Yet again, I apologize for the wait. I hope you enjoy this little break in the reveals. I got the inspiration for this fic from a review someone left (and I'm so sorry, but I can't find it, so I don't know who left it). Thanks so much for recommending this; it was so fun to write.
Another hunt. Arthur had dragged him out on another hunt. As if the last one hadn't been bad enough with Arthur slowly bleeding out on a dragon. At least this time there had been no accidents. No attacks. No revelations of great secrets. Just a large collection of dead animals that Merlin had to help carry home. And then had to take to the kitchens all on his own ("No Arthur, I don't mind. You go on ahead. I'm sure Gwen wants to see you. I'll get it all to Cook. I don't need any help, nope, none at all") so he was thoroughly exhausted.
He barely made it back to his room, and only managed that much after Cook gave him a small meat pie that he scarfed down as he trudged up the stairs. Tossing his coat, belt, and neckerchief aside, then tugging off his boots, he felt he had accomplished enough to warrant collapsing on the bed otherwise fully dressed. He was unconscious before he landed. Nothing could wake him until morning, and only then because Gaius had mastered the art of getting Merlin out of bed.
The next morning, Gaius chose his 'shouting and tugging Merlin's blankets out of reach' method, and it had the warlock shouting back good-naturedly in a matter of minutes. A normal enough morning. That is, until Merlin got up to dress.
He pulled on his trousers and slid into a shirt, and then began to dig around in the mess of his room to find where he'd tossed his belt the night before. And he dug. And he dug. And he dug. Well, Merlin thought, he'd just have to find it later. He didn't have time to keep looking if he wanted to have Arthur's breakfast to him on time. So he opened his cupboard to find his blue neckerchief in hopes that it might distract from his lack of belt, but his scarves were gone too. A quick glance around the room told him that even the one from the day before was gone. He frowned. No neckerchief, no belt. No jacket, either, by the look of it. One final check revealed that his boots were also missing. How?
He peeked his head around his door. "Um, Gaius?"
"Yes?" The physician barely glanced his way as he mixed some tonic or other.
"Did… Did anyone come by last night? Specifically to my room?" The smallest of hesitations in Gaius' normally quick routine was all the answer Merlin needed. "Who was it?"
Gaius shook his head before trying to sound nonchalant. "I don't know what you're talking about, Merlin." It impressed Merlin, really, that Gaius was as bad a liar as he was. "Shouldn't you be getting the king's breakfast?"
"Who was it? Who took my stuff?"
The old man huffed. "Percival. He said something about paying you back. Leon was with him." He paused, then added defensively, "I only allowed it because it was those two. If they're coming after you, you must have deserved it. What did you do?"
Merlin spluttered. "Nothing! I didn't do anything! I know I didn't-" He blinked. "Oh."
"Oh?" Gaius asked, raising a satisfied eyebrow.
"You said it was Percival?" He sighed. "He's getting back at me for using magic on him, and on Leon."
The physician froze. "You what?"
"Remember? The Fomorrah? I told you about that. I had to knock them out to get away." The warlock shook his head. "Percival promised to get me back for it."
"For using magic on him."
"Yeah. Do you have a spare belt? I really need to get to Arthur before he goes on a hunt for me."
Gaius stepped forward and grabbed Merlin's shoulders to ensure he had the boy's attention. "He knows you used magic."
"Of course. Belt? I really need to— Oh." Merlin blinked. "I didn't tell you, did I?"
"Tell me what, Merlin?" The infamous brow was rising higher, and the warlock tried his hardest not to flinch.
"I told him about me… And Gwaine. I told Gwaine." The brow rose even higher, and Merlin really began to worry. "And Gwen… And Elyan… And, well…Arthur."
"Arthur." The physician's voice was flat, stunned.
"Yes, Arthur. But it's okay! Really! He's fine with it. I mean, he's known for ages now. And he's been great, so…" He smiled awkwardly. When his guardian did not react, he hesitantly took a step back towards the door. "I've got to go see to Arthur now." When he received no answer, he nodded. "Right. Yes." He took a few more steps. "Bye then." Gaius still had not moved by the time Merlin reached the door, so he opened it and stepped halfway through before calling, "Bye Gaius!" Then he shut the door behind him and sprinted towards Arthur's chambers, slipping down the corridors in his socks.
He burst through the king's door. "Arthur! Gaius is going to kill me."
