8. Sword and Shield

Arthur shot up a hand when he came across the musty stench of deer, causing Merlin to stumble to a halt behind him. Accustomed to his clumsy nature, Arthur didn't bat an eye, and instead, motioned for him to crouch low beside him, until they were mostly hidden by a wall of thorny bushes.

Aware of Merlin's ineptitude when it came to understanding his hand signals, Arthur turned and whispered, "Grab the crossbow."

Merlin reached back, where the crossbow was slung across his back, and pulled it into his arms. However, when he tried pushing it into Arthur's hands, Arthur shook his head.

"Prepare to shoot," he said quietly, while keeping an eye out.

"You want me to shoot?!" Merlin hissed.

Arthur bit back a smile. "Yes, Merlin."

"But…but I don't know how!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just point and pull the trigger. Even a simpleton could do it."

"Explains why you're so good at it," Merlin grumbled.

Before he could snap back with a snotty retort, Arthur heard the faint sound of splintering twigs under thudding hooves and shot up his hand once more.

Peeking above the twisting brambles, Arthur waited, until he spotted the warm coat of a deer passing through.

"There," he mouthed, adjusting the crossbow in Merlin's grip, until the tip of the bolt was pointed in its direction.

Merlin met his gaze and shook his head emphatically.

"Shoot," Arthur mouthed with an impatient gesture.

Merlin eyed him nervously, but Arthur refused to drop his gaze. It would totally be like Merlin to startle the deer, whether by intentional clumsiness or an incantation Arthur wasn't sure, but he knew Merlin wouldn't be so blatant as to do so while in his line of sight.

Pressing his lips into a flat line, Merlin turned, eyes resigned.

A beat passed. Then two.

The string snapped and the bolt fired.

The deer collapsed with a thunderous crash, branches snapping under its dense carcass.

"Alright!" Arthur jumped up with a cheer, clasping a hand onto Merlin's shoulder, where he remained crouching. "That was incredible! You killed it with a single shot, Merlin!"

When he realized Merlin was still on the ground, his hands wrapped around the crossbow in a white-knuckled grip, Arthur quickly fell silent.

"…Merlin?" he asked carefully, kneeling back down and gently pressing a hand against his upper back. The last time Arthur had seen Merlin this deathly pale, had been after he'd drunk poison meant for Arthur. But there was no poisoned chalice now. Only a crossbow and a felled deer.

"Merlin?" Arthur said again, gripping his shoulder and giving him a slight shake.

"I felt it. I felt it when…" Merlin whispered, eyes lost.

"You felt what?" Arthur prodded.

"When it died," Merlin said hoarsely.

For a moment, Arthur froze.

It was impossible. A person couldn't feel death. That wasn't normal.

Then again, Merlin was anything but normal.

"You accompany me on hunts all the time," Arthur reminded him slowly. "It's never troubled you before."

Merlin grimaced and shrugged off his hand. "I was never the one doing the killing."

Arthur sighed. "Merlin―"

"Yes, I know, I know," he huffed, tossing aside the crossbow and pushing himself to his feet. "It's the course of nature. We hunt so we can eat. And it's supposed to be fun. I get it."

"Right. Of course," Arthur muttered and massaged his forehead as he tried to fend off a building headache. "You've never said anything…"

Merlin paled even more, if that were possible. "It's not exactly―"

"Yes," Arthur cut him off, rising to his feet. "I noticed. But you've always been rather strange."

"Yes. Strange," Merlin agreed, voice brittle.

Arthur frowned. "I suppose I won't require you to attend to me on hunts any longer."

"What? No!"

Arthur shot him an odd look.

"I mean…as long as I'm not the one doing the killing, I don't mind so much," Merlin said stiffly, the grimace on his face hardly convincing.

Arthur had the sense that he was missing something. Merlin had always been vocal about his dislike for hunting. But when given an out, he staunchly refused?

"…You don't mind," Arthur repeated dubiously.

Merlin shrugged. "I meant, I don't mind attending to you."

And there it was again. Merlin's unwavering loyalty.

