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Popping the Question

Summary:

After getting to know Snow White for about a month, Merlin decides to ask her a very important question.

Chapter Text

It had been about a month since Regina was defeated and my curse had been broken. Since then, I had been getting to know Snow White for who she really is. And while we hadn’t actually known each other for that long, I had already realised something very important.

“Say, guys”, I started one day while the Fearless Seven were lounging around our home at Risky Rock. “I wanted to ask you all something.”

“About what, Merlin”, Arthur asked.

“Theoretically, and I mean very theoretically. If you guys were going to ask a woman to marry you, how would you go about doing it?”

After I asked this, the rest of the Fearless Seven looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

“That’s a very interesting question, Merlin”, Jack stated. “Any particular reason why you’re asking it?”

“No particular reason”, I lied. “I was just curious, that’s all.”

“Sure you were”, Arthur said. “Well, if I was going to ask a woman to marry me, I’d do so by slaying a great beast in front of her to show her that, as a husband, I will protect her from any creature no matter how ferocious!”

“I like the sentiment, but no”, I said. “Anybody else?”

“I’d gift her ring made of the most finest jewel”, Jack replied. “Then I’d tell her ‘you are as beautiful and as precious as this jewel.’”

“That’s not actually bad, Jack”, I stated.

“I’d bake her a cake, and write ‘Will you marry me?’ on top of it with icing”, Hans replied.

“That’s a pretty good one, Hans”, I stated, before looking at the triplets. “What about you three?”

“Hmm, not sure”, Pino replied.

“Ooo, I know”, Noki said suddenly. “We could make her a music box!”

“And when she opened it, there would be a dancing bride and groom”, Kio added.

“Not bad you guys”, I said.

“These are all pretty good ideas”, Hans stated. “However, are they the best way to propose to Snow White?”

“Hmm, you have a point”, I said, before realising something. “Hey, wait a minute! How did you know…”

“Oh please, Merlin”, Arthur started. “Did you really think we wouldn’t know why you were suddenly asking us how we’d ask a woman to marry us?”

“We’ve been wondering when you were going to finally pop Snow White the question”, Jack added.

“Oh, okay”, I said in defeat. “You’ve got me. I’m going to ask Snow White to marry me.”

“Would you look at that”, Jack started. “Our Merlin is actually going to settle down and get married!”

“They grow up so fast”, Arthur added.

“Yeah, yeah”, I said. “I get it.”

“Merlin, if you’re going to ask Snow White to marry you…”, Pino started.

“…Then there’s something important you’ve gotta do first”, Noki added.

“You should go to King White and ask him for his blessing first”, Kio added.

“Oh, you’re right”, I said. “I totally forgot about that!”

“Do you know where Snow White is today”, Arthur asked.

“She told me that she was going to be in town today”, I replied.

“Then she won’t be at the castle”, Jack pointed out. “This is the perfect time to go and talk to King White, Merlin!”

“Right”, I said, before standing up. “Alright, lads. I’m off to ask for King White’s blessing to marry Snow White!”

Chapter Text

When I arrived at the castle, the guards told me that I could find King White in his office. 

I walked over the wooden draw bridge the triplets had put in to replace the stone one, and found myself in front of the office door.

Suddenly becoming nervous, I took in a deep breath.

“Come on, Merlin. You’ve faced much worse than this. You can do this!”

After psyching myself up, I raised my hand, took another deep breath, and knocked on the door.

“Who is it”, I heard King White ask.

“It’s Merlin”, I replied.

“Merlin”, I heard King White say happily. “Please come in!”

With this, I opened the office door, and found King White sitting at his desk.

“I’m sorry to bother you, King White”, I apologised as I walked into the office and closed the door.

“It’s not a bother at all, Merlin”, King White reassured me. “If you’re here to see Snow White, I’m afraid that she’s in town today.”

“I know”, I revealed. “I actually came here to talk to you.”

“You have? What did you want to talk about?”

After King White asked me this, I sat in front of his desk, and took another deep breath.

“King White, I have come to ask you for your blessing to ask for Snow White’s hand in marriage.”

King White’s reaction to my request was surprising calm. 

“Is that so”, he asked.

Then, he sat up from his chair.

“Merlin”, he started. “Before I give you my answer, I have some questions, and I want you to answer them honestly.”

“Yes, your majesty”, I replied. “Fire away.”

“When you discovered what Show White’s true appearance was…how did you honestly feel?”

“How did I honestly feel”, I asked myself, before thinking about it for a moment. “I felt…conflicted,  and then…disappointed.”

“Disappointed”, King White asked.

“Yes”, I replied. “But not in Snow White. In myself.”

“You were disappointed in yourself”, King White asked.

“I was”, I replied. “Because…Snow White was right. If I had seen what she truly looked like from the get go, I’m not sure that I would’ve been as eager to help her as I was when she was Red Shoes.”

