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It was a peaceful day in Camelot and the knights were taking full advantage by engaging in an late morning training session. Swords were swinging against swords, shields were being hit with resounding clangs, and knights were being thrown to the ground.
Throughout his sparring, Gwaine found himself distracted by certain servant cleaning dirt from Arthur's sword. While he knew (everyone did, in fact) that Merlin did not enjoy these training sessions, he appeared particularly unhappy today. Forlorn, in fact. Arthur and the rest of the knights seemed not to notice. Gwaine, on the other hand, saw that Merlin kept his face down, saw that his movements were slow when wiping the blade, and saw how he didn't even smile when Arthur tripped and tumbled onto the grass.
There was something wrong with Merlin. And Gwaine was going to find out what it was.
When the session ended, he immediately headed for Merlin. Unfortunately, Arthur had beat him there and was already giving him a list of chores for the coming afternoon. Gwaine, of course, had no issue interrupting the king.
"Ah, hello Princess. Mind if I steal Merlin for a bit?" He said with his usual smirk.
"What? No! He's got too much to do. He needs to clean my armour, sharpen my sword, muck the st-"
"Yeah, I get it Princess. But that doesn't mean that I can't have a little chat with him. We haven't had a chance to catch up in ages - not with how hard you've been working him! Come on, can't you spare him for five minutes?"
"I said no, Gwaine." Arthur emphasised as he took off his gauntlets and handed them to Merlin "Now, come on, Merlin. Lunch isn't going to serve itself."
Arthur then walked off towards the castle and Merlin diligently followed behind him. Gwaine, on the other hand, was left stood in the training ground and muttering to himself about how the Princess needed help with his din-dins.
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When lunch was over, Merlin headed straight to the armoury to start his first task of the afternoon - cleaning and polishing Arthur's armour. Truth be told, he was glad for the task; it gave him the opportunity to sit alone and focus on something simple.
However, when he got to the armoury, he hadn't expected Gwaine to be sat on one of its benches, eating some bread and cheese.
"Ah, Merlin!" He said, putting the plate to one side "I thought you might come here first over the stables. Come, take a seat."
Gwaine scooted over and patted the bench next to him. Merlin rolled his eyes and picked up Arthur's muddied armour before sitting down in the offered space.
"What do you want, Gwaine?" Merlin said as he started brushing chunks of dried mud off Arthur's breastplate.
"I just want to have a chat with you, Merlin. Is that so wrong?"
"It depends - I never quite know with you." Merlin joked with the slightest of grins. Gwaine smiled in return. Perhaps, Gwaine thought, Merlin had just been in a bad mood with no reason to it. But, even as he thought this, he just couldn't believe it.
Merlin's grin quickly fell and Gwaine's smile fell with it.
"Are you okay, Merlin?" Gwaine asked "You've not been yourself all day."
"What, no, I'm fine. Just didn't enough sleep last night."
"Come on, Merlin, I know you can lie better than that. What's really going on, mate?"
Merlin sighed. Of all the people Merlin could share his mind with today, Gwaine was probably the best person for it. After all, he knew Gwaine had no issue when it came to hiding family secrets.
"My father. He died three years ago today."
Merlin didn't dare to look at Gwaine, instead opting to focus on the breastplate in his lap. Gwaine, however, kept all of his attention on Merlin. He was grieving, he realised.
"Why didn't Arthur give you the day off. Surely, he can't need you to muck the stables out that badly."
"He doesn't know. He doesn't know that I even met my father, let alone the fact that he's dead."
Using a brush, Merlin began scrubbing the armour. A tear dripped onto the breastplate.
"Oh, Merls." Gwaine said as he pulled Merlin into a sideways hug and Merlin paused his work.
"You mustn't tell anyone, Gwaine. Not Arthur, not the knights, no one."
"Who else knows?"
"Just Gaius." Merlin admitted.
"Jesus, Merlin…I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologising? It's not your fault he died." Merlin quipped humourlessly.
"I'm not apologising for that. I'm apologising for the fact that you're basically dealing with this alone. Why haven't you told anyone else?"
"I can't." Merlin said, hesitating before giving Gwaine the elaboration that he wanted "I could be killed for who my father was."
Now that - Gwaine understood. And he was going to guard this secret with his life.
"Thank you for telling me. I will not tell soul. You have my word, Merlin."
Merlin nodded and continued tending to the armour. Gwaine picked up the king's boots and banged them together - freeing them of most their mud.
Merlin gave him a quizzical look.
"What? I have the rest of the day off and I'm not leaving you alone after all of that."
Gwaine continued smacking the boots together and went to grab a second brush.
"Thanks, Gwaine."
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The day wore on and Merlin finished his chores faster than he normally would - thanks to Gwaine's help, of course. Normally, Arthur would graciously give him some more tasks to do (to keep his mind busy). But even Arthur, by this point of the day, could see that Merlin was upset. He had also noticed Gwaine hovering around him whenever he wasn't tending to him directly.
Arthur dismissed him early, hoping that he would be back to his normal self tomorrow.
Merlin did not go back to his chambers for a rare evening in and instead started heading straight for the city gates. Gwaine met him as he left the castle.
"Hey, Merls. Did that prat give you the evening off?"
Merlin nodded "I'm just as surprised as you."
"Well, since you have the evening off, how about you join me at the tavern for a drink?"
"But…I was just…heading somewhere." Merlin confessed and Gwaine could get the gist.
"Well, wherever you're going, I still think you need a drink in you. How about I treat you to a mead and we head to this 'somewhere' together?"
Knowing full well that Gwaine wouldn't take no for an answer, Merlin agreed to his terms. They went to the tavern together and shared a silent toast to Merlin's father at the table. Once their drinks were gone, Merlin led the way out of Camelot's walls and into the surrounding forest. As they travelled, Gwaine found himself wondering how many times Merlin had made this trip. He seemed to know the path like the back of his hand.
Eventually, the pair reached a clearing. In its centre was a beautiful lake - with its water clear and glowing under the rising moon. For once, Gwaine didn't know what to say. He simply stared at the beauty before him.
In the end, it was Merlin that broke the silence.
"This is where I laid him to rest. His ashes lay at the bottom of the lake."
After a moment, Gwaine asked "What was he like?"
"Stubborn. But kind."
They lapsed into silence once again. Merlin sat down of the grass and Gwaine followed suit. They sat there for another moment before Merlin spoke again.
"His name was Balinor." He began "If anyone finds that out - I will be killed."
"Why?" Gwaine asked quietly.
"Because he was a dragonlord. And, now that he's dead, I have his title."
Gwaine was stunned. Of all the things he had expected Merlin to say, that had certainly not been one of them. He had thought his father may have been a sorcerer or a criminal of some kind, not…that.
In sheer disbelief, Gwaine stated "You're a dragonlord."
Merlin nodded and chuckled quietly "You're not the only one hiding their lineage in Camelot."
Gwaine, once again, pulled Merlin into a sideways hug "So it seems. Although, I'd say your lineage is more interesting than mine. How did you even meet him, anyway? I thought Uther had killed all of the dragonlords during the purge."
"He tried, but my father managed to escape - with Gaius's help, actually. He had been in hiding for years when I met him. He hadn't even known that I existed. When I told him I was his son, I swear he almost cried. He ended up dying in my arms before we ever had the chance to meet again."
Merlin stared vacantly into the lake and Gwaine hugged Merlin tighter. They sat there as the night wore on and the moon rose higher. They only left when Merlin was ready to. Gwaine, after all, couldn't have left without Merlin - since he hadn't the faintest idea how to get back to Camelot.