It was a sunny late-summers day in Camelot; the carts of grain, apples and other wholesome goods were coming and going through the castle's gates as servants ran to and fro their master's rooms doing the chores that it was their duty to perform.
One servant in particular, a loyal and hard-working young man, had just entered his own master's room to carry out the first tiresome tasks of the day. The servant, the spritely and slightly foolish Merlin, heaved open the heavy wooden door to King Arthur's chambers and closed it behind him once he had entered. He placed his hands on his hips and sighed in weary acceptance as he took in the sight of the King's several layers of clothing scattered on the foot of the bed, the floor and the dining table, with his sword laying out in the open on the window sill. Merlin walked to the window, opened it a little to let in some fresh air and then retrieved the sword and propped it up next to the bed in which the King was sleeping. Arthur was laid on his back with his right forearm draped across his eyes as if to block the light from his vision. The quilt had fallen to his waist and his bare chest was exposed as he breathed deeply causing his chest to rise and fall in perfect rhythm.
Merlin gathered up the clothes and left the room to take them to be washed. He then went to fetch a pitcher of water and some fruit and bread for King Arthur's breakfast which he could eat while taking his bath. While Merlin was walking through the halls of the castle and rummaging in the kitchen to prepare the King's meal two uninvited beings came to visit the young king himself. In came a couple of blue pixies through Arthur's bedroom window looking for some entertainment, and they thought that the King of Camelot would provide sufficient enough amusement for at least a day or two. The little folk slipped in unnoticed as Arthur slept and flew up to the candles where they sat and watched the highness sleep. One was male with dark blue hair, the other female with green hair; both had permanently urgent and sniggering tones to their voice; stained pointed teeth and translucent grey wings. The female watched Arthur sleep for a while and danced around the wick of the candle they were standing on when she turned to her partner in crime. "Pascal, watch this!" The female pixie exclaimed in a hushed, eager voice as she fixed her eyes on the exposed right armpit of the sleeping man and extended her arm out as she wiggled her fingers as if she were tickling the air. Arthur suddenly stirred but didn't wake, then scratched under his arm, rolled over onto his stomach and wrapped his arms around the pillow to his side. The two pixies celebrated in stifled laughter and more dancing. Pascal was about to speak when the chamber doors opened and Merlin came in carrying a silver plate topped with a seeded roll and a few grapes, an apple plus a pitcher of water. He set them down at the head of the dining table and ambled over to the still sleeping Arthur as he contemplated how to wake him.
Merlin looked down at the sleeping King with his unblinking blue gaze and tapped on the head board. Arthur still didn't stir. Merlin sighed, shifting his weight to his left foot causing him to lean to one side. He cocked his head, being used to Arthur being easily awoken in the mornings and so he quietly spoke his name. "Arthur… Arthur… It's almost afternoon. Arthur…"
The King was still unresponsive, so Merlin decided to do the only other thing that sprung to his mind. Leaning forward and grabbing hold of the quilt at Arthur's waist, Merlin whisked off the thin white layer. The then naked Arthur's eyes snapped open and he rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed in a position of which would spare his modesty. "What on earth did you do that for?" Arthur asked incredulously as he reached for the pair of pants that Merlin had already laid on the side for him.
Merlin had his back to the King as he filled a large wooden tub in which Arthur bathed with buckets full of hot and cold water that he collected. Arthur was still sat on the edge of the bed, though now he was wearing underwear, and he groaned whilst rubbing at his eyes. "What time of day is it, Merlin?" Arthur asked reluctantly.
"Almost noon sire," was Merlin's response as he continued to pour water into the quarter filled tub.
"Do I really need to have a bath?" Arthur grumbled as he watched his manservant nonchalantly pouring steaming water into the wide barrel.
"Well, unless you want to chase off all other humans before they're even twenty paces away then I suggest you do." Merlin smirked to himself satisfactorily as Arthur frowned and made a notion of smelling himself. He shrugged and lay back on the bed, resting his head on his arms that he folded above him.
The pixies were watching the pair with great fascination, the female more so. She seemed to have a peculiar interest in the manservant.
