One Prison is much like another - part 40B
Title: One Prison is much like another - part 40B
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius
Summary: Dragons are a handful, whether they be days old or centuries. Arthur wasn’t having any of it.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1094
Camelot Drabble Prompt #620: Pawn
Author’s notes: Arthur is regent in all but name. AU and all. This may be all for a while. I'm going on vacation for almost a month and writing/posting will be very difficult. I will try but I can't promise anything.
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His magic holding Arthur down tight so that he couldn’t escape and certainly couldn’t hurt Merlin-at least physically, wanting to cry but knowing it would do no good, he shook off the very idea of vulnerability in front of the prat, taking a deep breath to quiet his aching heart.
“And this is why I never told you about my powers. Because you don’t think, you just attack. Instead of reason, you use brute strength. I thought you were better than this. I thought you had a good heart, steady in judgment, willing to do what was right even against your father’s unjust laws. I guess I was wrong.”
Glaring up at him, Arthur growled, “I let you go last time.”
Merlin laughed. How could he not? “You let me go? Arthur, you may be a great warrior but I have magic. I left. And you didn’t follow because there was no trail to follow. I erased it so that even the dogs would fail.”
“No one is that good,” Arthur grumbled.
“I am. And I was willing to pledge myself and my magic to you, thinking you would see the worth in all men, not just bloody fools willing to carry out the laws against magic. Unjust laws. When magic was just a tool like a sword or knife, but you could never see the good in it. Blind and me blind with you.”
“Magic is evil,” Arthur said, sounding almost as if he were trying to convince Merlin of it or maybe himself. “And dragons cause nothing but destruction. But… if you are willing to give up magic and turn over the dragons to me, Merlin, I know you want to do the right thing. Just… let me up and we can talk.”
Merlin shook his head, nodding toward the knife imbedded in the door. “Is that you talking to me?”
Arthur gave another useless heave. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I’m not that bad at throwing a knife.”
“True enough. I wish I could believe you,” Merlin murmured. But on the other hand, he couldn’t keep Arthur down forever. At some point, he’d have to let him up and maybe giving in this once might make Arthur see that Merlin wasn’t a traitor, wasn’t evil, but just Merlin.
With a shrug and a lot of trepidation, Merlin stood up, backing away as Arthur scrambled to his feet. Arthur still looked furious but he was carefully watching Merlin as if waiting for an attack.
Making sure that Gaius was still safe-he’d been in the far corner for all of it, Merlin straightened his tunic and looked Arthur square in the eye. “Don’t make me regret trusting you.”
“Trust works both ways, Merlin,” Arthur said, lifting his chin, looking like he was ready for a challenge.
But Merlin wasn’t there to challenge him. “I wasn’t the best of dragonlords. I had no idea what I was doing and I kept making mistakes. I was exhausted from saving your arse and all the chores and I didn’t think.”
“Sounds about right. You didn’t think,” Arthur snapped, watching him with suspicion but at least he wasn’t trying to attack Merlin again which was better than Merlin had expected, to be honest.
“I was so happy when he was born but soon after, he flew away and bonded somehow with Morgana. I don’t know why. Kinship, the mother that he’d never had, my mistakes? She took him and used him and maybe loves him but he’s old enough now to breathe havoc and he follows her lead.” Merlin swallowed, the things he’d done, the foolish miscalculations he’d made, clogging his throat.
Arthur scowled at that. “You claim you are a dragonlord. Can’t you fix this somehow? I can’t allow Camelot to be attacked again. That huge monster of a dragon destroyed so much.”
Ignoring Kilgharrah’s attack on Camelot-that was a whole another chaotic can of worms and one Arthur was likely never to forgive and Merlin didn’t blame him because he hadn’t forgiven himself for it, Merlin shrugged.
“She has more control over him than I do but he will listen to me for short periods of time. Plus I have a good deal more dragon power than she realizes.” Putting on a brave face, Merlin tried as hard as he could to be positive. It wasn’t easy. “She is not aware of my gifts as yet. We could use it to Camelot’s advantage.”
“By using your dragons? I cannot allow it,” Arthur said, looking as immovable as a mountain.
“You have no defence against dragons. Are you willing to see Camelot fall to Morgana? Watch the castle burn, its stones melting into slag? Or are you going to do the right thing this time and let me help you?” They’d had this conversation before and Merlin wasn’t sure the ending would be any different. After all, Arthur could be obstinate as any man Merlin had ever known.
“I cannot allow it, Merlin,” he repeated.
Rolling his eyes because why did Merlin even bother, he said, “Stubborn arse. You are unbelievable.”
“So are you, thinking that I’d ever change my mind about magic or dragons,” Arthur snapped back.
“So all those times you questioned whether your father’s laws were just? You were merely having a bit of a natter. That it was nothing but smoke and mirrors?” Merlin scowled at him.
“I was foolish then. I am not anymore,” Arthur said, his voice flat.
All Merlin could see was how truly a blind fool Arthur was. It broke his heart all over again, the hope fading into despair.
“So be it, then. I’m done here,” Merlin muttered, then nodded toward Gaius. “If I hear anything else about Morgana or troop movements, I’ll send word anyway. Because I do love the people here, not just Gaius and Gwen but you, too, Arthur. And you can do what you will with the knowledge. But I won’t come back unless you send for me. Because I’m accepting your command in this. No more interference. No dragons, no magic, and no idiotic buffoon cluttering up your life.”
“Merlin, if only you-,” Arthur started to say, but Merlin was done.
“Good-bye Arthur.”
A spell, whispered into the wind, time stopping for a brief moment, long enough for Merlin to walk away and disappear into the mists.
