Arthur was convinced that his father had gone utterly mad. As 'reward' for saving his son's life, Uther had appointed Gaius's annoying, outspoken excuse for an apprentice as his MANSERVANT,of all things. For the love of all that was good - why had Uther not just sent the boy off with a big bag of silver, or a fir lined winter coat or a years supply of turnips or something... What was his father thinking of when he condemned Arthur to having to see that insolent face every single day!
It was unthinkable to deny his father's wishes. When the shock of his near death experience at the hands of the sorceress had worn off, Arthur went to Uther to try reasoning with him that perhaps becoming a servant to the Prince might not be the kind of reward that Merlin would want. But the King was unmoveable. He insisted that Merlin was 'just the type of person' that Arthur should have in his retinue. He reasoned that although the Knights were brave and noble, they could not be expected to be with the Crown Prince 24 hours a day and that it made sense to have someone watching his back in his more private moments. He would broach no arguement so Arthur huffed back to his rooms, plotting how to get rid of the troublesome youth that his father had effectively employed as some sort of unofficial bodyguard, of all things! What a joke! His father really, obviously, was barking mad! The boy was as thin as an undernourished twig!
By time he made it back to his chambers, Arthur had formulated a cunning plan. Unlike the rest of the servants employed in Camelot, Merlin had no idea of protocol or what his new job actually entailed. In fact, the manservant's job mostly involved tending to the personal daily needs of his master; keeping his private chambers in order, bringing food if needed, helping with dressing for State occasions, standing in attendance at feasts - that kind of thing. Arthur decided that not only would he employ Merlin in these functions, but would also task him with the duties of Squire, stable boy and scullery boy. His reckoning was that after a week or so, Merlin would be so overwhelmed by trying to fullfill all of these tasks that he would plead with the King to be allowed to return to his apprenticeship with Gaius! The plan was flawless and Arthur chuckled at his own stroke of genius.
That evening Merlin accompanied Arthur's current manservant Christopher and was given a tour of Arthur's rooms and a rundown of his new duties. Whilst this was going on Arthur was seated at his table, checking through Court papers. He pretended to be engrossed in his work but listened as best he could to the servant's conversation and watched Merlin out of the corner of his eye. If the boy was impressed by the opulence of the Prince's residence he didn't show it. As Christopher ran through his list of duties, Merlin's face went through a comical array of expressions - at one point his eyes widened in disbelief, at another his mouth hung open like a concussed carp and more than once Arthur looked up when he heard an undignified snort to catch Merlin sniggering behind his hand. Mindful of the presence of the Prince, Christoper spoke in hushed tones. Merlin - of course - had no such decorum and Arthur heard snippets of their conversation;
"Bath him? What do you mean bath him? Can't he do that himself? What - is he five years old?!" "Wait, what? Dress him too? What the...? He can't lace his own trousers he's going to rule the kingdom one day?"
When a somewhat mortified looking Christopher harried Merlin from the room, Arthur abandoned any semblance of working and let his forehead fall onto the table with a thud. The next few days were going to be hellish. He would implement his cunning plan the very next day and hope that by the end of the week that the troublesome youth would be gone!
...
Arthur was rudely awoken the following morning when his room was suddenly bathed in light and an obnoxiously loud and cheerful voice bellowed "WAKEY WAKEY". He was so startled that he almost threw his dagger at the shape silouetted at the (too bright) window until he remembered with a sinking heart that he had a brand new noisy, idiotic, insolent manservant. It took him a good while for his heartbeat to return to normal. Merlin was insufferable. All his previous servants had gone about their tasks quietly and almost invisibly, and had woken him gently and slowly but not this one. Merlin prattled loudly and incessantly as he dished up breakfast, folded back the bed and tidied away clothes. Arthur made no response other than grunting once or twice, but the oaf of a boy didn't seem to take the hint. It became too much as Merlin stood before him, puzzling aloud over the buttons and ties of Arthur's tunic, STILL waffling on about nothing when Arthur suddenly barked, "Shut UP, Merlin!" into his face. Miracle of miracles, it worked and Merlin regarded him in shocked silence. "That's better" said the Prince, "now I shall give you a list of duties for today, pay attention because I will not be repeating myself".