"All done sire." Merlin stepped out of the way of the bath as Arthur dipped his fingers in the water and nodded his head faintly and stuck his bottom lip out a tad in surprise.
"Not too bad for once, those lessons must have paid off; hey Merlin?" Arthur teased, patting Merlin on the shoulder before heading behind the screen to take off his pants. Arthur was referring to the week of lessons that he made Merlin take from an efficient servant that had attended to him while Merlin was away; though Arthur would never trade Merlin in for anyone.
Merlin shook his head and smiled in amusement. "No, if anything I taught him a thing or two."
"I bet you did." Arthur murmured sarcastically from behind the screen which muffled his voice slightly. He stepped out from the screen as Merlin cast his blue eyes away as he blushed and the fair haired prince stepped into the bath, and sunk down into the steam. "Are you going to leave, or do you want to help me wash too?" Arthur queried cheekily, flicking some water out of the bath at Merlin who laughed and turned to leave the room.
Pascal the pixie, and his partner Varna, watched Merlin leave and then watched the King quietly. Varna suddenly chuckled to herself and turned to Pascal. She grabbed his hands and hopped around gleefully, causing the chandelier to sway slightly. "I've had a brilliant idea!" She exclaimed and supressed a squeal. "We're looking for entertainment, right? And the King and his servant have some sort of chemistry between them; so why not cast a love spell over them and let them play it out for a few days? Then we can remove the spell and move on; no harm done!"
Pascal seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment, but his body tingled with excitement and it wasn't long until he agreed to the plan.
"That is why I love you!" Varna rejoiced, hovering in the air and weaving in and out of the chandelier. She focused her gaze on Arthur, who was sitting in the steaming tub with his eyes closed as the warm water caressed his toned body. Varna hissed a love-spell in another language, which would cause Arthur to fall for Merlin, and once she had finished, she flew backwards and grinned smugly as she could feel Arthur's mind filling with thoughts of his manservant. She decided she'd let them mess about a bit before she cast the same spell on Merlin.
Arthur opened his eyes and sighed, swirling his hands around in the bath and watching ripples form as he thought about all that had happened in the past couple of years. Merlin is such a buffoon sometimes, Arthur told himself; He's lucky to be my servant, as he's so useless that he would never have a chance of having any other job. I'm so nice, aren't I? Letting Merlin work for me when he seems to spend most of his time down the tavern; I can be such a lovely guy sometimes… It even amazes me. True, he's willing to lay down his life for me, but I've saved his arse plenty of times. I'm going to go and tell Merlin right now that he should be grateful to have me.
Arthur quickly cleaned himself up whilst the pixies above him nattered and waited for him to do something more exciting. Running over to his bed where Merlin had laid a towel and some clothing for him, he swiftly patted himself dry and pulled on his underwear, shirt and trousers though they clung to him as he was still damp. He exited his room, picking up the apple from the breakfast Merlin had made for him as he did so and took a loud bite out of it. Gwen was coming down the alley in her simple blue dress carrying some bed sheets when her face lit up with sheer joy as she saw her partner coming down towards her with a green apple in his hand and a cheeky smile on his face. His white shirt was wet around the chest where he hadn't dried himself properly, and his golden hair dripped down the back of his neck, and his sweeping fringe stuck to his forehead and in his light blue eyes. To Gwen he looked sexier than ever.
"Ah! Gwen!" Arthur ran up to her and gave her a quick hug, "Just the lady I wanted to see!"
Gwen blushed, "Arthur…" She muttered timidly.
"Do you know where Merlin is?" He asked, his eyes twinkling brightly.
"Merlin…?" A brief look of downheartedness flashed across Gwen's face, before she forced a smile. "Uh, I think he was down in the-"
"-Tavern?" Arthur interrupted.
"No, the stables." Gwen retorted, as Arthur patted her on the shoulder and thanked her before running off in that direction. Gwen guessed Arthur wasn't in the mood to spend time with her so she carried on with her chores.
The pixies were flying from torch to torch on the walls to avoid being seen and sniggered when Arthur obliviously dismissed his girlfriend to go and see Merlin. Not that it was that surprising.
