Fic: At the Edge of the Woods (Merlin/Arthur, NC-17)
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: NC-17
Length: 2,563 words
Genre: mostly pwp, a little romance
Summary: Merlin is fascinated by the man with the house at the edge of the woods.
Contains: knotting, orgasm control, elements of D/s, being held down
Author’s Notes: After all the excellent knotting fic that’s been written recently, I just couldn’t resist trying to write some of my own. Heartfelt thanks to tambear13 for her awesome beta work!! Any remaining mistakes are mine.
His mother had told him not to go, that the boy-man, Merlin had corrected her, he’s a man-could smell him. Smell his magic. But she was gone now, to the feast, and besides Merlin was old enough now. Old enough to be staying in Ealdor by choice, not by need, old enough to have a family of his own.
But he didn’t want a family. He wanted to feel his magic coasting along the rivers, the tree trunks, the rocks of the mountains, and he wanted the man in the house at the edge of the woods.
Sometimes he’d stray by the stone house to see the man, watch him repair shutters, dig up weeds, always busy, busy, the muscles in his back showing through his shirt. Sometimes the man would start up and stare at him, like a deer startled from grazing, or like a dog looking up at its master. And when he could tear himself away from the blue of his eyes, Merlin saw the man’s nostrils twitch and knew that he could smell him. But he never, ever spoke and Merlin would walk away, cock heavy in his breeches, and try to find a place where he could be alone.
**
It was dusk, darker at the edge of the woods than in the bright clearing where his mother’s cottage was. The man stared as he approached. He was only slightly older than Merlin, it seemed, and Merlin wondered how he hadn’t noticed him when he was a child, wondered if he’d been living here all this time.
When the man sniffed into his neck, Merlin got hard, and came with the light touch of the man’s hand. They’d laughed, marveling that they didn’t even know each other’s names.
**
His name was Arthur, and his cheeks got pink when Merlin sucked him, and his cock swelled at its base, and Merlin wondered why his own cock didn’t do that. He wondered until he remembered about the sniffing, the way Arthur had followed his trail around the village one day and surprised him, pinned him up against the back of the stables. Then he understood why his mother had been afraid and was proud that he wasn’t.
**
He showed Arthur what he could do: light a fire with his eyes, make Arthur’s fruit trees blossom in winter. Arthur had smiled, and said, “She said it would be you,” but Merlin didn’t ask, because Arthur was licking his collarbone and he felt limitless.
**
“When did you come here?” Merlin asked him one day, as they were lying in Arthur’s bed. Merlin was tracing the beams of Arthur’s roof with his gaze.
“Seven years ago, my sister brought me here.”
“Your sister?”
“My half-sister, Morgana.”
“I’ve heard of her.”
“Most have. She lives in the forest with the Druids now; village life didn’t suit her."
“Then why did she bring you here?”
“She had a vision.”
“What vision?”
Arthur fitted himself against Merlin’s side, took a breath and held it for a moment. Merlin waited. “She said she saw us.”
**
Lying on Arthur’s hearth, sweaty and disheveled, with the shrill ring of his own “Oh, oh fuck, Arthur” in his head, he asked Arthur something that had been nagging at him.
“Morgana is a seer?”
“Yes.”
“Some people say she’s dangerous.” He turned his head to stare into the fire, trying to keep his expression neutral.
“Only to people she disagrees with.”
“Has she ever disagreed with you?”
“Once,” he answered, and his body was very still. “Over whether I could see you.”
“You knew about me?”
“I saw you in the village. And I wanted you, right away. So badly, it was…”
“She said no?”
“She said to wait, that I would scare you. My abilities.”
“She was wrong.”
“I think she didn’t want you to feel trapped, coerced into something because I knew of your magic. And we were so young, Merlin. Seven years ago-I was only thirteen.”
“She was still wrong.”
“She might have been. I was angry. But she promised me that you’d find me yourself. That she’d seen it. She promised me.”
“And I did.”
