A/N: This is a relatively long chapter compared to the others in this story so far. They seem to be consistently getting longer haha. I already have chapter 4 written, but I think that I'm going to try to wait a week or so to post it so that I can build up a few other chapters. Although, I'll probably cave and post it sooner than that because I have very little patience. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. I just realized, however, that I do own Fred. That's got to count for something, right? No? Well, I still think Fred is pretty awesome. Speaking of Fred, there is a lot more of him in this chapter. He also kind of reminds me of my miniature schnauzer. Except that she isn't evil. In fact, her name is Angel. Irony right there. Oh god, this was supposed to be a disclaimer wasn't it? Yes, I don't own Merlin.
Arthur walked into his chambers and was greeted by a sight not much different than when he had left to go hunting. The only change was that now his pack and a pile of unmended clothes were lying in the middle of the floor. "Merlin!" Arthur yelled.
"Yes, what sire?" asked Merlin, popping out from behind a screen.
"You were supposed to be doing something!" said Arthur. "By this point, I don't care what you do. Unpack, mend my clothes, polish my armor, do anything you like. Just do something!"
"I was just mending!" said Merlin. "You saw the shirt."
"Yes, Merlin, I saw the shirt," said Arthur slowly. "I saw the one shirt. That hardly classifies as a full day's work, however."
"I'm working on it!" said Merlin, turning his back and approaching the pile of clothes. "Prat," he added under his breath.
"Really, Merlin, do you think I'm deaf?" asked Arthur. "I can hear you, you know. And can't you come up with a new insult every once in awhile? I mean, I understand that you're inept, but even you should have the slightest bit of creativity. I've heard children give better insults."
"My insults are better than yours," Merlin replied. "Much better."
"No, they're not," said Arthur.
"Yes they are,"
"No, they're— no Merlin, I'm not starting this again," said Arthur.
"Starting what?" said Merlin innocently.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Get back to work, Merlin. It's almost evening, anyway. It's hardly like you still have a long day ahead of you. If nothing else, the sooner you finish, the more time you'll be able to spend with your puppy. I know that's what you're thinking about, so maybe if you think of it that way, you'll actually get something done."
"I am not thinking about Fred," said Merlin.
"Yes, you are," said Arthur, "but I'm willing to excuse that if you just get to work."
"Thank you, sire," said Merlin sarcastically.
"You're very welcome," Arthur replied, keeping his tone flat. "Now, I'm going to go train with my knights for awhile, so try to at least accomplish something while I'm gone."
"I'll try," said Merlin lightly as Arthur left. Arthur rolled his eyes as he walked out the door.
The moment Arthur left the room, Merlin felt his thoughts begin to wander again. His mind drifted away from the work that was ahead of him and instead focused on the image of Fred. How was Fred? Was he okay? Was he upset because Merlin wasn't there? Did he have enough food, enough water? Merlin did not know, not for sure.
"I should really work on mending Arthur's clothes," Merlin said to himself. "I really should." But by then, Merlin's feet were already carrying him out of the door, and it was too late. Merlin walked through the hallways to return to his room. It didn't take long at all before Merlin had arrived. When he walked in the door, Gaius looked up from his seat at the table.
"Merlin, what are you doing back already?" asked Gaius. "Shouldn't you be working for Arthur?"
"I just had to stop in to check on Fred," said Merlin. "It'll only take a minute."
"Okay, but then you should really get back to work," said Gaius. "It's irresponsible to shrug off your duties to take care of a puppy."
"You sound like Arthur," said Merlin, exasperated.
"Yes, well maybe Arthur is right," said Gaius.
Merlin's eyes grew large in his head. "But… how could you say that Gaius? I thought that I was like a son to you!"
"You are," said Gaius, always the slightly oblivious voice of reason, "and that's why it's important that I help you do the right thing."
"But," Merlin stuttered, "you said… you said… that Arthur was right! How could you say that?"
