Alaia Skyhawk: Well, it seems that FFnet still needs to fix their stability issues. Getting alerts for stories, seeing them in the list with the correct number of chapters, and yet trying to view the latest chapter you got the alert for only to be told it doesn't exist... is ANNOYING!

So much for their "software update" (Rolls eyes)

And another note for continuity error. Arthur tells Merlin to polish his armour, Merlin does so in his room (well, we at least see the helmet), so why would Merlin take it to the armoury only to fetch it again the next morning? For that reason, I've changed what Merlin went to get in the first scene of this, slightly. Because there's no way the Merlin we know would do something as 'make-work' as carrying something somewhere only to go move it again, when he could just keep it in his room overnight XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Music:

~(-)~

Chapter 8: Valiant ~Part 2~

The bell rang to announce the start of the new day, Merlin heading for the armoury to retrieve Arthur's chain mail tunic and coif. He'd have gone for it last night were it not for the fact he'd been cheating at his chores, using magic to polish Arthur's armour while he instead studied his spellbook. Of course, he'd been told off by Gaius for it, near giving himself a heart attack when the physician had walked in to witness a number of object floating in mid-air sorting themselves out. Had that been anyone else, it would have meant a one-way trip to the dungeons. The scare was enough to remind him to be a bit more careful in future.

Looking around at the other servants out and about, Merlin sighed. Today was going to be less interesting than yesterday. With only four bouts to take place for the tournament, unlike yesterday's twenty-four, besides that hour's diversion just before noon the rest of the day would be spent by the nobles discussing the finer points of the battles that would be witnessed. The first day was about separating the weakest fighters from the best, and those eight 'best' would spend the next two days as the centre of attention at various gatherings and parties.

To be honest, it all seemed a bit pointless to him.

Shaking his head, Merlin entered the armoury and went to the table in there that 'belonged' to Arthur. As prince, he had the right for his things not to get mixed in with everyone else's. It just meant that his servant didn't have to dig through piles of things looking for the ones with the Pendragon crest on them.

He began to check over the items on the table, noting that the shield had been returned from being repaired and Arthur's tunic lay neatly folded along with his chainmail and the shortsword knights carried yet never used in these tournaments. Merlin just supposed it was another pointless ceremonial thing, shaking his head as he moved to pick everything up.

He stopped still, frowning as a strange noise reached his ears and made him flinch.

"Hello? Is there someone there?"

It was a hissing sound, sinister enough to make the hair on his neck stand on end. It was accompanied by a chill feeling similar to the one he'd had about 'Lady Helen', who as it turned out had been a witch intent on killing Arthur. Wary, he slowly walked to where it had seemed to come from, stopping before noticing Knight Valiant's shield propped against a rack near his feet.

Still frowning, he crouched down to take a closer look at it, almost stumbling backwards when he could have sworn one of the snakes painted on it blinked.

He was prevented from further investigation, when a rather sharp sword tip appeared from nowhere pressed to his chest. He slowly rose to his feet, turning his head to see an unhappy-looking Valiant standing there.

He frowned.

"Can I help you with something, boy?"

Merlin started to shake his head, backing away from the sword and hurrying to the table where Arthur's things lay.

"No, I'm good... I... I was just collecting the rest of my master's armour."

"...Then you'd best be on your way."

Merlin didn't need telling twice, grabbing everything on the table in one big armload, almost falling flat on his face when he stumbled on his way out of the chamber. Had he really seen that, or was he just imagining things? He didn't really have time to dwell on it, seeing as Arthur was having breakfast with his father and he needed to get everything laid out in the prince's chambers ready for him to return.

Return he did, already wearing the quilted tunic that was worn under armour, only to pause in surprise at the tidy array of items laid out in proper order on the nearby table.

Arthur had to resist the urge to stare like an idiot, shocked by what he saw. His armour was spotless and gleaming, and his sword had that glimmer on its edges where the light reflected in a way that showed it had been thoroughly sharpened. As for Merlin, he was stood there, waiting quietly for some comment on his work... And quite frankly Arthur wasn't sure what to say.

