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!

28. Chapter 28

Merlin didn't know what he found more disappointing about what George had just said. Maybe it was that favors were treated like mere trinkets among the noblewoman, passing them around to the most likely to win instead of who they actually liked.

Or maybe it was because Gwen had made it sound so much more serious than that, more intentional.

Maybe it was because peasants had the habit of romanticizing nobility and their traditions, even the ones they didn't understand. The common people were so close to nobility everyday and yet, they were never able to get close enough to touch.

From what it sounded like, these noblewomen were just playing games, and trying their luck with the best of the best. As if they couldn't care less about who it was that they were actually offering their favor to.

But Merlin supposed, in a way, he could relate. After all, wasn't that exactly what he had been planning on doing? Finding something that he could pass off as a favor and giving it to Arthur. He hadn't liked Arthur either, but he had still planned on giving him one. It was supposed to be like his version of extending an olive branch, and making his intentions clear in a way that Arthur wouldn't be able to misunderstand.

If only so he could look back on this later and say that he'd tried. And if he and Arthur still hated each other years down the road, he could confidently say that it was all the prince's fault.

But this was pretty much blown out of the window at Merlin's little realization.

He had a crush of Arthur.

He had a crush on Arthur fucking Pendragon, the Princeling Prat of Camelot, and next in line for the throne. Him? An ordinary peasant with extraordinary gifts, who had somehow found himself married to said prince of Camelot.

He had a crush on his husband.

No matter how many times he repeated it in his head, he was struggling to wrap his mind around it.

Wasn't this supposed to be a good thing? Wasn't it supposed to be more exhilarating than he was feeling right now? Wasn't he supposed to be happy that somehow, someway, he'd found himself starting to like the man that he was married to.

And maybe he had been feeling that exhilarating excitement of a first crush. Like right now, he could feel his stomach twisting into knots in a way that made him way to throw up. But at the same time, he knew that he wasn't going to.

This realization, it completely changed everything, while changing nothing at the same time. Excitement or not, it was ebbing away because of the growing dread forming in the pit of his stomach as well.

What if Arthur didn't feel the same way? What if Merlin was just working himself up over something that wasn't there? But then again, there was still that small doubt in the back of Merlin's mind that quietly whispered to him, what if he did?

He had to, right? With the way he'd pinned Merlin up against that table...people didn't just get that close to somebody they didn't like.

Merlin had to stop and bring his hand up to his lips, biting on his thumbnail, because this was more nerve wracking than anything else that had happened. Turning the thought over and over again in his head, he struggled with trying to understand it.

Maybe he didn't like Arthur at all...

Maybe the way his stomach was flopping around at the mere thought was just indigestion, maybe he had ate something that he wasn't supposed to. He'd been trying all of these new kinds of food since he'd entered the city, maybe he was just having a reaction to something.

Merlin lowered his hand from his mouth and down to his hip, brushing his thumb over his hipbone. It was the same place where Arthur had grabbed him, back when he had pushed Merlin into sitting on the edge of the table. Back when Merlin had tried to stand up when Arthur had been caging him against it.

Somehow, he didn't think that it was just indigestion. His hip wouldn't be burning with the phantom of Arthur's touch if it was. But then again, maybe it would be, what exactly did he know about indigestion? Hell, what did he know about having a crush? Or what to do now that he knew he had one.

Merlin hadn't exactly had a great dating history, or any dating history to be honest.

Merlin was forcibly dragged out of his thoughts by, "Although, if I may be so bold, I am happy to find that you want to give the prince your own favor." George had started talking again, his bland and professional smile plastered still on his face. As if he had no other emotion other than what his professionalism called for.

"Are you?" Merlin asked, his eyebrows creasing together. A fucking favor, he'd done almost forgotten about that again. He went from thinking about favors, to figuring out what he was supposed to do about his recent revelation. Was he supposed to flirt with Arthur now? Was a favor considered flirting? Was that how this was supposed to go? And what was he supposed to do afterwards?

One step at a time, he had to calm his breathing, he didn't even know if Arthur would accept his favor. But at least he still had a little more time, knowing that nobody else would be passing out favors in the first round.

"Of course." George answered him, but it sounded more as if he was placating his master than actually talking to a friend, which wasn't what Merlin wanted at all. "It will be a nice change of pace."

Merlin stared at him blankly, his mind that had been whirling around in different directions about what he was supposed to do with Arthur, finally went dead still. "A change of pace? Why?"

That was when George's professional mask seemed to crack, just a bit. It was the way his eyebrows had come together just slightly, before George realized what he was doing. Then it was gone as soon as it had come. But it had been there just long enough for Merlin to see.

"Forgive me, Sir Merlin." George said. "I meant no offense, I was just commenting that it isn't often that a man is seen giving another man a favor..." he trailed off, seeming to realize he had said something wrong. "Oh, forgive me again! I truly did not mean to cause you any offense..."

Merlin held up a hand, but only because that seemed to be the only way to get George to shut up. And true enough, the manservant's mouth snapped shut with a firm click of teeth against teeth.

"I'm not offended," Merlin said bluntly, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Guys being with other guys...it's not common around here, is it?"

It hadn't been something he'd noticed at first, not really. It hadn't even been something that he'd been concerned with at first. And to be honest, he still wasn't all that concerned with it. Merlin knew what he liked, and what he wanted in a partner. He may not know specifics, but he did know it had to be a man, and god forbid if he somehow found what he wanted in Arthur.

Although he was having trouble connecting what he wanted in a partner with what Arthur was.

Camelot just seemed a lot more...conservative, was that the word he was looking for? Then he was used to back home. Thinking about it now, he didn't think that he could remember seeing another male couple. Every couple he'd seen since entering the city had been a man and a woman.

But with Morris saying that Arthur didn't like guys not long after they met. And then Arthur had confirmed that at their wedding dinner (but hopefully the prat just hadn't thought of it before). And it was more obvious than ever that Uther didn't agree with it, just as he and Morgana had discussed during one of their lunches.

He didn't know if it was just his village, or his kingdom as a whole, but things were different in Ealdor. Nobody really cared who was dating who, as long as they managed to get their chores done in time to help with the harvest. So Merlin had always been opened about his interest in men, he'd never once had someone disgusted or annoyed by it.

George was looking at him worried now, as if he thought he was going to get in trouble for discussing this.

"George," Merlin said firmly, bringing his hand down to rest at his side. "I want you to tell me. It's not common around here, is it?" If he was going to be living here, then these were the kind of things he needed to know.

"...No..." George admitted, in an almost breathless voice.

Merlin wasn't sure what he was feeling now. Maybe it was because he was feeling to much, or maybe it was because he wasn't feeling as much as he thought he should. Maybe there was a touch of disappointment there, a soft pant in his chest that was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"So tell me," Merlin said softly, half talking to himself. "If it's not common, then why did the king marry me off to his son?" It was the contact of course, everything always seemed to be tied in to that stupid contract. But if all Arthur and he had to do was marry, then they could have done that in secret. They could still be married, only nobody had to know that they were.

George looked horrified by this, shocked by Merlin questioning their king. But at Merlin's prompting look, he started to talk again. "It is...unclear to many of us, Sir Merlin. It's why everyone was so surprised at your wedding. You being a boy was more surprising than you being a commoner." And then he bit his lip, acting as if he might have said to much and this would be the moment that Merlin *gasp* reprimanded him.

Merlin just nodded, his eyes looking unfocused as he stared ahead. "So, I wouldn't find others around here? Like me I mean, married to another man?"

"No, you wouldn't." George agreed, voice soft and quiet.

Wasn't it bad enough that Merlin was a sorcerer living in a city where it would mean his death if it was found out. But now he found that he was even more of an outsider than he thought, because he was actually relieved that he'd at least been married off to a man.

It was such a strong contrast compared to the way that his mother had raised him, where it didn't matter who he liked, as long as he was happy.

George started talking again. "I mean, nobody's going to say anything about it to you. You are the prince's consort, after all. But you're not going to find a noble as opened about it as you have been." Arthur pressing Merlin against the table in broad daylight was brought to mind. "Even if somebody feels those things towards their own gender...it's usually kept behind closed doors. And they do often go on to marrying someone of the opposite gender and having a family with them. It's...just how Camelot is."

Merlin wrinkled his nose in distaste at that, as if this being Camelot was the perfect excuse to make it okay for people to marry off with someone they weren't attracted to, just because that was the way things were around here.

How was it possible that a city as grand as Camelot, with so many different people, had such a backwards way of thinking? Especially when compared to the small farming village, with its limited people, that he'd grown up in.