"Merlin," Gaius started, "That's—"
"You don't care about me Gaius!" Merlin interrupted.
"Merlin," Gaius tried again, "I—"
"It's always been about Arthur. It's not me you care about, it's him," Merlin continued. "You—"
"MERLIN!" yelled Gaius.
Merlin quickly snapped his mouth shut and looked at Gaius sheepishly.
"Thank you, Merlin," said Gaius. "Now, as I was trying to explain, all I'm saying is that you should get back to work. The puppy will still be here when you get back."
"But what if something happens while I'm gone?" asked Merlin worriedly.
"Nothing will," said Gaius. "Fred's a puppy, not a time bomb. He'll be fine."
Merlin visually struggled with himself for a moment. "Okay, I'll go back to work," he proclaimed.
"A good decision," said Gaius, waving him out the door. "I'll see you this evening after you've finished working. Don't come back any sooner."
"Thanks," Merlin said, his voice colored with light sarcasm, "I feel very wanted right now."
"Just go, Merlin," said Gaius, shaking his head with a smile. Merlin grinned back over his shoulder at Gaius and headed toward the door, nearly walking into the doorframe in the process. He quickly corrected his direction and managed to avoid the collision and exit the room safely.
Gaius shook his head after Merlin had left, and then shuffled over to the bookshelf. He needed to find a new book so that he could return to the research that Merlin had interrupted, research on a more effective remedy to one of Camelot's many illnesses.
The puppy was staring at the slightly opened door with a hungry expression on his face. He stood still for a moment, frozen in place, listening. He raised his nose and sniffed the air. With a quick motion of his eyes, he glanced at Gaius. The physician was standing on the other side of the room with his back to Fred. It was the perfect moment. With one last glance at Gaius, Fred quickly padded toward the door, his nails tapping softly on the floor. The door creaked quietly as he passed through, moving it open slightly. Gaius looked up but nothing looked out of the ordinary it must have been a draft. He returned to his work.
Fred was gone.
Merlin was only partially down the hallway when he heard quick tapping behind him. It sounded like… but no, it couldn't be. Merlin turned. Sure enough, there was Fred trotting along after him "How did you get here?" asked Merlin.
Fred merely hung his tongue out in reply and wagged his tail. He gave a short bark. Merlin could have sworn he was smiling, if only that were possible. Merlin nearly died from the cuteness of it all.
"The door must have been open," said Merlin, answering his own question. "Gaius really didn't take care of you very well, did he? Well, I guess there is only one thing to do now. You'll just have to go to work with me."
Fred barked in answer, showing his enthusiasm by an increased wagging of his tail.
"Well, let's go then," said Merlin, beginning to walk forward with a look back toward Fred. Fred immediately began trotting beside him.
Merlin held a monologue with Fred as he walked, punctuated with barks from Fred at strangely appropriate times. It was almost as if Fred could understand him. Fred followed along easily, and Merlin did not need to focus on making sure that the puppy stayed with him. Merlin's eyes wandered around the castle as they walked. As a result, he missed when Fred's eyes glinted an evil red.
It was a lot like Morgana's smirk, in fact, in that it should have been excruciatingly obvious and impossible to miss, and yet somehow everyone was so oblivious that they missed it every single time that it occurred. Which was often. That is, they missed it until Morgana tried to take over Camelot. Then everyone knew of course. They all wondered how Morgana had hidden her changing nature so well and never suspected their own ineptitude.
Of course, Morgana had nothing to do with Fred. Fred, being a puppy, would never stoop so low as to work with someone else. Really, in that way Fred was a lot like a cat, regardless of the fact that he was a puppy. Still, it is interesting to note Morgana and Fred's many similarities.
The point is, Fred's eyes glinted red yet again. When Merlin next looked at Fred, however, the red color of his eyes had faded, returning them to a clear blue. Merlin was none the wiser. They continued their trek through the castle, and it was not long before the two of them reached Arthur's chambers.