“I see”, King White said. “Now, answer me this. How do you feel about Snow White now that you’ve gotten to spend some time with her?”

I didn’t need to think about my answer to this question.

“She is kind, and caring”, I replied. “She doesn’t immediately judge people on first impressions, and instead gets to know them first.”

Before I continued, I looked down at my lap, and smiled as I thought about Snow White.

“I don’t have to worry about how I come off in front of her. I can just be myself when I’m with her. When I think about her, I get this warm feeling in my chest. When I’m not with her, I’m desperately waiting until I can see her again.”

After I said all of this, I looked up at King White.

“I love Snow White”, I declared. “The thought of not being with her makes my heart ache. I want to be in her life for as long as I’m breathing. I’d give up my life for her if it came to that!”

With this, I got up from my seat. Then, I went to King White…before kneeling down in front of him.

“King White, I vow to you here and now that I will care for and protect your daughter until my last breath. So, I beg you! Please grant me your blessing to marry Snow White!”

After my plea, I looked up at King White…and saw that he was crying!

“King White, are you okay”, I asked in concern.

“That was so beautiful”, he stated.

Then, he wiped away his tears and looked back at me.

“Please sit, Merlin”, he instructed. “I would like to tell you a story.”

“A story”, I asked as I stood back up.

“Yes”, King White replied.

Then, we both sat back down, and he began his story.

“When I was younger, many woman would approach me. However, I always wondered if this would still be the case if I was not a king. After all, I’m not what most woman would consider attractive.

I’ve always enjoyed the pure beauty of snow. One day, I decided to go to the forrest to admire the snow, and when I got there…I found a beautiful woman building a snowman. When she saw me, she asked me to join her. We had so much fun together, and when it was time to say goodbye, she asked me to meet her again. 

Because I had such a wonderful time with her, I completely forgot to tell her that I was actually a king! I meant to tell her the next time we met, but once again, we had such a good time together that it ended up completely slipping my mind!

This continued to go on for some time, but I knew that I had to eventually tell her the truth about who I was.”

“What did she say when you finally did tell her that you were a king”, I asked.

“These were her exact words”, King White started. “Oh, so you’re a king. Neat.”

“Wait”, I started. “That’s all she said to finding out that you were a prince?”

“I was just as surprised myself”, King White replied. “I asked her why she didn’t have a really big reaction to finding out I was a king, and she told me that it didn’t matter to me if I was a king or not. In her eyes, all that mattered was that I was a kind guy who didn’t find it odd that she was a grown woman who still liked to build snowmen.”

When I heard this, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, before smiling.

“She sounds like she was a wonderful woman”, I said.

“She was. She didn’t care about my appearance, or that I was a king. She just accepted me for who I was.”

After King White said this, he suddenly got up from his chair and started making his way around the desk.

“My wish for Snow White has always been that she someday find someone like that. Someone who will accept her for who she is.”

After King White said this, he put his hands on my shoulders.

“Merlin, That person is you. You have fulfilled my wish for my daughter. Therefore, I grant you my blessing to marry Show White.”

After King White said this, I became overcome with joy as a huge smile came to my face. Then, without thinking, I jumped out of my seat and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you”, I exclaimed. “Thank you so much, King White!”

“Merlin, why are you hugging Papa?”

Chapter Text

“Merlin, why are you hugging Papa?”

As soon as I heard this, I let out a gasp before quickly pulling away from King White. I then turned to look at the door, and saw the person we were just talking about standing there!

“Snow White”, I greeted nervously. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“It’s kind of where I live”, Snow White pointed out.

“Yes, yes it is”, I said, before clearing my throat. “Um…how long have you been standing there?”

“I just got here”, Snow White replied.

“Oh thank goodness”, I said as I let out a sigh of relief. “I mean…”

“What are you doing here anyway, Merlin”, Snow White asked. “And why are you in here with Papa?”

“I…um…”,I started, trying to think of an excuse.

“I asked Merlin to come here”, King White lied.

“You did”, Snow White asked. “How come?”

“Oh you know us fathers, Snow White”, King White started. “When our daughters get boyfriends, we have to make sure they’re good for our little girls.”

“Oh, Papa”, Snow White started. “You didn’t try to scare him away, did you?”

“That’s how we make sure they’re the good ones”, King White stated. “And, I can now say without a doubt that, this boy is the one for you, Snow White.”

“King White”, I said, touched by his words.

“You really mean that, Papa”, Snow White asked.

“I do”, King White replied.

Then, he grabbed onto one of my hands, grabbed onto one of Snow White’s hands, and brought the two of them together.

“I wish you two a happy future together”, he said.

“Papa”, Snow White said.

