A/N: Welcome! I present to you: Chapter 4 of Camelot Academy. It's pretty short, unfortunately, but it's setting the stage for a fun adventure in the near future. Enjoy reading it, and please review afterwards~
Merlin woke up on Monday morning with a distinct feeling of foreboding. First day of classes. Terrific.
His first class was Lessons in Noble Hierarchy, taught by Professor Telmvale. It was an hour long class, and he was not looking forward to it. At all.
And his enthusiasm for the class went down even further once he entered the classroom, realizing that neither Lancelot nor Marlet were in his class.
But Arthur was.
Great. Merlin slunk to the back of the room, and sat at a desk in the corner by a window. Just what I need, His Princeliness himself, in my class.
Luckily, Arthur didn't seem to notice him, too involved with his crew of lackeys to see him come in. He was talking animatedly with another student, a burly fellow named Harold Warblet.
Warblet, Lancelot had told him, was one of the more feared bullies at the Academy, due in large part to his muscled bulk. And he also had, of course, the air of entitlement that came from being Duke Victor Warblet's oldest son.
Merlin disliked him already, in no small part because Harold had gone out of his way to bully Marlet in the past. Something Merlin decided then and there would never happen again.
He was spared more morbid thoughts by the arrival of the teacher. Finally.
The next hour passed unbearably slowly. For Merlin, at least. The rest of the class seemed content to listen to the teacher blather on about the structure of a fiefdom.
Well, Arthur seemed to be an exception. He looked beyond bored.
He's a sword-swinging type, Marlet had told Merlin. He's inclined towards knighthood, not scholarly pursuits.
Well, that explained a lot. Like why Arthur had chosen to toss him around a bit instead of just reporting him to the headmaster like any other student would have done. He'd have wanted to deal with the problem himself, instead of running to an authority figure.
Then again, Merlin mused, he's sort of an authority figure on his own, isn't he? Crown prince and all that.
As if picking up on Merlin's thoughts, the prince in question suddenly noticed him, and grinned.
Merlin jumped in his seat, startled by the suddenness of it. He frowned. What's he want?
Arthur glanced at the teacher, and when the man was facing away from the class for a moment, the prince took advantage of the moment to toss a wad of paper across to him.
He stared at it. And then looked up to stare at Arthur.
The prince waved a hand at him, as if to say 'Hurry up and read it'.
He frowned, and unfolded the paper.
You look like you find this just as boring as I do, the note said.
Merlin blinked. Then picked up his quill. That would be because it's boring. And he tossed the paper back.
Arthur muffled his snort, and quickly scrawled something else on the paper before passing it back.
Want to leave?
The school? Merlin wrote, confused.
No, moron. The class. It's boring, we should leave.
Merlin frowned. We can't just get up and go.
I'll take care of it.
Merlin looked at him. Arthur was a prince, but even princes couldn't just get up and walk out in the middle of class. He was about to write something back when an ink well came sailing through the air to hit him in the face, splattering him with ink.
"Pendragon!" the teacher barked. "What is the matter with you?"
"Oh, well." Arthur shrugged. "I didn't like the look of his tunic. Figured I should…you know, add a bit of color."
"Since when is black a color?" Merlin demanded.
Arthur just rolled his eyes.
"Both of you, get out." The teacher ordered. "This class isn't for personal tiffs."
Arthur flashed a charming smile and strode out of the room. Merlin hesitated, and then followed the prince out of the room.
"So," Arthur said cheerfully, turning around to face him once they reached the main hallway. "Where to now?"
A/N: Okay, so it wasn't as long as I thought it'd be. But it brings the promise of adventures in the next chapter. Just imagine, Arthur and Merlin set loose on the school campus together. What trouble will they get themselves into? ; P
Oh, and just to tease you, here's a preview of next time (like they do at the ends of episodes, yes?):
~Next time on Camelot Academy~
Merlin: We were just kicked out of class.
Arthur: Perfect time for a stroll…
...Merlin:…The western woods are full of monsters.
Arthur: Exactly…
...Merlin: That's a chimera.
[roar]
Merlin: Still having fun?
Arthur: Run!