Arthur must be one terribly delusional man if he seriously thought for one second that his consort had been traumatized by what he'd been through at Valiant's hand. In fact, being traumatized was probably the last thing that Merlin actually was. Sure, Merlin would most likely remember the terror that the knight had brought into his life, but he was not going to be sniveling in a corner, crying as he'd was forced to wait for the knight in shining armor that he wanted to save him. But if anything, at this moment, Merlin was probably on the far other side of the spectrum, as far away from being traumatized as one could possibly get.
He was high, his cheeks flushed with all of his apparent excitement after everything that had just occurred. He was more than excited though, he was exhilarated. There was no better word for it then that. Merlin was absolutely elated, excited in a way that he hadn't been since he had first entered Camelot all of those weeks ago. But could one really blame him, Merlin thought as he re-enacted to Morgana how'd she had thrown her guard's blade down to the prince so that Arthur could make his final stand against Valiant. It had been something he had only dreaming about seeing when he was a boy, back when the only excitement he'd gotten was out of the fantasies of a different life that he and Will had came up with when they had managed to sneak away from their duties for a time. Of brave knights who had managed to fight off the incredible odds that had been purposely stacked against them, had faced adversary in a way that most normal people wouldn't, and had still managed to be the one left standing. Of course though, that was only when the two boys had been young enough-naive enough-to still feel the rush of growing excitement at the thoughts of daring knights who bravely fought to protect their kingdom from intruders. Before they were old enough to feel the sick dread at the thought of knights coming to their little neck of the woods to seek provisions once every few years when they were passing through on the way to the inner city, taking pretty much the entire harvest with them in one go, caring not rather or not the villagers would end up starving because of their selfishness.
Merlin couldn't help but remember all of the excitement he had felt back then, before he'd been forced to grow up just a little. He'd only been seven when it had fully sunk in for him what would happen if he was caught. It was the age everything had changed for him, and when he had finally understood why mother had always kept him away when strangers would ride through: keeping him in barrels and hiding his belongings just on the once in a maybe chance that the stranger would stop by her hut. She wanted it to look like she had no children, and unless the villagers for some ungodly reason, brought it up themselves, he would always remain undiscovered.
But those memories of his difficult childhood, and how different his life had been when he'd compared it to Will's-an ordinary village child who had never been scared that men wearing armor would arrive and take him away-even if that was exactly what had happened, it didn't matter if the knights were wearing Camelot's red instead of Essetir green-were far from his mind at the moment.
"I mean, I don't think Valiant was expecting it at all when Arthur came at him with the blade you threw him." Merlin fussed at Morgana, his hands waving madly around his head with all of the excitement his slim body could hold at once.
Morgana smiled at his excitement, pleased to realize that Arthur's calloused treatment had not ruined the boy's zest for life, "It was quite interesting, much more exciting then how our usual finals will go." She said in this wry tone that would go unnoticed by Merlin in his high and excitement. One would never be able to say that Camelot didn't keep everybody on their toes, what, with magic users and the like appearing among their knights in a tourney meant to entertain the masses and show off the strength of their kingdom. Well, Arthur had certainly done that with his kill tonight.
Unknown to Morgana though, Merlin was not just excited because Arthur had managed to defeat Valiant despite the odds that had been going against him from the very start. He was so excited because...he had helped. It would never be known to the general public that he had helped their prince survive, but that was something Merlin could live with. If only because he had gotten something that was far more better than a little bit of recognition from his peers. He had gotten clarity. He had done the one thing he had always wanted to do but had never been able to because of his mother's fears that he would be caught and taken away from her. He had used the gifts that he had been born with to help people, he had used it to save a life. And really, he didn't believe that there was a better use for the gift he had been given other than that.
Maybe his magic could really be seen as this gift, other than a terrible and awfully hidden curse he had been forced to treat it as. This may be the one way that he could be able to use it. Even if nobody knew that it was going to be him hidden behind the scenes, he felt as if-for the first time-his magic could have a real purpose. Not something he had to keep to himself as if it was some horrid and ugly deformity that he was unlucky enough to be born with. But seen as something beautiful and powerful, something that he could use to make a real difference in the world and make his mark.
For the first time in a long time, Merlin could feel his hope start to build. That maybe he'd be able to find his rhythm here in Camelot, he could find a place that he belonged. He could find an actual purpose instead of wondering aimlessly in the fields with no direction in his life.
The voice coming from behind him reminded him why any hope he'd had before had all but remained squashed in the last few weeks.
"Not talking about me now, are you?" Arthur said smoothly, as he intercepted himself into the conversation, sidling his way in between Lady Morgana and Consort Merlin. He looked between the two of them with a raised brow and a smirk, his voice just on the wrong side of too cocky.
Morgana scoffed in a unlady like manner, her hands worked at brushing away any lint that only she could see on the skirts of her thick blue dress, "Don't flatter yourself, Arthur. We are merely talking about the tourney itself as a whole. Which you happened to be apart of."
Arthur shot her this-nice try-kind of smug look, not noticing that Merlin's smile started to dim just a little. Right. Merlin wasn't sure what exactly his relationship with Arthur was at the moment. Sure, he had felt as if they'd made some kind of progress when the prince had stopped to briefly talk to him just after he had slain that monster of a man. But what he couldn't forget about was the last time they'd met before that. When Merlin had entered his chambers and had all but begged the prince to not go out there and fight, to not actually risk his life in a match that had been rigged right from the start. And he had been turned away, Arthur had still thought that he was a liar. Clearly, Arthur knew that he wasn't lying anymore, it was hard to deny it after one had just fought off a madman with his very angry pet serpents.
But would Arthur admit that he had made this error in judgement for doubting him? Or was he just going to try and sweep it straight under the rug to save himself some face.
"I would like to see you try and do what I just did." Arthur said amused to Morgana trying to deny that he was the main focus of a private conversation between her and Merlin. He had been terrified during the actual fight-but only able to be fueled into fighting because of his raging anger and desire to see Valiant's head on a pike-but now that everything was over, it was going to start settling down, he was able to start relaxing. He could find humor enough in him to make jokes about it, as long as they did not involve what Valiant had done during his stay in Camelot...to his brat in particular.
Morgana raised a taunting eyebrow at Arthur before she scoffed at his laid back attitude as a hint of unamused disdain shot across her features. "Why should I bother trying at all? I just felt bad enough that you've been having such a tough time and all, I thought you could use the win."
Arthur felt his shoulders drop as he scowled at her, knowing that she wasn't just talking about his marriage, but about his failed council meeting. The prince had seen it as a failure because his father had been able to poke holes into Merlin's story so easily. He had been made to look like a fool in front of his people, and had practically ran away from the room like a coward. But now, after all that had been revealed to him in just the last few hours alone, all of that pain and misery Arthur had been going through felt as if it had been erased. Now he saw the meeting as a failure for a different reason. It was a failure because Arthur had literally had his sword pressed on the soft spot of Valiant's belly, one quick swift swish of his blade and everything would have been over right then and there. He'd literally had the power to end Valiant's life right where he had stood, in front of Merlin and his council. Arthur could have set a precedence in that moment, to make it be known that this insult against the Royal Family-against his consort-was something he would not tolerate. And instead, Arthur had walked away, had left his consort alone as to defend himself against his assailant.
It was probably Arthur's biggest regret to this date. And knowing that he couldn't protect a single man was probably more humiliating in the long run. For how could Arthur protect his kingdom if he couldn't even keep his consort safe inside of his own home?
"Can you believe this, M-" Arthur started as he realized that his brat had gone abnormally quiet. Quiet, he was starting to figure out but would take just a bit longer for him to get the full picture, was never a good thing when it'd came to his consort. He meant to complain to Merlin about how Morgana thought she had been doing him a favor by not jumping inside of the ring to 'show him how it was done' but stopped himself short as the prince suddenly realized that he and Merlin may not be quite at the 'complaining to each other about their lives' level after all that had happened. It just felt as if he should apologize for what he had said first, about still believing Merlin was lying about the whole thing back when the boy had came to beg him not to fight.
