The One Where All The Knights Love Fem!Merlin

Uther Does Not Ship

"Oh come on, don't be mad, Arthur," Merlin said as she rode on her brown mare beside Arthur.

"At you? Never. In general? Yes. We spent the whole day hunting, but not catching anything, because every time we approached something, you sneezed and frightened it away."

"Not the last time," Merlin protested. 

"No, the last time you fell into a stream. No one can accuse you of being predictable, Merlin."

"I think I have a co- Achoo!- I think I have a cold."

A high pitched scream sounded in the distance.

"What was that?" Arthur asked.

Merlin looked up towards the sky, squinting. "I think it was a bird." The scream sounded again. "Oh, that? That was a woman. Screaming."

Arthur jumped off his horse, grabbed his sword, and ran towards the source of the noise.

"Why couldn't it just be a bird," Merlin muttered as she climbed off of her horse. "Never just a bird."

Arthur knelt partly behind a tree, over-looking a village. There was a trail of people walking towards a pyre where an old woman was tied up.

"We have to help," Merlin said.

"I know."

They ran down the hill to the people who were gathered in a circle around the pyre. The leader of the village held up a flaming torch and-

"Let the woman go." Arthur walked towards the group, staring directly at the leader. Merlin was close behind him.

"This woman has been sentenced to death," the man said coldly. "This does not concern you."

"I am Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. Your village is in my lands."

"Her sorcery has brought sickness and suffering to this village."

Arthur glanced at the woman, who hung her head in sadness. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Did she receive a fair trial?"

"Your father would have shown her no mercy."

"I am not my father. Cut her down."

"I will not endanger the lives of those that live here." The man moved the torch towards the wood, but Arthur stopped him with his sword.

"I said, cut her down."

-

Later, far away from the village, Merlin felt the old woman's forehead to see if she had a temperature. The sun had barely set and Arthur had just returned with some firewood.

"Is there any more we can do for her?"

"She won't make it through the night."

"Make her as comfortable as possible."

The woman reached out a hand and grasped Arthur's wrist with what little strength she had. "Thank you," she rasped. 

"You should try and get some rest," Arthur told her gently.

"My time has come. When you have lived as long as I... You no longer fear the journey to the next world. A gift for you." The woman held up her leather pouch. "Show it kindness and compassion. Those are the qualities of a true king. Open it."

Arthur opened the pouch and pulled out a horn that was engraved with silver. "It's beautiful."

"It has the power... To summon the spirits of the dead." With her final words, the woman's breath became quicker and more labored, until it stopped all together.