Taking a break from writing unmatched to share with you guys something else I have on my drafts and that I might try to write next:
[Merlin ends up raising Arthur's secret Magic son Au] [Co-parenting Merthur Au]
(Bluebird Aster)
At age 16 Arthur was kidnapped by a witch who used him to produce an heir. Her plan was to have an easy access to the throne, and a legitimate heir would help her achieve her dreams of taking over Camelot.
Arthur managed to escape his prison one year after she'd captured him and found himself lost in the middle of nowhere with a dead witch and a sorcerer son.
He could still remember the dread that weighted his heart at the sight of his baby's eyes turning gold and small shapes of light danced over his bassinet. What was he to do? If he returned to Camelot with a bastard boy that could do magic, he knew what would happen, what the King would do.
As he looked down at the small bundle sleeping quietly in his arms, he knew there would be nothing he wouldn't do to keep him safe, but bringing his boy home with him was not a possibility, for it would only result in the baby's death.
He pushed his way through the woods in search for help, delving deeper through the thickets of the forest, looking for anyone or anything that could help him and his boy get through the night and maybe, if they were lucky, with a solution to his problem.
Arthur and the baby found their answer in the shape of an old woman named Iris.
Iris appeared in the boys' path like a saving grace; with a smile she took them in, hiding them inside her small cottage deep within Albion's woods, feeding them and protecting them from the cold and the night.
Arthur would watch in amazement how well the woman treated his son, how she cared for him like it was her own; and when the woman performed magic to entertain his boy, Arthur felt a pounding ache in his heart at the same time as relief ran through his system. And he knew, then, what he had to do.
With the pleading eyes of a lost boy and the despair of a caring father, Arthur begged the witch for her help, "I can't take him with me." "Please, help us, help him."
And Iris looked down at the begging prince, son of the man responsible for immense pain in her life and in other's, and she found no resentment in her heart. She then looked at the small life that peacefully slept in her humble home, and felt hope blooming in her chest, "I'll guard him with my life, your grace."
And so, Arthur returned home alone, with an emptiness in his heart that was enhanced by the lack of weight in his arms, but with the certainty that his son would be cared for.
For five long years Iris took care of the hidden prince, teaching him about the world, about magic and about his lineage. Five years where Arthur would look out the window and imagine what his son was doing, how he was faring, if he was ever afraid.
Every six months a bird would arrive through his window, bringing with it a message from Iris where she would tell him news about his son.
Throughout the first three years Arthur tried to visit at least once every year, secretly making his way through Camelot to the deep woods that hid his boy, making up excuses to the king and his knights as to why he would be alone, never staying more than a day. But being alone was a luxury that the prince of Camelot didn't have, and Arthur feared for his son to be found if he were to visit more often.
It was on the fourth year that Arthur found himself with someone that wouldn't let him go anywhere by himself — seemingly incapable of understanding the meaning of the word 'Alone'— and to his surprise, it wasn't one of his father's knights or spies. No, the man that would follow him to the end of the earth and back was his own servant. His stupid, but brave and loyal to a fault servant.
With Merlin following his every step, Arthur stopped visiting, and his only comfort now lay in the letters that Iris would send.
Until the fifth year, when a letter arrived ahead of schedule, bringing with it news that would change the life of many people.
"My Lord,
Forgive me for sending you this letter in such a manner, but it is with utmost urgency and a heavy heart that I share with you these news.
My health is no longer what it once was when we first met, and I find myself lacking the strength necessary to properly fulfill the duty Your Grace bestowed upon me that night, years ago. I fear my days are numbered.
I hope Your Highness can forgive me, but I have sought, through my own sources, someone trustworthy enough to continue this noble quest and provide the same care that I have given it.
Alas, my search has been in vain, for the only viable solution I could find was to entrust the quest to The Wizard.
Though I have not had the chance to make his acquaintance, The Wizard is said to be a kind man, willing to aid those who seek him — especially when concerned with the talents one might have.
