Hey everybody! It's Blue here with yet another work that I'm actually making for a friend and fan of mine ol' UchihaNaruTeme4. We've actually been talking for a long while I can't help but love how we've connected as make-shift pen pals. Having the internet certainly helps quite a bit. Anyway, this fic is for her and I hope she enjoys it. I don't own 'Merlin' in any shape or form but damn I want the DVD pack when it comes out! Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 1: The Scarf of it All

Guinevere tried not to feel nervous as she walked the forest path by the castle of Camelot, only a basket full of herbs in hand, the wind tugging playfully at her hair and dress. It wasn't as though she hadn't traveled through these woods before, oh no, it was just the odd feeling she got whenever she happened to pass too closely to a few densely packed trees. Something about the darkness they created, even during the day, put her on edge, just like all the other servants and guards that frequented the area. Something about those particular trees didn't feel right. They felt… wrong, almost out of place. Like usual she chose to ignore the patch of oddity despite its vicinity to the castle. She had work to do and being bothered by a few trees wasn't going to help any. Some feet away from said trees where the feeling of strangeness wasn't as strong, the young woman knelt to examine a patch of green for plants she sought. Gaius had requested she look for a certain herb. Dittany was it? Now if only she could find the blasted thing….

A low growl made her pause, the sound coming from the edge of her vision as the deep guttural noise filled her ears. Knowing better than to move too quickly, her dark brown eyes shifted to the left as she turned her head slowly to see a beast best feared: a nasty looking chimera with eyes a foul green stuck its tongue out at her. Its spiky spine seemed to shiver as it moved towards her, its breath stinking as it growled and hissed amidst approaching the shocked servant girl. Just as its legs bunched as though to pounce, Gwen didn't hesitate to drop her basket and get to her feet, tumbling away from the large creature with a panicked cry. Behind her its loud noise of ire at her escape filled her ears as she got to her feet and ran between a few more densely packed trees in the hopes it would slow the beast down. Fear and desperation drove her forward, drove her away from the threat to which she had no defense, blinding her to just where she was going. That is until that uneasy feeling started to nudge at her again, nearly making her slow down with indecision. Only when she looked back and saw the chimera's reptilian face hissing at her did she gather her skirts and without looking to see if it followed, headed straight for the dense collection of trees.

The crunch of leaves and twigs under her shoes seemed to echo, swish of bush branches like snaps of a whip as she desperately sought out the unnatural darkness before her. Already covered in a thin layer of sweat, Gwen tried to keep breathing long and deep to avoid sending herself further into a panic as she ran. She managed to get at least another five feet into the grayish shadows of the trees before a rock hidden by fallen leaves tripped her, sending her to the hard ground face first. In a cloud of leaves and debris, the servant girl let out a small hiss of pain as she felt the balls of her hands sting in protest. Already she could feel the blood on her skin as she rolled to see if the beast had followed her. And followed her it had, its almost neon green eyes shimmering dangerously in the half-light, tongue darting as if to taste the air, moving slowly towards her. Frozen now, Gwen could only stay where she was, silently hoping her death would be a painless one, praying in her mind to whatever god happened to exist that whatever happened it would be swift. Like a giant viper, jaws agape and practically frothing, the chimera pounced at the girl, making her let out one last scream of panic.

Its loud hiss matched her shrill cry, only cut short when a flash of bluish silver cut in from the left, bashing the beast on its shoulder and head. With a loud splash of what was clearly water, spraying moisture everywhere, the chimera was sent tumbling to the forest floor. Hissing in its dissatisfaction, the large creature rolled back to its feet again, sickly green eyes flashing with rage as it faced its new foe. Now it was Gwen's turn to have a slack jaw as the odd new thing spiraled almost lazily down from the upper canopy: several inches wide and at least five feet long, this odd being shimmered in what light there was, passing over the servant girl to reveal its size was limited to only two dimensions. It was a piece of cloth! Better yet, a scarf woven to the shape of a strange looking dragon, thin dark blue cord acting as whiskers just below a flat nose on its two dimensional face. The one eye she could see, a large dot of almost golden yellow, looked down at her with a mixture of curiosity and innocent delight. Also woven into it were legs that hung limply at its 'underbelly', small but thick with golden claws made of what looked like metallic thread, clashing well with its dark sea blue body. Only when it passed over completely did she see the tail, like the rest of its 'spine' had greenish blue spikes, cured like waves of the sea, the very end narrowing to a point. At its end looked like a piece of fabric of a lighter green blue shaped roughly like a spade, the cloth barb clearly lacking any real edge.

