Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arthur was six years old. Arthur was six and a half years old. Arthur was six and a half years old and extremely,ridiculously bored. He was still, even though he was nearly seven years old, NOT allowed to leave the castle. 

He had nothing to do- well…that wasn’t all necessarily true, he had done some sports and private tutoring lessons all day long.

In sports he had done; archery ,fencing and like thirty minutes of hunting.

In private tutoring he had done;English literature,social studies,Greek ,Latin, music, politics ,government and reading the bible but he was still just so bored- no.

No. No. No.

That was wrong, diabolical, atrocious to say he was bored of reading the bible, the bible was the word of God! God created everything and everyone, the entire universe, he loved all and this was how Arthur repaid him? By calling his words boring!

That was pure Blasphemy.

He was such an ungrateful idiot!

Arthur was however happy he hadn’t said such words out loud because he would be punished in some kind of way, not that he did not deserve to be punished for thinking such horrible things but he did not like having his father angry at him. 

He was the son of the king of Camelot, he did not want to make himself look bad as he would make his father look bad and that would make the kingdom look bad.

He had learned from an early age that his actions reflected on his father.

Arthur looked around his room for something to do but there was obviously nothing. He huffed and fell onto his bed,looking up at the ceiling.

He thought about maybe playing with his two older half sisters, Morgana and Morgause.

Morgause technically was not related to him but she was related to Morgana who was related to him, so Morgause was…well she was definitely something towards him. Like an adopted sister in a way?

Morgause was very tall, six years older than him and very very very scary (obviously Arthur would never say that to her,as his father said that fear is weakness and cowardice).  

Morgana was somewhat more sweet and friendly, also tall and she was only two years older than him so it was easier to talk to her.

Arthur thought about trying to play with them because they were his older sisters who were always hanging out and having fun together but you know what else they were? Absolutely ANNOYING and INFURIATING, they would constantly barge into his room and not even have the decency to close the bloody door!

He also got into a bit of an argument with them(specifically with Morgana) a few days ago.

“Just give me back my quill! It is not my fault you lost yours!” He remembers yelling that at Morgana. “It’s a quill, Arthur. It is not that big of a deal.” Morgause said to Arthur. “You are so dramatic!”

Arthur huffed, Morgana and Morgause always favoured each other over him. The day one of them sided with him instead of each other would be the day the ants start talking!

“Yeah well, it's my quill and I want it!” Arthur yelled, trying to snatch it from Morgana, who did not let him snatch it.

“You have plenty of other quills, Arthur!” 

“Do you think I am an idiot who gives away free quills!”

“I think you hate to poke yourself in where you're not wanted! And I also think you're annoying…ROCK!”

Arthur's jaw completely DROPPED at the AUDACITY Morgana had to say that!

 She just called him a literal…rock!

“OH YEAH?” Arthur got a book, flipped through ,stopped at a page and pointed at a n ugly monster in the book and said to Morgana, “WELL THIS IS YOUR TWIN!”

He then stuck his tongue out at Morgana because that is what she GETS!

Morgana’s jaw dropped, “oh you little-“

“Enough both of you!” Morgause yelled at both, “Arthur, she'll give you your quill back when she gets her new one.”  Morgause said, ending this conversation.

Her and Morgana began walking out and Arthur was furious. He did not get listened to! They ignored HIS wishes as usual!

Arthur felt tears stinging his eyes.

He looked at the book he was currently holding(the monster book  with Morgana’s twin and bound to have a picture of Morgause’s twin).

“YOU’LL BE SORRY FOR THIS, MORGANA PENDRAGON!” He yelled.

You know what Morgana and Morgause did? They LAUGHED. 

“Arthur!” Morgana exclaimed, while laughing.

“YOU WILL!”

 Morgana and Morgause continued laughing like the evil gobblings they are,before running away.

Arthur kicked something and looked at the servant who had been awkwardly standing there who was now looking at him.

“Stop looking at me like that!” He snapped, then strutted away.

So he was very mad at both: Morgana and Morgause. He also felt like if he did play with them then he would feel left out because they obviously preferred each other over him. 

Plus whatever he was better than them both, they might be really good at medical or whatever they are good at(notice how he can barely name anything they are good at? That says more about him then it will ever say about them!), he could and would do it much better.

He looked at the ceiling while lying down. Maybe he could practice the Latin he was taught?

“Salve, nomen mihi est Arthur, quod est nomen tuum?” He said to himself, before sighing. He didn’t want to talk to himself- talking to himself is not fun. 

Also doing Latin by yourself is not fun.

Plus he did Latin all the time and it was getting repetitive and repetitive is a ’professional’  way of saying,boring.

He huffed and walked around his room thinking about what to do. 

He then saw his window. He looked through it. The weather was a little rainy. He was very high up but maybe he could…jump down because if he were to jump down, he would land on grass and grass was soft.

Arthur’s father always told him not to go out without permission but what harm would it do? Arthur thought about it. He really thought about it. He also thought about his father’s displeased face.

 But he also thought about the fact that he was a prince of a kingdom he barely saw. He thought about the fact that he would,in the future, be king of a kingdom he barely got to see. How would he know anything about taking care of a kingdom if he had never truly seen it? 

Perhaps he could learn new things, learn how to help anyone struggling and maybe he could even make friends!

Arthur did not have any friends he just had allies, well allies is what he likes to call them but in all seriousness they are his rivals. His main goal is to be the best, it was his grand plan.

He looked away, then at the window, then away then he went to get his outdoor shoes on and something with pockets in it so he could carry maybe some money just in case he made friends and they all wanted to buy something, he didn’t want to be the only one without money, that would be humiliating and embarrassing.

He put his boots, his red scarf and his jacket on and he took a deep breath and jumped right out the window.

His father did not have to know!

He landed rolling, he felt a bruise on his knee but besides that he was surprisingly fine. He got up and started to walk around.

It was very busy, he did get a bit of stares from some(he did not know why) but nobody went out of their way to call him “sire” , “your majesty”, or whatever they called him. He never realised how peculiar and unusual it felt until this very moment. 

Arthur kept his hands near his jacket pockets as he continued walking, he knew that there were most unequivocally thieves and pickpockets somewhere around here. 

He also swiftly avoided some of the knights since they would recognise him and take him back to the castle and tell his father. He obviously did not want his father knowing. 

Arthur looked around the town at everything, he’d wondered what life would be like if he was not a prince or nobility or even the gentry. 

