fic: Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly 5/?
Title: Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly 5/?
Author: writteninhaste previously feathergirl89
Rating: Currently G but no doubt this will drastically increase in later chapters
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Season 1
Summary: Merlin was in heaven, minding his own business, when he was told he was to become the guardian angel of Arthur Pendragon. Written for rane_ab’s Guardian Angel plot bunny.
Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
“Merlin. Mer-lin.”
Merlin started awake with a gasp. The room was dark, deeper patches of shadow denoting furniture and other objects. Casting about for the source of the voice that had woken him, Merlin saw nothing. Alert, he scrambled from the bed, disentangling Arthur’s fingers from his wings and resolutely ignoring the stomach clenching sense of loss that accompanied the action. He had just shimmied out of bed and stumbled to his feet when his boss existed at the foot of Arthur’s bed. Merlin had the disconcerting feeling that the other angel had been there all the time. The dominion looked pointedly at the figure of the Prince sprawled between the sheets and the angel shaped dip in the mattress next to him. Merlin gulped. He was tempted to say it wasn’t what it looked like, but he never had been a very good liar.
“The time will come for Arthur to know his destiny, Merlin, but that time is not now.”
Merlin blinked. “I - er - hadn’t been planning on telling him, actually.”
The other angel rustled his wings and fixed Merlin with a look that said he thought Merlin was being deliberately stupid. “As it is between Master and Maid so too will it be between you and Arthur.” The dominion intoned gravely. “You are but one half of a coin.”
“Wait,” Merlin protested, “are you telling me I’m supposed to be Arthur’s servant.”
His boss chuckled. “There are many ways to serve, Merlin.” Laughter echoed in the room as the Dominion faded from existence, leaving Merlin to huddle at the end of the bed and wonder what it all meant. It was only when Arthur, lost to sleep and dreaming, reached for the space where Merlin had lain, that he crawled back beneath the covers and settled down beside the Prince.
***
Merlin snorted in disgust. The day had been filled with duels and jousting - typical for a tourney Gwen assured him - but utterly barbaric in Merlin’s opinion. Arthur had won every bout he fought and now seemed to be riding a natural high born from adrenaline and the people’s cheers. Though Merlin despised the needless battle, he could not begrudge the people of Camelot their love for the Prince. Even Merlin had been moved to cheering at the sight of Arthur shining in gleaming mail and hauberk, proudly bearing the Pedragon crest upon his chest.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be certain people in the castle that loved Arthur just that bit more, than was decent. One serving maid in particular had been making doe eyes at Arthur even since he entered the feasting hall and in Merlin’s opinion she was showing far too much cleavage. Arthur however, seemed to disagree. He had given the maid more than one appreciative glance as the feast wore on, and if her giggles were anything to go by it seemed as though neither Prince nor maid would be sleeping alone tonight. Merlin felt the need to kick something, spitefully. He made an heroic effort to stay behind when Arthur retired to his chambers, but for all his flapping and flailing the bond that tied him to Arthur dragged him backwards down the hallway in the Prince’s wake.
Upon reaching the Prince’s chambers, Merlin tried to make his discomfort with the situation known, but Arthur was to preoccupied with examining the serving maid’s tonsils to notice. Merlin wondered if this was Arthur’s way of exacting revenge (Merlin had spent a good part of the morning mocking the code of chivalry). A smirk from the Prince, when Merlin made a, rather shrill, noise of protest, told Merlin that Arthur knew exactly what he was doing. Arthur very slowly began to unlace the girl’s corset, keeping his eyes on Merlin the whole time. Merlin scowled. If Arthur wanted to play dirty - fine. He could be as dirty as the best of them. The grin that spread across his face seemed to stall Arthur for a moment and Merlin saw the exact moment the Prince realised that Merlin was no longer objecting to the display. Edging closer, Merlin position himself just behind Arthur’s ear, whispering lewd comments and offering a running commentary as Arthur tried wilfully to ignore him. With deft hands, Arthur loosened the maid’s laces enough that he could begin slip her dress down her shoulders. Merlin huffed. Apparently, his tactic was not having as great an impact as he had hoped.
