Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arthur felt like his throne room had been through quite a range of experiences. Dead men rode their horses in to throw down gauntlets, people were continually poisoned, it was a hospital, a wedding place for a troll - really the list was quite extensive.

And yet, Arthur was still surprised when a man walked in, whacked down one of his guards with a stick, looked directly at Merlin before saying 'the damn wench almost killed me' and promptly collapsing.

"Um," Merlin said helpfully as he blinked "Someone should get Gaius." He announced before leaning down and checking the stranger over as the more sensible group of people rushed over to help his fallen guard up. "He's alive." Merlin added, still helpful as ever. Arthur wasn't sure what he was expecting. It was a Tuesday after all. Nothing good ever happened to him on Tuesdays.

Arthur carried on his day normally. After all, if he put off his duties everytime something strange happened then Camelot would be in constant disarray. He did venture down into Gaius' chambers much later to see how the man was faring.

"Hello, your majesty."

"Mordred." Arthur greeted, a little surprised to find him here. Neither Gaius nor Merlin appeared to be in, but mystery man was sprawled out on a cot with a chest rising and falling slowly and a cloth placed over his head. Mordred was staring down at him, tired lines etching into his skin as he pressed two intertwined hands to his mouth - as if praying. "What are you doing here?" He asked, letting the door fall shut behind him. Mordred's eyes flicked to him. There was something in his gaze that he couldn't read. He had been differently as of late. Heavier. More pensive. He was reminded of a similar change he had seen in Merlin years ago. It seemed as if one day they had both awoken with some sort of darkness settling behind otherwise innocent eyes.

"He was awake. Briefly." Mordred said, nodding his head to the cot. "He... He said he was hunted. By Morgana." He explained and Arthur closed his eyes. Of course, he was. It seemed his father's ability to rule with terror was passed down to her instead of him. "It has me... Disoriented." Mordred murmured - more to himself than Arthur.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said quietly and loomed over to look at the man curiously. He wasn't particularly large or young or... Well, Morgana's type. He wondered what on Earth she could have wanted from him. "We'll do our best to keep him safe from her." He added on, hoping this would allow for some comfort. Mordred said nothing. After a few more seconds of silence he let his gaze turn to Arthur.

"I'm a druid."

Oh. Arthur stared. He had made peace with the druids, of course. Not that many knew about that. It was best his counselors remained in the dark to the ways he differed from his father... At least for now. Still, he was a little shocked by the reveal. Mordred was... His skin prickled at the memory of the disir. That task suddenly made more sense. How could he choose between Mordred and magic when they appeared to be one of the same?

"Okay," Arthur said, making sure his voice softened "You needn't be afraid."

"You killed the last druid you ran across." Mordred immediately spat, rising. "And now Morgana is hunting down innocent men. Why can none of you Pendragons ever seem to-" He began, chest heaving. Arthur winced. He supposed Mordred hadn't been privy to the details of Kara's execution but... Well. Arthur couldn't overreact. He was confused. A little hurt that Mordred had lied, but... No. No overreacting.

"I know," He said instead "The last girl-"

"Kara."

"Kara," Arthur agreed with rapidly rising concern. Had Mordred known her? Obviously. He knew her name. But was it a meeting while she was in the dungeons or before or... He pushed the thoughts away. Not now. "Kara was given many chances. All I asked of her was to not stand against Camelot. To promise not to harm this kingdom and I would have spared her life. She said she couldn't do that." He explained and Mordred's face went blank. "You would never wish ill will of Camelot. I know this." He said. Mordred stood up, pacing back and forth.

"So as long as magic serves to your benefit-"

"As long as you cause no harm to my kingdom with your magic I will accept it." Arthur interrupted him. Mordred looked at him - a plethora of emotions flicking over his face as his fingers twitched and he ran a hand through his hair.

"You shouldn't have killed her." He managed, voice breaking towards the end. Arthur wasn't sure what to say to that so he sat there. "What... What if people who aren't druids use magic?" He sighed, switching the subject with a sigh.

"I'm not legalizing it." Arthur said firmly. "I trust druids with such power. That's it." He said. Mordred looked at him for a few seconds before sighing.

"Very well, my lord." He mumbled and looked down at the mystery man, seemingly dead to all around him. "I should get back to my duties." He told him coolly and got up, dusting himself off as he did so before dipping into a low, almost sarcastic bow. Arthur considered rebuking him for it, but instead only nodded his acknowledgement. After all, Mordred seems to have gone through an ordeal that Arthur didn’t seem to fully understand. Perhaps he would speak more with him later to figure out the specifics after he’d cooled down.

From beside him, mystery man murmured something in his sleep.

So...Mordred was not cooling down.

This posed as an especially unfortunate problem since Mordred’s newfound temper seemed to ignite Merlin’s. The two had never gotten along for some reason that Arthur did not have the energy nor patience to figure out. Merlin was also cut from an incredibly loyal cloth so the moment he noticed Mordred’s passive aggressive comments towards Arthur, he...Well. Yeah.

"Watch it!”

"Whoops,” Merlin said, voice completely deadpan at where Mordred was drenched head to toe in wine. "Apologies, my lord." He said and walked away without so much as handing his poor knight a cloth. Arthur rolled his eyes.

”I would make him help you clean up,” Arthur said, taking off his cloak to start mopping at Mordred’s face “But I get the feeling he might try to stab you. So I’ll just have him wash the cloak instead.” He smiled, showing his newly stained outfit. A hint of a smile touched Mordred’s lips, but it disappeared seconds later when Merlin re-entered with mystery man.

"I can’t believe you are to fall in love with him.”

"What?” Arthur asked, a little startled. Mordred blinked, eyes widening a little before opening and closing his mouth a few times. Arthur continued to stare as the man shifted.

”Um, nothing.” He said quickly, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s a druid thing.” He said and Arthur blinked.

"But you said-"

"It’s a druid thing.” Mordred repeated, more firmly this time.

...Druids were freaking weird. Arthur didn't have time to dwell more on that because Merlin was quickly capturing Arthur's concern with how he was lowly whispering to the poor man. Arthur knew from firsthand experience that hearing Merlin prattle on about birds and clouds was not always what you wanted to hear upon being brought back from the brink of death. Sighing, he clapped Mordred on the shoulder and went over to save him.

"I see you've recovered!" Arthur told him. The man stiffened. Merlin looked nervously between the two, but let out a small smile at Arthur's approach. "I hope you've been treated well." He added on and the man brought his brows together, looking vaguely like a rather bare owl as he looked Arthur up and down before glancing at Merlin once more.

"You are King Arthur." He decided. Arthur nodded. He waited for the man to say more.

"And...You are?" He prompted. The man inhaled sharply and Arthur wondered if he was supposed to already know who he was.

"Goodbye, King Arthur."

"What?" Arthur asked, bewildered. What had he missed? Should he be offended? His father might have had someone thrown out of court for not waiting for a dismissal, but Arthur was honestly too confused to give a proper reaction. The man had spun away when Merlin made a noise of alarm and grabbed his arm to turn him back around.

"This is Alator. He was attacked by Morgana recently." Merlin explained, keeping both hands on the man. It was a little ridiculous looking considering the man was twice as wide and Merlin and a million times more intimidating with harshly set features and firm lines. Still, Alator didn't attempt to push Merlin away so clearly the man had already been won over by his servant's charm. "He... Is thankful you allowed him to recover in your castle." He added on with a slight nudge.

Alator very - very slowly turned to Merlin. After possibly a minute of horribly awkward silence he turned to look back at Arthur.

"I am very thankful." He said in quite possibly the most monotone voice Arthur had ever heard in his entire life... And Arthur knew George. Which...Actually, that gave him a grand idea.

"I'll have a servant come and look after you while you are further recovering. He is one of the very best in the kingdom." He added. Alator did not look too enthused by this prospect...Maybe. It was actually kind of hard to tell given that his face seemed to be set in a permanent state of stoicism. Merlin nudged him again.

"I am very thankful." He repeated. Right... Arthur gave a smile which he hoped didn't seem too unsettled before pushing past. Had Morgana done something to this man to make him so... Something? Something that he wasn't sure how to deal with. Arthur was about to dismiss it from his mind completely when Merlin's voice caught his attention again.

"I thought you liked him!"

"I like what he is supposed to do. I do not think I like him." Alator responded and Arthur momentarily paused his walking before forcing himself to keep moving forward. What... The Hell did that mean? He was supposed to do something? What? How can anyone just assume he was going to do anything unless -

"What do druids know of the future?" He asked the next morning, not even bothering for Mordred to fully open the door. It was early morning - no doubt Merlin would be feral upon not finding Arthur in his chambers when he went to wake him but Arthur had more pressing concerns at the moment. Mordred blinked a few times before giving a long yawn.

"Did Emrys tell you of the prophecy?" He asked blearily and Arthur stared.

"Who is Emrys?"

Mordred looked at him and groaned, swinging the door open so that he could retreat back into the room. Arthur sniffed. He supposed given that Mordred was currently displeased with him and was being awaken at such an hour the usual pleasantries could be excused... This time.