Arthur counted the chores off on his fingers and derived pleasure as he watched Merlin's eyes grow impossibly wide. The boy began to argue but Arthur cut him short, "Well Merlin, if you think these tasks are too much for a village idiot like yourself, I shall happily speak to my father to reassign you elsewhere". Merlin bristled at this, stuck out his chin and said indignantly, "No, no, fine. I can do it, I am NOT an idiot!"
"Gooood" drawled Arthur, "in that case, go muck out all the horses and then meet me in half hour at the training field". As Merlin headed off mumbling under his breath, Arthur chuckled and took a bite out of an apple. This was going to be fun!
A rather stinky and dishevelled apparition greeted the Prince as he arrived for sword practice. He was slightly dismayed to find Merlin already waiting for him. He'd thought that the stables would take at least an hour to clean and had relished the chance to shout at the boy for tardiness. Never mind. Arthur thrust a shabby moth-eaten protective tunic and a dented old helmet and wooden sword and shield into Merlin's hands and told him to "Get ready". The boy blinked owlishly at him in puzzlement. "Sword practice", explained the Prince unhelpfully, "Hurry UP Merlin, we haven't got all day!". He then proceeded in the space of four hurried sentences to explain the concept of blocking and parrying before launching himself with gusto at Merlin.
In all fairness, Arthur also had a wooden sword, so didn't inflict any lasting damage on his hapless manservant, and he did let the boy know where he was planning to hit him next. It was nothing like sparring with one of his knights but nevertheless highly entertaining for the Prince. He had to fight back laughter at every muffled "oooo!" and "ow" and "can we stop yet?" . Eventually, one well aimed blow on the top of the dented helmet sent the gangly fellow sprawling and moaning, and the Prince realised that this was probably enough physical abuse for Merlin, for now. In truth, he was actually surprised at how long the kid had managed to stay upright and thought it only fair to tell him so before chasing him off, dazed, grumbling and wobbling on baby-deer legs to clean up before his next chore in the Armoury.
...
Arthur was already inspecting a crossbow when Merlin joined him in the Armoury some time later. Although no longer caked in sweat and mud his manservant was still looking flustered and walking with the gait of an old man. The Prince, not being an inherently bad man, decided to be a wee bit less harsh. Inwardly he was impressed that the boy had actually shown up in the armoury and had not already gone running to Uther pleading to be released from his torturous duties! Arthur spent a good long while showing Merlin all of the weapons and how they worked and how they needed to be cared for. The Prince had been schooled in the use of weaponry from a very early age and it could be said that he had something of an unhealthy fascination with swords, crossbows and maces. He lost himself somewhat in the explanations and whilst waxing lyrical over the merits of a newly invented type of crossbow bolt he looked up to see Merlin smirking at him and shaking his head in disbelief. He stopped talking and indignantly asked the boy, "Is something amusing, Merlin?" "This is all errrrrrr, fascinating" said the surly manservant "You really need to get out more, Sire".
The Prince was so startled at this boy's utter lack of reverance that he simply cuffed him upside the head to wit Merlin replied with an outraged "Ow! What was THAT for?" "For forgetting that you are adressing the Prince of Camelot, Merlin!" barked Arthur in response, "now go to the next room and bring in my armour, it's time to teach you how to ready me for the tournament tomorrow..."
Merlin duly headed to the storeroom muttering under his breath as he went - Arthur could make out occasional words that sounded like, "prat" and "bonehead" - and came back some minutes later somewhat overburdened with chainmail, plate armour, helmet, ceremonial sword and long red cape. For some inexplicable reason he'd decided to drape the red cloak over his shoulder which proved to be his undoing. About three steps short of the Prince, his toe caught on it's trailing edge and he went sprawling, barreling into Arthur and sending him flying backwards. They ended in a tangled heap of cloth and metal on the stone floor. Merlin realised what he'd done and whimpered a little in fright as he tried to simultaeniously disentangle himself from an angry looking Arthur, help the Prince to his feet and to stand himself. From Arthur's viewpoint below him, the boy looked like he was having a fit and the fourth time that Merlin's unbelievably bony elbows caught him in the chest, he lost his temper and threw the boy aside and stood up, brushing himself off and trying to regain some semblance of regal bearing. He thanked his lucky stars that none of the Knights had been present for that little display.
