#how many did he end up using on sir prince prat

[whataboringstory]

The way Merlin just knew what the spell was to put a toad in someone’s throat

[xxlastoftheemosxx]

The Dragon’s Call

Lady Harley watches the knights train while reading a book on herbs she borrowed from Gaius. That’s when she saw a boy her age, maybe a little older walking by. He had dark hair, was tall, and handsome enough to make Lady Harley blush.

“Where's the target?” Prince Arthur drawled out.

Morris, his current manservant, looks around for a moment before promptly answering, “There, sir.”

“It's into the sun?”

“But, it's not that bright.”

“A bit like you, then?” Prince Arthur laughs along with his knight’s.

“I'll put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?” The boy sounded exasperated at this point, but there was no use dismissing the slight nervousness in his tone, picks up the target and begins to move it, unaware of the mutterings going on between his master and knights.

“Teach him a lesson. Go on, boy.” Sir Gaheris demands, Harley raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the comment, gaze still drawn to the book she was reading and not looking up.

“This’ll teach him.” Prince Arthur says before throwing a knife at the target. It lands with a thud. This gets the lady’s attention and she looks up from her book, finally shooting Prince Arthur a glare.

“Hey! Hang on!” Morris shouts.

“Don’t stop!”

Morris takes a step back, “Here?”

“I told you to keep moving!” Prince Arthur says, throwing another dagger at poor Morris.

“Arthur, that’s enough.” Lady Harley says standing up and setting the book aside.

“Come on! Run!” Arthur goads.

Morris drops the target and it rolls to a stop, landing by the handsome, dark haired boy’s feet.

“Hey, come on, that's enough.” The raven haired boy says.

“What?” Prince Arthur asks.

“You’ve had your fun, my friend.”

“Do I know you?”

“Er, I’m Merlin.”

Lady Harley runs up to the two. “ Arthur! Quit it!”

“Leave us alone Harley,” Arthur turns back to Merlin, “So I don't know you.”

“No,” Merlin replies.

“Yet you call me ‘friend’.”

“That was my mistake.”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Yeah. I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass.” Merlin says before starting to walk away.

“Or I one who could be so stupid.”

Merlin stops in his tracks.

“Tell me, Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?”

“No.”

“Arthur! Knock it off! I mean it!” Lady Harley says running up to Merlin, “Walk with me? He’s not worth a night in the dungeons.”

Merlin begins to walk with the Lady Harley. “The dungeons? Who does he think he is? The King?”

“The Prince actually.”

“Oh. And you are?”

“I’m Harley. Uther’s ward.”

“Nice to meet you Harley.”

“Likewise. He’s a bit of a prat, always picking on poor Morris.” she continued with a sigh.

“Morris, that’s the servant from the training grounds?”

“Yeah. You’re quite brave, not many commoners would stand up to the knights.”

“Huh! Umm.. Thanks.” Merlin responded, shooting her a sheepish grin.

***

Lady Harley was a royal beauty with fair skin, raven hair, and lips as red as rubies, and Merlin couldn’t get her out of his head.

“Merlin?” Gaius says, pulling the boy out of his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“What did your mother say to you about your gifts?”

“That I was special.”

“You are special. The likes of which I have never seen before.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, magic requires incantations, spells. It takes years to study. What I saw you do was... elemental, instinctive.”

“What's the point if it can't be used?”

“That I do not know. You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin.”

“Did you ever study magic?”

“Uther banned all such work twenty years ago.”

“Why?” Merlin asked, perplexed by the comment.

“People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons.”

“What?! All of them?!” Merlin gasped.

“There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle where no one can free it. Now, eat up. When you've finished, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice. And another to Lady Harley for her fainting spells.”

“Harley has fainting spells?”

“I see you two have met.”

“Yeah.”

***

A knock sounded throughout Harley’s chamber, the maiden turning around from where she was sitting. “Come in!” She yells.

Merlin enters the room. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I have your medicine.” Merlin says handing it over.

“Oh thank you.” Harley exclaimed, taking the bottle from the boy and cradles it close to her chest. She looked up at him, curiosity shining in her gaze. “Are you working with Gaius then?”

“Yeah, for now at least.”

“Are you new to Camelot? I haven’t seen you around before.”

“I just arrived yesterday.”

“Oh? Where from?” Harley’s curiosity is peaking higher now.

“Ealdor.”

“Where’s that?”

“Essetir.”

“Do they have magic there?”

“No.”

“Oh.” The maiden deflated slightly, earning herself a bemused eyebrow raise from the boy in front of her.

“You sound disappointed?”

“I am.”

“But.. isn’t magic outlawed?”

“Yes, but it shouldn’t be.” Harley continues, nodding with her head as an invitation for Merlin to step inside the chambers.

“You really believe that?” Although confused, Merlin obliges, the door closing behind him. To say the least, he seems surprised, and almost… hopeful by her statement.

“Yeah.”

“I do too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Harley pulls Merlin into a tight hug. He’s stunned at first, but quickly hugs her back.

“Are you okay?” Merlin asks.

“Just happy to have someone else that believes in magic.” She murmurs, closing her eyes contently. She hears the raven sigh, but feeling him relax his shoulders, indicates that it wasn’t out of malice.

“I’m glad as well.”

“Friends?”

“Yeah.”

They broke apart smiling and avoiding eye contact.

“Would you like to go for a walk through the lower town with me?” Harley asks, seeming almost shy now.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

***

Merlin and Harley were walking through the lower town, Harley rambling about the different colours herbs make and Merlin listening intensely. He thought it was adorable. They walk past Arthur without paying him any mind. They were smiling giddily as they walked, both focused on each other and happy to have found a new friend.

“How's your knee-walking coming along?” Arthur yells toward the two, more specifically Merlin. Merlin and Harley continue to walk, Harley barely suppressing an eye-roll at the comment, until Arthur yells at them again, “Aw, don't run away!” He continues taunting, emanating all his spoilt prince arrogance for the whole street to see.

Merlin stops prompting Harley to as well. “From you?” He quips, obviously unbothered by the status Arthur holds over him.

“Thank God.” Arthur continues goading, “I thought you were deaf as well as dumb.”

“Leave him alone Arthur!” Harley insists, turning to look at the prince.

Merlin turns to face the prince. ��Look, I've told you you're an ass. I just didn't realise you were a royal one. Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?”

“Merlin, it's not worth it,” Harley warns.

“I could take you apart with one blow.” Arthur boasts.

“I could take you apart with less than that.” Merlin snarks, obviously having not caught the hint thrown at him, that this could turn dangerous.

“Are you sure?”

“Come on, then,” Sir Gaheris goads.

“Fight,” Sir Erec demands.

Merlin begins to take off his brown jacket, and hands it to Harley, “Can you hold this?”

“Yeah, good luck.” Harley responds.

Sir Erec hands Arthur a mace, which he then throws to Merlin. Merlin fails to catch it and picks it up off the ground. In the meantime Sir Erec hands Arthur another mace.

“Come on, then. I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth.” Arthur brags, swinging the weapon around over his head.

“Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?” Merlin asks, causing Harley to laugh.

Arthur snorts, “You can't address me like that.”

“Oh, sorry.” Merlin scoffs. “How long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?” Merlin bows prompting Arthur to start swinging. The raven barely ducks the first shot, moving back and away from the mace. As much as he wants to teach this absolute prat a lesson, he sure as hell doesn’t have that big of a deathwish!

“Come on then, Merlin! Come on!” Arthur continues provoking, with every swing he takes at the commoner.

Arthur backs Merlin into a market stall and the younger boy falls down. A crowd starts to gather.

“You're in trouble now,” Arthur laughs.

“Oh god.” Merlin mutters before magically entangling Arthur’s mace with two scythes hanging in the stall. The blond manages to untangle his mace and attempts another strike at Merlin. However the latter had magically moved a box in front of the former’s shin.

“Ow! Argh!”

Arthur once again tries to attack Merlin, but is tripped by a rope Merlin made go taut, with the hidden gold that now faded from his eyes.

“You got this Merlin!” Harley yells in excitement, giving the raven-haired boy a slight boost with the cheering.

Merlin picks up the mace he dropped earlier when he fell and starts swinging it, “Do you want to give up?” he smirks.

“To you?” Arthur asks, insulted.

“Do you? Do you want to give up?” Merlin asks before Arthur steps back into a bucket falling. Merlin looks out at the crowd beaming until he sees Gaius in it. His moment of victory is cut short by Arthur attacking him with a broom until he falls to the ground. The castle guards go to pick him up, but Arthur stops them.

“Wait. Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one.” He comments, the guards grip going slack on Merlin’s arms. He watches the prince approach him, the blond shooting him a quizzical look, almost like he was trying to figure him out by just gazing alone. “There's something about you, Merlin.” He muses, “I can't quite put my finger on it.” And with a small shake of his head, Arthur left the scene, leaving a fairly surprised Merlin in his wake.

Harley rushes over to her fallen friend cupping his face in her hands and shooting worried question after question, “Are you alright? He didn’t hurt you too bad did he? Do you need to see Gaius?”

“I think I scraped up my shoulder a bit, but I’ll live,” Merlin smiles as Harley releases him, “I almost beat him.” he huffs.

“Didn’t even land a blow, just like you said.” Harley says smiling back before helping him up, “You better go see Gaius. He might be able to help with the pain.”

“Do I have to? He’s just going to give me a lecture.”

“Yes, for my sake if not yours.”

He sighs dramatically. “I suppose I must then.”

***

Merlin and Gaius enter the physician’s chambers, and the kettle, that was Gaius’ temper most likely by now, boiled over.

“How could you be so foolish?!” Gaius snaps, Merlin still walking towards the door that led to his little chambers, coming to a halt right at the steps.

