A/N: Posted in a week, as promised. Hopefully, I'll be able to have my next chapter posted on Saturday as well, but I can't guarantee it. Finals start this week, so things are about to get crazy. I've got a project and an essay as well. I'll have the chapter posted as soon as I can, though!
"Late? I'm not late!" said Merlin.
"No, of course not," said Arthur, "for you this is early. Usually you would be another hour at least."
"I would not!" said Merlin indignantly. "I am usually perfectly on time. I mean, sometimes things interfere like your food gets burned or someone needs help with something or Gaius wants me to get something or—"
"See that's what I mean! You are a positively awful servant, Merlin."
"I am not! I am a wonderful servant. Do you realize how often I save your royal backside?"
"Yes, Merlin, I'm sure you do that all the time."
"You wouldn't believe," Merlin muttered darkly before repeating, "Well, I'm not late!"
"Okay," said Arthur, "keep telling yourself that." He stood up from the chair where he was still seated. "I need to meet my father in fifteen minutes for breakfast, however. I agreed to eat with him today. Do you still think that you aren't late?"
"Well, you didn't tell me you had to be up early today!" exclaimed Merlin. "How was I supposed to know?"
"This isn't early," said Arthur. "It is the same time that you are always supposed to be here."
"Oh," said Merlin, finally running out of arguments. "Well, it's still your fault. Prat."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just pick out some clothes for me."
"Fine," said Merlin, "although don't you think that as a future king, you should be able to handle the responsibility of picking out your own clothing? I mean, how can you control an entire army or lead a country if you can't even decide what to wear?"
"Merlin," said Arthur warningly.
"You could have at least started to get ready before I got here if you were so worried about being late to meet your father," Merlin continued, ignoring Arthur as he shuffled through the dresser in search of clothing. "I mean, really Arthur, picking out something to wear is hardly a difficult task."
"Of course not," said Arthur dryly. "You can do it can't you?"
"Really, sire? If everything I do is so simple, does that mean you think you could go a day without me?"
"Yes, I could," said Arthur. "It's hardly as if you do anything the slightest bit challenging."
"Then prove it," said Merlin.
"Fine I – No, Merlin," said Arthur. "I'm not giving you a day off."
"Fine, then I guess that you can't go a day without me."
"Yes, I can," said Arthur, "but I really don't feel like doing the mundane tasks that you do. You're my servant, and I have more important things to do."
"Oh, I do important things, all right," said Merlin as he handed Arthur a set of clothes. "You just don't know about them."
"Whatever you say, Merlin," said Arthur. "What you do in your free time is no concern of mine."
Merlin smiled, "Oh, but I believe it is."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," said Merlin.
With a roll of his eyes, Arthur took the clothes handed to him and went behind the screen to change.
"Fine, don't thank me then!" called Merlin.
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it," said Arthur. A moment later, his voice returned. "Why do these clothes smell?"
"Maybe because they're yours?" suggested Merlin brightly.
"Trying to be funny doesn't suit you, Merlin," said Arthur. "They almost smell like—" Suddenly something clicked. "Wait a minute," he started, "you had your puppy in here yesterday."
"Actually, I believe we already reached the conclusion that Fred was not in here," Merlin said.
"You didn't," said Arthur, ignoring Merlin. "You didn't let your dog lie on my clothes."
"No, he wasn't even in here!" said Merlin.
"You're a horrible liar," said Arthur. "You let… your dog… lie on… my clothes."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did. I could put you in the stocks for this, you know."
"But you won't?" said Merlin hopefully. "Since I didn't do it," he added hastily.
Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to find a bit of strength. "No, I won't. But don't do it again. And wash my clothes today."
"Yes, sire," said Merlin, bowing dramatically, his voice full of irony.
"I don't know why I bother," said Arthur.
"It's because you love me," said Merlin helpfully. A moment later, he realized what he had said. Arthur registered it at approximately the same time. Merlin's face rapidly grew red, and they both began to pointedly avoid eye contact. After a minute of looking rapidly around the room, their eyes accidentally met. They quickly looked away awkwardly. Merlin began to whistle. The uncomfortable moment lengthened.
"Go clean the stables, Merlin," said Arthur.
"Yes, sire," said Merlin, before walking out the door as quickly as he could without running. He did not look back at Arthur at all. Arthur did not know this, however, because he was too busy looking in the opposite direction.
After Merlin had left, Arthur remembered what had been driven from his mind by the awkward moment. "Merlin got out of washing my clothes," muttered Arthur irritably, shaking his head. "They still are going to smell like dog." Still, Arthur realized, there was no way around it. He had to get dressed.
With a glare, he stepped behind the screen, holding his scented clothes in his hands. He quickly changed into them. "That's not so bad," he said with a sniff but then a draft of wind carried the unfortunate scent to his nose, and he scowled. "I'm going to kill Merlin," he said.
With a sigh, however, he realized that was really nothing he could do. If these clothes smelled than all his others would smell as well, and he had things to do. He stood tall and squared his shoulders before walking out the door with his chin held high. He quickly angled himself toward the hall where he would breakfast with his father.
The hallways were mostly silent except for the sound of his footsteps. This early, there were not many people about. Not in the main hallway at any rate. It was silent, at least until he began to hear the pitter-patter of soft feet behind him.
For a moment, Arthur thought that he was imagining it. It was still early morning, after all, and there was always the possibility of hallucinations. As the sound continued, however, Arthur decided that it most probably was not a hallucination. Either that, or it was a rather repetitive one. He turned around quickly and looked behind him.
