Archive of Our Own ^beta

It began exactly where it ended. In a small town somewhere in the south of the UK. The name of it was hard to pronounce and unnecessary to remember.
Hardly anyone ever moved here. Only ever away.
Well.. except for maybe the young couple that had moved in next to them this morning.
But Arthur hadn't bothered to look who they were. All he knew was that his parents weren't exactly fans of them.

Arthur lay in his bedroom.

It was a small little thing. There was nothing special about it. He had a bed and a desk with a chair. In the one corner stood a wardrobe and right next to it Arthur's bookshelf. Now, Arthur didn't own many books. He had a few of his favorite lined up in them. But that was already it.
He didn't have any personalized items.

There was one family picture on his wall that may qualify as that. But Arthur's parents had insisted he put it up. On it, you could see his two parents, smiling into the camera, while Arthur stood between them. He smiled as well, but Arthur found it looked forced.

His mother looked like a kind woman. With middle long brown hair. She looked like the kind of person whom you would put into a stock picture to describe her as both a mom and a business woman.
With wrinkles in a laughing face.
His father on the other hand, was a sturdier man, with a beard, but basically no hair on his head. He looked friendly in the picture too, but he also appeared very demanding and – as he probably wanted – as the boss of the family, so to speak.

Ironically, Arthur had never taken the two for the kind of people who'd ever have children.
Let alone together.
Love is a mysterious thing.

Another thing Arthur didn't own was a mirror. The one in the bathroom was enough, so his parents said.
His clothes lay scattered all over the floor. For a room with so little possessions, Arthur surely managed to keep it disorganized. With his school books and papers littering all around as well. It was pure chaos. But he didn't bother cleaning up.

He had just gotten home from school. He wasn't planning to do anything for the rest of today.

His mom would probably shout at him later, but he didn't really care.

Arthur stared at the ceiling. He lay on the ground in the middle of the chaos. The quiet was only interrupted by the radio. The one good song they had and that was repeated so many times it had Arthur's ears hurt, was interrupted by the hourly News.
Not that Arthur listened to it.
He felt hungry. But he knew there was hardly anything edible in the kitchen. Nothing that would give him enough energy to move anyway.
Maybe he should ask Mrs. Marison for some food later.
The old lady hat owned the bakery usually had one of two sandwiches for him, whenever he asked for it.
She was a nice woman with questionable opinions. But at least she didn't let him starve.
Not that his parents did.... except they kind of did.

He was sixteen years old.
He went to highschool. And you can imagine his life wasn't the most extraordinary. He was the kid that was born into a family that had lived here for generations. And despite their attempt to keep up with everything, they were far behind on technology, but a little ahead when it came to thinking about materialism. Which would probably be translated to: we only buy you stuff you absolutely need, but only ever the cheapest stuff, because... why waste money on a growing child who needed new stuff every month or so, right?

His laptop was a hand me down from his uncle, who had studied IT and worked somewhere as a business man. It was the most modern thing his family owned. And he needed it for school

His parents didn't want him to have many things, to save money. Despite the fact that money wise, they were pretty much safe.
It was for that reason that Arthur didn't have many possessions. No plush animals, unless it was a present from his aunt. No own books, unless he was gifted those as well. If you looked closely at the bookshelf, you could tell that most of them were rented out from the local library.
Arthur read a lot. It was the only hobby he could have that didn't require money and that still entertained him somehow.

He wore clothes his mom had bought him for a cheap prize at some corner store.
It was good enough to use. But Arthur knew if he wore that in school, he would definitely be teased for it. Since he didn't own anything else... he knew that from experience.

His parents had taught him to be careful with money. To not waste it. To be happy with what little he owned. Because “possessions don't make you happy. Friends do.”, they said.
And they weren't entirely wrong about that. The thing is, they lived in a time, where children played by trading pokemon cards.
Or by playing computer games.
Arthur was... pretty much left out, since he wasn't allowed to have either.
He had nothing to play with, because his parents were too focused on saving money to let him partake in those activities.
And because he had nothing to play with, he had no ONE to play with either.

Now, he wasn't exactly bullied at school. Which you might expect from what you've heard. Arthur was the kind of guy that isolated himself on purpose. People who talked to him made him wary and angry and he tended to lash out on people.
If people picked on him, they usually ended up fighting. And Arthur usually won. Unless they teamed up against him. And that happened more and more often recently. Teenage years are the worst years to be alive. No matter what adults tell you.
Arthur didn't want to fight them. But he had learned early on that by scaring other people away, it's way harder for them to corner you.
They do get very good at confronting you directly though.

Arthur's father, you'd probably assume was angry that Arthur got into so many fights.
On the contrary, he seemed happy that Arthur was “man enough to stand his ground.” His mom was less happy about it, but she was pretty certain that “boys will be boys” was something she couldn't possibly have an influence on.

You can probably tell, Arthur's parents meant well, but they sucked at parenting. They were never really home, too busy with work to take care of their son. And if they were, they were too exhausted to pay him any attention.
So Arthur often just sat at home to read. Or he tried to play some online games that were free to play. Which weren't many and he wasn't allowed to be on the computer for long.
“You'll get square eyes!”, his mom often said. “You should go outside more. “
But there was nothing outside for him to do.

In conclusion, Arthur didn't really have a choice in anything. And right now, he was tired of reading. He had finished the last book on his shelf just last night and the local library only opened Tuesdays and Thursdays, because they lived in a small village and barely anyone read as much as Arthur did. So he stared at the ceiling, before that too became useless and he closed his eyes. With nothing on his mind but a dream.
A story, furthermore. A life he would love to live. He always did this. Staring at nothing and then imagining to be someone else. Someone great. Someone who did adventures. It was the one pleasure he had in life.

It was all he had.

“You should be thankful!”
“We've given you a roof under to live!”
“You have everything you need!”

“I have everything I need to survive. But I have nothing to live for.”, Arthur muttered as his dream was interrupted by that small voice inside his head that warned him that all of this felt wrong wrong wrong.

His parents kept telling him that possessions didn't make you happy. Money can't buy you happiness.
But that was why he wasn't allowed to try things. He couldn't play soccer with the others, because you have to pay to get taught.
He couldn't try out any other sport for the same reason.
He couldn't go to clubs with his classmates, because he'd need money to get in.
Money doesn't make you happy, but everything that does, requires it.

His parents had one giant flaw in their logic. They weren't very material. They didn't want many things.
But they forgot that money itself was a possession too. It's the one possession that doesn't give you anything but the satisfaction that you have it.

Worse than that, his parents had sat him down earlier and told him:
“You are sixteen years now. You are more than old enough to work. When I was your age, I already had two side jobs and helped my parents pay off their debts.
Now you should go and find a job, so you can help us finance our home as well.”

That's why Arthur's mind now wandered. His parents wanted him to work. But he wouldn't be able to do anything with the money. He would have to give it to his parents to “earn his stay”. Continue his life as before.
But, ironically, now he'd have to pay for it.

Because he owed them his life.

No. That didn't sound right.
Arthur blinked at the ceiling and sat up. He felt strangely calm, as a decision had formed in his mind.
He grabbed his school bag, emptied it and started filling it with a few clothes he had lying around. Then he grabbed a notebook and a pen and the laptop he needed for school. Then he grabbed his sports bag, for gym class and filled that out with clothes too.
Slowly, he walked through the door to his room, entered the living room and started searching.

His parents weren't home, because they had been invited by some of the neighbors. But his father was a forgetful man. Surely he would have left his – yes, there it was. His wallet.
Arthur checked what was in it. He wouldn't need his fathers driving license and his passport. So he put that out and sighed in relief, as he saw that about fifty bucks were in it.
It would be enough for a while. The he returned to his room with a water bottle, put everything and a blanket and some of his mom's questionable food inside the gym bag and left the house.

He'd had enough. He was shaking, obviously, now that he was actually outside to do the cringiest, most teenager typical thing a boy his age could do.
He ran away.

He had no idea where to turn. Where to go. But he pushed all his doubts away and walked further away from the house. Further and further, until he had left the road that went up to their house. He made a turn somewhere, not even caring where, as long as he knew it lead in a direction he never went to before.

Because he knew, as soon as they noticed he had left, they would start searching the areas he knew first. They would ask his classmates, his teacher, everyone. So he didn't talk to anybody.
That wasn't hard. People are so focused on their phones nowadays, they don't recognize anything or anyone around them.

Arthur had no intention to go back. If he had to pay to earn his stay, he could at least find something that offered him a real perspective, he decided.
He may had to thank his parents that he existed.
But that didn't mean he owed them anything.
They treated him like a mistake. They should thank him for solving that little problem!
Now that he thought about it.... Since he was never allowed to really own anything and had no friends. He left nothing and no one behind anyway.

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It was already dark, when Arthur found a place for the night. He had avoided roads all day, fought his guilty conscience and already eaten half the food he had brought with him (not that he wasn't still hungry. It just tasted bad.) and only now realized how cold it actually was.
It was autumn. Probably not the best time to run away from home, as winter was approaching. But Arthur had a blanket and water and it wasn't too cold to sleep outside yet.
At least, it wasn't raining. Yet.

Arthur felt worried. And excited. And it was a fairly new sensation to him. All he had felt before was only anger and shame.
He always wanted an adventure. Now... maybe this was one.
He smiled a little, as he climbed onto one of the trash hills.
His hiding spot was the garbage dump right outside the village. At night, no one was here. And because of the many hills, Arthur had great hopes that he would be safe from cold winds here. At least until he would decide to go elsewhere.

So he climbed over old tires and plastic tarpaulins that had been thrown away by various people. There even were old mattresses lying around. But they were wet soaked from yesterday's rain and rotten in many places.

So Arthur climbed down the next hill, and started to build himself a small tent. He found some rusty metal bars in different forms and lengths. Just enough to push into the hill, so they were secure enough to hold one of the plastic sheets.
Like that, he would at least be spared from potential rain.

Arthur's bags were already dirty and lay abandoned at the side, so he had his hands free to work his … admittedly questionable skills to provide himself a bed for the night.
In the end, he only managed to push some of the metallic objects to the side, so he had enough space to sleep. Then he leaned his gym bag against the hill as a pillow and lay down.
He draped his blanket over himself and closed his eyes.

Were his parents already searching for him? He didn't own a cellphone. They couldn't even check on him.
What if there was someone else hiding in this garbage dump?
Arthur shivered and forced his eyes shut.
Why did all these unpleasant thoughts only ever come at night?

Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound. As if something was shifting. Arthur's eyes snapped open. One of the hills must have been unstable and had a caused an avalanche. A trash slide, so to speak. (1)

But then something bounced off the plastic sheet Arthur had pulled over the bend metal sticks and he realized it was his own hill.
Instinctively, he crawled out from underneath the make shift tent.
'This place wasn't safe at all!', he thought in a panicked and breathing voice. Until he blinked and realized that nothing had actually happened.

The only thing that had fallen off the hill, was a small tea pot.

Arthur opened his mouth and huffed out a relieved laugh. He ruffled his own hair and grinned and laughed. “Oh god, that fucking scared me.”, he mumbled and bend down to pick it up. It was a golden little thing.

“That's like in the Aladdin book.”, Arthur wondered out loud and grinned. How cool would it be, if there were a jinn inside it.
He grinned. Imagine having three wishes. Almost jokingly he rubbed at the lamp, pretending he was in one of those many stories that usually played in his mind.

Arthur only had a moment to dream, before he wondered who – in reality - would throw away an actual golden tea pot. And then, as if his fantasy was more than just a fantasy, golden dust leaked out of the tea pot.
Arthur stunned, almost throwing the thing away, when the gold settled into a giant reptilian face.

Arthur's jaw dropped, as he stared at the jinn.
A moment passed and Arthur realized that this was.... in fact something he saw for real.

“This is fake.”, he said with determination, set down the tea pot and went back to his sleeping place, draped the blanket over his head and closed his eyes.
He was dreaming for sure. And he was not going to deal with any supernatural dramas right now. (2)

But then he could hear someone sigh.
“How rude.”
And while Arthur believed that sleep deprived children could hallucinate a lot of stuff and he knew he was good at fantasizing, he was pretty certain that this couldn't be his mere imagination.

He pinched himself. Okay, it hurt. So either Arthur had already gone mad, or there really was a magical creature just beyond his fake tent, talking to him.
Then Arthur blinked. If this really was a magical creature inside a tea pot. If this really was a jinn, he'd have three wishes!

Slowly, curiously, he pulled the blanket off his face and stood up again to face the creature.

Golden dust still filled the air and the creature raised an eyebrow.

“Who are you?”, Arthur asked, walking closer slowly. Just as slowly, he picked the tea pot back up.

“My name is Kilgharrah.”, the creature said and only now did Arthur notice that the thing looked a little like a dragon.
“I'm a wish dragon. (3) Since you have found my tea pot, you will now be my master. You have three wishes, use them wisely.”

Arthur blinked. So he was right. He WAS going mad. He must have slept in a puddle of questionable substances or something. This wasn't possible.
Well.. anyway. What did he have to loose? Three wishes were three wishes.

“A wish dragon? Not a jinn?”

The dragon rolled his eyes. “Yes, a jinn. Now, would you mind saying your first wish?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “Don't jinn live inside these tea pots for thousands of years until they find their master? Why are you in a hurry?”

The dragon sighed, annoyed by him. “Teenagers.”, he muttered but then twirled his shadowy wings in to fly around Arthur.
“I'm not in a hurry. I can wait.”, he said and twirled around him. “The thing is that I am trapped inside this tea pot until I have served ten different masters. The sooner I find them and fulfill their wishes, the sooner I will be free to do whatever I want.”

Arthur nodded. “I see. Which is?”

