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Magic was legalised and Morgana defeated. While Camelot certainly saw a more peaceful age, it was not free from the occasional skirmish. The glorious golden age had only just dawned after all. It had yet to reach its zenith.
All this to say, Merlin’s friends continued to put themselves in mortal peril.
The difference was, Merlin could freely use his magic to protect them.
Years of hiding his magic and being subtle, (yes, he was very capable of subtle, thanks), left its mark on him hence the covertness of his current (legal) mission.
Merlin had no qualms about using his magic dramatically, but he had to admit there were benefits to keeping a low profile.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing Merlin thought as he pulled yet another dusty volume with dust older than himself. Merlin coughed and covered his face with his neckerchief.
Whoever had hidden the previously contraband books had taken care to cast some sort of preservation spell on them. Unfortunately, the spell didn’t stop the dust from sullenly squatting on the covers.
Merlin flipped through the pages, searching for anything that could be useful.
He’d already been at it for days. Books lay scattered on the floor with various pages marked. Gaius would have had a fit at the sight of it.
In Merlin’s defence, he had other things to do and it was easier to pick back up if they were never put by.
It was another few days before a triumphant Merlin jogged up to Lancelot at the armoury doing some knightly thing or another– Merlin wasn’t paying attention.
“Lancelot!” Merlin exclaimed with barely concealed glee. The others in the room turned to them. “I have something for you.” He grabbed Lancelot’s hand and pulled out of the room.
Lancelot smiled at his friend, following easily. “What has you so cheerful?”
They stopped at a relatively deserted corridor.
“I did it!” Merlin grinned, holding up metal band.
Lancelot eyed it. “You mean…”
“Yes!” Merlin offered him the band. “I mean, I think so. Might still need a few tweaks and it needs to be tested but yeah.”
He’d only told Lancelot and Gaius about this little project. He’d probably have burst if he’d kept completely mum about it.
Lancelot took the band and clapped Merlin’s shoulder. “Never doubted you for a second.”
Merlin ignored the praise in embarrassment, urging Lancelot to wear the band like a bracelet. He was pleased to note that it blended in with Lancelot’s armour perfectly. “It’s imbued with protective spells. Its not as good as my magic, but it should be able to help you out of tight spots.”
“What does it do exactly?”
“Ah. I’m not sure yet,” Merlin said sheepishly. “I couldn’t test it out on myself.”
Lancelot nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
This was why Lancelot was his favourite.
They tested it out as extensively as they dared. It did not defend Lancelot against a spell that made him wax poetry about anything in sight (and that had been awkward to explain away as Merlin frantically looked up the counter spell), but it helped him keep his feet against stunning spells.
Frankly, sorcerers were more likely to go for stunning spells anyways.
It also helped a little against non magical attacks, though it was incomparable to the power of Excalibur. Merlin had offhandedly suggested throwing Arthur at undefeatable beings and objects, seeing as he had aforementioned powerful sword.
Overall, with a few adjustments, Merlin though the bands could be decent enough protection against rogue, unskilled sorcerers. Probably.
The best feature was that it could help Merlin track the wearer in case a rescue party was needed.
Once Merlin spelled Lancelot’s bracelet decently enough, he began working on the others. It was a bit time consuming since intricate magic was not his forte but he was willing to sacrifice some of his precious free time (and sleep) for his friends.
Arthur almost rolled his eyes. Lancelot was wearing the bracelet Merlin had given him yet again.
Yes, Arthur understood that it was a gift from Merlin–it was no secret– but to wear it all the time? It was a bit much.
It wasn’t even that good. Dull grey and simple, it could easily be mistaken for scrap lying on a blacksmith’s workshop. Not that Arthur had gotten a close look at it.
It was even more annoying when Merlin caught sight of it and beamed or gave Lancelot a thumbs up.
Arthur shooed the thoughts away with a huff. The two of them could do whatever they wanted. Right now, his priority was training.
He already had the knights doing their drills. Gwaine was late despite the fact that Arthur had seen him donning his armour with the rest of them a while ago.
Arthur wasn’t sure what was keeping him since the rest of their friends were already on the field. Gwaine usually goofed with them after training.
At the foot of the thought, there was the very man in question, making his way toward the field with Merlin in tow.
Arthur observed them discreetly. Gwaine hugged Merlin and ruffled his hair. Merlin laughed and elbowed him in return. They exchanged a few more words before Gwaine finally seemed to remember he was meant to be training.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. Merlin wasn’t his manservant anymore. It was within his rights to delay a knight, within reasonable bounds though, of course, Merlin was known to ignore those.