Okay so Arthur was currently in this forest, he was exploring, he’d never felt this free!

The breeze was nice, the plants were class, everything was perfect. But then ,all of a sudden…he tripped over something.

He fell. He fell hard. He bit his lip to distract himself from the pain. He looked to see what he tripped over.

It was a rope tied to two trees, set up for someone to fall over. 

His knee hurt but he did not want to make a scene, it most likely would become a bruise later and then everyone would get angry at him for causing a fuss over nothing.

"See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
And say, "Hello"
Little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles."

“Hah! I got you Will-“ A boy with dark brown hair came out from behind a massive tree. The boy paused mid sentence. “You’re not- oh my God! I’m so sorry!” The boy immediately ran to Arthur to help him up.

Usually when people apologise to Arthur they never actually mean it, they mainly just apologise because he’s the Prince of Camelot not really because they are truly sorry. Arthur may be young but he is smart enough to know,understand and notice that.

But right now? A child, the same age as him, apologises with no hesitation! A child who does not know he is a prince! A child who does not even know his literal name!

“Merlin, who are you talking to-" a boy with a welsh accent comes out, along with two other boys.

 “Is he alright?” One of them asked, looking at Arthur with a concerned and worried expression.

“Are you okay?” The boy, whose name Arthur suspected is Merlin, asks.

‘Said Merlin’ sits in front of Arthur to try help him sit up. He is extremely close, Arthur sees his blue, ocean, sapphire eyes. 

“Yeah-“ Arthur says and winces a little(which is embarrassingly weak and pathetic for someone who does hunting occasionally, fencing, archery) while Merlin is helping him sit up. 

“I’ll be okay.”  Arthur adds, doing whatever in his power to ignore the pain. If his father was here he would just make Arthur walk it off or call someone else to deal with him.

“I know where to get help! I stay with the court’s physician-“ Merlin started.

Arthur didn’t listen to any more of it because he knew the court Physician, Gaius. 

He often gave Morgana medication for her nightmares and he occasionally helped Arthur after Arthur would get injured in sports however Arthur was not very close with Gaius, obviously they still respected each other and Gaius obviously had a preference out of him and Morgana. 

Nearly everyone preferred Morgana over him,but he did not care about that. He did not care at all. Not in the slightest.

He also knew that Gaius was a good friend to his father and would 100% tell his father if he snook out and was injured.

And he also knew that even though the grazing on his knee hurt it would most likely become a nasty,ugly bruise.

There was no point making a scene about it and he did not need any help. He could do it himself!

“No! It is okay, it doesn’t hurt. It will most likely become a bruise in an hour and then he will just get mad that we made a big fuss about a bruise instead of something that actually matters.”  Arthur says while pulling up the sleeve of his trousers to see the cut.

He hears someone take a sharp intake of breath, he’s bleeding quite a lot but Arthur had also seen some knights with worse and deeper wounds and injuries.

“I can-“ Merlin started and Arthur smacked his hand away.

 “I said it’s okay! I do not need your help, I am capable of dealing with it myself.” Arthur snapped. “I am not an absolute dunderhead.” He added.

He ignored the burning sting because Arthur could deal with it by himself. He did not need help from anyone! He is not an idiot. He bit his lip even harder, another attempt at distracting himself from the pain.

Arthur thought how long other people his age would handle a grazing and he thought about beating them, Arthur liked beating people. Arthur liked being a winner. He loved being a fair winner.

He rips some fabric off his red, ruby scarf(which made a loud tearing noise) and wraps the fabric around his grazing very tightly. He then pulls his trouser sleeves back down to cover his knee.

He slowly and carefully stood up, his knee still stung but he was not going to whine and cry like a crybaby about it, it was his fault anyway he should’ve seen where he was going and not walked through it like an idiot.

Now that Arthur thinks about it,they probably think he is an idiot now. It makes sense too, Arthur is actually surprised they didn’t laugh at him or something, Arthur knows damn well he and his allies would be laughing if someone ever tripped over a trap that was not even made for them to trip over.

“I’m Merlin! Merlin Emrys.” Merlin says to him.

“What’s your name?” He asks Arthur.

“I’m Arthur,” Arthur said to Merlin. 

For some reason he did not say his surname because for some reason he did not want them to know he was a prince, he just wanted them to see him as a normal other child or whatever. Therefore he did not tell his surname to any of them.

“I’m Lancelot Du Lac .” one of the taller boys says, who was also the taller boy who asked if Arthur was alright.

Lancelot and Merlin looked at the other two boys expectantly.

The two other boys did not seem too happy to introduce themselves to Arthur. Arthur wondered if he had done anything to upset them. Whatever, not his issue that two people disliked or hated him, they are entitled to their own opinions about him.

“Gwaine Orkney .” One of them said very dryly and looked directly at him. 

Arthur nodded, unsure on what to say.

“Will Myrddin.” The other one said to Arthur. Arthur nodded again. 

“Pleasure meeting you all.” Arthur said to them with a nodding his head.

Arthur had never heard any of the surnames of them so they probably were not children of nobility or one of the other families that constantly go to church on a Sunday.

“Do you want to play tag with us?” Merlin asks Arthur. He looks excited. 

Arthur still had only played tag a few times, it usually ended with him getting kicked out of the game for apparently getting “too extreme" and  he was “too dramatic.”  But despite that he actually really enjoyed playing it. It was fun!

“Yes and…” Arthur went closer to Merlin as if he was revealing a secret. 

He gave Merlin a bright smile, while Merlin started to look confused.

“You are officially IT!” He said before running away, laughing , along with the others. 

Arthur ran through the forest, avoiding any sight of Merlin. He ran quickly. He hid behind a bush and covered his mouth.  He ran super fast, super quick.

Quickest speed he could. 

He also looked at the ground making sure he did not trip on anything. He climbed up on a big tree. He climbed as fast as light. He ignored any pain his palms were getting.

When he got as high as he could he hid underneath some leaves. He looked at his hands and saw the splinters. It hurt a lot but again he thought about what other people his age would do if they had a splinter. He thought about the ones who cried and thought about how much better he should be and will be. 

He also thought about trying to pull it out but also knew it would be hopeless,stupid and delusional which were some words he heard his father describe people who he had yelled at.

Arthur rested his head against the tree and caught his breath,while he looked up at the sky.

