Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fitting perfectly in the idyllic countryside that it was nestled in, Avalon Independent School for Boys stood proudly, a relic of the past, its grand buildings borrowed from a converted stately home belonging to the family of its headmaster, Sir Kilgharrah. It was situated in amongst the rolling hills and vast forests in rural England, and was considered one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the entire country. Consisting of a Lower and Upper school, it was split between nurturing its students knowledge in the lower school, and precision tuning their intellect in the Upper school, where they’d likely end up shipped to the various Russel Group, Ivy League, and other elite universities across the world. The school itself had produced 1 United States President, 5 Prime Ministers, a few dozen Members of Parliament and Congress from various countries, more than its fair share of top 100 CEOs, and also several top ranking military officials - and that was just in the last 30 years. The school’s history goes back centuries, and positions there in the modern era have become so competitive, that the school’s entrance exams are mandatory for every student - even the handful of royals that apply there. Only one student per year is not granted a full scholarship to the upper school, which was exclusively for boys aged 16 to 18 years old, this time that student was Merlin Emrys. Any day now, the school term would start, the school’s staff were busy preparing the grounds for the students to return from summer, and Kilgharrah had particular excitement for the students in the Upper School this year.

Merlin admitted that perhaps applying to the most competitive boarding school in the country was a mistake, but it was too late now. He was about to leave everything he ever was, everything he ever knew behind him. The ache in his stomach was dull until his mother rose from her bed early to bid him farewell, it grew much sharper when he saw the sadness in her face, even if she was happy for him too. Maybe she was just sleep deprived... who got up at 6am on a Sunday after all? His mother Hunith was a teacher herself, albeit at the local primary school, but it meant she fully understood Merlin’s need to seek out new and challenging horizons. “I’ll be able to visit you on the weekends, the school’s only an hour’s drive from here. You’ll be great.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and the tears in her eyes were evident, but her smile proved that she was proud of her son. When Merlin’s own tears threatened to fall down his cheeks, she reassured him, “I’ll write to you every week, you better write back. I’ll be lonely, left here all by myself.” She raised her hand, and gently brushed his tears away, before helping him finish his packing. Merlin didn’t have an awful lot to his name that he truly treasured, the most expensive thing that he owned was his mobile phone, and he’d saved up for three years so that he could buy the newest model of iPhone. All he would be taking with him was the suitcase full of all of his clothes for when he wasn’t wearing the school’s uniform, and a bag containing his more personal possessions. The most precious of them being his father’s old blue scarf, which he took everywhere with him. He never got to meet his father. He doesn’t remember his face, and he doesn’t remember his voice, but his mother had told him several times that he loved him and that the scarf was the only belonging she has left of him before he left. He half resented the scarf, that was no real surprise considering it was a constant reminder of his childhood abandonment. Hunith insisted that she bore no ill will against his father, and that his duty took him elsewhere; she wouldn’t even tell Merlin his father’s name, to keep him from looking for him. But still, it was one piece of his paternal family that he got to keep for himself. The backpack also contained several books that he treasured, many of them worn from the tens of times that they’d been read, and a model dragon that he’d carved himself from a piece of the tree in his garden - it was to remind him of home. Even though he didn’t have much, Merlin thought that it felt like overpacking when he had to haul both of the bags out of his now empty room, and down the stairs in the tiny terraced house. It was weird thought, that he was now going to be leaving Essetir after living there for over 16 years, especially to go and live at a school full of kids with families that were worth over 4000 times the value of his mother’s house. That thought in particular made himself feel particularly small. Merlin’s inner doubts were solidified when the sleek black car stopped outside his home, a smartly dressed chauffeur stepped out, popping open the car’s boot before making his way to knock on the front door. It was time. He opened the door, and allowed the nameless, unspeaking driver to take hold of his bags before he turned to his mother and leapt into her arms. “I’m going to miss you so much, Mum. I promise I’ll write to you, and we can talk on the phone whenever you like.” A cough behind Merlin signalled that it was time to go, with one last quick hug, with Hunith once again wiping her son’s silent tears away before placing an encouraging hand on the small of his back. Merlin let himself be led out of the door, and into the car where he climbed into the back, and sat in silence. As the chauffeur closed the boot and climbed into the driver’s seat, Merlin raised his hand to the window and stared at his mother, seeing her sad, but proud smile, before the car’s engine rumbled to life and they set off down the road, toward Avalon Independent School for Boys.

For most of the journey, Merlin stared down at his hands in silence, this was meant to be a new start but he couldn’t help but feel guilty at his leaving his mum alone at home. He pushed the negative thoughts down, and sniffed some confidence into his chest and began to take in his surroundings. On the chair to his right, right behind the driver’s seat, was a clear bag that clearly contained his new uniform. He could see the Avalon crest in its brilliant sky blue on the block navy of his new blazers. He flashed back to the fittings he had been sent to, less than one week after being notified of his acceptance into the school’s scholarship. The prodding, pinching and poking that seemingly dragged for hours had resulted in the uniforms that now seemed to stare at him. The entrance exams to the college were definitely hard, even by Merlin’s standard, but he had to admit that enduring the fitting for the uniform was a much more unpleasant experience for him. The worst part is that he’d have to endure it all again next year, before his second year. If he was being honest to himself, he was actually looking forward to being able to wear some clothes that were smarter than his usual t-shirt and jeans get up. Because of his humble origins, he had never worn a suit outside of the interview for the school he was now on his way to attend, it would be the biggest culture shock of his life… he didn’t even know how to tie a knot in his uniform tie. ‘One thing at a time…’ He told himself, he would have plenty of time to get to grips with the fine details of his uniform when he actually arrived at the school. He was just praying that he’d be able to make some friends, since he’d never been very good at that before. He'd left the only friend he'd ever had, Will, behind in Essetir.

The driver was still silent throughout the journey, the only noise in the car being the faint rumble of the road and the rush of the wind as the car sped through the early morning traffic. Out of the window it seemed like they were racing further and further into the countryside, there were no buildings out here save for the occasional farmhouse and a few walls that stood crumbling at the edge of the fields. He was no stranger to the countryside, having grown up in a small town on the Welsh border, but the 60 mile rout into England was definitely a major step up. The dawn was just about getting bright enough now that he could make out a few sheep in the fields, and the dance of tree branches in the breeze. The faint oranges of the sunrise just visible, bringing a small, quick smile to his face, quickly dismissing the saying ‘red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning’ that popped into his head. He decided that the silence of the car ride was going to drive him mad, so he pulled his headphones out of his jacket at plugged them into his phone. He made a playlist of songs that he knew would distract him from any niggling anxieties, and he pushed the volume to the loudest it could possibly go. Merlin’s favourite song came on some minutes later, he allowed himself to jam out to it, before turning his head once again to his new uniform on his right. He then noticed a neat envelope that had slipped from between the bags and onto the chair next to him, it was clearly nestled discreetly underneath the uniform that he’d been grimacing at earlier, and he reached to inspect it. His name was printed on the front, so it was clearly addressed to him, but he still spent time and care when tearing it open to read its contents:

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Dear Merlin Emrys,

I cannot begin to put into words my excitement that you shall be joining Avalon Independent School for Boys this year in the Upper School. It is our privilege to be able to offer someone of your talents a place at our prestigious college. I understand that this change is likely to be a major challenge for you, but we hope that you settle into the school in a seamless transition. Please find enclosed in this letter the results of your entrance exams, and your weekly timetable for the coming year. If you require any assistance or would like to discuss or propose any changes, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Gaius, our Student Guardian and Head of Sciences.

Before we continue, please allow me to reiterate our college standards and guidelines - Unfortunately these are non-negotiable:

1. Uniform is to be worn at all times on weekdays, from your rising at 7.30am to end of classes at 17.30pm. Outside of these hours, and at weekends, you may either wear your uniform or your own personal clothes.
   
2. Visitors to the school must be agreed with the Student Guardian with at least 7 days notice. Visitors that attempt to enter college grounds without this provision being made will not be admitted to the school buildings.
   
   
3. Electronic communications devices, such as mobile phones, smart watches, smart calculators, electronic tablets, and personal computers are not permitted in classes. All notes in classes are to be made on paper.
   
   
4. Laundry day is every Friday. You must deliver your laundry (Uniform and Bedclothes) to your dormitory's designated laundry bin before the start of classes at 9am.
   
   
5. Excursions off of the school’s campus are not permitted without a signed permission slip from the Student Guardian.
   
   
6. Consumption of alcohol or other controlled, unprescribed substances on campus is strictly prohibited. Students above the age of 18 may visit the nearby public houses as a permitted excursion with a signed permission slip, as per guideline 5.
   
   
7. Our school is an inclusive place of learning. Attitudes and behaviour that endanger that will not be tolerated. Students that repeatedly disobey faculty members and the guidelines will be suspended or dismissed from the school with extreme prejudice.

I can also notify you that you will be given a room in our smaller two person dorms this year, owing to this being your first time schooling away from your family home. You will be sharing your dormitory with Lancelot du Lac, our Student Ambassador. I’m sure he will be able to help you settle in nicely.

I am particularly excited for this school year, and I have no doubt that your unique admission to our school will be a particular point of interest for the year ahead. I wish you the very best of luck, and I shall see you in our History lessons and our personal tutorials.

Signed,

Sir Kilgharrah, Headmaster of Avalon Independent School for Boys

Student: Mr Merlin Emrys

Dormitory: West 1

Personal Tutor: Sir Kilgharrah

Timetable:

Admissions Exam Results:

History - 99/100 (Equivalent Grade - A*)

English - 83/100 (Equivalent Grade - A)

Mathematics - 100/100 (Equivalent Grade - A*)

Politics - 100/100 (Equivalent Grade - A*)

Specialist Subject of choice: Computing - 100/100 (Equivalent Grade - A*)

Admissions result: PASS, proceed to interview. Note - Scholarship Requirement.

