Three times.
A/N: This was made for the charming draig-glas, babydracky and silverindie80 .
Three times Arthur saved Merlin - and the one time he didn't.
03.
The tree covered Merlin’s legs, pinning him into the mud.
Arthur pulled Merlin with every muscle of his body, till Merlin lay on the ground next to him, his breathing fast and hot on Arthur's neck.
"Thanks." Merlin whispered, his whole body shaking.
Arthur took him in his arms, "You idiot, I told you NOT to follow me!"
"I saved your life."
"You nearly died," Arthur kissed Merlin’s hair, "and nothing is worth that risk."
02.
Merlin slipped into the lake, but he didn't resurface.
Arthur forgot about hunting, he only saw the splashing in the water get less and less.
Before he thought about what he was doing he was under the water looking for Merlin.
Once again he saved him.
Once again Merlin had nearly died to save him.
01.
Merlin drunk for the calice instead of him, his Merlin had nearly died to save him. Again.
When his father crushed the flower he felt as if his world had crashed.
But, in the end, he got his Merlin back.
Even if it wasn't for long.
+ 1
After the ridiculous attempt of a goodbye Arthur didn't see Merlin again.
The morning after Merlin left Arthur went to look for him - only to be told he was gone.
Arthur sent knights to look for him, all came back empty handed. That was until about a month after Merlin had gone to meet Nimueh.
The next day the knights returned with the body in the white, bloody sheet.
"We couldn't save him sire," the first knight swallowed, his skin pale.
"He was far too gone." the other knight added.
"What happened to him?" Arthur asks simply, he is too tired to yell.
For a man who has so much, King Arthur Pendragon has lost enough to make him a broken man.
Everyone know this, everyone worries that this time it would be the straw that broke the camels back.
His mother was dead, his father didn't care for him, Morgana cared but refused to show it and in his whole life, only person had actually loved him and now he was gone.
The first knight was the one who answered, "He was tortured to death my lord."
Arthur simply returned to his room and for the first time since he was a child, Arthur cried.
Merlin had died to save him, he had given himself up to save him.
What seemed like ancient words filled the air.
"Just, don't be a prat." Merlin had told him and with another river of tears he realized Merlin had known he was never coming home.
That, my friends, is the true reason Merlin couldn't save Arthur - because, once you die there is no coming back...