Merlin and all its characters and trademarks are owned by BBC

***** REVISED EDTION OF COURTESAN"S CONSEQUENCE - my first story****

The golden rays peeked through the small window of the western tower and flooded the room with honey light. It creped over the small abundant of objects in the room making their old and rather haggard appearance seem more golden and newer then what they were. The light swam over the cloths thrown on the floor and onto the person occupying the single bed that was pushed up against the wall. Like a mother awaking her child, the sun light drifted over the man sleeping and caressed his closed eyes and warmed him. The man sat up, his hair a mess and his skin clammy with sweat. He swallowed his mouth dry and shook his head at the foul taste in his mouth. He was haggard and hung-over from last night and it showed in his slow movements as he pushed himself out of bed and stumbled against the dresser at his bedside.

That is the last time I am ever going to Rising Sun with a prat and his knights! I feel like shit and I am later then late, in fact I'm surprised Arthur hasn't come looking for me yet. But then again mayhap I'm lucky and he's in a worse sate then I am-God I hope so.

Managing to pull his shirt over his head, he splashed water on his face from the bucket by the window and called it good. With the pulsating in his head, he walked out of his bed room and into Guias' workstation area. The smells from all the arrays of ingredients and concoctions did not help his headache in fact they attributed to it growing in size so much Merlin was afraid his skull would split. Not seeing his uncle anywhere, Merlin shambled over to the table in the center of the room and grabbed an apple from the bowl and noticed a letter pinned underneath said bowl. Merlin sat his fruit down and retrieved the note. He instantly recognized the spirally scripture and set to reading the note.

Merlin

I left some medicine by the door for you. It's the blue bottle marked Hazel. I can only assume you were out drinking last night with all the noise you made coming in late. Take the entire vial. I will be back soon as I had to go get supplies. Behave.

Guias

Merlin, thanking the old man, picked up his apple and went to the door leading out into the castle courtyard. There, as depicted in the letter, was the vile. Unstopping it, Merlin down the contents and grimaced at the taste. Putting it back, Merlin made a retreat out the door and set off to find Arthur.

Arthur Pendragon looked at the women beside him in bed. Her black curls reached down her back leaving just the tease of coffee brown skin that was her low back. She rolled over in her sleep and his face moved from the ample curve of her breast- soft, and well sized, to her soft lips that usually held a cute pout, past her small nose, and up to her closed eyes. The covers hid the rest of the goddess' body from the prince which was a good thing because he did not want to have another round again. He gave a small smile as he covered Gwen back up and slipped out of bed. His head was pounding.

Last night he had been drunk, so drunk he could not recall bringing Gwen back to his rooms. Though he knew he had met her in the hall as he came back from the tavern. He closed his eyes and could feel every kiss, every tough, every throb of his body in respond to her touch and the strength leaving him at the end. He regretted it.

It's not as I regret sleeping with her as much as the timing and how it came about. It was wrong on my part. I should have not led her back to my chamber. I love Gwen but this will create something more than I am afraid we can handle…more than we are ready for.

The prince looked over to Gwen was starting to awake. She opened her brown eyes that looked so much like a doe. She blinked then a smile appeared on her lips. Arthur smiled back and walked over to her. He sat down beside her, "Good morning."

Gwen brushed her hair behind her ear and pulled the cover up to her chest. He cheeks held a faint blush, "Good morning, Arthur."

Arthur smiled, while inside he was a bundle of nerves and ale. He bent down and retrieved Gwen's dress from the floor. She thanked him and he turned away to give her some privacy- not that it mattered much after last night. Arthur, still reeling over last night's actions was trying to find some way he could fix this. True, he and Gwen were together, but that had not been a solid means for sleeping with Gwen and subjecting both of them to the meaning of the actions or the following events.

"Arthur," Gwen whispers and placed a hand on Arthur arm. The prince turned around and Gwen reached up and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth. Arthur smiled and smoothed her hair down. "Thank you."

"For what, Gwen?" Arthur asked her.

"For not leaving the room and giving me my privacy." She said picking at her dress. She was now sitting on top of the duvet and hand her hands folded in her lap. She looked up through her eye lashes at her prince- the one she was being courted by and had slept with last night on preamble.

"You're welcome," Arthur said then looked away to look at the swords hanging above the mantle. He had to tell her. He knew they both felt the same way. He steeled himself. "Gwen, I just wanted to say that I-"

He was interrupted when the door came open and Merlin walked into the room. The servant stopped and stared. His apple he was holding dropping from his hand. He blinked once then again. The pair on the bed watched as something flashed through his eyes then his features went stone. "Sire," he said then went back through the door and closed it leaving the unprepared lovers inside.

