Chapter Text
“-rthur? Arthur?”
“Loud,” the prince grumbled, scrunching his eyes shut as he allowed himself to be sat up by a very concerned Merlin, who was now checking him over for injuries. He finally opened his eyes and could see the world was exactly as it should be. Just like his breathing, everything was as it was before the witch had spoken.
“Arthur, what happened?”
Nothing seemed different, so surely he had been right. The so-called ‘curse’ really was just the last dying words of a mad sorcerer. “It was nothing, Merlin. I may have collapsed for a few seconds there but I’m fine now. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“A few seco- Arthur you were out cold for at least a full minute, and that’s once I got here! I was seconds away from calling Gaius!” That’s when he saw it. Right above Merlin’s left shoulder, five simple letters, seeming to float in mid-air.
TRUTH
Before promptly vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
Arthur’s eyes hadn’t moved off where the word had been, as his mind raced to understand what was happening to him. It is time you see the truth, Arthur Pendragon. And with my death, it shall begin. Is this what the witch had meant? Would he now see ‘TRUTH’ spelled out for him wherever he was? It didn’t make sense. What did it mean? Why did it disappear so quickly? And why did it only show up once Merlin had started speaking?
Merlin studied the prince, before turning to check over his shoulder and seeing nothing there. “Arthur, did you even hear a word I said? What are you looking at?”
Merlin’s words snapped Arthur out of his trance-like state, and he turned to the younger man with a burning question on his mind. “Is she dead?”
“The witch?” Arthur nodded in reply. “Yes, Sire. She’s dead.”
TRUTH
There it was again, directly above Merlin’s left shoulder, only for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving no trace behind. Once again Arthur found his eyes stuck to where the word had been.
“Arthur, are you sure nothing happened?”
“Are you sure the witch is dead?”
“Yes sire, nothing can save her now. She’s gone.”
TRUTH
There it was again. Arthur was starting to get sick of this already. He had no idea what was happening to him.
“My father didn’t think to ask her any questions about what she said? What she did?” Slowly, Merlin helped Arthur up from the ground and moved them across to the table, where he sat Arthur down. Merlin sat down next to him and looked at him with worry once more.
“Arthur, even if she did do something, any enchantment should have been lifted the moment she died. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about, sire.” Arthur let his eyes dance over to Merlin’s shoulder, and sure enough there it was: TRUTH. Spelled out in all it’s glory.
Arthur trusted Merlin with his life, he always had. So trusting him now was easy. Besides, he was very unsure as to whether the curse showed if someone was being truthful or if it was all in his head. But either way, there was no way he could let anyone know. Magic being found in Camelot was one thing, but a cursed prince? Or dare he say a mad prince? Those were the makings of a vulnerable kingdom. No, this was something he had to figure out on his own. No matter how long it took. It would not do to show vulnerability.
That, his father had taught him from a very young age.
“Very well, Merlin, you’ve put my mind at ease.”
“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head sire?” Merlin said with a smirk. “That almost seemed… nice. You usually never listen to what I have to say.” Arthur threw up his walls with a smile as those fateful five letters shone over Merlin’s shoulder once more.
“Well then Merlin, while you’re sitting there all pleased with yourself, instead of just doing nothing - as usual - you can go to the kitchens and fetch me my lunch.”
“Now?”
“Yes Merlin, now.”
“But it’s way too early! The cook will have my head!”
“I’m not asking, Merlin.”
With a huff, Merlin stood, and made his way to the door, stopping at the exit to turn and face the prince. “You know you’re an ass, right?”
“Whatever you say, Merlin,” Arthur grinned as his manservant finally left the room, the space above his shoulder as empty as ever. As soon as the door closed, he couldn’t help the worry that filled his mind. What if he truly was going mad?
0=[]======>
Merlin managed to cancel almost all of Arthur’s plans, insisting that he needed rest after the events of the morning, and with Gaius’ help had succeeded in convincing Uther to allow Leon to lead the afternoon’s training session with the knights. The only thing he had not been able to remove from Arthur’s schedule was dinner with the king, which Morgana had already refused to attend, just as she did the few days after every sorcerer’s execution.
Arthur had been more than happy to spend the day in his chambers, where he knew no one would speak to him. All he had to do was give Merlin a mountain of chores in different parts of the castle, and he was set for a day with no interruptions. But even though he had had all day to think, he was no closer to understanding what had happened to him.