"The future is ever changing, my lord. Some seers and druids have the ability to see potential passings of time. Those with extreme talent may even weed out destinies within those strands of time - or prophecies." He explained. Arthur nodded as he entered the room, shutting the door tightly behind him. "Why do you ask?"

"I... A comment I heard mentioned something I was supposed to do." Arthur mused and shook his head. "I've always been told I had a destiny. I assumed it was to be king." He informed him warily. Mordred laughed.

"My people predict you will be much more than that," Mordred informed him as he rubbed his eyes "Though it is not a certainty. Just a possibility." He sighed, glancing towards where the first ray of sun was peeking above the horizon outside. Arthur waited. "You are said...Well, you're called the Once and Future King. You are to bring forth a time of prosperity and form a land called Albion."

Arthur nodded. Okay. Right. Cool. Albion. Sounded great. Prosperity was always good. Wasn't sure about the once and future bit. That was weird - but Arthur had already decided druids were weird so no real surprise there.

"I see." He said slowly and absently tugged at his armor. "That's...Good."

"You're also supposed to bring back magic." Mordred informed him quite bluntly and narrowed his eyes. "So I'm not sure it's meant to be."

Fucking ouch, Mordred. Christ. Arthur spluttered for a moment at that as his knight walked over to splash some water on his face from one of the bowls in the corner of his room. It gave Arthur enough time to recover.

"And what of this Emrys you mentioned?" He asked and Mordred made a face before shrugging. "You don't like him?" He pressed and Mordred moodily grabbed a cloth to wipe at his face. "Mordred." He snapped, a little impatiently.

"He doesn't like me." Mordred muttered and threw down the towel "Emrys is great. Truly. Very... Loyal. Wise. Compassionate. When I first met him he appeared to be all of that and more... However, things changed and I must have done something to displease him because we are not on the best of terms." He added, voice rising with annoyance. "Even though we should be on the same side. I'm your knight aren't I? I was willing to look past him trying to kill me as a child! I'm not exactly sure why he thinks of me as a threat - but I'm not! I admit after Kara there was a moment where I-" He said and suddenly cut himself off. Arthur looked around. Mordred's rant seemed to be whisked away with the subtle breeze out the window as Mordred stood frozen with wide eyes.

"...Are, um... Are you alright?" Arthur asked. "Mordred? Is this another druid thing?"

"I think I was meant to kill you."

Well... This was incredibly awkward. How the fuck was Arthur supposed to respond to that? It wasn't every day your knight comes to the conclusion he was supposed to murder his king in front of said king. Given how Arthur was taking everything so far - from the druid nonsense to this random prophecy to Mordred's apparent need to kill him... Arthur thought he deserved some kind of award.

"That's...Unfortunate." Arthur said and internally shook his head. Bad response. Bad. "I'm not sure if I should arrest you now." Even worse response. This was not going well. "Do you plan to murder me still?" He asked. Mordred just stared him. "You know, I'm expecting you to either say no and mean it or say no and lie to me."

"That's why he hated me?" Mordred asked and threw up his hands "That bastard."

"I don't know. If you're supposed to murder me then I kind of get it-"

"He can't even think clearly he's so goddamn in love with you!" Mordred said, kicking the side of his bed. "Oh for the love of gods and the triple moon goddess I... Not fair!" He shouted at seemingly nothing. Arthur was less concerned about Mordred speaking to deities and more concerned with that other very concerning incredibly important comment that Mordred just seemed to brush off.

"Emrys is in love with me?" He asked and laughed nervously "No..."

"I know he's living his life in complete secret and anonymity but could we not even have a conversation about this? I might have killed you because of how pissed off I was and how little trust I had in both of you! And I'm still pissed at you!" He added, swinging around to Arthur. "But no. No, I am not killing you. He is not being proven right. I will die protecting you, damnit!"

"I... You did swear an oath to do so." Arthur informed him dryly "Um. Tell me more about this random person being in love with me."

"Oh," Mordred laughed and pointed a finger at Arthur "I bet he expects that too! For me to just hand him over to you!" He shouted to nobody as he swung around "But no! No! Not going to happen. I am not going to skip off to Morgana with her hatred and bitterness nor am I going to keep sucking up to Emrys and his paranoia nor am I going to keep acting like you're the perfect king my people expect you to be! I'm going to keep all of you alive and prove all the prophecies wrong and none of you can stop me!" He yelled. Arthur clicked his tongue.

"Very well, then. As long as you don't kill me and fulfill your duties...That all sounds great, Mordred."

"Thank you, my lord. May I be dismissed?" He asked and before Arthur could tell him absolutely not because they needed to speak more on this goddamn Emrys matter, the door was slammed open.

"Good morning." Merlin said flatly. "Don't mind me. I just spent two hours informing the guards that the king had been kidnapped and rounding up the knights to start a search party. Would you like breakfast?" He asked. Arthur closed his eyes. He considered trying to continue the conversation but the truth of the matter was that Merlin would definitely panic if he knew Mordred was a druid and panic even more upon learning that Arthur was... Well. Now just wasn't the time.

Besides, it looked like he was five seconds away from getting his food poisoned anyways.

Mordred, however, did not seem to get the message.

"I was just telling the king about a prophecy he needs to fulfill with Emrys to bring forth the time of Albion." He said, eyes challenging. Oh no. Not this again. Arthur didn't need to deal with their weird, passive aggressive relationship right now. "Do you know of a secret magic user within Camelot, Merlin? Because I cannot simply fathom who it could be." He frowned. A look of raw horror slowly crossed over Merlin's face - as Arthur knew it would - before he blinked a few times.

"A...Magic user...Within Camelot?" He managed. Great. Arthur was going to have to deal with this all day. "My lord, what do you plan to do once you catch this man?" He asked, though his eyes refused to leave Mordred.

"I suppose I must hear him out. For this Albion if nothing else," Arthur sighed, internally adding in the part that Emrys was apparently supposed to be in love with him. "You mustn't worry. I-"

"And how did Sir Mordred come by this information?" Merlin tacked on, fists clenched.

"Don't interrupt me, Merlin. Mordred as come to me in confidence that I will treat him well and I want you to do the same. He's a druid."

"I hope this doesn't change how you see me, Merlin." Mordred added and Arthur could only watch as Merlin left the room. Silence followed before there was a loud crash followed by a solid two minutes of swearing. The door reopened.

"Have we decided what to do about breakfast?"

Alator was... Still around. For some reason.

Arthur was pretty sure the man had recovered from whatever Morgana did to him. Perhaps he planned to now live within Camelot? That was fine. Though... It... Well, okay. The man was a little...Unsettling. Very unsettling? Really unsettling. He never spoke much. He simply roamed around the halls like a silent ghost, staring at nothing and occasionally giving vague comments. Anytime Arthur tried to engage in conversation it ended up leaving him very concerned and worried.

"Do you have any family?" Arthur had once asked him. Alator glanced at him before turning back to stare at a torch.

"My mother and father taught me the ways to torture a man's body and soul. Then vanished. As all of my kind do."

"Ah...Uh, yes. Me too." Arthur said, thinking of his own parents. He supposed it wasn't that far off. Alator turned back to stare at him once more.

"Good day, sire."

That had been their longest conversation.

So Arthur wasn't exactly thrilled when Merlin dragged him onto the training field shortly after a session with his knights ended. Leon gave a curious look as Merlin tried to shoo them all away. Mordred paused in picking up his sword to frown as Merlin began babbling incoherently.

"Slow down, Merlin." Gwaine scoffed "We can't understand you."

"I'm not sure I can tell you." Merlin said impatiently and grabbed Percival and tried with what little strength he had to heave the man out of the way. "I need to speak to the king." He added. Arthur grimaced. He could tell by Gwaine's face he wasn't pleased to hear this. In fact, Gwaine looked a little hurt by the dismissal. Merlin seemed to sense it too because he backtracked. "It's... About Mordred."

"About me being a druid?"

"Are we just telling everyone about that now?" Merlin snapped at him. Arthur snorted.

"I did get the roundtable up to speed. Nobody harbors any resentment towards Mordred."

"Yeah," Gwaine smirked "He's too itty bitty to be a big bad sorcerer." He mocked and Mordred spluttered for a moment. Merlin also joined in the snickering for a moment before redirecting his attention back to Alator. The man didn't look exceptionally pleased about being dragged out here either. Arthur hoped dearly that this wasn't another man Merlin wanted Arthur to knight.

"I found Emrys!"

...you know. Maybe that wouldn't have been so bad. Arthur could always use more knights.

Mordred dropped the piece of armor he had started to pry off, eyes widening for a moment as he looked at Alator and then to the king. Yeah... Yep. That summed up his feelings on the matter as well.

"You...Are Emrys?" Arthur asked slowly. He turned to look back at Merlin who only offered a bright smile in return. It wasn't comforting. In fact, Arthur was fairly certain it was the same smile he gave when he returned Arthur's dirty laundry and tried to insist he washed it.

