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“He tried to die for you, Arthur,” Morgana said. Her hands were outstretched in an imitation of strangling his neck, and her legs hung off the chair rest. She had stormed in about thirty minutes ago, thrown herself in his favorite chair, and started this inane argument.
“That's what normal servants do. They're supposed to value your life higher than their own.” Arthur rolled his eyes and undid his shirt. Merlin was under Gaius’s care today, so Arthur’s undressing unfortunately fell to himself.
Morgana blinked at him in incredulity. “No, Arthur. That's not normal at all.”
Arthur shrugged off his shirt and reached for his night shift. “In the servant’s honor code, it even says—”
“Oh, who cares! No one reads that. No one follows that.”
“You and Gwen are super close. You think she wouldn't try to die for you?” Arthur grinned at her shocked face. See? It was totally normal for servants to do such things.
Morgana stumbled over her words and blushed. “No, yes, but that is beside the point.”
Arthur quirked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Is it? Gwen, like, loves you.”
“Look, that's how I know.” Morgana threw her hands up in the air. She waited for his reaction, but Arthur didn't really have one except smug satisfaction. Was she agreeing with him? “Merlin is either in love with you or trying to kill you.”
Woah. That was not at all where Arthur was going.
“Well,” Arthur fell onto his bed with a humph. A smile crept into his words. He knew his humor would hurt Morgana’s feelings, but he could not take her serious at the moment. “Now, I don't know which is worse.”
“You don't believe me!” Exasperation bled into every word.
“Morgana. If you're really so in bunches about it, why not just ask Merlin why he took that arrow?” Arthur snuggled under his covers. “I'm going to sleep.”
“Fine. I will.” Morgana pinched out his candle and left with a door slam.
Arthur massaged his headache away and focused on falling asleep. Sometimes, Morgana was a lot.
When the door slammed open, Merlin immediately stopped magically healing his arrow wound and fell back onto the cot like the moaning corpse he should be in this moment. Then, when he saw it was Morgana, he lurched back up into a sitting position with a concerned expression. What was she doing?
Her eyes blazed with determination, and she locked the braziers on Merlin. Oh no.
“Lady Morgana, is everything alright? Do I need to get Gaius?” Merlin pretended to wince and grabbed his bandaged chest.
“No, no.” Her face flooded with concern and helped him lay back down on the cot. “But I have a question. Are you in love with Arthur?”
Merlin froze. Was it too convenient to pretend to faint from pain? Surely, that was the best answer to such a question. Of course, second only to a confident, bewildered “no.” Unfortunately, he felt his pause had already given enough of an answer. “Of course not.”
“Well, then are you trying to kill him?” Morgana put her hands on her hips and treated him to a severe glare. He felt like he was being chastised by a school teacher, when in reality he was being accused of a capital crime.
“My lady, I took an arrow for him. I could've just let it pierce him.”
“Well, then you're in love with him.”
Merlin raised an eyebrow in a poor imitation of Gaius. “Those are my only two options?”
“They are the only reasonable explanations for your behavior. No normal servant sacrifices themself for their master. This passion, it's not natural.”
“All servants must—”
“Oh, don't give me that bullshit. I'm not Arthur. I know half the servants would not bat an eye if their master croaked.”
Merlin just stared. He felt stuck in a sticky trap that only promised death and imprisonment if he released himself.
Morgana looked him up and down and pursed her lips. She patted him on his shoulder. “Rest up. We can continue this conversation when you're better.”
Arthur stretched, the early morning light painting his rippling arm muscles. Merlin handed him his sword and watched as his biceps flexed with each swing. The prince paused and his eyebrows knitted together—a thought must've come to him. He turned to Merlin. “Did Morgana talk to you the other night?”
They were the only two on the training pitch this early, but Merlin felt like he could feel Morgana’s eyes on him. It was the guilt. Merlin already knew he was going to face this with his head in the sand. “No. Why?”
Arthur laughed. “Oh, we were in a spat, and she wanted to ask you something. I should have known it was an empty threat on her part.”
As Arthur practiced his sword fighting and Merlin dutifully watched from the sidelines, Merlin thought over the problem that was Morgana. He sighed. Another nosy magic user—Kilgarrah’s twin.