Why was it that only sometimes when Merlin spoke, the word TRUTH appeared over his shoulder? Was he hallucinating, or had the witch really managed to curse him with her dying breath?
Arthur hoped he would have had it figured out by the time he had to interact with anyone else, but as fate would have it the hours had slipped through his fingers and he now found himself at the dinner table by his father’s side. Silently he pushed his meal around his plate.
So far dinner had been a dreary event. His father had spent ages monologuing about the patrols and grain reports and everything else the prince had missed in that morning’s council meeting. Arthur fell half asleep as a result of the king’s words, focusing deeply instead on the plate in front of him. It was hard enough to hide what he saw when he was around Merlin, let alone trying to hide it from the man who had known him his whole life. If anyone could see that something was wrong with him, it would surely be his own father. Which could easily lead to rumours about Arthur’s health and possibly invasion due to appearing vulnerable. No, his father could never find out. But Uther did not find Arthur’s silence pleasant, especially as he brought up the events of that morning.
“Arthur,” he said, speaking directly to his son for the first time that night. Arthur gave no move to look at Uther, only grunting in response. “Arthur, look at me. Gaius tells me you were unwell today. That you collapsed. Is this true?”
For the first time that night, Arthur lifted his gaze, praying to all the gods out there that nothing would be out of the ordinary. He almost sighed in relief as the air above his father’s shoulder remained empty.
“Yes, father.”
“And is this also why you left the execution this morning without my dismissal?”
“Yes, father.”
“And are you feeling any better now?”
“Yes, father. I’m feeling much better now,” the young prince lied.
“That’s good to hear. I must say, Arthur, you had me worried.” Arthur’s heart skipped a beat as a single word appeared over his father’s shoulder, just as had happened with Merlin this morning. Only this time, three instead of five.
LIE. For a few seconds it hung there, before disappearing once more, and Arthur struggled to keep his emotions in check. There was no way that could have been a lie, right? Uther was his father, of course he cared! “You are my only child, my sole heir. I don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you.”
Arthur paled as those three letters appeared with everything Uther had said. He felt sick to his stomach. Surely this had to be the witch’s plan, right? To get him to turn against his father, leaving a weakened kingdom with a broken monarchy? This couldn’t be real. It had to all be manipulation, and he couldn't let her win.
“I fear I did not get as much rest as I needed, my lord, I feel quite exhausted. If I may retire for the night?”
Uther gave a nod in response, and Arthur turned, speeding towards his chambers with Merlin close behind.
“I need you to lie to me.”
“I- what?”
He let out a short huff of annoyance because he knew he sounded ridiculous but he needed to know for sure. “I need you to tell me a lie.”
“..Why? Is this about this morning? Did something happen you aren’t telling me about?” Merlin moved closer to Arthur, worry dawning on his face yet again. “Do you want me to get Gaius?”
“No. No its, well,” Arthur racked his brain, trying to think up an excuse. Something that Merlin would believe, something he could easily get someone to cover for. “Gwaine.”
“What?”
“Gwaine and I have a bet,” when Merlin’s confusion did not disappear, Arthur continued. “He thinks he can figure out how to tell if you’re lying within a week. I told him I could find it out within three days. That... may have been two days ago…”
Merlin couldn’t stop the grin that crept onto his face before he started to laugh. “I don’t see why I should help you Sire, you should know better than to gamble against Gwaine.”
TRUTH
“Yes, Merlin, I know. I said a lie, not just the truth.”
“Fine, Arthur,” Merlin finally said with a laugh. “But just know that Gwaine will get a lie too.”
TRUTH
“Fine, Merlin, now please, would you just get on with it.” As Merlin thought of his lie, Arthur knew this was it. Merlin would lie, it would say TRUTH, and he would know that the curse was designed to tear him and his father apart. Merlin would lie, it would say TRUTH, and Arthur would know that no matter what his gut was telling him, he was not actually seeing whether people were being honest or whether they were lying.
It all had to be lies.
There was no other explanation. Those things his father had said, they had to be the truth. Once Merlin said his lie, and the curse said TRUTH, Arthur would know that his father did care. That his father was worried. That he was in fact his father’s only chi-
“I am a woman.”
Arthur felt his heart sink to his stomach. There it was. Clear as day.
LIE