They began to duel. Lancelot managed to flick Morgana's sword out of her hand.
"This isn't over, Lancelot. I shall triumph over you, wait and see..."
The two continued to fight for the remainder of training, to which Arthur had to put a stop to.
"Alright, you two, Training is over." Arthur demanded.
"Not till I beat the sonova-" Morgana was fuming.
"Morgana!"
"Sorry. It's just that this...idiot...has stolen my maid and I won't stand for it!"
"Stolen? I was set up!" Lancelot argued.
"What?"
"Um, I can explain..." Merlin interrupted.
"Merlin, quiet. I'll handle this." Arthur put his arm across Merlin, to stop him stepping forward. "Morgana, Lancelot...I will discuss this with you in my chambers."
The two gave stubborn looks to one another before following Arthur and Merlin to Arthur's chambers. When they arrived, Arthur sat them both down on the chairs and pulled Merlin to his side.
"Right, let's get this clear and no one says anything about this outside my chambers. Understood?" Arthur looked to them both.
"Transparently, Sire." Lancelot nodded.
"I'm not stupid, Arthur." Morgana snapped.
"Good. We are all aware of the crush Gwen had on Merlin, right?" Arthur questioned.
"Who didn't?" The pair replied in unison.
"I didn't..." Merlin looked down.
"Well the only reason Merlin wasn't with Gwen is because of this..." Arthur took his chance and kissed Merlin full on. Morgana squealed with happiness and Lancelot's jaw dropped. "So, Gwen was heartbroken when she discovered a bite on his neck. He didn't know about her crush and felt guilty when he did. We made a plan to keep Gwen happy."
"So...You two have been together this whole time?" Lancelot couldn't believe it.
"Yes." Arthur was confident.
"Oh my god, Merlin! I had no idea you were gay! I thought you were-" Morgana babbled.
"Straight. Yeah, I get that a lot." Merlin finished her sentence.
"And none of this goes outside this room, or I will get my father to behead you." Arthur had a tone of seriousness.
"Of course, Arthur. And since you have made your confession, I will make mine." Morgana stood up. "You know your knight Leon?"
"Yes...he's my second in command."
"Well...He's not as single as he claims."
"That doesn't surprise me. He seems way too happy for being a single guy."
"I also have a confession to make." Lancelot thought he might seal his end of the bargain. "With your permission, my lady, I plan to marry your maid in secrecy."
"You want to marry Gwen?" Morgana was surprised.
"She is the most beautiful and caring maiden I ever laid eye upon."
"Then by all means, marry her, but I will still require her services."
"Thank you, my lady. I will do my utmost not to disrupt your routine."
"Well, we all have a secret and it won't leave this room." Arthur gestured to his door, to which Morgana and Lancelot exited and it left Merlin and himself alone. He smiled to Merlin, to which Merlin responded by closing the door and then striding up to Arthur to give him a kiss.
Arthur was happy. Very happy. Merlin was being dominant, which he enjoyed. It gave him a break from the whole 'being a prince' thing. Here, he was just Arthur and Merlin was the only one who could control him.
"Arthur, this isn't fair on Gwen. She's kept our secret for a while now and then you go and tell those two? That's kind of uncalled for." Merlin frowned and turned away.
'Damn it!' Arthur thought. "Well, tomorrow, I will tell her what happened and ask her to talk about it only in my chambers with the people that know present. Does that make you happy?" Arthur just wanted Merlin close to him again.
"Are you just saying that, or are you going to do it?" Merlin nearly saw through him.
"I'm a man of my word, Merlin. You know that."
"You're right. You are a man of your word..." Merlin felt somewhat comforted by knowing that.
Arthur pulled away Merlin's scarf to notice the ever-present hickey on his neck. It was slightly faded, however, so Arthur decided to make it more prominent. Merlin was moaning and gasping and Arthur would have smiled at that, if he wasn't currently busy.
"Mine." Arthur growled possessively. Merlin shivered from the way Arthur spoke. He chuckled inwardly at Merlin's reaction.
"Always." Merlin spoke with lightness in his tone. This made Arthur stop. "Arthur?"
"And I will be yours always too." Arthur responded. Merlin knew from Arthur's tone that just one word had hit home in Arthur's brain. Merlin had admitted he was Arthur's...Always. The innocence he had put into that one word snapped something in Arthur.
Usually, Arthur was possessive...but right now, he was something else and Merlin could sense it. Arthur was totally filled with the love for Merlin, no other emotion like lust...just pure love. The aura changed around them as Merlin experienced how much Arthur really cared.
"Arthur, you are mine and I am yours." Merlin smiled. "It's just pure love between us now."
"You can feel it too? I thought it was just me..." Arthur's brow furrowed.
"There are two in every relationship, Arthur. We are two sides of the same coin. Your feelings are mine and my feelings are yours." Merlin took hold of Arthur's hand and gave it a squeeze, blushing slightly.
Arthur laughed at Merlin's blush. "Indeed." He was light-hearted. It was the first time he'd felt care-free in weeks. It felt fantastic.
One last kiss and Arthur got to work readying himself for dining with his father. Merlin helped, of course, and after a few minutes, managed to get Arthur out of his chambers on time.
Their relationship was reaching new levels, but for now, Merlin was content with the love between them. They could move on later... and who knows what that scarf could be handy for?