Clearing his throat, Merlin straightened, lacing his hands behind his back, and in his most regal and heavenly voice began to recite a psalm. Arthur froze. Merlin’s presence had left him in a quandary. He could not order Merlin to be quiet, close his eyes, or turn around without appearing mad crazy to the serving maid. But he was beginning to realise that if he didn’t, he was going to end up tumbling the girl in the presence of a heavenly messenger.
Merlin chuckled gleefully to himself. He could practically see the cogs turning in Arthur’s mind. Humming with vindictive pleasure, he rustled his rings very deliberately just as the serving maid begged Arthur’s to continue his ministrations. To Merlin’s dismay, however, he was denied the pleasure of seeing what Arthur would have done, by a rap on the door. Arthur let the girl go abruptly, and she scrambled back into her clothes quickly.
“Enter.” Arthur called, and the maid busied herself with straightening imaginery creases from the bed sheets.
A young man bearing the livery of the Night Watch, entered the room. “Sire.” He bowed, “His Majesty wishes you to attend him in the council chambers. A messenger has just arrived from Goatsridge and begs an audience.”
“Very well.” Arthur nodded, dismissing both watchman and maid as he snatched his doublet from the back of the chair. Sparing a glance for Merlin, the Prince walked swiftly from the room, footfalls echoing in the silent corridors.
***
Merlin hovered nervously between Arthur and the King. The messenger that had ridden through the night to reach Camelot brought a report of a monster terrorising the trading town of Goatsridge. The village was one of the main producers of fine wool in the kingdom, and Camelot could ill afford the loss the revenue that would occur if people abandoned the township.
“What did the creature look like?” Uther asked, fist curled tight around the arm of his throne.
“Like a huge dog,” the messenger replied, “only it stood twice as high as a man. And it had three heads, each with blood red eyes. ”
“A Cerberus.” Merlin whispered, just as a man standing to Uther’s right said the same thing. He was an elderly gentleman, with a main of white hair, accompanied by the smell of herbs and salve that marked him as the court physician.
“It is a creature of hell.” The man explained, as Merlin verified the statements in Arthur’s ear. “One of the guardians of the gates. It would not have appeared on Earth of its own accord. I fear this is the work of evil sorcery.”
“No mortal sorcerer could summon the creature.” Merlin whispered, breath hot against Arthur’s ear. “Only the denizens of hell themselves, may send the creature forward. Delay your father for the time being. I will find Gwen and she will send a message to the Dominions. They will send an Arch Angel to repell the Cerberus back to hell.”
Arthur bobbed his head once, in assent, and Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.
“I will ride out immediately father.”
“What?” Merlin yelped. “Did you not just listen to a word I said?” But Arthur ignored him, waiting only for his father’s approval before calling for his armour and for a horse to be saddled.
“And rouse Sir Edgar and Sir Owain.” Arthur instructed as he settled a gauntlet over his wrist. Merlin continued to squawk his protests in Arthur’s face, but the Prince ignored him. Merlin flapped his wings violently and even tried pulling on Arthur’s hair to get him to pay attention but Uther’s heir simply marched purposefully to the stables, not even deigning to respond. Merlin was quite out of breathe by the time the two knights joined them and so gave up trying to reason with Arthur. No doubt the Prince was acting out of some misguided sense of loyalty to his kingdom, but surely he could see this was the sort of thing best handled by those equipped to deal with it? The war between heaven and hell had raged for centuries. The dispelling of a Cerberus would barely be considered a skirmish. Settling himself behind Arthur’s saddle, Merlin waited for the Prince to mount. Arthur did so, shifting uncomfortably when Merlin slumped heavily against his back.
“Merlin.” He hissed under his breath, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to dislodge his guardian angel.
“I’ll fly in a bit Arthur, I’m tired.” Merlin complained, closing his eyes as beneath him, Arthur’s horse lurched into motion. As the rhythm of the hooves escalated from a walk to a trot, Merlin thought, I hope mortal weapons will be enough to harm this creature.
