Author's note: I just wanted to say a tremendous thank you to everyone who enjoys my story and in particular those who have reviewed, faved or alerted. You're the ones keeping me going, guys!

()()()

A Prince's best friend
Chapter 7: In which Merlin is…cured? And for Arthur, it's payback time

The first feeling he had was one of refreshment. The second, as he stretched (a habit he'd developed over the last few days) was one of realization. His limbs were entirely too long. He fletched toes and fingers; they felt a bit sore… In shock he opened his eyes. Toes! Fingers! It'd worked! The spell had worked – he was normal again!

And very naked in Arthur's soft pillowy bed. With said prince's hand resting on his lower back. (For a second there feeling the warm firm hand against his skin he grew sort of incoherent.)

Wait, how had he ended up in Arthur's bed? Why wasn't he in his own room? Wait…last night…His memories were sort of foggy...He'd gone to see Gaius, somehow the spell hadn't seemed to work and then….After visiting the dragon, he'd walked down a hallway, toward Arthur's chambers – then, poof!, hands, strangers surrounding him, hushed voices: he'd struggled, distinctively remembering clawing at the hands gripping him, and suddenly been overcome by darkness.

He panicked just a little. What'd happened? What was going on? Had he dreamed oddly or something? But why was he in Arthur's chambers anyway if that was the case, and fully nude? What was going on?

Arthur was waking up. The man startled into full, wide-eyed consciousness as he felt not soft fur but hairless soft skin where he last remembered the cat had been curled up next to him. He immediately drew back his hand from the naked back of his manservant, gasping in surprise.

"M-Merlin!"

Arthur never stammered like that, but Merlin was too embarrassed by his predicament to be amused.

"Uhh, good morning, sire." Merlin said, trying to smile and be his usual cheery self but it was difficult when he was naked and blushing and sort of confused what was going on and in bed with a prince, whom he most possibly fancied, who only wore a pair of breeches. Arthur was gawking at him. He pulled a rich blanket closer around his body, his neck heating up at the open stare Arthur was giving him. How was he going to explain this? Oh God, Arthur was going to have his head. In the stocks. For years.

"I, err, I'm not sure how I ended up here." They hadn't … done anything had they? They hadn't gotten ridiculously drunk and he had no memory of turning human because … or something, had they? Had they? Oh gods what if they- and hecouldn't remember!

"You're human!" Arthur exclaimed. For a moment he pondered what he should say first, maybe mention the strange and startling occurrences last night, or…"You—!"

"Y-yes, I woke up like this," Merlin answered cautiously, pulling the blanket ever closer around himself, how was he going to get his clothes? He couldn't continue being naked and near Arthur. Near anyone. Speaking of that – his clothes were nowhere in sight. "Errr…umm…I'd better get going…ehm, clothed…"

He expected a response like, maybe, "Get your lazy ass off my bed!" or "What are you doing here, get out!" or "Well go dress then, I'm not a servant, Merlin" or maybe even "You're an idiot you know" - not "Your ears!"

He couldn't come up with an appropriate comeback. "... ears?"

That threw him off of the wheel. Was Arthur about to insult him or something? He knew he had rather big, ugly, embarrassing ears, but Arthur hadn't harassed him about them for weeks, so what started this? Though he wasn't smirking or grinning evilly, there was only bafflement and bemusement on his face. Merlin blinked at him, wondering what was going through the prat's head.

"Look in the mirror you idiot," the prince gestured rather wildly toward the wardrobe and the mirror next to it; "Just look at your head!"

He glanced toward said piece of furniture, but couldn't see himself from this angle, and strongly refused to walk over there naked whilst Arthur was watching him. So he raised his hands to feel the side of his head, shocked when there was nothing but hair and smooth even skin; his hands traveled further upwards, where they encountered a pair of something – something furry, soft and triangular.

"What's happened?"he - not shrieked, just nearly almost shrieked with some sort of panic. All right, yes, he shrieked. But hey!, it's justified when you find you've got your ears replaced overnight.

