Chapter three is here :D You're reviews were super inspiring for the last chapter, and a few of them helped me think up plotlines and things, which is great so thanks guys :) please keep reviewing!
Chapter 3
Merlin stared at Arthur in utter disbelief, as the target was thrust into his arms. It was a huge and heavy thing: A thick slab of rounded wood which Merlin couldn't lift. He looked from the target to Arthur and back again.
"You cannot be serious." He finally managed to say. Arthur smirked, before saying,
"Deadly." And Merlin gulped. The action surprised him: he didn't realise people actually gulped when they were scared... he thought that was just for comic effect in stories. Well, it seemed to amuse Arthur, anyway, whose smile widened. "Here," Arthur lifted the target, "let me help you, Merlin." And he kicked Merlin, making him spin, so that his back was to the other boy. Arthur slammed the target against his back, and pulled his arms through the straps. Then he stood back.
Merlin's knees buckled, instantly, and Arthur had to jump forwards to hold him upright for a few more moments. Eventually, Merlin was able to straighten up, although the strain on his shoulders was great. He gritted his teeth, and forced himself to not so much as tremble in front of Arthur. He would have shrugged the target straight back off, had Professor Lenix not been peering at them from across the field.
Once Arthur was sure Merlin wasn't going to collapse, he moved away, and instructed:
"Run."
"What?" Merlin gasped, flabbergasted.
"Run! Come on, I don't have all day!" Merlin's jaw dropped and, had he been facing him, Arthur would have seen and made a stark comment about how much Merlin looked like a fish. Then, Merlin clamped his lips shut, and ran.
Merlin had always been fast. Clumsy, but quick, charging down streets and up stairs; constantly tripping and knocking things over, but always managing to get away. It was rather sad, how often Merlin had had to run to get away from things. From people. And now, he was running from Arthur, as fast as he could, his feet pounding against the mud and the heels on his shoes, forcing up the earth so that it flew behind him with every step. And the target weighed down on him, unbalancing him so, when he leant even an inch forwards, he felt he would tumble to the ground.
Arthur had been surprised when Merlin had taken off, charging away, the target swinging ludicrously on his back. God, the boy was fast! Even with the extra weight, Merlin kept up a steady pace although, admittedly, he did start to lag after the first hundred meters. Arthur raised his crossbow and aimed it straight at the bull's eye. About a meter north of his target, was the top of Merlin's head: a tuft of jet black hair sticking up above the wood. Arthur took a steadying breath, and wondered whether if he ought to be doing this: he was using a real arrow, with a sharp, metal point. He closed his eyes for a second, and then opened them and focused. After one more moment, he let the arrow fly. He couldn't hear it, but he saw it thud into the wood of the target, directly in the centre.
Merlin hadn't been expecting Arthur to actually hit the target: he was certain the boy would miss, so it came as a shock when the thing hit the wood, and he was thrown forwards, his face in the mud. The target to a second longer to fall as the straps were loose, and it collapsed onto his shoulders and wacked him round the head.
"Ow." He murmured into the dirt. After a couple of seconds, he heard the pounding footsteps of Arthur running towards him, and then he was being pulled roughly to his feet.
"That was excellent," Arthur exclaimed, and Merlin turned to look at him, his eyebrows raised: was Arthur complimenting him? "I hit it! Obviously, I knew I could..." oh. So Arthur wasn't paying him a compliment.
"Yeah," Merlin grunted, "well done. Congratulations. That was really... remarkable, what with you almost killing me." Arthur snorted:
"If I had been aiming to kill you, you would be dead." No doubt Arthur had meant the statement to be impressive, but Merlin found himself giggling at the dramatised way in which he said it. Arthur frowned, not impressed. He pushed Merlin, who stumbled and fell back onto the ground, this time onto his back, with no grass to soften his fall. He wasn't sure which was more painful: the target falling on him, or him falling on the target. Arthur grinned down at him.
"So, you fancy another go? This time, try and run in different directions: there's no challenge in me hitting something that's moving straight." Merlin spluttered.
"What is your problem?" he asked, "go find someone else to take your prattishness out on: I really can't be bothered with it, myself." And then he tried to get up, only to find that he couldn't lift himself off the ground, what with the target on his back. Arthur rolled his eyes, trying to think of some smart retort, when Professor Lenix blew his whistle.
"Lesson over, boys! Hurry up and get changed."
So Arthur just cast Merlin one last smirk, and left him there, like an upside down tortoise.
