Ch. 1 "When he grew tired of swimming, Arthur waded out onto the bank and flung himself down without self-consciousness, lying back on his elbows between the roots of the nearest tree. Merlin lingered in the water for some minutes longer, watching the prince’s movements out of the corner of his eye, the way the water collected in the dips and hollows of his body and threatened to run all the way down. There was something unguarded about Arthur when he was like this; Merlin could think of only a handful of moments in which he had seen the prince without his veneer of distance and authority, and each one stood out in his memory like keys to a puzzle box, unravelling the complexity of Arthur’s personality one layer at a time. “See something you like?” Arthur asked, letting his legs sprawl lazily as he lifted his chin, and Merlin’s gaze flicked up to his face. “Could be,” he said."
Ch. 3 "Like the castle, Merlin’s magic was muffled here, muted beneath a layer of fallen snow, and he could feel it beginning to chafe under the unaccustomed restraints like a muscle that had been too long underused. With a sigh, Merlin braced his elbows on the windowsill and leant out into the night, exhaling a slow ribbon of breath into the cold air. He gestured, and a flock of dancing lights appeared in front of him, the illusion of fireflies, clustering together to trace the outline of first words, then faces, then constellations as different ideas came into Merlin’s head. It helped to take the edge off for a while, guiding them with small movements of his fingers into increasingly complicated patterns and shapes [...]"
My contribution to ACBB 2023 (@aftercamlann)! Art made in collaboration with @schweetheart, for their fantastic fic "And All the Bells Are Ringing"! Everyone be on the lookout for it when it is posted, bc you will not want to miss it ;)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
First chapter is now posted! \o/
