Hey guys! I'm so happy you like my story! Is this how you leave an authors note? I'm still figuring some stuff out. Might be a while till I write again, cause I honestly have no idea what the next chapter is going to be. I would love to hear some suggestions! Happy Thanksgiving!

"How dare you. Did I raise you to be this stupid?" Uther's eves were hardened with hate.

Arthur shrank under them.

"I was just trying-"

"Silence. It is my time to speak." Uther's tone was menacing.

"Proposing the people should have the freedom to criticize the king? Have you lost your mind? And you just had to do it in a court meeting to. You have to think, Arthur! If the people have a voice they will rise against you."

He looked at Arthur.

"Why are you slouching?! Sit up and look like the Prince you are! Get out of my sight!" When Arthur didn't move fast enough, he snapped out,

"Now!"

The second he turned away from his father, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Ridiculous." He thought.

"A Prince doesn't cry."

He adopted a mask (as a Prince should) of indifference and walked to his room, nodding at some of the knights as he passed. If only he could fly right now. Fly away from all his troubles. Grow wings and become a peasant in a field. If only.

His Fathers voice still echoed in his ears, and he did his best to block them out before he broke down crying in the middle of the castle. Now that would be embarrassing.

Where was his room? Curse the immensity of this castle. He could have been there by now if he'd been running. God, he wanted to run. But he didn't dare. Among other things, a Prince didn't run (to his room crying) in the castle unless it was an absolute emergency. And this was not an emergency.

With a flood of relief he saw his bed chambers. Thankfully there were no guards posted outside, and no one in the hall. Arthur ran.

A few seconds later he burst in the room praying no one was inside. Mercifully, no one was, and he was able to sink to the floor in utter dejection without having to worry about the public eye. Glancing over at his mirror, he saw a shadow of himself. A tear stricken face with pathetic stature. He turned away. All of a sudden he heard something. Someone whistling. And they were coming into his chamber. He had seconds. Numerous curse words flew through Arthurs mind. He couldn't let anyone see him like this. The nearest place to hide was his bed. Desperately he lept for it and burrowed beneath the covers. He heard the person enter, and he curled up in a tighter ball in a futile hope that he would not be seen.

Merlin was only in Arthur's room to clean the floor. It had been a while sense he had, and his boots were beginning to stick. He whistled while he worked. It had been a good morning. He'd actually gotten enough sleep, woke up on time, ate his favorite breakfast, and the only chores he'd had to do today were the usual ones. Hence the time to clean the floor.

He started with the areas surrounding the door, moving toward the bed. Halfway through his work, something caught his eye. Hadn't he made the bed this morning? Standing up, he brushed himself off and moved toward the bed. As he got closer, he noticed something. There was a lump under the sheets. One of the servants? No. None of them would dare. A thief? Maybe, but they'd have done a better job hiding, and that was a shoddy hiding spot. Bracing himself, and magic at the ready, Merlin pulled back the sheets to reveal…Arthur.

"Hello Merlin."

"Arthur! You scared the hell out of me! Never do that again!"

"Ok."

"What were you even doing under there? Wasn't there a council meeting today?"

"There was. It ended."

Merlin studied Arthur's face as he talked. Arthur didn't look too good. He looked bleary eyed. Could he be sick? His eyes were puffy and- Oh my god. Arthur had been crying. Prince Arthur? Crying? The idea was foreign. But what was great enough to make Prince Arthur cry? The city wasn't in that much chaos, he hadn't been hanging around any girls so his heart wasn't broken…. But what could it be? Suddenly it dawned on him. It was simple, really. Who was the only person who had control over Arthur? Who in the right mind would use that power to abuse? Uther. Now the biggest question. What was Merlin going to do about The Great Prince Arthur crying? An idea popped into his head, and he leaned in closer.

"Are you hiding?" He mock whispered.

"No, Merlin. I am merely… well as you can see…well I am just-"

"Hiding."

"Yes, well, hiding."

"Well, there are much better places to hide. I can show you." Merlin offered his hand.

Arthur hesitated at first, staring at his outstretched hand, and Merlin offered a secret prayer that Arthur would take it. Finally, he did, but with caution.

"There we go," Merlin said, and hoisted Arthur to his feet.

Merlin popped his head out the door to look for people. Seeing none he motioned to Arthur.

"C'mon," he whispered, "all clear."

Arthur was getting frustrated. All he wanted to do was curl up under the sheets, but noooo. He had to get dragged across the castle by his bumbling servant! To be fair they'd only been traveling for about five minutes now, but still.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Came the mysterious answer.

