Merlin (TV BBC) - Febuwhump 2024 / Mini Fic Challenge

Day 6: "You Lied To Me"

Thank you to kitrowe from the Merlin Fic Book Club discord group for giving me the suggestion for this one! It's a bit different from how I normally write but I enjoyed it! 

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How many more? How many more must Merlin see die before his eyes until fate is satisfied with the bloodshed? His kin. These people who come to him for aid, but in return whoever he touches turns to ash.

He has lost countless nights to nightmares of their faces; each crying out for him to save them, to help them, but he only brought them a premature death.

Over and over, it was the same.

Merlin would find a fellow in need, someone like him. None were the same as him, no one else was born with magic running alongside their veins. Magic blossomed and grew in them; it was the air he breathed for him. They come to him, find him, or like now, pull him into a dark alleyway.

"Emrys," they'd call him.

"Merlin," he'd correct them. They'd ignore him.

"Please Emrys, I need your help, you're my only hope," they'd plead. They look him straight in the eyes, grip his arm tight, their nails digging into his skin through his jacket, and he couldn't say no. He could never say no. It was never a choice, he never had choices, only paths forcibly trodden as they paved themselves in blood.

He'd help them, bring them what they needed, get in trouble, and get himself hurt. Another wound and then a scar to cover up, more lies told for the so-called 'greater good', for Albion. The weight of it all heavier each day on his shoulders. Another rock of guilt churning away in his stomach.

How do they repay him? Sometimes they disappear, those are the better outcomes. Some come with the warning bell ringing from the highest tower of Camelot. If he's quick enough he catches them, finds them in the act or running away from it, an act they had promised not to do but still did. They come to him for help but never listen to him, never heed his warnings. They always think they can get away with it.

He'd see the guards go by and he'd see them hiding behind a barrel or a pilar and tell them to run! They get caught, and he doesn't. He stayed in the shadows, stayed at Arthur's side like he was destined to, but never able to help them further. Even if he tries, they have either already given up or get caught again.

They curse and cry when dragged to their death sentence. They spit and thrash. Merlin just stands by his future king's side and watch it all happen from the balcony. A bird's eye view of the cost of his destiny. They look up right before the flames take them away or before the axe falls. They stare into his eyes once again, not with pleads or worry. No, with anger, boiling rage. Their saviour has abandoned them, they think. They think he is blind to what he causes.

In front of the crowds, they scream, "You lied to me!" over and over again, all while not letting go of his gaze. Merlin feels another piece of his soul wither away. He doesn't say a word, he can't. This is the cost for him to live to one day bring about his destiny.