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!

46. Chapter 46

Arthur couldn't wait for this evening to just end, it would be a miracle at this point if he was ever allowed to retire to his bed before the morning sun rose. The king's dinner party had only barely just begun and already could he feel the stirrings of a deep boredom that just made him want to slouch in his chair as if he were a moody teen again. But he wasn't a teen anymore, he now had a certain image he had to maintain and uphold.

But while he was no longer in the midst of teen anguish, he was definitely moody at the moment.

Not even the wine he was sipping on was good enough to lift his mood. Which was a shame, because he actually did enjoy this particular wine that had been given to them. But he could barely taste any of it, almost having to force it down and feeling as if he'd nearly choked on it several times as he put on an act, pretending to enjoy it more than he actually was.

His face was a careful mask of nonchalance as to not give away how dreadfully boring he was finding the evening. It was usually a mark of pride for him when he managed to get this far into the yearly tourney, and had earned his right to sit at his father's left hand rather than it just being given to him because it was his natural birthright.

But not even that would lift his mood out of the sullenness that he was in. It was quite an irritation actually, to feel this disgustingly moody in a way he hadn't felt since he was in his teens, and yet he didn't understand why he was in such an awful mood. If his mood could be manifested into the physical world, he would have no doubt that there would be a storm cloud forming somewhere above his head.

His father had delved into some kind of conversation with Valiant, but Arthur was in to much in a mood to pay it any attention. He sat his wine glass down and set to work on finishing his soup. It was just a plain potato soup, but it was made with the extravagance of spices that made it a perfect first course for the nobility. It was used more as a way of cleansing the palate of the day's activates before the actual meal would arrive in a few minutes.

It didn't help that the knight on his right was chattering nonstop in an irritating manner. He didn't know what his name was, or where he had came from, he was one of the first of the men to lose out so Arthur wasn't even sure how he had gotten the seat next to the final competitors. Not unless he had all but shoved every other knight out of his way to get to that spot.

He seemed more like the type that was just pleased to have been in the contest, instead of having any real desire to be a formidable opponent.

"And then the dog jumped into the lake after her mistress! Wasn't that a marvel!" The man was saying, shaking his head as he took in the absolute wonders that were the common folk in his eye.

"A marvel it was." Arthur grumbled, clearly not paying the man any attention, not that it seemed to deter the knight from retelling his story all over again since the blonde wasn't obviously getting the humor in it, instead of just not being interested. The story had to do with how the knight had pushed a common girl into a small river when he was a child, and how his father had shown great amusement when the girl's dog had dove in after her and dragged her out by the collar of her common dress.

Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he struggled to see what was so funny about such a thing. Arthur was no saint, he loved messing with the commoners, it was one of his favorite past time activities. Or at least it had been before he had gotten married and his entire life had been put on hold...maybe he should take it up again. It had been a great way to get his frustrations out when he was feeling particularly stressed, and nobody had been able to say that Arthur was ever more stressed than he was now.

The point was, while Arthur was no saint he had also never nearly drowned a common person when he was a young lad like this man seemed to be taking great pride in. As it would turn out, the knight had heard of how Arthur took his fun in tormenting those that were below them-as the knight had worded it because Arthur wouldn't had used the word 'torment', he preferred to say it was all just good fun all around-so he had decided to 'entertain' Arthur with one of his own 'pranks'.

If Arthur wasn't aware of his father sitting right on his other side, he probably would have already nodded off at this point. The whole evening had just been so dreadfully boring that if he hadn't been trained so fully and as hard as he had been in etiquette, he probably would have allowed his head to fall into his soup so that he could get some necessary rest and hope that he didn't drown himself in left over soup.

Which actually didn't sound like a half bad idea right now.

The sad part was Arthur wasn't even all that tired.

Oh, he was tired of the carefully worded conversations as he made nice with all of the other men, but if he had to go back out to the stadium and fight another five knights to keep his rightful position as a finalists, he could keep up with no problems as he won his spot all over again.

He was just bored, and sleep was the only thing he could think to do that would alleviate him of that boredom, despite the fact that he rarely ever went to sleep at this early hour of the late evening seven. Or at least that was what the candle on the far wall said the time was, this candle was being used more for time rather than actual light and the candle wax having been burned down until it reached the seventh notch indicated exactly what time it was.

He could have sworn that the candle struck seven nearly an hour ago.

...This dinner couldn't possibly be ending fast enough for him.

"Ah, Arthur," his father suddenly spoke up as he turned to him, thankfully drawing Arthur away from the earlier conversation of the girl and the dog that he had all but been forced into listening to for propriety's sake.

"Er, yes father?" Arthur asked, snapping his attention straight to the king. He felt it as his fingers tightened and twitched around his large soup spoon so he wouldn't drop it and have the clang as the metal spoon met with the rounded edge of the bowl echoing out-it wouldn't do to reveal just how startled he had been by his father's acknowledgment.

His father didn't seem to notice, he took his time raising his own soup spoon up to his lips and smoothly sipping it off the eating utensil and down his throat before he was elegantly setting it back down into his bowl, "There was something that I wished to discuss with you while I have you here."

Arthur could feel his spine as it sharpened in his back, going impossibly straight as every one of his nerve endings were screaming at him. A spike of panic seemed to go up his brain stem and flooded into his brain, and it was only his strength of will that managed to squash it down before he could do or say something that would ruin him.

"Of course father, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" Arthur asked, the weariness was barely detectable in his voice. But that was the only thing that gave away just how nerve wracking this was for him. Otherwise, he was looking as if he were the perfect prince, the perfect man for his people to put their unwavering faith in, just like they would his father.

Uther leaned in closer, his arm laid out on the table between them (but not allowing his elbow onto the table because they weren't savages) before he said, "One of the knights came to me earlier today to withdraw from the tournament." He lifted an eyebrow up at his son, "Some of the things he said were very...strange, and off putting. It has lead me to suspect that was somehow your doing?"

Arthur almost wanted to laugh as he sagged in his seat with relief, his lips curving up into a relieved grin before he forced it back into a more politically practiced expression, "Ah, yes, Knight Chase." He had almost forgotten that he has instructed the knight to go to his father and withdraw, lest Arthur have him be dishonored in front of his entire family. He still shook his head at the knight's stupidity because honestly, trying to force there to be a sanctioned duel between himself and a peasant? It was ridiculous, and it would have been nothing more than a slaughter to have a trained knight fight against a peasant boy who had only had one lesson his entire life: said lesson being given by Arthur himself.

Uther snapped his fingers, and nodded his head as he looked quite like an imposing figure, "Yes, that's the one. Tell me, Arthur, what did this man do to invoke your ire? You don't usually have able bodied men withdraw from the tourney..." he raised a questioning eyebrow at his heir.

Uther's confusion wasn't exactly off putting, he had every right to question this decision.

Arthur had only done it once, back when he competed for the first time at eighteen when he was finally eligible. He'd been a lot more unsure of himself now that he was an adult and had different responsibilities than he had the days before. And he'd only done it because a knight had gone and gotten himself grievously injured in the round before, but still wanted to compete instead of getting checked out by Gaius. The knight in question hadn't wanted to dishonor his family by dropping out so early on, but waiting any longer to be seen by a physician probably would have killed him. So Arthur had ordered him to leave and drop out in order to save him some face. Now, he wouldn't dishonor his family by dropping out and appearing to be weak. He was leaving because his prince had ordered it, albeit, for his own good.

Arthur may be a lot of things, but nobody could say he didn't care for his men.

"It was a very regrettable decision, but I did find myself having no choice." Arthur said as he spoke with careful words. He had been so worried that his father had actually noticed his favor, had known that it hadn't been given to him by his consort, and was prepared to ring his neck for risking the sake of their kingdom just to get back at Merlin for trying to make him wear such an awful thing. But no, either his father hadn't realized that the cloth was given to him by a woman, or he just had more class than to bring it up where they could easily be overheard in such a public setting as this.

