A/N
What is this is see?? Another double chapter?!?!? Woooooo!!!!! Enjoy yet another chapter, you are welcome, my dears!!
After the whole Arthur-dying-and-coming-back-to-life situation, the thing I really wanted to do was get away for a while, clear my head. Obviously, I couldn't do that. But that didn't mean that I didn't need a small break, even if it were only for a couple of hours.
It had been about a week since it all happened and things were back to how they had been before Camelot trialed having a troll for a Queen. Arthur was back to his usual self as it had taken a couple of days for the side effects of the potion to wear off.
I was currently strolling around the town square with Arthur, ranting to him about how a break from all this drama would be so nice. You know, it just always felt like a battle was seconds away from breaking out and I had no idea how to stop that feeling as I knew it was a stupid superstitious feeling and probably meant nothing.
Not long after we had left the town square was Arthur called away by another knight to help out with something. Apparently there was a problem in the kitchens. So once again I wandered around the castle alone. But not for long... As I passed the outside of the armoury, I felt a presence fall in step beside me.
I turned to my right and saw Merlin walking by my side, a smile on his face as if he had been planning something.
"Hey?" I said nervously.
"Hey," Merlin replied, the same smile still etched on his face. "I have a surprise for you."
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head slightly. Part of me was intrigued to know what he was talking about but the other part of me was absolutely terrified.
"Is that so?" I smiled.
"Mm-hmm," Merlin nodded. "Follow me."
Luckily, there was no one around this part of the castle so when Merlin grabbed onto my hand, I didn't worry that we were gonna be caught. Merlin then led us deeper and deeper into the forest until we were far from the main citadel of Camelot.
"Merlin, where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see," Merlin replied.
When Merlin finally allowed us to stop, we were on top of a hill covered by hundreds of trees, hiding us from the view of any others. I could see the castle ahead of us and as the sunlight reflected off the windows and shone against the beige bricks, I sighed in content.
I then noticed Merlin wasn't standing next to me anymore and when I turned around, I saw him rush back round to my side. With the same smile on his face, he held onto my hand again and led me a little further into the woods until he finally let us stop and my mouth dropped open.
In front of me was a woven quilt with a small picnic basket on the side of it. A bunch of cushions were strewn across the quilt and small bunches of snowdrops were growing around the area.
I looked over at Merlin, who was smiling proudly at his creation before looking back at the setting.
"So... what do you think?" Merlin asked, his voice sounding slightly nervous. That was probably due to the fact that I hadn't said anything yet.
Not knowing what I could say, I turned to face Merlin and cupped his cheek with my hand, stroking it gently. I then reached up on my tiptoes and kissed him gently. Acting on instinct, Merlin's hand linked themselves around my waist, pulling me closer than I thought was possible. My hands trailed up to Merlin's hair as we held onto it each other like there was no tomorrow. But of course, we were only human and one thing that humans needed to do was breathe.
I pulled away but only by an inch as Merlin rested his forehead against my own, the smile on his face now even wider.
"I love you," I smiled.
"I love you more," Merlin challenged.
"I love you most," I smirked.
Merlin then held onto my hand and led me to the quilt. After I had sat down, Merlin sat opposite me and started to look through the picnic basket.
"I spoke to Arthur earlier," Merlin began, taking out some of the food in the basket. "And he told me how a certain princess wanted to get away from Camelot for a bit." Merlin gave me a small smirk, making me blush and look at the ground.
"So you decided to sort this out?" I asked, glancing at a bunch of the small white snowdrops.
"I wish. Believe it or not, Arthur suggested it," Merlin admitted, making me look over at him with wide eyes. "Yeah, I know. But Arthur suggested we go out for a bit, get away from all the carnage. And if Uther asks where you are, Arthur said he was happy to cover for us. He'll probably say I'm in the tavern or something." I smiled at Merlin's pondering as he began to ramble nervously.
"Wait a minute," I said, making Merlin pause what he was doing. "Was Arthur supposed to be on 'Chelsea-patrol' this morning? Is that why he kept trying to get me to go on a longer walk with him?"
"Well, I just asked him to distract you for a while so I could sort this out. And then there was a problem in the kitchens when I couldn't find the strawberries," Merlin rambled again.
"Hold on, you were the one who sent for Arthur because you had the problem in the kitchen?" I asked, smiling gently.
