I realize it's been a long time since I updated this and I'm really sorry to keep you all waiting for so long, please forgive me?
And thankyou to everyone who has reviewed and fav'd this story, it means a lot to me that you guys took the time to leave your appreciation.
So this chapter is sort of an interlude, and don't worry because they will be married despite it taking so much time. Basically, in this chapter they just pine for each other.
I'm pretty much on a vacation at the moment after completing my third year at university so you guys can expect much frequent updates on this story.
CHAPTER - 9
"Balinor, do you really think it's wise to give Merlin in marriage to the Pendragon's?"
Hunith's worried countenance made Balinor pause in his reading and he looked up cautiously at his wife and queen.
"My dear, you were the one who was overjoyed at the proposal."
Balinor was confused, Hunith had always been a fierce believer in peace between all nations, and she also still had a soft spot for Arthur Pendragon even after their families had separated due to the feud.
Hunith was pacing the room, it was night time so she was wearing a flowing night gown and she looked beautiful except for the frown that marred her face.
"I know, I know but I can't help thinking that we may have been too hasty in accepting Uther's deal. What with the recent events that have transpired….what if Merlin really is in love with Mordred?"
"Has he told you anything of the sort?" asked Balinor, he too wasn't keen on getting his only son married so soon, especially if his son was romantically involved with the duke's son.
"No, no, when I questioned him about his behavior he quickly denied any relations of that nature with Mordred but I can't help thinking we're pushing him into a corner and making him unhappy!" Hunith still remembered Merlin's panicked and shamed demeanor when she'd confronted him as soon as he returned to Mercia.
'What in the world were you thinking Merlin? Running off with Mordred….and letting yourself get caught so!'
Merlin was red faced and fidgeting and he tried to explain, 'Mom, it wasn't like that alright! Nothing happened, I just wanted to talk to him.'
'Merlin, you know what this looks like! You know how people would see it!'
'What do you expect me to do? I made a stupid mistake mom! But people make mistakes sometimes and I'm no different! I made a mistake and I'm sorry! I'm very very sorry for wanting a friend to talk to when I felt like I was going to go mad! He said the last part with bitterness and Hunith softened at Merlin's lost and confused eyes looking at her pleadingly.
'Merlin, I have to ask, do you love Mordred?'
Merlin paused only for a second before saying 'No…no I don't love him and I'll set this straight, I'll marry Arthur, I'll…make this right…I promise you…' Merlin felt tears blurring his vision then and his mother came forward and enveloped him in a tight hug immediately.
'No, no, I don't think it's fair of us to expect so much out of you now…I'll talk to your father…oh baby, you don't have to go through this for us…I'm sorry we made you think you had to…'
"Hmmm, why don't you talk with him tomorrow and find out if he really wants to go through with this marriage. If he says he does not want to go ahead, I'll explain to Uther that we are cordially declining the offer."
"But he would then stop his exports to Mercia, we're already short of resources as it is, is there no other way around this Balinor?"
Balinor looked troubled as he had been for the past months, the country was floundering with both war efforts and shortage of resources to meet their demands and this alliance with Camelot would have proved to be the saving grace.
However, Balinor was not a cruel man and he would never compromise the happiness and safety of his only child for his nation's welfare, he'd have to find another way.
He kept quiet though as he knew that without this deal with Camelot they might as well be on the verge of a nation wide crisis that couldn't be easily averted, if only Merlin and Arthur were more agreeable to each other.
Meanwhile in Arthur's palace a similar argument was brewing between mother and son, while Uther and Morgana observed from afar.
"I can't believe you're still insisting on his good character mother, have you lost your marbles?"
Igraine with an equally blazing temper to match her sons snapped "He was hugging somebody Arthur, last time I checked that does not count as cheating on you!"
"But that's what everyone is thinking! He made a fool out of me! He is a spoilt, rich, whining, irresponsible brat!"
"And when did you start giving heed to those nasty vultures spreading rumors? I am sure this is nothing compared to what's been written in the papers about you and you're illicit lifestyle!"
"It doesn't matter whether he cheated on me or not mother, it does not change that he's a pain in the ass and for the last time I do not want to get married to him!"
Igraine glared for a full minute and Arthur stared back not willing to budge. Finally Igraine sighed and turned her back on Arthur.
"Fine….fine if that's what you want, I'll ring them up and tell them the proposal is off."
Arthur who was surprised that his mother was agreeing so easily could do nothing but sputter as his mother told Uther that they were going to have to call off the proposal regrettably.
"It's probably for the best, I can't help thinking he'd be happier with the duke of Essex' son."
Arthur gritted his teeth at the mention of Mordred's name and then turned away to hide his conflicting emotions on the whole matter. This was what he'd been waiting for from the beginning but now that he did not face the prospect of being married to Merlin he could not understand the bereavement he felt all at once with the confusion.
Arthur dragged his feet towards his rooms not noticing Morgana's shrewd stare following his movements.
After he was comfortably settled in his room he opened up his laptop and browsed quickly through his mails from work and a few friends' emails. He did not keep up with the news after that disastrous last day in Paris as he didn't have the urge to get even more humiliated.
But now after almost an entire week had passed he typed in the name 'Prince Merlin Emrys' in and found out about 200 pages dedicated to Merlin.
The news that caught his eye though was "Negotiations between Mercia and Camelot at a stand still, King Balinor has stated that there will be no unions between the Emrys' and Pendragon's families any time in the near future."
Arthur clicked on the link and what he saw in the page made his dreary mood sink even further.
'King Balinor has stated that despite Prince Merlin and Prince Arthur's recent romantic holiday in Paris there were no plans for marriage between the two royal families. He alleges that Prince Merlin is still very young and is not ready for a marriage at this point of time.
Prince Merlin is keeping quiet on the matter himself and has not come forth and made any comments regarding the nature of his relationship with Camelot's Prince Arthur or the duke of Essex' son Mordred Parker.
Speculations continue to abound and we can only hope that a peaceful alliance is forged between Mercia and Camelot even if it were not through a marriage between the two royal families.'
"You seem to be brooding…"
Arthur sat up straight not even having noticed Morgana coming in. "You startled me.." he said quietly knowing whatever she wanted to talk about could wait because he was in no mood for her trying diatribes now.
"Missing a certain someone perhaps? They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder." Morgana was smirking and Arthur gave her a cursory glare which would have no effect on her anyway. She couldn't be stopped until she'd said her piece and for his peace of mind Arthur let her continue.
"Are you really sure about dropping this arranged marriage Arthur?"
"I'm very sure"
"You don't seem to be happy."
"What do you expect me to do then? Give you a tap dance?"
"No…but you do realize people in Mercia are probably going to suffer if this situation continues to mount, don't you?"
"I thought as Prince of Camelot I was supposed to put my country first. And having Mercia as an ally would be more taxing than it's worth anyway…"
"What about Merlin?"
Arthur looked up from his laptop at that and Morgana's scrutinizing stare made him pause before he nonchalantly said "What about him?" and returned to looking at his laptop.
"Well, if you really don't care then I suppose we'll all just have to wish him well with Mordred then."
Arthur set aside his laptop, "First mother and now you, Merlin is not with Mordred, there's hardly any need to wish anyone well…" Arthur was maintaining his composure not letting it show that he was unhappy with Morgana and his mother's implications that Merlin would run to Mordred as soon as the looming threat of marriage to Arthur would be dissolved.
"If you know that for sure then why are you so angry at Merlin?"
"I'm not angry at Merlin."
"Really?"
"Yes really," said Arthur turning to look at Morgana who wasn't even a bit fooled by his cool expression.
"Yes you are angry at Merlin for having been with Mordred! You're jealous!"
Arthur slammed his hands on the wall hard and screeched "I am not jealous! I'm furious because he betrayed my trust and lied to me. He made me a look a fool in a front of everyone and that's not something I'm going to forgive him for!"
"And tell me you didn't do or say anything untoward to him? Tell me you didn't make him feel as though he had to escape with Mordred while he was with you…."
Arthur was brought up short as he remembered exactly what he'd done and said, he'd been so insensitive and guilt flooded him at the way he'd treated Merlin but that still didn't ebb the anger he felt at Merlin having so completely betrayed his trust.
"So you did do something to upset him!" Morgana crowed knowing she was right.
Arthur just looked away from her, "All we do is upset each other Morgana, its why its best for us to never see each other any more at all."
Morgana snorted, "You're just scared he makes you feel something after all this time."
"That's it, I've had it with you today, get out!" snapped Arthur and Morgana deciding not to push him further at the moment silently locked the door on her way out.
Arthur fell onto his bed heavily after she'd left and wondered at why he wasn't feeling absolutely ecstatic now that he had his bachelor life back.
Two months passed in the same fashion and Arthur continued to work for his father's company and the military which took up most of his time. He still looked up on the news about Merlin every now and then finding it oddly comforting to know what the Mercian Prince was getting up to.
'Prince Merlin was recently spotted in Odeon Leicester square with his friends as they toured around London.'
Morgana and his mother had left him alone after a while and now marriage was an unspoken word in their palace. Camelot was flourishing as the border skirmishes were minimal after they'd stopped some of their exports to Mercia. And if Arthur lay in bed at night thinking about blue impossible eyes, long pale necks and black mussed up hair while he was wanking then no one was the wiser.
Arthur had urged Uther to not stop the exports but Uther had insisted that it cost them too much to export to Mercia at lower rates than if they were to export to any other country and Arthur has to grudgingly agree that Uther was right. There was no point in helping Mercia if they were not going to allow Camelot to use their harbors for transportation anyway.
Meanwhile he still kept checking on news about Merlin, mostly trivial things.
'Prince Merlin Emrys seems to be quite the lover when it comes to felines and he recently bought a ragamuffin from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London.
This little addition is the fifth in the feline family owned by the Prince, his very first cat named Aithusa was a Scottish fold gifted to Prince Merlin on his twelfth birthday by his mother, Queen Hunith.
In this picture we see Prince Merlin cuddling his new cat close as he rushes into his hotel.'
Arthur smiled despite himself as he noticed Merlin's windswept hair in disarray; he was wearing a white sweatshirt and dark blue jeans and was cuddling the small cat quite close as if to shield it from the cold as well as the paps.
Merlin on the other hand was keeping relatively low key ever since he'd come back from Paris with that fiasco with Arthur.
He'd been hounded by the press nearly everywhere he went for the better part of a month until things began to settle down and they'd lost interest in him. He was happy that he wouldn't have to marry Arthur knowing how he'd messed up everything between them anyway.
He felt guilty and at the same time he felt it was unfair for Arthur to be so misunderstanding. And he'd been scared shitless when they'd left Paris, Arthur's dark threats making him anxious for himself if he were to ever marry him.
When his mother had shown him a way out, he'd taken it. At almost the same time Igraine called to tell them that the arrangement was off and Merlin felt relieved.
His life was perfect except for the times he felt he almost missed Arthur's constant presence. Merlin was annoyed at himself for having allowed Arthur to take up so much of his thoughts when he'd hardly known the man for a week.
When he was all alone in his room at night he'd wonder what it would have been like if he'd been married to Arthur by now.
Would he be in Arthur's arms, spooning with him in the same bed. He still remembered the kiss and his hormone addled teenage brain cooked up fantasies that made Merlin blush to the roots. He was happy that these moments happened in the privacy of his room in the dead of the night so no one would know he was developing a big crush on someone he'd probably never get to speak to again. Not to mention someone who by all means hated Merlin now.
All of this came to a head when Arthur and Merlin met again finally. Arthur was at his wits end. He'd gone clubbing with Gwaine, Lance, Leon and Percy after a long time and he wasn't even getting the chance to get laid.
Gwaine was happily dancing the night away with a couple of skimpily clad girls, Percy and Leon were sloshed and Lancelot was also well into his cups.
Not even a single person present in the club managed to hold his interest and he was getting quickly frustrated with the clubs occupants and his mates. He was in his third shot of whiskey when he noticed a skirmish among the crowd.
Five men in black suits were pushing through the crowd looking for someone and Arthur knew they were bodyguards at once. What startled him though was that he recognized one of them and his sluggish brain took only a minute to place them as Merlin's bodyguards.
Were they searching for Merlin in the club, it was a fair possibility considering Merlin had a tendency to run off on them a lot. Arthur snorted wondering if he was cursed to think about the speccy prince for the rest of his life when the bodyguards seem to give up and went out of the club again.
When he was into his fourth cup for the night and feeling a little tipsy he finally saw a person who caught his eye. The boy must be fairly young but Arthur wasn't above shagging the lad if he was street legal.
He was dancing around drunkenly, swaying his hips about in a provocative manner that had more than a few men draping themselves over the boy in an attempt to touch. But the boy was elusive and moved out of the way every time someone tried to grab him and this only seemed to make the men want him more. And god the boy had an incredible ass on him which was clad in skin tight jeans leaving the curve of his bottom vulnerable to the hoards of wolves eying him up as he goaded them on.
Then the gorgeous male specimen turned and Arthur felt like the wind had been knocked out of him with a swift punch to his middle when he realized that it was Merlin who was putting himself out so shamelessly.
His admiration turned into anger and he stumbled as he got up and made his way over to the place where Merlin had not quite managed to elude one captor who was huge and burly and was holding him close and groping Merlin's jean clad ass.
When he was near enough he heard Merlin's high pitched voice saying "You know, I'd let me go if I were you, because me…that is I…that is me…me has bodyguards who will pummel me...if you don't let me go."
However, the guy wasn't listening and went to kiss Merlin who turned his head away and said "Ugh, let me go you brute, you're disgusting!"
"Let him go!"
Merlin turned not quite able to believe it was really Arthur before he turned back to the brute holding him with a punishing grip.
By this time most of the people in the room had noticed what was going on, some even recognizing Arthur as the Prince of Camelot. Gwaine had stopped dancing and was pushing his way through the crowd to Arthur.
"You let me go! You see him…" he pointed with one ill co-ordinated bony finger at the vague direction in which Arthur was standing. "He's my boyfriend and if you don't let me go…."
Arthur who was quite amused at this point realized they were making a spectacle of themselves and quickly pulled Merlin by the waist into his chest. Merlin looked up at him with those blue eyes looking confused and pouted, "You pulled me, bully!"
Arthur couldn't help himself when he pecked those pouting lips making Merlin giggle and snuggle closer to Arthur.
The burly guy and the other patrons who had been admiring Merlin just a moment ago looked on in envy as Arthur gave them a warning glare and lead Merlin out of the crowd to his group of friends.
Arthur was not quite drunk as he'd like to be for this, he acutely felt Merlin's weight as he led them back to the bar, his soft raven hair was tickling him in the neck where Merlin saw fit to place his head muttering incoherently all the way. When Arthur deposited him on a bar stool and made to get away to call somebody who'd be able to take him home Merlin pulled him back and hugged his midriff.
"Merlin!..." when there was no response Arthur shook him and called him again "Merlin…"
Merlin looked up with an irritated expression as if somebody had disturbed him from his beauty sleep before saying "What?" in an equally annoyed tone.
"Brat! What are you doing here all alone drunk off your ass?"
"M'not a brat. M' not alone, my….my…oooh…" he giggled again, 'you know those black suits uppity men…they are with me." Merlin stage whispered earning himself a small chuckle from Lance and a pat on the back from Gwaine.
"Seems this one is well and truly drunk…" stated Gwaine who was himself feeling the effect of the martini's he'd had that night.
"Do you have your bodyguards number?" asked Arthur trying and failing to extract a response from Merlin.
"Merlin!"
"I don't think it's of any use asking him."
"But what do I do with him now?"
"Take him to your flat…" said Lance.
"Bugger him silly now that you've got the chance" said Gwaine simultaneously.
Arthur rolled his eyes and took out his own cell phone making a quick call to bring the car around.
Arthur proceeded to drag Merlin through the club amidst the catcalls and whistles of Gwaine and some of the club patrons before he opened the door and was almost blinded.
Flash after flash went off in his face and Arthur tried to cover his face but since his hands were occupied holding Merlin to him it wasn't of much use.
He should have anticipated this really, but as the flashes kept on coming he figured it was a lost cause trying to hide and took hold of Merlin tightly before he walked as swiftly as he could to where his car was parked and waiting for him.
As soon as he dumped Merlin in the leather seats he groaned and opened his eyes looking at Arthur for a while before closing his eyes again.
Arthur rubbed at his temples; he couldn't believe how crazy this night was turning out to be.
"Now where should I take you? Do you have a place to stay in London?" asked Arthur shaking Merlin insistently.
Merlin only moved closer batting away Arthur's hands and settling himself nice and cosy on Arthur's shoulder.
When Arthur questioned him again Merlin slurred "Arthur…take me…take me home."
"Where is home?" asked Arthur.
"Dunno'…."
"MERLIN!"
"ARTHUR!" Merlin imitated his condescending tone, breaking out into peals of laughter right after which made Arthur look fondly at him and muss his hair.
"M' not a dog Arthur, stop playing with my hair."
"I wouldn't know, you behavior is remarkably similar to that of a puppy's."
Arthur gave instructions to the chauffeur to just drive around in circles for awhile and Merlin dozed on and off on his shoulder as Arthur let him use it as a makeshift pillow. He didn't know whether it was because of Merlin or not but he was feeling content and light hearted for the first time in days and he let his hands wander to the tufts of hair at Merlin's nape stroking them and drawing circles as Merlin hummed in pleasure.
It was inevitable that he began to think about how life might have been had he been married to Merlin then and was allowed to touch and coddle him whenever he pleased. He didn't know he'd grown so attached until he met Merlin again and now that he had him here in his arms complacent and clingy he wanted this feeling to last.
All the anger and frustration he'd felt at Merlin seemed like a foreign memory as his heart and mind were filled with a longing to touch and hold and just be with Merlin listening to his drunken babbling for all it was worth.
He pulled Merlin close and breathed in deep Merlin's scent. He still smelled as good as he did when Arthur first woke in the same bed next to him at du Louvre.
"Are you sniffin me?" slurred Merlin.
Arthur hummed and Merlin huffed. They remained in silence for a while before Merlin tilted his head up and started looking at Arthur.
Arthur who'd lowered his inhibitions tonight found himself gazing back and asked "What?"
Merlin looked down again and softly said "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For…lying to you, and …." Merlin stopped scrunching his eyebrows trying to remember but what came out was "and for whatever else…I'm sorry."
"I kinda miss you prat!" Merlin retorted after the apology and Arthur laughed pulling Merlin closer still and planting a kiss on his soft head of hair.
"Oh you're going to be so embarrassed about this tomorrow."
Merlin snorted again before extending out his hand "Friends?"
Arthur scrutinized the hand for a whole minute before he took Merlin's hand saying 'Friends' not knowing if he wanted to be friend zoned by Merlin of all people, suddenly he wished he'd kept his mouth shut and married this frustrating maddeningly beautiful boy anyway.
"Do you remember where you're home in London is?" asked Arthur wondering if Merlin had returned to the world of sobriety atleast a little to remember.
"Don't have a home here silly!"
"Then where are you staying?"
"Hotel Le Meridian"
Arthur knew he couldn't go there, he knew for certain that there would be reporters milling about there and he thought 'god must hate me' asking his driver to go to his flat.
Please review!
Next chapter shows Merlin's embarrassment from waking up from his hang over, it's only fair after all as I made Arthur go through the same thing a while ago.