Arthur was too distracted to call him a girl at making such a sound.

"You've got cat ears," Arthur stated dumbly. "How…? On second thought, let's get you dressed first. Then we can talk."

It took several seconds for the words to register. Merlin continued to paw helplessly at his ears for a moment, staggered.

"…Uhh, yeah… that's probably a good idea."

Arthur slid out of the bed and pulled out some old garments from his wardrobe. He was a bit too broad for them to fit perfectly on Merlin but the servant wasn't going to keep them anyways; they should go to Gaius' quarters, maybe the old man could tell why Merlin still had some attributes of a cat.

Arthur turned away to let Merlin dress. And promptly turned back to stare at the now half-dressed boy when Merlin shouted: "Tail! I-I've got a tail too!"

It looked exactly like the tail he'd had as full cat, only several sized bigger, like the ears in proportion with Merlin's human body, sticking up just a couple of inches above the waistline. Merlin was gripping it with both hands, staring at it quite stupidly. At least he wasn't fainting or something, to Arthur's relief. Seeing a passed out, oddly-held-hostage cat-Merlin last night had been enough of a scare.

"How am I going to hide this?" Merlin said at length, Arthur still looking at him oddly.

"Try and hide it under your clothes for now. We'll go and see Gaius."

"What about my ears?" They were ... twitching; he could feel them move a bit just like when he'd been a full cat, toward the sound of the prince's voice. Oh why were these things happening to him?

Arthur tore his gaze away. Merlin still didn't wear a shirt, and he'd never before seen him undressed, his chest looked very smooth and the skin pale, unblemished, and it wasn't unappealing…Damn it! He shouldn't think like that! He should concentrate on helping Merlin find a cure, not stand there gawking and drooling like some pervert. Because Arthur is not. A pervert.

"…I probably got a cap or cloak or something…" He quickly turned around and busied himself with turning his wardrobe upside down.

"Umm, Arthur?" Merlin said rather weakly. "I can't seem to remember that much from last night…Why did I wake up in your bed?"

()()()

Leon.

Was not happy.

Gwaine, his brother and Bors had turned up for the day's training hangover (at least Gwaine was hangover) and bruised to the point it was difficult to tell what their faces looked like originally. They had been beat up and rather badly so. If this was another stupid bar brawl Leon would have to tell prince Arthur, who would straighten the men out. They couldn't go around provoking people's anger like that.

"Oh, hello," Gwaine said and rubbed his jaw. It bloody hurt. Arthur didn't have to hit so hard.

"What have you been doing?" Bedivere, a young trainee knight, asked as he came up to the three awful-looking men. They answered simultaneously:

"Oh, just…minding our own business," Gwaine said, tongue-in-cheek.

"Fight in the tavern," Gareth said, eyes darting; to Leon it sounded like a lie.

"Done things I regret," Bors muttered very, very tiredly.

Bedivere looked confused, as the three men didn't seem to agree. With a frown, he said, "You look awful. Maybe you should go and see the physician?"

"No, no!" Gwaine exclaimed, shaking his head and gesturing with his hands. "We've got to train. Got to check up on how Arthur's doing. Yeah, keep an eye on… on his progress. Right, boys?" The other knights looked at him, wordlessly, nodded tiredly after sharing a look. "See! We're… fine, great, wonderful. Now, let's see about…footwork!" Whistling, he trotted across the field toward a group of other knights doing some warm-ups.

Scratching the back of his head, Bedivere glanced at Leon, who was scowling for some reason. "Maybe Gwaine's had a head injury..."

()()()

It was odd, Arthur was so strangely quiet…After getting over the shock of the tail and the ears, they walked to Gaius' place (the winter cap was so uncomfortable, he kept raising his hand to scratch his irritated ears but remember in the last moment not to reveal them): also Merlin found himself subdued, mainly because he was still embarrassed about waking up in such a state in Arthur's bed without remembering how he got there.

Normally Arthur would make an insult or complaint or call him a girl, to get conversation flowing, but now he was so quiet…Almost like someone had piled some rocks on his shoulders, they were so tense, and he kept glancing at him...

