Merlin Micro Fic - Blog Posts
Observances
Merlin/Arthur | Mature | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 373
Historical AU | Festivals | Prophecies | Second Person POV (Merlin)
For the @merlinmicrofic prompts "feast" and "new year."
Will post to Ao3 once it's back up.
Arthur's halls are decorated for the birth of the sun, Saturnalia was a sennight ago, and you saw an ominous sign this morning in the movement of the birds.
small tw: for animal (bird) death
☾ ☾ ☾
Arthur’s hall is decorated with yew branches. Up and down the benches there is elaborate food upon decorated plates of a dull silver that he told you was called pewter. His hounds whine and beg for scraps from the revellers, having grown bored of the swan wing that had been tossed to them. Now it lay on the straw strewn floor, gnarled and upsetting.
Your eyes are on him, but everyone’s eyes are on him, they always are. Warlord, lord, king. Tonight he wears an abolla that is a red as rich as blood (and you’ve seen plenty of blood, by now). His hair and eyes are pale against the colour but not diminished by them.
But his eyes are on you. They shouldn't be on you, not as much as they are, they need not ever be on you, but they are. You’re a servant, what’s more you are of the Silures, reviled by his father, yet his eyes have been on you since you were crowned with oak leaves for saving his life.
What a strange mix of observances that he claims as his own.
On Saturnalia he said that you could do anything, so you sat in his lap and had him feed you figs and almonds with his fingers.
But that was a sennight ago, now above his chair there is a bower of willow and ivy, now he raises his cup and you go to his side to pour him grape wine from across the sea.
He would put you to death for your aurgury this morning. It was the flight of the hedge sparrows that alerted you just a breath before it happened; a peregrine claimed an ouzel, too slow to retreat to the coppice, right before your eyes. There are signs in everything, you are finding, even the strange prognostications of the Romans. Ouzel cock, black druid, guide to the otherworld. Your people go unmarked in death as they do in life. There are few left, even, to cry your name. Fewer still will survive to see the spring.
The fire is making you sweat, causing the woad staining your arms to run.
His cup goes up, the room stills.
“The sun is reborn,” Arthur says.
Arthur & Merlin or Arthur/Merlin (you decide) | Teen & Up | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 500
Arthur Pendragon Returns | Angst | Language Barrier | Sad Ending
For @merlinmicrofic with the prompt "frozen"
Arthur returns but Merlin finds he can no longer understand him.
“You can't understand me, so I will say this-” “I’m sorry I couldn't stay the same.” “If I was afforded the choice, Merlin, if there were only one thing left of my kingdom, one soul, it would be you.” “I've lived so long, I've lived too long.” “So please.” “You deserve someone who could’ve held on for you.” “I need you to understand.”
☾ ☾ ☾
A snowstorm, a series of blue arrowheads and an infernal swirl on the television, arrived a few days before the winter solstice. The dead silence, the disappeared roads and finally, the sudden interruption to the electricity called to Merlin’s slow, ancient mind the way the world had once been, quieter, colder.
It was then that he felt Arthur’s impending return, unmistakable, a change in the seismograph.
The lake was solid and as blue as the dawn sky above it.
The ice was singing like steel cables and whale song. He had waited here many times before, mad with certainty and loneliness that this was the day.
But this was the day.
The song rose in tempo, and in a sudden crack, a familiar boat.
Merlin stumbled forward, fell through where the ice was thin and before he knew it, the once king, the future king, was gathering him, shivering, in his arms.
Merlin clutched onto him and in his ear Arthur said-
What were these words? Hard consonants so wholly unfamiliar that Merlin wondered if he had ever understood them, if the same sounds had ever passed his own lips. Emotion broke every other syllable, he could understand the utter relief in them, but the words themselves?
“I don't- Arthur I don't understand.”
***
Before they could understand each other without words, but no longer, not when there was so much to say.
Merlin tried, but his eroded memory had too long forsaken learning. The weeks went on, and in the tense and then pleading sounds that Arthur made, Merlin understood two things: Arthur had been frozen and had emerged from the lake perfectly intact; Merlin however could not breach the surface of his own stagnant pool.
