Merlin pushed the door to Arthur's chambers open painfully, the door only opening enough for him to slip in and he hears Arthur say :
"Ahhh, Merlin, I was wondering if you were ever going to come back." his voice teasing, smile evident in his voice, his back to the door as Merlin closes it and limps forward. When Merlin says nothing in reply Arthur turns towards Merlin a smile on his face, which quickly turns to a deep frown when he looks at Merlin.
Merlin stands at the foot of his bed, posture slightly hunched and Arthur's red jacket clutched in his hands. Merlin's trusty brown jacket and favorite blue tunic are ripped and several patches are darkened by blood. When Arthur forces his eyes to look at Merlin's face he sees that Merlin has a large bruise on his left cheek, a split lip and a semi-large cut over his left eyebrow, blood still leaking from the wound and mixing with the blood already decorating the side of his face. As Arthur continues to look he can see that Merlin's eyes are red and tear tracks mark his cheeks. Merlin sways a bit as Arthur strides forward, Merlin flinching slightly when he sees the anger on Arthur's face.
"Merlin!" he exclaims loudly but upon witnessing the flinch softens his voice considerably.
"what happened to you ?"
Merlin sniffs a little, shakily lifting his arm to hand the prince his jacket, which Arthur takes and throws onto the bed, and Merlin hesitantly answers him.
"I was coming back here... three knights pulled me into an alcove... said I was... they said I was a worthless servant and that I should stop pretending to be anything more than that... they said I should stop being around the knights and that I should stop talking to you the way I do... they were very angry... it was just lucky someone was coming down the corridor or they wouldn't have stopped." Merlin finishes his story shakily, and flinches again, taking a step away from Arthur when he sees the prince's furious expression, instantly bowing his head and looking at the floor, instantly offering numerous apologies.
"Merlin" Arthur says when Merlin has finally stopped apologizing. Merlin doesn't look up.
"Merlin, please look at me" Arthur asks him softly. Merlin still does not look up, so Arthur walks forward until he is standing in front of him again. He brings his hand up slowly, noticing Merlin tensing up, and gently grips Merlin's chin and lifts his head until he can look at Arthur.
"Merlin, you don't have to apologize to me for what they did to you. I am mad at them, not you. I am sorry for what they did to you and if you know who they are tell me so that they can be punished, you did not deserve this." Arthur says to Merlin speaking softly, not wanting to scare Merlin further. Merlin looks at him with weary and scared eyes, unsure of what to do. Arthur brings his other hand up and Merlin flinches again, but Arthur continues to bring his hand up until it is resting gently on Merlin's cheek.
"Merlin, I promise that I will not hurt you, I will do everything in my power to protect you. Please trust me, I... I care about you Merlin and I can't stand for anything like this to happen to you. You've only been in my life for a month but I can't imagine life without you." Arthur tells Merlin softly, moving closer to Merlin, who's heart has started beating faster.
"You care about me ?" asks Merlin in a whisper, like if he said it too loud something horrible might happen.
"Yes Merlin, I care a great deal about you. I want to be with you Merlin, I want to get to know you better. I don't want anyone to ever hurt you ever again." says Arthur leaning forward and gently kissing Merlin on the lips, cupping Merlin's face in his hands, careful of the blood and bruises. The tension in Merlin melts away and he leans into the kiss and deepening the kiss before pulling back slightly with a hiss of pain.
"What is Merlin? Did I hurt you? Did you not want that ?" Arthur asks worriedly
"No Arthur, of course I wanted that." replies Merlin with a tiny smile, careful of his split lip.
"It's just my lip, it was hurting when I started kissing back." finished Merlin with a blush.
"Come on and sit down Merlin, before you fall over or hurt yourself more."
"What about Bayard and your father ?" asks Merlin as Arthur leads him to sit on his bed. Merlin winces as he settles his weight, pain shooting through his left side.
"We still have almost an hour and a half before we need to be in the throne room. Don't worry about it. Is anything broken ?" Arthur asks Merlin, grabbing a basin of water and several clean cloths.
"I might have a couple broken ribs, on my left side, but other than that I don't think so." replies Merlin. Arthur sets the basin and cloths down beside Merlin on the bed and says:
"Alright, let's get your jacket and shirt off so we can see the damage, unless you'd rather I get someone to fetch Gaius ?" says Arthur
"No, I don't want to worry Gaius, I would be grateful for your help Arthur." replies Merlin, reaching forward and grabbing Arthur's hand with his own, Arthur squeezes Merlin's hand in comfort. Arthur continues to hold Merlin's hand for a few moments before letting go and helping Merlin remove first his jacket and then his shirt, throwing them to the floor in a small pile. Arthur sucks in a breath at the sight of Merlin's chest: mottled blue and purple bruises cover him, the darkest and most focused around Merlin's left side. Joining the bruises are several small, still bleeding cuts, along his torso and even on his arms. When Merlin hears Arthur's shocked intake of breath he looks down and is shocked by the amount of bruises he has gained.
"It has been worse." he murmurs quietly to himself, though not quietly enough as Arthur's head snaps up.