AN: Hi! I finished the first chapter of the fic I said I would be working on next! Look at that, maybe I can keep to a schedule, and not jump in with random creepy stories! Or, maybe I can't as I am also trying something new and working on two stories at once. So, should be interesting. If it takes slightly longer to update that might be the reason why, but I will try to work on these two stories pretty evenly.

This fic shouldn't be too long, I'm thinking six or seven chapters, if all goes to plan. It takes place in Season 3, Episode 10: The Queen of Hearts, changing about half-way in. Sorry Arthur is kind of a dick in this chapter. He will get better, I swear. And Merthur will be happening. As well as some whump, eventually...

Anyhoo, enough of that. I have stories to write. So, as always, I don't own Merlin. Not even a little bit.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1: Stumbling into Love

It had seemed so sudden.

One day, after serving Arthur breakfast, Merlin had realized the feelings he had for his prince were more than just those of a servant to a master, of even what one would feel towards a friend. He had been laying out Arthur's clothes for the day when he peered around the open cabinet door at the prince. Even just after waking, Arthur was perfect. His golden hair caught the light from the window, giving Arthur the appearance of having a halo. It was sticking up in a strange little tuft on the right side, undoubtedly where Arthur's head had been pressed against his pillows, which made the prince appear almost 'cute.' Merlin was pretty sure he would be in the stocks for most of the week if he described Arthur as 'cute' out loud, but there really was no other way to describe the bed-headed prince. Arthur's white sleep shirt hung loosely over his perfectly toned pecks, the opening at the top to give a small glimpse at the smooth, bronze skin that lay beneath, and though his blue eyes were still hazy with sleep, they were still deep and piercing, and Merlin was quite certain that he could spend hours, maybe even days, staring into them. As he looked into them he couldn't help but notice every pattern, every perfect petal stretching away from the pupil and towards the smooth, bronzed skin of his prince's face.

As Merlin watched Arthur sleepily consume his breakfast, Merlin realized that somehow he had fallen in love with the man who was his destiny.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it hadn't been sudden at all; it had just taken him a while to figure out what his feelings really meant. The pains in his chest each time he saw Arthur with someone else. The fluttering in his stomach when Arthur would reach out to grab his shoulder or his fingers would brush against his as he refilled a goblet or handed him his sword. The absolute horror he experienced each time Arthur's life was in danger. At first he had figured that these were merely feelings produced by the great destiny the shared, pulling him and Arthur closer together so they could accomplished what fate had in store for them. But, as he watched Arthur sleepily chew the bread, cheese, meat, and fruits Merlin had brought him, he began to realize that he had been completely wrong, and that he had been in love with the prince almost since he first laid eyes on him.

What should he do? He loved the prince! He was a SORCERER in love with the prince of CAMELOT! He probably had some type of crazy death wish. But he couldn't simply stop loving Arthur, nor could he bear the thought of leaving him. What if something happened while he was away? He couldn't let Arthur get hurt, not while he had the power to stop it. He couldn't let Arthur know his feelings either, though, as Arthur could never return his feelings and might even send him away if he knew.

So, he would have to hide his feelings. That couldn't be too difficult, right?

Hiding his feelings proved to be much more difficult than Merlin had ever imagined. It definitely did not help that not long after Merlin made his realization Arthur began to fall for Gwen. It hurt more than he would admit to give Arthur council when he worried about his feelings for the serving girl, and Merlin often caught himself glaring at the girl who he thought of as his first friend in Camelot as she flirted and laughed with Arthur. So, when Arthur announced that he would be taking Gwen on a picnic and needed Merlin to gather the supplies and escort Gwen to the meeting place at an hour passed sunrise the next day, Merlin found it quite difficult to carry out his orders. He did, of course, and kept a smile on his face as he watched his friend leave for something he could only dream of doing. When Arthur saw Gwen and his gaze lit up Merlin had to squash the jealous beast in his chest. It took all his self control not to use some tiny, harmless spell that could make Gwen burp or trip or whatever else would cast her from Arthur's sights so he could finally have his prince to himself. But, he didn't, turning away from the man of his dreams and hurrying back to the castle before he did something he would regret.

When Merlin saw Arthur being escorted back into the castle by Uther, he could help but feel slightly hopeful. Uther wouldn't allow his son to be with a maid, so maybe Arthur would leave Guinevere, opening up the possibility of Merlin finding his way into Arthur's heart. Of course, this logic was slightly skewed, as if Uther would not allow his son to be with a maid, he most certainly would not allow his son to be with a manservant. Merlin crushed his own dreams as soon as they had risen, and went about trying to be the friend both Gwen and Arthur would need at this difficult time in their relationship.

