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The knights were traipsing through the forest as always. Officially, they were on a hunt, but having already shot their fill of prey they were now just wandering aimlessly to fill the day. Merlin grumbled along behind them, complaining about how reckless they are as they trample the brush.
Arthur teased Merlin and hung back with him behind the others as they wandered. This didn't escape Merlin’s notice as the king deliberately ignored his knights in favor of talking to his servant. Even if this talking is mostly just telling Merlin what a girl he is. Merlin sees it for what it is anyhow and just nudges his king affectionately.
As they bumble onwards they reach a part of the forest that none of the knights, Arthur, nor Merlin has ever ventured into. It’s not that there is anything particularly foul there to their knowledge, it's more that there is simply nothing of note there. Nothing ever seemed to happen here which Merlin figured was probably a good thing.
When they entered this patch of forest though, they quickly realized that the lack of anything coming out of this area was for a reason. It wasn’t that it was an obsolete copse of trees, rather that the inhabitants of said land didn’t want to be heard from.
There was clear evidence as they walked of many camps and settlements having been moved throughout this area. Arthur stopped to inspect one where a piece of cloth had been left behind. There were impressions in the undergrowth where tents had obviously been. The mood over the group dropped as they all released who these camps must have belonged to.
“Druids.” Leon was the first to utter.
“Yes,” Agreed Arthur, “They may still be living nearby. Tread carefully.”
Merlin swallowed, he hoped they wouldn’t run into any of the druids. He had no idea what either Arthur or the druids would do should that happen.
“Maybe we should turn around,” Merlin suggested.
Arthur, with an eyebrow raised, seemed to be calculating something while looking at Merlin. He stalked over to him and stood right in front of the slightly taller man. Arthur brought his hands up to grab Merlin’s shoulders and implored, “Merlin, I know you are afraid of magic, but we won’t let any of them hurt you. It’s just best that we explore a little to make sure they pose no threat to Camelot.”
The raven haired man frowned, “That’s not what-”
The king cut him off, “Enough Merlin, it’s been decided.”
The other knights gave Merlin a look of sympathy before moving on, following Arthur’s lead as they spread out through the woods.
Merlin trudged on after Arthur, keeping his senses alert in case any druid should be nearby and see them as a threat. Not that Merlin would blame them if they did.
While they combed through the woods, the knights picked up their easy conversation again and the mood settled back into one of joviality. Merlin was still tense but the rest of the group didn’t seem to notice this. Besides Arthur who kept throwing Merlin perplexing glances as he walked alongside him.
Going more than an hour without running into any druids the group had quit paying their surroundings so much attention. So when they stumbled into a small open space between the trees that housed a shrine, it came as a surprise. The knights all came to a stumbling screeching halt.
Merlin was the last one in the group to approach the space but he knew, as he drew near, that it was a place of power. The hairs on his arms and neck had begun to rise and he wasn’t sure if it was a warning or welcome. The magic in the air was nearly palpable. Merlin hesitated on the threshold of the space, unsure whether he should enter or not.
“What is this place,” Gwaine asked aloud, looking around and thankfully, Merlin noted, not touching anything.
There were makeshift shelves and tables all about, thrown together with spare logs and branches. Every single surface was covered with various items. The trees were filled with decorations too. As Merlin cast his eyes about, he decided that the shrine probably didn’t house any malevolent spirits. But he still hesitated to enter. The immense power of the place called to him and that was what worried him. He wandered briefly if anyone else could feel it.
“Look, there’s some writing up here,” Elyan pointed out.
Percival walked over to stand behind the other knight to look at the writing too. He squinted in concentration.
Merlin noticed that Arthur had also not entered the shrine, he stood a couple trees away watching. Eventually he spoke up, “What does it say? Can you read it?”
“It’s a bit tricky, I recognize the text but I can’t quite remember how it translates.” Percival said.
Arthur looked around once more. The servant thought that just maybe Arthur could sense some of the power emanating from the shrine too as he hesitated. Merlin watched as he studied the circle, then seemed to make up his mind about something. The king crossed the threshold to step into the shrine with the knights. After a beat of nothing happening, he walked over to stand beside Elyan and Percival looking at the text.
As Arthur had crossed the threshold, Merlin felt another bolt of magic emit from the shrine. It seemed to be begging him to step forward. He had been watching the knights but as he stood at the edge the power seemed to grow stronger. With Arthur now inside there was an incessant pull at Merlin to enter. He tried to subtly step back to wrap an arm around a tree to settle himself.
