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!

32. Chapter 32

"You're late."

That was the first thing Merlin heard after he'd crossed the Grand Hall, feeling the weighty stares of all of the knight's watching him.

It was Uther that had said it, the twist of his frown giving off the expression that he was not impressed by Merlin's tardiness. Merlin had a feeling that tardiness was not tolerated by the king, which was going to be a problem since Merlin somehow always found a way to be late, no matter how early he had left.

"Er, sorry sire. It won't happen again." Merlin said, his lips turning upwards into a grin that was both nervous and sheepish. "Promise."

The king gave him a stern look, as if assessing the possibility of Merlin holding his promise. And the longer he stared at him, the more nervous Merlin got, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. Finally, the king let out a huff of air through his nose.

"See that it doesn't." Uther said, and his tone left no room for argument's. It was strangely much more effective than the few times Arthur had tried to use a similar tone on him. "And I will be holding you to that promise." And Merlin could have sworn that there was an undertone in his voice that was vaguely threatening.

Merlin found himself nodding his head, tucking his hands behind his back in a manner that would be more befitting of a servant than a consort. Uther scowled at the motion, watching his son's consort with a calculated gave.

"Of course sire." Merlin answered him, and before anymore could be said, the boy was quick to step past him so that he could stand on the other side of Morgana who was stationed by the king's side.

Behind him, Gwen ducked her head to the king and was quick to take her place behind Morgana for if her lady needed her. George was quick to do the same, taking his own place in line right behind Merlin.

Morgana was grinning at him cheekily, and Merlin almost wanted to tell her to shut up before she even had the opportunity to say anything to him. But he didn't, that kind of attitude was sorely reserved for Arthur when he was being particularly bossy.

"You're late." She said the same thing that Uther had, as one of the knight's in the front of the line strode upwards to meet with the king. Only her tone was a lot less stern and a whole lot more teasingly.

"Don't you start to." Merlin said dryly, giving her the side eye. "Uther's already let me know all about it." It had only been a short encounter with the king, but Merlin was not looking forward to it ever happening again.

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken-" Morgana cut herself off as the knight went down the line toward's her. She smiled politely as the knight bowed to her, saying it was an honor to meet the young Lady. She said something along the lines, "I'm happy to meet you as well." Then the knight bowed, pressed a delicate and gentlemanly kiss to the back of her hand under the harsh eye's of Uther closely watching. And then the knight was standing in front of him.

Merlin watched, not really sure what he should do when the knight bowed before him. He didn't take his hand like he took Morgana's, thank god he wasn't a lady whose hand apparently needed to be kissed often, or Merlin probably would have jerked away.

"Consort Merlin," the dark skinned knight said in a deep voice. "It is an honor to meet the commoner that impressed the king enough to allow a marriage to form between him and his only heir."

Merlin smiled weakly, was that the story that was going around? Since the contract wasn't exactly common knowledge, he supposed that the rumor mill needed something to keep the story alive.

Merlin didn't really know what he was supposed to think about that rumor. It was just yet another thing that would make people take notice of him.

"I am Sir Ewan, at your services." The knight finished off with a flourish, flipping his cape over his shoulder as he bowed deeply.

And then he just stood there in his bow, as if waiting for a response that Merlin didn't know to give. Not until Morgana delicately cleared her voice and gave him a sharp little nudge with her pointy elbow into his side.

Something seemed to jumpstart in Merlin and with a stutter, "I-I'm happy to m-meet you as well." He hadn't really known what to say, so he'd just copied Morgana. But it seemed to be an acceptable answer because the knight straightened up. Giving him a curt nod, Sir Ewan left to stand on the side of the wall where a handful of other winner's had already had their turn before Merlin had gotten there.

"-But you're the type that is always late, aren't you?" Morgana finished off her earlier statement, turning back to him as the next knight strode up to talk to the king.

Merlin felt as if he had whiplash, before he connected what she was saying now with what she had started to earlier, before they had been interrupted.

"...I'm not even going to try lying about that one." Merlin said heavily, ignoring Morgana as she burst into giggle's, even while she was smoothing her hand down the front of her floor length and modest silk purple dress.

And then the next knight in line left Uther and approached Morgana, and she calmed herself with a surprising ease. Merlin stared at her in amazement, wondering if there would ever come a time where he could do the same. Where he could be just like these nobles who hid their true emotions behind the polite demeanors that nobility was supposed to carry, but actually only seemed to carry when other nobles were in the area.

The knight approached him next, and Merlin repeated the same thing he had said earlier, if only because he didn't know what else he could have said. It seemed as if for a 'meet-and-greet' the proceedings were all very strict. This knight had said the exact same thing in not so many words, about what an 'honor' it was to meet the commoner who married into the royal family.

Merlin wished that he could feel the same about them. None of them actually seemed interested in who Merlin was as a person, he could have been completely awful for all they knew, they were just interested in the 'commoner who married so highly up'. And when the next knight came up, sure the words were slightly different, but it all boiled down to the exact same sentence.

As the knight walked away, Merlin wondered if this was really what nobility did. He would have that it was more exciting than this, he would have thought there were more to it than just 'rubbing elbow's with the elite.'

"Chin up, Merlin." Morgana said, with a perfectly calming smile as the next knight approached her. "We still have quite a few to go." She finished as the knight went down the line to him.

Merlin said the exact same thing he'd been saying to these knight's, voice a lot more confident than the first time he'd said it, before he turned back to Morgana. "It won't end fast enough." He grumbled, looking at the never ending line of about fifteen more knights all waiting their turn.

And then the next knight left Uther and approached Morgana. It was only as this knight was leaving Merlin did the boy notice that Morgana was looking at him with a critical eye.

"What?" He said confused, as the next knight stopped to have a brief conversation with the king.

Morgans shook her head, a loose curl escaping her carefully done bun of thick dark hair tied at the nape of her neck. "Forgive me Merlin, I do know better than to mention it, but it would also be amiss if I didn't mention it."

Merlin frowned cautiously, "Mention what?"

Morgana gave him another once over, making Merlin shift from foot to foot uncomfortably, before she finally said something. "We really will have to update your wardrobe."

Merlin felt as if he'd just deflated like a balloon, because that hadn't been what he'd been expecting at all. He almost thought that it would have been something a whole lot worse. "Don't worry about it." He finally said, scratching a hand through his hand in a manner that was ill-befitting of a consort. "Apparently something is being fitted for me, it just wasn't ready on time for this."

Morgana seemed almost too relieved by this, as she nodded quickly. "Good, good." And then she turned to greet the knight who had finally left his conversation with Uther.

Merlin gave her a suspicious frown, not exactly sure he liked that 'good, good' she had said. He held off just long enough to greet the knight when he was approached. But the knight had barely left him before he whipped back around to Morgana, "Okay, just tell me, what's wrong with my clothes?"

Because really, there had to be a problem with them if it was being commented on so much. But he didn't see it, this orange shirt he wore was quite soft and worn to the touch. He'd even stitched the bottom part of it back together after it had ripped a few day's ago, which was just a habit to him as it was rare that he got something new. And even then, it had always been a hand-me-down from one of the men in the village who took pity on the spinster woman and her 'bastard' son with no father to take care of those matters by giving him hand-me-down's of his own.

But with the way Morgana was eyeing his clothes critically as the next knight stepped up to converse for a moment with Uther, he had to wonder if he was really just not seeing it. Merlin even found himself tugging on the bottom of his shirt, fingering the stitches he could feel, in an almost subconscious manner before he realized what he was doing and quickly jerked his hands away.

"There's nothing...wrong with them, per-say." Morgana said, but it sounded more as if she was just trying to be nice instead of saying what she really thought. But evidentially she just couldn't do it anymore, and shook her head with a heavy sigh. "Forgive me, but those clothes do make you look like a servant."

Merlin wasn't even offended by this, because he really would rather be standing in the background with Gwen and George instead of front and center while he 'rubbed elbow's with Camelot's elite.'

"Well I might as well be one." Merlin grumbled. "I did literally come here straight off the farmlands." And speaking of farmlands, he wondered how everybody back in Ealdor were doing. If they were making do with one less pair of hands to help out with the harvest, or if all he'd done was put them in a bind by being forced to come here against his will.

Morgana didn't seem to think that this was an acceptable excuse, "Your clothes are just fine if that's what you prefer, for everyday wear of course. But there are certain event's, like this one, where getting a little more dressed up would be more appropriate."

