Merthur One-shots

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Summary: The interruption of a council meeting has an outcome Merlin never dared to dream about.

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Merlin tried his very best to stay awake, but he was having serious troubles with that. It wasn’t his fault, however; grain reports were not that interesting, and the room was warm because of the sun shining outside. He was leaning against the wall with a pitcher in his hand, ready to fill Arthur’s goblet with fresh water. The prince was too busy dozing off himself to have time to drink water, though.

“… so the outer villages have requested assistance with that, sire. They fear they will not have a good harvest if they can’t take care of their fields properly.”

“Thank you, Sir Heriot. We will send men over to help with that. Is there anything else?” Uther addressed the whole table. A few looks were exchanged as the councilmen shook their heads. King Uther nodded. “Good, well, then I think that’s it for today. Dismissed.”

The men started getting up and Merlin had to suppress a giggle as he saw some of the older ones struggle to get out of their chairs. He didn’t do a very good job of hiding his amusement, apparently, because Arthur glared at him and Merlin rolled his eyes. Whatever, he was allowed to have some fun. He hadn’t even broken any of their chairs with his magic to make them fall to the ground! Arthur should be proud of him, he thought.

Just as the first men reached the doors to leave, they flew open with force. Swords were drawn immediately and the knights that were present gathered around their king and prince. The elder men recoiled until they were at a safe distance.

There were five cloaked figures standing in the doorway. At their feet, Merlin could see the bodies of the guards that had been standing at the doors. The figure in the middle stepped forward and lowered their hood. The others kept their faces hidden, their swords lifted in front of their bodies, ready to attack. Merlin looked at the now clear face of the man in the middle. He was bald, but his face was covered by a thick black beard. Merlin was standing on the other side of the room, but he still flinched back at the dangerous look in the man’s eyes. Those eyes were looking at his prince, he realized with a start.

“Arthur Pendragon. Finally, we face each other.” His voice was deep and sent shivers down Merlin’s spine. Unknowingly, he bent his knees a little and his magic shimmered under his skin, ready to be used.

Arthur blinked when the man addressed him directly, instead of Uther, but he quickly raised his mask of indifference again. Merlin could see his hand tremble slightly, though. He doubted anyone else noticed it.

“What do you want from me? Who are you?” His voice was steady when he questioned the man in front of him.

His words were followed by a hollow laugh from the man. “It doesn’t matter who I am, Arthur Pendragon. It only matters what I will do. Not that you will be here to see the results of that.”

Merlin started walking across the room, doing his best to stay as close to the wall as possible. Whatever was happening, whatever this man wanted from Arthur, he couldn’t just stay behind. He had to be at Arthur’s side.

His movement wasn’t noticed by anyone. Only when he passed one of the elder council men, cowering behind a pillar, did he realize why that was. Without him even consciously doing anything, his magic had wrapped around him, making him invisible and inaudible. Oops. He didn’t even know he could do that. His heart thumped in his chest.