Bounding down the stone steps into the courtyard, King Arthur walked briskly towards the stables and spotted Merlin with a fork lifting up piles of used hay ready to lay down some fresh bales. "It's nice to see you doing some proper work." Arthur commented, leaning against one of the pillars as Merlin glanced over his shoulder at the King before continuing with shovelling the hay.
Merlin hid his smile and spoke up but kept looking at what he was doing. "And what is King Arthur doing down here in the stables?" Merlin asked in the voice of his teacher Gaius.
Arthur laughed in pure amusement, looking back out of the stables and up to the sky. "I came to…" Arthur paused for a little longer than was necessary.
Merlin stopped what he was doing and stabbed his fork into a bale of hay and leaned onto it, a bit like Arthur was doing on a pillar. He lifted his eyebrow quizzically but grinned, "Came to…?"
Arthur shook his head, "I forgot. So… Having fun?"
Merlin couldn't believe Arthur had casually come down to the stables just to ask something as unimportant as that. He glanced down at his grubby trousers and his muddy hands from where he'd been kneeled on the stable floor a while back, and took his opportunity to mock the young King. "Well, I was having a considerable amount of fun shovelling horse remains until you showed up."
Arthur lunged forward and pretended like he was pointing a sword at Merlin's chest. Merlin held up his arms in pretend surrender, "Oh please don't, I'm too young to die!" Merlin joked, his face crinkling up into a cute smile.
Arthur sheathed his invisible sword and turned his back on Merlin, "Because I am merciful, I shall spare your life. But do not expect such leniency again."
Merlin ran up to him to tackle him in playful angst, but Arthur saw him coming in the corner of his eye and grabbed his left arm and twisted it behind Merlin's back, causing a pain to course through his arm and down his spine as he leant back against Arthur to ease the strain, his head on Arthur's shoulder. If Merlin could see Arthur's face he'd be able to notice the pink shade that had spread through his cheeks.
"Oh, not this again…" Merlin mumbled and tried not to move about too much.
The pixies were viewing from inside a watering can that hung from a beam in the stable, and this time it was Pascal's time to get to work. He concentrated on Merlin and cast the same spell that Varna had on Arthur upon the young manservant. "Get used to it," Arthur whispered in Merlin's ear which was creepily close to Arthur's mouth. He then pushed Merlin away who tripped and landed on the floor in a heap. He grazed his chin.
Arthur suddenly felt bad and offered his hand out, which Merlin took and pulled himself up with. The sun which had fallen behind clouds broke out suddenly, basking the two young men in a warm haze. "Too bad, I was beginning to like it." Merlin said, his cute smile having transformed into a fervent smirk.
"I bet you were." Arthur muttered huskily, but then put his forefinger under Merlin's chin to lift his face up slightly. He studied the cut on Merlin's chin but briefly looked up to Merlin's parted lips before looking to the cut again. Merlin saw him did so and his breath caught in his throat, he watched Arthur's gaze before looking around to see of any people were near. Luckily they weren't.
"You klutz, you really should watch your footing." Arthur told him, brushing his thumb over the cut causing the blood to smear down Merlin's chin and onto Arthur's thumb. Merlin flinched. "Don't be such a baby." Arthur murmured, before telling him to go and see Gaius to do something about the bleeding. Just as Arthur slid his fingers out from underneath Merlin's chin Gwaine appeared round the corner. Arthur quickly stepped back from Merlin and dropped his hand as Gwaine shielded his eyes innocently.
"Whoa! Sorry, have I interrupted something?" Gwaine laughed and dropped his arms from in front of his face, but there was some seriousness to his words. He walked forwards some more as Merlin picked up his fork and carried on with his work. His face was flustered and his stomach was tied in nervous knots as Arthur cleared his throat.
"Well Gwaine, wouldn't you like to believe?" Arthur asked rhetorically and shot a confident smile to his knight.
"I always knew you were a guy's-guy." Gwaine laughed jokingly causing the pixies to exchange a glance to acknowledge that it could get very interesting from here. Arthur went over to Gwaine and ruffled his hair which caused Gwaine to duck to the side and smooth it down again.