“He needed to be taught a lesson.” He responds, still not turning around to face his guardian.

“Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not for idiotic pranks!” Gaius lectures.

“What is there to master? I could move objects like that before I could talk!” Merlin retorted voice rising in volume as he turns back around and walks over to the older man.

“Then, by now, you should know how to control yourself!”

“I don't want to!!” the raven snaps, the volume of his voice now matching Gaius’. “If I can't use magic, what have I got?!” His chest was heaving as he spoke, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I'm just a nobody, and I always will be. If I can't use magic, I might as well die.” Merlin concludes sadly, before storming off to his chambers. He lay face down on the bed until Gaius enters with some medicine causing him to sit up.

“Merlin? Take your shirt off.” Gaius sighs.

Merlin does as he’s told, revealing a scraped shoulder. Gaius begins to treat him.

“You don't know why I was born like this, do you?” Merlin asks, tone sounding defeated, quiet.

“No.”

“I'm not a monster, am I?” Merlin mutters half-jokingly, the dull ache in his chest going unignored as he asks the question.

“Don’t ever think that.” The older man disputed, his tone firm as he spoke.

“Then why am I like this?” Merlin stresses, shifting around to look at Gaius. “Please, I need to know why.” he pleads, desperate for a reason.

“Maybe there's… someone with more knowledge than me.” Gaius sighs, earning himself a shaking of the head from his young ward.

“If you can't tell me, no one can.” Merlin mutters, shoulders sagging as he looks away.

Gaius pours a small bit of potion into a small cup and hands it to Merlin, “Take this. It will help with the pain.”

***

Merlin awoke from his sleep hearing a voice calling to him. This wasn’t unusual since he arrived in Camelot. Tonight though, tonight he decided to follow the voice. It led him down deep into the dungeons and into a cavern. “Where are you?”

A great dragon flies from the depths of the cave and nestles himself on a large rock, “I'm here!” The dragon announces, looking down at the boy with a slight bit of amusement. “How small you are for such a great destiny.”

“Why? What do you mean? What destiny?”

“Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason.”

“So there is a reason?” Merlin asks, hope fluttering in his chest.

“Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion.”

“... Right.”

“But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“Everything. Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion.”

“No. No, you've got this wrong.”

“There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't.”

“But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand.” Merlin argues.

“None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it,” Kilgharrah laughs. “No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot.”

The Great Dragon leans in closer, until he’s at eye-level with the boy on the ledge. “Perhaps it's your destiny to change that.” Is the final thing he says before flying off.

“Wait! Wait! Wait, stop! No, I- I need to know more!” The warlock calls out, but to no avail.

***

After swiftly knocking, Merlin enters Harley’s room.

“Hey, Merlin? Will I be seeing you at the banquet?”

He nods, smiling softly. “You will.”

“I’m glad. I like you Merlin, a lot.” Harley says before muttering, “If only you were Emrys…”

Merlin cocks his head to the side, perplexed by the murmuring. “What was that?”

“Nothing, It’s just… Do you ever feel as if achieving your destiny is your only goal?”

“No.”

“Well, I don’t recommend it.”

A knock sounded at Harley’s chamber door.

“Come in!” Harley calls out.

Guinevere, Lady Morgana’s maid, entered, “Lady Harley, I didn’t know you had company. Should I come back later?”

“No, I need to get ready for the banquet.”

“We could just skip it and you could show me around Camelot?” Merlin suggests.

Harley couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the suggestion. “As lovely as that sounds; I’m obligated to go, but we can spend time together there.”

“I suppose I’ll see you then.” Merlin says before leaving, shutting the door with a quiet click!

“Can you help me with my corset?” Harley asks, turning to Guinevere. “It’s gotten looser throughout the day.”

“Of course.” Guinevere states.

Harley strips out of her dress, and turns to let Guinevere tighten her corset. Guinevere then heads over to Harley’s wardrobe.

“The red and black if you will,” Harley says.

“Are we trying to impress someone tonight?” Gwen asks, brow raised up.

“Not particularly.” Harley shrugs.

“Not the handsome young man that just walked out?” The handmaiden continues, trying to hide the smirk that threatened to spread across her face.

“No.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“Go ahead and shoot your shot with him. I don’t care.”

“Not into commoners?” Guinevere teases.

“Just not into anyone right now, Gwen.”

“Alright.”

***

Gwen walks up to Merlin at the banquet, “I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid. I’m also filling in for Lady Harley’s maid for the week.”

“Right. I'm Merlin.” He reaches out to shake her hand. “Although, most people just call me Idiot.”

“No, no, no. I saw what you did. It was so brave.”

“It was stupid.” He huffs.

“Well. You weren't going to beat him.”

“Oh, I- I can beat him.”

“You think? Because you don't look like one of these big, muscle-y kind of fellows.”

“Thanks.”

“No! No, I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just, erm... Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save the world kind of men, and… well…”

“What?”

“You don’t look like that.”

Merlin looks around them for a moment, before gesturing to Gwen to come closer. “I’m in disguise.” He murmurs, earning himself a laugh from the maiden.

“Well, it's great you stood up to him.”

“What? You think so?” He asks, surprised by the statement.

“Arthur's a bully, and everyone thought you were a real hero.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm,” Gwen nods.

Morgana and Harley walk into the room. All eyes go to the pair including Merlin’s. Morgana drags Harley over to Arthur and his knights.

“They look great, don’t they?” Gwen leans in and says.

“Yeah.” Merlin agrees, eyes not leaving the pair.

“Some people are just born to be queen.”

“No!”

“I hope so. One day. Not that I'd want to be whichever sister he chooses. Who'd want to marry Arthur?”

“Oh,” Merlin laughs, “Come on, Gwen. I thought you liked those real rough, tough, save the world kind of men.”

“No, I like much more ordinary men like you.”

Harley had broken free of Morgana’s grip and wandered over to Gwen and Merlin.

“Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary.” Merlin says.

“No, you’re not. You’re too funny to be ordinary,” Harley points out, once close enough to the pair.

“Why thank you, milady.”

“The pleasure is all mine. What are we talking about?” Harley asks, looking between the two of them.

“Whether you or Morgana are going to marry Arthur.” Gwen answers.

“Gross! I’d never marry Arthur!” she grimaces.

“Good. Don’t want any of my friends married to a massive prat.”

“Me either.” Harley laughs.

***

Lady Helen begun to sing, “Dæg cyme be com us, dæg cyme, liðe ond deorc, dæg cyme se endaþ langne ond angsumne, hrawerigne dæg; swa gestillan... alæteaþ bodig ure, forgiefeaþlif ure.” Everyone started to get tired so Merlin and Harley quickly cover their ears. “Spiðran neaht cumaþ, spinnaþ seolcen webb ure. Spiðran neaht cumaþ, bindaþ hie in hira swefn. Spiðran nu neaht, spinnaþ! Bewunden in deadhrægl ure, gastlas worulde...soþ efen min hyse: gastlas, gastlas, gastlas, gastlas!”

Merlin uses his magic to break the chain of the chandelier and it lands on Lady Helen. With her last breath she threw a dagger at Arthur’s heart. Merlin uses his magic to slow down the dagger and pulls Arthur out of the way.

“You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid.” Uther says to Merlin.

“Oh, well…”

“Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded.”

“No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness.”

“No, absolutely. This merits something quite special.”

“Well…”

“You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant.” The court erupts into a great applause. Merlin and Arthur however, watch the king leave in horror.

“Father!” Arthur cries out.

***

Merlin left the banquet hall late at night and Harley follows him, eventually catching up.

“Merlin. We should talk. Is there anywhere away from prying ears we can go?”

“Are you okay?”

“The better question is, are you? I saw what you did earlier.”

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“Merlin, I’m not dumb. I saw your eyes flash gold.”

All the colour seems to drain from the boy’s face as Merlin quickly grabbed Harley by the wrist and rushed her to his room off of Gaius’.

“You can’t tell anyone!” Merlin says hushed.

“I wasn’t planning on it. We may have just met, but I feel a connection to you I’ve never felt before. I trust you Merlin.”

“I trust you too.” He sighs, the panic from earlier slowly ebbing away. “I guess I’m just nervous. It’s my life on the line.”

“I know, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”

“Thank you. You are the kindest, most beautiful noble I have ever met.”

“You can’t have met many nobles then,” Harley smiles.

“I haven’t but I doubt any of them could measure up to you.”

“I don’t know Mer, Gana’s the pretty, nice one of the family.”

“Mer?” Merlin asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Do you not like it? I can think of something else.” Harley quickly adds.

“No, I um, I like it. I actually really like it.”

[rosedavid]

Slip-Ups

A Merthur hurt/comfort fanfic

tw // blood and injury description //

Prompt: Merlin gets injured nothing too serious, but Arthur gets into super over protective mode and refuses to leave his side. Throughout the day people keep coming in to remind him of his princely duties, but Morgana ends up blocking them and sending them away so that Arthur can spend time helping Merlin.

...

             Usually, Merlin is more careful than this. Okay, well, careful to an extent. There’s a difference between being carefully reckless and just reckless all together. Today, though, he’s particularly on edge. It’s been a tedious week full of constant running about. Arthur’s seemed to be in an especially bad mood recently, as well, probably because he’s been just as busy as Merlin. With his duties as King starting to mount up to incredulous levels, Arthur’s been at wit’s end recently trying to manage his new role and duties. As a result, he’s been working everyone harder; his advisors, the knights, and of course Merlin himself. With every usual duty, Arthur decides to stack on three more for Merlin to do, with a quick grumble of, “Hurry it up!”