Uther placed each bite of venison between his teeth carefully and chewed slowly. If his mouth was constantly occupied, he couldn't possibly be called on to intervene in the dinner table argument brewing before him.
However, with a quick turn to Uther, Morgana banished those hopes. “Uther, tell Arthur that Merlin is unnaturally devoted. It is not normal.”
Uther swallowed his venison and took a sip of his wine. On the cup’s return to the place mat, he opened his mouth. “All the servants should be like Merlin.”
Arthur preened. However, Uther didn't know why Arthur felt pride on Merlin’s behalf. If anything, Uther had been the one to hire Merlin. It had been a good decision because his Arthur-saving behavior had repeated over and over again. Maybe all servants should be hired based on self-sacrificialness.
Then, Uther remembered the state of Arthur’s chambers often and grimaced.
Maybe the maid skills were more important in the hiring process.
The hallway’s fire braziers flickered—unlike Morgana’s determination. Bringing Uther into their spat was low, even for her. Arthur couldn't believe her.
He dragged his hands down his face. “Will you finally give up?”
Morgana just pursed her lips. “I know I'm right.”
Arthur laughed. “About what?”
“It's love.”
“Please never change. I would never know where to get my entertainment.”
“Please change and grow a pair of eyes to see what I see. It's so obvious.”
“Good gracious, Morgana. Just ask Merlin. He'll tell you why he saved me—obviously out of duty—and you can get this idea out of your head.”
“I already asked Merlin. That's how I know I'm right.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “No, you didn't. Merlin told me you didn't talk to him.”
Delight lit up Morgana’s face, and she leaned in. “You know what that means, right? I'm right. He lied to you because he's embarrassed.”
“You really talked to him?”
“I did.”
Quizzicality painted Arthur's face. Why would Merlin lie? “Huh.”
Now, Arthur couldn't come out and ask Merlin if he was in love with him. That was just tacky. And presumptuous. It would honestly be kind of insulting. And Arthur was only insulting when he wished to be.
So, he just watched Merlin instead. Unfortunately, instead of finding clues as to Merlin’s possible feelings, Arthur kept getting stuck on other things. Like Merlin’s Adam's apple when he swallowed or how his neck stretched when he leaned over. Or even how his hands gripped the long, cylindrical javelin hilt as he polished Arthur’s weapons…
Dammit.
Morgana, of course, knew without a doubt that she was correct on her hypothesis. Merlin had had that kind of look of a deer staring down a flying arrow when she had questioned him. But, she hadn't caught back up with the servant in two days to let him rest from his arrow wound.
And, as a good argument-winner, she required more damning proof to ensure her victory and stick it to Arthur. So, there the princess was, lugging her skirts as she followed Merlin deep into the forest.
After a lengthy trek, he paused at a clearing near a lake, and Morgana knew this was her chance. But, as she prepared to break through the branches, Merlin sighed and stood up.
“Forbearnan,” Merlin whispered. Gold lit up his eyes, and fire appeared in his hands. He used it to illuminate the herbs beneath him.
Morgana froze and didn’t dare take another step. Merlin had magic?
In her dreams that night, Morgana saw flashes of a future she couldn't parse. Merlin with golden eyes. Arthur with a flaming sword. Burning castles.
She woke with a start and paved frantic tracks through her rugs. The thoughts that had haunted her all day descended on her again like fruit flies to a three-day- old banana.
Merlin had magic? Morgana had magic. At least, she thought that was what was happening. Maybe a curse of some sort. Her premonitions terrified her. And the other day when she set the curtains on fire…
Just like Merlin had done in his hands the other day.
When it all became too much, she retreated to her window and threw open the curtains. Morgana basked in the light of the full moon until movement in the courtyard caught her attention.
It was Merlin, slinking through the courtyard and out towards the lower town.
Well, what had Arthur's advice always been? Just ask him?
“You have magic,” Morgana said.
Merlin jumped around, startled and eyes wide. She had followed him all the way to the fields outside the city before she had popped the question.
“No, Lady Morgana.” Merlin shook his head and raised an eyebrow. He dropped the bag he was holding onto the soft grass. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Don't lie to me,” Morgana said. “I saw you. Yesterday. In the forest. You said something—was it florban? No, fleurbawn? Wait, forbearnan—”
A patch of grass lit on fire between them, and Merlin rushed to stamp it out. He stepped back and pointed a finger at her. “You have magic.”