"You see, Merlin being the klutz he is, scrapped his chin so I was assessing how bad it was." As if to make a point, Merlin turned to face Gwaine and pointed to his bleeding cut.
"Ouch, you should go and get Gaius to fix that up Merlin." Gwaine said compassionately; Merlin hadn't noticed that the significant amount of blood had run down his neck. He then turned to his King "I knew you weren't all bad." Gwaine told Arthur with a wink before chucking Merlin a shilling from his pocket. "That's for the drink." Gwaine then jogged off leaving Arthur raising a quizzical eyebrow aimed at Merlin.
"It was nothing; really." Merlin said, feeling a little guilty.
Arthur felt unusually jealous, his heart sinking a little. He clenched and unclenched his fists and said sternly, "Just get your chin sorted," before skulking off out of the stable.
Arthur spent much of the rest of the day having meetings with the council and knights of Camelot, having his dinner served by a cheekier than usual Merlin with a bandaged chin, and then as he lied in bed he got the strange feeling he was being watched. His mind was filled with thoughts of Merlin and he really had no clue where it was coming from but it made him restless. Eventually Arthur fell to sleep so the pixies, that had been laughing every time Arthur tossed and turned mumbling Merlin's name, went to see if Merlin was still awake. He was talking to Gaius about potions but Gaius seemed to notice something was wrong.
"What's wrong Merlin? You've been acting a little peculiar today." Gaius pointed out, looking at Merlin like a father does at a child that won't tell him the truth.
"Nothing." Merlin chirped joyfully before heading off to his room.
"Nothing?" Gaius copied with a tone of disbelief.
Merlin nodded, "Nothing." He confirmed before entering his room and shutting the door behind him. He got into his bed which didn't even compare to Arthur's in the way of comfort or style, but he lied awake talking to himself about the day's events. Merlin too, fell to sleep, his dark brown hair ruffled and blue eyes shut to the world. He looked like a doll when asleep, so small, fragile and peaceful.
"Shall we lift the spell and vacate?" Asked Pascal to Varna as they sat on the side of a cup near Merlin's bed as he breathed deeply.
"No, not yet. Let's pay a visit to Gwaine and make things a bit more interesting." Varna replied, then squealed as Merlin rolled towards them and exhaled, blowing Varna into the cup where she splashed into the foul smelling beverage in the bottom. She flew up as Pascal braced himself on the edge as he laughed harder than ever. "Sometimes you're all the entertainment I need." He told her as she scowled and flew to a flannel on the side where she dried herself off.
In the armoury Gwaine sat and played around with his sword, swinging it deftly to the left and the right as if showcasing his talents. His long brown hair flung with each turn and twist and it almost looked as if he was dancing with each swift step he took; he was surprisingly graceful for someone bordering on the line of being dreadfully drunk. The pixies watched from a distance whilst Gwaine was oblivious to their presence. "So, we're going to get the knight involved too?" Pascal asked, rubbing his hands together mischievously.
"Yes I think so." Varna said, slightly captivated by the handsome man.
Pascal clicked his fingers to draw back Varna's attention and then asked who they shall conjure his affections for.
"The servant of course," Varna snapped, her face transforming into an ugly scowl but then quickly settled again, "It makes it much more interesting; did you see the King's reaction when he learned that Merlin had been socialising out of hours with Gwaine?" Her partner nodded and had already began to cast the spell onto the knight who suddenly seemed to relax his grip on the sword and then noticed how smeared the blade was.
Gwaine sighed inwardly and thought to himself that maybe he should get Merlin to clean it in the morning." Ah, what the hell? Why not get him to do it now? We're practically best friends…" Gwaine mused to himself and headed to Merlin and Gaius' chambers.
Arthur woke to see a figure standing next to his bed, he instantly reached for his sword that was lying on the cabinet next to him but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw that it was Merlin. He groaned. What the hell did Merlin think he was doing? "What are you doing in my room, Merlin?" Arthur asked but didn't give him time enough to speak before asking another question. "What time of day is it?" He glanced to the window and even through the small gap in the curtains he could tell it was still very late at night or very early in the morning.
