(no subject)
Title: Echo
Rating: G
Pairing/Charaters: Arthur & Merlin, gen.
Authors note: Written for a challenge at merlin_land Spoilers up to and including 2.1 The Curse of Cornelius Sigan
Summary: Cornelius Signan's curse is broken but his ghost lingers on.
“Merlin!” Arthur’s voice carried through the door to the stairway that Merlin himself was currently running up. He picked up the pace and pushed open the door just as Arthur pulled it open. Merlin fell into the room, only prevented from hitting the stone floor by the hand around his upper arm. Arthur released his grip as Merlin righted himself.
“Honestly, Merlin. Do you practice at being useless? Because that would explain both your general incompetence and the fact that I can’t remember the last time you actually turned up on time.”
Merlin had known, once, when he could push Arthur and when he couldn’t but somehow, after the questing beast and Nimueh, that knowledge had been one of the things that had been lost. Merlin was pretty sure he’d find it again. It was just taking a while. So he said nothing and Arthur was still speaking anyway.
“This floor is filthy.” It wasn’t a question but Arthur had paused so it seemed like Merlin was supposed to answer. He looked down.
“Um...yes?”
“So glad you agree, I’m not sure what I would have done without your expert opinion.” Maybe Arthur hadn’t been waiting for a reply after all. He still wasn’t speaking, though, and he was looking at Merlin expectantly.
“The floor, Merlin. Clean. It.”
Oh, that was it. The prat had even arranged for someone to bring a bucket of water and some rags up. As he knelt to being his tasks, an image flickered at the corner of his eye, a man, maybe, and feathers. Merlin whirled round but it was gone. The only person in the room was Arthur, standing with his arms crossed, glaring.
“Well?” Arthur asked, sounding unimpressed.
“Nothing. I thought I saw... nothing.”
“You thought you saw nothing? I glad you felt the need to share but perhaps you could get on with some work now?”
Merlin knelt down to dip one of the rags into the bucket and paused, rag still in hand. Cornelius Sigan was looking up at him from the bucket. Merlin had started to see the man just after the possession. According to Gaius, he was stuck with these odd echoes of Sigan forever. Just his luck.
“Sorcerer.” The face of a dead man was in his bucket, speaking to him. Merlin wondered sometimes how his life had ended up like this but the answer was usually ‘Arthur’ so he tried not to wonder too often.
“I am ashamed of you, boy. Serving like the lowliest serf when you should be master here. Well, boy? What do you have to say?”
“You’re not real. And you’re dead.” Merlin was talking to the dead man in his bucket. He felt this might be an all time low.
“I could show you, boy. Show you what you life could be.” Merlin really wasn’t going to be tempted. They’d been there before and he hadn’t been tempted then. But the floor was massive and it couldn’t do any harm to take a little look at a world where he didn’t spend all his time on Athur’s scut work. Just enough to keep him going for the rest of the afternoon. He leant forward, peering into the bucket and heard Sigan laugh. Then there was just the sensation of falling.
The next thing he felt was his hair being pulled and his head being dragged back. Merlin’s face and neck were soaked. One of Arthur’s hands was tangled in his hair the other gripping his jaw. “Falling asleep in a bucket? Of all the idiotic things, Merlin. “
Arthur dragged the other man to his feet. “Out.”
“What? You’re firing me for falling asleep?”
“No, you absolute idiot. I’m giving you the rest of the day off. To go and sleep somewhere slightly less dangerous. Like the middle of a battlefield. “
“Don’t think I can find one at the moment. I suppose my bed will have to do.”
Arthur reached out to place his hand on Merlin’s back, as though to push him along. He didn’t though, just left it there, the warmth soaking through the fabric of Merlin’s shirt. “Really, get some rest, Merlin." Arthur smiled at him, a proper smile, not a grin or a smirk. Merlin just had time to fix the image in his mind when Arthur’s expression shifted. “Go.” Arthur still wasn’t pushing him but the pressure of his hand had increased. He was grinning now. “After all, you have a lot of work to catch up tomorrow.”
