PAIRING: Merlin/Arthur from the Television Series: Merlin.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the TV Series. I am not making any money. This is for entertainment only. This did not happen. This story is slash fan-fiction. Slash means that the main characters are Gay. If you don't like this sort of story, don't read.
SUMMARY: Rating MA. Romance/Danger Arthur wants Merlin badly but isn't sure that Merlin feels the same so he decides to throw down a challenge. This takes place after Uther marries the Troll in Season 2. The story contains spoilers from that episode. Story contains an OC.. Story contains a male OC.
RATING: MA
AUTHOR: Rufferto9 (rufferto9 )
CHAPTER : 4 of 7

CHAPTER FOUR
A Haunting Past

***EARLY MORNING***

Samuel did not know why he continued to stay with Uther. In fact, he was pretty surprised that Merlin hadn't caught on or noticed him. Wasn't he supposed to be a great wizard? It wasn't as though he had a great deal of magic like the great warlock, just enough to make him useful. He supposed their magic was very different. He'd been with Uther since they were boys together. Uther had changed almost completely when Ygraine died, and though he knew the King was aware he used magic, he knew that Uther could never punish him for it.

And so it was that the occasional dirty dead fell to him, the one man that used magic Uther trusted absolutely. Samuel wasn't his only manservant but he was the one that turned things down at night and heard him mumbling fretfully in his sleep. A quiet word would always chase the nightmares away. For years he'd been overlooked and that was just as well because for the things he did required one to be unnoticed.

Earlier that evening Samuel had followed Merlin and slipped something into his dinner. Now it was time for more drastic action. Ever since Merlin had come to Camelot, Samuel had stopped using anything other than minor spells he knew would get passed the dragon's notice. He stole through the physician's lair and up to their bedrooms. He found Merlin's door and crept inside. No lock could keep him out. The room was dark and quiet except for the sleeping warlock's steady breathing. Shadows flickered on the walls as the manservant moved. Merlin shifted in his sleep and whispered Arthur's name.

Samuel frowned. Uther had been very specific as to what he wanted done and he drew out some rope that he had brought with him. Just as he was about to begin this dastardly deed there was a sharp intake of breath at the door.

"Who are you! Get away from him!" Arthur thundered, he would have drawn his sword but he was standing in the doorway with a face full of rage.

The manservant, all shadows and black clothing was impossible to identify. He knew how to remain anonymous in this world. "Stay back!" He commanded in a low guttural voice, the rope twisted on its own and turned into a snake to Arthur's very confused surprise. In the magic tongue, Samuel told the snake to attack and it did just that.

"Guards! Call out the guard! Palace intruder!" Arthur shouted. "Wake up, Merlin!" Arthur found himself face to face with a vicious giant cobra while Merlin slept on. He quickly looked for something to defend himself with and grabbed an end table. He kicked at it and broke a leg off. At least he had a weapon now.

Wham! Whack! Crunch! Arthur fought against the snake furiously.

Samuel knew he didn't have a choice now, he hadn't expected Arthur to show up and he needed to leave some kind of message behind so that Uther would not be suspected. "We will come back for him." He spoke cryptically and while the Snake continued to bite and hiss at Arthur he spoke another magic word and the meager window in Merlin's room flew open. To the Prince's surprise, he ran for the window and jumped out of it. Arthur fought the snake back in time to see the intruder shift his form and fly away. /fly/ away.

As Arthur battled the snake, the guards in the palace were already clamoring up the stairs to Merlin's room and Gaius was awake in his nightcap looking confused. At least they all saw the snake before it turned back into a rope and Arthur just stared at it in astonishment. Merlin himself was dead to the world while all this was going on.

"Why isn't he waking up!" Arthur demanded of Gaius who gave a helpless shrug.

"What in the world happened?"

"Sire, what happened? Is the intruder gone?"

"Jumped out the window!" Arthur cried out. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he was shirtless in his pajamas until he noticed Gaius' withering stare.

The Physician was hovering over Merlin's bed and checking him. "You go hunt that thing, I'll take care of our young friend."

