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bitsandbobsofwriting · 4 years

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Soulmate AU part 2; Things drastically change for the better:

Arthur and Merlin’s relationship develops, Uther becomes increasingly annoyed at his failed attempts to control them, Leon continues to have heart palpitations over trying to protect them, and Morgana thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

So that conversation... happens.

To say it was awkward would be a MASSIVE understatement.

Arthur and Morgana spend the whole time answering Uther’s questions, so much so that Merlin barely speaks (he wasn’t great at keeping secrets, so he wasn’t too mad at them for answering for him) and Uther spends the whole time trying and failing to assert his dominance over his two dumbass kids (but they aren’t having it).

Eventually Merlin did speak up, quietly saying:

“I, um... I’m really sorry to interrupt Sire, My Lord... uh... Your Majesty Sir-”

Morgana smirks slightly and covers her mouth with her hand, Arthur rolls his eyes and squeezes Merlin’s hand, and Uther looks upon the whole scene with barely concealed bewilderment:

“-uh... my mum is waiting for me, and I’m usually not gone for this long so... could I... I mean would you mind if I... went?”

Uther looked even more taken aback at that. As much as this whole conversation had been based on Merlin, he hadn’t actually processed the fact that he was a whole person who would have family and places to be and a life outside of being The Prince’s soulmate.

He nods his head slightly and purses his lips:

“Right. Of course. Arthur said that you lived outside of Camelot?-”

He doesn’t wait for an answer before continuing:

“-Well I’m afraid that that is unacceptable. You are the soulmate of the Prince of this kingdom, inform your family that you are to move here as soon as possible, preferably before the month is out.-”

At Merlin’s wide eyes and Arthur and Morgana’s scornful faces, he waved his hand:

“-Don’t worry, housing and anything else that you will require will be provided by the Crown.”

Merlin still looks a bit dazed and surprised at his demand, so Arthur replies instead:

“Father, Merlin and his mother have a life in their village, you can not just demand that they pack up and leave everything behind to live here.”

Uther looks annoyed at this, but patiently (or as patiently as Uther is able) retorts with:

“Well he was going have to move eventually. The two of you are only a few years from being of age, and you can not possibly live in separate kingdoms when that happens, especially as you are Crown Prince. I’m allowing this... bond... to continue, but we are still royalty, and rules must be followed.”

Morgana goes to argue this time, but Merlin tugs her sleeve slightly and says quietly:

“It’s alright ‘Gana, he is right, I was going to have to move here eventually anyway. This way you finally get to meet my mum, and we’ll get to see each other more often. Mum won’t like it, but I know she’s missed Gaius, so it won’t be too bad, and I’ve always sort of wanted to explore the city.”

Morgana and Arthur stare at him for a few moments whilst he looks between them. Arthur sighs before replying:

“Fine, but only if you’re sure. And take your time, don’t pressure your mum into leaving right away, OK?”

Merlin nods, and everyone at the table stands, stepping back.

Uther mutters that they are dismissed, but watches as they say goodbye to each other. He furrows his eyebrows in interest as Morgana hugs Merlin, mentally noting that he doesn’t think he’s ever seen her smile that widely before.

When Arthur embraces Merlin, much tighter, and for much longer, a hand cradling the back of the peasant’s-... of Merlin’s head, and a soft, but powerful smile on his face, Uther forgets for a moment the distastefulness of the situation, and revels in the feeling of pride and happiness; his son had found his life partner.

The King sweeps any thoughts of his late-wife from his mind, and drops the small smile gracing his face, but not before Morgana spies it and tilts her head at him, giving him a teasing smirk.

The boys whisper something that Uther can’t hear, and Merlin steps back, giving him a quick bow and an awkward wave, before disappearing into thin air. A familiar pop echoes around the hall, and a few gold sparks fall silently to the floor.

Arthur and Morgana bow to him very briefly, before turning and leaving the room without another word, arm in arm.

Uther stands alone in the room for a moment, sighing before muttering to himself:

“This is going to be a bloody nightmare. Public announcement. Before that I have to tell the council. And I have to figure out how I can legally make these people nobles, to justify everything-”

He looks to the ceiling, sighing once again as he says:

“-Gods give me strength.” Before turning and sweeping out the room.

The moment Arthur and Morgana leave the room, they turn to each other and burst into slightly hysterical laughter, sputtering about “the look on his face” and “oh my gods, *sire my lord your majesty sir* ” between breaths.

The whole situation was unexpected, but to be perfectly honest, they didn’t regret it; they knew that the longer they waited before telling Uther, the bigger the problem would be.

Morgana straightens up after a moment, wiping tears from her eyes, before whipping her head around to Arthur in sudden panic:

“Oh my Gods, Arthur. Leon.”

Arthur’s eyes widen, and he curses suddenly before taking Morgana’s hand and running towards his chambers. They almost ran into multiple people, Nobles who tutted, and castle staff who jumped out of the way, not even having time to bow before the two teenagers were out of sight again.

They loudly burst into Arthur’s chambers, out of breath, to see Leon pacing a groove into the floor:

They stand with their hands on their knees, panting, but before they can say anything, Leon rushes to speak:

“Where on earth have you been?? A guard said you were in a meeting with the King all afternoon, what happened? Is Merlin ok?? They wouldn’t let me in, so I came back here to wait but-”

Arthur held up a hand to stop him rambling, and gave him a comforting smile. The Prince straightened up, and took one last deep breath before saying:

“Sorry, for worrying you Leon. But you are not going to believe what just happened...”

Morgana starts laughing again, and with that, the two of them shut the door behind them and explain in great detail what had happened, how Merlin had just appeared and Uther had freaked, and Gaius and Geoffrey had to be called, and how funny the look on his face was when they’d explained.

Arthur had wanted to skip it out, but Morgana gleefully insisted on recounting just how much she and Arthur had ordered Uther around, and how he’d just taken it.

By the end of their explanation, Leon had collapsed in a chair, looking very pale, and a lot like he’d aged twenty years.

He holds his head in his hands, fingers messing up his curls, and stares at the floor as Arthur and Morgana glance to each other, trying not to laugh at the poor man.

After what seems to be hours, Leon straightens up, and looks to the two of them with a stricken expression:

“I can’t believe that... well I suppose he had to find out eventually but... dear Lord I can’t decide if I’m grateful I wasn’t there or not... oh my Gods I’m going to be demoted, disowned, banished.”

Arthur laughs at that and Morgana rolls her eyes at the man’s panic:

“Nothing’s going to happen to you Sir Leon, don’t panic. We didn’t mention you, as far as my father is concerned, the only ones who knew were us.”

Leon finally smiles briefly at that, muttering a quiet thank you, before standing up suddenly, looking panicked once again:

“Wait... you said he’d be moving here?? What about his... gift?? He can’t live in Camelot it’s dangerous. You may have protected him from the King for now but... if he finds out nothing will stop him from... nothing will stop him.”

The two of them sighed at that. They had been mentally considering it, but they were just taking it one victory at a time. Arthur replied moments later:

“We’ll just have to be careful. He has to be careful in Ealdor anyway, he’s already a bastard, he had to hide magic from the other villagers because it probably would’ve been fatal for him to give them a second reason to hate him. We can set ground rules when he actually moves here and... we just have to be careful. It’ll be a new life for him and his mother, we can be careful.”

He says the last bit with a decisive nod, and Morgana and Leon relax slightly. Arthur was right, they’d been fine so far, they could keep it up.

He would never say it out loud, but if his father found out... if he tried to hurt Merlin, Arthur knows without a doubt in his mind that he would give up his inheritance, take Merlin’s hand, and run. Without hesitation.

He would love nothing more than to turn his kingdom into a place where Merlin could be free and happy one day, but until then, he would do anything to keep him safe, even if it meant leaving everything behind.

The next few weeks rush by.

Uther had tried to limit the number of visits between Merlin and Arthur, but neither of them were having it, and if anything, they were seeing each other more with the upcoming move.

Hunith did in fact freak out at Uther’s demand of her and Merlin moving to Camelot. For several reasons.

First off, she had a life here. It was difficult, but simple, honest work. The winters were hard, but the summers made up for it. The villagers may have started of being a little cruel to her and Merlin, but they warmed to them when the dark haired boy was nothing but sweet and kind to everyone.

Second off, her son was magical. Both naturally and unnaturally magical. Essetir was dangerous, yes, but Camelot? Camelot was so much worse.

She supposes it had to happen eventually. She didn’t like to think of it often, didn’t want to tempt fate, but her son was the Crown Prince’s soulmate. That meant that one day... he would be married to the King. He couldn’t exactly do that whilst living in Essetir, least of all because the Essetir Crown would throw a world ending fit.

In the end, she agreed to the move rather quickly, at least she would be close to her brother, and she could finally meet Leon and Morgana.

As much as Merlin and Arthur urged her not to rush, she really had nothing to do but say goodbye before they made the journey to Camelot, and the three of them were leaving the village behind them within the month, just like Uther wanted.

Though he definitely hadn’t wanted Arthur to pop away one morning, a full travel pack and a sword on his person, intending to make the journey with them. But in the end, Arthur ended the argument by rolling his eyes (much to Morgana’s amusement) and disappearing before The King could get another word in.

No public announcements had been made (they decided to wait until Arthur came of age), but the council had been informed. They were NOT happy.

Uther would never admit it, but he did feel a swell of pride when Arthur slammed his hand on the table, and firmly told them that this was happening whether they liked it or not, and if they dared complain instead of help, they would find themselves without a chair at the table, and severely lacking in titles and land.

Uther was relieved when he found out that Hunith was Gaius’ younger sister. Gaius wasn’t a noble, but he was a life-long, close friend of the King, and a trusted advisor. Hopefully that would make it easier.

The Court Physician wasn’t a title that came with land, or nobility, BUT it was the most respected position in the royal household, below actual nobles.

If Gaius could take Merlin on as his apprentice... then he would be an almost fully trained physician by the time he came of age, and that would be respected. Then at least he would have a role outside of being the Prince’s Soulmate.

It was all coming together in Uther’s mind. Of course it wasn’t perfect. The absolute ideal outcome would’ve been if Arthur’s soulmate had been foreign royalty (if only anyone knew about Merlin’s father...), but he could make do with this. He would have to, if he didn’t want to lose his son and his ward.

The day of Hunith, Arthur, and Merlin’s arrival finally comes.

Uther didn’t greet them in the courtyard (it would be unsightly for a King to greet two commoners, even if The Prince was with them) but Gaius, Morgana, and Leon did.

Everyone breaks into wide smiles when the castle gates are opened, Arthur and Merlin rushing forward to meet Morgana and Leon in a big hug, and Hunith rushing forward to meet her brother, whom she hadn’t seen in several years.

There is laughter and hugs all around before Merlin finally steps back and takes his mother’s hand, realising he should probably give actual introductions:

“Mum, this is The Lady Morgana, ward of the King-”

Morgana gives Hunith a wide smile and curtsy, before stepping forward and giving her a brief hug. Morgana was very touch averse with everyone but Merlin, Arthur, and Leon, but in her books, any woman who raised Merlin into the young man he had become, was a woman who deserved her trust. And a hug:

“-and this is Sir Leon, Knight of the King.”

Leon took Hunith’s hand, placing a brief kiss on her knuckles before stepping back respectfully. Hunith quickly followed him, and to his great surprise, wrapped the taller man in a tight hug. He wraps his arms around her after a few moments in shock, when she whispers in his ear:

“Thank you for keeping my boys safe.”

He steps back, a wide smile on his face and his hands on her shoulders. He replies quietly so that only she would hear him:

“It has been my genuine pleasure, and I plan to continue to do so for the remainder of my service.”

Hunith gives him an even wider smile, and pats his hand, before the two of them step back. The others watch on in adoration, before Leon clears his throat and addresses the group:

“I have been instructed to show the two of you to your new residence, before you are to meet with the King.”

Arthur steps back before saying regretfully:

“Unfortunately, Gaius and I should go and meet with my father immediately. Leon, you lead the way, we shall remain with him until you return and we can get this over with.”

He says the last bit with a grimace, and Morgana gives him a sympathetic smile as Merlin squeezes his hand.

The group separates, Arthur and Gaius heading up the castle steps, and Leon leading the rest of them back out the gates.

Hunith and Merlin had been gifted a small house in the upper city, close to the castle, but not within it’s walls. Arthur had argued endlessly against that, saying they deserved chambers inside the castle, but Hunith was the one who refused.

She wasn’t nobility, and she enjoyed her simple life. She had already given up her farming and livestock, she refused to be cooped up in a giant stone castle where she would have nothing to do, and didn’t understand how anything worked.

Arthur finally saw the sense in that, he can understand that it would be difficult for Merlin and Hunith to live in the castle. He hated to admit it, but they would certainly be looked down on, and Arthur was almost of age, he didn’t have the time to spend all day entertaining Merlin, even if he wanted nothing more than to spend all day every day with him.

The house was small, but still three times the size of their place back in Ealdor. They had separate bedrooms, a large kitchen/dining area, a small storage room, and an extra room for relaxing (”City folk call them living rooms apparently.”). There was a small, fenced off grass area out the front, which Hunith was particularly excited about; she wouldn’t have to give up growing things after all.

The home came fully furnished, and Hunith was speechless at the large, comfortable beds, the soft chairs, and the abundance of cooking equipment. The living room also had a large hearth, and two ceiling-high bookshelves, though they were empty.

Once Hunith had had a good look around (the others had already seen it, and Arthur had been checking with Merlin at every step to see if he approved), Morgana excitedly grabs her hand and drags her back to the slightly larger of the two bedrooms.

Merlin follows confusedly, but Leon follows with a small smile on his face, he had seen what Morgana was planning, despite her best attempts to keep it secret.

Morgana finally stands Hunith in front of the wardrobe and gestures for her to open it. The older woman opens the doors with a little hesitation, before stepping back and gasping, her hands over her mouth.

Morgana grins proudly before speaking to a speechless Hunith:

“My gift to you. I organised a few things for Merlin as well. Of course they’ll all have to be adjusted because I could only pass on to the tailor Arthur and Merlin’s descriptions of you. I thought that could be something nice you and me could do at some point in the next few days, after you’ve settled.”

Merlin steps around Leon to try and see what’s got everyone so wound up, and takes in a quiet gasp at what he sees. The wardrobe is filled with new, tailor made dresses, a few thick cloaks, and two pairs of good quality shoes. Two of the dresses were incredibly nice, royal-gala kind of nice, and the others were a mix of practical, casual, smart.

He smiles widely, tears in his eyes at what Morgana had done for his mum. He’s always felt a little guilty at being the soulmate of royalty, but not being able to provide her with more than she had, but that changed, starting now.

Hunith finally rips her gaze from the new clothes, staring at Morgana:

“I can’t possibly...-”

Morgana’s tilted head and raised eyebrow forces Hunith to change tracks. The boys have told her how stubborn Morgana was, she has a feeling she wouldn’t be able to return the gifts:

“-I don’t know how to thank you, My Lady.”

Morgana rolls her eyes fondly, and brings her into a hug before stepping back:

“Oh none of that “My Lady” shit, and you don’t have to thank me, you and Merlin are part of the family now.”

Merlin gives her a grateful smile over his mum’s shoulder, which she returns, before Leon speaks up:

“I’m sure you can find time to get them all properly fitted in the coming days Morgana, for now we should get back up to the castle. I imagine The King and The Prince are waiting for us.”

Morgana nods, and Hunith subtly wipes her eyes, before allowing The King’s ward to intertwine their arms. Merlin smiles at the sight (he knew they would get along) before turning and following Leon out the house, and back up towards the castle.

Merlin was only a little nervous, he’d met the King multiple times now, and whilst the man was always painfully polite, it was clear that it was only because the whole situation bewildered him a little. But he’d never met his mother yet, and this next meeting would make the rest of his life go very smoothly, or very difficultly.

Leon pauses a moment outside the door to the throne room, glancing back at Merlin, who takes a deep breath before standing straight and nodding.

Leon smiles encouragingly at him, before pushing the doors open and walking into the room.

Arthur, Uther, and Gaius were stood in front of the thrones quietly discussing something, but look up when they hear the doors open.

Arthur smiles widely and walks forward, giving Merlin a brief hug (which Morgana lovingly rolls her eyes at, they’ve only been apart for half an hour) and Uther straightens his back, before walking forwards regally, a practiced blank look on his face. Gaius gives his sister a reassuring smile, but stays back.

Leon and Merlin bow (Leon deeply, before stepping aside, and Merlin briefly and shallowly) and Hunith curtsied as best she could with Morgana protectively gripping her arm.

Arthur and Merlin stand next to the girls, hand in hand (Uther’s mind bounces between wanting to smile fondly, and wanting to grimace at the PDA), and Uther stops just in front of Hunith:

“Welcome to Camelot, your swift arrival was pleasing.”

Hunith nods, a polite, but strained smile on her face:

“Thank you, My Lord. Anything to make the boys lives easier.”

Uther clenches his jaw, and Morgana has to hide a smirk at the implication that she’d only moved to help out the boys, and not because Uther had ordered it.

“Of course. I hope your new home was to your liking?”

Hunith nodding in reply, the smile on her face a little brighter this time:

“Yes, My Lord, it’s wonderful, I can not thank you enough for providing it. I look forward to exploring your city.”

Uther nods slightly before saying:

“Yes, yes, it’s rather lovely this time of year. The Crown will provide a small allowance for a time, until you can get yourself on your feet. I’ve already discussed it with Gaius, and arrangements have been made for Merlin to become the physician’s apprentice, at Gaius’ earliest convenience.”

“Thank you, I’m sure it won’t be long before I can find work, in such a bustling city.”

Uther nods tersely, before turning back towards Gaius. He waves his hand dismissively over his shoulder as he says:

“I have other matters to attend to for the rest of the afternoon. Sir Leon, Arthur and Morgana, you have the rest of the day off to show our new... residents, around. You’re all dismissed.-”

Leon is the only one who bothers bowing to Uther’s back, and Morgana raises an eyebrow at him, before rolling her eyes and turning to leave, dragging Hunith with her, closely followed by the boys.

Just before Leon can exit the room, Uther turns around hurriedly:

“-Before I forget, Sir Leon, I would like a word.”

Leon turns around after wiping the panic from his face. He shuts the door after the others, who look at him worriedly, before turning around to face The King:

“My Lord?”

Uther settles an assessing gaze on the knight, and Leon has to stop himself from gulping in response. Uther sighs, and speaks after a moment:

“After paying a little more attention to the relationships between yourself, the boys, and Morgana, I have realised something. You obviously knew of this... relationship, long before I did. Do no deny it.-”

Leon does gulp at that, but before he can defend himself, Uther asks:

“Can I trust that it would have been brought to my attention had anything problematic started?”

Leon widens his eyes in shock, before gathering his thoughts and replying, injecting as much confidence in his voice as possible:

“Of course, My Lord. I kept a close eye on them myself, and made sure that the Prince’s safety was my highest priority at all times. Had anything worrying happened, I would have come to you immediately. I am loyal to the throne, My Lord.”

(A big fat lie considering the whole “Merlin is a sorcerer” thing, but the King certainly doesn’t need to know that.)

Uther nods thoughtfully, before meeting Leon’s gaze again:

“Good. I am glad that Arthur has someone looking out for him. I trust you will continue this?”

Leon nods:

“Of course, My Lord.”

Uther nods once again:

“Excellent. Make sure none of... this, interferes with his studies. You are dismissed.”

Leon bows deeply, before leaving the room. He shuts the door behind him, leaning on it and taking a deep breath, before looking up to meet the worried gazes of the others, who had waited for him. He smiles shakily:

“Nothing bad, I’ll tell you later. Come on, let’s show these two around the upper-town.”

Arthur fixes him with a scrutinizing gaze, but Leon meets it (Arthur has yet to win a staring contest against Leon, in fact, Morgana was the only one who ever came close), and after a moment, Morgana shakes her head, and begins to walk down the corridor, the boys trailing after her and Hunith.

They spend the rest of the afternoon showing Merlin and Hunith around the upper-town. The tour leads them around the market, the town square (where the well is) and other important fixtures of the town, such as the tailor, blacksmith’s, and some of Morgana’s favourite shops (Uther hated it, but Morgana and Arthur regularly sneak out of the castle to spend time in the city).

By the time the sun sets, the group is relaxed and getting on well. Merlin knew Morgana and Leon would love his mum, but it was still nerve-wracking, and he was overjoyed by how well it was going.

The kitchen of Hunith and Merlin’s new home had yet to be stocked, so they stopped off at some street vendors before heading back to the house. Hunith tried to argue when Arthur insisted on paying, but she was shut down pretty quickly when Arthur reminded her that he was The Prince, he could more than afford it, and anyway, “I like contributing to the local businesses, I wouldn’t be a Prince if I didn’t have my people around me, I like to give back where I can.”

Leon and Morgana smiled proudly at that, but the smiles on Hunith and Merlin’s face were more fond.

(Morgana quietly thinks about how differently he would’ve been without Merlin to ground him. With a father like Uther, Arthur easily could’ve turned into an absolute prat.)

They stay together long into the evening, talking and laughing, before Leon finally says it’s time to go. Morgana, Hunith, and Merlin may have tomorrow free, but Leon and Arthur had training early, followed by a day full of meetings.

Morgana smirked at Arthur’s grumbling, but dutifully stood up. The three of them give Hunith and Merlin tight hugs, before leaving them alone, heading back to the castle.

Hunith and Merlin sit in comfortable silence, wide smiles on their faces, before Merlin breaks the silence:

“So what do you think? I know Uther is a bit of a prat, but he’ll want to see as little of us as possible, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Do you... like it here?”

Hunith smiles at him fondly, and runs her hands through his hair when he rests his head on her lap:

“You’ve really made a life for yourself here, haven’t you Merlin? I’m proud of you. Lady Morgana and Sir Leon are exactly how I expected them to be. The house is far more than I expected, but I’m grateful, and I’m sure it won’t take me long to find a job. I’ll always miss our rural village, but nothing is stopping us from visiting every once in a while, to get away from the city, and we have a nice little garden here.-”

Merlin closes his eyes, soothed by his mother’s fingers in his hair, and hums thoughtfully before Hunith continues:

“-You know, I had always considered sending you here to apprentice under Gaius when you were older anyway. Funny, how things turn out. Though perhaps I should’ve realised that nothing was going to go to plan when the little blond boy that appeared in my kitchen all those years ago turned out to be foreign royalty.”

Merlin huffs out a laugh from when he laid, and responded sleepily:

“Yeah. You know I don’t even think of him as royalty, most of the time. He’s just... Arthur.”

Hunith smiles gently down at him, and takes a few minutes to respond:

“I know what you mean. I’m glad you found your person... or more accurately, I’m glad your person found you.-”

She chuckles, before adding the next bit on quietly:

“-Your father would be proud of you.”

Merlin opens his eyes, and looks up at her blearily:

“You think?”

Hunith’s smile widens, and the both of them politely ignore the tears gathering in her eyes:

“I know.”

Time passes quickly. The next day, Merlin, Hunith, and Morgana spend the whole day shopping and stocking up on food and other necessities (the small allowance Uther had provided for them actually turned out to be quite a lot, especially compared to the amount of money Hunith was used to having around).

At some point over the next week, like Morgana had suggested, her and Hunith spent a day in the tailor’s, having all of her new clothes adjusted properly.

Hunith was also ecstatic to get a job off the back of that. She may not be at quite the professional level yet, but she was the one most of the locals would go to, to fix and patch and re-sew old clothes back in Ealdor.

Merlin started his apprenticeship with Gaius, which meant the days being near, but not with Arthur, were less boring, and slightly more bearable.

He picked up healing quickly (after seeing all the various injuries Arthur and Leon had sustained over the years during training, he was eager to learn how to help them), and he soon became known around town as Gaius’ Boy.

His cheerful demeanour and wide smile endeared him to all of his patients, and he made a point to try and be polite to everyone he came across. Suddenly living in a bustling city, and having what was basically a full time job, was a little overwhelming, but being here meant being with Arthur, so he was determined to make the most of it.

The boys spent the evenings together whenever they could (and still slept in the same bed most nights, out of habit. Merlin’s nightmares had made a brief reappearance after his first meeting with Uther, but they stopped again fairly soon.), and Arthur would often pop out of the castle to share meals with Merlin and Hunith, Morgana and Leon joining them when they had the time.

This did however, involve a few instances of Merlin or Arthur appearing at inopportune times.

An emergency patient coming in meant Arthur appearing in the physician’s chambers, instead of Merlin’s home, like he had expected.

Luckily the patient was unconscious at the time.

(Uther had informed them that the council members and guards who worked in the castle had been informed of the situation (so that Hunith and Merlin wouldn’t be bothered), but the public wasn’t to know at all, at least until Arthur came of age.)

A council meeting overrunning meant Merlin appearing just behind the Prince’s seat, and turning wide-eyed and red-faced before squeaking out a quick apology and disappearing again.

The meeting was side-tracked for a good five minutes as Arthur tried to cover a smirk, Morgana (who insisted she be involved in important meetings when Arthur was) openly laughed, and Uther held his head in his hands, rubbing his tired eyes and muttering something about “stupid kids” and “stupid soul-bonds”.

They tried to be more careful after that incident, and they got better at exploring the bond. With some focus and practice, the boys got fairly good at sensing where the other was, and sometimes, if they were with other people (though that particular sense wasn’t as reliable).

About a month after they moved to Camelot, Merlin was introduced to a lovely girl called Guinevere. Her mother had served Leon’s family, and once she was old enough to have a job herself, Leon swung her a position in the castle as Morgana’s maidservant.

