Your Time Has Come

The first snow of the season had fallen just a few days prior and the air in the castle's halls was chilled and drafty. Merlin rushed through it, breath visible and cold, and sent a sympathetic smile at the few other servants that he passed on his way and that were equally hurrying along to get out of the cold.

It was shortly after dawn when he popped his head into Arthur's chamber, cautiously so as not to disturb the prince should he indeed be resting, and saw that he needn't have worried.

The big bed was empty and unslept in, the warm winter covers untouched and just like Merlin had arranged them last night for Arthur to creep under. Which he hadn't, obviously. Again.

Merlin frowned and shoved his lanky body further into the room. His eyes traveled around and found Arthur leaned against the stone wall by the window, back towards him, arms crossed over his broad chest. He was dressed in yesterday's clothes, dark trousers and his usual red tunic, and his blond hair was unruly like it had been ruffled through repeatedly.

Over the last few weeks Merlin had gotten used to the sight of Arthur like this, restless, worried and lost in thought. In fact Merlin was so used to serious, responsible Arthur by now that he sometimes forgot that this was the same arrogant prat that had chased him through the courtyard with a mace when he'd first come to Camelot more than three years ago.

But then, usually, Arthur would say or do something so decidedly prattish that Merlin was instantly reminded of the young and carefree (and arrogant, don't forget arrogant) prince Arthur had been before…

Merlin's frown deepened. Before everything had happened. Before Morgana had tried (and succeeded) to usurp King Uther's reign and with the help of Morgause and her army of Immortals had ruled Camelot with more ruthlessness and injustice than the old king could ever have shown.

Thankfully Morgana's time as Queen had been only brief. The brave crown prince Arthur and his new Knights had defeated the army of Immortals, had rescued the king from the dungeons and had put an end to Morgana's reign of terror for good. Prince Arthur had reclaimed his rightful place as heir to the throne and on the way had won the love of Guinevere, known to and equally liked by the people of Camelot as the lovely Gwen. Although she'd been just a servant girl the prince had stood openly to her and had announced her his future wife with pride and love shining in his eyes.

Well, that's at least the story the people of Camelot knew and would tell for years to come. Nobody, except Merlin and Gaius (and Lancelot to some extent) knew the whole truth of how they'd defeated the army of Immortals by destroying the Cup of Life. Nobody knew about the magic or the sword Merlin had wielded and had afterwards hidden securely in a stone.

Not even Arthur knew about all this, and sometimes Merlin was so fed up with lying to his prince that he thought he'd choke on it.

But then, Merlin now realized with a long glance at Arthur still standing by the window, the prince couldn't know. Not yet. He had enough on his mind (and his shoulders) as it was.

For weeks now Arthur had seen to the state business (had informally ruled the kingdom) while his father, officially king again, had been treated by Gaius for his illness.

If you could call it that.

Merlin was no physician, far from it actually, but even he knew that Uther's bad health wasn't the result of the time he'd spent in the dungeons. There was nothing wrong with him physically. And yet he'd not left his chambers for weeks and most days had simply rested or talked to Gaius in private. Gaius had said that it would take some time for Uther to recover from Morgana's betrayal and he was doing the best he could.

Merlin just hoped, seeing the effect Uther's illness had on his son, that the king's broken spirit could indeed be cured at all. Otherwise it would sooner or later fall to Arthur to take over his responsibilities as the kingdom's ruler not only unofficially (like he'd done all this time) but formally and for the people to see as well.

Arthur would have to become king, official coronation ceremony and all, and Merlin knew that this was what had troubled Arthur's thoughts of late. It's not that he didn't want to become king, of course not. He'd been born and raised to become nothing else. Only, Arthur had confided in Merlin in private conversations, he'd thought the circumstances to be different.

He'd always hoped to become king when his father believed him to be ready, to one day accept the crown out of Uther's proud hands, and not like this. Arthur didn't want to become king just because no one else was there to do the job (so to speak).

