Merlin sighed at the state of Arthur's room. Sheets thrown everywhere, pillows in the oddest places, even the mattress was crocked, which was hard to do. Arthur stood beside him, a silly grin on his face.
"First, clean all this up," he waved a hand around the room, "then shine my armor, sharpen my sword, muck out the stables, and scrub the floors. I'll be at the training grounds." Arthur said, patted Merlin on the shoulder, and waltzed out the door.
Now, Merlin could do all this easily, but if someone saw him using magic, he'd be taken away from Arthur. And while the Crown Prince was a prat, he was also loyal, brave, a good friend, and very handsome. That and the fact that Merlin would die. So, Merlin sucked it up, as always, and bean cleaning, the hard way.
Two hours later, the room was clean, Arthur's armor was sparkling, his sword could cut paper, the floors were clean, and Merlin was on the way to the stables to muck them out. He was hot, sweaty, tired, had blisters all over his hands and knees, and Arthur's sword had sliced his psalm wide open. It took a while to stop bleeding; Merlin had wrapped his neckerchief around it.
He passed the area where the knights were resting, and a loud chorus of laughter was heard. Curious, he stopped, and peeked around the door. Arthur sat in the middle of the group of knights, laughing merrily. Merlin smiled, he loved when Arthur laughed. His golden hair seemed to shine brighter and his blue eyes sparkled. But then he heard the conversation.
"He is such a bumbling idiot will probably take ten hours just to straighten the mattress. Merlin's not that strong; he's a weak, spineless idiot. I don't know why I bother to keep him around." Arthur said, and everyone laughed. Merlin's heart broke a little. He left the door, and continued to the stables. He mucked them out, brushed the horses, gave them food and water. He was brushing his favorite horse, Champion, a black stallion that Arthur owned, but rarely paid attention to, when the tears bean falling. He laid his head on Champion's neck, and began talking.
"I can't take it anymore Champion. I need to leave." Merlin said, lifted his head, and looked Champion in his big brown eye. Champion wasn't an ordinary horse, he was smart. He knew what Merlin was going to ask next.
"Will you take me?" Merlin asked, stroking Champions nose. Champion nodded his head up and down, and Merlin gave him a small smile.
"I'll be back in a little bit." Merlin said, and ran out of the stables, to his room, where he packed only what he needed. Clothes, bandages, a little money, and his magic book. Looking around his room, he realized that it might be a good idea to leave a letter for Gaius. Pulling out a piece of paper from thin air, he wrote a letter to him, laid it on Gaius's workbench, and went back to the stables.
He readied Champion, and rode out of Camelot, not once looking back.
Merlin wondered what he would get for dinner tonight, as he opened the door to his little hut, and stepped outside. It had been almost four months since he'd left Arthur, Camelot, and all that went with it. He'd set up house outside a little village and managed to get a job in the town stables. Champion grazed in a nearby field, and lifted his head when Merlin approached.
"Hey boy. You ready for work?" Merlin asked, stroking Champion's nose. The horse snorted, and Merlin climbed on, heading for town. When he arrived at his work, an inn with a large stable, the head stable master, Joseph, rushed out to him.
"Thank the lord you're here Merlin. News has reached us that the King and Prince are taking view of their domain, and are going to stop here! Isn't that wonderful news? Oh, we've got to get the best stables ready for their horses. Tie up yours and come quickly." Joseph said, hurrying away, not noticing that his newest hire suddenly was ten time paler that before.
"Arthur's coming here. It'll be fine, he won't want me back anyway." Merlin said to himself, climbing off Champion, tying him to a post, and getting to work. But all though it, he kept getting more worried with each passing minute. What if Arthur was mad, and going to drag him back? After the last day in Camelot, Merlin doubted that Arthur had even noticed his manservant was missing until the laundry began to pile up.
"I see the royal party!" Came a cry from outside, and Merlin was rushed with all the other stable hands to stand outside the doors. He'd tried to stay in the back, but somehow he was jostled to the front, right next to Joseph. He didn't have to wait long before he could see Arthur and Uther coming up the road, escorted by a menagerie of knights, and as they came closer, Merlin tried to remember his breathing.
"Bow before the King and Prince." Joseph said, and all those gathered, bowed low. Merlin stared at the ground, and waited for something to happen. He heard the horses stop and Uther and Arthur dismount. Merlin hoped that Joseph wouldn't call him. No such luck.
"Merlin, take the horses and put them in the stalls." Joseph said, and Merlin stood, walked over, not looking at Arthur, and took the reins of both horses. He began leading them to the stables, thinking that maybe he'd gotten lucky, but then Arthur spoke.
"I think I'll go with the stable hand to make sure he treats Onyx right. I'll be along in a little father." He said, and caught up with Merlin. They walked in silence, Merlin put Uther's horse in a stall, got some hay and water, then put Onyx in the other stall, and did the same thing. When he came out, Arthur was standing not to far away, staring at him.
"Is there something else sire?" Merlin asked, dropping his gaze to the floor. To his surprise, he was then roughly grabbed by the shoulders and thrown against a wall. Merlin's eyes flashed up to Arthur's eyes, which fixed on his. The emotion in them was something mixed with anger, sorrow, and something resembling joy.
"Why did you leave me Merlin?" Arthur asked, and Merlin got angry.
"I thought you didn't know why you kept me around. That I was a bumbling, spineless idiot." He said, and pushed at Arthur, trying to escape. But Arthur was too strong, and when Arthur put his arms up, one on each side of Merlin's head, Merlin knew that the battle was lost.
"You heard that?" Arthur asked in a soft voice and Merlin started to cry. He dropped his face, tears falling freely.
"Yes."
"Why leave? You had to know I didn't mean it."
"Even though I knew that, I couldn't stay there any longer, trying to hide my feelings."
"What do you mean Merlin?" Arthur asked, and Merlin gathered up all the courage he had, lifted his head, and pressed his lips against Arthur's in one, brief, kiss. Then he pulled back, ducked under Arthur's arm, and made a run for the door. But then he was grabbed again, this time by the knot of his neckerchief, and pulled back. He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by a pair of warm lips, and a gentle tongue in his mouth.
Merlin closed his eyes, slipped his arms around Arthur's neck, and pulled himself close as possible to the blonde. Their tongues tangled together in a rhythmic dance of passion that was so sweet that it would have made angels cry. When oxygen became an issue, they pulled back, but Merlin kept his arms around Arthur's neck and Arthur snaked his arms around Merlin's waist.
"I didn't mean any of those things Merlin. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you." Arthur whispered in Merlin's ear, nibbling a little on his earlobe. Merlin blushed, but tilted his head to the side when Arthur bean biting at his neck.
"I love you too Arthur. I hope you've not got a new bootlicker." Merlin said, with laughter in this voice. Arthur stopped his attack on Merlin's throat just long enough to kiss him on the mouth once again.
"Come back with me Merlin. Come back to me love." Arthur said, and Merlin smiled.
When Arthur became king, although he married, his heart only belonged to Merlin, for now and forever.