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If one asks Escanor what life was like with Merlin after Arthur became king of Britannia, he often answers with one word: compromise.
That is exactly what it is like: a series of neverending compromises about what they will do, where they will live, what they will eat for dinner. Some of them are easy, like what color rug to get (blue, for his eyes), while others are much harder.
There are two major compromises that mark the first year Merlin and Escanor began their new lives together. The first is regarding where they live. Escanor had enough money now between being paid by Merlin for his escort to Vaizel, in addition to the gifts given by Arthur for his role in delivering Britannia from the demons. His dream of finding a cabin somewhere secluded to live his life in peace and quiet seemed to finally be on the horizon, with only one problem.
“You want to leave?” Merlin exclaims three weeks after Arthur’s coronation. “Guests are pouring into Camelot, Arthur is still setting up his court, the city is not secure yet, and you want to leave? Just like that?”
Escanor presses his lips together and regards her over their breakfast. “We need to start looking towards the future is all,” he replies evenly. “Arthur has been very generous and gracious, and I’m grateful for that. But we are living in a castle, with no privacy! There are people everywhere, all hours of the day and night. And I’d like to… well, I think it’s important for us to…” He clears his throat as he dabs at the nonexistent crumbs on his chin with his napkin. “Well we haven’t exactly had much time for us, now have we?”
Merlin smiles. “I suppose not. But you must understand I can’t leave the boy now. He’ll be swallowed by the wolves! And Liones will be no help since Margaret is busy with her own house in shambles.” She sighs. “I’ll admit that living in the castle is not ideal. If I find us a place in the city, will you put off this idea of moving? Just for a little while!” she hurries on when he begins to protest. “Just until his rule is secure. A month, tops.”
Merlin makes good on her promise to find them a place of their own. The house is larger than any he had seen before, and certainly larger than they need all while within shouting distance of the castle, but it has plumbing so he does not protest too much. Arthur had pressed him to take on the role of Interim Great Holy Knight until a suitable and permanent replacement could be found. Escanor spends his days reorganizing the army as best as his studies had taught him, guiding recruits in their wielding of magic and working with the Grand Masters of the other Britannian kingdoms and giving private lessons in fighting and swordsmanship to the king. It is good work and honest work and he is paid well, so again he does not complain.
Although Merlin does make it difficult sometimes. For starters, her magical items are everywhere. He swears not a day goes by when he’s not tripping over rat intestines or setting his hair on fire with what he thought was soap but was actually an experiment with sulphur. Her books, her papers, her things fill their house until it is cluttered to the brim. It is a fairly frequent argument that they take with good humor (and some pleasant making up afterward) but the problem grows steadily.
To be fair, Escanor has his share of annoying behaviors. For one thing, he is simply big, and while he blames Merlin for leaving her things around, she will remind him if he would simply be more careful and look where he was swinging his broad body fewer things would be toppled. She teases him for his very particular tastes in clothing and food, which Escanor takes exception to while secretly admitting to himself that maybe he is a bit too set in his ways. And while he would not consider himself grouchy, he simply does not share Merlin’s delight in discovering new things and new recipes and trying new dances and discussing new laws. But still, he does not complain.
At least, not for the first year. The holidays come and go and soon the spring arrives. Camelot is preparing a great festival to celebrate Arthur’s anniversary as king when Escanor broaches the subject again.
“You want to leave?” Merlin exclaims three weeks before the celebrations. “Guests are pouring into Camelot, Arthur is finally settled in his court, you’re doing marvelous work with the knights, and yet you want to leave? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” he mutters over their dinner. “You said the same thing a year ago.”
She sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly. “Yes, I know. It has been your dream to move somewhere quieter, hasn’t it?”
“With you,” Escanor says. He reaches over the table and takes her hand, running his thumb against her skin. “Wouldn’t it be nice to be just us, finally? Enjoying time together? I know I was raised in this sort of environment but it… it just doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t fit me. Do you understand?”
Merlin offers him a smile. “Yes. I know. Arthur still needs me though. I’m still head ambassador and I can’t simply leave his council. If we found a home outside the city, would that suit us both? Would you be all right if I spent time here as well as with you?”
