The Search ➳ Merthur

chapter two

There was another bang on the door.

"If you don't let us in we will be forced to break the door down!" The voices yelled again. There were muffled sounds again, words he couldn't make out, and he feared they were onto him.

Merlin cursed under his breath before throwing his book beneath his mattress and hoping the guards would be dumb enough to not look under it. It was inevitable, though, he figured as he made his way to the door, trying not to tremble. They would enter and push him to the ground and clear out his bookshelf and go through his cupboards and somehow, he would be found out.

He tried to shake himself out the terror, but he couldn't believe it could possibly be over for him in the next few minutes. He was in his right mind to think about running, but they would just push the door down and find he wasn't here before figuring out he was a sorcerer.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!" The yell made him flinch, and the following blow of a fist upon his door made him jump. He stood in front of the door and gripped the handle before pulling open the door.

"Finally, Merlin. Took you long enough, I almost started to think you were the sorcerer we were looking for." Gwaine laughed in his face with Lancelot following behind him as they lightly pushed him aside and made their way into Merlin's room, dressed in their armor and holding their swords. They made themselves comfortable in the chairs by the fire, and looked at his confused face before Gwaine began to laugh again.

"S-so you aren't searching the entire town?" Merlin asked once he found his voice. His heart was still beating like crazy after being faced with the anxiety the men's joke had caused him.

"Oh no, we are." Lancelot stated, "We just thought you might like us to stop in instead of some of the others, since we know you're nothing near being a sorcerer." He smiled and Merlin's heart soared. He was safe, for now, but that didn't change the fact that if he hadn't known Gwaine and Lancelot, they would have found his book of magic and had him thrown in the dungeons. And eventually, he would have been killed. What a comforting thought.

"So, uh... you still haven't found this sorcerer, huh?" Merlin started. He sat rigidly on the edge of his bed, looking toward them; even if they were his friends, he didn't believe them above turning him in if he was exactly who they were looking for. They hadn't known him for too long, and surely, as knights, they would be more loyal to their king than someone they had only first met a few months ago. Suddenly, the feel of the book rammed in between his straw mattress and the bed frame was frightening, as if it was beginning to haunt him.

"We haven't had any luck yet, and we never will since this sorcerer is so bloody good at covering his tracks. All the evidence we have are sightings from people saying they've seen someone doing magic—what if they're lying? Arthur hasn't even considered taking that into account–," Lancelot rammed Gwaine in the stomach with his elbow, causing him to groan. Merlin stifled a laugh.

"Don't badmouth the king while he isn't around." Lance scolded, "You shouldn't even be badmouthing he king in the first place, he'd have your head for it."

"Yeah, well, he and his self-righteous arse particularly need my head to save his so..." Gwaine trailed off. Lancelot gave him a pointed look.

"It's a wonder you've lived this long, Gwaine, freely insulting me when I'm not around. Did you know treason is punishable by death?" Merlin's throat suddenly felt constricted. The King of Camelot was standing at his door, now he was stepping into his room, then he was standing in front of Gwaine and Lancelot. Merlin gulped. The King was wearing his armor as well, showing he was apart of the search of the lower town as well. It was a blessing he hadn't come here before Gwaine and Lancelot, for if he had, Merlin knew he would have very quickly understood what death at the hand of a King felt like.

"Sire! My lord!" Gwaine jumped up and out of his seat. He bowed deeply to the king, as if it would make up for the words he had just said. The king just raised an eyebrow at him, not convinced of what Gwaine was trying to accomplish. Lancelot rolled his eyes.

"You two are meant to be going around, like the others, and conducting searches, not fraternizing with the peasants!" Arthur exclaimed. He made a vague gesture towards Merlin, as if to support his point. Lancelot stood up and pushed Gwaine to the side so he was facing the king. He took a slight bow before speaking.

"We apologize, my lord, but after we had finished conducting our search here, we decided to have a chat with our friend here, Merlin." Lancelot said, and Merlin made a mental note to thank the high priestesses of the old religion for supplying him with such a friend. He had not only trusted him and strongly believed he was not the sorcerer, but also just lied to royalty for him; two actions that were possibly punishable by death. Granted, Lancelot didn't know that Merlin actually was the sorcerer in question, but the sentiment still made Merlin feel good.

The King pointedly looked around the room, clearly seeing there was no evidence of the mess of a search in it. He stared Lancelot down, as if threatening him to lie to royalty once again, but Lancelot just stared back at him, unrelenting. Their contest seemed to go on for ages, as neither of them desired to give up. The king eventually broke it off first, and there was an inch of a smirk on Lancelot's face, knowing he had won. After that, the king looked at Merlin before taking a few steps toward him, which caused Merlin to scramble up and off of his bed and into a bow. He rose to come face to face with the King who sought after his own death.

It made his heart do unspeakable things.

The king looked him up and down, as if addressing his sense of fashion and deciding whether he could possibly cause any harm to the city, and by extension, its people. He came up empty and proceeded to take a step away from Merlin in order to glare at his knights once again. Afterward, he looked to Merlin and gave a brief nod before exiting his home and shutting the door, his bright red cape lightly flying behind him.

"What a prat." Merlin said.

Gwaine and Lancelot proceeded to laugh harder than they can recall.

-

Aaaaaaa I really liked how that ended up actually wow

please vote & comment cuz I see that stuff and I like interacting with you guys!

~Dev❤️