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!

83. Chapter 83

Merlin brushed his shirt sleeve back down so that it fell right above his wrist like it was supposed to have done. He was ready to move on and put that whole little emotional drama behind him. For a guy who had just had the most emotionally draining minute of his life, he was doing remarkably okay in the emotional department. Sure, his hands might still be shaking a little-realizing one was not just in a loveless marriage but also an abusive one, that tended to do some things to a fellow-and he was pretty sure his chest felt hallow. As if he just didn't want to be bothered with anything right now. But people like him didn't get the luxury of pretending everything was alright. One would be relieved that his husband hadn't started beating him yet. But it was hard when he had this 'when will he' question flowing in his mind.

Because at this point, Merlin was convinced it was not a 'will he' but a 'when will he'. A possibility that was inevitable. Markus being the one to bruise up his skin didn't change that. It just made Merlin be more aware of what was going on around him far more than he had been minutes before.

"Markus?" Gaius seemed to still care though, very much and probably more than Merlin was trying to brush the whole thing under the rug, if that harsh frown on his face was anything to go by. "As in the man whose best friends with your husband? He's the one that left that marking on you?" And Merlin wrinkled his nose at the reminder of Arthur having 'friends'. One would think, somebody as arrogant and as awful as Arthur was, wouldn't actually have something as mundane as friends. But hey, Merlin thought despairingly to himself, with all that gold he tried to force onto Merlin, he supposed Arthur could just use it to buy himself some friends. He couldn't see anybody being friends with a certain blonde without getting some kind of kickback from it. "Arthur will not be pleased when he hears about this."

Merlin came back into focus, his bitterly amused thoughts creasing to a standstill, whipping around to look at Gaius surprised, "Wait, why would he be hearing of this?" As far as Merlin was concerned, this bruise around his arm should've already been considered a thing of the past. Meant for him to ignore until they faded completely, forgotten like the sands of an hourglass. A single drop within the chaos of his life in which paled in comparison to all of the other shit he had going on.

This brought Gaius up short, and he raised one of his bushy eyebrows up to his hairline, "You aren't planning on telling Arthur?" He wasn't trying to be judgmental, it was just a simple question. Because surely Arthur would want to know his own friend was mistreating his husband. That was usually the kind of things couples would share with the other. And now that Gaius knew it wasn't Arthur leaving the marks on Merlin, he was a bit more open with his opinion on the prince. If Gaius knew the prince like he thought he did-which he wasn't so sure if he did if the rumors running amok was anything to go by-Arthur wouldn't stand for anybody to put a hand on his consort.

"Arthur isn't going to hear about any of this." Said Merlin firmly. This wasn't even a question inside of his mind. Merlin had no intentions of ever telling a thing to the prince. Hadn't even once entertained or considered the idea. He wasn't going to go run off and cry to Arthur just because one of his own knights had gotten too handsy with him. If he was going to start that, then he might as well just run to him every time one of his knights pushed him into a wall or tripped him up in the hall or knocked his belongings out of his hands. He refused to go behaving like a child, running to Arthur out of all of the people to protect him from the 'big, bad man.' The thought was sickening, and Merlin refused to give Arthur the satisfaction of knowing Merlin was unable to stop such blatant behavior without help from…him. He would rather deal with these things on his own, instead of watching Arthur laugh. He'd probably tell him he deserved it…Merlin shook his head, lip curling up as a physical sign of just how disgusted Arthur made him, "Besides, with what's going on, do you really think Arthur is going to go caring for one little mark?"

Merlin didn't think he would. He was also sure he wouldn't care about the dozens and dozens other array bruises he'd get on the daily, decorating his shoulder blades or knees with the same molted colored bruises that was on his arm. Merlin had to have some pride, and he wasn't stupid enough to think Arthur would do anything about his men or their awful behavior. Choosing between him? And the knights? Merlin already knew it would've been no contest, and he wasn't interested in getting out there and playing in a game he already knew he'd lose. If, on the off chance Arthur saw the markings on him and was upset about it, it would have only been because his 'toy'-the control freak that the prince was, always telling him what to do or what not to do-was damaged. Like Valiant. Valiant had tried to mess with him and Arthur took care of it, but only because he thought it was his duty to do so. Not because he actually cared that Merlin-his own husband-was being hurt.

Gaius seemed to think differently, or at least he'd seem to think Arthur would react differently from how Merlin was thinking, "Arthur would want to hear about this. I am certain, despite how much of this sickness has been taken up his time, he would want to take all of five minutes to hear this out. He is a…complicated young man, I will give you that one. But I'm sure he won't stand to have any of his knights leaving a mark on his consort."

"And why not?" Merlin demanded. He had to force himself to remember that there were some things Gaius didn't know. He probably knew things were not so good, but not to the extent that it was. He didn't know how not even an hour ago, the prince who was a 'complicated young man'-Merlin had to stifle a laugh at that because 'complicated' didn't even begin to cover what Arthur was-had actually threatened to shut him up for good. Or that was how Merlin was taking it. And now it suddenly did not seem so funny anymore. Because what if he'd told Gaius everything, and Gaius-his own uncle-decided Merlin was in the wrong for not listening to Arthur's every command. With how messed up his life was-even logically he knew something like that would be a big leap-it wouldn't have surprise him. "Besides," Merlin waved his hand at Gaius in a dismissive gesture. "I don't want him help since he would only do it so his 'precious people' won't be suspicious towards our real circumstances. Oh, and don't forget that Markus is Arthur's friend. All Markus has to do is tell him I'm lying, and Arthur'd believe it in a heartbeat."

Maybe that was an exaggeration on Merlin's part, as Arthur had actually believed Merlin pretty quick when he told him about Valiant. Sure, they had the little hiccup when Uther had poked holes around his truth. But Arthur had hopped back on board later on. The past didn't matter though, and Merlin felt as if he could no longer trust the prince. If he even had in the first place. This had been a hard lesson for Merlin to learn, but it was better for him to know now than make even more of a fool out of himself later on. And don't even get him started on how overboard Arthur and the king went trying to make his and Arthur's relationship seem like it was legit. The whole Royal family was delusional if they thought the peasants were so dumb as to not know something was seriously off about their own marriage. It wasn't like Arthur and Merlin made it a priority how much their disdain for the other was growing. It was only a matter of time before some one managed to put the pieces together. Point of the matter was this: Markus was not Valiant. The knight wasn't some stranger that Arthur already hated long before Merlin had shown up and told him what was really going on. There wasn't any point in starting anything, because if Merlin tried, then it would probably only get worse. Once the knight got away with it once, what's to say he will not escalate things.

Merlin might run around half-cocked half the time, he might do things without thinking most of the time, but even he had to have some kind of deep seated preservation skills. When the whole city was out to get him, it was best not to poke at the bear until he had too.

"…Is there anything else I should know?" Gaius asked, his face looking both pinched and grave at the same time. There was a certain…weariness…in Merlin's eyes that Gaius hadn't noticed before and definitely hadn't been there when Merlin had first arrived on his doorstep. It was as if the child he'd first met was slowly but surely disappearing right before his eyes. Not like he was maturing into this strong and capable adult, but more like he'd just gotten tired of life itself. Nobody who was young like Merlin should look as if they were two second from giving up. If Merlin didn't want to involve the prince in this matter, then he would respect that.

Merlin thought for a moment, bringing one of his hands down to play with the other, "Yeah, while I got you here. There's one thing that I don't really underst-" Merlin cut himself off when he raised up his hands to show Gaius his palms. The red welts on his hands were already gone, the stripe he had going down them like burn marks after he'd gotten out of the dungeons. If anybody could have been able to explain things to him, why he had felt as if every ounce of his energy was gone and why he'd came out with burn marks on his hands, it would have been his uncle. But it was hard to show him the burns when they were gone, already healed as if they had never been there. Seeing that his uncle was now looking at him-worried and concerned to him, which made Merlin die a little inside because he was the one to give Gaius that look-Merlin just dropped his hands. "It's nothing." He grumbled to the old man underneath his breath.

Merlin decided then and there, that if it ever did happen again-and the whole thing wasn't some great big fluke-then he would go to Gaius with it and find out what was going on. But considering he still had to figure out what to do about Gwen and getting her out of jail, the false burning of his palms could wait as they seem to pale with the comparison of Gwen.

Gaius didn't look pleased by this, acbut he didn't put up much of a fight either, sensing the sadness the boy was trying in vain to keep at bay. "Okay, then you'll need to come with me." He said, and he was already walking to the door before Merlin was able to wrap his mind around the order.

"Wait, wait Uncle Gaius! I can't just go anywhere." Merlin protested, before heaving a heavy sigh as he remembered what was important. "I don't have time to do anything, I'm on a limit and I've wasted enough of it already. And I still need to find some kind of idea for what I'm gonna do about Gwen!"

Merlin usually found thinking of things to be pretty easy of a task. His brain could run off in a million different directions, and Merlin was liable to follow the route most likely to get him killed. It was why he'd cured Gwen's father, even after Gaius warned him it would cause trouble. It was why he'd tried to tell Arthur about Valiant before he had any real proof to his claims-back when he was still a naive fool and thought Arthur would believe him by word of mouth alone. It was why Merlin had reacted and dragged Arthur out of the way of Mary Collins and her blade-he was starting to wonder if that really had been a good idea. Or if he really deserved all these things happening to him just because he'd not allowed the knife to hit its intended target. So forgive him if he didn't want to just rush into some mission or other-knowing him, this waste of time would be exactly what gets Gwen killed-and he needed to do things right this time.

For Gwen's sake.

"Well, you aren't going to find any answers you need holed up in here." Gaius said firmly, more or less frowning with a grave disposition in response to the solemn and depressed expression his own nephew was wearing. Merlin didn't strike him as a kid that got depressed easily, or if he did, he was the type to make more of an effort at masking it from the people around him. Whatever was going on with his nephew was clearly worse than he had thought, and a bit of fresh air could actually give a bit of good. "So don't argue with me. We're gonna go somewhere and with a bit of luck, it might give you some insight on how to help Gwen."

Merlin's head jolted up, a glimmer of life returning to his eyes as he didn't hesitate to snatch up his jacket, "You're going to help me?" He asked, as he was jerking his arms back into the sleeves. Merlin didn't know why, but he had assumed he would be left to do things on his own. He had this pressure, a pressure he was never meant to-or perhaps he'd always been meant to hold if it destiny decided it was so, even if he didn't understand why it's 'his' destiny-baring down on his shoulders. Merlin was only able to feel relief, thinking that this wasn't the truth. Gaius might not be able to help him with his actual life problems, not anymore than Merlin was able to help himself, but he would take the hand being held out to him like a lifeline if it returned his friend back to the safety of her own father.

"Of course. You aren't doing any of this alone." the physician said. And Merlin is pretty sure his Uncle Gaius had no idea how much that means to him. It was a warmth left in Merlin's bones, chasing out a persistent chill that's been following him-growing worse and worse with each passing day-since he arrived in Camelot. Merlin's hope doesn't break as his uncle snatch's up a worn leather satchel, a bag Merlin didn't know yet but was destined to be his own, and tossed it at him to carry, the lonh strap of it getting tangled around Merlin's arm before he managed to straighten it out. "If we're going to be able to save Gwen, remember what I told you, our best best is finding out what's contaminating the water supply in the first place."