"Yeah," Merlin nodded. "But then I found them and then I found you."
Merlin held up a strawberry but rather than let me take it with my hand, I could see the mischief glimmering in his eyes as he held it up for me to bite. Of course I obliged and took the strawberry, laughing slightly when the juice went all over his hand.
"How do you make such a mess? It is literally a strawberry," Merlin said, wiping his hand with a napkin
"You deserved that," I countered.
"Harsh," Merlin muttered before handing me a bunch of grapes. "Right come on then, princess. Let's see how good your aim is."
Seeing what he wanted me to do, I took the grapes and repositioned myself onto my knees.
"Ready?" I asked. Merlin nodded and waited for me to throw the grape.
Taking off one of the grapes, I pulled my hand back slightly and throw it at Merlin, intentionally hitting him on the cheek.
"That was awful!" Merlin exclaimed.
"That was just a practice one," I defended before picking off another one.
This time when I threw it, I attempted an aim and with a little movement to his right, Merlin managed to catch it in his mouth making me cheer.
"Told you it was a practice one," I smirked.
"Yes, you did," Merlin smiled.
I smiled back and leant over to give Merlin another kiss but before I could, he met me halfway and immediately pulled me over to him. His hands rested on my waist as I straddled him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. He fell back onto his back, luckily, his head landing on one of the pillows.
"Don't roll over now. Wouldn't want to get strawberry juice in your hair," I warned him with a smirk.
"Now that would be a travesty," Merlin replied.
My hair was hanging over us as I started leaving little kisses on his neck and down his jawline. I felt his hands tighten on my waist as a small moan left his lips, making me smirk against his neck.
I pulled back up before locking our lips once again, deepening the kiss and placing a hand around the back of his neck, pulling Merlin closer than humanly possible. For a split second, I pulled back and looked Merlin deep in the eyes.
One of his hands then cupped my cheek making me lean into it. His thumb then traced my lower lip, dragging it down slightly.
"You're so beautiful," Merlin whispered before he leant back up and collided our lips once again. He flipped us over so that he was now on top. His lips then left mine as he started kissing me all over. His kisses trailed from my cheek, along my jaw to my neck and down to my breasts. I leant into each one of his kisses, taking everything he was giving me, as his hands grasped onto my hips again, pulling me closer and closer till the only thing separating us were some feeble pieces of clothing.
But very soon they meant nothing to us as my dress was pushed up around my waist. I felt my undergarments fall loose of my hips as Merlin tugged them down to my knees, making sure nothing was between us anymore. I went to help him remove them entirely but he quickly came back up to my face and lifted my hands above my head holding them there.
"Don't move," Merlin whispered into my lips.
"And what if I do?" I challenged.
Merlin tilted his head with a raised eyebrow before leaving close to my ear.
"I'll leave you here alone to finish the job," Merlin warned, making my eyes widen at the demanding tone in his voice that I had never heard before.
Before I could say anymore, the familiar pressure in my stomach awakened and my head fell back into the ground, not caring about getting any leaves or dirt in it. It took every fibre in me to not move my hands and grasp onto Merlin's back as he thrust into me, filling my body with the best kind of pleasure any human could feel. But he never said anything about lending a hand in another way.
As I felt Merlin's kisses on my neck become messier and his grip on my wrists lessening, I raised my hips against his, forcing him to pick up the pace and make a moan come from his mouth that was nearly enough to send me over the edge.
"What are you doing to me?" Merlin groaned into my neck, his grip on my waist so tight that I was sure a mark would be left as his thrusts became less rhythmical and faster, more desperate.
His hand on my wrists became so loose that I was able to intertwine a hand into it allowing my other hand free and to grasp onto the dark locks of Merlin's hair as he got faster and faster, moments away from tipping over the edge.
The only sounds around us was the sound of Merlin's deep groans and my softer moans as, together, we tipped over the edge, the pressure in my body finally shattering and freeing us both.
His head fell onto my chest as it rose quickly, trying to catch all my breath back. Well, I guess that was one way to get away from all the drama...
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I don't know how long we had been in the woods for, but soon the sun was starting its descent back downwards. Wrapping the quilt up and placing it into the now empty basket, Merlin muttered a simple spell that hid the basket and we set off back towards Camelot. Considering Arthur had covered for us, we picked up some random herbs so that that could be our excuse if anyone asked.
