Adventures of Enchantment [2/3] [e] Merlin, Arwen - Spoilers: 3.03 Goblin's Gold
Title: Adventures of Enchantment
Rating: e
Characters/Pairings: Merlin, Arwen
Warnings: Spoilers
Spoilers: up to and including 3.03 Goblin's Gold
Genres: Humor, Het, Romance
Chapters: 3
Completed: Yes
Word count: 1747 (4464 overall)
Disclaimer: *wonders if she can enchant the creators to not only say she owns it, but maybe pay her a small stipend* ... Oh who am I kidding? Forget the money, I just want to hang out on set all day!
Notes: Somewhat silly two-part reveal!fic. This wasn't at all what I intended when I started it, but thus is the nature of Muses and writing. Corrected and approved by tunes84.
Summary: Arthur discovers Merlin's secret. That's the least complicated part of his day.
Previous
Merlin was never going to be nice to fairies again.
Oh sure, most of them were decent enough. They liked their pranks when it came to mortals, sure, but then Merlin could sort of understand that. They mostly picked on absolute prats that deserved it anyway. Which pretty much made Arthur their perfect candidate for this kind of thing.
Not that knowing Arthur probably deserved it helped. Merlin was still a dead man if he couldn't figure out how to fix it.
Actually, he knew how to fix it. The Fairy Queen had very graciously shared that information with him, for all the good it would do.
He was never going to be able to convince Gwen to kiss a bullfrog, though. Unless he could convince her this particular bullfrog was Arthur. Which he was also never going to be able to do.
And that didn't even take into account the fact that Arthur had expressly forbidden him from telling her what had happened.
"Merlin, if you so much as breathe a hint of a suspicion about what has happened to me to Guinevere, I will see to it that you spend the rest of your days cleaning out the stables. And when you're not doing that you'll be in the stocks with all the potatoes I can find supplied to your audience."
Okay, technically, Arthur hadn't said a word-not in English anyway-but he hadn't needed to. Merlin understood that look in his glassy blue eye quite clearly.
However, Merlin didn't seem to have any other choice. The Fairy Queen had made it quite clear that only a kiss from one's true love could break the enchantment.
Merlin had, of course, tried to use magic anyway. He reckoned that in the best case scenario he'd manage it instinctively somehow and Arthur would be so grateful that Gwen wasn't involved and he wasn't a frog anymore that he'd completely overlook that Merlin had used magic. Worst case was that it wouldn't work and they'd have to go to Gwen anyway and Arthur would immediately go to his father and report the use of magic and Merlin would have to find some way to escape execution and still fulfill his destiny.
There was probably a middle ground in there somewhere, but it would certainly require a lot more time to locate and that would likely cancel out any of Arthur's gratitude-induced goodwill.
No, there was nothing for it. He was just going to have to get used to the idea that either he would be dead-or in hiding-soon, or, between the manure and the rotten fruit, he would never smell pleasant again.
He sighed and tugged on the reins to slow his horse to a stop. Might as well get it over with, he thought as he tied both horses to the post.
Pulling Arthur from the saddle bag that he'd rigged to be more comfortable for a passenger, he stepped up to the door and knocked, grateful beyond belief that Gwen had been granted the day off to do some of the seamstress work that she used to supplement her income.
Gwen answered after a moment, smiling when she saw it was Merlin.
"I wasn't expecting you today! Did you and Arthur get back early from..." She trailed off, frowning when she realized Arthur's horse was tethered next to Merlin's and that Arthur's armor was secured to the saddle, but there was no Arthur to be seen.
It was then that she noticed what Merlin was holding in his hands.
If Arthur's discovery of his magic was anticlimactic, Gwen's pursed lips and sigh through her nose at the sight of a bullfrog dressed as a prince was downright bewildering. She shook her head and stepped back. "Come inside then."
Merlin glanced at Arthur, who croaked unhappily, and entered.
Gwen shut the door, then paced away and back a few times, eyes flicking to the frog in Merlin's hands and occasionally up at the owner of said hands.