"Sorry sire, I couldn't sleep." Merlin uttered.
"And that means you should come to my room why, exactly?"
"I thought you might still be awake."
Arthur propped himself up on his elbows and rubbed his eyes, "Well surely seeing my still body lying in bed would make it apparent that I wasn't… But I guess that's too late now." Arthur let his eyes roam up and down Merlin's body and appraised his lean frame and liked the idea that he could easily over power him. Merlin pretended not to notice and shifted uncomfortably.
Arthur shifted aside and patted the part of the bed where he had previously been laid.
"Oh no, I couldn't…" Merlin whispered hesitantly, shaking his head but eyeing the spot as if he was considering it.
Arthur shrugged, "What? You can't sit on a bed with me?"
"No, it's not that… I just couldn't."
"Merlin, I already told you to stop being a baby." Arthur reached across and tugged at Merlin's arm and pulled him onto the bed. Arthur lifted up the quilt and pulled it over Merlin's legs. "You may want to take your jacket and handkerchief off; it can get a little hot in here." Arthur stated oblivious to the effects his words were having on the young man next to him. Arthur did eventually notice, not that he realised he had been looking, the considerable bulge in the quilt caused by Merlin's groin. Arthur's eyes widened when he realised that Merlin was aroused, but he sidled closed to Merlin and whispered huskily into Merlin's ear, "Have you ever kissed a man?"
Merlin had his eyes glued to the end of the bed and swallowed nervously. "No…"
"Neither have I…" Arthur pulled Merlin's face round and they stared into each other's blue eyes. "Want to try it?"
Merlin was about to shake his head though his body said otherwise but Arthur crushed his lips against his servant's. Merlin turned to putty in Arthur's hands, as he hooked his arms around Merlin's back and the kiss deepened…
Arthur was sweating profusely and sat up rapidly to find his bed damp and messy. It had been a dream. Just a dream… But somehow that annoyed Arthur more than anything. Inside his body a fight was going on; his ignorant and cocky side wanted to do nothing but annoy his manservant, but on the other hand he so wanted to get to know Merlin properly. He wanted to know everything about him. No limits, no lies… no clothes.
Arthur pushed back his quilt and got dressed as he prepared to go and visit Merlin.
Merlin's eyes opened as he heard a gentle knock on his door.
"Gaius?" Merlin called out.
"Guess again…" Announced a manly voice as the door opened and Gwaine walked in. Merlin gulped as he saw the sword. Gwaine noticed his unease so placed the sword on the far side from the bed. "I just came to see if you could clean my sword for me…?" He slurred his words a little.
Merlin was still dazed from a strange dream and nodded his head, "Sure."
Gwaine looked at Merlin expectedly. "Now?" Merlin asked in shock.
"If now's a bad time, I could-"
"No, it's fine…" Merlin reassured Gwaine much to his own dismay. Luckily Merlin had some rags and polish in his bedside cabinet so he didn't have to go far to get started. He knelt on the ground shirtless and in only a pair of loose trousers and began wiping the sword down until the smears began to fade and a visible shine returned. When he was finished, Merlin crawled on his hands and knees to put the cleaning products away again, unwillingly giving Gwaine a nice view of his back side. Gwaine smirked as he thought of exactly what he'd like to be doing to the King's manservant up against the bedside cabinet.
Merlin backed away from the cupboard, staying on his knees and faced Gwaine who was sat on his bed. Merlin handed Gwaine the sword, Gwaine then complimented Merlin's work and laid it on the bed. The pixies had to stifle as gasp as Gwaine suddenly leant forward and kissed Merlin who froze like a deer caught in headlights. At the same moment Merlin's door opened without warning and Arthur snuck in.
Merlin pulled back and overbalanced, falling onto his bum. Arthur looked livid, Gwaine appeared thwarted and Merlin looked like he would have been happy to crawl into a ditch and stab himself. Though he felt like Arthur would probably do it for him.
Gwaine started to make up a poor excuse but Arthur silenced him. He turned to Merlin. "You want to be with Gwaine then?" Arthur asked protectively. Merlin merely shook his head regretfully. Gwaine mumbled, "It was my fault… I-I think I like Merlin. I don't know why, it just dawned on me all of a sudden." Gwaine, blissfully ignorant as usual, did not realise the King's affections.