Arthur sighed and kept going.

They hadn't run into a single person so far. Arthur was vaguely surprised at this. They should have run into servants, nobleman, knights, and more by now. Granted they were ducking down into the servant's passage most of the time. In fact, Arthur didn't know most of these places existed, and he'd been living here longer that Merlin had. When they did see a person, they managed to find a close by hiding spot.

Soon they arrived at… Gaius'? Why were they here? He honestly though it was going to be more exciting than the physician's chambers.

"Merlin, all that sneaking around to get to Gaius'?

"No. This is just a stop."

Arthur saw Merlin grabbed a package from the table.

"What's that?"

"A thing. Now come on."

Again they sneaked through the castle, and again managing to miss every single person. Arthur became aware that they were going upward. What could possibly be up there?

Finally they reached the attic.

"Yay Merlin! We're here. The highest point of the castle. Nothing here but cobwebs and boxes of stuff. Now can I go back now?"

Merlin snickered, before going to the lowest part of the ceiling and slamming his fist in the corner.

Nothing happened.

"Okay Merlin. You've proven your point. Which I still can't figure out what your point is!"

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur before trying again.

Arthur opened his mouth to protest again, but quickly shut it when something swung down…..A trapdoor? Light poured in from the outside.

Merlin cocked his head to the side, smug.

"Oh, shut up," Arthur both adored that face, and loathed it.

Merlin then used the boxes below him, and crawled up, blinking in the bright sunlight. When after much panting and curses he was up, he threw a hand to Arthur.

Arthur stared at his offered hand.

"Is this safe?"

Merlin just grinned.

"Alright." Resigned, Arthur stood on the boxes and hoisted himself upward. When he'd finally reached the top, he gasped.

Merlin's grin grew bigger. Sure he'd been up here lots of times, but it was nothing compared to now. Seeing the look on Arthur's face….well.

"What? Never seen all of Camelot?"

"Never this high." His voice was awed. Merlin laughed at his awestruck expression.

"Here let's get somewhere safer. Wouldn't want the Crown Prince of Camelot falling to his death, now would we?"

Or crying, be silently added.

"This isn't safe?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, "We are standing on top of a castle who knows how many feet in the air with no guard rail. No, this isn't safe!"

Arthur grinned. He hadn't done something that wasn't safe in a long time. It was fantastic. Liberating, even. Suddenly he remembered something.

"Hey what's in the bag?"

"I'll show you, but first come over here. What would I say to your father if you fell to your death?"

Merlin inwardly winced. He hadn't meant to bring Uther up.

Luckily, Arthur seemed to pay no heed. He just rolled his eyes and stood up in an attempt to get were Merlin was.

"No! Don't stand up!"

"Why not?"

"You'll slip and fall! Here, you bear walk."

"Bearwalk?"

"You've never heard of bearwalking? You bend down on all fours, and 'walk' forward. Like a bear.

He demonstrated.

"You look like an idiot, Merlin."

"Yes, and you look like a prat."

Arthur rolled his eyes, and 'bearwalked' to Merlin.

It was even higher here. Arthur raised his arms. It was like flying. Wind in your hair. Sun warming your back. If he tried hard enough he could imagine he had white wings sprouting from his back.

Beside him, Merlin was unwrapping the parcel. Interested, Arthur opened his eyes.

"What is that?"

"Chocolate."

"Chocolate! Where did you get that!"

Even for Royalty, chocolate was a rarity and in short supply.

"When cook has a soft spot for you, great things happen."

Merlin broke it in half.

"Here."

Arthur just looked at it.

"Merlin. I'm not taking your chocolate."

"Yes, you are."

"No! It's your chocolate!"

"Yes! And I'm giving it to you!"

"And I'm not taking it!"

Merlin repositioned his arm.

"If you don't take it then I'll throw it off the rooftop."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

Blue eyes met blue eyes. Both stubborn. Both unrelenting.

Arthur sighed.

"Fine."

Merlin smiled, his smug smile that Arthur so despised and loved.

Arthur tasted the chocolate, creamy and rich.

"Mmmm."

Beside him, Merlin was doing the same.

That little voice inside of Arthur was nagging him. He had chores to do. He shouldn't be wasting his time. But with the blue skies, wind in his hair, chocolate in on his tongue and his best friend beside him, Arthur couldn't bring himself to particularly care.

Wow. Okay. That was way longer than I had originally planned. Again, suggestions are welcome!