He'd deliberately loaded Merlin with work last night, expecting him to fail in some fashion or other, or to be below standard, so that he could tell him off for it this morning. But this, even Bern would have struggled to do a job this good in the time Merlin had been given, and he had ten years of experience.

"You did all this on your own?"

Merlin nodded, hands tucked behind his back as he stood there nonchalantly.

"Yes, Sire."

Arthur gave him a long look.

"Then let's see if you can get me into it without forgetting anything."

Merlin smiled ever so slightly, a glint in his eye saying he saw that as a challenge. He reached straight away for the chainmail tunic, helping Arthur into it before following it with the cloth tunic bearing the Pendragon crest. Sword-belts followed, then the hauberk, the voiders, gauntlets, wrist guards, and coif... He slid the shortsword into its sheath, before then doing the same with the main sword with an amused smile on his face. Then lastly he tucked the helmet into the grip of Arthur's left hand and took a step back to admire his work.

"Was that satisfactory, Sire?"

Arthur looked down to find everything where it should be, everything in place, and it had all taken just a little over three minutes. Not as fast as someone more expert in it, but for a complete novice it was nothing short of remarkable.

He looked at Merlin, his expression unreadable.

"That was much better... Not that it could have gotten any worse."

Merlin shrugged, still smiling slightly.

"I'm a fast learner."

"I hope for your sake, that's true.

Merlin didn't take the bait, a line intended to make him say something that might get him in trouble. Instead he decided to be honest in a different way and said just two words.

"Good luck."

Arthur glanced at him thoughtfully, before taking a deep breath and leaving the room.

Merlin followed, retrieving and passing Arthur his shield when they reached the gate to the arena, and pulling his coif up into place ready for him to don his helmet. He wasn't aware of Gaius coming up behind him, not when hearing the crowd roar out with cheering when the prince came into view sent a thrill through him. Dare he say it that he actually felt a bit proud of how well Arthur was doing in this tournament?

"Is it just me, or are you actually starting to enjoy yourself."

Merlin twitched, turning to see Gaius standing beside him. The physician had a knowing smile on his face.

His ward sighed, unable to deny it.

"All right, so it's not totally horrible all of the time."

He turned his attention back to the fight about to start, cheering as Arthur pretty much pounded his opponent into the floor. He then walked out of the arena, hanging around near the tents while as a pair of jesters amused the crowd in the interval between fights. The next two bouts were just as standard, but the final one between Valiant and Sir Ewan left a tense feeling in the air.

The match had seemed a stalemate at first, with Ewan gaining an upper hand, but then Valiant had knocked him over, pinning him to the ground with his shield before striking him in the head with the hilt of his sword. He'd then rose to his feet, victorious, and walked away to the crowd's cheering and leaving his opponent lying there.

It left a bad taste in Merlin's mouth.

Gaius hurried over to the fallen knight, taking a quick look before waving two stewards over and instructing them to pick the him up and carry him into the castle on a stretcher. Merlin could only watch, forced as he was to remain with Arthur. When he did make it back to Gaius' chambers over an hour later, he found the old man frowning as he tried to treat the still unconscious Ewan.

Merlin dumped his armload of armour onto a table, his expression concerned.

"How is he?"

Gaius remained frowning, waving him over to show him something and pointing to a strange mark on the knight's neck.

"It's most odd, take a look at this. See these two small wounds... It looks like a snake bite."

Merlin looked confused, shaking his head.

"How could he have been bitten by a snake? He was injured in the sword fight."

Gaius seemed equally puzzled.

"But his symptoms are consistent with poisoning. Slow pulse, fever, paralysis."

"Can you heal him?"

Gaius rose to his feet, shaking his head.

"Well if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him in order to make an antidote. Without it, there's nothing I can do for him... He's going to die."

Merlin looked at Sir Ewan's fevered face, grim and unhappy until something occurred to him and he rose to his feet, murmuring to himself.

"...He was fighting Knight Valiant."

He strode from the room, Gaius giving him only a passing glance having been too distracted to hear the comment. Once outside it, the young warlock hurried through the castle and hid close to Valiant's guest room, waiting for him to come back.