Arthur was oblivious at first (until an amused Merlin explained it to him later on), but Merlin and Leon definitely noticed the... bond, between the two girls, though all four would deny it to anyone who asked, in order to preserve their privacy.

Guinevere, or Gwen, as her friends call her, quickly joined the group. Morgana was grateful for another female presence, and Leon was most certainly grateful for the addition of someone who cared about safety and being careful.

He loved his kids, (”Oh my Gods... I’m a father... how do I... Gaius I know nothing about teenagers, what do I do?? I’m not ready to be a father!”), and Hunith was a good influence, but they couldn’t be around all of the time, and the boys had a bad habit of making trouble, especially with Morgana egging them on.

He stressed a little less when he knew that Gwen was with them.

Shortly after Gwen’s appearance, the group (unfortunately without Leon, he had a patrol:( ) went exploring in the woods beyond the city. Uther was stuck in meetings all day, but Arthur and Morgana had a free day, and after much begging, Gaius let Merlin off as well.

Morgana having a free day, meant that Gwen had a free day as well (not that Morgana ever made her do many chores anyway, only enough to keep up the pretence that they were Lady and Servant and not... something else).

They put together a picnic, took some horses from the stables, and headed off at first light. It was a warm, summers day, and they planned to spend the day in the sun, Arthur didn’t have to worry about duties, Merlin didn’t have to worry about memorising herb lists and symptoms, Morgana didn’t have to worry about being a Lady, and Gwen didn’t have to mind her place as a servant.

It was planned to be the perfect day, and it almost was.

After a couple hours journey, they found a beautiful lake, and they spent the morning splashing around in the water, playing and laughing and messing around.

They spent the middle of the day drying in the sun and snacking on all the sweet meats and fruit that Arthur had snuck from the kitchens.

They spent the afternoon playing stupid games, and relaxing in the shade, holding hands with no worries, and even sneaking the occasional kiss, revelling in the freedom of being alone.

They were sad to have to leave, but it became an agreement that at least once a month, whilst the weather held out, they would come to their spot by the lake, and relax with each other. No responsibilities, no obligations, no “My Lord”s or “My Lady”s, just four friends, hopelessly happy and in love.

It was on the way home that things went a little wrong.

Usually this stretch of the woods was completely safe and bandit free, but the group was not so lucky as to have an eventless journey home.

When they were about halfway home, Merlin halted his horse suddenly and sat up straight, letting go of Arthur’s hand and tilting his head, eyes closed, listening to the woods around him with a frown on his face.

Arthur looks back and frowns, before calling to the girls, a few metres ahead of them, to wait for a minute.

He looks to Merlin, still with a frown on his face:

“Merls? What is it?”

Merlin waves his hand in Arthur’s direction, gesturing at him to be quiet. He is silent for another few moments, before he opens his eyes wide, and speaks in a low, but rushed voice:

“Gwen, ride ahead with ‘Gana, everyone get your swords out, we’re being watched.”

Arthur tenses at that, and he and Merlin pull their swords out (Leon had insisted that Merlin learn, he wasn’t nearly as good as the others yet, but he could hold his own. Leon was also the one who insisted they be armed when he learnt of their plan for the day.), quickly followed by Gwen and Morgana.

Instead of riding ahead, Morgana speaks up quickly:

“Gwen can fight just as well as me, I’ve been training her, we should stay together.”

Arthur looks worried, but Gwen just rolled her eyes before adding quietly:

“I’m also the daughter of a blacksmith you know, I’ve been handling swords since before I could walk.”

Arthur sighs and nods, before looking back to Merlin, and quietly, so that only Merlin can hear him:

“How many, and where from?”

Merlin tilts his head away from Gwen, so she can’t see the gold of his eyes, before flexing his hand slightly, and responding:

“Six or seven, I think from the South.”

Arthur nods once more, before turning his horse to be facing South, and he peers into the trees. It wasn’t quite dark out, but it was dimming, and the forest was so thick, the underbrush so overgrown, that it was difficult to see much beyond the edge of the path.

The girls urge their horses back the way they came, to be close to the boys, and stay alert, swords raised, feet braced and ready for action.

Merlin clenches his hands and gasps slightly, before murmuring, loud enough for everyone to hear him this time:

“Twenty seconds.”

Gwen goes to question how he knew that, but a quick look from Morgana, and a shaken head meaning “Later” stops her, and she instead focuses her gaze on where the others were looking into the trees.

Like Merlin had said, twenty seconds later, the treeline breaks, and seven men burst through yelling, and brandishing swords, the shock of which sends the horses scarpering, and the four of them have to jump off and let them go.

Battle broke out immediately, the teenagers aiming to incapacitate or injure, but the bandits not being so kind with their attacks.

The battle is intense, Merlin using little bits of subtle magic here and there to trip or confuse various attackers, Arthur and Morgana slowly but surely taking down men, one by one, and Gwen easily enough holding her own.

But, four, mostly inexperienced (Arthur had only had to actually fight for his life once or twice at this point, and before, he was surrounded by fully trained knights whose top priority was keeping him safe, even to their own detriment) teenagers, aged 15, 16, and 17, were no match for seven seasoned attackers.

In the end, it’s the four of them left (each with bruises and cuts, but nothing serious) vs three remaining attackers, but the battle quickly stops when Merlin turns around (a gut feeling) to see one of the men silently raise a sword, readying to bring it down on to Gwen’s turned back.

He instinctively raises his empty hand towards them, and yells:

“NO!”

He sends the man flying back, head hitting the tree behind him with a thwack.

Gwen stares at him (or more accurately, the golden glow of his eyes) in astonishment, and Morgana and Arthur use the momentary distraction to deal with the last two attackers, giving them swift knocks to the head.

Morgana rushes forward to Gwen and tugs at her shoulder, trying to get her attention to see if she’s ok, but she ignores her just staring at Merlin.

Merlin drops his hand, and his face morphs from anger to shock to fear, the gold in his eyes fading back to blue as Arthur reaches his side and takes his hand.

Gwen finally stutters out a:

“What... you’re... but Uther?-” before wiping the shock off her face, and setting it in grim determination, clenching her jaw.

Merlin’s eyes widen at her expression, and he takes a fearful step back, Arthur steps in front of him and Morgana tries to grab Gwen’s arm as she begins to stalk quickly forwards, but it slips from her grip.

Arthur holds his hands out, and begins to speak, seemingly trying to talk her out of hurting Merlin, but she ignores him, and pushes him to the side with surprising strength.

Merlin gasps and tries to take another step back, tears in his eyes, but she grabs his shoulders and, before anyone can say anything more, pulls him into a crushing hug.

Merlin takes a few moments to respond, clearly not expecting such an affectionate reaction to being discovered as an evil sorcerer, but hugs back at Gwen’s watery “Thank you.” whispered in his ear.

Arthur lets out a breath, and he and Morgana smile, not really sure why they were so surprised at Gwen’s acceptance. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in Camelot, expecting hatred and violence and fear in response to magic is ingrained in you.

Gwen finally pulls back, and takes Merlin’s hands, the both of them have tears on their faces, and Gwen sniffs before quietly saying:

“I’m sorry that you have to live in fear, and I’m sorry I wasn’t clear enough in my adoration for you that you felt you had to be scared of my reaction. I promise to keep you safe, to the best of my ability.-”

She fondly punches him in the arm, before continuing with a smile:

“Next time, you can just do that right at the beginning, and save us all the trouble, yeah?”

Merlin nods slowly, before pulling Gwen into another tight hug. He buries his face in her neck, and she runs her hands through his hair and they both quietly weep.

Arthur and Morgana both feel the strong urge to step in, and comfort their own soulmates, but they resist, and instead give them a moment of privacy as they round up the horses, and search the bandits.

After a few minutes, Gwen and Merlin pull back, and walk towards the other two, holding each other’s hand comfortingly.

Whilst searching their unconscious bodies, Arthur hadn’t found anything identifying, but had found a length of rope in one of their discarded bags, hidden in the underbrush.

He cuts the rope into separate pieces and ties the bandits up, to individual trees, before looking back to the group:

“This won’t hold them long at all, but we don’t have the means to transport them back to the city. I can get my father to send a search party to look for them, but by the time we get back to the City, and the Knights get out here, they’ll probably be long gone.”

Morgana raises an eyebrow and replies:

“I thought you Knights were excellent trackers. They won’t wake up for a while, and they’ll be dazed, so it’ll take them a while to get out of the rope, if your knots are any good-”

Arthur goes to retort, but Gwen quickly interrupts him:

“That’s not the point. What if one of them remembers what Merlin did? And accuses him? Uther probably wouldn’t take their word against all of ours, but it would attract unwanted attention, wouldn’t it? And, no offense Merlin, but he’s already not exactly fond of you.”

Arthur nods at that, and Morgana hums thoughtfully, whilst Merlin just stares at her in shock. He speaks up after a moment:

“We could loosen the knots, and wake them up a little before leaving? That way they’ll have plenty of time to escape before the knights get here? But we have to report it. The types of men to attack four teenagers, none in armour, and two of whom are women, need to be warned about.”

Arthur and Gwen look troubled at that, and Arthur speaks up first:

“Morgana is right though, the Knights are brilliant at tracking, what if they find them anyway? I won’t risk one of them remembering what you did.”

Merlin looks annoyed, always the one to sacrifice himself, and Morgana furrows her brows before looking up, and speaking slowly:

“You could... over exaggerate how violent they were? Request a kill on sight order? That way, none of them make it back to testify, but they’re also no longer a problem for travellers.”

Arthur tilts his head in surprise, and Gwen widens her eyes at the suggestion.

Arthur looks like he’s genuinely considering it, when Merlin gasps:

“Oh!! Wait! The other day, I read about a spell. It’s like a memory charm, I can make them forget the last ten minutes or so, if it works, and we time it right, they’ll remember attacking us, but not how the fight ended!”

He has a grin on his face, but Morgana and Gwen look doubtful, whilst Arthur looks thoughtful, before speaking:

“Have you tried it before? Do you know it would work?”

Merlin turns a little pink, before looking to the floor, and saying:

“Well... do you remember agreeing to let me try it on you last week?”

Morgana grins as she realises the implication of the question, and Gwen gasps as Arthur’s eyes grow wide, and he shakes his head slowly:

“...No.”

Merlin finally meets his eyes, with a nervous smile on his face as he says:

“Then yeah, I’ve tried it before and it worked fine.”

Morgana and Gwen start laughing as Merlin bites his lip and Arthur blinks a few times, before speaking again:

“...Ok, you cast the charm or whatever, I’ll make sure the ropes are done tightly, then we’ll wait for one of them to wake up, to check that it worked, then we’ll leave, and send a patrol back to arrest them.”

With the girls still laughing in the background, Merlin goes to the three attackers who had witnessed him perform magic and cast the spell, whilst Arthur double checked all of the bindings.

The group only has to splash cold water on the face of one of the attackers for him to cough himself awake. He looks around, clearly bewildered, and yells:

“What?? How the fuck... what did... how hard do you hit, kid? Jeez, how the fuck did I-”

He’s cut off by Arthur hitting him in the head again with the hilt of his sword, before he steps back and says:

“Ok. It worked. I think it’d be best if we got home as quickly as possible, we’re already going to be late.”

With that, the group takes one last cursory glance (and fill with pride at the idea that they’d managed to fight off a group of thieving murderous bandits all on their own) at the bound bandits, before mounting their horses, and urging them into a gallop towards Camelot.

The report to Uther was definitely intense, The King was furious that a group of violent criminals were attacking citizens, especially women (though Arthur made sure to point out that Morgana fought just as well as him, and Gwen held her own just fine) so close to the city.

He immediately sent out a large patrol to scour the woods, focussed especially around the path they used, and to not come back until the seasons changed, or the criminals were found.

Arthur was right, the ropes hadn’t held them for long, but he was also right in saying that Camelot Knights were excellent trackers, and they were hunted down within a week, and brought back to Camelot for sentencing.

Arthur and Morgana tried to speak against it, at Merlin and Gwen’s request, but Uther ultimately sentenced the offenders to execution, for crimes against the Crown and Citizens of Camelot, and didn’t question why they couldn’t even remember half the fight.

In fact, that actually had Uther praising the group for fighting well, and he begrudgingly admitted that Morgana’s sword lessons (which she had been ruthlessly demanding since she was a child) and Guinevere’s subsequent training, had paid off well.

THE END OF PART 2

Wow so I finished this way quicker than I was expecting, I just really love this concept, thanks anon, for requesting :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy gang

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fal-carrington · 4 years

Text

Stuck with the mother-in-law

Pairing: Kamilah x Mc

Disclaimer: Characters belongs to PB

Tag list: @kamilahtopme @gavryllo @made-me-deep-blue @sapphics-choices @nighthuntresskatherine @cheeto-choices @beccaislove @whoinvitedalx @thepotatobleh @toyhenoctus @shanuuh @wildsayeed @voltos9 @iam-the-fuckin-queen @ilovekamilahsayeed @soundtrackforlife @thecleveridiot09 @otakufangirl-12 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @justejuste727 @deereboy97 @h-doodles @slytherinthoughts7

Prompt: Kamilah thought she had gone through more approvals than any other living being, with 2000+ years old, she thought she had seen it all, but when Mia's mother decide to pay a visit and stay for a few days in New York, Kamilah has to deal with her mother-in-law... Who happens to be a bloodkeeper and don’t like her at all.

The wooden floor was cold against her skin, but she didn't care, she had promised herself that she wouldn't leave, no matter how cold and hard the floor was. The little girl could hear clearly the low cry of her mother coming from behind the door, she had already been there for two days, two days without leaving the room. Two days without Mia being able to see her mother.

At this point she should have been used to, the "bad days" were becoming frequent that month. "Bad days" was what Mia's father used to call the days when Mia's mother became reclusive, cold, and extremely prone to explosive surges. Mia always thought that this was a very strong headache, but she hoped that her mother would heal soon. She missed her mother more than anything else in the world.

Mia never understood how a person could be so kind and loving at one moment, but explosive and cold at another.The little girl lay on her stomach against the floor, spying under the door where a dim light came from her mother's room.

"Mommy?" Mia called her.

No answer.

"Mommy, it's me. Please open the door." Mia asked, without answer again.

The little girl stretched her little fingers to the box of tissues she was carrying and took two, stretching them under the door.

"Please, Mommy don't cry." A little smile came over her face as the tissues were pulled. She sat down and leaned her back against the door, holding a portrait in one hand.

In the portrait lay a photograph, Mia wiped the tears that fell from her green eyes, looking at the photograph of her parents with her. The latin features and the seriousness in the severe brown eyes and black hair highlighted the beautiful young face of her mother. Hugged by her father, a beautiful young blond man with green eyes hidden behind his thick glasses. Together, both were holding a little girl.

"Mia?" Her father's thick voice called out to her, making her look up.

"Hi, Daddy." Mia said wiping her eyes, her father looked briefly at the door and a glance of recognition appeared on his face. Mia looked at her father, knowing full well from his clothes that he had just come from his work. The loose tie on his tweed suit, the tired eyes behind his glasses, and the leather bag strap on his shoulder.

"Is Mama on a bad day?" her father asked, Mia shook her head in affirmation.

"Daddy, do you think that... Mommy's sad because of me?" Mia hesitated to ask.

"What? Why?"

"Maybe because I didn't do very well on my math exam, I know she was expecting a lot from me." A tear ran down her little face, her father sighed tired, getting down on his knees in front of his daughter.

"Isabella Amelia Cortéz Evans" He touched her face looking deep into her inherited eyes. "Your mother is not like that because of you, you could never disappoint her, you are our greatest pride. Your mother... " He took a break before he went on. "She's just going through a bad phase, that's all, but I'm sure it will soon pass."

"... In the meantime, why don't you and I go in the kitchen and get dinner ready? How about we make lasagna and then watch cartoons on TV, okay?" He messed up her blonde hair with a smile on his face, making a dimpled smile appear on his daughter's face.

"Right!" Mia took her father's hand and followed him down the stairs. "Can I call Rebecca and Alex to join us for dinner?"

"How about just the two of us tonight? I'm sure you can call your cousins for the weekend."

"Okay."

...

Mia looked over at her side as she listened to her father's snoring, who was immersed in a deep sleep, he fell asleep after dinner on the couch next to her while watching cartoons on TV. Mia got up and took a blanket and covered her father, gently removing his glasses and leaving them on the coffee table.

An idea popped into her mind, her mother even though she didn't attend dinner tonight, maybe she was still hungry. Mia went to the kitchen and heated up the rest of the lasagna in the microwave and took it upstairs on a tray.

What the little girl didn't expect was her mother's bedroom door to be open.

"Mommy?" She called, opening the door a little wider so she could see her mother clearly.

And there she was, her black hair caught in a loose coke, wearing only a sweater and sweatpants, with her back to Mia, sitting on the bed.

"Mama, I brought your dinner. Daddy and I made lasagna." Mia approached with caution.

"Thank you, sweetie." Her mother answered with a weak smile, Mia left the tray on the bed and approached hesitantly watching her mother's red eyes and pale face.

"Don't cry." Mia lifted the sleeve of her blouse and wiped her mother's eyes, receiving a weak laugh.

"I'll be all right, darling." Her mother touched her face. "Mommy's just..." Suddenly her mother stood still, eyes glazed and distant.

"Mommy?" Mia touched her mother, not expecting a wave that invaded her body, images and faces of people appearing in her mind. A man with blue eyes, long hair and a cruel expression on his face, a woman accompanied him, with black hair, tanned skin and brown eyes, people screaming and running and blood everywhere. "Who... Who are these people?" Mia asked scared.

What she didn't expect was a strong push from her mother who knocked her down.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Her mother screamed angry, an expression of terror and anger on her face.

"Mama?" Mia called her tears in her eyes, being greeted by a look of hatred, being ignored by her mother who locked herself in the bathroom. “MAMA!”

Sweat dripped from her forehead, with her breathing panting and her heart racing, Mia sat on the bed. The girl sighed, passing her hand across her face.

"It was just a nightmare..." She said to herself, trying to calm down. “...Or a really fucked-up memory." She was used to her frequent nightmares — which usually involved Gaius, Rheya, Lily's death, or some of her many traumas. They were frequent and agonizing, but she was already used to them. Now seeing her parents... She didn’t know which one of them, was the worse.

The girl looked to her side, finding Kamilah, who was lying on the left side of the bed, her tanned chest descending and ascending, immersed in a light sleep. The silk sheet partially covered her naked body, memories of last night wrapped Mia's mind, and a smile came over her face as she silently observed the features of Kamilah's gorgeous, calm and serene face.

She still had no idea how she had managed to marry Kamilah, but the thought that after 2000 years she was the only one who had managed to put a ring on Kamilah's finger made her chest fill with pride.

The thoughts involving her wife were interrupted by the memory of her nightmare involving her mother. The girl sighed and looked at her watch, there were still 4 hours left for her to go to work, and she was sure she wouldn't be able to get any more sleep.

Mia got out of bed carefully so as not to wake Kamilah, and went to the bathroom. Under the hot water shower, the girl leaned her face against the marble wall, letting the warm water fall under her face.

"It was just a memory, that's all." She said to herself.

...

Raines Corporation, 19:30pm

Sitting in her leather armchair in her Raines Corporation office, Mia leaned back while talking to one of her newest clients.

"...You have to admit that the potential of this contract to benefit both us is extremely high..." She supported the phone on her shoulder as she spoke. "Danny, at the end of the day you and I are the same, we think and see the profit this will bring us.”

“...Exactly, we can run this country. Japan? Who cares about Japan? You and I will close this deal together and be partners." With her attention focused on the origami swan that she patiently made in her desk, she noticed her assistants entering her office silently.

"...Really? I am so happy that you and your investors liked the whiskies and cigars I sent. Seriously, it was from the heart." She laughed. "Sure, I'll see if I can convince Kamilah, for us to go spend the holiday in Hamptons.”

She gestured for the assistants to leave the contracts on her desk.

"Danny, you're the man. I knew you'd understand, I'll see you and your investors on Wednesday, with a celebration." She smiled victoriously when she saw that she had managed to close another deal. "Okay, I'll tell Kamilah you sent her a hug, tell your wife and kids, I sent a hug too.”

When she turned it off, she raised her eyes to her assistants.

"Guess who closed another deal?" She pointed to herself. “That's right, me. Booom, it's Britney bitch" She gestured by pretending to knock over a microphone.

"Um, by the way, we have something else." Natalie mentioned it.

“Yeah? What?" Mia turned her attention to her origami swan.

"Your mother called. She asked you to return the call." Tyler told her while collecting some papers, making Mia stop at the same moment.

"My mother? What does she want?"

"She didn't say, she just asked you to call back," Natalie told her.

At the same moment her heart began to beat fast. Was her dream a warning she chose to ignore? If she'd mentioned it to Kamilah, maybe she'd say yes.

"All right. You two can go." Mia said and picked up the phone, sighing patiently before calling her.

The phone rang a few times before her mother answered.

"Hello, hija," Her mother said at the other end of the line. “It’s has been so long.”

"Hey, mom." Mia said sheepishly.

...

"You are so quiet today," Kamilah commented in a low tone, as if making a mere observation.

Of course she had noticed, she always notices all things, Kamilah would not let go of a behavior that differed from her usual behavior, but as always, patient, Kamilah waited for her to pronounce herself.

"Huh?" Mia looked at her.

"Distant and distracted too." Kamilah completed her observation.

"It's nothing." Mia lied looking at her plate. "Didn't you enjoy your dinner?" She asked.

"I'm not the one not eating." Kamilah told her, drinking a sip of her glass of wine. "And you know I like it when you make puttanesca paste."

"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" Kamilah asked, as if she was stretching out a hand so she could pick it up.

"I had a bad dream yesterday." Mia started talking. "It was a memory, like I was reliving this childhood memory, you know?"

Kamilah nodded, silently. Her brown eyes warm and understanding.

"I couldn't sleep afterwards. I didn't want to wake you so I came to the kitchen and arrived early at work. My day was going so well today, I kicked ass at meetings, closed two deals today, and even made Aiko lose a contract. I was so happy, and then my mom called."

At the same moment Kamilah's expression changed, she was watching her cautiously now.

"And what did she want?"

Mia bit her lower lip, looking at Kamilah with fear, her brown eyes looked for an answer that Mia feared to give her.

"Mia?"

"She called to say she's coming to New York. She wants to stay a few days... A few weeks with us." She waited, she waited for an answer from Kamilah, when she looked at her, she saw the expression on Kamilah's face, the same one she saw in old memories that made thousands run for their lives.

"Your mother... wants to stay with us." Kamilah said it like she was trying to absorb the information. "She automatically invited herself to stay here?"

"Yes."

"I think I've lost my appetite"

"Babe..."

"Why? I don't understand."

"She said she wants to spend some time together. She wants to get closer and improve our relationship." Mia told her, taking a sarcastic laugh from Kamilah.

"She's up to something." Kamilah said more to herself than to Mia.

"Babe..."

"I don't understand why she decided at the last minute to come here and stay in our house." Kamilah dropped her napkin on the table. "You invited her?"

"No!"

Kamilah sighed, Mia touched her hand over the table.

"Mia, your mother hates me." Kamilah told her.

"What? She doesn't hate you!"

"She specifically told me that she was against our marriage, that I wasn't good enough for you, and that we wouldn't last. Aside from all the comments she made during, before and after the ceremony to make you quit."

"Alright, I agree, but my dad loves you, he's crazy about you. And he supports our relationship, as does my whole big family."

"Except your mother."

"My mother doesn't like anyone. It's not personal."

"I guess in that case it is. Your mother's a Bloodkeeper, she's seen all my past and knows all the terrible things I've done, I never expected her to approve of our relationship, but I also didn't imagine she'd make my life hell. She criticizes me at every possible moment, and I can't kill her because she's my mother-in-law.

"She made my life hell too, but now she seems to want to fix things, maybe it's different. Babe, I did not want that either, but please, just this once, if she does something, I will send her away. But make an exception for me." Mia looked into her eyes, looking for a breach.

Kamilah sighed, thoughtful.

"Alright, for you." She knew perfectly well that there was nothing she didn't agree with when it came to Mia, she could deny it and roll her eyes and say it was stupid and kill anyone who told her, but she knew that if Mia asked her to stop a moving train, she would. And even if she had to accept the devil woman itself in her house, she would accept to please her wife.

#choices you play #kamilah sayeed #bb #kamilah x mc #play choices #bloodbound #bloodbound mc

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min-sugar-7 · 4 years

Text

DAY 5: “Any other lies to tell me?” + Angst

Read it on AO3 Here!

Merlin slumped against his bed, covering his eyes and willing them not to spill. It felt stupid, really. But he was told for so long that Arthur is the other side to his coin, his other half, his soulmate. He should have known better than to think that destiny would ever favor him.

It probably would hurt less if Kilgharrah did not feed Merlin pointless lies. If he had clearly stated that there would be nothing romantic between them. Because Merlin went ahead and caught feelings, those pesky little things. At least he never got a chance to make a fool of himself.

What was he thinking? Golden Prince, Arthur Pendragon, falling for him? Of course, his true love was a 'she.' At least he never acted on his feelings. At least the only one that knows about them was himself. But it is fine. It’s not like he loves Arthur. He hates him half the time anyway.

A lie.

He is just a little bit heartbroken. Maybe a bit more than little. But he should have known better than to think that there could be anything between them. It is a miracle they are even friends, considering the number of lies Merlin has told him.

That, sadly, did not mean that Merlin got over his feelings. It hurt, seeing Arthur with someone else, but at least it was Gwen. Sweet, kind, strong, and caring Gwen. He couldn’t have chosen anyone better. She’s the best in the world.

