Chapter 6: Emrys & Celia
"It's time for you to get up now, Emrys." Morgana's voice woke Merlin up from one of the best sleeps he'd ever remembered having. He sat up in bed and blinked on finding the lady in question seated at her dressing table, an outer nightgown now covering her skimpy nightdress.
"Good morning," he replied, desperately trying to work out how much of last night had been real.
"Yes, very good," she agreed. "I am feeling quite well now and hope that you are also nicely relaxed after last night?"
"Yes, I'm feeling much better. That really was ..." He blinked again, wondering why the pleasant memories of last night and the rather beautiful view of Morgana in front of him were not making his body react as it often did in the morning.
"Don't start getting emotional on me, Emrys," she smirked. "You and I can both help each other out from now on, but you still need to remember who's in charge here and especially who it is that's setting the rules."
"Yes, of course," Merlin replied, working hard not to back chat as he was tempted to. He'd pushed his luck enough as it was last night. Best to continue to play the dutiful servant, even in this most bizarre situation.
"Get dressed now," she commanded and he looked at her as he noticed that she was making no attempt to move.
"Ah, are you just going to sit there?"
"Yes. It's a little cool this morning, so collect up all your garments and come over by the fire so you can dress." Which basically translated as, 'come and stand right in front me with no clothes on so I can watch you dress'. Seeing no way to disobey the command, Merlin sighed and slid out of his side of the bed in order to retrieve his trousers and neckerchief, before walked right in front of Morgana to reach the place he'd discarded his shirt and robe the night before. "Hmm," she said appreciatively, gently reaching out to stroke the top of his bare leg as he walked by. "Wait there."
"What?" he replied with a glare, turning to face her, whilst holding his clothes quite deliberately in front of himself.
"Drop them," she growled, as if commanding a dog, and he glared at her again, holding her gaze as he let them fall onto the floor. "I don't often get to see my Night Servants when they're … relaxed. It's interesting, that's all," she smirked as her eyes quite obvious flicked downwards.
"And hardly surprising seeing how cold it is in here," he retorted. "Do you mind?" She continued to gaze at his body for quite a while before answering.
"Go on then but … no need to rush."
"Says you. I'm freezing here, you know?" Merlin picked up the clothes again, walked onto the rug and put on the trousers quite a bit more slowly than he would have liked. Then he stood up and faced her again, indicating his Band. "May I?"
She nodded her consent and he took it off, quite aware that him wearing it was significant to her in many different ways. The number of times she'd looked at, stroked, or held it the previous night, made him realise that it was very much part of this 'possessive' thing Gwen had mentioned. Whilst wearing it, Merlin belonged to her and that was currently something that made her feel very contented. So, he quickly put on his shirt, then his robe, stuffed the neckerchief in the pocket and put her Band back on top of the robe, checking that it and Arthur's were straight and correctly displayed.
Morgana approached him then with a sigh, gently untying the robe so it fell open and letting her hands run up and down his shirt and trousers a few times before standing up gently on tiptoes to kiss him. Despite having decided that he was feeling rather cross with her now, Merlin surprised himself by returning her kiss wholeheartedly, pulling her close and, at long last, feeling a little reaction as she rubbed up against him. He blinked, trying to understand exactly what was going on with his body in this world.
"Perfectly normal, don't worry," she smirked, moving away slightly so she could gently caress him through the thin trousers. "Extreme reactions, as I said before. Serious highs, dramatic lows, exceptional satisfaction and … quite a long recovery time." She smirked again and he pulled a face at the implication. "But not that long," she continued. "So, I expect you both to be standing fully to attention for me by tonight."
He glared at her for that comment, grumbling a little as she laughed. He'd only just wrapped his robe around himself again, when a knock sounded at the door and Gwen quickly entered, already dressed in her day clothes.
"Good morning," she said, her eyes sparkling as her gaze flicked between the pair of them. "You still here, Emrys?" she asked lightly.
"Mind your manners, Gwen, he's just leaving now," Morgana replied, although there was a wicked glint in her eyes as she said it. "Her cheeky comment is actually quite valid though, Emrys," she continued. "You'd better not waste any time in getting dressed. Arthur will be expecting you shortly."