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Merlin snorted at Sir Kilgharrah’s assertion that his admission to the school was unique, but he did allow himself to feel proud of himself for being offered the admission. He did feel a slight irk at his grade in English, although he knew that words was never going to be his specialist subject. The funny truth was that Merlin already knew the results from his admissions exams, as he’d broken into the schools server a few days after they were submitted for marking; he knew that he could get into a lot of trouble and theoretically lose his place there if he was caught, but he was driving himself crazy speculating whether he had passed or not - let alone irritating his mother by wearing tracks in the carpet from his pacing up and down in his bedroom. He would come out of the Avalon Independent School for Boys with 5 A-Levels, and now that he’d been allowed to settle into the car ride he could not wait to begin his lessons. Looking at his watch, he realised that they could only be a few minutes away from the gates to the school grounds. The tension in his stomach quickly turned into the buzz with excitement.

He looked back to his skype interview with who he assumed must be faculty members, but none of them shared names with the staff on his timetable. They asked him questions about his specialist subject, with Merlin proudly proclaiming “I am already far above and beyond the ability of practically everyone else in the world.” It was a brag of course, but one that he needed to make if he ever wanted to get into the school. As a demonstration, Merlin requested to be allowed the use of his laptop for 60 seconds, and in that time he had hacked into all three of their social media accounts, and changed their profile pictures into cartoon bananas. He also emailed all of them an extremely detailed portfolio of his site-building work, and the link to an online 2d video game that he had built from scratch. An awful lot of thinking, and an awful lot of gambling had gone into his pitch to be given the scholarship, and now Merlin supposed that it was worth it. Maybe that was the uniqueness that Kilgharrah was referring to. With that thought, he noticed the car was slowing down significantly, passing through a small village seemingly made out of nothing but pubs. The next sight he saw were the looming iron gates with the word “AVALON” cast above them. He had arrived.

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The drive to the actual house itself seemed to take just as much time as the drive from Wales, but eventually the car pulled up to the main building of the school. Merlin had obviously seen pictures and maps of it before, but it was much more beautiful in person. The central front of the house itself had imposing columns typical of its baroque architectural style, it looked as if hours of painstaking detail work had gone into the masonry, and the large windows made it look delicate and inviting. The East and West wings of the house were nearly identical, and seemed to contain smaller duplicates of the striking front entrance, and at each end of the wings was an ornate, understated tower. The house was a work of art, there was no other way to do it any justice. As the car pulled up, Merlin noticed there was a young boy his age, with a beautiful mediterranean complexion waiting for him. When he stepped out of the car he briefly studied him, deciding he looked kind but strong, before the boy stepped forward to introduce himself.

“Good morning Merlin! I’m Lancelot du Lac, Student Ambassador at Avalon- and your dorm mate.” His cheery disposition this early in the morning was somewhat off-putting, but Merlin took the boy’s outstretched hand and shook it politely. He wondered if Lancelot volunteered for this job, or if it was something he had been made to do.

“Well, I guess you already know that I’m Merlin Emrys. Avalon’s newest pet poor person.” Merlin beamed as Lancelot sniggered, thankfully getting Merlin’s crass humour. “I didn’t realise the honour guard would be here to greet me upon arrival. Are you here to hand me a peasant crown that I don’t know about?” Lancelot laughed again.

“I don’t know about a crown, Merlin, but how about I tell you a bit about the school?” Lancelot suggested, gesturing at the gigantic house that stood behind him. Merlin nodded and shrugged simultaneously, not exactly sure how to act. He admitted to himself that the excitement had quickly regressed into the same anxiety he felt when he awoke. “What you can see here, the central house and the two wings, all encompass the Upper School. There’s a mansion house behind, which is attached to this front that houses the Lower School, but we get the good digs because… well we’re older and the Lower School is mostly a day school for rich snobs.” Lancelot gestured for Merlin to follow him, “See, I was one of the pet poor people in the Lower School, so I know you must be nervous, but everyone here has accepted me just fine. The driver will take your bags and uniform straight to the dorm in a few minutes, let me show you the central house and we’ll make our way to the dorm from there. By the way, most of the boys call me Lance, since I figure you’re not a psycho we’re probably going to get on fine, so feel free to call me that too.”

Merlin nodded again but didn’t say anything. He followed hot on Lance’s heels, as he was shown though the front door, passing a desk and a lounge. There was a grand hall that functioned as the lunch hall for the whole school, but Lance pointed out that the tables at the south end was reserved for staff, and the table at the north end was reserved for Upper School students. “There are only about 40 Upper School students, compared to the 200 or so Lower School students.” Lance added. Merlin found himself growing to like Lance pretty quickly, which probably answered his original question; Lance was the type of person that would decide to be the Student Ambassador off his own back, and was likely helping Merlin so much because he wanted to. It was admirable, and it settled his anxieties a little that he was going to be sharing a dorm with someone like him. As they left the main house and headed into the West Wing of the house, Lance pointed out the different classrooms which belonged to the various faculty members. Dr Gaius, Sir Kilgharrah, and Geoffrey Monmouth’s rooms were in this wing, whilst Iseldir, Godwyn, and Bayard had rooms in the East Wing. The Physical Education department that was run by Olaf was found in the old stable-yard, where the playing fields were located. When Lancelot was satisfied that Merlin had grasped the layout of the school, he declared that he’d take him to the West Common room, which he would share with Lance and 8 more students of the Upper School. The common room was at the base of the tower, and above the common room were 3 floors of dormitories. Even the door to the student's quarters was grander than Merlin's entire town, he was starting to feel woozy with the scale of the whole school. He was clearly way out of his depth, not that he'd let anyone else know that. When they arrived, all of the other students were there chatting amongst themselves. All but one of them noticed them enter, all of them turning to focus their attention on Merlin, who felt himself shrink inside of himself, knowing that the boys were sizing him up immediately.

“Merlin, let me introduce you to the fine young men of Avalon West.” Lance said, with a generous amount of bravado, he pointed at each of the boys one by one, “Curly blond guy there is Leon, he’s probably the most stand up guy out of all of them, myself not included of course.” There were a few murmurs, but the other boys seemed to agree with that statement, Leon simply smiled and raised his hand in a wave, “Fancy pants there is Gwaine, and the boy he’s clinging to is Percival. Yes they’re an item, and yes Gwaine will still flirt with you. I promise Perce isn’t the type to be jealous, and Gwaine knows he’s been whipped by Perce too.” Gwaine started to protest, but Percival shot him a raised eyebrow, quickly silencing any squark that he was about to make. “Over there in the corner is Elyan, he’s another scholarship kid but he’s had his since the Lower School like me, so he’s integrated well too.” Elyan nodded in Merlin’s direction, which was returned quickly, but Merlin couldn’t help but indulge in a quick smile. Everyone seemed so nice so far. “By the fire we’ve got Mordred, Gilli, and Daegal. They’re all country boys like you, just richer. Mostly keep to themselves.” Lance sighed as he came to point at the last boy in the dorm, “Last but not least, that is Arthur Pendragon. He’s a year older than everyone here because he was homeschooled a little late, kind of like the dorm’s big brother, but don’t let him push you around… he can be a bit prickly.” Merlin’s eyes landed on the… ridiculously gorgeous blonde boy who was curled up on one of the sofa. He was still defiantly tapping away at his phone screen with his headphones in, clearly thinking himself too important to care about the new arrival. Merlin was torn between being deeply offended by his failure to acknowledge him, and being in awe of how stupidly handsome he was. He quickly snapped himself back to reality, figuring that he wasn’t here to gawk at gorgeous toffs, he was here to get great grades and make a name for himself.

“Hi everyone… I’m Merlin, I guess. I’m just glad I made it up that damn driveway without falling asleep.” Merlin joked. Everyone apart from Arthur smiled, all of them knowing too well the trek between the house and the village. All of the boys started to ask Merlin questions about where he was from, what subjects he was taking, how he’d done in his exams, questions about his specialist subject, who his tutor was… “Really, Kilgharrah’s never tutored anyone before…” Leon mused.

Gwaine took a step towards Merlin, waving his hand up and down as if assessing Merlin’s outfit, “Pretty boy with Black skinny jeans, and a tucked in t-shirt… slightly awkward disposition… You’re gay, right?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. It earned him a slap on the ass from Percival, but…

Merlin just grinned, then he laughed, then he stared straight into Gwaine’s eyes, “Oh yeah, about as gay as they come. Don’t worry though, I’m way out of your league.” he said. The room went silent. One by one though, starting with Leon and then Lancelot, the boys began to howl with laughter. Gwaine’s face was instantly beet red, and his jaw was firmly placed on the floor in a gawk, but he soon doubled over in laughter too. Eventually everyone wiped caught their breath, with Percival slapping Merlin on the back, remarking how that was the first time that he’d seen his boyfriend speechless. Eventually the room fell back to its natural chatter, and Merlin found himself swept up in a conversation with Gwaine and Lancelot. Of course, the good welcome was bound to end at some point.

“Who is that?” Arthur said, silencing the room. His headphones were swinging in his hands, and he had an eyebrow raised as if the entire room as just

“I’m Merlin Emrys. Good to meet you.” Merlin replied, pushing his shoulders back in faux confidence.

“Whatever, I guess you’re the new scholarship student. Good luck keeping up.” Arthur deadpanned.

“Arthur, be nice. You’ve basically got identical timetables.” Lance chided.

“I’ll be nice when I know he’s not going to go home crying like ever Upper School scholarship attendee in the last decade.” Arthur snapped.