After the earlier bout of insolence and then having knocked the Prince over, Arthur's resolution to go a bit easier on Merlin evaporated. The poor boy spent a torturous couple of hours being taught how to dress the irritated, shouty Heir to the Throne in chain mail and full plate armour. Being sore from his morning of mucking stables and being beaten to a pulp by his master on the training field didn't really help matters and Merlin had to concede he was being a bit more clumsy than usual. Arthur made him put on and take off the armour some 20 times. By time Arthur deemed him proficient, Merlin's arm muscles were screaming at him to stop moving them and he was doggedly blinking back tears of frustration from the corner of his eyes.
It was upon noticing these tears that Arthur finally relented. His anger had dissipated somewhat because despite being seemingly as coordinated as an inebriated bumblebee Merlin had eventually managed to master the art of getting armour on and off - more or less. When he dismissed the boy this time, Merlin left the room silently with hunched shoulders and wiping clumsily at his eyes with the palms of his hands. As Arthur watched him go he had to admire the fellow's stubborness and determination which matched that of the noblest of his Knights...
...
The following day on the eve of the tournament, Merlin was getting Arthur kitted out in his armour. The Prince resolved to be easier on the boy, given his display of tenacity the previous day. However he found his patience sorely tried as Merlin struggled to attach vambraces, dropped his halbeurk TWICE and chattered on and on whilst doing so! Arthur tried to maintain his regal bearing - really he did - and to ignore the fool, but when his manservant casually asked "are you nervous?" he simply snapped. Merlin then had the audacity to stand back and appraise his work with a smug look on his face...having forgotten to give the Prince his sword! Being of noble birth, Arthur simply shouted at the buffoon rather than resorting to physical violence. Instead he headed off to fight his bouts with just a little bit more agression than usual!
However, during his fights throughout the first day of the tournament Arthur was pleasantly surprised to see Merlin's response to his victories. He had fully expected the insolent fool to be either indifferent or even critical of his Master's prowess, given his outburst at the boy before heading out to the tourney field. Instead he often caught Merlin watching from the sidelines cheering him on and actually jumping up and down whenever he won a fight! He'd never had such a response from any of his Squires before. They would just silently and efficiently come and tend to him between bouts. In comparison Merlin bounded over to him, pounded him on the back if he'd done particually well and gushed about his prowess. It was not what the Prince was used to at all, but it was...nice! He found himself playing up not only to the crowd and his father, but also to his manservant and would glow with pride if he caught Merlin grinning at a particually daring move. So, Arthur was feeling much more magnanimous at the end of the day's fighting and basked in Merlin's praise as the boy undid the buckles of his halbeurk. He even laughed when the cheeky fellow called Knight Valiant a "creep", before remembering that the boy was actually just a servant and such familiarity with him was not fitting. He sent the boy off with a flea in his ear and a list of chores that would be impossible to fulfill before tomorrow - he resolved to berate the boy for laziness and inefficiency when he showed up the next morning with only half of the tasks done.
...
The following morning however, Arthur was shocked at how quickly and efficiently the boy managed to dress him. The clumsy oaf from the day before had mysteriously been replaced by someone with dexterous, even elegant movements. The armour itself was dazzlingly clean and Arthur had absolutely no idea when Merlin would have found time to polish it! (Arthur had made Merlin draw him a bath well after sundown on the previous day which Merlin had done whilst looking dead on his feet and without saying a word). The Prince suspected that Merlin had been awake all night practicing fitting the armour (on Gaius?) and polishing it. Arthur was puzzled..did the boy perhaps have a twin brother? However this change had occured, Arthur couldn't help but be impressed.
...
Perhaps it was this new found respect for the boy which caused Arthur to not dismiss Merlin out of hand the following morning when he arrived with breakfast and a big green snake's head which he claimed had come from the shield of Knight Valiant, of all things! Arthur had been bemused by the previously unknown Knight's string of victories - especially the one that left Knight Euan unconsious - but found it somewhat ludicrous that the newcomer may have been using magic. He had thought the boy was being a bit fanciful when he told Arthur of shields coming to life and eating mice and was all ready to laugh him out of the room, but then when Merlin came right into his personal space, looked deep into his eyes and earnestly said, "I know I'm just a servant and my word doesn't count for anything, but I wouldn't lie to you" he stopped short. As nobility it had always been taken as red that the peasants were of lesser import but looking into Merlin's large honest blue eyes made Arthur rethink this assumption. With Merlin's encouragement he studied the snake's head again and realised that it indeed was unlike anything he'd ever seen in his Kingdom. He found himself inspired by the boy's integrity and without too much deliberation called audience with the King to challenge Valiant.