“I do.” Morgana pursed her lips and covered her shock. She did that? Set something on fire? With just some flimsy words? Magic was a beast. “Teach me to control it.”
“What?”
“You must have learned something.” Morgana felt so out of her depth, that, naturally, petulance rose to cover the inexperience. She wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Merlin paused before he spoke. “I need to pick some more herbs for Gaius. If you come with me, I'll tell you what I know.”
The last few days had been so devoid of the whole Merlin-in-love thing that Gwen found herself surprised. Morgana had never given up on an argument with Arthur so quickly.
For the record, Gwen saw in Merlin the love and admiration she had for Morgana. And she knew her lady saw it too.
Gwen finished making the bed and drifted over to Morgana. “My lady, have you given up on making Arthur realize Merlin’s affection?”
“What? Oh,” Morgana turned from her vanity. “I forgot. Something came up that demanded my attention.”
Something more pertinent than meddling in Arthur’s life? Call her shocked. This was truly unlike Morgana. “Oh?”
“Just,” Morgana hesitated. “What are your feelings on magic?”
“Oh!” Gwen flew to the dresser and busied herself collecting Morgana’s laundry. The line she had to walk for this question proved hidden, and so Gwen felt like she was wearing a blindfold while crossing a chasm on a tightrope. “Well, I respect the laws of Camelot…even though they may not be…the best way to go about it…metaphorically speaking, of course.”
Gwen winced as she threw the last piece of clothing into the bin. She took about as many pauses as Merlin did when he would lie for Arthur. Obvious, obvious.
Morgana hummed and flew to her, taking the basket out of her hands and setting it on the floor. “You harbored the Druid boy, right? Would you go farther for another magic user?”
Gwen tilted her head and smiled nervously at Morgana.
The lady laughed. “Gwen, you have heard me say many treasonous things. I will not throw you in the stocks for a misstep. I am not Arthur.”
Gwen untensed and laughed a little. “You are a princess, and I am not, my lady.”
“Oh, forget all that. You can tell me anything right now, even if it's a murder plot on Uther, and I will keep your secret. I promise.”
It was true that Uther had imprisoned her father unjustly over the laws of magic. She saw others weep for similar loved ones. Truthfully, she hated Uther and his laws. But, Camelot was her home, and she didn't wish to lose it over some treasonous words.
“Well, in that case,” Gwen paused. “I do think the laws are too harsh.”
“A-ha!” Morgana laughed, delighted. “Well, in that case, I must confess. I have magic.”
Gwen felt her brain’s cogs grind to a stop. “What?”
Gaius waited as Merlin paced back and forth in front of him. The many glass vials reflected the myriad of pained expressions Merlin sported as he explained the situation to Gaius.
“She caught me,” Merlin said. “I told her the basics of what I knew. It seems she's manifested more magic besides her premonitions.”
Gaius nodded. He had suspected as much. And seeing as this was the hundredth or so time Merlin had gone over the same incident, he very much understood. He held up a hand. “Merlin. Take a rest. We will revisit this in the morning. From what you told me, we shouldn't expect any rash action.”
“Arthur!”
He turned to see Morgana rushing in and shutting the door. Merlin paused his table-setting. Oh no.
“Lord Thorntone is set to arrive tomorrow for a banquet,” Morgana paused. “You remember him, right?”
Arthur scratched his head and set down his paperwork. Thorntone? No, didn't ring a bell. “Of course. What did he do again?”
Morgana groaned. “He tries to court me in the worst way. You must take me on a hunt with you. I cannot bear him.”
Arthur looked to Merlin with a grimace. Merlin sent him back an amused smile.
“It’s unfair when you two communicate like that,” Morgana said. “So, is it a yes?”
“Yeah, of course,” Arthur said. He shuffled his paperwork. “Just tell Uther.”
Fat raindrops soaked through the wood of the stables and onto Merlin’s cloaked head as he readied the steeds with Gwen. “She didn't tell Uther?”
Gwen shrugged apologetically. “He said no. But, don’t tell Arthur. She still wants to go.”
Merlin could foresee the stocks in his future. For what? Maybe this. Maybe something to come. Or maybe he was starting to get premonitions like Morgana.
He sighed. “I won't.”
Morgana and Arthur argued in the corner of the royal stable while Gwen and Merlin stood awkwardly holding the horses and exchanging looks.
