Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
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It was a disconcerting thing, to pine. Arthur couldn't sleep due to the racket the men in the dungeons were making. So all he could think of was dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. As a prince he was used to getting what he wanted, especially when it came to women. If Merlin had been any other girl she would have falling all over herself trying to please him. If she had been any other girl she would already be in his bed. Such was not the case. Merlin was spoken for. Usually that wouldn't get in his way either, but she was adamant. What was worse was that he didn't lose Merlin to some dashing man, but to a boy. The boy couldn't be a day over twelve and held all the love and affection of his companion six years his senior. Arthur wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. He could see her in his mind's eye; she was probably curled up next to him, sharing a bedroll and a blanket under the stars. The closest he had ever gotten to sharing her bed was sleeping head to foot in her mother's home. It wasn't like he could try anything, considering her mother was only feet away along with Morgana and Gwen, not to mention her little fiancé snuggled under her chin glaring at him whenever he caught Arthur staring.
The pounding was getting irritating. At least if he was asleep he could dream and that was better that bemoaning the pitiful situation of loving not only a commoner, but a druid girl, a witch who was already betrothed. Gods he was pathetic. He reached out his hand to the necklace on the bedside table, the calling crystal he had had carved in the likeness of a fang, to make his wearing of it less conspicuous. It was her gift to him.
"Morris!" He shouted. Morris came stumbling in, tripping over his own feet.
"Yes, sire?"
"Go to the dungeons and tell those men to quiet down."
"But sire, they're under the king's orders."
"And you're under mine, get going." Morris cursed to himself, damn the spoiled prince.
Morris made it down into the castle dungeons when he saw the men running out. He timidly followed the path they had evacuated, finding a hidden chamber. It was filled with gold and many treasures. Morris saw a man kneeling by the tomb. He gently shook him only to have the man fall back. Morris yelped, seeing a dead body instead of a man.
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Uther and Gaius were quickly summoned to examine everything. Arthur was there too, he looked exceedingly grumpy. By the way he was fidgeting with the necklace he got from Miss Merlin, he could tell what the prince had been up to when interrupted and wrangled down into the dungeons. Morris helped Gaius evade a trap at the last minute, helping the man avoid being skewered by a dart while Uther practically walks about the tomb like a boy in a sweet shop, admiring his new treasure. Morris could only roll his eyes and sigh.
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The next day, Arthur was going out for a "hunt" which was code for going to surprise his lovely druid girl after sneaking away from his men. Morris wanted to go with him and get Merlin's permission to sketch her in person. Morris was reasonably good at drawing, enough so that his mental renditions of Merlin were good enough for the prince to steal from him. So he had discreetly packed his drawing supplies in a satchel and slung it over his shoulder as he bent own to give Arthur a boost. It was utterly humiliating even for a servant. A small part of him hoped Arthur fell off his horse.
Oh.
Damn it.
Now he knew that he had properly secured that saddle. He knew even as Arthur berated him and Morris stammered in return. He knew it was fastened as more anger spilled from Arthur's mouth and Hengroen dashed off. How he wished Merlin would see this. If she ever saw the way Arthur would treat him, she would get that sour look on her face, like the incident him with the unicorn that would reduce Arthur to a stammering mess for once. That would show him. He admired her for that. Then some slimy looking man appeared with Hengroen.
"I fitted up the saddle properly for you, sir." The man stated fiddling with the horse and saddle.
"Thank you."
"It's honor to be of service to the prince." Morris pulled a face. He wasn't a bootlicker, even if he wasn't a rebellious on the verge of firing kind of servant. Arthur of course was reveling. He was so enjoying bootlicking, the prat. Of course he could never speak against the prince, heaven forbid he'd lose his job.
"Allow me the honor of brushing off your clothes." Arthur smiled at Morris, who pulled another face instead of saying anything. The guy was obviously a sleaze, blind, ego centered prince. Arthur glanced at him haughtily, as if the bootlicker was the better servant.
"Anything else I can do for you, sire?"
"You can give Morris here a kick in the arse."
"I wouldn't deprive you of the pleasure sir." And the prince got that damned grin on his face that he got whenever people coaxed his fragile little ego.
"Huh, what's your name?"
"Cedric, I've come to Camelot in search for work." Ugh, work his arse. How badly Morris wanted to kick Cedric in the arse.
"Good, you can be a beater on the hunt. We're short a man or two."
"You're too kind sire." Oh, if Arthur thought that he was bringing this man with them to meet Miss Merlin, he had another thing coming. Miss Merlin was so kind to him, Morris would never betray her and let that snake anywhere near her. Morris couldn't trust this man nearly as far as he could throw him. So he lifted up a beating stick and roughly shoved it at Cedric.
"Here you'll need a beater." Cedric oofed.
"Oops." Morris smirked.
