"Merlin, can you, for once, not be so absolutely useless?" Arthur snapped as Merlin struggled to remove the other's armour.
"Sorry, sire." Merlin said. Leon looked over amused as Merlin finally managed to take the new chest plate off. It had a strange new way of tying so Merlin took a little longer than usual. It didn't help that his fingers were numb in the cold air of the training grounds. "This new style doesn't seem very practical. The straps are flimsy." Merlin said.
"And what would you know about armour?" Arthur scoffed.
"I spoke to Gwen about it when you first received the gift." Merlin said.
"Oh, well, in that case she may be right." Merlin rolled his eyes at that which Arthur saw and glared at him, shaking his head. "Just bring my normal chest plate." Arthur said. Merlin got that one on in less than a minute and Arthur stormed back into the training field.
Merlin sighed, slouching where he stood.
"You should take a seat, Merlin. You've been standing the whole time we've been here." Leon said, coming over, taking a drink from his water skin. Merlin looked surprised at him and looked down, heat creeping up his cheeks. As if he could sit down with how he was feeling.
"I'm fine, sir Leon." Clearly the knights still hadn't heard the rumour that the palace staff seemed to know. Most of them anyway.
"You look cold." Leon added. Merlin shivered a little and smiled.
"It's going to snow soon." Merlin said. Leon looked up at the clear sky, an icy gust of wind sweeping through Merlin's core.
"You think so? All the more reason to dress more warmly then." Leon said and went back to train. Merlin rubbed his arms together. As if he had time to get himself anything warmer. He had money, what else was he supposed to spend it on if not himself? After sending his mother half of his earnings he'd saved the rest, since Gaius always looked after him for free. The problem was that he never had free time.
Speaking of Gaius… he hadn't been to see the physician since they last spoke. Merlin was almost afraid to face him.
oOoOoOo
Arthur didn't miss Merlin's shivering. He could feel Merlin's fingers twitching from the cold and could hear his teeth clattering while he was helping him with his armour.
He could also see him avoiding the stump he usually used as a stool. Arthur wondered why. It couldn't be that he was hurt from what they'd… Arthur looked away. He shouldn't think about that. It was shameful enough that he had to do it, even if Merlin insisted that it wasn't his fault. Even if Merlin insisted that he was happy to serve. That just made Arthur feel even more vile. He didn't want to be served that way.
When training finished, Merlin prepared his bath. Arthur stepped into the water and turned to Merlin. "Get in with me." He said. Merlin slowly began to undress and Arthur looked away. When Merlin got in with him, he heard him sigh and saw him shiver as the heat slowly seeped into his skin. "Are you in pain?" He asked.
Merlin looked at him and shook his head. "No…" He said.
"You're lying. You are in pain." Arthur said with a frown. "Did I hurt you?"
Merlin looked uncomfortable with the question. "I'm sore, that's all."
"Sore?" Arthur asked confused. He'd used the oils… wasn't that enough to stop soreness? He wasn't horribly rough, like he'd seen once upon a time during his 'lessons', and Merlin sounded like he'd been enjoying it, but what did he know? He didn't know, that was the problem. He was taught the mechanics of how to do things, he definitely wasn't taught how to make it feel good for the man underneath. After all, that's not what they were there for, according to anyone who'd ever spoken to him about it.
"Shall I wash your back, sire?" Merlin asked. Arthur nodded, turning his back to Merlin, letting the other wash him. Merlin's fingers were still cold from being outside too long and Arthur looked down.
"Why did you agree to this, Merlin?" Arthur asked.
"Because, as your servant I can watch your back better. I get to look out for you." Merlin said and it almost made Arthur laugh as he turned to look back at him.
"You're my saviour, is that it?" Arthur asked.
"Do you know how many times I've had to save your royal backside?" Merlin asked and Arthur laughed softly.
"Good to see your sense of humour is still intact." Arthur said and Merlin smiled, that suspicious little smile that always made Arthur suspect he was hiding something.
"Anything else, my lord?"
Arthur shook his head and lay his head back. "No, just sit here with me." He said. "It feels like it might snow soon." Arthur said.
"I thought so too." Merlin said, sitting back and looking a bit more relaxed.
"I'd like for us to go to the market district this evening. There's some items I'd like to buy." Arthur said.
"After lunch with your father?" Merlin asked.
"Precisely." Arthur said. "Right, lets go." They got out of the water together. Arthur did what he could getting dressed, but Merlin was much faster than him and was done fast enough to step close and tighten his trousers, straightening out his shirt, reaching up to fix his collar. Arthur stared into Merlin's deep blue eyes, which glanced up and locked onto his. They'd often made this kind of eye-contact before in dire situations. It had always been rather charged. Only this time, it was even more intense. Arthur began to lean in and saw a flicker of panic fill Merlin's eyes. Arthur froze and moved away.
What was that? Why did he almost kiss Merlin? And why did the moment of fear in Merlin's eyes terrify him so much?
"Lets go, I can't be late." Arthur said and made his way out the door, Merlin following just behind him.
Arthur went to sit down and watched Merlin as he went to find a jug of wine.
oOoOoOo
Merlin distracted himself from looking at the king by going to the servant table, filled with extra jugs of wine and water.
Merlin reached to grab one when the attendant smacked his hand away and then looked at his own in disgust.
"Don't go touching everything with your filthy hands. If you want wine for the prince, just ask." He said and passed Merlin a jug of wine that was too warm. Merlin frowned.
"This wine is warm. The prince likes his wine colder." Merlin said reaching for another jug and resisted the urge to blast the other back when he smacked him away again, looking at him like he was the most disgusting thing he'd ever touched.