Merlin snorted, and Arthur froze, frowning at him. His consort was still standing by his side although slightly behind him as he had been talking to Morgana. Did Merlin know that he'd been stressing himself over rather or now he should apologize? Well, not rather or not he should apologize, because he knew that he most definitely should. But rather stressing out over how he should do it, it should not be this hard to just spit out a simple 'I'm sorry I called you a liar after you narrowly managed to escape Valiant's clutches on your own, and didn't believe you when you came to me for help.'
Merlin's snort was probably a sign that he was getting ready to laugh at him for even attempting to apologize. As if Arthur had screwed up so massively that not even a well meant apology would mean anything to the boy. Arthur's frown deepened and he could feel a flush building it's way up his neck as he glared at his consort. But that was because of his own awkwardness, instead of having any real heat in it. Arthur had never exactly found himself in this situation before, where an apology would not be accepted. He had never actually been in a situation where he had to apologize to an individual before. It was strangely unsettling.
But Merlin wasn't even looking at him. Well, he was, but just a little bit lower than Arthur thought he should be. He wasn't looking at his eye's, but Merlin also wasn't looking at his lips either. That was a good sign. What Arthur thought wasn't a good sign was how Merlin had his eye's posed on his chest area. Arthur shifted uncomfortably, had Merlin really been checking him out as he had been talking with Morgana? He would have thought that Merlin and his experience with Valiant, would have put him off from any romantic notions. Arthur wasn't sure if this was actually a good thing or not. On one hand, Merlin clearly was not going to allow Valiant to stop him from what he wanted. But on the other hand, what the boy wanted was him...was Merlin seriously eyeing him up after everything?
After Valiant had tried to rape him (not that Merlin realized how much worse it could have gone for him), and the favor that he switched and subsequently argued with Merlin about (he still could not find the thing), and let's not forget how Arthur had declared him a liar right to his face (when he had been the only one that was telling him the truth).
Merlin wasn't looking at his chest at all, as he discovered mere seconds later.
"Nice bandage." Merlin said brightly, his dim expression growing into something just a bit more lively as he eyed the bandage that was covering Arthur's neck.
Arthur's shoulders went stiff as the flush on his neck shot straight up to spread across his face as he realized how wrong his thoughts had gone. "This is a warrior's scar!" Arthur exclaimed, his voice cracking a little much to his embarrassment, as he pointed towards the clear white bandage wrapped around his throat. He had tried to cover it up as best as he could with his thick red robes, tying them up (as in having Morris to do them up) just a little bit higher than he usually wore them. He was also acutely aware that his robes did not cover them as much as they should, the clear white bandages poking out of the top further than he would have wished them to be. "This is a scar to be proud of!"
It wasn't clear yet rather the mark was going to scar or not. It hadn't seemed all that deep but Arthur supposed that it could scar over and stay there. He also felt as if he wouldn't be entirely opposed if he did get this scar on his neck. It would be a mark to be proud of, a way to say he had defended his kingdom and his consort from a beast that would see them both in ruins at his feet.
But Merlin laughing at him made Arthur feel as if this notion was a ridiculous one, a notion that should be ridiculed and mocked over. It caused Arthur's shoulder to sag as he huffed when he saw the twinkle reappearing into his brat's eye's.
"It was just a cut!" Said brat said, as he had returned his eye's to the bandages that laid on Arthur's neck. Merlin shook his head at it, because it looked kind of stupid looking. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest because he knew, in a way, that Arthur had gotten this cut because of him. It was like Merlin had laid some kind of claim on Arthur that he wouldn't be able to remove...Merlin's smile dropped in an instant. Because he hadn't been the one that left the mark on Arthur, a madman had been the one to do it instead. The cut wasn't Merlin making some kind of claim he should never have on Arthur-and should it be just a little more disturbing that the idea of leaving a mark on Arthur wasn't as horrifying as it should have been? He should definitely not want to leave a scar on anybody, especially not on Arthur if all people.
"You were the one that said I needed to have a physician look at it." Arthur said as he gave his brat a dangerous scowl, bringing his hand up to cover the bandages as if it would hide it from view. A mark of pride that he had gotten defending what was his? Or a mark of shame because he had gotten it by acting like some kind of stubborn fool, unable to see sense or reason.
Merlin shook off his shameful emotions, and he felt the shame wearing down on him as he still thought, angrily, that Valiant had actually put a mark on Arthur while he couldn't even get the prince to look at him with anything that wasn't pure disdain. The smile he gave Arthur now was a little too forceful, maybe a touch more sad than his usual ones, but he didn't think Arthur noticed either way.
"Maybe you should put the bandage a little higher up onto your mouth." He suggested as he smiled teasingly at the prince. But the way Merlin was smiling had a little less tease to it then it usually would, making his remark fall a little flatter than it should. It was as if he held a little less of the spark that would usually be accompanying him when he tried to mess with Arthur.
Arthur frowned at his boy confused, as he did not really understand what he was trying to tell him. He should pull his bandages up and then rewrap them around his mouth? But he didn't see a purpose in having that done, "There is nothing wrong with my mouth-" he started as he gazed over at Merlin, before his brain did a turn around and the pieces suddenly clicked into place. "Hey!" The prince exclaimed at the boy with disbelief, his normal glare returning to his face.
How dare he, Arthur thought with annoyance as he scowled. What audacity did he have to actually suggest that Arthur should bind his own mouth shut? But even Arthur could see that his scowl held a little less heat then he'd usually worn them. It felt more as if he'd been just going through the motions, as if he was supposed to be mad so he acted mad. Even though he wasn't actually mad at all. As if he was just used to being mad, so that had been the default mode he'd fallen back into when Merlin sassed him. How could Arthur actually be mad after everything that had happened?
But Arthur also couldn't bring himself to give in and regret the action he'd gave Merlin. Not when the boy was now smiling at him just a bit more broadly, as if he knew Arthur wasn't actually mad at him. It still wasn't his normal smile, but it was less deprecating then it had been moments before. There was a sudden tightness inside of Arthur's chest that both alarmed him and relaxed him. Because that smile meant that Valiant hadn't broken Merlin and it meant that Merlin hadn't been nearly as traumatized as he feared.
There was a minute of silence between them that seemed to drag out. Arthur felt more and more awkward the longer it dragged on, as if he knew he should say something but he also didn't know what to say. With all the princely training and lessons in speeches, decorum, or his extensive vocabulary, his mind did feel strangely blank. He felt as if now would most likely be a prudent moment to apologize, but how did one go about apologizing to his own consort for not being able to protect him?
Merlin was watching Arthur with a curiously raised eyebrow as he took in the stance the prince had fallen into. And it looked as if he was trying to say something, and Merlin was left blinking rapidly as a bit of hope seemed to spark in his chest. Hope for what? Hope that everything was going to be okay now as Valiant was out of the picture? Hope that he and Arthur could finally move on passed their apparent hatred towards each other? Besides how could he and Arthur just act as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn't ended up working together to put a stop to a madman that had entered the kingdom under his false pretenses.
Morgana looked between the two boys with a frown of confusion on her face. She seemed to have been forgotten for the time being, so that the two boys could stare down the other one. But even she was able to sense, rather it be because of women intuition or something else she did not yet understand, that there was something that lingered in the air. It was not something she was apart of, but it was at least something she could see-even if she was the only one. There was like some kind of bubble in the air that only seemed to have been enveloping Arthur and Merlin, a hint of something she didn't know lingering in the air between them that went unnoticed by any of the others passing them by.
Arthur opened his mouth, and then he closed it again, before he opened it all over again. As if he was trying to determine rather or not he should say something, or if he should just let it go. Merlin found himself leaning in just a bit closer, as if he thought he wouldn't be able to hear if he wasn't as close to the prince as he could get without being yelled at. There was still a bit of respectable space between them, like there might be among acquaintances and not lovers, but it was also only just that large.
