Who Would Ever Want to be King

The Boy King

"Alright," Arthur said, putting down the broom, "I think we're done." Kay did a huge sigh of relief as they both looked around the newly fixed castle, cleaned and even remodeled in some places.

"Finally. I still think you should've used servants to do this." he said.

"Well, I thought it would be more fulfilling if I did it." Arthur said. Kay understood what he meant, but still thought it took too long.

"Still think the Sorcerer should've helped us," Kay muttered, "Betcha all he needs is to snap and boom, job done." The mention of Merlin annoyed Arthur a bit.

"We can't depend on him all the time." Arthur said. It's already been three months since he was crowned king and after proving himself to other kings and nobles too many times, he finally accommodated himself to his father's old castle. To make things better, Kay asked him to let him help out because he was "gonna fail at something". Of course, Arthur gladly said yes. His feelings about being king were mixed, but he reluctantly accepted it. His feelings towards Merlin, however, were more complicated. Still, he didn't want it to distract him too much. "Hey, Arthur," Kay then asked, "So...did the Sorcerer teach you magic?" Arthur gave him a confused look.

"No." he said flatly, "Something about how magic takes a lot of mental strength and that I could focus on other things."

"Oh, so what did he teach you?" his brother said, disappointed.

"Eh, you know, typical stuff." Arthur replied, "Sword Fighting, diplomacy, some astronomy, science, history well future history, social things I guess, I dunno, he made me watch a lot of documentaries. Kay was dumbfounded before shaking it off.

"So, nothing magical?" he asked.

"You know," Arthur rambled, "That's funny. When I was learning science, I thought that it was a whole 'magic is just science you don't understand', especially when it came to alchemy. But, apparently it's...not that and magic is different." Kay still bore a disappointed look on his face. "Apparently, to get magic, you must be aware that the world is fluid and new, that everything wants to be something else, and if you understand the secret of change and it's tension, you have magic." Arthur explained. Kay nodded with an "ah."

"Merlin's different, though, he was blessed with magic."

"Ok, what of the Sorcerers home, you've been there, right?" Kay asked. Arthur said yes and Kay asked him where it was. The young king gave it thought.

"I...don't know, actually. He always just teleported me there. Hmm, now that I think about it, I don't even know if it's anywhere nearby, let alone Britain." Suddenly, Merlin appeared out of nowhere.

"Wow, what a nice place. Loved how you cleaned it up." he said, looking around.

"Thanks," Arthur said, "Took a while, but we're done." Merlin praised him for working so hard. He then asked Arthur if he wanted to go out and check the villages again. "Yeah, of course." Arthur said and soon after, the three headed out with their horses to the British countryside.

As they were getting further and further away, Arthur kept glancing back at the castle. He couldn't help but smile. Though his feelings about being king were still complicated, he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited. He was the king of the Britons, now. He'd say anything, and the people would obey. And the battle he'd fight in, it scared Arthur a bit, but Merlin by his side, it gave him a strange confidence. He was there to fight for his kingdom and to continue his father's business. To uphold his legacy and be the king King Uther wanted him to be. Arthur honestly found it funny in a way. Finally, he was going to become the hero he always wanted to be as a kid.