Author's Note: Ábylgnes, which I can't pronounce, is translated as offence, scandal, wrath, indignation, or anger.
Since I am a sucker for research, Dristan is a name from the Arthurian legends meaning advisor to King Arthur.
Merlin looked beautiful.
Arthur acknowledged how absurd the thought was, but it was true nonetheless. Merlin might be sweating and writhing in pleasure, his face almost pained with the intensity of it, but with Arthur's name on his lips he was the most beautiful man Arthur had ever seen.
Arthur moved forward with confidence, his eyes fixed on that elven face, and grabbed hold of Merlin's cock.
Merlin's eyes opened as he gasped. He saw Arthur and smiled. "Arthur," he breathed, his voice wrecked.
Arthur awoke to a leaking cock against his stomach and an oblivious servant at the foot of his bed.
"Rise and shine!" Merlin said, in that way that he had. In reply, Arthur did what he always did. He groaned and turned over, conveniently hiding his morning wood. At least that is what Merlin would assume it was, if he found out. Which would be over Arthur's dead body.
"You have the training of the new knights to attend," said Merlin as he opened the drapes and puttered around the room. Arthur racked his brains for a way to make him leave without causing him to come closer. Merlin's cheerful voice wasn't helping either. "After lunch you have a council meeting. There are delegates from Queen Annis arriving for dinner, so you have to meet and greet in the evening. Then it's dinner, a bath, and then you can sleep again."
The day's schedule was enough to get rid of the problem. Now presentable again, he turned around to see Merlin tut at the night shirt Arthur had dropped on the floor the night before. He gave Arthur an exasperated glance, but said nothing.
"Dristan arrives today," he said instead. Arthur grunted out a vague questioning noise, but Merlin was used to his special communicating methods before breakfast. He answered as he placed Arthur's breakfast plate next to him. "The druid boy I agreed to tutor? Though Lord knows how I am supposed to mentor him in any way. He will be here, however. Today."
Arthur had swallowed half his loaf of bread by now, so he finally found his voice. "I look forward to meeting him. Gaius is fine with the arrangement?"
"He really does need someone around to help," Merlin confirmed. "He is getting on a bit. So, yeah, Dristan will take my old rooms and just… help out, I guess. I really, really can't do it anymore. I have to meet the masons, figure out how we're going to build this magic library. And I need to talk to Dristan too."
"I get it, Merlin," said Arthur as she chewed on some cheese. "You're a busy man."
"You don't think I was busy before?" laughed Merlin. "The first few years I was here, you ran me ragged."
Arthur grinned at the memory. "Yeah. I did… I didn't really like being saddled with you."
"Prat," said Merlin, throwing one of his gloves at him. "Now get up, you need to get dressed."
He found Dristan in Gaius' chambers.
Merlin knew he was sixteen years old, because he had asked. His clothes hung off of his lanky frame though, making him look much younger. When he turned to face him, Merlin saw that his sandy hair was in need of a cut-it kept falling into his eyes. His grin reached his deep green eyes, and Merlin felt himself responding with a grin of his own.
Hello, master, came Dristan's voice in Merlin's mind. Thank you for agreeing to this.
"Please," said Merlin. "Call me Merlin. Everyone does. It confuses me when people pretend I am someone so high and mighty I need a grand title."
Dristan shrugged. Suits me.
"Do you talk?" Merlin asked. Dristan shook his head. "Can you?" The boy just gave a noncommittal shrug. Well. No one could say he wasn't intriguing. "Where's Gaius?"
He is out, said Dristan. Said he will be back before lunch, something about a particular herb he needed.
"You do talk to him, right?"
Another shrug. Merlin took that as a no. They stood awkwardly for a minute.
"Would you like to come with me to see the masons and the architect?"
The boy nodded eagerly, barely stopping to grab his jacket before he rushed after Merlin.
"We are going to have more than books, Lord Blackwood," said Merlin. "Some of the magical artifacts we store are going to be big and heavy, possibly. I hope you have taken that into account."
"I have," said Lord Blackwood with respect that Merlin was still getting used to. "I didn't think about bulky items, but these floors are meant for the artifacts."
Merlin looked at where the other man was pointing on the rudimentary designs. "The windows are enough for natural lighting to read by?"
"Yes, of course," said Lord Blackwood. "Of course, my Lord, you understand you will be finishing the finer points of the building… I do not mean my building will depend on your magic," he added hastily. "Just that any extra touches you need will have to come from you."
"I understand that," said Merlin. "I will help out whenever I can, and of course I cannot expect you to add magical flourishes. I will do those myself."
"Then you may leave the bare bones of the building to me. I trust my ideas here are sufficient?"
"More than that," said Merlin. "I am very grateful for the time and effort you have put into this, Lord Blackwood. If there is anything you need in return..."
Lord Blackwood looked away, his cheeks aflame. He was a couple years younger than Merlin, but currently he was reminded of a child asking a strict father for a treat. "Maybe… Do you think it is possible for me to learn magic?"
Merlin's mouth dropped open. He blinked several times in rapid succession, very aware that he looked like an idiot, but unable to do anything about it. "What?" he wheezed finally.
Lord Blackwood take one look at Merlin's reaction and hastily backtracked. "I didn't mean-I meant… Well, I was hoping, my lord-but it's not-"
"I would love it if you learned magic," said Merlin. "And please," he grinned. "Call me Merlin."