The dragon narrowed his eyes and sighed. “ None of your business. That said, I would advice you to think your own wishes over carefully. Don't spend them all in one go. You may need one of them to undo the first two wishes.”

“Is this a trick?”, Arthur asked suspiciously. Why warn him like that?

“As a wish dragon I am allowed to be creative to fulfill your wishes. So it would be smart of you to think of the details of your wish.
But I am not allowed to lie to you or manipulate any of your wishes.”, the dragon explained.

Arthur grinned at that. “There are rules?”

“Of course there are. I am a wish dragon. It's my job to serve you. Therefore your well being is my first priority. Unless of course, one of your wishes can only be fulfilled by confronting you with harm.
If, for example, you're wishing to be a hero, I will have to confront you with danger, so you can BE the hero. If you wish to be seen as a hero, I have the creative freedom to manipulate other people's minds to seemingly assume you are.

It is important that you remember this.”, the dragon said. “The way you phrase your wishes determines the way I fulfill them.”

Arthur blinked. “What if I loose the tea pot?”, he asked, eyebrows raised.

“I will not go back into the tea pot until your last wish has been fulfilled. I will be around. One way or another.”, the dragon said.

Arthur looked down at the tea pot again. “So it doesn't matter, if I loose it?”

“It doesn't. The contract has been made from the moment you touched the tea pot. The contract can not be broken. You can also not wish for my freedom or to end the contract. I'm afraid you are stuck with me, until you finish your wishes.”

“What if I die?”

“If you die, before you uttered your last wish, I will have failed as a wish dragon and will be stuck with our contract forever. I cannot revive the dead. So I will be imprisoned for all eternity.”

Arthur stared at the dragon. “Wow … that's.... not good.”

“It's a safety for our masters. We have few rules. But they are very strict, so we dragons cannot abuse our powers.”, Kilgharrah explained.

Arthur looked down again.
“Okay.”, he said and then he considered. What could he truly wish for? If Arthur was being honest, he wished he were rich. Rich and powerful, so he could do whatever he wanted. But – if he were rich, what if he turned evil? People with power always turned evil.
His parents had taught him enough about money to let him know that.

This was probably the same reason why the jinn's powers were so limited as well. They must have faced the same problem in their jinn society. Was there a jinn society?
What society put their own people in a tea pot?
Then Arthur remembered what a fucked up society was capable of doing even to this day and decided not to question it any further.

Arthur kept wondering. What if he wished to be rich? Then he'd suddenly have money. Not that he was against that. But the wish seemed so dull. In modern society, people would question where he had gotten the money from too. So he would have to explain that to the tax companies. At the age of 16 they'd probably assume he was a thief or something. Arthur bit his lip.

The dragon smiled. “I can tell, you're really thinking this through.”

“Shut up, I'm trying to think.”, he said and the dragon laughed.

Arthur also wanted to have an adventurous life. How could he make his wish specific enough to get exactly what he wanted, without risking getting in danger with the authorities?

“My first wish...”, Arthur slowly said and the dragon nodded his attention.
“is to be born to be the greatest king this world has ever known.”

The dragon looked at him. Partly surprised, but also strangely pleased. “That doesn't sound very specific.”

“Oh, but it is.”, Arthur smiled. Because he wished to do something with his life. Be someone. It wasn't necessarily about the money. He wanted to be someone. To do whatever he wanted. And to be a great king, you had to be a good one. Or did he?
Arthur blinked. And suddenly fear overcame him. What if the dragon would make him an evil king?
“Wait -”

“Your wish is my command.”, the dragon said despite Arthur's intervention. Because once uttered, a wish would be fulfilled.

Something magical appeared right above Arthur. It looked magical and glowed in bright colors. Stunned, Arthur watched, as it glowed before him.
Right before it swallowed him whole.
He didn't even have the time to feel afraid.

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Arthur was born as the prince of Camelot. His father was Uther Pendragon, the king. And he taught Arthur everything he needed to know to follow in his footsteps.

He was taught how to fight since he had been a child. He was one of the most formidable knights the kingdom had ever known and he was known for his courage. He had already faced various magical beasts and all in all, he felt quite content with his life.
Though sometimes he wished he had more time to read and just lay down and sleep.

But he was happy here. He had a purpose. And he didn't remember ever being anything else.

Until the day he did.

Or rather night. As he was dreaming of a barren room and a single photography. The mere fact that he knew what a photography was, shocked him. And the books looked different with their various colorful covers in comparison to all those leather heavy pergament encyclopedias Geoffrey hid in the library.
Arthur remembered written words, so fine and structured and perfect that no priest could have ever compared his own handwriting to it's perfection.

Arthur remembered abandonment, having no friends, no possessions, no life. It felt like a nightmare.
Maybe not as terrifying as watching executions, though. Still... it wasn't a life he could imagine living.

He opened his eyes to watch the remnants of the portal disappear. He jumped to his feet, suddenly remembering a second life. Another sixteen years of his life and he didn't know which one was real.
But the magic in the air, made him wary and worried, when suddenly a voice spoke to him.
“Arthur.”, the voice called out and it sounded precisely like the voice of the wish dragon that had talked to him in his dream.

Arthur hurried to stand up and grabbed a shirt. It felt both familiar and unfamiliar to walk down the hall towards the dungeons. Because Arthur had a feeling he knew exactly where this dragon was currently hiding.

He pushed passed the sleeping guards that were pointedly not doing their jobs and walked down the stairs.
And right as he was, the dragon flew down from the ceiling to sit in front of Arthur to regard him with his giant snout.

“It wasn't just a dream, was it?”, Arthur asked, because he knew that was impossible. If all this was a dream, it felt like a pretty long one. Just a minute ago, he had been sleeping at a garbage dump.
Yet, the past sixteen years he had been trained to be a knight. And Arthur remembered far too many of his own injuries and mistakes to believe it was all just a dream.

“Of course it isn't.”, the dragon smiled.

“Well.... then. I got what I wanted. I like this wish. I am not going back on it. The people of Camelot need me and I have a purpose here. I didn't in my other life. I won't waste a wish on turning back.”

“Oh, I didn't think you would wish for that.”, the dragon grinned. “You just got here. I have merely been wanting to inform you where I am, should you have another wish. Unfortunately, to fulfill your wishes, I have to include myself into your story. And now I am a chained dragon underneath the castle.
Do me a favor and try not to die, while you become the greatest king this world has ever known.”
The dragon smiled at him.

Arthur sighed, half irritated, half confused. After all, he had been taught to hate magic. And fear magical creatures. But here he was, on a wish he had made … how long ago in the future?
“I'm strong enough to protect myself. Thank you very much.”, Arthur rolled his eyes. And decided to never make another wish again. He had a reputation to uphold. He couldn't just use magic again. He had been foolish in his past life.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Spoiler: of course he would.

The dragon sighed. “Come to me, if you have another wish.” Then he flapped his wish and flew back towards the ceiling.
Arthur watched. “I won't.”, he decided. A part of him still wondered if he was hallucinating. The other part of him considered asking Gaius for another potion against the pain in his leg.
He had been hit really hard by Sir Leon in training the other day and he could still feel the sting.

------------------------------------------------

Arthur kept quiet about his relationship to the dragon towards his father. And he also kept his wishes to himself. He was grateful for the life he had. And no matter how much he missed the luxury of toilets and bathrooms in general, he wouldn't waste his wishes on indoor plumbing.
Though he had to admit.... it was a really tempting thought.

But soon, he found himself quite content with his life again. Of course – being a prince required a ton of work. A ton of life risking. And more often than not, Arthur questioned how many liberties the dragon had taken to make him the greatest king in the world.
He wasn't quite there yet, but he had already killed more people in this life than he remembered talking to in his last.
And he dreaded the day, his father would die.
Uther would have, for Arthur to assume the throne one day.

As much as one should probably hate Uther – Arthur knew one thing for certain.
This man had actually been there for him. Bought him what he wanted, not just what he needed. Had given him the most luxurious life Arthur could have ever imagined and taught him how to be confident and strong.
He gave him a purpose and advice, ate dinner with him and praised him for good achievements. Arthur remembered his old life as a lonely one.
Both with his parents always missing or not being accepting.
Arthur had lived a life in constant question and denial.
In a way, he had been more terrified than he was now. Here he knew how to protect himself. Fight, if needed.
People had to listen to him. He had power over them. He wasn't inferior to them. And they all knew that.

Yet he had to question here too, whether or not he could be himself. (4)

Arthur was 18, when he decided it was time to confront Uther about it.

He knocked three times at his fathers door, his eyes closed. Remembering the last time he had tried this. Remembered his mothers yelling, his fathers outrage. He had been scared last time, for good reason. He had known how they would react and he had been lucky they hadn't kicked him out.
Then again, he had been 15 when he came out to them as bisexual. And his parents thought he was confused. His mother later “forgave” him for his confusion and told him everything would be fine.
He just had to marry a woman. If he liked both men and women.... “then not everything was lost.”

That was probably also one of the reasons why Arthur still didn't miss his old parents or wonder how they were. They had given him the bare minimum. And even that had apparently been too much for them.

“Come in.”, Uther's voice rang through the door and Arthur caught his breath. It was now or never. He entered the room, where his father sat at his table, working on some late reports.

“Ah, Arthur. What can I do for you?”, Uther was smiling upon his son.
Arthur swallowed, then came in.
“I need to talk to you.”, he said and didn't dare sit down.
The problem with Uther was... Arthur knew the man wouldn't even understand the word bisexual. Topics like sex and love were usually a taboo subject in this society anyway. That's one reason why Arthur felt extremely isolated.
In his first life, at least two other guys and two girls had outed themselves as gay. One girl as pan, another one as ace. And one day a nonbinary individual had refused to get sorted, when the teacher announced a “boy vs girl” match in a math lesson.

Of course that was school.... School also had computers. That didn't mean Arthur's parents had one.
(Except the one Arthur owned. What happened to that one by the way? Did it get lost on the garbage dump? Probably.)

Arthur knew from history class that heteronormativity had been an issue for centuries. So much that some people believed gay people didn't exist before the roman empire. (5)
Arthur didn't know for certain how much of that was true. After all... he hadn't been alive in the past... Okay scratch that. He was alive there now. But he hadn't seen or heard anyone approach the subject yet.
Actually.... even straight relationships were hardly discussed at all. Arthur only ever heard, if someone was getting married. Which wasn't as often as he had expected. And public kissing? In THIS castle?

Arthur shook his head. “I... need to ask you something.”

Uther put the feather aside, confused that Arthur rephrased the introduction and nodded at the chair. But Arthur wouldn't sit down.
“Go ahead.”, Uther said encouraging.

Then Arthur took a deep breath, thinking it was better to get it over with. “I like men.”, he said. And stopped breathing all together. It took all his courage not to turn around and run. And he felt ashamed for even touching the subject of feelings with a man who showed more emotions for his daily meal than his own son.
Uther blinked at him in confusion.
“Okay?”, he asked, as if he didn't quite understand what Arthur was trying to say.

“I mean. I like women. But I also like men.”, Arthur tried again, but Uther still seemed lost.

“Yes... I dare say I should hope you like our people. What is this about, Arthur?”

Arthur stared. How oblivious can one person be? Then he exhaled slowly. “I mean.... as in... love.”, Arthur said for the lack of a better word.

Uther sat up, and turned his head a little, as if to consider. He looked at Arthur, who was shuddering where he stood, shivering with nerves.
Uther blinked, before he stood up. “Arthur, don't you feel well?”

“I'm not sick.”, Arthur said and Uther stopped before approaching him.
“You look as if I was going to murder you.”, Uther pointed out. It was then that Arthur realized that Uther's reaction wasn't directed at the topic Arthur introduced, but the way he expressed himself. Uther was literally concerned about his physical well being.
Not the mental one.

“Aren't you?”

“What for?”, Uther asked and Arthur's arms fell to his side in shock. Uther didn't look mad. Not the least bit. He wasn't angry. He didn't look like he thought Arthur was confused. He seemed genuinely worried, because Arthur was a bundle of nerves.

“That I ...”, Arthur looked down.

Uther took another few steps, before putting his hands on Arthur's shoulder in a rare gesture of comfort.
“Son.”, he began and Arthur barely dared to look up. “Are you in love with one of the knights?”
He asked this so bluntly that Arthur almost flinched. “What? No.”, he said and shook his head.
He found them attractive. At least... a bunch of them. But he had no time nor the interest to have an affair with anyone. He didn't even know how to approach the subject to any of the women here either. Which was supposed to be easier, right?
Everyone here was prude. They had to wait until after marriage to perceive anything. Arthur understood why.
After all, they didn't have reliable birth control here.
But don't you have to experiment a little to find the person who is right for you? Kind of?

(A.N.: the author is currently experiencing an existential crisis at this paragraph .......:D No seriously. It always depends on the person. Some people just know. Others don't. But you should at least have the chance to figure things out your own way. People should have the freedom to experiment. That's all I'm saying. They should also have the freedom to.... NOT do that. You get the gist.)

“Then I don't understand why you're so upset about it. Did someone say something to you? You are the prince, if someone questioned your honor, you are more than capable to defend yourself, are you not?”

Arthur looked up at his father. Utterly lost as he faced not only acceptance, but complete and utter support by this man whose opinion Arthur feared more than the bandits he faced.
“No. But.... I thought.... I thought you'd think it was weird that I'm attracted to.... both.”, he said and tried to look down.

Uther sighed, again with confusion. “By all means, son. Whatever happens in your chambers has nothing to do with me. I'm not going to watch.”

Arthur's eyes widened. He send Uther a scandalized expression. “Well. I sure hope you won't. What the fuck.”

Uther laughed. “The only thing that concerns me, is if you get some of these serving girls pregnant. By all means. If you like men, at least I won't have to worry about such scandals as much.”

