Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Note: Thanks for the kind reviews, glittery ones to mydoctortennant ;p I've no set plot for this fic, just writing and seeing where it goes so please bear with me…

Gwen tried to cover her shock by keeping her head bowed for as long as possible. One of the last places anybody would expect to see the Crown Prince was in the castle's laundry-house, the nobility had no business being there – in fact, Gwen would be more than a little surprised if any of them could even describe the inside of it.

With her breathing under control, the maid lifted her head while her eyes betrayed her puzzlement at Arthur's presence in this most unlikely of places.

Arthur coughed as he recovered from being caught staring.

"Guinevere." He took a deeper than normal breath as he straightened his back, adopting a more formal pose.

Think, Think, his brain screamed at him. He had to behave as if he had good cause to be in this place, after all, he basically owned it, why should he not be there? Because you're the Prince, you idiot! You send Merlin and other servants to do your bidding. You wouldn't be caught dead here!

She waited patiently for him to continue even as her mind replayed the sound of her name coming from his lips. Almost no-one else called her by her full name, she was always just 'Gwen', plain and simple, but to the man standing before her now, there was nothing plain and simple about Gwen.

Arthur's voice was steady and composed as he spoke. "I was looking for Merlin, one of my shirts has not returned and I wanted to see if he knew what had happened to it." He groaned inwardly, that was a rubbish excuse. Everyone knew that a noble, especially a royal, would simply wait for their servant to return from whatever task had been occupying them before berating them. He ignored the eyebrow that Gwen had been unable to stop from lifting skywards. Arthur continued gamely on, "Have you seen him? I was planning on wearing it for tonight's feast." I am Prince Arthur. There is nothing unusual in wanting a shirt. The blond man chanted this silent mantra all the time wishing that he was facing a horde of winged demons rather than the young woman who stood quietly bemused in front of him now.

"I am sorry, my lord. I've not seen him at all today." Gwen shook her head and bit her lower lip. The Prince's presence here was unsettling and his cool blue gaze made her feel like the dispensable servant that the world saw her for. Unable to continue meeting Arthur's eyes in case her feelings for him would make themselves known, she let her warm brown orbs settle somewhere around his nose, you couldn't think of noses as being particularly alluring – could you? His nose is very fine, even noble, if you would pardon the pun. Ughh! She disgusted herself. She couldn't afford to behave like an infatuated teenage girl and especially not with the least available man on the planet for someone like her.

"Ah, I see", Arthur knew he had to end the awkward conversation, his mind was unable to think of anything sensible to say and the way Gwen was staring at his nose was making him self-conscious, leading him to recall how she had compared his snoring to that of a pig. "Well, if you do see him, tell him I'm looking for him." With that, he turned and walked away with what he hoped was a purposeful stride, leaving Morgana's maid staring after him, unsure of what had just taken place.

"And you call me hopeless!" Merlin muttered to himself as he folded the numerous items of clothing that Arthur had rejected for wearing that evening. He had bumped into Gwen on his return from the stables and she had told him of her extraordinary encounter with his master who the young sorcerer was currently helping to prepare for the feast which was being held in honour of Sir Leon's birthday.

Arthur heard the remark and threw his servant a glare but he remained silent. He couldn't really argue with Merlin – he had indeed been hopeless. The two young men had forged a close bond through their shared adventures and Merlin was not only his servant but his friend, the only person other than his father who he would allow to speak to him freely and without recourse. Of course, there were the many threats he made to Merlin's well-being should he ever speak his mind about Arthur to another living soul but he knew that there would never be a need to carry them out. The Prince was also glad that he had a friend with whom he could, grudgingly, share his confidences with even if he would never admit them to anyone else – he was royal after all and not subject to normal feelings, not publicly anyway.

Merlin looked over at Arthur, his blue-grey eyes speculative. "You know you're going to have to tell her. She's already getting suspicious, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur's tone was defensive.

"Gwen," replied Merlin, "she knows you're behaving out of character. She's seeing you in the kitchen, stables and now the laundry-house. What would the King say?" he couldn't help but smirk a little.

"My father knows?" There was a slight note of panic in the question.

Merlin took pity on the Prince. "No, but he will soon if you keep carrying on like this. You need to tell her how you feel, stop torturing yourself." The budding sorcerer knew well the impediments standing in the way of true love and he had already advised some caution but he was also acutely aware of the strength of feeling between his two friends. With no reply coming from his master, Merlin continued. "You can't keep following her around and then making terrible excuses. Other people are beginning to notice too, Gaius had asked me if you were feeling quite well." The slim young man drew a small phial from his pocket and offered it to his broad-shouldered friend. "He even brewed this draught for you to take."

Arthur's shoulders visibly slumped and he sank onto the edge of his bed before putting his face in his hands. Merlin was disconcerted, he had never seen the Prince react like this to anything before.

"I can't tell her, you know that." Arthur's voice was muffled. When he lifted his face, his expression was disconsolate. "You tell me that I can change things when I am King but that is always 'one day' and who knows when that 'one day' might be?" He furrowed his brow in determination and stood to face his dark-haired friend. "It cannot be. I must think no more of her." Her. He couldn't say her name for fear his resolve would instantly crumble.

Merlin's expression was a mixture of exasperation, sympathy and anxiety. Of course he had secrets of his own but he couldn't imagine what it must feel like to be unable to express his love for someone without the risk of the kingdom collapsing around him. Moreover, he wasn't sure that Arthur was doing the right thing by deciding to ignore his feelings for Gwen.

Note: ok, so that's chapter 2. Good, Bad or Scrap the fic? Let me know x