Merlin whispered a soft “Prat” under his breath, just loud enough for Arthur to hear, causing the blonde to shoot a deadly scowl his way. Some of the other boys commented things along the lines of “Come on Arthur” and “We agreed not to tell him that”, but Merlin was not perturbed. “Listen, Arthur, you might not have high expectations of a mere peasant like myself. But if you take a look at these entrance exam results, I think you’ll find they beat even yours.” Merlin took the letter from his pocket, and handed it to Arthur who studied it briefly before he focussed on the timetable on the next page.

The boy seemed to ponder what he was going to say next, but he still wore the scowl on his face, clearly still unimpressed by Merlin’s appearance. He didn't raise “How would you know the results of my entrance exams?” Arthur questioned.

Merlin scoffed and crossed the room towards the stairs, snatching his letter and timetable from Arthur as he passed, “I know everyone’s grades because I broke into the school’s server to find out if I got an interview. I’m not some goody two shoes with a dream to go to a kick ass school, and I’ve worked too hard to go home now.” Merlin took a breath, pausing in the doorway, looking back directly at Arthur's piercing eyes “The only grade that you have that was better than mine was in English, which you achieved full marks in, congratulations. However, you were 7 marks behind me in History, 3 in Maths, and 5 in Politics. You didn’t take Computer Science like I did, but you took Philosophy, and you got 75/100 on that… So good effort Pendragon, but not good enough.” He left a stunned and silent room, but the image that was burned into his mind was the smirk that Arthur now wore, as if Merlin had passed some test. He decided to just retreat to his dorm, wanting nothing more than to hide away until tomorrow, when he could just get on with his classes.

Arthur had to give it to Merlin, he was impressed with the new boy’s grit… but that wasn’t why he couldn’t get him out of his head. Merlin was, frankly, beautiful; which meant that Arthur was, frankly, screwed. Only one of the boys at Avalon knew about Arthur’s sexuality, and that was his best friend Leon. Arthur figured that it wasn’t really any of their business, even if others were openly dating each other. All of them had known him since he was 12, when they all started the Lower School at the same time, at no point did anyone at Avalon Independent catch Arthur’s eye, but now of course the lower class, welsh, scholarship boy had his full attention. Whatever would his father think? None of the other boys except Lance dared to challenge him on his behaviour, but Arthur simply smiled at Lancelot and replied, “It’s fine, he passed my little test.” A few minutes after Merlin had wandered up to his dorm alone, Arthur made his way up the stairs too. He needed to be alone to think clearly about the spanner that had been thrown into his perfect straight disguise. There wasn’t going to be a problem if he came out, Arthur trusted each and every boy in the dorms, he knew that the only lads with a history of homophobia were housed in the less cohesive East Wing. There would however be a problem with his father, and he knew that if there was ever such a declaration of his inclinations towards guys, his father would find out from one of the teachers. There wasn’t hiding anything from his father, he was informed of every day that Arthur took off sick, every time his test scores were less than impressive, every time he underperformed in Physical Ed. The resentment Arthur held towards Uther Pendragon was second to only his half-sister, Morgana. Having enough of thinking about his father, Arthur decided to distract himself by drawing. He was a huge fan of fantasy stories, often finding himself lost in books in distant realms that didn’t really exist, mostly to escape the reality that he lived in. The reality where he was the son of a billionaire with too many expectations on his shoulders. He would write often too, escaping into a world where he could make things better. He was currently working on his longest piece of writing, a story about a prince who fell in love with his servant, who was secretly a mage sent to protect the prince from harm. He had created the prince in his image, since it was easy to sympathise with someone who had no choice but to inherit responsibilities greater than his comprehension, he could sympathise with someone who wasn’t allowed to live their life as they wanted to. In Arthur’s tale however, the mage was the prince’s escape mechanism from royal life, and they went on epic adventures all across the world. From trailing through scorching deserts in search of precious jewels, to scrambling through damp and dingy caves to rescue some of his citizens. He finished his drawing after a couple of hours, electing to begin writing the next chapter instead. If he wanted to use the story as a submission for his final piece he would need to put an awful lot more work into it, even if it was already at 40,000 words.

Hours passed and all he managed to put on the page was a pile of drivel. Something else that was Merlin’s fault. He’d never even spoken to the boy properly and how Emrys was occupying his every thought, rent fucking free. He wondered if Emrys was having the same difficulty thinking about him. After all, Arthur had secretly been listening the entire time Merlin had been there. He had paused his music as soon as the new boy had entered the common room, allowing him to listen closely to all of the introductions, and any interactions that followed. He had to admit, it took most of his strength to contain his own laughter when Merlin turned Gwaine’s awkward question back around on him, but he managed it when he realised that meant it could just as easily be done to him… he supposed he knew that too, considering the boy also knew all about his entrance exam scores. That was something he had not counted on. He swore the new boy had golden flecks in those eyes that were framed by those impossible eyelashes. There would be no concentrating if he didn’t find a way to come to terms with his very immediate attraction to the boy, since they shared practically every class together. One thing Arthur didn’t tell the other boys was who his tutor was, and it seemed that they even shared that similarity on the schedule. For the next year, provided Merlin made good on his vow to stay no matter how tough it was, Arthur was going to have to get used to having him around. It didn’t mean they had to be friends. One thing the young Pendragon was famous for was planning everything he did with a meticulous obsession. He decided he would sit as far as humanly possible from Merlin in all of his classes, and engage only when absolutely necessary. He didn’t have to be mean to the boy, he didn’t want to be mean to him, but if he let himself get too close the game would be up. He would lose his family, he’d be at risk of losing his friends - this was a secret that had festered for way too long. Deciding that he’d wallowed for quite long enough, he changed out of his casuals and into his running gear, slipping on his trainers and putting in his headphones, he bounced down the stairs and out of the dormitory’s door to the front grounds.

He sang quietly to the lyrics as he went around, trying his best to keep his concentration fixed on his pace, and the beautiful surroundings of the school. The playlist he'd created fitted the School's grounds perfectly, but he only let himself listen to this kind of music when he was running, reserving it for when he knew that nobody else would hear it. The track he was running was one he knew well, and at just over 2.5km, he knew it wouldn’t be too strenuous and he could take a leisurely jog instead of pushing himself too hard; Olaf would do enough pushing in P.E. every Wednesday. P.E that he would have at the same time as Merlin Emrys… and just like that, Arthur had let his mind wander back to Merlin. Not that he could especially help it, he was likely the person that everyone in the entire wing was talking about, just not in the same way that Arthur was thinking. He wasn't ashamed of being gay, he told himself. He didn't believe it, but he guessed everyone had to start somewhere. What he did know that life as he knew it would be over if his sexuality was common knowledge. He wasn't sure that he wanted life as he knew it to change. He quickened his pace, deciding that the burning of his lungs would change what he was thinking about, and it worked. Arthur ran the rest of the distance at an excruciating pace, but his mind was clear of the doe eyed brunette that had been stuck in his head all morning. When he arrived back at the dorm, only the quieter boys were still in the common room. Arthur ignored them as he panted up the stairs, crashing into the dorm and onto his bed in a dramatic fashion. Leon was sat on his bed against the wall, holding a piece of paper, smirking at it. Instead deciding to focus on getting his breathing and his heart rate back to normal, Arthur quickly changed back into his casuals and patted the sweat on his brow with a towel. He shoved his phone on charge before flopping back onto his bed, raising an eyebrow at Leon’s ever-present smirk. “What?” He quipped.

“Arthur…” Leon started, “This mage sketch is really good, your character creation has come a long way.” His smirk grew into a shit eating grin, when he turned the picture around, “There’s just one problem. Don’t you think your mage looks an awful lot like our new friend Merlin? Isn’t this the mage that falls in love with the prince that looks exactly like you?” He raised another one of Arthur’s drawings as evidence.

Struggling to pick his jaw up off of the floor, much like Gwaine earlier, Arthur squinted at the drawing he had made of the mage from his story. He’d based that drawing off of the physical description that he’d written in his books… intoxicating blue eyes to match his prince, with deep chocolate hair to contrast. The Mage was slender, but firm in stature, standing proud as if he himself were from a royal line, despite his humble upbringing. His jaw was strong, not a rival of his Prince’s, but strong enough to stare for some time, and the mage’s lips were… Arthur shook his head to get himself out of the trance he’d sent himself into. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Leon, “Tell nobody.” He threatened.

His friend simply barked a laugh, “Why would I tell anyone? If you fancy the guy maybe you should just give him a chance Arthur? He seems…”

“Don’t even bother finishing that sentence, Leon. Regardless of whether I find him attractive or not, we're not compatible. I’ve a mind to tell Kilgharrah that he hacked the server just to get him out of my hair.” Arthur spat. Everyone was grinding his gears today, probably another thing he was going to blame Merlin for, that list was growing longer by the hour.

“With what evidence Arthur? Stop being so ridiculous. Just get to know him. Gwaine, Lance, and Perce still haven’t come downstairs after they went after him. I think he’s nice, he’s funny too, oh and he put you right in your place. Only a 75 in Philosophy? Slacker.” Leon teased, trying his best to illicit a reaction. Both he and Arthur knew that there wouldn’t be one though.

“I’m not ready to tell people. I’m not ready to come out. You shouldn't even know.” Arthur’s reply was quiet, and it made himself feel even smaller. Tears threatened to fall at the edge of his eyes before he coughed, wiping his face to compose himself. “Leon, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but there’s nothing there. I’ve never been one to date and I don’t intend on starting now.”

Both Arthur and Leon knew that the last part wasn’t quite the truth. They both knew Arthur had a crush, and they both knew that it wasn't going away.

