Twisted

I don't own Merlin. I was inspired to write this story while reading one with a similar story line but I wanted it to end differently my apologies if this isn't my best story ever. I'm not the best at writing.

"Cursed the awful girl is what I did."

Merlin stood stock still before lunging at the woman with a shout of, "YOU!"

Tears streaming down his face as Arthur grabbed him before he could make contact.

"Merlin stop!"

Merlin ignored him and continued to struggle in a vain attempt to get to the woman who had ruined the life of his once love Freya. Arthur picked merlin up with him still struggling and yelling curses at the woman, and told his knights to take the woman away. He took merlin to a clearing not far away with a stream running through it, and Merlin finally stopped struggling. Arthur gently set him on the ground, and Merlin remained there leaning against a tree staring at the rushing stream as if he was seeing nothing.

"Merlin?" Arthur questioned quietly.

"Please talk to me, tell me what's wrong and how to fix it."

Merlin didn't move or even look like he was hearing anything at all. He looked so sad and detached from the world around him that it was scaring Arthur. He sat in front of Merlin blocking his sight of the rushing water and peered into Merlin's blank eyes.

"Merlin?" finally Merlin focused on Arthur instead staring blankly ahead.

"What Arthur?" Merlin replied so quietly Arthur almost hadn't heard him.

"Please talk to me."

"I don't have anything to say."

"Could you at least explain what that woman did to upset you?"

Merlin bit his lip, and looked at his lap while his hand began to yank up grass next to him. He tears had finally slowed and he was calming but that didn't mean he wasn't any less angry.

"I told you how I fell in love with a girl several years ago, but that she died; I didn't tell you that she was cursed."

Arthur nodded patiently waiting for Merlin to finish before he asked anything.

"She was shunned from all communities even the Druids feared her because of her curse, and so she drifted and had no place that was safe. A bounty hunter captured her and brought her to Camelot so he could give her to Uther and be paid for finding a magic user."

Arthur had the faintest sensation that he knew this story but was having a hard time remembering from where until Merlin mentioned the Bounty hunter, and then his mind snapped back to when he had been tasked by his father to find a girl who had escaped from a bounty hunter. The bounty hunter had said she was cursed and no one would shelter her, and that even the druids wouldn't take her in despite her being a druid herself.

"No." Arthur whispered brokenly. "Merlin please don't tell me you're talking about the Bastet. Please tell me I didn't kill her."

Merlin looked up at Arthur and with a broken sigh whispered, "I can't."

Arthur sat there with his mouth open, frozen as he processed what he had just learned. He felt sick, his insides were churning and his head was spinning with the realization that he had killed the person Merlin had loved. He was a monster. He didn't know he had said the last part out loud until he felt Merlin's hands on either side of his face gently urging Arthur to look at him.

"Arthur please don't say that. You are not a monster, I know it all seems wrong but the truth is I couldn't have helped her. When she died she was so happy that she wouldn't have to bear the burden of killing others anymore. She was peaceful and for once she wasn't running anymore, despite how twisted this all sounds you actually helped her."

Merlin looked pale but absolutely sure in his statements.

"Merlin I killed her."

"I know you did Arthur but I don't blame you for anything that happened. I blame the one who put her through all that in the first place."

Arthur thought back to the twisted sorceress they had come to find after hearing of atrocities she had committed against others in his kingdom. Arthur slowly nodded,

"Alright, let's take her back to Camelot for a trial."

Merlin nodded and began to stand along with Arthur, but as he turned to start walking back to the others Arthur caught his arm.

"Merlin, don't let her get to you. I know this is going to be hard for you but I need you to promise me you won't try to attack her again."

Merlin pressed his lips together in a thin line but nodded and with a grateful smile Arthur let go of his arm and they walked back to their group without another word.