“I think that is a good compromise,” he replies. “I know you could not leave your work. And I would never expect you to. I am confident one of the generals can take over as Grand Master, and I think I’ll rather enjoy country life.” Escanor quickly pulls her hand to his lips to press a kiss to her fingertips. “Besides, we need a bigger place if you’re going to continue to bring home your oddities, or else we’ll need to start getting rid of some things.”
She snorts and gives his mustache a playful tug. “I’ll start with you if you’re not careful.”
Merlin does make good on her promise, although it is another six months before a new Grand Master is named and trained and Merlin’s duties as an ambassador are properly delegated so she is not wedded to the court and for them to find a home that suits them both. Merlin insists they need three bedrooms (“In case we argue,” she had told him cheekily, to which he had replied, “Best get four bedrooms then”) and she must have a garden of her own design. Escanor simply wants space, trees and grass and mountains and the city something very far off on the horizon.
The perfect land is found and with a bit of help from Merlin’s magic, the home is completed in no time. Escanor bids farewell to the knights and Merlin takes a month’s leave for them to properly move in, which they do with as few clothes as possible for the first week or so. During the days Merlin works on her garden or reads while Escanor gets wood or hunts for game, and at night he cooks their dinner (something Merlin had never taken a like to doing) before they curl around one another to watch the stars or sit in front of the fire, talking and joking or simply being, together.
Life seems impossibly wonderful, their lives falling into sync as if they had been doing this for years. Yet just a week before she is due back, Merlin receives a message that one of her students has found some unusual artifacts. “They aren’t far, I’ll be back in two days,” she says as she packs a small bag. “You will make do, won’t you?”
Escanor pouts just a bit as he leans against the (extra-wide) door jamb. “I guess this will be good practice for when you go back to Camelot.”
Merlin gives him a sweet kiss, which turns bittersweet when he presses her tightly against him. “Behave yourself,” she laughs, and he watches as she blinks out of sight.
He does enjoy the quiet while she’s gone, using the time to be lazy the first night and go hiking the next day. But the second dinner without Merlin starts to feel lonely, so when he goes to bed that night he feels a stir of excitement that she will be home the next day.
And it is the next day when the second great compromise begins. Escanor wakes with a twitch of his mustache, something leaving little licks on his face. He smiles, his eyes still closed, and shifts under the covers. “Good morning, my love,” he says, enjoying the kisses she plants on his face.
Merlin does not answer, so he opens his eyes, ready to reward her for her coyness. Instead, he comes face-to-face with a little lizard the color of turquoise, who licks him right on the tip of his nose.
“What the hell?” he screeches, sitting straight up in bed. Startled, the lizard lets go a puff of fire, sending embers straight into his mustache.
With a crash from the bed and a string of curses that would surely curdle milk, Escanor half-falls, half-scrambles from the bed, swatting his face and pitching forward to the basin of water. A few quick splashes water quickly put out the spark before it gets going. He swings around with a growl, ready to find the vermin and send it back to its maker.
He pulls up short to find the little blue devil being cradled like a cat in Merlin’s arms who watches with a surprised amusement in the doorway. “What has gotten into you?” she laughs as she enters the room.
“What the—the ever-loving flapjack is that thing?” he stammers, pointing to the creature.
“She’s incredible, isn’t she?” Merlin answers brightly, holding the thing up a bit for him to see. “She’s a blue Western. Do you have any idea how rare a blue one is?”
“What—Merlin, what the devil is it doing here?”
She flashes a grin. “She’s been orphaned. This is what the students found. It’s odd to find these so far south, so either she’s been separated from her mother—or, more likely, she’s alone.” Merlin gives the lizard a little scratch on the head, smiling sweetly as it stretches into her touch. “You are, aren’t you, my beauty?”
“That doesn’t answer my question .”
Merlin looks at him with a cooled expression. “And what would you have me do? Leave a defenseless creature to be killed in the wilds of Briannia?”
“Defenseless?” He points to his singed facial hair. “It nearly burned me alive!”