"Yes, my lady," Merlin said, a little annoyance still quite obvious in his voice as he left. However, despite the suggestion to hurry, he found that he couldn't resist putting an ear to the door and doing a little sneaky eavesdropping.
"Emrys seemed a little put out," he heard Gwen say.
"He has a very unique and … stubborn personality," Morgana replied. "Something which I have to say I'm finding most appealing."
"And … you're looking very well this morning, my lady," Gwen continued. "Very … relaxed?" There was a long pause before both girls started to giggle. "Well?" the servant asked eventually.
"Absolutely no complaints about that one, Gwen," Morgana responded. "I think I'll be keeping him around for a little while yet." Merlin quickly hurried towards the servant's quarters with a soft smile on his face. He'd be feeling exceptionally smug by now if he wasn't just so totally relieved.
xoxOxox
"You're late."
Merlin grinned, feeling far more at home with that response from Arthur. "My apologies, Sire. I shall try to do better in future."
"Still wearing Morgana's Band though, I see," said Arthur nodding his head towards his left arm. "Which is good news for you. She seemed a bit tense at dinner last night and I don't think you'd have managed to keep it if you'd spent another night on the floor."
"No, Sire." He really, really didn't want to be having this conversation with Arthur.
"Well, a couple of duties for you this morning, Emrys. First the stables as usual and then preparing me for training later this morning but … I do have a favour to ask of you."
"A favour? To ask … me?" Merlin quickly remembered where he was. "Of course, Sire." He wasn't complaining, of course, just confused about receiving any sort of polite request from Arthur.
"Yes, Morgana and I are to dine with the King and a couple of guests this evening, but my waiting servant is unwell; gone down with this illness that the physician has been battling with the last couple of days. I seem to remember you hinting that you had experience with that work too?"
"Yes, Sire. In my last job, my master expected my to be his squire, as well as do all the serving and dressing duties daily …" He pulled a face. "Plus a few other jobs."
"You're joking? What sort of master would ask all that of his servant? What a slave driver!"
Trying not to laugh at that point was honestly one of the hardest things that Merlin had ever had to do.
"I got paid less there too," he couldn't resist adding.
"Well you'll get overtime for this evening, of course," Arthur continued calmly.
"Oh, I didn't mean ..." Merlin was shocked. "Really, you don't have to, Arthur, I'll be quite happy to ..."
"Nonsense. Father can be quite fussy about the staff that wait his table, but I'll let him know you're doing us a favour if he does find fault."
"I shall do my best not to draw attention to myself," Merlin replied, pulling a face.
"Good so, that's all for today, I think. A busy morning and very little time between dinner and presenting yourself to Morgana, but you do get the whole afternoon off."
"Thank you, Sire," Merlin said, trying very hard not to grin at his nice, short list of chores. Hopefully that would give him time to work on his job for Dragoon. The quicker he solved that problem the quicker he could go home, and no amount of easy workdays for Arthur or naughty nights with Morgana could make up for the loss of his magic here. That, more than anything else was making him desperately homesick and determined to complete his task as quickly as possible.
With a respectful bow, he hurried off in the direction of the stables.
xoxOxox
"I was talking to Morgana after breakfast," Arthur said later, as Merlin started to dress the Prince for his late morning training session.
"Oh?" he asked nervously, quite aware of the amusement in the Prince's voice.
"Yes, and I get the impression that you'll be keeping that Band on for a little while longer."
"Really? I was under the impression that Night Servants' activities were not generally open for discussion," Merlin retorted.
"Take care, Emrys. Just because Morgana and I put up with your … attitude doesn't mean that others will."
"No, Sire," Merlin replied with a sigh.
"For the record," Arthur continued. "Although you are right that it is considered bad manners to go into too much details regarding one's night time activities, don't think for a moment that close family and friends will not exchange … certain general observations or opinions on the work of their Night Servants, in much the same way as they would for their Day Servants."
"I see?"
