Rocks, Mud, and Magic
Author: 
gilli_ann
Title: Rocks, Mud, and Magic
Rating: G
Characters: Arthur, Merlin, Leon
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur and his men ride to the rescue of stricken villages
Word Count: 465
Bingo 2022, Prompt: 'Landslide'
Author's Notes: Canon AU
Rocks, Mud, and Magic
It had been a horrible few weeks, the cold rain never letting up, the lands around Camelot turning into muddy quagmires.
No surprise then, when an urgent message came with a cry for help from the outlying villages. There'd been a landslide, maybe more than one, and villages had been destroyed by rocks and flowing mud.
Arthur set out from Camelot almost immediately with a group of his trusted knights, leading pack horses carrying food and supplies for the villagers. They ought to have brought more, but heavy wagons would only have gotten stuck in the mud.
The ride north was beyond miserable. Despite their cloaks and tarps and oilskins, they were all soaked through and freezing, horses and men alike more muddy and despondent by the hour.
Arthur never wavered, though, and that meant Merlin kept going without complaining too much.
Finally, in the middle of their second day, they reached the valley were the disaster had occurred. On horseback, situated on the rocky ridge overlooking the landscape below, they could take in the full view of the situation. There were three small villages along the valley floor. The two nearest had been hit by so much rocky debris, no house remained intact. The third village looked completely untouched, though. A large trail of large rocks led to just above the first house, where it had mysteriously split into two separate, very neat flows. They had passed the houses completely by, one trail of rocks on either side.
"That looks miraculous," Arthur mused. "They had the devil's own luck. It's almost like—"
"Magic?" Leon interjected. "I wouldn't discount that, Sire. It's rumoured that a powerful wise woman lives here. She may well have magic."
Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but looked at Arthur's frown, and thought better of it.
Arthur was not amused. "We're here to help the survivors," he stated coldly, "not to throw around accusations of sorcery. I will hear no more about it."
Merlin kept looking at Arthur out of the corner of his eye as they made their way down the slippery hillside.
"What?" Arthur finally grumbled. "I know you, Merlin. There's something on your mind."
"I - I was just wondering about the the third village, and what might possibly have-"
"Shut up, Merlin. Anyone can see there was sorcery involved. But if you think I am here to waste time on hunting old sorceresses when so many of my people have lost all that they own, maybe even their lives, you do not know me."
Merlin felt his face flushing, his heart filling with warmth.
Arthur said no more and rode on.
Not immediately following him, Merlin smiled at his king's departing back. "Oh, I do know you, clotpole. Why do you think I love you so much?"
gilli_annTitle: Rocks, Mud, and Magic
Rating: G
Characters: Arthur, Merlin, Leon
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur and his men ride to the rescue of stricken villages
Word Count: 465
Bingo 2022, Prompt: 'Landslide'
Author's Notes: Canon AU
Rocks, Mud, and Magic
It had been a horrible few weeks, the cold rain never letting up, the lands around Camelot turning into muddy quagmires.
No surprise then, when an urgent message came with a cry for help from the outlying villages. There'd been a landslide, maybe more than one, and villages had been destroyed by rocks and flowing mud.
Arthur set out from Camelot almost immediately with a group of his trusted knights, leading pack horses carrying food and supplies for the villagers. They ought to have brought more, but heavy wagons would only have gotten stuck in the mud.
The ride north was beyond miserable. Despite their cloaks and tarps and oilskins, they were all soaked through and freezing, horses and men alike more muddy and despondent by the hour.
Arthur never wavered, though, and that meant Merlin kept going without complaining too much.
Finally, in the middle of their second day, they reached the valley were the disaster had occurred. On horseback, situated on the rocky ridge overlooking the landscape below, they could take in the full view of the situation. There were three small villages along the valley floor. The two nearest had been hit by so much rocky debris, no house remained intact. The third village looked completely untouched, though. A large trail of large rocks led to just above the first house, where it had mysteriously split into two separate, very neat flows. They had passed the houses completely by, one trail of rocks on either side.
"That looks miraculous," Arthur mused. "They had the devil's own luck. It's almost like—"
"Magic?" Leon interjected. "I wouldn't discount that, Sire. It's rumoured that a powerful wise woman lives here. She may well have magic."
Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but looked at Arthur's frown, and thought better of it.
Arthur was not amused. "We're here to help the survivors," he stated coldly, "not to throw around accusations of sorcery. I will hear no more about it."
Merlin kept looking at Arthur out of the corner of his eye as they made their way down the slippery hillside.
"What?" Arthur finally grumbled. "I know you, Merlin. There's something on your mind."
"I - I was just wondering about the the third village, and what might possibly have-"
"Shut up, Merlin. Anyone can see there was sorcery involved. But if you think I am here to waste time on hunting old sorceresses when so many of my people have lost all that they own, maybe even their lives, you do not know me."
Merlin felt his face flushing, his heart filling with warmth.
Arthur said no more and rode on.
Not immediately following him, Merlin smiled at his king's departing back. "Oh, I do know you, clotpole. Why do you think I love you so much?"