The King and His Sorcerer

Part II: The Sun

Merlin couldn’t remember the first words he had spoken to Arthur Pendragon. All he could remember of the interaction was that it was highly unpleasant. Slander was thrown by both constituents of the conversation, and somehow Merlin had ended up in the pillory, with the remnants of rotten food all but covering his entire face. Had he thought to placate the prince before opening his mouth, the scenario might have turned out completely differently. But it seemed as if Prince Arthur was doomed to annoy Merlin to no end. It seemed as if every word that came out of the young man’s mouth was either rude, or absurd, or some mixture between the two. Merlin simply could not stand him, and it was clear that the feeling was mutual.

No matter how handsome the young prince was, Merlin could not muster any positive feelings towards him whatsoever.

“Oh, look who it is.”

Merlin needn’t bother to raise his blue eyes from where they were staring a hole through the worn ground beneath him. It was him. Arthur. It was all Merlin could do to suppress a groan.

“I hope you’ve learned your lesson and will speak to me with the respect I deserve from a commoner such as yourself.”

It was then that Merlin decided to look up. Arthur was standing in a ray of sun, and if Merlin hadn’t been so annoyed by the line that the prince had just spoken, he would have thought him breathtaking. The sunlight cast its warm rays upon the crown of Arthur’s head, igniting his blonde hair to a shade of gold. His eyes, however, were clouded in shadows, as if the sun had no right to infringe upon his royal gaze. From Merlin’s position on the ground, it seemed as if Arthur’s hair was made up spun gold, and his eyes of melted iron. How can one boy be so incredibly beautiful? It does not seem fair on the more common looking people, he thought to himself. He instantly regretted it. Is not everyone beautiful in their own way? It just seemed as if Arthur had been the recipient of a great deal of beauty at birth. Merlin briefly wondered what the prince would look like in courtly clothes, and quickly shook his head to rid it of the thought.

“No?” Arthur all but bellowed. “So it seems you need more time here, then. Am I correct?”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed at Merlin, in what he presumed Arthur believed was an intimidating manner. Merlin was not fooled. The young prince had barely enough strength of character to carry himself on his legs.

“I have yet to say a word,” Merlin said, in a hushed tone.

By now, a small crowd had gathered around the pillory, eager to see what kind of punishment their prince would dole out next. But to Merlin, there was only one person in his vicinity, and that was Arthur.

Arthur strode to where Merlin was encased in the pillory, and leaned forwards – so close that Merlin could smell his earth green scent.

“You have yet to say a word? That’s most likely because you have not the intelligence to converse with someone of my stature.”

The words were spoken so that only Merlin could hear them, and he felt himself shudder as they reached his ear. Arthur’s proximity to his own body left Merlin feeling out of sorts, to say the least. He knew he should reply to the prince, attempt to refute him. But his mind was completely blank, bar from the scent of Arthur and his embarrassing thoughts regarding the prince’s closeness to his own body.

“See?” Arthur whispered, his breath tickling Merlin’s ear. “You cannot even form a reply.”

“That is because you have not once addressed me by my name.”

Arthur pulled back somewhat. “And what, pray tell, is your name?”

Merlin dared to look in Arthur’s eyes, and was surprised that they were once again blue, the shadows cast by the sun gone.

“My name is Merlin.”

Arthur raised one pale eyebrow in reply. “Merlin?”

Merlin knew it was not an invitation to respond, and thus did not.

“Merlin,” Arthur repeated.

The sound of his name on Arthur’s tongue thrilled Merlin, though he had no idea why. He couldn’t stand the prince. Couldn’t he? Nevertheless, Merlin knew that this simply could not be the last time he would hear his name spill forth from Arthur’s mouth. He would not let it be.

The two stared at each other in silence, their gaze held by one another’s, neither willing to be the first to glance away. In the end, it was Arthur who turned away first, to answer to his mindless friends.

“Oi! Give him a few more hours. Maybe that will teach him a lesson!” One of the friends yelled.

Arthur looked back to where Merlin was still locked in the pillory. Merlin knew that he would abide by his friend’s suggestion, so as to look more ruthless in front of those he wished to impress. With a nod, and one last glance back at Merlin, Arthur retreated from the town square. Once again, the golden glow of the sun illuminated him, making Arthur seem more like a vision of God than a mere human. And, as much as Merlin liked to believe he hated the prince, he found himself hoping it would not be too far into the future when their paths would cross again.