“Don’t mess with anything,” Merlin warned.
“We won’t,” Elyan promised, suppressing a shudder as he clearly recalled the last druid shrine they’d found, “though this one doesn’t seem to have any sort of evil or malignant presence around.”
Arthur looked back at everyone as Percival continued to try and read the words, “I don’t know this language well either, but from what I can read, it seems to be some sort of site of worship to a god.” Arthur looked over to Merlin then, “Come on Merlin, it's perfectly safe, nothing is going to happen.”
Merlin rolled his eyes, “I’m fine here.”
The king walked over, “Come on,” as Arthur approached Merlin felt the pull stronger and he failed to prevent a step forwards. His arms seemed to unwrap themselves of their own accord from around the tree as the magic pulled him in towards the shrine. He just managed to stop himself again as his toes hit the threshold. That was until Arthur stopped right before him and Merlin found himself stumbling in, crossing the line.
As soon as his feet landed inside the circle, the world stilled entirely as if holding its breath. The knights all froze and looked around as the forest went silent. Then, just as fast as everything had come to rest, the shrine erupted into a chaotic flurry of motion and magic.
The trees shook and the wind blew, circling around him. Merlin felt his feet getting pulled out from under him and suddenly he was overwhelmed with voices. He had no idea if they were only in his head or if the knights could hear them too. Merlin screwed his eyes shut and clamped his hands over his ears as he tried to block out the onslaught of sound and motion. The items on the tables all lifted of their own accord and seemed to be offering themselves. The wind swirled, drawing Merlin, and Arthur who was only a step away, into the center. The voices were definitely not only in his head as they grew louder, they chanted a reverential cry of Emrys, help us, please, save us, and finally thank you.
The wind continued to twist around Merlin and Arthur got swept up further into it too. His eyes were wide as he was drawn closer to Merlin and into the shrine.
With his eyes screwed shut Merlin tried to push back, hard, against the magic enclosing him. He stumbled back until he was close to the edge. When he got close he stumbled over a log, falling backwards he had to release his hands from over his ears to catch himself.
Arthur wasn’t being affected quite as strongly as Merlin it seemed, though the pull was still there. All the other knights were frozen in place in confusion and concern, unsure of how to attack an invisible force like this. Elyan tried to move forwards and found that his legs wouldn’t budge.
The king got his feet under him and rushed to Merlin. Quickly he grabbed under Merlin’s arms, hoisting him up and off the ground. Together they managed to move back against the magic and they stumbled until they finally broke out of the circle. As Arthur and Merlin crossed out of the shrine, the world settled back into place, mostly.
The echo of the voices could still be heard, their soft pleas of Emrys were still repeating as Merlin stumbled further back away from the shrine. Arthur followed, not letting go of Merlin until they were several long paces back. They staggered until they both collapsed to sit on the ground.
The knights all seemed to break suddenly from their trance, they rushed out following the king and servant.
“What was that?” Arthur asked aloud.
“Sire, Merlin, are you alright?” Elyan asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” Arthur answered then he turned to Merlin who looked ashen, “Merlin? Merlin? Are you alright?”
The concern and worry showed in Arthur’s voice and it seemed to snap Merlin out of his thoughts. “I don’t know,” Merlin began, “but I think so.”
“Anyone want to explain to me what just happened?” Gwaine asked as he too stumbled over.
All eyes turned to Merlin who seemed to shrink back. The voices could still be heard faintly calling out Emrys . The servant was overcome suddenly with a sense of sadness and despair that was not his own.
“It only seemed to happen once Merlin stepped in,” Leon noted what they were all thinking, “do you think it was just waiting for all of us to be in the shrine to do… whatever it did?”
“Maybe,” Elyan mused, “but it did seem to be centered around Merlin, did you see how all the objects started floating towards him.”
“Did none of you also feel a pull?” Arthur asked.
“What do you mean, sire?” Percival questioned.
The king seemed to regret his question instantly, looking over to Merlin with an unreadable look, “Nevermind.”
“Sire,” Leon began, “if something happened to you, please tell us, it may help in determining what happened.”
Arthur looked again at Merlin who seemed to be doing his best to sink into the earth, out of sight. His face was ghostly pale and he looked as though the slightest breeze would blow him over. The king continued to ignore the question for the moment, instead opting to reassure his servant, “Merlin, it's alright now, whatever that was, it doesn’t seem to be able to reach us here. I know you are scared of magic, but we are safe from it now.”