He did a short while later, carrying his shield with him instead of leaving it in the armoury. That in itself was odd, but not necessarily suspicious, but what Merlin saw him doing with the shield just a couple of minutes later certainly was.

Since when is it normal for a knight to feed live mice to supposedly painted but apparently alive snakes, that peel themselves out of the surface of a shield. That was a question he couldn't answer right away, seeing as his inadvertent gasp at the sight forced him to high tail it away from the chamber's door. Were it not for his ability to speed his own time up and make it thought the arch to the adjacent hallway, Valiant would have seen him. But by the time the knight had reached that arch and looked beyond it, Merlin was already half-way across the castle.

The warlock stumbled to a stop, wincing as an instant headache kicked in from speeding his time up for that long. He'd have to work on that, on not overreacting when someone with a rather sharp sword was possibly about to catch him spying on them. He should have stopped the magic once he'd reached that first hallway, but he'd been so jumpy he'd used it all the way to the base of stairs to Gaius' chambers. Now he was paying for it.

Pressing his forehead against the cold stone wall, he stood there waiting for the queasy feeling in his gut to subside. Now that he knew what he did was speeding up his time, it sort of made sense. It was like a lurch when the rest of the world 'caught up' to him, worse the longer the time he used it for was. Short bursts were just draining, but long stretches made him feel like he'd been trampled by his new horse.

Forcing himself to get moving, he pushed away from the wall and started up the stairs, keeping a hand on one wall so his present dizziness didn't send him tumbling back down them the way he'd come. By the time he reached Gaius' door he was just about back to normal, if he ignored the fact that he still had a pounding headache. A pity the following conversation was just going to add to it.

He burst through the door, hurrying over to Gaius, his expression urgent.

"I've just seen the snakes on Valiant's shield come alive. He's using magic."

Gaius regarded him uncertainly.

"Are you sure?"

"One of them ate a mouse... One swallow, straight down, and Valiant was the one feeding them." Merlin pointed to the unconscious knight laid beside them. "Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed. He was pinned under Valiant's shield, so no one could see the snake bite him." He turned for the door. "I have to tell Arthur."

Gaius leapt to his feet, calling out after him.

"Is there any chance you might be mistaken?"

Merlin stopped and looked at him like the answer was obvious.

"I think I know magic when I see it."

"Perhaps, but do you have any proof?"

Merlin started to frown.

"Don't you believe me?"

Gaius sighed. It seemed it was time for Merlin to learn a certain a certain unfortunate but unchangeable truth.

"I fear you'll land yourself in trouble. How would you explain why you were at Knight Valiant's chambers?"

"What does that matter? He's using magic to cheat in the tournament!"

Merlin was becoming frustrated with the questions, not understanding what his guardian was getting at. Gaius understood that frustration all too well.

"You can't go accusing a knight without proof. The king would never accept the word of a servant over the word of a knight."

Merlin's frown deepened.

"So what I say doesn't count for anything?"

"I'm afraid it counts for very little as far as the king is concerned. That's the way it is."

Merlin just stared in silence in response to that, before storming into his room and slamming the door behind him. Gaius watched him go, sighing before heading to one of his shelves.

He hesitated before pulling down the small wooden box he'd hidden there, seating himself at the table which served as his desk. Opening it revealed a plain silver signet ring, with no decoration other than an engraved replica of the Pendragon crest. With this it might be possible to accuse Valiant with no actual proof, to instate an investigation of the knight based on Ewan's strange wound and clearly poisoned condition. But to invoke the rights the ring gave him, as a Trusted Retainer of Camelot, would mean reminding the king of the reason he'd given him the ring to him in the first place.

It was never a good idea to remind Uther that there was a time he'd admired and respected magic, a time when he'd been a new king and grateful for his physician's use of it in saving his life from a battle wound. No, it would not be wise to risk it, not unless he wanted to endanger Merlin by causing the king to begin paying more than a passing consideration to what went on in these chambers.

Gaius returned the ring to its hiding place, and then went back to Ewan's side. They would have to make their way through this without it.