"I am." The man nodded solemnly "Though you may still call me Alator." 

Arthur had to fight to keep his face completely blank. Right. Fine. Okay. He held up a finger before gesturing Mordred a bit closer. The knight shuffled to his side, leaning in so he could hear when Arthur started whispering.

"What did this prophecy you keep mentioning say again?" He asked and when Mordred opened his mouth, held up a hand. "About me and Emrys."

"Oh," Mordred said and shrugged "He's in love with you. You fall in love with him."

Arthur slowly turned back to Alator. Then back to Mordred.

"...are you sure?"

The knight looked Alator up and down a few times before his face set into something unreadable. He turned back to Arthur and immediately bowed his head in deference.

"Quite sure, sire. I would definitely know when I am in the presence of the mighty and great Emrys." He said, loud enough for all to hear. "This is the one the prophecy speaks of...For all I have told you." He said, brows raising slightly.

Arthur didn't deserve this.

Things were not going well.

How could they? He just found out he was supposed to fall in love with someone twice his age and who couldn't hold a conversation with him longer than five minutes. Mordred said Emrys was already in love with him, but Arthur really didn't see it. Alator had already informed him multiple times that he would prefer not to be around the king. Which...Well. The feeling was a little mutual.

Merlin on the other hand seemed very in love with him.

"Isn't this great? Emrys seems very capable of handling any magical questions you might have. If you're going to let Mordred roam about the least you could do is learn a bit more on the subject. If you want. Only if you agree." He added hastily as he folded some clothes. Arthur groaned and rolled over. "Or don't. Maybe we can just kill Mordred-"

"It isn't that," Arthur said and sat up in his bed "I'm not against learning more about magic. Especially with Morgana's constant attacks." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "It's just...Alator. Emrys, whatever." He shook his head. "I...Don't know what to make of him." He said slowly. Normally, he might confide in Merlin about issues like these but... Maybe not this one. Merlin wasn't... He just wouldn't understand. The man did not seem to get Arthur's idea of... Romantical endeavors. This was made abundantly clear by his efforts to keep Arthur and Gwen together. And while, yes. Gwen was queen, of course she was because she smart and brilliant and kind... She wasn't... That. Merlin wouldn't understand what Arthur wanted and there was the very frightening possibility that if he learned Arthur was supposed to end up with Emrys he might do something to help it along and... No offense to Alator, but Arthur did not want that. At all.

"You don't like him?" Merlin asked, sounding a little put off. Yep. Good call not telling him then.

"He's hard to talk to." Arthur pointed out. Even Merlin could see that, right? Besides, Arthur was kind of suspicious that the man wasn't being entirely metaphorical when he referenced torturing people. Arthur couldn't be in love with someone who tortured people, right? Why was Alator even torturing anyone? Like, yeah, he was currently torturing Arthur by simply existing, but that was different.

"Hm... Well, he has been running from persecution most of his life. You're Uther's son. It makes sense he's uneasy." Merlin mused and walked around to pick up some of Arthur's shoes and throw them into a basket. "I'm sure there must be something you have common ground on. Maybe you have more in common than you realize."

...very similar advice to what he told Arthur about Elena. Ugh. This wasn't an arranged marriage though! This was... Nevermind. Maybe he was reading too much into this. Maybe this prophecy meant platonic love. Familial love? A Father-son thing? That still felt weird. He hated this... And Alator might be torturing people. That should be addressed at some point.

Arthur would try another conversation and see what happened.

"Is...George up to your standards?" He asked cautiously as he approached the man in the library that afternoon. Alator slowly flipped a page before turning his attention to Arthur.

"The servant. Yes. He tells the most amusing jokes about brass."

Mordred said he wasn't going to kill him but Arthur was beginning to think it might be treason for him not to.

"And...The dragon?" Arthur asked. This had been a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea. Arthur may not be on board with this whole 'love' thing but it didn't mean they couldn't be friendly, right? He figured having dinner with his knights was a good group environment so that Arthur wasn't forced into awkward conversation the whole time.

Wrong.

"You did not kill the dragon. I killed the dragon. You were passed out." Alator said, still not touching his food.

"I thought only a dragonlord could slay a dragon," Leon said, perhaps sensing Arthur's uneasiness. "How did you win such a battle? Spare us no details!" He said with false excitement. The others all murmured in agreement. Alator looked at them all blankly.

"I am a dragonlord. I told the dragon to die. He died."

"Uh...Was Balinor not the last dragonlord-?"

"No. I am. You were wrong."

"Right, right. Of course," Arthur mumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose. From his other side, Mordred leaned in.

"See? He's just so entranced by you, sire."

"Eat your fucking food, Sir Mordred."

"Tell me, Alator." Gwaine said, giving his valiant attempt to start a conversation. Granted, Gwaine adored Alator for the sole reason of him not talking meant Gwaine was free to talk as much as he wanted with no interruptions. Still, he seemed to realize that Arthur was hoping for more than three sentences at a time and threw his hat into the ring. "How about we play a game? We each tell our wildest fight and if you feel you have outmatched us then we will take a drink of mead." He said, pulling out a flask. “If you we outmatch you then you must drink.”

Now... Normally didn't approve of drinking like Gwaine, but hey. If it loosened Alator's tongue then maybe he would give it a whirl.

"Very well," Alator said with very little hesitation. He still hadn't touched his food. Arthur wondered if he even needed to eat. "Tell me your sad tales of triumph and I will impress you with mine."

"Ha!" Percival smiled "Your arrogance is refreshing, but we once defeated an immortal army to take back Camelot from the ladies Morgause and Morgana!" He said and the knights all cheered. Alator looked at him for a few seconds.

"I've defeated two immortal armies. And the undead wreath of Tristan de Bois that Uther Pendragon killed was only defeated through the sword I crafted for the Once and Future King." He said and finally, finally took a bite of salad in front of him. The others stared. "I believe you drink now, no?"

"Well, um..." Gwaine began as the flask was begrudgingly passed around. "Arthur and I traveled with Merlin here to retrieve the Trident of the Fisher King!" He smiled and raised a goblet of wine to Merlin. "Defeated some magical wyvern and what not. Quite a quest!"

"Yes, I was there as well," Alator mused "It is where I got water from the Lake of Avalon that helped me overthrow Morgana and Morgause through an old lost love of mine." He said and took a sip of water. "Though I suppose we've discussed that one... I once defeated the sorceress Nimueh by using her life as the trade for Arthur's life in order to ensure he did not die from the bite of the Questing Beast." He said. More silence. "You mustn't forget I've lived the king's shadow for many years now. I have been by his side in ways one might not expect." Alator informed them all pleasantly.

"We...We'll drink." Gwaine finally said. He looked around desperately. Leon cleared this throat.

"Perhaps we should go into humorous adventures! Were you around when our late king married a troll?" He said and Arthur scowled at him. Though he supposed it was a good tactic.

"Yes, I killed that troll." Alator mused and waved his hand so that the flask refilled when his eyes burned gold. "I once set a goblin loose within Camelot by mistake. I think King Arthur's donkey ears were quite enjoyable."

Yeah. Arthur and the rest of the knights woke up the next morning hungover. Alator was still finishing his dinner.

"You're acting strange," Merlin complained as he brought Arthur his armor. "Why?"

"What gives you the right to ask a king the inner workings of his mind, Merlin?" Arthur snapped back, picking up a gauntlet and throwing it back down in frustration. "Did you even try to polish these?" He asked and stalked away. Merlin went still for a moment.

"I feel like I've been transported back in time." He muttered and Arthur felt his temper flare up again just in time to hear a loud clatter when all of his armor went crashing to the floor. He spun around to find Merlin glaring at him. "Whoops." He said unapologetically. "Should I go ahead and get to the stocks for old times' sake?" He asked. Arthur halted. Merlin hadn't been to the stocks in years - definitely not since he'd been crowned king. Immediately, the residual anger seemed to drain out of him.

"I won't be training today," He sighed and waved his hand "You're dismissed."

Merlin hesitated. Arthur could see the debate crossing over his mind. Prodding Arthur to figure out what was going on or leaving him to figure it out himself. Arthur wasn't sure which conclusion he wanted his servant to come to if he was honest. Finally, Merlin knelt down to pick up the fallen armor with a sigh of his own.

"Is this about magic?" He asked quietly. Arthur dropped into one of his armchairs, kneading his forehead without giving much of an answer. "I thought with Emrys-"

"I'm not second-guessing magic. If anything, Alator has been... Helpful." He admitted with a silent groan. That was true at least. The man had shown him various spells and explained their purposes in his own, blunt way. Really, it took someone like Alator to really demonstrate how... Bland magic could be. There definitely was no inherent good or evil in it. You used it and it did what you said. Almost like a sword. If anything, it felt a little anticlimactic. It also left Arthur with an incredible amount of guilt. Not just for the lives his father took but... "Magic didn't make Morgana evil." He mumbled and Merlin walked over to stand in front of him. "I see that now. It must mean my father and I did."

