We found love in a hopeless place

[ayoungboy]

It's been 5 years since this whole nightmare began, and both sides had sustained incredible casualties. The whole of Europe was fairly decimated, but England was definitely the worst. Perhaps the worst of it all was the fact that Merlin didn't know if Arthur was dead or alive. Yes, he thought about him often. How stupid they'd both been. Merlin was willing to fight for what he believed in, but it hadn't been about him - it should have been about them, about working it out together. It should never have come to this.

He still wears the engagement ring on his finger. He's almost lost it once or twice, but it's still there - and he makes sure to take care of it and clean it, repair it. But that's not what this meeting it about; he's been selected to represent the magical community in the negotiations. All they wanted was their freedom back. Magic wasn't inherently evil; it was people that used it for nefarious purposes, people that mistreated it. They were willing to help put those people in jail. If only the non-magic users would understand.

They're meeting on what used to be Parliament, reduced to rubble, now. Merlin's fiddling with his hands, twisting the ring nervously. They've set up wards already; there are a few other magical delegates and guards there, but Merlin is to do the central talking. Still, there's only so much they can guard against, and if the non-magic users decide to attack…well, the magic users weren't going to be too keen on reopening negotiations after that.

Comments

[royalpratness]

Arthur lets himself fall back against the familiar cushions of the sofa. "Much better."

[ayoungboy]

"Oh yes. I wonder if anything at all remains of the apart ent..."

[royalpratness]

"I doubt it, but we could go and check at some point if you want."

[ayoungboy]

"I don't know. It might be too depressing, honestly."

[royalpratness]

"I know what you mean. We should keep the good memories we got of it and leave it at that."

[ayoungboy]

"We'll find somewhere even better," Merlin assures, resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. "We will."

[royalpratness]

"Yeah, we will." He agrees, allowing himself some optimism for once.

[ayoungboy]

"Who else is alive? If you know who else is."

[royalpratness]

"I met Gwaine a few months back but we didn't keep in touch. No idea what happened to him."

[ayoungboy]

"I hope he's okay." Merlin frowns a little.

[royalpratness]

((ooc: I'm out of the hospital but still not feeling well :/ I'm off work for another 10 days and as long as the eye infection hasn't cleared up,I won't be able to do that much tagging.))

"I'm sure he is. You know Gwaine. He's impossible to kill." Arthur grins, nudging Merlin.

[ayoungboy]

[ooc: Don't you DARE worry about it. Take as much time as you need and tag when you feel like it. I'm not going anywhere <3 Rest up and get better, love. ]

Merlin laughs and nods. "Unkillable bastard. Percival still with him?"

[royalpratness]

((ooc: thanks ;_; <3))

"No, he said they got separated at some point." Arthur sighs, hoping that Percival is okay, too.

[ayoungboy]

"I don't think he's one of our prisoners, but I'll double check just to make sure." Merlin says, frowning a little.

[royalpratness]

"How many prisoners do you have?" Arthur asks, stroking his thumb over the back of Merlin's hand.

[ayoungboy]

"Almost 300. Only...roughly 75 have committed war crimes we cannot pardon. The rest were just captured in the line of fire, after surrendering. I know he's not one of the 75, at least."

[royalpratness]

"Wow, that's a lot of people. We really need to get this court thing on the way as soon as possible."

[ayoungboy]

"Yeah." Merlin sighs. "And get a proper jail or something. Although...some people have been clamoring for the death penalty."

[royalpratness]

"I've never been a fan of the death penalty." Arthur rests his head on Merlin's shoulder. "What do you think?"

[ayoungboy]

"I think it depends." Merlin shrugs a little. "It's not the first thing I'd like to jump to, no. But some of these criminals are...they're not people you'd want to be released. Ever."

[royalpratness]

"No, I know. We don't really have the capacities to jail anybody for life at this point."

[ayoungboy]

"We do have the capacity for humane execution." Merlin makes a face. Humane execution. Pretty ironic phrase. "Potions and such. Makes it painless."

[royalpratness]

Arthur shudders at the thought. "Can we discuss this later?"

[ayoungboy]

"Of course." Merlin kisses him softly. "I just hope Percival is okay."

[royalpratness]

"I'm sure he is." Arthur kisses him back, smiling against Merlin's lips.