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Tension was high in Camelot as always, but this day in particular seemed to be driving everyone up the walls.
As always, King Uther was angry, yelling at anyone and everyone who stood in his path. He was especially stressed because a princess from the kingdom over would be arriving to meet Arthur, which of course made Arthur want to scream.
And if Arthur was tense, it meant he took it out on Merlin and in turn, he vented to Gaius. So the cycle went on and on until the whole kingdom was ready to strangle the next person who'd walk through the gates.
Fortunately there hadn't been any murders yet. But just in case, Merlin made sure to get up extra early to deliver breakfast to the prince.
He quickly clothed himself and ate his own breakfast with Gaius before heading down to the kitchens. Merlin returned with a tray of food and traveled down the hallway until he made it to Arthur's room. He barged right through without knocking, then set the tray down at the table and proceeded to open the curtains.
"Good morning, Sire! The sun is shining extra bright today, it'd be a shame to miss it," he said in his normal cheerful voice.
Arthur groaned and pulled the sheets over his head. "Just get it over with and kill me now. If I see another princess, I think I'll go mad."
"She won't be that bad. At least she's not another troll."
Arthur immediately pushed the covers off his face and shot Merlin an unamused look. "If you were any closer I'd smack you right now," he joked, causing Merlin to chuckle.
He finally stood up and began to get his day started. Once he finished breakfast, Merlin picked out some clothes for him and rested them on the changing curtain while Arthur got dressed.
"I've been thinking," the prince began, "we should plan a trip. You, me and the knights. We could take the horses up to the lake, go swimming, play some games, eat lunch and be back before sunset."
Merlin thought about it. It had been a while since they'd gone on a trip that didn't result in anyone getting seriously hurt. "Hmm, that does sound nice. Sure, just let me know which day and I'll get everything ready to go."
Arthur stepped out from the curtain, fully clothed with a grin on his face. "Well, I thought we'd go today. You said it yourself, it's so nice out. A perfect day for a swim in the cold water."
"What?! But Princess Osanna is arriving today-- ohh, that's your plan. Are you crazy? Do you know how angry your father is going to be?!"
"Yes, and I've thought it through. He'll only be mad for a few days and then he'll be too embarrassed to keep the princess and her mother here. They'll have no other option but to go back home," Arthur explained all matter-of-factly. Merlin rolled his eyes at this. "It'll be fine. I need a day out with the boys."
Merlin smiled at this and nodded. Maybe he was right. "Okay, okay. I'll go get the bags ready."
— ♕ —
Arthur and Merlin led the way of the pack down the path that ran into the woods. Behind them were the knights, though none of them were in their shining armour, other than the swords they kept near at all times. Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Mordred, Leon and Lancelot were all accounted for.... Gwaine especially.
"Are we there yet?" The man yelled loudly for the fifteenth time.
"For the last time, Gwaine, it's just a few more minutes. If you stopped day-drinking you'd remember," Arthur yelled back to him.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I only had one ale today! I am feeling incredibly refreshed and ready to dip my toes into the water! Speaking of, I think I see it up there."
Merlin looked up and he could make out a clearing in the trees. The smell of the lake in the air hit his nose and he knew they had arrived. They all jumped off their horses and walked them up to the trees near the water. To Merlin's pleasure, they all tied their own horses up so all he had to do was give them water and food.
After Merlin found a shady spot and began to unpack everything from the bags. The sun was at its peak, meaning it was around noon and everyone would be growing hungry soon. He figured he would get a start on lunch right away so he could relax all he wanted afterwards. Merlin grabbed the pot he'd brought with after lighting the fire with a simple spell. He walked towards the lake to fill the pot up with water for the soup. As he grew closer, he heard excited laughter and the sound of water splashing.
Percival had picked Elyan up and tossed him into the water. Elyan rose moments later and broke out into a fit of laughter. Leon, Arthur and Mordred were cracking jokes amongst themselves and Gwaine was a few feet apart, back floating with his eyes closed. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.
He forced himself to look away, not wanting to remember what he was missing out on. Instead, he bent down and filled the pot up about a third of the way. As he was standing back up, Lancelot took notice and walked over. "That can wait until later, Merlin. We're too busy having fun to be hungry. Come join us, the water's nice and cold to cool off," he smiled.
Merlin shrugged, "it's not a problem. I like the time to myself," he insisted, though it wasn't completely true. He did want to join them in the water but it wasn't worth the risk of them finding out he had magic.
Lancelot sighed and sent him a look like he wasn't convinced. "Well, don't take too long. There's no Round Table without you," Lance shot him another smile before he turned around and headed back to the water.