Despite Gwen's open staring, the chimera was less interested in this oddity and more in getting its meal. With yet another loud hiss, it broke the girl's reverie and brought back her state of panic, finding that its attention was on the cloth-made being and not her. Still hovering some distance from the ground, the dragon shaped scarf suddenly opened its mouth with a muted gasp so that its entire body bloated with air. Pointing its woven maw at the stinking creature, the dragon scarf blew out all the air it'd collected so quick and with such force, some of it turned into ice as soon as it hit the chimera's face. Shards of ice and strong wind struck the beast hard enough to push it back, sharp slivers of frozen water sticking out of its scaly hide. Letting out another angry growl and hiss, the chimera tried to move forward again only to receive more ice with a bit more force. Pained and now bloody, the large chimera turned away as the cloth beast blew several more blows of wind and frost at it until it was far away enough to no longer be threatening. Gwen didn't breathe easy until she heard the brush stop rustling as the beast retreated with some measure of haste.

It wasn't until she tried to get to her feet that she remembered the stinging pain in her hands, looking at them to see the blood had already started to dry. Using two of her fingers, Gwen tried to pull a leaf off one patch of her raw flesh only to hold back a hiss of pain harsh enough to make her eyes sting. The blood was already cool but in the wound it felt hot as the leaf revealed puddles of blood and torn skin. Much to her relief, the gashes weren't deep, but simply hurt a great deal. Letting the dried leaf fall to the ground, Gwen shifted herself to sit properly as she surveyed the damage. If she could get to water, she could get it clean and maybe get to Gaius before it got infected, never mind that her chore would have to wait. Tears threatening to fall from her eyes, Gwen managed to get to her knees before her balance nearly failed her, the energy she once had having long since faded. Breathing soon steadying, the servant girl examined her injuries again to find the bleeding had slowed but still stung even when she didn't move them. A small sound in front of her made her look up, brown eyes widening to find the cloth dragon had come to hover before her.

Form shifting as though a fish in water, despite being completely level with her face and head unmoving, the cloth-made dragon stared at her with eyes made of bright golden yellow thread, its black pupil nothing more than a hole. Just behind its face Gwen finally noticed that some bits of fabric lifted and fell with the movements of its long body, just as dark but clearly separate to create an almost lion-like mane. It even had small thin horns, smooth and gently waved to the back of its head, possibly made of a greenish blue velvet of a lighter shade to help it stick out more. Nose flat and wide much like a dog, the cloth dragon opened its mouth to reveal small teeth made of what looked like the same material as its body coupled with a tongue a grass green much resembling a dog's. The last thing Gwen expected, in spite of everything, was for the strange being to speak.

"Hurt?" it asked, voice deep and rough like a man's but shy almost like a child's. "Pain? Hurt pain?"

Astonished, Gwen couldn't help but stare, mouth open in shock. Even more to her surprise, the cloth dragon's expression seemed to shift to a confused scowl, brow coming together as it tilted its head. When it spoke again, it sounded almost saddened by her lack of reaction. "Voice gone?"

Blinking away her shock, Gwen struggled to find the right words. "N-no! No I… I've just never seen anything like you before."

Its eyes flickered oddly, as though to blink while its scowl lessened, back to simply staring at her. "Only one. Just me. Hurt?"

Glancing down at her hands, Gwen suddenly felt out of place. Was she honestly having a conversation with this thing? "Yes, yes I am but it's fine. I just need to get back that's all."

"I fix." It said suddenly, calm as ever.

Gwen stared, astonished. "What?"

