Of Kings and Mages, Ch15
Series: Merlin (BBC, 2008, TV)
Characters: Merlin, Arthur Pendragon, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Lancelot, Gwen
Couple: Arthur/Merlin
Title: Of Kings and Sorcerers
Word Count: 2,396
Chapter: 15/15
Status: Complete
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to all those with a lot more money than I do. This is just my little nonprofit dabble. I have no rights here.
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are clearly in love, but are unaware of it. The Knights of Camelot decide to fix this before it's too late.
(To the guest who asked on chapter 13 on what Merlin was wearing: sorry it took so long to let you know. I meant to put it in a note in the last chapter and forgot. He was dressed in something slightly less elaborate than his wedding clothes, no cape, but he did wear his crown. Predominately silver in color, with bits of red considering who he’s married to and red is kind of the Pendragon color)
Arthur was deep in conversation with the knights when he got word. “We’ve determined that Black, Chilton, and Harrow have already left the kingdom.”
“About time. It only took them three months,” Gwaine griped. “I thought we were going to have to lay siege to get them out.”
Leon pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to the king. Arthur unrolled it, skimming a letter of dedication. “Lady Harrow says she’s more than willing to come to Camelot itself to swear fealty in person, if you require it.”
“Let her know that it’s not necessary for that. Any word how people are taking it?”
“Lancelot’s due to return tomorrow from going to the Chilton lands, but from all that we’ve heard, it’s been quiet. There has been no uprising or discontent in any of the fiefdoms and it isn’t as if the lords weren’t trying,” Elyan said.
He felt a wave of relief swamp him. Arthur couldn’t believe that his decisions hadn’t caused concern among his people, particularly around Merlin’s magic and his pregnancy, but they were still willing to trust him, to allow him time to prove to them that this was a good thing. He began to grin, soon finding Leon, Percival, Gwaine, and Elyan sharing it.
The doors were pushed open and he blinked as Gwen hurriedly rushed in. “Arthur, it’s Merlin!”
“What? What happened?!”
“Gaius says-”
Arthur didn’t even wait as soon as he heard the physician’s name, instead shouldering past her and running toward his room. This late in the pregnancy and Merlin hadn’t even been able to walk the past few weeks, at least without help, and Gaius had rarely left his side. He heard a yell of pain and he put on a burst of speed, but felt hands quickly grab him from behind just before he reached the door.
“Let go!”
“What are you going to do, if you go in there?” Gwaine tried to reason, gripping Arthur’s arm. Percival had wrapped his arms under the king’s armpits, and Leon and Elyan quickly blocked his way forward. “Gaius already said they’d have to…cut…to get the baby out. Do you really want to be there for that?”
The very idea that Merlin would be in pain like that made him want to scream and hit something, but he knew there was no other way for the baby to be born. “I won’t leave him to do it by himself!”
“I really don’t think it’s wise to go in there, sire,” Leon tried with a gentle tone. “You’re…a bit too overprotective of Merlin, and I don’t think he’d want you to see it anyway.”
Arthur tried his best to get out of the knights’ very firm hold, but they seemed to be expecting each and every move he made. There was another yell of pain and he was more than ready to break Percival’s arms to get out if he had to, but the knights weren’t giving him any bit of leverage to do so. Gwen hurried up to the door and gave Arthur an apologetic look before slipping into the room. Arthur managed to get a glimpse inside, but he couldn’t see the bed from the angle.
“I’m ordering all of you to let me go!” he spat.
“With all due respect, sir, no,” Gwaine told him with a frown. “We’re doing what’s best for you and Merlin.”
There was the sound of something heavy crashing to the floor, making the men jump a bit in surprise. “What was that?” Elyan muttered, eying the door nervously.
“Merlin’s magic,” the king replied grimly. “He doesn’t have as much control over it since he’s been pregnant.”
Before Arthur could go through with his plan of jamming his heel into Percival’s foot and squirming out of his grip, there was sound of a baby crying. A moment later, Gwen opened the door and nodded. Arthur felt the slightest loosening of the arms that held him and he dashed out of them, shoving Leon and Elyan out of his way.