Merlin doubts a sorceress, one powerful enough to cast a spell as intense as the sickness, one that even Gaius had never seen before, wouldn't think of hiding her tracks. He was sure they weren't to find evidence of her left behind where the water reservoir is, but it's also the only thing they have to go on. So Merlin is sure it can't hurt to check it out. Like Gaius had said, Merlin wasn't going to be able to find anything in these old books, especially if he didn't really know what he was looking for in the first place.

So Merlin didn't argue. He threw the worn satchel over his shoulder so that the strap could fall along his chest and the bag itself would rest right aside his hip, before following Gaius out of the door.

X

Eleven Hours and Thirty Minutes before their Execution:

Merlin didn't say a word the whole walk across the castle. And neither did Gaius, as they stepped out into the sunlight, walking down the stairs of one of the many side exits to the castle. There was many people out today, servants passing them by while not sparing them a look, behaving as if today was an ordinary day while they gossiped among their own groups, carrying laundry or fresher linens to wherever they were going. It had been at least a day or so since Arthur-under Uther's orders, as if that was any excuse-had cordoned off the lower town. And it looked as if many people were going on with their lives, getting comfortable while being held inside the walls. As if they didn't realize their food supply was going to dwindle down to nothing the longer they were in there. As if the water they had hidden away wouldn't go faster than the food itself was. As if there wasn't people just outside of the walls who would give up their own children if it meant getting inside the walls.

They were all rats, slowly dying away inside of this cage. And nobody had realized it yet. But Merlin was sure there would be chaos and carnage once their supplies started to go, looking like hell was upon them all; just like the lower town had looked when the knights started to ransack the place.

Gaius took him to the back of the castle, he was pretty sure he'd never been back here before, and it seemed like rarely anybody did. The place was teaming with life, patches of flowers and far more trees than he would have thought, growing out of the ground wildly. The grass itself seemed to have grown high enough to reach his ankles. Whoever it was that took care of the grounds, keeping the grounds of the training field and some such areas reasonably cleared off of foliage, apparently didn't venture to come this far back.

"Ah, here is a good place to stop for the moment, Merlin." Gaius pulled to a stop in front of a bunch of golden wildflowers growing wildly in a bush that looked as if it was growing out of the castle wall itself, weeds sprouting from in between the large cracked stones.

Merlin blinked, more than confused as he saw his uncle kneeling down at the path of flowery weeds growing there. "Wait, what are we doing stopping for flowers?" He asked. Merlin loved flowers more than the next guy probably, but his uncle just did not seem like the type to stop and 'smell the roses before time was wasted', or whatever these types of flowers were. Flowers, as pretty as they could be, also wasn't exactly something he thought was going to help Gwen. Merlin thought his uncle was going to help him, not waste more time he didn't have to spare, "I thought we were going to get to the water supply?"

Merlin didn't exactly know where the water pumps stationed in the city got the water from. Or he may have gone on ahead to have a look around, rather than be stopped by his uncle and his sudden urge to stop for…flowers?

"Merlin, you've been reading my books. I would've though you would have learned something by this point. But I can see now that I've been neglecting parts of your education. Books just aren't enough for an adequate teacher. So why don't you shut up for a minute, sit down, and you might just be able to learn something during all of this." Gaius spoke, and Merlin had the feeling it was more of an order than asking him too. The old man had already sat down by the walls, pulling out a few of the flowers from their place.

Merlin looked longingly down the overgrown trail to where he figured the water supply must be, if Gaius had even been taking him the right direction in the first place. But Merlin grudgingly sat down beside his uncle, knowing he wouldn't be able to find it without him leading him to it.

"Now, I want you to take these." Gaius said, before handing over three pressed flowers into his hands, their petals soft against his skin but the stem were much harder, jabbing against his palm almost like makeshift thorns. "And tell me what you could've wagered from them. Best guess, go on. Show me what you've picked up from my books."

Merlin frowned, not really sure why Gaius thought an impromptu lesson would be of any help with his situation. Or why this couldn't wait until, you know 'after' they saved Gwen. But seeing Gaius looking at him sternly, and figuring he wasn't getting out of this so easily, Merlin looked down at the flowers in his hands.

There was three of them, each growing far larger than the next. They looked to be healthy, growing wild among the weeds as they were, their stems a dark green only offsetting by the brownish color of the thorns poking out-he had to rearrange his grasp on them so he wouldn't draw his own blood from handling them wrong. The better feature of them were the actual flower part, the petals large and filling out his entire hand. Growing back here, shadowed by the large walls of the castle, hadn't done anything to dim the golden coloring of the petals, shaped like stars with the edge of them curling up underneath themselves. They were the kind of flowers that should be in a centerpiece at a grand party, but would never be because it would remain hidden, protecting it's beauty from all the horrors of the outside world.

Merlin almost envied them, wishing he could stay back here and enjoy himself among the flowers of nature. Where there would no longer be anymore princes trying to make him fear inferior, or getting worse and worse with every interaction they had with the other. No more being the topic of gossip fodder to entertain the masses, every word he had made twisted until it had not any longer looked as recognizable as something he'd said. And no more fighting to live in a world that didn't want him. Not even the normal him, rather than the sorcerer him nobody knew existed.

"…Peace. They're peace." Merlin said quietly, half to himself as he got lost in the sensations of just rubbing his fingers against the softness of these yellow flowers. Forget about just staying out back in his lonesome. He couldn't help but wonder-if he died tonight-would he be reincarnated as one of these flowers? He didn't think it would be to awful of an existence, away from all of the things which had every intention of scarring up his heart with everything they had.

Gaius blinked, looking startled by this. But the old physician seemed to get his bearings back pretty quickly, because he schooled his features before correcting Merlin, "Not quite. These flowers would be called St. John's Wots, named after the Saint John who was known for using these flowers with his herbal remedies. Many people swore about the healing properties they carry when properly taken care of."

Merlin nodded, only listening with half an ear as he plays with the petals. It wasn't too surprising he hadn't recognized them, the name sounded vaguely familiar, so he probably had came across it at some point or the other. But it wasn't as if he had those books memorized, he would only flip through them as a way to get his reading skills up to par. And he had a feeling, if there were some kind of sketch in the book featuring these flowers, it would pale in comparison to seeing the actual real flower. He doubted anybody could have been able to capture the right shade of yellow for their petals, brighter and tamer than the sun could ever be. He wondered if Gwen would enjoy seeing the flowers for herself, and if he'd ever get a proper chance to show them to her.

"The main thing they were known for treating was depression."

Merlin's fingers froze stalk still against the petal he had been rubbing in between his fingers, while enjoying the silky sensation of it. He didn't look up but he could feel Gaius watching him with a stern and steady eye. Depression. He didn't like how the word sounded, or how he felt defined by it. It was something he'd been ignoring, or pushing into the back of his mind, content to act like it wasn't even there, even as it itched to get out of the shadows of his mind. But he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep the shadows at bay, exactly how much longer would he be able to live before those shadows came bursting out and threatened to go overtaking him, heart body mind and soul.

"…Why are you telling me this?" Merlin asked, with baited breath and almost too scared to hear what his uncle's answer was going to be. Merlin hadn't realized how transparent he'd been being, and he couldn't help but wonder if anybody else noticed what was happening with him. Or maybe he was just lucky his uncle was a physician, and was most likely able to spot things like that from a mile off. It wasn't exactly something Merlin was eager to talk about, more than willing to let it grow and fester in him before admitting he couldn't brush aside that awful mentality.

Gaius shrugged, and Merlin blinked as the flowers were carefully swept from his hands, "It's never a wrong time to learn something new. And you may be able to use this knowledge for yourself one of these days." He picked up the bag Merlin carried on his side without taking it off his nephew, and he carefully settled them inside of one of those many pockets, as to not rip any of the delicate flowers before they could be used.

Merlin slowly nodded, starting to see what Gaius meant by this, feeling relieved. Gaius wasn't going to push him, or force him to take any potions that he probably knew he needed to take. But he was giving him a way out, leading him to a source that could help him if the pain started to become too much. This was useful knowledge-as much as he knew he didn't want to admit it-it may actually be something he needed to use one day. And since it was more knowledge then he ever could've found in Ealdor, flowers like these didn't even grow that deep into the woods, he soaked it up like a water-soaked sponge would.

Gaius continued talking, even as he closed up the bag and tied it off so nothing would fall out, "And just so you know, if you are wanting to talk, I'll find myself more than willing to listen to what's been going on between you and Arthur." He didn't look up from the bag as he said this, only putting that offer out there and leaving it up to Merlin to make the actual choice.

Once again, Merlin could recognize the time was probably all wrong considering what their limited time was, but he found himself biting down on his lip and playing around with the idea inside of his head anyway. He supposed he could just let loose and rein down on Gaius every little thing and crisis he'd managed to achieve with Arthur. From the day Arthur dragged him out onto the training field to teach him a few things because his father had demanded they spend time together as a Thank You for saving his son's life-and really, some of these people needed to learn what a real Thank You was-to just an hour ago when Merlin started to fear for his future. And all the little bits that had happened in between, flooding his mind until they were so mixed together he couldn't have picked it apart if he wanted to.

But he doesn't want to. He might have these great beautiful flowers on his side-but he had no way of knowing how effective they were or even if they'd actually help him-and he has his uncle trying to do the parent thing and encourage him to talk about his problems, but not smothering him and making him feel like he was forced to talk about his deep seated issues. But that didn't mean he was ready to bare his soul and tell him just how far his own thoughts were taking him. Gaius might have him committed or locked up if Merlin told him he was starting to wonder how much it would hurt if he'd thrown himself out of a tower. Starting to wonder if it'd be less painful if he just took a dose of one of the poisons he sees daily lining the top shelf of Gaius' bookcase. Starting to question himself-how much longer can I hold out before I just give in and do myself in…

The thoughts were scary and dark, horrible things that made him wonder…rather or not a monster like him was ever meant to exist in a world such as this one.

