by GR Griffin
“It’s a shame Arthur’s going to betray them all sooner or later.” Gwaine said, earning a horrified look from Morgana. She was too shocked to hear the humour in his voice.
“Joking. Morgana, I’m just kidding.” She met his eyes, and then aggressively punched his shoulder as he broke into mischievous laughter.
“That’s not funny. Besides,” Morgana drew her attention back to Arthur. “do you honestly believe he’d do such a thing? He cares about the druids, about Albion; you’d have to be blind not to see that.” pause. The amusement faltered and Morgana suddenly became severe.
“There may have been a time, not too long ago where Arthur would follow his father’s orders regardless of whether he believed it was right. But not now.” She lifted her head, a triumphant, proud smile on her face she would never allow Arthur to ever witness. “Arthur’s his own man now. Uther knows it too; I’ve seen the way he looks at Arthur each time he comes back here.”
“You’re right.” Gwaine admitted, gazing over towards Arthur with an elaborate sigh. Perhaps he’d told his father to scrap the mission, and refuse to follow through with the secret agenda? The past few months had been more about the druids and Merlin, Arthur resembled less of a corporal figure and more of a human being. He almost reminded Gwaine of the younger sixteen-year-old Arthur Pendragon…full of life and imagination.
“The Arthur we both once knew.” Turning his attention back to Morgana, Gwaine grinned. “Before any of this, before we all joined Camelot,” Morgana smiled at Arthur in front of them. Gwaine continued, voice softening.
“He’s finally returned.” Chuckle. “Took him about five years or so...”
“Well that’s Arthur written all over,” Morgana scoffed, fondness etching into her voice. “Always too stubborn and proud to allow himself to feel anything. Or to think anything other than what Uther told him.”
Gwaine nodded in agreement.
“Well not anymore,” He said with a grin. “Look at our big boy, growing up and finding himself in the forest…” skewing his face at the words, he turned to see Morgana’s exaggerated-traumatised face.
“…What are you two talking about over there?” Arthur called out petulantly from across the table, shooting them an annoyed look. “You’re missing the best past of my story-”
“-I’ve already heard it twice-” Gwaine jibed in amusement, which was responded with exasperation.
“-I don’t care Gwaine. Get over here now and listen to me!”
“Whatever you say Princess.” He teased, shuffling over a few seats with Morgana to join the small group of people. Content with their distance, Arthur averted his gaze and continued his story.
“Where was I….ah yes! So Merlin’s flipping out like a girl, thinking I’m stupid enough not to hold onto something as I fall and then…”
It seemed that Morgana and Gwaine were not the only two who had noticed the rapid, brilliant transformation in Arthur. Leon glanced over at them with a warm smile; Lance too. And well, if everybody was secretly giving each other sentimental looks, all thinking the same thing, it didn’t matter. Yes, they all knew it was a bit cheesy. But it didn’t matter, so long as Arthur Pendragon didn’t realise. It was practically impossible for him to d so:
“…horns…pretty cool eh? Anyway, by this time I’ve basically passed the test and even the rain begins to stop falling on my behalf. That’s when…”
Arthur was too absorbed in telling his story to actually see what people’s facial expressions looked like.
Chapter 29
“When you went left,” Merlin explained, using his hands a gesturing motion. Arthur studied the movements of his hand carefully, gently patting Bregurófne on the neck to pacify its low growl. “You turned very hard. It propelled Léohte and I like this.” Merlin pushed his right hand away from his left dramatically; Arthur smiles sheepishly, understanding what he meant.
Ábilgest was perched on his shoulder, chirping in amusement. Arthur would have brushed the stupid bird off his shoulder there and then, only it seemed Bregurófne kept looking at the fluffy red bird like it was a midday snack. Despite how annoying and irritating the bird was, Arthur had grown attached to it, he couldn’t deny it. Merlin studied the blonde man in front of him, a soft smile on his features. His Eftboren was approaching soon, another few weeks and all preparations would be done. He looked so comfortable and at ease with the world around him. A Wyvern on one side of him, his cute little forest friend the other. He had reluctantly agreed to exchange his decaying, tatty shirt for a plainer blue silk shirt woven by Gwen. He’d added his own brown leather jacket over the top. The new outfit bought out his eyes perfectly, especially in the blazing midday sun.