Chapter Text

DAY 1, MONDAY

Much to Merlin’s elation, he didn’t seem to have much trouble making friends at all. Most of that Sunday night he spent talking to Lancelot, Percival, and Gwaine. He even managed to rope Gwaine into teaching him how to tie a windsor knot for his uniform, although Merlin supposed that  the other boy was also using the opportunity to tease his boyfriend by getting extremely close to Merlin, and also using the opportunity to get to know him better. He was grateful though, and the whole experience of seeing someone of Perce’s stature blush like a damsel as his boyfriend sauntered around was hilarious enough to make both himself and Lancelot laugh out loud. In no time, Merlin had learned the new skill, and he was technically fully ready for the next day, when his classes would begin. Now that he stood facing a mirror, tying his navy and sky blue tie under his collar, he couldn’t help but feel out of place again. He convinced himself hurriedly that it was only a temporary feeling. He stared at himself in his loosely form fitting uniform, the trousers hugging his rear and his thighs making his legs look intoxicating. The white shirt fit perfectly, and the blazer over the top hugged him in all the right places. Despite the formal nature of the uniform, Merlin found it to be strangely comfortable, as the fabric on the trousers stretched with his every movement. Merlin beamed when Lance and Gwaine knocked on the door to take him to breakfast. Gwaine wolf whistled at him, earning him another slapped ass from Perce, but they laughed together all the way down to the banquet hall. Merlin spent most of breakfast picking at his toast, and stealing glances at Arthur who was wolfing his food down at a record pace. When Leon caught him looking though, he decided it was safer to focus on his food. It was clear that the kitchens at Avalon were staffed by professionals. Even the baked beans seemed gourmet, or maybe that was just because Merlin was used to quick microwave meals since his mum was usually too busy working to cook, and his skills in the kitchen leaved much to be desired. Whichever it was, it was a nice change. By the time he took his empty plate to the wash, he felt full and energised.

Quickly returning to the dormitory for his backpack and some books for study, he looked around the dorm he’d be staying in for Although it didn’t feel much like home, Merlin had managed to organise his dorm room in a way that made it feel comfortable. Each dormitory was simple, but elegantly decorated and well organised. Each dorm contained two bedrooms, each with a double sized bed and a large wardrobe. The bedrooms had to share a bathroom, which simply contained the basic sink, toilet, and shower. The walls throughout were a basic white, but there were multiple hooks for posters and pictures to hang, and Merlin had promised himself that he’d request permission to go looking for something to hang up in the village just outside the house’s grounds. The windows, like pretty much everywhere else in the house, allowed a huge amount of light into the room, and the fresh autumn colours on the trees coupled with the warmth of the rising sun danced on the walls as the sun rose. Merlin figured he could get used to this.

The school was nothing like he’d expected. Where most well-known prestigious schools were heavy handed and steered their students in one particular way, Avalon opted to allow its Upper School students almost total free rein on their studying. Young Merlin quickly learned that if he was going to get the excellent grades that he desired, he was going to have to put his head down and learn to study himself. On his first day of classes, Sir Kilgharrah had cancelled his History Lesson, Gaius had cancelled his Sciences lesson, and also his Computer Science lesson too (not that he needed them), the only thing that remained scheduled was his tutorial with Kilgharrah.  In the morning he’d found the Library in a vast room behind the ‘banquet hall’, and was surprised to find it deserted, save for an adorable little white cat that sauntered up to him as soon as he closed the doors. The Library had shelves from floor to ceiling, illuminated by glistening light from one gigantic crystal chandelier that hung from a beautifully decorated ceiling. He wondered why the room had never featured in the prospectus or on the website, but he was glad it seemed like a well kept secret. His favourite feature in the whole room was the large, seemingly ancient globe that stood on a plinth in the centre of the room. Merlin spent several minutes just in awe of the room, inhaling the old book smell that reeked of knowledge, and felt the tingle at his fingertips in anticipation of what he might learn. He padded slowly over to the globe that seemed to invite him into the room, and he gave it a quick spin. His original suspicions had been right, the globe was very old, and when he stopped to the United Kingdom, except it was labelled “Albion”, an all but abandoned name for the British Isles. Figuring it was merely a quirk of the ridiculous school that he’d landed himself in, he moved on to sink into one of the antique chairs next to the huge windows on the west side of the room. From where he sat, he could see his dormitory and the pristine evergreen hedges that surrounded the west wing, he could also just about see the slate on top of the brick walls that bordered the school’s grounds. Merlin couldn’t help but sigh, realising he’d come into the library to work and not to stare out of the window. He pulled out his workbooks and began to work through the first few items on his dedicated study plan. It didn’t take long for the little white cat to trot up to Merlin, mewing at him before jumping onto his lap.

It was probably the worst opportunity for Arthur to waltz into the library, because when he turned to head towards his usual seat, Merlin was already sat there. It made him freeze in place, noticing that the usually hostile feline was nestled in Merlin’s lap, purring away happily. Arthur felt like he’d been hit by a freight train. If the instant attraction he felt towards Merlin wasn’t enough, now he was sitting looking ridiculously adorable with the car in his lap. Arthur stared at Merlin’s messy hair, deciding he probably prefers it like that compared to what he imagined it would look like combed through. Arthur stopped himself staring when he felt his lips curling into a smile, quickly looking to the side to tell himself off for even indulging himself. When he re-focussed and looked back, Merlin was staring back at him. That was all Arthur needed to spin on his heel and march out of the library, in search of somewhere else to study, and wallow in self-pity.

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Hours must have passed, because Merlin first looked up from the book that he was lost in when the sun was turning orange ready for sunset. A quick look at his watch confirmed Merlin’s suspicions. He’d not only missed lunch, but if he wasn’t quick about it, he was going to be late to his tutorial with Sir Kilgharrah too. With a flurry of movement, he threw his belongings on the chair and began to walk towards the classroom. He even had to fight off a temporary spell of dizziness because of how long he’d sat immobile in that chair. Before knocking on the door to enter, he straightened his tie, and flattened his hair. He looked towards the common room where he one again saw Arthur staring at him. The pair frowned at each other for a split second before Merlin let himself into the classroom, clearing his throat as he shut the door behind him.

“Ah, you must be Merlin Emrys, thank-you so much for coming.” Kilgharrah spoke, holding a cigarette in his hand. He had long grey hair and looked as if he had just crawled out of a medieval themed film set, making him look much more like an old wizard out of his favourite children’s books than a headmaster at an independent school. The aged man gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Arthur Pendragon won’t be joining us for this tutorial, I merely wish to take this opportunity to welcome you to our school. Do take a seat. I am Sir Kilgharrah, but you may simply call me Kilgharrah. Formalities serve little purpose in these meetings. Dr Gaius will be joining us shortly.” A couple of seconds passed, and Merlin had managed to make himself comfortable in his choice of seat, when there was a knock on the door and another long haired old man stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

Merlin quirked his eyebrow when he though that he recognised the man who was presumably Dr Gaius, but he was unsettled when he realised the man was also grinning directly at him. He couldn’t fathom an idea as to where he recognised his face though “Curse my old bones, it is you!” Gaius exclaimed, clasping his hands together infront of him, as if he didn’t know what to really do with them. “The last time we met you were little more than 2 years old. What a fine young man you’ve grown into.”

“You know me? Why do I recognise you, Dr Gaius? You look awfully familiar…” Merlin was wracking his brain but nothing came up. Kilgharrah could be seen hovering over his desk, clearly hoping that the reunion would be over soon so that he could get down to whatever business required two of the

“We’re actually family, my boy. Although I admit I haven’t spoken with my little sister in a decade, I am your uncle.” Something in Merlin’s brain clicked. He recognised Gaius from his mother’s family photographs. He’d spent days and days pondering over them, since his mother outright refused to talk about her or his father’s family. He didn’t even know that he had any living family other than his mum. He experienced a whirlwind of emotions one after the other; Irritation, exasperation, elation, and then curiosity.

“The picture on the mantle-piece! You’re the boy with his hand on my mother’s shoulders… What are you doing here? Does my mother know you are here?” Merlin questioned, speaking hurriedly and standing in the process.

“No, I suspect she still believes that I am a tutor at Eton. However, Kilgharrah offered me a position here some years ago, but the last time I spoke to your mother you were probably about 11 years of age. Although, I've only been at this post for a few years.” Gaius responded. Turning to Kilgharrah, as if there was a subject he didn’t quite know how to approach.

"We know you hacked the school's servers, Mister Emrys." Kilgharrah smirked, Merlin's face turning sheet white in an instant, "Surely you could use those talents for things much more interesting purposes. Perhaps you don't know that your long-lost Uncle Gaius used to be one of the most ingenious hackers this country has ever produced. Why else would he be hired by one of the most dangerous men in the country to guard his data?"

"Kilgharrah, we needn't lay all of my misdeeds on the boy." Gaius interrupted, "Merlin, what we mean is we'd like to help you build your own software. You'll pass the computer science course with ease, and you don't need my help to learn how to get in to different servers, but what if we worked towards keeping some people out, instead?"

Kilgharrah and Gaius continued to explain the ins and outs of their plans for the lessons, continually stressing the importance that these lessons would be secret. At the end of it, Gaius hoped to build a system with Merlin that would keep out even high-level cyber attacks without any monitoring by a human. Afterwards, they would allow Merlin to patent the technology and market it if he wished. There was more information too, but the boy couldn't keep his head from spinning. He was going to have to figure out what gave his server intrusion away, and quickly. It was a trick he used pretty often, and if Kilgharrah knew that he'd broken Avalon's measly security, imagine what would happen if Twitter found out that he was the one responsible for the Prime Minister's embarrassing tweets two months ago. He had to admit however, that he was excited at the thought of spending more quality time with his new-found uncle, and that he wouldn't have to pretend to learn the basic level computer science that it's required to get a decent A-Level grade. When he was dismissed, and he walked out of the room, Merlin managed to relax, turning to head to the dorm. He had a lot to think about.

