(Iris: Hello again dear people! How has the start of the summer been? This is my response to GoodyTwoShoes' prompt, Jasper. This took about three re-writes, and it's still not the greatest, so my apologies GoodyTwoShoes. If you don't like it, give me another colour and I'll replace it with this.

Disclaimer: You honestly thought we owed Merlin? No, no, no. He belongs to Arthur and the BBC. :)

Warnings: Slash if you squint? (maybe not quite so hard to spot as before.) Arthur's a tad OOC. No likey, no ready, comphrende vous? ^^)

Jasper

Merlin yawned widely as he bent, broom in both hands in the attempt to sweep under Arthur's bed. He couldn't understand why the royal pain-in-the-backside had to have his room cleaned the day before a hunt. It wasn't as if Arthur would be sleeping in it, was it? No, instead he would force Merlin to trapeze over various mountains and ditches with a variety of weird and wonderful equipment in the normally vain attempt to kill some poor creature that had done nothing wrong. If his royal pratiness was in anyway concerned about hygiene, he wouldn't be planning to spend the next week sleeping on a dirty forest floor, would he? Merlin still had bruises from the last hunt. A boar had suddenly decided to change course and had hit his chest like some kind of snarling projectile. One hell of a painful horse ride later, Gaius had said Merlin had gained three bruised ribs from the collision and should spend four days in bedrest and the next two weeks doing easy labour.

He got two days off, the most of which Arthur spent in Gaius' chamber anyway. It was as if Merlin simply couldn't get rid of the royal prick no matter what he did. The next two weeks had been a nightmare with Arthur watching his every step to make sure "you don't end up hurting yourself again Merlin. The last thing I need is you stuck in bed again. Do you have any idea how boring Gaius can be for hours on end?"

Merlin had opened his mouth to retaliate and tell the prince he didn't have to sit in the chambers when he stumbled on the steps and Arthur had caught him by the arm.

So maybe having Arthur follow him around wasn't such a bad idea...

Merlin shook his head, dispelling his thoughts as he straightened as he grabbed the dustpan. After he swept the accumulated dirt into it, Merlin followed routine and crossed the room to the window. Carefully looking down and making sure the courtyard was nearly empty, then checking no-one was watching him; Merlin emptied the pan out of the window and hastily shut the window. A chinking sound made him look down.

Leaning against the wall beside the window, Merlin took the object in his left hand, smiling slightly. The pendant, the only piece of jewellery he owned, felt cold and smooth against his fingertips. The yellow stone that was the centrepiece of the item filtered and reflected the early morning light, casting a warm, straw-like glow against a small patch of the wood lining the window. He could only smile. Jasper was right.

You keep dat wiv you, an exoticly accented voice echoed from his memories. My people believe it is a jewel o'th'sun. Den, dat way, you will always have a bit of sunshine no matter where you go.

"Merlin," a familiar voice broke Merlin's reverie, "what are you doing just standing there? There's an entire list of jobs that need to be done before tomorrow."

Merlin physically started at the sound of Arthur's voice. He hadn't even heard Camelot's prince enter the room. Merlin turned to find Arthur less than two metres away from him, standing with his arms crossed and studying Merlin intently. He was surprised, but so much so that he forgot to hide the 'dustpan' behind his back. He smiled, and then tried to shrug his shoulders.

"Have you ever heard of the term 'work-break' Arthur?" Merlin replied, giving Arthur his most innocent smile.

It was promptly ignored

"Merlin, what are you wearing around your neck?"

Merlin's fingers travelled to the pendant at light-speed. "A necklace..." Merlin silently cursed himself within the safety of his mind. How could he have been stupid enough to forget to put it back under his clothes. Damn shirt.

"Obviously Merlin. Where did you get it?" Arthur gave the pendant his full attention for a second, then returned to watching his manservant squirm.

"Umm..."

"It's made of silver and what looks like pure jasper. That's a bit pricey for a servants' wage." Arthur raised an eyebrow questioning.

"I didn't steal it!" The younger of the pair replied angrily, "So stop thinking that!"

Arthur walked towards the fireplace. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, looking at Merlin expectantly.

Merlin could only glare back. The stalemate lasted more than a minute until Merlin cracked under Arthur's gaze. He never had been able to stand against it for any period of time.

"I didn't steal it Arthur, I swear."

Arthur remained silent, waiting for his explanation.

"Remember last month when your father had those visitors from the Holy Lands?"