Her laughter sends a shiver through him, because the way her eyes flash and her lips curl, Escanor knows already he has lost this argument. “Don’t be so silly,” she says. “She’s perfectly harmless.”
Escanor huffs as Merlin breezes past him. Deciding to give himself a moment before reopening negotiations, he splashes a bit more water onto his face before heading to the closet. Moments later he emerges with a fresh shirt and low-slung pants.
Merlin is there as he steps out, her arms sliding around him. “I missed you,” she murmurs.
He murmurs his agreement as he leans down. His eyes close as they kiss, her lips familiar and soothing after being startled from sleep. Quickly he grabs her up, pulling her tightly against him as her mouth opens and he slips his tongue inside. Escanor groans as her fingers slide over his back, walking her backwards towards the bed as he pulls his lips away with a smack and slides them down her neck. “You shouldn’t have bothered getting dressed,” she murmurs seductively.
“That is quickly remedied,” he jokes, his tone almost dangerous. Merlin’s grin sends crackles of desire along his skin, reaching for her to pull her to the bed. “I think we should start with what in the devil’s name is that thing doing?”
Merlin turns to follow his stunned gaze, giving a little chuckle when she spots the dragon curled on his pillow. “Oh, how adorable!”
Escanor bristles a bit. “It can’t stay here.”
He looks at her sternly, but her chin is turned up, and he knows she is ready to argue. “There is nowhere for her to go!” Her tone turns a bit softer as she pleads, “Please, Escanor, this is a rare species that I can learn a lot from.”
“It’s on my pillow!”
Merlin rolls her eyes a bit, but she removes the dragon from its sleeping spot, carrying it out of the room. Escanor moves to the door to watch her replace it into a large cage that takes up most of their sitting room. “Be a good girl,” she murmurs to the creature, and it licks her finger before turning around and settling on the floor.
She walks seductively towards him, and Escanor inwardly groans. “Let’s not argue,” she says as she slides her hands over his chest. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Merlin shows him exactly how much, and he shows her twice, so by midday they lay in bed, tired and sated. Escanor dozes a bit as she presses light kisses to his chest, smiling to himself. But when she leans up his large body to kiss his cheek, he remembers the way he was woken up. “We can’t keep a dragon,” he murmurs.
“We have to,” she says quietly. “I can’t release her now, she’s imprinted.” Escanor opens his eyes and looks at her incredulously. “Don’t worry, she will imprint on you too.”
“Why do you keep saying she?”
“Well, she’s a female. I think.”
Escanor’s head flops back onto the pillow. “Merlin, this is too much. I don’t know anything about dragons. No one does. It’s not a pet.”
“She could be. It’s no different than training a dog or a hawk. Just imagine it! A dragon? In defense of Camelot? It’s a huge gain for the kingdom.” He peeks at her suspiciously as her excitement rises. “You’ll be able to train her properly and then Arthur can use her in defense.”
“Me?” Escanor blinks at her in surprise. “No, I’m not training a dragon.”
“I’m returning to Camelot in a week,” she says. “I can’t exactly bring her with me.”
Through gritted teeth he argues, “And I am supposed to what? Walk it?”
Merlin shrugs. “If she needs to be. I don’t think she’s housebroken.”
Escanor covers his face with his hands. “I just wanted a nice, quiet place to stay,” he groans.
Climbing over him, she straddles his lap and gently pulls his hands away so he looks up at her. Escanor admires the view greatly, smiling as his eyes travel over her body. “It’s the perfect spot for a little dragon to be raised,” she says. “I know you’ll get along fine. And I’m still here for several days, we can do this together.” He gives her a pointed look, and Merlin sags a bit. “Please? I’ll even let you name her.” She tilts her head slightly. "She reminded me of you, you know. She is the same color of your eyes. She kept me from missing you too badly."
He can’t resist her gaze, and finally he mutters, “Cheese and crackers! Fine. The dang thing can stay.”
Merlin leans over and gives him a kiss, laughing as he rolls her over. “My collection of oddities continues,” he mutters.