"MERRRRLINNN!"
Arthur yelled from his bed, sitting against the top with his legs crossed right over left. Merlin ran into the room, him having been bumming around somewhere else trying to avoid Arthur. He had screwed up Arthur's last request and was hoping to avoid any contact with him until he had forgotten about it. Obviously, his plans hadn't worked out.
"Yes, Arthur?" he tried to sound as serious as possible, although he was really bad at it even though he's been at this job for years. He was bad at most of the things this job required. Especially being around Arthur all the time. He could never be serious around Arthur.
"I thought I told you to kill Wesley by sundown on Monday. It's now Tuesday morning. How could you have possibly gotten this wrong?! He's not even that strong! You really are useless as a assassin, aren't you." Arthur was mad, yet teasing. He knew Merlin had magic. He just hadn't told him. And he hadn't planned on it, either. But if Merlin kept messing up like this, he might be forced to tell him. It isn't that hard to kill someone, especially if they don't have magic. And yet every day Merlin came back with nothing.
"I know, I tried. I really did. But I can't kill people. I'm too weak. I never get close enough. I can't find them." Merlin started listing off reasons why he never seemed to be as useful as he said he would be, but Arthur didn't believe him for a second. He decided now would be the time to tell Merlin that he knew about the magic and had for a while.
"Merlin, I know that's all crap. I know you could just use sorcery and get it over with in a flash. It's obvious that you've killed people before when it was to protect me, so why wouldn't you do it for me?" Arthur stayed firm, but his mouth twitched into a smile for a brief moment when Merlin caught his eye.
"I... I... you... you knew?" Merlin seemed shocked, although he was thankful that Arthur hadn't killed him the moment he found out. Arthur must really like him to disobey the laws that have been here for decades. But he was king, after all, so I guess he got to choose what happened to people like Merlin.
"Of course I knew. Do you think I'm blind?" he was smiling now, his eyes sparkling with a strange delight, unusual for Arthur. Getting this off of his chest was probably a relief, I guess. It was for Merlin, who was also smiling. "I knew since before I became king, and I never told anyone because you're my best friend. But also because I think it's amazing."
"So why didn't you tell me?" Merlin asked, curious.
"Because I figured if I told you to kill people you'd use it instead of missing with every weapon you can think of. But you haven't, and so I needed to tell you. Because the king can't go around killing people himself. So you have to use your magic for something other than protecting me. Alright, Merlin?" Arthur said partially to make fun of him, but mostly so that Merlin would listen.
"Okay, I suppose I can do it. For you."
"Alright, well then get to it! I have a long list for you to finish, and you're already behind." Arthur smirked at Merlin as Merlin left the room. Finally, he'll get the job done.
