Warnings for the previous chapter apply to this one as well, please read if you haven't already.

About a week had passed since the arrangement had been made, fortunately for Merlin however, he hasn't had to do anything yet. He was nervous. He had heard of stone memorials that were crafted in memory of kings and pharaohs from far away lands. Their nude body was sculpted to perfection in different color stone and materials. Most of the time, these statues were completely...naked. The woman of whom he learned the name to be Aetheria, was a much bolder woman than he first thought. The impression he had of her from the throne room was some scared, strange, rich woman who was asking for weird things. Now however based on the few conversations they have had since then, she's proven herself to be totally different. It was all a show, like a submissive act. Uther didn't take too well to defiant people. Her facade worked perfectly, and he was nearly impressed.

Arthur had also been looking at him more. It was like he was studying Merlin while he did the basic chores around his chambers. His eyes followed the paths he took. He like no doubt everyone else, was wondering why this skinny, bony servant was chosen to model for a female sculptor. It was ridiculous! Arthur tried to hide his curious starring, but he was as stealthy as an elephant with bells around it's neck.

By late that day, Merlin got to understand why he was chosen by Aetheria.

" It's good to see you Merlin, how are you today?" Aetheria asked, walking alongside Merlin as they made their way down to her recently renovated work space. It was located down a darker, damp corridor where the floors were wet and moss grew on the stone. It was very slippery; he had to watch his step carefully in fear of falling.

" I am fine," he said side stepping a partially large puddle.

" That's good to hear. I'm very glad you decided to join me. How are you feeling about the arrangement?"

" Uhh," Merlin hummed with a hand on the back of his neck," Fine I guess.."

" Nervous?" She guessed.

" Yeah," He let out a breath and nodded.

" I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, that's not my intention," She said, leading the way into a very large empty room. It looked a lot like the dining hall, however it was dark and barely lit by nearly used up candles. The floors were uneven, and made from slabs of crumbling stone that overlapped here or was simply missing from there just leaving dirt. Huge decorative windows with arched glass brought a bit more light in, however they were stained brown from time. There was a hole in the wall in the upper right corner of the room, letting a single beam of light enter, give the splotches of grass that grew through the cracks much needed food. The place was beautiful, mesmerizing, but wet and cold too. The aesthetics were mixed in the most odd of ways.

" The holes will be fixed in time, that I promise. For now I have to make do," She said, wandering around the room to find some supplies she needed.

" Today will be simple. For now, I want to just familiarize myself with you, your facial expressions. How your body works and moves,"

" Okay?" Merlin said, still standing where he was rather awkwardly.

Aetheria chuckled to herself, but understood. She grabbed a nearby broom that had been brought down earlier that week and handed it to the servant.

" Here, sweep some of the dirt up. Can you do that?"

" That I can do," Merlin smiled and accepted the broom and dustpan.

At first it was uncomfortable. Doing random chores in front of someone who quietly scribbled away on a piece of parchment wasn't exactly an ordinary situation. His movements were really stiff at first, uncoordinated. Was this all he was going to have to do? If so, this should be a breeze.

Eventuallly, the rhythm of brush strokes took over, and the warlock mindlessly collected the dirt into large, thick piles of debris. It by no means helped the appearance of the room, but it was a good starting exercise.

" I think I got some good stuff here," Aetheria said, plopping her papers onto a splintering wooden table. Merlin walked over to where she laid her things and rested the broom upon the table himself. He peered at the sketches with an itching kind of curiosity. On the crisp white pages, several drawings of his image were plastered in graphite. The curvatures of his face and body were so accurate. He could actually tell that it was him moving upon the page in a few different positions. Merlin had never seen such talent in his entire life. To be able to capture such detail and life was truly a gift.

" You really did these?" He asked, stunned at what he was seeing.

" Well of course, you just saw me. Beautiful aren't they?"

Merlin looked up at her as though she were suddenly a deer with 4 heads.

" Oh don't be so shrewd! You are a lot more elegant and attractive than you have been given credit for,"

" I hardly think so, Arthur or one of the knights on the other hand, they are attractive. At least to the woman they are. They don't have overly large ears, or long teeth, and they aren't so...skinny," Merlin said, almost complaining about the fact that he had all three of the qualities.

" Hardly so," She said, almost hurt," I value my ability to detect beauty in things, and you telling me I'm wrong about this is an insult to my talents,"

" Oh, I'm sorry, I just don't see what you see," Merlin shrugged and fiddled with the broom once more.

" What I see," She said grabbing his attention and softening," Is deliberately mended tendons, weaving in and around the muscles in your forearms."

