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This was a horrible idea. Arthur seemed to know it deep down, but refused to acknowledge this outside of the odd nervous glance over the edge of the boat. Though, as was Arthur’s usual way of doing things, any outright fear was quickly disguised as anticipation for the coming battle. Or was it a quest? Merlin wasn’t sure anymore, as he’d assumed this journey was to be an average public appearance to keep neighboring kingdoms happy, but had been told moments ago that their trivial act of good faith towards the other kingdom was to hunt down a SIREN. A full blown lure-you-into-the-water-and-tear-you-to-bits siren. Which was all well and good, of course, except the fact that the ship they were meant to be taking was ALL MEN.
The plan was relatively simple, though incredibly easy to mess up. They’d all be tied to the masts by Merlin until they docked at the isle where the Siren was said to reside upon, and there, they’d drink special tonics that Gaius had provided which were meant to protect them from the Siren’s spell. The tonic would give them two hours to find and kill it.
Both Merlin and Arthur were given two vials, Merlin because he needed to be in his right mind to give the rest of the crew their tonic and join them in the hunt when the time came, and Arthur because he was the prince. As usual, that was the only reason. The captain was given a slightly fuller vial with the intention of drinking a little to give him enough sanity to dock the boat, and then down the rest to join the hunt.
The main ingredient in the potion was a flower that only grew on the siren’s isle, and therefore was so incredibly rare and dangerous to recover that supplies of the tonic were scarce. All this, Arthur related to Merlin no more than five minutes ago while they were fetching last minute supplies. Arthur tossed burlap sack after burlap sack on top of the already unbearable load Merlin was carrying while Merlin was still trying to process what he’d just been told.
“You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“You look like a prat, at the moment.”
“Watch it.” Arthur tossed one last sack on top of the load, leaving Merlin to sway and stumble about clumsily in an effort to stay standing. After a few too many seconds of this, Arthur groaned and heaved half of the load into his own arms with infuriating ease. Of course it would be that easy for him. Merlin grinned at him from behind his tower of sacks.
“Don’t look at me like that, it was only to make the walk minutely less pathetic to watch.” Arthur insisted, heaving the load up onto his shoulders and beginning the climb up towards the boat. Merlin nodded to himself. That seemed a tad more like the Arthur he knew.
Ignoring the pit in his stomach, Merlin followed at the prince’s heels and lugged the last several pounds of supplies aboard, pushing towards the center of the ship as the prince made his rounds and greeted the crew members warmly.
“You can set those down right over there, thank you.” A kind looking old man pointed across the deck and gave Merlin a warm smile, which Merlin hastily returned. He nodded his thanks, and plodded heavily towards the indicated spot. Shoulder and legs aching, he dumped the supplies and straightened up. He knew he would not be spared from any more physical tasks simply if his legs hurt; Arthur wouldn’t take that as an excuse more than once.
A young boy appeared momentarily and whisked the sacks away to the lower deck, thanking Merlin profusely. Arthur soon joined him, dropped off his own share of supplies, and stood beside Merlin to lean over the railing. Arthur tilted his head slightly, smiling out at the perfectly calm sea.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Merlin didn’t answer, so Arthur went on.
“Did I hear that man say ‘Thank you?’ He’d better be careful with that; I can’t have you developing an ego.”
“Oh, of course not; nothing worse than a man with an ego, right?” Merlin replied easily.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Arthur said, failing to keep the amusement out of his voice. They fell into an easy silence, looking out at the sea’s gentle waves lapping against the shore and brushing the side of the boat quietly.
“The sirens target men.” Merlin said at last.
Arthur let out a short and derisive laugh.
“Glad to see you’ve finally caught up, Merlin.”
“You’re a man.”
“So are you, though I have my doubts when you insist upon acting like a scared little girl all the time.”
“We’re ALL men.”
Arthur tightened his grip on the railing ever so slightly, and sighed heavily. Merlin could tell he‘d been thinking the same thing. Arthur wasn’t stupid, despite his impressive capacity to act like it.
“We have a plan and if we stick to it we‘ll be fine. End of story. Your incessant worrying won’t do anyone any good.”
“But it doesn’t make any sense. Why not send a woman in my place? Gaius could redistribute the other two vials and give you all a little extra time.” Merlin pointed out.