Arthur sighed in relief. He had not expected this. “Thank you, father.”

Uther turned around and shook his head before sitting down. Then he waved his hand for Arthur to leave. Arthur smiled, before he turned around.
But Uther's voice halted him again.
“It doesn't matter who you like anyway. You will have to marry a princess to form an alliance with another kingdom anyway. Camelot needs an heir. Not a prince who's blinded by love.”

Arthur stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly, his eyes wide. But Uther wasn't looking at him, but at his papers. Then he mumbled something about the grain income and then Arthur knew.... there was no discussion about this.

----------------------------------------

Arthur practically stormed down towards the dungeons. He rarely ever visited. And he regretted that now. Because the dragon didn't seem very pleased by his appearance. And the dragon was giant. He could eat Arthur alive, if he so wanted.

“I have a wish.”, Arthur said, heart pounding hard in his chest. The dragon rose an eyebrow.
“Of course you do.”

'Of course you do.', as if Arthur hadn't avoided that blasted creature for two years to NOT make a wish!

“I wish...”, Arthur began and closed his eyes. He had to make sure that this wish wouldn't mess with the first one. That his current life would be totally fine and not change.
“.... that whichever person my father decides to put in my life, a person who will stay the rest of their life with me....”, Arthur stopped, he had messed up that sentence. He couldn't risk that this would be one sided, but he had started the sentence wrong. “.... that we will love one other. True love. Soulmate love, you know!”, Arthur hurriedly added and then cursed.
“Christ... does that still count as one wish? All of that?”

Kilgharrah looked at his miserable appearance with amusement. “You're just stating the specifics of your wish. Yes, this is one wish. But there is a problem.”, Kilgharrah said and grimaced at Arthur.

“What is it?”, Arthur asked, heart dropping inside him.

“I cannot make people fall in love.”

Arthur stared at the ground. Had he just wasted his wish? Would he get that one back?

“But I can work my way around that issue. I can find the person you described and make Uther place them by your side. As you wished. I will find your soulmate and bring them here.”

Arthur looked at him. “Yes.”, he said, not really knowing how Kilgharrah would do that.

“Very well. Your wish shall be granted.”

Then, everything was covered by magic dust once again.

---------------------------------------------------

Arthur had expected for the magic to take effect immediately. Because the first wish had. But this one didn't.
After the second day of waiting, Arthur grew to be impatient. But when he confronted the dragon, Kilgharrah only laughed.
What Arthur didn't know was, that Kilgharrah had to find a way to get a boy from a small village to move into a kingdom that wanted him dead.

Kilgharrah shook his head. These young people didn't understand destiny. Always wasting their wishes on stuff that was already sorted for them.
But he had to admit..... the boy was a surprise. More powerful than what Kilgharrah had expected.
It might make sense that the soulmate of the greatest king this world had ever known would be someone extraordinary. But this boy was far beyond that.

He might even be as powerful as Kilgharrah himself. But without the restrictions....
For a moment the dragon wondered and worried. The boy had godlike powers. That was not something Kilgharrah had calculated.
Arthur still needed to be educated until the time for Uther's death was ripe.

And the boy had every reason to kill the current king....

Maybe he had to rewrite their story. Make it.... more dramatic. Place Merlin directly into Arthur's life, as Arthur had wished it. And keep down every chance that the boy would raise in power.

A few years passed and Arthur had already given up on his wish. He had confronted Kilgharrah once more, to ask him when his wish would be fulfilled. The dragon had ordered him to be patient. After all, it wasn't on Kilgharrah to place them at his side.
Arthur would have to wait for Uther's decisions.
After hearing that, Arthur had stormed out and run upstairs to hide in his room. He knew the dragon was right. But he still didn't like how Kilgharrah handled his destiny.

With time, he calmed down, however. And decided to just live his life. Maybe it was a good thing he would be alone for now. Maybe it was too soon for him to think about marriage and spending the rest of his life with some random person anyway.

Well.... at least he could rest assured he would marry his soulmate. The knowledge eased his mind at least and so he learned to be patient.
Instead of properly dealing with his worries, however, he focused on being the biggest prat this world had ever known by picking on servants and winning against every knight who ever faced him.

That was when Merlin stumbled into his life.

The moment they met, Arthur noticed something was off. The boy was too.... ignorant, too courageous for someone with his background.
He couldn't fight. He wasn't strong.
He was just insolent. He didn't care who Arthur was – namely a great king in the making – and he completely ignored the weapon in Arthur's trained hands.

Arthur couldn't deny he was a little intrigued by the guy.
Arthur had lived a life where no one ever wanted to talk to him. Both in his first, as well as in his life in Camelot. People didn't speak with him, unless they were forced to.
This guy however....

Arthur knew the boy was his destiny, the moment his life was saved by him for the first time.

It had been a brief moment. Just a mere second, when a chandelier had fallen off the ceiling. Arthur and everyone else had been unconscious for one moment and suddenly there he was. Right at Arthur's side.
And Arthur knew this couldn't be coincidence. It was Arthur's destiny to be the greatest king this world had ever known. A simple dagger wouldn't hurt him. Wouldn't kill him. It would have been too easy. And Kilgharrah would not have let that happen, as long as Arthur still owned his last wish.

But there he was. The insolent farm boy had pushed him aside.
A second passed and Uther announced the boy's reward. “You shall be prince Arthur's manservant.”
Uther had just dropped the boy into Arthur's life. And the prince knew immediately why.

Arthur's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he stared at the boy. There was no way Kilgharrah had just done that!
God, Arthur was an IDIOT! He should have expected something like this. He had failed to specify he didn't need a BOY in his life. He needed a WIFE! Instead the dragon just dropped a servant at his side.
It would bring nothing but chaos.

Oh god! Arthur stormed out of the throne room, where everyone was trying to keep enjoying the festivities, even after the traumatic interference.

He hurried down the stairs again, ignored the guards who were trying to stop him and instead ordered them to leave and not tell anyone about this.
He was too tired to deal with drugging people.
Then he faced the giant dragon and shouted at him.
“What the FUCKING HELL, Kilgharrah!”

Tiredly, the dragon flew down to him, almost bored out of his mind.
“Ah, young prince. How can I help you?”

“Why did my father just place a farm boy at my side?”

“Ah... he is here then.”

“So, I'm right! It IS him!”, Arthur began to pace. He was shuddering with nerves. “Now I know there a loopholes in this whole 'wish' thing.”, Arthur accentuated the word wish, because he wanted to underline that this was NOT what he wanted.
“But you KNEW that I only wished for this, because I didn't want to get MARRIED to someone I don't love!”

“You will grow to love him with time.”, the dragon smiled.

“That's NOT the point!”, Arthur raised his finger at the dragon. “I wanted you to make sure, my father gets me to marry someone whom I love! MARRY, you understand? THAT'S was what I wished for.”

The dragon had the audacity to laugh.

“Young people. Always eager to get married on a whim.”

Arthur blushed beat red. “That's.... NO! You know exactly I wished for a WIFE!”

“No you did not. You said that you wanted to love and be loved by whichever person Uther will place at your side. You specified you wanted your soulmate. Not what Uther would place him as.
Uther would never accept you to marry a farmer. Let alone one who can't give you any heirs. I was being creative. I think I did a good job.”

Arthur huffed in disbelieve.

“A good job?”, he said, blushing intensely, when he thought that Merlin could have been placed as his fiancè. So..... Merlin was someone Arthur not just could grow to love … he most likely would.
Whatever else Arthur didn't specify was of no matter. Because Arthur had wanted to find his soulmate. And now he was here.
And they still couldn't ever be.
Then Arthur tried to imagine their life together and felt a wave of rejection at the mere idea.

“Are you sure he's my soulmate? I don't even like him!”

“One half cannot truly hate which makes it whole, prince Arthur. You will get to know him. Then your feelings may change. I have already told you, I cannot make anyone fall in love. But there is a great chance that you will.
But don't worry. Your wish isn't over yet.”

Arthur blinked. “What do you mean, it's not over yet?”

“There are many princesses that your father could still place into your life. I took some liberties with your wish. I thought you would appreciate it. Any of the people your father will choose, will be those whom you may fall in love with and who have the capacity to love you back.
Don't worry, you will have a choice whom you want to stay with.”

“But.... Merlin is my soulmate, isn't he?”
“Yes. Not all soulmates are romantic. Not all love is connected to desire. Whom and how you will love is something I have no influences on. So I made sure to give you various opportunities. I promise you, there will be none you wouldn't end up happy with.”

Arthur kept staring. Then he sat down with his legs crossed and put his face in his hands.
The dragon watched him amused.

“This isn't what I asked for.”, he muttered.

“It is.”, the dragon grinned. “But I must ask... how did you know the boy was your soulmate?”

“I could feel it.”, Arthur explained through his hands. “He felt familiar when we met. He talked to me like an equal, despite the fact that we're of completely different standing.
Yet... when he saved my life.... I felt like he was much more than just a random boy from a random village.
I feel like he's meant for more.”

“You cannot expect the greatest king the world has ever known to have an ordinary soulmate, can you?”, the dragon laughed again.

Arthur shook his head. “How did he even get here? In these times? If he is my soulmate... shouldn't he live in the modern world?”

The dragon's laugh faded into a genuine smile. “That – young prince, I cannot answer. Destiny.... always finds a way.

“Except if you wish for it to change.”, Arthur commented.

“I don't believe it was chance that brought you to me, Arthur.
I don't think your wishes are coincidence either. I think they were meant to happen.
Destiny is far beyond my powers. Even I am but a pawn of it's circle.”

Arthur looked up. “So... you mean my wishes mean nothing? I don't even GAIN anything from them? They just do what was already meant to happen? Then why do I even make wishes at all?”

“What I meant to say, Arthur.... was that you were meant to be the greatest king this world has ever known. But by wishing to be that, you have chosen your own path. You always choose your own path.
”

“It really doesn't feel like I have a choice. And I mean... I wished to be a great king... but I'm not there yet. And I keep wondering.... what does my wish cost? I mean... I asked to be the greatest king, but are the consequences that you had to create wars and sicknesses for me?
And... how can I be the greatest thing, if I haven't even done anything to deserve the title?
The second one too. I am forcing people into my life who don't even know me. I thought you would just create someone who will love me and whom I will love. I didn't expect to become the main character of a dating series.”, Arthur muttered, then stood up.

“Arthur.”, the dragon said and the prince eyed him with suspicion.
“You misunderstand. Destiny may know where you're from and where you will go, but that doesn't mean you don't have a choice. And I must admit, your wishes are the most extraordinary thing I have ever encountered.”

Arthur blinked, suddenly seeming uneasy, but the dragon continued before he could interrupt.

“You did not ask me for a title, young prince. You did not ask for money. And you did not ask for power. You asked to be born the greatest king this world has ever known. You asked for an adventure. You asked for duty. A task, a goal. You asked for greatness.
You asked for a path to build this title yourself. You asked for the chance to proof that you are worth it.

I did not create any dangers for you. I merely placed you into the time of greatest need. This time has already existed and it has needed you for longer than you ever knew. You asked to take care of this. Even if you didn't know that this is what you wished for.”

Arthur blinked and stared at the dragon in awe. He had not thought of his wish that way.

“About your second wish. I've had many masters. And they all wished for money and power and abilities and the like. Only few ever asked for love. But when I told them I couldn't make anyone fall in love, they asked for wives and husbands and partners. They asked for animals or people to possess.
You however... you are aware that you have a duty to this kingdom. You simply asked for happiness. And not just your own. You asked me to gain a partner whom you could love and who could love you back.
You asked for the most simple thing. And you accepted that I could not fake this wish for you. You simply asked for love to be send your way. You did not force anyone to be a part of your life.
You merely wished to meet them.

You intrigue me, young prince.

Your wishes are more pure and wise than what has ever been asked of me.
And I can see how you will be the great king you want to be. But I doubt my magic has anything to do with that. I believe, you were already meant to be this person. You were only born in the wrong time. And your wish has corrected this error.”

Arthur's eyes were wide as he stared at the dragon.

“Deep down, you always knew who you were meant to be.”

-----------------------------------------------------------

After this interaction, Arthur visited the dragon more frequently. Of course he was always alone. He wasn't stupid enough to ask anyone to come with him 'chill with the dangerous dragon' in the vaults.

But the more time they spend together, the more Arthur began to doubt his fathers trust in magic.
And the more he spend time with Merlin, the more he grew attached to the servant. Just like the dragon predicted and just as Arthur had feared.

But it wasn't until the day he met his fiancè – that Arthur began to get a grasp of what he actually felt for Merlin.

Arthur knew the lady Elena was a strange person. But he knew he could love her. Would... probably. If they went through with the wedding. Kilgharrah had said he would, right? He would find happiness no matter what?

It was the one reason why Arthur had accepted the entire thing to begin with.
She was an adorably clumsy person. But Arthur couldn't find it in himself to find this character trait charming. It was, it really was. He knew that. But everything that was happening in this moment felt wrong. He knew he would have to spend the rest of their lives together. And he hadn't even had the chance to get to really know her before that happened.

The idea of a life long commitment wasn't something you could accept within one afternoon. No matter what fairy tales make you think.

Not to mention... Arthur was already in love with Guinevere.
It had happened during a tournament that Arthur didn't want to attend as himself. He wanted to be a great king. He couldn't be that, if everyone doted around him and made it easy on him.