Hey guys! I'm so happy you like my story! Can someone tell me how to leave an author's note in the comments? Might be a while till I write again, cause I honestly have no idea what the next chapter is going to be. I would love to hear some suggestions! Happy Thanksgiving!

"How dare you. Did I raise you to be this stupid?" Uther's eves were hardened with hate.

Arthur shrank under them.

"I was just trying-"

"Silence. It is my time to speak." Uther's tone was menacing.

"Proposing the people should have the freedom to criticize the king? Have you lost your mind? And you just had to do it in a court meeting to. You have to think, Arthur! If the people have a voice they will rise against you."

He looked at Arthur.

"Why are you slouching?! Sit up and look like the Prince you are! Get out of my sight!" When Arthur didn't move fast enough, he snapped out,

"Now!"

The second he turned away from his father, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Ridiculous." He thought.

"A Prince doesn't cry."

He adopted a mask (as a Prince should) of indifference and walked to his room, nodding at some of the knights as he passed. If only he could fly right now. Fly away from all his troubles. Grow wings and become a peasant in a field. If only.

His Fathers voice still echoed in his ears, and he did his best to block them out before he broke down crying in the middle of the castle. Now that would be embarrassing.

Where was his room? Curse the immensity of this castle. He could have been there by now if he'd been running. God, he wanted to run. But he didn't dare. Among other things, a Prince didn't run (to his room crying) in the castle unless it was an absolute emergency. And this was not an emergency.

With a flood of relief he saw his bed chambers. Thankfully there were no guards posted outside, and no one in the hall. Arthur ran.

A few seconds later he burst in the room praying no one was inside. Mercifully, no one was, and he was able to sink to the floor in utter dejection without having to worry about the public eye. Glancing over at his mirror, he saw a shadow of himself. A tear stricken face with pathetic stature. He turned away. All of a sudden he heard something. Someone whistling. And they were coming into his chamber. He had seconds. Numerous curse words flew through Arthurs mind. He couldn't let anyone see him like this. The nearest place to hide was his bed. Desperately he lept for it and burrowed beneath the covers. He heard the person enter, and he curled up in a tighter ball in a futile hope that he would not be seen.

Merlin was only in Arthur's room to clean the floor. It had been a while sense he had, and his boots were beginning to stick. He whistled while he worked. It had been a good morning. He'd actually gotten enough sleep, woke up on time, ate his favorite breakfast, and the only chores he'd had to do today were the usual ones. Hence the time to clean the floor.

He started with the areas surrounding the door, moving toward the bed. Halfway through his work, something caught his eye. Hadn't he made the bed this morning? Standing up, he brushed himself off and moved toward the bed. As he got closer, he noticed something. There was a lump under the sheets. One of the servants? No. None of them would dare. A thief? Maybe, but they'd have done a better job hiding, and that was a shoddy hiding spot. Bracing himself, and magic at the ready, Merlin pulled back the sheets to reveal…Arthur.

"Hello Merlin."

"Arthur! You scared the hell out of me! Never do that again!"

"Ok."

"What were you even doing under there? Wasn't there a council meeting today?"

"There was. It ended."

Merlin studied Arthur's face as he talked. Arthur didn't look too good. He looked bleary eyed. Could he be sick? His eyes were puffy and- Oh my god. Arthur had been crying. Prince Arthur? Crying? The idea was foreign. But what was great enough to make Prince Arthur cry? The city wasn't in that much chaos, he hadn't been hanging around any girls so his heart wasn't broken…. But what could it be? Suddenly it dawned on him. It was simple, really. Who was the only person who had control over Arthur? Who in the right mind would use that power to abuse? Uther. Now the biggest question. What was Merlin going to do about The Great Prince Arthur crying? An idea popped into his head, and he leaned in closer.

"Are you hiding?" He mock whispered.

"No, Merlin. I am merely… well as you can see…well I am just-"

"Hiding."

"Yes, well, hiding."

"Well, there are much better places to hide. I can show you." Merlin offered his hand.

Arthur hesitated at first, staring at his outstretched hand, and Merlin offered a secret prayer that Arthur would take it. Finally, he did, but with caution.

"There we go," Merlin said, and hoisted Arthur to his feet.

Merlin popped his head out the door to look for people. Seeing none he motioned to Arthur.

"C'mon," he whispered, "all clear."

Arthur was getting frustrated. All he wanted to do was curl up under the sheets, but noooo. He had to get dragged across the castle by his bumbling servant! To be fair they'd only been traveling for about five minutes now, but still.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Came the mysterious answer.

