![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Merlin fic: Enchanted (Sequel to Tread Carefully)
Title: Enchanted
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Morgana (just to make Arthur nervous), Gwen, OCs
Spoilers: Inspired by 2x01 and 2x03, but no direct references. Takes place in the near future.
Disclaimer: The show Merlin is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary (for this sequel specifically): Arthur tries to fix the situation and ends up arguing with a possessive nymph. He sincerely hopes that Merlin will appreciate the rescue.
Author’s Notes: Arthur and Gwen both know about Merlin and Morgana’s magic in this.
Sequel to: Tread Carefully. It would be best to read that first to better understand what’s going on in the sequel. :)
~ * ~
Arthur entered Morgana’s chambers without so much as knocking before making his way in.
“Have you two lost your minds?” He asked without preamble.
He sat down in a chair, not caring who was in the room before doing so.
Gwen came to meet him. She looked quite ill at ease.
“My lord--” she started.
Arthur simply gave her a look.
“Arthur,” Gwen corrected herself with a small sigh. “Lady Morgana is not in any state to see visitors. She’s asleep.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow. “Oh? Is she ‘inconsolable, sequestered in her chambers’ then?”
“Yes, the rumors are quite true. It is unfortunate, but mistakes can happen.”
“Guinevere, if you will insist on continuing this farce, then I will leave.”
The two of them simply stared at each other almost as if each were waiting for the other to blink.
Arthur broke the stifling silence. “I don’t see you as someone to betray her friends.”
Gwen looked aghast. “I never!”
“Guinevere, my manservant – at least until I can talk some sense into that idiot – told me that you have been spreading lies. He called them ‘rumors.’ And he seemed to believe the truth of them.”
“This isn’t really the best time. Maybe--”
“Now,” The prince continued on, heedless of her words, “you and I both know that while my dear sister and my hapless manservant have a certain magical bond -- in a literal sense -- they have not, nor ever will – consummate this bond. Because they aren’t in love with each other. They are just friends.”
“But you do admit to feeling uneasy about the two of them – because they share magic, which is something you don’t have,” Gwen spoke softly, in a gentle tone so as to placate Arthur. She knew that she was speaking the truth though. The prince had confided this matter to her only a few weeks ago. She had noticed how this troubled him, more than Arthur was willing to confess to most of the time.
“Merlin is in love with me,” Arthur’s eyes blazed as he said the words, almost as if daring anyone to contradict him. “Morgana is in love with –” He gestured with his hand, unsure what to say, and deciding that a vague wave would suffice as his answer. “--something, I haven’t a clue, but this ridiculous magical predicament must come to an end. If this rumor reaches my father and he believes it, then Merlin’s head will be rolling – and not in a visually pleasing manner. Do you understand, Guinevere?”
“Yes, sire…Arthur, I--”
But then Morgana was walking toward them, her rest clearly over. Arthur didn’t think she looked all that inconsolable.
“Oh, Arthur. Please do stop troubling Gwen. It’s quite rude.”
Arthur rounded on Morgana, a ready glare on his face. He was most certainly not in a good mood. “I want you to stop the rumor spell. This is absurd.”
“It was Merlin’s idea. I was only being a good friend by helping him.”
“Well then, be a bad friend! End the bloody spell right now!”
“That,” Morgana began. Arthur looked impatient. She knew that he wouldn’t like what she would say next. She continued on anyway, “would be a difficult thing to do. To lift the spell in the proper manner, I need Merlin here with me. We are the two who cast the spell, so we have to be together once again to remove it. But you shouldn’t be so worried about it – we made sure that the spell would control the spread of the rumor, so that the rumor would not reach Uther’s ears.”
Morgana’s reassurance did not sway Arthur at all. The fact that the spell was inherently risky was enough reason for him to end it. He asked, “Where is Merlin anyway?”
Morgana answered him, appearing rather complacent in the face of Arthur’s unease. “I am not sure. He did, truly, leave. But he did not tell me where he went precisely. He could very well simply be camping out in the forest. It should not be too time consuming to find him.”
“All right. I’ll drag him back here if I have to if that’s what is needed for this insanity to end. Why did you do the spell in the first place? Are the both of you asking for a death wish?”
Morgana shrugged. “Merlin believes you were hiding something from him. So he decided this rumor spell would make you mad enough so that you would tell him why you’re ‘testing out manservants’.”
“Merlin is frankly the worst manservant I’ve ever had. Is it really that much of a surprise why I’m seeking a new manservant?”
Morgana and Gwen looked at him in complete disbelief.
Arthur stood his ground. “I’m not saying a word.”
“Well, as long as you tell Merlin. Though, knowing you, I would not be surprised if the reason was rather pathetic,” Morgana said.
Arthur raised his hands in frustration. “All right! I’m going to leave now. This was informative, really, but I’m going to find Merlin. Good bye.”
And with that sentiment, the prince left Morgana’s chambers.
~ * ~
After taking a good amount of time looking for him, Arthur could not find Merlin. He was not out in the forest near Camelot and there was no sign of where he could have gone off to.
Then, when he was about ready to give up, he encountered his first nymph. He would soon fervently hope that it would be his last encounter with such a creature.
Considering this forest nymph, Cypress as she called herself, was the one who had taken Merlin and placed him under an enchanted sleep – keeping him inside a cave that was dimly lit by the nymph's magic. She was pretty and youthful, as all nymphs – if there had been any truth to the bards’ tales that Arthur had heard as a child – probably were, with red hair the color of fire and lively green eyes. The nymph almost appeared to float as she walked, her long, pale green dress barely touching the ground as she moved about.
Arthur had demanded to know why she had taken Merlin and she had given him unsatisfying answers. Cypress said something about a gift she wished to offer Merlin – and that she wished to keep him, which the prince told her in no uncertain terms that Merlin would not agree to that arrangement. That she was better off keeping him asleep if she wanted him to stay and to never return to Camelot.
But then the nymph assured him that Merlin would be easily persuaded…that she was quite certain that he would stay. Arthur was personally offended by that – he felt that he knew Merlin well enough to know – deep down – that Merlin would choose him, Arthur, over anyone else. Barring an enchantment, of course. If that nymph dared to do that to him – to enchant Merlin to stay with her, then Arthur would be sorely tempted to kill her. Except how did you kill a nymph exactly? Weren’t they immortal? He sincerely hoped not.
What annoyed him even more was that the nymph refused to allow him near Merlin. Arthur saw that he was asleep upon a well-made bed of leaves in a far corner within the cave. As far as Arthur could tell, Merlin appeared peaceful in his sleep. But the fact that the nymph did not wish to harm Merlin did little to abate Arthur’s great frustration with her. No matter her intentions, she couldn’t be allowed to get away with this.
