Greetings all! Sooo here is the next chapter (it is also pretty long), I don't think I did too horribly bad in the amount of time it took me to write and read over? Anyhow, thanks for all the reviews, comments, questions that the last chapter garnered; hope that this one is just as well recieved. This chapter does not follow one of the MErlin episodes like the last chapter did but exists inbetween them.

READ and REVIEW! oh and enjoy I suppose ;)

-hahahahah-

Chapter 7: Frog-Went-A Courting

Note: this chapter does not follow a specific episode as the last one did but serves as what occurs between episode seven, the witchfinder and episode 8, The sins of the Father.

"Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it."
― Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants

Arthur found himself oddly excited to be heading towards Gaius's chambers in search of a certain green eyed apprentice. Odd, because he was headed that way largely due to the slow, but steadily bleeding wound that was making it rather difficult to walk without grimacing.

He couldn't believe that he had been so careless as to allow himself to be injured by one of the druids he and his men had been responsible for rounding up. Somehow, one of the frail, but deceptively strong older women of the group, had managed to cause his own weapon to miss its target (one of the men that he had been pursing and later fighting) stabbing into his own calf instead. As a result of his momentary distraction and the resulting injury, the group had escaped; vanishing into the vine and smog ridden cliffs. Leaving nary a trail for Arthur and his men to follow.

Yes, if anything, the way she manipulated him into stabbing himself only proved Uther correct when he said magic was dangerous and to be feared. Who knew what one could do with it if they could cause what was akin to mind control at a moment notice?

Still, despite his steadily worsening injury, Arthur was feeling rather more excited then he would normally given his destination and cause. It had nothing….absolutely nothing to do with Henry….(and when had he started referring to the apprentice by his first name?)

Sighing internally, Arthur decided that it really wasn't all that important at the moment. After all, if he could refer to Merlin as a sort-of-friend, then why should he not be able to feel the same for his man-servant's half-brother? Exactly, there was no reason why he should not, or could not. And perhaps he was ignoring the fact that how he felt for Merlin's brother was definitely not the same thing that he felt for Merlin. Yes, denial was a lovely thing, and Prince Arthur was very, very good at it.

Gaius's door swung open before Arthur even had a chance to knock, revealing just the person he was looking for—though said person looked surprised to see him and appeared to be on his way out.

"Prince Arthur!" Henry cried in greeting, "you are back? I thought you said you would be gone until the end of the week?"

Arthur winced slightly—he had indeed said that he would be gone until Saturday, and had meant to be….his injury and the druid's unplanned escape had changed such plans however. "Er….things didn't exactly turn out the way they were supposed to…" he trailed off, gesturing towards the blood soaked bandage that had been wrapped rudimentarily around the stab wound.

"Shit! What the hell happened to you?" Henry asked as he took in the injury, before promptly turning scarlet when he realize just what he had said, and how he had addressed Arthur, "um…..right, well come in. Gaius is not here at the moment but I should be able to at least have a look at it and stop the worst of the bleeding. Though who knows how infected it is already…wrapped in that disgusting rag" he moved out of the doorway to allow Arthur entrance.

Arthur could not help but be secretly amused at how much Henry's mouth resembled Merlin's at times. It was like the habit for disrespecting royalty and speaking above their station was genetic or something. And while at the start (when he had just met Merlin) it had annoyed the prince greatly, overtime he had grown used to it….and almost fond(?) of the obliviousness to rules that it showed. Not to mention, it was rather refreshing to be spoken to without all the cow-toeing and ass-kissing (not that he would ever, EVER tell Merlin this).

Henry continued to mutter admonishments under his breath (and Arthur was pretty sure there was some tongue clicking involved) as he all but pushed Arthur to sit down on the previously vacant patient bed and set to unwrapping the bloody bandage.

Arthur let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding when Henry let go of his leg and moved across the room to fill up a basin of warm water, grabbing herbs of various types and quantities as he went. What the hell was wrong with him?! He was honestly starting to get concerned about his mental…and by association, physical health. His body should not be reacting the way it was to Henry's ministrations. Arthur had to think about Geoffry reading his beloved books naked to get rid of the problem his body seemed insistent on causing.

Now more than ever he was convinced that there was something decidedly wrong with him….not that he was sure what he should, or could do about it. After all, it was obviously something that a physician should deal with, but he could not bear the embarrassment or shame of bringing forth such an issue with Gaius, or even worse, Henry. His mind cringed at the thought of discussing such a thing with the very cause of the problem-no, definitely not going to happen!

