The Latest Disaster

[madimpossibledreamer]

The idea and part of this draft has been sitting around probably as long as Ars Fabula.  I only just last year got around to finishing this part, and there's still an unfinished part after this one that hopefully it won't take years and years to get to this time around.

Main Points:
Merlin AU
Chapter Summary: Merlin's tired of things going wrong.
Word Count: 370
Rating: T

         It starts, as most things do, with what is supposed to be just an average hunt.  Except Merlin goes a little overboard with scaring the deer away, and Arthur looks furious and chases after it, and somehow gets separated from the rest of his men and Merlin.
         Merlin suspects sorcery.  That might be paranoia, except he’s usually right.
         Even more so when Merlin finds him holding a suspicious gold necklace with a red jewel and Arthur appears bone-white.  Arthur’s not scared of anything, but he appears terrified now, eyes unseeing and unresponsive to the real world.
         That is, until Merlin attempts to take the jewelry from him, at which point he slaps Merlin’s hand away, and Merlin contemplates possession or enchantment until Arthur shakily wraps it in a handkerchief and commands Merlin not to touch it with bare hands.  Well, not like that rules out the idea of magic—in fact, it kind of makes it very likely—but at least Arthur hasn’t completely succumbed by this point.  He’ll just need to be held under observation.
         He remains quiet and unsettled until the point to give a report to Uther.  He acts a responsible knight.
         “It’s certainly magic,” he tells Uther.  “It showed me the destruction of Camelot.”  It feels, just a little bit, like Arthur’s lying, but the amount of fear and guilt is real enough.  He probably isn’t saying something about how he’d failed his people.
         “Then it should be destroyed,” the king demands, and Arthur’s voice bursts in desperately.
         “No!”
         Uther looks shocked.  At least he’s stopped talking.
         “I would rather ask Gaius for advice first—for example, what if this is a magical trap?  A sorcerer could have used a spell to cause it to burst into flames when destroyed.  It’s the kind of devious thing a sorcerer would think of.”  That’s also sound reasoning, but Arthur is a little too desperate.
         Nevertheless Uther looks surprised.  And approving.  “Good thinking, son,” he responds, clapping the prince on the shoulder.  “Be careful when you transport it to Gaius,” he continues, and Arthur nods.
         “Yes, Father,” Arthur agrees, subdued.
         At least he hands over the necklace in handkerchief easily enough, albeit with a dire warning to be careful.