Merthur One-shots

Whom His Heart Belongs

Summary: Gwen rejects Arthur's proposal, because she knows there is someone else Arthur loves. (Also she loves Morgana, but that's beside the point lmao).
He needs a while to realize whom she is talking about

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“I can't be with you, Arthur.”
It wasn't the first time Arthur had heard those words. They were familiar in the same way that funerals were.

The first time, Arthur had heard those words, he had been a mere child and had a crush on the cooks daughter. 'Child', Arthur corrected himself in his mind. They had changed pronouns a couple of weeks ago. 'They, they, they', he repeated three times in his mind, then he took a deep breath and continued his thoughts.

He was currently laying on top of his bed, eating some nuts that Merlin had brought him earlier, as he tried to process the conversation he just had with Gwen.
She had rejected him. Arthur turned the ring he had wanted to give her in his hands.
He had been sure she was the right one. The right choice.
She was compassionate, she was smart, she was beautiful. She knew the people. She was the best advisor he'd ever had. He trusted her.
And yet, …

Andromeda had been the cooks child then. It was Andi now. Actually, it had been then too. Their nickname that is. Only their parents ever called them Andromeda. And only when they were mad at them. It really wasn't that much of a change. It was just pronouns after all.
Maybe the recent change was what brought back the memories of them.
“I can't be with you. You're the prince of Camelot. I'm the cook's daughter.”, they had said back then.

Arthur remembers the heartbreak. And how it hadn't lasted too long. They had just repeated what his father had always told him.
Never fall in love with anything below your status. Yeah right.... Arthur was king now. EVERYONE was below his own status. Even the richest governor was below his own status. He was privy to the upmost power. Who else would ever equal his own?
He sighed as he shoved another handful of nuts into his mouth. Then he grimaced. After two hours of eating nothing else, they didn't really taste as good anymore.

Andi had been the first of many.
He's had a crush on a stable girl once. She too had rejected him.
All the non noble people he ever had a crush on explained their rejection with their status.
Arthur understood, but it broke his heart non the less.
Maybe, he was a romantic after all. Maybe he dreamed of running away with someone one day. Escape his destiny, his responsibilities.
Of course he'd take Merlin with him. Arthur would running away from work, he wouldn't replace it with something else.

Arthur stared at the ceiling.
He also remembered the first royal he ever had a crush on. Her name had been Lady Marinette. (1)
She had dark black hair and startling blue eyes. She had been in love with a royal knight, if he remembered correctly. They were married now. What was his name? Aren? Aderian? Adrien? Who knows. Arthur had moved on before he got too invested in her life.

Then there had been Lady Sofia. Arthur didn't know what happened to that one.
Sir Bredeviere, too. The man had rejected Arthur very kindly. And never lost a word over their secret night together to anyone. (They had mostly just drunken wine and Arthur had confessed to liking men. Which ended in them both kissing. Sir Bredeviere only to test it out. But he wasn't in to it and told Arthur as much before Arthur got his hopes up. So, it went well, considering all the fuss Arthur's father would have made about it.)

Lady Vivienne was probably the worst disaster of it all, because he had been under a love spell then. So Arthur wasn't sure it counted.
However, they all had something in common. At one point each of them would have said the same thing.
“I can't be with you, Arthur.”