Prompts #14 and #35
Requested by @Shannon1300

These two make a very interesting combination...

Summary: Based around the two prompts requested. (I honestly have no other way to summarize this.)

QOTP: Did you like Uther?

Word Count: 2454

Arthur -
"Are you busy?" Arthur asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"I'm always busy, Arthur," you chide jokingly, looking at him briefly as you wash the day's load of laundry. Some of his clothes are in it.

"Well, could you maybe... not be busy?"

You stop, look at him, and hold up the wet blanket currently in your hands. "Um... not exactly?"

He waves his hand, dismissing it. "Oh, just leave it."

You raise a brow. "And for what, may I ask?"

He hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "A horse ride through the woods with me?"

"A horse ride?" you ask, dropping the blanket. He nods, and you sigh. "Arthur, I don't know how to ride a horse." You've never needed to ride a horse — you're a carpenter's-daughter-turned-royal-servant, so it's just never been necessary.

"I'll teach you," Arthur replies.

You snort, going back to the laundry. "Yeah, no, I'll pass."

"Why?"

"I'm not letting you teach me how to ride a horse. That would be disastrous."

He scoffs. "No, it wouldn't. Frankly, I'm offended you'd even suggest that. I'm the King, Y/N. I know how to ride a horse."

"You may know how, but that doesn't mean you can teach someone else how."

"Oh, please, I'd be a great teacher."

You raise an eyebrow at him again. "Really?"

"Yes!"

"And you won't let me fall off or get trampled once?"

He playfully rolls his eyes. "Have I ever let you down?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No." You turn back to the laundry yet again, and he sighs. "Please, Y/N? We can ride on the same horse, and I'll hold onto you so you don't fall off. And Merlin won't even be there, so there will be no one to annoy you."

"You're going," you joke.

"Okay, fine, that's fair." He sighs again. "So what do you say?"

You look at the laundry, then him, then the laundry, then him again. You drop the shirt in your hands in the water. "Oh, fine. I hate doing laundry, anyway."

He beams. "Then, let's go!" He grabs your hand and half-pulls you to the stables as you laugh. Once there, he readies a horse, then gets onto it with ease. He looks down at you and holds out a hand. "Come on."

You take his hand and unsurely try to swing yourself up onto the horse. He grabs your other hand and pulls you up, and, a little awkwardly, you manage to get on the horse in front of him. You're already starting to get nervous. "If I fall off, I promise you I won't speak to you for a week."

His arms go around you as he grabs the reins. He chuckles. "Oh, you couldn't go that long without speaking to me. You'd miss me too much."

"Try me, Arthur. Try me."

With that, you take off, and it's so abrupt you yelp and grab onto his arms. He laughs. Once you reach the woods, he slows the horse down to a trot. "See? That wasn't so bad."

You shake your head, still holding onto him. "I'm going to throw up, and then I'm going to kill you." He laughs again.

Eventually, though, the slow ride through the woods starts to become pleasant. It's nice outside, and the sounds of the animals in the woods is calming. Arthur starts humming quietly, and it only adds to it. You rest your back against his chest, taking it all in. It's a well deserved, much needed break from your work.

Arthur, personally, doesn't mind that you're laying on him. He's rather happy about it, seeing as the whole reason he asked you to go on this little excursion with him is that he likes you. He just needs to actually tell you that.

"Y/N?" he asks. You hum in response. "Would you... hate being a queen?"

Your brows furrow. "What?"

He's starting to turn red, and he's glad you can't see him. "Would you hate being a queen?"

You think for a moment, seeing as being queen is something you've never really considered before, even if you have considered Arthur in a romantic way. "No, I don't really think so. I could just order people to treat me like a normal person, I suppose, though that would be ironic."

"So, you wouldn't hate it?"

"No, I guess not. Why? Do you hate being king?"

"Not at all. I was just... curious."