             Now, completely exhausted and frustrated, Merlin is in Arthur’s chambers at night haphazardly finishing the prat’s chores. All Merlin wants is to collapse into bed and sleep for the next few days, although he knows that won’t be possible. His stomach growls as he cleans up. Despite his previous reservations about Gaius’s meals, nothing sounds better right now than a big bowl of gruel.

             “Stupid King Prat,” Merlin growls to himself, scrubbing ruthlessly at Arthur’s filthy armor. “Merlin, you missed a speck of dust on my armor! I’ll have you thrown in the stocks! Merlin, my sword is getting rusty! I’ll show him.”

             The worst part is that before all of this, Arthur was actually starting to be (sort of) nice. Until this week, Merlin hadn’t been forced to muck out the stables in months. Although their constant bickering continued then, it was lighter than usual, more playful. Things had been going well, in other words. And now, Merlin feels like he’s been dragged through the mud.

             After sufficiently getting his anger out scrubbing Arthur’s already clean armor, Merlin switches to the sword resting on the table’s edge. This is where things go horribly wrong. So pent up with frustration and weariness, Merlin grapples above him blindly for the sword, still muttering insults. In that moment, he fails to grab the correct end of the sword. Instead, his hand slices against the sharp edges of the sword. He bites back a curse, yanking his hand away. Of course, since luck loves Merlin at the moment, the sword comes with it, slicing even further down to his wrist.

             Merlin clutches at his bleeding hand shakily. Blood pools in his palm, red tendrils slipping down his arm and dripping on the just washed floors. Still trying to comprehend what just happened, Merlin stares at the drops of blood, watching as they fall from his hand. This, of course, is when Arthur chooses to stumble into his chambers.

             “You would not believe the day I had!” Arthur groans, stomping through the doors. “I can’t even breathe without someone telling me I’m doing it wrong! Not to mention, my incompetent manservant doesn’t even have dinner ready for me!”

             Merlin continues staring at the blood numbly. Realizing that Merlin isn’t biting back like usual, Arthur finally turns toward him with an open mouth ready to berate Merlin yet again for something trivial. But the words die on his lips when he catches sight of the boy bleeding all over the floor.

             “Merlin!” He cries out, rushing over to the boy. “You idiot! You’re bleeding all over the place.”

             “Am I?” Merlin wonders, head going a bit fuzzy. Along with the blood loss and lack of food and sleep, his consciousness is gradually wavering.

             “What in God’s name happened?!”

             “Had to clean your sword, prat,” Merlin slurs, the conversation bringing him back a bit into reality. Also, the reality of his pain. “Ouch. That hurts a bit.”

             Arthur rolls his eyes, and if Merlin didn’t know any better, he would think Arthur looked scared behind his façade. But why would Arthur be scared? It may be a lot of blood, but it’s just a cut; Gaius will have him stitched up in no time at all. Besides, based on this week, Arthur didn’t seem to care too much about Merlin’s well-being. Why would he suddenly care now?

             “What did you do, gouge your hand open?” Arthur frowns, tearing off a piece of his own tunic before Merlin can protest. He then kneels by Merlin’s side.

             Merlin hisses as Arthur presses the tunic firmly into the crevice of his palm. “Now I hafta…mend that too, prat.”

             Arthur doesn’t respond; instead, he furrows his eyebrows and purses his lips as he applies more pressure to Merlin’s still bleeding wound. “Think you can stand?”

             “’Course I can stand!” Merlin argues. To prove his point, he abruptly pushes himself off the ground, only to find the world spinning around him. He gasps, tipping dangerously. Luckily, Arthur still has his firm grasp on Merlin’s bleeding hand, so the instant he starts swaying, he falls into Arthur’s side instead of back onto the floor. Merlin blinks away black spots and tries to ignore the pain lacing from his hand.

             “….almost fell, you idiot!” Arthur’s voice comes back into focus. “What if I hadn’t been here? Would you have just bled out on my floor?”

             “I’m fine,” Merlin stresses again.

             “You’re ridiculous, Merlin. Come on, let’s get you to Gaius.”

             With that, Arthur takes Merlin’s good arm and wraps it around his own neck. Then, he wraps one arm around Merlin’s waist while the other continues to hold the now soaked rag tightly to Merlin’s wound. It’s an awkward position that makes it hard to walk, but somehow they manage to make it all the way to Gaius without Merlin passing out (although they had to stop a few times to avoid it).

             Arthur yanks open the door, immediately alerting Gaius to their presence. With the combination of Arthur’s panicked expression and blood still dripping onto the floor beneath Merlin, Gaius stands up quickly to help.

             “My goodness, what happened?” Gaius asks, bringing Merlin over to the nearest patient cot. Arthur helps ease Merlin down into a sitting position while Gaius gathers supplies, including a clean rag to continue to staunch the flow of blood.

             “Sword fell,” Merlin mumbles grumpily, not wanting to hear Arthur’s recount of the tale complete with insults and jibes at his manservant.

             “Will he be okay?” Arthur buts in, holding the new rag to Merlin’s hand per Gaius’s instruction.

             Gaius briefly lifts the rag against Merlin’s cut up to inspect the wound. It’s still bleeding, but not quite as profusely as it was before. “Yes, sire. It will require some stiches and it will be sore for a few days, but you got him here fast enough that infection shouldn’t start in.”

             Arthur lets out a deep breath, stepping back to allow Gaius to clean Merlin’s wound. To Merlin’s credit, he only winces and hisses through his teeth as Gaius cleans up the wound. After all the excitement, though, Arthur can clearly see the fatigue covering Merlin. Guiltily, Arthur stares at him, suddenly realizing just how harsh he’s been to his manservant this week. It’s not like Arthur meant to, it’s just with all the pressures of his new duties as well as his newfound feelings…he thought it best to put Merlin away and to work. If he hadn’t made Merlin do so many chores, perhaps Merlin wouldn’t be injured so badly.

             “Drink this, Merlin, it will put you to sleep while I do your stitches,” Gaius coaxes, bringing a vial of probably foul-tasting liquid to his lips. Merlin doesn’t complain, though, simply swallowing it quickly. In an instant, his eyes begin to get heavy, world blurring around him, before he finally falls into a deep slumber.

             Arthur stares at Merlin for an unknown amount of time before Gaius clears his throat. When Arthur looks back up, he realizes that Merlin’s wound has been all stitched up. It gives him a clear view of the length of the cut, extending from the top of Merlin’s palm down to the bottom of his wrist.

             “He is okay, sire,” Gaius reassures him, placing one comforting hand on his shoulder. Arthur nods through clenched teeth. “Sire, if I may…the guards came by asking for you a few minutes ago. You have a meeting to attend soon. Perhaps you should get yourself cleaned up.”

             Arthur is confused at first because one, he doesn’t remember the guards coming by the physician’s chambers, and two, he doesn’t know why Gaius says he should clean himself up. He only begins to understand the second one when he finally takes a look at his hands, caked with dried blood. Merlin’s blood.

             He doesn’t want to leave Merlin’s side for a second, but he also knows that he can’t forget his duties as King. Conflicted, Arthur looks back at Merlin’s pale face tucked into the side of the pillow with a fondness he never knew he possessed.

             “I shouldn’t leave him,” Arthur decides. “Not like this.”

             “I understand your concerns, sire, but what if I had one of the knights sit with Merlin in your absence? Sir Gwaine would be willing, I’m sure.”

             Arthur considers it, but shakes his head. “No, I just…I can’t leave him like this, Gaius. W-what if this was my fault? It’s been a busy week, and I’ve been working him really hard, probably harder than he deserves—”

             “Arthur,” Gaius addresses kindly. “It’s been a busy week for us all. Everyone is tired and frustrated, including Merlin. It sounds to me like it was just an accident, nothing more. You couldn’t have prevented that.”

             Arthur purses his lips but says nothing. Meanwhile, Gaius pulls up a seat beside Arthur, gently coaxing him down into it. “Let me at least get you a fresh basin and rag to wash your hands off, sire.”

             “Yes, that would be good. Thank you,” Arthur clears his throat, not wanting to see this much of Merlin’s blood ever again.

             As Arthur sits there through the remainder of the evening, guards and members of the court come and go, trying to coax Arthur away with no success. Despite some of their glares toward Arthur’s manservant, and some frankly rude comments, Arthur refuses to budge. A few hours later, he thinks that the guards are about to forcefully drag him out of the room when an unlikely hero comes to his rescue.

             “Can’t you see the King is doing something important already?! He’s been at everyone’s beck and call all week, so I think you can survive without him for one goddamn night!” a feminine voice shouts outside the hallway. Then, there are determined footsteps before the door is being opened and closed gently, a large contrast to the tone mere seconds ago.

             Morgana stands in front of the doorway, as regal and snarky as ever. Even though Arthur tends to butt heads with Morgana more than he does anyone else, he suddenly feels a great relief for her actions. As much as he hates to admit it, he probably owes her one, but he’ll think about that later. Right now, as per Gaius’s instructions who left to take care of a woman giving birth in the lower town, Arthur needs to keep his eyes on Merlin to be sure an infection won’t take hold.

             Silently, Morgana strides over to the other side of Merlin’s cot, where the boy lies deathly still and pale. The only thing keeping Arthur from completely losing it is watching the steady rise and fall of Merlin’s chest. That, and clutching at Merlin’s uninjured hand, which he drops when Morgana comes into the room (although he’s pretty certain she saw since Morgana has eyes like a hawk).

             “He looks exhausted,” Morgana comments, glancing at the boy’s stitched up hand.

             “Yeah,” Arthur agrees quietly, eyes latched on Merlin.

             “You look exhausted too, Arthur.”

             Arthur waves her off. “I’m fine. It doesn’t matter anyway, I have to stay awake to take care of him.”