So Merlin made sure his two favorite people were happy, even if it meant that he would be pining from a distance. He is glad that Arthur’s happy and smiling, even if those were directed to someone else. It’s fine. Destiny was a stupid thing anyway.

Well, it was fine right up until he was getting crushed under the weight of destiny. If one more person reminded him of his destiny, Merlin would scream. Merlin doubts if he can keep going, carrying the weight of the expectations of sorcerers alive and dead. Not to mention the fact that he’s considered some sort of leader to the magical community. Merlin was not trained for this, will never be trained for this, and cannot possibly live up to their expectations.

Everyone expects Emrys to be some sort of divine leader- fearless and ruthless, a guardian and protector of the magical community. Merlin isn’t Emrys. He doesn’t want to be Emrys. But every single Druid he meets bows and pays their respects and tells him how he’s such a great warlock.

Merlin might as well scream.

They treat him like a God, which is not as great as you would think. Merlin is the one to carry their dreams and expectations. Their hopes and dreams followed him around like dead weight, refusing to leave. He is required to fulfill it. It is either that or let every magical being suffer.

And he is the only one to carry the burden of fate.

He doesn’t have anyone to share it with, not even Gaius. Gaius doesn’t get it either, and never will. He treats Merlin like a son, and for that, he is very grateful. Some days he is sure he would be dead in a ditch if it weren’t for Gaius. But with Gaius, it is a bit different. For him, having Merlin is like having a God for a son, which isn’t that far from the truth. He knows that Gaius worries for him and cares for him. But Gaius also has expectations for Merlin. Expectations he’s afraid he can’t fulfill.

With each passing day, the threat to Arthur’s life grows stronger and more dangerous. Merlin cannot keep up.

Everyone who knows about Merlin’s magic also knows about his destiny. There are people that Merlin does not know that know about Merlin’s destiny. Merlin wants to yell that they are entrusting their freedom to the hands of the wrong person. That he is not the one they should be laying down their lives for. That there must be another sorcerer, one who deserves to be called Emrys.

He feels laced with guilt and regret for the lives of Alator and Finna, along with every other sorcerer's life lost for a cause that is impossible to fulfill. They have laid it all down so Merlin could hear, in painful detail, just how his King is going to die.

Merlin did scream then, in the relative privacy of the forest. Arthur’s going to die, and if Merlin doesn't prevent it, it is all on him. Arthur's death would be on him. It is going to be his fault that there will be no Albion. It is going to be his fault that magic will forever be lost to these lands. It is going to be his fault that Arthur's going to die, and he doesn't want that. He wants Arthur to live a happy and long life.

Somewhere along the line, 'Albion' sounded like 'Arthur.' If given a choice between the two, Merlin would no doubt chose Arthur. He would pick Arthur over and over again. Always Arthur. Because Arthur has become his priority, and he won't be able to live with himself if he let Arthur die. It will all be his fault.

It was his fault anyway. It was his fault Morgana turned. It was his fault that Mordred lived. It was his fault that he didn’t let Morgana die when he had the chance. It was his fault that while trying to show Arthur how good magic can be, he did the complete opposite. For Arthur, magic is something that took his mother, his father, his sister, and his wife. Merlin doubts that saving Gwen made Arthur’s opinion on magic any different.

Everything he does, everything he tries, only brings him closer to the inevitable. Arthur is going into battle at dawn, and Merlin won’t even be there.

Merlin promised Arthur that he would always protect him or die trying. A lie. He failed at both. Now Arthur’s saddled up with a piece of a sword forged in a dragon’s breath inside him, the very same dragon he should have looked after.

Aithusa, Light of the Sun, the very same dragon Kilgharrah said would bode well for Albion, for him and Arthur, and for the land they would build together.

A lie.

It is the sword drenched in her breath that brought Arthur down. Merlin did not have the heart to blame her. Merlin was the one that abandoned her, sent her straight to Morgana.

Gaius trusted him, told him that only he could save Arthur. Said that he would have a bowl of his favorite soup waiting for him, for when he would come back. He said that Arthur would be fine, that the Shide would heal him.

Another lie.

Merlin clutched the wheezing body of his love tighter as if he could will him to stay. It is all his deepest nightmares playing out. Arthur- dying in his arms- practically resenting Merlin’s magic. For all his magic and he still could not save his love.

Nothing, nothing ever could be worse than this.

Until it was.

In any other situation, anything but this, Merlin would have cherished Arthur’s last words. He despised them. He despised his final words, the last whisper of something he has never said before. He despised the way they were told- as if a confession of his deepest darkest secret.

But that is what they were. Arthur had a wife, a loving, doting wife, and yet-

And yet, his last words to Merlin had been a choked whisper of, “I love you.”

Merlin has dreamt of those words, thought about every single way Arthur would tell him. Never like this, though. But those were just that- dreams and fantasies. But Destiny was never easy, was it?

Was it all a lie? Could, heaven forbid, Arthur really love him? Or was it just words spoken out of desperation, just another lie?

Just like how his destiny was a lie? Like how Albion was a lie? Like how the Kingdom they were supposed to build, together, was a lie?

Like how everything Kilgharrah said was a lie. Like how his hopes and dreams were lies. Like how every Druid lied. Like how everything was a lie, a half-baked truth, a stupid fantasy.

“There is nothing you can do, Merlin, for all that you have dreamt has come to pass,” Kilgharrah said.

Lies.

He had failed. He’d failed Arthur. He’d failed Morgana. He’d failed Gwen. He'd failed Gaius. He’d failed Mordred, Isidir, and Freya. He’d failed Finna, Alator, and Gili. He’d failed Daegel, Balinor, and Hunith. He’d failed all the sorcerers that died during and after the Purge. He’d failed all the sorcerers living in fear. He’d failed all that sorcerers that are yet to be born.

Merlin stayed long after he sent Arthur away, no doubt his bowl of soup growing cold. He learned that Gwaine, too, had passed in a last attempt to run Morgana through. It was not supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be the three of them, Courage, Strength, and Magic, standing side-by-side, ready to face whatever destiny throws at them.

Another Lie.

He made it as far as Camelot’s gates, listening to the echoes of “Long Live the Queen,” before deciding that Camelot would prosper under Gwen’s rule. He could never, ever face her again. Not after his failure, not after the lies. Not after being the keeper of his King’s last words, which no doubt should have belonged to Gwen.

He only scried for Gaius when he felt the old man’s life slipping away. Gaius saw him and heard him, telling him that they missed him there. No doubt another lie. Merlin watched as the light behind Gaius’s eyes dimmed, saying one last goodbye to the closest thing he had to a father.

Soon it was Kilgharrah, and then Geoffrey, then Gwen, then Leon, then Percival, then Audrey, Queen Annis, Queen Mithian, Queen Vivian, Queen Elena, Isidir, Gili, Sefa…

He should have guessed that he would be punished in some way. The Gods made him immortal, forever waiting for Arthur to return. Forever waiting near the lake, never allowed to be away from Albion for long.

Excalibur might have been his only way out, but he had disposed of it into the lake soon after Arthur died. Again, that could have been a lie too.

The world changed. Green and magic got replaced by iron and steel. Aithusa passed peacefully in her sleep, never once forgiving Merlin for slaying Morgana. Magic slipped away from the land slowly, until the last tendril of magic died along with the last wizard, leaving Merlin to be the only source of magic left.

All of it seeped deep into the Earth’s core, locked away and to never be accessed, leaving the Earth barren.

Wars broke out, along with famine, storms and disasters, and death. The Lake of Avalon remained still and timeless, forever preserved by the Gods, like Merlin.

Merlin looked up at the sky, where he believed the Gods to be, long forgotten like the legend of his love and his legacy. The Gods were never merciful. They had disappeared too, the last of them forgotten like Merlin. But Merlin was forced to keep living, forever traveling the Earth, never straying too far from the lake.

“Any other lies left to tell me?” Merlin said, resigned and pitiful, as he felt the world falling apart around him. Arthur never once returned, dooming Merlin to watch as humans ripped apart from each other, unable to help. They tear themselves apart, rebuilding and rehabilitating soon after. They, too, had been cursed to keep going, destroying and restoring. And for all Merlin knew, that also could have been a lie.

#merthurweek2020 #day5 #angst #fic #prompt fill #unrequited love #requited unrequited love #immortal merlin #major character deaths #minor character deaths #lots and lots of angst #pining!merlin #bbc merlin

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god-save-the-keen · 4 years

Note

May challenge: Nostalgia Adrian x MC

Thanks for the request sweetie! I hope you like it! 💖

Locket

Day 23 of Choices May Challenge hosted by @kinda-iconic 💕

Warning: a little angsty / fluff

Words: 880

Permanent tagg list: @gardeningourmet @eileendannie @desireepow-1986 @dawn-1994 @blackcatkita @flyawayboo @drakewalker04 @luckyferrero

Adrian x MC tagg list: @senator-adrian-raines-wifey @alesana45 @choicesfannatalie @mattrodriguezmylife @bigmemesplz @perriewinklenerdie @x-kyne-x @livingpurpose @adriansbiss @badgoodfishes @amyraineshessa @queencordonia @bloodboundismylife @bloodboundhoe @choices-addict-25 @lexilooloolovessenatorraines @bloodboundstuff

He was standing, looking through the glass of the window, heavily sighing as his mind returned to that time and that place. The pain was strong but a little more tolerable than usual as he took the gold locket from his nightstand drawer and his eyes observed the whitened but still well preserved drawings.

239 years had passed since that day. Since he had lost his baby boy, wife, his mortal life and himself in the darkness for so many years. Adrian closed his eyes, he could almost hear Charles' sweet giggle and Eleanor's voice singing a lullaby, gently rocking him. He tried to imagine how his boy would be. Probably tall, after all both he and Eleanor were tall, his eyes were blue like Adrian's, but his lips were full like his mother. 'He would probably be a very attractive young man.' Adrian thought to himself with a sad smile on his face. He was a joyful baby and he loved to think that he would be a happy child and a free-spirited adult, always smiling. Always laughing. He dried a couple tears from his cheeks before closing the locket and tightly holding it in his hand.

A muffled sound came from the bed behind him as Amy's small frame turned to the side, still asleep. Adrian smiled at her walking to his side of the bed and sitting on it, observing the features of her face, even if he knew every little detail by now, marveling that, after all they had gone through, she was beside him. A furrow twisted her face a bit and her hand touched her chest on the exact place she had been stabbed, an unconscious gesture she did ever since Gaius' attack, as she softly mumbled something inaudible.

"...Nnmh… No…" Adrian gently moved a strand of hair off her face, he placed his hand on her cheek, soothingly stroking it, trying to calm her without scaring her, he was sure she was having a nightmare. She clutched the t-shirt she was wearing as his hand continued caressing her cheek and forehead, happy to see, after a few minutes, her face and hand relaxing under his touch. She sighed and stirred a bit, continuing to sleep as he leaned down and, as soft and gently as he could, kissed her forehead, enjoying the little smile that had spread on her face while his hand kept stroking her skin. He never thought that after everything that had happened to him, he could be capable of love again, less still this much. He will always miss his son and Eleanor, even if, after all these years, his feelings towards her had changed, transmuting to a respectfully sentiment. After almost 300 years, he finally felt happy again.

Amy suddenly gasped and sat up on the mattress looking around until her gaze stopped at him.

"It's okay, I'm here. I've got you." Adrian whispered, getting close and wrapping his arms around her, tightly hugging her as she held him as well.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked from his shoulder, as his hand traced an up and down soothing caressing on her back.

"No, love. Don't worry." She sighed against his shoulder. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah..."

"Can you tell me about it?" His voice soft and comforting at her ear as she declined with her head.

"It's not worth it, it's always the same." They separated slightly, his hand now on her cheekbone and his eyes fixed on hers, she held his upper arm and pressed her face further into his hold as a tiny sad smile lifted her mouth. He knew what nightmare she was referring to and how much it pained her. She sighed while her eyes observed her surroundings, noticing the locket beside Adrian. "It's today?" She asked softly grabbing the locket, careful as it could break with the most feather like touch.

"...Yes."

"Are you okay?" Her tone was worried, she knew how much this affected him.

"I'm fine, love." Amy moved her face a couple of inches and softly kissed his palm, observing the pictures inside.

"He was a beautiful boy." She sat with her back against his bare chest and his arms around her waist, lovingly holding her as her shoulder supported his chin and a complex smile, full of sadness and pride, blossomed on his face. "So similar to you."

"I wish you could hear his laugh… It was the most delightful sound." He said with his eyes sparkling.

"Which is your favorite memory of him?" She asked as they both observed the drawing.

"A few days after he was born… I was rocking him and he gripped my finger and opened his eyes fully for the first time to look at me." His voice was mild and sad, squeezing her waist.

"You know… With my psychic powers I can access memories and moments that I couldn't as Bloodkeeper." She bit her bottom lip, nibbling the corner of it. "It would be possible to do it."

"Amy? What are you trying to say?"

"If you like...I can help you to revive a memory with them." She laced their fingers together on top of her belly as he squeezed her hands, intently looking at her face. "Do you want to see them?"

❣️

#choices may challange #choices may challenge #adrian raines x mc #adrian x mc #adrian raines #choices adrian #bloodbound mc #choices bloodbound #bloodbound

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emrysarthurpendragon · 4 years

Text

Don’t say goodbye

They grew old together. Or most likely, Freya looked older while Merlin was still the same. Even with his use of tricks, people couldn’t miss how younger he looked beside his wife and, of course, people were gossiping. Oh, look at that young fellow, escorting his mum to the dance. Oh, another diamond’s digger, he wants the poor lady’s gold. Merlin loved her all the same, even when Freya started feeling self-conscious. Tonight was a big event and Merlin would not let people interfere with their happiness. They had been married for thirty years, together since they met during the war, no one would be allowed to spoil them from their happiness.

“C’mon, love. The taxi’s waiting,” he said, wrapping his arms around Freya and claiming another kiss from her. She laughed but did not seem content. “What is it?” Merlin asked, feeling worried.

“I don’t feel like going out … all these people, they’ll think you’re a…”

“A man deeply in love with his wonderful, beautiful and so amazing wife? Then, they’ll be right. If they have nothing better to do, like paying attention to their company, it’s not our problem to worry about.” Merlin said, as he caressed Freya’s cheek, she leaned to the touch and nodded. “You want to go?” Merlin still questioned, as he never forced the woman to anything. Not now, not ever.

“I’ll do anything with you, you know it.”

“And so do I, I’ll even die for you,” he joked.

“Not that you actually can,” Freya teased him back and they both shared a laugh, cut short by a man’s voice. Their son, Gaius, who turned thirty a few weeks ago.

“Mum, dad, just go! I know the night is long but…”

“But that girlfriend of yours is waiting in her car, and you really need us to go so she can come in?” Merlin said, earning a horrified glance from their blushing son, and an amused giggle from Freya. “What? You thought we did not notice your eagerness whenever we planned a night out?”

“Actually, Merlin love, I recall I was the one who told you,” Freya added, raising an eyebrow in a ‘don’t mess with me’ look.

‘Really?” Merlin pretended to doubt her words, but he smiled softly. “I guess you’re right. Still. Gaius, remember to act like a proper gentleman. Serve her food first, don’t kiss her without her consent and if she drinks more than a glass of wine, drive her home. Don’t let her take a cab, strange things are happening now, and we don’t want to risk her life.”

“Dad!” Gaius whined, sounding like the child he used to be.

“Oh and there are condoms in your bedside. Even if I do hope you are not a horny creature and can wait until after your wedding.”

“PAPA!” Gaius now screamed, his face a deep shade of red as he hid it with his hands.

“Merlin, stop tormenting our boy,” Freya chastised her immortal husband. “He knows the rules and how to threat a woman.”

“We can’t remind him enough, can we?” Merlin wondered, “Ok. Ok. Let’s go. I’m sure the poor girl is freezing.”

Gaius visibly relaxed and hugged them both. In six months, he will be a doctor, like his parents. They never pressured him in such a carrier but when he had been old enough to understand his early life, Gaius had decided to help people, to save lives as a payment for the ones watching after him from above. Many died and he survived … for them, he will save humans without judgement or prejudice regarding whom they were, their religions or orientations. They were so proud of the man he became.

“I love you,” he whispered and the ushered them to the door.

“We love you too,” they both said, waving as they headed to their car. Still, Merlin couldn’t help but make a quick detour to a vehicle parked close to theirs. He knocked at the window and chuckled when the woman inside literally jumped on her sit. Thanks to some make up and fake white hair, Merlin looked close to his wife age – or not as young as he was – so she probably never questioned what he told her. Or it was because she flustered and wished to vanish. “Good night, Milady. Gaius is all yours until midnight, you’ll see, he made his favourite recipe, learned from my dear Freya. Have fun!”

When he joined his wife in the car, she sent him a glare and after a minute, they both laughed.

“You had to scare the poor girl, aren’t you?”

“What do you want? We, immortals, had to take little pleasures when they are at reach. Plus, I’m sure she’s a future ‘Mrs Emrys’. I like her.”

Freya said nothing but she truly wished the best for their son. Of course, Gaius had no memories from their times in death camp, but he still had enough suffering for a life. Until now, his relationship never lasted long, mostly because their boy wanted to protect their secret but he deserved his happy life. Merlin even planned to vanish, if it helped Gaius. The boy always refused, claiming that one day, he will find the one. The one with whom sharing their darkest secret would be fine. He had been courting that woman for a couple of months now, they all hoped she would stay around and accompany Gaius on the long road of life.

At the restaurant, Merlin held a hand to Freya as he helped her sit on her chair, before placing himself facing her. Tensed at first, the older-looking woman soon forgot the stares and they laughed, shared stories from their past and all the happy times they had. Gaius’ first steps, in their apartments in London. The day she graduated from nurses’ school, with the photograph still in their living room as a testimony that, even if you travelled trouble waters, happiness was waiting for you at the corner. Their wedding day, with so many people they couldn’t even count. Mordred had been there for a couple of years, but he vanished after their son’s fifth birthday. People who went to Dachau too, and were now like family. People who – Freya learned it that day, as Merlin never took credits for his good deeds – the man helped hide. Entire families were still alive because Merlin existed. As they talked about it, Merlin blushed again and waved it off, claiming he just did what numerous people managed to do in that time.

“Maybe, but you’re the only one with a legend attaches to him,” Freya said, taking his cold hand in her warmer one. “Children and grandchildren know the story of an un-aging angel sent to protect us. A man without weapons, asking for peace instead of violence. The one who found a baby and raised him as his own son.”

“I’m no angel. I killed people too, when I had to.”

“And? Angels are warriors too. They have flaming swords and all kinds of weapons. Merlin, you are their saviour, our hero. You deserve this. Don’t you see their smiles whenever we visit them? You think they believe you, when you tell them you’re just a parent with their Merlin?”

“Why not?” Merlin asked, nervously playing with his food. He felt like he did not fit the part. He failed at saving so many friends … but the one death he felt the most ashamed of, he could not even remember it. Even in his nightmares, the scene vanished the moment he opened his eyes.

“They love you, that’s all I wanted to say,” Freya spoke and they continued their dinner. For dessert, they ordered something simple, chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, as it held found memories for them. When they first moved back here together, they went to a park and shared an ice cream. The same night, Merlin made a cake for his beloved and surprised her when, as time passed, he surprised her when he cooked dinner for the family most of the time. With her school, Merlin had known how tired she had been and spared her the charge of a house. More than once, he had laughed at what her spouse’s friends told her. They often asked if they could borrow hum to teach their husbands; every single time, Freya told them her better half was not for sale. “You think Gaius will kiss her tonight?” Freya asked after a while.

“If he doesn’t, I kick him from the house. It’s been what … eight months? We never waited that long!”

“We met in different circumstances. Things go faster during a war. And if I’m correct, you were still a virgin when we met … how old were you then? A thousand and four hundred years old? More or less? Gaius’s still in time.”

“Very funny.” Merlin muttered. He knew he should not have told her about this. Of course, she would use it against him in moments like these.

“And you were so cute the first time, so clumsy! I still remember you falling off the bed!”

“Shh, Freya please!” Merlin squealed, remembering all too well what happened that night. They were on the boat taking them to their honeymoon in Spain, alone, without Gaius for the first time in months – Mordred had babysat him – and Merlin wanted the night to be special for them. Before their union, he had studied many books and asked some friend about what he should know for his first time with Freya, and at all in fact. Mordred, for instance, had watched him with wide eyes before he broke with laughers but then share some insightful knowledge with him. Some colleagues helped him too and told him to relax. Still, when the night came he worried he may hurt Freya and after load of cuddling, when he rolled on top of his beautiful wife, he went too far and fell on the floor. The young maid had laughed for a good fifteen minutes, with a pouting – naked – Merlin on the pavement. “I wish I could forget that night…” he mumbled, the shame still burning his soul.

“I held found memories from then. I loved you even more, knowing it happened because you cared. Most men, even now but more in our time, would have thought of their pleasure, not mine. I’m lucky I met you.”

“I still think it happened because we were on a boat, and the roll made me lose my balance.”

“If you think so, my love … if you say so…” Freya chuckled.

The night went smoothly. After dinner, they head to a dance’s event and twirled together, eyes into eyes, until they couldn’t notice the people around them. Nothing existed beside the two and their radiating love. In that moment, Freya felt like the young bride again and Merlin saw the way she smiled, the sparkles in her eyes. She was so perfect, like a diamond he had been lucky enough to hold all these years. Around noon, the placed closed and they stopped dancing. Like Cinderella, their time had expired and they had to go home.

“I wish that night never ends…” whispered Freya. “Take me to the Lake, please?” there was a feeling of urgency in her voice, Merlin noticed, but he said nothing and drove to the peaceful place. The first time they came as a family, Merlin noticed something in Freya’s stance and look. When he asked what the matter was, she said nothing, staring at the calm water. Still, they started coming each week as a ritual. Tonight though, something felt wrong. When they reached their usual spot, Freya turned around and took his hand. Her eyes shimmered in the moon light and the older man worried.

“Freya? What’s wrong?”

“You don’t remember, do you?” she asked, “The first time we came here together?”

“Of course, I do! We were with Gaius and…”

“No. The first time, we were alone. Together. We ran in hope of a new life, with a lake and mountains surrounding us. We wanted a new place, where people like us were not hunted down for what they were…” she whispered, silently begging him to remember. But remember what? “You erased your own memories in the fifth, early sixth century, after Arthur died. Long after I died too, and you sent us all here, in Avalon, as we waited to meet again.”

“What…? No. So what? You think I’m like… Merlin as in Merlin and King Arthur? It’s crazy. I lose my memories because a building fell on me. Magic never existed!” Merlin said, a bubble of anguish forming in his chest. If it were true, why was he so scared? Why did he always feel hollow near the lake? Like he was mourning someone? No. Legends. King Arthur and Camelot belonged to myths. “Why are you doing this? Why tonight?” he begged, his head starting to hurt as something tried to pierce through his skull.

“The Goddess think it’s time for you to realise what you’ve lost. She sent me back to this world, she made us meet again and … oh how much I love you. Time never altered our feelings. But you need to stop. You need to bring back magic and Camelot. Just look, we are all coming back. Mordred. Me. Gaius. The others will be born again soon … please. I’m begging you…”

Merlin watched her with eyes filled with pain and worry. Images started playing, submerging him like a wave contained for too long. His boy tensed. Freya, loving Freya, knelt beside him and gently patted his back.

“Let them come, my love…” she soothed with kind words. “Let them come and guide you to the Source…”

The Source. Source of all magic. Arthur. Death. NO!

Merlin’s mind shut all the memories. He locked them even more behind his walls. Confused, Merlin looked up from where he fell, with Freya watching him closely.

“Excuse me. What were we saying?” he asked, the conversation forgotten with everything related to his first life.

“I told you that place seems magical. I’m sure there are fairies hidden somewhere,” Freya said, knowing pushing her husband more was useless. Merlin did not want to remember. Even after all that time, his soul still had not healed from Arthur’s death. The wound was too deep, and never healed properly since the warlock refused to face the memories, good or not. “Hold me close for now…” she wanted to enjoy every moment, as the clock ticked to the end of their story. She had planned everything … ever since she feared she won’t be enough to make the warlock remember. When they came home that night, Freya watched Merlin’s peaceful sleep for hours. At three in the morning, she stood and got dress. At three thirty, she placed a letter on the fireplace, under the family’s portray. At three forty-five, she closed the door and never came back.

* * *

The morning after, Merlin opened his eyes to an empty place beside him. It surprised him, since Freya had always enjoyed extra sleep but he yawned and headed to the kitchen, where he found Gaius with a coffee in front of him, and a smile on his face. His date probably went well, and the proud father decided not to mess with his boy today.

“Have you seen your mother?” he asked after he swallowed his toast.

“No. Wasn’t she with you?” Gaius worried. “She’s probably in town; let’s look for a note,” he offered and they started searching for something. Merlin was in his office when Gaius knocked at the door. He looked pale, a letter in hand, and gave it to him. Thinking of it, Gaius seemed like the epitome of an abandoned child. Quickly, Merlin read the words and his world fell apart.

My love,

I can’t tell you how sorry I am for leaving you like this. My years with you were among the happiest I ever had and for that, I will always be thankful. When we met for the first time, I was scared, I felt like I was a beast, cursed for something I never asked for. Cursed for being me, a victim of the system. With you, I saw the light field from the sky and … and I knew I deserved to be happy. I’m proud to say I had been your wife in this life, and I know that one day, you’ll find the missing piece fulfilling your heart.

