Work Text:
Merlin tripped as a brutish man shoved him into the cell, closely followed by Arthur and Leon. Arthur tried to wrestle free but the door was closed in his face with a clang, only a small barred window at eye-level.
“You will regret this!” Arthur yelled through the window, but Merlin ignored him in favour of helping Leon sit down, wincing.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve been struck with arrow, and won’t be the last,” Leon smiled against his pain. “Besides, it’s only a leg.”
Merlin shook his head, “I’ll never understand you knights.” Leon chuckled.
Arthur continued to bang on the door. “Let us out and I will spare your lives!”
“Arthur-” Merlin started, not wanting to add a headache and ringing ears to their already substantial list of problems. He was interrupted by an ugly face appearing behind the bars on the door.
“Look who we have here,” he sneered. “The King of Camelot and not one, but two travelling companions! My mistress will be extremely pleased.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Arthur growled.
“Oh-Ho! What are you going to do, Princeling? There are two hundred men in this fortress, and you are unarmed with an injured knight and a servant. I’m afraid there’s not much hope for escape.”
“If you value your life-”
The man laughed. “I am going to be rich,” he said jovially to himself as he walked away, leaving Arthur fuming at the cell door. Merlin got up from where he crouched beside Leon and put his hand on his king’s shoulder, pulling him away from the door. Arthur scowled and shrugged him off, but moved nonetheless, leaning on the wall opposite Leon. Merlin sighed and sat beside his injured friend.
“What are we going to do?” Merlin asked in the dank silence of the cell.
“The same as we always do, Merlin.”
“What, die horrible deaths in a random fortress because you fancied a quest?” Well – it was an important quest. For Merlin at least. Arthur thought he was looking for some magical artefact, while Merlin was searching for the sorceress who commissioned it. As always, he was pulling all the weight, Merlin thought. Well, at least he had Leon to help him now.
“No, you idiot.” Arthur glared at him. “We’re going to escape.”
“Do you have a plan, sire?” Leon asked. Merlin could hear the strain in his voice – the wound must be causing him far more pain than Leon let on. Damn knights and their damn bravery – they never knew when to take care of themselves.
Arthur raised his eyebrows. “Not yet.”
Merlin let his head fall against the wall with a dull thud. “Great,” he muttered. “Just great.”
<<>>
As it usually went, Arthur did come up with a plan. Merlin didn’t like it, and Leon was just plain-old against it, but they knew there would be no changing Arthur’s mind now.
“Absolutely not!” Leon protested again anyway. “Not one part of that plan is a good idea!”
“I’m the king, and I give the orders.”
“I’m with Leon…” Merlin said. “You can’t run around in an enemy fortress alone! You’ll get yourself killed.”
“They won’t even see me, and even if they do, I’m a better fighter than all of them.” Merlin stood, looking at him with disbelief.
“You hear that man! There’s two hundred men in this castle! Don’t be thick, Arthur.”
Arthur crossed his arms and levelled him with a stare. “Unless either of you have a better plan, we’re doing mine.” He paused, looking between them. “Nothing? Good.”
“Let me go, and you stay with Leon,” Merlin said, and Arthur rolled his eyes.
“Don’t be ridiculous Merlin, you have no skills whatsoever.”
“Then let me,” Leon grunted as he tried to make it up from the ground without putting any weight on his injured leg. Merlin immediately put Leon’s arm around his shoulder, keeping him upright. “I can go, and you and Merlin can stay here and wait.”
“You’re injured, Leon.” He gestured to the blood stained straw on the ground where Leon’s leg had been. Merlin nodded in agreement – he was in no condition to sneak around enemy territory.
“I can still-” Leon tried to protest, but Arthur didn’t let him finish.
“Enough, I’m going. As long as you two hold up your part of the plan, everything will be fine. Are you sure you’ve got it?”
“It’s not really all that complicated,” Merlin said dryly and he helped Leon back into a sitting position.
Arthur smiled patronisingly. “Good, so don’t mess it up.” Merlin only glared at him, until Arthur made a gesture that Merlin interpreted as ‘go on then, Merlin’.
He took a deep breath, “Guard! Guard!” he shouted through the window on the cell door, as Arthur pressed himself flat on the wall next to it. “GUARD!” Leon flopped to the ground dramatically.
“Oi!” Another burly man stomped up to their cell. “What are you yelling about?!”
“My friend! He’s dead,” Merlin wailed, flapping his hands. “You killed him!”