Averting his eyes from Arthur, Merlin continued.
“You have to let the wind carry you. You can’t fight the natural currents.”
Nodding, Arthur eagerly stood up, mounting his Wyvern impatiently. He’d always been a hands-on student.
“Well let’s try again-”
Merlin also got to his feet, eyes radiating amusement and fondness. Arthur had really grown, not just in wisdom of the druid ways, but as a person too.
“-Not yet.” He interrupted, watching the smile slip off Arthur’s face and crash onto the mossy tree branch. “We need to study for your Eftboren.”
Rolling his eyes, Arthur reluctantly dismounted his Wyvern, allowing it to fly out of the huge tree and into the sky. Ábilgest twirled in delight, flying off Arthur’s shoulder now it was safe for it to do so.
“You didn’t say anything about…studying when mentioning the Eftboren before.” Arthur skeptically noted, folding his arms over his chest in dismay. He thought he’d finally escaped the mundane, long lectures that gave less time for physical, active learning. It seemed not.
“You can’t just turn up to your Eftboren Arthur.” Merlin chuckled gently. “There are ancient procedures you must follow.”
“I should have known.” Arthur sighed.
Clasping his hands together, Merlin grinned.
“Let’s begin!”
♦☼♦
They decided studying up in the tallest tree (they had named it ‘æsclanğne’) in Ealdor would not only offer them privacy but a peaceful area to work. Amongst the ginormous branches, some thick enough to be tree trunks themselves, very few creatures resided. Whether it was the extreme altitude or lack of a place to burrow, Arthur did not know. It was peaceful though, as Merlin had said earlier. Merlin was now circling him with an intense look on his face, for a reason Arthur did not know. When he tried to move or ask what on earth was going on, Merlin raised his hand and silenced him. This process had been going on for ten minutes now. Eventually, the druid spoke.
“The procession is one of the most important moments of your rebirth,” Merlin stated, grabbing Arthur from behind by the shoulders. “You need to stand straight-”
“-I am!” Arthur huffed indignantly, pushing his shoulder back to their former position.
“You are not! The druids are not going to even let you pass through them if you stand like that Arthur, and then you won’t be accepted and we’ll have to start all over again.” The darker haired male scoffed, readjusting the man’s posture with intricate precision.
Taking a few steps back, Merlin held a hand to his chin pensively, studying Arthur. Arthur stood as still as he could, feeling a little awkward under Merlin’s gaze. Merlin seemed to appreciate the new stance and moved further back. He held his hands to his hips.
“Walk over to me!” he called from the other side of the branch.
Arthur obediently began to walk, halting as Merlin slapped a hand to his head in exasperation.
“You’re walking too fast Arthur,” he cried, walking further back to allow a good distance between them. “try again.”
Knowing that arguing with Merlin would be futile, he was only trying to help him after all, Arthur slowed his pace down a little and continued walking. He was met with another criticism.
“S
till too fast Arthur, you’re not trying to knock these people down! You’ve got to let them look into your soul, æalá ðu.”
He might have over exaggerated a little to Merlin’s command, because both of them established he was barely moving. Groaning, the druid watched Arthur’s lip trace a smirk.
“Now you’re just being a prat!”
Narrowing his eyes, Arthur stopped walking completely.
“Stop bossing me about every second then. This is my Eftboren!” he protested childishly, folding his arms over his chest petulantly.
“There won’t be an Eftboren if you can’t follow these simple procedures!” Merlin raised his voice, holding a hand to his throbbing head. He’d trained many druids for their Eftboren, but this was different. Arthur had to be pristine, immaculate. If he had one foot out of place, Merlin feared Albion would not accept him, realising he was not a pure druid. He prayed Albion would look into his heart and see that it was pure. Sighing, he gazed into Arthur’s confused eyes.
“Let’s just start again okay? Walk towards me.”
