Chapter Seven – In Search of Merlin

When he awoke, the grey light of dawn was filtering through the curtains. It was a new day. Arthur felt strangely relaxed and not quite 'there', as though he were floating. Slowly, he flexed his body, his hands, his feet, and the floating sensation disappeared. He inched his leg a little, and was surprised not to feel any pain where Gwaine's sword had pierced him. In fact, had he not known better, he might have thought yesterday had never happened and he was waking up on a normal day having admittedly had what felt like the best night's sleep he had ever had. Then he looked around the room and saw Merlin sitting on a chair, his back to the light from the window, but a candle stood on the table next to him, now little more than a stub, its flame illuminating Merlin's face. He was wide awake and staring straight at Arthur. His eyes were no longer glowing. They looked large, and their expression was unfathomable, but they were definitely blue.

'Have you been here all night?' Arthur asked.

Merlin nodded. 'I...wanted to be here when you woke up,' he said tonelessly.

Arthur acknowledged the reply with a small smile. He needed time to wake up properly, to remember what had happened.

Merlin asked in the same quiet tone: 'How are you feeling?'

'I feel...' Arthur tried to process how he felt. 'I feel... great,' he concluded in surprise.

Merlin did not offer any answer to that. He seemed to be simply sitting there, waiting for Arthur to lead the way.

After a while, Arthur said, 'What happened last night?'

'You don't remember?' Merlin asked, leaning forward.

'Oh, I remember all right,' Arthur said, his tone becoming more forceful as his strength returned and his thought processes sharpened. 'But I want you to tell me.' Merlin looked distinctly uncomfortable. If Arthur had not known better, he would have said he had finally made Merlin squirm.

'I...' began Merlin, unsure if he could go on. He had been planning this conversation all night. How was it he now couldn't go through with it? 'I healed you,' he ended lamely.

'You healed me?' Arthur repeated. Merlin nodded. 'When no-one else could? I heard Leon telling Guinevere the wound was a mortal one, and Leon is as experienced in battle as I am. And Gaius could do nothing for me. Yet you, Merlin, you healed me? As simple as that?'

'It wasn't so simple...' Merlin murmured, remembering the complex incantation that had silently gone through his mind when he conjured the magic. It was not the sort of magic he had known since birth; this spell was something he had only recently felt powerful enough to master.

'Well, let's see what sort of a job you did, shall we Merlin?' said Arthur, warming to his theme. He sat up, and flung the bed covers from his legs. Around his leg, bloody bandages were still wrapped, and when Arthur had removed them, his trousers underneath were ripped and stiff with dried blood. Arthur ripped at the ragged trousers to reveal more of his leg. Where yesterday he had been cut to the bone, today the skin was smooth and unblemished. Slowly Arthur looked up and his eyes burned into Merlin's. 'I would say that was a pretty efficient job,' he said sardonically.

Merlin swallowed and struggled to find the right words. 'Arthur...' he began but Arthur interrupted him with a gesture that told Merlin not to speak.

'None of your lies, please Merlin. I think we have gone beyond that now, don't you?' He gave Merlin a judicious look. 'You're Emrys, aren't you?'

Merlin swallowed again and steeled himself. Looking Arthur directly in the eye he said, 'That is the name the Druids give me.'

Arthur nodded as though Merlin's words had confirmed something he already knew. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, cautiously at first, he couldn't help himself, but of course the moment his feet touched the floor he remembered that there would be no pain, that he was completely and utterly healed. Brought back from the dead, almost.

Merlin also stood up. It was not so much out of respect for his king, but more as a form of defence. In fact, he still felt quite weak from his fever, but he was able to stand, for which he was grateful, as he felt he needed to appear as strong as possible at this moment. He watched Arthur warily as the latter began to pace the room.

'You?' Arthur said disbelievingly. 'You're a sorcerer? You have powers greater than have ever been seen before? You're the one who is destined to walk the same path as me, to help me unite Albion and bring peace to the lands?' His voice became more and more incredulous. 'Merlin, you can't even serve wine without spilling it! You can't stalk a deer without tripping over your feet! You are a complete dollophead! How can you be the most powerful sorcerer in the land?' He came to a standstill in front of his servant.

Merlin felt affronted. He had expected Arthur to be angry, he had expected him to be upset, he had even expected him to call the guards and order Merlin to be thrown into jail. What he had not expected was this disbelief based upon Merlin's inadequacies as a servant.

'How can you be the king of Camelot, the Once and Future King, when you can't even dress yourself?' he retorted.

'I can dress myself,' Arthur countered. 'But why should I when I have a servant to do it for me?'

Merlin was about to respond when Arthur suddenly seemed to realise what they were doing.

'Why are we bickering like two women at the market?' he asked himself as much as Merlin. For a moment he stood deep in thought, then he took a deep breath and looked at Merlin again. 'All I can say is, you have certainly hidden your talents well.' The ghost of a smile twitched at his lips.

Merlin shrugged. 'It has not been easy,' he conceded.

The merest hint of a snort of laughter escaped Arthur. He turned and went to sit at the table. Merlin could no longer hold in the one question that was uppermost in his mind.

