Crossfire

"Two Sides Of The Same Coin"

Arthur

A day has passed, and it seems as if Merlin's mood had made a drastic swing—frustration to happiness. I'm glad his anger subsided. I hated to see Merlin in such a fragile state. Recently I've tried to send him nonchalant messages—hoping he'd noticed what I had to offer. A knuckle rub to the head, a pat on the back, even several looks into his eyes. Merlin didn't seem to grasp on to any of the hints. He just gave a weird smile to my actions and continued to do what he was doing before.
When we stopped to rest the horses, I tied my mare to a tree, taking out a chunk of crusty bread, before promptly trudging over to Gwaine.
The knight looked my way, giving a cheeky grin, before gesturing for me to sit beside him.
"Actually, Gwaine, I need you to come with me." I yanked his arm, as he then stood up.
"Yeah; what's up?"
My eyes shifted to the sides. "Privately."
Gwaine gave a soft chuckle, clapping me on the back. "Whatever you say, princess."
Once the two of us made it to the thicker grove of the area, I looked about before speaking to him, my voice hushed. "I need to ask a favor from you."
The knight's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What of?"
I sighed. Handing him the chunk of bread I had to offer, I replied, "here's my bargain."
Gwaine hesitantly took the bread. After sniffing it, he took a rather large bite, chewing the food absentmindedly. "So what's this favor?"
I bit my tongue. It's now or never. "I'm in love with someone. And I keep giving them hints, but nonetheless, they don't seem to notice any of them."
"And you're asking me? Well, Arthur, you came to the right person." Gwaine rubbed his hands in excitement. "Who is this lucky woman? I need to know who I'm working with, here."
Shifting, I looked down, feeling heat scatter across my face. "It's not a woman."
"I knew it!" A prominent gasp escaped from the knight's throat.
My eyes rapidly flew up. "What? Knew what?" I felt the blush deepen, as my heart thumped loudly against my chest.
Gwaine dropped his voice to a hushed whisper. "It's Merlin, isn't it?"
I stood, flabbergasted at the words that just flew out of his mouth, complete shock written on my face. "Am I that obvious?"
He just shrugged in reply. "I don't know. I am the love expert, afterall."
"This is bad..." I trailed off, pinching my nose with my finger, rubbing the annoyance from it. Sighing deeply, I stomped my foot, letting the sudden contact with the ground seep through my viens.
"Why?"
"Because if it's obvious, that means Merlin knows about the gestures! He's probably ignoring them!" I closed my eyes. "He doesn't love me." Before I could let anything change, Gwaine quickly cut me off, speaking words of reassurance.
"No, Arthur. I've seen Merlin when he's around you. He seems different. I'm sure he loves you too." Gwaine turned his head to look at the rest of the group. I too, gazed. They were all enjoying eachother's company; talking amongst one another, occasionally laughing at a joke someone would make. Without hesitation, I let my eyes wander to Merlin, who was having an isolated conversation with Balinor.
"Hey, haven't you noticed Merlin's been awfully close to the King?" Gwaine suddenly questioned. His head whipped to look at me, as I continued to stare ahead, seeing his tone of concern and curiosity shine on his face through my peripheral vision.
"Yes, I have," I mumbled with jealousy, beginning to stomp away before Gwaine caught my arm.
"Wait. How about I use some of my awesomeness to make you know I'm right."
I rolled my eyes, turning back to face him. "And how are you going to do that?"
Gwaine gave a smirk. "A dinner. Just you and Merlin together. We'll do it tonight."
"And this is going to work how?" I had my arms crossed now, leaning against a nearby tree.
"Leave that to me," he grinned. Then pushing me out of our hiding spot, he told me to go hang out with the others in the meantime.
I hope Gwaine was as good as everyone said he was.

Merlin

"So how did you meet my mother?" I asked, looking to the ground, playing with a twig in the dirt. I let the marks show lazily from the conjured earth and dust, waiting for my father to answer.
"I was on a hunting trip with my knights," he began. "We were all enjoying our recent caught when suddenly a group of bandits arrived. They were stealthy, I must admit. Soon enough we all realized we were outnumbered. We all fled, eventually losing ourselves from one another, as we were then seperated. I eventually found a village—Ealdor. I met Hunith there." He sighed, taking a moment to stare at my features, then giving a soft smile. "You look just like your mother."
I looked down, blinking. "Why did you fall for her? You had your wife in your kingdom waiting for you."
"Although I may have had a wife, yes, I did not love her. My parents always told me to do what was right for the country. Even if that means marrying for political reasons." Exhaling a breath, he leaned down, resting his elbows on his knees. "We did not marry for love, but rather a contract. For peace and an alliance between the two lands."
My eyes scrunched, the heavily weighted thoughts now dissapearing from my mind. "So then you met my mother." I looked up to face him. "And you found out you love her."
Balinor smiled. "That, I did indeed."
I shifted for a moment. "Did you know you had a child?"
"No. But if I knew I did, I would send him or her secret letters." He breathed a small smile. "Like I did with your mother." Balinor's head then flew up, watching as the knights were engrossed in their conversations, occasionally cracking a joke or two with eachother. My father's hand then traveled to his pocket, where he gently took out an emblem. "The royal sigil," he mumbled, taking my hand, then placing the cold item in it, closing my fingers around it.
My breaths fell heavy. "Isn't the Queen supposed to have this?"
Balinor smiled wistfully. "I am afraid to say she is long gone."
Eyes widening, my heart began to constrict in my chest, fingers twitching. "I-father, I can't do this." I searched for sympathy in his eyes. Something to tell me he understands that I won't have to rule an entire kingdom in the future. "I've never been a royal, and I never will." I tried to give the sigil back to him before he quickly put it back in my hand again.
"I know this may be hard for you, son. But realize who you are. You were destined for great things. To bring Albion to its fullest with Arthur." He paused. "I believe in you. Arthur will guide you when you are weak, as you will do the same with him. You both are two sides of the same coin."
Looking away, I cracked a humorless smile at the repeated phrase he had claimed about Arthur and I. I let my emotions drift. Balinor had truly loved Hunith. He wasn't like most kings who would forget a lady they would meet when lost.
You'll be a great king, Merlin, Balinor's voice rang through my head.
"Alright!" Arthur's voice suddenly shouted to the entirety of the group. "Let's move out!"

A/N: There y'all go! I'd really appreciate it if y'all would vote and comment on my story! It really means a lot! Bye!