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!

21. Chapter 21

"I burned it."

Everyone froze for a moment. The sudden words had came out of nowhere, easily gaining everybody's attention. The words seemed to ring out among them.

Nobody spoke for the longest moment, stunned into silence by the words spoken from their prince.

Standing just slightly behind Merlin, George's professional demeanor never slipped, not even for the briefest of seconds.

Standing just beside Arthur, Morris' jaw had dropped, looking dumbstruck. Arthur just had to go and blurt out the truth, didn't he? Hadn't Arthur realized Morris had been trying to protect him? To defend him from Merlin finding out that embarrassing childhood moment.

It was what a good consort would have done. Now if only he could get Arthur to see him as an option, as the next consort once he got Merlin out of the way.

Although, maybe Morris could work this to his advantage somehow. Maybe he could convince Merlin that Arthur was more dangerous than he was worth. Surely if Merlin feared Arthur, than maybe that would give him a reason to leave.

Morris had learned in his lifetime, that most people would leave even the comfort of a castle if they feared for their own life.

It was certainly an idea that Morris would put into consideration.

Standing in front of him, Merlin was staring Arthur down, looking confused and baffled by this. The questions ran through his mind at a rapid pace, and not one of them did he have an answer for.

Why had Arthur tried to burn a book? Why did he say it just now as if it were no big deal? Did Merlin have to keep an eye out for any pyromaniac tendencies?

"...Say that again..."

Merlin had been the first to get his voice box to start working again. Arthur's statement had been so baffling, that Merlin felt the anxiety he'd been experiencing start to slip away. He didn't have to worry about everybody watching his every move, trying to pick out some kind of flaw or whatnot. He didn't have to worry about somebody finding out the truth about him. Not when he had to be concerned about weather or not Arthur loved fire a little to much.

Morris practically rushed to stand beside his prince. Standing close, as if to keep their conversation private, Morris talked into his prince's ear. "You really don't have to explain, sire." Morris shot a look at Merlin that looked like it was verging on scornful.

Nobody but Merlin seemed to notice, and the consort frowned in confusion. A look like the one Morris was giving him...it was nothing less than pure contempt. Not even Arthur had looked at him before with so much anger and hatred.

There had been something dark swimming in Morris' eyes, something he hadn't seen before in their other interactions, something that made Merlin straighten his spine. He could have sworn the hair on his arms were prickling up, almost as if sensing danger.

But just as soon as it had happened, the darkness in Morris' eyes evaporated as if it had never been there. And Merlin was left breathless and confused. Had he just imagined it?

Arthur was almost leaning away when his manservant got to close. The only reason he didn't was because of how stiff he was. He couldn't believe he'd just let those words slip through his lips. But he'd already said it, there was really no going back now. The blonde clenched his jaw and tilted his chin up, giving the illusion that he'd said it on purpose.

Merlin had just been standing there, looking more anxious than Arthur had ever seen him. And then the words had just came out all on their own.

Arthur would never know what possessed him to say what he did. Or why he'd picked up on the anxiousness that had seemed to be coming off of Merlin in waves. It shouldn't have been Arthur's problem, he shouldn't have concerned himself with it. As long as Merlin did his part and didn't embarrass him in front of his competitors, than what did it matter if Merlin was scared?

Arthur felt as if right now would be a very reasonable time to throw himself off of a very high cliff, especially if he was starting to pick up on Merlin's moods.

And god help him, he'd probably drag Merlin off the cliff with him. If only because he knew that somehow, this was all Merlin's fault.

Well, Arthur couldn't exactly backtrack now that he'd said it.

"I burned it when I was a child." Arthur repeated, practically having to force it out between his clenched jaw. He stared Merlin down with dark swirling eyes of blue, his growing annoyance with himself reflected in every muscle on his face.

Hearing those words, Merlin had to drag his eyes away from Morris, from the darkness he'd been sure he'd seen. He had to shake himself, almost convinced that he'd just imagined the darkness he'd seen.

Arthur had a darkness in his eyes to, but it had been nothing like what he'd thought he'd seen in Morris. Merlin didn't feel that spike of danger with Arthur like he had with Morris for that brief moment.

He'd just imagined it, Merlin convinced himself. It was just some leftover anxiousness he'd been feeling, that was manifesting with that shadow he'd seen gleaming in Morris' eyes.

Merlin cast one last glance towards Morris, uncertain. But whatever he'd seen was long gone. Shaking it off, he decided that it must have been nothing more than a shadow reflected by the light, he leaned forward as if to give Arthur and himself the illusion of privacy from the two man servants.

Arthur had to learn forward himself, just to hear what Merlin was saying, the scrawnier boy's mouth barely moving as he spoke.

"Is this something I should be worried about? Do you often find yourself playing with fire?" He asked, his voice was hushed and quiet, as if he were trying to keep his question just between the two of them.

Arthur's jaw couldn't have clenched any harder if he'd tried. "No!" He hissed, probably louder than he had to. "I don't exactly make it a happy to go around setting things on fire."

Arthur briefly entertained the idea of dragging Merlin back for some more training. If only to give Arthur an excuse to get his frustrations out on Merlin. And who knows, maybe if he were lucky, he'd be able to beat the stupidity out of Merlin.

Merlin looked surprised by this, as if he was actually expecting Arthur to go on about his secret love for all things involving fire. Then raising an eyebrow, he asked in an almost offended tone, "Then pray tell me, why on earth did you think it was okay to burn a book?" He was looking at Arthur as if he were a naughty schoolboy, disrupting his lessons for the day.

Arthur scowled defensively, feeling an unwelcome heat trying to emerge on his cheekbones, "Well if you had to trudge through that when you were ten, you would have done anything to make it end as well."

Merlin looked down at the book in his hand, "No, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't." Even his own mother would skin him alive if she thought for one second that he entertained the idea of destroying a book.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'll want to when you start educating yourself." Arthur said snidely. He would bet good money that Merlin wouldn't make it past two pages before he wanted to burn it as well.

"It can't be that bad!" Merlin exclaimed in protest. When he'd been a child and his mother had started teaching him the basics, there was something she'd say when he started complaining: A book held untold secrets within their pages, and all you had to do was read it to discover it.

Arthur scoffed at Merlin, "It is that bad." He said with complete confidence. He had never once, in all of his life, read a book that literally made him want to kill himself. It was just so dull and was almost painstakingly hard to get through the first sentence.

And maybe that was why he had requested this book specifically for Merlin, despite their being several other books on the same topic. If Merlin was going to stick around for some time, than it was only right that Merlin was as miserable as he was.

He deserved it, for all of the things that he'd done since he arrived in Camelot not that long ago.

Risking Arthur's reputation by telling Nobleman Hamilton that he sucked. Being seen by Markus talking to common servants. Forcing Arthur to do whatever he could to keep his father in the dark about Merlin's virgin status.

The least Merlin should do was give Arthur the amusement of knowing he was reading such an awful book.

"If it's that bad, then why didn't you finish the job?" Merlin asked dryly, as if Arthur was lying to him about how horrible it was. He held it up as if to show Arthur what he was talking about. The book was scorched and the edges fried, but there was nothing wrong with the inside. The fire clearly hadn't reached the words themselves.

Seeing the small bit of damage he'd done to the book, Arthur winced. He'd been so close to getting rid of it for good, if only he hadn't been caught when he had.

Arthur looked away, feeling his cheeks darken as he mumbled something so quietly that everybody had to strain to hear it. And even than nobody could understand what he'd said.

"What was that?" Merlin said loudly, making Arthur glower at the irritating boy.

Seeing this, Morris practically threw himself forward to jump in. "Sire! It's really not necessary to entertain him. He doesn't need to know about that incident at all!"

Merlin shot the manservant an annoyed look, having not forgotten the weirdness he'd seen in him earlier. "I just asked him a question." He said firmly, glaring in Morris' direction.

Morris seemed to rise to the challenge, getting on the defensive side. "Well it's none of your business what happened in the prince's childhood."

"I think," Merlin said, stepping forward defensively. "That I should be allowed to be curious to know more about 'my' husband." He didn't even realize he'd said it in a tone that was just verging on possessiveness, a tone that went unnoticed.

Merlin may not like Arthur. The prince was mean, and he was rude, and he took pleasure in making Merlin miserable. And no matter how blue Arthur's eyes were, Merlin would be more than happy to leave Arthur and his blue eyes far behind him.

But still, Arthur was 'his' husband. He had a right to know more about him that just the brief moments they'd had together had shown him.

