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King's Plan

Summary:

I know I shouldn't be venturing into a new fandom but this begged to be written. AU Set sometime After Morgana goes bad but before Lancelot dies. Sort of Reveal fic The loss of his warlock effected Arthur in ways that not even the gods imagine.

Chapter Text

When King Arthur rode from Camelot the final time it was by himself in the pre dawn light. He never looked back to the city he had grown up in. From her
window his Queen and her future consort held silent vigil, their hands entwined protectively over her slightly protruding stomach.

Though no one else knew of the plan nearly four years in the making each heart in Camelot felt a touch heavier that night. No eyes were there to witness a king swallow poison or slump over an unmarked grave. The world would wake to an inevitable truth still hidden and the unremembered pain of the last casualties of a bygone age…

It began at the end.

The end of another long battle against Morgana's forces and Arthur was weary. They were winning, with no little help from Merlin's magic, but it would be at a high cost. Many of the knights had already fallen and on a field coated in blood Arthur faced his half sister once more.

She looked horrible, emaciated and drained. The part of him that remembered her as his childhood friend ached at her brokenness. The magic she threw at him was a sickly black; nothing like his lover's golden protection. A few whispered words and suddenly she was much too close; her spell would hit him dead on and there was nothing he could.

The next blast was preceded with the smell of decay and Arthur braced himself for the pain he knew would come. Out of nowhere a body flew across his vision then slammed back into him. Though most of the blackness ricocheted backwards, killing the corrupted priestess, it still caught his savior. His beautiful lover looked up at him even as his skin grayed. Merlin didn't speak cliché's of love or false promises. Instead he used the last of his dwindling energy to weave one of the most powerful protection spells to ever be sunk into one place. His last act sealed Camelot's protection from any evil magic that wished harm upon the city.

He never saw the world he died changing.

For four months Arthur recovered. He ate just enough to dissuade suspicion and ruled in his dying father's stead. In private he mourned the death of his heart. The mask he learned growing up was perfected to the point that all but a few thought he had moved on from his manservant's death.

One night the man called to his chamber the only two who knew about his true relationship with the warlock; Gwen and Lancelot.

"You wished to see us, sire?" the former handmaiden asked softly

The Prince Regent waved to two chairs that had been brought for them, "sit, please. And don't call me sire; not tonight. Tonight we are equals."

"My Lo-Arthur?" Lancelot asked with a worried frown.

The other man looked pensively at the table top "You are the only ones I can trust" He spoke softly, "the only ones who know"

" You needed our help" Gwen replied simply. It was the truth; Gwen had agreed early on to keep their secret and allow the court to believe that the prince's interest lay with her. It worked so well because it gave everyone, even the busybodies of court a scandal to titter about behind their hands. When Lancelot returned it was only natural to include him and allow his and Gwen's love to blossom.

" And I will need it again" was the equally frank reply. The Prince Regent looked up at them. For once his masks were gone and the duo could see the soul wrenching pain that lay underneath. "I wish to die"

Gwen gasped and Lancelot jerked back in surprise. "A-A-Arthur, we can get Gaius. It will be all right"

But the man continued as if Gwen had not spoken. "But there are things I must do before I can go. Merlin would never forgive me if I allowed his hard work to go to waste." He studied the wall calmly before his eyes shifted to the couple in front of him. They sat pinned under his suddenly manic gaze, "I'm about to ask you more than I have any right to. I know you've kept up our charade and I thank you for it. I need to make things better before I go and make sure this kingdom will not fall apart after I go. I owe it to Merlin"

Gwen bit her lip, "Arthur…"

Again he almost seemed to be talking to himself more than them. "I intend to make sure magic is free once more, that no magic user feels Merlin's fear." He looked at them again rather than through them, "I intend to make you Queen, Guinevere, and I plan for your child to one day sit upon the throne." His wild eyes focused on Lancelot, "I know what I'm asking and I will never make this an order. I will touch no one now that Merlin is gone and I expect that after the proper mourning period you will be the one to sit beside my queen." His face changed and for a moment they saw the playful, protective Arthur who died in battle; "I want…every lord and lady, every royal who ever looked down on a servant; who ever spit at a peasant. I want them to hurt in the worst way they could by having to look up at the people they once looked down on. Will you help me?"