She smiled politely as the knight approached her, and he did the same as the knight left him. He hated how good he was becoming at faking his own pleased smile.

"I am not dressing like Arthur." Was the first thing Merlin said after the most recent knight had walked away from him.

Morgana laughed, throwing her head back as her twinkling laughter left her lips. "Don't worry, I don't think we will have to go quite so far." She said amusingly.

X

Nobody would have been able to tell that Arthur still had the briefest of lingering panic still in his vein's. There had been a new burst of panic for a completely different reason when he had saw Merlin taking his place among his family.

Oh god, he really hoped Merlin didn't embarrass him. Anything that Merlin did, would reflect on Arthur, and no doubt it would be a bad reflection.

Arthur hadn't taken his eye's off of the boy, and as the line started to shorten, he could feel himself start to relax. Everything was so far so good, because from what little he could tell from his place nearest in the back, Merlin hadn't done anything that would immediately embarrass him.

Sure, he didn't stand straight and his smile looked more strained than Arthur would have preferred, but he supposed he should allow some margin for error. At least he wasn't acting like some kind of 'country bumpkin', yawning and spitting or cracking inappropriate jokes. Or whatever else it was that people way out from the country usually would when faced with the big city.

And then Morgana started to laugh, just barely loud enough for Arthur to detect from his spot in line. And the prince narrowed his eye's, seeing Morgana place a gentle hand to the top of Merlin's scrawny looking bicep before redrawing just as fast.

What was so funny? Morgana knew better than to behave so carefree during important event's, you never knew who would be watching. Or who wouldn't be impressed by the sight.

It still irritated him that he wasn't in on the joke, probably more than it should.

X

"Anyway," Morgana said, quieting down as Uther turned to give the two whispering 'kid's' at his side a stern look. "While we won't go as all out as Arthur would, you do need to remember that you are royalty now. And since you helped me with picking my clothes for your wedding, I'll talk to Madame Teresa about making a secondary outfit that's less elaborate. Something that makes you look important, while not making you look like your trying to outdo everybody else."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, because as helpful as all of this was, he didn't really feel as if he needed new clothes. And okay, maybe he had felt a brief wave of subconsciousness when she had first brought it up, but it had been gone as soon as it came. Maybe it was just his pride talking, and as nice as Arthur looked in his fancy clothes, Merlin didn't want to run the risk of looking like these fancy pants nobles.

Or maybe he just didn't want to look anything more than exactly what he was: a commoner.

Morgana interrupted him before he could get the first words out, "And this won't be like your favor. The crown will still have some outfits prepared for you, but a favor isn't a necessity. Clothes are, so you can't argue with me on this one."

And maybe it was from the stern tone of her voice that resembled Uther so much, it was a surprising reminder when Merlin remembered that the two weren't actually related. But either way, Merlin didn't put up much of a protest.

"And speaking of favor..." Morgana drawled out teasingly moments later, after the next knight had left them both. "I noticed that Arthur isn't wearing anything around his bicep. You didn't get him anything?"

Merlin felt the heat building up under his cheeks, and his eye's shot down the line, easily finding Arthur watching them from nearer down the line. And just as fast was he shooting his eye's away.

X

Arthur found himself impatiently tapping his foot against the cobblestone floor underneath him. And just as fast as he had started, was he forcing himself to stop. It was unbecoming of someone of his statue to stow such a commoner trait as fidgeting with impatience.

They were talking about him, he could see that from the way Merlin darted his eye's away from him. And it was killing him, knowing that they were saying something, but he couldn't even begin to guess what it could be.

X

"No, I was a little...distracted." Merlin said awkwardly, looking away. He wasn't going to admit that a favor had honestly been the last thing on his mind. After everything that happened while he was down there, it wouldn't have been a good time anyway.

Morgana nodded as if she truly understood what he was talking about. And then she just had to say, "By Arthur's biceps?" As if that was a perfectly reasonable thing to be distracted by.

"Morgana!" Merlin exclaimed loudly, looking at her shocked, loud enough that everyone turned to him. Merlin looked horrified by the sudden attention, and Morgana just smiled calmly as she twisted a finger around a loose curl of hair dancing across the side of her face, looking every bit the delicate flower she presented herself as during these event's.

X

Nothing could have stopped Arthur from slapping a hand to his forehead. He should have known that everything was going to good to last for very long, of course Merlin would do something before everything was over and done with.

X

After everyone had turned back to what they were doing before Merlin's exclamation, Merlin watched with baited breath as the next knight strode forward to converse with the king. As soon as the king was suitably distracted, Merlin whipped around to Morgana.

"I was not distracted by Arthur's biceps." He hissed urgently. And okay, from what little he had seen of them, Arthur did have really nice biceps. But that didn't mean he had been looking at them! ...Much.

"Really?" Morgana asked, looking innocently. "I mean, I personally don't see why you have a thing for Arthur." And Merlin felt his heart skip a beat at talking about this so openly, he didn't exactly want Arthur to get wind of Merlin's feeling's before Merlin could do this right by giving him a favor to show his 'affections'. "I wouldn't have exactly pegged him as your type."

"You mean the type that's a jackarse." Merlin said dryly. He hadn't exactly thought he'd go for a jerk either, he had always briefly crushed on guy's that had shown him the briefest sign of affection. Which, wasn't that exactly what Arthur had done? Like that time he had taken that very brief break with Merlin during their training. Or when he had defended Merlin against the knight, although he did suspect it had more to do with Arthur's reputation than anything else, but he was still counting it.

...Fuck, was he ever screwed if Arthur kept doing these small thing's for him.

Morgana looked scandalous by this sudden language. Merlin supposed she wasn't used to people talking around a lady in such a crass manner. But before he could apologize, something he'd never felt the need to do when it came towards his language, Morgana's lips curled into a small grin.

"Somebody whose a jackarse." She agreed, looking far to pleased by this, as if it was the first time she'd ever said a curse word. And Merlin supposed, it probably was. He supposed being a lady didn't really give one much freedom in saying whatever they wanted to say. "Although," Morgana continued talking, stopping only long enough to greet the latest knight. She waited until Merlin had done the same and for the knight to start walking away before she continued as if she had never been interrupted. "I do suppose I could understand being interested in his arms." At least Arthur had his looks going for him.

Merlin flushed, casting a glance into the few knights still left, before quickly darting his eye's away again before he even had a chance to find Arthur among them. "There's nothing attractive about his arms." He hissed under his breath at her. But from the state of his flushed cheeks, it was obvious that he was lying. And from Morgana's growing smirk, it was obvious that she knew it as well.

The two didn't get a chance to talk anymore before a new knight stepped up to have their moment with the king. The knight spoke just loud enough that it was able to break through the conversation Morgana and Merlin had been having.

With a tilt of his head, the knight introduced himself, "Knight Valiant of the Western Isles, My Lord." Merlin and Morgana shared a look, Morgana's slightly intrigued while Merlin looked disgruntled.

"I saw you fighting today." Uther remarked, having remembered this particular knight because of it. "You have a very aggressive style."

Merlin wrinkled his nose just a little. This particular knight hadn't exactly done anything to endear Merlin to him. He was the one that had attacked him in the hallway, and then he'd been the one to interrupt Arthur and him just before Arthur got all freaked out on him. The one that had called him a...what was it? He didn't even know, having not been able to understand him clearly. And to hear that he had an aggressive style of fighting? Well, Merlin supposed he was just pleased that he had missed that particular fight. Something so aggressive probably wouldn't be nearly as beautiful as Arthur, who had moved with more grace and finesse then just attacking with brute strength alone.

But, Merlin supposed that Arthur had to learn how to fight with precision to counteract against bigger opponents. While Arthur was suitably thick (both in the head and body) Merlin had seen several knights that were thicker.

They hadn't been that impressive to Merlin, using their weight to throw their strength around with no thought to their actions.

Valiant was talking again, forcing Merlin to pay attention to the conversation, and forcing how thick Arthur was compared to the other knights to the back of his mind, "Well, as My Lord said, 'to lose is to be a disgrace."

Merlin was probably the only one that didn't look impressed by this. This was not the same knight that had grabbed him in the hallway and threatened to drag him before the king. This was somebody that knew how to play the system, and knew exactly what to say to suck up to those higher in power.

Please tell him that Uther was smart enough to not fall for that, Merlin could see the suck-up attitude from a mile away.