Morris and Merlin were almost right on top of each other, glaring into the other's faces. It was like some kind of stare off, both of them fighting for the same boy but for entirely different reasons.

"I think," Morris hissed, almost to low for anyone but Merlin to hear. "That you won't be here long enough for it to matter if you learn anything about the prince."

Merlin felt himself stiffen and he glowered at Morris. "What does that mean?" He snapped, feeling his fists clench at his sides.

"As much as I am enjoying this," Arthur interrupted their glaring match, the annoyance clear in his voice. "You really shouldn't be starting fights with my consort."

Morris went stiff, eyes shooting over to Arthur. "But S-Sire-" he started to stutter in protest. Couldn't he see that Merlin was the entirely wrong choice for a consort? What did Morris have to do to make that clear for everybody?

Arthur held up a hand, stopping Morris from talking anymore. Morris' mouth snapped shut and he scowled down at his feet, the humiliation burning through him at his reprimand.

Merlin watched this exchange with confusion on his face, his lips turning downward into a frown. Arthur scowled, rolling his eyes as he saw the dumbass look he bore. He really hoped that Merlin didn't read into that more than he should. Arthur had only stopped Morris from running his mouth because he was sure that his father would hear all about it somehow. Like how Arthur had just stood by and watched his own personal manservant berating his consort.

Morris should know better, he should know that his actions directly reflected on Arthur himself.

Merlin was a moron, there was no doubt about that. He was annoying and Arthur would swear that he never stopped running his mouth. Practically everything he said seemed to grate on Arthur's nerves, getting under his skin in a way that nobody had before.

And it pissed him off. Maybe that was one of the many reasons Arthur had avoided Merlin this week, just to get some space and to clear his head. Not that it had helped any, he was still just as pissed about their situation as he was back before he'd even met Merlin.

The week he'd been avoiding him, hadn't been nearly enough space. Not when he knew that there was every possibility of running into Merlin every time he turned a corner.

And speaking of Merlin...

"I said," Arthur turned his attention onto his irritating little consort, forcing himself to enunciate his words. He was not going to be saying this again and damn anyone that tried to get this out of him again, Merlin especially. "My nursemaid found me and took it away before I could get a bigger fire going."

There was a moment of silence among them all as the prince and his consort stared at each other.

George looked between his master, his prince, and the other manservant, his professional demeanor never slipping. But inside, he was starting to wonder what exactly he'd gotten himself into with his new job.

Morris scowled deepened as he spoke up, trying to make excuses for Arthur. "It was really no big deal. The nursemaid was being unreasonable! She should have never stopped somebody of the prince's status from doing whatever it was that he wanted."

Morris had never understood that when it had happened. How a simple nursemaid had been allowed to stop Arthur from destroying whatever he wanted. Arthur was the prince. Even as a child, he should have been held above that stupid nursemaid. The king should have had her arrested for talking with Arthur about it afterwards.

Arthur had every right to burn anything he wanted. He was a prince, held in higher esteem than any other, except for perhaps his own father.

Someday, when he'd finally convinced Arthur that he was the only one meant for the job as consort, nobody would dare to correct him on anything.

Someday.

He just needed to get Arthur to see reason first. If Morris couldn't get Merlin to leave on his own, then he'd have to convince Arthur to send him away. To convince Arthur that Merlin was so awful, that the King himself would have no choice but to have Merlin thrown out of the court.

But first things first, see if he can get Merlin to leave without involving anybody else.

Beside Morris, Arthur didn't let his eyes waver away from Merlin's. Then Merlin's lips gave a very subtle twitch upwards. Arthur felt his eye twitching, he was already dreading where this was going. Merlin's lips spread just the tiniest bit wider. Arthur didn't let any expression show on his face, but he could still feel the heat returning to his cheeks.

Merlin tilted his head back and started to laugh. A full, body shaking laugh. "Y-you're nurs-nursemaid? Y-you actually ha-had a nursemaid?"

For some reason, it just cracked him up. He could just see a little Arthur, pouting and looking all huffy, as if the entire world was against him. A mysterious nursemaid figure standing over him and taking away the flaming book.

Arthur felt his cheeks growing redder the longer that Merlin laughed.

"It's not that funny!" Morris exclaimed, defensively. He stepped a little to close to Arthur, practically leaning against his side. If Merlin didn't know any better, he would have thought that Morris was acting like a defensive boyfriend.

But he did know better, he was one one married to the straight Arthur after all.

"It's a little funny." Merlin said easily, grinning cheekily. He was still laughing, his belly bursting laughter dying down into light chuckles.

Arthur felt his jaw clenching. It had been one of the very few times he'd ever gotten in trouble by anyone other than his father. That nursemaid was no longer in his life, she'd moved on to a different position when he'd turned twelve and no longer needed one. But still, he felt the humiliation every time he thought of it.

And right now, he felt the frustration growing in his chest. He couldn't believe he had just came out and actually told Merlin. Out of all people, it was Merlin that he'd actually said it to for the first time. It had just slipped out before he could stop it.

And Merlin's laughter was still ringing in his head like a never ending echo. It wasn't even a good laugh, even if it sounded like Merlin put his whole heart into it. It just grating on him because it was Merlin's laugh, making Arthur want to claw his own ears off to get it to stop.

What did Merlin find that was so funny? Did he enjoy Arthur's humiliation? Did he enjoy the way that Arthur's head was now killing him and he really wanted Merlin to just shut up for once.

Even just the light chuckles that Merlin was doing now, he wanted to stop.

Arthur's eyes landed on the book in Merlin's hands. "I do hope that you know how to read." He said bluntly, sounding almost cruel and mocking, but only in the worse way. "I remember, this book has some particularly difficult words."

Merlin's laughter died out sharply at the tone. He looked at Arthur startled, having no idea what he could have done this time to result in Arthur's sudden shift in behavior.

"I know how to read!" Merlin exclaimed, stunned the the sudden mood swing. One minute, Arthur was telling him something amusing from his childhood, and now he was being mean again.

"Are you sure about that?" Arthur sneered, face contorted into annoyance, practically looming over Merlin.

Merlin swallowed hard and clenched his hands around the book he was holding. Sure,

Merlin wasn't the best, but he'd gotten a lot better during this week. Uncle Gaius said that he was an extraordinarily fast learner, and that he was going even faster since he already knew the basics.

And as if what he'd said hadn't been enough, Arthur had to add more to his previous statement, "The words in this book are more than two letters long, you know." Arthur had yet to meet a peasant that actually knew how to read. There was no doubt in his mind that Merlin didn't have the brains to grasp the concept.

Merlin flinched back, he wasn't stupid! No matter what Arthur thought, Merlin wasn't nearly as stupid as he seemed to think. He swallowed hard again, blinking back the dampness growing in his eyes.

It was just stupid Arthur being his usual stupid self. But still, why did it have to hurt so much?

Merlin clenched his jaw, looking down at the grass, trying to hide the dampness selling up

In his eyes. "Well," he forced out. "I'm sure you're very concerned about my education."

"Oh, I'm not concerned, I just don't think my people will appreciate a consort that can't read." Arthur said easily, lips twisting into a cruel smirk.

Merlin felt as if his heart had dropped like a stone into his gut, as if he was supposed to be nothing more than a speck under Arthur's expensive, hand tailored boots. Merlin scowled, blinking rapidly as to force back the wetness.

"Well I'm sure they'll be okay with it." Merlin forced out, feeling as if his throat was closing up. "They already have a prince whose conceited. I don't see why they would have a problem with me."

Arthur scowled, god, did Merlin always have to have a comeback at the ready? Couldn't he just cower and apologize and simper like everybody else did when he came at them? Things would be so much easier if Arthur could actually predict what Merlin's reaction would be at his words.

Arthur stepped up until he was toe to toe with Merlin. The two boy's stared each other down, as if they were trying to will the other to back down, although neither one budged. Merlin could feel Arthur's breath fanning across his face, he was that close.

"Well, I'm sure that the people would want a consort that can actually read missives, and be able to tell the difference between letters that are more important than others, and can actually be more of a help instead of a hindrance." Arthur said cruelly, making sure to enunciate each point he made.

Merlin flinched at each reason Arthur gave. He already knew he was going to be hopeless at whatever this new life of his was going to bring. But to hear it all laid out like that, he felt more inadequate than ever.

"Maybe," Arthur said darkly. "You should just keep yourself busy by gossiping with the other ladies." As if it were some kind of insult.

Merlin felt himself flinch all the same.