"Relax please your highness….I can't properly clean the wound if you are tensed up like that" Henry's voice interrupted his panicking.

Arthur's gaze shot up to where Henry stood holding a sponge and basin, patiently waiting for Arthur to do as he said. Oh….oh no, not good. Not good at all…..Henry's hands there….yeah that thought was not going to help with the problem he had just gotten rid of!

Okay, he needed to calm down and think about something else. There was no reason why his body should betray him like this….no reason at all. It was mind over matter. So…so…he needed to distract himself! Yes! That was it! Distraction…..

What could he distract himself with? Perhaps if he talked to Henry about the mission and what had gone wrong? Yes….that should do it. There was absolutely nothing pleasurable about failing so spectacularly after all….

"I still can't believe they got away" Arthur muttered under his breath, though in truth it was said more as a distraction for himself then any being any real attempt at conversation.

"Who got away? I am assuming you are talking about whoever gave you this lovely gash? Lucky really a few inches higher and it would have hit your artery…..you are lucky or even Gaius's expertise would not have been able to save you from bleeding to death" the green eyed apprentice stated, though Arthur could practically hear the disapproval dripping from his voice.

"It was the druids. Every task to do with them ends up this way….if anything it proves that my father is right and that they are using magic. How else can you explain a few children, woman and an armful of men—all who have never held a sword in their life, being able to defeat a battalion of Camelot's best knights? It has to be magic….." Arthur scowled still smarting over his mistake, all while trying to come up with something that Uther would accept as to why they failed. Really, he could practically feel his father's disdain from here….maybe he could convince Henry to exaggerate his wounds and allow him to hide out in Gaius's rooms a little longer before he would be faced to face his father? It could work…..

Though finally looking—truly looking—at Henry's face he was not sure that staying here with the apparently angry apprentice was the better option.

"What? Why are you glaring like Merlin when I tell him to re-shine the armor?" Arthur finally asked when he could take the tense silence no longer. He had no idea what he had said to make Henry look that way. Perhaps he had a mental affliction? Arthur vaguely recalled hearing about some such condition which made its victims switch moods rapidly and without apparent reason….though if he remembered correctly it was generally only women who were affected and for a length of nine or so months…..

"Do you want me to give you the real answer or the answer that you want?" Henry finally responded with his own question.

"The real one of course" Arthur stated looking at the boy as though he had lost any sanity that he might have once possessed.

"I doubt very much that you are going to like my answer…." Henry hedged again pressing rather hard on the now mostly cleaned wound making Arthur hiss. Arthur could swear he was doing it on purpose.

"the real one" Arthur repeated stubbornly.

"Fine. I did warn you though….I'm wondering why you seem to be blaming the druids?"

"What?" Arthur asked truly confused by the question, "What are you talking about? Of course I blame them….they are after all, why I got injured, not to mention a number of my men…."

Henry gave him a long, hard look before moving back towards the bowl and wringing out the cloth he had been using, picking up a fresh bandage instead. "I am just wondering what exactly you expected them to do when faced with, as you said, a large group of highly trained killers carrying weapons and ill intent towards them and theirs?" Henry asked in a deceptively mild voice. He moved back towards Arthur and started to wrap his leg before continuing, "were you expecting them to lie down and come peacefully to what was most likely their death? To stand back and watch as you torched their homes, tortured their sons and burned their daughters? If it were you who was faced with such a situation, would you have done nothing? Not have defended yourself…regardless of the means?"

Arthur was shocked by Henry's words. It almost sounded as though he was defending the druids, saying that it was Arthur and his men who were in the wrong, not the magic practitioners! But…but that could not be…..Arthur felt an odd sense of peace around the boy…. surely he was not a traitor to Camelot….but how much about Merlin's half brother did he really know? After all, all he really knew about the boy was that Merlin refused to associate with him….maybe this was the reason? Merlin was loyal to a fault after all, maybe he knew his brother practiced magic or was a magic sympathizer and refused to have anything to do with him? But, then again, Merlin would have told Arthur something so serious…..so he had to be wrong. He was just overreacting…that was all. No need to start throwing around accusations, it would only get innocent people hurt after all…..

