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Gaius had been the court physician at Camelot for more years than he cared to remember. He had known Arthur Pendragon, now a few months into his reign as King, since his birth. He knew Arthur extremely well, so he liked to think that he knew when the young King was in love.
He had seen Arthur with various potential suitors before: Princess Elena; Sophia; Lady Vivian (although Arthur had been under the influence of magic in the latter two cases) and especially Gwen. But Gwen was gone now – banished for allegedly having an affair with Lancelot – and so Gaius was hopeful that Arthur would realise what he had worked out long ago.
Arthur’s attentions may have gone from woman to woman over time, but there had been one constant, always there in the background. His name was Merlin, and Gaius knew that Arthur was in love with him. They were soul-mates; inseparable; two sides of the same coin.
The problem was that Arthur and Merlin were both stubborn – infuriatingly so. Gaius could tell them that they were in love until he was blue in the face, but he knew that they’d just laugh at him or ignore what he said completely. No, he couldn’t just tell them. They’d need a little gentle persuasion – and Gaius knew just the trick...
****
Gaius had an expansive inventory of phials filled with various lotions and potions. The one he was looking for was hidden behind a book at the top of his bookcase. In the wrong hands, it could prove deadly.
Gaius had to make sure that he got Merlin and Arthur both at the same time – if only one of them was under the influence of the potion it would be disastrous. Luckily, there was a banquet that evening, so Gaius would hopefully have ample opportunity to slip the potion into their drinks.
When the time of the banquet arrived, Merlin was, as usual, standing behind Arthur, attending to his King. Gaius positioned himself nearby. He distracted Merlin by engaging him in conversation, then poured the potion into the jug of wine the young sorcerer was holding.
Soon enough, Arthur held his chalice out to Merlin for refilling. When Merlin poured Arthur’s drink, Gaius quickly said: “Why don’t you have some wine as well, Merlin?”
Merlin frowned. “I’m on duty, Gaius – I couldn’t possibly enjoy myself.”
“Don’t be such a drama queen, Merlin,” Arthur sighed. “Of course you can have some wine. You’re such a lightweight we’ll be able to use you as the evening’s entertainment within half an hour.”
“We’ll see about that.” Merlin muttered darkly.
“Yes, we will,” Arthur smirked, passing Merlin a spare chalice. Gaius took the jug of wine from Merlin and poured some out for him. Arthur clinked chalices with Merlin. “A toast to your liver.” he grinned.
“No – a toast to your head, that it doesn’t get any bigger.” Merlin parried.
Gaius watched Merlin and Arthur very closely as they drank their wine, a twinkle in his eye.
“Although…I have always been quite fond of your head,” Merlin said quietly, much to Gaius’ – and, evidently, Arthur’s – surprise. “After all, you’ve got a very handsome face.”
“Er…thank you, Merlin…I think…” Arthur replied uncertainly.
Gaius was panicking. Had the potion somehow only affected Merlin? If so, the whole scheme could end in disaster.
He needn’t have worried, though. Arthur suddenly stood up, calling: “Let us dance!”
There was a commotion of people hurrying to finish their meals; scraping their chairs on the floor; talking to each other and assembling to dance.
“But who will you dance with, Sire?” Percival asked Arthur.
“I shall dance with Merlin,” Arthur announced, holding his hand out to Merlin, who took it in astonishment. “And I suggest you go and dance with Gwaine. In fact, that’s an order.”
“Well, I can’t say no to an order from the King.” Percival grinned, going to find Gwaine.
Arthur led Merlin over to the makeshift dance-floor, then nodded at the musicians at the side, who began to play. He took Merlin in his arms and held him close. They began to dance.
If Arthur and Merlin hadn’t been under the influence of the love potion, perhaps they would have noticed that everybody in the room – save for Gwaine and Percival, who were a little preoccupied – was throwing glances at them. But they didn’t notice – they only had eyes for each other.
