A/N - Sorry it's a bit short - I promise, the next chapter will be longer! Please R&R - I'd love to hear what you guys think about it

Disclaimer, of course - I sadly do not own Merlin (but that's probably a good thing)

"Merlin!" Arthur's irritated voice rang through his empty chambers. When no one responded, he sighed and crossed his arms – annoyed, but not surprised, that his servant was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes flickered around the room, taking in the mess that lay around him. Obviously, Merlin hadn't been here since he'd last seen him the night before; his boots were still unpolished, clothing lay strewn across the floor, and his plates from dinner still hadn't been cleared. "Honestly," Arthur muttered to himself, and began walking towards the door, kicking his laundry aside as he went. He stuck his head outside the door and looked down the long hallway, "What is the point of having a manservant if they are NEVER THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM?"

At once, he heard the telltale scuffle of boots pounding across the hard stone floors, and Arthur drew himself back inside of his room, quickly moving to lounge across two chairs, staring straight at the door he knew Merlin would soon walk through, trying to appear as nonchalont as he possibly could – what Merlin couldn't see wouldn't hurt him.

"You rang?" Merlin's voice and cheeky smile greeted him as the servant carefully opened the door and stepped inside of Arthur's chambers. Incredulous at the way Merlin spoke to him; as if he weren't Crown Prince that could have him behead him, Arthur stood, biting his lip and trying to restrain his annoyed smile, "Well," He quickly proceeded to answer, well aware that the silence had stretched too thin, "Of course I rang, Merlin!" He gestured madly towards his chambers, "Look at this! You were meant to clean this yesterday!" Merlin nodded at him, eyes flashing with amusement as he walked forward to pick up the laundry in front of the door. He looked up at Arthur, raising an eyebrow as he held out a shirt with a clear bootmark imprinted on the front, "Seriously, Arthur?"

Ignoring him, Arthur pressed on, "What is the point of having a manservant," but he was already losing his momentum, as it was clear that Merlin was no longer listening to him, too caught up in cleaning up the filth, "If he never," Merlin looked up. "Sorry, what was that?"

Arthur reached over and smacked him across the back of the head. "Ouch!" Merlin cried out, turning around to glare at him, "What was that for?"

"You weren't listening," Arthur answered, voice thick with annoyance. "Now, like I was saying," He waited for Merlin to look up before continued, "What is the point of having a servant if he never does what he's supposed to do?" But Merlin just shrugged and continued cleaning, "Merlin, I'm talking to you!" He was about to smack him again when the doors opened and they both turned to see a guard standing, waiting for their attention.

Almost embarrassed – why was he embarrassed? – for the guard to have caught them now, he cleared his throat and quickly asked, "What is it?"

When the guard didn't immediately respond, he leaned forward, widening his eyes and pursing his lips. "Well?"

The guard snapped to attention. "The King requests your presence in the Great Hall immediately," Arthur sighed – what did his father want now? – but reluctantly nodded. The guard disappeared behind the heavy door immediately, out of sight. Arthur winced – he hated how they treated him, like he was dangerous – or worse, like he was a child. Why couldn't they treat him as they did each other? Or their friends? When I'm King, Arthur thought to himself, That'll be the first thing I change. He just wanted to be normal – a knight, with friends and a family who didn't feel the need to bow whenever he entered a room. Merlin was the only one who seemed indifferent to his importance.

"Well, go on." Merlin's smile snapped him from his daze, "Your father's awaited."

Arthur frowned. "Don't get cheeky on me, Merlin," He started to walk towards the door. "You of all people know who I am."

"Yeah, I do!" Merlin called out as he left, his teasing words reaching Arthur's ears as he strode away, "A prat!" Arthur paused, shaking his head with a smile. "And a royal one, at that!" Merlin finished.

"Just clean the room, you useless servant!" Arthur yelled back, "Or I'll have you in the stocks for the rest of the week."

And he walked away with a smile on his face, wondering how one could be friends with someone so completely different, and yet so completely the same.