"I fix. Let me?" it asked politely, glancing down at the cuts and the blood before looking up into her face again.

Silent for a few seconds, the servant girl almost couldn't answer. "You can do that?"

"Made for it. Let me?"

Trapped between confusion and surprise, Gwen slowly extended the appendages so the cloth dragon could see the wounds better. "Please."

Without another word, the cloth dragon looked down at her hands again, closely examining their condition with a keen gaze. Opening its mouth again, gently sucking in air same as before to where its body inflated all the way to the tail, it pointed its mouth at her hands, and blew. To Gwen, it was as if a cool breeze was passing through but was only pointed at a small part of her, the icy temperature a blessing against the hot pain. As the dragon's breath went on, the debris was cast aside, blood cleaned off with a gentle mist and skin mended together, good as new. Less than two minutes later, Gwen could only stare at her hands in awe to see them undamaged as though she'd never gotten hurt to begin with. Pressing them together to feel the newly mended skin, Gwen couldn't help but smile upon finding no pain, not even a scar.

She couldn't help but smile, admiring the dragon's work, glancing up at it with bits of amazed laughter. "Thank you. Thank you so much. That was amazing!"

Humming deep in its throat, body shaking a little as if excited, mouth lifting in an obvious smile of contentment at her words it spoke again. "Welcome. Bad thing no come back. You safe now. Basket that way. We go?"

"You want to come with me?" Gwen asked, looking at the beast with renewed awe.

It nodded, still looking pleased with itself. "Yes."

"Don't you live here?"

For the first time, it frowned a little. "No, live anywhere, master long gone." It said plainly before it smiled again. "Like you. Go with you?"

"You're lost? Do you know where you master is?" Gwen asked as she finally stood, straightening her dress.

The cloth dragon shifted to stay eye level with her, its long body stretching lazily. "…No. sent me here."

Scowling in her confusion, Gwen gave the creature a long look. "Why? Why would your master do that?"

"Can't say. Master...very strange. Go now? Basket that way, through there." It repeated, even pointing its tail at a section of trees she was sure she'd passed by.

"You can show me the way?"

"Yes, good memory. Lead you well. That way." It said, sounding pleased with itself. Before she could do or say anything, the cloth dragon was whirling its way around her, resting its long body on her shoulders gently until it was draped like a regular scarf. Now flat like before, the dragon went limp as though dead.

Bewildered, Gwen stared down at the dragon's head where it hung over her right shoulder, its face stuck in a blank expression. "W-what are you doing?"

It blinked at her words, face coming back to life as it looked up at her. "Blending. Why? Bad?"

Gwen couldn't help but smile a little at the being's attempt. "Uh, no just… I didn't have a scarf on when I left."

"Ah. Sash then?" it proposed, the look it gave clearly that of someone seeking approval.

"Can you do that?" Gwen asked, having the mind to sound perplexed. Just what exactly was this creature capable of?

"I can. Watch." It said almost happily as it lifted away only to circle her completely to come back in around her waist, changing as it did. Losing its bright sheen and soft texture, cloth legs disappearing and head shrinking as its body became as thin as rope. With the same gentle movements as before, the dragon turned sash settled around her body as if it were part of her daily dress. Finally it fell still after knotting itself up, voice still clear as ever. "See? Blend well. We go?"

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Gwen nodded down at it despite her clear amazement. "Yes, we're going. Just… try not to talk unless I say. Something like you is… not common where we're going."

"Quite good at being quiet. Joke!" the cloth dragon said jovially, even laughing low and deep, the sound making it shiver.

Smiling weakly, the servant girl chuckled a little along with the odd creature. "That you did. I have to ask, do you have a name? My name's Gwen."

"My name Kelan. Good meet you Gwen." It said politely, still with a hint of humor from its chaff at itself. At least it knew what humor was.

"Good to meet you, is that what you meant?"

Kelan didn't speak for a second, humor replaced by embarrassment. "Yes, speech still wrong. Sorry."