Merlin returned to the spot and boiled his water over the fire. He tossed in a couple herbs that he'd picked yesterday along with some cut meat and carrots. He cooked the soup until the meat was edible and the broth thickened, then dished it into the bowls they'd brought and set out the bread and fruit. It was just past noon and the knights must've been getting hungry because they followed their noses right to Merlin.
"Oh my gosh, Merlin. This smells soooo good," Gwaine was practically drooling from his mouth. He immediately grabbed a bowl and sat down to eat. Merlin chuckled as he grabbed his own to dig in as well.
"This is so good! Your cooking is way better than the cook at the castle," Leon exclaimed.
Merlin appreciated Arthur and the knights more than anything. They were always complimenting his cooking and making him feel better. He wanted to break and tell them everything but he knew he couldn't take the risk. Lancelot knowing was already one person too many. And of course there was Mordred. But no one else had to know. The thought of execution wasn't at all inviting.
"What kind of spices are in here anyway?"
Merlin finished another bite of the stew and set his spoon down. "Oh, I picked them with Gaius! I just added some sage, rosemary and chives."
"Hm, I don't know what those are but it sure tastes good," Arthur mumbled. "After this, you should come down to the water before it gets too chilly out."
There they went again, wanting Merlin to get into the water. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to but he knew it wouldn't be the smartest. Oh, but one little dip wouldn't hurt. He didn't even have to take his shirt off.
In the end, Merlin ended up giving into the peer pressure. He quickly cleaned up his mess with the insistent help of Elyan and Mordred. He put the fire out with leftover water from rinsing the bowls out while Mordred packed the food back into bags. Finally, after refilling the horses' water, Merlin walked back up to the lake where the rest of the boys were.
Gwaine spotted him right away and energetically waved him over. So Merlin kicked his shoes off, rolled up his pants and stepped into the water. It was cold on his feet and calves but it felt nice due to the blazing sun. He enjoyed the sound of the crickets and the small ripples in the water hitting the edge of his thighs from the boys horseplaying up ahead. It was all very peaceful and serene, other than Gwaine screaming every other second.
He let out a small content sigh, absolutely relaxed.
"Hey, Merlin!"
Well, at least there was silence for a moment. He picked his head up looking over at Gwaine. "Oh, hello, Gwaine."
"You made it! We were just talking about you."
All the blood in Merlin's body immediately rushed to his cheeks in embarrassment. "Were you? Nothing bad I hope..."
They all chuckled and Gwaine shook his head. "No, of course not. We were just wondering when you were going to join us," he explained, then looked Merlin up and down with his eyes. "Aren't you going to take off your shirt and get in here?"
"Yeah, it's no fun without you!" Elyan added in agreement.
Merlin awkwardly shifted side to side on his feet. "Oh, I think I'll just keep it on actually. What if a bandit sneaks up on us and we need to run? You can never be too safe, right?" He chuckled nervously.
"Well, you can run but we'll stay and fight. See? I still have my sword," Arthur pulled his trusty sword out of the water. The water droplets made it glow in the sunlight as he stared at it in fondness. Merlin and the others scoffed at his antics. "What?! Merlin's wearing his clothes in the water and I get laughed at for keeping us safe? Humph..."
"Seriously, it's fine," Merlin insisted. He felt a stare on him so he glanced over to Lancelot who was shooting him a look. A look like he knew exactly why Merlin didn't want to take his shirt off. He quickly glanced the other way, towards a small patch of grass with a giant stone in the middle of the lake.
"Hey," he yelled, pointing in that direction, "last one to that rock is a bowl of rotten porridge!"
All at once, Merlin, the knights and Arthur charged towards the rock. Some swam, some hopped, some did both... Mordred ended up tripping on what he claimed to be a fish, resulting in him falling into the water. But the race continued on.
Elyan and Leon were in the lead, followed by Arthur and Lancelot who were tying. Percival was next since he had a lot of weight to carry with all that muscle. He was definitely the strongest but not the fastest. Merlin was beating Gwaine for sixth place only because he was slightly drunk. And of course, Mordred was in last due to the fish accident.
Merlin could see the rock up ahead, so close yet so far. With this being the most he'd ran in a long time, he was already extremely tired. But he powered through anyway and touched the surface of the rock just seconds before Gwaine.
"This is no fair! I'm still so stuffed from lunch!" Gwaine cried, falling back into the water in defeat.
"You mean stuffed on ale," Percival laughed, then punched him in the arm.
"Ow! Okay, fine. That too, I guess," he huffed, rubbing his arm where Percival punched him.