Merlin could easily understand Arthur's reasoning, in fact he'd hoped for something similar, had dreamed of it happening somewhere in the distant future. And yet… Arthur might not have a choice. Camelot needed a king now, and Merlin had the certain suspicion that this king might be Arthur. His time had come.

Merlin tried to shake the thoughts from his head and cautiously placed the breakfast tray he'd brought onto the table. Then he approached the prince further. Arthur hadn't moved at all although he'd surely heard his manservant's not very silent entry.

"Good morning, Sire," Merlin went with the proper greeting for once. The prince didn't move, his eyes remained on something in the courtyard below.

"Arthur?" Merlin reached his side and looked at the strong features. Arthur's face was drawn and serious, and one fleeting glance through the window convinced Merlin that there was nothing outside that could hold the prince's interest that much.

"Arthur," Merlin repeated and tentatively touched the prince's arm.

Arthur's body gave a slight shudder and his gaze landed on Merlin slowly as if it had to come from far away. Merlin smiled encouragingly. "I brought your breakfast."

"I'm…" Arthur paused and eyed the tray of bread, bacon and cheese that Merlin had placed on the table. He deliberately swallowed down the 'I'm not hungry' he'd wanted to say and instead gave Merlin a small smirk. "I'm noticing a lack of certain fruits here, Merlin. Admit it, you couldn't stop yourself from eating them all on the way here, could you?"

Arthur pushed his body off the wall and made his way over to the table. Merlin followed, a wide grin on his face. He was glad to hear the familiar teasing. Arthur seemed to be in good spirits despite the sleepless night he'd obviously had. Merlin was determined to keep it that way and so he gave a mock-sigh and bantered back:

"Huh, you know me too well, Arthur. I should really remember to steal only half of the fruits and take some cheese instead as well. That way you wouldn't notice."

"Of course I would still notice, Merlin. I'm not as stupid as you think I am." Arthur sat down and Merlin hurried to fill his goblet with water. He stayed close to the table in case Arthur needed anything else and was pleasantly surprised when Arthur held out a piece of cheese for him.

"Here, take it. And stop hovering above me. Sit down for God's sake, or do you want me to get a cramp in my neck?"

Merlin all but fell into the chair to Arthur's right with a grin. He took the cheese and popped a piece into his mouth. Then he waited for Arthur to start talking, for it was clear by his friendly behavior that there was something on his mind he wanted to share with Merlin.

Arthur took his time though. He'd eaten most of his breakfast and had washed it down with half the goblet of water by the time he finally started talking again.

"The council has decided… no. I have, that is…" Arthur stopped and looked down onto his plate. "The coronation will take place on the day a month from solstice. We need time to send word to our neighboring kingdoms, to invite the kings, we need to prepare," Arthur looked up again and shrugged, "well, everything."

Merlin tried to convey as much reassurance as possible with his gaze. "I think that's a good day for you to become king."

"Is it?" Arthur's voice was quiet. He still wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, proclaiming himself king while his father… well. He'd seen with his own eyes how his father had reacted to Morgana crowning herself, so… was he any better? Taking the crown for himself… even if it was for the right reasons, unlike Morgana… was what he was about to do any different?

He must have said some of it out loud because the next second he felt Merlin grab his arm rather forcefully. Arthur looked up and found Merlin staring at him intently. And then Merlin started to speak, sincerity heavy in his voice.

"You are doing the right thing, Arthur! You are! This is nothing like Morgana's betrayal. Camelot needs a king and Uther isn't well. You don't know when or even if he's ever gonna recover. It's not treason or betrayal when you have nothing but your people's welfare in mind. The people of Camelot need a king and, Arthur, it's you they need. It's you they want. Ask any of them. The people have seen… they know your love for Camelot, your kindness and compassion. They know that you put their welfare before your own, always. They've seen that you risk everything for them. They've seen the good man you've become and now they want to see the good king you'll be. I know because I've seen it, too. I've seen you grow from the arrogant prat into the man you are now. You're gonna be a great king, kind and understanding and brave and loyal. I know, Arthur, and so do the people of Camelot. They want you to be their king. Your time has come."