♦☼♦
As the day went on, Merlin’s mood seemed to deteriorate. Arthur had never seen Merlin like this before. He never imagined Merlin could be so grumpy. Today he was acting like a complete prat, marching Arthur around, constantly barking out negative comments. Now Arthur was on his knees, head bowed like he would do after the procession. Apparently Hunith would be the one to lift him up from his feet. Merlin gestured for him to stand and he did so, simply because he didn’t want to aggravate the druid further.
“And my father will say, Arfuera, are you prepared to abide by the laws and rules of our kind, to love and respect the people, and embrace Albion?” Merlin said, standing opposite Arthur.
“Yes, Folctenan-“
“-Folctogan.” Merlin corrected. This error suddenly ignited the chain of negativity. “and you can’t just say ‘yes’. This is a serious question, requiring more thought than that. You must answer with ‘I will’; you are pledging yourself to the people. Understand?”
“I will, Folctogan.” Arthur flippantly snapped back, voice comically low and loud.
As Merlin met the prat’s eyes, angered by the lack of seriousness, Arthur grinned. He raised his eyebrows at Merlin, conveying amusement and exasperation through his sapphire eyes. Merlin laughed, allowing the tension to seep out of his body. Arthur practically sighed in relief, revealing just how irritating Merlin had become the past few hours. Yes the preparations for an Eftboren were strenuous and stressful, but taking his anxiety out on his friend was not a good idea. Walking towards Merlin, not caring if he was walking too fast or too slow or with the right posture or saying the right words, Arthur met the druid’s eyes calmly. It was evident Merlin was panicking irrationally about this ceremony.
“God I’m sorry,” Merlin breathed apologetically finally. “There’s just so much to do and I really want you to-”
“-Merlin we’ll be fine. We’ve got two weeks and trying to cram it all into one day isn’t the best solution.” Arthur said knowingly, watching Merlin’s cheeks flush. To think he’d thought Arthur hadn’t noticed his uncontrollable panic. He nodded in acknowledgement of Arthur’s words. Arthur was right.
“Why don’t we take a break?” the blonde man suggested, a smile on his face.
♦☼♦
Arthur had wisely decided they leaveÆsclanğne for a while and visited the calming, beautiful lake Beorhtne. They were now sat in the glorious sunlight, allowing the heat to kiss their skin whilst eating some delicious berries they had picked along the way. The berries were fully ripened and juicy, earning a moan of satisfaction from Merlin as he finally relaxed.
“I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Merlin admitted, breathing in the fresh air around them.
Lifting his arms behind him to cradle his head as he lay down, Arthur hauled his sunglasses from his bag and put them on. It’d been a while since he’d used any kind of fashion commodity. He no longer knew where on Albion his phone was. The last he’d seen it was at Camelot Base, and Arthur certainly didn’t want to go back there. If he did, he knew his father would interrogate him. One could say he was being irresponsible right now, running from his duties at Camelot and Ealdor by bathing in the sunlight. Right now, as the warm rays hit him, he decided he couldn’t care less. The world could wait for a few hours – he mentally gasped at the thought. He hadn’t acted this carefree and chilled for years. He liked it.
“You have a lot on your plate, it’s no big deal.” He replied, unaware Merlin was quietly scrutinising the strange contraption covering his eyes.
Leaning towards Arthur, Merlin lifted the sunglasses from his head. Arthur shielded his eyes with a hand, gazing over to Merlin. He rotated the sunglasses in his hand curiously. Sitting up, Arthur grinned at the dumbfounded expression on the druid’s face. Merlin reluctantly settled them on his head, allowing the temple tips to rest on his ears. He looked around in surprise, everything was a little bit darker – but still bright.
“What is the purpose of these things?” He asked, pulling the sunglasses off his face, passing them to Arthur.
“Well,” Arthur said, putting them back on his face, resuming his position. “They look cool, and protect your eyes from UV rays.”
Merlin lay down beside Arthur, shutting his eyes gently. The sun burnt patterns into his eyelids.
“There’s a spell for that you know.” He mumbled.
Arthur hummed non-committedly in response.
“Ah! There you two are.” A new voice chimed brightly. Arthur recognised the voice instantly and made no effort to move, a little gutted his quiet-time with Merlin was sabotaged. Merlin sat up with a smile and greeted Gwaine. As he sat up, he noticed Gwen and Lance were also here.