“I ain’t do nothing of the sort.” The guard grunted.
“You shot him! The arrow’s made him bleed out! He’s dead!” Beside him, where Merlin could see but the guard couldn’t, Arthur was pressing his lips together in an attempts to avoid laughing – whether at Merlin’s superb acting skills or Leon’s imitation of dead body, Merlin wasn’t sure.
The guard squinted at Leon lying under the red cape. “Boss won’t be pleased.” He muttered, while Merlin heard the jangle of keys beginning to unlock the cell door. “Any funny business, and you’ll regret it.”
Merlin nodded solemnly. “No funny business. I promise.” The guard sighed and opened the door, barely noticing Arthur as he walked over and leaned over Leon’s supposed corpse. When he prodded it with his boot, Leon opened his eyes, and the man jumped back, looking at Merlin. He brought a hand from behind his back forward, revealing two fingers crossed. “Sorry,” was all he said before Arthur brought his armour-clad elbow down on the top of the man’s head, knocking him into unconsciousness before a single sound could escape him.
Leon got himself back upright as Merlin and Arthur dragged the man’s heavy body against the wall next to Leon, Arthur stealing the guard’s sword and throwing Merlin his cape. “I’ll see you later,” Arthur said to him, eyes blue on blue.
“I’ll be waiting.”
A last nod to Leon, and Arthur was gone, closing the cell door behind him and disappearing down the darkened prison hall.
Merlin made quick work of draping Arthur’s red cloak over the unconscious guard to disguise him, like they talked about in the plan. The he settled next to Leon. “Let me see your leg.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Merlin. Arthur will notice if the wound suddenly disappears – only magic can do that.” Merlin sighed, but he knew Leon was right.
“Just let me take away the pain, and clear any infection. Gaius can take care of the rest when we get back to Camelot.” He knelt by Leon’s leg, carefully pulling the pant leg up to expose the arrow wound on his calf. “It’s only a flesh wound, if the pain is gone then you should still be able to walk on it without causing any permanent damage.”
Leon winced as he jostled him. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. Merlin nodded.
“Geh’aelan,” he murmured. Within seconds, golden light filled Merlin’s eyes, and Leon gasped. Merlin looked up. “Is it okay?”
“Okay? It’s amazing!” Leon moved his leg, bending and unbending it at the knee. “It feels completely normal!” Merlin watched as he scrambled to take a look at the wound, which was still there, but looked far cleaner.
“Yeah,” he chuckled and slumped against the wall next to Leon, relieved. “I suck at healing magic.”
Leon looked up from where he was still marvelling at his leg. “What are you good at, then?” Merlin shrugged.
“My magic’s more instinctual… raw. Finer arts – like healing – aren’t as easy as things like basic defence and attack. Though it might just be I have more practice with those. Weather is easy though.” Some other things came more naturally too, like using his dragon-magic. But Merlin had decided against telling Leon about the dragon when he’d first found out about the magic, only because the knight was still somewhat traumatised by that whole event.
“Pardon?”
“Things like pushing storms away, or conjuring them. That’s exhausting, but weirdly easier. I actually once defeated a high priestess by striking her with lightening.”
Leon gaped at him. “The weather,” he said.
“Yup.”
He took a deep breath. “You never cease to surprise me.”
“Part of my charm.” They shared a grin, before heavy footsteps approached their cell.
The brutish, ugly man from earlier appeared at the door, and both Merlin and Leon got to their feet. “What do you want?” Leon growled.
“I’m just checking you’re not dead, knight. My mistress has said she want you all alive.” He chuckled, stroking his thick beard.
“Let us go,” Merlin said, just for the sake of it. The man ignored him in favour of peering into their cell.
“Where’s your glorious king, boy?” he asked, trying to get a clear view of the sleeping form behind Merlin’s head.
“Resting. You injured him when you brought us here. He’s sleeping,” Merlin snapped.
“Is he now?” Immediately, the man began to bang on the cell door. “Wake up little king!” he yelled, creating a racket loud enough to wake any sleeping man. After no reaction, the man narrowed his eyes at Leon and Merlin.
“He’s a deep sleeper,” Merlin offered by way of explanation. The man began to reach for the key ring on his belt, and Leon shot Merlin a panicked look, bidding him to do something. Merlin did the first thing that came to mind – he started sneezing. Over and over again. Leon crinkled his brow, and the man looked a little disgusted as Merlin continued to sneeze. On the final one, he tucked his face into his elbow, and only Leon was able to catch the glow of gold in his eyes as he faked one last sneeze. All the other man saw was the unconscious guard (who he thought was Arthur, King of Camelot) groan and jostle in his sleep.
