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!

68. Chapter 68

Merlin felt the cold sweeping fear shooting down from his head to his toes, as if he was being frozen from the inside out. No, Merlin thought as he brought a hand up to block the view of the flower from Arthur, even if Merlin knew that it was already to late. Arthur had already seen it. His uncle had been right but Merlin-being stupidly defiant instead of being smart-hadn't listened. It would be one thing for Merlin to pay the price, for this to be the straw that broke the camels back so to speak if Arthur attacked him. He knew exactly what this must have looked like, most people didn't go wearing flowers just became it had been given to them by a friend. But it would be entirely different if Gwen was forced to pay as well.

Merlin was Consort, there was a certain level of safety in that alone. Arthur could do what he wanted and Merlin would survive. Merlin could fight back-could use his magic like he had that day Arthur had attacked him with a chain on the ball in the marketplace-but she couldn't. Gwen was a serving girl, she would not fight Arthur. Even if she wanted to, Gwen wouldn't have a chance at fighting back. Not a chance like Merlin did. He knew he would be able to take Arthur in a fair fight, but if he didn't use his magic…Merlin had to be smart about this. Had to admit that he had much of the disadvantage in this situation. He was as Unwanted as he could possibly be, he had to keep the one thing he did have buried deep under his skin…but maybe this didn't have to escalate into a fight. Not if Merlin used what brain he had to talk his way out of this…have to protect Gwen was his only mindset in that moment.

"…What," Arthur said slowly, his eyes being entirely focused on that little innocent flower hanging by a thread on Merlin's neckerchief, practically pressed up against the boy's skin, his Adam's apple making it bob every time he swallowed. Already-in the minutes he'd been staring at it-he'd seen Merlin swallowing and making it move no less than five times. "Is that thing supposed to be?"

Merlin's answer was practically venom, and it almost startled Arthur with a sudden ferocity, "Never you mind what it is!" His face flushed with anger as he poorly tried to hide the little bud behind his fingers.

Arthur could barely hear it over the buzzing in his ears as he forgot himself. He must have forgotten everything actually, like the reason he had came seeking Gaius in the first place, forgot that Merlin was an insufferable brat that needed to be taught a lesson in how to respect his superiors, forgot that he was the prince and should be capable of controlling his emotions in incredibly upsetting-annoying actually-situations. It was hard to do when he had Merlin all but spitting in his face. He had offered the boy free access to the treasury in the Royal vaults, had offered the boy far more than what he had ever planned on and Merlin had turned his down flat. But somebody had given him a flower-a poor one actually since Arthur could have scrounged up a far more luxurious and bigger flower than that weed if he wanted to-and Merlin was acting as if he'd go to war for the damn thing.

Arthur felt his hand curl into a fist down at his side, "I'm not playing with you, Merlin." Arthur hissed out, narrowing his eyes with a sharply looking disdain. His head had felt as if it was practically spinning with this sudden turn of events but the purple flower standing out-he didn't know how he'd missed it for this long of a time-against the pale skin of Merlin and his throat kept his focus. And thus, that was keeping him steady in a world that suddenly felt very much unbalanced. "Why on earth are you wearing that monstrosity?"

Merlin was defensive again, his eyes going into slits as he shot back with a very angry sounding retort, "What do you care for? I can wear whatever I want to wear!" And Merlin would be damned if Arthur tried to take this flower from him. Flower be damned, it was Gwen that gave it to him, and for that reason alone Merlin would be a little shit if he had to be to get Arthur out of his face. He wouldn't care how much training Arthur had. He would just have to show that spoiled prince that he wouldn't be going down without giving Arthur as many bruises and scrapes as Arthur would give him in their tussle for it.

And it looked very much like Arthur wanted to rip the flower off Merlin's neckerchief and try to shove it down his throat so that he would choke on it. It was the best way to describe how Arthur was glaring scornfully at the little flower, looking as if he was wishing from his look alone that it would burst into flames. But Merlin knew Arthur himself would probably burst into flames if he knew Merlin was able to start an actual fire with just a look.

"You can't go around wearing that stupid thing!" Arthur snarled furiously at him. It was Merlin's defensiveness and evasion to any of his questions that made him very aware that Merlin was hiding something from him. Like the identity of the mysterious flower, and why on earth Merlin cared so much for the thing! It was a weed! Something Arthur could have plucked from the streets just before he had walked through the doors! If he wanted to have a bloody flower so bad, he could have damn well said so and Arthur could have had Morris deliver some for him. Anything to stop him from wearing that monstrosity anywhere that people who actually mattered might see him with it and assume Arthur had given it to him. Especially when Arthur could have done so much better.

Merlin rolled his eyes, still not removing his hand from where he was keeping it firmly in place of the flower just in case Arthur tried to make a grab for it. "I'm not one of your little soldiers that jump at your command!"

Arthur felt a pulse of irritation go through him at that. Right when he had thought he might have finally made some headway with Merlin-he had been strangely quiet when Arthur had left him in his room yesterday, in an almost subdued like matter-Merlin had to go and pull something like this. Just trying to get Arthur's attention he suspected, and Arthur hated him because of how much it worked. Arthur knew he had no chance at rest as long as he didn't know who had given Merlin himself-and God was he hoping Merlin was just being pathetic and gifting himself flowers instead of there being someone out there dumb enough to have done it. Someone that Merlin was being receptive towards when he had already quite clearly rebuffed whatever Arthur tried to give him. He would have laughed at Merlin trying to assert himself over Arthur, if it wasn't such an irritation to him.

"Merlin," Arthur forced out through his very clenched jaw as he bored his eyes down into Merlin, trying to assert his rightful authority over this spitfire of a brat. "Who was it that gave it to you?" He tried to project as much seriousness into his voice as he could, what could only be described as eerily calm. But it was only the calm before the storm, the one chance Merlin may get to come clean before Arthur gave in to temptation and started to wring the boy's neck right here outside the front stoop to the Royal physician.

"Nobody!" Merlin snapped out decisively at him. "Nobody gave it to me!" Because Gwen and her name would never be uttered from his lips. If his raging temper that had washed through the cold fear like a wildfire brewing in the middle of a tundra had been any calmer than it was, then maybe Merlin wouldn't have spoken so rashly. Maybe if Arthur hadn't have looked as if he was seething, as if he would be more than happy to kill Merlin right where he stood, then maybe they could have moved past this with minimum damage to their very already frail relationship towards the other as it was slowly diminishing and tarnishing with every fight they had.

Arthur, obviously didn't buy it for a single second. "So what?" He demanded with a sneer, hating how he couldn't stop his eyes from continuously darting down to the flower and back up to Merlin's defiant eyes. God, he just wanted to smack the defiance right out of him, make him see things the right way. If only Merlin knew just how much restraint it was taking for Arthur to not give into the urge to do so, "Are you telling me that you went off to pick flowers like your some girl. Or like you are someone whose job it is to go picking up flowers and decided to sample the product yourself?"

"I've worked all my life!" Merlin blew up at him, waving his fists in the air above his head before he remembered he was supposed to be protecting the flower. And he dropped one of his hands to cup back over the flower but making sure he wasn't crushing it. "So I think I would be quite happy with a job picking any flowers! I'm not exactly a stranger to getting my hands dirty around here!"

Forgot the fact that Merlin was apparently accusing Arthur of not knowing how to get his hands dirty-which he did, he'd been the leading man to many raids or searches or whatever capacity that his father needed him to be-and let's focus surely on forcibly trying to get the information he wanted right out of Merlin.

"As pathetic as I'm sure you are." Arthur said with a scowl. Oh how he wanted to grab the brat by the throat and shake him-squeeze if he had to-just so he could get one wretched name out of him. "I'm sure you didn't give it to yourself. So just tell me who did?" Arthur tried to play up the nice card, figuring that Merlin may respond back to it. He smiled at him even, even if his smile did look more like a disguise to hide a grimace.

Merlin all but spit in his face, turning his head around to not look at Arthur, "You will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands before I tell you anything. I don't respond well to arses all up in my face demanding things they have no right to." And it was true. Merlin would accept the flames if he had to-if Arthur would go so far-before he allowed Gwen to be in the same hot seat that he was in.

Arthur's smile dropped in an instant, deeply scowling at Merlin, "That can be arranged so quickly that your head would spin." He hissed out. Kinda like how Arthur's head had been spinning earlier, before he had forced it into a standstill.

Merlin's cocky attitude dropped as well as he met Arthur's frightening scowl with one of his own at the subtle threat. But no, Arthur could go so far as to torture him if he wanted to but Merlin wouldn't go quietly. He would be sure to leave as many marks on Arthur as Arthur would on him if he tried to drag him off to the dungeons to get said information out of him. Because what if Gaius had been right to be concerned. What if Merlin really was playing with fire? And what if both he and Gwen was going to be burned because he was putting so much stock into agitating Arthur. What if he was just casting air onto the flames that would make it grow into an inferno? Merlin always figured that his own death would end up in flames, but he didn't want to take Gwen down with him over something as silly as just a flower. But it was the flower that had gotten through the shit show that had been the last few days. The least Merlin could do would be to make sure that Gwen remained quietly anonymous.

