"What is he doing here?"

Arthur looked up, from his biscuit and frowned, Merlin stepped into the room, and it was suddenly like a dark shadow was cast over him, like there was some sort of storm building behind Merlin, that bathed the land in darkness. Which, was very opposite to how Arthur normally felt, when Merlin walked into the room.

"I thought, after the feast last night, you would like the morning off, I sent Gwen to tell you," said Arthur, eyes trailing over to Cedric, who looked very pleased with himself. "He just showed up with breakfast, that's all, I didn't ask him."

Merlin's eyes were cold, as he jerked his head over to Cedric. "Leave....now."

His voice was filled with so much force, with so much direct sternness, that it made a lump form in Arthur's throat and he found it rather hard to swallow it. He gulped. Cedric, however, just looked disgusted at Merlin. "You have no authority to tell me to leave, you leave," he retorted. "You obviously know who the better servant is, who the great Prince shall choose, and you have no one to blame but yourself. You are a lazy, clumsy fool, a bad servant-..."

Suddenly Merlin was crossing the room at a run, he tackled Cedric to the ground and pinned his arms down there. Arthur stood up from his desk, shocked Merlin would act this way. Merlin was always so gentle and kind, and never hurt anyone, unless it was Arthur and he wouldn't get up in the morning. He must really feel threatened, to be acting this way, Arthur wondered why, what ever gave Merlin the idea that Arthur would replace him? How could he?

He walked over and yanked Merlin off of Cedric, and Cedric quickly got to his feet, his bottom lip was bleeding and his long, greasy, black hair was stuck up, in odd places. Merlin fought to get out of Arthur's grip, and as he was rather skinny, managed to slink out of Arthur's arms, like a snake. He chased after Cedric, who, at a run, dashed from Arthur's chambers. Merlin slammed the door after him, and then turned back to Arthur, with a glare.

Arthur wasn't scared, by any means, he was something else entirely, Merlin looked at him, with so much cold, hardness, his eyes were like lakes frozen over in the winter, and Arthur thought he probably shouldn't be attracted to that. But Merlin had never shown this side of himself before, the more dominate side, the fighter and it was just...just very interesting.

"Merlin..." he said slowly, now, as Merlin took slow steps, to reach him. He stood before him, before long, and his face was filled with so much anger, so much hurt and annoyance. The sudden thump of his heart in his throat dulled to a stop, and Arthur didn't know what to do. "I...you shouldn't be acting like this. You had no right to hit him."

"And you shouldn't be replacing me, like I mean nothing to you!"

"I'm not replacing you," retorted Arthur.

"You know...I almost thought, for a moment-" Merlin stopped talking, looking up at the roof suddenly, and shook his head. "No, you know...it doesn't even matter. You will never change."

"I didn't do anything!" argued Arthur, because now he was mad too, he understood Merlin's anger, he did, but that didn't mean he could take it out on Arthur. Who did he think he was, exactly?

"You know what he is trying to do, push me out," Merlin shot back, almost at once. "But you don't care, you're just too big of a clotpole to see it!"

"I know exactly what he is trying to do, Merlin," said Arthur, he wanted to tackle Merlin now, too, like Merlin had Cedric, and shake him a few good times. "I just don't care, because I would never replace you, I thought you knew that..."

"I-" Merlin started, at a shout, and then stopped, and frowned. "I didn't..."

"How could you not?" asked Arthur, his voice much softer now. That was hurtful, after all they had been through, Arthur literally begged a Goddess to kill him instead, but he supposed Merlin hadn't known, he had been asleep for that. "You mean...too much to me, Merlin."

It was Merlin's turn to gulp now, as Arthur had done before, but probably for different reasons. "I...I just thought-"

"Well, there's your problem right there," said Arthur, and this time, maybe he meant this one a bit more, a little deeper, as after all of this time, Merlin still thought so poorly of him, that stuck a little too deep. "You thought."

Merlin stare at him now, hurt still lingering in his eyes very deeply, for much too long, and Arthur, if he weren't so angry, wished he could say something funny and make it go away. But he couldn't, not right now. "Everything I do is for you, Arthur," he said, so softly, it might have been a whisper. "And you just think I'm an idiot."

That struck Arthur, right to his very core, at the parts of his heart he didn't know a person could reach, and he stare back at Merlin. Their eyes met, and Arthur, though he knew he should, did not look away. "You're wrong again, Merlin..." he said, slowly, searching Merlin's face, like so often Merlin did his, and he did not know what to look for, everything around him just seemed clouded. "I never actually thought you were an idiot..."

