Merlin 1. Chapter 1

Faced by at least ten trained fighters, all carrying lethal looking swords, Merlin panicked. Forgetting temporarily about the bound and gagged king watching him with a knife at his throat, he raised his right hand and his eyes turned molten gold. The charging men simultaneously flew backward and crashed to the ground. Merlin rushed to check they were all unconscious before he relaxed.

Next, he knocked out the man who had bound Arthur, and who was guarding him. Those men had obviously wanted Camelot's leader alive. Fighting Merlin was just for their entertainment.

Arthur's eyes widened in horror as he realised that Merlin, his only trusted friend left, had deceived him. How could it have been a trick when he had performed magic right before his eyes? A muffled cry escaped his gagged mouth and, surprisingly, he felt tears forming, stinging his eyes.

_How could he._

Merlin panted heavily and turned to face the horrified man before him. He ran to untie Arthur's bonds but the young king shied away from his touch. Scowling, he simply removed the gag so he could speak. He didn't want to cut the thick ropes holding Arthur to the tree with magic in case he scared the man, so he placed the small knife he had been given to fight with in Arthur's hand.

Merlin felt a tug in his gut, realising that finally the king knew his best-kept secret. He sank to his knees, a mixture of emotions crashing on him. He felt a huge burden had been removed from his shoulders, but one crushingly heavier had come and replaced it almost immediately. What would Arthur think of him now?

He buried his face in his hands so he wouldn't see Arthur's face when he delivered the blow that Merlin undoubtedly would hear.

"Get out of my sight," Arthur choked, forcing as much venom into his voice as he could. But really, he just felt drained. He couldn't deal with this now.

Merlin sighed sadly, but he wasn't surprised. In fact, he wasn't sure he had any hope left that the king would accept him for who he was anymore. Hell, what more harm could it do if he spilled his second best kept secret as well? Merlin wasn't in the mood to argue with himself. So, rather impulsively, he said it.

"I love you, Arthur," he said, voice cracking. Then he was gone.

Trudging through the undergrowth to the place they had camped last night, Merlin couldn't believe it. Arthur now knew the only two things Merlin held secret ever since he had met the blonde, arrogant king. He knew everything about the sorcerer now, and Merlin knew that the other man hated him because of it. The very thought shattered Merlin's heart. How could Merlin's feelings ever be returned?

At that very moment, still struggling to cut himself free, Arthur was fighting a very intense mental battle of his own. The side of him that despised magic, the thing that had killed his parents and bought him so much trouble, was screaming at the top of its lungs.

'_Execute him! He's a traitor! He deceived you, just like Aggrivane and Morgana!'_

But the other side was winning. The side of him that had loved Merlin from the start, the side that had given up on any returned feelings from the other man long ago.

All in all, Arthur was stuck. He was bound by his duties to execute Merlin, and he didn't know if he would even be able to look at him anymore. Magic was evil! That was the first thing his father had taught him, and it had since been drummed into his head a thousand times. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't agreed with his father's views until his death. But surely Merlin wasn't evil, what with his amazing kindness and his bright blue eyes and-

No. Arthur was king, and he couldn't afford to get side-tracked from what he needed to do. Unfortunately, all thoughts of his duty were forgotten when he remembered the last three words Merlin had said to him. Arthur sighed distraughtly, unable to think of a decision. The sun was sinking in the sky, leaving behind a pinkish light and the first stars were peeking through. Finally, he decided to sleep on it.

_Arthur felt nothing. He walked along one of the many corridors in Camelot's castle, stepping over the dead bodies of nameless people of his kingdom. They had fought for him, and all had died. Even so, he felt nothing for them. Only the torch in his hand lit his way, creating flickering shadows around him. He saw the face of his father among the bodies eerily pale in the poor light, and then Morgana's. Still, nothing. No sadness, no pain. He came across the mutilated figures of Gaius and Guinevere, then a woman he was suddenly sure was his mother. Dead. Arthur continued walking as though nothing had happened, eyes focused straight ahead and head held high. Slowly, as he continued, less and less bodies blocked his path until there were none at all. Then, up ahead he saw it. A boy with raven hair lay on the cold floor, blood seeping from a gaping wound in his chest. Arthur screamed, as finally emotion poured into him._

_MERLIN!_

He woke up panting, and felt tears running down his face.

"Yes?" Merlin's voice found its way to Arthur's sleepy ears. It took him a minute to register the magician crouching next to him.

"Ah!" the king scrambled away from his surprise visitor. Merlin's eyes held the hint of humour, but fear dominated him.