Arthur stared desperately at Merlin for a moment, willing him to –wake up-. There was no time to lose though! He turned and sprinted out with his men. Who naturally all wondered why they were going to all this trouble for a servant.

All the commotion was waking people up in the palace, of course and rumors and panic began to spread around. What in the world was going on?!

MORNING

Merlin's eyes fluttered open and he yawned. "What time is it?" He blinked as he realized Gaius was in his room. .. and the state of his room. "I slept in didn't I?"

"At last." Gaius gave a grunt. "I had to give you something to wake you up. You were out, I daresay on purpose. Someone made sure you wouldn't wake up through it all."

"Through what?" He took the small drink that that Gaius made him swallow down. His throat was sore and his body was aching for some reason. How could that be when he slept so long.

"Well." Gaius sighed. "Someone tried to kidnap you last night."

"You're joking. Me?" Merlin stared.

"I wouldn't joke about a thing like that. Fortunately Arthur chose just that moment to appear in his pajamas and chase the intruder away." Gaius said that whole statement with such a straight face that Merlin started to laugh, then stopped.

"Arthur was here?" Merlin paused, flushed. "In his pajamas?!" He shot right up.

"Relax people were too busy searching the Palace to notice he was in his pajamas." Gaius hoped, anyway.

Merlin sighed, and hoped Gaius was right. "Why would anyone want to kidnap me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

***
AFTERNOON

The search party came back empty-handed. They were also still somewhat confused as to why they were wasting time on a servant. Arthur basically wouldn't listen to any commentary and since they didn't get any answers and he was tired and hadn't eaten anything he was in a terrible mood when they returned. He found Merlin eventually and was extremely pleased to see he'd actually woken up. That did lighten his mood somewhat but he was ravenous and exhausted.

"You were supposed to sleep last night after -um." Merlin's lips twitched at the look Arthur gave him. They weren't exactly alone in the room. Gaius gave a long suffering sigh and set a bowl he'd been working on down on the counter loudly.

"No wait-." Arthur turned to the Physician. "Don't leave. Was Merlin drugged?"

"It appears so." Gaius nodded.

Arthur grunted. "Well that settles it." He crossed his arms across his chest with scowl. "Merlin will be staying in my chambers until we find who did this."

"What!" Merlin turned. "I will not!"

"It's not a request, Merlin." Arthur stated firmly and that tone of voice meant that he wouldn't budge.

"Are you completely insane?"

"Get your stuff, I don't have all day." Arthur snapped.

Knowing better than to argue when he was in this kind of mood Merlin just went to pack up. He didn't have that much and was out quickly. "I'm ready, sire." He muttered.

"That's it?" Arthur looked incredulous.

"Not all of us need 50 different shirts."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Arthur nodded once at Gaius. "See if you can figure out what type of drug was used and if we can trace it that way. Maybe it was purchased in the city."

As it was an intelligent request, Gaius nodded. "I will do so, Sire." He'd already taken samples of Merlin's blood to dilute and test for any clues.

Merlin trudged up the stairs after Arthur dragging his feet.

At the top of the stairs, Samuel was carrying something to Uther's chambers when he saw this development. He'd of course doubled back. Uther was not going to be pleased. Their plan had backfired and only served to draw the two closer. And if Uther still wanted him to get rid of Merlin he'd have to double his efforts. And being that neither of them –ever- noticed Samuel, they of course just passed him on by arguing about where Merlin was going to sleep.

When they got to Arthur's room Merlin tossed his bag down and was about to give Arthur a piece of his mind when the Prince was across the room in an instant. He was gathered up in a hug so tight he thought he could hardly breathe. "I won't let anything happen to you." He promised. "I won't." He stroked Merlin's hair gently. "I'll take care of this. You ARE staying here with me until it is over and we find the people trying to hurt you."

"Alright, Alright..." Merlin was surprised by the heartfelt sincerity in Arthur's tone and patted him on the back. "We'll figure it out."

Arthur pulled his head back to gaze at Merlin, as he was about to say something his stomach growled. "I'm hungry." He gave the young mage a plaintive look and Merlin laughed.