Some believe him to be the fabled Emrys, a man known to be the most talented in his craft, so much so, that he might have invented it himself. If that is true, then know that none would be better suited to fulfill your quest, if not with the same kindness of an old woman, with the strength and righteousness of a knight.
I must warn you, though, that if Your Lordship finds yourself with no other option but The Wizard, the quest will be beyond your control, and you may never hear of it again.
I await your answer, my Lord, but I urge you to make haste in your decision, for my strength wanes with each passing day.
Your friend, Iris"
With a despair he had not felt since the days prior to meeting Iris, Arthur tried to make his way to the witch's cottage, in vain, for no matter what time of the day he tried to reach her, Merlin was there to follow. "And where are we going?" "Merlin! What are you doing here?" "I was just fetching some flowers for Gaius." "At night?" "They only bloom at night! What's your excuse, then?"
With time slipping through his fingers, Arthur saw no other choice but to trust the woman's word. And so, with a heavy heart, he sent his answer a few days later, entrusting his son's fate to a sorcerer he did not know — one that would take the boy so far beyond his reach, that he would never see him again.
A week later Arthur received the last letter Iris would ever sent, confirming that The Wizard had taken his son with him and promised to raise him as if he were his own. A thought that both calmed and concerned Arthur, for no matter how much praise Iris had bestowed on this wizard, he would spend the rest of his life wondering what kind of man his son would turn out to be.
And that's precisely what he did everytime someone saw him leaning against the wall of his chambers, looking through the window with his eyes lost to the horizon. Wonder about his son and what the fates would have in store for him.
This is the end of Arthur's story, of how he had a son he loved but could never raise.
It is, though, only the beginning.
You see, Merlin was too young to be a father.
Two years younger than the prince of Camelot, Merlin was shocked when the druids called him about a child that needed his help. He was even more shocked to find out that the child was no one else but the prince's son, and that was before he found out about the magic.
"Please Emrys," said Iris, the old woman who for years took care of the young prince, "he has no one else."
She didn't have to beg, though. It only took one look at the boys golden hair and light-blue eyes — wide with a mix of fear and curiosity— for Merlin to know that just like his father, that boy would own him and his heart completely and unquestionably.
"Hey there," Merlin knelt in front of the boy who hid behind the old woman's skirt. "What's you name, little one?"
The boy stared at him for a second, half of his face still hidden behind Iris' clothes when Merlin heard a tiny voice answering, barely loud enough to be heard. "Edmund."
Merlin smiled, a feeling he had never felt before taking over him. It was like light, or peace; like his mother's hugs and his favourite blueberry cake. "Pleasured to make your acquaintance, lord Edmund," he bowed, "my name is Merlin." Merlin extended his hand to the tiny lord who looked up to his nanny in confusion.
"It's alright Eddie, dear," she smiled a sad smile and petted the boy's head, "you can trust Emrys, he will be the one looking after you now."
Much like Arthur, Merlin knew that the boy could never come to live with him in the palace, and so, just like the crown prince before, Merlin trusted the boy's safety to someone else.
Turning to the druids for help, Merlin left the boy in the care of Iseldir and a few of his trusted ones. No one knew who the boy was, only that he should be cared for.
Differently from the crown prince, though, Merlin's position as a mere servant allowed him to be more present in the boy's life, and his apprenticeship with Gaius provided him the perfect excuse for his absence. Thrice a week, Merlin would be out, searching the woods for Gaius' precious herbs.
As the years passed, Merlin's power grew and he learnt new ways to keep in touch, new ways to visit. And with Kilgharrah's help, Merlin learnt a spell that would enchant a door to teleport him through two different thresholds. By the third year since Edmund enter the warlock's life, Merlin was able to visit him everyday without ever leaving his own chambers.