Chapter 6
Author: writteninhaste previously feathergirl89
Rating: Currently G but no doubt this will drastically increase in later chapters
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Season 1
Summary: Merlin was in heaven, minding his own business, when he was told he was to become the guardian angel of Arthur Pendragon. Written for rane_ab’s Guardian Angel plot bunny.
Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
“Merlin. Mer-lin.”
Merlin started awake with a gasp. The room was dark, deeper patches of shadow denoting furniture and other objects. Casting about for the source of the voice that had woken him, Merlin saw nothing. Alert, he scrambled from the bed, disentangling Arthur’s fingers from his wings and resolutely ignoring the stomach clenching sense of loss that accompanied the action. He had just shimmied out of bed and stumbled to his feet when his boss existed at the foot of Arthur’s bed. Merlin had the disconcerting feeling that the other angel had been there all the time. The dominion looked pointedly at the figure of the Prince sprawled between the sheets and the angel shaped dip in the mattress next to him. Merlin gulped. He was tempted to say it wasn’t what it looked like, but he never had been a very good liar.
“The time will come for Arthur to know his destiny, Merlin, but that time is not now.”
Merlin blinked. “I - er - hadn’t been planning on telling him, actually.”
The other angel rustled his wings and fixed Merlin with a look that said he thought Merlin was being deliberately stupid. “As it is between Master and Maid so too will it be between you and Arthur.” The dominion intoned gravely. “You are but one half of a coin.”
“Wait,” Merlin protested, “are you telling me I’m supposed to be Arthur’s servant.”
His boss chuckled. “There are many ways to serve, Merlin.” Laughter echoed in the room as the Dominion faded from existence, leaving Merlin to huddle at the end of the bed and wonder what it all meant. It was only when Arthur, lost to sleep and dreaming, reached for the space where Merlin had lain, that he crawled back beneath the covers and settled down beside the Prince.
***
Merlin snorted in disgust. The day had been filled with duels and jousting - typical for a tourney Gwen assured him - but utterly barbaric in Merlin’s opinion. Arthur had won every bout he fought and now seemed to be riding a natural high born from adrenaline and the people’s cheers. Though Merlin despised the needless battle, he could not begrudge the people of Camelot their love for the Prince. Even Merlin had been moved to cheering at the sight of Arthur shining in gleaming mail and hauberk, proudly bearing the Pedragon crest upon his chest.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be certain people in the castle that loved Arthur just that bit more, than was decent. One serving maid in particular had been making doe eyes at Arthur even since he entered the feasting hall and in Merlin’s opinion she was showing far too much cleavage. Arthur however, seemed to disagree. He had given the maid more than one appreciative glance as the feast wore on, and if her giggles were anything to go by it seemed as though neither Prince nor maid would be sleeping alone tonight. Merlin felt the need to kick something, spitefully. He made an heroic effort to stay behind when Arthur retired to his chambers, but for all his flapping and flailing the bond that tied him to Arthur dragged him backwards down the hallway in the Prince’s wake.
Upon reaching the Prince’s chambers, Merlin tried to make his discomfort with the situation known, but Arthur was to preoccupied with examining the serving maid’s tonsils to notice. Merlin wondered if this was Arthur’s way of exacting revenge (Merlin had spent a good part of the morning mocking the code of chivalry). A smirk from the Prince, when Merlin made a, rather shrill, noise of protest, told Merlin that Arthur knew exactly what he was doing. Arthur very slowly began to unlace the girl’s corset, keeping his eyes on Merlin the whole time. Merlin scowled. If Arthur wanted to play dirty - fine. He could be as dirty as the best of them. The grin that spread across his face seemed to stall Arthur for a moment and Merlin saw the exact moment the Prince realised that Merlin was no longer objecting to the display. Edging closer, Merlin position himself just behind Arthur’s ear, whispering lewd comments and offering a running commentary as Arthur tried wilfully to ignore him. With deft hands, Arthur loosened the maid’s laces enough that he could begin slip her dress down her shoulders. Merlin huffed. Apparently, his tactic was not having as great an impact as he had hoped.
