The Search ➳ Merthur

chapter six

aaaaaaaaa

I went back and changed Gareth to Gaius because I thought he was gonna come up as court physician by now but he never did???

also have I mentioned the tavern meme is my favorite meme

also I'm a fucking sap and I have no regrets so listen to the song for the entire chapter and cry with me

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Merlin stood on the tips of his toes so he could place a vial of potion on the top shelf. He was in the back room of the shop, refilling the stock for Gaius. After he finished this, he would have to go out to collect some herbs. As he reached to the top shelf, he heard the bell on the front door open and Gaius greet whoever was at the door. Then he heard a distinctly deep voice he knew he recognized, but didn't want to admit to knowing who it was. He stayed as still as possible, with one arm stretched up in the air as far as it would go, but he was unfocused on his tasks as he listened to the voices.

"I was told a young man by the name of Merlin was here, is that true?" Merlin heard the king's voice and immediately dropped the vial and ran into the shelves, causing everything to fall and crash onto the floor. The vile scent of the potions as they mixed on the floor made Merlin want to puke more than he already did, after knowing the king was looking for him. He had to get out of there, so the king couldn't find him. Whether it was about the almost-kiss or the fact that he'd discovered Merlin was the sorcerer he so desired to maim, an interaction with the king was the last thing Merlin wanted.

The crash had apparently alerted Gaius, who said, "Merlin? Yes, he should be in the back... Excuse me, sire, let me go check on him. I wonder what that boy has done now..." And then Gaius was opening and closing the door to the back room, and standing in front of him, was a horrified looking Merlin, covered in various potions and products, staring right back at him. There were glass shards surrounding him, all over the floor. Alarmed, Gaius asked, "What happened? And why is the king searching for you?"

"You can't tell him I'm here, Gaius, please, I can't tell you why he's looking for me but I will, just- please don't tell him I'm here. I'm going to clean this up and then get the herbs you wanted from the forest, alright?" Merlin spoke in a hushed voice, shakily. It was taking everything out of him not to break down, because he knew the king would find him at some point, whether it was today or tomorrow or any other time. He was the king, and he was used to getting what he wanted. If he wanted to find Merlin, the small country boy who'd just recently moved into the city, he could find him easily. No matter how many times Merlin avoided him, it was inevitable that the meeting would happen in the future.

However, that didn't change that Merlin was in no desire to have it occur right now. So he decided he wanted to wait out that conversation for as long as he possibly could, and if it meant running away from the source of the problem right now, then he would.

"Alright, but what should I tell him? If I tell him you've gone to fetch herbs he'll just follow you." Gaius said, and Merlin was so relieved he would have hugged the old man if he wasn't covered in various potions.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, now go! Before he realizes I'm here!" Merlin shooed Gaius out of the room. After he shut the door, Merlin pressed his ear to it, in order to hear their voices on the other side. If the king didn't buy Gaius's excuse, he would need to make a quick getaway before he could be found. Hopefully, the prattish king would be dumb enough to accept whatever Gaius said and be on his way. As he listened in, he heard the king's voice again.

"Is he alright? Whoever is back there?" The king asked. Merlin couldn't help but snort, as if the king honestly cared about the welfare of a person he'd not even met. Even less, when that person was a peasant.