Crossfire

"Does That Make Me A Monster"

Merlin

Taking a deep breath, I let my eyes peel open, facing harsh light. I squinted, burying my head back in Arthur's chest to stray away from the brightness. Arthur seemed to shift from my motion, lazily putting a hand on my face when he moved, rubbing it to try to obtain a grip.
"Arthur!" I giggled, grasping onto his hand to pull it away. Looking over, I saw blue meet my field of vision.
"Did you need something?" he mumbled lethargically.
I gave a small tilt of the head. "Yes. I'm going to have to file a complaint."
Arthur smiled, closing his eyes, breaking out into a yawn. "What of, milord?" he replied sarcastically.
"Violation. You practically smeared your hand germs across my face."
"Is that so?"
I nodded. My mouth opened to make a reply of banter, but quickly got cut off by Arthur pulling me ontop of him, his lips gently coming in contact with mine. The kiss was sweet, assuaging, and full of underlying empathy from the experience we had both been through so far. Arthur layed a calloused hand on my cheek, his other on my lower back, both maintaining a grip to me. I felt myself lean into his contact, smiling against the next kiss. He suddenly tried to roll me over, but instead found the end of the bed instead, falling off, bringing me with him.
"Ow," he mumbled. "I forgot how small this bed was."
Dazed, I put my hands on the cold, stone floor, pushing myself up. Wiping my hands on my clothes, I let my eyes graze over Arthur, letting a small laugh escape my mouth upon seeing his position. "Milord," I bantered with a grin, sending my hand out for him to take. Seeing his head wipe across the floor, he noticed my offer, taking it with a few incoherent grumbles.
"There's no worry," I started, lips curled upward from his reaction. "Not everyone's perfect."
"We do not speak of this ever again."
I raised my eyebrows from the inferred outcome. "Ofcourse."

Arthur

"You two seem to be in a better mood," Leon said, gesturing to Merlin and I. Letting my eyes sneak a look at Merlin, I took notice upon his slight blush, looking down with a wisp of a smile on his face. I soon did the same upon seeing his reaction.
"Definitely. Maybe a celebration at the tavern tonight will do good before the battle tomorrow?" Gwaine smirked, giving a concealed wink to me.
The smile suddenly wiped from my face, eyes now filled with devastation. I looked at Merlin who seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Tomorrow?" I replied, attempting to swallow back my worry.
"Yes, milord. We will fight Morgana tomorrow," Kylan interfered. He then gave a prideful smile. "And we will take back what is ours."
The other knights smiled and exchanged comments and expressions, but I wasn't with them; I was sharing a look with Merlin, sadness appearing in our eyes. My mind sauntered over the happy memories both he and I shared. But those were soon replaced with the terror on our faces, those former memories wiped of pleasure.  
"Merlin," I mouthed, realizing no voice escaped, just a dry, quiet rasp of breath. He instantly broke eye contact, staring to the ground, not saying a word in reply.
Even happy moments can be vanished by bad ones.