Merlin shook his head, “I’m, I’m not scared of the magic.”
The king barely stifled a scoff at the obvious lie as Merlin seemed to be trembling, looking back and forth between him and all the knights.
“The shrine had voices,” Percival chimed in, “when we were looking at the text, it did seem like it might have been for a druid god.”
Arthur turned to look at the knight, “You are right, it was in an ancient language and I could only pick up pieces of it, but I did see one word in there that the voices are saying.”
“Emrys,” Elyan supplied. Arthur and Percival both nodded.
“What do we think Emrys is then?” Leon wondered.
Merlin wanted nothing more in this moment than for the conversation to be dropped and forgotten entirely. He wished he had a memory altering spell that wouldn’t leave them all with questionable holes in their memories. Since he didn’t have something of the sort, Merlin considered just getting up and hightailing it out of there. If he could get enough of a head start maybe Arthur would just give up and let him escape.
“I think,” Percival began, and Merlin’s heart sank, “from stories I heard growing up, that Emrys is the god of magic. Those must have been prayers left to Emrys there, it must have been a shrine for the god of magic.”
All the knights seemed to consider this. Finally Elyan asked, “If it was a shrine for that god, why would it react so strongly to us? Wouldn’t a god want people in its shrine to pray? It’s not like we were touching anything.”
“But it didn’t react to us is the thing,” Gwaine said, “it reacted to Merlin. When Merlin stepped in everything started and he got pulled further in. Right Merlin? I saw it, it looked like you couldn’t help but get yanked into the center.”
Again all eyes turned back to the servant in question, Merlin grimaced and laughed uncomfortably, “Uh, yeah, weird right?”
Arthur studied Merlin, he appeared to reach a decision and decided to admit, “It was pulling me too. Not as forcefully as it pulled Merlin but I was also already in the circle.”
Percival frowned, “Where was it pulling you?”
Arthur cocked his head looking at his servant in concentration and Merlin’s muscles tensed in an effort not to bolt, “It was pulling me to Merlin, only when you fell was I able to move on my own.”
Yet again, all eyes fell to the raven haired servant. This time everyone waited, expectantly.
Merlin swallowed thickly, “Um, I-I don’t know what- well, I mean maybe the shrine just didn’t like us being there, or the-the god didn’t? Though I don’t believe that Emrys could really be a god. I mean that seems a little far fetched, right?”
Percival shook his head, “Again, I’d heard some stories of Emrys while growing up. Long ago it was just magic without a form, but they say that he is the embodiment of magic. Containing all the magic of those killed in the purge. He took on a human form but the druids don’t really believe that he is human. His power and influence is said to be eternal. It’s said too, that his wrath is severe, but if you cause no harm to him or his destiny, then he will do everything he can to protect you.”
This weighed over the group for a moment before Percival added, “I don’t think it was angry about us being there. It seemed to be something about you in particular Merlin, that it reacted to. But it wasn’t wrathful.”
Merlin threw his hands up in frustration, wishing that he could show some of that fabled wrath right now, “Well I don’t know, what do you want me to say?”
Gwaine frowned, “Look, Merlin, as Percy said, it didn’t seem to be trying to hurt you, correct?”
“No,” Merlin shook his head, “but I don’t know what it wanted. All those voices, prayers, are too much. Even if it wasn’t going to hurt me, it was trying to do something.”
The knights all sat listening, Arthur looked back over his shoulder at the shrine as they could still hear the prayers faintly. They strained to hear more but it was only the continued repetition of Emrys’ name and pleas for help.
Gwaine mused, “Maybe,” he started and Arthur turned now to look at the knight with suspicious eyes, “maybe we see if it happens again.”
“What!” Arthur exclaimed, “No, absolutely not.”
Gwaine put his hands up in surrender, “It was just an idea, we clearly aren’t getting any closer to the answer sitting here, so either we leave it or we do something. And it wasn’t hurting anyone, even if it was really loud and obnoxious.”
“That doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t hurt someone if they went back in.” The king argued.
“But look, we can all stand around it while Merlin goes back in,” Gwaine continued, “just in case something does happen, we can get him out.”
“No.” Arthur said.
Merlin was certainly not going to argue with the king on this decision. He had a feeling that if he went back in it would only lead to more questions and potentially discoveries that he didn’t want to unveil.