After several minutes, Arthur had gotten energy enough to go down. He did not know where Merlin was until-

“Oh…ARTHURRRRRR,” Arthur heard Merlin say. Arthur got up and ran as fast as he could, with Merlin chasing right after him.

Arthur hid behind a bush, hoping Merlin would not find him. He covered himself in leaves, trying to blend in. 

Arthur thought about his father seeing him in such a mess, Arthur almost snorted at the thought of his reaction, he would be FURIOUS. 

Arthur ,still hiding, somehow fell causing the leaves around him to make a rustling sound. The rustling sound was not too loud but he heard Merlin,who was previously walking, stop dead in his tracks. He heard steps coming towards. 

No. No. No.

Arthur squeezed his eyes closed.

“Arthur, I can see you! I know where you are!!” Merlin said to him. Arthur was not facing Merlin. Arthur closed his eyes.

Maybe if he pretended to be asleep he could get away with it.

“I know you're faking!”

Technically Merlin did not know Arthur was faking, if Arthur managed to make Merlin think he was actually sleeping Merlin would feel like an idiot for talking to someone who was actually asleep.

Arthur kept his eyes shut.

He heard a dramatic sigh from Merlin. Arthur bit his lip to avoid any laughter or smiling.

“Hey! Wake up!” Merlin said, smacking Arthur’s cheek. Arthur did everything in his power to avoid laughing. 

“Come on sleeping beauty, wake up.” Merlin said to Arthur. “Do I have to be your prince charming?”

There was silence, it was suddenly quiet for a good few minutes and Arthur at this point thought that Merlin had walked away or had left him to find the others. 

Arthur was about to take a small peek when all of a sudden he felt lips on his lips. Arthur immediately opens his eyes and jolts right up.

Boys cannot be with boys.

Men cannot be with men.

Leviticus 18:22

“Cum masculo non commisceberis coitu femineo: abominatio est. Cum masculo non commisceberis coitu femineo, quia abominatio est.”

He remembers learning about it in religious studies in his tutor sessions. A boy and a boy together was said to be wrong by the priest and by his father.

Two boys or girls together is unnatural.

It was against the will of God. 

He had gone against the will of God and was going to go to h-

“And the prince is AWAKE!” Merlin exclaimed, interrupting Arthur’s deep thoughts and doing an over exaggerated, over the top dramatic bow. Merlin smirked, “And he is also it.” Merlin said then immediately running off, laughing.

Arthur got up. He stood there for a few minutes.

He’d just been kissed by a boy- maybe this is what friends do? Kiss each other on the lips? Arthur had only ever had friends who were nobility or from another ally kingdom and they had never kissed him on the lips but maybe in different classes, such as Merlin’s, they did.

Arthur snapped out of those thoughts and dashed right after Merlin. 

“I AM GOING TO GET YOU!”

After about an hour, the five of them all sat on the top of a hill, the same hill they all rolled down from. They were all covered in grass and shoes in mud.

Arthur was the messiest he’s ever been,  but you know what? He had so much fun with his new friends!

Merlin was the one who invited him, before even knowing his name and he was super cool and friendly! Merlin was probably the one Arthur had talked to the most. Merlin was the one who Arthur liked the most. Arthur, his silly smile, blue eyes and messy hair. Arthur liked Merlin most out of them.

Lancelot was tall, cool, quick and respectful.  He wasn’t too talkative but not too quiet either. 

Gwaine and Will did not seem to like him much, Arthur could not figure out why. Perhaps Arthur had done something to offend them?  

“Hey guys, look at what I got!” Gwaine says and pulls out something wrapped in cloth, he unwraps it to reveal some bread. 

Arthur was confused on why they all looked at it in awe. It was only a little bit of bread.  

“I managed to gather and get enough money for that piece of bread. It was 2 pence!”

2 pence wasn’t that much? If anything, that bread was quite cheap.

“That isn’t that much.” Arthur blurted out, they all turned to look at him. 

Will then gave Merlin a look. Arthur was not quite sure what that look was saying to Merlin, maybe Will had talked about Arthur when they were playing tag? 

“So I’m- we’re guessing you’re rich.” Merlin said after a long awkward silence. Arthur blinked, how did saying 2 pence was cheap mean he was rich? How did that give it away? He always thought it was basic knowledge.

“That explains the fancy clothes and the fancy way of talking.” Merlin added, Arthur looked down at his outfit. It was very basic(and now dirty), he did not see anything fancy about it nor did he see anything fancy about the way he talks.

“So are you from a family of nobility?” Lancelot asked. His eyes glimmered with something…excitement?

Arthur could go ahead and tell them that he was the prince, he could go ahead and tell that he was the legitimate claim to the throne as he older half sisters were both illegitimate and one (Morgause) was not even related to his father therefore had no royal blood in her, therefore she had no claim or right to the throne.

He could say all that but something told him not to tell them.

“Yeah, my father’s a knight.” Arthur said- or …well he lied.  He felt a little guilty about lying to his new friends but he felt the need to,it just felt necessary. “What about your parents?” Arthur asked to switch the subject  so he wouldn’t have to lie too much about himself. 

They all suddenly seemed upset…Arthur did not understand why. Had he said something wrong? Was there something on his face? Was his tone slightly off?

For someone who studies a lot and has a private tutor he sure felt like an absolute idiot outside of the palace.

“My daddy died when I was younger and then my mummy died last year.” Merlin said, looking down a bit.

Arthur suddenly wished he’d never spoken. Wished he could have his tongue ripped out of his mouth. 

“I am sorry.” Is all Arthur could say, but Arthur was more than sorry. He was devastated for Merlin. He should not have opened his mouth. 

“My parents died in the village I lived in and then I moved here when I was three. I stay with my auntie but her husband and her and my cousins don’t seem to like me much.” Lancelot said and before Arthur could open his mouth Lancelot said, “don’t be sorry Arthur because you didn’t cause it.” 

Arthur nodded, unsure on what to say or do.  

“My dad died fighting for a king and my mother died giving birth to me.” Will then said.

Arthur felt bad for Will but he also felt confused. Usually kings reward the families of those who die from them, right?

“You know Arthur, my father is a knight too.” Gwaine said, looking at Arthur.

Arthur felt a wave of confusion, a strong wave of confusion. 

Surely if he was a child of noblemen then Arthur would have been introduced to them as prince of Camelot?

“Or at least he was, until he died fighting for Camelot leaving me and my mother penniless since the royalty didn’t give a damn about us. So yes, bread that costs 2 pennies is expensive for ME.” Gwaine said, looking directly at Arthur and gave a bitter smile.