“No, Morgana,” Arthur said. “We cannot go. Especially without any knights!”
“Please, Arthur,” Morgana pleaded. “I cannot bear that lord. I will take the fall for it; you will never have had to know it was unlawful.”
Arthur crossed his arms, and silence stretched between the two.
Morgana's eyes darted over to the servant pair, and both quickly busied themselves with horse tack. Oops!
The lady sighed with the somberness of a gravedigger. “I will even concede the argument.”
Arthur straightened and cast a glance over to Merlin, busy with a bridle. Merlin pretended to be very interested in the bridle bit until Arthur looked back to Morgana. “You will?”
Morgana pursed her lips and nodded.
“Well, now I can finally say I’ve beaten you in an argument.”
The rain only intensified on their short ride to the forest, with the sun not yet breaking the horizon. Early morning birds crowded the soundscape, breaking the early peace.
“Now, let's dismount, and we can start the hunt,” Arthur said.
Morgana turned to her side. “Do we have to kill anything?”
Arthur blinked. “Pray tell, what do you think a hunt is?”
“Oh, Arthur, don’t be like that.”
By Morgana's request, the group found themselves on the shore of a lake. The rain let up to a sprinkle and eventually ceased as the sun rose over the crest of the mountain.
As the servants retreated to tie up the horses, Merlin lowered his voice. “What argument were they talking about?”
Gwen felt her heart stutter. She hated lying. Especially to Merlin! But, alas. “Hmm?”
“The concession Morgana made,” Merlin clarified.
“Hm. I don't know.” Gwen wrapped the ropes taut against the tree and pulled them tight.
“Gwen.” Disbelief dripped from Merlin’s words. She could feel his stare. Abort! Abort!
“Why don't you ask them?” Gwen suggested. There was nothing left to do with her two horses, so she started petting the nearest one.
Merlin scoffed.
Guilt grew too quickly for her to bear. She pursed her lips and turned to meet him. “Fine. The argument was about you.”
He wrinkled his brow. “Me?”
“After you sacrificed yourself to save Arthur, Morgana got it in her head that you were too passionate—that you either loved or hated Arthur,” Gwen spat, words tumbling together.
“Everything just made a lot more sense.”
“I'm glad. Just—don't tell them you know.”
Merlin nodded. “Well, what did Morgana concede?”
Gwen smiled. “She thought you were in love with Arthur, and he didn't believe her. So, she's letting him say he won.”
“Letting him?”
“Come on, we both know she's…” Gwen’s mouth became dry. They had never really talked about this, but it was plain as day, alright? They argued like an old married couple and just—the way they looked at each other. Her voice became small. “She's right, right?”
Merlin blinked. “Oh, god. Is it obvious?”
“No! No,” Gwen assured. “Not obvious. Just, um, observable to the people that really know you.”
The horse that Merlin still held by the bridle whinnied, and he finished tying her up. “This is why the kitchen keeps going silent when I walk in. Everyone is in on it.”
“No, they're not…well,” Gwen swallowed. “I don't think that part is recent. There's a whole bet going on in the kitchen over—”
“There’s a bet?” Merlin exclaimed.
“What?” Arthur’s loud voice carried over the two conversations. “A bet about what?”
Merlin and Gwen turned to the two royals on the picnic blanket, who looked at them expectantly. Gwen’s stomach churned. Oh no.
“Just about if you could put on your own clothes on without help, sire,” Merlin called back.
Arthur’s mouth dropped into a pout. “When we get back, you're going into the stocks.”
“My favorite place,” Merlin grumbled under his breath to Gwen. She offered him a tight smile. Crisis averted.
“I've been spending time around Merlin more,” Morgana said. She sat on the picnic blanket alongside him.
Arthur wrinkled his nose. “Why?”
“To confirm my theory.”
“Morgana, you said you conceded the argument.”
“Yes, well, this is before I conceded.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Great.”
“So, I won't say any more, I guess.”
Arthur sighed. At this point, he wanted Merlin to be in love with him despite that proving Morgana right (which was something he tried to avoid at all costs). These days of watching the servant had proven only to get Arthur in an even bigger mess where feelings once hidden came out, unbidden. But, Merlin wasn’t in love with him. Arthur would've known about that, he was sure.