Merlin waited for a small indication that the prince did remember the two men that travelled to England all the way from Jerusalem just to tell the king they needed more soldiers.

"Well, the one from the desert took a bit of a..." Merlin paused, trying to find the right word "shine to me."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, suddenly a lot more interested in what Merlin had to say. "Jasper? How? He was only here for three days."

"I thought the same thing. He ate in the kitchen's, where I normally go if Gaius is busy, so we had a few conversations, but that was all. He gave me this before he left." Merlin's free hand crept up to the pendant once more as his small smile softened his features. "His tribe believes that Jasper stones are basically shards of pure sunlight, so he gave me this in the hope that I would never be left in the dark. They give one, just one to each of their warrior's because the stone is said to increase valour and inner strength. This is his personal one."

Merlin failed to notice the fact that Arthur was getting redder and redder as his story went on, or the fact that Arthur was getting more and more nervous as time passed.

"Can I see it?" Arthur's voice was small as he reached a hand out to receive the pendant. Merlin quietly handed the pendant over. Arthur examined it carefully, fiddled with it a bit and handed it back.

"Well Merlin," the younger noted that Arthur's voice held a strange tone, "time's ticking and you have all those jobs to do."

As Merlin passed him, Arthur made another request in a stronger, sterner tone. "Don't wear that pendant again. Not if you want to remain as my manservant."

Arthur opened the door for Merlin to leave. He did leave, but not before shooting Arthur an odd, hurt look. When the door shut again, the prince turned and leaned against it.

"Damn it Merlin." Arthur whispered. He unclenched his hand, revealing the note he had found hidden within the pendant. He unfolded the scrap of paper.

Dearest Merlin, it read

I fear that while I must leave you behind, my heart will remain with you always. You enchanted me, caught me in your spell from the second I stepped inside this castle. Like a gentle flower against thorns, you don't belong here... So if I survive these wars, I will return and steal you. I will find a place fit for you, a place where you don't serve others and where you don't have to hide anything.

Yet, if I do die in the upcoming battles, I will die happy knowing that in Deep England, there is an angel who thinks of me and smiles. If this occurs, live long, live well and brighten up the lives of everyone around you as you do now. It is my wish that you never lose your light Merlin. This stone will help protect you from the dark, as I would.

Farewell until we meet again, in this world or the next.

Jasper

Arthur closed his hand again, crinkling the paper and throwing the ball into the fire.

Merlin awoke two days later to find Gaius shaking his head and staring at a letter sitting on the table. From a distance Merlin could tell who it was from. Arthur's scrawl was so individualistic that it could be identified at 50 paces. What shocked him was who it was addressed to.

Merlin

Gaius raised an eyebrow at the now wide awake warlock. "It would appear that it's for you." The older man commented before moving towards the fire before the broth over-boiled.

Merlin took the envelope in both hands, staring in disbelief before catching Gaius' look and started opening the royal seal on the letter. He was acutely aware of the old man watching his every move.

Dear Merlin,

I figured it wasn't fair to leave you while nothing to wear, so consider this a replacement and an earlier birthday present

Arthur.

Merlin tilted the envelope, catching the small, glittering item that dropping out of it. Merlin held the item up to the light, marvelling at it.

The chain glittered in the light, but the single most dazzling part of the piece was the scarlet red stone that made the pendant. Perfectly round, the stone was held in place with small, irregular tendrils of silver that wrapped around the jewel like vines (we have a sketch of this somewhere if anyone needs it. Love, Iris.)

Merlin picked up the letter again, checking the letter was definitely from who he thought it was. Only now he noticed the very small postscript at the bottom of the letter.

PS. You can wear this one at any time.

Merlin immediately relaxed. That sounded more like the Arthur he knew.

Gaius merely started pouring out the broth with a knowing smile wrinkling his features.

(Iris: Possessive much? :P. Jasper is supposed to inspire courage, inner strength and is to protect the bearer from the dark. It's also known as the 'Warriors stone'. Red Jasper is the stone of shamans, inspiring intelligence, spiritual development and creativity. It also protects from the night and commonly associated with royalty.

Okay, the next request is going to be written by me as ever-mysterious Artemis has agreed to do Ochre. Review if you enjoyed etc etc, all requests for colours/shades are welcome and hopefully we'll get a few pre-planned chapters up soon, including Silver, as promised to Tianne. :P. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten.

PS. PM us if you want Artemis to hurry up and post something! :P)