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He had no idea where the idea had suddenly come from, but Arthur scrambled from the bed he was sharing with Gwen and riffled through a draw, until he pulled out the horn of cathbhadh. Gwen, who had been woken by her husband's sudden movements, looked on in muted curiousity as to what he could possibly doing with it.
"what are you planning?" She asks, after a few more seconds of watching him form a plan in his head and nodding to himself, jumping slightly when he heard her whisper. He looked up with a sheepish look on his face before walking back to the bed "I'm sorry i woke you, darling" he says, leaning over to give her a soft kiss that makes her smile slightly.
She lets out a humming noise as she pulls away "it's alright, why do you have this?" She asks, carefully taking it into her own hands before Arthur can rush out of the room and drag an unhappy Merlin who knows where, she also wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing this time around.
God knows they all remember what went on the last time Arthur used this "are you planning to speak to your father again?" She ask, slightly nervous of the response she might get back, but she had to ask any way. Slightly taken aback by the shake of the head he answers with, before a vulnerable look that she's never seen before takes over his face "no, i wished to see my mother" he says softly as he rested his head on her shoulder.
The admission stunned her into silence, she was slightly older than Arthur so had vauge memories of the late queen, though her father spoke of her often enough that Gwen knew how kind she had been "that sounds lovely, Arthur" she says softly, running her fingers through his hair in a way that she knew he loves "maybe wait for it to be day light before dragging Merlin anywhere though" she says in amusement that gets a quiet chuckle out of him, as she puts the horn in the bed side cabinet, before pulling Arthur down so that they were laying down "right as always my love" he whispers before drifting off in her arms, Gwen doing the same after kissing his forehead and pulling him a little closer.
The next morning they are woken up by Merlin, who sensed something was going on and was alot calmer in the way he went around getting them awake and out of bed, though it took almost 20 minutes before Gwen could get out from where Arthur was clung to her "C'mon sleepy head, its morning" she whispers so Merlin didn't know what the king might have planned "i can drag Merlin out now?" He asks, opening his eyes to look at her in pure excitement, before looking at Merlin with a smirk "yes yes, just be careful dear" she responds as she heads to the table to have breakfast.
She catches Merlin's confused expression "he got an idea last night, i trust you'll keep an eye on him?" She explained, even though she knew the two of them never went anywhere without the other, even if they did the other would sneak out and meet them at some point.
Arthur eventually leaves with a curious Merlin trailing after him, though by the time they get to their destination, Merlin's expression has changed to confusion and concern "i don't know who you're about to see, but please be careful" he says as they walk up to the familiar stones, expecting Arthur to bite back or tell him to shut up but only gets a nod as he slowly brings the horn to his lips.
He cant help feeling slightly nervous, when a figure walks through the bright light at the other side of where ever they currently were "Arthur, my son" he hears her says softly, suprised to see that the woman in front of him looks identical to the one Morgause showed him "Mother" he whispers, walking straight up to her and pulling her into a hug.
Again slightly startled that the hug felt the same as well "you've made me so proud" she says with a gentle smile when they pull away from one another, though she holds a hand against his cheek that he cant help but lean into "you make a wonderful King and you have such a lovely Queen by your side" she says fondly as he looks at her, slightly taken aback that she would know these things.
Though he doesn't voice this aloud as she smiles knowingly at him "I'm always by your side sweetheart, even if you can't sense me, I'm there" she says before pulling him close and kissing his forehead gently "never forget that" she says before taking a step back.
Slightly startled that she was going to turn and disappear like his father had, he reaches out to grab her hand and hold onto it for dear life "hush now, we have plenty of time" she says gently as she holds his hand just as tight. Smiling at his suprised expression as he didn't actually know how this worked, but noticed that he had something on his mind "Mother, did that sorceress actually summon you?" He asks after a few minutes of taking his mother in and committing her to memory "she did sweetheart, everything you heard was true" she says, running a thumb over his knuckles when he inhales sharply.
Smiling sadly when he started to silently question everything, "you mustn't blame Merlin for lying to you my boy" she says as if reading his mind. Almost chuckling when he tilts his head slightly, as if asking how she knew he was thinking about that "he did what he thought was right to protect you, he knew you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you had gone through with killing your father" she says, then raises an eye brow that almost feels like gaius' when he got into trouble.
He smiles sheepishly at her, though she can tell that he doesn't regret fighting for her honour one bit "i love you" he blurts out, needing her to know this as he was too focused on his fathers wrong doings to tell her last time "oh Arthur, i love you too" she says, hugging him once more and its the best thing Arthur's ever felt.
He tilts his head curiously after awhile "what's your favourite colour?" He asks, feeling slightly childish but not caring one bit, which seemed to make his mother chuckle quietly "its yellow, i had rows and rows of yellow tulips in the royal garden" she says, making Arthur's eyes widen now understanding why his father seemed to grow sad at the sight of them "father never let me in that garden" he says sadly as he tried everything to try and get into it but to no avail.
She gave him a small smile before gently taking her hand out of his "well now you can go in as much as you want" she says with a soft smile, rasing a hand to stroke his hair gently, "I'm sure I've seen Merlin and Gwen tending to it" she says, before she begins to take a couple of steps back, Arthur reaching out again but knowing that it was almost time to leave.
Ygraine gave him a stern look before she spoke again "don't let others fool you into what they want you to rule as Arthur. Use your head, your heart and your gut instincts it will make you a better ruler" she says, taking Arthur off guard as she was probably thinking about Uther and the way he wanted Arthur to rule "i shall mother, you have my word" he says and bows slightly, which causes her eyes to light up and she giggles quietly, but all too quickly she began to head back to the light again "remember I'm proud and love you so much Arthur" she says as they turn away from each other, this time Arthur has no need to look back over his shoulder as he finds his way back to Merlin, a goofy grin on his face which doesn't fade even as they make it back to Camelot.