So he entreated her that Merlin would be in even greater danger if he wasn’t taken back to Camelot. He told her that there was a spell involving his manservant that would cause the king of Camelot to come after Merlin and order his execution if the spell fell apart. Arthur told her that Merlin needed to return to Camelot to lift the spell properly.
But Cypress, expectedly, was not easily persuaded. Instead, she suggested, “I can turn him into an oak tree.”
Arthur stared at her in disbelief. “No, absolutely not!” He disagreed vehemently.
“But he’ll be safe then!” The nymph cried. “They won’t find him! He won’t be executed!”
The prince gritted his teeth before he let out slowly, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. “But. He. Will. Be. A. Tree. I’m sure if Merlin were awake right now, he would object to being turned into a bloody tree!”
“But--” Cypress tried to argue.
Arthur interrupted her, his patience waning quickly. “But no. I can not believe I’m arguing with a nymph.”
After several long moments in which neither of them spoke – the silence stifling between them, the nymph appeared to reach a decision. “Oh, all right. I will help you,” she conceded.
Arthur was glad that she finally seemed to have seen sense. “Good. Wake Merlin up and I’ll take him back with me.”
She shook her head. “There’s no need. I’m certain I could lift the spell you speak of.”
Arthur groaned and then he told her fiercely, “My sister Morgana cast the spell with him. She told me explicitly that she needs Merlin with her to lift the spell properly!”
“She does not know the power of my kin,” Cypress countered him. “I can lift the spell, and you can go back to Camelot, if you wish, to insure that the spell has been removed.”
“You must wake Merlin up. I will not leave without him.”
“No, I don’t want to,” She sounded quite petulant now, Arthur thought.
“You can not keep him here! He’s a human being. This is wrong!” He tried to get through to her.
Unfortunately, the nymph was unwilling to see his point of view. “Return and I may be more willing to part with him.”
“‘More willing’?” Arthur repeated incredulously. “You should not even have him in the first place! He’s mine—he belongs to me!”
“You’re rather rude, you know,” she remarked.
“You’re the one who took him!” Arthur reminded her, shouting at her. “I would say that was rude.”
Then the nymph’s lips trembled and she looked on the verge of crying.
Arthur wondered again at how he managed to get himself into these situations.
Oh, right.
Merlin.
After some awkward patting on the back, and a few comforting words from Arthur to calm Cypress down (even though he wanted to force her to disenchant Merlin right now, but she was a magical nymph after all…he couldn’t really retaliate against her if she chose to fight him with magic, which bothered Arthur a lot actually, but there was little he could do about it), the nymph finally collected herself enough to get back to the matter at hand.
She asked Arthur if he could tell her exactly what the spell was, so that she could remove it correctly. Arthur did as she requested – explaining to her what Morgana had told him about the rumor spell. The nymph touched Merlin as she performed the counterspell – apparently, Merlin did not need to be awake for her to draw whatever she required from him to do the spell. Arthur wished that she would at least give him the courtesy of speaking to Merlin. He suspected that she was concerned that Merlin would try to leave if he saw Arthur.
She completed the spell, and Arthur knew it was time to depart, no matter how reluctant he was to do so. But he had little choice in the matter. He had to check for certain if the rumor spell had been removed. Maybe when he returned to the cave, Cypress would be more cooperative? Arthur could only hope.
Arthur could see Merlin murmuring in his sleep as he left the cave. He clenched his jaw tightly, trying to breathe in and out to calm himself when he observed the nymph sitting beside Merlin and touching him – stroking his hair, only, but no matter. Arthur did not like it at all.
He decided that he wouldn’t mind if he’d never meet another nymph ever again. They were all rather infuriating creatures. They probably lured men to their deaths…
Or were those sirens?
Arthur shrugged as he climbed up onto his steed. Either way, he would be more wary from now on. And berate Merlin for being bested by a forest nymph – his manservant was a powerful sorcerer, for heaven’s sake, what was wrong with him?
Grave mental disease, quite possibly… Arthur sincerely hoped that his idiocy would wane over time.
It was lucky that Merlin had Arthur to rescue him.
Very lucky indeed.
~ * ~
So Arthur rode back to Camelot and he went straight to Morgana’s chambers to discern if, in fact, the nymph Cypress truly had lifted the spell.
After checking magically, Morgana assured Arthur and Gwen that the spell had been lifted properly. Apparently, the nymph had been trustworthy after all despite placing an unwilling Merlin under an enchanted sleep, which Arthur was determined to rescue him from. The only positive thing about her was that she didn’t wish Merlin harm. So her agreement to lift the spell to save Merlin from an unpleasant situation if the rumor spell went awry was greatly appreciated.
Arthur found the nymph to be, quite simply, a very misguided girl who just happened to be a nymph with an unfortunate adoration of Merlin. It seemed his manservant’s magical abilities were ‘legendary’ and left many magical entities utterly fascinated by his great power. Arthur thought it was rather ridiculous and he himself would certainly not do or say anything to inflate Merlin’s ego. Even though the prince did believe – just a little bit, mind you – that there was some merit in the nymph’s words.
As an extra precaution, Morgana asked Gwen if she could ask the servants if they knew about the rumor – if everything was back to normal, then they should have no inkling about the rumor.
Gwen nodded and went on her way to complete her task.
After her departure, Morgana asked if Arthur was interested in seeing what she had learned recently magic-wise. Despite his annoyance that magic – the blasted rumor spell -- was the cause of this ridiculous predicament they were in presently, Arthur still was quite curious when it came to seeing what magic had to offer. So he couldn’t resist any opportunity to play spectator to a display of magical spells.
Before he knew it, Gwen had returned to the room. She smiled warmly at Morgana as her mistress transfigured a piece of fruit into a flower. After Morgana offered the flower to her, Gwen – who looked quite pleased, a blush spreading upon her cheeks -- sat down to relay to what she had found out.
“I talked to the servants,” Gwen informed them. “They weren’t talking about the rumor. Because of how sensational the rumor was, the matter of the Lady Morgana being with Merlin’s child would have kept the gossip hens in a good frenzy for a while,” Gwen explained. “But they had no idea what I was on about. I simply said, ‘the rumor about Merlin’ mind you. I was cautious about it, but there was little reaction. Then a few of the servants started laughing and asked me if I meant the usual rumor.”
Arthur raised his brow in consternation. “The usual rumor?”