Merlin was curled on their bed, the sheets thrown the floor and bloody. He tried not to look at the nightstand where a bloody scalpel was lying, as well as bandages. Gaius was holding something wrapped in a small blanket and Merlin’s eyes faded from gold. The naked man pulled his hands away from his stomach and there wasn’t even a scar left behind from where he’d been cut. Even the blood had disappeared.
“My Lord, you have a son,” Gaius said with a soft a smile.
His attention shifted from his husband in an instant and Arthur’s feet stopped moving when the physician approached him and held out the crying bundle. He felt an irrational stab of fear all of a sudden at the thought of holding his son. This was real. Merlin was alive and here was their son and what if he didn’t hold him right? What if-
Percival was the one that saved him. He gently took the boy from Gaius and turned to Arthur, pausing for a moment, before forcing Arthur to hold him. It was enough though. Enough to see, to move his panic aside and study what Percival was showing him, and emulate it. The crying didn’t stop, but it did seem to lessen just a little, or maybe he was just getting used to the sound. There was a small bit of fuzz on his head, but when his son looked up, he had the most stunning blue eyes he’d ever seen.
Gulping as the magnitude of what they had now just hit him, Arthur carefully eased to the edge of the bed and sat down. Merlin, not seeming to care one bit about his nudity in front of Gwen, the other knights, and Gaius, sat up and curled at his side to look down at the boy. “I should have known he’d get your eyes.”
Arthur looked up and he felt his heart melt a little more. Merlin was beaming, looking beside himself he was so happy, and one hand came to land on his shoulder, the sorcerer leaning his weight against the king’s side. “Merlin-”
“I told you, you didn’t have to worry. I promised I’d never leave you and I didn’t. Can you trust me now?”
“It was never about trust, Merlin,” he replied, a little surprised to hear how suddenly hoarse it sounded. “You’re the best part of my life. I was afraid to lose you.” He looked down as the crying slowly began to peter off as the boy started to fall asleep. “Now I have two people to fear for. I can’t lose him either.”
“So long as you don’t let that fear get in the way of your joy, sire,” Gaius told him softly.
“I won’t let it. I swear.” Finally he turned and eased the child into Merlin’s arms. His husband beamed before curling up on his side on the bed, a cocoon of arms around his son. “What should his name be?” he asked quietly. They had never really agreed on any names for either gender.
Merlin hummed a little as he thought. “Amr?” he asked, looking up.
He smiled a little. “That sounds fine.”
“…Really? You’re okay with that? There’s no complaining later.”
Arthur laughed at the skeptical voice; he couldn’t help it. “Yes, I’m fine with it, Merlin.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gaius ushering the knights and Gwen out of the room. When the door was closed and they were alone, he crawled into the bed behind his husband, wrapping his arms around both of his family. “I think it’s a good name.”
“Let’s hope he takes after my personality. You’re so hard to deal with,” Merlin teased. He waited for Arthur’s laughter to die down before whispering, “The best decision I ever made was saying yes to you, Arthur. I’m glad you didn’t let me say no.”
He kissed Merlin’s shoulders softly. “I’ll never let anything hurt you, Merlin. You or Amr. I swear it on my life.” He heard the yawn that his husband was trying to stifle and whispered, “Go to sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
-0-
When Merlin woke, the first thing he noticed were the arms that were missing and then worse, no bundle of warmth in front of him. His eyes snapped open, glowing gold, only to calm as he saw the cradle that had been made specifically for them had been placed right next to the bed and inside it, his son still slept.
He shifted onto his back, noting that the heavy wardrobe his magic had knocked over, and a few chairs that were broken, had been righted and replaced respectively. He looked to his left and murmured quietly, “Can’t even take a day off the day your son is born?”
Arthur looked up from his desk and paperwork. “I did. It’s not my fault you slept through it.”
He blinked. “What?”