“As fond as I was at the notion of getting to replace you,” Arthur began. “I suggested hiring women for this particular journey and my father wouldn’t hear any of it.”
“Oh, well that’s a HUGE shock.” Merlin drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Arthur glared. “I should have you in the stocks for that one.”
“There’s no stocks on the boat.” Merlin pointed out helpfully.
“I can always wait until we get back.” Arthur pointed out unhelpfully.
A moment later they were off, and the first day went by uneventfully. Despite the odd request for him to fetch things or dress and undress the prince, Merlin found that his workload was significantly decreased. He also found that the crew members, many of whom were common folk, treated him with what seemed like an excessive amount of respect because he was manservant to the prince. Merlin had never heard so many people thank him in his entire life.
The second night came around and the crew threw a sort of pre-siren celebration, which seemed odd in Merlin’s opinion but then again, it did get pretty boring at sea.
They drank and sang and laughed out loud well into the night, and Merlin was hovering on the sidelines to refill mugs as Arthur required. He didn’t mind sitting out; he rather liked getting to watch Arthur interact with the crew. Generally, Arthur’s behavior at banquets and celebrations back home was stiff and formulaic, but here he seemed to have loosened up; he shed the mask of royal superiority and was allowing himself to let go for what Merlin suspected was the first time in a long time. Arthur cracked jokes with the other crew members and drank more than he probably should have, and Merlin had no intention of cutting him off.
A faint pink glow bloomed slowly across Arthur’s face, and he even started thanking Merlin when his mug was refilled, a sign that he was getting incredibly far gone.
Arthur danced and sang at the top of his lungs and laughed without reservation, and it was beautiful. Merlin found that under the light of the moon and without judgmental eyes to constrict him, he rather liked Arthur. He smiled to himself, and when Arthur slid into the seat next to him and began belting an old drinking song, Merlin had no choice but to grin and join in.
The next morning, Merlin was slightly disenchanted when a glove slapped him across the face to wake him up.
“Good morning.” Arthur said nastily, tucking the glove into his belt. “The isle isn’t far; it’s time to tie us up.”
Merlin groaned and rolled out of bed, sluggishly retrieving his satchel before trudging above deck, blinking in the sudden sunlight. The crew were already at work tying each other to the poles, and Merlin, of course, set to work on Arthur’s bindings.
”Is it REALLY necessary that you tie my feet?” Arthur demanded.
“Probably not.” Merlin said honestly.
“Then why the hell are you doing it?”
“Fun.”
Arthur made to swat Merlin but only succeeded in wiggling a little as his hands and arms were already tied down. Merlin took a step back, partly to laugh at Arthur and partly to check that he was secure. He couldn’t have the crown prince drowning on his watch.
“These knots had better be the tightest you’ve ever tied,” Arthur warned.
“Oh, don’t worry. Even if you do get out, I reckon the siren will take one look at you and lose its appetite.”
Arthur hissed something about putting Merlin in the stocks and fell silent as Merlin double checked the knots and moved on to the final crew member left untied: the captain. Merlin quickly bound him to the other side of the pole Arthur was against. He straightened up to observe his handiwork, and decided it was good enough; the captain was rather a scrawny old man and didn’t seem like he needed quite the same level of security as Arthur.
“You didn’t do his feet.” Arthur snapped.
“I trust him.” Merlin said plainly.
“You trust him more than you trust me?”
“With all due respect, sire, I’ve seen you almost get yourself killed more times than I can count.”
The captain choked down a laugh, and Arthur grew very red. Merlin grinned. He was enjoying this a little too much.
Arthur made to defend himself but cut himself off, and his blue eyes widened, looking over Merlin’s shoulder at something. His face drained of color.
“Drink your vial, Merlin.”
“What?” He spun around to see what the prince was staring at, and saw an island with swirling storm clouds surrounding it looming in the distance. The Siren’s Isle.
“NOW, Merlin-!” Arthur roared, but it was too late. A lilting soprano voice filled the air so completely that it felt almost tangible, and the crew’s eyes became unfocused and wild. They began thrashing against their ropes and yelling the names of women at the top of their lungs. Merlin had heard stories of Sirens tricking people into thinking they were their loved ones, but he hadn’t thought it was true until now.
