The next morning, Merlin awoke to sunlight shining through his window. He stretched and got dressed for the day. As he made his way to fetch Arthur's breakfast, he noticed that the halls were bustling with even more people. The guests must be arriving soon. Merlin hastily collected some food from the kitchen into some sort of breakfast and escaped to Arthur's chambers.
He entered unannounced and placed the tray of food on the table before moving quietly to the curtains. He opened them in one swift movement, sunlight pouring into the room.
"Rise and shine, Arthur! It's a brand new day and we've got a lot of work to do!" he exclaimed in mock cheer, grinning like the idiot he was.
As Arthur began to roll over, the manservant expected the prince to yell at him, or even throw something at him like usual. He looked at Merlin with an unamused expression, mouth opening to say something prat-ish. But then he sneezed, and, as if he was suddenly waking from a dream, he stared at Merlin.
"Good morning to you, too," Arthur said pleasantly.
The prince stood up with a smile, reaching for his clothes. Merlin, dumbfounded, surged forward to help him.
"Allow me to dress you, sire," he said, surprised when his hand was swatted away.
"Don't worry about it, I can dress myself," Arthur said gently.
Merlin stared, mouth agape, as the prince pulled on his own tunic and breeches and walked to his table. Something was wrong here. The manservant rushed to Arthur's side and slapped a hand to his forehead, checking his temperature. The prince wasn't feverish, which was not what Merlin had been expecting. Unfortunately, that lead him to the only other explanation to Arthur's strange behavior. He was enchanted.
"Care for a sausage, Merlin?" the prince inquired, waving a piece to him.
Well... perhaps he could deal with spell breaking later.
As the day went on, Merlin grew used to Arthur's kindness, only a small part of him was guilty for using this to his own advantage. But it just felt so nice, being appreciated-wait, what? Merlin paused outside of Arthur's chambers as he recalled his wish from the previous night. Had it really come true?
But, wishing upon stars never worked! He's done that several times before, none of his wishes ever coming true. Why was this time different? A tiny giggle interrupted his thoughts. Curiously, he looked around to find the source, confused when he was met only with an empty hallway.
Wait! There, right there, A flash of light caught Merlin's attention. It appeared again, zooming across his path. To keep it from vanishing, he quickly used a binding spell on the thing. Once his eyes returned from gold to blue, he walked up to the bound light on the ground. It was a fairy!
"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.
The silver glowing creature peered up at him with wide eyes. "I was just helping, Emrys," it said feebly.
Merlin squinted. "So you know who I am?"
The fairy nodded. "Yes, my name is Astrid. Last night, you wished upon me and I'm here to grant it!"
The manservant's eyes widened. "You were that abnormally bright star?"
The fairy nodded. Merlin slapped his forehead at his own idiocy. This explained a lot.
"What did you do to Arthur?" he inquired.
"I've sprinkled him some love powder. It causes the victim to become more affectionate to whomever the caster chooses," Astrid explained proudly.
Merlin blanched. "W-will he remember anything that happens under its influence if he is released from the spell?"
"Of course he will!" the fairy exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Merlin gulped. He had a strong feeling that after all of this, he would be executed. He released the binding spell on the fairy.
"You're going to help break the enchantment on Arthur whether you'd like to or not," he said.
"But Emrys, it will take several days to collect all the ingredients needed to undo the spell!" Astrid complained.
"Then you had better start now."
The fairy huffed before fluttering away to do just that.
Merlin sighed before entering Arthur's room, being met by the sight of the prince undressing.
"Oh, hello, Merlin," he said casually.
The manservant blushed and looked away awkwardly.
"I'll get some water for your bath," he said.
"There's no need, I already got it."
"Alright, then I'll go get your dinner-"
"You've been working all day. Why don't you join me?" Arthur walked up to him and reached to pull off his manservant's tunic.
"Whoa," Merlin said, stepping backwards. "I-um, I appreciate the offer, sire. But I just remembered that I promised to help Gaius with-ah!"
He tripped over a chair and landed on the stone floor with a thud. Arthur rushed to his side.
"Merlin, are you alright?" he asked with concern.
The manservant nodded. "Yes, I'm alright," he said with a sigh.
Suddenly, he was pulled into a tight embrace by a very half-naked prince. "Sometimes, you're just so clumsy, you worry me to death," Arthur breathed against his neck.
Merlin blushed a bright red before pushing the prince away. "Alright, alright. Now go take your bath before the water gets cold."
"Won't you join me?" Arthur pouted, hands resting on his manservant's waist.
"N-no! Of course now! I-go take your bath. I'll help wash your back, that's all, alright?" Merlin conceded.
Arthur grinned and dragged his manservant to his bath tub.
Somehow, later that night, he had become Arthur's teddy bear.
They were laying in the prince's bed, curled up under the thick covers. Arthur had his arms wrapped around Merlin and the manservant had no choice but to try and fall asleep.
Merlin forced himself to relax and pressed his back into Arthur's warm chest. His eyelids were about to close when he heard the door open quietly. The manservant paled. What if someone saw him and the prince in the same bed? They'd tell the kind and he'd surely be executed!
He peered through a small crack in the bed curtains and saw a familiar handmaid tiptoe into the room. Gwen. The girl placed something on Arthur's table and stole a quick look to his bed, eyes meeting Merlin's. The manservant blushed and hid under the blankets, turning around and hid his face in Arthur's chest. He heard a soft giggle and a door closing before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
xxx