“Anyway,” Morgana stood. “I want some alone time with Gwen, so have fun with Merlin.”
Alone time? That was a weird way to phrase such a thing. Arthur raised his eyebrow.
Morgana blushed. “What are you looking at me for?”
“Are you and Gwen…?”
“Yes, Arthur! I told you this already.”
Arthur leapt to his feet. “No, you didn't!”
“Did, too.”
“I would've known!”
“You would think so! I very much told you!”
Arthur crossed his arms. “When?”
“When this entire argument sprung up. You said that Gwen loves me, and I admitted that was how I knew Merlin did.”
“That…I don't remember hearing that,” Arthur said. His head spun. “Does Merlin know?”
“Ask—”
Arthur was tired of that advice, even though he had been the first to give it. “Merlin?”
He shouted a few more times before the servant pair appeared over the horizon.
“Merlin, did you know that Guinevere and Morgana are involved?”
Gwen stared at the two royals, her mouth open. Beside her, Merlin put down the jug of water he carried and placed a hand on his hip with a raised eyebrow reminiscent of Gaius. “Did you not?”
Arthur sat back down. It seemed he could never win.
“So what about that argument with Morgana you conceded yesterday? What was that about?” Merlin asked innocently as he sat down Arthur’s breakfast tray.
Arthur sighed. He knew it was only a matter of time before he had to fess up. “Eavesdropping now, are we?”
“It's not hard when you two argue louder than warning bells for an army.”
Arthur turned to him. “It was about you.”
“Me?”
He waved a hand in his general direction. “Yes, you. Morgana found your self-sacrificing tendencies peculiar. Thought it might be fueled by love.”
Merlin nodded thoughtfully. “And what did you decide?”
“I don't know,” Arthur admitted. “I tried to watch you, but I just got distracted by other things.”
“Well, you could've just—”
“Asked you?” Arthur laughed. “If one more person utters that phrase, I am going to stuff my ears with wax for the rest of my life.”
“Aw.” Merlin plucked a sausage from Arthur’s tray and spun around to go stuff Arthur’s dirty clothes into the basket.
Arthur watched him putter around. Watched his muscles shift when he reached for the top of the dresser and his hair when he pushed it out of the way. Merlin had dropped the question; had given Arthur an out.
But, he found he didn't want that. He wanted to know.
Arthur cleared his throat and set down his utensils. “Well, Merlin? Do you love me?”
Merlin’s arms froze as he reached to dust the top of the canopy bed. The early morning sun shone through the windows and illuminated his lanky side profile. A sort of halo of dust floated around his head as he turned to Arthur and dropped his arms. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it.
Arthur felt his blood run cold. Why did he ask that? Merlin obviously did not like Arthur like that.
But then, Merlin dropped his arms and laughed—the humor aimed at himself. “I thought it was quite obvious.”
The seat scraped across the floor as Arthur stood. “Yes? It's a yes?”
Merlin smiled. “Yes.”
Arthur grinned and laughed. He couldn't believe it. He rushed to Merlin, picked him up under the arse, and spun him around.
Merlin patted his shoulder, and Arthur set him down. The servant quirked an eyebrow. “And you?”
Arthur found that answering was quite easy. He cupped his hands around Merlin’s face and pulled him in for a kiss.
Light slowly left Gaius’s chamber as the sun set, filtering through the millions of multicolored vials and shining on the witch and the warlock engrossed in a lesson. Morgana had swindled Merlin into teaching her a few things—which, to be honest, was a learning experience for Merlin too. He had never read so many dusty books in his life as he had to the last few days.
Together, with both hands outstretched, they held a blue flame. Today’s lesson focused on control.
“Now, breathe in like this and let your magic grow…” Merlin demonstrated as the blue flame stretched higher.
“Like this?”
Morgana did the same, and it rose another foot.
“Perfect. Now…” Merlin paused. Did he hear something?
The door slammed open. “Merlin!”
Shock filled Arthur's face as he walked in to their little tryst. Merlin and Morgana mirrored his expression. No one dared speak.
Arthur stepped closer, and his eyes darted between their golden ones. “Must everything in this castle be a secret to me?”
The tension broke and Merlin diminished the flame to nothing with a wave of his hand. He grinned sheepishly as Morgana shrugged.
“I'm afraid so, sire.”