"I mean," George started talking again, almost sounding like Merlin as he started to ramble. "Most people usually just don't talk about it, even if it is common knowledge that you like your own gender. Some people don't try to hide it as much as others would. Like that knight that always hangs out with the prince, Markus? I know that he likes both genders, and I'm pretty sure that knight Derrick only has an interest in other guys. But nobody's going to say anything to them, because their knights. There are a lot of people that are opened about it if they like their own gender, but at the same time, they're not likely to marry each other either. But a lot more people will keep it hushed as well, mainly because they believe it will shame their families..."

He stopped at the sight of Merlin's face. The consort's face had gone a shade paler, looking at George with a slack jaw expression.

Shame their families? People could be shamed for being with their own gender like that? Was it...had his mother ever felt shamed for having a gay son? And Merlin was ashamed to realized that he'd never thought to ask this before.

And was Arthur ashamed? Of having a male consort? He obviously hadn't been happy about it, but did he feel shame? That did not bode well for Merlin's crush.

"Sir Merlin?" George asked, the concern in his voice forcing Merlin back into focus.

"George." Merlin said. "If people are so afraid to shame their families, then why did the king marry Arthur and I so publicly? Wouldn't it have been better done in secret, if only so the word about it wouldn't spread?" Even if the king was obligated to have him and Arthur married, that didn't mean that it couldn't have been done in secret.

George looked absolutely scandalous at the thought. "A marriage in secret?!" He exclaimed, actually raising his voice so much that it startled Merlin. "Absolutely not! Arthur is the prince of Camelot! His wedding was probably the biggest thing to happen in our generation, it's almost just as big as the day he will be crowned king. His wedding would never be something to keep secret, it's atrocious to even think that it could be kept a secret anyway!"

Merlin frowned, "What do you mean? Do you think that it couldn't have been kept a secret?" It wasn't always as hard as some people could make it out to be, keeping a secret. Look at him. He was always saying things without thinking it through, and always getting himself into trouble because of it. But somehow, he made it nineteen years without what he was being discovered. What was one more secret compared to what he already had?

George frowned, lowering his voice to a more respectful level. "I'm just saying, Sir Merlin, that it would be to big to keep a secret. Plus, there would be records that would have to be put in place to make it legal in the eyes of the court. Heaven forbid me from speaking on behalf of the king, but not even as powerful as he is, would he want it to be discovered that he had kept his son's marriage a secret. And thank god he didn't." He finished off with a heavy sigh, and flashing a placating smile at Merlin.

But Merlin wasn't placated in the least, it had just brought another question to his attention. "What do you mean? Why is it a good thing that he didn't keep it a secret?" With all of the information that he was taking in, about Camelot's stance towards those with a different orientation than 'the norm', then you would have thought Uther would have tried to find a better way of hiding it.

"Well, because people would start thinking that something was wrong with you." George said, as if it were obvious and Merlin should have known that. "If you're so awful that the king tried to hide your marriage, than you would probably be having an even tougher time being a consort. Nobody would respect you-"

Merlin interrupted with a snort, "People respect me?" He asked dryly, a sarcastic grin playing at his lips. Because if people were respecting him, then he really didn't see it.

George seemed to grow worry, "Well, I can't speak for the noble population. But I do know that many of the servants are thinking the world of you." Morris' name went unspoken between them as one of the few that didn't respect Merlin. "I do know that the kitchen girl, Mary. She seems to love having you around. She says that Camelot feel's different now that you're here."

Merlin scoffed, wondering what that was supposed to be about. "Camelot feels...different?" He asked.

George seemed to blush then, almost embarrassed by repeating what the maid had told him in confidence. "She...she seems to think something is going to change. She claims to have felt a shift in the air, since the day you married our prince."

Merlin stared at George with a baffled expression. "A shift in the air? Because of me...? I think she's got her wires crossed."

"She's just overexcited." George said, as if he was making excuses for the maid, as if he was trying to make sure that Merlin wouldn't be cross with her. "Nobody, and forgive me Sir Merlin, but nobody expected for a commoner to sit so close to the throne."

Merlin shook his head, "So I've been told." He said dryly. He wasn't sure what Mary was expecting from him, or if the other servants had also expressed the same thought, but he wasn't anything special just because he was married to a prince.

"Forgive me, Sir Merlin." George bowed deeply. "We started talking about favors, and then somehow delved into a much deeper conversation than I'm sure you wanted to hear before your first tournam-"

"The tournament!" Merlin interrupted, jolting up against the wall that he had started leaning against. He'd been so caught up in his conversation with George, that he had almost forgotten about the tournament completely. And now that it was mentioned, Merlin realized that he could no longer hear the sounds of people going into the stadium, they had all long since disappeared inside somewhere inside.

Merlin didn't have time to worry about if his crush on Arthur would be recuperated. He didn't have time to think about how backwards Camelot could be, that some people were willing to hide their attraction to the same gender when he'd never had to do that in Ealdor. He didn't have time to think about Uther and his marriage or anything else. He didn't haven't time to think about Mary and whatever 'shift in the air' she was going on about. He didn't have time to think about giving Arthur a favor he didn't even have.

He didn't have time for anything.

While he and George had been out here talking, everybody else had disappeared into the stadium to find their seats. And who knows if the tournament had already started or not. He did not spend all of that time getting Arthur dressed, only to not watch him in the fight.

Without another word to George, Merlin hurried around the corner of the building they'd been huddled again. And then he was rushing up the long, stone walkway that led up to the coliseum where the tournament was being held. George was practically attached to his ankles with how close he was following.

It was only as they got down the cobblestone path, did Merlin's race down the stones trail off to a light jog, until he wasn't running at all. He stood just outside the large opening in the wall, his jaw loose and his eyes wide, looking up with pure amazement in his eyes.

Merlin let out a low whistle, "Damn, they really go all out for these tournaments." He said, because the building was absolutely humongous. Probably wider than the castle itself was, although the castle also had way more floors than the one floor stadium had so he supposed it balanced itself out in a way.

"And you haven't even seen the inside yet, Sir Merlin." George said happily, as if he was pleased that Merlin was impressed with the state of their stadium.

"Inside...right, I suppose we should go in. We wouldn't want to miss Arthur trying to show off for a crowd this big." Merlin said dryly, and he felt his muscles relaxing some. Okay, so he had a crush on Arthur, big deal. As Merlin had just come to realize, having a crush on Arthur didn't mean it had to change things. He could still insult Arthur just as he'd been doing before he had his realization.

That had been his biggest concern as he'd rolled over the idea of having a crush on Arthur. That he would now start singing the prince his praises, especially when he didn't deserve it. That he would start thinking the sun rose and fell because of Arthur, and every thought he had would make him think that the prince was the most amazing guy on the planet.

But no. He still thought the prat was insufferable, and irritatingly annoying, and just as arse over all...so why did he have a crush on him again?

"Yes, Sir Merlin, we will not want to miss the prince's fight. I am ashamed to say that I am unaware of when his fight is scheduled to be. If you would like, I could find out and we can come back at the appropriate time, if you do not wish to see the other matches." George offered.

Merlin looked over his shoulder at George, giving the other boy an 'what the fuck are you talking about' look. "I'm not here to see Arthur!" He exclaimed, face scrunching at the thought that he would only be here because the prince was. Arthur didn't have to be here at all, Merlin would have still wanted to come. "I'm here to watch my first ever tournament, that just happens to have my husband participating in it."

Merlin found it strangely easy to say 'husband'. Maybe he was starting to get used to the idea that he was actually married. Or maybe this strange 'crush' or whatever you wanted to call it, was affecting his mind more than he realized.

"Oh, of course, Sir Merlin." George said, bowing his head.

And then the two boy's were heading inside the grand opening of the building. Merlin found himself standing in a long hallway the stretched down on either side of the building, before disappearing around the rounded corners. The sorcerer looked back and forth down each hallway, but they were completely bare and empty. Everybody had long since entered the stadium itself, and was probably taking their places in the bleachers right now.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Merlin asked, completely lost. There was no signs or anything that told you what led to where. Should he just pick a direction and hope he came out at the bleachers? It wouldn't be the first time he just picked a direction and started walking, but that usually didn't bode well for him in the long run. He usually ended up somewhere he was definitely not supposed to be.

"It's this way, Sir Merlin." George said helpfully, pointing down the left hallway. "That will take us to the bleachers. The other hallway would lead us to where the competitors are waiting for their match to be called."

Merlin looked down the right hallway with a curious expression. So that was where Arthur had gone, and where he was waiting for his own fight. A little grin played on his lips, because he could just imagine how nervous Arthur must be. The prat hadn't fooled him one bit, when he'd claimed he wasn't nervous about his match. It was the only explanation Merlin could think of for why he was so jumpy when he'd been trying to dress him.