Merlin was panting heavily, tired from all of the running he did. He held the rock for support while he caught his breath. He was really going to have to get into shape. He heard some splashing so he glanced over to see Mordred who was finally catching up.
"Aha! I made it!" He cheered, slapping the rock with his hand. It appeared he was also out of breath.
"About time... Does this mean I have to start making training more difficult? I can't have my best knights showing up an hour after the fight has begun."
"No!" They all yelled at the same time, horrified at the threat. If Merlin had to put up with even more training, he'd lose his mind.
"I'm faster than this normally, I swear! There was a fish! And I kept slipping on it," Mordred explained frantically.
"A fish? Did anyone else see a fish?" Arthur asked, to which they all shook their heads.
"But I saw one! It was big and slippery and it kept swimming up and tripping me! It's out to get me!"
"You must've angered it bad then, hm?"
"You little--" Mordred barely got his words out before he lunged at Percival, knocking him down into the water. Percival laughed once he stood up from the water. He picked Mordred up, chucking him into the lake next to Arthur. The water splashed right up and smacked him square in the face!
"Sir Percival!" Arthur yelled in a fit. He lifted his hands out of the water, chucking a good portion of it towards Percival's face. But he lunged out of the way and it hit Elyan instead.
"You know what this means?" Gwaine yelled from the top of the giant rock. "Water fight!" He then jumped into the water, splashing everyone.
Oh, it was on!
— ♕ —
Merlin squealed, running away from Arthur as fast he could. He looked back to see that the prince was still following him. Quickly, he darted into the water and paddled his way towards the middle of the lake. Already tired, he used whatever energy was left in his body to swim further until he was out of reach from Arthur.
"Ha! Good luck getting me now, slow-poke!" He cheered, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice.
"For such a weak person, you sure know how to swim. I'll have you know that you only got away from me because I'm absolutely exhausted!"
"Clotpole!"
"Ugly toad!"
Merlin laughed but no one was around to hear but him. He could feel the change in the water temperature since he was in the middle of the lake. It was getting a little chilly so he figured he'd head back. He couldn't wait to get home and take a nap if his long list of chores allowed him.
After taking a deep breath, he dived down into the water to head back. He swam straight for a while without coming up for air. He could tell he was getting closer to shore because the water was getting shallow and rockier. Suddenly, one of his kicks caught a stone, causing him to stub his toe on the edge. He winced and turned his body to start heading up to the surface for air. But something had caught his shirt, preventing him from moving.
His tunic was trapped between two massive stones. Merlin tugged and tugged away from the rock but he couldn't seem to break free. Panic set it, preventing him from any rational thinking.
He'd been holding his breath for far too long and he needed oxygen right away. He tugged again with all his might but his tired body was no match for the heavy stone. His chest felt tight and his heart was beating so fast he thought it might leap out. Merlin frantically yanked at his shirt, trying to pull it off his body. This was it. He was done for.
Suddenly, hands came down from the water to help him. His shirt was torn off his body, allowing him to swim freely to the surface. Merlin violently coughed out the water he had inhaled while Percival's hand steadied him from falling back into the water. He took deep breaths, filling his body up with oxygen once again.
"Jesus, Merlin. Are you okay?! What happened? Can you breathe alright? Do you need anything?" Gwaine asked him like a worried mother.
"Gwaine, give him space," Arthur said sternly.
Although he felt weak and absolutely horrible, Merlin managed to hold his thumb up, causing Gwaine to sigh in relief.
The next few minutes were silent as Percival carried him through the water the rest of the way. Once they were back at the campsite, he set Merlin down on a blanket while Lancelot started a fire. The heat traveled to his toes and up his body, warming him throughout. Eventually, his shivers began to die down and his temperature returned to normal.
Merlin closed his eyes, trying to recollect himself after nearly drowning. Sure, near death experiences were not something foreign to him, but this felt different. It was scarier and more vivid. He let out a long sigh, releasing everything he'd been holding onto. Then finally, he opened his eyes.
He looked around to see that everyone's eyes were on him, matched with worried and confused expressions. Merlin glanced down at himself and his breathing hitched when he realized that he still didn't have a shirt on. Shit.
Scars littered his body, mostly around his torso but there were some on his shoulders and arms. They all stared him down like he was some sort of monster. Merlin suddenly became very self conscious so he crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to hide himself.
"Merlin..." Arthur said softly, breaking the silence. "What happened? How? You have more scars than all of us put together... and that's saying a lot."
He tried speaking but no words came out and he remained in silence, head down in shame. He felt Elyan by his side a moment later and a hand on his shoulder. He was a great friend.