The man pressed his face up to the bar, squinting at Merlin. This close, Merlin could see what appeared to be dried blood staining the man’s beard. Gross. Smiling prettily, Merlin only looked at the man. “Allergies,” he said cheerfully.
Beard-Blood rolled his eyes and muttered something that Merlin didn’t quite catch, before leaving them alone in the cell once more, satisfied that all three of the prisoners were accounted for. Leon let out a breath, and Merlin replicated.
“That was close,” Leon murmured.
“Yeah. How much longer do you think he’ll be?”
“Not much longer – Arthur was only supposed to find the nearest exit and come back for us, so that we didn’t waste time. Though it does seem a bit pointless now, since my leg won’t slow us down anymore.” Merlin pressed his lips together, and Leon clapped him on the shoulder. “Give him a little more time.”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me more about this sorceress we’re meant to be looking for.” Leon said gently, and Merlin was grateful for his friend’s effort to keep him from worrying about Arthur more than he had to.
“I don’t know much – only that Gaius has been hearing rumours about a woman named Anastasie has been searching for Emrys.”
“Aren’t you Emrys?”
“Exactly. It seems that she’s gotten hold of something that will help her find me, I have no idea how or what it is. I doubt it’s real, but…”
“So you convinced Gaius to tell Arthur he needed to find it?” Merlin nodded. “Why did you think going straight to the person who’s looking for you was a good idea?” Leon asked, sounding perplexed.
“I’ll be fine-” He was interrupted once again by footsteps, though this time they belonged to many people. Merlin barely had time to see what was happening before the cell door swung open, and a group of guards entered the cell, including Beard-Blood.
The man walked over to the unconscious body and ripped away the red cloak to reveal the guard knocked out on the floor, rather than the king of Camelot. “Sleeping, did you say?” Merlin didn’t even try to come up with an excuse. They’d been caught. “No worry, you’ll be reunited with your King soon enough.”
Leon and Merlin tried to hold them off, but the two of them unarmed and unwilling to use magic were no match for the seven guards with weapons. They were grabbed by the shoulders and marched out of the cell.
<<>>
The guards shoved Merlin and Leon into a large, dark room. Columns made of dark wood lined the walls, and in the middle of the chamber stood a large wooden seat with gold detailing; a throne. Arthur knelt in front of it, and Merlin could tell he had been fighting. The guards forced Leon and Merlin onto their knees on either side him, their knees hitting the floor with a painful thud. Al of their hands were tied behind their backs.
“What happened?” Merlin hissed. He scanned Arthur for any visible injuries, and was relieved when he saw none.
“What do you think happened? I got caught.”
“I told you this would happen.”
Arthur looked as though he wanted to kill Merlin, and Leon rolled his eyes. “Sire-”
“I almost didn’t believe my men, when they told me the King of Camelot and a few of his companions were finally in my grasp.” A feminine voice interrupted their bickering, and all of their heads turned. A woman, dressed in black pants and a chainmail shirt, stepped into the throne room. Her steps echoed through it.
“There will be war for this,” Arthur spat. The woman smirked, tossing a black lock of hair over her shoulder as she took her seat on the throne in front of them. She looked down upon them, and Merlin knew she was the sorceress, Anastasie.
“That is not what I want. I do not desire measly human power.”
Merlin saw Leon’s eyes flick to him. He wasn’t the only person who had figured the identity of their captor.
“Then what do you want with us?” Leon asked, his cool façade still intact.
Her responding laugh tinkled through the room, which was dead silent apart from the crackling of torches and Arthur’s heavy breathing. “I’m so glad you asked. I’ve been searching for something – someone. Surely one of you know who it is?” All three of them stayed silent, and Anastasie ran the tips of her fingers along the arm of her throne. “Someone said to always be by the King’s side. Emrys.”
“I know no one by that name.” he growled and Anastasie smiled leeringly. Arthur’s eyes flicked to Merlin, but she did not seem to notice.
“I know, dear King.” She sighed. “I do not desire human power, but it is a necessity in this world. You’re little Camelot will provide me with the funds to do as I like, but my true power will come from Emrys. No man nor creature will be able to withstand me.”
“Why would Camelot do that?”