"I suppose, when I first came here…" Merlin spoke softly, knowing that he needed to get these words out before he talked himself out of it. He knew he wasn't ready to just go and tell Gaius all the nitty gritty details of what had been going on with him, he wasn't even entirely sure how bad things would get for him, but he could at least throw him a bone and tell him some things. Maybe Gaius would even stop worrying about him for a hot minute. "I hoped things would be different." Different from the slow hustle and bustle of non-existent poor farming life where the only thing anybody could hope for was to have enough food stored up to make it through the upcoming winter months. Different from when his only friend had been Will because Merlin had been 'too' different-different enough to where he was seen as 'odd' but not do different that he had his secret found out-for any of the other children to want anything to do with him. He hadn't really know what he'd been expecting but somehow, the things he'd been dealing with hadn't been it. "If I was…if I had to come here and marry someone I didn't even know…I hoped for the best but I also hoped I could at least tolerate him. But then I was here and I actually 'met' him…"

Merlin smiled at Gaius, cheeky and unassuming even if there was nothing funny at all about what his situation was, and his smile dropped in half an instant. It was more for Gaius' benefit than it was for his own, his little way of saying he was okay for this to be his lot in life. Even though he obviously failed that but, because he wasn't okay with what was happening at all. And that was before he'd all but sold his soul on a silver platter to appease the king into agreeing with his deal. Merlin didn't say anything after that, unable to force the words out of his mouth, unable to give away too much detail but not sure how much was 'too much'. His whole life had been dark, on the outskirts where even he couldn't see it sometimes, but being what he was in this kind of world…Merlin had always had to be a bit more aware of the danger the world can hold than other kids were. Only this time, things were a lot more personal and more 'in his face' than he'd ever had before. And he wasn't sure how to deal with it, in the time he had left.

But still…he thought he was doing Gaius a favor by keeping it under lock and key, buried deeply inside of him, where nobody was about to prick or prod or needle at the aching pain that filled his chest. A pain so tightly wound up around his heart, that he sometimes had to wonder how he had yet to just collapse on the ground and allow the dirt and the mud to take him away where others wouldn't dare trek.

Gaius sighed deeply, nodding like the wise man he was, "Things really haven't gotten better between the two of you since you've met, have they?" That wasn't a question, it was more of a statement that hovered in the air between them. Gaius, was once again not pushing for more, but allowing Merlin to tell only what he felt comfortable with sharing.

All Merlin could do was snort, the idea of Arthur or him being anything but argumentative towards the other wasn't even a possibility, "It's only gotten to grow more worse the longer I stay here." Gone, he seemed to realize, were the days where they were trying to one up each other. Merlin desperate and needy to impress his husband, even picking up a mace in which he had no idea how to use, and was brave enough to take up arms against the prince in a manner befitting of a warrior. Gone were the days were Arthur quite happily taunted the newest boy in town, because now he would be more than happy to target him for any of the smallest slights made against him. As if Merlin wasn't constantly being punished by everybody in the city for daring to marry their prince, now he had to be punished for being 'given' this 'honor' by Arthur himself. He felt his lip curl up bitterly, forcing himself to let go of all those stupid little fantasies he had when he would wonder what kind of love life an adult him would have.

Reality was so much worse than the any fantasy was but…as cruel as it was, at least Merlin would no longer be living with a false hope, a torch in his heart, a skip to his step, hoping for something he knew would never come to pass. Not with Arthur, and now with the deal he'd made, not even with another… "Arthur's made it 'very' clear that he has no interest in working thing out and honestly…I do not think I want to work things out with him."

Merlin didn't care if for whatever reason, Arthur had a change of heart and tracked him down this very moment. He didn't care if Arthur dropped to his knees, wrapped his strong arms around Merlin and his waist, 'begged' for him to come back and live in his suite. Groveling while telling him things would be different now, and Merlin would never be forced to live another day rather or not anybody loved him. Rather or not he would be missed, or even noticed if he just up and disappeared out of the blue one day. Even if Arthur held his hands to swear on his life that he was sorry and he wouldn't ever make the mistake of letting Merlin go slipping straight out of his fingers again…Merlin wouldn't want him. There was just too much of this crap as it had built between them, Merlin could feel walls that hadn't been there before starting to build up around his heart. And he was powerless to force them back down, to be as happy and as naive as he had been before he'd ever heard of the name; Arthur Bloody Pendragon.

"I just went to be…free…"

Merlin realized only a second too late how silly or childlike he sounded. Men should live in the real world and accept what they want in life. Not just sit around wishing for the impossible, dreaming of a life where there was no cages or obligations or princes trying to keep him locked away in some kind of glided prison cell. Or at the very least, he should be out there making his life what he would want it to be. The only question was…what life did he want? And how could he go about getting it.

Merlin finished up his little monologue with a soft and quiet, "I was so stupid for thinking I could've been happy with somebody like Arthur…"

He'd allowed himself to get blindsided by a stupid ring he didn't even want. It was like a misery and pain filled shadow just clung to him, centered on the skin warmed metal surrounding his finger. Just because he wore a ring worth more than his entire life had been, didn't mean Merlin knew one damn thing about what his future would bring. What was left of it anyway…he should have thrown the damn thing in Arthur's face the second he was brought to the altar, and told him to go ahead and start up his execution for defying the contract and what it said had to be done.

"You are not stupid." Gaius interrupted him. He'd been sitting there, silent, and allowing Merlin this moment to breathe. To talk. To explain. Without any interference from him. Sometimes people did not want placating, sometimes they didn't want to hear that everything was going to be alright. They just wanted to be heard, and for their feelings and emotions to be validated, instead of dismissed as nothing more than whining. But then Merlin had to start saying he was stupid, and downing over onto himself. And Gaius couldn't stay quiet any listen to that drivel any longer. "You were simply trying to make the best out of a bad situation-"

Merlin wished that was all it had been. Maybe he should have seen things for what they were long before Arthur had gotten close enough to threaten him. Maybe he wouldn't be sitting here, feeling as if he was a loser, feeling sorry for himself. This sad version of him wasn't who he was back in Ealdor, and it was just one more reason why he wanted to do himself in. He would rather be a dead Merlin in the afterlife, because it had to be better then what life was offering him, that a live Merlin living in the suffering he'd been given. As the key components of what made him…him…started to die away until he was nothing more than a shell of his former self.

Merlin was brought back to attention when Gaius reached out and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, eyes meeting as Merlin rose his head up. "Now, I know things look rough right now. But in time, the storm blackening the sky will always clear. All the things that look bleak now, will clear up as long as you keep holding out for it."

Merlin cocked an eyebrow at Gaius, doing not one thing to hide his scoff, "Oh yeah, and when is that going to be? This 'storm' only has about eleven or so hours left to clear. Because I'm gonna be dead after that." And the only way for that to happen, is if there was something much deeper to Arthur, a piece buried underneath the skin that showed he wasn't the monster Merlin knew him to be. And if the prince had a couple decades worth of time to make it up to him, because Merlin didn't take him threatening him lightly. Rather it had been just this empty sentence or if he had been serious, there was going to be hell to pay once Merlin managed to scrape enough of his growing depression away to face him.

"You will know it when it happens." Gaius said with a soft undertone. Merlin took that to mean, he did not have a damn clue when or if Merlin would get a chance to see what life was like without being in a constant battle against the people surrounding him. But Gaius didn't stop, and nodded his head to another group of the yellow flowers that were still stationed against the wall-left behind and not taken with them so that a new patch would be left to grow in the empty spot Gaius had plucked the previous flowers from, "But I do believe you're just like this particular flower in a way. They are quite a special one, don't you know. Look at where they are growing."

Merlin wasn't exactly sure what Gaius meant since he was pretty sure he was being compared to one type of flower-Merlin had difficulties seeing it-but he looked back to the wall anyway. To the shadow cast by the wall, hiding those flowers almost from view, just the edge of their sun kissed petals able to reach the sunlight. They looked as if they were trying to stretch, reaching out in vain to touch just a glimpse of sunlight that was being held out their reach in a cruel twist of fate as the sun teased the petals with their rays.

"They might be hidden, but they are thriving just by showing the strength they have to keep growth in such a place." Gaius spoke to him, hushed and solemn as if the atmosphere called for this nicety. As if speaking any louder would break the ancient way in which Gaius spoke of things that should've been passed down from generation to generation, but wasn't, because who thought to look down at flowers and declared them strong. And somebody who looked at 'Merlin' and declared him with the same strength…the metaphor seemed to be a bit more bracing than he would have thought it would be. "Strong enough to survive even the toughest of storms that life throws at them, and more than able to fend off any adversary that tries to stomp them out completely."

Merlin shook his head, because Arthur wasn't just some storm. He was a tidal wave ready to crash and bury him underneath the powerful crushing waves. A wildfire wanting to burn him, snuff him out until he had nothing left to give. But Merlin…he wasn't as helpless as his pity part allowed himself to believe. He was powerful too, with or without his magic to aid him. He just needed to figure out what that strength was, and how to use it during the next time Arthur tried to come at him. A little kick to his groin…Merlin was more than ready to completely 'rip' into him. Arthur's abuse might be something that worked on the servants he happily bullied around, but Merlin wasn't going to die with not telling Arthur exactly how pitiful he was, using his strength and position to ruin the people he'd seen as below him.

"…Did you really just compare me to a flower?" the consort asked with a wry smile. It hadn't exactly made him feel better like he wished it had, but the idea was funny nonetheless. And he was able to appreciate Gaius trying to lighten him up, even if it hadn't gone the way he hoped. And maybe he was not as alone as he feared he was. How could he be when he had his uncle making up stories-for it had to be made up on the spot-just to make him feel a bit better about himself.

Merlin's grin widened and Gaius gave him a soft and playful cuff on the back of his head, "Oh, just shut up and take the compliment." The physician told him nephew, playfully despite what they both knew the outside world would bring them. It was only so long they would be able to rest here, and not scramble for a way to get Gwen out of her jail cell. But sometimes had to happen, and Gaius had refused to allow his nephew to spend the next or so twelve hours in a dump of shadows threatening to overtake him until he no longer had any amount of strength to fight them off.

"Hey," Merlin said, bringing his hand up to rub at the spot Gaius had lightly snatched him on. "Does me being consort not mean anything to you?" The joke was supposed to be funny, something Merlin said in jest as he asserted himself. It didn't sound as funny as he meant it to be though, and Merlin's smile was already starting to dim as he fought the urge to submit to the shadows creeping along the edges of his mind. Telling him that while it would probably hurt for a second after he hit the ground, throwing himself out of the tower would've been the better option compared to the life waiting for him. Should he survive the next two hours.

There was a gust of wind that came from behind Merlin, throwing his hair and clothes ahead of him as far as they would stretch. And quite strangely enough, it caused Merlin's attention to be drawn straight back down to those flowers, and Merlin could see one of them was barely hanging onto its stem. The stem looked threadbare, as if it clung to the wall for deal life, but one good strong gist of wind would be enough to yank it free.

Merlin sighed, his eyes becoming shadowed and sad again, "I suppose sometimes, even those the most strongest has to have some kind of breaking point." Referring back to when Gaius had told him of the flower's strength. The wind had died down to nothing, allowing him to speak without any of the whistling in his ears. But now he had finished speaking, the wind seemed to know and it was responding by gusting by even harder than it had moments before. Merlin watched as that golden flower, the smallest of them all and barely budded to full life, snapped from the wall. It blew away in the wind, flying past Merlin's face. Both Merlin and his uncle watched silently, until the flower drifted, disappearing into the tree line.

The only question, Merlin thought sulkily inside of the privacy of his own mind, was how far could a person be pushed before they reached their own breaking point.

