A/N: Okay this is for the first prompt: The Prince and the Servant. How rank affects Arthur and Merlin's relationship.
The Prince and the Servant. (How Rank affected their relationship.)
It was simple, really, when you looked at it. Arthur was the Crowned Prince of Camelot, and Merlin was just his servant. That was all there was to it.
At first, that's all that it was to them, too. Arthur would remind Merlin that he was to do everything that he ordered. Merlin would just suck it up and carry on.
Then, as time carried on, haughty remarks and sparing glances were becoming a common occurrence. Unfortunately neither could act upon it. Merlin was, after all, just a servant, and Arthur was the Prince. Each had a sense of duty. Arthur's duty towards Camelot and the Crown. Merlin's duty was to make sure Arthur became the greatest king.
Arthur knew that his father wouldn't approve of him and a servant boy.
Merlin knew that Arthur becoming King was more important.
It was hard putting duty before the heart. It made being around each other difficult. Both could feel the tension.
Arthur and Merlin could never be together. It was not allowed. Destiny had a cruel way of bringing them together. Side by side, but as long a society and duty demanded it, apart.
After all, Arthur was the Crowned Prince of Camelot, and Merlin was just his servant.
A/N: Good, bad, just meh?