Sleep Like the Dead: Part 5 - The Thirteenth Time
Warning: Character death and the aftermath of violence. Also - a change of tense for this part only.
Blood.
Too much blood.
Blood pouring from the wound in Arthur’s stomach, spilling out of his mouth and running back to saturate his sweat-soaked hair.
“You, you can’t,” Merlin says, choking on a sob.
Merlin’s hands are ineffectively trying to stop the bleeding, and though the blood flow is slowing, it has nothing to do with his efforts.
“You can’t leave me.” Merlin’s words are a mere whisper in the fading din of battle around them, but Arthur hears him just fine.
Arthur says nothing - cannot say anything. Instead he looks into Merlin’s eyes and raises a shaky hand to caress his cheek and he runs his thumb over Merlin’s lips. Arthur’s own lips try to form words but he fails to do so - he only causes blood to bubble listlessly every time his lips part.
Arthur wants to say ‘It’ll be okay,’ even though they both know it won’t. He wants to say ‘Don’t cry, you idiot,’ even though Merlin is entitled to his tears. He wants to say ‘I love you.’ He wants to say ‘I love you’ with all his heart and soul, but one is quitting on him and the other is leaving him and soon all that’s left is a paling face and limp limbs.
“You prat,” Merlin sobs out, clasping Arthur’s face between his hands and kissing Arthur’s already-cooling lips. He ignores the blood that now paints his lips and buries his head in Arthur’s chest.
The “I love you” is muffled, but Morgana - who is standing behind Merlin - can hear it just fine.
Morgana isn’t at all surprised when Merlin’s body falls limply over Arthur’s not too long after Arthur’s passing. She has watched the two of them over the past couple of days and knows that Merlin hasn’t been sleeping well. She knows that destiny had been settling over his shoulders and whispering into his ear that the end was near and she knows that Merlin had been rallying against it, trying to find a way for everyone to have their happy ending. But he knew just as well as Morgana did that there wasn’t going to be any happy endings right now.
Morgana looks around at the fallen that surround them - those of Arthur’s men and those of Mordred’s men. She sees Mordred lying feet away - as undignified and alone in death as Arthur is regal and loved. And she feels nothing toward the man she used to believe in and trust more than she ever had her own sister. He had lost her loyalty long ago - when Morgause fell at his sword for his own ambitious aims. She had wanted to kill him then - to wipe him from the face of the Earth and make sure no one ever remembered the name of Mordred.
But then she Saw.
She Saw that a glorious destiny had been denied the realm because Merlin had been unable to let Mordred die - had been unable to let her die. She also Saw the future that could be. That a glorious future was ahead. Far ahead. So far ahead that she didn’t understand anything about the world that she Saw. But she Saw a world ruled by her brother, with his warlock standing by his side.
So she had stood back and let destiny take its course - helped destiny take its course, because she had her own part to play.
But she was done now. She was free from the grip of destiny. Free to stand over Arthur’s body and feel a bitter bite of sorrow at the sight of her brother lying dead. Free to stand guard over Merlin’s sleeping body and flick away the opposing forces that tried to kill him in his vulnerability - and she delighted in laughing at the bewildered looks and the calls of ‘Traitor!’
The battle slows and eventually stumbles to a stop with Camelot victorious - as victorious as a kingdom can be with a dead king.
And eventually Arthur’s closest knights begin to assemble nearby, ready to take his body away, but Morgana throws up a shield and won’t let them near.
She knows that Merlin’s path will be tortuously long and lonely ahead of him. And while a part of her wishes to be there for him to help him through it, she knows he wouldn’t allow it. Knows he wouldn’t trust her not to betray him. And she understands that. She has multitudes of sins to atone for, and, once Merlin is awake, she will repay them all by taking Arthur away and standing guard over her brother’s body for however long it takes before he is called back to stand by Merlin’s side once again.