Arthur sighed and kept going.

They hadn't run into a single person so far. Arthur was vaguely surprised at this. They should have run into servants, nobleman, knights, and more by now. Granted they were ducking down into the servant's passage most of the time. In fact, Arthur didn't know most of these places existed, and he'd been living here longer that Merlin had. When they did see a person, they managed to find a close by hiding spot.

Soon they arrived at… Gaius'? Why were they here? He honestly though it was going to be more exciting than the physician's chambers.

"Merlin, all that sneaking around to get to Gaius'?

"No. This is just a stop."

Arthur saw Merlin grabbed a package from the table.

"What's that?"

"A thing. Now come on."

Again they sneaked through the castle, and again managing to miss every single person. Arthur became aware that they were going upward. What could possibly be up there?

Finally they reached the attic.

"Yay Merlin! We're here. The highest point of the castle. Nothing here but cobwebs and boxes of stuff. Now can I go back now?"

Merlin snickered, before going to the lowest part of the ceiling and slamming his fist in the corner.

Nothing happened.

"Okay Merlin. You've proven your point. Which I still can't figure out what your point is!"

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur before trying again.

Arthur opened his mouth to protest again, but quickly shut it when something swung down…..A trapdoor? Light poured in from the outside.

Merlin cocked his head to the side, smug.

"Oh, shut up," Arthur both adored that face, and loathed it.

Merlin then used the boxes below him, and crawled up, blinking in the bright sunlight. When after much panting and curses he was up, he threw a hand to Arthur.

Arthur stared at his offered hand.

"Is this safe?"

Merlin just grinned.

"Alright." Resigned, Arthur stood on the boxes and hoisted himself upward. When he'd finally reached the top, he gasped.

Merlin's grin grew bigger. Sure he'd been up here lots of times, but it was nothing compared to now. Seeing the look on Arthur's face….well.

"What? Never seen all of Camelot?"

"Never this high." His voice was awed. Merlin laughed at his awestruck expression.

"Here let's get somewhere safer. Wouldn't want the Crown Prince of Camelot falling to his death, now would we?"

Or crying, be silently added.

"This isn't safe?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, "We are standing on top of a castle who knows how many feet in the air with no guard rail. No, this isn't safe!"

Arthur grinned. He hadn't done something that wasn't safe in a long time. It was fantastic. Liberating, even. Suddenly he remembered something.

"Hey what's in the bag?"

"I'll show you, but first come over here. What would I say to your father if you fell to your death?"

Merlin inwardly winced. He hadn't meant to bring Uther up.

Luckily, Arthur seemed to pay no heed. He just rolled his eyes and stood up in an attempt to get were Merlin was.

"No! Don't stand up!"

"Why not?"

"You'll slip and fall! Here, you bear walk."

"Bearwalk?"

"You've never heard of bearwalking? You bend down on all fours, and 'walk' forward. Like a bear.

He demonstrated.

"You look like an idiot, Merlin."

"Yes, and you look like a prat."

Arthur rolled his eyes, and 'bearwalked' to Merlin.

It was even higher here. Arthur raised his arms. It was like flying. Wind in your hair. Sun warming your back. If he tried hard enough he could imagine he had white wings sprouting from his back.

Beside him, Merlin was unwrapping the parcel. Interested, Arthur opened his eyes.

"What is that?"

"Chocolate."

"Chocolate! Where did you get that!"

Even for Royalty, chocolate was a rarity and in short supply.

"When cook has a soft spot for you, great things happen."

Merlin broke it in half.

"Here."

Arthur just looked at it.

"Merlin. I'm not taking your chocolate."

"Yes, you are."

"No! It's your chocolate!"

"Yes! And I'm giving it to you!"

"And I'm not taking it!"

Merlin repositioned his arm.

"If you don't take it then I'll throw it off the rooftop."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

Blue eyes met blue eyes. Both stubborn. Both unrelenting.

Arthur sighed.

"Fine."

Merlin smiled, his smug smile that Arthur so despised and loved.

Arthur tasted the chocolate, creamy and rich.

"Mmmm."

Beside him, Merlin was doing the same.

That little voice inside of Arthur was nagging him. He had chores to do. He shouldn't be wasting his time. But with the blue skies, wind in his hair, chocolate in on his tongue and his best friend beside him, Arthur couldn't bring himself to particularly care.

Wow. Okay. That was way longer than I had originally planned. Again, suggestions are welcome!