Arthur shot his eyes back down to the stupid neckerchief Merlin always wore-a blue one as the red one seemed to be gone forever-and grew angrier. "You need to throw that stupid flower away! Get rid of it!" Arthur knew with every fiber of his being that he didn't want Merlin for his own. He never would, not even if Merlin was the last person on the entirety of this planet. It would be the greatest thing ever if Merlin just quietly agreed to go back to wherever he came from and Arthur's only connection to him would be the reports he'd get from the guards he sent with him. But the brat…Merlin was his unwanted pet. And as a true pet, he should be obedient and know he belonged only to Arthur. Arthur didn't want him but…nobody else would encroach onto what was his. And seeing this flower through the gap in Merlin's fingers, a true sign of how disobedient and defiant Merlin even more than his argumentative attitude was…it was something that burned him up from the very inside out.

Merlin needed to be trained.

Arthur shot his hand out and grabbed Merlin by the wrist, jerking it away from the flower so that he could use his other hand to get to it. Merlin squawked at him and Arthur yelled more out of surprise than pain when he had to jerk his hand back. He stared in surprise at his hand and the little beads of blood growing on the inside of his wrist. "D-did you just claw me?" He repeated slowly, eye twitching as he realized Merlin had dug his nails into his hand to fight him off. Arthur could have overtaken the boy easily, but he was still quite surprised the boy had actually managed to draw blood from him.

"If you have to ask that, maybe your brain is smaller than I thought it was." Merlin sneered back, backing himself up against the door in case Arthur tried something stupid like that again. Little flakes of Arthur's blood would be drying under his nails now, but it hadn't been a deep cut. Just something on the surface to Arthur's relief. He could easily get away with lying and saying a cat attacked me…maybe he would go for a wildcat, Arthur had thought with a look at how all puffed up Merlin was.

"If you wanted a flower so bad that you would attack me for it," Arthur said, ignoring the fact that Merlin had just committed treason by the blood oozing out of his wrist. "Then that was all you had to say so! I won't have your room inlaid with gold, I'll just get some servants to bring up a few vases to decorate your room with."

Merlin wanted to scoff in his face, or punch him. Or anything that would get it through his thick head that no, Merlin didn't want any of that stuff. He just wanted things to go back to normal. And Merlin quite firmly said, "Well I wouldn't accept any flowers from you even if you begged me to."

Maybe it was a ridiculous argument to have from two people who clearly detested each other, but it was the argument that they were having this week. And all because Merlin was refusing to give him the one wretched name that Arthur wanted. "Just tell me who gave you the damn flower!" Arthur exploded at the other boy, practically screaming it in his face but Merlin held his own, not flinching back from the show of force Arthur had going on there.

"And what happens if I do?" Merlin asked in a demanding tone, tilting his chin upwards in a defiant manner. "What? Are you going to go after them like you are me?" He was fishing for information again, trying to play things a bit smarter than just running off his emotional high. He needed to know just how much of a risk Gwen would be in if Arthur did find out it was her. And if he needed to have some kind of escape plan ready for her if Arthur decided to go after her like some kind of psychotic nutcase.

Arthur took a calming breath-and he felt very dissatisfied and disgruntled, because why on earth would Merlin accept a weed instead of the beautiful bouquets Arthur could get his hands on that would be so large, he knew not even Merlin would have been able to carry it himself-before he held up his wrist, arching an eyebrow at him. "Are we still going with the story that I went after you?" He showed Merlin the very distinct scratch marks on the inside of his wrist, the beads of blood were standing stark against the tan skin inside of his wrist. It stung a little in the air but it was hardly anything compared to an ordinary training session. It looked as if a cat had got to him.

"You did go after me." Merlin said, barely giving the blood a glance, reminding Arthur that it was him who had made the first move to go after Merlin. "And you deserved it." He deserved so much worse actually, Merlin was thinking. But he was also feeling pretty damn good about himself right about now. Arthur deserved to have Merlin marking his skin in this small way, deserved the constant and never ending reminder that Merlin was here and no matter how much they both wanted it, he wasn't going anywhere.

Arthur scowled, dropping his wrist before he decided an insult would have to do, a insult already spilling off of his lips, "If you won't allow me to take it off for you-" Merlin was scoffing before Arthur finished, making the prince grit his teeth and change what he was about to say, "You really should heed my warning and take that stupid thing off yourself. Now. You look like some kind of lovestruck girl with it on."

Who gave a guy flowers anyway, Arthur was thinking in agitation. It wasn't exactly on the top of Arthur's-what I would enjoy to have from a possible suitor-list. Besides, flowers were supposed to be much bigger than that twig, and was also something only given to girl's. Not the male consort to Camelot's own prince. God, if his father found out about any of this…he would be ruined. Maybe he'd be lucky and people would think it was from him but at the same time…Arthur wasn't able to stomach the thought of taking credit for this when it wasn't from him. Not when he knew he could do so much better…

And that was when Merlin decided to be petty, decided to show Arthur exactly who was in charge of what and hint, it wasn't the guy who wore a crown. Even if it was very stupid to be petty in this situation when he'd already been attacked once by Arthur for the 'twig' as he called it, "What? You don't like it?" Merlin asked, slowly leaning against the door. He took a chance and took his hand off the flower so that Arthur could see it better, arching his neck back to give the best view of it as he possibly could. If Arthur wanted to be an arse, then Merlin would show him that this didn't work for him. And that Merlin could be the brattiness needed to combat against the prince's natural arsehole-ness. "From what I have been told, purple is apparently my new color. Maybe I should wear it more often, so you think you could go fetch me a purple top to match?"

That was exactly what Gwen had told him when she had given it to him. And the purple of the flower meant so much more to him then the red of his lost neckerchief did. One was given to him by a friend just because she thought it would make him happier. And the other he'd given only for it to be taken away for granted, leaving him one less neckerchief then he had arrived with. But maybe while he was bragging, he had underestimated just how harshly he was poking the bear, so to speak.

Arthur snapped a hand out far faster than Merlin was able to see it coming this time, the prince's hand curling into a fist in the front of his shirt-it was only a miracle that the flower didn't get dislodged from the mistreatment-Merlin yelped as he was nearly jerked off his feet and his face was suddenly far to close to Arthur's. But the prince didn't notice if the way his eyes were raging into his own. Merlin ground down his teeth, refusing to allow the prince to see the little trickle of fear starting to creep down his spine as he awkwardly tried to keep balance on the tip of his toes while trying not to bring attention to it. His own hands came up, grabbing Arthur's around his wrists as he tried to keep up with his balance. His finger's brushed against the small cuts his nails had made on the inside of Arthur's wrists and to Arthur, the touch was leaving him burning.

In the cold air of the hallway, it had done nothing but stung. Even now-if this had been anybody else touching it-the cuts would have barely made a register in Arthur's mind. But to have Merlin touching it after he had been so brazen as to attack him in the first place-he ignored how he had been the one trying to attack his consort first-it left the cuts feeling like a burn. Scorched almost as the sensation shot up his arm, Merlin's fingers feeling as if they were rubbing it with every minute twitch of his fingers as he clung for balance, forcing the burning sensation to feel almost like lava-melted and hot, ready to burn the entirety of a village down in it's wake-until it pooled with great force in the lower pit of his stomach.

"I hope," Arthur bit out through his clenched jaw, his wrists flexing under Merlin's grip as he lifted the boy higher off his feet with what was ridiculous ease because of his very slight frame. "That you were smart enough to tell this person that gave it to you, that you were otherwise engaged with somebody else." He had only started all of this by asking-okay, so he had demanded-to know the identity of the person Merlin was protecting. The one that had been so brazen as to give a married man a flower as if it was a courtship gift, to know the identity of the man that had thought he could get away with it. He had tried to play nice but the time for niceties were over, and Arthur didn't care if he had to sit down right here on the floor. He didn't care if he had to drag Merlin down with him, wrangle when the boy would no-doubt be uncooperative, until he was stretched out on his belly over Arthur and his lap. And he didn't care if he had to whip the boy's arse with his bare hand until Merlin's arse was blistering and bruised, the boy crying and shaking as he clung onto the prince's legs for purchase as his arse turned as hot and as burning as his grip on Arthur's cuts were. And he wouldn't stop, not until his boy was sobbing and screaming the name of this perpetrator at the top of his lungs. And then he better thank Arthur when they were done for not yanking his pants down to hurt him even more without the barrier of his thin pants in the way.

But Arthur's questioned seemed to spin 'His' boy for a loop because he finally stopped his squirming and wiggling to get loose-god, did this boy ever stop his moving? Arthur would have to get ropes or chains and tie him down with them, for the first time not caring that it could be misconstructed as a sex thing. If he had to do it to get answers out of Merlin, then he would. All he wanted was to have a little chat with this bold mystery man, to allow him make amends after Arthur explained to him how inappropriate it was to do what he had dared to do. And if the mystery man's spine ended up on the ground then…Arthur could not say that he didn't warn him. Merlin was his consort, his property, his little vile and very much unwanted mutt, but he would be damned if Merlin rebuffed the efforts he was making. He would be damned if Merlin was trying another stupid attempt at getting his attention by waltzing around with a flower given to him by…somebody who thought they had the right. By somebody who thought that Arthur wouldn't cut him up into little tiny baby pieces and bury his body where not anybody would ever be able to find all of him.

Merlin was His. And the boy needed to get this into his thick skull. Even if Arthur would have to be the one to beat it into him.

"…Engaged?" Merlin's voice seemed to be the penetrating force for Arthur to get out of the thick red haze he was trapped in. "With who?" And his confused face was enough to send Arthur right back in it, his hands curled in Merlin's shirt going even tighter. So tight it made a little squeal of protest come from his boy when he felt the back of his tunic starting to cut into the back of his neck.