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After a morning of hunting, the men set up a base camp and Arthur slipped away from the men, nudging Morris to follow. Cedric noticed both slipping away from the camp and followed. Morris and Arthur traveled quite a ways through the woods until Cedric saw smoke from another campfire. This was odd. Initially Cedric thought Arthur was running off to get off with his servant, and while the truth seemed similar, it was different as well. Cedric heard a female's squeal of greeting. He peeked around the trees to see a dark haired girl hugging Morris and bestowing a more reserved hug to Arthur. The girl herself was hardly beautiful but she was striking. Her blue cloak matched her pretty eyes and her thick dark curls offset her fair skin. They were chatting happily for a bit until he stepped on a twig and it snapped. Arthur drew his sword.
"Who's there?" The girl stepped backwards. She hid behind a tree and hugged a young boy to her.
"Sorry sire, I saw you wander off." Arthur stormed up to him.
"Go away." He hissed and Cedric did just that.
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"I'm sorry Miss Merlin. I didn't know he was following us." Morris apologized bowing his head.
"I'll talk to him later, Merlin."
"It's alright he just startled me." Merlin shrugged, clearly not at all okay with the issue as she was pretending to be. That man had seen her, there was a chance he would speak of it and Uther would find out the druidic pair he had so chased where living not too far from his own doorstep. Morris puffed himself up and started to make an effort to cheer him up.
"Oh yes, Miss Merlin, I was wondering if I might sketch you."
"Sketch?"
"Yes Miss Merlin, you're very entrancing I was hoping to draw a portrait of you. I need the practice and your features are so striking. I would like to paint you, maybe even a miniature for Mordred to wear." The mention boy perked, immediately taking to the idea.
"I hardly think I'm suitable for such an honor Morris but I'll do it if you ask." Morris beamed.
"Wonderful! Now Miss Merlin, if you just sat like this and tilted your head just so." He instructed as he gently moved her into the desired angle. Once he had her in just the right position he frowned.
"Something's off."
"Nothing seems wrong to me." Arthur mumbled.
"Should I move?'
"No, no, uhm, Mordred, would you untie her hair." Mordred nodded and did as he was asked, unbinding her braid even as Merlin looked apprehensive. As Morris suspected, releasing her hair was exactly what was needed. Her thick, dark curls framed her angular face so perfectly, highlighting her cheekbones and made the druid raised girl seemed even wilder to the eye. Then Morris sketched. He spent he time having a rather one-sided conversation with Mordred. The boy couldn't speak to him or Arthur unless it was aloud, which according to Merlin was rare and usually only to her. But Morris didn't mind. Usually he had to be quiet and timid, but here he felt the words flowing naturally, organically. Arthur was difficult to talk to if you weren't a knight or noble, but somehow Miss Merlin made him feel so comfortable. Arthur was startlingly silent for once, enjoying the view of Merlin with a timid smile, hiding behind a cascade of black ringlets. So he chattered like a fool, his heart swelling whenever Miss Merlin giggled or smiled.
She was something special. There were too many things for Morris to list that he liked about her. Because of his status, Arthur often excluded him from visits, but hopefully after this, Arthur would trust him with more. It was also fun to watch the haughty prince fall all over himself like an untried lad trying to get the attention of a forest dwelling girl. And Merlin fell for none of his charm, only making Morris happier. As sad as he was to know that she would never be his, he could be happy that she would marry someone who seemed to love her unconditionally.
After a few hours she showed Miss Merlin and Mordred his sketch. Mordred seemed pleased but it was hard to tell. Arthur kept sneaking peaks as Merlin grinned uncertainly at the work. Arthur nudged Morris saying ti was time to head back. Morris frowned but stood up, inclining his head respectfully.
"Morris, I told you, I am only Merlin, no formality is needed."
"Forgive me, but I feel that you need far more respect than you get." Merlin blushed prettily. Mordred gave him a glare warning him that he was getting into a danger zone.
"Thank you for letting me sketch you, the prince will surely enjoy them." Morris was knocked over by a particularly hard nudge. Merlin gasped.
"Arthur, you shouldn't be so hard on him, he was only teasing." She scolded as she helped him up.
"I, uh…"
"You're being a clot pole Arthur, pushing him knowing he can't push back."
"He's just a servant."
"And what if I were servant, Arthur, would you push me around and shove me in the stocks?"
"Of course not!"
"No you would. Just because Morris is your servant doesn't mean you should treat him with so little respect. I bet you use him to boost yourself on your horse."
"He does."
"So what if I do?" They said at once.
"He's a human being Arthur; you can't treat him like you would a wooden crate."
"He's a servant and I'm a prince, Merlin."
"That doesn't mean anything. I probably respect him far more than I do you. He's a good man."
"And the man who saved your life isn't!"
"I saved your life too, you prat. And I nearly died several times in the damn process." Wait, when did that happen? Based on Mordred's expression, he knew exactly what she was referring to.
"Oh so we're bringing up the save me from death thing."
"You started it!"
"Uh, sire, you need to get back. Your absence will surely be noticed." Merlin was on the verge of tears, angry ones but tears none the less.
"Fine!" Arthur shouted as he stormed off. Merlin stood behind, all but waving a frying pan about.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Merlin."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Morris." She insisted.