Arthur gave Merlin a borderline mocking look, eyes trailing down to the book clasped in a death grip in his hands. And then his eyes trailed back up to Merlin's. "I hope you have fun with your new book."

And then Arthur was backing away, his eyes never leaving Merlin's. Until he'd gotten a few steps away and had no choice but to turn around.

Merlin watched Arthur as he made his way across the empty clearing, leaving him without a second glance. His heart clenched in his chest and his throat felt tight.

"I hope this means that you understand your place around here now." A voice said from behind him, making Merlin flinch. He'd almost forgotten about the two menservants standing behind him. He felt a whole new wave of humiliation shoot through him, knowing that other people had witnessed it.

Clearing his throat, Merlin brushed the back of his hand over his suspiciously damped eyes. "Uh, what was that?" he asked, turning around once he'd made himself somewhat presentable.

"I'm just saying," Morris said with a pitying smile, but it was obviously fake since he looked gleeful as well. It gave Merlin a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. "Nobody's really had the chance to take their time and explain things to you."

"Explain what, exactly?" Merlin asked defensively, narrowing his eyes. His lips were turning downward, his frown more pronounced than it had been before.

Morris' smile turned more cheeky, similar to how Merlin usually did when he smiled. But Morris' was nothing more than a pale imitation of Merlin's. "That Arthur doesn't want you here." He said, as if he was breaking some kind of news to Merlin. "He was fine before you were ever in the picture, and he'll be fine long after you leave."

Merlin stiffened, "You didn't have to stay and tell me that. I think I got that message loud and clear just now." He said quietly, voice almost hushed. He was under no delusions about his marriage and what it was. He should have just kept walking when Arthur had found him this morning.

Morris' smile just seemed to grow, as if he was finding some kind of joy in Merlin's apparent misery. "I only stayed because I was just making sure that there were no misunderstandings, about you and Arthur or your...relationship."

Merlin crossed his arms over his chest, a little defensively, wondering why Morris was telling him this exactly. "I'm sure I won't...misunderstand...my relationship with Arthur." He may not know much about relationships, but he did know that whatever he and Arthur had, it wasn't the kind he wanted to have.

They may be married, but Merlin had no doubt that they would never be an actual couple.

"Just making sure you're aware." Morris said, looking very odd in that moment. "I just thought I would help you out. I wouldn't want you just wasting away thinking there could be anything more between the two of you." Maybe it was the tone of his voice, or the look in his eyes. Whatever it was, that off feeling that Merlin had felt earlier returned.

But Morris didn't seem to notice anything odd about his own behavior. He even amplified it by his growing smile, that stretched a little to wide to be natural.

"Now if you excuse me, Sir Merlin," Morris bowed. But the way he'd said that, it sounded as if Morris was just mocking him. "Prince Arthur will surely be needing me soon. He's practically lost without me by his side. He's always wanting me around for something."

Morris gave Merlin one more smirk, flipping his hair out of his eyes. As if he was trying to flaunt that Arthur wanted his manservant around more than the man he'd married.

And then he was gone, following in the direction that Arthur had long since disappeared in. The bag of weapons he was in charge of were thumping on his back as he jogged away.

Merlin watched him go, a confused frown on his face. There was definitely something off about Morris, he hadn't just imagined it. But Merlin wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know what it was.

"Sir," George said quietly from behind him. "Will you be alright?"

Merlin flinched, surprised by the sudden voice at his side. With Arthur's cruelty and Morris' weirdness, Merlin had forgotten that George was still there.

Turning to look at his apparent manservant, Merlin asked, "W-what was that?"

George was looking at him funny now, making Merlin frown. "Well Morris was out of line." He was saying. George would have thought Morris had been better trained as a manservant than that. One should never say something so horrid to a member of the court, or involve themselves in the business of nobles. If Morris had said something like that to anyone else, he'd probably be in the stocks till nightfall. And that was only if he wasn't outright flogged.

"No," Merlin corrected, looking solemn. "I don't think he was." Morris may have been condescending, but Merlin couldn't say he was wrong either.

The dragon had told him that it was probably his destiny to change how much of an idiot Arthur was. But Merlin was doubting if Arthur was even worth attempting for.

Today hadn't started as awful as he'd thought it had. But his morning was ending so much worse than it had begun:

Arthur had had his moments where Merlin had briefly thought, maybe he wasn't so bad. But now, Merlin wasn't sure if there was anything good about Arthur. He couldn't see himself staying with the blonde if he had the choice, not if nothing changed.

But could he get Arthur to change was the question? Or was Merlin just kidding himself, drawing it out before he realized that his marriage was dead before it had even started.

Merlin looked down at the book in his hands, he could worry about Arthur's attitude later. Right now, he wanted to prove Arthur wrong. That he could read this stupid book, and follow it to the letter.

...He was screwed, he would never be able to follow directions. He had never been able to before, after all.

And there was going to be so many new people hanging around this week, for the tournament. And all of them would be watching him, wanting to meet Arthur's new consort. They would all be wanting to talk to him, and he was probably going to say something stupid and leave a horrible first impression.

This was going to turn out so bad. The only thing worst that could happen, was if somebody found out about him, about what he could do.

No, he couldn't add that to his list of worries as well. Nobody was going to find out about him. He kept his secret for nineteen years, nobody was going to find him just because he was in this whole new situation.

He had Arthur, and this tournament, and this stupid book. Somebody finding out about his magic would probably be a godsend at this point. At least he wouldn't have to worry about anything else. He'd be to busy being burned at the pyre to care about anything else.

Merlin glanced over at George before turning back around. "I think I'm just going to my uncle's." He said quietly. He should probably start on this book since the tournament was coming up fast. It was more work than he wanted to deal with right now, but it had to be done.

And who knows, maybe it'll distract him from Arthur and his stupid fucking mood swings.

"Of course, sir." George said, giving a deep bow. "Let's be on our way to Master Gaius."

Merlin didn't bother saying that he would've preferred to go alone. He didn't feel like dealing with George, and trying to convince him once again that he didn't need him at his beck and call. It was just easier to let him follow along.

The two men started walking out of the clearing, heading towards the courtyard. George was trailing after his 'master', like a lost puppy.

Merlin held his book under one arm, and had his helmet hanging from his fingertips. The suit he was still wearing felt as if it weighed more and more the longer he walked.

The more he walked though, the more pissed he got. And all of it was directly at Arthur. Who the hell did he think he was, talking to him like that! He couldn't do that! Merlin may not have any delusions about the relationship that he and Arthur had, but didn't he at least deserve some kind of respect as a person?

What had been Arthur's fucking problem?

Thinking about it made his head hurt. And as if his sore head had reminded him, every muscle in his body was screaming at him as he made it through the courtyard with George at his heels. He had bruises on top of his bruises, he was sweating in places that he didn't even know he could sweat. He was walking all bow legged, with a heavy limp to it. And his head had this irritating ring to it that just wouldn't go away, Arthur had hit him in the head one to many times.

Bitterly, Merlin thought about how fucking Arthur hadn't even stopped to make sure he'd make it home alright after beating him up. Wasn't that what a good husband was supposed to do? Drop you off at your front door to make sure he got home safe?

Not that he needed the protection, but it would have been nice to know he cared. But he didn't care, and that was why Merlin was limping home with nothing more than his manservant and a battered helmet.

"Sir Merlin," George said quietly. "Would you like for me to let your uncle know that you are in need of assistance when we arrive?"

"No," Merlin grunted, not stopping his awkward stride towards the castle. "There's no reason to make him worry." But he must really look bad if George was asking.

Merlin hunched his shoulders up to his ears but all that did was make a fresh wave of soreness go through him. Was it supposed to hurt this much? And why did that ringing in his ear refused to go away, it wasn't like he was being hit in the head anymore.

Merlin may be returning looking like he'd just gone through hell, but he didn't exactly need medical attention. It wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed with some serious rest and a few days for the bruises to fade away.

Crap, was it bad that even his tongue was hurting him?

Merlin had almost reached the stairs leading into the castle when he caught sight of somebody sitting at the foot of them. He had his head tilted back, taking large sips of fresh water from his canteen.

The man was dressed up all in armor, just like Arthur had been. It was strange to realize that Arthur wore his armor better than this knight did. And don't get him wrong, he was still furious at Arthur, and it pissed him off when he realized that he thought what he did. After how Arthur had just treated him, the last thing on his mind should be that the blonde was cuter than this knight.

He wasn't that desperate for their marriage to work out...was he?

