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Arthur was in a foul mood and he knew it. Work was piling up, not helped by losing an afternoon sleeping. It had been dusk when he had awoken, a blanket over his shoulders and a fire burning next to him. The room was clean and tidy and Arthur was amazed Merlin had done his job without waking him.

His surprise turned to anger though. Merlin should have woken him. It would have been obvious that Arthur had not intended to fall asleep by his position and his servant knew how much work he had to do. Now he was going to be lucky to get any sleep that night in order to catch up. Arthur crossed his fingers he would be able to catch a few hours before joining a dawn patrol.

His knights didn't understand what it took to run a kingdom. As their prince, Arthur was used to leading them on patrols and he knew if he stopped showing up – especially as he hadn't attended training for a few days – they would begin to think that he was lazing around. The duties of a prince were different from that of a king and Arthur was trying to balance both right now. No one understood that.

Merlin had disappeared as soon as he saw Arthur was awake. The prince was glad. At the back of his mind, he knew Merlin was only trying to help. He was also planning a tirade that would have Merlin squirming, however, and he wanted to finish it before delivering it. He signed his name at the bottom of a report on taxes as he perfected what he would say to his servant. Half the matters his father dealt with all seemed so pointless. But it wasn't Arthur's place to question them; he only hoped he could keep on top while the king was healing. Arthur wanted to prove himself and he couldn't do that if his father had a backlog of work to catch up on.

"Dinner," a voice announced cheerfully. Arthur only managed to catch the inkwell from spilling in the nick of time. He wouldn't admit that Merlin had made him jump, but he hadn't heard him come back – he had been too engrossed in his thoughts. Looking up, he saw his servant was watching him closely, a laden tray in his hands.

"Put it over there and get out," Arthur muttered tersely. Merlin's face fell as if he had been hoping Arthur would be feeling better after a nap. The prince shook his head. Why should he care what his servant thought? It was Merlin's fault he had wasted an afternoon as it was. Merlin slid the tray onto the edge of the table then crossed the room to read over his shoulder rather than leaving as he had been instructed.

"Is that really important right now?" He murmured and Arthur threw his quill down. Shoving his chair back, he glared at his servant.

"Since when did you know how to run a kingdom, Merlin?" Arthur snapped. He wasn't planning on admitting he had been thinking the same thing. "What do you know about what is important?"

"Nothing," Merlin muttered, backing away. But he didn't leave. He only got halfway towards the door before he turned and faced his master. Arthur inwardly groaned; he knew that look. It was the expression that said Merlin didn't give a damn about his position or Arthur's status; he was going to say what was on his mind and damn the consequences.

"But I do know health is important."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You fell asleep because you needed it, Arthur. Don't you dare plan to stay up half the night signing tax reports. The kingdom isn't going to fall apart over that."

"Get out." Arthur's voice went deadly quiet and he knew it was more than anger he was feeling. Merlin glared at him, but knew that tone meant he needed to leave this time. He was just in time for the empty goblet clattered harmlessly to the ground, ringing loudly from the force it had collided against the stone-work with.

Reminding himself he didn't care what Merlin thought – and what did he know, anyway? – Arthur forced himself to turn back to the reports. But anger was pulsing through him and the words were blurring together. As he reached for his goblet and realised it was on the other side of the room, Arthur noticed his hand was shaking. It wasn't anger he was feeling at all. It was a mixture of frustration and utter helplessness.

Merlin was right; the kingdom wouldn't notice if the reports weren't done by the end of the day. The only person who would know was himself. If he was honest, he couldn't care less about numbers and figures right now.

What he cared about was the fact that he was doing them at all. This was his father's job. The father who was barely functioning as a man - let alone a king - because of Morgana. The woman he had loved like a sister: the woman who had betrayed them all and left Arthur to clear up the mess. She had always been there during his bad days - irritating him most of the time but knowing just how to cheer him up.

Now he was alone. Merlin didn't count; what did he know about being royal?

Then again…He had been the one to force Arthur to eat while sheltering in the cave, he had been the one to refuse to give up or let Arthur give up. He had sent for Lancelot, he had…

He had made Arthur remember what it was to be a prince. He had made him want to fight back even while feeling his heart was breaking.

Arthur knew he owed Merlin his kingdom and what he had he done in response? Thrown him out while chucking something at his head. As usual, Merlin had been trying to help. And – God forbid Arthur should ever admit it – as usual, he had been right as well. Who cared about tax reports?

