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Chapter 12-The Prince's Problem
The following day, Gwen joined Merlin and Gaius in the physician's living quarters.
"I am certain that Lord Bedros knows nothing of Aradia's intentions." Gaius told the two youths. "He doesn't even know she has magical powers. The only thing of consequence he said last night was his deep attraction for Morgana."
"How did the king respond to that?" Gwen asked.
"He challenged Bedros to a thumb wrestle." Gaius replied. "And he lost."
Merlin let out a snort of laughter and Gwen emitted a soft giggle.
"Obviously Uther was drunk." Gaius said sternly. "And the two of you are not to breathe a word of this is that understood?"
Still struggling not to laugh, Merlin and Gwen nodded.
"Well I wasn't able to get any information out of Morgana I'm afraid." Gwen told them apologetically. "But I did manage to get hold of this."
She slipped a hand down the top of her dress before pulling out a leather cord with a glowing pendant dangling on the end.
"It was in Morgana's jewelry box." Gwen continued to say. "I've never seen such a thing before, I'm certain it's not hers."
"It's magic isn't it?" Merlin asked Gaius as the physician examined the glowing pendant.
"I believe so." Gaius replied. "What I can't be sure of is how it came into Morgana's possession."
"Aradia must have placed it there." Gwen said immediately. "Maybe it's controlling Morgana somehow."
"I don't think so." Gaius mused. "Ever since she was a child Morgana has had a very strong mind. If the purpose of this pendant was to control Morgana it wouldn't have worked. Gwen, tell me, how has Morgana been sleeping lately?"
"Well." Gwen told him. "Better than she's done in a long while. She doesn't even need to take the sleeping draught anymore."
Gaius cast Gwen a thoughtful expression before hooking his glasses on and inspecting the jewel more carefully muttering quietly to himself.
Just when Gaius looked ready to tell the two youngsters his conclusion a Sir Bedivere burst through the door with a pair of knights behind him.
"Arrest the girl." He commanded and the two knights seized Gwen by the arms and dragged her out whilst Gaius stealthily hid the pendant in the pocket of his robes.
"Wait, you can't do that." Merlin objected. "She's done nothing."
The knights ignored him as they forced Gwen along. Merlin looked helplessly to Gaius who looked as worried as he did as he rose from his chair to follow after them. They dragged Gwen to the great hall and threw her to the floor at Uther's feet.
"Gwen?" Morgana asked in shock from where she stood to the side of the king. "What's going on?"
"Guinevere." Uther spoke ignoring his ward. "You have been accused of stealing the lady Aradia's jewels, how do you plead?"
"My lord, please, I did no such thing." Gwen sobbed.
"You were seen." Lord Bedros interrupted. "By one of the other servants."
"That's a lie!" Merlin cried and Arthur quickly moved over to his manservant and hissed for him to be quiet.
Looking over the prince's shoulder Merlin saw that Aradia looked very smug indeed but the moment Morgana turned to look at the blonde woman her face morphed into one of distress.
"Honestly Uther, there is no need for all of this." Aradia said in that faux pleasant voice of hers. "The servant who passed on the information could have been mistaken."
"But my dear, how else can you explain the disappearance of your jewelry?" Bedros asked.
"My darling husband, just because my jewelry has gone missing doesn't mean young Guinevere is responsible." Aradia replied. "We've no proof that it was she who stole it."
"Precisely." Morgana stated. "This accusation is outrageous. Gwen is my handmaiden and my friend, I trust her."
"Well if your maid truly is innocent I'm sure she won't object to us searching her house." Bedros commented.
Merlin's insides filled with dread as Uther gave the go ahead for the knights to search Gwen's home for the missing jewelry. He knew of course that Gwen hadn't taken it but he had a shrewd suspicion that Aradia had planted the jewels somewhere in her house. Her behavior in the hall was merely an act to keep Morgana on her side.
Sure enough, as Sir Bedivere looked under Gwen's bed he found the lady Aradia's jewels. In a matter of seconds Gwen was being dragged down to the dungeons and all Merlin could do was watch on helplessly.
He couldn't focus for the rest of the day and his lack of concentration resulted in him trying to polish Arthur's mace instead of his boots.
A slight tap around the back of the head alerted him to the prince's presence.
"Merlin, I understand that you're upset about Guinevere but please try and concentrate." Arthur drawled.
"Sorry sire." Merlin groaned as he muttered a spell that had Arthur's boots magically polished in under a minute.
"You idiot." Arthur snapped clipping him round the ear. "If it hadn't been me who saw you do that you'd be heading for the chopping block as we speak."
"Sorry sire." Merlin repeated.
"Tell me what's wrong." Arthur requested as he sank down into his chair and looked over at the warlock perched on the spindly legged stool.
Taking a deep sigh, Merlin explained to Arthur all about Aradia.
"She's a witch?" Arthur asked in shock and Merlin nodded in confirmation. "But why is she bothering to get so close to Morgana? And why did she go after Gwen?"
"Gwen offered to keep an eye on them." Merlin answered. "To see if she could find anything out. Aradia must have guessed what was happening and set up the jewelry fiasco to get Gwen out of the way."
"You said she tried to put a spell on you." Arthur recalled. "Why would Aradia want to harm you? Does she know about…your gift?"
"No." Merlin assured him. "She knows nothing of my power. I don't know what she tried to do to me but whatever it was she didn't want Morgana knowing about it."
Standing up, Merlin began pacing the room and wringing his hands together anxiously.
"Merlin, calm down." Arthur told him gently. "I'll speak to my father."
