Author's note: Oh my gosh, thanks for all the positive feedback! This chapter is kind of boring, but I promise the next one will be great! I had great fun writing it, at least... anyway, I'll try to update with the next chapter tomorrow, since I know this one's kind of short. It just seemed a good place to end it off, so... stuff. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Merlin and all its characters do not belong to me.
Arthur awoke to a face full of dirt as Merlin took his revenge for the previous night, the prince spitting out the offending material as he shot into a sitting position and glared at his manservant.
Merlin looked at him with an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Rise and shine, sire!" he said, grinning goofily as he saw the indignant look on the prince's face. Gwaine laughed as Lancelot awoke to the noise, rubbing his head as if he regretted waking up at all and rolling back onto his stomach.
"Hey, Lance, how're you feeling?" the knight asked mockingly, and Lancelot groaned. Elyan chuckled good-naturedly.
Arthur stood up, Merlin beginning to pack up his things as he walked over to Lance and helped him up, the knight groaning and rubbing his eyes as the light hit them.
"Gods, I am never playing that game with you again, Percival," the knight stated, Percival grinning, his cheeks slightly pink and looking a bit guilty for being the cause of his friend's troubles.
Merlin finished packing up the camp and put out the fire, stringing their belongings over the backs of the horses and setting off with the rest of the group towards Camelot.
…
The next day led to much planning and staring on the prince's part, planning relating to how he was going to get Merlin to say his biggest secret, and staring that was quite frankly creeping his manservant out. Merlin was becoming peeved from his master's eyes constantly on him, and worried by the calculating look in his eyes. A thought occurred to him, and the warlock laughed out loud, startling Arthur out of his calculations.
"This is about last night, isn't it? The look you're giving me!" he said, "You're trying to figure out the answer to your question!"
Arthur flushed as he realized that he had been staring, and even more so as he realized that his manservant had hit the nail on the head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stated, feigning ignorance, but Merlin just laughed again.
"And then why, your Royal Pratness, are you the color of a tomato?"
Arthur swallowed, "Uh, I was thinking about Gwen," he stated, but Merlin just snorted.
"Doesn't matter. If that's all," Merlin said, gesturing to the now clean room, "I'll leave you alone to your scheming."
Arthur creased his brow, but dismissed his manservant, the warlock nodding and walking out of the room, chuckling to himself.
And Arthur frowned as he realized that his job may be a bit more difficult now that Merlin knew he was planning something.