Villain: Hears Small Boots Stomping Rapidly Towards Their Location

in my mind, whatever it is they have going on right now, they're probably going to kiss about it later.

Hello everyone! I'm back with another Merlin au! This one is a horror-themed au for spooky season! Enjoy!

This au is Inspired by the story of King Pedro I of Portugal and Ines de Castro (which is a heartbreaking story that deserves to have more people talking about it), and it's set in a world where Merlin and Arthur are already together in season 3. After a magic reveal gone wrong, Merlin's magic was revealed while Uther was still alive, leading to Uther ordering Merlin's execution while Arthur was away on a hunting trip. When Arthur returns, he's met with the news of Merin's death, but he refuses to believe such horrible news until he rushes into Gaius's chambers, screaming for Merlin, only to find Gaius and Gwen sobbing over Merlin's body.

Arthur is overcome by grief and, after a few hours sitting in Gaius's chambers staring at Merlin's unnaturally still form with tears streaming down his face, Arthur marches off to face his father, to make him pay for his crimes. Uther is, of course, furious over Arthur getting so worked up over a treacherous sorcerer, but Arthur fights him like a madman, fueled by grief and rage.

In the end, Arthur wins the duel, and while the shocked lords and knights watching the whole ordeal were expecting Arthur to run his father through with is blade, Arthur does something that no one expects. He uses his blade to carve open Uther's chest, cutting out his heart, saying that Uther had been so heartless as to take Arthur's love from him, this ought to be his fate.

While the lords and knights were all shocked and horrified at the display, there was little they could do besides acknowledge the prince as their new ruler. Within a couple days, Uther's funeral and Arthur's coronation were organized, but Arthur still felt numb, even as the crown was placed on his head. He could almost feel the empty consort's throne next to him, where Merlin was always supposed to be, mocking him viciously.

But then, an idea formed in Arthur's not-quite-sane-anymore mind. Merlin had always deserved to sit at his side, to be honored as any consort to a king should be. Arthur had to see this through, to ensure that Merlin received the honors that he was denied during life.

Arthur ordered the servants to, under Gaius's supervision, collect Merlin's body, dress him in royal robes, and have him carried to the throne room. There was no way to make any of this right again, no way to make Arthur feel whole once more, but there was a way to make sure that Merlin's memory and all that he meant to Arthur lived on.

When the doors to the throne room finally opened, shocked and horrified gasps rose up from the assembled court at the sight that awaited them. There, being carried in on a stone slab, lay Merlin's pale, prone body, dressed in royal finery from Arthur's own wardrobe. His colorless pallor against the rich red robes created a striking and distinctly disturbing contrast, which was only heightened by the colorful jewelry that accompanied the outfit.

Arthur imagined what a magnificent sight Merlin would have made if he were alive and yearned for such a vision with all of his heart. But the reality of the situation was as grim as the expressions of the knights carrying Merlin's body. Merlin was gone, taking Arthur heart and all of his joy with him, and all that was left for Arthur to feel was somber determination to make at least one thing right: Merlin would be honored and remembered as a king.

The crowd's shocked whispering didn't cease as the procession passed them and made its way towards the thrones, reverently placing the slab in front of the steps to the throne, but they were shocked into silence as Arthur picked up Merlin's body and cradled him gently before carrying him over to the consort's throne and placing him on it with the greatest care.

The court was silenced at the disturbing sight of a limp body sitting in the queen's throne, but horrified gasps shot up from the crowd as the king suddenly turned around to face them, his eyes bloodshot and glaring at them all.

"You, all of you, stood by and let my father do this! And now, you will show your respect to the man you had forsaken. Merlin was everything to me, and I never had any intention to rule without him by my side. Living or dead, if I am king, then so is he."

Arthur slowly made his way back to his own throne and sat down, a picture of royal power. His eyes darted over to Merlin for a second, before shifting back over the crowd. Still, was it just Arthur's desperate imagination, or was there now a slight flush in Merlin's skin that wasn't there earlier?

"Just as you all knelt before me and took an oath of fealty, you will do the same for him. You will give him all of the honor he deserved in life."

At first, the lords in attendance just looked at him in utter disbelief, but the fierce glare Arthur sent them confirmed that the king was being entirely serious. Slowly, each of the lords knelt before the consort's throne, not daring to look up at the disturbing sight before them, and recited their oaths of fealty, feeling the king's burning gaze on them all the while.

