Arthur sat there, idly, waiting. Merlin had run to Gaius' chambers, but he would be back, back any moment now, and Arthur was worried. He wasn't looking forward to this, and quite honestly he had no idea how he had manged to be talked into it. It was foolish and very stupid and many, many things could go wrong. And yet he had said yes...was he out of his mind?

The door to his chambers burst open and Merlin rushed inside, slamming the door shut behind him, and leaned against the wood for a moment, taking in a breath. Arthur looked at him, eyes darting all over Merlin, to see if he had manged to get what he was looking for. "Do you have it?" asked Arthur, and Merlin looked up, pushing himself off the door, and lifted his right hand in the air, that had been hidden behind his brown jacket before. He walked nearer to Arthur. "I'm still not sure about this..."

"It's fine, Arthur, nothing is going to happen...I promise" said Merlin, as he got close enough and stopped in front of where Arthur sat. Arthur looked up at him and he wasn't entirely sure he trusted Merlin enough for this, but it seemed Merlin had made up his mind for him, as he started pulling at the sleeves of Arthur's red tunic. "Alright...off with the-"

"Why do I need to undress for this...?" Merlin stopped tugging and shook his head at Arthur, as if Arthur were dumb. But Arthur feared it truly was the other way around. "What if you do something horrible to me?"

Merlin scoffed. "It can't be that bad..."

"I am the Prince, Merlin," argued Arthur, but even so Merlin started tugging at his tunic again. "I can't go around looking like an idiot."

"But you already do?" offered Merlin, as he nearly fell back, finally getting the shirt loose from the stubbornness of Arthur's body. He tossed it onto the floor, as if it meant nothing. Arthur watched the fabric fall and felt sort of sad about it.

"Don't start with your mouth," Arthur warned now, as he looked back up at Merlin, who took the shears in his hand and started opening and closing them, foolishly. "Stop that...I swear to god, I fear nothing until you come around me..."

"And then you start fearing for your reputation," retorted Merlin, with a wicked sort of smirk on his lips. Apparently he felt quite powerful with this tool in his hands. "I know...it's because I am so good looking." Arthur scoffed, himself now, and didn't reply to that. Because it was not worth it, and clearly, quite untrue. Merlin walked behind him and shoved his head down, until his chin hit his bare chest. "I'm going to start chopping..."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" shouted Arthur and he could hear Merlin groan behind him. "You have to at least have a plan, a baseline, have you learned nothing from watching me train my men?"

"Hair cuts and knight training are very different..."

"They still require precision and accuracy, two things you lack."

"Do they not mean the same?" questioned Merlin, and now Arthur felt a comb being pushed through his hair, and he shook his head, which made Merlin grab it, to stop him from doing that.

"Not exactly..."

"Stop talking," said Merlin now, and Arthur raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see it. "I can't talk while I'm doing this and if you say something annoying I'm going to want to."

"What?! Are you chewing the hair off, Merlin?"

"See!" retorted Merlin, forcing Arthur's head down again. "Stop..."

For several agonizing minutes, Arthur sat there, chin on his chest, and hearing the every bit of fear inducing snip, snip, snip sound as he felt bits of his hair fall to the floor. Those bits of hair stood for every bit of sense he had left, and all the good will in this world. Gone now. He was completely stupid, allowing a fool with a complex to cut his hair...

Merlin was getting fancy now, running rough fingers through his hair and chopping less, but still too much for Arthur's liking. He felt his stomach turning, he couldn't be seen for weeks after this. His leg started to jiggle, in the stress and worry of it, fearing the outcome of this madness.

"Why'er you moving?" questioned Merlin, but it sounded like something was in his mouth, and Arthur realized both of his hands were in Arthur's hair, so that only meant he had the shears in his mouth, and Merlin actually had the nerve to ask that question? "I'm not going to mess up your hair, I learned to cut hair from my Mother, she would cut mine...I cut my own."

"And you look ridiculous half the time," retorted Arthur, and Merlin shoved his head down again. "Stop doing that, I am still a Prince you know, I can have you mucking out my stables for that!" There was a long pause and Arthur just knew it, he glared darkly at the floor "Don't roll your eyes at me..."

"I didn't?"

"Liar..."

