Arthur sat by the cold, frosty window with a quilt wrapped around him, staring out at the snow storm raging outside. His bedroom door began to creak open and Arthur's breath caught in his throat, but seeing that it was only Merlin, he let out a slow sigh.
"What is it Merlin?" Arthur asked, not taking his eyes from the window.
"You didn't come down for lunch, so I brought you some food." Merlin grinned and set the plate down on the table.
"It's okay, I'm not hungry," Arthur mumbled, barely paying attention "Bring it back down to the kitchen or eat it yourself. I don't care." As much as Merlin wanted to eat the food that was made for a prince instead of the scraps the servants were fed, he heard Arthur's stomach growl and immediately knew that he had been lying.
"Do you not feel well? I can get you something from Gaius-"
"I'm fine!" Arthur snapped, cutting him off. Seeing Merlin's startled expression, he sighed angrily. "I'm going to go train." Arthur threw the quilt aside and began to storm off, but he didn't get very far.
He began to feel very dizzy and clutched a bed post to prevent him from collapsing. His eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the moment to pass. Merlin quickly rushed to his side and carefully led Arthur to his bed.
"What in the world was that?!" Merlin cried, the concern showing in his eyes.
"Don't worry about me, it happens a lot," Arthur murmured, sitting on the bed. He glanced up at Merlin, still trying to regain clear vision, and saw his face, completely shocked, his eyes wide open.
Guiltily, Arthur laid down and turned away from Merlin, hoping he would drop it, and that's exactly what happened. After a few seconds of tense silence, Merlin made his way towards the door, but before he could open it, he heard a soft voice call after him.
"Merlin?" it asked "Did you really mean it when you called me fat?" Merlin replied with a goodnatured chuckle and looked at Arthur with a goofy smile.
"Of course I did!" he said in a voice dripping with sarcasm "It's not like you're way more in shape than I'll ever be." And with that, Merlin left, leaving Arthur sitting straight up in bed, unable to tell whether he had been telling the truth or lying.