"I'll get you something from the kitchens." Before Arthur could protest Merlin put a hand on his chest gently. "Don't worry no one is going to nab me in broad daylight." He reached up gently fondled Arthur's lower lip ... where he'd left a small but noticeable mark. "That's getting a bit swollen. I'll ask Gaius for some ointment."

"No." Arthur shook his head. "I like it, let it heal and fade."

"I'll be back quickly with food." Merlin promised. He looked around Arthur's suite and scratched his head. "Where am *I* going to sleep?"

"Are you seriously even asking?" Arthur grunted.

Merlin looked at the bed, *looked* at Arthur. "No way. I'll grab a bedroll."

He tugged out of the Prince's arms and scrambled away to fetch lunch.

**EVENING**

Rumors were flying around the Castle when it became known that Merlin was staying in Arthur's chambers. "It's not what you think!" Morgana protested to a concerned noble. "He's just protecting him."

"Rather extreme don't you think?"

"You know Arthur, Extreme is his middle name." Morgana countered and stalked off. Really people were bothersome and should mind their own business. It didn't help that some of the staff had noticed that Arthur had somehow been down in the Physician's quarters and hadn't quite been decent. She and Gwen did their best to explain away and Gaius put a few words in of his own. He explained that Arthur had been sick and had come down to get medicine.

Really it was like Arthur never /thought/ before he did these things.

What was really bothering her was that it seemed the nature of her dream had come true. Someone had tried to capture Merlin and if Arthur hadn't been there he'd probably be drowned. She bit her lower lip and stood nervously by her window because she had a strong feeling she would have the same dream tonight and it wasn't over.

As for Uther he was tired of being angry. Once again, Arthur had defied him and it felt like history was repeating itself. Arthur wouldn't have an heir just as he had suffered and he couldn't abide the idea that the line of Pendragon would end with Arthur. Where was Samuel? A part of the older man could never find comfort unless he knew that one was near even though it had ended more than twenty years ago. He didn't want Arthur to suffer the same fate he did, the same curse and the same heartache but what could he do? He rubbed the back of his neck. If he continued with this course of action he was simply pushing them closer and closer together. He would need to think long and hard. He didn't want Arthur to suffer as he did. He feared, though, it was too late. Samuel, however, was nowhere to be found. Which was odd, because he was always here at around this time of day, Uther hoped he could catch the other and tell him that he'd decided to call it off. He'd begun to realize that the relationship was fraught with its own problems and it would only drive a wedge between himself and his son if he continued down this path. He'd changed his mind.

"Send for Samuel." He told his day servant. His other manservant gave Uther a strange look as though he wasn't sure the man was in his right mind.

Instead of going to find Samuel, the manservant instead sought out Gaius.

"Master Physician, I have a deep concern for his majesty's state of mind. I thought perhaps you might give him something to help him sleep." The man ventured softly.

"Why, what has happened?"

"He asked for Samuel, sir."

Gaius' frowned, "But Samuel has been dead for almost 40 years." A situation that Gaius remembered well and if Uther was asking for Samuel, something had sparked that memory. Could it have been his discovery of the relationship between Merlin and Arthur? Stranger things have happened.

The other man shrugged helplessly.

"I'll look into it, thank you. In the meantime, if his majesty asks again, tell him that Samuel has work that took him out of the city and he'll be back in a few days. We'll need to monitor the situation."

"Yes sir, I'll do that sir."

Samuel. Gaius frowned again. Samuel was most certainly dead. He'd seen him die with his own eyes a long time ago when he was a younger man. He would never forget the look on Uther's face and the terrible days that followed.

Merlin had waited for a long time after dinner, Arthur sure wasn't hurrying up. Gaius hadn't found any other information yet on what had been given to him. He had to admit that he was a little nervous and on pins and needles. Would Arthur try and break their deal? What number were they on anyway? Tonight would be Kiss Number Four. He touched his lips softly and would forever remember their first encounter. Where this would all lead, he did not know.

He opened the window to let in some cool air and turned down the covers of Arthur's bed. He knew it was nice and soft and wondered what it would be like to curl up on it. A smile played across his lips. If Arthur was going to take his time then Merlin would experiment.