"Merlin, where'd you get them?" Arthur asked once again.
"Uh, I--"
"Did someone hurt you? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Let him speak, guys," Leon interjected, giving a nod for Merlin to proceed.
Merlin froze for a second, not knowing how to respond. "Y'know, I'm actually feeling much better. Yeah, I'm feeling great! And it's getting late so maybe we should just go before the monsters start to come out. I'm sure everyone is expecting us by now. And we wouldn't want to get eaten, right? We can just talk about this later... or not at all," he rushed rather nervously as he stood up from the ground. He began to walk back to the horses but he was stopped quickly by the knights blocking his path. "Oh, hello."
"You're not going anywhere until we get some answers," Arthur declared, putting his foot down. "Take a seat, Merlin."
"Arthur's right. We're staying here until you tell us what's wrong."
Merlin quickly scanned the forest, trying to find somewhere he could escape. But when his eyes landed on Percy with his arms crossed, he thought it best to just sit down like Arthur had said. There was no getting out of this one. He sighed once more and took his place back on the blanket. The knights sat back down facing him and urged him to continue.
"I-I don't know where to start. I don't know what to say..."
"Merlin, scars like these don't just appear overnight."
"Well... what if they did?"
"Are you suggesting magic? Who would do this?"
Merlin bit his lip. Lying left a bad taste in his mouth but he was so used to it. "I dunno. Something strange must be going on. But I'm glad we got that all cleared up—"
"Merlin..."
He looked up at Lancelot, who was sending him a glare. One of those classic, do-the-right-thing Lancelot glares. "Are you gonna keep hiding or take the chance to come clean? This is something you've been holding onto for a really long time. I think it's worth a shot."
"You knew?!"
Merlin rolled his eyes. "Arthur, hush. If I felt comfortable telling you, I would've," he snapped. At this, Arthur's expression fell, he really looked hurt. But it was true. He had countless nightmares where he was banned from Camelot or killed at the stake for having magic. Complete trust was going to take a while. "Look, I just don't know where to start."
"How about where you got them? I've fought my whole life for these battle scars, Merlin. No offense but you can't fight in the slightest. So how the hell did you end up with so many? Is someone hurting you? Because if someone is, I'll personally see to it that they never see the light of day again."
"No! Well, yes? Kind of... but not exactly. It's just complicated," he stuttered as he began tracing the largest scar on his chest with his finger. It was so scarred that the edges were pink, rather than a beige colour like the rest. He remembered the story behind this one very clearly, as if it were yesterday.
"Well, why don't you begin with that one?" Gwaine suggested, pointing at the scar on his chest.
Merlin sighed. He really didn't want to but he knew the knights would never leave it alone if he stayed quiet. "Do you remember Sophia and Aulfric? Arthur was under Sophia's enchantment--"
"Merlin! We said we would never speak of this again!" Arthur exclaimed in utter embarrassment.
"Do you want to hear about the scars or not?! Jesus... Anyway, since Arthur was off macking the princess, it was up to me to stop Aulfric from overthrowing the entire kingdom as usual. Unfortunately for me, he shot me with his magic, sending me flying into the wall. The magic hit my chest right here and Gaius had to patch it all up. It's fine now but I'll always have the scar to remember the day... and the occasional phantom pain."
There was another silence, but this time it was the knights. They all seemed perplexed but Arthur was more shocked than anyone.
"I had no idea," Arthur mumbled with an upset frown. "You got hurt to save me?"
"Wouldn't be the first time..."
All of a sudden, without any warning, Arthur pulled him into a giant hug. He wrapped his arms around him and squished his face inside the hug until Merlin could hardly breathe. "Hey!" He yelled, though it came out muffled and quiet.
"Thank you, Merlin," he gushed, squeezing him even tighter. "You're one hell of a servant."
"Oh, don't go thanking me yet. I'm not even remotely finished. This is gonna be a long night."
— ♕ —
Merlin's throat was dry from all the non-stop talking. It felt he'd been speaking to the knights for hours... and he probably had been. It was dark by now, only the moon and the fire were providing them with light. He picked up a waterskin and drank from it to soothe his throat. He felt the knights' eyes on him, not that they had ever left. He put the flask back down and cleared his throat. "Well, that's mostly it."
"Mostly?" Leon repeated with confusion. "What about the one on your neck area?"