“Come sit down.” He gestured happily, beaming at his three friends.
Gwen perched beside Merlin, resting her head on his shoulder. Wrapping an arm around her, Merlin smiled. Lance sat next to Gwen, though that was obviously going to happen, and Gwaine thought it would be hilarious to prod Arthur until he roused and said something. Arthur was adamant about remaining silent and trying to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. This resulted in Merlin giving him a gentle nudge with his foot. Arthur looked up at him through his sunglasses, returning the nudge with his own foot.
“We haven’t done this for a while.” Gwen breathed contentedly; Merlin frowned in agreement. It was true; they hadn’t sat down and relaxed, forgetting about day-to-day errands and the bigger picture for a long time, possibly since the arrival of Camelot Enterprise, and that was roughly five months ago.
The five of them remained like that for the rest of the day, entangled in each other’s company, enjoying the sunshine. They skimmed stones, they laughed and joked, they sat by the lake until the sun turned orange, creating a hypnotic glow across the water. Gwaine jokingly said he would skinny-dip if anyone else were brave enough to follow him. Unsurprisingly, nobody volunteered. Gwaine sat back down, declaring his disappointment. Merlin allowed his warm smile to resonate over his glowing face, staring brazenly at Arthur. Meeting the druid’s eyes, Arthur returned the look before studying the sunset over the lake. Lancelot and Gwen were holding hands, her body now resting against his as she fell in and out of sleep; Merlin couldn’t stop himself from grinning like a child whenever he looked over at them. Subconsciously, Merlin had started to lean against Arthur, but the blonde showed no evident signs of repulsion or protest.
As the velvet blanket of sparkling jewels Gwaine wished he could pluck from the sky and sell for infinite prosperity consumed the sunset, he established the ‘couples’ beside him had dozed off. Lancelot and Gwen were locked in the world of dreams, blissfully unaware of their surroundings. Gwaine was happy for Lancelot, truly. He was a noble man, and deserved a beautiful, honest woman such as Gwen. Then he turned his attention towards Merlin and Arthur. Arthur’s head was leant on Merlin’s shoulder, the sunglasses on his face hiding his eyes. It was fairly obvious he was asleep, if his lo
ng, heavy breathing and lack of movement was anything to go by. Merlin, on the other hand, was awake. He looked over to his friend and ducked his head when Gwaine motioned towards Arthur.
“He’s out of it.” Gwaine admitted with a smirk, poking the blonde with a finger to see if he would stir. Arthur subconsciously rolled a little closer to Merlin.
“He’s been through a lot lately,” Merlin replied, resisting the urge to run a hand through the tousled blonde locks protectively. “and he has done well.”
“You care about him a lot.” The rugged man deduced pensively, eyes not leaving Merlin’s face. Averting his eyes, Merlin sighed.
“I care about all of you.” He gestured towards Gwen and Lance compassionately, a hint of a smile dusting his face. Merlin knew where Gwaine was trying to lead this conversation. However, he refused to co-operate, for the sake of his heart and his destiny.
“So you’re saying you don’t care about a certain individual a little bit more than-”
“-Gwaine!” Merlin laughed, unable to take the conversation seriously anymore.
Holding his hands up resignedly, Gwaine smirked.
“Okay! I’ll stop.” He met the druid’s eyes softly. “But you don’t need to worry, your secret is safe with me.”
Merlin blamed his inability to defend himself on his fatigue. Rather than deny the unspoken words, he remained silent. The silence said enough, and Gwaine leant over a sound Arthur to Merlin. Gripping his shoulder, Gwaine smiled at him. The pair sat for another hour talking amongst themselves in whispers, giggling like children.
When nightfall fully descended upon them, they roused Lancelot and Gwen gently from their sleep. As for Arthur, Merlin –after being persuaded - and Gwaine thought it would be hilarious to wake him up by other means. Gwen watched the meddling duo hover over Arthur, a look of feigned dismay on her face. The pair lunged towards Arthur with unnecessary, raving shouts attempting to mimic a Questing Beast. Arthur awoke abruptly, practically jumping to his feet, dagger pulled from his pocket. His eyes were wide and full of caution.