It was almost a nice thought, knowing that there was something that the prat could actually get nervous about. It was almost strange, how excited he got by learning that Arthur didn't spend every waking hour being an arrogant arse.

"Alright then, let's go and hope we didn't miss anything." Merlin said, turning his back to the right hallway. It was so tempting to go that way just so he could find Arthur and tease him a little before he went out there. But he didn't, and that was only because he was more eager to watch the tournament as a whole, than he was just to mess with Arthur.

He could always do that later, anyway.

Merlin and George walked down the long hallway going down the left way for several minutes, trying to find where the entrance to the bleachers were. "Are you sure we're going the right way, George?" Merlin asked, complaining only after he figured out that they had been walking for longer than he thought they should have been. Shouldn't they have come out at the bleachers by now?

"Yes, Sir Merlin. It will be straight ahead." George said helpfully.

"Straight ahead, my arse." Merlin grumbled under his breath, but he kept walking with an almost eager step to him. He was excited, and there was an almost giddy air that had returned to him. He was really going to see his first tournament, and he could finally see if all of this hype about Arthur and his skills with a sword held any truth to it.

Merlin and George had just gone around the rounded corner of the stadium when the consort slammed into somebody. The boy reeled back startled, bringing up his hand to clutch at his nose that had gotten the most damage. He would have fallen back as well, had George not been standing right behind him, and the manservant put his hands on his back to steady him.

"Sir Mer-" George was already starting to speak, in an almost frantic tone, wondering if he would have to find his master's uncle to assess the damage to Sir Merlin's nose.

But he was interrupted when a firm hand reached out and grabbed Merlin by the front of his shirt. The dark haired boy had been prodding at his nose, trying to access the damage for himself with his run-in with the cold metal plates of an armor. It ached, but he doubted that it would have even bruised. But his hand dropped from his nose in an instant, and he let out a startled yell, when he was jerked forward. Merlin brought his hands up, clutching them around the fist that was bunching up so much of his shirt, that he could feel the stale air from inside the stadium hallway brushing against his lower stomach.

And Merlin raised his eyes to meet with the startling cold eyes of a knight. "You did not just run into me, boy." The cold knight said, his eyes darkening at the sight of what he assumed to be was nothing more than a normal servant boy.

"Aren't you overreacting to a simple accident, that was your fault as much as it was mine?" Merlin said as he narrowed his eyes, trying to jerk himself free, but the knight's grip on his shirt wasn't budging. But Merlin was pretty sure that all this did was make the knight tighten his grip.

"Let go of him at once, sir!" George was shouting somewhere behind him, but there wasn't much that the manservant would be able to do against a knight.

The knight shifted to give George a glare just as cold as the one he had given Merlin. "Go and dispose of yourself. I need to teach your friend here how to respect his betters, and to step aside when a knight is walking through."

George almost blustered with outrage that a strange knight not even from the inner city, thought he was in anyway better, than the consort of a prince.

Merlin just snorted, bringing the attention back to himself. "My betters? I hope you don't mean yourself." And here he was, thinking that Arthur was the only arrogant knight he would ever have to be around.

The cold knight let out a dark snarl, and his hand in Merlin's shirt tightened even harsher than before, making the consort sputter for a minute when the neckline tightened around his throat. "Do you not know who you are talking to, boy?" He demanded. "One word to the king about how you have insulted one of his visiting knights, and you will be on the chopping block." And the knight's vile lips turned into a twisted grin, as if he would have enjoyed nothing more than to see Merlin being forced by armed guards to his own execution.

"Cho-chopping block!" George blistered. "Sir, you are out of line! Do you not realize who you are tal-"

Merlin let one hand go of the knight's fist around his shirt before he held it out to stop George from talking, nearly hitting the manservant in the face because he couldn't see in the awkward position that he was in. And then George's mouth was snapping close with a clink of teeth, at his master's command.

"Is there a reason," Merlin said slowly, his voice nearly drawing out. "That you are so pissed because of an accident? I mean, unless there's something wrong with your armor and you think somebody as thin as I am could have damaged it."

The knight shook Merlin roughly by his shirt, making his head bob back and forth from the harsh movements as if he were a ragdoll. "Tread carefully boy." The knight growled. "If there is even a hint of a scratch on my armor, I will have you before the king in a heartbeat to pay for it. And trust me," he gave a disdainful look at the peasant boy clothing that Merlin favored. "My armor is richer than you could ever afford."

"I should go get somebody! Yes, I will retrieve the prin-" George started frantically, taking a step back. As much as he hated to leave his master, he knew there wasn't much that he could do. But he could go and get help, he could go and get the prince before this ended up badly.

"No." Merlin's voice interrupted him before he could finish. "No, I'm fine." As if he wanted to hear what comments Arthur would make if he knew about the position Merlin had found himself in. He could get out of this himself.

George looked at his master with nervous eyes, wringing his hands together anxiously but unable to disobey his master's command.

"You heard him, he's fine." The knight sneered down at George. "Now run along, I'm sure you have chores that need to be done. Your friend will join you when I'm done with him."

And then the knight was all but dismissing George, and had returned his glare to Merlin. Only George didn't leave, because his master hadn't instructed him to.

Scowling, Merlin looked down at the hand clutching his shirt, before he was glaring back up at the knight. "You do not want to do this." He said darkly. The knight may think that he had the upper hand, but Merlin knew that his magic move far quicker than the knight could to remove his sword from his scabbard.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" The knight asked, scowling as he tightened up his grip in Merlin's shirt, the shirt being forced up because of it to reveal more of his stomach.

And just like that, the power Merlin felt he had over this situation seemed to pop. Because no, he couldn't use his magic to get out of this. This wasn't like his fight with Arthur in the marketplace, where there were so many odds and ends that he could get away with moving something a few inches over. This was nothing but an empty hallway around them, leaving Merlin with nothing he could use to magick his way out of this...

This was...this was something new entirely.

"Well boy, I'm waiting. What exactly are you going to do about this?" The knight said, jerking Merlin closer by his shirt, and his face scrunched up in disgust at the stank of the knight's breath.

Merlin's eyes darted this way and that way, his mind running a mile a minute as he tried to figure out how to get out of this situation. But all he could hear was George sniffling somewhere behind him...Merlin let out a loud sneeze.

"Ugh!" The knight exclaimed, jerking his hand away from Merlin and stepping back. As if he somehow thought that the other boy was carrying a deadly disease. "You did not just-"

The knight was interrupted when Merlin sneezed again. Only this time, it was a much harder and louder one. The kind that made him bend over at the waist, his arm coming up to cover at his nose, his body shaking from the sudden force of it.

And then the knight's pants were falling down around his ankles, and luckily, his tunic was long enough to cover himself.

"What in the world!" The knight exclaimed, looking down at his own leggings with a dumbstruck expression, as if they'd somehow betrayed him.

Still hunched over, Merlin's eyes shifted from their molted gold color and back to their natural blue state. And then a wry smirk spread across his lips as he straightened up. "Oh, what a shame. You really must tie your pants better. Can you imagine if something like that happened during your fight? I hope that you can get that fixed up."

And then he was grabbing George, who had his mouth gaping wide open and looking horror struck at the pants around the knight's ankles, by the wrist. Then he was dragging George away, practically hurrying down the hallway.

"Get back here you little-!" But the knight's shout died down before he could finish.

Running away, Merlin looked over his shoulder back at the knight. The knight was bent over, and thank god his tunic was also long enough in the back to cover himself, and was trying to get his pants back up. The last thing Merlin saw before he and George rounded another corner, was the shield the knight had strapped to his back.

A big and bright yellow one, with three snakes all tangled around each other.

X

"What on earth just happened?" George asked, gasping for breath. His chest was heaving up and down, looking at Merlin with eyes wide.

Merlin was in the same state, breathing just as hard and as rough as George was. His heart practically hurt with how hard it was pounding away in his chest. He and George had slowed down to a walk after they'd rounded another corner, pretty sure that the knight hadn't followed them if he hadn't already shown up.

"W-what do you mean?" Merlin asked weakly, his voice coming out roughly. "His pants fell down, it was a pretty lucky break if I do say so myself."

George looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing together with confusion. "I guess..." He said, but he sounded uncertain about it. "It just seems...off...that his pants would fall down at that exact moment."

Merlin, walking ahead, fell himself freeze in mid-stop. And for a second, he could have sworn that his heart had frozen as well. But that must have just been his own imagination, because a second later, it had returned to it's frantic pace.