Arthur did a sudden double take, as if he was just now realizing something, "What on earth are you wearing?" The prince sputtered as he took in his wayward consort. Or if one would want to be more specific, his consort's outfit of choice for the formal event. "That isn't the proper attire for a consort!" He would have thought the boy's manservant would be the one to take care of that, but it appeared that Arthur was going to have to be a little more hands-on then he wanted to be.
Merlin had almost been on his tippy toes as he leaned in to hear what Arthur looked to be struggling to say. But now, he dropped back onto his heels and it almost looked as if he'd just deflated right in front of Arthur's eye's. His shoulder's seemed to sag, and his face looked almost downcast, like some kind of kicked puppy. And then Arthur was left cursing himself for his inability to say a simple apology, and allowing himself to grow distracted so easily.
Merlin pouted down at the ground as he felt like a right idiot. He couldn't believe he had thought Arthur was actually going to say any thing meaningful to him. Something that he may want to remember and carry around with him as a sign of hope that things between them was going to get better now. It wasn't like Arthur was going to change just because he had seen Valiant and his snakes with his very own eyes. He was still Arthur, the man who had traded and lost his neckerchief as if it had been a used tissue.
He felt a spark of defiance go down his spine as he remembered that. As he was forced to remember all of the pain and the heartbreak that day had brought him. It almost felt as if he was living through it all over again. He had sat there with Morgana and Gwen, having a good old time as they waited for the fight that was about to start. And then seeing Arthur as he walked out onto the field, his head being held high as if he had done no wrong in all of the world. And then watching as he had taken off his cape, only to show the entire world-or at least Merlin's world-the silk purple favor on his bicep instead of the scratchy and woolen red neckerchief. Merlin felt his jaw set as he remembered how he had sat there in stunned disbelief, feeling as if he was going to be sick all over his boots as he realized what had just happened. He hadn't even bothered to sit still for the rest of the fight. He'd started to leave before the fight had ended, and had only just been able to stop long enough to know that Arthur had moved onto the final rounds.
"Then," Merlin drawled out as he brought his hands to rest on his hips and lifted his chin in a bold display of anger. "I suppose that it's a good thing I'm more than just a consort, isn't it?"
Merlin had been spending the last few days working so hard to try and be one of them, to act as if he was one of the stuffy old nobles that he and Will used to imitate and make fun of back when they were boys. He had done everything that he could to try and do all of his duties as well as what had been expected of him as consort. He struggled on his own as he tried to learn the customs of Camelot, his head was still filled with all of the useless information he'd been forced to retain from that book on 'tournament etiquette' Arthur had forced him to read. None of what was in that book would help Merlin with what would be actually important, it wouldn't keep him fed like knowing how to plant or grown grain would. It wouldn't keep a roof over his head that wasn't given to him through a marriage he hadn't wanted in the first place. Hell, he'd even went so far as to help Arthur dress with his armor, and went to all of the events during the tournament like the meet and greet! He'd been played right into Uther's hands during the council meeting as he had gone along with Arthur and tried to do things the noble way, by making an appeal straight to the king.
But where was it that Merlin was supposed to draw the line? Where was the line in the sand that said he had gone to far, that said he was starting to forget himself and where he had came from? Where was it that he was able to stop trying so hard to be this consort that he was expected to be-where he would be able to feel just the start of little bits of his soul as it was being chipped away to fit into someone else's narrative-and embrace the commoner roots that he had came from?
The ones his mother had raised him with.
"Besides," Merlin continued on as he tucked one hand behind his back and gestured out with the other as he gave a mock bow, "Don't you think these are dirty enough for you?"
Several times over the passed few days, the prince had ended up calling Merlin just a dirty peasant right to his face. Had acted as if he'd been less then just because his roots weren't covered in five generations or more of people with track records longer than his arm. So he had decided, so that he could forgo the outfit that George had brought him, to show Arthur what a real dirty peasant was...Merlin did not look any different than he had earlier during the day.
Oh, he had most definitely changed his clothes. His blue tunic had been coated in sweat stains around the collar, and it had stuck uncomfortably to his back because of how much exertion it had taken him to race across the city to get to the stadium. But the bright orange peasant tunic he wore under his normal brown jacket, and his thin brown common pants, and his boots with so many scratches it would be impossible to buff them all out wasn't exactly one invited to what was a formal party would wear. Merlin looked like he was preparing to work the party as if he'd been a servant, instead of a main guest that was expected to show up.
The winner of the tourney couldn't exactly show up without his consort being near by. It would cause far too many people to talk and question his absence if Merlin hadn't shown up at all. But then again, his questionable outfit may just cause people to talk anyway.
There was a heartbeat of silence where the boy, where Consort Merlin, just stared at his prince, Prince Arthur, with a narrowed eyed look. As if he was expecting his husband to say something now that Merlin's outfit had been noticed.
Arthur's jaw had dropped a little, more than a little astonished by the sheer audacity that he continued to see in Merlin's every word, "Did you only wear that to get back at me for what I said to you?
He vaguely-maybe more than a little vaguely he grudgingly admitted to himself-remembered how he had taken to referring to Merlin as a 'dirty peasant'. It was the truth but he could admit, in the light of things that had been revealed to him during this day, that him saying it at all was probably in poor taste. He most likely hadn't needed to hear Arthur call him a dirty peasant while he had been busy fending off Valiant's advances on his own.
Merlin was quick, his tone dry and sarcastic as he said, "Wow, nothing gets passed you, does it." It was a quip, a sarcastic but albeit witty remark about how utterly clueless the prince had been this past week. He hadn't known that Valiant had been using a shield enchanted with magic to attack the other fighters in the tourney via magically summoned snakes. He hadn't known that Valiant's interest in his consort had gone on to be much more sinister than he had first thought. He hadn't known that Merlin had been going through something traumatic as his only concern at the time had been rather or not he would make his father proud during his fights. And he most definitely hadn't known that Merlin had spent his week trying to warn him about the snakes rather than his own assault. It was a real eye opener that he hadn't expected to have.
At their side, Morgana brought up a dainty hand to hide her unladylike but growing smile as she watched the two boys as they seemed to be taunting each other. The air around the two wasn't filled with friction or distaste, not even with anger as it usually was. It seemed to be something much calmer between them, as if something was trying to settle but had not quite settled into place just yet. As if the air around them was trying in vain to settle into something that was more soothing than normal, but also as if there was something that held it back from doing so fully. But what that something could be, Morgana could not know. Or maybe she was just imagining all of this, wanting to see things that weren't there simply because she wanted all of the fighting and the strife the boys were going through to just end already.
Arthur brought his hands up on his hips as he rested them there as well, shaking his blonde locks as he sighed heavily, "You're not even going to attempt to deny it, are you?"
Arthur supposed he should just be lucky that this was the only punishment he was getting from Merlin. After the shameful behavior and dishonor he had been treating Merlin with as the council meeting had came to a close, he knew that he deserved so much worse than just Merlin showing up to a formal event while wearing tattered clothing. It wasn't like it was going to be the end of the world if the people talked about how it looked as if the Pendragon family was so poor they couldn't afford to dress their newest addition in more proper clothing...right?
No, Arthur ultimately decided to himself. He supposed-after everything that had been happening under his very own nose-he could swallow his pride and allow Merlin to have his fun...just this once.
And fun Merlin had when he grinned cheekily, looking more normal than he had since his husband had made his appearance. "Maybe next time," the cheeky boy said, looking as if he was almost flushed with his amusement at Arthur's expanse, "You should hold your own tongue instead of calling me names."
Arthur shook his head as his lips twitched up into what could have been the semblance of a brief smile, "No," Arthur said softly, his own ease with the strange situation they seemed to have fallen into becoming apparent, "I do not believe I will anytime soon."
