One-Shot: Royal Prick (Arthur Pendragon x Reader)
Adventure is supposed to be fun. It should be filled with exciting moments, battles, and dangerous moments, but the closest exciting moment that you got was that you had to stand next to the lake and water the horses. Oh, how fun.
Earlier, two days ago you managed to convince the future king of Camelot to take you, along with Merlin, on one of his legendary quest. Of course, in the beginning there was no chance of you ever going, but since he only planned to go with Merlin and no one but the three of you knew about it (partly because you overheard them talk about it), you managed to manipulate him to bring you along. You were expecting excitement, but you only got the desire to fall asleep. Plus, Arthur's permanent spoiled brat behavior got so much on your nerve that you were thinking of going back to Camelot by yourself. But you didn't.
After a few hours away on horseback, you reached the cave which allegedly hid the legendary item that Arthur so much desired. You dismounted the horses and Merlin and you started talking.
Arthur examined the dark and wet cave from the outside for a few seconds longer, and with a quiet sigh he turned towards Merlin and you who were still chatting among each other. The blond prince cleared his throat impatiently, making both of you turn your attention toward him.
"Alright," Arthur exclaimed, gripping his sword tightly. "Merlin, we'll go inside. (Name), you wait out here and try not to get yourself in too much trouble." He told you sternly, knowing that it will agitate you. And it did. Soon enough, your eyebrows knitted together in a frown as your (e/c) eyes narrowed in a glare toward the blonde prince.
"Excuse me?" You scoffed, hands crossed against your chest. Your cheeks were dusted with a pink flush like every other time you got angry. And it happened quite often in Arthur's presence. "I refuse to stay outside! I am going with the two of you!" You snapped stubbornly, challenging Arthur with a raised brow. He returned the gesture looking as equally annoyed as you were. You were odd, the two of them; always bickering like an old married couple. At least that's what Merlin thought as he simply stood by and watched the two of the in amusement with a curious look in his blue eyes. After the intense stare down, Arthur rolled his eyes at you and then gestured for you to go inside.
"Alright then; ladies first." He told you slyly, a smirk on his face as he almost mockingly bowed down. You rolled your eyes at him and with your head raised in the air, you entered the cave. You narrowed your eyes, blinded by the thick darkness and gagged at the awful smell. It reeked inside. You sighed and took a few careful steps inside when you felt something… hairy on your forehead. You froze in your place and looked up, eyes going wide. Not five seconds later, you ran back outside in the speed of light while screaming, the image of terror on your face. You flung yourself into Merlin's arms and he caught you with surprise. Though, you did miss the way Arthur eyed his servant dangerously as he held you like a fragile flower.
"(Name), what's wrong?" Merlin asked eyes wide as he stared at the top of your head. You shook your head and buried it deeper into Merlin's chest.
"S-s-spider!" You choked out, shuddering at the previous image from the cave. Arthur bursted out laughing while clutching his stomach.
"Spider?" He asked, voice mocking. "You wanted to go on a quest with us to find a legendary item and you're scared of a spider?" He laughed again. You backed away from Merlin, your facial expression a mixture of anger and fright.
"Shut up, Arthur!" You murmured and the blonde prince snorted, making you huff.
"Fine then!" You snapped at him. "Why don't you go inside first if you're not scared of anything?"
Arthur rolled his eyes at you and took out his sword, starting forwards.
"Fine." He said and you huffed
"Fine!" You retorted back.
"Fine!" He huffed and turned toward the cave with an annoyed sigh, sword in his hand.
"Honestly," He mumbled, entering the dark cave. "A spider. She's scared of a sp-" But he stopped mid-sentenced when a spider-a huge spider- slowly lowered itself in front of Arthur. It hissed at him, a few droplets of spider spit landing on his face. Arthur, however, made no attempt to move. He couldn't. He was frozen in place, too shocked to react. The spider hissed once again and crawled toward Arthur and the blond prince lunged for his sword, but too slow. He closed his eyes for the impact and heard a sharp 'slash' and 'splatter'
Seconds later, Arthur was splashed with a gooey substance that came from the spider that was now lying slashed in half and dead on the floor. Behind him, you stood with a sword in your hand and a disgusted look on your face.