Athough he knew it was against Court Protocol he decided to have Merlin at his side, since he had been the one who'd discovered the bewitched shield. He began to regret this decision when in the throne room Merlin sidled up into his personal space (again!) and said in a rather loud whisper, "don't let him get too close". Arthur didn't miss the raised eyebrows of almost all those present at such familiarity with the Crown Prince by a servant but he pressed on and presented his case and the evidence to Uther. He was somewhat taken aback that the King didn't take the large snake's head as irrifuteable evidence as he himself had and was shaken to the core to hear of the death of Euan. He had not been prepared for either of these eventualities at all and his mind raced. He knew it was against the norm but when his father called for more evidence (wasn't a strange snake head and the unexplained death of a Knight enough?!) Arthur called his servant forward as a witness. As soon as he did so he knew he'd made a mistake and his father shot him down in flames for flouting Court rules by doing so. As if the dressing down from his father in front of everyone wasn't bad enough the foolish boy compunded the situation when he came forward and started to argue with Arthur's father! The King, no less! The boy obviously was utterly stupid or had a death wish! The rest of the audience with Uther was embarrassing beyond belief and as Arthur stormed back to his rooms having been forced to apologise to Valiant in front of everyone. He was sure that he would never regain the respect of his father or of the Court again. All because he'd listened to Merlin! Damn the boy! He would very much have liked some time to rave and tothrow things around in his room and to regain composture but was given no such grace. The stupid idiot of a manservant was right on his heels and was simply too dumb to dissapear or let the matter drop. Arthur was so pent up that he could easily have beaten the boy to a pulp. Instead he let rip at Merlin, blaming him for making him look a fool in front of his father and the whole Court. The bloody idiot was STILL trying to argue with him, and suddenly Arthur snapped, sacking him and sending him away with, "I need a servant that I can trust!" It was these final words that seemed to hit Merlin more than any physical blow would have done. In the space of that sentence the boy's look of earnest outrage transformed into utter defeat and hurt and he stalked off without another word with his shoulders slumped.
...
Arthur was still nursing his hurt pride the next morning and contemplating his upcoming fight with Knight Valiant. Despite his anger at Merlin the day before for making him look a complete fool in front of everyone he had believed the boy's story about the use of sorcery, and despite Valiant's protestations against the allegations of sorcery, the Prince knew something was not quite right with the man. Arthur was a warrior, trained to fight pretty much since he could walk, and although he acknowledged that Valiant was a good fighter he'd been suspicious of how easily the Knight had won several of his bouts the previous day. He knew he had no choice but to face the man on the tourney field. Not to fight him in the final would lose him any chance of ever regaining the respect of Uther or of any of the Kingdom's subjects.
He also - rather surprisingly - found himself missing the damned manservant that had gotten him into this mess. After Merlin had gone, his duties had been taken over by Christopher and various Squires who went about their work almost invisibly and spoke to the Prince only when spoken to and with great deference. It had been the type of service Arthur had recieved his whole life but after three days in the company of Merlin the chaotic, unreserved, arguementative fool he found the other servant's manners a bit stifling. He dimissed them as quickly as possible and sat alone contemplating his fate and how the idiot boy had turned his head. As if by magic, just as he thought on Merlin, the boy suddenly arrived at his chamber door and without requesting entry came barging in. Arthur acknowledged him with, "I thought I told you to get out", but there was no vemon in his words. Merlin pretty much ignored the words anyway and urged Arthur to withdraw. He wanted an explaination as to why simply retiring from the tournament wasn't an option. The boy tried very hard to convince Arthur to pull out of the fight but once he realised that the Prince would not budge on this, he asked bluntly "How can you go and fight knowing that you'll die?" Arthur's reply of, "Because I must" sounded hollow to his own ears and Merlin simply looked at him through watery, worried eyes and quietly headed out.
Once he'd gone Arthur felt strangely bereft.