They hadn’t spoken yet. They’d just danced, pulling each other closer, until their bodies touched, gazing into one another’s eyes. Then the song ended, and Arthur gave Merlin a small smile. “So…”
Merlin smiled back. “So…”
Another song started; this time they talked as well as danced.
“Merlin, I know I don’t exactly make life easy for you,” – Merlin snorted – “but I couldn’t function without you. And I don’t just mean that my armour would go rusty, or my boots wouldn’t get polished, because – let’s face it – you are a terrible servant.”
“Hey!” Merlin complained.
“Well, it’s true,” Arthur said, with one of his blood-boiling smirks. “But that’s not the point. The point is…the point is, Merlin, that I couldn’t live without you in my life, because you’re much more than just a servant to me.”
“Oh yeah? What am I, then?” Merlin asked coyly.
“You, Merlin, are the man I love.”
“That’s good to know,” Merlin replied, leaning in. “Because I love you, too.” And then, before an avid audience, Arthur kissed the man he loved.
****
If people were shocked by the kiss Merlin and Arthur had shared at the banquet, they were astounded by how quickly their relationship developed over the next few weeks. Now it wasn’t only Gaius who realised that they were in love; it was clear for all to see.
Merlin and Arthur had spent the majority of their time together before Gaius had tampered with their wine, so there was no change there. Now, though, they walked around holding hands; whispering sweet nothings to each other and kissing in public. In short, Gaius’ love potion had made them reckless, and rumours were soon circulating around Camelot.
There could be no denying that they had taken their relationship up a notch when Arthur held a banquet in Merlin’s honour. True, it was Merlin’s birthday, but it wasn’t exactly usual practise for a banquet to be held for a servant. He may have been Arthur’s manservant, but it was also highly irregular for him to be seated beside the King at a banquet, and Arthur clearly had eyes only for him.
When everybody had finished eating, Arthur stood up and called for their attention. Everyone watched their King curiously.
“As most of you will know, Merlin here has been a remarkably loyal servant to me. More than that, in fact – he has been my closest friend; my most trustworthy man. My love for him is great,” – Merlin flushed crimson – “and it is because of this that I wish to make him my,” – everyone waited with bated breath – “official advisor.”
There was a low buzz of murmuring, which was silenced when Arthur added: “And if anyone has a problem with that, you can discuss it with me and we can sort out a cell in the dungeons for you.” The murmurs, unsurprisingly, ceased immediately.
“So,” Arthur said, taking Merlin by the hand and indicating that he should stand up. “I present my new official advisor to you.” Merlin smiled proudly, then turned to Arthur, who bestowed a kiss upon him.
Tucked away in the corner of the room, Gaius smiled. Gwaine and Percival, who were, as usual, seated together, watched him suspiciously.
****
Gwaine and Percival agreed to watch Arthur and Merlin very closely over the next few days. When they saw them leaving Arthur’s chambers one afternoon, coated in a sheen of sweat; stumbling about laughing and not caring who saw them, they had seen enough.
They cornered the King and his new advisor – not that they were exactly hard to get to, since they were now kissing, Arthur pressing Merlin against the door to his chambers.
“We need to talk to you,” Percival told them gravely.
Arthur arched an eyebrow. “I’m a little preoccupied at this present moment in time.”
“Yeah, we can see that – and so can half of Camelot!” Gwaine retorted. “That’s the problem.”
“Why is Merlin and I being in love such a ‘problem’?” Arthur asked defiantly. “After all, you can hardly talk…”
“No, we can’t,” Gwaine admitted. “And it wouldn’t be a problem…if we were sure that you actually are in love.”
Merlin frowned. “What do you mean? Of course we’re in love!”
