Me @ Merlin Writers: What if You Didn't Murder My Favorite Characters?
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"Really?" Arthur asked, brushing the dirt off of him as he glowered at the man. "Again? I had it under control - and we aren't allies!" He added heatedly. Balinor shrugged, looking nonplussed by Arthur's anger as he stroked the dragon's wing.
"I know." Balinor said simply. "But I promised my son I wouldn't let you die."
"Your...You have a son?" Arthur demanded. Again, Balinor shrugged. "Why does your son...? Nevermind. Don't save me again!" He snapped, pointing a finger at the man. He turned to stalk back to the horse only for a column of fire to blow past him. The prince jumped. He spun around to tell the man off again but immediately noticed one of the remaining bandits who had been slowly creeping towards him burnt to a crisp. He looked back at Balinor.
"Sorry."
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Balinor lives. Arthur will do pretty much anything to get the man to stop saving his life.
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"Where did you get that?" Arthur asked, but he already knew the answer.
"Gwen."
"...and the horse?"
"Gwen."
"What about the-"
"Gwen." Merlin interrupted. Arthur nodded. At this point, he wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask. He was pretty certain his wife was going to knight Merlin any day now. He looked Merlin up and down for a few moments before accepting it all with a sigh.
"As long as you get my armor to me tomorrow...I don't care." He finally said, turning away. Merlin cleared his throat.
"Gwen gave me tomorrow off."
"For the love of God."
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I hate that Gwen and Merlin's friendship kind of withered away in the later seasons so here's a oneshot about her and Merlin abusing her new royal powers because that's what happens when your best friend becomes queen.
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In Which Arthur Lets a Sorcerer Live and Regrets It by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
07 Jan 2020
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“MERLIN!” Arthur shrieked as he dove for his sword. Merlin only groaned, raising his arm to push Will’s hand down as the damned idiot laughed wildly. “Keep your goddamn sorcerer in line, I swear to-”
“Beware, my prince.” Will interrupted solemnly as he raised his hands to signal complete silence “For my powers will surely turn you into the toad that you are. Bippity Boppity…Make Arthur Hoppity….” He said, wiggling his fingers. Arthur swore loudly. Merlin gave a cough that suspiciously sounded like a laugh before turning to fix his friend with a hard glare.
“Stop it.”
“He makes it too easy, Merlin. Honestly.”
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Will survived the battle of Ealdor and occasionally comes around to visit Merlin…And torture Arthur.
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"I'm not lying!" Arthur yelled and while his knights all nodded, he could see the slight roll of their eyes. "She's real. I swear on my life she is!" He tried again. Gwaine outright laughed. Arthur really should just behead him. That would solve everything.
"What's her name then?" Leon asked reasonably. Arthur stared. "My lord, is it...At all possible she might have just been in your head?" He asked, gently. Arthur felt his mouth drop.
"I am not crazy!"
"Well..." Merlin began and the prince turned to glare at him. "I've watched you try to put on a shirt, sire."
"He said crazy. Not incapable." Elyan murmured and immediately winced when Arthur gaped at him. "Sorry, I...Sorry." He offered weakly. "You're not crazy."
"Just incapable!" Merlin smiled. Arthur hated everyone and swore on his life he would find this damn lake lady even if it was the last thing he ever did.
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Arthur comes across a beautiful woman near a lake who likes to talk about her husband a lot. Nobody believes him except Merlin (aka Freya lives).
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Arthur tried to find words to express his utter, complete, absolute disbelief of the situation, but nothing seemed to come out. Finally, Merlin took over.
"So let me get this straight," he said slowly "A goddess came from the sky...Told you that you had a destiny to, um, help this Emrys-"
"Actually," Lancelot cleared his throat "She requested I serve as an ambassador between Emrys and Arthur."
Merlin stared.
"Right..." He frowned "So, uh, she told you to do that and...Gave you a chicken to close the veil between worlds?"
Percival looked at the pile of feathers with a grimace as he nudged them away with the toe of his boots.
"Yeah, that about covers it." Lancelot said and shrugged "My lord, does this mean you’re going to kill me?" He asked, turning to Arthur. "Because I’m pretty sure this this crystal ball has magic in it."
Arthur wished he would have thrown himself in that damned veil when he had the chance.
