Disclaimer: Merlin does not belong to me. I don't own Merlin. The series Merlin is not my property. No matter how it's said, I don't claim Merlin as my own. I just enjoy it so don't sue, call the police, etc.. on me. Season 4 premiere this Saturday (excited fan girl scream)!


Week Two

The first week was over. To Merlin and Gwaine, neither one seemed to budge or give up. Unbeknownst to either side, both friends were almost tempted into throwing caution to the wind and ending their bet then and there. Almost. As week 2 commenced, both knew that this was just the beginning. Things were going to get a lot harder. Elyan and Lancelot had plans of their own. None would let their fellow "team mate" lose to the other side. With burning determination, both knights were going to make sure that they would reign victorious, one way or another.

Merlin was doing one of the many chores Arthur had assigned him. Arthur was busy training the knights, so he really didn't notice when Merlin slipped away from the training grounds. Elyan seized the moment to talk to Arthur privately.

"Sire, may I have a word with you...alone?" Elyan said respectfully to the young prince of Camelot.

"Of course" said Arthur, taking Elyan away from the other knights. "But I told you before, Arthur is just fine". Elyan nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew this already, but saying 'Sire' was a good way to suck up to Arthur and his enormous ego. "So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, it's more of a favor. I hate to ask, but..."

"Just spill it out Elyan!"

"Well, I was wondering if I could borrow, or rather, share Merlin's services. I've come to realize that I actually do need someone to assist in my knightly duties. I would get someone else to do it, but Merlin is the most trustworthy friend I know. And it would just be a few tasks anyway..."

"I don't know Elyan" Arthur said, glancing down at the suddenly-interesting ground. "Merlin seems to be very busy with my chores. He's barely keeping up with them, strange as it me be. Assisting you might just be too much." Arthur was surprised to see how thoughtful he was being to Merlin. It's just a one-time thing, he said to himself, trying to come up with a good excuse for this selfless act.

Elyan had to think fast. It seemed that Arthur wasn't going to let Merlin "help" him, not that he actually needed assistance. Suddenly, an idea hit him.

"You know what Arthur, now that I think about it, it's fine". Arthur looked confused. "I can always have Gwen help me out". This caught Arthur's attention. Elyan knew that he loved his sister and he was fine with it. Though he would never ask his sister to be his "personal servant", Elyan knew that by even insinuating this, it would make Arthur, at the very least, reconsider. "Yeah, I'm sure she won't mind carrying my armor, polishing it, assisting me in other tasks...you know, everything Merlin does for you."

Arthur had a pained look on his face. "You know what, I've already allowed Merlin to use his magic for his chores. I'm sure that taking on a couple more won't hurt him one bit."

"Thank you Arthur" said Elyan, who smiled, not just at Arthur, but at the fact that he knew that Merlin could not use his magic for the remainder of the month without losing the bet. "Oh, and one other thing. Is it possible that this can be discrete, that he could do my chores thinking that they were yours instead of mine?" There was a slight pause as Arthur gave the young knight a questioning look and Elyan gathered his thoughts to come up with an good excuse. "I know it sounds strange, but I don't want him to know about this. I already feel guilty as it is asking you to give Merlin more chores on my behalf" Elyan finished, thinking to himself that this was at least partly true.

"Okay" Arthur said, not too sure of himself. He did find the request somewhat odd, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. Elyan told Arthur what needed to be done and thanked him once again. He then nodded and quickly went off in the direction of a certain usually-drunken, disrespectful knight. Again, Arthur quizzically looked at Elyan until he noticed Merlin approaching him.

"Where have you been, Merlin?" Arthur said in his normal prattish tone.

"Cleaning your armor, polishing your sword, walking your dogs, mucking the stables...you know, the usual" Merlin declared with a slight grin. "See, half of your chores are done now" Merlin said, in a somewhat pleased tone.

"Well, that explains the smell."

"Excuse me Arthur. Sorry that I was doing my job and that your princely nose is too sensitive. This right here is the smell of hard work" He gave him a mock bow.

"Like you know anything about hard work."

"Prat!"

"Idiot!"

"Dollop Head!"

Both men were grinning at each other. Arthur couldn't help but notice the exhausted look on Merlin's face, which made him feel slightly guilty about what he was about to say.

"Merlin, I hate to break it to you, but I'm adding a couple more chores to your list."

