Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin! I hope you enjoy reading this first chapter, there will be four more to come and I'll try and publish them as soon as possible. I apologise for any grammar errors or spelling mistakes, I haven't got a beta, so if you'd like to be mine message me! Thanks!

Chapter One

Merlin could hardly believe his luck. After spending three years studying media production at the University of Westminster, he'd slipped right into a job on the new set for Teen Scream! 2, a crossover of Sorority Row and Scream, it promised blood, gore and unexpected twists. Granted, being a runner wasn't what he'd had in mind when he decided to pursue a career in media, but Merlin was willing to take any work. He'd been obsessed with Teen Scream! when it had first been released, so to gain any sort of job working on the sequel was a dream come true. Plus, everyone starts off small in the media industry, you have to work your way up to the top, Merlin thought.

"Are you serious Gwen? I really don't care that it's a runner job, oh my God, just being on the set for two minutes would be amazing, but working there every day and getting to see it all first hand?" Merlin took a deep breath in order to regulate his breathing, "I really don't know what to say, thank you so much! I can't believe you managed to get this for me!"

Gwen's quiet chuckle drifted down the line, as Merlin jumped excitedly up and down on the spot.

"Really Merlin, it's Morgana you need to thank, she's the one who managed to get us both jobs. One of the perks of being Uther Pendragon's favourite person I suppose. Just remember, you need to be on set for 4 tomorrow morning and your hours will probably be unpredictable."

"4 o'clock tomorrow morning, got it. Thank Morgana for me would you Gwen and I'll take you both out for coffee tomorrow!" Merlin gushed as he set his alarm clock for 3am.

After he'd hung up Merlin rang his mum, Hunith. News like this was worth sharing.

Even though Merlin was nowhere near a morning person, he flung himself out of bed as soon as his alarm started its shrill bleeping the next morning. As he brushed his teeth, Merlin silently thanked Morgana a million times over for the opportunity; he owed her big time for this. So did Gwen, who Morgana had managed to find a job in the costume department on Teen Scream! 2 and Merlin was sure Gwen would make an excellent addition to the team, dismissive of her nervous worrying. Morgana herself worked in makeup for the film, creating the gruesome wounds and perfect complexions of the characters. After swallowing down some breakfast, Merlin took the tube to the set and was relieved to see Gwen's familiar brown hair just a few feet ahead on the street. Together they walked into the impressive building that hid a whole new world inside it.

Merlin's first day on set was better than he could ever have dreamed of. Although some of the film members treated him like he was nothing more than dirt on the bottom of their shoe, he found most of his colleagues to be pleasant, friendly people, who seemed more interested in getting to know him, than actually sending him for things. One of the main actresses, Vivian Olaf, engaged him in a delightful conversation about the charity work she was doing for cancer patients when he picked her up from her hotel to take her to the set. Later, when he dropped off the script at Elena Godwyn's dressing room, she gave him one of her chocolates and told him to drop by anytime for a chat. At lunch he met up with Gwen and Morgana to have that coffee he'd promised them, where they swapped stories about their day and laughed at the mistakes each other had made at work. It was decided that Merlin had the most embarrassing moment out of the three of them, he'd walked in on one of the supporting actresses, only to discover her taking out her 'chicken fillets'.

"I knew they were fake!" Morgana cackled, as she and Gwen supported themselves on the table, shaking with laughter.

"She was alright with it though when I told her I was gay!" Merlin exclaimed, "I believe she said something along the lines of, oh well, at least you don't care about the size of my boobs, I don't want plastic surgery you see. Then she went off on a rant about plastic surgery and big boobs, which she obviously expected me to agree with. I mean, really!"

"Oh you definitely win," Gwen gasped, wiping tears from her eyes, "this even beats me sending a silk night gown to Arthur Pendragon by mistake! His PA Sophia was furious; she thought I'd done it on purpose, trying to mock his bisexuality."

Merlin, who had been taking a gulp of coffee, choked half way through and spat the liquid all over the table.

"Arthur Pendragon?" he spluttered.