Finally, after all of the lords had taken their oaths, a pale Geoffrey presented Arthur with the consort's crown, a treasure that had not been seen by anyone since Ygraine's passing. Arthur gingerly lifted the crown and made his way over to Merlin.

As he stepped closer, Arthur wanted to weep. Perhaps it was some cruel trick his mind was playing on him, put it looked like Merlin's color had returned to him, making him appear like he was only sleeping, like he would wake up and everything would be fine again.

Taking a steadying breath to hold his tears at bay, Arthur finally stepped right in front of Merlin, holding the crown over his motionless head. It wasn't fair, Arthur decided. It wasn't fair that Arthur had finally become king, was finally in a place where he could openly profess his love for Merlin, but Merlin wasn't here by his side to see it!

Still, he could let everyone else see his love for Merlin. Slowly, he lowered the crown onto Merlin's head, letting rest on his limp head. Arthur took a shaking step back, trembling with rage and grief as he looked at Merlin, bedecked in royal robes and wearing the crown that Arthur had always longest to give him. Arthur's own mind still mocked him, making Merlin look almost alive again, like he was only sleeping, when Arthur when that Merlin was gone, and all that was left of him was this pale, empty shell and a terrible hollowness in Arthur's chest where his heart was supposed to be.

Arthur tenderly gasped Merlin's chin, tilting his head up to face him. This was goodbye, Arthur knew it. After this, Merlin would be laid to rest with all the honors of a king, and Arthur would be left ruling over his kingdom alone and heartbroken for the rest of his days. With tears flowing freely down his face, Arthur leaned down and pressed a kiss onto Merlin's lips. Once again, Arthur's mind took pity on him, as he could swear that Merlin's lips were warm with life under his own.

Arthur drew back, gazing at his love's face for what might be the last time, attempting to commit every minute detail to memory, such that Merlin's likeness would never fade from his mind even as the years went by. As Arthur eyes scanned over Merlin's face, however, there was one thing that struck him as odd before his mind caught up to what he was seeing and his heart, which had felt cold and frozen fir days, started beating at a frantic rhythm.

Because Merlin's eyes were open.

(Yes, Merlin was immortal the whole time, but his magic was just taking a while to heal him lol!)

And that's all for now! I hope you all enjoyed this au! Let me know if you'd like to see a continuation!

And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings! :D

This poll has me on the edge of my seat! I'm sorry, I love Leon a lot, but Merlin has to win this one! I have to spread some Merlin propaganda here!

He's so cute in the earlier seasons and don't get me started on season 5 buff Merlin! Leon's good-looking, but he doesn't have a "Really? Get out." moment like Merlin does. I mean look at this man!

Please, he can't lose in the first round! 😭

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

QUALIFYING ROUND: 73rd Tilt

Sir Leon, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) VS. Merlin, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Propaganda

Sir Leon, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Portrayed by: Rupert Young

“Camelot's loyalist and hottest knight. He was with Arthur from the beginning and stood by him throughout (even when Merlin started teaching him poetry). Leon the long-suffering deserves to be recognized in his own right for the tall, wavy-locked master of the sword that he is.”

Merlin, BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Portrayed by: Colin Morgan

“He looks like a fae for four out of five seasons of Merlin. You look at him and he's the definition of PRETTY. Full lips and long eyelashes and killer cheekbones and the bluest of blue eyes and dark hair and a profile that makes you want to take up painting and delicate wrists and he is SO!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty as a picture I swear. And he is so cute!!!!! But he can also be deadly!!! He smiles and he looks like a ray of sunshine!!! And he has dimples!!!!! But then he gets angry and he's suddenly so hot!!!! And he also has that Victorian Maiden Effect in that he's always, always covered up, and as soon as he takes his neckerchief off you go GASP!!!!! Neck!!!!! Collarbones!!!!! Oh!!!!!!!!! And THEN!!!!!! You watch season five and he is still pretty but he's also suddenly got SHOULDERS and ARMS and a BROAD CHEST and you go uh???????? When did this happen????? And yeah, suddenly he's a bit of a hunk and your brain short circuits a bit. A tiny bit. A tiny big bit. You'll never recover.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Sir Leon:

“This man. Cannot die. He was originally supposed to be toasted in his first appearance like every other redshirt knight in Merlin, but he was so hot and cool, and fans loved him so much they kept bringing him back and even made him a supporting lead.”