"Ew..." You gagged at the sight in front of you. Good thing you followed Arthur into the cave otherwise he'd be dead by now. Arthur blinked a few times and swapped the gooey stuff from his face, spitting out the icky feeling in his mouth.
"Told you..." You murmured, scrunching your nose. Arthur scoffed and glared at you, his ocean blue eyes narrowed as he pointed an accusing finger at you.
"This is all your fault." He said, motioning toward his goo-covered outfit. You scoffed and put a hand on your hip, returning the glare.
"My fault? I saved you! You should be thanking me, you know?" You said. "After all; why didn't you kill it yourself when it attacked, instead of standing there petrified?" You asked him and the blonde prince laughed sarcastically.
"I am the future king of Camelot; I don't have to answer to servants." He said, head held up high. A ping of hurt went through your heart and you frowned at his words, glaring at the ground. That's right; you were a nobody, a mere servant of the future king of Camelot. You had no right to question him.
"You're right." You chuckled bitterly. "I'm just a worthless servant. I apologize, my Lord." You spat, accenting the my Lord part. Arthur snapped his head to look at you, a frown on his face. It felt strange when you called him like that. He didn't like it, and that's exactly why he told you that the first time you were assigned to be his second servant. Since then, you always called him by his name. He felt his heart ache and fill with guilt at the sad look on your face, but because he was too proud, he just looked away and cleared his throat.
"Merlin!" Arthur called and Merlin immediately responded.
"Yes, sire?"
"I'll go inspect the cave ahead and see if there are any more of these creatures lurking around. The two of you stay here and... Keep guard." He said, moving forward.
"Yes, sire." Merlin nodded and padded over next to you as the blonde prince disappeared from view. He turned toward you, cheeks puffed.
"Did you see the look on his face when that goo splattered all over him? Ah, priceless!" Merlin started to laugh and you couldn't help but chuckle at your friend. He was right; Arthur did look ridicules... and… cute with the confused expression of his. Oh how you hated him for that.
"I would give anything to see his baffled face ag- (Name)?" Merlin looked at you, noticing a trail of tears on your cheeks. You sniffed and looked at him, putting on the brightest smile you could manage.
"(Name)..." He frowned.
"S-sorry, Merlin. I'm just a l-little shaken up, that's all. I'll b-be back to normal in a second. P-promise." You stuttered, wiping the tears from your eyes. Merlin frowned and pulled you in for a hug, resting his chin on top of your head. You buried your face into his chest and let your tears fall freely. Merlin hugged you tighter letting out a sad sigh. You loved Merlin, but in a non-romantic way. He was like a brother to you, taking that role when you were assigned to be Arthur's servant, not willingly though, next to him. Since that day Merlin and you practically became family. You knew about his secret and vowed to keep quiet about it and help him with his destiny. Of course, you didn't know you were going to fall in love with the snob of a prince that is Arthur. You hated his guts at first, and you still do, but the larger part of you can't deny the fluttering feeling you get when you see him. It struck you by surprise and Merlin knew all about it.
"Why him out of all the people?" You cried to yourself as Merlin patted your head.
"Oh come on, (Name); he's not THAT bad." He tried to persuade you. "Sure, Arthur can be a spoiled prick who cares about no one else but himself, not to mention his childish behavior and manners. And my God; he sure can treat his servants lousily. I mean seriously; would it kill him to say 'thank you' once in a while or, I don't know, do at least something on his own. But no, he-"
"Merlin!" You laughed at his rant, moving away from his chest and wiping you tear stained face. Merlin grinned at you sheepishly and ruffled your hair.
