Chapter Text
Merlin, that morning, had really thought it would be a good day.
He woke up at the perfect time, got ready without needing to hurry, ate his favorite breakfast, which Gaius was so kind to make for him as a present.
It was, in fact, his birthday.
The cook in the kitchen even promised him a lunch as abundant as the king's.
That would be a marvelous morning, he was sure of it.
But it wasn't.
Who's fault was it?
Arthur's, of course.
Well, kind of, at least.
I mean, the king was always cautious and he was able to protect himself, at least in his own chambers.
At least most of the time.
But of course, when Merlin enters Arthur's chambers, he finds a hooded figure overshadowing the kings bed, reciting a spell.
The hooded person finished the spell in a hurry and turned around, grinning at Merlin.
The hooded person got impaled by a sword Merlin collected from the ground.
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Fast forward 3 hours later, all the council was reunited in the king's quarters, while Arthur was still sleeping.
Nothing seemed to be able to wake him up.
Gaius was confronting the council's men.
- It obviously was magic. Powerful magic, too. They trapped him in an endless sleep. It should not be difficult to remove as a curse, but the problem is there are a variety of sleeping curses. I've got 7 books just for all of them, and many are still unknown to me. It will take time, probably more than a couple of days. - he said.
- Well then, - a young council's man started, - we have to crown a successor, for the time the king won't be able to reign. -
From all the men came some noise that meant nothing but agreement.
- The king doesn't have kids or a wife. He's not courting anyone either, so one of the council must be the successor. - the man from before said.
And it was hell.
All of them talked of themselves as the only possible choice, and then were reprimanded by the others.
After a couple of minutes of it, Gaius' head was aching.
He always hated the council's men.
He knew they were probably necessary, but he hated them nonetheless.
So he spoke, in the only moment of complete silence there had been since the start of the conversation.
- I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask about the proof of what you said. - he told the first guy to talk.
- It's obvious the king doesn't have a wife. He hasn't recognized any child as his heir. -
- But how do you know he wasn't courting anyone? -
- He hasn't announced anything yet, and he still has both of his parents sigils. - the young man affirmed.
- You're wrong. He hasn't announced anything, but he doesn't have one of his sigils anymore. -
The council was shocked.
- He gave someone his mother's sigil. It wasn't here when the guards searched the room, am I right? -
The guards in the room nodded.
There were 5 of them.
3 seemed fine, maybe a little sad for the king's fate, while the other 2 were slightly shaking.
It seemed kind of strange, but no one commented on it.
- Then we must find the king's betrothed. It will take time, we will probably have to search in every maid's and poor girl's room of Camelot. I heard their his type. - he joked.
- We do not have time to search for the sigil. We must name the new king now. - the man finished.
- Oh, but I know who has it. - Gaius said.
- Then call her here. -
- Merlin? - he announced, turning around.
The boy was still near the bed, watching at moment the king, at moments the council.
He was completely lost.
He heard all of the conversation, but registered none of it.
- Yes? - he answered.
- Can you take out of your pocket the peace of iron you always take with you? - he asked.
Merlin, without understanding why, did.
A council's man fainted.
- There is no way it's true. - the young man said.
- It is. The king gave it to Merlin before Uther died. -
- How do you know it? - Merlin asked.
- You leave everything on the floor, it was only a matter of time before I found it.
- There is no proof. The boy may as well have stolen it. - the council man continued his arguing.
- Now, wait a minute... - Merlin tried to defend himself, but was blocked from a guard.
In fact, one of the 2 guards who were shaking before spoke up.
- I'm really sorry to interrupt! I know I shouldn't talk about it, but I'm one of the guards of the king's chambers, and I can assure you that Merlin, the serverant boy, is the king's lover. -
- How can you prove it? -
- Sir, today the king asked me which flowers mean love, appreciation and loyalty. I'm kind of an expert about flowers and... Anyway, he told me to go buy a bouquet of them and to deliver them this evening to the boy's chambers. -
- What is it, exactly, that you are angry about? That I'm a servant or that I'm a man? - Merlin asked, suddenly angry himself.
- Does it matter? - the man asked.
- It does to me. There is no law against either thing. As long as I don't go around naked I can love whoever I want. So does the king. - the warlock answered.
- As you can see, he is really protective of his lover. - Gaius defended him.
- I see. - the council man said, finally resigned.
He clapped his hands.
- Well, that seems to settle it. - he told the rest of the council.
He turned to Merlin and bowed.
- My lord. - he addressed him.
All of the men in the room followed him.
Just as Merlin was becoming uncomfortable,, the young man spoke again: - Of course, you'll have to talk to the people. The rumor about the king's health has already spread through the town. We can't make them wait any longer. The guards will precede you, riunite the people and announce you. -