Sure, Merlin had seen Arthur in his quiet moods before but somehow this felt…different.

What had happened last night? Why couldn't he remember? Why did Arthur insist on not telling him?

"Merlin!" Ah. Gaius. The old man looked relieved at seeing them. "Sire."

"Gaius, it appears that the…magic has worn off," Arthur said quietly. "Mostly, that is. We have a slight problem."

When the doors were closed, Merlin took off the annoying cap and freed his tail from under the tunic. That felt a lot better already. Gaius didn't look pleased…he was getting that Eyebrow Look again which was dangerous. Merlin tried to look as innocent as possible – with Arthur still in the room he couldn't very well just say 'My magic seems to've malfunctioned, but I'll figure something out, don't worry Gaius.'

"Oh dear. Well, I will see what I can do…Perhaps, sire, it is so that the magic will wear off entirely in time." (Another knowing, dangerous Eyebrow Look sent his way caused Merlin to duck his head). "Like with Merlin's voice; you were able to hear him after a time, and now he is almost completely human again. If we wait one or two more days, it should be gone."

Arthur turned to the physician jerkily. "All right…We just have to keep people from noticing…" The prince waved a hand at the servant, who batted his hand away. ("I don't want your hands in my face, look, you haven't washed them, they're covered with dirt! Have you learned nothing of personal hygiene?")

"I won't go around wearing that annoying cap. It itches terribly." Not to mention it was bloody ugly. Even Merlin had enough sense to know that. And in the middle of summer too? People were going to ask like if he was sick or something. They couldn't have asking people right now.

Arthur also seemed to realize this problem. They wanted as little attention as possible, after all. "Can't you use one of your neckerchiefs and tie it around your head? Like a bandanna?"

"I'll look stupid."

"It's that or the cap. You're getting back to work today, you know, my chambers look hideous, my clothes need to be laundered, the stables mucked out, my armour cleaned, my sword sharpened, not to mention you've not fetched me breakfast…"

"All right, all right! Prat." Merlin stuck out his tongue. "You still haven't told…You know, what happened last night. Why I woke up in your chambers." He was well aware that Gaius was still in the room. Probably listening. Intently. He'd noticed that Gaius had an odd fascination at watching his and the prince's little spats.

Arthur unfolded his crossed arms. "Fine, I'll tell you to shut you up. It's a bit complicated…Sit down for a moment. Don't interrupt me now."

Merlin obediently sat on the spot, legs crossed (Arthur seemed to be in this snappy kind of mood that if he'd moved toward the chair, he'd get more tongue lashing and the prince would never get on with the story.)

*M*E*R*L*I*N*

Morgana casually waited outside the prince's chamber door, listening for a moment, before continuing her way down the corridor. They hadn't succeeded yet, but anyway, there were three days left. They – she, this time, she decided – would have to face Merlin which she had a feeling would be easier than facing Arthur (she wouldn't have to use any kidnapping or traumatic methods) – the boy was sweet and a bit naïve. Before anything could happen between the two they would have to recognize their feelings them. Then they could act upon them. She'd see them happy.

Gwaine (and Gwen) would be delighted to hear it. She was not sure whether Bors or any of the other knights cared much, though they had all become fond of the boy.

Gareth would probably not, on the other hand, be so happy to hear Merlin was back normal (what was that talk about ears though?) – the knight had really liked the cat…

Hmm, that could be useful…

()()()

"So…let me get this straight. Some strange men kidnapped me and knocked me out. Gwen found out I was missing, found my neckerchief, told you and you went to the forest alone without telling even your father about it, to save me? Are you daft? They could've killed you!" Merlin looked fretful, a bit angry, annoyed, but with those upset ears and flailing arms and downcast tail, Arthur just thought he looked ridiculously endearing. "… And then as ransom they wanted you to … confess your heart and agree to some kind of deal involving 'you deepest secret'? And then they let me go, when you told them 'your deepest secret' and agreed to said deal? Then, after beating them up, you carried me (in cat form) to your chambers and went to sleep…"

"Unlikely but true."