The man in front of him lowered his canteen and wiped at his mouth with the back of his glove. He was breathing hard, his brown hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. It was obvious that he'd just finished a workout just as intense as Merlin's own had been, if not more.

When Derrick saw him limping up to the stairs, he started to grin. His brown eyes had swirls of amusement in them.

"Don't even say it," Merlin grunted. He could already guess what Derrick was probably thinking.

Merlin felt like a right mess, looking miserable as he stood in front of an equally exhausted Derrick. Merlin had no doubt that his hair was sticking up all over the place, stuck out at all angles and held up in different directions because of the sweat he could feel. He probably had a pound of dirt and dust caked onto his face as well. Smeared across his forehead for sure, he could literally feel it tugging against his skin every time his face moved.

Derrick's eyes seemed to soften at Merlin's exhausted expression. That still didn't stop the cheeky smile from spreading across his lips. "It looks like you had fun."

Merlin blew out a huff of air, trying to force a tuff of hair out of his eye. It was better than trying to lift his arms. He might as well have weights stuck on them since he wasn't able to lift them.

"I feel like a pin cushion." Merlin grunted, watching irritated as that piece of hair flopped straight back into his eye.

Derrick threw his head back and started to laugh at Merlin's expression, his body shaking with the force of it. It wasn't a mocking laughter though, the kind that was stuck in his head because of Arthur. Derrick's was more genuine than that.

Merlin couldn't stop his lips from twitching into a grin although it made his cheeks ache, even his face muscles were sore. He probably did look pretty ridiculous right now.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." He'd probably laugh to if he saw himself in a mirror. If he wasn't acutely aware of the aches and pains he was experiencing.

"So," Derrick said as his chuckles died down. "I see your training session went well."

Merlin's smile dropped in an instant, "How did you know that I was having a training session?" He had to force out the words, his voice sounding croaky.

"Everyone knows." Derrick said brightly. "Apparently Prince Arthur was heard storming through the castle looking for you this morning. It kind of spread out from there."

Merlin tensed, everybody knew that he has been training? Did everybody also know about the fight he and Arthur had? If they knew, what else did they know?

Swallowing hard, Merlin asked. "Is that a common thing around here? People talking about me?" He wanted to lift a hand to scratch it through his hair in frustration, but he didn't think he'd be able to lift it higher than his waist.

"Well when you're the prince's consort, people are curious to learn more." Derrick said, as if it were obvious. He stopped just long enough for him to lean back against the stone steps before he started again. "Especially since you're a peasant. They want to know what they can about you."

Merlin felt a fresh wave of panic going through him. Licking at his dry lips, he forced out a quick, "There's nothing to know about me, I mean, I'm nothing special. I'm just an ordinary peasant, no different than anybody else."

There was his concerns again, his worries returning full force. Somebody, anybody, could discover what he was, if they were watching close enough. Why did he have to marry a prince? Nobody would be interested in him if he'd just married a common farmer.

Derrick seemed to stiffen, frowning confused. He'd been a knight for a long time, he knew when somebody was trying to hide something. He just hadn't been expecting to feel this around Merlin.

Merlin seemed to realize how suspicious he sounded and cleared his throat. "I just mean...there's nothing special about me, so there's no reason for people to be watching me."

Derrick shook off his suspicions. He had really been a knight for far to long if his senses were going off around somebody like Merlin.

Derrick straightened up, and leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees. "Oh, I bet you're more special than you think."

Merlin felt himself flush, feeling the uncontrollable urge to try and smooth down his hair some so he didn't look so stupid, "No, nothing special. I'm just..." he looked down at himself. At his heavily bruised body hidden by the suit he still wore. Well, he certainly felt all bruised up. But the suit had probably protected him from the worst of it. "...Me." He finished off weakly.

Derrick stared at Merlin confused, did he really have such a low opinion on himself?"I'm sure you're more special than you think, we just have to find that trait of yours that makes you special."

Merlin felt his flush receding and he grew pale. There was another rush of panic that shot through him. He really hoped that Derrick wouldn't start looking into him. But what if he did? What if he saw something that he wasn't supposed to see? What if Merlin did the wrong thing at the wrong time and Derrick was there to see.

Could he trust Derrick? Derrick had become a semi-friend to Merlin, but he was also a knight of Camelot first and foremost. Merlin wasn't interested in seeing which one that Derrick would choose. It probably wouldn't be him, he'd only known Derrick a week. They didn't exactly have the kind of history that he had with Will when he found out.

No, he couldn't trust Derrick, just like he couldn't trust anyone outside his family.

Merlin cleared his throat, "Uh, really. I'm just a peasant boy. All I know how to do is..." he trailed off, trying to think of something that he could actually do. Something that didn't involve magic. "...farming!" He blurted out.

Derrick raised a curious eyebrow, "Farming, eh?"

Merlin felt himself flush uncomfortably. Farming was really the only thing he'd done the most of back home. It was the first thing he could think of that didn't involve him using magic. He only wished that the first thing he'd thought of had been more impressive.

"Well, it's a lot harder than it looks." Merlin quickly went along. He babbled for the next several minutes about the tricks and the trades of getting something to grow. Even the smaller things that nobody would have bothered to write into a book, things that you picked up through experience alone.

"Okay, okay!" Derrick eventually interrupted, laughing some as he did. "I get it, you know what you're talking about." Damn, Derrick though, Merlin had some kind of mouth on him, being able to talk as much and as fast as he did. Arthur had his work cut out for him with this one.

Merlin smiled weakly, "You'll be surprised by how much work goes into it."

"I'll just have to take your word for it," Derrick said, shaking his head before pushing himself up off the stairs so that he could stand in front of Merlin.

"You should try it sometime. You don't get as beat up as you do swords fighting." Merlin said dryly, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. The heat of the sun and this heavy suit was causing a new layer of sweat to form on his skin.

Derrick laughed again, trying to imagine himself on a farmland trying to make something grow. He was open to trying new things, but farming may be one step to far for him. No, he would leave that for the actual farmers to handle.

"Maybe you just need to have a better appreciation for the sword." Derrick suggested. "Have you ever even held one before your training this morning?"

"That obvious?" Merlin asked, wincing. As much as he hated to admit it, his first thought had been what Arthur had been thinking when they'd been training. He hated that he still wondered what that jerk thought of him. He hated that he wanted to know what that jerk thought of him. And he hated even more that he cared about what the jerk thought of him.

What was wrong with him? He shouldn't care about any of that stuff, not after how Arthur had treated him.

"Hey," Derrick said frowning. Merlin was looking sullen now and it wasn't a good look on him. Derrick's first thought was that Merlin was probably just disappointed that he wasn't some great swordsman after his first lesson. "If you want, I can give you some pointers."

Merlin tried to shake all thoughts of Arthur out of his head, he really did. But he could still feel him there, just prickling at the back of his mind. "...You would teach me?" He asked, giving his attention back to Derrick. He could already feel himself pale, he didn't think he could take another 'lesson'.

Derrick almost laughed again because of Merlin's expression. "I mean an actual lesson. Where you learn and don't just get the crap beaten out of you. You know," As if trying to tempt him, he added the last bit. "It is a surprisingly great stress relief. I'm sure you need that." He couldn't imagine being married to Arthur had been an easy feat.

Even at the prospect of some stress relief, Merlin was quick to shake his head. "Never again do I want to do this." He felt his face scrunch up in disgust at having to go through something like this again. "Besides, I don't think I have the skillset needed to wield a sword."

He wasn't all muscle like the knights. He also didn't see the appeal in fighting with a sword, but that was probably because he didn't need a sword. Not with the things that he could do.

Derrick shook his head, his lips curling into an amused grin. He wasn't to surprised by Merlin's response. Right now, he looked as if a harsh breeze could blow him over.

"Well if you ever change your mind," Derrick said, reaching forward to clasp a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "You know where to find me."

"...Ow." Merlin groaned, his knees nearly buckling from the briefly added weight. It had felt as if Derrick had punched him in the shoulder or something. He needed to get this suit off before it killed him. It was thick, scratchy, and felt as if it were getting heavier with every passing minute.

Speaking up from behind them, George's professional demeanor slipped just far enough for the concern in his voice to be heard. "Sir Merlin, are you positive that you would not like Master Gaius to assist you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Merlin whimpered, trying to rotate his shoulder. Not that it helped any, it just sent a fresh wave of aching muscles through him.

Frowning, Derrick gave a suggestion, "What about a massage? Most knights get one after a rough training. I could call one of the serving girl's for you."