"So, as I implied, we were comparing notes on you. Both stating that you were really far too stubborn and cheeky for your own good, but that we both found those qualities entertaining and … endearing and that neither of us could find any fault with the quality of your work." This time Arthur genuinely smirked and Merlin knew he'd turned pink as he guessed what sort of impression that comment had given the Prince about his night with Morgana. "You see?"
"Yes, unfortunately," he grumbled. "There, Sire, is that satisfactory?"
"As I said, I've no complaints either. For the moment."
"Thank you, Sire." Merlin replied, suddenly distracted from the awkward conversation by Arthur's ring again. Why did it look so different in this world when all the Prince's other possessions seemed to be identical? "Ah, I hope you don't mind me asking but I was … curious about the ring you wear?"
Arthur glared at him, his face showing signs of the typical mask he wore when trying to hide his emotions. "It was my mother's," he replied simply.
"It's just such a very unusual gem in the setting, that's all," Merlin pushed.
"It's from another piece of her jewellery. Look, Emrys, my mother died a couple of days after I was born and … well, I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind?"
"Of course, I'm sorry, I didn't mean … I was just admiring it, that's all."
"Apology accepted, now, off you go. I have no further need of your services until the evening meal."
xoxOxox
As soon as he left Arthur, Merlin headed to the records office and found Geoffrey of Monmouth sitting behind his desk studying a couple of pieces of parchment. With a grin at yet another feeling of deja vu, Merlin decided to use the situation to his advantage and cleared his throat in order to get the old man's attention.
"Who are you?"
"Prince Arthur's servant and a friend of Gaius."
"Really?" Geoffrey looked at his Bands suspiciously. "So, why are you … here?"
"Gaius asked me to fetch a book, ah, The Bestiary of Gwilym of Cambria?"
"The Bestiary? I haven't seen that in many years," the old man said fondly as Merlin attempted to hide a grin at the repeating of yet another conversation. "I believe you'll find it in the East wing … somewhere." Merlin nodded and started to walk off. "Do you need me to …?"
"No, that's alright, thank you," he called back over his shoulder as he wandered down the familiar aisles until he came to the one bookcase that he knew held a very interesting secret. Looking up until he discovered the dusty book on the very top shelf, Merlin stood on the base of the case and pressed his foot down firmly on the next shelf up so that the whole section turned to let him into the secret room where he'd accidentally released that goblin. Merlin's jaw dropped as he was faced by a very different view to the one he'd come across in his world. There, in front of him was pile upon pile of books – magical books; not destroyed as they had been in his world, but simply discarded as useless when none believed they stood a chance of making any of the spells work.
Merlin was torn. So much information, so much knowledge. So many books that he had never before seen and might never set his eyes upon again. Was there any way he could smuggle one or two of these back home, or was that bending some great universal rule?
Still, priorities: He needed to see what information he could find about the ancient magic of the world and how smashing a stone could cause the whole system to fall into hibernation. He grinned as he thought it, pleased with the analogy, picked up a couple of likely looking books, sat down on the floor against a book case and started to read.
xoxOxox
"Hey, Gaius, have you got a moment?" Merlin asked as he walked confidently into the physician's chambers without knocking, juggling a tall pile of books in his arms.
"Emrys, I know you're used to this place being your home but, may I remind you that … it's not."
"Sorry, force of habit," the young man continued with no hint of apology in his voice, setting the books confidently down on a nearby bench as if he really did live here.
Gaius raised his eyes to the ceiling. "How in the world does my counterpart put up with you?"
"No idea," Merlin responded with a grin. "I just wanted to ask you about some of these spells and magic stones I found. See if you think any are more or less likely than the others?"
"Where did you get those books?" Gaius asked suspiciously as he took note of a couple of the titles.
"Where you said they would be, in the hidden part of the records office."
"Yes, but … how did you know where that was? Even I don't know where it is?"
"Oh, don't you? Well, you see, it's a long story involving a goblin."
"A what?"
"A goblin," Merlin repeated. "I accidentally freed it and it possessed you … well, the other you, obviously."
"Obviously."