"Hopefully Arthur is not in here," Merlin whispered to Fred. He opened the door slightly and glanced in before opening it wider and stepping inside. He gestured for Fred to follow him. "Come on in, Fred," he said.
There was a measuring look in Fred's eyes as he stepped into the room. He glanced up at the luxurious furniture. He glanced at the pile of unmended clothes and the pack that were still lying in the middle of the floor from earlier that day. He glanced at the box of gold that was under Arthur's bed and at Fred's eye level. He glanced at an awful lot of things. Fred was a rather observant puppy.
"So what do you think?" asked Merlin. "Do you think you can stand staying here for a few hours while I finish working?"
"Roof," said Fred.
Merlin grinned. "I'll take that as a yes then." He looked around the room. "I need to find you a place to sit, though. I don't want you getting into trouble." His gaze settled on the middle of the room where Fred had already settled in the midst of the pile of unmended clothes. "I'm not sure if Arthur would like you lying in his clothes…" Merlin started.
Fred looked up at him with sad eyes.
"Never mind, I'm sure it will be fine," said Merlin. "What he doesn't know can't hurt him."
With that, Merlin began bustling around the room, performing basic cleaning throughout Arthur's chambers. He glanced repeatedly over his shoulder toward the door, before allowing his eyes to flash gold, eliminating a fair quantity of work. Before long, Arthur's chambers were clean. In another few moments, Merlin had emptied Arthur's pack, leaving the floor mostly clear. Except that is, for the pile of mended clothes and the puppy sitting on them.
"Alright," said Merlin, "I'm going to need to take some of these clothes to start mending. Which means that you are going to have to move."
Fred looked at him tragically, before moving slowly off the pile of clothes and settling on another spot of the floor. Merlin was somewhat surprised. He was expecting to have to move Fred himself. He really was an intelligent puppy. Maybe he was just able to pick up on the inflections of Merlin's voice.
"Thank you, Fred," said Merlin lightly, before picking up the folded clothing. He moved over to the table where he sat down to begin mending. Glancing toward the door again, he used soft words to mend the clothing. He had always been horrible at mending by hand. Magic was much easier and much more effective. Otherwise, he would be mending clothes eternally. It was true; Merlin was useless with a needle. Really, it was hardly surprising since he was useless at anything that involved fine or gross motor skills. He then added another spell to the mix to magically strengthen the clothes so that he would have to mend them less often. It seemed a reasonable action to take.
Soon enough, the clothes were mended. Merlin glanced at the newly folded piles of clothing, completely free of holes with a smile. Arthur could hardly call him useless now. Not that Merlin's accomplishments had ever stopped Arthur from insulting him, but still, Merlin had accomplished a lot more than the average servant could do in so little time. Of course, that was because he had used magic, but there was no need for Arthur to know that. No, Merlin would simply embrace the idea that he was a perfect, wonderful servant. That idea would not be worth much, however. Arthur would still call him useless. Stupid Arthur.
Merlin quickly hung the clothing up with a smile. He was free for the evening with time to spare! He did not even have to come back later to attend to Arthur. Arthur had announced already that he planned to eat dinner with his father, so Merlin's help would not be necessary.
In a flash of inspiration, Merlin looked around the room for a piece of paper and something to write with. He could not find either because Arthur had never been one for writing. "Well," thought Merlin, "at least Arthur's knows how to read. That's something anyway." Because he could not find either item, he quickly muttered a view syllables and conjured them. He scribbled down a few sentences: "I've cleaned your room, emptied your pack, and mended your clothes. Just call me a god. See you tomorrow." He signed the note with his name and a smiley face. That ought to be enough to irritate Arthur. Smiley faces seemed to have that effect on him.
Merlin left the note on the table where Arthur would surely find it and then looked around the room one last time. It looked perfect. Merlin smiled at the results of his efforts.