“You did.”
Merlin stroked his fingers lazily, lightly along Arthur’s arm as they lay there. But his voice was serious when he said, “I’m sorry that you had to wait for me.”
Arthur nuzzled in closer, breathing deeply. Merlin knew that Arthur was basking in his scent.
“It must have been awful,” Merlin whispered, not sure if he was pushing the conversation too far.
Arthur didn’t speak for a few minutes. And then he said in a low voice, “Sometimes, I would follow your scent around the village. Just to feel closer to you. Sometimes I’d-I’d find something you’d touched and bring it back with me and…”
“And what, Arthur?” Merlin said quietly, wanting to hear it.
Arthur’s voice sounded stronger now, low and deep. “Sometimes, I’d rub it all over myself. Or touch myself until I came on it. Then I felt that you owned me, or I owned you.”
“Oh God, Arthur,” Merlin breathed. “That’s…” He was so hard, just from-just from hearing what Arthur was saying. Arthur raised his head, looked at Merlin hungrily, nudged his knees apart and lapped and suckled his cock until Merlin came with a wail.
**
They were gentle with each other, until one night, Merlin reminded Arthur that his magic wasn’t just good for unfurling blossoms in the palm of his hand.
“I could throw you across the room if I wanted,” he yelled, when Arthur was being so, so careful with him. He loved it but was a little tired of it. He wanted to be owned. Arthur looked feral, and Merlin liked it.
As Arthur stared at him, Merlin said, “I’m not afraid. I think I might like it if you…if you took over, for a little while.”
So Merlin found himself pressed up against the wall, Arthur’s cock pinning him there. Arthur’s fingers were wrapped around Merlin’s cock possessively. Each time Arthur thrust, the bend of Merlin’s body forced his cock through Arthur’s fist and he couldn’t escape it-Arthur’s cock in him and hand on him and it felt so, so good.
It was too much, the helpless feeling of his cheek pressed up against the wall. He wanted to tell Arthur to ease up, or it would be over soon but all he could manage was a whisper: “Going to-going to…”
He came, onto the wall. Arthur pounded him through it, not letting up as Merlin spurted and shook, not even conscious enough to be embarrassed. “Nnnnnn, Arthur,” he moaned as the last of his come dribbled over his sticky cock.
Then Arthur squeezed his cock hard and it hurt; it was too much, he was too sensitive now and he wriggled against it.
“Just, stay-” Arthur gritted out, not letting up. As Merlin writhed, he felt the rumble of Arthur’s moan, felt the swollen base of Arthur’s cock push in, felt Arthur’s come warm him inside. Somehow, he was hard again, or still, or something, he didn’t know; but Arthur knew, and palmed Merlin’s balls and Merlin whined, “A-arthur,” and his thigh jiggled as he came again, dribbling all over himself.
Before he could collect himself, he was being pulled down to the floor. He was just conscious enough not to pull away, locked as he was by the knot that had stretched him as it had entered him, that would hurt if he struggled now. He didn’t want to struggle, calm with Arthur’s arms wrapped around his chest, Arthur’s breath ghosting against his ear as he murmured, “That was, that was…” and he didn’t have to finish it because Merlin knew.
He settled himself in to wait for the knot to subside, slumping against Arthur’s chest. Arthur’s hands stroked the insides of his thighs and he shivered. Arthur whispered, “You like this; you like being trapped on my cock.” Merlin nodded, trying not to feel self-conscious of the way his hole had twitched when Arthur spoke. He knew Arthur felt it though, because Arthur’s hips swiveled against him and he jerked as he felt the knot catch against his sensitive entrance. Arthur hummed and continued the motion, fingers digging into Merlin’s thighs as he rolled his hips.
Merlin took a deep breath, but it hitched halfway through and did nothing to still the tingling in his balls. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back against Arthur’s shoulder and accepted the movement inside him. Arthur let go of his thighs and took his hands instead, fingers interlaced on either side of their bodies. Merlin concentrated on Arthur’s thumb, stroking the back of his hand. He tried, he tried to relax, but he couldn’t.
