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“I still don’t think this is a good idea.”
“You never think anything is a good idea.”
“And I’ve been wrong how many times?”
There was no answer but a few of the knights were giggling in the background. Arthur muttered to himself and urged his horse to go faster. The next branch he pushed aside, he pushed aside long enough for it to hit his insolent court sorcerer in his face. Arthur grinned when he heard the telltale noise of a slap and the then following “Ow!”. Merlin grumbled, “You did that on purpose, you arse.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Arthur didn’t look at him, he just chuckled ahead on his high horse. “Insulting your king is treason, by the way.”
“I’ve committed far worse than that.” Merlin rubbed his nose. “Remember how magic was illegal until last year?”
“No. Whenever was that?” Arthur said cheerfully. “That would be stupid. You’d have committed treason for being born. Don’t be an idiot, Merlin.”
Merlin scoffed, but Arthur knew he was smiling behind him.
Their horses moved on, riding through the thick bushes of the forest while Merlin and Arthur kept bickering. It was their way of filling the time. It was also their way of understanding each other and their views. They had talked a long while and in depth about Merlin’s magic and it had by far not always been a funny subject. That they joked about it now proved that magic was no longer a taboo topic. That Arthur had accepted his role in history and made changes that benefitted the kingdom. And in the end, their relationship could go back to normal. Arthur belittling Merlin was normal. That Merlin was far more than that to Arthur was common knowledge. And banter was what cemented it in stone.
“I still think we shouldn’t be here! The map said it’s GOD territory, Arthur! What do you think a bunch of gods will do once we break into their lands? If a god smites us, I won’t be able to stop them!”
“How about you leave the thinking to the adults, Merlin.”
“I AM. That’s why I’m the one who is saying this and not you.” Merlin probably rolled his eyes.
Arthur couldn’t hide the grin on his face. He wouldn’t have it any other way. “Really? Is that why you’re dressed like a servant, then? Proper adults would have grown up and accepted their status as Court Sorcerer and dressed accordingly.” Truth was, Arthur had been fighting with Merlin for weeks to dress properly, but the man insisted on his stupid old shirts and the red neckerchief. And got mad when Arthur called it a scarf.
“I keep telling you, it’s different when you go out presenting to your people as king! They need to see you’re willing to risk your life for them. And bandits and stuff will likely spare your life so they can get some ransom or whatever. But when I go with you, and they see me dressed like some important court member, they’ll focus on me and then I don’t have anonymity to protect you!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “So you don’t think the people need to see that magic is welcome in Camelot? Or that your status will protect YOU once bandits get a hold of you?”
“Bandits never get a hold of me. I can take care of myself. Who would pay the ransom anyway? YOU?”
Arthur forced his horse to stop, which, in turn, forced the entire group of riders to stop. “You think I wouldn’t pay a ransom for you?”
Merlin’s horse had almost collided with Arthur’s. Instead, it moved just enough to now stand almost parallel to Arthur’s horse, so the two had room to glare. Or, Arthur could glare, and Merlin could look shocked.
“You really thought I wouldn’t pay a ransom for you! Are you kidding me!? After I repealed the magic ban for you! After I sent a dozen troops after you when you disappeared! After I drank poison to save your life!”
Merlin flushed a little. “I’ve done the same for you!”
“Exactly! You think that means nothing?”
“Well… you never listen to me.”
Arthur groaned and turned back around. “That’s because you’re an idiot, not because I don’t care.” Arthur kicked the horse in the side to restart their patrol. He flushed a bit, as he was ahead of them all. How dare Merlin make him say all that in front of his knights! How could he even think for a second that Arthur wouldn’t send the entire kingdom after Merlin if he disappeared? He’d even done it, twice! Don’t ask about the second time. In the distance, Arthur could hear some of his knights whispering to each other, so he growled at them to shut up.
“I’m just saying. What do we even want from the gods?”
Arthur sighed. “Merlin, my father has fought against magic since the day I was born. Camelot is at war with magic itself and I intend to end that war. I just need to speak with the god of magic and apologize.”