"And then you, or rather the goblin made you … well you see, the King ..." Merlin paused as he fully took in Gaius' baffled expression. "Never mind. I don't think you really need to know that, just make sure Merlin stays away from that part of the library, will you? I've moved the book over to the other side of the East Wing so he shouldn't trigger it by accident and ..."
"Emrys ..." Gaius interrupted, "You do realise that I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, don't you?"
"Ah no, you're right. Sorry. Probably just as well, actually." Gaius shook his head in despair and came over to sit opposite the young man. "Well, there are a couple of options here," Merlin continued, "but I'm not sure if any of them seem right. Certainly I'm not sure that any would have the power to be quite so destructive to this world's magic."
"No," said Gaius, as he looked at the first book in the pile. "Not this one, certainly."
"That's what I thought, and it's annoying because I feel that I know the answer somehow. Feel that it really should be very obvious to me but … I just can't quite put my finger on it." He sighed.
"Are these all the relevant books?" Gaius asked.
"Oh no, not even close." Merlin's eyes lit up as he said it. "Gaius, the books in there – you wouldn't believe it. Well, you probably would but, my Gaius wouldn't. Most of these were destroyed in my world – so much knowledge that I actually could use when I get back home."
"That seems to me to be cheating somehow?" Gaius suggested with a small smile and Merlin laughed back.
"Can I leave these with you? Do you mind? I mean, they're not banned here as such, are they? You wouldn't get into trouble if they were found?"
"No, that's fine. You might as well put them in that room then ... your room. I wonder if Merlin would have enough magic to be able to use any of these?"
"Ah, Dragoon hinted that he wouldn't or, at least ..." Merlin racked his brains to recall the conversation. "He implied that he wouldn't have enough to solve his task but … actually, I do think that he might be able to achieve something." Merlin shook his head. "With any luck, I'll fix this magic issue and then he shouldn't have any problem at all. Hopefully, he'll then be able to instantly access the whole lot and make up for lost time." He paused again, contemplating. "I wonder what will happen then? I suppose Dragoon knows what he's doing but ..."
"Emrys," Gaius interrupted. "You do realised that you're thinking out loud, don't you?"
"What? Oh yes, sorry."
"Only, don't you have somewhere else you should be?"
"Oh yes, I'm supposed to be serving at the royal table tonight."
"So I hear. For Lord Gerald and his sister."
"Gerald?" he asked, horrified.
"Yes, you've met him then?"
"Unfortunately," Merlin said with a shudder. "Oh dear, that's going to make things a little more awkward. What's his sister like?"
"Cut from much the same cloth, I'm afraid. I believe she and her brother quite like to … share their Night Servants."
"Share?"
"Yes, sometimes quite literally."
"Oh, that really is quite disgusting," Merlin responded, pulling a face. He took one more look at the pile of tempting books and sighed loudly before starting to make his way out of the door. He paused on the threshold, suddenly remembering something else. "Ah, Gaius?"
"Yes, my boy."
"I've been meaning to ask you. I don't suppose there's a dragon chained up underneath the castle, is there?"
"A dragon? Ah, no."
"Right, I thought I'd have probably heard him. What happened to all of the magical creatures after the Purge? Do you know?"
"I'm not sure about the lesser creatures. I'd assumed they'd all perished but, if what you're saying about there still being some magic left is correct, then I suppose it's possible they're still alive, lying dormant in some form."
"And, the dragons?"
"I believe they fled. Flew off in search of other sources of magic in far distant places. I did hear that there was one left behind though. An older creature, injured by one of Uther's later attacks. The King heard about it and captured a Dragonlord, forcing him to reveal the creature's whereabouts."
"Balinor?" Merlin guessed with a wince.
"Yes," said Gaius suspiciously. "What do you know of Balinor?"
"I know that he's my father or, at least, he is in my world."
"As he is in this one. How did you find out?" the old man asked cautiously.
"You told me about … two and a half years ago."
"Ah ..."
"So, it's likely Merlin isn't aware of the fact yet." Merlin sighed. "So, what happened after Uther captured him?"
"I helped him to escape before he could be tortured to comply."