Maybe it was the softness that seemed to have appeared in Arthur's voice, or maybe it was the strange warmth that was emerging even though it had been seriously lacking any other time Arthur had spoken to him, but the consort was suddenly shifting his gaze down to his feet. His eye's were wide, and the flush of excitement on his face seemed to have grown into something that was a bit more on the level of embarrassment, or...shyness?
Arthur darted his eye's away quickly as if the wall beside him was suddenly the most interesting thing he had seen in all of his life, instead of the boy in front of him. Arthur then reached up and scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck as he came to an extremely strange conclusion.
During his fight with Valiant, the other knight had claimed that the only real desirable trait Merlin had, and the only reason Valiant had wanted him in the first place, was because he was on Arthur's arm. But Arthur had seemed to just realize that this wasn't true. Merlin did in fact have a desirable trait, something that Arthur found he wouldn't be entirely opposed to seeing more of...his mouth. Merlin had some kind of mouth on him, absolutely spewing his disrespect and his cockiness. Merlin should have been groveling at Arthur's feet, as he'd somehow reworked the narrative to put the blame sorely on himself for Arthur having not believed him. He shouldn't be showing this cheekiness that not even the people Arthur would consider his friends had shown to him. Even his friends knew he was their prince and should therefore show their respect to him at all times. But not Merlin...the strange boy had a mouth on him like one Arthur had never seen in all his life.
Arthur didn't know it yet, but the mouth that his consort had was going to grow on him. It was going to become near addictive actually, like some kind of drug, to hear all of those words in his consort's mind come to physical form. To kiss those very same lips as they moaned for Arthur as he whispered sweet nothing's in his ear. To feel those very same cheeky lips, with eyes practically glowing up at him in mocking defiance, still defiant and bright and in control even as the lips wrapped themselves slowly around his...well, that was neither here nor there.
There was the sudden clearing of a voice that seemed to break the bubble that had formed around them, popping it into smithereens and startling them both into snapping their heads up. "While this has obviously been a very enlightening conversation," Morgana drawled out as she looked between the two boys and forcing them to remember that she had been here the entire time and hadn't just gone and disappeared into the wall or something, "I do believe that there is a party starting that has our names on it."
Arthur blinked in stumped surprise as he was glancing around the room. The three of them were standing off to the side just outside the doors to the grand hall where the party took place. And most of the people that had been going in as they'd talked were gone now. Sure there was a few here or there that lingered in the hall as they had their own conversations among themselves. Like the couple standing by the far window, and their foreheads nearly touching as they whispered softly to each other in the moonlight streaming through the window. Or the two teenagers along the other side of the wall, clearly servants trying to get a moment together before they'd have to run off and get back to work. Arthur would have probably been the one to yell at them to get back to work, breaking up their moment of privacy as servants should be working and not fraternizing...for some reason, Arthur did not make a move to go towards them. He'd almost forgotten that they were supposed to be at a party at all.
"Right," Merlin drawled out at his side as he glanced over Morgana's shoulder to try and get a peek through the doors. Merlin hadn't been to an actual party since the night of his wedding dinner. But that was the dinner that had the misfortune of being interrupted and cut-short when that witch had taken over the form of another and tried to kill Arthur. It was most definitely a wedding nobody was going to forget soon. But now Merlin was starting to wonder just how different this party would be when it didn't have witches trying to attack the guests of honor...or at least he hoped it wouldn't involve witches attacking the guests of honor. He was more than happy for Arthur to keep that spot all to himself. After all that had happened over the last few days, Merlin didn't think he would mind just falling into the background for a full hours. "We better'd get in there, lest we disappoint the masses." He added in dryly.
As Arthur was the winner of the tourney, and one of the winner's prizes was to accompany the fair Morgana to the party, the prince was going to be walking in with her on his arm. He didn't mind it, Merlin thought to himself, he'd already had a taste of walking in a party with Arthur on his arm. Morgana could have it, she would do a better job at it anyway. He knew'd he'd probably trip over his own feet in front of everybody again, trying to go down the stairs alone.
But Morgana didn't seem to have the same resolution as she stopped him before he was able to take more than a step towards the doors. "Merlin," Morgana spoke up, with her hands clenching in the folds of her thick and beautifully done blue dress. "I believe I would rather have Arthur escort yourself inside, as it only makes sense since he's your husband. I do think I can manage to walk in by myself."
Morgana thought it was ridiculous how Uther still insisted on Arthur keeping an eye on her, as if he thought her maidenhood was going to be in danger if she so much as talked to anybody he would have considered to be the 'wrong sort'. Like Merlin, but the king had still insisted on the marriage between a peasant and his only heir. While baffling, she still did not think she should have to accompany the prince to any event. He was married now, so it was only right that he start to attend these things with his husband. Rather or not he had won a tourney and had been promised to have her arm during the duration of the party.
Besides, if it meant that much to Uther, then she still didn't see the problem as Arthur had two arms. She could walk in on one, and the prince's consort could walk in on the other. It made no difference to her, although she had been rather hoping she could start having a little bit more freedom without Arthur there to guard over her already gone virtue.
Arthur blanched at just the mere mention of having Merlin hanging off of his arm again as he had when they'd walked into the wedding dinner only a few weeks ago. He had only did it at all because it was a reflex, the first thing his body had done on it's own before he had remembered himself. Had remembered that he was trying to apologize to Merlin for not believing him, and that insulting him probably was not the right move to make. But it was to late because Merlin had already seen the action.
Merlin shot him a dirty look, his amusement from earlier fading in an instant and his glare intensifying as he remembered what an arse Arthur was. "No," he said firmly. At this point, he would rather stick a rusty spoon in his eye then go to the party with Arthur. Or maybe he could stick that spoon in Arthur's eye...ideas, ideas. "I think I'll just go on ahead. I'm sure I'll be able to entertain myself." He managed to drawl out as he cocked his hip to the side in a sassy manner.
He'd rather stick to the background anyway instead of having all those noble eyes on him again. He just wanted to be the Commoner Merlin, faded into obscurity where he could be himself without feeling like a fool. It would be a lot better then being Consort Merlin, the failure of Camelot.
Morgana seemed to have noticed the way that Arthur had reacted at the suggestion as well because she was glaring over at him to. "Or maybe Arthur could escort us both." She said forcefully, turning her back to Arthur so that she and Merlin could make the decision without any of his input. If Arthur was going to behave like an idiot, then he didn't deserve to be involved in the decision making. "I don't believe it would be all that strange at all if he did accompany us both."
She really was trying to include Merlin, just to make him feel more welcomed. She did know that he was struggling to get the hang of his new life, only a fool would have been able to miss it.
Behind her, Arthur had to resist the urge to not slap his own forehead. It was only his firm princely training that helped him accomplish that. He had known he had made a mistake with his original reaction, and wished that he could take it back. But while he did feel as if he was more attuned to Merlin then he had been before everything had happened, a little bit more focused on what Merlin may need to get through this horrible ordeal...he also just really did not want to have Merlin hanging off his arm.
Merlin could attend on his own...off towards the side of the party...still in sight so that he could keep an eye on him and make sure that nobody else with an unfathomable intention tried to approach him...while Arthur managed his own duties from afar. Like trying to enjoy his own party.
But Merlin, despite Morgana trying with such desperation to get him to go with them, gave her a playful wink. It made the lady frown with confusion as she didn't get it, and the move had also been caught by Arthur standing just behind her, making the prince stand with this sudden attentiveness as he frowned baffled.
Was Merlin flirting with Morgana right in front of him, the prince thought as a sense of this sudden alarm shot through him. He could not have...that! Arthur had spent this time trying to think of how he may ward off anybody else who may try their luck and think they had any chance at bedding the prince's consort. He'd hadn't considered that Merlin may be the one to try his luck with another, let along with his own father's ward! And Morgana was also a woman! It had been bad enough when Arthur had thought he only had the men to worry for but how was he supposed to keep an eye on the women as well! Didn't Merlin have only an eye for men? That was the impression he had been given.
