Merlin and Arthur in Lockdown

One

The first thing Merlin thought was that he couldn't use magic.

Twenty years ago, when Arthur was just a baby and Merlin wasn't even born yet, magic had been outlawed in Albion. The government declared that too many times those with magic had used their powers for crime and corruption. There were violent conflicts between magical and non-magical members of society. At the time, Uther had been on the throne for only a few years and recently widowed. Not known for being the most pacifistic member of the Royal Family, he declared magic to be downright evil: that was his official stance. Rumour had it that he funded some of the gangs that captured and executed magical people in those dark days leading up to the ban on magic.

Those days were gone now, but Uther's hard stance on magic did not change. He was quick to draw attention to the use of illegal magic in any criminal acts. And there was word that he had his influencers who kept a tight grip on the government so that its laws on magic did not change and Albion did not become one of those magic-friendly countries that neighboured it.

Although many magical people did escape to those territories during the crisis twenty years ago, Merlin also knew many stayed in Albion and practiced magic in secret. Just like him.

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Arthur heard some clanging of cutlery coming from the kitchen. A short time later Merlin came over to the living room and bumped against a bookshelf. 'What is with you today?' He asked.

'We're all a bit on edge, aren't we?' Merlin replied. Especially because I can't use my magic. Not with Arthur around almost constantly.

Which was something Merlin hesitated about when Arthur asked him to be his flatmate. Actually, the fact that Arthur hired Merlin in the first place was itself a shocker. But Merlin put that aside –and really learned to keep his magic a secret- and decided to accept Arthur's offer. How could he not when the Dragon was pretty clear in his head about the role he was to play in Arthur's life?

Arthur grabbed the TV remote off the coffee table and turned on the widescreen mounted on the wall. 'My father is gonna be on the press conference.'

Merlin took a seat on the other end of the sofa and watched prime minister Geoff Monmouth begin the press conference. The case number of the disease had doubled since yesterday. The prime minister read out the figures grimly. He handed over to the chief medical advisor who reinforced the restrictions to be observed during this lockdown. Then King Uther took to the front to say a few words to inspire strength in the kingdom in these unprecedented times. 'We all need to work together in this...' His grey-green eyes pierced the viewers' gaze as he continued with some wise but generic sentiments. Then he declared, 'And rest assured, we will fully investigate the claims of the involvement of sorcery in the emergence of this plague.'

Merlin's stomach dropped. Up until now those were just rumours on the Internet. But now Uther was on board these theories that sorcerers deliberately cast a curse across the globe, creating this plague. Uther had once again started a hunt for those with magic.