Merlin Oneshots

Wyverns, a Warlock, and a Winner

Arthur sat awake in his chambers for yet another restless night.  It had been 3 months since Morgana's disappearance and the laughter that once existed in the halls of Camelot seemed to vanish with her.  Arthur and Merlin lacked their traditional banter, both running ragged on each and every search mission.  The travels took their toll and the menial accommodations forced the two to live together for weeks on end.  The bandit attacks were exhausting and once the search party was ambushed by foreign knights, unbeknownst to the rest of the party, Merlin had to defeat them.  Even some of the other knights were at their wits end, Lancelot was on the verge of killing Gwaine and Leon would gladly help him.  Truth is, is that Arthur could no longer sleep without Merlin in the room, and Merlin wasn't in the room.  The restless thoughts of what was happening to Morgana haunted Arthur's sleep and he swore he could hear her screams, even though she was obviously still missing.

Merlin eventually returned to Arthur's chambers and crawled into his bed.  Truth is, Merlin could no longer sleep without Arthur in the room, and Arthur wasn't in Merlin's chambers.  The two had grown closer than allowed and neither truly cared what rumors circulated, even Uther had given up convincing Arthur to kick Merlin out after Gaius told him that Arthur nor Merlin could sleep without the other.  Besides, they weren't a couple and it was platonic, so neither father figure bothered fighting it.

The next day Arthur and Merlin awoke in Arthur's chambers, ignoring the not-platonic embrace Arthur was giving Merlin while they slept.  The knights knew of their closeness while they slept, and to be fair, it was literally the only time they could get Merlin to stay asleep, otherwise he would keep watch from dusk to dawn for nights on end, which just panicked Arthur more than he was.  So as long as Merlin slept near or embraced by Arthur, they could care less.

"Arthur."  Merlin said groggily while turning to face Arthur, "We have to wake up for the day.  You father mentioned a trip to a neighboring kingdom the day after tomorrow, I need to help prepare for the trip."

A very drowsy Arthur grunted in acknowledgement of the command, but swiftly pulled Merlin closer to him, "Please, just a few more minutes."

Merlin could not deny the request and rolled back over and lingered in Arthur's embrace, soaking up the emotions that plagued him and Arthur as best he could.  Although Merlin would never admit it, he loved the hidden embraces and lingering touches, it kept him grounded to reality and helped him control one aspect of his life.

Warning bells began to ring, startling both Merlin and Arthur awake and each got dressed in their day clothes and Merlin helped Arthur into his armor.  Both hustled to the council chambers where Uther sat at the head of the table.

"Sorcerers have been spotted entering the main gates.  Arthur, go handle them."  Arthur nodded at the command before turning abruptly only to be blocked by a strange figure.

Merlin felt something reaching out to him, trying to shut him down as fast as it could.  It felt familiar but knivving and Merlin stood there trying to get the invading magic out of his system.  Merlin was currently distracted by the man standing in front of a startled Arthur, dressed in black.  The man was pale and have hair as black as his armor, what stood out where his eyes, an ocean blue that swallowed the soul.  Arthur was stepping back, drawing his sword, subconsciously walking back towards Merlin, he couldn't let harm of any kind come to Merlin.

The stranger stared daggers at the King before four other men clad in the same pitch black armor streamed through the door.  Without hesitation all five men shouted the same spell, "Swefe!"  And the world went black for everyone in the room.

The world was blurred and slurred when Arthur awoke to shouts and a frantic Gaius.  The man who was standing behind him was gone.  Merlin was gone, but Arthur was left alive.  Uther was left alive.  Why would they take Merlin, he was a servant close to the Crown Prince, but if they wanted either royal's life they could have taken it.  As Arthur looked around the room he noticed a few other nobles had vanished, but all were minor lords of outlying lands, not of any importance other than territory on the outskirts of the kingdom.