He had to proof that he could do this. And Merlin had helped him hide with his friend Gwen. In her house. Where he treated her with disrespect.
And during that time, Arthur had found a person with a brilliant mind who was tugged away far beneath what she deserved.
She was smart and honest and good hearted.
And she saw who Arthur wanted to be and saw exactly where he failed. She pointed out to him that words mean nothing, if your actions betray you.
Arthur wanted to be a fair and just king. Kind to all his people.
He didn't want to rule a kingdom. He wanted to serve it. But he had done nothing to make that happen.
His fight at the tournament had been a fraud to his own mind. A petty idea. Born, because he felt hurt in his pride.

But Guinevere..... she had seen right through that. She was beautiful in a way that should make her a royal and noble queen. And well...
Things happened. They kissed once and Arthur had been starstruck ever since.
He wanted to get her out of his mind, by ignoring her. Hoping that no one would notice.

But then she got kidnapped, Arthur went to safe her against his fathers wishes, and on the way, he learned to accept his feelings for her. Or rather, Merlin made him accept his feelings for her.

“How can I admit that I love her.... If I know we can never be?”, he had actually said to Merlin.
And he knew the man had looked right through him then and seen how genuine his feelings were. And how heavy the knowledge lay with him that not only his father, but also the dragon and destiny itself did not seemed to share that sentiment.

Because Gwen was a servant. Uther had not placed her beside him. Yet, he loved her. With all his heart. He knew that.
Why would the dragon not place her with him as well? Did this mean their love was temporary? Would it not last?

Arthur hated that thought. He hated his second wish in general, because it was bound to get him into trouble.

And he hated that he now had to marry someone else. Someone who was... apparently... more worthy of his affections. But Arthur felt nothing for Elena. And he hated that even his father ignored him, when he pointed that out.
And he hated that Guinevere seemed to accept all of this so easily as well. Despite the fact that she clearly felt something for Arthur too. She was so much smarter than him.
But for this, Arthur really did not want to listen.

She had come to him before all this was set in stone.

“Everyone's talking about your marriage to Elena. I know you said that it isn't what you wanted, but I also know that you can't always have what you want. I know that very well.”, she had said, as if it were that easy. As if Arthur could just give up on love like that.
He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.
Love was a force no human being could deny, once it grabbed hold of them. Not for long at least. Yet, it can be just as fleeting as it was powerful.
Love is scary, no matter how you look at it.

“Is what I want really that insane?”, he had asked, exhausted and frustrated. Because it sounded so so wrong to his ears. All of this.

“Yes, Arthur. From anyone's perspective, apart from yours and mine, it's completely insane.”, she told him.

“Then I'm happy being insane. Surely it's better than being miserable.”, Arthur didn't filter his words anymore. He had accepted that he couldn't change this madness that was happening around him.
He just couldn't accept that his father would call this a “love match” and then have the audacity to say: “Love has nothing to do with it.”

How could anyone ever be such a giant hypocrite?
Arthur had always believed Uther had loved Ygraine. Arthur's mother. Did that count for nothing? Was Uther that selfish that he didn't think to wish for his son to have that same happiness?

“I don't think she will make you miserable. She has a good heart.”
Arthur looked at Gwen as she said this. But this wasn't about Elena. Or her worth as a person. Her worth as a wife. Elena was perfectly fine. But neither did Arthur love her, she didn't love him back either.
None of them – no one in general – would be happy with this 'love match'.

Maybe in years to come, they could love to learn one another. But what does that count for? How much worth would THOSE feelings have, in comparison to his feelings for Gwen.

“As do you.”, he said. Because he didn't Gwen to think for a single second that she was somehow inferior to Elena. No matter what title Elena bore. And he said it with feeling, because he felt the opposite. No one could ever compare with Gwen.

“We both know it can't be.”, she said and shook her head, sounding almost as miserable as Arthur felt. Almost – because she was trying not to make him see it. But Arthur saw it and that made it worse.

“But if I do it. If I marry her, what will you do?” If she would leave, Arthur knew for certain he would risk a war with Elena's father, if he had to. He would use his last wish for Gwen, if that could help. In fact, he was close to doing just that.
However, for Gwen and him it was too soon to think of marriage as well. It just was.... too soon. For any of them to demand it.
Even when he had made his second wish, Arthur had known it would need time. But he had thought, he'd get to know his soulmate first. Or... whomever he would marry.
That they could spend time together, fall in love and THEN marry.
Not like this.
He wouldn't use his wish to force Gwen to be by his side. He wanted her to have the chance to make that choice herself.

“I will watch you grow into the King that Camelot deserves. It is as it should be.”
She accepted it so easily, even with tears in her eyes. If even Guinevere could accept it, then so would Arthur. He had given her the choice to ask him to stop this.
She may have come to him, but Arthur had asked for her advice.
This was her advice.
He wouldn't disrespect her wish, with one of his own. Arthur may be selfish. But he wasn't THAT selfish.

Even if it meant that Arthur had to walk up to Elena and propose to her.
Because that was what courtesy demanded.

So now he stood in his chambers. Knowing the princess behind that door was beautiful and adorable and loveable, and yet he felt sick to his stomach.
Merlin had just helped him get dressed and Arthur felt like he couldn't breathe through this cape that felt far too tight anyway.

“I brought you your ceremonial sword.”, Merlin finally interrupted the silence. And Arthur knew that the man was trying to be polite. He knew that Arthur wasn't okay with this. But he too, kept his mouth shut.

“Is that for me to fall on?”, Arthur asked, his voice shaking with dark humor.

“Hopefully not.”, Merlin frowned and stepped forward. He dropped the 'not' heavily. As if insulted that Arthur could hope for such a thing. “What's wrong?”, now he sounded worried. But – Arthur thought regrettably – what worth was Merlin's opinion on this anyway?
The man was a farmer. He may be Arthur's soulmate. Best friend, if Arthur ever found the courage to admit it. But the man was anything but an expert in the expectations of the crown.
Merlin wasn't born into destiny like Arthur was. He wouldn't ever...

“You wouldn't understand, Merlin. You have no idea what it's like to have a destiny you can't escape.”, Arthur said, pausing after the word 'destiny', because he wasn't sure if this was destiny or a side effect of his first wish. Well... maybe those weren't mutually exclusive. He was trying to make sure Merlin understood that this subject was beyond his comprehension.
Merlin hesitated before he answered thoughtfully.
“Destinies are troublesome things.”, he muttered. Arthur sighed. The answer was worth as much as the sword he was just given.
It may be nice and shiny and look meaningful. But in the end it was just for show. Just decoration.
There was no point in it.
Arthur took the sword from Merlin's hands, inspected it and then sheathed it away.
But then Merlin suddenly spoke up again. And Arthur halted.

“You feel trapped.”, Merlin made a dramatic pause, after he popped the first three words. Arthur hadn't expected it, but Merlin nailed it.
“Like your whole life is being planned out for you and you've got no control over anything, and sometimes you don't even know if what destiny decided is really the best thing at all.”

Arthur turned around. Merlin had talked so calmly, yet fast. As if this one sentence came from the depth of his heart.
As if he lived this truth every day.
Felt this worry as his own.
Merlin looked at nothing. Contrary to what he just said, he looked utterly neutral. As if he were clueless to what he had just said himself.

But Arthur felt like Merlin just opened up into the greatest depth of his soul. And for the first time, Arthur felt like he could see a part of the man that was hidden behind layers of a facade. As if Merlin had a secret, almost equal to Arthur's own.

“How come you're so knowledgeable?”, Arthur asked. He felt a little shocked. Who was this man?

“Hmm? Oh, I read a book.”
Arthur felt like he had been slapped. There he was again. The idiot that Arthur knew.

But.... maybe there was more this …. 'book' had to offer?
“What would this book tell you? Should I marry her?”, he asked. Because it seemed like he was the only one who bothered about the entire thing.
He just wished there was someone who would understand.
Maybe.... since Merlin was his soulmate... maybe that meant that Merlin and him were more similar than Arthur had ever assumed?
Or maybe Merlin would just know how he felt. Maybe that was part of the whole soulmate thing.

Sure, Merlin was no fighter. He had no powers. But perhaps.... perhaps their goals were the same? Their hopes for the future?
Their.. thoughts on love?

“That's not really my place to say.”, Merlin looked down and Arthur couldn't stand it. Merlin was the one person who didn't hide his opinion from him (next to Gwen). He was a REAL friend. Merlin didn't cower behind the expectations of the court. Not even the law, at times when Arthur asked him to do illegal stuff. (Like help him escape from the castle, when he was on house arrest.)
Why did this man always have to be brave, when no one else was. But a coward when Arthur least expected it?

“I'm asking you, it's your job to answer.”, Arthur just wanted someone to tell him his fears were reasonable. He just needed someone to tell him all this was wrong. Someone who shared this opinion. He didn't want Merlin to actually tell him not to marry Elena.
What he wanted was an honest opinion. Someone who would support him through this.
Simply someone who understood how he felt. Was that really too much to ask?

“If you really want to know what I think...”, Merlin was still hesitating, so Arthur gestured for Merlin to go on.
And then Merlin dropped the... probably most heartfelt opinion that he ever told Arthur. The statement impaled Arthur deeper than the day he met Merlin and the boy called the prince of Camelot a prat right to his face.

“I think you're mad, I think you're all mad. People should marry for love,-”,

there was the smallest pause in Merlin's speech in which Arthur forgot how to breathe. Because this opinion wasn't empathetic or sympathetic to his situation. It was cold and clear and loud and utterly determined.
It rang louder in Arthur's ears then the roll of thunder during a heavy storm. And yet more firm and stable then the foundation the castle was built on.

Merlin talked to him, like Arthur was an idiot for not seeing it. Like everyone was an idiot for not seeing it. And Arthur couldn't help but think that Merlin was right.

Because … if he was honest. Everyone had thought this at one point of another. Everyone knew that marriage was connected to love. Even an unhappy relationship was connected to unfulfilled or rejected love. And everyone had this in the back of their minds.

But to Merlin Love wasn't some issue that needed to be resolved overcome or learned. Like Uther suggested it was.
This entire concept was a fact. This was an absolute. And Merlin stated it like it was obvious. Which it was. But they were too stupid to admit it to themselves.

“, not convenience. And if Uther thinks an unhappy king makes for a stronger kingdom, then he's wrong. 'Cause you may be destined to rule Camelot, but you have a choice...as to how you do it.”

Arthur's jaw dropped.

He could only stare at the ground after that. Eyes unblinking. There was no way Merlin had learned that from a book.

Arthur was such an idiot. Kilgharrah had even told him, he'd have a choice. That there would be plenty of opportunities for him to find the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. That told Arthur that in his second wish, he had included happiness for himself and his partner.
And Kilgharrah was obliged to fulfill this wish.
Arthur had been given the fucking advice that he had a choice! And yet he had not seen through this whole mess like Merlin had.

'If Uther thinks an unhappy king makes for a stronger kingdom, then he is wrong.'
Maybe this one slapped even harder then the knowledge that he had a choice. The knowledge that THIS was not what he wanted. What Elena wanted.

This marriage was against what the kingdom needed.
When the doors to the throne room opened and trumpets began to echo in the room, Arthur had made his decision. He wouldn't marry Elena.
And so he discussed the whole thing with her in front of the altar. They both went out of the ordeal relieved.
And their fathers may not be quite happy about it, but Arthur had managed to solve the situation without causing a war. So that probably counted for something.

Later... much later...
When he would, at night, in his room, think back on Merlin's words, he would realize something.

He felt calm relief after the entire ordeal and a gratefulness for his clumsy servant that he had not expected to ever feel.
And when he thought closer about it, he noticed that this wasn't the first time Merlin had given him such advice.

Merlin had told him to go after Gwen, when she was kidnapped. He had told Arthur to be true to his heart, when he kept rejecting the mere idea that he may love her.

Merlin may have drunken poison for him before, but that act paled in comparison to his support, when Arthur had to face the sorcerer Anhora to prove that his heart was pure enough to be worth Camelot's safety.
Merlin had seen Arthur's care for his people and done everything to make things right again.

Warned him of his mistakes, but didn't blame him for it. Merlin never blamed him for anything. Despite of all the bullshit Arthur had already done.
Despite their constant banter, despite the fact that Merlin had been forced at Arthur's side....

Arthur stared at his ceiling and realized …. that today was the first time that he had seen what was truly in Merlin's heart.
But Merlin knew Arthur to the purest depth of his soul already.

It was in that moment that Arthur felt something constrict inside his lungs. He could sense his own heartbeat, hear the rush of blood in his ears and realized, that what he was feeling was something akin to love.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The years went by and Arthur soon faced a problem that he had not expected.
At least this problem had nothing to do with love this time.

Kilgharrah had escaped the dungeons and begun to terrorize and murder Camelot's citizens.
Arthur paled at the mere thought that he not only knew this dragon, but that he was actually friends with it.

This creature, he knew, was not just magical. It was powerful beyond their comprehension. It's powers were god like. How could a single man.... even if he were a dragon lord, ever rule over such a thing?
And how on earth had Uther managed to wipe out their kind? If there was anything like “their kind” at all, because Arthur had found this dude inside a tea pot.

All these were questions Arthur intended to ask the dragon. But first they needed a way to stop him.

Arthur noticed there was something wrong with Merlin the entire way to the dragon lord. And also back. The man was talking to the dragon lord in hush whispers and Arthur couldn't help but wonder what all that was about.

And then the dragon lord died.

Arthur would remember this moment for the rest of his life as one of the most terrifying. Because he knew, he would now have to face the dragon anyway.
And how could he be sure the dragon would let him win? Was this Arthur's final test before he'd become the greatest king this world has ever known?
Would the dragon side with him, after EVERYTHING the dragon did and fake his own death?
Or would Arthur have to actually kill the creature? Was he even able to do that? What if he couldn't?

What on earth – what in all the timelines was Kilgharrah thinking?
Arthur may have wished for an adventure and he knew he would face danger along the way. But he had not been okay with murder! Especially those his friends committed!
Bad enough that Morgana had betrayed them!
It was bad enough that Arthur had lost his sister to all this nonsense!

