We have to stand up for her." Amelia declares. Morgana nods, following her as she left the room.

——

As they enter, Anne having joined them on the way to the Council Chambers, they hear Gwen cry, "Why will no one believe me?! He got better, he just recovered. I didn't do anything!"

"We believe you." Morgana declares, the three of them stopping next to Gwen, who had been thrown to the floor. "Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally."

"And what of this poultice that was found?" Uther asks.

Gwen grabs onto this, "What poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice!"

"It was found in your house. Undo this enchantment. Put an end to this contagion." Just because she 'healed' her father doesn't mean that she actually got her father ill. Could easily be someone else Uther. Amelia highly doubts that a Sorceress that had caused a plague would be so obvious.

"I can't!" Gwen sobs.

"I will show you no mercy." Uther declares.

"I am not a witch. I don't know how to stop the illness!" Gwen says trying to persuade him.

"If you will not undo your sorcery, you force my hand and I must find you guilty..."

"But I told you, I..." Gwen interrupts.

But Uther continues as if he hadn't heard her. "It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment. And under the circumstance, I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

"No." Gwen cries but he does not listen.

"I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you." This reminds Amelia of the witch trials where they drowned women to see if they were witches. Horrible as they are as it is gambling with someone's life and hoping for the best.

"No! No!" Gwen sobs.

"Take her away." Uther orders. Guards drag Guinevere, who is begging and saying she is innocent, backwards out of the room. Courtiers leave and Morgana and Amelia watch as Gwen gets dragged off. Anne follows after them.

Morgana then turns to Uther, "I know Gwen, she's my maidservant, not an enchantress."

"Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye."

"You see no sense of evil in her eyes because she is not!" Amelia insists.

Morgana persists, "I've seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a Sorceress, why would she do this? Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers? Like an idle King!"

"You have no right!" Uther says angrily.

"You have no right to cast a judgement on that girl!" Amelia says, backing Morgana.

"I have a responsibility to take care of this Kingdom! I take no pleasure in this!" Stop acting as if you are the victim in this Uther.

"Killing all of them once you get a whiff of the possibility magic is not taking care!" Amelia says, her voice rising. Uther looks at her with an angry look on his face.

Before he can say anything to her, Morgana continues, "You're sentencing the wrong person!"

"They are right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen." Arthur pipes up.

"You saw it for yourself. She used enchantments." Uther argues.

"Yes, maybe. But to save her dying father, that doesn't make her guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of, of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart." Yes, Arthur defend your future wife.

"I have witnessed what witchcraft can do. I have suffered at its hand." That was somewhat your fault Uther. "I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole Kingdom may perish."

"I understand that—" Arthur tries.

"One day you may become King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this Kingdom." You're the dark force Uther.

"I know. Witchcraft is an evil, father. So is injustice." Amelia gives him a small smile. "Yes, I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of King I will be, but I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime."

"I fear you're right. She's played with fire, and sadly she must die by fire." That is not what he was saying Uther.

"I mean she did not literally play with fire," Amelia says before she can stop herself. They all gave her incredulous looks, though you would think they'd be used to it by now.

Morgana grabs her arm, pulling her from the room and muttering, "Not helping!"

——

Merlin's POV

After talking to Gaius about how stupid he was, Merlin hurries to the Dungeons to see Gwen and he comes across a crying Morgana and Amelia going up the Wrought Iron Stairway. Amelia gives him a watery smile, her blue eyes full of unshed tears as she stops him before he passes, letting Morgana scurry ahead.

"Were you the one to cure her father Merlin?" Amelia asks quietly.

Merlin looks down guiltily before looking up, "Yes," He whispers.

"It's not your fault Merlin, but I wished you had spoken to me about what you were going to do," Amelia says.

"I did not know she would be blamed!" Merlin exclaims a little louder than he should, causing a Guard to glance at them. He blushes with embarrassment.

"Uther is not rational." Amelia quietly murmurs drawing his attention. "I do not know why he thinks the Sorcerer who caused this would stay in Camelot. And just because someone supposedly used magic he assumes that she obviously caused this." She rolls her eyes. "I have to go to Morgana, but we need to do something."

Merlin nods thinking of his own plan that will not involve Amelia, who turns to hurry after Morgana.

"Gwen," Merlin whispers when he reaches her Cell door noticing Anne just sitting by the Cell door not saying anything other than being there for Gwen. Gwen tries to get to the Cell door, but her chains don't stretch that far. He can see she's been crying.

"Thank you." She says.

"What for?" Merlin asks.

"For coming to see me."

"Of course he'll come to see you, Gwen," Anne says. "You have lots of people who care for you."

Merlin nods. "I'm sorry." He says.

"It's not your fault," Gwen says firmly.

"Well..." Merlin says with a guilty look on his face.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me. There's no point crying about it. I mean... I mean, I'm not saying that you were going to cry about me. Obviously, I don't think that." Gwen rambles. Anne smiles at seeing Gwen ramble like she always does.

"Oh, Gwen. I can't have this happen." Merlin says.

"Please, one thing. You, you don't have to, but..." She trails off.

"What?" Merlin asks.

"Remember me."

"Of course we will Gwen," Anne says with a small smile.

"You're not going to die. I'm not going to let this happen." Merlin declares before turning away, Anne quickly scurries after him.

After catching up to him at the top of the stairs, Anne turns to him.

"I was there with them." Anne whispers, Merlin looks at her in feigned surprise though he does not think he did much of a good job as Anne continues. "I think Tom did not say anything to protect me as I probably should not have been in their house in the first place."

"That's kind of him," Merlin says.

"I wish he would not though, I do not want to see him lose his own daughter," Anne says quietly. "He has a son, but he has not seen him for years." She glances around. "The thing is, I found the poultice under his pillow and tried to hide it but I must have dropped it. I feel so stupid!"

"It's not your fault." Merlin insists before quickly leaving, rushing up the Wrought Iron Stairway more determined than ever to hand himself over.

——

Amelia's POV

After seeing that Morgana has fallen asleep, Amelia hurries to Gaius' Chambers to see what she can do to help Gwen. She feels guilty for not doing more to stop this. As Amelia walks in, she hears Merlin and Gaius arguing.

"What else could I do? It's my fault Gwen's going to die." Merlin persists.

"Yes, but you don't prove her innocence by offering to jump into the flames. You do it by finding out what's causing the disease!" Gaius argues.

"You did what?!" Amelia exclaims. The two of them spin around and look at her with varying degrees of emotion on their faces.

"Merlin thought it was a brilliant idea to offer himself as the Sorcerer who did this to save Gwen!" Gaius explains. "The only thing that will save her is to understand the disease."

"Well, whatever it is, one thing's for sure: Arthur isn't going to find it. He thinks he is so sharp! But even when I told him I was a wizard, he still couldn't see it." Merlin complains.

"Sometimes they're pretty hard to spot," Gaius says sarcastically.

"Well, maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat." Merlin jokes. Amelia can't help but snigger at that. He gives her a smile glad that she found his remark funny while Gaius definitely did not.

"I don't think you'll find one big enough. Anyway, forget that. If we're going to save Gwen, we have to find out what's contaminating the water." Gaius says grabbing a bucket and walks out of the room with Merlin and Amelia following after him.

——

Gaius, Merlin and Amelia enter the Underground Entrance to the water supply.

"Never been down here," Amelia whispers to Merlin. 'It's exciting."

Merlin looks around the Cavern in disdain and fear. "I would not say that." He mutters.

"Are you scared?" She asks teasingly.

"No!" Merlin exclaims a bit too defensively. To be honest Amelia is a little nervous herself, never been much of a fan of the dark.

After walking for a while they reach the water basin, Gaius turns to them, "The water from here supplies the whole town. Take a sample." Merlin puts a bottle in the water and collects some.

"Let's take it back and examine it," Gaius says. They all begin to turn away when suddenly a creature rears up out of the water. They spin around and it goes back in the water. Ah, she forgot about that. Going down here is no longer exciting.

"What the hell was that?" Gaius takes Merlin's arm so that he will follow as they all leave the Cavern.

——

They reach Gaius' Chambers and immediately begin to pour through his many books.

"Here," Gaius says after a short while. "It was an Afanc."

"An... a what?" Merlin stumbles in confusion.

"A beast born of clay and conjured up only by the most powerful Sorcerer. Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where?" Gaius asks before looking at shelves of many many books.

"Oh god," Amelia says in despair.

"That could take days," Merlin says agreeing with her. "Gwen'll be dead by then."

"Have you got a better idea?" Gaius asks not expecting an answer.

Merlin just turns and hurries out of the room and Amelia follows him.

"Merlin let me come with you!" Amelia calls.

"I don't know..." he says.

"Come on! I can tell you when you are being stupid."

"Fine." He concedes. "We'll go to see Gwen and then I'll introduce you to someone."

As they are crossing the Square, they see a pyre being built on their way to the Dungeons. When they walk up to the door they can see Gwen lying on the Cell floor.

"Gwen? I'm going to get you out. I will." Merlin says.

"We promise," Amelia says and they both leave not waiting for an answer.

——

When they reach the gate that closes off the stairs to the Dragon's Cave, Amelia quickly grabs Merlin's arm.

"There's nothing to be worried about." He says thinking that is why she stopped him.

"It's not that," Amelia says. "It's just that do you realise that is where the Dragon lives?" She knows he already knows that but she continues to play the ignorant card to see what he will say to her.

"Uh... yeah... I've met him," He says seeming a bit unsure now. "Do you not want to...?"

"No, it's alright. I've already met him." Amelia answers. He looks at her in surprise.

"You have?" He asks.

"I have been talking to him since I was a child." Amelia is happy she does not have to lie to him about this anymore.

"Oh." He says. "Well, you'll be more familiar with the way than I am." Amelia rolls her eyes before grabbing the torch from his hands and descending down the stairs. They reach the bottom of the stairs, step into the Cave and onto the podium. "Hello?" Merlin calls out.

"Hello." Kilgharrah flies down to his rock. "The great Warlock returns, as I knew he would. And with the young one who has a destiny that has multiple paths with many turns." Merlin looks at her confused.

"Yeah, I do not know what he means either," Amelia says.

"I need to know how to defeat an Afanc," Merlin demands. Could say it a bit more nicely Merlin.

"Yes, I suppose you do."

Merlin turns to her, "Now I know where you get your attitude from."

Amelia elbows him in the side. "Be more polite Merlin," Amelia says.

"Will you help me?" Merlin asks trying to follow her advice.

"Trust the elements that are at your command," Kilgharrah says as clearly as he always does.

"Elements? But what is it I have to do?" Merlin demands, forgetting her advice.

"You cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other." What is she? Chopped liver?

"I, I don't understand. Just tell me what it is I have to do." Merlin says but Kilgharrah flies off. "No! Please, help me!"

"I have." Kilgharrah laughs.

"Oh, yeah, right. Thanks." Merlin says sarcastically.

"Now who has an attitude?" Amelia says teasingly, Merlin gives her a look. "He has actually told you what you need to do, you've just got to think. I know it is difficult for you." She gives him a cheeky smile.

——

They both hurry back to Gaius' Chambers to comb through any books that talk about elements to come up with an idea. They are frantically searching through books when Gaius enters. "Merlin, Amelia, what are you doing?" He asks.

"Looking for a book," Merlin answers unhelpfully.

Amelia sees Gaius' mouth open to ask another question. "A book on elements." Amelia quickly says hoping to clear up the confusion as soon as possible. "Though they seem to be in most of these no matter what subject."

"Well, the study of base elements is at the very heart of the scientific process," Gaius says.

"But how would they help me kill the Afanc?" Merlin cuts in.

"Well, the Afanc is a creature made from earth and water. That's two of the four base elements."

"What about the other two?" Merlin asks.

"Well, perhaps they will destroy it," Gaius says realising what Merlin is looking at. "You want fire. Wind and fire. How did you find this out?"

Amelia glances at Merlin. "Erm... I just knew, you know? One of my powers." He awkwardly answers. Amelia doesn't know why Merlin does not initially tell Gaius about the Dragon. He already knows about his magic.

"What else do your powers tell you?" Did he actually believe that?

"That I am only one side of a coin. The brighter side, obviously." Merlin cheekily answers.

Amelia swats him on the shoulder. "Honestly Merlin." She says chuckling.

"And who's the other side?" Gaius asks.

"I think that might be Arthur."

Morgana and Anne suddenly enter the room. "They're bringing forward the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence." Morgana informs them.

"We're trying," Gaius says.

"Please, just tell us what we can do to help," Anne begs.

"We need Arthur," Merlin says.

"Arthur?" Morgana asks.

"There's a monster, an Afanc, in the water supply. That's what's causing the plague." Amelia says.

"Well, we must tell Uther," Morgana says.

"The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it." Gaius the voice of reason.

"He's so logical," Amelia says sarcastically.

"So what are we to do?" Anne asks.

"We need to destroy it. Then the plague will stop and Uther may see sense." Merlin says.

"And that's why you need Arthur." Morgana realises.

"He's our best chance. But he won't want to disobey the King." Merlin says.

"Leave that to me." Morgana declares. She exits. Gaius gives Merlin the keys to the water supply tunnels and Anne and Amelia follow him. They leave to go to the Square to wait for Morgana and Arthur.

——

Morgana and Arthur walk into the Square to where Merlin, Anne and Amelia stand. Arthur draws his sword as he passes, all of them forming a group and when they reach the Cavern, they open the tunnel door and Arthur lights a torch before they descend.

Merlin turns to Amelia as they follow behind the others, "I'm more nervous now knowing that something is crawling about down here."

"I know. Now that I remember it." Amelia says not really thinking about what she is saying.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asks.

"Nothing," Amelia says picking up her pace to walk with Morgana.

"You'd better be right about this, Merlin," Arthur says as they walk further in.

They then all hear a low growl. Amelia gasps along with Morgana despite herself.

"You two should stay here," Arthur says.

"We are coming with you." Morgana states.

"No."

"Scared we'll show you up?" Amelia asks.

"Father will slam us all in chains if he knew I'd endangered the two of you," Arthur says.

"Well good thing he doesn't know about it then," Morgana says sassily.

"I'm telling you, Morgana, Amelia, turn back. You could get hurt." Arthur says.

"You could too... if you don't get out of our way," Amelia says sliding past him with a sniggering Morgana following behind. She catches Merlin and Anne's amused faces. Arthur rolls his eyes.

"How are we going to find it?" Morgana asks.

"I just hope we do before it finds us." Merlin answers. Arthur suddenly spins around. "Stop."

"What?" Merlin asks.

"It's just a shadow," Arthur says. They keep moving and reach the water source. "Spread out."

They all split up. As Amelia walks away, she hears a growl and Arthur swiping his torch. She rushes over to him with everyone doing the same.

"What is it? Are you alright?" Morgana asks in rapid succession.

"Yeah." Arthur answers.

"Did you see it?" Merlin asks.

"Yes," Arthur says.

"What did it look like?" Anne asks this time.

"It... it's quick." Thank you Arthur that is really helpful.

The Afanc then comes up in front of Morgana, who screams. Arthur goes for it, but it disappears again.

"Where is it?" Arthur asks frantically.

"I think it's gone this way!" They all walk to where Merlin thought the Afanc went. The Afanc comes slowly around the corner into full view. Arthur swings at it and loses his sword. It also swipes away Morgana's torch. Arthur circles it with a torch.

"Arthur, use the torch!" Arthur swings and Merlin then mutters, "Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan." The spell blows flames into the Afanc, incinerating it.

Amelia quickly grabs Merlin to give him a hug. "Well done," Amelia whispers in his ear.

"Thank you." He says. As they pull away, Amelia notices Anne is staring at Merlin with a frown on her face and she realises that Anne was also standing near Merlin when he cast the spell. She hopes she hadn't heard.

——

They reach the Dungeons after Uther had declared that Gwen is innocent so as to be there for when she is released. A Guard opens Gwen's Cell and Gwen's father is the first to enter with Merlin, Morgana, Anne and Amelia following suit.

"Dad!" Gwen cries. They hug. "Oh, my little child!" Tom cries. Gwen reaches to grasp Morgana and Amelia's hands.

"Thank you!" She says.

"Don't thank us. It was more Merlin." Amelia says.

"Really?" Gwen asks in surprise.

"He's the real hero here," Morgana says with a big smile on her face.

"I don't know what to say," Gwen says.

Merlin shrugs embarrassed, "I didn't do anything."

"I'm- I'm grateful to you all. Come on, Gwen." Tom says, he and Gwen leave. Morgana, Anne, Merlin and Amelia are still in the Cell.