“Arthur, I’m-I’m hard again.” It wasn’t more than a whisper and Arthur didn’t give any indication of having heard, still rocking leisurely into Merlin, still holding his hands so that they were useless for Merlin’s needs. Merlin tried to lift his thighs to somehow get some friction against them but Arthur said, “Wait, it will be better if you wait.” Merlin obediently stopped.
His body followed Arthur’s as Arthur reclined back, stretching out on the floor. Back to Arthur’s chest, Merlin tried to comply as much as possible as he was stretched out on top of Arthur. Fingers still interlaced, Arthur pulled Merlin’s hands back so they were near his head and continued the slow rocking of his hips.
Jaw clenched with need, Merlin again tried to lift his legs for some friction but Arthur kicked them apart, trapping them with his feet pinning Merlin’s.
“S- so hard, Arthur, I really, I really need…” he stammered.
But Arthur just said, “Look at your cock, how much it needs to come. Fuck, Merlin.”
Merlin did, stared cloudy-eyed at his cock jutting into thin air as he heard Arthur moan. Arthur’s cock was filling again, inside Merlin-he could feel it. And gradually, as sweat dripped down Merlin’s thighs, Arthur’s unhurried thrusts turned forceful. Arthur never withdrew-the knot had never shrunk, and it would hurt Merlin-instead grinding into Merlin’s body with jerky pumps that made Merlin see stars. His cock bounced against his stomach as Arthur drove up into his arse again and again. Through the haze of need and submission, he felt himself getting close, just from the feel of Arthur’s cock shoving in again, again, again, hitting that spot.
His body jerked with every thrust, as he felt Arthur just there.
He felt his balls draw up, felt the relief of almost, almost, when Arthur released his hand and gripped firmly at the base of Merlin’s bloated cock.
“Oh-oh!” Merlin wailed, as his body writhed.
“Soon, it will be soon,” Arthur assured him and then groaned, forcing his cock deeper with rapid, shallow jabs. Merlin shivered and whimpered a little, unable to look away from the sight of his own cock with Arthur’s hand pressing so maddeningly at the base.
Finally, after time Merlin couldn’t count, Arthur pressed in, ground into Merlin’s arse as his hips stuttered and Merlin-despite Arthur’s viselike grip at the base of his cock-almost spurted at the feel of the burn of Arthur’s come inside him.
The knot was bigger than ever, stretching him inside and keeping him as still as possible. He wanted to wriggle away, to fist his own cock until he came so hard but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything as Arthur resumed a slow, shallow thrusting, as Arthur licked his ear and whispered, “So much of my come trapped in you now, Merlin.”
His whole body vibrated with every movement of Arthur’s. He tried to resist it, but a persistent quaking overtook his limbs, until he shook helplessly with each movement.
Finally, finally, Arthur released his grip, stroked lightly along Merlin’s shaft and Merlin mewled, uncertain but incapable of language.
“That’s right, Merlin,” Arthur said softly, “You can come now.” And he fisted Merlin forcefully, jerking him until Merlin’s body arced. He felt the snag of the knot just before he came and then was conscious of nothing, pleasure slamming into and overwhelming him. He came so hard that he felt his own release hit his neck and Arthur’s fingers gently rubbing it into his skin there. They stroked over his Adam’s apple as he trembled and kept coming, squeezing his eyes shut. He coated Arthur’s hand with it, clenching around the wide, heavy knot that bound them.
**
Arthur pulled Merlin onto his side carefully, carefully, and curled around Merlin’s back. Merlin dozed while the knot stayed thick and seated in him.
When he awakened he was on the bed, Arthur curled up against his side. He felt as if his happiness was inexhaustible, as if he’d discovered what it was that made people cry when music rose.
He wanted to know everything about Arthur. He’d gone slowly, letting Arthur tell him in little snippets, but now he wanted to know.