"They let you go…when you told them one single secret? And that deal! What if it's dangerous! What if you get hurt? You shouldn't do stuff like that!" Merlin couldn't believe it. He thought kidnappers asked for ransoms such as wealth, power, money. Gold. Jewels. Something like that. Not secrets like that. A pressing curiosity followed the disbelief: what secret could Arthur have told those thugs? What deal could they've agreed to? And why hadn't they fought back well when he attacked them?

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, Merlin. I have no reason to lie to you. (Not now, anyway.)"

"But I don't get it…First, how did they know it was me?"

"What?"

"That I was the cat. That the cat was significant to you … How did they know? Only us, Morgana and those four knights know about me being the cat. Everyone else thought I was extremely ill and that's why I couldn't see anyone. Right?"

Arthur looked suddenly thoughtful. "You are smarter than you look, you know."

"Oh, thanks."

"I must admit that in my…state of anger I didn't think of such facts. I simply presumed someone had kidnapped my servant and thus offended me and were threatening me: so I went out to deal with it. You have a point. So either we have been spied upon (as the men admitted, they said they've been "watching me") and someone has been smart enough to make a connection – or the knights did the whole deed. Or Morgana, possibly."

"Morgana? Why'd she or the knights do that?" Merlin asked, wide-eyed. Sometimes, Arthur thought, he could be ridiculously naïve. Must be his big good heart, always believing the best in people. At least it was a sign that Morgana hadn't tried to corrupt the boy with her evil mind.

Yes, why indeed, Arthur thought sarcastically. He had an idea of an answer already, but refrained from speaking it out loud. All right, those men (when thinking about it their voices had been somewhat familiar…the speaker's behavior…definitely reminded him of someone) had had a point, when they made him confess. It made him vulnerable and a bit ashamed, but they still had a point. If it really were the knights (that sly Gwaine!) it all made sense. He had a vague feeling that they had known all along of his…feelings. When this happened, when Merlin got vulnerable, they took advantage of the situation.

He'd bet that Morgana had had a hand in this with her prying at dinner and suddenly being incredibly nice to Merlin the cat…And her handmaiden, Gwen, too. After all, her sudden appearance to ask for his aid was a bit too convenient. (Morgana really should stop corrupting innocent people.)

Oh, when he got his hand on those knights….! Making him have a near-heart-attack because of some scheme. They'd be punished. He wouldn't have them executed, of course, or remove their knighthood, they were in truth too good-hearted and skilled fighters for that, but they maybe should taste the stocks. For a couple of days. And extra long training sessions, long-time border patrol, double night guard, eternal banishment from the city taverns... (Revenge…)

"Uh, Arthur?" Merlin waved a hand in front of his face, making him blink. "You alright? You blanked out for a minute there...You made this sort of funny expression."

"Just thinking."

"Be careful. You could break something."

The prince whacked the boy over the head, but the air seemed a lot less tense from before. It was good. Maybe things could return to normal. So what if the knights had figured him out and drawn such a confession out of him? It wouldn't change anything… Merlin was still so…so….well, Merlinesque, who thought he was a spoiled, annoying, prattish, supercilious prince. Maybe a friend. Never—Well, never mind, it didn't matter.

Once he'd sorted out the knights, they could do nothing about that threat…

He'd just make sure to never leave Merlin alone with any of them, never let him out of his sight, and he'd be fine…It was just three days. What could possibly happen?

This up close he noticed that something was off with Merlin's eyes. They were the same blue colour, but the pupils were formed like slits rather than round: like a cat's eye. That might be a problem.

Merlin continued to stare at him quite intensely like trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat. "Hide your ears and tail, then you can start cleaning my chambers. Fetch my breakfast." There were some errands he had to run.

Merlin groaned. "Must I? Can't I have onesingle day off for once?"

()()()

"…Good day, sire!" Gwaine greeted cheerfully.

