Never Free ~ Merlin x Reader

1 - The Beginning

Merlin chased the girl through the grass. Her hair flowing behind her as she runs making it look like silk. Her laughter blesses his ears as she runs. She turns her head around for a moment to see how close he is to her but her distraction causes her to trip over a loose stick.

He catches up to her and taps her shoulder.

"You're it!" He grins.

"Hey!" She complains playfully and starts chasing him. He runs the other way as fast as he can but she's faster than him. She always was.

He tries his best to outrun her but she catches up and jumps on him. They fall into the soft grass laughing heartily. Merlin is lying on his back and the girl is laying on top of him. As Merlin pants out breaths, he inhales her sweet scent. Cholocate and roses with a hint of sea salt.

"Got you!" The girl smiles, rolling off him so they both lie on their backs. They pant as they look up at the blue sky decorated with fluffy and friendly clouds.

The girl points up at one cloud in particular. "That one looks like a fish," she observes.

Merlin looks a the sky as well, spotting another shaped cloud. "That one looks like a star," he points.

"That one is a bird."

"That one is a bunny."

"That one is a castle."

"And that one looks like a flower."

"Hey," the girl points to one to her right. "That one kinda looks like you!"

Merlin's eyes follow her finger and land on a humanoid-shaped cloud. It has fluffy hair and little sparks flying out of its stubby arms. Its body is slightly chubby and has a large round face. His nose scrunches.

"That looks nothing like me!" He complains. "That looks like a dwarf. I'm not an ugly dwarf!"

The girl giggles at her friend. "No, no you're not," she agrees, pausing for a moment before turning her head to face him. "You're a cute dwarf."

His eyes widen at her joke in mock offence. She quickly stands up and starts running again.

"Oh no, you don't!" Merlin calls after her, sprinting as fast as he can to catch up. "Get back here!" The girl continues to create distance between them so he pulls out a slip of paper from his pouch, claps his hands together and a ball of lighting forms in his hands. He punches his sparking fists at the ground which propel him into the air and right in front of his best friend. She skids to a halt and right into his arms.

"Gotcha," he smirks. Her arms are trapped by his and he holds her tight, enjoying the lack of space between them.

Her cheeks glow a pale pink which he assumes to be caused by embarrassment. "You cheated," she spits but her lips twitch into a smile. "You used your magic."

"Who said I couldn't?" He raises a brow. "We never said I couldn't in the rules."

She rolls her eyes. "That's because we never established rules."

"Exactly. Therefore, I can use magic."

She huffs. "Fine. I'll allow it this time, but not next time," she narrows her eyes at him playfully. "No magic allowed next time we play tag."

Merlin looks directly into her eyes, the colour mesmerizing him. He's known her for twelve years, he knows everything about her. How has he never noticed how captivating her irises are?

The moment is ruined by the castle bell chiming in the distance. Both tweens groan disappointedly. Merlin lets her go, knowing their time together has to be put on pause for a few hours. Much too long, in his opinion.