Merlin felt it best not to say anything. Technically, that had been Arthur's implicit command. He'd said-well, glared-nothing about providing Gwen with all the evidence and letting her draw her own logical conclusions. Merlin had no hope that Arthur would agree with his interpretation, but perhaps Gwen could intercede on his behalf after she helped restore the prince to his human self.
Finally she let her arms drop to her sides and said, "How do you two get yourselves into these situations?"
Merlin opened his mouth, but again decided discretion was the better part of not cleaning stables and occupying the stocks permanently and shut it again.
Arthur licked his eyeball. Then screwed up his face in a very unfroggy expression that said he hadn't intended that and hadn't enjoyed it either.
Gwen bit her lip-probably, like Merlin, in his moments of apparent idiocy today-trying not to think of Arthur with donkey ears.
Why did everyone want to change him-or parts of him anyway-into an animal? It was a question to be pondered later. For now they had a prince to fix.
Now how to explain to Gwen what exactly she was expected to do to serve her kingdom once again...
"Oh just give him here. This isn't going to get any easier thinking about it. Not that normally I'd mind but..." She sighed and held out her hands.
Merlin's fingers convulsively tightened on Arthur-which may or may not have been the cause of the strangled sounding croak that escaped his amphibian lips.
"Come again?"
Gwen raised her eyebrows at him and then wiggled her fingers. "Give him here," she repeated.
Merlin looked at Arthur, then thrust his arms out toward her.
He wanted to ask what she planned to do, but she just took Arthur, hooking her thumbs under his forelegs and bringing him to eye level, his long legs hanging down, looking as ridiculous as ever in those tiny-if exceptionally long-breeches.
"Honestly, Arthur, you've got to be more careful with magical creatures," she lectured. "Not everything can be solved with a sword. Understood?"
Arthur just stared back with wide eyes and kicked his feet uselessly.
She closed her eyes and puckered up, leaning forward a bit and pressing a kiss to his lips, ignoring his now frantic struggles to get free.
There was a pop and a flash of rainbow-colored light, a shower of sparkles falling away as frog was replaced with man.
The two of them pulled apart and Arthur stared at her in awe-both of them completely ignoring Merlin's slack-jawed gape a few feet away.
"How did you know...?" Arthur started to ask.
Gwen rolled her eyes and lowered her hands from where they'd remained against his sides, looking down but not resisting when he captured them in his own hands.
"Every little girl, past and present, knows that you can turn an enchanted frog into a handsome prince with a kiss."
His mouth worked once, then shut. He nodded and bestowed one of his best smiles on her. The sudden flush on her cheeks said it had the desired effect.
The second kiss he bent to brush against her lips was purely selfish in intent. "Thank you, Guinevere, for once again saving me from an enchantment only you could break."
Her blush darkened and she stammered a protest, but he just grinned roguishly and turned. "Come on, Merlin. We really need to discuss your... hobbies."
Merlin winced again, shooting Gwen a pleading look.
She just raised her hands and said, "I am not getting involved in this. You can explain to him about your magic without me."
Merlin's eyes widened and she shook her head and pushed him toward the door.
"I am not blind or stupid and you are not subtle. Now go before he decides to tell his father about whatever it was that he witnessed today." He still hesitated and she said, "Go!" and shut the door in his face.
Merlin blinked at it, then turned to look at Arthur.
"If you would prefer it, we can have this discussion right here in the middle of the open street or we can adjourn to my chambers and keep it just between us two for now. Which will it be?"
"No! Um.. That is..." Merlin stopped stammering and mounted his horse. "After you, Sire," he said, the picture of subservience.
"No, I don't think so. I want you where I can keep an eye on you," Arthur said, casting a suspicious look at his servant, as though expecting him to perform magic any moment now.
Not likely. Merlin didn't plan to so much as enchant a single piece of hay for some time yet after what had happened today. "As you wish, Sire."
They started off toward the castle proper and after an excruciating three minutes of silence, Merlin said, "Arthur, I can exp-"
"Merlin."
"Shut up?"
"That's it."
Merlin sighed. "Yes, Sire."
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