#The big change would be that Merlin could tell Arthur about Gwen being cursed earlier on

[diazevan]

I believe Season 5 of Merlin, could have been improved simply by altering one variable; Arthur should have found out about Merlin's magic in the two part opener. I wouldn't have minded if he'd had the exact same reaction that he had in the finale, but at least then we'd have an entire season of him knowing the truth. It's not only about knowing Merlin's secret, I would have loved to see an entire season where Arthur played an active role in his destiny and was fully aware of what was to come. We saw four seasons of Merlin battling it alone, I would have liked a couple of episodes where they were battling it together.

[beautifultypewriter]

Well Played ~ Knights of Camelot

Requested: Yes / by @libbyangelofthelord

Warnings: Pranks (nothing mean or sadistic)

Word Count: 2,392 (I’m so sorry)

Pairing: None. Platonic relationships between the reader, Merlin, the knights, Gwen, Arthur, and Morgana

Summary: It’s a college AU! Reader is the victim of their friends’ latest prank. With the help of Morgana, Gwen, and a reluctant Arthur, Reader decides to get revenge.

A/N: I decided to make this a more modern AU and I thought putting everyone in college would be fun. Hope you’re okay with that!

If there was ever a time when you hated working off campus, it was now. Now, as you jogged to your car, unlocking the door with your key fob. Now, as you watched two purple balloons float gently to the pavement of the parking lot. With furrowed eyebrows, you looked up to see that your car had been filled entirely with gold and purple balloons. You stood completely still, staring at what you hoped was a figment of your imagination. There was no way you were going to be able to get to work on time; not with all of these balloons needing to be popped. Loud laughter drew your attention away from the disaster in front of you and you turned to see your friends not even twenty feet away. Gwaine was at the head of the pack, clearly the mastermind behind this prank. They moved closer to you and your confusion and worry turned to anger. They only grinned at you though, seemingly proud of what they would consider a genius idea. You probably would have laughed too, if this little prank didn’t mean that you were going to be late for work. “Need some help, Y/N?” Gwaine chuckled and you turned your angry eyes to him.

 “What is wrong with you?” You looked at each of the five men in front of you, “All of you.” Leon was the only one who looked a bit ashamed of his actions. The rest were too busy stifling their laughter.

 Percival was the next to speak, “Oh come on, can’t you take a joke?”

 You turned to your car and started sweeping the balloons onto the pavement, “Not when they make me late for work.” Morgana and Gwen had just gotten out of class and were on their way back to the dorm when they saw you struggling and came over to see what had happened. Gwen immediately went to the other side of the car and started sweeping balloons out.

 Morgana had other ideas, as she strolled over to the group of five, “No doubt you geniuses are to blame for this.”

 Gwaine laughed, “It’s just a prank, Morgana. No need to take up arms about it.”

 She waved him off, “Oh, just get out of here with your silly pranks.” The guys laughed again, but they followed her directions and ambled off to the quad. Morgana came over and started helping you cleanup the balloons, “Honestly, they think they’re so funny. I’m getting a little sick of their pranks.” You nodded, your attention solely on your car. Morgana gasped and you turned quickly to face her. She had what could only be described as an evil smirk on her face as she stared back at you, “How about some revenge?” Your own smirk spread across your lips as you processed her words.

 “Morgana, I think that would be lovely.”

 ~

 “Please, Arthur.”

 The blonde man sighed as he continued to highlight his notes, “Why should I help you create a mess in my dorm?”

 Morgana smiled at him, “Because you want to see Merlin be pranked as much as we do.”

 Gwen, who was sat next to her boyfriend, laughed, “She’s right, you know.” Arthur glared at her before turning back to his notes. You were sure that was going to be the end of it, but you were surprised when Arthur motioned to his backpack.

 “Key’s in the side pocket.” You and Morgana grinned at each other as you reached over and pulled the key from the bag. Morgana grabbed the bag of supplies that you had brought with you and started walking backwards, towards Arthur and Merlin’s dorm building.