Gwen blushed then. She waved her hand, appearing quite shy all of a sudden. “About you and Merlin. I mean you are the prince after all. People will talk…”
“What?! Why am I just hearing this now?” Arthur nearly shouted in indignation.
“Oh, Gwen, you forget the best part: the game.”
Arthur rounded on Morgana. “What game?” He demanded to know.
“A bit of a secretive matter, so it’s little surprise you haven’t heard about it, Arthur. Fortunately, I know my way around the court better than you,” Morgana said sweetly, smiling at him.
“Morgana, my patience is wearing thin.”
“Well, you see, some are deciding on the best threesome – choosing amongst the four of us: you, me, Gwen and Merlin. It does not take the most observant person to notice that we have been spending more time together.”
“Threesome…?” The prince uttered in sheer disbelief.
“Yes, Arthur. It is quite interesting. It’s all about suitability. Which three personalities would work best together in the bedchambers…”
Arthur stared at her and spun around on poor Gwen. “You knew about this?”
“Just what my lady has told me,” she said in a rush.
“I personally think that I, Gwen, and Merlin would make the best threesome. I imagine you’re far too selfish in bed.”
Arthur pointed a finger at her. “There is no way I’m going to share Merlin.”
“My point exactly,” Morgana said, sounding quite smug.
Gwen shifted the conversation to another subject when Arthur looked about ready to voice an angry rebuttal. “Everyone is still talking about the baker’s daughter and Sir Gawain…”
“I bet she baked him some fresh bread,” Morgana said, her smile widening.
“It was quite warm, last I heard,” Gwen remarked thoughtfully.
Arthur slipped out of the room as the two girls fell into a fit of giggles. Women were frightening sometimes, he thought.
~ * ~
He returned to the cave to find the nymph strangely absent, though the cave was still lit as if she were present. She wasn’t anywhere near the cave either. Arthur wondered if she was just away for a bit and would come back – but if she were so bent on looking after Merlin, why would she leave? And with the nymph gone, how could Arthur wake Merlin up if he were under an enchanted sleep? He could just carry him out and load Merlin up on his horse, but it would be cumbersome to ride in such a way with the extra weight.
Blasted nymphs, he grumbled to himself.
Whatever he decided to do, Arthur knew he had to decide fast before the nymph Cypress came back.
He ventured further into the cave and he sat down beside Merlin who was still asleep, barely moving. If it were not for his chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out, Arthur would think he was dead.
Arthur shook Merlin’s shoulders, hoping that would cause his manservant to stir.
Merlin’s eyelids fluttered, but that was all.
Though he was tempted, the prince knew it would do no good to be really rough with him. Whatever the enchantment was that had left Merlin in this sleeping state could not be defeated by forcing the person awake. It would only result in more harm to Merlin rather than help him. Arthur almost wished he had some magic within him that would undo the sleeping enchantment, but he didn’t, so the point was moot.
He let out a frustrated sigh, and for lack of anything better to do, Arthur observed Merlin as he tried to come up with an idea to wake him up. His gaze settled upon Merlin’s soft lips, and he became entranced by them. He recalled all the times that he had touched those lips, how they felt against his own…how intoxicating it had been when Arthur had slipped his tongue past Merlin’s lips and…
And suddenly, he was struck with an idea. Arthur recalled a story that Morgana had told him when they were younger. Well, it was more like she had trapped him in her chambers on a rainy day. She had used him and Gwen as her audience and she had told them a few fairytales that she had grown fond of lately. Unfortunately, Morgana had gone through a disturbing fairytale phase and could not resist discovering as many stories as she could. Arthur had found them to be quite disturbing, in that they were nauseating to listen to.
One particular tale he had hated – Morgana, surely, had made it up just to spite him – was about a spoiled blond prince (Morgana’s complimentary words, not his) who went off to slay a dragon and the creature ended up eating him.
But the story that was of use in this situation was about a princess who had been cursed into an enchanted sleep. Only the kiss from a prince, her true love apparently, could undo the curse and wake the girl from her cursed slumber.
Arthur decided to try and see if it would work in this case. Merlin was a bit of a girl at times after all…and well, he was certain that the matter of Merlin’s true love was…
He shook himself – this was ridiculous. Arthur knew Merlin’s heart almost as well as his own. Still, the rumor spell had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. He had been so focused on ending the wretched spell that he hadn’t given himself a chance to truly consider the implications.
What if Merlin did feel something more for Morgana than simple friendship? They certainly spent more time together to practice magic – no matter if Arthur and Gwen were there with them most of the time. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility – but no. Arthur refused to even let himself give into doubt. Albeit he did wonder if, perhaps, Morgana’s magic would help in waking Merlin up from his enchanted sleep.
He dispelled the doubt in his mind and focused on the task at hand. He had to take action now. He couldn’t waste any more time ruminating about things that were very unprincely matters to dwell on. Women fussed over this sort of issue of love, not men like him. Certainly not.
And so he bent down so that his lips touched Merlin’s in a chaste kiss.
A wave of relief swept over him when he saw Merlin’s eyes open dazedly.
“Arthur…?” he said in confusion, peering up at him.
“A crazy forest nymph placed you under an enchanted sleep. I’m here to rescue you, you idiot,” Arthur explained quickly.
“Oh…” Merlin only said, still uncertain what had happened. He sat up slowly, and shook his head, rubbing the back of it afterwards. “I was just in the forest,” he recalled. “And then I fell asleep… I can’t remember what happened after that.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “You’re completely useless, Merlin. Honestly, it was a nymph…a nymph!”
Merlin just blinked at him.
“You’re supposed to be a powerful sorcerer. That’s what the mad nymph even said! And she bested you with barely any effort! Seriously, Merlin. That’s disappointing.”
But it seemed that Arthur was angrier on Merlin’s behalf than Merlin himself was. He must have taken a knock to the head as well. The prince would not be surprised. “Um…did you just kiss me, Arthur?” He asked him, completely ignoring what Arthur really wanted to discuss.
“Yes. And it worked – you’re awake and we really should go before Cypress comes back. Although it has been some time, so maybe she has left for good…”
“Cypress?”
“That’s the nymph’s name.”
“Oh, okay. And how did you know that kissing me would wake me up?”
Arthur stopped. This was what he didn’t want to talk about it. “I wasn’t sure it would work. I remembered something that Morgana had told me once and decided to test it out,” he informed him with a shrug.
Merlin looked at him quizzically. “And what did she tell you?”
“Merlin, please. It’s not important. What is important is that we get out of here.”
“I’m just curious… what did Morgana tell you?”
Despite Merlin’s light tone, Arthur could see his smile growing wider.