~(-)~

Merlin was in a foul mood with him the following morning, stalking out of the chambers without a word to go prepare Arthur's gear. He wanted to scream his frustration at this situation, but he couldn't deny that Gaius knew what he was talking about. He'd seen it for himself, the way the nobles held themselves above the commoners who served them. Was it really surprising to learn the thought as little of them as their day-to-day attitude implied?

Letting out a sigh, he grimaced to himself. How the hell was he supposed to protect Arthur when any warnings he tried to give would be snorted at and ignored, or result in him being thrown in the stocks or the dungeon? This whole thing was just completely backwards.

The start of the day's events passed by, the crowds entertained by a mock battle staged by a dozen regular soldiers. Then there would be another round of jesters acting like idiots, before the third day of the tournament would close after the two semi-final bouts... Then tomorrow, just two hours after dawn, the winners of those bouts would face each other in a final duel before the victor spent the rest of the day at the centre of the following festivities. Merlin found it all incredibly boring.

That changed just a short while later, when after cheering Arthur in his victory over a towering behemoth of a knight, all enjoyment turned to ice when Valiant won the other semi-final.

Gaius was standing beside him when that happened, and Merlin just spoke to him almost coldly.

"Valiant is fighting Arthur in the final tomorrow... He'll use the shield to kill him."

His tone had dared Gaius to tell him to stay out of this, dared him to stop him walking away, but he didn't. He remained where he was, thinking, before eventually heading back to his chambers. Merlin was already there, sat at Ewan's side, and perhaps it was time the physician listened to him.

"Merlin, about what I said yesterday. Look, Uther wouldn't really listen to you or me... But you're right, we can't let Valiant get away with this."

Merlin looked up at him, surprised by the change of heart.

"But we don't have any proof."

Gaius looked at the nearby unconscious knight.

"But if we could cure Ewan, he could tell the king that Valiant was using magic. The king would believe another knight. But how we get the antidote, that's another matter."

Merlin gave him one long look, before getting up and leaving the room. If they needed the snake's venom to make the cure, then he was just going to have to go get it.

~(-)~

"So, Knight Valiant. Do you think you stand a chance of defeating my son?"

Valiant regarded the king from his place of honour sat to his left, before nodding to the prince sat across from him. Dining with the king and the rest of the best eight from the tournament, this was an occasion for verbal and political sparring.

"He is a great warrior, My Lord. I do hope to be a worthy opponent."

Uther regarded him thoughtfully, before speaking words that had the son beside him frown slightly in response.

"You should stay in Camelot after the tournament. I could do with more knights like you?"

Valiant noted the hint of displeasure in Arthur's reaction to that, smiling slightly for a moment before replying to the king.

"I'd be honoured, My Lord."

Merlin peered through the door into the council chambers, noting that Valiant was still there and occupied, and oblivious to the verbal by-play going on within. He only knew that, assured the knight would not return to his chambers for a while, it was safe to enter them in pursuit of one of the snakes.

He hurried away, leaving them to their talk, making his way to the knight's chambers only to find them locked upon his arrival.

He eyed the door thoughtfully, before holding out a hand and using a simple spell he was sure Gaius would disapprove of him having learnt from the spellbook.

"Allinan..."

The bolt of the door slid across with a click, Merlin pushing it open and creeping into the chamber. The shield was there, propped up on a chair, but even when Merlin approached it the snakes painted upon it did nothing. He started to frown, wondering what to do, when a noise in the hallway outside made him flinch and turn around nervously.

His back now to them, one of the snakes emerged from the shield's surface, intent on killing this intruder.

Merlin heard the hiss, turning round to see a mouth full of fangs heading right for him before they suddenly came to a stop inches from his face.

He let out a shuddering breath as the golden glimmer left his eyes, thanking all gods that he'd been able to freeze it before he then looked around wondering what the heck he was supposed to do now. After several seconds he got his answer, grabbing the sword on the nearby rack and chopping the thing's head off. A shame that doing it broke the spell and allowed the remaining two snakes to emerge with obvious intentions.