"Who do you think!" Arthur demanded hotly, shaking Merlin. He didn't like Merlin's denial of the situation, didn't like Merlin acting as if he wasn't Arthur's. Neither of them had to like it but if Merlin thought for one second he could go acting like some kind of harlot with Arthur in front of him… "With me, you foolish dolt!" It went completely over Arthur's head that his one dance with Clarissa was far more scandalous than Merlin's flower that anybody could be fooled into thinking Arthur had been the one to give him the pathetic thing. It was a shame and an embarrassment to think that Arthur couldn't have given him something so much better, if only Merlin wasn't being this stubborn and would just accept what little he would give him to quell this ridiculous kind of behavior.

"…We are?" Merlin asked, blinking slowly as he finally stopped his squirming to get away from Arthur. If this was Arthur's way of trying to establish an actual relationship-which he was no longer interested in, or at least that was what he told himself-then clearly Arthur needed some proper lessons on how things should go. Not that Merlin was an expert but even he knew this-Arthur jerking him around by his shirt-wasn't the way to go.

"…Do you think that ring of your finger is just a decorative trinket!" Arthur demanded as he shoved Merlin away from him, before he gave in to his basic urge, the driving force that was behind his actions. One wrong twitch and he would have Merlin bent over his knee before he could even realize what he was doing.

"…If this is your way of being in a relationship, then it's no wonder you weren't married long before your father had to pull out an ancient contract!" Merlin bellowed back at him, as he straightened himself up from the door he had been flung into, the wooden door rattling into the frame. As far as Merlin was concerned he may have said 'I do' but why should he waste his time putting any stock in his vows when Arthur didn't? The ring in question-despite being warm from his skin-felt ice cold at the reminder. Who would 'want' to marry Arthur if they weren't obligated? If the forces out of their control hadn't decided it was to be so.

Arthur clenched his jaw, still feeling the burn of the scratches on his wrist pulling taunt as he clenched his fists so he wouldn't slam his punch into the door right next to Merlin and his head, "If," he forced out through deeply calming breaths-that weren't working in the least as far as he was concerned, ignoring the jab Merlin made about his father and the dreaded contract that should never be spoke of. "You are going to go out of your way just to drag some poor sod along," and he used the term very loosely because Arthur would be the first to have this mystery man hung up by his thumbs in the dungeons for weeks to come. "Then I hope you at least made him be aware that your…indiscretions…will have to be kept discreet."

Merlin's jaw dropped when he realized what it was Arthur was accusing him of. "Discreet?" It was horrifying in the most unpleasant of way possible. Hell no. Here Merlin was, not even daring to bring up Arthur and Clarissa's night on the dance floor because he was had been completely over it-which he totally was over it-and here Arthur was? Behaving like an utter prat, acting as if Merlin was the one standing in the wrong. "It's one flower! But you would think I was parading an army of men through the palace with the way you are acting!"

It was an interesting idea though, anything to get under Arthur's skin. And this flower was clearly causing more tension than he thought it would. If Merlin had more male friends that he could convince, he wouldn't mind having them walk through the palace pretending to be his dates. For a guy that hated him, Arthur spent far to much time worrying what Merlin was doing with his time. He spent way more time and energy shouting at Merlin because of little gifts that had absolutely nothing to do with him! Which was strange in an extremely agitating way that Merlin wasn't interested in entertaining any longer, "You're acting as if I am some kind of harlot!"

Arthur gave Merlin a clear once over, clearly over exaggerated but enough to make Merlin uncomfortable. And then Arthur scoffed as if he didn't like what he saw-which Merlin was definitely offended by because it wasn't like Merlin didn't know Arthur was straight, so he didn't have to put on this show. "If the shoe fits." Arthur sneered, not mincing his words

Arthur was almost positive that he would do the same thing to Merlin's mystery man that he had to Valiant if he ever got his hands on him. And it irritated him that Merlin was going off accepting gifts from somebody who may-most likely-wouldn't treat Merlin like he was supposed to be. Didn't Merlin learn anything after Valiant had came after him? So Valiant had been bold with his unwanted advances, did Merlin think all assaulters were like that? Some were more discreet, worked their way in as a friend or potentially more before they came in for the kill. And from the state of the weed on Merlin's neckerchief, they clearly weren't any fit state of competition. So they must want Merlin for his Royal status, they probably thought they could get something out of their 'consort'. Anyway, whoever they were probably wouldn't last long. They would not be able to stand the constant way Merlin always stepped out of line. Arthur was doing the people a service by sacrificing his own time and energy into 'training' Merlin.

Merlin reacted with great anger, "That's rich coming from you!" He shouted, and unable to believe the gall Arthur had on him. Was that man really suggesting it was Merlin that was cheating, it was Arthur that hadn't wanted to have anything to do with him! It was Arthur who declared time and time again that there would never be anything between them. And although Merlin hadn't actually gone out and tried to get with somebody-and it definitely would not be Gwen if he did-it was none of Arthur's business! He had his chance and he didn't want it! Whatever! Merlin wanted to be able to live his own life! And with the thought in mind, Merlin reached out because he was sick of Arthur trying to 'assert' his dominance over him. Sick of Arthur grabbing him when he wanted and not doing one thing to make it stop.

Merlin shoved him hard. And Merlin's pride was ruined because the blocky knight had only moved an inch. He was hoping to be the one to shove Arthur against a wall this time around. Accusing him of being a harlot…him watching as Arthur led a Lady out to dance with him, the cryptic words that Morris had spoken the night of the dance. When he'd claimed he and Arthur had gone out with the other…the subtle proof there that Arthur may not be as straight as he said if he was going out with his male servants. While he felt like he was being punished everyday because he had the 'nerve' to be born a male.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked as he arched an eyebrow, being genuinely confused by Merlin's statement. Merlin was acting as if Arthur was the one going around with the literal proof of their cheating ways on his neck for all to see. Arthur had barely even registered the slim hands pushing against his shoulders before they were gone. If he hadn't been so distracted by Merlin's words, then he may have actually been able to push him into the wall. For such a slight boy, he did have a bit of power behind his moves. Even if it was nothing compared to what Arthur-with all of his training and thicker body type-could have illicited if he wanted.

Merlin, flushed with embarrassment because his attack hadn't landed right, made to cross his arms over his chest defensively. As much as he wished it was different, Merlin knew he wasn't much of a fighter without being able to use his magic. So he decided to use the one weapon he did always have on him, his mouth. And his words. "You know," he started in this sarcastic tone. "Just the other day, I've heard the most interesting news."

Merlin wouldn't usually be so pushy about it. If somebody had told him they were straight, he would have moved on with his life. But in Ealdor where every man seemed to be firmly straight, Merlin hadn't had much of a chance to get with somebody. And he knew that just because someone liked the same gender you did, didn't mean that they would like you. But it was Arthur! Crude, rude, bully Arthur who'd apparently lied to him about being straight if what Morris was to be believed. And Arthur was his husband, he could go out with some other guy? But he couldn't stand to be near Merlin unless Merlin had done something to ruin his 'delicate' sensibilities? It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Merlin had to live this life of misery while Arthur tried to rake in the glory from his luxurious life.

"And what news would that be?" Arthur said slowly, narrowing his eyes on Merlin even as he felt the angered heat still in his belly going down to a shimmer as he felt like he might be swallowing a thing of lead. Arthur might not know what Merlin was talking about, but this didn't stop the sinking feeling inside of his gut. Maybe Merlin was just making things up to distract Arthur from the flower, or maybe he did know something. Maybe he knew that Arthur had been wanting to tie him up for his insolence yesterday and decided for himself that it must have been a sex thing. Maybe he knew Arthur was fantasizing about throwing him over his knee and whipping his backside until Arthur himself deemed that Merlin had finally had enough. Maybe he…

Merlin raised his chin up, daring Arthur to tell him he had been lying all this time when all he had to do was tell Merlin he hadn't been interested in him, "You do like other guys! And that contradicts with what you've been telling me just to get me off your back! And the only reason I can think of you lying about it is because you don't like me!"

He finished that last part off like it was some kind of siren declaration. But his excitement dropped in an instant when he realized…had Arthur lied because he had thought Merlin was going to pressure him into being with him? Had Arthur lied for some other reason that Merlin didn't know about? Fuck, he knew he should have just put what Morris said to the back and his mind and pretend that he'd never heard it. Even if he was-some part he hated in the back of his mind whispering to him-that he was furious to know what Arthur and his dating history was. He probably had all kinds of girls like Clarissa fawning over him and his crown. In other words, the type of people that were the complete opposite of Merlin. If Clarissa was Arthur's type, if he was one of those people that liked both genders… Merlin was pretty sure he wouldn't want to see Arthur for quite some time after this bit of their conversation.

…was completely stupid. Arthur finished off his previous thought. He had made himself very clear to Merlin and-the boiling heat of anger in his gut had frozen at the idea that people were talking about him, rumors were probably going around since he'd married his boy that he was some kind of Casanova who took his pleasure from the male form-and he did not want his work to be overdone for the simple reason that Merlin had been listening to said rumors. "Who told you that?" Arthur demanded as he nearly cornered Merlin into the wall behind him. Nobody had been nearly crass enough to mention these kinds of talks to his face so this was the first he had heard about it. And it was bad enough that most of the people thought him gay since he married Merlin-nobody would dare mock him to his face because he was prince-but it was even worse that people had apparently figured he'd been with different or multiple men.

