Fic : When Arthur Went Prehistoric
Title : When Arthur Went Prehistoric
Rating : PG-13
Characters/Pairing : Undertones of Arthur/Merlin. Characters - Arthur, Merlin, Gaius, and the Great Dragon.
Summary : One small mistake, incredibly poor timing on the part of Arthur, and the slightest flick of Merlin's wrist was all it took.
Notes : Written for needed_beauty as a part of merlin_santa. So sorry I'm late. I was sick and then I realized I had no idea what to do with your prompt. Finally, this came out. While it doesn't include the Christmas aspect you asked for I hope you still enjoy it. Thank you to noted for reading it over beforehand. :)
It's barely a slip of the tongue, like Merlin's bent the vowels all wrong in his throat One small mistake, incredibly poor timing on the part of Arthur, and the slightest flick of Merlin's wrist. In all of two minutes Merlin's life is turned upside down, but that's nothing compared to poor, poor Arthur, who despite all his royalty and (practically nonexistent) grace, has suffered a great and terrible tragedy. Everything from the tips of his blond hair to the dazzling smile and toned muscles are completely gone, vanished with little to no trace. All that's left behind is layers of clothing piled up on the floor, fabric curling around a perfectly elliptical bright red egg.
"Oh shit," Merlin's voice squeaks, his eyes open wide and mouth hanging agape like he's seen a ghost. Deep down he wishes he'd seen a ghost, but no, he's managed to turn Arthur - the god damned prince, into an egg.
"Arthur?" Merlin calls out loud into the quiet room, approaching the egg- no, prince with caution like Arthur will jump out any moment and hit him with a blunt object or the curve his heavy fist. But there's nothing, not even the slightest wiggle of the shell.
"Well that's a relief." Merlin lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, grateful for small favors.
Later, when Merlin's somehow built up the courage to actually move the egg from it's place just beyond the doorway (because surely, Arthur would not be happy with Merlin if he let him get stepped on.) he's still left completely puzzled. He goes over it in his head, rewinding the entire scene in his mind again and again. Spell, Arthur, and boom egg. And really, he's pretty sure the spell had nothing to do with eggs or piss poor luck. It would've made so much more sense if Arthur had turned into a horse or a pile of crap, anything but this.
It had all seemed so harmless. A simple spell, just a few quiet words, and Merlin's job of cleaning the stalls would be made so much easier. It's not his fault someone decided to change the eldest horses diet to something that smelled like a dying cow when it came out the other end. No human being should have to suffer any amount of time with that.
Merlin spends hours sifting through Gaius' books, turning pages at a rate which gives him numerous paper cuts and a bucket of pent up frustration. In between spells about riches and endowment he finds himself mumbling at the egg, or, well - cussing it out. Whatever is happening inside that prat of an egg he sure as hell hopes Arthur can't hear him.
The sound of the door knob turning registers in his mind, his entire body jumping into panic mode. The eggs in his bed, a clear lump even when Merlin throws an old blanket over it. Steps are inching closer to his room when he finally pulls himself into the bed, the egg bumping alongside his rear.
"Merlin, have you seen Arthur?" Gaius appears in the door, his eyes wrinkled at the corners and dark underneath.
"Uh," Merlin smiles, his teeth wide on display but his eyes vivid with horror. "Well, you see. He..." Merlin pauses, biting at his lower lip, "He went to get a h-hen."
Gaius' eyebrow raises higher than Merlin's ever seen it go, shooting up into his receding hair line. Merlin tries to smile more, push through the repetitive oh shit that's chiming in his mind.
"Never mind, I don't want to know."
Gaius leaves without another word, his face somewhat worried but more amused than anything.
Merlin relaxes, his body crumpling back against the bed. Today is just not his lucky day though, because he swears in the split second that his ass pushes against the egg he can hear a little crack. He jumps up, out of the bed like he's on fire.
The egg is fine on one side, still smooth with the slight bumps of what Merlin could only call scales, but when he turns it, there's a small little crack. It's smaller than his pinky finger, but the last thing Merlin needs is to break Arthur and have to tell Uther that his son is on the breakfast menu.
It's a tense wait until the castle has quieted down and the night has blanketed the smallest corners. He peeks his head around the corner, Gaius sound asleep.
He's done this a thousand times before, but now he's got Arthur in his arms, the egg wrapped in a blanket. Merlin's cradling it like an infant, wary of any more incidents happening to further ruin his life.
He's careful when he says a spell to lull the guards to sleep, each letter crisp at his lips, pronounced perfect and round. The walk down to the Dragon is a long one, the corridor seems darker this time, perhaps more damning than all his other visits.
When he arrives the Dragon's nearby, his wings spreading wide and long as he glides downwards.
"Merlin." The dragon's voice is commanding, heavy like a scolding father or really pissed off king.
"I had an accident." Merlin looks down at the egg in his arms, his intestines aching heavily with nervousness.