But those hopes were dashed when Uther put a hand on Valiant's shoulder, smiling interestedly, "I couldn't agree more. Knight Valiant, may I present the Lady Morgana, my ward." He gestured to the young lady at his side.

Merlin went stiff, because that meant that Uther had fallen for it completely. This was the first time that Uther had introduced a knight to Morgana himself, which meant that he must have been suitably impressed by him.

Valiant bowed to the Lady, still looking every bit the gentlemen as he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Morgana's hand. Merlin didn't buy it for a second, even as the knight said in a gentlemanly tone, "My Lady."

X

About three people down the line still, Arthur watched with a tensed expression as he saw Valiant kissing the back of Morgana's hand. In another universe, Arthur would probably be smirking right about now at the scene, because he knew exactly what his father was doing with introducing Valiant to Morgana.

It was a matchmaking attempt, the king was trying to find out if Morgana had any interest in a knight that he had deemed acceptable. Usually, Morgana would brush those knight's aside without a second thought, but she did actually look interested in this one.

But this wasn't another universe, this was the universe that Arthur was trapped in. And it was in this one that Valiant had stumbled upon him and Merlin. Even though they hadn't been doing anything wrong, even though it was even expected for them to be that close as they were married, Arthur still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been caught doing something wrong.

Something bad.

And Valiant had taken a front seat to it.

Even though logically, he knew there was no reason to bring it up, Arthur still had a fear growing in the back of his mind. What if Valiant mentioned his closeness to Merlin to Morgana, or god forbid, his own father.

X

"I saw you competing today." Morgana said, her smile growing by the clear interest that Valiant was looking at her with. It was a nice feeling, to feel as if she was actually wanted as a woman, and not just like a dismissively annoying older sister that Arthur sometimes made her feel as if she was.

"I saw you watching." Valiant said smoothly.

Merlin watched this interaction very carefully, scowling as if he was expecting Valiant to suddenly grab Morgana as roughly as he'd done to Merlin when they first met. But he supposed he didn't have to worry about that. Morgana was a Lady, and was born to be treated with every bit of respect and grace as the title afforded her. Merlin was born a commoner, and therefore, often considered no better than the mud that the pig's rolled around in on a hot, summer's day.

Valiant continued, "I understand the tournament champion has the honor of escorting My Lady to the feast."

Merlin's head whipped around to look at Morgana horrified. Those choice of words had made it sound as if Morgana was some kind of prize to be won. As if she was no more than the princess locked away in a tower, and her freedom was being auctioned off to the strongest fighter.

But what if she didn't want to go with whoever won?

Had she even been given the option to decline?

Morgana didn't seem to feel as if there was anything wrong with this arrangement, because her smile seemed to say just how pleased she was as she said, "That's correct."

Valiant nodded his head at her in a graceful manner, "Then I will give everything to win the tournament." Morgana's smile grew at his obvious flirtation, before nodding her head. Valiant's smile grew bolder, as if he had gotten exactly what he wanted by pleasing the Lady.

As Valiant stepped away, Uther who had seemed pleased with Valiant's interaction with his ward and Morgana's response to it, waved his hand out.

"As you have met my ward, I suppose it's only proper that I introduce you to my son-in-law. My son's husband, Consort Merlin."

Uther had prepared himself for saying those words, as he probably would have to say them quite often since the marriage was complete. It didn't mean that he had to like that he'd stupidly agreed to marry his son off to another man, but he also wouldn't allow for his disdain for the boy to show so clearly to the members of his kingdom. He couldn't have anybody doubting their king's decision, after all, he at least needed to put on a show of looking pleased with this decision of his.

"Ah," Valiant turned his eye's to the newcomer, his lips curling into the smallest of smirks before it faded away just as fast. "I heard that the prince had been married, it's an honor to meet the man deemed worthy enough to marry into the royal family." He said, with a tilt of his head.

Seeing this, Uther turned away to go ahead and greet the next knight. Absentmindedly, he put a hand on Morgana's shoulder and drew her away from the conversation beside them. As long as Merlin didn't do anything disrespectful, Uther saw no reason as to pay such close attention. He did have other thing's to do than babysit his son-in-law, and the boy would just have to be suitably punished if he did do something wrong. Which Uther would know as soon as it happened, because he kept half an eye on Valiant and his reactions to Camelot's Consort.

Merlin didn't look very impressed by Valiant's statement, he almost looked as if he was verging on annoyed instead. "But we have already met." Merlin commented, narrowing his eye's on Valiant, as if the knight would grab him again like he had. "Or did you forget when you accosted me in the hallway?"

Valiant's shoulders tensed up at the sudden reminder of his earlier actions. He was used to being spoken to with more decorum than that, a true noble would know better than to speak up about such thing's in a formal setting just as this.

Maybe he wasn't just Arthur's whore like he had previously thought. Maybe there was some noble blood in there somewhere, if he thought he could speak so boldly about Valiant's mistakes.

But what kind of noble could Merlin be? Valiant scanned the smaller boy in front of him, taking in the clothing that had made him mistake the boy for a servant. He had to be distantly related to somebody noble, even if he himself was to far removed from the family to actually be considered a noble himself. It wasn't like a prince would just pick a street urchin to marry.

Valiant fixated a perfectly reasonable smile on his face, setting about fixing the grave error he had made by accosting this particular person, "I do not often find a need to apologize for my actions-"

"I doubt that." Merlin interrupted. Somebody who had no problem doing what he'd done to Merlin, it was obvious that it wasn't the first time he had treated actual servants that way.

Valiant's smile looked just the tiniest bit stiffer, before it eased up to look more natural, before continuing as if he'd never been interrupted. "-but I must apologize for believing you to be nothing more than a servant. From the state of the clothes you seem to be fond of wearing, I hope you can see where my confusion came from."

Merlin looked down at his clothes as they were once again mentioned, before he looked up at Valiant with a raised eyebrow. Was that supposed to be some kind of apology? It sounded more like an apology with an excuse hidden in it.

Valiant bowed his head gracefully to Merlin, just as he did moments before to Morgana and Uther, "Although, despite your wear, I do think I can understand why the prince agreed to marry you."

Merlin went stiff, not liking the sound of that at all, "You...do?" He asked uncertainly. Did Valiant know about the contract? Did he know that Merlin had only came here in the first place because he was obligated to, because he had no choice? There was a reason Merlin hadn't gone around talking about it to anybody himself. Call it humiliating or his own pride, but he didn't want it to be known that he felt as if he was essentially a prisoner.

Tied down here and forced against his will.

"Of course," Valiant said smoothly, and to Merlin's horror, the knight reached out and grabbed his left hand, lifting it up delicately by Merlin's fingertips, to his lips that were curling up into a flirtatious smile. "I had no idea that Arthur had such...exotic, taste."

And then he was pressing a kiss straight onto the top of Merlin's wedding ring, as if that was somehow supposed to work in charming the consort away from his husband's bed.

X

"What happens if he meets somebody?"

Those were the words that Gaius had spoken to him, back when Arthur had been in his quarter's, trying to convince him that he should lie to his king about Merlin's virginity status. In their trade agreement, Arthur had agreed to be the one to tell Merlin all the thing's he needed to know about sex if it appeared that Merlin was starting to get close to somebody.

But Arthur wasn't thinking about the agreement he had made with Gaius, it was actually so far out of his mind that it wasn't even a blimp on his radar. Those word's actually only rung in his mind for a moment longer, although it felt as if it was an eternity, before it faded into a numb silence.

Arthur had been watching closely from his place in line, watching every movement that Merlin made. Every shift he made from foot to foot, as if he was growing tired of standing there, as if he had better thing's to do than start making connections with the son's of nobles that could be beneficial in the future. Every cheeky grin flashed in Morgana's direction as the two had been whispering together, making Arthur practically want to kill to hear what they were saying. Every flushed expression Merlin's cheeks had gone as his eye's darted into the crowd and back away.

And even though Arthur knew that it was irrational for him to feel this way, he had thought furiously in his head about how Merlin had better be looking for him and not at somebody else.

Those thoughts hadn't stopped the spike of panic that flooded him as he saw Valiant, the one who had briefly accused Arthur of having Merlin as a 'plaything', approaching Merlin. And somehow, that was so much worse than when Valiant had been talking to his father, or to Morgana.

But thing's had taken a sudden turn when Arthur saw Valiant reaching out to take Merlin by the hand, and kissing the back of it just like one would a lady, or somebody that they were interested in courting with. It was probably the first time in his entire life that Arthur had ever seen this action done to another man.