Merlin didn't seem to notice the sudden turn in his husband's thoughts, nor did he notice it when Arthur started to glare and then his fist was clenching at his side. Maybe, Arthur was thinking considerably, it might be best if he'd got Merlin to attend with them after all. If only so he could keep a closer eye on the boy for himself, and make sure he didn't managed to go wondering off with...unsavory people. His eyes shot to Morgana at that thought, since it did seem as if Morgana was the unsavory one at the moment.
"Oh, I'll go with him." Merlin said cheekily as he grinned at Morgana, talking sorely to her as he ignored the prince. And before Arthur could nod and agree that this would probably be best choice for everybody involved, Merlin continued to talk. "But only if he'll ask me to go with him."
It took Morgana only half a second before she realized why Merlin had winked at her or what he was talking about. It was back when she had first met him, when he had appeared in her room and panicked because she'd also been trying to get dressed at the time. During their conversation, Morgana had made Merlin promise to her that he'll make Arthur work for his attention. That he would make the blonde ask him if he wanted to attend with him as his date, instead of Arthur just assuming the two of them would go together. Morgana, she had spent ten years being Arthur's standard date as was expected of her as the king's ward. It would be greatly amusing for her to see the great Arthur Pendragon having to beg for an actual date.
The next party Camelot held would certainly be entertaining when she didn't have her arm being held by the promise Uther had made to have her attend with the winner.
But for now, at the sudden reminder of the conversation they'd had all those weeks ago, the Lady Morgana threw her head back and started to laugh in earnest. It made Merlin's grin grow wider at the sound, knowing that his joke had been well received. Although, his husband decidedly did not look amused.
Arthur knew that he shouldn't have said what he said next, and wanted to curse himself for allowing his emotions to get the better of him when he should know better. But hearing the lady laugh as if it was the funniest thing to be heard on the planet. And to have his consort looking so pleased with himself-while still a mark improvement compared to how the boy had looked as he'd begged Arthur to not go to the fight-it still annoyed him greatly because he did not understand the joke. It made him feel as if he was the butt of it, as if the two were seriously taking the mickey out of him after he had just gone toe to tail with venomous snakes to keep Merlin safe. It made him lash out.
"Don't hold your breathe." He hissed over at Merlin, a tinge of the previous cruelty he had shown Merlin back when he had accused him of being jealous that he had worn another's favor instead of his own, starting to show in his eye's. He did not like be to made fun of, or to be treated as if he was going to be the joke of the party. Merlin would have to do his best to remember that, Arthur thought.
But Merlin didn't seem to get the memo as clearly as Arthur had thought he had made himself. The boy had the nerve to turn away from Arthur and face Morgana, as if he had already been expecting this kind of response from the prince. "No, I have more pride then to go with...that..." he jutted his thumb over his shoulder to point at Arthur who stood just behind him.
The prince's jaw dropped, because Merlin had made it sound as if going with him was going to be unpleasant. As if Arthur was this kind of disgusting slug that he would want to have no part of, instead of a golden prince he was married to.
Merlin continued on, "But you have fun with him, m'lady." He didn't want Morgana's fun to be ruined just because he and Arthur were on the outs as they always were. Even after they had worked together to end this madman's tyranny, some things looked as if they would just never change.
Merlin started to leave after that, heading to the door so that he could join with the party that was going on inside. But he has only just taken a few steps away before Arthur called out after him.
"So, you're being respectful to her?" Arthur called out after him, having been caught on the teasing but respectable 'm'lady' that his consort had referred to Morgana with. Arthur could remember the one and only time that his brat had called him 'sire.' It had been full of so much sass, attitude, and this mocking kind of quality that had felt as if it had set his blood on fire with infuriation. "But you won't be to me?"
Arthur knew, on some deep subconscious level that he should not be so angry as to talk to Merlin like this. He should try to be-dare he think it-more understanding and take his time with the boy. He may not be acting as if he was too traumatized by Valiant, but the least Arthur could do was not make anything worse. He should be working to have Merlin come to the party with him, if only to ward off others, while trying to get Merlin to think that it was his idea the whole time. So he wouldn't think that Arthur actually wanted to go along to the party with him. Not chase him off so he will end up in another situation like Valiant.
"Because she deserves to be treated with respect." Merlin shot to him, making Arthur want to smack him. Did he not just go out of his way to risk his own neck so that he could keep Merlin's virtue safe? Did he not sustain a neck injury as well as a split lip in his effort to keep said crime from happening towards the hopelessly naive boy? Did he not bring Valiant to his knees for even having the nerve to dare think he could get anywhere with his consort? Arthur deserved more respect then to just be dismissed as if he hadn't taken his time to gut the man that would go as far as to rape just to throw Arthur off his game. Merlin didn't seem to see all of this in the same light though, because he continued on talking with Lady Morgana, briefly saying. "I think I will be going on inside, but I give you permission to keep Arthur to yourself." He said wryly.
If Arthur was still going to treat him as if he was a pest, then Merlin wasn't going to waste a second of this party entertaining him. After he'd risked his own secret-and subsequently his life-by using magic in a much more public setting then he was used to, he deserved to have a night of fun. The kind that didn't have anything to do with Arthur's mood swings, or his rudeness, or his arrogance, or just his... anything.
But before Merlin left, he did turn back to the prince and lifted an eyebrow as he finally saw the golden crown that was resting across the prince's forehead. Merlin smirked at him as he said the parting words, "Try not to let your head grow too big Arthur. Or that crown you wear won't be able to fit it any longer."
Arthur suddenly felt really stupid as he was forced to watch Merlin entering the grand hall doors. The boy walked in right along with the two servants that had been cuddling nearby, and tucked his chin down as he tugged up the top of his coat to hide his face some. He was able to get in through the doors without the announcer noticing him and announcing his presence to the room. With what he was wearing, as well as him walking in with two of the servants, he was able to blend in almost flawlessly. The only thing that marked him as the consort was the ring on his finger that he was just barely able to catch a glimmer of as Merlin had tugged his coat up. It-very oddly-made Arthur want to ditch his crown, just to prove to Merlin that he didn't need the heavy metal to show that he was the prince.
Arthur felt it, more than he actually saw, when Morgana settled in against his side, watching Merlin leave as well. In a snap second, Arthur was whipping around to look almost wildly at the lady by his side, "What does he mean by 'you can keep me'?" He demanded with this great fever in his voice. "Can you believe just how ungrateful he is?"
Arthur had saved Merlin's virtue, had literally taken another's life for the boy. Not that he'd hadn't killed before, it was something he had found to be unavoidable when one acted as a knight. But that wasn't the point. He'd risked life and limb to end Valiant's life, and Merlin was off acting as if it was any other day in the world. He should be down on his knees, and thanking Arthur for being benevolent enough to take out the threat. Not...acting like he was now.
"Yes," Morgana drawled out to him as she'd turned to look up at his taller height, but she wore a sarcastic smile on her painted lips as she said it. "Who wouldn't want a husband like the Great Arthur Pendragon." She said it in a way that was meant to invoke shame into said prince. "You've only done whatever you could to humiliate him." She obviously meant the favor. Having saved Merlin from that vile Valiant or not, she wasn't so easily willing to let him forget his past mistakes.
And mistakes they were, Arthur thought as he winced at his past actions. He could see now that he shouldn't have done it at all. Like Morgana had told him inside of his changing chambers, there were other options that he'd could have gone with as to let Merlin know he wasn't interested. He could have just told him afterwards, or had one of the knights escort him back to the Knight's Quarters so that he could tell him beforehand. Maybe if Arthur had never accepted the Lady Clarissa's favor in the first place, then he may not have taken so long with realizing Merlin's truth. If he had not wasted so much time thinking that Merlin was just trying to get some kind of payback, then things could have been resolved much quicker and probably not as public.