Percival seemed to weigh his words carefully, “Sire, I don’t think that Emrys would harm anyone unprovoked, maybe, maybe it's just like a message or something. It could be worth trying, if only to get some kind of answer, I don’t believe there is any real danger in it.”
Elyan nodded in agreement, “We can stand around as Gwaine said, ready to help. And maybe, since it affected you too, you might be able to help Merlin if he went in.”
Arthur mulled this over and Merlin could tell that he was actually considering this.
“No,” Merlin spoke up, “don’t I get a say in this? I don’t want to go back in.” Merlin stood up and turned on the spot. He took as much as one step away before his legs seemed to falter and he stumbled backwards. The magic was suddenly clinging on to him with a vengeance that he couldn’t quite shake. It didn’t so much as pull him back, rather just held him tightly in place, preventing him from moving forwards.
“Merlin?” Arthur worried.
“I can’t go further.” he answered in explanation, “It won’t let me go.”
Arthur stood up too and tried to help Merlin, he pushed as Merlin tried to take a step away from the shrine again, only to get pulled back harshly. Arthur stumbled back with him, equally unable to get away.
“Sire!” Leon exclaimed as he watched the two cling to one another, trying to hold in place.
“Merlin?” Arthur asked.
“Arthur?” Merlin replied.
“Let go, I’ll go with you.” Arthur said.
Merlin laughed, “I don’t think you’ll have much of a choice in the matter.”
“Maybe not,” Arthur mused, “but either way, we’ll do it together.”
The servant frowned and looked down at his feet, he didn’t know exactly what would happen, or why the shrine wanted Arthur too. But he had a feeling that his magic would be exposed regardless. As they held in place Merlin made up his mind, he’d prefer to be the one to tell Arthur of his magic, rather than having a stupid shrine do it for him.
“Arthur,” Merlin looked over at his king, “I-I have to tell you something.”
The king frowned at the seriousness in the servant’s voice, “I hardly think this is the time for whatever it is Merlin. We are not going to die, I won’t let it happen.”
Merlin shook his head, “I know you prat. It’s just, I think I know what might happen, and, I’d rather be the one to tell you before it does.”
Arthur waited with baited breath and all the knights looked on in confusion. They all stood several paces back so Merlin lowered his voice to a level for only Arthur to hear.
“Arthur,” Merlin began, “I’m sorry, please, please when I say this, just hear me out.”
Arthur drew nearer, whether from the pull, or just by his own choice, he couldn’t be certain, “Merlin? What is it?”
“It’s,” Merlin swallowed one more time before composing himself to say, “I’m sorry, the shrine, it’s calling to me, because, because I have magic Arthur, I was born with it.”
“What!” Arthur said far louder, the knights had all been intently watching, unsure of what was passing between the two. They looked to each other for an idea of what to do and drew up short. Gwaine shuffled around to Elyan to say something unintelligible to the rest of them. Arthur remained unaware as he stared, mouth agape, at his servant, “You, you, Merlin! This is no time to joke. I knew you were an idiot, but this is a whole new level from you.”
Merlin shook his head, “No, Arthur, I’m serious. And the shrine, it, well, I-I- I am Emrys.”
The servant chanced a look at his king who had fallen entirely silent. He cringed when he saw the king’s expression was one of blank shock. It seemed that he had no idea what to do with this information and had still yet to actually believe that what Merlin was saying was the truth. Disbelief mixed with anger, shock, betrayal, and confusion all flicked across his face in rapid succession. Merlin looked away again, unable to hide the hurt on his own face.
“I’m sorry Arthur,” Merlin quietly offered.
The king finally snapped his jaw shut, “You can’t have magic Merlin.”
“It’s true,” Merlin frowned, “I-I do have magic. I am magic.”
“Why now?” Arthur asked.
The servant tilted his head in question, “What?”
“Why, if you do, as you say, have magic, why would you tell me this now?” The king demanded.
“Because, the shrine, there’s no way for us to get out of here without it being discovered anyway. I don’t know what it’ll do, but it’s, it seems to be for me.”
“Then why am I stuck too?”
“I don’t know!” Merlin exasperated, “You are, in the same belief, supposed to be the Once and Future King, maybe it has something to do with that. Or some believe that we are each just one half to a whole.”
