Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin (sadly).
Rated: M, for good reason...Mpreg :D
Special Thanks to: ScheiGuy for helping me with the editing :D
A/N: Okay, I'm apologize for taking so long to update this chapter. I already have like three chapters done but there is a lot that have been going around with switching beta. But I'm settling with the awesome beta ScheiGuy so I should be able to update regularly on this story. Again, I am so sorry for the long wait for this story.
Chapter 7
Alton put on his robe as he rushed to the sound of the pounding on the door. As he opened it, Evelyn strolled in angrily, throwing the water pouch onto the table. "What's wrong, my Lady? Did it not go according to plan?" he asked, closing the door.
"No, Leon gave the water pouch to someone else," she grumbled, pacing back and forth restlessly. "And they drank it all up, too."
"Oh no," he said, genuinely sympathizing with her loss. "What do you want me to do now?"
She looked to the older man sadly. "I don't know, Uncle."
He smiled warmly and went to give her a hug. "Why don't I try to get you a job as a maid in Sir Leon's home mansion?" he suggested. "I mean…maybe Leon will come around and fall in love with you the natural way instead."
"I don't want him to fall in love with me, Uncle. Well…at least not right now. He could get killed if I was discovered to be a magical being," she said as she pulled away. Then she jolted up as she remembered Hanthur. "Leon is friends with Hanthur."
Alton give her a confuse look. "What?"
She shrugged. "He is kind of dumb. Maybe…I can somehow trick him into helping me," she said, her eyes lighting up with pure, evil hope. Then she walked out before Alton could say anything to her.
"Are you sure everything is okay with you and Arthur? You two seemed tense at the training ground," Hanthur asked for the twentieth time since Merlin returned to their little room in the clinic. After he had overheard his parents' argument, he thought Evelyn's enchantment probably didn't work. If that were the case then it would mean his father has rejected his mother. Although, the expression that his father wore when he saw Merlin in a distressed state didn't seem as if he was that heartless.
"Yes, for the hundredth time," Merlin said, rolling his eyes and turning his back to the boy.
As Hanthur was chatting away about how worried he was – even though he knew the warlock was no longer listening – he recognized a moving shadow on the wall. He sat up from the bed and turned to the window, and he saw two large green eyes peeking in. He knew instantly the eyes belonged to Evelyn.
Meanwhile, as Hanthur went on about how worried he was, Merlin was in fact no longer listening. He turned to change his sleeping position when he felt a pain on his left collarbone. He reached his hand to touch the bite mark; the pain from the bite proved to him that what happened between his prince and him wasn't a dream, but undeniably real. Then the memory of how Arthur darted him with an angry look that was almost related to the jealous one when Hanthur would hug Merlin, making him feel a little bit responsible for Arthur's cold attitude towards him. He presumed Arthur probably only said what he had said out of anger – maybe he didn't mean it. He stood up quickly and had the urge to go to Arthur's chamber to ask questions.
Hanthur gave the warlock a quizzically look as he just stood up. "Merlin, are you okay?"
Without answering, Merlin just walked out.
As soon as his mother was no longer in the room and he was sure Gaius was already sleeping, he opened the window and Evelyn jumped in. "It's a good thing he hasn't mastered his powers yet or he would have noticed me floating outside the window for hours now," she said and flopped onto the uncomfortable bed.
"What are you doing here?" Hanthur asked curiously, walking over to the cabinet, slowly and carefully picking up the sword that lay on top of it.
"I thought you would want to know whether or not your precious prince and Merlin drank-" She stopped as soon as he drew his sword and placed it to her neck, icy-ocean blue eyes piercing into hers.
"Don't lie to me, Evelyn Greene. What is your true motive for being here?" he demanded unemotionally, but her lips remained sealed tight as if she was daring him to cut her throat, which he wouldn't hesitate to do. But, killing her wouldn't give him any pleasure. Instead, he pulled back and sheathed his sword. "If you're not interested in telling me, get out."
She sat up from the bed and walked toward to the window, but suddenly paused and turned back to face him. "I thought you were different but apparently I was wrong."
"Wrong about what? We hardly know each other."
"I overheard what you have said to Prince Arthur – that you have no desire to hate us magical creatures – but you seem to have no interest in wanting to trust us, either."