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Instead of sacrificing himself to the veil, a goddess of the Old Religion decides to use Lancelot for the greater good of the prophecy. Lancelot...Decides to take a different route.
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Arthur could see his father glaring down - face red and eyes narrowed as he looked at Merlin with clear distaste.
"Once this over, sorcerer...I’ll burn you."
"You’ve already tried that," Merlin’s voice answered and Arthur had to bite his fist to keep from making any noise. “You need to accept you can’t kill me… Hand me that blanket, please.”
“I’m sure there must be some method… Beheading?”
“No, we tried that.”
“Hanging?”
“I just sort of... Swung there, remember?”
There was another pause.
“I should have made you keep that dragon below the castle so I could feed you to it.”
“Kilgharrah? He won’t eat me, but if you want to torture me than making me listen to his nonsense for an hour might do it.” Merlin said and there was a soft sigh from the other end of the room. “I’m glad you agreed to help me though. Usually I have to do the grunt work of saving Arthur myself.”
“I can’t wait to kill you.”
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Uther finds out about Merlin’s magic, but can’t seem to kill him. Merlin is just trying to protect Arthur. They become a begrudgingly effective duo. Arthur doesn't understand why they think he isn't noticing this.
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"Your mother made me make my own pie with her yesterday." He said, sitting up to glare. "What is it with your family? Why do none of you respect nobles?" He said and Merlin dropped the plate of food he was carrying. "...I hate you." He sighed, staring at his food bouncing on the ground with a loud clatter. "I should hire your mother as my servant. She wouldn't drop my food." He added with a fierce nod.
"My mother is here?" He asked and Arthur paused.
"You haven’t seen her?"
"No. Fuck. It’s finally happening." He whispered. Arthur stared, absolutely baffled. "She’s come to kill me." He explained and dashed towards the door to peer outside.
"What?" Arthur snorted. "Merlin. Your mother can be very firm, but she’s not the killing type. She is too softhearted for such things." He said and Merlin slammed the door shut, leaning against the wood as if barricading it.
"If you're not careful you'll be next."
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Hunith occasionally visits Camelot. Arthur thinks she’s wonderful...Sometimes.
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“You have to listen to me!” Arthur said, stomping his foot as he tried to regain the other boy’s attention “I’m the prince!” He shouted and reached forward to jab at his arm. The boy looked at him with consideration.
“My mama says I should only listen to people who are smarter than me,” He said calmly and tilted his head “Are you smarter than me?”
“Yes! I know how to count to ten.”
“Well, I know how to count to twenty,” The boy shrugged and went back to the flowers “So I guess you have to listen to me.”
Arthur gaped. He wasn’t sure how this had all gone so wrong.
“I don’t like you,” He muttered and plopped onto the ground next to him. He wrinkled his nose, eyes searching the empty forest for a moment before turning back to the boy “You’re going to be my friend.”
“No, thank you.”
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Instead of Ygraine dying as the cost for Arthur’s birth, it was an important druid leader. This leads to a massive war between magic and non-magical creatures… That isn’t why Merlin is Arthur’s enemy though. That’s more because he said his hair isn’t pretty.
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"You...Are Emrys?" Arthur asked slowly. He turned to look back at Merlin who only offered a bright smile in return. It wasn't comforting. In fact, Arthur was fairly certain it was the same smile he gave when he returned Arthur's dirty laundry and tried to insist he washed it.
"I am." The man nodded solemnly "Though you may call me Alator."
Arthur had to fight to keep his face completely blank. Right. Fine. Okay. He held up a finger before gesturing Mordred a bit closer. The knight shuffled to his side, leaning in so he could hear when Arthur started whispering.
"What did this prophecy you keep mentioning say again?" He asked and when Mordred opened his mouth, held up a hand. "About me and Emrys."
"Oh," Mordred said and shrugged "You fall in love with him."
Arthur slowly turned back to Alator. Then back to Mordred.
"...are you sure?"
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Alator lives. This sets off a series of events that include: Mordred coming forward as a druid, Arthur learning of the existence of Emrys, Merlin asking Alator to please pretend to be Emrys, Alator agreeing, and Mordred deciding the best revenge is convincing Arthur that he is destined to fall in love with a man older than his father.