"I-there was nothing off about it. I guess he just doesn't know how to tie his own pants." Merlin said, with a little dismissive laugh. "I mean, nobles, am I right? They really do need to learn how to dress themselves properly..." oh god, had George seen what he'd done? Had he'd seen the flash of gold that Merlin's eyes had turned? Did he suspect something? Did he know that Merlin was something illegal, something that was wrong in the eyes of the law.

George frowned, "But that's the thing, isn't it? He's a noble! He should have a manservant who did it for him, and no self-respecting manservant would ever tie it so loose that they would just fall like that."

With his back to George as they stopped walking, and the darkness of the hallway they were in seemed to grow even darker around them, Merlin took a deep and heavy breath. If only to soothe himself from the panic coursing through his veins. And then, before he could think more on what he was doing, Merlin was whipping around to face George, who jumped startled by Merlin's sudden

movement.

Smiling, Merlin reached out and patted George on the shoulder, trying to ignore the numbness spreading out through his fingers. He had to keep reminding himself that there was no way that George had seen, no matter how close it had been. Since George wasn't currently screaming for the guards and running for his life, Merlin had to assume that meant that he was in the clear...this time.

"You're just thinking way to much about this." Merlin said, with a smile that looked a little more nervous than he wanted it to. "So his pants fell down, big deal. He should just be happy that it didn't happen when he was fighting his match..."

Now wasn't that an idea, but Merlin shook it away as fast as it had come. No, after having just done it, he couldn't risk doing it again so publicly. Once was a coincidence, but having it happen again so soon might be the thing that connected the dots for George

Speaking of George, the manservant was still looking at him with a worried frown. "I...suppose that's true." He said, sounding uncertain. But his shoulders started to sag under the firm weight of Merlin's hand. And then George was talking again, fast and hurried. "We should still report him! Tell the king about his deplorable behavior. A knight should never behave in such a manner."

Merlin though, didn't think that was a good idea at all. "No!" He said quickly, startling George. Merlin didn't know how much exactly the king knew about magic, but he wasn't going to risk Uther somehow being able to put the pieces together. Sure, Merlin had somehow managed to get the king to believe him the first time they met, when the king had asked if he had magic, but he also wasn't interested in tempting fate.

At George's baffled expression, Merlin gave him a weak little smile, "We shouldn't worry the king about something so trivial...especially when he's so busy hosting this tournament."

George frowned, not liking this response at all. "But you're his son's consort, surely he'll want to know how one of his visiting knights treated you."

"Treated me?" Merlin gave a little laugh, a wry grin appearing on his lips. "All he did was jerk me around by my shirt. The king has bigger things to worry about, especially since his own son did worse on our first meeting."

Like trying to have Merlin thrown in the dungeons, and him ending up in the stocks instead.

That reminder brought up the question...why did he have a crush on the prat again? And that was only if he really did have a crush on the jerk. He still wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't just indigestion.

George looked absolutely scandalous by his remark. "But Sir Merlin! Shouldn't we at least tell the prince! He would want to know that one of his competitors was being so uncouth towards you..."

"No!" Merlin said, just as quick as he had before when George had been trying to convince him to tell Uther. When George's baffled expression returned, Merlin cleared his throat. "I just mean...Arthur's about to get his match started. He needs to focus more on that than on me..."

Merlin was even less sure what Arthur's stance on magic was, or even if he knew anything about it at all. But just like Uther, he wasn't willing to take that chance. He could admit that he might...somewhat...be feeling-something-towards Arthur, but he wasn't stupid enough to trust that Arthur wouldn't have him on the pyre faster than he could blink.

George started to play with his fingers, looking more and more worried the longer their conversation went on. "But Sir Merlin, what if that knight comes back and does something worse!"

Merlin stepped over so that he was standing beside George. And then he was wrapping an arm around the manservant's shoulder, giving him a half-hearted side hug as they started walking again. "Then I'll deal with it. But really, you worry far to much. Besides, I doubt I'll ever run into that knight again. With so many competitors roaming around, what are the odds..."

"...If you're certain, Sir Merlin." George agreed, his tone soft and quiet.

X

Merlin heard the sounds of the people long before he saw the doorway, and it only got louder the closer they got to the entrance. The hallway they had been going down was completely cast over in shadows, and the darkness only seemed to grow the further in they went. But now, further down the end of the hallway, Merlin could see the shadows being split apart by the sunlight that was streaming in through the opening.

The sudden brightness was so startling, that Merlin had to raise his hand to shield his face as they finally walked through the large entranceway. Everything was the loudest right here, and his ears almost rung from the sharp contrast.

The hallways had been so quiet, eerily so, and all they could have heard was their breathing and the sounds of their boots. And now they were outside, and the bleachers were obviously overpopulated, everyone trying to squeeze into whatever empty seat they could find.

"I believe that we made it on time, Sir Merlin." George commented. The tournament had yet to start, and people were still making themselves at home in the bleachers.

"Great!" Merlin exclaimed, and with a relieved sigh he lowered his hand from his face. He had to blink several times for his eyes to adjust to the sudden sunlight. And when the light was no longer so bright that it was blinding, Merlin felt as if his breath caught in his throat at the sight that greeted him.

Somehow, while they had been walking through the hallway, it had steadily been leading them upwards. Kind of like a hill that was so subtle, Merlin hadn't even realized they'd been moving upwards. It would certainly explain why they had such a long hallway to get here. But now that they were outside, Merlin could see that they were now standing at the top of the stadium.

Just ahead of them was a long staircase that led down. On either side of the stairs were long rows full of bleachers .The rounded tournament stadium probably had dozens and dozens of bleachers, all neatly placed to face the tournament field in the center.

And the people...there were probably hundreds and hundreds of people filling up the stadium and leaving no room for anybody else. Both peasants and nobility alike were spread out among the crowd, in their own little clusters and group. But whichever cluster of people you saw, it didn't matter. They were all laughing and talking just the same, among themselves, waiting for the tournament itself to start.

"Should we find a seat, Sir Merlin?" George asked, not looking nearly as amazed as Merlin did. But Merlin just supposed that meant that George had seen his fair share of tournaments already.

"Uh, actually George," Merlin started, still looking distracted at the empty field in the center of the stadium. And he could feel a spark of excitement shoot through him so suddenly that he stopped mid-sentence. It actually took him a minute to remember that he had been talking, and he snapped back into focus. Clearing his voice, he turned to the manservant and said said, "Why don't you take a break, George."

George frowned, looking baffled by this. "A...break, Sir Merlin?" He asked, looking as if he'd never even heard of the concept before. What were with the people in this city? It reminded him of Arthur, who hadn't wanted to take a break at all when he and Merlin had been training. And now George was doing the same thing, acting as if he didn't know what a break was.

And sure, Merlin hadn't been able to take many of them back home, when everybody was to concerned about the harvest to do much else. But he had still taken advantage of what little time he managed to squeeze out of the day.

"Yeah," Merlin said. "I can take care of my own stuff for a few hours, I have been doing it all my life." He said pointedly, still not seeing why he needed a manservant in the first place. "So why don't you go find some friends to watch with. I'm sure it'll be a lot more fun than just following me around."

George seemed to relax, looking relieved as if a thought had occurred to him. "Oh, Sir Merlin, if that's what you're concerned about then you don't need to worry." Merlin was now looking at him with a confused expression, so George elaborated. "I find it more than pleasing to be there for whenever you have need of me."

Merlin's eye started to twitch, "George..." he said, slowly. "You should go have a break for the tournament." Because at this point, he just needed a break. George had done nothing but follow him around all day long, and now he just needed some space without the manservant lapping at his heels.

Besides, he really needed to step back from George, before he saw something that Merlin couldn't just explain away or dismiss.

George finally seemed to understand where Merlin was coming from. "Oh, of course. As you wish, Sir Merlin." The manservant quickly bowed. "I will be close by though, if you have need of me."

Merlin smiled, but only until George started walking down the stairs to find himself a seat among the people in the bleachers. And then his smile was dropping into a frown, and he let out a sigh of relief. He found it so much easier to breath now, since he no longer had George practically stalking him.

Now that he was alone, or as alone as one could be when standing in a crowd of hundreds, Merlin started to grin. He could feel the giddiness that he had been feeling earlier resurface as his excitement built up.

His head went this way and that way, trying to take in everything he could about what was happening. From the chittering crowd, and to the empty field, and everything else in between.

This tournament must have really been a big deal for Camelot, because it was so overcrowded. It looked as if not one person had dared to miss the festivities. There was so many people, that Merlin couldn't recognize anyone the further down the stairs he went. Sure, he saw a familiar face here and there, but nobody that he actually knew.