Long ago, you told me you were immortal and I never questioned this. I didn’t because of reasons I can’t share at the moment… I also know you don’t mind people and their gossips, but no matter what, I’m freeing you, Merlin. Please, take care of Gaius and don’t waste your time looking for me. I love you. I love you so much there are no words strong enough to describe it. I hope that one day, you will remember your past and embrace it with open arms. I love you, my dear boys, remember me. ▬ Freya, mum.

“Gaius, take your coat, she can’t be far!” Merlin ordered, already putting a jacket on. Her son complied and they both hurried outside. They asked the neighbourhood, the policemen touring their district, the milk’s deliveryman. No one had seen or heard of Freya.

“Dad, what about the lake?” Gaius said. They were at a café, after hours searching the town. Merlin’s head snapped up. How could he forget the lake? They went there just the previous day. Both men ran toward their place.

“Freya!”

“Mum!”

“Freya can you hear me?!”

“Mum, please come back!”

They circled the lake together. Gaius one side, Merlin the others. Nothing. Not even a misplaced item to lead them. They almost wished they found something, even if it meant the beloved woman had drowned under water. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Enough time passed to see Gaius introducing young Alice to his dad. A lovely lass with brown hair and chocolate’s eyes. It turned out she was one of these people, who loved mysteries and legends and when they told her about Merlin’s secret, she accepted him without questions. Afterwards, she asked a lot of them, obviously, but never when Merlin was in a bad day. Those happened each year, when it had been another 365 days without his Freya. He just gazed into emptiness for hours, not even acknowledging his family. But today, Alice had no choice but disturb the man. Gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder and pulled him from his dark thoughts.

“Merlin? A word, please,” she asked, they sat with Gaius on the couch, while he remained glued to his chair.

“Dad, we have good news,” Gaius said, beaming with pure happiness. “We are expecting a baby, a girl. Alice is pregnant!”

This brings the first real smile Merlin had in years. Laughing, he stood and held his son and Alice, the daughter he never had. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you! When are you due, dear?”

“July, the 15th. We are so excited!”

“You already have names?” Merlin asked, curious now.

“Actually, yes,” Gaius said, still smiling and holding his wife’s hand. The two were so in love, it warmed the hearts.

“Hunith, and Freya for second.”

“Oh…” Merlin whispered. He could not say more, his emotions were overwhelming. A mix of happy and sad fighting inside him. “I… I love it.”

Months later, when he met his granddaughter, Merlin loved her right away. Freya left without a proper goodbye but now, there was this new life he welcomed with an open heart. His wife had been right, when she said happiness will always find her way to their lives.

“Hello Hunith, I’m your grandpa…” he whispered, the first time he held her. For a curious reason, he felt like laughing when he said these words. As if there was some sort of inside jokes happening. “I will always love and protect you.”

I’m so glad we meet again. I missed you, so much. I won’t abandon you this time. Please forgive me. Are the others coming too?

Unknowingly to Merlin, something in his soul clicked; something awoke when his subconscious realised his loved one were coming back to him. That day, Merlin started aging again.

#whumptober2020 #no.8 #don't say goodbye #abandoned #merlinbbc #merlin bbc #fic #sfw

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nala-raines · 4 years

Text

Chapter 1 Reminiscing

Adrian Raines x Nala August (MC)

Summary: Few months after Rheya’s defeat, Lily’s death, and telling the world the truth, Nala is both proud of Adrian for running for the Senate, and she’s terrified of what their future may hold. So, Adrian takes her on a surprise trip to spend some time alone together. But he has something he want to ask her for a very long time. But no matter what happens, they both want to make one thing clear on this trip, that no matter what happens, no matter what comes their way, they want to go through it. Together.

Author’s note: I know this is very long, but I hope you read and enjoy it. And this is the beginning of what I would want from BloodBound 4.

If my friend Heidi had told me everything that was going to happen to me right before I moved to New York City, I would have thought she was crazy. Looking back back now, I can’t help but laugh at most of it, and wonder how I survived it all. But I made it through with the help of Adrian, Kamilah, Jax, Gaius, and of course… Lily. I miss her every day. But I’m so thankful for everything that she, and everyone else has done. Especially Adrian.

A few days after the press conference I noticed that I was weaker than normal and something felt off. Adrian noticed it too, he thought that feeding would fix the problem, it helped a little, but it wasn’t until I had human food that I felt better. Then one day I had stayed at the Shadow Den and left right when the sun was coming up, but then I got out of the cab ready to run to the front doors at Raines Corp., but the sunlight didn’t hurt. I wasn’t burning at all, Adrian was at the door staring at me trying to get me inside when he noticed that I wasn’t burning as well. He still ran out to get me, but that when he noticed the sunlight didn’t really hurt him either. After running a few tests, we guessed that when I gave up Rheya’s powers, some of my vampiric abilities, like the weakness, left me as well. I’m pretty sure the serum made a few permanent changes to Adrian’s body. They just took awhile for those changes to develop.

After hearing that, I was worried that Adrian, as ridiculous as it sounds, would leave me. Between the grief of losing Lily, the thought of Adrian going through the same pain and grief of losing me a few months earlier, and with Lily gone I can’t help but remember the other people I’ve loved and lost, the bad relationship between me, my sister, and parents, it was just too much. When I told him, he just held. Told me “I love you.” a few dozen times in 3 minutes. He also let me bury my face in his shoulder or chest and cry, until I fell asleep. He’s always been there when I need him, and I know that he always will be.

A month after things began to settle down, he started planning his campaign to become the first vampire senator. I am so proud of him. That would be another thing that I never thought would happen, me dating a senator hopeful, but I don't really care what he does as long as I’m at his side and he’s at mine. Even in the middle of his campaign, he had planned us a trip to Paris. After dinner in a restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower, a trip to the top of the Eiffel tower, we decided to go back to the ‘Love Bridge’ to see if our lock was still there. When we found our lock, he said, “ I have to tell you something.”

“What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”

“ I did get you a Solstice present last year. I just didn’t want to make you feel pressured or lose you because of its purpose.” He told me. Looking at me in the eye, with nothing but love and adoration, but there was a hint of what seems to be… nervousness.

“Purpose?” I said confused, “What ‘purpose’ could the gift have that would make me feel pressured?”

“Nala… You know I love you, don’t you? More than anything in this or any other world? No matter what or how you're feeling, or how worried you are that I would… leave you.” He asked me worriedly, like the idea of me not knowing that he loved me so much, would kill him. “I need you to know that no matter what happens or what you do or what you say, I would never leave you. Never just … never.”

I had only seen him this desperate one other time. On the day I died… but there seems to be something else in his eyes, those beautiful gray eyes. I remember the first time I met him, the first time I looked into his beautiful gray eyes. Somehow I knew back then that he was the one, the one I wanted to be with, forever. Right now those eyes are filled with worry, nervousness, and hope. “Of course I know that you love me. I know that you would do anything for me. You show me everyday, multiple times a day. I know I’ve been a bit distant lately. After Lily… and I started becoming more human… I just felt overwhelmed. I started to feel like you could do better than me. Kamilah and Serafine are just so amazing … so in that cloud … I just began to wonder why you chose me.”

He looked at me sadly, “Nala, you are the bravest, sweetest, selfless, kindest, and craziest woman I have ever met. The way you see the world, help people you don’t even know, every single day, you surprise me with something about you that makes me love you even more.” I’m shocked and feel tears well up in my eyes. He's always been the most amazing man I’ve ever met, but somehow he just keeps getting better everyday. He’s looking at me with such love, such adoration… Oh I’m definitely gonna start crying happy tears now. And as usual he wipes them away. “Why are you crying, Love? Are you hurt?” He asks worriedly.

Ever since I became more human, I started having periods again. But my senses are still heightened so the pain is worse than before. To top it off they're a bit irregular, they started to become regular, but it’ll probably be irregular for a while. Adrian hates it when I’m hurting or sick, he especially hates it then I cry because of pain. Although, today this isn’t the case. “Don’t worry I’m not crying because I’m in pain. I’m crying because of you.” I tell him, while smiling.

“Because of me?! What do you …?” He says worried. I press my lips to his. Giving him a soft kiss. Before I decide to continue.

“I’m crying out of happiness, Adrian.” I tell him smiling widely. “You make me feel so loved and cherished everyday. You hold me, tell me how much I mean to you several times a day, everyday. When I’m filled with doubt, or feel alone, or feel depressed and filled with sadness, you're right there next to me. Like last week, I couldn’t stop thinking about Lily, while you were in the middle of your campaign and trying to teach me how to run your company, you stopped and held me close and tight in your arms, let me cry on your shoulder, even though I was wearing mascara, which ruined your suit when you had a meeting with your managers a few hours later.” We both chuckled at that last bit.

“A suit means nothing to me. The campaign, the company, doesn't mean a thing to me, if you are sad or unhappy.” He says looking me in the eye. A slight smile on his face.

“I know”, I say laughing a bit. “And that means the world to me. You make me so happy. I’m just so glad that you choose to spend your life with me.” I give him the most loving smile and give him the sweetest, most loving kiss I can.

He puts one hand on my cheek, the other on my waist holding me close. “I’m the one who’s luck, Nala.” He says softly. “I’ve put you in so much danger, I’ve done… monstrous things right in front of you.” He says remembering ferals, Vega, ferals again, Langdon, Priya,the crpytoferals, the Order attack the last time we were here and the one at Vlad’s castle and at the Order headquarters, Rheya, feral island, and last but Certainly not least, Rheya again. I cringe slightly remembering everything. But nothing that happened could’ve stopped me from being at his side. He breathes out a sigh, but before he can continue I say.

“I chose to be right here next to you. I have no regrets, and remake every last decision that I made just to here. Right here. Right now.”

“And you have no idea how grateful I am to hear that.” Adrian says smiling a little. But there’s that worry and nervousness again.

“Adrian is everything, okay? You seem nervous and worried.” Then I remember something he said a few minutes ago. What gift could have a purpose that would make Adrian nervous? “Adrian, what did you mean earlier? When you said you were nervous about the gift's purpose.”

Adrian looked down shyly and is definitely nervous now. He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and begins to speak, “I … I love you. I love you, so much. Everyday, I thank the Lord that you are here next to me. I find it hard to believe that you are next to me, you could’ve had any one in the world and you chose me. A 300 year old vampire.”

“267 years old.” I correct him.

“Heh … Right.” He says before continuing, “I know that you are the bravest, sweetest, most amazing woman I have ever met. Better than Kamilah. Better than Serafine, Celia, ...and Eleanor.” The last one he says looking me directly in the eye.

I’m shocked, stunned speechless. I’m better than his frickin’ wife. The Mother of his first and only baby. His Beautiful baby boy, Charles. I know that they died over 200 years ago, and he grieved them ever since they died. But still … I’m moved, but still, that seems like overkill. “Adrian you don’t need to…” I try to say.

“No Nala. I mean it. The way I feel about you … the way I feel when I’m with you, no one else has been able to trigger. I’ve felt this way since the moment I laid eyes on you, when I walked into your interview… I honestly had no intentions in hiring an assistant, but I felt like if I let you go then, I would have regretted it everyday for the rest of my life.” He looks at me with some much love and adoration, I feel it everywhere in my body. I feel blush rising in my cheeks as he continues to speak.

“I love you Nala August. I always have and I always will. I want to give you everything in this world. You say that you’re lucky that I chose you to be at my side. But the truth is, you could have chosen anyone in the world to be with and yet you chose to be with me.” He paused a moment trying to piece together his next words, as if he wanted everything to be perfect.

“Nala, I love you with all of my heart, all of my strength, all that I am. You possess me body and soul. I would give up everything I have, do anything you ask of me, just to keep you at my side. I brought you here because this is the place where you first said “Our eternity”. The place where I want to tell you that I want that as well. I wanted to ask you to take the biggest leap of my life with me. But only if you want to take that leap with me.”

With that he let go of me, and proceeded to drop down onto one knee, pulling out a small box from his coat pocket. “I love you, I can’t really say that enough. As long as I live and breathe, I will tell you those three words, whether your answer be ��yes’ or ‘no’. I want to see your face every morning when I wake up. I want your face to be the last face I see before I fall asleep at night. With everything that has been said tonight in mind, I ask you this. Nala August, will please do me the honor of allowing me to become your husband?”

He then flips open the velvet box, revealing a large diamond ring. The diamond in the center was enormous, and surrounded by smaller pink gems, all of which are on a double rose gold band. I’m stunned speechless yet again. He could’ve offered me a ring pop and wouldn’t have changed my answer. But my hands are covering my mouth, for a moment while I take in the scene. Adrian, down on one knee, offering me a giant diamond ring, after he asked me to marry him. I really, really, really hope I’m not dreaming right now. He’s staring at me, his eyes filled with hope and nervousness. The thing he doesn't know, is that I’ve known my answer since the day I met him.

“Y… yes.” I say quietly, just barely a whisper.

He looks at me, his eyes shining, hoping that he had heard me correctly. But before he could ask me again.

“Yes. Yes! Yes, Yes, YES!! Oui, Si. A thousand times Yes!” I say almost screaming. He breathes a sigh of relief, pulling the ring out of the box, sliding it onto my left hand ring-finger. But before he could stand up and kiss me, I tackle him to the ground, kissing him with all of the love and passion I can give him. He returns each kiss happily, with the same love and passion. I can faintly hear people cheering and clapping in the background. We separate long enough for him to pull us up, and he takes us back to the hotel where we are staying.

We both decided to wait a few days and live in our perfect bubble, before telling our friends and family. In those few days, we walked around Paris, toured some sites, and several private celebrations with just the two of us. All the while, we discuss when, where, and what decorations we will have at our wedding.

#adrian raines #bloodbound #adrian x mc

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liamsalisbury · 5 years

Text

She is back

Pairing: Adrian x mc

Warnings: Angst

Word count: 932

Summary: It had been a few days since everything was back to normal. Adrian and the rest of the gang had managed to restore New York and Amy was getting used to being a vampire but a certain someone from the past had returned.

Author's notes: I've had to idea this for a long time and finally decided to write it. This is the second fanfic I've ever written ( I'll be posting the first one soon) I apologise for any mistakes in advance. This is gonna be a series and I'll be posting part 2 soon. Let me know your thoughts about it!

Tagging: @adrianrainesworld @janethejelly678

Amy was sitting at her desk going through Adrian's schedule for the day.

A woman walked out of the elevator and to Amy's desk. She was beautiful, looked almost about Amy's age, maybe a little older. She was pale, had blue eyes, black hair falling to her waist and was wearing a long formal dress. “Is Mr. Raines here?” she asked politely. Amy looked at her with confusion as she wasn't any of the clients Adrian had to meet today.

Her face… Something was oddly familiar about her face but Amy couldn't seem to remember. Just then Adrian walked out of his office “Amy is everything-” he froze.

The moment he saw this woman all the color from his face was drained. “You… H- how?” He spoke with a shaky voice, seeing someone so familiar from his past life. Someone he knew, he loved…..

The woman ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't return the hug, he just stood still. Amy was staring at the two in shock “Adrian… What's happening?” She asked softly.

The woman pulled away and answered “I'm his wife, Eleanor Raines.”

Amy's mouth slowly drops open. “What?! Didn't you…” She was taken aback. It hit her now, the locket she'd seen in Adrian's cabin, that's why she felt like her face was familiar.

“Yes, I was killed but I had also been turned by Gaius.” That name… It always reminded Amy the feeling of Jax's sword buried deep in her chest. She winced and put her hand on the same spot, there was no pain or sword which pulled her back to reality and reminded her of where she was.

“Gaius was the one who sent the man to kill me, Adrian and... Charles. He had seen the way Adrian fought in the revolutionary war and wanted him on his side. He always saw family as a weakness but did end up turning me for some reason and made me his prisoner for more than two centuries, now that he was dead, I was finally able to escape.”

Adrian's eyes went wider “We imprisoned him in a Onyx Sarcophagus in the 1920s until a few months ago, why didn't you escape then?” He questioned.

“Jameson, he watched over me for Gaius. I am really thankful to Amy for ending both of them.”

Amy gave Eleanor a shaky smile. Amy didn't know what to do, just when she thought everything was going back to normal this happened. Adrian… The man she loved so much, she had never loved anyone this much. She was always happy with him, they protected and cared very much for each other.

“Listen to me Amy, you're the best thing that's happened to me in 200 years.” her mind went back to the time Adrian said that in the museum but she also knew that he wasn't completely over Eleanor…

I'm not going to get in between them. I'm gonna let him take his time and decide. Yes that's what I'm going to do, she thought. “Adrian, I'd like to go home.” Amy requested.

“Of course, I'll drop you.” He answered.

“No, you should help Eleanor find a place to stay and settle down. I'll forward your schedule to Sarah.” She insisted. As she picked her bag.

Adrian was hesitant, wanting her to know he still cared, but nodded in agreement without responding further to argue.

“Thank you for everything, Miss Amy.” Eleanor smiled at Amy warmly.

“Of course…” Amy tried returning the smile but couldn't hide her sadness very well like wearing a mask.

“See you tomorrow, Amy.”

“Goodbye, Adrian.” She waved at them and got into the elevator.

_________________________

Adrian watched Amy get into the elevator, he could see the sadness in her smile. This was all his fault. He felt overwhelmed. His wife, the woman he loved and mourned for more than two centuries was back but he wasn't in love with her anymore.

It was Amy who he was in love with. Everything he'd said to her till now, he meant everything. He was the one who turned her for his selfishness, he wanted to hear her voice, see her beautiful smile, feel her warm touch again. He had promised to protect her with his life but had failed, he couldn't let her die. He wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her if that's what she wanted too. He almost confessed his love for Amy at the museum but she passed out before he could.

“Adrian?” Eleanor's voice cut through his thoughts.

He turns his attention back towards her, “Eleanor… I'm so sorry, it's all my fault if only I were a better man who could protect his family, stronger than before… You wouldn't have had to go through all this, Charles wouldn't have-” His voice hitched and he felt tears forming in his eyes. The thought of his son, his precious one, his world.

“it's okay Adrian…” She said as she put a hand on his back, rubbing it trying to comfort him. “Gaius would have separated us one way or the other.”

Gaius, that bastard… He ruined my world twice. I should have ended him back in the 1920s at least then Amy would have still been human and Eleanor would have been able to escape sooner, he regretted.

“Adrian can we go to our-” She realized that she doesn't know what happened to their home and if she could call his home theirs anymore… “Your house and you could... Help me catch up with everything?” She continued asking.

“Sure.” He agreed.

_______________________________________________

I forgot to mention this above but Sarah is supposed to be one of Adrian's other employees who'd cover up for Amy when she wasn't available.

#adrian raines #adrian raines x mc #playchoices #bloodboundchoices #adrian x mc #Bloodbound #adrian raines fanfiction #adrian x amy #choices fanfiction

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schoolastica · 4 years

Text

Ships in the night, part 1

My fic is also on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/19266412

Like ships in the night You keep passing me by We're just wasting time Trying to prove who's right

December 2th, 2005- St. Mary’s Hospital.

Morgana couldn’t believe that she was holding her tiny little girl in her arms for the first time. She couldn’t believe that a tiny human being was nested in her until this day and that now it was fully formed and ready for this world. The baby was barely a day old, all wrinkle-soft skin, eyes yet wide shut and dressed in a pink blanket. She was perfect, she smelled perfect, and Morgana was going to be the best mother to her daughter, better than her own, and she was going to protect this baby from everything….and everyone.

-What are you going to name her? - asked Gwen, who was on the very uncomfortable chair beside Morgana since the beginning of the labor.

-I was thinking about Elizabeth? - said Morgana, looking over to Gwen, who made a face at hearing the name- C’mon, it’s not that bad!

-No, it’s just too common for a Pendragon. - said Gwen, laughing. Witch made Morgana chuckle slyly

- Thanks for being here Gwen. - Morgana’s eyes saddle filling with water. Her only companion had been Gwen, her elder sister Morgause had went to France to pick up Morgana’s mother, Vivienne, so they could see the baby. Morgana’s father was coming from his business trip.

- Where’s Arthur? - Morgana asked Gwen. She appreciated Gwen dearly, and she tried to make herself stronger, but she wanted her family with her so bad.

- He’s……. coming from the office, you know how the traffic can be in December. - Gwen seemed eager to change subjects, almost as if she was hiding something.

A chilling thought passed by Morgana's head.

- He’s not searching for Merlin, isn’t he? - Morgana’s voice had a dreadful tone. Gwen got up from her chair and started picking up Morgana's stuff from the room to start packing up. It looked like she was hidden, Gwen was incredibility easy to read. - Gwen? - Morgana asked again.

- Arthur and I both think that Merlin has the right to see his daughter- Gwen said while trying (and failing) to look busy

Morgana’s memory took her back to the time where she also thought that. A time where Merlin was such a sweet, caring young boy, with wide blue eyes and a precious smile. This time has passed, the only good remaining was in her arms right now, sleeping peacefully.

- Alright, but only if Arthur finds him….

Gwen smiled at that and stopped packing to come near Morgana and take the baby from her. Gwen held the baby enough time for Morgana to change clothes with some help from the hospital nurses that came by at the right times.

When Morgana came back to her bed, Arthur entered the room. It was visible that he was useless when his wife didn’t sleep in the house with him. His clothes were rippled, his hair was messier than normal. It looked like he barely slept. He came in holding a pink balloon written: "IT'S A GIRL" and a bouquet of red roses in his other hand. He came in alone.

- Here, this is for you – He handled the bouquet of roses to Morgana, smiling – For the mommy and this- he turned to the baby in Gwen’s arm- is for my new niece- He handed the balloon to Gwen as if the baby was going to take the balloon.

Morgana and Gwen laughed at this.

- That’s not how it works, love- Gwen said- Leave the balloon and sit down to take the baby.

Arthur did as he was told almost in a trance, he held the baby near his heart, watching every corner of her face as if she was going to disappear.

- How could this beauty come from Merlin and Morgana, I could never know- He whispered to Gwen, almost involuntary and instantly feeling guilty.

- And did you find him? - Morgana inquired- Merlin, I mean.

Arthur changed a glare with Gwen before answering.

- Gaius finally got him into rehab- Arthur tried to smirk a little- So that a good thing, right?

Morgana nodded. It was for the best. Arthur was still holding the baby as she was going to break.

- Have you decided on the name yet? – Arthur questioned.

- Please, don’t go for Elizabeth. - Gwen joked.

- Ew, not Elizabeth, Morgana! - Arthur shared the fun on that.

- No, it was just a thought – Morgana laughed at them- ……. Her name is Wynn.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

June 13th,1991- Pendragon Mansion, Central London.

Morgana’s 13th birthday started epically. As usual, she woke up early and a pack with new clothing and shoes was waiting for her at the end of her bed. This was a normal present from her dad. Her birthday was the best one because it was right at the beginning of the summer in London, which meant all her friends from Wycombe Abbey hadn’t travel yet. This summer was even more special, it was the last summer before Morgause went to university and officially cut relations to her childhood….to the plays with Morgana, Arthur, and Merlin.

She dressed up in her new clothes and went to take her breakfast. As usual, Uther had already gone to work, but he always came back at night to take her (and only her) to a special dinner. But as usual, Hunith, her and her siblings’ nanny had made breakfast to her and Arthur and Merlin were already eating (on the disgusting way the boys

- Hey birthday lady, look at you- Hunith left the kitchen counter to fix her clothes better- I made an entire breakfast for you and Morgause was up until late fixing your all-girls party.

- Thank you, Hunith- Morgana sited down on the table. She didn’t want to tell Hunith that Morgause was up until late with her boyfriend. Arthur said a quick ‘happy birthday” to Morgana with his mouth full of food.

Merlin, however, as he seemed to do often, glassed at Morgana with a full-on adoration look. He almost always looked flushed and shy when he was near Morgana. Now he looked starstruck. Morgana smiled at him and Merlin deeply blushed.

The rest of the day passed normally. Arthur and Merlin were both 11 years old and the holidays had just begun, they were out of the house as soon as they could. Morgana stayed in, her friends from WA came by for lunch, where she would through a birthday lunch party on the party ballroom of, he mansion.

The lunch party was, indeed, very beautiful decorated, full of pink and purple balloons and great food by Hunith, and she got tons of presents. The ballroom was gigantic on a 13-year-old view and 25 pre-teen girls found it fascinating and so important. Morgause showed up to take "official" pictures and Morgana never had been as happy as this day.

The ballroom door was always enormous and Hunith insisted on having it opened, so during one of the moments where Morgana could catch a break, she noticed that both Arthur and Merlin where sited by the end of the stairs looking adoring to the girls. They went away as soon as Morgana frowned at them.

When the party came to an end the ballroom was incredibly dirty and Morgana was exhausted. She and Morgause took all of her presents up to her room in 3 trips to the ballroom. At the end of the last trip, Morgana finally went to take a bath and look at her presents until she could go dinner with Uther. However, she noticed that a present bag was on top of the present pile, that wasn’t that before. She took the pack and opened it, revealing an old looking notebook with leather covers and yellow pages. Inside, it was written:” The story of Princess Morgana, and how she dominated all the dragons from the country of Albion” by Merlin Emrys. This was in Merlin's handwritten. Morgana never has gotten a better present.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Morgana sends a photo of Wynn to the rehab center when she's 4 months old. She never gets an answer-back.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Like you watched at fourteen as it went down the drain And pops stayed the same and your moms moved away

Morgana vowed that she would never be like her mother. She remembered that as har mother crawled Wynn in her arm. She recalled making this promise when she was 8 years old.

Vivienne Gorlois was a golden age French actress. She was born to be a diva, all blonde hair and brown eyes. The thoughts about marriage and children were thrown upon her and she wasn’t ready to take it. She met Morgause’s father at a Hollywood MET party, he was already married and in a lot of ways she only kept Morgause because she knew the man would hate it.