He walked closer to her, making her retreat backwards. "I think you've misinterpreted what I have said, little mermaid. In my conversation with the prince, I mentioned nothing about choosing sides between magic and Uther's ridiculous law. I'm just stating my opinion that magic can be used for good or evil. I never confirmed any loyalty for magic or anti-magic," he replied, turning away from her. "Plus, you are not as innocent as you claim to be. I know you are here to trick me into getting closer to Sir Leon."
She smirked. "So you know?"
"Of course I know. Your obsession with him is hard to miss," he snarled, turning back to face her with his arms crossing. "But you can forget about asking for my assistance. I have no interest in your outrageous plotting of raping."
"You talk as if you've never thought about intercourse before," she scorned.
He tilted his head up with his finger rubbing on his chin thoughtfully. The reason he had never thought of having sex for eighteen years was because he had never had the time to meet anyone else other than the knights. How could he when everyday he was forced to fight for his life? But, there was this one time he remembered he was tempted to kiss Sir Gwaine when the knight was napping but he shook the memory from his head. "No," he answered dryly. "So please don't put me in the same category as you."
She glared at him, unconvinced. "Really?" She risked walking towards him until they were only inches apart, but her eyes never left the sword he was still holding. She tried to use one of her own specialty magics to detect his emotions but strangely it didn't work. "You're lying," she accused although she wasn't sure. "I'm sure a handsome lad like you has had plenty of sex," she said seductively, caressing his cheek.
He harshly slapped her hand away. "Leave here, little mermaid, before I change my mind about killing you," he said warningly.
She rolled her eyes and finally retreated toward the window. "Oh, by the way – thought you ought to know – the enchantment that was put inside the water pouch didn't work on that servant boy. His magic is too great for this weak spell." Without waiting for a response from the time-traveling prince, she jumped out and disappeared.
Meanwhile, that little bit of information finally put the last pieces of the complicated puzzle together, explaining the…weird encounters between his father and mother. Hanthur grimaced. He began pacing around the room for a few long minutes before he finally decided to go find Merlin and tell him the truth.
Arthur didn't see Merlin for the rest of the day. He knew he could barge into the clinic and drag Merlin's lazy arse back to work, but how could he when the younger man was obviously upset? After all the useless excuses he came up for the love marks on his body, he finally admitted it to himself: he and Merlin definitely slept together. How am I going to fix this now? Heaving a heavy sigh, he swept his large hands over his face, infuriated with himself as he remembered the miserable face his manservant made before he ran off. This was, by far, the worst thing Arthur has ever done in his entire life. He knew he has never considered Merlin as a just a friend or a mere servant, but someone who held a very special place in his heart.
Knowing where his thoughts were leading him to, he tried to shake them out from his head. He mentally reminded himself that he was the heir to the throne of Camelot, and he too will need an heir to rule the kingdom in the future. His duty to his people prevented him from admitting his true feelings for Merlin to everyone else…even himself.
Swallowing hard, he silently decided to keep his distance from Merlin from this night on. But as the door opened and Arthur jumped up, hoping to see Merlin in front of him, he was disappointed when it was not his manservant. "Gwen," he said, trying to hide his letdown. He felt like kicking himself in the arse for hoping after he had just decided to keep his distance from his manservant. Also, he should feel happy to see his lover.
"Sire, your father sent me to remind you that you are to have dinner with him and the Lady Morgana in the dining hall," she said politely.
Arthur smiled warmly to her and nodded.
She returned the smile, and was about to leave when Arthur rushed over to her and pulled her back, closing the door behind them. "Arthur," she said, completely startled as the prince began to kiss her greedily on the mouth. She was surprised by his aggressive behavior but she eventually gave in to him and kissed back.
Then the door swung open without a knock, freezing the lovers in their place, as Merlin strolled in. Merlin's eyes were widened from the shock and unadulterated pain at the sight of the aura of intimacy between the prince and the maid. As his eyes met Arthur's, all he saw was guilt and nothing more. He turned away. "I'm sorry," he apologized, and closed the door.
Arthur felt the urge to run after Merlin, but after he took three steps forward he stopped. He knew exactly what was going to happen if he went after his manservant. He knew he wouldn't able to stop himself from revealing his true feelings.
