Those Who Waited (BBC Merlin)

Chapter 11: Secret Friend With the Secret Stories

A new chapter! I hope you are all enjoying this, I had had it in my head for some time & Merlin was just too beautiful and too sad to not try to write something!! Please comment/vote so I can know what you think :)

It took a fortnight and two days for Merlin to wrap his ancient, cluttered mind around Susetthe's repeated presence; and another full day of playing a game where she hid and he searched, for him to realize that he had already grown used to her and greatly enjoyed the energetic, witty, slightly-cocky child. He spent everyday with his friend—his only friend, really—playing games that she made up or telling her stories, both fantastical and taken from his memories. They were difficult to speak, and Merlin frequently wanted to cease and leave, but Susetthe had a way of convincing him to continue. Perhaps it was the way her eyes lit up with interest and awe, or she cocked her head and narrowed her eyes when she just knew he was lying or skipping details. Or, more likely, it was the way she never grew upset at them, or him, even when he began to include the less pleasant details.

Merlin spoke of Arthur for the first time in a thousand years.

Autumn was beginning, he could tell by the crispness in the air and how the leaves in some of the trees began to pale from deep emerald green to mint and saffron. Susetthe sat beside him in the middle of the clearing, hands clasped and rubbing absentmindedly in her lap as her eyes were stuck fast to the side of his wrinkled face, while he sat facing forward into the forest. He didn't look at her, and either she simply didn't care or she just didn't ask why. Merlin wasn't sure which it was.

He had just finished telling her about the time he and the prince had hunted the castle for the king's ghost, a particularly scary story, yet she had only gasped and her blue orbs had widened to the size of saucers. He'd asked several times if she wanted him to switch stories, but she had insisted on him continuing. Now, the two sat in silence as both processed and absorbed it.

Then, she giggled and grinned, eyes glittering. It was such a Gwaine-like expression, Merlin knew immediately that he was about to be teased. "I can't imagine you as much of a poet," she stated, mock-thoughtfully. "Both you and Arthur seem far too clumsy and dumb to recite lovely songs and praises."

The girl snickered as Merlin playfully nudged her shoulder, and the old man bit his tongue. Susetthe had no qualms saying any names, yet despite the fact that he had told her them all, he still felt his heart lurch. If he hadn't become numb by now, he probably never would. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to, and found himself rather glad he still reacted.

"What do you imagine us as then, O all-seeing one," he teased back, smirking under his heavy beard. Her lips pursed as she squinted seriously, tilting her head in thought.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, voice trailing slightly as the child got lost in her thoughts. "Mama and Papa—and Gwaine too—think you're my imaginary friend, and that I'm doing this thing where you dream during the day—but you're awake, and your eyes are open." Merlin nodded, showing he understood what she meant.

"I just imagine you," she smiled easily, satisfied with her answer despite its vagueness. "You're my secret friend with the secret stories."

"What do you mean?"

"No one else knows you, so you're secret," she said slowly, as if he were the child. Merlin nodded patiently, humoring her. "And you tell your stories really quietly, even though there's no one else here. So they're secret," she shrugged rather conclusively.

Merlin straightened and blinked, suddenly feeling as confused and inept as he had in his original youth—never sure how to take people's comments to him, or how to respond. His mind flashed to when he'd first met Guinevere in Camelot. They both had been clumsy, embarrassed, and tripped over their own and each other's words. It had never even occurred to him that she had been flirting. Just as then, he never really thought that Susetthe was so very intelligent and purposeful.