Arthur ended up never finding out what had happened that night. The night when Kilgharrah supposedly died by Arthur's own hand.
All he knew was... that the dragon was gone. And he had woken up in Merlin's arms, back in Gaius chambers. With an explanation that would satisfy Uther. But it left Arthur with restless nights.

The only time Arthur's fear was about as great as the moment he faced the dragon, was probably before he faced the veil, several months later.
And even that one paled in comparison to the moment Merlin was touched by the dorocha.

Arthur had been terrified to believe he would die that night.
Without Kilgharrah, he couldn't use his last wish to close the veil. Because – well – there was no one to fulfill that wish.
And Arthur feared that by dying, he would either loose his chance to fulfill his first wish. His dream, his goal that set him into this timeline.
Or – which he found almost worse – this was the moment where he would earn it.
By dying for his people.

But all that didn't matter anymore when he had to believe Merlin was dead. It was only one moment. The moment right after the dorocha had touched Merlin. Echoes of Gaius's voice crowded his mind and distracted him.
“No mortal has ever survived the dorocha's touch.”
And true to this statement, no man Arthur encountered had lived to stutter another word. Their bodies entirely frozen after they were touched by it.

Only that then, they realized that Merlin lived. He was breathing at least. He was terribly sick and insisted to keep coming with them – no doubt to offer his life for Arthur. But he was... miraculously.... alive.

Arthur was an idiot. But he wasn't THAT dumb. He knew Merlin.
And he had fought one too many times with Merlin who would drink poison to assume the man wouldn't consider his own pitiful state as worthless in comparison to Arthur's brilliant future.
Whenever they were in a situation where they were given a choice- which of the two would continue to live – Merlin would choose to drink the poison each and every time.

Merlin was already sick after he had been touched. No doubt he'd rather be sacrificed then have Arthur die and everyone else worry about himself after.

Merlin was stupidly selfless like that. Stupidly loyal and dutiful.
But Arthur hadn't expected having to worry about Merlin's well being in his own last hours of being among the living.
To be fair, Arthur's first thought – which turned into a vocally uttered order – was to go back to Camelot and safe Merlin.
The veil be damned.
But Sir Leon – who had been with them – had a valid point, when he said the veil had to be closed. Because hundreds of lives were at stake.

Arthur agreed with that. He truly did.
Only he didn't care. This was MERLIN. His best friend! The only person he could rely on!

Arthur decided in that very moment that since he was already about to die.... he could accept it now. Now that he already showed his worry visually. Showed everyone just how much he cared about Merlin, everyone but the man himself.
He could admit to himself that he was in love with Merlin.

His march to his death was just Arthur, admitting it in his own mind again and again. Apologizing for never letting himself have this. For never being brave enough to face his feelings for both Merlin and Gwen. Talk about it with them. Find a solution for it.
Now he would die. Now he wouldn't have to do it after all.

But then Arthur didn't die.
Instead, Lancelot did. And Merlin was very much alive and healthy and well.
Arthur couldn't help but be terrified for himself. Of himself, really.
Especially of his own heart.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many things happened in Arthur's life. Especially when it came to his regards as king and also his complicated love life.
Arthur became king, when his father died. Naturally.

Despite everything Uther had done, Arthur couldn't find it within himself to be happy that he had finally made it to the point he had dreamed of when he was 16.
He had imagined it differently. With less deaths.

He thought his wish foolish now. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

He also couldn't make up his mind about magic. Because his child self had loved magic. Dreamed about it. But that was before he knew it was real. But now... in this world..... he had seen the destruction it could bring. It had killed his father.
And Arthur had lost too much to magic to let people use it freely.

And then he lost Guinevere too. Lancelot somehow returned from the dead and Gwen betrayed him.
Of course – Arthur wasn't aware that Lancelot was a shade. A magical creature that was used as a puppet for an evil witch.
That this witch was Morgana was one problem.

But the magic didn't change what Guinevere did. It didn't excuse it, because even Merlin was unaware of the fact, that Guinevere's feelings for Lancelot were magic as well.

That's why Merlin never confronted him for it. Even if that tainted Lancelot's name. Instead of a proper burial, Lancelot was buried by Merlin. Because Arthur couldn't bare to attract more attention to the betrayal than what was necessary.
He didn't want to kill Gwen. He didn't want to banish her either. But Agravaine, his uncle, insisted that he'd show strength.
And in his moment of weakness, Arthur grasped to anyone who was willing to give him advice.

Everyone but Merlin.
Because Arthur couldn't look at Merlin. He knew Merlin was friends with Gwen. And Arthur was – by now – very much aware of his feelings to both the servants.
Arthur had never tried to get closer to Merlin, because he felt it was wrong to betray Gwen like that.
And he knew the kingdom needed a queen. An heir. All that shit his father taught him.
After all... these were different times.

He never betrayed Gwen, like he believed she did him. And now, to look at Merlin filled him with the wish to get revenge. To show her how it would feel. But it felt unfair to them both. But the thought still filled his mind.
After all this time, he felt like their relationship included all three of them. It had included Lancelot too... in a way. But not like this.
Just like it didn't include Merlin in that same way.
They had their own balance. And this betrayal broke this balance.

Lancelot's death had been bad enough. His return was a reason for happiness. Or rather... that's what it was supposed to be. It ended up being anything but.

Arthur tried to get his mind of Gwen after the incidence. After he banished her.

Tried to find a princess to marry, as his father would have wanted. And a part of him knew that this princess was one his father would have put in his place, had he had the chance..
Much like Elena, Mithian was a wonderful person. A beautiful princess and someone who was born to be queen.
She looked right through Arthur as well, after she had spend a few days with her now fiance.

She came to Arthur one night to speak with him.

“May I speak with you, Sire?”, she asked. Arthur noticed how the formalities she used didn't bother him as much as they did when Gwen said them. It was such a simple thing. Yet it reminded him painfully of the difference between the two women.

“Of course you may.”, Arthur said and shushed her in from the floor, where she had been knocking.

“I have merely noticed...”, Mithian stopped. She was a kind woman. Raised with the best manners and yet she was able to forget about them, when she noticed propriety made the people around her feel awkward and strange.
Not everyone managed to be proper all the time. And she purposely lowered her own behavior to match the level her company was capable of.
She was a great person and a great friend.
But much like with Elena, Arthur couldn't force himself to love her. He couldn't bring himself to see her as anymore than a friend.

“That you seem unhappy with our arrangement.”, she said quietly. As though she were worried about Arthur. Truth be told, Arthur had not talked to her about Guinevere yet. Maybe he should. He couldn't marry someone on a foundation of lies.

“I'm not unhappy.”, he said and shook his head. So much for the foundation of lies.

“No. I can see that you're not unhappy with me. But I can also tell this isn't what you want.”, she said and tilted her hand.
“Why did you ask for my hand in marriage, Arthur?”

Arthur bit his lip. He knew Mithian's kingdom could need this alliance as much as Camelot.
He had to tell her the truth at least. That wouldn't drive her away, surely.

“I will not lie to you. There is someone I care about deeply. But she ...”, he paused and looked away. He couldn't say it.
Not after all the unhappy looks he already received from Merlin.
Merlin just kept bringing it up. Kept bothering him about it.

“She?”, Mithian asked and Arthur raised his chin to look at her. He blinked.
“Yes?”, he asked, but Mithian seemed confused.

“I'm sorry. I thought this was about Merlin.”, she said absolutely shameless and Arthur's eyes widened.
“Merlin?!”, he asked, scandalized. Even though he knew it was true, no one has ever dared to speak about it with him. Arthur had believed no one had noticed. But if Mithian... a stranger to Camelot knew..... then the entirety of Camelot must as well.

“Yes. Arthur, I'm not blind. I can see how you look at him. You care about him more than anyone else. Is this why you look at me as if you are in pain?”

Arthur shook his head and sighed.
“I don't -” , who was he kidding? If Mithian knew, everyone knew. She even regarded him with that look that told him that she wouldn't fall for his lies.
“It's not about my feelings for him.”, he said and closed his eyes. He was practically admitting it.
Yet it was not a lie that it wasn't about him.
Of course he loved Merlin. But approach him in this way? Right now? While Merlin was so disappointed in him? Arthur had the feeling that their relationship was meant to be different than this.
Maybe the time just wasn't ripe yet. What they were was exactly what they both needed at the moment. And exactly what they wanted. And Arthur could tell that Merlin himself wasn't ready to speak to him about this.... thing …. between them. Who knows? All Arthur knew was that at the moment, Merlin was his right hand and his best friend.
Arthur knew that Merlin felt the connection too. They were soulmates after all.

That didn't mean they had to get married. Or change their relationship. At the very least not yet. Who knows what the future holds?
Arthur hadn't expected to love Merlin only a year ago. He hadn't expected to fall in love with Gwen first. Or... at all.
Yet he did. Despite his second wish. Despite what Kilgharrah promised him.

He couldn't explain it. All he knew was that right now, Merlin and him were king and servant. Beyond that they were best friends. And the love they had for each other was formed around that relationship. More than this would just be too much at the moment.

“It's about a woman who.... betrayed me....”
Arthur still loved Gwen. Still wanted to marry her, despite everything that had happened. And he cursed Agravaine for making him send her away.
“She betrayed you?”, Mithian asked and her confusion grew into pity once again.

“It's difficult to explain.”

“Arthur, if this marriage is too soon, we can wait. You are not inclined to do this. Yet, once you made the decision to marry me. You will have to uphold that promise. I hope I don't have to explain to you what my father will do, if you reject me in front of the altar.
If the boy is the reason for your pain, I understand. I have been in your situation. We can figure out how to deal with this. But if it's about a woman...”

Arthur stopped, his eyes unblinking. Why again was it different when it was Merlin he loved? Why was that okay but Gwen wasn't?
Did Mithian not see how much Arthur grieved for her?
Admittedly, he had treated Gwen like shit to make her leave. But -
He should have never listened to Agravaine. Or was it the right decision to get her off of his mind? But was THIS – this marriage - really the right action?

“I will get over it. I promise.”, Arthur didn't say what he really thought. How unfair this seemed to him. Unfair to Gwen. Because Arthur did understand her struggle. But he couldn't understand how she went behind his back to just take what she wanted.
She could have talked to him.
They could have talked to each other. Arthur would have understood. They could have made an arrangement.
But she never did.
It's not her feelings that made him mad.
It were the lies.

'How can you trust someone, when you know he has lied to you?', Arthur remembered Uther saying once, when Lancelot had lied about his heritage to become a knight.

Arthur felt like a fool for never understanding what Uther really meant by that. The trust Uther had in his knights had always cut deeper than that for anyone else. To be lied to like that – by people you didn't just regard as humans who make mistakes, but as friends and family. Who swore loyalty to you. Who created such a deep bond with you.
Finally Arthur understood how that broke a person.

Because Lancelot had become a close friend to him. He had been a fool to trust him again.
Especially since he knew that Lancelot was capable of lying to his king.

He wouldn't make the same mistake with Gwen. No matter how much he wanted to.

Mithian regarded him with a look that told him she didn't believe that for a second. Even though he hadn't said the last part, Arthur felt like that's what she answered to.

“Don't do anything you will regret, Arthur.”

…......

In the end, Arthur couldn't uphold his promise. The week Mithian came, Arthur had found Gwen's ring in the forest. And since it was found, he couldn't distract his mind from it.
He knew he still loved her. And if she was here, there was a chance she still loved him too.

Knowing that made it impossible to go through with the marriage to princess Mithian.
Instead, Arthur decided to give up ancient claims to Mithian's father as compensation. Mithian didn't look pleased, even after that. But she had always been an understanding person.
Arthur could see how he could have grown to love her. Maybe. Perhaps.
But it wouldn't have been the same. It wouldn't have felt right.

He had learned this lesson for the second time in his life. And he felt like an idiot for making the same mistakes for the same reasons again and again. In that moment he realized, he had a long way to go, before he would deserve the title of the greatest king.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Arthur found Gwen again in the middle of war. Around the same time where he lost the believe that he would ever be the king Camelot needed.
The dragon was dead. Who said, his wishes would still come true?
Arthur had chosen long term wishes. Wishes that demanded to be lived and earned. But now the dragon was gone and he got the sinking feeling that the magic he had so selfishly used had disappeared as well.

He was a hypocrite anyway. For relying on magic, when no one else was allowed to use it.

It wasn't just Tristan and Isolde's words – two bandits who had accidentally sheltered Arthur and Merlin - that made Arthur doubt himself. He had began to doubt himself long before that.
He had been unconscious for a while. He should have been in the castle, defending the citadel, while his sister took over the throne.
But he hadn't.

He was supposed to be a great king, yet he continued only saving himself.

He couldn't afford to make mistakes. He was supposed to be a great king! Great kings didn't make mistakes!

Merlin seemed to sense his distress. But even his talking didn't help to make Arthur believe in himself again. His dream was over.
It had been an egoistic one anyway.
Not just selfish, but also a hypocritical one.
There was nothing that could build him up again. He should just resign.

Until Merlin showed him the sword. And now.... reasonably, it would be stupid to believe a single human being could draw a sword from a stone. But the way Merlin believed in him....
That was certainty. Merlin already believed him to be the king he wanted to be.
Perhaps.... Arthur's treacherous mind said... maybe the magic isn't over yet. Maybe Kilgharrah has placed this sword here for you. For this very moment.

Maybe he knew that Arthur would doubt himself. Maybe he knew that doubt shows the true strength of a person.
Because only people who doubt, show they ever question their actions.