"Merlin," Morgana calls to him causing him to turn around from watching Gwen and her father leave. "I wanted you to know, your secret's safe with me." Oh god. She doesn't think she can bear to listen to this bit. She thinks of how much the second hand embarrassment she felt watching this.

"My secret?" Merlin asks.

"Merlin, don't pretend. I know what you did." Morgana says seriously. Amelia doesn't blame Merlin for misinterpreting her here.

"You do?" Merlin asks in surprise.

"I saw it with my own eyes." Amelia looks over to see Anne watching the scene with a frown on her face. She clearly is not happy with what is going on here.

"You did?" Merlin asks.

"I understand why you don't anyone to know." Oh, Morgana.

"Well, obviously." Merlin chuckles.

"But I won't tell anyone. You don't mind me talking to you about it?"

"Er... no. I, I, it's, er... you have no idea how hard it is to keep this hidden." Thank you, Merlin. Amelia thought she was being helpful support.

"Well, you can continue to deny it, but I think Gwen's a very lucky woman," Morgana says.

"Gwen?" Merlin asks in confusion.

Morgana puts her finger to her lips, "It's our secret." Morgana smiles as she leaves and Amelia shakes her head laughing as she walks away with her.

Merlin's POV

Merlin sighs closing his eyes.

"I suppose that did not go how you thought?" Anne asks. Merlin jumps having forgotten she is there.

"Uh- No." He says embarrassed. How could have he misinterpreted what she was saying?

"I think I know what secret you thought she was talking about," Anne says nervously.

"What?" Merlin asks with cautious surprise.

"Could I talk to you later somewhere private?" Anne asks.

"Um...o-okay" Merlin stumbles. Anne smiles slightly before slipping out of the Cells leaving Merlin on his own.

——

Anne's POV

When Anne enters Gaius' Chambers, she can see that Merlin and Gaius have just finished eating their evening meal. "I hope I am not interrupting." She says when they notice her.

"No my dear. You have come at the right time." Gaius says smiling kindly. "I understand you wanted to talk to Merlin about something. Is it alright if I stay?"

"Y-yes that's fine. You p-probably already know about e-everything." Anne stammers. After an awkward pause, she realises she should probably say something. "Anyway, when we were defeating the afanc I heard and saw what you did."

"You know I have magic," Merlin says quietly feeling very nervous now.

"Yes. But do not worry I will not say anything!" She quickly says. "T-there's something I want to tell you." She looks over her shoulder as if someone is behind them watching before looking down at her hand and mutters a spell before opening both her eyes and hand so that Gaius and Merlin can see the flash of gold in her eyes as well as the flame that appears in her hand.

"You have magic!" Merlin exclaims.

"Merlin be quiet!" Gaius says looking concerned with how loudly Merlin had spoken.

"Sorry Gaius," Merlin mutters before turning to Anne who has been awkwardly standing there. "Can you tell me what spell you used?"

Anne smiles, "Forbærnen." Merlin smiles and tries it himself and got it on the second try. He laughs. "This is amazing!" He says. "How long have you been practising magic?"

"Since I was a young child. Gaius saved me when I was a toddler from being burnt like my parents were during the great purge." She smiles thankfully to Gaius, who has just sat watching their exchange with a small smile on his face.

Merlin spins around in surprise. "You?! But you could have put yourself in danger!"

"I have helped a few people escape Uther's rage, Merlin," Gaius says. "More than you know."

Merlin quickly turns back to Anne not putting any more thought into what Gaius says. "This is brilliant. You can help me so much! Why have you not told Amelia?"

"Amelia knows?" Anne asks in surprise, she knows about Amelia and Morgana's dreams but did not think either of them knew anything.

"Yes! She learnt about my magic when she saw me save Arthur from Lady Helen- well the woman pretending to be her." Merlin says.

"Oh," Anne says. "Maybe I should. She has not said a word about you so she seems like she can be trusted and I know that sounds stupid as I have known her for years but this is risky. If she told the King would never believe me over her." She smiles at the two men before turning around and walking to Amelia's Chambers to wait for when Amelia returns from having her meal with the King, Arthur and Morgana.

——

Amelia's POV

After a while, Amelia enters her Chambers. "Ah, Anne there you are. I think I am just going to go to bed straight away and not stay up reading." She had begun to take off different pieces of jewellery as she was saying this, not noticing how Anne shuffles and fidgets.

After no response, Amelia looks up and notices the state Anne is in. "Anne? Is everything alright?"

"Amelia, I- there's something I need to tell you." Anne stammers.

"What is it? You can tell me anything." Amelia says in what she hopes is an encouraging voice.

"I—" Anne begins before stopping as if she cannot work out what to say before, "Forbærnen."

Amelia stares in amazement at the small flame in Anne's hand. "Oh..." is all that Amelia says. Anne closes her eyes seemingly worried about what would happen next. "That's beautiful," Amelia continues. Anne relaxes and opens her eyes and before she can stop her, Amelia touches the flame.

"Ow!" Amelia exclaims. "That hurt." She pouts before putting her finger in her mouth.

Anne laughs at what she sees. "Just because it does not hurt me does not mean it will not hurt you." She says once she can stop laughing.

"Oh, now you tell me," Amelia says in mock anger.

"You did not give me a chance!" Anne responds chuckling. "So you do not hate me?"

This causes Amelia to sober up. "Of course not! Wait does this mean you heard Merlin? Does he know about you too?"

"Yes. He's the one that encouraged me to tell you. Gaius knows as well but he probably always suspected, he saved me from the fate that met my parents."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Amelia frowns. "How long have you..."

Anne interrupts before she can finish, clearly knowing what she is going to ask. "Since I was a child."

"Mmm... apparently Merlin has been able to use magic since before he could crawl."

"What?! He was born with it?" Anne asks in surprise. Merlin had clearly not told her this.

"Oh my god! You should meet the Dragon!" Amelia suddenly says. Anne looks like she can't keep up with every bit of new information Amelia says.

"The Dragon- there's actually a Dragon below the Castle?!"

"Yes! I have met him. So has Merlin." Amelia answers. "And Gaius probably." She adds.

"Really?"

"Yes. Now I am sure we can talk more but I think I should put my finger in some cool water." Amelia puts her finger back in her mouth now remembering the pain.

"Yes of course. I'll arrange someone to bring that to you and then I'll help you get ready for bed." Anne says before stepping away.

"Oh, Anne?" Amelia calls before Anne can leave. "I will not tell anyone about you."

"I know that now," Anne says looking lighter. It makes Amelia happy to know that Anne will not feel so alone now.

——

A/N: What I don't get is that while they prove that Gwen did not cause the plague, they did not prove whether she cured her father with magic or not. So did Uther assume that if she did not cause the plague she must not have magic and not be able to heal her father and Tom just somehow got better? I dunno, I didn't bother changing that and just went with it.

I hope you like that last part. I always worry how good the parts of these chapters that deviate from the episode are any good and fit with the rest of the episode. I hope I am fitting Amelia, as well as Anne, well in the story.

Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

#bbc merlin #merlin

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dailychapel · 2 years

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Acts 20:1–38 NLT - 1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. 2 While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week. 7 On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord's Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. 8 The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. 9 As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. "Don't worry," he said, "he's alive!" 11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord's Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. 12 Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved. 13 Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene. 15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn't want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost. 17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him. 18 When they arrived he declared, "You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord's work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike--the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 "And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. 25 "And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it's not my fault, 27 for I didn't shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. 28 "So guard yourselves and God's people. Feed and shepherd God's flock--his church, purchased with his own blood--over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you--my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. 32 "And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. 33 "I have never coveted anyone's silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.

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sepiabubbles · 4 years

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...I mean...

#fire emblem awakening #fe awakening #fire emblem eirika #fire emblem gaius #fe eirika #fe gaius #fire emblem chrom #fe chrom #these special dlc conversations are underrated and interesting #Gaius go bye-us #fe memes

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bitsandbobsofwriting · 4 years

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Merthur soulmate AU where they can always find each other:

Leon fulfils his self-appointed “older brother” role by helping them get away with it, and Morgana decides the son of her new guardian wasn’t so bad after all, if he came with such a great friend.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

This was requested a little while ago, also Homophobia doesn’t exist in this world and maybe that’s unrealistic but I literally don’t care, let me have this.

Everyone has a soulmate. It’s a fact of life.

No one really knows quite how it works, only that it’s something magical, and has been around since before recorded history.

Everyone can find their soulmate. They feel a tug in their heart, that always pulls them in the right direction, no matter what. No matter what obstacles or distance separates them, they may always be united, they may always find their way home.

Soulmate bonds were the one piece of magic that King Uther left untouched when he started his purge, for he was bonded to Arthur’s mother, and despite his cruelty, he could never find it in himself to deprive others of such a feeling.

(Besides, they were so ancient and global, there’s nothing he could’ve done to destroy them; easier to save his pride and leave them be.)

Very rarely, only a few times in a century, a pairing will appear whose bond is so strong, the compass in their hearts works in a slightly different manner.

King Uther’s son, Prince Arthur, and heir to the throne of Camelot, was one half of such a special pairing.

The first time the Prince disappeared, he was five, and meant to be taking a nap.

This meant that his nannies hadn’t even noticed he was gone before he reappeared in his bed, and no one in the castle knew of his little adventure.

To say Hunith was surprised by the appearance of a very young, very blond child in her kitchen was an understatement.

The last thing she was expecting to see when she turned around from laying her three year old down for a nap, was a noble-looking boy, who definitely hadn’t been there moments before.

After she recovers from her shock, she glances over at the front door (still locked) before looking back at the child with concern. She took a step towards him, and crouched down before quietly speaking:

“Hi there sweetie, how did you get in here?”

Child!Arthur ignores her, instead taking a wobbly step towards Toddler!Merlin, and without looking away from him, asks:

“Who’s that?”

Hunith is taken aback at that, and looks more closely at the child. He was clearly in sleep clothes, but they were made from expensive fabrics, and he looked chubby and happy and healthy, not like most young children around these parts.

She steps in front of Arthur again to try and catch his eye:

“Why don’t you tell me your name, and we’ll try to find your mum?”

Arthur looks at her only briefly as he pouts, before side-stepping again and regaining his line of sight to the dark haired toddler (still sleeping):

“Don’t have a mum. And dad’s busy. I wanted to find my person.”

Hunith tilts her head at that, but before she can ask what he means, Arthur finally looks at her properly, and begins speaking again:

“Are you my person? Or is it him? Nanny Marge says everyone has a person, and we can always find them.” he says it with confidence, and a self satisfied nod.

Hunith blinks, she knows all about soulmates, everyone does, but that still didn’t explain how the child had just appeared:

“Well, my name’s Hunith, and that’s my son, Merlin. Where are you from?”

Arthur yawns and stumbles towards Merlin, wrapped in blankets and laid in the corner. Hunith goes to grab him (Merlin was a fussy toddler, and it took forever to get him to sleep and she really didn’t want him to be woken up again.) but relaxes as Arthur sits cross-legged about a foot away from him, not ripping his gaze away for a moment.

He looks back up at Hunith sleepily, obviously starting to feel the effects of not napping:

“Mer-lin. I like that name. Like the birdy. I’m Prince Arthur of Camelot, son of King Uther.” He says the last part like it’s been rehearsed (it has) and Hunith stifles a gasp as she finally realises what’s happened.

Her old love, before he left, had told her of the rare pairings that appeared occasionally. The soulmates whose bond is so strong, they simply have to wish to be in the others presence, and they will appear there.

Truth be told, Hunith thought it was just a story. Soulmates are fairytale enough, but being able to appear at their side whenever you so wished? That was the stuff of love-stories and legend. Yet here stood a child, who claimed to be a Prince from another kingdom, who should be safely locked away in a castle several days journey from here. And all he seemed interested in, was Merlin.

Hunith wasn’t really sure what to do with this revelation. Not that she wasn’t glad her son had a soulmate, but her son’s soulmate was heir to a throne that would order a pyre for Merlin, even as a child. Merlin was floating spoons and lighting candles and knocking over cups before he could even crawl. Camelot was no place for him, at least not right now.

What if he accidentally did magic in front of the Prince? Would Arthur be scared, would he hate his own soulmate? Or would he not yet understand and tell someone accidentally? Would the King order his own son’s soulmate killed, if he found out?

Hunith shook the questions from her mind for now. Merlin was asleep, and she needed to figure out how to persuade Arthur that he needed to go back home:

“Arthur, that’s a lovely name. I know you want to find your person Arthur, but I think it might be best if you go home, before someone starts worrying, don’t you?”

Little Arthur yawns again, but pouts:

“I don’t want to go back. It’s so boring there, no one except Leon lets me play anything, and Leon’s busy.”

Hunith holds in a sigh, she can imagine life is difficult for an heir to the throne, especially with a father like Uther. She crouches down to his level again:

“I know sweetie, but you don’t want anyone worrying, do you?”

Arthur waits a moment before shaking his head forlornly. Hunith hopes she’s persuaded him, the only way he would go back is if he wanted to, she couldn’t force him. And she really didn’t want to have to journey back to Camelot on foot, and have to explain to the King why she had his son:

“No. I like Nanny Marge, and dad is always mean to her when she loses me.” Hunith frowns at that, but before she can say anything, Arthur stands on wobbly legs, and looks at her with determination:

“Ok. Bye-bye-”

He looks to Merlin again, and whispers his next few words, like he didn’t want to wake him:

“Bye Merlin. I promise I’ll come back-”

He looks back to Hunith again:

“Please can I come back? Leon says I should ask permission before going to someone’s home, so can I please please come back?”

Hunith worries her lip with her teeth at that, they were soulmates, she couldn’t exactly say no. But she also didn’t want to encourage the little prince to just disappear whenever he was bored:

“I... of course, Arthur, you’re more than welcome. But not too often, and not for too long, OK?” she tilts her head in question, and smiles when Arthur gives a decisive nod.

She holds in a smile as the Little Prince (what she had affectionately been referring to him as in her head) scrunched his face in concentration, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he disappears with a pop and a few sparks, and she lets out a breath of relief, hoping that he had returned safely.

She stands still for a moment and blinks, seemingly trying to process all that had happened. She hums thoughtfully, before looking lovingly towards her son, and muttering to herself:

“I have a feeling that your future just got a lot more complicated, my love.”

For the next year, Arthur would pop in and out of Hunith’s house once a month or so. He only ever came when he was meant to be having a nap (the only time he was really unsupervised during the day).

Luckily, it would appear, that he and Merlin shared nap times; Merlin can’t accidentally expose his magic to the Little Prince if he was asleep every time he appeared.

Over the visits, Hunith learnt as much about Arthur as she could. He knew Gaius, which she was definitely relieved at (and sent a letter to him explaining everything the day she found out they knew each other). Someone in the castle knowing where Arthur had disappeared off to, if anyone ever noticed, would help.

She also found out who Leon was, the son of a noble, an aspiring knight-to-be, around twelve years old to Arthur’s six (both he and Merlin had birthdays at some point between visits), and that he seemed to be the only person around who allowed Arthur to have a little fun every once in a while.

After a little coaxing, she found that Arthur didn’t really know anything about his mother, only what Leon could remember, because Uther refused to speak of her (she thought that was a little heartbreaking, but hid it well).

Arthur kept his word, and never stayed for longer than ten minutes, but Hunith worried; she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold Arthur off for very long. He had visited around thirteen times, and Merlin had been asleep for every one of them.

Arthur would want to wake him up eventually, to actually talk to his soulmate, and who knows what Merlin would do.

Eventually, a few months before Merlin’s fifth birthday, Hunith sat him down and told him what had been happening. That he and his soulmate were very special, and that Arthur had been visiting whilst he was asleep.

To say that Merlin was excited was a vast understatement, and Hunith had to quell her panic when he asked if he could visit Arthur where he was:

“No Merlin, I’m sorry, you have to stay here, remember?-”

She frowns sorrowfully at Merlin’s pout and teary eyes, before schooling her face into a smile and continuing:

“But I promise, next time he visits, I’ll wake you up and you can play together, does that sound fun?-”

She chuckles at his excited nod:

“But only if you don’t use your gift sweetheart, Arthur might not be as good at keeping secrets as you or I am, so we’ll have to wait until he’s older, do you understand?” she whispers that, hoping that it would be easier to convince him if he thought of it as a fun game, instead of a life threatening secret.

Merlin thinks for a minute before nodding:

“Yes mama. No magic until he’s older.”

Hunith pats him on the head, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for Merlin to repeatedly ask her how long until Arthur visited.