Merlin scoffed, his arms going tighter over his chest over the fact that Arthur thought he could hide this from him. Sure, it hurt just like it had when Morris had first told him, to know that Arthur wasn't even willing to give him the chance when they were both stuck in this awful situation. It was one thing to know that he never have a chance because Arthur was straight but-and his heart burned inside his chest even though he would forever deny it happening-but it was different to know that Arthur had no problem writing him off before he had even stepped foot in the gates. "You went out with Morris!" Merlin accused him of this.

Maybe Merlin was just letting his bitterness out to be shown. He couldn't stop the ugly disgust that was brewing in the pit of his gut because of this. Arthur hadn't taken him out on a date, Merlin wasn't expecting Arthur to do so. He wouldn't accept it even if Arthur asked him to. He had a feeling it would only be a 'pity date' and Merlin had more pride than to go through something like that. Or it would be some kind of publicity stunt that his father ordered to make them look like this oh so lovely couple they kept trying to portray them to be. And Merlin wasn't going to follow through with any of this, even if that meant Uther would take his head off.

There was a moment of long silence where Merlin was almost sure that this was it. That this was the moment Arthur would admit that it was true, and then spit at Merlin for merely thinking he would ever take him out on one of those 'dates.' And-he vaguely thought as he remembered the body he'd only came here to hide from Arthur in the first place-he'd most likely leave after that. Arthur didn't want to go on a date with Merlin as much as Merlin knew he'd reject him if he ever tried.

And there it was, Arthur started to laugh. But it wasn't a mocking laugh that would tell him he had been right, that would tell Merlin even the thought of taking his own husband out on a date was so out of mind that it was greatly laughable. No. It was a deep from the belly kind of laugh, the kind that said this was the craziest thing Arthur had ever heard. It was so funny that Arthur had to lean one hand on the wall just to keep his balance. And when it finally slowed down, Arthur would look right at Merlin again and start laughing again and again.

Merlin could feel his face burning because of how funny Arthur thought all of this was with how much he was going on about it, "W-what is so funny?" He demanded hotly, but Merlin already had a sinking feeling that he'd known exactly what was so funny. Bloody hell, he'd known Morris was lying to him that night! But he just had to go and say it to Arthur. Stupid, stupid, he kept telling himself even as all of the blood in his cheeks darkened.

"Morris?" Arthur kept laughing his head off at this silly accusation. "Morris and I-" he wasn't even able to finish his sentence. He felt as if he had cracked a rib from how hard all of this had sent him into a fit of laughter. With Merlin he would get a spike of panic every time he'd thought weird things. Like the few times he'd had to do something 'romantic' to try and be pleasing to the masses. Or when he'd gotten caught up in his fantasies to punish and/or discipline Merlin only to realize how wrong it would look if people could only get into his head and see what he'd been thinking of. He had felt so awkward thinking those things so he had done his best to push them out of his mind. Clearly it hadn't worked so well. But to imagine Morris in the same position? Just the sheer idea was enough to make him feel as if he had a stitch in his side. "What exactly, kind of rumors have you been listening to?" Arthur asked in a rhetorical manner.

The arms folded tightly across Merlin's chest loosened, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's not true." And he was cursing himself wildly in his head. Of course Arthur wouldn't be serenading Morris in the background. He wasn't sending Morris flowers and taking him on long walks through the forest where they could find a spot of privacy for themselves. It was Merlin that was feeling like a right tool as he figured this probably did mean Arthur was straight. It caused a drop in his stomach even though he expected it. Maybe he also wasn't as over Arthur as he thought he was.

"Oh," Arthur drawled out as he was pushing himself back off the wall. "You are a smart one, aren't you?" But it wasn't mocking and crude like his usual retorts were. It was more teasing, more lighthearted, and even with the most genuine smile Merlin had probably ever seen him wear. It was disorienting compared to how he usually behaved, and made a little flutter go off in Merlin's chest.

Merlin shook his head, forcing any of those thoughts out of mind before they could start to develop. "Smarter than you for sure." He said back, the air in the hall going to a more calming state. It wasn't as electrifying or as charged as it had been since they started to yell at one another. It was something else… entirely. Something that Arthur didn't seem to notice as he walked to the other side of the hall, hands on his hips and shaking his head seemingly amused by Merlin's comment.

"Morris is a serving boy." Arthur said, as if that was supposed to explain things. And in most noble circles, it would have. It would always be considered best for nobles and for commoners to never mix. Of course, Arthur and Merlin had blew that line straight to hell and back. But the line was still there and very distinct in Arthur's eyes. "And I'm pretty sure we've already had a similar conversation that concerns this before. You know, Morris being a boy doesn't exactly leave much room for us being compatible."

"Of course," Merlin said with a roll of his eyes. "We wouldn't want to forget how delicate his Royal highness and his sensibilities to others are." Arthur couldn't even say the word Gay, acting as if just saying it would curse him to have the same 'illness' Merlin apparently had.

Arthur shook his head, "You know," the prince said slowly. "You really shouldn't be listening to every rumor that you hear. There is no telling what the people are saying nowadays." Clearly he needed to pay more attention to these things if that little rumor had been allowed to develop.

Merlin stared at him, "I'll try to remember that." He said sarcastically. It was pretty hard to ignore the rumors when they were all he'd heard on a daily basis. Rumors that spread all from how much Arthur enjoyed showing him how unwanted he was. To how Merlin must be some kind of siren who cast a spell on the prince just to get Arthur to marry him. Yeah, he was just happy nobody put any real stock in that one and started looking to closely at him for it, looking for any sign of magic and such. Merlin decided to get that amused and smug look off of Arthur by saying, "Okay, so I believed it for all of half a second. But at least I'm not sitting around and coming up with my own wild accusations like you are."

Arthur's smug face dropped in light of this as well as the reminder of what they had been arguing about, "Hold on just a second, I have not made accusations at all!" Arthur liked to think-as his father had taught him in one of his many lessons in preparing for being king one day-that he knew to gather all of the fact before sentencing judgement. But Arthur had all of the fact he needed, he literally had the proof of Merlin's indiscretions staring at him in the face. He glanced down at the flower as it still barely clung onto the neckerchief, and he looked at it with disgust. Or maybe a tinge of fear, as if he thought a viper was going to jump straight out the yellow bud in the center of it. Fear for what the seemingly harmless flower could mean, fear for what Arthur may have to do to clean this mess up before any other got wind of it. Fear for what his father would do if Arthur couldn't keep Merlin and his stupid 'lover' in the closet. "Okay Merlin," Arthur spoke very slowly, putting his hands together just below his lips. "You've had your fun and I'm done arguing with you. I need to know the name of this man of yours."

And-Arthur thought privately, making sure his thoughts couldn't be seen on his face lest Merlin got smarter and realized what he was planning on doing-if this man happened to make a disappearance where he would never be found again well…Arthur had no idea as to where he could have possibly gone.

Merlin scowled at Arthur's demanding, and he felt this clawing sensation in the center of his chest. Merlin wasn't one of Arthur's little subjects to be bossed around or mistreated as the prince saw fit, "Contrary to what you believe about me and my character," Merlin hissed out, unable to stop the hunt as it sunk into his bones. "I don't have any man waiting off on the sidelines for you to royally screw up everything. She's just my friend."

Arthur stiffened up at that confession and they both seemed to realize it when Merlin paled a little bit. She. Merlin had said she, as in not Him. As long as Arthur had thought the flower was from a man-the reason Merlin had not corrected him before now-then the real flower-giver was safe.

"Her?" Arthur demanded with a narrow eyed look. The fact that it was female and not the male like he had thought didn't change any kind of thing. It just made Arthur start to shift through a different victim pool. Ever since he had first noticed the flower, he'd been going through the different possibilities inside his mind of who it could be. At first he'd been considering it might be Markus and that was why Merlin was refusing to tell him. Or maybe it was Derrick-that guy was gay-and Merlin was just trying to protect his lover from his wrath. But now that it was a woman…Arthur was left scrambling in his mind for any kind of woman he knew off the bat.

"…Was it Morgana?" Arthur asked poorly. He would have to have a talk with her because she must have done it just to get underneath his skin. And maybe remind her that giving his consort flowers could be seen as showing Merlin a romantic interest. The public would eat something like that up in a heartbeat but that would be just like Morgana.

Merlin was quick to respond, trying his best to distract Arthur from the train of thought he was going down. After all, Morgana would be literally one step away from suggesting Gwen herself. He hoped he was wrong about Arthur and he wasn't going to go after Gwen just for giving him a flower. But it was also a risk that he felt he couldn't take on the off chance that Arthur turned out to be more like Uther than he thought he was, "And what I really do not appreciate is you trying to indicate that I'm some sort of harlot!" His feathers were still ruffled about that comment, but he would use it if it distracted Arthur from what he was looking for. "Unlike you Mr. Royal Prince who dances with a woman in front of the entire of the kingdom!"

Merlin flushed when he saw Arthur stopping short at that. But he steeled himself and lifted up his chin, daring Arthur to tell him that he'd gotten the whole thing wrong. That he hadn't run off with the first girl who'd shown up for him. Merlin may have been wrong about the situation with Morris-and he firmly decided to never believe another word that came out of that man's mouth-but there was no way that Arthur could lie his way about Clarissa. And it was the first time Merlin was confronting him about it, demanding answers he didn't want to hear. He still didn't want to hear about it and had been content to let it lie in the past as Arthur's message-and how he preferred her-was loud and clear. But…Gwen…he had to distract Arthur for Gwen's sake.