             “Well, you won’t be any use to him if you pass out.”

             “ But I can’t—”

             “I will watch over him, Arthur,” Morgana interrupts. “I am Merlin’s friend too, after all. Although I have a feeling that he may mean something more to you.”

             A red flush brightens on Arthur’s cheeks, a mix between embarrassment, anger, and thoughts of Merlin. “Morgana!”

             “Hush, I have eyes, you know. I can tell you’re both infatuated with each other. Please, Arthur, go lie down and rest.”

             “If you truly know, then you understand I can’t leave him.”

             Morgana purses her lips in thought. “Then take Merlin’s bed. I’m completely sure he wouldn’t mind. Gaius or myself will wake you when Merlin wakes up, himself.”

             The thought of sleeping in Merlin’s bed sends shivers down Arthur’s spine. It’s not like the bed is anything special based on when Arthur has seen it. In fact, it’s probably more uncomfortable than most of the beds in the castle. But because it’s Merlin’s bed, it won’t feel uncomfortable to Arthur. He hates to admit when Morgana is right, but she has a few good points. Too tired to argue anymore, Arthur takes Merlin’s hand again and squeezes it, bidding him goodnight. Morgana takes his place, hand lingering on Arthur’s forearm.

             “Promise you will wake me if anything at all happens?”

             “Yes, Arthur. I will. Now please, you look worse than Merlin. Get some rest. Merlin will be fine.”

             Arthur barely registers climbing up the steps to Merlin’s room. He practically collapses onto the bed. He breathes in a combination of the smell of soap and Merlin. It’s like home. Nuzzling his face into Merlin’s pillow, Arthur almost instantly falls asleep.

…

The sunlight is the first thing to wake him up, streaming through the window and lighting up the entire room. The second thing he registers is the sound of people moving about in the kitchen. Although Arthur wants nothing more than to curl back under the covers and fall asleep, his waking thoughts immediately drift once again to Merlin. What if Merlin is awake? Or what if he’s worse than before? Arthur shoots up out of the bed immediately while thoughts plague his head. He’s aware of how gross he probably looks and smells, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, but he can’t bring himself to care.

Stumbling out of the room, his eyes search out the familiar black mop of hair. He finds it quickly, still tousled as Merlin sleeps on the cot. Morgana has now been replaced by Gwen, who is helping Gaius organize some herbs and medicines.

“Gaius, how is he?” Arthur clears his throat, trying to sound less worried than he really is. Based on Gaius’s raised eyebrow, it doesn’t work.

“He’s doing well, sire,” Gaius responds with a slight smile. “He stirred a bit in the night, but fell into a deeper sleep. But based on the medicine I gave him, I bet he’ll be waking up anytime now.”

Somewhat relieved, Arthur goes to take his place at Merlin’s side again, but Gwen coaxes him away. “Have some food, your majesty. Based on what Morgana told me, you haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.”

Begrudgingly, Arthur sits down at the table, biting into an apple. He is hungry, but right now food just doesn’t sound appetizing. Still, he manages to eat a bit, even chatting with Gwen about random goings on in the town. It’s only about half an hour later when Merlin begins to fidget.

Arthur, of course, is the first one by his side. Merlin squirms, wincing as he rolls over on his stitched hand. Arthur rolls his eyes before helping un-trap Merlin’s hand. As he grabs Merlin’s hand, one finger traces beside the stitches in a delicate, almost not-there touch. Finally, Merlin’s eyes flutter open, looking dazed.

“ ‘Thur?” Merlin murmurs, squinting up at him.

“Yes, you dollop-head, it’s me,” Arthur teases, still stroking his hand.

“That’s my word.”

“Is it? Because I think it describes you much better.”

Gaius takes that moment to interrupt. “Merlin, how are you feeling?”

Merlin hums, sitting up more. “I feel fine. Hand’s a bit sore, but otherwise I’m okay. Can I get up, stretch my legs?”

“As long as you take care not to exhaust yourself, that should be fine.”

Arthur frowns, “Are you sure, Gaius? I mean, Merlin was just badly injured. Should he really be up and about already?”

“I’m okay Arthur, truly,” Merlin smiles. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were worried about me.”

In a rare moment of affection, Arthur blurts out, “Of course I was worried about you, idiot!”

Merlin gapes. “Y-you were?”

“Merlin—I found you dripping with your own blood, and it was my fault. I thought—I mean, what if I hadn’t been there in time? You could have bled out!”

Merlin’s face goes stern. “Arthur, this wasn’t your fault. If anything, it was my fault. I should have been more careful.”

“I should have noticed how exhausted you were, though. I’ve just been so caught up in everything…”

Arthur feels a hand intertwine with his own. His heart picks up speed, and Merlin looks at him hesitantly. Arthur makes no move to pull away, simply squeezing Merlin’s good hand with his own. Merlin softens at that, unconsciously leaning towards him.

“You were kind of being a prat,” Merlin admits, earning him a glare. “but I know you’ve been overwhelmed recently, too, with everything that’s been going on. I don’t blame you at all.”

Arthur swallows. “Yes, well, I suppose you deserve a day off after all this.”

At this, Merlin snorts. “How generous, my lord.”

“Hey, I can take that day away!”

Both of them are beaming by now, impossibly closer to each other. With a tenderness seldom shown to anyone else, Arthur brushes a stray strand of Merlin’s hair from out of his eyes, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Merlin leans into his touch.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” Arthur whispers, stroking his temple with one thumb. There’s so much they need to say, but right now isn’t the time. Instead, they both stand there, taking each other in. There will be time for sorting everything out properly later. Right now, they are content to relish each other’s company.

“Me, too.”

[cupcakezys]

Fun challenge for you! (If you wanna do it): Re-write an Arwen scene to Merthur😉

Oooooo yes! Sorry this took a while, I just had so many different ideas and life did not want to give me a break to write any of them. Also, I know you said an Arwen scene… but I might have written a little more than that. So have this way-bigger-than-I-meant-it-to-be fic. ^_^

Read on AO3.

Merthur under the cut!

“I can’t believe you convinced me to stay with you.” Arthur groaned, looking around Merlin’s tiny room. “Was there nowhere else I could stay?”

Merlin rolled his eyes and shoved his semi-clean tunics back into his closet. “We need to keep you out of sight, and Gaius may not know you’re here but he does know your magical beast is about as real as-“

“Your serving skills?” Arthur asked, amused, as he lifts an old bowl Merlin had been meaning to clean for weeks now. The inside had turned a slight red from the soup that had been in it. “Truly, Merlin, this is disgusting. You can’t expect me to stay here.”

Merlin, having spotted his magic book peeking out from under his bed, dived for it, feigning grabbing for his fallen pillows. “You really can’t go without your big bed and your soft pillows? Maybe I could ask Gwen if she’d let you stay with her, or we could hide you in Morgana’s chambers if you really can’t live without your precious royal bed.”

Arthur’s face pinched and he turned away from Merlin, allowing him to grab the book and throw it into the bottom of his closet. He breathed a silent sigh of relief and went back to fixing his bed.

“This will be fine.” Arthur finally said, tense like Merlin was telling him he needed to walk through hot coals.

He rolled his eyes. “Prat.”

Arthur pretended not to hear him. “How are the preparations coming along? Have we found someone to play our knight in the tournament?”

We, he said, like it wasn’t Merlin doing all the work. “Absolutely. He’s a farmer from one of the outlying villages, and no one will recognise him.”

Arthur didn’t look convinced. “But does he look the part?”

Merlin shrugged. “Well…”

“Merlin.” Arthur hissed the moment he opened his bedroom door, making him drop the large pile of washing in his arms, and gods, why did he have to do that.

“What?” He snapped, irritated. He’d only half cleaned the leech tank and still had to do the laundry and scrub the floor. His knees hurt just thinking about it.

“Do you think anyone suspects us?”

Merlin sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. Arthur had taken it the first night, and though Merlin could have complained and gotten it back, he didn’t. Arthur had offered to sleep on the floor the instant he’d seen Merlin lay down, of course, because he may be a prat, but he was a noble knight too. Merlin had refused and gotten a pillow to the face, Arthur’s laughter following him into sleep.

Now he shifted so he was facing Arthur, just barely able to make him out in the darkness. “I doubt it. From what Gwen’s told me, the ladies of the court are quite impressed with Sir William. They think he’s very handsome.”

Arthur snorted. “Typical. He wouldn’t know a real knight if he whacked him round the head with his lance.”

Merlin shook his head, though he couldn’t stop the grin crawling onto his face. “Is all this really worth it?”

Arthur sighed. “Yes. I don’t expect you to understand, but when I’m competing as William, my title doesn’t matter, nobody gives me any special treatment. So when I win this tournament-if I win this tournament, it will be because I deserve it and not because I am Prince Arthur.”

“I think I understand.” Merlin said, though he wished he didn’t. If Arthur’s status as the future king of Camelot kept him from harm then Merlin wasn’t complaining. He hesitated a moment, but Arthur didn’t say anything more, so he stood. “I need to finish these chores for Gaius.”

Arthur sighed, tired and quiet. Merlin gathered his washing and slipped from the room, careful not to wake him.

Merlin startled awake to Gaius standing over him, eyebrow raised, and his head pounding from a night spent sprawled uncomfortably on the floor. A quick glance outside showed the late morning sun shining brightly in the sky. Arthur would have left by now, nervous as he had been this whole tournament. Merlin wasn’t sure why he hadn’t woken him, but he knew he’d be in for it when he went down to the tournament grounds today.

“Merlin, on your feet.” Gaius said sternly. “Arthur may be away, but I’m not. And why is my leech tank still dirty? Where do you get the idea you can sit around all day doing nothing?”