“Where did you live before you came here?” he asked.
“Merlin, it’s-you won’t believe me.” Arthur rolled onto his back.
“I think I would.”
Arthur was quiet for a while, breathing deeply. Then: “My mother was like me-she could smell things like I can. There is a small group of us. We mostly keep to ourselves. But my father fell in love with her, Morgana says, and married her, and all the while my mother kept her secret. But then I was born, and I’d follow people’s scents around the castle and people found out. And so they found out about her too. He said he didn’t mean to push her, but it doesn’t matter. He was angry and he killed her, accidentally or not. So Morgana left with me. She said he would have hated me and used my abilities to hunt magic users. We went from village to village for a while, trying to blend in, until finally she had a vision and we came here.”
But Merlin was still reeling from one word. “The castle?”
“Yes. My father is Uther Pendragon.”
Then, despite Merlin’s many questions, Arthur insisted he’d talked enough and asked Merlin about himself, about his mother, about whether she, if she saw Merlin was happy, might be willing to meet him someday.
“I think so,” Merlin said contemplatively.
Arthur’s expression went soft. “I hope so,” he said.
Finally, Merlin murmured, “Uther Pendragon has had no other children.”
Arthur didn’t answer.
“You’re going to be king one day.” Arthur laughed tentatively, moving to fit himself more snugly against Merlin’s side.
“Did Morgana see that?” Merlin persisted.
“Yes.” Arthur’s voice was tense.
“What, Arthur?”
“There’s more, Merlin.”
Merlin waited, turning his head to look at him expectantly.
“Morgana said that when I’m king things will be different. There will be magic, it will flow free through the earth and the people as it is meant to. And it’s because…because you’ll come with me to Camelot. You’ll be my advisor and court sorcerer. Would you want to?”
“Yes.” Merlin saw the vision that Arthur had described and breathed against the overwhelming joy that rose in his soul.
“And she said you’ll be, that is will you be-” Arthur continued, his voice hoarse. “Will you be my husband?”
Yes.
Rating: NC-17
Length: 2,563 words
Genre: mostly pwp, a little romance
Summary: Merlin is fascinated by the man with the house at the edge of the woods.
Contains: knotting, orgasm control, elements of D/s, being held down
Author’s Notes: After all the excellent knotting fic that’s been written recently, I just couldn’t resist trying to write some of my own. Heartfelt thanks to tambear13 for her awesome beta work!! Any remaining mistakes are mine.
His mother had told him not to go, that the boy-man, Merlin had corrected her, he’s a man-could smell him. Smell his magic. But she was gone now, to the feast, and besides Merlin was old enough now. Old enough to be staying in Ealdor by choice, not by need, old enough to have a family of his own.
But he didn’t want a family. He wanted to feel his magic coasting along the rivers, the tree trunks, the rocks of the mountains, and he wanted the man in the house at the edge of the woods.
Sometimes he’d stray by the stone house to see the man, watch him repair shutters, dig up weeds, always busy, busy, the muscles in his back showing through his shirt. Sometimes the man would start up and stare at him, like a deer startled from grazing, or like a dog looking up at its master. And when he could tear himself away from the blue of his eyes, Merlin saw the man’s nostrils twitch and knew that he could smell him. But he never, ever spoke and Merlin would walk away, cock heavy in his breeches, and try to find a place where he could be alone.
**
It was dusk, darker at the edge of the woods than in the bright clearing where his mother’s cottage was. The man stared as he approached. He was only slightly older than Merlin, it seemed, and Merlin wondered how he hadn’t noticed him when he was a child, wondered if he’d been living here all this time.
When the man sniffed into his neck, Merlin got hard, and came with the light touch of the man’s hand. They’d laughed, marveling that they didn’t even know each other’s names.
**
His name was Arthur, and his cheeks got pink when Merlin sucked him, and his cock swelled at its base, and Merlin wondered why his own cock didn’t do that. He wondered until he remembered about the sniffing, the way Arthur had followed his trail around the village one day and surprised him, pinned him up against the back of the stables. Then he understood why his mother had been afraid and was proud that he wasn’t.