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The worst part was being stuck with Arthur on the walk back. The part that Merlin had been on Morris's side made Arthur far more sullen. Arthur was pining fool for his Lady Merlin. And he was too much of a prideful stubborn fool. The idiot wouldn't back down even if it got Merlin to like him in a bit. Merlin would more readily let Morris in. They were alike in some ways and she really appreciated his artwork, so did Arthur, but he would never admit it. Morris bit his cheek, knowing better than saying as much. No matter, Merlin would never go for Arthur; she was committed, oddly enough. Morris would sometimes dream about Merlin being his wife, a fair folk girl. It was never to be, but Morris could dream, no one could deny him that. Then they came back up on the camp and the sleazy man, Cedric or something was waiting.
"Sire, it is god to see you back safely."
"Indeed."
"Trust me sire, I'll speak not of your lovely mistress."
"She's not-"
"I would thank you, no need to have my father worrying about bastards after all. And as you can see, she's no noble woman, my father hardly approves of pretty girls I meet in the forest." Morris rolled his eyes, thinking of the Sophia incident. Morris remembered chasing the damn prince into the woods with Morgana as she spell casted the pair away while Morris had to drag the stupid arse from the water while he was wearing armor.
"She's a striking girl. Only the best for the prince."
"She's much like the fair folk, elusive, no man can get as close as I have."
"Well sire, if I may speak plainly, I don't see how a young lady like her could resist you."
"Well, she may have been a bit feisty and difficult at first, in the end she wouldn't deny her attraction." Now Morris got it, he was trying to back at her. He was trying to reestablish his royal authority and frankly the power he held over her. The damn bastard. But Morris was a servant with a widowed mother to care for. He couldn't afford to call the prince on his bold faced lie.
"Keeping such a secret should be rewarded."
"Oh no, sire, I couldn't."
"Please, such loyalty needs to be repaid."
"Well, my only wish is to serve the royal household."
"Done!"
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Morgana dreamed. She was seer, she was used to prophetic dreams but it did not make them any less frightening. This night she dreamed of a raven. It frightened her, made her wake screaming. She told Gaius of it the next morning, but there was nothing he could do. He made light of them as usual, instructing her not to tell the King. As if she would. She had been hiding magic since she saved Arthur from a flying dagger. She had known of it since then, and hidden it, from all but Gaius, Morris, Gwen and her practically-brother. Gaius insisted on a stronger sleeping draught, but they did no good against her seeing dreams. Gaius always pushed things away, made her deny who she was with tonics and elixirs. If she had been Merlin, things would have been different.
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The next day, Morris tried to get to the prince's chambers early but found Cedric was already there with a huge feast laid out for the prince. Morris wanted to strangle him. True his word; he had said nothing about Miss Merlin. Though it only made Morris more suspicious. In irritation, he asked if there were any other tasks that need doing. Cedric relied that the stables had yet to be mucked out. Morris grimaced, he hated that job and Cedric damn well knew it.
Morris found himself mucking out the stables after, working with the straw and manure that smelled damn awful. If Miss Merlin were here she'd set him right. Here was nothing more amusing than seeing a woman put the prince in his place. It was the only thought that made the task manageable. Then he began to feel light headed, as though he had spent a day in the sun. He felt woozy and then everything turned black. Suddenly he could hear buzzing and he opened his eyes, looking about trying to grasp his surroundings, what the hell happened. Then Morris looked up and saw Arthur leaning over him. He started and jumped to his feet.
"Sire!"
"What are you doing?"
"Uh, nothing."
"I can see that."
"I wasn't sleeping!"
"So what were you doing?"
"I don't know, just something, and then…. I, do you honestly think if I were sleeping it would be on horse dung?"
"Well Morris, no one ever accused you of being bright."
"Miss Merlin does." Arthur's face twisted. Ah, he was still mad about that.
"Tell me Morris, is something missing here?"
"Missing?"
"Oh, you know, the horses!"
"The horses? Oh, Oh!" He stated looking around realizing them to be missing for the first time.
"Just realized did you?"
"I don't, I don't know what happened!"
"Obviously, you're having quite the bad day!"
"Sire." Damn that voice.
"Please sire, don't be too hard on him. He's a good servant, he's just tired."
"No I'm not!"
"Perhaps he should have the night to rest, have the evening off."
"I don't want the evening off."
"A good night's rest."
"I did not fall asleep!"
"I'm more than willing to take over his duties, tonight?"
"No!"
"Shut up Morris."
"Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's trying to steal my job and get rid of me! You're so damn dense and arrogant. No wonder Miss Merlin prefers a child to you! She could never love an arrogant ass!"
"Excuse me?" Oh no, went too far. Fury was radiating off him.
"He, ell, said your paramour could never love you because you're an arrogant ass, Sire." The fury was palpable.
"Perhaps Cedric is right. He can look after me for tonight. You can go home and think whether or not you want to be my servant."
"But-!"
"Go!" He stormed out.
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Princess: The first installment of series 2! Hope you all enjoyed. Now that I'm finally done with school and work for two weeks I'll finally have time to write a bit and hopefully finish the rough draft of the season. But keep optimistic folks. I'm really happy about the support I've received from the first installment and hop you guys enjoy this one too!