“We’re not so sure you are,” Percival revealed apologetically. “You’ve been acting recklessly since the banquet a few weeks ago. Of course there’s nothing wrong with loving someone of the same gender – we of all people know that, and we’re very grateful to you for giving us the push we needed, Arthur. But you’re the King. I don’t need to remind you that the attention of Camelot is on you. The future of this Kingdom rests upon your shoulders. You will need to make it secure by marrying a woman and having children with her. That’s not to say you and Merlin can’t still be together – arrangements can be made. But, unfortunately, a King cannot take a King. It’s no more legal than magic,” – Merlin jumped slightly, and Arthur looked at him out of the corner of his eye – “And anyway, like we’ve said, we’re not convinced you’re actually in love.”
Arthur suddenly unsheathed his sword, pinning Percival against the wall by pressing the flat of the blade against his neck. Gwaine ran forward and tried desperately to pull the sword away from Percival. “Explain quickly and I won’t hurt him.” Arthur commanded Gwaine dangerously.
“After the banquet a few weeks ago, Gaius had a jar of wine, but he wouldn’t pour any for me after he had given you and Merlin some. And then you danced with Merlin and kissed him and suddenly you’re now in love. And Gaius – Gaius is watching from the side-lines, smiling,” Gwaine said quickly. “We think he put a love potion in your wine.”
Arthur’s eyes widened. “No.” He pulled his sword away from Percival so quickly that Percival slid down the wall, clutching his throat and choking. Gwaine hurried to his side, crouching down and putting his arm around him.
“No,” Arthur repeated. “This cannot be.” He cast a heartbroken look at Merlin, tears filling his eyes.
Merlin was also on the brink of tears. “Then all of this…everything…these last few weeks – they’ve meant nothing.”
“I’m going to kill Gaius!” Arthur exclaimed. “I’ll run my sword through him myself, right now!”
Merlin grabbed his arm to restrain him. “No. No, you won’t. He didn’t mean us any harm, Arthur. He just wanted us to be happy. And we were, weren’t we? We were so happy.”
“Yes, we were,” Arthur agreed, taking Merlin’s hand. “But now we know, we’ve got to find an antidote to the love potion.”
Merlin nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“Let’s go and find Gaius, then,” Arthur said, dropping Merlin’s hand. “I promise I’m not going to kill him.”
Merlin made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, then went to find Gaius with Arthur.
Gwaine watched them leave. “Have we done the right thing?”
Percival kissed the top of Gwaine’s head. “Yes, we have. We both know what it’s like to live a lie.”
“That is very true,” Gwaine replied, getting up and helping Percival to his feet. “Come on – let’s go to the tavern.”
“Sometimes I think you love that tavern more than you love me.” Percival sighed melodramatically.
“That’s impossible – the tavern doesn’t polish my sword for me.” Gwaine replied, with a wink.
****
Gaius was surprised when Arthur and Merlin burst through the door to his chambers, and even more so when Arthur demanded: “Tell us the antidote to the love potion, Gaius.”
The court physician was about to feign ignorance, but the fury in Arthur’s eyes and the distraught look on Merlin’s face soon served to change his mind. He got a heavy volume down from his bookcase; searched through it; then presented a page to them. “This is the antidote – it’s a herb called thorcalon. Crush it into a powder and slip it into a drink and you’ll no longer be under the influence of the potion.”
“Where can this herb be found?” asked Arthur.
“In a forest in the far reaches of Camelot,” the old man revealed. “But beware – the forest is full of bandits. It is dangerous indeed.”
“That’s a risk we’re going to have to take,” Arthur said firmly, leaving Gaius’ chambers with Merlin following close behind. The King found a couple of servants and ordered one to prepare horses for him and Merlin, and the other to get supplies for their journey. “And you, Merlin, can put my armour on.” he told him.
****
Merlin had put Arthur’s armour on for him countless times, but he had never taken longer to do so; his hands were shaking so hard. For once, Arthur didn’t berate him.
“Thank you, Merlin,” Arthur said, once Merlin had finally succeeded in putting the armour on him. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Arthur, please don’t.” Merlin pleaded, as Arthur clasped his shoulder.
