(Merlin) Powerful Warlocks Are Still Vulnerable 1/? (M, Merlin, Arthur, possibly Morgana)

[CeruleanBlue]

Hi, all!

It's been a very, very long time since I've posted a fic here. However, that changes now! I've become obsessed with Merlin in the last few days and although I'm only ten episodes in, I have decided that Merlin is the love of my life and I simply had to write fics about him and Arthur. This will entail Merlin, and later, Arthur having colds. I might infect Morgana later on as well, I'm not sure yet. Also, disclaimer for any issues with my writing: I have not slept in far too long and wrote this all in one go. Hope you enjoy! Any comments are greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

It was a cruelly cold, snowy day in Camelot. The temperature was so low that no one was outside, away from the comfort of warm fires indoors. No one, that is, aside from…

“Merlin!”

I have a bad feeling about this, the man in question thought to himself. “Yes, Arthur?” he asked as he entered the prince’s chambers, convincing himself to not hesitate.

“Prepare the horses,” Arthur demanded, and Merlin stared at him as if he was crazy. “We’re going out to escort King and Queen Sarrin into Camelot,” he explained.

Merlin, furrowing his brow and folding his arms defensively, was clearly against this event. He protested, “In this weather? Arthur, it’s freezing out and it’s been snowing a—”

“—Are you questioning the king’s orders?” Arthur asked in the tone he always asked that question: challenging, daring anyone to say yes. “Where they come from, travelling royalty are guided into a kingdom by the heir to the throne as a way of symbolizing the longevity of their bonds and trust,” he elaborated, reciting the details with such authority as if he had grown up in that culture himself. “My father has ordered us to meet them on their way here. I am sure that you would not see that the budding trust between King and Queen Sarrin and Camelot be damaged and the king disobeyed, simply because of a bit of snow?” Arthur was infamous for his manner of speaking venomously when challenged, especially by a servant, of all people, and of course, his warning glares.

Merlin took in a breath before raising his eyebrows briefly and averting his gaze to the floor, arms loose at his sides. “Of course not, sire. Nothing of the sort. I was merely speaking out of concern—”

“Exactly. That’s the problem. You speak when you shouldn’t. Maybe one day you’ll learn that lesson. I hope you do soon, for both our sake’s. It’d waste so much less time,” Arthur chided, seemingly more touchy than usual somehow. Perhaps he was nervous about the royalty arriving or if the trip would be dangerous in the snow, both as Merlin considered. Either way, he was still being a prat and Merlin did not appreciate that.

“Shall I go gather the horses or are you not done scolding me for wasting time?” Merlin retorted in a neutral voice, though the snide intention was clear.

“Just go, already,” Arthur replied, pinching his temple, “We cannot be late today.” With that, Merlin nodded his acknowledgement and left.

 

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As they rode side by side, Arthur could not help but notice Merlin’s body be wracked with the occasional shiver. He almost felt guilty about dragging him out into the cold. Maybe he did feel guilt regarding the matter. He, himself, wasn’t certain. Though he considered some form of assistance such as giving him his own cloak, or at least, checking in on the boy, he decided to put it out of his mind for the time being. They had almost reached the meeting point. It would have to wait.

“Heh-tch’huh!” Merlin sneezed suddenly, rocking forward on his horse and holding tighter onto the animal for support and stability. The action left him sniffling and Arthur staring. A stare that Merlin could feel without even looking. “It’s just cold out here. Sometimes the cold gets to my nose. That’s all,” he clarified, and that was the truth.

“Not that I care, either way. Why would I worry about a man sneezing once?” Arthur retorted.

“Hah’kshhh!”

“Twice. Bless you.”

 

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

 

When the king and queen were finally in sight, Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, though it only reminded him of how damned cold it was when his breath swirled visibly in the air. At least they could head back now. To be perfectly honest, Merlin was no longer listening to Arthur’s prince spiel he gave the soon-to-be-visitors. All he could think about was getting home, inside, by a fire, under a blanket, sipping some warm tea… or maybe sleeping. Sleep would also have been nice. Although, that seemed merely a dream when the wind and snow picked up, blowing extremely harshly.

He began to listen to Arthur again just in time to hear, “Your highnesses, I think it might be best if we take shelter for the time being, until the weather dies down. It’s not safe to ride in this.” Arthur had to yell simply to be heard over the wind. The Sarrins agreed and that was that: they all pitched up their tents and remained inside, making small talk. Well, Arthur and Sarrins made small talk regarding nobility and royal duties and activities. Merlin simply had to lay there.

After about an hour’s passage, the wind came to a practically immediate halt, and the snow became merely flurries. “Did it stop?” Merlin asked, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion. They slowly left their tents to inspect the conditions.

“Well, that was sudden,” Arthur remarked, raising his eyebrows as he ran his gaze over their surroundings. “Merlin, pack our things back up,” he ordered. In the meantime, Arthur resumed his small talk with the foreign royalty. As soon as Merlin finished packing, he felt a pang of… something, perhaps curiosity, drawing him to approach the frozen lake. There was movement underneath the water, and for some reason, it struck Merlin as odd. Merlin took a few steps closer before being able to see a glimpse of it – it was a person!