Maybe this is the moment that will be written over in hundreds of years to come?
Maybe THIS was the moment he would finally become the king he wanted to be. Merlin seemed to believe it. The knights that had gathered seemed to believe it. Gwen seemed to believe it. Gwen, who was HERE.

Maybe the dragon had made sure this moment would happen.
Arthur took a deep breath and placed both his hands on the sword. He pulled lightly. Yet he could feel the stone didn't budge.

“Arthur. You have to believe in yourself. Nothing, not even that stone, can stand in your way.”, Merlin said behind him. And Arthur understood what he meant. If he wanted to lead these people, he couldn't let small mistakes stop him.
He couldn't let fears and self doubt get in the way of his future. Of his kingdom. These people relied on him.
Everyone made mistakes.

What he needed was the courage to look past them. To see further ahead. He needed the courage to forgive himself.
His eyes fell on Gwen.
He needed to forgive her. Because he needed Gwen at his side. And she too would have to forgive him for what cruelty Arthur had done to her.
She deserved better than that.

Maybe a part of him – the part that doubted himself – was what kept him from granting her that. Maybe it was his own self doubt that blinded him from forgiving her.
Because if she had felt the need to lie to him, perhaps Arthur had not been worthy of her trust?
Maybe that's what it was. Maybe that's why it hurt so much.
And maybe his actions after the betrayal had proven the truth of that assumption.
That he wasn't worth the trust.

So finally, after all these years, Arthur finally did what he should have done right to begin with.
“Gwen, can I talk to you?”

Gwen startled, almost surprised to be talked to.
“In private.”, Arthur added, before she could already start the conversation. Apart from Merlin, no one regarded them another glance, when they disappeared into the woods and Arthur finally took a deep breath.

Once again he spoke before Gwen could utter a word.
“I'm sorry.”, he said and he truly meant it.

Gwen stared at him. “What? Arthur... what for?”

“For treating you the way I did.”

Gwen shook her head vehemently. “No, Arthur.”, she said, only repeating herself. “No! I have to be sorry! I betrayed you. You've send me away, when you should have beheaded me. You are not to blame.”

How cruel these old times were that Gwen managed to blame only herself. That she believed she deserved death for what she had done.
Arthur shuddered at the thought.

“No.”, he disagreed. “I am a king, not a butcher, Gwen.”, he said and when their eyes met, time froze between them.
“My father would have done that. As my father killed hundreds of magic users without bothering to differentiate between those who deserve the sentence and those who don't.

I have power over my people. But Gwen, you are not my people. You were supposed to be my queen. My equal. And yet I regarded you as if you were less than that.
For what? For feelings? You believed Lancelot was dead and I understand that suddenly facing him would cause such emotions to reappear.

You may have betrayed me by kissing Lancelot. By lying to me about your feelings for him.
But what I did.... was betrayal of a far greater scale.
And I am so, so sorry about that.”

Arthur lowered his head to Gwen.

“I don't have feelings for Lancelot. I don't! I swear! I don't know what came over me! I thought he was dead and then he wasn't and suddenly this thing... happened. And I don't know why or how.
I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't lie to you! I told you the truth! I really, honestly, don't know what happened!”, Gwen was crying silently.

It broke Arthur's heart. Because he wanted to believe it.
At the very least he believed that she believed it herself. Hmm... maybe that was what made it true though.
So he opened his arms and gave her a sign that she could come back to him, into his arms.
“I am a king, Gwen. Sometimes I forget that I am still human too.”, Arthur muttered into her neck, when she fell into him with relief.

Then he shuddered as he took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something, Gwen. Because I cannot live with this secret. Especially not to you. Not when I know how it hurts when you find out the person you love has feelings for someone else. Not when I know how deep it cuts when you find out your partner didn't trust you enough to say it.”

He pushed her away, just enough to meet her eyes.
He searched for something in her eyes. But Gwen looked expectant. She was waiting. She didn't even look mad.
Maybe that's because she already knew.
Arthur wouldn't be surprised. She was Gwen after all.

“I... have feelings.... for Merlin.”, he said and he felt a heavy burden fall of his chest from just saying it.

Gwen smiled at him and closed her eyes. “Yes, I know.”, she said. Because of course she did.

Really, Arthur shouldn't be surprised. Yet he was. Kind of. “How?”, he asked, more jokingly. But also insecure. Because if Gwen knew... if Mithian knew... if Camelot knew.... did Merlin know?

Gwen laughed, her tears from before dropping as her frown turned into a small laugh.
“On our first date you told me you wished to run away with Merlin to a farm, Arthur. I'm not an idiot. You didn't even invite me!”

Arthur's shoulders dropped.
Their.... their first date? Oh god. Oh GOD, she was RIGHT! He HAD said that. But back then Arthur hadn't even known about his own feelings himself! God, this was embarrassing.

“But I also know you would never act on it. I know your duty to this kingdom means more to you than almost anything. And I know that you love me too. And I know you would never do anything like that behind my back. I know, because I trust you.
And I am so sorry that you couldn't trust me with Lancelot. No matter what my feelings for him were.”

They looked at each other.
“You're not mad?”, Arthur asked with relief.

“No.”, Gwen shook her head after a bit of consideration. “I always knew.”, she said. “I knew what I was getting into. But I'm happy that you finally told me.”, she smiled.
“By the way. What was that thing about magic earlier?”

Arthur smiled back at her, then he scratched his neck. “Well. I mean. I don't think it's a good idea to repeal the ban on magic. At least not yet.
Don't get me wrong. I just think that you and I should rule together fairly and just.
Let's listen to them. The sorcerers I mean. Like my father never did.”, he smiled. And Gwen looked back at him proudly.

Maybe Arthur's words didn't seem like much. Maybe they weren't enough to make up for the way he had treated Gwen. But his actions would make it up.
He already paid a great part of the kingdom to be with Gwen.
Now he would gift her with everything he had left to offer.

------------------------------------------------------------

When Arthur finally rejected magic for the last time, it was because of Merlin. In that blasted cave with the stupid disir who tried to manipulate Arthur into bowing to them.

And it was that thought, that knowledge, that made him so pissed off, when Merlin revealed himself a sorcerer to him.
Granted, Arthur had just been stabbed by Mordred, and after all the betrayals in the last few months, Mordred's hit him about the hardest.
Bad enough that his own sister was their greatest enemy.
But Arthur had thought of Mordred as a younger brother. A friend. A knight.
The bond they've had was special. And yet, the man had decided to not only hide magic from him. He decided to kill him too.

Okay, admittedly, Arthur could understand why the boy hated him. If someone had killed Gwen or Merlin, he didn't think he'd have a calm minute ever again in his life. He may not have known Cara and she deserved the sentence she had gotten.
But Mordred deserved better than to loose what he held so dear.

But now it was Merlin who betrayed him. Because he had magic too.

Was there truly no one who had never lied to Arthur? Everyone! Gaius, Morgana, Uther, Mordred, Gwen, Lancelot..... everyone.
But Merlin? Of all the people that could have done this, Merlin was the last person Arthur had expected this from.
Merlin was the bravest man he ever met.
The kindest and wisest man he had ever asked for advice.
Not to forget he was Arthur's soulmate.
If even Arthur's soulmate could lie to him then....

Arthur stared at the fire, while he felt himself bleeding out. Too bad the dragon wasn't here anymore. Too bad the beast was dead or else Arthur would wish upon his own death right now.

Merlin was keeping a distance from him. Ever since the battle of Camlann that had cost too many lives. On both sides.

Arthur didn't dare look at him. Merlin hadn't just lied to him about something he did or felt. Merlin had lied about who he was. The man had worn a mask this entire time and Arthur had been too stupid to notice.

But slowly, with each step they made, with each action Merlin took, Arthur could see his old friend more and more again.

And Arthur could see how desperate Merlin was. At first, Arthur wasn't sure what Merlin was desperate for.
Until he realized that Merlin was trying his hardest not to jostle Arthur too much.
He did his best to hide him from bandits. He did his best to get to talk to Arthur. He did his best to be honest and funny and just the same as usual.
He wanted to show Arthur that nothing had changed between them.

But no matter how hard he tried, Arthur knew that wasn't true.

Everything had changed between them. Everything.

The more they walked, the more clear it became to Arthur, just HOW different everything was now.
Merlin's devotion to his king, Arthur realized, had never been just for the goals Arthur followed. Not just for Camelot. For the future. His destiny.
Merlin took care of Arthur without magic still. As if to show him that it didn't make a difference to him, as long as he was allowed to stay by Arthur's side.

But Merlin was shaking, when he tried to make the fires.

“Why don't you use magic?”, Arthur had asked at one point. Because he couldn't understand it.
Merlin wasn't using magic, as if he were still lying to Arthur. Still had the need to show him there was no magic involved.
But when Arthur asked for it, Merlin's eyes flashed golden.
And a pain settled in them.
“Feels strange.”, Merlin admitted. Confessed. To Arthur. As if this was a change they were facing together.

Merlin wasn't confessing or talking about the magic. He was showing how much he trusted Arthur, when he told him how he felt about it. It was contrary to before, when Merlin pretended to not have it at all.

“Why did you never tell me?”

Arthur said and asked many other things over the two days that Merlin needed to get him closer to the place that was supposed to safe him.

It was difficult for Arthur to forgive Merlin. But just as he had with Gwen, he recognized that he was to blame too.
He had never given Merlin any reason to feel safe in Camelot.
The more he saw Merlin use magic – clean his clothes, create a fire, easily overpower bandits all by himself – the more Arthur understood that this power Merlin had was not something he was able to suppress.
And it got him thinking if Merlin had used magic in Camelot.

He wondered where and when. And what for. He remembered questions he had asked himself and waved them off, because he had assumed the wish dragon would take care of these things.
The more he watched, the clearer he saw that Kilgharrah HAD done that. He HAD taken care of it. By placing Merlin into his life.
As a guardian. A body guard.

Merlin was the reason Arthur had managed to be the king he was now. And no.... he still wasn't the greatest king and he certainly felt too young to die. But he could tell that Merlin would be the reason why the world would see him as such.
Merlin would tell everyone of Arthur's accomplishes. And mayhaps, he would lie about his own to make Arthur shine in a brighter light.

That wasn't what Arthur had wished for.
But if Arthur was being honest, the thought that Merlin would think of him in such a way was worth more to him than the opinion of everyone else in this entire world.

When Arthur died, he died in Merlin's arms with a thank you on his lips. Because he was too chicken to confess his true feelings.
Too selfish to tell him.
And yet, he also didn't want Merlin to live on – thinking there could have been more between them.
If Merlin had loved him too.... this was about the cruelest things he could have said.
That's why he didn't say 'I love you.'

Even if that meant those words would remain left unsaid forever.

------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah. There you are.”
Time had stopped.

Arthur's eyes blinked open, but he was outside his own body. He could see himself lying there, Merlin's horror stricken face frozen in time above the body.

Arthur looked up to see the wish dragon smile and wink at him.

“What?”, Arthur looked around, eyes wide and shocked. “Am I dead?”, he asked, because that was more important to him then the question he asked right after.

“What are YOU doing here?”

The dragon laughed. “You are not dead, young Pendragon. At least not yet.”, he shook his head in amusement.
Arthur blinked. “Wait, I'm not?”

“No, of course not. I told you I couldn't let you die before you uttered your last wish, did I?”

Arthur's mouth fell open. “But – YOU are dead!”, he said and pointed at the creature who only bellowed louder than before.

“Oh no. I am very much alive. Though I must admit, for a second I thought your soulmate might kill me for real. It would have been a shame, wouldn't it?”

Arthur stared at him. “Merlin?”

“Yes. This boy is more powerful than you will ever understand, Arthur.”

“I know he's a sorcerer.”, Arthur said, almost proud to finally not be in the dark. But Kilgharrah shook his head.

“Merlin is so much more than that.”, the dragon said. “He is more powerful than me. I would have never expected him to be part of your destiny. He could have easily killed me. Yet he didn't. And it is good that he didn't, because otherwise you would never have gotten your last wish.”

“Which is?”, Arthur asked confused.

“You tell me.”, the dragon smiled.

“What if I'm not ready to make my wish?”, Arthur muttered. “What is there to wish for?”

“You realize that you are dying, young king?”

“You told me you can't revive the dead.”, Arthur pointed out.

“You're not dead yet.”, the dragon said again and shook his head. “I managed to freeze time for you. This is your last chance to wish for anything you want. What is it that you want?”

Arthur stared down at his own dying self and Merlin beside him. Actually, he already knew what to wish for.

“I wish...”, Arthur said and then.... in the last moment, changed the phrasing in his mind.
“I wish Merlin could be happy for the rest of his life.”

The dragon stared at him in surprise.
“Are you sure?”, he asked, as if Arthur had the right to take back his wish. As if Kilgharrah had ever given him a choice before. Arthur snorted and nodded.
“I think he has suffered enough, hasn't he?”, he said.
Because over the past few days, Arthur had realized that Merlin had always suffered in silence. Even though he had lost at least as much as Arthur had.
But Merlin was always alone with his pain. Whereas Arthur was not. He had Merlin. Merlin had no one.

“Arthur, if you make a wish for someone else right now, you know your chances won't be good to survive, right?”

“I think you misunderstand me.”, Arthur smiled before he looked up at Kilgharrah. The dragon seemed to be waiting patiently.
“I already wished for a life.”, he shook his head, because he only realized it in this very moment.
The dragon stared at him.

“My first wish was to have a life. One that was worth something. For myself. And for others. A meaningful life that would be remembered. In my second wish, I wished for a happiness for me and the person I would one day marry. I wished for a life two times.
I understand it, Merlin has paid the price for all these wishes, didn't he?”