Uther nodded, clearing his throat as he was adjusting himself in his seat, taking another long sip of his soup, "I figured as much, so tell me, what was his crime?" And he used this term very lightly. Yes, sometimes he did need to have his knights punished but never for anything criminal that Uther would have a peasant put on the chopping block for. It was often for acting foolishly and disrespecting their ways of life.

They often had to do their punishment with Arthur instead of in the dungeons, which was a deterrent in itself. The young prince was practically a slave driver when he was training the new recruits, testing their limits and forcing them over the edge to make their army the best in all the land, prepared and ready for anything life may throw at them.

He was even more ruthless on those that the king had sent his way.

Arthur found himself clearing his throat as a sense of awkwardness seemed to drawn into him, and he absentmindedly swirled his large spoon in an eight like figure through his thick soup, "It was...he was seen harassing my consort." He said slowly, lowering his voice into an almost conspiring whisper as he choose his next words very carefully, "Can you imagine the uproar from the common people if I bore as a witness to such an event, and did nothing to stop it from happening?"

Uther nodded, clearly running that scenario through his mind before he spoke up, "Given the circumstances, I suppose that this was the right course of action to take." It would have definitely brought up some unwanted questions if the people thought Arthur would just stand by and allow somebody that he was supposed to 'love'-Uther's nose started to twitch with distaste at the term-was being hassled. It wouldn't have been a good look for somebody who was destined to take his throne in the future, and would probably be a cause for civil unrest among the people. So yes, he supposed that his son had made the right call if the event in question had been witnessed.

And while Uther had made his stance clear to Merlin about not revealing their little 'family secret of this unholy matrimony', he didn't believe that the boy could keep himself quiet if he was so displeased with Arthur. It was for the best that they kept the boy content and out of the way until he was needed, lest the king had to waste one of his men to keep the boy in his room because he started mouthing off to the wrong people of things that should remain unspoken.

It would have to be done if the boy became more trouble than he was worth.

Arthur bowed his head at his father's words, finding it in himself to breathe just a little bit easier, "Thank you father, I am glad to hear that you are pleased." Arthur didn't think he would have been able to take it if his father had shown such displeasure with his actions, but it really had been the only way to go. But knowing his father, he probably could have came up with a better solution to all of his problems on the spot.

"Why Arthur," a slimy voice cut into the convo between father and son. Arthur's eye's shot across the table to where Valiant had been listening in this whole time, a slight bit of his growing displeasure on his face at no longer having the soul attention of his father, "You make it sound like a hassle, defending your beloved from such a brute."

Arthur had steadfastly been ignoring him for the passed several minutes, unable to look at him for fear that his confusion would show on his face. He had a mystery playing in his head every time he looked at the other man, like what trait Merlin could be in possession of that a man like Valiant would want. Try as he may-and he had (a lot)-it was nearly an impossibility to get what Gaius had said out of his mind. About how Valiant was showing a clear interest in Merlin-and Arthur had witnessed it, had he not?-when Valiant had dared to be seen pressing an intimate kiss to the hand of somebody who did not belong to him?

"Of course not." Arthur said, his smile just a little to forceful and biting for it to be natural, and anybody paying close attention could see the way the blonde had his fingers curled tightly around his spoon. It was being subtly shaking from the tightness in his grip, a bit of whiteness clinging to the tips of his knuckles. His jaw hard, he said, "My consort just seems to have this habit of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, which often leaves me to have to bail him out."

Arthur's words rang with truth, and sounded almost like a prophecy if only to himself. He had no doubt that he would often find himself in situations such as this because of Merlin's inability to sit down and shut up for once.

"And yet," Valiant said, casually reaching out and lifting up his glass of wine as if to give a mocking toast to Arthur, "You've married him anyway."

"Well, he definitely makes my day just a little more interesting." Arthur said forcefully, the words coming out of him like a punch as he said them with his smile just a little bit wider, and his teeth nearly bared so that a lesser man would most likely be cowering if they got even a hint of his ire directed on them. But not Valiant, no, not him. The other knight just seemed to smile, as if he were sharing some kind of private joke just between the two of them. One that Arthur had no hope in trying to understand.

Uther was glancing between the two young men on either side of him-one his son and the other who had impressed him greatly on the field of battle-before he ultimately turned to Valiant, "Yes, my son's new consort is just having some trouble transitioning from being a peasant to nobility. But give him some time, and I am sure he'll be the greatest consort that Camelot has ever had."

Arthur admired his father for a great many things, and it was impossible for him to find just one trait that he admired above any of the others. But right now, the ability his father had to lie with a straight and sincere looking expression was on the top of his ever growing list.

"Oh, of that I have no doubt." Valiant said with a slimy grin, moving his goblet just a little for the wine to swirl around the inside of it, "He must be something special to have earned your blessing. I would love to know, what trait was it that stuck out in a commoner so much that you have made him your kingdom's consort?"

Arthur wanted to scream, but he kept his lips shut because he knew if he tried to answer the other knight, he probably would have been screaming right in his face.

His father didn't seem to have any of these reservations, not about any of this, because he gave the knight an easy going and very practiced smile, "Oh, that is just a little secret between us Pendragon's, we wouldn't want to spoil anybody's fun with their guessing and little theories running amok the city."

Arthur reached for his wine goblet, and took a generous gulp until he had drained it down to the last drop, before putting it heavily back down on the mahogany table. As much as he loved a good drink as the next guy, he usually didn't allow himself to get drunk during these important dinners. And one goblet of wine wasn't going to hurt him any, even now he could barely feel the heat of the alcohol enter his system, but it had been something that he had desperately needed to do at his father reminding him of the rumor mill that would constantly be spinning-and usually in his own direction.

Arthur didn't dare to touch his goblet again, even when Morris rushed forward from the wall to refill it when he noticed it had become emptied. He couldn't afford to actually get himself in a drunken stupor when there were so many eye's focused on him.

It didn't help matters any when his father turned back to him and said, "So, do tell me, has your consort caused any other problems that I should be made aware of?" But he had a silly little grin on his face, making it look for all the word to see as if he were joking. The kind of joke that was an inside one that very few people actually understand unless they had been there to see it themselves.

But Arthur knew that despite the act his king was putting on to soothe Valiant's thoughts, he really was asking if Merlin had given him anymore issues. Arthur felt that damn muscle in his jaw start to twitch when he clenched his jaw, "No father, none at all."

But he could feel his hand start to drift up his arm to where Lady Clarissa's favor had been added. He snatched his hand away just as quickly, before he could actually allow himself to touch it and bring attention to the cloth. It wasn't like he could tell his father that yes, Merlin was causing him problems. That he had given Arthur a favor with the expectation that they would become a real couple. No, he would die on his own blade before he came out with that response, it wasn't the type of problem his father was asking for anyway.

As far as Arthur knew, the boy hadn't done anything that would publicly shame him on this day. At least nothing more than the favor which Arthur had taken the liberty of taking care of himself, with some help from Lady Clarissa, of course.

Uther nodded, casually picking his goblet back up and letting the wine inside swirl around in a circular motion around the shape of the cup as he looked back at Valiant, "My son has... exotic taste when it comes to his obvious relationships."

And now Arthur just wanted to die. He also thought he may have thrown up a little in his mouth. Merlin was definitely the odd choice, somebody that he would have never picked on his own, but he still wouldn't have thought of him as exotic. Now, Lady Clarissa, she was somebody that seemed to be on the more exotic side of the spectrum. Just that accent alone, despite being a Camelot native there was a certain lilt to it that made it stand out. But then again, Merlin seemed to have a thicker accent as well, that definitely and very starkly stood out among the many citizens of Camelot. But it sounded more like a country bumpkin then it did with a sound of smooth elegance, like Lady Clarissa.

"My son's consort just needs some tending to while he gets used to his new status." The king said, taking a generous sip of his drink before he set it down elegantly. "But I have that manservant of his taking care of all of his needs as he learns of things that should have been taught to him as a child, you know, if he had been born as one of us."