“What?” The king asked yet again, repetitive. Then he shook his head and decided, “No, no, I’m not dealing with this.” Arthur tried to step away, to walk away, from Merlin. He found once more, that as he took one step away, he got dragged back, hard. His feet ignored him as they pulled him right back to Merlin’s side, “Merlin, get me out of here.” he grit out through a clenched jaw.
“I can’t!” Merlin said.
“Fine,” Arthur said, always one to jump in head first, “Then just do it, go back in.”
Merlin frowned, he realized the knights were still there, though several paces away. They watched them, unwilling to be the first to interrupt. They all had concerned looks on their faces.
“Fine,” Merlin echoed, he turned around to face the shrine once more, “I’ll do it,” he looked at the knights accusingly, then at Arthur in question, “but you are coming too.”
Arthur crossed his arms and shook his head, but as Merlin took one step closer to the shrine, Arthur stumbled after him.
Giving in, the king grabbed ahold of Merlin’s arm to steady himself as they got closer. He saw the determined look on his servant’s face.
Merlin focused this time, putting his magic out to meet the force as it pulled him. As his magic tangled with that of the shrine he felt power coursing through him. This time as he walked forwards with intention, he knew that his eyes were glowing gold. He could feel Arthur clinging on to his arm as he walked. When he reached the threshold once more they only hesitated for a moment. Steeling himself, Merlin took the final step forwards and into the circle.
Faintly he could hear the knights scrambling over to watch and he saw Arthur look at him with a mixture of awe and horror. Arthur didn’t stray far from him though.
“What do you want?” Merlin bellowed at the shrine, letting magic flow through his words.
The wind picked up again, as did the voices. The trees shook, and the offerings all swirled around them. Arthur stared, wide eyed as light seemed to shine out of nowhere.
Merlin could sense as the objects all came closer to them, that they each had their own traces of magic, all in forms of prayer. Every one was filled with an emotion. With a sense of either joy or sadness, fear or gratitude. He wanted to reach out to every single one. To feel their stories and accept their gifts.
Arthur was at his back now, frozen in place. Merlin stood defensively, spine straight, even as the emotions of the people who had come here poured through him.
The shrine drew its power in and focused it. It seemed to have an offering of its own to give. The ground they stood on must have been picked with intention, Merlin realized. The latent power on this land was so immense, his magic seemed to soak it up like a sponge.
Arthur was overwhelmed, he turned to look at Merlin behind him and gasped as he saw the other man glowing with a golden light. The king felt a frisson in the air and felt his own body grow warm with it. When he looked down at his own hands, he saw that they too were glowing, though not as brightly as Merlin.
“Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed.
Merlin turned around at the sound of Arthur’s voice. Seeing his king alight with magic, Merlin reached out to him, when he saw his own arm shining with the same radiance, he gasped, “Arthur, it’s okay, I think, I think it is trying to give us something.”
“What?” Arthur yelled over the noise around them, “Why would this place, magic, give me something.”
“Do you feel that?” Merlin asked, as the prayers started to quiet but the wind still shook the trees, “This place, it was waiting for me, for us.”
“But Merlin, I don’t understand, I don’t have magic, what does it want from me.”
“You don’t need magic Arthur, you are the Once and Future King, you only need yourself.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Arthur yelled.
“It’s destiny I think.”
Arthur grabbed onto Merlin’s shoulders, “Merlin, Merlin! You are not making any sense. What is happening, I can feel it.”
Suddenly Merlin lit up with an ethereal light so bright that Arthur had to close his eyes against it. When the light started to dim the king realized that everything was slowly settling itself back down to its spot. Arthur looked back at Merlin and the servant was panting as though he’d just run across the kingdom, Arthur realized that he too was winded and his heart was beating fast. He sighed to see that they were no longer glowing, but he kept his hands firmly fixed on Merlin.
“Merlin,” Arthur worried, “Merlin, hey, can you hear me?”
Merlin’s eyes were unfocused for a moment as his breathing slowly came back to normal.
“Merlin!” Arthur tried again, slightly more frantic.
When Merlin’s attention finally snapped back to Arthur, the king sighed in relief, “Arthur.”
“Oh thank god,” Arthur breathed.
“Hmm? No, please don’t thank any gods.” Merlin smiled, and Arthur cocked his head curiously for a second until he caught Merlin’s meaning, then he gaped.
“Merlin, are you? Are you a-a-a god?” Arthur asked.
“Um,” Merlin flushed, “well, to be honest, I don’t know. If you’d asked me before, I would have said no. But now…”
“What happened?” the king wondered.
