Crossfire

"He Was Connected To My Fate"

Arthur

"Balinor?" Merlin's voice croaked out.
My eyes widened upon hearing the name. The King was alive, standing here, in front of Merlin and I. "Milord," I quickly sputtered out, dropping one knee to the ground to bow. Merlin, the idiot he was, continued to stand, staring at the foreign king in shock. My hand gripped onto his sleeve, yanking him down, as he too then bowed with little etiquette.
King Balinor grumbled some incoherent words. He then walked back into the house, leaving the three of us to stand in the dust.
My ears picked up on Merlin's heavy breathing, the gulps of breath erratic, trying to remain calm. "Merlin?" I asked. I stood up, pulling him with me. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," he gulped. His eyes traveled to face his mother's. There was a raging sea occuring in Merlin's eyes; and I wasn't sure if it was going to stop. "Mom," he started. Hunith quickly cut him off, motioning for us to welcome ourselves, and come into her house.
We slowly entered, my eyes scanning the interior, as I could see Merlin fidget beside me. My eyes fell stern, deciding to question him later. The two of us followed Hunith to the kitchen, where we saw Balinor sitting in a chair, his eyes trained on the bread crumbs and other debris scattered across the wooden table. I hesitantly made my way over to sit across from the King. My eyes gestered for Merlin to follow, as he then broke from his stance, then pulling up a creaky stool, sitting on the object. Awkward silence followed, me cracking my knuckles, Merlin closing his eyes, his thoughts almost seeming to want to rid of this moment.
Balinor cleared his throat after a few moments. "Hunith, who are these people?" His voice seemed to soften upon saying Merlin's mother's name. My eyebrows raised in both surprise and confusion.
Hunith came from another room, giving a warm smile to all of us equally. "These were the boys I was talking about earlier." She gestured to me. "This is Arthur. Prince Arthur."
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable from Balinor's stern stance.
"And this," Hunith traveled over to Merlin. "Is Merlin." She moved a few strands of hair from her son's face.

