His Servant's Master
Takes place during and immediately after Season 4, Episode 5, "His Father's Son." A young nobleman who comes to Camelot to swear fealty to the newly crowned King Arthur sees Merlin's magic. Merlin must protect his secret at all costs. Rated M.
Chapter 1
Merlin trails behind Arthur as he strides down the corridor from the hall after the feast, the flames of the torches in the sconces set between the dark windows along the wall illuminating the way. Thinking back on the evening, Arthur is pleased with the celebrations.
"An enjoyable feast," he says to Merlin over his shoulder as they reach Arthur's chambers, "to celebrate our triumph."
Arthur and the knights had returned to Camelot earlier that day after the victory over Carleon's patrol led by King Carleon himself. When Arthur leapt off the edge of the ravine to lead the attack, he didn't know that the rival King was among the enemy soldiers. It wasn't until after their victory when Agravaine removed the medallion from one of the captives that he recognized it as belonging to King Carleon. The other King refused to accept the treaty that Agravaine proposed that Arthur present to him. Carleon's patrols were penetrating deep within the Kingdom of Camelot, to the extent that Arthur was concerned that they constituted an aggressive invasion. Such threats should not go unanswered; they must be met with a robust response. It was regrettable that Carleon refused to accept his defeat and agree to the terms of the treaty. His execution was justified, although it was the one incident that tempered the joy of their victory.
Despite this, at the celebratory feast that night, Arthur had dined with his knights, his uncle Agravaine at his left side, listening to the toasts extolling the glory of Camelot. He felt a surge of pride at the loyalty and skill of his men. Even Merlin, he thought, had contributed to the victory by his mad race in chainmail and a red Camelot cloak to lure the Carleon soldiers into the ravine for the surprise attack. His knights had performed nobly and well, he thought as he rose to offer them a toast, extolling them for their bravery. Guinevere had smiled at him from her seat far down the table, and he had basked in her approval. Yet Arthur is still troubled by his own actions. He hid it well – even from himself - during the feast, to celebrate the accomplishments of his knights, but now back in his chambers he doesn't feel that he deserves honor and acclaim.
"Yes, Sire. The knights seemed to appreciate your praise." Merlin steps up behind Arthur near the columns separating the bedchamber from the main room, and removes Arthur's cloak, tossing it on his shoulder, to keep his hands free.
Arthur bends forward at the waist to allow Merlin to pull off his chainmail over his head. "Well, they deserve it. I think I'm learning the importance of giving praise where it's earned. My father knew that."
"Except to me," Merlin thinks ruefully. "Of course, Sire," he says, removing Arthur's mail.
He takes Arthur's cloak stows it on the trunk near the door to be dealt with later. Merlin places the mail on a rack near the chest in the corner to hang as Arthur unties the laces of his red quilted gambeson to shrug it off. He is silent, his face melancholy, his movements slowed as his thoughts move again to his own actions.
Merlin's voice interrupts his reverie. "Arthur, are you sure you're all right?" He moves to where Arthur is standing near the changing screen, watching the other's troubled face. He reaches out to take the gambeson from Arthur to hang in the closet. Arthur hands it to him with unseeing eyes. "Arthur? Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, Merlin, I do not," Arthur snaps. "Of course I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?" Arthur abruptly turns away and stalks over to the table. "If you're done here, you may leave."
Merlin watches Arthur's stiff back and shoulders as he walks away. He shakes his head slightly, thinning his lips in worry, and steps quickly to the fireplace. He kneels in front of the fire to stoke it and ready it for the chill night. "Will there be anything else, my Lord?" Merlin asks without looking up as he drops another log on the fire.
"No, Merlin. You can go," Arthur answers, taking a seat in his favorite chair in front of the fire. Merlin takes the cloak from the chest near the door and hangs it in the clothes cupboard, then leaves Arthur's chambers by the smaller back door, closing it quietly behind him.
Arthur pours himself a goblet of wine and sits, comfortable in his red tunic, staring into the flames, lost in thought, his hands wrapped around the goblet. He thinks back to his conversation with Merlin earlier in the day, shortly after their arrival back in Camelot. As he walked back and forth from the bed to the cabinet, emptying Arthur's pack of clothes from the trip to confront the Carleon soldiers, Merlin had asked him if he regretted killing King Carleon.