"No, it's alright. I understand." Gwen said quickly, hoping the change in subject would take the sullen tone out of her new guard's voice. Turning to look at the only corner of the clearing that looked familiar she asked. "This way?"

When he did respond, it was with more confidence, once again happy with himself for remembering something so clearly important to her. "Yes, that way then left. You ran fast."

Laughing weakly at the comment, Gwen couldn't help but nod, feeling a little silly for doing so since she didn't know if the being could see the action or not. She kept talking as she went, traveling the expanse of trees easily enough. "One will do that when they fear for their life. Where to now?"

"Straight, until we clear the trees. Find basket after that." Kelan instructed, polite as ever, sadness forgotten now that he something new to focus on.

Sure enough, she kept walking as instructed, her steps more slow and deliberate, her pulse finally down to a reasonable beat after all that she'd just endured. Passing by said trees, their unique bark patterns now vaguely familiar, Gwen stepped out into the open to find it was the same place she'd been moments before. Looking off to her left, she saw her basket lying on its side on the ground where she'd dropped it. Smiling faintly in relief, the servant girl didn't hesitate to head for it, kneeling to gather up what little had fallen out onto the ground. Just as she finished and got to her feet again, basket in hand, Kelan's voice rose up in a soft whisper. "Man coming! Running fast, could be danger! Weapon?"

"No, nothing. Is he armed?" she asked in a low whisper, pretending to search the ground for herbs, only just hearing hurried steps behind her.

"Sword, but not in hand. Looks scared. Act natural." Kelan suggested before falling silent just as the man got close and called to her, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Miss! Miss, can you help me! Please!"

Acting alarmed by his approach, Gwen turned to face him, finding he wasn't wearing armor but the sword was indeed there. In its scabbard as Kelan had said, but the man was dressed much like a commoner. A servant perhaps? She thought as she spoke, tone cautious. "Who are you? What's wrong?"

Easily hearing her suspicion, the man put both hands up in a placating motion, dark green eyes tired and pleading. "I mean you no harm miss, but my mission is important. I got all turned 'round and I need to get to Camelot and fast! Can you tell me which way?"

Her caution at this stranger ebbed as her eyes took in the distressed man. His shoes were a mess and his face tired, as though he'd lost his horse and few nights rest on his journey. The man had yet to threaten her and he looked too tired to fight anyways. Finally she nodded, saying. "I can do you one better, I live there and can lead you there. Come, you look awful."

The man's face split into a grateful smile, some of the weight on his shoulders lifting as they sagged in his relief. "By your leave then, wonderful lady!"

Gwen smiled a bit at his praise, but led him regardless, knowing her search for herbs would have to wait for later. The walk back took mere minutes, all the while Kelan remained silent as she'd asked. Now she could only hope her king was in the mood for a surprise visit from another kingdom's messenger.

Standing in the great hall, standing beside his uncle and physician Gaius, Merlin gazed at the newcomer carefully. He was of fairly average appearance, his brown hair once ruffled now smooth and clean, and his dark green eyes still full of distress despite his calm expression. His right hand was fiddling with the edge of his leather vest, giving away his anxiety. Just a few feet away sat their king and ruler, Uther Pendragon, cold grey eyes gazing at the man before him with a level of scrutiny that would make a lesser man wet themselves. Beside him, in his favorite brown jacket and red shirt, stood his son and heir, Arthur, eyes of blue watching the man with a much kinder judgment. Beside the king, in his lost queen's throne sat Morgana, his ward of icy green eyes, ebony black hair and fair skin. Uther's ire could only be met by her sharp wit. That same wit looked upon the messenger with a kind eye, much like the prince. Spanning around them all were the various nights and council members who'd shown in interest in hearing the man out.

"State your name and your errand." Uther half asked, half demanded, his voice a low sound just loud enough for all to hear. A king like him never raised his voice, unless in anger which, sadly, was quite often.

"Sire, my name is Marcus and I've traveled here as fast as I could to seek your aid. We fear our king, King Bayard, has gone mad somehow." Marcus said, dark green eyes tired and pleading as he stared at the older man seated some feet away.

