A Prince's best friend
Chapter 9: In which there's falling out, coming down and making up
It was late and his front was soaked when he came back home. Percival (probably on Arthur's orders) had insisted on 'escorting' him all the way – Merlin was terribly annoyed and angry with Arthur still, and therefore a bit annoyed with Percival though the knight was only following the commands of said prince. In fact the gesture was rather sweet.
But it also meant he couldn't take a detour, go somewhere private and use his magic for awhile to take out his frustration, nor could he free his (by now extremely twitchy) ears and tail. He settled to kicking a stray small rock down the corridor, grumbling about stubborn bigheaded dollopheads. The knight lingered by the physician's door. Merlin wondered if he planned to sleep out there on the stone floor, if Arthur had ordered it. Stupid princely orders. Stupid prats.
Gaius wasn't, for once, buried to the nose in an old script or strange-smelling potion, but in conversation with a well-dressed man by the table. Said man looked up, his frown breaking into a smile at the sight of the servant.
"Good evening, Merlin."
It was Gareth. Right, he'd promised to meet up with him here…At the moment though, Merlin felt far too tired to go to any tavern, or anywhere outside this room. He just wanted to get out of his wet shirt and crawl into bed and sleep for an age.
"Hi. Uhm, sorry I couldn't…Arthur gave me some extra chores, stupid prat…"
"No, no, it's all right. I understand."
Gaius regarded the two for a moment. He had that odd look which Merlin found hard to read on his face, he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. "Here, I saved you some dinner, I wasn't sure if you had eaten and either way, you're hardly any more than bones and sinew."
Some of his annoyance and frustration was pushed away by honest gratitude, even if Gaius' meals rarely were tasty. "Thanks, Gaius."
He took seat when Gareth scooted back on the bench, giving him room. He practically inhaled the watery stew, causing the knight to chuckle. "Easy there. You don't want to choke."
Merlin blushed. "I'm starving."
"I can tell," Gaius said. "Well, I see you can fend to yourself. I need to pay a visit to the library."
"Oh. All right." Maybe the physician was going to consult a book about magically infused animal traits on humans, or just find something appropriately old and dusty about medicine.
An awkward silence descended on the room as the old man left, closing the door behind himself (Merlin couldn't glimpse Percival; hopefully the man had gone home to get some sleep, he didn't deserve lying out there on the cold stone).
"So, err…What are you still doing here? Not that your company is unwelcome or anything, but I'm afraid I don't have the energy to go to the tavern tonight. Even if I did go, Arthur would probably have my head."
"Why would he?"
Merlin wrinkled up his nose in a displeased grimace. "Well, when I asked him if I could leave an hour early, he got all annoyed, even more so when I said I'd go to the tavern with you. He got really angry and even when I said I would work full-time and be on time tomorrow he still was so, so obnoxious, like I couldn't decide what to do with my own spare time – he got into a huff and ordered me to clean the floors and all of his boots, down to the old pair he hasn't used for two years! He was just being such a dollophead and I don't get why, I mean, I've not asked for a day off like that before and figured it would be okay, Gwen has done it and other servants too," he finished, now with a confused expression adorning his face. The bowl of stew stood forgotten on the table. Gareth examined him with a strange look on his face, nodding in agreement at the dollophead-part.
Merlin missed the growing smile on the man's face.
"Really, he needs to grow up," Merlin continued, ranting now, caught up with his frustration – Gareth followed the story closely, smile growing, still nodding and humming at the right moments. "I know I'm his servant but there are loads of other ones around the castle and I'm not exactly property, am I, like an object - plus when would he use those boots anyway? I swear that black pair was from his childhood and ten sizes too small and they had rat holes in them, and he still insisted on having them cleaned and polished 'til they appeared like a mirror. And he locked the door, too, which was very, very annoying, like he was punishing me for something, I don't know what, I just asked a question – it wasn't as if I announced I wouldn't be his servant anymore or leave Camelot! He returned after awhile and sat there and kept watching me, it was almost creepy, I couldn't concentrate at all and I ended up spilling the bucket of water all-over the floor. So he made Percival, that's the knight he's set to 'guard' me for some stupid reason, go and fetch some new water from the water pump. Once I finally could start with the floor, it must've been almost two hours and Arthur was still sitting there watching! He was all silent and all, didn't even point out spots I'd missed – just stared at me!" he finished, gesturing widely with his arms. "I don't get it, I just don't!"
"Well, one could think his royal highness has something up his backside," Gareth said, remembering his brother say something similar just a couple of days ago.
