Hey reader! (- Implies degree of commitment, this is 'Chapter' 4 now after all!)
Enjoy yourself with Arthur's suspicions! :)
'So what's this big secret you can't tell me?'
Arthur would confidently say, should anyone ask, that he was close with Merlin, their disdain be damned, but it hurt him to think that Merlin was hiding something from him. Which he was. The Prince could tell his manservant's mood from the way he stepped, could hear unsaid words in the sound of his breathing, could read his tensions through a squeeze of his hand. And he knew there was something amiss. He couldn't pinpoint exactly howhe knew, which part of Merlin gave it away, but he knew beyond a doubt. Arthur would bet the entirety of his beloved Kingdom on the fact the Merlin was hiding somethingfrom him. Arthur didn't want him to, of course. His Princely upbringing told him that he should drag his servant in here and goddamn orderhim to tell his secret, but the love that was anchored so firmly in his heart implored him to trust Merlin, to trust him enough to know that if it ever became vital or even just important for Arthur to know of the thing Merlin was hiding, his manservant would tell him without question. And it was that trust that kept Arthur quiet when he knew Merlin was shirking duties to go to the library, or that he was late with breakfast because he'd been out in the forest collecting herbs late the night before, because he believed stronger than anything that love and trust came hand in hand.