Instantly the name of his fellow king and ally caught his attention. "Bayard? We have a treaty with him. He's a friend of mine. Mad in what way?"

Marcus's shoulders dropped, likely in relief that someone, finally, believed him. "No one is certain! Only that he suddenly became obsessed with a cave deep within our kingdom, surrounded by mountains. He's all but forced every man able to go there and dig for what we know not, only that I barely escaped with my life. I had no choice, not with my own son's life at stake."

"You're certain of this?" Uther inquired, sitting up and leaning forward, Morgana's smooth features wrinkling with a concerned scowl. Beside them, Arthur looked just as troubled.

Nodding quickly, Marcus almost stuttered as he continued. "Most certain! Even what the door to the cave looks like! I've never seen such a thing in my life, your majesty! Just moving it took over two hundred men!"

"It was that large?" Arthur asked, sounding amazed.

"It was that heavy!" Marcus all but exclaimed, pointing back at one of the wooden doors of the hall. "No bigger than one of your doors here leading into your hall, but almost twice as thick, and heavier than metal or stone. From what I could tell, it hardly looked like stone at all! Had some strange symbols etched into it too."

From his spot off to the side, Gaius suddenly spoke up, making everyone turn to him as he asked. "What kind? Can you describe any of them?"

"Yes! Yes, one I remember very clearly." The peasant man said with tired enthusiasm, his face twisting in a slight scowl as he thought back. "It was a shield, with a dragon much like his majesty's, but the design was wrong. Only the head and neck, little else, as if meant to be simple with just carved slivers in its head for eyes; very regal looking actually, if it hadn't moved."

"The image moved?!" Uther exclaimed, some color actually leaving his face.

Again Marcus nodded at the question. "Scared many of us outright, sire! Seemed to move right on the surface of the stone without harming it any. Looked at us with such a stern gaze, many fear it's cursed."

"Not cursed, at least on in the sense any of us would understand." Gaius spoke up again, speaking with a grim authority.

"You know something Gaius?" Morgana asked in turn, glancing between the physician's concerned look to Uther's deepening scowl.

"I do milady. The symbol this man describes is that of the Guardsmen." The older man said informatively, eying his king pointedly. Uther didn't say anything, his mouth a thin line.

"Guards? Who are they?" Arthur taking his turn in asking, looking just as confused as just about as everyone else. Except Uther and Gaius.

Gaius shook his head, hair of silver white moving lazily with the motion. "More than just who, even more than simply 'what' are they. Our kingdom has seen their like before."

"Who?" Morgana asked, the entire room silent in rapt attention.

"A person of great power and skill only called 'the Captain'." The old physician stated.

Suddenly Uther looked almost ashen, as if the very mention of the simple title scared him beyond reason. "You cannot mean-!"

Nodding gravely, the physician's gaze didn't waver. "The very same I'm afraid, sire. And if this person is aware one of their chambers has been broken into, they'll be less than pleased." He sighed, not used to speaking for so long, before continuing. "Whatever Bayard is after, he's only brought down the wrath of the gods on himself."

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked, eyes darting between the two elderly men.

"It means your people are a hair's breath away from destruction, and they're completely oblivious to their fate." Marcus immediately looked sick as the words sunk in, Gaius looking back to Uther again, his voice heavy with concern. "We must act quickly sire, or else not just our lands will be caught in the crossfire."

Finally the old king spoke, practically forcing himself to speak. "Yes, you're right Gaius. Mercia is our ally and to allow it to fall prey to an unknown danger would be foolish. See to it our guest is given quarters and food. Arthur, you leave early morning tomorrow."

"Yes father." Arthur said almost mechanically, though the conversation still confused him to no end.

In the middle of the floor, Marcus seemed to be too happy to care about much else, smiling his relief at them as he was guided out of the hall, calling out. "Oh you're too kind, your majesty. I'll trust you'll do what you can sire."

"Leave us." Uther growled, icy grey eyes watching the various people file out obediently, leaving him, Morgana, Arthur, Gaius with Merlin still in the room. Once the people were truly gone, the grey haired monarch looked at his loyal servant and friend. "Are you certain this is the only way Gaius? Surely there must be something else-!"

