A/N: The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter are one of the things that made me think up this entire fic. Have a listen, if you have the time.

"I met up with the king
He confessed his body was burning
I met up with the king
His body had begun to rot

And he said: 'Don't think less of me
I'm still the same man I used to be'
But no one believed him
No one believed him"

- First Aid Kit, I Met Up With the King

IYîYîYîYI

King, Queen, Knight, Pawn

A knock on the door woke Merlin from his sleep. He slowly worked himself out from under the covers and was halfway to the door when his slowly wakening mind realised that it was still dark. He opened the door just a crack and looked out. Arthur stood outside, still dressed.

"There you are!" the King said. "I thought you'd never open!" His tone was casual, but he kept shifting from foot to foot, and had his hands behind his back.

"Wha ...?" Merlin opened the door up wider with a sigh. "I was sleeping! Why aren't you?"

"I can't sleep. I thought you'd keep me company." Arthur pulled out the chessboard he'd had hidden behind him. Merlin stared at him.

"Arthur ... I can't even play chess."

"Then I'll teach you," Arthur replied, and walked right by Merlin into the room. Resigning himself to not being allowed to sleep, Merlin closed the door behind him and went to light a couple of candles. Arthur put the chessboard down on the little table and pulled out the two chairs that, apart from a tiny cupboard, made up all the furniture Merlin had. The room itself was only slightly bigger than the one he'd had with Gaius, but it had its own fireplace, and with feigned moves and carefully concealed magic Merlin lit the fire as Arthur set up the chess pieces.

"It's a great game, chess," Arthur said as Merlin sat down. "Teaches you strategy. Thinking forward, predicting any possible move of the enemy. You'll be white. White always begins."

Merlin knew enough of the game to move a pawn forward. He wondered why Arthur was here, but remembered Gwen's lips on Lancelot's cheek earlier in the evening and decided any discussion of that kind could wait until he was a bit more awake – especially since Arthur didn't seem eager to talk about it either. Instead he let Arthur explain the rules of the game and how the different pieces were allowed to move and tried to commit as much as possible of it to memory.

They had been playing in silence for a while, and Merlin was losing pieces but not as quickly as he'd thought, when they both moved to remove a white pawn that had been taken by the black knight. Their hands met, Arthur's reaching down half a second later and unintentionally closing around Merlin's. Arthur seemed to freeze on the spot for a second. Merlin looked up, waiting for his hand to be released. Arthur looked up and met his gaze. As slowly as if he was moving through water he let go of Merlin and said:

"You won't leave me, will you?"

For a couple of seconds Merlin was stunned by the unexpected question and the restrained emotion that echoed in the King's voice.

"Is this about what you said to Lancelot a couple of nights ago?" he wondered.

Arthur heaved a sigh, broke their eye contact and leaned back on his chair, nearly tipping it.

"Not everything is about them, Merlin!"

"Do you really think they would run off?" Merlin pushed. Arthur looked back then, and sat up so quickly that the front legs of the chair made a loud bang as they crashed back to the floor.

"Damn it Merlin, I don't want to talk about it!" he nearly shouted, slamming his fist on the table. The chess pieces went flying and Merlin felt the blood leaving his face. Quickly and quietly he began to collect the pieces, setting them up again as well as he could. Arthur ran a hand over his face.

"Sorry. Sorry. Yes. Maybe," he mumbled. "It would be better than the alternative, wouldn't it? Let's not talk about that anymore, please. Let's talk about how ridiculously easy it is to see through you, and how you're about to pay for it."

Merlin froze, holding a white bishop in midair.

"What?"

Arthur gave him a look.

"The game, Merlin. You're losing it."

"Oh." Merlin slowly lowered the bishop on to the board. "Well, I told you I'd never played before."

Arthur reached out, and to Merlin's surprise and confusion grabbed his hand again. At a complete loss, Merlin tried to will his head into working faster, but his lack of sleep was still making itself known. Arthur's thumb gently stroked the back of his hand. Both men looked at it.

"Merlin, I ..." Arthur began. Then started again: "I ..." then stopped. Then he took a breath. "You matter to me. More than you think. I know that I don't show it. But sometimes I think that, maybe ... I matter to you too?"

Merlin felt his heart jump in his chest. He stared at Arthur, but Arthur's eyes were still locked on their hands.

"Of course you do! Arthur, you're like a brother to me."

Arthur's thumb stilled. His face fell. Merlin felt his heart fall with it.

"I mean ..." he began. Arthur let go of his hand and the room felt colder. "I'm sorry, I know I'm just a servant, that was inappropriate, ..." Merlin continued, almost frantic. Arthur laughed.

"No, Merlin, it's alright, it's I who should ... I guess, I guess I just didn't expect you to say it out loud, is all." Arthur was smiling again. It looked like a mask, but then again, most of his smiles did these days. Arthur raised the last fallen chess piece and they kept on playing.

By the time Merlin lost the game, the candles were noticeably shorter. Arthur rose, thanked Merlin for the game and went to the door. Merlin followed him and opened the door for him. As he said goodnight, he still had the feeling that something was wrong between them, and the desire to make it right coupled with the tiredness muddling his mind made him dare to go for a hug. Arthur started and pushed him away, but Merlin managed to grab his arm and catch his eyes.

"I did say something wrong, didn't I?"

Arthur put his hand on Merlin's and gave him a tired smile.

"No, no you didn't. You're nothing but a perfect gentleman. Surprisingly." It was said in a joking tone, but like the smile earlier, the joke seemed forced. "Actually you make me feel embarrassed that I've kept you up this long. So, I leave you to your sleep." He removed Merlin's hand. "Goodnight Merlin."

Arthur walked away down the corridor, leaving his confused servant behind. Merlin began to close the door, but stopped when he noticed a guard standing in the shadows of another doorway, looking straight at Merlin. When the guard realised he had been spotted he quickly looked away. Merlin wondered if he ought to say something, but he couldn't think of what so he decided to let it be and closed the door behind him.