Arthur groaned, massaging his temples as he tried to ease his headache. Merlin was indeed a headache. Deep down, however, Arthur knew that wasn't fair. Merlin had been looking out for him like he always did. But then Arthur realised it gave him a way of apologising without having to say the actual words. He rose from his seat.

A few moments later and he was knocking softly on Gaius door. When the old man bid him to enter, Arthur looked around as he did so, making sure Merlin was there. He was - sitting on the bench with one foot propped up and a miserable expression on his face. His foot slipped when he saw Arthur but he didn't say anything.

"I need a pain relief," Arthur muttered to Gaius.

"What for?"

"A headache."

"You can have one." Gaius said firmly, moving to his shelves as he spoke. "But I expect what you need more is fresh air."

"Gaius…"

"Trust me, Sire. No pain relief is going to make that headache go away unless you get out of your chambers. Attend training in the morning or I'm not giving you anything else."

Arthur stared at the physician before glancing around at Merlin. His servant was grinning and didn't try to conceal it when he caught Arthur's eye. Arthur knew he couldn't ignore Gaius' advice the way he had done Merlin's. The physician knew what he was talking about.

"Fine," Arthur muttered, his voice too tired to snap. "Then give me a sleeping draught as well."

"Sire?" Gaius turned to him properly, concern etched into his face. Arthur shook his head – he didn't want to explain - and the old man let it be for once. Arthur had no intention of admitting working was an excuse to avoid the nightmares. Gaius pulled down another bottle and pressed them both into his hand before resting a fatherly hand on his shoulder.

"Get some rest, Arthur. You'll feel better."

Arthur nodded, feeling like a chastised little boy again and headed for the door. He paused before he left.

"I need you at dawn, Merlin," he ordered, but he saw Merlin's smile soften.

"Yes, Sire."

Arthur left, knowing Merlin would understand what that meant. It meant he had listened, that he intended to attend training – and have a break from work – just as Merlin and Gaius had wanted. His way of apologising was showing he was listening.

MMM

For once, Merlin managed to make it to Arthur's chambers on time the next morning and get the prince ready for a training session before Arthur could change his mind. Neither of them mentioned what had happened the previous evening, but Merlin knew Arthur well enough to know the man felt guilty about the way he had reacted. Merlin had already let it go; if he remained offended every time Arthur snapped at him, his life would be one of misery.

He wasn't about to give Arthur the chance to back out of training though. He didn't say a word as he had dressed him, practically forcing the training shirt on before strapping on the light armour. Once Arthur had left, he had the chance to air the room properly – the first time in a while Arthur had been out of it long enough to actually freshen it up. Merlin hoped this was Arthur ending his self-imposed isolation. He fully intended to make the most of it while it lasted.

It didn't take long to get everything in order. Merlin knew it was cheating using magic to clean the room, but he didn't want to be stuck inside either. Grabbing a pair of gauntlets were in desperate need of attention and a cloth, he automatically made his way to the training grounds. It was cold, but the day was a beautiful one and Merlin wasn't passing up the chance to get outside. Arthur confining himself meant Merlin had been trapped too.

He should have known the gauntlets would remain untouched once he got outside. Camelot was different now - his friends were here. Merlin openly laughed as Gwaine challenged Arthur in an unsuitable way and Lancelot quietly defeated Leon with a flurry of swordplay Merlin had never seen before. He knew Lancelot had been training hard during his absence. Elyan was sharpening a sword, casually resting on the ground while Percival was throwing knives.

For a scene of weaponry and violence, Merlin felt at peace for the first time in a long while. This was where he belonged, with his friends.

"What do you think?" Gwaine asked, plonking himself down next to Merlin after landing flat on his back in the mud after Arthur had tripped him.

"I think you did that on purpose to break him from his mood," Merlin said quietly, a small grin on his face. Gwaine pretended to look affronted before tipping him a wink when no one was looking.

"The princess just needs his ego inflated again, that's all."

Merlin knew Gwaine wasn't doing this for Arthur. The new knight knew was aware Arthur's bad mood was being taken out on Merlin. He was doing it to give Merlin a break and the servant felt a rush of gratitude. He grinned at his friend and Gwaine responded by picking up another gauntlet and a spare cloth.