Lenix had watched Merlin run. Not bad, he'd thought to himself, perhaps with a little training... too bad he probably wouldn't survive his first term. Not when Arthur had obviously picked him as his next victim. Ah well.
Merlin stumbled and blushed his way through the rest of his first day at Camelot's: it was the clothes. They drew continuous taunts from his classmates:
"Hey, new kid, what's that round your neck? Didn't mummy know that you needed a tie, not her old scarf?"
"Mervin, isn't it? Nice belt. Maybe everyone will start using bootlaces instead of leather at some point."
And Merlin couldn't ignore them. He couldn't help but snap back, saying that his name wasn't Mervin and that they could shove their bootlaces where the sun don't shine. Of course, the boys didn't exactly appreciate being spoken to in this manner, especially when half the things coming out of Merlin's mouth were both insulting and clever. He had a way of twisting his words so that everyone wanted to laugh, but were too shocked by the rudeness of it. Some of the things he said, were too cryptic to understand in the first instance, and it wouldn't be until ten minutes later, and Merlin was long gone, that their faces would go purple with sudden rage.
Arthur watched with interest. He was intrigued by Merlin. The kid was... well, different. An obvious outsider. An idiot, and yet a brave one. It was an odd combination, which Arthur liked, although not enough to forgive Merlin for what he had said to Arthur at the beginning of that day.
When the school day ended, Merlin was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to find Gaius, who would then show him to his bed, where he would sleep and sleep and sleep. But, first, he had detention.
He had already forgotten where the English classroom was, so kept close to Arthur, following him back to where Professor Carlton was waiting.
"Ah, hello boys," Professor Carlton ushered them inside. He noted how tired Merlin looked, and how his face was smudged with dirt. He also noticed his somewhat mismatched attire, "is that your uniform, Merlin?" he inquired, as the boys sat down, and he stood behind his desk. Merlin lowered his head in a small nod. Carlton glanced at Arthur, and was surprised to see a look of uncharacteristic sympathy flash across the boy's usually surly face.
"Here," Carlton handed both of them a sheet of plain paper each, "I decided I wasn't just going to make you sit here. You might as well write something: just tell me about something you love. It can be anything. But I want you to describe it as beautifully and fully as you can. I want a page by the end of the hour." And then Carlton sat behind his desk and began marking a stack of homework.
Merlin had noticed how Arthur sank a little lower in his chair, as Professor Carlton explained their task. It didn't sound too much like a punishment to Merlin, who chewed his pencil for a moment, and then set it to paper. After half an hour, he was three quarters of the way down his paper. Arthur still sat there, staring at the blank sheet. Almost blank, anyway: he had written one line.
At the end of the hour, Carlton stood up and began to move towards them. It shocked Merlin to see that Arthur looked almost frantic, as though it was only just dawning on him how little he had written: he was clutching his pencil so hard that his knuckles had turned white, and his face was even whiter. It was this look of fear that made Merlin do it. He took his own work and switched it with the boy's beside him. Arthur's eyes widened for a second, as he turned to look at Merlin.
Then Carlton was directly behind him, reaching forwards to read their work. Now, Carlton wasn't stupid: he knew who had written what; he had taught Arthur for five years, after all. He could tell his messy scrawl in an instant, but he wasn't going to interfere. Teachers at Camelot's did not interfere with whatever strange things went on between their students. So Carlton pretended not to know that they had swapped work. 'Arthur's' piece of writing was incredible. A couple of mistakes here and there, but a beautiful description of a small village called Ealdor. He smiled at the boy and said it was very good. Arthur didn't reply: he was staring resolutely at the table top. And then he read 'Merlin's'. All it said was:
I love my sistre. Shes baeutiful.
Carlton sighed and because, in his opinion, he had no choice, wrapped Merlin round the head with his knuckles.
"This isn't good enough Merlin. What have you even been doing for the last hour?" Merlin shrugged his shoulders, his eyes trained on exactly the same spot as Arthur's.
Merlin and Arthur. Carlton hadn't seen Arthur pinch or push Merlin, or even talk to him throughout the whole detention. So, was there a chance that Merlin had willingly switched the papers? The possibility was almost exciting. Arthur needed someone like Merlin. And then Carlton made a decision, which would change everything.
"Both of you, come with me. We are going to see the headmaster."
Dum dum dum... So they're off to see Uther. Exciting times. By the way, what do you think of the whole Arthur-possibly-being-dyslexic thing? I want Arthur AND Merlin to be vulnerable in some way, but I'm not sure... feedback will be much appreciated :D See you Wednesday :)
