Alaia Skyhawk: Ok, I'm giving into temptation again and doing this sub-ep before updating Whom History, but only because it will let me do the scene with the 'cranky horse' (from Arthur and Merlin's PoV) sooner. The ideas for this sub have been PLAGUING me XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Music: The Forged Seal (Merlin OST)

~(-)~

Chapter 4: Settling In ~Part 1~

Arthur paced in his room, Bern having tended to him since his new servant couldn't be expected to at such short notice. Why in the name of whatever powers there be, had his father done this? Bern had served him loyally for all of the last ten years, barring the six months he'd served Lord Hargren, and he'd never stepped out of line. But Merlin... Merlin began stepping out of line the moment he first met him. This was ridiculous!

He cursed under his breath, thinking about the conversation he'd had with the king once the guests had left. He'd argued those points, but they had been pushed aside with a few firm words.

'He might have served you all that time, but it has clearly made him complacent. He was there beside Merlin, in the same position to have acted to protect you, and yet he didn't have to wit to rise to his feet or even move a muscle. Had it been left to him, you would be dead. Perhaps it's time you had a new servant, one who actually pays attention to when your life is in danger. If Merlin proves not to be able to do the job, then you may replace him after a suitable probation period, but I will not rescind my choice to reward him for his actions. He will have his chance to prove himself worthy of being your manservant, and that is final.'

Arthur sighed, slumping into a chair near his fireplace. He hadn't been able to argue with any of that, since he couldn't deny that Bern had still been sprawled dazed on the floor for all to see. Merlin had been on his feet, had leapt to his defence without being asked to, and had done it for him even after he'd had him thrown in the dungeon.

It was so unlikely that if he hadn't seen it for himself, he'd have thought it were a joke.

There was a tentative knock on the door, the guard he'd sent earlier calling through it.

"Merlin is here to see you, My Lord."

"Send him in."

Arthur watched as the door was opened, the young man with his sticking-out ears and strangely distinctive face entering.

Merlin bowed his head awkwardly, clearly not sure what to make of this situation.

"You wished to see me, Sire?"

There it was, a faint note of sarcasm beneath the otherwise polite tone and words. Did this commoner have even the slightest ability to show genuine respect to a noble?

Arthur continued to frown, but didn't move from his chair.

"I've arranged it with Bern, for him to show you how I like things done. You are to meet him outside the kitchens tomorrow morning before dawn, and he will demonstrate for you what you need to know to get started. He'll then take you to see the chief of the castle staff, so you can be added to the roster and he can be reassigned. You will then be shown where everything is in the castle, how to do certain chores, and assist him with my other meals for the day. The day after that, will be your first proper day as my manservant. Now go off and get some sleep, because you're going to need it."

Merlin frowned ever so slightly, before bowing and turning to leave in silence. The new servant was clearly as unimpressed by all this as he was.

Once again alone in his chambers, Arthur got to his feet and headed to his bed. With all the trouble that tended to come with training new servants, he was going to need his sleep as well.

~(-)~

Somewhere outside, a cockerel was screeching his claim to territory as he greeted the glimmer of false dawn, while inside this room a reluctant warlock was being nudged awake by the Court Physician.

Gaius pulled the blanket off of his ward, giving him one last nudge before heading into the main room.

"Get up, Merlin, or you're going to be late meeting up with Bern. I've already got some breakfast ready for you."

Merlin groaned, forcing himself to sit up. He'd actually been hoping that last night was all a terrible terrible nightmare, but Gaius had ruined that wishful thinking with the comment about meeting up with Bern.

Grudgingly he got dressed and slumped down the steps into the main chamber, the physician pointing to the bowl of lumpy porridge waiting on one of the tables.

"It's there." He followed Merlin over, seating himself opposite while the warlock began to eat. He then waited until Merlin was done before speaking, something clearly on his mind. "I didn't say anything last night, given all that happened, but now that things have calmed down I wanted to ask you something. I can understand how the chandelier fell, but how on earth did you get to Arthur in time? When that witch grabbed the dagger you were by the door, yet barely a moment later you were at Arthur's side pulling him out of the blade's path."

Merlin flinched.

"You saw that?"

The physician reassured him.

"Don't worry, the only reason I noticed is because I half expected you to do something. So what did you do?"

Merlin looked to the window, figuring by the look of the sky that there was enough time for a quick demonstration so long as it was quick. He got to his feet and backed up a bit from the table, pointing to one of the empty wooden mugs sat on it.

"Throw that at me."

"Are you sure?"

Merlin started to grin at the expression on his guardian's face.

"Trust me, just throw it fast. I'll make sure to let you see when I use the magic."

Giving his ward a long look, Gaius slowly reached out and grabbed one of the mugs, throwing it as directed and with as much speed as his old arm could muster. He then stared in utter surprise as the moment it left his hand, Merlin's eyes turned gold and he stood completely still. He remained unmoving until the mug was mere inches from his face, before side-stepping and grabbing it with a hand in one fluid and impossibly fast movement.