“No, I have to say this. I’m heartbroken that what has happened between us during these last few weeks has been because of a potion. You are the greatest man I’ve ever met, and – love potion or not – I am very glad you’re in my life, because I – I respect you.” Arthur told him earnestly, tears welling in his eyes.
Merlin became a sobbing, quivering wreck. Arthur put his arms around him, holding him close and kissing the top of his head. “It’s going to be okay, Merlin. You have my word.”
They stood like that for a while, before Merlin eventually pulled away from Arthur, saying: “Well, we’d better get going.” He struggled to look the King in the eye.
They went to get on their horses, then left in a hurry.
****
It took Merlin and Arthur almost a day to reach the forest. Their journey had been passed in relative silence.
They estimated that they had only a couple of hours of sunlight left, so hurriedly set about searching for some thorcalon.
Half an hour later, Merlin heard Arthur call: “I’ve found it! Come over here!”
Merlin found Arthur holding a clump of thorcalon in his hand. In any other situation the King would have been insufferably triumphant. Now, though, Merlin knew all too well why Arthur looked so defeated.
“Right, let’s do this,” Merlin said, taking the thorcalon from Arthur. He got a pestle and mortar from his saddlebag on his horse and set about crushing the herbs.
When he had finished, Arthur poured some water into two goblets. “Are you ready?” he asked Merlin gently.
“No, but let’s get this over with.” Merlin answered, pouring the powder into the goblets.
Arthur passed a goblet to Merlin and stirred the mixture in his own, whilst Merlin also stirred his. Merlin also quickly muttered an incarnation, his eyes turning gold for just an instant.
Arthur made a toast: “To your health – and to true love.” Then they both took long, heavy draughts of the antidote, downing it in one.
“Well,” Arthur said, once they had finished. “That’s that then.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
Neither of them felt any sense of relief. They were no less heartbroken. Perhaps the antidote hadn’t worked after all.
Before they had any time to contemplate this, though, they heard a twig snapping. Arthur unsheathed his sword and positioned himself in front of Merlin.
Suddenly, from behind a cluster of trees, a group of bandits emerged.
“Wot ‘ave we got ‘ere then?” one of them, a brute of a man, leered.
Arthur advanced with his sword; that was all the invitation they needed. A fight broke out. “Stay back Merlin!” Arthur shouted, panic rising in his voice. Arthur never usually panicked. The first time he had met Merlin, he’d boasted that he’d ‘been trained to kill since birth’. This was very unusual indeed.
“You know me – never one to obey orders!” Merlin called.
Arthur killed one of the bandits; grabbed his sword and threw it to Merlin, who caught it deftly. Not that he needed a sword…
They were outnumbered ten to two now. Arthur was a blur as he cut down the bandits, who came at him from all directions. Merlin was also defeating bandits with his newly acquired sword.
There was one bandit left now, but only Merlin realised this. The bandit stood behind Arthur, and Merlin realised with horror that he was about to stab the King in the back. Unable to get to Arthur in time, he had only one choice. He held out his hand and roared an incarnation, eyes blazing gold as he shook with rage. The bandit dropped dead immediately.
Merlin looked hesitantly at Arthur. The King was staring at him in awe. Merlin could hear his death sentence being declared already.
****
“You just used magic!” Arthur gasped, fairly redundantly.
“Yes, but I only used it to protect you, Arthur.” Merlin told him hastily.
He was shocked by Arthur’s response. “I know you did. You risked the death sentence to save my life.”
“I would willingly lay down my life for you at a word’s notice, Arthur.”
“Yes, you would – there’s no doubting that. Your loyalty is beyond compare,” Arthur replied, then gazed deep into Merlin’s eyes and stroked his cheek. “Thank you Merlin.”
“Y-you’re welcome,” Merlin stammered. “Does this mean you’re not going to have me killed?”
“Of course not!” Arthur exclaimed, as if the very notion of following the law on magic was utterly ridiculous. “Why on earth would I do that? I’d be breaking my own heart.”