And then he was giving Arthur a mock look of disappointment, as if it was Arthur that had been the one to insist on this marriage. As if he were trying to give off the illusion that the blonde had been the one to fight tooth and nail to force the wedding between him and Merlin. As if it wasn't Uther's own stupidity by signing the damn contract in the first place wasn't the only reason that they were in this mess at all.

Valiant laughed at that, and nodded his head as if Uther was speaking the gospel truth and should be respected for it, "Ah, yes. I can see having a manservant is a good first step to helping Consort Merlin transition into his new place in the court."

Arthur practically knocked his goblet over in his haste to gulp down a generous mouthful of the rich wine. He set the cup back down with a heavy sigh, licking the juice off of his top lip only to stop when he noticed that his father and Valiant was now looking at him with near identical raised eyebrows.

Arthur smiled wearily, before he awkwardly cleared his throat, "Yes. It's only right for a member of nobility to have a manservant to see to their needs. Merlin definitely needed the aide of one when he first arrived." He made it sound as if Merlin was helpless on his own, and couldn't do his own laundry and get his own meals. But doing that kind of work was now beneath Merlin's status, and should be tended to by somebody else.

Besides, having a manservant was a sign of status and of worth and wealth. To not give Merlin one would make the Pendragon's look as if they couldn't afford to give Merlin what every nobleman has the god-given right to own.

Uther nodded his head with his son's assessment of the situation, "I had hoped that having that manservant I had sent up to him would be a help to curve some of his more...peasant tendencies. I'm glad to hear that it seems to be working."

Arthur smiled weakly, his fingers twitching around the stem of his goblet, "Yes, it has been working marvelously..." but what else could he say exactly? It wasn't as if he could start bitching to his father about how Merlin was an absolute pest who never did what he was told to do and always went out of his way to drive him up the wall.

Valiant didn't seem to think so though, and he made his known by saying, "Forgive me for asking, but you assigned him a servant to curb these...tendencies? Should he not have been given private tutors to get his education up to where it should be? It wouldn't do for Camelot to fall because one of it's own future rulers didn't know how to properly care for it."

Arthur's lips thinned just a little at the prospect of Merlin having any say in his kingdom or how it was ran. It wasn't much of a problem now since Merlin was just the consort of a prince, his father was still the one that made things happen. But it Merlin started trying to exercise his authority after Arthur was king...it would just be one big mess. And that was another problem for future Arthur to worry about, he would have to make it known early on into his kingship that Merlin didn't have the same authority that Arthur would.

Even if he technically did have that authority through their marriage, Arthur himself wasn't going to allow it.

"Yes, well this is a very good point, and it is a matter that I can assure you is being well taken care of." Uther lied, twisting his words with a practiced ease as he answered Valiant. But Arthur knew the truth of the matter very well. His father hadn't been interested in giving Merlin the needed education, not when it was planned for the boy to stand off in the background and allow Arthur to do all of the talking. Especially once he became king, his father had hope that it wouldn't be much of a problem in the far off future. Maybe Merlin would meet his end long before Arthur had to worry about him saying the wrong thing to the wrong person once he was king, or maybe they could find some kind of clause or loophole in the contract that may absolve the marriage without having to face any consequences. But Arthur knew that this second one was a lost cause, the few council members that knew the truth of their marriage hadn't looked at the contract since the day of the wedding. As far as he knew, the contract had been sealed away in a vault somewhere so hopefully, it would remain undiscovered in the archives.

His father had been more concerned with perception, making it seem as if he was being welcomed into their family with opened arms. Uther was more interested in having Merlin to act the part, to look as if he was right where he belonged, rather than actually having the knowledge necessary to rule a country.

Maybe soon, Uther would have tutors for the boy, to give him just enough training to be able to talk the talk and walk the walk without embarrassing Arthur in the process. But that wasn't neither here nor there, right now it was all about looks: about perception, to fool the entire city into not knowing that they had their hands tied by this foolish contract.

They could get away with Merlin's lack of knowledge for now, being that they were still so new into their marriage and everybody knew that he was a commoner with no formal training, but the problem may actually have to be addressed sooner or later.

No, having a manservant would be a good first step to teaching Merlin just how things were done in Camelot. A manservant would keep Merlin on schedule once things started to settle, get him to look the part once his new clothing was prepared, and keep him fed so at least Arthur wouldn't stumble upon the moron's corpse because he was probably to dumb to know how to get his own food.

"That's a relief to hear," Valiant said as he let his spoon fall back into his soup. "You hear so many things about these people trying to have 'radical ideas' and such but with no way of keeping their family afloat as a cause. It would have been a shame to see the royal family falling for such trends."

Arthur knew what he was talking about, and it was a great displeasure to be compared to those family. Some of the lesser families tried to up their status by doing something that was new and different, something that would get them publicly noticed. Oh, they would get noticed alright, and often left in poorer shape then they were before. But then again, it was the Pendragon's that were the first to have such a highly public same sex marriage, so maybe Valiant did have a right to worry that Merlin would lead the Pendragon's to their downfall.

"Yes," Uther nodded his head gravely, as if it greatly pained him to remember the families that had fallen from their stations. "Well, just rest assure that nothing like that will possibly be occurring with me and mine." And he shot Arthur a stern look, as if it was all his fault that Merlin was now in their lives.

Arthur knew better than to argue with his father in public. Hell, he knew better than to argue with his father in most circumstances, or at all.

Of course, this was the same moment that Arthur was struck with a thought, a sudden realization at something his father had said just moments before and he found himself straightening up in his seat. "I'm sorry father, but did you say that it was...you...who sent George to Merlin?"

Not that long ago, his father had made a dismissive comment about how he had sent a servant up to tend to Merlin. Now, the servant was obvious George, the manservant that constantly followed Merlin around like a piece of tobacco stuck to the bottom of a shoe.

"Is that his name?" Uther asked, not looking all to concerned by Arthur's apparent startled expression. "I had the steward pick the one that was best suited for the job. Once your consort's new wardrobe is finished off, he'll be able to do his job more efficiently and at least Merlin will be able to look fit to be at your side."

All of this went straight back to perception, to making people believe whatever it was that you wanted them to believe. If Merlin was able to dress for the role of consort, it'll be easier to prance around with him on his arm if he was more appropriately dressed.

"...I'm not so sure it's going according to your plan." Arthur grumbled under his breath, even though he knew full well how his father felt about grumbling. Something about how it was unbecoming for someone of his status to grumble as if he was just another angsty teenager, even when he had actually been one. But he found that he didn't care, it also helped that Uther didn't seem to have noticed in the first place.

Arthur could feel himself growing salty at the news he'd just heard, that it had been his father who had ordered for a manservant to start attending to his consort. All this time, he had been operating under the delusion that Merlin had requested a manservant to be at his beck and call, and as consort, the royal steward would have had one sent up to his room immediately, for his own personal use.

As if to rub salt in Arthur's wound, his father turned to look back at Valiant, "You know, the peasant people, we have to do everything for them. After I realized the boy hadn't had one sent to him, I did it myself. I couldn't have the boy run around in those rags of his, he clearly needs the help of a manservant to get him prepared in the mornings."

Valiant laughed at that, nodding his head as if it were his turn to share a private joke with his king. "Of course, that was a very wise choice to make. I'm sure when his wardrobe is done being completed, he will look marvelous. Like a true born consort."

Arthur stabbed his spoon into his soup with a touch more harshness than he was going for, the metal making a sharp clang as it clashed against the bowl. If only it had been a slide of meat, then maybe the clang wouldn't have been so loud. God, he couldn't wait for the next course in their meal to begin, it would be one step closer to him getting out of here.

He'd just been so sure that Merlin himself had ordered a manservant, had been positive that the other boy was making himself at home with Arthur's wealth. It was somewhat of a surprise to realize that this was not the case, that his own father had been the one to order the manservant's service and not the other way around. He didn't like that he had been wrong about this, that it appeared as if Merlin had yet to do something absolutely frivolous with his gold, anybody else would have already been having a field day with it.