"Right," Arthur said gruffly. "Hand me my hunting knife? You can grab the horses while I take care of that," he said, gesturing towards the deer carcass.

Merlin wrinkled his nose. "Sure," he said, withdrawing the knife from his pack. "But I have to ask, why did you make me shoot it?"

Arthur grabbed the proffered hilt. "I said even a simpleton could shoot a crossbow, but I've never tested out the theory."

"Prat!" Merlin scowled, before sharply turning around and noisily stomping off.

Arthur grinned.

In truth, he needed to know that Merlin could protect himself without magic. He'd been hoping that teaching him to use hunting tools would be a sound method, but also knew it'd be a long shot.

Merlin hated hunting. It wasn't until now, that Arthur understood why.

Pushing aside his guilt, Arthur began to climb down the steep path towards the shot deer. It appeared he'd have to find a different way to teach Merlin to defend himself, before the idiot was caught practicing sorcery.

Having invited himself to Morgana's chambers for the evening in order to join her for dinner, Arthur briefly dismissed Merlin. It was best he wasn't present for the conversation Arthur planned to have with her.

Fortunately, Morgana was kind enough to dismiss Guinevere once she'd brought up and served them their dinner.

"You have not said a word to her since you rescued her," Morgana pointed out, once the door shut behind her maidservant.

Arthur grimaced. "And I suppose you think I should have?"

"I've suspected for a while that there was a man involved in Gwen's life," Morgana said as she picked up her fork and knife. "Imagine my surprise when I realized it was you."

Arthur scoffed. "You are hilariously mistaken."

Morgana shot him a brief glare. "Do not treat me as a fool," she sniffed. "I believed I ought to beg you, appeal to your kinder nature for the chance that you would go and save her. But I needn't have. It should have been apparent then."

"What is apparent," Arthur bit out acridly as he cut into his strip of venison. "Is that you are as irritating and meddlesome as ever. There is no sordid affair occurring between Guinevere and I. You would do best to remember that."

"Funny," Morgana smiled. "Gwen said the same thing."

Arthur swallowed past the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "…Did she?"

Morgana met his gaze across the table, her green eyes glittering with delight. "She believes you rescued her only because I pleaded on her behalf. I wonder how she came up with such an absurd notion."

Arthur blew out a sharp breath. "Can we please not discuss this?"

"Then what would you like to discuss?" Morgana said, voice suddenly sharp. "I assume you're not here merely to enjoy the pleasure of my company?"

Arthur winced at the jab. It had been far too long since he'd spent time with Morgana, time that didn't involve the affairs of the court. In his defense, he was rather busy. And truthfully, he hadn't thought she'd noticed.

"Morgana―"

"Save it," she cut in with a thoughtful expression. "I don't need your apologies, Arthur. Tell me, what is it that you want?"

"It's about Merlin."

A rigid curtain fell over her features. "I thought we had come to an understanding."

"We have," Arthur agreed with emphasis. "The court on the other hand…"

Morgana scoffed. "The lot of vipers certainly have nothing better to do. But I cannot control what they say, Arthur."

"No, but you and Merlin can desist with your impromptu meetings throughout the castle," Arthur said with a pointed look. "It's only adding fuel to the fire."

"I don't care what they have to say about me," she snapped.

"But my father does," Arthur said just as sharply. "And if you two continue as you have, he will have something to say about it. And it will not be you who bears the brunt of the fallout."

Rather than grow remorseful, Morgana's expression lit up with glee. "You're not trying to protect me. You're trying to protect Merlin."

Arthur met her grin with a steady gaze. "I am trying to protect you both."

For a moment, Morgana appeared taken aback by his brazen tone, before she too, grew somber. "We'll be more careful. I promise."

"That's all I ask."

"Forward thrust!"

Arthur paced down the edge of the field as he observed the squires' training with a keen eye.

As usual, when Sir Leon lead the session, he was relentless, calling out stances with rapid fire speed. While the younger boys struggled to smoothly transition between them, the boys closer to manhood demonstrated their years of training by their ability to match Leon's brisk pace. Even so, their faces shone bright red with exertion.

The only one who stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the older squires was Merlin. He'd long ago abandoned his shield, and his motions were tremulous with inexperience.

Still, Arthur was impressed that he'd kept up for as long as he had. His manservant was stronger than Arthur had given him credit for. And he could excuse the lack of shield. It was unlikely Merlin would ever make use of one in the real life case he needed to defend himself.

"Lunge!"

But it seemed Merlin had reached the end of his patience. With a look of disgust, he dropped his sword where he stood and marched off the field, until he came to stand beside Arthur.

"Can we be done now?!" he demanded, face red and beading with sweat.

Arthur grinned with delight. "Aw, but you haven't even participated in single combat."

Arthur was merely jesting, of course. It was only his first day and Arthur wasn't cruel enough to force Merlin to be cut down by one of many spindly fourteen-year-olds.

"I'll pass," Merlin said flatly.

Arthur laughed. "Alright, no need to be such a girl's petticoat." He squinted up at the midday sun. "It's nearly lunchtime anyway, so I suppose we can head back."

As they made their way off the field, Arthur didn't bother scolding Merlin for refusing to pick up after himself. He was still genuinely proud of the effort Merlin had put in and figured one of the other servants could deal with an extra shield and sword.

It was as they were walking through one of the courtyard corridors that Arthur began his critique, "You'll need to start focusing more on your footwork. There's no sense in being able to swing that sword around if you're only going to trip and risk impaling yourself."

"Wait!" Merlin said, stumbling to stop. "You mean for me to do this again?!"

Arthur turned to him with a look of amusement. "One training session does not a swordsman make, Merlin."

Merlin's face twisted with horror. "Am I being punished? Have I wronged you in some way?"

"Excuse me?" Arthur barked out a laugh. "Where on earth did you come up with such a preposterous idea? I am helping you, you ninny."

"Helping me?!" Merlin gasped. "How in the hell is that meant to be helping me, you utter clotpole! If anything you're―"

Arthur arched an eyebrow, wondering what on earth could cause Merlin to shut up so quickly. And then, Arthur realized Merlin was staring at someone over his shoulder.

Arthur turned around to find his father briskly marching down the corridor in their direction.

"Arthur," he said sharply as soon as he reached them, shooting Merlin a look of disdain. "What is this I hear of your manservant training alongside the knights' squires?"

For a moment, Arthur hesitated. He hadn't expected for the news to reach his father so quickly.

Recalling Merlin's melodramatic complaints, Arthur settled on, "I was punishing him, father."

Uther's rigid features eased into an expression of bewilderment. "You were…punishing him."

"Yes," Arthur said, knowing this would be the only way to appease him. "Merlin here isn't overly impressed with the skill, strength, and endurance that is required of our knights' training, so I decided he deserved to experience it for himself."

Merlin glared mutinously but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Now Uther was rolling his eyes, appearing utterly done with their nonsense. "Punish his insolence on your own time. Preferably, in the dungeons or in the stocks. I've already received multiple complaints of offense from the nobility, and really Arthur, there are more urgent matters which demand my attention."

"Ah," Arthur said, trying to quench his disappointment. Of course the noblemen would get up in arms over the sight of a servant learning alongside their own. It was incredibly asinine. "I apologize for the inconvenience father. It won't happen again."

Uther huffed a small laugh. "No, I expect not."

His father strode off with a shake of his head.

Once he disappeared around the corner, Arthur turned and caught sight of Merlin's relieved expression.

"I suppose I should've seen this coming," Arthur lamented.

Merlin grinned. "Oh well, no sense in crying about it. Let's just forget it ever happened."

"You're right, Merlin," Arthur nodded decisively. "I should've realized it sooner."

Merlin quirked an eyebrow. "Realized what?"

"I might as well cut out the middleman," Arthur said, beckoning him to follow along as they continued their walk back to his chambers. "From now on, I'll personally train you myself."

A/N: Queue Merlin's look of horror :) And no worries, we'll get to see some more of their nonsense next chapter!

I hope you all liked the chapter! :D Let me know your thoughts on it please!