Merlin ran closer, trying to follow the person as they moved beneath the ice.

“Merlin! Be careful on the ice!” Arthur called, coming to the edge of the lake.

“There’s someone under th—!” Before Merlin could finish his sentence, the last step he took hit a weak point in the ice that cracked before breaking under his feet, sending him falling through the frozen water. He heard a faint noise, likely Arthur calling his name. Merlin tried to swim up to the surface, but the water was so cold that his body simply wouldn’t cooperate quite enough. Luckily, as could have been predicted, Camelot’s brave, knightly prince came diving in after him and managed to pull him up to safety.

As soon as they reached the surface, they climbed onto the ice and paused a moment to catch their breath.

“There’s someo—” Merlin began, only to be interrupted again.

“You fool, why would you walk across a frozen lake?!” Arthur snapped.

“I saw someone. There was someone trapped under the ice,” Merlin explained.

“Are you two all right?” King Sarrin called from much sturdier land.

“Yes, yes, we’re quite all right, my lord,” Arthur called back, grabbing hold of Merlin’s arm and practically dragging him back off the lake. “He hasn’t slept in some time, his eyes must have been playing tricks on him,” he excused.

“But, Arthur, I saw—” Merlin started. Apparently, Arthur had made it his personal goal to not let Merlin finish a single sentence that day.

“It doesn’t matter what you thought you saw, you were mistaken. We don’t have time for this, all right?” Arthur replied quietly in a sharp, finalizing tone. Still, Merlin couldn’t help but cast a worried gaze towards the lake one last time. Once they reached proper land, Arthur announced, “Well, then, I believe it is time for us to accompany you back to Camelot.”

“It is indeed,” King Sarrin agreed, “Lead the way, if you will.” With that, they rode, Arthur at the very front, Merlin at his side as per usual, and the Sarrins behind them. For most of the ride to Camelot, they rode in silence. Well, near silence…

“Hih… heht-ktgdsh! Heh’tchhx!” Merlin sneezed, only able to stifle the latter of the two. He was shivering roughly and constantly, sniffling most of the while too.

“Is he feeling all right?” the queen asked in concern.

“Oh, I-I’m fine, your majesty. Just very cold,” Merlin replied shyly, though he had to scrub at his nose in order to prevent another sneeze.

“He gets like this a lot in cold weather,” Arthur added based off what Merlin had said earlier, even though he had his own suspicions regarding his servant’s health, “No need to worry over a couple sneezes.”

“Hh! Hh’tschhh! Ah’ktshh! Hiktchh!” Merlin’s nose itched almost in defiance against Arthur’s words again and he sent the prince a sheepish look as if to say, “I couldn’t help it!”

“… Over several sneezes,” Arthur corrected himself with a sigh.

Edited January 26, 2020 by CeruleanBlue

[MeForever]

MERLIN! I love Merlin so much and this is written so nicely. It almost makes me want to write a Merlin story as well...

[CeruleanBlue]

3 hours ago, MeForever said:

MERLIN! I love Merlin so much and this is written so nicely. It almost makes me want to write a Merlin story as well...

Thanks!! If you wrote a Merlin fic, I would absolutely die from happiness. I've been loving any SF Merlin content I could get. Maybe if you don't want to bear the full weight of writing a whole story alone, I can help? We could collaborate fully or I could just give some ideas if you want. Though, of course, if you want to write it alone or simply not at all, that's completely fine.

[MeForever]

17 hours ago, CeruleanBlue said:

Thanks!! If you wrote a Merlin fic, I would absolutely die from happiness. I've been loving any SF Merlin content I could get. Maybe if you don't want to bear the full weight of writing a whole story alone, I can help? We could collaborate fully or I could just give some ideas if you want. Though, of course, if you want to write it alone or simply not at all, that's completely fine.

Any ideas are apreciated! That was actually the point I was stumped on as I couldn't think of a plot.

Edited January 27, 2020 by MeForever

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Welcome to the Merlin side, we have cookies! Okay, maybe not cookies... but dragons! And definitely the cutest couple ever. Thank you for sharing, looking forward to its continuation.

[beatlelover22]

Oh yes... I LOVE Merlin and will shamelessly read every Merlin story ever written ❤️ Love it!

[VividBubbles!]

There can alwaysalwaysalways be more Merlin content on this site and I'm pumped to see this added to the collection. The show might have its weak points but the Merlin/Arthur bromance bordering on romance was absolutely perfect. Also you write Merlin's sneezes exactly how I picture them which is just .

Thanks for sharing and I'm so excited to read more! 

[Rook]

YAS YASSSS

[Akahana]

Ah~ yes I'm excited for a new fic!!

[Dylan]

the joy i felt when i saw this omg !! ive been rewatching merlin and ive read and reread all the fics on here so many times 😭

[WishUponAUnicorn]

Aww this is a great start :))

[2SHY222]

🥰🥰🥰