X

Gaius must have sighed a good handful of times as they continued their trek along the endless wall of the castle, but Merlin didn't bother to comment on it. He was pretty sure Gaius was hoping talking man to man would have been enough to risen his spirits. And maybe it had for a moment, but just as quickly did Merlin feel like he had crashed all over again. It was going to talk a lot more than one little talk to drag Merlin out of the pits of the hell he'd found himself living in. A new life would have been the better option to get him out of his funk, but he also figured something like that would be out of the question.

"Here we are," Gaius finally spoke up, before the physician was disappearing down a shot staircase of only two or three steps, leading into this small alcove that Merlin would have missed entirely if he hadn't seen Gaius walking into it. Merlin followed him down, to the large door situated right near the bottom. The door itself was old and rickety, and it almost looked as if it could come off its hinges by a particularly strong kick. But maybe the oaken of the dark brown wood was stronger than it looked like it would be, considering it had these two thick stripes of metal about a foot from each other and slashing across the door itself, holding the frame in it's place. There was a brass iron lock, the thick and heavy duty kind, clearly meant to keep out all those who may wonder this far, banging off of the door.

Merlin watched as Gaius pulled the key to the lock out of his pocket, just as big and as ancient built as the lock itself was. Gaius carefully slid the key into the keyhole, needing to push at it because of how rusty they both were. Someone needed to do some serious maintenance around here, it looked as if everything was falling apart to some degree or another. It took some effort from the old man to get the key to turn, but when it did, there was this loud clicking sound that seemed to echo out into the alcove. Gaius pushed the door open and the loud squeaking from the hinges made the both of them jump in surprise. Just how long, Merlin was wondering to himself as he followed his uncle into the chambers, had it been since anybody'd gone down there. No wonder a witch was able to poison the water supply without anyone knowing, if there were no checks to make sure everything would be running throughly.

Maybe an idea to toss Arthur's way at some point so something like this wouldn't happen again…

But then Merlin's mood soured when he realized he was no longer talking to Arthur, a split second decision made on this very spot.

"…So this is it?" Merlin murmured underneath his breath, refusing to allow 'Arthur' to distract him away from what needed to be done. He stopped for a moment to take in the sight of what he could see, which was…basically nothing. It was to damp and dark, Merlin had to squint. He knew Gaius and him were standing on the landing, right on top of another grand staircase. Only this one led down, it disappeared into the shadows, too dark for them to see more than a few stairs down. Like one big endless void or tunnel that led to nowhere.

But luckily, there was a large metal bucket that sat off to the side of the door. With four long torches settled inside, at the ready to be used despite just how many years or so they must have been sitting there. Merlin picked one up, the weight of it heavy in the palm of his hand and it smelled musty and old. But damp wood from the moisture among the air was no match for Merlin, and the edge of the torch lit up with fire, the golden sheen to Merlin's eyes fading away to make room for the light.

Gaius didn't flinch or blink at the use of Merlin's obvious magic, despite his fascination still at the boy not needing to use spells to make the things happen. They were far enough away from people, that it was a reasonable area to expect their own privacy. "Yes, this is the tunnel that leads down to the underwater reservoir. It supplies water to the entire city."

Merlin nodded his head, raising his torch up a bit higher so that he and Gaius could see where they were walking as they started down the stairs. And Merlin couldn't help but wonder just what the two of them were going to find down here, in a place where he couldn't see more than two feet ahead of him.

X

Nimueh peered down into her vat of water, it was her own personal looking glass, allowing her to be able to see all. To see the destructive she caused the great kingdom nobody thought they would be able to touch. And she could see in the rippling of her water, the consort and the physician stepping off the foot of the stairs and continuing their way through the deep tunnels and large caverns that interlocked like a labyrinth underneath the stone walls of the castle.

But she showed no fear. Her lips started to spread into this wicked painted grin. This would be quite an amusing scene to watch. Her little monster was just lying in wait, ready to pounce on the very rare unfortunate soul that may come its way…

X

Merlin raised the torch up as far as he could reach so that the firelight could bounce off of the cavern walls, allowing him to see much father. But not by much, there was literally no other light sources at this deep underground. He could see there were mounts on the walls every few feet with torches in their notches, but the wood was also damp from all of the moisture in the air. Without using magic to light up the wood, there was no way they would have been able to light. But then again, that also didn't seem like such a large problem, considering how long it must have been since anybody out in the world must have thought to come and check on the 'only' water system Camelot had, that was used to fill the thirst of every citizen within those city gates posted somewhere miles above their heads, past all the stone and stalagmites coating the walls around them.

Merlin, the deeper and further into the tunnels the two of them went, he was able to see far more of these tunnels spreading out in different directions and leading to who knows where. Maybe it would just be dead ends, but Merlin could feel this itch underneath his skin to explore. To check out this new place he hadn't yet been able to see in full, until he had the whole thing mapped out inside of his head. But there was no time for that, because he and his uncle arrived at the end of the tunnel they were walking down, Gaius apparently knew exactly where he was going.

The tunnel led out into a much larger room, more circular and with a few more hidden tunnels that branched out from it. The walls were jagged from stone sticking out at awkward angles, he was able to feel the water in the air, taste the musty smell of old wood on his tongue and going down in his throat. The musty smell was strongest in the room though, because there was a large pool just on the other side of it. Metal surrounded the pool, which allowed none of the water to escape onto the dirt of the ground. Merlin stepped up until he stood in front of it, and he was able to see what looked to be metal piping disappearing into the wall heading up. Which, Merlin figured, was what transferred all of the water up to the pumps and into the buckets of the people.

"Alright Merlin, first things first. You need to get a sample of the water." Gaius instructed, while he'd walked up to stand behind him, both of them were looking out at the water. The blueness bouncing off of the torches firefight and looking as it it was trying to come up with it's own little light show.

Merlin nodded, figuring that he would be the one doing all of the 'grunt work' if one could call just getting a sample of the liquid that. He could admit he wasn't entirely sure what the point in getting a sample would do, they had already gotten one of the samples they needed from the pump? So, he wondered what the point of getting it 'again' even from a more direct source. But he supposed Gaius would know more of what he was doing than he'd know. So Merlin handed the torch he had in hand to the physician, and opened up the bag resting on his hip.

Inside, he found a handful of vials tucked away in another pouch pocket inside, it was probably the only thing in there other than the flowers. Getting one of the smooth vials in hand, Merlin knelt down on the metal railing-after pulling out the stopper-it was surprisingly easy to ignore the wetness from the moisture clinging to the rail like a second skin as it soaked in through the knee of his pants. And while it was awkward, stooping over and slipping the vial into the water to collect some, because he felt as if he could tumble right in head first, he did not let that stop him from filling up the vial to the brim.

X

Something, something was there. Something was in his home. Something that wasn't supposed to be there had entered his domain. It was magic, he could tell, something quite similar to his Mother. It wasn't her though, this magic was lighter and pure and it sought to destroy him.

He could see it, through the thick haze of water in his vision, the pale skin of human flesh that looked to be demonic. Nothing good for him could come in a color so light. It's presence was poisoning his water, soaking up the darkness he'd been cloying up his new hope with. Just like Mother wanted him to do.

It needed to be destroyed. The lightness from the presence was sickening, and he just knew it was going to come back. It was going to kill him, for a being like him could not possibly survive within a world that such a creature existed. He'd be able to please Mother, be able to snuff out the light long before it was able to return…

It was leaving. No. The pure white of human skin glittering under water he had not contaminated as throughly as he would have liked was starting its retreat. No! It could not leave. He would not allow it to get the chance to return. To destroy him. To conquer his domain for the side of the pure…he'd just have to follow it. Warn the light what would be happening should it ever dare return to seek it's claim on the watery grave he deemed as it's own…

…

…

X

Merlin held up the bottle between them, for him and Gaius to get a good look at its contents. But just like the bucket of water Merlin had got from the pumps when all of this was first starting out, it looked completely normal. He still wouldn't risk drinking it, but it looked as crystal clear as could be. Merlin supposed that was how some poisons were though, invisible especially to the naked eye. And for all he knew, the sorceress' spell must have had an added opponent that would help coat any signs of her wickedness from being found out by normal means. He ignored the steadily slick of the water working it's way down around his wrist bone sticking out, starting a slow path down under his jacket sleeve.

Gaius nodded his head, deeming the water good enough to be taken back and examined to its full potential. "Good, now let's get out of here." the old physician said, stepping away from his nephew on the railing, bringing the light from the torch away with him.

Merlin nodded, still perched precariously onto the rail of the underwater pond, and leaned back so he was sitting on his heels. He opened up the bag and started carefully putting the water inside with the rest of the empty vials-after he had put back on the rubber stopper. If only he was paying more attention, he would have seen a slow ripple under the water, like a trail coming towards him, just the few bubbles raising up to the surface and popping as it came into contact with the damp air.

It didn't last long though.

Merlin shrieked-a very manly shriek he would've insisted on if Arthur had heard him-and fell back off the ledge, landing harshly on his arse before sprawling out on his backside. The roar from the creature that just threw itself out of the water was loud enough to rattle his bones. Merlin scrambled backwards as the creature-something that looked as if it was made out of hardened rock, these long jagged stones coming out of it's face were yellow and seemed to be working as teeth-took a swipe at him with it's stone made claws sticking out of a mud like makeshift hand. If Merlin hadn't managed to get himself back far enough, the creature most likely would have taken off half his face, leaving all those deep gashes in which would bleed his out in its severity.

Gaius acted with as much surprise as Merlin had, dropping the torch where it landed on the dirt and snuffed out it's flame. His uncle grabbed him with help from his jacket, bunching the fabric inside of his fists and jerking him to his feet to pull him from the pool of water. The room was dark, since their only light source was gone, and Merlin could feel an unsettled shiver shooting down his spine as he was jerked up to his feet. His breath hitched while snapping his head around in a panic because he could have sworn he'd heard something. The mud creature was still out there, and he couldn't even see where it would be coming from next if it tried to attack them again.

Maybe it couldn't leave the pool. Or maybe it had decided chasing Merlin and his uncle down would not be worth the effort. Because Merlin could hear the unmistakable sound of the water moving as he assumed, was the creature returning beneath the surface. That did absolutely nothing to alleviate his fears or concern, because it could possibly make a return appearance at any second.

"Come, Merlin! We need to go!" Gaius insisted in his ear, tugging on Merlin's arm harshly to get him to move. Merlin followed, eyes wide and wild as he and Gaius tripped up the stars in the dark, unable to think straight enough to think he could just light the damp torches on the wall to make their escape a bit easier in the long run. But either way, neither of them stopped until they were able to throw the door open and escape back out into the sunlight, the door slamming shut behind them and trapping the monster within it's chambers.

As soon as Merlin could feel the warmth of pure sunlight on his skin, he whipped around to look at his uncle in horror, "What the hell was that?" said the consort. As he would realize later on, him and Gaius would have no need to run anymore tests on the water in his bag. They had already found an answer to what was poisoning the water, they just needed to find a way of destroying it. Because the creature…how did one even go about destroying a thing that looked to be made out of hardened mud or clay…

"I don't have a clue." Gaius admitted, which would probably be the scariest thing on this entire never ending nightmare. Gaius was always the wise one, the man that knew the answers when Merlin didn't know what the next step was. But now, they were both in the same boat with nary an idea on how to take care of the creature swimming around under the grounds of the city. "But we can look among my books. I am sure at least one of them will have mention of this kind of creature. And then we can find how to destroy it."

