The Final Straw

Heyyy, this is a oneshot based off of this pin: https://pin.it/1jvB6ek
This is my first Merlin fanfiction, thanks for reading!!
I don't own Merlin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final straw. He called it the 'final straw'. I know I make fun of him (a lot), and I know I'm a bit rude to him (a lot rude), and I know that I make him do all sorts of odd tasks and simple tasks I could do myself, and that I call him a coward often, and that I constantly insult him but I never thought he would leave. Scratch that, I thought he would've left years ago, but after he didn't, I never thought he would leave now. I know it was cruel, in retrospect.

"Watch where you're going, Merlin, you great buffoon; you almost stabbed me!"

Giving a little mocking bow as he does, he apologizes. Putting that stupid emphisis on sire, and that little grin.

Hunting trip. Just Merlin and I. 3 days, 2 nights; the afternoon of the second day. I did all of the hunting, he tagged along, holding all of my things. Like always. Then I made the biggest mistake of my life.

"Merlin, since you are so keen on stabbing something, you're killing the next animal we come across, and then you're cooking it for our dinner." I should've backed down when I saw that he went as white as a sheet. I should've backed down when he was swaying on his feet. I should've backed down when I saw that terrified expression. Instead, I called him a coward, and the mask went up. He thinks I don't notice how he turns his features into an unreadable 'happy' face. I do.

It ended up being a doe. I pushed Merlin towards the creature, spear in hand. Then his eyes grew wide, and then I saw the fawns huddled behind her. With the way they weren't all running, I knew one of the fawns was hurt. God I'm so stupid.

"Go on Merlin, kill it," I taunted. His hands shook. He begged me not to make him do it. Stupid, stupid, stupid Arthur. "Coward. Come on Merlin, be a man." After almost 10 minutes of my leering and taunting, he killed the poor creature; stabbing her right in the heart. I elected to ignore the pain in his features, how he swayed on his feet, how his eyes were empty.

That couldn't be horrid enough of course, so then I had to open my mouth. "While you're at it, put this one out of its misery, and kill the other two, they won't last a day without their mother." I don't know how long it took. All I know is I forced him to do it. 4 carcasses, laying at my feet. One of the fawns was cooked for our dinner. He hasn't spoken to me in hours. He went to bed without eating, while the sun was still up.

I barely slept, and I swear I could hear whimpering. I ignored it, like the coward I am. I call Merlin a coward for showing compassion, whereas I'm one because I cannot. Fitting.

The next morning, Merlin still doesn't speak to me, his eyes glazed over as he packs everything up. He ignores me as I talk to him, though I do not blame him for that, how could I? His posture is slumped, as if the weight of the world is resting on his frail shoulders. To know I'm the one that put that there makes me sick.

We ride home in complete silence, save for the horses. Nothing tried to attack us. I was left alone to my thoughts, and Merlin to his. I wish I knew what was going through his head. I wish he would talk to me. Or yell. Anything would be better than being shut out.

After however many hours of riding, we get to Camelot. Merlin unpacks everything, like normal. Being the fool I am, I don't attempt to help, though I do wait for him. Then I ask.

"Merlin? Why- why won't you talk to me?" My voice shakes, something that takes me by surprise. I wasn't expecting him to respond, truthfully. But he did, and what he said hurt me more than being ignored did.