A/N Here is the first of the planned chapters, I am REALLY happy I got inspiration for this and I hope you all like them! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
"You will learn your place, you are just a lowly servant." Sir Ethan growls.
"Stop acting as if you are on equal footing with us, WE are knights, you however, are just a servant. You will never be on equal footing with us! We are of noble blood, you aren't." Sir Alec sneers, glaring down at the younger man on the ground.
"And not to mention the way you speak to our king! It's completely unacceptable! You will NOT do it again, it will not be tolerated!" Sir Ethan orders. That is what made Arthur stop, there was only one person who acted, no, was on equal foot with the knights and the king. Only one person that talked to said king in a way most people would find "unacceptable" and only one that was a servant. So, Arthur rounds the corner, finding himself facing the backs of two senior knights standing over a servant, his servant, who was curled into a ball.
"Sir Ethan! Sir Alec! What do you think you are doing!?" Arthur demands as he strides towards his "knights". If the situation wasn't so upsetting, Arthur would've laughed at the knights shocked look.
"A...Arthur..." Merlin murmurs as the king kneels next to him. Merlin was pale but looked mostly unharmed, he did, however, have a few bruises covering his face and arms. There were some hand prints covering his upper arms, as if he'd been grabbed. Seeing this, Arthur's anger flares, making him want to strangle the knights that still stood in front of her.
"Sire...he needs-" Sir Alec begins, not seeming even a bit sorry for how he treated the best friend of the king.
"I don't care what you think he needs, dismissed!" Arthur growls, glaring at the knights who scurry away, not making eye-contact with the king.
"Merlin? What happened?" Arthur whispers, helping the servant up.
"I was coming back from the kennels, to make sure your dogs were fine, and then stopped by the armory, so my hands were full so I was heading back to your room to put up the armor and I accidentally ran into them, they pushed me back, telling me to watch where I was going. I told them they couldn't treat me like this and well...Sir Alec picked me up, slamming me into the wall, yelling about how I thought I was a knight, even though I know I'm not and I kept telling them that. Then they were going on about how I needed to "learn my place" or how "I'm just a lowly servant" and I guess you saw the rest." Merlin murmurs, moving to pick up the armor that had scattered across the floor.
"Merlin, you're not a knight, we both know that, but you aren't just a lowly servant either. You know your place, it's next to me, writing my treaties, re-reading stuff to make sure I didn't make any major mistakes, cause if an idiot like you can spot it, I definitely need to rewrite it." Arthur assures, "You have the rest of the week off, I'll have George serve me till then."
"Thanks Arthur." Merlin whispers, watching Arthur walk off.
"MERLIN! My armor!" Arthur calls back, making Merlin realize he was still carrying the king's armor. Merlin hurries after Arthur, walking into the king's room and setting the armor down.
"I am honestly worried to see what state this room is in once I come back!" Merlin jokes, ducking out of the room as a goblet is thrown at him.
"See you next week Merlin." Arthur shouts as Merlin leaves.
*the next day*
"Gauis? Is Merlin here?" Arthur asks, poking his head in the physician's chambers.
"No he isn't sire, he's out gathering herbs for me at the moment, is there something you need help with?" Gauis replies as Arthur walks fully into the room, sitting on the bench.
"Did Merlin tell you what happened with the knights last night?" Arthur questions, looking up at the physician.
"Yes sire, he did." Gauis answers, continuing his potion.
"Has something like this happened before? He didn't seem that... shaken by it." Arthur asks as Gauis puts a stopper on the potion and sets in on a rack of other multi-colored potions.
"Yes sire." Gauis replies, "If you are wondering why he didn't tell you was because he did not wish for you to get upset with your knights." Both men are silent for a few seconds, Arthur trying to find a good way to say what he wanted to.
"What do you think about him being first adviser?" Arthur asks, causing Gauis to nearly drop the glass beaker he had been holding.
"He'd love that sire, though we both know he's kind of been doing it for years." Gauis reminds, smiling over at the young king.
"Yes, that is what brought this thought to me, it would just be official...it'll hopefully stop the knights from trying to hurt him." Arthur says, "Thank you for you opinion Gauis. I'm going to ask my knights and Gwen as well. Have a nice day Gauis."
"You too sire." Gauis calls as the king walks out. Arthur first heads to Gwen's house as it was time for the knights to train.
"Gwen?" Arthur calls, knocking on the door, getting no answer, he knocks again, "Guinevere?" Arthur looks at the darkly lit house for a second before realizing that she isn't home. Her and Merlin had probably gone out for the day, ever since Arthur had became king, he had Merlin running around the castle, giving him barely anytime to talk with his friend. Arthur sighs, turning to head to the training grounds.
"Sirs Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Elyan! May I speak with you for a minute!" Arthur shouts to the knights.
"What do you need sire?" Leon asks, walking up to the king.
"I'm guessing you don't know what happened with Sir Ethan and Sir Alec last night?" Arthur asks, leaning against the wall next to the training grounds.
"What did those low life knights do?" Gwaine growls, "I swear if they did anything to Merlin, I will follow through on my promise and gut them where they stand...Arthur, what did that do?"