Suddenly Arthur felt guilt for the comment he made earlier, he was never told how hard it was for them. For any of them.

There was a long silence. Arthur spent most of that silence staring at the ground. He did not know what to do. He did not know what to say. 

“So,Arthur.” Merlin awkwardly started, “how about you…tell us about your family?” He said awkwardly. He most likely improvised. 

Arthur did not exactly want to talk about his family- not when all his friends were pretty much orphans and also he had to come up with lies since to them he was not “Prince Arthur” he was “Arthur, son of a knight.”

“My father’s a knight,” Arthur started,knowing damn it was a lie. “My mother died giving birth to me.” He had never really talked about his mother. It was considered a ‘forbidden’ topic.

He remembers two years ago Arthur asked his father about his mother,he got yelled at for it and that night he could not sleep so he slept with Morgana and Morgause, who for once did not laugh like absolute infected, disgusting ,diseased, annoying rats and instead Morgana held him close.

“I have one older half sister and one older girl who is my half sister’s half sister.” Arthur stated “They are both annoying, infuriating, insufferable, never stop chatting,nosy and always laughing like two wicked evil witches.”

That earned laughter from the rest of the boys. 

Arthur took a quick glance to see if Merlin was laughing, because out of all of them Merlin was the one who Arthur probably liked most. He liked Merlin’s messy hair and his style. Oh! And his beautiful blue sapphire eyes.

Arthur then looked at the bread that Gwaine brought. It was a small piece. Arthur had enough money to get them all a piece. 

“Do you guys want more bread?” 

They all went to the town together, Arthur had just brought bread for them all as he did not really like the bread, it was not horrible but he has had better before.

He also noticed something that Merlin had his eyes on. It was a book.

“Romeo and Juliet- By William Shakespeare.” 

Arthur had learned about the play in tutoring and watched it in a theatre.

"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."

It was a play,a story- a devastating story of two lovers whose families hate and despise each other, star crossed lovers. Two lovers doomed from the start. Forbidden love. A forbidden love story that ends in a tragic tragedy.

It was obvious that Merlin wanted the book so Arthur brought the book(while Merlin was distracted) and he hid it so he could surprise Merlin! 

When they sat down Arthur got out the book, “Um I saw you looking at it and I thought you might want it.” Arthur awkwardly said. 

Merlin looked at the book and smiled at Arthur. He smiled at ARTHUR! Arthur felt butterflies in his stomach, is this what having proper friends that you made friends with feels like!?

“Thank you!” Merlin said to Arthur, excitedly. 

Arthur wondered if Merlin knew how to read and worried that he gave Merlin a book Merlin- Merlin lived with Gaius right? Gaius knows a lot, Gaius has probably taught him how to read.

Moments later after playing,laughing and talking Gwaine and Will somewhat warmed up to Arthur. 

Eventually, after a few hours the sun began to set in the sky.

As the sun slowly dips below the horizon, it paints the sky a majestic gold. Arthur has always loved sunsets, he has always watched the from the window of his room. He loves the hues of colours blending together to make one more of pure beauty.

Arthur then also realised that it was getting late and that he should probably get back home before his father figured out he snook out of the castle.

“I’ve got to go now, it has been fun.” Arthur said, while slowly getting up and cleaning some of the grass off his clothes.

“Bye!” Lancelot, Will and Gwaine said in unison. (He could've sworn he saw Lancelot and Will cheer)

“Bye!” Arthur said, before turning to walk away.

Suddenly Merlin came running over to him. “You got a gift for me so I got a small one for you.” Merlin said, then he gave Arthur a couple of flowers.

One was a blue violet, it was beautiful, the same colour of Merlin’s eyes.

One was a creamy white colour, forming mounds of glossy, dark green foliage with leaves oval shaped. Arthur believed that this flower was named a Gardenia and it was gorgeous.

One was a scarlet red rose, with prickly stems and glossy green leaves with toothed edges.

The fourth was a pink carnation with delicate,soft fringed petals with a plush texture. The stems were rigid and supportive.

The fifth one was a daisy.

They were all gorgeous and stunning.

Merlin then took the flowers one by one and put them in Arthur’s hair and kissed Arthur on the cheek.

"My lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender."

Arthur’s stomach did a back flip and he felt his cheeks warm up.

In this small moment he had forgotten what the word sin had even meant.

“Will you come back tomorrow?”

Arthur thought about it, it would be fun. It would be so much fun! Way better than being locked up inside a dull old castle.

“Yes, I will come back tomorrow.” Arthur said to Merlin.  

“Goodbye Arthur!”

“Goodbye Merlin.”

Arthur obviously could not climb up to his window(he will admit that he did try to and fell), getting down from that window was much easier than getting up. So instead he had to enter the castle. He hid from guards and covered his face and quickly made it to his chambers.

When he had gotten to his chambers he immediately shut the door and sighed of relief because thankfully nobody had spotted hi-

“And where have you been?”

Arthur froze. 

He completely froze.

 He looked ahead to see his father there. 

“Out.” Arthur said quickly, he could not lie because he could not even figure out a lie to make up.

“You did not even ask me.” Uther said, his voice was cold. “And what have I told you about going out?” Uther asked.

“That I should not do it without your permission.” Arthur said, repeating what was said to him many times.

“And you disobeyed me.” 

Arthur looked down. 

He disobeyed his father.

His very own father.

He as a prince should have listened to his father.

He as a prince should have listened to his king.

“You humiliated me today, Arthur. You made me look like a fool. You made me, the king, look like a fool who cannot even control his own son!” His father yelled at him.

 “And you are an absolute mess! Your scarf is ripped,you are covered in grass, you are muddy and what is in your hair!?” His father then took the flower that Merlin gave him. He then crushed it and sent it flying right out of the window.

Arthur watched his father do this. He tried to keep his expression neutral and calm however his vision was blurry, he could feel the tears stinging and burning in his eyes. His lip wobbled slightly(he ended up biting his lip to stop it). 

He needed those tears to go away! He should not be the one crying! He disobeyed his father! His own flesh and blood! 

He was the one who did wrong.

He was the one who snook out.

He was the one who jumped out the window.

He was the one who lied to his ‘friends.’

He was the one who kissed a boy.

He kissed a boy.

He kissed a boy.

What would he do?

Would God forgive him? Would God forgive him for going against his words? 