Though if Arthur really stopped to think about it, Henry's words did not sound so evil…..they did make sense in a way. Well, if you took magic out of the equation…..magic after all seemed to change everything. It might seem like a good, helpful thing to start with….but it tarnished and corroded until there was nothing left but evil. Uther had told Arthur enough stories, and Arthur had witnessed it time and again with his own eyes….

No, Henry simply did not understand that was all.

"No, it's not like that….you don't understand what magic can do…what it does to a person. I have seen it. Over and over again, it turns good men and women into things that are barely recognizable…" Arthur refuted with conviction. It was a conviction that had been years in the making—even if at times he still had doubts about his father's campaign, those doubts were fleeting at most.

"Hmmm….perhaps…." Henry answered though his face and tone stated quite clearly that he was not swayed in the least.

"What? You might as well say whatever it is that you are holding back. After all, if I wanted to harm you, you have already said more than enough for me to do so. I am not yet screaming for the guards so you might as well say whatever it is" Arthur said, though even as he was saying it, he was questioning his sanity. Why wasn't he calling for the guards? Was he afraid of what Henry might do to him before they got here?—no, that was ridiculous. The apprentice was much shorter and weighed at least two stones less than him...even if he did practice magic he would have trouble incapacitating Arthur before he could raise the alarm.

No, oddly enough, the reason Arthur was not screaming for the guards, was because he trusted Henry not to harm him or to be what Arthur would call evil. As weird as it was to trust a relatively unknown stranger…Arthur couldn't help it. He just did.

Henry hesitated for a brief moment then seemed to make a decision, squaring his shoulders, "it's just that I came from a neighboring kingdom where magic was not outlawed and people practiced freely….as far as I know, they did not have the problems with magic and violence that Camelot seems to. It is just curious as to why a kingdom such as Camelot, a place that persecutes and routinely executes magic users to protect its citizens, is one of the only places that encounters such issues…is it not?"

Arthur found he was unsure how to answer such a question. He had never really stopped to ask questions like that or think about magic in relation to other kingdoms. He wasn't sure what to make of it….after all, it was many things….and curious was one of them.

-oo—

"Hello Gwen, how are you doing today? I have the ulcer elixir for you. I made this batch, so it might be a little different than the one that Gaius usually makes you… though it should be just as effective….if it's not, please let me know" Henry greeted Gwen while handing over a beaker of pale green liquid.

Gwen dutifully took the solution, although couldn't quite stop the slightly doubtful glance at the changed medication that she normally received every week. Still, she smiled and thanked Henry, watching him give her a quick playful one in return before retreating from where he had come across her in the kitchen, just finishing ironing the last of Morgana's kirtles*.

She was trying….she really was.

She knew that rationally she had no reason or cause to feel the growing resentment that she felt towards the pixie like boy. He had been nothing but kind, courteous and charming towards her and the rest of the castle staff (in fact, she was pretty sure that most, if not all, the other serving girls and probably half of the boys, had convinced themselves that they were in love with the newcomer) and yet the festering feeling continued to grow.

And if she were to be truthful, she did know why…not that she would willingly admit the reason to anyone else, much less herself. It just seemed a tad bit coincidental that her anger and dislike of Henry had appeared right around the time that the prince took notice in the green eyed apprentice. Yes, it was perhaps not the most original or reasonable reason to not like someone, but then again, when did jealousy ever make sense?

The thing was, Gwen usually considered herself to be a centered, kind and giving person; someone who would not turn their nose up at others in need, who would not fall in the dangerous pitfall known as court gossip and trouble brewing. She was sensible, collected and independent. So the fact that she was apparently so caught up in her infatuation with Prince Arthur, that it was turning her petty and cruel would not have sat well with her, had she recognized that fact. But as with most people who find themselves under the obsessive powers of unrequited love, she did not.

Ever since Lady Morgana had come back with Henry in tow she, no… things, had been different (for although it was true that the Lady was indeed very different—more sullen and brooding, darker really—it was not just she who had shown signs of change). Though to be fair to her mistress; Lady Morgana's temperament and patience had been changing slowly, but surely, over the past year…not that Gwen could really blame her- after all, she was sure that she too would have changed if she suffered the terrible nightmares that her Mistress did. But still, changing she was. The only time that Gwen really caught sight of the carefree, happy girl that Morgana had once been, was when she was around the physician's apprentice.