Arthur continued his noises, his hard consonants and the occasional gnashing of his teeth, and Merlin despaired.
***
It wasn’t fair, Merlin knew. Time meant denial was robbed from Arthur’s grieving. Now Merlin was asking him to bury understanding along with their friends. Instead he piled all of that denial onto Merlin’s unyielding tongue.
One day in the dusty, moldy space that Merlin resided in, that he struggled to keep in order with time rushing past him as it did, Arthur snapped. He seized his arms, his eyes wild, wet.
“You’re not trying!” he cried, angry, in that language Merlin no longer possessed.
“I don't- I’m trying.”
“You're all that's left.”
“I’m sorry, Arthur.”
Sometimes a word would prick Merlin’s ears, and he would hear Welsh, Latin, or else it would stir something in his long memory, but it was recognition without comprehension. The words transformed and melded together, evading his grasp.
“You can't understand me, so I will say this-”
“I’m sorry I couldn't stay the same.”
“If I was afforded the choice, Merlin, if there were only one thing left of my kingdom, one soul, it would be you.”
“I've lived so long. I've lived too long.”
“So please.”
“You deserve someone who could’ve held on for you.”
“I need you to understand.”
for the @merlinmicrofic prompt "harvest" Gaius/Geoffrey, G , no warnings, 290 words, ao3 link
seedling
You'll want to wait for the grain to wither, to go brittle-dry, before you take the scythe to it. Not meant to be cut are stalks still full of sap, unless nature made them weak. Or so Death would reason if it had a voice.
By Uther's wrath though, old and young alike fell before the reaper. The king's most trusted were tasked to ensure bountiful yield. There were lists.
Gaius felt sick. He had sworn, he'd sworn to leave his old life behind and all that came with it. Magic. Tradition. Conscience? “I couldn't bear it,” the king had said, “if any harm came to you,” and Gaius had cowered before the threat.
There were lists, and Gaius felt sick. “So many souls.”
Geoffrey looked up, gaze sharp, quill idling. “Do you not love our king?”
“And do you not love me?”
It was as much as either of them could say out loud. The moment lingered, then something broke between them. The quill resumed its scratching. The reaper bound sheafs.
Sneaking out in the night was not something that came easily to Gaius. He cursed this bout of courage as fear constricted his throat, a premonition of the hangman's noose.
Up in the tower over the courtyard, there was a light in the window. The infant prince must be keeping his wet nurse up again. Would he one day have to pick the fruit grown from his father's bitterness, and choke on it? Had fate, moving its playing pieces into place, already entrapped him in its vines?
“Gaius?” The blonde girl's eyes shone bright with fear and magic both. “What of my sister?”
“Don't be afraid. She will be safe.” Gaius took her hand. “Come, Morgause, let's go.”
Gwen & Merlin | Teen & Up | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 500
Post-Canon | Ghosts | Grief & Mourning | Immortal Merlin
For @merlinmicrofic with the dialogue prompt "almost" and the @tavernfest Merlin Horror Month 2024
An elderly Gwen summons Merlin to Camelot on Samhain. Their old friends walk the Earth again for a night.
☾ ☾ ☾
She was sitting by the fire in the chambers she had once shared with her husband. The flames sputtered in the grate, attacked by the late autumn winds. Upon the hearth there were food offerings; it was Samhain, the eve of the night the dead woke from their sleep and roamed the Earth once again.
“Merlin,” Gwen called to him softly, her eyes shining and a little cloudy in the light, evidence of the cataracts laying claim to them. She stretched out her hand and he hobbled over with his staff and took it. It was soft, wrinkled, but strong.
Gwen had received him earlier in the throne room but this, with the night blackening the windows, was when they could truly speak.
He sat down groaningly beside her. Immediately, she leaned towards him in her chair and poked his knee. “I heard a rumour.”
He leaned as well. “A rumour?” he croaked.
“I’m told that you're not as you appear to be. That you…” she seemed to search for the words. “They say nature has not taken hold of you as it has me.”
He opened his mouth but she stopped him.