Arthur jolted upright, instinctively grabbed for his knife, and searched the room for the threat. When he saw Merlin and no one else, he huffed and sunk back against the pillows. "What, Merlin?" He frowned at his servant. "Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
"What? Oh. Percival and Leon stole them. And my belt. And my scarves. And my jacket. But that's not the problem! Gaius is going to kill me!" Merlin stormed over to tug away his king's blankets. "Help!"
"Merlin!" He launched himself forward in a desperate attempt to get his blankets back, and when he failed, he rolled out of bed with another huff to dress. "Why is Gaius going to kill you?"
"Because he just found out that everyone knows I have magic. And I realized I'd never told him, so…" Merlin hastily laid out Arthur's clothes for the day.
"And why didn't you tell him?" he asked, in that familiar tone that questioned his servant's sanity.
"I just, you know. Forgot. Can I borrow some boots?" he asked quickly in an obvious attempt to distract the king.
It didn't work. "You forgot? Only you, Merlin," Arthur sighed. "Did you get rid of those boots I told you too?"
Merlin's eyes lit up. "No! They're still in the trunk. I was going to do that today!" The servant ran over to the small trunk tucked away in the corner and dug around until he emerged with a victorious cry and a very worn pair of boots. Sliding them on over his thick socks, he realized they were slightly too small, but he could deal with them for a day. "Thanks! I'll, um. Get your breakfast now."
The king smirked. "Maybe you should take a belt too. I'd hate for those innocent serving girls to see you indecent."
Merlin snorted and replied, "As if any of Cook's girls are innocent." At his friend's raised eyebrow, Merlin blushed. "The servants talk, Arthur. We hear a lot."
"I can only imagine. Just put on a belt and get my breakfast." Merlin grinned, pulled a thin strap that could barely be called a belt from the trunk, and ran off.
When Merlin returned, his grin was triumphant and his blue scarf was hanging loosely around his neck. "Look what I found!"
Arthur, fully dressed now, examined him. "A jester's costume?"
"Haha. Yes, Arthur, you're so clever." He tugged at his scarf. "It looks like Leon and Percival have hidden all of my things. Cook said she heard that everything would be in different places. So all of my clothes are scattered throughout the castle."
"Clearly not all of them," Arthur replied as he sat at his table for his breakfast. "You're dressed after all. But it seems to me that your day should continue as usual."
"Usual? Arthur, I need my things…
"And you found that hideous scarf by following your usual routine, didn't you?"
The warlock blinked. "Well, technically, yes, but-"
"So I suggest you continue on as though today were any other day, and I'm sure you'll find everything." Arthur selected a sausage and bit into it.
"That…actually makes sense, I think. That sounds like Leon. I mean, Percival would hide everything everywhere, so I'd never find it. But Leon…" Merlin tilted his head thoughtfully as he wandered over to Arthur's bed to strip away the sheets. "Leon would try to be fair. Right?"
Arthur swallowed before answering him, "I think that would be the case."
The two men fell into a companionable silence as Merlin gathered the laundry. The only sounds were Arthur's fork, a rustling of papers as he began to read over reports, and a single muttered spell when Merlin patched up a small hole he had just torn as Arthur's favorite shirt caught on a nail.
Arthur looked over at that. "You didn't use to do that, did you? Use magic in front of me before I knew about you, I mean."
The warlock looked up, his eyes wide in an expression of innocence that his friend did not trust for a moment. "No? I mean, that would have been illegal."
"Right." He rolled his eyes. "Because that's stopped you before." Merlin grinned. "You're a menace. Come on. Get me ready for training."
The laundry pile was abandoned as Arthur's servant stood to get the training armor. The king pushed away from the table and held his arms out for Merlin to slide the hauberk over his head and strap it in place. The familiar routine of helping Arthur with his armor almost always helped him to relax. It was a comfortable, simple set of movements, and he knew that Arthur relied on him to get everything right. Even if it was only for training.
Only a few minutes later, Merlin handed over the last piece of equipment: the sword. Arthur slid the belt around his waist. "I want you to look over my equipment today. Clean my armor, sharpen my knives-"
"Check on your crossbows and make sure you've got enough maces for all of the squires to train with. I know." Merlin smiled brightly.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, Merlin. Exactly. Very good. You'd think that I wouldn't even need to say it anymore," He said pointedly, but Merlin's grin only grew wider. The king shook his head and left.