He was still grinning when Gaius rose to his feet in astonishment.

"How did you do that?"

Merlin chuckled, holding the cup and moving it slowly towards his face in demonstration.

"When I did what I did, for me it looked like this. You and everything else were moving really slowly. It was easy to step out of the way and grab hold of it." He walked over, putting the mug back on the table. "I can slow other things and people down, but not myself, yet I can also speed myself up but not other things and people. I couldn't slow down everything in the hall last night, so I speeded myself up instead. It tires me out a lot more than slowing things does, though. Especially when I use it for more than a few seconds."

Gaius was staring at him, aghast.

"Are you telling me that not only can you slow time for objects and people, but you can speed your own time up?"

"Time?" Merlin tilted his head in confusion, looking baffled. "Are you telling me that when I make things slow down or stop, I'm controlling time?"

There was an awkward pause, the physician grimacing when he realised just how little Merlin had deduced about the ability he used so casually.

"In the past there have been a handful of sorcerers who could affect time in small areas, but it always required decades of study and an extremely difficult incantation. Having heard of them, I realised what it was that you could do so instinctively, but I had no idea you can do it in reverse as well. You really need to be careful, Merlin. By accelerating your own time you could potentially shorten your own lifespan."

Merlin cleared his throat, not worried in the slightest.

"Um, with the amount I've used it since I was figured it out when I was twelve, I'm pretty sure if it made me age faster my mother would have noticed. Mine and Will's hair always grew the same amount, and she cut it for both of us at the same time every month. If I was ageing faster, my hair would grow faster. Right?"

The simple and obvious answer clicked home, Gaius letting out a sigh. What he learnt of his ward's abilities seemed to be becoming stranger and more frightening by the minute.

"We can discuss it more later. Off with you, before you're late."

Merlin did as he was told, but once out of sight he couldn't help frowning at how Gaius had reacted. The physician would probably deny it if he asked, but for a moment he was certain Gaius had looked scared. Were his powers really that unusual? Was being able to affect time really as frightening as Gaius' reaction made it seem?

He grimaced, a feeling of being some sort of freak lingering in his gut. He'd dealt with this before, in the time before Will had found out about his magic, and he thought he was over it. It seemed finding out he wasn't even normal for a sorcerer was enough make him doubt. Would he ever really belong anywhere, if he was so strange by either standards?

He took a deep breath, heading for the kitchens, which were one of the few things he'd learnt the location of during his wanderings before Arthur had him thrown in a cell. If Gaius heard him call himself a freak, he'd probably tell him off for it, and he could talk more about it later. Right now he just had to make sure not to get himself sacked from his new job today.

He arrived at the kitchens well before Bern did, standing there leaning against the wall of the passage outside them. The other servant did not look happy when he arrived, not surprising really. He'd been ordered to teach his replacement, after all.

Merlin followed him, watching as Bern wordlessly showed him what Arthur usually got for his breakfast. The warlock raised his eyebrows when that selection included a large piece of fruited honey-bread, and a cup of wine as well. Did Arthur really eat that every day?

It was becoming increasingly clear that part of why the prince was so arrogant and spoiled was because of Bern. This servant was a complete boot-licker, who did everything he was told just to keep Arthur happy. This thought was further confirmed during the breakfast and dressing routine once they got to the prince's chambers, and already Merlin was resolving that tomorrow would see some immediate changes to the way that routine was done.

If Arthur thought he was going to come in and edge around like he was walking on eggshells, bowing and scraping every two seconds, he had another thing coming...

It was almost a relief to get away from Arthur's glaring, trailing back to the kitchens with the now cleared breakfast paraphernalia. Bern had been similarly cranky, and it was as they were on their way to see the chief of the castle staff that Merlin tapped him on the shoulder and stopped.

Bern scowled when he turned to face him.

"What?"

Merlin folded his arms across his chest, putting his best casual manner on but making a point of not smiling.

"We both know I didn't ask for this job, I didn't want it, but it doesn't change the fact that the king gave it to me. I know you're pissed off by all this, but directing that at me isn't going to do much."

Bern continued to glare, jabbing an accusing finger towards his replacement.

"Do you have any idea how long I've served him. Ten years, that's how long. Sure, I'll get a good position in compensation, but that doesn't make up for it. What job, other than being a personal servant to the king, is better than being the personal servant of his son? And you, you hate Arthur, you made that clear with the way you've been insulting him. So why didn't you turn the offer down?"

Merlin, unfased by the other man's outburst, held up three fingers.

"First off, I dislike him, not hate him, and are three reasons why I'm doing this... One; Gaius would scalp me if I turned the job down. Two; it would look like I'm insulting the king if I turned it down. Three; I'm going to see if I can get Arthur to stop being so arrogant and pushy all the time."

