A/N: This is set a few days after The Coming of Arthur.

I don't own Merlin


The new knights had just finished their first training session with Arthur and Leon. Now they all stood around chatting in the armory while Merlin began polishing Arthur's armor. His sleeve kept catching on a broken link in Arthur's chain mail. After a few minutes, he pushed the sleeve about a third of the way up his arm, exposing a row of unnaturally straight scars.

Merlin had largely tuned out the surrounding conversation when someone suddenly grabbed his arm. He jumped violently and saw Percival looking at him with a mixture of horror and concern. "Merlin, what the hell have you been doing to yourself?"

Merlin shook his head and tried desperately to pull away, but Percival was very strong.

"I can't just let this happen," Percival growled. He dragged Merlin over to the prince. "Arthur!"

Arthur whirled around. His eyes widened when he saw Merlin struggling in Percival's grip. "Sir Percival, unhand Merlin at once," Arthur ordered, a warning in his voice.

"No—look at his arm!" Percival insisted, dragging Merlin's sleeve up to his elbow and revealing more scars.

"I am well aware of the situation, Percival, and that is exactly why you must let go of Merlin now," Arthur said stiffly. Percival reluctantly released Merlin, who hurriedly pulled down his sleeve and stepped away. Arthur took pity on his servant. "Merlin, go see Gaius."

Merlin nodded and all but ran out of the room.

Arthur turned to the room at large and raised his voice. "Attention, all of you. It seems that I need to establish a few rules for interacting with Merlin. First of all, and most importantly, do not touch him without his permission unless it is a matter of life or death. Mordred is an exception to this rule; do not use him as a role model for dealing with Merlin. Second of all, treat him…" Arthur sighed and shut his eyes for a moment. "Please do not repeat this to anyone else, because I mean absolutely no offense to Merlin when I say this, but treat him as you would a frightened animal—stay calm and be gentle. It was a knight who strangled him so badly he lost his voice, and as a result he tends to be uncomfortable around knights. Act as non-threatening as possible. Are we all clear?"

"Yes, Sire," the five knights chorused.

Percival still looked worried. "But…his scars…"

Arthur shook his head. "It's not what you seem to think it is, and rest assured that Merlin won't be collecting any more. And try not to mention the matter to him; it's a very sensitive subject."

Percival swallowed and nodded. "Understood."