Rating: G
Pairing/Charaters: Arthur & Merlin, gen.
Authors note: Written for a challenge at merlin_land Spoilers up to and including 2.1 The Curse of Cornelius Sigan
Summary: Cornelius Signan's curse is broken but his ghost lingers on.
“Merlin!” Arthur’s voice carried through the door to the stairway that Merlin himself was currently running up. He picked up the pace and pushed open the door just as Arthur pulled it open. Merlin fell into the room, only prevented from hitting the stone floor by the hand around his upper arm. Arthur released his grip as Merlin righted himself.
“Honestly, Merlin. Do you practice at being useless? Because that would explain both your general incompetence and the fact that I can’t remember the last time you actually turned up on time.”
Merlin had known, once, when he could push Arthur and when he couldn’t but somehow, after the questing beast and Nimueh, that knowledge had been one of the things that had been lost. Merlin was pretty sure he’d find it again. It was just taking a while. So he said nothing and Arthur was still speaking anyway.
“This floor is filthy.” It wasn’t a question but Arthur had paused so it seemed like Merlin was supposed to answer. He looked down.
“Um...yes?”
“So glad you agree, I’m not sure what I would have done without your expert opinion.” Maybe Arthur hadn’t been waiting for a reply after all. He still wasn’t speaking, though, and he was looking at Merlin expectantly.
“The floor, Merlin. Clean. It.”
Oh, that was it. The prat had even arranged for someone to bring a bucket of water and some rags up. As he knelt to being his tasks, an image flickered at the corner of his eye, a man, maybe, and feathers. Merlin whirled round but it was gone. The only person in the room was Arthur, standing with his arms crossed, glaring.
“Well?” Arthur asked, sounding unimpressed.
“Nothing. I thought I saw... nothing.”
“You thought you saw nothing? I glad you felt the need to share but perhaps you could get on with some work now?”
Merlin knelt down to dip one of the rags into the bucket and paused, rag still in hand. Cornelius Sigan was looking up at him from the bucket. Merlin had started to see the man just after the possession. According to Gaius, he was stuck with these odd echoes of Sigan forever. Just his luck.
“Sorcerer.” The face of a dead man was in his bucket, speaking to him. Merlin wondered sometimes how his life had ended up like this but the answer was usually ‘Arthur’ so he tried not to wonder too often.
“I am ashamed of you, boy. Serving like the lowliest serf when you should be master here. Well, boy? What do you have to say?”
“You’re not real. And you’re dead.” Merlin was talking to the dead man in his bucket. He felt this might be an all time low.
“I could show you, boy. Show you what you life could be.” Merlin really wasn’t going to be tempted. They’d been there before and he hadn’t been tempted then. But the floor was massive and it couldn’t do any harm to take a little look at a world where he didn’t spend all his time on Athur’s scut work. Just enough to keep him going for the rest of the afternoon. He leant forward, peering into the bucket and heard Sigan laugh. Then there was just the sensation of falling.
The next thing he felt was his hair being pulled and his head being dragged back. Merlin’s face and neck were soaked. One of Arthur’s hands was tangled in his hair the other gripping his jaw. “Falling asleep in a bucket? Of all the idiotic things, Merlin. “
Arthur dragged the other man to his feet. “Out.”
“What? You’re firing me for falling asleep?”
“No, you absolute idiot. I’m giving you the rest of the day off. To go and sleep somewhere slightly less dangerous. Like the middle of a battlefield. “
“Don’t think I can find one at the moment. I suppose my bed will have to do.”
Arthur reached out to place his hand on Merlin’s back, as though to push him along. He didn’t though, just left it there, the warmth soaking through the fabric of Merlin’s shirt. “Really, get some rest, Merlin." Arthur smiled at him, a proper smile, not a grin or a smirk. Merlin just had time to fix the image in his mind when Arthur’s expression shifted. “Go.” Arthur still wasn’t pushing him but the pressure of his hand had increased. He was grinning now. “After all, you have a lot of work to catch up tomorrow.”