Gwen looked as if her heart was going to stop. "Thank God it's only Merlin. I thought for sure it was Uther," she said, terror coating her voice, but the prince remained unmoved. "Arthur?" She took a step towards the prince.
He worked his jaw and turned to Gwen with a convincing, forced grin. "Well, that will teach him not to walk on us anymore," he said, and she sighed in relief. Arthur chuckled as he leaned down to kiss Gwen again, attempting to avoid his terribly aching heart telling him that what he was doing is wrong.
Meanwhile, Merlin was still standing behind the door. He heard Gwen telling Arthur about how afraid she was that she thought it was Uther who came in. "Well, that will teach Merlin not to walk in on us anymore," he heard his prince said. Gwen laughed alongside her prince, as if were the most natural thing in the world to do. Then the silence of their voices told him that they were probably continuing where they left off. Though he wanted to control the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, gravity betrayed him, and they flowed down. He never knew what heartbreak felt like until now.
Hanthur was strolling down the halls of the castle, looking for Merlin. He didn't think he would find the warlock standing in front of the prince's chambers. As he was about to approach him, he halted as he saw tears in Merlin's eyes, and the pain on his face was unbearable. Hanthur wanted to walk over and offer his mother some kind of comfort but he knew there was nothing he could do to dissolve that pain away.
Then Merlin wiped the tears away and walked down the corridor back to the clinic. Hanthur wanted to follow but he knew the warlock would want to be alone right now.
Merlin was actually glad the room was empty. As soon as he closed the bedroom door a sob escaped from his lips and he slumped against the door and slid down. He pulled his knees up, resting his head on them as giant waves of hot tears rolled down from his eyes. His chest hurt more than he ever thought possible; it was very hard to breathe, but all he could do was cry.
The bite mark was still there when Merlin touched his collarbone the next morning. The memory of his one night with his prince came back, which was supposed to feel like a blessing, but actually felt more like a nightmare. He craved his prince's touches and kisses but Arthur made it clear that it was just one night by kissing Gwen last night. He barely had any sleep and his body felt very exhausted as he sat up from the futon. He looked over to the bed to find it hadn't been slept in, which led him to wonder where the time-traveling prince had been all night.
He sighed a great sigh, and as he stood up to get out from his room he paused as he felt like the room was spinning. He closed his eyes and touched his skin, noticing it was a bit warmer than usual. He slowly made his way out the door and into the clinic. He found Gaius was already up and making potions at one of the many messy tables. The physician was so into what he was making that he didn't notice Merlin came out to wash up.
"Merlin," he finally said, turning towards his surrogate son. "If you're not- Whoa! What happened to you?" The old physician gasped as he noticed the color of Merlin's skin had drained away, and his eyes were impossibly red and puffy.
The young warlock smiled faintly. "Had a rough night." He managed to cross the room and pass Gaius toward the door but the physician pulled him back. "Where do you think you're going looking like that?"
"Arthur will be mad if his breakfast is late."
Gaius frowned at him and forced his surrogate son down on a chair. "You're not going to work in that condition. I'll go inform the prince that you are sick and won't be able to serve him today," he said sternly as he went to one of the cabinets and took out a green vial. He handed it to Merlin. "Drink this. It will make you feel better." The warlock nodded as he took the vial from the physician. He drank it swiftly, causing his face to scrunch up at the horrible taste. "Now – go rest while I go tell Arthur," Gaius said and went out the door.
Usually, Merlin would stop Gaius and leave to serve Arthur anyway. But right now he felt like he wasn't ready to face Arthur. He did do a lot of thinking when he was not busy crying last night. He did want to walk back out from his room to Arthur's room and confront him but then what if Arthur rejected him? Then what? If that was the case, what was there for Merlin to do? There was only one answer to that: leave Camelot. And what if Arthur accepted him? Even if it came to that it wouldn't change anything. Merlin still can't give Arthur an heir. I can't give the prince anything.
He slowly turned his eyes to his hands, as if they held the answers to all questions everywhere. Arthur's confession made him thought he'd actually meant something to him, other than an idiot manservant. Now he felt like he was back at the beginning with nothing. He felt so worthless and stranded as the tears began to swell up in his eyes again.
Then the door slowly opened and he blinked back the tears as he turned away from whoever just walked in. Even without looking, he knew it was Hanthur as the boy took a seat next to him without an invitation. "You appear to be under a lot of stress since our return yesterday," said Hanthur.
