Aurelius rubbed his forehead in the tent. His eyes were baggy, sunken, tired. His armor seemed to drag him to the ground. Merlin thought it was a miracle he was still awake. With a sigh, Merlin brought over a bottle of mead and some bread and offered it to him. “Here, you look like you could use something in you.”

Aurelius managed a smile at him and took the food. “Thank you.” Merlin beamed at the praise and started to go back to his seat to read his book when Aurelius stopped him. “Merlin, where did you come from?”

“Hm?” Merlin looked down at the tired man, auburn dark brown hair falling into his gray eyes. Aurelius leaned back, pushing the dark hair out of his face.

“I would say something fantastical like heaven, but I know you’re not an angel despite what some of the men have been saying,” Aurelius lightly teased.

“Wait, what?” Merlin’s eyes widened and he could feel his face heat up while Aurelius laughed.

“You heal our soldiers and electrocute our enemies. People appreciate you, and that’s an understatement,” Aurelius replied. He patted a spot on the makeshift bench next to him. “Back to my original question, where did you come from?”

Merlin sat down, feeling a little confused. “I thought I told you, I never really had a home. I just wandered from place to place, scavenged, hunted—just rabbits and the like, no deer—did odd jobs in order to eat and drink.”

“Well, why?” Aurelius pressed.

“Because if I stayed anywhere, I’d be captured and made to do… things I don’t want to.” Merlin muttered the last part.

With a sympathetic wince and a look of disdain on his face, Aurelius spat, “Right, that magic breeding cult. Festering pit of scum.” After he had calmed himself down, he took a deep breath and seemed to think of how to phrase what he was going to say next. “What about your parents?”

“Oh, my mother left me when I was… around four or five, I think?”

Merlin didn’t entirely understand why Aurelius’s eyes widened. “Like in the care of a relative or in some village…?”

Merlin shook his head. “No, just in the woods.”

“What about your father?”

“I never met him,” Merlin replied. “Or at least I can’t remember if I did, so I’m also not altogether sure whether I’m legitimate or not.”

“So she just abandoned you? In the middle of nowhere?” Aurelius demanded.

Merlin shook his head. “No, it wasn’t like that— well, actually, it was exactly like that, but it was to keep both of us safe. You can’t exactly be on the run with a child in tow, it just makes it more dangerous.”

“Why was she— right, breeding cult.” Aurelius sighed and rubbed his forehead. “So you weren’t being overly literal to that question, you really aren’t from anywhere.”

Merlin nodded, glancing toward the ground. Aurelius stared at the wizard, then offered a smile. “You don’t have a surname then, do you?”

A blush spread across Merlin’s face. “Not really, I’m only mostly sure ‘Merlin’ is even what my mother named me.”

Aurelius reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Then why don’t you have ours?”

“Huh?”

“Ambrosius. It’s the royal family’s name, and while I can’t give you any inheritance claim, I can essentially politically adopt you into the family,” Aurelius explained. “Uther’s fond of you and you have more than earned a reward for all you’ve done.”

Merlin’s eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed a few times, as if he was trying to talk but could not make a sound. Finally, he found his voice again. “Y- you mean it?”

“Wouldn’t offer if I didn’t,” Aurelius retorted, reaching out and grabbing Merlin’s hand, smiling as he did so. “I know you’ll do great things, like you have already. You deserve a prestigious name.”

“B- but what about your reputation—”

“Reputation?” Aurelius laughed, a hint of bitterness. “I remember Father used to be so concerned about that, and look at what we’re synonymous with now. A fallen dynasty, a betrayed family. Why does that matter? Reputation rises and falls like the tide. We’ll be praised when we take back the throne, then if I can’t rule up to expectations, we’ll be tyrants. We can only live for what we believe in, Merlin, and damn what people think about us.” He squeezed Merlin’s hands, staring straight into his eyes. Merlin found he couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. Light gray eyes, with just the slightest dark blue flecks, bore into green ones with sharp intensity. “Even barring all that, I know no matter what path you take, you’ll do our name well.”

Merlin’s voice left him again. Unable to speak, he nodded, then collapsed on Aurelius in a hug. The prince noticeably stiffened, then returned the hug, rubbing Merlin’s back. Unseen by Merlin, a smile made its way across his face.