It was like a torch had just gone off inside of Arthur's head as he came to his own and very wrong conclusions, "Is that why you've been so moody lately? Why I haven't seen you be around in ages? Because I danced with Lady Clarissa that night and not you?" Arthur was not able to believe that this was happening to him again. First Morgana had chewed him out over it, and now Merlin was starting a fight for something that he'd agreed with at the time! If Merlin hadn't wanted him to dance with her then he should have said something when he had made a big deal about getting Merlin and his permission. Arthur would have had to turn her down if he had for the sake of his social expectations and priorities.

Merlin's jaw dropped in disbelief, "Moody! A spotlight!" He wasn't really sure how Arthur would take this turn in the conversation-but Merlin had been willing to suck it up just to distract him for Gwen's sake-but this hadn't been it. If only Arthur knew that Merlin was detesting this so called 'spotlight' more and more as the hours wore on. He hated the life where every eye was on him, every rumor that went around seemed to be about him in some way, everybody looking for some kind of handout he wasn't going to give them. It made things so much harder and would make this anxiety he'd seemed to develop over the last few weeks even worse because he was positive that everybody was staring at him. It was like they knew he was wrong, knew that he was different from the rest. Knew that he had magic. He felt as if he was on display for half the time, and Merlin grew pissed that his 'husband' had the nerve to accuse him like that. If he was inside of Gaius' place instead of in the hall, he wouldn't have hesitated to grab one of the potion bottles and flung it at Arthur's head as hard as he could. Arrested for 'attacking' the Royal prince be damned.

"That's exactly what it is-" Arthur started in this condescending tone that nearly drove Merlin to the point of insanity and he could almost feel his magic working it's way down to his fingertips. It was actually a struggle to 'not' throw Arthur back into the wall just to make him shut his mouth.

"How would you even know if I was happy about all of the attention!" Merlin exploded at him, his hands clenching into fists to mask a spark of magic from building up. "For you to know that, you would actually have to want to be near me for more than your princely duties or whatever!" Merlin had been there for every event since he'd said 'I do'. He had helped the spoiled arse with his armor, going out of his way just to learn how to do it up. He'd gone to the meet-and-greet, and to every match that Arthur had. And what exactly had he'd gotten from Arthur? Abandoned after some piss-poor apology he'd been dumb enough to accept. "I'm surprised that you have even noticed considering you're only around me if it's strictly necessary! Arthur had avoided him like he was diseased back when they'd first married and the streak had only broken after his father demanded Arthur clear up his 'debt' to Merlin for saving his life-and he was vaguely regretting it at the moment-by taking him out training. Never again. Arthur had also came for him just the day before-prompting Merlin's moving out-because he had heard Merlin was looking for work. But before that, Arthur hadn't bothered with him. Not even a knock on his door just to make sure that he was still alive.

Arthur acted surprised to see Merlin fighting back against him on this. Which he shouldn't really be because when had Merlin ever not said what was on his mind. Clearly somebody needed to keep Arthur humble among all of the people fawning over him like he was the best thing since sliced bread. "You were the one that told me it was okay!" Arthur shouted back at him. He voice leaked his annoyance about the whole situation. He was regretting his dance now 'a lot' simply for all of the grief he was getting now over something that had happened a month ago.

"And you were the one dumb enough to believe me." Merlin sneered, clenching his fists so tightly he could feel little cuts shaped like his fingernails forming into the palms of his hands. "What else was I supposed to do? Cling onto your arm and beg you not to leave me alone?" Merlin rolled his eyes. He would not have minded actually being alone, Merlin was more than okay having a bit of time to himself every now and then. But he wasn't by himself. He had Morris. And then he had the king. And then he had Arthur followed quickly by Clarissa as if she thought Arthur would be running away if she didn't sink her claws into him.

Arthur scowled, maybe the best course of action would have been to take Merlin off to the side and explain the situation. Back then he had been feeling guilty for not protecting him from Valiant-still did actually-but it had been more fresh then. He would have turned Clarissa down in a heartbeat if say, Merlin was feeling unsafe in the new environment. If Valiant had never happened Arthur probably would have told him to stop acting like a girl and he'd survive without Arthur's attention for one night, "Well, what do you want me to do about it? It's over and done with!"

Merlin scoffed, shaking his head as he went to cross his arms back over his chest, but he only did this to hide his hands out from view in case his hands really were sparking with the anger of his magic trying to work its way out of his system. But no, he liked to think he had better control than to blow his cover on Arthur. Arthur wanted them to be separated clearly, so Merlin was going to do exactly that if it meant getting some kind of control back over his life.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, "You act as if I can read your mind and tell what exactly you are thinking about." He jabbed a finger at his own head as if to emphasize this. "But I don't know what your complaining about. So I had 'one' dance with her over a month ago. You would think you would have been thrilled for it actually."

That made Merlin stop, his jaw opening and closing for a moment. And he wondered how Arthur could be so obviously obtuse. He had to be doing it on purpose, just trying to urge another rile out of Merlin. But Merlin wouldn't give in to him, even if his voice happened to fall on the wrong side of sarcasm as he said, "Oh, and how do you figure that one?"

Arthur spoke as if it was obvious, "It gave you the perfect excuse to spend the past month avoiding me. It's ingenious now that I think of it, I didn't know you had it in you." But when Merlin still looked as if he didn't understood what Arthur meant, Arthur gave an all-mighty kind of sigh. As if it pained him to have to explain anything to Merlin, "You would think that you would be happy. You get to stir the pot with all this drama you cause, you get to act like some kind of victim, as well as trying to make me look like the bad guy with your whole woe is me act."

Merlin wanted to scream at Arthur, as this had only been a small portion of his rage. He had so much bottled up inside of him but he feared if he did, his magic building up inside would come out like a punch to the gut. But that was better than the alternative. Better to feel this than to feel as if he had just been cut open for the entire world to see and start the insistent poking around on his insides. Arthur didn't know any of this because Arthur didn't have the same kind of problems that he went through. Arthur was adored, he had his fans and he had people that flocked him. He even had people that hated him as much as they did Merlin. The only difference was they were much more scared of their prince and what his retribution would be then they were of the newcomer's. It seemed like everybody spent so much of their time and energy trying with so much desperation to get Arthur's approval of them. Merlin hated it, he thought before he was leveling Arthur with a dark stare, his eyes flashing with his contempt. But thankfully the color stayed blue.

"Oh, trust me." Merlin spoke up, his voice low and with a dangerous tinge to it that Arthur would no doubt dismiss as Merlin blowing out hot air. "I am no victim." Merlin may not have much of anything, may feel like he was alone as a simple stranger in this new land. Even if he did have a handful of people to share his pain with, if he ever opened up to them about what has been going on between him and the rest of the city. But it wasn't enough, it might never be. But Merlin did have his dignity and he wasn't going to let Arthur belittle him like he always did. Not this time.

Arthur opened his mouth-probably to snap at him again-or demand that Merlin show him a bit of respect or something else that he had no interest in hearing. Not if Arthur was going to try and gaslight him or force him down into an obedient little house maker role. He might have went through a phrase where he wanted to be the best 'consort' that he could be, but he wasn't a doormat either. So Merlin didn't allow Arthur to speak, talking over him loudly to get his point across when he tried.

"And maybe," he started loudly. "Whatever is going around this week wouldn't matter so much to you if you got your head out of your own arse. I mean, you don't even know one thing about me and yet all you do is start to criticize me for not fitting into your 'Royal' lifestyle," he used his fingers to make those quotation marks be as sarcastic as he could possibly make it right now. "At least I know a few things about you-" like he was an arse that took pleasure in other people and their misery. A jerk who went out of his way just to make sure he stood above everybody else in the kingdom, as if the shining crown he had sometimes worn hadn't been a big enough indicator for him. Merlin might as well be a virtual mystery considering how little Arthur paid him any attention. It made Merlin want to grab Arthur by his cheeks, force their faces close together until their foreheads would be touching so harshly that it would hurt. And then just scream as loudly as he could 'look at me! Look at what you have done to me!' "And let me tell you," Merlin started up again, not moving forward with that particular bad idea. But more because he was to afraid to move lest his magic would start to react to his emotions and he would have a lot more to explain to Arthur than he wanted to. Hell, he could have almost sworn his hair was crackling with little sparks of electricity but that must have just been in his head because Arthur didn't say anything that would indicate his notice. "I have yet to see anything that would interest me!"

Merlin should have known right from the very beginning-from their start-that he and Arthur would never be able to make things work. He should have known the second he had seen the stupid blonde headed prince throwing his daggers at Morris as if they were nothing but toys meant for his own amusement. But the last few weeks…despite the thrumming pain of dissatisfaction that he felt every time he'd seen Arthur…he felt as if his eyes were finally starting to open up so that he could see the world around him more clearly. And let him tell you, he did not like what he saw.

Arthur on the other hand, cringed in distaste at Merlin's outburst. If he had been raised in a more proper household, he would have never dared to raise his voice at Arthur. He wouldn't have dared to do even half of the stuff he had done since arriving in Camelot. And he felt it when his lip curled up in disgust. Alright, two can play at that game, Arthur thought as his eyes slowly dropped down to the flower that was still on Merlin's neck. Despite how their conversation had drifted to and from the little flower at any given notice, Arthur had nearly managed to keep his eyes on it at all times. It was a disgusting little thing, but it may prove to be useful.

