Opened Up Your Father's Eyes
Title: Opened Up Your Father's Eyes
Author: lollyphants
Summary: Uther worries about his son and Manservant.
Rating: PG
Opened Up Your Father’s Eyes
It’s time to make the final sacrifice
You’ve opened up your father’s eyes
Wasted time, wasted life
Break the Ice - Fei Commodo
*
Sometimes Uther worries.
His hatred aside, he is no stranger to magic. He knows what it feels like. Like a distant hum, something intangible, something you don’t notice unless you know it supposed to be there. You feel it in your bones. Uther’s always wondered if he can feel something like that just witnessing magic, what’d it be like to do it. To have that power at your fingertips, no wonder it corrupts people. Power like that shouldn’t be there to wielded by mere men. He learned the hard way. He feels that bustle, that vibration when he’s around his son’s manservant, Merlin. Merlin, gangly and over-smiley with a bad habit of falling over himself, definitely not the picture of a sorcerer. He definitely doesn’t have Nimueh’s majesty and danger nor does he have Gaius’s strength and wisdom.
He remembers his physician, his friend when they were young and Igraine was nothing but ‘that pretty blonde girl’ and he can still hear ancient, foreign words at home on Gaius’ tongue. He wonders, brief, insubstantial thoughts of Gaius teaching Merlin the old religion. But such thoughts are quickly banished, Gaius is a true friend who stood at Uther’s side and watched as once-friends, now enemies, burned. They burned for the murder of his beautiful wife. They burned for his mistake.
He thinks of his mistake, the spilt second after the cord had been cut. Both his wife and newborn son had been silent and still, the only noise in the room, too silent after the sound of agonizing screams was the dull hum of magic. It was the bleakest moment of Uther’s life until it was punctuating by tiny, screaming lungs. He remembers Arthur, as a baby, tiny tufts of blonde hair and blue eyes, too much like his mother who now lay pale and cold in a stone tomb. As he rids his kingdom of the people who did this, who took his wife, he rids the castle of anything that reminds him of her and hides it all away, not having the heart to throw it out. When he’s done the only proof of her existence left, is Arthur and the red pendant the prince wears around his neck.
But still, there’s the mystery of Merlin, who throws Uther just as much as he throws Arthur. Uther always feels like he’s missing something when it comes to Merlin and thinks, with thoughts as meaningful as his wonders about Gaius, he thinks of Merlin as a sorcerer.
But Uther’s not too worried because he trusts his son. He trusts that Arthur would have learned from Uther’s mistakes, magic is evil and all those who use it are evil, even those who begin with honourable intentions are corrupted by it.
Arthur has learned from Uther’s mistake. He must have.
He thinks of Arthur smiling at Merlin, like Igraine used to smile at him, wide, unguarded his eyes bright and blue. He thinks of Arthur rolling his eyes fondly and Merlin grinning vapidly. He thinks of Merlin as a sorcerer. He thinks of their need to save each other’s lives, their impulsive compulsion to look after each other.
He thinks of all they’ve sacrificed one another.
He would have sacrificed his soul, his life, his entire kingdom for Igraine.
He worries that Arthur would do the same for Merlin.
He worries he already has.
Sometimes Uther worries.
Author: lollyphants
Summary: Uther worries about his son and Manservant.
Rating: PG
Opened Up Your Father’s Eyes
It’s time to make the final sacrifice
You’ve opened up your father’s eyes
Wasted time, wasted life
Break the Ice - Fei Commodo
*
Sometimes Uther worries.
His hatred aside, he is no stranger to magic. He knows what it feels like. Like a distant hum, something intangible, something you don’t notice unless you know it supposed to be there. You feel it in your bones. Uther’s always wondered if he can feel something like that just witnessing magic, what’d it be like to do it. To have that power at your fingertips, no wonder it corrupts people. Power like that shouldn’t be there to wielded by mere men. He learned the hard way. He feels that bustle, that vibration when he’s around his son’s manservant, Merlin. Merlin, gangly and over-smiley with a bad habit of falling over himself, definitely not the picture of a sorcerer. He definitely doesn’t have Nimueh’s majesty and danger nor does he have Gaius’s strength and wisdom.
He remembers his physician, his friend when they were young and Igraine was nothing but ‘that pretty blonde girl’ and he can still hear ancient, foreign words at home on Gaius’ tongue. He wonders, brief, insubstantial thoughts of Gaius teaching Merlin the old religion. But such thoughts are quickly banished, Gaius is a true friend who stood at Uther’s side and watched as once-friends, now enemies, burned. They burned for the murder of his beautiful wife. They burned for his mistake.
He thinks of his mistake, the spilt second after the cord had been cut. Both his wife and newborn son had been silent and still, the only noise in the room, too silent after the sound of agonizing screams was the dull hum of magic. It was the bleakest moment of Uther’s life until it was punctuating by tiny, screaming lungs. He remembers Arthur, as a baby, tiny tufts of blonde hair and blue eyes, too much like his mother who now lay pale and cold in a stone tomb. As he rids his kingdom of the people who did this, who took his wife, he rids the castle of anything that reminds him of her and hides it all away, not having the heart to throw it out. When he’s done the only proof of her existence left, is Arthur and the red pendant the prince wears around his neck.
But still, there’s the mystery of Merlin, who throws Uther just as much as he throws Arthur. Uther always feels like he’s missing something when it comes to Merlin and thinks, with thoughts as meaningful as his wonders about Gaius, he thinks of Merlin as a sorcerer.
But Uther’s not too worried because he trusts his son. He trusts that Arthur would have learned from Uther’s mistakes, magic is evil and all those who use it are evil, even those who begin with honourable intentions are corrupted by it.
Arthur has learned from Uther’s mistake. He must have.
He thinks of Arthur smiling at Merlin, like Igraine used to smile at him, wide, unguarded his eyes bright and blue. He thinks of Arthur rolling his eyes fondly and Merlin grinning vapidly. He thinks of Merlin as a sorcerer. He thinks of their need to save each other’s lives, their impulsive compulsion to look after each other.
He thinks of all they’ve sacrificed one another.
He would have sacrificed his soul, his life, his entire kingdom for Igraine.
He worries that Arthur would do the same for Merlin.
He worries he already has.
Sometimes Uther worries.