Merlin paused. “WHAT? Are you NUTS? Just to… You’re going to… what if they ask for a blood sacrifice? What if they kill you? They are a GOD, Arthur! Remember the Disir? Gods are NEVER fair, honest, or clear about their opinions or intentions! You might as well ask Kilgharrah for forgiveness. Except then at least, you’d have ME to keep him under control!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “I’m sure the God of the Druids is a peaceful one. I mean, Mordred told me all about him. How he is destined to help me unite Albion and all that.”
Merlin didn’t answer for a long time. And, knowing Merlin, that was not a good sign, so Arthur sighed and made his horse fall back so he could ride next to Merlin. When he looked at him, he found Merlin staring at him with a look that was more mortified than anything else. It was only then, when their eyes met, that Merlin finally answered. “That is NOT the job of a god, that is MY job!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Just because you have magic, Merlin, doesn’t mean you’re an immortal all-knowing God. It’s in the name, Merlin. Emrys MEANS immortal.” Arthur was about to continue when Merlin grabbed his arm. His expression had changed, this time to something indecipherable.
“Excuse me, what’s his name again?”
Arthur scowled. “Are you deaf? EMRYS, Merlin. Their name is EMRYS. Catch on, will you?”
“Oooooh. That is rich.” Merlin laughed darkly and regrettably let go of Arthur’s arm. Then he sounded mad. “Fucking hell, Arthur, I AM EMRYS! The Druids call me that. The bloody Dragon calls me that. For god’s sake, MORDRED calls me that! Either I AM the god, or you’re an idiot!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “You’re not Emrys, Merlin!”
“I AM!”
“NO!” Merlin was about to argue, so Arthur stopped him with one hand. “You didn’t even know Emrys IS a god, Merlin. Now shut up. We’re not talking about this any further. As much as I enjoy your endless prattle, gods know what’s wrong with me, I’m not going to keep arguing about this. This is important for Camelot, so please stop being a nuisance.”
Merlin scoffed, ready to argue anyway, so Arthur clicked his tongue and soon his horse was too far ahead to hear Merlin anymore. As much as it would bore Arthur, he was not in a condition to feel guilty much more today.
—----------------------------------------------------------
Turns out, Arthur WAS an idiot. Invading a holy land of gods apparently sent you straight to another realm. And with that name, Arthur was fairly sure they had all very suddenly died before they woke up in the whitest, most sterile-looking place he had ever laid eyes upon. The only thing that spoke against that was the crack in his ribs that made it quite impossible for anyone to breathe.
“Merlin!” Arthur yelled, as soon as his eyes opened.
Merlin had been thrown towards the other side of the room and by the looks of it, had hit the wall first. He got up from the ground with a groan. “I’m here, dollophead.”
Arthur was at his side within a second. Landing on his own metal armor hadn’t exactly been pleasant either, but having no armor at all was bound to leave a couple of bruises more.
The other knights ignored them and already began to investigate. Elyan had spotted a door and was now trying to open it with all the strength he could muster. Percival eventually joined him. Lancelot and Gwaine were inspecting the walls. Gwaine even slashed at it, only for the wall to repel his attempts back at him, throwing him across the room. Gwaine managed to get back up and look annoyed.
Merlin glared at Arthur. “I told you, you giant prick! I told you this was a bad idea! And look where it got us!” Merlin cursed and held a hand against his rib, while Arthur hurried to help him up.
“We’re on a mission to talk with a god who literally hates us, Merlin. This isn’t a vacation.”
“I don’t even know what a vacation is,” Merlin grumbled under his breath and pulled himself up to sit. “It’s not like I ever get any.”
The normalcy of the insults made Arthur smile a bit and relief flooded his system. Merlin clearly wasn’t hurt too badly if he was still making jokes. “Well, magic prodigy, since you’re apparently a workaholic, why don’t you tell us where we are?”
Merlin pushed away Arthur’s hand that had somehow found its way to Merlin’s shoulder. He held on to the metal of Arthur’s mail coat, then pulled himself up. Arthur rolled his eyes. Typical Merlin, never accepting help, only ever taking it. Once Merlin stood, he immediately began to look around with golden eyes, probably scanning the room. He still averted them from Arthur whenever he used magic, but Arthur could see the gold reflected in the white tiles. Merlin’s head snapped to the door and he let go of Arthur before walking towards it. “It says: “Only Gods may enter.””