"Wait, wait, wait." Merlin was quick to put a stop to this as he finally got his brain working, grabbing to Gaius' arm before the man was able to get out of his reach. "We can't destroy it!" The 'it' was most clearly some kind of creature of magic, there was no way something like that could've came about in a natural way. The sorceress had to have conjured it up and placed it in their waters, and it was unlike anything he had ever seen. That thing…it's what's causing the people to die. It's what causing those people to be turned completely upside down while the castle falls into chaos around it.

"What are you going on about?" Gaius demanded, looking at Merlin with incredulity in his eyes. What reason would they have to possibly keep a beast like that roaming around in their piping system. It was already causing the deaths of many. The lack of water would surely cause the rest of the town to suffer and die among the sick.

"Don't you see? This is it!" Merlin exclaimed, and he looked at Gaius with a wild look in his eyes to show his excitement. The hope in them shining so brightly, it would be a shame to watch when they inevitably started to dim again. And while Merlin was able to see how dark and dank and evil such a creature was, and how it would need to be taken care of as soon as possible…it couldn't be done at the moment. "This is my proof! This is my way of freeing Gwen!"

It was as if the stars themselves had finally started to align, showing Merlin what he would need to do to fix everything. With the creature down there, it had nowhere else to go. He could get Uther and show it to him. Surely even the king would know enough about magic to know something like that thing could not be conjured by a false beginning sorceress like Gwen. Gaius could even attest the truth to his claims. Only someone with years using magic-someone like him-would be able to conjure such a beast. Only someone gifted with powerful magic-also like him-could have managed to get it into the waters of Camelot City without anyone being the wiser.

"Merlin," Gaius frowned at him, obviously thinking that such things couldn't wait. They needed to be able to find out what the creature was, and how to destroy it, before it killed anymore people. And the two of them could bring their findings before the king. They might not even have to admit their was any sorceress at all, as the king would most likely never stop looking for her, not believe she'd most likely left the city. The creature being a physical form was something they could pin the entirety of this week on.

"I know, I know." Merlin said, raising his hands up to talk before Gaius could explain to him what that time waster would be, considering any time lost is another second somebody else could die. "I got it, you can go search for this creature through all the books and find a way to destroy it. I'll join you in a bit, but first I've got to-" Merlin cut himself off with abruptness, the color draining from his cheeks as he realized there was one step he had forgotten about.

He would have to inform Arthur.

Merlin let out a stream of harsh curses that had even Gaius stepped back in surprise at the harsh vibrant of language erupting from Merlin's mouth all of a sudden. And Gaius stood there watching, a bit more than baffled as he saw his nephew start to stomp off back along the path they had taken to get there. Whatever plight had been bothering the consort earlier, seemed to have gone and the physician almost worried for Arthur's sake.

X

Merlin steadfastly, with his head pounding so hard in his anger at seeing Arthur so soon after the last encounter with him, refused to acknowledge what was creeping into the back of his mind, trying with vain to drown out his anger and replace it with the dread.

Magic was supposed to be good and wonderful, it was meant to help people and used to make their crops grow or the rain fall to end a drought-things that Merlin had yet to accomplish but hoped he'd be able to one day. But was magic really as pure as he wished it to be? What if everybody was right in their thinking, what if he was also right when he called himself a monster, those thoughts that had stayed with him all his life now ringing more true than ever before…

How could Merlin be any different than the witch that had conjured that thing. If it was possible for Merlin to do the exactly same time, then how was he also not evil…

X

Arthur sat at the desk stationed in his room, and he was leaning over several maps he had spread out over the tabletop. He had found it surprisingly easy to put the whole 'Merlin making a fool out of himself' scene out of mind. Except for the whole…you know…obsessing over it hard enough for his temples to pound. Obsessed over it enough that he was currently pouring over these maps he had ordered up to his room, and was now he took his time violently marking them up with thick, dark X's from the black inkwell jar he had sitting right aside it. Each X was a different part of the city, different streets or area's surrounding the entire castle, as he marked off which area's his men had already checked for any other magically inclined items.

So far, there was nothing. Arthur had been asking for updates from his men, the few he still had that were scouring what was left of the city, because his father had dragged all of the men back into the castle. Deciding since they already had the witch in chains, there was no reason to risk the majority of their own men catching the sick. So there were only a few still left on the outside wall that Arthur was in contact with. But it had all seemed to be for naught anyway, because nobody could find not a single magical item anywhere in the city.

Which meant the people had gotten extraordinary good at hiding their magical objects-because let's be real, as much as his father thought he'd chased magic from the kingdom, these people managed to keep getting in-or Gwen really was the one and only witch in the city. But that wasn't going to help Merlin's case, Arthur thought viciously as he made another vicious mark against his paper after he'd received another progress report from one of his men on the outside, Geoffrey was not going to be happy with him after he would return these, since he'd almost ripped the maps apart from how hard he was scrawling along them. He didn't even know why he was bothering to help Merlin out at all, nor did he know why he went out of his way to get the maps when Merlin clearly wasn't interested in his help.

The insolent way he went about, declaring them as…partners…instead of what they really were in reality. But no matter. Arthur was going to save his life, subsequently Gwen's life as well, and the boy would finally have to swallow his damn prince and admit he couldn't have done any of it without his help. But that was becoming more and more very unlikely, since not one other knight he had out in the city searching had brought him any good lead onto the real sorceress. Merlin was adamant that Gwen was absolutely innocent in the matters of the sick, so Arthur was running off a bit of faith in the hopes that Merlin wasn't as deluded as he had sounded.

He didn't really believe Gwen could be capable of doing such magic like this anyway.

There was a sudden knock on his door, and Arthur allowed a low growl to rumble from somewhere in his throat, his eye twitching although he bothered not to look up even as he barked a harsh 'come in' to the door. He didn't want to be interrupted, and wasn't going to let whoever stop him from making his third X on a street near the marketplace. And he was already looking at another area on his map by the time the door swung open and the knocker came in.

"I've got what you required sire." Morris said, with a bright smile and an eager skip to his step. Morris would be the first to admit he had no idea what his 'rival' had meant when he told Morris he might get the chance to light the torch under his pyre. But it had felt as if he was walking on clouds ever since, waiting for something big to happen as he'd been going about his normal day to day routine of what needed to be done to take care of the prince. And speaking of what needed to be done, Morris acted with careful grace as he settled his latest chore on the prince's table, beside his important paperwork as to not disturb him. "Although," Morris wrinkled up his nose in a cute manner, as if the prince was paying him any special attention. "I do not exactly understand why you insisted on 'this' chest to be fixed when I could have just gotten you a new one ordered. And these items…they don't seem to be very useful for a prince such as yourself…" Morris trailed off when he finally noted that Arthur wasn't listening to his rambles.

Which, in his humble opinion, was just rude as he had spent most of his day finding and gathering a group of items that Arthur had told him to get. The lower town being cordoned off had made it all that much harder to get his hands on some of them. A 'thank you' or some sort of token or gift for all his hard work certainly wouldn't have gone amiss.

"At least one good thing is going right today," the prince grumbled under his breath grudgingly, and dropped his quill onto the map, ignoring the brief ink splatters jumping across his page. He'd almost forgotten this was supposed to come today, and it was a surprise that the Royal Carpenter had found the time to complete his order with everything this city had been facing. But, Arthur supposed, being that he was locked up inside the castle along with everybody else on this side of the gate, he didn't have much to do with the lack of orders being able to get through. You know, if people were worried by carpentry at all during this crisis. Arthur shook his head and picked up the delicate box that was brought to him by his manservant.

It was the chest Arthur had broken when he and Merlin had been wrestling over it, the one Merlin had thrown at him in a fit of rage and smashed it against the door because of his little tantrum over a piece of junk. The carpenter had really done a good job on it-Arthur ignored the way Morris was rambling in the background, telling him all about how the carpenter tried to say building a new one would be better than fixing the old one due to just how damaged it was. But how Morris had insisted he fix this one because Arthur wanted it, making it seem as if he was some kind of hero in the story. It didn't matter that Arthur would have insisted the same, as Merlin didn't deserve something new on hand for the bratty way he'd been acting. He was not going to reward bad behavior, it would've just encouraged Merlin to continue acting like he does now.

The chest was smooth now, Arthur noted as he'd run his hands across the frame. There wasn't any chance of catching splinters from the wood that had been jabbing out. The broken hinge that left the lid sitting at an awkward angle had been fixed, new ones obviously as the ones before would've been too damaged from the fall and smashing it had endured. The hinges were a shining silvering color, standing out against the darken wood the box was, it looked better than the rusted old thing it had on before. The lotus flower that was etched on the cover of the box had been chipped, pieces of it practically falling off every time it had been touched. The color had been faded so badly, the flower looked as if it had been purposely colored in shades of grey and white. But now it looked to be vibrant, freshly painted with this whitish pink coating the flower itself, and the leaves looking so green and crisp. As if it could leap right off of the box itself, all the gouges and holes carefully filled in with whatever carpenters used to fix that.

The chest would make an adequate gift for Merlin, something his father would be pleased with after being informed Arthur had thrown him a bone to make him happy. Not now, of course, because like he had said, Merlin didn't deserve a treat for the absurd way he'd been acting. Arthur could hold on to it for a better moment, if Merlin ever showed an improvement with his attitude and you know, his general demeanor towards absolutely everything.

But now was the moment of truth…

Before Arthur could stop himself, he flipped open the lid to check out the insides. The inside, when Arthur had first gotten it, was just the plain brown wood. But now that the carpenter had gotten hold of it, the inside now had a velvety purple material-almost pillow like-situated to hold the belongings of its master. And speaking of belongings, Arthur could see how Morris had somehow managed to get his hands on everything that was on the list he had given him. Ignoring Morris' rambling on as the manservant started gathering up his clothing from the floor for the wash, Arthur started up digging to make sure everything he could remember had got in the chest.

There were a few bottles of herbs, which made his nose wrinkle in distaste. It wasn't exactly a hobby Arthur would have chosen or approved for Merlin to have-what was wrong with needlepoint? Wives of other nobles seemed to enjoy that well enough-but he supposed it would happen since Merlin was spending all that time with Gaius. Arthur was only able to figure these little jars of herbs had to have something to do with healing…but anyway, he also found a Royal purple cloth carefully tucked away and folded to the side. A decorative napkin which had all five of the great kingdoms stitched in gold across it. Arthur noted how Merlin had one of the kingdoms cut out and kept…Cenred's kingdom. So Arthur had taken the liberty of ordering Morris and the manservant had cut out the Camelot symbol in it's steed. It wouldn't do for Merlin to have a cloth like that to remember his old life, he needed to be able to realize where his new life was. There was also a little cloth pouch, and upon Arthur opening it up, he found several fresh pins at the ready to be used, clearly taken from the Madame Teresa's tailoring room, as each pin had a barely able to be seen Pendragon crest etched on the end.