Many things came to Merlin's mind. Suddenly, the idea of Arthur being a bone-eyed toad seemed rather appealing. Returning his donkey ears was a possibility. A combination of both would be even better. A mixture of 'unpleasant' words swirled around in his mind as well, words he wanted to shout at Arthur. However, the presence of the knights hindered him from accomplishing any of these premeditative actions/comments. All that went through Merlin's mind was, WHAT? Stupid prat. How does he expect me to...he is such a...I should have him turned into a...I have enough to do as it is.

However, Merlin just smiled disdainfully and gave Arthur a "Yes Sire". He didn't voice his many complaints for one reason. He didn't want Arthur to start asking questions about why Merlin was struggling with his chores, despite the fact he could use his magic to help. Arthur could not find out about the bet.

Arthur was surprised that Merlin took this so...well? He had heard the infamous 'Yes Sire' that Merlin would give when he was annoyed, distressed, or in the presence of other nobility. Still, he didn't bother asking his friend what was troubling him.

Arthur gave Merlin the 'new' list of chores, to which Merlin gave a long sigh. It was pretty much the exact same thing, except for twice the amount of work. Merlin had a feeling that this was going to be a very long month.


Elyan made his way to Gwaine. He was successful in having Arthur add more chores to the young warlock's already long list. He didn't want to do this, but putting more pressure on Merlin was a good way to cause him to lose the bet. After meeting up with Gwaine, he told him his fool-proof plan.

"Are you sure we should do this to Merlin?" Gwaine said. No matter how badly he wanted to win, Merlin was still his first real friend and making his life a living hell just seemed wrong.

"He'll be fine. Anyway, we have the right to do this. Lancelot is actually helping Merlin with his chores. In a way, I'm just helping you out."

"Still..."

"Let's face the facts. In order to win, you can't have any..." Elyan dared not mention that forbidden word around Gwaine. "It's going to be hard. So if you're going to win, we might have to play a little...dirty."

Gwaine thought about this for a while. Did he have the right to put more chores on his friend, something he didn't agree with in the first place? Technically, Elyan was doing it. Still, should he sit around and let his friend work himself to exhaustion? If Merlin gives up then he won't have to put up with this suffering. Well, if he gives up... "I guess, but if it gets out of hand..."

"It won't Gwaine. We would never let it go that far."

Gwaine reluctantly nodded his head. At that, both knights turned around to go back to their training, only to see a gloomy looking Merlin leaving the training grounds and a guilt-ridden Arthur heading back to practice.


The second week was coming to an end. Merlin, now doing twice the amount of work with no magic, was barely getting by. Lancelot was still helping him in his spare time, but it still wasn't enough.

Lancelot had noticed that Merlin's chores kept multiplying. He knew that with each passing day, Merlin was struggling more and more.

"Merlin, why do you have so many chores all of a sudden?" Lancelot asked innocently.

"I don't know! Stupid Arthur! More chores! Infuriating clotpole!" Merlin yelled, more to himself than to Lancelot.

"Whoa, no need to shout Merlin."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just, ever since Arthur gave me more chores after talking to Elyan at the training grounds, it's been so hard to do all of them and..."

"Wait. Slow down. What was that about Elyan?"

Merlin then recounted how he left Arthur during training to catch up on some chores. He explained how he saw Elyan quickly leaving Arthur just as he came back and then told him how Arthur unexpectedly gave him more than double his usual work load.

"That sly jackel" Lancelot retorted. "Thinks he's so clever".

"What's going on Lancelot?"

"Elyan's playing dirty, that's what" Lancelot replied. Merlin looked confused. "Merlin, I think Elyan found out that I am helping you with your chores. My guess is that he took it upon himself to level the playing field for Gwaine".

Saying that Merlin was livid was an understatement. Though he unconsciously agreed that it was a brilliant plan on Elyan's part, he hated the fact that the young knight was the cause of his sore arse and painfully numb limbs. Never once did he blame Gwaine. This was all Elyan's fault. Everything that he had planned to do/say to Arthur earlier, he now wanted to unleash on Elyan tenfold.

Seeing the anger clearly visible on Merlin's face startled Lancelot at first. Taking this moment of awkward silence, he came up with a plan on the spot.