Merlin sighed, biting his lip. He didn't want to tell them about that scar, then they would surely realize he had magic. Up until this point, he'd been able to skim over the details that would expose the knights and Arthur to the truth. Telling them about the neck scars would be much more difficult. Though, he sighed and continued, "it was from a Fomorroh." The knights stared dumbly at him, inquiring him to explain. "A snake with seven heads. Morgana captured me and implanted one in my neck. When it enters a body, it forces the victim out of their own mind and corrupts them completely. She commanded me through the Fomorroh to kill Arthur. The victim is forced-- I was forced to do her bidding."
"Is that why you went ham on me that one day? I thought I had just pissed you off," Arthur scoffed. "You were trying to kill me! I knew it!"
Merlin shrugged helplessly. Then Gwaine spoke up with a worried expression. "I think you should be more concerned about Merlin's well being. Obviously he wasn't successful in his attempts. He could've died, Arthur. And it was all for you."
"I know, I know! I guess I'm just a bit confused. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am very grateful, but why the hell is everyone coming after you? I can see now that you have great strength, but to anyone else you're just a servant. Why would Morgana capture you? Why would Morgause hurt you? And Nimueh? Why do you mean anything to her? None of these people want you, they want me and my father-- they want the crown. And how do you keep saving me? You can't swing a sword, you can't throw an arrow, you can't even run away, much less stand your ground. How do you fight back? No disrespect, but you're not exactly the buffest guy I know. I just don't understand."
He could see that Arthur was confused and trying to wrap his head around it. If he were in his shoes, he would be lost too. As much as Merlin wanted to tell him about his magic, he knew he couldn't. Not now. He wasn't ready, not with Uther still in power.
"What can I say? Sometimes everyone just wants a little bit of Merlin," he glowed, flashing them a grin ear to ear. He earned a few chuckles and a deadpan from Arthur.
"I mean, you're not wrong," Gwaine said with a platonic wink.
In the end, it felt good to let out everything he'd been holding onto... well, not all of it. He knew he could trust the knights and Arthur with stories behind his scars. For now, they would only know half the story, but it was better than nothing.
Not much later, they packed up their camp and got their horses ready to leave. They took one last look at the lake, smiling in content as their day trip had been spectacular. It was dark and chilly out, so Merlin took the blanket to use as a shirt while they rode on their horses back home. So much for leaving at sunset.
That night, Merlin brought Arthur his dinner and set it down on the table. Of course Uther was outrageously mad at Arthur for running away the day he was supposed to meet the princess, so he was in a bit of a bad mood. Nonetheless, he smiled when he noticed his servant's presence.
"Thank you, Merlin," he said, motioning towards the platter of food with his head.
"What?!"
"I said than--"
"I know what you said, you prat. Why? You never thank me. Ever!"
Arthur walked over to the table with a shrug. He sat down on the chair and looked up at Merlin. "You've saved me more than once, I figured I owe it to you. Don't let it go to that stupid head of yours. I can always add more chores to your list if I need to."
"There's the Arthur I remember," he scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "But you're welcome. You are the once and future king after all. I can't have you dying on me, can I? Anyway, if that's all, I'll just be leaving."
Merlin grabbed an old dish to bring down to the kitchen, then turned to the door. He began walking towards it but he heard Arthur call after him. "Mer-lin."
He turned his head around and looked at Arthur in curiosity.
"I have another question. There was a bruise that you never told us about. On your arm," Arthur then grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a fresh purple bruise on the bony part of his wrist. "Who did this? And don't lie because I can tell that it's new."
Merlin gritted his teeth together in contemplation. He didn't want to tell Arthur, he didn't want him to feel bad. But his stares were intense and he knew he wouldn't let it be. So he sighed and gave in. "You," he mumbled quietly.
"What? Merlin, speak up. I can't hear you when you're that quiet. It almost sounded like you said I did it," he chuckled awkwardly. Merlin stayed silent, looking to the floor. "Wait... I did it? I hurt you? When? Tell me what I did!"
Merlin pulled his arm out of the prince's grasp and let it fall back at his side. "You didn't mean to. It was yesterday when I was waking you up. You picked up a goblet and threw it at me... but it hit my wrist when I tried blocking it."
Arthur put his hands to his head, gripping his hair in irritation. "God I'm an idiot. I'm sorry, Merlin," he put his hands down and looked back up at Merlin. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, I didn't mean to. I thought I missed you. Why didn't you say anything?"
"I dunno..."
"Merlin! Shit, I'm yelling at you again, aren't I? Just... don't be afraid to speak up. You're so much more than just my servant. You're my best friend, believe it or not. I promise not to throw anything else at you ever again. And if I do, I'm giving you the right to sock me in my face, okay?"
Merlin's lips curled into a smile and he nodded at the prince's words. "You're such a dollophead, y'know that?"
"Shut up Merlin."