It was no secret that Merlin harboured a strong attraction for the famous British actor, for years Gwen and Morgana constantly ribbed him for owning all of his films on DVD. Morgana was close with the Pendragon family and almost considered Arthur as a brother, but maintained the idea that he wasn't anything special, as the two frequently disagreed. Merlin couldn't understand Morgana's indifference for the golden haired beauty, though he never told her that, he wasn't stupid enough to rile Morgana into a fury.

"You never said he was working on the film!"

"Well I didn't know until today! Apparently he and Uther had a big row about the role, Arthur was keen to do it but Uther thought it was a step down from his other features," Gwen said.

Morgana nodded her confirmation, "Uther's furious with him at the moment, but Arthur's stuck with his decision. It's certainly gained him some respect points in my opinion."

Merlin was also quite surprised that Arthur hadn't backed down to his father, from Morgana's stories it was all Arthur seemed to do. Though Merlin couldn't understand why Uther thought he knew what was best for his sons' career, it wasn't like he had his own job within the industry, in fact, as far as Merlin was aware, Uther didn't seem to do anything.

"Don't worry about him Merlin," Gwen advised, "it's unlikely you'll actually bump into him."

Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on how you looked at it), Gwen's words came true. Merlin was on high alert for the rest of the day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive 'Pendragon Prince' as he was branded by the media. The hours seemed to fly by and before he knew it, Merlin's day was over and he had not been graced with Arthur's presence. He wasn't deterred though, there was still another 4 months of pre-production work and then 3 months of filming, there'd be plenty of time to ogle at Arthur from the sidelines.

As it happened, Merlin didn't have to wait months to get his first interaction with Arthur Pendragon. No, it turned out to occur on the second day of his new job. Merlin had just spent 20 minutes introducing Morgana and Gwen to Elena and the four of them had bonded over salad and chocolate cake. Now, turning the corner Merlin was treated to the vision that was Arthur brandishing a polythene cup at a small, fragile, brown haired girl who seemed to be restraining herself from cowering.

"I'm so sorry Mr Pendragon, I must have mixed up yours and Miss Olaf's drinks, I can go out and get you a new one..."

"This is the third time so far! Are you really that incompetent that you can't even hand me my drink? I have told you time and time again that I cannot drink green tea because it is bad for my health, yet you persist on giving me Vivian's herbal teas! I'm tempted to go and report you to your employer right now!"

"Oh please Mr Pendragon, please don't do that! I'm sorry I really am, I won't make a mistake ever again I promise!"

Arthur, red faced and furious, opened his mouth to start another angry tirade when Merlin stepped smoothly in.

"I'm sorry Mr Pendragon, give me five minutes and I'll have your coffee ready for you," Merlin smiled at the girl, Freya. She was a sweet girl, but shy and it caused her to become nervous around the celebrities, make mistakes and then get more nervous. "It was an honest mistake on Freya's part, but we'll sort something out so this type of thing doesn't happen again."

Merlin was pretty pleased with himself, he thought he'd be quite charming and professional considering his insides were doing the tango at his close proximity with Arthur. However, his pride was dashed when Arthur turned towards him with a sneer on his face and said,

"It better not happen again or I'll personally make sure she's fired." He thrust Vivian's tea into Merlin's hands, "From now on you fetch all my drinks rather than this babbling fool."

Merlin handed Freya the drink and with a grateful smile she took the opportunity to escape, leaving Merlin and Arthur alone and though Arthur didn't know it, Merlin had a few choice words to say.

"Mr Pendragon?" Merlin said as Arthur turned to enter his dressing room, "I just like to say something," he ignored Arthur's long suffering sigh and continued, "I think how you reacted about one cup of coffee was disgusting, Freya only made a few mistakes and you penalized her cruelly for it just because she is a runner and you're the actor so you thought it was okay. Just because you have the better career it doesn't mean you can treat people like that, everyone is equal and deserves the same amount of respect, regardless."

Arthur face was so red, Merlin thought for a moment he might actually explode in anger and he had a heart stopping moment where Merlin imagined himself trying to explain to the director that Mr Pendragon couldn't work today because he was in little pieces outside his dressing room door.