Clearing his throat, Merlin straightened, lacing his hands behind his back, and in his most regal and heavenly voice began to recite a psalm. Arthur froze. Merlin’s presence had left him in a quandary. He could not order Merlin to be quiet, close his eyes, or turn around without appearing mad crazy to the serving maid. But he was beginning to realise that if he didn’t, he was going to end up tumbling the girl in the presence of a heavenly messenger.
Merlin chuckled gleefully to himself. He could practically see the cogs turning in Arthur’s mind. Humming with vindictive pleasure, he rustled his rings very deliberately just as the serving maid begged Arthur’s to continue his ministrations. To Merlin’s dismay, however, he was denied the pleasure of seeing what Arthur would have done, by a rap on the door. Arthur let the girl go abruptly, and she scrambled back into her clothes quickly.
“Enter.” Arthur called, and the maid busied herself with straightening imaginery creases from the bed sheets.
A young man bearing the livery of the Night Watch, entered the room. “Sire.” He bowed, “His Majesty wishes you to attend him in the council chambers. A messenger has just arrived from Goatsridge and begs an audience.”
“Very well.” Arthur nodded, dismissing both watchman and maid as he snatched his doublet from the back of the chair. Sparing a glance for Merlin, the Prince walked swiftly from the room, footfalls echoing in the silent corridors.
***
Merlin hovered nervously between Arthur and the King. The messenger that had ridden through the night to reach Camelot brought a report of a monster terrorising the trading town of Goatsridge. The village was one of the main producers of fine wool in the kingdom, and Camelot could ill afford the loss the revenue that would occur if people abandoned the township.
“What did the creature look like?” Uther asked, fist curled tight around the arm of his throne.
“Like a huge dog,” the messenger replied, “only it stood twice as high as a man. And it had three heads, each with blood red eyes. ”
“A Cerberus.” Merlin whispered, just as a man standing to Uther’s right said the same thing. He was an elderly gentleman, with a main of white hair, accompanied by the smell of herbs and salve that marked him as the court physician.
“It is a creature of hell.” The man explained, as Merlin verified the statements in Arthur’s ear. “One of the guardians of the gates. It would not have appeared on Earth of its own accord. I fear this is the work of evil sorcery.”
“No mortal sorcerer could summon the creature.” Merlin whispered, breath hot against Arthur’s ear. “Only the denizens of hell themselves, may send the creature forward. Delay your father for the time being. I will find Gwen and she will send a message to the Dominions. They will send an Arch Angel to repell the Cerberus back to hell.”
Arthur bobbed his head once, in assent, and Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.
“I will ride out immediately father.”
“What?” Merlin yelped. “Did you not just listen to a word I said?” But Arthur ignored him, waiting only for his father’s approval before calling for his armour and for a horse to be saddled.
“And rouse Sir Edgar and Sir Owain.” Arthur instructed as he settled a gauntlet over his wrist. Merlin continued to squawk his protests in Arthur’s face, but the Prince ignored him. Merlin flapped his wings violently and even tried pulling on Arthur’s hair to get him to pay attention but Uther’s heir simply marched purposefully to the stables, not even deigning to respond. Merlin was quite out of breathe by the time the two knights joined them and so gave up trying to reason with Arthur. No doubt the Prince was acting out of some misguided sense of loyalty to his kingdom, but surely he could see this was the sort of thing best handled by those equipped to deal with it? The war between heaven and hell had raged for centuries. The dispelling of a Cerberus would barely be considered a skirmish. Settling himself behind Arthur’s saddle, Merlin waited for the Prince to mount. Arthur did so, shifting uncomfortably when Merlin slumped heavily against his back.
“Merlin.” He hissed under his breath, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to dislodge his guardian angel.
“I’ll fly in a bit Arthur, I’m tired.” Merlin complained, closing his eyes as beneath him, Arthur’s horse lurched into motion. As the rhythm of the hooves escalated from a walk to a trot, Merlin thought, I hope mortal weapons will be enough to harm this creature.
Chapter 6