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

For Merlin:

“asjgljgsakldghajskldghajkslhgaksjghalskjdh cheekbones”

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

“look at the dimples - and the cheekbones - even if he weren't the world's most powerful warlock he'd deserve to win for looking so beautiful through all the tragedy”

That'd actually be such a great magic reveal, because Merlin would 100% be like "go ahead and tell someone, no one will believe you."

And Audrey would hate him all the more, both for making her look like a madwoman if she (rightfully) accuses him of stealing her cooked chickens using magic and for being fully capable of making her life so much easier by simply making Arthur's food with magic but refusing to.

I love it!

‘gwaine’s reaction to the magic reveal’ this and ‘leon’s reaction to the magic reveal’ that. focus. we need The Cook Merlin Had Unexplained Beef With’s Reaction to the Magic Reveal

@saladscream the way I wheezed after reading that! 🤣

Is this because of the spitroasting gif? 🤔

New REBLOG Game

Just fucking lie about the previous poster

Thank you for updating a second chance. I read it now and i love it. Also i wanted to ask if someday you can update blood red robin and thomas wayne adventures in grandparenting?

Hi! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Since I'm working on A Second Chance again, I'll probably update Thomas Wayne's Adventures in Grandparenting as well, since it's side stories from A Second Chance. As for Blood Red Robin, the truth is that I don't know if I'll come back to that fic. I'd like to work on it again some day, and the inspiration for it might come back, so I don't want to abandon it, but I honestly don't know if I'll finish that one. Thanks for the ask!

Surprise AU Continuation Poll!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all having a wonderful day/night! To celebrate all of the love you all have given my au ideas, I've decided that I'll do a continuation post of one of my previous au's! Which one would you like to see another post about? I'm excited to see which one is your favorite! The links to each au will be below the poll!

Here's the links for all of the au prompts!

Balinor lives: Part 1/1

Merlin controls the Knights of Medhir: Part 1/1

Arthur thinks Merlin's a fairy: Part 1/1

Arthur becomes Emrys's familiar: Part 1/2, Part 2/2

Archeologist Merlin and Immortal Camelot: Part 1/2, Part 2/2

Arthur hugs magic dolls of Merlin and Gwen: Part 1/1

Arthur thinks that Merlin needs to get laid for the safety of Camelot: Part 1/1

Morgana wants to be allies with Emrys: Part 1/2, Part 2/2

Happy voting! I'm excited to see what everyone chooses! :D

Just occurred to me that from Arthur's perspective yes Merlin seems really brave and stupidly loyal but also like someone with a death wish. Not necessarily wanting to die in the straight forward sense but reckless with his wellbeing in a way similar to characters like Lockwood from Lockwood & Co. Arthur doesn't know Merlin has magic so he has no reason to think Merlin is anything other than a defenceless servant who is reckless with his life to a concerning amount.

I've seen discussion and fan fics exploring how it should have been obvious to Arthur that Merlin was in love with him because of how devoted to him he was in such a self sacrificing way but I think you can justify Arthur not assuming Merlin's behaviour was born out of love for him because from Arthur's perspective it seems far more likely that Merlin just doesn't value his own safety and life to a concerning level. He's always joking that Merlin has a mental affliction, doesn't question truly strange behaviour because oh that's just Merlin being Merlin he's an unstable weirdo. Arthur counting the days since he saw Merlin smile because gods forbid Merlin's reckless lack of care for his own life developed into something with more intent.

Basically I think Arthur believes Merlin is legit just mentally ill in some way. Because frankly without the contact of Merlin's magic and the prophecy his behaviour is really concerning (frankly even with context it's pretty concerning by the final few seasons, that boy is not okay) and because to Arthur that is a much more logical explanation for Merlin's behaviour than Merlin actually loving him (platonically or romantically, doesn't matter) because Arthur can't comprehend someone loving him like that.

Also makes his reaction to the magic reveal make some painful sense because he's never factored Merlin's love for him into his understanding of Merlin's behaviour so when the weird behaviour he'd assumed was a mental affliction seems to be revealed as just a lie to hide his magic Arthur has no basis of Merlin's devotion to him to fall back on and use to make sense of why Merlin would be loyal to him despite having magic.

Arthur doesn't see Merlin's self sacrifice as the result of love from him but as a result of lack of love for himself.