Although, those two knights standing off to the side of the stairs were looking very familiar. So familiar in fact, that Merlin had to stop in mid-step right behind them. But no matter how hard he stared at their backs, he just couldn't think of where he had seen them before.

It was only as one of the guards turned to the other to say something, did Merlin see the side of his face. And it hit him like a bulldozer, who these two knights were.

It hadn't even been two weeks since the last time he saw them, but it seemed as if it was so much longer. Had it really been less than two weeks since his entire world had shifted, less than two weeks since he'd first arrived in this strange new city?

Merlin saw it as it was happening, when the knight that was talking seemed to realize that somebody was watching them. And when that knight started to turn his head in Merlin's direction, the dark haired boy acted quickly.

Merlin practically dove sideways into one of the many rows of bleachers, all but scrambling over the laps of several people who yelped and cried out as he stepped all over their toes. "Sorry, sorry, excuse me...sorry." He kept saying as he tripped and stumbled, using people as leverage whenever he fell over, which was often.

The knight frowned, looking confused when he saw nobody standing there. "Hey, what are you looking at?" His friend asked, frowning when he was cut off mid-sentence when he noticed the other knight was no longer listening.

"Hmmm?" The first knight asked with a frown, still looking behind them. Then he seemed to realize the second knight was talking to him and snapped back to attention. "Oh it's nothing, I just...I could have sworn there was somebody there a minute ago."

The second knight frowned at the first, before looking in the same direction as the first. But by the time he did, whoever it was had long since disappeared. The knight scoffed before turning back to the first. "You're imagining things."

The first knight scowled, "No, I'm not! I know what I saw! Just give me a minute and I'll be able to tell you exactly who it was. He definitely looked familiar..." the knight brought a hand up to rub at his chin. "It's on the tip of my tongue..."

The second knight scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Whatever." He grumbled, turning back to his duty. He and the first knight were supposed to be on crowd control for this section of the stadium, just in case some of these peasants got a little to excited during the tournament and something happened.

He knew peasants, always so excitable over every little thing, it was embarrassing.

X

"Sorry, my bad, my fault entirely." Merlin apologized for what felt like the millionth time, stumbling out of the bleachers and into the staircase on the other side. The young mother that had been sitting on the end of the row, gave him a death glare, before dragging her little girl closer into her side. As if she thought Merlin was going to go back and try to force his way through that row again.

Merlin smiled sheepishly, "Really, sorry." He looked away from the agitated mother and back down the way he'd come, trying to see to the other side. But there was just so many people, and some were standing up, so it was nearly impossible to see if the knights were still there.

Seeing that the mother was still glaring at him, Merlin gave up on his search for the knights and headed back down this new set of stairs. He honestly hadn't been expecting to run into them again, the two knights that had chased him through the marketplace when Merlin had interrupted their conversation on the bridge. Now that he thought about it, he realized that them chasing him was what had led him back into the cobblestone courtyard that day.

The place where he had met Arthur for the first time.

He was pretty sure he wanted to curse those knights out right now, because Merlin was definitely not impressed with how the first meeting with his future husband had gone. There were a dozen of different ways the two of them could have met that would have been more preferable, if it wasn't for those two knights chasing him into the courtyard.

Merlin had almost made it to the bottom of the staircase when a firm hand clapped itself down onto his shoulder. He stopped, almost frozen, absolutely positive that those knights had returned and finally found him to finish whatever they were planning to do when they had been chasing him.

Merlin let out a nervous laugh, "Uh, hey guys, fancy seeing you here..." but when he turned around, it was definitely not one of those other two knights. This was an entirely different knight, who stared down his nose at Merlin. The knight was standing on the stair above him, making him taller than the dark haired boy was. And he was raising an eyebrow at Merlin, clearly taken aback by what he had been about to say.

"Oh, uh, never mind." Merlin said quickly, flashing an innocent smile, while taking a step backwards, and nearly fell in the process when the toe of his boot slid straight off the stair he was trying to step down onto. But he luckily caught himself on the next stair, before he could fall down what remained of the staircase. Acting as if he hadn't just made a fool of himself yet again, Merlin laughed awkwardly, still trying to make his escape. "I do need to be going. I have...things to do, and people to see, and a tournament to watch..." the knight just kept staring at him with a raised eyebrow, until Merlin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, well...this has been fun and all...bye!"

Merlin turned around, trying to make his escape again while he still could. He'd barely made it another step down before the knight clapped a hand down on his shoulder again.

"Consort Merlin." The knight said in a rumbling sort of voice. It wasn't a question, the knight knew exactly who he was, and if it wasn't for the hand on his shoulder, Merlin probably would have kept walking.

If only because he forgot that some people had taken to calling him, 'Consort Merlin'. At least the few that had been brave enough to approach him at all.

"Err, yes?" He asked, turning back to look over his shoulder at the knight.

The knight didn't say anything for a moment. He walked down the stairs until he was standing on the same step that Merlin was. And Merlin was surprised to realize that the burly knight was actually a whole head shorter than he was.

The knight cleared his throat, "Consort Merlin." He grumbled, sounding way to formal than Merlin thought was warranted. "The Lady Morgana has requested your presence. She wishes for you to join her during the tournament proceedings."

Merlin felt himself relaxing when he heard the familiar name. "Morgana did?" Then he was grinning as his giddiness started to return. "Okay, yeah, sure!" He took another step backwards, landing at the foot of the staircase. "Do you know where she's sitting?" With this many people, it would probably be next to impossible for Merlin to actually find her himself. Not before the tournament started at least.

The knight followed him down the stairs, "I will guide you there, Consort Merlin. Now, if you would follow me." The middle aged man said, and then he was walking down the front walkway that was much wider than it was between bleachers, not even looking back to see if Merlin was following.

Merlin glanced around him, as if to see if anybody else had noticed the strange interaction he'd just had. But nobody even looked up from their conversation, and if they did, it was only to look out at the field.

"Um...okay..." but the man was already halfway down the walkway and in no way, would have been able to hear Merlin from that far away. So with quick steps, the dark haired boy hurried down the front walkway after the knight. And at least this time, he didn't have to walk all over a bunch of people to get from one spot to the next.

"So," Merlin said when he finally caught up to the knight and started trailing behind him. "...You're a knight, huh?" It sounded stupid even to his own ears, but following behind the knight without a word going between them, it just wasn't doing it for him.

The knight grunted at him, but that was all he did.

Merlin frowned, turning his head to look back out at the empty field. But then he turned back to the guard half a second later. "So, how long have you been a knight?" He asked, having to talk louder to be overheard because of the chattering crowd.

The knight grunted again, and Merlin almost thought he wasn't going to answer. And after a long minute passed by, he opened his mouth to ask something else. But before he could get more than two syllables out, the knight finally answers him with a grumbly, "Twelve years."

"Twelve years?" Merlin whistled. "That's pretty cool, that you've been doing this for so long. You must really like being one, huh?" The knight didn't answer him so Merlin kept on talking. "I'm just saying, I don't think I've ever done anything for twelve years, but then again, I'm only nineteen. Did you ever participate in these tournamen-"

"We're here." The knight interrupted, his tone quick and fast as he cut Merlin off. Almost as if he was thankful that they had finally arrived.

"Merlin! There you are!" Morgana exclaimed, with excitement etched into her features. The young Lady was sitting in the front row, waving at him when she saw him arriving.

"Morgana." Merlin said, grinning widely. Then he turned back to the knight, to thank him for showing him the way, but the knight had already taken this opportunity to escape. By the time Merlin had turned back, the knight was already halfway down the walkway. "Bye!" He called after him anyway. "Thanks again!" And then he was dropping heavily into his seat at Morgana's side. Turning to the Lady, he asked, "What was that about? He left pretty fast, didn't he?"

Morgana shook her head, "Don't worry about it." Before she turned back to Merlin. "Now," she said, rearranging the thick purple skirts around her legs. "Where have you been?"

A head poked around from Morgana's other side, "We thought you were going to miss it!" Gwen exclaimed, tugging her thin, red cloak tighter around her, to fight off the light chill in the air.

"Miss this?" Merlin asked with a cheeky grin. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!" And then he was taking in a large breath of the crisp air around him, and he took in the large field again. It was all just so exciting, and so new, it was unbelievable that he was really getting to experience all of this.

Morgana's ruby red lipstick covered mouth twisted upwards into a sly grin. "So, are you excited to see Arthur's match? I know that you have yet to see him in real combat."

"Real combat?" Merlin asked, turning back to her with a raised eyebrow. "I haven't seen many fights," unless you counted the stray bandit or two who'd stolen from their village over the years. It was never much of a fight, and they always lost more food than they could afford to. "But I'm pretty sure a tournament isn't the same."

