( Chapter 6/c )

( Chapter 6/b )

After hours, the battle is over, the last Mercian soldiers have surrendered or run away. The grass is slick with blood and Merlin feels so weak he is surprised he still manages to stand. He can feel the weight of Arthur’s gaze on him, as that of Gwaine’s, Leon’s and all the other knights. They all saw him, they all know now.

It leaves Merlin torn ( Read more... )

*

The air is thick with tension and it seems to weigh down on all of them.  Merlin balls his hands into fists at his sides. He lets his gaze slide over the knights standing by his side, Percy, Elyan, Leon. Gwaine’s gaze meets his own and Merlin is afraid of what he might find in those hazel eyes. But Gwaine nods in his direction, a small, precious ( Read more... )

Months slip by, one after the other as spring and then summer roll over the land. Merlin knows he is supposed to feel better with time, but that’s not the case.

He sees them, Arthur and Gwen, smiling at each other during banquets, sitting side by side in the inner court, the light sliding over Gwen’s mahogany hair. Something dark and cold twist at ( Read more... )

The first snow has started to fall on Camelot when he and Arthur kiss for the second time. It’s not something planned, indeed, from that first time in the woods, Merlin has tried with all his might to push the memory of the pressure of Arthur’s lips against his own away. Sometimes his dreams are filled with strong hands and azure eyes, but there’s ( Read more... )

Now that Merlin is back in his personal space Arthur feels somehow calmer, even though the thrumming under his skin at the thought of him and Gwaine still is there.

It’s Merlin who wakes him up in the morning and accompanies him to those boring council’s meetings. It feels good to sit with him in the evening, laughing at the ridiculous dress lady ( Read more... )

///

Arthur is positively sure that his heart is going to burst because of the sheer joy he is feeling as Camelot appears in front of them, even though they still have at least four days of travel ahead of them. He has never been away from home for so long before and seeing the white towers and the puffs of smoke rising towards the pale sky up above ( Read more... )

The sky is low and dark over the camp as Arthur seats beside the fire; guards are already on their spots and his father has retired inside his tent.

It is at night that he misses Camelot, home, the most.  He misses the soft light in the armory, his training with sir Abesforth and, even though he probably would never admit it out loud, he misses ( Read more... )

Arthur simply tilts his head to acknowledge the guards, just as his father has taught him. He moves slightly closer to Merlin bumping their shoulders together. It is grounding, it feels safe. He can’t pinpoint when it happened exactly, but everything feels easier and somehow lighter when he thinks that Merlin is there by his side.

He smiles to ( Read more... )