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Well done Merlin. You can read.”
“Had to learn it, since someone has to write your speeches before you make a fool of yourself.” Arthur was the first to snort, he still glared at Gwaine when he joined.
Elyan was the only one to comment. “The door is solid. It’s like the wall is painted on it. There is no way we can get through that any more than we have a chance to get through these walls.” Elyan pushed his hand against the door demonstratively. Percival solidified that attempt by kicking at the door and promptly wincing at the consequences. He seemed fine, though.
Merlin sighed and put down his arms in a flapping motion. “Well. I guess even a magic prodigy like me has no idea how to get out of here.” He looked around once, then slid down against the nearest wall. “From experience, I would say, our captors will arrive in less than an hour. They always do at some point. They might want to interrogate one of us, most likely Arthur. Then Arthur will say something stupid, we get in a fight, I find some way to defeat them and then we can all go home. Sounds like a plan? Yeah, me too.”
Gwaine was trying not to laugh at this point, the other knights just fondly rolled their eyes at him. Arthur couldn’t help his own grin and made his way over to sit down beside Merlin. “Can’t you find a way to defeat them sooner?”
“I thought you would be eager for the chance to make a fool of yourself in front of the god of magic.” Merlin raised an eyebrow at him, then turned his head away, laughing.
“I’m sure they are going to be a decent person. They may hate us, but I’m sure I can make it up to them. Somehow.” Arthur tried to reassure him. In his mind, Arthur was wondering what this truce would cost, but he hoped it would bring Merlin peace.
Merlin just scoffed. “I meant me. You’re already a fool in my eyes, of course, but this just takes the cake. Emrys. Of all the people… You know, THIS is what happens when you don’t consult me first. You never include me in things. Finally, I don’t have to hide my powers from you and you just end up ignoring me anyway.”
Arthur couldn’t help but pout at that. “I was trying to do something for the kingdom! For YOU. Everything I consult you with, you just … dismiss. Like making you my Court Sorcerer! I asked and you refused!”
“I’ve given you a dozen reasons why and you still made me!”
“You can’t seriously prefer to be a servant!”
“Of course I do! I was proud of my job! Besides, what is the point in being given choices, if you just end up making them for me anyway?” Merlin crossed his arms.
In response, Arthur felt guilty. “Is it that bad? Being recognized?”
Merlin sighed again, but the harshness of his scowl became soft. “No. It’s nice being recognized. That doesn’t make it okay.”
Arthur stared ahead at the tiles and tried to ignore the knight’s attempts to make themselves invisible. “Well, you deserve it. You kept me in the dark for years and still made decisions for me.”
Merlin kicked Arthur for that. "Touche". Merlin sighed again, then promptly changed the topic again. “I should probably go through that door and talk with them.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Merlin.”
“I’m actually trying not to be a god, thank you very much.”
“You’re not a god, Merlin. I can’t have had a god mopping my floors.” Arthur loved watching Merlin’s face contort thoughtfully into that mischievous grin of his.
“You do require a godly amount of attention.”
Arthur would lie if he said his heart didn’t skip a beat at that. “Apparently a godly amount of insults as well.”
“Someone has to keep your ego in check, Sire.” No one called Arthur ‘Sire’ quite like Merlin. It never failed to restart Arthur’s heart. They smiled dopely at each other before finally, Merlin’s prophecy became true.
An old man entered the stage. He was a tall sturdy man, dressed in gray sheets who simply walked through the door. Not opening it, just walking through as if it weren’t there. Everything about him was gray, in fact. His eyes, his hair, his clothes, his skin. He had a sense of wary around him but he hid it well. He turned to them with a smile, then began to speak. “No one is allowed to enter the realm of gods. And few have ever found us. The rules are simple. Come here, you die. What is your business?”
Arthur paled instantly, then gathered himself and got up to face him. “Sir, I am very sorry. We’re not here to disturb you. We just… I am the king of Camelot and we were searching-”
“Mortal perils do not interest us. Neither does your station. The rules are simple. You will all die.”