'Arthur,' he said, following the king to the table. 'What are you going to do with me?'

Arthur toyed with a quill that lay discarded on the table, as though he was considering this question. In truth, he already knew the answer, but it wouldn't do Merlin any harm to sweat about it for a moment or two. He had had two days in which to become accustomed to the idea that a sorcerer was working alongside him. A sorcerer who wanted what he wanted: justice, peace and a united Albion. A powerful sorcerer, more powerful than any other, more powerful even than Morgana. A sorcerer who used his magic for good. He would be a fool if he did not accept him and welcome him to the Round Table, and Arthur was no fool. He looked up at last, and indicated that Merlin should sit at the table with him. He was looking rather pale, Arthur realised, and not just because his fate lay in Arthur's hands.

'I am not my father,' he said, as Merlin sat down. 'During his lifetime he waged war on sorcery and and did everything he could to suppress both it and those people who used it. I believe he had just cause at times to fear and distrust sorcery as he did, but I have never been comfortable with the way he persecuted people with magic. I do not believe that sorcery itself is evil, but rather that some sorcerers can become evil when the power from sorcery corrupts them. Since I became king, I have not continued with my father's purge, as well you know. I will fight against the evil that sorcery can bring, but I will not fight against the sorcerers themselves, nor those who turn to sorcerers to achieve good and honest ends.' Arthur stopped for a moment and smiled at Merlin before continuing: 'You have no reason to fear, Merlin. From henceforth, magic shall be accepted in Camelot and will be welcomed in my court. We shall work together to bring peace and freedom to all people in this land, and we shall strive to unite Albion and drive out the enemies of peace and tolerance.' He did not name names. He did not need to.

Merlin's face broke into the broadest of smiles, matched only by Arthur's.

'Thank you, Sire,' he said simply. It was enough.

For a while, the two men sat in happy silence. So much needed to be said, but the day had only just begun and for now, both Arthur and Merlin were content. But as they sat, each engrossed in their own thoughts, Arthur's face began to cloud over a little. Finally, he spoke what was on his mind.

'I suppose now you will expect honours to be heaped upon you. You will want to have a place at the Round Table, and you will expect everyone to hang on your every word. You will want fine clothes and a chamber of your own.' Arthur didn't sound as though he minded terribly about this prospective rise in Merlin's status, but when he continued there was a hint of sadness in his voice. ' I shall have to find someone else to polish my armour, wash my clothes and clean my room.'

Merlin inclined his head considering this.

'Oh I don't know,' he said slowly. 'It would be nice to have people listen to me for a change, and I can't pretend I haven't always longed for a long swishy cloak and a pointed hat...'

Arthur looked at him sharply, and realised Merlin was joking.

'But as for someone else becoming your man-servant, well, who could do a better job than me?'

Merlin grinned, trying to elicit from Arthur a compliment. But Arthur remained gloomy and pensive.

'As my sorcerer and advisor, you will not have as much time to attend to my domestic needs as you used to.'

Merlin resisted the obvious reply that, since arriving in Camelot, his time had always been divided between serving Arthur, assisting Gaius, and saving the kingdom from every magical threat imaginable. He had, of late, become more and more indispensable to Arthur, both as his unofficial counsellor and his speech writer. His new role would hardly take up more time than was already devoted to the king. Furthermore, Arthur was clearly unaware of the practical uses to which Merlin could put his magic.

'Perhaps some of those tasks will not be as arduous as they were before,' he said cautiously.

Merlin hesitated for a moment, while Arthur puzzled over what he meant. Then, with a flash of his eyes, things began to move within the room. Arthur's armour was lifted into the air by invisible hands, and cloths began to polish it. His clothes were likewise lifted, taken to a tub of water and appeared to start washing themselves. Other objects in the room flew to their correct place, the curtains straightened, the bed was made, and last night's fire, which had long since gone out, relaid itself with logs and began to burn merrily. Arthur stared in wonder at everything and then looked at Merlin who sat nonchalantly in his chair, arms folded, enjoying the spectacle around him. He was smiling, and Arthur suddenly saw the funny side and began to smile too. They caught each other's eyes and simultaneously started to laugh with delight.

When their laughter died down, it was Merlin's turn to say what was on his mind.

'The day we went hunting and rescued the sorceress from the villagers...'

'What about it?' asked Arthur.

Merlin fixed him with a stare.

'I didn't fall into that stream, did I? You pushed me.' Arthur opened his mouth to protest, but in this morning for truth, he could not lie. Merlin continued. 'Only it would be nice, now that you know we share the same destiny, if you didn't try to half kill me just because you are unable to catch so much as a rabbit.'

Arthur couldn't help himself. He bridled at the accusation.

'Is this your great warlock powers of perception talking?' he mocked.

'No, this is my experience of being your servant talking.' He waited a moment but Arthur said nothing. 'You haven't answered my question,' Merlin persisted.

Arthur gave him his most arrogant smile.

'And what, in your experience as my servant, has taught you that I ever would?'

Thank you so much for reading my story. If you enjoyed it, please leave a message to tell me so. Even though it is months now since I wrote it, I can see people are still reading it, and I would love to hear from any who enjoyed it. Thanks!