Anger dissolved into surprise, Bern now regarding him like he was crazy.

"What?"

Merlin now allowed himself a small smile.

"Look, I'll cut you a deal. I'm going to do my own little thing, stand up to him, not let him wall all over me like he's been doing to you, and if he fires me... you get your job back. If I can't make him start to change within a reasonable amount of time, I'll quit... and you'll get your job back." The smile widened. "But if he decides to keep me on, and does start to change, you have face it that I was right and accept that I can keep the job. Agreed?"

Bern frowned, wary.

"Are you trying to trick me?"

Merlin shook his head innocently.

"What's to trick? Two of possible outcomes involve you being his servant again, while only one is me staying as his servant. It's in your favour. All I'm asking in return is that you stop glaring at me like you want to push me off the castle ramparts."

Both of them regarded each other, almost a minute stretching by before Bern grudgingly held out a hand.

"...Fine, I agree. If you can't make Prince Arthur choose to do or say something he'd never do now, within the next two months, I want you to quit."

Merlin took hold of the hand and shook it, inwardly smiling. If what the dragon said was true, then this bet was already as good as won.

"Then it's a deal. But this stays just between you and me. If Arthur hears about our bet, the scandal of it might make him fire both of us."

Bern nodded, letting go and resuming the walk down the hallway. Because of that, he didn't see Merlin's little smirk of victory. He'd only been here a few days, but it had only taken one visit to the laundry with Gaius to learn something from listening to the maids gossip in there... Castles like this had a strict pecking order among the staff, and if you could get an advantage over a highly placed servant then they wouldn't make things difficult for you. Bern wasn't the only one who was going to be put out that he, Merlin, was now Arthur's manservant. He might as well take the opportunity to make sure that Bern himself wouldn't be one of the people hassling him about it.

~(-)~

"Take the tray to the kitchens Bern. You can have the rest of the afternoon off, except to come back and show Merlin the evening tasks."

"Yes, Sir."

Merlin watched the door thud closed, once again alone with a rather irritated-looking prince. The visit to chief of staff had been ok, if listening to him grumble about all the work he'd have to do to reshuffle the staff wasn't too bad. Bern's long and exemplary service meant he had to put somewhere good, and it looked like one of the servants dealing with the Knight's of Camelot was going to have to be demoted to made room for him... Just great, another servant who would be looking for some form of payback.

He had to wonder, was Uther even aware of the furore this 'reward' had sparked among the upper ranks of the castle staff? Probably not.

Merlin regarded the king's son, thoughtfully. Arthur probably wasn't aware either, what with being pampered or hanging out with his fellow nobles all day. Besides knowing that if a servant wasn't on the roster, they didn't get paid, he was more than likely clueless about any of the other details. He certainly didn't act like he knew, not when he was being all annoyed about having a new servant.

Speaking of acting annoyed, the prince pointed firmly to the chair set at his dining table and to the book about etiquette that was placed there.

"Sit, and read the first part out loud. I need to see just how bad you are at reading, if you can even read at all."

Merlin actually gaped for a moment at the insult, before forcing a straight face and striding to the table. He then stood in stubborn contrariness, rather than sitting as told, and opened the book to the first page. He then read the first paragraph out clearly and without any hesitation.

"'The cornerstone of civility and honourable discourse, relies upon the decorum of one's actions among one's fellow men. Be they of higher, lower, or equal standing within society. Herein this book doth contain the rules of etiquette, and the code of honour, that are expected of all civilised folk'. Would you like me to continue, Sire?"

Arthur was actually staring at him, coughing to hide his astonishment before he spoke.

"Who taught you to read?"

Merlin, feeling a sense of victory, replied proudly.

"My mother did."

"Your mother? But I heard you were from a small farming village."

Once again Merlin gaped for a moment, this time in slight anger. Put out by the implication that Arthur didn't expect farmers to know how to read and write.

He frowned, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.

"If you must know, my mother used to serve as a maid to the court of King Herwen. She moved back to Ealdor when her mother died not long before the Great Purge, to help my grandfather with the farm. He died of the same illness a few months later, and she stayed so the farm would remain in the family." He snorted, irritated enough that his resolve to be polite went clean out the window. "It's just as well really, because if she'd still been a maid when Cenrid took over, she'd probably be dead considering he burned down half of that castle and killed everyone in it... Sir."

He tacked the title on at the end in belated manners, but he needn't have bothered. Arthur has been rendered momentarily speechless, his mouth working soundlessly like a stranded fish until he made himself act as if none of this was a big deal.

He turned to look out of the window, trying to act nonchalant although he was hardly fooling his new servant.

"Well... it's good to know you're not quite as stupid as you look. I uh... I want you do read that book by morning, and memorise all the parts that apply to you."

Merlin, still a bit disgruntled, nodded in acceptance of the instruction. At least he'd managed to surprise him, it was a start.

"Yes... Sire."

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Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehehehe, score one for Merlin :D