Merlin grinned sheepishly, “I think that I just became a god. The druids always acted like I was already a god but I never felt it. There was never a sense of power over events, I was just as human as everyone else. But now, I feel different, all the prayers, I can hear them and feel them in my head.” Merlin’s eyes went unfocused for a bit as he looked off into his own head.
Arthur, still slightly panicked, shook Merlin’s shoulders and asked incredulously, “What?”
Merlin seemed to snap back to himself fully this time as the reality of what was happening settled in, “Arthur! I, no, this can’t be happening, I can’t actually be a god.” Arthur was taken aback by the complete flip in attitude from Merlin, “No, this isn’t good, I-I am not ready.”
“Merlin, what are you talking about, and what happened to me? Why am I here?” Arthur was trying to restrain his panic as his voice rose again.
Merlin looked around frantically and he finally seemed to take in the surroundings again. The shrine, while it had returned to how it was before, still seemed to carry a latent glow of magic around it. And as he looked at the glowing perimeter, he could see the knights just outside. They were all trying to get in but they couldn’t get through the barrier. And Merlin couldn’t hear what they were saying. He wondered if they could hear him and Arthur.
Arthur followed Merlin’s line of sight, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten entirely about the knights’ presence there. He turned back to Merlin, “Let's go.” he ordered.
The servant nodded and Arthur walked over to the perimeter, when he touched it he got pushed back slightly. Merlin came up beside him and touched it too. He too couldn’t get through.
Arthur growled in frustration, “Fix it Merlin!”
“I, I don’t know how.”
“Shouldn’t a god be able to escape his own shrine?”
Merlin blanched, “Don’t call me that.”
“What, a god?”
“Yes, I can’t be a god.”
Arthur grabbed his hair and pulled in frustration, at the seemingly endless back and forth that Merlin was stuck in. Arthur paced back to the middle and sat down dejectedly, he sighed in defeat and put his head in his hands, “This better be an elaborate joke, I can’t have had a god washing my clothes for the past eight years.”
Merlin came and sat down near him but didn’t say anything.
Arthur looked up, “Well, if we are stuck in here, you may as well get to explaining yourself.”
Merlin looked over at Arthur questioningly, “What-what do you want to know?”
“Ideally,” Arthur began, “everything. But mostly I just want to understand how you could have had magic all this time and I didn’t see it.”
With a shake of his head, Merlin said, “Well, sire, you have, at times, been rather unobservant.”
The king scowled, “I refuse to believe that, you must have done something to make me not notice.”
Merlin smiled, “Nope, there were so many times that I’d accidentally used magic right in front of you and you never questioned it.”
Arthur scowled at Merlin’s smug look but stayed quiet. The servant, turned god, sobered again, “But as I said Arthur, I was born with it. The magic. It's always been a part of me, I never intentionally sought it or practiced it unless I was simply trying to control it. Emrys is the name the druids gave me and it is one of prophecy. I’ve never understood their faith in me. I am just me, I am still just Merlin. But they believe that I am magic incarnate.”
Arthur stayed silent for a while and Merlin fidgeted. When I finally said something Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, “What prophecy?”
“Oh,” Merlin began, “they believe in a prophecy about me, and you, and our destiny. That I am apparently magic itself, and you are the Once and Future King, and together we are supposed to bring about the golden age of Albion. Two sides of the same coin.”
The king frowned in concentration, “Is that why I got pulled in too then? Because I’m the-the Once and Future King, the other half.”
“Um, probably?” Merlin mused, “I am not really sure to be honest.”
Arthur sat in thought for a moment then asked, “When did you know about this, this prophecy?”
The other man looked down, “Just after I arrived in Camelot.”
The king frowned, “Is that why you stayed?”
“No!” Merlin rushed out, “Well maybe at first it was, but I stayed after that because we became friends. You Arthur were the reason I stayed, no prophecy could have changed that. You are my destiny, but that’s because I chose you, I choose to serve you everyday because I want to. I’m not going to leave you, not for anything nor anyone.”
“Oh,” Arthur said, looking at Merlin in a different light now, “Well, um, good. I mean, yeah, that’s good, you are my friend too.”
Merlin smiled softly, “I know Arthur, and there is no one more important to me than you.”
Arthur shook his head, “I don’t deserve that Merlin, I don’t deserve your loyalty, your trust. I’m just human.”