"You know," Valiant spoke up as he leaned forward across the table. Arthur looked at him with a mask of being uninterested. If Merlin hadn't given him a favor and expressed an interest in being with him, he would honestly be wondering how Merlin could find an interest in a man like this. "Here we are, talking about your consort and yet, I have yet to see him here tonight. Will he not be joining us for the evening?"

Arthur clenched his jaw, knowing that he had nothing to worry about but still felt an itch start to claw at his heart, "No," he said with a forceful air about him. "This meal is meant for the knight's only, my husband is not a knight."

Not that should Valiant be asking for him, Arthur thought spitefully. It was Valiant's questioning that brought to light that Merlin hadn't been ordering for himself to be attended to by that dratted servant of him. It was Valiant that was apparently showing an inappropriate amount of interest in Merlin that even Gaius-although how Gaius was involved in any of this was a mystery to him-had noticed and brought it to his attention.

Valiant leaned back in his chair, that oily smile of his graining on Arthur's nerves although he couldn't begin to explain why it was causing him so much irritation. "That's such a shame, I would have loved to get to know Camelot's newest esteemed Consort while I was within the city."

Arthur let his own smile creep across his lips, a more quietly sarcastic and sardonic looking one as he said, "Well, I do feel terribly sorry for your inconvenience, but Merlin is still just getting used to our ways. I don't think it's a good call to have a private meeting set up so early into our marriage, I'm sure you can find it in yourself to understand." And although this could be seen as the perfect way among the nobles to politely tell somebody to 'back off' without coming across as rude about it, Arthur's smile made him look as if he wasn't the least bit sorry.

A private meeting was the last thing that the blonde was going to allow the other knight to have with his stupid little consort. There was no telling what Merlin would say if he was given full access to talk with another noble without somebody there to guide and/or correct him if he said the wrong thing. Those meetings were usually set up for a more practical reason to begin with, like having trade agreements or making deals so that an alliance to the royal family could be more obtainable.

All things that Arthur would have an easier time setting up than Merlin. And if Valiant was asking for a more-personal private meeting where the two parties had conversations to strike up a friendship (usually over a dinner or tea like Morgana had her monthly meetings with the other ladies of the court)-well, that was entirely out of the question.

Valiant nodded his head as if what Arthur had said made perfect sense. Arthur gave him a suspicious looking glare, but when the knight didn't say anything, he went back to his bowl of soup. Arthur had just brought his eating utensil up to his mouth, the milky liquid inside of it swishing just under the rim of the spoon, when Valiant spoke up.

"It's just, we had such an interesting time last night, I was hoping that we could have done more of it." Valiant said as he casually moved his spoon around in his bowl. He said it as if he were talking about the weather, sounding so nonchalant and casual that it took Arthur a second to process what he had just said. As well as taking in the sadistic gleam that lit up Valiant's eyes, just a brief hint of a glimmer that nobody else seemed to notice.

Arthur had opened his mouth to push his soup spoon in, but now it hung open as a stark silence seemed to fill the air. But only between him and Valiant, the rest of the table was still overfilled with fanciful chatter as the other knight's converse, even his father seemed to have stepped back and was now enjoying his meal as if left the 'youngings' to talk.

Arthur dropped his arm, letting it land down heavily on the table. He didn't even notice as the soup spilled over the edge and covered his knuckles. "What exactly, are you talking about?" He demanded, his eye's starting to narrow as he leaned across the table, as if he thought he was going to miss a word that the knight spoke if he was to far away.

"Merlin didn't tell you?" Valiant asked with a mildly curious expression on his face. But the prince had a feeling that Valiant was maybe enjoying this a little to much, as Arthur set his sights on him. "We had a lovely conversation just last night." Remembering how Merlin had been so skittish, how he had practically ran from the armory as Valiant was watching him go, it had been intoxicating. But knowing that the boy belonged to Arthur, well that had just been icing formed on the tasty looking morsel.

Arthur's jaw clenched, and he could feel his fingers twitching around his spoon. He had every urge to just shove the spoon down the knight's gullet to get him to stop talking, and only his father's quiet presence next to him was the deciding factor for him not going through with it. "Is that right?" He bit out in a harsh tone instead, unable to stop his face from forming it's clear displeasure.

Merlin hadn't told him that Valiant and him had spent the night before talking? When had that been exactly? Was it before the meet-and-greet? Or maybe it was after. Had Merlin gone to talk to Valiant, the knight who had seemed to spark an interest to him, while the prince had retired to his room-stressed and just ready to go to sleep as he tried to forget his behavior, tried to forget just how much of his energy he had put into keeping Merlin's eyes sorely on him and not on Valiant against the wall. He had thought that he'd succeeded and had wanted to put the night behind him and act as if it had never happened. But had he really? If Merlin had gone off seeking the other knight's attention as soon as he had gone for the night? Was he so fickle that he would talk with Valiant one night, and then give Arthur a favor the next?

"I'm just saying," Valiant said, looking amused as he studied Arthur's subtle reactions to what he was telling him. "He was 'very' nice to me." He emphasized the word 'very' as if he were trying to indicate something that just wasn't there.

Arthur's other hand was under the table, and he could feel his nails digging into the palm of his hand. Hard enough that he was sure he could start bleeding if he pressed even that much harder. Maybe it didn't matter if Merlin hadn't called to have a manservant, maybe he just hadn't thought of it which would tract with just how moronic he was. He was still a gold digger if he was just playing around with both Arthur and Valiant. Was that what Merlin did? Talk to other knights when Arthur wasn't around, but then went and acted as if he was in love with him?

No, Arthur remembered how Merlin looked at him with those dopey eyes of his, his cheeky grin so full of life as he teased and mocked him. The boy was definitely in love with him, he was as sure of it as he was sure his name was Pendragon. So what was the boy playing at? Maybe Valiant was just his backup plan, in case things just didn't work out with Arthur, which he had made sure Merlin knew they wouldn't by wearing another's favor...crap.

Arthur cleared his throat and tried to put up a facade of acting as normal as he could, even if his fist under the table was still curled up so tight that the whites of his knuckles could've been seen. His hand on top of the table, the one holding his spoon, was as loose as could be while he casually dipped his spoon back into the last bits of his soup, "You shouldn't think to much about it. He does that, being nice to everybody and all."

But even as Arthur brought his spoon up to his mouth, he used the silver to cover up the slight scowl that had formed. Oh, who was he kidding? Merlin wasn't nice, well...at least not to him. He almost felt like a petulant child, as he sat there acting as if nothing in the world was wrong. He was feeling just as he had when he was but a boy, and his father hadn't always had time for him. He was a king, and a busy man so Arthur could understand that as he had gotten older. But Merlin wasn't! There was absolutely nothing that he had to do, at least nothing more than making an appearance here or there as the tourney was happening.

Merlin should be spending his time fantasizing over Arthur, imagining things that would not be happening if Arthur had any say in it. Not making connections-personal or otherwise-with other men.

Valiant didn't seem to taken aback by what Arthur had said. He leaned back in his chair and gave a very casual shrug as he smiled at him, "Oh, I don't know about that. He seemed a little 'too' friendly, if you ask me."

Arthur's eye's nearly bugged out at that, and the damn muscle in his jaw started to twitch violently. Valiant had to be mistaken, because there was no way that 'Merlin' had decided to be 'friendly' with Valiant. Not when he should be pressing his unwanted luck on Arthur, not when he should be getting in Arthur's way and making a mess of things. There was just no reason to have Valiant in the picture at all.

Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding, yes, that had to be it. How many times had Arthur misunderstood something that Merlin had been doing? How many times had Merlin said something, but Arthur had panicked because he thought he had meant something different than what he had been going for? Hell, Merlin had dropped to his knees to put Arthur's belt on him and Arthur's first thought had been that the boy was trying to play with his cock.

Maybe Valiant was just the same as him, just somebody that couldn't help but take things out of context and thought that there were more going on then there actually was.

But before Arthur was able to take his spoon and gouge Valiant's eyes out for insinuating anything could be going on between him and 'his' Consort, a slim hand was reaching down in front of him and taking his soup bowl away.