Merlin returned to the pile of sheets and clothes, and bundled it up to head down to the laundry. The servants already there greeted him, a few hiding snickers. He sighed and dropped his bundle on the ground. "Alright then. What did they hide? Where is it?" One woman chuckled. "Oh come on, Elsie. Don't tell me Percival managed to charm you."
"Oh he did, lad. Have you seen the arms on that one?" She grinned wickedly, her own muscular arms flexing as she folded a thick blanket. "Hard not to be charmed by them."
"And here I thought you could resist anyone and anything." Merlin sat beside her to sort through the laundry, and began to soak some of it in one of the large wooden tubs scattered around the room.
Elsie—and quite a few of the other servants—laughed. "I can. If I want to." She winked conspiratorially. "But maybe I didn't want to."
Merlin joined in on the laughter this time. "Maybe I should let him know just how charmed you were by his arms."
"Please do, lad. And make sure to mention that my room is much closer to the training fields than his own."
Merlin loved coming to work down here. He really did. The rooms filled with servants of all kinds, from all skill levels. It reminded him of the tavern in Ealdor, where no one feared to speak their minds or laugh with each other. Conversations like these, he thought, were rare among the nobility. They were less so among the knights, but were certainly scarce among the lords and ladies that Arthur dealt with so often these days.
"I'll tell him that if you tell me where to find whatever it is he's hidden in here." Elsie tapped her chin thoughtfully, and Merlin tilted his head down so he was looking up at her. He even widened his eyes for effect. "Come on, sweet Elsie. You wouldn't leave a man without his own clothes, would you?"
The woman shook her head, her smile warm. "I suppose not, you cheeky little thing. If I were you, lad, I might take a peek at the clothes line outside."
Merlin grinned and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll put in a good word for you. Promise." He stood to skip out in search of his jacket (or belt, or shoes, or scarves, or whichever this was), but froze when Elsie called his name. "Yes?"
"You might want to finish those sheets first, my boy."
The grin turned sheepish, and he dropped back down before his tub again to finish the laundry.
When he finally reached the training fields, he wore his own belt and a smile.
Arthur was demonstrating a series of blocks for the squires to practice while the more experienced knights sparred with each other. Percival had only just managed to force Gwaine to yield, so Merlin wandered over to them.
Percival saw him first and raised an eyebrow. "Good morning, Merlin. Are those Arthur's boots?" If Merlin hadn't known better, he would have sworn Percival was innocent; he played the part so well. But Merlin did know better.
"They are, yes. Mine seem to have gone missing." He smiled sweetly at the larger man. "You haven't seen them, have you?"
Percival scratched the back of his neck, tilting his head. "Mm… No, I can't say that I have. Sorry."
"Shame. See, I've found a belt and one scarf… I wonder who could have taken my things."
"Hard to say. It could have been anyone, couldn't it, Gwaine?"
Gwaine tossed his hair out of his face, glancing between his two friends. "Your clothes have gone missing? You haven't found a new lady friend, have you Merlin?"
Merlin and Percival glanced at each other and neither could help laughing. Merlin might have even snorted. When he saw Gaine's raised eyebrow, he laughed louder. "No, Gwaine," he finally wheezed out. "Not a lady friend."
"Oh." The knight shrugged. "So the girl in the lake isn't available then."
"No. She's not." The warlock shook his head. "Anyway, let me know if you see anything of mine." He gave Percival a final look, then waved as he trotted off to find Arthur. He was halfway to the king when he paused. "Oh! Percival!" The knight looked up. "Elsie has her eye on you!Your arms flirted with her this morning. You should have been more careful." He grinned wickedly, and laughed again at the larger man's worried expression.
He was still chuckling when he reached the king, who merely raised an eyebrow. "I was right, then," he said after a moment.
"Right about what?" his servant asked as he took Arthur's sword and set it aside to hand the king his mace, knowing what was needed before he was asked.
As Arthur checked it over, he replied, "About you finding your things by actually doing your work for once.
"Oh. Yes. I've got my own belt again. Still missing my boots though." The servant shrugged.
"Well, get to work on the practice swords. I'm sure you'll find everything before too long." Merlin nodded and grabbed the whetstone. Arthur wandered back onto training field, calling the squires to him again. When Merlin pulled his usual stool out of the corner of the tent to place it by the opening where he could watch the training squires, two brown, buckle-covered shapes were revealed.