Merlin's face scrunched up in distaste. He didn't know how he felt about some random girl touching him. "I think I'll survive without one. I just need to get cleaned up." He'd probably feel better once he'd gotten this suit off and got cleaned up some.

But still, a stray thought did come across his mind. Was Arthur one of these knights that partook in having a serving girl massage him?

Unsettled, he pushed the thought vehemently out of mind. He was quick with saying his goodbyes to Derrick and left. Or as quick as he could. It took far longer than he wanted to just to make it up the stairs. His muscles ached with every move but he forced himself to keep walking.

'One step at a time, one step at a time.' He kept thinking as he carefully eased himself up the main staircase.

Derrick watched him go from the bottom of the stairs, shaking his head. Arthur had really done a number on him.

Merlin eventually made it to the top of the stairs. But it turned out that the stairs weren't even the worse part. Going through the hallways turned out to be a very special kind of torture all it's own, making Merlin question why a castle had to be so big. George was following close behind him as they went through hallway after hallway, hovering over him. It was as if George thought he was going to collapse at any minute, and was making sure he'd be nearby to catch him if he did.

He couldn't blame him for it either, Merlin felt as if he probably already would have collapsed, if he hadn't kept his mantra repeating in his head. 'Just one more step. Just one more step.'

Each step he was able to take just took him one step closer to his uncle's. George was probably right, Merlin might actually need the help of a physician.

It was a never ending journey and took far longer than it should have to make his way across the castle. Out of all of the places for his uncle to live, it had to be on the far end of the castle.

Merlin passed many people on his trek through the castle. Many of the servants had looked horrified, as if they couldn't believe the state that he was in, although none had dared to approach him. The handful of knights who had bothered to acknowledged him, had looked at him with revulsion in their eyes. As if he wanted to look like a right mess, and feel this achingly miserable.

Eventually, Merlin and George made it to the bottom of the stairs that led straight up to his uncle's chambers. Looking up at the last set of stairs he had to climb, Merlin couldn't have stopped the groan from escaping him, even if he'd tried. He almost wanted to just sit at the bottom of the stairs and wait for the pain to stop before continuing on.

But how long would it take for the ache in his muscles to fade enough for him to make it the rest of the way? How long would he have to wait, looking like this hot mess?

And who knows who would pass by while he looked so pitiful. He'd already gotten strange looks from the people he passed on the way up here. And god forbid, if would be just his luck that Arthur would find him like this.

It would be a fresh wave of humiliation all over again, letting Arthur see that he'd left Merlin in an almost crippling state.

Merlin stared up the staircase and he could have sworn that it got longer before his eyes.

No, Merlin wasn't going to sit here and rest. Not when he didn't know if Arthur could round the corner at any minute for all he knew. Even if he had to force himself up these stairs, he would do it. Upstairs, he didn't have to worry about seeing Arthur and his stupid blond hair, his mocking blue eyes, his slightly crooked teeth, and his stupidly broad shoulders...no.

He shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that, not anymore, especially after what the prince had just said to him. But still, he couldn't stop if it he tried, and trust him he'd tried, the thoughts just kept creeping along in the edges of his mind.

He felt bad, almost disgusted with himself even. He knew he shouldn't be thinking things like that, he didn't know why he still was, but he did know that he was just setting himself up for disappointment.

Was it so wrong that he wanted his marriage to work out? That he didn't want to wake up ten or twenty years from now, and realize that he was stuck in an endless cycle of never ending misery.

Was it so wrong that he just...wanted to be happy.

The stairs were still in front of him, looking even more daunting the longer he stood there. Even though it was just a short flight of stairs, it might as well had been a mile for how slow he could walk.

Sighing heavily, Merlin started making his way up the stairs. He'd already made it this far, what was a few more steps?

Halfway up, he tried to lean against the wall to hold himself up, but all that touch did was make him feel as if their were dozens of little knives jabbing into his palm.

Merlin eventually made it to the top of the stairs, and the relief was almost to much for him. 'Just one more step, just one more step.' He kept thinking as he limped down the hallway.

"Sir Merlin-" George, who had yet to leave his side, started to say.

Merlin already knew what it was, and maybe it was just time for him to give in. "Go ahead," he said, looking disgruntled with himself. He was almost to the door, just a few more steps.

George seemed to almost swell up, with a look of relief on his face. "Thank you, Sir Merlin." And then he was rushing ahead, bursting through the door of Gaius' chambers.

Just inside, George found the physician standing at one of his many tables, mixing together one of his potions together.

Gaius' head jolted up, startled by George's sudden appearance. Seeing the distressed look George had, Gaius quickly started putting his potion into stasis. "George, is something wrong?"

"Master Gaius," George said with a over exaggerated tone of urgency. He was acting as if somebody was bleeding out somewhere. "Sir Merlin is dreadfully in need of your care."

Gaius felt as if an icy fist suddenly gripped his heart. In less than a heartbeat, Gaius was pushing away from his potion table. The potion would sit and settle, ready and waiting for him to bottle it when he returned.

Not that the potion mattered. Not when he had more important concerns.

"Where is he and how bad is it?" He asked, already in full physician mood. His mind was already running, thinking of all of the worse case scenarios.

Before George was even able to answer him, Gaius was already reaching for his emergency basket sitting on one of the tables. It had everything he needed in it, like tools that would stop bleeding. Or a handful of potions that could give a man just a little extra time for Gaius to do what he needed to.

Would it be enough? Or would Merlin need something more extensive?

That was when the door suddenly slammed closed and Merlin was standing just inside the room. One look at Merlin had Gaius relaxing in an instant. And then he was grinning, looking far to amused by his nephew's misery.

Merlin limped up to his uncle, dropping his helmet somewhere along the way. It clattered noisily, sending another burst of pain through Merlin's head, his headache amplifying. He could barely hear himself when he said, "...Arthur's a monster." And he was looking way more pitiful than when he'd just entered.

Gaius started to laugh, shaking his head at the sight his nephew was in. "You look like you've had an eventful morning." What exactly had he been doing and how did it involve Arthur? The last he'd heard, Merlin had been complaining because Arthur was avoiding him.

"Him and the prince had a training session this morning." George clarified, looking far to happy to inform Gaius of the situation. "Prince Arthur was teaching him how to defend himself."

Both the physician and the manservant turned to look at the consort.

"Really?" Gaius gave Merlin a once over, categorizing any thing he could see that might qualify as a training injury. But it was hard to see much, with Merlin wearing that suit. He should have recognized it instantly. The scrawnier recruits were required to wear it during the beginning of their basic training.

At least once every year or so, he had one of these new recruit's arrive at his quarters, needing medical attention because they thought they were tough enough to go against Arthur. They never were. "So?" Gaius asked curiously, way to invested in how Merlin's morning had gone. "How'd you do?"

All the question did was make Merlin's head throb more. He had to force his arm up to grab at his head, wincing as his aching muscles in his shoulder pulled tight. "Do you hear clanging?" That irritating ring he'd had in his head since he left the training ground was still there. He couldn't possibly be the only one to hear it.

Gaius shook his head at his nephew's misfortune, still laughing about it. He set his medical basket down on the table. It was clear that Merlin wouldn't be needing anything that he had in there.

"Well go on and get that suit off." Gaius said, heading to the one table that had a spot on the end cleared off already. He and Merlin had taken to using that spot for their morning breakfast together. At least now he knew why Merlin had never shown up.

"...I can't reach the latch." Merlin admitted quietly. That dreaded latch that kept the suit in place, it was on the back of his shoulder blade. The exact one that Morris had helped him with when he'd first gotten into it. It was in that one spot that no matter how you twisted or turned, you just couldn't reach it. Clearly, the designers of this suit hadn't thought things through.

"Allow me, Sir Merlin." George said, stepping around to his back. Within moments, George had it undone and was helping Merlin get the pieces off. Each piece of the armor that came off made a thump as they were set aside. And Merlin couldn't even begin to explain the relief he felt as fresh air hit his body underneath. He felt so much better already, the cold breeze freezing the sweat that clung to him.

How had Merlin gone through his entire life without knowing he could feel this exhaustedly tired? Maybe it was just because he was used to the tedious and back-aching work that was toiling away in the fields. But as he just found out, using a sword and shield involved a completely different set of muscles.

Eventually, he was able to push the suit down all the way to his waist, and then shoved it down his legs, so that he could finally be free of the heavy material. Merlin nearly tripped several times, trying to get his feet out of the boot parts of the suit. And he hated to admit it, but he needed George's help again to get it off completely.

