jelly_1andonly1Title: Time Will Tell
Rating: General
Pairing/s: No explicit romantic pairings but it could be read as Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin/Arthur
Summary: There are certain things Merlin will never forget
Warnings: Angst I think?
Word Count: 316
Prompt: You'll Be Back (Ham4Cam)
Author's Notes: Disclaimers and Unbeta'd. Agh I can't write this well enough. Trust me when I say it worked a lot better in my head.
It wasn’t a particularly memorable day, in terms of the weather. Mostly drizzly and slightly windy, if Merlin recalled correctly. And he did. There was not a single part of that day that he would ever forget. Could ever forget.
First there were the bubbles. Gently rising to the surface of the lake. They sat shortly on the water, before evaporating. At first, Merlin thought it was just a few fish under the water. The bubbles increased, more and more rose to the top. Soon, it was clear something much larger than a couple of fish was moving beneath the water level. Ripples formed, moving outwards, spreading as far as the shoreline.
The next thing Merlin saw had him dropping his tea. His wrist went slack; his jaw dropped open. The mug slowly tilted down, the hot tea dripped into his lap. He didn’t notice. The head came first, not unlike a baby being born. Then came the shoulders, still wearing the chainmail Merlin was unable to dress him in that day he went to battle.
Merlin didn’t know what he was expecting to see in place of the wound that was essentially a hole in his torso, but there was nothing there. No hole in his chain, no blood staining the metal. The water splashed noisily as Merlin waded waist-deep into the water, his hands reaching out to touch whichever parts he could reach first.
Neither spoke until hours later, after Merlin had prepared a bath for him. Merlin’s long fingers dragged through the blond hair, untangling the knots.
“I don’t remember why I know you, all I know is I can trust you.” Merlin smiled sadly. He hadn’t expected anything, and yet it still came as a shock.
“You’ll be back, soon you’ll see. You’ll remember you belong to me. You’ll be back, time will tell. You’ll remember that I served you well, Arthur.”