“Excuse me.” Merlin forced himself up from his position as well. He winced a bit and Arthur noticed that he was favoring his left leg. Arthur twitched, he hadn’t noticed that earlier. “You can’t just set up any rules without telling anyone and then expect us mortals to magically know them! The least we deserve is a trial!”
The man started as he saw Merlin, looked him up and down, and considered his words. “And who are you?”
Merlin blinked. “Oh… you don’t know. Well, alright. I mean, I can’t blame you, I just learned today that I’m apparently -”
Arthur interrupted him mid-sentence. He didn’t want this god to feel offended, nor did he want to see Merlin in any more danger by bubbling nonsense again. “We’re searching for Emrys. The god of magic!”
The god looked at Arthur, then Merlin, then at the door. “Oh my.” He wiped his hands on his clothes nervously. “I am very sorry. I didn’t realize it was time already. I’ll tell the others.” With those words, the man turned around and stepped towards the door.
Before he could reach it, Gwaine caught him with his sword. He held it just in front of the god and growled. “You’re not leaving until you tell us what’s going on!”
“Gwaine, don’t!” Arthur shouted as quickly as he could before Gwaine would make a stupid mistake, like stabbing the man. “We’re here for peace!”
Gwaine growled back. “He just threatened us with death! I’m not going to sit around and let that happen.”
“Guys!” Merlin said but winced as he stepped down on his foot. Arthur was there in a second, helping him stand.
“Merlin shut up. You can’t FOOL these people into releasing us! We need to do this smart, alright?”
“Why can’t you just trust me?” Merlin rolled his eyes.
The god cleared his throat, then waved his hand at Gwaine’s sword. Only, it wasn’t a sword anymore. It was a bunch of flowers. Gwaine scowled. “Oh come on, not this again!”
The god stared him down, he didn’t sound impressed. “This isn’t exactly giving you any points, young knights.” A second later, the man had walked through the door and disappeared. Gwaine was quick to hurry after him, but his hand caught on the wall. And with the force Gwaine had used, he now winced at the pain in his wrist. “Motherfucker!”
Merlin sighed. “Alright, you know what? We’re not getting anywhere like this. I’m going after them and you guys wait here until I’m done.”
“Merlin, you cannot go through that door.” Arthur meant that literally. Merlin took it as a challenge.
“Watch me.” In a second, Merlin had pushed Arthur aside and stumbled towards the door. The moment he touched the door, the wall bent around his hand. Merlin bit his lip. “Oh, I really hate the Druids.” A moment later, he was gone.
Arthur didn’t notice how his feet carried him toward the door. All he did notice was how his hands caught at it, unable to pass through. “No way.”
For a moment, there was a pause and there was peace, and the next, Arthur was ready to murder someone.
“I mean, he did tell you.”
“Shut up, Lance!”
“I mean, how can ANY of you think Merlin is mortal? There is NO WAY he survived all those sorcerers with luck alone! I mean, remember the Dorocha? ‘No mortal has ever survived their touch.’, Gaius said and you all just ignored it! This is just like it was with Kilgharrah when none of you believed he was a Dragon Lord! Or all the times he confessed his magic. It took weeks -”
“Seriously, Lance. Shut up!” Arthur turned around to face him with a glare.
Lancelot scoffed. “No, I’m not going to shut up!” Lancelot kept his back straight and his voice calm, and walked towards Arthur. “You REALLY need to consider whether or not you actually trust Merlin, because he trusts you with EVERYTHING and you just ignore it all! You have no right to ‘need to process’! or whatever it is you’re doing right now!”
Arthur growled. “He is a GOD, Lancelot!”
“Yes, Arthur! He is a fucking God and a Dragon Lord and a Warlock and your Servant and the bravest of us all and you won’t acknowledge any of it!”
“I can’t exactly protect a GOD!” It was out sooner than Arthur had expected, but no one seemed surprised.
Lancelot sighed. “Have you ever considered that maybe he doesn’t need your protection?”
That, of all the things Lancelot had said, was the biggest insult yet. It made Arthur fume. “He’s MERLIN. He’s clumsy as hell, he always gets himself in trouble, and he wears a freaking target on his head ever since he was a child! How on earth does he NOT need protection? If I can’t protect him, then what is the fucking point of being king?”