You're a little skeptical about his answer, but you accept it anyway. You both go quiet again. Then, you reach a clearing, and he stops the horse and dismounts. He helps you down, then pulls a blanket out of one of the saddlebags. You help him spread it on the ground. Then, you lay down on it and look up at the sky through the trees. "This is so much better than doing laundry."

He laughs, laying down next to you. "I'd imagine."

You look over at him, thinking of a question. "Would you hate being a servant?"

He sighs. "Honestly? Probably, yeah. Especially if the guy I was serving was anything like me."

You laugh. "You're not that bad."

"Yeah, try telling Merlin that." You laugh again, and he smiles, looking at you. Finally, he sighs. "Y/N... the reason I asked you here is... I need to tell you something."

You sit up, brows furrowed as you turn towards him. He sits up, too, and he takes a while to speak, so you ask, "And... what is it you need to tell me?"

"I..." He hesitates. "I like you. Quite a lot, actually." He looks down and chuckles, though there's barely any mirth in it.

You heart, insisting on being cliché, flutters. You blush and smile. "I like you quite a lot, too."

He hurriedly looks back at you. "Really?"

"Really." You're smiling.

He smiles, too, scooting closer to you. "Then, I suppose you wouldn't mind if I..." He leans towards you, glancing at your lips. Your heart starts pounding, and you nod slightly, leaning in, too. Both of your eyes flutter closed. Then, you tilt your head to your right, and he tilts his to his left. You awkwardly bump noses, then foreheads, your lips barely brushing. He pulls back, laughing. "Well... that didn't go as planned."

You laugh, too, then tilt your head the other way. "You wanna try that again?"

He leans forward, still laughing. "Yeah."

Merlin -
When Arthur and the knights return from the fight — a battle against a powerful army, one they were likely to lose — you search for Merlin from a window in the castle. You can't spot him, but you don't let yourself worry too much. He's there. He has to be.

You rush down to meet him, get a better look, ask what happened. You see Arthur when you reach the ground floor, and he looks at you with surprise, then restrained sadness. Immediately, your stomach drops, and you run up to him. "Where is he?" He looks away from you. You ask again, sterner this time. "Where is he, Arthur?"

He sighs. "Y/N, I think you're going to want to sit down for this."

"Arthur-"

"Please... I'm going to go get this armor off, help my knights, and I'll meet you in my chambers. I'll be quick, I promise. This is just... something you'd rather hear in private."

The worst hits you immediately. Tears start to well up, but you turn and hurry back into the castle, trying to tell yourself that it's not as bad as you think. It can't be.

You head up to Arthur's chamber, then sit down, and put your head on the table. Fifteen minutes later, Arthur walks in. He sits down across from you, and you look up.

He sees the redness in your eyes, and it matches his own. His heart sags. "Y/N... I'm so sorry."

You involuntarily let out a sob, then cover your mouth. "What happened?"

"He... He's a sorcerer, Y/N." He looks down at the table, pained. You sit up, shocked to hear the words come out of his mouth. Before you can say anything, he tells you the story.

////

They were losing. The army was too armed, too powerful. Merlin stuck close to Arthur, and both kept an eye on the other. Merlin had armor on, and he wasn't used to it. He did what he could with the sword in his hand.

He looked to his left, spotting both Elyan and Gwaine fighting. They were struggling. Everyone's strength was failing. He looked to the army's leader. A powerful, horrible king intent on conquering or obliterating Camelot — which ever came first. He wasn't fighting. No one could get to him.

No one but Merlin.

He ran for him, and Arthur watched.

He watched him get closer, a determined look on his face. He watched him throw his hands out, his lips beginning to move. He watched his eyes light up gold as magic — his magic — killed the king.

The fighting stopped. Camelot's knights took advantage of the shock and confusion and won. Merlin was still lying on the ground, where he'd been since the king fell.

Arthur walked over to him, stood over him. His heart and head were heavy, tears were threatening to pour from his eyes. He looked at Merlin, who looked back at him. He asked, "Did we win, Arthur?"