He shrugged out of his jacket and kicked off his boots and tossed down his scarf on his meager pile of clothing. A wash basin filled with clear clean water was waiting for Arthur's personal use and he helped himself to a bit of it to wash his face and neck and a few other essential areas. He was careful to leave enough clean water for Arthur. Once dry and smelling a little better he opened one of the drawers he knew contained fresh clean night shirts. A devious little smirk played across his lips and he selected one of those shirts.

When Arthur returned he was greeted to a most interesting sight. He'd been sharing a few drinks with his father who had apologized for his behavior and things seemed to be going a little better. On his bed, Merlin was sprawled, dressed only in one of his shirts. It was ridiculously huge on the smaller man and Arthur started to snicker...and stopped when he saw the look in Merlin's eyes.

"You mentioned sharing." Merlin gave Arthur an innocent look as he simply stayed where he was. He had brought a small bedroll up but he'd wanted to see the look on Arthur's face.

"I did." Arthur's eyes began to smolder and he locked his bedroom door. "You're playing with fire, Merlin. Do you even know what you are doing to me?"

Merlin pulled his legs up and rested on his knees. "I trust in your honor." He said simply.

It was the fastest he'd ever got ready for bed in his life! Within a few minutes he was on the bed and on top of Merlin. He pulled Merlin's legs down and settled in-between them. With a swift movement he rocked upward creating delicious friction. Instead of continuing in his onslaught he simply pinned Merlin to the bed and panted from the activity. "Are you sure you want one kiss?"

Merlin had been so surprised by the movement he hadn't had a chance to react. Once given that chance he held on to Arthur's shoulders and swallowed. "That's the deal." What he wanted was another story. They were both hard and needy and his body was filled with all-consuming, incredibly intense desire. He knew how it all worked, of course. He'd read about it and his friend Will had explained a long time ago. Arthur inside him... His mind raced. How wonderful that would feel!

It was also precious to him that Arthur wouldn't take him without asking. The Prince's eyes said all that needed to be said. One word and he would stick to the deal. When Merlin hesitated to answer, Arthur kissed his forehead gently. "I love you, Merlin and I want you but only when you're ready for it."

I love you Merlin.

Merlin's heart soared. He smiled up at Arthur, still pinned and aching. "I want my Kiss. We made a deal. I get seven. Then we can do that."

Arthur gave a slightly frustrated sigh but Merlin's words made him grin.

Then we can do that.

So he would!

Arthur brushed their foreheads together and gave a soft whimper of compliance. "You're going to be the death of me, Merlin." He whispered.

So there was a kiss and Merlin wondered how it was sweeter than the others but it was. He felt Arthur take control and instead of warring for dominance the Prince was teasing him and twisting him. He was finding new and interesting ways to completely and thoroughly get everything he wanted out of a single Kiss. Merlin felt his very soul was under siege and he didn't fight it. He accepted everything there was of Arthur to give. He wanted all of it and soon realized that his love was more than willing to reciprocate in kind. His resolve to get through the night with just one kiss was waning and just when he knew he'd never be able to resist another the kiss was over. In spite of his needs, Arthur had put Merlin first.

Arthur smiled at him and brushed the hair from his eyes. "Good night, Merlin."

He scrambled out of Arthur's bed, breathing heavily. "Good night, Arthur."

Merlin blew out the candles and dropped onto his own mattress. He knew for sure that it would be a long while before he fell asleep.

Arthur found it even harder to sleep. Merlin hadn't said anything back.

***LATE NIGHT***

He watched Uther Sleep as he always did for many many years now.

He had been busy preparing another trap and this time, Merlin would not escape him.

From all that he knew about magic, it could also be possible that with Merlin's death /he/ could live again. He never blamed Uther for what happened. Uther could do nothing. His father had been just as terrifying.

Merlin had great magic inside him as Samuel did. That was why he was still roaming the halls of Camelot, still tied to Uther.

Still here and willing to do anything Uther needed. He was powerful enough to affect the real world and had the kind of power that sticks to the shadows. It was harder to notice and even harder to fight.

***TBC***