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The underworld was really a scary place. Or at least, not as scary as it seems when you are alive. It was just… well, dead.
Frankly, Arthur would even dare to say it was more an annoying place than anything else. There was just so many souls, many Arthur had loved, yes. Many he held fiercely when he saw them again. On the other hand, there was many Arthur didn't want to see ever again. And many, many, too many family members.
"And so I told her, 'I do not care for your pigeon' because frankly who want to eat pigeon everyday and then she replied to me that it wasn—" his great-great-great-grandfather on his Mother side said, again. To the great joy of his contemporaries.
His uncle, Agravaine, was sat next to him. Looking just as annoyed as Arthur was. *Serve him right*.
His very own father, on the other hand, was fighting his mother's father, again. Or to be exact, his grandfather was kicking his father in the stomach and his father was whimpering on the floor. Not that it was really an issue. They both were dead after all.
Let's not get things wrong. Arthur had been over enjoyed to met his family. To see his dead loved one back. Yet, after 4 weeks, things were already looking old. Who knew there was indeed a limite to everything.
The 'kitchen' exploded and Morgana threw pot in their father face, her other father cheering behind her.
This was really getting old.
He looked behind himself, searching. That, on the other hand had not changed. There was still no one there.
There was only one particular important person that didn't come to greet Arthur yet.
It was true that one could generally hardly be held accountable for not greeting newly dead in time. Death often came with years in between, death was mean to be deading. Not waiting at the gates, to watch billions of soul passes by. And, even if you did you may miss them still.
New travelled fast it was true but keeping up will all your children's children's children's children's children's children's or with your ancestor’s ancestor’s ancestor’s ancestor’s ancestor’s ancestor’s was already an impossible task. However, Arthur could attest that this particular person didn't have any children and frankly, to Arthur's not so humble opinion, spending time with your ancestors didn’t mean you could let down your… friends.
And so, he couldn't really complain when Arthur took big measure and went to The Deadly Administration Of Lost Soul & Other Being get his location.
Arthur would even argue that he should be the one complaining. He wouldn’t have to do it if Merlin did is elder dead’s job. Arthur was the newly dead. They even had The Clay Dead Newsletter's, why wasn’t Merlin subscribed to the Camelot one ? Why should he be filling administrative forms just because Merlin couldn't be bothered to check up if his alive friends died recently?
He knew he was being unfair. It was true that nobody had really died close to Merlin in years and it was true that he could simply have assumed they would live for long. It was a very Merlin thing to do.
It was also true that Lancelot probably would tell Arthur where he was if he asked. Arthur just didn't want to ask him.
And so Arthur found himself in the long, very long queue made out of ghosts. Most of them being people that just could not accept that, even in death, other didn't want to see their face.
"Tell me where my wife is!"
"No. "
"We were married! I have right to know where is! "
"Indeed and so, no" The Office worker gestured vaguely and the ghost was send back to the end of the queue. Free to go or to wait for another round.
A young child walked to the counter carefully, "Excuse me, do you know where is my cat?" She spoke in a foreign language, yet Arthur could understand without issue.
"I do. " They said gently, taking a rock out of the billion hanging behind them and sliding it toward the child "Follow its path. Anything else?"
The child looked up and then down on the ground "and my rabbit? The one mother cooked. Does... Does he want to see me? "
Without a word they took another stone. And then another one, and another one. The child finally giggled away, her arms filled with rocks of different size.
And so it went on and on. Animals, humans, plants, mushrooms, they all asked the same question "Where are they?" They were either met with refusal or a rock. Sometimes, a few would get "it isn’t their time yet. " or "they will see you on their own volition."
And so, when it was his own turn. Arthur thought he knew what he could expect. A no, a rock, hope or heartbreak.
"Excuse me, where is my Merlin?"
What he didn't expect was the blank silence.
The office worker blinked and then blinked again.
"Ah. "
They coughed and inexplicably, awkwardly, got up. Their hands flying, turning over pile and pile of clay tablets.
"Ah." They said again, uselessly. "Please, wait a bit. " and then… they walked away.
Arthur could feel the gaze of everyone behind him. Whispers rose in the room. Even ghosts in other queue were looking at his direction. Even other office workers gazed at him. Their immortal routine broken.
When they finally came back, they did not hold a rock in their palm. They had a a sort of little star instead.
They reverently set it down on the counter, "Follow His path. "
Before he could even consider to grasp the little light, it flew into the air. Jumping around in excitement, like a dog wanting to play. Beckoning him into following.
Carefully, Arthur advanced.
The light didn't lead him to the Ghost town, it went deeper into the building. Deep under the ground, into tunnels, then without any reason it went up, up, high above into the red hellish sky, making him walk on the silver bridges.
Low again.
High once more.
Left and right.
Round and backward.
He didn't know how long it took. He never cared. His heart followed.
He only knew that at some point the permanent feeling of death disappeared. The dirt underneath his feet went from bare to filled with blue grass, the rock on the ground became crystal clear, the sky turned into a light yellow. The birds sang again, the trees rose from the earth again, unicorn ran into the field, dragons rose in the sky. Butterfly flapped their little wings above water.
There were even people into the distance, watching him.
It was like being alive again.
He didn't even notice the little star dissolving into the trees's leaves.
He didn't need it, his feet knew where to go.
And there, there indeed he was. Sat on a branch on the highest tree, his feet dangling into the void.
Wind turned the ruffling of the leave into crystal tinkering. Thousand of star fluttered into the wind, flying high above into the sky. Once in a while, Merlin would catch one of them and it would light, brighter than any other else.
He turned his gaze toward him and smiled.
What is the more to say?