"And Emrys." Merlin said immediately. Arthur frowned. "The blame can hardly be placed on you, Arthur. Your father was the one she was afraid of. Emrys was the one who should have helped her. You... Didn't know." He explained and glanced back purposely at the other empty chair. Arthur snorted and nodded. Merlin dropped into it and offered a wry smile. "What else?"

Merlin needed to stop being so insight. His uncanny ability to read people was going to be mistaken for magic one day, Arthur just knew.

"Alator. He... I just..." He managed and Merlin waited. "Who even told you he was Emrys? Are we sure he is?" He asked and Merlin blinked. "Something feels off."

"Arthur, he was able to tell you every deed he had completed while protecting you - it was rather impressive if I say so myself." He added with a sudden smirk. Arthur shrugged.

"I guess."

"You - seriously?" Merlin said and lightly kicked his leg. "You don't even have a little bit of praise? He's a dragonlord. That's cool. He also got rid of the Cornelius Sigan guy. I don't know much about magic but that sounds very important." He told him with a hint of amusement. Arthur was not amused.

"I suppose I should knight him." Arthur said bitterly. Merlin frowned and kicked him again, harder this time. "What?"

"What lies has Mordred told you about him?" He asked flatly and Arthur stood up, pacing. "He's just looking for trouble-"

"I can barely hold a conversation with the man!"

"I...Okay? Does that really matter?" Merlin asked, bewildered as he watched Arthur pace. "Arthur, he's just here to show you magic's true purpose. You don't need to necessarily enjoy being around him-"

"But I do!" Arthur said, throwing up his hands. "Or at least I do if I want Albion to come about. Mordred said prophecies don't always come true and I'd imagine that if I want the Albion part to come to fruition that the Emrys part does too!" He yelled to the air. Merlin stared. "So is it selfish on me to not like him? I don't even know what Albion truly entails - is it really that great?" He asked desperately. "I'm only twenty-five, Merlin!"

There were several beats of silence.

"What... the Hell are you talking about?" Merlin finally asked. Arthur opened his mouth only to promptly shut it.

"I need to go."

"You need to - Arthur wait. Wait, don't-" He started, scrambling after Arthur. "You can't leave me with that! What are you talking about? Arthur? Arthur!" He yelled, but Arthur was already out of the room. He was thinking about paying Mordred another visit but was immediately stopped by Alator himself in the middle of the hallway. Arthur inwardly groaned and looked around. The hallways was otherwise empty. Alator wasn't a big talker maybe he could get away with ignoring him.

"Hello, sire."

Damnit.

"Hello, Alator." Arthur sighed and glanced at the bird perched on the window that Alator was watching curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, well. I am trying to avoid Gaius. I can tell the man is not always pleased to see me despite the time that has passed since we last met." Alator mused. Arthur waited for him to expand upon that, but got nothing.

"Have...You known Gaius for very long?" Arthur asked. Alator pursed his lips.

"Did you know I'm a high priest?" He asked in return. Arthur shook his head. He had heard of high priestesses. Not priests. Alator hummed. "Before your father... My life felt much more complicated. There were others like me... Seeking glory. Hoping to use magic for whatever cause they had allied themselves. After Uther, my purpose came simply to survive. To escape. To wait." He said, brows furrowing together. "I should feel guilt at how Gaius and I met. I am sorry our paths crossed in such dire circumstances, but ultimately those events are what caused my waiting to end. I suppose I can only grant favors in order to right my wrongs." He mused.

That... Did not answer Arthur's question at all.

"I'm sorry you had to live like that." Arthur finally said. Alator scoffed.

"I believe I finally see what the prophecy means." He told him and patted his arm as he turned away, startling the bird so it flew away. "Albion will be glorious."

Arthur closed his eyes. God fucking damnit.

He immediately rerouted until he was in front of Mordred's chambers. He gave only a few knocks before throwing open the door.

"Ah, hello, your majesty." Mordred greeted form where he was reading. He snapped the book in his hands closed. He wasn't in armor, but a simple tunic and trouser with the sleeves rolled up so his druidic marking was visible. Arthur pointed at him.

"Albion." He said. Mordred nodded. "Can...I create it even if I don't fall in love with Alator?" He asked. Mordred blinked. An expression Arthur couldn't quite read crossed his face for a moment before he clicked his tongue.

"I'm afraid not. The prophecy was pretty clear-"

"But I might be in love with someone else!" Arthur argued vehemently "Surely this prophecy cannot supersede those feelings." He tried, wringing his hands. Mordred gave a long sigh, face pinched into a perfect expression of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, sire. This is what the prophecy has declared. I cannot change it." He said and stood up, placing a gently hand on Arthur's arm. "But at least love is prophesied in your future. Some only have misfortune." He said.

"This can't be right."

"It is."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes, Arthur." Mordred laughed and at Arthur's outrage, put up both his hands. "I'm sorry, sire. I... Just give yourself some time." He said, voice gentle. Arthur groaned. Again. This was the absolute worst.

"Is Albion really that important?" He asked and Mordred only grimaced.

"Your majesty... I truly believe it is the most important thing in the world."

Note to self: Druids chieftains were a good source of information.

He says this because Arthur had known Iseldir for exactly ten minutes when the man righted all the wrongs in his life.

"...and Emrys, of course. We do wish to see him again." Iseldir was saying as he clasped Arthur's hand. They were meeting to officially sign the treaty that Arthur had been enacting publicly. Most of his advisors were pretty pissed, but Arthur felt like he was getting the worst end of the deal so they could keep their mouths shut as far as he's concerned.

"Ah. Yes, Alator will be joining us soon." Arthur said absently as he ran his finger over the parchment outlying certain details. Iseldir frowned.

"Who?"

"Alator. Or, sorry. Emrys." Arthur corrected himself with a shake of his head. Iseldir stared and looked over his shoulder at where some of the other druids he brought were also murmuring. "Have...Uh, you met him before?" He asked slowly.

"We... Have met Emrys on a few occasions. He's never gone by the name Alator though." He said with careful composure. "Who is this man?"

...Had Arthur been catfished?

"Um...Maybe your age? Bald. Has a staff he carries with him most of the time. Blue robes-" Arthur started and the doors swung open to reveal Mordred walking in. He froze - eyes widening slightly upon seeing Iseldir before immediately turning around. "Mordred!" He called and gestured "Your kin is here." He said.

"Ah, yes!" Iseldir smiled "Mordred. It's been quite some time since Arthur last brought you to us, child." He said and Mordred winced a little as he offered a weak smile.

"Hello, Iseldir." He said weakly. Oh. Yeah. Right. Mordred had mentioned that he was the same child that Arthur and Morgana had rescued many years ago from execution. Still, it felt surreal that so much time had passed. "Um. I thought the treaty was to be tomorrow?" He asked, a little nervously.

"No, it's today." Arthur told him "Where's Alator? Iseldir is telling me he isn't how he remembers him." He said, trying to keep his suspicions reasonable. Mordred was his knight. He would never betray him like that.

Mordred's face said otherwise.

"Um..." He started and chuckled "I, um. Well, Emrys... He..." He started and shook his head. "Yeah, not today." He finally rectified and Arthur spluttered when he turned away.

"Excuse me?" He got out and Mordred paused in his escape. "Mordred, get back over here." He ordered and the knight seemed to let his head droop before straightening back up and spinning back towards the crowd. "Is there something you haven't told me?" He asked, calmly - because he was calm. So calm. Very calm. Mordred looked at him and then towards the door which reopened only for Alator himself to walk in. Iseldir stared.

"That isn't Emrys." He said helpfully. Arthur turned his gaze back onto Mordred.

"It wasn't my fault!" Mordred immediately defended "Emrys was the one who thought it would be a good idea to have him pretend to be him!"

"Who pretend to be who?" Gwaine whispered and Arthur jumped a little, having forgotten the rest of his knights were also present. Great. They could see Arthur look like an idiot too. Amazing.

"Emrys orchestrated this?" Iseldir asked, tilting his head. "I... Thought with magic being legalized he would have been more inclined to come forward." He said and everyone turned to Alator

"Emrys asked me to serve as a face for him. Given all he has sacrificed for our king I thought it would be best to follow orders without question." He said and Arthur held up his hands.

"Wait, who the fuck are you then?"

"I am Alator. High Priest of the Catha." Alator said and Arthur gaped "I met Emrys when he came to rescue your physician, Gaius, when Lady Morgana ordered me to torture him-"

"You tortured my physician?!" Arthur asked, horror rising in him. He knew the torture had been a valid concern! Leon immediately put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Mordred also looked shocked at this reveal as he sidestepped away from the priest with a frown. "You worked with Morgana?"

