So we meet again... (a merthur au)

A New Forever

The morning came none too soon, the light casting through the lace curtains directly onto his closed eyelids, waking him up. Arthur groaned, stretching in bed before stepping over to the window and looking down the hill at the expanse of farmland and the field of blue forget-me-nots. His heart swirled in his chest, and he felt himself smile upon noticing Emrys already out drudging through what looked like an onion patch with Alice.

He changed clothes and rolled up his sleeves, Leon stopping him with a laugh in the kitchen, "And where do you think you're going, young man?"

Arthur blinked, suddenly reminded of admonishing from his school days, and unsure how to answer, "Was going to go help Emrys... I guess?"

Leon smiled, "Have breakfast first, I had put on a kettle. He would be very upset to find out that you didn't eat before you tried to work outside. No matter the weather, the sun is brutal for farm work."

Arthur nodded, glancing out the window to Emrys, "A quick breakfast..." his voice drifted thoughtfully, "Sure. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Gladly," he insisted, his eyes watching Emrys out the window as the boy smiled and chatted with Alice. "Emrys is a very sweet kid. I'm sure you know that. He always spoke to our family through letters, to stay informed about the land and all of us. I used to read his letters as a boy, you know-- the ones he had sent to my mother and grandfather."

Leon got a wispy tone to his voice, tapping his finger thoughtfully on the table, "My grandfather was the first to own the land, then my mother died quite young and the legacy was passed on to me. It's such an odd concept, I see Emrys the exactly same way my grandfather had-- although with shorter hair, and no facial hair to boot. He seems to be a lot less stiff over the years, a sign of the times I suppose. People, in general, were quite tactful back then."

The kettle whistled and Leon spoke as he stood, then readied the tea, he set a plate of food in front of Arthur, "Emrys used to be very reserved in his early letters. Closed off... formal, you know? But he seemed to get lonely if I were to wager a guess. He wrote more often-- once or twice a week, in fact-- and when my mother died... he was very kind in his condolences.

"He opened up more about himself and his experiences. It was, admittedly, not much of a shock to find out he was an immortal wizard" he laughed, wiggling his fingers in a spooky gesture, pouring a mug of tea for both of them. "Since he was corresponding for so long, though, he would have been long dead by then if he wasn't. I was in my twenties when my mother passed, and with so many sisters it was up to me to work the farm with my father. We had a few vagrant workers over the years, but none really stuck around more than a couple of years. Eventually, when our daughter passed... we couldn't bear to have another child, she had been so young... The days pass so quickly and also so slowly here, it's hard to explain to a city person like you."

"No, I understand." Arthur insisted, taking another bite of his food, "My vacation excursions to the lake house my parents owned had a very similar sentiment attached to them."

"Well, anyway, he really seems to enjoy your company. He wrote to us about you once or twice before he came here, we insisted we didn't need him just yet but I suppose he needed the time away." Leon shrugged, sliding the mug over to Arthur who readily gulped it down.

"More like he needed away from me for a while." Arthur half shrugged, digging at his food, "Not that I blame him, really. I needed the time too, I think. It was all a lot to take in."

"Finding out you're King Arthur and you used to date an immortal-wizard-guy is a pretty big deal," Leon laughed.

"It seems you know more about all this than I thought you did." Arthur laughed awkwardly to himself, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and nearing the end of his meal. "Not that I mind. I'm sure it makes things easier on Emrys to not hide it from you."