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10 Reasons Not to Fight a D̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶ Bird (a Guide by Arthur Pendragon) by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
31 Mar 2020
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“Merlin…” Arthur said as he slowly started to reach for his sword. “Don’t…Move…”
“No, no, no! Arthur, it’s alright!” Merlin said as he moved (because obviously he ignored Arthur’s orders and moved) in front of the desk. “She’s just saying hello!”
“That’s a dragon.” Arthur informed him. Merlin looked over his shoulder for a moment.
“No, it isn’t.”
There was a pause.
“Yes, it is.”
“No.” Merlin shook his head. “It…Uh, is not…A dragon.”
“Then what the Hell is it?!” Arthur asked, not letting his eyes drift away from the fire breathing demon. Yeah. That was definitely a dragon. Merlin clicked his tongue before also staring behind him.
“It is…A…Bird…”
There was another pause.
“You’re really sticking with that?”
“I am, thank you.”
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Merlin has to convince the King of Camelot that he is not, in fact, in possession of a dragon. Luckily, the rest of the kingdom has already been won over by the baby dragon and is quite willing to aid in this quest.
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"...what?" Arthur asked blearily as the boy set down his food. Merlin didn't even pause as he went to the dresser and tossed some more clothes out of the cabinet. "You... You have an apprentice?" He repeated and squinted. "Why?"
"Oh, you know," Merlin shrugged, tossing a tunic on the bed "In case I die or something." He said. The boy blinked before glancing over at Merlin with pursed lips.
"You're not dying, are you?" He asked and Arthur had to shake his head to try and keep up with the conversation.
"I don't think so... But you can never be certain." Merlin told him with an air of stoicism. Arthur scowled. Honestly. This was ridiculous. Clearly, this was his servant's newest attempt to get out of work (or at least work less).
"Merlin, you're not getting an apprentice." Arthur told him. Merlin stopped to look at the king.
"I am. I have. He's right there. Say hi, Daegal."
"Hi!"
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Daegal lives. Merlin takes him on as an apprentice. Arthur isn't sure what's going on. Mordred is also mad for some reason.
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“Mordred, right?” Arthur asked, kneeling in front of him. The boy nodded, eyes wide as he looked at Arthur as if he might bolt at any moment. “What are you doing back in Camelot? My father won’t like seeing you again.”
“He’s hurt.” Mordred whispered and Arthur glanced over at where Merlin was unconscious. A sudden realization dawned on him.
“You healed him,” He said slowly “With magic.”
Mordred nodded. Arthur’s mind raced – thinking of all Merlin had survived in his encounters with bandits and sorcerers. Before he could ask if Mordred had been responsible for all of it, there was a groan as Merlin shifted, eyes flickering open.
“Arth – you!” He choked, sitting up quickly to grab Arthur’s arm as if he could yank the prince away. Mordred grinned.
“You’re awake!” He beamed and launched forward to hug him. Arthur watched as Merlin stiffened at the action – eyes widening before desperately trying to push him away.
“Arthur. Arthur, get him off of me-”
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After sneaking Mordred out of Camelot, he occasionally returns to make sure Merlin is doing okay. Arthur isn’t sure why this child is so concerned about the wellbeing of his servant… Nor Merlin's vehement attempts to ignore it.
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"I..." Merlin began, trailing off. Arthur waited. "I, um... You see..." He tried again. Arthur felt another stab of resentment rise as his shoulders seemed to slump in resignation. What had Gwaine done to him? He was about to suggest Merlin speak to him alone when Gwaine's expression went completely blank before turning to look at the prince.
"Ah," He winced and offered a dazzling smile "Hello, your majesty. You caught us at a bad time."
"Have I?" Arthur asked coolly. Merlin blinked - looking Gwaine over warily.
"Yes," The knight continued and gestured between himself and Merlin. "We were just about to have some amazing sex. Right in that alcove actually," He said, nodding a bit towards a nook in the wall behind Arthur. "So, if this isn't anything urgent..." He trailed off. Arthur stared.
He... He had misheard, right? Definitely. For a moment he thought Gwaine had said... No. Absolutely not.
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Gwaine learns that Merlin has magic. Arthur learns that Gwaine is hopelessly in love with Merlin.
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