Season 2, Episode 5

Story 18: I Told You So

Chapter 4: While We Wait

Merlin looked around Arthur's room incredulously. There were clothes scattered on the floor and on his bed. There were some on the table and hanging on the chairs. There were literally clothes everywhere.

Finally, his eyes came to rest on Arthur. His hair was damp and clung to his neck. Little drops of water ran down his back, all the way down to…

Merlin nearly dropped the plate he was holding. He spun around so he couldn't see Arthur and coughed uncomfortably.

Arthur didn't turn. He had heard Merlin come in.

"Thanks for leaving clothes for me to dress in," Arthur said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"You never had trouble with it before," Merlin squeaked. His voice sounded strange to him. He knew it was from embarrassment from seeing Arthur like that. It wasn't that he had never seen Arthur naked before. The guy had no modesty. But it was only a glimpse here or there as Arthur quickly changed or as he grabbed his towel. He usually wasn't standing around without a stitch of clothing on.

"Will you stop acting like a girl and come help me?" Arthur asked. "I have no idea what I should wear."

"Perhaps you should dress and then I'll help you find clothes to change into?" Merlin suggested.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before… Well at least I hope not. I'm not judging if you haven't," Arthur teased.

Merlin stared at the wall confused for several seconds. Why would Arthur have suspected that he would have seen him naked before? Then he understood what Arthur's words had implied. "I'm not. I mean I do have… I mean," Merlin spluttered. He turned to Arthur and saw him standing there with a huge smile on his face. He let out a frustrated groan. Arthur had known exactly what he was doing when he had said that. It was a low blow to question Merlin's manhood, and if Merlin weren't certain that Arthur was joking he would have turned him into a toad. Arthur just wanted to get out of actually having to do any work and dressing himself.

Forcing his embarrassment aside, Merlin went to Arthur's side and leafed through the clothes left in his wardrobe. There weren't many clothes still in there. Arthur had done a pretty good job of making his room look like his wardrobe exploded.

"May I ask why you saw fit to take almost all of your clothes out and spread them throughout your room?" Merlin asked suspiciously. He swears that sometimes Arthur makes messes just so Merlin has to clean them up.

"I didn't know what to wear," Arthur said nonchalantly.

"So you thought it would be a good idea to take out everything?" Merlin asked, barely able to resist an eye roll.

"Don't blame me for your ineptitude," Arthur warned.

Merlin gave up looking in the wardrobe and began looking through the clothes that were on the floor. "What do you want to wear?" Merlin asked him curiously. He figured Arthur must be looking for something specific if he had decided to empty out his wardrobe.

"I'm not sure," Arthur said honestly. "I'm not sure what exactly we will be doing tonight."

Merlin frowned. He had been pretty vague with the prince, but he honestly wasn't entirely sure what would happen tonight. It depended on how Arthur would react to his soon-to-be step-mother being a troll. He imagined it may include Arthur trying to kill Catrina, Catrina waking up, and then them chasing after her. Merlin bit his lip as he thought. If that was the case, Arthur shouldn't be dressed in anything that would slow him down. "You don't need much clothing," Merlin said. "Just normal everyday clothes." Merlin picked up a light white tunic and threw it to Arthur.

Arthur was so distracted that the tunic hit him in the face. He recovered and caught it as it fell to the ground. He looked at it and shook his head. He was being foolish. He picked up the breeches Merlin had just tossed to him and quickly dressed. It wasn't what Arthur would normally wear. Merlin had given him clothes that Arthur would normally wear under his chainmail or if he was doing solitary training. It was clothing meant to not inhibit movement.

"What exactly are we doing tonight?" Arthur asked Merlin once he was finished.

Merlin turned to face Arthur. "You'll see," he said mysteriously.

Arthur groaned. "I'm the prince Merlin. You have to tell me," Arthur pointed out.

"Actually I don't," Merlin said with a shrug.

"Is it meant to be a surprise?" Arthur asked curiously. He couldn't think of what Merlin would want in the middle of the night. Well he could think of several things, but each was more unlikely than the last.

"I'd bargain that you will be surprised," Merlin agreed.

Arthur studied him for a moment. He refused to allow himself to hope. It was impossible, utterly impossible. Arthur sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he was just going to have to wait to find out what Merlin wanted.

Merlin began to pace anxiously. Arthur watched him. "What are you so anxious for?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing," Merlin lied. In reality, he was a nervous wreck. He was anxious that he would have to use magic when they saw Catrina. If he had to use his magic, Arthur would notice. For whatever reason, Merlin couldn't bear the thought of Arthur hating him for his magic. Arthur was his friend and Merlin didn't want to lose that friendship.

Arthur rolled his eyes. Merlin paced for another moment before he sat down at the table across from Arthur. "Arthur, about what's going to happen tonight… don't think any differently of me," Merlin said softly. It was so similar to what Merlin had said the last time he almost told Arthur about his powers. That time had ended with his friend dead, Merlin hoped history wouldn't repeat itself.

Arthur eyed Merlin curiously. "I would never. Perhaps you'll find that I will react better to what you want to show me than you believe," Arthur said quietly. It was very forward, what he was saying. He couldn't be sure that he had made the correct assumptions and if he hadn't Merlin might realize what he was implying and that would ruin everything.

"I doubt it," Merlin muttered bitterly. Arthur would be furious to learn about his magic.

Arthur opened his mouth to reassure Merlin when there was a knock on the door. Merlin jumped to his feet and pretended to be doing chores. "Enter," Arthur called.

A guard entered. "The king requests an audience with you immediately," the knight informed him. "He wishes to make an announcement to all of court."

Arthur nodded and watched the knight leave. He turned to Merlin to ask him to accompany him and saw Merlin's face was pale. "Merlin?" He asked concerned.

"Your father is going to announce his engagement to the Lady Catrina," Merlin told him quietly. He hadn't realized that Uther wasn't going to give Arthur any warning. It was cruel to announce it to him at the same time that he announces it to Court.

Arthur's jaw dropped. "You… you're certain?" He asked uncertainly.

Merlin nodded. "Gaius told me earlier. I had assumed that King Uther was going to tell you beforehand or I would have told you sooner," Merlin explained.

Arthur nodded, mentally preparing himself for his father's announcement. He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of betrayal that his father hadn't thought to share this with him earlier. Soon after that, Merlin and Arthur made their way to the council hall.

It was as awful as Arthur had expected. He kept his face neutral through the announcement. He felt it was disrespectful that his father hadn't told him before the official announcement. As his son, Uther doesn't need his approval, but Arthur wished he had asked for it none-the-less.

When Arthur looked at how happy his father looked, his anger slowly disappeared. Arthur couldn't remember ever seeing his father this happy, not once. If Catrina was the reason behind that, Arthur couldn't object.

When the king had dismissed them, Arthur and Merlin returned to Arthur's chambers. They stayed there long after the sun had set. They stayed there until Merlin finally said, "it's time. There's something I need to show you."