Alaia Skyhawk: Here's the next sub-episode, so prepare for some fun. This is just me making a prod at an old saying...

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

~(-)~

Chapter 12: There's no Cure for the Common Cold ~Part 1~

It was a cool wind that circled the castle, heavy with the damp of a week's rain and a hint of lingering morning fog. After the incident with the goblin the weather had turned sour, but at least it meant the wells were filled and the crops watered, or so the more optimistic residents told themselves.

Merlin pottered around Arthur's chambers, the prince having gone to have breakfast with his father for some reason. He hadn't even told him the night before, meaning he'd brought breakfast up for him without needing to.

It hadn't been wasted at least... He'd eaten it instead.

Yes indeed, Arthur had pushed his servant down into a chair at the table and told him he could have it, and to then prepare to go out for a ride. Merlin frowned to himself as he glanced at the jacket laid out ready for the prince, having decided steadfastly that there was no point in leaving the warm chamber to go prepare the horses until Arthur got back from his meal. Meals with the king could sometimes turn into lengthy debates, and standing around waiting in a smelly stable was far less appealing than hanging around in a nice dry room with a cosy fire.

Merlin slumped down into the chair nearest the hearth, tapping his fingers on the armrests in boredom. Having Arthur for a master might have been good in that he could get away with slacking off like this, sometimes, but it also made for a great deal of tedium. He supposed he could have returned to Gaius' chambers and swept them or something, but then if he'd gotten back here after Arthur had already returned then he'd be told off for being late.

Nah, it wasn't worth it. He'd rather be bored than put up with Arthur being a prat. He didn't have much longer to wait, the prince finally showing up after over an hour with a cheerful light in his eyes... Too cheerful.

He picked up the jacket that was laid out for him, before turning to the still seated warlock.

"Merlin, go and prepare the horses. We're going out as soon as they're ready."

Merlin got up, leaving the room with a sinking feeling. He knew that tone of voice, Arthur was up to something. Was he finally about to get even for not removing all of the donkey curse the first time? Cringing inwardly at the thought of what the prince might have planned for during this ride, Merlin slunk through the castle in the direction of the stables... Totally unaware that instead of taking his time, Arthur was keeping pace with him a short distance behind.

He did find out when he reached the stables, stopping dead in his tracks. There were two groups of horses, already prepared, both of them containing several knights. Each also had a single unoccupied horse with them, one group having Arthur's horse... and the other group which had his usual mount with it also happened to contain the king!

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Merlin turned to look at a very smug Arthur.

"Please tell me this is a joke..."

Arthur's smug smile turned into a slight smirk.

"No, it's not. I am going out with several of my men to check on the nearby villages, as I planned to do today, while you are going on a ride with my father. So make sure you behave yourself... Have fun..."

He walked away leaving Merlin staring after him, before the servant realised he was keeping Uther and his escort waiting. He hurried over, bowing to the king before self-consciously mounting his horse. Both groups then rode out, going their separate ways once outside the walls.

Their path taking them into the area of woods popular with court ladies and those not accustomed to hard riding, Merlin remained rather stiff in his saddle. Keeping his eyes fixed on the back of his horse's neck, he rode just behind Uther in uncomfortable silence. The king wasn't saying anything, and had barely looked at him, so what exactly was this for? His spell wasn't acting up in his gut, so he knew he wasn't about to be arrested or anything, but that didn't stop the irrational fear gnawing away at his insides. What the hell was going on?

Uther raised an arm, his signal sending the escort of knights to fan out and ride a short distance away to either side. They were still within line of sight, but far enough away that they would be unable to hear anything said between king and servant. Now Merlin was really beginning to freak out, and he almost fell out of his saddle in instinctive fright the moment Uther's first words left his lips.

"My son and I had something of a talk after the council session the other day, regarding certain past incidents and also your most recent arrest." Merlin stared at him bug-eyed, on the point of almost soiling himself, while Uther continued. "It seems he wished to inform me that I was allowing my hatred of magic to blind me, and that he'd seen Camelot's enemies using it to turn me against those I should trust the most... While I could not do this in public at the castle." He hesitated, before he sighed and kept going. "I wish to apologise to you. My son informed me that you hold no grudge against me for what happened, and I wish to make sure you know that I am thankful for that."