“It’s the next day, Merlin. Even Amr’s crying in the morning for food didn’t wake you up. We’re lucky that we already had a wet nurse in place for this.” A look of concern passed over Arthur’s eyes, but he didn’t voice the question he was clearly thinking.
“I must have been tired.” He wiggled his fingers and nodded. “My magic is back to normal. Maybe that was it, it just had to settle.” Merlin practically jumped to his feet before leaning over the cradle and reaching down to touch his son’s cheek. The skin was soft, softer than silk, and he barely resisted the urge to pick him up in case he woke the boy.
He felt Arthur come up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “It was barely half an hour that you were in labor and it felt like an eternity. How painful was it?”
“Not painful enough that I don’t want another child with you.”
Arthur groaned, but when Merlin glanced over his shoulder, he saw a smile. “Let’s at least get Amr to age two or three before we try again. Or do we always have to do it your way, barreling ahead without any sense of self-preservation?”
Merlin hummed a little. “I guess we can try it your way this time, but in my defense, your plans never turn out the way you want them to.”
“Only because you keep messing them up.”
Amr stirred below them, blinking, and when he met Merlin’s eyes, he felt his power flare protectively. There was a brief flash of gold below, enough to know that he had inherited his father’s magic, and something about that made Merlin glow in happiness. He wouldn’t have minded if it hadn’t been inherited, but to know that something of his, not just Arthur’s, had been passed on made him strangely happy.
Merlin reached down and picked up his son, who gurgled and smiled. “Let’s go for a walk, Arthur.”
Arthur blinked. “What? Merlin, I have to go over these treaties-”
“Arthur, you’re walking with me and Amr. I’m tired of being stuck in this room. I haven’t been out of here for weeks. Besides, I’m going to introduce Amr to Kilgharrah.”
“And every other magical being in the world, knowing you.” Arthur sighed, but there was a smile and he shrugged on his coat. “Fine. Just one thing.”
He paused in his stalking to the door. “What?”
“You might want to put on some clothes.”
As soon as he realized that Arthur was right and he really was naked, he turned bright red, handed his son over, and all but ran to the wardrobe, as if he could somehow outrun his husband’s laughter.
-End-
Characters: Merlin, Arthur Pendragon, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Lancelot, Gwen
Couple: Arthur/Merlin
Title: Of Kings and Sorcerers
Word Count: 2,396
Chapter: 15/15
Status: Complete
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to all those with a lot more money than I do. This is just my little nonprofit dabble. I have no rights here.
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are clearly in love, but are unaware of it. The Knights of Camelot decide to fix this before it's too late.
(To the guest who asked on chapter 13 on what Merlin was wearing: sorry it took so long to let you know. I meant to put it in a note in the last chapter and forgot. He was dressed in something slightly less elaborate than his wedding clothes, no cape, but he did wear his crown. Predominately silver in color, with bits of red considering who he’s married to and red is kind of the Pendragon color)
Arthur was deep in conversation with the knights when he got word. “We’ve determined that Black, Chilton, and Harrow have already left the kingdom.”
“About time. It only took them three months,” Gwaine griped. “I thought we were going to have to lay siege to get them out.”
Leon pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to the king. Arthur unrolled it, skimming a letter of dedication. “Lady Harrow says she’s more than willing to come to Camelot itself to swear fealty in person, if you require it.”
“Let her know that it’s not necessary for that. Any word how people are taking it?”
“Lancelot’s due to return tomorrow from going to the Chilton lands, but from all that we’ve heard, it’s been quiet. There has been no uprising or discontent in any of the fiefdoms and it isn’t as if the lords weren’t trying,” Elyan said.
He felt a wave of relief swamp him. Arthur couldn’t believe that his decisions hadn’t caused concern among his people, particularly around Merlin’s magic and his pregnancy, but they were still willing to trust him, to allow him time to prove to them that this was a good thing. He began to grin, soon finding Leon, Percival, Gwaine, and Elyan sharing it.
The doors were pushed open and he blinked as Gwen hurriedly rushed in. “Arthur, it’s Merlin!”
“What? What happened?!”