"Yes," Alator said pleasantly "She wished to know Emrys' true identity since it is said he will be the one to bring her downfall. I tortured the information out of Gaius. After he gave me the name... It paused me. I thought Emrys was a myth. However, I saw the boy with my own eyes and decided I knew then where my true allegiance lied. I did not give Morgana his identity and allowed him and Gaius to escape." Alator reported. "The witch has recently decided she is to torture me for the name now. I barely escaped her and came here in hopes Emrys himself might help me. He did and then asked I fill his place since the king recently discovered of his existence." He finished. Arthur had a lot to digest from that... But there was one thing that specifically caught his attention.

"Boy?" He repeated "How old is he?"

"Younger than you, I believe."

God fucking damnit.

"How young?" Arthur asked, defeated. Yeah. He definitely wasn't about to create Albion now.

"Ah... Maybe a year or so behind you? A child, really." Alator said and Arthur paused. He should be offended by the fact he was indirectly called a child, but also... A year or so younger. So Merlin’s age. He could work with that... That wasn't the priority right now though. He was getting sidetracked. Instead, he turned to Mordred who offered a bright smile in return.

"Is this prophecy you told me even true?" He asked and everyone immediately murmured their reassurances. Well. At least there was that. "And is anyone going to tell me who the Hell Emrys is?" He asked, voice rising.

"I'M HERE!"

Merlin burst through the doors, jacket singed with smoke rising from a pant leg and face smothered with dirt. Arthur blinked.

"Um, sorry, my lord. I had a...an issue mucking out the stables." Merlin explained, patting out the fire on leg. "Forgive the interruption. Carry on."

"Emrys is great. Truly. Very... Loyal. Wise. Compassionate. When I first met him he appeared to be all of that and more... However, things changed and I must have done something to displease him because we are not on the best of terms."

Wait.

"You mustn't forget I've lived the king's shadow for many years now. I have been by his side in ways one might not expect."

...No way.

"You don't even have a little bit of praise? He's a dragonlord. That's cool. He also got rid of the Cornelius Sigan guy. I don't know much about magic but that sounds very important."

Impossible.

"Ah... Maybe a year or so behind you? A child, really."

Arthur was going to fucking kill him.

"It's you!" He shouted, making Merlin jumped. "You're Emrys!" He growled. Arthur was going to throttle him. That absolute bastard. When he got his hands on him-

"Mordred!" Merlin hissed, whirling around with his fists clenched. "I knew you were a lying little-"

"It wasn't me!" Mordred cut him off with a scowl "It was Iseldir!" He said, pointing an accusing finger at the druid. Merlin turned to look at the man with raw betrayal in his eyes. Iseldir merely sighed and shook his head at the group. Arthur wasn't done though. Iseldir could be disappointed later. He was going to be mad right now.

"What the Hell?" Arthur said, stalking towards him. Merlin cringed away which would have made Arthur feel a little guilty if he wasn't so riled up. "Why did you think this was a good idea? And why did you pick someone twice my age to play someone who was supposed to be in love with me?" He demanded and Merlin, who had already started stuttering out various explanations, froze.

"What? Who said I was in love with you?" Merlin asked, flushing red. Oh. Oh shit. Arthur turned to Mordred.

"No, no, no! That part was true. You two are destined to fall in love. I didn't make that up." He said and Merlin's eyes widened a bit. Arthur looked at Iseldir who also nodded.

"I..." Merlin managed, voice sounding tight. He glanced at Alator who was also nodding. "Wait, you knew that? Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, outraged. Alator shrugged.

"I thought it was funny."

"Alator!"

"Apologies, my lord." Alator said, unapologetically with an unapologetic expression. It was a little weird to hear someone call Merlin 'my lord' but Arthur didn't have much time to ponder over it since from somewhere behind him there was a shriek of laughter. Arthur turned to see Gwaine clinging onto Percival between heaving breaths.

"You thought you were destined to fall in love with Alator?!" He chortled and Leon kicked him with mutters to stay quiet. "Oh, God. Mordred. Mordred, mate. Thank you. And Merlin. Fantastic casting choice!" He managed, ignoring the stares he was getting. Now that the anger and shock was wearing off Arthur was also starting to feel a rise of panic. Merlin was a sorcerer. Merlin was a powerful sorcerer. Merlin was in love with him.

This was a lot to take in.

"Gwaine, you fall in love with everyone you meet. Shut up." Percival snorted, but this only served to make Gwaine laugh harder. "I'm taking him outside, sire. I am so sorry."

Arthur made a note to put Gwaine in the stocks later. Also, where was Mordred? He narrowed his eyes to where the other druid was shuffling towards the door after his fellow knights. Upon meeting Arthur's gaze, he scowled.

"You murdered innocent people. This seems harmless in comparison."

"His father murdered innocent people," Merlin immediately defended, fingers twitching. "One of which was supposed to be you if Arthur hadn't stepped in."

"Kara-"

"Was given multiple chances!"

"Now isn't the time for this," Arthur interrupted and both fell quiet. "Mordred, you're dismissed. We can talk about it later." He said and watched him give a curt nod for leaving the room. He supposed this could have been worse. If Mordred was really so upset he could have done a lot worse than this. Still, Merlin looked as if the man had done an unforgivable crime. He should probably inquire more about their strange relationship before they ended up murdering one another... Or Arthur himself.

"...is the treaty not to be signed now?" Merlin sighed, running a hand over his face in defeat. "I - Arthur, I am so sorry about lying about...Pretty much everything. I never meant to-"

Arthur put a hand over his mouth. He would order him to be quiet but this seemed like it had a better chance of shutting him up.

"I think this requires a much longer discussion." Arthur told him. Merlin nodded from behind Arthur's hand. "But I am still going to sign this treaty." He said and Merlin nodded again, the relief palpable in his eyes. "Then you're going to explain this all to me." Another nod. "Then, um. Alator is going to go home?" He added, turning his gaze to where the man was still standing.

"I have no home. Your father destroyed it."

"Alright, Alator is going to stay." Arthur muttered and let go of Merlin. "Are you alright?" He asked. Merlin laughed.

"Am I okay? You're not beheading me so I think I'm doing okay." He said between breathy chuckles. "Are you okay?"

"Well, I'm not destined to fall in love with Alator so...Yes, I'm good. Sorry." He added and Alator pursed his lips.

"I prefer women." He informed them both. Right. Okay then.

"But, you're uh...Okay with...?" Merlin started and Arthur immediately took a step back, turning bright red at the unasked question.

"Oh. I, well... I mean. I'm not exactly opposed." Arthur managed and then shook his head "Unless you're opposed. In that case, I am definitely more opposed than you." He said and winced. Damnit. This was going badly. Arthur was a king. He should sound like one - not a bumbling idiot. That was more of Merlin's thing.

Merlin who was a freaking sorcerer.

"He's not opposed." Iseldir called from where he and the druids were still (very patiently) waiting. Right. Other people were here. Arthur immediately stepped away and turned back to the people he was supposed to be talking to. "Take all the time you need." The man added, pleasantly. Arthur gave a weak smile.

"No, no. Thank you for...Clarifying things. Let us get back to our treaty." He said and then paused. Slowly, he turned back to Merlin.

"...you're the reason I had donkey ears." He whispered, remembering Alator's tale at dinner. Merlin bit his lip, clearly trying to hide a smile.

"I always told you that you were an ass."

"I refuse to fall in love with you-"

"That's fine. Alator is still an option."

"I am not." Alator supplied and Arthur threw up his hands. At this point, he was pretty sure destiny was laughing in his face. Merlin gave a very stoic nod in return.

"You're right, Alator. You can do so much better."

Emrys or not... Arthur was going to kill him.

Chapter Text

The Alator incident was not soon forgotten unfortunately.

It seemed to be a running gag for both the magical and non-magical communities. This was mainly due to Gwaine telling anyone who might listen the 'Grand Love story of King Arthur and the lovely Alator of the Catha'.

He had been put in the dungeons exactly twelve times for this and still wasn't dissuaded from repeating the treasonous words to anyone who was willing to hear it.

"My, my Emrys! I hadn’t expected you to be so young!" One woman cooed when she spied Merlin speaking to Arthur across the courtyard. A few others surrounding her (whom Arthur could only assume were also magic users) all giggled before giving bright waves.

"Nor so handsome!" Another called and Merlin sighed.

"I should go walking around as Dragoon." He said glumly and Arthur made a face.

"Don’t do that.” He said and at Merlin’s scowl shrugged “What? I don’t know why it is so goddamn hard for me not to kiss an old man. Seriously, Merlin. Help me out here.” He said with a hint of a whine towards the end. Merlin rolled his eyes in response which wasn’t helpful but then again, Merlin rarely was. "Speaking of Alator..." He added, sighing a bit. Merlin looked over his shoulder and sure enough, Alator was trekking across the courtyard.

"Hello, Ala-" Arthur started but was almost immediately silenced by the man putting up both hands.

"Come." He said and started walking again. Arthur looked at Merlin for an explanation, but the man only shrugged and started off after Alator. Typical. Arthur sighed and followed. Alator was... Well, he wasn't quite sure what exactly to do about the man staying in his castle. Technically, he was under Merlin's protection not his... Though this was his castle and Arthur remained stagnant in his argument that Merlin had no control over who could come and leave his castle.

