Arthur's Achilles Heel
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candymacaronTitle: Arthur's Achilles Heel
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Arthur, Merlin
Summary: The prince has a fatal flaw, and Merlin's not beyond exposing it.
Warnings:None
Word Count: 723
Prompt: #65 - Flaws
Author's Notes: Wanted to try some Merlin & Arthur fluff for practice. Quickly beta'd.
In the clearing the grass stood in wild tufts, parched yellow by the pounding summer sun. The Knights were beginning their afternoon practice. Sir Percival thundering his shield into a tree that served as the pell while Sir Gwaine and Sir Leon paired off to engage in strike and counterstrike maneuvers. On the sidelines lay Merlin, sprawled out like a sunning cat. His lean body half hidden in the field as he held a battered book in his hands.
“Mer-lin, don’t you have armor to polish and socks to mend?” Arthur asked, the lazy hum of insects quieting at his voice.
Merlin observed Arthur’s heavy-footed approach from the corner of his vision, quirking an eyebrow in his best imitation of Gaius.
“I’ve already finished my work,” he replied.
“Then what are you doing?”
“Reading.”
“Reading-“
“Reading, Sire,” Merlin snorted.
Arthur rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Merlin. He waited a moment longer before eying the offending text and asking, “So…. what are you reading?”
“A book.”
“I know what a book is, idiot, what’s it about?”
“It’s called, Men and God’s,” Merlin muttered under his breath, turning the parchment pages as delicately as if he were handling an infant. “It’s a compilation of myths from the Greeks. Gaius lent it to me.”
“Men and Gods?” Arthur said over the clashing of swords. “Sounds heathenish. I could put you on trial for reading such a thing.”
“It isn’t, take here for example. You’ll like this bit,” Merlin replied, pointing to a gilded illustration of a man in Greek armaments. “It’s about the warrior Achilles. He was made invulnerable as a baby by being dipped into the River Styx, but he was held by the heel as they dipped him, so it alone was left unprotected. Because of this, Achilles heal became his “fatal flaw".
“Fatal what?” Arthur interrupted, breaking off a dry weed and poking it into Merlin’s ear.
“Flaw,” Merlin huffed, shaking his head to dislodge the offending grass. “His weakness. His downfall. During the Trojan War he was struck in his heel by an arrow and it killed him-“
Arthur snatched the book from Merlin’s hands, turning it sideways. ”Killed by an arrow to the heel? That’s absurd-“
“No it isn’t!” Merlin yelped, grabbing the book from Arthur and using his boney elbow to keep the prince at bay.
“Great warriors don’t have flaws Merlin, especially ones so…. Ridiculous.”
“Everyone has flaws, Arthur.”
“I don’t.”
Merlin smiled in his ever-innocent way. His hair tossed wisps’ the color of coal, clothing smelling faintly of wood smoke from the previous nights campfire. “Oh yes, you do.”
“Name one.”
“Arrogance.”
Arthur threw his arms behind his head, leaning back to bask in the midday sun. “I fail to see how that’s a flaw," he laughed.
“You’re a coltpole-”
“Made-up word.”
“Fine!” Merlin exhaled, tucking the book back safely into his coat. “You’re ticklish.”
Arthur’s eyes darted sideways, “Am not.”
“You are. Very. In fact you giggle like a girl every time I scrub your feet in the bath….”
Arthur’s face flushed to a deep red unbecoming of a prince. “I most certainly do not!“ he said.
It was then Merlin pounced, pegging Arthur under his meager weight. Fingers exploring and prodding under his red tunic until Arthur was giggling uncontrollably. His sides aching as Merlin upped the tickle attacked to include Arthur’s stomach and royal armpits.
“Stop it!” Arthur growled between laughed sobs. “Stop this instant or I’ll have you executed!”
Merlin rolled off, dusted the princes tunic in apology and pulled the imbedded dirt from his blond hair.
Arthur brushed the tears form his eyes and stared to where the knights were at practice, making certain they hadn’t been heard. When all was clear he looked back to Merlin with a furious frown.
“If you ever do that again I’ll-“
“I won’t,” Merlin grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. “Promise.”
“And if you breathe a word to anyone that I’m-“
The slim man settled on his elbows, opening his book to a dog-eared page. “Straight to the stocks, beheaded, burned at the stake, got it," he said, a smug smile blossoming on his full lips. "You’re secrets safe with me, Sire”
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Date: 2013-07-09 12:23 am (UTC)Thanks for reading!
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Date: 2013-07-23 11:06 pm (UTC)Oh I'm sure given the chance Arthur would have his own list of Merlins flaws to throw back at him.
Thanks for reading! :)