"...He can at least thank me for saving him like I did." Arthur grumbled under his breath as he tried to save face. He knew that Merlin did not have anything to thank him for. If he'd just been a little more vigilant, had realized as Valiant talked about Merlin during that dinner, that he was a little...too...interested in the boy then normal pleasantries, he could have been the one to stop everything before it gotten so out of hand. That didn't mean he was quite so willing to admit his failure to Morgana, she would probably rub it in his face if she knew how awful he was feeling.
"Somehow," Morgana said as she gave a little and dainty flip of her wrist at him, "I am sure that Merlin isn't looking for a knight in shining armor." Especially if that knight is Arthur, she thought privately in her head. She and Merlin had once talked as they had a meal together not long after he had arrived in Camelot, that Arthur was no Prince Charming. And that was what Merlin was interested in finding. But she couldn't say for sure if he was still interested in that after this week's disaster. She'd seen something in Merlin's eyes as they had been talking moments before. He always had this naive kind of hope in his eyes whenever he'd talked. It was still there, but it was half hidden and almost guarded. As if he wasn't sure if he should keep hoping after Arthur joined in the conversation, or if he already knew that he was just kidding around with himself.
Morgana saw a lot more than most people thought she did. She was a woman in an era where that wasn't always a good thing to be, where she had very little power other than what her station in life afforded her.
Arthur asked her a question before he could stop himself, "Then what does he want?" He practically blustered out at her. He had barely gotten the words out before he flinched when he realized the question he had just asked. It shouldn't matter what Merlin wanted, Arthur had done his due diligence by getting rid of the threat. It wasn't as if Arthur was going to change himself around to suit Merlin's tastes.
"Maybe," Morgana said in that tone of hers that said she thought Arthur was trying to be dense on purpose. "You should actually try to find out on your own." And then the lady was turning away from him as if to say that their conversation was now over.
Arthur swallowed harshly passed this hard lump that had grown in his throat. He should try to get to know Merlin? The idea sounded so silly to him. He knew the boy was peasant, he had one hell of a mouth on him, and that he was prone to either being late or getting himself into troubling situations. What else was there for him to know? Other than now knowing he needed to keep a better eye on the boy, lest someone else like Valiant tried to show up when he wasn't watching, there was nothing else for him to know.
So why did Morgana's words sound creepily ominous? As if it meant something more than the actual words themselves should? Arthur didn't like the sound of them one bit.
X
Inside of the party, Merlin did exactly what he had set out to do. As soon as he had walked in-hidden under the cover of his jacket and among the servants-he'd been quick to make his move to the food table. He stood behind it now, standing in front of the wall as he made himself at home while he sampled the many platters spread out in front of him. Or at least he was trying to sample the many platters in front of him, popping a grape into his mouth and having the flavor burst across his tongue as he bit down on it.
But it was pretty hard when he was insanely focused on listening in to the conversation as it was happening just further down the table from him. On the other side of the table were two maidservants who were gathering extra food onto the golden plates in their hands. All of the servants had some kind of tray loaded down with bits of finger foods or glasses of wine. And it looked as if these two girls were restocking their now empty trays, grabbing bits of food off the plates on the table to put them on their trays so they could walk around serving the nobles. They had even stopped to rearrange the food on the table so that it'd look just as full and bursting with a variety of cut up meats and fruits as it had before they had taken any.
But the real interest was their conversation as it had drifted down the table to where Merlin was standing. And it had only caught his own attention because he could have sworn he'd heard his name being said.
"-Lin has really done it, hasn't he?" Said the serving girl with this thick and very dark hair spilling out from under the faded handkerchief she wore to keep her hair out of her face. "Can you believe he had the nerve to challenge the king in his own chambers? In front of the court?"
Her friend, a girl with very short and very thin blonde hair and watery blue eyes gave a tired sigh, as if she had already heard this a million times before, "You don't actually know what happened, you know. You're only going off on what rumors are being spread about inside of the kitchens."
"It's all true." The dark haired girl said with a distasteful hiss at her friend. It became very apparent that neither girl even realized that Merlin was there at all. "Bethany heard all of the news as she was delivering food to Lady Morgana's bedchambers during lunch. Gwen and her mistress were whispering about it."
Merlin tensed at this, and kept his eyes down on the tray in front of it. This one had a bowl of cut up tomatoes, very ripe and extremely juicy looking. But Merlin's stomach started to churn uncomfortably as he realized this very odd situation that he was in.
The blonde looked up from where she had been focused on making the tray she was to carry around the room beautifully decorated with the food she had just piled on it, "Why was Bethany delivering food to the Lady, isn't that Gwen's job?"
"She was just helping out, I don't know!" Her dark haired friend hissed urgently, waving her question away. "But if Gwen and her mistress were talking about it, then it had to have the truth to it! And you will never guess what else is being said!"
The blonde haired friend looked a bit more mildly interested now, but Merlin just ducked down further into his collar as he tried to hide his face. He didn't really want to know what it was being said about him, but there was also this morbid curiosity that made it so his feet were unable to move him from where he stood.
The dark haired girl was talking again, "They are saying he made accusations against that knight the prince fought. Like, that he tried to assault him or something-" she didn't sound all that concerned about it. As if it was just a random act of violence that had happened to her cousin's friend's half-sister who lived next to this girl that it happened to. "And that was the reason Prince Arthur gutted him out on the field."
The blonde haired girl scoffed as she settled down the fork she was using to put a few bite sized pieces of meat onto her trap, "There is no way that's true. I'm sure Consort Merlin is not going around spreading falsehood. There is no way Sir Valiant did that! I mean..." she'd stopped to blush as if she was about to say something horrible and didn't know how to say it.
Merlin felt a cold chill spreading through his body. It had been bad enough when Arthur hadn't believed him. But to know it was now being spread throughout the city somehow seemed infinitely worse. He had thought his problems with Valiant was over, but how were they when things like this was being spread?
The dark haired girl seemed to get it though because she laughed as she threw her head back. "You can say it, you know. It's not going to be a crime. I heard that Consort Merlin is apparently not much of a looker, and that it's a wonder the prince married him." She placed her hands on either side of her head and put them back out again, "I heard he's got some pretty large ears. And that he's a klutz!"
Merlin's face reddened and he ducked down his head a little further down into his coat. He almost wished he could magick his coat into eating him alive, just so he wouldn't have to hear this anymore. But still, he wasn't able to just walk away as it felt as if his feet were no longer responding to what he wanted. As if he had turned into a statue, forced to listen as people gossiped about him. One thing was for sure, he had never felt subconscious over the size of his ears until now.
The blonde haired girl hissed urgently at her as she looked around frantically to see if there was anybody listening to them, but she had somehow missed Merlin standing a few feet away, "It is a crime!" She lowered her voice as if she feared they would attract attention but Merlin could see hear them, even if he would now have to strain his ears, "You're going to get yourself arrested if you are heard talking like that about the Consort. You wouldn't be talking like that about Prince Arthur or King Uther."
The dark haired girl scoffed while looking as uninterested in her supposed work as she could possibly be, leaning one hand on the table to prop herself up, unknowing turning her back on Merlin as she did so, "But this is different. Consort Merlin isn't a real royal, is he? He's just a nobody. Nobody even knows where he comes from, and yet, they expect us to just go along with him being Consort? Maybe before I could see the irony of having a peasant near the throne, but after what he tried to pull..."
Merlin winced, and the food he was staring at absentmindedly looked decidedly inedible to him all of a sudden. As if one bite would send him upchucking it all over those girls and their pristine golden trays being laden down with food.
The blonde haired girl looked disappointed by what her friend said, but not like she was disagreeing with her. Her shoulders slumped as she looked dejectedly down at the tray in her hands, "You're right," she said. "If he did make a mockery of himself during the king's council chambers...then Consort Merlin most likely isn't competent enough to stand among the royal family. He...the Consort..." the small girl stopped talking as if she was trying to get her thoughts organized before she continued on, "Prince Arthur deserves to have anybody else, somebody who knows what exactly it is they are doing. If he can't even talk inside the king's chambers without making a fool out of himself..."
"You're right." The dark haired girl said as she ran her finger over the frosting spread over a little cake that sat on top of a pile of little mini cakes, "He is definitely not fit for the job if he can't handle a little council meeting." She was then popping her finger into her mouth as to suck off the icing, talking as if she had been to dozens of council meetings herself as the focal point of the king's wrath, and acting as if there was nothing to it. When in reality, this particular servant had never once been inside during a council meeting. She wasn't serving anybody important that would attend those meetings, she was just one of the many girls who worked in the kitchens.
It still made another burst of shame shoot out through Merlin's body. It started deep inside his gut before it spread out from there, and it coated the entirety of his body in stickiness it felt like within seconds. Whatever leftover bit of excitement he had felt when he'd used his magic to help save Arthur, seemed to have drained itself right out of his body until there wasn't a thing left but the shame. It wasn't like he did not know he wasn't doing a good job. Having gone through the council meeting was one big indicator that he had absolutely no clue as to what he was doing. But it was something else entirely to know that everybody else was able to see how much of a failure he was. He couldn't even have two minutes to be happy for what he had managed to do, could he, he thought bitterly. Two minutes to just be able to enjoy that he had found a reason for using his magic. Two minutes was all that he would ask for.
But apparently he couldn't even get two of those minutes before he was left to mourn over how he'd been able to convince an entire city-in barely just two weeks-that he was an utter failure. It had to be some kind of record. They had clearly been wrong to make him Consort if he-like the girl had said-couldn't even have handled a simply council meeting.
There was the clearing of a voice behind him and it made Merlin tense up as this looming figure of a man hovered over him. The two serving girls seemed to have heard and both of them glanced over. Their faces seemed to drain with color-not because they seemed to have realized Merlin was there, but because they had recognized the imposing figure that stood behind him-because they snapped up their serving trays and hurried back into the crowd of nobles to try and hide themselves.
Merlin's shoulders sagged a little, as he was mourning the lost two minutes he could have to feel horrible about himself, before he was turning to face King Uther Pendragon.
"...Sire..." Merlin said, looking up at the taller man with a weary look in his eyes. He didn't know if the king was also here to tell him how much of a 'burden'-he still thought this word that King Uther had called him not that very long ago with bitterness-he was because of the council meeting. Merlin didn't know if the king had also heard the two girls as they had talked about Merlin, but it wouldn't surprise him if he had.
"...Merlin..." the king said with a stone face as he gave no indication of what he was hanging around with Merlin for, off to the side and out of the way of the more important guests. The Failed Consort felt pretty awkward because it seemed as if the king's displeasure with him was growing-if the prominent frown over his face was any indication. And the longer they stood there, the more pronounce that frown was becoming. As if it had been Merlin's very presence that was making him so angry.
Well, Merlin may not know anything about the proper council meetings or how things were supposed to go, but he could probably make an educated guess and say the king wasn't here to apologize for not believing him about the snakes.
Still, his mouth got away from him as it would whenever he got nervous "So," Merlin said as he cracked a weak smile, still feeling a harsh churn in his stomach that the king's presence only seemed to make worse. "That was some tourney, wasn't it?" It was as if Merlin tried to say 'ha, so I was right after all' without saying the actual words that could have gotten him an order of execution if he dared to press this over the king.
But maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all, because there was a sudden lurch in Merlin's belly that made him bring a hand to it, as if he was trying to physically force the few grapes he had been able to swallow before he had overheard the unsettling conversation between those two serving girls to stay inside his belly. It was made even worse when he saw Uther's lips thinning in distaste for his words. Which wasn't to surprising, not even warning the king his son was about to go into a death match had been enough to have the king warm up to him.
"Indeed." The king answered in a bland tone, as if it was paining him just to stand here with his son's Peasant Consort. And besides this one word, the king gave no other indication as to why he had stepped aside from the real party and had approached Merlin in the first place. His face was like a blank canvas as he stared Merlin down in disapproval, it was as if Uther hated the mere sight of Merlin standing there.
It made Merlin more and more nervous, sure that he was about to be carted off by guards and escorted straight to the dungeons. Was it because he had used magic and Uther had somehow found out? Was it because he had failed so utterly in the council meeting-even if it had turned out he was right-and the king hadn't forgiven him for it? Was it because the king knew he wasn't fit to stand here among the nobles unless it was with a serving platter in hand as he worked the party, instead of trying to enjoy himself with the rest of them after a hard's day work.
For being consort, Merlin thought, someone who had been invited to the party, he did feel as if he was completely unwelcomed. In fact, if Uther didn't think it would be bad form or if he thought it would somehow 'reveal the real reason for his marriage to Arthur' Merlin had no doubt that he would have been tossed out on his arse already. The doors slamming into his face and muffling the laughter of all those people who were determined to be 'far, more important' then anybody else.
"Consort Merlin," Uther said, snapping Merlin and his attention back to the king from where he had wondered into depressing thoughts. It was Merlin's new 'title' that the king said with a sort of sneer in his voice, as if Uther did not believe that the boy had a real title at all, even though he had witnessed it being given to him during the wedding. "I believe that you had something more...appropriate...to wear for the evening."
Merlin's gaze shot down to look at his normal clothes, wincing as he realized where the odd conversation was going. Uther, just as he did not like being challenged inside of the council chambers, probably did't like that Merlin had shown up in such clothes. For a man that was like Uther, appearances were everything that counted. It was bad enough that Merlin had the nerve to run around during the day in the peasant clothing, but to actually come to the party with the same outfit? Camelot would no doubt start to think of the royal family rather poorly if they were thought to not be able to dress their own.
Merlin swallowed hard, before looking up at the glare on Uther's face, like they were two swirls of pure nothingness. Like a chilling kind of abyss one could get stuck in, a darkness he would never be able to find his way out of no matter how hard he tried. "...I do have a very reasonable explanation for this." Merlin tried to say, his tongue feeling strangely thick in his mouth, making it kind of hard for him to talk straight.
Uther did not seem to be amused by him at all, if the-somehow-darkening of his eyes were anything to go by. "Was the clothing my 'personal' tailor sent up to you not to your liking?" As if he thought it was ridiculous that a peasant boy would ever complain of having such fine clothing brought to him. And while being paid for by the Royal Treasury, so that the boy himself did not have to pay for it.
"No, no, that's not it at all!" Merlin stuttered as he shook his hands out in front of him as if to wave the idea away. Uther looked down his nose at Merlin's hands, as if they offended him. It took Merlin a minute to figure out that waving his hands was probably a more than likely-peasant-trait. And he was quick to drop his hands down at his sides, not wanting to give the king anything else to want him to be executed for. "I just...earlier, your son called me a dirty peasant..." as if this was going to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for his state in clothing.
There was still no expression on the king's face for a long second, and it looked as if he was trying to stare into Merlin's very soul in that moment. As if he was trying to figure out rather or not Merlin was lying to him about it all. After a long moment where there was this silence that seemed to drag on for ages, the king finally said, "And so, this is your way of getting back at my heir?"
Despite the fancy use of the word 'heir' when he could have just said 'son', Merlin was quick to nod his head rapidly, "Yes, yes. I was trying to get back at him." And then Merlin held his breath as if he thought he had said to much by this. The king already hated him for simply existing in the orbit of his 'precious' kingdom, it wouldn't be smart for Merlin to just go and give the man something else to hate him for. Maybe him showing up at one of these fancy parties was a mistake. What Merlin should be doing was locking himself in his room, before trying to study some more of his magic book, if only to consider other spells he may just be able to use to save Arthur's life the next time somebody was trying to kill him. At least then he would still be riding off the waves of pure euphoric that he had before everything went downhill.
Uther's lipped seemed to have thinned much more because they looked near white by this point, "Just like you did when you had those servants serving my son bread and water as we dined with the son's of my most important allies. I assume that there was a reason that was done as well?"
Merlin winced at the reminder. There was just to much going on, that he had forgotten what he had done earlier. In his defense, the prince was being an arse who deserved it. But it was also probably not his smartest move as he had briefly disturbed the king's dinner. It was no wonder that Uther seemed to hate him.
"Er, yes sire." Merlin agreed awkwardly, but he also gave no explanation as for why Arthur had deserved the bread and water. It was no business of the king, if he couldn't ask Merlin what his son had done. Merlin didn't think the king would be all to concerned over anything his son had done, as long as it didn't disrupt the kingdom. Which Merlin had done...far to many times already...shit, no wonder the king 'really' hated him.
Uther seemed to straighten up a bit, as if he somehow thought he wasn't already, so that he could loom more threateningly over Merlin and the table behind them. "As I'm sure that even you're feeble brain is able to understand," the word 'feeble' left Merlin bristling. "You will of course, have to stop these untoward and very public-pranks-" Uther spit this word out as if it was something foul, something that was so utterly...peasant...that it disgusted him. "Onto my son."
Merlin's mouth suddenly got away from him again as he said, "I don't think I can promise that." And then he immediately wanted to crawl into this black hole and die from how the king looked at him, as if he would be happy to burn him alive right there and then if he could. But not even the king could get away with something so horrific. Merlin thought with this bitterness that it would probably be seen as-politically wrong-to burn your son's consort during this fancy party. To hell with the peasant boy, and all that jazz that was mucking up their 'family line' or whatever else nobles sprouted about all the time.
It was only when Uther's glare turned almost withering did Merlin realize the king was still waiting for something. Merlin flushed and he was quick to bow to the king, "I mean, I will of course, do my best to remember, sire." But he still wasn't entirely sure if he would keep that word. If Arthur started acting like an ass then Merlin's only choice may be to 'prank him' as the king had worded it. But he'd be willing to say almost anything at this point, to get King Uther to leave him alone so that he could go back to his suffering in silence.
Uther seemed to accept this answer because his glare melted off his face. The king looked as if he was still carved from stone, but there was at least no more glare directed straight at Merlin. "The next time there is an event at this castle," the king sneered at the thought of Merlin being invited to anymore festivities hosted at the castle. "I suggest that you will be clothed properly, or I may just have you removed completely."
Merlin lamented internally at the thought of wearing those clothes to the next one, which could be soon for all he knew. The castle did seem to have a lot of events and such going on. There had already been plenty since he'd gotten here only two weeks ago (his wedding and the tourney, and the meet-and-greet, as well as the king's dinner, and now this party if one was keeping track of individual moments inside of the bigger events). "Of course, sire." He agreed, just knowing that he was going to be hating the next party already. Especially if he had to go about dressed up as if he was now better then where he had came from. If only the people in Ealdor could see him now, how high he had came up, or how low he was as it all depended on one's point of view.
"Enjoy the party." Those were Uther's parting words before he left Merlin behind at his little table. Merlin watched him go with a frown, as those words sounded more like he was being threatened then anything else. As if the king was telling Merlin he'd better leave before he embarrassed the royal family anymore by just his presence. Without actually having to say the words themselves.
Merlin shook his head and angrily grabbed up another grape from the platter he had been eyeing up. His stomach still churned with an upset manner, but he determinedly shoved a grape between his teeth and bit down on the round fruit harshly. The juice and flavor burst across his tongue as he stayed exactly where he was. As long as Uther didn't outright order his removal from the party, Merlin was going to stay right here.
Uther may never admit that Merlin had been right about the snakes. He may never admit that there had been truth in Merlin's words. It may never be an apology Merlin would hear from Uther, but that was okay. After the king had all but dragged him here, and forced him to marry his son just because of this piece of paper written over twenty years ago, Merlin was not looking for Uther's approval.
If only Merlin realized then what a mistake it was to not leave. If only Merlin had realized it then, that staying at this party would be just one big mistake. If only Merlin had taken the chance to escape while he still could, then he may not had ended up where he had after the party. If only he knew...but he didn't...and so he stayed, shoving grape after grape into his gullet.
X
At the exact moment Merlin started chowing down on his grapes in full, Arthur was feeling frustrated just outside the grand hall. He held out his arm to Morgana and said gruffly, "Let us just get this over with."
For a party that was in his honor, he did not look as if he was in a very 'party' mood. And Morgana picked up on this in a near instant.
"You sure do know how to woo a girl, Arthur Pendragon." Morgana drawled out because she was looking decidedly unimpressed with his manners. Or lack, thereof. "The least you can do is look excited. Or do you expect that Merlin will be happy to see that scowl on your face?"
The scowl on Arthur's face seemed to darken because every conversation he had seemed to eventually turn onto Merlin in some way. It was very unsettling, and if Arthur didn't feel so guilty, if he didn't feel as if what happened to Merlin was somehow his fault for not being able to see the signs earlier, he would most definitely have said something to the Lady for this. But as it was, he had this uncomfortable weight inside his chest that was screaming at him to keep an eye on Merlin. The longer he'd gone without having his eyes somewhere on Merlin, the faster it would be for another to try and sink their claws into the boy's naive and innocent flesh.
Arthur bowed mockingly to the lady and held out his arm more forcefully, to match just how forceful his polite and practiced smile was on his face, "My Lady." He said in the way only a gentlemen would.
If Morgana saw how forceful his actions were, as if he didn't want to do them at all, the lady didn't say anything, which Arthur would find himself to be internally grateful for. The Lady gave Arthur a ladylike curtsy of her own, and lifted up the ends of her dress in each hand as she did so, "My Champion." She said as if they were playing some kind of game, where she was the winner. But Morgana finally took his arm and allowed him to lead her into the grand hall.
Most of the crowd seemed to turn to them as they entered, drawn in by Arthur's extremely princely presence, or maybe just because of the golden crown perched on his brow.
Arthur's smile turned less forceful and more humbled politeness as the crowd clapped for his entrance, as he had plenty of practice for moments such as this. He bowed his head as to show his grace, and to give off any kind of expression of shyness, as if this attention to his victory was an embarrassment to him. He knew exactly how to play the crowd, his act of shyness seeming to rile them up just a bit more then they already were.
And the very few that hadn't realized he had entered were quickly notified by the announcer by the door, blowing his horn hard to crease any of the chattering nobles. Within seconds, it had the entirety of the hall turning to look towards the door with hopes of welcoming the prince to the party.
"My honorable guests." Uther spoke up, his voice booming loud enough to be heard over the entirety of the hall, stretching his arms out as if he was personally welcoming Arthur and Morgana to the party. He didn't need to yell though, because the entire crowd did go silent as he uttered his first words, "I give you Prince Arthur, your champion!"
If one bothered to look close enough, then they would have seen the rare glimmer of pride that was reflecting in the king's eye as he announced his heir's presence.
The entirety of the court seemed to get riled up all over again. There were screams as well as the nobles clapped their hands harshly at the prince's arrival, even the servants got into it by stomping their feet to make them louder then they already were.
If anybody thought it was strange that Arthur had shown up to the party in attendance with the king's ward instead of his new consort, it went unasked. If anybody thought it was odd that the consort hadn't shown his face to the party, well, there was an explanation going on for that. Whispers among the nobles erupting throughout the party later on would make the claim that 'Consort Merlin' was to horrified by what had happened at the council meeting to show his face. That he was too embarrassed to greet his people because he had not only humiliated Arthur, but also because he felt as if he could not face the king after having the nerve to argue with him in his own council.
Nobody cared enough to mention that Merlin had been right about Valiant.
And nobody would bother to notice poor scrawny Merlin standing off to the side, stuffing his face because he was involved in the party but not included in the festivities. Nor would they notice the frown growing on his face as he saw Arthur and Morgana entering arm in arm, looking like the perfect picture of what a royal couple should look like.
