A Couple of Merlin Short Stories

Demon

Gwen slowly opened her eyes, breathing quietly. Had she really dared to do this? What would it cost? Was it worth it? But most importantly, would it even work?

She looked around herself and sighed. Nothing was different. She rose quickly and put out her candles moving toward her bed.

   "Giving up already?" She spun with a shriek at the deep male voice behind her. A figure hidden in the shadowy corner matched her gaze with its unnatural sparkling eyes. Gwen felt a draft of cold air from the window and, feigning calm, went to close the window. Turning back around she murmured,

   "Mind the light?"

   "Not at all." Her room was immediately illuminated once more as her candles and her fire began burning once more. She spared them a glance before so using fully on her visitor.

   "Do you know why I called?"

   "I have an idea. I do hope you realize my services will cost. I wonder if you're willing to pay my price." Gwen bit her lip before lowering her eyes from the intensity of the others.

   "I'll give you me, gladly."

   "Not enough." She looked up sharply at the smirking face.

   "Throw in a kid or something. Make it interesting for me."

   "I can't just offer you, someone, it's not right! I can only offer myself!"

   "Fine." And the being started to fade.

   "I can offer my child. My firstborn, whenever he or she is born." A sharp grin.

   "Alright. I'll even give them a few years to actually live." Gwen swallowed her fear and guilt before once again making eye contact and nodding.

A pale hand reached out, surprisingly human.

   "Call me Emrys."

And Gwen shook it.

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   "Merlin! C'mon, we haven't got all day!" Arthur yelled at his servant.

   "Yes sir," the pale man muttered. Despite his embarrassment at having to lower himself to enter the court, Merlin had enjoyed his years as the kings first line of protection. Surprisingly his best friend was none other than his prey, Guinevere (now newly known as 'Pendragon').

It never ceased to astonish him how much trouble the human managed to get into. Nor the complete obliviousness he and his comrades had to Merlin's true nature. Humans really were idiots.

Merlin smiled at the thought and quickly caught up with his king as they approached the courtyard to receive their greatest enemy; the illustrious and intriguing Morgana Pendragon. Even if he'd not made the deal with Gwen, the intrigue of these tiny people's story was enough to have, perhaps, drawn him closer to the world of humans than was strictly necessary. What can one say? Merlin was attracted to drama and Camelot was rife with it.

Standing himself in his proper place, Merlin watched calmly as a hoard of dark, fur-clad men and women made their way steadily in, filling all available space. He watched Arthur straighten slightly, tensing, and a little knot of worry for his human came over Merlin.

Truly Morgana was not a match for his power, but he didn't want to end everything too quickly. Where would be the fun in that?

   "My lord Arthur. How have the past years dealt with you?" Morgana smirked, reminiscent of when she truly cared for the young king. Now her smile was filled with coldness and danger.

   "Well enough Morgana. You?" Arthur replied tersely. Though he wanted to welcome her back as a friend he had grown far less naive in his belief's concerning the goodness in men (and the lack thereof). Merlin heard his king's wary tone and silently glowed with approval.

   "Well enough." She replied. Arthur nodded and gestured for the witch to follow him as he and Gwen entered the castle arm in arm. Merlin bowed his head as the two passed before meeting the gaze of the witch head on. She appraised him with icy green eyes and Merlin cold practically feel her curiosity. As she passed Merlin took his place at the back of the entourage, a faithful and practiced manservant to the last.

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Merlin stood next to his king and his prey overlooking the grey field that would soon turn red. Every strategy they had used had failed. Every compromise non-negotiable. Morgana would not back down, break, or even bend. So, a war was upon them.

Gwen side eyed the pale man beside her and her husband. He had been invaluable as a comrade and guardian, but she still questioned the price. Was it really worth two souls? She didn't mind giving her own. She would do so again in a heartbeat if it meant Arthur's, and consequently Camelot's, safety.

Still, it was hard to remember the evil that lay behind the azure eyes that sparkled with humor so often.

'Merlin' turned toward her slightly and a small smile grew on his face ( if he even was a he). She gestured with her head before retreating back to her tent. Merlin entered moments later.

   "Yes?"

   "Per the terms of our agreement you have to follow any direct order I give you?" Merlin narrowed his eyes, face turning serious.

   "Yes, any direct order. I am here to serve after all."

   "Good. Then I, Guinevere Pendragon, do command thee, the demon Emrys who lives as Merlin, to kill Morgana Pendragon and win the war for Camelot before this battle is done." Gwen said as steadily as she could. Merlin raised an eyebrow, incredulous. A second later he was next to her and she felt the cold radiate from his body.

   "Very well my lady." He whispered softly. She blinked and the man was gone.

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Merlin watched as the two armies lined up facing each other on the field. He smiled, glad he was going to be able to break the shell of humanity he masqueraded as. With a hiss of air, Merlin disappeared from his scraggly cliff and Emrys appeared in the middle of the field.

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   "You're done, Morgana. Say goodnight." And Emrys' eyes were gold.

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Tah-Dah. *nervous laughter* I'm sorry it's been so long. Anyway, I recognize this has supernatural and black butler vibes but I swear I was just listening to a song and the thought hit me, "what if Merlin was a demon who got summoned to protect Camelot?", so voila.

Have a good night, and happy late Halloween.

Sereh

Merlin is property of the BBC