God would not forgive him! Arthur…was going to hell the least he could do was never disobey the orders of his father and go against the word of God.

“Arthur, how will you become a great king someday and take care of the kingdom when you cannot even take care of yourself?” His father asked.

“I am sorry, father.” He said, his voice cracking and he bowed his head and refused to let the tears fall. “I am sorry, sire.” 

Arthur looked down and closed his eyes in pure shame while his father was silent. Arthur assumed his father was thinking about his punishment. 

His father often argued with Morgause and Morgana very often and as punishment he would lock them in the dungeons, however if they were lucky he would lock them in their chambers. 

The dungeon was dark,miserable and gloomy. It was cold, like a graveyard. Like one or two or more had died there. Arthur had only seen a glimpse of it, six- seven times, perhaps? The thought of being locked in the dungeon made him shiver. 

“Servants!” His father yelled and servants came rushing into the room. His voice echoed.

“Sire.” A servant said, then doing a quick ,swift bow. 

“Clean him up and after he is cleaned up, lock him in his chambers and make sure you lock his window. For five months straight.” His father said to the servants.

Arthur was glad that his father had been forgiving enough to lock him in his chambers instead of the dungeon.

His father then roughly grabbed- yanked his hair.  Yanked his hair hard. Arthur felt his eyes water and he bit his lip. He closed his eyes. His father had never actually hit him and he hoped that he would not now. 

"Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!
 I tell thee what: get thee to church o’ Thursday,
 Or never after look me in the face.
 Speak not; reply not; do not answer me."

“I expected better from you Arthur. Everyone did. Next time I will not be so forgiving, understand?” His father said.

“I understand, father! I do, it will not happen again, I swear!”

“Good.”

His father had let go of hair and looked at the servants. “Well what are you waiting for?” He asked, then walked out.

After Arthur had been cleaned, he thought about his friends.

About how much fun he had with them.

About the fact that he will never ever see them again.

He also thought about his friend ,Merlin.

Merlin’s laugh.

Merlin’s messy hair.

Merlin’s friendly personality.

Merlin’s ocean, sapphire, blue eyes.

Merlin’s smile could light up a whole dull,miserable, depressing town.

He also thought about the fact that he would never see Merlin again.

And then thought about the fact that he kissed a boy.

He wiped- he scrubbed his cheek, he roughly scrubbed the exact spot that Merlin kissed. He felt himself and his lips trembling.

He committed a sin, he committed treason.

Arthur might have been washed,scrubbed and cleaned by servants but he did not feel clean, he felt unclean and dirty. He felt as dirty and dirty as a wild animal. He felt sick.

He looked at the food and water that the servants had left for him, he took the water and drank some, attempting to clear his mouth. He then scrubbed his lips.

Then suddenly hot,wet,salty tears began streaming down his face.

"And I was cryin' on the staircase"

He kissed a boy.

More tears flooded. Arthur put a hand over his mouth to muffle the sobs. He did not want to be heard by anyone.

How could he ever be forgiven?

He thought about the Sacrament Penance. He thought about confessing his sins to the priest but he also thought about someone seeing him, Prince Arthur confessing a sin. He thought about how bad that would look on him and his father.

Arthur thought his father was angry at him now but if Arthur were to tell Uther he had been kissed by a boy and not a girl- that the flower was from a boy not a girl? 

This? This would be nothing compared to the fury his father would have if he were to find out the horrible crime Arthur had committed.

“God please forgive me.” He said quietly through the brutal sobs he was trying to stop. He wanted to stop crying. He should not be the one crying, he was no victim! 

Arthur was going to hell.

He was going to burn.

He had kissed the devil and now he was going to hell. 

His father would never forgive him.

God would never forgive him.

Merlin and his friends would never forgive him for not meeting him ever again without explanation.

What if that was God’s way of forgiving Arthur? To never see the boy who he had kissed again, that would mean Arthur would never have to commit such a sin again and instead follow his father’s orders. Maybe that was God’s plan on forgiving him.

Arthur wiped his tears and took a deep breath in. Why? Well Arthur was not going to get forgiveness from God and his father by crying, Arthur was going to get forgiveness by being the greatest prince ever.

The bravest.

The strongest.

Maybe even the smartest!

Arthur will never kiss a boy or commit any sort of sin again. 

He hates sins.

He has to hate sin.

Two boys kissing each other is unnatural and God did not create us humans to end up like that. It was said by priests all the time!

He hates sinners.

He hates Merlin! And Arthur will hate Merlin forever. 

Arthur was kissed by Merlin and now he is biblical unclean and dirty.

Arthur should hate Merlin and should be glad he will never see Merlin again if that was God trying to lead Arthur down the right path.

Arthur hates Merlin and he was glad he’d never see Merlin ever again. 

10 years later.

"Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you, but you never come."

Arthur as a seventeen year old prince needed a wife. He had to have a wife in order to be able to produce a heir to the throne. He needed a heir to the throne after he died. Camelot needed a heir to throne after he died!

His father had been making several arrangements for years now and they all went horrible- like horrible horrible.

Princess of Gawnt, daughter of Lord Godwyn and named Elena was his father's first pitiful attempt and it was a disaster.

Arthur didn't have anything against Elena. Elena and Arthur actually had quite a bit in common like their love for horseracing, their humour and the way they both lost their mother.

Elena was a really pretty girl who was sweet, kind and quite tomboyish. She was always complaining about how uncomfortable her princess attires were, it made Arthur laugh and understand her.

She was fun to be around,fun to talk to and race in horseriding. Arthur and her got along great and perfectly but it was obvious to see that neither one of them were romantically interested in each other.

However despite them not being romantically interested in each other, Arthur's father kept pushing him. Elena's father however seemed to actually care if his child was happy with who she married.

Arthur slightly envied her for that. He wondered what it were to be like to have a father who cared more about how happy their child was with who they married rather then an alliance.

Another one of his father's arrangements was Princess Vivian, daughter of King Olaf.

Vivian had brown eyes and blonde gorgeous hair.

She was stunning, absolutely and definitely beautiful.

But do not let her beauty blind and fool you, she is the rudest,most spoiled, insufferable person known to man kind.

Arthur had to keep his temper and not yell at her but Morgana?

Vivian had been rude to Morgana's servant, Guinevere(she preferred to be called Gwen) and had been rude to Eylan(Gwen's brother).

Gwen and Morgana were super super close, always holding hands, always walking and talking, always laughing, always doing stuff they do not have to do together and they have even been on picnics together.