 You followed her quickly, tossing one last thanks over your shoulder, “You are the best, Arthur.” You waved to your friend, “See you later, Gwen.” She waved back and then you and Morgana were off. You only had an hour before Merlin’s chem lab ended and you had a lot to do.

 You brushed your hands over your jeans after putting the finishing touch on your revenge for Merlin, “Okay, so Merlin should just be getting out of class now and it’s a five minute walk back to the dorm.” Morgana nodded and you sighed, “Let’s wait in the hall.” She nodded again and grabbed her bag before following you into the hall and carefully pulling the door closed behind her.

 “This is going to be so good.”

 You nodded and pulled her away from the door, “I can’t wait to see his face.” She laughed with you and the two of you moved down the hall, deciding to act like you were just coming down the hall at the same time as Merlin. Morgana was the lookout, as you continually checked your watch. Your head snapped up when Morgana started to hit your shoulder.

 “Here he comes.” You both stood up straight and composed yourselves as you moved down the hall together. The pair of you reached Merlin’s door at the same time he did and Morgana smiled at him, “Hey, Merlin.”

 He turned and smiled at both of you, “Hey, Morgana. Hey, Y/N.” You waved to him and he paused after unlocking his door to turn to you, “Look I wanted to apologize for the prank the other day. We didn’t know you had work. I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble for being late.”

 You waved him off, “It’s no big deal. It was actually really funny, and I still have my job, so all is well.” You smiled, “No hard feelings.”

 Merlin smiled back, “Good. I’d hate to think you were mad at us.” He pushed open his door halfway, triggering the party poppers, which popped with a bang and rained confetti down on his head. He jumped back at the sound and you and Morgana laughed. He turned to you, “Okay, I get it. You wanted some revenge. Very well played.” He pushed the door open the rest of the way and jumped again when the airhorn you had taped to the wall behind the door sounded. Unfortunately, he had lost his footing and ended up on the floor. You and Morgana doubled over in laughter, trying to support each other as Merlin calmed himself and pushed himself back to his feet. “Very funny. Two for one?” You stopped laughing long enough to nod at him. Shaking his head, he turned to head into the room, “Well if you’re finished now, I’ve got some studying to do.” Merlin froze as he hit the tripwire and the bag holding the flour above him ripped and dumped its contents onto his head. You and Morgana fell into another fit of laughter as Merlin slowly turned and stared at you, flour covering his head and shoulders and sprinkled along his face. He nodded once, “Please tell me that’s it.”

 You nodded back, “Yep. See you later, Merlin.” He waved halfheartedly to you as Morgana pulled you down the hall.

 ~

 “I think going the simple route with Percival was a great idea.” Morgana nodded in agreement as you each lugged a large plastic bucket filled with ice water down the dorm hallway.

 “Oh definitely. He’s the one who will most be put off by the ice water.” As you reached the common bathroom, you put your bucket down to slowly ease the door open. You could hear Percival singing lowly and you were glad that he was the only one in the stalls at the time.

 You nodded to Morgana, “He’s alone.” She grinned and stepped into the steamy room, holding the door with her foot as you picked up your bucket again and stepped in behind her. You both moved quietly over to the shower stall that Percival was in, trying hard to contain your laughter. You and Morgana stood just outside the curtain where an oblivious Percival was still singing. You hoisted your bucket up and Morgana did the same. Then you whispered, “One, two, three.” And you both dumped the ice water over the curtain and onto Percival. You jumped back from the curtain and laughed as Percival yelped and cursed. He pushed the curtain aside and stuck his head out, looking around wildly. He spotted you, but before he could say anything, you grabbed Morgana’s hand and pulled her out into the hallway, laughing the entire time.

 ~

 “Alright, so Gwen said that Elyan and Leon passed out the moment they hit their beds, so we should be good to go.” You nodded at Morgana and she continued, “I was here earlier, so the door should just…” She pushed on the door and it opened easily. She grinned at you as she pulled the tape off of the locking mechanism on the door. You tiptoed in, carrying your bag of supplies, with Morgana following you. You giggled as you heard the boys snore.