"You were yelling my name in your sleep," he said cheekily. "Do you dream of me, Arthur?" His blue eyes were shining.

Arthur grabbed Merlins shirt and punched him, sending him crashing backwards.

"Why!" The blonde boy screamed. Merlin cringed at the anguish in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm so, so sorry. I was born like this!" His eyes dropped to stare at the ground as he wiped the blood off his nose. It was probably not broken, but it definitely hurt.

"You could have _told_-"Arthur paused. Of course, he knew that Merlin couldn't have told him even if he wanted to. Especially since his father's law to execute magic users still stood after his death.

"You know very well I couldn't have," Merlin's eyes closed. "Just tell me know, what will happen to me?"

Arthur, still angry, grasped a stick and tossed it at a nearby tree in frustration.

"I don't know, you'll have to come back to Camelot for trial. We leave now,"

"Oka-"

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur balled his fists and began walking in the direction where they had tied their horses the night before.

_How ignorant Arthur had been._

"Well, this was an eventful hunting trip," Merlin said, trying to sound cheerful instead of crushed.

"Don't talk to me," Arthur replied. He stalked away, Merlin following meekly in his wake.

The ride back was long and silent, apart from the heavy footfalls of their two horses. Merlin was distraught, worrying partly about what would become of him. However, most of his thoughts were on how disgusted Arthur might be since he told him he loved him. Was he angry about it? Was that why he was distancing himself from Merlin?

When they arrived in Camelot it was already nearly midnight. As soon as they were inside the gates, Arthur called out to the guards. Merlin was thrown into the dungeon for the night, and he didn't protest. Overwhelming depression threatened to crush him. What could be worse? Arthur hated him, and he was to die. Of course he could escape, but he didn't have the will or energy anymore.

Gaius had heard the two were back from their hunting trip, but he became worried as Merlin hadn't come home. He was absolutely shocked when he heard Merlin was imprisoned, and went immediately to see him, dropping the potion he had been so focused on mixing for the ill guard that had told him. When he reached the dungeons, he saw Merlin lying on the cold stone floor, hands chained behind him.

"Merlin!" he couldn't help but shout. The boy's eyes flickered open.

"Gaius?"

"Yes, Merlin, what on earth happened to you?"

The young sorcerer sat up and told him everything. What was the point in holding back? His life was probably over anyway.

When he was finished, he looked up at Gaius expectantly.

"So now he knows," was all he said. He sounded immensely tired.

"What will I do, Gaius?" Merlin asked desperately.

"I'll come back once I figure it out," he reassured. He then turned his back on the imprisoned boy and left. Merlin lay back on his side and tried to sleep.

A few hours later, Merlin had yet another visitor. The king.

Merlin awoke from his light sleep to the sound of his cell door opening. He looked up to see Arthur standing in the doorway. Merlin groaned and closed his eyes again; expecting and hoping Arthur's pride would get the better of him and cause him to leave. Unfortunately, instead he just closed the door behind him and came to sit by Merlin.

"We have to talk, Merlin," Well, he had not anticipated _this._

"What will happen to me?" he asked defiantly.

Arthur sighed. "I don't know,"

They both sat in silence for a while, until Arthur could stand it no more.

"Show me," He said, surprising both himself and Merlin.

"What?"

"Your magic. Show me,"

Merlin perked up a bit. "If you insist," And the king obviously did, he could tell from the look in his eyes.

Arthur watched in awe as the other boy's eyes turned molten gold and suddenly Arthur's keys flew from his pocket and attached themselves firmly to the ceiling.

"Hey! Give them back!" he protested.

"Only if you tell me what will happen to me," bright blue eyes looked at him, pleading but triumphant at the same time. Merlin knew he had the advantage.

"I told you, I don't know!"

"So you aren't going to kill me," The raven haired one stated suspiciously. "Interesting,"

"No! I could never live with myself if you were killed, Merlin," Arthur said, voice rising. He suddenly realised at the same moment that it was true.

Merlin eyed him with amusement. Spontaneously, he kissed Arthur lightly. He drew away, only to find Arthur's warm arm wrapped around him and then he was being kissed again, deeper this time.

His stomach filled with butterflies. He couldn't believe it. Arthur actually might care for him! All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted when he felt strong hands running through his hair. God, it felt so _right_ to be with Arthur. Ever since they had met, he had longed for this. Merlin pulled away again for a second and half-closed his eyes as they turned gold. The chains binding his hands behind him fell away and he kissed Arthur again, this time able to return the embrace. The two boys were so absorbed in each other that neither heard Gaius's approach until it was too late.