“Have you looked at him lately? By now, Merlin could defend himself with a sword alone, if you let him!”
“Merlin doesn’t even know where the pointy end is!”
Lancelot was now the one fuming. “Are you kidding me? For someone who spends like 99% of their time ogling him, you’re really blind, aren’t you?”
“I’m not ogling him!” Arthur flushed. “Just… admiring him… from afar.”
Arthur only needed to take one look around to see Elyan pointedly looking away, embarrassed for him, and Gwaine shrugging in clear opposition. Gwaine shrugged at him apologetically. “That’s even more gay. Sorry mate, but you are definitely ogling him.”
Arthur growled. “You’re all traitors.”
“Technically -”, started Gwaine and Arthur cut him off.
“If you say you’re technically all loyal to Merlin and not to me, I will make sure you’ll be banned from the tavern.”
Gwaine grinned. “Too late for that, mate.”
Lancelot cleared his throat. “My point is, Arthur, that you need to stop obsessing over your weird damsel in distress fantasies and see him for who he really is. Trust him.”
Arthur crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall right next to the door. “Or maybe, you need to stop looking at him like he’s some kind of entity and treat him like a person. He is a human being. He’s already refusing to be my Court Sorcerer. He would kill you if you start treating him like royalty, let alone like a god.”
It was silent after that until Gwaine somewhat leaned towards Lancelot. “He’s got a point. Merlin WOULD hate that.”
Lancelot seemed to mull that over, then he too, sat down.
Arthur corrected his seat. “I DO trust him. If I didn’t, I’d be going mad right now. The idiot went in there … alone.” Arthur gnawed on his lip trying to force down the dwelling worry inside his chest.
Gwaine raised an eyebrow. “You’re going mad, aren’t you?”
“Gwaine, he is ALONE in there!” Arthur burst. Everyone groaned collectively when Arthur jumped to his feet and began to pace the room in a panic.
—-------------------------------------------------------------
The other side of the door wasn’t as sterile as the waiting room had been. Instead, it resembled the design of the door. Everything inside was made of dark wood and warm and it seemed like no one bothered to switch on the light. So, instead, Merlin did. His arms stretched out, his eyes glowed golden, and soon, he held a sunshine in his hands. Once the light hit the objects around him, Merlin noticed that this was a giant courtroom. Not unlike the one that Arthur had created, but instead of tables, there were only giant pillows on the ground that three people were sitting on.
“Emrys.” The voice was high and once Merlin’s light fell on her, he saw a woman there. She looked tired.
“Call me Merlin.”
The woman seemed surprised. “Merlin? But that is your earthen name.”
“It’s the name I prefer.”
The woman nodded. She sounded rather composed, but there was something about her that was almost desperate. “I see. Why don’t you sit with us? And tell us about your adventure in the earth world. Is it what you had hoped?”
Merlin paused before them. “What I hoped? I don’t know any of you.”
The god in gray cleared his throat and turned to Merlin. “You wouldn’t remember. You were one of us once. Before.”
“Before what?” Merlin had the vague idea that he knew the answer. He also had the feeling that these people were trying to hide something from him.
“Why, you are magic of course. Our Emrys, the god of magic.” The woman from before said and laughed. “You went to Earth to have an adventure.”
Merlin paused and considered, then sat down before them on the ground. Not on one of the pillows, just on the wooden ground. “Why don’t you tell me all about that? I don’t remember, as you well know.”
The gods exchanged glances and finally a third woman turned to him. She was significantly younger than the other two, but Merlin knew immediately that she was also much more powerful.
She braced herself. “It happened only very few sun circles ago. You were the god of magic and you saw how the world began to hate you. It made you sad, as you had given them so much of your power after you created them, chose them and they just discarded you. Killed those who carry your name and your gift. We told you to leave the humans alone, but you ignored our warnings. And instead of staying here and solving the problem as a god, you decided to go down there. Live with them and change everything as a human. As if you couldn’t have frightened them to believe in you as you used to. Now, how did that work out for you?”
Merlin stared at them. “Apparently great. Is that… is that all?”
The gods exchanged another glance. None of them seemed very happy. “We heard you got threatened a lot. We felt you die multiple times.”
