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When Leon saw Merlin’s eyes change from a beautiful blue to a startling gold, he nearly jumped back.
It was hard to process.
Never in his wildest dreams could he have ever pictured Merlin even consorting with sorcerers, let alone be one.
How could this sweet, innocent, lovable Merlin be using such a dark and twisted thing?
The Merlin he knew would never think of using magic.
How could he do this? How could he betray Arthur like this?
Leon didn’t know how to react.
The man that Merlin had just killed—he never thought Merlin would kill anyone—fell to the floor. Merlin immediately turned to look at Leon, and he was quick to flinch and scoot back when Merlin tried moving closer.
There was pain—so much of it—etched on his face.
And Leon didn’t care. Merlin was a monster. A terrible, evil, no good person.
He deserved to be in pain after all the pain he inflicted on him, on Arthur—after inflicting so much pain on Camelot itself.
Merlin bit his lip before swallowing, tears brimming in his eyes. “Please don't tell Arthur.”
Leon’s eyes only flared even more.
“Please.” Merlin was begging him now, nearly on his knees pleading with him. “Please don't tell him. Please. ”
Before Leon could argue against him, Arthur murmured softly and Merlin was up and by his side faster than he could blink, taking a look at his wounds.
“What happened?” Arthur asked him, still a bit dazed since his crash.
Merlin gulped, looking between Arthur and Leon, until he finally settled on lying, saying the bandits got scared.
And Arthur, being the idiot that he was, believed him.
To be fair, he would've believed Merlin too if he hadn't just found out his biggest secret.
Leon huffed before getting up, pulling Arthur up and helping Merlin carry him back to the horses. They had been on a hunt when they had been attacked (as per usual) by bandits. It had just been him, Arthur, and Merlin because the group had split up to cover more ground and so it had only been him to see Merlin’s betrayal.
He wanted to tell Arthur immediately but he wasn't sure if the man would believe him. To be fair, it did seem a little bit insane to think that Merlin was actually a sorcerer.
And yet, that was the case.
He knew it would be hard to get through to him but he was hoping that he would be able, that he would be able to convince him of the truth.
Still though, even with knowing that magic was evil and wrong and therefore Merlin was wrong, there was a part of him that considered whether… maybe he wasn't evil. That maybe there was much more to the story.
But Leon had been taught his entire life that magic was wrong. He had fought hundreds of magical beasts, had been told they were all evil—there was no way that there was a good one left.
And so he resolved to tell Arthur everything as soon as he was well-rested. He would beg and plead if he had to, anything to get him to listen to him.
He would do anything to expose Arthur to the truth of who Merlin was. How they had both been played for years now as to who this man really was.
He was ready.
He was going to do this.
He was going to get rid of one more magical user, rid themselves of one more monster.
And yet, when he came to the door to Arthur’s chambers, he found that he couldn't actually knock on it.
He was so close, mere feet away from the king, from the man who would be able to save them from the evil itself, and Leon was hesitating.
Why was he hesitating?
He tried bringing back memories of the moment he found out. The intense, powerful way Merlin’s eyes gleamed a brilliant gold, the way that his eyes glinted against the sun, the way the words that came from his mouth sounded… wrong.
How, despite the warm feeling he felt from the Magic itself, how terrifying he looked doing it and, clearly, if it was horrifying it meant that it was bad.
Right?
…he was doing the right thing here, right?
This was the right decision, right?
Leon paced back and forth, gnawing on his lip.
Should he do this? Was this the right decision to make?
His thoughts were suddenly flooded by memories of the two of them together before he knew of his secret.
Memories of them laughing together, of sharing a drink, of teasing each other. Leon had never once doubted the laws of Camelot, had always thought that all who worked under Camelot were treated equally until Merlin had shown up and changed his entire perspective.
Merlin had opened his eyes once before… could Merlin do that once again?
Could he really try to condemn his friend’s life to death without even hearing what he had to say first?
He thought about it and then he thought some more before finally turning around and walking away.
He wasn't willing to trust Merlin just yet.
But after all the chances Merlin had given him, it only seemed fair he would give Merlin one too.
And so he found himself knocking on a different door than the one he intended to knock on, walking into the chambers he had never expected to visit.
“We need to talk, Merlin,” he had said.
Merlin seemed almost detached like he had resigned himself to his fate, as he looked up at Leon, dried tears on his cheek. “Okay.”
He took a seat in front of Merlin, crossing his arms. He knew that he still had a choice, the choice to tell Merlin of his plans, of how he was against magic and everything Merlin stood for.
But he also knew that he was Merlin's friend and Merlin had been nothing but kind to him.
He deserved a chance.
And so, with a heavy breath in, Leon finally said, “I’m not going to tell Arthur.”
And the grin on Merlin’s face told him he made the right decision.