The dragon kept staring in wonder. But he didn't deny it. After all, Merlin had been placed in Arthur's life, because Arthur had wished for his soulmate to be there. He had wished to be a great king and he had needed someone who could help him achieve that without being seen. Or else Arthur would have never gotten the recognition. Because he was never strong enough to become what he wanted by himself.

And because of these wishes, Merlin had never had the chance to leave. The wish had bound him to Arthur. Arthur understood now that by wishing what he wished for, he had taken Merlin's life away from him.

Arthur was now undoing what he had done to Merlin. The greatest sorcerer who had ever lived.

“He deserves to be happy too.”

“I think, Arthur -”, the dragon smiled at him kindly. “I was right about you. You have a great heart. And you always were the king Camelot needed.
Your wish was wise, king Arthur.
Because there is only one thing that could ever make Merlin happy for the rest of his life.”

Arthur's smile subsided in confusion. “Which is?”

The dragon laughed.
“You.”

---------------------------------------------------

Then time returned to them. And Arthur breathed in the heaviest breath he had ever inhaled. Then he coughed, as if he was coughing out the piece of metal that Mordred had stabbed into his gut.

Actually... that wasn't a metaphor. The shiny piece clattered to the ground, while Merlin shuddered and stared at Arthur, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

“Arthur! You're ALIVE!”, he shouted and suddenly, Arthur was kept from breathing again by two arms that embraced him in a bone crushing hug.
Shakily, Arthur pushed him back a little, and smiled at his servant.

“I don't – how -”, Merlin had his hands buried in his own curly hair. “How are you alive? I thought we didn't make it? I thought!”
Merlin was shaking.

Arthur could only laugh.
Yes. Truly. Everything between them had changed.
Because if Arthur was Merlin's happiness... then Arthur was only alive because of him.
Merlin had given his entire life for Arthur.
It was time he returned the favor.

That didn't prepare him for the moment Merlin decided to kiss him. But he didn't really bother pushing him back. In fact, he pulled him closer, knowing that this was three things in one.
It was part of Arthur's wish. Merlin's happiness. And destiny.

Yes, Arthur would regret this later. He would have to talk to Gwen about this. Only a little though.
In his defense... Gwen had done the same thing at least twice when she believed one of her crushes was dead.

Okay... admittedly that only excused Merlin this time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Do you have everything?”, Merlin shouted through their little hut. The walls were freshly painted, and the new tables and shelves were standing around wherever they had place to spare. Along with the boxes that contained all their stuff.

Arthur was currently getting the last plants – Merlin loved plants – out of the car and shut the trunk closed with his one free arm.
His other hand managed to keep the car keys in it. In the early sunlight shone the golden worn out ring on his finger.

They had gotten married again in the early fifty's. Ask as you may, Arthur couldn't remember where that had been. They've gotten married quite often after Camlann had fallen.

Merlin saw Arthur struggling to balance the plants and reached over to help. He went and pecked Arthur on the lips, before taking some of the plants out of his hand.
Arthur could hear their neighbor gasp at the sight.
Why were neighbors always so noisy and had to watch them move into their new houses? Every time, he swore one day he'd walk over and kick them in the chin or something.

Arthur thought they lived in different times now. He never understood how homophobia managed to overrun the minds of the people.
Unlike THAT nonsense, homosexuality had always been a thing and it never hurt anyone. At least not any more than straight relationships did.
Maybe minus unwanted children that forced some people into marriages.....
Okay, Arthur should really stop thinking about it, because he just couldn't wrap his mind around such toxic nonsense anymore.
He could when he was younger and was ashamed of himself. But let's be real.... that was 15 centuries ago.

Also, he didn't want to remember spending that one decade pretending Merlin was his brother.
His BROTHER! Of all the things Merlin could have called him in front of that soldier, did it HAVE to be BROTHER?

Merlin had apologized to him about that for at least a century after that.

“Thank you.”, Merlin grinned and marched into the house. Once inside, the door closed shut and Merlin closed his eyes for a moment. Then he breathed in and he opened them. They shone a brilliant gold and instinctively, their stuff started to move by itself.
Shelves build themselves up, plants found themselves the sunniest places and the books sorted themselves. Pictures hung themselves and the bed and couch searched for the most comfortable places.

Arthur was lucky to have a husband who liked doing all the work. Arthur may not be a king anymore. But he surely felt like one.

He smiled, before he went to stand next to Merlin and hug him from the side. Just to watch him do magic.
The former king had grown to the sight and after living with his husband for over a thousand years, he didn't want to loose sight of it ever again.

“Hey, want to explore the town a bit?”, Arthur asked and Merlin beamed at him.
“Of course.”, he said. Merlin was smiling so much more ever since Arthur lived. Or rather, since they figured out he wouldn't die again.

Truth be told. Arthur had never told Merlin about the wish dragon. He didn't know why. Merlin still asked him sometimes how he had survived back then. But Arthur couldn't tell him.
He didn't want Merlin to know that he was the reason why Arthur was immortal.
Merlin just assumed that Arthur was immortal, because destiny still needed him. Or because they just belonged together. Like... that wasn't entirely wrong.
After all, Arthur's decisions and wishes weren't necessarily separate from destiny.

Still. Arthur didn't want to break to him that he was here solely for Merlin.

As Merlin used to be there solely for Arthur's happiness. Even if he didn't regret that for a second. Not to imagine what would have happened if Arthur had made a different wish. Merlin would have been alone the entire time.
Arthur always felt sick just thinking about it.
His last wish was by far his favorite, he must admit.

God... Arthur didn't want to remember the fight he had with Gwen after he confessed to her what happened. It had been horrible for weeks on end.
But hey.... SHE didn't banish him at least.
She forgave him like he had forgiven her for Lancelot and things had returned to normal for a while.
Even if at first Merlin had been acting all strange.

It was Gwen who suggested making him court sorcerer. And until they realized Gwen was the only one aging, nothing had really changed, except for the richness of the kingdom. It was quite a long time of peace after Morgana's death.
Well.... and then one day Gwen died and suddenly everything changed.
Arthur and her never had any children of their own, but they adopted one. That one had children and his children after him had children too.
And somehow that turned into England.

Arthur and Merlin had never left Camelot, not really. It had just changed, grown and developed. One of Arthur's descendants had sold the old castle and build a new one and suddenly no one remembered where Camelot used to be.
And their history slowly turned into legend.
And that was... about it, really.
Still. Arthur missed Gwen sometimes. He knew Merlin did too. It's not like they kept secrets from each other anymore...

Well... except the wish thing. But Arthur was certain it was for the greater good that Merlin didn't know.

It was about an hour after the house was settled in, when Merlin and Arthur decided to go for a walk. Arthur had slept on the way here, while Merlin drove, so he hadn't had the chance to look at the town yet.
They moved towns every twenty years or so. That was the maximum they could do to ensure people didn't get suspicious that they didn't age.

But this town looked strangely familiar, now that Arthur thought about it.
It wasn't however, until they moved a certain corner, when Arthur blinked in confusion at the familiarity.

“Arthur?”

“Hmm?”, Arthur made instead of answering.

“You seem distracted.”, Merlin said with confusion.

“Oh... it's nothing. I just thought this place looked familiar.”

“Really? I specifically chose a town we haven't been to yet!

“Are you sure?”, Arthur asked, as they walked by a library. Arthur stopped to look at the sign. It was a faded out one. The door was made of old heavy wood and there were marks in it that were both entirely random, but also familiar to Arthur, as if he knew the patterns by heart.

“I don't think the library is open, Arthur. The sign says they only open Tuesdays and Thursdays.”, Merlin rolled his eyes and then grabbed for Arthur's arm to drag him away from the place.
Arthur however, felt like he had been here before.

They walked by small houses that Arthur kept staring at. Few of them were new, but some of them were pretty old. And he felt like he had been to some of them before.

“Arthur, are you okay?”, Merlin asked again, noticing how Arthur focused on the houses more than he had ever before. And they had been to many villages together.

“Are you sure, we haven't been here before?”, Arthur asked.

“100%. We've been moving around north for the past two centuries. This town didn't exist yet back then. I AM sure.”, Merlin insisted, so Arthur only nodded and grabbed his husbands hand.
No matter how scandalized Mrs Marison from the bakery was at the sight of two....

Arthur stopped. And because he was holding Merlin's hand, Merlin got pulled back. “Ow.”, he made, but he sounded almost amused. That was until he looked into Arthur's startled face.
Arthur shook his head, before he let go of Merlin's hand, looked left and right and then crossed the road to approach the bakery.

Merlin was left on the other side, seemingly confused at his husbands antics.

There was a woman behind the window that displayed bread of all variants to potential costumers.
The woman behind the counter pointedly looked away from Arthur. But she patted a sign at the window that said “gays not welcome.”
Arthur walked in anyway.
What did he care whether or not he was welcome? Technically, the entire country belonged to him. Fuck you, Mrs Marison!

Arthur stood inside the bakery, not sure how to approach the subject, but the woman seemed utterly furious that he had entered.
“Can't you read?”, she snarled at him.
She was the typical grandma, the way she looked. A little crouched maybe. More so than Arthur felt reasonable for her age. Somehow... he would have pictured her as a kind person who handed out sandwiches to young children who's parents fed them with nothing but bread.
That's the kind of person she struck him as.
She may look angry at him, but seeing her brought back memories.

It WAS her. This WAS Mrs. Marison. Arthur was certain. Had he been asked what she looked like merely an hour ago, he didn't think he would have recognized the name alone.
But now, here, in context.... he knew.

Arthur's parents never fed him anything that wasn't vegan, low on calories and carbs and... actually Arthur didn't remember all the stuff he was told not to eat. Sure, veganism is good. It makes sense. But not having alternatives for vitamins and stuff, means growing up on deficits.
They should have taught him WHAT to eat. Not exclusively what NOT to eat. Because Arthur remembered starving a lot. (6)

“Mrs. Marison?”, Arthur asked quietly and the woman frowned. If you're not sure, just ask, Mrs. Marison used to tell him when he was younger.
She had been one of the few people he had felt safe to talk to.
Ironically.
“Can't you read the sign? We do not serve your kind here!”, she said and smacked her walking stick against the glass once again.

“I'm not asking for food. I'm asking if that's your name.”, Arthur said, because he just needed it confirmed.

The woman lowered her walking stick, pressing it closer to herself, as if she was about to attack Arthur directly next time he opened his mouth. “I said get out!”

Arthur blinked. She used to be much kinder in his memories. Slowly he shook his head and left the familiar bakery to join Merlin who seemed scandalized that Arthur just went into a store that specifically told them to keep out.
Merlin stood in front of him now, entirely confused. “What were you doing in there?”, he asked.
Not judging. Merlin was never judging.

“Honestly? I don't know.”, Arthur admitted slowly.
Then he took Merlin's hand again. “I think we should probably go back home, I have a -”

Arthur paused as a teenage ran past them. Arthur's eyes widened and again he stopped. Merlin didn't turn around fast enough to follow the young man disappear around the corner.
If Arthur were looking at Merlin, he'd be able to see his confusion.

But Arthur was certain. That boy just then.... he was carrying a school and a gym bag. He looked in a hurry. As if he was …. running away from something.
Arthur was pretty damn sure the school lay on the other side of town. Because Arthur and Merlin lived rather close to it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Merlin was getting impatient.
“Arthur!”, he rolled his eyes.
“I thought we wanted to explore the town? Why would you want to go home now?”

Arthur blinked again. Wait a second.
“I have to check on something.”, he said and began to drag Merlin after the man. Faster and faster he ran, until Merlin let go of his hand, so he could scoff and ran after him himself.

“Arthur, where are we going?”

“Following the boy!”, Arthur shouted back.

“What? Why?”, Merlin already sounded out of breath. Suited him right for always doing chores with magic.
“You don't even know who that is or where he's going!”

But Arthur knew exactly where the boy was running to.

Still.... After about.... six corners he lost himself. And he had to stop, because they had arrived at a crossroad that Arthur didn't remember. Right.... he had made sure to use a road he wasn't familiar with back then. Avoided roads after this too.

“Merlin...”, Arthur panted as Merlin too came to a halt. “Where is the nearest Garbage dump?”, he asked, as if that somehow made sense in this context.

“What?”, Merlin asked, completely confused now. “I thought... Arthur what's going on?”

Arthur looked around. It was getting darker already. It couldn't be coincidence that he was here again, right? After 1500 years?
To this precise day and moment?

“Arthur, come on. Let's go home.”, Merlin begged, absolutely confused why Arthur would even run after that boy.
“You're acting weird.”

Arthur didn't answer. This was ridiculous. He had just seen himself run away! This was not possible, was it?
This couldn't be coincidence.

-------------------------------------------------------

Arthur realized later that evening who the neighbors were that had gasped this afternoon, when Merlin had kissed him. He had ignored them, like he always did.
Had not looked at their garden. Their front door. Their faces.

Now he wished he had.

He couldn't sleep all night. He lay in his and Merlin's bed. Merlin lay next to him, all arms stretched away from himself. He used to sleep different. Curled up like a ball. As if he were constantly freezing. Constantly feeling alone. Perhaps unconsciously protecting himself.
With time he had opened up.
About his past, his magic, his fears. And now he was sleeping like one of those sea stars. Snoring and his eyes fluttering golden with magic here and then. Sometimes Arthur woke up in the middle of the night to find their ceiling painted dark blue all of a sudden.

Sometimes star constellations flew around him, marking Arthur the center of the universe. The sun was always missing, because Merlin had turned Arthur's head into a giant light bulb.
The first time it happened, Arthur had believed he was going to be crushed by the solar system.

Now it was second nature to him to wake up in a bed full of roses. Or their wall paintings moving and telling stories of whatever Merlin was dreaming about.
Merlin didn't realize he was doing it. But Arthur appreciated it non the less.