Arthur glared offending daggers at Morris for doing this, even when-logically-he knew that it had probably just stopped him from doing something incredibly stupid on what would be Merlin's behalf. The manservant seemed to have realized he had done something that offended him, because he blushed a delicate shade of rose.

Arthur scoffed under his breath, even as it vividly stuck out to him and caused a sudden memory to shoot through his mind. Back when he had been trying to get answers out of Merlin, and had him pinned down to that stupid bloody table, he had also started to flush. And the red that had been on his cheeks was a lot more fetching when it made the blue of his eyes stand out in a stark comparison to how the flush on Morris' face did absolutely nothing for his dull brown eyes.

Had Valiant also bore witness to the flush on Merlin's cheeks?

Arthur quickly turned his head away, and then he found himself staring a hole through the table. Anything to get Merlin's stupid and flushed face out of his mind. No, even if that Valiant did have some kind of 'conversation' with Merlin that resulted in a little relationship development, Arthur could still say that he had one uped the other knight. Merlin was so in love with him, that he doubted the boy would have been so flushed and needy looking if it was Valiant showing an interest.

"Sire," Morris said as he leaned down to whisper in Arthur's ear. "It is time for the next course to be brought out, I can have another bowl of soup be brought up to your room later on if you enjoyed it so much..."

"No, it's fine, don't bother with it." Arthur grumbled. It wasn't like he had particularly liked the soup anyway. Hell, even though he had eaten the entire thing, he was pretty sure he didn't know what it tasted like. He was to caught up with Merlin and Valiant, wondering exactly what their conversation had been. It wasn't like Merlin hadn't had ample time to tell him about it, but he hadn't. They'd talked as Merlin had gotten him dressed, and again just before Merlin had turned his world in a complete circle by giving him that favor. So had he been trying to hide it? Had he been concealing the fact that he planned to start stepping out on him, while stringing Arthur along like a love sick puppet with his favor?

Well, Arthur had ruined that plan-had blown it up to pieces actually-by choosing to wear another's offering instead. But did that mean Merlin would retaliate by making any interest he had in Valiant a lot more public? If he was going to humiliate Arthur by flaunting himself with another in public-by making the people think that he lacked something that would make his own husband step out on him-then there was going to be hell to pay.

Arthur didn't realize how hypocritical his own thoughts had gone. Here he was, practically cursing his consort for even just considering doing anything with anybody else, and yet, it was him that was wearing another's favor on his bicep when he shouldn't be.

He didn't know why he felt so angry, or so possessive and controlling when he'd never felt this way towards another person before in his life. He just knew that-the flushed look on Merlin's face when he would look up at Arthur-that was a look that Valiant had better never bare witness to.

Or Arthur may just have to kill him.

His steaming thoughts were put on hold as the main course was served. The doors to the main entrance swung open and then several kitchen servants were walking in. Each one of them was holding a silver serving tray with a circular lid on top to keep the contents of the dish warm.

Arthur was starving, he'd had an extremely long and tiring day. The soup had done absolutely nothing to sate him, and just now could he feel the rumbling in his stomach like a firecracker going off. He wondered what it was that was being served-maybe it was a nice roasted duck, with several slices of thick honey ham on the side. Now that sounded like a nice meal to round off his not so nice day.

All of the kitchen servants spread out, and were delivering their trays to certain knights or handing it off to the knight's personal manservant to serve them. One of the maid's, a blond girl with braids approached Arthur with a look of nervous anticipation upon her face. Arthur didn't pay it much mind though, he was used to such admiration from the womenfolk.

"Here is your meal, sire, it has been chosen for you specifically." The maid said with an almost sheepish look as she was quick to give a hurried curtsy at his side. Arthur was straightening up in his seat, looking at the covered tray in her hands with a brief and mildly curious expression. Usually, during dinners such as this, all of the meals were uniformed. The king may have an extra slice of ham on his plate, or his beef may be a few inches thicker than everybody else, but that was a normality. The king was higher than all others, so it was only right that he had been given the best offering.

But Arthur, despite being a prince, was just the same as all of the other men competing in this tourney. He was to be treated just the same, and it really did fuel Arthur's fantasies when the pressure would start to get to be to much for him and he would wish that it was possible for him to just be one of the lesser nobles instead of the prince. So it did spark his curiosity with the serving girl claimed that his had been chosen specifically: maybe this was something new that was going to be happening because he was married? Or it might be because he was nearing his twenty first birthday this year, and would officially be crowned as Camelot's crown prince, which was somehow even higher than being 'just' the prince.

There was a subtle coughing that was coming from somewhere behind Arthur, and then Morris was there giving the maidservant the stink eye. "Mary, I do believe that I am more than capable of giving my prince his meal."

Arthur rolled his eyes at this subtle display of power going on between his servants. It wasn't the first-nor would it be the last-that he had caught servants fighting over the great honor of serving him.

But this Mary girl, apparently wasn't all that interested in fighting for the honor-and he almost would have been offended if Valiant hadn't still been smirking at him from across the table as one of the castle servants was placing a tray in front of him-because she was quick to pass the tray to Morris and step back along the wall with all of the other new kitchen servants that had just arrived. They would stay there for a few minutes, just to see if anybody needed something that had to be fetched from the kitchen, before they would return to the kitchen themselves and start getting desert ready.

Mary actually seemed to look relieved that she wouldn't be the one to be serving Arthur personally. But before Arthur could think to hard on it, Morris was shooting Mary a scowl, before he was oh so carefully setting Arthur's meal down in front of him.

"For you, your highness." Morris said in an almost disgusting simpering tone. Arthur did nothing to hide his eye roll as he turned back to his tray, awaiting for the next course to begin.

Nobody made a move until the king's very own manservant lifted the lid off of his tray to reveal the scrumptious meal inside. It looked to be a slide of beef at least four inches thick and covered in brown gravy. The thick slices of honeyed ham clung to the side of the plate with some kind of yellow sauce smeared on top of it. There was an extra large helping of the finest green beans Camelot had to offer sitting on the other side. It actually looked mouth watering good, and it seemed to smell even better.

It was only after the king's manservant had stepped back did all of the other servants make their move. They all moved at once-in unison-as if they had somehow rehearsed this particular moment, to lift up the lids of their tray's. Every meal was uniformed, and looked just as the king's did. Their beef may be an inch less thick, they may have had a spoonful less of green beans, and possibly a slice of ham less as well. But other than that, the formation of the meal was exactly the same, uniformed in it's perfectness.

Which was probably why Arthur's silence was so telling.

Mary had definitely been right, Arthur's meal was completely different than everybody else's was, although it was a mystery as to why it was 'chosen for him' specifically. For one, Mary had just walked back over and carefully set down another goblet before taking his wine goblet away. The liquid inside was clear, and it only took him seconds to realize that this was because it was filled with plain water. And second, there was no meat on his dish like he'd been looking forward to. It was four-albeit thick-pieces of the best slices of bread they had. He didn't even have butter to go on his bread.

At his obvious look of confusion, Mary gave a nervous squeak and practically flew herself back to her spot on the wall with her face flushed with embarrassment.

"What is the meaning of this?" Uther spoke up, his face like a dark and thunderous storm cloud as he looked at the disgrace that was his son's plate. If there was anybody at the table that had yet to realize that something was going on, they all seemed to realize it now.

"I am so sorry, sire!" Morris started in a rush of blubbering, looking so horrified that he probably wished he would have dropped dead in that moment just to escape this. "It obviously has to be some kind of mistake! A kitchen girl, one of them must have obviously messed up and given me the wrong platter! It is an absolute disgrace, and you have my one hundreds and a million apologies, I'll be doing my duty and have this immediately fixed. And I swear it, that I'll give a full examination of the plate before I allow it near my master's presence!"

Arthur pretty much tuned him out, he was used to Morris blubbering the few times that something had ever gone wrong on his watch. He just stared down at his slices of bread, trying to figure out how on earth this kind of mistake had happened. It wasn't like it was that hard to fix up a plate, thought Arthur, spoken as a true man who had never had to actually fix his own meal before.