"As I was saying; Arthur isn't that bad no matter if he's a prick sometimes."
"Sometimes?" You snorted and Merlin knotted his brows.
"You're right. He's always a prick." He said and you laughed once again. "But beside that, Arthur is a good man and I'm sure he didn't mean to lash out on you. I know you know that, too. He cares about you even if he doesn't want to admit it" He said and you sighed.
"I know..." You mumbled grumpily, ignoring his last sentence. "He's just so... ugh! Sometimes he just gets on my very last nerve!"
"Sometimes?" Merlin mimicked you and you punched him playfully, giggling.
"Now come on, let's go save him; that idiot's probably gotten himself into some kind of trouble." Merlin mumbled, grumpily walking in Arthur's direction. You chuckled to yourself as you followed behind.
"Doesn't he always?" You mumbled quietly.
"Touché." Merlin sighed. The both of you slowly walked through the cave, Merlin suddenly stopping. You bumped into him, glaring at his back.
"Merlin, what-"
"Shhh!" He said, making you stop talking. He turned to look at you with a frown on his face. "Do you hear that sound? It's like- like-"
"Mumbling…" You finished his sentence, frowning at the sound that spread through the cave. Where could that sound be coming come? Or rather from who?
"(Name)…" Merlin mumbled his voice monotone. You looked in his direction and realization struck you like a lightning bolt.
"Oh no- That idiot!" You growled, running toward the direction of the murmuring. Merlin called after you and tried running in your direction, but you were much faster than him. You took out your sword and held it tight, barely orienting yourself in the thick darkness. You turned left, and then left again, and then right bumping into something… sticky. With an 'oomph!' you fell on your but, cursing under your breath.
"Ouch…" You mumbled, getting a hold of your sword.
"Mmpphmm"
You blinked, once, twice, hearing the mumbling sound only louder.
"Mmmmmhhhm"
You looked up and your mouth formed an 'o' in realization. The thing you bumped into was a large, human-sized, cocoon made out of spider web and someone was stuck in it, trying to speak. That someone was defiantly Arthur. You got up from the ground and gripped your sword, gulping. With a steady hand, you slowly started cutting the cocoon up from his head and stopping on his collar.
"Mmhmmm"
With a sigh, you stretched open the place where his head was and sure enough Arthur's piercing ocean blue eyes stared back at your (e/c) eyes.
"What?" You asked him and Arthur took a big breath.
"It's a trap!" He said and your eyes went wide. You quickly turned around and swished your sword, but it was kicked out of your hand and you were knocked down on the ground. The huge spider above you hissed and lowered itself on the ground, crawling toward you. Although you were scared out of your wits, you growled and decided to fight with every fiber in your body. You stretched out your leg and kicked the spider as hard as you could, making it jump back slightly and hiss in pain. Taking the chance, you threw yourself forward and grabbed your sword.
The spider immediately lunged forward toward you, making a cut on your left arm with the sharp spikes on its leg. You cried out in pain and crawled back into the wall, clutching your wound. You glared at the spider as you tried coming up with a plan to escape. Leaving Arthur behind wasn't an option. Glancing around you spotted a single, huge rock that had a golden flower on top of it, the moonlight only illuminating that spot. The legendary item Arthur was searching for.
"Get out of here, you idiot!" You heard Arthur say and you snapped your eyes at the cocoon.
"Shut up you royal prick, I'm thinking!" You hissed and shut your eyes. What other option do you have? You could just charge at it and pray for the best. Well, that was the only option you had. With a sigh, you opened your eyes only to find the spider inches away from your face, ready to turn you into a human cocoon.
"Hey! Over here you dumb, hairy, creature!" You heard an oh-so-familiar voice call. You looked behind the large spider, making out Merlin's form in the dark cave. Despite the situation, you smiled, happy to see him.
"Merlin!" Arthur said and you could hear that he was both panicked and glad to see his servant. "Save (Name) and get her out of here!" He said, and your smile completely vanished. What was that idiot talking about?!
