Remember Me

Chapter Ι

In a land of myth and a time of magic...the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name...Merlin.

Darkness swallowed Arthur like a mad beast. Everything was so cold. It wasn't winter cold. It was just…cold. He couldn't explain it. His mind just kept spinning; making it impossible to process anything other than what was visible. He was dressed in bloodied chainmail and his hair was matted with hot sweat. His eyes slowly took in his surroundings, but his vision was too blurred to make out everything. He was alone and…and bleeding! Why was he bleeding? What had happened to him? His hands pressed at the wound in his side and a yelp burst from his lips. That is when he felt the gentle and very familiar arms of someone wrap around his trembling form. He allowed his eyes to focus into the face of his comforter. The fuzzy spots finally subsided and Arthur saw….Merlin, the one person he had taken for granted. He saw it all so clearly now.

"I want…to say s…something to you I've never said before." He held his breath as he saw the pain and sadness slip over Merlin's face as he watched his king struggle. Finally, after a long pause the king got out the words he should have said a long time ago. "…Merlin, thank you." He heard Merlin utter a few words before finally slipping away into a world of darkness only to hear a low and yet gentle voice call out,

"Arthur." Author re-opened his eyes to see that he was now in a place of pure white light. White marble surrounded him and the light seemed to be radiating from it, blinding him from seeing anything past it. His head spun around him, searching for what it was that had called out for him. "Arthur."

"Who are you?" Arthur called out into the rays of blinding light, covering his face with a hand. The walls of the room pulled away then, revealing a hallway that stretched into a darkened area.

"Go, go and begin your quest," the voice hissed. Arthur stared down into the darkness. Normally he would have declined or fought, but instead he stepped towards the dark gateway. He could feel that it meant no harm. It was warm and gentle, like the kiss of sunbeams and gentle touch of the wind. He followed it deeper and deeper into the darkness until a blue light surrounded him. He yelped out in surprise, but before he could do anything more he found himself lying on cold stone ground. He stared blurrily around himself. People were walking past him, wearing strange clothes and with strange hair. He glanced at the flat white-grey rock bellow him and then to the strange castles and building next to him that seemed to stretch high into the sky. Lights blazed all around, but not from fire. Where was he?

"You alright, Prince Boy?" asked a man in a strange looking yellow chariot pulled up next to the grey stones. Arthur stared at him, and the man rolled his eyes before driving on. Arthur stumbled to his feet and stared down at his clothes. He was still wearing the same things he had when he…died. He wasn't dead though. He was very much alive.

"Arthur." A small white light bobbed in front of Arthurs face and he let out a fast of surprise at the sight. "Follow us, Young Pendragon. We shall take you to a friend," the light whispered. Arthur scoffed.

"Why should I? I don't even know where I am?" he spat, anger flaring through him. The light flickered a little before saying back,

"You are home, but a thousand years in the future." Arthur's face went pale. A thousand years? The images of Arthur's friends flashed before his eyes. His knights, Gwen, and even Merlin; he could see all of them. "Come with us, Arthur, come with us." With that the light began to bob its way down the strange path made by the rocks. Arthur watched it for a moment. What did it mean by friend? It was a thousand years since he last saw his friends. There was no way any of them could be left in this strange place. Still, he followed.

҉

Hours later he found himself standing in front of a door that rested inside one of the very tall castles. It had the numbers 20 printed on it. The voice had told him that inside was a friend who he was bound to for eternity. His hands shook as he pressed his hand against the handle. Could it be him? Was it even possible for him to be living even? No, no one could ever live that long. Summoning up his courage he pushed the door open and walked into the room. Furniture lined the first room and a strange flat object with moving pictures on it. The room next to it looked like a small kitchen and another room held a bed. How could an entire home fit in such a small area? He kept walking until he came to a book shelf with photos lining it. He picked up one that caught his eye to see a boy with dark choppy hair, blue eyes…

