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Why had he agreed to go to the tavern?
Arthur wasn't quite sure why he'd agreed to go with Gwaine and Percival, it's not like he didn't have responsibilities to fulfill or council meetings to attend.
No, that was a fallacy.
Arthur knew perfectly well why he had agreed to go with his knights to the tavern.
And maybe, after all, it wasn't something he wanted to accept himself.
Considering that he had lifted the ban on magic and Merlin was acclimating to his new position as court sorcerer, Arthur hadn't seen him in days.
Days.
And Gwaine had said that Merlin was in the tavern.
Although, what was he doing there if he had so many new responsibilities? That they were the reason why Arthur hadn't seen him for so long.
He took a drink of ale and looked around him, ignoring the knight's conversation and focusing on the shock of black hair near the bar.
What was Merlin doing there?
Alone.
In the bar.
Arthur stood up, ignoring the looks from his company and headed towards the sorcerer on the spot. The brown jacket was unmistakable, even though it didn’t have the elaborate druidic designs that Arthur had begun to see, as well as the knotted neckerchief.
"Merlin" Arthur took the man's arm and unceremoniously turned him around, only to be dumbfounded.
It wasn't Merlin.
Despite it looked like him.
Arthur had to take a step back to look closely at the man in front of him.
He had blue eyes, black hair and tempting lips, just like Merlin's.
Even his clothes were similar! A purple tunic, along with a blue neckerchief and brown jacket.
But it wasn't him.
He wasn’t.
"My king" greeted the man and gods, his voice... although Merlin never used that reverential tone when he spoke to him, never "Do you need me for something?" and the man swept him with his gaze.
Arthur cleared his throat and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
"In fact..."
"And I speak of any need" the man interrupted him and closed the distance between them.
A part of him screamed to get away, that this man was not what he seemed and at the same time he looked so much like...
“Do you want to go somewhere more private, my king?” Arthur felt a tremor run through him at the voice so close to his ear and it was like being drunk, his mind clouded and his body complacent. He nodded and the man took his hand.
He glanced around, but it was as if no one had noticed his king in the room, not even Gwaine or Percival seemed aware of the situation.
Arthur smiled and closely followed his companion, if no one knew, no one could judge.
But why would they? Arthur was king, he could sleep with whoever he wanted and no one should say a word about it.
If the person he did it with had a suspicious resemblance to his court sorcerer… Well, Arthur could always send them to the dungeons if they dared to say anything.
+
The path to his chambers had been a blur, and shouldn't there be guards posted at the door? Perhaps they were in his change, Arthur could verify that later.
His back hit the mattress and his companion straddled him.
“Have you felt that feeling that is like a hunger that does not go away? It doesn't leave until you give in to your deepest desire” the man whispered against his lips and Arthur was so close to him, it would take him no more than to lift his head a little to brush them.
Arthur met the other man's eyes and although Merlin's name was recited like a mantra in his head, those eyes were not those of his former servant. They weren’t.
They just weren't.
Arthur tilted his head back to peer at the man above him and felt the pressure on his chest, where the amulet Merlin had given him was, like a heavy weight trying to pull him away from the man.
The crash of the door against the wall brought him out of his musings and the man with him roared.
He roared.
And he ceased to be a man.
Two prominent horns made an appearance on his head, his face was completely distorted, it was red with soot stains and his eyes were orange instead of blue. He looked like a creature out of one of Merlin's books.
The creature roared and grabbed him by the shoulders, sinking him deeper into the soft mattress and Arthur felt as if it burned him.
He tried to shake it off, the creature bringing his face closer to his, when his amulet glowed brightly and sent him flying. Arthur wasted no time getting to his feet, taking his sword and shaking his head, trying to clear the haze he felt from his mind.
He noticed Merlin in his chamber, reciting something in an ancient language and with a book in front of him, Gwen following close behind, a black pot with runes in her hands.
The creature tried to attack him again, but Merlin was quicker and stabbed into its side with an obsidian dagger that Arthur had already seen used, on at least two occasions.
Merlin recited the words faster and the inside of the pot burst into flames, along with the creature in front of him.
Ashes was the only thing left and Arthur looked at them.
"And tell me, Merlin, what creature tried to kill me now?"
Merlin handed the book to Gwen and walked over to check him.
“I knew this would be useful to you,” he said, taking the amulet from around his neck. He started checking his shoulders. "These marks will fade in a while, but I'll bring some ointment to ease the burning."
"Merlin, what was it?"
The sorcerer looked at him "It was a succubus"
Arthur raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.
"A succubus is a demon that takes the form of your heart's deepest desire and appears before you, before absorbing your life essence." Gwen's voice was clear and Arthur froze. He could feel Merlin's hands working on his shoulders, but his mind was much further away.
The deepest desire of your heart. The words echoed through his mind and Arthur could count one plus one. He wasn't as clueless as everyone seemed to think, he was fully aware of who the succubus looked like when he was with him.
Shit.
“How did it get into your chamber, Arthur?” Gwen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“I have no idea, no one was there when we arrived” Merlin snorted, but kept working without a word.
“How come no one was there? The guards were there the whole time.”
"What? No, there was no one.”
Gwen gave him a strange look, but said nothing more, before turning with the pot in her arms and leaving.
"What's there?" he inquired.
"The heart of the succubus" Merlin replied, and at what point had he turned away from him?
"Add a new creature to the list" he muttered and sank into the mattress for the second time that night, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the voice in his head calling him coward.
"The guards said they let you pass, although you seemed completely drunk, because you were coming with me" Merlin's statement was like a bucket of cold water falling on his head "We could have saved ourselves this assassination attempt if you had invited me to dinner earlier" Arthur raised his head after an internal battle over whether or not he should pretend to be asleep, only to see Merlin smiling at him, "Dinner, tomorrow, in my chamber."
Arthur had ordered that the court sorcerer's quarters be only two chambers from his own.
"Tomorrow" the king replied with a smile before seeing Merlin leave his room.
It only took another creature from hell for Arthur to decide that he would have another talk with the council announcing his intentions to court the newly appointed sorcerer.