Metanoia

"You'll Just Jinx It"

Arthur

Merlin paced the room, fingers fumbling with the object in his hand. "We need to test this to see if it really is poison," his murmur came.
I raised a brow. "You're not convinced?"
His eyes met mine with a hazed stare. "Not fully," he replied with a glance to my lips. The ones he had kissed just minutes ago. Wiping my nose of invisible debris, I then walked to the door, pulling it open.
"Where are you going?"
"To the physician, like you said." I leaned against the doorway, waiting for Merlin to follow. Moments passed, and I finally understood that he wasn't going to move.
"You're keen on proving me wrong," he commented, analyzing my posture.
I smirked in reply. "Someone has to be right." I gracefully turned around, striding into the hallway, hearing Merlin's heels finally click behind mine. "And I don't want to lose."

__________________

My stance wavered as I faced the man in front of me. "Gaius?"
The elder swiftly turned to meet my stare, a smile wiping over his face. "Arthur, my boy." I strode forward to embrace him in a tight hug.
"I...I thought-"
"You need not worry, my boy," Gaius's reply came, soon letting go of me. "Merlin is not the same," he mumbled under his breath for only me to listen to.
My nod was hesitant. "Yes; he told me he lost his memory."
Gaius sighed. "He took a potion. One that didn't have one to counteract it." His head shook slightly. "Stupid boy," he joked, giving a grin to me. I returned the gesture, then turned to Merlin, who was giving a confused, yet polite simper.
"Merlin. The potion."
His face lit up with raised brows as he traveled over, unsheathing a bottle to place it Gaius's hands. "It's a supposed poison," he exclaimed emotionless. I swallowed, giving a small smile in sympathy. Surely Gaius had missed his ward. The physician analyzed the bottle, shaking it slightly to see small bubbles cloud the walls in the encasement of the substance. He then walked across the crowded room, swiping a flower on the verge of death. It was a simplistic beauty; wilted at the edges, grasping for the last taste of life.
I bit my lip, facing a wave of trepidation as Gaius then opened the bottle, delicately dropping a bead of the liquid onto the petal of the flower.
"The effects should be almost immediate if it is a poison that is commonly used in King Keres's kingdom," he supplied, placing the bottle Selma had handed to me to the side, watching the flower with intent eyes.
"Commonly used?" I repeated with widely parted lids.
"Ingredients that they are easily able to obtain," Merlin's reply came. He then took a step forward, eyeing the plant cautiously. "When are the effects supposed to kill it?"
Gaius's eyebrows only seemed to raise higher. "Now," he spoke with a shocked tone. He gave a gentle blow of escaped air to the flower, trying to dry the liquid onto it. Nothing seemed to take any effect, for the flower was still unfazed.
"Gaius?" My brows furrowed, as I stepped closer, the side of my body touching Merlin, as I ducked to analyze the flower. "Nothing's happening?"
The elder snatched the bottle, daring to sniff the foreign substance. "It has no smell," he remarked, dipping a finger in to taste it.
"Gaius-" The liquid had already touched his lips, as he tasted it slowly. How the man had survived the many epidemics and attempted assassinations, I wasn't sure.
Merlin didn't seem fazed by his actions. "No taste either, I suppose?"
Gaius shook his head, wiping the damp finger across his clothes to dry it. "I believe it's just water with a dye to add coloring," he answered, surprised by the outcome. My eyes widened, as my ears twitched from his words.
Selma was wrong.
"No. That can't be right!" I vigorously took the bottle, taking a swipe of the substance myself. Licking my lips, my suppressed anger had finally made an entrance.
"Arthur?" Merlin questioned, gazing at me curiously.
"Nothing." I paused, meeting his stare. "It's just water."

