Territory is to own land. Every kingdom wants to expand their territory; to take more land for themselves. Every king wants to take and take and take, more than they deserve. Uther was just the same. Arthur was just the same; having been raised by Uther he parroted a lot of the same beliefs.
But as Arthur matured he found that he disagreed with his father on many counts. He disagreed that magic was evil and he disagreed that they should look after themselves and their knights before their people. Where Uther reasoned that without the knights, their people would be left to fend for themselves in any great battle; Arthur replied that without the people, the knights would be protecting nobody.
But on the thought of territory, both Arthur and his father agreed that they should at least have the chance to claim whatever territory they wanted. Merlin however, disagreed on this point. He thought that Camelot was a large enough kingdom as it was; far larger than the kingdom he had come from and far stronger too.
Despite his disagreement; when a battle came and Uther, Arthur and their army were attempting to claim more land, Merlin had to fight too. He used very subtle magic to knock down or distract any of the enemy who were aiming for Arthur, leaving him one opponent at a time. He made sure he kept everyone safe, he protected them all, because this was his destiny.
At the end of the day, when the Pendragon Army had claimed another 200 yards of land, Arthur, Uther, Merlin and the rest of the knights shut themselves away in their private tents which were sent back in Pendragon land about ten minutes walk away. These tents were circular, held up by long branches, they had high roofs and reminded Merlin of a circus tent. His was next to the Prince's in case Arthur needed anything in the night.
It was winter and bitterly cold; also, the sky went pitch black very quickly, so Merlin had to undress Arthur in the candle light. He disposed of the chain-mail and armour quickly; he knew how heavy his was before he took it off. He pulled Arthur's red shirt over his head and Turned around, away from Arthur as he folded it and laid it next to Arthur's boots. But as he turned back to Arthur he caught a glimpse of chiselled, defined muscles in the candle light and it made his hands shake.
Next he turned to hand Arthur his night shirt, Arthur reached out but didn't take it. Instead he touched Merlin's shoulder. All the blood drained from the warlock.
'It's ok, I'll do the rest.' Arthur said quietly. 'You've done enough today,' Merlin nodded and, still keeping his eyes down, he scuttled from the tent.
Merlin pulled off his own shirt and tossed it onto the ground. He sat on the bed and put his head on his hands. They were still shaking. He had to get over this; if it was his destiny to stay with Arthur then he had to get over this desire. He couldn't spend his whole life shaking and thinking erotic thoughts about his master. He took great tufts of his hair in his hands and pulled, just to feel something other than the hollow in his stomach and the trembling in his hands.
Suddenly, there was something behind him. Something warm, and alive, and breathing hard, heavy breaths right behind him. He could feel it pressed against him and, in that moment of suspense and terror, he understood. It was Arthur. He had pressed his naked chest flush against Merlin's cold back. And now he wriggled himself round so that his legs were either side of Merlin's. He put his arms under Merlins and wrapped them back over his shoulders; pulling him even closer.
'We claim territory all day, and I know you think it is wrong. But I don't care about all the land. There is only one place I want territory of, and I claim it, now,' He whispered in Merlin's ear. Merlin closed his eyes and leant his head back, onto Arthur's shoulder. Arthur reached out and caressed Merlin thigh and, somewhere deep within him, Merlin felt something stir and awaken. Arthur kissed Merlin's pale neck, exposed and perfect. He found the pulse and sucked hard on the spot, drawing Merlin's blood to boiling point, slowly, temptingly. Then he pressed his teeth to the mark and pressed harder and harder until they broke the skin and he tasted blood on his teeth. Merlin's pulse was like a thousand drummers beating the skin of their drums in hard, powerful, rhythmical beats again and again. Faster and faster, harder and harder, louder and louder.
Merlin felt his breeches tighten around his backside, and he realised that they were being teased forwards by his eager erection. With every touch, kiss and caress of Arthur, it edged up. Merlin felt his blood drain into it.
Arthur noticed that Merlin was distracted and glanced down at what Merlin was looking at with such horror. Now he grinned; seeing the reaction of Merlin's body made him feel much more comfortable about the content of his own pants. He whispered a few well chosen words into his servant's ear, they came a few at a time between deep gasps of air. 'Tonight… I claim your body… this land is mine… to do with as I will. Tomorrow… is your turn… to explore new lands… tomorrow… I am yours. Is that fair…? Do you agree…?'
Merlin nodded desperately and Arthur smiled. He pushed Merlin off the bed so he stood up, and the, Arthur approached him. It was like a panther approaching his prey. He took slow, measure steps forward, he counted them, one…two…three. And then he was so close to Merlin he could taste his sweet breath; he let it was over his face. And then the panther attacked.
He reached out and caught Merlin's face in his hands and held it close while he pressed his lips to it messily. He kissed first the cheek, then the nose and, finally, he found the mouth, the sweet mouth that elicited such beautiful, truthful, honest words all the time, the mouth which reassured him, shamed him and tempted him at the same time.
They pressed their lips hard together and it was a little uncomfortable until they found a rhythm and flowed. Arthur pressed his hands to Merlin's chest and felt his heart hammering through his ribs. So, instead he reached down and unfastened both of their breeches so they dropped to the ground. And now he wrapped one arm round Merlin's torso and grabbed handfuls of Merlin's arse with the other, pulling him closer so their erections were both digging hard and gloriously into the other.
Arthur pulled Merlin back to the bed and sat him on his lap. He pressed his face into the other's pale back and kissed it again and again. He held onto Merlin as hard as he could while he slipped himself inside him. Merlin groaned as his skin snapped tight around Arthur. As Arthur thrust and bucked his hips Merlin murmured his name again and again. Arthur ran his fingers over Merlin's chest, his arms, his legs, until he touched his length.
He stroked it, up and down, again and again. Until Merlin could wait no longer and snatched at Arthur's hand, wrapping it around his cock and slowly pumping up and down in time with Arthur's movements within him. Soon Merlin came all over Arthur's hand and all over the sheets. Arthur put each of his fingers into his mouth one by one and sucked off Merlin's offering. He removed each finger with a quiet pop. And now all he had to focus on was the baying and bucking of his hips and the soft, pale skin beneath his lips and fingers. Every so often Arthur would brush across Merlin's prostate and Merlin would scream out into the night. The name 'Arthur' echoed out into the dark and still night. And so, the only territory Arthur cared about was the land of Merlin.