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DAY 3, WEDNESDAY

Arthur was still sat at the breakfast table when the staff appeared to clean away the empty plates. The last two days of classes had been greatly uneventful, but he was thankful that he’d largely managed to avoid Merlin for the time being. Of course, this was largely in part to Sir Kilgharrah cancelling his two History lessons and the tutorial that they were supposed to share. It wasn’t strange for the old headmaster to cancel lessons at the beginning of term in favour of his detailed study plan. Arthur did find it curious that according to Lancelot, Merlin had still made his way to Kilgharrah’s classroom on time for the tutorial as if it were still going ahead. He dismissed it as a new student’s mistake and carried on with reading his study plan. At any rate, it was now Wednesday and that meant he finally got to take out some frustration in Phys Ed. His father had made some sly remarks about Olaf’s plans for the class this year that heavily insinuated he was focussing on creating a football team that might actually compete in the Independent School Tournament in the spring. Arthur prayed to every higher power he could remember that this would be true, all because football was his favourite sport.

Leon, Lance and Percival met up with Arthur on the stairs, also finding Merlin in the common room. The four of them made their way across the Lower School’s grounds towards the old stable-yards. The walk was much longer than Merlin had assumed it’d be, taking them nearly 10 minutes, but the comfortable silence he shared with everyone except Arthur made it bearable. When they made it to the changing room, Olaf was already barking at the other boys to get changed. Merlin opted to change on the other side of the room to Arthur, knowing he wanted to be as far away as possible from him, even if there was something odd drawing him closer. Merlin changed in record time, well practiced at quickly changing from his old school. He didn’t want one of the more boisterous boys to pick on him after all. When he turned around, Arthur was wearing only shorts, and Merlin just couldn’t help himself. He knew that the Pendragon boy was a year older than him, at 17, but he didn’t expect him to have that kind of build at that age. Arthur’s body was lean, and Merlin could definitely count 6 abdominal muscles on the boy’s stomach. The most intoxicating thing about Arthur’s body though, was his back. His shoulders were tight and strong. Merlin squashed the urge to go over and feel the firmness of the muscles, but it didn’t matter anyway, because Arthur had turned back around, locking eyes with Merlin. Both boys seemed to hold their breath for several seconds before Leon clapped Arthur on the back, pushing him towards the playing fields. When Arthur dragged himself away from Merlin’s gaze, both of them finally re-learned how to breathe.

Merlin shook his head as the class jogged out to the field. Olaf started the boys on some jogging trials and some stretches, but Merlin couldn’t help being distracted when he caught Arthur’s eyes on him more than once. He focussed himself on stretching out properly, promising himself that if he pulled a muscle in this class, he wasn’t going to let it be because of Pendragon. Arthur, seemingly unperturbed by being caught staring, was pleasantly surprised that Merlin wasn’t just a skinny computer geek. Merlin’s slender legs lent him a fair bit of power in the running drills at the beginning of the lesson, and he clearly knew how to stretch out before exercise too. Surely there has to be something wrong with him? He thought to himself. Arthur continued to sprint back and forth between the warm up cones, before the coach’s whistle snapped his attention round.

“Boys! Gather round!” Olaf shouted. “This year, your sports classes will focus on your own personal strengths. I won’t be teaching you individual sports like we used to in the Lower School. This year you’ll focus on fitness and on strength. Because you’re now old enough, each and every one of you will be given a key to the strength gym should you want to use it.” Merlin snorted when Arthur seemed to grin at the thought of being allowed in a gym. “That being said, this lesson I want to have some fun and put you through your paces. There’s an Independent Schools football tournament that I’ve been dying to win for years, and I’m feeling lucky this year so we’re going to be playing a game of 5-a-side. I’ll be evaluating how each and every one of you plays, so if you want to be on the team you’ve got to try your absolute best to impress me. Leon and Pendragon will be the team captains. Leon, you will pick first.”

One by one, the boys picked until the last boy standing was Merlin, who trudged grumpily over to the only place he could go. He was furious that both neither Lance or Arthur picked him, until he was forced to join Arthur’s team. He was evidently the only boy that was built to stay in goal, and he swore he saw Leon smirk when he picked Gilli over him. There was no way that Gilli knew how to kick a football better than he did! Olaf threw a pair of keeper’s gloves at each team, “I’m in goal.” Merlin stated, picking them up, leaving no room to argue. Arthur just nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

Arthur bossed the remaining boys around, putting Lance up front with him, leaving Mordred and Daegal to try and hold the middle and the defence. The game started quickly after that, with the other team controlling the ball nearly 80% of the time. Within 10 minutes, Merlin had saved 6 separate strikes from Gwaine at close range, who was growing increasingly frustrated each time he was denied a goal. Merlin didn’t understand why he was trying so hard, Arthur never gave him any encouragement whatsoever. In fact, if Merlin was right, Arthur was trying very hard to pretend that he didn’t exist. Eventually, there was a break, and Merlin cleared the ball from his box straight into Arthur’s waiting chest. Merlin watched Pendragon chip the ball over Gilli’s head, and into the goal. Everyone on Arthur’s team except for Merlin cheered, Arthur running around to celebrate him scoring with everyone except Merlin. He tried not to take it personally, and saved countless more shots from Gwaine and even a few from Leon himself, who had clearly become a bit desperate and decided to abandon his defensive position. Soon though, the boys were tired, and Olaf blew his whistle, pointing to signal that everyone should make their way back to the changing rooms.

When they all arrived, Arthur’s team continued to celebrate, this time with Merlin but without Arthur. “Nice job Merlin!” Mordred exclaimed, “I lost count of how many strikes you stopped that game, where did you learn to guard like that?”

“Picked a few tricks back in the slums.” Merlin winked, eliciting chuckles from everyone in the room, even Olaf. Lance laughed the loudest. Arthur gritted his teeth, it irritated him how much of a natural people person Merlin was, and opened his mouth before thinking.

“He could have at least tried to support down pitch a little more. He spent most of the match stood in the box like a lamppost.” Arthur teased, but when he looked at Merlin’s face, it was a storm. He instantly knew he was going to regret saying anything.

“What is your problem with me Arthur? I stopped every shot that came towards me and you’re still finding more than enough to criticise. You got one shot off all game and you call yourself a striker?  Can’t I do anything right? Will I ever be enough for you?” Merlin snapped, tears beginning to form in his eyes. It was the first time for a long time he’d been made to feel truly worthless. He knew that his team would have been utterly destroyed if it wasn’t for him being in goal. Olaf coughed, and excused himself before he could witness a fight between the two boys that he’d be forced to break up and report to Uther.

“I didn’t mean-“ Arthur started, being shut off by Merlin.

“I don’t care what you meant Arthur.” He spat back “Just leave me alone.” Merlin grabbed his uniform and retreated out of the changing rooms, deciding he’d rather get dressed for lunch in his dormitory, instead of being anywhere near Arthur.

When Arthur looked at the other boys, some shook their heads and others refused to meet his gaze. Lancelot quickly changed into his uniform before rushing out, presumably to catch up with Merlin. He realised he’d managed to piss off every single one of the boys who were probably his only friends in the world. Sitting on the bench, he levelled his eyes up to Leon, who was changing in silence, a hard frown on his face. Arthur tried to say something, anything to break the awkward silence. No words came, but Leon sighed, curtly stating “Don’t be such a dick, Arthur. It’s not his fault you’re scared of being gay.” Once again, Arthur mused that Leon was absolutely right. He was glad that Olaf had ended his lesson early. He probably would have caused much more trouble for himself if it’d continued.

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DAY 5, FRIDAY

The luck that Arthur had felt at the beginning of the week dissipated on Friday. Aside from the confrontation he had caused with Merlin in Phys Ed, the two had largely managed to avoid each other. It helped that Arthur knew that Merlin liked to spend most of his time in his old favourite spot in the Library. He tried not to think about Merlin as much as possible, but the boy was more than a curiosity to him. He sighed as he made his way towards the first lesson of the day, knowing that he’d likely run into Merlin sooner or later. After being one of the first students to arrive at Kilgharrah’s weekly double politics class, he chose his preferred desk in the back right corner of the room. Politics was the one of only two mandatory classes that Avalon School insisted that their students took, the other being the ungraded Phys Ed. Sir Kilgharrah had suggested in the prospectus that the skills that would be learned in the class wouldn’t just add a much sought after A-Level to their grade sheets, but it would prepare them for the more complex challenges in life. That meant that there would be a full 10 students in this politics class. The classrooms themselves weren’t large, and the students’ desks had no more than a metre between them either side, and maybe 2 metres between them front to back. It wasn’t until the clock chimed for 9am, and Merlin stepped in just before Sir Kilgharrah, that he realised the only empty desk was the one next to him, the one that Leon usually occupied. He watched Merlin roll his eyes as he dumped his paper on the desk and huffed into the seat.

“Welcome everyone to your Politics class. Every week you’ll have the privilege of spending two lessons back to back with me discussing the global political system. We will be initially be covering the European countries that most of you will know about, but much of this class is about ancient politics, and the systems of far flung lands. I’m sure you shall enjoy this subject as much as I will enjoy enlightening you. You’ll discover the quirks of the House of Commons, the intricacies of the Chinese Communist Party, the barbarism of the United States’ lobbying mechanism, and of course you will discover how all of these things link to the kingdoms of old. Specifically, in this land of Albion.” Kilgharrah showed a toothy grin, before continuing, “The first order of business, is for you to complete some essential reading, all of these readings I will assign you will be essential for you to get good grades in your assignments this term. I have also decided that these assignments will be completed in pairs.” Arthur quirked a smile and looked towards where Leon was sat, the other boy quickly turned and looked back, before Kilgharrah wiped the smile from Arthur’s face, “Oh no, young Pendragon, I will decide the pairs, and I will decide the topics.” I hate that old dragon of a man, Arthur thought to himself as the headmaster busied himself with passing out a very long printed list of essential reading to the whole class.