“Wha-?” Merlin pushed himself up, irritation and anger born from all the stress and exhaustion of the past few days rising up before he could stop it. “Do you think I sit around doing nothing?! I haven’t had a chance to sit around and do nothing since the day I arrived in Camelot! I’m too busy running around after Arthur! Do this, Merlin! Do that, Merlin! And when I’m not running around after Arthur, I’m doing chores for you! And if I’m not doing that, I’m fulfilling my destiny! Do you know how many times I’ve saved Arthur’s life?”

Gaius opened his mouth, but Merlin didn’t give him the chance to say anything. He was too angry, and it was like a dam had been broken within him. He didn’t think he could stop himself now, even if he wanted to.

“I’ve lost count. Do I get any thanks? No. I have fought griffins, witches, erm- bandits! I have been punched, poisoned, pelted with fruit, and all the while I have to hide who I really am, because if anyone finds out, Uther will have me executed! Sometimes I feel like I’m being pulled in so many directions, I don’t know which way to turn!”

He was panting by the end of his rant, and all of a sudden he felt exhausted. Gaius was looking at him like he’d never seen him before, but Merlin didn’t feel like talking anymore, let alone apologising, so he spun on his feet and all but ran for his room. He slammed the door behind him and all but collapsed against it.

He heard a door close, knew Gaius had left, and sighed.

Then promptly screamed when he opened his eyes and saw Arthur sitting in his bed, hair sleep tousled and eyes wide.

He clapped his hands over his mouth. “How much did you hear?”

Arthur blinked. “Why would my father have you executed?”

“Arthur-!” Merlin stepped forward, only to jerk back when Arthur flinched, reaching for a sword he didn’t have.

“Are you a spy?” Arthur hissed, more awake now, and Merlin panicked.

“No! I was just- I was born differently. In a way that the king wouldn’t approve of.” He wanted to run, rather than have this conversation.

But Arthur was staring at him in confusion, and Merlin knew if he ran now he might never get the chance to explain himself. He wasn’t sure if it would even matter, if he could lie his way out of this one, but he had to try.

Arthur frowned. “You were born- what, because of magic? Some sort of spell?”

“No.” Merlin shivered, his voice dropping to a whisper. He didn’t even think, too caught up in his earlier anger and the panic now making his heart pound. “Arthur. I was born with magic.”

He immediately clamped his hands back over his mouth. Damnit. Curse his stupid mouth for speaking before he could think. Fear crawled up his back as he watched the prince closely.

Arthur blinked twice before he slowly shook his head. “No. You don’t- I would know if you had magic!”

“I’ve had to hide it all my life, for fear of what would happen if the wrong person found out.” Merlin swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. “If your father found out. How was I supposed to tell you?”

They stared at each other for a long time, until Arthur grabbed his cloak and pulled it around himself. Merlin pressed himself into the door as Arthur approached him, and hated that Arthur refused to even look at him.

“Move.” Arthur growled.

Merlin shivered. “What are you going to do?”

Arthur’s jaw twitched. “I have a tournament to win.”

“O-oh.” He slid out of the way, shoulders hunched, as Arthur slipped past him.

Arthur paused. “Your services are no longer required.”

And then he was gone, and Merlin collapsed onto the ground, heart shrivelling in his chest.

Merlin wondered the marketplace in a daze. He had no idea where Gaius was. He suspected he was at the tournament – watching in case anyone got hurt, ready to tend the stupid, bull-headed knights that liked to stab at each other with sharp objects.

Merlin didn’t know for sure. He couldn’t know for sure, because he refused to go anywhere near the tourney grounds. The risk of running into Arthur wasn’t too high, considering the prince was pretending to be away on a mission, but still Merlin didn’t want to risk it. He was afraid of what he might do – whether he’d beg Arthur to forgive him or scream at him for being such a prat when it was Merlin that had to live his life in fear.

No, it was best to stay far away, and that was why he was wondering the marketplace, a bag full of his belongings over his shoulder, as he contemplated leaving.

He wasn’t sure he actually could. Camelot had become his home this past year, and he was reluctant to leave it, whether Arthur hated him or not. He didn’t want to leave Gaius, or Gwen, or Morgana, and who knew how long Kilgharrah might have to wait alone in the dark before someone made their way down to his cave and spoke to him again. The old dragon might have been selfish and just a little manipulative, but Merlin couldn’t imagine spending twenty years alone in the dark, and the idea of leaving anyone to that fate made his gut twist uncomfortably.

On the other hand, if Arthur truly did hate him now, could he trust him to keep his secret? Merlin didn’t know, and it was both terrifying and infuriating. If Arthur couldn’t see all that Merlin had done for him, maybe he wasn’t the once and future king Kilgharrah had foretold he would be.

Maybe he wasn’t everything Merlin had believed him to be.

“Merlin?” A voice called, startling him out of his thoughts.

He jerked around. “Gwen?”

She hurried over to him, a basket in her arms, and Merlin idly wondered what was in it. “What are you doing here? I thought you were helping Sir William.”

Merlin felt his smile turn forced. “He didn’t need me today.”

“Does that mean you missed his bout against Sir Leon?’

Merlin didn’t want to be curious, but he was. “Why? What happened?”

Gwen bit her lip. “Well, he looked really distracted. Sir Leon almost unseated him twice before Sir William managed to catch him in the side and knock him off. He made it into the final.”

Merlin released a quiet breath. “That’s good.”

“I also happened to pass by his tent after the match.” Gwen said, in that knowing way of hers, and Merlin immediately winced.

“Gwen-“

She held up a hand. “It’s alright. He explained. I mean, I understand, to an extent, why but- I mean obviously I couldn’t ever really understand why, I’m not a knight but- you know what I mean.”

Merlin smiled, a real one this time, even if it was only small. Trust Gwen to cheer him up by just being herself.

“He also asked me the best way to apologise to someone he cared for.” She glanced at him meaningly, then chuckled to herself. “Well, he asked in his own way, without asking.”

Merlin swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. “What did you say?”

“I told him that actions speak louder than words, and if he really wanted to apologise he should do something to prove it.” Merlin would be surprised that Gwen had spoken up to the Prince of Camelot, but he knew how determined she could be when allowed the courage to speak freely. Arthur wasn’t someone she needed to hold her tongue around. “So he came up with a plan.”

Merlin leaned close, trying to ignore the way his heart was beating faster by the second. “And what is this grand plan of his?”

Gwen grinned. “He’s going to cook you dinner.”

Merlin jolted. That he was not expecting. “He’s… cooking? Arthur?”

Gwen nodded, almost laughing now, and Merlin had to wonder if this was all some elaborate prank.

Then he imagined Arthur, Prince of Camelot, cooking him dinner, and the fear for Gaius’s tower had him sprinting for the castle.

Merlin only slowed when he reached the bottom of Gaius’s tower. He could hear the faint sounds of cursing coming from the top, and although Gaius should be making potions for tomorrows patients, he suspected his mentor wasn’t the one currently condemning all chickens to an eternity in hell.

He pushed open the door slowly, almost afraid of what he would see.

Thankfully, nothing was on fire. Arthur stood in the corner of the room by the fire, a raw chicken in his hands, and as Merlin watched he frantically tried to find a way to dispose of the chicken in the fire. Eventually the prince threw it in the empty cooking pot and turned back to the rest of the room.

Two dinners from the palace kitchens sat on the bench, and Merlin wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or disappointed.

Looking at Gaius’s still-intact rooms, he decided he was very relieved.

He swallowed and opened the door. “Gwen told me you were cooking.”

Arthur jumped and glanced up at him, guilt and just a touch of fear on his face before he swallowed it back behind his princely mask. “Merlin.”

He inclined his head to the dinners on the table. “You’re not cooking.”

Arthur glanced at it and grimaced. “Look, I can kill a chicken from a thousand paces, just don’t ask me to cook it. That’s what servants are for.” Merlin raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. Arthur winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Merlin sighed and pushed the door closed behind him. “I’m not ashamed to be a servant. I told you before, didn’t I? I��m happy to be your servant until the day I die.”

Arthur made a small, strangled sound. “Why?”

Merlin turned around and shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. “Because I believe in the world you will build.”

“Even though you’re a sorcerer?”

Arthur’s voice was tense, hard, but it wasn’t cold like Merlin had feared.

“Yes.” Merlin met Arthur’s eyes, the first time he had since he had admitted his secret, and was surprised to find Arthur unwilling to look away. “I know you will create a land free and full of peace, a world where ordinary people no longer have to fear for their lives and the rulers of Albion don’t fight each other, but join together to create a golden age of prosperity unlike any other.”

He shifted, looked at his feet as his hands clenched behind his back.

“Even if you never learned of my magic.” He whispered. “Even if it was still banned and you only ever believed it was evil, I would still believe in you. I would still protect you, no matter the cost.”

This time, Arthur sounded a little bit awed, and a little bit broken when he spoke. “How can you be so sure?”

Merlin simply smiled at his boots, a sad thing, and shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Arthur moved forward slowly, giving Merlin plenty of time to move away. He didn’t. A hand rested on his shoulder, another on his chin, tilting his head up gently, and Merlin didn’t resist. Arthur’s eyes were a storm this close, all dark and deep and blue.

He swallowed, and saw Arthur do the same.

“I know I have much to learn. There are some things that I am terrible at – cooking being one of them, and knowing what to say to someone I care about.” He sucked in a breath. “And also apologising when I know I’ve done wrong.”

Merlin’s breath stuttered. “Arthur-“

“Let me finish.”

Merlin hesitated. He’d never heard Arthur sound like that. Like he was begging. He nodded, as much as the fingers on his jaw would allow.