It stung to know that he could bring out that side in her when everything that Gwen had tried had failed. But still, it was not until Prince Arthur had started seeking out the boy that Gwen's irritation at Henry had truly emerged. Oh, she knew—or at least was pretty sure—that neither Henry nor Arthur recognized it for what it was. But Gwen knew better….it was clear to anyone who actually took the time to regard the two when they interacted; the way that Arthur's smile would widen just a smidge at the sight of Henry, or how Henry would go above and beyond in any small task that Arthur asked of him (of course others would just say that the latter was because it was the prince, but somehow Gwen did not think that was the case).

The real tell was the look in Prince Arthur's eyes when he would glance surreptitiously over at the apprentice—she knew, because it was the same way that she looked at Arthur when she thought it was safe to.

Yes, it bothered her far more then she wanted to admit.

Not that those small clues were the only things to lead Gwen to her rather unhappy conclusion, no there were others, like the fact that suddenly Arthur did not seek her out in his free time. He no longer came by with flimsy excuses of needing something stitched and not trusting the other maidens to do so, or with quickly thought up questions about Merlin, which only she, as Merlin's friend, could answer. No, since the arrival of Henry—all of the Prince's free time had been spent making those flimsy excuses to Henry, not her. And she did not like it.

And perhaps that was the reason that she had said what she did to Merlin. After all, he was the only other person (besides Uther—and well, Gwen was not exactly going to go to Uther) who did not seem to worship the ground that Henry walked on. She had always hated gossips in the past and yet found herself unable to not do the very thing she so hated when it came to Henry.

She couldn't help but carefully question Merlin about his half brother…gearing most of the questions to where exactly the boy had been before his arrival in Camelot. And if some of her jealousy and resentment had leaked out in the form of suspicion over the royal's sudden kinship with the boy, well, it hadn't been on purpose. It had just slipped out.

If Merlin's interest seemed to peak at her ill concealed implications….well, it was just innocent enquiries.

After all, what possible harm could a bit of curiosity have?

-oo—

Arthur found himself about to do something that he had never found himself doing before; apologizing.

Alright, so perhaps apologizing was too strong of a word for what he was about (he hoped) to do, but it did fall somewhere within that definition. It was strange, while Arthur had done some rather horrible and unforgivable things in the past, he had never once felt the overwhelming need to find the person they were done to and set things right-not like he did now. That in itself was alarming.

After the rather awkward conversation (reprimand/scolding) Arthur had received from Henry, the prince had left rather hastily and….perhaps (not that he was going to come out and admit it) a tad rudely. Really though, it wasn't exactly his fault, after all, he was a prince and was not used to people disagreeing with him or outright disapproving his actions and words (outside of Uther of course, but seems Uther was the king and had yet to find something that he actually approved of when it came to his only son, Arthur did not really count his long standing disdain).

Arthur had avoided Gaius's assistant for the past three days and had finally come to the inevitable conclusion that he did not want to continue doing so. As weird as it was, (considering he had only known Henry for a short time) Arthur found himself missing the green eyed boy—both his dry, sarcastic humor, his conflicting confidant and endearingly shy personalities (he found the fact that Henry could go from a posed, confidant—almost cocky man, to a fumbling, embarrassed and shy one in a split second fascinating. It shouldn't have worked, but somehow when it came to the slim teen it did) and his thought provoking intelligence. Yes, if Arthur was not so set in his denial, he would recognize the fact that he was falling for one Henry Emrys—and fast.

He had not allowed himself to acknowledge this fact as of yet, but he had been forced to recognize that he had acted atrociously towards the other boy (especially since it had been him to demand Henry's honest opinion in the first place) and that should he want to continue developing their odd 'friendship', that he would need to hunt the other boy down and make amends. It sounded far easier then it was turning out to be however—and not just because Arthur was not entirely sure he would be able to force the words 'I am sorry' out of his mouth. No, Henry it would appear was very good at remaining unfound when he wanted to be.

It had gone past being grudgingly admire-some to downright irritating.

When Prince Arthur finally found his elusive target, he almost wished he hadn't….or at least that was what he tried to tell himself as he swallowed finding his throat suddenly very, very dry. He hadn't actually even been looking for Henry when he finally stumbled across the boy half naked, or at least he thought it was half (his body might be incapable of controlling itself, but his mind was not! He refused to let his gaze wander any lower than the surprisingly toned and very scarred chest of the swimming apprentice).