After it was off, he was able to fully feel the way his dark blue shirt was sticking to his body uncomfortably. It felt as if the sweat was gluing his shirt to his skin. It just made him vividly all that much more aware of how utterly gross he was. But he wasn't entire sure if he'd be able to carry a basin of water up to his room to wash up.

Sitting at the table, Merlin grunted when he collapsed onto the bench, feeling as if he could melt into a pile of goo at any moment.

He had to practically pry his fingers open so that he could let go of the book on tournament etiquette. It dropped with a bang onto the table.

"And what is that?" Gaius asked, stepping up to his nephew. He raised an eyebrow at the book now on his table.

"It's my homework." Merlin grunted, looking at it with his face scrunched in disgust. With how exhausted he was, the last thing he wanted to do was actually take the time to read the thing. But at the same time, he would be damned if Arthur asked him about it and he said he hadn't even bothered to open the thing.

But he still couldn't move his arms and it was taking everything he had to not just lay his head on the table and take a nap. He didn't even want to go up to his rooms, not if he had to move from this spot. And at this point, he didn't even want to go to the bed that Gaius had for him, not if he had to climb another set of stairs to get there.

Gaius shook his head, "They've finally put you to work, did they?" He had been wondering when somebody would approach Merlin and give him something to do, other than letting him have the free range he'd had all week.

Merlin scowled, "Arthur, that arse did." He leaned forward, his chest pressing up against the wood of the table, looking blearily at the book that Arthur had claimed was to difficult for him to understand. What did Arthur know anyway.

Gaius shook his head at that, starting to roll up his sleeves, "Having marriage troubles already?"

Merlin let out a huff of irritation. "I wish it was as simple as having marriage problems. But to have troubles like that, I need an actual husband. Not just someone like...like...like Arthur!"

"Like Arthur?" Gaius asked curiously, taking his place behind Merlin, making sure his sleeves were tugged halfway up his forearms.

"Anybody else would have been preferable." He grumbled, half under his breath, sounding bitter. Maybe somebody else would have treated him better, maybe somebody else would have been someone he could see himself spending his life with. Or maybe they would have treated him worse than even Arthur was. He had no way of ever knowing.

"He's been that bad?" Gaius asked with concern, reaching out to grab Merlin by his shoulders, giving him a massage to work out those aches and pains.

Merlin didn't answer, he just slumped against his uncle, looking miserable, which was really all the answer Gaius needed.

Merlin couldn't stop his thought from circling around in his head. What could he have possibly done to make Arthur suddenly turn on him so harshly? Why was Arthur always going out of his way to make Merlin miserable?

And the more scarier question, why was Merlin still willing to work things out between them.

Maybe there had been some truth to Morris's words after all. Maybe Merlin was just wasting his time, practically wasting away with his multitude of thoughts on Arthur.

What was he supposed to do about Arthur.

The prince acted as if it was only his life that had changed, as if Merlin hadn't been affected as well. He had to leave everything behind to come here. And for what? A dead end marriage where the only times he talked to his husband, led into a fight.

He didn't want a marriage where all he and Arthur did was fight. He didn't want to sit here, always wondering if his marriage to Arthur had been doomed from the start. What he wanted was to be happy...somehow.

And he wasn't willing to accept anything less.

Merlin's hand curled into an involuntary fist. If Arthur was going to be hard headed, than he should probably learn very quickly that Merlin was even more so.

Merlin still felt the lingering anger in his veins over how Arthur had treated him. But he had other things to be concerned with right now, he couldn't focus on his anger.

Like he would have to face Arthur, probably sooner than he'd like, and force him to talk to him if he had to. They needed to have a long talk about what kind of future they were looking at.

Merlin wasn't ready to give up just yet. He wanted to be happy, damn it! But there were some things that were going to be problematic.

Like how Arthur apparently didn't like men, as told to him by Morris and Arthur both. That would make things a little more complicated, if the blonde couldn't get past that one little detail.

And strangely enough, Arthur not liking men were the least of his problems.

If things did develop between them, if Arthur was willing to hear him out, there would have to be some ground rules, of course. Like Arthur and his attitude could take a hike. Merlin wasn't going to have Arthur treat him like he had. Within one morning, he'd called Merlin stupid, questioned his ability as a consort (although he couldn't blame him for that one), and had even insinuated that Merlin was some kind of gold digger.

Why exactly, was he still trying to attempt some kind of a mockery of a relationship with Arthur?

Merlin hissed when Gaius rubbed at a particularly sore knot in his shoulder blade.

"Would you like for me to talk to him?" Gaius asked, frowning as he rubbed roughly on that one spot. "Maybe somebody should tell him that you're not a trained knight."

The longer he rubbed at Merlin's shoulders, the more annoyed he got. Merlin was so much scrawnier than Arthur, the prince shouldn't have been training him like he would a new recruit. Not when Merlin had never trained a day in his life.

Merlin seemed to consider it for a moment. And then he was shaking his head, "No. It's not that big of a deal." At this point, he didn't even care about how rough his training session had been. His uncle was doing wonders and his muscles were starting to relax. It turned out that his aches weren't nearly as bad as Merlin had thought they were, now that his body could breathe without that heavy suit on.

And as amusing as Arthur's face would have been if his uncle came storming in like an avenging angel, he didn't want that. Merlin wanted to confront this problem on his own. He needed to be the one to talk to Arthur.

Even if Arthur wasn't the one Merlin wanted to be married to, maybe they could come to some kind of agreement. Like a truce, if you will, if Arthur was deadset against anything more.

"If you're sure." Gaius said, looking uncertain as he pressed harder again Merlin's shoulders. Merlin leaned back against it, letting his mind drift away from everything. From the thought of Arthur and how Merlin was going to bring up all of how questions on where their relationship was going. To the tournament he was so excited to see, but the book that he was dreading having to go through. The book that Arthur had said he was to stupid to understand, but he would show him.

Those were all things that he could stress about later.

There was a sudden clatter on the side of the room. Merlin's eyes snapped open as he flinched, startled.

"So sorry, my fault entirely." George called over to them. He had left his master and his master's uncle to the privacy of their conversation, but he had kept himself busy with the suit that Merlin had left behind. He had folded up the suit and the pieces of armor were set in a pile on top of it, ready to be polished. He would personally see to having it cleaned and returned to the armory for its next use.

George stood up, holding it all in the crooks of his arms. Merlin raised an eyebrow, curious to know how he did that without dropping anything. But George didn't seem to have any problems, holding it with expertise.

George walked across the length of the room before he dropped into a low bow in front of Gaius. "Sir Gaius," he spoke formerly. "If I may be so bold as to ask you a question?"

Gaius and Merlin shared a confused look with each other before turning back to the manservant. Gaius cleared his throat. "Only if I can ask what I did to deserve this special treatment?"

He was the royal physician and yes, people respected him. But he also didn't usually have servants bowing to him when they came to him. Maybe the odd one here or there, but for the most part, those of the lower class were comfortable with him. He was known for giving commoners the same medical treatment and respect that he would give nobility, unlike some Royal physicians who refused to treat those under a certain status. He'd treated George once or twice whenever he had the odd ailment now and then. He'd never bowed before, which made it all the more confusing that he did it now.

"It's only proper," George said, in a matter of fact voice. "You're the family of my master, that alone earns you the proper respect." George was standing straight, looking way to proud of Merlin being his master for his taste.

Gaius blinked several times, looking stumped. "Master?" He asked, giving Merlin a raised eyebrow.

"It's a very long," Merlin drew in a deep breath. "And painful story." He really wished that George hadn't mentioned the whole master part. That was a whole story by itself that he really didn't want to get into.

"Sir Merlin." George said, in a horrified tone as if he'd just remembered something. It was the closest he'd come to sounding like a real person all morning. Merlin dropped his face into his hand, covering his eyes. There George was going with the whole 'Sir Merlin' thing again. "You have my sincerest apologies for not asking you first. May I have permission to ask your uncle my question?"

Merlin drew his hand slowly down his face, looking pained. He was way to much of a mess to deal with this right now. Had George really just asked for his permission? Oh god, he was an actual master now, wasn't he? Nope, that was definitely not going to be happening. But seeing George's growing face of distress, Merlin cleared his throat before he forced out a weak, "Yeah, go ahead."

With his permission granted, and now looking relieved, George turned to his uncle. "Sir Gaius, may you point me in the direction of Master Merlin's-" this was the part where Merlin had to groan loudly. "Quarters. He has informed me of his rooms here, I would like to clean his clothing and have the room prepared for his usage."