Arthur acknowledges to himself that it wasn't easy killing a man in cold blood like that; it was very different from killing a soldier in the heat of battle. It was always hard to justify. However, Arthur has to be confident that he had made the right decision to demand the treaty and the consequences of Carleon's refusal. He feels that Agravaine was right, that he needs to show the other kingdoms that Camelot is still strong even after Uther's death under the rule of a young King.
A strong King must stand on his own, and make his decisions himself. Asking for help shows weakness, and he must show his strength. He thinks back to Merlin's words. "If there's something bothering you, you can talk to me. You shouldn't push your friends away, you know. Not now, not when you need them most," he'd said. But Arthur knows that he cannot share his doubts and ask for help – not from his friends, and certainly not from his servant. He can be a strong king. He takes a drink, and places the goblet on the table.
"Merlin was wrong," he thinks. "I don't need anyone." Merlin must learn to accept that.
xXx
"Who are Lord Ector and Sir Cai?" Merlin asks Arthur as he deposits Arthur's breakfast on the table a few days later. He walks over to the windows behind Arthur's desk, and throws open the draperies. The early morning sun pours in, brightening the entire room. Arthur had risen early on his own this morning, eager to ride out with his old friend Cai on an early morning hunt. Merlin pulls up the covers on Arthur's bed, half turning to hear Arthur's answer.
"One of my father's barons, his lands are in the south, bordering with Alined's lands," Arthur says from behind the changing screen. "The location has strategic importance, protecting Camelot's access to the sea."
"You've known them long?" Merlin arranges the pillows on the bed.
"Well, yes. Since I was a boy. I was a squire in his household along with his son Cai and Sir Renald," he adds as he emerges lowering his tunic over his head.
Arthur crosses the room and sits at the table, and Merlin pours him a goblet of water. Merlin remembers Sir Renald* from his visit to Camelot a few years earlier when Uther had gifted Arthur with his horse, Llamri. Sir Renald, he recalls, was a bit of a bully. He wonders what Cai will be like.
"So, why is he here now?" Ector and Cai had arrived in Camelot the day before, and had demanded personal servants of the chamberlain. Merlin had been instructed to tend to Cai's needs. Merlin steps back to wait while Arthur eats, waiting to be dismissed, so he can tackle his additional duties.
"He and Cai have come to swear their fealty to me as their liege lord. Their allegiance is critical for the defense of Camelot," Arthur explains. "You can go, Merlin. Don't you have other chores to attend to? I assure you that I can manage to eat on my own."
"Yes, Sire. Of course." Merlin rolls his eyes behind Arthur's back and turns to leave the room, to hurry off to fetch breakfast to serve Sir Cai.
"Oh, Merlin," Arthur calls out as Merlin is about to leave, "make sure fresh horses are readied for Sir Cai and myself for our ride this morning. And then he and I will have a meal here, well before the fealty ceremony."
"I'll go to the stables as soon as I serve his breakfast."
A short while later, he is balancing a tray on his hip, and knocks on the door of the guest chambers where Sir Cai is staying during his visit at Camelot. Cai opens the door to admit Merlin. "Erm . . . good morning," Merlin says with a bright smile, holding up the tray. "I've brought you breakfast."
"Who are you?" Sir Cai asks.
"I'm Merlin," he says. "Sir Lionel, the chamberlain, told me to bring your breakfast and attend you while you're here?" He smiles broadly and bobs his head. "I'm also King Arthur's servant. So I need to attend him as well."
"Well, come in." Cai opens the door fully to admit Merlin, who scoots by him and place the tray the table. Cai watches Merlin as he moves across the room. Cai is a large man in his late twenties, a year or so older than Arthur. He's a few inches taller than Merlin, but much broader and thicker. Once, he'd had the strength and agility developed through many years of hard training, but he's gone soft, becoming fleshy from indulging in too much drink and rich food and too little exercise, but he's still a powerfully built man. His brown hair is cut short, and his beard trim. He is dressed simply, with a small gold hoop in one earlobe his only adornment. He studies Merlin out of deep-set brown eyes under thick eyebrows.
"Merlin, I will need you to prepare me for the fealty ceremony later today." Cai says abruptly.
"Yes, my lord." Merlin pours him a goblet of water. "Unless there is anything else you need, I have to get to the stables to arrange for your mount for the hunt this morning with the King."
Cai sits at the table, and picks up a piece of bread. He waves it in Merlin's direction. "Fine. Go."
*A/N: See "The Runaway Servant" by Nantasyland for the back-story of Renald's visit to Camelot.