“I’ve had some time to think. About what I heard, and what you said.”

Merlin was tempted to ask about the bout with Sir Leon, but he’d promised to let Arthur finish, and he was almost afraid to interrupt him now, in case this was all a dream.

I’m sorry.” Arthur whispered, and Merlin had to wonder if that was the first time Arthur’s lips had ever formed the words. “I’m sorry you grew up with such fear. I’m sorry you still live with it, every day. I’m sorry it was my farther that forced you to live a life of hiding. And most of all I’m sorry I made you feel too unsafe to tell me.”

Merlin, embarrassingly, felt tears welling up in his eyes. “And I’m sorry I lied to you. I know it hurt you.”

Arthur nodded, accepting the apology easily, and then he released a shaky breath. “Your magic-“

His voice seemed to give out on the word, like he couldn’t force the rest of his sentence past it. Merlin understood. It was difficult, terrifying even, speaking of magic in the heart of Camelot without condemning it.

“My magic?” Merlin prompted, because he needed to hear what Arthur was going to say.

Arthur licked his lips nervously and moved away. Merlin’s chin tingled where his fingers used to be.

“I know you’re not evil. I know if it’s yours then the magic isn’t bad.” Arthur forced out, and now it was his turn to avoid eye contact. “but…”

“It still makes you uncomfortable.” Merlin said, understanding.

Arthur went to protest, but Merlin knew him too well, and Arthur knew it. His face twisted into a slight grimace instead, and rather than admit it he turned to their cooling dinner.

“Come on, let’s eat.”

Merlin smiled hesitantly and joined Arthur at the table. “Does this apology meal include you washing the dishes too?”

“Shut up Merlin.”

Merlin laughed, but after they had finished eating Arthur took his plate, and when they went to sleep that night Arthur slept on the floor, no matter how much Merlin protested.

They woke the next day and silently got ready, Merlin helping Arthur into his clothes as he always did. It felt unreal, that Arthur knew and still trusted him to do this. That he still saw Merlin as Merlin, despite the lies and his father’s hatred of all things magic influencing him his whole life.

“One more match.” Arthur murmured, breaking the silence. “Then the tournament will be over.”

Merlin fixed his cloak around him and stood back. “Then you can go back to being Prince Arthur. To being waited on hand and foot, the giant comfy bed, with the ability to order around innocent servants and knock around your thick-headed knights.”

Arthur frowned in mock offense. “My knights aren’t thick-headed. Some servants are just too much of an idiot to understand the mind of a knight.”

Merlin pressed a hand to his heart dramatically, and then they were both laughing and smiling softly at each other, and Merlin’s heart missed a beat at the look in Arthur’s eyes. He reached up for his neckerchief and gently tugged it free from his neck, ducking his head shyly as he offered it to Arthur.

“For luck.” He said by way of explanation, and hoped that would be enough.

Arthur rolled the fabric between two of his fingers. “Is it… you know?”

Merlin looked up. “Charmed? No, it’s just an ordinary favour.”

Arthur took it, a slight grin on his lips. “An ordinary favour? Do you know what favours are, Merlin?”

Merlin’s breath caught. “Yes.”

Arthur stared at him, unblinking, before he slowly wound the cloth around his arm. He stared at the red bit of cloth for a moment, breathing shallowly, before turning back to Merlin.

“Thank you.”

Merlin grinned, was going to say no problem prat, now try not to die out there, when suddenly Arthur’s lips were on his and he couldn’t think, let alone speak. He simply allowed himself to be kissed, and when Arthur tried to pull away he tugged him back, throwing his fear and inexperience to the wind and kissing his prince with everything he had.

Finally Arthur managed to pull himself away, and Merlin let him go, no matter how he wished he didn’t have to.

“I must go.” Arthur whispered, and Merlin nodded, because he knew he did, and then he was gone, leaving Merlin alone in his room.

He raised a hand to his lips. They tingled, and Merlin couldn’t wait until this stupid tournament was over so he could kiss Arthur again, preferably in the prat’s rooms, where they could lock the door and not be disturbed for hours.

When Arthur inevitably won the tournament – with only a little help from Merlin and his magic, considering his knightly opponent had mysteriously been replaced with a deadly assassin – Merlin was the first one to congratulate him. It was also the first time he told Arthur he had saved his life, and exactly how, and they first time Arthur had reacted to the mention of magic without a flicker of hate or fear.

It was also the first time Arthur allowed Merlin to use magic on him, the deep cut in his side fading to a thin scar, near invisible unless you knew what you were looking for. Arthur had been uncomfortable, but he hadn’t told Merlin to stop, and after he was healed he had ordered Sir William of Daira to go collect his trophy.

Merlin had kissed him senseless for that.

It was later, late at night in Arthur’s chambers, when Arthur addressed what they had both been avoiding thinking about. Merlin had an arm around Arthur’s shoulders, Arthur’s head on his chest, and Arthur’s fingers tracing patterns onto his side.

“What we have between us, my father would never understand. Least of all if he were to discover your magic.”

Merlin shushed him. “I know. You don’t have to explain it to me.”

“We’ll have to be careful.” Arthur continued, as if he hadn’t heard him.

Merlin snorted. “I know how to be careful Arthur.”

Arthur sighed. “I know you do.”

Merlin pulled him closer, and golden hair tickled his nose. “Things will be different when you’re king.”

He felt Arthur smile. “They will. I swear it.”

It was dangerous, but Merlin was used to danger. Living in Camelot was dangerous, but it was worth it. Similarly, loving Arthur was dangerous, but Merlin knew it was worth it, had the moment he’d saw what a noble man the prince was inside. So Merlin let himself fall asleep, Arthur curled up in his arms much in the same way he had curled up in his heart, and dreamt of the golden future they would bring.

It was their destiny, after all.

-

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[cupcakezys]

Protect.

This is, by far, the longest part to this series. As such, it will be split into three parts. Forgive me any mistake, for this one fought me the entire time I was writing it. Lucky for me, I had a sword of my own to fight back with.  

First. Previous.

Read on AO3.

Pairing: Merlin/Arthur. (This three-parter is the one folks!)

Summary: Two days after their kidnapping on the night of the full moon, Arthur surprised Merlin by asking him to eat breakfast with him. Arthur did this because he was an extremely kind prince, no matter what Merlin might say about him being a prat, and also because he was very nervous and maybe not quite over the fear of losing the only man he could, without hesitation, call a friend. Still, Arthur had been trained since birth to do many things, and faking confidence was one of them.

So, it was with great fake-confidence that he said. “So, when are we going to Ealdor to meet your imaginary friend?”

Merlin gaped at him for a moment, and Arthur tried not to feel like a fool for asking. “Unless, of course, you admit that you made him up in some misguided attempt to make me jealous, in which case I’ll be happy to let you off the hook with only a few extra chores. My stables have been needing a good mucking out for a while now.”

Arthur, of course, didn’t mention how hearing tales of Will and Merlin’s life in Ealdor had very much made him quite jealous, whether that was Merlin’s intention or not. He absolutely refused to tell him, because he already had too big of a soft-spot for Merlin, and Merlin knew it, and he really couldn’t let it get around that he cared for his servant in any meaningful way. That could lead to disaster, and many more kidnappings for Merlin, and that was the last thing Arthur wanted.

“I did not make him up!” Merlin said, voice rising in disbelief. “I can’t believe you really think that.”

Arthur grinned and bit down on a piece of sausage. “So when are we going?”

“Whenever you want.” Merlin picked up a slice of bread, fresh from the oven. He shoved it in his mouth. “And didn’t your nannies teach you manners? Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Arthur swallowed and laughed. “You’re one to talk!”

Merlin swallowed and shot him a grin, all teeth, and for a moment Arthur got lost in the desire to lean into that smile like it was the sun, bright and dazzling. He shook it off, trying to come up with a plan.

“We could leave tomorrow, come up with some excuse for my father. Say it’s a hunting trip or something.” He said thoughtfully.

“So soon after we were kidnapped?” Merlin asked, then winced. They tried not to talk about that night, for several reasons. “Would he let you go?”

Arthur shrugged. “He might assign some guards. I could suggest he have Sir Leon come with us, he wouldn’t mind a short trip away from the castle.”

Merlin frowned. “He’s your second in command, right? I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him.”

“Of course you haven’t.” Arthur snorted. “Leon is very proper, he wouldn’t want to bother a servant working.”’

“Well.” Merlin drawled, in that voice that Arthur knew meant he still wasn’t sold on the idea. “What makes you think he’s going to agree to go to Ealdor with us, and not immediately tattle to the king?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Because Merlin, I’ve known Leon for years. He’s a loyal knight, but he’s also one of the few people I trust.”

Merlin looked surprised at that, but he nodded, a small smile on his face. “Alright. Good. I’ll get packing then, shall I?”

“After you finish cleaning my chambers Merlin. They’re filthy.”

Merlin spluttered, looked around the half-heartedly cleaned room, and pouted. “They’re clean enough.”

Arthur wanted to roll his eyes, call Merlin a hopeless servant that wouldn’t know clean if it hit him in the face, but he was too busy staring at those lips. Lips that were, quite frankly, sinfully pretty and plump and entirely too kissable.

Arthur shook his head free of such thoughts and stood, grabbing the last piece of bread as he went. “Whatever Merlin. Just make sure you at least tidy up a little. I am the prince you know, I deserve a clean room.”

Merlin muttered insults at his back, insults Arthur pretended he couldn’t hear, and got to work. Arthur left him to it, knowing he’d clean as much as he liked and no more, and entirely content with that. For now, he focused on getting through his own list of chores. First, to find Leon and convince him to go along with their plan, and then to find his father and request some days out for a hunting expedition. He might even throw in a little line about finding any stray bandits lurking around after the last attack. His father approved of fast retaliation, after all.