“Now, I am giving you the rest of this double lesson to go wherever you like to discuss in your pairs how you wish to approach the assignments that I give you. There are 5 different presentations that must be made, and when you leave, you shall collect that piece of paper from me telling you what you must present.” Kilgharrah placed the assignments on a desk next to the door. “The pairs are as follows: Arthur, you shall work with Merlin..” Just like that, Arthur’s mind zoned out. It was like his mind was filled with wasps, or bees, or some kind of flying insect that buzzed because he just couldn’t get his brain to snap back to reality. Merlin similarly had stopped functioning correctly, as yet again he found himself choking on nothing but air. Eventually, the other pairs left the room ahead of them, but by the time the last student had left the room, neither Arthur nor Merlin had moved. Slowly they came to their senses, both of them collecting their reading list and pushing their books back into their bags. Arthur groaned as he moved over to the desk to collect their assignment that simply read “The political workings of Albion.” On their way out of the classroom door, they looked at each other with a frown, they both swore that they could hear Sir Kilgharrah laughing.

Arthur led Merlin to the Library, and threw himself in the chair he’d seen Merlin in earlier. He buried his head in his hands with a groan. He heard the other boy shuffle a chair closer, and when the room fell silent, he tried his best to switch his brain on. “Look Merlin, I’m sorry. I was an ass in Phys Ed.”

“It’s okay…” Merlin said, his ears going red with embarrassment when he remembered the outburst he had, and how emotional he’d been over it. He felt more than a little awkward now, being forced to work in a pair with a boy that’d been so openly hostile to him.

“No, it’s not okay. I’m just… I’m struggling with something personal and I’m taking my own problems out on you. I’ll try to do better.” Arthur started, “I wasn’t ignoring you when you first met everyone in the common room, you’ve got some grit, and I respect that. Plus the look on Gwaine’s face was priceless when you took him to task… I guess I was a little jealous.”

“Just don’t make me feel like you did in Phys Ed again. Don’t be a douche.” Merlin stuttered. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Arthur’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and Merlin smiled the first genuine smile since before their sports lesson two days before, “So what do you think about this assignment? Where do you think we start?” Arthur asked. If he was being honest, the presentation topic was so broad he didn’t even know what they were being asked to do. He figured he was probably lucky being paired with the smartest person in the school. Even if he was destined to be tortured by his closeted status.

“I think the idea is that we go all the way back to when the British Isles were called Albion. We should probably make a link to legend, since that’s where the word Albion is found most often. Then we work our way up to present day, and hope that we can paraphrase all of that into a 20 minutes presentation.” Merlin passed the other boy a book, suggesting that he start there. Then, he picked up a book of his own and began to flick through the pages.

Arthur grinned, “Perfect.”

They both buried their heads in their respective books, scribbling notes down every time they found something interesting. They both found it quite easy to work with each other, now that they’d made peace, with both of them interjecting at different points to ask questions or make suggestions about the direction they’d take their presentation. Soon enough, they began to piece together a rough outline that they could work on in more detail. It was actually kind of a triumph, Arthur figured. Now that they’d actually gotten somewhere, he no longer felt guilty about letting his eyes linger on the other boy. Arthur became entranced by the flicker or Merlin’s eyelashes, and how animated his brows became when he was reading something he found interesting. Merlin’s deep blue eyes sparkled as they delved deeper and deeper into the topic that he was reading.

“You’re so cute when you concentrate.” Arthur didn’t realise he was thinking those words until they’d fallen out of his mouth. His face instantly lit up in a shade of bright red.

Merlin merely blushed, and murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

They both fell into an awkward silence, just looking at each other until Merlin glanced at his watch, once again realising that time had started to escape them. He suggested that they go and get some lunch, while they still had the chance. Arthur coughed, trying to bring his brain back down to planet earth, and agreed. Now that he was thinking about it, his stomach was starting to ache with hunger. The boys helped each other up from their dead legged seats, and walked side by side out of the Library towards the banquet hall in silence. Things were clearly still pretty awkward between them, not least because of their intense but mostly unspoken attraction towards each other. At least there was no denying that both of them felt more at ease, knowing that their whirlwind feud was no more.

Chapter Text

Merlin awoke at 5.30 on Sunday morning. It’d been a week since his choppy arrival at Avalon. It had easily been one of the most emotionally intense weeks of his life. He was surprised to find that he had almost finished mourning the life he left behind, and he’d not felt homesickness since the tension with a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy had eased. Of course, he would continue to treasure the few things that he still owned from before, and the memories would last forever. This new path though, was for him to walk, and Merlin was at peace with that.

Late on Saturday night, Lancelot handed him his post for the week. Merlin knew in an instant by the handwriting on the box that he had already received a package from his mother. He carefully tore the brown wrapping paper to reveal a plastic box full of Hunith’s famous chocolate chip cookies, the very same ones that she reserved for special occasions or when Merlin needed cheering up. Taped to the box was another envelope, which turned out to be the first letter that his mother had sent him.

My Merlin,

I know you’ve barely been gone a week, but it feels like much longer for me. After all, I’m not used to you being gone, the house is so quiet! I know I’ve told you this a thousand times but I am so, so proud of you. Ever since you were small you’ve wanted nothing more than to carve your own way through life, and look at you now. I know in my heart that wherever you choose to walk, you’ll find happiness - It’s an excellent trait you learned from your mother!

All I hope is that you’re settling well into your school, and i’m sure it’s as much of a culture shock to you as it is to me. I’m sure you had the shock of your life when you found that your uncle was working at the school, I know I did when I received a letter from him the day after you left home. He’s promised to look It’s strange, the last I heard from Gaius, he was working for a man named Pendragon, who forbade us from corresponding. Apparently it was something to do with the sensitivity of Gaius’ work, but it was what caused us to drift apart and lose contact in the end. With any luck, this will be the start of a new beginning for us. I’ve so missed having a family. I’ve loved relying on you for the past 16 years, but you’re a big boy now and I’ve got to let you live your life.

Although, for now it might make you feel a little better to know that I’m not completely alone! One of the neighbours down the street has been rehoming the litter of kittens that its mother cat had given birth to. I decided to take one, and he’s a little rascal. I can’t wait for you to meet him, and I’m sure you’ll be the best of friends. That is, you will be friends if he learns how to claw something that isn’t my sofa! He’ll end up in the stew pot if he doesn’t learn to behave! I can’t wait to hear all of the things you’ve been up to since you got at the school, remember you promised that you would write to me, I intend to hold you to that promise - not that I expect I’ll have to! Regardless, I’m sure that you’ve noticed the cookies by now, and it won’t escape you that they’re my special recipe cookies so please be sure to share them with the other boys! I’ll know if you scoff them all to yourself like usual!

Love,

Mum

Merlin laughed at the thought of his mother trying to wrestle a kitten away from her furniture and teach it how to use a litter tray. It did warm his heart to know that his mother wasn’t totally lost without him. One of the things that had been playing on his mind was how lonely she may be. He was extremely relieved that she was enjoying her newfound freedom.

However, Merlin struggled to process the other piece of vital information his mother had just given him. He couldn’t get out of his mind that Pendragon is not a common surname, and there would be significantly less ‘Pendragons’ who could afford to hire Gaius. This meant that whomever Pendragon is, he’s probably related to Arthur. Merlin thought back to his conversation with Kilgharrah and Gaius, the same one that suggested that Gaius’ previous employer was a nasty piece of work. If he was related to Arthur, what does that suggest about his family? What does that suggest about the Pendragon boy himself? At first, Merlin was certain he was going to have to hate the guy, owing his to the constant evils and general ‘stuck up wanker’ attitude. Now though, he’d spent time getting to know Arthur more, even if their discussions had been very much restricted to their ridiculously difficult assignment. Merlin figured that Pendragon’s frosty temperament during the first week was just down to the fact that there as a new face around, and that new face was almost a direct contrast to his own personality. He’d never before felt drawn to any person, but Arthur seemed to be doing an excellent job at changing that fact; the problem was that Merlin could help but feel like his new ‘friend’ was had reluctantly come around to accept him into the group, like there was something making him do it.

———

On that same morning, Olaf caught Arthur in the banquet hall to talk about the football tournament. For the most part, Olaf’s monologue was just background noise to Arthur. He was too busy staring across the hall at a certain scholarship student laughing and joking with Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival.

“Earth to Arthur… are you even listening to me, boy?” Olaf snapped his fingers in front of Arthur to get his attention, “You wanted to know what’s going on with the football team, so i’m telling you now. You should probably listen since I’m not going to repeat myself. You’re my team captain. Ask the boys to send me an email with what positions they want and we’ll set up that team.” Arthur knew exactly who he would ask to be on the squad. The only position he didn’t know before the start of the year was the goalkeeper, and now he had the perfect man. “Put at least one of the older boys in the squad too.” Olaf said, as he walked off.

Arthur then spent the morning pacing around, wondering how to ask Merlin to be on the team. He knew that the boy would probably be reluctant to join, especially after his own display of nastiness during Phys Ed. If it wasn’t merlin in goal though, it would have to be Cenred. For several reasons, Pendragon would rather not have to make that choice. The boy was in the older year group, but he was a textbook bully. The boy often spent his time traumatising other kids during his time in the lower school. Arthur could almost understand it, but he didn’t think it was best to show your prowess by putting others down - something he reminded himself that he’d forgotten at the beginning of the week.