"Is everything alright, Alator?" Merlin asked, absently grabbing Arthur's hand to tug him along. Alator said nothing (why would he?), instead gesturing to where Mordred was currently... Doing... Something? Arthur squinted. Mordred was down on the training field, piling up what appeared to be bags of herbs. Merlin sighed.

"I knew he would try to kill you." He muttered. Arthur wasn't sure how gathering an obscene amount of herbs meant Mordred was out to end his life, but luckily Alator beat him there. 

"Haven't you learned your lesson from last time, Emrys?" He asked and there was an awkward pause in which Merlin seemed to flinch away before giving a slight nod.

"I've been... Nicer to him." He muttered, face turning the barest hint of pink. Alator scoffed.

"He is planning a ritual," Alator said turning back to where Mordred was working "It will be a second form of magic around the castle."

"I already put forces around the castle - are they not strong enough?" Merlin asked quickly, brows coming together as his eyes flashed gold. Arthur watched as he looked around critically, using magic to find any weaknesses within the spells he cast.

"They are fine," Alator said "But it is clear the boy is useless here."

Damn. Arthur opened his mouth, ready to defend Mordred. While... Yes, Mordred hadn't been his best self recently he was still Arthur's knight. The kid was good with a sword and Arthur would readily admit he had every right to be upset. Merlin, for his part, gave a stoic nod.

"I see your point."

"Hey." Arthur said sharply and Merlin sighed before looking down at Mordred with a hint of regret. "He will be one of the finest warriors in my army and-"

"I will train him." Alator said interrupted. Arthur paused.

"Train...Him?" He repeated and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean exactly?" He asked with a shake of his head. "I train him. Or if you mean magic then Merlin could... Also, what would you train him as? He's not going to learn to torture people with his mind. That's not happening." He said immediately and looked at Merlin for backup. Only, Merlin was looking at Alator with consideration in his eyes which did not help his anxiety on the matter.

"You mean as a high priest?" He asked and Arthur paused. Oh.

"...do high priests torture people?" Arthur asked warily. Was it a stupid question? Maybe. Not to be the stereotypical son of the guy who waged genocide against all magical beings but high priestesses (in his experience) weren't very nice... And Alator tortured people. So, like, he thought it was reasonable.

"High priests are not required to learn such arts, but those of the Catha are." Alator said and then paused. "And I would train him as a Catha."

"So... You are going to take my perfectly good knight and teach him to torture people?" Arthur reiterated and shrugged. "No." He said and pointed towards where Mordred was now chanting loudly. "He is barely of age! And despite all that has happened he is a kind soul." He snapped out. A fire burst within the herbs that Mordred had gather, allowing different color smoke to rise. "See! Look at him. He's helping defend Camelot."

"TAKE THAT!" Mordred yelled at the fire and Merlin grimaced.

"You know he's also protecting Morgana, right?"

"He made a vow to protect all of us. I think it is very noble he wishes to see it through." Arthur argued stubbornly. "Besides, what would training him as a high priest do?" He asked, waving his hands "And if you're really so worried about him turning against us why would teaching him to hurt people come in handy? I don't condone the use of torture." Arthur continued as Alator waited.

"Emrys?" He finally asked and Arthur choked. Just as he was about to launch into a very long tirade to voice his offense which might have ended with banishing Alator altogether, Merlin sighed.

"He isn't my knight... But perhaps there is something to be said about it. I need to show Mordred I trust him and it would be good for him to have an outlet outside of training with the knights." He said slowly and when Arthur opened his mouth, shook his head "He turned Gwaine purple last week." He reminded him. Arthur grimaced. Okay. Fair. Mordred did have a lot of pent up anger over Kara. It might be helpful for him to find something magical to work through it.

"I don't want him to torture people." Arthur reiterated. Merlin nodded. Alator, on the other hand, looked very displeased.

"My kind have been eradicated. I wish to find more to train so that I am no longer the last." He said with a frown. Arthur opened his mouth for a moment. While he understood the damage his father had done... He wasn't sure it was a huge loss that a group of magical torturers weren't roaming around. Taking a long breath, he held up both his hands.

"If Mordred agrees to being trained as a high priest I will not oppose. If he agrees to learn these... Other methods I will allow it. Still, I draw the line at torture." He said firmly. Why was this even being debated? Arthur didn't think there had to be so much consideration revolving around not torturing people. Just don't torture people. It isn't that hard - was he being crazy?

"This feels unreasonable."

"Does it?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Alator's eyes narrowed slightly before turning his gaze onto Merlin once more. Ha! Arthur smirked. While Alator could argue all he wanted that he technically served Merlin rather than Arthur the truth of the matter was Merlin was loyal to him.

"I think I have much to learn more about Catha," Merlin said slowly which... Arthur felt a slight hint of nervousness at that. "But I agree that Mordred shouldn't be training to hurt anyone. Torture is... Extreme." He said slowly and his eyes turned to where Mordred was glaring at the burning pile of herbs. "And I'm not sure I want Mordred to have that sort of power quite yet." He added. Mordred kicked the herbs. "Ever." He decided.

"Very well," Alator sighed and gave a nod "I will dismiss myself."

"It doesn't work like-" Arthur started, but Merlin shook his head.

"Just let him win this one."

"Let him...? Him not being allowed to teach torture wasn't a loss!"

There were pros and cons to being a king.

Pros: Nicer stuff, more authority, the ability to make change, inherent respect, protecting people, honoring his people with his choices and so forth.

Cons: Whatever the fuck this was.

"I'm sorry," Arthur began from his throne and looked around the room, fully expecting his idiot of a sorcerer to pop around the corner and announce this was some sort of prank for years of service as a servant. "You...Are...All requesting...Marriage?" He asked slowly to the group of women. "To Alator?"

Immediately his question was met with various responses at once. From beside him, Leon tried to silent the flock of woman only to immediately step back when his attempts were met with outraged yells and gasps of disrespect. He turned to Arthur.

"My lord, may I-"

"You're staying here with me. Don't you dare leave my side." Arthur whispered back with as much threat as he could put behind his voice. Leon deflated as he glanced back before the door slammed open. Alator himself strode inside, effectively silencing the group. A few of the women sighed as he walked in before giving small, nervous waves while some others started blushing and looking at the ground.

Arthur wasn't sure if this was a divine punishment for his father's crimes against magic but... Surely this couldn't be the price?

"I thought I said not to bring this matter to the king." Alator said flatly and Arthur held up a hand.

"Can someone clearly explain to me the matter without raising their voice?" He asked and immediately the women grumbled dangerously. Honestly. What the Hell? Alator sighed, turning him with a very stoic expression as he nodded his head.

"I told these women I would not choose amongst them so they have decided to appeal to you."

There was a pause.

"You mean to say," Leon chipped in, voice etched with undeniable awe "That all of them have come to ask for the king to... Decide your wife?" He asked and gave a slight chuckle "Alator, there's at least thirty women in here-"

"And we all know Lucinda is already married so why is she even here?" One woman called from the back, leading to a collective gasp.

"I am a widow, Agatha!" Another voice called "It's when your husband dies. Not that you would know given you chosen to live your life as an unpaid whore-"

"OKAY!" Leon said loudly, eyes widening as the woman who Arthur would have to guess was Agatha started to take off her shoe. "I...Alright. I see... You are each very passionate about your cause." He said and paused "And you are each here to marry Alator?" He asked, eyes flicking towards the man in question as he silently stood by the entrance of the throne room. There was a murmur of approval. "I see. Well, your majesty, it seems this is to be left up to you."

"Didn't take you for a traitor, Leon." Arthur grumbled and the knight offered a wry smile before leaning down to clap his shoulder.

"Sire," He whispered lowly in his ear "I mean this with all due respect but... He's your ex. You can take care of this."

"I swear to God, Leon I will have you beheaded-" Arthur hissed back, but Leon was already bowing to the women with various nods and promises that they could each get individual time to appeal to Arthur before practically sprinting towards the door. Arthur spluttered incoherently at the absolute treason he was witnessing. When the door shut there was a couple beats of silence before the group collectively turned to him.

"Um, Alator." Arthur began uncomfortably "This feels as if it should be your decision-"

"As a king, I truly believe you know best." Alator said and with a slight bow, exited the same way Leon did. Honestly, why did he even come in?

More silence.

"So," One woman finally asked "Who goes first?"

It was about three weeks later that Arthur felt the full extent of his regret on letting Alator train Mordred.

"...Mordred?" He asked, walking over to where his knight was sitting in the middle of the courtyard, eyes closed and hands placed on his knees. The knight hummed in acknowledgement. "What are you doing?"

"I am learning to resist all forms of pain. Physical and mental." He informed him with his eyes still closed. "Alator says it is the first step to my training." He explained. Arthur nodded. Right, right. Okay.

"I see," He said slowly and looked around "And why here? Would you not be more comfortable in your room?" He asked and a hint of a smile touched the knight's lips.

