CHAPTER THREE

The following morning came and Merlin literally jumped on Gaius to tell him about what he had seen last night in Arthur's chambers. When he awoke, Gaius didn't look too please to see the young warlock in his face.

'For God's sake, Merlin,' he moaned as he sat up on the bench. 'What is it?'

'You will never believe what I saw last night,' started Merlin as he sat next to Gaius.

'You will never believe what I will do to you if you wake me up like that again.'

Merlin's eyes narrowed at the old man before he ran his hand through his chestnut brown short hair.

'Maybe I was dreaming, maybe I wasn't. But I saw something really strange in Arthur's chambers,' he carried on with gaze focused on the ground, trying to remember what had happened that night.

'Why on earth were you in Arthur's chambers?' Gaius asked confusingly and Merlin sighed.

'I was walking past and I heard voices from his chambers. So I looked through a gap and I saw Guinevere in Arthur's arms.'

'You're mad.'

'I know what I saw-'

'Perhaps you've been working too hard and haven't had enough sleep, so then you start seeing things.'

'I wish that was it but now I can remember. I can remember how shocked and scared I was. They saw me though, and if Arthur questions me about it today I'll know what I saw was real.'

Gaius stroked his chin curiously before looking back at Merlin.

'If what you say is true, why would Guinevere's spirit still be in Camelot?' He asked and Merlin seemed to know the answer already.

'Magic,' he said briefly. 'She's either using it to see Arthur or using it to make him weaker. It would make sense for her to want revenge after he executed her. But I can't imagine Guinevere doing anything like that no matter what he had done.'

'All we know is that she is playing with his head. And if what you saw was real, she needs to be stopped.'

Taking deep breaths, Merlin approached Arthur with a sword in his hand and a shield in his other. He stopped a few feet away from him. At first Arthur only glared at him and Merlin took this time to pray that he would not be badly hurt. Then the young king charged at him and Merlin stumbled back with the shielding protecting his face.

Arthur's first blow smashed into Merlin's shield and he heard the wood crack, but it did not break. He seemed disappointed and he carried on attacking the vulnerable Merlin. Elyan, Gwaine, Leon and Percival stood not far away laughing as they watched Arthur's servant being beaten.

'Come on, Merlin!' Cried Gwaine with a smile. 'Try harder.'

'I can't exactly kill the king,' Merlin managed when he got the chance. Arthur stopped tackling him and stepped back. His blue eyes narrowed at the poor, little, excuse of a man and he laughed.

'Do you really think you can beat me, Merlin?' Arthur asked still laughing. Merlin's eyes adverted to the knights who were chuckling.

'I reckon so,' he gulped in response and the knights were literally rolling on the grass, roaring with laughter. Arthur tried his best not to join them, and he wielded his sword back on forth.

'Alright then, Sir Merlin,' he sneered. 'This is your chance to prove that you are worthy of being a great knight!'

'Err I don't think that's necessary, my king,' Merlin tried to escape what he had been told to do. 'It is clear that you umm are better than me.'

In the background the others chanted chicken and other names of weak animals.

'Are you a coward, Merlin?' Arthur snapped and Merlin raised his brow.

'No,' he shot back calmly.

'Then pick up your sword.' Arthur got into a ready-position with his knees bent and his two hands grasping the hilt of his sword. Merlin's gaze dropped to the sword at his feet which must have fallen out of his hand while he was being attacked. Hastily he bent over and snatched the sword from the ground. He stood up to his original height and copied Arthur's ready-position. The chants in the background slowly died down.

Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes, he saw anger and fury in them. Possibly from last night when he had noticed Merlin spying on him? The young warlock gulped, the only thing he did was assist Arthur and use magic...and he wasn't even that good at doing the chores Arthur told him to do.

Arthur looked past Merlin and saw Guinevere in the distance. She smiled at him and mimed the words 'don't hurt him'. Although Arthur wanted to hurt Merlin, he was bewitched by Guinevere's smile and was forced to smile back.

Meanwhile, Merlin was looking at Arthur like he was a fool. He looked behind himself and saw a woman standing in the distance. Guinevere. He didn't get a good look at her because he looked back just in time to block Arthur's first attack.

The knights began to cheer in the background as the two men fought. Merlin fought to the best of his ability while Arthur fought gently, but still managed to beat him. The young warlock dropped to his knees. His sword had skidded across the grass and landed out of his reach. Arthur stood above him with the blade of his sword aiming at Merlin's eye. He soon lowered it and Merlin felt relieved.

'Not bad for a servant,' Arthur said what he thought was a compliment. He helped Merlin to his feet and gave him a comforting smile. The servant looked confused, Arthur's eyes were now calm and heart-warming.

The other knights began to practise while Merlin and Arthur stared at each other.

'Who was that?' Merlin decided to bring the subject of Guinevere up.

'What?' Was Arthur's response.

'Behind me a few moments ago.'

'Nobody was there, Merlin, what is wrong with you today?'

'Nothing is wrong with me, but there is something wrong with you. That woman behind me was the same woman in your arms last night.'

'So it was you who was spying on me last night. I should have you punished.'

'Punish me all you want, but all I ask is who was she.'

Arthur hesitated and his gaze dropped.

'I was messing around with one of the servant girls,' he lied.

'Oh sure, then no one must be able to see the servant girl, then you must have done something which you could never forgive yourself for,' Merlin was getting carried away.

'Merlin!'

'And that girl looks a lot like Gwen, perhaps it is her sister?'

'MERLIN!'

Arthur attracted the attention of the other knights who had now stopped from sword fighting. Merlin fell silent and Arthur dragged him away from the others.

'What are you trying to say, Merlin?' Arthur snapped when he finished dragging his servant. 'Remember that I am your king.'

'And I am also your friend. I only want you to admit it,' replied Merlin.

'Admit what?'

'That you saw Guinevere last night, today, and I expect that you have been seeing her for a while.'

Arthur's mouth opened in shock and grip loosened on Merlin's sleeve.

'How dare you say such a thing,' gasped Arthur with his eyes focused on the ground below his feet.

'I know you think you're imagining her,' began Merlin. 'But I've seen her too and I think she's a spirit haunting Camelot. In order to know the truth, I need to know everything and I mean everything.'

For a moment Arthur stood giving him the angriest stare he had ever given anyone in his life. Then the anger in his eyes disappeared and the storm inside him slowly died down. He ran a large hand through his soft blonde hair before looking back at Merlin. Their eyes met and Arthur nodded in agreement.