Eventually, Arthur just decided to be direct about it, finding Merlin alone in the Library, in their favourite spot. He went over, and tapped the boy on the shoulder to gain his attention. The boy jumped, causing Arthur to laugh slightly, but he stopped as soon as Merlin stood and turned to face him. It took him nearly 20 seconds to remember why he came to find him, “Will you join the football team?” Arthur questioned, “For the tournament, I’ve been made the captain and I’d like you to be my goalkeeper.”

Merlin’s eyebrow shot up, but he shook his head, “I don’t think it’s really for me.”

“Are you joking?” Arthur said in an exasperated gasp, “You do know you’re probably the best keeper I’ve ever played with?”

“You’re just saying that because you feel guilty about pissing me off.”

Arthur grunted, grinding his jaw together. If he’d have known how much his being a dick to keep the boy at arms length would come back to bite him, he’d have kept his mouth shut. Probably. “Merlin, you stopped every strike they made. Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m not being stupid.” Merlin retorted, forcefully pointing his finger into Arthur’s chest, scowling.

Arthur took another step closer, now definitely invading the respectable space that was between them, his hands coming to rest on the brunette’s shoulders, “Yes you are Merlin, you’re being very stupid. I’d be lying if I didn’t want to make you happy so you can help me get a good grade… but you have sign up for the team! I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to have one of the second years in goal… They’re all arseholes. Don’t make me beg.”

“They’ll fit right in with you then!” Merlin smirked, causing Arthur to scoff, “I dunno… I’ll think about it. No promises. I’m sure I’d like the sight of you begging in front of me, though, it’s not to late to try that.”

The blonde raised his hands in a surrender, leaving Merlin’s skin burning where his hands used to be, “Think about it, that’s all I ask. Send an email to Olaf once you’ve decided you’ll join.” Arthur began to turn to leave, caught up in the daze that Merlin so often caused when they talked, that he hadn’t noticed the other boy reaching for him.

The sensation of Merlin’s hand coming to rest on his bicep snapped him back to reality, and before he could realise what he was doing he stepped back. Arthur watched as Merlin’s hand dropped. “I have to go.” Arthur said, spinning on his heel and making a beeline for his dorm. Keep it together, he kept telling himself. No matter how many times he thought it, it didn’t make it any easier to do.

Arthur retreated grumpily back to his bed, and stayed there for the rest of the day, even skipping dinner. It didn’t matter, Arthur couldn’t bear to think of food whilst his stomach was in such a nervous not. He was also getting a stress headache… which only made his mood even worse. Leon had been walking in and out of the room, audibly sighing every time he witnessed the grumpy mess off limbs and blankets on Arthur’s bed. It was a sight to behold, the usually sarcastic, overbearing, commanding Arthur Pendragon was resorted to a pile of pillows and random human appendages, and a tuft of blonde hair that stuck out at the head of the bed - the only clue that there was life in the pile was the rise and fall of the blankets as Arthur breathed. It was 8.20 pm before Leon cleared his throat, heaving the duvet away from a wide-eyed Arthur.

“You were right Leon.” Arthur whispered, “Keeping this secret to myself is killing me. I… think it’s time for me to come out. I’ve kept it hidden for far too long… It just scares the hell out of me.”

“What’s brought this on?” Leon asked, he had sat at the end of

“Merlin.” Arthur droned, dragging his hand down his face. “I’m pretty sure I have a crush on Merlin.”

“Ahh well, at least you’re willing to admit that now. That’s some progress at least.” Leon sighed. He didn’t like to see Arthur down, or anxious. Usually Arthur was the one that steadied the ship. “Since you plan on telling the boys that you’re excruciatingly no-hetero, I should probably warn you that I’m pretty sure some of them won’t be surprised.” When the blonde shot a scowl in Leon’s direction, he raised his hand to stop him from retorting, “All I mean is, I’m pretty sure Gwaine and Perce have their suspicions, especially Gwaine. You know his so-called gay radar is rarely wrong.”

Arthur’s scowl melted away into a small smile, “You mean gaydar, Leon.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Leon asked, Arthur instantly knowing what he meant.

“Eventually, I guess. Maybe he’ll figure it out all on his own once I’ve told him I like guys.” Arthur mumbled. “I don’t know if I even could tell him, I either go completely numb in his presence or I turn into a total dick to hide the fact that I like him.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, he doesn’t seem to care about what anyone thinks about him. Except for you. You’re the only one he’s come to blows with since he got here, and I’m pretty sure he was so upset because he thought he’d disappointed you.” Leon said, but before Arthur could question it, he added, “Oh, Arthur, the football team list has been sent round. Might want to check it out. I’ve got a good feeling about this year.”

Arthur quickly pulled out his phone, and skimmed the letter that was sent above the team announcement, after all there were only two pieces of information that he wanted to look at.

Captain, No 5, Centre Forward - A. Pendragon

No. 1, Goalkeeper - M. Emrys

He leapt to his feet, murmuring something like “I need to go somewhere”, before he pulled the door open and launched himself down the stairs.

———

When Merlin opened the door to the knock that night, he was expecting to be greeted by a member of staff - not by Arthur Pendragon. It did bring a smile to Merlin’s face, one of those beaming, blinding smiles that would put Arthur’s world off its axis. “You joined the team.” Arthur gaped, not really knowing what else to say. He had rehearsed starting a conversation with Merlin on the (admittedly short) walk from his room, but now he was there, his words had dried up.

Merlin merely shrugged, “Yes, well… You said it would mean a lot to you if I did… So…”

“You’re incredible, Merlin.” Arthur smiled, shyly, “With you on the team, I’d put money on us winning the tournament.”

“I never really got to play in a tournament with my school in Essetir so it’ll be an experience for me, I’m sure. Hold off on the betting though, I doubt you need any more money.” Merlin chuckled, secretly musing at how intoxicating Arthur’s small smiles are. “Come in, Lance is in the Common room… or somewhere.” Arthur tentatively stepped into the room, awkwardly inspecting every inch of the room, not knowing what else to do. Merlin, picking up on the awkwardness, started chatting away about their assignment. To Arthur, Merlin’s voice had become little more than white noise, as Arthur had gotten totally lost in his surroundings. He could feel his stomach twisting harder and harder every second that he stood there doing or saying nothing. He was snapped out of this trance, once again by Merlin’s hand being placed on his arm.

Arthur flinched, but took a deep breath, “Merlin I need you to just… be quiet and let me talk at you. Can you manage that for a few minutes, or must I find something to gag you with?” Merlin was forced to ignore the twitch in his gut of the euphemistic implication behind Arthur’s words but he didn’t speak. He simply nodded, and waved at Arthur to continue. “My fath- Uther, who happens to be my father, has made it very clear to me what he expects from me in return for paying my fees for this school. He expects me to be the best in the year group, he expects me to win the award at the end of the year, and he expects me to excel in physical education. Then, I imagine I am to apply to Cambridge or Oxford University and get a ‘decent political education’ before graduating having found my childhood sweetheart whom I will marry and most likely be expected to have children with I will then probably become a lawyer or work for the family company for a few years and make a name for myself defending the richest of the rich, thereby making some serious money of my own, with that reputation I’ll then stand for election as a Conservative at the nearest election in a safe seat which will probably be of my father’s choosing since…” Arthur took a breath at last, tearing his eyes from Merlin’s gaze, frowning the deepest frown that was ever frowned before exhaling to continue, “Of those things, my father and I agree until I go to Cambridge University. Everything else it his fantasy, not mine.”

“What do you want?” The brunette asked, not really sure what else he could say.

“I… I don’t want to string some poor girl on just because my father thinks that it’s what’s good for my family. I’ve never been able to think for myself at home, but he sent me to the wrong school if he didn’t want me to learn how to do so.”

“Oh… So… You’re-“ Merlin started, only to be interrupted by a fast and hard hiss of breath from the other boy.

“I’m gay, Merlin. I like guys. I want to be with a guy.” Arthur snapped, scowling intensely as if he was trying to burn a hole in the wall with his gaze alone. Merlin’s eye’s widened and he shifted backwards. Arthur softened his expression. “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault… It’s definitely a secret I don’t like telling. I just feel like I can trust you. Like there’s something drawing me towards you telling me that it’s okay to let go of all of these secrets inside of me. More than once I’ve heard Uther… my father make derogatory comments about Gwaine and Perce… I just know it’s something that’s not acceptable for me. My so called legacy is too important.”

I know exactly what you mean, Merlin thought, but he didn’t say it, instead settling for, “Did you just apologise to me without being told to by the other boys?”

“I suppose I did…” Arthur turned, clearly intending to leave the room, and quit whilst he was ahead. “Don’t tell anyone.” He added, as he pulled lightly on the handle.

“About your penchant for penis? Or your spontaneous apology?” Merlin smiled, winking at the blonde boy, who returned a small smile, and nodded out of the room.

When the door was firmly closed behind Arthur, the room’s walls began to spin around Merlin. He’d been trying extremely hard all week to not attribute Pendragon’s skittish behaviour to a deep secret like his sexuality. All of his life, Merlin had tried to be as honest and open with absolutely everybody, about absolutely everything. The only secret he ever allowed himself to have was his knack for pushing the limits of his computers, but even then his mother was aware of it. To think that Arthur could be in danger from his father because of who he loved… it made Merlin woozy. Realistically, there was nobody he could confide in except his mother. He picked up the paper, and began to write. His letter was three pages long before he finished, but he couldn’t help but think that even then there was some piece of information that he’d forgotten to include.

