Arthur may have commented on it, before, but honestly, one of the most sincere words he can find to describe his Merlin is "grace". Merlin is the most graceful person he's ever known. Perhaps not when he would carry his pile of armor through the halls, perhaps not when he would haul up Arthur's breakfast, perhaps not when he had to serve him at banquets, and perhaps not when they were meant to be silent in the forest. But ever since they've been /together/, Arthur has known Merlin to be a /singularly/ graceful person.From the way he chooses his words before a crowd, to the way he carries himself when wearing his silver crown, Merlin is every bit as regal as someone raised to be so. But the time when Merlin shows the most grace, as one might imagine, is when he's weaving spells and performing magic. When Merlin can really sit down and let free his magic, he becomes almost /hypnotizing/ with his movements, all fluid and long gestures, all precise and powerful. Arthur loves climbing up the stairs to Merlin's tower with lunch, some days, to spy his Dragonlord almost /dancing/ across the room as he twists magic through the air, golden and sparkling, into patterns and symbols he doesn't necessarily understand, but knows what great power they hold. And he has to catch his breath, those days, because how /beautiful/ is his husband-to-be, when he's doing what he loves best. How /beautiful/ the grace Merlin Pendragon displays when he's doing the thing he was born to do, the thing he truly flourishes with.
Dedicated to my beloved Stephanie.
Forgive the fact that it's a photo-- scanner is MIA, at the moment.