He was rather surprised that he had found Henry swimming in a little known lake several miles from town. In all the years that Arthur had been coming to this very place, precisely because hardly anyone knew about it, he had never stumbled across another soul. Instead of wasting valuable time pondering on just how a virtual stranger to Camelot had come across his sanctuary, when many other, far more knowledgeable in Camelot and her surrounding areas had failed, Arthur just summed it up to being just another anomaly that made up the enigma that was Henry Emrys.

It was only after Arthur had finally managed to drag his uncooperative eyes (and brain) away from the rather tantalizing sight, that Arthur truly comprehended the information presented by such a vision. As he had mentioned before, Henry was surprisingly fit and scarred for a simple civilian; Arthur could not help but feel his curiosity peak.

He moved further into the clearing, not bothering to hide his approach with his usual stealth until he was visible to Henry from where he was standing half emerged in the lakes cool waters, staring absentmindedly down at its surface.

Henry's head snapped up to where he was standing, surprise lighting briefly in emerald eyes. "Prince Arthur" he stated in way of greeting, his tone deferential for once.

Arthur almost flinched. It would appear his actions and words earlier in the week had, had more of an effect on their slowly, but until then steadily, developing relationship then he had thought. Internally he sighed but shored himself up to do the one thing that he had sworn he would never do.

"Henry….." he trailed off taking a deep breath before soldiering on, "I have been looking for you…."

"Oh? Did you need something? Gaius gave me the afternoon off, but if he is unavailable?" Henry asked tone polite but Arthur could sense a defensive edge to his words that had not been present before between them.

"No, no….I uh…." Arthur denied quickly, searching for what he wanted to say, before shaking his head in irritation as he tried again, "look Henry, I..I wanted to apologize. For my words. Earlier." He finally managed to ground out. Seeing Henry's neutral and unreadable expression he forced himself to continue, "and my actions, it was beneath…wrong of me to act that way after asking you to tell me your true opinion. I have to admit that your frankness came as a surprise, and I admit that I did not react as I should have. For that I am sorry…."

Henry stayed silent for a long moment simply staring back at him, as though studying the sincerity in his words, "did you think about what I said?" he finally asked sounding mainly curious.

Well, wasn't that the question of the day.

Arthur wondered briefly if he should tell Henry the truth or lie. Eventually he settled on the truth. "I have…." He paused " and while I admit that some of the things you said did make sense….I just can't see magic as something that is alright to use…." He trailed off, but hastily added as he saw the corners of Henry's mouth turn down slightly at his statement, "but I am willing to try and judge on a case to case basis…or at least consider the reasons behind certain actions and reactions."

And it was true. While Arthur still could not wrap his head around there being a good reason to use magic (because while the druids did only use it to defend themselves, what would happen should one of the druids decide to take and use such a power for something beyond defense?) he was willing to at least stop and question why it was being used and for what, when he came across magic users. He was still undecided on whether someone should be arrested for simply possessing the ability or not. To be fair, it was something that he had always been a bit hesitant to agree with Uther on.

After all, how could a small child be evil and capable of the horrors that Uther swore magic users were? Yet, that being said Arthur had still not seen magic being used for good. He therefore, was not sure where he stood on the matter.

But as he told Henry, he would be willing to at least consider the reasons for those caught using it, before burning them on the stakes…and in the off chance that he did find a sorcerer who used their magic only for good….well, perhaps he could find leniency for them when he was king. Still, it was a long ways off before he had to make a decision on the matter. His father would be king for many years to come yet.

"Ok" Henry answered appearing to accept Arthur's statement at face value. Apparently it was enough for the apprentice that the prince was even willing to stop and consider another opinion that was not his own.

That solved, Arthur felt his own curiosity creeping up on him once more. Just why was the boy standing in front of him—the boy who had supposedly been largely a merchants son- covered in what looked like battle scars?**

"What is it?" Henry asked, sounding overly resigned.

Arthur fought down the sudden flush of embarrassment and slightly guilty feeling he had over where his current and previous thoughts had been (while his previous thoughts were much different than his current ones, they both concerned Henry, and were both rather intrusive…just in different ways). Still, Arthur had never been one to let something go—especially when it had caught his interest.

"Where did you get all of those scars from?...they look like the battle wounds of a soldier"

Ok, so he also wasn't the most subtle at satisfying his curiosity. He almost felt bad as he watched Henry flush with embarrassment (?) at the question and shift looking thoroughly uncomfortable under Arthur's scrutinizing gaze.