Lord Blackwood smiled shyly, and nodded. "Thank you, Merlin."
Merlin smiled in return, then turned around to leave. At the last minute, he remembered Dristan, and called for the boy. He came running, hands full of books he must have charmed out of Gregory. Merlin was impressed.
"Can you read?"
Dristan shook his head. But I have to start one day, my lord, he said stubbornly.
They met in secret, indignant men with hatred in their heart. It had been difficult to find a secure place to meet, until the youngest among them had suggested the dragon's cave, now empty and echoing. All seven of them spoke in hushed tones, afraid the chilly wind might carry away their traitorous words.
"He is enchanted," said one. "No other explanation for it. The servant boy has enchanted him. Like the time his father married that troll."
"We were mute then too," another seethed. "Not this time."
"But whatever can we do? It's not as if we can go against a mighty warlock!" the youngest against them fretted.
"Well," said a tall shape standing away from the rest. "We killed all these cretin once, we finished the whole cursed race off. We just have to think again, and see how we can accomplish that once more."
"He's too powerful," muttered the youngest traitor. "He will surely know. Haven't you heard? He grew an entire village out of the ground."
"And the dragon Uther chained here could have razed an entire village to the ground," said a bored voice. "What's your point?"
Nobody replied.
"We have to break the sorcerer's hold on him," said one eventually. "Think on how to do that. And how to eliminate the damned sorcerer."
"Which one? There's a new one now," someone grumbled. "A mute, unwashed peasant in the middle of the court… What is the king thinking?"
"He's not," came the retort. "He can't think for himself anymore. We either fix him and get rid of the sorcerer, or..." he trailed off, unwilling to complete the statement.
"Or," said the tall shadow standing near the cliff. "We end them both and find someone else to restore Camelot to it's former glory."
Grimly, they all nodded.
Arthur was bored out of his skull and the night seemed endless.
He was sweaty in his best doublet, his stomach was full to bursting, and he was going to push Excalibur through his own eye if he had to listen to another tale about marital bliss from the not-so-subtle Lord Renhouse.
Merlin was in great spirits, on the other hand. Arthur had met his new… apprentice, who had smiled and said not a word. Merlin had explained that he liked to talk with his mind. That had certainly been far more interesting than Lord Renhouse's bawdy argument that sinking into a bathtub at the end of the day didn't even hold a candle to sinking into the marital bed. The waggling eyebrows and snorting laughter had made it clear what was sinking where.
Arthur sighed and looked at Merlin.
Of course he looked uncomfortable, sitting at the high chair. Arthur had asked Merlin to sit on his right, hoping for titillating conversation from one side at least, but Merlin had ignored him and sat his skinny ass down next to Gaius. Arthur hadn't dared to ask him to come sit next to him, afraid Merlin would actually refuse and make him look like a fool.
He looked happy. At least he was eating well, instead of soup and oatmeal and whatever else Gaius considered to be the best nutrition for a grown man. Let him feed the boy his soups, Arthur was going to feed Merlin.
He realized he was blatantly staring at his servant when Merlin raised an eyebrow in his direction. Face red, he looked down and debated on the best way to be rid of his present company.
When Merlin undressed him for the night about an hour later, he tutted at the sheen of sweat on Arthur's chest. Arthur felt himself colour from something that was ridiculously routine between them.
"Would you like a bath?" asked Merlin.
"The whole castle is asleep," said Arthur. "I wouldn't want you to lug all those buckets by yourself."
Merlin grinned. "I don't have to."
It took Arthur a minute. "Oh," he said, grinning. "Yes please, Merlin. I would like a magically heated bath."
An unprecedented twenty minutes later, Arthur was in the tub and Merlin was behind him, his sleeves pushed up, ready to soap up Arthur's back. They had done this thousands of times before, but Arthur was suddenly hyper aware of everything Merlin-the rustle of his shirt meeting the lip of the tub, the naked forearms close to his naked back, Merlin's gaze on his body… and his hands. Arthur barely stopped himself from arching into the first touch. Merlin probably attributed it to the change in temperature. He shivered, he couldn't help it. He could feel Merlin's frown, and a single long finger slid into the water near his hip, the water turning a bit warmer with a whispered word.
And then Merlin started soaping his back. Arthur let out a sigh, not moaning through sheer will power. How had he never noticed how sensual this ritual of theirs was? His cock was taking an interest, turning a little chubby, and he folded his knee to stop Merlin from noticing. His relaxing bath wasn't relaxing him at all.
Merlin's hand slid a little under the waterline, still a respectful distance from his ass, but the tiny splash went straight to Arthur's cock. He wondered if Merlin wanked to this. What were his Arthur-related fantasies? Did he think about Arthur on his knees, sucking Merlin's cock, those glorious fingers fisted in his hair?
He shuddered again, but Merlin had already moved away. He didn't notice.
Arthur finished his bath with painfully quick efficiency, scrubbing his dick a little mercilessly to turn it limp again before Merlin dressed him for the night. Merlin didn't even bother putting his night shirt on this time around. He knew what would happen in the middle of the night.
Once Arthur was safely in bed, the candles were out, and the water from the bath magically wiped off, Merlin left him alone.
Arthur took a long time to fall asleep.