"So, I suppose that means this little lover of yours interest you more?" Arthur asked with a touch of disgruntled annoyance lacing into his voice. What was so great about this one person that Merlin would risk everything just to carry around one of their trinkets? Did he think he would get away with it? Did Merlin think his father would allow an indiscretion to go unpunished? Did Merlin think that Arthur would allow such filth on him? He should just count himself lucky that Arthur had allowed him to shove him off the first time. Should be grateful that Arthur hadn't ripped the damn thing off his neck just to prove a point. Just to show Merlin that such things like this was not something the Royal family would abide by. Arthur waved his hand about as if he was about to say he couldn't care less about what Merlin did with his time, "Like I told you a bit earlier, just make sure that whatever affair is going on, you'll keep it quiet. I won't have any of my people doubting my abilities as your husband."

Merlin's eyes narrowed in on him and for just a second, Arthur could have sworn that he'd seen nothing but pure hatred in his eyes. But good, Arthur thought viciously, he wanted to see Merlin hated him. Wanted to put an end to all of this until Merlin was nothing but this obedient little shell of a person. This was all going according to the plan Arthur was trying to cork up. He'd tried to briefly be nice to the boy, tried to ask politely with a smile and all to get the name out of him but Merlin hadn't budged on the issue. He had tried to force it out of him, had demanded the truth be out spoken but still, Merlin hadn't cracked. He'd even sounded bored at one point, putting on a facade of not caring nearly as much as he did to get it out of him. But still…Arthur had gotten nothing out of his efforts. So he was down to his last method, making it seem as if he didn't care nearly as much as what Merlin did as he should. Make Merlin think that as long as he kept the affair clean, kept it out of the public's eye so that neither of them would be all but crucified…he might just slip and let loose the wretched name.

Merlin's face nearly went red with his anger, even redder at the insinuation that Arthur did not care that Merlin-for all he knew-had been having his fun dating some other guy off to the side, "I'm not involved with a girl!" Merlin said with indignation, bringing that piece of information to Arthur's attention.

But Arthur didn't really care if Merlin found company in the arms of another guy or some woman-although he was a bit confused as he had been positive Merlin was gay-it made no difference to him. Other than he now had this much bigger suspect pool to wade through. It was aggravatingly annoying that Merlin would be so tight lipped on it. And if this latest plot of Arthur's didn't work, then he might have to step up his game. Get a few guards-or even do it himself to make sure that it was done the right way-to follow Merlin around. Arthur would need his consort's every movement to be tracked and marked on. Arthur would be sure to know who Merlin talked to, when he'd talked to them, what the conversation would be about, and everything else in between. So was it a bit unhinged and an overreaction to one little weed of a flower? Probably. But did Arthur care? Not in the least. Arthur couldn't wait to show this mystery person-practically taste it on the back of his tongue-to make an example out of them in front of Merlin.

Merlin continued talking as if he didn't know the direction Arthur's maddening thoughts had gone, "And trust me," Merlin sneered at the prince. "You are far to incompetent to be my husband."

Merlin wanted somebody that he could trust with every part of himself, even the parts he was forced to keep hidden for his own safety as well. And Arthur wasn't the kind of man he wanted him to be. It had became absolutely no wonder to Merlin why Arthur hadn't been married before the contract came to light and he was forced to. Nobody would have been willing to marry him of their own violation. All Merlin would get out of this marriage was this lifetime of disappointments and pains…

Arthur's eye twitched and his jaw clenched at the insult, "Incompetent, you say?" the prince growled in disdain. Incompetent? All he was doing was keeping Merlin safe, making sure that he wouldn't end up in trouble as there was all kinds of people just like Valiant out there in the world. And the only thing Arthur could do was make sure Merlin wasn't going around with the riff-raft of their society. Who knows what kind of trouble some random or uncouth peasant would teach the boy, who knows what kind of lengths Merlin would go through-neglecting his duties as consort-just to go see this girl. This girl…fuck…what girls did Arthur actually know? Not many other then the daughters of nobles but surely none of them would want to risk their reputations on his consort? So it had to be a peasant but what peasant girls did he actually know of by name. And that was only if Merlin hadn't met one of the many other serving girls that were milling around the castle. "…Gwen? Did you get the flower from Gwen?"

Arthur had only been half-arsing it, as Gwen was really the only serving girl he knew right off the bat. But he wanted to show Merlin he wasn't as incompetent as he thought he was, his pride roaring up because it wasn't just the people that would doubt his abilities to keep his husband in line. Merlin doubted him as well and that just wouldn't do. He knew that Merlin still hung around Gwen-despite having once told him that royals didn't mix well with the common folk-so Arthur wasn't nearly as incompetent as Merlin thought he was, being that he knew who Merlin was friends with.

But Arthur must have seen the minute shift of Merlin's features when he mentioned Gwen's name. And it all went downhill from there.

"Gwen!" Arthur exclaimed loudly, the shock radiating out of his voice in disbelief as that little news hit him. Gwen? Morgana's little handmaiden, Gwen? The girl who was always smiling and trailing just behind Morgana… "Gwen is your lover!"

There was a heartbeat of pure silence, Merlin was absolutely mortified by Arthur's reaction. But he was even more horrified by how easily Arthur had been able to make this guess just by the look on Merlin's face. And when Merlin saw that it looked like Arthur was about to go storming off-to confront Gwen about all that was going on?-he panicked.

"Leave her alone! She didn't do anything that is wrong!" Merlin shouted, grabbing roughly at the back of Arthur's leather jacket when the creep started storming away from him. It wasn't right for Arthur to go storming up onto Gwen's doorstep, and Merlin wasn't going to let him either. Arthur would just have to try and pry himself away from Merlin's cold dead hands.

…It didn't go over so well.

"What are you doing?! Get off me you raging moron!" Arthur shouted as he and Merlin got to tussling, each one vying for victory. Arthur would try to get himself loose only for Merlin to grab another part of him, scrambling for a sleeve or the back end of it. Anywhere that would keep Arthur from leaving. Anything to keep Arthur away from Gwen. Anything that would keep Gwen safe from Arthur's wrath.

At one point, Merlin threw himself forward as Arthur managed to get away, nearly jumping on his back and manhandling him straight to the ground from his sudden weight, and the prince was screaming increasingly worsening obscenities at him as Merlin jammed his knee up against the base of Arthur's spine, trying to keep Arthur pinned to the ground. His only thought was to protect Gwen from whatever weird retribution Arthur was going to seek from her. Which is why he put his hands on the back of Arthur's shoulders pushing him further onto the floor. He had every intention of leaning down to Arthur's ear and letting him know that while he's now at Merlin's own mercy, he'd only let him up if he swore he'd never go after Gwen…

Merlin yelped, face scrunched up as he felt the literal wind knocked out of him as he was flipped over onto his back. And then he was hissing as Arthur's knee jammed itself right under Merlin's rib cage, forcing him to let out a painful gasp as whatever breath he'd been holding onto escaped him. Merlin had to start squinting through his eyes just to see Arthur above him, one knee pressed into his ribcage and the other on the ground beside his body for balance. Arthur was arching a sardonic eyebrow at him, making Merlin groan before he dropped his head back onto the stone of the floor beneath him, his hands coming up to grasp at Arthur's knee for purchase.

"Did you really think that would work?" Arthur asked him, pushing his knee further into the boy's belly…maybe he was having a bit more fun than he thought he would. Or maybe he just liked the funny gasping noise that Merlin would go making every time Arthur made the subtle shifting motion on top of him.

"I had to try." Merlin grunted, finding it a bit to difficult to breathe with Arthur pressing all of his weight into his belly. Which led to Merlin trying to wriggle himself free, and this only led to more pressure when Arthur pressed to keep him in place. "I am not going to let you hurt Gwen!"

Merlin's blunt nails had been digging into the fabric of Arthur's pants around the knee part but now he tried to surge upwards, hoping to knock Arthur off guard with his fists coming up to swing at him. He would never be able to forgive himself if Gwen got caught up in his messed up life. If only he had listened to his uncle who'd said he was playing with fire, if only Merlin had swallowed his pride then he could live knowing Gwen wouldn't suffer from being his friend.

Arthur was easily able to knock his wrist out of the way, doing some kind of fancy move to pin one of Merlin's wrist down in an armlock by his head. Merlin grunted, trying to yank his arm out of the hold but Arthur was relentless, his grip on Merlin's wrist line a steel cable.

"Hurt Gwen?" Arthur repeated, looking down at Merlin as if he seriously thought the young boy had a concussion. Or some other kind of mental affliction that caused him to talk some kind of nonsense. "I'm not going to hurt Gwen!" Morgana herself would have his balls on a silver platter if she thought for one single second that he would do anything to the girl. Morgana was quite protective over the maid, something Arthur couldn't really understand because she was just one servant when they had dozens at their disposal.

Merlin stopped short at this, "…You're not?" He asked baffled. He had seen Arthur's face when he had tried to leave moments before he had jumped him. Arthur had looked like he was about to bite somebody's head off-in the literal sense-and spit it back out again.

Arthur rolled his eyes at his stupid little boy for being such a moron, "Why would you-" he cut himself off as he looked behind him, easily picturing the scenario. He thought to how he'd been leaving, and then how Merlin had jumped him…maybe it had looked bad to somebody known for over reacting to every little thing. Arthur huffed out a large breathe and then shook his head, "What? Did you think I would have her hanged?"