"How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that!" Arthur shouted.

"With all due respect Mr Pendragon, I'm speaking to you with more cordiality than you did toward Freya. You know, I've always liked the films you'd been in and heard so much about you from Morgana that I thought you were a good person, but now I know better," and he started to walk away.

"So you're Merlin then."

It wasn't a question; just a statement and Merlin didn't feel obliged to confirm Arthur's assumption. Arthur's words however did make Merlin think, had Morgana been swapping stories about him and Gwen to Arthur? Had she mentioned his attraction to him? He'd kill her if she had. The thought of Arthur knowing about Merlin's feelings made his cheeks burn and he turned away.

"I'll go and fetch your coffee Mr Pendragon."

For the rest of the week Merlin was so busy that he didn't have a chance to speak to either Morgana or Gwen and tell them about his run-in with Arthur. In the end though, it was Morgana who actually broached the subject when she invited both Gwen and Merlin over to her apartment for dinner.

"So Merlin, I heard you put Arthur in his place a few days ago," Morgana smirked as she served up her Italian chicken.

Gwen, who had been reaching down to her bag, shot up so fast in her chair that she banged her head on the table and upset the salt and pepper.

"You did what? Merlin, what did you do?" she gasped, rubbing the spot which she'd hit.

Merlin recounted his and Arthur's conversation, amused at Gwen's shocked face and Morgana's laughter. It wasn't a surprise that Morgana whole heartedly approved of Merlin's outspoken behaviour, nor that Gwen's feelings were torn between amusement and disapproval.

"He hasn't spoken of anything else since that day, or anyone else for that matter," Morgana slyly commented, "it seems you made quite an impression on him Merlin."

"What kind of impression would that be though?" Merlin asked, almost dreading the answer. He didn't regret what he said; he just regretted saying them to Arthur. The man was practically his idol for God's sake!

"Well at first he was furious that you'd dared to speak to him like that, he was in a towering temper," Morgana looked gleeful, "but he eventually stopped being angry and is now quite fascinated with you, he keeps asking me all these questions. I think he likes the fact that you stood up to him, he always did like people with a fiery personality."

Merlin blushed.

After learning of Arthur's new found interest in him, Merlin seemed to be hyper aware of Arthur's presence whenever they crossed paths. Unfortunately, when they did cross paths it just brought about more arguments between the two of them. On Monday, Merlin stated that he wasn't a robot and who the bloody hell timed their coffee arrival anyway when he was apparently "2 minutes and 48 seconds late" with Arthur's coffee. On Wednesday, Arthur angrily told Merlin to look where he was going and to stop being a bumbling fool when they walked into each other in the costume department. Thursday saw a full blown shouting match between them when Merlin caught Arthur berating another runner for some mistake or another. This was punctuated with glares across the room when they weren't within conversing distance towards one another and Merlin was slowly becoming more upset with the negative relationship that was forming between them. Morgana had a different outlook on their interactions to Merlin.

"He's still talking about you, asking me questions every time I see him. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it; he's becoming almost as obsessed with you as you are with him!"

His frequent fights with Arthur also gained him some unwanted attention from Arthur's PA, Sophia Sidhe. She cornered him one day as he was walking from one end of the building to the other to pass on a message. Merlin had noticed her before, stalking around the place as though she owned it and, although he'd never admit it; she put out a rather menacing air.

"Merlin, it is Merlin right? You're the one who keeps having those rather... public arguments with Arthur yes? Well, that has to cease immediately. You see, unlike you, Mr Pendragon has an image to maintain and I need this image to never be tainted publicly as he won't be happy with me. That can never happen!" For a second Sophia looked half crazed, but the look passed as quickly as it came, "If I hear that you have been causing arguments between you and Mr Pendragon ever again, I will make sure that it can't happen ever again."

With that she left, leaving a slightly shaken Merlin to release the breath he had been holding while he watched her retreating form.