Arthur sometimes wondered how those two became so close as friends and what they talked about, he even asked Morgause who smirked at him like he was an idiot who was blind and needed to do some thinking. Like if there's something Morgana and Gwen are hiding.

Anyways Arthur obviously couldn't do anything about Vivian being horrid to Gwen because he was a prince and he was arranged to marry her. He did not want the kingdom looking bad or to let down his father.

But Morgana? Went straight up to Vivian and SLAPPED her for how she treated Gwen and Eylan, she slapped Vivian immediately and HARD. Arthur was shocked, yelled at her and dragged her away and Morgause burst out LAUGHING and was proud of Morgana.

Their father did not do that much to Morgana about doing that except yelling, Arthur was a little bitter about it because he knew that surely if it were him then his father would not put up with it.

All the other arrangements made by his father also just went badly and wrong in general. They were all princesses who probably wanted a prince to love them back and Arthur just could not love them back.

Obviously Arthur did not hate any of them(yes that indeed does include Vivian even though respectfully she was definition of spoiled he still didn't hate her. He even told her that he hoped she would find love after Morgana slapped her and then she decided to slap him instead) however he could not love them, he could trust them, he could care for them but he was not something he truly had for them.

Because love is a strong word.

Love was a strong feeling.

Love is a strong emotion.

Love is a strong force between two individual people that joins them both together, a strong force that is not always wanted by both but is immensely and deeply felt by both. It is a force that keeps both always coming back to one another no matter how much they try to get away from each other they cannot- they will never get away from the sound of the one that loves them.

Arthur could not love any of the woman his father had set up for him because he felt no force between any of them and clearly neither did they. He felt a want for a force but no force was there.

Arthur sometimes thought of Merlin when he thought of this force, the boy from ten years ago who had met when snook out of the castle.

He also thought about what Merlin might be up to right now since Gaius(the former court physician and the one who Merlin claimed he had been staying with) had died a few years back because it could not be easy being on your own, he wondered if Merlin had left Camelot or maybe lived with one of his friends.

Arthur also did in fact care for Gaius' death because even though they were not necessarily close, Gaius had still seen Arthur since he was a tiny boy and was close friends with his father.

Arthur however didn't care for Merlin but there were moments where Arthur would leave the castle to go on a walk and end up finding himself at the exact hill him,Gwaine,Lancelot,Will and Merlin hung out.

He thought of Merlin's blue eyes. He thought of the flowers Merlin gave him. He thought of when Merlin kissed him.

Arthur shook his head.

He should- he can not be thinking of when he kissed a boy as he is a boy. It is a sin. A gateway to hell. He had to hate Merlin.

He wondered that God's way of punishing Arthur was to make him unable to find a wife and create a heir to the throne of Camelot,letting down his kingdom.

It was a fair enough punishment and Arthur deserved to be punished for being kissed by a bo-

"That is not Latin. That is scribbles."

Arthur suddenly saw his paper. There was scribbles all over it with the black ink dripping through it.

The black ink was also on his hands and on his table.

"So who's the girl?" Morgana asked, mockingly.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

For your information, Morgause and Morgana are still the most annoying people alive.

"What do you want, Morgana?!" Arthur yelled while wiping the ink off his hands, using his shirt.

"I was just wondering what the great future Prince Arthur was doing." Morgana said, dramatically.

"I was meant to be…" Arthur paused mid sentence because…well he can't remember what he was even doing with this piece of paper.

He looked down at the paper trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. He looked at the paper and his hands and the fact that there was ink all over his table.

His table needed cleaning.

"Servants!" Arthur yelled and one servant came dashing over.

"Sire." The servant stood firm and bowed his head.

"Clean this up." He said pointing at the inky table. "I want this spotless." Arthur added.

Arthur did not actually want it spotless- well yes he did, but he knew that obviously the ink would not just go away like that. He was not a complete halfwit.

Arthur went up to some armour and weapons and picked it up. He then put it on. What Arthur needed right now was to clear his head.

Fresh air.

Nature.

Hunting.

"And where are you going?" Morgana asked, tilting her head.

"Hunting, with Sir Leon." Arthur said, grabbing his bow and arrow.

Leon will definitely going to say yes if Arthur were to ask.

Leon was a knight, same age as Morgana and he had been one of the noble children Arthur was familiar with.

Growing up Arthur often saw others as competitions, as rivals, as opponents.

He never truly considered them friends since everything to him was a competition.

But as he got older he got closer with some of the other children of nobility, who then obviously went on to be a knight or whatever.

Leon was probably Arthur's favourite knight because Leon was probably the one who had became friends with first.

Since Leon was closer to Morgana's age he became friends with her first, which made sense because Morgana was always the friendlier sibling growing up but Arthur started becoming friends with Leon when they were training together and sports together.

Leon became like an older brother to Arthur in a way. Leon was skilled, he was a man of honour, loyal and respectful. Someone Arthur could look up to that was not his father.

Morgana looked at Arthur and looked down at something and she burst out laughing.

"Arthur if you're going to put on your armour without any help from the servants at least do it right." Morgana said going to Arthur and sorting out his armour for him.

Arthur rolled his eyes but let her do it for him anyway.

"Morgause and I are going to Sylvia to get my sleeping draughts, do you need any medication?" Morgana asked.

Since Gaius had died Sylvia was the new physician of the kingdom. She was in her twenties, she was also a friend of Morgause. She was from a kingdom Camelot was allies with and heard about Camelot needing a physician and came claiming she wanted to help.

"No, if I needed something I would've checked on my own." Arthur said.

"Yeah sorry your highness, I just thought you would need some for your small brain in your enormous head."

"Why don't you go back to brushing your hair or whatever you do!"

Morgana rolled her eyes while sorting his armour out.

"Alright alright you're all sorted."

Arthur and Leon were on a hunt when all a sudden while Arthur was steadying his bow and arrow he could've sworn that he saw a shadow of someone running, behind the trees.

However he did not think very much of it because it is a literal forest, people should be allowed to do what they want in it as long as it is not illegal.

Arthur then shot his bow and arrow at a bird and it went crashing right down.

"Good job,sire!" Leon praised, while giving Arthur a proud smile.

"Sir Leon, I have told you several times that you don't have to call me 'sire.' You've seen my as a literal child." Arthur said, rolling his eyes."

"Well you deserve to be titled sire." Leon said back to him while shooting at a bird himself.

