Merlin sat at the table in he and Gaius's quarters, wrapped in a blanket and sipping on a glass of Mulled Wine. The Physician insisted the drink would help get his strength back after his recent illness. Merlin sat staring into the goblet, pondering.
He was bemused. In the space of one week he had recieved two seperate gifts of a single flower bloom from two very different people. One had been from Gwen the maidservant of Morgana and the other had been from Arthur the Prince of Camelot! It was rather flattering and a little overwhelming for an unassuming village boy like himself and he wondered what he had done to merit all this attention.
He was also a little confused. Actually, he was a lot confused. Most of his confusion stemmed from the fact that he wasn't sure which of the gifts thrilled him the most.
Gwen had presented him with her bloom when he had met her quite by chance in the Lower Town whilst helping Gaius to move a dead body. She'd taken the single stem from a bunch of flowers she had picked to cheer up Morgana who had been suffering terribly from bad dreams and was looking a bit peeky. She was thoughtful like that, was Gwen. She constantly did these little kindnesses to make those around her feel loved and special. She'd been the first person to befriend Merlin upon his arrival in Camelot and he had grown very fond of her and considered her one of his best friends in the Castle. Somehow she was always around to cheer him up when he needed it - especially when Arthur was being a prat and driving him mad. He'd not really thought of Gwen as anything more than a friend before recieving the little flower, but he was beginning to wonder if he should be having romantical thoughts in that direction. Merlin had been rather taken aback and had actually felt a wee bit awkward about accepting the gift. He had shyly tucked the bloom into his neck scarf and being at a loss for words (and a bit preoccupied with shifting a dead body) had spluttered a farewell to Gwen. She smiled broadly at him as she departed and he wondered if she was waiting for him to say something more, maybe to ask her out on a walk into the woods or somesuch...
Logically, Gwen was 'fair game' for Merlin for all sorts of reasons. Obviously, she was a girl - which was a good start - and she curved in all the right places, just like a girl should. This was evident even through her rather plain dowdy handmaiden attire. She was a pretty girl - which was even better! Merlin appreciated her lovely dark skin, long thick black velvety hair and her pretty eyes which always seemed to be filled with kindness and laughter. She had a gorgeous smile and turned it often on Merlin which usually caused him to beam back at her and feel suddenly happier. That was a rare gift. Merlin greatly appreciated the fact that, like himself, Gwen didn't seem to have a brain-to-mouth filter and would often say the most outrageous things without thinking and then charmingly bluster in embarrassment as she tried to explain herself. It was by equal turns endearing and entertaining. They were of an equal social standing, both working as servants in the Castle. So for all intents and purposes they were a perfect match. Gwen's mistress Morgana was convinced that they were already together after Merlin had tried to save Gwen's life when Uther had accused her of being a witch.
But then there was Arthur.
Crown Prince, Chief Knight, Prat, his Master...and the bringer of the second floral gift.
Now, having any kind of romantical allusions towards Arthur was an utterly ridiculous notion, Merlin told himself. For starters, Arthur was a man. A tall, broad muscley-in-all-the-right-places type of chap, and drop dead gorgeous in a suit of armour and red cloak, but still a man. And men liked women. That's how things were. Especially Crown Princes who needed to think about eventually getting married and begettng heirs.
Arthur wasn't pretty like Gwen, Merlin pondered, because he was a man, and men are not pretty. He was handsome though - his features were fine indeed. Chisled and noble and screaming of good breeding and royal lineage. Merlin had watched the Prince fighting in tournaments and training with his knights and couldn't help but be impressed by the display of skill and grace and a controlled power that often reminded Merlin of a fine thoroughbred horse in action. He told himself that his appreciation was merely aesthetic - though he did sometimes zone out whilst polishing Arthur's Armour and find himself thinking about his Master warming up before sword practice wearing just a loose white open necked tunic, taut muscles rippling beneath the skin on his shoulders and forearms. Sometimes in the morning when Merlin opened the curtains at the Prince's window and the rising sun shone on the Prince's sleep-tousled locks, Merlins breath caught in his throat because Arthur's hair looked like a halo and his still sleep-softened face made him look positively angelic.. When he wasn't shouting at Merlin, or sneering in derision at something he'd said or done to displease his Master, or pouting sulkily because Morgana had bettered him in an arguement, Merlin thought that Arthur had fine lips. He might even be tempted to go so far as to say that Arthur's lips were pretty, even if he WAS a man...