And all that was left behind was a fool shouting, a door marred by a embedded knife, and an old man shaking his head. And Merlin’s broken heart.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius
Summary: Dragons are a handful, whether they be days old or centuries. Arthur wasn’t having any of it.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1094
Camelot Drabble Prompt #620: Pawn
Author’s notes: Arthur is regent in all but name. AU and all. This may be all for a while. I'm going on vacation for almost a month and writing/posting will be very difficult. I will try but I can't promise anything.
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His magic holding Arthur down tight so that he couldn’t escape and certainly couldn’t hurt Merlin-at least physically, wanting to cry but knowing it would do no good, he shook off the very idea of vulnerability in front of the prat, taking a deep breath to quiet his aching heart.
“And this is why I never told you about my powers. Because you don’t think, you just attack. Instead of reason, you use brute strength. I thought you were better than this. I thought you had a good heart, steady in judgment, willing to do what was right even against your father’s unjust laws. I guess I was wrong.”
Glaring up at him, Arthur growled, “I let you go last time.”
Merlin laughed. How could he not? “You let me go? Arthur, you may be a great warrior but I have magic. I left. And you didn’t follow because there was no trail to follow. I erased it so that even the dogs would fail.”
“No one is that good,” Arthur grumbled.
“I am. And I was willing to pledge myself and my magic to you, thinking you would see the worth in all men, not just bloody fools willing to carry out the laws against magic. Unjust laws. When magic was just a tool like a sword or knife, but you could never see the good in it. Blind and me blind with you.”
“Magic is evil,” Arthur said, sounding almost as if he were trying to convince Merlin of it or maybe himself. “And dragons cause nothing but destruction. But… if you are willing to give up magic and turn over the dragons to me, Merlin, I know you want to do the right thing. Just… let me up and we can talk.”
Merlin shook his head, nodding toward the knife imbedded in the door. “Is that you talking to me?”
Arthur gave another useless heave. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I’m not that bad at throwing a knife.”
“True enough. I wish I could believe you,” Merlin murmured. But on the other hand, he couldn’t keep Arthur down forever. At some point, he’d have to let him up and maybe giving in this once might make Arthur see that Merlin wasn’t a traitor, wasn’t evil, but just Merlin.
With a shrug and a lot of trepidation, Merlin stood up, backing away as Arthur scrambled to his feet. Arthur still looked furious but he was carefully watching Merlin as if waiting for an attack.
Making sure that Gaius was still safe-he’d been in the far corner for all of it, Merlin straightened his tunic and looked Arthur square in the eye. “Don’t make me regret trusting you.”
“Trust works both ways, Merlin,” Arthur said, lifting his chin, looking like he was ready for a challenge.
But Merlin wasn’t there to challenge him. “I wasn’t the best of dragonlords. I had no idea what I was doing and I kept making mistakes. I was exhausted from saving your arse and all the chores and I didn’t think.”
“Sounds about right. You didn’t think,” Arthur snapped, watching him with suspicion but at least he wasn’t trying to attack Merlin again which was better than Merlin had expected, to be honest.
“I was so happy when he was born but soon after, he flew away and bonded somehow with Morgana. I don’t know why. Kinship, the mother that he’d never had, my mistakes? She took him and used him and maybe loves him but he’s old enough now to breathe havoc and he follows her lead.” Merlin swallowed, the things he’d done, the foolish miscalculations he’d made, clogging his throat.
Arthur scowled at that. “You claim you are a dragonlord. Can’t you fix this somehow? I can’t allow Camelot to be attacked again. That huge monster of a dragon destroyed so much.”
Ignoring Kilgharrah’s attack on Camelot-that was a whole another chaotic can of worms and one Arthur was likely never to forgive and Merlin didn’t blame him because he hadn’t forgiven himself for it, Merlin shrugged.
“She has more control over him than I do but he will listen to me for short periods of time. Plus I have a good deal more dragon power than she realizes.” Putting on a brave face, Merlin tried as hard as he could to be positive. It wasn’t easy. “She is not aware of my gifts as yet. We could use it to Camelot’s advantage.”
“By using your dragons? I cannot allow it,” Arthur said, looking as immovable as a mountain.
“You have no defence against dragons. Are you willing to see Camelot fall to Morgana? Watch the castle burn, its stones melting into slag? Or are you going to do the right thing this time and let me help you?” They’d had this conversation before and Merlin wasn’t sure the ending would be any different. After all, Arthur could be obstinate as any man Merlin had ever known.
“I cannot allow it, Merlin,” he repeated.
Rolling his eyes because why did Merlin even bother, he said, “Stubborn arse. You are unbelievable.”
“So are you, thinking that I’d ever change my mind about magic or dragons,” Arthur snapped back.
“So all those times you questioned whether your father’s laws were just? You were merely having a bit of a natter. That it was nothing but smoke and mirrors?” Merlin scowled at him.
“I was foolish then. I am not anymore,” Arthur said, his voice flat.
All Merlin could see was how truly a blind fool Arthur was. It broke his heart all over again, the hope fading into despair.
“So be it, then. I’m done here,” Merlin muttered, then nodded toward Gaius. “If I hear anything else about Morgana or troop movements, I’ll send word anyway. Because I do love the people here, not just Gaius and Gwen but you, too, Arthur. And you can do what you will with the knowledge. But I won’t come back unless you send for me. Because I’m accepting your command in this. No more interference. No dragons, no magic, and no idiotic buffoon cluttering up your life.”
“Merlin, if only you-,” Arthur started to say, but Merlin was done.
“Good-bye Arthur.”
A spell, whispered into the wind, time stopping for a brief moment, long enough for Merlin to walk away and disappear into the mists.
And all that was left behind was a fool shouting, a door marred by a embedded knife, and an old man shaking his head. And Merlin’s broken heart.