Merlin didn't answer for he knew his voice would crack if he were to open his mouth.
"I know things seem bad now, but they will get better," he promised, which left the warlock questioning but he didn't reply. "You know, sometimes we think that since we can close our eyes to the things we don't want to see, we can do the same with our heart." Merlin finally turned to look at Hanthur. "But, we're wrong. We can never close our hearts to the things we don't want to feel."
Merlin's lips thinned and closed his eyes as he let the tears fall freely down his face, knowing all too well that it was the truth. He didn't know why the boy was saying this to him but it seemed to be the right thing to hear. He loved Arthur and he wanted Arthur to love him in return. But even that seemed too much to ask for.
Hanthur couldn't bear to see the man who will be his mother so heart-broken. He hated himself for not finding his parents in time. He wanted to blame Evelyn but that would be the way of cowardice. He knew it was partly his fault since he did let his guard down. There are other threats to his parents than just Morgana and her minions. He needed to be more cautious from here on out, but for now, all he could do was put his arms around his mother's shoulders and comfort him.
When Gaius returned to his clinic, Hanthur was coming out from Merlin's bedroom. "Where is Merlin?"
"Sleeping," he answered.
The boy looked so weary, as if he hadn't sleep all night, which made the physician knew he had to ask about it. "What happened during the hunt? You and Merlin have been acting sort of odd ever since you came back."
Hanthur gulped and told everything to the old man: the behavior he gave toward Merlin to push his father to reveal his feelings to him; meeting Evelyn and the trouble with the water pouch that caused the intimacy between his parents, which left his father with no memory of it and his mother heart-broken. By the end of the explanation, he realized that he was probably the person who started all of this. If he hadn't tried to get Arthur to be jealous, Arthur wouldn't have run off and Merlin wouldn't have chased after the royal prat with Evelyn's water pouch, and then none of this would have happened. He felt even more ashamed of himself.
By the end of his explanation, Gaius slapped the back of Hanthur's head, which earned a growl from the future prince as he rubbed the pain away. "That is why I told you to leave it alone, Hanthur. Now you see what happens when you do not listen?"
"I just want them to be together. Is that so bad?"
"It is when it is not the time for them to reveal such a thing. Merlin and Arthur have to come to their feelings at their own pace. You can not force it."
Hanthur sighed and sat down. "Now what should I do? I came back to correct the error of history…but it seems like I'm just making new ones."
The old physician finally took a seat next to the young boy. "Nobody is perfect, Hanthur. You are bound to make mistakes. But for now, just let Merlin and Arthur come to their feelings on their own, okay?"
The time-traveling prince smiled understandingly and finally gave in. "Yeah."
"Now," Gaius started after a long silence. "Tell me more about this Evelyn girl."
Hanthur sat up, straightening his back with an elbow resting on his knees. "Well, from what I know she has no interest in Arthur, or Merlin, or Camelot. She is one-third eel mermaid, one-third human, and half a seer witch, who happens to be obsessed with Sir Leon."
"One-third eel mermaid," the physician said questioningly and Hanthur nodded.
"Yeah, that's correct," he replied and stared at his surrogate grandfather's face as it went from peachy to pale white. "Gaius? What's happened to your face?"
Gaius rose up from his seat and went over to a bookshelf and picked up a book. He opened it and turned a few pages before he landed on a page about mermaids. "Eel mermaids are magical creature that live under trenches and caves in the sea. They have a very sensitive awareness of magic..." The physician paused as he stumbled onto something and looked up to the curious time-traveling prince. "Ah, it is as I feared. The last time any human or magical being has ever seen an eel mermaid was nearly three hundred years ago."
Hanthur moved towards the physician. "What does that mean?"
"If this Evelyn claims to be an eel mermaid, she would have been at least three hundred years old." Both of them exchanged disbelieving looks. "Are you sure that is all you know about this girl? Nothing else?"