Merlin heeded Sophia's warning and for the next couple of weeks kept a civil attitude whenever he and Arthur were together. Not only did this get Sophia off his back, for she had been watching him like a hawk, but it also meant that he and Arthur had started becoming acquaintances in a sense, they didn't bare any bad feelings towards one another and shared jokes with each other about other production members, just as Merlin did with Elena and Vivian. Now that they weren't arguing, Merlin was starting to see the nicer, more honourable side of Arthur's personality and it wasn't helping his growing attraction towards the man. Morgana was still insisting that Arthur was quite keen to know all about Merlin, however Merlin knew otherwise. He'd first met Arthur's 'lady friend' Mithian when she was leaving his dressing room with her blouse buttons buttoned up wrong and when he'd entered the dressing room his suspicions were confirmed, the whole room smelt of sex and sweat.

Today, Mithian was round again. Merlin had walked past Arthur's room about 5 minutes ago and had heard all the giggling and moaning that accompanied Mithian's visits. He was rather surprised then when he saw Uther Pendragon in the foyer of the site next to Sophia, waving to Morgana who was walking over to them.

"Arthur is expecting my visit?" Uther inquired.

"Certainly sir, I made sure his afternoon was completely free for you" Sophia replied with a secret smile.

Merlin span on his heel and ran back to Arthur's dressing room as fast as he could. Thankfully, Uther was getting old now and relied on a walking stick, so his and Sophia's walk to Arthur's room would be relatively slow and if Merlin made it there with enough time to warn Arthur, Uther never need know Mithian was there. Panting, Merlin thrust open the door and slammed it shut behind him. There was a moment of stunned silence, where Merlin took in the form of Mithian and Arthur laying on the sofa and the couple stared at the unexpected intruder. Ignoring the spike of jealousy he felt at the sight of the two, Merlin cut across Arthur's indignant exclamation to breathlessly inform them of Uther's arrival. Arthur bolted off the sofa faster than Merlin expected of him and started to pull on his clothes at top speed, whilst Merlin ran around the room picking up the furthest discarded clothes and threw them to their owners. Mithian was gone in less than two minutes, walking briskly away from Arthur's room and in the opposite direction of Uther. Once she had left Merlin pulled out a bottle of air freshener and sprayed it around the room, while Arthur looked on incredulously.

"I didn't know I had any air freshener in here" he commented.

"You didn't," Merlin replied, "I brought it for my own comfort when Mithian began visiting." He turned and took in Arthur's flushed and bedraggled form, "Come here, we need to smarten you up," he stated, so he fiddled with Arthur's collar and smoothed down his hair. The irrational part of his brain reminded him that if he and Arthur were together he would be doing things like this on a daily basis. One last smooth of his hair, where Merlin's fingers may or may not have run through Arthur's strands for Merlin's own fantasies and Arthur looked presentable and normal.

"There you go," Merlin smiled, stepping back to observe his work, "it's like nothing happened."

"Why is my father even here? He never just turns up without making an arrangement beforehand and Sophia told me that I had the whole afternoon free!" Arthur ranted.

"Calm down, you'll make yourself all hot and bothered again! Look all I know is that your father inquired as to your knowledge of his arrival and Sophia assured him that you knew and that she'd kept your afternoon free for him."

"But why would she do that?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, but now isn't the time to be talking about it, your father will be here any minute!"

"Right, you're right. For a change," a quick grin softened the insult, "I need to be working to assure my father that I'm not taking this role for a joke like he thinks I am."

"Why did you take the role?" Merlin asked without thinking.

Arthur looked at him for a moment, almost as though he was sizing him up and then replied, "I loved the first Teen Scream! so I was eager to be in the sequel when it was released that they were producing one, plus I'd like to show the public that Hollywood actors aren't all about money and riches I suppose... if that makes sense."

"That makes perfect sense," Merlin reassured him with a smile, "you know, I loved Teen Scream! as well. Working here, even as a runner is amazing."

"Even more amazing because I'm working here too right? You said you liked my movies, so my presence here would be an amazing bonus," winked Arthur.

"No comment," said Merlin seriously, "we wouldn't want to over inflate that enormous head of yours."

