MERLIN / MERTHUR ONESHOTS

Your Boy

AN-
oh look a teeny tiny sad lil drabble.

TW- brief mention of suicide
CW- C!Death

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The knights rode in an eerie silence, an uncomfortably heavy weight compressing their voices. A weight that smarted their lungs, burned their throats and forced an immense pressure upon their heads. They were solemn, faces contorted into a mask of grief, a mask of disbelief, one of complete anguish.

The horses galloped on, heads hung and hooves unnaturally quiet against the ground. They grunted slightly as the exhaustion caught up but they didn't speak, they didn't dare. The saddles dug into their spine, a reminder of the weight they would miss, it was comforting in a way.

The sunlight was dimmed by the dark clouds looming overhead, clouds that split and emptied upon them. The rain poured without room for bargain, soaking the knights down to the bone, capes laying limp behind them. They refused to brush the water from their face, their tears mingling within it.

They didn't stop when nightfall hit, riding on in the dim moonlight, eyes drooping and breathing shallow. The stars were cowering behind the clouds, forgetting they knew how to sparkle, not willing to when they sky should reflect the darkness of this time. The critters that would once fill the night with a creeky song had dwindled into an empty echo.

The knights halted as the village came into view, their lives still continuing for they didn't know. Their hearts beat slower as regret clawed into them, their news soon to destroy a home. It had looked so peaceful, protected by time, movement stilled besides from the gentle flickering of torches.

"Perhaps we should wait until daybreak Sire."
Leon suggested, his voice cracking from where his tongue had forgotten it's task. His head nodded towards the sky where the endless abyss had begun to fracture into splinters of light.

"I think you are right, we shan't disturb their slumber."
Arthur replied, he didn't recognise his own voice. It took much for him to not turn to his side, to seek out the wisdom of the boy he held so dear. A pressure built within him that wouldn't pass, this was wrong.

"I'll be lookout, replenish your energy Sire."
Lancelot spoke, sounding grim. He had already swung off his horse, a hand gently petting agaisnt the creatures face.

"I-, thank you Sir Lancelot."
His eyes squeezed tight so he wouldnt have to acknowledge the space between them. The ground was uneven, the grass moist with condensation, the knights welcomed its reminder.

Lancelot had woken them hours later, as the sun had broken from beneath the horizon, peaking over the surrounding valleys. Arthur didn't comment on the dark circles and bloodshot eyes of his knight, he didn't comment on the unruly hair and unsymmetrical cape, he didn't comment for he knows he shares the same reflection.

The village stills as they approach, eyes burning into them with suspicion, their presence symbolic of tragedy. Even the children are glum, watching wide glistening eyes and a bottom lip that trembles with progressive fear. The elders don't hide their disdain, wearing it with a stubborn pride.

"King Arthur?"
A voice breaks through the silence, she sounds confused, hopeful. Arthur has to push down the nausea as she looks around the group expectantly, frowning when she doesn't see her son.

"Merlin?"
Her voice but a whisper, it's speaking truths it doesn't know, doesn't wish to know. Tears already stain her pale cheeks and the knights have to blink away their matching ones, glaring at the skies and cursing the Gods.

"I think it would be best that we go inside Hunith."
Arthur tells her, reaching forward to grasp her arm. Her entire body is electric, it shocks him the way it travels through his own.
"Of course."
Arthur had never seen her so lost before, her words empty and promising agony.