“If you’re just going to laugh, then I’m not saying anything!” He retorted, quite annoyed.
“No, no! I’m sorry, Arthur,” Merlin tried to placate him. “Morgana told me about the tale of true love’s kiss undoing a sleeping enchantment. I just – I…Arthur, oh…” Merlin paused, realizing what the prince could be so uneasy about.
Merlin reached his hand out to caress Arthur’s cheek, pulling the blond closer to him. “Like you said, it worked. There is no one I care for, love more than you, Arthur.”
Arthur did not answer him in words, deigning instead to kiss him passionately – demanding lips touching soft, earnest lips as Arthur’s tongue teased its way into Merlin’s wet, sweet-tasting mouth. The prince positioned himself on top of him so that Merlin was forced to lie back down upon the bed of leaves.
“If you would stop parading all those manservants in front of me to make me jealous,” Merlin said, when Arthur pulled away to breathe.
He moved off of him with a disgruntled huff and now seated, he explained indignantly, “That wasn’t why I did it!” He glared at Merlin. “And I did not ask for you to conjure a ridiculous rumor spell – the spell has been lifted by the way, no thanks to you. But impregnating Morgana? Really, Merlin? What do you take me for – an idiot? You may be one, but I am most certainly not!”
“No, you’re a prat. So why did you do it then? I have a right to know.”
Arthur shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he told him with a tired sigh. “I’ll let Oliver go, pay him for his troubles. And I promise you that I’ll stop with the manservant charade.”
“It wasn’t very nice,” Merlin remarked.
“Casting a rumor spell that could have gotten you killed if it went sideways was rather reckless, Merlin. So, I wager we’re both even here.”
Merlin nodded in resignation. “Yes, I suppose we are.”
And so the two of them made their way out of the cave and then they rode back to Camelot, Merlin sitting behind Arthur. Despite Merlin’s insistence that he could magically transport himself back, Arthur refused. He wanted Merlin where he could see him. Just in case any nymphs were about and managed to snatch Merlin once again without Arthur there. And the prince knew quite well that Merlin still wasn’t completely comfortable with magical transportation. It was best not to trust the unknown in this matter.
As they rode away, they did not see the nymph Cypress, her red hair restless in the light breeze, watch them go.
Her Mother had reprimanded her for taking the handsome sorcerer against his will. So, sadly, the nymph had let him go and allowed the prince to rescue him. She had hoped that the blond prince would be clever enough to figure out how to wake Emrys, and she had been right. And a truer love she did not know then that of the prince for his sorcerer. The nymph smiled at the thought.
The wind seemed to carry her away as she vanished.
~ * ~
Merlin apologized to Oliver for his unfair treatment toward him. For Oliver’s part, he accepted the apology warily. Even more so, he appreciated the pay that Arthur gave him, which was the prince’s way of saying, “Sorry we put you in the middle of our fight and you were treated poorly because of it.” Even though Arthur didn’t say it – because princes certainly did not apologize – Oliver took the money, which was more than he should have received, as a gesture of good will and just accepted it gratefully.
And so Oliver gathered his meager pack of belongings and he left Camelot. He decided that the city was not the place for him after the unpleasant ordeal he had had to go through.
He stopped by a river during his journey back home when he came upon a pretty redhead. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She gave him a curious look.
“Er…hello,” Oliver greeted her.
“Hello, I’m Cypress. You have the gift about you. Magic,” she said, tilting her head, still peering at him in interest.
“I’m Oliver,” he told her, but he was uncertain whether he should reveal anything more. The girl was a stranger after all. “I’m not sure…my mother died when I was very young, but my father didn’t talk much about her when I asked him. I saw her…once, maybe it was a dream, but…I’m almost positive I saw her do magic. But I’ve never done any magic. I don’t think I can. Maybe it had been a dream.”
Cypress shook her head, smiling at him. “Oh, I am never wrong. Your mother was a witch. The gift is weak within you, but it is still there. Trust me.”
“Who are you? Are you a witch?”
“Oh no! I am simply a nymph of the forest. I can give you a gift, Oliver. Would you like one?”
Oliver looked uneasily at Cypress. “What exactly is this gift?” He wanted to know.
The nymph smiled reassuringly at him. She spoke earnestly. “You will like it. Oh, you will! You’ll be free, and you will never be lonely.”
“I don’t know…” he said, still undecided.
“I do not grant gifts lightly, you do understand. This is a great honour. I would be most sad if you say no,” she explained to him, her green eyes bright.
Oliver had a feeling that he was going to regret this, but well…the nymph did seem sincere. And really, what else did he have to look forward to in life? Another city, another village…trying to find work.
It would just be more of the same.
And so he accepted her offer of a gift.
Cypress turned him into a majestic black horse. She smiled in delight at him and stroked the horse’s mane lovingly.
“You’ll be free to run and play. No human will ever ride you,” Cypress vowed.
She said a few words and an opening appeared before her. Beyond the opening lay an enchanted forest. The nymph led the horse through and then she closed the opening behind her once they were both inside the concealed forest. The horse neighed as he galloped off to explore the magical forest. Cypress danced in merriment with her sisters, the dryads and fauns coming out to join in the celebration, and the spirited music from the fauns' instruments had the party going until dawn.
~ * ~
“Merlin,” Arthur said, turning to his manservant who was resting beside him on the prince’s bed.
Merlin faced him, a soft smile on his lips as he looked at him. “Yes, Arthur?”
“Could you – with your magic -- retrieve a star out of the night sky? Is it possible?” He wondered aloud.
“For you, my lord, I could try. I’d do anything for you,” Merlin told him, the sincerity clear in his words.
Arthur took a deep breath and released it, and then he said carefully, “Merlin, I care for you a great deal. I daresay I--”
“Yes, Arthur?” Merlin prompted gently.
“I love you,” he said, his blue eyes piercing Merlin’s.
Merlin smiled, appearing quite pleased and grateful for the pronouncement. Then he lightly teased, “Well, that’s good to know if you ever get placed under a sleeping enchantment. I can rest assured that I’ll be able to save you.”
Arthur huffed. “Oh, shut up, Merlin.”
Merlin grinned at him.
~ * ~
*** I feel like I wrote a surprise Chronicles of Narnia crossover at the end there. Not sure how that happened. If anyone's interested, I was inspired to turn Oliver into a horse because of the movie, King Arthur, where it's hinted at that Lancelot was reincarnated as a horse (IDEK...:p). So I was paying tribute to that, I guess? I think I'm halfway tempted to write a fic where everyone gets turned into horses (talking ones, maybe?) and have mad adventures...*whistles*
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Morgana (just to make Arthur nervous), Gwen, OCs
Spoilers: Inspired by 2x01 and 2x03, but no direct references. Takes place in the near future.