It was then that he saw it. A band around Gwaine’s wrist, just like Lancelot’s.
The grin on Gwaine’s face didn’t falter when Arthur barked at him to run a few extra laps.
Arthur’s irritation only spiked when Gwaine held up his hand to Lancelot, showing him the band and sharing a look of excitement and pride.
Of course Gwaine wore the band everywhere too, just like Lancelot.
It wasn’t long before all of Merlin’s friends seem to have a similar band. Percival, Leon, Elyan, Gwen, and even Gaius had one.
Arthur was intrigued but he stoutly refused to ask any of them about it. He impatiently waited for his. Merlin was clearly gifting it to his close friends, Arthur reasoned it was only a matter of time before he got his own.
He’d even grown to appreciate the style Merlin had chosen. It appeared sturdy and practical, something that wouldn’t get in the way of everyday business. It didn’t draw too much attention either.
Not that Arthur was planning to wear it regularly–he never preferred much jewellery–but he could stand to wear it on occasion.
Who was he kidding? Arthur would never take it off if Merlin would just hurry up and give him one already!
He glared at Merlin as he chattered on about something. They were currently in Arthur’s rooms sharing dinner.
It had been months since Leon emerged with a metallic band. Months.
Each time Arthur saw any of their friends, the inconspicuous band caught his eyes. He couldn’t put it out of his mind if he tried.
Surely Merlin would have made Arthur’s by now, so why didn’t Arthur have it?
Arthur stabbed his chicken, shredding it into tiny pieces. He accidentally stabbed a pea in the process, causing it to bounce off the plate.
Merlin looked at him disapprovingly. “You don’t have to destroy it if you don’t want to eat. You know the scullery servants distribute the leftovers.”
Arthur shoved some of the chicken in his mouth mutinously. “I’m eating it.”
“What did your food do to deserve this treatment?” Merlin joked lightly.
Arthur knew he was actually asking him why he was in a foul mood. Arthur looked at him intensely. “Do you have anything for me?”
Merlin’s brows blinked in confusion. “What?”
“Anything. Even a little thing.”
“What do you mean,” Merlin asked slowly, utterly baffled.
Arthur continued to stare at him. Damnit. It wasn’t like Arthur could demand a gift. Merlin would give it to him when it was ready. The idiot was probably doing this on purpose. Torturing Arthur was a favourite pastime of his.
“Your report on the magical artefacts in the vaults,” Arthur said instead.
He almost regretted it when he had to spend the next ten minutes listening to Merlin moan about the state of the vaults and lack of resources. Arthur would probably be Geoffrey’s age by the time he got that report.
Arthur would honestly be fine with that as long as he had his own band by that time.
It was highly impossible that Merlin would have forgotten about Arthur. Impossible.
Still, Melin was known to be forgetful. Maybe he had just forgotten to give him the band. He could do with a reminder.
So Arthur spent every spare minute he had with Merlin.
He’d even accompanied him to the forest to collect herbs for Gaius. It had not been easy to shake off Merlin’s disbelief at the notion.
“Why are you gathering herbs?” Arthur had asked. “Doesn’t Gaius have a new apprentice?”
“Robert doesn’t know enough to make the trip yet.” Merlin stopped at an undistinguishable patch of green and inspected the leaves.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. If memory served right, “didn’t Gaius have you doing this a fortnight into your apprenticeship?”
Merlin turned to smirk at him. “I’m a fast learner.”
They were currently in Merlin’s room. Merlin’s room was as familiar to Arthur as his own now.
It was a mess with books and random magical things strewn about. Merlin had grudgingly kept a small portion of his desk cleared for Arthur after a while. It didn’t stop him from reminding Arthur that he had his own room.
Arthur honestly wasn’t even thinking about the band most of the times. He was drawn to Merlin’s company. It was much more bearable to work while Merlin did his own thing than for him to do it within the lonely walls of his chambers.
They could easily rely on each other for help or distractions. Arthur learned more about magic and the kind of issues Merlin encountered. It made it easier for him to follow Merlin’s points when it came to harmonising Camelot with magic.
Arthur was half-heartedly reviewing reports from his spot as Merlin read and occasionally took some notes. He could have been drawing flowers or some such too. Merlin would deny it vehemently but Arthur had seen Merlin doodle while working.
He’d absently noticed that Merlin didn’t have a band of his own. In fact, Merlin never wore any sort of accessory as far as he could remember.
“Didn’t you have a leather bracelet? What happened to it?”