And it wasn't disgust that filled him like he would have thought it would be.

It was almost...curiosity that struck him. The panic that had flooded his system seemed to drain right out of hand. And then he'd felt numb, nothing but the sound of his heartbeat thumping around in his eardrums as the knight had lifted Merlin's fingertips towards his mouth.

Everything changed the second Valiant pressed his slimy lips against Merlin's wedding ring, the one thing that Arthur had personally given to Merlin himself. In less than half a second, the numbness Arthur had been feeling turned dark. An indescribable rage that he hadn't even known that he was capable of feeling, started in his chest and spread out from there. Until it was the only thing he could feel in every last inch of his body.

Arthur clenched his fists so tightly under the cape he was wearing (he'd had to slip it back on over his head because of the way it was still tied by Merlin's clumsy fingers) that he could feel his nails cutting into his skin. And it took every ounce of his intense training on how a prince should behave, to stop himself from marching across the room and punching Valiant square in the jaw.

Not even Merlin's obviously disgruntled expression by Valiant's actions, was enough to quell the dark anger simmering under his skin.

And he could only wish that he was close enough to hear what they were talking about.

X

Valiant's charming demeanor had the exact opposite reaction than the knight had been expecting. Merlin's expression was obviously disgruntled, and leaning towards disgusted as well.

Merlin felt that shiver of disgust when it shot down his spine, looking down at the way Valiant was possessively holding his slimmer hand in his much larger one. And now he was going to have to go home, and scrub his ring clean just so it wouldn't feel as if it had Valiant's germs all over it.

"Exotic?" Merlin asked slowly, trying to yank his hand out of Valiant's without drawing to much attention to it. But the knight's grip only tightened, refusing to let him move much further away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Valiant acted as if he didn't notice Merlin trying to draw himself away from him, his flirtatious smile never wavering. "I meant no disrespect, of course. I just thought it might be something worth mentioning, you do have a certain...elfin, quality to you." Merlin straightened up, not exactly sure what that was supposed to mean as Valiant continued. "You've got those high cheekbones, and that dark hair. And all of that pale skin..."

Valiant put the most charming smile he possessed onto his face, using his thumb to rub gentle circles into the back of Merlin's hand. Although he didn't turn to look, Valiant knew that somewhere behind him, Arthur had to be watching.

And as if to piss the prince off on purpose, Valiant casually leaned to the side to block off the prince's view of Merlin.

X

Arthur ducked his head, his bangs casting a dark shadow across the top half of his face as his view of Merlin was suddenly cut off.

This could not be happening, not to him. He'd thought it was humiliating to be caught with a husband who so boldly rooted for his competition to win. But as he'd just found out, this was so much worse.

Was Merlin...flirting...with Valiant? Was that why Merlin still hadn't let go of his hand, before Arthur couldn't see anything more than Valiant's broad back.

It would take forever and a day before it would hit Arthur what he had felt in this moment. It wasn't the humiliating ramifications of having a husband who so boldly acting like he would cheat on him out in the open.

It was nothing more complicated that pure, and unfiltered, jealousy. Jealousy that Merlin was wasting his time on another knight, when he could have been wasting his time on trying to get Arthur's attention.

X

Merlin straightened up, a prominent frown on his face as he scowled. He did not like where this was going. If anybody else was actually going to say something good about his appearance, why did it have to be Valiant?

Valiant ignored the harsher yank Merlin gave as he tried to pull his wrist free. The knight knew a coward when he saw one, and he knew just by looking at Merlin's scrawny frame, that he wasn't going to go tattling to the king about his un-knightly behavior. "Maybe you could show me around, sometime?" Valiant suggested, smirking. He knew exactly where he wanted to start, mainly in the prince's bedroom.

How would the prince feel, knowing that his consort had willingly gave in to another man on their own marriage bed.

Merlin narrowed his eye's, "I don't think so." He bit out forcefully, glancing around. Was nobody really seeing this? Was nobody else noticing what an absolute creep Valiant was behaving like this. "I'm kind of new around here myself, and still get pretty lost sometimes."

Maybe that was semi-true on some level, but Merlin had spent a lot of time the last two weeks he'd been in Camelot exploring the castle. He knew exactly how to get to most places, having memorized certain passageways as soon as he could so he wouldn't have to result in asking people for help anymore.

Asking for help...it wasn't cowardliness that stopped Merlin from bringing attention to Valiant's behavior. It was because he knew that he didn't need the help, he was more than capable of handling a single creep all on his own.

"New?" Valiant asked, looking curious by this remark, which finally broke through the charming personality that he was holding onto so tightly. "Forgive me if I overstep-"

"You already have." Merlin interrupted, giving a pointed look at his hand clasped in Valiant's own.

The smile that Valiant wore seemed to go stiff around the edges, before it evened itself out. It almost looked natural now, but it also looked way to natural to be anything less than practiced.

Valiant started speaking again, as if Merlin hadn't said a word at all, "There are rumors going around that claim you to be nothing more than a commoner. But with such beautiful features such as yours, I know that can't be true. But that brings me to a problem, I thought I knew all of the noble families in Camelot, but I don't recognize your name."

This was his chance to find out exactly who Merlin was. If he knew his family, knew whoever it was that he had to be distantly related to for the king to be impressed enough to agree to this union, then it opened a whole new door of possibilities. He could by-pass Merlin entirely, and go straight to his family. Claim to be in love or something and convince them to annual the consort's marriage to the prince so that their own love would have a chance to flourish, and give him time to properly court the consort. What better way to break the prince's spirit, and shaking him off of his usual good game, then stealing away his prized consort.

"What was your name before you married?"

That question was just loud enough to finally gather Morgana's attention. And she turned her head around to watch them both with a curious expression, no longer listening to Uther as he talked to the knight Tristian about the next round of matches.

Merlin stared at Valiant blankly, not getting where he was going with this. It took almost a second to long before the metaphorical torchlight to go off in his head, and with it came the perfect idea to force Valiant to go away.

Knight's did seem to like thinking they were so much better than everybody else, after all. He might as well play on that, somewhat.

Merlin gave him his most demure smile, trying to almost imitate Morgana in a classy kind of way. He didn't quite land the effect like he wanted to, his version looked far to odd and uncertain to do that, but it would work nonetheless.

"Oh," he said, his tone matter-of-factly. "My name was just Merlin, I don't have a last name. Well, I suppose my name is Merlin Pendragon now, but I didn't have a last name before I married. Commoners don't usually get one."

Merlin made sure to emphasize the 'commoner' part. If Valiant hated the common folk so much, which he obviously did after what he did to Merlin in that stupid hallway, then Merlin was more than willing to throw that little fact into his face.

Morgana actually snorted in a very unladylike manner. She had to casually bring her hand up as if she was trying to shyly hide her smile in an effort to muffle it.

Uther casually put a hand on Morgana's shoulder at the soft sound, to gather her attention back towards his conversation with the other knight. The entire time, the king never broke stride with what he was saying to Tristian.

Merlin turned away from the two, turning to look at Valiant with a surprisingly cocky smirk. But that was before he caught the look in Valiant's eyes, causing him to freeze up. It was like he was looking directly into the eye's of a snake, a dangerous predator that wouldn't hesitate to strike if thing's didn't go his way.

Valiant's features hadn't changed in a bit, he still looked as charming as ever. Nobody would have been able to tell the difference if they saw his face. But Merlin was close enough to see that subtle shift in his eye's that changed him from a charming knight to a dangerous predator. And the knight's hand around his tightened, squeezing to an almost unbearable level, that Merlin couldn't have stopped the wince from forming if he'd tried.

Valiant's tune towards him had completely changed with his word's. Apparently knowing that he was an actual commoner, made all the difference. Maybe that also meant he was no longer 'elfin' or whatever Valiant had claimed he was. Maybe now that he was a commoner, Valiant saw somebody that was not fit to be here, not unless he was serving drink's at least.

Valiant leaned forward, almost jerking Merlin closer by his hand so that he could speak in his ear so there was no chance of them being overheard. Merlin had to lean away, his face scrunching up in disgust as he felt Valiant's breath fanning out down his neck.

"I can see why so little is known about you." Valiant spoke, calm and casual and very callous. "Arthur probably tries to hide you the best he can. It must be so humiliating for him, to be born on top of the world and yet, forced to settle for someone who belongs in the mud."

