Gelosed in timan - Lost in time

Disclaimer: this entire story is as illegal as can be.
Rating: K - nothing much happens
Summary: Merlin has waited for centuries for Arthur to come back. Now he has returned but there is one problem.

"In a land of myth, and a time of magic, the destiny of a Great Kingdom had rested on the shoulders of a young man, his name; Merlin."

The myths had faded into, well, myth. Magic wasn't what it had been and, frankly, Merlin hadn't been young for many centuries. Still, he endured. Day after day, moon after moon, year after dreary year and hopeless century after century.

The new faith had come and magic had given way, surprisingly quickly he thought. There were pockets of resistance of course and those had been quickly snuffed out. Then, ages later, science had come.

In the pitiful remains of the old forests, tiny sparks sometimes could still be found and that was all. It became more and more difficult to believe that the ancient magic that had supported land and life was still somehow active, still guiding the fates of man.

All that could, or so Merlin felt, take care of itself without his meddling. It's just.. one thing, well two really.. he himself was still alife and Arthur was nowhere to be found. It was his curse to grow older and older and wait and wait. Every seventy years or so, he staged his death, de-aged his body and began yet another life, always searching for his king and friend.

One of the advantages of ths time, Merlin thought, was the appreciation for the old culture that you got nowadays. Mind you, nowadays meant something like the last hundred years to him. It was nice that there were fairs where people played the crwth or the rebec again and tried with varying success to reclaim the old culture. He loved going but always felt depressed for days afterward. He missed his own time, his own culture. He missed that clotpole Arthur.

Driving back from his latest Olde English festival, Merlin tried to pay attention to the road instead of to his memories. Should it be this dark already? He peered into the murk, only just noticing the fog. It had been gathering for some time in order to be this thick but he didn't remember it starting. Merlin felt the hairs on his neck rising. Tiny sparks ran over his fingers. Magic! His head reeling, Merlin took the first exit he could find and drove on slowly, trying to feel his way.

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Cold!

Arthur had no idea where he was. He moved completely on instinct, moving his strong arms frantically. He broke the surface and only then realised he was in water. The Lake! He almost forgot to swim when his memory returned in a heady rush, flowing through his groggy mind in a stream of images, concepts, words, feelings.

He'd better swim. It was all very well returning to the land of the living when the land most needed him but for now his armour weighed him down and he was still in the middle of a lake. The water was freezing cold too.

Merlin! Where was that stupid servant? Shouldn't he be here with his king? Insolent boy. Arthur fought to keep swimming and soon enough reached the edge. The edge of the lake was muddy enough to make it extremely hard to stand up. In the end, he had no choice but to simply fall over and lie there, heaving.

"MERLIN!"

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For some reason, the road had ended and there was not a house in sight. Or something even remotely like it. Feeling anxious, Merlin left his car behind and continued on foot. He had no idea what was going on or what was expected of him but it was clear enough something magical was going on. If it wasn't so cold, he'd feel right at home again. His years with Arthur hadn't been any different.

"MERLIN!"

Oddly distorted but clear enough, the sound bypassed his thoughts and rammed straight into his very being. Merlin was running before he knew it and was searching before he properly understood what for. For whom!

"ARTHUR!"

Wet mud splashed around his feet, ruining a perfectly fine pair of shoes. He didn't mind. He didn't even notice. Magic was thrumming through his veins again, stronger than it had been for seven centuries at least. The land was saturated with it. Without much thought, Merlin cast a few wards. When the very air dripped magic, there were always spirits trying to come through the veil. And horrible creatures that didn't bear thinking about. It became harder to walk against the gales of magic. Something was reshaping the world.

Merlin stumbled over a tree root and almost fell. His sharp curse materialised in front of him as an angry cloud of red and black, only to evaporate with a pop and an acrid stench.

"MERLIN!"

There! Crystal clear now and very close. Waves of magic were still rolling out from the same spot where he'd heard the call but they were quickly losing potency. Merlin walked over a quickly as he could, no longer needing even to look where he was going. At the edge of a lake that he couldn't remember being there before, a muddy figure was trying to stand up. His mouth went dry.. this was it, that was Arthur.

Arthur was exactly as he remembered him, only more muddy. For a moment, Merlin was lost for words. Then, Arthur spoke.

"Eala, Merlin! Ic þæt ne undergiete."

Oh dear.

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