Merlin had not expected Gwen to be accused of magic. And even if it was nice imaging what could happen with her out of the picture, he definitely didn't want her dead, which was exactly what was going to happen if he didn't do something quickly. As Uther expected Arthur of being under a love spell, the prince wouldn't be able to help him, so Merlin rushed down to his room to discuss the problem with Gaius.

It had taken him awhile, but Arthur managed to get his guards to take him down to see Gaius. He had made up some story about feeling dizzy and nauseous, and, thinking it was a side effect of the poultice, the guards had taken him down to the physician's quarters. Keeping his voice down so as not to arouse suspicion in the guards waiting outside, Arthur burst into the chambers, saying, "We've got to save Guinevere!"

"I know, Arthur." Merlin replied, "And we will. Gaius and I have been trying to figure out who could have planted the poultice that was found in your bed, and once we do that we can prove that Gwen was innocent."

When Merlin reminded him of the poultice, a shred of doubt crept into Arthur. He knew he had feelings for Guinevere, or at least he thought he knew he did. He had been the victim of a love spell twice before, and did not want his emotions to be toyed with again. So, trying his best to hide the doubt from his own voice, Arthur asked, "You don't think I've really been put under a love spell do you?"

"No." Merlin replied quickly. "I have been changing your bed sheets practically every day since I got to Camelot, and I have never seen anything like that before. You've been in love with Gwen for much longer than the spell could have been in effect, as the poultice could only have been planted today."

Arthur nodded, a wave of relief sweeping over him. That did make sense.

"Do you have any leads yet?" Arthur asked, praying that they had discovered something that could save Guinevere. Arthur was slightly confused as Merlin caught Gaius' eye and they shared a knowing glance before he turned back and said, "No… we haven't found anything yet…"

Arthur began pacing the small space near the door. He wanted to do something. Fight the people threatening his Guinevere. Unfortunately that was his father, and, although he did want to rescue Guinevere, he was not quite sure he would kill his father for her. So, he settled down, and asked, "Where do we start?

"Well," Merlin said in a matter-of-fact way, "first we need to figure out why someone would want to frame Gwen."

"I don't know!" Arthur said. "It doesn't make any sense. She's kind, gentle, and beautiful. She would never hurt a fly unless she had a bloody good reason to-"

"And you're in love with her." Merlin interrupted, looking strangely downcast. Arthur shook of the worry about his manservant's sudden change in mood and said, "Yes, but no one knows that besides us."

"And Morgana." Merlin mumbled, casting Gaius another knowing glance before continuing on, "Maybe someone else found out and wanted to hurt her to get to you."

"But then it could be anyone!" Arthur said, throwing his hands up in frustration, "This will take too long!"

Merlin looked nervous but determined as he grabbed Arthur's shoulder and said, "It's the best we can do so, for now, we will have to make it work."

Arthur shook off Merlin's hand, turning away from the other two in the room and towards the wall. This was most definitely not the best they could do! He knew this castle better than most of the knights and all of the guards, he could get Guinevere out without anyone noticing. He couldn't do it on his own though, he would need someone to distract the guards and his father while he got Guinevere out. He turned back to Gaius and Merlin, but did not announce his plan quite yet. Gaius may be worried about Guinevere's safety, but he probably wouldn't agree to Arthur's slightly more drastic plan. Now he just needed to a way to get Merlin out without Gaius' becoming suspicious.

"Merlin," Arthur said, turning back to the two occupants of the room. "Why don't you come back to my chambers with me? We can look for clues there while Gaius tries to think of any enemies who might have done this."

Merlin's disappointed look confused Arthur, as his manservant replied, "Maybe I should stay with Gaius, you can go look for clues and then I can come up and tell you what we've thought of when I bring your dinner."

Why would Merlin want to stay with Gaius, Arthur thought, staring at his enigma of a manservant. Usually he was over-nosey, always poking around where he shouldn't be when strange things were happening in Camelot. What was different now? He tried to send Merlin a meaningful glare, hoping that Merlin got his sense of urgency as he said, "Mer-lin, I think you will be more help with me. Plus, I say you come with me, and I'm the prince, so you do as I say."

Merlin rolled his eyes, looking apologetically back at Gaius before mumbling something that sounded a lot like 'prat' and following Arthur out of the physician's chambers.