Merlin

Continuing to clean my chambers, Arthur contemplated on an internal problem, suddenly deciding to speak the words aloud. "Why didn't you tell me?" he questioned.
I squinted in reply, trying to figure out what he was referring to. "What?"
"Gaius. You didn't tell me he was alive."
Piling the assortment of dirtied clothes onto the table, I sighed, bewildered by his care for the physician. "I thought it wouldn't matter."
"Matter? Merlin; he took you in! He was your father figure!"
I spun, facing him, head swimming. "And you were my lover. Your point?" Pausing from realizing the small mistake, I quickly corrected myself in a mutter. "Are." Arthur rolled his eyes in defeat and annoyance, letting the subject drop. My legs made their way to the bed, as I began to rewrap it.
"Why had Selma handed me the water if it's not poison?" he suddenly questioned, beginning to pace. "Maybe she was tricked herself? Her father was plotting against her somehow?"
I patted down the bed, tucking in the loose sheets, listening to Arthur's comments with a blank mind. Giving an aggravated sigh, I then released the sheets, hearing the nonsense continue to babble from his mouth. "Why are you so adamant about this?" I turned to catch Arthur's face. Shock was an understatement.
"Merlin; do not take this issue lightly!"
My brows raised, as suddenly I forgot the bed, stepping forward in his direction. "I thought this is what you had described what we used to do?" I questioned with a small, playful smile. "Banter and joke about our deaths?"
Arthur didn't answer—just blinked slowly and stared to his boots as a distraction, a solemn gaze present in his eyes. "That was before you forgot."
My teasing grin changed to a woeful one, as I finally reached Arthur, looking down at his shoes along with him. "I turned the bed." In my peripheral vision, I saw a smile wipe over his face.
"You worried she's going to get me?" he joked.
A smirk became prominent on my lips. "No," I said, playing along. "Just don't want you to get cold." It was a form of the truth, though.
Along with Arthur's comment.
If she or King Keres is really planning to assassinate one of us tonight, the other would be fully aware and have the possibility to stop their wishes from occurring. Guiding the two of us to the bed, I observed with heavy eyes as Arthur flopped onto the sheets, not caring to wrap the blankets over him. A small chuckle escaped my mouth, as I treaded to the other side, mimicking him. A moment of silence followed, where we both took time to just look at eachother. My brows laced in concern when Arthur's gaze softened. "Arthur?"
He stared me in the eye with an expression of guilt and shame. "She looked so frightened, Merlin," he mumbled, biting his lip gently. "Selma sounded sincere. I couldn't believe she had manipulated me."
With a wry mouth, I pursed my lips, gazing back at him. "She thought you could persuade me," I eventually replied after a pause, soon giving a light scoff. "She almost had."
Arthur gave me a heartless glare. "If she could convince me of secret plans, then I know fully well that she's capable of persuading the court of the same assassination as well."
"She won't," I assured, sweeping my eyes closed.
"And how come?"
A sigh tumbled from my mouth. "She may have high power, but she also has to pass through me to get her statement ratified. Besides, the woman's not clever enough to rattle the council's minds anyway."
"What if she is using reverse psychology? She set up this trap, knowing we could seek out her lie, but really she is planning to kill me some different way."
My lids peeled away from eachother, as I stared at Arthur's concentrated expression with an amused smile. "Right," I began sarcastically, "and next thing you know, she's planning to kill me instead of you."
His tongue touched his lips worriedly. "She's going to move onto you regardless."
"Arthur," I laughed, running a hand through his hair. Playing with the soft strands with a gentle hand, I curled a tumbled lock into my fingers. "I promise nothing is going to happen."
His taut expression faltered, as he gave an exhale of anxiety, gently leaning into my touch. "But she-"
"Nope," I spoke, placing a finger on his lips to stop them. "But she nothing. Alright? Don't worry about her."
Arthur huffed, taking one of the pillows, stuffing it between us. I watched with a suppressed giggle as he continued with another pillow. My hand reached over as a greeting, when it suddenly got deflected with a slap.
"This is the wall," Arthur murmured against one of the pillows. His finger drew an imaginary line as a representative. "No trespassing."
I scoffed. "You are intolerable."
"No, I am Arthur."
I frowned at his comeback, making a face. "Well, Arthur; would you quit being a dollophead and just accept that we'll be fine?"
"No; you'll just jinx it for the two of us," his muffled voice escaped.
Giving an irritated breath in reply, I faced away from him, promptly shutting my eyes. I was losing a battle I was destined to win. Arthur couldn't possibly be right. Selma is manipulative, sure, but she could never murder someone in cold blood.
She didn't have the heart to.
Time had passed, and I was on the verge of sleep, until something foreign grasped onto my hand. I flinched, before realizing the warmth it had welcomed with. A triumphant smile crawled across my features, as I squeezed the hand lethargically in reply. "Does this mean I win?" I lisped, inhaling deeply, before fully relaxing as unconsciousness took me away.
"No."

A/N: We love when our children have playful fights with eachother...except when one of them may get killed. If you've enjoyed this story so far, please leave a vote or comment! It helps me out a lot! Thanks! Bye!