"Rise and shine!" came Merlin's usual morning greeting as he tore open the curtains.
Arthur let out a groan and pulled the covers over his head whilst shoving his face into his pillow in order to escape the protruding sunlight that suddenly flooded the room. It was too early for this and Arthur had suffered the night before from nightmares. He couldn't recall exactly what troubled him about the dreams except there had been a distinct feeling of wrong, as if he was no longer in the right time or place. Even the people around him had acted strangely, using terms that sounded like utter nonsense to his untrained ears. He dared not let Merlin know this however. Goodness knew that Merlin needed something else to hold over Arthur's head.
Speaking of Merlin, the boy had managed to wrestle away the blankets from Arthur's grip with surprising strength that the servant had developed over the years. If only he knew how to put that strength to good use elsewhere. Like the hunts maybe, or just in protecting himself when they found themselves in danger yet again.
Arthur only protested further as Merlin never quieted with his overly cheerful prattle and the prince wondered just how the man was just so darn cheerful at this godforsaken hour. Arthur chucked the pillow he had been hording at the servant's head in an effort to get the man to just shut up but Merlin dodged as always with yet another smart quip about Arthur's temper. Arthur groaned and his head fell into the mattress with defeat knowing that he had lost the morning battle. Again. As always.
Dragging himself out of the comforts of his bed, Arthur faced his servant who was setting out breakfast on the table. A small bottle stood by his goblet and Arthur sighed knowing what it was for.
"I told you. I don't need that stupid potion. The headaches passed decades ago," Arthur grumbled as Merlin uncorked the thing and passed it over to the frustrated monarch. Merlin only smiled, more than used to this argument.
"Yes, but Gaius said there was a high chance of them coming back so you have to keep taking this," he said slowly as if explaining to the mentally ill. Arthur growled and swiped the blasted tonic away from the servant and downed it with a gag. Quickly he reached for the goblet and down the contents to wash away the foul taste. Merlin only watched amused as he refilled the cup. "Foul as ever?"
"Of course. I'm beginning to think that Gaius does this on purpose." Arthur took a seat at the table and began eating with a frustrated air. Merlin went about tidying the room before glancing over concerned.
"Are you alright?"
Arthur did nothing to answer and only chewed furiously on one of his sausages. Merlin could just see through everything and for once he wished the man had the decency not to push. Arthur had long since learned that wishing was pointless because apparently none of the rules ever seemed to apply to Merlin.
The dark haired male moved to stand in front of Arthur, eyebrows furrowed as he studied the prince before him. Arthur did his best not to give away anything. He didn't want to talk about the dreams and how they had been happening more often. At times, they leaked into his waking moments and he was almost scared. He refused to admit to any of this though and merely gave a simple order. "Shut up Merlin."
His friend sighed and turned away from him, sensing the dismissal. He didn't listen to orders often but he had learned which ones not to push at least. The servant just went about his job and once Arthur was done eating, he helped dress the prince for the day to come.
Training was an absolute pain. Gaius had ordered him not to do anything extraneous due to these headaches so he was left to the side with only a sword and a dummy while the others sparred or ran laps. Merlin and Lancelot had retreated to the sidelines, talking in hushed whispers.
For a brief moment, the world around him shifted and the sense of unease and wrong penetrated his mind once more. His disappeared leaving only the thin fabric of his shirt and trousers. The sword in his hand was only a wooden pole. The dummy nothing more than a tree. Breath catching in his throat, he looked around.
The knights had also lost their weapons and armor. Sparring looked like nothing more than play fights. Laps were now done around a paved track. Merlin and Lancelot observed everything as if making sure none of them did anything wrong.
Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, closed his eyes, and shook his head and everything was back to normal. He felt the weight of the armor and heard the clash of swords. The odd prickling of unease didn't seem to leave though.
He didn't like this. Maybe he should go to Gaius about this problem of his but his pride wouldn't allow him. He didn't even know how to explain what was going on.
Needing to take his mind off of these weird slips from reality, Arthur attacked the dummy with a fevered passion not noticing the looks he got from the pair on the sidelines.
Thankfully, training was over in no time and Merlin got a bath ready as Arthur had to be presentable for the following council meeting. Gods, how he detested those things. All they did was sit around the table and discuss their problems and try and come up with solutions. He had to resist falling asleep in every one. If he was lucky, they would discuss battle strategy, moving through hypothetical scenarios as they moved their troops and pawns around on the map. Much to his relief, that too ended rather swiftly.
Lunch followed and Arthur could not have been more happy. He was starved.