As we were walking, I noticed that a fire was burning in the distance and smoke was rising from it creating a grey cloud above the trees. I gestured to Merlin who winked at me before slowing to pause what he was doing.
"Watch this," Merlin muttered before moving over to another patch of trees.
I looked over at the smoke and smiled when I saw it turn into the shape of a horse. It's legs ran around slowly as it tossed its mane back in the wind.
But as quick as it started, it stopped. I went to walk over to Merlin but when he saw me he subtly shook his head and I saw a woman frantically talking to him. I strained my ears and listened in.
"Did you see it? The smoke? Did you see it?" the woman asked, making my eyes widen.
"No, I saw nothing," Merlin told her.
"Are you blind? You were right here!" the woman exclaimed, and I wanted nothing more than to go and assist Merlin but I had a feeling that would cause more problems than it would fix. "It was magic I tell you! There's sorcery here! We must tell the King!"
Oh, my God! What the hell were we going to do now? Merlin turned to me, panic evident on his face and I felt so guilty. It was my fault. Merlin had done that for me and once again, he was at risk of getting in trouble.
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When Merlin and I reached Camelot, we were forced to go our separate ways but before I could get far, Leon came and collected me to attend the audience that the woman had requested.
In the great hall, father was already standing at the front when I entered. Arthur was leaning against the back of his chair and looked bored out of his mind.
As I walked over to my chair, Arthur smiled over at me. I gave him a smile back, and a thankful nod. While father was pacing around the front of the stage, Arthur casually walked over to me and leant up on my chair instead.
"So..." Arthur began, waiting for me to talk.
"So?" I asked, knowing what he wanted to know.
"How was it?" Arthur asked. "Did you like the picnic idea? Which, by the way, I came up with. Oh, and did you see the little quiches that I told Merlin about?"
I nodded my head at him after some slight hesitation as, truth be told, we didn't really get around to eating that much. Not that Arthur needed to know that.
"Yeah, they were great, thanks," I smiled.
"Oh, and by the way, if father asks where you were, you were in the meadows admiring the flowers," Arthur muttered to me.
I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't bother questioning it. Before I could say anymore, the woman started rambling to father what she had seen. Not that I could hear what she was saying with Arthur murmuring constantly in my ears. I managed to block out most of what he was saying until a certain sentence made me have a mini-heart attack.
"Also, I think Leon may have noticed something has been going on between you and Merlin," Arthur muttered to me, making my eyes widen and turn back to face him.
"What?" I exclaimed, accidentally raising my voice. Everyone in the room turned to look at me so I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Sorcery in Camelot? That's—that's awful."
Father looked at me in confusion before turning back to face the woman.
"Real smooth," Arthur snorted.
"Shut up," I whispered, elbowing him in the gut. "What do you mean Leon might know?"
"I don't know. I just get the feeling that he knows. You know how he's sort of always there. He usually knows everything that's going on anyway. Just be careful what you and Merlin say or do around him," Arthur whispered back.
"To be honest, Arthur, I don't think Leon would do anything about it really," I admitted.
"And that's a risk you're willing to take?" Arthur asked.
I bit my lip nervously and turned back around to face the front.
"You're certain it was sorcery?" father asked, while I ran a hand through my hair.
"Yes, sire," the woman nodded.
"And you swear it before your king?" father asked.
"Perhaps your eyes deceived you," Arthur spoke up. "A trick of the light."
"The smoke was alive, I tell you. I feared for my life," the woman said, and it took my whole will power to not roll my eyes. It was just a bit of smoke, she was making a whole deal out of nothing.
"I thank you for bringing this to my attention. Your loyalty will not go un-rewarded," father said.
"Thank you, sire," the woman curtsied.
A guard then led her out of the room. I noticed Leon in the room and after Arthur's truth telling, I couldn't bring myself to look at him.
"It cannot continue," father said.
"I will hunt down those responsible, father, and I promise they will be punished," Arthur answered as if on instinct.
"No. Stronger methods are called for," father announced. "Send for the witchfinder."
The whole court gasped at the drastic measures father was now taking. I straightened up in my chair and noticed that Arthur had tensed up nervously as well.
"Sire, is it necessary to resort to such measures?" Gaius asked, stepping forward.
"The witchfinder is a trusted ally, Gaius. His help will be invaluable," father said.
"Of course," Gaius nodded.
Oh, God. What were we going to do?
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