Uther fell for her as most people did: she was charming and had a French accent. They dated for over a year, enough time to have pictures in tabloids, to have a daughter and to Vivienne make Morgause’s father jealous. So, when Morgana was only 2 months old, Vivienne eloped with Morgause’s father (a huge scandal) and left her 2 daughters with Uther.

She was gone for 7 years and some months, send two postcards, one from Australia and one from Mexico. She wrote that she was traveling the globe, discovering herself, having the time of her life. Never once she wrote ‘I miss you” or ‘I love you’. The 7 years without her wasn’t nearly enough time to heal. Morgana and Arthur hadn’t known another mother beyond Hunith. In Morgause’s time with her, Vivienne only spoke French, but when she left Morgause was so traumatized that she never (never) spoke French again, she also only started calling Uther ‘Father” only 2 years ago.

She came back in 1986, on a Sunday, calm morning. Morgause, age 13, went to get the door and when she started to take a long time Uther went to get her with Morgana. It was just the strangest scenario; A beautiful woman by the door, surrounded by bags, asking “How are you honey?” and saying “I missed you so much’ while Morgause was catatonic. Uther made the first thing a parent do to protect their children; he went to the door and blocked the view from the girls and started to discuss with Vivienne.

Morgause ran to her room, locked it and didn’t came back. Morgana felt that she was numb, almost like she was an executor of her own life. She only remembers parts of that day. The thing she most remembers is Vivienne saying, ‘a Mother’s right” and this phrase being screamed a lot. At some point, her mom finally managed to enter the house and bring the bags with her. She looked at Arthur and said she knew him; everybody knew when Uther Pendragon has a child. She recalls Vivienne toying with her, siting her in her lap and combing her hair, talking fast about the world, he presents to the girls, how her parents forgave her, and she was going back to France, with her parents. She recalled Uther’s steel expression, saying ‘You don’t have the right!” and she is laughing at him.

Morgana didn’t say a word. The first time she felt like a puppet doll and she just couldn’t say anything. She got tons of presents, from every part of the world and Uther got the promise to hear from Vivienne’s lawyers. It was an amazing, scary experience.

It was worse for Morgause. She didn’t go out of her room. Uther took her dinner upstairs, got into her room and only came out when Morgause fell asleep. She also didn’t go to school on Monday and later that same week she went to a therapist.

Morgana would never be like her mom.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

The worst of everything was the tabloids. They made a scarcely when Morgan showed up in a maternity dress in the Paris Fashion Week 2005 with no partner. But she was strong and her clothes brand “Avalon’ had just been released. And when she came out of the Hospital, a sea of Paparazzi tried to take pictures of a 2 days old baby. Thank God that Arthur hired a security team. They spend a beautiful week in the Pendragons mansion, Uther prepared an entire nursery for Wynn and redecorated Morgana's room. His way of showing that he cared was spoiling his granddaughter rotten. Then Morgana went to her Penthouse in center London, where she had prepared Wynn's real nursery. She didn't release an official picture or the name, but Paparazzi took the baby's photos anyways and she then revealed Wynn’s name with an entirely new section of designed baby clothes with her name.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Like ships in the night letting cannon balls fly Say what you mean and it turns to a fight Fist fly from my mouth as it turns south

August 11th,2007

Wynn's 16 months old when Morgana knows Merlin's out of the rehab and back to his home in Ealdor. She scented him another photo on Wynn's first birthday but she still got no response. Wynn Pendragon is perfect in all the possible ways. Her black hair is fluffy and tamed, she was the palest baby ever, with such smooth skin. She has dimples and an adorable nose and huge, deep blue eyes. She had Merlin’s lips and chin. And when she looks at Morgana, everything seems to make sense.

Merlin shows up when Wynn is 20 months old. He shows up at Morgana’s penthouse, he has a suit on, his hair is tamed, and he shaved. He looks positively sober and clean, and he’s holding a red rose bouquet in one hand and one bag in the other. Morgana lets him in, seriously, what she was supposed to do?

For a moment, she visualized all the possible scenarios. She saw her again at 8 years old, with her mom by the door and her sister in her room. And her father protecting them. Now, she’s looking at Merlin at her own home, staring at him for 2 straight minutes until she could find her voice. She thanked heaven for Wynn to be sleeping at her nursery.

Merlin was more handsome than ever. Last time she saw him (pregnant of 5 months, she went to see him in his old, cranky apartment to tell him that they would have a daughter), he was deadly skinny, dirty and just the rest of the clothes. She was staring at him too much; Merlin blushed and offered her the rose. Morgana wanted to get the rose, she did, but what she saw herself doing was slapping Merlin’s face. Hard.

Morgana was never a violent person, she never even raised her voice, she was an English lady. But when Merlin looked at her confused about the slap, she felt her blood boil. She remembered that feeling, the helpless feeling she felt when meeting Vivienne. But now she was not going to be toyed with. She was furious and nothing was going to stop her.

- What the hell Morgana?!

- How dare you…- She slowly got closer to him, the rose was on the ground (just like their relationship) and Merlin made some steps back with her fury. – How dare you to vanish for all this time and show up at my door, your asshole?

- Morgana….

- No, I do the talking- she interrupted him- I waited for you, God knows for how long- Now Merlin averted his eyes – Now you’re back…. clean. And like nothing has happened.

- I couldn’t come back while on drugs, Morgana!

- So now you’re 100% clean?

- I am.- Merlin sounded pound of himself.

Morgana gave him a dry, sarcastic laugh.

- Congratulations…So that qualifies you to meet the baby, hum?

- Drop the act Morgana, that’s not you. – Merlin said, looking put off.

- No, I act the way I see a better fit for my child!- She faced him, a hard expression on her face – And now your plan its probably to go to her room, make her love you and then leave her to mend her own heart.

- I had my excuses to not see her until now, but she’s our daughter….

- She’s MY daughter. I had her, I carried her for 9 months, I’m with her since her first day and I’ll be until my last day. Can you promise that?

Merlin looked unsure but started to slowly approach her. It was easy, she thought, to just forget what he did and fall back at his arms, but now she always had to think about her daughter first.

- I promise you, Morgana Fay Pendragon- Morgana looked deep into his eyes (he’s beautiful and trustful eyes)- That I changed and that I won’t abandon……your

Morgana's eyes were filled with tears. But not because of what Merlin thought it was.

- Yes, you will- Morgana gave a broken whisper – I know you better than yourself, and whenever you get scared you ran. But let tell me: More than half of the time being a parent is being scared. You get scared of streets, foods, high places, crowded places, and whispers in the night. You must be braver than ever being a parent.

- I will be…. I am being braver just to talk to you. Morgana, you know me well, do you think I want to be like my father?

Morgana seized his image again. She reflected on herself, on how amazed she had been when Vivienne had come for her. Both Morgana and Merlin had similar stories with parents, but at least Vivienne eventually came around. Merlin’s father, Balinor Smith, got Hunith in love and pregnant and then ditched her. He couldn’t be a father, not now, not with her. Merlin found him when he was 18, in a cottage near Kent. What he found there was the most heartbreaking thing: Balinor was happily married and had twin baby girls. To be rejected by a parent, to not even being wanted hurts. And Morgana could see that was not the case. He had gone through a rough time, but he was her, he wanted his child.

Morgana stepped out, freeing Merlin’s way to the nursery. He looked hopeful at the highest degree.

- Don’t even try to get on with me- She warned him- At this moment, she’s more than what you deserve.

The look on Merlin's face was of pure gratitude. Morgana watched as he went to Wynn’s nursery. Well, she thought to herself, anything is better than nothing.

How many of our parents seem to make it anyway?

#mergana #fanfic #merlin #morgana

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fakeyellow · 5 years

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Never Let Me Go

MC undoes the wishes so everyone returns to their normal lives without ever Turning into vampires. Features closure scenes for all of the LI’s as MC learns what happened to them (Kamilah, Lily, Adrian, and Jax in that order)

Amanda wakes up and is faced with the aftermath of losing everyone she loves.

She knows in her mind what has happened but it isn’t until she’s standing inside the Met’s Egyptian exhibit that she truly realises what it means.

She’s walking around in a daze when suddenly, she sees it.

Kamilah’s necklace.

The colors are faded, worn down by thousands of years, but it is undoubtedly hers.

How many times had she seen it gracing Kamilah’s long elegant neck, resting right on top of her immaculately pressed shirts?

She’d recognise that necklace anywhere and she recognises it here in this museum, sitting behind fortified glass walls.

And it hits her all at once.

She isn’t sure when the tears start dripping off her face but Amanda is suddenly drowning in the intensity of her emotions with no hope of salvation.

She falls to her knees in the middle of that exhibit, heaving sobs ripping out of her body as she cries for the woman that she loves so deeply but will never see again.

—

She’s numb with grief when she tries to enter her apartment but she’s stopped by security before she can even get into the building.

“You don’t understand, I live here-“ She exclaims frantically, trying to get past their burly frames, but it is futile.

Without another place to go, she goes back to her old apartment for the first time in a while since she had moved in with Kamilah.

“Hey roomie.”

The words take a while to register but then Amanda finds herself falling forward, flinging her arms around a very surprised Lily.

She’d thought her tears had been spent at that exhibit but apparently, she has an infinite supply of tears and she weeps them all into her friend’s solid embrace.

—

It hurts to be with Lily.

Amanda is grateful that she still has Lily in her life, but it hurts her more than she wants to admit to talk to a person who is at once the person she knew and not.

They have always been close friends but they’d gone through so much together after Lily’s Turning.

They had been through hell and back, sharing a verifiable lifetime’s worth of experiences together in the span of a year. Their relationship lacks that depth now, that intimacy, and Amanda feels the keen pain of loss with each interaction.

Years later, they’ve formed new inside jokes, made new memories, and their friendship grows stronger than ever.

And Amanda finally stops seeing the shadows of the past in Lily.

—

She doesn’t know what she expects to find when she goes to the location of Adrian’s old house, but she most definitely does not expect to see a museum.

A museum is a bit of a formal title to place upon the small cottage, but that is what the sign in front of the house says: “Robertson-Raines Historic House Museum.”

Amanda trepidatiously steps foot inside and can’t help but gasp at the insides that are almost identical to what she’d seen the last time they’d hidden here. Everything looks well-cared for and the only new additions are informational placards and “do not touch” signs.

There’s an old man at the desk who greets her warmly but she does not see him, so absorbed in her memories.

She comes to a stop in the bedroom where there is a locket on display and her heart catches to see the faces of Adrian’s wife and son. It feels like only yesterday that Adrian had shown her his past, bared his soul to her, and yet so much has changed.

“Ah yes, you’ve found the locket,” a voice interrupts and Amanda jumps in surprise.

“While we don’t know their names, they’re presumed to be the family of Adrian Raines, a soldier in the Revolutionary War who bought this land,” the old man says.

“Do you know what happened to them?” She dares to whisper, hoping against hope that Adrian had somehow found the peace he’d so wanted, in the absence of Gaius’s meddling.

“Unfortunately, there are no official records until 1785, when the land was sold to the Robertson family. They were most likely casualties of the Revolutionary War,” he says.

Amanda’s face crumbles despite her best efforts, and noticing, the old man quickly adds, “But I myself was always partial to the idea that the family moved elsewhere after the war in search of more fertile lands.”

She knows there isn’t much factual basis to his words but they are comforting nonetheless and she latches onto that hope, nodding tearfully.

“Goodbye Adrian,” she whispers.

—

It is with shock that Amanda realises that Jax might be alive.

He’d been young in the 80’s when he’d been turned and barring some sort of illness or accident, there is no reason Jax should not be alive.

But as curious as she is, as much as she longs to see him, she knows that even if she searches for him, she will not be meeting the Jax she knows.

And for a long time, Amanda isn’t ready for that. She doesn’t want to forget the memories of the Jax she knows, she’s not ready to see a Jax who does not know her at all, who’s had a life of his own without her.

But one day, years later, she searches for him and knocks on a door.

It can’t be more than a couple of seconds before the door opens but in that brief moment, Amanda’s mind fills with fears that she’s gotten the wrong address and she half turns to go away.

And then the door opens and it is Jax. Although his hair has turned white and there are wrinkles in his forehead, he is undoubtedly Jax.

“Yes?” He asks expectantly and Amanda blushes when she realises she’s been staring at him this entire time. But she can’t take her eyes off of him.

There is so much of the Jax she knew in his face and yet he is different: his eyes have laugh lines, he has a small scar on his cheek that she’s never seen before, and there is a wise maturity in his eyes.

But most of all, he doesn’t have that cynical air around him. He looks curious as to who she might be but he’s not scowling like her Jax had so often done.

And Amanda realises: this is a Jax who’s had the freedom to live his life the way he wants. He’s faced difficulties of a different nature but they’ve been on his own terms and overall, he’s lived a good and happy life.

“Jax, who is it?” A voice calls out to him and Amanda can no longer hold back her tears.

“Wrong address, sorry” she manages to say in a choked voice before she runs away, leaving as the man looks bemusedly after her.

—

There is not a day that goes by that Amanda does not feel the absence of her friends in her life. There is not a single moment that Amanda stops missing Kamilah, longing for Kamilah, loving Kamilah.

But in the end, she learns to move on. She learns how to live with their absence, to live with her perpetual grief without succumbing to it.

And when Amanda closes her eyes for the last time, it is with a smile.

—

A/N: The Kamilah scene is the shortest because I already wrote an angsty scene for her specifically lol.

But after writing that dark scene, I really wanted to write a more hopeful story because the Bloodbound MC is resilient af. I hope you like it. I’ve not really written Adrian/Lily/Jax before but it was fun (and so sad) to write what happened to them if they weren’t vampires.

The title is taken after the amazing book “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is such a beautiful bildungsroman in a dystopian setting that I cannot recommend enough.

#bloodbound #kamilah x mc #jax x mc #adrian x mc #lily x mc #playchoices #kamilah sayeed #adrian raines #lily spencer #jax matsuo #playchoices fanfic #my writing

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darknessisafriend · 5 years

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The world will be ours Part 2

OMG I am excited to present you this second part! Slow burn for this chapter but I just love teasing ;)

For those who’d like to read part 1, click here

Part 2

The rest of travel went well, Commodus was no longer ignoring you, and you enjoyed both his company and Lucilla´s. For now he had been the opposite of the stories you had heard about him. Still he didn´t really get closer to you, at least you didn´t notice it, he was much closer and affectionate to Lucilla, after all she was his sister; maybe he will change his attitude towards you when the wedding will be celebrated.

When you finally reached Rome, you were astonished by its beauty; the architecture was unlike anything you had ever seen. Commodus noticed your wonder and smiled proudly.

“Have you ever seen such beauty? It is worthy of gods…” he commented with marvel in his eyes, and he was right. The both of you stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the view, until he spoke again.

“I have something for you…” curious you turned your head to look at him, you hadn´t noticed the little box he was holding in his hands. He opened it to reveal a golden ring; it was finely sculpted and had the embroidery of the Empire embedded in it. Astonished you looked up at him, his eyes were still on the ring, he took it out of the box and extended his hand to you, so you could rest your left hand in his, his skin was warm and softer than you had imagined.

“It is a gift; I offer you this ring as a thank you for giving me the honor to become your husband and as a token of my duties to you.” He pronounced solemnly as he slides the ring on your third finger. Even if you knew it was the tradition to give such object to the future bride it still made your head spin, it was so romantic of him.

“Thank you.” You answered sincerely with a bright smile, if it wasn´t improper you would have given him a kiss, for now you contented yourself with a light caress on his palm, he slightly bowed his head in response, a small smile playing on his lips.

Right before entering the city, Commodus and Lucilla went onto the imperial carriage. You went in another which would follow them; after all you were not officially his wife yet. As the cortege went through the city, you had to force your mouth shut, you had never seen such crowd gathered, it was like in a dream, petals of flowers were thrown, people were cheering, it was a wonderful sight, you couldn´t help but feel pride at being part of this cortege, you knew you were going to enjoy such position in Rome.

Of course, your enjoyment got a bit slowed down when you heard some angry shouting headed to the new Emperor, you frowned. You were perfectly aware of Commodus reputation but you never thought Roman citizens would be this hostile to him, didn´t they know the danger they exposed themselves to?

The carriage finally arrived in front of the imperial palace. You noticed a group on men in white togas, the Senate; they were greeting the new Emperor, and were probably eager to inform him of important matters requiring his attention. You followed as he got off the carriage, a young boy ran down the stairs, and threw his arms around Lucilla, it was his son Lucius then, you smiled touched by this scene. You directed your gaze to Commodus; he walked to the senators, so you closely followed him. Other children were there, giving him flowers, which he then handed to you with a polite smile.

After greeting him, one of the Senators, Gracchus, looked at you.

“Y/N our future Empress I believe. I am pleased to announce that this union was approved by the gods” He spoke respectfully, Commodus nodded although he seemed uneasy, but before you could think more about it, you were introduced to other senators like Falco for example.

Unfortunately, you didn´t have time to rest, Commodus had to attend his first session with the Senate. You sat next to Lucilla, observing the session; it was your first time seeing the Roman political process. Gracchus started, Commodus was playing distractively with his sword as if he was bored or ready to fight any one who dared to oppose him, and this idea sent shivers down your spine.

“…to combat the plague which is already springing up there. So if Caesar…” Commodus lifted his hand to make Gracchus go quiet, he got up.

“Don’t you see Gracchus? That’s the very problem isn’t it? My father spent all his time at study. At books and learning and philosophy, he spent his twilight hours reading scrolls from the Senate. And all the while the people were forgotten…” he pointed out. He was right, even where you are from; it was taking ages to have decisions from Rome and in the meantime problems worsened.

“But the Senate is the People, sire. Chosen from among the people, to speak for the people.” Argued Gracchus.

“I doubt that many of the people eat as well as you do Gracchus, or have such splendid mistresses, Gaius; I think I understand my own people.”

“Then, perhaps Caesar will be so good as to teach us…out of his own extensive experience” replied Gracchus sarcastic, and the senators started laughing. You couldn’t believe it, he may be the new emperor but he should be considered as such and yet they dared to mock him openly.

“I call it love…I am their father. The people are my children. And I shall hold them to my bosom and embrace them tightly…” he looked lost in his thoughts, his dreams of a great empire where everyone is happy under is benevolent reign.

“Have you ever held someone dying of the plague, sire?” the senator raised his voice, like he was losing patience. Commodus slowly turned, his patience diminishing fast too.

“No but if you interrupt me again…I assure you that you shall” he threatened with a dangerous smile, if it was the only way for him to be respected by Gracchus then so be it. The senator lowered his head in submission, good… but suddenly Lucilla got up and spoke.

“Senator, my brother is very tired. Leave your list with me” She asked as Commodus left. You didn’t really understand why she had intervened; her brother had to be respected.

You decided to follow your future husband, and as you left, you heard Gracchus say “My lady, as always your lightest touch commands obedience.” You definitely didn’t trust this senator; he was too confident and condescending for your taste.

Meanwhile Commodus was pacing in his study, irritated, his breathing was fast, he didn´t expect to be treated this way.

“Who are they to lecture me?” he fumed, you felt bad for him, they won´t let him prove his worthiness. You approached him gently.

“Commodus don’t…” you started wanting to soothe him, but he cut you off irritably.

“Not now Y/N.” you lowered your eyes, maybe he needed some time alone to think, you had simply wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t be upset with their pitiful behavior. You took a few steps back, to give him some space.

“Commodus the Senate has its uses.” Spoke Lucilla forcefully has she came in. And to your surprise he didn´t cut her off or anything…so he just didn´t want to hear you then? You swallowed down at this idea but you kept hope that this was just a coincidence, nothing against you…

“What uses? All they do is talk. It should be just…you and me and Rome.” He argued; Lucilla quickly glanced at you; you really felt out of place, what he had just said hurt your feelings. He was so soft with her and tolerated everything she said, even if it was against him. You truly didn´t understand why he was behaving this way with you, especially after the few gentle moments you had shared with him.

“Don’t even think it! There’s always been a Senate” he angrily put his crown on the table. You stayed at your place when he walked to his throne with Lucilla. They were having a heated and passionate discussion about the greatness of Rome. You would have gladly participated in such debate, but the way they were talking, it was like they had forgotten the world around them; and to be honest you didn’t want to be subject to his frustration, again.

“I will give the people the greatest visions of their lives.” He said as he kissed her hand fondly, closing his eyes while doing so. You clenched you jaw, you wished it had been you, you lowered your eyes once again, then left to go to your quarters, they probably didn’t even notice you’d left anyway…

You spent the rest of the day by yourself in your quarters, upset by his sudden change of behavior. As you were about to go to sleep, Lucilla came to visit you, you gave her a small smile, you could tell by her face that she knew exactly why you were upset. She sat next to you on the bed, and took your hand. You spoke first, letting out your frustration.

“None of us have the choice but marry each other, but that doesn´t mean we have to hate each other; I believed we could at least be friends… “

“He doesn´t hate you Y/N…”

“I just wanted to help him…he didn´t even let me speak…” you lamented, looking at the marble floor.

“It wasn´t against you personally, he will change, once the marriage celebrated, he will see your true value.”

“It was going so well before we arrived…I thought…what´s changed?” you asked, deeply upset and confused. She sighed, gently stroking your hand.

“He just has a lot in his mind right now…and he only ever had me before, he doesn´t know whatever he should or could trust you just as he trusts me, but I assure you with time he will trust your judgment” she finished. You wanted to believe her, you hope she was right…

Three days passed, Commodus was very busy, you barely saw him, most of the time, you would hear his voice from afar, see his shadow quickly passing in a corridor, and even when he was standing right next to you, he barely acknowledged you. Even if you had Lucilla to talk with, and sometimes Lucius, you felt incredibly alone, you were starting to miss your home and if continued like this, you didn’t know how much time you could keep going. Especially that your feelings for him were growing stronger every day…even with his current behavior.

As the night came, you aimlessly wandered in the corridors, until you passed in front of the Emperor’s quarters, you heard Lucilla’s voice.

“Commodus drink this tonic.” Silently, you hid behind a column to observe him. He drank what she gave him and made a face at the taste of the elixir. Lucilla had told you earlier that he was having insomnia for the past days, probably due to his dreams for his Empire.

“I think the time is almost right. I could announce the dissolution of the Senate…at the celebration to honor our father. You think I should? Are the people ready?” he asked her, restless, bags under his eyes starting to be visible.

“I think you need your rest now.” You understood is eagerness, but you agreed with Lucilla for once, exhaustion won’t help him, and it was best to wait some more time before dissolving the Senate, time where the people will love him even more.

“Will you stay with me?” he requested, his voice almost pleading, desperate.

“Still afraid of the dark, brother?” she replies soften by his sudden childlike attitude. You wish you could hold him, and bring him to bed, caress his hair while he falls asleep.

“Still…always…stay with me tonight?”

“You know I won’t.” She refuses, her tone without appeal.

“Then kiss me…” you gasp silently at the scene, this wasn’t the feeling a brother should have for his sister. Instead, Lucilla kissed his forehead as she should, which briefly relieved you, “sleep brother.” And then she started to leave in your direction. She can´t see you, so as silently as possible you walked back to your quarters, your eyes were wet, if he was in love with Lucilla then there was no way for you to compete and make him fall for you.

As you thought you had smoothly escaped without being noticed, you heard Lucilla’s voice whispering behind you.

“Y/N?” you quickly turned your head to her, then resumed your walk to your bedroom, unfortunately she followed you. You passed a hand through your hair, you didn’t want to talk, you didn’t want to see anyone, you just wanted to be forgotten.

“Did you see?” you nodded, tears starting to run down your cheeks, you avoided her gaze.

“I´m sorry Y/N…” you laughed ironically at her apology.

“Y/N don´t pay attention to this, it´s…”

“It´s what? Nothing? He has no desire for me to be here; clearly he was simply being courteous with me before, I was foolish enough to believe he was developing feelings for me. I wouldn´t be surprised if he gets me killed in the coming days…”

“Stop speaking this nonsense Y/N!” she scolded, seizing your arms to shake you out of your trail of thoughts.

“He cares more about you than he dares to admit! Commodus is not being himself, he´s deeply affected by his opposition with the Senate…Rome is extremely deadly when it comes to politics; he is looking for comfort from the only person he has ever trusted, but he is looking for the wrong kind of comfort from me…he should be coming to you…”

“But he won´t…”

“He will. Y/N listen to me…I´m sorry, I should have scolded him when he disrespected you.”

“No need to apologize, what happened cannot be undone.” You replied, drying your tears with the back of your hands. Lucilla stayed by your side, talking with you, trying to soothe the hurt you felt, until you fell asleep, she covered your body with the thin sheet of the bed, and went to check on Lucius. She had to change things between the two of you, every day she felt her brother slip away from sanity, you were his only hope for stability and happiness.

The morning after you slept longer than usual, it’s not like it mattered anyway. Then you realized something… the wedding was supposed to happen tomorrow! Days had passed so quickly.

But to be honest, after what happened, you weren´t excited, you often had imagined what this day would be like, your family, a man who loved you. Now you family wasn´t there and you doubted Commodus felt anything for you. As you were dressed up you went to the library to read, but as you came out of your quarters, you collided into someone, hard, you gasped in surprise at the shock. You realized you had come face to face with the man you wanted to avoid, Commodus of course.

“Good morning Y/N.” he greeted you politely with a courteous smile, no, you were not going to fall for his pretty words today.

“Caesar.” You replied coldly, using his official title. To your surprise, he quickly glanced at you, slightly taken aback; it was the first time you called him like this, you bowed your head and continued your walk to the library. Commodus eyes followed you, slightly troubled by your sudden coldness, he’ll have to talk to Lucilla about this.