“Because with Emrys in my control, there is nothing I would not be able to control. Including you.”
“No one needs that much power,” Leon said. Anastasie turned her attention to him.
“Don’t they?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she regarded him.
Merlin snorted, “You’re going to be sorely disappointed by this Emrys,” he huffed. “Besides, if he’s as elusive as they say, you’ll never know if you have him.”
“Shut. Up. Merlin.” Arthur growled through gritted teeth. Leon glared at him in a way to reciprocate the sentiment.
Anastasie laughed, “I have my ways.” From her throne, she snapped her fingers. A man approached, holding an elaborate little tin that she plucked from his hand. It was a deep green, with golden vines wrapping around it and creating a little lock, just as Gaius had told them. Merlin could feel some odd essence flowing from it.
“I already told you, we know no Emrys. Let us go. We cannot help you,” Arthur said. She smirked.
“And I’ve already told you, boy-king, that I require you. Do not mistake me for stupid – You are only new to the throne. I have been plotting and playing the game for years.”
Arthur shifted, making to lunge at the woman on the throne until the guard at his shoulder roughly pulled his back, pushing down to keep him on his knees.
“Arthur, stop.” Merlin muttered. Getting himself killed wouldn’t help anything. His words amused their captor.
“Yes,” she sneered, “do as your servant tells you. Though perhaps you are more than just a servant?”
“He’s too much of an idiot to be anything more. At least let him go – he is no threat.”
“No, Arthur.”
Anastasie huffed. “We shall soon find out.” She held the intricate tin delicately in her hand. “Do you have any idea what lies in my hand?”
“Poison.” Arthur answered roughly. That was what Gaius had told him. She smiled down.
“Of a sort. It is a powder, that when applied to the eyes will kill anything human, but spare the life of a creature of magic. The eyes are the window to the soul, after all.” She pressed her thumb against the gold, and the small box opened with a click. Inside was a fine, glittering green powder. She pinched some up with her fingers, getting to her feet. “Which of your friends should I try first, dear king?”
“Stay away from them!”
“If you will not choose, then I will make the choice on your behalf. Use what human power you have left, before I take it from you.”
“Me! I’m Emrys!” Merlin whipped his head around to Leon, who kept his chin in the air as he faced down the sorceress while she stepped towards him. “Test me.” Merlin stared at Leon with wide eyes, shaking his head. He called out no, but it made no difference. He had to do something – he couldn’t allow Leon to die for him.
“No!” Arthur bellowed as well, struggling against his guard’s hold, but failing. It was hard to do much with his hands bound behind him.
“Oh, knight-” she stroked the side of Leon’s face. He bristled, but said nothing, only holding her stare. “-you are very brave, but it was not you that I offered the choice.” Taking her hand off Leon, Anastasie walked towards Merlin, who let out a sigh of relief. “We shall start with you.”
“No, Merlin!” Arthur roared, Leon following in suit, fighting a useless struggle against the strong hands that held them down. “Merlin!”
Anastasie delicately pressed her fingers into the green powder, scooping some up. “Have no fear, if he is Emrys, then he will live.” Merlin saw it all happen in slow motion, the glittering substance approaching his eyes, Arthur and Leon struggling. When the powder was finally brushed across his eyes, he screamed.
It burned his eyes, he squeezed them shut and started to rub against his shoulder, trying desperately to get it out – to make it stop hurting. He felt as though his eyes were melting. He was screaming. The pain blocked out everything around him. Merlin didn’t notice the sudden yells that weren’t his or the subsequent sounds of metal against metal. He didn’t see a group of knights dressed in Camelot red burst into the throne room and free Arthur and Leon, didn’t see Leon steal a sword.
He didn’t notice the way the woman who had been in front of him stumbled back from the action, only to be met by the sharp end of Leon’s stolen sword, or the way she fell to her knees, and Leon let her fall. Merlin didn’t hear Gwaine and Elyan yelling to each other across the room as they fought different men, or the way the fighting slowly dies down.
Merlin didn’t notice Arthur.
As soon as his guards attention was away from him, Arthur leapt to his feet. Percival cut him free, but Arthur didn’t stop to grab a sword. Instead he ran for where Merlin was screaming in pain, and rubbing his eyes against his shoulders, tears running down his face. Arthur fell to his knees in front Merlin, using his still-gloved fingers to rub the remaining powder away from his eyes. He did it gently, but Merlin still cried out. “Merlin.” He said his name, panicked. Arthur continued to rub the excess powder away, while being careful not to touch Merlin’s actual eyes, for fear of rubbing it in any further.