"What?" You shrieked. "No! you-"
"Come on! Come over here you – you stupid spider!" Merlin shouted, throwing a rock at the creature. It seemed to strike a nerve. The spider hissed and turned around, crawling after Merlin who started running away. Oh boy was he clever. Buying you time. You knew that he was going to be alright because he had his magic, and you also knew that you had to be quick.
You got quickly up from your ground and gripped your sword, resuming to cut-open the cocoon Arthur was stuck in.
"Idiot." You scoffed at him and cut the last bit. He snorted and although you couldn't see him well, you could have sworn that he rolled his eyes, wiggling his way out of the cocoon.
"Come on; we have to help Merlin and get out of this fowl place." Arthur said as he started forward, but you went the other way.
"If we risked our lives until now, we sure as hell better get this damn thing." You said, reaching for the flower. Arthur's eyes went wide as he turned toward you.
"(Name), don't-"
But you already grabbed the flower and turned toward him. The whole place suddenly starting to shake and you heard Arthur sigh as he hurriedly walks over toward you.
"You idiot." Arthur said and grabbed your hand, the flower falling down on the ground. He started running forward and you looked back at the flower, brows knitted.
"Wha- Arthur! You've come all this way only to throw away the thing you most wanted?!" You hissed at him and felt his grip on your hand tighten.
"Your life is far more important to me than some fairy tale item! Now for the love of Camelot; run!" He said and you went silent, cheeks heating up at his words. The rest of the way was a blur. You turned so many times you were sure that you were lost. And just when you were ready to give up, Merlin's voice brought you back.
"Over here!" He called, and you could see the sunlight from the entrance/exit of the cave. You grinned and both Arthur and you sped up. But something always had to go wrong.
You heard a soft hiss and before you knew it, your leg was stuck in something. You slipped out of Arthur's hand, only meters away from escape and fell to the ground with your leg stuck in spider web. Your eyes went wide and you tried pushing your leg out, but there was no use. If you hadn't dropped your sword back then, you could have escaped. You were stuck for good.
"(Name)!" Arthur called and you pushed back the tears that were forming in your eyes, gritting your teeth.
"Get out you royal prick and save yourself!" You yelled and dipped your head down. If you were to die at least you'd have comfort in knowing that Arthur got out alive.
"You really are a complete idiot." You heard a mumble near your ear. You looked up with your eyes wide right into Arthur's ocean blue eyes.
"Come on!" He said, grabbing you by the waist and pulling you. You looked down toward your leg and saw that he had cut a part of the web with his blade and you tried pushing your leg as well.
"It's going to collapse!" You heard Merlin yell from outside. With another push, you felt your leg being pulled out of the web right as both of you stumbled out of the cave and the whole thing collapsed. You fell on the ground, Arthur's hands still wrapped around your waist tightly, breathing heavily and faces flushed.
"That was close!" Merlin said, kicking one of the rocks that closed the entrance of the cave. "I was so close to the entrance that I could have died." He laughed.
"Merlin, shut up!" Both Arthur and you said as you turned to glare at him. Merlin's face went blank as he rolled his eyes and leaned on the wall, mumbling something. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, processing everything that happened when you felt something shuffle. Arthur leaned toward you and crashed his lips against yours, leaving you baffled. You blinked and then when you processed what was happening, closed your eyes and kissed back.
He then placed a kiss on your nose, resting his forehead against yours.
"You complete and utter idiot. Never do that again." He mumbled and the corners of your lips raised up.
"I can't promise you anything, you royal prick." You mumbled and Arthur chuckled silently and leaned in for another kiss.
"Is anybody even worried about me? I got scratched by one of those nasty spiders and almost died!" Merlin spoke up, ruining the moment.
"MERLIN!" Both Arthur and you yelled at the same time.
I had this saved somewhere in my computer and thought I'd publish it. Hope you liked it! Lots of love! xoxo