**
He showed Arthur what he could do: light a fire with his eyes, make Arthur’s fruit trees blossom in winter. Arthur had smiled, and said, “She said it would be you,” but Merlin didn’t ask, because Arthur was licking his collarbone and he felt limitless.
**
“When did you come here?” Merlin asked him one day, as they were lying in Arthur’s bed. Merlin was tracing the beams of Arthur’s roof with his gaze.
“Seven years ago, my sister brought me here.”
“Your sister?”
“My half-sister, Morgana.”
“I’ve heard of her.”
“Most have. She lives in the forest with the Druids now; village life didn’t suit her."
“Then why did she bring you here?”
“She had a vision.”
“What vision?”
Arthur fitted himself against Merlin’s side, took a breath and held it for a moment. Merlin waited. “She said she saw us.”
**
Lying on Arthur’s hearth, sweaty and disheveled, with the shrill ring of his own “Oh, oh fuck, Arthur” in his head, he asked Arthur something that had been nagging at him.
“Morgana is a seer?”
“Yes.”
“Some people say she’s dangerous.” He turned his head to stare into the fire, trying to keep his expression neutral.
“Only to people she disagrees with.”
“Has she ever disagreed with you?”
“Once,” he answered, and his body was very still. “Over whether I could see you.”
“You knew about me?”
“I saw you in the village. And I wanted you, right away. So badly, it was…”
“She said no?”
“She said to wait, that I would scare you. My abilities.”
“She was wrong.”
“I think she didn’t want you to feel trapped, coerced into something because I knew of your magic. And we were so young, Merlin. Seven years ago-I was only thirteen.”
“She was still wrong.”
“She might have been. I was angry. But she promised me that you’d find me yourself. That she’d seen it. She promised me.”
“And I did.”
“You did.”
Merlin stroked his fingers lazily, lightly along Arthur’s arm as they lay there. But his voice was serious when he said, “I’m sorry that you had to wait for me.”
Arthur nuzzled in closer, breathing deeply. Merlin knew that Arthur was basking in his scent.
“It must have been awful,” Merlin whispered, not sure if he was pushing the conversation too far.
Arthur didn’t speak for a few minutes. And then he said in a low voice, “Sometimes, I would follow your scent around the village. Just to feel closer to you. Sometimes I’d-I’d find something you’d touched and bring it back with me and…”
“And what, Arthur?” Merlin said quietly, wanting to hear it.
Arthur’s voice sounded stronger now, low and deep. “Sometimes, I’d rub it all over myself. Or touch myself until I came on it. Then I felt that you owned me, or I owned you.”
“Oh God, Arthur,” Merlin breathed. “That’s…” He was so hard, just from-just from hearing what Arthur was saying. Arthur raised his head, looked at Merlin hungrily, nudged his knees apart and lapped and suckled his cock until Merlin came with a wail.
**
They were gentle with each other, until one night, Merlin reminded Arthur that his magic wasn’t just good for unfurling blossoms in the palm of his hand.
“I could throw you across the room if I wanted,” he yelled, when Arthur was being so, so careful with him. He loved it but was a little tired of it. He wanted to be owned. Arthur looked feral, and Merlin liked it.
As Arthur stared at him, Merlin said, “I’m not afraid. I think I might like it if you…if you took over, for a little while.”
So Merlin found himself pressed up against the wall, Arthur’s cock pinning him there. Arthur’s fingers were wrapped around Merlin’s cock possessively. Each time Arthur thrust, the bend of Merlin’s body forced his cock through Arthur’s fist and he couldn’t escape it-Arthur’s cock in him and hand on him and it felt so, so good.