Hanthur nodded but stopped as he remembered the old wizard he encountered in the woods. "Wait – no. When I was searching through the woods for my parents I met a wizard…ugh… What was his name?" The young prince pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he tried to remember. "His name was something like…a sin at the end..." He paused for a moment, face scrunched-up in thought, before: "Ah!" he exclaimed, causing Gaius to jump and nearly fall dead of a heart attack. "Taliesin. Yes, Taliesin, and he said 'Evelyn Green, daughter of Priestess Lilith and Sir Knight Kay.'" He turned back to the old physician with a fairly happy face but stopped as he realized how the physician went from looking pale to green now. "Are you okay?"
"Taliesin… You saw the wizard Taliesin?" he asked. "Are you sure it was not someone who is just using his name?"
Hanthur thought back to that place and time. He could still remember the powerful magic conquering the atmosphere in the woods, and the vision of his father's death in which the old wizard let him see. "No, I don't think he is a hoax. I've faced great power of magic before, barely escaping with my life from some of them. What I have encountered with this wizard is nothing like them – it was much greater."
The information was too overwhelming for Gaius' old body to handle and his knees gave out on him. Hanthur caught him in time and had to help him to sit on the nearest chair. "Who is he? Is he important?"
Gaius nodded as he leaned over to the table, mixing a potion for himself. "He was the High Court Sorcerer during Bruther's reign- Wait. Evelyn is the daughter of Priestess Lilith and Sir Knight Kay, you said?"
Hanthur looked at the old physician, confused. "Yeah, so?"
"Priestess Lilith was an ancient priestess from the old religion who also helped Taliesin during the Great War. If what you told me is true about what Taliesin had said…then this Evelyn girl might not be an ordinary witch."
"Could it just a coincidence?"
Gaius grimly shook his head. "Priestess Lilith was married to Sir Knight Kay. He was the fourth son of Lady Anne and the Fisher King, who was an eel merman. It is too much to be a coincidence."
"The Fisher King? The same Fisher King that lived in the Perilous Lands?"
"Yes. And according to rumors, a curse was put upon him when he received a fatal injury from another powerful dark wizard named Cornelius Sigan: it prevented him from returning to the sea," Gaius explained. "Where is this girl now? Is she still in Camelot?"
"Last time I saw her, yeah," answered Hanthur.
"You should go look for her."
"Why?"
"Hanthur. Among many dark tales of magic, one of them tells a story of how the Fisher King took something important from Cornelius Sigan's keeps, after Taliesin killed him, but no one knows for sure what it was. Some say it was the Immortal Blade of Balor, others say the Cup of Life from Dagda, but in the midst of those rumors, one stated that the Fisher King took the Book of Shadows."
As the boy processed the information he soon became as pale as Gaius. "Morgana obtained an ancient book of the old religion that contained great dark spells. Do you think that this little mermaid might have this Book of Shadows?" he asked.
"It is possible."
In an instant, Hanthur sprinted towards the door. intending to find the witch. "Then I will go find her and bring her here for questioning."
Gaius nodded in agreement as the boy walked past him. "That will be the safest route – but how are you going to find her?"
Hanthur just gave the old physician a mischievous grin. "I know exactly where to find her."
"Oh, Hanthur," he said, stopping the boy from going through the door. "If what she told you is true then make her to make a promise with you."
"Why is that?"
"When mermaids make promises, they can not back out from them. If they do, they will pay a dear price for it. Make her promise that she will not bring harm to the people of Camelot."
Hanthur nodded and walked out.
Arthur paced back and forth in his room for a good hour, debating whether or not he should go see Merlin. It was not very princely for a prince to visit his servant when they were sick, and it broke all the mental rules he set for himself to stay away from Merlin, but he was very worried about the idiot. For another five minutes of fighting with his inner-self, he finally walked up to the clinic and knocked on the door. When he heard Gaius telling him to come in, he opened the door and walked in. The old physician was mixing a potion as he looked up. "Oh, sire. Do you need something?" he said, putting the potion down.
The prince looked around for any sign of his manservant but there was none. "I was just wondering if you…happened to have any medicine for a headache," he lied.
Gaius studied the prince closely, knowing that he came to see how Merlin was doing. He sighed and wished that Arthur could be more honest with his feelings, but Arthur seemed to have received his stubbornness from Uther. "No, but I can make one. I just need to go buy some herbs." He walked past the prince and to the door. "I will be back and make you one. It will only take a few minutes."