Later that day a Squire dressed the Prince ready for his bout with Knight Valiant. The man went about his work with the utmost effieciency... and Arthur missed Merlin more than ever. So anxious was he about the upcoming fight that he would have welcomed the fool's inane chatter to distract him. Morgana came and quietly took over from the Squire which was some distraction at least, but he did miss Merlin and regretted having fired him. He realised that apart from Morgana, the boy was the only person of his own age around Camelot that didn't concur to his every wish or statement. In fact the boy seemed to make a point of argueing with the Prince on pretty much every point! Although maddening, Arthur realised that it also caused him to think more deeply about everything. This was so refreshing. The Prince hadn't realised that he was even missing out on something until he'd sent Merlin away. He realised, quite suddenly, that until this impossible boy had shown up, he'd had many companions but never before anyone that he could truly call 'friend'.
...
The fight with Valiant was intense and, knowing that he was in fact fighting for his life, Arthur gave it his all. He was quite sure several times that he would die and was down to the last reserves of strength when suddenly two of the snakes on Valiant's shield came to life and slithered toward him! He was certain that these were his last moments of life and watched dumbfounded as the serpents approached menacingly and thought, "So, he was right, Merlin was right about the magic". He was suddenly shaken from this line of thought as Morgana shouted his name then threw him a sword. Suddenly instinct kicked in and almost before his brain processed what he was doing he had slain the snakes and Valiant.
The crowd was ecstatic!
Arthur took a few moments to bask in their praise before acknowledging his father. He was still livid with Uther for effectively calling him a coward and for taking sides with a stranger rather than his own flesh and blood. He merely nodded at the King, not even smiling before walking off the tourney ground. He couldn't help but grin widely as he spotted Merlin leaning against one of the stands at the edge of the field. He'd not seen the boy since Merlin's visit of the previous evening and thought he may have already packed up to leave. Merlin wasn't jumping and cheering like the rest of the crowd but was looking at Arthur with a massive grin and such a look of pride and admiration in his eyes that the Prince was tempted to pick him up and swing him around. But, he was the Prince after all, and mindful that most of the city of Camelot were currently looking at him and cheering his name, he merely patted the boy's shoulder as he passed.
...
Later on at the feast after his arguement with with Morgana, Arthur found himself actively seeking out Merlin to complain about her. This was something he would not have previously dreamed of doing, to any of his knights and certainly not to a servant! But, he felt that he could trust the boy. He was a little surprised that Merlin didn't immediately side with or call him a prat. A little dissapointed too, if he was honest. Merlin was certainly not being deferential but he did suddenly look a little shy and rather unsure of himself in Arthur's company. There was a bit of an awkward silence. Without having planned to, the Prince suddenly found himself actually apologising to Merlin! How had THAT happened?! Merlin looked as shocked as Arthur felt when the words had passed his lips , but soon recovered enough to accept the apology and to jokingly suggest that the Crown Prince of Camelot buy him a drink at the tavern by way of saying sorry! Arthur couldn't help but notice that Merlin's eyes travelled the length of his body, resting briefly on his lips as he made this rather outrageous suggestion. In the space of a breath, Arthur had acknowledged the look and what Merlin may have meant by it, mentally invisaged a night out at the tavern with the boy and where it might lead, had thought that it was a splendid idea...then realised that their different social standings meant it could never happen and so blustered, "Err, I can't be seen to be buying drinks for my servants". Merlin looked at him inscrutably and reminded him that he had in fact been sacked so wasn't actually the Prince's servant any more. Arthur returned the flirtatious body checking look at Merlin as he casually said, "now I"m rehiring you".
Merlin's reaction was a joy to see - from disbelief to glee in the space of a blink of an eye and a smile so wide that the boy's eyes dissapeared into crescents above his cheeks. Arthur's heart leapt at the sight. He'd have happily dragged the fellow off to the Tavern at that moment. But He was the Prince, and this was a feast and there was protocol to be observed. Instead, he reeled off a list of duties for his manservant to undertake the next day and watched as the grin on Merlin's face slowly collapsed.
As the boy shuffled off mumbling back toward Gaius and Gwen, Arthur grinned at his back. He felt the weight of the crown upon his head and the weight of his responsabilities lift a little. Life with this new manservant was going to be so much fun...