It was too much, the helpless feeling of his cheek pressed up against the wall. He wanted to tell Arthur to ease up, or it would be over soon but all he could manage was a whisper: “Going to-going to…”
He came, onto the wall. Arthur pounded him through it, not letting up as Merlin spurted and shook, not even conscious enough to be embarrassed. “Nnnnnn, Arthur,” he moaned as the last of his come dribbled over his sticky cock.
Then Arthur squeezed his cock hard and it hurt; it was too much, he was too sensitive now and he wriggled against it.
“Just, stay-” Arthur gritted out, not letting up. As Merlin writhed, he felt the rumble of Arthur’s moan, felt the swollen base of Arthur’s cock push in, felt Arthur’s come warm him inside. Somehow, he was hard again, or still, or something, he didn’t know; but Arthur knew, and palmed Merlin’s balls and Merlin whined, “A-arthur,” and his thigh jiggled as he came again, dribbling all over himself.
Before he could collect himself, he was being pulled down to the floor. He was just conscious enough not to pull away, locked as he was by the knot that had stretched him as it had entered him, that would hurt if he struggled now. He didn’t want to struggle, calm with Arthur’s arms wrapped around his chest, Arthur’s breath ghosting against his ear as he murmured, “That was, that was…” and he didn’t have to finish it because Merlin knew.
He settled himself in to wait for the knot to subside, slumping against Arthur’s chest. Arthur’s hands stroked the insides of his thighs and he shivered. Arthur whispered, “You like this; you like being trapped on my cock.” Merlin nodded, trying not to feel self-conscious of the way his hole had twitched when Arthur spoke. He knew Arthur felt it though, because Arthur’s hips swiveled against him and he jerked as he felt the knot catch against his sensitive entrance. Arthur hummed and continued the motion, fingers digging into Merlin’s thighs as he rolled his hips.
Merlin took a deep breath, but it hitched halfway through and did nothing to still the tingling in his balls. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back against Arthur’s shoulder and accepted the movement inside him. Arthur let go of his thighs and took his hands instead, fingers interlaced on either side of their bodies. Merlin concentrated on Arthur’s thumb, stroking the back of his hand. He tried, he tried to relax, but he couldn’t.
“Arthur, I’m-I’m hard again.” It wasn’t more than a whisper and Arthur didn’t give any indication of having heard, still rocking leisurely into Merlin, still holding his hands so that they were useless for Merlin’s needs. Merlin tried to lift his thighs to somehow get some friction against them but Arthur said, “Wait, it will be better if you wait.” Merlin obediently stopped.
His body followed Arthur’s as Arthur reclined back, stretching out on the floor. Back to Arthur’s chest, Merlin tried to comply as much as possible as he was stretched out on top of Arthur. Fingers still interlaced, Arthur pulled Merlin’s hands back so they were near his head and continued the slow rocking of his hips.
Jaw clenched with need, Merlin again tried to lift his legs for some friction but Arthur kicked them apart, trapping them with his feet pinning Merlin’s.
“S- so hard, Arthur, I really, I really need…” he stammered.
But Arthur just said, “Look at your cock, how much it needs to come. Fuck, Merlin.”
Merlin did, stared cloudy-eyed at his cock jutting into thin air as he heard Arthur moan. Arthur’s cock was filling again, inside Merlin-he could feel it. And gradually, as sweat dripped down Merlin’s thighs, Arthur’s unhurried thrusts turned forceful. Arthur never withdrew-the knot had never shrunk, and it would hurt Merlin-instead grinding into Merlin’s body with jerky pumps that made Merlin see stars. His cock bounced against his stomach as Arthur drove up into his arse again and again. Through the haze of need and submission, he felt himself getting close, just from the feel of Arthur’s cock shoving in again, again, again, hitting that spot.
His body jerked with every thrust, as he felt Arthur just there.
He felt his balls draw up, felt the relief of almost, almost, when Arthur released his hand and gripped firmly at the base of Merlin’s bloated cock.
“Oh-oh!” Merlin wailed, as his body writhed.
