Disclaimer: I own Merlin... NOT!
"Gaius!" The physician looked up in response to the whispered call. His ward was cautiously peeking through the door, "Are any of them in there?"
"No," Gaius answered, grinning wryly, "You're safe for now."
"Finally!" Merlin sighed, plodding over. He dropped limply into a chair and let his body slump forward onto the table. There was a dull thud as his forehead impacted the hard surface, "Ow…" he moaned, not lifting his head.
Gaius patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I'll get you some supper."
"I'm too tired to eat," Merlin mumbled into the table.
"Has it been that bad?" Since the incident in the forest a few days ago, Arthur, Gwaine, and Lancelot has been acting oddly, and Merlin seemed to be taking the brunt of it.
Merlin groaned in response, "Today, I had to leave at dawn with Arthur for his hunt—not an easy task after staying out most of the night with Gwaine so he didn't get himself into trouble at the pub. And then, of course, we happen to bump into Lancelot around mid-day, and he smirks like he's doing me this big favor, rescuing me from Arthur's company, but he just joins in the hunt and puts the prat in a worse mood. All three of them have been... I don't know, almost angry at each other. And then if it's just me alone with one of them, they're asking me where I've been, why I don't spend time with them anymore, and they seem just as irritated with me as they are with each other!" Merlin sat up suddenly, looking at Gaius eagerly, "Please tell me you've found what's wrong with them."
"Unfortunately, I think I have," Gaius said, grimacing. He placed one of his large, old books in front of Merlin, who stared at the page intently for several minutes, "What do you think?" Gauis prompted.
"I think… I've forgotten how to read." Merlin glanced up apologetically, "I'm sorry, Gaius, I'm so tired, my brain's not functioning properly. I got through the first sentence and then I couldn't remember what it said, then I got distracted by how funny the shapes between the letters look—"
"It's quite alright my boy," Gaius said kindly, "I'll give you the short version."
Arthur couldn't sleep. He was frustrated. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and then his hunt hadn't gone well, and then Merlin had promptly disappeared after bringing his dinner. He was probably off having a grand old time with Lancelot and Gwaine, his new best friends.
He sighed and threw his covers off. He would go to the wall and get a breath of fresh air. Yes, that's what he needed. As he dressed and started off down the corridor, his thoughts drifted back to his manservant. Why should he care if the idiot liked the other knights better? He didn't care. He didn't need Merlin. It wasn't as if they were friends or anything. Well, maybe they were sort of friends. The master/servant relationship required something that he supposed could be called friendship. So, yes, fine, they were friends. But still, Arthur didn't need Merlin. He had plenty of other friends, like…
Oh.
The realization hit Arthur so hard that his steps faltered. He shook his head and slammed open the door in front of him, walking onto the wall and taking deep breaths of the cool night air. He sighed and looked out over Camelot.
He didn't have any other friends. Gwen was his love, they adored each other, and that was quite different. Everyone else—the knights, other nobles, his father— was bound to him by duty, fealty, or blood. Merlin wasn't even a member of his kingdom, yet he was always by Arthur's side, sometimes even when Arthur ordered him to stay away. He did need Merlin. Merlin knew him well. Merlin believed in him, even when he doubted himself. And Merlin was always loyal. Or, at least, he always had been…
Merlin was friends with Lancelot and Gwaine as well. It didn't seem fair that Merlin had other friends when Arthur didn't. He knew he couldn't ask Merlin not to be friends with them anymore, but he needed to know for sure that he had Merlin's complete loyalty. And he needed to know now.
Arthur turned on his heel, heading toward Gaius' chambers. As he rounded a corner, he almost barreled into Lancelot.
"Excuse me," growled the Prince.
"Your highness is excused," Lancelot said, smirking. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Where are you going?"
"Not that it's any of your business," Arthur said pointedly "But I'm going to speak to Merlin."
"At this hour?"
"I have a question I need to ask him."
"Well," Lancelot said with a mocking bow, "Don't let me detain you, sire."
Arthur glared and continued on his way. Lancelot waited only a few moments before following the prince.