Arthur smiled, a warm, crinkly smile that gave Merlin butterflies and his heart falter momentarily. Just as Arthur opened his mouth to reply, Merlin heard the slow shuffle of what were surely Uther's footsteps and the muffled steps of high heels that would only belong to Sophia. He snatched Arthur's script off the coffee table and tossed it to Arthur, who despite his confusion caught it.

"Your father!" Merlin whispered as an explanation, "Pretend you're rehearsing your lines with me or something!"

Arthur flicked the pages to a random segment and began to read just as the door was opened by Uther and Sophia, who had an expectant look upon her face which changed to confusion when she saw only Arthur and Merlin in the room, instead of an Arthur and Mithian in a state of undress.

"Arthur." Uther nodded curtly in greeting, which Arthur copied.

Uther then turned to Merlin.

"You, leave."

With a nod to Uther and a smile to Arthur, Merlin left, grateful to leave the tension in the room behind. However, the two burning spots on the back of his head from Sophia's piercing gaze warned him that he might not be free from the tension after all.

The next day Arthur called Merlin to see him and thanked him, somewhat stiffly as though he didn't do it often, for warning him about his father's arrival.

"He didn't suspect anything thanks to your quick actions and thinking. Two things I didn't expect you to be in possession of, but I was proved wrong," at Merlin's raised eyebrows, he backtracked, "I really am grateful to you, if my father had found me with Mithian, well, he would have been furious. I've decided that it is a risk that I cannot continue to take, so Mithian will not be visiting anymore, which you'll be pleased about. What? I could tell you didn't like her all that much! Anyway, I also have a favour to ask of you. Sophia's actions yesterday, although it pains me to say it, were deceptive and suspicious, something I never thought her capable of being, but it seems she is also full of surprises. I would be grateful, even more so, if you could keep an eye on her somewhat. Of course I will be also looking into her actions, but as she is not with me for parts of the day..."

By the end of Arthur's monologue, Merlin had agreed to keep an eye on Sophia for him, though if he was honest with himself, he would never and could never refuse Arthur anything. It became apparent however, that Merlin wouldn't have to work too hard to keep an eye on Sophia, as she appeared to be keeping an eye on him and it was starting to make Merlin feel uneasy. She seemed to be outraged at Merlin and Arthur's new found closeness, they met in Arthur's dressing room usually three times a day since the 'Uther Incident' and talked for around an hour each time, having conversations that Sophia was never present for.

A week, it transpired, was all Sophia could stand of this new interaction, so on Merlin's fifth Monday working in Teen Scream! 2 she found him in Arthur's dressing room with lunch, waiting for Arthur to return from his costume fitting to have a chat.

"You!" she spat advancing upon him, "you have ruined everything! You have ruined my entire plan! Arthur is now more cautious around me and you have both been watching me, it's useless really! Arthur may not be seeing Mithian anymore, but there'll soon be another one and this time Uther will find them together!"

"Why would you even want that?" Merlin interrupted, "what would you gain from it?"

Sophia laughed humorously, "Not only will Uther be furious with Arthur, maybe even angry enough to have a heart attack; he will fire me immediately, meaning that I have the right to go to a newspaper and sell my heartbreaking story of my cruel employers, Uther and Arthur Pendragon. The Pendragon name will be dragged through the mud and if I file a lawsuit I may even end up with some of that money they've got lying around."

"That's ridiculous. Possibly the worst plan I have ever heard. If you did file a lawsuit, Uther would hire lawyers that would make yours look like schoolboys. Besides nobody would believe a story about Arthur being cruel to his employees; he's practically the male version of Princess Diana!" Merlin exclaimed.

"Is that what you see him as Merlin?" Sophia taunted, her eyes narrowed, "do you see him as royalty? A God-like figure? Is that why you're so attracted to him? Oh I know all about your little crush, it's blindingly obvious to everyone. Why else do you think Arthur talks to you? Because he feels sorry for the pathetic little runner with the crush. He has no interest in you, you're just there because he pities you and you stroke his ego."