So that’s how it goes for several years, Arthur visiting Ealdor when no one was paying attention, he and Merlin playing quietly, with no magic, for a while, before Arthur popped back home.

Hunith was grateful for the current simplicity, but she knew it couldn’t last. Merlin had been asking more and more if he could visit Arthur, and it was only a matter of time before he snuck off without telling her.

That, and the magic problem.

Arthur had spoken of his lessons, how according to everyone at home, magic was evil. Merlin always looked so sad at that, and Hunith was grateful for the fact that Arthur didn’t sound so sure. But she also knew that it was only a matter of time before Arthur was convinced by his father’s determined hatred, and she didn’t want to see the heartbreak on Merlin’s face.

The first time The Little Prince spoke of an execution, he was eight, and Merlin had just had his seventh birthday. Merlin cried as Arthur described it, and Hunith had to stop the anger at Arthur growing in her: it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t exactly sound happy about it at all.

If anything, he seemed almost as upset as Merlin and when Arthur had noticed Merlin’s tears, he stopped talking immediately and bit his lip, looking to Hunith worriedly.

Hunith clenched her jaw before wrapping an arm around each of the children, and speaking to Arthur quietly as Merlin still sniffled:

“Do you think you can keep a secret, Arthur? A really big one, from everyone? Even Leon and your dad?”

He nodded vigorously, and Hunith gives him a weak smile before looking to Merlin, who stared back at her with watery eyes:

“Go on then Merlin, I think he’s old enough to know, don’t you?”

Merlin nodded this time, a little more hesitantly than Arthur, but he looks to his soulmate anyway.

Arthur stared back with wide, worried eyes, and gasped as Merlin all but whispered:

“I was born with magic. I am magic.”

Arthur looks scared for a split second, before he shuffles close to Merlin and taking his pudgy hand in his own. He thinks for a second, before looking at Hunith quickly, and then Merlin. He gives a firm nod as he says:

“I don’t care, and I promise not to tell anyone. If you have magic then it can’t be evil, and when I’m King, I’ll make sure everyone else knows that as well.”

Hunith lets out a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders as Arthur’s short arms pull the three of them into a tight hug.

The first time Merlin disappears, is almost a year later. Arthur was nine, and Merlin was only a few days away from being eight.

During Arthur’s last visit, he had told them of a new addition to the castle, a sad, dark haired girl called Morgana, a year older than him.

He explained that something had happened to her parents, and his father had taken her in.

Merlin seemed concerned at that, and Hunith had a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before her son decided he wanted to help her (the boy was dangerously empathetic, he teared up at even the thought of other people suffering).

When she found the scrawled note on the table (Arthur had begun sneaking books with him, and he and Hunith would sit with Merlin, teaching him to read and write as best they could) with backwards letters and misspelt words, she almost panicked.

But she sat herself down and took a deep breath, knowing that Arthur had managed to keep the secret so far, and that Merlin could just reappear if he found himself in danger.

That didn’t stop her from scolding a sheepish Merlin when he returned half an hour later.

Arthur and Merlin had organised it on their previous visit. Arthur would make sure that he was locked safely in his room at a specific time, and Merlin could come to him for a change. Then Arthur could go get Morgana (and maybe Leon) so he could meet them.

Morgana had only been there for a month or so, and she had yet to warm up to Arthur. She was quiet, but had a sharp tongue when she chose to speak, not that that had put Arthur off quite yet.

He was still determined that they would be friends, and Merlin was great! So what better way to get Morgana to like him, than to introduce her to Merlin?

Merlin was overjoyed when he appeared in Arthur’s room, the bedchamber being larger that the footprint of his entire house back in Ealdor. The bed itself was what he found most impressive, it was so huge and soft! And there were so many blankets and pillows! Merlin quietly thought to himself that he should come here more often.

Arthur was nervous. Excited, but nervous. They’d known each other for years now, but this was the first time that Merlin was actually seeing his home. What if he didn’t like it? What if he didn’t want to be soulmates anymore, because he preferred his own home?

(”Although-” The Little Prince started to think, “if Merlin decided he wanted to stay in Ealdor, I think I would just stay with him. ‘Gana can do all my boring King stuff here, and I can go be a farmer with Merlin.”)

Those nerves disappeared the moment he saw the grin on Merlin’s face. Arthur showed Merlin where to hide, just in case, whilst he went to fetch Morgana. He had already told her he had a surprise, so it shouldn’t take too long to persuade her to follow him.

Arthur found her in a flower garden hidden round the back of the castle, she gave in and allowed him to drag her by the hand to his chambers with only minimal grumbling. She did however glare as Arthur pressed a hand over her mouth when she went to question why they were hiding from everyone who passed them in the corridors.

Eventually they were stood outside Arthur’s chambers, but before they enter, Arthur turns to Morgana and whispers conspiratorially:

“This is a secret so you have to promise not to tell anyone, kay? Not even Leon or my dad.”

Before Morgana could reply, she gasps, looking over Arthur’s shoulder with wide eyes.

Arthur turns and bites his lip as he sees Leon (now 15, and well into his initial Knight training) leaning against the wall casually, arms folded on his chest, and an eyebrow raised:

“What is it that no one is meant to be telling me, My Lord?”

Morgana stands in silence, hands folded in front of her, trying to appear as casual as possible as Arthur stutters:

“Oh... err... nothing Leon. I just wanted.... I wanted to show ‘Gana what I learnt on the piano this morning!” He hears Morgana huff behind him, she hated when Arthur called her that, and had said as much to him, but he didn’t seem to care.

Leon raises his eyebrow even further as he begins walking towards the two children:

“Is that so? Well why is that such a big secret? Don’t you want to show me too?”

As Leon stops in front of Arthur, towering over the boy, he puts his serious “I’m-potentially-about-to-tell-you-off-if-you-don’t-start-telling-the-truth” face:

“I... uhh... wanted it to be a secret! Until I get better! Then I can show you and dad!”

Morgana struggles not to mutter complaints at his terrible lying as Leon sighs:

“Arthur, what have we said about lying? It makes communication hard, and makes it difficult for people to trust you, and will only lead to problems later on. Would you like to try again?”

Arthur looks to the floor as he shuffles again, and Morgana feels just a little sorry for him. Not that she would say that.

Leon sighs once more and crouches to his level, forcing Arthur to meet his eyes. He gives the young prince a small smile as he speaks:

“If you don’t want to tell me Arthur, that’s fine. “It’s a secret for me and Morgana” is a perfectly acceptable answer. But lying isn’t. If you promise me that you aren’t doing anything naughty, then I’ll trust you, but I would feel better if another adult did know about it.”

Arthur looks up at him at that, surprised. His father would never accept Arthur keeping secrets from him. He replies quietly:

“It’s a secret for me and Morgana... and an adult does know about it... sort of. And it isn’t bad, I promise! Buuuuut-”

Arthur fiddles with his hands as he looks to his door briefly, before looking back at Leon:

“-if you promise to keep it a secret too, then you can see!-”

Arthur pulls his face into a scowl before continuing:

“-but ONLY if you promise!”

Leon hums exaggeratedly, and rubs his chin:

“Well... I promise to keep it a secret IF it isn’t naughty, or hurting anyone. How does that sound?”

Arthur’s face breaks into a grin and he nods, before opening his door and stepping inside. He quickly waves the others in and shuts and locks the door behind them, taking their hands in his own:

“You can come out now Merls, I’ve bought them!”

Leon and Morgana were astonished when a skinny, semi-grubby, obviously peasant-boy, came crawling out from under Arthur’s bed, and had to hold in gasps.

Merlin stands awkwardly as Arthur grins at him, and waves nervously to the new-comers:

“Hi... I’m Merlin. Me and Arthur are-”

Before he can finish, Arthur excitedly interrupts him:

“He’s my soulmate!”

The room is silent for a while, Merlin getting more nervous by the second, Arthur practically bouncing off the walls with excitement (and being oblivious to the awkwardness), Morgana being marginally surprised but taking it in her stride, and Leon... well... Leon was absolutely freaking out. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at him.

After only about a minute (but it feels like forever for Merlin), Leon stutters some words out:

“Arthur where did you.... why... where did you find this kid??”

Arthur looks to him in confusion as he stops jumping up and down:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate.-”

He puffs up his chest and puts his hand on his hips, looking extremely proud of himself as he continues:

“-I found him all on my own. I’ve been visiting him forever, but I wanted him to come here for once, so he could meet ‘Gana.”

Morgana breaks out her stupor at that, and looks at Arthur incredulously before looking back at Merlin:

“Hi, Merlin.” with a small smile, which Merlin returns.

Leon takes in a deep breath, wondering how the hell he was supposed to deal with this. The Prince had... kidnapped a commoner? Without anyone in the castle noticing?? What??? Nothing in his lessons trained him for this.

He shakes off his confusion and finally looks away from Merlin, and to Arthur:

“Wait... what do you mean you’ve been visiting him? When have you been going? And where?”

Arthur swayed on the spot, trying to look innocent:

“At the beginning I went when I was supposed to be napping. Then I would go when I was meant to be doing self-study. I only go once or month or so, and not for very long. Merlin’s mum is always worried about someone missing me.”

Leon takes another deep breath:

“Arthur... how did you sneak out without anyone noticing? And how did you get Merlin in?”

As much as Leon wanted to solve the problem of “there is a random commoner child in the prince’s room” thing, he was also greatly disturbed by the fact that two children, who hadn’t even hit double digits yet, had been sneaking in and out of what was meant to be a heavily fortified, guarded, castle, for years.

Arthur seems to have a realisation at Leon’s questions:

“OH! Like this!”

With that, he runs out the room, and Leon goes to follow him, but the prince manages to shut the door just before he got there.

Morgana is looking on all of this with mild confusion and shock, not really understanding what was going on, but happy to wait quietly and see what would happen.

Just as Leon goes to open the door, he hears a pop, followed by a voice from behind him:

“See!” Leon freezes and he hears Morgana gasp.

The teen turns around slowly, to see a grinning Arthur stood next to a cheerful looking Merlin:

“Uhh... Arthur, how did you do that?-”

Leon begins panicking, the only thing running through his head is “sorcery!” and whilst he would like to believe that Uther would never harm his own son, with the way he was going with the purge... there was no guarantee.

He rushes forward and grips Arthur’s shoulders:

“I need you to tell me how you did that, right now Arthur, it’s important.”

Arthur frowns as he replies:

“I told you. He’s my soulmate. I just have to want to be with him, and I can be. Merlin’s mum says it’s super rare, and that makes us special.” Morgana once again gasps at that before smiling, and speaking for the first time since she said hello to Merlin:

“I heard about that! Two of the nobles in my old home could do it. It IS rare, but sometimes soulmates can blink and be next to each other, if they wanted that!”

Arthur and Merlin nod enthusiastically at that, and Leon sags with relief, now that his mind and heart weren’t racing so much, he did remember briefly reading something about that during his studies. And if all of this was just soulmate magic... then they should be safe.

Though by the looks of the boy... probably still best not tell Uther about it. He doubts the King would be pleased about his son being bonded with a peasant.

“Ok... ok.-”

Leon turns his attention to Merlin:

“-You said your name was Merlin? Does someone know that you’re here?”

Merlin nods as he replies:

“I left a note for my mum. But I can’t be too long though, or she’ll worry.”

Leon looks surprised at that:

“You can read and write?”

“I taught him!” comes proudly from Arthur.

Leon nods again and re-locks the door behind him, before gesturing at everyone to sit on the soft rug together.

After establishing that Merlin had only arrived just before Arthur went to fetch Morgana, Leon says that they can sit and talk for another 15 minutes or so before Merlin had to go home.

Arthur pouted at that, but a look from Leon stopped him before he actually complained. Morgana and Leon spent the time asking questions about Merlin: where he was from, and how old he was, and about his family.

Merlin was shy at first, but Arthur had been talking about Leon forever, and Morgana seemed nice, even if she did look a bit sad sometimes.

After their time was up, everyone gave Merlin a quick hug, and Arthur promised he’d try to pop over at some point next week (Leon definitely had to stop the momentary panic at that).

Merlin disappeared with a pop, and Arthur made Morgana and Leon promise not to tell once more. Once they promised, they each wondered off Morgana to an afternoon lesson, Leon to s training session, both deep in thought.

Arthur smiled to himself. He didn’t like keeping things from Leon, because he was the only one around who was any fun, and Morgana had definitely seemed happier. So his plan succeeded!

It continued like that for some time. Arthur was the one who went to Merlin’s most often, but occasionally Merlin would go to him.

Morgana slowly started cheering up, recovering from her grief, and the three of them (almost always overseen by an always-worrying Leon) loved spending time together, and playing in the safety of Arthur’s chambers.

Thankfully, Uther never questioned it, happy that his son and his new ward seemed to be getting along finally.

The first time Merlin woke crying from a nightmare that was filled with smoke and fire, he was twelve.

He appeared in Arthur’s room within seconds, wanting nothing but the comfort of having his soulmate next to him, and Arthur woke to the quiet sniffling of a distraught Merlin perched on the end of his bed.

Before he’s even fully awake, he has him wrapped in a hug, and is stroking his hair in an effort to calm him.

There may not be guards stationed outside his rooms during the day, but there were at night, and would be until he turned 18 (still four and a half years away), so they needed to be quiet.

They fall asleep curled up next to each other, clutching hands, and Merlin sleeps through the rest of the night without a problem. (They both wake with a start as a servant knocks on the door the next morning, and after the quickest hug they’ve ever shared, Merlin pops away, back to his own bed.)

That begins to happen more and more often, and after a couple weeks, Merlin is sleeping in Arthur’s bed most nights.

He isn’t quite sure if he sleeps so much better because the bed is worth more than his entire village (it’s so comfy!), or if his magic is more relaxed with Arthur by his side, but either way, the nightmares stop almost entirely.

Hunith realises fairly quickly what’s going on, and does worry briefly if going to the place his nightmares took place in was the best, but Merlin seemed happier, and less tired, and once he promised to always be back before the servants came into Arthur’s room, she was a little more ok with it.

(She also made Merlin and Arthur swear to tell Leon, just in case. She hasn’t met Leon of course, but the boys talk about him and Morgana constantly, and she was grateful that the boys had someone other than Gaius (who hadn’t actually met Merlin yet) to look out for them. At this rate, Leon wouldn’t be surprised if all of this caused him to have a heart attack before he was even officially knighted. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.)

Once Arthur finally persuades Merlin to tell him what his nightmares are about, he’s horrified. It’ll be then that Arthur will begin to be more vocal about his objection to the executions, and ask questions about magic. Uther always punishes him of course, but Arthur just learns to hold his tongue instead.

Merlin cries, Morgana smiles widely, and Leon is speechless, when Arthur tells them that:

“When I’m King, magic will be everywhere! Of course people will have to be careful with it, but in the same way us knights have to be careful with swords. Isn’t that right, Leon?”

Leon goes pale at that, and takes a few moments to respond:

“Right... well. Just.... make sure you do your research Arthur, and that you know all the facts, and do NOT, no matter what, ever tell your father about this. Do you understand?”

Arthur nods glumly. He’s tried to change his father’s mind in the past, and it got him nothing but bruised knuckles and an hour long yelled lecture and extra training hours with the knights.

Leon looks to a sniffling Merlin next, and asks him what’s wrong. Arthur holds in a worried gasp, and Morgana raises an eyebrow (even at 14, she was incredibly observant and smart, she knew what was up).

Merlin grabs Arthur’s hand, but looks up at Leon through thick eyelashes, and mumbles so quietly, Leon barely hears it:

“Promise you won’t get mad? Or hate me?”

Leon has a bad feeling that he knows where this is going, but he puts a gentle hand on Merlin’s shoulder and gives him a soft smile:

“I could never hate you Merlin, promise.”

At that, Merlin bites his lip, and glances at Arthur quickly, before looking to the fire in the hearth. Leon furrows his brow in confusion, and Morgana hides an excited smile as Merlin mumbles under his breath:

“Give me a dragon.”

Leon gasps and takes a step back as the flames flutter, as if blown by a strong wind, before morphing into a miniature dragon.

The royal sorta-siblings look on in wonder as Merlin screws his face in concentration, eyes glowing golden, and Leon stares, speechless.

After a few minutes of the dragon flying around the large fireplace, it fades back into the flames again. Morgana whispers under her breath:

“That was amazing!” and Arthur smiles proudly as Merlin takes in deep breaths. He’d never held it that long before, and it had worn him out slightly.

He looks back to Leon (who is still staring dumbly at the fire) and furrows his brows in worry:

“You did promise... you’re not scared of me are you?” He looks close to tears again, and the tremble in his voice grabs Leon’s attention once again.

