Merlin One-Shots

Back From The Dead

Merlin hummed to himself as he cleaned out Arthur's cabinets. Arthur and Gwen were at a meeting where there were no servants allowed, so he busied himself with cleaning Arthur's room. He was all alone because Nila was helping the cook since one of the cooks was sick. He closed the door of the cabinet that he was working on, and moved onto the next door. As soon as he opened it, something fell onto the floor with a clatter, and he peered at it to find out what it was. His heart nearly stopped when he found the familiar shape of a horn. The Horn of Cathbhadh. The last time he saw it, Arthur had accidentally brought his father's spirit back to this world. Uther almost destroyed everyone and everything, but Arthur was luckily able to send him back to the spirit world. Merlin swallowed nervously as he picked up the horn and inspected it. It had been two years since they last used it, and he could see that the age was getting to it.

"I see that you found it."

Merlin whirled around to see Arthur standing there, his arms folded.

"Why do you still have this?" Merlin asked, showing him the horn.

Arthur bit his lip before looking down in shame. "I was going to speak with my mother's spirit."

"Arthur," Merlin said, stepping towards his friend. "The last time you summoned a spirit, the Round Table was destroyed, Percival was injured, and Gwen and I almost died. I feel as if you should get rid of this completely."

"I feel that you are right," Arthur replied, taking the horn from Merlin. "I will dispose of this at once."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked, eyeing Arthur.

Arthur nodded and gave a Merlin a reassuring smile. Merlin sighed, mumbled something, and left to get Arthur's dinner from the kitchen. As soon as Merlin left, Arthur sat at his desk and wrote Gwen and Merlin a note.

"I'm sorry, Merlin," Arthur said as he stood back up. "But I must see my mother."

With that, he left the room, his footsteps echoing throughout the hallway.

***

Arthur nervously approached the Stones of Nemeton, tightly grasping the horn, his knuckles turning white with the effort. When he arrived in the middle of them, he raised the horn, and blew it. A white light appeared in front of him, and he cautiously walked towards it. He was soon in an area that was a light blue. He saw a darkened figure walk towards him, and he gasped hopefully, tears forming in his eyes. 

"Mother?" he asked hopefully, taking a step towards the figure. 

The figure didn't reply, and when Arthur could finally see who it was, he stiffened.

"Father," Arthur said, his gaze cold. 

"Arthur," Uther greeted, a frown on his face. "Your mother can not see you, only I can."

"Why?" Arthur asked, taking a step back. "Why can't I see my mother?"

"The horn only lets you see who you spoke to last that was from the spirit world," Uther explained grimly. "So, I can only see you, and you can only see me."

"I wanted to see my mother, not you!" Arthur yelled, shaking his head. "I never want to speak to you again after what you did! You tried to kill Guinevere and Merlin! You hurt Percival! You demolished the Round Table. YOU ALMOST KILLED ME, YOUR ONLY SON!"

"Arthur, I did all of that for Camelot," Uther explained, frowning. "I tried to warn you, but you ignored it, and now magic is legal. You have failed as a King."

"Have you even noticed what legalizing magic has done?!?" Arthur asked, growing more angry each second. "It turned Morgana against her evil ways! It makes Merlin no longer live in fear! It has made Camelot flourish! Magic is only evil if the user is evil! All my life, you have taught me to fear something that is beautiful! I only wish that I could have seen it earlier."