Arthur would have to have something done of course, but a proper hanging would be out of the question. He hadn't considered Merlin'd go for somebody like Gwen, so quiet and so sweet, Gwen would practically be wasted on somebody as irritatingly outspoken like that consort of his was. But he would need to pull her aside and have a stern talk with her, and to remind her that while she and Merlin may be 'friends' she needed to keep her distance and remember she was talking to a Royal.

Merlin scowled, feeling as if Arthur had been taking his fears a little to lightly, pushing up on Arthur's leg still rammed into the under side of his belly, "Will you get off me alread-"

Merlin was cut off when Arthur started to ask him invasive questions, "What do you find so interesting about Gwen anyway? Is she really someone you would risk your new status on, because you could loose practically everything you have now if you go down this route." Maybe Arthur should be grateful that Merlin was with Gwen, because it would be a lot better than any unsavory man. And with it being Gwen, Arthur could monitor them a bit easier to make sure nothing went overboard. But as much as Arthur hated the idea of this random guy no doubt dragging Merlin along and Merlin being stupid enough to believe it was true-people came up to royals because they wanted something, not because they actually wanted you-Arthur was still agitated because he also hated the thought of Gwen worming herself into the Royal family. It was not a pretty picture, and Arthur wondered if he could have Gwen banned from being near his consort in the foreseeable future. Imagine the scandal it would cause if she ended with child and claimed Merlin the father…

Merlin stared blankly up at Arthur, almost able to forget the heavy weight sitting on his chest, "…Is there something actually wrong with you?" If all it took was for Merlin to fake an affair with Gwen, he would've done that in the first week they were married. Especially if Gwen wouldn't be harmed by the outcome. It was at least nice to know Arthur wasn't going to be contemplating her death for a complete misunderstanding.

Arthur didn't look amused by him, "Just tell me why her of all people?" He didn't see any specialness about Gwen, not anything that'll make people risk their new luxurious life over with. "She's just a serving girl!" In hindsight, Arthur thought as he started to get more and more agitated with his mind roaming off into thousands of different directions-he should have seen this coming. Didn't Markus once warn him ages ago, back during the tourney, that Gwen and Merlin looked to be a little too close? He should have seen it developing into something that was more inappropriate. And Arthur should have put a stop to it long before it had been allowed to develop this far.

Merlin let out a sort of war cry and started his wiggling again, trying to buck Arthur and his fat body off of him, "Don't be mean about her you arse! She is a much better person than you could ever be! Now will you just get the fuck of me!"

Merlin's wiggling got intense and Arthur was grunting as he was nearly upheaval. But the prince took control of the situation by getting up himself, grabbing Merlin by the shoulders of his jacket and jerking him up to stand right on his feet.

Merlin grasped for breath now that he was righted and no longer had the heavy pressure of Arthur pinning him down. He gave the arse a death glare, ignoring the way Arthur had his hands still bunched up in the shoulders of his jacket, "What happened to you never pinning me down on a flat surface again?" Merlin said in a hot tone. He was talking about how that spoiled prince had once pinned him down on a table-and done it again to a wall during the tourney-and then turned around and swore to Merlin he'd never do it again. Apparently it was 'unbecoming' of a prince to do that or however he'd explained it at the time.

Arthur smiled at him, but his jaw had been clenched and he showed a bit to much teeth for it to be genuine, "That was before you'd gone all crazy on me." Arthur may have been promising to Merlin that he'd never do it again but clearly he'd had to do something to get Merlin to stop coming at him. If the brat wanted to play stupid games then Arthur'd make sure he got stupid prizes as well.

Merlin growled-legit growled-and shoved off Arthur's hands, "I'm not the crazy one! You're the one that thinks I'm having some kind of illicit affair with Gwen just because she gave me a flower!" And miraculously, the flower in question was still holding strong inside of his neckerchief. "And just because I'm wearing a flower that my 'friend' gave me, does not in anyway mean that I 'like' her!" Merlin raged at Arthur, unable to believe the juvenile bullshit that came coming out of his mouth. "Just for the record: if you haven't realized this before, but I like men. As in sorely men. Do you not even know that much about me!" The least Arthur could do-if he was going to ignore any thing else-was know that Merlin wasn't going off starting affairs with the castle servants. It wasn't that hard-girls and guys could be 'just friends'-especially if one of them was more interested in their own gender.

Arthur stiffened up, completely hating it when Merlin would go on a tyrant like this one. It was one thing to be…that…but did his consort have to practically shout it from the rooftops. People would hear him! The people would…well they already thought he was gay for marrying Merlin but that wasn't the point! He just wanted Merlin to start screaming that from the heavens, "Will you stop screaming that!" Arthur hissed, looking around frantic at the space around them. But the hallway was as deserted as it had been since he'd arrived not to long ago. A tumbleweed almost could have passed by from how deserted it was.

Merlin rolled his eyes at him, not surprised at all that Arthur was acting like this, "You don't have to worry about a damn thing. I won't go around giving you my 'gay germs'" he said it very sarcastically. He'd been opened about it his whole life and he didn't care how much Camelot was 'conservative' he wasn't going to hide it just because Arthur had a problem with him.

Arthur clenched his jaw, because at least he had a full confirmation that Merlin was being one hundred percent gay. He would never be left fumbling for an answer-like he had during the tourney and Markus had asked him if his consort also liked women because of Merlin and his growing closeness to Gwen-because now he knew the answer…he really wished he didn't know the answer.

Arthur, after making sure that nobody was still around, turned back to Merlin, "Okay, so you are…so what? Your telling me that Gwen gave you a flower just because it was one of those girly friendship things? Because that," he nodded down to the flower. "Looks like she likes you."

Arthur didn't know much about girls and their feelings but they did that sometimes, right? It was one of those things they did-giving other girl's flowers? Well, that certainty tracked well with Merlin. Because Merlin was probably the girliest guy he'd ever met.

Merlin blinked slowly, looking at Arthur with an odd mix of doe eyes and 'are you fucking kidding me right now?' Merlin slowly moved his hand until he was point at himself for the prince to get the message, "I'm gay." Merlin spoke slowly, enunciating this so that Arthur would never again question rather or not he was interested in a woman. "And you're also married to a man, so stop looking around as if people are gonna show up and start their crap with you. They already think your gay for marrying me, they aren't gonna think you're gay twice just for talking to me. So that ship has already sailed."

Arthur stopped what he was doing, which was exactly what Merlin had said. He had still been looking around, trying to make sure that nobody stumbled upon them at any second. He really wished they were somewhere more private but really, how much more private could they get than an abandoned hallway?

Arthur scowled at Merlin before something in his features shifted, as if he was thinking very hard about something. And it made Merlin a bit more cautious than he had been a minute ago. He didn't like it when Arthur was clearly thinking, nothing good ever came out of his mouth when he got that look on his face, so he spoke up before Arthur could, "Now don't go straining yourself! We wouldn't want your highness to get a headache."

Arthur didn't rise to the bait, almost looking as if he hadn't heard Merlin at all. And Merlin narrowed his eyes, deciding to do something that would be outrageous to distract Arthur from whatever dumb thing he was going to say now. But Arthur interrupted before he was able to, broaching the new subject very cautiously.

"Do you have to be…gay?" The word tasted funny on Arthur's tongue, and it was almost enough for him to wish he could scrub his mouth out. His father would kill him if he had known for one second that Arthur was really about to have this conversation. And he'd be the first one to say he didn't know a thing of how gay people worked. But if there was a way to…turn it off?…wouldn't people choose that rather than be a pariah in some of the social circles. Arthur hated to say what he did next, but say it he did, "Maybe you should go and give Gwen a try. At least she's a woman, you just need to make sure it's kept behind closed doors."

It was a sharp turn from how Arthur had been behaving, but he would be willing to endure almost anything if there was a possibility of him 'fixing' Merlin. And out of everybody out there, at least Arthur knew Gwen. She would be somebody close that he could keep an eye on, somebody that Arthur could at least be reasonably sure wouldn't go violating his consort against his will. Gwen was sweet so at most they'd probably just end up holding hands a lot, nothing that should cause Arthur to much of a headache if they all worked out some kind of deal and rules to make sure that it stayed hidden. And wouldn't this also be a better alternative, he had nearly convinced himself. To have a straight husband with this female lover on the side to keep him occupy, instead of a gay one who Arthur felt was still pining for him off to the side. He still didn't like the whole flower thing but…Arthur would have to suck it up. He'd have to sit in on a few of their 'dates' just to make sure everything was keep appropriate before he allowed them to keep meeting alone. But, Arthur thought with a considerable amount of strength, with some time and some effort, he was sure that he could come up with something that would satisfy himself. As long as Merlin and Gwen didn't get to close. Or were caught. Or went off kissing. Or had to many conversations that looked more intimate then it should…as long as Arthur could help Merlin get back on the straight and narrow path. It would all have to be worth it.

But…Merlin was going to kill Arthur before he went through any 'changes'. Merlin was going to do it slowly and painfully, he thought as his eye twitched wildly. He was going to skin the prince, tear the flesh off of his bones until he was nothing more than a bloody mess of ugly flesh. Nothing more than a useless lump of what was once a person. And then he would take great pleasure in dropping this pound of flesh-floppy and useless because Merlin had also torn his spine out at one point during the encounter-down a well. Arthur was going to be spending his afterlife with the fishes for all Merlin cared.