The older teen gathers the three of them in a tight hug, before whispering (worried someone would hear, even though they never have before):

“Of course I’m not scared of you, Birdy (an affectionate nickname, started by Morgana, and picked up by everyone else, much to Merlin’s chagrin), you just have to promise to be careful. I promise to try my best, but if someone else finds out I probably won’t be able to protect you, Ok?”

At that he pulls back, but grips Merlin’s shoulders tightly, worry written all over his face. When Merlin only nods infinitesimally, Leon shakes him ever so slightly, and gives him a desperate look:

“OK??” Merlin nods more vigorously, and mutters out an “I understand, Leon.”

Leon lets go and sighs, looking to the floor and fiddling with his hands hidden behind his back (one of the many rules he learnt growing up as a noble: fidgeting is a sign on weakness).

He takes in a fortifying breath and moves his hands to his sides before looking out the window, noticing that it’s almost dusk and looking back to the three children with a smile:

“You best get home Merlin, it’s getting late and I don’t want your mum to worry. Same time next week, ok? Next time we see each other, I’ll be a knight.” He says it with a grin, and smiles light up on the other’s faces as well. They were young, but they knew how much this meant to Leon, especially Arthur, who was about a year into his training.

Merlin gives everyone a quick hug, lingering a little longer on Arthur (like always) before stepping back, and disappearing with a pop.

The secret is revealed when Merlin is 15 (Arthur being 16, Morgana being 17, and Leon being 22).

The four of them had agreed a next meeting time, like normal, though they were having to be far more careful. With Arthur being older, he was being saddled with more and more responsibilities. His training hours and lessons were longer, he was expected to travel away from the city more, and he shadowed The King whilst he undertook his duties for the rest of the day.

Uther had mentioned Arthur’s soulmate in passing a few times (that always incited a hidden smirk from Morgana, and a nervous gulp from Leon, if he was around).

But Arthur always managed to derail the conversation and avoid the topic by saying something along the lines of “Finding my soulmate is important to me father, but not as important as learning to be the best King I can be for the kingdom. I feel the pull everyday, but until I am steadfast in my abilities and duties, it will remain unimportant to me.”

Uther always looked partially sad at that, he had loved Arthur’s mother, his soulmate, very much. But mostly he is proud at Arthur’s confidence and determination and loyalty.

If only he realised that Arthur was lying through his teeth, and had decided when he was incredibly young that he would happily hand all of it over to Morgana, in order to lead a simpler life with Merlin.

Anyway.

The next meeting time had been agreed. But bandits had been sighted causing trouble a few hours outside of the city, and Arthur was called to attend an emergency council meeting.

The page didn’t leave his side for a second, leading him straight to the council-room, meaning that Arthur couldn’t pop away for even two seconds to warn Merlin not to come.

He just had to hope that the meeting was over quick, and he could escape somewhere solitary before the young Warlock came around.

He was so close.

He paid close attention during the meeting, making excellent suggestions and being generally helpful, in an effort to speed things along. This backfired in a way he didn’t quite expect.

The meeting ended, knights sent to deal with the problem in the manner decided, and councilman heading back to whatever it is they did when not in meetings (at this point Arthur still doesn’t know, and is too afraid to ask).

The Prince had almost made it out of the door before Uther called him back in. He halts in the doorway, and Morgana, ahead of him in the hallway, looks back, giving him a fearful look and mouthing “Give him an excuse! Hurry!”

Arthur turns back to the room (now devoid of everyone but The King and himself):

“I apologise father, but I was in the middle of-”

Uther gives him a stern look, and crooks a finger towards himself:

“Come. Here.”

Arthur schools his face, appearing blank, as he re-enters the room and shuts the door behind him. He stands to attention in front of his father, and figures this is just another part of the meeting he would have to hurry along.

He glances at the shadows on the wall quickly, he should have another few minutes, as long as Merlin didn’t get too excited and appear earlier than he’s meant to.

“I wanted to congratulate you today Arthur. You did very well-”

He places a hand on his son’s shoulder and smiles hesitantly:

“-I... I’m proud of you. You’re learning well, picking things up quickly. You understand the workings of court and council near fluently now, and Sirs Kay and Leon tell me that your combat training is going astoundingly.”

Arthur’s resolve crumbles a little at that, and he almost forgets his desperation to leave the room:

“I... thank you, father. I’m trying my best to do you and the kingdom proud.”

Uther nods firmly at that and removes his hand, stepping back, the tender moment over as quickly as it had begun:

“Good. You are dismissed for the day, go back to your studies.”

Arthur struggles to hold in a relieved sigh as he bows briefly before turning around and almost rushing towards the door. He is too late however, and just as he reaches for the doorknob, he hears the tell tale pop sound from behind him. He freezes as he hears:

“Arthur, where the hell-” quickly interrupted by his father roaring:

“WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! GUARDS!”

Arthur rushes to turn around and grabs Merlin’s hand, pulling him to the side as guards burst through the door he was just stood in front of.

All of them raise swords at the terrified boy that Uther was pointing at, and Arthur quickly positions his body between them and Merlin:

“NO! Don’t hurt him! Please!”

Morgana rushes in just moments after the guards, and spots the boys immediately, stepping around the knights and standing next to Arthur defiantly. Uther looks affronted before yelling, red-faced:

“What is the meaning of this? Explain yourselves this instant, and get away from that beast!”

Morgana tightens her jaw as she takes Merlin’s other hand protectively in her own. She can feel him shaking, but knows he is too scared to just disappear again. She’s secretly grateful for that. If Merlin disappeared now there would be a manhunt and demands of explanations. The King might believe them if they can show him the truth (the same way the boys had shown her and Leon all those years ago).

“Please father, just listen. Merlin is my soulmate, it isn’t sorcery, we simply have a bond stronger than others-”

At Uther’s still-angry snarl, Arthur straightens his back, and takes in a breath, standing still and strong:

“You will NOT harm him. I would lay down my life before you lay a hand on him.” The guards falter a little at that, but still keep their swords raised.

Arthur hears Merlin take in a shaky breath at that, and squeezes his hand slightly. Morgana nods her agreement and Arthur gives her a brief, grateful smile as she says confidently:

“The same goes for me, if you wish to harm Merlin, or separate him from Arthur, you will have to order your guards to strike me down first.”

Uther lets out a growl at that:

“Soulmate or not, he used sorcery to appear out of thin air. That is treachery!”

Arthur huffs before shouting back:

“NO! Just ask Gaius, or Geoffrey. Occasionally, there are soulmates whose bond is stronger than normal, just ask Gaius-”

Arthur gives Uther his own growl as he continues:

“-And like I said. I would challenge you yourself, before I allowed anyone to hurt him.”

Uther slumps slightly and narrows his eyes at his son before telling one of the younger guards to fetch Gaius and Geoffrey immediately. He does however tell the other guards to keep their swords trained on the boy, and Merlin almost takes a frightened step back, only stopped by Arthur and Morgana, who hold him steady.

Arthur and Uther remain in a hard staring contest for the few minutes it takes the guard to return, Gaius and Geoffrey in tow.

Gaius glances at Merlin in surprise, but covers it quickly as he returns his gaze to The King as he growls:

“Tell me all you know of soulmate bonds.”

Geoffrey speaks first, confusion in his tone:

“My Lord?”

Uther levels a glare at him as he yells:

“NOW!”

Geoffrey is taken aback, but replies immediately:

“Well My Lord, everyone on this earth has a soulmate, someone whose soul is bound to your own. The bonds provide a compass of sorts, meaning that one can always tell what direction their soulmate is, and, with practice, roughly how far away they are. No one is certain of how these bonds come about, though centuries of research show that they aren’t harmful in anyway, and other than incredibly rare, extreme, cases, the two whose souls are bonded are a perfect match for each other; bound to fall in love-”

Gaius jumps in here:

“And in even rarer cases, My Lord, a pair may appear whose bond is so strong, they have further... abilities. This pair of souls will be able to appear to each other at will, only needing to wish to be in the other’s presence. They are also able to disappear again, but may only transport themselves to the position they were before. Academics are even more perplexed as to how these bonds are forged, though the only known pairs with such a bond have all gone on to achieve great things.”

Gaius resists the urge to look towards the three teenagers, and keeps his placating gaze on The King, who does seem to be calming slightly. Uther looks to Geoffrey for confirmation, and the librarian nods, adding:

“It is incredibly rare sire, but possible, and proven.”

Uther is considerably less angry now, but the guards don’t relax, and neither do Arthur or Morgana as The King speaks again:

“How would one prove such a bond, and differentiate it from sorcery?”

Gaius jumps to answer this question, trying to keep control of the situation:

“Well one could simply ask for a demonstration-”

He gestures to the teenagers still huddled to the side:

“-I’m assuming that these...?-”

At Uther’s stiff nod, he continues:

“-might I ask Prince Arthur to leave the room, the door shut behind him, and demonstrate his ability?” Uther looks angry for a moment, and Morgana tightens her hold on Merlin as he takes in a scared gasp. After a few moments of deliberation, The King looks to his son and gives a slight, but firm, nod.

Arthur gives Merlin a quick smile, and reluctantly lets go of his hand before saying:

“I’m only leaving him if the guards sheath their swords, and step back-”

Uther goes to interrupt him, but Arthur continues harshly:

-And THAT, is final.”

Uther gives a nod once more, and the guards cautiously put their swords away. Arthur nods at Morgana, and she takes his place directly in front of Merlin as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Morgana can feel Merlin shaking behind her, but she grits her teeth, and squeezes his hand. She meant what she said, she would force the guards to cut her down before she allowed them to hurt her friend.

A second later, she hears the tell tale pop, and smirks slightly at the astounded look on Uther’s face, not having to look to know that Arthur was now stood behind her.

Uther still looks slightly disbelieving, but before he can say anything (or God forbid accuse his son of sorcery) Gaius speaks up:

“I have both ancient and modern literature on the subject My Lord, if you would like to read about it.”

Uther lets out a sigh, and purses his lips before looking to the physician:

“Very well. Have them ready for me tonight. Everybody out! I wish to talk to my son and this... boy.”

Gaius throws one last glance to the three teenagers, before shuffling out the room, closely followed by Geoffrey and the guards. Morgana stays in place.

Uther looks exasperated before saying:

“That includes you, Morgana. Out-”

Morgana interrupts him angrily:

“No. I will not leave. Merlin may be Arthur’s soulmate, but he’s my friend as well. I won’t allow you to hurt him, or speak down to him.”

Uther looks enraged once again, but Arthur speaks before he can start yelling again:

“I shan’t talk about it unless Morgana is allowed to remain, father. She has been nothing but loyal and protective of Merlin, and as his soulmate, I appreciate that greatly. She stays.”

Arthur thought about demanding that Sir Leon be summoned as well, but he didn’t want to get the man into trouble, he had already done so much for them. And besides, Arthur is fairly certain that if he continues to order his Father around like this, he’ll lose his temper once more. There’s only so many demands someone can make of the King before context becomes unimportant, and it becomes a matter of pride.

Uther grits his teeth once more before nodding, and muttering out a quiet “Fine.”.

The King straightens himself, and regains his regal composure before speaking once again:

“Merlin, was it? Bring yourself forward, boy.”

Morgana goes to argue, and Arthur looks insulted, both about to retort against the tone and choice of words, but before they can say anything, Merlin pushes between them, to face Uther head on.

He gives a small bow, but maintains eye contact, and speaks once he raises again:

“Yes sire, my name is Merlin.”

Uther scowls as he looks him up and down, and Merlin can feel Arthur and Morgana fuming either side of him.

“You look like nothing but a farmer. I will not have my son and only heir, bonded to a peasant.”

Merlin goes to retort at that, indignant at having his worth as a person lowered by his class status, but before even Arthur can speak up, Morgana steps forwards angrily:

“I told you, I will not allow you to speak down to him. Merlin is a wonderful person. Kind, and compassionate, and wise beyond his years; he’s twice the man most of your so called nobles are, you will treat him with the respect he deserves, or the three of us will leave right now.”

Merlin is taken aback at that. I suppose because it’s only ever been the three of them, and Leon, he’s never really seen Morgana angry. Sure, he’s listened to her rant about the unjustness of Uther’s laws, but never anything like this. The display of somewhat aggressive protectiveness from her definitely makes him tear up a little.

Uther’s face turns red at her demand, and he looks about ready to kick off again, but Arthur steps forward, in line with Morgana (once again, leaving Merlin protected behind them):

“As she said father. Merlin is my soulmate, whether you like it or not. I will not leave him, we will not be separated, and that will never change. If you can not speak to him respectfully, then you won’t speak to either of us at all.”

Merlin takes Arthur’s shoulder and pushes himself forward again before saying quietly:

“Arthur, no, he’s your father. I don’t mind, it’s fine, maybe I should go?”

Arthur doesn’t look at him, but takes his hand wordlessly, gripping it tight as he glares at Uther (who looks slightly taken aback at the offer).

Morgana once again takes Merlin’s other hand and says:

“No. We’re resolving this now, and The King is just going to have to come to terms with the fact that someone’s status does not define their worth.” She looks pointedly at Uther at that, and the older man sighs, rubbing his eyes slightly, before gesturing to the council table:

“Fine. Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, take a seat, and we shall discuss how we plan to move forward.”

END OF PART 1

Part 2 is up! Part 3 is up!

Let me know what y’all think :)

#merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #merthur soulmate au #uther #uther being a dick #morgana #good morgana #bamf merlin #arthur #prince arthur #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #leon #sir leon #gaius #geoffrey

573 notes · View notes

botanicallyinclinednerd · 3 years

Text

Moments that highlight Merlin and Gwaine’s dynamic:

3x04: Gwaine's first words directly to Merlin are "pass the jug" which Merlin does and he just stares as Gwaine drinks from it and punches a guy in the face with no problem.

3x04: Gwaine flirting asking Merlin for his name and introducing himself to Merlin in the middle of a bar fight (that he threw the first punch of because he saw Arthur and Merlin had gotten themselves into a predicament). Merlin is completely baffled by this man that bashed someone over the head with a pitcher of alcohol, commented on the waste of alcohol, and threw himself back into the thick of the fight with a flip of his hair

3x04: Merlin has no idea how to react to Gwaine and his attitude towards nobles or his reason for helping them in the tavern being due to their slim odds of winning

3x04: Merlin’s stunned exasperation at Gwaine’s bar tab

3x04: Drunk Gwaine telling Merlin as he helps him up the stairs to his bed, "You're the best friend I've ever had" and Merlin replying "you seem to have quite a few" and laughing at Gwaine’s drunken laughter. They then exchange bits of their tragic backstories. Gwaines laughter at hitting his head against the wall sets Merlin off again, laughing at Gwaine’s antics.

3x04: the conversation about fathers while cleaning the boots. If I'm not mistaken, Gwaine is the only person, Gaius aside, that Merlin ever talked to about Balinor after having briefly met him.

3x04: Gwaine getting concerned when Merlin doesn't come back quickly and going to find him. Gwaine asking Merlin if he's okay and upon getting a "no" from Merlin, readily fighting the two "knights" to protect Merlin

3x04: Merlin apologizing for Gwaine getting banished and when Gwaine brushes it off and says "People get sick of me too quickly" Merlin quickly replies "I didn't" and Gwaine seems surprised by this: "After the trouble I caused?" And he laughs at Merlins response "you livened the place up." Gwaine gives Merlin a pat on the shoulder and a smile/nod in farewell.

3x04: Merlin grinning as he recognizes Gwaine’s disarming maneuver on one if the thug knights.

3x04: Merlin expressing concern at Gwaine saying he might go to Mercia. Merlin proceeds to try to convince Gwaine to stay. Like the first time in the episode Gwaine says good bye, Gwaine claps Merlin on the shoulder and gives him a nod and a smile. It also looks like he winks at Merlin as well this time.

3x08: Merlin grinning when he greets Gwaine when he finds him in a bar brawl. Gwaine looks and sounds delighted to see Merlin, grinning back. Ignores the fight to greet Merlin, the shot changing to show Gwaine with his arm around Merlin shoulders

3x08:The whole escape scene is amazing, the music adding to the hilarity. Gwaine, like any good friend, shrugging and pushing Merlin off the wall into the hay bellow

3x08: Them laughing over Merlin searching every tavern in Angard for Gwaine and Gwaine replying he'd be in all of them

3x08: Campfire scene in the Perilous lands. Merlin asks Gwaine why he wants to help and Gwaine responds "Same reason as you. To help a friend," and when Merlin says "Arthur is lucky to have us" Gwaine replies "Not Arthur," while looking at merlin with this look on his face and giving Merlin a tiny smile. Merlin responds "I'd do the same for you," "I'd hope so. You're the only friend I've got." Merlin raises his eyebrows at that "I'm not surprised" and they both laugh

3x08: Gwaine pushing Merlin into the room out of the way of the descending stone wall

3x08: Gwaine pulling Merlin into a hug when they find Merlin unharmed in the room. Its a very bro-y hug with back slaps

3x08: Merlin smiles at Gwaine and thanks him for his help as they part ways at the border.