Arthur nodded and gave the old physician a thankful smile for not questioning him. As soon as Gaius left, Arthur made his way to Merlin's room. He found his manservant sleeping on the bed that looked very uncomfortable. He moved closer to find that the color on his manservant's ivory skin had become paler – if that is even possible. He reached out a hand to touch Merlin's skin, seeing if he was suffering from a fever, but as soon as the skin touched skin pictures of Merlin's naked body holding onto him, sucking his muscular neck as Arthur thrust into him popped into his mind. He jerked away from Merlin as if he was being burned.
He blinked, wondering if the pictures were actually memories. A little disturbed by it all he walked out from the room just as Gaius came in. The old physician gave him a curious look and Arthur couldn't look at him in the eyes. "Are you checking on Merlin, sire? He will be fine by tomorrow."
"Good," Arthur said and crossed the room towards the door.
"Sire, do you need your-" Before he could finish the prince had already left.
Arthur was going towards his room but he stopped, as he knew that if he were to enter his room he would start thinking about Merlin again. He needed to go to the training ground to keep his mind off of Merlin.
Evelyn gave an annoyed sigh at the sight of Hanthur coming to Sir Leon's family home, a mansion outside of Camelot. She was helping some other maids with carrying water inside for Sir Leon's mother's bath.
The other maids who were with her shot Hanthur a few seductive looks as he arrived, but his eyes were directed only at the blond cat-eyed girl. "Hi, Evelyn. I need to talk to you," he said and took her arm rather forcefully. They could hear the other girls groan in disappointment as he took her away from curious eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed as they moved toward the stable.
"There are some things that you still haven't explained to me," he said, pulling her along. "And you should be flattered, it's about you."
She pulled her arm away and halted both of them from walking any further. They were standing on the side of a dirt road but there was no one around. "What? If it is about me, what does it have to do with anything? I already told you I have no interest in taking over Camelot."
"Yes, I know. Your world revolves around Sir Leon only but… Well, there is something confusing about what you've told me," he said. "I mean you said that you are an eel mermaid but an eel mermaid has not been seen by human eyes for three hundred years."
She sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes before meeting eye-to-eye with Hanthur. "Okay, so I'm not exactly eighteen years old," she admitted. "I'm actually five hundred years old."
Hanthur backed away from the witch, open-mouthed, giving her a disbelieving expression. "What? But how could that be? You're-"
She glared at him crossly. "It's a long story, raven boy," she snapped and turned back to where they came from. "Now, if that is all you are here to ask about then you better leave before I change my mind about destroying Camelot!"
He scoffed as if he would let that happen. Then he sighed and turned to follow her. "Hey. Hey!" He halted her from going any further. She tsked and looked away from him, crossing her arms. "I'm sorry," he apologized with a convincing earnest tone and she glowered at him suspiciously but he looked genuine. "I have been acting like a complete ass, haven't I?"
She snorted and nodded.
"Look," he moved closer to her. "How about we help each other out?"
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
He smirked. "You remember the wizard we met in the woods, don't you?" he asked and she nodded. "Well, it seems you know something about him."
She shrugged. "Maybe."
"Well, I'll tell you what – I want to know some information about him. Why don't you come by the castle in a few days? I will introduce you to Merlin and Gaius and you can tell us whatever you know about this wizard. In return, I can introduce you to Sir Leon."
She beamed. "Really?"
"I can promise you that." He held out his hand to her, smiling confidently. "If you only help me and Merlin in any way you can, without lying or questioning."
She smiled and shook his hand without a second thought. "It's a promise then."
By the time Merlin woke up, it was already the next morning. His head felt much better and his body was no longer aching by every movement he made. As he sat up from the bed he saw Hanthur sleeping on the futon, filled with books and a burned out candle on the table nearby. The warlock smiled at the sight and went over to pull up the blanket over the boy's body. Then he walked out to find the clinic empty, but there was breakfast made for two on the table. He couldn't help but smile as he made his way to have his breakfast when the door opened and Gwen came in with a bundle of fresh flowers.
"Gwen," he said in a surprised voice. He felt that he had betrayed her for sleeping with the prince. All this time he thought he was the only that was suffering but if Gwen ever found out that her friend and her lover slept together…how would she react? "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I heard that you were sick. I didn't get a chance to stop by yesterday, so..." she looked away blushing and he didn't understand why at first…but then he remembered walking in on her kissing Arthur two nights ago. And that must have led to..."I brought flowers."
