Merlin smiles as a book flies past his head, held aloft by the magical storm brewing around him. Arthur's chambers are chaos, the roar of wind deafening, hair stinging his skin as it whips against his face. He feels oddly calm somehow, the magic bubbling under his fingertips, golden threads curling into the air, the shiver of power just beneath his skin. This is familiar, safe, as easy as breathing.
He lets the catch of Arthur's window free, snow flying into the room to join the swirling winds, landing in wet white heaps on the tables and bed. The cold is biting and Merlin revels in it, loving the snow every bit as much as he did as a child. This is understandably not something he often shares with the other occupants of the castle, but it is a truth about himself he cannot deny.
The door slams behind him, and Merlin gasps, hears the crash of books, candles and cutlery hitting the floor as the storm instantly vanishes. He turns slowly, taking in Arthur's shocked expression. It is better than he had hoped. There is no anger in the bright blue eyes, no accusation of betrayal falling from the slack mouth.
"I can explain!" Merlin cries, the desperation in his voice ringing in his ears. Arthur is gazing at his chambers, the mess of objects strewn across every surface, melting snow dripping loudly onto the stone floor. The hem of Merlin's dress is wet too, the cold seeping through to his skin, but this he ignores, the dress will dry whether Merlin is alive or not.
Arthur blinks slowly, nods, and walks from his chambers, completely silent.
With the crown prince missing, all hell breaks loose in Camelot. Suddenly Arthur is needed everywhere and Merlin is in a state of panic. He expected an hour at most before he was carted off to the cells, not Arthur disappearing for the better part of a day. He finally resorts to rendering two knights unconscious with a flick of his hand, which ordinarily might have concerned him but seems to make little difference now he's already revealed his magic to the prince.
Arthur is in a hay loft above stable in the lower town. It is dark, musty, and ripe with the smell of horses wafting up from below. Merlin is quite certain he wouldn't have found him at all without a little magic, which, he reflects, was probably the point of this particular hiding place.
"I should have you tied to a stake at dawn" Arthur's voice is flat and quiet. There's hay clinging to his clothes and hair and he's sitting on the wooden floor, looking every bit the little boy.
"Yes my lord" Merlin says, not particularly surprised at this. Of course he deserves such punishment, breaking the laws of Camelot, in front of the Crown Prince, no less.
"But I am not like my father" Arthur murmurs and then looks up at Merlin, his face unreadable.
"So, I'm not going to be executed then?" Merlin doesn't dare to believe he's actually hearing Arthur blatantly ignore the laws he has so fiercely upheld in the past. Arthur makes a jerky movement with his head which might be a nod and Merlin allows himself a quiet sigh of relief. "But you are angry" He ventures.
Arthur raises his eyebrows in a 'you know it' expression and Merlin wonders what idea for completely awful punishments are currently running through the prince's head.
"Now" Arthur raises a finger. "Ground rules. No magic anywhere near me. No talking about magic. No using magic to do your chores. No magic to get out of training, Actually, just no magic ever." Merlin opens his mouth to speak, cut off before he can form the words. "No telling anyone about magic." Arthur stops as if a very unpleasant though has come to mind. "Oh gods, who else knows?"
Merlin stays silent and Arthur rolls his eyes. "Your mother, and Gaius obviously, anyone else?"
"Lancelot" Merlin says guiltily, ignoring the fleeting look of jealousy that flits across Arthur's features. "And, erm... Morgana" Her name comes out as a half strangled squeak.
"You have got to be kidding" Arthur's tone is disbelieving.
"She sort of made me reveal myself to you" Merlin says uncomfortably and Arthur grimaces.
"Really poor choice of words there Merlin" He's laughing though and Merlin wonders for a moment if Arthur would be all that adverse to being exposed to in other ways. He quickly thrusts the thought aside. He is not in love with the prince, and Arthur is most certainly not in love with him.
"I'm supposed to be welcoming a new knight" Arthur says glumly. "Father is going to be furious" Merlin chews his lip.
"The sooner we get back, the less trouble you're going to be in" He says slowly, and Arthur sighs.
"I hate when you're right Merlin"
It is bitterly cold when they enter the castle courtyard. The servants forced to bear such miserable weather work silently, their backs turned to the wind. Arthur stops to pat a horse standing near the doors leading to the throne room.
"They're still preparing a stall my lord" The stable boy holding the horse's reigns says and Arthur nods.
"This is a fine animal" He remarks to no-one in particular and then looks at Merlin.
"You will go and clean my chambers. I must see my father" Then he turns and takes the castle steps two at a time, disappearing into the great hall. Merlin sighs, pats the horse once more, and follows him.
Much to Merlin's surprise, Arthur's chambers are already clean. To his even greater surprise, Gwen is pacing tensely back and forth. She nearly leaps from her skin at the sight of Merlin.
"You weren't with Gaius, but I knew you'd turn up here eventually. Oh and it was such a mess, I only tidied a little while I was waiting..." She looks guiltily at the floor.
"No, thank you. You've done a wonderful job" Gwen flushes. "Why were you looking for me anyway?" He asks, pulling Gwen to sit on the edge of Arthur's bed.
"The knight that arrived today, I only saw for a second, but it was him, I know it was!" Her voice is becoming distressingly high pitched.
"Calm down Gwen, it can't be all that bad" He says soothingly, stroking her hair, her breath finally evening until she can speak normally.
"It's Lancelot" She says quietly, and Merlin feels part of himself light up with happiness. Because Lancelot is wonderful, he really, really is, and Merlin's missed him, and he's a proper knight now which definitely needs congratulating. But he cannot explain why Gwen is so distressed. Her feelings for Lancelot are no secret, hell she even told Merlin herself she would have married the man. So why the panic?
"I'm happy to see him, really I am. But he's a knight and I'm just a serving girl, and all those things he said-" Her voice catches and she rubs the heel of her palm against her face. There are thoughts in her head Merlin is not privy to, and he doesn't wish to force them out before she's ready.
"I'm sorry, I'm being silly" She finally says and awkwardly hugs him before leaving the room quiet as a ghost, her skirts a soft rustle disappearing down the corridor.
Merlin contemplates her situation. She loves Arthur of course, but cannot be his princess. If Arthur were more defiant of his father perhaps, but even Merlin can see it is not to be as long as Uther sits upon the throne. Lancelot is more suitable of course, but now he is a knight and lost to her too. He will be expected to pick a noblewoman as his wife, to fulfill his duty and have children, future knights and ladies of Camelot. Merlin's heart aches for Gwen, at the unfairness of it all.
Life is cruel, and sometimes it is kind, and mostly it is very, very unexpected.
I feel like I've copped out a bit with Arthur finding out. He's just so okay with it! But the Arthur in my head refused to get angry with sweet little girl!Merlin, and he's about to get a whole ton of rage and angst so I'll let him out of it this time. On the upside, he's starting to come to his senses, which means yes, kisses soon :)