"Yeah. I'm just glad I'm rid of him right now. Honestly, it was so annoying, and creepy, him watching like that…" Besides it reminded him of this morning, waking up in that naked position with said prince, but Merlin blushed at the memory and didn't dare speak of it to the knight beside him.
Gareth's smile twisted suddenly and he got a funny look. "Wait, he's set Percival to guard you?"
Merlin nodded vividly, sipped at the stew and began to speak again. "Yes, do you know him? This very tall, dog-like man…Anyway, Arthur's all worried for some reason, I'm certain he is, but he won't talk much about it and Percival doesn't know much either, I've asked him…He's guarding me all the time, staying right outside the door when I'm in Arthur's chambers, then following me when I have to run errands outside it, fetching food and doing the laundry and stuff…Did you see him at training? He was there all the time, like a shadow. Doesn't speak much, very quiet. I don't understand, really…I'm not defenseless! Arthur refuses to tell me exactly why – though he might be thinking about the kidnapping thing, even if it turned out all right-"
"Kidnapping?" Gareth asked, feigning astonishment, like he didn't know anything about the matter. He rested on his elbow against the table, with an expression he knew was one of pure attentiveness and interest: he hadn't quite perfected the look like his brother, but it was a close one.
"Yeah, I got kind of snatched from a corridor yesterday evening…" Merlin suddenly looked at him worriedly. "Umm, Arthur doesn't really want anyone to know about this, especially not the king…"
"Don't worry; I won't spread any words outside this room. Please, tell me what happened."
Merlin smiled gratefully, nodding before continuing. "So, I was walking toward Arthur's chambers when suddenly the world went black, someone must've covered my head with a cloth or something. I felt hands lift me but my memory is kind of blurry, and after a while I lost consciousness completely…I woke up the next day and Arthur explained what happened, he'd found out I was gone, there'd been this ransom note and he'd run out alone to meet the kidnappers in the forest like an idiot. I'm not sure of all the details, he won't tell me for some reason, but he exchanged some 'secret closest to his heart'"- here, the warlock made some cutting motions with his fingers in the air, marking the words –"and made a deal, and the kidnappers let me go. As I said, I don't remember much, and I've got a feeling Arthur's not telling me the whole truth. It made me a bit worried, I mean, that deal he's agreed to could be dangerous or utter idiocy…"
"What about you? Are you all right?"
The servant seemed startled at the question. Throughout the ordeal he'd worried more about Arthur's safety than his own, as was a habit now: Arthur's life was constantly in danger and throwing himself in the way to save the prince so he could live and become the Once and Future King was practically the only thing that mattered. Sure, he'd been scared and shocked when the kidnapping happened, but now it was over and both he and Arthur were all right, and he tried not to linger on it too much.
"Uhh…yeah, sure," Merlin said, blinking. "It's not like they really hurt me…"
"That's good. I wouldn't know what to do with myself, had you gotten hurt."
Merlin looked at the man at first confused. He was that concerned for him? It was quite touching, and he grinned a little, glad to know that at least someone wasn't stubborn enough not to admit it out loud. (Arthur would never admit such a thing unless everyone in the world were out of hearing range, that's for sure, and probably not even then.) Gareth caught that he was smiling and his own lips tugged upwards, and he leaned in.
Somehow they ended up in a hug, the knight's warm arms enveloping him and Merlin's tail twitched beneath his tunic at the contact. It startled the knight: sensing the movement, he drew back.
"Uhm, you know that spell that turned me into a cat? Well, it hasn't really…gone away completely…yet…" Merlin explained awkwardly.
"A tail," Gareth muttered in disbelief, and then shook his head to clear his mind. Of course, it shouldn't really surprise him. After all, twenty-four hours ago, the whole servant had been a kitten. The furry thing looked terribly cute, and he had an urge to touch it, recalling how soft and smooth Merlin the cat's fur had been.
"And ears. I really want to take this off now…" Merlin undid the neckerchief on his head. There, much better already. The spell really needed to wear off soon…Hiding his ears was so annoying.
"Adorable," Gareth said, as it was the first thing that came to mind at the sight. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and gently touched one of them. Merlin didn't stop him, so assuming it was all right, he applied a bit more pressure and began to rub the ear. It twitched at the attention and Gareth held his breath when the servant boy closed his eyes. "That good, huh?" the knight murmured when a quiet but distinctive purring sound reached his ears. There was still a cat in there… Gently he continued to scratch the ear, it was rather wonderful and wouldn't mind doing it at all.
After a moment, Merlin realized just what was going on. Inhaling sharply, his eyes snapped open and he drew back, blood rushing up to his face making it hot with embarrassment. Gareth reluctantly pulled back his hand.