Merlin laughed. "Alright...so maybe I did." A few more snips of pure torture later and then Merlin was brushing his hair out again and dusting off the back of his neck. "I'm done." Arthur jumped up, quickly, hand reaching to the back of his head and touched the hair there. It didn't feel too terribly awful. He looked around and picked up the tray Merlin had delivered his dinner on, and he knocked the plates off, and looked into the silver. He could see his reflection. "You know, there is a mirror..."

Arthur brushed his fringe forward with his fingers, and frowned. "I don't look completely horrible."

Merlin smirked, from behind him, he could see his reflection, too. "I suppose that is a matter of opinion..."

Arthur lowered the tray down, and dropped it back onto the table, he looked back at Merlin and raised an eyebrow. "You know, Merlin..." said Arthur darkly, as he took a step toward Merlin, his bare chest puffed out. And it took Merlin less than one second to figure out he was in trouble now, he took a step back. "You're looking a bit shabby yourself..."

"Oh...no, no...no," Merlin hands went up, in defense, and that made it so Arthur could easily reach out and make a grab for the shears. But Merlin realized what he was reaching for, and he quickly put his hands behind his back. "Arthur...no!"

But Arthur was not a man who took no easily, or at all, really. He had been trained in combat since he was a child, there was no way Merlin would win. Merlin made a break for it, the coward. He climbed over Arthur's bed, as Arthur was blocking the only other exit, and Arthur rolled his eyes. He lurched forward and grabbed hold of one of Merlin's ankles, yanking him back. He rolled over on the bed and still hid the shears behind his back, with one hand.

"Give them to me!" demanded Arthur, in his best demanding voice. But Merlin continued to deny him, he never had any respect for him anyway. With ease he leaned down and held Merlin down, as he was still trying to escape. He held him down by only his jacket alone, and looked upon his face, Merlin narrowed his eyes at him, and he mouthed the word Prat. Arthur was thinking of letting him go, but decided against it, almost as quick as thinking it. "Give it to me..."

"No," said Merlin, plainly. There was clear defiance in his tone, in his very being. There he was, completely at Arthur's mercy. He could do whatever he wanted to him. Punch him, kick him, throw him to the floor and tell him to stay there, as the lowly servant he was, and Arthur could do that, he should, yet Merlin did not seem to care at all.

"As the crown Prince of Camelot, the future King, your master..." he went on and Merlin, made a face that said he was quite bored, which made Arthur feel like he might as well be talking to a wall. At least the wall might do their job better. "You will deny me?"

Merlin thought about this for a second, and then shrugged. "...yes."

Arthur was not shocked, not by a long shot, this was Merlin, after all, but he was taken aback by Merlin's gull, though he knew he really shouldn't be. He looked him over, for another moment or two, considering what he should do. Maybe the stocks, maybe nothing at all, all he knew was he wanted to slap Merlin within an inch of his life, but did not. "What am I to do with you...?"

"Getting off of him, might be a good option."

Arthur's eyes widened and he looked up, to see the form of his Father standing by the door of his chambers. Arthur felt himself go red, all but leaped off the bed and watched the King, in deep horror. "Father!" he said, and he was alarmed to hear his voice was just a tad bit too high. "How..." he cleared his throat of whatever lump seemed to be stopping him from talking. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know you are the future King and his master...and quite clearly, he plans on denying you," said Uther, with a smirk, but yet still, a roll of the eyes. And Arthur wanted to throw up once again. Ether he needed to stop acting so stupidly, or remember to lock his door, he wasn't sure which...maybe both. "And really, Arthur, I'm not very interested in knowing what you two get up to, but in my day, sex involved much less talking..."

"Father!" said Arthur, feeling not only the red deepen on his cheeks, but the new color of shame join the mix. At the word sex, Merlin started laughing, still, on the bed, and Arthur resisted the urge to walk over and punch him in the face. "We weren't...I-"

He stopped, because there was no use, nothing he was about to say made sense. It was awkward, and the second time Uther had walked in on him on top of Merlin, and yes, that does look bad, but it was all matter of circumstance, and stupidity. But Arthur knew, no matter how he denied it, it looked too convincing to change the King's mind at this point. The King, still, held up a hand and shook his head. "I don't want to know," he said. "I came here to talk of important matters."