In stark contrast to Gwen's kind gentle thoughtful nature, Arthur was an arrogant, opinionated spoilt arse. This had been Merlin's first impression of him when they had met on Merlin's first day in Camelot, and it still held. Arthur thought nothing of calling Merlin an idiot - or worse - and did so on average seven times a day. (Sometimes he even cuffed his servant, or threw things at him, which Merlin thought couldn't be right at all). It was true, Merlin conceded, that both himself and Gwen sometimes blurted things out that shouldn't really be said (He supposed that it wasn't good form particually to call the Crown Prince a Royal Arse as often as he did...especially in public) but Arthur's outbursts were often much more hurtful and in his arrogance he rarely saw the need to apologise for any pain that he may have unthinkingly caused. Because of his staus as Crown Prince, very few people would call him out on this bad behaviour - in fact Merlin realised that only Gwen and himself did so. Arthur somehow saw it as his perogative to behave so thoughtlessly arrogantly and this really REALLY annoyed Merlin.
Merlin contemplated the gifts themselves. Gwen had gathered her flowers in a sunny meadow with good intent in her heart wanting to bring joy to those she cared for. She'd had bought beautiful, violet delicate Forget-Me-Nots. In contrast, Arthur had bought him the bloom of the Morteus flower which grew on the roots of a tree in a deep dark dank cave and was highly poisonous. Hardly a romantic gift! But then again, Arthur had defied his father and knowingly faced danger and the possibility of death in order to bring the bloom back to Camelot because he knew it was the only cure for Merlin after NImueh had poisioned him. Thinking about it like that took Merlin's breath away. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was in fact a pretty bloody romantic gift! He was a mere servant, and wondered what had possessed the Prince to put himself in such danger for his sake.
Although he could often be insufferable prat, there was no doubt that Arthur also possessed an incredibly noble streak. Merlin's memory of drinking the poison and his subsequent illness was a little hazy. He did however remember that Arthur had stepped forward and tried to prevent him drinking the wine and had even offered to drink it in his place. Merlin's last memory before he passed out was of Arthur's concerned face very close to his, and then of being lifted onto the Prince's shoulders as he slowly drifted into unconciousness. As Merlin was recovering Gaius had told him the full story of Arthur's quest to bring back the flower. This had involved travelling to an unfriendly neighbouring Kingdom alone, fighting a Cockatrice, almost falling to his death in the cave and fending off giant spiders. Wow. As if that wasn't enough, upon his return Arthur had suffered the indignity of a stay in the dungeons for defying his father and had defied him further (with Gwen's help) by smuggling the flower up to Gaius to formulate the cure. It wasn't the first time he'd shown bravery and nobility in the face of adversity. Merlin was still in awe that Arthur had faced Knight Valiant in the tournament knowing that his shield was enchanted and that he was likely to be killed.
Merlin finished his wine and huffed out a laugh to himself. Who was he kidding that either Gwen or Arthur could think of him in 'that way'. He was obviously still a little delerious after the illness to even THINK romantic thoughts about either his friend Gwen or his Master Arthur.
He was just gathering the strength to get up and go back to bed when a voice right behind him said in a slightly mocking tone "Still alive then?!" It was Arthur. Merlin's heart gave a little bit of a flutter (an effect of the Mulled Wine, obviously, he decided) and in a slightly flustered voice he stuttered out, "I-I understand I have you to thank for that". A sudden unbidden bout of bashfulness caused his voice to trail off toward the end of the sentence and he looked down at the table. A beat later, Arthur came back with, "Yeah well, it was nothing - a half decent servant is hard to come by..." He looked into Merlin's eyes with surprising intensity - and no sarcasm - as he said this and Merlin found himself completely discombobulated and for once in his life utterly at a loss for words. In the same tone the Prince continued, "I was only dropping by to make sure you were alright"...and then with something of the arrogance and sarcasm that Merlin was used to (and suddenly realised he rather ENJOYED!) "...and to check to you'll be back to work tomorrow". As Arthur said this he turned and swaggered toward the door. Such arrogant Prince-like behaviour bought Merlin back to himself and he said in a more normal tone, "Er yes- of course - bright and early!" and watched for a few seconds as the graceful broad back of his Prince headed toward the exit.
On a sudden impulse he called after the man. Not by his formal title of 'Sire', but simply by name. "Arthur" he blurted. Arthur turned around and locked eyes questioningly with his servant - perhaps a little startled at this informal address. Merlin returned the look and simply and sincerely said, "Thank You"
Arthur's look softened, a gentle smile that Merlin had never seen before playing on his lips. After a few moments he quietly said, "you too. Get some rest" and headed out the door.
As his Master dissapeared from sight Merlin felt suddenly bereft. Gaius summed up exactly Merlin's situation. "Arthur may give you a hard time but at heart he's a man of honour - not many would have risked what he did for a servant". Suddenly and with shocking clarity Merlin realised which of the floral gifts thrilled him the most, and what his heart truly wanted.