Merlin's pretty sure that dragons don't have eyebrows, but if they did this one would look like he's mocking Gaius. There's an arch in his forehead, and it almost looks like he's grinning as if to say 'oh you foolish child'.
It doesn't take much to get help this time. It's more of a necessity, seeing as how there will be no destiny if Arthur's left in such a... fragile state. The dragon gives specific instructions after chanting a short but powerful spell, the tone of his voice punishing.
"Take the prince to bed, leave him. In the morning all will be well again." Merlin's too scared to ask any questions, starts to turn to leave when the dragon speaks again, "And Merlin, this will not happen again - but should Arthur face any other incidents like this, you bring him straight here. Had you waited any longer the future king would've been born as a prehistoric creature, and that is not something even old magic could fix."
Merlin swallows, the gulp echoing into the expansive cave. By the time he's gotten Arthur - the egg, fucking tucked in, he's completely exhausted. He knows he should head back to his room, curl in his own bed, but instead he falls back into an old, rather uncomfortable chair next to Arthur's bed. Despite the splintering wood and flat fabric the weight off his legs feels like heaven, his eyes closing like they weigh two tons.
"This better work," he mutters, his voice tangled with the corner of sleep.
When he awakes it's to the face of an absolutely pissed Arthur, human Arthur. He feels like hugging him, squeezing him tight and not having to fear breaking a porcelain shell, but Arthur looks like he could kill him.
Merlin prepares himself, gets ready to be hit by fist and words and told that magic is unacceptable in the kingdom, but instead Arthur just whacks him upside the head, much like he does every other day.
"What the hell are you doing in my room Merlin? I don't recall asking for beside service." The prince pauses in his movements, looks down at Merlin with questioning eyes, "Actually I don't recall anything from yesterday. And why the hell does it feel like someone sat on my head?"
Merlin holds back a smile threatening his lips, shakes his head and explains, "You were out buying hens when you slipped and fell, must've knocked your head pretty good."
"Hens?" Arthur doesn't look convinced, sounds almost disgusted with the prospect of him hanging out with a bunch of hens, but shrugs and goes on with his morning ritual anyway. "Oh, and don't forget to clean the stalls today."
Merlin groans inwardly, but smiles. Later, though, there's no trace of a smile on his face. The sun is high overhead, pounding down on the dry land below. Merlin's in the stalls, gagging as he tries a combination of deep breathing and not breathing at all. It's useless though and Merlin's beginning to wonder if a ravenous blond dinosaur would really be that bad.
Rating : PG-13
Characters/Pairing : Undertones of Arthur/Merlin. Characters - Arthur, Merlin, Gaius, and the Great Dragon.
Summary : One small mistake, incredibly poor timing on the part of Arthur, and the slightest flick of Merlin's wrist was all it took.
Notes : Written for needed_beauty as a part of merlin_santa. So sorry I'm late. I was sick and then I realized I had no idea what to do with your prompt. Finally, this came out. While it doesn't include the Christmas aspect you asked for I hope you still enjoy it. Thank you to noted for reading it over beforehand. :)
It's barely a slip of the tongue, like Merlin's bent the vowels all wrong in his throat One small mistake, incredibly poor timing on the part of Arthur, and the slightest flick of Merlin's wrist. In all of two minutes Merlin's life is turned upside down, but that's nothing compared to poor, poor Arthur, who despite all his royalty and (practically nonexistent) grace, has suffered a great and terrible tragedy. Everything from the tips of his blond hair to the dazzling smile and toned muscles are completely gone, vanished with little to no trace. All that's left behind is layers of clothing piled up on the floor, fabric curling around a perfectly elliptical bright red egg.
"Oh shit," Merlin's voice squeaks, his eyes open wide and mouth hanging agape like he's seen a ghost. Deep down he wishes he'd seen a ghost, but no, he's managed to turn Arthur - the god damned prince, into an egg.
"Arthur?" Merlin calls out loud into the quiet room, approaching the egg- no, prince with caution like Arthur will jump out any moment and hit him with a blunt object or the curve his heavy fist. But there's nothing, not even the slightest wiggle of the shell.
"Well that's a relief." Merlin lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, grateful for small favors.
Later, when Merlin's somehow built up the courage to actually move the egg from it's place just beyond the doorway (because surely, Arthur would not be happy with Merlin if he let him get stepped on.) he's still left completely puzzled. He goes over it in his head, rewinding the entire scene in his mind again and again. Spell, Arthur, and boom egg. And really, he's pretty sure the spell had nothing to do with eggs or piss poor luck. It would've made so much more sense if Arthur had turned into a horse or a pile of crap, anything but this.
It had all seemed so harmless. A simple spell, just a few quiet words, and Merlin's job of cleaning the stalls would be made so much easier. It's not his fault someone decided to change the eldest horses diet to something that smelled like a dying cow when it came out the other end. No human being should have to suffer any amount of time with that.
