Aletheia

He swallowed again.

"Are you sure?" He looked into the knight's eyes, willing him to change his answer.

Bran had arrived at Camelot barely three months ago, and it was clear that he idolized the Crown Prince.

"Yes, sire." The young man sounded painfully earnest. "It was indeed sorcery; I saw it with my own eyes."

Arthur's lips were set in a thin line. How could Bran spend so much time under his command, and not realize how much Merlin meant to him?

"Very well." Arthur's voice was flat. "I will inform my father of this matter personally. You’re dismissed."

---

A/N: This was my first Merlin fic ever. *feels nostalgic* All the S1 feels~
And it won merlin100's Celebratory challenge =D.

[ DW | IJ | LJ ]

Secrets Under Your Skin (Merlin AU, implied Merlin/Arthur preslash, PG)
Fifth in the cupbearer drabble series (AU where Merlin is Arthur's half-brother), but can stand alone on its own.

This is a "Thank you remixer for the camelotremix story!" drabble =)
My remixer wrote the following lovely fic from Arthur's pov:

♬ The Cupbearer (Brother's Keeper Remix) [Arthur/Merlin, Teen, Sibling Incest, 3,338 words]
Arthur meets his half-brother Merlin when he is six. Arthur is not all that impressed, but soon changes his mind. Canon AU.

CamelotRemix Fic Masterlist @ DW
Just click on the little triangles to the left of the cuts to expand. 'slike magic!

Please comment on the stories that you enjoyed! (And the original stories too if you like.) You don't need an AO3 account to comment, just an e-mail address which won't be displayed.

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Seen at melusinahp:



Not My Fandom Fest running until Monday, October 18 [ Alphabetical List of Fandoms ]
Write a ficlet for a fandom you're not a part of based solely on what you've learned from your friends list and fandom at large.

Am gonna see what drabbles I can come up with this weekend =D You can nominate fandoms too!

Arthur often ribbed Merlin about Professor Nimueh or his flatmate Gwen, but this was uncharted territory.

Merlin had blown him off two Fridays in a row to help Freya; there seemed to be a new academic crisis whenever Merlin was supposed to be spending time with his best friend.

Arthur sat alone in a cafe and stared at his mobile.

"I'm sorry!" Merlin materialized in front of him, breathless. "I was leaving on time, but Freya—"

"Did you sleep with her?" Arthur blurted out.

"Wh-whatever gave you that idea?"

As the blush rose on Merlin's face, Arthur's heart sank.

---

A/N: Answers prompt_in_a_box prompt: "Did you sleep with her?" and merlin100's Change prompt.
Tried to come up with an optional epilogue/sequel, but no inspiration yet. Feel free to throw ideas at me or write your own optional epilogue/sequel.

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

"Arthur, what are you doing with my tea tray?"

"This isn't your tea tray; it's my chest plate!" Arthur informed his sister smugly.

"Arthur, give it back! Gwen and I are having a tea party."

"Yeah? Well we are playing knight and dragon."

"Hi, Morgana," Merlin said, voice muffled behind the paper plate dragon mask he was wearing.

"Merlin wants to have tea with us, don't you Merlin?" Morgana asked sweetly.

"No! He wants nothing to do with your stupid tea!"

"We have chocolate biscuits."

Merlin took off his mask. "Please, Arthur? This dragon is hungry."

"Oh, alright," Arthur groused.

---

A/N: Answers merlin100's armour prompt and writing_game prompts: Finders Keepers! & Retaliate. I pictured clubcamelot kids when I wrote this.

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

"When you said 'a mystical evening on the beach,' this was not what I expected."

Arthur toed the scarf-sized blanket.

"But Arthur—"

"No buts!" Arthur pointed his finger at his boyfriend. "I'm missing football on telly for this; there should at least be a bottle of wine."

"We can cuddle for warmth?" Merlin suggested hopefully.

"As skinny as your arse is, Merlin, I don't think both of us can fit onto that handkerchief you call a blanket."

Merlin sighed. The blanket promptly transformed into a familiar beaten red couch.

"Better?"

Pulling Merlin close to his side, Arthur smiled. "Much."

---

Answers merlin100's mystical prompt & writing_game's diss prompt

A/N: OHAI I'm writing Merlin again \o/

How've you been this past *cough* half a year, F-list?

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

When Arthur was six, he faced down a dragon with a wooden sword.

The dragon (a monster as big as a mountain!) took one look at his toy sword and snorted.

"You don't scare me, dragon! Knights always kill the monsters in the end!"

"Prince Arthur Pendragon," the dragon said, as if Arthur had not spoken. "The world will kill and eat you. But not if you eat the heart of the world first."

Arthur frowned. The dragon wasn’t following the storyline.

"Two golden children sharing one destiny."

In the morning, he would think that it was all a dream.

---

Answers merlin100's sword prompt & writing_game's exasperating prompt
The dragon's prophecy is inspired by Sylvia Plath's poem "Mary's Song" ("O golden child the world will kill and eat.")

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

( The Aftermath (implied Merlin/Arthur, PG-13 for gore & implied violence) )

Answers merlin_flashfic's Nightmares and monsters challenge and merlin100's dance prompt.

---

1. What Dreams by suaine, PG
Summary: There was always a price. The balance of nature was transactional - one thing of a certain value required the sacrifice of equal value given up by the one who asked.