3x12: Gwaine started moving towards Merlin and Arthur after he heard Merlin’s voice, meaning he recognized it. Merlin is delighted to see Gwaine, grinning widely. Gwaine calls Merlin "old friend" and puts his hands on Merlin's shoulders

3x12: Merlin telling Gwaine what their quest is and Arthur getting annoyed because it was a secret and Merlins response is "Its Gwaine!"

3x12: The fire wood bit where Gwaine messes with Merlin and Merlin doesn't realize it. "Merlin, don't you know when someone's joking with you?" Merlin laughs. Gwaine then makes a quip about his reputation and winks at Merlin

3x13: Gwaine asks Merlin if he's alright, comments that it looked like Merlin had seen a ghost

4x01: when Merlin spots Gwaine and Percival chicken fishing from the grate, Gwaine puts a finger to his lips with a grin. Merlin is amused by their antics

4x02: Gwaine gives Merlin a hug when he rejoins them before the Isle of the Blessed

4x04: Gwaine compliments Merlin on the stew and thanks him while putting a hand on Merlin’s shoulder

4x04: the poisoned stew scene, Gwaine obnoxiously eats over Merlin shoulder and pats Merlin on the shoulder while Merlin is probably plotting his revenge against all 5 of them

4x06: Gwaine goes with Arthur to find Merlin and he talks up Merlin to Arthur. Can be inferred that Gwaine is indirectly telling Arthur to praise Merlin more. Gwaine can be seen grinning in the background when he and Arthur find Merlin

4x06: Gwaine calls Merlin "bog man" and looks hurt when Merlin refuses to let him snag any of the food and snaps at him.

4x06: Old man Merlin antagonizing Gwaine, alluding to his nobility without actually saying it. Merlin’s motivations behind this taunt are unclear

4x07: Gwaine is waiting for Merlin in Gaius’s chambers to check on him. Merlin is not happy to see him and is at first rather snappy. Gwaine seems a bit hurt by Merlin's dismissal, but he still lets Merlin know he's there to help him. Gwaine goes with Merlin to find Gaius

4x07 deleted scene: Gwaine and Merlin stop to eat around a fire. Gwaine assures Merlin that they will find Gaius and Merlin thanks him for the help. Merlin promises to return the favor one day and Gwaine makes a joke about Merlin maybe regretting that considering all the trouble he gets into. They laugh and then have a short heart to heart about fathers. (This scene can be found on YouTube under Merlin "4x07 deleted scenes")

4x07: when Gwaine is knocked to the ground by his opponent, Merlin used magic to knock him off his feet and he ended up landing on Gwaine. Gwaine is staring up at Merlin with wide eyes. Merlin helps Gwaine to his feet

4x07: Gwaine looks very displeased when Merlin tells Gwaine not to wait for him if he finds Gaius. Gwaine ends up trying to go looking for Merlin anyways but is talked out of it by Agravaine (btw Gwaine looks like he wants so badly to stab Agravaine in that scene on multiple occasions and I think its a shame that he didn't)

4x08: The fishing pole interaction in the night. The light banter

4x08: if you watch Gwaine in the background of the scene where Leon goes off on Merlin and calls him "nothing but a servant" you can see Gwaine looking livid and a muscle jumps in his jaw. The next scene when he shoves into Leon he asks Leon "why don’t you mind your damn tongue?" Which doesn't connect to Leon telling Gwaine to mind where he's going. It does however connect to Leon yelling at Merlin.

4x10: Gwaine scaring Merlin in the shrine by suddenly grabbing his shoulder and whispering "boo"

4x10: Gwaine giving Merlin a pouch of salt as protection against spirits and telling him if it didn't work, gaius could use it as seasoning. Merlin isn't amused by that

4x12: Gwaine pulls Merlin back and tells him they had no time to argue, Merlin needed to go.

5x02: Merlin smiles when he sees Gwaine alive

5x04: Gwaine is concerned for Merlin when he’s found unconscious, helping Percival lay him down and sitting by Merlin's head with his hands on Merlin's shoulders. He expresses concern to Gaius when Merlin takes too long to wake up

5x04: Gwaine is delighted to see Merlin awake and definitely goes in for a hug which Merlin derails by putting his hands on Gwaine’s shoulders and moving away before Gwaine can hug him. In the background Gwaine does a little smirk and head shake and Merlin back to his normal self

5x04: Before Merlin goes off to find Arthur, Gwaine stops him with a hand on his shoulder, wishing him luck

5x07: Merlin’s conversation with Gwaine about his suspicion that Arthur was not safe in Camelot. Gwaine promises Merlin that he will stick close to Arthur to protect him. He gives merlin his word.

5x07: connecting to the point above: Gwaine goes to check on Gwen when they lost the "intruder" if you really over analyze this scene and the scene in the courtyard, you could come to the conclusion that Gwaine is aware Merlin is in the room. His eyes keep darting to the corner where Merlin is and in fact its Gwaine looking in that direction that tips Gaius off to Merlin in that corner. When the previous point is taken into account, it is doubtful that Gwaine would have left Arthur unless he had reason to believe he was in more danger if he stayed than if he went with Gwen. But this is conjecture on my part and just what I took away from these scenes.

5x07: Gwaine smiles kindly at Merlin when he’s let out of the cells

5x11: Gwaine chuckling and commenting that Merlin had caught something on the hunting trip too (a cold)

5x11: Gwaine asking Merlin what was wrong after he and Leon encounter Mordred threatening Merlin in the hallway. Gwaine looks slightly concerned, especially after Merlin brushes it off and claims it was nothing.

5x12: Gwaine’s confidence in Merlins healing ability: "don't worry, Merlin knows what he’s doing"

5x12: Gwaine going with "my friend Merlin" to the crystal caves. That Merlin chose Gwaine speaks to his trust in him, and that he agreed readily speaks to Gwaine’s friendship to Merlin

5x12: Gwaine thanking Merlin for helping Eria, Merlin implying that Gwaine likes her, light teasing

5x12: Merlin lying defenseless on the ground and screaming for Gwaine, sounding absolutely petrified. Gwaine was already moving to Merlin before he yelled, as he noticed when Merlin went down. Gwaine asks him if he's okay and holds a hand out to help Merlin to his feet. Merlin thanks him and Gwaine replies, while clapping a hand on Merlin’s shoulder "No need to thank me Merlin. It was the least I could do."

5x12: Gwaine is taken aback when Merlin tells him that he will go the rest of the way on his own. Gwaine is concerned for Merlin’s safety. When Gwaine asks what Merlin is looking for, Merlin has a conflicted look on his face before he ultimately replies "I can't tell you that Gwaine. You'll just have to trust me" and Gwaine obviously does, as he does not push or protest and he gives a tiny nod of understanding.

5x12: Gwaine tells Merlin "Look after yourself Merlin" and gives Merlin his sword, making a joke about Merlin knowing how to use the sharp end that makes them both chuckle. When the shot shows Gwaine again, his eyes are filling with tears. They firmly grasp each other's arm in farewell

5x12: Gwaine tells Merlin "I hope you find what you're looking for" to which Merlin grins broadly at Gwaine and Gwaine smiles back, though it quickly fades as the tears in his eyes get more prominent and he actively looks like he's trying not to cry. Gwaine looks like he doesn't expect to see Merlin again. And he's right. "I hope you find what you're looking for" are Gwaine’s last words to Merlin.

Also: for the fucking record, the music playing in their final scene makes it so much more heart breaking. It starts off quieter and slow and at the end, at their goodbye, it swells and just has a feeling of finality to it without there being a proper ending.

#merlin #bbc merlin #sir gwaine #gwaine #character dynamics #merwaine #platonic or romantic however you choose to interpret it #as predicted i cried during diamond of the day which i got over with first #long post #i dont usually include deleted scenes but this was one that stuck with me and i liked it so i included it #liv talks merlin

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elevatorelevenhatesyou · 3 years

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Final Fantasy 14 Part 29: Such Devastation

Gaius transforms like a magical girl and then we get exactly the uninteresting boss fight this dumbass deserves.

Most dungeon bosses have more engaging gameplay. I don't even know what his mechanics are because every time I've done this he just gets stomped into soup in a wave of particle effects by my gigantic party.

After the fight he casually walks away.

Okay bye

No seriously, he fucking walks out. He doesn't even run. The lights don't even go out. Brash, you preposterous halfwit.

And, again, remember that usually there are eight people here. And ALL of them just stand there while Gaius moseys away towards his giant doom mech.

okay there's the ultima weapon what now

I've heard enough. Shoot him! Stick an arrow in his gob!

The back of Ultima Weapon's neck opens up and Gaius climbs inside. Does it need a pilot now? Gaius wasn't piloting it the first two times we saw it. I guess someone else was? Maybe it was Nero, and just no one ever gave him credit for it.

So Gaius switches the thing on and goes all bear witness to the demon weapon that will drag the world into the twenty-first century, and then we fight it. Or rather we stand around waiting for God to give us permission to fight it. The Ultima Weapon can't be damaged until about thirty seconds in when Crystal Mommy phones us up and tells us we must "look to the Light."

Yay. I feel so involved.

During the fight it barfs up Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan, and their ragdolls flop hilariously out of nowhere and onto whoever is tanking.

"No, how are you doing this!?" cries Gaius. Don't ask me, man. God's doing all the work.

Labradoodle appears and says some shit about the secret power within Ultima Weapon. Some ancient evil artifact I guess. Whatever, it doesn't matter, this never comes up again as far as I've heard.

Apparently Gaius didn't know. Gaius you complete tool, why did you listen to this guy? THIS GUY?

I'm reminded of Kingdom Hearts when MALEFICENT shows up out of nowhere and tells Riku that his best friend for life Sora totally forgot about him and he should go be a villain with her now, and he's just like yes sounds legit. Then again that was basically true, Sora pretty much HAD just found new friends and forgotten all about Riku, but that's a rant about a different Square Enix game with a completely shit story that somehow became massively popular. Maybe I'll do a long hate analysis about that one too someday after I'm finished with FF14.

Ultima Weapon does a giant glowy explody spell, but luckily Brash is protected by the power of boobs.

Not sure how this wasn't your intention, you're a dumb strong man. Blowing stuff up for no reason is all you're here for. Oh I guess this was your base huh I guess it probably wasn't your intent to blow up your own garage like a Floridian on the Fourth of July.

ohyeah also An Ascian Pisses Off Without Trying To Kill Brash With Lasers: 8

Anyway none of that shit about Ultima Weapon's true form matters because we smash the fuckin thing by punching it. Or rather my buddy smashes it by casting his doom spells at it doing like triple my damage.

Ultima Weapon starts exploding and Gaius forgets to buckle his seatbelt. He babbles a bit more of his vapid philosophical crap and then falls unconscious.

Should we like hide behind something or

Huh. Missed.

And so ends the threat of Ultima Weapon. All it took was God.

AH HA, FOOL, YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE WITH THE BORING ASSHOLE, NOW IT IS TIME FOR THIS OTHER BORING ASSHOLE

#gaius van baelsar #lahabrea #labradoodle #such devastation #el11hypost #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy XIV #final fantasy a realm reborn #a realm reborn #ff14 #ffxiv #ffxiv arr #ff14 arr #critique #rant #analysis #praetorium

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memorys-skyscraper · 3 years

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Endwalker day twoooooo

AYMERIC im love youuuuuu, omg papa Gaius too? everybody’s showing up all of a sudden

LOOK at this fucking crew omg, BRD, WHM, SCH, WAR, BLM, MNK, DRG and MCH job tutors??? the pirate dudes???? Lyse & Pipin???? LUCIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is the BEST

I fuckin LOVE this pirate guy and his voice, omfg not Emmanellain lmaoooooooo he’s too much

OH MY GOD LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO THE STEPPE CREW FUCK YESSSS SADU AND MAGNAI omg poor Cirina “Sadu pls don’t kill them”

LMAO YSHTOLA “not to put too fine a point on it, but I wouldn’t be caught dead in that” queen

TATARUUUUUU YESSSSSS COME HANG OUT IN SHARLAYAN, also omg “while I’m confident you won’t go collapsing again (because a certain someone who shall remain nameless isn’t in a position to transport your souls to another world)” drag him Tataru

“several cutscenes will play in sequence” this is what I like to HEAR let’s go

oh my god of course they put Graha in the fucking rebel coat, I literally almost put it on too, thank god I didn’t, also love that Urianger gets his post-HW outfit again. wait hold up where do I get that jacket Thancred has on, gimme, I want it

(also why does Thancred talk so quietly this expansion, is this like a consequence of covid where his VA was recording from home so he had to be quiet or is this just a choice)

ah shit here we go again, playing as Thancred, god I wish I could move his skills around, also I love these little portraits next to the dialogue in this, also also where do I get Yshtola’s coat too

oh hey there’s a new animation for drawing your weapon in a cutscene, for DRK at least (I tend to do these solo duties on DRK bc I look dumb as hell running around with my SMN book lmao)

also since when is Pipin a DRK???? is it literally bc Raubahn gave him his sword but Raubahn is so fucking big that Pipin has to use it as a greatsword LMAO

also love that Sadu and Cirina are dating now

Emet really gassing himself up in this little narration for entering Garlemald, we get it bud, you’re super fucking smart, why are you even still talking you’re fucking dead

boy it’s fuckin grim in Garlemald, huh. real fuckin bummer here. this lil moment with the twins is too much

LOL the WHM kid being like “jesus CHRIST get over yourselves” and aero’ing everybody

fucking hell, under the chin?? they really cranked up the blood on this one

pirate boy and Emmanellain new brotp

since when can Ascians just snatch people up?? why don’t they do that more often??

FUCKING LMAOOOOOOOO WHAT THE FUCK IS THISSSSSSSSSSSSS KIDNAPPED TO DINNER WITH ZENOS WITH FANDANIEL BUTER????? I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE I AM LOSING IT

“Ah. Exposition is in order.” wonderful thank you fandango please exposit

Zenos just fuckin munchin away down there, minding his own business. LMAO FANDANGO “finish your dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

oh my FUCKING god no we aren’t. NO WE AREN’T!!!! NO WE ARE NOT SWAPPING BODIES AND DUKING IT OUT!!!!!!!

this solo duty is fucking NUTS, I cannot believe this shit is happening. GRAHA NO, ALISAIE NO, PLEASE, STOP, ITS NOT ME, YSHTOLA CANT YOU SEE THATS NOT MY SOUL!!!!! YES QUEEN HELP!!!!!!!!!! ITS NOT ME!!!!!!!!!! TRUST YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

fucking SHIT if they had me ME kill Graha and/or Alisaie I would have lost my fucking mind

well, we made it. the fuckin moon. here we are. loving all the nice piano music this expansion

im sorry? excuse me? sparkling dog?

I FOUND THE MOON CACTUARS, they are horrifying, I both hate and love them

Hythlodaeus!!!!!!!!!! my new old friend!!!!!!!! I love him sm

“a slave to sentiment, even after an eternity” yeah that’s Emet “In you I choose to believe, as Emet-Selch did” not this...................

FLYING DOG FLYING DOG FLYING DOG, ZENOS LOOK AT MY FLYING DOG

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaybe we shouldn’t’ve killed Elidibus, maybe Zodiark like, needed a brain. can we just pop back over to the first and get him out of the crystal tower real quick?

