Tension ahead!.. :/ And for the love of Camelot, put your pitchforks down! Merlin will wake soon~ 8D and you wouldn't want to scare him with sharp objects now would you?

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Mush! Mush! On-wards with the fic~!

.*.

The guards glanced at each other wearily. What they wouldn't give to be mucking out the stables right now.

The yelling had been going on for more then a half an hour now, behind the doors they were guarding, and they couldn't be certain they wouldn't get involved, should one of the arguing men screaming themselves hoarse, rush out and decide to use them as stress relieving dummies; or dreaded being summoned by the king to restrain the prince.

As it was, the king was arguing with his son behind those guarded doors, and it was probably the nastiest and ugliest fight the walls of Camelot had ever heard. – It was a wonder the tapestries and the shields weren't falling off their pegs.

"You made him my servant because he saved my life! And not so long ago he even talked me out of killing YOU!" Arthur thundered; his eyes were on fire, and by this time Uther started to get that uneasy feeling he would lose a little more then an argument if he pushes on.

There certainly was improvement in his son's condition; King Uther had to give credit for that.

Arthur had slept the day away from that potion Gaius had him drink; only waking in the evening, and even then only having the will to down some broth and some more medicine, going back to sleep until late in the following morning.

But he was different the next time he woke and he was wide awake.
He had a strange determination on him, even if he still was pale and would sway every once in a while, he kept his expression firm as he headed to the royal chambers. Any further postponing in seeing the king would seem childish, so Arthur was intent on talking to his father.

At first, Uther seemed relieved to see him, and asked careful questions about his health, and even more careful questions about their capture, and Arthur gave guarded and short replies, including only facts; plain and simple facts. - all of it feeling like a walk in a field of hidden bear-traps. But then his father started asking other kinds of questions and things got out of control. – The bear-traps snapped viciously at the trigger.

The conversation had slipped way off it's course somewhere around Uther's suggestion that Arthur should find himself another servant; and from there on things escalated; and roared up; and went downhill so fast the king wasn't even sure how they got there.

He eyed his son with seething anger, and maybe a bit of surprise; and Arthur met his gaze with just as much fury. He would have to do the right thing, the king thought; he will have to teach his son a lesson.

"I am your king…" he roared and hissed between his teeth, shaking in body, face red with boiling anger and with a glare bordering madness in his eyes; and he looked down on his son, willing him to give in and bow his head to his king's decisions; and make him submit by any means.

But Arthur said nothing. He just looked at him clenching his jaw.

He could order the guards to restrain him, lecture him, impose his will onto him; lock him in the dungeon until he cools off; kill the troublesome servant and be done with it. A few days and his son should snap back into his old self, get him a new servant.. Should he attack, it would be treason. Arthur wouldn't be that foolish.

But then Uther recalled, it wouldn't be the first, when it came to a sword-fight between the two of them. He was the king and ruler of the land and had an army at his command, and guards outside his door, but he didn't delude himself that his son was in the prime of his age, and trained to kill since birth, he had no issue doing just that. And judging from his state of mind he only needed a bit of provocation to put his hand on a weapon. – And this time his manservant wouldn't be around to talk him out of it.. that boy..

And suddenly the king had that dread whispering into him, that that particular plan was bound to fail, and things would never again be the way they were before, even if he did go through with it all.

His son wouldn't forgive him. And there was Gaius. The old man. His old friend.

He had promised him nothing like this would ever happen again, and that promise wasn't even so far back in the past... and yet it did. It did happen. This time someone dear to his old friend being the victim.

It dawned on him that he can't get his will across and acted out, no matter how stubborn he would stand and force his son, and that realization made him angry beyond anything;it was like wind to a hissing hearth full of ember; because it all made him feel helpless. And King Uther didn't like feeling helpless. He loathed it; for it felt exactly like that day.. The day, Igrane was taken from him. He felt lost and consumed by grief and anger, but above all, he felt helpless in the face of a decision made against his will; and he didn't want to be reminded of it.

Yet Arthur just stood there.

The prince felt the burn of his adrenaline ebb away as his condition started catching up with him; and in a moment he realized once again, that yelling wont get him anywhere. Because the more the young man resisted the more Uther pressured; because his father would rather break, then to see sense in words that weren't his own; words that were someone else's view.

"I am your king.." Uther repeated, almost with a huff, clearly coming to some kind of conclusion, but still not giving up his initial ideas.

Arthur just wanted his father to.. see some sense; and for a fleeting moment the blonde dreaded to think just how far his father would go to get rid of the "problem" so he decided to switch tactics. He understood that the king just meant for a replacement, but the words just triggered something in him that was painful and it made him angry and determined not to give up Merlin, and not to let anyone take his place in any way. But now, he forced himself to calm as much as he could, willing his sight to focus by taking a few deep breaths and forced his tone to sound just like that.

"You are my father.." He said simply, even surprising himself how collected his tone sounded; quiet, almost pleading, but above all, dejected and disappointed. He realized he didn't even have to try hard, but he was still surprised at it, when the things he felt and the things he wanted to do were anything but parental love, and treason seemed like a feeble leaf in the wind in comparison to his fury a few moments ago.

"And that boy.. you just tortured, is like a son to Gaius, your friend.. and he is.. my manservant.. and I am going to keep it that way."

.*.

to Irene: Mmyes, the buildup... I'm starting to have the feeling fruit-pelting will be exchanged to clubs and pitchforks .. :s
Nice work on the exams! Hope the results are good~
Aww.. thank you for the kind words :"] And I'm glad you like it~ And thanks for the titles, will keep a note of them. And yes, "Stray Dragonlord" is getting combed through. "Growing Secrets" will be updated before that, but I'm working at it whenever I have the time. :) Glad you like that one~