Attempt #4

Filled with optimism after one of the rare nights of good sleep, Merlin happily tottered to Arthur's bedchamber with a breakfast plate. Usually the King would prefer to eat with his wife at the table in the dining hall so they could enjoy each other's company. However, today the Queen got up earlier in order to attend to one of the noble Ladies in some urgent matter, leaving her grouchy husband all by himself - even marriage couldn't turn him into a morning person, it seemed. It was the perfect chance for Merlin, to show Arthur some of his magic without any witnesses.

Merlin wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to let Gwen too - once Arthur believed him, she would be the next to hear all about his magic, no doubt.

Perhaps it was because he wanted Arthur to know first. Or perhaps because he wanted to be alone with the King when he revealed the truth, predicting the moment to be not only a little dangerous, but a whole lot personal. While he'd fully expected Arthur to throw a tantrum as huge as his ego, the last thing Merlin wanted was to have another friend to deal with at the same time.

Even though for years Merlin had been dreading Arthur's wrath upon the discovery of his 'treachery', truthfully, he'd never worried about Gwen's reaction. ...At least, he was sure she wouldn't run through the castle screaming 'Sorcerer!' at the top of her lungs, so that was a perk. She had always been a good friend, kind and patient and understanding... if anyone in Camelot was going to accept him for what he was, it would be her. And once Merlin won Arthur over, the warlock knew she would faithfully support her husband's decision, no matter how frightening magic could seem to her personally.

Also, Merlin quietly admitted to himself, he wanted to avoid bringing up all the dangers he'd saved Arthur from in her presence. She didn't need to know everything - the most important parts, sure, but... he didn't think she'd take it well if she found out just how many times Arthur came close to death. Honestly, Merlin himself didn't feel comfortable just thinking about it.

Shaking away the morbid topic from his mind, Merlin stopped in front of the door. This was it.

Grinning maniacally to himself, he whispered:

"Flêoge."

Instantly, the plate levitated from his hand, hovering just above his palm. Merlin's grin widened.

He spent at least half an hour last night thinking which spell to show Arthur. At first he was tempted to do something spectacular, like making it rain, creating flames out of thin air or turning Arthur's chair into a pig... that would have been hilarious. Unfortunately, the rational part of Merlin decided that if he wanted the King's first response not to be throwing him into the dungeon, he shouldn't mess around too much. Just a simple spell, something so visible and so obvious even an utter clotpole like Arthur wouldn't be able to ignore it. The levitation spell worked perfectly for that purpose.

Merlin opened the door with certainly more enthusiasm and less nervousness than yesterday (he just couldn't wait to see Arthur's face), unluckily forgetting the threshold in his excitement. The manservant tripped, falling flat on his face with a thud.

"Ow," Merlin mumbled in pain and embarrassment.

He waited for a mocking comment from Arthur, but a few seconds passed and there was none. Merlin glanced upwards, suddenly remembering the plate he left in the air. It was still there, hovering in the most obvious, 'I-am-defying-gravity-by-magic!' kind of way. Still, no response from Arthur.

Merlin stood up quickly, looking around. Arthur was sitting at his desk, completely engrossed in the letter he was reading, and absolutely unaware of an enchanted plate levitating next to his servant.

The sorcerer coughed. No response. Not even an acknowledgement.

"Er... Arthur? I brought you breakfast."

"Uhuh," Arthur said, not moving his eyes from the letter.

Merlin crossed his arms, tapping his foot.

"Would you, I don't know, look at me, please?"

"No need to," Arthur replied absentmindedly. "I've seen enough of your ugly face for a lifetime."

Merlin's face turned indignant. "My face's not ugly!" he exclaimed. In hope of provoking Arthur to look at him, he added: "If anyone's ugly here, it's you. You're such an ass I could mistake you for a donkey. Oh wait, you are - you even had the ears to prove it once."

Arthur's cheeks flushed, as he strained out: "I thought we agreed to never. Mention. That. Again."

"Forgive me, your majesty," Merlin rolled his eyes, irritated that he was so close and yet Arthur still didn't even glance in his direction. "I'm afraid it slipped my mind. Do you want your damn breakfast or not?"

"Just put it on the table," Arthur dismissed him with a wave of hand.

Merlin narrowed his eyes. He turned to the plate and focused his magic on it. The plate swooped through the air, landing loudly on the desk.

"Merlin," Arthur drawled with exasperation. "Don't throw the King's plates. You can't afford to replace them."

Merlin threw his hands in the air with disbelief.

"I suppose telling you I just used magic to do that is pointless, since you weren't even looking?"

Arthur snorted. "Nice try, Merlin. Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I remember correctly, yesterday I promised you would get to polish all of my knights' armors."

Merlin moaned miserably. "I hoped you forgot about that."

"Unlikely. Well, get going! They are not going to polish themselves, you know," Arthur smirked, his eyes never leaving the letter in his hands.

"Yes, they will!" Merlin replied, sounding like whiny kid despite himself. "Because I've got magic, you know!"

"Right."

"But it's true, Arthur! I really am a sorcerer!"

"Merlin, you-"

"Excuse me, your highness?" The servant named George, whom Merlin always thought creepy for some reason, suddenly walked in. Merlin was astonished, George forgetting to knock? The world must have been ending. "The Queen requests your presence in the banquet hall immediately."

Arthur sighed and stood up. "Very well. Merlin, go and do your chores for once. I'm expecting my knight's armors to be in top condition before the afternoon training."

"But-!"

"Lead the way, George."

"Yes, Sire."

Merlin watched Arthur leave the chamber, shaking his head.

"Surely, Kilgharrah made a mistake," he muttered to himself. "There's no way that imbecile is the Once and Future King. He can't be that stupid, right?" Then Merlin rubbed his face and looked at the ceiling with a sigh. "Why me? Just why?"

Author's Note:

...Poor Merlin. Poor, poor Merlin.

I don't pity him at all xD

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