Crossfire

"That's All That Mattered"

Merlin

"Good evening. I made you two bread-"
"Thank you kindly, but we're just going to go to bed," Arthur replied, cutting the woman off, his grip on my hand tightening. I flinched from the rough contact, letting myself be dragged to the bedroom, my thoughts betraying my actions. My mind was hyperventilating from anxiety and worry. He's mad. Letting a tear drip, I looked down in shame, watching as Arthur's grasp with my hand was then detached. My eyes stuck to the floor as Arthur shut the door, sighing once we were blocked from the outside world. A quick moment passed, silence protruding the air.
Once nothing was heard, Arthur then rushed over to me, taking both of my hands in his hold. "Merlin," he said, concerned. Upon hearing nothing in reply, he wiped a loose strand of hair from my face, then moving his hand down gently until it rested on my cheek, cupping it with a delicate motion.
"Merlin?" he tried again.
"You didn't reply to my question," I quietly cried.
Arthur sighed in defeat. "Merlin," he breathed, examining me for injuries. "Did he hurt you?" He lifted my shirt, stopping upon seeing my scars. Taking a hand, he touched the dented skin, then softly rubbed and guided his hand until it reached the end of the line. Arthur then looked up, searching for something in my eyes. "Did he hurt you?" he questioned once again.
"No," I mumbled. My eyes took notice to Arthur softly gripping my chin, pulling it up for me to look at him.
"You're not a monster," he finally answered with sympathy.
"You're not just saying that, right?" I trembled, sobs now wrecking my body.
"No, no—of course not. You're not a monster, Merlin," he hushed soothingly. "I've met many monsters before. I assure you that you're not one of them."
I felt his thumb gently wipe a tear from my cheek, placing his lips against my forehead with care. Gratefulness swarmed into my mind, a warm feeling begin to tug in my gut, a small, distressed smile beginning to etch on my face. I then felt Arthur drift away from me, as I watched him travel to the bed, kicking off his shoes and socks, lying on the bed limply, not even caring to draw the covers over him. Feeling a tug pull my mouth, I followed his actions, falling on the bed. A moment passed, where we both just stared into each other's eyes, not looking for anything specific—just gazing.
"Tonight is our last," I finally said, breaking the silence.
A grim expression was plastered on Arthur's face. "Yeah," he sighed solemnly.
My pupils dilated. "Morgana isn't going to walk away empty handed."
"She won't bow down either," Arthur added, agreeing to my statement. His hand soon found mine, giving it a squeeze before softly rubbing the top of my hand over with his thumb. "Both of us are going to walk in there, and..." he trailed off, his lips not letting him finish the sentence.
"One of us is going to walk out alive. I know." I gave a sad smile. Sighing, I shifted until I was under the covers, blurriness now clouding my vision. The alcohol was kicking in.
"If by some miracle we both make it out alive, what do you think is going to happen after all of this?" Arthur questioned, his tone careless and drunk, breaking his sentence with a soft laugh.
I grinned, seeing the vision set in my mind. "Well, for one, I would rule Aeyland, and you would-"
"No, Merlin," Arthur began to correct. "What is your dream? Forget all of the political stuff."
It took a moment, but when they finally surfaced, the images were so vivid, they shone as if a moving picture was being displayed on the ceiling. "We would go somewhere far—where nobody can find us."
"Continue," Arthur replied, liking where I was going.
"There would be mountains and valleys. And this lake—" I paused, seeing Lake Avalon make an appearance into the vision. When I sighed, Arthur looked to me, staring with heavy, bleary eyes. We both knew it would never be.
"It would be nice...to forget everything." Arthur turned to face me. "Right? Just have a blank slate. A chance to start over and change fate."
An exhale blew from my mouth. The Gods would never allow it. My mind pondered on the thought of starting fresh.
To forget everything.
"If it's really our last night together, tell me something," Arthur murmured, now staring at the ceiling with me, not really thinking or caring—just dazed in the midst of the conversation we were having.
"Yes?"
"What other secrets are you hiding?"
I exhaled. There were so many. Too many burdens that weighted my shoulders. "I am a dragon lord," I begun, mentally planning to list off everything.
"I figured, considering your father was one," Arthur replied.
"The last dragonlord," I quietly replied, my voice strained at the end of my correction.
He shifted, his stance now uncomfortable. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Sighing, I lethargically waved my hand about, gesturing it wasn't a big deal. "Our bloodline was the last, I always guessed. The word didn't have much meaning to me until my father...passed."
In my peripheral vision Arthur frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why's that?"
I paused. "Because their powers don't get transmitted unless their parent is dead."
"Oh."
An awkward silence followed, as I let myself relapse over the few moments with my father. I didn't know him for long, yes, but he treated me like his son—and that's all that mattered.
"The Druids also told me something," I thought aloud.
Arthur's face became stern. "What of?"
I sighed. "They said I was immortal. I supposedly do not die unless mortally wounded." Biting my lip, I trailed my eyes away from the ceiling.
Arthur just laughed. "Just flaunt the system and say you're immortal to the enemies. They won't even try to fight you."
I weakly replied with a laugh to Arthur's joke. After another minute passed of us just smiling, staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything, Arthur spoke.
"Merlin, I want you to look at me." He paused before continuing. "I want to give you something," he then restated. Giving a tired chuckle, I faced him, one side of my face now squished against the pillow. I then watched as Arthur fumbled with his pants, trying to obtain something from it. After a few moments passed, Arthur pulled out a dead, crumbled flower, the plant now deceased and resting. I squinted for a moment, wondering why Arthur would give it as a gift, when the gears suddenly clicked.
"Is that from the picnic?" I questioned softly, surprised he kept the object.
Arthur gave a warm smile. "Yeah. I know it's dead, but I guess if you wanted it you could keep it." His eyes danced across the room anxiously.
I just laughed in reply. "Thank you. I'm happy you remembered." Then, cupping the flower, I brought it to my mouth, delicately blowing against the plant, mumbling a spell. Arthur watched with amazement as my eyes burned gold, the act seeming to be precious to him. I opened up my hands to reveal a blue flower. The petals were not flakes anymore—but rather a deep, royal blue, the color rich and orphic compared to other plants.
"It's beautiful," Arthur smiled, gazing at the flower with a baffled expression. He then let his eyes travel up to mine, pupils dilating with excitement. "Can you do it again?"
I breathed a smile. "Sure." Placing cupped hands to my face once again, I let the magical words flow, as Arthur perceived the action with pleasure.
I then dragged the plant from my face, letting it face open air for him to see.
"What did you do?" he questioned, his eyes scanning the flower for any differences.
"A protection spell," I answered, smiling at his action. "The flower can now never die since the enchantment has been casted."
Arthur's eyes widened. "You can't reverse it?"
I shook my head.
He just slightly grinned. "Maybe that's a good thing."
Lips curled, my mind analyzed the thoughts I was currently processing. I'm sure Arthur didn't mean to have a double meaning with his reply, but maybe everything was going to turn out in a positive way. There was a small chance we would have a happy ending. It was small, but it was worth having hope for. I gazed at the flower with Arthur. "Yeah, maybe it is."

A/N: Hello everyone! Yeah, this chapter was more reflective than the others, but whose to say what two lovers should say to eachother before their due dates? Another thing—incase you readers didn't know, the flower represents something! I'll let y'all decide what it defines, though! Anyway, if you have liked this story so far, please feel free to leave a vote or comment! Those always make my day! Bye!