Broken Crown - Merlin

Laughable Destiny

It had begun to rain. The two of them – mainly Merlin – had gotten the fire started, but it wouldn't last long if the rain kept pouring down so violently.

It was one of the colder evenings, the sky was covered in a blanket of dark-grey clouds, and the lighting was overall just eerie. Merlin had wondered if it had anything to do with magic since the weather the days before had been merciful.

Merlin sat beside Arthur in front of the fire, looking around rather suspiciously. Arthur didn't seem to notice.

The wind was strong, but there was nowhere to take cover.

It had been a calm evening, despite the rain, and it wasn't until a bright flash of light showed itself from above, followed by a loud crash of thunder, that the two of them had given a start.

The king and Merlin didn't seem to have expected the sudden change in weather, and Arthur found all extremely inconvenient.

He wanted to say something but didn't know what. Instead, he reached out for both his and Merlin's sleeping rolls and held them over their heads for cover.

"Damn this weather" Arthur growled. Merlin nodded in agreement, but his eyes kept shifting from one side of their camp to the other. He felt odd and prayed that no enemy would show themselves.

Arthur cast a glance at the sorcerer beside him, rain dripping from his nose,

"It's thunder, Merlin, there's nothing to be so terrified of" Arthur frowned. Merlin caught his eyes for a split second before returning them to the thick blanket of darkness ahead.

It was obvious that they were both freezing, "I'm not terrified" Merlin said with a low voice. Arthur shook his head slightly and looked out at the almost put out fire. Merlin had noticed too, that the fire was letting them down.

A moment passed, and the fire had almost completely gone out. Without giving it an extra thought, Merlin mumbled a foreign word, and the flames once again danced happily amongst the many raindrops without at all struggling with the rain trying hard to choke it.

Arthur looked at it with wide eyes, his eyes focused hard on the warm flames dancing calmly in the stormy weather.

"You did that," he suddenly said, "didn't you?"

Arthur turned to look at Merlin with knitted eyebrows, and Merlin soon realized what he had done.

"Sorry, sire... I just thought-" Merlin stuttered, "I don't know what I thought-" he hesitated to look Arthur in the eyes, but when he did he saw no hatred whatsoever at all.

"No, it's..." Arthur looked at the flames once more, "it's alright" the king responded, and to Merlin's surprise, Arthur did seem alright with it.

He was surprised that Arthur took it so well. Maybe the king wouldn't mind seeing it again, "I just thought that now you knew, I could... You know..." Merlin sighed, giving up.

"Never mind" he looked down, and instantly regret the reckless thought that had entered his mind.

They were silent for a while.

"What else can you do?" Arthur asked suddenly. Merlin looked up at the king with wide eyes and followed the direction his eyes were gazing. The flames acted as if the rain and the thunder were nothing but an illusion. That it was a sunny, dead calm day like any other. It made the king of Camelot wonder. Was the fire an illusion too?

He stretched out his arm close to the fire and felt the warmness of the flames, and Merlin watched as he did so. It was real. But it was magic. And it was Merlin's magic.