Sometimes Merlin wondered how he had fallen in love with such a clot pole. Now was definitely one of those times. He needed to talk to Gaius. They could come up with a way to save Gwen, with the help of his magic, of course. Searching Arthur's chambers would do no good as he already knew, or at least had a very good idea, of who had planted the poultice, Morgana. Ever since she had returned, she had been so different from the girl he had once known, but he had to admit he was surprised she would turn on Gwen. She and Gwen had always seemed like such good friends, but maybe she had realized Gwen was starting to get suspicious, or just didn't care who she hurt as long as she also accomplished her goals. It was terrifying to see just how much she had changed.

Merlin was literally pulled from his thoughts when Arthur grabbed his arm and yanked him into his chambers. Arthur didn't make any move to start looking for clues; instead he walked over to the window, looking down to the courtyard where a pyre was being constructed. After waiting in silence for a brief moment, Arthur turned, staring directly at Merlin, and said, "We are going to free Gwen."

Merlin just gave him a confused look, and replied, saying "I know, Arthur. Shouldn't we start looking for clues?" Merlin wanted to finish helping Arthur as quickly as possible so he could get back to Gaius and start working on his real plans before anything worse happened.

"No." Arthur said, looking Merlin directly in the eyes, "I mean we are breaking her out."

"What!" Merlin exclaimed trying to keep his voice lowered so the guards outside Arthur's doors wouldn't hear him. "You can't be serious! Shouldn't we focus on proving her innocent? We still have some time that should only be a last resort. If she runs, she won't be able to live in Camelot. You wouldn't be able to see her anymore. Are you sure you've thought this through, Arthur?"

"Yes, Mer-lin. This is the only way we can save her. Don't you see? Even if we did find the true culprit, my father wouldn't just let her go. He would be too proud, and no amount of evidence we could somehow find in one night could convince him to change his mind."

Merlin frowned. Arthur had a good point. He couldn't help remembering what had happened with Gwaine only a few weeks ago. He had been banished, even when it had been proven that he was only working to save Arthur. But, if anything went wrong with Arthur's attempt at rescue, Uther wouldn't hesitate to kill Gwen.

"Arthur," Merlin said cautiously, "I understand what you mean, but what if Gwen gets caught? Uther would order the knights to kill her on sight, and nothing could help her then."

"She won't get caught," Arthur said with a strange amount of confidence, "Because I will be going with her."

"What!" Merlin really did shout that time. That couldn't happen. Arthur had to stay. How would he fulfill his destiny if Arthur wasn't here? "You can't leave, Arthur, you're the prince! What about your people, your kingdom!"

"Why not!" Arthur said back. "All my life I have had to work for the kingdom, put aside my happiness for the people. Why can't I do what I want? The people will be fine without me, and the kingdom will not fall simply because I am gone. Why can't I just be normal?"

Merlin sighed. He knew the feeling. There had been so many times when he had wondered what it would be like to live without the constant pressures of destiny and burdens of his powers. What it would be like to be normal. He looked sadly back up at his prince, who could still have a normal life, with the woman he loved, if he left behind his duty and his home, and said, "I'm sorry, Arthur, but are you sure this is the best thing to do? Where would you go? What would you do?"

"Does it matter?" Arthur asked in return. "We would be together. And that is what is important."

Merlin sighed again. How he wished Arthur would say things like that about him. But this incident had only served to further his proof that Arthur could never be his. And he knew that tone. No matter what he said, Arthur wouldn't change his mind, so he decided he would do his best to help the man he loved live the life he wanted.

"Alright." Merlin said quietly, "How are we going to get you out?"

Arthur's plan was relatively simple. Merlin would distract the king and the knights, telling them that there was some type of beast in attacking the lower town, and Arthur would break Gwen out while Camelot's army was preoccupied chasing down some fictional creature. First, though, Arthur would need a way to get past the guards outside his chambers. They had decided that the best way to do that would be for them to make a make-shift rope from the sheets, then, while Merlin went down to collect Arthur's dinner; Arthur would make it appear that he had left the room, escaping through the window. When Merlin returned, he would act completely surprised at the apparent lack of prince in the room, alert the guards, who would of course come to investigate, and be focused on the rope out the window, not the men behind them who would hopefully be able to knock them out without much fuss. Once they had the sheets all knotted together, Merlin left, rushing down to the kitchens. He returned, dropped the food, and ran back out to lead the two unprepared guards into the room. This worked spectacularly, so leaving two unconscious guards and a good amount of food on the floor, Arthur and Merlin left the room to work on the rest of their plan. As Arthur was about to turn and run, Merlin stopped him, grabbing a hold of his arm and saying, "Go to a town called Haldor. It is just over the border to the east. Lancelot lives there, he should at least be able to find you someplace to stay, maybe even work. If that doesn't work, try Ealdor. I'm sure my mother will help you until you can find work and a place of your own. And be careful Arthur. I will always be here if you ever choose to return and take your rightful place as king."