In the end there was only one answer to that…

And so it came to pass that Prince Arthur became king. Guinevere became his queen and it would be Lancelot's child she bore. The King, whose first act had been to legalize magic, had approached the druids the moment he found out she was pregnant. The position of Court Sorcerer had never been filled but Arthur had become friendly with the druid leader Mordred. He obtained two things from the young man he once saved, first a potion to ensure Gwen's child looked like him but also a powerful yet untraceable poison. Now he could slide peacefully into death, knowing he would soon hold his beloved after four long years.

Blue eyes snapped open only to realize he stood in darkness. "Hello" he called out only to hear his voice echo back.

A small amount of light flooded the area right in front of him revealing Morgana and Merlin. He tried to rush forward but was held still. The two stood simply looking at him for a moment.

" This should not have happened" A stranger spoke in Morgana's voice. It was far too deep, too powerful to be his broken sister. A cold shiver raced down his spine; if he was not looking at Morgana than this was someone else wearing Merlin's face as well. Try as he might though he couldn't bring himself to be angry as he hungrily took in the long lost face.

Merlin eyed him curiously, "It is not often that the gods are surprised, yet you have done it. Him as well, your lover…"

"This has tangled the threads" Morgana all but hissed.

" Be at ease sister, it will be fixed one way or another. We have watched you Arthur Pendragon and your lost lover. Your death was not for a few years yet, and much more violently. His was even more far flung and again you twisted things further with you plans. There is much to fix."

"Fix?"

Merlin nodded absently, a gesture that was familiar enough to cause a pit to form in his stomach "Your actions, noble though they might be, have destroyed this world for in a far flung future you will be needed as Ermys was needed to guide you. The tapestry guiding you has been destroyed and a new future must forged."

Morgana looked at him grudgingly, "For that we'll need you"

Arthur was surprised, "Me, why me?"

The siblings looked at each other with faint amusement, "Why not you? You want to change the past right? Make sure your lover doesn't die…"

"What?" Suddenly Arthur felt a bit weak, "That can be done?"

Merlin nodded, "This once, but only because of the unusual circumstances that surround you and your lover. You once stood at precipice; a choice so fundamentally altering that it effected the destinies of all those around you."

"What choice?"

Now Morgana spoke "your servant stood ready to speak of his magic, one of the first times he tried to admit such to you. There was an interruption and by the time that the time came again his nerve was gone."

Arthur remembered, "In Ealdor" he said pensively.

Merlin grinned proudly, "It's good you remember"

"But why…?"

Morgana scowled at him, "This is where the fear that drove him began. This fear that you would never forgive him would drive Morgana deeper into the darkness. It would drive Merlin deeper into doubt as he tried to protect you and not get caught. It was the first time he truly doubted his ability to bring magic back to the land."

" We can bring you back to that day; that minute so that you may make this one choice differently. I warn you though this will be fraught with dangers; you will have to forge a whole new destiny. "

"How do I start?" Arthur asked almost eagerly.

" It will take but a moment to send you back. I will warn you, young Pendragon. In order for this to happen we must bind your soul to Ermys much closer than it was before, neither will survive the death of the other and should you fail both your souls will be shredded into oblivion."

A much more solemn Arthur answered, "I understand."

Suddenly Merlin flashed him the goofy grin which always melted his heart. "Also…No one but Ermys may know what has come to pass here." There was a sensation that could almost be akin to riding full gallop on a horse while being completely still that caused Arthur to blink. The world faded back into view.

"I hope you won't think any differently of me after today…"

Arthur would be forever grateful for the four years it took for him to take his life. It was only that iron control that kept him from rushing at the younger man and pulling him into a long embrace. That same control hardened mask allowed him to give his answer even while he oriented himself to his new reality.