Merlin had to fight not to stare at Uther like he'd grown an extra head... The King had just apologised to him?

"Th-that's perfectly fine, Your Majesty. There was no need for you to do this. I-I'm just a servant, and it's your right as my king to do with me as you see fit."

Uther let out a single, if dignified, snort.

"It would seem my son sees it differently, that you have more value than that of an simple servant. In fact he compared his association with you as being similar to that which I share with your mentor, Gaius. He then made it abundantly clear to me that if you were ever accused and arrested again, he would free you from the cells himself."

Merlin blinked, his brain almost seeming to seize up, unable to comprehend what had just been said.

"He... He did? But why would he...?"

Uther actually smiled... Dear lord, this was getting stranger by the minute.

"I now know why he puts up with you, despite the fact that he is forever saying that you are the most rude, lazy, and incompetent servant Camelot has ever seen..." His voice became more solemn. "Because you are his confidant, as Gaius is mine, the one who is willing to listen to his worries, and challenge him when you believe he is wrong about something. He and I talked about it this morning during breakfast, and he admitted that he enjoys your verbal sparring with him, and that he would consider a more well behaved servant to be boring... Which is about as close as I believe I will ever get him to come to saying that he considers you a close friend. Do you consider him as such?"

What to say, what to say... Merlin's inspiration failed him...

"Umm, well..."

"Now now, my whole reason in bringing you out here was for this to be informal. You may speak freely, so long as you are polite."

Merlin took a deep breath, and let it out shakily.

"I do, sire. I... I disliked him at first because he was... arrogant and a... bit of a bully... but I've come to respect him a great deal. He's changed a lot in the time I've known him, and I'm more than happy to serve him in whatever way I can. I believe he will be a great king someday, one that will make you and Camelot proud. That is why he has my friendship, and my loyalty, and why I would not hesitate to give my life for him."

Uther raised an eyebrow.

"Something I believe that you have come close to doing several times already. Once again, you have my apologies for how I treated you, and I assure you that I will remember your true character should any other accusations against you arise in future... If my son trusts you with his life, then I will trust his judgement as one who knows you far better than I." He pulled a pouch from his belt, holding it out to Merlin. "Take it, it is proof your are a trusted retainer of Camelot, whose word is to be taken seriously even if what is said might seem strange. I will admit you sounded like you were desperately lying, when you accused Gaius of being possessed, but you were telling the truth. In future, this will be a reminder for me that when you speak of such things you are being serious... Because for all your seeming stupidity, you have shown you have the wit to see danger that others may have missed."

Merlin tentatively accepted the pouch, not sure whether to be offended by that last statement or not, before tipping the contents into his hand. It was a silver signet ring; small, simple, and plain but for the Pendragon Crest engraved on it. He'd seen one in Gaius' room, although the physician never wore it, and he'd seen them on one or two of the most highly ranked guardsmen as well. While Uther watched he tried it on all his fingers, but found that it was too big for any of his girlishly slender digits. In the end he pulled some cord from a pouch on his belt, something he'd developed habit for carrying, and hung the ring on it around his neck.

He looked at Uther and nodded in thanks, still not sure what to make of all this.

"It's an honour to serve you, My Lord. I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you will do your best."

They continued the ride in silence, Merlin still seriously creeped out, until all of a sudden the rain decided to start up again. It came down in torrents, soaking through clothing in seconds, while the knights hurried back to the king and the entire party headed back for Camelot with haste.

~(-)~

Keep a straight face, and keep walking. Don't freak out, just stay calm. If you try to get away from this, he will think you're trying to insult him by running away.

Merlin was doing his best not to break down into a fit of nerves, as he found himself escorting the king back to his chambers. While they had hurried back to the citadel after the rain had resumed, the entire party had still gotten soaked to the skin by the downpour. The horses had been left with the stablehands, the knights returning to their quarters to dry off... and he had found himself with the dubious honour of being asked by Uther to attend to him.