Merlin’s neck creaked as he looked up. He stretched like a cat before finally giving Arthur his attention.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, that was from Will. He gave it to me before I left Ealdor.”
Arthur concealed a grimace of regret. “You don’t wear it anymore.”
Merlin shrugged. “I didn’t want to lose it on a hunt or a bandit attack,” he mumbled in a low voice.
Sensing his discomfort, Arthur steered the conversation away.
He thought about it later when he was alone. Were bracelets a symbol of friendship in Ealdor? Was it in Camelot?
Morgana had once given him a bracelet, before his quest for the Fisher King’s golden trident. He’d lost the it.
He frowned. Knowing what he did now, he wondered if the bracelet truly had been for his protection as Morgana had said.
He quickly shut that train of thought before moroseness set in.
Arthur rubbed his forehead where a headache was budding. His day was, frankly, shit.
He was stuck in a boring meeting, only half paying attention to what was being discussed. The knights of the round table were present, their bands glinting in the sunlight.
Well, not glinting. They quite unnoticeable to the unobservant. Arthur had nothing to distract him from eyeing them.
Merlin was sitting right beside him. One of the perks of Merlin’s new station was that he was forced to attend the meetings with Arthur.
Merlin was doing a remarkable job of pretending to be awake. He rested his head on his hand and his eyes were glazed over. Arthur could even hear faint snores.
Geoffrey called everyone’s attention, hinting at Arthur that he could dismiss the council.
Arthur nodded, pretending he’d already known. As everyone gathered their things, Arthur saw it.
Geoffrey had a band too.
Oh, that was it!
He grabbed Merlin by his arm and dragged him out of the room, decorum be damned. He ignored Merlin’s protest ranging from the manhandling to his things left behind.
Arthur stepped into the first unoccupied room and shut the door behind them.
“If this is about something from the meeting, I should tell you I wasn’t paying attention,” Merlin said, giving up on being indignant and continuing to be entirely too unruffled. Arthur did tend to drag him about every now and then.
“Geoffrey,” Arthur said through gritted teeth.
Merlin tilted his head in askance.
“Geoffrey has a band. Geoffrey.”
“Right, yeah. Remind me again what that is?”
“The same one Lancelot, Gwaine, Gwen and Gaius and the rest have.” Arthur took a breath to calm down. It was unacceptable that Geoffrey should have one before Arthur. Geoffrey and Merlin had an odd enmity which had begun to reduce only recently.
“Oh.” Merlin’s eyes shone in excitement. “Yes. He found out about it from Gaius and asked me for one. I was just as surprised as you are.” He chuckled.
Any annoyance Arthur had left him. “What?”
“You know how he is about the library.” Merlin grinned conspiratorially.
Arthur had the distinct feeling he was missing something. “Right.” He shook it off and forged ahead. “Where’s mine, then?”
“You want one?”
The annoyance was back. The others, save Geoffrey, didn’t have to ask for it. “Yes.”
“Why?”
The gods help Arthur, Merlin was genuinely confused and it only made him want to strangle the sorcerer. “Because I said so.”
Merlin huffed exasperatedly. “It’s not easy! I’m not going to make it just because you said so, you prat.”
“You made one because Geoffrey asked for it.” Arthur threw his hands up incredulously.
“He made a very compelling case. The library has valuable things and it’s his job to—”
“And what argument did the knights provide?” Arthur asked sarcastically.
Merlin stared at Arthur. “They’re knights Arthur.”
“I’m a knight.”
“You’re a prat. You don’t need it.”
“And they do?”
“Yes,” Merlin said like it was obvious, looking at Arthur like he’d lost it. “I don’t understand. You care about them too.”
“Of course I care about them,” Arthur said, slowing down. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything? I know all of Camelot’s knights are mighty, strong warriors, best of the realm and all that. You have tournaments all the time to preen—”
“We don’t preen!”
“—but they are not invincible. They could use the extra help.”
“Help?” Arthur retraced their entire conversation. “The bands help them fight?”
“They’re not helping them cheat at tournaments, you clotpole.” Merlin huffed.
“They have protective magic?” Arthur asked, as he quickly contemplated the benefits.
Merlin gaped for a moment. “I knew you weren’t listening to me when I told you about it. What did you think I was doing, giving everyone matching jewellery?”
Arthur cleared his throat awkwardly. He would rather face the questing beast again than admit that. “So how do they work?”
Merlin shot him a glare but launched into the details, gaining enthusiasm as Arthur took an interest in his work.
