Author:
side_steppingsTitle: Breathless With Wonder
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur
Summary: Merlin takes Arthur on a night-time ride to show him something very special.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 718
Prompt: #88 Breathless
Author's Notes: This is my first drabble in this comm so I hope you enjoy it!! Thanks to
witty_teacup for the beta :)
It was night at last. Merlin had been waiting for the night to come the entire day and it was just perfect now that it had. The sky was rid of clouds and stars danced above them in the high heavens as he and Arthur rode out of Camelot, the sound of the horses hooves on the road the only noise they could hear in the gentle hush of the deepest part of the night.
Merlin was already tingling with anticipation, nerves coursing through him but being caught by the wind and blown off as they sped on. He'd planned what he was going to do but never thought he would have the courage to do it until that night. His magic hummed inside him and his heartbeat in time with the horses' hooves. Arthur, on his horse beside him, shot him a curious glance, still trying to work out what Merlin had planned, but Merlin just grinned in return and spurred his horse on faster.
~ ~
They reached a lake in the middle of the woods. A deep black pool with a streak of the purest white greeted them, the moonlight reflecting on its surface. Merlin had reached the lake first and had dismounted by the time Arthur rode up. Merlin was kneeling at the lake edge, looking out over the water and up to the sky. Arthur saw how the surface of the water had begun to shimmer and glow as Merlin's eyes also glowed. Arthur's breath caught in his throat. Even though it had been months since Merlin had revealed his magic and saved him at Camlann, Arthur still wasn't used to the bright pure golden gleam and the dance of fire beneath Merlin's half closed lids.
“What are you doing?” he asked, barely daring to raise his voice above a whisper.
“Wait,” Merlin murmured in response.
~ ~
The magic coursing through him spread to his finger tips and then out over the surface of the lake. Before his eyes he saw a thousand diamonds scattering over the dark surface of the water and he let a small smile appear on his face. It was working.
Concentrating his magic he began to shape and meld the scene in front of him. Playing with the moonlight and the reflection of the stars creating his vision. Moving them, he twisted them, forming them into a shape, a picture, a story. A masterpiece.
~ ~
Arthur was rendered speechless. He couldn't even seem to draw breath as he took in the beauty, the sheer magnificence of the scene in front of him.
It was as if every star in the heaven was lending its light and its glory to Merlin as the brightness over the water grew and expanded, covering the blackness. The it started to change, to twist and to morph into different shapes.
A dragon made of stars flashed across the lake and disappeared in a burst of white flame. A flower grew from the bank of the lake and out over the surface, the tips of its petals shining with the moonlight as they formed a rose in all of its summer glory before withering and falling.
Before they faded completely however, they burned up in flashes of white gold and suddenly a horse appeared on the lake, rearing on its hind legs, its mane flying backwards in a shower of light.
The scenes continued, a tree, a sword, a crown until finally, all the light melded together in scene so very familiar. Tall turrets stood high above the lake surface and flags flew and fluttered in flashes of star light.
The brightness of the stars didn't even hurt Arthur's eyes as he watched, transfixed.
~ ~
Merlin held onto the shiny light-sculpture of Camelot before eventually letting it go - returning the light to the stars and the moon and releasing the shiver of magic over the water. The world seemed to return to normal and time appeared to snap back to its normal pace. He shook gently from the exertion of using so much magic and then he felt Arthur's gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Thank you,” Arthur murmured and the depth to Arthur's words and the sincerity, was enough to rid Merlin of every last breath he had.