And then…

Arthur wrinkled his nose in distaste as he pulled out the final object. He didn't know if he'd gotten everything from Merlin's original pile of junk, but he did know for sure Merlin had an Arthur doll. A doll that looked only vaguely like him-he noted in disgruntlement, as he looked down his nose at the mini-doll in hand-with it's carrot top red hair and a little foil sword on the belt. It was an exact copy of the original doll, the one Arthur had freaked out on Merlin over because he thought his consort was a sorcerer practicing voodoo. He didn't even know why he would allow such a practice to continue by giving him back his doll. But who knows, maybe if he had an outlet like this, it would be that one step closer to Merlin behaving himself within a public setting.

"…Morris." Arthur called out, not looking up from where the doll was flopped over in his hand. Hmm, maybe he should get rid of the pins so Merlin was not able to stab the doll him in so many awkwardly done places. His groin was feeling better, but he found himself suddenly a lot more sympathetic to the original doll him that had a pin sticking out of its own groin area. But then again, that would have defeated the purpose of giving the boy some kind of outlet to work with. It took Arthur another single second to realize the room had gone silent, while Morris patiently waited for his Master to talk. The prince cleared his throat, and forcing his attention away from the doll, "Did you happen to see Merlin this afternoon? When he left the council room?"

Arthur felt this insane urge to know where exactly his consort had gone after leaving the chambers, and what he was doing. He was sure he was doing something ridiculously stupid that would make the prince want to fuss at him. It would be better if he knew what that was now, to calm himself before it went too far and he really lost his temper. Having Merlin's new things in close proximity, being able to rifle through these would-be belongings while knowing Merlin wouldn't try to attack him in order to stop him made a whole of difference. He didn't like wondering why these items were so important to Merlin, all of this insignificant junk he seemed to look at so highly that he would attack a prince over it.

"No, sire." Morris answered his respectfully, the manservant bowing his head in response. "I did have a moment to speak with him before he went inside, but I left early to pick up your items. Why do you ask, sire?" And Morris made sure to flutter his dull brown eyes at the prince, hoping he'd get his attention. But not only did Arthur not look up for where he was now poking at the doll, looking as if he half expected the doll to come alive and jump him with the foil sword, all Morris did was look constipated. Or as if he had something in his eye and was trying a poor method of getting it to come out.

"I believe I might have…done something to upset him." Arthur said through clenched teeth, and his hand tightened around the stupid doll where all he wanted to do was find some mystery secret as to why Merlin would have gotten so upset about this stupid toy. His frustration was building, just like it did every time Arthur was left to wonder about the stupidity that was his consort. But the clipped way Merlin had said 'know you can't wait to get rid of me' as he flounced out was getting to him. Which it should not! Would Merlin had 'rather' Arthur did as his father wanted and kissed him in front of all those old, greedy men watching like the bunch of perverts they were behaving as. Knowing of that ridiculous crush Merlin had on him, he most likely did…

Morris scoffed, waving his hand dismissively even as he crooned on the inside, because the Prince usually didn't bother to tell him of his woes. It was possible that Arthur didn't realize who he was now talking to, or that he just didn't care enough about Merlin to keep their marital problems away from a peasant. Either way, Morris was going to take the opportunity being handed to him on a nicely done silver platter, "I'm sure that whatever it was, sire, it would have been very well deserved." Morris gave a clicking sound with his tongue, shaking his head as he couldn't imagine Merlin doing anything that wouldn't get him scolded. "I mean, I saw him when he rushed in there, looking like some kind of mad man than a consort-" Arthur couldn't even argue against that. Merlin had indeed looked like a mad man the way he'd thrown himself into the room to scream 'I'm the sorcerer' as loud as his voice was going to allow him. "I did try to warn him against it at first, but does he listen? No. What I think is your consort was just trying to show off. Probably had some big grandeur of an idea that would win your favoritism and impress you. But obviously, Merlin has no idea what he's doing."

"Well…you certainly aren't wrong about that." The prince grumbled under his breath, tossing the doll back into the back and deciding to just ignore the whole thing. If Merlin got his jollies out by stocking doll him with a few pins, well…let's just say Arthur better not actually walk in on Merlin doing it. But it was something else that started nagging at him in the back of his mind, something else the servant had said, as Arthur was now settling back down in his chair. Merlin had been looking to impress him, and hope to get his favoritism…just these silly and ridiculous notions.

For one, there was no reason for Merlin to go out of his way to get his favoritism. They were already married. If anything, all Merlin had accomplished with his little stunt was embarrassing his husband in front of his work colleagues. And shouldn't he, as Merlin's husband, be allowed to show a bit of favoritism towards the boy. If they're marriage had been more natural, and Arthur was a prince, then perhaps…but no. Arthur was a step above others, he needed to be held at a higher standard, which meant he couldn't be showing any sort of 'softer side' towards even Merlin. Not during a time like this at least. Besides, Arthur thought grudgingly as he gashed his teeth together, it wasn't Arthur's favor Merlin came in there looking for. It was trying to win GWEN her freedom…

If Arthur wasn't so horrified that his own Consort had showed up out of nowhere-seriously, not one person had warned Arthur having a consort would be like this, but that might be because nobody in the history of his kingdom had ever had a consort like Merlin-and fought for another woman. In front of the entire council! Than he may have even been impressed by Merlin's resilience at overcoming his odds. But it was pretty hard to feel any impression after watching Merlin work himself into a tizzy, for HER. For a SERVING GIRL…

Ugh, maybe he should just throw this bloody box in the damn fireplace and be done with it all. Least that would show Merlin not to go making a fool of Arthur by throwing hands for a woman. If Arthur wasn't already confident Merlin was gay…

"I personally think that it's a very charitable thing you're doing for Merlin." Morris started talking up when he noticed the prince's attention had waned from him. And to continue getting his attention, he started cleaning up the prince's work station so he would be directly Arthur's line of sight, leaving the clothes he'd picked up on the overflowing laundry basket behind the changing screen. tHe started by moving the ink pot to a ninety degree angle on the very edge of the desk, smoothing out a few of the papers meant for other things that were pushed to the side to make room for the maps.

"…Excuse me?" Arthur asked blankly, looking at the manservant with a confused expression. Now, he wasn't one to usually make conversation with a servant of all people-he would usually just give an order and send them on their way with a scathing quip on his lips-but 'somebody' had to be around to hear him fuming about Merlin at some point. It was only unfortunate that it was Morris. The same Morris who couldn't even be bothered to use the boy's real title. Morris would have been whipped for talking so casually about somebody above his station…

Morris looked up from where he was brushing off quill shavings from the edges of the desk, "You know, for allowing the boy to have such free rein around the castle. Able to come and do what he wants, he must feel very lucky to have been the one you chose for Consort. If I were the prince, I don't think I would have been able to allow such a…free spirited boy to run around as he does. As he's-"

Arthur looked at him with narrowing eyes, and his lips thinning with even more confusion. "What are you going on about? He's what?" He demanded in a clipped tone, when he noted Morris was cutting himself off abruptly. He had been half-agreeing in Morris' point-why did he give Merlin so much free space, it was clear just one guard wasn't working out as Merlin still found himself in places where he shouldn't without his guard in sight, so he would need to find an alternative solution that wouldn't include actually chaining Merlin to his desk-then Morris had to cut himself off. Paling and acting as if he had said far too much. It was enough to get Arthur's interest peaked.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly sire!" Morris started with his wailing, pushing off the desk and looking too afraid to touch anything on the chance it would've incurred the prince's wrath. "He's our beloved one and only consort! I know I've been mistreating him in your presence, but I've had time to reflect about my ill behavior the last few weeks. And I realize it's not my place to speak badly of our consort! I can only say…I was trying to protect you from a person who might try to use you. But I can see now, in the error of my ways! I know it's not a servants place to show such protectiveness towards my prince, who is surely about to take care of himsel-"

"No." Arthur spoke up before the manservant was able to talk himself into his own tizzy. Morris was looking as if he was about to fall over, his coloring pale and his hands shaking, as if he was about to truly panic at the mere thought that he was about to be punished for ill words spoken to his consort from the past. Morris had really taken to talking in freedom about his consort, far more than a mere servant would dare. Arthur had never bothered to correct that mindset, and didn't tend to start with it now. But it seemed as if he wouldn't have to, as Morris had came up with the conclusion upon his own. The question remained though…what exactly had happened to give Morris that mindset. "I give you permission to speak freely in my presence. I wish to know what you are going on about. If there is something going on with my consort, or if he's done something, then I need to know so that this behavior can be corrected."

Servants weren't usually allowed to speak freely in the presence of their master. They were meant to do their master's bidding, not entertain them with mild gossip or gabber on as if they thought they'd became friends. Morris had taken many liberties in this very basic serving rule, speaking often out of turn or in a crude manner. Arthur, giving Morris his permission now, was almost like a gift was handed into his unworthy serving hands. Arthur was not a man that freely gave those kinds of gifts, even if a lack in punishing Morris for his loose tongue to his consort might suggest otherwise, but was willing to be lenient in this manner. He was sure whatever Morris was going on about, had something to do with Merlin's absurd behavior. Although what he could do to rein in Merlin's behavior was a mystery to him, not even allowing him to leave the Royal Chambers was enough to tamper his tone down…

Arthur's eyes were piercing, while bracing himself for the next grievance his consort had caused. But it must have been something truly awful, because Morris was hesitant-something he hadn't been in all the time he's worked under Arthur's service-as he licked at his lips. "Forgive me, sire. I surely do not mean to bring such awful news right to your doorstep. Especially with the crisis going on, it's of little to no consequence, I am sure-"

"Morris! Just tell me!" Arthur barked out, his mood snapping as it started to fray at the edges. He was already stuck trying to get Merlin out of the mess he'd created with his little 'deal', stuck with a little, stupid chest he didn't want clogging up in his own space but definitely wasn't giving to Merlin due to bad behavior, and now this. He wasn't going to go playing mind games with Morris or waste precious time trying to force the answer out of him.

Morris seemed to realize he'd overstepped with all his time wasting and quickly nodded his head, and tucked his hands behind his back in what was the classic stance for a serving boy to take. "It pains me to be the bearer of bad news, sire. But you do deserve to know how your consort has taken too many liberties among the servants, especially now a days…"

Arthur's frown deepened, not exactly sure what Morris was going on about. Merlin was taking his liberties with the servants? And what did that even mean, 'taking liberties'. Even just the phrase which included Merlin's name didn't connect within his own mind. This just made Arthur's irritation shoot up, he never did particularly like not knowing any thing. It was probably why Merlin continued to be confounding and frustrating for him, made worse now that he had this stupid box on his desk, trying to mock him with not understanding what was so important about the items inside…

"…Explain. Now." Voice coming out sharper than a dagger to the chest would have been.