“It sting, it stings Arthur,” Merlin wept.
“I know, I know. We have to wash it out.”
“Here!” Elyan tossed Arthur a water skin, and he wasted not a second uncorking it with his teeth and pouring the contents across Merlin’s face and into his eyes.
“You’re going to be fine, Merlin. Fine.” Though anyone who heard the words would be able to tell Arthur was trying to convince himself more than he was Merlin.
“We have horses outside- we need to go before reinforcements arrive,” Gwaine said. Merlin still barely heard him. The pain was beginning to lessen, and he could see out of his eyes, but they still burned. The main thing he could do was feel, and all he felt was Arthur’s hands still cupping Merlin’s face. Arthur nodded.
“Cut him free. We’re leaving.” Elyan released Merlin’s hands, and Arthur stood up. He grabbed Merlin, and swung his body over his shoulder – it would be quicker if they didn’t have to make a stumbling Merlin walk half blind.
“This way,” Percival said, and they made their escape from the hellish fortress.
<<>>
Arthur carried Merlin all the way through the fortress and into the woods beyond. “Arthur…” Merlin groaned.
“Shut up, Merlin. We have to get you back to Camelot.” He turned to Elyan and Percival. “You two fetch the horse. Gwaine, help Leon. His leg is still injured. I’m going to take Merlin to the stream just over there to rinse his eyes some more.”
“Yes, sire.” They all nodded.
Merlin still hung over his shoulders, Arthur walked to the small creek just behind some foliage. He put Merlin back down onto the ground, surprisingly gently.
“How bad does it hurt?”
“Pretty bad.”
Arthur’s lips twitched into a grimace. “Put your head in the water.”
“It’s like you want me to drown.”
“Just do it, Merlin.” Merlin sighed, but did as he was told anyway. Kneeling on the bank, he leaned over the shallow water and splashed some onto his face. It helped with the pain, the coolness replacing the overpowering burn that still hadn’t disappeared. He felt Arthur’s hand on his back, reassuring.
Merlin continued to wash his eyes, revelling in the relief it offered, until Gwaine’s voice yelled from nearby.
“BANDITS!”
Arthur grabbed his sword, and pulled Merlin to his feet just as two men emerged in front of them from the behind the trees. Merlin – through his blurred vision – recognised one as the ugly beard-blood man.
“Stay behind me.” Arthur instructed, pushing Merlin back.
“Did you really think escape would be so easy?” Beard-Blood sneered, before he noticed Merlin behind Arthur. “Is he really still alive?” he asked, sounding almost surprised.
“Leave us, call off your men. Your mistress is dead.”
“And all the better for it.” The man’s voice darkened. “the king and Emrys himself, right in my grasp!” Merlin straightened. He’d been kind of hoping Arthur would conveniently forget about the whole Emrys part of things.
“Stay back,” Arthur said, growling. Merlin could still hear the clash of swords a little distance away, Gwaine and Leon’s voices amid them. Beard-Blood only smirked, and stepped forward. Everything still looked fuzzy and distorted, and Merlin could still see when Arthur leapt forward, bringing his sword down hard against the other man’s.
Back and forth, they traded blows. Arthur held his ground, and Merlin could tell he would soon be placing his winning blows when he felt a knife at his neck, a think arm wrapped around him to keep him from escaping. Arthur cried out, “Merlin!”
Merlin’s capture was all the distraction Beard-Blood needed to compromise Arthur, knocking him to the ground and holding his sword above his chest. Arthur’s own sword had been knocked out of his hand, and laid several metres from his reach.
“Any last words, highness?”
Arthur struggled for his breath, winded. He tilted his head and looked at Merlin. “…Mer…lin,” he panted. “Merlin. I already know.” Merlin didn’t know what he was referring to. Arthur already knew what? He fought the grasp, but the man behind him kept the blade pressed hard enough to his throat the Merlin could already feel a line of blood trickling along his skin. As Beard-Blood lifted the sword, about to make his killing blow, Merlin could feel his options – and time – running out.
The knights were still fighting elsewhere, and Merlin couldn’t get free. There were no branches to drop… there was nothing short of revealing his magic that would save them. He saw it in slow motion, when Beard-Blood started bringing the sword down, and Arthur looked over at Merlin. Merlin, through the bleariness and burning of his eyes, held his gaze. He had no more choice.