The sight that met his eyes was not what he was expecting. Then again, Arthur was not really expecting anything, so that did not say much at all. Still, the point was, Arthur was most definitely not anticipating seeing the little white fluff ball running toward him. Fred, Arthur reminded himself.
The dog barked as he ran toward Arthur, and Arthur found himself smiling at him. The dog was adorable, even Arthur could not deny it. As the puppy continued running, however, Arthur suddenly felt a small shock of fear. The words 'puppies are dangerous' flashed through his head, and he felt a shiver creep up his spine. He did not know where the thought had come from, but for some reason it had the faint feeling of déjà vu. A moment later, though, the feeling had disappeared. Arthur shook his head, dismissing the thought. He was being ridiculous. Fred could hardly be dangerous. He was simply an adorable puppy.
By then, Fred had reached Arthur's feet. With yet another bark, Fred began to spin in circles, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
With a smile, Arthur reached down to pet him. "Good boy."
Fred's short tail began to wag violently. Arthur was almost worried he was going to fall over from the amount of force that he was putting into it. Fred almost seemed to be smiling at him, his tongue still sticking out of his mouth.
"So what are you doing out here?" asked Arthur. "Shouldn't you be back in Merlin's chambers? Oh, wait, this is Merlin we're talking about here. He probably forgot to shut the door."
Fred barked at him in reply.
"Well, I don't have time to take you back to his chambers, but I'd hate to leave you wandering around the castle. You might get lost." Arthur thought for a moment. "I guess you'll just have to come up with me."
Fred tilted his head to the side, looking up at Arthur in question.
"Yes, that seems to be the only solution," Arthur finished. "Come on."
He started walking forward, looking back at Fred and gesturing for him to follow. Thankfully, Fred picked up on the idea right away and quickly began trotting after him. Arthur had briefly considered picking Fred up and carrying him but had decided that he really did not need the addition of any more dog smell to his clothing. As a result, it was definitely a good thing that Fred was smart enough to have grasped the concept that Arthur was trying to convey. Either that, or Fred had just decided to follow him. Either way, the result was the same.
Arthur continued walking toward the hall where he was to meet his father for breakfast. Soon enough, he arrived.
He nodded cordially to the guards who began to open the doors to allow him inside.
"Not yet," said Arthur, and the guards stepped back into place, bringing the door shut again behind them.
"Sire?" said one of the guards questioningly.
"I need you to watch this puppy for me while I'm eating with my father," Arthur said. "I realize that that is not in your list of duties, but it is still an important task."
"Yes, sire," said the same guard, barely managing to stifle the expression of disbelief on his face. "Of course."
"Good," said Arthur. "Just make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. I'll take him back once I'm finished with breakfast with my father."
"Yes, sire," said the guard again, before moving aside again to open the door.
Fred looked up at Arthur pityingly, and Arthur had to look away. "I'm sorry. I'll be back soon, I promise."
This seemed to cheer Fred slightly, who at least lost a bit of the abandonment that tainted his eyes. By then, the doors were open and Arthur nodded once more to the guards before stepping inside the room.
"Good morning, Father," Arthur said politely. Uther was already seated at the table, food set in front of him, although it appeared that he had not begun eating yet.
"Good morning," Uther replied.
"I'm sorry if I'm a little late," said Arthur, "I had some difficulties with my manservant."
"I don't know why you bother to keep him around," said Uther, gesturing for Arthur to sit. "It would hardly be difficult replace him."
"I know." Arthur did not bother to defend Merlin. He was still angry with him for allowing Fred to sleep on his clothes. Although, he could hardly blame him. Fred was adorable. Wait a minute, Arthur found himself thinking. When did the puppy lose his nameless place in Arthur's thoughts and become Fred?
Arthur was interrupted from his thoughts by Uther's voice. "Why do you smell like dog?"
Arthur groaned. He had not expected his father to notice his fragrance so soon or to be able to place it so accurately. He was saved the necessity of a response, however, when a scream broke through the wall.
"What was that?" asked Uther, standing up quickly.
"I suppose it was a scream," said Arthur. Uther glared at him, and he felt himself growing red. He had spent too much time around Merlin.
"Thank you for that wonderful insight, Arthur," said Uther, annoyed.
"I'll go see what is going on," started Arthur.
"No, it could be dangerous," said Uther. "You're the sole heir to the throne."
"I'm also a knight," said Arthur, "and it's hardly safer in a room protected by two guards."
Uther glared at him, and Arthur suddenly realized that he probably sounded disrespectful. "Please, Father?" he said, his voice as humble as he could make it.
"Fine," said Uther. "Be careful."
"I always am, Father," said Arthur, before stepping toward the door and opening it.
The sight that greeted him was yet another unexpected one. It seemed that Arthur only saw unexpected things. Sitting on the ground with their backs propped against the door were the two guards. Both had red wounds of some kind on their legs. Arthur could not imagine what had caused them. The injuries did not look serious, however, hardly serious enough to warrant them sitting on the floor in such a manner. For that matter, it did not warrant the scream that Arthur had heard cutting through the wall. Fred was nowhere to be seen.
"What happened out here?" Arthur asked.
"I don't remember," the first guard said, shaking his head.
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Admit it, you're scared! What happened? Where is Fred? Why are Arthur and Merlin so awkward? Why are conversations between Uther and Arthur so stilted? Don't answer that last one haha. Sorry that this chapter is a little weak. It's mostly filler and not a whole lot happens. Hopefully, you liked it anyway. Go ahead and review, you know you want to =].