"I was walking back to my chambers last night, when I overheard Sir Ethan and Sir Alec talking about a servant that "needed to lean his place, needed to stop acting as if he were on equal footing with the knights, and should hold his tongue while speaking with me." Upon rounding the corner I realized that they were talking about Merlin, who was leaning against a wall with bruises covering his face and arms." Arthur explains, watching his knights cautiously.
"They did what..." Percival growls, his anger was shocking, but Merlin had become like a younger brother to the knights, they were all very protective over him.
"I spoke to Gauis first and he told me this is not the first time it has happened, which I'm guessing you already knew about Gwaine, but before I spoke to him I was thinking, what do you guys think about Merlin being first adviser?" Arthur questions, smiling once he saw the knights's reactions.
"You mean the job he's been fulfilling for years now?" Gwaine jokes, causing the knights to laugh a bit.
"I'm sure he'd love that sire." Elyan starts, "You should tell Gwen beforehand though, otherwise she'll have your head and all of ours if she figures our we knew."
"You are in need of an adviser sire." Leon notes.
"Percival? Any input?" Arthur asks, looking at the smiling knight.
"Sounds brilliant Arthur." Was all he got from the knight.
"We do need to go about it so he won't know until he comes back to work and I'll announce it at the upcoming council meeting." Arthur orders, "Are you willing to help me?"
"Of course princess, why wouldn't we?!" Gwaine says, looking at Arthur like he grew a second head.
"I should go speak with Gwen, do you have any idea where she is Elyan?" Arthur questions, looking at the knight.
"She went out for a picnic with Merlin." Elyan says, "We should get back to training sire." Arthur nods and the knights walk back to the grounds, picking up their abandon swords.
*two days later*
It was only two days later when Arthur manages to get a hold of Gwen alone and tell her about his plan.
"Guinevere, I'm assuming you know about what happened with Sir Ethan, Sir Alec, and Merlin?" Arthur begins, pulling Gwen into his chambers.
"Yes Arthur, is that all you wanted? Merlin is going to take me down for some shopping in the marketplace! Thank you for giving him the week off, it's been so much fun!" Gwen answers, smiling brightly.
"Not exactly, I do have a question for you, and you can't tell Merlin, it's nothing bad I promise. I was just wondering what you thought about Merlin becoming my first advise?" Arthur asks quickly, stumbling over his words a bit.
"Merlin would love that Arthur! It'd be amazing and of course I won't tell him!" Gwen squeals, smiling even more brightly.
"Alright, thank you for your input Guinevere, have a nice day, I will be telling him before the council meeting on the day he returns." Arthur says. Gwen smiles, waving before rushing out the door towards the castle steps. Arthur moves to his desk to continue his speech for when he introduced Merlin as first adviser. He looks out the window to see Gwen hugging Merlin and the two of them laughing while walking to the marketplace and he can't help but smile.
*The morning of the council meeting*
"RISE AND SHINE!" Merlin shouts, drawing back the curtains to the king's chambers. Arthur groans, rolling over and pulling a pillow over his head.
"Time to get up Arthur!" Merlin laughs cheerfully, pulling back the covers of the bed.
"Go away Merlin, why are you always so cheerful?" Arthur groans, sitting up.
"I'm just a happy person, what's wrong with that!?" He says, dressing Arthur quickly. Hmm...right he doesn't know that this is the last day he'll ever be doing this! Arthur thought, sitting down for his breakfast.
"Merlin, what do you think about being my first adviser? I've been thinking about it lately and asked the knights, Gwen, and Gauis and they all agree with me. I was going to announce it today at the council meeting. I just need your consent." Arthur asks, snickering as Merlin drops the clothes he's been holding.
"Me..me? Arthur, what gave you this idea? Are you sure?" Merlin asks, looking at Arthur, completely shocked.
"Yes Merlin, you. What gave me this idea? Well, you've basically been my adviser for years now but it's never been official. Yes Merlin, I am positive." Arthur answers, laughing.
"Then yes Arthur." Merlin smiles, "Thank you."
"Anytime, now come on, I have a meeting to get to!" Arthur calls as he walks out the door, quickly followed by Merlin. Pushing open the doors, both Merlin and Arthur walk in together, and if the other advisers were shocked when the servant of the king walked into a private council meeting, they were very good at hiding it.
"I have put a lot of thought into this, and as many of you know, I'm in need of a new first adviser. After a lot of thought, I have decided to appoint Merlin as my first adviser, he has been at my side for many years, not leaving my side no matter how many crazed sorcerers or bandits that have tried to kill me. He's basically been my adviser for years, never bothering to show me respect when I didn't deserve it, therefore I believe he will be the best choice. Does anyone object?" Arthur says, his voice slightly challenging as if daring someone to object, no one did but many advisers clapped, having seen how much this servant changed the king. Arthur had definitely made the right choice and when he looks over at Merlin, who was smiling brightly, he knew that without Merlin this kingdom and her king would not be the same.
"Thank you Merlin." Arthur whispers, clapping his friend on the back.
"Thank you Arthur." Merlin responds, smiling back at his friend and if either of them saw the glares of Sir Alec and Sir Ethan, neither admitted it, planning on dealing with it when the time came.
A/N Annnnnndddd DONE! Two chapters in ONE day! YES! I am VERY proud of myself for this xD WOO!