Merlin's magic (Oneshots)

The last Dragonlord 5

Merlin PoV:

Even on their way inside, Merlin felt uncomfortable. Everyone was staring at him, whispering about him. Here and there he could even hear people questioning whether he was a traitor or if he had enchanted Arthur or if Merlin was possessed by a magical spirit. Some people seemed to be watching Arthur with concern as well, while they seemed to be grieving something. There were so many thoughts and feelings involved that even Merlin's natural instincts couldn't all dissect. So, instead, he hid himself behind his hand as they made it inside. He would have taken off the crown but Arthur glared at him every time he reached for it.

"Arthur - You really shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?"

"Agravaine."

There was a pause as they headed inside and into the corridor where even the servants backed away to whisper behind their hands. "I've always kind of wanted to do that," Arthur admitted sheepishly.

"What?" Now Merlin really was confused. "You wanted to tell Agravaine to -"

"Pay you some more respect. Yes." Arthur walked on as if that was nothing. As if he didn't register what he was implying and because Arthur was an idiot, Merlin felt the need to help him with that thought.

"So, you're telling me, you've always wanted to tell Agravaine to treat me-" Merlin hesitated to continue, which seemed to amuse Arthur.

"-yes, go on-" Arthur urged him on with a growing, innocent, self assured grin, letting Merlin finish the sentence himself.

"- like a King," Merlin complied, finally managing to stop Arthur.

For a moment, Arthur stared ahead, as if gears were turning in his head and then, suddenly, his ears beamed red. He turned to Merlin and sputtered. "That's - It's not - It's nothing like that! That would be implying - NO!" Arthur took a deep breath.

"You were quite eager to put that crown on me," Merlin pointed out nervously.

Arthur blanched, then flushed, then blushed to the roots of his hairline. "It's nothing personal! I do sometimes imagine how other people would lead a kingdom and I just happened to imagine you in that position as well - once or twice." He cleared his throat. "And besides, this was my best bet on proving to the people that you're the king I claim you to be, which, as you should remember, justifies my dispute with Sarrum."

Merlin's heart sank a little. "Right. Of course."

Arthur seemed to notice Merlin's inner struggles immediately because suddenly they were stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Merlin." His voice was softer than before, if also a bit condescending but that was the tone Arthur carried when he cared.

"Arthur."

"This is a good thing. A good change. I trust you and I'm asking you to trust me as well. Can you do that?" He clasped a hand to Merlin's shoulder, seemingly a little uncertain but trying to be open.

Merlin blinked dumbly at him. It was a rather stupid question. "I trust you with my life."

"I know Merlin! that's not-" Arthur bridged his nose. "Would you trust me with your people? With your kingdom and your magic? Can you trust that I trust you with being their king?"

Merlin straightened up, not sure what Arthur was going on about. "Always." It gave him a strange feeling that something bad was about to happen but in a way it felt when you found a child playing with a knife.

Arthur's gaze was intense as he grabbed Merlin's shoulder tight. Something in that gaze seemed to be missing the mark however because Arthur's glance stumbled over Merlin's face, his cheeks and lips, even as they quickly snapped back to Merlin's eyes. "Good."
Finally, the Once and Future King turned around, dragging Merlin after him by the sleeve.