Merlin went stiff, every nerve in his body going off like an alarm. Valiant had somehow, with just a few words, managed to set off every insecurity that Merlin hid behind a cheeky grin.

Merlin wretched in his hand, almost surprised when he managed to get free this time. But that was only because Valiant had no desire to touch somebody as filthy as a commoner, not unless he was giving him a brief moment of...entertainment. Valiant had always told himself that commoners were only good for one thing, and that was warming the sheet's of their superior's.

Cradling his hand to his chest protectively, Merlin said stiffly, "I believe your time it up. There are other's waiting." And then he was watching the knight with a cautious eye, almost as if he expecting Valiant to do something else just as horrible as what he'd just said to Merlin.

But Valiant seemed to have thought that he had done enough damage for the moment. He took a step back, and spoke much louder as he bowed in an almost mocking way that only Merlin seemed to notice, "It was lovely to meet you, Consort Merlin. I'm sure I will enjoy seeing...more of you...very soon."

Merlin didn't know why, but those words caused every hair on his body to stand on end. Every nerve ending he had was going off, warning him of a danger that he didn't want to face. The kind of danger that nobody should ever have to face.

Valiant just smiled, easily hiding behind his facade as he left Merlin to join the other knight's against the wall. With his back towards the royal family as he walked away, Valiant let a hint of his smirk appear before it vanished just as fast.

He'd been right in his assessment of Merlin the first time. He was nothing more than a whore who had probably somehow seduced his way into the prince's bed, and therefore a marriage. Valiant may not be as high as a prince was in terms of status, but he could definitely make life very difficult for a certain whore if he was told 'no.'

X

Arthur's eye's shot straight to the hand that Merlin was cradling to his chest after Valiant had gotten out of his way. It was the same hand that held Merlin's wedding ring, the same ring that Valiant had kissed.

He felt the twitch of his lips as he did everything he could to suppress a sneer. From where he was standing, it looked as if Merlin was trying to protect his hand.

But protect it from what? From anybody else touching it and messing up the kiss that Valiant had given him?

Arthur had to stop himself from pushing the single knight still in front of him in line out of his way, just so he could get to Merlin all that much faster.

X

Merlin felt the soft nudge on the crook of his elbow, and he nearly flinched in surprise before his head whipped around to face Morgana. The lady was looking at him with a confused frown, "Are you alright?"

Morgana didn't know what had happened, she wasn't really paying attention to anything other than Uther and Tristian's conversation, but she had noticed the odd look Merlin had on his face when she had glanced over as Valiant had left. She may not know what had happened, but she did know that something was wrong.

"Uh, yeah, I'm-" Merlin had to stop to clear his throat, trying to shake off the alarm he had felt by Valiant's words. "I'm fine, absolutely fine." But still, he couldn't stop his eye's from shooting across the hall to where Valiant was standing off to the side, at the end of the line the other knight's had started to form. Only, the knight was no longer paying any attention to Merlin, apparently having got what he wanted by shaking him up.

Now he was looking at...Merlin followed Valiant's line of sight straight to where Arthur was standing in the small handful of knight's still left. The prince hadn't noticed Valiant's stare, to busy glaring at Merlin. But Merlin largely ignored that, Arthur always seemed to be glaring at him for one reason or the other.

Merlin shot his eye's away from Arthur and back to where Valiant hadn't even noticed that Merlin was now watching him.

Merlin narrowed his eye's.

Morgana didn't say anything for a long moment, but that was only because she was greeting Tristian herself as the knight passed her by. Merlin was so focused on watching Valiant, that it almost surprised him when Tristian stepped in front of him.

"Consort Merlin." Tristian said simply, nodding his head. But he also wore a teasing grin on his face, as if he still thought it was funny that a commoner now had a 'seat at the table' so to speak.

"Tristian." Merlin said bluntly, not in the mood for him as he finally lowered his hand's away from his chest. His arms rested at his side's, but he still felt the icky feeling of Valiant touching his left hand. He was going to have to boil his hand just to get that feeling to go away, wasn't he? And he was definitely going to have to pay extra attention when he cleaned his ring later, just so make sure that nothing left from when Valiant had kissed it.

"Did you ever get any of that 'alone time' with Arthur?" Tristian asked cheekily, which was probably an inappropriate way to speak to a consort. But then again, Consort or not, people would always see Merlin as nothing more than the commoner he was.

At least until Merlin did something to really change that perspective of himself.

Merlin smiled stiffly, remembering how Tristian had interrupted Arthur and him when they'd been trying to have that talk just outside the knight's quarters in the stadium. "No, we didn't." Merlin said in a stiff tone, still to shaken up by Valiant to do much else. "We kept being interrupted by wayward knight's who wouldn't leave us alone." And he was only half talking about Tristian. After all, Valiant had interrupted them as well.

Tristian didn't seem insulted by this. He actually threw his head back and laughed about it. "Alright, alright," he said, still chuckling. "I get it. The next time I see you and Arthur, I'll just go the other way so that I don't interrupt any 'private times.'" Tristian started backing away as if he was going to join the other knight's lined up against the wall. At the last second, he stopped to say to Merlin, "But really, let me know if your interested in me pointing out any of the less used closets if you want somewhere better for some privacy."

And then he was bounding off.

Maybe it was just a ridiculous statement to Merlin, who still didn't know why they would need a closet just to talk, that he actually forgot about Valiant. Just long enough for him to shout after the retreating knight, "We don't need any closets!"

Merlin had almost forgotten where they were, until he realized that every person in the room had once again, turned to look back at him.

Merlin blinked once, and then twice, before smiling sheepishly. "We uh...don't need any more...closet space for the cleaning supplies." He laughed awkwardly.

His laughter froze in his throat when he caught sight of the annoyed look Uther was giving him. "A consort does not worry himself about the state of our cleaning supplies." The king said stiffly.

Merlin almost wanted to throw out there that he didn't want to be a consort, that he had never wanted to be a consort. That he was only here, acting as their consort, because of Uther's own stupidity as to sign something without taking the time to think of the ramifications for not only Merlin and Arthur, but for the kingdom as a whole.

But Merlin figured that really would get him executed, so for the first time, he kept his mouth shut as the next knight stepped in front of Uther.

X

There was one more knight in front of Arthur, and he couldn't even get himself together enough to prepare for his own turn coming up.

He was to busy squeezing the bridge of his nose to realize that he actually was the next one in line. He couldn't believe the brat had just screamed out about closet's, and really? His bright idea as a cover was to make up an excuse about cleaning supplies?

His consort really was just a moron.

The only thing good about any of this, was that Arthur was pretty sure he was the only person that got Merlin's reference toward's closets as he yelled it after Tristian. Arthur had been so busy watching Merlin and Valiant's interaction, that he had completely forgotten that Tristian had stumbled upon them as well. And had made that stupid remark about Merlin and him finding a closet for privacy.

Arthur couldn't even feel that spike of panic return, he thought he would have felt it at the insinuation that he couldn't get enough of his male consort, so he needed to find a closet to get that extra time with him.

But it was just so ridiculous. That Arthur, with all of the many empty bedrooms as his disposal (barring his own room, of course) would have so little self-control that he couldn't help himself. Was Tristian under some kind of delusion, where Arthur couldn't keep his hands to himself and that his desperation to have Merlin was so great, that he just had to drag him into a closet to get it.

Even if Arthur did have some kind of interest in Merlin, and he thought that with a slightly disturbed expression, he would definitely have more class than to try attempting something in a closet of all places.

X

Morgana, whilst the newest knight that had stepped up to converse with the king, was quick to ask Merlin, "Are you really sure you're okay? Did he say somet-"

"Hey, what's he doing over there?" Merlin interrupted, nodding across the room. He really didn't want to get into what Valiant had told him. It wasn't like he wasn't already aware of his and Arthur's problem's, Valiant pointing it out just made him aware that other people had apparently noticed as well. So when Morgana had started asking him 'again' if he was alright, Merlin had blurted out the first thing he saw.

Morgana frowned, and followed Merlin's line of sight to the far wall, opposite of where the other knight's were standing. "Morris?" She asked.

The manservant was standing against the wall, looking every bit of the perfect servant that he portrayed himself to be. He had his arms folded behind his back, just waiting for his master to call for him.