You spent most of the morning reading, you were even joined by Lucius and enjoyed a philosophical conversion with him, he was clever for his age, probably thanks to his mother’s influence.

“You know Lucius, the most unfortunate people of the Empire, they are the most important, do you know why?”

“They are the one in the fields, the workforce of Rome.” He answered confidently.

“Not only, they are numerous, and they are the one with the most ferocious will if they are ignored, capable to bring an Empire to its fall…never forget them.” You advised him, smiling as he listened to you carefully. You didn’t notice Commodus leaning against one column, listening to your conversation. Lucius noticed first, you turned your head to see what he was looking at that. When you saw the Emperor, your smile faded.

“Lucius, why don’t you go see your mother.” Said Commodus, the question coming out as an order; the young boy left, leaving you alone with Commodus, who approached you.

“I offended you.” He stated, you slightly arched an eyebrow, curious about where this was going.

“How so?” you asked innocently, he chuckled and sat in front of you.

“Don’t play this with me Y/N, Lucilla told me I had been neglecting you too much.” You wanted to tell him how you felt but you didn’t want to risk ending up in a cell.

“You are the Emperor, you don’t have to justify yourself.”

“I know. You see she refused to spend time with me unless I spent some with you…I don’t really see an interest in it…” your blood was boiling, coming to apologize for offending you and yet he was doing it again “however she’s right. If you are to be my wife, I have to find pleasure in your company…”

“I thought you did when we were on our way to Rome.” He blinked a few times, and nodded, encouraging you to continue.

“It seemed to me we agreed on many things, including the future of Rome. And yet you prefer the company and advice of Lucilla who’s opposed to your vision for the Empire.” You truthfully explained, you saw his eyes become slightly threatening at the way you mentioned his sister. “I am not insinuating anything Commodus, I am merely stating facts, ask Falco if you don’t believe me.” You added with confidence.

“Care to play Latroncules?” he offered changing of subject, setting the boardgame on the table between the two of you. You nodded, if it could enable you to talk at open hearts it was a good opportunity. He started to play moving the first piece, then it was your turn.

“How do you feel here? At the Palace…” he asked, thinking about his next move in the game.

“It is very nice, beautiful, I’ve never seen such fine artwork. I enjoy spending my time here” you said, looking at all the parchments in the room “Although I would enjoy more company.” He didn’t say anything, he simply listened to you while playing.

“How about you? Are you holding on?” you had to ask, softly, caring, it was hard for you to hide your feelings for him. He stopped playing, and looked at you in the eyes, you could tell he was surprised by your question, he didn’t expect you to care, once again. He sighed and looked to the side.

“It is harder than I expected. The roots of the Senate are buried deep…there are so many things I want to accomplish but this…it’s preventing me from executing my vision…”

“You feel exhausted, am I right?” he didn’t answer, avoiding your gaze, he didn’t want to show is vulnerability, yet it was so visible to you, his mind was getting tired, he couldn’t handle the whole Empire on his shoulders, he needed support and you will give it to him, no matter what.

The game continued for a while, you talked about many different things, from moments to moments it felt like the time in the carriage. Finally you won the game.

“Well played Y/N” he admitted, a small smile on his lips, he bowed his head respectfully. He got up, he had to get back to his duties. As he was about to leave the room, he stopped and slightly turned his head in your direction.

“I did enjoy your company…I have yet to decide if you deserve my trust.” He confessed in a low voice. Hope swelled in your chest, he did like you and you were going to do your best to earn his trust.

That day you went early to bed, the preparation for the wedding would start early tomorrow, you had to accomplish various religious rites with Vestals before the ceremony. Despite a bit of nervousness, your sleep was better, filled with dreams about your future with Commodus.

You were woken up at dawn, and after accomplishing the religious rites needed, an old woman came to dress you. You wore a long white robe; your hair were tied into six locks as according to the tradition, then the woman added flowers into them. Finally, a veil came to cover your face, and you wore golden sandals. You looked at yourself in the mirror, your mother would have been so pleased by your appearance; your fingers touched the fabric of the dress, it was made of silk, something you never wore before, it was such a beautiful piece, very soft to the touch.

The old woman came to tie the knot of Hercules around your waist, you had heard about it, only the husband could untie this knot, on the night of the marriage. You grew nervous at the idea of this; it was going to happen tonight, you wondered how it was exactly, was it as enjoyable as people said? Was Commodus going to be gentle with you or take you by force as some men did? It’s was a bit scary, so many things you didn’t know…

You were brought to the ceremony at the beginning of the afternoon. A lot of people were there, some senators, nobles. Your eyes landed on Commodus, he was waiting in front of the altar where the priest was. He turned as you arrived; you were struck by his beauty, he was dressed completely in white, being a perfect contrast with his golden crown and his dark hair. His eyes never leaved you once, they were soft, awestruck. You didn’t know that in his mind, it was like he was seeing you for the first time, like he only seeing your beauty just now. You looked so pure, like a goddess giving herself to the Emperor to thank him for his work on Earth. He swallowed down and refocused his attention on the priest. However his confusion didn’t go unnoticed to Lucilla, she smiled soften by his brother’s emotions.

The both of you stood before the priest as he spoke about the duties of the husband and of the wife, protection, fidelity, etc. Then, came the time for you to pronounce your vows. You turned to look a Commodus, you hoped your eyes showed your sincerity.

“Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia.” You pronounced, which meant ‘Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia’, this sentence symbolizing the strong bond that was being established. Now it was Commodus turn, he was trying keep his face emotionless, but his voice was slightly shaking, his eyes filled with emotion, as if a marriage was for him a bigger deal than you thought.

“Ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius” he spoke, meaning ‘Where you are Gaia, I am Gaius.’ He sounded so sincere, it seemed the night had got him thinking about is attitude towards you.

The Pronuba, the priest took your hands and those of Commodus, to join them together. Your heart skipped a beat, you had touched his hands before but now it felt so different, attractive, intimate. You wondered if Commodus felt the same thing.

The both of you turned to the altar where the Pronuba made an offering to Jupiter, it was a small cake especially made for the occasion. Then, he took half of it which he separated in two smaller pieces and handed one to each of you to eat, it was meant to protect your marriage.

As the ceremony was finished, Commodus stayed by your side, you received many congratulations from those present including Lucilla, she seemed relieved that her brother was finally having a wife. Then the time came to officially introduce to the people as the Empress of Rome. Commodus lightly took your hand, giving an encouraging smile and the both of you walked to the balcony of the palace, so that the People could see you. They were cheering outside, and there was a lot more citizens than you had expected. Commodus is smiling at the crowd, so you do the same and those closer enough to see your face cheered louder at your smile, warming your heart. Your husband leaned closer to your ear “they love you.” He told you, satisfaction filling his voice. This day wasn’t so bad after all you thought.

After this, a giant feast was organized, there so many different and delicious foods coming from every corner of the Empire that you didn’t know which one to eat first. Commodus was sitting next you of course, looking at his guest, you saw him wave at a servant and speak to him, you didn’t manage to hear what he said. The servant came back quickly and stood next to you with a wine bottle.

“Wine from the province of Gallia my lady.” Explained the man, it was wine from your home, he served it in your cup then Commodus’s.

“I had it brought here especially for this day, well I asked for it the day I met you.” Proudly adds your husband, he really had wanted to please you and it did, it was like a part of your home was here with you now. You lifted your drink to him, and he did the same, you closed your eyes as the crimson liquid met your tongue, no wine could equal the one of Gallia.

Finally as the celebration came to an end, you and Commodus were escorted to the private area of the palace which in itself was a smaller palace in the imperial palace. You knew what was supposed to happen next, even though you had grown attracted to Commodus you couldn´t help but feel nervous, of course you had never had such intimacy and you hoped your husband would be gentle with you.

The two of you walked side by side in silence, until you arrived in the bedroom which was adorned with flowers, he stopped and turned to face you, he looked nervous having a hard time to meet your eyes. His hands slowly untied the knot around your waist, he carelessly tossed it on the floor, then softly his finger came up to cup your cheeks, you blushed at the contact, suddenly very aware that he was touching your face, it felt electric. He was looking at you intensely; his mouth slightly agape as if he was thinking on how to proceed next and your heart was racing.

“Go to sleep Y/N…I have to work on urgent matters.” His voice comes as a murmur as his hands left your face; his eyes grew emotionless once again. And he just left, leaving you alone in the room; you don´t how much time you stood like this, still processing what he had just said, it wasn´t supposed to go this way…

Tag list: @stellargirlie @rosebloodstuffandthangss @clowndaddyfleck @lyoongx @skaravile @hopelessdisasterr

#Joaquin Phoenix #commodus #commodus x reader #commodus imagine #gladiador #joaquin phoenix joker

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fal-carrington · 5 years

Text

Just The Two Of Us Pt.4

Pairing: Kamilah x Mc x Adrian

Disclaimer: The Characters are NOT mine

(Part 1) (Part2) (Part 3)

Prompt: After the last night fighting against Gaius, before his fall, he puts his plan into execution, changing the lives of Adrian, Kamilah and Mia forever. Friendships may end, a heart may be broken and a new love may arise. In the end who will win the girl's heart?

Tag List: @galaxyside-0 @zoe6111 @rocket-scientist07 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @gavryllo @loveshamelessly @thecleveridiot09 @jen825 @zerozone-80 @whoinvitedalx @kamilahspet @ilovekamilahsayeed @sleeping-with-her06 @rubyheartjane @incorrectbloodboundquotes @bucket-harrington @desiree-0816 @kamilahspet @riyalovestaylor @iam-the-fuckin-queen @thepotatobleh @pizzapyjamas @deereboy97 @justejuste727 @jellymonster @tigerbryn11 @awesome-maxs-stuff

2 months later

Ahmanet Financial, Wednesday, 22h44pm

Mia sighed, breathing deeply a few times before entering Kamilah's building. She needed to talk to Kamilah, urgently. The two of them had not been on the same page for months... Actually, they never had been on the same page. Now more than ever, she needed for the very first time to Kamilah give in. But how could she? Kamilah only saw her as troublemaker, an irresponsible and stubborn child. Mia always thought about the day that her wife would take her seriously. There was no possible situation where Kamilah would agree to do this for her, but she needed to try.

She glanced around the large elegant hall of the building, encountering several well dressed men and women, seated in black armchairs, at the counter. The black lettering "Ahmanet Financial" intimidated her. Only 23 years old and she was the wife of the owner. Soon, the feeling that she did not belong to that place, invaded her chest. She bit her own lips impatiently, and with steady steps marched to the counter. Three men in suits were sitting typing on computers.

"Good night. Hi, I—" She tried to say, but the guy interrupted her.

"Deliveries are made in the back." The guy said without even looking at her.

Mia opened her mouth, shock and surprise took her.

"Excuse me? I'm not a deliverer,” she said, leaning against the counter.

"What do you want?" The guy asked impatiently.

"I came here to talk with Kamilah," she clarified. The guy in response let out a wry smile, as if he were mocking her. Mia frowned.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Uh... No. I don’t need one.”

"Mrs Sayeed does not receive nobody without an appointment, in fact, she hates to receive someone who is not on her agenda. She is not available to receive anyone who wants to come and talk to her.” The guy said without looking up, typing quickly.

“This guy is serious?” Mia thought to herself. "Anyone?" Mia laughed, running a hand through her blond hair. "Do you know who I am?"

"No. And honestly, I do not care to figure it out.” The guy looked up for the first time, directly into the girl's green eyes, scanning her clothes from top to bottom, which made her uncomfortable. "Look, you're very pretty. If you want to speak to Mrs Sayeed you will have to come back another day and set the time in advance. Or if you'd prefer to give me your name, so I can put it on the list, if do not mind waiting in one of the chairs... Even though there's no chance she'll see you today.” He typed again on his keyboard, indifferent.

“Alright.” Mia smirked. "The name’s Miranda."

"Miranda..." He typed.

"... Sayeed." At the mention of the surname, the three of them looked at her. The dimpled smile grew on her face, her brow furrowed with irony.

"...And I'm Lady Gaga." Another commented, laughing, as the other three did the same, Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, you idiots." She sighed, starting to get angry. “I need to see Kamilah. And if I do not see my wife right away, I'll be happy to see your butts get fired”

"Get out before I call the security guards." The first one told her.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know who you're talking to you fucking whore?” Mia raised her voice. At the same instant, a familiar figure emerged from Kamilah's personal elevator. Karen. Her personal assistant. Karen carried her tablet in her hands, walked with the same elegance and grace as ever. A smile flashed across her face as her eyes met Mia's.

Mia's smile could not get wider when she saw Kamilah’s assistant

"You guys are all fucked up," she whispered to the three of them.

"Mrs Sayeed, what a pleasant surprise! You’re back!." She approached. Mia turned to her with a huge grin on her face, laughing inwardly at the three who froze with Karen's presence, and the words she'd let go before she even approached.

"Hi Karen, how are you?" Mia crossed her arms.

"I’m great. Mrs Sayeed did not mention that you would come today.”

"Oh, I wanted to make a surprise. I hope Kamilah is not busy.”

"She just left a meeting. She has an hour to spare. How was your trip? I hope it was good."

"It was amazing! thank you for asking, Karen. So I guess I'll see Kamilah... My wife. Anytime I want and without an appointment, because I don’t need one!” She shrugged, laughing exaggeratedly, out of the corner of her eye she could see the red color on the faces of the three of them. When Karen stepped forward, Mia took one last look back, before lifting her middle finger to them and followed her.

“I don’t understand.” Mia said after a few minutes of silence between her and Karen in the elevator.

“What?” She asked.

“Why nobody believes that Kamilah got married?”

“I believe it is because Kamilah is not very… Open.” Karen took a deep breath, contemplating to respond in a kind manner. “She just... Don’t care about getting closer to people, obviously she has more important matters to deal with.”

Mia sighed. Karen left her in Kamilah's huge, elegant office, which was empty at the moment. Mia looked around, she’s only been there three times in her entire life, it was strange to stay in that environment without Kamilah.

"Make yourself at home, Kamilah will return to her office at any moment. I'll let her know that you're here.” Karen smiled sympathetically. Mia smiled back, awkwardly.

"Karen?" Mia called her before she walked out the door.

"Yes, ma'am?" Karen stopped.

"Do you... Do you think Kamilah will be happy when she finds out I'm here?" She asked uncertainly. Karen paused for a moment, as if reflecting how to answer to that, her intense gaze slightly annoying Mia.

"I think she'll be delighted with your presence," she replied, Mia knew it was a lie, but she smiled back, anyway. Karen left.

Kamilah’s pov

"...It's not about the money, they've been our clients for years, I'm not going to lose this contract for Mannon Financial, maybe we should think of a better strategy to close this deal." Kamilah said contemptuously as she walked the halls of Ahmanet Financial with her assistant. The last winter weeks had been pleasantly quiet for the CEO, since Mia had discovered an ONG which the main project was building houses for the unfortunates, and had the idea of going to do volunteer work in Colômbia, Kamilah could not support her any more, the idea of her getting rid of her wife for weeks or maybe months, it never seemed so attractive.

Months married, months of drama with Adrian and a childish rivalry between the two. She just had a lot of work to do, and getting involved with Mia was not on her mind. Now she had her penthouse and her bed only for herself and no kind of family stress.

"...Maybe we should go back with the idea of end of the year gifts? Whiskey and cigars, as usual” Karen proposed.

"It's not a bad idea, they're traditional men and like every year, they'll appreciate that," Kamilah said patiently. "Let’s think about this. Well, in the meantime, send me the reports in my office, I do not want to be disturbed."

"Uh, ma'am... Maybe you should know—”

"I do not want distractions, Karen. I do not want anyone in my office today." Kamilah said opening the door, and faced the last person she hoped for and wanted to see. Mia. The CEO stopped at once, a tempestuous expression forming on her face, at first confusion, shock, and then anger, as she came across that little blonde creature with cheeks and tanned skin sitting in her leather chair and with the boots on top of her desk, playing with a pen of more than five thousand dollars between her nails done.

"I was about to tell you that your wife was waiting for you in your office a few minutes ago," Karen said quietly behind Kamilah.

"I noticed," Kamilah muttered. Mia smirked, flicking her dimples between her cheeks.

"Well, I'll give you privacy," Karen said, trying to pull away.

"You stay." Kamilah told her assistant without taking her eyes off Mia, closing the door behind her. "My wife was already leaving. Get out off my chair, Miranda."

"Ugh, I hate it when you call me like that." Mia rolled her eyes. "Is that the way you talk to your wife? Did you not missed me?"

Kamilah crossed her arms, her perfect eyebrows arching as they always did when she was angry.

"Someone is in a bad mood today," Mia snapped without moving.

"You should be in Colômbia." Kamilah pointed at her.

"I was and it was wonderful, thank you for asking." Mia stood up. "Despite your unsuccessful attempt to get rid of me, I'm back."

"I do not have the patience for your little games today, I have a lot of work to do and I'm busy, as you can see," Kamilah said angrily.

“You know what would be cool? a picture of us on the table, as most couples usually use at their desks.” Mia pointed to Kamilah's desk. Kamilah rolled her eyes in response, Mia seeing the unimpressed look that Kamilah gave to her, she continued. “Oh, come on, you know your life is boring without me” She gave a charming smile to Kamilah.

"Why can not you be a normal wife and spend the credit card I gave to you?" Kamilah touched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, you mean the limitless credit card you gave me as a form of bribe not to disturb you? No thanks, I will not spend your money.” Mia walked around the table and sat on the edge, her fingers squeezing the wood from Kamilah's table. “... And what’s wrong with my clothes, anyway?” She looked at them.

"You dress like a hipster who's about to run away with a band." Kamilah gestured to Mia's torn black jeans. "You're the wife of a CEO, you should dress like one." Mia rolled her eyes impatiently.

"I do not see anything wrong with my style, maybe that's why your receptionists treated me like crap earlier." She said in a lower tone, Kamilah frowned.

"They did what?" Kamilah asked.

"Doesn’t matter.” She shrugged trying to hide the hurt in her eyes, which was evident to Kamilah. "You know, while I was away, I did a lot of things in Colômbia, a lot of good things for many people, I did not regret it in the last few weeks, but then I realized that you just wanted to get rid of me and I was making it so much easier for you.” Kamilah rolled her eyes impatiently. "I kept in touch with my parents since I left, they were very curious about you and why I would leave the country since I’m married for such little time."

"So that's why you're back," Kamilah concluded with a small smile forming on her lips. "To keep the facade for your parents." Mia moistened her lips, moving away from the table and approaching Kamilah in slow steps with the pen swinging in her fingers.

"They mean the world to me, I'd hate to disappoint them. They are already hurt because they were not invited to our wedding and I did not tell anyone we were getting married. I'm back because my Nana's birthday will be this weekend, and I can not lose this.” A sarcastic smile formed on Kamilah's lips. Well, she would have another free weekend from Mia before she resolved to return to the penthouse.

"Well, may god be with you on this trip. You can get the jet and go.” Kamilah smiled satisfied. Mia let out a laugh.

"I don’t know what you're saying, you're going with me." Mia folded her arms, Kamilah's smile widened on her face.

"No, absolutely not. I will not waste my time on this, I have to work."

"Seriously? Jokes on you, you are going Kamilah.” Mia leaned close enough to face her wife in the eyes.

"Is that a threat?" Kamilah frowned, her brown eyes slowly shifting to red. Mia shrugged.

"You can consider what you want, I would say... This is a warning”

"Karen?" Kamilah called to her without taking her eyes off Mia. "Follow my wife out of my office, I have a lot of work to do." Kamilah took a deep breath, trying to control the anger, her eyes returning to the usual brown.

"Karen, I'm not going anywhere. Not until Kamilah gives me her word that she will go with me to Michigan. It's the least you can do for sending me away for two months, Kamilah.” She approached Kamilah, staring at the CEO in the eyes, no matter how tall Kamilah was or how terrifying she was, Mia would not give up

"Well, my efforts does not seem to work because you're back." Kamilah approached her in response, both inches apart.

"I promised I would not make things easy for you," Mia snapped.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Kamilah touched the girl's chin, lifting her face with her finger, bringing her face closer to Mia's until she could look closely at the iris of her green eyes.

"I'll take my chances," Mia said in response. “Do you know what I think, Kamilah? I think you're afraid, afraid of it, afraid of us. You're afraid of being in a relationship, that's why you try to push me away, that's why you act like you don't care!”

“You’re ridiculous.” Kamilah snapped back.

"I am? because every time I approach you about your feelings, you run away. You're scared, scared of feeling something, afraid of your own feelings.”

"You're my brother's ex girlfriend, he loves you, he's in love with you, you have twenty-three years old, you're the forbidden fruit, a fetus." Kamilah said angrily.

“Yeah? That’s why you can’t keep your eyes off me?” Mia snapped watching closely the look in Kamilah’s eyes. Kamilah paused in the middle of her sentence as her brown eyes lowered to admire the girl's rosy lips, the thought of how beautiful she had become with her skin sun-tanned had taken over the mind of the CEO. They both backed away as Karen cleared her throat behind them, Kamilah shaking her head, lost for that moment... That was just the effect the girl had on her.

"You're taking my time. And I'm busy." She turned around and sat down in her leather chair. "What is this?" She pointed to the package on the table. Mia sighed and turned to face her.

"Your dinner. It’s vegetarian. I thought to bring it to you,” she said, noting the surprised look on Kamilah's face. “I will not appear alone on my grandmother's birthday, you go to Michigan with me, you are my wife and you will meet my family, we are in it together until the bitter end or you forgot? So if you want to keep your image that you value so much, you will do it, if not for me, do it for yourself. You will, and that's it." She said before leaving Kamilah behind.

"Did you see that? She acts like a teenager.” Kamilah said pointing where the girl was. "Of all the punishments that Gaius could do against me... He chose the worst," she said leaning back in her chair. Karen hid the smile, which was noticed by the CEO immediately. "Is there anything you may want to share with me, Karen?" Kamilah cocked her head to the side, looking directly into her eyes.

"Mia is... A force of nature, Kamilah. She does not think about the consequences before she does things, and she certainly knows how to let you on the edge.” Karen approached Kamilah's table. "But... She is gorgeous, those eyes really are something else. And it is obvious that you two are attracted to one another"

"This is insane." Kamilah rolled her eyes, standing and walking past Karen. "I'm not attracted to my wife."

"There's nothing wrong with admitting it." Karen rushed to catch up with her in Kamilah's private elevator.

"There's absolutely everything wrong with admitting it, my brother is in love with her and she's in love with him. It would be the greatest betrayal I could ever commit.” Kamilah admitted, as the elevator stopped in the lobby of Ahmanet Financial, she stepped forward to the balcony. Spotting the three guys there. She stopped bending to look at the three of them, laughing and chatting.

"I did not know I paid all three of you to play instead of work," she said quietly and softly, catching sight of the hairs on their necks rose.

"Mrs Sayeed!" The one at the left-hand end rose, stuttering.

"We were not expecting you."

"We were just... We were..."

"I do not give a damn what you all were doing, I just came here to say that it came to my ears that my wife was here earlier. And you all did not let her come up.” She raised her eyebrows, noticing the blood rise to the three men's heads and hearts racing.

"We did not know she was your wife!"

"Oh really? Now listen well and carefully, when my wife is here, she will be treated properly and with respect, if it gets to my ears again that any of you treated her inappropriately again, I will go after the three of you, I was clear?" Kamilah threatened, her fangs threatening to appear, but she held them back in time. The three shook their heads in affirmation. "Do you all know what? I changed my mind. You’re all fired. Immediately.” Kamilah walked away from the counter, her heels banging against the floor, Karen rushed to catch up. "Reopen the application process and tell them we're hiring and I'm open to interviews, Karen." She said before they both got into the elevator. Kamilah noticed the smile on her assistant's face. "Do not look at me like that."

"You like her." Karen smiled.

"No. I don’t.... And don’t even think about telling her that I fired them."

“What did they even say? Isn't the forbidden fruit always the best?” Karen said softly wearing a look from Kamilah.

Kamilah’s and Mia penthouse, Thursday, 23h30pm

As winter drew nearer from New York, making the nights cooler, Mia sighed in relief as the elevator doors swung open for her, after months living with Kamilah in that large apartment, she was beginning to get used. Get used to her little routine and to the house. Leaving the market bags on the kitchen counter, and the keys on the key chain, Mia took off her coat and stood to save the groceries. Shopping at the grocery store, making lunch and dinner, and handling some household chores were some of the few things she did and enjoyed doing. She smiled in satisfaction when her work was ready, deep in her mind the idea of taking a hot bath in that wonderful bathtub of her suite and Kamilah’s, invaded her mind.

Mia took off her shirt, her accessories, trousers and socks when she reached the room, she casually walked to the bathroom, but upon arriving there she came upon an unexpected sight. Kamilah. That god damn it woman. Her own demon which sent directly from her personal hell was there in the bathtub.

"OH FUCK!" Mia shouted at the sight of her. Kamilah turned her face to her, frowning. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I... I did not know you.... that you were home! Why did not you yell at me from here to tell me you were here!” Mia tried to cover her eyes.

"First, I don’t “yell” and second... This is still my house too, for what I know. Do I have to warn you every time I want to take a bath? "Kamilah asked calmly.

"A text message telling you're coming home would be cool!" Mia said taking her hand out of her eyes briefly, only to be rewarded with... That image which stolen her breath away.