"And he ran away to Ealdor here too. So, I suppose it's thank you … again," he said with a weak smile.
"You're welcome," said Gaius with a gentle laugh. "What happened in your world?"
"All the other dragons were killed rather than escaped and … the last dragon, Kilgharrah, was chained up in the caves under the castle until I freed him."
"Was that wise?" Gaius asked and Merlin gave the old man a humourless smile.
"Possibly not, but it was inevitable." He shrugged as he saw the old man's confused look. "Sorry, probably not much more to say on the matter. I was just curious, that's all." He sighed yet again. "I suppose I'd better be going. Don't want to keep the Prat waiting."
"Honestly, Emrys, a little respect for your Prince."
"Huh."
xoxOxox
Luckily, Merlin wasn't late for his appointment and entered the dining hall quietly from the servant's entrance planning to do his job efficiently as possible and hopefully avoid any unwanted attention. He often took on this role at home, whilst Gwen usually assisted and sometimes Uther's personal servant would attend them too. However, in this world, this was one specific job. Other servants came and went with plates and jugs, but they simply left everything on a side table and here it was only the official server who was allowed to take the individual servings to the main table.
He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with magic, but Merlin could have sworn that he literally felt all five pairs of eyes on him the moment he walked towards the table. Gerald's gaze felt like a spider crawling up and down his spine and Merlin was determined to try and avoid returning that look if at all possible. He felt the sister's stare too and realised he'd have quickly worked out her personality for himself anyway, even if he hadn't been warned by Gaius. Uther's gaze was, ironically, one of the least distracting; the King apparently noting his Bands before he recognised him, and then frowning slightly before casting a curious look at Arthur. Arthur's eyes then flicked briefly to Gerald and back before answering the silent question.
"Robert has been taken ill as you know, Father. I asked Emrys here to fill in as he has experience from his previous job."
"Really? A squire, Night servant and table attendant? Weren't you a busy boy?" Gerald replied directly to him. Merlin knew enough about either world to understand that it would be best not to answer unless directly ordered to do so. He simply ducked his head and moved backwards a little, now acutely aware of Arthur and Morgana's tense glares and the heavy stare of the Lady Celia.
"So, this is your latest Night Servant, Morgana?" she asked, her voice sounding far too sweet to belong to that gaze. "What an … interesting choice."
"Oh, I don't know, my dear. I do believe I can see the appeal," Gerald replied whilst Merlin tried very hard not to react to another crawling feeling that was now running up his spine.
"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I agree that he is really quite adorable, I just … wasn't sure he was to your taste. Come here, young man, and let me look at you more closely." Merlin looked up to see Morgana glaring daggers at Celia, and Arthur turning to Uther with a slightly helpless expression on his face.
"Yes, yes. Do come forward, boy," the King replied, apparently totally oblivious to the tension that was currently sparking around the room.
"Uther, I must object," Morgana complained. "I know he is here as a server tonight but, he is my Night Servant and, as such ..."
"We are all friends here, Morgana," Uther interrupted. "There is surely no harm in showing what Camelot has to offer, especially as the young man's an outsider. Perhaps, when you're finished with him the Lady Celia can ..?"
"He's my servant now," Morgana pushed. "That's all that matters." Uther had now signalled Merlin over and he knew that gave him no choice in the matter. Arthur was staying quiet, but he too looked quite put out at his servant being viewed in this manner. Merlin had already learnt enough about this world to know that, although servants were often casually referred to as 'property', they were actually considered to be more like spouses whilst they were employed and so, by default, were certainly not to be flirted with by anyone else.
"Oh, but aren't you an interesting creature?" Celia cooed, actually standing up and moving uncomfortably close to him. "What wonderful bone structure," she continued, lifting a hand to stroke his cheek.
"Uther, please ..." Morgana stood up, moving to Merlin's other side. "Emrys is mine. Am I not within my rights to insist that he is not touched and … looked at by another in this manner?"