“Let me see you as you really are... Please.”
He changed, letting go of the glamour he had assumed.
By the way she reached out, he knew she couldn’t help it. She cupped his unbearded face, swiped a thumb over his cheek like there was a tear there just as her own eyes filled.
“It’s like…” she trailed off in wonder.
“Seeing a ghost?” he guessed.
“No,” she shook her head, retracting her hand. “No. I should know… I called you here because-”
There was a knock at the door.
She cleared her throat, emotion leaving her voice. “Come in.”
A knight entered.
“Is it time?” she asked.
“Almost.”
“Help an old woman up, Merlin?”
They were on the ramparts of the outer walls, it had been a struggle to get up here, but Gwen, now bundled in Merlin’s cloak, had been singularly determined.
It was a full moon but the night was choked with mist.
Merlin’s magic prickled, beyond the walls something had stepped back onto the mortal plane.
He tried again to implore her to return to the palace. “Gwen, it's Samhain, we shouldn’t-”
“Just… Watch.”
He grimaced but did as his queen bid.
A horse whinnied faintly, like the tail end of an echo. From the mist, three caped figures on horseback were given form. Ceremonial Camelot banners, washed grey by the night, waved silently in a non-existent wind above them. Their shape, their faces, tilted up, serene, their eyes on the queen – Merlin startled. “It’s-!”
“Gwaine… Lancelot… and Elyan,” she finished, her voice breaking more with each name.
“But..? Gods, why-?”
“They came last year, and the year before that,” she said, breathing. She drew her borrowed cloak closer. “I know now. They're waiting for me.”
In Avalon his friends would be together again. Death had never been kinder, and fate more gruel.
September '24 Masterlist
Somehow another round is already coming to a close, and I once again want to thank all you lovely participants! I've decided to keep the Masterlist for the time being, although a little trimmed down to hopefully make it a little less time-intensive on my end.
All that said, without further ado! <3
Drabble Challenge Winner! ✨
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale by @mightybog
[Prompt: Nightfall | Arthur/Merlin]
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"I Promised" by @mightybog
[Prompt: "I Promised" | Arthur/Merlin]
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jamais vu by @adhd-merlin
[Prompt: "I Promised" | Freya/Merlin]
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a night's rest by @adhd-merlin
[Prompt: Nightfall | Arthur/Merlin]
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"Untitled" (Dusk) by @thefollow-spot
[Prompt: Nightfall | Lancelot/Merlin]
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midnight by @liviapeleia
[Prompt: Nightfall | Lancelot/Merlin]
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Prompt: Nightfall
Nightfall by @twistedshipper
[Arthur/Morgana]
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nightfall by @the-king-and-the-druidess
[Gwen/Lancelot]
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Nightfall (Release Words) by @personaje-fics
[Arthur/Lancelot]
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Prompt: "I Promised."
Redemption Lies Plainly in Truth by @miyriu
[Arthur & Morgana]
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Meant to be Broken by @classics-n-comedy
[Arthur & Mordred]
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fealty by @liviapeleia
[Arthur/Lancelot]
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I get so jealous of euthanized dogs by @bumblebearr
[Arthur/Gwen, Gwen/Leon]
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Prompt: Starting Over
A Good Start by @miyriu
[Arthur/Merlin]
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Therefore stay yet; thou need'st not to be gone by @mightybog
[Arthur/Merlin]
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in the chillest land by @adhd-merlin
[Aithusa, Merlin]
More stunning art inspired by my microfic series this month 😍! Thank you again Sunfall!
Amazing art for one of my microfics, thank you so much @merthurotica 🥺!
Merlin/Arthur | Mature | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 500
Emotional Hurt/Comfort | Survival | Injury Recovery
For @merlinmicrofic with the prompt "starting over"
Merlin and Arthur find refuge in a small broken down cottage
☾ ☾ ☾
Before Arthur knew what was happening, his hand was on the hilt of his sword. He almost evicted Merlin from the mildewed thing they called a bed.
Cold hands found his neck, his face in the dark. “It’s just thunder, Arthur.”