Arriving at the king's quarters, Merlin actually paused at the door. He had no idea where everything was kept in here, and neither of Uther's two usual servingmen were in evidence right now. Instead of them dealing with this, it was down to him to sort everything out.

After his moment of hesitation he hurried to Uther's side, relieving him of his jacket and carefully folding it before putting it into a basket near the door. The king's servants had obviously anticipated that he would change clothes upon his return, and had left it there in readiness. Merlin wasn't really thinking about that though, although he was glad the basket was there. Right now he was more worried he would trip over his own feet or something similarly clumsy... In fact he was so scared he was astonishingly doing everything perfectly.

He assisted Uther with removing his wet clothes; carefully setting his crown aside on the nearby dressing table after helping him into a soft, warm bed-robe. It was then, as he guided the king to a seat near the fireplace, that one of the man's usual servants finally showed up.

The older servant hesitated at the sight of Merlin tending to the king, his eyes flicking to the ring hanging about the warlock's neck before they widened ever so slightly. He then bowed to Uther.

"Is there anything you need of me, sire?"

Uther indicated with a gesture that Merlin would give the directions, and said warlock hesitated in shock before stammering slightly.

"If... If you could arrange for hot water to be brought up and a bath prepared. I will see to the rest."

The other manservant executed another half-bow and hurried out, leaving Merlin feeling like he'd been dropped into some kind of strange dream.

He ignored the feeling for now, moving to add wood to fire and stirring the embers until the new logs caught light. He then spotted the carafe of wine and a goblet on a nearby table, and enquired to Uther if he desired any. Uther graciously turned down the offer, instead gazing into the flames within the hearth while Merlin stood at his shoulder waiting anxiously. After about fifteen minutes the hot water, bathtub, and a thick towel arrived, the servingman from before, along with another, tipping the heated water into the tub and placing the towel and soap on a stool set beside it. When they looked to Merlin for further instructions, he followed them to the door and sent them to arrange a hot meal for the king, to be brought up in an hour so, so that the king may have a chance to soak the chill out of his bones.

As soon as they were gone he winced inwardly. Where the hell was all this coming from? When had he ever come out with such formal garbage? He was wishing more than anything that he could leave all this to them, but for some reason Uther wanted him to do it and he couldn't decline!

He returned to Uther's side and helped him into the bath, standing in attendance while the king enjoyed the warming waters. One of the servingmen peered back into the room, carrying a much rougher towel as well as a change of clothes for Merlin. It seemed he'd taken note that the warlock was still very wet, and had gone to Gaius to get them out of sympathy. Discretely going to the man, he thanked him before indicating he tend Uther while he nipped behind the dressing screen. Very quickly he took off his wet shirt and breeches, towelling himself and his hair before yanking on the dry ones and patting his hair flat again. He then wrapped his wet clothing in the towel and came back out, taking over for the other servant who accepted his bundle with a murmured promise to drop it off at the laundry and get the contents washed and returned to Gaius' chambers.

Merlin was definitely freaking out now, why was everyone going out of their way to be helpful to him? Trying not to cringe at his situation he continued standing in silence, until Uther decided he'd soaked enough and got out of the bath. Helping him dry off, it was another moment of panic when he remembered he didn't know where everything would be. In the end he was forced to use logic, and assume that breeches, socks, and undergarments would be kept in drawers, close to the dressing screen for convenience. Shirts, good ones at least, would be hung up in a closet along with any robes or the like. Formal attire, for functions, would be kept further from the screen but still in the room, but he didn't need those.

With those thoughts in mind, he succeeded in finding everything to clothe the king, with only a minor degree of searching. Once he was done he guided Uther to the table where one of the other servingmen had arrived and begun setting it, seating him there before retrieving his crown from the dressing table and carefully setting it on his head.

He then took three precise steps backwards and to the side, clasped his hands in front of him, and stood with his head slightly bowed, ready should the king need anything else of him.