LMAOOO FANDANIEL “hold on ONE sec, can I just become Zodiark rq? thanks bye!!!!!!!!”

now hold up who was that? me? pre-sundering me? idfk, anyway this fight is happening way earlier than I thought which is GREAT news bc it means utterly wild shit is going to happen to keep this plot rolling, bc just based on this being lv 83 there’s 70% of the expansion left (at least I hope so)

GOD that trial was so FUCKING fun omg, I’m so excited for EX, it’s genuinely so fun to go into these trials with nobody knowing shit but all of us hyped as fuck and wiping and all being like “holy shit this kicks ass!!!! we all just died!!!! fuck yeah!!!!!”

anyway uhhhhhhhhhhh I done goofed??????? LMAO Zenos what the FUCK do you want, this is becoming ridiculous, my catboy looks so fucking over his bullshit lmao

this man is so fucking single-minded, he literally thinks of nothing else but figuring out how to fight me. like. just come with me. come hang out. it’s fine. we can be, like, actual friends. let’s go get dinner without Fandaniel. tbh I just want Zenos as a trust

THE BUNS!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY’RE SO CUTE!!!!! thancred looks like he’s gonna have a fucking stroke lmao, you okay my guy

oh im serving looks in these outfits from the bunnies, eorzea’s next top model has arrived. just kidding Urianger is the top model, yes king strike that pose

alright calling it there, I’ve slept about 4 of the past 42 hours lmao

#ff14 liveblogging #ffxiv #ffxiv spoilers #endwalker #endwalker spoilers

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felassan · 4 years

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Extended thoughts on the Dark Fortress preview pages [spoilers at link]

(Would I be an MJ if I did not do this? This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

I like the preview pages a lot, I’m excited for release - roll on March 31. There’s a lot packed into just these limited pages, so I’m looking forwards to seeing the issue and its contents in their entirety.

A flashback to the Battle of Ostagar all those years ago is the last thing I was expecting when coming to this comic and it hit me with a one-two of feelings and nostalgia. Up there just off-screen, the Hero of Ferelden and Alistair have just lit the beacon in the Tower of Ishal. In these panels, the rain, the lighting, the atmosphere - it’s surreal (not in a bad way) seeing these fateful events again, back where it all kinda began really, and that page does a good job of replicating that cutscene and the heavy feel of it in a different medium. It’s a nice touch seeing surprise/unsureness and even conflict on some of the soldiers’ faces as Loghain gives the order to retreat. A couple of them even seen disconcerted as they walk away (looking at one another in askance). I like this take on Ser Cauthrien, and I wonder if Aaron ever encountered Aveline, Wynne, Carver or non-mage Hawke at Ostagar before the battle...?

Loghain’s words “He must do what his honor compels him to do” almost feel like a bit of metacommentary, i.e. on Loghain’s character in addition to obviously being about Ser Aaron.

In-universe before now, there have been varying accounts of Ser Aaron’s experience at Ostagar. Did he miss the fight, did he kill two ogres, etc. Now we see the truth of the matter is exactly as he told Vaea, which speaks of the trust and close relationship between the two. I’m not going to lie, the “I am coming my king” and subsequent panels make me cry on this re-read. Aaron reaching out for Cailan in his sleep with his other fist clenched, jerking awake from a nightmare in a cold sweat.. Aaron is so brave, he was the sole or one of the few soldiers in Loghain’s company to make this kind of stand (and you can see that there was a moment when he did turn to leave and considered it before turning back), and these panels convey the extent of the trauma that he experienced on the field of battle that day. I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die. It also hurts to think that not far from there, Duncan is seeing the same thing. They’ve done a good job integrating the new characters’ pasts with previous canon events with things like these. It’s like, expanding on things, but without anything conflicting.

When Aaron reaches for his alcohol skin I’m pretty sure his hand is shaking. Vaea is so tender and understanding/supportive at this part and it’s a really poignant and soft moment for them.. Aaron’s nightmares are a regular occurrence it seems. I love her and their relationship so much.. keeping watch over him while he sleeps a bit away from the others and the fire. ;; Also Autumn’s ears here, she’s lying down but still listening to what’s going on with and between her people. ;;

Brief pause here: I always appreciate getting a good sense where different events are taking place in the additional media. Also we now have in-universe confirmation that in the timeline we’ve now reached 9:45, as opposed to only external word-of-god. Do you guys ever think about your Wardens and how it’s been 15 years for them?

Aaron is like a father to Vaea 😭

Fenris has two daggers now in addition to his twohanded sword. The better for ending Danarius’ bloodline my dear 🔪

Have they tweaked Fenris’ hairstyle a bit, compared to Blue Wraith? Possibly also his skintone and eyebrows, compared to Blue Wraith? (I find this kind of thing hard to tell. If I’m incorrect here please feel free to correct me.) He looks good in this preview.

Poor Francesca. Tessa is really kind at this part and it’s nice to see more moments like these between female characters (women supporting one another). It reminds me of the moment in a previous issue where Vaea hugs Francesca on the ground. Tessa makes a great point here that true strength isn’t necessarily being stoic and unemotional, it’s standing up for what you believe in and for the greater good, even at great personal cost. It’s not 'not crying' and hiding your sadness. That’s a nice message, and again, Fran has really grown on me.

I also think it speaks well of Fenris and his character development after all these years in-universe that he was looking for a way to help Aaron, then immediately thought to go speak to Francesca when she was upset to see if he could help her in turn.

hhh brooding silent Marius staring broodily and silently into the flames and not responding to Fenris’ attempt at making conversation tho, the gentle lampshading.. That’s so true to his character. These might be my favorite panels in the whole preview. Fenris’ dry wit and facial expressions, the general composition, Fenris peacing out like “ok bye ig” lmao. You also get the sense that Fenris is reeling a bit and feeling abandoned since Hawke and co split up. After trying to do something to help both Aaron and Fran above, he then tries to make conversation with Marius. He’s trying to lighten the mood but also to connect after being alone for some time. He has missed having a group around him, and I suspect this group with its varying troubles and issues reminds him a lot of Hawke and co. That both the humor aspect and this characterization comes through in these 3 panels is pretty brilliant.

We reach the titular dark fortress! If ever there was a fortress for a bad guy, huh? x) The narrow exposed causeway being the only approach is a smart line of defense, strategically. Also, the realization that this is where Fenris lived while he was a slave of Danarius’ :| It’s a horrible-looking place and will be full of bad memories for him.

If this is how stormy the Nocen Sea gets in places - well, it reminds me of the lore that in Thedas naval exploration beyond the known map has been historically limited by different factors like pirates, Qunari dreadnoughts, stormy seas and sea creatures etc.

Characters speaking their native languages in places is always a nice touch. Now we’ve heard “By the Maker!” in Orlesian.

Aspects of the style and architecture of the Tevinter buildings in this preview, like the window shapes and the red lights and stuff, echo or remind me of what we’ve seen of Minrathous in the most recent trailer and some of the recent pieces of concept art for the next game. Neat.

We have our name and identity for the mage on the cover! Tractus Danarius, bastard son of Danarius. Danarius fucked around huh. “Tractus” has a Latin root, fittingly for a Tevinter name. Its different meanings are quite interesting: being dragged, extracted, plundered, an anthem sung in some masses, an elongated area or abnormal passage... I wonder if one of them will come into play somehow, the name possibly having been chosen for a reason? I also wonder how young Tractus is relative to Fenris, and if their paths have ever crossed in the past.

Tractus makes his entrance with two elven slaves or servants in tow. Like on the cover, his eyes are red. The head of his staff is a red sphere, also. Can we assume a connection to red lyrium, then, given these factors and the villains’ interest in using red lyrium to power the sarcophagus? I would guess that as normal magic was required to make it work with blue lyrium, the thing required to make it work with red lyrium is blood magic? A blood magic ritual. My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar, which they plan to sacrifice and use the blood/power derived from that to fuel the magic/ritual. This is considering blood as a theme in this setting, blood as a source of power mechanically and the dragon-like beast on one of the covers which has clearly at one point been shackled and collared. (Here’s some previous speculation about Dark Fortress based on the covers.)

Although Tractus’ relative youth and inexperience compared to Nenealeus comes across in these pages, I get the feeling that Nenealeus will regret talking down in this manner to Tractus later in the comic.

It seems Tractus paints his nails dark. His commitment to aesthetic I give 5/5 stars

Remember the fall of Ventus/Qarinus to the Antaam invasion in TN? The Antaam must be progressing through Tevinter if people fear that Neromenian may soon fall also.

I appreciate that everyone’s horse is different! It’s a nice touch. A lot of the time in media groups of people ride identical horses like they’re clones or automatons as opposed to actual creatures.

Tractus’ smile when he’s asking if they’re going to wait for Qintara to arrive is slightly manic, lol, he’s giving off “Are we there yet?” car journey energy here. The doorway in this panel - is that a portcullis-style door? It seems like it has spikes at the bottom which would sink into the floor, and that there’s some kind of mechanism running along the floor towards it. Presumably to contain the [dragon?]?

I forgot Nenealeus has a sword - I guess then he knows magic artforms similar to those of a Knight-Enchanter or Arcane Warrior. Also here, Marquette echoes the Executor in TN, with the sentiment that Qintara fell with Ventus. Nenealeus is then referencing Gaius, the impersonator Qintara, right? That’s interesting; Gaius’ true master was Fen’Harel, on whose behalf he accessed important information about the world. This means then [?] that some of the time when Gaius believed himself to be working on behalf of Fen’Harel, he was really being manipulated by Nenealeus. Poor Gaius, at different points Fen’Harel and Nenealeus were pulling his strings. Does Nenealeus’ manipulation refer to Gaius trading it away to House Danarius for information?

Marquette references the red lyrium idol, and suddenly my Dragon Age 4 ears are pricking the way Autumn’s do. x) He mentions that it makes weapons, referencing I assume Meredith’s lyrium sword, Certainty and the ritual blade that pops out from the base of the idol during The Dread Wolf Take You. I wonder when the events of this comic take place in relation to the stories related at the spy meeting in TDWTY? Is this before or after the events of the Mortalitasi’s tale? At any rate, Marquette voices something we’ve been obsessing over: what else can and does the idol do specifically, beyond just making weapons and being Ominous and Powerful? Because whatever it is, it’s key to Solas’ ongoing plans, and Solas obviously knows.

So it seems that the villains’ plan is to use the red lyrium idol’s sword part with the sarcophagus, red lyrium, a ritual and [the thing Tractus shows them in that panel - the dragon?] in order to transform Shirallas into, essentially, a Red Wraith, a Red Lyrium Fenris. And then to arm him, under Nenealeus’ control, with the sword.

Does Shirallas still have his vallaslin - is it just the lighting and the angle in that panel? Also, that panel with Shirallas and Nenealeus looks so ominous and foreboding 😭 .. (and reminds me somehow of Fenris and Danarius when Fenris was still his slave and bodyguard) Shirallas, we really are in it now 😭 This is a really cool panel btw, like the composition, the lighting, the dramatic-ness.

Nenealeus is motivated by a desire to route the Antaam from Tevinter (like the mage in the Mortalitasi’s tale in TDWTY) and reconquer lost lands in order to restore the glory of the Imperium (which reminds me in a way of of Aurelian Titus, who also wanted to restore the Imperium to greatness). Classically Tevinter here.

“Danarius the Lesser” is a sick burn. I’d guess Tractus’ life thus far, as a bastard, has had themes and struggles with inferiority and consequent lack of power but desire for it (being disrespected, but craving respect, being connected to a certain world but not really part of it, in fact rejected by it). Venatori connection confirmed. That the Venatori had to be convinced to accept someone as a Danarius - implications for the role of the Venatori remnants and their role in Tevinter and things in general going forwards? Lightning flashes overhead as Tractus and Nenealeus have this face-off in that panel, emphasizing the tension between the two. I wonder what the magic in the fortress and in the courtyard can do? It’d have been no mean feat to escape from this place as a slave, it seems, especially bearing in mind there’s only one proper way out, that causeway (passage not included). Tractus’ staff-head lights up when he’s making a threat (uh-oh), and then wow! Shirallas moves so quickly, in the blink of an eye suddenly appearing out of nowhere and startling the guard-mage onlookers. He’s fast and formidable.

I wonder about Tractus. Is he a “half blood” because he’s a bastard and his mother wasn’t an Altus, or even wasn’t a mage, or because he’s a bastard and his mother was an elf? Or both?

Will we see a face-off between perrepataes (Marius and Shirallas)? Will Marius face-off against his former master, Nenealeus? Perhaps a showdown between the Blue Wraith and the “Red Wraith” is on the cards?

Back to our team in the tavern! There’s a looot of great character content packed into these pages, which is really cool. Each brief character interaction conveys a lot, and in general this sequence is just well-executed imo. How troubled and tired Aaron looks at the bar (my heart.. it hurts); Fran worrying for Aaron; Vaea knowing that she can’t pressure him too much because that’s just not how it works when it comes to folks who struggle with issues like these; Vaea asking after Fran’s wellbeing; Fran struggling to come to terms with what happened to her father; Fenris watching the door waiting for news (he’s so vigilant isn’t he? safety, an escape-route..); Marius Broods Harder; Vaea’s [relative] pacifism being highlighted; Vaea engaging Marius looking for reassurance; and the choice of having Marius break his silence now is meaningful and impactful in that it shows what happens when one becomes ‘numb’ to the constant murderizing of people, so to speak. Fenris then rightfully points out that becoming numb to killing and violence isn’t really a good thing and is worse, really, than being ‘soft’ or uncomfortable with it. I wonder if he’s speaking from experience here, given the hundreds of people Hawke and co kill their way through during the Kirkwall years, for example. Then Vaea’s concern for Aaron and his state of mind, and Fenris’ uncanny insight into that, of a man he’s only recently met.

Tessa looks so cute when she comes in the door! I love Vaea’s lil “:D” face when she sees her, and I wonder what the tavern food on the table is.

Those two panels, when Fenris talks about Hawke and Leandra, are the biggest emotional gut-punch in the preview pages 😭 omg.. I’m not strong enough for this.. bls... bruh... This is then compounded by (hitting me when I’m down!!) the look of sheer... fear, fury, alarm, upset, shock - that appears on Fenris’ face as soon as he hears “I found Danarius”. Seriously, look at his eyes here. He (understandably) still has a trauma-response associated with the name/man.

Bless Tessa.

I have to say, it’s very Metal of Fenris that not only did he kill Danarius in DA2 (in those universes), but he has also been going around Tevinter since then killing all of Danarius’ [adult] heirs, and that his response to learning there’s still one remaining is to grab his sword and go to march off with the aim of ending the bloodline a second time. Very metal

I love the final panels in the preview as well! Vaea’s sense/smarts and how she wasn’t afraid to tell Fenris no, Autumn’s giant ears, how Autumn also moves with Vaea to step in front of Fenris to stop him (SHE! HELPED!!!), Autumn’s Happy Face and furiously wagging tail and agreement with Aaron, and Proud Dad Aaron rising from his slump to praise Vaea with the most Proudest Daddest expression that you ever did see... ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years

Text

Watching (the Adventures of) Merlin season one on Netflix

Episode One: The Dragon's Call

. . . I feel like going to the capital of the kingdom indiscriminately slaughtering magic users wasn't the best idea.

Why? Well, that guy did just get executed.

And now his mom is mad. You tell that sorry excuse for a king, witch lady.

I don't like Uther, in case it was unclear.

Wait... if you could teleport why not just grab your son and ditch before he loses his head? Literally.

Oh, wow. Arthur is a dick.

Morgana. We have no choice but to stan tbh.

Dragon, you're really rubbing me the wrong way.

That's right Merlin! We need more than Because Destiny Says So!

Where did the spiderwebs come from? That sleeping spell gives me Sleeping Beauty vibes.

Ah, yes. The old drop-the- chandelier-on-the-villain trick. :(

If she went after Uther instead of Arthur I would have no complaints.

Manservant? You call that a reward for saving your son?

Episode Two: Valiant

Snake!Shield

Oh, he's gonna- Yup, dead. That's what happens when you deal with knights who cheat.

Where did that guy even get a magic shield in the first place?

Is there a thriving magic black market or something?

I love Guin.

. . . I feel like Sir Valiant didn't think this through. If bite marks are visible.

Ugh, you're the worst Uther.

It's only the second episode! Did you forget who saved your son already?

Stop being a jerk Arthur.

Lol. Merlin bringing a dog statue to life in order to practice for the Snake!Shield.

Bye Valiant!

Episode Three: The Mark of Nimueh

Whatcha up to with that egg, new witch lady?

You gonna poison the water of all of Camelot? Seems like a jerk move.

Dang that's a lot of dead bodies...

No, I like Guin's dad!

Yes! Cure him Merlin!

No! Stop arresting Guin, Uther!

You tell him, Morgana!

That plague monster that hatched from witch lady's egg is creepy.

Dead monster!

Arthur is kinda oblivious to Merlin's magic ngl.

Yay! Guin's free!

What do you know about witch lady Nimueh, Uther? Hmm? Why she want you dead? Besides the obvious reasons.

Episode Four: The Poisoned Chalice

Wow, Nimueh really doesn't like Merlin saving the day.

Wow, Nimueh really orchestrated an entire diplomatic incident in order to kill Merlin while also ensuring Camelot is destroyed by its neighbor. Impressive.

