Arthur opened the closet gingerly, then stared at the clothes there. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Inside the cupboard was a messy heap of clothes. Arthur could make out some dark trousers, a blue shirt and a brown jacket: draped over the top of it all lay a red neckerchief.

Grimacing, Arthur pulled all the clothes out and threw them onto Merlin's - Arthur's - bed. I cannot believe I have to wear this, he thought to himself as he took off his nightshirt. He glanced at his reflection in the small window before reaching out and pulling on the blue shirt.

About ten minutes later Arthur was fully dressed. He walked towards the door, opened it, and then hesitated. He felt like something was missing. He glanced back at the bed.

Without thinking, Arthur walked back to the bed. He picked up the red neckerchief and tied it expertly around his neck, grinning as the material rested comfortably against his skin. Feeling ready to face the day, he made his way to his - Merlin's - room.

He opened the door without knocking, like Merlin usually would. Merlin spun around. He took one look at Arthur and grinned, visibly relaxing.

"I always told you that outfit was comfortable," Merlin said by way of greeting, leaning against the windowpane with his arms folded. He was dressed in what looked like one of Arthur's outfits - red shirt, brown jerkin, dark trousers and tan boots. On closer inspection, Arthur noticed that Merlin was even wearing a leather string around his neck.

"So, what are we meant to be doing today?" Arthur asked, glancing at himself in the mirror. He paused, his eyes widening in horror.

"What's wrong?" Merlin inquired, noticing the look on Arthur's face.

"I look like a cross between me and you!" Arthur exclaimed. He pulled the neckerchief off and threw it across the floor. "This is just too weird."

Merlin bent down and scooped it up, dusting it gently. "I'm sure it won't last long, Arthur." He stood up straighter. "Now, back to business. I was looking for something I could get you to do, and I found this." Merlin gestured to a bundle in a corner of the room.

Arthur wrinkled his nose. "So?"

A slow grin spread across Merlin's face. "Those clothes have stew stains all over them."

"Oh, that is just unfair!" Arthur fumed, his dark eyes narrowing. "It was you who dropped that stew over me!"

"Apparently not," Merlin teased. "So, I'd like you to go and wash them until the stains are gone."

"But..." Merlin glared at him; Arthur sighed in defeat. "Fine, sire." He went and gathered the bundle of clothes in his arms, wincing slightly.

"Umm, Arthur?" Merlin said hesitantly. "You do know how to wash them, right?"

Arthur turned to his ex-servant, frowning as he realised that he had never really cleaned anything before in his life. He'd seen one or two servants cleaning clothes though, so - "Of course I do, Merlin."

Merlin nodded. "Just checking."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay, now to do this," Arthur muttered, glaring at the bundle of clothes before him.

He was in the castle's washroom; a place that Arthur had never actually entered before, but he knew the servants did most of their washing here.

"Hi, Arthur," a voice said beside him, and Arthur turned to see Morgana's maidservant beside him.

"Hello, Guinevere," Arthur replied courteously before turning his attention back to the washing.

"Is this your first time here?" Gwen asked, then blushed slightly. "It's just - I've never seen you here. But I guess you do come here, otherwise Merlin wouldn't have many clean clothes. And neither would you, I guess - I mean, Merlin puts you in the stocks such a lot."

Arthur stared at her. Was she always this talkative? When he'd been the prince, Gwen had always been rather quiet.

Then it hit him. Arthur had suspected for a while now that Gwen was in love with Merlin, but now that Arthur had taken on Merlin's life, Gwen must have transferred her attention to him. Just great, Arthur thought sarcastically.

"Do you need help with anything?" Gwen asked him, smiling. "If you want, I could..."

Maybe Arthur could use this to his advantage. He grinned inwardly.

"Actually, Gwen, I do need some help with this," he admitted. "See, Merl... I spilt some stew on Merlin's clothes last night, and I have no idea how to get the stains out."

"Oh, that was why you were in the stocks yesterday," Gwen smiled. "Well, to get out stains..."

"Maybe you should show me how to do it," Arthur interrupted, holding up his - Merlin's - shirt. "That might help me understand it better."

Huh, it seems having Gwen fancy me is a good thing, Arthur thought to himself as he watched Gwen clean the stained shirt. He was a little ashamed of himself for using her like this, but his dislike of chores won over.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Watching Arthur's retreating back, Merlin wondered how he was going to spend his day. He was so used to being at the beck and call of both Arthur and Gaius that doing nothing was boring.

Merlin sighed, staring out the window. What was he meant to do?

Battle training? No, that wasn't on today. Besides, Merlin was hopeless with a sword.

Hunting? Merlin was useless at that, too.

Merlin sighed, resting his forehead against the cool glass, his breath forming a small patch of condensation.

Well, what was he good at? The answer came to Merlin almost immediately.

Magic.

Merlin pulled back from the window, suddenly worried. Yesterday, what had he said?

"I just wish he knew what I had to go through, that's all. Not just with my duties as a servant, but me having to constantly save him with magic."

Merlin groaned. "Oh, no..." He glanced around the room, noticing a book lying on Arthur's bedside table.

Merlin raised his hand towards the book and closed his eyes. Come on... come to me, he thought, biting his bottom lip in concentration. Usually when he did this, his skin would tingle, his eyes would burn with warmth and whatever he was beckoning would fly straight into his hands.

This time, Merlin felt nothing. He opened his eyes to find that the book hadn't moved at all.

Great. So Merlin had lost his magic, and Arthur had probably gained it.

I just hope he can control it, Merlin thought anxiously, remembering how he used to perform spells instinctively before Gaius had given him his magic book.

And if Arthur accidentally cast a spell, he would be immediately designated for execution.