The last time Merlin had saw Morris wasn't that long ago actually. It was just after Merlin had finished getting Arthur dressed for the tournament, and sent him off on his way. It was also when Morris had, 'metaphorically' tried warning him of how dangerous Arthur was. And also gave off the illusion that it wouldn't be long before Arthur set him on fire, just like he had that stupid book when he was a child.

He still got chills when he thought about it, but if it got Morgana off his back about Valiant, he'd take the lesser evil.

"Yeah, I mean, isn't he usually stuck by Arthur's side." Merlin said quickly, trying to distract Morgana. "I didn't think that this whole thing would have been any different." And damn, wasn't that also annoying. It was like everywhere he turned, Morris was there clinging around Arthur in some way.

"He usually is by Arthur." Morgana said with pursed lips. She'd never been Morris' biggest fan, he seemed to much like a kiss up for her taste. But Arthur hadn't had anything more than his usual overbearing complaints, so she assumed he did an adequate enough job at least. "There's very little moments where Morris isn't allowed to be by Arthur's side. And this would have to be one of them."

Merlin stared at her confused, getting a little more invested into this conversation than he thought he would be. "...Is this one of those noble custom's that I wouldn't know about."

Morgana's lips twitched into an amused smile, "It is." She agreed, with a generous nod of her head. "Arthur may be a prince, whose definitely used to having a manservant hovering over him. But right now, he's just like every other knight. It might be seen as an unfair advantage if he brought his servant with him when all he's doing is standing in line. Servant's usually aren't welcomed in here during this, there's really no reason to have them. The knight's seem to think it'll make them seem weak if they so much as ask for a glass of water after waiting in this line for so long. The only reason Morris is allowed in the room at all is because Arthur's prince, but that's as far as it goes." Morgana shrugged with a teasing grin. "I'm sure even Arthur can last without somebody to attend to his every need for a few hours."

Merlin glanced over his shoulder towards where Gwen and Morris were stationed right behind them, silently watching their exchange.

Morgana waved a dismissive hand, "Oh, they don't count." And when Merlin raised an eyebrow at her, Morgana was quick to correct herself. "I just meant that they're different. They're our servant's, which is perfectly acceptable to have since we're not knight's." She stopped to give him a wry smirk. "We don't have to worry about showing off how strong we are to not need the use of a servant for a few hours."

Merlin snorted, thanking the heavens that he wasn't a knight. As much as the knight's liked to portray how strong they were, they seemed to be pretty helpless if they struggled to not have a servant at their beck and call every waking moment.

And these were their soldiers, who were supposed to protect them in the case of attack.

Morgana gave Merlin a curious expression when the boy suddenly looked at her with a cheeky grin, "So, Arthur's really not getting any special allowance befitting of his royal status? Morris really isn't allowed to attend to him right now?"

Morgana grinned, finally realizing why Merlin was getting so much amusement out of this. "No, like I said, Arthur is just like one of his men. He's like any other competitor among them." And Morgana actually knew that Arthur preferred it that way. He had once told her that it gave him a chance to be 'one of his men' instead of the one in charge. But really, Morgana didn't think Arthur really got the whole, 'want to be normal instead of royal' when he was in one of his mood's. It was easy to wish he could be just like anybody else, when he got to return to his extravagant home every night.

All Morgana's words did was make Merlin's cheeky grin widen, as he forcefully pushed both Valiant's words and Morris', to the back of his mind, so that he could focus on his amusement. "This must be absolutely killing him."

Morgana threw her head back and laughed, having to forcefully compose herself as the knight talking to Uther finally approached her himself. Merlin shook his head, grin growing because of how carefree Morgana had sounded. Merlin had a feeling that Morgana and Arthur didn't get to be like that very often.

...How would Arthur look, laughing so carefree and happy, instead of just mocking.

He didn't get to think on it to often, before the knight approached him next, giving him a brief and customary greeting before departing.

X

Arthur had a carefully composed expression on his face, trying to will down his growing agitation as he saw Morgana laughing again at something that Merlin had said. What was so funny? And more importantly, why wasn't he in on the joke?

Arthur nearly flinched in surprise when it suddenly hit him that there was nobody else in front of him. He'd been so busy staring daggers at Merlin and Morgana, that he hadn't even realized the no-named knight that had been in front of him had already gone ahead.

This was his chance, to get answers. Or maybe just wipe that ridiculous grin off of Merlin's face. Really, what on earth did he have to be so happy about?

Arthur had his eye's so intensively focused on his oblivious consort, that he almost walked straight past his father, and therefore messing up the protocol of which they followed for this 'meet-and-greet.'

It was only by his father's strong and firm, "Arthur." Did the prince remember himself, and pull to a stop, standing at a standstill somewhere between his father and Morgana.

His father's voice seemed to be what finally got their attention, and Morgana and Merlin turned their heads to look at him with a curious expression. Arthur felt the heat creeping up the back of his neck, and his heart jolted in a brief panicked stutter as his eye's met with Merlin's.

And like a coward, Arthur quickly took a step back. But he would forever explain that he'd simply done it so that he could better converse with his own father, and not because he didn't want those blue eye's of Merlin's to linger on him.

Clearing his throat, Arthur turned to his king and felt a brief stutter of annoyance go off in his brain as he saw that Morgana and Merlin had started whispering to each other again. He was sure that it was about him, and he practically ground his teeth together as he tried to ignore it, even as his irritation grew because it was killing him to know what they were talking about, looking as thick as thieves as they were.

"Father," he said stiffly, trying to gather some sense of decorum in his actions.

X

"Did you see the way he was looking at you?" Morgana whispering, a teasing lilt to her voice. "Did I miss some kind of development in your relationship? Because he obviously only had eye's for you." Morgana could have sworn that her and Uther had been completely invisible to Arthur. The prince had made a straight shot toward's Merlin, and would have gone all the way if the king hadn't gotten his attention.

Merlin scoffed, "I think you need your eye's check. If anything, he looked like he wanted to kill me." With how intense Arthur had been staring him down as he made his way over as the next knight to approach them, he had thought the prince was trying to kill him with just his stare alone.

Although what Merlin could have possibly done now was a mystery to him. But then again, everything Arthur seemed to do just baffled him.

Morgana didn't seem to be as concerned as he was though, "Maybe it's you that need's your eye's check. When a boy has a look like that in his eye's, well let's just say-" she stopped to bump her elbow into his side, making Merlin wince and bring a hand up to rub at the now sore spot. "You might actually have a chance at getting a love confession out of him."

Merlin rolled his eye's, "I may not be the best at all of this, but even I know that it wasn't love in his eye's." But still, Merlin started to bite down on his lip again, casting a worried glance toward's Arthur. While the prince was conversing with his father, Merlin was trying to pinpoint anything that would indicate that Arthur was still as stricken as he had been earlier that day.

But there was no indication that he'd ever felt such a thing in his life. Arthur was the perfect example of what a perfect prince should behave as, speaking eloquently with his father as he was.

It was only as he bit down harder on his lip, did Merlin remember what had happened the last time he'd done it. When Arthur had yanked him by his chin to jerk his lip free, complaining about how it somehow made it look as if Arthur had hit him.

Merlin let his lip pop free, feeling the burning sensation on his chin, as if Arthur was still holding onto him, preventing him from biting down on it anymore.

X

"Your consort is doing...decent..." Uther commented, looking as if it greatly pained him to admit this.

Arthur looked at him dryly, "Really, father? He was late, and he'd made several inappropriate outbursts. Let's not forget the-" he cut himself off before he could say the rest of what he'd been thinking. That Merlin had clearly been giggling with Morgana the entire time, instead of focusing on the task at hand. And (Arthur clenched his jaw at this one) he'd allowed Valiant to touch him, to kiss his hand when something like that was usually reserved for the young ladies of the court, like Morgana.

Uther look at his son with a curious expression before he simply said, "You've been paying attention."

Arthur stiffened, and maybe it was his own paranoia but those words had almost felt like an accusation. Had that been some kind of test? To see if Arthur knew what was going on? As prince, it was his job to practically know everything that went on in the kingdom.

Trying to sound as calm and as diplomatically as possible, despite the frantic racing of his heart, "Well, he is common born. It's only right that I keep a close watch on him, before he does something to embarrass the crown."

Uther was still watching him, and Arthur was sure that something was wrong, that his father somehow knew all about how close he and his consort had gotten in that stupid hallway. Had Valiant somehow managed to slip that moment into the small conversation he'd had with Uther?

But before Arthur could have what felt like a heart attack coming up, Uther nodded. "Good. I can't always keep a close watch on him, but clearly someone has to do it. So I suppose that this duty will fall down to you."