“Maria, darling, I’m coming home soon, I promise!” The captain wailed.
“Agnes, my love-!”
“Helena, my darling, wait for me-!”
“Sybil, don’t leave me-!”
Merlin wasn’t paying much attention to this due to two very important reasons. 1, he had not drank the vial and was still unaffected. 2, Arthur was staring at him with completely focused eyes and a lack of women’s names in his mouth.
“What the hell is going on?” Arthur breathed, glancing around at the other men who were still screaming and bashing their heads against the masts in their desperate escape efforts.
“I don’t know.” Merlin admitted numbly. He had an idea why HE might be immune, but Arthur? There was no way in hell that Arthur was a sorcerer, so it had to be something else.
“What-?” Arthur began to ask but the question died in his throat. The two men stared at each other for a few moments, unsure of what to do. Merlin coughed.
“S’pose I can untie you, then.” Merlin said slowly, eyes never leaving Arthur’s. Arthur nodded, eyes wide and swimming with confusion.
Merlin untied the ropes binding his hands and arms first, before looking up at him to check that he truly was unaffected. He was staring straight ahead, eyes completely sharp and aware.
Merlin paused before the leg ropes.
“Promise once I untie these you won’t try and drown yourself?” He asked, offering a grin.
Arthur didn’t answer, and was clearly not in the mood for jokes.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Merlin said under his breath, finally releasing Arthur fully. The prince didn’t even move, he just leaned against the mast and looked around, dazed.
“Why isn’t it working?” He said in a low voice, half to himself and half to Merlin. “Neither of us drank it.”
“I’ve got not clue.”
Arthur’s eyes lowered to the deck and his eyebrows knit together slightly. Oh no, Merlin thought. He’s thinking.
“Maybe it’s because I’m the prince.” He said after a moment. Merlin would’ve laughed out loud if not for the poorly disguised fear in Arthur’s voice. He was terrified, more so than Merlin had ever seen before.
“Why would I still be immune if it was because you’re the prince?” Merlin asked slowly, fighting to keep any derision out of his voice.
“I don’t know!” Arthur snapped, flinging his arms up. He circled around the mast to look at the captain, who was drooling and struggling madly.
“Maria-?” He cried out, looking around wildly with unseeing eyes.
“I suppose it’s a good thing.” Arthur said, wincing. “I wouldn’t want you to see me like that; I’d never hear the end of it.”
Merlin grinned, but there was a certain lack of humor behind it as he struggled to wrap his head around the whole situation. On the bright side, Arthur’s being immune deflected a certain amount of suspicion away from Merlin. Had he been the only one, it would’ve been a lot harder to explain away.
“Well, I can’t say I’m that upset. I was looking at nearly two hours alone with them in that state. At least now I’ve got company.” Merlin shrugged and sank down to the floor and leaned against the mast. “Granted, I was hoping for someone slightly less irritating to talk to.”
“Have you given up?” Arthur demanded.
“No, but there’s nothing we can do about this. We’re immune for some reason and that’s all we’ve got to work with. There’s no point dwelling now; we’ll ask Gaius when we get home.”
“How can we be sure Gaius will know the answer?”
“Your incessant worrying doesn’t do anyone any good.” Merlin mimicked in a high-pitched voice.
“That’s childish, Merlin. Even for you.”
Arthur lowered himself to sit next to Merlin. “And besides, I don’t even sound like that.”
“I don’t even sound like that!” Merlin mimicked again.
“I’ve half a mind to throw you overboard.”
“Right, point taken.”
They fell into a slightly less tense silence, the bickering acting as a sort of comforting familiarity in such a strange situation. Arthur was thinking again, Merlin could tell. He wondered if this time would actually produce something worthwhile.
“The vials,” Arthur said after a minute. “We don’t need ours. That’s four more to give to the others.”
Merlin looked at him sideways and couldn’t help but smile. It was truly a great thing when Arthur decided to not be an ass.
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Four more bottles,” Arthur mused quietly.
“Surprised you can count that high.” Merlin remarked, earning himself a cuff over the head.