Morgana waved a dismissive hand, "Oh, whatever. It's still a pretty intense fight. Some knights will definitely do whatever they can to win this." She had seen one to many tournaments so she could definitely afford to by somewhat cynical towards them. She only hoped that this one didn't end up in to much bloodshed, but she wasn't holding out to much hope.

"And they really don't care about what they have to do to win." Gwen pointed out, rearranging the skirt of her thin red, peasant dress. "More often than not, some people do get seriously hurt during this. It's why we have Gaius on standby, so hopefully nobody dies this year." She bit her lip worriedly. It wasn't every year, but it wasn't uncommon for there to be at least one death during a particularly frantic fight. Some knights will realize that they're losing, and start treating it as a real combat mission instead of the competition that it was.

"Really?" Merlin asked, his eyes round and large. "Has Arthur ever gotten hurt during one of these?" He asked the question without a single thought.

Gwen shook her head, "Maybe a few deep cuts and scrapes. He broke his arm the first year he was old enough to participate. But he's only gotten better since then."

Merlin nodded, turning back to the field with a curious expression. He wondered how much longer it would be before the tournament started, and Merlin could feel his leg start to bounce up and down the longer it took.

That was when Morgana reached out, and placed a firm hand on his knee to stop it from bouncing. Merlin turned back to face her as Morgana pulled away. She smiled at him teasingly, "Merlin, darling, I do find it interesting that the first thing you asked was about Arthur." Merlin could feel himself stiffening up slightly as Morgana kept talking. "I do hope that means you've been getting along better." And then she waited, as if expecting Merlin to give her some kind of juicy detail to entertain her with.

Merlin felt the heat start to work itself back up the back of his neck. This was the moment, where he should probably reveal that he had somehow found himself with a crush on his husband. But he didn't. It was bad enough that he'd admitted it to George, but that was more because of how absolutely shocking the news had startled him. But now that he had some time to calm down, he didn't think that he wanted to admit it. Not yet at least, not when he still wasn't sure how he could have possibly formed a crush on Arthur Bloody Pendragon, of all people.

Or if it even was a crush, and alright, maybe he had formed a touch of deniability on the subject. It had been bad enough when all he wanted was to see if Arthur and he could develop an actual relationship instead of whatever state they were in. But he had been thinking more of a partnership, or a friendship with the occasional kiss. He hadn't been expecting to form actual feelings for the man, not the kind of feelings that were making his heart pound at just the thought. And he had to tuck his hands under his legs, trying to hide that they were starting to feel a bit clammy.

"Yeah, uh," Merlin stuttered, smiling weaker than he would have liked, and really hoping that Morgana and Gwen wouldn't notice. "It couldn't be better between us..."

If you counted that Merlin still thought of Arthur as an insufferable prat...how did he still have a crush on him again?

"Really?" Morgana asked, her eyes wide with surprise. The last time she'd heard, Merlin had been complaining because Arthur had still been avoiding him. She hadn't realized that had changed yet, but it was about time. She had been prepared to drag Arthur by his ear all the way to Merlin, just so they could finally talk.

Merlin couldn't stop the snort from escaping him. "No, he absolutely sucks!" He admitted, scowling. How was it that he liked somebody who made him so frustrated as well? "He's finally stopped avoiding me, so you know, that's something."

Merlin kept going back and forth in his mind, truly being undecided about his feelings towards Arthur. One minute, he was convinced he liked the prat. But then he'd remind himself of how much of a prat Arthur was. Was having a crush supposed to feel like this? Did having a crush make his hands get all clammy like they were? Because the few brief crushes he'd had before, it had only made him feel excited when he saw the guy. But then again, none of the guys he'd liked in the past had ever been anything like Arthur.

But maybe clammy hands were a sign that he didn't he didn't have a crush, and maybe that just meant that he was blowing all of this out of proportion? Maybe he was just coming down with something...hopefully.

Merlin shook his head, turning back to Morgana. "He had me out this morning, training with a sword! He beat the crap out of me, I'm pretty sure I have bruises on top of bruises!"

And okay, maybe he was exaggerating a bit. He definitely had some bruises on his back that would feel sore if he leaned against something, but most of the aches and pains from this morning had already left him.

"Oh! And just now, I had to get him dressed in his armor! So if it does happen to fall off around him in mid-fight, that'd be my doing." He huffed heavily. He didn't care if he'd double checked everything. He didn't care if Morris had checked it himself and, grudgingly, agreed that it had been done properly. He was still convinced that it would fall off, that something would come unattached and Arthur would blame him if he lost because of it.

"So he really allowed you to do it?" Gwen asked, leaning around Morgana to talk to him better. "I wasn't sure if you'll convince him you could." She turned to Morgana. "Merlin showed up at my house this afternoon, he wanted me to teach him how to put the armor on." She stopped to shake her head, just happy that they hadn't actually been arrested. "Arthur's armor actually, after he stole it."

"Stole it!" Morgana exclaimed, head whipping around to look at Merlin startled. "You stole the royal armor?" That armor was probably the least likely item that she would have thought somebody would try to steal. The armor was probably worth far more than any armor ought to be, but it was usually well protected, as it was something that Arthur often used to protect himself with.

"I brought it back!" Merlin exclaimed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "So technically, I only borrowed it." He didn't care how many times he had to say it, he would always claim that he'd just been borrowing it.

"And what did Arthur say about your 'borrowing?'" Morgana asked with a raised eyebrow at him.

Merlin immediately flushed, staring straight ahead as he remembered what had happened. His heart pounded harshly in his ribcage, remembering how Arthur had pinned him so roughly against the table.

He should have pushed Arthur away, he should have shoved him and got in his face about holding him down like that. He probably would have if it had been anybody else. So what had made Arthur so special? Was it the dark way that he'd been looking at Merlin? The way he'd held him down and rearranged Merlin to his liking when he'd tried to stand up? Or maybe it was the voice he'd used when talking to Merlin.

Whatever it was, just the memory still sent shivers down his spine. He didn't know if it was from excitement, although was there something wrong with him if he got happy because somebody was holding him down? That was what the warmth in the pit of his stomach was, right? Maybe not happiness, but was excitement a better word? Or maybe it was fear, but he'd be damned if he admitted to anyone that he briefly feared Arthur. But fear didn't sound like the right word to use either.

All he knew was that it was a sensation that he'd never felt before, and he still wasn't to sure if he was eager to feel it again.

So he turned back to Morgana, hoping his emotions wasn't all over his face, as he said, "He absolutely loved it! He thought it was bloody brilliant, and said that I could take his armor whenever I wanted to."

Morgana and Gwen shared near identical looks of shock, staring at him with disbelief, as if they couldn't believe a word that he'd just said.

"Really?" Gwen asked, looking absolutely fascinated by that. She would have thought that Arthur would have been furious, and from what little she'd seen of them together, she didn't think Arthur would have held back if he was displeased about something. He never had before, and she somehow didn't think that his consort's presence would have changed that.

Merlin snorted, "No, not at all. He absolutely hated it, and maybe me as well for a minute there." There was no way on God's green earth was he ever going to mention the table. Not if his life depended on it, not if he was being tortured to get that kind of information out of him. He was perfectly content to just leave that in the past, where it should stay, and where it should never happen again...so why did his heart drop like a stone at the thought.

Maybe he really was just getting sick.

Morgana shook her head, letting her dark locks of thick hair flip over her shoulder, "Surely you exaggerate, Arthur did not hate you."

Merlin snorted, "Well he sure didn't look like he liked me either." Who pinned somebody up against a table if they liked them? Merlin may not know much about this crush stuff, but surely most people didn't pin their crush against a table. But then again, Arthur did seem to get awfully close to him a lot...ugh, all of this thinking about Arthur was giving him a migraine.

Why couldn't he had just stayed back in Ealdor? Then he wouldn't be feeling none of these conflicting emotions. He wouldn't be thinking so much about any of this if he'd never met Arthur Bloody Pendragon.

"But did you impress him?" Gwen asked. "I mean, surely he was flattered when he saw how hard you worked to learn how to get him into his armor."

Merlin snorted, "If that was flattered, then somebody needs to teach Arthur how to refine his technique on how to show it." Table aside, there were other moments as well. Like how Arthur had snapped at him to shut up, but Merlin was chalking that up to nerves, even if the prince claimed he didn't get nervous.

What a load of hogwash, Arthur was probably in the back room right now freaking out.