Everyone knew Arthur Pendragon had begun courting Gwen, the old maid servant to Morgana and a close friend to Merlin, Arthur, and the prince's handpicked knights. It had begun with the way she looked at him long before the battle that took place last month. How her eyes had hidden low beneath her lashes, her voice smooth and sweet like honey. Then as the years went by and up until a month ago when they had all sat around the stone round table, she would softly touch his arm and he would smile, the way she could stand up to him with bravo and he would come to her defense-despite her statutes. What really made it stone was the fact when she declared her loyalty to him and they kissed that night. After the fiasco involving Morgana and Morgues, Arthur had announce to the court he had begun dating the girl. The court didn't respond to happily but it soon died down as more pressing matters took its place. And just because Merlin knew about his prince courting Gwen did not mean he had to be happy about it- deceivingly polite, yes, happy not so much. It also did not occur to him he would ever find them sleeping in his master's bed one morning. Had prayed it would never get that far.

He leaned back against the stone wall and was acutely aware of the pattern of the uneven stones as they cut into his back. The moisture saturating off the walls damped his shirt and made him shiver. He felt sick, his stomach an acidy over flow. He swallowed down bile and closed his eyes as he tried to spell away the imagines of the half clothed Gwen and Arthur. He still had the scent of musk that came with love making in his nose and it burned. His body felt like lead: heavy, solid, unchanging lead.

The double oak doors swung open and Gwen slipped through. She was all the way dressed now. Her pink dress fit over her white shift showing of her curve and the tops of her breast modestly. She stopped as the door closed behind her and she looked at Merlin. She blushed and casted her eyes down.

"Merlin," she whispered then looked up at him. "I love him."

She knew. Of course she did.

Merlin looked at her, "No one will hear of this from me. What happens with the prince is not mine to discusses or be apart of."

Gwen nodded and then smiled a small smile that was barely visible. "Arthur is waiting for you," with that she set off down the hall.

Merlin opened the door to his master's room, the door squeaking from the rust build up over time. Arthur stood in front of the table in the center of the room. Merlin always admired that table with its prestige carvings of dragons in the legs and the Celtic symbols engraved into the table top. He noticed the apple he had dropped was still on the floor. He never looked Arthur in the eye as he set to picking up items around the room.

"Merlin," Arthur said looking at his man-servant.

Merlin finished putting cloths into a cloth sack, took a deep breath, and turned around and met the prince's eye. He didn't like what he saw in them: that feverous look and gleam. "Yes, sire?"

Arthur stood up straighter, "I need you to help me prepare a dinner tonight: for me and Gwen. I want to do something nice for her. I need you to-"

"No."

Merlin heard the words rather than felt himself speak them. He was surprised at his gusto but kept it hidden as he looked into Arthur surprised features which instantly cooled. "Excuses me?"

"You heard me. I said NO."

Arthur gave a short bark of a laugh and shook his head, "Very funny, Merlin. Now I need you to go and…" he trailed off as merlin crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. I don't want anything to do with you and Gwen. That is your business. Not mine. If you love her as much as you do or pretend to or whatever then do it yourself, Arthur, plan tonight yourself. I mean," he pointed to a bed, "If you can sleep with her you can plan your own outings with Gwen!"

Arthur was silent. He looked Merlin in the eye and then proceeded to say slowly, "What the hell is your problem? You do not question my authority. You are my man-servant. What I say goes."

Merlin slammed the rag he had begun to polish the table with onto the surface of granite and snarled, "Yes, I am your man-servant. I do what you say, yes. But I am not your babysitter, sire!"

Arthur walked up to Merlin until Merlin was close enough to smell the ginger in Arthur's hair. The Prince said quietly, "You are my friend, too, Merlin. Are you not?"

Something inside Merlin broke. He felt it stream out of his heart like a fountain of water. It flowed into his body and all around making him warm. His vision went narrow and he saw black. He blinked and suddenly he and Arthur's back against the table. Merlin was panting hard, "Friends? No, Arthur, we are not friends. I don't see you as a friend! I've spent too much damn time with you just to see you as a friend! After all we been through you're not just 'a friend' Arthur!"

"Merlin..." Arthur had a warning tone in his voice. His eyes scanned the room only to settle back onto the raven haired man. When had Merlin grown so tall or his voice deepened?

Merlin was laughing now, tears hung on his eyelashes and his face was flushed red. He looked away and whispered, "Maybe I am the fool. Can't you feel what we have or am I just making it all up?"

Arthur reached a hand out to Merlin but it was slapped away. Merlin was letting the tears fall free now. He growled deep in his throat. He rose up on his tiptoes. "I am just your servant. I will go back to being your servant, but first…but first..."

Merlin slowly stretched out his hand and cupped Arthur's cheek. He leaned forward darting his eyes up to Arthur whose own widened. Merlin pressed his lips to Arthur's. A lingering, small, fairy of a kiss…

Thank you to everyone that has read this. It was really fun to write that I just couldn't stop! Mmmm I wonder what will happen next? And what about Gwen she seemed really high strung just a little wouldn't say?

The feedback is appreciated!