“MERLIN!”

Merlin jumped at the yell, the loud noise making his heart race faster than it should, but managed to calm himself a little once he saw it was just Uther. Ulfius was trailing behind, looking just as excited as he usually did. Merlin couldn’t read from his expression if Uther was up to something particularly reckless or if it was just the usual.

“Please don’t yell like that,” Merlin pleaded as Uther got closer. “Just if something’s wrong or it’s an emergency.”

“Sure, sure,” Uther said, although his voice had a slight monotone to it that Merlin had learned usually meant someone wasn’t being entirely sincere. But this was Uther, so it was probably fine. As he thought this, Uther’s eyes had lit up again and he started rambling. “Anyway, I was reviewing maps of the terrain where the next battle should take place, there’s a lot of good hiding spots but it’s usually pretty wet ground and runs next to a river, so I was wondering what you could do with that magically?”

“Well… electricity usually runs through water pretty well, so if we kept out of the water, I could shock the enemy troops from a distance… incapacitate them for a bit…” Merlin mused. Ulfius, for some reason, put his face in one hand and sighed while Uther’s mouth twisted into a ferocious grin.

“How about electrocute them?” he demanded.

“I could, yes, but… if we did it right, we could get most if not all of their forces and that’s a lot of dead people,” Merlin explained.

“That’s the point!” Uther exclaimed, his face lighting up.

“B- but they wouldn’t even have a chance to surrender!” Merlin argued, not sure if Uther understood what he was suggesting. “And with the way Vortigern rules, a lot of them are probably serving him just to get by, or under force.”

“And?” Uther prompted.

“And…!” Merlin floundered for words, unable to convey the issue any better than he already had. “Aurelius won’t be on board with this.”

Uther beamed. “That’s the best part! We’re splitting up our forces temporarily. This battle is all mine to command. The calls are all mine.”

“But—”

“I don’t think you’re understanding how little he cares,” Ulfius interrupted, speaking for the first time to interject with a heavy, exasperated voice.

“It just… you shouldn’t… please don’t…” Merlin anxiously brought up one hand to fidget with his hair, twisting short strands around his finger. Uther’s expression suddenly changed, becoming something horrified and aghast. Merlin thought he finally got it until Uther grabbed him by the wrist with his finger still in his hair.

“What’s that?” demanded Uther.

“What’s what?” Feeling uncomfortable, Merlin twisted his hand in Uther’s grasp.

“Your hair. There are white strands. Why?” Uther retorted. “Your normal hair was hiding them before.”

“Oh!” So that was what he was worried about. “It’s not a big deal, don’t worry,” Merlin assured him.

Blue eyes narrowed and it became clear that answer was not satisfying to the prince. “Sure, your hair going white is perfectly fine,” he snapped, voice thick with sarcasm. “Did someone curse you? Are you sick?”

“No, no!” Aware of how protective Uther could get sometimes, Merlin quickly hurried on with the explanation. “It’s just sort of a side effect with using magic. You know how you can tear a muscle or something from overexertion? It’s kind of like that. If I overdo it, push myself too hard while using a spell I’m not very familiar with, some of my hair will go white. Normally, it’d go back to normal over time, but just like how you can permanently injure a muscle if you keep tearing it over and over in a short period of time, it can become permanent. At this point, I think a lot of the strands are.” Merlin punctuated his sentence with a soft laugh. “See? It’s fine, just a cosmetic thing.”

Uther seemed a little placated, but still not convinced. “And you’re not prematurely aging or anything like that?” he pressed.

“No, it’s just sapping the color from my hair,” clarified Merlin. “I could actually hurt myself using magic by going too far, but I’m careful. I don’t go beyond that point.”

After another moment, Uther finally let him go. “Let me know if you get tired on the battlefield.”

“Oh, I always do, that’s going to happen no matter what,” Merlin replied. “It’s like the difference between lifting a small tower of shields and picking up a standing stone.”

“Then make sure you stick with the shields,” Uther demanded. “Get some rest, and don’t use magic outside of battle.”

“It actually helps me wind down and equalize any leftover power to use a little—”

“Whatever works, do that!” Uther exclaimed, looking a mix between angry and worried. “And you’re sure white hair is all it is?”

“Yes, it’s very well documented, although there’s some stigma about it since it means you’re a little reckless,” Merlin confirmed.

“I don’t care about what other people think,” Uther dismissed the second part, but he seemed calmer now. “Just take care of yourself, okay?”

“I try to,” Merlin replied with a smile. That was the Uther he knew.

Something seemed to occur to Uther. “Electrocuting the other army… that wouldn’t be too much of a strain, would it?”

Ulfius started frantically nodding behind Uther’s back, but that wasn’t the right answer, so Merlin replied, “A tiny one, but not really, why?” Ulfius threw his hands up in the air, looking frustrated.

“Oh, good! So I don’t have to come up with another battle plan.” Uther had a relieved smile on his face. Ulfius had given up waving his hands in the air and had just buried his face in his hands.

“But—” Merlin tried to protest again but Uther pressed his finger against his lips, making Merlin recoil.

“Come on, it’s an order from your prince and commander. They won’t even know what hit them,” he insisted. “Now, let’s get supper. And no one tell Aurelius ahead of time, okay? I don’t want a lecture.”