He lay back down and Merlin lay on his chest. Their hearts slowed together. The rain on the broken roof went on.
“I’ll work out the spell, I promise.”
Gone, for now, were Merlin’s entreaties for Arthur to return to Camelot. They would face whatever came next together.
Arthur drifted, until water dropped down on his forehead. He groaned.
Arthur strode across the small, disused field, carrying a hare by its ears. It was dusk and ahead of him was their temporary salvation, a little lopsided cottage, with a field of its own taking root on what was left of the roof.
When he let himself inside Merlin was there to greet him, making no secret of the fact he had been peering anxiously though the little window.
“I caught a hare,” Arthur told him.
Merlin grimaced but nodded. “I heard it screaming.”
They needed more than the meagre meals they had made of fried hazel catkins and cleavers.
Merlin was making use of a sturdy ash rod they had found while they were still running, the burns on the outside of Merlin’s right leg and his feet were still healing and the tightened skin gave him a limp. But he was dispelling any illusions Arthur had of his frailty, advancing on him now like a storm.
Arthur dropped the rusted hoe he’d been using.
“I told you! There’s no use in planting when we’ll just have to run again!”
“Your spell...”
“There’s no spell!”
“There could be if-”
“If I try? You do it, if it’s so easy!”
The ground was uneven here in the green wood. Merlin told him that this place had been used by a charcoal maker, he had no doubt that the earth here had once smoked hellishly. He checked their traps. The woods went on. But where was Merlin? Where did he leave him? Feelings of temporary safety, images of holding Merlin in a suntrap somewhere fled from him. He panicked, called his name.
Then an answer. “-thur! Arthur!”
He saw him, ran, caught him.
“Arthur! I’m sorry, I'm sorry,” he soothed, then he grinned. “My spell worked a little too well, then?”
Their little shelter was golden with the morning sun and so, just for a moment, were Merlin’s eyes. Arthur found he couldn’t let go of his hands, feeling they might just fall to their knees in relief otherwise. They were safe, anyone who tried to find them now would be gently guided away.
“Promise me this isn’t forever, Arthur,” Merlin beseeched quietly. “Promise me we’ll return and you’ll be king.”
“We will return, when the time is right, when you’re healed and we have a plan.” He pulled him close. “Until then…”
“Until then…” Merlin’s eyes fell to Arthur's lips.
Merlin/Arthur | Mature | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 100
Rescue | Angst and Hurt/Comfort | Merlin's Magic Revealed
For @merlinmicrofic with the dialogue prompt "I promised"
Arthur saves Merlin from the pyre
☾ ☾ ☾
Arthur cared not for the blistering flesh of his arms, only Merlin blackened and coughing in his lap.
Voices, hooves came.
He covered his mouth.
They died away, leaving just the wind in the leaves.
Arthur’s whispered agonised apologies as Merlin wheezed for air.
“Go back, Arthur,” he pressed out. “You’re supposed to-”
“I don’t care what fate or your dragon has to say! I promised.”
Tears tracked through soot. “…Please.”
Arthur smeared them away. “Merlin… I can't manage without you. We’ll run.”
Merlin laughed brokenly. “And if I can’t run?”
A kiss, all ash and salt. “Need you ask?”
Merlin/Arthur | Mature | No Archive Warnings Apply | Word Count: 100
Merlin's Magic Revealed | Merlin's Scars Revealed | Angst and Hurt/Comfort
For @merlinmicrofic with the prompt "nightfall"
As night falls Arthur learns about Merlin's sacrifices and fears for his safety
☾ ☾ ☾
After all was aired, once the word “lied” had been thoroughly exorcised from Arthur’s tongue, he could only listen.
Night fell and the veil was lifted from his eyes.
How could he match such devotion? He could not, he could only whisper his promises of protection, his thanks into Merlin’s skin.
Merlin wore his scars all too casually.
“They were easy,” Merlin whispered, his lips on his bare shoulder. “A small price, Arthur, and I’d pay it again.”
“No,” Arthur replied. “Never again.”
“Fate punishes that kind of talk.”
In Arthur’s dreams, fate was Uther warming himself on Merlin’s pyre.