Author's note - Well, this story kinda got away from me, and I'm not sure if it really makes any sense at all, but I'm gonna post it anyway :) I just had this image of Merlin wearing one of Morgana's dresses, and it wouldn't let me go. Also i really hate formatting :c
Arthur was heading to his chamber to pick up a heavy cloak - the cold weather was just beginning to set in, and he was had a meeting in the main hall to attend to in a few hours, and no matter how many logs the servants piled on the fire it could never quite take the chilly edge of the air.
He was walking down the hall, feeling a little wobbly and tired (which was strange because there hadn't been any time to train with the knights that morning) when he heard a loud clatter and a muffled shout from Morgana's chambers up ahead. Curious, he jogged up to the door and knocked.
"Everything alright in there?"
For a moment there was no answer, just a muffled curse and furious rustling.
"Er, I-" The voice was instantly recognisable as Merlin's. What was Merlin doing in Morgana's chambers? Arthur pushed the door open. "could do with a little help?"
Inside Merlin appeared to be half-buried in a pile of Morgana's dresses, next to an upturned chest. Arthur leant on the door.
"I can - um" Merlin grinned sheepishly up at him from the floor. "Explain. I can explain... this."
"Really." Arthur raised an eyebrow at the tangle of dresses and skinny limbs on the floor. It wasn't the first time Arthur had caught Merlin messing with Morgana's clothes. Merlin's big eyes would blink innocently and he would open his mouth to speak in denial - he was running an errand for Gaius, checking for mothballs, it wasn't what it looked like, Arthur, no, you've got it all wrong - and Arthur would grin and walk out of the room after assuring Merlin that he 'doesn't judge people on their... inclinations', half an ear turned to Merlin's fading protestations. It was a joke that always bordered on the serious for some reason which Arthur was never quite comfortable thinking about. Maybe it was the way that the purple garment currently draped over Merlin's left ear would probably look quite good on him. He had the figure, all bone and skin and big ears, and he had similar colouring to Morgana, really, might even be the same height as her. He eyed the mess again.
"Luckily for you, I'm not going to ask." He said resignedly. "Come on, let's clean this up before Morgana finds it."
Merlin gave a sigh of relief and extricated himself from the pile of dresses with a fair amount of difficulty and very little grace.
"Thanks."
Arthur just rolled his eyes and went to put the chest to rights. Unfortunately it was a little heavier than he had anticipated, and he had to set it back on the floor with a groan.
"Careful, my Lord," Merlin laughed. "Don't want to put out that royal back!"
"You're in no position to-"
"Sorry, Sire. I'm sure your back is in perfect condition." Merlin quickly amended with a grin, and helped Arthur push the chest upright and back where it belonged.
Merlin made quick work of folding the dresses, passing them to Arthur who put them back into the chest. The purple one was the last one, and Arthur smoothed it over with the palm of his hand thoughtfully.
"What's eating you?" asked Merlin, waving his hand in front of Arthur's face. "Earth to Arthur?"
"Huh?" Arthur blinked. Then he grinned, which was enough to set Merlin on edge. "I was just thinking. This dress would suit you."
"What?"
Merlin really wasn't sure how he'd got himself into this situation. He'd been searching through Morgana's chambers, sure that she was keeping something in there - it was the only way to explain the strange behavior around the castle over the past few days - when he'd tripped over some of her idiotic gauzy drapery, bringing the entire chest of clothes down on him. Before he could set it to rights using magic, Arthur had heard the crash and had come running in. Just his luck.
Now he was standing in front of the mirror in Arthur's chambers wearing Morgana's old purple dress, Arthur doing up the laces at the back inexpertly, utterly confused.
"There." Arthur stepped back, admiring his handiwork. "I knew it would suit you."
Merlin turned to Arthur in disbelief, and then back to his reflection in the mirror. He wondered if he was awake. Truthfully, the dress didn't look bad on him.
"I've always thought you would look good in a dress." Arthur's voice was slurred, a little drowsy. Merlin turned around and looked him in the face. Arthur's slackened features stared back - he looked drunk.