“Maybe your heart is, but, from what the druids have told me, your soul is immortal, like mine.”
“Immortal?”
“The Once and Future King, you are destined to be the king who leads Albion now and again when the time is right.”
“But how can that be? I am a person who can live and die.” Arthur wanted to reach out to Merlin again, he needed to know that this wasn’t a trick or a dream. He felt himself drawn to Merlin. In reality he always had, ever since that first day, he’d always felt this draw. But now the draw was a burning need in his chest.
Merlin was glowing faintly again as there was another pulse of magic around them. It seemed to be coming from the air and the earth at once. Merlin blinked to clear his head again, “I don’t know what is happening precisely, but I do know that as we are two halves to a whole, our souls are intertwined.”
“I think I already knew that,” Arthur confessed.
Merlin tilted his head in question.
Arthur took a deep breath to steady himself, “I think,” he paused and held Merlin's eyes with his own, “I am beginning to understand, I always felt that there was… something. Something about you that was more. And it drew me in instantly. It must have been that destiny you spoke of. But to me it was always something just more, different. I’d never known someone like you Merlin, never felt for someone like you. But it must be that, that our souls are one. I didn’t think soulmates existed, but I suppose that gods can create what they want to. Especially the god of magic.”
Arthur had shifted forwards into Merlin’s space, he stared at him reverentially. Merlin looked back equally in awe of the other. His other half. His heart and his soul.
“Arthur,” Merlin breathed, close now to Arthur’s face, “what are you trying to say?”
Arthur huffed, “Merlin, surely you aren’t that thick.”
Merlin smiled, “You’d be surprised, it’s not easy earning the title of worst servant in Camelot.”
The king shook his head in amused dismay, “You are definitely not going to be a servant anymore when we get back,” Merlin opened his mouth to protest but Arthur continued before he could say anything, “imagine having the god of magic muck out the stables. It’d be a more fitting job for a king than a god. But that is not what I was trying to say. I was trying to say, Mer lin, that these feelings that I’ve had for years. I tried so hard to ignore them, thinking they could never be. But I understand now that they were meant to be, destined even. I think, Merlin, that I was made to love you,” Arthur paused as Merlin gasped, “and I do, love you, that is.”
Arthur waited for Merlin to say anything. It seemed that Merlin had stopped working for a few moments as he processed this. Arthur just smiled, lovestruck, at his idiot god.
Merlin blinked once and then twice then finally managed, “You love me?”
Arthur smiled and said, “Yes you dollophead.”
The other man laughed and surged forwards, locking his lips with Arthur’s sealing them together with a kiss. Arthur grabbed hold of Merlin as he fell backwards and brought him onto himself further. He reveled in the feeling of Merlin on top of him, kissing him desperately.
As they melted together into the kiss, the world went bright around them once more. When Merlin noticed this he gasped and moved back, “Sorry, I, there’s a lot of new magic and it doesn’t want to stay in.”
Arthur laughed, he looked around as the light and air swirled around them in a kaleidoscope of colors, “Do you think that’s what that barrier is for?” He gestured to the magical barrier still closing them in the shrine.
Merlin looked up and muttered, “Probably,” his eyes then caught Gwaine’s on the outside of the barrier. Gwaine stood smirking at them both as they lay there in the middle of the circle on top of one another. The other knights seemed to have had the decency to move away once it was clear they weren’t in danger. But of course it would be Gwaine who would watch and laugh at them. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Merlin groaned in defeat.
Arthur looked back too and saw Gwaine, he gestured rudely with his hands and the knight put his hands up in mock surrender. Thankfully though, he moved back.
Merlin didn’t move from on top of Arthur where they lay on the ground, but he did shift to lay down more comfortably, “At least I don’t think he could hear us, but we should probably just wait until we can leave.”
Arthur chuckled, “Yes, but as soon as we get back to the castle, you are coming to my rooms.”
“Oh course, sire ,” Merlin teased.
Arthur scoffed, “I don’t think you should call me that, unless of course you want me calling you my lord .”
“Don’t. You. Dare.” Merlin threatened.
Arthur simply laughed and held Merlin tighter.
They laid there peacefully, knowing there would be much to discuss, learn, and do once the barrier faded and they could leave. But for now, they let the magic settle in them and between them. They ignored the knights who were growing bored and restless on the outside, and they drifted to sleep peacefully in one another’s arms in their own corner of the world.