Gaius looked back at Merlin, the boy just looking helplessly annoyed before turning back to George. "Of course, it's right up there." He said, pointing towards the stairs, sounding so much like Merlin did when he was confused that in that moment, it was more obvious than ever that they were related.

Gaius wouldn't have exactly called Merlin's room a 'quarters'. It was just the spare room that he'd never really had any use, and he was more than happy to let his long lost nephew take it over.

George looked up towards the rickety stairs before turning back to them. "Thank you, Master Gaius." He said, giving a low bow, somehow not losing the gear in his arms. And then he turned to Merlin and bowed even lower, "I shall return soon if you have need of me, Master Merlin."

Merlin smiled weakly, "Take your time." And then he watched as George gave another low bow. Still holding all of Merlin's training gear in the crook of his arms, George went to the stairs before disappearing up into his room.

And then Gaius was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "...New manservant?" Gaius guessed dryly. That would certainly explain George's presence and the strangeness that had just occurred.

Merlin shook his head, looking far to worn out over this whole ordeal. "Don't you start to." He sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest his chin onto the palm of his hand.

"Yes, master." Gaius said, a teasing lift to his smile.

Merlin groaned, throwing his arms out so that they were splayed out across the table. And then he let his head fall forward with a thump onto the wood.

Gaius shook his head, finding far to much pleasure in Merlin's misfortune, if one could call having a manservant a misfortune. The physician reached out and returned his hands to Merlin's shoulders, giving them a deep rub as to force the tension out of them.

Merlin groaned, finally straightening back up on his bench seat as to feel the full force of the massage. His eyes fell onto the book that was just out of reach and groaned again. "It's bad enough that I have George following me around now. But I've also got people I don't even know who are going to be watching me and just waiting for me to mess up if I don't follow this stupid book."

Gaius rubbed harder on another knot at the base of Merlin's neck. "Well, that is the life of a consort."

"Well I sure didn't ask to become one." Merlin said in a mutter, staring forward with an unfocused look in his eyes.

Gaius gave a heavy sigh. "Nonetheless, it is your life. From the moment you arrived in this kingdom, everyone will have their eyes on you. It's human nature to be curious about this new, uncharted territory that you've found yourself in."

Merlin shifted his eyes away from the book and tilted his head back to look at his uncle. "Uncle Gaius, it's more than people just watching me. I'll be okay with that, it's annoying, but I'll be okay. But what if somebody finds out about me? About what I can do?"

Gaius took Merlin by either side of his head and turned him back around so that Gaius could keep working out his knots. "You've kept your secret for nineteen years." He said quietly, keeping his voice hushed as if he was worried that somebody might come in and overhear their conversation. "There's no reason to believe that somebody will find out now."

Merlin stared down at the table in front of him. "Yeah." He said quietly. "But my mother was always there. She kept me safe when I was to little to do it myself." He started playing with his fingers in his lap. "I guess I'm just...unsure how I'm supposed to do it myself, without her here."

Gaius sighed, looking just as world weary as his nephew did. He stopped his massage but only to take his place on the bench beside the younger boy. "Merlin," he said quietly.

There was a moment of hesitation before Merlin finally looked at him.

Gaius let out another sigh, having no idea what he should say. But at the same time, he had to say something. He couldn't let his nephew leave again with his worries and problems.

"Merlin," Gaius tried again, clearing his throat. He'd never had to give life advice before. Medical expertise was the job but actual advice that someone could take with them out into the world, that was a completely different story. And he was a little unsure about how to go about this particular situation. "Your mother...she always protected you, right?"

Merlin nodded, of course she had. She'd always been there, his entire life without fail. And now...she wasn't. He'd thought he'd gotten used to it, not seeing her everyday. But maybe he was starting to feel a little homesick.

Gaius started talking again, "And how did she do that? How did she keep you safe when you were to young to do it yourself?"

Merlin turned his head and stared with unfocused eyes at the worn out brown table in front of him. His mind drifted back into the past, of what his childhood had been like, growing up with the things that he could do.

"She used to put me in barrels." He said quietly. But his voice was all muted, sounding distant even to himself. As if he was there but at the same time, he wasn't there at all.

It was the first thing he'd thought of, the number one thing that stuck out the most.

"Barrels?" His uncle asked, and Merlin could hear the confusion in his voice. But just like with his own voice, his uncle sounded muted to his ears, as if he were talking underwater.

Merlin nodded, still staring unfocused at the table in front of him, "Barrels." He repeated. "Every now and then, a stranger would pass through. My mother was worried that the slightest thing might give me away, even if all they did was catch a glimpse of me. I was to little to understand that I was different, and different was bad. Every time I was happy, things would float all around me. And every time I was scared or mad, things would break and shatter. She couldn't risk someone seeing me. It wasn't so bad, the barrels, especially now that I'm old enough to understand why she did it. And she used to make a game out of it, to keep me calm and quiet..."

He remembered those times, being so confused when his mother would suddenly get scared, encouraging him with urgency to climb into the barrel that had sat for many years in the corner of their hut. He would sit there in the dark for hours with a small toy, thinking that he was just playing hide and seek while being convinced that he was just a really good hider and that was why his mother had yet to find him.

In reality, his mother would be running around their hut, hiding all of his toys and belongings in a little cubbyhole under the floorboards. She wasn't taking any chance that the stranger in their village might stop by and start asking questions. Especially if they saw items belonging to a small child, but there was no child in sight. And she hadn't been about to risk him coming out just in case he did something that she couldn't explain away or lie about.

"And what about when you were older?" Gaius was asking him now. "How did she protect you when you got to big to hide away in barrels?"

Merlin smiled in almost fond memory. It had taken many years before she had allowed him to run around unsupervised. But she hadn't been able to hide him forever, she hadn't wanted to make him so scared of what he could do, that he couldn't enjoy the life around him.

"She would cover for me." He answered his uncle. "If something strange happened, she always seemed to have something ready to tell people to ease suspicion away from me." Merlin let out a heavy sigh. "I did try not to do things but sometimes, they just happened and I couldn't stop it. The older I got, the more my magic grew. Because of the way things are, I had no choice but to hide. But because of my mother I've been able to hide right out in the open, with the people I grew up with none the wiser."

"There you go!" Gaius suddenly exclaimed, forcing Merlin's unfocused eyes to sharpen with sudden clarity.

"W-what?" Merlin stuttered, looking at his uncle baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Merlin, don't you see?" Gaius asked. But Merlin just kept staring at him confused. Gaius sighed and shook his head, how did Merlin really not see it? Gaius reached out and put his hand on top of Merlin's shoulders, making sure that their eyes never lost sight of each other's. "Your mother raised you, and you've spent all of these years watching her. Even if you didn't realize it, she was teaching you for the day when she was no longer by your side. All the things she's done to protect you, you've watched her do them. For nineteen years, she's kept you safe. And now, the best way to honor her and all that she's done, is by doing it yourself."

Merlin swallowed hard, looking more nervous than he had before. "But what if I'm not ready? One wrong mistake, the slightest slip up at the wrong moment, and I'll be on the pyre before the hour is up."

Gaius smiled sadly. Oh, what he would give to see what Merlin could do with his gifts, if only he'd been born in a time where his gifts weren't feared. People would always fear what they did not understand. And that was a very dangerous thing when that fear was directed towards Merlin.

People wouldn't care if Merlin was the nicest boy in the world. All they would see was a sorcerer, a killer.

"You can do this, Merlin." Gaius said quietly, with surprising confidence in someone he'd just recently met. "We'll deal with this tournament and all of these new people arriving and leaving. By the time it's all over, you'll be wondering what you were so worried about in the first place. And then we'll face whatever the next challenge is. We'll just take it one day at a time."

Merlin still looked nervous and now vaguely concerned. "Right," he said quietly. "I'll just take it one day at a time." That was really all he could do, wasn't it?

"And" Gaius hesitated for a minute, looking just as awkward as his nephew usually did. "I know I'm not exactly your mother, but I do hope you know that I am here, whenever you need me."

It took a minute for Merlin to realize what his uncle was talking about. But when he did, he started to smile. Then he launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around Gaius' shoulders.

Gaius jumped startled but really, he should probably start getting used to things like this. His life had already changed so much in the short time that Merlin had been here. It didn't seem so...quiet now, in his chambers. Not when Merlin was frequently in here himself.

Gaius whole expression seemed to go soft when he heard the quiet exhale of Merlin saying, "Thank you, Uncle Gaius."