Arthur looked away. "Seize him." He said it quietly, and nobody moved. He told himself they didn't hear him, though, with the silence, he knew they did. He said it louder. "Seize him." Hesitantly, two knights, ones Merlin didn't know very well, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up. Arthur couldn't look at him. "Take his armor off. When we get back, throw him in the dungeons for the time being. Do it quietly, and go ahead of the rest of us."

The knights nodded and took Merlin away. Gwaine stepped forward hesitantly. "Sire..."

The tone of his voice pained him a little. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Let's go."

////

"I'm sorry, Y/N," he says. "I had no idea-"

You stand quickly, already heading for the dungeons. "I did."

Arthur shouts something after you, but you continue running, sprinting through the castle. The few people walking through the halls give you a wide berth as soon as they see you running. Gwaine is one of them, and he knows exactly where you're headed.

You're winded by the time you make it to the dungeon, but the breath you have left is knocked out of you when you see Merlin.

He's dirty, and he looks thin and dejected. He's just sitting there, staring at the wall. His eyes are red; he's been crying.

"M-Merlin?" you say quietly.

His head snaps towards you, and he moves to the bars, grabbing onto them. "Y/N?"

You rush over, getting on your knees in front of him, holding the bars, too. "Merlin, what happened to you?"

"Arthur found out that I have magic."

Tears begin forming in your eyes. "I know. Arthur told me. But you look..."

"Awful?" He suggests, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Yes..."

He shakes his head a little. "I haven't eaten a real meal since the day before we left, and I haven't bathed since then either." They left about five days ago.

"What have you eaten? Have the guards not brought you anything?"

"On the journey, I didn't eat much. I was too nervous to, and the knights needed it more than me-"

"Merlin-"

"-and they brought me a meal. I didn't eat it."

You become more concerned by the second. "Why?"

"What's the point?" he asks. "I'm going to be burned at the stake or hanged as soon as possible."

Your heart drops, and you blanch. "Did Arthur tell you that?"

Merlin shakes his head. "No. No one did. They don't have to. I'm a sorcerer, I must be killed."

"Uther isn't king anymore."

"But Arthur will uphold the law, Y/N. It's a matter of when."

You practically crumple, falling from your knees to the floor. Merlin rests his hands over yours on the bar. "Arthur won't execute you, Merlin. He couldn't."

"If he had to, he would."

You think for a moment, then shake your head, starting to rise. "No, he won't. I won't let him."

"Y/N-"

"I won't let him. I'm getting you out of there." You go to leave.

"Y/N, you can't."

You stop, turning. "Have I ever let you down?"

He shakes his head, and you take off again.

You walk at a brisk pace back to Arthur's chambers, already going through what you're going to say to him in your head. When you open the door — without knocking — he looks up, surprised.

"Release him. Now."

Arthur sighs. "Y/N-"

"No," you interrupt. "He's done nothing wrong. Release him."

"I can't."

"You can, and you will." He thinks for a moment, probably trying to figure out how to refuse gently. You continue. "He doesn't deserve to be in the dungeons; he was using magic to save your life! You were losing, and he defeated that king and saved you, your army, and Camelot. And it's not the first time he's done that, either."

Arthur stops. "What?"

"You know how he saved your life the first time? Magic. And over and over again he's used magic to save you and Camelot. And you repay him by imprisoning him. Were you going to execute him, too?"

"I was trying to figure out how to avoid it," he admits. He thinks for a moment, then sighs and stands. "I'm going to talk to the guards."

Merlin is released fifteen minutes later. You hug him immediately. He hugs back as tight as he can. "I love you."

"I love you, too," you reply, tears beginning to fall. You kiss him, then help him to his room and have a servant get him a large meal from the kitchen while he bathes.

Then, finally, he sits at the table, eyes wide. He says nothing, just picks up the bowl closest to him and starts pouring it in his mouth. The soup in it practically slops down his chin and onto his shirt. You laugh, going to get a cloth to clean it up.

He laughs, too. "Well... that didn't go as planned."