"That won't help." Merlin sighed. "I'm going to have to sort this out myself…like I always do."
"What? You never solve any of Camelot's problems." Arthur scoffed. "I do all the hard work whilst you hide in the background screaming like a girl."
"I do not scream like a girl." Merlin retorted. "And I'll have you know that I hide in the background so that nobody sees me use my magic. Then you just take the credit."
"For argument's sake let's just say it's a joint effort." Arthur compromised.
"Fine." Merlin agreed. "Oh, there's something else I should probably tell you."
"I'm not so sure I want to know but tell me anyway." Arthur replied.
"Morgana knows about…about what's happened between us." Merlin told him quietly.
"Be more specific Merlin." Arthur ordered even though he knew precisely what Merlin was referring to.
"Honestly it's not my fault." Merlin said. "She saw a bruise on my neck and asked how it happened…I couldn't lie to her; you know what she's like. So I told her about the beatings and the…the sex. And I made it perfectly clear that it was I who asked to be treated in such a way and…um…"
"What?" Arthur asked fearfully. "What else?"
"Aradia knows too." Merlin admitted. "She was in Morgana's chambers when they forced me to confess."
Not knowing what to say Arthur just groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Standing up he walked to meet Merlin and looked down at the dark haired boy.
"So what are we to do?" He asked.
"I don't know." Merlin replied. "It's usually Gaius who comes up with the answers; I just do what he tells me to…sometimes."
"Then I suppose we should speak to Gaius." Arthur said decisively marching over to his door with Merlin following behind.
They reached Gaius' chambers and the white haired man told them that he suspected Aradia had planted the pendant in Morgana's rooms to help her sleep better.
"That doesn't sound evil." Arthur commented. "Why would she do that?"
Merlin and Gaius exchanged a look and Arthur immediately became concerned.
"Morgana's nightmares," Gaius began. "They are visions of the future. She is a seer. Whether she's aware of the gift she has I'm not sure but it appears that Aradia knows of her talents."
"How do you know that Aradia knows?" Merlin asked.
"Why else would she hide this in Morgana's room?" Gaius replied holding the pendant up. "Since Aradia's arrival Morgana has been sleeping better because of this charm. That means she isn't having nightmares of the future so she can't foresee what Aradia's plans are."
"So how do we stop Aradia from doing…whatever it is she's planning on doing?" Arthur asked.
"Push her out a window." Merlin suggested and Arthur's lips twitched in amusement but Gaius frowned in disapproval.
"For now I'm afraid we'll just have to see what happens." Gaius said. "And in the mean time, be careful." He directed the last part specifically at Merlin.
***
That evening, Merlin drew up a bath for Arthur. The prince stripped off and sank into the hot water releasing a sigh of pleasure. Shrugging off his tunic so as not to get it wet, Merlin crouched beside the tub and used the wash rag to gently wash Arthur's soft flesh.
A small moan escaped the blonde as his servant's hand brushed his nipple.
"Sorry." Merlin apologized in no ore than a whisper, his breath tickling the shell of the prince's ear.
Arthur turned his head to the side to admire the warlock's face and his blue orbs instantly dropped to Merlin's pink lips. Merlin could tell where Arthur was staring and he wasn't too sure how he felt about it.
Taking a gulp, Merlin resumed his task of washing his master's strong muscled torso. Closing his eyes, Arthur tilted his head back and enjoyed the contact. When the time came for Merlin to wash Arthur's hair the prince found himself growing hard and he flushed slightly in embarrassment.
Although Merlin could clearly see the effect his ministrations had on the prince he pretended not to notice. Once he'd finished cleaning Arthur's golden hair he reached for the towel and held it out ready for Arthur to wrap around his waist.
Stepping out of the bathtub, Arthur took the towel and hobbled towards his bed trying to ignore the raging hard-on between his legs. Whilst Merlin got rid of the bath water, by using his magic, Arthur tried to wriggle into his nightwear but was unsuccessful.
"Arthur, I could…I mean…it looks uncomfortable." Merlin said as he gestured awkwardly at Arthur's erection. "I could, you know…help."
"It's fine." Arthur told him. "I can…take care of it myself. Just go and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."
"Very well." Merlin nodded as he headed for the door. "Goodnight sire."
"Merlin wait." Arthur called before the warlock had even opened the door.
"Yes sire?" Merlin asked turning back to face the prince who had discarded the towel and was now sat on his bed completely nude.
"Please." Arthur replied simply indicating his problem.
"Of course." Merlin smiled softly as he made his way back towards the prince and knelt before him. He rested his hands on Arthur's thighs and rubbed them soothingly. "Relax Arthur."
Arthur watched in fascination as Merlin engulfed his thick member and hummed around the excited organ as he sucked. All Arthur could do was whimper and groan as his fingers latched on to his servant's raven hair. In no time at all Arthur had reached completion and Merlin pulled away before the prince's seed could explode in his mouth.
Grabbing Arthur's nightwear, Merlin carefully helped the blonde dress for bed before encouraging him to get under the covers. He tucked the quilt around him and gently brushed the hair away from his eyes.
"Sorry." Merlin breathed once he realised he was stroking Arthur's hair. "Night Arthur."
"Merlin." Arthur called before the sorcerer reached the door. "Stay."
The warlock paused for a long moment before wordlessly leaving the prince's chambers.
The sound of the door closing seemed to echo loudly around the room and Arthur covered his ears in hopes of blocking out the sound. He then turned his head to the side and through the darkness he could just make out the outline of the vase of dead flowers.
To Be Continued
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