She grabbed his arm and traced the lines and contours.

" I see veins that supply life from place to place. I see hands worn and calloused from working harder than most nobles do. Where some see big ears, I see a bold, uncommon characteristic that is loud and strong. You hide your figure very well, but you aren't just skin and bones. You are toned, well sculpted."

" And you know that how?" Merlin asked, concerned about his privacy. Her little speech started out very sweet but went in a creepy direction.

" Last week, when you were fetching the Prince's laundry. I saw you with your shirt off. That was honestly when I got this whole idea. I didn't plan on starting a new project already. I just finished one last month. But, when I saw, I couldn't help but see the potential. I needed to at least try,"

" Okay, I guess I can see what you are referring to," He ignored the fact that he had also changed his trousers in the laundry room, but didn't dare mention it.

" Well of course you can, it's the truth. If you don't believe, try looking at yourself without your shirt. And truly look,"

Merlin gave her another stunned look.

" Oh I don't mean it in that way, I don't particular fancy men. I only mean to see the details, the lines and shadows."

This made the servant feel a little better, but the whole thing was getting more uncomfortable the more she referred to him and his appearance. It wasn't a topic he liked to talk about, because he wasn't very happy to be made fun of, which usually happened.

" We don't have to take any clothing off yet, however the final product will be a chiseled statue representing a symbol of my choosing. You will be covered where it's most important, however there will be a lack of clothing in the foreseeable future."

This gave him some peace, to know that his manhood wouldn't be on open display, especially if the king or prince were to see the final product.

" I guess that is okay," Merlin said, sounding a lot more certain of himself.

" Great! I'll see you tomorrow at the same time!"

The next time Merlin went to the newly inhabited section of the castle, he did much the same things as before. In fact, he did the same things for the next two weeks. Whenever Arthur asked what he did with Aetheria, trying to pry information from him, he was met with the same answer, chores.

Arthur never believed him, and called him shy. His mind immediately went to the gross and nude stuff as did most others. But, it was true. One of the days, he scrubbed the floors for nearly an hour on his hands and knees. Another, he dusted what little furniture was littered among the practically empty room. Sometimes he brought a snack and ate berries as Aetheria sketch the lines and indents of his neck. Other times, he wandered about, plucking weeds or even doing some laundry he had been putting off. That was perhaps the best part, doing Arthur's chores. This gave him the chance to be productive in two areas at once and prevent him from getting behind.

This week things were progressing nicely. The stack of papers was growing and growing everyday, he wondered if she'd ever think she had enough. Each was a sketch of some part of his figure, lips, mouth, ears, even feet.

" I have the basics," She said one Friday night.

Merlin looked up from where he was shining Arthur's least worn pair of boots. The man got grumpy when they didn't reflect in the light, even if he was never going to wear them.

" I think it would be a great time to start sketching the plan on the stone," She said, gesturing to a very large, boulder sized slab of marble. It was very tall, probably full and a half in height. It was nearly as wide as it was tall.

" That's great, I love chores and all but I've been waiting for things to get a bit more interesting," Merlin joked and he got a snappy look in response.

" Well you're in luck, feel free to take off your shirt and pose in that chair," She said, indicating toward a very ancient looking throne, not chair. It had a royal design carved along the aged dark wood. It was much like the one Uther sat in, however it had a more northern look.

" Like, now?"

" Yes now, get a move on it," She shooed jokingly and took out several charcoal utensils.

Merlin slowly made his way to the throne, but hesitated when his hands touched the hem of his shirt. He was hardly comfortable stripping in front of anyone, let alone a woman. Even among the knights, he avoided taking off his clothing in fear of them asking questions about his appearance. Following Arthur around left more marks than one would think. Around ever corner was an angry man, woman, even child who wanted to kill him.

" Go on Merlin, I won't judge. I've seen it before, remember?" She urged with support and smiled.

" Yeah, right," he mumbled, and he slowly lifted his shirt to reveal the pale skin below.

He didn't like to look at himself. It reminded him of the pain that would forever scar his skin. There was the biggest mark on his chest where the fireball charred his flesh. It looked more like a bundle of thick veins that blending into his chest now more than a burn. There were several mace marks from interactions with bandits and angry lords. There were slashes here and there from knives, and pokes. He had pink marks from rope burn that didn't heal correctly. His back was even more decorative that the front. It was a rather impressive assortment of scar tissue. Yet, Aetheria hardly noticed, or if she did, she didn't say anything about it. She glanced at him, hardly wanting to stare. She knew how uncomfortable he was with the whole thing.