"What happened?" said Arthur, wanting to focus more on that rather than what he might have been doing on top of Merlin. His Father took pity on him and allowed this. Merlin, however, was getting off the bad at last now, and tucked the shears into his jacket pocket, Uther watched this, with a questioning look, before shaking his head and sighing.

"There have been reports, in a village on the outskirts of Camelot, of a beast," explained Uther. "Gaius fears it might be the Questing Beast."

"What's the Questing Beast?" asked Merlin, and the King looked over at him and shook his head. Not because Merlin spoke out of turn, though, but because whatever it must be, must be very bad.

"It is a creature of magic," he said simply. He looked back at Arthur, and met his eye, he looked worried, and very serious. "Dress, Arthur, meet me in the council chambers."

And then the King was storming out of the room and Arthur watched him go, before turning back and Merlin already had his long gone tunic in his hands. He dressed and they walked to the council chambers together. Uther was already there, sitting in his throne chair and twiddling his fingers together. Arthur wouldn't ask what the beast was, or what made it so worrisome to the King, Arthur was just ready to fight it, whatever it was, and win...

Gaius was sitting near Uther, and Merlin walked from Arthur's side and over to him. Arthur watched this, he knew Merlin and Gaius were very close, and this is why he found it no surprise that Gaius reached up and patted Merlin on the back gently. If Merlin had been worried about this beast, and he probably was knowing him, Arthur hadn't noticed, too busy focusing on the probable battle ahead, he had with it.

"Arthur," said his Father, and Arthur shook his head, taking himself from his thoughts and walked over and sat down next to his Father. "I have a group of Knights investigating, they should return within the hour."

"If this beast...is attacking people," said Arthur. "What is the point of sending Knights to investigate? Let me go now..."

"It is not that simple, Arthur," said his Father, and he frowned. "The Questing Beast is the stuff of nightmares. One strike could kill you."

"I've faced worse," said Arthur, trying to be light hearted about it, but his Father only frowned, almost sadly, at him. "Father...please."

"No, Arthur."

"Sire, your Father is right," said Gaius, suddenly, making Arthur look over at him. "It is much too dangerous for you to fight alone, it is a creature of magic and might very well need to be killed with it as well."

Merlin shifted next to Gaius and Arthur looked over to him, his forehead was scrunched up and his lips turned into a worried frown. He looked as if he might be going into battle soon himself, but that was rather unlikely, as he could barely lift a sword. Suddenly the door to the council chambers burst open and in walked a Knight, Sir Leroy. He took large strides toward the table and bowed to both Uther and Arthur.

"Well?" demanded Uther, standing up, apparently the threat upon them was too much for Uther to take sitting down. "What is the news? Did you see the beast?"

"Sire...this is your Questing Beast," said the Knight, before pulling something from around his belt and let it fall onto the table. It was a white sheet, and on one side of it, someone had sewn a fake snake head onto it.

"A toy...?" questioned Uther and the Knight shrugged.

"Apparently, it was meant to be a joke on the Village Elder..."

Uther growled and shook his head. "Take it away, have the person responsible for this in the stocks and flogged!" said the King, and the Knight bowed his head and swiftly took the toy off the table, and left the room. Uther looked around, at the faces upon him now. "I suppose all of our worry was for nothing..."

"Well...I don't know about you, but I'm glad," said Merlin suddenly, and Arthur looked up, eyeing him. Uther would not be in the mood for Merlin's mouth at a time like this, Arthur feared, he was in for it now. But to Arthur's surprise, the King only laughed.

"Quite right, Merlin," he said, and Merlin smiled over at him. Giaus stood up now, and took Merlin by the arm, bowing to the King, before both of them walked out together. Arthur watched them go, whispering with their heads together as they did. When Arthur finally looked away from the, once again, closed door, his Father's eyes were on him. "I'm afraid I've taken you from a wondrous night for no reason, Arthur..."

Arthur thought about this for a moment, almost forgetting what the King was talking bout, until...he didn't, and he made a face. "...I'll survive."

(A/N: Uther definitely thinks they're into some weird shit... This chapter wasn't very important, the Questing Beast will make an actual appearance at some point and honestly, I just wanted an excuse to have the two do some domestic ass stuff, I love domestic!Merthur, just going through life...as husbands, tho they both won't admit it. It's lovely! But like...of COURSE Merlin would cut Arthur's hair, who else would? I like to imagine he's actually pretty good at it.)