ONLY FOR YOU // Merlin/Merthur Oneshots

the siren's song

<< yeah i have like 15 wips for this collection but i haven't been working on any of them because writer's bock sucks. so if any and all of these are bad, that's why. >>

<< update like years later after the first half of this note: HEY HEY HI I'M BACK HELLO FRIENDS don't mind any strange shifts in writing style :D >>

"Are you sure we should be here? After all, neither of us are immune to her call," Merlin said, stumbling behind Arthur as he tripped over rocks, struggling to keep his balance.

"Quit worrying, Merlin. We'll put in the ear plugs when we find her."

Exploring out on a rocky beach are our two unfortunate souls, King Arthur Pendragon and his servant Merlin, out on a hunt for a dangerous creature known as the siren. This siren in particular had been hunting people along a boulder-y shoreline in an enclosed bay, with cliffs bordering its edges. The siren's song lured people off the fatal cliffs, causing them to plunge down into rough water that crashed into rocks with frothy whitecaps.

"But what if they fall out? We have no way to stop ourselves from being drawn in by her song?" And of course, Merlin wouldn't stop worrying about their safety. Well, mainly Arthur's safety, since Merlin could somewhat take care of himself.

"That won't happen, Merlin," said Arthur with the surety of someone who could control fate. Unfortunately, the king didn't have that ability, and was actually more concerned than he let on. The man who had brought news of the siren to the castle had been traumatized, having watched his friends fling themselves from the cliffs towards the horrid siren. He'd been the only one to survive the incident, for reasons unknown to himself.

"Wouldn't it have been better to let Morgana go? After all, the books said that women aren't affected by sirens that take a feminine appearance," Merlin said, before toppling over on his side after slipping on a patch of algae.

Arthur bent and heaved Merlin back to his feet. "The books could be wrong. I won't let Morgana get injured on a mission that should have been handled by a knight."

"Morgana's better with a sword than you."

"She is not!"

"Yeah, she is. But it doesn't matter right now. You still have the map, right?"

There was a pause as Arthur glared at Merlin before he responded. "I have the map. The rocks where the siren was spotted are just over there."

"So we should put our ear plugs in, right?"

"Yes, we should." Arthur handed Merlin a pair of the ear plugs they'd made from candle wax. He took them and shoved them into his ears, blinking as Arthur said something else. Merlin couldn't understand what Arthur was saying, as the words were highly muffled, proving that the ear plugs were working as planned.

Arthur then nodded and turned away, starting to walk towards the rocks again. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword, but he didn't unsheathe it quite yet. Merlin followed behind, trying to be a little bit quieter in his clumsy movements.

As they moved closer to the rock formation, a low, haunting sound started to float around the bay, reverberating from the cliff walls. Merlin could feel the song in his chest, but he couldn't actually hear it that well. He could feel the magic behind the enchanting words, though, the air starting to shimmer around them as they continued to approach the rocks.

When the two men reached the edge of the rocks, where the waves lapped at the shoreline, they could see a large outcropping of rocks sticking out of the water, fanning out like a sea urchin. On one of the dark spires was the siren, her kelp-green hair fanning out and flowing as though she were in the water. The most eye-catching thing about her, though, was her legs. Or rather, her lack of legs.