Chapter Text

The days had turned into somewhat of a blur as the school year got underway at full speed. September ended, and so did October, and before Arthur knew it the break for Christmas was approaching. The tutors were no longer handing assignments, and Avalon’s reputation of having heavy reading lists was starting to weigh down on Arthur. He had spent most evenings reading with Merlin and finishing up their lines and slides for their presentation. They’d both agreed to play up their mythical names, and focus more on presenting, while the information and data that they had compiled would be in their slides, so that the other students could take notes. Arthur couldn’t deny, he and Merlin were like a well-oiled machine, and they worked almost too well together. Arthur didn’t really know what to do with his now well-established crush, but he’d gotten better at hiding it. Even Leon had stopped teasing him about it… Small mercies, Arthur thought.

It was the second last Friday before the Christmas break, today they would present to the class what they had gathered. He was filled with nerves knowing that this presentation would make up most of his class marks for this portion of the year. Failure was not an option, something Uther had drilled into him since he was a young boy. Behind those nerves, was quiet confidence. There was no doubt that Merlin was the smartest person he’d ever met, and surely together they had put together an informative and entertaining presentation.

He decided that a run was definitely in order, though it was much earlier than he’d usually set out. Arthur quietly eased the door shut behind him, careful not to let the latch click too loudly. The corridor was dim, he didn’t know if anyone was awake, but the halls felt abandoned as he worked his way down the staircase. As he stepped into the hush, he heard the school clock chime six. Each note reminded him of the hour, of the day ahead, and of the nerves he was trying to temper. He moved quickly down the corridor, aware that Leon and Gwaine would usually wake up early as well, and finally pushed through the heavy oak doors into the open air. The cold struck him at once, sharp and bracing, but it was welcome. He drew in a long breath, letting the chill settle in his lungs, and began to jog across the gravel path.

The school grounds stretched wide and silent, cloaked in mist. There was a frost on the ground that he wasn’t able to see from his window on account of the dark. Arthur’s stride lengthened as he found rhythm, the crunch of gravel beneath his shoes steadying his thoughts. He set his pace faster than usual, deciding that spending too much time in freezing temperatures was probably not the smartest idea, and each thud of his shoes grounded him in routine.

The run was more than exercise; it was ritual. As he worked his way around the grounds, now more of a home than his family’s country house had ever been, his nerves loosened, and it eventually reshaped into focus. He thought of the presentation waiting for him, of Merlin’s steady presence beside him, and of Kilgharrah’s sharp eyes watching from the back of the room. He had to admit, he was now a little bit excited, they’d worked so hard on this.

By the time he slowed near the dormitory again, sweat clung to his brow and his heartbeat had steadied. He paused, hands on his hips. He looked up to the dormitory windows, certain that he had seen one of the curtains move, covering a light he didn’t remember noticing. Now he knew he was ready, Virtus et pertinacia indeed, he joked to himself.

Arthur was already waiting by the door to the classroom when Merlin arrived, leaning casually against the wall with his notes tucked under one arm. Merlin approached, clutching his own papers a little too tightly, trying to mask the nervous energy that had nothing at all  to do with the presentation itself. Their eyes met, and for a heartbeat neither spoke. It really was like something out of a cheap rom-com, freshly spat our from Hollywood. Finally, Arthur broke it with a grin that was just a shade too warm. “Ready to impress Kilgharrah? We’ve spent so long on this, he better give us full marks.” Merlin rolled his eyes, though the corner of his mouth betrayed a smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Just don’t get carried away with your heroic speeches.” Arthur chuckled, brushing his shoulder against Merlin’s as they fell into step together. The touch was fleeting, accidental in appearance, but deliberate in intent a quiet reassurance that they had each other’s backs.

The classroom was hushed, most of the students were already sat in their pairs ready to make their presentations in the double session. By what Arthur could tell, he and Merlin were by far the best prepared. Some of the others didn’t have notes. You’re at the best independent school in the country, way to waste your time, Arthur thought. Kilgharrah, leaned against his desk with his arms folded, his drake‑like eyes scanning the room. I can never tell what that man is thinking, Arthur mused, which did nothing at all to ease the nerves that were now swelling in his stomach.

With the final student muttering apologies for cutting the lesson time down to mere seconds, Kilgharrah started the class. “Several weeks ago, I handed assignments to this class in pairs, to produce a comprehensive presentation of a topic that I assigned you. Today, you will make those presentations to your class. More importantly, you will make those presentations to me. You will be aware that you are being graded on both the depth of your study, and your ability to make a compelling and engaging presentation.” He cleared his throat, scanning the room of nervous students. “This is the first assignment for this class for your school year. It will compound thirty percent of your total grade for this class. Some of you seem to be more prepared than others! Ha!” The old man glanced at Merlin and Arthur’s notes. “I suppose we better start out strong then. Merlin and Arthur, you will go first.”

The boys nodded and took their place at the front of the class. Merlin loaded the presentation on the screen, after spending the last few days working his wizardry on the formatting, Arthur had to admit that the slides were sleek. Merlin adjusted his notes, though his gaze kept flicking sideways to Arthur. Arthur caught the glance, smirked faintly, and then looked away, pretending to straighten his tie. He nodded for Merlin to begin.

Merlin cleared his throat. "Politics in Albion. An interesting topic, considering that Albion is one of the many names for our home. A mythical one, for a place that we now call ‘Great Britain’. In honour of that name, let us begin not with dusty charters, but with legend. Albion, the ancient name for Britain, was once said to be home to giants. Yet could it have been Arthur, the once and future king, and the legends that follow him, the presence that gives Albion its moral compass?"

Arthur grinned, he liked hearing Merlin say his name with reverence, even if that reverence was being afforded to a mythical, fabled king. It was a strong start, exactly how they had planned, even Kilgharrah raised an eyebrow, clearly pleased at the attention that the boys had grasped from their classmates.

Arthur stood straight, it was his turn. "My Round Table was no mere furniture. It was a symbol: no head, no foot, no hierarchy. Knights sat as equals, bound by counsel and justice. That ideal would echo centuries later in parliaments and assemblies." There were giggles in the class as Arthur played the part of a regal king. He glanced at Merlin, urging him to continue. The slides portrayed classic depictions of the round table, clearly trying to

Merlin’s lips twitched, almost betraying a grin. He admired Arthur’s commitment to the bit, though he wished Arthur would stop looking at him like that, it made his chest tighten.

"By the 10th century, England and Scotland had emerged as distinct kingdoms. Each wrestled with power: kings against nobles, church against crown, clans against central rule." Merlin continued.

Arthur picked up as Merlin changed the slide again, with key dates of Peasant’s Revolts, and executions of aristocrats being displayed on the slides. "And England’s Magna Carta of 1215 was a thunderclap. Barons forced King John to accept that even a monarch is bound by law. Scotland, meanwhile, fought fiercely for sovereignty, with Wallace and Bruce leading the charge."

Merlin shot him a sideways glance half admiration, half warning not to get carried away in the fantasy. A girl in the front row scribbled notes furiously, oblivious to the undercurrent between the two boys. Kilgharrah, however, narrowed his eyes, paying close attention to the boys.

Merlin raised a hand as the presentation moved on once more, his voice solemn. “The 17th century was Albion’s crucible. Civil wars tore England apart. Kings claimed divine right; Parliament demanded supremacy. Blood was shed, but principles were forged. The Revolution of 1688 settled the matter: monarchy would be constitutional, bound by Parliament and law. And then, in 1707, the Acts of Union joined England and Scotland into Great Britain. Unity, but not uniformity."

Arthur gestured toward the students, forcing himself to focus away from Merlin, he barely caught himself staring. "The 18th and 19th centuries brought reform. Industrialization, empire, and urban growth demanded broader representation." This was the meat of the presentation, slides were now timed, and now they would tell if their rehearsal of their script would pay off, "Reform Acts expanded the vote: first to property holders, then to working men, and finally to women. Rotten boroughs abolished, seats redistributed, elections standardized. Consent became mass participation."

Arthur’s hand brushed Merlin’s as he gestured, a fleeting touch. A student raised her hand, eyes shining. “So it wasn’t just kings anymore?” Kilgharrah inclined his head, encouraging the question, while Merlin answered with a gentle nod, “That’s right, this is the era in our history where we started to place power in the hands of more and more people, though this was incremental, first with the barons, and then in Parliament.” his voice steadier than he felt. They took the class through the remainder of the growth that had led to Britain being the country it is today, from World Wars to Milk Snatchers, they covered the whole lot, they had nailed this presentation, and they both knew it.

"Today, England and Scotland exist within the United Kingdom’s constitutional monarchy. The Crown endures as symbol, but power lies with elected representatives." Arthur spread his arms wide, smiling at the class but he couldn’t help but glance Merlin’s way.
"From sword and legend to law and democracy, Albion’s journey is complete. A land where monarchy endures, but the people rule." Marlin concluded. Arthur raised his hand in a mocking fist. The political dynasty of his family not lost on the students, nor their tutor.

Kilgharrah’s stern face broke into a rare smile, though it lasted less than a second. He clasped his hands together and said softly, "Well done, Merlin. Well done, Arthur. You have shown them that history is not just dates and battles it is a living story, a tapestry woven from myth and shared values, grown over centuries. Your presentation was a good start to the class." Kilgharrah rounded on the class, “If this is the standard that my class has set, I must be an excellent teacher.” He snorted “Now.. who to choose next?”

The boys returned to their seats, sharing a triumphant high-five, and a tender smile. Unbeknownst to them, Kilgharrah’s eyes narrowed, catching the exchange. He said nothing, but the corner of his mouth twitched as though he knew exactly what was being hidden beneath the grand tale of Albion’s political history.