Arthur nodded, looking at Merlin as if he had never really seen him before, then pulled the warlock into a hug, surprising him quite a bit. Arthur then said, "I will be back, someday. Thank you for everything Merlin. You might have been a lousy manservant, but you are a good friend."

Merlin smiled, and replied, "And you may still be a prat, but you have a good heart. I have to admit I'm glad I saved you that first day, even if it did mean I had to muck out your stables and clean your socks daily. I'm glad I got to know you, and see what a great king you could be. Stay safe."

Arthur just nodded, before turning and running down the halls, ducking into corridors to make sure he wasn't seen. Merlin watched him fondly, before turning, and preparing himself for his part of the plan. He began running, hoping he would look as if he had run from the lower town by the time he got to the King's chambers. As he turned the last corridor, he saw his first obstacle, the guards outside Uther's door. He stopped in front of them, panting before he said, "I need to speak to the king, urgently! There's a Chimera attacking the lower town!"

The guards must have believed Merlin, he supposed being the prince's manservant did help his credibility slightly, and allowed him access. He stumbled into the king's chambers, still panting. Even after saving his life on countless occasions, Merlin still got rather nervous around Uther. The man had killed so many innocents, just for being associated with magic. So many of his worst nightmares involved him being brought before Uther, his secret revealed, to be tied to a burning post, while all his friends watched. But, he had a mission for his prince, and that was what was important now. He took a long breath, summoned his courage, and said, "Sire! There's a chimera attacking the lower town! The prince went down to fight it when a knight informed him of the incident. He sent me back to alert you and make sure the guards and knights were informed of the beast!"

Uther had stood from his desk the moment Merlin had entered. His expression had changed to one of panic as Merlin spoke, obviously buying his story. As the king moved around his desk he said, "What! You will take me to this beast, and Arthur." Then, turning from Merlin to the guards, he said, "Sound the warning bell and gather all the knights and guards in the courtyard. I will join you as soon as I have gotten into my armor. Prepare to take on this chimera."

The guards hurried out of the room, leaving Uther and Merlin alone. Uther then turned back to Merlin and ordered him to help him with his armor. Merlin did so, trying to keep his hands from shaking as he prayed that the plan would work. While he was finishing strapping the last buckle, Merlin heard the warning bell ring. Hopefully that would be enough to get most of the guards and knights out of the route Arthur and Gwen would be taking. Finishing his work with Uther's armor, Merlin followed the king out of the castle and down to the courtyard. As they made their way down, Merlin felt fear curl in his stomach. With each step, they got closer to Uther realizing that Merlin had led him on a wild goose chase, and that there was no beast attacking the lower town. Merlin tried to keep the fear on his face, hoping to give Arthur as much time as possible by leading the knights of Camelot around the streets of the lower town, searching for the 'chimera.' Merlin couldn't help but gulp as he saw the force waiting for them at the steps of Camelot. Uther gave a brief speech before instructing Merlin to lead them to the beast. Merlin started forward, hoping that he looked sure of himself as he wandered down the streets of Camelot, trying to lead the knights as far from the gates into the city as possible. When he hit a dead end, Uther grabbed him, turning him around to face the king who looked a whole lot angrier than he had when they left the castle.

"Why is it" Uther said, almost growling, "that in all the time we've been out here I haven't so much as heard a shout, or seen any sign of the destruction this 'beast' you warned me of caused?"

Merlin gulped, took a shaky breath and said, "Maybe Prince Arthur was able to defeat it, Sire? Perhaps we should head back to the castle."

Merlin moved to start back down the street, but was held back by the king. "I think you lied to me, boy. Do you know what the punishment is for lying to your king? Death. Seeing as you have served Arthur loyally in the past, I will consider altering the sentence to banishment, count yourself lucky. Guards! Take him to the dungeons! And find my son!"

Two guards moved forward from the group grabbing a hold of Merlin and pulling him back through the streets toward the palace. Merlin could only hope he gave Arthur enough time to get Gwen and get out as he went meekly with the guards, wondering what Uther would do when he found out his son was missing.