When Merlin finished his speech he realized Arthur was staring at him open-mouthed and with a frown crinkling his forehead.

"What?" He cocked his head to the side and sent Arthur a glare.

Arthur closed his mouth, then opened it again as if to say something but no words came out. He shook his head instead and the frown was chased from his forehead by a rather incredulous smile that spread over his whole face.

"You are…"

"What?" Merlin repeated suspiciously. "What am I?"

Arthur once more shook his head. "Tell me, Merlin. Because I truly don't know. What happened to you that made you change from the fumbling idiot that babbled himself into the stocks more often than I can count to this…" he flinched a little but went on, "this wise and knowledgeable person, friend, that always manages to say the right thing exactly when I need to hear it? Okay, not always. Occasionally, amongst still a lot of useless nonsense. What happened?"

"I don't know," Merlin beamed, then frowned confused, then beamed again. "But I think it's the same thing that happened to the arrogant clotpole bullying innocent people on the streets that I once knew and that now… mostly seems to hide behind the greatest king Albion will ever know. Peeking out, you know, only occasionally. I don't know what happened, Arthur. Life happened. You and I... I don't know what it is about us, but... it happened."

"You and I," Arthur nodded pensively. "That must be it."

He took another sip of water before he suddenly exclaimed mock-shocked: "Oh, and what do you mean, peeking out occasionally? You just said that I'm gonna be a great king. And yet you still think of me as an arrogant… what was it again? Clotpole? What's it gonna be now, Merlin?"

Seeing Arthur's raised eyebrow Merlin relented: "You are gonna be a great king, Arthur, I mean it. But… let's just say, a great king with the occasional clotpole tendencies, huh? Rarely, barely there at all. Only noticed by, you know, the most wise and knowledgeable friends."

"I didn't say the most, Merlin." Arthur lifted a finger.

"No," Merlin grinned and stuffed another piece of cheese into his mouth. "You didn't have to. I got it just as well. I get you."

"That you do," Arthur agreed and stole the cheese from Merlin's hand. "But you don't get to eat all the cheese. This is my breakfast, and you are still my servant, remember?"

"How could I ever forget?" Merlin rolled his eyes and his grin threatened to split his face in two. "The fumbling idiot has been serving the arrogant clotpole for years now and the wise and knowledgeable friend will be serving the great King Arthur till the end of their days."

Arthur smiled. "And I wouldn't want it any other way, Merlin."

"Of course you wouldn't," Merlin snorted and began to clean up the breakfast tray. "You're the one who gets served on, aren't you? How about we try it the other way round some day? See how much you like that."

"Oh, I don't know, I might surprise you yet, Merlin." Arthur stood up from his seat and clapped Merlin on the back in walking. "At least that way I'd get to eat some of the fruits."

Before Merlin had time to come up with a reply Arthur had opened the door to the halls. "I'm gonna talk to my father now. Tell him… you know."

Merlin grew serious in the blink of an eye. "Do you want me to come with? For, you know, support?"

"No, you stay here and do your chores," the grateful look in his eyes belied Arthur's stern answer. "I need clean clothes and my boots need polishing. Oh, and have my hunting gear ready for we're going hunting later."

"We are?" Merlin frowned briefly.

"Yes, Merlin, we are. You and I are gonna go hunting and I'm gonna show you once and for all how to properly use a crossbow. It's a shame that you haven't learned it already in all those years!"

With that Arthur threw him a grin and strode out into the halls.

Merlin stood there for a moment, staring after his prince with a fond smile. It was not so much the prospect of lessons in crossbow-use he was looking forward to, but rather the fact that they'd spend the day outside in the crisp snow instead of being hauled up in the castle. Merlin liked the snow and he liked spending time alone with Arthur even more and so… it would all work out fine, he could tell.

Just like it would always do.

The End (for now)

There might follow more chapters, I'm not sure yet. Please let me know what you think of it so far.