 “Good thing Gwen convinced them to go to that party.” Morgana laughed as she nodded. Then you two got to work. You pulled the cups out of the bag and started placing them on every inch of the floor, so that there was no space between them. Morgana followed your movements, filling each cup halfway with water. You moved as quickly as you could, taking care not to make too much noise, though you were sure that nothing could wake Leon or Elyan at this point.

 As you stood in the doorway, you placed the last cup down and Morgana poured the last of the water into it. You two high-fived and shut the door before scurrying down the hall, heading back to your dorm.

 The next morning, you made sure to wake up early, so that you could see the result of last night’s prank. You jumped onto Morgana’s bed, shaking her awake. She jolted up and you laughed, “Ready to see our handiwork play out?”

 She grinned, “Of course.” She jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed as you laughed again. She turned to you, “Well are you going to get ready?” You nodded and changed out of your pajamas as Morgana stood by, tapping her foot. Just as you were about to head out, airhorn in hand, Gwen sat up, rubbing her eyes. She glanced over at you and chuckled.

 You smiled at her, “You coming, Gwen?”

 She shook her head and smiled, “No, you two have fun though.” You gave her a salute and rushed out the door, running to catch up with Morgana. It didn’t take long for you to reach Leon and Elyan’s dorm. You pushed open the door, just like Morgana had done last night, and sure enough the two were still passed out on their beds.

 You held up the airhorn, “Ready?” Morgana nodded and you pressed down on the trigger, causing three short bursts of sound to permeate the room. Leon and Elyan bolted upright, searching for the source of their rude awakening. Their eyes landed on you and Morgana and they glared. Leon moved to get out of bed, but you held a hand up to stop him, “Uh-uh, I’d be careful if I were you.” He looked down at the floor to see that he had no place to step unless he wanted water all over the floor and his bare feet. His head snapped up to you as Elyan looked around, seeing that he was also trapped on his bed. You waved, “See you guys later.” Morgana laughed as she pulled you away, the boys calling after you.

 ~

 “Alright, four down, only one to go.”

 Morgana grinned at you, “And let Gwaine’s be the sweetest revenge of them all.” You nodded once and then the two of you were off to Gwaine’s dorm. Since you had already pranked Percival, he agreed to let you into his and Gwaine’s dorm that night, so that you could complete your revenge. You knocked once on the door and he answered it, ushering you two in.

 “Alright, I’ve done my part. I’m going to bed now.”

 You nodded at him, “Thanks, Percival.”

 He waved you off, “Just don’t pour cold water in my shower again please.” You gave him a thumbs up and he nodded, heading over to his bed and collapsing onto the sheets. You turned to Morgana, nodded once, and then the two of you set out to grab every piece of clothing that Gwaine owned. Once you had everything, you left the dorm and headed outside.

 The next morning, Gwaine woke up, brushing his fingers through his unruly morning hair, and yawning. Percival was sitting up in his own bed and he mumbled a good morning to his roommate. Gwaine responded with another yawn and then he shuffled out of bed and over to his dresser. He pulled open the top drawer only to find that it was completely empty. He tried the second and the third drawer, both empty. He rushed over to his closet to see that it had been completely cleared out, even his shoes were gone. He turned to Percival, “Where are all of my clothes?”

 His roommate shrugged, “How on Earth should I know?” Gwaine spun in place, desperately trying to figure out what could have happened. He was broken from his thoughts at the sound of something hitting the window. He stepped over to the glass and opened it to find you poised to throw another pebble. He looked down as you waved up at him, Morgana next to you, doing the same. That’s when he saw it; his favorite shirt lying on the ground by your feet. And then he saw all his other clothes strewn about the lawn, thrown into trees, his shoes hanging from the branches. He frowned as his eyes travelled to the flagpole, where a pair of his pants had been hoisted up in place of the school’s flag. People were moving around the quad, staring at his clothes and laughing. Gwaine shook his head as he saw every one of his socks laid out on the edge of the fountain like some kind of decoration.

 Morgana laughed as she called up to him, “Oh come on, Gwaine. It’s just a prank.” He narrowed his eyes at her before his gaze moved to you. He smiled reluctantly and gave you a salute. Well Played.