“Soon, it will be soon,” Arthur assured him and then groaned, forcing his cock deeper with rapid, shallow jabs. Merlin shivered and whimpered a little, unable to look away from the sight of his own cock with Arthur’s hand pressing so maddeningly at the base.
Finally, after time Merlin couldn’t count, Arthur pressed in, ground into Merlin’s arse as his hips stuttered and Merlin-despite Arthur’s viselike grip at the base of his cock-almost spurted at the feel of the burn of Arthur’s come inside him.
The knot was bigger than ever, stretching him inside and keeping him as still as possible. He wanted to wriggle away, to fist his own cock until he came so hard but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything as Arthur resumed a slow, shallow thrusting, as Arthur licked his ear and whispered, “So much of my come trapped in you now, Merlin.”
His whole body vibrated with every movement of Arthur’s. He tried to resist it, but a persistent quaking overtook his limbs, until he shook helplessly with each movement.
Finally, finally, Arthur released his grip, stroked lightly along Merlin’s shaft and Merlin mewled, uncertain but incapable of language.
“That’s right, Merlin,” Arthur said softly, “You can come now.” And he fisted Merlin forcefully, jerking him until Merlin’s body arced. He felt the snag of the knot just before he came and then was conscious of nothing, pleasure slamming into and overwhelming him. He came so hard that he felt his own release hit his neck and Arthur’s fingers gently rubbing it into his skin there. They stroked over his Adam’s apple as he trembled and kept coming, squeezing his eyes shut. He coated Arthur’s hand with it, clenching around the wide, heavy knot that bound them.
**
Arthur pulled Merlin onto his side carefully, carefully, and curled around Merlin’s back. Merlin dozed while the knot stayed thick and seated in him.
When he awakened he was on the bed, Arthur curled up against his side. He felt as if his happiness was inexhaustible, as if he’d discovered what it was that made people cry when music rose.
He wanted to know everything about Arthur. He’d gone slowly, letting Arthur tell him in little snippets, but now he wanted to know.
“Where did you live before you came here?” he asked.
“Merlin, it’s-you won’t believe me.” Arthur rolled onto his back.
“I think I would.”
Arthur was quiet for a while, breathing deeply. Then: “My mother was like me-she could smell things like I can. There is a small group of us. We mostly keep to ourselves. But my father fell in love with her, Morgana says, and married her, and all the while my mother kept her secret. But then I was born, and I’d follow people’s scents around the castle and people found out. And so they found out about her too. He said he didn’t mean to push her, but it doesn’t matter. He was angry and he killed her, accidentally or not. So Morgana left with me. She said he would have hated me and used my abilities to hunt magic users. We went from village to village for a while, trying to blend in, until finally she had a vision and we came here.”
But Merlin was still reeling from one word. “The castle?”
“Yes. My father is Uther Pendragon.”
Then, despite Merlin’s many questions, Arthur insisted he’d talked enough and asked Merlin about himself, about his mother, about whether she, if she saw Merlin was happy, might be willing to meet him someday.
“I think so,” Merlin said contemplatively.
Arthur’s expression went soft. “I hope so,” he said.
Finally, Merlin murmured, “Uther Pendragon has had no other children.”
Arthur didn’t answer.
“You’re going to be king one day.” Arthur laughed tentatively, moving to fit himself more snugly against Merlin’s side.
“Did Morgana see that?” Merlin persisted.
“Yes.” Arthur’s voice was tense.
“What, Arthur?”
“There’s more, Merlin.”
Merlin waited, turning his head to look at him expectantly.
“Morgana said that when I’m king things will be different. There will be magic, it will flow free through the earth and the people as it is meant to. And it’s because…because you’ll come with me to Camelot. You’ll be my advisor and court sorcerer. Would you want to?”
“Yes.” Merlin saw the vision that Arthur had described and breathed against the overwhelming joy that rose in his soul.
“And she said you’ll be, that is will you be-” Arthur continued, his voice hoarse. “Will you be my husband?”
Yes.