"I still don't see why I couldn't go along with-"
"Because the Doctor said so." Rory interrupted, rather out of character.
Arthur smirked, "You suddenly grew a pair."
"I will shoot you." he replied.
Amelia stepped in, "Boys, boys calm down. The Doctor said we needed to watch you and make sure you didn't do anything stupid..." she smiled a devilish little smile, making Arthur perk up.
"So..." he started.
"So we're going after him." she winked, "Still following the Doctor's orders just... on the playful side."
"Amelia Pond! I could kiss you!"
Rory glared, "Again, I will shoot you."
Arthur smiled, "No need to fear Pond, for my heart lies elsewhere."
With a skip in their step, the trio was out the door and trotting for Camelot. The Ponds ran hand in hand as Arthur leapt and bound, bursting with excitement. "If we hurry we can reach them before they reach the Castle!" Arthur yelled back to them.
Amy smiled to Rory, "I do love it when you get all protective of me."
"I would've lost you to some alien or other ancient hero a long time ago if I didn't." They chuckled as they ran, struggling to keep up with Arthur's high spirit.
The Doctor and Merlin had plenty of trouble finding 'Arthur'. No one had seen him since the time they'd run into him earlier. They had just crept into Arthur's bedchamber when they heard someone outside the doors. The Doctor ducked behind the curtains while Merlin rolled under the bed. Breaths held, they listened as the door creaked open.
"Are you sure you saw them come in here?"
Merlin cursed in his head. That was Arthur's voice. They'd been seen! What were they going to do now? There was no escape, and he couldn't consult the Doctor from where he was.
The only thing left to do was use his magic. He started a spell under his breath, preparing to knock the intruders out...
"Rory, stay out of those weapons! You could hurt yourself."
All the breath in his lungs escaped when he heard Amy's voice. It was his Arthur. He slithered out from under the bed just as the Doctor flung the curtains apart.
"You had one job, Ponds! Why don't you ever listen?" he demanded crossly.
Merlin stepped up to his prince while the others were busy and took his hands. "You followed us."
"Yes," Arthur admitted sheepishly. "It was Amy's idea though."
The wizard stole a fleeting kiss. He was never going to tire of his new privilege.
"Good," he whispered. "I'm glad you came; I can't imagine doing this without you."
They listened as the time-travelers bickered. Amy finally calmed her best friend down, and he came up with a new plan.
"I think what we need is bait. Arthur, we'll dress you up as you usually are, then have you walk around the castle. The fake will have~ to come find you if it needs you dead. Any objections?"
"No." Merlin retorted, "That's too dangerous." he tightened his grip on Arthur's hands.
"Merlin, it's okay."
"There's no way I'm letting you do this Arthur!" he demanded.
Arthur grinned, "You were always looking out for me weren't you?" he leaned his head into Merlin's.
"If I didn't god knows where you'd be..."
Amy pulled the Doctor aside, "Doctor," she started, "They do understand that it's not really... the same Arthur or the same Merlin, right?"
"Pond." he smiled, ruffling her hair, "These two have a love to outlast time itself. It's the same boy in their eyes, and that's all that matters."
"But, have you ever heard of something like this? You know, falling in love with someone that's only partially the person-"
"Yes. Yes I have. I think it's fine." the Doctor seemed saddened.
"Who was it?"
There was a long, silent pause as the man stared at her. He looked so sad, "It was me."
Amy flinched, "You?"
"I had a different face back then, and Rose... well..."
"Rose? Doctor, who's Rose?"
There was another pause "Nobody... That's not the point. The point is that to them, it's the same person, just more within their reach. Same memories, same face, speech, posture, no matter it's all the same." he seemed to be staring off into nowhere, his eyes dull and lifeless, "Sometimes it's even better."
Amy watched as the Doctor turned abruptly, bounding back to the other two, seemingly un-phased, but she knew better. The Doctor was always like that, looking out for everybody else even if that meant he was hurting. There was still so much she didn't know about him. Was he always in that much pain?
"Alright!" the Doctor grinned, "Are we going to do this or do we need to think up a new plan, potentially loosing everything we've been working for?"
Merlin and Arthur were given some time to talk it over. The prince managed to convince his servant that it would be alright. He had plenty of experience in protecting himself...
"And besides," he whispered, "I have an all-powerful wizard watching my back. What could go wrong?"
The Doctor and the Ponds exited the room while Merlin helped his prince change. They didn't get very far before they started kissing. Merlin really was very distracting when he was undressing him. Eventually, they managed to get Arthur clean and dressed in his normal princely outfit. They joined the others in the hall, carefully keeping their faces blank. The Doctor looked at them knowingly, but said nothing. They snuck into the empty throne room.
"Rory, Amy. I need you to spread the word among the servants that Prince Arthur is in here. Be subtle about it! Merlin and I will hide back here. Arthur, you sit on your throne."
"That's it?" the prince demanded. "I just sit here, doing nothing?" He already hated the idea-he was a man of action, not waiting!
Merlin placed a calming hand on Arthur's arm. "It's only for a while, Arthur."
It wasn't more then an hour, but Arthur could barely contain himself within the walls. His impatience was unsettling and Merlin continually had to hold himself back from going to him. It was a luxury to have Arthur as his, and it was intoxicating not to have him. It bugged him a little that the prat he knew before was dead, but this was still Arthur, if not an improved version of him. It was more then he could have prayed for.
Finally, the doors opened, and a nervous looking prince stared at the one sitting on the throne. The game was on.