One... Two... Three... Four...
Merlin counted the turns he gave to the ring as
he stared at it. It was no good thing to do this to
himself, to remember the last Christmas; the
blissful day and love that he had felt then were
still stuck in the back of his mind. Arthur's words
still rang in his head. 'a promise ring as well'. He
could still hear it very clearly and it only made
the pain even more real. They were young but
Merlin had known——believed that they would
the right person for each other.
Five... Six... Seven... Eight...
It was probably silly for him to believe that his
first love would be his last. Maybe he had been
too caught up in his own parents' love story.
Or maybe he had just made a child's mistake.
Whichever it was, Merlin was still heartbroken
and each time he thought about it, he swore he
could feel his heart shatter a little more.
Nine... Ten... Eleven... Twelve...
He should have thrown the ring away. But he
didn't want to. He loved it more than he would
ever admit. Paradoxically, the ring was a just
as much a comfort as it was pain. It reminded
Merlin of the love they had shared. The same
love that he still felt despite the betrayal and
broken heart. But if anybody asked, Merlin
would simply give the excuse of his upbringing.
His mother had always taught him that gifts
had to be treasured and couldn't be refused
nor thrown away.
Thirteen... Fourteen... Fifteen... Sixt——
His count was interrupted by footsteps on the
stone floor of the corridor he was sitting in.
Looking up, Merlin felt his heart miss a beat at
the view of Arthur. Slipping the ring off his
finger and closing his fist over it, he sat up
straight and waited until he reached his position
to speak up.