"S-Sorry! I, I—" Merlin stammered, when had Gareth gotten so close? The touch hadn't felt bad per se, rather nice and warm, but something tugged in the bottom of his stomach, almost discomfort, at the feel of an unfamiliar hand.
"Don't apologize. It is I that should. Did I make you upset?"
"No, not really, I mean, it's just, nobody except Arthur-god, no, I mean, n-not like that, I mean…" Merlin feebly tried to make sense. The mention and thought of Arthur brought a quick flashback of that first time Arthur saw him after he'd turned into a cat, when he picked him up and scratched his ears, and he blushed horribly at the memory. He seemed to do that a lot lately. It was really annoying, his face getting so hot all the time.
Gareth just smiled calmly. "It's getting late. I should take my leave." He stood, eyes still fixed on the servant; it seemed close to impossible to unglue his eyes from those adorable ears. "Good night, Merlin."
"'Night," Merlin replied, and when the knight had a hand on the doorknob, he looked over his shoulder and added, hesitantly, "Maybe we could do the tavern outing some other day?"
"Of course. I'll be happy to."
()()()
Merlin had spoken the truth about Percival. The man was leaning half-asleep against the wall when Gareth stepped out of the physician's chambers. At the sound of footsteps – rather sharp even when Gareth tried to walk quietly – the man stirred, startled and began to reach for his sword.
"Who's there?" he shouted. "Reveal yourselves!"
"Relax, friend. It's me, Gareth."
Percival blinked down at him, fighting the sleep in his eyes. He was so tall he could tower over anyone and Gareth, who was by no means a small man, had to turn his neck upwards to look him into his face. "Oh. And what business might you have in this corridor at this hour?"
"I could ask you the same, Percival."
"I am on duty for Prince Arthur, if you must know. Now, what are you doing here?"
Damn it, this could complicate things, Gareth thought. If the prince had set Percival to guard Merlin like this all the time, also at night, and made the guard question anyone being around said servant…
"I've been visiting a friend. Now, I shall be on my way."
Percival didn't quite believe him, but didn't say anything, and watched the man walk down the corridor. Once the knight was out of sight, he sneaked a look inside the door. Just in case. Everything looked all right and when he concentrated, he could hear calm breathing from within, the room's occupant sleeping. Well, it was Percival's right to worry, when this task had been appointed to him by the prince himself.
()()()
Arthur couldn't sleep.
Tomorrow morning, he'd have to wake up knowing it was two days left…Just two days. It perplexed him that he was worried, relived and saddened at the same time. It was just, if he had to, well, approach Merlin, in these two days he had an excuse to do so. There was the overhanging threat after all. On the other hand, if he never approached the servant, Merlin would still be happily oblivious and nothing could ruin their friendship. Things would go back to the way they were. Besides, Merlin was guarded now: no way could Gwaine or anyone else attempt to…have their way with Merlin when Percival was there. Said knight come guard had been ordered to sleep outside the physician's chambers, so that if anyone attempted to break inside, he'd be in the way.
As he tossed and turned, all kinds of possible scenarios kept running through Arthur's mind, scenarios where he fulfilled the deal he'd agreed to: doing…all right, he couldn't run away from it; kissing Merlin and declaring…well, you know. Most scenarios ended badly, with either Merlin crying or screaming at him in hatred and/or pure anger, or Morgana scolding him, or his father rushing in the worst possible moment, causing the king to hate him or worse, for Merlin to be punished, accused for bewitching the prince. If he really did…did It (with capital 'i' necessarily stressed) what if one of these scenarios came true? What if Merlin began to despise him? What if his father found out: what would he do to Merlin? He couldn't let Merlin be hurt …
Arthur couldn't remember falling asleep, but woke early and grumpy, his head and his back aching, he didn't feel rested at all. A ray of very pale sunlight fell through the tiny crack between the curtains and he couldn't fall asleep again. With a sigh, he stood and dressed, then settled to wait for his manservant.
Merlin wasn't late.
Shockingly enough, he was early. The sun had barely risen.
There was no chipper "G'morning sleeping beauty!" as Merlin drew back the curtains and no comments about the state of the room, and the servant didn't look at him more than necessary. He kept his head bowed, eyes lowered and stayed eerily quiet. He put the breakfast on the table without a word, then stepped back waiting for orders.