[tyrseward]

title: the castle guides  word count: 1446 notes: so a while ago i thought about the idea of like. camelot’s castle being. somewhat sentient? like, according to the curse of cornelius sigan, “legend has it, [cornelius sigan’s] spells helped build camelot itself” & i’m a fan of magic within a structure taking a life of its own so. this was inevitable for me aslhgdgd. i started writing this??? A While ago. a couple years ago, probably. so i’m sharing the first part, here. takes place during excalibur (1.09). summary: In which Camelot was built and forged with magic, and she has a way of ensuring her inhabitants are where they need to be when life-changing secrets are whispered into hidden corners of her halls.

Or, in which no one understands what keeps calling them away to stand in odd places and eavesdrop on the king.

Gwen isn’t sure why she’s standing outside the council chambers, alone in the empty halls in the early night. She is meant to be going home, having been dismissed from Morgana’s service only minutes earlier, and yet, here she is.

A part of her is screaming for her to leave, to run away before she is caught lurking. Another part of her, the one that trusts her instincts more than any logic, is louder.

She stays.

“Gwen?” Merlin’s voice calls out from behind, and she jumps, startled.

“Merlin?” She asks, whirling around to face him. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“I could say the same thing to you,” he responds. Nevertheless, he answers her. “Saw Gaius trying to be sneaky getting here, so I’m here to eavesdrop.”

“Shameless, you are,” she mutters. If she weren’t also here, doing the same thing, she might be disapproving.

“You’re one to talk,” Merlin huffs, a grin splitting his face for an instant, but it falls as Gaius’ voice trails from the chambers.

“Good evening, Sire.”

“Gaius.”

Gwen shifts uneasily, another thought of “I shouldn’t be here” racing through her mind. Beside her, Merlin leans toward her, presses his arm against hers lightly.

“There is a matter of great urgency, which I must discuss with you.”

“Then spit it out.”

“Tristan's tomb is empty. I believe he's been conjured from the dead.”

A noise of confusion escapes her before she can help it, and she shoots Merlin a glare when he shushes her. He winces and shoots her a look promising to explain later.

“How is this possible?” Uther’s voice rings out, tinged with anger and what she would call fear if it were any other person.

“I believe he's a wraith.”

“A spirit?”

“He has come to take vengeance for Ygraine's death.”

Oh, she thinks, I should definitely not be here.

Still, she’s already heard this much, and not knowing what else is said will surely drive her mad.

So, she stays.

“It was magic that killed her, not I.”

Merlin tenses, and Gwen glances at him out of the corner of her eye. He looks as shocked as she is, more so, even. Beyond that, he looks, well, hurt. She grabs his hand, and he grips back tightly.

“Nevertheless, it was you he blamed. You cannot allow Arthur to fight. No weapon forged by man can kill a wraith. It will stop at nothing till it has accomplished what it came for. Arthur cannot win, he will die.”

“He will not listen to me.”

“Then you must tell him who the knight is.”

“No.”

“You cannot hide the truth forever.”

“I am the King. You will not tell me what I can and cannot do.” Uther’s response is cold, dangerous.

Gwen is reminded of how terrifying the king can truly be, and she hates it, hates being here. She wants to leave, wants to run away and take Merlin with her to make sure he’s out of the king’s reach, too.

“That is your choice, Sire. You tell him, or let him go to his death.”

“No one but you or I will ever know the secret of Arthur's birth.”

“The boy is of age, he should know.”

“Never! You made an oath. I warn you not to break it.”

“Very well, Sire.”

“Leave me.”

They are gone before the chamber doors open, Gwen trailing helplessly behind Merlin as her mind reels.

Eventually, Merlin brings them to a stop in an alcove just outside the library.

“Alright, let me explain what I know, and then you ask anything else you want to know,” Merlin starts, already stumbling over his words in classic Merlin fashion, brain moving too fast for his mouth to keep up with.

“Alright,” she agrees, but Merlin is already rushing to explain.