Disclaimer: The show Merlin is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary (for this sequel specifically): Arthur tries to fix the situation and ends up arguing with a possessive nymph. He sincerely hopes that Merlin will appreciate the rescue.
Author’s Notes: Arthur and Gwen both know about Merlin and Morgana’s magic in this.
Sequel to: Tread Carefully. It would be best to read that first to better understand what’s going on in the sequel. :)
~ * ~
Arthur entered Morgana’s chambers without so much as knocking before making his way in.
“Have you two lost your minds?” He asked without preamble.
He sat down in a chair, not caring who was in the room before doing so.
Gwen came to meet him. She looked quite ill at ease.
“My lord--” she started.
Arthur simply gave her a look.
“Arthur,” Gwen corrected herself with a small sigh. “Lady Morgana is not in any state to see visitors. She’s asleep.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow. “Oh? Is she ‘inconsolable, sequestered in her chambers’ then?”
“Yes, the rumors are quite true. It is unfortunate, but mistakes can happen.”
“Guinevere, if you will insist on continuing this farce, then I will leave.”
The two of them simply stared at each other almost as if each were waiting for the other to blink.
Arthur broke the stifling silence. “I don’t see you as someone to betray her friends.”
Gwen looked aghast. “I never!”
“Guinevere, my manservant – at least until I can talk some sense into that idiot – told me that you have been spreading lies. He called them ‘rumors.’ And he seemed to believe the truth of them.”
“This isn’t really the best time. Maybe--”
“Now,” The prince continued on, heedless of her words, “you and I both know that while my dear sister and my hapless manservant have a certain magical bond -- in a literal sense -- they have not, nor ever will – consummate this bond. Because they aren’t in love with each other. They are just friends.”
“But you do admit to feeling uneasy about the two of them – because they share magic, which is something you don’t have,” Gwen spoke softly, in a gentle tone so as to placate Arthur. She knew that she was speaking the truth though. The prince had confided this matter to her only a few weeks ago. She had noticed how this troubled him, more than Arthur was willing to confess to most of the time.
“Merlin is in love with me,” Arthur’s eyes blazed as he said the words, almost as if daring anyone to contradict him. “Morgana is in love with –” He gestured with his hand, unsure what to say, and deciding that a vague wave would suffice as his answer. “--something, I haven’t a clue, but this ridiculous magical predicament must come to an end. If this rumor reaches my father and he believes it, then Merlin’s head will be rolling – and not in a visually pleasing manner. Do you understand, Guinevere?”
“Yes, sire…Arthur, I--”
But then Morgana was walking toward them, her rest clearly over. Arthur didn’t think she looked all that inconsolable.
“Oh, Arthur. Please do stop troubling Gwen. It’s quite rude.”
Arthur rounded on Morgana, a ready glare on his face. He was most certainly not in a good mood. “I want you to stop the rumor spell. This is absurd.”
“It was Merlin’s idea. I was only being a good friend by helping him.”
“Well then, be a bad friend! End the bloody spell right now!”
“That,” Morgana began. Arthur looked impatient. She knew that he wouldn’t like what she would say next. She continued on anyway, “would be a difficult thing to do. To lift the spell in the proper manner, I need Merlin here with me. We are the two who cast the spell, so we have to be together once again to remove it. But you shouldn’t be so worried about it – we made sure that the spell would control the spread of the rumor, so that the rumor would not reach Uther’s ears.”
Morgana’s reassurance did not sway Arthur at all. The fact that the spell was inherently risky was enough reason for him to end it. He asked, “Where is Merlin anyway?”
Morgana answered him, appearing rather complacent in the face of Arthur’s unease. “I am not sure. He did, truly, leave. But he did not tell me where he went precisely. He could very well simply be camping out in the forest. It should not be too time consuming to find him.”
“All right. I’ll drag him back here if I have to if that’s what is needed for this insanity to end. Why did you do the spell in the first place? Are the both of you asking for a death wish?”
Morgana shrugged. “Merlin believes you were hiding something from him. So he decided this rumor spell would make you mad enough so that you would tell him why you’re ‘testing out manservants’.”
“Merlin is frankly the worst manservant I’ve ever had. Is it really that much of a surprise why I’m seeking a new manservant?”
Morgana and Gwen looked at him in complete disbelief.
Arthur stood his ground. “I’m not saying a word.”
“Well, as long as you tell Merlin. Though, knowing you, I would not be surprised if the reason was rather pathetic,” Morgana said.
Arthur raised his hands in frustration. “All right! I’m going to leave now. This was informative, really, but I’m going to find Merlin. Good bye.”
And with that sentiment, the prince left Morgana’s chambers.
~ * ~
After taking a good amount of time looking for him, Arthur could not find Merlin. He was not out in the forest near Camelot and there was no sign of where he could have gone off to.
Then, when he was about ready to give up, he encountered his first nymph. He would soon fervently hope that it would be his last encounter with such a creature.
Considering this forest nymph, Cypress as she called herself, was the one who had taken Merlin and placed him under an enchanted sleep – keeping him inside a cave that was dimly lit by the nymph's magic. She was pretty and youthful, as all nymphs – if there had been any truth to the bards’ tales that Arthur had heard as a child – probably were, with red hair the color of fire and lively green eyes. The nymph almost appeared to float as she walked, her long, pale green dress barely touching the ground as she moved about.
Arthur had demanded to know why she had taken Merlin and she had given him unsatisfying answers. Cypress said something about a gift she wished to offer Merlin – and that she wished to keep him, which the prince told her in no uncertain terms that Merlin would not agree to that arrangement. That she was better off keeping him asleep if she wanted him to stay and to never return to Camelot.
But then the nymph assured him that Merlin would be easily persuaded…that she was quite certain that he would stay. Arthur was personally offended by that – he felt that he knew Merlin well enough to know – deep down – that Merlin would choose him, Arthur, over anyone else. Barring an enchantment, of course. If that nymph dared to do that to him – to enchant Merlin to stay with her, then Arthur would be sorely tempted to kill her. Except how did you kill a nymph exactly? Weren’t they immortal? He sincerely hoped not.
What annoyed him even more was that the nymph refused to allow him near Merlin. Arthur saw that he was asleep upon a well-made bed of leaves in a far corner within the cave. As far as Arthur could tell, Merlin appeared peaceful in his sleep. But the fact that the nymph did not wish to harm Merlin did little to abate Arthur’s great frustration with her. No matter her intentions, she couldn’t be allowed to get away with this.