All in all, he acted as little Merlinish as possible and more like one of those obedient, meek bootlickers that used to serve the evening meals with his father. Everything was perfect: the breakfast was luxurious, complete with red wine; he wasn't loud and annoying, didn't ask stupid (or any, actually) questions; he made the bed perfectly neatly when Arthur didn't give any other orders, and then stood there waiting with his head lowered in respect. Respect! Merlin was showing respect!
What in the world had happened? Had he slipped in the stairs and hit his head?
The behavior made Arthur honestly worried.
"What is wrong with you, Merlin?" he said, using that kind of tone on the name to gain some kind of reaction. "First you're on time, and now you're acting all meek. If you're ill you should let Gaius have a look at you. Or have you just hit your head?"
"There's nothing wrong with me, sire." Only the 'sire' wasn't like a taunt, it was a plain and simple word and there wasn't a trace of sarcasm and Merlin still wasn't looking him in the eye.
"Oh? Well then. I shouldn't complain, I suppose. I've not had a proper servant for months. Lay out some clothes for me."
Normally Merlin would have raised an eyebrow, since the prince was fully dressed down to a clean pair of socks, but this Merlin just went to the wardrobe and began picking out some outfits. He didn't even ask what kind of clothes the prince wanted, what they were for, if he wanted to go on those boring hunts again or was meeting his father or was a royal, foreign delegation coming or - anything. It seemed he'd decided, for some reason Arthur couldn't really fathom, to not speak a word unless directly answer a question and preferably not even then.
"No, honestly Merlin. What's up with you?" Then a thought hit him: "Still upset about yesterday? The tavern thing? Look, I needed some chores to be done and …" He paused for a moment, but no protest, no acknowledgement came (though Merlin flinched). "No, to be truly honest, I don't like the thought of you being dragged away by some disreputable, dangerous possibly-plotting knight who has got his mind down the gutter like the rest of them, to the bloody tavern where he might try to (and if succeeding I shall have his head!) do some unmentionable things and get into serious trouble. I don't want you involved in…in such things."
Ah – finally, a reaction. Merlin turned his head, silently, to look at him incredulously. Arthur could see he was struggling to hide his curiosity, for a moment his expression slipped before he managed to look blank and uncaring again.
"No comment? Very well. Hand me that jacket."
Merlin helped him into it. When closing one of the buttons, he spoke up, finally: "I don't know what you have against Gareth, but I think you acted awfully selfish, sire."
"You wouldn't, if you had any idea what he might've planned—"
"I do consider him one of my friends, and I've got the right to spend some time with them," the warlock said, his composure beginning to crack. "I seriously doubt he would have 'planned' anything bad…sire."
"And what about me, then?"
Merlin snorted. "And you wonder now if yesterday was spending quality time with you, me polishing boots and you staring into infinity?"
"No. Am I one of your friends?"
"Yes. No. Sometimes. At most times you're just too annoying. Sire."
Arthur couldn't hold it in anymore; he cracked up in a beaming relieved smile, resisting the urge to pull Merlin into a hug. The old Merlin was stepping forth, thank god. He couldn't do with that quiet, meek thing. His heart felt incredibly warm too at hearing Merlin admit they were friends. It was wonderful, really.
"Good. That's…good. Don't act like that that again, it makes me anxious."
"I'm still angry, sire," Merlin said quietly, without blinking.
"It was for your own good I didn't let you go to the tavern."
"But why?" the warlock pressed. "Gareth didn't do anything."
"Oh yes, he 'didn't do anything'…" Arthur grumbled, picking at the plate in front of him. The bread was a bit dry at the edges and the cheese was that bitter kind he'd never really liked. Was this part of Merlin's anger, his getting back at him, by lowering the standard of the food? If that was the case, he probably shouldn't look forward to lunch too much. Maybe he'd end up poisoned. He had a gut feeling that beneath that kind, selfless exterior the servant could extract some serious anger.
"What did he do?" Merlin asked. Honestly curious this time, and failing at hiding it. His eyebrow was raised a bit, an uncanny shadow of Gaius' Eyebrow Impression When Something Interesting Was Going On (though less wrinkled) which was slightly bothering.
"Well, let's say he had a hand in your…abduction."
The servant's brow furrowed in puzzlement, and he chewed his bottom lip worriedly. "Why'd he do that? He's a nice and kind man, and he's a knight; I never thought he'd to something like that…"
"His reasons were his own and he has been punished for it. Now, I don't want to hear anything more about nice and kind sir Gareth, I don't care if he's some kind of perfectly perfect dreamy knight with perfect teeth; if you so much as sigh like a lovesick milkmaid I will ban him from the city. Am I making myself clear?"
"Like crystal. Still, I wonder…"
Arthur shot him a look. "What?"
"Uhm, nevermind."