“So, Tristan du Bois is Arthur’s uncle, his mother’s brother. He challenged Uther to a duel after Ygraine died ‘cos he blamed Uther for her death. Uther defeats Tristan, killing him, and Tristan vows to get his revenge. And now he’s back as a wraith, which means someone summoned his spirit, though I’ve no clue who would want to do that.”

Gwen can’t help it. She stares.

One minute drags into two, and Merlin shuffles uncomfortably.

“Okay,” she manages. “Right. So - so, how do we stop it? The wraith?”

Merlin blinks once, twice.

“We?” He asks.

“I know you, Merlin,” she responds. “You’ve already got half a plan, and there’s no way I’m letting you do this on your own.”

Merlin hesitates, but after a moment, he nods, a grin splitting his face.

“Alright,” he says. “First off, we’ve got to break into the library.”

Gwen grabs a book just before it tumbles off the stack piled on Merlin’s arms.

“Merlin,” she scolds, “can we focus, please?”

“Yeah, sure, but - but where - how - you know how to pick a lock?” He drops the books onto the table and they thud loudly, causing both of them to flinch. “And can you show me how?”

Gwen huffs a laugh, then nods. “Yes, Merlin. But I’ll tell you about it later, when there isn’t a wraith to destroy.”

Briefly, Gwen wonders if this is meant to be her new normal, fighting magic late at night, in secret. It should probably disturb her more than it does, but, well, it’s far too late for her to be worrying about much of anything other than the task before her.

Of course, then Geoffrey appears with a scowl, and her trail of thought is lost to panic-guilt-fear and “oh gods, Merlin’s the one coming up with an excuse.” It turns out alright, in the end, she thinks.

“Right,” Merlin begins, once they’ve left the library and Geoffrey’s disapproving frown - and she feels a bit bad, leaving him without so much as a “thank you” or “goodnight” but Merlin was dragging her out before she could protest. “Right, so I’ve got an idea.”

He leaves it there, so Gwen pokes his arm lightly. “And that is?”

“Can you get a sword? One your father made, maybe? It needs to be a good one.”

“Of course, but, Merlin, we’d need a dragon, wouldn’t we? And they’re all dead.”

“Right,” Merlin says again, with a tone Gwen is beginning to dread. “So, about that, you need to promise not to freak out.”

“What, there’s not one living under the castle or anything, is there?”

Merlin doesn’t respond.

“Merlin? Tell me there isn’t.”

“So, you’ll get the sword, then meet me near the dungeons?” Merlin asks. He doesn’t wait for a response. “Great, see you in a bit.”

With that, he dashes off, heedless of Gwen’s stuttered protests.

“I have the sword,” Gwen says in greeting as she walks up to where Merlin lurks. “Now, where you plan to find a dragon, I have decided, for the sake of my sanity, I do not want to know.”

“That’s… probably a good idea,” he mutters, nodding. “Still, thank you, Gwen. You’ve been a big help.”

“Of course, Merlin,” she responds. “You know I’m always here for you.”

“I do.” Merlin grins, takes the sword from her. “Now, time to reforge a sword.”

Then, Merlin, in true Merlin fashion, takes off once more, disappearing around a corner and out of sight.

“Gods,” she murmurs, setting off toward home, finally, “please don’t let there actually be a dragon living under the castle.”

Later, after the rumors and gossip surrounding the Wraith Incident, as Merlin has dubbed it, dies down, Gwen pulls him to the side.

He’s meant to be preparing Arthur for training, and she’s meant to be doing laundry, but she can find no better time for them to speak.

“Merlin,” she says, voice low and hesitant. “What about… what about what Uther said? About Queen Ygraine’s death?”

When Merlin doesn’t respond after a while, she glances up at him briefly. He has a frown on his face, one too somber and tinged with anger for her comfort.

“I don’t know,” he says eventually. “There wasn’t much of an explanation. And besides, we’re sooner to lose our heads than find any answers if we go poking around.”

“You’re right.” Gwen frowns, now, too. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Neither do I,” Merlin agrees.

It’s the last they mention it for a long time.