"Two whole days in the tavern." Arthur states in a stern tone.
'Oh great,' Merlin thought, 'Gaius used the tavern excuse again...'
"I'm not quite sure it was that long." She replied.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't get rid of you on the spot."
Knowing that Arthur had been dealing with the menace she had created, Merlin decided to play ignorant. "Because you'd have no one to polish your armour, make you breakfast, organize your clothes."
Arthur smiled at that. "Ah, well, that's where you're wrong. George!"
At the call George entered in the prim manner Merlin had informed him was the most annoying to the king.
"Merlin, meet George. George is, perhaps, the most efficient servant I've ever seen. He'll be spending the rest of the week teaching you." Arthur stated, relishing the look of shock on his maid's face.
"Teaching me?" Merlin could not believe her good luck.
"If you wish to remain in my service." Arthur replied, almost waiting for her to protest, but George stepped in and addressed Merlin.
"We will start in the armoury. Lesson one is my favorite. Polishing."
Merlin could see that Arthur was trying not to laugh, thinking that she was about to be tortured by the man who embodied the perfection all servant are meant to aim for.
"Yes, that's my favorite, too." Merlin replied in a dazed voice.
George, noting Merlin's strained posture and semi-vacant gaze, nods before jerking his head to indicate that Merlin should follow him.
Merlin followed, but stopped at the door. "Tell me something…" She asked the blonde.
Arthur put on a fake 'serious' expression as Merlin walked back to him and leaned over. "If he's so good, why don't you just give him the job?"
The mocking fell from his face and was replaced by the real thing, much to Merlin's enjoyment.
"He's seriously boring. I've never met anyone so dull. The man makes jokes about brass." The look of disgust on Arthur's face almost made Merlin giggle, but she managed to contain herself as Arthur continued. "Anyway, off you go. It'll be fun."
Arthur was enjoying this, so Merlin gave him a fake smile and nodded before walking to the door. She paused there to look back at Arthur, who gave her a smug smile and a nod. With that, Merlin exited with a grin.
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Once she was outside of the king's chamber, she dropped the 'I'm as fit as a fiddle' act. George rushed to her side as she swayed where she stood.
"What happened? You seemed fine inside, a little tired maybe, but not ready to fall over." Concern for his friend clear on George's face and in his voice.
"You know how I was hurt and then separated from Arthur and the knights? Well, that wound was never really tended. Morgana 'healed' the bone and skin, but that was it. On top of that, she put some creature's head in the back of my neck to get me to kill Arthur. During that time I don't remember anything, but Gaius and Gwen said I said some nasty things and acted odd. Finally, Gaius got rid of the thing, but not before I over used my shoulder and managed to get cuts and bruises all over. Heck! I'm not even sure I slept during that time or ate!" With that said, Merlin noticed that George had managed to get her to walk halfway to Gaius's chambers.
"What are you doing?" She asked him sharply.
George looked her dead in the eyes and replied, "You needed to recover before you go back to working for Arthur next week. I now know what all he makes you do in a day, and frankly, I don't see how you get it done without help. I had three people helping me and even then I barely got it all done. And that is not counting the patrols, hunts, and training you attend. On top of that you some how manage to help out Gaius! You are an amazing woman, Merlin, but right now, you need to heal."
With a huff, Merlin allowed him to continue leading her home. this reminded her so much of their first year in Camelot.
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Both George and Merlin arrived at Camelot at the same time and managed to bump into each other just outside of the gates. Merlin was dressed as a boy, her hair was even cut in a masculine style, but George knew that truth with a single glance. After she helped him pick up the cloths that had been knocked out of his satchel, he thanked her and called her "milady."
She was shocked that he had seen through her disguise so easily. She had been on the road for three day, and no one noticed she was a girl. Now, this guy only glanced at her before calling her out on it. She blushed and asked how he knew. He then gave a quick explanation about how his sister used to do the same thing when she was forced to travel alone, so he knew what to look for.
After that they went their own ways. Merlin went to meet Gaius, who her mother had failed to tell the was actually her uncle, while George was to start his apprenticeship at the bronze smith's shop. They saw each other all the time and George would help her when ever he could. On nights she had to work late, he would help her out and the walk her safely home. That lasted over a year, but it all changed when the bronze smith was found practicing magic.
Luckily, George was not executed for helping a practitioner of sorcery. Merlin used her position as the prince's servant to get George hired to work in the castle. After he got the job, all that help he gave her stopped as did the walks home. It wasn't that George didn't want to, if was because he had no free time anymore.
They saw very little of each other for a while until Arthur fired her. Cedric had made her look like a fool and managed to get her to do something stupid. So she got fire. After the whole thing Arthur told her she had her job back, but the damage had been done. She was going to train someone to be the perfect servant, one that would drive Arthur insane. She was going to train George, and with his help she was going to make sure Arthur missed when she was gone.
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Gaius had barely started to examine Merlin when she passed out, making George really worried. He cared deeply for her and had done so since they had first met. Back then she had been like a sister to him, but as time had passed he had fallen in love with her. Not that he was going to tell anyone that. Gaius would likely kill him, the knights would threaten him, and Arthur would either banish him or team up with Gaius to get him out of the picture.
As for Merlin, George knew that she did not love Arthur as anything more than a brother, the same goes for the knights, but he was unsure how she felt about him. he had been there for her when Will died, after Morgana was 'kidnapped', losing her father, he had helped her sneak food for Frey, And he had been there to pick her up after Lancelot had sacrificed himself. She had done the same for him when his mother died, when his sister was seriously ill, she had even nursed him when he had gotten the sweating sickness. But did she love him?