He seemed to pause as though searching for a way to answer Arthur's question, though Arthur quickly dismissed such suspicions as being overly paranoid when he did finally answer. "In the village I grew up in, it was quite common for boys over the age of five to train and fight each other and those older in mock battles. It was considered an honor to be adept at hand to hand combat…plus…." Henry shrugged letting his sentence trail off.

When it became apparent that he wasn't going to continue with the rest of his sentence Arthur prompted, "plus?"

Henry flushed again, not quite meeting Arthur's eye (and once again, when he did answer Arthur shrugged off such a physical response as embarrassment rather than a sign of being lied to) "plus, my father was a bit of a….fana….a patriot, you could say. His dream was to have a son who would one day fight for his kingdom, preferably as an official knight. He was determined to see this happen despite the fact that we are not of noble blood or rank, he figured that if one was skilled enough that they would be accepted regardless of nobility….not that I was ever able to achieve that level of skill…or any skill really" he admitted quietly while finally walking out of the water and quickly throwing on his previously discarded clothes.

Arthur could tell there was something that Henry wasn't telling him, but did not want to push the boy he had just apologized to any further. Not to mention the statement reminded him with a guilty twinge of Lancelot—who, while Arthur currently did not particularly care for (what with his previous inappropriate association with Gwen), he still thought would make a brave and worthy knight; despite his lack of nobility. It was just another thing that Arthur had felt doubt over when in regards to Uther's laws. He felt strangely guilty over the fact that Henry could not hope on becoming a knight, no matter his skill level (even if the apprentice had just stated he lacked said skills). ***

Perhaps that was why he ended up doing what he did—at least he would later convince himself that was the reason…it most certainly did not have anything to do with wanting to spend more time, in close (extremely close if it went the way it normally did) contact with Henry.

"I could work with you if you wanted?" he offered before really thinking it through.

It was the shocked…no stunned, look on Henry's face that made him realize just how unusual and well, inappropriate his offer really was. After all he was a PRINCE, and he was offering to train a mere serving boy…well, physician's apprentice, but close enough.

"On what exactly?" Henry asked as though he couldn't quite believe what the prince had just said.

Here was his chance, here was Arthur's chance to back out and make the offer into something much safer and more innocuous….he could pretend that he hadn't said a thing, to step away-

"I could help train you, if you wanted….work with you on your sword skills…..not anything official mind you, but being able to defend yourself is never a bad thing"

-And he didn't. No stepping away for Arthur, it would seem that his mind had now joined his body in its determination to betray him. Lovely.

Henry looked at him as though he was slightly insane (and maybe he was), seeming as though he was going to turn him down politely (Arthur half hoped he would).

"I suppose it couldn't hurt" the green eyed boy said cautiously.

And inside, Arthur secretly cheered.

-0-

Morgana felt decidedly rebellious at the moment; what with her darkly drawn cloak, the secret prearranged meeting place, and her decision to aid those like her. Yes, despites the danger and suspicion that any one of the aforementioned actions (much less all three) would bring had Uther known about them, Morgana could not quell the overall feeling of glee they brought her.

They probably could have met within her rooms or in an abandoned/seldom used hallway, true—but why take a chance? not to mention, keeping Henry off of Uther's radar was never a bad thing.

She felt a smile break out when she heard the soft snap of a twig and turned to see the very person that she had been waiting for, what felt like forever to speak with. Because despite the fact that they both lived within the citadel walls and interacted in some form on a nearly daily basis, they could not truly sit and discuss what they wanted to when within those walls.

"How are you my Lady?" her companion asked a teasing note added to her title. She fought back a smile at his nerve (though they were much closer to being on equal terms since finding out about each others' magic then they had been before), sending him a half hearted glare instead.

"I am fine….and you? I can't help but notice that you are spending a fair amount of time with a certain brother of mine as of late? Is that wise?" she asked one of the questions that had been plaguing her over the past week. She loved Arthur… she did—well, in her own way. But her brother was far too under Uther's thumb at the moment to truly be trusted and she worried that with the increased amount of time that Henry seemed to be spending with her brother that he would slip up and be discovered. It was the last thing that she wanted; she finally had an ally, someone who understood her, who was like her in the magic hating court of Uther, she could not lose it because her brother was too small minded to see the truth.

Henry gave her an assessing look before sending a small but reassuring smile her way, "I am fine Morgana, please do not worry about me. I can take care of myself, promise."

