Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Merlin (long sigh). Darn it! Still can't wait for it to come out October 1st, but again, you didn't hear that from me (whispered tone).
Week One
Merlin
At first, Merlin was anxious about the bet. Would he be able to survive a month without the use of his magic? What if a sorcerer attacked Camelot? Worse, what if Morgana attacked Camelot? And even worse, what if Arthur got himself into trouble...well, more trouble than he usually seems to get himself into? How did Prince Clotpole always manage to get himself into a life-threatening situation? All of these questions raced through his mind. However, as the week went by, Merlin found that it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be.
Yes, the first couple of days were a bit rough. Doing Arthur's chores was harder without magic, but he eventually learned to cope with the amount of chores that was piled on him. That and the fact that Lancelot was helping him on his spare time. Somehow, Merlin suspected that this bout of generosity (even though Lancelot was already generous as it is) was due to the fact that if he lost, Lancelot lost as well. One thing was for sure, Lancelot was not going to lose to Elyan if he could help it.
Gwaine
Gwaine was very confident about the next month...at first. As the days went by, he found that the taverns seemed to quietly beckon him to their wooden doors. Thank goodness he had Elyan to be his second conscience, always reminding him of the consequences of succumbing to these temptations.
The first few days were fine. By the fourth day, mead, or the lack of, was constantly on his mind. He didn't just want mead, he needed it and this distracted him during his knightly duties. But he managed without it...for now.
Lancelot
Lancelot did everything he could to make sure that Merlin wouldn't be tempted or forced to use his magic. Whenever he could, he would check on Merlin and help him with his chores, all for the sake of not losing his bet with Elyan. However, he knew that his actions wouldn't be enough for long. This was just the first week and though Merlin seemed to be doing fine on his own, he knew it would only get harder as the weeks went on.
Elyan
Gwaine didn't stand a chance. Elyan realized this after the umpteenth time he had to remind the usually-drunk knight about the overall goal. Elyan trusted Gwaine like a brother, but he knew that, despite his constant watch, it was only a matter of time before Gwaine would fall prey to his own temptation. As the first week of the bet came to a close, Elyan knew he had to do something. But what?
It suddenly dawned on him. If Gwaine was constantly being tempted to down a keg of mead in the blink of an eye, then why couldn't Merlin be exposed to that same kind of temptation. No-one said that they couldn't play dirty. What if Merlin was suddenly bombarded with so much workload that he couldn't help but use his magic? One wonders...
Arthur
Something was up. Though he didn't realize it at first, Arthur began to notice something different about his knights and friend-slash-manservant-slash-warlock ever since they got back from looking for Morgana and company in Tolemac. Gwaine and Merlin caught his attention first.
Merlin seemed too busy all the time. Arthur already knew that he had magic, but since his father was still king (though losing his mind), he couldn't change Merlin's status yet; it would draw too much attention to his friend, something Merlin refused to have. Therefore, he still carried the status of 'servant'. As such, Merlin was always expected, by others, to go about his usual routine. Knowing this, Arthur eventually gave him the okay to use his magic when doing chores... as long as he didn't get caught (promising that if he did, he would kill him himself). What Arthur did not expect was for Merlin to be so...so...so busy with his chores all of a sudden.
When he first found out about Merlin's magic, Arthur kept a watchful eye on him, making sure he didn't use it for anything. And when he said anything, Arthur meant anything. This proved to be rather bothersome for Merlin, seeing that he barely got through his chores with the help of his magic in the first place. Convincing the young prattish prince to let him use his 'gifts' proved disastrous in the beginning. However, after explaining the pros of getting his chores done early so he could find ways to keep Camelot safe, Arthur finally 'allowed' Merlin to use his magic.
So when he saw that Merlin was actually busy with his chores, he was slightly caught off guard. Slightly, of course. Arthur, being oblivious as he is, didn't bother to question Merlin as to why.
As for Gwaine, he seemed to be in a state of perpetual contemplation, a trait not suited for the disrespectful knight. At one point, Gwaine even seemed to flinch when Arthur jokingly made a comment about the taverns running dry every night. Again, Arthur didn't bother pressing the matter any further.
Arthur was also starting to notice something different about Lancelot and Elyan. The knights kept glaring at each other, as if both were engaged in a heated argument. Breaking their death glare, they would then walk off in different directions, Elyan towards Gwaine and Lancelot towards Merlin. Even Percival and Leon seemed slightly out of character. But hey, it was probably all in Arthur's head anyway.
Sorry about the lack of dialogue and humor. I know I keep saying this, but the next chapter should have more humor. Just bare with me please.
Hopefully y'all enjoyed it. Next chapter will be Week 2 and we will get to see the mischievous sides of Lancelot and Elyan as they both start to "play dirty". Arthur will start to catch on, but barely. Really, how oblivious can someone be? :)
Thanks Darth Tater for your input on last week's question about what would happen if the bet came to a draw. Thanks to you, I am starting to formulate some ideas, but I am still open for suggestions. So suggest. Remember, something funny and embarrassing.
Until next time fellow Merlin fans,
STL13