As Merlin walked in with the tray, he found Arthur already at the desk looking over a paper or two. Both of them knew the older male could care less about the scribbles on the page. He just didn't want to seem that eager for his food. Merlin made enough jokes about his weight as it was.
"Arthur, are you sure you're doing okay?" Merlin questioned as he set the food down. "You seemed to be spacing out earlier."
"I'm fine. Just thinking about something," dismissed Arthur curtly.
"You thinking? Now I'm really worried," Merlin continued trying to get the other to open up about what was obviously bothering him. The blond only ate, saying nothing. "C'mon. What's so important that it has you actually thinking about it?"
"Nothing of importance to you. What is important is how you still have yet to muck out the stables, do my laundry, polish my armor, sharpen my sword…" And so Arthur went with his never ending list of chores watching as the servants face fell with every word.
When the servant left with the remains of lunch, Arthur thought he imagined the two words that his servant murmured to himself as he closed the door. "…Not working."
Arthur felt a frown tug at his lips at Merlin's odd behavior and as much as he wanted to dwell on it and figure it out, a pile of books and paper sat ignored at the edge of his desk. He had too much work to do and even if it was tedious it would keep his mind occupied and off his friend and anything else that dared set him on edge.
It was a few hours later that someone graced him with her presence. Gwen glided into the room with a small bouquet of flowers. She placed them in a small vase on the table before allowing Arthur to sweep her up into a tight embrace. He hadn't seen much of her in recent times because she was off tending to a sick friend and he had missed her dearly.
They sat at the edge of the bed and Arthur recounted what she had missed in the days she had been gone. He told of the dreadful meetings and Merlin's weird behavior and in return she told him about her friend and that she had been doing well and that her friend's children are just the most precious things. She talked about how the sickness had only been a simple cold that just wouldn't release its grip and that it had been a tiresome few days but everything was better. Her friend was healthy and only required a day or two of bedrest and that another relative had come to take care of the children until those days were up.
Arthur listened with a smile as he just took in her presence once more. He noticed the way her eyes crinkled happily when she spoke of the children's antics, the airiness of her laugh, the way her voice quieted when speaking fondly of her friend. He noticed the way the light cast golden waves in her dark hair and just how it contrasted against her tanned skin.
The door opening broke Arthur from his thoughts and Gwen paused her tale. In strode Merlin carrying dinner for the two of them. He smiled at Gwen as he placed the tray on the table.
"Gwen! It's good to see you! How's Marium and the kids?" he asked conversationally glad to see their friend back.
"They're doing just fine. How are things coming along here, Merlin?" she asked and for a moment Merlin's name seemed almost garbled to the point where Arthur heard another name entirely. The other two didn't seem to notice or react so Arthur brushed it off.
Merlin shot her a small smile that seemed to have a meaning that Arthur couldn't quite place. "Everything's the same here. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"I see…" Gwen's voice had quieted to a whisper but she picked herself back up before Arthur could ask about it. "Well, it's good to see you. Thanks for the food."
Merlin also seemed to return to normal and he shot her his typical goofy grin. "You too Gwen. Now, I'll be off. I'm sure you two want some privacy." With a wink and a duck, Merlin left the room laughing completely ignoring the cup that now lay by the door.
His laughter dying off into a sigh, the dark-haired man closed the door, leaning against it to look in through the window over his shoulder.
Gwen (May God bless that woman) sat on the edge of the bed smiling lightly as she continued to entertain the delusional man with the stories of her day and her friend. He was thankful for her visits. Arthur always seemed happier when she was around even if the medicine didn't seem to be working. The prat still seemed firm in his beliefs.
"Y'know you really shouldn't be getting this close to a patient Morgan," a joking voice sounded from down the hall. Morgan huffed and rolled his eyes despite the obvious truth to the words. He turned his attention to the doctor that was currently striding towards him.
"You may be right but… You wouldn't get it Lance. There- There's just something different about him," Morgan insisted, trying to make the other man see. It was no use. Lance only seemed to smile fondly before looking through the window. Arthur had taken control of the conversation, recounting some adventure or other.
"Yeah, whatever you say man." Lance rolled his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a hard candy. Offering it to Morgan first, who politely turned it down, the newer doctor shrugged and unwrapped the hardened sugar, popping it into his mouth. "Is there any improvements though? Dr. Gailun whipped up something new right? That working at all?"
Merlin tugged at his scarf frustrated before running a tired hand through his hair. Electric blue eyes cast a glance through the glass at the pair on the bed.
Arthur was standing now, pantomiming some sword fight while Gwen hid a small giggle behind her hand. Arthur smiled triumphantly and continued with his tale. The food he had brought remained untouched on the table. He looked away with anther sigh.
"No… He's still trapped in his own little world."