Not entirely satisfied with his answer she still allowed the matter to drop for the moment, after all, she had other reasons for asking him to meet her out here.

"I have heard some disturbing rumors lately…" she began waiting to see if Henry knew where she was going with her statement. Sadly, the she could not guess at what he was thinking as he waited patiently for her to continue.

"I have heard that the king has upped the number and severity of raids against those with magic, but in particular against the druids…" It had been plaguing her for the past few days, ever since she had overheard a few of the knights talking about having to go back into the woods yet again to hunt for the various groups of magic users. Gossiping on how they had found a smaller group of druids and slaughtered them where they stood; every last man, woman and child—the knights had made it sound like sport.

"He's always been a paranoid bastard, but he seems to be growing more so….his determination to find and eliminate the remaining druids has become an obsession. I cannot stand to sit by and watch as he continues to hunt and persecute good, innocent people- woman and children! I-I'm so tired of living my life always waiting for the other shoe to drop….It-it's not fair! I don't think I can continue this way for much longer Henry, I want…no I Need to do something, anything, to show Uther that he is not a god and does not have the final say in who has the right to live and die!" Morgana ranted letting the frustration that had been building within her out.

"And what are you planning on doing Morgana? I can tell that this is not just some spur of the moment decision for you….I can only assume you have a plan…" Henry asked his tone cautious.

"Well, sort of….okay, not really. But I do know that I want to help them….the druids that is. I don't know what I can possibly do to help them without exposing myself or others to Uther's tyranny. There is not much that can be done with Uther in power…." She trailed off, though her implication was as plain as day.

Henry sucked a breath in, but did not deny her statement. "I know. But you need to think this through Morgana….right now you are emotional—rightly so!" he said quickly when she opened her mouth to retort, "….but that will not help anything in the long run. All it will do is get you killed. If you are serious about this, we need to do it smartly, take time, come up with a plausible plan and solution—one that will not cause the entire kingdom to turn on itself. It needs to be about justice, not revenge"

Morgana wanted to protest, although she knew that his words made sense. She was just so sick of it all! She wanted things to change and to change now! She didn't want to wait and come up with a 'sensible' plan or solution like Henry was suggesting….she wanted Uther gone yesterday! But she knew that Henry was right, she was letting her own experiences with Mordred, and the recent rumors rile her up. She knew she needed to get a better handle on her temper or Uther would end up winning.

"What's more, you need to get a better handle on your own magic and skills. You need to be able to defend yourself or to get yourself out of a bad situation should it come down to that. If you want, I can try and teach you what I know. It is not a lot, but it is different from what you would learn from the druids or other magic users around here….I am willing to do this if, and only if you are willing to come to me before you do anything hasty."

Morgana found herself agreeing: She wanted better control over her magic; she wanted to be able to defend herself and others should she need to. But most of all she wanted to be powerful enough to make Uther pay.

If she had to tell a small white lie to get Henry's help in doing so….well, so be it.

-0—

"You need to loosen your grip"

Harry found himself scowling at the prince rather than actually following his advice and to his annoyance (and well hidden shame) felt Arthur's sword clash against his own with enough force that it sent a zinging feeling reverberating up his arm. Ow.

"If I loosen my grip, I am just going to end up dropping the bloody thing. Why do they make them so awkward?—they are heavy and far too long to be of any practical use. I hate this thing" Harry whined—no, not whined….voiced. Yes, he was in no way whining like a child….he was after all, a war hardened, wise and mature individual and therefore did not whine but simply voiced the inadequacy of such a stupid weapon. He really missed the good old days that consisted of a few simple Aveda Kedavras and expelliramuses.

True to the prince's word, he and Harry had been meeting regularly (well, if you could call two meetings in a week regular) for Arthur to try and instruct him in the art of bashing others with pointy sticks. So far, Harry was sorry to say that he had not been proven a prodigy; which in itself was weird.

After all, Myror was an assassin, Harry was a magic wielding warrior, the combination of the two should have proven to be a bad ass at all things dangerous and lethal. It appeared however, that this was not the case.

Oh sure, Myror was very talented in killing with darts, knifes, sabers, crossbows, poisons, and garrotes-he was not, however, all that talented with broadswords and chainmail. It was a rather large oversight in the assassin's repertoire in Harry's opinion, but hey, it wasn't as though his half was any better with the heavy, awkward, annoying thing.