"Well I, as prince of Camelot and heir to the throne, am ordering you to stop calling me sire." Arthur then said in a commanding, joking serious tone and then shooting a deer.

"I still think you are worthy of being called 'sire.'" Leon said to Arthur.

"Disobeying direct orders from the prince? I could have you in the dungeons for that." He said, grinning.

They both laughed and while they are laughing, Arthur saw a face peeking behind a bush.

"Sire, what are you looking at?" Leon asked ,following Arthur's eyes, trying to see what Arthur was staring at.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Arthur said, shaking his head. "Now come on let's go to the town."

Arthur walked away with Leon following behind him.

While he was walking all he couldn't help but thinks of the person literally peeking behind a tree like what is that imbecile doing? Why is he just lurking?

Arthur and Leon were in town. They had spoken to a few people and looked at things but decided on not getting anything.

"SOMEBODY HELP!"

It was a female. Him and Leon went to her immediately.

The female in distress was a girl from a nobility family,the Windsors.

Her name was Genevieve, she was about 7, her older brother's name is Richard and he is a knight that Arthur grew up with, infact he also grew up with her. However he wasn't necessarily close with them but he respected them and was friendly with them.

"Genevieve, what is wrong?" Arthur asked, with a gentle tone and putting one of his hands on her shoulder.

"Our house- it got robbed, nearly all our stuff are gone! My father, my mother and brother all knocked out and have been for the past hours! We don't have nearly enough food!" She said, eyes flooding with tears.

Tears then came down her face and she began to sob against Arthur's chest. Arthur gently smoothed her while letting her sob on him.

After she'd calm down a bit and seemed she could speak, Arthur looked into her eyes.

"Genevieve did you see how this robber looked?" Arthur asked.

"It was Emrys! Emrys and these other guys!" Genevieve exclaimed.

Emrys.

Merlin.

No.

No it could not be Merlin, the Merlin Arthur had met was a sweet person. A sweet, kind , funny person who Arthur vowed to hate. And he did hate Merlin, he had to hate Merlin, but there was no way Merlin would steal!

It must have been someone else, but Arthur had never ever heard of the name Emrys anyway else.

"Genevieve, who is Emrys?" Leon asked, looking at her.

"You two haven't heard of Emrys!?" She asked, her eyes widening.

Arthur and Leon both shook their heads.

"Emrys is a thief, he steals from the nobles- he's been stealing from the nobles! His signature colour is green! He wears a green hood! He locked me in a small room and I had to climb out the window!" She whispered like she was scared of him appearing.

Yeah that definitely wasn't Merlin, right? Merlin would never, right? It probably would be someone else.

"Do you remember how Emrys and his friends looked?" Arthur asked.

She nodded. Arthur then saw an artist who seemed like he painted people for money.

"You! Listen to her description of all these thieves and draw it. That is an order." Arthur said firmly.

Arthur then got out a bunch of money out of his pocket and placed it down on the artist's table.

He then turned to Genevieve and held her hand. "When you are done describing the appearance of the thieves come to the castle, tell the guards that I sent you and if they still do not let you in then leave that to me, also I will send knights to take your family to the Physician, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded and he walked away with Leon.

Arthur did what any prince would do. He told his father and his father had said that he needed to find out who Emrys is and who his friends are.

Arthur sat in his chambers thinking of Merlin- surely Merlin wouldn't do that?

After Genevieve's family went to Sylvia's, Sylvia had said to Arthur that they had a poison that causes a coma but is weak and only causes a short coma and would be quick to heal.

Which may sound like a Merlin move because maybe the weak poison was Merlin being merciful- the Merlin Arthur knew ,and in fact did hate, would never do this.

The Merlin Arthur knew would also never ever lock Genevieve in some kind of small room.

He thought about who Emrys could be and how in the world will he find out for his father? The only thing he knew about the Emrys guy was that he is a thief who is stealing from Nobles! He doesn't know an actual confirmed name or the voice of the appearance-

"Arthur!" Genevieve came running in with probably the painting of Emrys.

Arthur really hoped the artist who made this was a decent artist because he really needed to see the appearance of Emrys to know it isn't who he think it is.

She handed him the painting and Arthur look at it.

No. No. No.

Obviously there was a green hood covering a little bit of the face but Arthur wasn't an idiot, he could tell it was Merlin.

This had to be some kind of misunderstanding! Perhaps Merlin was in the wrong place, wrong time.

Arthur's fingers fidgeted.

Merlin his childhood friend who he had vowed to hate, surely maybe this was just a misunderstanding and-

No.

"My faith in you was fading."

This was no misunderstanding,this was no misjudgment or miscommunication.

Arthur should not be mercifully. He was going to find Merlin and capture him.

Merlin is no longer Arthur's childhood friend who he snook outside to see once, Merlin was a vagrant or a vagabond.

Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, had always been quite harsh on the poor. He rarely or never showed mercy on poor people who acted out. He would have them imprisoned, wiped and eventually publicly executed.

Arthur remembers when he was 8, it was the first time he ever saw an execution live.

There was so much blood.

His father always thought those who were poor did not work hard enough and were just pure lazy.

That they deserved it.

Arthur was different- he was always merciful and whenever he could, he would go to the lower town a lot to help provide. He helped people of his kingdom out because these are his people as well as they are his father's.

Merlin was a different case here because number one Arthur hated Merlin and number two, if he were Emrys it would mean he literally poisoned Genevieve's family and trapped Genevieve. Lightly but still poisoned.

He also must be getting help from Gwaine, Lancelot and Will. Arthur wouldn't be able to think of anyone else who would help him.

"Have you seen him before?" Genevieve asked, tilting her head.

Arthur immediately shook his head.

"Never, but I will make sure he is captured. Until your family awakes from the coma you are to stay here where you shall be safe, Emrys cannot get you here." Arthur said to her, while scrubbing his lip with his sleeve(he felt the urge and instinct to do so).

She nodded but she still looked worried. Arthur gently held her hand, "He will be captured. I promise."

Arthur meant every word he said to her.

He will capture Emrys.

Arthur and his men had gone to nearly every house to see whenever anyone was hiding Merlin- Emyrs.

Arthur refused to rest until Emyrs was found- until he captured him.

There were posters of Emyrs portrait in woodcut and painting, all over Camelot.

Arthur was now at another house to search. Arthur did not actually think that Emrys would be hiding here because this was a noble's, named Alfred Freya, house but it's worth a try.