So he entreated her that Merlin would be in even greater danger if he wasn’t taken back to Camelot. He told her that there was a spell involving his manservant that would cause the king of Camelot to come after Merlin and order his execution if the spell fell apart. Arthur told her that Merlin needed to return to Camelot to lift the spell properly.
But Cypress, expectedly, was not easily persuaded. Instead, she suggested, “I can turn him into an oak tree.”
Arthur stared at her in disbelief. “No, absolutely not!” He disagreed vehemently.
“But he’ll be safe then!” The nymph cried. “They won’t find him! He won’t be executed!”
The prince gritted his teeth before he let out slowly, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. “But. He. Will. Be. A. Tree. I’m sure if Merlin were awake right now, he would object to being turned into a bloody tree!”
“But--” Cypress tried to argue.
Arthur interrupted her, his patience waning quickly. “But no. I can not believe I’m arguing with a nymph.”
After several long moments in which neither of them spoke – the silence stifling between them, the nymph appeared to reach a decision. “Oh, all right. I will help you,” she conceded.
Arthur was glad that she finally seemed to have seen sense. “Good. Wake Merlin up and I’ll take him back with me.”
She shook her head. “There’s no need. I’m certain I could lift the spell you speak of.”
Arthur groaned and then he told her fiercely, “My sister Morgana cast the spell with him. She told me explicitly that she needs Merlin with her to lift the spell properly!”
“She does not know the power of my kin,” Cypress countered him. “I can lift the spell, and you can go back to Camelot, if you wish, to insure that the spell has been removed.”
“You must wake Merlin up. I will not leave without him.”
“No, I don’t want to,” She sounded quite petulant now, Arthur thought.
“You can not keep him here! He’s a human being. This is wrong!” He tried to get through to her.
Unfortunately, the nymph was unwilling to see his point of view. “Return and I may be more willing to part with him.”
“‘More willing’?” Arthur repeated incredulously. “You should not even have him in the first place! He’s mine—he belongs to me!”
“You’re rather rude, you know,” she remarked.
“You’re the one who took him!” Arthur reminded her, shouting at her. “I would say that was rude.”
Then the nymph’s lips trembled and she looked on the verge of crying.
Arthur wondered again at how he managed to get himself into these situations.
Oh, right.
Merlin.
After some awkward patting on the back, and a few comforting words from Arthur to calm Cypress down (even though he wanted to force her to disenchant Merlin right now, but she was a magical nymph after all…he couldn’t really retaliate against her if she chose to fight him with magic, which bothered Arthur a lot actually, but there was little he could do about it), the nymph finally collected herself enough to get back to the matter at hand.
She asked Arthur if he could tell her exactly what the spell was, so that she could remove it correctly. Arthur did as she requested – explaining to her what Morgana had told him about the rumor spell. The nymph touched Merlin as she performed the counterspell – apparently, Merlin did not need to be awake for her to draw whatever she required from him to do the spell. Arthur wished that she would at least give him the courtesy of speaking to Merlin. He suspected that she was concerned that Merlin would try to leave if he saw Arthur.
She completed the spell, and Arthur knew it was time to depart, no matter how reluctant he was to do so. But he had little choice in the matter. He had to check for certain if the rumor spell had been removed. Maybe when he returned to the cave, Cypress would be more cooperative? Arthur could only hope.
Arthur could see Merlin murmuring in his sleep as he left the cave. He clenched his jaw tightly, trying to breathe in and out to calm himself when he observed the nymph sitting beside Merlin and touching him – stroking his hair, only, but no matter. Arthur did not like it at all.
He decided that he wouldn’t mind if he’d never meet another nymph ever again. They were all rather infuriating creatures. They probably lured men to their deaths…
Or were those sirens?
Arthur shrugged as he climbed up onto his steed. Either way, he would be more wary from now on. And berate Merlin for being bested by a forest nymph – his manservant was a powerful sorcerer, for heaven’s sake, what was wrong with him?
Grave mental disease, quite possibly… Arthur sincerely hoped that his idiocy would wane over time.
It was lucky that Merlin had Arthur to rescue him.
Very lucky indeed.
~ * ~
So Arthur rode back to Camelot and he went straight to Morgana’s chambers to discern if, in fact, the nymph Cypress truly had lifted the spell.
After checking magically, Morgana assured Arthur and Gwen that the spell had been lifted properly. Apparently, the nymph had been trustworthy after all despite placing an unwilling Merlin under an enchanted sleep, which Arthur was determined to rescue him from. The only positive thing about her was that she didn’t wish Merlin harm. So her agreement to lift the spell to save Merlin from an unpleasant situation if the rumor spell went awry was greatly appreciated.
Arthur found the nymph to be, quite simply, a very misguided girl who just happened to be a nymph with an unfortunate adoration of Merlin. It seemed his manservant’s magical abilities were ‘legendary’ and left many magical entities utterly fascinated by his great power. Arthur thought it was rather ridiculous and he himself would certainly not do or say anything to inflate Merlin’s ego. Even though the prince did believe – just a little bit, mind you – that there was some merit in the nymph’s words.
As an extra precaution, Morgana asked Gwen if she could ask the servants if they knew about the rumor – if everything was back to normal, then they should have no inkling about the rumor.
Gwen nodded and went on her way to complete her task.
After her departure, Morgana asked if Arthur was interested in seeing what she had learned recently magic-wise. Despite his annoyance that magic – the blasted rumor spell -- was the cause of this ridiculous predicament they were in presently, Arthur still was quite curious when it came to seeing what magic had to offer. So he couldn’t resist any opportunity to play spectator to a display of magical spells.
Before he knew it, Gwen had returned to the room. She smiled warmly at Morgana as her mistress transfigured a piece of fruit into a flower. After Morgana offered the flower to her, Gwen – who looked quite pleased, a blush spreading upon her cheeks -- sat down to relay to what she had found out.
“I talked to the servants,” Gwen informed them. “They weren’t talking about the rumor. Because of how sensational the rumor was, the matter of the Lady Morgana being with Merlin’s child would have kept the gossip hens in a good frenzy for a while,” Gwen explained. “But they had no idea what I was on about. I simply said, ‘the rumor about Merlin’ mind you. I was cautious about it, but there was little reaction. Then a few of the servants started laughing and asked me if I meant the usual rumor.”
Arthur raised his brow in consternation. “The usual rumor?”