"Come on, Fred, we're leaving!" he announced.
Fred promptly got up and walked toward him, wagging his tail. He had been quite well behaved, Merlin realized, especially for a puppy. He had not gotten into any trouble or done anything remotely bad. It was almost as if he went beyond the intelligence of the average puppy. But no, Fred was just a puppy. A simple, completely normal puppy.
Little did Merlin know, Fred had been busy. He might not have gotten into any trouble, but that did not mean that Fred was not plotting. His mind was still whirling with all the plans he had made as a result of his intense scrutiny of Arthur's room. The possibilities were endless. As Fred considered the possibilities, his eyes turned red for the millionth time that day.
Merlin left the room, Fred following at his heels. As he walked through the doorway, he promptly ran into Arthur who felt a bit like a brick wall as a result of Merlin's lack of observation skills and the speed at which he was walking. It was also a bit because Arthur was built somewhat like a brick wall.
"What are you doing, Merlin?" said Arthur. "Can't you watch where you're going?"
"Umm, yes," Merlin stuttered. "Yes, I can." His eyes flickered around frantically, trying to look for Fred without calling attention to him. He hoped that the puppy would stay out of sight. His hopes were quickly dashed.
"What is the puppy doing here?"
"Umm, nothing?" said Merlin.
"Really, Merlin, did you take him into my chambers with you?" asked Arthur.
"No, of course not, sire," said Merlin. "Why would I ever do that?"
"Maybe because you are an idiot," said Arthur. "If you did not bring him in, then what is your explanation as to why he is here?"
"He just followed me here," said Merlin. "I just came out of your room, and he was just here."
"Yes, Merlin, very believable," said Arthur. "Don't bring him into my room again."
"Of course not. I never did that in the first place, and I definitely would not do it again."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "You basically just admitted to bringing him in."
"What?" said Merlin. "No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did," said Arthur, "but it's not important. Just don't do it again."
"Yes, sire," said Merlin resignedly.
"Good. Then you can take your puppy home and get back to work," said Arthur.
"Yes, about that," started Merlin, "I think you'll find that I left you a note on your table regarding that."
"A note?" said Arthur, looking at him oddly.
"Yes, a note," said Merlin, grinning. "Well, I'll see you later then." He promptly took off jogging down the hallway with Fred at his heels and a grin still on his fact, leaving Arthur staring after him.
"Merlin, wait!" Arthur yelled after him, but Merlin just kept running. Arthur rolled his eyes. Useless servant. Realizing that the only way to get Merlin to listen to him was to run after him, Arthur decided to go into his room. Running after Merlin was beneath his dignity, and it was not worth the effort anyway. After all, Arthur only wanted to remind Merlin that he was the servant. Therefore, it was Arthur who made dismissals and not the other way around. It would have been wasted effort. Merlin never listened anyway.
Arthur entered his chambers and glanced at the note on the table. At first, he raised his eyebrows, surprised at all that Merlin had accomplished in such a short time, but then he dismissed the feeling, deciding that Merlin's poor work had lowered his standards. It was impossible that Merlin could be a good servant. No, at best Merlin was average or possibly below, and at worst… Well, that was too horrible to think about.
When Arthur reached the smiley face, he scowled. Leave it to Merlin.
Further down the hallway, Merlin had slowed back to a walk, knowing that Arthur would have given up by then. "That was an eventful day, wasn't it?" he said to Fred as they approached his quarters.
Fred barked in reply. If only Merlin knew.
A/N: -Cue evil laugh- Well, an evil puppy laugh haha. So I've been noticing the tone of this story is changing slightly. It's settling into something more natural, I think, something a little more serious. I mean, not actually serious, let's face it, this story is about an evil puppy haha, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, hopefully the slight change in tone doesn't bother anyone. Go ahead, review and tell me what you think. You know you want to. I would love to know what you think of this chapter, or even the story in general =]