Gwen frowned at him, "Oh, I see." And she almost sounded disappointed on his behalf. But just as disappointed as she sounded, she was then firing questions off on him. "Did you clip the voiders together like I showed you? I know I didn't get to show you much on the rest, we didn't have the time, but they aren't that hard to figure out. And oh, you did remember to readjust the shoulder straps on the shoulder piece, didn't you? I can't imagine he'd be very comfortable with how they were left when we were done with them."

Merlin blinked dumbly, having to take a moment to process what she was saying, because of the sheer speed in which she said it in.

Morgana though, was looking at her maid astonished, her lips starting to curve into an amused grin. "Well, look at you." She said, swatting at Gwen's arm playfully. "I didn't realize you knew so much about armor."

Gwen felt herself flush some, because honestly, it wasn't often that armor came up in conversation. She was the maid to a lady, she'd never had to worry about armor before in her duties. "I uh," she stuttered, starting to play with the folds of her dress. "I suppose I do know some things...more than the other maids, at least." She admitted, feeling very subconscious about it. It wasn't often that she impressed somebody and it not be because of her skills as a handmaiden.

Morgana's grin curved wider, "Maybe we should see about getting you in the armory, and having you whipping the boy's down there into shape. I'm sure they could use all the help they could get." She said, with a playful roll of her eyes. Sure, the serving boy's that took care of the armory had done an adequate job, but Morgana had always felt as if they could do better as well. Half of them didn't even seem to know what they were doing at all, it was an embarrassment. But since there was nothing actually wrong with their work, and all of the weaponry functioned properly, Uther had just brushed her concerns aside.

"Oh no!" Gwen said quickly, hurriedly. "I'm more than happy with just being your handmaiden. I don't need anything more..." she went back to playing with her fingers in her lap. "Besides," she muttered half to herself. "Nobody down there would listen to a girl anyway. Since girl's are apparently unable to know anything about metalwork."

Those were Morris' words coming back to haunt her. Back when they had been small children, before Gwen had started hating being referred to as 'the blacksmith's daughter' he'd been the one that had taunted her about it the most. Every time she said anything that had anything to do with metalwork, he'd start laughing at her and try to get everyone else in on it as well. Something about how she was so obviously wrong, even if she knew she was right. But according to him, she'd been wrong simple because she was a girl, and therefore, was incapable of learning about anything that involved metalwork in anyway.

Morgana frowned, once again cursing over how women were treated during this day and time, as if they were second class citizens. Morgana, despite being under Uther's protection, had felt the sting of it as well.

Gwen cleared her throat, shaking off her tribulations, and then she was looking back around Morgana so that she could talk to Merlin. "Anyway, please tell me that you fixed his shoulder piece!" That was what she had been the most concerned about. That Merlin hadn't fixed it properly and it would be constricting and stifling Arthur's movements during his fight. She'd never forgive herself if she knew she had a hand in Arthur's loss.

Merlin, who had been watching them this whole time, seemed to snap back into focus. "What? Oh, yeah! Well I kind of had to." He said, giving a little shrug of his shoulder. "His shoulders were to fat to get in otherwise." And then he held out his hands to demonstrate just how big Arthur's shoulder's were. And maybe he over exaggerated just a bit, to make them seem even wider.

Morgana's eyes brightened in amusement, "Please tell me you told him that. It would literally make my day." She said, a touch of hopefulness to her voice. It wasn't often that somebody messed with Arthur, and she took great amusement when it did actually happen.

Merlin let his lips involuntarily stretch, brightening his whole face up. "Well he was being a prat when I said it." He gave a little chuckle. "If he wasn't being so annoying, maybe I wouldn't have pulled the wrong belt and tightened it up, instead of loosening it."

Gwen moaned, dropping her hands into her face. She could feel her own face flushing from second hand embarrassment. And she really hoped that Merlin hadn't mentioned that she'd helped him.

Morgana, on the other hand, her jaw dropped. "You did not!" She exclaimed, shaking her head as she laughed.

Merlin couldn't help himself. Bending over, and resting his elbows back on his knees, he started to laugh as well. It was just so ridiculous, remembering how Arthur had yelped when he had yanked on that wrong belt.

Arthur would probably kill them all for their reactions but that thought just made it all the more amusing. And while Gwen was moaning in despair, it only made Merlin and Morgana laugh harder.

"It's not funny!" Gwen protested, finally dragging her head out of her hands. But as Morgana and Merlin laughed harder, her lips involuntarily started to twitch upwards. Maybe their laughter was just contagious, but she could feel a stir of amusement start to build up inside of her.

"It's a little funny." Merlin said, his cheeky grin seemingly to brighten up everything around them.

Gwen shook her head, trying to keep her own amusement contained. It would not turn out well if another noble questioned why a peasant girl was laughing at the expanse of her prince. But still, she couldn't stop her own grin from coming out.

"I personally, think that Arthur deserved every bit of whatever you did to him." Morgana said as her laughter died down to light chuckles. It wasn't often that she got to laugh so openly, there wasn't much 'for' her to laugh so openly about, so she relished in being able to do it now.

Merlin nodded, his own laughter slowly dying down as well.

"As funny as it is, I don't think Arthur will find it funny if it happens again." Gwen pointed out. The prince was no doubt, used to having things a certain way. And somehow, she didn't think that Merlin would go out of his way to do those things to Arthur's specifications.

Merlin shook his head, "If there is a next time." He said in a grumbly sort of voice. "Arthur only agreed to it in the first place because he was running out of time to get ready by the time I got there. And he kept complaining about how Morris did things differently." Merlin huffed. He had his elbow resting on his knee, but now he brought up his hands to rest his chin in his palms. "Tightening that strap wasn't the only thing I messed up with."

"All you need is some more practice." Gwen said, calmly. "A little practice and you'll be so comfortable doing it, you'll be able to do it in your sleep."

Merlin turned his head to stare at her with dead eyes. And in the most deadpan voice he could muster up, he said, "If the day comes that I find myself comfortable getting Arthur prepared, please just go ahead and kill me."

It was bad enough that Merlin had actually wanted to do it in the first place, even if it was just to prove to himself that he could do it. But now that he had, he was not looking forward to having to do it again. Especially not if Arthur was just gonna complain about it every step of the way.

Merlin huffed, a shimmer of annoyance growing in his chest at the way Arthur had kept comparing the way he did it to how Morris did it.

Morgana didn't seem to concerned about his sudden need to be dead. She just waved him off as she said dryly, "Somehow, I don't think we'll need to go that far. And besides, who ever will help us hide your body afterwards?"

Merlin scoffed at her joke before he straightened up, "Just have Arthur do it. He seems like the kind of guy that would know a good place to hide a body." He stopped to give a wry smirk. "You can be the one's to tell him it's all his fault. He kept getting into so many of these fights, that I got to comfortable putting his armor on, which resulted in my sudden death."

Gwen looked between Morgana and Merlin with confused expressions. The both of them had near identical smirks of amusement on their faces, but she didn't get it.

"Merlin, it isn't that bad." Gwen said. "I mean, I know Arthur can be pretty rough around the edges, but surely that would be going a little to far." Feeling as if she had just put her foot in her mouth, she started rambling again. "And I mean no disrespect, I'm sure it's been quite a struggle trying to adjust to everything. But surely you don't want to-"

"Gwen," Merlin had no choice but to interrupt her growing spiral. "I was just joking. Arthur's a prat, but he's not so bad that I'm gonna go that far."

And Merlin was surprised to find that this was true. Don't get him wrong, Arthur was an arse. But at the same time, there was so many other people he could have been married off to that was so much worse.

Besides, Merlin thought wryly, if he did die soon it wasn't going to be because he killed himself to get away from Arthur. It'd probably be because he was discovered as a sorcerer, which he almost had been by George.

He would have to be more careful...

"...Oh..." Gwen said, looking both strangely relieved and flushed with embarrassment. As if she had truly thought Merlin would go that far.

"Besides," Merlin said with a playful smirk. "I think it's far more likely that we'll end up killing each other." With how many fights they'd had in the short time they'd known each other, it definitely seemed like a possible outcome.

Between them, Morgana gave a light shiver as a cold breeze blew past them. The lady wrapped her fur shawl tighter around her shoulders. "As riveting as this conversation has been," she remarked dryly. "I do hope that they get a move on and we can start soon. We'll probably be out here for hours."

Merlin looked out to the empty field, an excited light gleaming in his eyes as the reminder that they were here waiting for the tournament to begin. He couldn't wait to see a real live tournament, to see knight after knight fight for the championship.

And if he imagined Arthur standing on top of a pile of unconscious knights, his sword held up in victory, well nobody had to know but him.

