Although Merlin was new to his job, he couldn't help but give into the excitement and the wonder that was Arthur Pendragon. He wasn't sure what exactly it was that enticed him to love – maybe Arthur's smile, maybe his laugh, his blue eyes, the way he danced.. Maybe it was that Arthur wasn't really a prat, despite how hard he tried to be one. But Merlin fell hard, and love was not the soft cushioning he expected it to be, but a rollercoaster made of faulty wheels and loose screws.
It started the day Merlin was assigned the job of being Arthur's manservant. He was running Arthur's bath when the feeling overwhelmed him: a passion, a pining that struck him like lightning. He leaned by the tub quietly so the prince wouldn't notice him, and for a while, he watched. Then, instinctively, his eyes shone golden, and time paused.
Love was different for a warlock. It was a need rooted deep in his heart, in the blood that filled his veins. It was a part of him almost as much as his magic was, and he was indebted to it. The first time he felt it, it was almost painful. It pulled out of Arthur and poured into Merlin without a warning, seeping into his being as if it belonged there.
Merlin moved as if in a trance, his arms extending and his fingertips reaching for Arthur's skin. The second they touched, time moved beyond Merlin's control.
It was electric.
Questions filled the air around them, but their touches didn't cease. "What are we doing?" Merlin asked, confused. "Is this right?" "What if someone finds us?" were whispered between breathless kisses, but the taste of yearning on their lips made them forget.
"Do you feel it too?" Merlin whispered as his hands traveled lower on the canvas of Arthur's wet body.
When Arthur's lips met Merlin's neck, Merlin wondered what happens when a sorcerer loves a mortal. A marriage? A union? A bonding of souls?
"Merlin," Arthur whispered.
"Yes?" Merlin answered, shivering against Arthur's touch, his heart racing with anticipation.
"Get me my clothes. Princess Olivia of Nalvia is visiting today, I have an important date."
What happens when a servant loves his prince?
Apparently, nothing.