Work Text:
The lake lapped along the stony shore. A young woman entered the water and interrupted the tranquility. Bubbles crashed in her wake and dispersed around her golden cape. A man followed. The muck swirled up to their conjoined hands, and the fresh oil on his sword faltered under its onslaught. She turned to him, but his glassy blue eyes showed no sign of recognition.
She blinked back tears. Then incantations streamed through the twilight, and her rosy lips quirked. He stood tall, unresponsive to her charms, so she pulled herself up by his chainmail. She closed her eyes and pressed their lips together. His eyelids drooped.
Beyond the gates, the Sidhe elders assembled to receive Arthur Pendragon’s lifebreath. Power poured into Sophia Tír-Mòr. All it took was a nudge for him to fall. She watched, smiling with her hand outstretched, as he sank.
From Avalon, the Once and Future King watched Merlin’s latest incarnation splash about with his best friend.
They couldn’t come to the lake until after work, and the residual heat from the sun had already gone. “Why is it so bloody cold?” Lin complained.
Liam scoffed. “Because you can’t function without your neckerchief.”
“Dollophead.” They tackled each other, laughing and playing, as the moon rose.
Liam said, “Hey, Lin, I know you can make bigger waves than that!”
“Oh, yeah? Watch this!” Lin blasted them apart. He hadn’t fine-tuned his magic in this life yet, so the surge was stronger than he planned. Lin tripped over a rock, fell backward, and disappeared from view.
The barrier between the realms cracked. The ritual continued as Sophia’s so-called “willing sacrifice of royal blood” descended. Precious air escaped from his open mouth. Water rushed into all his orifices and seeped towards his lungs. Arthur showed no reaction to the sudden altercation on land.
Sophia’s hold on Arthur dissipated along with her mortal body, but he was already unconscious. The gates of Avalon slammed closed; Arthur kept drifting down.
Liam was chuckling as he hit land, but, when he looked around, Lin hadn’t resurfaced. He called, “Lin! Where’d you go?”
Lin’s muscles had cramped up from the chill water. Arthur watched in horror.
Liam scrambled for his phone. “Hey Siri, call 999!”
Merlin raced into the lake, calling again and again for his prince. “Arthur!”
The only response was Merlin’s own splashing.
He dove under. He couldn’t make out anything but murky yellow. Merlin surfaced and shook droplets out of his hair. None of the spells in Gaius’s book had prepared him for this, but he latched onto his golden core anyway.
Lin’s body burned from lack of oxygen. He tried to propel himself back up with magic, but he was too disoriented.
Liam had spoken to the emergency operator and started swimming towards where Lin had disappeared, but Arthur knew that Liam wouldn’t get there quickly enough, let alone be able to find Lin. Arthur banged on the gates to the mortal realm, but they were shut firmly.
Despite himself, Lin stopped holding his breath. The involuntary gasp did nothing but hasten the end. He reached out blindly with his magic and tugged as hard as he could.
Merlin’s eyes flashed, and his desperation careened him closer to a dark shadow.
“Arthur!”
Merlin ducked underwater and pulled and pulled until Arthur’s limp body was within reach. Holding on tightly to Arthur, Merlin swam back up.
Lin’s power broke the seal on the gates. Arthur gladly swam with the current towards Lin and gathered him into his arms.
Liam looked up in shock as Arthur rose from the lake, the moon glinting off of his armor.
As soon as he could stand flatfooted, Merlin started the treatment Gaius had taught him that morning. Using his magic as a counterbalance, he pressed the water out of Arthur’s chest. He leaned down and tilted Arthur’s chin with his thumb. Merlin breathed into Arthur until a cough wracked the prince.
“Sh, Arthur. Sleep now.”
Arthur slowly walked towards land, still carrying Lin. “I know I’m not supposed to come back yet, but you’re my only friend, and I couldn’t bear to lose you!”
Lin blinked. “Do I know you?”
He brushed Lin’s sopping bangs off of his face. “Hi, I’m Arthur.”
Liam said, “So, he doesn't know you.”
Lin shook some water out of his ear, confused. “Why did you call us friends, then?”
Arthur sighed. “That was my mistake.”