fandomcorner | Fic: Guiding Light

Title: Guiding Light
Author:

hils
Rating: PG
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Words: 1341
Summary: Inspired by this piece of wonderful art by

lizardspots
Thanks to

alinoradesancto for the beta

The cave is dark and smells of death. Merlin is fairly certain that whatever’s crunching beneath his feet isn’t stones and tries not to think about it any further. He can hear the sound of fighting up ahead and curses Arthur for being so foolishly brave.

The prince has done what he always does in these situations and charged ahead to do battle with the Manticore that has been plaguing the land. Naturally, he insisted Merlin wait at the mouth of the cave where it’s safe.

It’s lucky for both of them that Merlin rarely does as he’s told. He follows Arthur as soon as he’s out of sight.

He’s close now and he can hear the sound of Arthur’s sword striking the creature, can hear the sounds of Arthur grunting in exertion and finally he hears a scream. He charges forward, a spell already on his lips and he almost trips over Arthur’s foot.

“I thought I told you to wait outside.”

Arthur’s voice is heavily laced with pain and exhaustion. The cave is so dark that Merlin has to feel around to find him. He’s upright at least, and leaning heavily against the cave wall.

Merlin sags in relief.

“Well, I wasn’t going to miss your glorious victory, now was I?”

“It’s dead then?” Arthur asks. “I heard it scream but I can’t see anything.”

Merlin can’t see anything either. They must be miles inside the cave now and there’s no natural light at all.

“I think so,” he says. There’s no sound of movement at any rate and he’s certainly not going to say anything that will lead to Arthur charging off again. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

He hears Arthur grunt as he pushes himself away from the wall and gasps as Arthur all but falls into his arms.

“Arthur!” He just about manages to catch him and keep him on his feet. “Are you hurt?”

Arthur is now leaning on him heavily and it’s all he can do not to collapse under the weight.

“I don’t know,” Arthur replies in a slurred voice. “I still can’t see.”

“Well, where does it hurt?” Merlin asks, worry seeping into his voice.

“Nowhere, really,” Arthur replies in a voice that is definitely getting fainter. “I’m just…cold.”

Cold is not good.

Merlin squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his jaw. He needs to see how badly hurt Arthur is and right now there is only one way that can happen. It’s also the only way he’s going to be able to find his way out of the cave again.

He mumbles the incantation under his breath and the cave is filled with a soft blue light. He glances over at Arthur, alarmed at his appearance but grateful that he seems to be too out of it to notice the glowing orb.

There is blood all over Arthur. It’s in his hair, down his arm and all over his right leg. There’s also a considerable amount on his sword which is still hanging from his limp hand. It gives Merlin hope that at least some of the blood on Arthur isn’t actually his own.

The blood on his leg is definitely his, though. Merlin can see the wound and it looks bad. He curses under his breath and tightens his hold on Arthur, whispering to the orb to lead them to safety.

They’ve barely taken two steps when Arthur raises his head and peers blearily at him. Then his eyes move over to the orb where he stares at it with a frown. Merlin can almost see the comprehension trying to work its way through his mind. When Arthur looks back at him some of the fog seems to have lifted from his eyes and has been replaced with recognition and realisation. Merlin feels his heart sink as he realises he can’t hide what he is any more.

“Arthur…I…”

He is prevented from finishing his sentence by a low groan from Arthur as his eyes roll back and his legs give way. It’s too much for Merlin and he is forced to lower the now unconscious prince to the ground. He ties his neckerchief around Arthur’s leg and hopes it will stem the bleeding long enough for them to get back to Camelot. He’d rather be executed for sorcery than see Arthur die.

* * *

When Arthur finally wakes up in his bed back at Camelot, it is an agonisingly slow process. Merlin sits there, heart in his throat, as the prince twitches, sighs, groans and then finally opens his eyes. Even then it takes a few minutes for his gaze to fall on Merlin, who hasn’t left his bedside since they got back.

Arthur frowns, clearly trying to recall what happened. Merlin waits.

Recognition comes sooner than he expects.

“You saved my life.”

Arthur’s voice is soft and he’s staring at Merlin with a look of awe on his face. Merlin knows he’s far beyond denying anything now and simply nods.

“It’s not the first time, either,” Arthur continues. “When I went to get the flower to save you from the poison, there was a light that guided me to safety. That was you too.”

He nods again and watches cautiously as Arthur struggles to prop himself up on his elbows. He wants to help him but isn’t sure whether the help will be accepted, so he sits and watches as Arthur checks that the room is empty.

“You’re a sorcerer,” he finally says quietly.

Merlin hesitates for a moment and then nods for a third time.

“You know the penalty for using magic…and yet you’re still here.”

He shrugs. “I had to make sure that you’re all right. You lost a lot of blood.”

Arthur blinks at him in wonder. “You stayed even though I’m the king’s son and I saw you use magic.”

“I stayed because I’m your friend and I care about you.”

Arthur considers this for a moment, his expression not giving anything away. It makes Merlin nervous.

“It’s not too late,” Arthur finally says. “You could go now.”

He feels his heart sink as disappointment floods through him. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Arthur replies after a moment’s consideration. “But it’s not safe for you here. If anyone else finds out what you can do…”

Now Merlin is just confused. “You’re not angry that I’ve been lying to you all this time?”

“Of course not,” Arthur replied as though it was a stupid question. “I’d have been angry if you’d told me about it sooner. The fewer people who know about this the safer you’ll be.”

He has to admit that this is not going at all as he’d expected. He thought there would be a lot more shouting followed by guards and executions.

“Aren’t you worried that I might be dangerous?”

Arthur snorts. “Really, Merlin, even if I hadn’t seen you save my life twice I’ve known you long enough to know that you are far from dangerous.”

“Oh.” He’s not sure whether to be insulted by that or not. “So you’re not going to tell your father about me?”

“Of course not.”

Arthur sounds indignant at the mere suggestion that he would do such a thing.

“I’m not leaving, by the way,” Merlin says firmly. “Not unless you tell me you don’t need me here anymore.”

Arthur is looking at him curiously now, almost as though he’s been expecting this conversation and is surprised that it’s taken this long to come.

“Would you go if I asked you to?” He finally asks.

“Probably not.” Merlin replies.

That causes Arthur to smile at least. “I’m not sure whether that’s reassuring or just annoying.”

Merlin shrugs and grins. “So are you saying that you need me?”

Their eyes lock and suddenly Merlin feels like all the air has been sucked from the room.

“I have a feeling that I’m always going to need you, Merlin.”

He smiles and slips his hand into Arthur’s.

“Then I’ll always be here.”

The End.