Merlin Drabbles

Elyan

Elyan was the first to notice. It was after the knights of the round table and their king finished clearing out a bandit camp. Of course, they brought Merlin along. Since Arthur found having Merlin do pointless and hard tasks amusing, he had Merlin running off his feet in order to 'lighten the mood'. They had just arrived back at Camelot, and Arthur dumps all the weapons, armor and equipment into Merlin's arms, then tells him to take care of the horses and muck out the stables before dinner. Merlin sighs deeply and turns to go do his tasks. All the other knights didn't seem to notice Merlin struggling with the door, they were too caught up in something Gwain was saying, must have been funny since they all burst out laughing. The knights parted, all headed to their own chambers. The thought of a warm bath and his soft bed was very tempting. But the little voice inside him, which he assumed was his conscience, told him he should at least check on Merlin, there was no way he could get all of that cleaned and polished before dinner; not to mention the horses and stables. Elyan sighed, the voice wouldn't let him sleep soundly if he ignored it. He made his way to the door Merlin somehow miraculously managed to open, but couldn't close since it was still ajar. He followed to trail of open doors through the castle, making his way to the armory. The armory door was ajar as to be expected, Merlin's arms were overflowing with armor. Elyan was just surprised he didn't drop anything. Something he heard stopped him, he heard Merlin whispering something, and he couldn't make out what he was saying.
He knew he shouldn't. Eavesdropping is wrong.
He shifted, quiet as a mouse, so that his back was to the wall right next to the door. He strained his ears, still not understanding what Merlin was uttering. He realized he could hear Merlin perfectly clear, he was speaking in a foreign tongue. Merlin knew another language?
He peeked through the opening. The first thing he noticed was a breastplate piece, floating in midair, and a cloth seemingly having a mind of its own and cleaning the piece of armor. The next thing he noticed was that every piece of equipment was floating, a few had tiny hammers ridding them of dents, and the others were being cleaned and polished. The last thing he noticed, was Merlin. His hand was up, as if conducting the objects, and his eyes were beautiful, glowing shade of gold.
Oh, OH!
Elyan whipped his head back and inhaled sharply, holding back a yell.
Merlin. Magic.
His brain was trying to process the two, seemingly opposite words, as one and the same. And things started to make sense.
Branches falling 'randomly' and knocking out their enemies in battle, enemies dropping their weapons just as they were about to strike a killing blow, convenient gusts of wind or fire...
The way Merlin rode into dangerous battles right beside them, with nothing but the shirt on his back and a neckerchief for protection. How they won against impossible enemies that couldn't be killed with a normal blade.
The immortal army! Had that been Merlin?
He looked again, Merlin was smiling and humming a tune. There was something peaceful, something pure in the air. This wasn't like when they faced evil sorcerers, or Morgana. This was something different. Besides, Merlin had ten years to hurt Camelot, or the king. Arthur trusted him with his life, (though he'll never admit it), and he's not only heard of, but seen Merlin lay down his life for Arthur's.
Elyan relaxed, this was Merlin. Their Merlin. Magic or not, he was still-
A loud clanging metallic sound echoed through the armory into the corridor, one of the pieces fell limp to the ground.
"Oh come on-"Merlin sighed, and reapplied the spell.
Elyan held back a chuckle, he was still clumsy old Merlin.
A smile made its ways across his face, he took a few steps back.
"Merlin?" He shouted, as to alert his sorcerer friend of his presence. He had to hold back a laugh when he heard said friend yelp in surprise, perfectly timed with the loud clanging sounds of what he assumed was all the equipment crashing to the ground. He walked in, spying all the equipment on the ground and the blank expression on Merlin's face.
"Need a hand?" Elyan chuckled, Merlin's face lit up and his cheery, lopsided grin returned.
Elyan didn't ask what happened to the armor and weapons scattered around the room, he didn't press his friend. He simply snatched up a piece of armor and cloth, then plopped down right next to Merlin and began working. Merlin filled the silence with chatter and Elyan was happy to engage in conversation.
Merlin would tell him when he was ready, if he was ready. It's kinda hard to tell the king and his most trusted knights you've been a sorcerer for who knows how long. He trusted Merlin, he had earned that. And he would back Merlin up anyway he could. Merlin took care of his sister, made Arthur less of a 'prat', and has risked his life countless times, maybe even more.
He just hoped that's how Arthur would see it if he ever found out, and Elyan would be behind Merlin if he does.