There was little foam in the bathtub that hour, which told her that Kamilah had been there for some time, her absolutely gorgeous brown body was partially exposed, the other half hidden by the water, her brown hair glistening wet, fallen on her shoulders, her Egyptian gold necklace stood out on her tanned skin, besides her was a glass of wine. That perfect face, wet, stared at Mia with serenity. A goddess. When Mia realized, she was staring at her like a teenager who had just seen a porn movie for the first time. She closed her mouth and tried to avoid the CEO's hypnotizing brown eyes.

Kamilah took her eyes from those stubborn green eyes, and without noticing, scanned Mia's exposed body hidden behind that tight set of bra and black lace panties. That girl had a hell of a body. She had to admit it. Even though she was incredibly pretty with a flashy body, there was something else about that girl, the way she rolled her eyes and dared to defy Kamilah made her intrigued, interested and excited.

"Perfect legs," Kamilah thought to herself with a small smile forming on her lips. "...Well, it was you who invaded the bathroom first. So, I believe It’s your fault.” Kamilah said softly looking at that body, her brows furrowed. "Or... Maybe you just wanted to see me naked, so you made up an apology." Mia noticed the way the CEO looked at her, the burning desire in Kamilah’s eyes, she reached for a towel to hide her body behind, crashing the door and leaning against it.

"I ... if I knew you were in the bathroom, I would never!" Mia rolled her eyes in disgust, a laugh escaped from Kamilah lips. Mia stopped talking as she noticed the perfect smile on Kamilah's face. "You... You're smiling. You never smile.” She lowered her shoulders and let out a smirk full of dimples. But then she regained her consciousness and swayed. "Stop smiling like that at me." The grimace returned in her face.

"You are still here aren’t you?," Kamilah observed. “Stop acting like a teenager, we’re adults, you’re my wife, it’s normal to see each other naked.”

"I have no plans to see you naked and I will not let you see my body." Mia stared at her in horror as she squeezed the towel against her body, Kamilah laughed softly sinking into the water and closing her eyes. "So... why did you decide to go back home today?" Mia asked curiously.

"Today was a stressful day, I just wanted to relax, get home and take a bath," Kamilah said softly still with her eyes closed.

"Something happened?" Mia asked curiously, coming closer and leaning against the sink.

"Just... One more day of work," Kamilah replied, Mia kept her eyes on her, studying her features. Kamilah opened her eyes, surprising her, making her change her posture. "What?" Kamilah asked.

"Nothing." Mia shook her head, feeling her face turn red. "I don’t know... I'm just not used to seeing you at home. Are you going back to work? "

"Not today," Kamilah replied sipping her drink. At the same moment, the image of having to split the bed for the very first time, invaded Mia's head. Oh, boy.

"You drink a lot," Mia said quietly.

"...And you complain too much," Kamilah snapped. Mia opened her mouth to protest.

"True." Mia shrugged, taking an unexpected smile from Kamilah. In response, Kamilah prepared to get out of the tub, making the move, Mia turned her back to her, trying to avoid looking. "Oh, God, you're getting out of the bathtub, that's something you're doing," she stammered. Behind her, Kamilah smiled as she picked up a nearby towel and wrapped her body around it.

“For someone who don’t want to look, you seems very curious.” Mia peeked over her shoulder, being greeted by a flawless white smile.

"You... Can you rush this? You know, there are some people who want to bathe.” Mia said with her back to the sink, Kamilah came wiping her hair with a towel, facing her.

"For what I know, there are more than three bathrooms in this house, you're the only one standing here against your will." Kamilah moved closer to her, narrowing her eyes, being so close to Kamilah made her uneasy, she could feel that attraction again, the heat emanating from Kamilah's body, the CEO staring at her behind the wet strokes of her hair, somehow she become even more attractive. Kamilah placed both her hands against the sink, holding her there. Mia stared at those hot brown eyes, before she could stop them — images came into her mind, holding her in that trance, sand, a lot of sand. A marble palace erected against the sands. She saw Kamilah, how beautiful she was in her black hair with a fringe, noble egyptian clothes, that perfect smile on her face. The picture went as fast as it came. The same smile lingered on Kamilah's face, unchanged by time.

"Stop doing that, it's not working," Mia said crossly, folding her arms.

"What am I doing?" Kamilah asked staring at her lips.

"You're hitting on me. I do not know why, but if you think you're going to take advantage of me with that... If you think I'm going to fall for this, you're very much mistaken, Kamilah.” Mia said with conviction. "You think you can... You think you can come to me and smile like that... With that perfect face of yours and I’m going to fell for you?? You’re wrong." Kamilah grinned even more.

"Oh, so you think my face is perfect. I did not know you were attracted to me, Mia.” Kamilah raised her eyebrows, Mia's expression make her laugh.

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are."

"Oh, for gods sake." Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not hitting on you. But if I was... " Kamilah brought her face closer to Mia's, gluing her foreheads, her lips inches from hers, Mia's breath caught stuck, her whole body tingling, that cold in her belly were back so fast. — A part of her wanted, the selfish one, no matter how much she wanted to deny and push Kamilah away, a part of her wanted to kiss her desperately, there was something about Kamilah that drew her, but a sound in her head claimed that she still loved Adrian, Adrian was the man of her life, but if he was... Why did she want to kiss Kamilah so badly? "... If I was hitting you, you couldn’t take it..." Kamilah touched her chin, lifting him up to make her look at those hypnotizing brown eyes. "You could not stand a night with me, could not bear the pleasure, the desire..." her words were mere whispers against Mia's lips. “I would make you scream my name all night long, as if I were your holy grace, your salvation...”

"Kamilah..." Mia tried to say stuttering. She wanted to, only god knew how she wanted and craved that kiss. Even being... So wrong. At that moment, the image of Adrian dissipated. Any coherent thought was eliminated from her mind. Kamilah inclined her face, directing her lips to the girl's ear.

"That's exactly why nothing's going to happen between us." Mia shivered as she heard Kamilah's lips whisper in her ear, and received a small bite in her earlobe and a kiss on her cheek.”

"Great." Mia raised her nose defiantly, daring to look into Kamilah's eyes. Kamilah stood to look into her eyes. "I'll never sleep with you. I don’t have feelings for you and you don’t have for me."

"Great." Kamilah returned with a small, confident smile. "As you wish." Kamilah walked away so fast and left her alone in the bathroom before she could even think twice.

1h30am

Later that night, Mia flipped through her book patiently, amused by the story, enough to not hear the front door open and close, giving way to Kamilah, who entered the room with warm eyes on the girl.

"I didn't know you had a preference for the right side of the bed." Kamilah said softly with a playful smile on her face. Mia looked up from the book, and almost immediately her face turned red when she saw the CEO standing by the door, wearing nothing, but a black silk nightgown that valued her beautiful body and breasts. Mia had never seen so much skin before.

“Holy fuck.” She thought to herself. “I’m screwed. That’s it.”

"It's... I... It's near the bathroom," she stammered, drawing a smile from Kamilah. "I don't have to go around the bed."

“Hmmm. I see.” Kamilah raised her brow, letting Mia's face turn even more red. Mia looked at her clothes immediately, realizing that maybe those pajama shorts were maybe too short, and after the bathroom confrontation, she didn't know if she trusted herself or Kamilah, enough to spend the night with the vampire queen.

Kamilah approached with slow steps, as if calculating her every step, going to her side of the bed and pulling the covers towards her. At that moment, Mia felt that familiar warmth emanating from Kamilah's body, how hot that was. She swallowed, trying to focus on her book, but it was almost impossible with Kamilah so close.

“What are you reading?” She felt the hairs on her body shiver at the sound of Kamilah's voice so close to her ear, Mia looked over her shoulder and met Kamilah's brown eyes in her book.

"Uh... Hum... The sky is falling." She replied stuttering.

“And why is the sky falling?” Kamilah asked.

"Well... Uh—" Mia frowned trying to make the right words out, but she was unable to form them. “I think… I don't know yet. Uh... I haven't reached that part yet, I think it's a metaphor for —” Her eyes met Kamilah's, seeing that flawless smile so close to her face, the words faded from her mind.

“For?” Kamilah whispered, smiling approaching again. Mia stepped away noticing how close they were until...

"Ouch!" She faltered as she fell off the bed. Kamilah's laugh echoed around the room, Mia tried to get up with an ugly face. "That’s it!" She stood, marching around the room and going to an armchair, taking all the pillows there and carrying them to bed.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Kamilah asked without understanding.

“I think it's time we set some boundaries between us, don't you think?” She said forming a wall of pillows between her and Kamilah.

"You can't be serious." Kamilah said in disbelief looking at the girl and her job in separating both.

"Believe me I am." Mia smiled, pleased to see the result of her work.

“This... is definitely the most childish thing you've ever done,” Kamilah said watching her.

"Thanks." Mia smiled, settling herself on the side of the bed.

“What if I want to push the pillows away?” Kamilah raised an eyebrow.

“You will not do that. It wouldn't be nice and it would be disrespecting your bed limits.” Mia looked over her shoulder.

"I couldn't care less about my boundaries." Kamilah said. "That's not how two married people sleep."

"We're not like everyone else, we're a different kind of couple." Mia said sleepily.

"Still, this is ridiculous and you know it." Kamilah said grumpy.

“I didn't think you were the type that enjoy cuddling, Kamilah.” Mia smiled over her shoulder. Mia propped her face against the pillows that parted both, smiling at the vampire queen. Kamilah returned her an annoyed look. "What? let's talk, share things, tell secrets.” Mia said poking her. Kamilah rolled her eyes and turned to the opposite side of the bed.

"I do not share."

"Yes, you do." Mia laughed.

"Go to sleep Miranda, or I swear to god, I'll kick you out of this bed, and this time you won't be able to climb again."

“Awn, come on!”

“You don’t know nothing about me, so let’s keep this way. It’s better for the both of us.” Kamilah said impatiently.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know, but I want to. That’s why we have this weekend with my parents, I’m looking forward to it. They are going to love you.” Mia said smiling leaning over the pillows and leaving a spontaneous kiss on Kamilah's cheek. What she didn’t saw was the shocked look on Kamilah’s face at the unexpected act of love.

#choices you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #bb #kamilah x mc #look i wrote something finally!!!#so sorry for taking so long

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tornbetween2loves · 5 years

Text

A Valentine’s Leap of Faith

This fulfills two requests for the choices February challenge. Valentine’s Day, requested by @allaboutchoices and Leap of Faith, requested by @riseandshinelittleblossom. Sorry for the delay in posting, writing has been a slow process for me lately. This features a cross-over pairing. I am working on re doing my taglists, I’ve tagged a few people. If you’d like to be added or removed from my tag list please let me know.

Adrian(BB) x Olivia (TRR)

This is safe for work, but does contain some adult themes. Please don’t read if under the age of 18.

All characters belong to pixelberry, I am simply borrowing them.

Word count 2654

Olivia sat by the window, watching snowflakes swirl in the driveway lights. She loved the snow and usually found it comforting. But not tonight. Tonight she was filled with worry. Despite her efforts to keep her feelings in check, Olivia couldn’t help it. She was hopelessly in love. Just one thought of Adrian’s deep blue eyes and how he looked at her made her belly flop and her heart pound. And now it was Valentine’s Day, normally a neutral day for her. But when Adrian called that morning and said he had to speak to her she just had a sinking feeling in her gut. This must be it. He was gonna end things. He was gonna tell her that he needed to get back to New York and that although he cared about her, his life was there. After all, he had a business to run.

Tears welled up and Olivia shook her head rapidly as she blinked them back and sighed deeply. She wrapped her hands around the mug of hot cocoa in front of her and took a swig, savoring the sweet heat as it travelled down her throat. The doorbell rang and caused her to jump. It was time. The moment she’d been dreading had arrived. She got up and walked slowly to the door. She took a deep breath and smiled big as she opened the door.

************************************************************************

Adrian smiled as he reached into his pocket, his fingers caressing the soft felt of the box. The past 6 months had been the best of his life. He chuckled as he thought about how stubborn Olivia had been in the beginning. She refused to even communicate with him at first. Of course he was at a disadvantage being on a different continent. He knew that once they were in close proximity he would be able to win her over.

After all, no human can resist the advances of a vampire who has drawn their blood.

Sure, it was an accident, and Kamilah did some pretty good damage control. But that didn’t change the fact that Olivia was marked that day. She belonged to him. And as long as they were on the same continent she could not resist him. It was time for her to know the truth.

Time for him to lay all his cards on the table.

***********************************************************************

Her eyes shone like emeralds behind her smile as Olivia looked up into his pools of blue. Adrian kissed her cheek softly and presented her with the bouquet of roses he held behind his back. Olivia gasped when she saw the deep red roses mixed with a few that were pristine white. “Oh my, Adrian these are perfect!” She turned and walked toward the kitchen as she motioned for him to follow. They chatted happily about their day as Olivia found a vase and began to trim and arrange the flowers. Once she was finished, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft kiss. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful. Are you hungry? Would you like a glass of wine?” Adrian smiled as he stroked her cheek. “I’d love some wine. And those flowers pale in comparison to your beauty. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.” Olivia kissed him again. She lingered a bit longer this time, moaning slightly into the kiss before she pulled away to open the wine. She had selected a full-bodied Vidiano from her cellar that was gaining popularity in Lythikos. She poured a glass and handed it to Adrian with a seductive smile. “Let me know if this pleases you,” she purred as she looked up at him through her eyelashes and bit her lower lip slightly.

Adrian’s eyes never left hers as he swirled the wine gently and breathed in it’s scent before taking a sip. “I am very pleased, my dear. However, I fear you may be trying to distract me.” He took another sip then set the glass on the counter and laced his finger through hers. “I have to ask you something, but first there’s something I must tell you. Is there a place we can talk comfortably?” Olivia pouted slightly as she nodded and sighed. She grabbed the bottle of wine and her glass and led him to the sitting room. A fire crackled in the fireplace and the lights were dim. Music played softly. Adrian raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Tell me Duchess, do you always keep your sitting room so romantic?” Olivia shrugged as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Well, I never know who’s going to stop by. I have to always be prepared.”

He chuckled and shook his head as he sat on the couch and tapped the cushion next to him. Olivia sat close to him, so close their legs were touching. His smell was intoxicating and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Or maybe it was the wine, she thought as she took another sip. She looked at him expectantly. He appeared to be a bit nervous. She began to wonder what this was all about as the feeling she had earlier began to return.

She didn’t wait for him to deliver the blow. She shifted away from him slightly and took another sip of wine then blurted out, “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you? I mean, you have a business to run on the other side of the world. And I have a duchy here that needs me.” Olivia turned her head away from him rapidly to hide the tears that welled up. “I was foolish to think this could work,” she whispered, barely audible.

Adrian’s eyes widened and he slid off the couch onto his knees in front of her, his hands grasping hers in her lap. “No, you have it all wrong. I’m not breaking up with you. Look at me.” Olivia shook her head as she could no longer hold back her tears. Adrian placed his hand under her chin and gently tilted her head up to meet his eyes. He looked into her watery emerald pools and stroked her cheek gently. “My love, I can run my business from anywhere in the world. But you are more important than all that anyway. I plan to relocate here to Lythikos. The only thing I haven’t figured out is where I’ll be staying.” Olivia couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as she smiled at him. “Well, I do have plenty of space.”

Adrian chuckled as he slipped his hand into his pocket. He contemplated his question as he ran his fingers across the box again. He looked up into her eyes once more. “Do you trust me?” Olivia nodded. “With all my heart, I do Adrian.” He sighed and shook his head. This was more difficult than he thought it would be. All of a sudden he didn’t know where to begin. He sighed and studied her face. He was so scared of losing her. He closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath as he remembered a conversation he’d had with friends before traveling back to Cordonia.

*****************************************

“Don’t you think buying a ring is a little premature?” Adrian’s smile faded as he saw the look of disdain on Kamilah’s face. He snapped the box shut and quickly shoved it back in the desk drawer. Perhaps she was right. Amy stood up and rolled her eyes. “Kamilah, that wasn’t very nice. I think it’s romantic.” She smiled as she walked around the desk and put her arm around Adrian’s shoulders. She narrowed her eyes at Kamilah. “Don’t listen to her Adrian. Just because she’s jaded when it comes to love doesn’t mean you have to be the same.” Kamilah pursed her lips and glared at Amy. A deep voice boomed from the doorway. “Amy is right. Adrian is taking a leap of faith.” Kamilah turned to see Jax and Lily in the doorway. Amy’s eyes lit up. “Jax is exactly right.” She turned to face Adrian. “If you feel strongly enough about this woman, then you should follow your instincts. Don’t miss your chance to be happy just because you’re scared. And don’t let the opinions of others hold you back.” She glared at Kamilah one more time.

“A leap of faith? How many times have we done that in the past Adrian and had it bite us in the ass? Look at what happened with Nicole. And Gaius for that matter.” Kamilah sighed as she saw Adrian’s dejected look. “I’m not saying that a leap of faith is bad. All I’m asking is that you be careful. I don’t want to see this woman rip your heart out.” Kamilah softened a bit as she smiled at her friend. “You know I only want happiness for you my friend. I know you well enough to know I can’t stop you once you have your mind made up.”

****************************************

Adrian looked up at his love, his heart swelling as he took both of her hands in his. “Olivia, have you ever taken a leap of faith?” She shrugged as his eyes shone with hope. “I’m usually a pretty practical person. I need facts to make a decision.” Adrian sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I need you to listen to what I have to say. Then I am going to ask you to trust me and take a leap of faith. Ok?” Olivia hesitated as she wondered what this was all about. “You’re acting so strange. If you’re not breaking up with me, then what is going on Adrian?” She stroked his cheek as she spoke softly. “You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.”

Adrian looked into her eyes. “I really hope that’s true my love. But it’s easier for me to show you.” He grasped her hands tightly and pressed his forehead against hers. Olivia gasped as a blinding white light seemed to overtake her and she began to see flashes of scenes in her mind’s eye. It only took a moment to realize they were memories. Adrian’s memories. He was somehow sharing them with her. She saw him on the battlefield in the American Civil War. Saw him with his wife and child, and felt his anguish when they were killed. She saw him with Kamilah and Gaius, saw his fangs sink into neck after neck, either killing them or turning them into vampires. She saw him feed, saw his glowing red eyes, witnessed his bloodlust. Memory after memory flooded through her, showing her his experiences. Until finally he released her hands and stood up. His heart raced and he turned and walked to the window. He struggled to catch his breath as he waited for Olivia’s reaction.

Her heart pounded as well. She fought to maintain her composure. Her whole body was trembling. She remembered the Halloween party, how he bit her neck. It was all clear to her now. Of course he was a vampire. He had obviously lived for a few hundred years and had different lives. Some of the things she saw didn’t make sense, he didn’t seem like the Adrian she knew. He was violent and seemed almost evil. How could this be the same man? Perhaps that’s the difference between men and vampires. Maybe they become evil when they’re in that state? She glanced over at Adrian, his head hung low and his shoulders hunched. It was obvious he was upset.

Olivia fought back her tears as she stood up. Her voice came out in a breathy whisper. “I’m sorry. I just need a few minutes to process this.” She quickly left the room, leaving Adrian staring after her devastated.

Olivia ran upstairs and down the hallway to her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and flung herself on the bed, her body wracked with sobs. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She should’ve known this was too good to be true. How can she be with a vampire? A creature she didn’t even realize existed until a few moments ago. She closed her eyes and thought of Adrian. She remembered their first date, when he came over for dinner and they never ate. She thought about how he looked at her, the love that shines in his eyes when he looks at her. She thought about his passion for her, his willingness to give up his life in New York and stay here with her. Nobody had ever cared for her that much before. She thought about what he said earlier. A leap of faith. Of course she trusted him. Why should it matter if he’s a vampire? She had now way of knowing exactly what it would entail to be in a relationship with a vampire. But could she take a leap of faith and trust him and their feelings to guide them?

Olivia jumped up and headed to the door, not bothering to even wipe her face.

*******************************************************

Adrian sat on the couch, his head buried in his hands. It was too much for her. He should’ve held back. Why did he share everything with her like that? He could’ve just broke the news to her gently. Surly she was frightened to death now, and really he couldn’t blame her. He sighed and reached into his pocket and removed the box. He popped it open and set it on the table in front of him. He had known Olivia was the one for him from the very beginning. Nobody knew it, but he had actually bought the ring in Cordonia before he even left after their first meeting. As soon as he saw it he knew it was perfect. A large round emerald surrounded by small diamonds. He couldn’t wait to see it on her finger. To see the look on her face when he got down on one knee.

But now he may never get that chance. He snapped the box closed and returned it to his pocket with a sigh. He closed his eyes and leaned back to rest his head on the back of the couch. He jumped as he heard Olivia clearing her throat and he opened his eyes to see her standing in the doorway. Her cheeks were tear-stained and rosy and her mascara ran down her face. But Adrian took one look in her eyes and knew. He rose from the couch and flashed her a hopeful smile. She ran into his arms and hugged him tight, tears flowing onto his crisp white shirt.

“Shhhh, it’s ok. You have nothing to fear. I love you. What I shared with you does not change who I am.” Adrian stroked her hair and kept his embrace tight. After a long moment, Olivia looked up into his eyes. “I want to take that leap of faith with you, Adrian,” she said softly. “I accept you as you are. I know who you really are and I believe that being a vampire doesn’t change that. I love you.” Adrian kissed the top of her head as he hugged her tight and relief washed over him. “Thank you for trusting me,” he said as he pulled back to look into her eyes. “There’s just one more question I have to ask.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow as he got down on one knee and pulled the box from his pocket. “Will you marry me?” She gasped and covered her mouth at the sight of the ring as she nodded and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs to the bedroom. He knew that their love could withstand anything now that the truth was known. She knew him completely, and accepted him as he was. That meant everything.

Tagging: @allaboutchoices @riseandshinelittleblossom @innerpostmentality @gardeningourmet @sirbeepsalot @bobasheebaby @blackcatkita @darley1101 @desireepow-1986 @indiacater @hopefulmoonobject @furryperfectionlover @texaskitten30 @speedyoperarascalparty

#choices february challenge #choices crossover #BB x TRR #adrian x olivia #long post

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magicalmischel · 5 years

Text

The Golden Age

a merthur fanfic written for the Merlin Memory Month 2019

prompt: things to hide / things to reveal (path 3)

wordcount: 1510

summary - The long-awaited future is finally here - Camelot is flourishing, the people are happy, the time of the once and future king and Emrys has come. Still, there's one thing left to do before everything is perfect. Aka, Merlin plans to propose to Arthur :)

also posted on FFN and AO3.

***

THE GOLDEN AGE

Merlin breathed in and breathed out, closing his eyes. The summer breeze played with his hair and made him smile. The harvest was good, best in the last five years in fact, the day was sunny and all patrols returned home with good news.

Life was good.

It truly was.

He was standing in the tallest tower of Camelot, alone, gazing at the kingdom that he and Arthur had built together on mutual trust and loyalty of their knights and people. He could hear children laughing in the streets, even from all the way up here.

Merlin was no servant anymore. He still spent most of his days with Arthur of course and nothing much changed between them, except that Merlin no longer had to wash all his dirty socks and muck out the stables. Ever since magic was legalized in Camelot again, he'd been appointed as the court sorcerer, but that wasn't all he was – he was also a teacher, helping sorcerers of all ages come to terms with their powers and help them control it in a safe environment. He was still a skilled physician and he helped Gaius from time to time (although they'd also already found a new apprentice for Gaius because Merlin couldn't possibly handle so much work alone).

Gwen was a lady, and Lancelot was lucky to have her as his wife. They were both very happy together and they lived in the castle. Even Morgana came back once she saw what Camelot had become and that she'd been wrong about Arthur. She was now the official High Priestess of Camelot, along with Merlin taking care of new sorcerers and sorceresses, helping them and teaching them. The library was also filled with new, previously forbidden books, and both of them liked to read them and study them together, in order to become better in teaching magic. It was good to see Morgana smile again, especially when Aithusa was there with them, healthy and happy and growing fast.

Arthur was the king, and he was doing a good job. He always made sure to hear all the opinions in the room before making decisions, listening to all the advice from his friends and the council. Merlin was proud of him. He truly deserved the title of the once and future king.

Merlin smiled.

Camelot had finally become what he'd always knew it could become. The golden age was here.

Now, there was only one thing, one little thing, worrying him. He pursed his lips and reached into his pocket, finding an old silver-gold ring. He put his both hands on the stone wall in front of him and left the ring there, inspecting it for the umpteenth time.

It was meant for Arthur. Obviously. But there was something keeping Merlin from giving it to him and asking him for marriage.

First, he was nervous as hell. He had absolutely no experience whatsoever, which was why he'd gone to Lancelot for help, but it didn't help much. Another thing, the more important thing was . . . He wasn't sure if asking Arthur was the best thing.

Yes, he loved him, and he knew that Arthur loved him too, but . . . asking the king for his hand in marriage felt like he was asking for the power. Like he was telling the king "hey, I really want to be a king too, so let's kiss and gimme the crown," and Merlin didn't want that. He'd want to marry Arthur even if he was just a poor commoner and not a king. But Arthur was a king, and Merlin didn't know if there were any rules in these sorts of things. Maybe it should be Arthur proposing to him. That way, he wouldn't be seen as asking for any power because Merlin didn't have more power in the kingdom than Arthur already did.

Merlin let out a loud sigh.

Even thinking about this, about his married life was ridiculous. He'd never thought he'd get married, he'd never even thought about that at all.

And now he was standing here, in the tallest tower of the castle, waiting for Arthur who'd asked him to come there and for what? For Arthur to be late? For him to have endless doubts about his proposal? For him to start sweating like crazy from all the nervousness whenever in Arthur's company? For him to continuously hold onto the ring in his pocket until he accidentally took it out together with his hand and ruined the moment forever? For-

"A frown never suited you, Merlin, and especially not on such a nice day."