"Arthur!" Merlin called excitedly. When the king looked over, his servant held his boots aloft with a triumphant grin. Arthur rolled his eyes, but Percival laughed, and Merlin was sure Leon was smiling behind his hand.
The warlock dropped onto his stool and tugged off the too-small boots he'd been wearing all day, before sliding on his own with a sigh of relief. The squires watched him, murmuring in confusion, but the knights barely gave him a second glance. Apparently they weren't fazed by today's antics. Merlin wasn't surprised.
As the day progressed, Merlin found one scarf in his regular corner of the council chambers, another in the stables under Arthur's saddle, and his jacket, very memorably, hanging from a flag pole outside the library's window. There was only one scarf left, but Merlin had no idea where it could be. He'd gone through his daily chores a second time through already, and a third just in case, but the neckerchief was nowhere to be found. And it was his favorite neckerchief, the red one.
The servant pulled Arthur's curtains closed after he lit the candles around his friend's chambers. "You're sure you haven't seen it?"
"I assure you, Merlin, if I'd seen that rag around, I would have told you. I don't want it out there where anyone could see it." He slid off his shirt and turned to find Merlin by his side with his nightshirt. "Oh. Thank you."
Merlin smiled and helped to slide the shirt over his king's head, then moved to the fireplace. The nights had been getting cooler as they grew closer to winter, and fires were being lit all throughout the castle each night before bed. While Arthur finished preparing himself for bed, Merlin prepared the fireplace. He swept out the old ashes and carefully arranged fresh logs and kindling before he grabbed his flint box. The first few sparks sputtered away, so Merlin leaned in further to try to reach the back of his pile. He was just about to try again when a shadow in the chimney caught his eye.
Arthur looked over at his friend after he'd been buried in the chimney for a long while. "Merlin?" he asked, stepping closer and wearing the familiarly fond, yet exasperated, expression. "Did you get lost? Or did your ears get stuck? I know they're quite large, but this is a little ridiculous."
"What? No. Hang on." Merlin crawled out after another moment, soot dusting freckles over his cheeks and neck. "Look!" The younger man held out a dark lump of cloth, its color indistinguishable through the ashes that had been rubbed into it.
"What is that?"
"My neckerchief! I found it!"
Arthur scrunched his eyebrows, and his gaze wandered from the lump to Merlin and back again. "Are you sure?"
The warlock rolled his eyes, and Arthur saw them flicker that shining gold. The soot and ash embedded in the cloth pulled away and flew over to the bucket of debris Merlin had swept from the fireplace a few minutes previous. Sure enough, the bundle left behind was a bright Pendragon red, though its owner was still powdered with cinders. "Yes, I'm sure."
Arthur couldn't help glancing around to make sure no one had seen Merlin's blatant use of magic. "Well then. You've found everything."
"I have. Do you think that makes me and Percival even now?" He tied the scarf around his neck to hang over the blue one he'd found that morning.
Arthur shrugged and slid into his bed, fixing his blankets and pillows until he was comfortable. "You'll have to ask him. But you need to start that fire first."
"You know, lots of people in Camelot will sleep just fine tonight without a fire in their room. Me, for example," he said pointedly, but without bite, as he knelt to give the fire another go.
"Yes," Arthur replied, "I know. But you—and they—are not the king. There have to be some perks to this job."
"True enough." It took him a few more tries to get the flame to catch, but when it did, Merlin sat back on his heels to admire his work. "There you go. That should hold for a while." He stood and moved around the room, extinguishing candles.
"I need you on time tomorrow, Merlin. I have a meeting with the council first thing," Arthur said as his good night, settling against his pillows.
"Yes, sire." He blew out the last candle, then left his king to sleep.
He made his way back up towards his room with a tired smile, more than pleased to have all of his clothes back. Now he could go to sleep at a decent hour and wake up on time for once. He pushed open the door to the Physician's chambers to find the man standing with both arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. Merlin winced.
"Oh."
The eyebrow miraculously moved higher. "Oh? Is that all you have to say? Oh?"
Merlin bit his lip sheepishly. "Sorry?"
Gaius shook his head. "I think we have some things to talk about, my boy. And," the old man continued as he stepped aside, revealing a glass basin streaked with green, "you have a leech tank to clean."
Merlin groaned. So much for a good night's sleep.
Okay. There will be one, and only one chapter after this. I hope to start writing it right away, but we'll see. Anyway, I hope you stick around for it.
Aralana