By the end of the day, Arthur was satisfied. His father had approved of his proposed plan, so long as he took Leon, and Leon had rolled his eyes but had agreed to accompany Arthur and Merlin without telling the king their true destination. After all, it wasn’t uncommon to wonder far on long hunting trips, chasing an elusive deer further than intended. Arthur had clapped Leon on the shoulder in thanks and left to tell Merlin the good news.

Merlin was, predictably, very excited to be going back to Ealdor. Arthur tried to tell him it would only be a short visit, likely no more than a week so they weren’t away from Camelot for too long. It didn’t dampen his grin in the slightest. Arthur found the happiness infectious, and so when Morgana cornered him that evening, he didn’t even flinch at her glare.

“You’re not seriously going out there again so soon, are you? Not after what happened last time!” She said, in that tone that told Arthur she would be yelling if they weren’t in a hallway crowded with servants.

“It’s just a simple hunting trip Morgana.” Arthur dismissed.

“Like two days ago was ‘just a hunting trip’?” She seethed. “Arthur, this is insane, and you know it! What if those bandits are still out there?”

“That’s exactly why I have to go!” Arthur hissed, stopping abruptly. “I have to make sure that if any bandits survived, they’re taken care of. Merlin and Leon will be going with me, we’ll be fine.”

“One knight and a servant? That’s all you’re taking? Do you have a death wish?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Father has agreed that a smaller group will be more likely to draw out any stray bandits. If there are any left, they’ll be weak and desperate. If they only see two knights and a servant, they’re more likely to expose themselves so we can get rid of them.”

Morgana huffed. “I still think you should take more men. What if there are more than you thought? You could get kidnapped again, or killed!”

“My my Morgana, is that concern in your voice?” Arthur teased, trying to calm Morgana down. Normally she only got like this after one of her nightmares. “I promise I’ll be back and annoying you in no time.”

Morgana frowned, but didn’t move to stop him when he left, so Arthur counted it as a win. Really, he should have known better.

They were roughly a half a day’s ride from Camelot when they found out Morgana had followed them. To make matters worse, her maidservant had insisted on coming too, not wanting to leave Morgana on her own, so now Arthur had two more people tagging along on a trip he had wanted to be only him and Merlin. At least they seemed excited enough when Merlin revealed their actual destination.

They settled down for the night, just a few hours from Ealdor. Merlin cooked for them, a faint annoyance taking over his face whenever he went to do something with his magic and realized they weren’t alone. His little pout was far too adorable for Arthur to stand for long, so he busied himself with helping Leon clear a space for them all the sleep. Morgana and Gwen took care of the horses, whispering to each other in hushed tones so quiet even Arthur couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Food’s ready.” Merlin called a while later, and Arthur went to him greedily, starving.

Arthur took his share with a smile and slight nod, and soon enough everyone was eating around the fire.

“Why are you here Morgana?” Arthur finally asked, after the silence started to get to him.

Morgana sighed and looked down at her food. “I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to you.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, but Leon tilted his head, considering. “A bad feeling, my lady?”

“I-“ Morgana fiddled with her dress, only stopping when Gwen squeezed her hand. She took a deep breath. “I had a nightmare. That you were fighting, and losing. I couldn’t just stay in the castle and do nothing while you were out here stupidly risking your life.”

Arthur rolled his eyes again, ready to say something scalding about the difference between dreams and reality, but a glance at Merlin stopped him. He was leaning forward, staring at Morgana intensely, and Arthur suddenly felt much more inclined to listen to her about her dreams and bad feelings.

“Well, we’re certainly in for a fight when we get back.” Arthur said instead, leaning back against the log behind him. “Father is going to be furious.”

Morgana lifted her chin. “I can handle Uther, don’t worry about that.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I’m not.”

“Good.” Morgana said, crossing her arms and staring at him.

“Good.” Arthur crossed his arms right back.

Merlin rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘children’ under his breath. Arthur sent him a glare, only to get a sunny smile in return. He huffed.

“Alright everyone, get some sleep. I’ll take first watch. We leave at first light tomorrow.” He said.

The hours passed slowly. Arthur watched the forest around him, shivering slightly every time a cold breeze blew through their little clearing. It didn’t help that the moon was shining directly on him. It felt like it was calling to him, just like on the night of a full moon. Telling him to run, to hunt, to change.

He resisted the pull, and when it was Leon’s turn to stand watch, he gratefully laid down next to the fire, forcing his eyes shut. It took him longer than usual to fall asleep.

Sometimes he really hated the moon.

The next day saw them finally arrive in Merlin’s home village. Arthur would never admit it to anyone, but he was nervous. Merlin had been chatting non-stop about his mother and best friend since they set out, and Arthur felt he knew more about them than he did his own family. It made him feel almost desperate to impress them, to show them he was worthy of being Merlin’s friend.

Merlin all but launched himself off his horse when they arrived at his old house. Arthur and the rest of their party dismounted at a safer pace as Merlin knocked on the door to a rather small hut and danced on the spot, a happy grin on his face.

A woman opened the door, brown hair tied up in a messy bun and her posture tired but determined. Arthur watched the recognition in her eyes as Merlin shouted and pulled her into a hug, saw how she melted against his side in surprise and happiness, one hand coming up to mess with Merlin’s hair. He forced himself to look away for a moment, a pang going through his heart when he thought of how badly he wished his mother was still alive to hug him so.

“Merlin!” The woman cried. “What are you doing here?”

Merlin drew back from the hug, smile still firmly on his face, then abruptly froze. He touched his mother’s face, where Arthur saw a bruise forming. Surprise and cold anger stirred distantly in his chest.

“Mother?” Merlin questioned, soft and on the verge of fury. “Who did this to you?”

She went to answer, glanced at Arthur, and instead smiled at her son. “Why don’t you and your friends come inside?”

Merlin glanced back at Arthur, trying to visibly calm himself. “Of course. Mother, this is Prince Arthur, Lady Morgana, Guinevere and Sir Leon. Everyone, this is my mother, Hunith.”

Arthur stepped forward, his best court-smile on his face. “It is lovely to meet you Hunith. We’ve all heard a lot about you.”

Morgana moved to his side, a more genuine smile on her face. “We’re terribly sorry to arrive unannounced. We hope we won’t be any trouble.”

Hunith looked a little faint and was shooting worried glances at her son every few seconds, but she smiled and curtsied all the same. “Of course my lord, my lady. It is an honour, truly.” She stood seemingly frozen for a few moments before Merlin pointedly cleared his throat. “Right. There’s space for your horses around the back, and I have some fresh bread made if you’re hungry.”

Guinevere smiled, already pulling her horse away with Leon. “Thank you Hunith.”

Merlin was sending Arthur desperate little looks and kept glancing at his mother. Arthur nodded. He got the message loud and clear. He grabbed Morgana’s arm firmly, ignoring the look she sent him.

“We’ll go with them.” He said.

Merlin smiled at him thankfully and pulled his mother inside, body tense. Arthur could only imagine what he must be feeling, coming home and seeing his mother injured so. Arthur was already feeling the anger pumping through his chest, and he didn’t even properly know Hunith yet. Morgana put up with his grip on her arm for a few more seconds before she grumbled and pulled away.

“What was that?” She hissed.

Arthur looked at her. “Merlin clearly wanted a moment to talk with her alone. Whatever happened to her has got him really riled up, and I doubt Hunith would want to tell him when there are a bunch of strangers in her house.”

“What?” Morgana frowned, glancing black at the house. “You got all from one look?”

Arthur laughed. “Oh please, it’s not that hard. Merlin’s like an open book when it comes to his emotions, it gets embarrassing sometimes.”

He fully expected Morgana to snipe back something about men being allowed to have feelings, or how not everyone was an emotionless brat of a prince, but strangely enough she just sent him an odd look and went to Guinevere’s side. Arthur shook it off, wondering idly if he’d ever understand women, and realising the answer was probably not. He sighed.

“Sire?” Leon called, drawing his attention out of his head. “Something feels wrong.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “How so?”

“The village is too quiet. No one was on the streets when we arrived, and no one came to see who we were.” Leon glanced around. “Not to mention Merlin’s mother. She was clearly struck by someone.”

“What are you suggesting?” Arthur murmured.

“It could be many things sire. Perhaps an angry husband?”

“No.” Arthur shook his head. “Merlin’s father left before he was born, and his mother’s never married. And it wouldn’t explain the quiet town.”

Leon bowed his head in a nod. “An attack then?”

“Bandits?” Arthur asked, straightening.

Leon shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Hey!” Morgana called, startling them both. “If you two are finished with your whispering, Hunith is calling us inside. She’s made tea.”

Arthur and Leon shared a look before following after her. Hunith greeted them with a smile and ushered them into the smallest house Arthur had ever seen, and then through to a tiny kitchen, barely big enough to fit them all. Merlin was sat at a small table, glaring into a cup of tea. Whatever Hunith had told him must have been bad.

Hunith bustled about, making sure they all had a cup and were comfortable. Morgana and Gwen chose to sit in the remaining chairs, while Leon stood near the door, trying to stay out of the way. Arthur chose to stand beside Merlin, offering his friend the same comfort he got during feasts or long meetings he forced Merlin to attend with him. Merlin shot him a look, thankful and angry all at once.

Guinevere was the first to speak. “Thank you for this.”

Hunith smiled, though it was strained and didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s quite alright my dear. It’s not often that I get guests, so this is a nice change of pace, even if it is a surprise.”

She glanced at Merlin at that, causing him to duck his head in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

The conversation stilled after that, until Arthur spoke up. “Forgive me Hunith, but we couldn’t help but notice the village is a bit quieter than we expected. Has something happened recently?”