The words were like knives, stabbing Merlin in the stomach repeatedly with every syllable Sophia uttered. No, that's not true! Merlin thought, we're becoming good friends! But the words echoed in his head and Sophia's face was swimming before him, blurred by tears threatening to spill over.

"You're nothing to him Merlin. Nothing. That's why when I get rid of your aggravating presence, he won't even notice, won't even care, won't even bother to look for you. He'll have forgotten all about you in a few hours and trust me Merlin, I am going to be rid of you. I'm going to make sure that your sorry ass is fired today and that you will never get another job in any media occupation, in any company, in any part of the world. Being Arthur's PA gives you a lot of influence," she smirked.

"It does," a voice from the doorway agreed, "if you're actually in that position and you Sophia are not."

Arthur stood in the door, his hair mussed from having tried on so many clothes, his arms folded and his face contorted into a look of fury.

"Arthur!" Sophia exclaimed, "Merlin and I were just having a chat –"

"Oh I know, I heard," Arthur replied, his voice ominously low, "Sophia, you're fired. I never want to see your face again and I will make sure that you never get a job as someone's PA ever again."

He stepped out the doorway and Sophia flounced toward it. Just as she reached the door however, she paused and turned around to look back at Merlin.

"This isn't over," she promised and then she was gone.

Arthur closed the door behind her and Merlin took the opportunity to check his emotions. He ran his hand quickly over his eyes, wiping away any remaining traces of tears and forced his face into a watery smile.

"I got lunch," Merlin smiled and waved the Subway sandwich bag.

"Merlin," Arthur said seriously, "you know those things she said aren't true? I would notice if you left, I would care and I would try to find you, you know that right?" When Merlin didn't answer Arthur continued, "Look, I don't know about you, but recently with our chats and everything, I've started to view you as a good friend and I don't have many of those, so I'm not likely to let you slip away."

When Merlin looked at Arthur he was rubbing the back of his neck, an action he always did when he was embarrassed Merlin had noticed.

Into the silence that had fell Merlin said quietly, "Thank you, I consider you as a good friend too."

Arthur's face broke out into a grin.

After they had filled themselves with their sandwiches and were sitting their contentedly, Arthur broke the sleepy silence.

"Merlin, you're not going to be a runner anymore."

"What?" Merlin looked over at Arthur, his heart sinking and stomach rolling, was Arthur actually going to fire him over this Sophia thing? Did Arthur even have the power to do that?

"Don't panic!" Arthur said hastily, "I just thought, I need a new PA now and you'd fit the role, so you're my new PA."

"Hold on, I haven't said yes yet!" Merlin cried indignantly.

"Yeah, but we both know you will."

"But I haven't got any idea how to be a PA!"

"You'll pick it up along the way" Arthur said casually as he tossed his Subway wrapper into the bin.

Arthur was sort of right, Merlin thought grudgingly, being a PA wasn't much different to being a runner, except you had more authority, so Merlin didn't find it very hard to adjust. Spending so much time with Arthur took its toll sometimes, Arthur would either aggravate him to distraction or do little things that would make Merlin want to kiss him. His brain was also having an easier time imagining what life would be like if the two of them were a couple, as all the time together had allowed Merlin to pick up on all Arthur's quirks: he always looked at the comics first when he picked up the newspaper, he rubbed his jaw unconsciously when he was lying and he liked to hum when he was concentrating on a task, something that Merlin found adorable. Their relationship was also strengthening from that tentative friendship into, well, Merlin would like to say best friends, but he didn't want to push his luck. Morgana, Gwen and Hunith were ecstatic about Merlin's promotion, though Morgana still insisted that Arthur's decision was swayed heavily by his feelings for Merlin, an interpretation that Merlin scoffed at. Life was going well for Merlin and he was happier than he'd been by far, until the attack.

Merlin was walking back to his flat from the tube station at around 10pm, when he noticed a figure walking a few feet behind him who'd been doing so for the last 10 minutes. Panic bubbled in his chest and Merlin started to reflexively walk faster to get away from the possible threat. His panic only increased when the person behind matched his faster pace and Merlin lost his head, so he ran, but the figure behind began to run as well with steady strides that indicated a good level of fitness. Merlin's coltish legs were not really made for exercise; therefore it wasn't long until his legs got entangled and he fell to the ground, scraping his palms against the tarmac and banging his knees. Before Merlin could move, there was a weight on top of him preventing him from escaping and a grubby hand was over his mouth.

