Merthur One Shots

When He Finds Out

It was a warm summer night, the full moon shining faintly on the starry sky, giving off a peaceful vibe, but the king of Camelot didn't seem to be able to fall asleep. He was lying awake in his bed, staring at the celling, a certain raven haired boy on his mind, as he was recalling the events that took place that very morning.

"Gaius! What the hell is Merlin doing again?" Arthur yelled as soon as he barged through the door, not even bothering to knock.

Gaius gave him a quizzical look before speaking with a trace of worry in his voice:

"He didn't come home last night! I thought he was with you, sire!"

Arthur fell silent for a few seconds, truly pondering the old man's words before looking back up at the physician with a pissed expression.

"He's in the tavern again, isn't he?"

"No, sire!" Gaius answered on a sincere tone, concern now being written all over his face.

But Arthur paid no mind to that and just stormed out of the room, mumbling something about Merlin spending too much time with the drunk of the kingdom, Gwaine.

Despite being so oblivious at the old man's worries in the morning, Arthur wasn't so fast to reach a conclusion now as, looking back, he was sure no one could fake the worry reflected into Gaius' eyes.

The king clicked his tongue in frustration and rolled on his side.

"Merlin's strong", he told himself. "He can always defend himself with magic, if anything!" And after a few more seconds: "Yes! I'm sure he's alright!"

And with that, he closed his eyes, satisfied with the conclusion he had reached, but not even 3 minutes had passed before he angrily threw his blanket to the side and stood up.

"That idiot!" he mumbled while throwing a shirt on. "Making me worry and stuff!"

He quickly went out the door, not bothering to answer the guards who were shouting his name and rushed off to the tavern.

Right after he took the last turn to reach the tavern, he could hear laughter and happy shouts from inside. A smile crept on his face when imagining he would open the door and see his stupid servant at one of the tables with a tankard of mead in his hand, safe and sound. He entered the place with that thought imprinted in his head and he quickly scanned the room for a mop of black hair and a pair of breathtakingly blue eyes. A frown replaced the smile on his face as soon as he realized the boy was nowhere to be found.

He went out, a confused and slightly worried look on his face.

"He must have returned to the castle", he thought, trying to bury the bad feeling in his gut.

He was just about to turn and leave when a figure at the end of the long street caught his attention. Judging by the way they walked with difficulty, torso leaned forward almost in pain, he could have easily said it was an old person he was dealing with. He started walking towards them, intending to help in any way he could. The person clearly did not see nor hear him coming. As he was getting closer and closer he could hear pained, laboured breaths which led him to believe they were hurt, so he sped up the pace. As the figure came to view, Arthur's heart started hammering in his chest, recognizing the form of the lanky boy that usually sprinted around the castle.

"Merlin", Arthur tried to speak his friend's name but it only came out as a whisper. He somehow urged his feet to move forward and ran towards the boy who had only now noticed him.

"Merlin!" This time, it was a shout from the bottom of his lungs when he stretched out his hands to catch the collapsing boy.

The blonde man gasped at the sight of his friend's state. He had bite marks on his neck, no doubt from a snake, a long, deep cut along his chest, numerous bruises covering his arms and a small bleeding from his head.