camelot_drabble

Author: Loopstagirl
Title: Time Flies
Rating: G
Pairings: None
Characters: Arthur, Merlin
Summary: Merlin reflects on how things had changed since he arrived in Camelot.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 465
Prompt: #12, Time
Author Notes: Bit different to the last couple, it's almost nice to be back on known territory.

Merlin stood on the highest turret in Camelot, staring out over the kingdom with a small smile on his face. Ever since Arthur had accepted his magic and accept the advice that his friend gave was more often than not the right course of action, Merlin had almost come to regard the kingdom as much his as it was Arthur’s. He had given everything for her people and her king, and couldn’t be more proud of how the kingdom had grown and flourished under Arthur’s rule.

When Merlin had come stumbling into the city all those years ago, a clumsy young man with magic he didn’t understand, yet thought he could fix everything with, he had no idea what was going to become of him. Gaius had been firm with him about his magic, trying to drill in a sense of self preservation into his ward’s head. Merlin couldn’t help it, he saw a problem, he wanted to fix it, regardless of the bigger picture. In a way, he was still like that now. But Arthur kept him in check. Sometimes, Arthur only saw the bigger picture, so the two of them together would manage to find the answer.

Years of living in fear, watching his friends being banished time after time...Merlin didn’t think that he would have ever truly relax whilst living here. But then times had changed. It didn’t even take Arthur becoming King for that to happen, just Morgana’s betrayal. Commoners were knighted, Merlin had people he could relax and joke about with in a way that he had never done before. He had always had Arthur, and there had always been a bond between them, but the then-prince never dragged him down to the tavern in the middle of the night simply because he was bored.

But Merlin had needed time to go faster than that. He needed the day where they all knew and accepted who he was, and it seemed to take forever in getting there. There had been tears and tantrums, insults and threats followed by a deadly silence for days before Arthur had quietly asked him to demonstrate something, the burning need to understand in his eyes.

And so magic had returned to the realm. Now, looking out over his kingdom, his home, Merlin smiled as he heard another set of footsteps coming up to join him. Arthur didn’t say anything, just leaning on the stonework and gazing out in the same way that Merlin was. They were often both up here when something troubling had happened, reassuring unsettled minds and hearts that indeed all was well.

Camelot had been where he had lived for years. But it was only now, now times had moved on and things settled, Merlin knew for sure that he was home.