Arthur knocked at the door.

There was no answer.

Arthur knocked again.

Still no answer.

Arthur looked at his men then at the door and then he kicked the door open.

The place had no one in it.

Arthur looked around the place.

It looked like a normal, typical noble house with its fancy plates, benches, cupboards, crucifixes, crosses, stools, sawdust,salt,woodwork,fireplaces, walls with fancy designs and massive windows.

However he could smell something off- something that smells like…blood.

He steadily walked around, with his men also looking around, slightly gripping his sword.

It was dead silent.

He then went to the couch and saw it. They all saw it.

Arthur nearly felt sick.

A person- Alfred.

Alfred lying on the couch, blood leaking from his head. His eyes completely shut.

Arthur nearly gagged.

He felt himself go slightly pale.

A nauseous feeling spread through him at the sight of something like this.

It spread through him like a plague.

Arthur went over to him and checked for a pulse. He felt a small pulse, which is a small flicker of hope that Alfred could survive.

"Go! Take him to Sylvia!" Arthur ordered the knights who carefully picked Alfred up.

It must have been Emrys- well that was what Arthur was going with.

Arthur walked around to see wherever Emrys was still here or not.

He then saw a shadow and ran straight to it. He tackled Merlin- Emrys right down. Arthur then pointed his sword at Emrys' face.

"Yield now-" Arthur started before Emrys smacked Arthur's sword out of his hand and before Arthur could react he was the one on the ground, he was the one getting thrown and pinned against a wall with his sword (that Emrys quickly grabbed) pointing at him.

The sword's tip was pressed against Arthur's chin, making his chin raise and tilting his head.

It wasn't harshly pressed but it wasn't exactly gentle either since Arthur could feel a small beam of blood spreading on his chin.

He felt the sharp blade of his very own sword.

He could feel the sting caused by his very own sword in the hands of his opponent.

All Arthur felt was humiliation and desperation.

He was the one supposed to be holding the sword.

Arthur had tried fighting more back but it was useless. Emrys didn't budge.

Emrys eyes and Arthur's locked. Arthur saw Merlin again but he quickly shoved that thought far far far away.

Merlin didn't exist to Arthur. The only thing that mattered was that Emrys was a criminal who committed treason and would be punished.

Merlin- Emrys then threw the sword away and backed away from Arthur.

Arthur felt confusion spread in his head. Why was Emrys showing…mercy on him?

Arthur then realised he didn't have time to think about this, he didn't have time to be confused what he did have time for was to keep a promise he had made!

Arthur then realised there was no time for second thoughts.

There was no time for hesitation.

There was no time for weakness.

Arthur lunged to the sword. He grabbed it and scrabbled to get himself up

"Yield and maybe when you're executed you'll die with dignity." Arthur threatened- no he warned, with his sword pointing directly at Emrys.

Emrys slowly backed away with his hands up in surrender and Arthur followed, with his sword still pointing.

The tension was so thick that you could cut in with a knife.

Two blue eyes locked.

The tension felt like a strong, thick force.

Arthur felt his heart racing, his hands slightly shaking and wondered if Mer- Emrys noticed.

"Arthur if you just put your sword down then we'll both walk away, completely unharmed." Merlin said, steadily.

Arthur felt angry- felt FURIOUS at the audacity. The audacity to say that he would have mercy on him and not the family of nobles he POISONED.

Or mercy on Alfred Freya, the one who's head was bleeding like a cracked egg, the one who Arthur didn't even know was to survive, the one who's home they both were in at this very moment!

Mercy was not what Merlin should be giving to him!

Arthur laughed. He laughed bitterly. Sarcastically.

"Unharmed?" Arthur tilted his head, "like Alfred Freya?" He asked.

"That was by accident, he attacked and I shoved him a little too hard in defence, I didn't mean to." Mer- Emrys said a little defensively.

"He attacked? He ATTACKED? This is his home! He didn't attack, he DEFENDED! " Arthur screamed, his eyes watering out of pure rage.

"There are people starving in the lower towns and people like- people like him do nothing even though they have the power and money to help! People like HIM spit on the poor!" Emrys snapped back, barely containing himself.

Arthur knew exactly what he meant by "people like him."

Arthur knew what Emrys meant was "people like you."

"So you are going to let me walk out of here unharmed?" Arthur asked then added, "unharmed like that entire family you POISONED !?"

Arthur's breath hitched before continuing.

"Unharmed like that 7 YEAR OLD you LOCKED in a PANTRY! Oh and not that you have the decency to care but she is TERRIFIED of being alone now!" Arthur yelled, his voice breaking slightly as he is going more towards Merlin.

Barely stopped himself from stabbing Merlin here and there.

"The poison was a weak poison and they will be awoken from their coma in a few hours or days. I locked the girl in the pantry because I didn't want to poison her." Emrys said, with what sounded a bit like…guilt?

Good, he should feel guilty.

But he better not feel sorry.

He better not feel sorry because you don't get to feel 'sorry' when you have done such terrible things!

"Look, I don't want to hurt yo-" Emrys said, slowly trying to get closer to Arthur.

"Well sorry to ruin your little Robin Hood moment, I'll make sure to put a note on your burnt or hung body or disconnected head that you love to poison families, bash heads open and try to justify it." Arthur interrupted, giving a sarcastic smile.

Something in Emrys' expression changed. His eyes narrowed, his expression hardened.

"Well then Arthur, I'm sorry for this too."

"Sorry for what? Your outgunned, I have the sword. You're defenceless and alone."

Emrys tilted his head.

"Who said I was alone?" He said, with a cold tone.

Suddenly something- someone from behind him hit his head.

Hit his head hard.

He should've known that it wasn't just them two. He should've figured it out. It was silent between them two. Too silent.

He dropped to ground.

Arthur dropped his sword.

Arthur felt blood spreading.

Arthur's best guess was that it was Gwaine or Will or maybe even Lancelot.

Arthur had tried to look up and see who it was but his vision blurred and everything began fading.

He felt his head stinging.

He felt thick, warm, sticky blood come streaming down his head.

Blood streaming down his head like Alfred.

Arthur wondered if this was how he were to die.

Not fighting in a war or ruling Camelot but by bleeding out, slowly and painfully.

Arthur had tried to get his sword- he did get his sword but then his eyes started to slowly shut. He did everything in his power to keep them open but then everything went to darkness.

Pure, black, dull darkness.