But Arthur never finished those thoughts, kept all of his heart locked up tight. Merlin knew what he was going to say anyway, knew of the way Arthur kept looking over his shoulder when he thought no one was watching. Arthur had nightmares, dreams of a world without him in it, all the more terrible for their warmth and muted beauty, hitting like a physical blow when he woke up.

2. merlin_flashfic's AU challenge will run until 22.00BST on Saturday the 13 June.

3. In lieu of #2, please answer this poll on AU Merlin fics =)

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

First Time (Merlin/Arthur drabble, PG-13)

The first time Merlin kissed Arthur, they were standing on an ocean of grass.

Merlin trembled a little, and the kiss remained chaste until Arthur pulled at his stupid scarf—trust Merlin to be wearing a scarf on a glorious summer day—and plundered Merlin's lips.

The grass was heavy with dew, and later Arthur would find mud dotting the back of his jeans. But right this moment he could only listen to the tiny sounds Merlin made at the back of his throat.

The first time Arthur kissed Merlin, just two nights ago, he had thought Merlin was asleep.

***

Answers merlin100's Ocean prompt and writing_game's Scarf, Kiss prompt

( *** )
Extracurricular Service (implied Merlin/Arthur, PG-13 for suggestiveness)

"Well, this is awkward," Merlin said from his kneeling position on the floor.

Gwen let out a helpless giggle behind her hand. Lancelot, ever the gentlemanly knight, kept his eyes on Merlin's face. He was favoring his left ankle, Merlin noted. A sprain from training exercises, perhaps.

Arthur, red-faced and flustered, pulled on his long red tunic. "You're giving them the wrong idea!"

"Right, of course," Merlin said distractedly. "I wasn't performing any...extracurricular service. I was merely giving the king a physical examination."

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" Gwen said with a smirk worthy of Morgana.

***

Answers merlin100's Awkward prompt and writing_game's Kneel prompt.

[ IJ | DW ]

( Arthur/Merlin, reincarnation, one time they get re-born as brothers. )

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A/N: Answers kinkme_merlin's prompt: Arthur/Merlin, reincarnation, one time they get re-born as brothers.
Also answers writing_game Cupid Undone prompt and merlin100's Awkward prompt.

If someone wants to make this long and pr0ny, be my guest. *beams*

One of these days I'll write canon incest. And by that I mean Arthur/Morgana, not Uther/Arthur =P Although Igraine/Tristan has potentials.

ETA: derryere wrote an awesome EPIC based on this teeny drabble:
at least it would seem that we don't | M/A AU | NC17 | ~15,8K

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

Sloth & Pride are companion drabbles. Everything else stands on its own. I'm not cool enough to make all seven drabbles related, sadly.
I want to do another sins set in the future (with different characters & prefferrably an interconnected storyline) because these ones come across as sympathetic & rather tame.

*******

"Gluttony" - Gaius, G
( Gaius grew up in a small village where going hungry during lean winters was a fact of life. )

"Wrath" - Uther, Igraine, G
( Given time, perhaps his queen could have tempered his iron grip )

"Envy" - Morgana, PG
( If only she could trade her visions )

"Sloth" - Merlin, Arthur, G
( If he had polished Arthur's armour by hand, this wouldn't have happened. )

"Pride" - Arthur, Merlin, G
( Arthur had always prided himself of his judgment. )

"Lust" - Lancelot/Gwen, Arthur, PG-13
( The first time it happened, they were young and carefree in love. )

"Greed" - Mordred, Arthur, G
( 'Your precious prince, now grown old to be a pitiful king.' )

ETA 07/06/10: dreaming_athena podficced my Seven Deadly Sins drabble series here =DDD [ @ Audiofic Archive
1. Is there a Merlin LDWS comm. somewhere? We have Merlin tweetfic comm., there should be a Merlin LDWS, yeah?
LJ, IJ, DW, doesn't matter.

2. Also, LDWS comm.s, why the high upper limit? 499-word = flopsy, not a drabble. And 1K words = ficlet, not a drabble.
This is what modding a drabble community get you, you turn into a purist without realizing it =P

3. You know what Merlin pastiche hasn't been done yet? Merlin/FMA. So, Merlin characters in an FMA-like world.
Consider this: magic ~ balance // alchemy ~ equivalent exchange.

Merlin saves Arthur's life but Something Goes Horribly Wrong. Arthur comes back to life, but now he's caught in a never-ending loop of Saving the Day and Dying a Bloody, Tragic Death at a Terribly Young Age.
After the however many times Merlin had Arthur dying in his arms, Merlin swears to break the circle. But what does Merlin have left to offer up in exchange (and not having Arthur die on him again?)

Depressing plotbunny is depressing.

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]

"I saw him first!" Merlin protested.

"He smiled at me!"

"No way is someone that gorgeous straight."

"Contrary to what you believe, Merlin, people can be attracted to both genders."

"Uh-huh, they’re called Closet Cases," he said with a straight face. "Or, Morgana-is-just-a-roommate-nothing-happened-Merlin."

Predictably, Gwen smacked his arm.

"Oh God, he's coming over here. What do I do?" Gwen hid her face behind a cupped hand.

"Did you change your mind? Can I have him?"

"Merlin!" Gwen couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll keep his blond friend distracted; you go and dazzle him." Merlin slid down his bar stool. "Good luck!"

---

A/N: Yep, you weren't imagining the implied Gwen/Lancelot, implied Merlin/Arthur, and implied past Gwen/Morgana. What can I say? They're all so pretty =D

Answers merlin100's friendship prompt & writing_game's truce prompt.

[ LJ | IJ | DW ]