It was just that the sword that Arthur had been trying to teach him to use was so big and heavy. Harry was not a big guy, no in fact he was rather petite and well, scrawny….his physique was not meant to be used in heavy, head on conflict, no,…his physique was much better suited in stealth and silent assassination. Not that he could exactly tell Arthur this. Therefore he was forced to look and feel like an incompetent fool in front of his crush the prince.

Not that this should matter to Harry….and it didn't. Not at all, well…. not most of the time. Ok, not every second of his waking day...

Because the rest of his day was spent worrying. Worrying over a number of things, yes….but mainly worrying over his fluctuating feelings towards said prince. It would be bad enough if Harry simply had a crush on the prince—it would be embarrassing yes, but it could be excused. After all, Arthur did have rather gorgeous and slightly wavy golden hair and soulfully blue eyes. But no, in true Harry fashion, what he felt towards the prince could not be explained away as a simple crush.

Because while yes, he admittedly found his gaze drawn towards the royal heir at random times during the day and he felt flustered and warm in his presence, there were times (rare but they were there) that he also felt an all consuming anger and anger towards the prince. Not the easily explained frustration or annoyance that might be attributed to Arthur's snobbery, or small mindedness. Not the exasperation that stemmed from Arthur's views on magic. No this was a hatred, an anger, that did not feel like it belonged to Harry. It felt like it was wholly somebody else's, and Harry did not like it.

It made him want to pull away from the prince, to avoid him at all costs. And yet the other side…the part that wanted to talk, to touch and just be with the prince, fought to ignore such sentiments. It was leaving Harry a hot mess.

"Are you even trying to pay attention?" Arthur's slightly (ok more than slightly) annoyed question broke through Harry's contemplations.

"Um….yes?" Harry answered doing his best to look innocent.

From the look Arthur shot him, he fell a little short.

"Fine….try that last maneuver again, this time relax your grip a bit and move with the swings—you don't need to hold yourself so rigidly"

Harry sighed but tried to put his focus into what Arthur had instructed….and it worked(!)…well, almost. It would have worked had Arthur not chosen the moment Harry brought the sword down to move to the side slightly, the momentum and weight of the weapon causing Harry to lurch forward and somehow tangle his feet with Arthurs. It was only after the daze caused by impacting hard against the ground had passed, that Harry became aware that his own fall had resulted in the prince also falling.

On top of him to be exact. With his face inches away from Harry's.

Neither of them moved for a moment, the prince staring down at him with an intensity that made him want to squirm (but that would have been a very bad move considering their current positions….very, very bad). He could swear his heart stopped as Arthur seemed to lean even closer to him; his focus entirely on Harry's mouth.

For a second, a brief wonderful second, Harry could have sworn that Arthur was going to kiss him.

And then it was over. Arthur drew back hastily and hoisted himself to his feet, his face flushed (Harry was pretty sure it was not from exertion). "I-I have to go. Forgot that I was supposed to meet with Sir Kellen about tax collection parameters" the prince muttered not looking at Harry (who was still lying on the ground, confused as to what had just happened but not happened).

And with that the Prince spun, grabbing his own sword which had been lying abandoned to the side, and beat a hasty retreat.

Harry stared after him his gaze a mix of confusion, longing and regret; and if there was an unexplained anger hidden in its depths….well, Harry just chose to ignore that small detail.

*Notes:

Chapter title: taken from the children's book titled, Frog Went A-Courtin

The story summary is: Frog fights and kills Miss Mouse's other suitors (an owl, bat and bumblebee) after they interrupt his proposal. Uncle Rat's permission received, the two work out details of the wedding. Some versions end with a cat, snake or other creature devouring the couple and wedding guests. Sometimes Frog gets away, but is later swallowed by a duck. Apply metaphors as you see fit ;)

**Harry's soul joined up with Myror's in Myror's old body (for this story I am having myror look similar to Harry aka—black hair, green eyes, slim build, and not like the cannon myror). Therefore Harry while not having the scars that would be present on his old body, does have the ones on Myrors….as myror was an assassin it is safe to say he probably has his fair share of battle wounds, not to mention abuse scars from his earlier years.

***Harry is obviously lying to Arthur. Not a particularly good lie, but hey it would seem as though for now Arthur is inclined to believe him. Wonder when it will come back to bite our dear hero? Muhuahahaha

Please note I know literally nothing about sword play/sparring/fencing etc. So if the advice Arthur is giving Harry is completely bogus….well….ops? ;) hehe just go with it!