Merlin raised his eyebrows. “Well, I don’t really care about this…” Merlin waved around. “Whatever you mean. If I chose to live on earth, I clearly had my reasons. I found my purpose on earth and I would like to take my people back with me.”
They exchanged glances again. The younger woman spoke up again. “You cannot be serious. You want to go BACK?” For a moment, the woman looked afraid, no… sad.
Merlin opened his mouth, only to halt the movement. “Am I not supposed to?”
“You’re a GOD. We need you HERE!”
“Whatever for?”
“You have duties!”
“Like what? Just half an hour ago, your gray buddy there wanted my friends to die, so he can go back to sleep or whatever it is you do here.”
“We are shaping WORLDS!”, the woman cried out, rather desperately, receiving mortified shushes by the other two gods.
“And you need me for that?” Merlin rolled his eyes.
“YES!” The woman jumped to her feet, ignoring the other gods and startling Merlin. “You are the God of magic, of LIFE ITSELF. How are we supposed to create more worlds, if we can’t get anything breathing?”
Merlin stared at her. “Wait, you’re serious about this?”
“Terra, calm down.” The man in gray calmed her down and Merlin tilted his head. Was she the goddess of Earth? “Emrys -”
“Merlin,” Merlin corrected him out of habit.
“Merlin.” The man cleared his throat. “You cannot tell us that you have actually taken a liking to the Once and Future King? We know you have chosen him, but -”
“I did?” Merlin blinked, eyes wide.
The gray man looked uncomfortable now. “You chose to gift Uther Pendragon a son. You saw something in him you said, and then someone took another life for the one gift you made that didn’t require an exchange and then you went to earth.”
Merlin nodded, eyes widening a bit. “I see.” He crossed his legs and stared at the floor. “Well, I still choose him. Can we go back now?”
“But, you promised you’d come back to us!” Terra whined. “Sky, tell him he promised us!”
Merlin tilted his head. “Did I ever promise you WHEN I’d come back?”
This time, the older woman looked at Merlin, her eyes wet with tears and Merlin had the vague feeling that she was the sea. “Merlin, please. You can’t give your magic to just one planet! Do you have any idea how many we made that have not a hint of life?”
“Vilia,” Sky said with a warning tone, then turned to Merlin. “Why did you come back to us, if you didn’t want to come back yet?”
Merlin waved his hands. “Which part of I don’t remember things don’t you get? ARTHUR brought us here because he wanted to apologize to me.”
The three gods shared a look. “Why here?”
“We didn’t know I was the god.”
“But we wrote you letters!” Vilia looked upset. Merlin got the feeling she always looked upset.
“Letters?”
“We sent your little druid friends to give you the messages.”
Merlin stared at them. “Are you talking about the prophecies? They were LETTERS? What the hell? I lived my life by them!” Now Merlin was upset.
“We just wanted to suggest -”
“SUGGEST.” Merlin laughed cruelly. “This day is getting better and better. I poisoned a FRIEND for your suggestions! I almost didn’t tell Arthur about my magic!”
“He hated magic! He hated you!”
Merlin clapped his hands against the ground and got up. “I’ve had enough. I’m going now and I am taking my friends with me.”
“But….” Vilia jumped to her feet. “Father, wait!”
Merlin had been wrong. This day could get weirder. He turned on his heels. “What did you just call me?”
She flushed and looked down. “I’m sorry. It’s Merlin, I know. But please - we’ve all been missing you!”
Merlin opened his mouth. “Why are you calling me father?”
She flushed nervously, receiving accusing glances from the other gods. “Well, you created us!”
Merlin stared at her. “Hold on… I what?”
Sky closed his eyes. “I apologize for my sister. You always told us not to call you that…”
Merlin laughed darkly. “Am I the one who made up the rules about killing trespassers? Because if I did -”
“NO.” Terra cleared her throat and stepped towards Merlin to grab his hand. “We didn’t want to risk anyone getting into your home that you didn’t want here.” She tried a smile. “You created us all. With becoming human, you’re not as powerful as you used to be. We just wanted to protect ourselves. If we… if we upset you -”
Merlin stared down at her. “What are you afraid of? If you’re gods…. then what is more powerful than you?”