"Merlin, don't worry. Two can play this game. I'll take care of this." Lancelot then explained to Merlin what he had in mind. At first, Merlin wasn't too keen on his plan. He didn't want to make Gwaine suffer for something Elyan did.

"Hey, Elyan decided to make you suffer for something I did. In all fairness, I have the right to do the same to Gwaine".

"Still..."

"Look, it won't get out of hand. I'll make sure of that".

Merlin was still hesitant. This bet was supposed to see who could survive under normal, uninfluenced circumstances. With Lancelot and Elyan interfering, it seemed like their 'harmless' bet was becoming Lancelot and Elyan's personal war. However, after much persistence (and the fact that Merlin was too tired to argue), Merlin gave in. With that, Lancelot left to pay a certain mead-less knight a little visit.


Gwaine was in his chambers, sulking at the fact that he still couldn't have any mead (or what he and Elyan referred to as the 'm' word). Life just seemed pointless without it. His room, all of a sudden, appeared rather bleak, only filled with useless things, like paintings of different landscapes or old books on philosophy and crap. Really, why does one need so many books?

While deep in thought, he left his room, heading to who knows where. He didn't care, he just had to do something, anything to keep his mind off of the 'm' word. Before long, Gwaine ran into Lancelot.

"Ah, Gwaine, just the man I wanted to see" Lancelot stated.

"Err...for what?"

"Oh, just a little talk. Even though we're knights, we do need a little fun after all, right?"

"I couldn't agree more" Gwaine said, hoping that whatever Lancelot had in mind would take his mind off of that word. Before long, Gwaine suddenly found himself at the local tavern. "What are we doing here, Lancelot?"

"What, just because you can't have any mead doesn't mean that I can't have any." At this, Gwaine shuddered. Seeing the hesitation in his friend's eyes, he added, "Unless the brave Sir Gwaine is too afraid to come into a harmless, little tavern."

With that, Gwaine indignantly marched inside. After being seated, Gwaine recognized the many faces of his drinking pals. A barmaid came to them, asking what they wanted.

"The largest tankard of mead you have. My friend here will have one as well" Lancelot said with the biggest smile painted on his face.

"No, I will not! I know what you're trying to do Lancelot, but I am not , under any circumstances, having any...any..."

"Mead?"

"Stop saying that word!"

"What, it's just a word"

"Well, stop it! Look, I'm not having..."

Two large tankards were slammed on the table. While both knights were arguing, the barmaid had already left and returned with their beverages.

"I didn't want that" Gwaine complained.

"My mistake" Lancelot said to the maid. "I'll just drink his as well" he said happily to her. Those last words hit Gwaine pretty hard. Lancelot was enjoying himself too much. The look on his friend's face was priceless. Is was a mixture of anger, sorrow, and shock; altogether, he looked like an abandoned puppy sitting out in the cold, hard rain.

Gwaine finally snapped out of his trance and angrily asked, "What else do you have?"

"The only thing we carry besides mead is herbal tea. Would you like that instead?" The maid asked.

Finally relenting, Gwaine mumbled "Sure".

"What was that?" Lancelot asked.

"I'll have the tea" Gwaine said, still mumbling to try to keep his voice down.

"I don't think she could hear you. Speak up!"

"I SAID I WANT TO DRINK TEA INSTEAD OF MEAD! Gwaine yelled, causing a dead silence to fall on the tavern. Everybody who knew Gwaine's 'reputation' (so everyone there), looked at him in dismay. At this, Gwaine surprisingly began to blush furiously, causing him to run out of the tavern screaming. As Lancelot sat there drinking his mead, all he could do was laugh and think to himself, job well done.


Arthur realized that his friends were acting weird all of a sudden.

He rarely spoke with Merlin, since he was busy with all the chores. And he did miss their usual daily banter.

Gwaine was becoming more withdrawn, something that did not suit the knight.

Lancelot and Elyan refused to speak to each other unless it was necessary and when they battled it out on the training grounds, it was like watching two armies fight to the death.

All that Arthur knew was that something was up and he had to find out what is was.


Wow, that was a long chapter. Thanks for bearing with me. Next time, I'll break them up a bit. It's much easier to read it that way.

Hopefully there was enough humor. I'll try adding more.

Thanks to your reviews. I appreciate them and keep reviewing.

Merlin season 4 this Saturday!

-STL13