They both had nightmares often, because of war and such things.
It was nice to wake up to such beautiful sights for a change.
Of course... the nightmares itself sometimes turned the walls bloody. But Merlin had grown more and more optimistic during the beginning of the 21th century. The nightmares became less, now that the wars lay a couple decades behind them.

It was far past midnight, when the police rang the door.

Arthur startled at the sound of the sirens. Merlin too picked up his messy head from the pillows and questioningly stared at Arthur. Within a second, the stars disappeared from their ceiling.

“The police? Did something happen?”, Merlin asked and sat up.
Arthur could guess pretty much exactly what had happened.

He stood up and grabbed for a bath robe to put it on. Merlin did the same. No need to approach the police half naked.

Carefully they walked downstairs and opened the door.
In front of them stood two police officers. The blue and red lights of the car blinded Arthur, but he swallowed down a comment.

“Sorry for the intrusion Sir and....”, the officer paused at the sight of Merlin who didn't hesitate to just put his chin on Arthur's shoulder.
“Sir.”, he shook his head. Trying not to show how startled he was.
His female partner rolled her eyes and then took over.

“Your neighbor's son is missing. They have called us, because apparently he never came home from school.

Arthur nodded. A little surprised that it had only taken his parents half a day to call the police. He remembered returning from school that day, his parents not being home till late in the afternoon and then leaving.
But since only his school bag and gym stuff was missing, it was probably reasonable to assume that the boy had been kidnapped on his way home.

“I'm sorry. We just moved here. We don't know our neighbors yet. They weren't home all day. We haven't even introduced ourselves to them yet.”, Merlin said and shook his head.

“So you don't know what he looks like?”, the woman asked a small smile on her face.
Arthur understood why she looked so adored by Merlin. The man's hair was a mess and he looked drowsy from sleep. Merlin had this effect on people that made them like him instantly.
Arthur himself was no exception.... well. Maybe not initially.

Merlin shook his head as well, but Arthur held her gaze. He wasn't going to lie to the police. He knew exactly what the boy looked like.

“We walked through town today.”, Arthur said finally and Merlin looked up.
“There was a teenage boy with blond her, not unlike my own, running past us. If you have a picture of the boy, I might be able to tell you where he went.”, Arthur said.
Because he was an idiot who wanted to help.
Even though he knew they wouldn't find him.

Because... well. He was standing right in front of them.

The woman exchanged a glance with the other officer, before grabbing a picture from her bag.
She held it out to him.
“Why do you think it was him? I didn't even mention how old he was.”, she sounded suspicious. Merlin seemed confused to.
“You mean the boy we were chasing this afternoon?”

Everyone paused and looked at Arthur.

Arthur sighed, as he looked at the picture she had given him. He traced the picture. He remembered it clearly. His parents at his side.
The forced smile on his face. Even the cheap frame.
He hadn't seen his parents in over 15 centuries. It was strange to know they lived only a house over.

“I had a feeling.”, Arthur explained, but the police officers didn't look very convinced.

“He was running around with a school bag AND a gym bag, even though school was already over. I thought it was strange.”, Arthur shrugged.

“That's the reason we followed him? Arthur, not to be mean or anything... but you're not exactly observant.”, Merlin pointed out.
'Yeah right. Stab me in the back right in front of the police.', Arthur rolled his eyes.
He had nothing to worry about. If anything went wrong, Merlin could fix it with his magic. He always did.

Again, the police officers seemed uncertain what to do.

“Sir.... we erm... would you please come with us so we can take your statement? That IS the boy you saw, isn't it?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Merlin seemed irritated still. Arthur usually wasn't this eager to leave the house. Sure he wanted to help officers and stuff. But normally they kept out of human affairs. As immortal beings, it was hard enough not to gain attention.
But the more they got interrogated, the more possible it was that the police started investigating on their backgrounds.
And they would find quite a lot of information on them which went further back then what was humanly possible.

“Would you prefer to drive yourself or should we take you with us?”, the woman kindly offered and Arthur nodded. Again... to Merlin's surprise.

“We'll come with you. We just need a second to get dressed.”

With that, Arthur retreated back into the house and into their room to hurry and put on pants and a clean shirt.

He could hear Merlin following him. And he was certain the police officers had also invited themselves inside.

“Arthur... what the hell is going on?”, Merlin asked after he had closed the door. Because of course Merlin knew that something about this whole thing was off.
“A child is missing.”, Arthur said, as if that explained anything at all.

“Yeah no shit. Why aren't you surprised? Why were you following that kid? You know something! And that makes no sense! You NEVER know more than me!”, Merlin said, causing Arthur to laugh.
“And you don't even seem concerned! The child is MISSING, Arthur! He could be HURT for goodness sake! How are you so calm about this?”

Arthur shook his head, then paused, as Merlin was following his example to get dressed. There was no point in lying to Merlin.
He would have to tell him eventually.
And this was... as far as Arthur knew police work... impossible to explain anyway.

“Because I know exactly where he is.”, Arthur smiled, but that didn't calm Merlin at all.

“You.... What?”, Merlin asked. “How? Where is he? What....”

Suddenly they could hear a clicking sound and when Arthur turned around, there was a gun directed at his head. Ah yes... he should have expected that.

Startled, Arthur blinked to look at the officer. Right... these walls were thin.
Honestly, why she was even bothering was beyond Arthur. Arthur would be the worst kidnapper ever, if this was how he got found out.

“Do you mind.... we are getting dressed.”, Arthur said, because Merlin was still in the process of pulling his shirt down. It was one of his merch shirts. This one was from Jurassic park. Merlin was such a child sometimes. Dinos. The guy liked Dinos.
Then again... they looked pretty similar to the dragons. And Merlin was a dragon lord. Maybe he was just being nostalgic. No matter how much of an asshole Kilgharrah tended to be.

Well... Arthur couldn't be mad at the dragon. Without him, he would have never met Merlin. And then he wouldn't be here.

“Where is the boy?”, the officer asked. Her partner came in behind her, startled how quickly the situation had escalated. Suddenly, Arthur was a suspect. He would say it again. He'd be the worst kidnapper EVER.
But Arthur was acting calm. Maybe they expected he was a sociopath or psychopath? What was the difference again?

“Not in our bedroom.”, Arthur rolled his eyes and bend down to tie his shoe laces. “We're already coming with you. No need to point a gun at me.”

The officers were both entirely confused now. As was Merlin.

“Is this a confession?”

“If by confession you mean, if we kidnapped the boy? NO, we did NOT. He ran away.”

By the looks of it, the officer didn't believe him.
“Where. Is. He.”

“You will find his stuff at the garbage dump right outside of town.”, Arthur explained calmly. “But you won't find the boy.”

The officer was beginning to shake, apparently sensing danger and Arthur realized that he DID indeed sound very suspicious.
Merlin turned to Arthur with wide eyes.
Because... out of all the people in the room, Merlin was the most certain that Arthur had never left town today. They had spend all day together. But the way Arthur talked and behaved didn't exactly speak for them.

Arthur raised both hands to calm her down.

“I swear – he's fine. You just won't find him.”

Okay... admittedly that was the WORST thing he could have said. Even if it was the truth.
“Arthur!”, Merlin growled.

Arthur threw up his hands. How else was he supposed to explain this? His movement, however, surprised the officer and she grabbed the gun tighter.

“Oh come on.”, Arthur held his head now. “I can't explain it, without sounding either crazy OR guilty. Can we go to the station now?”

------------------------------------------------------------

Merlin seemed stressed the entire time they sat at the police station. Arthur and Merlin had been filed as suspects almost immediately, after they had arrived and the officers were all beyond confused. Because not only were they both completely calm and compliant, they also had no motive and didn't even bother to fake an alibi.
That was not how kidnappers operated.

Yet they had to sleep there until the next morning.

Arthur and Merlin had been forced to make a DNA test, and he knew that Mrs Marison had been called in as a witness, because she had seen Arthur and Merlin following the boy. She had basically confirmed what Merlin and Arthur had said, but that didn't help their case at all.
Mrs Marison just looked disgusted, when she had walked by them.

Because they were still holding hands at the station. AND they were suspects. She muttered something along the lines of “I should have known.”, despite the fact that they had only arrived in this town the day before.
Arthur didn't really care and kindly waved at her, instead of shouting any angry comments. Which in turn, surprised his husband.
Arthur usually snapped at homophobes. But with this woman, he seemed determined to annoy her with kindness.
Admittedly, that was exactly Arthur's plan.

Arthur had decided to give her a pass for now. After all... she was probably the reason why he didn't starve to death as a child.
It didn't excuse her poor judgment abilities, though.

However, Arthur had completely forgotten that his parents were also there.
They were lead into the interrogation room that Merlin and Arthur had been called into half an hour after Mrs. Marison had left.

They did find the gym bag with the boy's clothes in it exactly where Arthur had predicted it to be and the fifty bucks that Arthur remembered to have stolen and never used.

And now the police officers were analyzing the DNA they had … apparently.... found at the garbage dump. And compared it to Arthur's. If maybe they found any matching traces.
Okay... Arthur had to admit. He was a little surprised to have found out that the clothes he wore that day had been found there as well.
Then again... Arthur had been reborn about a second after the magic portal had appeared. So …. Maybe it was reasonable that his clothes didn't come with him. Just imagine the confusion Uther must have felt, if his son was born as a baby, wearing an oversized hoody.

Arthur's shocked and scared parents that entered the rooms were only slightly older in appearance than Arthur. And Arthur knew their every expressions. He stared at them, as the police officer behind them let them walk forward.
After all.. he hadn't seen them in forever. He felt relief to see they were alright. And even that they cared. He used to wonder about that.
But he couldn't say he had missed them.

Merlin and Arthur were still holding hands and Arthur wasn't even considering to let go. If they couldn't even stomach the sight of them, then it was probably better their son ran away.

Both of them looked as disgusted as Mrs. Marison had looked. But Arthur would forgive them.
They had good reason to assume he had kidnapped and done something to their child.
Actually, Arthur began to wonder if he should actually worry about the whole DNA thing. After all... he was reborn in a different time with different parents.
Did that change his DNA from back then?

“You sick monsters.”, the woman said and covered her face. As if convinced they were guilty.
“Where is my SON!”, she was loosing face already, but Arthur didn't let Merlin speak. Because Merlin had no clue what was going on.

“Your son is well and fine.”, Arthur said slowly to calm her down.
But they still hadn't found him. Only his stuff and they probably assumed the worst.

“Where is Arthur!”, her husband suddenly spoke up just as raged and trying to overpower Arthur in his authority.
But remember.... Arthur basically owned England. Founded it. Arthur would not be intimidated by the likes of him.

Admittedly, this was the part where Arthur had to snort. Merlin gave him a scandalized expression. Even though he understood the joke.

“His name is Arthur? Arthur, did you know that?”

The parents stopped. Blinking rapidly and confused. Arthur just shrugged. “Kind of.”, he grinned. He knew they couldn't explain this by lying their way through everything. They would have to tell them all the truth. But Arthur would wait until they brought the evidence, or else they couldn't back up their story.

“For goodness sake, Arthur tell me what the hell is going on!”, Merlin finally snapped.

Then, finally.. the door opened and another officer walked in with the test results. He seemed confused. Arthur crossed his arms.

“I ….”, the officer looked between the two parents and Arthur and Merlin.
Then he shook his head. “Who the hell are you two?”, he asked. Ah... they must have made a background check as well.
Arthur knew he was supposed to lie. But he also knew that there was no point in that.
Still, Merlin probably hadn't expected Arthur to speak the truth.

“I am king Arthur. THE king Arthur. And this is my husband Merlin Emrys. You should have heard of us.”

Merlin covered his face with his hands. “Why... Arthur. Why?!”, he asked and repeated himself, while the officer looked enraged.

“There is no point in lying. I assume, the test result surprised you, didn't it?”, Arthur asked an eyebrow raised and the officer nodded, eyebrows furrowed.

“They are identical, aren't they?” Arthur would be so fucked, if Uther's genes just messed this up. Then again... Uther was always at fault for... let's say 90 % of their problems.

Arthur's parents were about to shout. Because they assumed that by 'identical', Arthur meant there was DNA found on the clothes that matched with Arthur's. And they wouldn't be wrong.
But they would assume that there were two different types of DNA found in general. One of the victim and the kidnapper.
But Arthur knew that they had matched the “victim's” DNA with his own. And that with DNA they had found at the “victim's” house.

Let's not speak about Merlin's results. His was entirely separate from the “victim”, not however from Arthur.
Had Arthur truly done something to the boy, they would have found both of their DNA on the garbage dump.
They... however... only found Arthur's.
And only HIS. It was identical to the victim's DNA. (7)

“But you're... it doesn't make sense.”, the officer said and decided to sit down. Shaking, because they couldn't wrap their mind around the proof they had on their hands.

“Didn't you listen? I'm an ancient king.”, Arthur leaned forward. “Unless you believe in magic, I cannot help you out here.”

Merlin turned his head to him. “Arthur.... what are you doing?”

“I'm telling them the truth.”, Arthur shrugged.

The two parents in the room backed away. Thinking that Arthur was crazy. A psychopath. This was as much as proof to them. Well... they were in for the shock of their lives. Not that Arthur cared.
He had said it once and he would say it again. He had left nothing and no one behind. His parents included.
That knowledge hadn't changed in over 1500 years.

“I'm saying -”, Arthur smiled and grabbed for the results that the officer had placed on the table.
Then he smiled at the results, which were exactly what Arthur had expected.
Then he handed them over to Merlin.
Who first looked confused, then surprised and then he gaped at Arthur.

“That the boy is fine. And he's- I – have never felt better in my entire life. And if I had to run away to gain the life I have now, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”