I really like Merlin and Guin's friendship.

Dang. Merlin really drank poison in order to save Arthur.

Merlin saved Arthur's life, Uther! Let him return the favor!

Oh, wow. Arthur really disobeyed his father in order to save Merlin's life.

I didn't know Merlin could cast spells while deathly delirious. And several miles away from him too.

Uther you b****! The antidote is right there! Let Arthur save his friend!

Putting your own son in a cell is such a jerk move.

At least Arthur and Guin manage to sneak the antidote to Merlin.

Quick aside: Internet spoilers say Uther needs to die for Arthur to complete his himbofication- I mean character development. So, if you could get on with that? Thanks!

Episode Five: Lancelot

Wow, that's a very CGI griffin.

Lancelot is so precious- Uh, I mean effective! Saving Merlin and all.

I know, Guin. I know.

Always thought it was a stupid rule to only let nobles be knights.

You're really going to commit magical forgery for someone you just met, Merlin?

I mean, Lancelot is earnest, hardworking, modest, kind despite his tragic backstory and it's his childhood dream to be a knight...

Yeah, I'd commit magical forgery too.

Lol, knocked you on your ass didn't he Arthur? (The second time at least)

I don't remember griffins being man-eaters!

Uther stop arresting people! Ugh, you're such a classist.

Let Lancelot help fight the griffin, Arthur! You need all the help you can get!

Well okay letting him go was nice of you.

Lancelot-Merlin tag team!

Wow. Lancelot really strode in with Camelot's singular braincell by figuring out Merlin has magic.

(The bar is low, okay.)

No, don't take away the braincell! Stay! The griffin was a team effort!

Okay, Lancelot's lawful good tendencies are a little annoying but, hey, nobody's perfect.

Episode Six: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Edwin, no. Leave Morgana alone.

Oh, beetles! Curse beetles! That's not creepy at all.

Gaius how do you know Edwin?

What diabolical plot are you hatching Edwin? Oh, you're replacing Gaius in the royal court. That's kinda rude.

Merlin's so happy meeting another magic user that isn't trying to kill him (yet).

Le gasp! Uther's purge killed Edwin's parents? WhO cOuLd HaVe fOreSeEn tHis!?

But seriously. No wonder Edwin wants Uther dead.

I know Edwin blackmailed Gaius with exposing Merlin but he also wants to kill Uther!

That gives him a pass in my book.

Gaius no. Let Uther die.

Edwin stop trying to kill Gaius! You're going to-

Yup, here comes Merlin and-

Edwin's dead :(

Well he was trying to overthrow the kingdom. That's... bad... I guess.

Episode Seven: The Gates of Avalon

That title is misleading. It's more of a natural portal/magic lake type thing.

Arthur saves a father and daughter from bandits (Which they hired but shhh)

And they immediately try to put a love spell on Arthur

For human sacrifice purposes of course

Idk why the Sidhe want a human prince's soul -look at him, you don't know where he's been- but that's the price for readmission

I wonder how the dad killed one of his own kind? Was it an accident or...?

Exiling the daughter too makes me suspicious of Avalon's justice system

Evil laugh is a bit out of place for someone who is trying to restore his daughter's immortality

(They are so whiny about being mortal. Hey, we put up with it all the time!)

The fairy-like Sidhe moving in accelerated time so they just look like tiny orbs of light was an interesting touch. The blue faces and razor sharp teeth is not a good look for them, lol

They make Arthur ask to be married ('cause it takes a while for the love spell to go into full blown mind control or something)

Prompting Uther to threaten to kill both of them

(I feel like they didn't think this through)

Morgana admonishes Uther for being the worst

He replies that first love rarely lasts and that Arthur is inexperienced in such things. Plus that Arthur only met the girl yesterday

... I can't believe Uther is the voice of reason this episode

He doesn't get any points though. Due to the whole "threatening to execution his son's 'crush' " thing

The daughter is having second thoughts about using Arthur as a human sacrifice

Dear old dad puts those to rest and they try drowning Arthur in the lake that is/is the portal to, Avalon

Merlin's really leaning into the whole "Cool motive. Still murder.", thing huh?

Like, he did NOT hesitate to blow up both of them

Episode Eight: The Beginning of the End

Why do magic users keep going to Camelot!? The king is trying to KILL YOU!

Wow, this grown ass man is threatened by a literal child... I hate Uther so much

Morgana is the MVP of this episode. I love her

Protect that druid kid!

I feel like you're being paranoid Uther

You tell him Morgana!

Dragon, no. Stop prophesying death and destruction.

Wow, this grown ass dragon is threatened by a literal child...

Aaaand Morgana got caught sneaking the kid out of the city :(

Uther she is your adopted daughter! Stop putting people in cells!

Arthur is gonna sneak him out now?

While Morgana distracts the king?

Yes, excellent. What could possibly-

Merlin stop listening to that destiny dragon! Hearing his voice in your head is no basis for trust!

Cutting it close... Yay! They made it!

Mordred!? MORDRED!?

THAT little boy is Mordred!?

... Okay, I'm more inclined to believe the destiny dragon now

Still think letting him die would be a dick move

Episode Nine: Excalibur

What're you up to with that tomb Nimueh?

Oh! It's some kind of undead knight. Yes.

Throwing down the gauntlet. Pfft! Always thought that was a stupid idea.

Also: that Black Knight literally crashed your party!

Ugh, knights.

Nimueh if you can just teleport into the heart of Camelot while Uther is alone why don't you just stab him? Grab one of those pointy things he likes so much and stab him in the back. Easy peasy!

Stealing this joke but Don't do evil magic kids. It fries your brain cells.

Wait, the Black Knight is Uther's brother-in-law!?

Arthur's mother died in childbirth!?

Uther asked Nimueh to use her magic so he could have Arthur!?

Equivalent Exchange!?

Uther went on a genocidal rampage because he didn't bother with the instruction manual of ancient and powerful magic!?

Actually, that last one is not surprising at all.

I can't believe they're using the Wife in the Fridge trope. That appliance hasn't even been invented yet!

Ooh, Merlin's going to use his magic to destroy the Black Knight so Arthur doesn't have to fight him

As he's killed two knights already

Aaaaand, yup, he's still there. His cloak didn't even catch fire...

Arthur stop being a bastard. It doesn't suit you

Dragon forged sword! DRAGON FORGED SWORD!

Only Arthur can wield it. Yup, got it. How could this possibly go wrong?

Uther drugged Arthur and took his place in the fight... I have mixed feelings about this.

Wait, the dragon was very specific about only Arthur using that super special sword! Oh, snap.

Well at least the Black Knight is dead. Again.

Oh, dragon is not happy.

I know the dragon said "where no mortal soul could find it" but are you sure you wanna throw it into Avalon, Merlin?

Those people were gonna suck Arthur's soul out of his body

Episode Ten: The Moment of Truth

The way this episode title just lies to your face like that...

Oh, you're Merlin's mother! Thought we had an anime protagonists type thing going on

I... would like to say Uther is being unreasonable when he decides not to cross borders to get rid of some bandits. But I can totally see everyone hating him so that's a no go.

Lady, you were in a whole different kingdom. Why for the love of Merlin did you send him to Camelot!?

We're off to save the village! Morgana and Guin are coming too!

A wild Arthur appears!

Morgana better at swordplay than Arthur confirmed!

Merlin! I didn't know you had friends!

Granted he's a bit rough around the edges but

Okay. If it were literally anyone else besides Arthur. I'd say he was right about lords and knights being useless snobs.

Actually. He's right about lords and knights being useless snobs. Ah, that felt great.

Wow, the homosexual subtext is strong with this one.

The girls can tell Arthur came for Merlin.

But get your foot out of his face! I don't care how royal it is!

Look at Guin over here calling out Arthur for being a dick

And talking him into letting the women fight. She's on a roll

Aw, Merlin's friend died. :(

And he took credit for Merlin's tornado (so Arthur wouldn't find out about Merlin's magic)

Episode Eleven: The Labyrinth of Gedref

Lol, that unicorn could use a haircut.

No, Arthur. I said a haircut not an arrow to the chest!

Bad things? What kind of bad things Gaius?

Uther what's the point of having an expert in magical lore if you're not going to listen to him!

And all the crops are dead. Fantastic.

I know it's a magic thing but stating outright that the blight only targets edible plants is still really unsettling.

And the water's turned to sand. Great.

Who're you and how come Merlin is the only magic user that can't teleport?

What kind of tests mister Keeper of the Unicorns, sir?

Arthur I know you don't want to believe it's your fault... But it's totally your fault.

Uther no. People are starving.

You tell him Arthur.

Oh, the "theif" was a test!

Aaaaand he failed the second one. :(

Merlin's got a lot of faith in Arthur.

It's interesting how the Keeper can only direct the curse caused by the unicorn's death. Or rather the trials surrounding the curse, but can't break it himself.

Unicorns have some powerful magic.

The Labyrinth was barely on screen for five minutes! Surely something with Unicorn in the title would be more appropriate?

Arthur drinking a poisoned cup so Merlin could live?

That's some strong parallels right there.

The Keeper of the Unicorns is such a troll! Sleeping potion, hah!

The day is saved, Arthur lies to Uther's face about killing the Keeper and the unicorn resurrects itself.

Still needs a haircut though.

Episode Twelve: To Kill the King

Whatcha up to Guin's dad?

Oh that guy isn't suspicious at all.

You didn't think it was shady when he asked to meet in the middle of the night!?

Philosopher's Stone!?

Wow, the guards found him quickly.

What- No! Don't arrest Guin's dad!

Uther, he's a blacksmith! Stop being paranoid!

Will you stop executing people!? That inn keeper didn't know that guy was a dangerous sorcerer!

No, nononononono! He surrendered! Why did you do that!? Guin's father was important to Morgana!

That's why she gave him the key!

Dragon has his priorities straight.

Shut up, Merlin. You literally blew up a father and daughter for trying to kill one(1) person. (No really, you could see their hands flying off.)

Morgana deserves a little murder. As a treat.

Yes! Get him! Kill the bastard!

No! Why would you make GUIN say that!? Who are you and what have you done with Guin!?🔪🔪

UGH, he literally committed genocide!

The "that would make me as bad as he is" DOES NOT APPLY!

What- Oh, he still has the fairy's staff.

No. Stop it! Let Uther die!

Oh, God, Uther is such an abusive piece of GARBAGE!

Stop! Don't fall for it Morgana!

*sees dagger being pushed closer to Uther's "heart"* Yes! Yes! YES!

*Morgana saves him* NO!

NO!

NOOOOOO!

*inarticulate ranting in the background*

Episode Thirteen:

Okay, the cgi might be getting a little better 'cause the Questing Beast is freaky

Old religion? What is that? And how come it's conveniently absent from the previous episodes?

Dang, they really here just casually gaslighting Morgana like that 😡

Merlin you know Morgana has visions! You couldn't have been a little more careful? She warned you. Now look at Arthur, he's got the heroic death disease

Granted that thing does seem like a handful

Why do you only act like a father when it's a matter of life and death? Why can't you be a father literally any other time!?

"The old religion is the magic of the Earth itself."

Well that sounds fascinating, dragon. Are you going to elaborate? No? Later then?

Soooooo, is the old religion actually a religion or is it a magic? It's really unclear...

"You will be a better king than your father could ever hope to be." Guin, you're back!

I expected a place called the Isle of the Blessed to be less... creepy

Nimueh! Whatcha up to girl? Plotting the demise of a kingdom? Not today it seems

Oh there some Equivalent Exchange type nonsense going on is there?

Arthur you were supposed to be in a coma not listening to Guin!

Oh. Oh, no.

Merlin saying goodbye as he prepares to trade his life for his mother's is 😢😭

Wow, that dragon really knew Nimueh would give Merlin's mother the curse and didn't say anything. The little b*****!

No wonder Merlin's mad at him. Stop breathing fire at him! It's your own fault!

Gaius, no! Not the dead mentor trope!

"You stood by and watched as our friends died." Damn, Nimueh isn't pulling her punches.

Merlin vs Nimueh! Ready? Fight!

Anime protagonist power up! Dang, Nimueh's dead... I feel like that wasn't supposed to happen.

At least no one else is dying. Since Nimueh's death appeased the Equivalent Exchange laws of the old religion.

#bbc merlin #bbc arthur #bbc uther #bbc morgana #bbc's merlin

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adrrianraines · 5 years

Text

for the record, i think this is what happens for the 3 choices we had today:

let’s talk about the choices:

infinite power

it means we have the option to choose power. to take over rheya, or probably overthrow her in exchange for it when the time comes. we will be so much powerful than what we used to and even more so than her. but in exchange for that infinite power, everything around us will wither... die.... love will fade, friendships will be gone.... and we will become as miserable as her. we will change forever. but our life is bleak.

undo the last two wishes

now this, we have the option to undo everything that happened, and probably quite possibly the most ideal one out of the 3 choices. why? it’s because rheya will never be. that’s the sole purpose right? to destroy her? so why not take it to the source the most morally possible way ever? we might have the option to never let her find the white oak tree thus she will die in that cave as planned. mydiea is going to continue living until the next big thing wipes it out. gaius might die from war in that era, xenocrates might become king who knows really?

kamilah would perish in one of the conflicts of her age or probably die with honor and status, like a queen that she is. she can retire from the conflicts as she grows old, live her life to the fullest without even knowing what lies ahead if gaius met and turnd her. hell she wont even know he existed??? she might even have a family of her own.

adrian would rest from the civil war with his family and the man who tried to kill them (possibly orchestrated by gaius just to turn him) won’t even be there. he will lead his original life with his wife and child. eleanor and charles would grow with him. he will die a happy man.

jax won’t be attacked while clubbing. he will continue his education (probably), he won’t meet takeshi or that vampire who killed him. he will meet someone, establish a family, live a happy life, grow old (as he is supposedly) and retreat somewhere with a family or whatever where he can live in peace for the remainders of his days.

lily.... we won’t meet her. as we will never have the reason to go to nyc. we wont have a reason to look for an apartment or even struggle. perhaps we may, perhaps we may not. she might find a different roommate, or we would be lucky to cross paths with her again but for a different job interview. raines corporation, ahmanet financial, etc. wont be existing as kamilah and adrian wont even be around breathing in today’s age.

all four of our friends? they will continue experiencing the daylights for the rest of their lives... living in the sun.... just that we are not with them. we never knew them. we never crossed paths nor had the chance to meet them. no, we probably never will be able to. but they are alive, happy, contented.

this option is the morally correct one.... let’s say the most ideal outcome. u will be able to destroy rheya and free ur vampire friends from all the suffering they will face in exchange for immortality. rid the humans of the entire vampire race like it never happened.

but are u happy?

murder the genie

all of our friends are alive.... maybe. this route is undoubtedly the less morally correct one. we will kill rheya and be shrouded with darkness. we may drown in it, use it, bend it to our will. nothing serious right? no harm done? go dark they say! after all, we’re gods at this point. since we just killed a goddess....

feels good yeah?

hello i am crying i do not want any of this bye

#playchoices #bloodbound #bloodbound theories #dumbass.txt #long post #dont mind me

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ursus-mari · 4 years

Text

Morgana wakes from a dream of Gwen being crowned and is deeply confused.

When Gwen comes to wake her in the morning, Morgana asks her point-blank if she likes Arthur, to which Gwen, panicked at her years long crush asking about her starcrossed boyfriend, panics and says, “No!” then backtracks and says something like, “Not that-- I’m sure he’s perfectly lovely really, if you know him, which I don’t, I didn’t mean--”

Morgana snorts and goes, “Perfectly lovely? Arthur? Hardly.”

With that option (erroneously, mind) firmly off the table in Morgana’s book, she ponders the other possibilities. Uther? Never. Morgana would kill him before he forced Gwen into anything, and Gwen would never marry him of her own free will. So it can’t be any of the current royal family, and Morgana plans to take the throne soon…

That possibility that had been niggling in the back of her mind that she’d been refusing to entertain now seems the only viable option on the table, and Morgana blushes despite herself, butterflies lighting in her stomach.

She holds off on going to Morgause until she’s sure, and in that time, every time Gwen looks at her or touches her (quite often, given the duties of a maidservant) makes her giddy, and she starts to believe it despite herself.

Hating Gwen, kind, lovely Gwen, who holds her after she wakes up screaming and brings her flowers to brighten her day, had been so hard. This is effortless, by comparison. Natural. Like breathing. And if her dream is right, Gwen will feel the same, whether she falls now or later. Morgana is positively giddy.

