A/N: Sorry for the wait! I was busy, but it's here now! ENJOY!
Chapter Five:
"Rise and shine!" Merlin bellowed while drawing back the window curtains.
Arthur just groaned, making no move to get up. Smiling mischievously, Merlin pulled the blanket off of the king's bed, causing Arthur to come down with it. He got up quickly, and grabbed the nearest goblet, throwing it at the already retreating figure of Merlin. He ducked with ease, laughing at his friend's antics.
"Why can't you ever stay still?"
Impishly, Merlin responded, "That would take the fun out of it."
As always, while the king ate, Merlin did his chores, informing his master of his schedule. Training with the round-table knights was first on the list. Arthur had an idea to make the experience much more entertaining.
The two went to the training field, Merlin fully intending to sit at the side, just watching his friends train. Arthur decided that was not going to happen.
Striding over to his servant, he said, "Come on Merlin, let's see if you're actually as good as you say."
Disobedient as ever, Merlin replied, "No thanks."
Of course, good ol' Gwaine decided to try to convince him otherwise. "What's the harm in a little bit of fun, eh?"
Merlin raised his eyebrows skeptically, and sighed. They really were thick, weren't they? He gestured around the training field.
"Anyone could see. My cover could be blown. I will not take such risks for the sake of fun."
Even though they were the only ones there, Merlin was right. Anyone could watch, and that could reveal his secret. Arthur had a solution.
"Fine, not here. How about the clearing where I killed the dragon? No-one goes to that area, and you can't see it from the castle."
It's not like he could convince them to drop the idea, and he had an itch to deflate the king's head a little. As such, Merlin agreed to do so, on a condition.
"If I do this, you will agree to not even try to get me to do this again. Any of you."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
The walk was silent, eager anticipation filling the air. When they arrived, the knights decided that they would send Elyan to fight Merlin. After all, he had the least skill compared to the others, even if he was among the top. They didn't want to hurt Merlin's pride too much. Little did they know that it would not be Merlin's pride that would be tarnished.
"This will be a fight until surrender. The weapon is swords. No killing is allowed. Try to get your opponent to surrender by any means necessary. I strongly advise you to not actually hurt each other," he paused, making sure that both parties understood the rules. "Begin."
Merlin had a very good advantage. He had been watching Elyan train for a long time, and could anticipate his moves. Elyan had never seen Merlin properly train, so he could not do the same. They circled each other, neither making the first move.
Suddenly, Elyan charged at Merlin, trying to use the element of surprise to get him. Expecting this, Merlin danced out of the way and kicked Elyan's legs, causing him to momentarily lose balance. Merlin retreated before Elyan could retaliate. He knew Elyan wasn't tired enough to surrender, so he decided to slowly edge him on, almost teasing him with the way he didn't mercilessly attack him.
Sometimes, Merlin would fake an attempt to attack, just to annoy him. After about the fourth time, Merlin actually attacked Elyan, catching him off-guard. Their swords clashed against each other, trying to gain dominance. That's what Elyan thought, at least.
Merlin pulled his sword away, twirling away from Elyan's. The man stumbled because of the sudden movement, and Merlin took the opportunity. He swiftly kicked Elyan's back, causing him to fall to the ground. Before he could stand up, Merlin stepped onto him, hit the man's sword away, and held his own sword at Elyan's back, the point just touching.
"I surrender," Elyan said.
Elyan was panting, sweat trickling down his face. Merlin helped his friend up, and they shared a grin.
Leon, who was paying close attention to Merlin, noticed something.
"Why aren't you sweating? You're not even trying to catch your breath! It's almost as if you were... As if you were... You were going easy on him, weren't you?"
Though his acting skills were great, the evidence spoke for itself. Merlin didn't respond, and just took a drink from his water-skin, pretending to not have heard Leon's question. The fight took about twelve minutes, and walking all the way to the clearing took some time, so they had less than thirty minutes remaining. Only one more person could fight against Merlin before they had to go.
"I'll fight against you," Arthur declared.
Merlin wasn't surprised. Of course, Arthur would want to fight against him. He nodded, and the same rules as before were explained by Leon. Before he could tell them to start, Merlin asked, "What's in it for me?"
The knights stood confused. Arthur inquired, "What do you want?"
"I want tomorrow off, if I win."
Arthur looked incredulous. As if Merlin could win!
"Fine. If I win, you'll muck out the stables everyday for the next week."
"Alright."
The two men grasped forearms. The deal was made. They got into their fighting stances as Leon called "Begin."
Again, Merlin had the advantage of knowing how Arthur fights. He could worry that Arthur had a good guess on how Merlin fights, but he doesn't need to. The way he fights changes with each opponent, only one thing staying constant. Strategy.
Arthur was also a strategic fighter, but he was easily blinded by his ego. Merlin used that to his advantage by using the same strategy he used on Elyan. He was smart enough to not make the first move. Arthur was stronger than Merlin, and he needed to use that strength and momentum against him.
In the end, Arthur got tired of waiting for the first move and feigned a swing at Merlin. Again, Merlin had expected this, and did not react. He just stood there, waiting for Arthur to make the first move. He had learned the value of patience.
Arthur lunged at Merlin, who ducked under the blade, and jokingly swiped at the king's feet. He knew he was too far away to hit him, but it would still make Arthur tick. His ego was at stake, and he couldn't lose to Merlin. Merlin didn't feel the same way.
Annoyed by the lack of response coming from Merlin, he tried to hit Merlin again, but he deflected the sword. Again, Arthur tried to hit Merlin, and was much more direct with it. The sword aimed towards his servant's heart, and he hoped that it would scare him into fighting.
Merlin quickly parried with Arthur, and then pretended to aim for the man's right, before hitting his left. To make Arthur believe he would actually try to hit the right, he had been looking at it quite a few times throughout the battle. Of course, Arthur tried to stop the sword from hitting his right, and was too late to stop Merlin from hitting his left. The servant made sure he didn't put too much force into that, but since the prat had armour on, he knew Arthur would be fine.
While Arthur was still recovering from the blow, Merlin hit his sword, causing it to fall out of the king's grasp. He then proceeded to kick Arthur's shin, where he would not be expecting it. It's not like he expected Arthur to fall yet. Merlin sent another kick, towards the man's right side, abdomen, and then at his lower back. He put lots of pressure on the back, making sure he would fall.
Merlin put the sword at Arthur's throat, and looked at him expectantly.
"I surrender," he whispered, defeat evident.
All the knights cheered, Gwaine the loudest, at this development. Merlin held out his hand, and Arthur allowed himself to be pulled up by him.
"I guess I won't be seeing you tomorrow then," Merlin joked.
Arthur rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. The group walked back, Gwaine making a comment every now and then, causing everyone but Arthur to laugh.
After finishing his work for the day, Merlin went back to his chambers. Spotting Gaius, he said, "Guess who has tomorrow off?"
He expected to have a good sleep. He didn't have to worry about Arthur tomorrow. He could spend the whole day lounging around. For some reason, he just couldn't sleep. It felt as though something bad was going to happen tomorrow. When he was about to finally drift off into the dream world, he felt a bitterly cold chill.
An unpleasant tingling sensation ran through him, making his head spin. His head started to throb, painfully. If he wasn't already lying down, he probably would have collapsed, but that wasn't stopping him from going unconscious. Just before Merlin blacked out, he was able to recognize what the feeling was. Magic. Powerful, dark magic.
A/N: I just realised that I changed the name of the lord while writing! Whoops! His name is now Arnid. If you find any more mistakes, please tell me about them!