"These were the days, right?" He muttered and Merlin laughed again, knowing he was referring to their mammoth boot polishing session. It was only then he realised Arthur was not the only one in need of cheering up. Knowing Gwaine was watching him out of the corner of his eye, Merlin turned to his friend and let the man see his grin. He let him know he appreciated that Gwaine was trying.

"When you two have stopped talking like a pair of old maids, get over here, Gwaine!" Arthur shouted, causing Merlin to look up. Gwaine dropped the gauntlet and sprang up at Arthur's beckoning. Merlin settled himself into a more comfortable position. It seemed he was not the only one to appreciate being out here - for there was a smile on Arthur's face as he challenged Gwaine again and the glint in his eye showed this was doing him more good than he would ever admit. The headache that had been present the night before had seemed to have vanished.

For a moment, Merlin watched them with a smile. Then the smile faltered and he looked out across the grounds. The borders to the forest were just about visible and Merlin was transfixed by it. He was so absorbed in looking at nothing he didn't notice Lancelot come and sit by him until the man spoke.

"What is it?"

Merlin jumped, a flippant retort on his tongue before he realised who it was. Lancelot was the one person he didn't have to lie to, only Merlin had no answer.

"I don't know. Just a bad feeling, I guess."

"About Morgana?"

Merlin nodded mutely, sighing as he forced himself to look away from the trees. "We don't know where she is or what she is doing. If she carries on this way, she's not going to need to attack; Arthur's working himself into the ground."

"Try not to worry," Lancelot murmured. He sounded as if he truly appreciated the depth to Merlin's concerns. He alone knew how responsible Merlin felt, although Arthur did seem to have some vague feeling Merlin blamed himself for what had happened.

"She might not do anything. We did defeat her and her army. You stopped Morgause. She has nothing now."

"That's what worries me," Merlin said quietly. Morgana was a woman who had been used to living as royalty and having the king wrapped around her finger. She was not used to having nothing or being on the losing side. "She's dangerous."

"So are you. So are all of us. Try not to think about it, Merlin. There is no threat and the fact Arthur has made it out here this morning shows that not all is lost yet."

Merlin forced the smile back on his face and nodded. Lancelot was right. He had enough of a problem getting his prat of a destiny to take care of himself. He didn't need to worry about a threat that hadn't yet materialised. Still, Merlin couldn't help but think it was only going to be a matter of time: a when rather than an if.

Lancelot rejoined the others before Arthur noticed that he too was spending the time talking to Merlin rather than training. For a while, Merlin managed to busy himself with the chores he was supposed to be doing, distracting his mind from previous concerns. His growling stomach told him how much time had passed. Just as he started to think about lunch, a young squire came running out. His face was one of concern.

"My Lord! My Lord!"

One barked command from Arthur was all it took for the knights to instantly stop what they were doing. Merlin was on his feet before he realised, catching Lancelot's eye and portraying his fear with just that one look. Had they spoken too soon?

"Well?" Leon prompted when the young man didn't seem capable of saying anything. They all knew Arthur wasn't the most tactful at the best of times, let alone when he was stressed.

"The latest patrol has just arrived back, Sire," the squire said breathlessly, looking between them as he tried to work out who to address. "Three are injured, badly. Gaius requests your presence."

Arthur nodded and Merlin was by his side instantly, helping him with his armour. Arthur might moan about Merlin's work but there was no denying how in-tune he was to Arthur's needs. Within moments, he had removed enough for the prince to start striding towards the castle.

"I'll sort it," Elyan said quietly, holding out his hand for the armour. "You're needed."

Grateful the men were aware of his bond with Arthur, Merlin passed the armour over and hurried after his master. His mind was racing as he fell in step with him.

"I'm going out there," Arthur said quietly, not even looking at him. "You were right. Tax reports can wait. These bandit attacks can't. I'm needed out there, not behind a desk."

Merlin didn't say anything, not knowing what words were best suited to the occasion. But he couldn't stop the sigh of relief from escaping him. He had been waiting for this - waiting for the moment when Arthur realised where he could best serve his kingdom. It was not by trying to mimic his father.

Arthur must have heard his sigh, however, for the next thing Merlin knew, he was almost crashing into a wall from where the prince had given him a playful shove. Merlin rolled his eyes as he straightened up, but grinned as Arthur caught his gaze. To his delight, the prince grinned back.

Maybe Lancelot was right? They didn't need to worry about things that might not happen. If Arthur did go out on a patrol, it was as if things were returning to normal.

Merlin never thought the day would come when he would be glad he would be dragged out on a patrol.