Merlin sat down, sitting as normally as he could. Today, Aetheria was trying to get him accustomed to sitting in different positions with less clothing on. The hardest part about finding people to model, was also finding people comfortable in their own skin. She wanted him to be relaxed, melt into a neutral position.

Merlin watched with a sort of fascination as Aetheria started to make curves and lines along the marble. She looked as if the stone enraptured her movements. letting her hands flow mindlessly with seemingly direction. She was truly a remarkable artist, one of the best. Her sketches though were just that, sketches. They were hardly masterpieces, but the way she had talked about her previous work made her out to seem like a miracle worker with stone. Her interests in the subject slowly leaked into his own the more they talked about it, and the science of it all. Different types of stone he learned were used for different structures. Some stone grew almost like a lichen from exposure to mineral water, others seemed to bleed dark red water, and others were so hard, not the finest mallets could shatter them. All served a purpose, and that was comforting to see that even rock had a job to do.

Before he left that day, Aetheria stopped him once he finished putting his green shirt back on.

" Do me a favor and don't cut you hair, I'd like it to be a bit longer,"

Merlin looked up at her and quizzically lifted an eyebrow.

" Why, I thought I was perfect the way I was," He said, knowing he was making her scramble to defend her previous words and make sense of her request.

" You are, you know that. But when I envision the image in the stone, I see a story. It's a final portrait of the last moment I want to be captured,"

" And in this story, I have long hair?"

" Not long hair per say, but hair that goes to your ears. Around there would be fine," She answered.

" You know," He said," my hair will take some time to grow that long,"

" I'm aware of that, and this project will take quite a few months to complete. We'll get there eventually,"

Agreeing enough, Merlin left for the day not long there after. He was starting to get used to this interaction the more often he went. It was becoming less awkward, and he had this sort of devotion towards this message in stone.

Within several weeks, it became easier to reveal himself to Aetheria. After work, he was seen walking around the crumbled room with his top off. His trousers hung low off his waist, held up only by a belt he'd been given several years ago. The more comfortable he got, the faster the progress unfolded. A rough shape of the top of a throne chair emerged after nearly 7 weeks of hard work. The marble was chiseled away bit by bit. Aetheria was careful, precise. She didn't want to make a mistake and take off too big of a chunk. She would sand down the sharp corners and rough surfaces. It was mesmerizing to watch her work. When Merlin didn't watch her carve and chisel, he'd often lounge about on the throne comfortably, allowing her the space to do as she saw fit. He read many books throughout the absurd amount of hours he was spending in the large room. If he wasn't reading, he wrote speeches for Arthur, or spoke with Aetheria about her plans with the scene.

" What will I be doing-you know, in the statue?" He asked when the book he was reading was no longer interesting.

Her head picked up, but she didn't meet his eyes.

" I have a plan Merlin, but some may not like it. It won't matter because this is my piece. They'll be curious none the less and want to see,"

" I guess I'm not too sure what you mean," Merlin said, sitting up straighter, letting his back stretch off of the hard surface of his throne.

" What I want to carve is morbid, intense. I truly believe in the message they shall receive, and the emotions that should run through their bodies when they see. I want people to understand what it means to live under a terrible king vs. living under a good one. I need to show what connections a servant can have with their king...Do you understand?"

" I guess," Merlin responded not quite sure of himself, but willing to go along.

" For this to be as impactful as my intentions, I need you to trust me. It may seem awful and grousome at first, but it will all work it self out, I promise," Aetheria looked gloomy, like the sun had suddenly set, and a darkness coated her and the room like dust.

" I know, I trust you," Merlin said afterwards. He didn't want to undermine her ideas and knowledge of this subject. She was obviously passionate, and excited to do this. So, he didn't ask any more questions after that, and let her give way to her creativity.

" Merlin, you look as though you are due for a hair cut," Arthur said to him one day, nearly two months later.

" Am I? Aetheria seems to think it should be longer," Merlin responded, clearing away dishes from the Prince's lunch.

" Taking advice from women now are you? Sounds like she attracts you," Arthur prodded.

Merlin rolled his eyes lightly but did keep a smile on his face.

" She hardly likes me, and I have no reason to like her. Besides, there is already someone else in the castle I fancy,"

" Oh I see Merlin. Perhaps the lovely, beautiful lady Morgana?" Arthur grinned to himself, remembering the time he caught Merlin sneaking flowers to her.

" Maybe, maybe not, you'll never know," Merlin left to finish clearing away the table and returned later to finish the day out before he had to meet up with Aetheria.