Not wanting to make a scene, Merlin walked away with the jug, waiting until he was behind Arthur's chair to whisper the enchantment to cool the wine a little bit more. He filled Arthur's goblet as the royal family ate.
Morgana sat to the other side of Uther on the table, Gwen just behind, helping her with anything she needed. She looked up at Merlin and smiled softly but looked away looking uncomfortable and Merlin swallowed the painful lump in his throat as he looked away.
"The guards report that you have satisfactorily buggered your manservant like I ordered." Uther suddenly said and Morgana spat out her wine, a coughing fit ensuing as she tried to wipe away the spilt wine and rid her lungs of the beverage.
"Father!" Arthur exclaimed, horror in his voice, while Merlin wished the ground could just open up and swallow him whole. It was a stupid question to put out there, but did Uther not give a damn about another man's pride? Certainly not a servant's pride.
"I will remove the guard, but I expect no more ridiculous behaviour from you, Arthur." Uther said threateningly while Morgana was still trying to remember how to breathe.
"You ordered Arthur to what?!" Morgana whispered.
"It does not concern a lady." Uther said.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have announced it at the dinning table!" Morgana yelled. "Merlin saved Arthur's life! Multiple times! Is this the gratitude he's shown?!" She yelled.
"Do not raise your voice to your king, Morgana." Uther threatened.
"You disgust me, Uther Pendragon." Morgana hissed and stood, storming out of the dinning room. Gwen followed her closely while Merlin tried to contain the shaking of his hands.
Merlin couldn't help but feel as filthy as everyone thought him to be. Arthur looked up at him for a second before staring at his meal without any appetite.
"Father, I did what you asked, why humiliate me further like this?" Arthur asked.
"Because I am the king and it suits me to humiliate you the way you humiliated me by trying to get into bed with a visiting noble lady." Uther snapped. Arthur looked like he was about to announce exactly what Merlin told him had happened but he held himself back.
"May I be excused?" Arthur asked.
"Get out of my sight." Uther said and Arthur didn't take long to get up. "Oh, Merlin," Merlin flinched, turning to Uther who threw a bag of gold at him. "For your extra… services." Merlin stared at the money and put it back down, inclining his head.
"Father!" Arthur was outraged but there was nothing he could do.
"No thank you, your majesty." Merlin said as neutrally as he could manage. Uther's insult was clear. He was paying him like anyone would pay a whore and Merlin wanted to let his raging magic lose on all of Camelot so they could all see that he was no one to be ridiculed like this.
Arthur continued toward the door and Merlin followed closely. "Merlin… I deeply apologise for what my father did in there." Arthur said.
"You haven't done anything wrong, sire. I don't need your apology." He said looking down.
"Let's just go to the market and forget this unfortunate incident." Arthur said. Merlin had no problem with that instruction. The problem was whether the other servants and the guards and Morgana and Gwen would be able to forget it.
From the secretive looks and smirks and whispers Merlin figured that wouldn't happen. Arthur didn't seem to notice anything, but now that Merlin was aware that the servants knew, he was hyper-aware of every look they sent him.
He was only too glad when he was out of the palace and no one looked at him judgingly. "Merlin!" Arthur snapped and Merlin looked up shocked.
"Sorry, what?" He asked as he saw Arthur holding some rabbit fur. It was pure grey with white and looked very soft.
"I asked, if you liked this." Arthur said.
"It looks lovely." Merlin said, reaching out to feel it.
"I'm going to need you to line some garments of mine with furs for the winter." Arthur said, paying for a few of the furs and placing them in the basket Merlin brought with him.
"Certainly sire." Merlin said. He watched Arthur pick up a pair of gloves, already made of the fur and turn to him.
"Try these on." Arthur said. Merlin looked at him confused but went ahead and slipped them on. They felt amazing against his cold fingers.
"They're nice." Merlin said. Arthur said nothing else as he paid the man for them. Merlin took them off, placing them in the basket.
He sighed as they carried on through the market. In his urge to get out of the palace as quickly as possible he'd forgotten his money back in his chambers. It would have been the perfect chance to buy himself things!
Too late now.
As Merlin placed Arthur's purchases on the other's table, Arthur grabbed the gloves and looked them over. "Hmm… I don't like them. You take them." Arthur said.
"What? What's wrong with them?" Merlin asked with a frown.
"I don't have to explain myself to you, Merlin, I just don't like them." Arthur said, going to his desk, to open up an unread scroll. "You keep them."
Merlin stared at Arthur for a long time and then at the gloves. It clicked fairly quickly. "You bought these for me." Merlin said, trying to hide his grin.
Arthur looked at him as if he was the stupidest person on the earth. "Of course I did not!"
"Yeah you did." Merlin said.
"Fine, don't take them then." Arthur said, reaching for them and Merlin kept them out of his reach.
"No, they're my gift." Merlin said, stepping away from Arthur's desk.
Arthur huffed and sat himself down. "The least you could say is thank you."
Merlin blinked at him confused. "Why? You just said they're not a gift." He caught the glint of fury in Arthur's eyes and rushed to grab Arthur's laundry, leaving before the other could catch his escape.
He found himself smiling for the first time in days as he walked down toward the laundry room. He didn't see the guards around the corner but he was sure they saw him. They saw him and one slammed his armoured shoulder into his quite hard.
"You're disgusting." He heard him spit out with loathing in his voice as he passed without stopping, leaving Merlin standing there, basket and clothes on the floor while his shoulder ached painfully. It wasn't even one of the guards that had kept watch outside Arthur's door.