She blushed. “Nothing, we just… you created the humans too. We couldn’t be too sure how powerful you made them. And we’ve watched them. They do terrible things to each other. What would they do to us?”
Merlin’s confusion gave way to understanding. They were… afraid. They didn’t hate humanity as he had expected. He took her hand in his own. “I suppose that is my fault, then. They cannot kill you. They cannot hurt you. At least i highly doubt that. I’m sure I made sure to leave you protected. My friends… those humans…” Merlin hesitated to call them humans, as if he weren’t one himself, “they are unprotected. They are mortal. They hurt, and they die. If I’m not there to protect them, then who is? If I create more worlds, wouldn’t I cause even more destruction and fear? I don’t think I should create more than one world if I don’t even know how to take care of this one.”
Terra looked down and Vilia began to cry again. Sky sighed, then turned to Merlin again. “Just promise you will come back!”
Merlin chuckled at that. “I will. Humans don’t have very long lives, so neither do I. I’ll be back. One day.”
Hope spread from one god to the other and they looked as if they were ready to worship Merlin. Merlin swayed forth and back. “So… erm… can we go home now?”
—-------------------------------------------------------
“Merlin, are you hurt?”
Merlin stared at Arthur the moment he made it back from the god conference. He looked worried sick. The other knights seemed annoyed and it was almost like those restless days when Arthur had done everything to run after Gwen. “Arthur, I’m fine.”
Arthur didn’t look convinced. He closed up on Merlin and began to inspect him. “How is your leg? Did they hurt you? What did those gods do?”
“Arthur, I am a god myself. I’m fine.”
Arthur scowled at him. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be limping like that. Not even YOU are this clumsy!”
Merlin couldn’t help the smile that crept on his face. Perhaps he knew what he had seen in Arthur. It was the same thing Arthur had seen in Merlin. A complete lack of care for the other’s status. As a god, that was likely impossible to find. “Arthur, may I introduce you to … well… I don’t know how else to explain it.” Merlin pointed at the three gods that stepped through the impenetrable door. “My children. Sky, Vilia, and Terra.”
Arthur blanched and turned around slowly. The gods straightened their backs. Terra and Sky did their best to look royally at Arthur and to invoke fear. They were also looked older than any of the knights which made this a bit odd. Vilia was much more curious and smaller than her two siblings. Her wide, glistening eyes were directed at Arthur.
“Your what now?” Arthur whispered with distress.
Merlin shrugged. “Believe me, I have no idea. Apparently I’m not just a god. I’m the god of magic and life and somehow, the god of creation?”
Arthur stared at him nervously. “Who is the mother?”
Merlin frowned, then turned to the gods. “Do you have a mother? Or another father. I don’t know how god sex works.”
Arthur cringed next to him.
Sky blinked at him. He seemed the most mature, so Merlin had been sure to get some reasonable answer. “What is sex?’
“Now that’s a dead end,” Merlin muttered to himself. “Do I have a co-creator? Is there someone as powerful as me? Stronger, maybe?”
Sky frowned. “As strong as you? Never!”
“Ah. See? No wife.” Merlin sent Arthur a smile, but Arthur was grabbing his own arms very tightly.
“Really? Are you sure?” Arthur sounded worried, so Merlin nudged him in the side.
“What? Jealous? That almost sounds like you like me.”
Arthur turned his head very slowly to him. “Merlin, has it seriously, somehow eluded you that I am very clearly, very openly, and unmistakably in love with you? Of course I’m fucking jealous!”
For a moment, the words didn’t register in Merlin’s mind.
Merlin opened his mouth in complete shock, then closed it. “Why the fuck didn’t you say so sooner?”
“I thought I couldn’t be more obvious!” Arthur threw up his hands to make a point.
The other knights were kind of shrugging and nodding to confirm that statement, making Merlin laugh a bit.
“Oh.” Merlin pondered for a moment. Then he grinned. “Good news, kids. You DO have another father now.”
“They do? Who?” Arthur’s voice was high with nerves and clear panic.
Merlin smiled at him fondly. “Yeah, we’ll have to work on that.”