No Merlin/Arthur slash! I am sorry if you are a fan, but I just can't see anything other than friendship between them. In my story, they have gotten past the initial tension and are becoming friends. So, all of those snarky arguments we love will be present.

Gwen is a maid. Uther is alive and King. And Morgana will come in later to bother Arthur and perhaps be a love interest??

Please let me know what you think. I had to be the r/r person, but constructive comments are very welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, Arthur, or any of the other wonderful characters.

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The whispers were flying fast around the castle, Prince Arthur was in one of his foul moods again, but what no one could figure out was why…not that he usually needed a reason. Although thankfully for the occupants of the castle, Arthur had ridden away just after sunrise and hadn't been seen since, not even by his manservant, Merlin.

"You are home early," Gaius looked up in surprise as Merlin entered the small room where Gaius was working on some new potions.

"That smells awful. And Arthur left early, before he could order me about," Merlin grabbed an apple as he kicked his feet up onto the table Gaius was working on. He managed to get one bite of his apple, before he glanced up to see Gaius staring at him. Swallowing hard, Merlin quickly took his feet off the table.

"So, any idea where Arthur went?" Gaius asked while intently reading the next ingredient.

Merlin tossed his apple core into a bin and turned to Gaius, "Not a clue. I am sure he will be back soon though. He didn't take his hunting pack."

"I would steer clear of Uther for a while then. I heard from a maid that Arthur left after having a meeting with his father. Uther wouldn't be happy to find out that Arthur's servant can't keep track of him."

Merlin didn't bother withholding the scoff that quickly came out of his mouth. "Yeah, like Uther honestly cares. I mean, the only time Uther notices Arthur's existence is when he needs Arthur to do something," Merlin was so busy ranting about Uther that he didn't notice Gaius trying to signal him with his eyes, or the creak of the door. "Sometimes I think Arthur would be better off.."

"Just how would Arthur be better off?" Merlin spun around to see Uther standing in the doorway of Gaius's apartments. Uther had been coming up to Gaius' because his shoulder had been bothering him more than usual and he wanted a stronger dose of arnik. "I am waiting."

"I uh…….what I meant was……" Merlin let out a sigh, "the stocks or a cell?"

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After almost a full day of riding, Arthur had finally calmed down enough to return to Camelot. He acknowledged the guards, posted at the gates, with a slight nod of his head has he rode by. Yet he soon realized that the crowd was abnormally thick through the center of town. Curiosity getting the better of him, Arthur dismounted and began weaving his way to the front of the cheerful crowd. Once he got through the mass, he noticed a familiar head of black hair. Dodging the rotten fruit being thrown towards the stocks, Arthur didn't wait for the person to look up, but promptly smacked him upside the head.

"Hey! You are only supposed to throw food!"

"Merlin," at which Merlin's head shot up, "don't you know by now, the rules don't apply to me."

"Of course they don't," Merlin rolled his eyes, "after all, you are a roy…" Merlin trailed off when saw Arthur raise his eyebrows. "Right, shutting up now."

Arthur allowed himself a small smile before becoming serious again. "Do you mind telling me why my servant is in the stocks instead of waiting for me to return?"

Merlin didn't know what to tell Arthur. Obviously Arthur knew there were only a few people who could have him thrown in the stocks, but Merlin didn't want to make the tension between Uther and Arthur grow. There was something going on between the two of them right now, and Merlin thought that all of Camelot would come after him if he put Arthur into a worse mood. "It was just a misunderstanding?"

Looking hard at Merlin for only a few seconds, Arthur was sure it was his father who had him put in the stocks. "Right," Arthur managed to drag the one word out, "and you are going to beat me in practice. Oh! I know! And you know magic too. Come on Merlin, don't try to keep a secret, you are horrible at it."

Frozen, Merlin couldn't say anything. Arthur had unknowingly blurted out the biggest secret Merlin had. Knowing he had to say something before Arthur caught on to his silence, "You're right, I am bad at keeping secrets. Uther just happened to hear me ranting. You know, this wouldn't have happened if you had told me where you were going."

"I knew it was him! He can't just go around throwing you in the stocks, that's my job!" While Arthur was really just looking for excuses to build on his anger towards Uther; he was slightly annoyed that his father thought he could go around throwing HIS servants in the stocks. Lost in his thoughts about Uther, Arthur barely missed a tomato flying towards Merlin. Unfortunately for Merlin, the same tomato Arthur dodged hit him square in the face. Arthur decided that he was going to have a talk with his father about this and started to leave without a word.

"Arthur! Arthur wait! Where are you going?" Merlin asked while spitting out a mouthful of tomato seeds.

Turning slightly, Arthur replied, "I am going to go talk to Uther about," he waved his hand vaguely at Merlin, "this."

To Merlin's chagrin, Arthur started walking away again. "Hold on, you can get me out of here right now! Just tell the guards and they will let me go!"

Arthur stopped once more, "You know, I rather like you in there. I find you much more amusing." At this Arthur grabbed another tomato from a nearby peasant and chucked it at Merlin's head.

"Ha! You missed." Merlin was indeed correct, Arthur had missed by a few inches, the tomato landing above Merlin's head. But while Merlin was gloating, Arthur just waiting with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "For being so fond of hunting, you really have poor aim."

It was then that Merlin noticed the tomato juice dripping down his face. Arthur gave Merlin a sarcastic nod of his head before spinning around, still intending to confront Uther.

"Oh, come on! Arthur!"

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Next chapter: Arthur's talk with Uther. Gwen makes her appearance. Merlin is…well Merlin.

What do you think?