Originally the prince had given some pithy answer about being frightened. In an instant he knew this would change his whole world. He took a deep breath "I know about your magic, Merlin. It doesn't change anything. You don't need to worry about that."

Were it not for the immediate interruption of Morgana, who looked a little shocked herself, the slack jawed look of Merlin's would have been cause for an immediate laugh. As it was there was battle to prepare for. He would talk Merlin later, when they weren't going to be overheard.

The words are flowing easily

Though Merlin was clearly still trying to hide his powers he used them much more freely than before. In the end it changed nothing and everything. They still drove away the bandits and though the fight was still hard and drawn out there was no deaths among the villagers save one. Strangely enough Will never came forward to help fight off the bandits. It would be discovered later that the arrival of Camelot's prince to help on Merlin's behalf drove the man to making a deal with Kanen. He fought with the bandits and ended up becoming a casualty.

This time there was no mourning pyre. Instead Merlin approached him during the celebrations.

"How long have you known?" The young warlock asked wariness still in his voice.

Arthur looked at his future lover. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

With a short considering nod the duo slipped away. They walked silently to a small cave about a half a mile away from the village. "I used to hide here as a child" Merlin whispered reverently. Then he turned back to his Prince, "How did you know?" He asked.

The prince sighed a deep breath and began, "I know because you told me about a year and a half from now." He pushed against the urge to take his other half into his arms. That look of confusion always did him in. "You died for me in…in battle" he couldn't bring up that it was against Morgana. "I couldn't deal with it…I…"

"Arthur?" There was deep concern, actual worry in Merlin's voice. The warrior-prince couldn't look at the other man for fear he would lose his resolve.

"I took an opportunity to be with you again, to join you." There a stricken silence at the other side of the cave at his words. "Something strange happened though and they gave me a choice. I could come back, I could fix this…" The explanation trailed off abruptly as he suddenly had his arms full of skinny warlock.

Deceptively strong arms pulled him close. For the first time in four years something deep inside his soul relaxed and healed. Because under the scent of cold iron and sweat, the scent of blood and pain, was something so uniquely Merlin that Arthur couldn't help but fall into it and bury his nose in dark hair.

It was only because they were wrapped so close that Arthur felt the jolt that shot through the younger man when he brushed a kiss across his temple. Merlin pulled away just then and looked up at him with wide confused eyes. "Arthur?" He asked.

The warlock's tone had changed; quieter, heavier than it had been earlier that day. His eyes, though confused, held an aged look that the prince knew didn't yet exist in his future lover. That was how Arthur Pendragon, prince of Camelot, realized he was now staring into the eyes of his Merlin; the one who had died for him.

"Arthur, what happened? The last thing I remember was you fighting Morgana."

In a move that the slightly older man would deny later he pulled the warlock close with a desperate kiss. "We have another chance, Merlin" And with that he explained everything that had happened, this time without leaving out a single detail. Merlin's face switched between confused and horrified multiple times.

"So you're telling me that we're in the past? That Morgana hasn't succumbed to her hatred yet? That we're supposed to change things." When Arthur nodded into his shoulder suddenly exhausted a strange look overcame his face. "Well we'll definitely have to start planning then"

Then sometimes they don't

The reunited lovers would stay awake most of the night trying to decide what could and should be done with this newfound gift. It was clear that Morgana was the first issue. Her hatred of Uther Pendragon and her fear of her own magic had left the woman vulnerable to Morgause. That hatred had only just begun to seed and her powers hadn't manifested yet meaning they could still turn her from that path.

It was so hard to think that to the world they had met less than a year ago. It would be important to tread lightly for the months to come. Nimueh would need to be dealt with again and though they could avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls some were inevitable.

One important thing they discussed was the innocent people Uther was executing weekly. Even leaving aside how both men flinched at the thought of letting another person die the king was creating more enemies by the day. That would have to be stopped.

In the end they decided to take things on a case by case basis; sneaking people away to safety when they could. That was the only decision they really got around to before other parts of their reunion came to the forefront. They only just made it back to the celebration without anyone noticing they had been gone.

The next morning a whole new adventure would begin…