And when Merlin pulled away, he didn't seem so worried now. There were still traces of concern in his features, but they seemed minimal when compared to before.

Merlin seemed to hesitate for the briefest of moments before he started talking again. "I still just have one more problem."

"And what's that?" Gaius asked, raising an eyebrow at his young nephew.

Merlin's eyes flickered over to the book still on the table. It rested there innocently, as if it had absolutely nothing to do with what had happened between him and Arthur.

"I still have to learn what's in this book! Please explain to me why tournament etiquette is so important!"

Gaius stared at his young nephew for a moment before he started to crack a smile. Merlin huffed, his cheeks puffing out as he saw his uncle's amusement.

Gaius eased himself off of the bench, brushing off the stray bits of dust on his clothes, not that it did any good. All he really did was move even more dust to another area on his body while also coating his hands in a layer of it as well.

"I'm sure once you start reading it, you'll find out all about why it's important." Gaius said, casting a glance over to the book in question himself.

Merlin scowled, leaning forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand. "I doubt it. I flipped through it and I have no idea how it'll be an insult if I have the wrong China patterns be used. I don't even choose the patterns on the plates!"

Gaius blinked, startled by this sudden outburst. But he just shook his head at the confounded look his nephew wore clearly on his face. "Actually, I do believe that the consort does often help decide things like the menu and whatnot."

Merlin's eye twitched and he grumbled under his breath. Something about how he should have the kitchens serve only bread and water for those prissy noblemen. And something about how that would show Arthur, but Gaius largely ignored that part. Gaius had come to find that Merlin's favorite thing to do seemed to be complaining about Arthur.

Merlin suddenly straightened up in his seat, getting Gaius' attention with the sudden movement. "Oh, and Uncle Gaius!" He exclaimed, sounding excited, as if he'd just remembered something. "There's something I wanted to show you. I've been practicing!" And then Merlin turned to look at the book on the table. "Onhrine achtung bregdan!"

Merlin's tongue twisted around the words as he put his command into each of the syllables. His eyes shifted into the color of molted lava. And then the book was sliding itself across the table to rest in front of Merlin. It fluttered open and the pages flipped rapidly before starting somewhere in the middle. Right, to Merlin's disgust, on the chapter about why it would be offensive to choose the wrong China patterns for a tournament.

Merlin didn't hesitated for even a second before showing his uncle. Uncle Gaius wasn't like Morris, or George, and especially not like Arthur. His uncle knew about him, his uncle could be trusted with his deepest and darkest secret. His uncle was safe.

Unlike Arthur who would never know if Merlin could help it, lest Merlin be sentenced to burn.

"Oi!" Gaius exclaimed. His uncle was suddenly cuffing Merlin upside the back of his head. "Weren't you just concerned about somebody seeing you? It's real foolish to do something like that when your manservant is just upstairs."

Gaius cast a forlorn look towards the stairs but George never came out. So Gaius could only assume that Merlin's spell work and Gaius' exclamation had gone unnoticed.

"George is to busy trying to make my room presentable or something." Merlin protested, flushing as he'd forgotten about George. But really, now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure what George could have been doing up there for so long. It wasn't like Merlin had much stuff to begin with.

"Rather or not he's busy is hardly the point." Gaius said dryly. "What just happened to being worried that somebody will see you?"

"Nobody's even in here." Merlin protested. "I just wanted to show you that I'm learning my spells." Even though Merlin could have made the book come to him without the spell itself, there was something different about using an actual spell.

"Well as much as it's good to learn how to control them," Gaius said sternly. "You need to do so with an air of caution. Anybody could have been watching and you not realized. Somebody could have just walked straight in right when you do it."

Merlin's lower lip pushed out some as if he were going to start pouting. But as soon as it came, it was gone again. "Air of caution, got it."

"Don't take it so lightly, Merlin." Gaius warned, his face stern. Merlin winced because for a second there, his uncle had sounded like something he'd never had before, a concerned father. Or any father, really. "What do you expect me to do if you get caught because you wanted to practice your new tricks?"

That brought Merlin up short. Now wasn't that an interesting question? What would his mother had done? Would she had tried to fight for him, or would she had realized she was no match against armed knights. What would his uncle do if he were caught? How far would he be willing to go to help him?

And after that thought struck him, it stayed in his mind until he had no choice but to ask it.

"What would you do?"

Gaius hesitated for a minute. Not because he was worried about how Merlin would take his response, but because not even Gaius was sure yet just how far he would go if his nephew was taken by the law. And to be honest, he was scared to find out.

But he didn't tell Merlin that. Instead, he said, "You just need to make sure that it doesn't happen, for both of our sakes."

While not exactly the answer Merlin had been looking for, it was enough for him to let his questions go.

Merlin turned back to his book, relaxing his muscles as Gaius started rubbing his shoulders again, forcing the tension out of them. Seeing the chapter title about China patterns, Merlin was quick to flip through the pages. Although he did use his hands this time, as opposed to his magic.

The Do's and Dont's About Appropriate Conversation's'

Merlin's eye started to twitch as his eyes dropped down to the passage. As he read, he absentmindedly started twisting his wedding ring around his finger.

'The most important thing about any dinner conversation is to make a relaxing atmosphere. DO always compliment your contestant, especially about their skill for making it to the next stage of the tournament. DON'T bring attention to any slips or mishaps you may have noticed during the contestant's match.'

And that was just the first passage. Merlin felt almost positive that he wanted to kill himself in that moment. Or maybe just throw the book out of the window. The book didn't seem to be as difficult as Arthur had said it would be, but he was definitely feeling the mind numbing boredom.

Or maybe he just thought he was that stupid.

At that thought, Merlin started twisting his ring just a little bit faster. It was a nervous tick, a habit that he'd been developing more and more since he'd started wearing it.

Gaius seemed to realize Merlin's increasing agitation because he looked over the boy's shoulder. The first thing he saw was Merlin staring blankly at the book in front of him. As if he were reading it but not actually taking anything in. And that was when he noticed Merlin twisting the ring around his finger, faster and faster with each passing second.

Gaius hesitated, the ring had reminded him vividly of something he should have done days ago. As it had every day since Merlin first came back down here after the night he was married. He should have had this talk with Merlin that very moment, but he'd just kept putting it off.

It was just a very awkward topic of discussion. You would think Gaius would be used to it. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd had a discussion similar to this one. But it just seemed way to awkward considering the object of discussion now included his nephew.

Gaius opened his mouth to say something. But then he stopped and snapped his mouth shut. Maybe he should just-no, he wasn't going to put it off again. He'd done did it every day for a week and enough was enough.

Because what if Merlin was hurt and was just to embarrassed to say anything? Gaius had been watching for any signs that Merlin may be hurt but he hadn't seen any. That still didn't mean that he wasn't, just that he was good at hiding it.

And maybe that was what spurred him to finally get on with it. Because he didn't want Merlin to hide from him if he needed medical attention, or even just a simple pain relief.

"Merlin," Gaius started, trailing off as his voice died out.

"Hmmm?" Merlin asked, his unfocused eyes not leaving his book. But from the way his ears had perked up, it was obvious that he was paying attention.

Gaius rubbed at a painful knot on Merlin's shoulder blade, making him hiss. But Gaius paid the noise of discomfort no attention, "I just wanted to ask you something." He said, sounding unsure.

This was going to be a very embarrassing conversation for both of them. But it was also something that they needed to have, if only so Gaius could put it behind him.

"What is it?" Merlin asked, reading the next passage in his book.

'DO be generous with your contestants and make them feel right at home. DON'T show any favoritism towards any one contestant, lest you be accused of having rigged your own tournament.'

"Well," Gaius hesitated for one last moment before going ahead with it. "It's about Arthur." He finally said, before he could talk himself out of it.

Merlin didn't look up from DO make sure to spend an equal time among each contestant. DON'T waste your time by conversing on meaningless conversations.

Merlin stared blankly, trying to figure out what could be considered a 'meaningless topics.'

The next paragraph said, 'everything you say should have a meaning behind it. It should be spoken directly and with eye contact as to not lose the respect of your contestant.'

He was still confused when he finally answered his uncle, "Don't even get me started on Arthur again!" Merlin huffed and flipped to the next page, staring blankly at it. Maybe Arthur had been right on how utterly dull this book was. It literally felt like he was trudging through it.

Gaius cleared his throat, pressing harder onto Merlin's shoulders. "As much as I would love to hear all about the troubles you are having with Arthur...again," he said with an undertone of dry sarcasm. "There really is something that we should probably discuss."