Arthur stared out at the waves for a few moments after, his blue eyes reflecting the clouds and turning his irises into miniature skies. The tenseness had left his shoulders and he seemed almost at ease despite the screeching madmen surrounding him. He sighed, and turned to Merlin.
“Do you know what?”
“What?”
“I lied to you.”
“Ah, I knew you couldn’t count that high.”
“I’m serious, Merlin.”
“Right, sorry. What did you lie about?”
“Replacing you with a woman.”
“Are you telling me there is a woman on board after all?”
“No. I mean to say that I did suggest an all female crew. And my father did refuse, but he agreed to allow one woman to come and watch over us all while we were under the spell.” Arthur was speaking slowly, as if every syllable pained him. Merlin wasn’t sure where he was going with all this, but listened intently nonetheless.
“And I agreed. I thought that was a fantastic idea; it would save more tonic for the rest of us and give some servant girl a noble thing to do for her kingdom. But when I went to find you, my father stopped me and asked why you needed to come with me. I said that I still had things I needed you to do for me, but my father insisted I’d manage without you.”
Arthur looked over at Merlin, the sky eyes filling with regret, and gave him a pained smile.
“I told him that you were going if I was going, so he refused to allow a woman on board. He told me that if anyone died as a result, the blood would be on my hands.”
Arthur leaned back, his eyes focusing on some imaginary point in the distance. That was why he had been so nervous, Merlin thought. He wasn’t scared for himself, he was scared of letting something happen to the rest of us.
“Well, you didn’t really lie to me. You just didn’t tell me the whole truth.”
“I put you in danger.” Arthur breathed a long sigh, and closed his eyes. “You could’ve been at home right now, not floating towards certain doom.”
“As much as I would’ve loved the idea of a day or two off, I would’ve been bored.” Merlin admitted. Arthur smiled.
“I thought you’d be furious.”
“Would you prefer that I was?”
“No.”
They fell silent again, and Arthur seemed to be genuinely relaxed. He was almost the Arthur that Merlin had seen the previous night, except that it was more real, in a way. Merlin watched him for a moment, taking in the sight of the prince’s face when it was truly free of tension, the lines all soft and trusting, not a hint of a mask to be seen. He vastly preferred this Arthur.
“Arthur?”
“What?”
“Be careful. When we get there, I mean.”
Arthur raised his eyebrows and almost smiled, giving Merlin a suspicious look.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were worried about me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I spent hours cleaning that sword last time and if anything happened to it, then I’d really be furious.”
Arthur smiled gently, which caught Merlin entirely off guard. He’d expected a playful jab in return, not sincerity.
“Nothing is going to happen to it. Promise.”
Suddenly, there was a sickening crunch that seemed to come from below the boat. The thrashing men grew even louder and more rowdy, screeching and flinging bits of spit as they kicked and bit and begged to be untied. The siren song grew louder.
Arthur stood up and drew his sword in one fluid motion. There were a few more crunches. The singing grew even louder. Suddenly, a slimy hand with impossibly long claws slapped over the rim of the ship. Merlin scrambled to his feet, eyes wide.
“They’re not meant to come aboard,” Arthur breathed.
“It doesn’t look like she cares.” Merlin winced as the horrible thing flopped itself over the rim of the deck and reared up to its full height.
The siren was a sickly grey color, with spider-like purple veins that surged just beneath the surface. It had a lizard esque body that moved to the tail of a fish at the end, with three sets of muscular legs that ended in webbed feet. Rather like a centaur, it had a woman’s torso and a woman’s face, except the fact that its eyes were large black orbs and its mouth was impossibly large, and lined with multiple rows of needle-like teeth. It had what looked like long black hair but behaved more like tentacles.
“I’m not sure why the song didn’t affect you; she‘s just your type.” Merlin remarked.
“Do you ever shut up?”
The siren closed its mouth, and the singing stopped. The men on board began waking up and falling silent before immediately beginning a new round of raucous screams when they saw their uninvited guest.
“Merlin, get them their vials and get them untied.” Arthur ordered, squaring off with the siren. It scraped its claws on the deck and started advancing slowly, drool leaking from its hideous mouth.
Merlin fumbled with the vials in his satchel and popped the cork on the captain’s, dumping the entire contents down his throat. Arthur had begun swinging, and the siren slipped easily between his swings, making a strange hissing noise.