"Me and you have some business to talk about sonny boy," the stranger growled and he hauled Merlin off the ground and dragged him into an alleyway.

Merlin began to shake with fear as the streetlights glow disappeared and compressing darkness surrounded him, he could feel blood running down his shin, he'd cut his knee when he'd fallen. Suddenly, Merlin was thrown to the floor and by the starlight he could see a white male, with big muscles, short brown hair and a twisted smile.

"Hullo Merlin, I'm Valiant" he said.

Merlin just blinked, lying in the position he'd fallen in, shock and fear freezing him. How did this stranger know his name? Why was he telling me his name? Is he going the kill me, 'cause then it wouldn't matter? Or is it a false name? thought Merlin hysterically.

"Sophia called me a few days ago; she said you needed to be taught a lesson and Arthur Pendragon needed to be sent a warning. So if you're the pupil, I guess this makes me the teacher, wouldn't you agree?"

At Sophia's name Merlin had tensed up even more if possible, his jaw was clenched together so tightly Merlin didn't think he could have answered, even if he'd wanted to.

"You know Merlin, I asked a question. You're supposed to answer, but you didn't, so I guess the lesson begins."

Merlin opened his mouth hurriedly to answer Valiant's question, but the first kick caught him in the stomach and all that escaped was a rush of air. Then the blows rained down, punching, kicking, slapping, no part of his body was left unharmed. Valiant stamped down in his army boots on Merlin's fingers and Merlin felt at least two of them break. A rib cracked under the force of Valiant's punches, shooting fire down Merlin's side and causing him to cry out. A punch to the face punished his verbal reaction and a hand grasped his throat, cutting off Merlin's air. Merlin's useless fingers scrabbled against Valiant's hold around his throat, as his head was banged repeatedly into the ground causing a roaring in his ears. Just as Merlin's vision started to black, Valiant let go of his throat and Merlin sucked in precious air, his raw throat flaring with pain. The next part to be attack was Merlin's legs, Valiant seemed intent on breaking a bone, stamping and kicking, but thankfully one of Merlin's legs kicked out as he tried to defend himself and hit Valiant in the crotch. While Valiant was distracted, Merlin tried to get away but any movement set his whole body on fire and doused him in agony, impeding his speed. He carried on regardless; however Valiant was dragging him back by his hair before he'd even gone 5cm. For a few seconds Valiant just stood above him staring down at his work and when Merlin looked back at him, he was horrified to see a bulge in Valiant trousers.

"Oh you needn't worry about that. Yet. As pretty as you are, Sophia only paid me to teach you a lesson, so I guess I'll just have to jerk off thinking about this when I get home," Valiant said when he noticed Merlin's gaze, "Just one last thing."

And he kicked Merlin in the crotch, laughing as Merlin curled instinctively in on himself and then cried out when his broken rib sent waves of agony through his body. The combined pain was too much and Merlin blacked out.

When he awoke, sunlight was shining into the alleyway and Merlin felt, if possible, worse than he did during the attack. Tears ran down his face as he remembered last night and he closed his eyes again, wishing for the world to fade away. The next time Merlin came back into consciousness was because of his iPhone vibrating in his pocket, making his bruises throb with the rhythm. Arthur had brought him the new model to replace his ancient mobile when he'd become his PA and miraculously it had survived the brutal attack without a scratch on it. Using his good hand to pull the phone out of his pocket and his unbroken little finger to answer the call, Merlin sobbed with relief when he heard Arthur's worried voice on the other end.

"Merlin? Merlin, what's wrong? Why aren't you here? Merlin, are you crying? Merlin? Merlin, where are you?" Arthur called down the phone, his panic seeping through more and more as Merlin didn't answer.