"The lady Morgana is quite right, my dear," said Gerald smoothly. "Please contain your curiosity. If you are really that interested I'm sure we can arrange something after Morgana has … moved on." Merlin found his mistress' hand suddenly on his arm, her fingers quite obviously fondling her Band. Not really knowing the best way to react in this most bizarre situation, he decided to opt for total subservience, not something that came naturally to him. Remembering what Morgana had said about obedient dogs, he hunched his shoulders and ducked his head, leaning down and towards her as if seeking the reassurance and possible reprimand from the leader of his pack. As he caught her eye he saw pure lust and jealousy burning there, but her gaze softened slightly as she took in his look – apparently interpreting it as fear.
"You may be waiting some time, Celia," she said, quite obviously putting on a false smile as she lifted a hand to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. "I do believe that this one will be staying with me for a while yet."
"I have to say that he is a highly effective squire too." Arthur quickly joined in the discussion, subtly supporting his sister. "Morgana and I are both grateful for the compliment and honour of you both so admiring our servant." Merlin risked a glance at Uther who still looked rather bemused at why someone like him was getting so much attention. Merlin didn't know whether or not to laugh or cry at the irony of being the only one here who apparently agreed wholeheartedly with King Uther about something.
"Well, I wish you luck then, Morgana," Celia said through gritted teeth. "I'm sure Uther is relieved that both his son and ward are so attached to their servants. It bodes well, does it not, Sire?"
"They are both long overdue it is true, but, they are still young and so ..."
"Indeed," said Gerald, unfortunately catching Merlin's eye at that point and smirking. Merlin took the opportunity to turn away and continue with his serving duties, quite aware that he was still missing some subtext within the last few exchanges. Thankfully that seemed to be the end of any conversation in relation to him in particular, or Night Servants in general and he continued to focus hard on the job at hand, even more determined than ever not to do anything which might draw the attention back towards him.
Morgana continued to glare at her guests for much of the evening, silently simmering as both Celia and Gerald quite obviously continued to eye Merlin up all evening, whilst both Arthur and Uther sent numerous, less than subtle, silent warnings ordering her to keep her temper under control. All was slowly calming until, near the end, as Merlin leant over to collect a plate, Gerald seemed quite unable to resist giving his bottom a squeeze, eliciting a muffled squeak from him which instantly alerted Morgana to the situation. She stood up abruptly with a scowl.
"Morgana …?" Uther's voice was full of warning.
"I'm afraid I have a headache and would wish to be excused," she practically growled.
"Well, of course, my dear but, if you could just ..."
"Come, Emyrs. The other servants can clear away now. I wish you to attend me." Merlin winced and looked quickly towards Arthur and Uther. The former was simply keeping his head down, looking embarrassed. Uther seemed furious but gave him a curt nod and he bowed deeply and scurried quickly after Morgana as she strode out, her heels clicking loudly on the floor.
"You!" she said, grabbing the arm of a nearby servant as she entered the corridor. "I wish for a bath to be drawn in my chambers. Ensure that it's hot."
"Yes, my lady," the servant said, running off to do her bidding. Morgana glanced back to check Merlin was following him, shot him a look that seemed to contain a worrying amount of blame, before striding back towards her chambers as he scurried after her, eliciting several sympathetic glances from the other servants he passed.
Merlin felt himself suddenly highly nervous about what he was about to face once alone with her in her chambers.
XoxOxox
Next Time: Chapter 7: Merlin has to deal with a jealous Morgana and then prepare to welcome a most unusual guest to Camelot.
A/N I admit I enjoyed writing Jealous!Morgana but then, who could blame her for feeling like that about Merlin?
Thank you for all your alerts and reviews – 62 for 5 chapters – I'm stunned. Update pace will probably drop down to the usual Tuesday/Friday now that I'm back at work, but this holiday has been very productive and I had another explosive day of writing yesterday where I just couldn't stop typing. As a result I'm quite a few chapters ahead of myself (where I like to be) and managed to map out most of the story in my head during the night, when our mad UK storms made my sleep a little fitful.
Do keep an eye on my PP for up to date info on this fic and its possible prequel/sequel, and feel free to ask me any questions. I promise that I will reply, although I may be evasive or cryptic if the answer is close to being spoilerish.
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