"Uh, sire." A soft voice spoke up from behind, breaking through Morris' blubbering. Mary had returned, cautiously creeping across the floor from her spot across the wall so that she could address them. She was quick to bow her head when everybody's eyes turned to look at her. "I'm afraid that there was no mistake. This meal...it was requested for us to deliver it to Prince Arthur with the knight's dinner."

Arthur lifted an eyebrow at them, confused as hell as to who would have been able to order this meal on his behalf, that the kitchen servants would have broke protocol and willingly agree to give him a different meal from all of the others.

"On whose authority?" Uther demanded, his voice sharp and demanding retribution against the person who thought this would be a good idea. He eyed his son's plate with a look of mild disgust, which grew as Arthur prodded at a piece of bread as if he thought it might grow legs and start to walk away.

"By the...uh..." Mary hesitated for only the spark of a moment before she quietly finished her sentence. "It was the Consort, sire."

All at once, several people had different reactions to this. Morris' face dropped with a look of upmost horror, that the consort would find some way to insert himself into a dinner where he wasn't wanted or needed. The king had narrowed his eyes, his face going almost a blistering red. Valiant simply raised a mildly curious eyebrow at this, glancing back down at the plate of fluffy white bread that was sitting innocently on Arthur's plate. A couple of the younger knights further down the table broke into rumbustious laughter at this, their amusement to great to be contained for long. Some of the more solemn knights shared a few uncertain glances, not sure what to make of the consort if this was the kind of things he did.

But everybody most certainly had their eyes focused on Arthur, awaiting to see what his reaction would be to this slight made against him.

Arthur stared down at his plate, hearing the serving girl's words run through his mind as if it were on some kind of loop. About how it had been his consort...Merlin...who had this meal ordered for him. Had it been before or after Arthur had switched the favors, was this some kind of revenge on Merlin's part for not giving in to his petty little demands of a real relationship?

No, that wasn't it.

All at once, there was a flash of memory that shot through Arthur's mind on replay. He and Merlin were back in that room, the one that he had Merlin prepare him in just before the rounds of today. The time when the boy had been talking crazy, about how his father was trying to keep secrets from him by approaching Merlin himself and instructing the boy to act as if he were in love with him for the public's eye. If Merlin hadn't been so dead set against such a thing, Arthur almost would have thought the favor had just been another ploy of that, but he knew in his gut that this wasn't it. That Merlin's feelings for him were real, and he could only hope that he was wrong and Merlin just had a mild crush on him instead of full blown being in love with him.

Anyway, Merlin had also said something else while they had been back there. About how kissing him-Arthur tried to picture doing it now but felt as if he had just shriveled up on the insides-was a hard no. And that he had done something to make sure that Arthur had gotten the message, along with that teasing little remark he had made as he had left. Of how he had every intention of impressing the blonde, only now was Arthur realizing he had never gotten a straight answer out of the boy.

Had this been what he meant? Had Merlin already approached the kitchens before he had even talked to Arthur, had already instructed this meal to be his dinner? While it wouldn't even be enough to fill him up properly, it probably would have been the perfect small amount for a peasant to get by on.

Arthur hated to admit it, but he actually was kind of impressed, and Merlin had been the one to impress him with this move. Not many people, many consort's, would have gone against the traditional meal just to show Arthur a point. A hint of a grin made the edge of his lips twitch upwards as a sudden bubble of amusement started building away in the pit of his stomach.

"Take this away, and gather my son a proper meal," Uther commanded, and he gave the servants a sharp glare of anger as he went to snapping his fingers, expecting the servants to jump at his command.

Which they did, although Mary did give him a nervous squeak of fear first. She had known this was a bad idea, but who was she to go against Camelot's most esteemed Consort?

Morris was the first to step forward, already reaching down for Arthur's plate, "Right away, sire. I will be sure to supervise the girl's this time, and make sure that there it no more of these...unwanted surprises from the consort."

"Make sure that you do." Uther said, his harsh glare focused intensely onto his son's personal manservant, who was quick to bow his head in response. But before he was able to lift up the offending plate and take it away from the noble table, there was a screech that broke through the night air as the plate was slid across the table and out of his reach.

"Arthur..." Uther said in a warning tone, and he gave his son a much needed stern look as he noticed his son's hands placed almost in an oddly protective manner around the glass edges of the plate.

Arthur bit down on his lip, struggling to find it in himself not to laugh. Not even his father's harsh look on him was enough to quell the bubbling in his chest. Even when Arthur had been trying so hard to ruin Merlin, to squash his little crush under the heel of his boots, he was suddenly faced with something like this.

Despite his anger at the situation he was in with Merlin, despite the boy trying to make a fool out of him with that ridiculous favor, and despite this poor excuse of a meal in front of him, he just couldn't bring himself to allow his manservant to take it away. The meal so far had been disastrous, what, with Valiant making cryptic remarks to Arthur about his consort and driving him near to the brink of committing violence right here at the dinner table, he had desperately needed something that would be able to quell that urge. And since all he could do was want to laugh when he saw the plate in front of him, it would be the perfect thing to help him get through this meal.

Even when Merlin wasn't even here, he still found a way to make himself known.

"It's fine, father." Arthur said, trying to keep his laughter in check, his protective arm not leaving from around his plate lest Morris try to grab it up again. "You once told me that I need to...keep an eye on my consort." He was choosing his words very carefully, trying to make it sound good. He had been talking about what Uther had told him during the meet-and-greet, about keeping an eye on his consort lest he do something wrong. Well, this meal was definitely wrong but also...now it wasn't, all at the same time. But at least he had made it sound better for the room of gossiping eavesdroppers. "This...this is just how my consort is looking out for me as well..." he finished all weakly, even he wouldn't have been able to tell the king how a plateful of bread was 'looking out for him.'

But at least it had sounded good, and with any luck, his father would permit him to keep the plate. He didn't exactly desire bread to eat, but the amusement factor that it gave him was enough to want to keep it. But it also wasn't like he could have told his father that this was just Merlin's way of making sure he had known he had been serious when he said he never wanted Arthur to kiss him again.

Which was actually kind of strange, since the boy was in love with him and all. But he had said that he didn't want it to happen unless Arthur wanted it as well-which he could content himself with knowing that he never would be that desperate for a kiss. But this might just mean that desiring it to Merlin, was just as important as consent was to Arthur.

His father seemed to be studying him for a brief moment, and Arthur plastered on a weary looking grin, but he was almost sure that his father could see straight through him. Could see his lies and wanted to reprimand him for lying to his face, to shout and rage that Arthur had been raised better than to lie to his father in anyway. That as king, it was his right to know every moment of what was going on in his castle, within his own family actually. As if he just knew that there was something Arthur wasn't telling him about this meal.

But after a moment, a smirk played on the king's lips as he decided to twist this moment for the amusement of the other knights, "My son wishes to keep the meal that his consort had carefully selected for him." He called out, making it sound as if it was some kind of well meaning joke. It was just one knight at first, and then other's had joined in, laughing as if they were teasing Arthur for being some kind of 'love struck maiden' eager to accept what ever it was that his beloved was willing to give it him.

Arthur could feel his face burning with a harsh embarrassment at the reminder, could feel Lady Clarissa's favor around his bicep and knowing that he hadn't hesitated for the switch. And that was one secret that he was gonna have to take to his grave, it wasn't like he could scream through the laughter and brag about how he had all but thrown Merlin's favor back in his face and spat on him while he was at it. The last thing he needed was for the reputation of being a bad lover to start following him around.

He still kept his hands around his plate, even when he cast a glance across the table back toward's Valiant. Even though the burn of his humiliation was on his face for all to see, he could feel the muscles in his body relaxing as he saw that Valiant's plate looked exactly like everybody else. Clearly, whatever Valiant had been bragging about-whatever this talking with Merlin that he had done-hadn't been as nearly as rememberable as he thought it had been.