Arthur's face = Eep! for the knights. A couple of them standing nearby, including Bedivere, first raised eyebrows, then frowned, and lastly gaped at Arthur's stormy face and the reaction it provoked among Bors, Gwaine and Gareth.

"Gwaine, I think…" Gareth muttered quietly, gulping.

"Admittedly the plan was a bit hasty…there'd been a few beers involved after all…"

"I should have gone back to bed this morning," Bors muttered. "I deserve a sleep in for all the trouble you've put me through."

()()()

When his son stepped into the hall without being followed by that clumsy black creature, Uther raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You decided to get rid of that infernal creature?"

Arthur looked strangely gloomy and tense, his hand near the hilt of his sword. "It seems to have disappeared."

The king coughed. "Arthur, I have heard displeased mutterings from the courtiers. They say there are some knights in the stocks."

In fact earlier that day the prince had ordered two more stocks to have been taken forward, so the three knights could stand there in shame together. Much to both the bother and amusement of the people. At first they had been hesitant at actually throwing the habitual rotten vegetables at them – they were after all noble – but Arthur himself had with quite satisfaction landed a watery tomato right in Gwaine's spluttering face, making the onlookers follow suit.

"Yes, that is correct, father."

"Arthur, you know we do not punish knights or lords to the stocks, only commoners. What reason do you have to have put them there?"

"They deeply offended me by threatening my servant. I believe they are in need for a lesson in humility. Believe me father, I have not punished them thusly to act conceding or childish, but I could not judge their behavior bad enough for a flogging."

Uther felt strangely amused all of sudden. No knight or man of status had been put in the stocks for years. (He should go out and watch it for himself just for awhile, for old times' sake…) "Oh? Well. I must say I can see no harm in it. I hope, however, you aren't making them unable to participate in combat."

"Of course I will not, father."

"Well then. That was all. You may leave."

Arthur bowed his head. This had gone better than he'd thought: if the king demanded the knights to be immediately released from the stocks, he would have to obey. Arthur had no intention of letting those three out for a while.

()()()

"You call this breakfast?" Arthur asked, not very impressed with the piece of bread and cheese lying next to the pile of greens and the pitcher of water.

"Well, you know, we got to keep you in shape."

"Where is my wine?"

"You drink wine practically every day to almost every meal. Don't you ever grow tired of it?"

"Hmm, not really."

Merlin began folding some freshly cleaned clothing and putting them into the wardrobe. Thoughtfully like talking to himself, he said, not looking at the prince; "A drunken prince is not going to function properly. Considering the strange mood you've been in today, I feared you'd try fixing it by getting yourself smashed which isn't something I'd like. You're terrible in the morning when you're hangover. Oh, wait, let me rephrase that. You're always terrible in the morning."

His senses warned him just in time to duck from the book, which had been lying on the table and was within the prince's reach, that suddenly came flying passing dangerously close to his head.

"Shut up, Merlin."

Merlin allowed himself a small grin. Maybe he could cure Arthur out of whatever mood he'd fallen into (even if the prince's comebacks still were lame).

"Oh sure. I mean, sorry, sire. Of course."

()()()

"Listen! I have a new tactic. We'd be stealthier…"

"Gwaine, please…" Bors groaned, plucking some tomatoes from his hair.

"… but also painstakingly obvious. We got to make the prince fulfill the deal, remember? First steps first. The lady reports Merlin is his old self again (something about ears, though, I'm not sure what that means), which can help us in more ways than one. We will have to use an even stronger weapon. The prince's progress is awfully slow."

"Oh. Oh. No. You'll…You won't right? No," Gareth said a bit horrified at thinking of the servant boy being approached by his flamboyant flirtatious brother. If Gwaine got his grabby little hands on him…the boy was so innocent, so trusting, and probably naïve about innuendos. This would be bad. Worse than bad. He'd better take this into his own hands

"I'll do it," he said suddenly, forcefully.

"Ah! That's the spirit," Gwaine said and patted his back. "Let the green monsters emerge."