“Forþ fleoge” He cried, and allowed his magic to flow through him, making his eyes glow brightly and throw both of their attackers away from them, rendered unconscious. Merlin stared at Arthur, who huffed and let his head drop back on the ground. He didn’t approach him.
“Merlin.” Arthur called, still staring up at the sky from the ground. “What are you doing over there?” He spoke so casually, as though Merlin hadn’t just used magic in front of him. As if Merlin hadn’t just revealed the biggest secret of his life.
“What?” he asked dumbly. Arthur finally lifted his head again, to look at him.
“Don’t be thick, Merlin. Help me up.”
Tentatively, Merlin stumbled towards him. He grabbed Arthur’s extended hand, and dragged him to his feet. “Arthur?” he asked when they were both eye level.
“Are you injured?” Arthur grabbed Merlin’s chin, tilting it ton inspect the thin line of blood that must have been painted across his throat.
“I’m fine,” he croaked. Maybe not fine, but definitely not dead. Merlin couldn’t take his eyes off of Arthur. He had just used his magic in front of him… he had just revealed his biggest secret and Arthur hadn’t even mentioned it. Merlin had often wondered what Arthur would do, when he learned of his magic. Whether he would kill him with his bare hands, or have him executed. Whether he would leave or tell Merlin too. Whether he would send him away and tell him never to come back. Even in the nicer imagines, Arthur simply failing to mention it had never crossed his mind. Tears were welling in Merlin’s eyes again, this time not from physical pain. He was scared.
Arthur looked up from Merlin’s neck, noticing the tears that had started to run down Merlin’s cheeks from the corners of his eyes. He frowned. “Your eyes? Are they hurting again? Merlin?” Panic began to lace his voice. Merlin shook his head. He looked at Arthur with his eyes wide – he hadn’t even noticed that after the golden flash of his magic, the blurriness had disappeared.
“I have magic, Arthur. I am magic,” he said, his voice breaking.
Arthur blinked at him. “I told you, I already know that.”
“What?” Merlin could barely string words together in his mind, let alone say the out loud. How could Arthur have possibly known?
“I’ve known for some time-”
“How?”
“You’re not very discreet, Merlin. And neither is Leon, which is more than slightly concerning. He, at least, should know better.”
“No… no. How are you… like this? Don’t you want to kill me? Or banish me from Camelot? Tell me you never want to see me again?” Merlin’s voice was frantic now. Arthur’s face softened.
“Merlin,” he started. “I would never do that. Never,” he added a little roughly. “I was mad, and I still am. That you never told me… that you didn’t trust me.”
“I was just trying to protect you.”
Arthur sighed, and lifted his hand back to cup Merlin’s face. He used his thumb to brush away the tear, and stunned, Merlin let him. “Unfortunately, I can understand that.” He stared at him, and it felt like a moment formed around them, just for them. Merlin still couldn’t believe it.
The moment was broken when Leon, followed by the rest of their friends, stumbled into the small clearing, bloodied and bruised but alive either way. Arthur snatched his hand back from Merlin’s face, just as Gwaine gave a low whistle until Elyan slapped him in the side. They jumped apart, and turned to face their friends.
“Back to Camelot, then?” Percival asked, and Arthur looked at merlin, and then back to the knights.
“Back to Camelot,” he affirmed. “We have some work to do.”
<<>>
When they were all on their horses and on the road back home, Merlin looked over to Arthur, who rode beside him as usual. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“For what?”
“Everything.”
Arthur smiled at him. “You too.” They rode a little further, when Arthur spoke again. “I’m lifting the ban on magic within the week.”
Merlin sputtered. “What?! Arthur! That’s a big decision! And you can’t do it in a week anyway, king or not!”
“I’ve been working on it for months. Ever since I found out about your magic.”
Merlin looked at the wide, proud grin on Arthur’s face, and his heart softened. He couldn’t help but blush a little. “Dollophead,” was all he could think to say.
“Clotpole.”
“Can’t even think of your own insults, can you, cabbage head?” Merlin said cheekily.
“You know, I liked you better when you were thanking me.”
“I liked you better when you the dead guy in our cell.”
“Oi!” Arthur, protested, then added, “did that actually work?”
“Yep,” Merlin said proudly, “they just though you were a really deep sleeper.”
“I told you it wasn’t a stupid plan.”
“You literally got caught.”
“Shut up, Merlin.”