Merlin turned around, startled, but once he saw Arthur, he let out a sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The sigh turned into a laugh as Arthur smiled at him and approached him.

"Arthur."

Now, Merlin was breathless. Again, he was fidgeting with the ring inside his pocket, unconsciously, and Arthur was just standing there with his big bright smile, golden hair glistening in the sun, silver chainmail on his chest and back covered in a freshly washed red cloak.

Merlin smiled at him.

"You're late," he said.

"Don't blame me, you know what a busy life it is to be the king."

Merlin smirked at him, turning back to gaze at the city, Arthur now standing by his side. "No, in fact, I don't know. I'm not the king."

Arthur didn't answer.

Merlin turned to look at him and saw him biting his lip. He seemed nervous. But Merlin doubted he could be more nervous than Merlin already was whenever he was near him with the ring in his pocket.

"What is it?" he asked.

Arthur covered his hand with his own on the stone wall. "Nothing to worry about."

"You can talk to me, Arthur."

Arthur smiled. "I know."

He turned to Merlin and brought his hand closer to his lips, kissing his knuckles. He didn't do that often, now Merlin was getting worried about a whole lot of different reasons.

But he waited for Arthur to say what he needed to say. He'd tell him once he was ready.

"How long have we been together?" The king asked him. Merlin frowned slightly, confused.

"Um, about three years now."

"Yes, three years."

Arthur didn't let go of his hand and Merlin got so lost in his worries about what had happened and what Arthur wasn't telling him, that he'd completely forgotten about the ring in his pocket.

"Well, after three years, I think it's time for a change," Arthur finally said.

Merlin swallowed. What did Arthur have in mind? Did he want to break up with him? No, he wouldn't be holding his hand like this and looking at him like that, if that was what he wanted to do. Did he want him back as his manservant and find someone else to fill the role of the court sorcerer? There was plenty of very talented druids to choose from and-

"Merlin?" Arthur frowned. "I can see there's probably a million questions in your head right now, so let me give you an answer."

Arthur . . . knelt down.

Merlin's eyes widened and all the questions in his mind collectively disappeared - all but one.

They were still holding hands. Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold-silver ring, similar to the one in Merlin's pocket, and he showed it to him.

"Merlin, I love you with all my heart. I'm grateful to call you my best friend and my boyfriend and I'm grateful for the kingdom you've helped me build. There's only one thing missing from Camelot being perfect."

Merlin's eyes were wet now, all his worries gone and only one word on his mind - yes.

"And that's you, right by my side, ruling it."

Merlin laughed.

"Merlin Emrys, will you marry me?"

Merlin laughed again, his tears spilling and he let go of Arthur's hand. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own prepared ring. "But I've got the same question for you."

Arthur's mouth was agape as he stared at him and at the ring in Merlin's hand. He let out a laugh and soon they were both laughing, both kneeling in the highest tower of Camelot.

Arthur nodded. "Yes."

"In that case," Merlin took Arthur's finger and slid the ring on it. "Yes."

Arthur did the same to him and seconds later, they were already embracing each other, each pulling the other even closer, both smiling with tears in their eyes.

They kissed and hugged again, not believing that it took them so long to finally get this sorted, but both glad that it was finally done and that soon they could start planning a wedding together.

Merlin breathed in and breathed out, closing his eyes. The summer breeze continued to play with his hair as he hid his smile into Arthur's neck. Camelot would soon have two very happy kings, ruling side by side.

The golden age was here. Life was good.

It truly was.

*the end*

#merlinmemorymonth #my fanfiction #my merlin fanfiction #fanfiction #merthur #merlin #bbc merlin #merthur fanfic

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fanficsaremylifeline · 5 years

Link

Life wasn’t fair. Not that this was really news to Merlin; the universe had managed to screw him over at every turn imaginable.

First, something decides to give him magical powers. That should be considered a blessing, but no. What did it get him? Persecution, saving some clotpole-prat from everybody it seems and, if he wasn’t saving the prince’s backside, he got to scrub his boots, mend his knickers and muck out the stables.

And now Merlin was just supposed to continue working for that royal arse after he killed her? Granted, Arthur didn’t know about Merlin’s feelings. Then again, it’s not like he really knew anything about his manservant…

But Merlin didn’t care about that pompous prick right now. Merlin was above all heart-broken.

He had been ready to drop everything, leave Camelot behind for a simple life, a nice cottage by the lake, with mountains, a couple of cows and oh so many strawberries; just him and Freyja, living in peace. But that was just too much to ask, wasn’t it?

A knock on the door ripped Merlin out of his thoughts. Gaius poked his head through the door, shooting the young warlock some very pitiful looks.

“Gaius.”

“Merlin. How are you feeling?”

“I feel freaking fantastic”, Merlin deadpanned and sat up in his bed. “Let me guess, his royal highness needs help tying his shoes.” As aware as he was about how bitter he sounded, Merlin cared even less.

“I have informed Prince Arthur that you unfortunately have come down with a very nasty and infectious inflamation of the throat and will have to be kept isolated for three days.”

“Oh… Thank you. Why?”

“Well…” Gaius closed the door behind him and sat himself next to Merlin on the bed. “You might not have told me everything, but I do recognize a broken heart when I see one.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“To someone who knows you… I’m so sorry, I can only imagine what she meant to you.” He gently patted Merlin’s am and it took a lot for him to stop the tears from rolling down his cheek. “And you deserve to grief her.”

“Thank you, Gaius.”

“Just know I’m right there, if you need me.” With a warm smile, Gaius got up and left Merlin by himself again. Huh, with a guardian like Gaius, maybe the universe wasn’t all that cruel after all.

Day three of Merlin’s ‘quarantine’. He had snuck out early that morning, intend not to be caught by Gaius or any guard that would spare him more than just a fleeting glance.

And now he sat by the lakeside.

“Freyja, it’s me, Merlin. I miss you, I really do. A lot actually. Gaius was so kind to cover for me with Arthur so I could take some time off and so I came here. Felt like the natural choice, there’s mountains, the lake, I even brought strawberries!” He got a little wicker basket out of his satchel. “They’re delicious.”

“Listen, I’ve been thinking. It’s pretty much the only thing I did the last few days. What pains me the most is how that stupid destiny took our future away. And… I don’t want to lose what we could have had.”

“My mother told me about this ritual that developed over the years of persecution. There was no room, no possibility for proper hand-fasting. Those couples didn’t have any druids or priestesses around, there was no walking through fire, they were just not supposed to be united. All this ritual takes is a bracelet, just like this one.” Merlin got the metal band out of his satchel. “I know it’s nothing fancy. But we don’t need that. The way this ritual works is that once infused with magic, the band would be broken in two.” Merlin let his magic work. The bracelet shimmered golden, like his eyes, and broke into two pieces, leaving a jagged edge. “You see, this is like a jigsaw, only those two pieces will ever make a perfectly whole band again.”

Merlin stared down at his hands, one part of the cuff in each. He let the time pass him by, as he listened to the soft waves crashing against the rock he was sitting on and watched the sunlight bouncing off the bronze metal.

“I know this is silly, but… I don’t know, it feels like an opportunity to safe the bit of future we deserved. So…” With a deep breath and a wide smile, he put one half over his wrist. “Perfect fit”, he grinned.

He held the other half up, letting it float through the air, towards the middle of the lake. “In life as in death be forever one”, Merlin whispered as the first tears rolled down his cheek.

“In life as in death, be forever one”, he repeated a little louder. The band was by now hovering out on the lake, seemingly circling its destination.

“In life as in death”, Merlin repeated for the third and last time, “be forever one.” With that, the brass cuff dropped into the water.

Merlin didn’t stay much longer. After he had collected himself again and wiped the last tears off his face, he made his way back to Camelot.

If the lake suddenly started glowing in all the hues of gold, it didn’t last long enough for anybody who wasn’t intently staring at it to notice. Merlin had long since turned away though, halfway back in Camelot already. And even if he were still sitting by the lake, chances are he would not have noticed, for his current main concern was: How the hell was he supposed to explain to Gaius that he just married his dead girlfriend?

Naturally, Gaius had realized that Merlin had snuck out in the morning; as Merlin tiptoed back into the physician’s chambers, he was already awaited by his guardian. “Well, Merlin, it seems the quarantine is working out”, he remarked, barely looking up from the book of herbs he was currently invested in.

“I do actually feel a little better.” Merlin sat himself down opposite Gaius and shot him a contrite smile. “I am sorry for sneaking out.”

“I understand. Just leave me a note next time, will you?”

“Of course.”

“Good. By the way, both Gwen and Morgana have asked about your well-being. So has the prince, though unlike the girls he did not wish you the best.”

“Of course he didn't”, Merlin scoffed with a shake of his head. “Luckily I’ll be back to helping that prat getting dressed tomorrow. Wallowing in self-pity is not going to do me any good and it would probably be best if I keep myself busy.”

“Wise choice”, the man nodded and locked eyes with Merlin. “Are you going to tell me where you went?”

“I was just out”, Merlin shrugged in answer, “had to just… you know?”

“If by 'you know’ you mean getting married…”, Gaius remarked and nodded at the brass bracelet on Merlin’s wrist.

Of course, Gaius would notice right away… “Are you mad because you weren’t invited?” Maybe this conversation would go by easier or faster, if Merlin could joke his way through it.

Gaius gave a soft chuckle. “I am not, since not even the bride was invited…”

“It’s not like that”, Merlin defended his action. “It’s… It’s a long story. In short, this:”, he held the cuff out to Gaius, “is a memory of a future that died with Freyja.”

“It might not be what you want to hear right now, but one day you will love someone like that again.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. “I will never be able to have this. Destiny’ll always make sure of that. We tried, we did, but in the end Arthur and that damn destiny will always get in the way of that.” Merlin sank back in the chair and wiped a tear that made its way down his cheek off his face. “This handfasting ritual was for people that couldn’t be together, that weren’t supposed to be together.” Merlin traced the jagged edge of the band and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “At least this way I can be connected to her and at least keep the vision of what could have been alive.”

“That sounds like a wonderful way to honour Freyja and your relationship.”

Merlin looked up and met Gaius’ gaze. The older man smiled widely, but his eyes were so much sadder for it.

“Yeah…”

“Well, I suggest you go off to bed now. As of tomorrow you will be no longer contagious and required to go back to work.”

Work. Right. As in slaving around for the guy that killed his wife. No, Merlin was not in the mood for a debate about right and wrong, so he better keep that thought to himself. “You’re right”, he agreed instead. “If I know that clotpole, he’ll have me work thrice as hard to make up for missing work…. Good night, Gaius.”

Just before he closed the bedroom door behind him, Merlin put his head through one last time. “And Gaius?”

The physician had already given his attention back to the book in front of him, with the sound of Merlin’s voice he looked up once more. “Yes, Merlin?”

“Thank you.” With a small smile, Merlin closed the door and disappeared in his room.

And, for the first time in days, Merlin even managed to sleep soundly.

***

Arthur was the worst. Was it too much to ask for a friendly: “Good morning, are you feeling better?” Instead, Merlin got a “you’re late. Hurry, my coat needs cleaning before this afternoon’s knighting ceremony.”

“Hello Arthur, it is nice to see you, too.” With an eyeroll, Merlin grabbed the coat and thusly started an excruciatingly long day of slaving around for Prince clotpole. What was nice though, was every time he ran into Gwen or Morgana, both of whom were concerned about his health and were very happy to see him up and running.

As he trotted back to his chamber at the end of the day, he could just fall asleep standing. If Gaius hadn’t kept talking on him during dinner, Merlin would probably have keeled over snoring. And with his luck, he’d probably have landed in the bowl of soup in front of him.

“You have been on a break for three days. How are you already out of practice?”, Gaius wondered.

“Because the prince is a sadistic… prat.” Merlin would have said worse, but he was currently too tired to think of fitting insults.

“It’s hard to argue with destiny…”

“No”, Merlin shot back, “we can discuss this in the morning when my brain doesn’t have the structural integrity of Prince Arthur’s ego.”

He waved lazily at Gaius as he headed into his room and leaned against the closed door inside.

“Finally, you are home! I’ve been waiting all day long!”

Merlin had to be dreaming. It was the only explanation as to why he saw Freyja sitting on his bed.

“That’s not fair.” Merlin just shook his head. “It’s just not fair.”

“What isn’t?”

“That I keep on seeing you everywhere!” He tried not to cry out in frustration; he didn’t exactly want Gaius to have a front-row seat to his hallucinations. All day long, wherever he was, whatever he did, Freyja was always right there and it drove Merlin mad with sadness.

“So let me get this straight. You don’t want me around?”

“I want Freyja around!” He looked up at the figure on his bed, “But it’s not like you are her…”

“Oh really?”, she grinned, “then why did you marry me?” She held up her arm and traced the cuff on her wrist.

“Since you’re only a figment of my imagination, you damn well know.” Merlin was done with this. The sooner he’d fall asleep, the sooner she’d disappear. So he just dropped on the mattress, as far from her as he could and buried himself into his pillow. “Just let me sleep.”

***

When Merlin woke up the next morning, Freyja was still there, sitting beside his bed. “Good morning!”, she greeted him with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, you got to be kidding me”, Merlin groaned as he glanced through half-open eyes. “What are you still doing here?”

“Putting you out of your misery.”

“Fine”, he shrugged. “Just give me a quick death.”

“Merlin. I’m really here. You’re not imagining me.” She slipped the bracelet off her wrist. “In life as in death. Forever one.”

“Wait…” Suddenly wide awake, Merlin sat up, very aware that his mouth was gaping wide open. He pulled the cuff off his own wrist and put the two together. Perfect fit. Undoubtedly the cuff he threw in the lake.

“Freyja?”

“Hi Merlin”, she smiled. “You can’t touch me”, she explained as he made a motion to move. “I’m still dead, I’m just my ghost.”

“Oh.” Merlin leaned back, not quite sure what to make of this very situation.

“Yeah…” She put the cuff back on her wrist. “You’re also the only one that can see me.”

Merlin was admittedly lost for words.

“Yeah, it’s a lot to take in, I get that”, she admitted. “I can leave, if it’s too much.”

“No, no, no, don’t go”, Merlin was quick to answer. “I… I just need a moment. So, the ritual…”

“It bound us together, our souls that is.” Freyja scooted closer; if she was more than a spirit, their feet would be touching. “It’s a beautiful thing that you did. And not just because it brought me back; sort of at least.”

“If I had known that would happen, I’d have done it sooner.” He felt a little flush creeping over his cheeks.

“Before or after we’d have run off together?”

Merlin could just snickered back at that. “I believe it would have been the perfect way to christen our new lakeside home.”

“That does sound pretty perfect.”

“Right? If it weren’t for that stupid Emrys-Albion destiny…”

“Hey”, she interrupted him with the softest smile. “Destiny is not what our relationship is about.” Gently, she put her hand over his and Merlin could have sworn he felt her touch. “Our relationship is about the mountains, living by a lake, a few fields with a couple of cows and gorging ourselves with strawberries.” At that, she started to giggle and it was the most beautiful sound Merlin had ever heard; he couldn’t help but smile along.

“I mean, that’s what this represents, right?” Freyja first traced her bracelet, before tracing Merlin’s. “A symbol for this little world that’s only for us; where you’re not some burdened warlock and I’m not a cursed killing machine…”

“Where we can be just Freyja and Merlin”, he finished the train of thought.

“We can still have that. Right now, it’s just us. And sure, Gaius will probably soon come stomping through that door, asking if you plan on sleeping all day long, but I’m not going anywhere. If we can’t leave Camelot, fine. We’ll just create our own lakehouse moments. Even if it will include so much less strawberries than I hoped for”, she added with a skew grin.

“I love you.” It was all, Merlin managed to beam at Freyja who blushed a little and beamed right back. “I love you, too.”

“Alright.” Eventually, Merlin managed to break away from staring into the beautiful blue eyes. “I think I should get going, before Arthur and Gaius drag me out.”

“Good call. Do you mind me tagging along?”

“Not at all”, Merlin grinned, “I’d love that!”

“Great! Let’s get some work done, then.”

***

“You seem awfully chipper today”, Arthur remarked after a while.

Merlin looked up from the boot he was scrubbing, to see the prince paying him more attention than the maps he was brooding over. “I have no idea what you mean”, he shrugged, trying to look nonchalant and ignoring Freyja, sitting on the desk and pulling funny faces at the prince.

“Of course you don't”, Arthur grumbled, looking back on his maps.

“Aw”, Freyja cooed, “he’s adorable when he’s grumpy.” She jumped off the table and glanced over the prince’s shoulders. “But I really don’t get why he’s so obsessed; he is aware that no matter how hard he stares, the maps won’t change?”

Merlin had to bite down hard to keep from snorting out a laugh and pulled all his focus on the boots in front of him.

It was quiet for a little while, a silence that Arthur broke with a loud yell.

“WHAT?” Merlin jumped up, looking around the room for whatever was trying to kill him – this time finding a giggling Freyja and a very startled Arthur.

“What did you do?”, Merlin asked her.

“What do you mean, what I did?”, Arthur answered instead. “What did you do?”

Fine, then he’ll deal with the Prince first. “I was sitting here, scrubbing your boots, so let me paraphrase: what has you frightened?”

“That’d be me!”

“I’m not frightened!”, they answered in unison.

“Of course you’re no. Does that mean I can get back to my chores now?” Merlin didn’t wait for an answer, he just dropped back on the ground.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, Merlin tried to ignore Arthur jerking, jumping and getting more and more worked up. Well, if the Prince wasn’t going to admit he was freaking out, Merlin wouldn’t interfere. Besides, he knew Arthur wasn’t in danger, that it was just Freyja. His curiosity did rise though, as to what she did to have him freak out.

“Right.” Arthur got up, looking very startled, but tried to play over it. “I’m gonna… yeah.” He barely looked at Merlin as he made for the door. “Just finish… Alright then.” With that, the heavy wooden door closed behind Arthur.

Merlin waited until the Prince’s steps went silent, before he allowed his grin to break through. “Alright, what did you do?”

“Nothing bad”, Freyja grinned back. “I just improved the maps a little bit.” As if by a gush of wind, the papers floated off the table and landed right in front of Merlin. It was a map of Camelot; not the way Merlin remembered it, though. The whole thing was ornamented with tendrils, flowers and even a drawing of a rabbit. “I mean, you’re really good at drawing”, he chuckled. “You don’t have to share a piece of paper with Arthur, though.”

“But it is so much more fun!”, she laughed, “especially when he has no idea what is going on.”

“Can’t argue with that logic. I might just check on Prince Scaredy-Cat, knowing him he’s gonna take it out on me.” With a roll of his eyes, Merlin scrambled to his feet.

“Can I come, too?” Something mischievous glinted in Freyja’s eyes and Merlin wasn’t sure he was going to like where this was going.

“Will you be making my life harder by screwing with the crown prince?”

“Merlin, he killed me. I think I deserve to.”

“I get your point”, Merlin admitted. “And what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t support your quest for vengeance?” With a grin, he held his arm out to her.

“You do realize I can’t actually link my arm with yours.”

He did, now. It was weird, how easy it was to forget that Freyja was in fact dead and that he could not touch her. He dropped his arm again, catching his face from falling a little too late.

“Nah, don’t be sad”, she tried cheering him up. “At least this way nobody can take me away from you.” Freyja offered him a warm smile, it didn’t reach her eyes, though.

“Sorry.” He sat next to her on Arthur’s bed; if she were corporal form, they’d be touching. “I’m the one being melancholic, while you’re actually dead. That’s not fair to you.”

“None of this is fair to either of us. But it’s the best we can do in a bad situation.”

“You’re really smart.”

“Well”, she laughed, “I feel like some quip along the lines of 'death grants you perspective’ would be appropriately macabre…”

“Yeah… Come on, let’s look for the royal clotpole.”

***

Merlin seldomly had to practice restraint as he did this afternoon. To work off any anxiety Arthur might have experienced (not that he’d outright admit to it, but Merlin knew him well enough to recognize the small bit of fear Arthur tried to hide) the prince went to practise with a maze. And the target was obviously Merlin.

“First he kills me, then he beats up my husband?” Freyja was not amused to say the least. And so she let him have it. She started small, moving a branch or a rock just in time, so Arthur would trip over it. After the third time it was getting almost impossible to feign sincere worry about the Prince’s well-being. It would also be easier to deal with, if Freyja didn’t do a little victory dance every time she managed to drop Arthur on his behind.

The prince on the other hand got more and more frustrated, flustered and embarrassed, which in turn found its outlet in the intensity of his jabs and hits.

“Come on, Merlin!”, he moaned after the warlock shied away from a blow that would have definitely bruised his arm. “What are you, chicken?”

“Oh, I’ll show you who’s chicken!”, Freyja yelled, jumped off the fence she had been sitting on. She winked at Merlin and instantaneously he felt a gush of wind that sent shivers down his spine.

“What was that?” Yes, Merlin had to admit the if he couldn’t see Freyja, he’d be freaked, too. But it was just so hilarious!

“I have no idea what you mean”, Merlin shrugged, trying his all to sound innocent.

Before Arthur got the chance to – probably – be mean, all hell broke loose. It was announced by the cry of the rooster and before either of them knew what was going on, an entire cluster of chickens circled Arthur, gawking excitedly; the little chicks were even brave (or dumb) enough to peck at Arthur’s boots.

And the Prince lost it. “MERLIN! Get these things off me!” He tried batting and kicking at the poultry, but Freyja herded them well enough so they didn’t leave his side.

“MERLIN!”

“Yes, sire.” Merlin could almost taste blood, he bit that hard on his tongue to keep from snorting with laughter. What did Arthur think Merlin could do against a wild group of chicken? So he shot Freyja a pleading look and after a dramatic eyeroll, she agreed. “Fine. I’ll get him back some way that doesn’t get you in trouble. Pretty amazing wife”, she added with a grin and barely a moment later, the chicken trotted off in single file, except for the chicks which ran behind their mothers in a very uncoordinated zigzag.

“You’re the best”, Merlin smiled at Freyja. Fortunately, the Prince was too busy staring after the poultry with a wide gaping mouth to realize Merlin was talking to his dead wife.

After the chicken-stint, Freyja did decide to leave the prat alone for the rest of the day. This didn’t mean that she kept from giving snarky commentary.

When Merlin went to bed that night, he fell asleep with the wides smile on his face.

***

“Merlin?” Gaius’ voice startled him enough that he almost tossed his bowl of soup over the table, which Freyja found hilarious. She laughed so hard, Merlin was sure that Gaius had to hear her.

“Gaius, sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.” I was so focused on my wife…

“I can see that.” The older man walked over and sat down opposite Merlin, right in his view of Freyja.

“Prince Arthur just came to me, to talk.”, Gaius mentioned as he broke off a piece of bread. “He asked me about the signs and reasons for being haunted.”

“Oh.”Merlin wasn’t sure how to react, what he did know was that he blushed at about the intensity of an overripe tomato.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Yes, he does”, Freyja threw in.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because whenever something supernatural happens you are usually right in the middle of it”, Gaius observed.

“I didn’t curse him, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“No, you just raised your dead wife’s ghost.”

“If you didn’t curse him, then what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Yes, you did.”

Woah, navigating this conversation between Gaius and Freyja was getting a little difficult. “I didn’t coax his horse into trotting in circles”, he shot back, at which Freyja started giggling again. “That was really fun”, she laughed.

“Merlin, please tell me what is going after Arthur.”

“No”, he muttered his quiet response. “I will not. But I promise that he’ll be left alone from now on.” Merlin looked up at his mentor with big, pleading eyes. “I’ll make it stop.”

“Ok”, he nodded, “I trust you, boy, you know that.”

“Thanks”, Merlin smiled up at him. “that really means everything to me. And don’t worry”; he quickly added. “Arthur never was in danger.”

“I know. Otherwise you would have stopped it all the moment it first began. But with the king even playful pranking can turn very dangerous very quickly.”

“I know.”

“Good. Then off to bed you go. With the fear of being haunted, Arthur might be extra…”

“Difficult? Annoying? Pratty?”, Merlin suggested.

“Demanding”, Gaius corrected Merlin’s assumptions, but there was a hint of a grin on Gaius’ face.

“Same difference”, Merlin shrugged. “Good night, Gaius. And thanks for trusting me.”

Gaius shot him a warm smile. “Sleep well, Merlin.”

“I’m sorry”, Freyja apologized as Merlin closed the door to his bedroom.

“What for?”

“That my childish revenge is getting you into trouble with Gaius.” She looked up at him. “I’m really sorry.”

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for”, he assured her as he sat next to her on his bed. “You have all the right in the world to be angry with him and what you did the last few days was really hilarious.”

“It won’t be that funny when Uther has your head for it…”

“Then we’ll both haunt Arthur’s behind together”, he grinned.

“That would be even more fun”, she giggled. “But yes, I think I’ll leave the Prince alone from now on. Besides, I still have a lot of castle to explore and discover. You would see a lot less of me, though.”

“Although that is obviously not good, it would allow me to do my job.”

“I’m still not sure that I want you having to deal with Arthur by yourself…”

“I can handle him”, Merlin assured her, “and besides, he’s a lot easier to deal with when he’s not being chased by a love-sick goat…”

“That was a good one”, Freyja giggled proudly, “But yeah, I’ll leave the prat be.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that”, Merlin yawned and made himself comfortable in his bed.

Freyja put her hand on Merlin’s head and he could swear he felt her tousling his hair. “It’s definitely not him I’m doing any favours. Now, go to sleep and have nice dreams.”

#bbc merlin #merlin #gaius #freyja #arthur #gwen #morgana #merlin/freyja

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