Gwen blushed then. She waved her hand, appearing quite shy all of a sudden. “About you and Merlin. I mean you are the prince after all. People will talk…”
“What?! Why am I just hearing this now?” Arthur nearly shouted in indignation.
“Oh, Gwen, you forget the best part: the game.”
Arthur rounded on Morgana. “What game?” He demanded to know.
“A bit of a secretive matter, so it’s little surprise you haven’t heard about it, Arthur. Fortunately, I know my way around the court better than you,” Morgana said sweetly, smiling at him.
“Morgana, my patience is wearing thin.”
“Well, you see, some are deciding on the best threesome – choosing amongst the four of us: you, me, Gwen and Merlin. It does not take the most observant person to notice that we have been spending more time together.”
“Threesome…?” The prince uttered in sheer disbelief.
“Yes, Arthur. It is quite interesting. It’s all about suitability. Which three personalities would work best together in the bedchambers…”
Arthur stared at her and spun around on poor Gwen. “You knew about this?”
“Just what my lady has told me,” she said in a rush.
“I personally think that I, Gwen, and Merlin would make the best threesome. I imagine you’re far too selfish in bed.”
Arthur pointed a finger at her. “There is no way I’m going to share Merlin.”
“My point exactly,” Morgana said, sounding quite smug.
Gwen shifted the conversation to another subject when Arthur looked about ready to voice an angry rebuttal. “Everyone is still talking about the baker’s daughter and Sir Gawain…”
“I bet she baked him some fresh bread,” Morgana said, her smile widening.
“It was quite warm, last I heard,” Gwen remarked thoughtfully.
Arthur slipped out of the room as the two girls fell into a fit of giggles. Women were frightening sometimes, he thought.
~ * ~
He returned to the cave to find the nymph strangely absent, though the cave was still lit as if she were present. She wasn’t anywhere near the cave either. Arthur wondered if she was just away for a bit and would come back – but if she were so bent on looking after Merlin, why would she leave? And with the nymph gone, how could Arthur wake Merlin up if he were under an enchanted sleep? He could just carry him out and load Merlin up on his horse, but it would be cumbersome to ride in such a way with the extra weight.
Blasted nymphs, he grumbled to himself.
Whatever he decided to do, Arthur knew he had to decide fast before the nymph Cypress came back.
He ventured further into the cave and he sat down beside Merlin who was still asleep, barely moving. If it were not for his chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out, Arthur would think he was dead.
Arthur shook Merlin’s shoulders, hoping that would cause his manservant to stir.
Merlin’s eyelids fluttered, but that was all.
Though he was tempted, the prince knew it would do no good to be really rough with him. Whatever the enchantment was that had left Merlin in this sleeping state could not be defeated by forcing the person awake. It would only result in more harm to Merlin rather than help him. Arthur almost wished he had some magic within him that would undo the sleeping enchantment, but he didn’t, so the point was moot.
He let out a frustrated sigh, and for lack of anything better to do, Arthur observed Merlin as he tried to come up with an idea to wake him up. His gaze settled upon Merlin’s soft lips, and he became entranced by them. He recalled all the times that he had touched those lips, how they felt against his own…how intoxicating it had been when Arthur had slipped his tongue past Merlin’s lips and…
And suddenly, he was struck with an idea. Arthur recalled a story that Morgana had told him when they were younger. Well, it was more like she had trapped him in her chambers on a rainy day. She had used him and Gwen as her audience and she had told them a few fairytales that she had grown fond of lately. Unfortunately, Morgana had gone through a disturbing fairytale phase and could not resist discovering as many stories as she could. Arthur had found them to be quite disturbing, in that they were nauseating to listen to.
One particular tale he had hated – Morgana, surely, had made it up just to spite him – was about a spoiled blond prince (Morgana’s complimentary words, not his) who went off to slay a dragon and the creature ended up eating him.
But the story that was of use in this situation was about a princess who had been cursed into an enchanted sleep. Only the kiss from a prince, her true love apparently, could undo the curse and wake the girl from her cursed slumber.
Arthur decided to try and see if it would work in this case. Merlin was a bit of a girl at times after all…and well, he was certain that the matter of Merlin’s true love was…
He shook himself – this was ridiculous. Arthur knew Merlin’s heart almost as well as his own. Still, the rumor spell had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. He had been so focused on ending the wretched spell that he hadn’t given himself a chance to truly consider the implications.
What if Merlin did feel something more for Morgana than simple friendship? They certainly spent more time together to practice magic – no matter if Arthur and Gwen were there with them most of the time. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility – but no. Arthur refused to even let himself give into doubt. Albeit he did wonder if, perhaps, Morgana’s magic would help in waking Merlin up from his enchanted sleep.
He dispelled the doubt in his mind and focused on the task at hand. He had to take action now. He couldn’t waste any more time ruminating about things that were very unprincely matters to dwell on. Women fussed over this sort of issue of love, not men like him. Certainly not.
And so he bent down so that his lips touched Merlin’s in a chaste kiss.
A wave of relief swept over him when he saw Merlin’s eyes open dazedly.
“Arthur…?” he said in confusion, peering up at him.
“A crazy forest nymph placed you under an enchanted sleep. I’m here to rescue you, you idiot,” Arthur explained quickly.
“Oh…” Merlin only said, still uncertain what had happened. He sat up slowly, and shook his head, rubbing the back of it afterwards. “I was just in the forest,” he recalled. “And then I fell asleep… I can’t remember what happened after that.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “You’re completely useless, Merlin. Honestly, it was a nymph…a nymph!”
Merlin just blinked at him.
“You’re supposed to be a powerful sorcerer. That’s what the mad nymph even said! And she bested you with barely any effort! Seriously, Merlin. That’s disappointing.”
But it seemed that Arthur was angrier on Merlin’s behalf than Merlin himself was. He must have taken a knock to the head as well. The prince would not be surprised. “Um…did you just kiss me, Arthur?” He asked him, completely ignoring what Arthur really wanted to discuss.
“Yes. And it worked – you’re awake and we really should go before Cypress comes back. Although it has been some time, so maybe she has left for good…”
“Cypress?”
“That’s the nymph’s name.”
“Oh, okay. And how did you know that kissing me would wake me up?”
Arthur stopped. This was what he didn’t want to talk about it. “I wasn’t sure it would work. I remembered something that Morgana had told me once and decided to test it out,” he informed him with a shrug.
Merlin looked at him quizzically. “And what did she tell you?”
“Merlin, please. It’s not important. What is important is that we get out of here.”
“I’m just curious… what did Morgana tell you?”
Despite Merlin’s light tone, Arthur could see his smile growing wider.