Finally, Merlin calmed down enough to give Arthur a rough idea of where he was in between sobs and hiccups that jostled his rib, causing him to gasp in pain. Arthur kept on the call as he got into his car and gave the driver the location, asking him questions and reassuring him, while Merlin just listened, holding onto Arthur's voice as though it were a life jacket and he was floating in the sea.

About 15 minutes later, Merlin heard a car door slam and footsteps running along the pavement both through his mobile and in his surroundings.

"Arthur," he called, the words burning his strangled throat and only emitting a hoarse whisper, but as though he had heard it, Arthur rushed around the corner his eyes wide and panicked.

The sun was blocked by Arthur's head, creating a golden glow that bounced off his blonde hair and for that short moment, Merlin was convinced that Arthur was his guardian angel. But then Arthur rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside Merlin, looking both furious and shocked at his friends' state. Blood was pooling around his head, two of his fingers stuck out at odd angles, vivid, finger shaped bruises coloured his pale neck, dried blood crusted his nose, supported by two black eyes and a split lip and bruises covered every inch of skin that could be seen.

"Merlin, we have to get you to the hospital" Arthur said a tremor in his voice, "I'm going to pick you up okay? Is there any other injury I should know about?"

"I think a few of my ribs are broken" Merlin whispered.

Arthur chewed his lip, "If I move you I might damage them further and cause you a lot of pain."

"I trust you," Merlin said honestly.

Arthur smiled a small smile in spite of himself, "Yes, but I don't, I'm going to call 999."

After he'd made the call, Arthur took his jacket off and draped it over Merlin, the material drowning his lanky frame. When Merlin felt another hand take his good one in a grasp, he flinched and then relaxed when he realised it was only Arthur and that flinching really hurt. There the two of them sat, holding hands, Arthur muttering about nonsense things, until the paramedics arrived and injected Merlin with something, he wasn't sure what, he hoped it was morphine.

"Arthur?" he asked as they loaded him into the ambulance.

"I'm right here Merlin," Arthur reassured as he clambered in after Merlin was secure.

"Arthur, it was Sophia, she hired a man named Valiant," Merlin slurred, as the drugs began to take effect, it was important Arthur knew he could be in danger, "I was supposed to be a warning to you."

Then Merlin knew no more.

The next time Merlin regained consciousness was a week later and he pulled his eyes open to find Hunith, Morgana, Gwen and Arthur standing around his bed all smiling down at him.

"Oh Merlin," Hunith whispered, she looked like she wanted to fling her arms around him, he was very glad she hadn't, he still felt very sore.

He smiled at each of them in turn and then looked at Arthur.

"What's happened with Sophia?" he demanded. There was no point beating around the bush, he wanted to know that Arthur was going to be safe, that Sophia and Valiant had been locked up and could never hurt anyone ever again.

"Not to be distracted I see," Arthur smiled, "you're still the same stubborn Merlin. They're in prison; I think it's the fastest court case anyone has ever seen. I told my father about what happened and how you were my 'warning' and he fell on them like a pack on hounds, he's got a lot of influence and power which helped I suppose."

Merlin sighed with relief, to know that they were behind bars was comforting, but it didn't dispel all of his anxiety, which would only heal with time. He spent the next few hours talking about the news, his injuries and the progress on Teen Scream! 2 with Hunith, Morgana and Gwen, while Arthur went home to shower and change.

"He's been sleeping here you know," Hunith said with a wink, "didn't want to leave you alone."

Merlin blushed.

True to his word, Arthur came back at 7pm precisely and the women left for a good night's sleep after kisses goodbye.

"You don't have to stay you know," Merlin muttered, cheeks flaming, "If it's an inconvenience to you or anything, I will be okay on my own."

"Of course you will be," Arthur agreed in a placating sort of way, "but I'll stay all the same."

As Merlin's eyes were starting to droop, Arthur's hand found his and interlinked their fingers, causing a smile to spread across Merlin's face and a little blossom of warmth to ignite in his chest.

They fell asleep together, still holding hands and it seemed to Merlin, that as long as he had Arthur, everything was going to be alright.

Chapter two will be up as soon as possible!