___________

When the sun set, the tavern continued to fill with people, servers working harder than ever, plotting down notes of what customers were ordering.
"Your finest cup of mead!" I heard Gwaine reply to a server off in the distance. I gave a soft smile, rolling my eyes. My eyes then trained onto Merlin, who I was currently conversing with, giving him a nod towards Gwaine ordering his cup. Merlin breathed a short laugh, facing to look down into his cup, emptied of almost all of its contents.
"So today's our last day," I exclaimed, shifting in my chair.
"Yeah," Merlin sighed.
I bit my lip. There was so much we wanted to say—but we couldn't.
"Merlin-" I stopped upon seeing him down the rest of his drink, quickly raising his cup in the air to order another round. I exhaled a frustrated breath, leaning against the back of my chair, twiddling my thumbs, maintaining eye contact with him, seeing what his next take of action would be. "Merlin; you're going to get drunk."
His eyes met mine. "I'm aware."
"Hey!" My ears suddenly heard. I looked to see what the commotion was, seeing that Gwaine and a stranger were picking a fight in the middle of the tavern. Standing up, I watched the scene unfold with weary eyes, waiting to see who would make the next move. My hand rested on my sword, prepared to take action.
"Oh for the Gods' sake," I heard Merlin mumble off beside me. Hearing the friction streak against the floor, I saw Merlin slowly make his way over there with relaxed motions, not giving a care in the world. My eyes widened with worry. This was not going to end well.
"Stop," Merlin's voice commanded. He gave a tight glare to Gwaine to back off. The knight reluctantly did, stepping away, waiting to see what Merlin would do. I took a few forward, contradicting Gwaine's move, feeling my eyes whip between the two competitors.
"Stop?" the man darkly chuckled with a start. "I'm sorry, but I'm not aware of who you are."
Merlin stayed still, letting his lips move. "I am the King of Aeyland, and I suggest that you stray away from this type of conflict."
The stranger scoffed at Merlin's words, not believing him. "I'm sorry, milord, but I believe Morgana currently has the throne, am I wrong?"
Merlin didn't reply, calmly cracking his knuckles. The action drew shivers down my spine, scared on how intimidating Merlin could look at such times. I watched as the man just gave a drunken grin, unsheathing a dagger from his jacket.
He looked over the weapon, twisting it so beams of light would make the metal shine and glint against the rays. "I'm suspecting a king knows well on how to fight too, I suppose?"
Merlin didn't waver. "I'm well aware on how to throw a punch, if that is what you're asking of."
"Precisely," the man replied. "Where would you like it?" He paused. "Oh, where are my manners? Would you like the punch or dagger?" The man stalked up to Merlin, merely a foot away, staring him down.
"Merlin," I tried to croak, currently paralyzed by the scenario.
Upon Merlin not answering the man's question, the stranger raised an eyebrow to the King, gesturing to his throat, then cutting the dagger across the air.
Merlin just raised his head with a slight tilt, his stance defiant.
"Any words, milord?"
Merlin breathed a humorless laugh. "Bite me."
Moments of dead silence struck the tavern, everybody watching the brawl take place. The man didn't even take two steps forward before Merlin raised his hand, waiting for the stranger to advance even more. I gave a small smile. He was taunting the man.
"A hand?" The man chuckled, twirling his dagger around his hand absentmindedly, before gripping the hilt once again. "I'm not sure that will do much good against a dagger," he teased.
Merlin just smiled, maintaining eye contact, standing in a still, comfortable stance. He wasn't worried. The man then advanced, smirking as he did so, raising his weapon to thrust. Merlin didn't even speak a word, casually twisting his hand to see the competitor fly across their small, makeshift arena, crashing with a loud thump against a nearby table. Taking slow steps, Merlin then walked over to the man, using magic to take the dagger out of his grasp, then examining it with drunken eyes. He darkly smiled.
My eyes widened. Was Merlin going to? He wouldn't.
I looked down. He's intoxicated—anything could happen. Gazing at the scene again, I watched Merlin grasp onto the hilt with harsh motions, clenching his teeth, preparing for the worst.
"Merlin!" I tried to yell again, only finding my voice still dry, unable to speak words. Merlin breathed in. I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn't watch Merlin kill someone.
Gasps suddenly filled the room, as my ears twitched. Cautiously, I then peeled my eyes open, mentally preparing to see blood. But what I saw was the complete opposite.
"Don't mess with my friend ever again," Merlin growled against the man's face, the dagger touching the hairs of his throat. The man instantly nodded without hesitation. Merlin then sighed, leaning away, taking the dagger away with trembling hands.
His eyes then met mine, wondering what my reaction was, analyzing my posture and emotion. I opened my mouth to speak, but then found myself closing it, not saying a word. Merlin's face softened, letting his grip on the dagger loosen, watching silently as it fell to the ground with a clatter. He walked over to me, gently grasping onto my hand, desperate for a reaction—something to reassure him that he hadn't messed up.
"We're leaving," he mumbled quietly. Looking down, I gazed into the strangers eyes that attempted to hurt Merlin. I gave him an emotionless stare, letting my hand be pulled by Merlin's, as we both then exited the tavern.
Once we were out, I turned to Merlin, giving a small squeeze to his hand. He just clamped his lips shut, choking out a sob in a soft breath. "Arthur." He faced me, eyes now glazed with unshed tears. "I almost killed him." Upon hearing no reply, he looked into my eyes, searching for an answer. "Arthur?"
I stared back, my eyebrows drawn together in unsureness. "Yes?"
He breathed out a heartbroken sob. "Does that make me a monster?"
I just swallowed in reply, pulling him along to go back to the woman's house.

A/N: Hello everyone! This chapter went from happy to sad real quick! (Pretty dark too if you ask me) Sorry I tRIGGERED (probably) everyone reading this! AND SADLY WE ARE BEGINNING TO NEAR THE END OF THE STORY! I know! *Que depressing, reflective music* Anyway! If you've enjoyed this story so far, please drop a vote or comment! I'd really appreciate it! Bye!