"Merlin, what are you doing!" Gaius cried in shock, face red. He broke away from Arthur guiltily, but Gaius was already walking away, extremely embarrassed.

"I'll come back later," he mumbled.

Merlin looked away, cheeks as red as an apple. What if Arthur hadn't liked it?

_He kissed you back. That passes as liking it, right?_

Arthur was meanwhile at war within himself once again. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined kissing Merlin and it had been fantastic. He was all but prepared to just forget about the magic right then and there, but thoughts of his father stopped him. He had worked so hard to rid Camelot of magic all his life. Could he just throw that away? He needed to think.

Arthur stood up wordlessly and beckoned towards the ceiling expectantly. His keys flew down and he left Merlin alone in the dungeon.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N!**

**So I completely forgot to do an author's note last time, so I'm doing one now. Yay :D Sorry it took so long…I've been less than inspired lately and to be honest I have no clue where this fic is going. I have never been good at planning stories, so yay for going with the flow x) **

**By the way, before I forget I owe a MAJOR THANKYOU to everyone who commented and subbed **

**~does happy dance~**

**By the way….this is my first fic …. So yeah no being mean people! Actually who am I kidding,,, I probably deserve it for how OOC Arthur's being… :/ **

**Comments are appreciated too :D *cough* disgustingly obvious hint *cough***

**Disclaimer: I don't own merlin! If I did well…this would be happening on the show wouldn't it. X3**

**Good, now that that's all over, on with the fic!**

Chapter two

Merlin had no idea how long he'd been in the dank, dark cell now. The windows were only slits, but for the first few days they had provided him with at least some idea of the time. Then a soldier had come and bolted long slabs of wood to the outside, blocking out all light that dared shine upon it from reaching the boy inside. His meals began to arrive irregularly too, and he began to wonder why they were going to such lengths at all.

He spent long hours thinking of what was to come. His inevitable death was creeping closer and closer and the fact that all he was doing was lying helplessly on the floor without the will to escape was slowly driving him crazy. However, no matter how hard he fought with himself he always came to the same conclusion, the battle always won by the same side.

Put simply, Merlin simply didn't think he would be able to bear living without Arthur. He was the whole reason he was in Camelot in the first place, and protecting the prince had slowly but surely become his soul purpose. And then there was the kiss. It had come completely out of nowhere, caught him off guard. Not that he minded at all, of course.

He was trying to remember every detail, every sensation from that moment, but his thoughts spiralled wildly until he was once again reminded of the reason he hadn't seen Gaius at all since that day. Forlornly, he wondered what Gaius must think of him now, and how disgusted he must be. He'd known how Merlin felt, but perhaps seeing them must have been entirely different. Surely he would have tried to free Merlin already if he hadn't minded. But he hadn't seen a soul in what felt like years, aside from the occasional hand pushing another stale meal under the door.

Sighing, he shifted to rest his back against the cold stone wall, his uselessly bound hands wedged painfully in between him and the wall. Merlin didn't move, didn't care. He felt completely, utterly numb.

"What are we waiting for, Your Majesty! With all due respect, we should have executed the boy by now!"

Most of the other council members nodded in agreement, and the bulbous, purple robed man who had spoken sat down triumphantly. Unfortunately for Arthur, he happened to be one of the more influential members present. Many of the other attendants began nodding in agreement, impatient for blood. It made Arthur sick.

But of course, Arthur was king. It was his responsibility, his duty to punish Merlin for his crimes. But the raven haired sorcerer had been his first true friend, and maybe more…

No!

Arthur immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. It was wrong, even a crime for such things to be dominating his mind. What had happened in the dungeon was a mistake.

So why had he kissed back?

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. To make things even worse, the smell of Merlin, the taste of him still lingered in the king's senses. And though he would never have admitted it, even to himself, he loved it. There was just something about Merlin he couldn't resist.

All he could bear to do at the moment was stall. Stall the inevitable next meeting with Merlin, and the unavoidable wrath of the council members when they found out how reluctant he was to go through with the execution.