"I understand that it's entirely his right as consort to treat us measly servants as he likes too!" said the manservant in a rush, wringing his hands as if he feared speaking out of turn, even with Arthur's permission, would get him punished before he had the chance to finish. "The only goal for those of us who work in the Royal household is to appease for the approval of the Royal family. And our beloved Consort is just as important as Lady Morgana has been since the day your father took her on as his ward. But I just think-and please do disregard my worries because I clearly won't know as much as my highness would tolerate-but he's only been in the castle for two short months. And he's already so free with many of the servants. There's this girl in the kitchens, Mary, who talks highly of Merlin to anybody who will listen. Talks of how he is willing to listen to her plights and get involved even if he is out of order to intervene in a dispute among the servants. And then there's Guinevere, defending her like he's her hero…it's strange to see a consort getting so close to the staff."

After hearing this, Arthur rolled his eyes and rose to his feet, "If this is about my consort having an inappropriate friendship among the servants, trust me when I say I'm already aware of the problem. I do not need you bringing that to my door." He was already fending off his father on that front-or he'd already had that conversation-and Markus was on his case about it for a while there, he did not need to hear it 'again' from an actual servant who acted as if they were just complaining because they had not been given the same attention from a member of the Royal family. Servants and Nobles were not meant to mingle, but Arthur had all but given up in his efforts to get Merlin to see that. And honestly, with all of the other stuff Merlin has pulled in this last week alone, mingling with the servants would be the least of his concerns.

Arthur turned back to his maps, silently dismissing the manservant as he started getting back to what was important, getting Merlin out of the stupidest mistake he'd made in the two months he had been here. He picked back up his quill and was about to make another mark on his map, this one on a few houses he knew lined the outer wall.

Morris practically surged forward, Arthur's head snapped up in surprise as the manservant threw himself hard enough against the desk to make it shake, and his ink pot rattled so harshly it almost fell off over the edge of the table, "Sire, you're not quite understanding!" He exclaimed before Arthur could yell at him to get the fuck out of his room before he had him put in the stocks the second the marketplace was able to open back up once the sickness had passed. "I fear that Merlin is only just starting! He's friends with the servants today but how much longer will it be before he starts to work on the nobles?"

Arthur gnashed his teeth together, resisting the urge to act like a raging lunatic like Morris was. It was surprisingly easy to not give in to the urge to shout and bodily throw him out, something he was probably not able to do had it been Merlin getting in his face. But honestly, Arthur would be relieved if Merlin was making friends with the other sons or daughters of noble stock. That meant something wasn't actually wrong with Merlin-because who in their right mind would want to mingle with those in the staff when they had the opportunity to make friends with the 'right' sort of people. It would help to assimilate Merlin more into palace life…maybe it would be something to look into. And if Arthur was able to carefully choose a few trusted nobles and stick them with Merlin for a few hours, then maybe some of their 'nobleness' would be able to rub off on Merlin. Heck, his own father had very carefully chosen and selected a group of boy's to be one of his playmates when he was a child-they had been dreadfully boring but the son's of highly influential figures, he hadn't seen them since he reached his teenage years and started his knight training-but why couldn't he do something similar for Merlin?

"I mean, can you imagine all of the things he'd do if he started getting friendly with the nobles." the manservant continued to speak, looking as if he was truly scared of the prospect. "I mean, Mary is already slipping an extra bread roll into his meals, or at least she was back when Merlin was having regular meals with Lady Morgana. But anyway, if a servant can do little favors like that, what kind of big favors would nobles be tempted to do for him if they enjoy his company. Or just think it will help ensure yourself is on good terms with them if they befriend your consort and do whatever he asks of them. What if he starts making deals and whatnot on your behalf, deals that are bad for the kingdom but would need to be honored, without any of your input or knowledge until it's far too late to go back on such a thing!"

Arthur stared at the manservant, truly wondering if Morris also had some kind of problem with his own mental health as Merlin did. Or maybe Morris just did not see Merlin the same as Arthur would see him. Even when Arthur considered finding the boy some proper friends, he did not consider his consort would use those newfound connections to try anything underhanded. He might have this strong dislike for the boy, but that didn't mean he didn't see him. This was the same boy who would refuse free access to all the god he wanted, even after Arthur had offered it to him. The same boy who actually went out looking for a 'job' as just a lonely shop boy to prove some kind of point with Arthur: that he didn't need him? Didn't want what Arthur could give him? He was still a little unsure about that turn of events. But anyway, this would also be the same boy who had moved out from his room full of silk sheets and several sturdy wooden furniture pieces for something…inadequate, for a person above a certain status. The boy spent his free time 'literally' sticking an Arthur doll full of the pins! Just because Arthur 'aggravated' him and he needed to get out his frustrations, Arthur wouldn't be sure that was a healthy coping mechanism but it was loads better than when Arthur thought he'd been practicing witchcraft. Somebody who would want to 'load their positions' over the household servants, wouldn't alienate the actual Prince who could put a stop to such nonsense. And that was actually a good first step towards moving in on the nobles if Merlin wasn't stopped with the servants first.

It wasn't exactly something he saw when he was thinking of Merlin. Even if it 'was' his right to 'load things' over the servants if that was indeed a path Merlin was going down, it didn't sit right with the prince. If Morris was right, and Merlin was starting to enjoy his positions over others…Arthur didn't like the idea of this stranger coming into his home and making himself comfortable in this way. Not without Arthur's guidance on things that would be okay to do. But if there was one thing Arthur had learned during that awful Valiant situation, it was to listen better when people told something. He'd listened to Merlin despite his poor upbringing, and he had been right despite the little hiccup they'd had with his father. Morris also was a lower being compared to Arthur, was it not fair if he didn't try to listen to Morris just in case there was a truth to his words?

Before Arthur could truly cement which side of the dense he was on, Morris was throwing himself down onto his knees, landing flat on in belly with a bow to the prince. Much like one would if they had been seeking forgiveness, rather than whispering a falsehood into his ears. "Please, sire! I am only worried for the sake of the kingdom, and for our beloved Camelot as a whole if what I fear starts to come to pass. How much good will the Consort be able to bring to the table? If much at all, if he shall start to go behind your back and…" Morris caught himself and snapped his mouth shut, looking as if he was truly horrified by the prospect of the idea that their consort might be slowly starting to plan a subterfuge right underneath the prince's nose.

Arthur knows he should listen to Morris, would it really be right for him to have listened to Merlin in that time before and not listen to Morris' obvious concerns now? But…there was something niggling in the back of his mind, "…Are we talking about the same Merlin? I mean, the moron cannot stay on his own two feet half the time. I don't he'd be planning on 'taking over the kingdom' or whatever it is you think he's capable of."

Arthur knew it was entirely possible for Merlin to take over the kingdom one day, he would just have to proof Arthur had done something to dishonor him. In the terms of nobles, something like that was only done if proof of adultery was adamant. It was why him and his father worked so hard to find a way to keep Merlin from ever discovering that in their contract. It was a bit of a head tosser to think Merlin would find a way to get the kingdom under his control by a different manner, things like trying to get the people on his side. It was a smart plan for sure, making the people look towards himself instead of Arthur. And Arthur knew Merlin had his brain buried somewhere in his stupidity but…still…Merlin was the boy who refused gold coins when it was handed to him. Could all of that just been a trick to throw Arthur off his track, could he have really been so blindsided by Merlin's stupidity to not see something like that coming.

Morris had been his trusted manservant for over three years. He'd never had any serious problems with him before. Merlin on the other hand, had been in his life for only two months and had done nothing but caused one troubling situation after another. Maybe it would be wise to listen to Morris more seriously, and his concerns.

Arthur's decision was sealed when Morris popped his head up in a panic, as the last thing Arthur had said was questioning him on the truth of what he'd said, "But sire, you do not understand! I know that we are only lowly servants, and your consort does treat some of us with kindness. But there's others that he does not! I fear I might have overstepped all those times I would talk disrespectfully in front of you to him. And I regret my actions now, but I do believe he's been targeting me out of his spite and anger! I, my sire, am strong enough to take it but I fear what will happen if another servant does step on his toes. They might not be able to take it as I do. And even now, I can feel myself starting to wane-"

Morris had been talking with a frantic speed, as if he was trying to get all of his words out before the prince had a chance to outright dismiss any of his claims. But now, he snapped his mouth closed in such a harsh way, Arthur was able to hear an awful clanking of teeth against teeth. Morris' eyes were so wide with panic and concern, Arthur was even able to see beads of blood starting to come up as Morris bit down harshly on his lips. Arthur would never be one to show softness to a servant, they were meant to work under him and be grateful for the opportunity to work in the royal household. He could at least listen to his claims and decide what to do if there were any truth to his words.

Arthur cast one more look at the chest situated on his desk, before he reached out and slammed the lid closed with force. He pushed the chest off the table, slipping it into one of the drawers inside his desk where it would be out of sight, and out of his mind. Arthur turned back to Morris, eyes piercing and serious, "Tell me everything." He commanded of the servant, deciding to put his trust within the servant he'd known for years, rather than putting it in the consort he knew wasn't as devious as he liked to make him out to be.

And so, that was what Morris did, he told Arthur exactly what Merlin had been doing out of sight from the noblemen. Morris started by explaining to Arthur what had happened just before Gwen had been arrested, his words spilling out straight from his lips and right to Arthur's ears. About how he had been in Lady Morgana's room that day, and he noticed Gwen had fallen behind on getting her chores completed in time. So he'd decided to do the proper thing and offered to help her on getting caught up before she needed to return to Lady Morgana's side. When Merlin happened to walk in on him and Gwen laughing and teasing the other as they did the laundry together. And right off the bat, Merlin had been extremely snippy with him, it seemed to anger Merlin that he and Gwen were in such high spirits as they did their chores. Morris had tried to explain how he'd just been helping her out, but Merlin seemed almost offended by it. He demanded Morris get to work on his own chores-even when he told him he'd finished everything his Master Arthur had assigned to him for the day. He started to get more agitated by that, pure yelling at Morris about how he shouldn't be allowing Lady Morgana's handmaiden to think it's okay to slack off on her chores so badly, that she needed help to get it finished in time. And when Morris tried to say it wasn't any bother helping her, Merlin tried to order him away. Ordered him to leave unless he wanted Merlin to give him a list of chores that was enough to rival anything he'd ever had before. List of so many, he wouldn't be allowed to sleep until he finished a week's worth of items…

"I tried, sire! I truly tried to accompany his crazy and outright outrageous demands!" Morris said as he nearly fell into his own tizzy, there was unshed tears in his eyes and his hands were shaking in a violent manner against the floor. "I even tried to explain to him how things worked around here, like how your my master and I answer to you. If I have done something truly wrong, then surely he could go to you and address the problem. And I swear I could do better. But…I don't mean to complain, my sire. I understand he is your consort and you must care for him very much considering just how much he has gotten away with since his arrival, all those rumors spiraling about in the lower town seems to always have him in the midst of some troubling or awful situation that could have been avoided. But if I truly am allowed to speak freely-"

Morris finally stopped his rambling to see rather or not he truly had permission to continue. And while the prince's expression was strict, not even a filter of emotion breaking through his mask, the prince nodded his head. Once. And Jerky. Allowing for a servant to continue his tirade about the horrible things his consort had done while not within his presence.