“Gaius says-”
Arthur didn’t even wait as soon as he heard the physician’s name, instead shouldering past her and running toward his room. This late in the pregnancy and Merlin hadn’t even been able to walk the past few weeks, at least without help, and Gaius had rarely left his side. He heard a yell of pain and he put on a burst of speed, but felt hands quickly grab him from behind just before he reached the door.
“Let go!”
“What are you going to do, if you go in there?” Gwaine tried to reason, gripping Arthur’s arm. Percival had wrapped his arms under the king’s armpits, and Leon and Elyan quickly blocked his way forward. “Gaius already said they’d have to…cut…to get the baby out. Do you really want to be there for that?”
The very idea that Merlin would be in pain like that made him want to scream and hit something, but he knew there was no other way for the baby to be born. “I won’t leave him to do it by himself!”
“I really don’t think it’s wise to go in there, sire,” Leon tried with a gentle tone. “You’re…a bit too overprotective of Merlin, and I don’t think he’d want you to see it anyway.”
Arthur tried his best to get out of the knights’ very firm hold, but they seemed to be expecting each and every move he made. There was another yell of pain and he was more than ready to break Percival’s arms to get out if he had to, but the knights weren’t giving him any bit of leverage to do so. Gwen hurried up to the door and gave Arthur an apologetic look before slipping into the room. Arthur managed to get a glimpse inside, but he couldn’t see the bed from the angle.
“I’m ordering all of you to let me go!” he spat.
“With all due respect, sir, no,” Gwaine told him with a frown. “We’re doing what’s best for you and Merlin.”
There was the sound of something heavy crashing to the floor, making the men jump a bit in surprise. “What was that?” Elyan muttered, eying the door nervously.
“Merlin’s magic,” the king replied grimly. “He doesn’t have as much control over it since he’s been pregnant.”
Before Arthur could go through with his plan of jamming his heel into Percival’s foot and squirming out of his grip, there was sound of a baby crying. A moment later, Gwen opened the door and nodded. Arthur felt the slightest loosening of the arms that held him and he dashed out of them, shoving Leon and Elyan out of his way.
Merlin was curled on their bed, the sheets thrown the floor and bloody. He tried not to look at the nightstand where a bloody scalpel was lying, as well as bandages. Gaius was holding something wrapped in a small blanket and Merlin’s eyes faded from gold. The naked man pulled his hands away from his stomach and there wasn’t even a scar left behind from where he’d been cut. Even the blood had disappeared.
“My Lord, you have a son,” Gaius said with a soft a smile.
His attention shifted from his husband in an instant and Arthur’s feet stopped moving when the physician approached him and held out the crying bundle. He felt an irrational stab of fear all of a sudden at the thought of holding his son. This was real. Merlin was alive and here was their son and what if he didn’t hold him right? What if-
Percival was the one that saved him. He gently took the boy from Gaius and turned to Arthur, pausing for a moment, before forcing Arthur to hold him. It was enough though. Enough to see, to move his panic aside and study what Percival was showing him, and emulate it. The crying didn’t stop, but it did seem to lessen just a little, or maybe he was just getting used to the sound. There was a small bit of fuzz on his head, but when his son looked up, he had the most stunning blue eyes he’d ever seen.
Gulping as the magnitude of what they had now just hit him, Arthur carefully eased to the edge of the bed and sat down. Merlin, not seeming to care one bit about his nudity in front of Gwen, the other knights, and Gaius, sat up and curled at his side to look down at the boy. “I should have known he’d get your eyes.”
Arthur looked up and he felt his heart melt a little more. Merlin was beaming, looking beside himself he was so happy, and one hand came to land on his shoulder, the sorcerer leaning his weight against the king’s side. “Merlin-”
“I told you, you didn’t have to worry. I promised I’d never leave you and I didn’t. Can you trust me now?”
“It was never about trust, Merlin,” he replied, a little surprised to hear how suddenly hoarse it sounded. “You’re the best part of my life. I was afraid to lose you.” He looked down as the crying slowly began to peter off as the boy started to fall asleep. “Now I have two people to fear for. I can’t lose him either.”