"And I..." said Merlin, in a mumble, voice still, very quite. His head was downcast, and he frowned. "I don't actually think you're a clotpole...all the time."

Arthur let out a laugh, a humorless one, and shook his head. "Listen, Merlin," said Arthur, reaching up and placing a hand on Merlin's shoulder. He looked up at once, and he reached up too, with both arms and Arthur panicked, suddenly, taking a quick step back. He knew he was being stupid, to react that way was completely dumb, but it was almost instinct at this point. "...what are you doing?"

"I thought you were...going for a hug," admitted Merlin, and the sadness that had just left his eyes was back, Arthur wanted to throw himself into a lake. But he just couldn't, he couldn't do it. Not now, not with his feelings all jangled up inside of himself like this. What was wrong with him, exactly? He wanted to blame his Father, but Uther hugged Morgana, he hugged his new Lady Friend, Arthur was sure, very often. Though, he never hugged Arthur.

"No..." said Arthur, slowly, taking a few more steps back. "I do not hug, Merlin. I've told you."

"I know, but I thought...just this once."

"Never trust a hug, Merlin," retorted Arthur now, stern. He could feel the palpable energy, almost wash away at once, as he spoke. "It's just a way to hide your face."

Merlin stood there, not quite looking at him anymore, but not quite looking anywhere else either. There was just a silence now, one that Arthur didn't know how to break, so he wouldn't. But luckily for Arthur, there was a sudden knock at the door, and in walked a Guard.

"Prince Arthur, your Father wishes to speak with you," said the Guard, and then rushed out again. Arthur nodded, though, with a frown, and chanced one last look back at Merlin, before walking out of the room, he looked somewhere between annoyed and glad that Arthur was leaving. Arthur was almost happy to be out of there, himself. There was so much left unsaid between them, it was there, just on the edge of coming out and Arthur didn't want it to, he didn't want to deal with it. Whatever it was. Merlin obviously wanted something from him, either a hug, of all the dumb things, or some sort of recognition of whatever had grown between them. Love? He thought not, Merlin didn't love him. Animosity? That was much more of a reasonable thought. Their relationship had always been strange, filled with bantering and calling each other hurtful names, and now Merlin thought himself easily replaceable, forgettable and Arthur didn't have the guts to tell him just how very wrong he was. And thus, left it to hang between them, to rot, like a pile of sh-

"Arthur!" said Uther, happily, as Arthur entered the council chamber. He had been so deep in thought, he almost didn't notice himself walking there. He hadn't actually, and the voice of his Father startled him. "You look like you have just seen a ghost, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Arthur, and he swallowed hard, and tried to put himself together. He looked around the room and noticed Morgana there and the Lady Catrina. "Is anything the matter, Father? Why have you called for me?"

"Well," said Uther, looking very pleased, as he walked over to Catrina now, and took her hand. "Our feast last night ended rather abruptly, there was much we never got to finish discussing."

Arthur felt himself go pale, paler than he already felt. "What...?"

"Not only have I asked Lady Catrina to extend her stay, but..." Uther waited a beat, as if waiting to drop a bomb. "I have also asked for her hand in marriage, and she has accepted."

And there is was, Arthur had known it, known is Father was so foolish. He couldn't speak. Luckily, Morgana did, for both of them. "Well...I cannot say we are very surprised," she spoke with kindness, the likes of which, Arthur didn't think he should find at this moment. "I am very pleased for the both of you. I'm sure Arthur is, too."

"...yes, of course..." mumbled Arthur, trying to keep it together, but he was failing. There were just too many things piling on top of him, first Merlin and now this. "Very pleased..."

"Oh, I am so glad!" said Catrina, rather loudly, and she let go of Uther, dramatically, and ran over to hug Morgana. "I wish nothing more than to be apart of this family." She hugged Morgana close to her and then let go and turned to Arthur. He bowed to her, because if he was not going to let Merlin hug him, then he was surely not going to let the King's Future Wife do it either. She seemed a bit taken aback by this, but smiled anyway. "You know, I always wished for a son..."

Arthur huffed, because he didn't believe that for a second. He smiled though, as if he did, and took her hand, bowing his head once again. "Welcome to the family," he said, just to make his Father happy. And then he turned to leave. "If you will excuse me, I have a knights training to attend."

"Yes, off you go, Arthur," said Uther, walking nearer and taking Catrina's empty hand now. She was beaming at him, as he walked out of the room, and he couldn't help but notice Morgana's eye roll, as he did.