“So you feel the same too?” Merlin asked. “The same as when we were under the influence of the love potion, I mean?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes, I do. I still love you.”
“I love you too, but,” – Merlin frowned – “what if this means the antidote didn’t work?”
“I sincerely hope it doesn’t.”
“We’ll have to gather some more thorcalon and go to Gaius.” Merlin decided. So they did just that.
****
“It would be highly irregular for the antidote not to work,” Gaius told them, once they were in his chambers the following day.
“But what if the fight with the bandits had an impact on it?” Merlin asked.
Gaius shook his head. “No, something as powerful as thorcalon will work immediately, regardless of the circumstances.”
“Then what if I messed the incarnation up?” Merlin continued.
Gaius shot him a warning look, but Arthur raised his hand reassuringly. “It’s okay, Gaius – I know that Merlin’s a sorcerer. Actually, I’ve known for a while – subtlety isn’t exactly his strong point,” – Merlin snorted – “From what I’ve seen of Merlin’s magic, I would be foolish to think of all magic is evil. Perhaps it is time to change the law – in more than one area.”
Gaius smiled. “Yes, I think perhaps it is. Merlin, a sorcerer as powerful as you would not make a mistake on such a simple incarnation. I have complete confidence in your abilities. There can be only one explanation for this.”
“And that is?” Merlin demanded.
“You are genuinely in love with one another, without the influence of the love potion,” Gaius revealed, beaming at them somewhat triumphantly. “After all, I only put it in your wine so that your inhibitions would be lowered and you would realise how you feel for one another.”
“So Merlin and I are truly in love?” asked Arthur.
“Yes, you are.”
“Right. I have to go and sort something out – important state matters,” Arthur declared, leaving in a hurry and calling behind him: “Stay here Merlin!”
Merlin frowned at Gaius. “What is he doing?”
“Have a little patience,” Gaius told him, still beaming. “All shall be revealed soon, I’m sure.”
****
Two hours later, Arthur called Merlin; Gaius; his Knights and a large number of his court into the throne room. When they all stood before him in the room, he got up from his throne and addressed them. “I have gathered you here today to tell you that times are changing here in Camelot. Magic is not evil, and those who practice it are not the enemy. I have witnessed this first hand. Merlin, my trusted advisor, has saved my life many times with magic. Without him and his magic Camelot would be without a King.”
Everyone was silent, stunned; respectful of their monarch or both.
Arthur continued: “Merlin is a very important figure in my life for another reason too. He is the man I love; the holder of my heart; my soul-mate. I couldn’t live without him, and I’m not going to.”
Merlin was shocked, but he took the hand Arthur offered him and stood beside his King.
“I realise that, as your King, I am expected to marry and produce heirs in order to secure the future of Camelot,” Arthur went on. “And, if Merlin will have me, I shall marry. With him by my side, Camelot will be more secure than it’s ever been – and I will be happier than I’ve ever been before. As for heirs, there are far too many orphans in Camelot. In time, if Merlin agrees, I hope to adopt heirs. After all, who better to rule Camelot than one of its own?”
Gwaine cheered, and Arthur smiled.
“So now there remains only one thing for me to say,” Arthur said, obviously nervous now. He faced Merlin, sweat beading upon his brow. Then he took a deep breath and got down on one knee, taking his mother’s ring from his finger. “Merlin, will you do me the honour of being my husband and ruling Camelot alongside me as my King?”
Merlin gasped, then a broad smile spread across his face. “Of course I will, you absolute dollophead!”
Arthur grinned as he slid the ring on Merlin’s finger, then stood up with him, taking him in his arms. “I love you, Merlin.”
“I love you, too,” Merlin grinned.
In front of everyone, Merlin and Arthur kissed. This time when Gwaine cheered, everyone else joined in. The future of Camelot not only looked secure – it looked bright. The golden age was finally upon them.