━━ ⦗the swan princess! ⦘
❝ you're beautiful!
thank you, but what else?
... what else is there? ... ❞
███████████ 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝
the courageous odette teaches the
once and future king a less...
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chapter forty-six! 046. far longer than forever
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THEY HAVEbeen riding all night and well into the morning without stopping. No matter Merlin and Ronyn's objections, and urgency to persuade Arthur to let them▬and the horses▬to have a rest, he did not oblige. He had dived into the waters and they had no means to reel him back in. They switched between ongoing canters and gallops down the roads towards the Mercian border, braving the chill in the air and the dangers known to dwell within these woods. Even when Merlin was sure Arthur was just as tired as they were, he did not even slow down once. They often had to race in order to catch up, sharing questing looks at Arthur's rigid, stern and silent determination.
Merlin was growing tired and frustrated. He wanted to save Odette more than anything, but there was no way any of them would be able to complete this journey and get out of it alive if they could barely keep their eyes open. Merlin knew his dear friend was on borrowed time. He knew that they had to make it to her as soon as possible. He knew how much Odette meant to him, to Ronyn and to Arthur▬
And yet, perhaps he did not. Because Merlin was growing incredibly curious at Arthur's unrelenting stubbornness. He seemed even more desperate to reach Odette than Merlin was, and it took him by surprise. Merlin has never seen him act like this over anyone before.
Arthur was going against direct orders from his father. He was threatening war, his life and his future kingdom. He is threatening so much not because someone else asked him to▬not because Morgana begged. This was Arthur's quest, and he was leading it. He was going into the fire to save the life of a serving girl. Risking his life for a servant. Because while to many others Odette meant very little; was lost and forgotten, to Arthur, she seemed to be the only thing on his mind. It was making him reckless and desperate.
No, Merlin has never seen him like this before.
They continued riding without stopping until the sun rose above the trees▬leaving away from dawn and into mid-morning. The only reason they briefly stopped was because Merlin became so exhausted, he drifted asleep on his horse and fell right off his saddle.
He didn't realise until he hit the ground and heard the distressed cry of his gelding. Merlin frowned, glancing at the ferns near his cheeks and felt the rough forest bed under his shoulders. It took him a moment to comprehend, yawning and rubbing at his eyes▬his back was starting to ache. His eyes wandered upwards and saw Ronyn hovering over him, pulling his horse to a stop to stare, taken aback.
Merlin stared up at him. "What happened?" he asked groggily.
His horse threw his head to the side, furious at being startled.