But for now this is Merlin’s time to rest once more in the arms of his friend, lover and king, and she won’t let anyone take that away from him.
Part 6
Blood.
Too much blood.
Blood pouring from the wound in Arthur’s stomach, spilling out of his mouth and running back to saturate his sweat-soaked hair.
“You, you can’t,” Merlin says, choking on a sob.
Merlin’s hands are ineffectively trying to stop the bleeding, and though the blood flow is slowing, it has nothing to do with his efforts.
“You can’t leave me.” Merlin’s words are a mere whisper in the fading din of battle around them, but Arthur hears him just fine.
Arthur says nothing - cannot say anything. Instead he looks into Merlin’s eyes and raises a shaky hand to caress his cheek and he runs his thumb over Merlin’s lips. Arthur’s own lips try to form words but he fails to do so - he only causes blood to bubble listlessly every time his lips part.
Arthur wants to say ‘It’ll be okay,’ even though they both know it won’t. He wants to say ‘Don’t cry, you idiot,’ even though Merlin is entitled to his tears. He wants to say ‘I love you.’ He wants to say ‘I love you’ with all his heart and soul, but one is quitting on him and the other is leaving him and soon all that’s left is a paling face and limp limbs.
“You prat,” Merlin sobs out, clasping Arthur’s face between his hands and kissing Arthur’s already-cooling lips. He ignores the blood that now paints his lips and buries his head in Arthur’s chest.
The “I love you” is muffled, but Morgana - who is standing behind Merlin - can hear it just fine.
Morgana isn’t at all surprised when Merlin’s body falls limply over Arthur’s not too long after Arthur’s passing. She has watched the two of them over the past couple of days and knows that Merlin hasn’t been sleeping well. She knows that destiny had been settling over his shoulders and whispering into his ear that the end was near and she knows that Merlin had been rallying against it, trying to find a way for everyone to have their happy ending. But he knew just as well as Morgana did that there wasn’t going to be any happy endings right now.
Morgana looks around at the fallen that surround them - those of Arthur’s men and those of Mordred’s men. She sees Mordred lying feet away - as undignified and alone in death as Arthur is regal and loved. And she feels nothing toward the man she used to believe in and trust more than she ever had her own sister. He had lost her loyalty long ago - when Morgause fell at his sword for his own ambitious aims. She had wanted to kill him then - to wipe him from the face of the Earth and make sure no one ever remembered the name of Mordred.
But then she Saw.
She Saw that a glorious destiny had been denied the realm because Merlin had been unable to let Mordred die - had been unable to let her die. She also Saw the future that could be. That a glorious future was ahead. Far ahead. So far ahead that she didn’t understand anything about the world that she Saw. But she Saw a world ruled by her brother, with his warlock standing by his side.
So she had stood back and let destiny take its course - helped destiny take its course, because she had her own part to play.
But she was done now. She was free from the grip of destiny. Free to stand over Arthur’s body and feel a bitter bite of sorrow at the sight of her brother lying dead. Free to stand guard over Merlin’s sleeping body and flick away the opposing forces that tried to kill him in his vulnerability - and she delighted in laughing at the bewildered looks and the calls of ‘Traitor!’
The battle slows and eventually stumbles to a stop with Camelot victorious - as victorious as a kingdom can be with a dead king.
And eventually Arthur’s closest knights begin to assemble nearby, ready to take his body away, but Morgana throws up a shield and won’t let them near.
She knows that Merlin’s path will be tortuously long and lonely ahead of him. And while a part of her wishes to be there for him to help him through it, she knows he wouldn’t allow it. Knows he wouldn’t trust her not to betray him. And she understands that. She has multitudes of sins to atone for, and, once Merlin is awake, she will repay them all by taking Arthur away and standing guard over her brother’s body for however long it takes before he is called back to stand by Merlin’s side once again.
But for now this is Merlin’s time to rest once more in the arms of his friend, lover and king, and she won’t let anyone take that away from him.
Part 6