Merlin forced a smile and took the flowers. "Thank you, Gwen." He went to find a vase for them.
"So…did you know?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence.
He looked up to her. "Know what?"
"That Arthur got Uther's approval to make Hanthur a knight in Camelot."
Merlin's eyes widened with a bright smile on. "Really? I thought Arthur hated him."
She shrugged. "Probably not," she said. "But you can't tell Hanthur. Arthur wants to tell him personally," she said.
The warlock nodded understandingly and an idea came to him with a jolt. "Hey, Gwen – can you do me a favor?"
She nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
Arthur was eating his breakfast alone as he was trying to read a book that he borrowed from Morgana. Usually he would demand Merlin to stay for breakfast, but when he woke up he found breakfast was already served and his armor taken. The room was empty and he was alone. He didn't like this silence of Merlin but he had to keep his oath. He had already broken it once by visiting him when he was sick in bed.
After he finished his breakfast, Merlin actually came in and Arthur's heart was beating so hard against his chest that he thought it might rip through it. He hadn't seen Merlin since that night the manservant walked in on him kissing Gwen. It was one day but it felt like weeks to Arthur.
"Morning," Arthur greeted, swallowing the enormous lump in his throat, that could or could not be that stupid muscle that pumped his body with blood.
Merlin didn't say anything, just nodded. He walked over to make the bed in silence before he went over to the cupboard and started to pick Arthur's outfit for the day and laid them on the bed.
"So how are you feeling?" Arthur said trying to sound casual but it came out slightly awkward as he walked to his manservant.
"Wonderful," was all he said as he helped the prince dress.
Arthur frowned. "Okay…" He paused to think for a moment. "Look, I am sorry about you walking in on me and Gwen the other night. So stop being a girl over it." He gave Merlin a curious look but the manservant didn't seem to react to his comment. "Or is this about during the hunt?" Merlin paused for a second before continuing and the prince knew that it was. "Can we just forget about it? It's not like it's a big deal, anyway."
Merlin inhaled sharply and blinked his eyes as he felt tears were forming. Arthur became speechless as he caught how sad Merlin became, but his manservant quickly recovered from it. "It's forgotten," he said with a forced smile, still avoiding eye-contact with his prince and finished helping him dress. As he intended to move away, Arthur caught him by the wrist and their eyes met. His eyes averted down to Merlin's lips and he was just so tempted to kiss them.
Then someone cleared his throat by the door and Arthur let go of Merlin's wrist. He looked up to see that it was Sir Leon. "Your presence is needed in the hall, Sire."
Arthur nodded and Leon gave them a curious look before he walked out to wait for the prince. Arthur looked back to Merlin but Merlin wasn't paying attention to him now – he was making the bed. Arthur frowned and walked out from his chamber.
Hanthur was standing on top of the roof in a tower of the castle, staring down to the people as they were getting on with their daily life. He woke up too late to deliver any potions for Gaius and he couldn't find Merlin anywhere so he could tell him about Evelyn. She was coming into the castle in a few days so she could be properly introduced to Gaius and Merlin.
"You seem bored," came Arthur's voice behind him that made him jump.
"Arthur – I mean, your highness," he said quickly as he noticed Uther and Morgana were also with the prince. He tried his best not to show any signs of his hatred toward Morgana. "What did I do to have this honor?"
Uther studied the raven-haired boy cautiously. It wasn't only that he didn't believe the boy was what Gaius claimed him to be, his grandson – there was just something about the boy that made Uther very uncomfortable to be around. Maybe it was because he looked a lot like Arthur, which would give him the spooks no matter what way he looked at it.
When Morgana saw Hanthur, she was forced to take a good second look. "Arthur! He looks just like you."
Of course I look like him. I'm his son, you bitch he thought negatively to himself and forced a smile.
Arthur didn't seem too pleased about the comment. "Well, Morgana – what are you suggesting?"
She shrugged.
"Just give him the news," Uther said and he and his ward walked off.
He gave Arthur a confused look. "What news?"
"Well," Arthur patted Hanthur's shoulder proudly. "During the hunt and the fight, you have proved to me that you are worthy to be a knight of Camelot," he said. "Tomorrow morning, my father will hold a coronation for you and three other men that will become knights. Don't disappoint me."