Hunith looked into her cup, tense and eyes far away. “A group of bandits have been terrorizing the village for the past few days. Two days ago their leader rode in and demanded all of our harvest. There are many children here, and the winters are harsh.” Merlin reached out for her and squeezed her hand. “Some of them won’t be strong enough to survive, and if Kanen takes our harvest I don’t think all the adults will live to summer either.”

Guinevere gasped and Morgana looked grim, like she had known from the beginning. Arthur shot a glance at Leon. His knight nodded back, a grim smile on his face. They had guessed right, and Arthur had never before wished so hard that they had been wrong.

“Surely you could appeal to Cenred for help? He is you king.” Arthur said.

Hunith shook her head. “Our king cares little for the outlying villages. We’ve appealed to him many times, and he has yet to send us any aid.”

Arthur felt anger bubble up in his chest. He had known Cenred was a selfish and greedy king, but this was disgraceful. His people were in danger, and he refused to help them! It went against everything Arthur had been taught about being a king.

“I was going to go to Camelot to plead for help there. I thought perhaps King Uther would be more likely to help us.” Hunith continued.

“He would.” Arthur said, confident, then wilted. “But Ealdor is beyond our borders.”

“Why does that matter?” Merlin asked, agitated.

“Because if he were to send any type of army to Ealdor, Cenred would see it as a declaration of war.” Leon explained, looking pained. “Thousands would die. He couldn’t afford risking the peace.”

Morgana glowered at her tea, clearly disagreeing. “He could send troops in disguise. It wouldn’t be that hard.”

“Even if he did.” Arthur interrupted before Morgana could really get going. “By the time they got back here it could already be too late.”

Silence descended on the room, before Merlin spoke up, voice right and determined. “Then what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to come up with a plan.” Arthur said, determined. “And then we’re going to get rid of those bandits.”

They spent hours going through plans. Arthur wanted to gather the villagers and rally them to fight back, but Morgana reasoned that they were untrained people, not soldiers like Arthur was used to commanding. Hunith said that they would be willing to stand up and fight for their home if it came down to it, but Arthur knew that was a last resort.

“How many men does Kanen have, do you know?” Arthur asked Hunith.

She shrugged helplessly. “I’m not sure. It could be as many as forty, from what I’ve seen.”

Leon looked grim at the news. He had suggested a surprise attack on the bandit camp during the night. Hunith had shot that idea down fast, saying they had no idea where Kanen and his men even were, and neither did they have the numbers to face him. Morgana had growled and suggested they set up traps around the outside of the village. Leon liked that idea, and soon enough the two of them were planning the best way to trap the bandits before they could even reach the village the next time they attacked.

Arthur left them to it. Once Morgana set her mind to something there wasn’t much that could stop her, and setting up a few traps would only help them. Guinevere was helping Hunith clean up and talking to her in low tones. Arthur looked around and then grabbed Merlin’s arm and tugged him out of the room.

“So what’s our plan?” Merlin whispered.

“I’m thinking we find out where those barbarians are hiding and get rid of them.” Arthur whispered back. “You in?”

“Of course.” Merlin said, fierce and with gold swirling in his eyes. “We have to make sure they can’t come back.”

“You know any spells that could help us?”

Merlin thought and hesitantly nodded. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Excellent. We’ll talk to the villagers, see if they have any idea where they might be. Then we go at night and strike while they’re asleep.” Arthur pulled a face. “It’s not exactly honourable, but we can’t afford to fight fair.”

Merlin nodded. “Just the two of us?”

“If you want to be able to use your magic freely.” Arthur whispered.

Merlin nodded again. “Yeah. Okay.”

Arthur grinned and slung an arm around Merlin’s shoulders, ignoring his racing heart at the close contact. “Then let’s go ask around. We might even meet that friend of yours, if he even exists.”

Merlin blushed a pretty red that disappeared into his neckerchief. “For the last time Arthur, I didn’t make Will up!”

Arthur laughed and pulled Merlin back towards the kitchen, arm still around his shoulders. “We’re going to ask around the village, see if anyone knows anything that might help us.”

Morgana waved a hand at him, not even looking up at them. Leon looked up, a question in his eyes, and Arthur shook his head. He wouldn’t need a guard for a quick trip around a small village. Leon turned back to Morgana. Guinevere and Hunith simply nodded in acknowledgement, the latter sending Merlin a look Arthur didn’t understand.

Merlin slipped out from under his arm, a faint blush still on his cheeks, and Arthur tried to ignore how keenly he missed having Merlin pressed up against him. They slipped out of the house, Merlin leading the way into the village proper.

They made it only a few steps before someone came running towards them, a grin on his face and eyes locked on Merlin.

“Will!” Merlin called, as bright and happy as the smile that lit up his face.

“Merlin!” The other boy laughed and raced over.

Will, who was rather plain looking if you asked Arthur, and not at all handsome, laughed and hugged Merlin. Merlin laughed and hugged back. They separated soon after, and Arthur wondered what it must be like, to be able to embrace a friend so easily. It sent something sharp through his heart that he viciously ignored.

“What are you doing here?” Will asked, messing up Merlin’s hair, to much protest.

“It’s good to see you again too Will.” Merlin mumbled sullenly, trying to fix his hair. “As for why I’m here-“

“Merlin here thought it would be a good idea to visit.” Arthur forced a grin, walking up to the two and trying to ignore the weird feeling in his chest. “I think he was feeling homesick.”

“That’s not it at all, you prat.” Merlin rolled his eyes and turned back to Will. “Arthur was convinced you didn’t exist. He insisted I bring him to Ealdor to prove your existence, or else he was going to tell anyone that listened that I was a friendless pauper.”

“Well.” Arthur cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. “It’s not my fault all your stories are so unbelievable.”

Will looked between them in confusion before his gaze settled on Arthur. “And who are you?”

Arthur stood a little taller, shoulders back. “Prince Arthur of Camelot.”

Will blinked, then turned an unimpressed look to Merlin. “This is the prince you’re skivvying for?”

Merlin spluttered. “I’m not a skivvy!”

Arthur snorted. “No, you’re a servant, and a terrible one at that.”

Merlin pouted at him. Arthur ignored him, instead eyeing Will as Will eyed him. Will met his eyes unflinchingly, just as Merlin always did, and Arthur wondered if Ealdor taught all its children to be so bold. Somehow, Arthur figured that wasn’t the case. Merlin and his friend were simply special.

Merlin was the one to break the silence. “Mother told us about the bandits.”

Will’s eyes turned sad. “I’m sorry about what happened to her.”

Merlin nodded, and Arthur spoke up. “We aren’t going to let it happen to anyone else.”

Will narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you going to do? Kanen has too many men, even if we could fight, we wouldn’t stand a chance of winning. We’d be better off just giving him what he wants.”

“And let everyone starve?” Arthur asked, incredulous.

Will sent him a dirty look. “We’ll manage. We’ll survive.” He turned up his nose. “That’s better than what’ll happen if we fight. Kanen would kill us all and take what he wants anyway.”

“Will.” Merlin said, warningly.

Arthur ignored him and crossed his arms. “The only way men like him can be stopped is if you stand up to them.”

“No.” Will growled, getting close to Arthur and jabbing his finger into his chest. “You just want the honour and glory of battle! That's what drives men like you! If you want to die then go ahead and fight, but don’t drag the rest of us down with you!”

“Will!” Merlin yelled, forcing them apart and standing in front of Arthur. “That’s enough!”

Will glared at them both, fuming, and then stormed off. Arthur watched him go, anger and confusion swirling in his chest.

“What the hell just happened?” He asked.

“I’m sorry Arthur.” Merlin sighed, turning to face him. “I should have known something like this would happen. His father was killed fighting for King Cenred, so he doesn't trust anyone of nobility.”

“That seemed like more than simple mistrust.” Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Merlin glanced back to where Will had disappeared around a hut. “He just doesn’t want anyone else to die.”

Arthur grunted. “Then he should see why they cannot simply roll over and give in to Kanen’s every command.”

Merlin nodded, shifting on his feet. “Will you be alright on your own for a bit?”

Arthur wasn’t even surprised. “Going to talk some sense into him?”

Merlin shot him a quick grin. “I hope. Besides, we aren’t actually going to ask anyone to fight. He’ll calm down once he knows that.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own for a while.” Arthur rolled his eyes, no bite and all fond. “I’m hardly going to get into trouble in a tiny place like this.”

Merlin frowned. “You never know with you.”

“Oi!” Arthur protested.

Merlin grinned and glanced around, then turned back to Arthur with determined eyes. “Gebeorgan min baldor fram hearm.” His eyes flashed gold, making Arthur’s heart beat faster, and he grinned in satisfaction. “There. Now you’ll be fine.”

Arthur shoved him, heart pounding in his ears. “Go on.”

Merlin smiled, as bright and intoxicating as ever. He turned to go after Will, not quite running after his friend. Arthur watched him go, something incredibly fond in his chest. It left him frozen in place for a moment, watching as Merlin disappeared. Then he forcibly shook himself and went to find some villagers to talk to.

Arthur spent an hour speaking with anyone that would talk to him. Few were open with him, a stranger in their midst, but some welcomed him. None of them knew any details, much to his disappointment, but one old lady managed to point him in the direction the bandits had ridden off to after they had attacked. He thanked her and bowed regally, causing her to blush and wave him away.

He was heading back to Hunith’s when he saw Will leaning against a building. He gestured for Arthur to follow, movements stiff. Arthur narrowed his eyes. Merlin was nowhere to be found, and Will had walked around the side of the building, out of Arthur’s sight.

He hesitated for only a moment, then followed.

-

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