"Put your back into it, Arthur," Merlin called in exasperation. "You are moving at a snails pace!"

Arthur looked back at his servant with a glare that would cause a serpent to shake in fear, but Merlin only laughed. Stupid Merlin with his stupid laugh and his stupid face. Arthur wiped sweat from his brow and wrinkled his nose distastefully at the smell of the pile at the end of his pitchfork. He tossed it in his manservant's general direction, but the man had been preparing for something like this and dodged it easily.

"Haven't you got chores to do," Arthur snapped, turning back to the task at hand.

"Nope," Merlin laughed gleefully. " I finished them all last night so I could give this delightful sight my full attention."

"Idiot."

"Clotpole."

"Oaf."

"Arthur," Merlin said, instead of rising to the bait. "You have dung dripping all over your shoes."

Arthur glanced down and sure enough manure was spread out across his boots foul smelling globs of brown and green.

"This is ridiculous," Arthur snapped, turning his heated gaze to his servant. "This isn't my job."

"We made a bet, remember," Merlin reminded him solemnly.

"To hell with the bet," Arthur exclaimed. "I'm done." He looked around until he spotted a young serving boy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Oi, you," Arthur called. "Come here for a moment."

"Arthur," Merlin scolded. "Really?"

"Its his job," Arthur replied simply, without a hint of remorse. He turned to the serving boy who stared at the prince with wide eyes. "What's your name, boy?"

"Evan, sire," the young man exclaimed, his excitement at being addressed by the prince overwhelmingly clear on his face. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Evan," the prince said kindly. "I need a bit of a favor from you. Its very important, do you think you could manage?"

"Yes sire," the boy cried gleefully. "Whatever it is I am more than happy to do it for you."

"You see," the prince said, his eyes sliding to Merlin. "Evan here knows how to properly serve a prince."

"But unfortunately for you he probably doesn't know how to serve a prat," Merlin mocked.

Evan looked from the prince to the servant in shock. He had heard of the prince's servant being slightly disrespectful, but had never believed he would go so far as to call the prince a name. He was sure he was about to see the young man severely punished and he took no joy from this prospect. He was unbelievably surprised then when he heard the prince laugh.

Arthur playfully shoved Merlin from his precarious perch on the stable door, making sure he landed in the pile of straw behind him. He would feel bad if another stew pot incident were to take place.

"Don't mind him, he's an idiot," Arthur said, turning back to the astonished boy. "I need you to muck out these stables for me this week. Can you help me?"

"Yes sire," the boy stammered.

"Evan," Merlin's voice came from behind the stable door. "You don't have to do this."

"But I want to," came the reply. "Who wouldn't want to serve the prince?"

Arthur laughed as he stepped behind the door and pulled Merlin to his feet.

"He's absolutely right," he teased, before staring at him seriously. "Just so you know my boots need to be cleaned."

Merlin rolled his eyes as Arthur walked away, the prat's arrogant strut not unlike that of a rooster.

"This is unfair," Merlin shouted after him. "We had a deal."

"Life is unfair, Merlin. After all, it made you, didn't it?"

"You still have to serve me dinner this week," he cried, not one to give up easily.

"In your dreams, Merlin!"

Merlin laughed softly and shook his head as Evan took up his place in the stable. He had never expected Arthur to honor the bets because that was just the prince. He was fair and honest when it mattered, but he never felt pressure to be anything other than what he was with Merlin. Getting out of mucking the stables or being served dinner had never been the goal of the bet and he felt that somewhere along the way Arthur had learned a lesson, though he would never admit it.

Arthur's thoughts were on Merlin as he made his way to dinner that night. His servant was a mystery to him and would probably remain so for the rest of his days. If someone had told him four years ago that his best friend would be a servant or that the love of his life would be maid, he would have laughed them from the kingdom. Yet, here he was, defying expectations and the many unwritten rules of nobility, without so much as a second thought. Arthur knew Merlin had never expected for Arthur to keep his word on the bets and he also knew that the servant felt no animosity towards him for it. That was just Merlin. Arthur knew that the man never expected anything from him other than what he was and the relief that brought him was palpable. With Merlin, and Merlin alone, he could cast off his responsibilities and throw caution to the wind. He could talk about anything he wanted, his hopes and dreams, without fear of rejection. He would, he knew, go to the ends of the earth to save his manservant if it ever came to that. He also knew that Merlin was hiding something from him. Something big. But it didn't bother him in the slightest. It didn't matter what the boy was keeping from him because, at the end of the day, Arthur knew that Merlin had Arthur's back and he, likewise, had his unlikely friends.