“All of this I’ve already told you about months ago,” Merlin teased lightly. “Should have know you weren’t listening.”
“No, I don’t think you did. I would have known.”
Merlin shook his head. “You cabbage head. I thought you weren’t interested in it.”
Arthur frowned in mock offence. “Well, I can hardly be blamed if you put me to sleep with your inane prattle right before you get to the interesting bits.”
Merlin nodded solemnly. “Understood, sire. I’ll be sure to break down complex thought processes for you.”
“Shut up, Merlin.” Arthur ruffled Merlin’s hair with a boyish grin. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, where is my band?”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Merlin deadpanned.
“Merlin,” Arthur said impatiently.
“Arthur,” Merlin said in a slow, deliberate tone. “You don’t need a band. Your entire armour has spells on it. So does your crown, and your ceremonial sword. Your actual sword, Excalibur, is forged with dragon—”
“Alright, I get it.” Arthur cut him off. Really, he ought to have known that Merlin would not only look after Arthur’s safety foremost but also overdo it. Arthur was not that vulnerable to magical attacks no matter what Merlin said.
Merlin was right Arthur didn’t need the band, not for its intended function.
Still, there was something about the band. He’d wanted it before he knew about its magical properties. Now that he knew the effort and magic Merlin had poured into it, how he taught himself the spells from those troublesome manuscripts, Arthur yearned for it even more now.
The band was something tangible, like his mother’s sigil, like the dragon figurine Balinor had given Merlin, like Will’s leather band.
Arthur considered asking Merlin once again. He’d already asked him so many times in the past few minutes. If Merlin didn’t want to give him one…then Arthur would have to accept it.
He did not want the band if Merlin was giving it from obligation. Merlin had invested more than enough in his safety already. He shouldn’t have to invest any more on what he deemed unnecessary.
Arthur slung his arm around Merlin’s shoulder. “Come on, let have lunch. You can tell me all about your progress with the artefacts in the vault.”
Merlin took the bait and complained vociferously all the way to Arthur’s chambers. Arthur listened just enough to annoy him further.
Arthur was buried under the covers. He had a distant notion that someone was trying to wake him up. It was ridiculously easy to ignore.
He dozed lightly, almost slipping back to sleep properly. He had been dreaming of something nice. Something...horses, he was riding his horse, the familiar motions under him, morning sunlight streaming through leaves—BANG
“Rise and shine, sire!”
Arthur hardly disentangled himself from the dream when his covers were rudely yanked.
“Merl’n,” he croaked automatically.
“Up you get,” came Merlin’s annoyingly cheery response. “You have...not much to do this morning, but I don’t see why you should spend it in bed.”
Arthur blearily sat up as Merlin spoke. “Merlin? Shut up.” He flopped back down, curling to retain any lingering warmth.
Merlin made a disapproving sound. Arthur heard him moving about. Bright light blinded him through his closed lids as Merlin threw the curtains across.
Arthur groaned and gave up trying to sleep. If there was one person who could wake him up, it was Merlin.
He glared at Merlin moodily and got out of bed.
Merlin graciously allowed Arthur five minutes of peace before complaining about the food getting cold.
Breakfast went well once Arthur acclimatised to being awake and to Merlin’s obnoxious cheeriness (which he knew Merlin affected solely to annoy him. No one was that happing in the morning).
Arthur slouched in his chair, idly fiddling with a grape.
Merlin nudged him.“I have something for you.” When Arthur looked up, he held up a band.
Arthur froze, staring at it. It was the first time he was seeing it up close. He tore his gaze away from it and met Merlin’s eyes, sitting up straight.
Merlin grinned and pulled Arthur’s hand to him, slipping it on. “It fits,” he said cheekily.
The band was warm from Merlin’s body. Arthur’s wrist tingled. The grey sat on his skin familiar, like his armour.
Arthur swallowed. “I thought I didn’t need it?”
It had been almost a week since that conversation. Neither of them had brought it up since.
Merlin shrugged. “You don’t, but I’m giving it anyway.”
“Because I asked for it?”
“When have I ever done as you’ve asked?” Merlin joked.
Arthur’s other hand clasped the band though he couldn’t bring himself to take it off. He did need it, now that he had it. Not for it’s magic, but because it was from Merlin. It had always been that simple.
“Insolent as always,” Arthur replied, letting his hand drop away.
“Dollophead,” Merlin retorted.
“Merlin?”
Merlin lifted an eyebrow. “Shut up?” he guessed.
Arthur smiled, deciding to let Merlin know what he really meant for once. “Thank you.”