Eyeing Merlin out the corner of his eye, having also watched him carefully while he tended to him, Uther seemed a little surprised.

"It would appear my son has exaggerated your incompetence somewhat, for you obviously knowhow to do your job properly."

Merlin gaped for a moment at the comment, before hastily composing himself and replying after averting his eyes again... The other two servingmen, of which the second had just come in with the food, were watching him with a degree of amusement.

"I always strive to serve well, My Lord, it's just that..."

His sentence petered out, Uther finishing it for him.

"If you tended to him as swiftly and unfailingly polite as you have just tended to me, he would find it terribly boring." Merlin didn't say anything, although he did flush a little. Uther shook his head, and indicated he could leave. "You are dismissed. I'm sure my son will be needing your services when he returns. My own servants will see to me now."

Merlin bowed.

"As you wish, Sire."

It was then with great relief that he walked from the room... breaking into a nervous trot as soon as he was outside. Meanwhile, as he passed through the hallways, any servant who saw him reacted in surprise at the ring hanging from his neck. Unnerved, he shortened the string so it was hidden under his neck scarf, making a beeline for the safety of Gaius' chambers. Maybe he could better explain what exactly being given that ring had meant.

~(-)~

It was with eyes widened in genuine shock that Gaius stared at the ring Merlin showed him, utterly speechless as the two of them stood in his chambers before he slowly eased himself down onto a stool.

"...Well..."

Merlin, still rather unnerved by everything that had happened so far today, leaned over so he could look his mentor in the eye.

"Gaius, can you tell me exactly what this thing means? I know you have one, and a couple of the officers among the castle guard have them too, but I'm still a bit clueless here."

The physician looked up at him in disbelief.

"You mean to say that in the three years you have worked here, Arthur has never told you about those?"

Merlin shook his head.

"Nope. He probably didn't think I would be around long enough to need to know, and by the time he'd decided he wanted to keep me around he probably forgot he never told me."

Gaius sighed, shaking his head in resignation.

"Sit down and I'll tell you. Those rings are given only to the most trusted retainers within the royal household. At present only four people... well, five... have them. I am one, and besides yours the other three belong to the commanders of the town and castle guards, and one of the captains. These rings are as close as someone common-born will get to being equal to one of the nobility. It doesn't make you a noble, but it does mean that your word will carry the weight of one."

Merlin, now sat on a stool, gazed at him blankly.

"Uhhh..."

Gaius muttered in exasperation.

"There are indeed times that I think you are as stupid as you appear to be... What I'm saying is that, whereas before now if you spoke up and accused a noble of something, your accusation would be ignored and you would spend a day in the stocks... or be locked in the dungeon or worse. However, now that you have that ring, Uther is as much as saying he considers you trustworthy enough that if you were to levy such an accusation now, the noble in question would be investigated." As Merlin's eyes widened in understanding, Gaius then added the downside. "But, if they are proven to be innocent... depending on what you accused them off... you could lose the privilege of the ring, be locked up, exiled... or even executed."

The warlock gulped.

"I'll remember that."

Gaius waved a finger at him.

"I'm sure you will, but I still suggest you continue to make all of your reports to Arthur first, before either he passes them to his father, or he helps you edit them before you tell him yourself. He may even suggest you try get more evidence first before telling his father, if he believes the case is too weak to stand without more." He frowned thoughtfully. "What I would like to know is, why on earth would Uther decide to give you one."

Merlin got to his feet, heading for the door and pausing before passing through it.

"I have a pretty good idea who's behind it... And he's going to get a talking to from me when he gets back."

~(-)~

Merlin paced back and forth, waiting in Arthur's chambers for said prince to get back. Outside the sun was just starting to set, and he'd just seen Arthur's group return, which meant it wouldn't be long before the prince showed up. To pass the time, Merlin tipped the water he'd heated into the bathtub he'd set near the fire, and then laid out dry clothes. He also had food ready... Food that he'd already reheated slightly with magic so it wouldn't grow cold.