"Right then." Arthur stretched, he felt a bit more relaxed now, hopefully Merlin had got the hint to stay away from the treacherous knight and he didn't have to worry (too much) anymore. "Could you fetch me some bathwater, please? Hot but not boiling."
Merlin gave him a look of utter astonishment. "You just said 'please'? The almighty prince prat just asked if I could do something for him. I should mark this date in my calendar and celebrate! Everyone must know!"
Arthur poked him in the ribs. The boy was awfully thin, he noticed, he should be better fed, had he even had breakfast? Merlin swatted away his hand.
"Oh, just go fetch it. Percival will accompany you."
"Must I always be followed by him? He's like a dog. Maybe he is one beneath the chainmail. Not that I dislike his person, but it's aggravating having someone trampling on my shadow all the time."
"You know, somebody's got to be there in case you trip on your own feet and almost kill yourself."
()()()
"Really? Cat ears?"
"Yes. And the tail."
Gwaine whistled. "Cute. I've got to see that."
"No, don't come up with some other plot or idea or plan right now, please." Holding his brother in check was hard enough as it was. (Couldn't let his brother lay his hands on the boy, couldn't let him lay his dirty quick hands on the boy…) That was one of the reasons he hadn't yet mentioned his and the servant's postponed tavern outing. It'd be better with just the two of them, alone, without stubborn but insensible princes and cunning ladies and quirky knights around. It could be a nice, memorable moment and maybe he could finally make Merlin spill what he really felt. For such an open, social boy, he was also very quiet, Gareth mused: always wearing his emotions on a sleeve, but still very difficult to read and impossible to really tell what's going through his head.
"So, how did the princeling react then, when finding out about your outing?"
"He was not happy, mainly with Merlin. The poor boy was exhausted when coming home last night, and drenched on the front. He'd been given extra work, and was too tired to actually come with me. I let him sleep, he deserved some rest."
"Hmm, not quite according to plan. But we're getting there."
"One day's passed and the prince has only caused a rift between them," Gareth pointed out. "I think he plans on riding out the storm without rowing, so to speak. Eventually he might use the oars as clubs and knock us out," he added, continuing with the imagery.
Gwaine hum-hum'ed. "Oh, but you haven't spent an hour with lovely lady Morgana and her maid. Wonderful company indeed. Listen, tomorrow after lunch, Merlin will come walking down to the water pump and I need you to be there, help him out, talk with him. Then, five minutes later, Arthur will walk past along with me and Bedievere…"
"Bedivere? Have you corrupted him? God's graces, big brother."
"No, of course not. I only suggested he'd accompany me, there's this sword technique he'd like to learn…Ah, it's going to work out, see. Anyway, we're going to walk through the market unhurriedly, like we have nothing better to do. I will subtly suggest we'd take a round to the pump, where you, conveniently, happen to be located…"
()()()
"Arthur, can I ask you something?"
The prince looked over his shoulder slightly warily. This was the third time this hour. After a while, Merlin's mood had lightened significantly, and he was back to his usual mouthy old self, which was both very comforting and very annoying. He asked so many questions, Arthur barely had time to process one before the next came.
"Yes, Merlin?"
"I was thinking about the deal thing again you did with the knights…"
Arthur paused in the middle of writing a sentence in one of many other very boring, official letters to one or another lord in nearby kingdoms. "Hang on! How did you know about the knights?" he asked, surprised.
"I'm not stupid, Arthur," Merlin said with a look that clearly told him that the prince was. "I figured it out after you mentioned Gareth had something to do with it, and it makes sense, only they knew about me being a cat. So I was wondering if it was all right I go down and talk with them?"
"I'm going with you."
"Go and talk with them alone."
"No, I won't allow that."
"Percival can come with me."
"Maybe. I'll think about it," Arthur admitted begrudgingly. "No promises though." Letting Merlin wander to the knights alone would be like giving a lamb to a pack of hungry wolves. "Why would you like to talk to them anyway?"
"Ask why they did it, of course," Merlin said. "And some other stuff." If Arthur wasn't going to tell him the details of that deal, the knights would.
If Arthur wasn't worried before, he definitely was so now.
"You're taking Percival and I'll come to. Stand guard. Discretely. No arguing on that point."
"I'm not completely defenseless, Arthur," Merlin protested, folding and putting away the last tunic into the prince's large wardrobe. He turned around to face the desk, looking very stern and resolute. "And the things I want to ask, it's easier to get answers if I'm alone with them."
Like hell I'm leaving you alone with any of them, the prince thought. You're the most stubborn servant I've ever had!