Again Gaius shook his head, expression and voice grim. "No, there isn't and we both know it. Any Guardsmen, alone or in droves, are dangerous when brought into great ire. If they discover someone has deliberately broken into a cache they deliberately hid in any land, how they react should be plain: swift and likely without kindness." Next to him, Morgana's eyes widened in shock, glancing between the two men in shock. "We have no choice Uther… we must find the Captain before this gets out of hand."

"I'll go with some knights and stop Bayard without this 'captain's help. Why would we need this person anyway?" Arthur said, staring at the older man in question, only half curious about the answer.

His tone didn't change, even though his focus did. "To potentially stop whatever powerful force is hidden inside the cave, and doing it yourself will only make matters worse. Now isn't the time to rash Arthur. This is a situation that can't be solved with brute force alone." Not bothering to get a reply, he turned his gaze back to Uther, his words insistent. "Sire, you just as well as I do that nothing else can stop this. Going yourself is also out of the question. We both know what the Captain thinks of you."

Growling low in his throat, Uther all but jumped out of his throne, eyes alight with barely contained fury. Clearly the situation was grating his nerves more than he would ever admit, pointing a gloved finger at his son as he spoke. "Fine, but I only consent under protest! Arthur, Gaius will go with you. He's the only one the Captain will be truly reasonable with. I'll be in my chambers."

In a whirl of his dark cloak, Uther was across the hall, out the door and out of sight in an irritated huff. Assured his father was no longer within earshot, Arthur looked to the elderly physician as he spoke up again. "Why just you, Gaius?"

Letting out a tired sigh, Gaius only said. "Believe it or not, the Captain was here years ago but immediately showed discontent towards Uther. Thus far, I've been the only one in the whole kingdom capable of even having a decent conversation with the Captain."

"Can you tell me nothing else? Who is this person?"

"All you'll discover when we find them."

"There's something Gaius isn't telling us. Do you know what it is?" Arthur asked Merlin hours later, the two men alone in the prince's quarters, Arthur at his desk and Merlin at the bed getting it ready for the night.

From across the room, Merlin shook his head before speaking. "No, I've no idea. Then again there are lots of things that Gaius knows that I don't. And lots of things you don't know." He stopped fussing with the sheets only to see a boot on the floor, its twin clearly missing as he picked it up to show to the blonde, speaking with his usual mild sarcasm. "Like how to put your boots where I can find them."

"Haha very funny." Arthur bit out, the words lacking malice as he got up from the finely made wooden chair, walking over to take the boot from his manservant. "But honestly, you can't think of any reason why Gaius wouldn't tell you about what's going on?"

Again he shook his head, letting the other man take the boot from him before it was tossed off the side, causing Merlin to frown. "I can't think of any reason. Unless magic is involved and it's a kind I'm not aware of."

Scoffing loudly, Arthur only smirked as he gripped the other man by the arms as if to pull him close. "Says the one man that's supposedly the most powerful wizard in the land, and possibly of all time."

Merlin rolled his eyes at the comment. After fighting the Great Dragon, and surviving, Arthur's surprisingly tolerant reaction to learning his manservant had magic had given the pair ample leeway to be more honest. Not just one what Merlin, and Morgana when they finally coaxed her to speak of it, could do, but how they felt. Their relationship was quick to blossom into an intimate one, but only behind closed doors. A lot like now. "Not 'of all time'. Just this time period. Beyond ours though? Anyone's guess."

"Modest, as always." Arthur stated simply, looking amused.

This made Merlin sneer, though the expression lacked any real derision. "And you're not? Oh wait, you never are."

"I can be modest!" the blonde snapped back, sounding indignant.

Pulling away, Merlin just smirked back his mirth, knowing he'd hit a nerve. "Hmm so believable."

"Merlin."

"Yelling at me won't make it true." The raven-haired man said casually, pulling away to go gather the laundry basket by the dining table.

Arthur blinked at the statement, quick to follow the man. "I'm not yelling!"