Or Merlin, no doubt, would have ordered his meal to be different as well.

"Now," his father announced, breaking through the crowd of laughter as he raised up his goblet. It was everybody's cue to shut up, their mouths snapping shut with grace as the servants- Morris and Mary (one grudging and the other relieved)-stepped back against the wall. "I would like to make a toast, to not only my son but also to his competitor, long live Arthur, and long lived Valiant."

Arthur knew exactly what his father was trying to do, even as he reached for his cup of water and lifted it up in the semblance of a toast, everybody else did the same with their cups of wine. His father was trying-and easily succeeding-to get the attention off of him. As grateful as he was for it, Arthur still felt just a touch of annoyance that Merlin hadn't been here to share in his embarrassment.

"Long live Arthur, long live Valiant!" All of the knights echoed after their king, although the prince himself found his gaze constantly looking down at his plate. He just couldn't get over that Merlin had actually done something that was so outrageous, so crazy, so...so... defiant.

There was a trace of a smirk echoing on his face as Arthur brought his goblet of water up to his lips to mask it, taking a large gulp of it before he settled it back down next to his plate. The water had been crisp and fresh, it left him feeling loose and relaxed in a way he didn't realize that he'd desperately needed.

Either they had put something in the water, or Arthur was still riding on the high of Merlin's little 'present' for him. His glorious present that made Arthur want to both take the plate with him so that he could find Merlin and give it a sharp smash of bread against the boy's face, or take his time eating it while he hoped that he wouldn't choke on his own laughter.

He was going to kill Merlin for doing this to him, but only after he got his own faculties back under control.

"So Valiant," his father turned back to who would be his opponent: not only for the next rounds, but also for Merlin's attention. "Do you believe that you stand a chance against defeating my son?"

Arthur reached down onto his plate, and was snatching up one of the pieces of bread. He took a large bite of it, chewing as he gave the other knight a cautious glare. But even as he was awaiting Valiant's slow answer, Arthur had one thought suddenly shoot through his mind.

'Alright Merlin, you win. I won't kiss you again just to appease my father.' It wasn't exactly like it was going to be some kind of hardship on Arthur's part, he just needed to figure out what he should say to his father the next time he thought the a kiss was appropriate to quell any unwanted rumors from spreading around the city.

"He is a great warrior, my Lord." Valiant said as he smirked at Arthur while he settled his goblet back down on the table beside his own plate. "I do hope that he finds me to be a worthy opponent."

Arthur narrowed his eye's, taking another bite of his bread, and he had to choke it down because of not only how dry it was with no butter to accompany it, but also because of how dry his mouth was. He had a dark feeling-deep in his gut-that Valiant hadn't been talking about just the tourney. It was clear to Arthur, from the cocky smirk on his face, that he was also talking about Merlin.

About Merlin's attention, his affections...his kisses.

Not that Arthur wanted his kisses, but it was the thought of Merlin giving them to another that left him restless.

Arthur scowled in annoyance, even when he knew that Valiant was just talking out of his arse, trying to throw Arthur off of his game just enough to beat him out of his proper winnings. It irritated Arthur that Valiant could think for one second that he had any kind of leg to stand on.

After all, it was Arthur that was eating the meal that Merlin had planned for him, the brat had taken the time out of his day just to make sure Arthur would know he had been serious and get his whole message of 'no kisses allowed'. It was Arthur that Merlin was in love with...even though it was also him that had all but spat in Merlin's face. It was Arthur that Merlin had given a favor to...even though he had also been the one that tossed the favor aside and decided to bare somebody else's just to show Merlin that he would not be caged into this mockery of a supposed 'loving relationship' with him.

...fuck.

Merlin may be moronic, but not even he would fall for whatever pretty words the other knight would spew at him...right? He wouldn't run off and leave Arthur to deal with the fall out as there was now undeniable proof that Arthur had been so terrible of a husband that his own consort had run away from him and his riches within being marriage for but only a few weeks...

X

The Grand Hall where the knights of Camelot were set up eating their dinner had many passageways in and out. The doors were only the main entranceway, but anybody could go through one of the many openings if they wanted to come in, as they were rarely being actually guarded. One had to pass a dozen or so knights to actually reach it as they were guarding other areas, but it was doable if one knew what they were doing.

Which...Merlin didn't, but he was also their consort, so he hadn't been stopped or not even questioned as he had started down this hallway. He supposed he just had that Right now, being able to go certain places without a hassle that commoners would have never been able to.

But right now, Merlin liked to think that he would rather be a regular commoner. It would have been better if this place was filled with guards and Merlin would have had to sneak in just to check out this 'Knight's dinner.' Then he wouldn't be here right now, peeking in around the corner and trying to get a good look at the head of the table without giving away his position and drawing attention to himself.

No, he couldn't think about that, not when he had a mission that was a lot more important than him not wanting to see Arthur. It didn't matter that Merlin wasn't ready to see him again so soon, to talk to him without wanting to cry knowing that their relationship really had been doomed from the start. He shook his head to rid himself of those deplorable thoughts, there were some things that were just more important than his mess of a love life, or lack thereof.

And speaking of important, there! Merlin saw the king as soon as he noticed the glint of a candle's light reflecting off of his golden crown, to show off his importance. But the king he paid only the briefest of attention to before he was averting his eye's just a smidge further down the table.

Valiant.

The knight was drinking his goblet of wine, looking so calm and casual. As if he knew exactly what he was doing and knew that nobody was going to stop him. He drunk his wine as he smiled in his conversation with the king, as if he hadn't spent the better part of the last few days tormenting Merlin. As if he wasn't the reason that Ewan was lying in his uncle's chambers at this very moment, as if the man wasn't going to die within the next day or two if they didn't get that antidote. As if he wasn't most likely planning Arthur's demise as he weaved around his story for the prince's father's entertainment.

But from what Merlin could see, the knight also didn't have his shield with him. None of them did actually, clearly this dinner was a lot more formal than he had been thinking that it would be originally.

Now that he had what he needed, now that Merlin knew that Valiant's shield had been left somewhere unguarded-which was kind of dumb in Merlin's book, because wouldn't you want to keep something that magical on your person less someone discover it if you weren't there to stop or distract them, especially if it was being used to murder off the people in your way from winning. But then again, Merlin supposed that would be akin to walking around with a murder weapon on you. A magical shield that conjured living snakes at will would be seen as no different than a blood coated knife.

His next step was to check out Valiant's room to see if it had been left in there. And while it may not be there, he could always check out the armory if he had to. After all, that was where it had been the first time that Merlin had found it. All he needed was the shield so that he could get the snakes, and then all of this Valiant business would be over with once he had the proof that he needed.

But of course, things never go as easy or as simple as they were planned.

Merlin hadn't even managed to take a step away from the opening, half obscured by the thick white column that stood posted halfway in front of where he was spying, before he saw him.

Fuck.

Arthur was sitting to his father's left, looking just as important as the king did. He wasn't wearing his crown, but he didn't need to wear it because the candlelight was doing a good job on it's own by reflecting off the blonde of his hair.

How was this fair, how was any of this fair at all?

Merlin pulled his left hand close to his chest and clenched it into a fist over his heart, the steady thump of it grounding him-even if he was feeling shaky at best-and he could feel the edges of his ring biting into his finger. It wasn't fair that even after Arthur had all but taken his heart, stomped it into the ground before he painstakingly ripped it into several pieces, and Merlin could still note how good he looked.

Sitting there, poised and elegant and acting as if he had done no wrong...he looked beautiful in his shining armor, the deep red of his cape contrasting nicely with his deep and even tan. It wasn't right for him to look so at peace with himself when Merlin felt like a mess, as if one wrong word would be all that was needed to knock him down.

Merlin didn't like being this way, but what else was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he could just march in there and give Arthur what would be a very well deserved punch to mess up that perfectly straight nose while he was to stunned by his sudden appearance to stop him...or could he...? No, Merlin wasn't feeling angry enough for that. He might have that anger later on, it might hit him when he finally started processing and making sense of his feelings. But right now, all he felt was this deep sadness and despair, as if he was just trapped and with nowhere to go.