“Well”, King White started as he let go of our hands. “I’ll give you two love birds some alone time. I’ve have some kingly business to attend to.”

After saying this, King White turned to look at me, and gave me a knowing smile. Then, he turned around, and walked out of the door.

“That was so sweet of Papa to say”, Snow White said.

“Yeah”, I said nervously, before changing the subject. “Anyway. Snow White, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“No”, Snow White replied. “How come?”

“I thought that we could go on a walk through the forest tomorrow”, I suggested.

“That sounds nice”, Snow White replied.

“Perfect”, I said. “Then I shall see you tomorrow.”

The Next Day

“How do I look”, I asked as I walked into my living room at Risky Rock.

“As pretty as you always do, Merlin”, Arthur replied.

“But do I look like future husband material”, I asked.

“Hmm, I’m not sure”, Jack replied.

Then, before I could say anything to this, there was suddenly a knock at the door!

“That’s her”, I exclaimed, suddenly very nervous. “Everybody stay calm!”

“The only one who isn’t calm is you, Merlin”, Hans stated.

Ignoring him, I rushed to the front door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

“Good afternoon, milady”, I greeted, which made Snow White giggle. 

“Hey there, Merlin”, she greeted, before peaking into the cottage and waving. “Hey there, guys.”

“Hey there, Snow White”, everybody greeted.

“You ready to go, Merlin”, Snow White asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be”, I replied, before walking outside and closing the front door. Then, I offered my hand to Snow White.

“Shall we, my lady”, I asked, which got another giggle out of her.

“You’re cute”, she stated, before taking my hand. “Let’s go.”

With this, Snow White and I began walking away. While she wasn’t looking, I turned to look back at the cottage, and saw everyone else giving me thumbs up and mouthing ‘good luck.’

Thanks guys. I’m going to need it.

............................................................................................................................................................

For a while, Snow White and I walked through the forest while discussing a whole bunch of random things.

After we had walked for a while, we ended up in a place we had been to before.

“Wait a minute”, Snow White said in realisation. “Isn’t this the place where…”

“We had our first kiss”, I finished for her. “Yes. Yes it is.”

“Merlin”, Snow White said.

Then, we both went to the log we had sat on before and sat on it again.

“You know”, Snow White started. “You were actually my first kiss, Merlin.”

“I was”, I asked in shock.

“Yeah, you were”, Snow White replied.

“Well, I’m honoured to have been your first kiss”, I said.

Then, I noticed that Snow White seemed a bit upset all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Snow White”, I asked in concern.

“Merlin, be honest”, Snow White started. “Are you really happy being with me as I am? You…wouldn’t be happier with Red Shoes?”

When I heard this…I suddenly became angry. Not at Snow White, but at myself for making her think that way. But I was going to make sure that she never felt like that again.

After she asked her question, I suddenly grabbed onto both of her hands.

“Snow White, I am so sorry that I made you feel like that”, I apologised.

“It’s okay, Merlin”, Snow White stated. “You don’t have to feel sor…”

“No, I should be sorry”, I stated. “I should be ashamed for ever wanting Red Shoes over Snow White. And you know why?”

“Why”, Snow White asked.

Before I gave my answer, I put my hand on her cheek.

“Because Snow White is the kindest, most caring, and most unjudgmental person I have ever met”, I replied. “She’s amazing just the way she is. The real Snow White is the person I want to be with. The real Snow White…is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Merlin”, Snow White started.

But before she could say anything else, I grabbed onto both of her hands again. Then, I got down on one knee in front of her.

“Snow White, I love you. I want to be with you until the day I die. Will you marry me?”

After I asked this, Snow White looked at in shock. Then, with tears in her eyes…she nodded.

“Yes. Yes I’ll marry you, Merlin.”

When I heard Snow White say this, I think I felt the most joy I ever had in my entire life. But before I could do anything about it, she suddenly tackled me to the ground.

After laughing together for a moment, we both sat up. We stared at each other for a moment, and then…we kissed.

I felt like this moment could go on forever, but it came to an end…when I suddenly heard cheers.

“Congratulations, Merlin”, I heard a familiar voice say.

“Wait a minute”, I started, before looking over Snow White’s shoulder. “Have you guys been here the whole time?!”

“We came to give you morale support”, Pino replied.

“But it seems like you didn’t need it”, Noki added.

“Congratulations, Merlin and Snow White”, Kio added.

“Yes, congratulations you two”, another familiar face said as he walked up to us.

“Papa”, Snow White said happily, before getting up and rushing up to him. “What are you doing here?”

“My only child was going to get proposed to”, King White pointed out. “I wasn’t going to miss it for the world!”

“King White”, I started as I walked up to him. “Thank you for giving me your blessing. I’ll keep the promise I made to you yesterday.”

“I know you will, Merlin”, King White said. “I wish you and Snow White a happy future together.”