Their relationship grew. Merlin taught him to read, write, taught him some history and some maths, but most importantly, Merlin taught him magic. Just like Merlin, Edmund could use magic instinctively, and he loved it. So Merlin taught him about control, about the danger, but also some spells and the nature involved in them, about how to have fun and trust himself.
But Edmund's favorite subject was his father, and luckily for him, that was Merlin's favourite too.
They would spend hours talking about the crown prince, about the adventures Merlin had had with him and about what it would be like for the three of them when he becomes king.
"You really think Da will want me back one day, Merlin?"
It was a constant concern of the boy's, if his father would want to have him in his life after so long. It pained Merlin to hear his doubt —a hurt that constricted his chest and iced his stomach — but Merlin always made sure to reassure him in the only way he could. "Your Da wants you everyday, Eddie. Never forget that."
Two months before Edmund turned 9, Merlin made a hard decision.
Pressured by Morgause and Morgana's looming threat, and his suspicions about Agravaine, Merlin and Iseldir decided that the woods of Camelot were no longer safe for the druids, and it was time for them to move on to somewhere safer.
With them gone, Merlin had to make a choice about Edmund, but being the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth he felt that no place would be safer for the boy than right next to him. But Merlin couldn't simply bring back with him a boy that — despite the young age — looked the spitting image of Camelot's regent prince.
He crouched in front of him, holding the boys arms and keeping their eyes at the same level. "Come on, love, say it again."
"My name is Eirian ap Myrddin, I came here to live with my father after my mom passed."
Merlin nodded, "good, very good. And the rules?"
"I will not use magic unless you explicitly allow it, I'm not to trust anyone unless you say I can — but no one can know about the magic no matter what— I can not wander off to places I have not been with you before, and nobody can know I am prince Arthur's son — especially not his uncle. Gaius knows everything and if I'm ever in trouble and can't find you, I shall go to him."
"Okay, good, good." Merlin nodded again, trying hard to placate his nerves, "and if a guard stops you and asks who you are?"
"My name's Eirian. Merlin, the prince's servant, is my father. Would you help me find him?"
"Good." Merlin kept nodding as his eyes travelled his so— Eddie's face. The boy was nervous, but was doing a good job in hiding it. Merlin sighed and let go of him, standing up and making his way towards the potion he had especially prepared.
"When you drink it," he started while making his way back to the boy, "it will act like a glue to the glamour," he knelt in front of Edmund again and handed him the flask. "Doesn't taste good."
Edmund took a sip and immediately began to cough. "It's awful!"
Merlin run his hand across the boy's back as he coughed. "I know, I know, but you'll only have to drink it once."
The boy took a deep breath, and stared down at the flask as if it were the enemy in a battlefield — the same gaze his father had before doing something incredible brave, but kind of stupid — then he held his nose closed between two fingers and downed the whole flask as quickly as he could.
He coughed a few more times and ended all out with a loud 'bleurgh,' sticking his tongue out to better make his point. "What now?"
Merlin hid his smile behind a nose scratch, "now I cast the glamour over you and the potion will help settle it into your body, so you won't change back until I give you the counter-spell."
As he did what he said, Merlin watched in fascination the boy's features slowly changing. Eddie's hair — usually of a light yellow that seemed to glow gold with the sun — started to bleed black from its roots, slightly curling at the ends, until he ended up with the same mop of black that housed Merlin's own head. His ears too seemed to grow a little, hidden by the curls that now rested low on his head. His face turned slightly more angular — as much as a child's face can be— replacing Arthur's prominent cheeks with Merlin's sharp cheekbones.
The eyes, though, were something that Merlin never learnt how to change, they still were the same light-blue eyes that perfectly mirrored his father's own.
And with the prince regent's son looking like a mini copy of himself bar the eyes — and that definitely was not messing with Merlin's head — he held Eddie by the hand, and together they crossed for the last time — or first, for Eddie — the threshold that would take them to Camelot, back to Merlin's chambers where they were both now to live.