Turning back to face him, Merlin's voice was patient but laced with humor. "No but you're still speaking loudly. And since both the room and your head echo, it makes it sound like you're yelling."

"I-! How is it that you always find a way to best me in these kinds of arguments?" Arthur demanded, face having turned a light shade of pink, only making Merlin smile a little wider at the sight.

"We're arguing? And here I thought were having a rather heated discussion-."

He didn't have a chance to say more when Arthur suddenly pulled him close, making their bodies brush as a pair of soft lips met his. Stunned by the move, Merlin could only blink his shock mind in a loop, when Arthur pulled away, smiling devilishly. "That shut you up right quick, now didn't it?"

Clearing his throat, Merlin had to struggle out of the daze he'd been thrown into. "Yes. Yes it did."

"Again?"

Instantly shy, Merlin couldn't help but smile a little. "Yes please."

So he did, the contact sending sparks down each of their spines, the smell and the taste creating a bubble of euphoria they couldn't help but revel in. and it didn't help that a pair of large, warm hands were wandering his back, his own only gripping the prince's thin night tunic to keep himself grounded. Finally, Merlin pulled back first, making the blonde prince grunt irritably at the loss. "I wasn't finished."

"No, you never are." The warlock stated evenly, actively ignoring how Arthur's lips were starting to swell a little from their activity. "Well sire, you'd best get to bed. We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow."

"Who said you were in charge?" Arthur all but demanded, looking at his servant in clear befuddlement. It was true that Merlin was the only person in the whole castle he could talk to with true honesty and without consequence. But giving him, prince and heir, orders?

"Since I'm just about the only person you're willing to listen to? And no, your father doesn't count." Merlin countered easily enough, a thin finger poking the royal in the side to further his point.

"You always know just what to say." Arthur grumbled in his defeat, all but deflating as he eyed the other man tiredly. "Fine, but only because you'll be in bed with me."

Suddenly a hand was on his chest, thin and light but still very warm, in place with little pressure save to keep him from moving forward. "Oh no you don't. I still have chores to do, and you need the sleep. But if you're good…. It would be best not to make promises now wouldn't it?"

"For a servant, you're surprisingly cruel! How can you just say these things?"

Bringing his face temptingly close, Merlin whispered, their eyes practically staring endlessly into the depths of the other. "Because we both know you'll do what I say so you can finally get what you want, especially when I want it just as badly as you do."

After a moment, Arthur caved. "Good point."

"Now, to bed with you and depending on how tired I am, I just might join you. No point standing around arguing about it."

Arthur let out a weak growl, letting the raven-haired servant move away before using his well-honed reflexes to snatch him back again. Only said servant had seen the move coming, quickly hopping out of reach as he stooped only to pick up a basket of dirty clothes on his way to the door, grinning back at the prince. His impish expression only made Arthur snarl louder in frustration before he did as he was told and sat down on the bed. Just when he was about to give up and lie down, suddenly Merlin was in front of me, blue eyes all but sparkling with mirth. Still smiling that smile that made his heart jump, the servant gave the stunned royal a swift peck on the lips before bounding out the door without a word. Though it'd only lasted seconds, it still made Arthur smile at how his warlock could be. Letting out a light chuckle the prince didn't bother being stubborn and settled into his bed, silently hoping the other man would come back as he drifted off into sleep's embrace.

Finally done! Ugh it took longer than I'd planned but you know me. Well, those who follow me at least. Anywho, best move on before I stall longer than I should! The adventure starts now, suspense builds and soon the real fun will begin. Buckle up kids, it's gonna be a rough ride from here. Again, this is for you Teme-chan.

Next chapter:

Chapter 2: A Table at the Red Lion

Odd things are happening in Mercia, a mysterious figure must be found to stop a potential ending of their world, and all over an unknown treasure locked away in a cave. Will our heroes be able to get the help they need before all hell breaks loose? And just who is the 'Captain' that only Gaius can sway, yet Uther fears? Find out next time in:

Chapter 2: A Table at the Red Lion!