"I know that he's your consort." Morris said with a shaky tone, licking at the blood from his lips while demurely casting his eyes away from his prince in respect for the golden ruler to be. "And I should've just been grateful for the Consort taking any kind of interest in me at all. He might be peasant born but he's noble now, it's his ride to decide how the servants should be treated. But forgive me if I'm contrasting my words, but he is 'still' peasant born and hasn't been Noble for long. I just thought he'd became very…brazen…for having his sort of power for such a short amount of time. I-" Morris sniffled in a wet manner that had Arthur wrinkling his nose in disgust, thankful when Morris put his head onto the floor in his bow-pressing his head against the stones of Arthur's floor-so that he wouldn't have to see anything running from his servant's nose. "I just thought you ought to know how your consort behaved-in your name!-when you yourself are not around to correct such horrendous behavior!"

Morris finally falls silent, and Arthur's lips thinned as he is unsure what to make of this. Morris would be right in saying this wasn't his place, a servant should never complain about a noble's behavior, because if the servant was being punished than it was surely because he had done something that offended a noble. It was a way of keeping servants in line and preventing them from upsetting what was a natural order in the world. Servants would always be meant to serve. But Morris would also be right in saying Merlin wasn't a born noble, and it was concerning he was behaving like that. Was there a side to Merlin, one more conceited and/or cockier than the ones he'd seen already. Well, his consort was cocky with his constant defiance to Arthur, was Arthur wrong in assuming he was the only one Merlin would argue with? Was Merlin just an argumentative personality, and Arthur had only been mistaking it as Merlin acting out with him for their nuptials?

"…You were right to tell me." Arthur said, a tick in his jaw forming as he tried to force back how livid he was. There was always a chance Morris could be over exaggerating his claims, but Arthur also knew Merlin had a volatile temper at times. He had these three little scars, now faded but still a white line against his tan skin from the time Merlin tried to attack him after Arthur tried taking away a little flower given to him by Gwen, as a sign of physical proof on that. Arthur's only mistake had been just thinking Merlin's more violent tendencies would've been sorely against himself.

"Sire, if I might make a suggestion." Morris quickly added in, still looking worried and scared that the prince might have a change of heart and decided he did not believe him at all. But at Arthur's nod of encouragement, his expression cleared and his manservant was quick to ask, "If you would like to come with me, might we go down to the cells and have a quick talk with Guinevere before she gets her execution? I am sure she would be more than happy to collaborate on what I'm telling you."

If Arthur had any doubts before about what Morris was telling him, they seemed to be wiped out in an instant. Nobody would be dumb enough to go get someone-who everybody had once considered to be quite truthful before this whole witch business came about-to collaborate with them if their story had been a lie right from the jump. "That won't be necessary." The prince said without any bit of his hesitation. There was no chance of him going for a visit with Gwen. He knew it was probably illogical to be mad at her, but she was the reason he was now dealing with Merlin and his deal. For all he did know, maybe Merlin acted out to Morris because of the stress he was under with the sickness being spread about. And maybe, if Gwen really was the witch everybody feared her to be, she'd gone out of her way to befriend his consort in the first place because she knew she would need somebody on her side should she ever get caught using any of her sorcery and wicked ways. No, it was best that he not see Gwen, or he might be forced to speak in an unpleasant manner to her, "I will have all this manner resolved in an instant. You are dismissed, Morris."

Arthur turned away from the manservant, looking down at his maps with a livid air. He could see all the things he knew realigning themselves inside of his mind as he realized just how wrong he must've been about his consort all this time. And Merlin, as it seemed, had been playing him like some kind of fool. Merlin must have denied his generous offer of gold and riches because he was already getting his kicks out of mistreating the servants-even the way Merlin had told him off for having his guards armed with crossbows pointing at the gates just in case a sickened man tried to leap over it, and the way he'd later ordered his men to back off-made the prince suddenly feel as if he was in some kind of ploy, some kind of game Merlin was playing to find out rather or not Arthur would listen to him. A attempt to find out how far Merlin could go before Arthur discovered him? Even Merlin moving out on his own seemed as if it was more than just getting Arthur's attention, maybe it had instead, been his consort's way of getting out of sight. Free to do his own thing to his heart's content. Or maybe this was really about Arthur after all, and Merlin would do anything to get Arthur's full undivided attention on him at all times.

As if he didn't already have it, the troublemaker he was.

Morris lowered his head back down at the prince's command, forehead pressed against the floor just before he rose back to his feet, "Yes, sire." Morris said in a demure tone as he slowly started to back his way out of the room. Arthur was so deep and so lost in his own thoughts, he never saw the slow smirk growing on Morris' face, feeling as if he had accomplished something great in pushing a much deeper wedge in between what was already there between Arthur and Merlin.

X

Alone at last, Arthur scowled lividly down at those maps spread out across his desk. Here he was, so hard at work and Merlin…Arthur felt the urge to go ripping those maps up. To give up on all of this, to allow Merlin to burn for thinking he was able to go messing around with Arthur's head. It was a good thing Arthur had already thrown the box down into his drawer, or he would be the one to throw it this time. Destroy the contents on purpose, compared to the first time accident. And then he would have to go through all that trouble of getting it fixed up only after Arthur had a cool head again.

Arthur should get back to work, and deal with the brat later on. Or not at all, once he failed and got put to the stake. Rather or not Merlin was doing a thing he wasn't supposed too, Arthur still needed to do his due diligence and send Gwen to the pyre herself, for his own peace of mind, at knowing the handmaiden was without a doubt, the sorceress they were looking for. Not even knowing he'd once offered to 'give' Merlin a slew of servants for his own amusement, back when he'd been trying to show off his immense wealth to Merlin, would be enough to alleviate his raising temper. Because his consort had stepped so far out of line, treating the people who were here long before he was, as one big endless parade meant to soothe his temper.

And Arthur, Arthur didn't dare budge to get back to work, his hands planted firmly on his desk as he took deep breaths to try and calm himself down before he ran off to find Merlin and cause a huge scene in public that his father would not approve of. Just when he thought he was finally getting a kind of handle of having a consort, right when he thought he'd learned what to expect from having his 'own' consort…this happens.

And all Arthur could feel was the boiling of his own blood just waiting to explode. The three little scars on his wrist-the remnants of the day he had Merlin attacking him-seemed to throb all on their own, as if to drag his attention to them. To scream 'hey! I might not be in sight but I've still left my mark on you' and Arthur Growled under his breath at the burning-burning-burning sensation of the marks on his wrist. The prince snarled, bringing his other hand over and pressing his thumb harshly against the marks, a forever reminder because the marks looked like they had been just deep enough to be able to leave a faint scar in their wake once it was fully healed, but him trying to alleviate the harsh pressure only seemed to make it worse. The throb of it increasing as his blood-like red hot fire in his veins-stirred restlessly at Merlin leaving a mark on him.

And how Arthur hadn't left his own mark over the boy. A mark that would say Arthur knew exactly what Merlin was doing in his spare time, so even Merlin wouldn't be able to escape him. He would feel just as stuck as Arthur was…

There was another knock on his door, much softer when compared to when Morris had knocked, and Arthur's head snapped up. A jolt of panic shooting through him as he realized his nails were digging into his desk so harshly, the wood was giving way and making groves in the perfect alignment to his fingernails. His panic did absolutely nothing to be able to hide the way his eyes were almost pitched black, the pupil barely showing the blue rim of his eye color-from his rage? Or from something else he couldn't yet decipher. Arthur didn't know, all he knew was that he was nearly frothing at his own mouth, blood hot like fire in his veins, telling him to find Merlin.

To take, and take, and take, until Merlin would do nothing without his permission. To make sure his own dominance was recognized over Merlin and his willful disobedience. To more than just chain him to his desk as he'd considered doing many times before. He wanted to…to…

The knock on his door came again, and Arthur was growling in frustration, knowing he was in no fit state to entertain today. Yet along within what was the confides of his own bedroom. Maybe he should chain Merlin to the bed…somewhere he'd always be able to find him… "Come in!" Arthur was barking as he remembered somebody was at the door.

Agitated because somebody was disturbing him while he was having a fit of rage, Arthur snatched up his quill and turned back to the maps, both to hide the disfigurement of anger etched on his face as well as to show the person he was displeased with them coming here. His hand was shaking so bad, unable to contain his rage, that he'd almost be surprised if there wasn't additional ink marks across the map.

"Arthur," a very sultry voice called out to him, as the sound of the door closely softly behind them reached his ears. Arthur's head snapped up with his surprise, hand clenched so sharply against his quill that it broke in half in his hand. But the prince paid it no mind, even as the ink on the tip of the quill stained his fingers dark.

Clarissa.

Lady Clarissa of the Beckett family. The one that Arthur had danced with to celebrate the win he'd made against Valiant, leaving behind the one he'd fought for in all his lonesome to the side. The one who'd given him a proper silk favor to cheer him on, in lieu of the scratchy red one his consort had tried to pass on to him. The same Lady who was supposed to be on the other side of the country, retiring away to her family's estate after the end of the tourney. The Same Lady his father had warned him to stay away from, not wanting to risk any kind of possible affair from forming and his consort the unlucky one to discover them.

Well, fuck…Arthur thought as his heart sped up in a newfound panic. His face had gone blood red in his anger at Merlin, reflecting how much built up rage he had inside of him. But now that color was draining, draining out him like milk would drain out of a colander. This was now good. And it seemed to be even worse when Clarissa's smile widened in a seductive manner, pleased that she seemed to have the prince's full attention. Ignoring the way his eyes kept farting from her to the door, waiting for somebody else to burst in and catch a Lady in his person bedchambers.

Even with nothing happening, Arthur noted in his panic, it was improper for an unmarried woman to be in the personal bed chambers of an unrelated man. Arthur being married did nothing to change how improper this was, it probably even made it look worse if word of this got back to Merlin. Or to heaven forbid, his own father…

Clarissa, who was wearing a different style of lilac colored dress than she wore the last time, looking as if she had dressed to please the eye of a man, even if Arthur barely noticed it himself other than to panic and psych himself out even more than he already was. The dress cut low enough to bare at least half of her upper breasts, still tastefully done to be appealing but not sluttish. Contrasting with the slit going up the side of her dress, barely most of her right leg, with some kind of purple band or bracelet wrapped around her upper thigh as if just hinting with a tease at what laid just above it.

"Hello, Arthur." She repeated, leaning against his door, blocking the exit in this false impression of being demure-her gleaming eyes actually seemed to betray her intent though, as well as the way her action only made to accentuate her bosom-which in turned forced Arthur to swallow an unsettled lump in his throat. He'd never been afraid of girls before, but she looked at him as if he happened to be her favorite snack, and Arthur was sure Merlin would burst in at any moment. Both to save him from this sudden she-demon, as well as blowing things out of proportion when 'nothing. Would. Be. Happening.' "It's been a while."