Arthur felt himself pale just a little, and he hoped that the room, lit with it's many candles, were just to dark to notice the lightening of his skin. Just earlier, Arthur had been contemplating that his best course of action was to just stay as far away from Merlin as he possibly could, simply so nobody would get the wrong idea about them. And now here his farther was, only hours later, telling him that it was his duty to make sure Merlin didn't do anything stupid.

He had a feeling that something like that was easier said than done.

Seeing his father was still watching watching him, and clearly waiting for an answer, Arthur swallowed hard before he forced out, "Yes, father."

That seemed good enough for the king because he nodded. Arthur could feel himself start to calm down some, because maybe he had gotten through with this. Maybe he could just briefly talk with Morgana, and then just completely ignore Merlin so that his father wouldn't grow any suspicion over rather or not there was more to them then just being legally married.

No, his father wouldn't be pleased if rumors started to spread about how Arthur had snubbed his husband. And knowing Merlin, the guy would probably freak out on him right here in the middle of everybody, making thing's so much worse than if he had just greeted him.

If the people found out just how unhappy their prince was with his marriage, who know's what troubles would befall the kingdom. An unhappy royal family, meant an unhappy kingdom. Especially if it's ruler's made emotional decision's because of their own depressed mental state instead of thinking through thing's rationally and diplomatically.

And then his father was suddenly holding out his hand to him, still looking at Arthur with that contemplative expression as he waited for the prince to take his hand.

Arthur felt himself relaxing more, because this, this was something that he could do. A handshake between men, something his father has only started doing after he'd turned eighteen and completed his first real 'adult' mission, acting in the capacity of prince.

Arthur reached out and clasped his father's hand with his, giving it a firm shake just as his father had taught him. After all, a strong handshake indicated that you were a strong knight (or in his case, a strong prince).

Before Arthur could redraw though, his father suddenly used his grip on the blonde's hand to jerk him closer. Arthur nearly fell over his own feet when he was suddenly jerked, but of course, Uther hadn't budged an inch.

Arthur stiffened as Uther spoke into his ear, hushed as if to make sure that nobody watching would be able to overhear them.

"I've spoken with Gaius, he's agreed to do the inspection of your consort. It won't be long now before we have actual proof that you did your duty and we can all move on from this."

If Arthur had been pale before, it was nothing as to how he was looking right now. His skin had practically drained of color until he almost looked as white as a sheet, but it was barely noticed in the flickering of the dim candlelight's.

The tip of Arthur's tongue shot out just briefly to try and wet his dry lips, before he forced out a very weak sounding, "Good, father. I look...forward, to putting all of that behind us."

The only good thing about any of this was that Arthur had apparently beaten his father to the punch, and had already talked to Gaius about it. In exchange for Gaius telling Uther that all had gone like it was supposed to, Arthur would someday explain to Merlin the finer expect's of an adult relationship.

Arthur was still convinced that he gotten the rotten end of the deal. But still, he knew it was a better option than facing the disappointment when his father found out that he hadn't gone through with it. And it would be better in the long run when he wasn't forced to bring Merlin up to his room and try to recreate what their wedding night should have been before anybody else found out.

He could only hope that Gaius kept his word so that he wouldn't face the repercussions of his own actions.

Uther nodded, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder as he pulled away. "Good, I know that all of this has been hard on you. But at least you were about to pull yourself together enough to do what is right for our kingdom." Uther thumped Arthur gentle on his chest with his knuckle. "You did something that you didn't want to do, to make our kingdom a better place, as well as keeping us on the throne instead of losing it to that peasant. I can see now that I've taught you well. You truly have the making's of a great king, my son."

Arthur felt as if he could drop to the ground at any minute, as if his leg's weren't strong enough to hold him up straight. All his life, all he'd wanted to do was make his father proud, that simple thing was practically at the core of who he was.

And the one thing that had truly done it was going through with his sham of a marriage, so that they could keep the kingdom under their rule.

Feeling as if he was going to be ill, Arthur looked as if a strong wind could have knocked him over in that moment, before he spit out, "Thank you, father."

Uther gave him a simple nod, before looking away at the one or two men still left hovering in the line behind Arthur. Arthur took that as his cue to leave, and that his short moment with his father had ended.

Arthur gave a quick bow of his head and stepped away, if only so his father wouldn't notice just how pale faced he had gotten during their short conversation.

"Arthur."

Arthur barely detected the sound of his name, but it was still there enough to jolt him back into awareness. And it took everything he had not to show just how much the sound of his name had startled him.

"Morgana." He said simply, willing his voice to work as he tried to get back on track. Right, the conversation with his father wasn't the only one to be had. He still had Morgana...and Merlin.

Arthur cast a glance to the dark haired boy, as if just willing him to disappear in a cloud of smoke, as if he had never been there. If only so Arthur wouldn't actually have to talk to him under the watchful eye's of his father, making sure that it looked as if they were getting along, if only so their people wouldn't realize just how shameful their marriage was.

But Merlin didn't seem to notice that Arthur was glancing at him at all. In fact, he was now looking towards the lineup of the other knight's against the far wall. And following in the direction that Merlin's eye's had gone, Arthur stiffened up when he saw that his consort was staring at Valiant.

With what had just occurred with his father, Arthur had almost forgotten everything he had witnessed between Merlin and the other knight. And with the reminder, came just a flicker of rage throughout his body, before it was doused down to barely kindling by him and his father's conversation.

"I'm sure your eager to talk to your consort more than me." Morgana's voice forced Arthur to whip his head back around to see her watching him with a raised eyebrow. "But it really isn't proper to skip me either."

It took Arthur a minute to understand what she was talking about. When Arthur had left his father, he had almost walked straight pass her and Merlin both, his mind to filled up with everything that was going on in his life to worry about things like 'meet-and-greet's' with people he already knew.

Arthur forced a smile onto his face, trying to look as if he wasn't completely going off his rocker, "Of course not, Morgana. I wouldn't dream of doing that, after all, it's pretty hard to ignore you."

But despite his sarcastic whip, the exact thing he probably would have said even if he wasn't having his own problems, he still watched Morgana with an almost cautious gleam in his eye's. Had she overheard his conversation with his father? Had she heard that his father, who'd probably only said it two or three times his entire life, was proud of him because he agreed to this impossible marriage? Or had she heard when his father had whispered to him about how Gaius was supposed to inspect Merlin for signs of penetration?

God help him if Morgana ever found out just how far he was going to hide something like that from his father. God help him if she ever found out the depths that he was willing to go just so he wouldn't have to bed Merlin for one single night.

But Morgana didn't give him the single impression that she had heard anything, to busy gossiping with Merlin to pay any attention to the conversation that had been happening just at her side. She just gave him a glower as her smile dimmed into the look of annoyance that only two people who had grown up in the same household could hold for each other.

"It is hard to ignore you as well, Arthur dear." She said in a tone that was far to casual for it to actually be casual. "But I do find it becoming easier by the day. After all, there is a new knight in town, and he does seem to be impressing everybody." She gave a nod of her head over his shoulder, but Arthur didn't dare turn around.

He knew that was where Valiant was standing, and Arthur didn't want to make a scene, because he could still feel that kindling of fire barely burning in his veins. His conversation with his father had really psyched him out, but Morgana's conversation was the one thing he needed to calm himself down. To think more rationally about his upcoming conversation with Merlin, while also forcing him to put his conversation with his father as far into the back of his mind as he could.

"Including yourself?" Arthur asked, a wry smirk briefly glancing across his lips as he felt just the tiniest bit of color returning to his face. "I did seem to notice that you did seem awfully pleased when Valiant was talking to you."

It brought back the memory of Valiant pressing a gentleman's kiss to the back of her hand. And with it, brought back the memory of when he had done it to Merlin's. And there was a spark in his veins, as if that kindling of barely there fire was trying to start relighting.

Morgana gave him a sarcastic smile, making sure to show all of her teeth as she casually said, "Yes, well it does seem as if I wasn't the only one." She gave a pointed look to Merlin at her side, and Arthur's eye's followed her own before he could stop them. But Merlin didn't seem to notice that he'd just been drawn into their conversation, still staring in Valiant's direction with the slight narrowing of his eye's.

