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~ taking the fall ~
prompt: isolation character: merlin warnings: death
Your hand clasps one of the bars as your other slips through the jail cell's cage. Despite the short experience you had picking locks, this one isn't coming undone anytime soon. Right as you think you're about to crack it, the sound of footprints heading towards your current chamber emits throughout the lower halls of the castle. Without hesitation you pull your hand back, taking a step back from the bars in the process. The hay around the cell being the only thing there beside a small tray with rock-hard bread and a cup filled with old water. It all seems so dystopian, like you never expected this for your life.
As you are about to sit down, spend your last moments away, you hear something. Maybe it's the insanity of spending the last couple of nights alone, besides the occasional meal. However, when you hear a voice perk up, you know it's not your imagination. "Let me speak with them," Merlin's all-too familiar voice comes from across the hall, obviously speaking to the guards.
"Let me speak with them, or shall I attend to Prince Arthur to talk you two into some sense," he threatens, causing a small but pained smile to spread across your lips, threatening to turn into a frown. You knew that you would be killed for what you did. It wasn't even your doing, but to spare Merlin meant to sacrifice your own life. "Fine," one of the guards retort, metal scraping against metal bounces off the walls as the guards move to let him through. Merlin's head pops out from behind a corner as he hurries towards your cell. His scarf bopping up slightly as he runs.
You let out a sigh that battles any you had ever experienced before, "Merlin, I don't know what to do. The only thing I do know is that you can't tell anyone." His hands reach for the metal bars, gripping them until his knuckles begin to turn a pasty white. Your hands reach for his, the softness of his hands battling the roughness of yours. "I have to, I can't let you die for my mistakes. I never should've used magic," Merlin leans his head against the bars as he lets out a soft sigh. With that same pained smile you shake your head, "No, you can't do that. You are meant to save Arthur, and if that means I have to save you, protect you, I will."
Merlin looks back at you, freely one of his hands from the bar and intertwining them with yours. "I have to tell Arthur, he can do something, I could tell him it was a mistake that you didn't actually use magic," His face becomes contorted into his notorious thinking expression, the one that has become all too familiar for you and anyone that knows him. "And say what else? You were the only other person there, everyone saw. Merlin, I will be okay."
"-But you won't be okay! They'll burn you, kill you, because they think you're a person with magic when you're not," Merlin's eyes move rapidly as they search your face for any sign of resentment on his behalf. You shake your head, biting your lip, "Merlin. Merlin, look me in my eyes." His meets yours, the sunlight peering through a small window illuminates his. They're almost amber colored, flecks of magic swirling within, "I'm taking the fall for this. You must continue to do what you're destined to do because I believe in you. That belief will carry through to the afterlife."
"And, you'll carry it with you for as long as you live. You will find love again, you will live a full life in which you're fulfilled," you finish your statement, a long-winded way of saying goodbye, relishing the last full look you'll have into his eyes. The same metal sound screeches through the hall, footsteps echoing throughout the dungeon. Voices talk as if they aren't about to send someone to their death. As if this is normal and humanly to do. "Merlin, I need you to step aside so we can escort y/n up to the surface," Arthur's voice is stern, the clear representation of Uther looming over him.
In the past Arthur always respected you and your place in the kingdom. He respected your relationship with Merlin, encouraging it. So to see the pain and viciousness within his body language hurts you, it's nearly like a dagger sinking deep into your soul. The dagger twists, emitting as much pain as possible. "Arthur, think about what you're doing," Merlin puts out a hand, thinking that his very being could stop Arthur from sending you to your death.
"It's not my choice, Merlin. It's my father's and I've betrayed him more than one, I can't do it again. Trust me, if I could do something, I would," Arthur takes a step towards Merlin, his hand reaching for his sword. Merlin looks back towards you, in which you nod, reassuring him that it's your time and that truly there's nothing he can do besides be killed himself. Merlin takes a step back, moving out of the way. His eyes flood with tears and his head looking upwards, likely attempting to stay strong for you. "y/n, you're sentenced to death for the use of magic in Camelot. Any last words?"
Arthur ponders your last words, causing you to raise your eyebrows, an act of surprise. "I love you, Merlin. I always have, and I always will," you nod, waiting for the guards to open the jail cell and let you out. Arthur opens it, slightly different from the other subjects being let out, letting you walk first, him right behind you. You look back at Merlin and give him a small wave before turning back around and continuing up the stairs. The higher you get on the stairs, the more light shows until you're outside.
People have crowded around the area, a small pit set up in the center. There you lay your last breath and look to the sky for the last time. Merlin watches from afar, not being able to watch up close, the scene being too nauseating to him. He wonders what would've happened if he had changed something, freed you from the cell, maybe tell the truth. Maybe you'd be on the run together, scared, but happy because you're together. However, as he looks to the sky that following night, he can see a star twinkle, like it's yours, telling him you're okay.