Knight training didn't go so well, as it had not been going so well for him lately anyway. Arthur was just too distracted, there were too many things on his mind, and now he had his Father's wedding fresh on his mind. He could understand a lot, being with her, asking her to stay, but he had feared his Father would ask her to marry him, and Arthur realized, he had every right to be worried. Uther was a complete fool when it came to love, without doubt. Why did he think it was such a good idea to marry her, and so quickly? Did they not have plenty of time? Yes, Uther was older, but not that old, he still had his wits...though, the few he did have. He had time. It was foolish, so foolish, and Arthur only wished he could explain this without his Father getting angry, because undoubtedly, he would. Uther never liked to be told he was wrong, even if he was...most of the time. And Catrina, thought him so sweet and charming now, just wait until some sort of magic turns up in Camelot again, and then she can see the cold, brute she was truly marrying.

Arthur felt guilty for wishing this to happen. But he couldn't help but think they were both just complete morons, they probably deserved each other anyway. Arthur ended the training early, because he couldn't bring himself and his heart to be truly in it, and if not, what point was there really? He wasn't going to forget how to swing a sword in a day. He headed up to his chambers, all the while thinking; He knew what people must think, they must think he was angry, angry over the fact that his Father was marrying and more than basically, replacing Arthur's own Mother, but that wasn't the case. Arthur was not foolish enough to not understand that she was dead, long dead, had been for over twenty years, and he did not want his Father to live alone forever. It wasn't that, it wasn't the thought of his Mother, it was simply he couldn't understand the rashness, the rush into something so permanent. Perhaps Catrina and his Father had known each other for years, but they had not seen each other in a great deal of time, would it not be wise to relearn each other? Arthur didn't know, maybe he was just being thick headed, he was, honestly, his own type of foolish when it came to love, maybe he didn't have a leg to stand on...who was right and wrong in these situations?

Arthur, without taking off his chainmail, flopped right into his bed, face first, and didn't plan on moving any time soon. His head hurt and his neck ached from it. He felt hungry and sort of sick to his stomach, all at the same time.

"So...the King is getting married?" Came a voice, and Arthur didn't look up. Because he knew who it was, who else would it be?

"Who told you that?" he retorted, but he knew who, the same person who went around telling everyone everything in Camelot. Somehow, Morgana always knew all the secrets, and it was still a mystery how she did it. "Yes," he answered anyway, when Merlin didn't reply. "And I am meant to be happy about it, I suppose..."

"Why aren't you?" asked Merlin, and Arthur sighed, rolling over, onto his back, and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a dark, very deep, sigh. "As long as he's happy, that's all that matters, even if you don't like her..."

"It's not as if I don't like her," said Arthur, with thought. "I don't know her...and neither does he."

"Maybe he knows all he needs to know..."

"And maybe it's not good enough!" retorted Arthur, as he suddenly sat up and glare over at Merlin, who was standing at the foot of Arthur's bed. "You can't fall in love with someone that easily, it's not that simple...love is complicated, annoying...it isn't love, it can't be, it's infatuation, at best."

"Obviously you don't believe in love at first sight then," said Merlin, and his voice was joking, but there something in his eyes, deep in there. Perhaps left over, from their argument, or whatever it had been, that morning. "I do though...I know, I've seen it happen. When Lancelot met Gwen, I could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at her, it was almost at once."

"That sounds nice, Merlin, but I think you misunderstand love for attraction," said Arthur and Merlin sighed, with a frown. "I'm not insulting you, I just think you're too nice. You want to believe in something that isn't real."

"How do you know, what's real and what's not?" Merlin fought back. "You've never even been in love, you say so yourself..."

Arthur paused, because Merlin had a point, but these feelings Arthur had for him, he always likened them to love, he was sure of it...at this point at least, but what if they weren't? Though, these thoughts had already tormented him long enough, he didn't want to think about it, not again. "I don't know..."

"You don't know if you've ever been in love?"

"No...I mean," Arthur shook his head. "I don't know..."

Merlin huffed. "You're being strange."

"And you look strange, but I don't mention it!"

"Actually you do...all the time."

Arthur couldn't dare think about love anymore, it made him want to throw up, instead he sent Merlin to go and fetch him dinner. And while he was gone, that's when the banging started. Yet again, another night of tap tap tap, of the Miners, what the hell could be that valuable under the castle that Uther needed to look for? Arthur sighed, he knew his nerves were just on edge, he needed to clam down. He felt so wound up that he was going to lose it, very soon. