A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

9. Chapter 9

Arthur Pendragon was leaning on his window sill, staring out into the courtyard at his people, going on with their daily lives. They were all acting as if this wasn't the worst day of their prince's life. But then again, his citizens didn't know that it was the worst day of his life. They just knew that he was getting married. Not that he was being forced into this arrangement.

Arthur found himself staring out his window a lot nowadays. Ever since he'd found out about his arranged marriage, he often found himself here. Just staring out at his kingdom. But his eyes were never focused. His mind was a hundred miles away from what he was actually seeing, to focused on his latest problems.

Today was the day.

By late tonight, he would be a married man. He wouldn't be a single man ever again. He would always be Arthur Pendragon. But only now, he would have another name tied to his. Someone's who name he didn't even know but would never be able to escape from.

Arthur let his eyes drop from his windows and down to his hand. More specifically, his left hand. His left ring finger was bare, as it always was. He did occasionally wear rings but never on his left hand ring finger. He'd understood at a young age about how that finger was made specifically for his wedding ring.

How would it feel? To have something on that finger. Not just something, but something that signify him being bound to another person. His face screwed up in distaste. He could already feel it as if he was already wearing it. Like a weight holding him down, like a ball and chain tying him to where he stood. As if there was no escape. He could leave, travel far and wide. But that ring that would be on his finger would be a constant reminder of what was waiting for him back home.

It almost made him not want to be home.

But no. He wasn't going to let some peasant boy chase him out of his own home. He was here long before the boy was and that was that.

Arthur didn't bother on waiting for Morris to help him dress. He stormed over to his wardrobe and threw open the doors. He wasn't going to just sit here and be miserable. If he only had a few hours left, then he was going to make the most of them.

It took him an almost embarrassingly long time to find a long sleeve grey tunic, tucked away nearly in the back of his wardrobe. It was tucked away in the back because Arthur rarely wore it. It was simple and plain, no embellishes or anything that usually came with his clothes. It wasn't made of silk or another expensive type of fabric. It was just cotton. It was still better off than what most peasants could afford, but it was also probably the least expensive thing he did own.

It was almost ridiculously easy to put on. That was what Arthur wanted. Easy and quick so that he could go. Something he didn't have to yell for Morris to get in here and help him because he couldn't figure out the straps or buckles.

After he was dressed, Arthur grabbed the shoulder piece to his armor. The same thing that he had worn yesterday when he'd gone down into the town. It took an embarrassingly long time for him to strap it onto his shoulder. He had to twist into an awkward position to reach the buckle. It was almost enough to make him give up and just shout for somebody to fetch him Morris.

But he didn't. Mainly because Morris was annoying the hell out of him lately and he didn't want the servant following him when he went into town. A little space to himself was exactly what he was needing.

Feeling pleased with himself over managing to get ready without help, despite his brief struggle with the armor piece, Arthur snatched up his favorite thick gloves from his desk. He slipped them on as he left his room.

He ran a hand through his blonde hair, smoothing it down over his forehead as he headed down the hall. Not that it mattered. His hair would be windswept as soon as he stepped outside anyway, if the light breeze was anything to go by.

Somewhere deep in the lower town, Gaius was holding onto Merlin's jacket and neckerchief. He was going to be taking them home with him to leave in Merlin's room in his chambers.

Merlin, meanwhile, was staring down at the wooden contraption. The guard was standing next to it, his eyebrow raised at Merlin. He was clearly judging him.

"Is this really necessary?" Merlin asked awkwardly. His eyes shifted nervously from Uncle Gaius and the guard and back to the contraption.

"You tried to punch a prince." Gaius said dryly, giving him a firm nudge on the back closer to the guard.

"Which is my first offense." Merlin said quickly. A hopeful smile spread across his face. "Which definitely means that we should let it go just this once."

"Nice try," Gaius said dryly. "It was either this or another night of house arrest in your chambers."

"I'm not entirely sure I wouldn't rather that." Merlin grumbled to himself. His shoulders slumped as he stared miserably at what was going to be involved in his punishment. "This has to be a strange and unusual punishment."

"It's actually quite common for fools." Gaius said dismissively.

Merlin blinked several times as he'd registered what Gaius just said. "Wait, did you just call me a fool?" He could admit he wasn't the smartest but he wouldn't have called himself a fool.

"You tried to punch a prince." Gaius reminded him dryly. Only a fool would have done something as dumb as that. Especially in full view of an entire towns worth of people watching.

"...Good point." Merlin could admit. There was no way to argue against his uncle's comment. It hadn't been his finest moment. He still didn't regret it, he was actually kinda proud he'd tried to hit an arse. His only regret was that he hadn't managed to actually hit the prat. How was he supposed to know it was his fiancé, who was apparently really good at defending himself.

Merlin looked to the wooden contraption unsure, "This is safe, right?" He asked nervously. What if it snapped closed on him and wouldn't open? Knowing himself, he would probably end up breaking it by the time he was let out. It would have to be his latest record. Literally breaking something when he was tied down to it.

"You don't have a choice." The guard said gruffly, still waiting to lock Merlin into place. The last thing he wanted to be was here. At least he wasn't having to chase after this peasant like he had the last one who'd tried to make an escape attempt. And all because he didn't want to face a little public humiliation before going on with his life.

Merlin's face scrunched up before it dropped, looking miserable. This was going to kill him, he just knew it. Death by the suffocating strangulation this thing would probably give him even though it hadn't done it to anyone else. As far as he knew at least.

"Go on Merlin." Gaius urged him forward. "You only need an hour and you'll be done." Surely the boy could handle a single hour. He would have to. The guard wasn't going to let him out before it's been exactly an hour.

"One hour," Merlin repeated weakly. "Just one hour." He could handle that. It would be over before he knew it...right? Maybe if he was lucky, time would fly by. But since when was he ever that lucky? It would probably drag on to feel like forever.

"One hour." The guard agreed gruffly, waiting impatiently for Merlin to fit himself into place. Usually he would have just grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and fitted him in there himself. But he hadn't tried to run it blubber himself stupid yet. As if an hour in the stocks was the worst thing anybody had ever had to go through.

Merlin let his shoulders slump before he finally stepped up to the stocks. He glanced up at the guard who gave him a stern look. Merlin, realizing that he definitely wasn't getting out of this anytime soon, slouched down. He put his head into the neck hole, letting his wrists fall into the two hand holes on either side of his head.

The guard grabbed the top of the setting and swung it down before Merlin could try and get up. The top piece came down with a hard thunk as wood net wood, making him jump violently. Not that he was able to move much. All he managed to do was scrape his neck against the top holding him into place.

Then the guard slid a key into the lock next to his head, locking him into place until he decided to undo it. Hopefully he would keep his word and actually unlock him in an hour. Merlin just realized how uncomfortably vulnerable this position was, especially locked into place like he was. He pulled uselessly with his hands, trying to stretch his neck some. All he managed to do was give himself a crick.

The guard stepped away, going to lean against a couple of barrels stacked against someone's stall. And Gaius took his place at Merlin's head.

Merlin glanced up through his eyelashes, giving his uncle a disgruntled look. Gaius smirked, looking almost amused. An hour in the stocks wouldn't hurt the boy, it might do him a little good. Maybe a little public humiliation would stop the boy from doing something stupid again, like trying to punch a prince.

"Really, Uncle Gaius." Merlin grumbled, trying to move his wrists. But even as slim as he was, he wasn't able to get his hands out. "You couldn't have negotiated my early release for anything else?"

"Well I wouldn't have had to at all if you had just returned when you were done delivering my potion." Gaius said dryly. Then maybe Merlin wouldn't be in this predicament.

Merlin opened his mouth to give a retort but never got the chance to. A group of rowdy children no older than eight at least came running up to stand across from him. They had a basket at the ready, filled to the brim with food that had already gone rotten. He could see the top of a few tomato's sticking out the top.

Grinning, Gaius hurried away, still holding onto Merlin's stuff.

Merlin shot a lighthearted glare in his uncle's direction. He gasped startled when a tomato hit harshly just above his head. He tried to duck by instinct but was startled when he realized he didn't go anywhere. Right. He was locked in the stocks. He wasn't going anywhere while he was pelted by rotten food.

Seeing Uncle Gaius laughing as he hurried away, Merlin shouted, "Thanks!" After him, the sarcasm high in his voice. Merlin tried to bow his head as head as more tomato's pelted at him. His only saving grace was that these little kids were absolutely horrible with their aim.

Back at the castle, Morris was whistling a cheery little tune to himself as he hopped up the staircase that led to the royal wing. He had a basket of laundry tucked under one arm. He had finally gotten that one grass stain to leave the seat of one of Arthur's pants. He'd been working on that one for weeks. The sun was shining. Today was starting out to be pretty good.

Except for one little problem. Arthur's wedding was happening soon, very soon. Morris' face darkened a little at the thought before he forced it away. Things could still go his way. He could still get the throne. It might take a little longer, a little more work, but he would get it done. Morris had never shied away from hard work before. This would be no different.

The wedding was tonight. But Morris refused to let that ruin his mood. After all, there were dozens of reasons that Morris could think off the top of his head that would make somebody leave. Maybe he could convince Arthur's fiancé that she wasn't wanted. Maybe that Arthur was cheating on her. That was an idea. Make Arthur's fiancé believe that she was nothing, make her doubt herself, until she left on her own.

And if she didn't leave, well Morris was sure he could think of something to get rid of her. Divorce wasn't much of a thing in Camelot but there have been annulments in the past. Usually if somebody in the marriage was found cheating or doing something criminal.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He needed to know more about who he was dealing with. Just who this fiancé of Arthur's was before he made any moves or steps to assure his way onto the throne.

Morris reached the top of the stairs, giving the guard a glance. "Hello George." He said casually as he passed.

"It's Gregory." The guard grunted, a flash of annoyance on his face. Morris kept walking, paying him no attention. He was just one of the many guards around the castle. He had other things on his mind than remembering the name of that one guard.

Morris gave a knock onto Arthur's door as he did every time before he'd entered. When there was no answer, he cautiously opened the door. "Sire," he called, sticking his head in. But one glance around the room revealed that the room was empty. Morris scowled, dropping the basket just inside the door. He would just have to put them away later.

His thoughts were running wild. What if Arthur was seeing that fiancé of his? What if this marriage wasn't just an arrangement? For all he knew, Arthur and his fiancé had fallen in love before and this sudden wedding was just the king's way of blessing the marriage.

Morris felt his jaw lock as his panicked mind ran amok. What if that was where Arthur was right now, off planning his wedding with this fiancé of his. He could almost see his plans for getting on the throne going up in smoke all around him.

Morris turned on his heel and stormed out of the prince's room. He may have slammed the door a little harder than he'd meant to, not realizing that his sudden leaving was what grabbed Gregory's undivided attention.

Morris started storming down the hall, his fists clenched tightly at his side. His knuckles were almost white because of how tightly he was holding them. He was just passing the room next door when he froze, eyes darting over to the closed door.

That room.

Morris had never been inside of it before. It was the room dedicated for Arthur's bride to be. Where else would his fiancé be sleeping? A gleeful expression crossed his face. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it before. Where else would the prince's fiancé be? Maybe she was inside, maybe he could get a read on her. She was just a woman, a princess at that. She would probably be weak willed as well.

Morris didn't have much respect for women. Especially for noble women whose only job was literally to look pretty. Maybe he could convince her to leave before the wedding. Come up with some outrageous lie that would make her want to leave before the actual wedding took place.

Stepping up to her door, Morris gave a firm knock onto the wood. "Princess?" He called, a note of uncertainty to his voice. When he didn't hear anything, Morris put his head next to the door, trying to listen. But he didn't hear anything. Maybe she was gone, off doing whatever it is that noblewomen did when in a foreign city.

Already, another idea was forming in Morris' head. Arthur's fiancé might not be here but maybe he could find something else. Maybe he could find some sort of dirt on her. Instead of her wanting to leave, maybe he could blackmail her into leaving. If he could find something in her room that she didn't want to get out, maybe he could stop this whole dreaded wedding before it went through.

Morris brought his hand up to the handle, just about to push the door open. Before he got the chance to though, there was a less than subtle cough right behind him. His back stiffened as he stood there frozen for a moment. When nothing happened, he gave a cautious glance over his shoulder.

Gregory was glaring at him, not moving from his station against the wall. "I believe," Gregory said slowly. "That you are the prince's manservant. Those are not the prince's room." If it had been one of the serving girls entering, then he probably wouldn't have bothered saying anything. They were just doing their job and cleaning up. But Morris? He had no business being in anyone else's room than the prince's.

Morris felt the scowl briefly flicker across his face, "I was just seeing if Arthur's...intended," the word sounded sour on his tongue. "Needed anything."

Gregory didn't buy it for a second. "Well, as you can see, the prince's intended is not in at the moment." The guard briefly thought of the boy that was staying in that room. He seemed easy going enough, maybe a touch more on the nervous side. Not like the strict nobles that would have your head if their room was entered uninvited. But still, the guard doubted anybody would want a stranger going through their things. He never liked Morris anyway. Denying him something was almost amusing.

Morris gave Gregory a smile. A smile that held a little to much of his teeth. "Of course, my mistake." He said, voice with a touch of bite to it. Then with a subtle glare shot in the guard's direction, Morris stormed off down the hall.

Only after he was gone did Gregory roll his eyes. That servant had more gall than most. Trying to sneak into someone's chambers like that. Everybody was curious about the prince's intended. Not everybody was trying to break into his chambers.

Down in the lower town, Gwen readjusted the wornout red shawl around her shoulders. It was kind of itchy but it did the job and kept her room. She hiked up her red peasant dress so she wouldn't step on the end. It was just slightly to long on her. She would have to hem it so that she didn't risk stepping on the end. She adjusted the brown wicker basket, pulling it off her wrist and up onto the crook of her elbow. She blew out a breath of air, blowing her curly brown hair out of her face. She had a few pieces of hair that fell around her face, to short to fit into her ponytail.

Gwen smiled at the guy selling apples in the stall she was passing. She shook her head no when he called out to her, trying to sell his wares. She didn't need to waste her coin on apples, not when the castle provided her with a very small meal as part of her pay for her working for Lady Morgana.

Gwen was walking by a couple of girl's when she heard her name called out. "Gwen, hey Gwen!" Gwen turned her head, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she heard her name being called. It was just Browen, one of the delivery girl's from the castle. Browen left her friend and hurried over to Gwen, always eager to spread the latest gossip. "Hey, have you heard yet?"

Gwen raised an amused eyebrow. She had always liked Browen. The girl was always so chipper. Browen's long, blonde braids swished with each movement the girl made as she hurried over. "About the prince's wedding?" Gwen guessed. It was the first thing she had thought of. "I think everyone's heard of it by now." It was practically all anybody was really talking about.

Browen just scoffed though, waving her hand. "No, not about that. Did you hear about the fight the prince got into with the peasant boy yesterday?"

Gwen straightened up, a more than curious look appearing on her features. "Yes, I could see it from where I was doing my chores." She explained.

"Really?" Browen asked excited. She had been stuck on the other side of the castle when it was happening. She wouldn't have even been able to see it through the window if she had known it was going on.

Gwen nodded but waved her hand. "Yeah, I did. What about it?"

Browen took a deep breath, face flushing in her over-excitement. "Well I heard that he was put in the stocks this morning. I was gonna swing by and check him out." She moaned loudly. "But I've just been given a new set of chores to prepare for the wedding. If I don't start now, it won't be ready in time." Her face alone showed how disappointed she was. It wasn't everyday that somebody stood up against Arthur, much lest a peasant.

"Really?" Gwen said quietly, more like mumbling to herself. That boy was in the stocks? She looked in the direction of where she knew the stocks were located. It was actually just in the next block over, right in the center of town.

Browen nodded, "Yeah girl. If you wanna see, you better hurry. I hear he's gonna be let out soon." And then she was gone, hiking up her skirts and hurrying off in the direction of the castle to get her chores done.

Gwen frowned, turning in the direction Browen had run off in. Then she turned and looked back towards the direction of the stocks. "The stocks, you say." She said quietly. It wasn't like she had anything to do in a hurry. Her curiosity got the best of her, until it was overcoming her. She wasn't the only one that was curious about the peasant that had tried to take a stand against Arthur.

She made a split second decision. A decision that unknowing to her, would completely alter the course of the rest of her life.

Over at the stocks, Merlin groaned as a tomato splat right above his head. He shivered in disgust as he felt broken pieces of it raining down on him. He felt sticky and disgusting as a rather large piece fell down the back collar of his tunic. He could feel the juice starting to slide down his back. There were pieces of lettuce clinging to his dark hair. His back was aching from being slouched over in this position for so long.

He squinted up in the sunlight, his neck twisted at an awkward angle. It couldn't be to long now, he hoped. It had to have been almost an hour. He could just barely see the guard sitting against a building nearby. He was eating an apple, a fresh one compared to the rotten fruits and vegetables he's been being pelted with.

Merlin sighed in relief when the children who had been throwing food at him ran off. They had ran out of ammo. He didn't know how long they would be gone but at least this gave him some kind of reprieve before they came back.

He moved his tongue around inside his mouth, face scrunching up in disgust. Then he was spitting a small bit of tomato out onto the ground, almost hitting his boots in the process. How that piece got in his mouth, he would never know. But it tasted as rotten as it had looked before it had hit him.

His face scrunched up again as he looked down at the scrunched up bit of tomato covered in spit. Fuck, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had something in his mouth that was as disgusting as that. It had clearly been rotting for a while now.

That was when a shadow fell over him, briefly blocking the sun off of his sweat drenched skin. Merlin tilted his neck back, trying to squint up. The person in front of him was shrouded by a shadow. The sun was just behind them, making it hard for Merlin to see their features.

Until they moved just slightly, revealing a young woman that couldn't have been more than a year older than him at most. She had dark coco colored skin and curly brown hair that curled around her ears as bad as his stuck out. Her brown eyes caught his own blue ones.

Gwen fought the blush fighting to make its way onto her cheeks when she realized that she'd been caught. She had been so caught up in watching him, that she hadn't realized she'd walked straight up to him until he looked up. Well she couldn't very well just walk away now. That would be so rude.

So swallowing her nerves, Gwen introduced herself. "I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen." For the first time, Gwen realized just how young the boy looked. Was this really the boy that had stood up to Arthur? She glanced over him uncertain, eyes trailing over his thin wrists. Still uncertain with herself or where she was going with this, she kept talking. "I'm the Lady Morgana's maid,"

Merlin looked up at her confused. "Right..." he said slowly. Did most people introduce themselves by saying with their job was? It seemed kind of weird to him. He didn't even know who Lady Morgana was but she sounded important if the Lady in front of her name was anything to go by. Realizing that to much time had passed and Gwen was now looking at him expectedly, he introduced himself. "I'm Merlin," then by habit, he tried to reach out his hand to shake hers. But he was still chained down so all he was able to do was lift it a bit.

Gwen started to grin a little, seeing the obvious struggle. It was almost amusing, seeing him like this. He didn't seem like someone who just started fights for the hell of it. It almost made Gwen wonder what made him step in like he'd done. He clearly wasn't a fighter.

Seeing him struggling with his hand, it wasn't to hard to figure out what he was trying to do. Grin softening, she reached out to help him, taking his hand in hers. It was a very awkward handshake, inhibited by the plank of wood holding him into place.

"Although," Merlin continued, letting Gwen's hand go. He looked sheepish, "Most people just call me idiot." He should have known that an overnight stay in his room wouldn't be a sufficient punishment around here.

Gwen was quick to reassure him, "No, no, no." Some people might consider his act idiotic but not her. "I saw what you did." She reached up to tug at an unruly curl that was to short to go behind her ear. "It was so brave."

But Merlin shook his head, glancing away. "It was stupid." He should have known that he would have ended up here sooner or later. It was just a matter of time that he'd end up somewhere like the stocks. Just his luck that it would be because he tried to punch Arthur.

Gwen did what she did best and tried to make him feel better, "Well I'm glad you walked away." She's seen Arthur as she walked passed the training grounds. He wasn't known as the best swordsman around for nothing. "You weren't going to beat him."

Merlin snorted, immediately dismissing that, "Oh, I can beat him." He thought of what a fight between him and Arthur would look like. A real fight where he could use his magic without consequence, where he didn't have to hold back. He'd never been able to let loose with his abilities before. He wondered briefly what such a life would be like, where he didn't have to hide. Where he could have thrown Arthur off of him when he'd held his wrist behind his back. Without the fear of being arrested for his magic. He probably would still be arrested for attacking the prince like he'd done, but at least it wouldn't be for his magic.

That arse deserved a good punch to the jaw. Maybe it'd beat the arrogance out of him. Merlin would be all to happy to do it himself.

Gwen just frowned at him, looking curious. She gave another glance over what little of his thin form that she could see, although this look was more assessing than the last one was. "You think?" She asked, as if she truly believed that he believed that he could take the prince. "Because you don't look like one of these big, muscle-y kind of fellows."

Merlin opened his mouth to say something but was brought up short when what she had just said registered. "...Thanks," he said awkwardly, frown prominent on his face. He wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted or not.

Gwen seemed to realize what he was thinking and panicked. "No!" She said quickly. She was always sticking her foot in her mouth. She didn't know why she just couldn't say something without it sounding rude. "I'm sure you're stronger than you look." She still cast a doubtful look at his scrawny frame before continuing. "It's just..." she hesitated as if she were unsure of how to say this next bit. "Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save the world kind of man and..." she trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Merlin frowned, picking up on what she had said about Arthur, his fiancé, he thought the word with a hint of annoyance. Real rough? Yeah, he was. Merlin could almost still feel the phantom grip of the blonde's hold around his wrist. Tough? More like prat. And save the world? If Arthur was going to save anything, Merlin would eat his own boots. The prince had his head far to up his own arse to see anything else.

Frowning at Gwen, he said, "What?" Did Gwen come over just to insult him? It was one thing to be forced to stand here while kids threw bad food at him. It was another to make him stand here and listen to some girl insult him.

Gwen's smile dimmed into an awkward frown. "...You don't look like that." She finally said. She had a look on her face, as if she was prepared to run. This wasn't going at all like she had thought. She hadn't thought she'd actually talk to the guy either but that had been blown out of the water. Now she was pretty sure she was insulting him and she didn't mean to. She just couldn't stop herself from saying the first thing that came to mind.

Seeing the look on Gwen's face, the look that said she was about to run, Merlin got a startling realization. He didn't want her to leave. Sure, he still wasn't sure if she was trying to insult him or not. But still, she was the first one his age that really talked to him. Not like Uther who practically dismissed him. Not like Mary who always acted weird whenever he talked to her. Not like Leon who treated him like...better than a knight usually would a peasant. As if he was somehow better than all the other peasants. Not like Arthur who did nothing but taunt and insult him. He wanted someone to talk to, just someone to spend time with like he did with Will back home. Before all this whole engaged to a prince business came about.

So before she could run, he did something. First, he looked away from her and then back towards her. Every move he made was slow and deliberate, more exaggerated than he needed to be. Then he met eyes with a confused looking Gwen and used his pointer finger to gesture her closer.

Frowning, Gwen came closer. And closer. She bent down some so that she could get even closer. What in the world was he going to tell her? It must be pretty important with the way he was acting. He was acting as if he wanted nobody else to hear but that brought her to the question, why would he tell her?

Merlin gave one more over exaggerated glance before finally whispering to Gwen, "I'm in disguise."

He sounded so serious, all Gwen could do was look at him in confusion. In disguise? What in the world did that mean? Then she saw the minute twitch of his lips as if he was fighting back a smile. It took her a second to realize that he was joking. She burst into giggles before straightening up.

Merlin's grin broke out in full force when he realized that she was laughing. She didn't have that 'should I run' look on her face anymore. Even in the stocks, Merlin somehow found himself able to relax a little.

Still laughing, Gwen started to talk, "Well it's great that you stood up to him." Not even the other knights would want to face Arthur's ire. Hell, most of them would probably join him in his 'fun'. But there were a couple of knights she knew, only a handful really, that weren't interested in that kind of thing. But none of them has even considered telling Arthur to stop or anything of the sort.

Merlin gave Gwen a little hopeful look, "You think so?" If so, she would be the only one. He had no doubt that people were probably laughing at him. Thinking him an idiot for trying to take on a skilled prince when it appeared that he had no remarkable fighting abilities himself.

Gwen's smile dimmed, looking sad, "Arthur's a bully." Her father had raised her on stories about handsome prince's who saved damsels in distress. Arthur wasn't anything like the stories she'd heard before bed in her childhood. It was almost disappointing. But then Gwen started to smile again, just a little quirk of her lips. Her eyes softened, looking down at the boy in the stocks. "Everyone thought that you were a real hero."

Merlin gave her a doubtful look, "Yeah?" A hero? Nobody would describe him as a hero. Not with his gangly limbs, smart mouth, and no 'known' remarkable skills. He couldn't even save a cat from a tree without getting in some kind of trouble. Trust him, he knew, remembering back to when he tried to do exactly that when he was around ten.

But Gwen just nodded, almost eager to tell it. "Yeah, everybody I've talked to is..." she hesitated, trying to think of the right word. "Relieved, I guess, that somebody finally stood up to him."

Merlin ducked his head, blush creeping up the back of his neck. "Well somebody had to. Is he always..." he hesitated, thinking of another word that he could use. But no, there was only one word that fit him. "Such an arse?"

Gwen almost snorted, startled. Not even the servants talking in their private conversations would have called Arthur an arse. Sure, they said that he was a jerk and wondered if he'd make a good king someday, if he would grow out of being so mean. But as he was almost twenty one, that last question had pretty much died out. Nobody had ever called him an arse before though.

She finally gave Merlin a subtle nod, and the boy almost sagged. He looked...disappointed? Defeated? She wasn't sure, she frowned. What did he have to look so sad about? Sure, the prince was an...arse...she thought privately to herself. But she didn't know why a stranger would be so upset about it.

Merlin though, was very upset. He tried to only let his disappointment show for a moment there. He gave Gwen a sheepish smile, but it looked to weak to be anything more than just...sad. What else was he supposed to do?

Luckily, he didn't have to think on it for to long because at that moment, the group of kids that had been throwing food at him came running back. They had baskets filled up with more ammo, finally having found enough to keep them busy for the next little while. They were all laughing and cutting up, nudging each other. They didn't care that Gwen was there, already pulling out food from the baskets to throw.

"Oh, excuse me, Guinevere." Merlin said, a more genuine smile on his face as he spoke with an over exaggeratedly formal tone. His smile was teasing, waving his cuffed hands to the group of kids. "My fans are waiting.

'Guinevere' tried not to grin as she ducked and hurried away before the kids could start pelting food. Merlin, she thought as she hurried out of the way, he was a funny guy. Not funny like weird, although he definitely was that. Funny as in, she wouldn't mind talking to him again. It would be nice to have a new friend, she thought privately to herself.

Merlin watched Gwen hurrying away, a little smile growing on his face. He lifted his hand, trying to wave goodbye even when his hand wasn't able to move much. It hadn't been to bad talking to her. Sure, she was awkward and he still wasn't sure if he'd been insulted or not during their conversation, but she had been nice. Who was he to talk after all? He was the most awkward out of anybody he knew.

Merlin didn't have anymore thoughts. He couldn't have thought of anything else if he tried. He was to busy ducking his head, trying to dodge the food as best as he could when he was pinned down.

And that was how Merlin and Guinevere met. Neither one knew what their meeting would bring in the years to come. Neither one knew of the pain or suffering they would have to endure by each other's sides. Neither one knew in that moment, just how far the other would go to keep the other safe. Neither one knew that they had just met that one friend who would stand by them until their dying days many years from their simple meeting.

No, they didn't know any of that. They were just Merlin and Guinevere, two simple peasants living in Camelot.

It was almost ten minutes later before the guard finally came over, shooing away the children still trying to get a last hit in. "Is time up already?" Merlin asked dryly, watching as the guard pushed the key into the old, metal lock.

"If you want to stay for another hour, I'll be more than happy to leave you to it." The guard said, just as dryly.

There was a moment of silence before Merlin said, "I think I'm good. One guy could only have so much fun. Somebody else should get a turn."

The guard raised an almost amused eyebrow, making Merlin feel like he'd gotten some sort of victory. The guard finally unlocked the latch keeping him in place and opened the top of the stocks.

Merlin was eager to stand up, but almost crumbled when he did. "Crap, that hurts." He groaned, bringing his hand to his back. He winced as his back cracked when he stood up straight, stretching his arms above his head, trying to work out the stiffness. He could still feel juice sliding somewhere down his back. His shirt was stained up with not only food but his own sweat from standing in one place under the sun for so long. He was pretty sure he had pieces of lettuce stuck in his hair as well.

Camelot really knew how to doll out their punishments, didn't they.

Merlin started walking, all awkward like. His legs were so stiff from standing in that one position that it looked like he was walking with a limp, trying to walk off the stiffness in his thighs.

Merlin ignored the looks he got from people as he passed them by. Most of them hadn't realized that somebody was in the stocks in the last hour he'd been there. So all they saw was some guy walking down the road covered in food. Many people were giving him a wide berth because of it. He had no doubt that he smelled, a smell of rotten food and stale sweat. He could practically smell it wafting off him himself.

Merlin was walking through the courtyard, trying to pick as many small bits of lettuce as he could out of his hair. He had probably missed some pieces but at least he'd gotten the bigger chucks out.

Merlin headed up the steps of the castle, taking them two at a time. He was going to head straight to Gaius'. Hopefully he'll be able to wash up there, and show his uncle exactly what had happened to him in the stocks.

He had just reached the top when he ran smack dab into someone. He cried out startled, tethering at the top of the stairs. By some stroke of luck, he managed to step back down a step and catch himself before he went backwards head first.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder, down the steps. The very long way down the steps, and took a large sigh of relief, bringing his hand up to his racing heart. A fall like that could have killed him. That would have just been his luck to. A death via klutz attack down the stairs.

He opened his mouth, starting to turn around to apologize to who he'd ran into.

He never got the chance to before it was him that was being yelled at. "Are you stupid or what?!" A sharp voice suddenly snarled. "What kind of idiot just stands at the top of the stairs!"

Merlin blinked dumbly, mouth falling open. He locked his jaw, swallowing hard, "I wasn't-" he started. He hadn't been standing at the top of the stairs. It wasn't his fault that this guy couldn't see over the stack of folded clothes that he was carrying.

The boy turned so that he could see around his stack of clothes, eyes flashing as he glared at Merlin. "You utter moron!" Morris interrupted, snarling at the peasant boy in front of him. "Do you know what you almost did!" Even though it had actually been Morris' fault because he had been running through the castle with to high a stack, he didn't once take responsibility. Didn't even admit to himself that it could have been his fault. He laid all of that at Merlin's feet.

Merlin's brows furrowed confused, glancing between Morris' face and the stack of clothes he carried. "You...could have dropped your clothes?" He said slowly, although he didn't see how that was a bad thing. All he had to do was pick them up. Merlin was the one with his back to the stairs. His injury would have been a lot worse than a little dirt on some clothing.

Morris gave a snarl of disgust, "You almost ruined them!"

Merlin scowled, baffled by this whole exchanged. "Ruined what? They're just clothes! And nothing happened anyway!" It was true. They were just standing at the top of the stairs yelling at each other. The clothes were completely safe, folded away in Morris' arms.

Morris flicked his eyes across the clothes that Merlin wore. Across the stained tunic and slightly to small pants, his face scrunching up in disgust. "As if you know anything about clothes." He said with a sneer. "Just look at what you're wearing."

Merlin frowned, looking down at his ruined clothes. Yeah, they were destroyed right now but he had just spent an hour in the stocks. It wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed once he'd gotten to a bucket of water and could wash it out. He glanced back up to Morris, "What's wrong with my clothes?" He said confused. "I know they're a mess now but I just got out of the stocks."

Morris scoffed, "Figures someone like you would be in the stocks."

Merlin scowled, offended. What did he mean by 'someone like him?' "What does that mean?" He demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

Morris stuck his nose in the air, looking more stuck up than his station in life should afford. "Do you know how important these are?" He asked, nodding down at the clothes in his arms. "They are worth more than you are!"

Merlin couldn't even argue with that. Taking a closer look at the clothes, they were clearly made from a very expensive fabric. They were vibrant in color as well. Something was at the bottom of the pile that was a vivid red color. It didn't look like a tunic but there was no mistaking it, the red was the same shade that was on the flags, banners, and tapestry's that hung around the place.

Morris raised his chin a little higher, looking even more superior than he had been, if that was even possible. "These are Prince Arthur's wedding clothes." The royal tailor herself had delivered them to him to bring to the prince's room.

He wished that this stupid peasant boy had ruined them. At least that way, Morris could have plausible deniability. He couldn't destroy them himself. The king himself would have his head if anything happened to stop this wedding. But if this boy had done it, Morris would have been in the clear. He doubted that ruined clothes would do much to slow the wedding down, but it may have stalled for just a little longer. Nobility were all about appearances, the prince himself couldn't get married without looking less than perfect.

The comment Morris said at the end was what got Merlin's attention. He was suddenly a lot more interested, eyes dropping down to the clothes that Morris was holding. He stepped closer, reaching his hand out. "Really?" He asked.

All he wanted to do was touch the fabric, feel just how expensive it was. But then he would have to probably talk himself out of throwing that vivid red cloth into a mud puddle. It would serve that prat right, looking like the prat he was for their wedding tonight.

He never got the chance though because Morris reeled back, looking at him in disgust. As if his very hands would contaminate it or something. "Are you insane?" He snapped, making Merlin jump back startled. "You don't go around touching the prince's clothing."

Merlin scowled, "It's not like I was going to ruin it!" No matter how much he wanted to. "The arse wouldn't even know it if I just caught a sneak peek." He would see it tonight anyway. It didn't matter that the cloths looked like some damn good finery. Merlin doubted that they would make even Arthur look good.

Morris just looked at him scandalous. "Y-you can't call the prin...wait-" he stopped to give Merlin a closer look. He stepped closer, making Merlin step back when he got to close. Merlin only stopped when his foot slipped off the edge, making a painful reminder that he was still at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, weirded out as he tried to lean back as far as he could without going down the stairs.

Morris suddenly got a look of recognition on his face, "You!" He gasped.

"...Me." Merlin said slowly.

"You're the one!" Morris gasped. "You're the moron that insulted the prince!"

"...Moron is kind of harsh, don't you think?" Merlin grumbled, hunching his shoulders up to his ears. Of course he would run into somebody who had seen his humiliating meeting with his fiancé. It actually took Merlin an embarrassingly long minute to recognize the boy. He was the one that Arthur had been tormenting, the one that Merlin had stepped in for.

Merlin had been so distracted by Arthur, that he had almost forgotten the boy completely. And wasn't that embarrassing?

Morris huffed, eyes narrowed in on him. He was looking at Merlin as if he was some kind of alien creature, something he didn't understand, something he didn't want around. "Are you a new servant?" He demanded.

"Uh, I'm-" Merlin started but trailed off. He wasn't a servant but he didn't want to go around saying he was engaged to Prince Arthur either.

He had hesitated for to long and Morris started talking again, "You should really learn your place around here." He said with a sneer.

"My...place?" Merlin repeated, feeling more confused than ever. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Morris rolled his eyes at him, looking at Merlin as if he thought he was a moron. Merlin sure felt like one in that moment. "As a new servant, you should really learn the rules. One," he held up a finger the best he could while still holding onto the clothes. "You don't mess with Arthur. And two," he held up another finger. "You do not get in my way."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. Was that supposed to be a threat? It sounded like one, but he wasn't to threatened by it. Morris looked like the kind of guy that talked bigger than he actually was. He crossed his arms, "And why shouldn't I get in your way?"

Morris straightened his spine as far as it would go, looking as if he had a stick up his ass. His nose was even higher in the air. "I am the prince's manservant." As if that was suppose to mean something to him.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "O...kay." He said slowly. "I don't even know what a manservant is." He admitted dryly. What was the difference between a regular servant and a manservant.

Morris shot a vicious glare in Merlin's direction, as if he was a horrible person just for saying something. "Let me educate you," he said darkly, looking angry that he was wasting his time with him. "It is my job to help the prince get dressed-"

"Wait," Merlin interrupted. "That prat can't even get dressed by himself?" That was the strangest thing that he'd ever heard of. Wasn't the prince older than him? And he needed help getting dressed? He thought that he was marrying a prince, not a small child.

Morris felt his cheeks flush in anger, eyes flashing. "The 'prince'," he enunciated the word, "shouldn't be bothered with dressing himself." He hissed through clenched teeth. "It is my duty to assist him with it."

Merlin stared at him baffled, "He's not mental, is he?"

"What? No!" Morris blistered.

"Then why does a grown man need help getting dressed!" Merlin exclaimed.

"Because he's a prince!" Morris shouted back. Merlin still didn't see what that had to do with anything. If a prince was suppose to rule an entire country someday, then surely he could figure out how to get himself dressed. "And that's not the only thing I do! I bring him his meals as well."

"So he can't even walk down to the kitchens and get himself something either?" Merlin asked.

Morris felt his eyes flashing again. "I also sharpen his weapons!"

Merlin gave him a look, "So you were the one that sharpened the daggers that he was throwing at you?"

Morris clenched his jaw so hard, it almost felt as if his teeth were cracking. "I take care of his day to day needs." He hissed. "With 'anything' he needs." He put a little more suggestiveness in his tone than he needed to. He usually didn't try to convince people that there was more going on than usual between the prince and him. The last thing he wanted was for word to get to the king. He would probably be beheaded or something! But there was just something about this boy that got under his skin. Something that irritated him and made him want to show the boy just how much better he was than him.

But Merlin just looked at him confused. He heard the boy enunciate his sentence but he didn't understand what he meant. It was just Morris talking weird to him. "Anything?" Merlin repeated. "So I suppose you do his laundry as well?"

Morris didn't answer. He just stuck his nose in the air, full of pompousness.

Merlin gave him a look of disbelief, "What?" He gapped. "Seriously!" His arms hung looselessly by his sides. The prince didn't even handle his own clothing? For Merlin, who had done his own clothes since he was old enough to see over the washbasin, it was astonishing to meet someone who literally had somebody else doing it for him. Next, Morris will be telling him that he cleaned the prince's room as well.

Morris gave Merlin a sneer, "Listen, from servant to servant-" he started.

"But I'm not a-" Merlin tried to correct.

"Servant to servant," Morris interrupted, eyes flashing. One thing he hated more than anything was being interrupted. Especially by mouthy serving boys. "There is a sort of, hierarchy among the servants."

"...Right." Merlin said slowly, trying to figure out where this was going.

"I'm a manservant." Morris said slowly, as if Merlin should know what he meant by that. Seeing Merlin's blank expression, Morris gave an over exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Which means I'm above the other servants."

"...Okay," Merlin said slowly, still not following.

Morris rolled his eyes again. "Which means," he said slowly, as if he thought Merlin was being dim witted on purpose. "I am above certain servants, like the new ones like you." The manservant gave him a look of disdain.

"But I'm not-" Merlin tried to explain that he still wasn't a servant.

Morris interrupted him again, no longer interested in this conversation. "I'm kind of a big deal around here." He said firmly. Merlin doubted that. The guy seemed a little to into himself to take anything he said at face value. "And I can probably make your new job much harder than it has to be. Understood?"

Merlin stared at him baffled. Had he just threatened him? That had to be a threat, right? It definitely sounded like one to him.

"Understood?" Morris repeated, voice slightly louder. He had even started tapping his foot to show his impatience.

"...Understood." Merlin said slowly. He wasn't agreeing, he just didn't know what else to say. What else was he supposed to say to that? The whole conversation was just surreal and each sentence confused him more than the last. And he thought servants were nicer than nobles.

Not everybody apparently.

Morris smirked, pleased with himself as he looked down his nose at the boy. "Good," he said, starting to walk passed him. He stopped before he could take more than two steps away though. He gave a not so subtle sniff of the air and then wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You might want to see to getting yourself washed up. An," he stopped to sneer the word. "Important' event is happening tonight and I won't have your stench ruining it." And then he was gone, hurrying off down the hall with his bundle of expensive clothes.

Merlin stared after him, baffled by the whole exchange. The last words rung in his mind. The important event was happening tonight. The important event being...his wedding.

Merlin looked down at himself, covered in vegetables. He never imagined his wedding day would start like this. Or that he'd be marrying someone like Arthur. He doubted that anybody would want to marry someone like Arthur. Maybe if they wanted his crown but personality wise, not a chance.

Merlin took the collar of his tunic and brought it up to his nose, taking a cautious sniff. He immediately screwed up his face in disgust. Morris wasn't lying. He needed a wash like, now.

He didn't blame everybody for giving him such a wide berth as he'd walked through the town. He wished he could get away from it to. But as the smell literally clung to him, there was nothing that he could do but hope it came out when he washed his clothes.

Merlin, seeing the glances of a person or two as they passed, quickly, hurried down the hallway. He passed straight by the staircase that would lead up to his room and headed further down the hall. That direction would lead him to his uncle's chambers.

It didn't take Merlin to long to reach it since he was practically running, eager to get this gunk off of him.

Gaius glanced up from where he was stirring a pot as Merlin came bursting in. He cracked a grin as he saw his nephew's state. "Didn't you ever learn not to play with your food?" He asked amused.

"Ha Ha," Merlin said sarcastically, scratching at his head. He watched as more pieces of lettuce fell to the floor. He walked over to where Gaius was stirring his pot, smelling the scent coming off of it. He took in a deep breath, "That smells good. What is it?" He asked, reaching for the spoon to get a taste. He got a swift smack to the back of his hand for his troubles. "Ow!" He exclaimed, pulling his hand to his chest. It didn't actually hurt, just startled him more than anything.

"Were you raised in a barn?" Gaius asked. "You're a mess. Go wash up before you eat. I got some of your clothes and a bucket waiting for you upstairs.

Merlin looked towards the stairs where his room was and then back to his uncle, "You broke into my room in the castle and stole my clothes?"

"It wasn't that hard." Gaius said bluntly. "You didn't exactly lock it. Now go on, get cleaned." He said, waving him off.

Merlin nodded, tempted to dip his finger into the pot and steal a taste. But Uncle Gaius was right. He was a mess. Dirt was practically caked onto his palms and dust or food covered him everywhere else.

He took two steps at a time up the stairs and disappeared into his room where true enough, a bucket of water and a fresh set of clothes were sitting out waiting for him.

It was almost an hour later before Merlin emerged. He had scrubbed himself clean from top to bottom. His hair no longer had food in it. He had his clothes, now stained free, hanging by his window to dry. He was wearing another pair of brown pants, his boots that he'd scrubbed off, a long sleeve orange tunic and a blue neckerchief. He also had on the belt Gaius had given him, buckled tightly around his slim waist.

Gaius looked up as Merlin hopped down the stairs. "All clean?" He asked, giving him a criticizing eye.

"I never thought being clean would feel so good." Merlin grinned, taking a seat at the table. "I swear, those stocks are really something, aren't they?" His back was still sore but not nearly as bad as his walk through town had been. That thing could really make a person cramp up.

Gaius snorted amused, "You're young, you'll bounce back." He said, using a ladle to scoop the fresh soup into two bowls for their lunch.

Merlin straightened up as the bowl was placed in front of him. He leaned in to smell it. It didn't look nearly as bad as the gruel had looked. This one kind of had a cinnamon smell coming off of it. Maybe he was starving after his rough morning but the simple meal looked delicious.

"Do you want some vegetables with that?" Gaius asked amused as he took a seat at the table.

"I know you're angry with me." Merlin said but he couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face if he tried. "I don't think I could stomach even the smell of another vegetable." His smile dropped into a curious frown. "Have you ever smelled rotten vegetables before? They must have been sitting out in the sun for days or something. They were awful!"

Gaius smirked, "Well maybe that'll be a good incentive to keep you out of them." But from what little he knew of Merlin, he figured the boy would probably end up back in them sooner or later.

Merlin grinned sheepishly, "I don't know about that. I think I made a new friend." He thought about Gwen, wondering when he'd be able to see her again. Well he knew where she worked. Maybe she wouldn't mind him dropping in on her. It would be nice to talk to someone his own age again.

Gaius raised an eyebrow, "You made a new friend while locked in the stocks?" How did he possibly meet someone like that? People throwing food at you while you're chained up wasn't exactly a conversation starter.

Merlin nodded eagerly, picking up his spoon and running it through the milky soup. "Her name is Gwen, Guinevere. She said she works for Lady Morgana?"

Gaius felt himself relax some at the familiar name. "Ah, Gwen, of course." It shouldn't surprise him that Gwen had found her way to Merlin. She was always trying to help or meet new people. Merlin was both new and probably did look like he needed some help, being in the stocks as he was.

Merlin glanced up from his meal eagerly, "Yeah, do you know her?" It would be nice to be able to hang out with someone again. He didn't have Will around here to get him in and out of trouble. It would be nice to have a friend around here.

Gaius nodded, "She drops by sometime." Gwen had been by a time or two to pick up the medication that Morgana needed to help her sleep. She was a sweet girl, not a troublemaker in the least.

Merlin nodded, glancing down at his bowl as he scooped a spoonful of soup into it. "And Lady Morgana? Whose that?" He didn't think he'd heard anybody by that name before. Maybe she wasn't as important around here if he hadn't heard of her. But clearly important enough if she needed a maid.

Gaius looked startled, before remembering that Merlin was new to town. He wouldn't have heard of Lady Morgana. The whole city had been abuzz about her arrival all those years ago. It had really thrown everybody when they heard that the king had accepted a ward into his care. "She's Uther's ward." Gaius explained.

Merlin frowned confused, dropping his spoon back into his soup. "His ward?" He asked. He didn't realize that the king had a ward. You think somebody would have mentioned that at some point.

Gaius nodded, "Yes, Uther took her in when she and Arthur were barely teenagers. They were practically raised together." And hadn't that been a mess. He remembered those days at the beginning vividly. Arthur and Morgana had hated each other at first sight, pulling childish pranks on the other. They eventually grew out of it. There might be a snide comment here or there but they no longer went out of their way to torment each other at least.

Merlin's eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Gaius panicked. Gaius frowned confused, opening his mouth to ask but he was interrupted. "There's two of them?" Merlin exclaimed. "Please tell me this Morgana is nothing like Arthur! I can't take a prat times two." He held up two fingers to emphasize the last word.

Gaius shook his head amused. "Don't worry, Lady Morgana does not have many similarities to Arthur. She may not converse often with servants other than Gwen but she doesn't go out of her way to be mean to them either."

Merlin felt his shoulders slump, relaxing some. "Thank heavens. Imagine trying to live with Arthur and someone just like him." He went to pick up his spoon again before he stopped. He looked down at the milky surface in his bowl. He could almost imagine that he could see his reflection in the substance.

Gaius had already started digging into his own meal but stopped a few bites in when he noticed Merlin had yet to take a bite. "Is there something wrong with your food?" He asked confused. Gaius didn't spend a lot of time cooking but he had actually did try to make this somewhat decent. It was Merlin's wedding tonight. The boy deserved a good meal.

Merlin's head snapped up, looking startled. "What? No!" He said quickly. "It smells really good." He glanced back down at his bowl, looking unsettled.

"Well I'm sure it will taste even better." Gaius said dryly, urging him to eat something. He hadn't eaten all morning, having been taken to the stocks before he got breakfast. No wonder he was so skinny.

Merlin nodded, picking up his spoon again. But all he did was let the liquid fall off the edge and back into his bowl. He even put his elbow on the table and rested his cheek into the palm of his hand, staring solemnly down into his soup.

"Alright Merlin, what is it?" Gaius finally asked. He couldn't handle the boy looking so serious like that. It just wasn't a good look on his face.

Merlin sighed, putting his arm down to stretch out on the table before straightening up. "I just..." he looked back down at his soup. As good as it smelled, he just couldn't bring himself to taste it. It made him sick, thinking about eating something. How could he eat when everything would change for him? Everything had already changed but after tonight, everything would be so much worse. He had no doubt about that. There's no chance in hell that things would get better after he was married. Under Uncle Gaius' expecting look, he finally blurted out, "My wedding's tonight! I mean, I know I already said that this morning but...I'm going to be married! I don't know how to be a husband! I don't even want to be a husband! Especially not his!" He shivered in disgust at the thought of being tied forever to Arthur.

Gaius sighed. He should have known that the boy would start freaking out sooner or later. It was only natural, after all. Most people had pre-wedding jitters, and that was when they actually wanted to marry the person. "Merlin," Gaius said slowly, making Merlin look up. "I know you came here to get married," Merlin almost flinched at hearing somebody else say it. "But in the letter your mother sent me, she asked me to look after you."

Merlin slowly nodded, a soft smile on his face. "Yeah?" It didn't surprise him that his mother had included that in her letter.

"I hope you..." Gaius said slowly. "Know, that you can come here, for as long as you like. If Arthur gets to be to much." Merlin was a good kid. He didn't deserve to be stuck in a loveless marriage, and that was exactly what it would be. Gaius knew Arthur enough to know that he would never fall in love with Merlin. The idea was actually ludicrous, when you thought about it. Arthur, Prince of Camelot, falling in love with Merlin. Someone who was common, a peasant, a farm boy, and even a sorcerer.

Merlin started to smile, just a little thing. It wasn't much but it was better than that solemn expression that he was wearing before. "Just one conversation with the guy was to much for me." Merlin joked weakly. He couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like ten, twenty, years from now. Hell, he couldn't even imagine what tomorrow would bring, his first morning as a married man.

Gaius gave him a half-hearted, amused look. But he was still worried. How could he not be? He had just met his nephew and was losing him to someone who he doubted would take care of him. At least not how somebody should take care of family. And like it or not, that was what it was. Merlin's marriage to Arthur did make him a Pendragon.

Merlin went back to playing in his soup instead of actually eating it and Gaius' mind started to wonder. The kid was still looking more depressed than he liked but then again, he also couldn't blame him. His whole life ahead of him, everything he thought he knew, gone in the blink of an eye. Only to be replaced by uncertainty and an unknown future.

"Merlin," Gaius said quietly. Merlin glanced up, looking at him with a subtle frown on his face. Gaius had been about to tell him that it would be alright. That everything would turn out fine, even if he had to lie. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not when Merlin turned his blue eyes onto him. He couldn't lie to the boy. Because the truth was he didn't know what the future would bring. He had no idea if Merlin could have even a chance at happiness or not. Not in the love department of course, not with Arthur. But maybe he could be happy in other ways. Like with him, or with that new friend of his, Gwen. So, with Merlin's eyes now focused on him, Gaius was quick to change the subject. "What did your mother say to you about your gifts?"

Merlin looked startled by the sudden change in topic. But then he thought back to when he was a child, back to his earlier days. When he was young, he used to ask questions all the time. Why was he different? Why could he do things when others couldn't? Why couldn't he tell anybody? Why did his mother make him hide what he could do? There was one common phrase that she would always use whenever he started asking questions. "That I was...special."

And for the longest time, he had believed her. But things had changed as he grew older, as he started to realize exactly how different he was from the other kids. All kids felt like a freak at one point or the other but Merlin, he was an actual freak. Something that he couldn't escape no matter how hard he tried. The word special had stopped being mystical and exciting. He had long since learned that it was just the kinder word for saying...different.

And Merlin didn't want to be different.

Different was dangerous. Different was what made him stay at arms length with even those he wanted to trust the most. Different was why his only friend all his life had been Will. Different was something that could get him killed if he got careless.

"You are special." Gaius said quietly, voice hushed. As if he was scared somebody might be listening in on their conversation. The way he said the word 'special', it didn't sound like the way somebody might say freak. It sounded almost like he was in awe of Merlin. And wasn't that a scary thought for the boy. People might call him special, the few that knew what he was, but he knew enough to know that he wasn't special at all. He was just a boy who, by some weird twist of fate, was given powers he didn't even know how to control. "The likes of which I have never seen before."

That got Merlin's attention. Ignoring his food, he leaned across the table, so that Uncle Gaius could still hear him. His voice was just as quiet as his uncle's had been. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly. He didn't know much of anything about magic, there had never been anybody around to tell him. Even his mother had a very limited knowledge and really, all her knowledge had been focused on keeping him hidden.

"Well magic requires incantations, spells." Gaius started to explain. He knew more about magic than he cared to admit to, but had never had anyone to pass that knowledge on to. "It takes years to study." Merlin looked nervous, looking worried. He had never studied anything in his life. He hadn't even had the opportunity or resources to do it. "What I saw you do was..." he hesitated, thinking of the right word to use. "Elemental, instinctive."

Merlin let his eyes fall to his hands resting on the table in front of him. Instinctive? It was just another word for saying he was different. Even among sorcerer's, he was different. And elemental? He didn't even know what that meant. He finally flicked his eyes up to his uncle's, "What's the point if it can't be used?" Other questions rung in his head. Why did he have these gifts? Why him and not somebody else? What made him so special compared to somebody else?

"That, I do not know." Gaius said quietly, a touch of something in his voice that Merlin couldn't recognize. He didn't know if it was fear, confusion, or something else. "You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin."

And wasn't that the scariest part about this. He wasn't just different among his peers, he was different when compared to other sorcerer's as well. A freak among freaks.

"Did you ever study magic?" Merlin suddenly asked out of nowhere. He'd said the question before he even realize what he was saying. But really, how else did his uncle know so much?

But his uncle didn't give him a definite answer. He evaded the question completely by instead saying. "Uther banned all such work twenty years ago."

"Why?" Merlin asked, his earlier question forgotten. Why would someone have magic banned like the king had? He may feel like a freak sometimes, but even he'd knew that there was nothing dangerous about magic. He used it all the time and had never been hurt because of it.

Gaius had an answer already prepared for him. "People use magic for the wrong end at the time." He said heavily. He remembered people using it against neighbors, friends, people they've known most of their lives. "It threw the natural order into chaos." Gaius explained. After Uther had declared the new law, execution for those who practiced magic, there had been complete chaos in the streets. Towards the end, it was people dying from each other more than the executions. It was a terrible and scary time before the sudden change became Camelot's new normal. "Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons."

Merlin listened to everything he was saying, his eyes wide with fascination. "What?" He asked horrified. He couldn't even begin to imagine how somebody could be so horrible as to literally hunt something into extinction. "All of them?" How was it even possible to find all of them? They were dragons, mythical creatures that he'd only ever heard stories about or seen drawings of. Couldn't dragons fly? How did Uther manage to destroy them all?

Gaius looked contemplative. "There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example." He said slowly, not sure how much he should reveal to the boy about Kilgharrah. He used to visit the dragon all the time when he'd first been imprisoned. He'd eventually stopped going as the years had passed. It had been many a year since he'd been down there. But he knew with every fiber in his being, that the Great Dragon was still there, hidden deep under the city. "He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle, where no one can free it."

Merlin's eyes widened, looking horrified. Imprisoned? Uther had imprisoned a dragon? How? Why not just kill it like he'd done the others? Why make this one the example? Would Uther do the same to him if he found out he was a sorcerer? Hide him away so that the royal family wouldn't have to deal with the shame of a sorcerer in their family. Or would he just kill him outright.

"Now, eat up." Gaius said, a touch of finality in his words. He was done with this conversation, lest the boy get any ideas about the dragon. "When you've finished, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helena. She needs it for her voice."

Merlin nodded, turning back to his soup. He pushed his wedding all the way to the back of his mind, trying to forget about the hours ticking by. He ate his soup, mind still going over the conversation that he'd just had. He barely tasted it, to caught up in his thoughts.

Was the dragon really still under the castle? Was there a way to find it? He was probably dangerous though. But still, he couldn't stop the fascination of a dragon. To actually see one in real life...it would be something else entirely.

Up in the castle, Morris knocked loudly on the prince's door. He hadn't been there earlier but it had been several hours since. And even though he'd been looking for him this entire time, he had yet to actually find him. The one place left to look was to see if he'd returned to his room.

"Come in!" A voice called from inside the room.

Morris felt himself relax. Arthur was in his room. He wasn't off having a date with his bride. He wasn't off having fun with some mysterious princess while he was here doing all the work.

Morris had to juggle the fabric in his arms, using his elbow to ease the handle down so he could push the door open. It took him a minute before he was able to get into the room, nearly stumbling over his own feet to do so.

"Sire!" Morris exclaimed, almost eager in his approach as he used the back of his foot to kick the door closed again. It was better this way, to keep wandering eyes from seeing them if anybody happened to pass.

Just in case something...inappropriate, may happen.

Arthur glanced up from where he was standing at his desk, bent over looking at his papers. As soon as the prince looked in his direction, Morris averted his eyes away from his arse, locking eyes with the blonde instead.

Arthur really was an arse, just like that mouthy new peasant had said, but he did also happen to own a fine one as well.

"Ah Morris, good, your here." Arthur said immediately, straightening up. "I've been looking for you."

Morris' eyes lit up and a smirk grew on his face. That was right. It didn't matter that Arthur had a bride now, he would always need Morris by his side. Perfect for Morris to whisper into his ear about just how awful his bride was for the kingdom. Even if he had to make something up to do it.

"Really, sire? Well I have been looking for you as well." Morris said, an almost purr to his voice. "I am here to serve. How may I-" he stopped to let his eyes give the prince a meaningful once over. "Serve you today?"

Arthur didn't seem to notice though, having already averted his eyes back to his desk. "I was planning to go out today." He said, tossing random bits of parchment back onto his desk. It wasn't anything important that he needed to tend to. "I need you to find my mace."

That brought Morris up short, making him stop. "Yo-you're mace, sire?" He asked uncertain. Now that he had found Arthur, he had been hoping to start turning on the moves. Make the blonde notice him some on a more personal level.

"Yes, Morris, my mace." Arthur said, sarcasm in his voice. "Is there something wrong with your hearing."

"No, sire, of course not." Morris said quickly, deflating some. This wasn't going according to plan. He had hoped to at least get an inch of Arthur's attention, at least start on his seduction plan. But the boy was dead set on his mace. Morris didn't think weaponry was anywhere close to romance, or lust, which was more what he was aiming for.

People started lusting for each other before the romance itself kicked in, right? Some kind of attraction forming.

But he wasn't ready to just give in yet. So with an almost demure clearing of his throat, Morris carefully set the bundle of folded clothes onto the edge of Arthur's bed. "I will have to fetch it from the armory, sire." He said with slow exaggeration to his words, taking his time with each syllable.

"Alright, go and do it then." Arthur said dismissively. He started walking across the room towards his door. "I'll be in the lower town when you do. I want to get some target practice in." It was the only thing he could think to do, something to get his mind off of what would happen tonight. And he was willing to do almost anything to get his mind off of tonight's events.

He'd almost made it to the door when Morris stepped in front of him, making Arthur jolt to a stop, surprised. The blonde raised an eyebrow at the smaller man. "Yes?" He asked in a very condescending tone when the boy just stood there staring at him.

"I was just wondering, sire." Morris made sure to say the last word slow and deliberate. "If you needed anything...else, for me to do."

Arthur gave him a look, not seeing where he was going with this. "I believe that I gave you an order." He said dismissively.

He tried to push pass his manservant but the boy got in his way again. Arthur glowered purposely down at the boy, eyes narrowing into an annoyed glare.

"I was just thinking...more of a massage." Morris suggested. "To get you ready for tonight." Anything could happen during a massage. Arthur rarely got one and usually opted for one of the female servants to give him one. Their hands were apparently softer than Morris. But he could just imagine it now. Arthur sprawled out on his large bed with Morris sitting on the small of his back. Rubbing his hands filled with oil up and down his broad back. Maybe he could lean down and press kisses to his shoulder blades, rub his hands lower and lower until they started brushing against the top of Arthur's arse. He wouldn't tell him to stop and Morris could casually ease his pants down some, giving him more space to work.

Arthur would start getting hard, who wouldn't during such a handsy massage? Who knows, maybe the prince would welcome it, just to get some relief before tonight. Even if Morris was a boy, his mouth was as skilled as any girl's. Arthur would marry, still feeling the phantom touch of Morris' mouth around his cock.

Arthur scoffing jolted him out of his fantasy. "From you?" He asked, obviously not even entertaining the idea. "I think I'll pass." Then he put a hand on Morris' shoulder and shoved him out the way since he wasn't moving on his own.

Morris stumbled to the side, watching almost desperately as Arthur made his way to the door. The prince put his hand onto the doorknob and Morris flicked his eyes around the room hurriedly. The wedding was tonight. Morris couldn't just let Arthur get married without making some kind of impression on the prince. Finally, his eyes landed on the clothes that he had just brought in, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The clothes!" He blurted out.

Arthur glanced over his shoulder at him with a baffled expression on his face. "Excuse me?" He said confused.

Morris grinned, confident that this one would work. "The clothes." He repeated, a lot more confident then he had been a minute ago. He could imagine this one now. Helping Arthur undress wasn't uncommon. Part of the job was helping him into his clothes. Morris usually kept a professional demeanor around him during this, but maybe he just wouldn't this time.

Morris would help ease the tunic over Arthur's head, maybe let his hands linger on the blonde's biceps. It wouldn't be to much of a hardship, not with those muscles. He might let his fingertips brush the boy's belly before undoing his belt. He could tuck his fingers into the pants a little further than he usually would to help ease him out of them. He might even be so bold as to let one of his finger's brush against the prince's soft cock through his smallclothes.

And maybe, just maybe, the prince would twitch against him. That would be Morris' cue to touch him just a little more. Before they knew it, Morris would be on his knees for him, sucking him off. Then Arthur would leave for his wedding, content and relax while Morris still had his cum in his throat.

Morris cleared his throat, inwardly smirking. Yes, that would do nicely. Make the prince start lusting after him, then him falling in love had to follow. With a look of professional indifference, he got to work.

"Your clothes, sire." Morris repeated, walking over to the bed. He made sure to walk with a little more sway to his hips than he usually did. And maybe he bent over a little further than he had to to pick up the clothes, just to give the prince a look of his arse.

But when he turned back around, Arthur wasn't even looking at his arse. His eyes were focused on the bundle in his arms.

"For your wedding." Morris finished, cocky smile dimming. This was probably going to be harder than he thought. The blonde was so stuck in his heterosexuality, he didn't notice an obvious pass when he saw one. But he kept trying. "Would you allow me to help you try them on?"

Arthur looked at the bundle of cloth with a scowl. He didn't want to try them on. He wanted to burn them, throw them out his window. The last thing he wanted was to actually wear them.

"Sire?" Morris stepped closer when the prince didn't automatically answer him. "I can help you try them on if you like." He let his eyes go half-lidded, dropping down the length of his prince's body before lifting his eyes to Arthur's. He made sure to bite his lip, giving a more meaningful look.

Arthur wasn't naive, but he had way to much on his mind to notice the way his manservant was looking at him. If his manservant had made a move like this before he was occupied with thoughts of his wedding, Arthur would had thrown him out on his backside without a second thought. Maybe even lock him in the stocks for a few hours for attempting to get with someone much higher than his own status.

But this wasn't then. This was now. And Arthur had far to much on his mind to notice something like that.

"No." Arthur snapped, loud and harsh. He would only wear those clothes once and that was when he was forced to during the ceremony. And not a minute before. Then he could get rid of them later and never have to look at them again. Just seeing them now made him feel disgusted with himself.

Morris felt the disappointment sink in. Okay, so clearly helping Arthur change wasn't going to give him the opportunity he needed. "If your sure, sire." He said, sulking.

"Now, my mace, Morris." Arthur snapped, voice still with a harsh undertone.

"Yes, sire." Morris scowled but nodded, finally giving it a rest. He would just have to give it another go next time.

"Oh, and Morris." Arthur called. He turned away from the door and walked over to his manservant. "There is something that I need you to do for me."

Morris looked back to Arthur so fast, he heard his neck crack. "Yes, sire?" He asked, watching the prince walk closer. Maybe Arthur had noticed his small attempts.

Maybe Arthur would actually try something and Morris could recuperate. Maybe that was what he wanted. Maybe he was going to tell Morris to drop to his knees and suck him off right there. Or maybe he wanted something more innocent like a kiss before he ran off to the lower town.

Nobody would have to know about the affair between the prince and the manservant. It could be their little secret, having fun behind the nose of Arthur's bride and father.

He felt a thrill go down his spine. He could serve the bride who would have no idea that he was in her husband's bed after she left for the day. He could bow to the king who would have no idea that just earlier that day, he'd had his son's cock in his mouth.

And he would be all to happy to suck it if it made Arthur fall for him faster. Maybe fast enough to toss the bride out on her arse before she got to comfortable as a princess of Camelot.

"I need you to talk to my fiancé about what is expected of him on our wedding night." Arthur said bluntly.

And just like that, the line of thinking Morris had gone down, shattered like glass. His overeager thoughts and excitement that he might had gotten somewhere with Arthur broke into a thousand pieces as he tried to process what exactly the prince was asking of him.

"...Excuse me?" Morris asked, voice cracking.

"It had been brought to my attention that my fiancé is...unbelievably dim." Arthur said disgusted. "He doesn't know what our...consummation will be like. I need you to find him and give him a brief education just so he'll know what to expect. I will not be wasting my time teaching him."

Morris blinked several times. He actually looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, the way his lips were pursed. His eyes were bugged out, mainly because he didn't know what to say.

Watching Arthur finally walking out of the room, Morris could only latch onto one word in the entire conversation. "Him?!" He shouted out the doorway after Arthur, but the prince was already to far down the hallway to hear him.