He legit didn't have anywhere to go, he was bound here until his dying day. Reminded of that fact by Arthur's mere proximity, he was starting to feel the unshed tears brimming in under his eyelashes again. His eyes felt as if they were burning with them, but he still did not let them fall, not yet at least. Not when there were people who would be able to see him, could probably make an educated guess that he was wasting his tears on somebody as crass as Arthur Pendragon.

Not even seeing Arthur eating the bread that Merlin had been happy to order just the day before to mess with him, had been enough to lift up his spirits.

"May I be so bold as to ask why we are here watching the King's dinner?" George asked from somewhere behind him, so close so that he could whisper the question to him, that he could feel the manservant's breath against the curve of his ear.

Merlin jumped violently, and he must have made some kind of noise or it might have been his sudden movement that drew their attention, but several of the knight's were glancing over in their direction.

But by the time they did, all they could see was the empty doorway. Merlin and George were already long gone, hurrying down the chamber they had gone through to get there in the first place.

X

Arthur frowned, looking at the hole in the wall where he and Morgana had once spent their early teens trying to spy on his father, just trying to catch sight of the things they were to young to be invited to. They had never did actually get to stay, they were usually caught early on and escorted back to their rooms by the guards.

But right now, he could have sworn that he had seen some kind of movement out of the corner of his eye. Which would have been a strange occurrence, because he knew that the guards would have easily found anybody that may be trying to look in, so they couldn't have been there for very long if there were a new generation of kids (probably the children of servants this time) trying to peek in.

Arthur shook his head and turned back to the conversation at hand. It had just been a quick shadow, gone before he even registered that it had been there at all. But he also thought that he would have rather gone to observe that spot-even if it was nothing-instead of being here.

Valiant was looking as smug as ever, cocky even as he cut into his meat with a superior look in his direction. Arthur scowled, before purposely taking a large bite of his stupidly no-buttered bread. Maybe he should have allowed Morris to take it, what had he been thinking by keeping what was clearly Merlin's idea of a joke. But then again...it had brought him a bit of amusement that he had needed desperately at the time.

His father was doing the same as Valiant, and putting a perfectly even and bite sized piece of meat into his mouth, even as he glanced in mild disapproval at his plate. Arthur felt his stomach clench up some in knots at the look, but he comforted himself by taking another bite of his bread.

His father turned to look at Valiant before he gave his suggestion, "You should stay in the inner city after the tournament is over." The prince could feel his head snapping up, and he looked at his father in disbelief. Uther did not really suggest that Valiant, the man that was supposedly interested in his consort if Gaius was to be believed, the free pass of staying and possibly extending whatever kind of relationship he had with Arthur and his. His father didn't seem to notice his sudden look of dismay and continued on, "I could do with more knights like you."

Arthur's head snapped around to look at the other knight, hoping that he would be able to make some kind of pitiful excuse as for why he was unable to stay for long. Maybe he had an ailing mother somewhere that needed his attention, or he had a duty back home that he was unable to stay away from for very long. If it meant that Valiant wouldn't be staying, he would have taken anything.

It had never occurred to Arthur that Valiant may wish to stay. He had thought the other man would be leaving in just a few day's time, had been practically counting down the day's until he would be gone, but things were going to be a lot different if the man stayed. Arthur had no reason to worry rather or not Merlin was playing with Valiant's affections as well as his own if the other man was gone. There would have been no reason for him to have this matter addressed, or to wonder if he may walk in on the other knight and his consort doing unmentionable things.

Arthur felt his back teeth start to grind down just a little as he awaited for what would be Valiant's response, his blunt nails scratching against the crust of his bread. He may not all-together like Merlin, had gone out of his way to show that to him as well with the favor, but he would also not be made a fool of by having the word get out that his consort had been seen cheating on him.

But Valiant must have seen something on his face, because his smug expression grew very telling before he turned back to the king, "I'd be honored, my lord."

Arthur supposed he should have seen that one coming, and he felt as if a sudden weight had just been settled on his shoulders. Crap, he just felt so tired in that moment, as he was forced to wonder just how his life had came to this. If Valiant was staying, Arthur would be forced to spent more time with Merlin than he wanted to just so he could keep an eye on him, to make sure that he wasn't about to go running off on some secret rendezvous with Valiant.

For a boy that was supposedly in love with him, Merlin was insanely fickle if he thought he could get away with playing against them both.

"Arthur," Valiant suddenly spoke up, and the prince's head snapped up to attention, giving the knight a weary look. "There is something that I was curious about, and thought that it would be best to ask you."

Arthur straightened up in his seat, as he still looked at Valiant with untrusting eyes before he cleared his throat, "And what would that be?"

"The favor that your consort gave you, did he have that made here by your own royal tailors or did he already come here with it in his own possession? I know he's a commoner so I was just curious to know if it was some kind of family heirloom or did the crown pay to have one made up?"

Arthur went stiff as soon as the first words had left Valiant's mouth, his eyes rounded and panicked. Did Valiant know about him switching the favors? Was this all just some kind of innocent ploy to make Arthur be seen in a lesser light in his father's eyes? What kind of game was Valiant playing at? But the blonde also calmed himself by thinking, how could Valiant possibly know, he was out on the field winning his match when all of this favor business had started up. Unless the man had been making connections with the other knights, and someone actually had been watching and saw what he had done, and then saw it fit to inform Valiant of this.

"...I believe that finances aren't the best topic to get into, don't you agree, father?" Arthur asked wearily, feeling the favor around his arm like a band that wouldn't leave. It was a strange semblance to how he had felt when it had actually been Merlin's favor on him, and not Lady Clarissa's.

"Your consort gave you a favor?" Uther asked as he looked at his son with a narrower eyed stare, doing absolutely nothing to help his son out of this situation. "Well, let's see it then." He said this in a strict tone, leaving no room for argument.

Arthur felt a hard lump in his throat before he was looking between the knight and the king. But both men were giving him looks, clearly not allowing Arthur to talk his way out of this.

Arthur swallowed hard, but that just made the lump in his throat grow even worse, as if he were choking on his dinner of bread instead of this conversation. It was obvious to him that there was no way for him to escape this, not without looking like a court jester if he tried to make a run from the room.

Arthur took his time though, his fingers were almost but unnoticeable shaking as he set down the slice of bread he'd been gnawing on for the better part of the meal. And then he was reaching under his cape, feeling for the favor on his arm even though he knew exactly where it was. The spot still burned from where Merlin's had been, and the Lady Clarissa's favor in it's place didn't seem to help matters. He almost thought that it was burning even more than before, as if the favor itself knew that he was a liar and that he wasn't supposed to be wearing the one he wore now.

He was so focused, that it was almost a visible shock to his system when his hand came into contact with the silken jeweled favor of Lady Clarissa, instead of the soft cotton that had been Merlin's.

"Arthur, it doesn't take all day. It's very unlike you not to do things as you should." Uther said with a disappointed frown. "Now, you have worn favors before, even if you've never really accepted them, this is no different."

What Uther meant was that while Arthur had worn favors in past tourneys, he had never accepted the girl that had gracefully given it to him. Sure, he may had accompanied her to the after tourney celebration party, but he'd have her escorted back to her rooms by the guards as soon as he'd gotten bored.

"Of course, father." Arthur said with a thin lipped smile, acting as if everything was going alright, even if he felt as if he were a child being scolded. But nothing was 'alright' because he knew that his father was also wrong. This was different, extremely different when compared to any of the past tourneys that he had ever participated in.

With one glance, his father would be able to tell what he had done, would know that he was wearing the favor of a woman's instead of that of a man. He would know that Arthur, unable to overcome his own embarrassment and suck it up for the sake of his kingdom, had decided to wear the favor of the first person who offered.

But with no other choice, and feeling stiff as he had to wait for his father's assessment of the situation, Arthur was flipping his cape over his shoulder so that his father could see the silken favor around his bicep.