Merlin spends hours sifting through Gaius' books, turning pages at a rate which gives him numerous paper cuts and a bucket of pent up frustration. In between spells about riches and endowment he finds himself mumbling at the egg, or, well - cussing it out. Whatever is happening inside that prat of an egg he sure as hell hopes Arthur can't hear him.
The sound of the door knob turning registers in his mind, his entire body jumping into panic mode. The eggs in his bed, a clear lump even when Merlin throws an old blanket over it. Steps are inching closer to his room when he finally pulls himself into the bed, the egg bumping alongside his rear.
"Merlin, have you seen Arthur?" Gaius appears in the door, his eyes wrinkled at the corners and dark underneath.
"Uh," Merlin smiles, his teeth wide on display but his eyes vivid with horror. "Well, you see. He..." Merlin pauses, biting at his lower lip, "He went to get a h-hen."
Gaius' eyebrow raises higher than Merlin's ever seen it go, shooting up into his receding hair line. Merlin tries to smile more, push through the repetitive oh shit that's chiming in his mind.
"Never mind, I don't want to know."
Gaius leaves without another word, his face somewhat worried but more amused than anything.
Merlin relaxes, his body crumpling back against the bed. Today is just not his lucky day though, because he swears in the split second that his ass pushes against the egg he can hear a little crack. He jumps up, out of the bed like he's on fire.
The egg is fine on one side, still smooth with the slight bumps of what Merlin could only call scales, but when he turns it, there's a small little crack. It's smaller than his pinky finger, but the last thing Merlin needs is to break Arthur and have to tell Uther that his son is on the breakfast menu.
It's a tense wait until the castle has quieted down and the night has blanketed the smallest corners. He peeks his head around the corner, Gaius sound asleep.
He's done this a thousand times before, but now he's got Arthur in his arms, the egg wrapped in a blanket. Merlin's cradling it like an infant, wary of any more incidents happening to further ruin his life.
He's careful when he says a spell to lull the guards to sleep, each letter crisp at his lips, pronounced perfect and round. The walk down to the Dragon is a long one, the corridor seems darker this time, perhaps more damning than all his other visits.
When he arrives the Dragon's nearby, his wings spreading wide and long as he glides downwards.
"Merlin." The dragon's voice is commanding, heavy like a scolding father or really pissed off king.
"I had an accident." Merlin looks down at the egg in his arms, his intestines aching heavily with nervousness.
Merlin's pretty sure that dragons don't have eyebrows, but if they did this one would look like he's mocking Gaius. There's an arch in his forehead, and it almost looks like he's grinning as if to say 'oh you foolish child'.
It doesn't take much to get help this time. It's more of a necessity, seeing as how there will be no destiny if Arthur's left in such a... fragile state. The dragon gives specific instructions after chanting a short but powerful spell, the tone of his voice punishing.
"Take the prince to bed, leave him. In the morning all will be well again." Merlin's too scared to ask any questions, starts to turn to leave when the dragon speaks again, "And Merlin, this will not happen again - but should Arthur face any other incidents like this, you bring him straight here. Had you waited any longer the future king would've been born as a prehistoric creature, and that is not something even old magic could fix."
Merlin swallows, the gulp echoing into the expansive cave. By the time he's gotten Arthur - the egg, fucking tucked in, he's completely exhausted. He knows he should head back to his room, curl in his own bed, but instead he falls back into an old, rather uncomfortable chair next to Arthur's bed. Despite the splintering wood and flat fabric the weight off his legs feels like heaven, his eyes closing like they weigh two tons.
"This better work," he mutters, his voice tangled with the corner of sleep.
When he awakes it's to the face of an absolutely pissed Arthur, human Arthur. He feels like hugging him, squeezing him tight and not having to fear breaking a porcelain shell, but Arthur looks like he could kill him.
Merlin prepares himself, gets ready to be hit by fist and words and told that magic is unacceptable in the kingdom, but instead Arthur just whacks him upside the head, much like he does every other day.
"What the hell are you doing in my room Merlin? I don't recall asking for beside service." The prince pauses in his movements, looks down at Merlin with questioning eyes, "Actually I don't recall anything from yesterday. And why the hell does it feel like someone sat on my head?"
Merlin holds back a smile threatening his lips, shakes his head and explains, "You were out buying hens when you slipped and fell, must've knocked your head pretty good."
"Hens?" Arthur doesn't look convinced, sounds almost disgusted with the prospect of him hanging out with a bunch of hens, but shrugs and goes on with his morning ritual anyway. "Oh, and don't forget to clean the stalls today."
Merlin groans inwardly, but smiles. Later, though, there's no trace of a smile on his face. The sun is high overhead, pounding down on the dry land below. Merlin's in the stalls, gagging as he tries a combination of deep breathing and not breathing at all. It's useless though and Merlin's beginning to wonder if a ravenous blond dinosaur would really be that bad.