Merlin's nightmares begin to spiral out of control, plaguing his sleep and taking over his mind. When Gaius' medicine proves unhelpful, Mordred steps in. New feelings arise when the pair become closer, inviting Merlin to a whole new world of love an...
Recap:After Kilgharrah gets into Merlin's head about the prophecy, he allows his fears to overtake him and cloud his judgement, causing things between Merlin and Mordred to break.
A/N:Thank you so much for waiting!! More notes will be at the bottom of this chapter!
Special thank you to @ bwebins for proof-reading this and making sure I actually make sense. You rock!
Oh, one more thing! I made a darkMerlintrailer! It's at the top of this chapter if you wanted to watch it. Thank you! You can also watch it on my Instagram // @mooonwaffle
TW:mention of depression. It's also important to mention that when Merlin leaves in the middle of the night to find something at the bottom of the lake, Mordred thinks he's trying to drown himself. This isn't at all what's happening, Mordred just momentarily thinks that's the case! Nonetheless, I wanted to give a trigger warning.
More notes at the end!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
MERLINCHOKEDBACKASOBas tears ran down his face. He watched Mordred disappear down the hall until he was alone once again until he heard a voice that made his world crumble to pieces.
"You've both been lying to me? You have magic?"
Merlin spun around to see Arthur walking out from another hallway where he'd been hiding. He was fuming with anger, but there was something else. He looked hurt, betrayed. "Are you going to deny it?"
Painful years of built-up lies and secrets seemed to fall apart upon hearing Arthur's words. Everything he'd done to protect himself was nothing compared to the truth that the king now knew. Arthur's eyes were filled with enragement similar to Uther's, an anger that shook Merlin to the core. On instinct, he took a step back, pressing his back to the wall.
"Tell me it isn't true, Merlin. Tell me you're not a sorcerer." Arthur's voice was raw with judgment, something he hadn't heard in a very long time.
Merlin thought of ways he could deny the accusations, more lies he could tell. But that would only end in more fire, and he was sick of burning the ones he loved. He took a deep inhale and let out a shaky sigh.
"I can't tell you it isn't true," Merlin choked out between sobs. "I promise you it isn't what you think. I only use it for you and Guinevere, to protect you. I love you, Arthur. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. Magic isn't evil, it's those with mal intentions who seek to harm others. Please, Arthur. You're my friend, you have to believe me," Merlin made the mistake of stepping forward to touch the king.
Arthur didn't think twice before drawing his sword. Merlin knew it wasn't really his friend choosing to act on betrayal. The fear he held was dealt by Uther, years of brainwashing him to believe that all magic was evil. The only magic he'd been exposed to was how his mother and father died. Those who turned on him did so in the name of magic. It wasn't Arthur's fault, but Merlin couldn't ignore how miserable it felt to be looked at with fear, to have a sword pointed at him by a friend.