**SORRY ITS SO SHORT! Grr, I wanted to do more but school's started again so I've been so damn busy :/**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**OMG I GOT REVIEWS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT**

**Im sooo happyyyyy xDDDD heheh **

**Thanks everyone who added mah storey and commented…makes me write faster aye ;D **

**Sorry last chapter was a nothing chapter butt, meh get over it :P**

**By the way I'm kinda writing this chapter by chapter because to be honest I have no idea where this is going so…hopefully inspiration shall arise! So anyways comment if you find any inconsistencies so I can fix it up :D**

**Disclaimer time! I don't own Merlin, or Arthur, or anyone actually….but getting to the point all rights to the rightful owners….*le wishes I owned Merlin…oh what crazy things would happen then, wink wink* **

**Kay so ima shut up now And oh before I forget there's a warning for this chapter only: blood, a bit but I don't really have the stomach to write the really hard-core gory stuff so don't be too put of heheh x3 still T rated , just in case. Bye bye! see you at the end of the chapter :D**

**Or will you o.O dun dun dunnnnnnn**

Merlin cried out in pain, falling to his knees forcefully.

"Death to the sorcerer!" The masked guard screamed as he brought down his whip again and again. The crowd of gathered citizens cried out and cheered in agreement, thirsty for blood. Merlin squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to make a single sound. Tears of pain inched their way out of his tightly shut eyes, running slowly down his cheeks and creating tracks in the dirt on his face. The next time the whip was brought down; it created a deep gash down his bare back. The chattering group of onlookers went silent as the raven haired boy finally cracked and let out a terrible wail of agony.

"_Merlin!" _he heard Gwen's voice…it sounded as though she was screaming but she sounded so far away that he couldn't be sure. His startling blue eyes rose and he struggled through the pain to see two buff guards holding Gwen down to stop her from breaking out of the crowds to try and free him.

But he knew it was useless. _Gwen…don't, there's no point._ He thought weakly.

The guards finally hauled him roughly to his feet and dragged him, barely conscious from loss of blood to the place where he would be burned at the stake. He felt course ropes winding tightly around his arms and small sticks jabbing into the bottom of his feet. He groggily realised he was now standing on the kindling of the fire that, when set, he would be at the centre of. He struggled weakly, to no avail. He wasn't strong enough now to fight it.

Faintly, he heard a weird crackling noise and then his feet were hit with almost pleasant warmth. That was, until it grew into a blistering heat that stung the bottoms of his feet. He struggled to lift them up, purely out of impulse but ropes bound his legs and arms as well as his torso. Desperately he cried out but of course no help came. Still, the heat rose until he could feel flames leaping at his toes. Merlin forced himself to calm down, but it was hard, _so hard_ with the horrible agony gnawing at his feet.

He closed his eyes and breathed in, only to choke on the smell of smoke and his own burnt flesh. More tears fell, mingling with his sweat but he was in too much pain to feel particularly shamed about that by now.

Suddenly, in his mind's eye, he pictured Arthurs face. And even though it was he who was responsible for Merlin's current predicament, Merlin forgave him. His tight muscles relaxed, his head drooping down and he embraced the pain, accepted it as his own and finally gave in. He stopped fighting and a slow smile crossed over his face, so quick that no one ever saw it. Then, slowly, he raised his head up. When he opened his eyes, they were the colour of gold.

He had felt it, like the lingering memory of a forgotten dream on the very edge of his senses. But it had been there, he was sure.

_Great dragon, I must ask for your help! _He cried out in his mind.

There was no reply. He waited five seconds, ten, but still nothing. And then his ropes were cut from behind and he was snatched into the air.

_Free._

Blissfully cool air blasted his seared body, subduing the pain a little. But where the Great Dragon's talons met his skin it felt as though new fire was blazing within him, one he couldn't escape. He could only muster a groan in thanks before he fell asleep.

When he saw the Great dragon release Merlin, Arthur just fell to the floor and cried in pure relief. The Guards he had commanded to hold him down during the execution were busy trying to chase the escapee down, so he was alone. He was glad for that.

He had wanted, no, _forced _to watch. What could he say? The council members all called him weak when he had mentioned refusing. They had all agreed that Arthur had to learn that sacrifices were necessary. He had thought he could handle it, but had requested guards just in case. And he had needed them, too.

For as soon as the fire was lit, he knew. He knew beyond doubt that this was the biggest mistake he would ever make. He couldn't, and wouldn't stand by and watch as his raven haired best friend was killed. And it might as well have been Arthur holding the knife. He was the one that had told the court, after all. It was his entire fault.

_Stupid_. If only he hadn't been so upset. If only he had figured it out earlier, if only, if only…

Maybe, if it had been anyone else he could have coped, kept up his façade, but Merlin seemed to be the ultimate exception. And now those unfortunate guards would be in the medical wing for weeks.

Arthur sighed, closing his eyes.

_At least Merlin was safe._

**A/N**

***pants* omg…I did this in one sitting. And I have homework…woohoo…**

**See, this is what I do for you guys ^.^ heheh**

**Bye byeeeee**


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Merlin, Angst, Romance