"That's not how it works." Merlin said slowly, in a voice that was so calm that it showed just how not calm he was. And it took everything in Merlin not to show Arthur exactly what he thought of that suggestion. To use his magic so that he could dangle Arthur by his ankle at the top of the tallest tower the castle had. So he could watch Arthur scream in terror as he practically begged Merlin to put him back on the ground. "Rather your misguided beliefs run inline with mine or not, and this is the last time I expect to have this conversation, I am one hundred percent convinced that I want a man. Not a woman." Merlin wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It's to bad that I got stuck with of all people, you."

Arthur felt himself bristling at this clear insult to his manhood. He was infuriated by Merlin's remarks, feeling as if he had done everything that a real man would. Did Merlin not feel as if he was safe or protected? Because he'd been cleaning house, getting rid of that miscreant Valiant. And he wouldn't hesitate to do it over again if some other man eyed Merlin up-had even been prepared to do it to Gwen for this brief second after he'd correctly guessed it was her. Did a real man not protect what was his? Wasn't it one of his husbandly duties-the few he was actually trying to keep up with-to make sure Merlin was alive. Was it not his job as a husband to keep Merlin content? He had tried that by offering Merlin all kinds of things for his enjoyment, had tried to give Merlin any access he wanted to the vaults. He had been rebuffed but he had still tried, and was it not the thought that counted? He had even given Merlin permission to be with another! Albeit it had to be Gwen and only when certain rules and stimulations put into place to Arthur's satisfaction. But he was helping the boy out, trying to show him that he didn't have to live with the 'gay' lifestyle. If Merlin would only be able to meet him halfway, then Arthur could show him that there was nothing wrong with finding pleasure with a woman's company…as long as that pleasure was only handholding like two pre-teens did when their hormones started kicking in. He'd even dragged Merlin away from the shops when he'd been dumb enough to go job hunting. Pendragon's didn't work mundane jobs. Arthur was the man for providing for his husband everything he may need.

"I am plenty man!" Arthur said forcibly, and he wanted to drill the fact into Merlin's thick head. Nobody was allowed to talk to him like that, nobody was allowed to say Arthur might not be good enough. Arthur had spend every day of his life with something to prove-to his father, and to his people-and he wouldn't let his process be upheaved by a boy with this to smart mouth.

Merlin tilted his head up a bit in defiance, the fire dancing in his eyes. The way he had his head angled showed off a bit more neck than he usually did, "You're not man enough for me, Arthur Pendragon." Merlin had a very clear idea of his ideal guy. Maybe he didn't have an exact picture in his mind, but he did know he wanted…something more.

Arthur took a step closer until he had found himself standing chest to chest with Merlin, feeling himself drawn to the boy with the fire roaring in his eyes. He felt himself rising up to the challenge Merlin was all but daring him to take. The air in the hall suddenly felt charged, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. The energy inside the hall couldn't have been worse if there was literal lightning that sparked from the heavens and made itself at home right between them, striking and hot.

"So tell me Merlin," Arthur said slowly, he was not willing to back down from the challenge he felt as if Merlin had set for him. His pride would not allow him to back down, even as he masked his features so that Merlin wasn't able to tell that Arthur felt as if his heart was trying to leap out of his chest. And for some really weird reason, his eyes kept falling down to grace upon Merlin's neck, sliding down the curved muscle until the skin had disappeared beneath the neckerchief. "What would you call a real man, exactly?"

Arthur couldn't help but be curious, this kind of itching curiosity that scratched roughly at his brain. If none of the things he'd done for Merlin was good enough, then what would be exactly? As prince, Arthur had many different possibilities at his disposal. All Merlin had to say the word and Arthur could have whatever it was he wanted brought straight to him. He would show Merlin how somebody should be taken care of, how a real man was supposed to take care of what was His. And he would do way better than Gwen ever could with her measly peasant salary. Even if she was the personal handmaiden to Uther's ward, what she got for her work was nothing compared to what he had. He just…didn't know what it was Merlin wanted. And it was nothing more than infuriating to know Merlin dismissed all he did without a second thought. It was also extremely frustrating, knowing that he'd been wasting all of this time trying to figure it out only for Merlin to give him absolutely nothing that he could go off on. It was…intriguing and made Arthur want to step up his game. All he needed to do was find the one thing that not even Merlin could deny.

But denying was what Merlin did best, even if he was stiff. The tension in the air was very palpable to him, so much so that he felt as if he could taste it in the air. It coated the inside of his mouth, his tongue, straight down his esophagus, and into his belly. The warmth he hated was there, almost making him feel as if his own magic was buzzing around inside of him. Trying to rebel against him. Trying to get out of him like a punch. Merlin had to harden himself, had to squish his magic down before it could try to burst free. So small and tiny he could barely feel the warmth of it there in the back of his skull.

"Someone the exact opposite of Arthur Pendragon." Merlin answered him, mainly to hide how he didn't have a definitive answer for what he wanted. But he did know that he didn't want somebody as controlling or as bossy as Arthur. Not somebody who thought he could just pass him off to Gwen as if he'd served whatever purpose he had and was no longer needed now so Arthur was trying to find a convenient way to get rid of him.

Arthur narrowed his eye's just the slightest bit at the boy, "Is that right?" He asked in this low murmur. The lowness of his tone seemed to bring out how dark it was around them, the kind of silky smooth that might only be found with a certain type of people. Those kinds of people that…weren't Arthur and Merlin.

Merlin opened his mouth to say something to Arthur, probably to yell at him again. He was still pretty mad that Arthur thought he could just hand him off to Gwen and be done with him like a pair of old shoes.

But he was interrupted by what sounded like a loud clatter from the next room. Both of the boys whipped their heads around to look at the door, as if they had both forgotten why they were there in the first place. Arthur was here for some…random off reason that he'd yet to disclose of to Merlin. And Merlin…he was left scowling before he stepped away from Arthur, turning his back to the other man.

He was supposed to be distracting Arthur from coming in and seeing the body. He was 'supposed' to be giving his uncle enough of a time to make sure the body was adequately covered if Arthur made it past him-which he wouldn't because Merlin would be more than happy to try jumping him again just to prevent him from going in. What he was not supposed to be doing was allowing him to get drawn into Arthur's drama again. Or into his low tones where it felt like he was finally speaking 'to' Merlin and not just 'at' him. It was that kind of behavior that had tricked Merlin in the first place. It was the kind of talk that made Merlin see things that wouldn't be there. And he was not going to allow himself to fall back into old habits all over again.

"I think it's time you go now." Merlin said as he reached out and put a hand on the door. It was to make Arthur see the conversation was over. But he didn't dare open it yet, even if he wanted to escape, for fear that Arthur might see inside and storm in, demanding to know what was going on and why Gaius had a body slung out over one of his tables.

Arthur straightened up himself, entirely sure that he didn't like Merlin dismissing him when it should be the other way around. But he felt just awkward enough, the almost intimacy of the atmosphere getting to him. But he was a prince, he didn't run away from anything ever. Not even his own emotions. So he cleared his voice, taking his sweet time to make it look as if he was leaving on his own and not because Merlin had told him to, "I did come down here for a reason, you know. My father has a need for Gaius. Since you've taken to 'helping him' or whatever it is your doing down here, then I expect you to inform him of this."

If only Arthur realized what his father wanted Gaius for-having not been privy to the matter earlier-then maybe he wouldn't have wasted so much time on Merlin. A flower-as daunting and as much as Arthur still wanted to rip it off his neck or show Merlin what a real flower would look in comparison just so he could see what he was missing-was also a small matter in the grand scheme of what was to come in the next few days.

"Yeah," Merlin said, shooting him a glare over his shoulder. "I'll be sure to get right on that." He said this very sarcastically, as if he wasn't planning on doing anything Arthur asked him to.

Arthur rolled his eyes, bringing his hands up to his hips, "If Gaius is not with my father in the next ten minutes, I'll know for sure who to send my guards after for disobeying me." He wanted Merlin to rise to the bait, to beg and to pled for his mercy like any commoner had if Arthur seriously planned to have the guards gather them.

But Merlin was either dumber than he looked or was smart enough to realize a bluff when he saw one, "Just go and do whatever you do when your not getting in my business."

Arthur scowled but figuring there was nothing left to be done here, and he really did not like the darkness of this hall mixed in with Merlin's company, took his leave. He left his dreaded consort to continue on with his new found 'hobby' of distracting Gaius. And he'd also left Merlin with the flower, grudgingly as he decided it was all Merlin was going to get from the girl. Whatever Arthur may have been considering before-passing?- his consort to Gwen to help Merlin see the pleasure of any woman's company was long gone.

Arthur may not have said it, as he stormed out of the hall and into the waiting sunlight streaming in through the windows of the next, but the offer was off the table. Merlin had ruined it with his clear defiance against Arthur. If not even Arthur could tame the boy into being a respectful and moderate, proper, citizen of their city. Then Gwen didn't have a chance.

Arthur would clearly have to figure something out-a new training regimen so to speak for his disobedient little pet-to get Merlin to fall into line.

X

Merlin let out a sigh of relief, feeling at ease only after he saw Arthur leaving the hall for good. He didn't have time to deal with any of his shit today. And Gaius probably didn't have any time to deal with Uther's when he'd been still examining a body. But it wasn't like Gaius could ignore a direct summons from the king without coming clean about the body.

Jerome would have to be put on ice until they fixed whatever minor problem Uther had…