"Well we can't both have him." Arthur spat. "So who will it be Merlin?"
"Oh don't get like that Sire," Merlin teased, "If it makes you happy then I won't choose anybody. What makes you assume I like men anyway?"
Arthur blushed deeply all of a sudden. "Oh. I… Well… You don't?" Arthur added quickly, "Because it was basically a joke anyway…" Arthur lied unconvincingly as he scratched the back of his head nervously. His heart was beating furiously.
Gwaine slowly reached for the sword on Merlin's bed without drawing attention to himself; his eyes were trained on Arthur who was wearing only thin cotton trousers and a white silk top. The pixies did notice however, and they fretted about to lift the spell from Gwaine. They sighed as Gwaine's hand froze and they saw his body relax. Gwaine jumped up and a hand shot to his mouth. "Oh God! I'm sorry Arthur! I don't know what come over me…" He glanced at Merlin timidly and felt overly awkward. "Sorry Merlin, I didn't mean anything by it. Maybe one of my drinks was spiked. I… I should go get some rest." Gwaine took that as his excuse to leave and darted from the room as quick as he could. He would never be speaking about that again. He had a reputation to uphold.
That left Arthur and Merlin alone and in silence, the latter of the two still sat on the floor hugging his legs. Arthur's expression softened as he helped Merlin to his feet. He couldn't help but check out Merlin's body before looking up to Merlin's face.
"You know, you really do drive me crazy sometimes." He pushed Merlin playfully.
"Who else would keep you sane?" Merlin laughed and looked into Arthur's eyes. They both suddenly held their breath as they felt a chill run through them. Arthur pounced.
He grabbed Merlin's bare shoulders and stepped forward crushing Merlin up to cold stony wall. Merlin could feel the rough stone graze his back. Pinning him down, Arthur closed his eyes and locked lips with Merlin. The young warlock was stunned but then he responded, closing his eyes and parting his lips so Arthur could explore him further. Merlin let his hands drop as he cupped Arthur's bottom and he felt Arthur swell slightly. Arthur placed his hands on Merlin's flat abdomen and sighed in content before breaking away and beginning to kiss down Merlin's neck.
The pixies hadn't been expecting such an extreme reaction as the spell was only meant to slightly enhance any romantic feelings they may have had. "This is getting a bit past PG-13…" Pascal muttered.
Varna agreed, "Time to lift the spell." They both muttered in a foreign tongue the reversal spell and then they decided to exit through Merlin's slightly ajar window before they were noticed.
Arthur froze and opened his eyes to find his tongue against Merlin's throat and Merlin's hands on his behind as he jumped back in surprise. "Urgh, Merlin!" He exclaimed, wiping his sleeve against his tongue as Merlin complained about the 'Arthur saliva' as he wiped at his neck and stared at his hands disbelievingly. Arthur and Merlin then stood and watched each other with equally suspicious and embarrassed gazes.
"Let's not speak of this?" Arthur murmured and looked at the ground; he was more surprised at himself than anything else. I mean, Merlin wasn't even that bad of a kisser.
"Never." Merlin agreed. "But what does it mean?"
"Merlin…" Arthur warned.
"No, I know this doesn't mean anything. But does the King really have a crush on his poor manservant?"
Arthur ignored the question altogether. "Poor? Why I'll show you poor! Starting now I want you to clean my shoes; polish my saddle; tidy my room; empty the stables and clean all the knights' armour. And do it all over again once you're done. And don't forget to serve my meals." Arthur demanded feeling overly pleased with himself. Merlin stared after Arthur with a slack jaw as the King exited his room; but before Arthur left he turned to face Merlin and stuck his tongue into his cheek suggestively with a flirtatious wink.
When Merlin was alone he lay on his bed and an amused grin spread across his face. Maybe, just maybe, the pixies had begun the cycle of something more.
Thank you to those that asked me to carry on with this, as I'm having so much fun writing it!
I hope you liked it :)