Merlin turned to the two girl's at his side, his eyes so bright that it just seemed to light up his entire face. "I can't wait for it to start! I've been waiting all morning for this!"

Morgana turned to him, her ruby red lips spreading into a smile. "I've almost forgotten, but this is your first tournament, isn't it? They don't have tourney's like this where you've from?"

Merlin almost snorted at the idea of Ealdor having a tourney. The village was so small, that some of them were still celebrating that day a few years ago when one of the villagers saved up enough copper pieces to buy a cow for the village to get their milk from. It had taken the villager over a year to get that much coin together, but hey, now their village had a single cow in it.

"We don't even have a stadium." Merlin said dryly, trying to crack a joke. But from the rounded eyes of Morgana and Gwen both, Merlin didn't think he quite landed it.

The two girl's had spent most, if not all, of their lives in Camelot. They'd never lived someplace where tournament's and jousting or whatever else, wasn't an everyday occurrence. They'd never lived someplace where nobody bothered to help you if bandits were running amok. Hell, even if Gwen was a peasant girl, she had still had it easier than Merlin. Simply because she had more opportunities, and was able to find work whereas Merlin's only option had only ever been to assist with the harvest.

Morgana seemed to realize she had an astonished expression on her face, and it melted into a more neutral one. It was actually quite startling to Merlin, seeing how easily her face shifted to hide her emotions.

But he didn't think to much about it as Morgana reached out and patted his hand for a brief moment, before redrawing it back under the warmth of her shawl. And as she did, she was saying, "Well then, I'm sure you're in for a treat. This will be quite exciting, for you especially."

Merlin nodded, looking back out at the field, "Yeah, I'm sure it's gonna be a blast!" He turned back to the girl's. "Do you have any thoughts on who could win? I mean, Arthur's probably the only knight I know that's fighting in it. But what are the odds of him winning?"

Even if everybody had told him that Arthur was some great swordsman, and he had definitely felt the sting of Arthur's blade when they'd been training, but he'd never seen the prince in a real fight before. And there were a good couple dozen knights who were participating as well. Even if Arthur was skilled with a blade, what were the odds that he'd managed to win?

"It's actually pretty high." Morgana said, looking bored, as if she'd had this conversation before with somebody else. "I've been told that Arthur's the one to beat this year. All of the other knights are no doubt vying to be the one that will get to beat him."

Merlin looked at her astonished, "No, seriously? I mean, I've heard he's good, but surely he's not that good." And if he was that good, why hadn't Merlin seen nothing more than a few basic maneuvers when they'd been training together.

"He's won three years in a row." Gwen informed him.

Merlin let out a low whistle, looking at her in disbelief. "He has not won three years in a row!" He exclaimed. If he was that good, then what had he been doing training with Merlin? He should have been tracking down one of the better skilled knights who could give a better fight than an untrained peasant boy could.

"He has, and he's bragged about it every year." Morgana grumbled, rolling her eyes at the memory of the previous years. After all the fights were said and done, Arthur would strut around like a peacock for a week after. It had been incredibly annoying that first year, when he'd been the youngest to win the tournament in a good twenty years, even beating how young Uther had been the first time he'd won. Uther had been more than proud, and hadn't let anybody forget about it for quite some time.

"That...does not surprise me in the least." Merlin said. It figures that Arthur would be the type to brag about his winnings. He really hoped that those knots in his stomach that had been lessening the longer he sat here, didn't indicate that he actually had a crush on Arthur. He was liking the idea that he was just getting sick more and more with every passing moment.

"Well maybe somebody else will win this year." Gwen suggested. Both Morgana and Merlin stared at her with deadpan expressions. "Oh! Not that I mean, I don't wish for Arthur to lose! But it would be nice to see somebody else win for a change. Oh! I mean, not that I'm not excited to see Arthur win, he really is good, I just mean..."

"Gwen darling, please." Morgana had to interrupt her before she combusted with her foot in her mouth again. "We know what you mean."

Merlin leaned over so that he could see around Morgana better, and grinned cheekily. "And hey, if it makes you feel better, I am definitely rooting for any guy that can knock him down a peg or two. He is way to cocky for his own good."

"Merlin!" Gwen protested, looking shocked by this. "You can't not root for your own husband! I mean," she leaned in to whisper the last part, as if somebody might overhead their specific conversation among the dozens that were going on around them. "What if he looks out in the crowd and see's you cheering for his opponent?"

But all that did was make Merlin's cheeky grin widen, "I hope he does see me." He remembered how Arthur had gotten all mad when Merlin had taunted him about cheering for somebody else if Arthur wasn't going to try and impress him. And then he remembered the words Arthur had said when Merlin had asked if he was going to stop him.

'You bet your arse I will.'

And for a second, Merlin could have sworn that he actually heard it right now. As if it wasn't just ringing in his head, but as if Arthur was right behind him whispering the words in his ears. The dark tone that had been in his voice seemed to return to the forefront of Merlin's mind, and an involuntary shiver went down his spine.

Merlin had a sinking feeling that he wasn't actually getting sick.

Morgana's cracking laughter pulled him out of his thoughts, and it took him a minute to realize that he was no longer smiling. Having been lost in the seriousness of his thoughts, his cheeky grin had died down to nothing.

Morgana and Gwen hadn't seemed to notice though. Morgana was laughing and Gwen had a soft smile on her face, almost as if she wasn't sure if she was allowed to smile or not.

"Merlin," Gwen said quietly. "I really do hope you're not intending to antagonize Arthur on purpose." She had never met somebody that had no problem starting something with their prince. It was almost as fascinating as it was worrying.

Merlin shrugged, a sheepish smile appearing on his lips as he set his earlier thoughts aside. "Why not?" Not that any reason she could give would stop him from doing it. He was having way to much fun messing with Arthur. He may not be able to swing a mace around like Arthur could, and he may not be able to throw a punch properly. But he still had his words, and he was more than happy to use the only weapon he could use whilst in public.

Morgana interrupted before Gwen could actually come up with a reason for why a consort shouldn't be trying to antagonize his princely husband.

"Well, I for one, think it's great!" She said, clapping her hands together in front of her. "This will drive Arthur absolutely wild." And her eyes gleamed, as if she was enjoying this far to much.

"Will it?" Merlin asked, clearing his throat and averting his eyes. Because Morgana's words had vividly brought Arthur's words back to the forefront of his mind. Another shiver involuntarily went down his spine again.

'You bet your arse I will.'

Morgana didn't seem to notice his flushed expression, and just nodded her head. "Oh, of course. Arthur's like a spoiled child, and it's even worse because he's a prince as well. He's always been the center of attention, and he's never had to share that attention before."

"So me cheering for somebody else...?" Merlin said slowly, already starting to smirk as his mind ran wild with all of the possibilities.

"Will drive him absolutely mad." Morgana finished, somehow looking even more excited that Merlin did, her lips curling into a smirk. "Somehow, I don't think Arthur will like the idea of his consort cheering in the stands for his opponent."

Merlin's grin widened, feeling his heart stutter in his chest as he remembered Arthur's words again.

'You bet your arse I will.'

"Oh, he won't." He said, his voice sure and strong. Because Arthur had told him that he would stop him, but he very well couldn't do that while Merlin was in the stands and he was in the field fighting.

Morgana raised an eyebrow at him, looking so curious that it made Merlin tensed up with confusion.

"You sound sure about that." Morgana said slowly, her lips curving upwards into a playful smirk. "Have you been having conversations with Arthur about this?"

Merlin felt his flushed expression returning full force, and those stupid words echoed in his head again.

'You bet your arse I will."

What would Arthur do if he caught Merlin cheering for his opponent? It was something that he was almost desperate to find out. But at the same time, he also didn't want to tell Morgana what had happened between him and Arthur.

He kind of liked the idea of having something that was just between them.

"Of course I haven't." Merlin said, an awkward smile playing on his lips. And from Morgana's amused expression, it was clear that the other girl wasn't buying it. So he tried again, waving a dismissive hand. "He just seems like the type. To get mad about something like that."

"I don't know." Gwen said with a curious expression. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen him get mad before, not over something like that at least."

"But this is his 'consort', Guinevere." Morgana said, putting a special emphasize on his 'title'. "The one person that is supposed to be his own." And Merlin definitely didn't flush at that, and he definitely didn't get redder when Morgana turned to him with a sly expression as she finished. "Somehow, I think this time will be different."

Merlin looked away, hearing the steady thump, thump, thump, of his heart. And sounding almost petulant, he said, "Maybe Arthur should try to impress me in his first match. Then I might consider rooting for him in the next rounds."

And he could still hear those stupid words ringing in his head.

'You bet your arse I will.'