He grabbed the head of the first from the floor, turning and fleeing the chamber as fast as his legs would take him. He never noted the fact he was being followed, or that he'd been followed for all of the past two days, although the man trailing him could only sigh in relief that this time the warlock wasn't using magic to leg it. Yesterday, when Valiant had almost caught him, one moment he'd been there and the next it was like he had vanished.

Fyren went after him, already surprised by the lengths Merlin was willing to go for this. It only made Georg's report of the dislike between Merlin and Arthur all the more perplexing.

He might have continued those thoughts, were it not for the fact that the appearance of Knight Valiant up ahead forced him to hide. But it didn't change the fact that the red-head watched him go with disgust. Men like him were what gave magic a bad name.

He resumed following Merlin, waiting for him when he inevitably entered Gaius' chambers before leaving again shortly after... Clutching the rather vicious-looking snake head.

Merlin made his way to Arthur's chambers, the prince now returned from the feast and sitting in his room. It had been a relief to return here, away from being forced to sit there listening to veiled insults and blatant hidden challenges directed at him by Valiant. Merlin's comment of him had been apt... Creep was a perfect way to describe him.

'Insane' might be an apt way to describe Merlin, or so his thoughts told him a few minutes later when the servant showed up and told him about the snakes and chopping one of their heads off.

Arthur regarded him sceptically, after glancing at the snake head now sitting on his table.

"You... chopped its head off?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, not in the mood for jokes in a situation this serious.

"Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant. Talk to Gaius, you can see the puncture wounds on Ewan's neck where the snake bit him. Ewan was beating him, he had to cheat."

Arthur sighed, unable to believe such a convenient excuse to get rid of a man he disliked so much would just conveniently show up from the mouth of his servant.

"Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot."

Merlin was starting to become annoyed, he could see it.

"Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him."

"I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's cheating."

He stood up and turned his back on him. There, he'd said it, now maybe his idiot of a servant would shut up and go away. But Merlin wasn't going to give up, instead his next words contradicted the idea that he was completely stupid.

"Look, Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom. When Ewan's conscious, he'll tell you what happened." Arthur faced him, now able to see how serious Merlin was being. "If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you." He picked up the head, showing it to the prince. "Look at it? Have you ever seen snakes like this in Camelot?"

Arthur started to frown, accepting the head and taking a closer look at it.

"I haven't, I will admit that to that, but still..."

Merlin's solemn voice interrupted him.

"I know I'm just a servant, and my word doesn't count for anything, but I wouldn't lie to you."

And there it was, one of those moments of enlightenment that show up now and then. He'd asked himself why he even cared about Merlin making fun of him, or insulting him, and now maybe he knew why... It was because despite rank, and tradition, and all the little rules governing how commoners should act towards nobles, Merlin ignored them all. He was honest with himself, and treated the prince he served as if he were a man who had to earn his respect. He didn't expect anything of him, except for him to do likewise. He treated him like an equal, an ordinary man, when all others he'd known in his life always saw the 'prince' before 'Arthur'.

He hesitated, those thoughts running through his mind. Was Merlin a commoner worth perhaps earning the respect of? Maybe it was time to find out.

"I want you to swear to me, that what you are telling me is true."

Merlin looked him in the eyes, unwavering and without hesitation.

"I swear it's true."

Could he argue with that? Could he argue with the servant who had done nothing but be honest about his thoughts even when it meant being impertinent?

Arthur gave him one more look, before nodding ever so slightly.

"Then I believe you."

He looked at the snake head in his hand one last time, before striding out of the room with Merlin following behind... Neither of them aware of the reptilian eyes that had watched them from the beams up above.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Well, I've created a side-effect for Merlin speeding up his own time, seeing as while I'd like to use it more than the script writers did, I don't want it be as overpowered as it would be without one. It making Merlin feel like he has a massive hangover, if he goes to far with it, was my answer to that :)

Also you may have noticed I'm slipping in little pieces of Fyren's point of view, just for this chapter mind, not in the next since his involvement in the events of this episode are covered in Whom History Won't Remember. There will be a number of occasions in this fic where things the characters from that did, which were skipped over in that fic, are shown in this one. Just a little reward for those who have read both.