Merlin

As night fell, Arthur retired for the evening, claiming that he would be sleeping in my room. I didn't argue—just stayed sitting on the small stool the house had to offer. Before Arthur left, his hand grabbed my sleeve, leaning close, whispering into my ear an Are you okay?. I softly nodded, shuddering at the closeness between the two of us.
He sighed. It was clear Arthur didn't want to argue. "Alright. We'll find the other knights in the morning to tell them of our findings. Goodnight, Merlin."
"Goodnight, prat," I mumbled. I got a playful, gentle push from my friend, before he went to go sleep.
"Prat?" Balinor questioned as Arthur left the room. My head then swiped to see him face to face. His black eyebrows were raised in a high arch.
"Uh, it's a nickname," I rambled out.
"Balinor," Hunith suddenly called out, moving into the room, sitting down the two of us. She clearly felt the tension in air. "Let's catch up, shall we?"
"I thought we already have...?" Balinor answered, his confusion only raising by my presence still here.
"Well, there are some things we need to talk about." Hunith replied. My breaths fell labored again, the face of mine growing pale, my fingers twitching, urging me to run out of the building.
I felt my mother's hand grip mine. She gave a firm squeeze, assuring me everything would be alright. "Merlin is very special to me, as you may have noticed, Balinor." Her words tumbled out in a soft tone. I didn't understand on how she was so confident—so calm at a time of utter panic.
"How so?" Balinor's question came. I let my eyes travel throughout the room, making sure not to make eye contact with him, letting my mother take the lead with this conversation.
"He's my son," Hunith voiced. Although I wasn't looking straight at the foreign king, his posture stiffined in an obvious tone, exhaling a small breath.
"So you married," Balinor mumbled. His voice almost seemed... depressed. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Congratulations, Hunith." He gave a wistful smile to my mother.
"Balinor," she quickly replied, placing a hand on Balinor's. "I didn't marry."
"I'm going to excuse myself now-"
"No, Merlin. You stay right here." Hunith sighed. "Merlin's our son, Balinor."
The King's face fell into complete shock. His face was as pale as mine, now. "Are you sure?" he croaked. Hunith nodded. I just stared off into nothingness, my mind trying to bring me to some illusionary place, trying to avoid the current situation at all costs.
"Emyrs," Balinor mumbled. My head swiftly moved up to face him. There were tears prominent in his eyes, a sheen layer of happiness.
"How do you-"
"The Druids often spoke of you. They told me he was connected to my fate," Balinor spoke in a soft tone. His former tone of profession was now wiped away.
"I'm not going to kill you," I croaked out. He was speaking utter nonsense. I strained my eyes to hold back oncoming tears.
"Of course not, my child. This only means you're going to take charge of Aeyland."
This was all happening too fast. I quickly stood up, scooting the stool so far back it crashed to the floor. Dashing to my room, I couldn't help but let out a small yell of frustration and confusion, making my eyes glow the hue of gold. Several chairs and pots flew across the kitchen.
"Merlin!" my parents both yelled.
I hastily opened the door, just to slam it when I entered my room, breathing heavily.
"Merlin," Arthur groaned. "What on earth are you-" He stopped short upon seeing my current state. Still lethargic from sleep, he got up, traveling to me. "Merlin. What's wrong?"
I stood there, pretending to not to hear him, instead, focusing on my breathing.
In and out.
In and out.
"Merlin." Arthur's hands gently placed themselves on my shoulders. I looked up, seeing Arthur's face—which was filled with concern.
"Arthur, I-"
"Hey, it's okay. There's no need to cry."
I didn't even feel the tears drip down my cheeks until this moment. I was too caught up with the previous conversation. Quickly bringing my sleeve up, I wiped my cheeks, harshly sniffing the snot back.
Before I could finish, Arthur quickly pulled my hand down, embracing it with his. "Are you okay now?" he whispered. I nodded.
Arthur just rolled his eyes at my answer. "You utter dolt." He sighed. "Come here." His grip on my hand was now tighter than before. At first I thought he was going for a hug, but then I realized I was being dragged to my bed.
"Arthur, what are you-"
"Stop arguing and be quiet." Suddenly, I felt his hands gently touch the back of my neck. I shivered against the contact. Carefully, Arthur untied my neckerchief, then placed it ontop of one handle of my dresser. I stood completely still, my breathing still heavy. My eyes fell on Arthur's.
He raised his brows and nodded to my shoes. "Go on, take them off."
I quickly scrambled, taking them off, placing them on the ground next to me. I looked up again, being awaited for further directions.
"You look like a lost dog," Arthur chuckled. When I didn't laugh at his joke, he sighed once again. Arthur crawled into the bed, leaving a small space for me. A moment passed, as Arthur looked at me, waiting for me to get in. "C'mon, Merlin! You idiot, there's still space!"
"There's not enough," I replied softly. "It's alright, I'll sleep on the floor-" Before I could finish my sentence, I was already being pulled into the covers, Arthur's hand now grasped onto my arm. I layed there, my body stiff from the tension. I could hear Arthur's heartbeat. It was soothing, luring me to sleep... I then cracked open my eyes, not wanting to fall asleep just yet.
"Arthur," I croaked.
"Yes, Merlin?" A moment passed, and I felt like I should've said something; but alas, nothing came. When I didn't answer, Arthur just exhaled a breath. "Might as well get comfortable," he mumbled.
Minutes passed, and I felt the tension slowly breaking, as I tiredly placed my head deeper into his chest. I let out a breath of content happiness. But the feeling came back, though. The thought of letting my father die. Him waiting for me to take my place on Ayeland's throne.
"Merlin," Arthur started. He sighed, speaking words contradicting his former ones. "It's okay to cry."
So I let the dam break.

A/N: Hello! Uh- sorry for making this chapter travel from 0 to 100 real quick. Needed to incorporate those emotions somehow! Anyway, please vote or comment on this chapter to let me know if I should continue! See y'all! Bye!