A hush had fallen around him and he turned to look back and found several dozen eyes staring at him in awe. He cared little for their unwarranted admiration and sought the one face he did care to see.
Arthur was standing where he had been, his face unreadable. Merlin grew slightly concerned. It was not often that Merlin couldn't decipher the thoughts in his friends mind and if he couldn't it usually meant Arthur was trying to puzzle something out, which was never a good sign. Despite all of Merlin's insistence that Arthur was an idiot he knew this not to be the case and had always counted on the prince's lack of noticing the odd things that occurred around him. Merlin prayed that this was not to be an exception to Arthur's blindness rule.
"You alright, Arthur," Merlin called, trepidation creeping into his voice.
"You did something," Arthur said quietly, looking up at his servant for the first time.
"Come again?"
"You heard me," Arthur growled, his voice dangerously low. "You did something. You cheated!"
"I didn't," Merlin stammered, hyper aware of the fact that he had, indeed, cheated.
"You must have," Arthur snarled. "There is no other way you could have beaten me!"
"Could you be more arrogant," Merlin snapped, anger creeping into his words.
Arthur had no idea, no idea at all, how powerful Merlin really was. He tried not to let Arthur's belief that his servant was useless get to him, but every so often he got the strongest urge to wipe Arthur's self-satisfied smirk off his face.
Arthur opened his mouth to reply with something he was sure he would regret, but was stopped by a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked around and was surprised to see Leon standing calmly behind him, his face passive and unreadable.
"Sire," he said gently. "How could he have cheated? He had no opportunities to sabotage the arrows before the bet was made and they were all gathered from your locked stash. It wouldn't be possible and even if it were, it's Merlin. Its doubtful that he would do something like that."
Merlin felt a rush of shame at Leon's words of praise. The thought that Leon had enough belief in his character to find the idea of him cheating unrealistic was something very special indeed. It almost made him sad to disappoint the man's expectations of him, but he reminded himself that he wasn't hurting Leon or anyone else for that matter. His only goal was to remind the prince that arrogance wasn't something anyone liked. He had done this the only way he knew how.
Arthur was quiet for a long moment, allowing Leon's words to sink in. He knew, of course, that his manservant hadn't cheated. It would have been impossible for him to do so. The ache of defeat, however, was never something Arthur suffered lightly and found his thoughts flashing to what his father would think if he ever discovered that his son was beaten by a mere serving boy. These thoughts made it difficult for him to accept that he had lost and it wasn't until Leon's quiet, chastising words that Arthur realized he was making a bit of a prat of himself.
He sighed, reluctantly turning to face his servant once more.
"He's right," Arthur said between gritted teeth. "Merlin, I shouldn't have accused you of cheating. I reacted horribly and I'm-"
Merlin had been sure that Arthur was about to apologize and he felt sure that the words would encompass more than Arthur accusing him of foulplay. The servant knew how difficult apologies were for Arthur, especially when they were being made to him. He struggled with the words at the best of times and now, with all of his men watching, Merlin knew it would be near impossible for him to force it past his lips. Merlin decided to save his friend the embarrassment.
"I don't want any apologies from you," he said smiling. "My only satisfaction will be the sight of you cleaning out the stables this week."
Arthur smiled and looked at his servant with gratitude. His words let the prince know that his attempted apology was understood and received while saving him the embarrassment of having to get the words past the lump in his throat. Sometimes he loved Merlin, despite his general uselessness for anything other than annoying him.
"Perhaps it will finally get done right for a change," Arthur quipped, grateful for the banter between them.
"Please," Merlin sighed. "Do you even know how to use a pitchfork?"
"Better than you, surely."
"Care to make another bet?"
"You can't be serious, Merlin. You may have beaten me once, but do you really want to push your luck like that?"
"I bet you won't last a day before you quit," Merlin smirked.
"Your on," Arthur crowed. "If I win you have to serve dinner to my father for an entire week."
"Now hold on a second," Merlin cried, unsure how far he wanted this bet thing to go. "That's a little harsh, don't you think?"
"Absolutely not," Arthur replied. "Those are my conditions. What are yours?"
"If I win," Merlin said, thinking for a moment, before a slow smile spread across his face. "If I win you have to serve ME dinner for an entire week."
Arthur snorted at the ridiculousness of that idea. What would his father think if he found him serving food to the young man before him? He would just have to win the bet then. The two shook hands once more and Merlin smiled to himself. He could win this bet without using magic at all.
The knights had returned to their drills, knowing that once the two men got started it would take an act of God to get them to stop. The excitement of that day was something no knight would ever forget, however. When things got difficult and Arthur was being particularly tyrannical the men would smile at the sight of their sovereigns face as he was beaten by the most unlikely character.