The boy smiled broadly at his father. "But what I've said to you about being swayed by magic, and then you punching me-"
Arthur just ruffled his dark hair. "I would like a knight who is honest with me rather than one who lies to me. And the punch, well, you deserved that."
Hanthur laughed whole-heartedly and Arthur came to realize that he didn't completely hate the boy. "I promise you, Arthur, you will not be disappointed."
The prince nodded with a smile and turned to leave just as Merlin came running past him and hugged Hanthur. "Congratulations!" he cheered and pulled back.
Arthur gaped at his manservant's actions but quickly recovered.
Hanthur gave Merlin a questioning look. "I just got the news right now. How did you know before I did?"
"Gwen told me," he replied, avoiding making eye-contact with the prince who was still standing there. "Let's go to the Yellow Sun Tavern tonight to celebrate this special occasion!"
Arthur finally cleared his throat to make his presence known. "Merlin, did you forget something?"
Merlin didn't want to see the prince for what he said earlier but he forced himself to with a fake smile. "No, I didn't forget about you, of course. That is why I asked Gwen to take my place tonight." He winked at the shocked prince. "I'm pretty sure you two have a lot of catching up to do." He intertwined his arms with Hanthur's and smiled mischievously.
Hanthur's eyes widened in surprise toward Merlin's odd behavior. He felt very uncomfortable when he caught Arthur giving them a very dark stare. "Also, I already asked Sir Leon's permission to borrow two of his horses and we will be having a picnic outside of Camelot." Merlin said, looking back to the current prince of Camelot with a confident smile. "I know this one place that is perfect for a picnic." Then back to Hanthur. "So you better get ready, okay?"
Arthur was going to say something but Merlin interrupted him. "I will go prepare the food now." Then he left before the prince could mumble something out. He then turned to Hanthur with a death glare.
"I…I've got to go," Hanthur said nervously and didn't even wait for the prince to response and took off.
As soon as Merlin turned the corner his back slowly slid down the wall and he sighed. He knew he was using Hanthur to get back at Arthur but what the prince said earlier just hurt him so much that he wanted Arthur to feel the same way, too: acting as if he didn't care.
"So," Hanthur said as he popped next to Merlin so suddenly that the warlock jumped. "What was that all about?"
The warlock turned away, face slowly reddening as the feeling of guilt climbed up his spine. "Nothing."
Hanthur crossed his arms and looked up as he was thinking. "Hmm… It's almost as if you're in love with Arthur and wanted to make him jealous."
Merlin chuckled nervously. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?" he lied and started to walk away, trying to get away from Hanthur. He knew how the boy reacted toward Gwen and Arthur's relationship and he didn't want him to react the same way towards him, too.
"Well, for one thing," he began. "You've never really liked me touching you casually, but just now that was thrown far out the window."
"That doesn't mean anything," he said, picking up the pace of his walking.
Hanthur exhaled, a little bit annoyed and stopped the warlock from walking. "We both know that is a lie, Merlin. You are in love with Arthur."
"And why do you think that?"
"You told so me when you were drunk."
Merlin gaped. "So is that why you have been acting the way you have lately? You're making a joke of me?"
"No, of course not," Hanthur said, defensively. "I'm not laughing at you. Why would I be laughing at someone's love?"
"It's not love," Merlin snapped and continued walking, trying to get away from the boy.
"Why can't you just admit to him that you love him?" Hanthur demanded as he chased after the wizard. "Tell me, Merlin!" He pulled the wizard around to face him again.
Merlin shoved him away. "Because I know that nothing can ever happen between us! You should know since he will be marrying your mother!" he shouted.
Hanthur wanted to blurt out that Merlin was his mother but for some reason he held back on it. "That does not mean my father loved my mother..." he trailed off as Merlin slowly turned to him. He became frustrated with the situation as he just got what he said out loud.
"Arthur didn't marry for love? Is that why you threw a tantrum when you saw Arthur kiss Gwen? Because he showed his affection for someone else?"
"No, no, that's not what I mean..." Hanthur stammered.
"Then you should hate me too...for loving your father," Merlin said and took off in his speed-walking again.
Hanthur sighed, irritated with himself for he had failed his parents yet again.
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