“So long as you don’t let that fear get in the way of your joy, sire,” Gaius told him softly.
“I won’t let it. I swear.” Finally he turned and eased the child into Merlin’s arms. His husband beamed before curling up on his side on the bed, a cocoon of arms around his son. “What should his name be?” he asked quietly. They had never really agreed on any names for either gender.
Merlin hummed a little as he thought. “Amr?” he asked, looking up.
He smiled a little. “That sounds fine.”
“…Really? You’re okay with that? There’s no complaining later.”
Arthur laughed at the skeptical voice; he couldn’t help it. “Yes, I’m fine with it, Merlin.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gaius ushering the knights and Gwen out of the room. When the door was closed and they were alone, he crawled into the bed behind his husband, wrapping his arms around both of his family. “I think it’s a good name.”
“Let’s hope he takes after my personality. You’re so hard to deal with,” Merlin teased. He waited for Arthur’s laughter to die down before whispering, “The best decision I ever made was saying yes to you, Arthur. I’m glad you didn’t let me say no.”
He kissed Merlin’s shoulders softly. “I’ll never let anything hurt you, Merlin. You or Amr. I swear it on my life.” He heard the yawn that his husband was trying to stifle and whispered, “Go to sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
-0-
When Merlin woke, the first thing he noticed were the arms that were missing and then worse, no bundle of warmth in front of him. His eyes snapped open, glowing gold, only to calm as he saw the cradle that had been made specifically for them had been placed right next to the bed and inside it, his son still slept.
He shifted onto his back, noting that the heavy wardrobe his magic had knocked over, and a few chairs that were broken, had been righted and replaced respectively. He looked to his left and murmured quietly, “Can’t even take a day off the day your son is born?”
Arthur looked up from his desk and paperwork. “I did. It’s not my fault you slept through it.”
He blinked. “What?”
“It’s the next day, Merlin. Even Amr’s crying in the morning for food didn’t wake you up. We’re lucky that we already had a wet nurse in place for this.” A look of concern passed over Arthur’s eyes, but he didn’t voice the question he was clearly thinking.
“I must have been tired.” He wiggled his fingers and nodded. “My magic is back to normal. Maybe that was it, it just had to settle.” Merlin practically jumped to his feet before leaning over the cradle and reaching down to touch his son’s cheek. The skin was soft, softer than silk, and he barely resisted the urge to pick him up in case he woke the boy.
He felt Arthur come up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “It was barely half an hour that you were in labor and it felt like an eternity. How painful was it?”
“Not painful enough that I don’t want another child with you.”
Arthur groaned, but when Merlin glanced over his shoulder, he saw a smile. “Let’s at least get Amr to age two or three before we try again. Or do we always have to do it your way, barreling ahead without any sense of self-preservation?”
Merlin hummed a little. “I guess we can try it your way this time, but in my defense, your plans never turn out the way you want them to.”
“Only because you keep messing them up.”
Amr stirred below them, blinking, and when he met Merlin’s eyes, he felt his power flare protectively. There was a brief flash of gold below, enough to know that he had inherited his father’s magic, and something about that made Merlin glow in happiness. He wouldn’t have minded if it hadn’t been inherited, but to know that something of his, not just Arthur’s, had been passed on made him strangely happy.
Merlin reached down and picked up his son, who gurgled and smiled. “Let’s go for a walk, Arthur.”
Arthur blinked. “What? Merlin, I have to go over these treaties-”
“Arthur, you’re walking with me and Amr. I’m tired of being stuck in this room. I haven’t been out of here for weeks. Besides, I’m going to introduce Amr to Kilgharrah.”
“And every other magical being in the world, knowing you.” Arthur sighed, but there was a smile and he shrugged on his coat. “Fine. Just one thing.”
He paused in his stalking to the door. “What?”
“You might want to put on some clothes.”
As soon as he realized that Arthur was right and he really was naked, he turned bright red, handed his son over, and all but ran to the wardrobe, as if he could somehow outrun his husband’s laughter.
-End-