"Mer-" Arthur was cut off as he heard the door he had passed through open and slam close again. He whirled around, finding himself face to face with Merlin. He looked exactly like he had in the picture. He wore glasses over his blue eyes, tight black pants with strange shoes, and a blue shirt. Tears stained his black and blue face as well. Merlin stepped forward, eyes wide in shock at the sight of his long dead friend. New tears brimmed in his eyes and before Arthur could say anymore the sorcerer wrapped him into a tight embrace, causing them both to fall on their knees. Arthur opened his mouth to question Merlin what the bruises were from, but then he felt hot tears burning through his clothes and into his shoulder. That's when he finally took his friend in. His shoulders were shaking and his clothes were practically shredded to pieces. Who would do this to Merlin? Why even? He squeezed Merlin tightly in his grasp, calming his friend best he could before he dared to ask.

"By the gods, Merlin, what's happened to you?" he whispered. Merlin pulled away slowly, sniffling silently.

"Magic," was Merlin's only answer. Arthur accepted it for the time being, deciding that now was not the best time to ask what Merlin had meant exactly. Instead he told Merlin the story of him following a light here and about the voice. By the time he was finished Merlin had gone and made some tea and brought out some strange biscuits with gooey brown goop in them. Merlin had said they were called cookies and Arthur decided to claim the whole plate of them himself after taking just one bite.

...

"So that's it," Arthur finished, taking another bite of his cookie. Merlin nodded, sipping at his cup slowly since the cut on his lip would burn every time the warm liquid touched it.

"I was told that you would rise again when Albion needed you. That's why I'm still here. I've been waiting a thousand years for you," Merlin stated, not meeting Arthur's blue eyes with his own. Arthur felt a wave of nausea hit him. Was that what Merlin had meant by magic? Living a thousand years without aging a day while everyone he loved grew old and died had to hurt him more than anything. Once again Arthur had the urge to pull his friend into a hug.

"What could be so horrible that could threaten this place? I mean look at it!" Arthur exclaimed, holding his hand out towards the window that showed the perfect view of the vast city. Merlin smirked at that.

"This place is a world where magic is just a fairy tale. If magic returned war would overthrow this place," Merlin stated, lowering his head again. "Even after all these years I've had to keep it secret."

"Not anymore," Arthur stated, patting Merlin's shoulder. "You've got me." Merlin nodded, gently running his fingers over a long red cut bleeding through his shirt. Arthur took Merlin's arm, ignoring his old servant's protests and found that Merlin was littered in not just the bruises, but fresh wounds. His eyes spun up to Merlin's blue ones. "Who did this to you?" he urged, deciding that not asking was something that had to be ignored in this moment.

"I was attacked by a sorcerer on my way home. He was the first I've seen in several years."

"Why did he attack you?" Arthur asked. Sadness shimmered in Merlin's eyes then and Arthur felt everything inside him scream to take it back, but he waited eagerly for Merlin's answer. Finally, Merlin whispered,

"He wanted you." Arthur's world spun. Him? He wasn't even there a day and already he had foes attacking his old servants to get to him? "Like I said before. Magic is dangerous for this place and with you here that sorcerer won't be able to send this world to hell." Arthur nodded, understanding what Merlin was saying. This had to do with that destiny thing. This sorcerer wanted to create chaos and it was Arthur and Merlin who hand to stand in the way.

"What do we do then?" Arthur asked. Merlin glanced over Arthur slowly, staring at the velvet and chainmail.

"Well first off, if you are staying with me we're going to have to get you some clothes from this century and teach you everything there is to this world," Merlin stated. Arthur glanced at his clothes and then to Merlin's.

"What? What you're wearing is better?" Arthur scoffed.

"It is in this century, Clotpole," Merlin smirked.

Hello, everyone. Like everyone else I was left sobbing when the best show ever created came to an end. So I finally decided to right my first ever Merlin fic. YAY! Switching from a sociopathic crime fighting detective to a sorcerer and his king is pretty awkward, but I think I'll get the hang of it. Anywho…back to the fic. I hope you all enjoy it and thank you for reading. If this one goes well I'll keep going and maybe I'll post another Merlin fic or two.