We All Make Our Mistakes (merthur)

Part 3

The castle went into a chaotic panic when the warning bells sounded. The king was furious when he learned of Merlin's "treason". He ordered the knights to continue their search until the former manservant was brought to justice. Morgana was furious with Uther, Arthur, and Merlin. The king and prince shouldn't condemn the boy to death when he hadn't done anything wrong, and she was upset with Merlin for not telling her sooner about his magic. Gaius felt nothing but regret. He knew that Merlin was careful enough to not use magic around anyone to give himself away, and after all of this, his accusations against Lady Eris seemed to make more sense.

But Arthur, that damned idiotic prince, he didn't know how he felt. He knew he felt a little angry that Merlin hadn't trusted him enough to believe that he wouldn't tell his father about his magic. Of course he wouldn't. And he hadn't. It was Lady Eris who had solemnly reported the incident to the king while Arthur was still recovering from his shock. The prince also felt worry, worried that Merlin was going to get caught and killed. Worried that Merlin wasn't going to survive on his own. Worried that he'll never see him again. Arthur was afraid to put a name on the feeling he felt for his manservant, but subconsciously knew that it was somewhere along the lines of love. But most of all, he felt guilt. When he could have stopped his father from sending out those guards and protected Merlin, he didn't. Arthur could never forgive himself after that.

~

Merlin took a moment to examine the predicament he had put himself in. He was stuck in a tree with only a small hole the size of his face to provide him sight of the outside world. It was getting dark and frankly, the idea of being trapped in a tree when it's pitch black and eerie was extremely unappealing. With a sigh, he used a spell to conjure an orb of light within the tree, leaning against its interior walls. He allowed himself to relax and he felt his heart ache still. He had failed and now Arthur hates him and Camelot is in danger.

It was then that Merlin let himself cry. Hot tears spilled from his eyes and a choked sob escaped his lips. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes as he trued to stop the flow of emotion. He wanted his mother there beside him, uttering soothing words of comfort. He wanted Gaius with him to give him a fatherly pat on his back and sigh wise proverbs that somehow console him. But most of all, he wished that Arthur was there, roughly teasing him in an effort to cheer him up. His sobs began to subside as he imagined being pulled into a warm embrace by his prince, gentle words of forgiveness whispered into his ear. With these thoughts in mind, Merlin fell asleep, tears still slipping down his pale cheeks.

When he awoke the next morning, sunlight shown through the hole in the tree and his orb faded. Merlin yawned and stretched, finding that the space inside the tree was a lot roomier than he had expected. He picked up his bag (which he had used as a pillow the previous night) and rummaged through it. As he searched it, he noticed that he hadn't packed any rations or food. Merlin's stomach growled and he put down his bag in dismay.

Snap.

The warlock looked up at the sound and quietly peered out the hole of the tree. A rabbit had bounced by his tree and was guilelessly sniffing around the ground. Merlin quickly shifted so he could reach the rabbit and uttered a spell. A ball of fire launched itself at the rodent and it caught fire. The rabbit hopped about furiously, attempting to extinguish itself before collapsing in front of Merlin's tree. The warlock whispered another spell and the fire disappeared. Merlin then tried to reach out and grab it, but found that he couldn't. Cursing under his breath, he looked around and found a pointy looking stick on the ground. He willed it to come to him and he caught it in his hand. he used it to stab the rabbit and pulled it towards him.

Once he finally got it, he decided that maybe living in a tree wouldn't be so bad after all.

~