Chapter 1
"We should propably tell Arthur soon…" Morgana whispers as Merlin continues to kiss her neck.
"Not now, later." He mumbles into her neck, trying to put it off.
"Don't you want anyone to know about us?" She asks him, stopping him with a hurt expression.
"No! That's not why, of course I want him to know but I would like to live past the announcement. You know how protective he is of you." She seems to accept his reply, not stopping her when he kisses her. Instead, she kisses him back passionately.
"That's very true. Well, he will just have to live with it." She says, trying to catch her breath back after breaking apart.
"But.."
"Please?" She begs, giving him her puppy dog eyes, which she knows he can never say no to.
"Fine, I'll go see him later. Right now, I have something else to do." Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulls her closer. Nodding, she laughs and wraps her arms around his neck.
Pacing up and down the hallway outside Arthur's room, he tries to build up the courage to knock on the door.
Taking a deep breath, Merlin raises him arm and taps on the door 3 times.
"Come in!" He hears Arthur's shout from inside.
Peering his head around the door nervously, he looks inside the room before taking a few hesitant steps inside. Oblivious to Merlin's obvious discomfort, Arthur turns towards him, not even giving him a chance to speak.
"Ah Merlin! I was just about to go look for you!"
"Me? Why?" He stutters nervously.
'Has he found out? I am so dead.' Merlin thinks to himself, glancing at Arthur to try and read his expression.
"I have great news! As you know, we have never been on great terms with King Rion's kingdom and after the recent war, they have finally agreed to a peace treaty."
"That's amazing!" Merlin's fear washes away forgotten, as does the real reason he came here.
"Well, there was one condition though…" This time it's Arthur's turn to look anxiously, clearly worrying about Merlin's reaction to the news he had to tell.
"King Rion wishes for a something stronger than paper to bind our 2 kingdoms, marriage between his daughter, Lady Celia and…"
"Who Arthur?"
"Emrys." Arthur suddenly blurts out.
"What?! He wants his daughter to marry me? Why me?" Merlin asks, confusion clouding his mind.
"Possibly because you're the 'greatest sorceror to ever have walked the Earth' Merlin you twat." Arthur says, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Very funny dollop head." Merlin says smiling before suddenly freezing.
"What? Ah what I've said has just hit you huh? I always said you were slow Merlin." Arthur says, trying to lighten the mood. When he didn't get a response, he smiles sympathetically at his friend.
"And I have to marry her?" Merlin asks quietly, looking down at the floor.
"I'm sorry Merlin, I really am. I know you hate arranged marriages, that you've always wanted to marry for love. But it's the only way that Camelot would be at peace." Arthur felt even more guilty now after seeing Merlin's expression.
"I know. I understand. I take it you haven't told Gwen yet?" Merlin asks, he tries to smile but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"No, she's going to kill me! She hates them even more than you do!"
"Good luck with that then!" Merlin says, turning around to leave Arthur to his newest problem.
He shuts the door behind him and takes a few steps down the hallway before stopping dead. He suddenly remembered the reason he had gone in to see Arthur in the first place.
'Oh no. What is Morgana going to say?' He speaks aloud to himself, even more worried now than he was when he first went to see Arthur.
Arthur may have been mad for a while, but he would eventually have forgiven him. But Morgana?
He did not want to suffer the wrath of Morgana Pendragon.