Merlin went down the line, dumping vials into the men’s mouths and untying them as fast as humanly possible.
“Go find yourself weapons,” Merlin told every man once they were freed.
With a triumphant cry, Arthur landed a blow on the creature and it shrank back, leaking a thick black fluid onto the deck. It reared on Arthur and stretched itself up even taller, and looked like it was preparing to strike. Suddenly, it opened its mouth once more and began singing again, this time with a much lower pitched voice and a slower tempo than before.
Arthur’s eyes grew unfocused, and his sword hung at his side limply. He took a slow step towards the beast.
“NO-!” Merlin screamed, retrieving another vial and sprinting across the deck towards Arthur. He was advancing slowly on the Siren, hand outstretched. He was saying something, but Merlin was too far away to hear it. Feet furiously pounding the deck and hands fumbling to uncork the vial as he went, he watched desperately as Arthur took another step. His trancelike state was far less manic than the other men, and his eyes were filled with tears.
“Merlin?” He heard Arthur say quietly, reaching his hand out, nearly close enough to touch the creature.
It was at that moment that Merlin body slammed him to the floor and poured the entirety of the vial down his throat. The siren screeched and started skittering across the deck towards them at impossible speeds. Merlin snatched the sword out of Arthur’s hand and brought it up just in time to impale the Siren directly through the middle. It twitched a little, hissed once more, and shuddered. It fell limp, dead.
Breathing hard, Merlin flung the thing backwards, and laughed out loud with such a sense of relief washing over him that he barely realized Arthur was still there. He heard a groan from behind him, and Arthur sat up, rubbing his head.
“What hap-?” He froze when he saw the siren, and he looked from the sword to Merlin.
“Did you do that?”
“No thanks to you.” Merlin grinned and handed Arthur his sword back.
“Did I pass out?” Arthur asked, looking around confusedly.
“The siren changed its tune and you went under its spell.” Merlin said earnestly, extending a hand to help Arthur to his feet. He accepted it, and shook his head, dazed.
“Did I say anything?” Arthur asked, trying to act as if it were a casual matter but looking afraid of the answer. A crew member nearby began to answer but Merlin shot him a pleading look. It was Arthur’s business, to be shared when Arthur felt ready.
“No, no you didn’t.” Merlin lied.
The captain came to stand beside Arthur and cleared his throat, making a point to not look at the Siren’s body, which was still oozing the black liquid.
“Gentlemen, if there’s no objections, I think it would be best if we start heading home.”
“Yes, thank you.” Arthur brought a hand up to his face and was startled when he removed it wet. He turned to Merlin, confused.
“Am I crying?”
“You can hardly be blamed, sire; a scary monster like that against a big coward like you? It was bound to happen.”
Arthur swatted Merlin over the head but laughed anyways.
The crew went about their business as Merlin and Arthur sat against the mast, not speaking. Finally, Arthur looked over.
“I never thanked you.”
“For what?”
“Saving my life. That Siren nearly had me.”
Merlin shrugged.
“I wasn’t about to let you get eaten.”
Arthur clasped a hand on Merlin’s shoulder and smiled genuinely.
“Thank you, Merlin.”
They sat there for an hour or two, watching the sun sink below the horizon and highlight the waves in iridescent shades of orange and purple and gold. After awhile, the prince’s head began to droop.
“Doing none of the work really tired you out, huh?” Merlin quipped.
“Shut up, Merlin.” Arthur mumbled, his head eventually lolling onto Merlin’s shoulder as he drifted off to sleep.
Merlin smiled and looked out at the water, which now glowed a brilliant orange in the setting sun. Merlin knew what he’d heard Arthur say and he knew that it had fundamentally changed something between them, but he was content to let it rest until the right moment. When Arthur was ready, Merlin would be ready. He thought of Arthur on the second night, of flushed cheeks and wild hair and unbothered laughter. Of please and thank you and singing and light. Of the clouds reflected in his eyes and a feeling of eternity. Of smiles and jokes and his own name, spoken softly.
The sea whispered to him gently as Merlin’s eyelids became heavier and heavier, and as the moon began her gentle climb into the inky sky, Merlin allowed himself to drift into peaceful sleep.