He lifted the cover on the tray again, topping the heat in the food up a bit more before checking the temperature of the bath. Deciding it could be a little bit cooler, he muttered a spell to do just that... He spent time practicing on his own bathwater in recent weeks, since now being able to adjust the water's temperature without having to fetch more of it was far more convenient... and meant Arthur complained less.

Sure enough Arthur arrived shortly after, stripping off his absolutely soaked clothing and getting into the prepared bath without so much as a word. His sigh of relief was enough though, for Merlin to know he appreciated that it was there and ready for him. With that in mind the warlock didn't take offence at not being greeted, and instead he retrieved Arthur's wet clothing and put it all in a basket ready to take to the laundry... The maids down there were really going to love the prince... Wet, fine leather was a pain to dry without it leaving marks.

Reconsidering it, Merlin pulled the leather jacket out of the basket and muttering a spell over it instead. He'd used this cheat more than a few times over the past three years, usually on Arthur's boots, but it worked for any article made of leather so that included the item he held now. Hanging the now dry and mark-free jacket in the closet, he sat himself in a chair and eyed up the prince.

"So... Why the hell didn't you warn me I was going to be sent on a ride with your father? Do you have any idea how scared I was? And he was... it was... Since when has the king ever gone out of his way to be nice to me?"

Arthur, chuckling, smirked at the warlock.

"Since I told him in no uncertain terms that you have my complete and total trust, and that you are to me what Gaius is to him... A trusted friend and confidant. After the tirade I subjected him to, he's spent the past few days thinking over what I'd said. He sent word to me last night, asking me to have breakfast with him to discuss it further. It was during that, that I suggested you be marked as a 'trusted retainer'."

Merlin, still looking peeved, snorted before sighing.

"Gaius told me what the ring means, which apparently you should have explained to me long ago." He huffed a little, annoyed. "I won't abuse the privileges it gives me, and to be honest I'm not sure I want it... I'm the only servant servant with one, the rest belong to Gaius and to three officers of the guard... The way the rest of the castle staff have been looking at me... It's creeping me out."

Arthur chuckled again.

"They'll get used to it before long, don't worry about it. So long as you don't flaunt it, they'll relax and go back to treating you the same as normal." He sneezed, shaking his head a little before settling deeper into the water. "After you've cleared everything away, I want you to make sure you're up early tomorrow. I'm doing a dawn archery session with my men, to practice shooting in half-light, so I'll need my breakfast before dawn, do you hear me?"

Merlin, with an exaggerated sigh, answered.

"Yes, your royal pratness."

~(-)~

False dawn came all too soon, for the tired and semi-sleep-deprived warlock. Yawning as he trudged through the hallways, he frowned down as what he had on the tray he carried. Cheese and bread, although it was fresh bread, still warm from the ovens. The one big problem when Arthur had this dawn training sessions was that there was never anything ready. The hams he might have gotten slices of were still turning on the spits, and a pot of porridge at one of the smaller hearths had only just been set to cook.

He rolled his eyes. Arthur would just have to make do. He could whine and fuss all he wanted, but it wasn't going to change his breakfast unless he was willing to be late to the archery range... At least Merlin had managed to get mulled apple juice for him; the head cook had been trying a new recipe.

He arrived at Arthur's quarters, balancing the tray and opening the door the mundane way for a change even though there was no one around. When he stepped inside he stopped in his tracks, blinking at the sight before him.

Arthur was already awake and huddled near the fire, wrapped in the top-throw from his bed. He looked absolutely miserable, and as if to prove the point the moment after he glanced at Merlin he sneezed violently before descending into a bout of coughing.

He glared at Merlin, daring him to say anything, before the warlock thoughtfully warmed the bread and cheese he'd brought so the cheese melted over it. He walked over to the prince and offered the now hot toasted slices, Arthur picking up and eating them wordlessly. He then sipped the mulled apple juice his servant had brought, almost spilling it on himself when beset by another nasal spasm.

He had a cold, a full-blown cold, and now he had to go shoot arrows in the chill of dawn... Oh joy.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehehehe