Out of Time

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: It has been a long wait my wonderful readers and I am so sorry. I have had a very, very hard time with my motivation and writer's block. It was only affecting certain stories, this being one of them. I'd like to say I'm over it but I don't think I am. I'm going to try my best to keep us going but there might be some gaps in the updates. But in other news, it's finally happening, we're finally starting season 2. If you guys have noticed, Arthur's been seeing a ghostly version of Addison. That is going to be a recurring theme for this season. This season is going to be rather angsty but I promise I'll be putting the cute stuff going on with Arthur and Merlin as a buffer. So I hope you guys enjoy the start of season 2, don't forget to leave a review, or a fav or a follow if you'd like to be in the shout outs and I'll see you guys next Thursday.

Shoutouts: Guest, bunnyxstar, Delapro, Yankeegirl255, Larry112011, and KristinLengeling.

Chapter 47: Out of Resentment

After a month Arthur returned to the castle. But it wasn't the same Arthur that came back. This wasn't a triumphant return, there was no joy in his eyes. He came back looking nothing like himself. Not that he lost weight, though his face did look gaunt, but just that he looked… common.

He had a patchy beard hugging his jaw line, bags under his eyes, his clothes were dirty and his boots scuffed. He looked exactly like what would have happened if Merlin wasn't there to keep him in order.

Though Merlin too was still bruised and injured by loss of Addison, when Arthur returned, he forced a happy smile onto his face to try and cheer Arthur up.

He had joked that Arthur's clothes had suffered being away from Merlin, that he would have to spend days just trying to get his boots into any sort of passable state. Normally Arthur would hit him with some banter, as witty as he could manage, but he had just looked everything over and said: "Don't waste your time, just throw them out."

Arthur usually took great pleasure in giving Merlin terribly hard tasks to finish, so Merlin was shocked at this. He didn't listen to him though. He did as he said he would. He spent days cleaning the clothes, retuning them to the pristine condition they were in before they left the castle. He had to use magic to set the boots to rights, but he got it done.

He had shown Arthur what he had accomplished but the man hadn't cared. Not that he usually did, but he just looked at all Merlin had done with a blankness in his eyes that scared Merlin. He thanked him for the job, which was completely unlike him, and then he put everything away.

Merlin was certain that after a while, Arthur would settle back into routine and become a bit of his old self again, but it had been two months since his return and he had not.

He no longer ate with his father, in fact, if he could Arthur avoided him. He said nothing to the man that he didn't have to, and everyone could tell that even Uther had no idea what to do with this treatment. Though he did sort of accept it, and just walked on eggshells around his own son.

But worst of all, cruel and mean Arthur was back. The Arthur who looked down at people and was generally a clotpole. He was back full swing. Though he was like this with everyone, he was the meanest to Merlin.

Merlin couldn't seem to please him and it got worse when Cedric showed up.

He said he was looking for work, but since Cedric had arrived, Merlin was looking the prized idiot.

It started on the hunt. Merlin used magic to defeat a giant boar that was about to trample Arthur. And Cedric took the credit for it. And it wasn't like Merlin could be like: "Uh no. That was me. I did it with my magic!"

So, Cedric got the credit and a promotion into the royal household. As Arthur's servant. Yay.

Cue to that morning, where Merlin found out that the tray for the prince had been stolen and he had to go up to Arthur's room with just bread and cheese for breakfast. He found Cedric serving Arthur from the tray that had been stolen and all his chores had been done.

But there was one thing left that he could do. And that was Arthur's most strenuous and disgusting chore. Mucking out his stables.

Merlin had left at once because the quicker he started the quicker he finished. Except part way through the work things just went blank. The next thing he knew he was looking up at Arthur. Right away he knew this was wrong, he knew he was in trouble but all he could think of was to shout: "Sire!" while he forced himself to get up.

"What are you doing?"

Merlin got up to his knees and tried to remember what happened. He had been mucking stables and then… nothing. It all went black.

But he had clearly been asleep, and Arthur had clearly caught him.

"Nothing," he said quickly as he got to his feet somewhat unsteadily. Arthur, who had been crouching above him, stayed where he was, seemingly very interested in Merlin's reaction.

"I can see that," he said.

"I wasn't sleeping," Merlin said though he must have been because how else had ended up in the hay? "I was… I was just bending down."

Now that sounded stupid even for him.

But Arthur seemed to believe him because he asked: "Looking for something?"

Yes the perfect excuse. He was, he was looking for something. "Yes."

"Perhaps we're looking for the same thing," Arthur said. Oh he was looking for something too? How fortuitous.

"What?"

Arthur made a big show of looking around. "Oh I don't know… the horses?"

"The horses?" Merlin echoed and then he too looked around. The stables were empty. "Oh."

"One mistake I can understand, everyone has a bad day now and then, but this is one thing after another!"

But Merlin couldn't understand how this happened. He put his hands to his head trying to figure this out but he couldn't remember how it was that he managed to pass out.

"I don't know what happened!"

"Sire," Cedric said appearing at the door and Merlin inwardly groaned. Oh no. He had done something. Drugged him somehow. "Please, sire. Don't be too hard on him. He's a good servant, he's just tired."

He went to put a hand to him but Merlin shrugged it off. "I am not," he snapped to the weaselly little man.

"Maybe if he had the evening off…" "—I don't want the evening off." "… a good night's rest…" "—I did not fall asleep!"

"I'm more than willing to take over his duties tonight."

Oh my god what a slimy little toad, Arthur better not… "Perhaps your right."

"No!" Merlin shouted but Arthur just pinned him with a glare.

"Shut up Merlin."

But Merlin would not be shut up. "No. Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's trying to get rid of me! And if you weren't such a clotpole you'd see that!"

"A What?" Arthur asked and Merlin had to stop and really think about what he had just said.

Clotpole. He had called Arthur a clotpole, to his face, out loud. Oh lord help him.

"Clotpole. He said clotpole."

Arthur stared at him incredulously and after a moment he said: "Cedric's right. He can look after me tonight. You can go home and think about whether or you want to be my servant or not."

Which was better than telling Merlin he was spending the night in the dungeon.

"But…" Merlin started but Arthur cut him off with a stern: "GO!"

Cedric handed him his coat, and Merlin snatched it from him. He shot one last pleading look at Arthur but the man ignored him. So Merlin stormed away.

He just wanted Arthur to trust him. And maybe he might have if the Arthur Merlin had gotten to know had come back from that journey had embarked on.

And above all he wished for Addison because if Addison told Arthur that Cedric was weaselly. He would have listened.

Cedric had worked hard to get to this moment. All so he could steal the keys to an untold treasure. Enough gems and jewels to set him up for life. He'd always be able to afford a flagon of ale. He could buy that little cottage he always wanted… or maybe a castle.

He watched Arthur open the drawer where he would keep his keys. Watched the man act… odd. In fact, he seemed to just stare endlessly into that drawer for a long while, Cedric had managed to snuff all his candles before Arthur finally shut that drawer.

Arthur climbed into bed, in all his shirtless glory. Cedric had tried not to look but he couldn't help it. Rich men like Arthur had it all. He wouldn't have to scrimp and steal for his next meal. And with looks like that women would be all over him even if he did.

"I'll be just outside in the ante room should you need me."

"That will be all, Cedric," he said as he climbed into the bed and under the covers. "Oh uh… and if you're to hear any… singing… Cedric. You needn't worry me about it. It's just the wind."

Wind that sounded like singing? Clearly this was something normal, judging by the prince's reaction. Maybe he wouldn't like to live in a castle after all.

He didn't leave the room like he said he would either. In the dark he waited for Arthur's sleeping breaths to even out before slowly sneaking over to that drawer and then quickly and silently got it open

Inside the drawer wasn't just the keys, there was this circular golden medallion. It looked well worth its weight in gold, so he picked it up too.

And then he turned around and nearly screamed in terror.

It was a ghost. A ghost girl. Translucent and pale. Hair as black as ebony, eyes the color of the sky.

And she was just staring at him.

"One for giving. Two for gain. Three for Rapture, four for pain. Five for wisdom, six for skill. But take the largest and you'll be killed."

Well what the bloody hell did that mean? Its sounded like the counting Raven's rhyme but that wasn't how it was supposed to end.

He slowly began to edge around her. But her eyes followed him. These piercing blue eyes. He figured himself safe, he figured himself good to walk away, but the second he stepped forward she was in front of him again.

"One for giving. Two for gain. Three for Rapture, four for pain. Five for wisdom, six for skill. But take that watch and you'll be killed."

Cedric didn't know what a watch was but he figured it was the other thing she had stolen. Ghosts did that sometimes, attach to things instead of places. The medallion was obviously hers. So he dropped his hold on it immediately and then sprinted away. He had the keys anyway. He could get everything he wanted and then some.

But it was the taking for that jewel that was his downfall. Breaking open that blue glowing heart is what stopped him from being Cedric and he became something else entirely. Something much, much worse than a greedy little sneak-thief.

Arthur woke up the next morning to a translucent Addison sitting cross legged on the floor. Staring up at him with those blue eyes of hers.

"Addison," he whispered softly moving right away. He noticed that she was sitting on the watch. "How did you end up there?"

"One for giving. Two for gain. Three for Rapture, four for pain. Five for wisdom, six for skill. But take on Sigan and you'll be killed."

Cornelius Sigan? The man who's tomb they had found? What did that have to do him?

He stooped down, reaching through her visage for the thing she called a pocket watch. It told time, she had told him once when her visage had appeared at the edge of his bed. It would always have the right time.

He had never told time that way before.

"I could have sworn I left you in my drawer… with the keys."

He returned to his side table, opened up the drawer where he put his keys and found them still there. He glanced back to Addison who was now standing and staring at him.

"One for giving. Two for gain. Three for Rapture, four for pain. Five for wisdom, six for skill. Trusting Cedric will get you killed."

She vanished then, leaving him alone in his bed room. This… this was odd, even for her. But he knew a warning when he heard it. And that was most definitely a warning.