Gwen deserves wooing, and Morgana starts to daydream of all the ways she could make Gwen happy… flowers for sure, maybe a dress? A romantic picnic, perhaps. The possibilities are endless, and Morgana cannot wait to start putting a smile on Gwen’s face.

Morgana starts by gifting Gwen whatever she seems enamoured by at the market. This includes but is not limited to pastries, pretty bobbles, truly expensive silk, a bouquet of flowers, and way too much jewelry. Gwen is really, really flustered by this and has absolutely no idea how to handle it. She tries to tell Morgana to stop, but Morgana is like “I’m basically a princess and if I want to buy gifts for my maidservant, I’ll damn well do so.”

Morgana’s not really got any concept of subtlety or taking it slow, see.

Poor Gwen is so flustered she feels like she could explode and has absolutely no clue where this came from, which only encourages Morgana to buy more stuff because she thinks Gwen being flustered is adorable. It’s as much the way Morgana is looking at her as it is the gifts, though, warm and fond and like Gwen hangs the moon and stars, and Gwen had missed that look, and she turns into a stammering wreck.

Afterwards, once Gwen’s collected herself, she explains to Morgana that she just can’t buy her things for money reasons, for Uther reasons, the whole shebang. And Gwen doesn’t really want or need those things, she says, and she certainly doesn’t want them all at once.

So Morgana has to go back to the drawing board.

Morgana goes to Morgause like, “Hey, I know we haven’t talked in a bit but I was wondering what you knew about wooing people.”

And Morgause is like, “??? Wooing people???”

“Yea.”

“Uhhhh, find their greatest desire and use it to manipulate them? Chop off their enemy’s head and propose a strategic alliance?”

So Morgana’s like, “...Right, so you’re absolutely useless, bye,” and fucks off to go look for other, more trustworthy sources.

The problem is she trusts absolutely no one other than Morgause so this is a difficult endeavor. She asks Arthur in a bid of desperation because he’s had flings, right???

Arthur goes, “Uh. Slay monsters very impressively? Show personal growth? Offer chicken? Have Merlin do it for you?”

Which is also useless, but she should have expected that, really.

She goes to the library as a last resort and tells Geoffrey, “BRING ME A BOOK ON WOOING!” in her most intimidating voice and Geoffrey scampers off to get that but he’s like. Really slow. Morgana waits as Geoffrey rushes and yet moves as fast as molasses, getting increasingly impatient and snappish.

What she gets is mostly a book on courtly rituals, so a lot of it is useless with Gwen but damn if Morgana isn’t going to try, but it also mentions something about asking family for permission, which, no, but it reminds her to go, oh! I’ll ask her brother!

And Elyan’s mostly like how many goddamn royals are in love with my sister (within the privacy of his own head, of course), but he also tells her that Gwen likes thoughtful, heartfelt gifts and honest work (and privately resolves to tease Gwen so much when she comes home).

So Morgana’s like???? Heartfelt???? What do I do with that??? Crap, what does Gwen like? But she’d given Gwen all the things she liked at the market, so that can’t be all there is to it?? Morgana is confusion?????

Okay, honest work. So should she make a gift?

Morgana doesn’t have any crafting skills though. Fuck. Uh.

She could embroider something? She’s crap at embroidery but she knows how to do it, at least. Something small, there’s only so much embroidering she can stand. Handkerchief, maybe? And that’s like offering a favor, almost, so that’s cool.

Morgana thinks back to the market and all the fabrics Gwen had lingered on and goes for a (relatively) moderately priced one that Gwen had run her fingertips over longingly.

So Morgana utilizes her well-honed sneaking skills to go buy the fabric, then bewilders Gwen by kicking her out to work. This is not her brightest idea, as it makes Gwen feel quite hurt and renews her suspicion.

After many, many hours of pricked fingers, extensive and creative cursing, and a half dozen traumatized servants (except not because if you work under the Pendragons on a regular basis you’ve probably got balls of steel, but Morgana certainly tries her best), Morgana comes out with a crude, messy rendition of a rose embroidered onto the (...maybe a little bloodstained? Whatever. It's fine.) handkerchief.

Morgana presents it to Gwen, shy and yet utterly pleased with her work, and Gwen wavers between fond laughter and bursting into tears. In the end, she just smiles so hard her cheeks hurt and thanks Morgana, then tucks it away like something precious.

Gwen still regards it with wariness, of course, because Morgana has up to this point been extremely suspicious and possibly (definitely) evil, but it's very hard to think it might be magically dangerous when it looks like a child's work and Morgana had seemed so sincerely proud. The fear and animosity melts away in the wake of it despite Gwen's best judgement, and, she reasons, it would alert Morgana to her suspicions if she didn't use it, right? It's only logical to use it and treat it like something precious and gaze upon it fondly, right? Right.

And now Gwen has two utterly romantically incompetent people she adores with all her heart doing their best to make her happy. And that's… yeah.

This might work out after all.

(Meanwhile, Arthur finds out who Morgana wanted to woo, and the two of them turn the courting of Gwen into a competition, because of course they do, ignoring entirely that Gwen is perfectly happy to date both of them, and plans of kingdom conquering fall to the wayside, much to Morgause’s chagrin.

Merlin regards Morgana with deep, deep suspicion that she returns with interest, but Gwen won't stand for the animosity so they grudgingly make nice while glaring at each other over Gwen's head and being blatantly insincerely sweet. They forget their hostility only when they both turn on Arthur, at which point they join forces in insulting him, Arthur complains, and Gwen laughs at them all. It turns out to be remarkably hard to sustain ill will in such a comfortable atmosphere; who knew? It's like there hasn't been attempted murder on both sides!

Uther is bewildered by his children’s good moods and Morgana's renewed disdain of him, and they merrily ignore him except when he's being genocidal. When his genocidal tendencies manifest once more, as they inevitably do, Merlin and Morgana are baffled to find themselves on the same side but remain vehement in their assertions that they do something about it, and Arthur is convinced by his very passionate friends and quietly conflicted but firmly insistent girlfriend.

(Merlin and Morgana feed off of each other’s strong feelings and forget to check with Gaius and Kilgharrah and Morgause respectively. As such, they have no one to talk them down into caution and suspicion, which is on the whole for the best as they find themselves a united front.)

This whole situation cumulates into a coup. Also, magic reveals. And long, emotionally involved, serious conversations about magic and its morality and Merlin and Morgana's roles in magic shenanigans thus far. There's a decent amount of shouting, maybe a few threats, hurt all around, but they make it through, and they do it without completely destroying their relationships with each other, so that's cool.

Uther is overthrown (Morgause is very upset to have missed it), the kingdom is absolute chaos, it takes a lot for Arthur to be seen as a legitimate, trustworthy ruler, but he has his people behind him, they call the knights of the round table and knight them, and they make it work.

Work is started on the legalization of magic.

Gwen does become Arthur's queen, and Morgana relives her dream, and finds herself overwhelmingly, brilliantly happy despite having been wrong. After all, afterwards Gwen throws herself into Morgana's arms to give her an enthusiastic kiss and wipes away her happy tears with the handkerchief Morgana had gifted her all that time ago.

And so they live happily ever after (or something mushy like that).)

#bbc merlin #morgwen #mine #mari writes stuff #you cheer me up #this is absolutely and unabashedly silly #and wish fulfillment to a factor of like eleventy billion #i can't figure out how to insert breaks from my phone so sorry ab that #girl of my dreams

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bi-bard · 4 years

Text

Long Forgotten Past- Arthur Pendragon Imagine (Merlin)

Title: Long Forgotten Past

Pairing: Arthur Pendragon X Reader (I tried to make this gender neutral but if I slipped up, I’m sorry)

Requested: Nope...

Warning(s): Mentions of past abandonment and memory loss

Summary: Someone made a decision that changed (Y/n)’s life forever. Now things are changing and the truth will be revealed. A visitor coming to Camelot makes sure that the truth comes out and (Y/n) learns more in a day than they had in forever.

Author’s Note: I have had this sitting in my drafts for so long! This was originally a musical prompt but I drifted very far from that original idea... whoops!

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“Merlin, let go of my wrist,” I hissed as he dragged me through the halls of the castle.

“No, this is important,” he replied, continuing to drag me along.

“Merlin,” we heard someone shout behind us. Merlin stopped with an angry sigh, tuning around to face Arthur. “Hello, (Y/n).”

“Hello, Arthur,” I smiled.

“Merlin,” Arthur turned his attention to the boy that was still grabbing onto my wrist. “What on Earth are you doing?”

“I need to speak to Gaius and it’s important that (Y/n) is there,” Merlin explained. “You can make me do any chores you want afterwards.”

“(Y/n), are you alright,” Arthur touched my arm gently.

“I’m fine,” I said with- what probably looked like- a dumb smile. He nodded before waving us off. “Bye.”

“Bye,” he replied.

“God, you two are pathetic,” Merlin muttered once Arthur was out of earshot and you had continued following him to see Gaius. “He is absolutely in love with you.”

“No, no he is not,” I insisted. We had this discussion all too often. Merlin had this idea that Arthur loved me... which wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

“Gaius,” Merlin shouted as opened the door of their room. “I’ve discovered something.”

“What is it,” Gaius asked, stepping away from whatever potion he was making.

“There’s a king missing his child,” Merlin explained. “His wife died when the kingdom was attacked and the child disappeared.”

“Merlin, where is this going,” Gaius asked. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms.

“(Y/n) is that child,” Merlin exclaimed.

“What,” Gaius and I shouted at the same time.

“Is it impossible,” Merlin asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“You have no memories from before... about eight years old,” Merlin added. “You know that your parents didn’t give birth to you. Why can’t you even think that this is a possibility?”

“Gaius,” I turned to look at the old man. “Please tell him that he has lost it.”

“Well...,” Gaius started.

“Gaius,” I shouted.

“We need to tell Uther that there’s a chance,” he continued. “The only one who could confirm this is the man who is potentially your father.”

“You’re kidding,” I shook my head and looked down.

“Come with me, we’ll speak with him before his meeting with the knights,” Gaius said, motioning for Merlin and me to follow him.

“We’re doing this right now,” I asked. I was scared. I shouldn’t have been scared. None of this was possible. They both nodded. “Okay.”

“Sire,” Gaius said as we all walked into the throne room. “I have an important issue to discuss with you.”

“Make it quick, Gauis, I have a meeting soon,” Uther replied.

“You may have heard about King Rowan,” Gaius explained. “He lost his wife when their kingdom was attacked and his child seemed to disappear at random. Merlin and I have reason to believe that we’ve found his child.”

“Really,” Uther looked stunned. “His child has been missing for almost fifteen years. Who do you believe it is?”

“(Y/n),” I straightened my spine when Uther looked at me when Gaius said my name. “The only person who can confirm that is King Rowan.”

“I’ll have someone go and deliver a message to him,” Uther promised, walking over to us. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “It should only take a few days for him to arrive. We’ll find out the truth.”

“Thank you, Sire,” I said, nodding before going to leave. I still had work to get done... even if my thoughts were in a mess now.

**A Few Days Later**

I ran through the hallways once Gwen and Morgana finally let me go. They had insisted on making sure I looked my best when my potential father showed up. I understood why but it made me even more nervous.

I only stopped when I was right outside the doors to the throne room. The guards at the doors gave me nods that I think were supposed to comfort me. I nodded back and they opened the large doors for me.

“This is (Y/n),” Uther said as I walked in. Another man was standing there. That must have been King Rowan.

The room was completely silent. I stood in the middle of the room, scared out of my mind. King Rowan walked over slowly. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

“Your necklace,” Rowan said. I touched in out of instinct. It wasn’t much. A single charm on some string. But I had always had it. “It belonged to my wife. She told me to give it to my child. It was her last wish on her deathbed.”

“That... That means...”

“(Y/n),” King Rowan pulled me into a tight hug. I felt him shaking. I let tears fall from my eyes. “My child.”

“Father,” I mumbled. I stepped away after a minute, trying to wipe my eyes so I could look presentable. “Why can’t I remember that time? I would’ve been old enough to have memories.”

“That was my doing,” he looked down. “I had a warlock wipe the first ten years from your mind. I didn’t want you to hold onto that pain. Now that you’re here, we can find a way to restore them.”

“Gaius,” Uther said. “He would be able to fix this, yes?”

“I could certainly try, Sire,” Gaius nodded. I turned around and hugged him.

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” he replied before stepping back to look at everyone. “(Y/n) will need to stay in my chambers and I will need to be able to work with her in private.”

“Of course,” Rowan nodded. He gave me one last hug before following Uther, who was offering him a tour of the castle. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Of course,” I nodded. Everyone had left the room except for Gaius, Merlin, and Arthur.

“I told you so,” Merlin said. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Merlin,” Arthur warned. “One more word, you’ll be sleeping in the stables.”

“Sorry,” Merlin held his hands up. He moved over to hug me. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“Gaius and I will go off to prepare for... whatever is going to happen,” Merlin said before following Gaius out of the throne room.

“So, you’re royalty,” Arthur said after the door shut behind them.

“Apparently,” I looked down. I was caught off guard when he hugged me and twirled me around. “What is it?”

“This is the best news,” he replied. “This is perfect.”

“Why is it so perfect?”

“We’ll talk about that later,” he shrugged with a smirk before kissing my forehead. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” I gave him a nervous smile before heading off to see Gaius and Merlin.

I walked through the door, fiddling with my hands. My stomach was full of butterflies and I was scared that I would actually throw up. Merlin gave me a comforting smile once he saw me shifting from one foot to another.

“Come lay down,” Gaius said. I nodded and sat on the cot that Gaius had.

“How is this going to work,” I asked.

“Well, I’m going to give you this potion,” Gaius held up a bottle. “It should start bringing your memory back but it will cause you to fall asleep because the process of regaining memories can be...”

“Overwhelming,” I completed his thought. He nodded. “Have you done this before?”

“Never had to,” Gaius replied, kind of shrugging at me. I let out a heavy sigh. “It’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” I shook my hands out before holding one out to take the bottle from him.

I shifted so I was laying down, then took a huge gulp of the potion. I winced at the flavor as Gaius took it from me. My wincing stopped as I started feeling drowsy, my eyelids struggling to stay open. After what could’ve been seconds, I was falling asleep.

**Time Skip**

I slowly blinked as my brain became less and less cloudy. I rolled my neck before moving to sit up on the cot. I jumped a little when I saw how many people were there... just looking at me.

“Hello,” my father said softly, sitting next to me. I smiled at him. “I know this is going to sound a little silly but... can you tell me the name of your mother?”

“My mother’s name was Aleida,” I replied, my eyes filling with tears. “She was killed by a neighboring kingdom when I was eight. And I just forgot her.”

“No, no, no,” my father hugged me, rubbing my back. “You did nothing wrong. I am so sorry. I am so sorry for everything.”

“May I have a few minutes,” I asked. “I just want to collect my thoughts.”

“Of course,” my father nodded, moving to stand and guide everyone out.

Once the door closed, I felt all of my emotions truly come out. I was scared and I was confused. I placed a hand over my mouth as I cried. Almost eight years of lost memories came crashing back in less than a minute. I couldn’t sort through all of my thoughts.

Whether or not I understood what was going on, my tears eventually stopped. I finally stood from the cot and walked towards the door. Everyone was waiting just outside.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I just needed to pull myself together.”

“You’re alright,” Arthur stepped forward and touched my shoulder. I smiled at him.

“Merlin, I believe you and I have some work to finish up, don’t we,” Gaius asked. Merlin nodded, a very smug smile on his face as they walked back into Gaius’ chambers.

“Rowan, I believe we have a deal to discuss,” Uther announced. “Would you like to go discuss the matter?”

“Of course,” my father replied, walking towards the throne room.

“So,” Arthur said slowly. “It’s true.”

“It’s true,” I chuckled. “So, you can tell me why this was such great news.”

“Well,” he looked down for a moment. “I just want you to know that I love you.”

“Oh,” I froze up for a moment. “As in you’re in love with me?”

“Yes,” he confirmed with a small smile. “I didn’t want to say anything because of the stupid rule about royals not being with people that aren’t also royals... but this was the best stroke of luck because now no one can do anything to you if I was to say anything... which I did.”

“I am very happy that I do know,” I replied. I glanced around the nearby hallway before leaning up and kissing his cheek. “Let’s go see what our dads are so adamantly discussing.”

“Alright,” he nodded, holding his arm out so I could wrap mine around. I leaned on his shoulder while we walked down the hallway. It was nice. This was a definitely a nice moment.

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#merlin imagine #merlin fanfiction #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon fanfiction #imagine #fanfiction #character imagine #character fanfiction

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