His thoughts were interrupted when Gaius called his name.
"George, could you keep an eye on her while I go talk to the king?" George nodded, his eyes never leaving her sleeping form.
"She is feverish, so keep the rags cool until I return." With that, Gaius left the smitten, but worried man and headed to talk to Arthur.
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There was a small knock on the door before it opened to reveal the court physician.
"Ah Gaius, what brings you here? If it is Merlin, she is being taught by George how to properly polish my armour." Arthur said with a cheeky smile.
"No, sire, she isn't. She is currently asleep in my chambers with a fever." The elderly man's tone was that of masked anger.
Arthur was stunned. "How did that happen? She seemed fine not but half an hour ago."
"why didn't you tell me how badly she had been injured when she went missing? If those mercenaries had been working for anyone but Morgana, Merlin would be dead right now. Magic was used to partially mend the shattered bone and close the skin, but the rest of the damage remained. Then Morgana used a creature of dark magic to take over the girl's mind. She has been a prisoner in her own body since before you found her in the bog. Gwen and I attempted for days to remove the beast's head from her neck, but it kept re-growing. For the past two days, after I found a way to put the creature to sleep, Merlin was out in search of where she was held so she could destroy the mother beast with fire. The beast had made her body forget its injuries, so Merlin felt fine until the effects wore off."
At this point Gaius stopped talking and sighed "At least it was George who was with her when that happened. That boy knows Merlin is good at hiding her pain, so he saw the signs and brought her to me just before she passed out."
Arthur knew he needed to address the Morgana issue, but his next question seemed more pressing in his mind. "Merlin and George know each other?"
At that Gaius gave an amused snort. "Sire, those two have been friend since the day they both arrived in Camelot. In fact, Merlin was the one who got him a job here in the castle. She taught him everything he knows."
"Now hang on! How could the worst servant to the seven kingdoms have taught the best? That doesn't make any sense!" Arthur vented incredulously.
"Sire, George has had three people helping him do all that you needed done, Merlin does it all herself. She works longer hours and does much more than a servant really should, all for two silvers a week. She doesn't do it for the money, she thinks of you as a brother and treats you like you are her child. They call her 'Little mother' in the lower town after they saw the two of you down there together."
Pulling himself out of his memories, Gaius redirected the line of thought. "I came here to tell you that I will be needing George's assistance in caring for Merlin. He has spent quite a bit of time in my chambers over the years, so he know where everything is. Plus, he is one of the few people capable of talking sense into the girl. By your leave sire, I will return to my patient."
Arthur was too shocked to do anything but nod, so Gaius left quickly and quietly.
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There are 10 certain things that Merlin never told George, that he knew none the less.
1. Merlin disliked eating meat, mainly because she knew life had been taken for that meat to be available.
2. Merlin would do anything to keep those around her safe, even ones she disliked or even hated.
3. Merlin is wary of Agravaine, and with good reason.
4. Merlin's favorite color is purple! Not blue or red!
5. Merlin hated hunting because she knew what it felt like to be hunted.
6. Merlin had been in love with Lancelot.
7. Merlin can control Dragons. George had seen the dragon fly away the night it 'died' and had seen it at least twice since.
8. Merlin had had magic at an early age. He had seen her use instinctual magic like a witch making her immensely powerful, maybe even Emrys herself.
9. Merlin had a book of magic, a carved wooden dragon, and an odd staff under her bed.
10. Merlin was clueless to George knowing any of this.
As he sat there beside her, George couldn't help but run this list through his mind. He had been trying for years to work up the courage to admit his knowledge, but something always happened right before he could tell her. He had been going to tell her right before she passed out, so George had a new plan. He was going to place himself at Gaius's mercy and admit his knowledge. Hopefully, George thought, telling Gaius would be easier than the woman he loves.
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Gaius could tell George had something on his mind when he returned to his chambers to finds the boy polishing the life out of the jars and vials in the room. The boy was so focused on his task that Gaius stood by the door for five minutes before he was noticed.
"Good gods, Gaius! You could rival Merlin with your sneaking skills. At least her's is needed to keep her secret, what is your excuse?" George's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.
Gaius's toothy grin turned to a stern frown.
"Six years… I kept that to myself for six years and then I let it slip because I was startled…" George muttered staring at the jar in his hand.
"What is it you think you know?" Gaius asked hesitantly.
Quietly George began to chant his list and at the end of it, George looked up into Gaius's eyes and added two more. "11. I love her with all my heart. 12. She has lost too much for me to tell her and then her lose me too."
George knew he was placing his life in the physician's hands, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care. He turned to the woman he cared for deeply and refreshed the cooling cloth, waiting for the old man's reaction.
"She loves you too. She was afraid that you, like all of the knights, thought of her as a sister." George was shocked at this.
"Sh.. She said that?" George was stunned.
"She realized how much she cared for you when you sick a few months back. She used magic to heal you. If she hadn't it is unlikely that you would have pulled through. She kissed you when your fever broke. She knew she could not lose you, so she risked her life to save yours. Though I suggest you ask the king and knights for their permission to court her before you tell her of your feeling. That is unless you want them to come after you. I would start with Leon, he is the most level headed." Gaius Smirked at the boys dumbfounded face.
"I… I think I will go do that now." George said rushing to the door.
"Now? Why?" Gaius asked in complete confusion.
Gaius had never George look so happy. "Because, when her fever breaks, I plan on returning the favor."
