One of my friends sent me one of this emails and while I read it with absolutely no intention of passing it on in any form, I found myself thinking of scenarios and hence this Fanfiction was created. Sorry.
SLASH references: Merlin/Arthur
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Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
Arthur was very observant. He was a Prince, it was his job to read people and quickly asses them – were they a threat? Were they being sincere? Did they need his help or were they trying to trick him? People often seemed to overlook this facet of him, believing him to be arrogant, only looking out for himself. But he was a Prince; his people always came first. They had to, or there was no point in being a Prince. In the course of his habit of practising his observing skills in court he noticed something interesting…and surprising. His manservant, Merlin.
Aside from being possibly the most irritating person on the planet he also had the most beautiful smile Arthur had ever seen. He was charming and innocent (he had stroked a unicorn for Pete's sake…and hadn't understood the implications!!) and his smile seemed to reflect every facet of his personality – his shyness, his innocence, his humour, even the deepest of his secrets in the way he would smile to try and change the subject. And the way his eyes would catch the smile and brighten it. No one else Arthur had ever met could smile with their eyes in the way Merlin could. It lit up the entire room, not that many people noticed, after all, he was just a servant.
Arthur noticed. He started to need to notice. He started making excuses for Merlin to be around him; not necessarily serving him, but simply being in the room. He started ordering Merlin to be present at feasts, frankly so he could observe Merlin interacting with other people. People that weren't Arthur, Merlin always seemed more reserved around Arthur. It hurt slightly, but he understood, or tried to. Arthur was a Prince and Merlin was a servant, there would always be things Merlin could not do or say, even if he was far more outspoken than a servant should be anyway!
Arthur sat at the high table, picking at his food and watching Merlin. He tried to pay attention to what his father and Morgana were saying, but his mind was elsewhere as he watched Merlin talking with Gwen. Gwen was the best person for Merlin to talk to because he was so open with her. Arthur was mildly jealous at his openness, but partially relished it if he could see Merlin's smile. He watched as they chatted and then Merlin's mouth quirked up on one side as he glanced round the room, the ridiculous feathers on his hat bobbing along. Arthur tried to hide his own smile in his goblet of wine as he watched Merlin look around the room, as if his fantastically dark eyes were searching for someone. Which was odd, as servants were in their usual places serving their masters who were in their usual positions. Merlin finished the sweep of the room and allowed his eyes to meet Arthur's, with a smirk fixed in place.
Oh damn, thought Arthur, he noticed. Does he know? That smirk was concerning. It was sneaky. Merlin didn't do sneaky; he did honest and open, even to a fault. Arthur watched in silence as Merlin seemed to consider. Merlin's smile steadily became brighter, moving to his eyes, his lips spreading until he was grinning. The brightest thing in the room. Arthur was totally captivated. Mesmerized. Merlin grinned at him for a moment longer, then his eyes moved away and so did he. Arthur looked down at his goblet and refocused on the conversation at hand.
It had been over in a moment. But Arthur was captivated with Merlin's smile. Forever.
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