Vaguely horrified, Merlin realised he wasn't feeling quite right either - he'd forgotten, in a haze of confusion, Gaius' slurred warning, the King's wobbling walk as he'd walked out of court that morning, ignoring the villager's cries of protest. As bigoted as Uther could be, he almost always heard his subjects out. All over the castle people had been acting up - and Morgana had been at the centre of it, she'd - she'd - he couldn't think, it felt like something was pressing on his brain, dampening all sensation. It was linked to Morgana, that much he knew. Removing the hand which Arthur had laid absently on his shoulder, Merlin made for the door, sparing only a glance back at Arthur, whose face was screwed up in confusion.
"M-erlin?"
The door slammed shut behind him. Out in the corridor, the guards were drifting around, staring beatifically into space. He tapped one on the shoulder to try and get their attention, but the guard only frowned at him in incomprehension.
"Wha- ?"
With a great deal of effort, Merlin ran, the skirt of the dress billowing out behind him. The air around him seemed to have become thick, his limbs weak. He pushed on, trying to feel for the source of the debilitating magic, but it was so hard, the weight of the air so heavy. He could just succumb to incoherence, let Morgana do whatever she planned, just close his eyes and drift. His muscles ached with every step, his legs giving way, the dense material of the dress weighing him down.
At the time, it seemed that the floor came up to meet him, although he must have fallen to his knees. He forced himself back to his feet, untangling his legs from the slippery fabric, blinked the dust from his eyes.
He blinked again,and opened his eyes in Morgana's chambers. He looked around warily, attempting to regain his bearings.
"You look very fetching in that dress, Merlin." She said. Merlin's head snapped up. She was sitting on a chair by the window. Her eyes were red rimmed and her face was stained with tears.
"What are you doing?" Merlin said, shouted - his voice didn't seem to travel very far. "Stop it!"
Morgana looked unsure, scared. She looked straight at Merlin, and he could feel her uncertainty. She still wasn't completely in control of her powers.
"Like you would know anything" She said, haughtily. She put her face in her hands, rubbed at her eyes and answered him anyway. "Sometimes when I do magic it doesn't come out right."
Merlin didn't move from where he was sat on the floor.
"I only meant to make things more interesting," She sounded like a child who knew they'd done something wrong. "I think they're all drunk. I gave them a push, you know? Loosened their inhibitions. Court was so boring."
She let out a laugh at this. She seemed drunk as well, somehow. Merlin sighed.
"How can I fix them?" She asked pitifully. "I didn't mean to."
"If they're drunk, maybe it will wear off." Merlin said, already finding where she had changed them, trying to find a way to fix it. If he could move it just a little bit, he thought, it would all click back into place.
"No, it won't." Morgana said, looking at him strangely. "What are you doing?"
Merlin didn't answer. He thought he could do it, slide it all back into place and everyone would be back to normal. He glanced up at Morgana. He hoped she wouldn't remember. Even with the improvement he'd had in his control recently, he was still no good at memories. They were complicated.
"You're doing magic." Morgana was wide-eyed with shock. "But you're Arthur's manservant!"
Merlin gathered his power around him and focused. He had to get this right. For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen, and then, in a great rush, everything returned to normal. With a last burst of energy he knocked Morgana unconscious, and raced out of the door. He needed to get out of the dress and back into his own clothes before too many people saw him.
For Arthur, in his chambers sitting on his bed, everything suddenly clarified. He shook his head in confusion. He felt like he had been dreaming all morning, but he was fully dressed. Shrugging it off as just 'one of those things', he stood up, thinking he might go and practice with the knights after lunch, when he noticed Merlin's clothes on the floor. He sat back down on the bed, and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was ill.
Then the door crashed open, and Merlin stumbled in, wearing one of Morgana's dresses. It suited him, actually, the purple bodice clinging to his pale skin. Arthur couldn't help but stare. He was almost certain he was hallucinating anyway.
Merlin looked from Arthur to his clothes on the floor and back again. He cursed internally.
"I can- I can explain?" He offered, but no reprimand seemed forthcoming. After a few moments, Arthur seemed to shake himself.
"It suits you, Merlin." he said with raised eyebrows and a smile. he clapped Merlin on the back, picked the clothes up off the floor and handed them over. "I always thought you'd look good in a dress."