Arthur felt his jaw clench up before he forced himself to relax before he went off on the other boy. Checking out another man, while his husband was standing this close to him...the spike of sudden outrage was almost enough to actually choke him up. It took him a moment longer to think, shouldn't this be a good thing? That Merlin had to be getting over whatever fantasy crush he had on Arthur, if he was moving on enough to be looking at other men.

That didn't stop Arthur from wishing he could bring his sword to Valiant. Whatever the knight had done when he'd been conversing with Merlin, it had clearly sparked an interest in the other man.

"Merlin clearly has no taste." Arthur bit out forcefully, torn between if he really should bring his sword to Valiant, or just start throttling Merlin. Humiliating, that was the word that suddenly broke through Arthur's rising fog of anger he was surrounded in. That had to be why he was suddenly so mad, because it was humiliating if someone else noticed that his own consort was so easily swayed away by another's attention.

Or at least that was what Arthur told himself, so that he wouldn't have to think about less favorable reasons for his sudden anger.

Morgana seemed almost amused by his answer, turning her gaze away from Merlin and back to the blonde. "Careful, Arthur, you almost sound as if your jealous that somebody else has captured your consort's eye." The lady watched the blonde with an almost calculating gleam in her eye's, trying to poke at all of the buttons she could, if only to see where exactly Arthur was standing in concerns to his marriage.

Morgana's word's almost brought Arthur up short, and he had to drag his glower away from his still staring consort, just so he wouldn't give Morgana any 'funny idea's'. Arthur forced his most cocky grin onto his face, even though he wasn't really feeling it at the moment, "Jealous? Why would I be jealous? It's not as if anybody of any decent noble stock, would ever take Merlin seriously."

Morgana's smile almost dimmed down to nothing as she stared at Arthur, almost offended on his poor consort's behalf. But that was when she saw just how forced his smile was, the way his face still had a touch of paleness to it. And most importantly, how his eye's seemed to involuntarily be darting to Merlin before he dragged them away, at least five times by her count, in the brief moment between them since Arthur had last spoken.

Morgana's lips curled into a hint of an almost teasing grin, "Keep telling yourself that, if you have to." If Arthur was feeling jealousy over what appeared to be Merlin showing interest in somebody else, then that could only mean one thing.

That Arthur liked Merlin, rather he admitted it or not. Rather he'd even realized it himself or not, she knew that he had to at least had formed some sort of emotion towards the boy if he was showing jealousy.

Arthur's eye's seemed to flash, turning his full attention onto her instead of splitting it between their conversation and glowering at Merlin, "What is that supposed to mean?" He demanded, really feeling the pressure on his teeth as he started to grind them together.

Morgana gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulder, before waving him off. "Nothing, nothing. I believe that our conversation has come to an end, your consort is still waiting for your attention. Or," her grin widened. "Maybe he's to far gone on Valiant to notice you've even arrived." Morgana wasn't above using Arthur's jealousy if she had to. She supposed she could just come right out and say how obvious it was that he was crushing on Merlin, and crushing hard from the level of jealousy that she had seen. But she thought it was more amusing this way, more romantic in a way for Arthur to discover this himself.

Merlin giving Arthur a favor suddenly seemed to have a much more favorable response.

As if deciding herself that this conversation was over, Morgana turned to Gwen standing quietly behind her all this time, to start up a conversation as they waited for the next knight to approach.

Something about how she hoped that Arthur lose in the next rounds because he was more focused on Merlin than anything else.

Arthur ignored that though, and opened his mouth to protest, to argue back that he wasn't done with their conversation, to demand what she had been talking about when she said 'whatever you say' as if there was something that he was missing. Something that he just wasn't seeing for himself. But then her last word's finally registered to him, and his eye's flashed like the glint off of razor wire, before he shot another look toward's Merlin.

Arthur practically all but abandoned Morgana as he stepped aside, making sure that he was in Merlin's direct eye contact. His view of Valiant finally blocked off, seemed to be the one thing that Merlin needed to snap him out of whatever daze he had fallen into.

"A-Arthur?" Merlin stuttered, straightening up as he blinked several times. He stopped to look in the direction of Morgana and Uther, as if he was trying to understand how Arthur was suddenly in front of him. As if he had truly not realized that Arthur had steadily been working his way toward's him for the pass several minute's worth of conversation's. And that was proven true a second later, when Merlin turned confused eye's onto him and asked, "When did you get here?"

Something in Arthur started to crack, some part hidden in his psyche that he had never even known was there. It was just barely a little nick, something that was so small that Arthur didn't even notice when it happened. But over the next several months, and with each new encounter with Merlin, that crack would get bigger. It would grow and stretch, spreading out and forming more cracks inside of him, until one day it would just shatter. And Arthur would be left barely clinging on to a lifeboat as it would feel like he'd been hit by a sledgehammer, and everything he'd felt for Merlin would come roaring to a surface.

So strong and harshly that Arthur would feel as if he was drowning in it. And Merlin would be that 'metaphorical' lifeboat that he was clinging onto.

But that was many months away, so far off of Arthur's radar that it might as well not even be a distinct possibility.

For now, it was just a nick inside of him, and that was all there was to it.

Arthur smiled at his consort, but it was through a clenched jaw and full of teeth, and it almost looked as if he was on the verge of snarling at him like some kind of rabid dog.

"Mer-lin." Arthur said, making each syllable sound as if it was a word itself. "I do believe that you need to reorganize your priorities." Each word was spoken carefully, and Arthur was barely holding onto that spark of dry kindling inside of him, trying to force it not to ignite into a wildfire.

Merlin took a very subtle step back, as his full attention was brought to Arthur. The memory of Valiant was like a distant thump in the background, and no longer his problem. Not when he had Arthur baring down on him, looking very dangerous in that moment. A careful and control kind of danger, that was almost more worrisome than if Arthur had been throwing one of his infamous mood swing fits.

"W-what do you mean?" Merlin asked, honestly confused, because he couldn't think of a single thing that he had done to make Arthur this annoyed with him. At least not recently, not unless it was about him being late. But surely Arthur wasn't this pissed off because of that.

Arthur gave a low chuckle at his question, an almost dangerous sounding one in fact, "I think you and I both know exactly what I'm talking about." Merlin's priorities should be firmly on trying to please Arthur with his performance as a 'respectable consort' while being watched and inspected by the many knights that were there. Not ogling another man.

Arthur took another step that was just a little bit closer to his consort, more inappropriately so considering he hadn't done that when conversing with Morgana. But Arthur supposed that it didn't really matter, because Merlin was supposed to be his consort, right? Arthur was supposed to be standing just a little bit closer to him than he was supposed to be towards other people.

Or at least that was what Arthur told himself as a reason for why he had to be so close to Merlin this time.

Merlin's eyes were darting across Arthur's face, trying to figure out what it was that the prince thought he knew. But he couldn't come up with any reason for the sudden hostility towards him. But on the other hand though, he did see other thing's. Like the way Arthur's color had yet to return fully, and it was just that small detail that made Merlin remember the state he'd last seen Arthur in, where he'd been going off into full terror territory.

With what had happened with Valiant, he'd all but forgotten about it, until now at least.

Merlin scanned Arthur with an almost critical eye, trying to connect the same man he saw before him, with the scared looking little boy that had taken off into the darkness of the tournament.

He did look better, Merlin could grudgingly admit that, and it was definitely a relief. But still...it did look as if some of that earlier panic hadn't completely gone away either.

"Are you okay?" Merlin asked bluntly, when he knew that he could no longer stall for anymore time. There was only so long that he could stare the blonde down, before Arthur inevitable did something that drew all of the attention to them. Merlin at least tried to be quiet, which was a feat in itself for him, speaking in a hush tone so that they would be less likely to be overheard.

If only so Merlin could keep Arthur's sudden panic to himself. It was strange, knowing that he didn't want anybody else to have seen what he had seen in that stupid stadium hallway. After what a jerk Arthur always was to him, you would think that Merlin would be eager to spread the news. To let everybody know that Arthur wasn't as tough as he tried to lead other's to believe.

But he didn't, because that wasn't who Merlin was.

Something had terrified Arthur something awful, something that was able to put that stricken look on his face. He may not know what it was, but he was more than willing to keep Arthur's reaction by it close to his chest.

Merlin's question seemed to bring the prince up short, making him freeze before he could take another more inappropriately close step towards his consort.

Whatever flickering flames inside of Arthur that was seconds away from bursting into an inferno, doused itself within second's.

It took Arthur mere moment's to realize that they were now talking about two very different things.