“If you’re just going to laugh, then I’m not saying anything!” He retorted, quite annoyed.
“No, no! I’m sorry, Arthur,” Merlin tried to placate him. “Morgana told me about the tale of true love’s kiss undoing a sleeping enchantment. I just – I…Arthur, oh…” Merlin paused, realizing what the prince could be so uneasy about.
Merlin reached his hand out to caress Arthur’s cheek, pulling the blond closer to him. “Like you said, it worked. There is no one I care for, love more than you, Arthur.”
Arthur did not answer him in words, deigning instead to kiss him passionately – demanding lips touching soft, earnest lips as Arthur’s tongue teased its way into Merlin’s wet, sweet-tasting mouth. The prince positioned himself on top of him so that Merlin was forced to lie back down upon the bed of leaves.
“If you would stop parading all those manservants in front of me to make me jealous,” Merlin said, when Arthur pulled away to breathe.
He moved off of him with a disgruntled huff and now seated, he explained indignantly, “That wasn’t why I did it!” He glared at Merlin. “And I did not ask for you to conjure a ridiculous rumor spell – the spell has been lifted by the way, no thanks to you. But impregnating Morgana? Really, Merlin? What do you take me for – an idiot? You may be one, but I am most certainly not!”
“No, you’re a prat. So why did you do it then? I have a right to know.”
Arthur shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he told him with a tired sigh. “I’ll let Oliver go, pay him for his troubles. And I promise you that I’ll stop with the manservant charade.”
“It wasn’t very nice,” Merlin remarked.
“Casting a rumor spell that could have gotten you killed if it went sideways was rather reckless, Merlin. So, I wager we’re both even here.”
Merlin nodded in resignation. “Yes, I suppose we are.”
And so the two of them made their way out of the cave and then they rode back to Camelot, Merlin sitting behind Arthur. Despite Merlin’s insistence that he could magically transport himself back, Arthur refused. He wanted Merlin where he could see him. Just in case any nymphs were about and managed to snatch Merlin once again without Arthur there. And the prince knew quite well that Merlin still wasn’t completely comfortable with magical transportation. It was best not to trust the unknown in this matter.
As they rode away, they did not see the nymph Cypress, her red hair restless in the light breeze, watch them go.
Her Mother had reprimanded her for taking the handsome sorcerer against his will. So, sadly, the nymph had let him go and allowed the prince to rescue him. She had hoped that the blond prince would be clever enough to figure out how to wake Emrys, and she had been right. And a truer love she did not know then that of the prince for his sorcerer. The nymph smiled at the thought.
The wind seemed to carry her away as she vanished.
~ * ~
Merlin apologized to Oliver for his unfair treatment toward him. For Oliver’s part, he accepted the apology warily. Even more so, he appreciated the pay that Arthur gave him, which was the prince’s way of saying, “Sorry we put you in the middle of our fight and you were treated poorly because of it.” Even though Arthur didn’t say it – because princes certainly did not apologize – Oliver took the money, which was more than he should have received, as a gesture of good will and just accepted it gratefully.
And so Oliver gathered his meager pack of belongings and he left Camelot. He decided that the city was not the place for him after the unpleasant ordeal he had had to go through.
He stopped by a river during his journey back home when he came upon a pretty redhead. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She gave him a curious look.
“Er…hello,” Oliver greeted her.
“Hello, I’m Cypress. You have the gift about you. Magic,” she said, tilting her head, still peering at him in interest.
“I’m Oliver,” he told her, but he was uncertain whether he should reveal anything more. The girl was a stranger after all. “I’m not sure…my mother died when I was very young, but my father didn’t talk much about her when I asked him. I saw her…once, maybe it was a dream, but…I’m almost positive I saw her do magic. But I’ve never done any magic. I don’t think I can. Maybe it had been a dream.”
Cypress shook her head, smiling at him. “Oh, I am never wrong. Your mother was a witch. The gift is weak within you, but it is still there. Trust me.”
“Who are you? Are you a witch?”
“Oh no! I am simply a nymph of the forest. I can give you a gift, Oliver. Would you like one?”
Oliver looked uneasily at Cypress. “What exactly is this gift?” He wanted to know.
The nymph smiled reassuringly at him. She spoke earnestly. “You will like it. Oh, you will! You’ll be free, and you will never be lonely.”
“I don’t know…” he said, still undecided.
“I do not grant gifts lightly, you do understand. This is a great honour. I would be most sad if you say no,” she explained to him, her green eyes bright.
Oliver had a feeling that he was going to regret this, but well…the nymph did seem sincere. And really, what else did he have to look forward to in life? Another city, another village…trying to find work.
It would just be more of the same.
And so he accepted her offer of a gift.
Cypress turned him into a majestic black horse. She smiled in delight at him and stroked the horse’s mane lovingly.
“You’ll be free to run and play. No human will ever ride you,” Cypress vowed.
She said a few words and an opening appeared before her. Beyond the opening lay an enchanted forest. The nymph led the horse through and then she closed the opening behind her once they were both inside the concealed forest. The horse neighed as he galloped off to explore the magical forest. Cypress danced in merriment with her sisters, the dryads and fauns coming out to join in the celebration, and the spirited music from the fauns' instruments had the party going until dawn.
~ * ~
“Merlin,” Arthur said, turning to his manservant who was resting beside him on the prince’s bed.
Merlin faced him, a soft smile on his lips as he looked at him. “Yes, Arthur?”
“Could you – with your magic -- retrieve a star out of the night sky? Is it possible?” He wondered aloud.
“For you, my lord, I could try. I’d do anything for you,” Merlin told him, the sincerity clear in his words.
Arthur took a deep breath and released it, and then he said carefully, “Merlin, I care for you a great deal. I daresay I--”
“Yes, Arthur?” Merlin prompted gently.
“I love you,” he said, his blue eyes piercing Merlin’s.
Merlin smiled, appearing quite pleased and grateful for the pronouncement. Then he lightly teased, “Well, that’s good to know if you ever get placed under a sleeping enchantment. I can rest assured that I’ll be able to save you.”
Arthur huffed. “Oh, shut up, Merlin.”
Merlin grinned at him.
~ * ~
*** I feel like I wrote a surprise Chronicles of Narnia crossover at the end there. Not sure how that happened. If anyone's interested, I was inspired to turn Oliver into a horse because of the movie, King Arthur, where it's hinted at that Lancelot was reincarnated as a horse (IDEK...:p). So I was paying tribute to that, I guess? I think I'm halfway tempted to write a fic where everyone gets turned into horses (talking ones, maybe?) and have mad adventures...*whistles*