"If I must learn to resist all forms of pain then I believe I must put myself in painful positions."

"And why is my courtyard painful?"

"Because I knew you would be in it."

Arthur stared. He opened his mouth a few times before promptly snapping it shut. There were several routes he could take here. He could honestly say he wasn't sure he liked any of them so he just stood still for a moment as he tried to digest that.

"I thought we had reached an understanding." He finally managed. Mordred cracked an eye open, looking him up and down for a moment before shrugging. "Mordred, I had no choice with Kara and you know that given your recent behavior I've been lenient-"

"I'm resisting." Mordred whispered and put two fingers to his temple. Arthur scowled.

"My voice is causing you pain? Now you're just being childish and-"

"Resisting. So hard. The pain. Ah." Mordred continued and as if this entire situation couldn't get anymore outrageous, Alator materialized out of nowhere.

"You're losing focus," Alator said dryly and Arthur threw up his hands. Come on. "You need to separate your mind and body."

"I'm trying." Mordred muttered and opened his eyes again to glower and Arthur. "My mind is the one in pain." He added under his breath. Arthur considered adjusting his training with Arthur to make sure the pain would be more physical in the future, but Alator's voice distracted him.

"I am aware. I spent many weeks with him as well. It tested my training."

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, spinning around back towards the castle. "Merlin, get over here and set your bloody magical kin straight!"

"Alator!" Mordred's voice echoed behind him "The pain! It's retreating!"

"That would be because the king just left."

Arthur made a note to write Morgana and ask if she still wanted Mordred for her cause.

"...a sorceress myself so we already have a lot in common."

Arthur nodded, not really registering the words. Instead, he turned to look beside him where Gwaine was currently gaping at the woman in front of him.

"Told you so." He said miserably. Gwaine glanced at Arthur before giving a nervous laugh.

"I thought you were joking." He said slowly and furrowed his brows "I don't understand. Why do they want to marry Alator? Has he put a love spell on them?" He asked lowly, glancing as the woman began to demonstrate her singing voice for them. Arthur shrugged helplessly.

"I asked Merlin to check. He said no and it was offensive to assume that." He muttered. Gwaine made a noise of protest.

"He doesn't even have hair." Gwaine whispered, touching his own hair as if afraid it might be snatched way. Arthur only shrugged again. He didn't know what was going on either. Luckily, Gwaine was on the case as he held up a hand to silent the woman.

"My lady," He began firmly "You have... Wonderful qualifications." He said, looking over at Arthur who nodded. "But the most important question we must ask today is why you are choosing Alator as a husband." He said. The woman laughed.

"Thank you, my lords." She beamed. Gwaine stared. She gave a low curtsy before turning towards the door.

"I... That wasn't an answer!" Gwaine called after her. He looked over at Arthur. "That wasn't an answer."

Unrelated to any previous events dealing with Alator, Arthur decided to take Merlin for an impromptu hunt.

To which, obviously, Merlin was going to complain endlessly because he didn't love Arthur after all and wanted nothing more than for him to be unhappy all the time.

"Knock it off, you know I love you." Merlin muttered as he pushed past him moodily, leaving Arthur to wonder if he said that last part out loud. "But I'm not your servant anymore! And I have duties to fulfill back in Camelot. You can't just grab me and force me onto a horse whenever you fancy!" He sighed. Arthur didn't point out that Merlin had begun absently setting up camp and started dinner without any prompting... Meaning that his role as a servant was just that ingrained into him or he had given up all hope of Arthur doing anything himself.

"I'm the king. I can do that." He said and sat on a log. "Can't this be done quicker with magic?"

"Can't this be done quicker with two people?" Merlin quipped back, but did flick his wrist so the camp immediately flew together and a fire started crackling. Arthur grinned. "Shut up. I forget I can do that now." He sighed and collapsed next to him.

"You're moody," Arthur noted, picking a stray leaf from Merlin's hair "Has noble life got you flustered?" He asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice as Merlin glared at him. "Please tell me your woes, Lord Emrys. I thought you would revel in the life of doling out orders and-"

"Shh." Merlin said and put a finger to his lips "Stop making me mad." He whispered.

Arthur grabbed his wrist to remove the finger.

"No." He whispered back. Merlin's eyes narrowed and Arthur was just about to relent in his teasing when a snap caught his attention. Immediately he put a hand up, signaling for Merlin to freeze as he listened. More snaps. Definitely human footsteps. Three? No, more than that. Maybe five... Not his knights. They wouldn't be trying to be quiet. "Bandits." He warned lowly and reached down for his sword.

Another snap. Then an arrow.

The arrow wasn't a surprise. Arthur had expected either that or an axe to come shooting through the trees. Hell, even the arrow freezing in midair wasn't surprising. That was fine. The part that was throwing him a little off was the fact that Merlin's eyes were not gold at the moment. In fact, Merlin seemed just as startled by the arrow freezing as the bandits that came sprinting into the clearing were.

Not that they had much time to react. Arthur had already cut two down as Merlin threw the rest back before the arrow dropped to the ground.

"Is there more?" He asked as Merlin's eyes scanned the trees, burning gold. He opened his mouth to respond when his gaze stopped a bit to their right.

"No," He sighed and shook his head "What are you doing here Mordred?" He asked.

Ah. That explained the arrow.

"Keeping you from dying," Mordred's voice came as he stomped through the trees. Arthur put his sword back in his belt. "Gaius said you two went out alone again. Do you realize how hard it is to keep you alive when I don't know where you are?" He asked with a sniff before throwing down a pack of his own and taking out some bread to warm up by the fire. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"We're adults, Mordred. We can take care of ourselves."

"You haven't let Arthur take care of himself since you met him." Mordred threw back. Arthur wanted to object to that, but Merlin was already spluttering a bit in offense for him. "Besides, you both would be distracted with all your gross flirting and-"

"Hang on!" Arthur objected immediately as he flushed "We're not a couple of lovestruck girls."

"-and I made an oath that nobody is dying. So I can't let your couple's retreat put my goals in jeopardy." Mordred continued as if Arthur hadn't spoken. "And seeing as I'm the only one who is a knight and a sorcerer, I get to play chaperone." He grumbled. Merlin blinked. 

"Chaperone?" He repeated, going bright red. Mordred took a bite of his bread. "Mordred, go back to Camelot."

"Emrys, I'm sorry, but I cannot do that." Mordred informed and sighed "This is what my training has been preparing me for."

"I don't even know what that means." Merlin muttered, running a hand over his face. Arthur was pretty sure it was meant to be more of a comment than an invitation for further clarification, but Mordred chimed in anyways.

"Alator is teaching me to resist all forms of pain. Watching you two be disgusting together is a form of pain. By the way, I'm going to have to request you sleep on opposite sides of the fire-"

"Merlin, you're right." Arthur interrupted before his boyfriend straight up resorted to murder "We both have duties to Camelot. Let's go back home." He said. Mordred took another bite of bread, looking at them both with a hint of triumph before shrugging.

"So Leon and Gwaine weren't joking."

Arthur only gestured in front of him as woman number twenty-two continued her explanation of how her cooking rivaled even the castle's own cooks. Percival seemed to be backing away more and more as she talked, inching towards the back door. Arthur glared at him and he shuffled closer.

"Why can't Alator choose his own wife?" Percival asked, bewildered. "I've heard of kings arranging marriages before but, uh... Not like... This." He said and Arthur inwardly groaned. He remembered his father arranging marriages for other nobles, of course. He remembered if there were ever disputes about it having other royalty step in. He didn't ever remember a circumstance where anyone interviewed this many fucking people.

"Are you married?" The woman asked curiously and Arthur whipped around to find her looking at Percival with her head tilted in consideration.

"Oh, um..." Percival blinked and looked over his shoulder as if she could be talking to anyone else. "I...Am not...Currently...Married." He said and looked at Arthur with panicked eyes. Arthur shook his head at him. No way was he getting involved. As far as he was concerned Arthur was pretty much married anyways. Not that Merlin had agreed to such a thing, but, you know. Prophecy.

"Wait," Arthur interrupted his own musings "Would you rather marry Alator or Percival?" He asked and the woman blinked.

"Oh. I... I don't know." She frowned. Percival let out a slight sigh of relief. Arthur, for his part, was a little outraged. Sure, the woman was closer to Alator's age than to Percival's but... It was Percival. Women swooned at his feet. How they Hell did Alator enchant this many women without actually enchanting them?! "It would be a close call."

"If you say Percival I will let you marry him right now." Arthur informed her and his knight made a choking nose.

"My lord," He began "I can't-"

She didn't choose Percival. Arthur honestly was at loss.

Arthur knew he should be flattered... Which was why he was suspicious.

Mordred was standing in front of him, chin jutted out in a unique cross of genuine respect and begrudging acceptance. Arthur looked down in front of him and nodded slowly. Merlin was on the other side of the table looking with an equal amount of askance at the plate Mordred had proudly sat down between them.

"What is it?" Arthur finally ventured, making sure to pick up his fork to show he had every intention of eating the proposed peace offering without looking the least bit daunted. Which he wasn't. Not at all. Not even a little. He trusted Mordred after all...And that was clearly what this was. Mordred's own, stupid, teenage way of seeing if Arthur and Merlin trusted him after spending so much time being distrusted (thanks, Merlin).

"It's cake, my lord." Mordred informed him pleasantly, a wayward glint in his eye as he waited. "Emrys may have some too."

Arthur didn't need to have telepathic powers to see Merlin was not thrilled by the invite. Still, Arthur wasn't going through this alone so he wasted no time shoving the cake a little closer to him.

It looked innocent enough. Normal bread with sugar and custard... Or maybe it was salt... Arthur didn't think Mordred would outright kill him but that didn't mean ruining his taste buds was off the table.

"That's very kind of you, Mordred." Merlin said and took the fork from Arthur (because that's what he did - he loved Arthur enough to poison himself again and again for his king). "Is there an occasion?" He asked and took a bite as he looked the knight directly in eyes. Mordred's expression gave nothing away.

"I just wanted to thank you. I know I haven't been especially kind since Kara's death." He said and bowed his head. "And yet you haven't alienated me and have even brought Alator into my life. I never expected to be honored with the title of knight and high priest." He said and Arthur gave a short nod. Merlin appeared to be fine. He was chewing slowly, clearly tasting the cake carefully before slowly pushing it towards Arthur.

"I'll admit that Alator seemed to bring himself into your life, but I'm glad you see that you are part of Camelo- oh, God what is that?" Arthur choked and shot Merlin a betrayed look. Merlin grimaced, reaching over to squeeze Arthur's hand in apology. Mordred's smile widened.

"Alator taught me!" He said brightly and Merlin closed his eyes in annoyance. "Cathas often make food that tastes unpleasant as part of the practice of withstanding even the smallest inconveniences. Do you like it? I thought you might want to know more about what I was learning!" He beamed as Arthur coughed. Was there fur in this? That looked like fur.

"Cathas? I thought I said no torture!" He said in between sips of water that George has sprinted over to get to him. Mordred shrugged.

"He hasn't taught me torture but I'm allowed to learn the rest of being a Catha." He explained and Arthur ran a hand over his face before looking up to glare at Merlin.

"Sorry," He whispered "But I'm trying to be nicer to Mordred."

"So you betray me?" Arthur muttered and looked up at where his knight was patiently waiting. "When will you stop being this way?" He begged, shoving the cake as far away from himself as he could. "I can understand if you still hold grievances against Merlin-"

"Alright then." Merlin muttered and Arthur waved him away.

"But I haven't wronged you, Mordred! I made one mistake and one that my hand was forced! I've explained and you said you've understood-" He began, but was cut off when Mordred smiled at him. It wasn't his new aha-I-am-here-to-vex-you smile either. It was sweet and genuine and reminded him so much of the boy he knighted in the first place.

"I know, your majesty." He said, leaning over to take the plate back "I forgave you long ago. After the whole Alator business I figured you've been punished enough for Kara's death... And I am glad that you know I would never betray you." He added. Arthur blinked. This seemed to be great news but also... Like. Why? "But you're right. I still hold grievances against Emrys." He added and Merlin offered a weak smile to which Mordred glared. "And since you were so important that I had been so sorely mistreated I thought it was only just to mistreat you so that he suffers."

Arthur froze.

"This is your fault!" He said, whipping around to where Merlin was gaping.

"I - no! Well, yes, I guess, but that's really not good logic, Mordred!" He said, turning to the druid. "If you must have childish revenge then at least wage it directly at me-"

"That wouldn't work though," Mordred frowned "You've been a servant for years. Embarrassment, belittling comments, or tricks doesn't phase you. Seeing it happen to the king though..." He shrugged and gave a dazzling smile. "I am pleased at this newfound effort to befriend me though, Emrys." He added. "Should have done it years ago."

"Mordred, please."

"Wait until your wedding day." He whispered, gathering the plate. "And remember! No mortal blade can kill a high priest!" He sang with a mocking bow before exiting the door. Arthur watched him go, completely stunned. Slowly, he turned to where Merlin was also gaping.

"You had to try and kill a kid, didn't you?" Arthur whispered. Merlin threw his hands up.

"I'm sorry! I-"

"I haven't even proposed yet and he's already planning on ruining our wedding! All because you just had to keep me alive!" He asked, throwing up his hands. He pushed the chair away from the table. "Was it worth it?!" He demanded. Merlin stared at him.

"...what makes you think you are the one who gets the propose?"

"Um, I'm the king? And I'm the one suffering from your bad choices?" Arthur asked and immediately felt a stab of regret when Merlin straightened himself up the way he always did when facing a particularly fearsome challenge. Sure enough, he put both hands on the table and scowled.

"Are you sure about that? Let's walk through Arthur Pendragon's Top Ten Almost-Deaths Prevented by Yours Truly. Number one-"

"Alright, point taken." Arthur said hastily as he rose his hands. "You made many good choices and I appreciate that." He tacked on. Merlin waited before giving a fierce nod. Arthur thought that meant he was safe. Of course, that was foolish on his part.

"Number one: Arthur decided he was in love with Sophia and of course had to get cursed by her weird sidhe charm."

Arthur wasn't sure how... But clearly Alator had taught both Merlin and Mordred the art of torture.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Merlin jumped, spilling whatever stupid potion he was making so that it sizzled as yellow liquid spilled across the wooden table, leaving smoke in its wake. Arthur barely paid it any mind. He was angry - no, furious. No... Livid. How dare he? How dare he? After all Arthur had been through. After all Arthur had seen.

"Where is who?" Merlin grumbled and flicked his hand with annoyance so that the potion disappeared. "Why are you yelling?"

"Alator! Where is that traitor of a - Look!" Arthur screeched, shaking the paper in his hand in front of Merlin's face. "He did this on purpose! Out of malice or... Or Mordred. Mordred put him up to this!" He seethed, a little out of breath. Merlin frowned and plucked the parchment on of his hand and unfolded it. Arthur waited. Only Merlin didn't seem as outraged and horrified as he should be - and he should be. No, the man merely grimaced before shaking his head.

"Arthur... It's just a piece of paper stating that high priests can't get married. It's a common enough practice." He shrugged and put the paper down. Arthur shook his head, pointing a finger at the end of Merlin's nose.

"Thirty-two."

"What?"

"Thirty-two women." He whispered. Merlin stared. "I had to listen to thirty-two women explain to me that they should marry Alator. I had to listen to thirty-two people tell me things I shouldn't have had to hear. I did not become king to listen to appeals for marriage!"

"It's not like you chose to become king anyways-"

"He let me interview thirty-two women and he can't even get married?"

Merlin winced.

"Well, I... That appears to be the case..."

"Where's Mordred? I'm ready to die."

"Arthur, that joke really isn't funny."

"I'm no longer fucking joking. I've had enough-"

"Stop being so dramatic!" Merlin groaned and grabbed his arm before he could continue his rampage. "I'm sure he didn't mean to!"

"No. He did." Arthur nodded immediately "This is what he does. He specializes in torture, Merlin. He was trained in the ways of cats-"

"Catha."

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE RIGHT NOW?!" Arthur shrieked only to be interrupted by a soft knock. Slowly, both turned to find a young man peering inside with wide eyes and a few books in his arm. Arthur looked over at Merlin before stepping back. "Enter." Arthur added on, a little belatedly and the boy shuffled into the room before dropping the books off with a thunk.

"Um, I'm looking for the king and Lord Emrys?" He asked, wringing his hands together. "A knight told me they would be up here."

Weird. Arthur wasn't sure why his knights were just pointing people in his direction rather than scheduling a meeting in the throne room. Then again, there was every chance that he had run into Gwaine who had absolutely no sense of propriety.

"I'm Emrys," Merlin smiled weakly and gestured beside him "This is King Arthur. How can we help you?" He asked and the boy frowned.

"What?" He asked and stepped back to look Merlin up and down carefully. "You're Emrys?" He asked, completely mystified. Merlin tilted his head. "I mean no offense, of course!" He added on quickly "It's just... The tales... They spoke of a king falling in love with, uh...." He winced and Merlin grimaced.

"With a bald, blunt old man?" He guessed. The boy gestured vaguely. "I'm never going to escape this am I?" He muttered. "Gwaine has got to stop telling people these things! I... Arthur?" He frowned. "My lord?" He added on when Arthur moved past the boy to exit Merlin's tower. "Arthur, wait-"

"I also heard that Emrys had over thirty suitors at one point. The knight telling me about it said that he was very much out of the king's league."

"I'm leaving!" Arthur announced. "Merlin, you're king now. I'm done."

"Come on, Arthur! Alator isn't out of your league-"

"I am." A voice called and Arthur froze. There he was the son of a bitch. Before Merlin could stop him, Arthur was sprinting down the stairs.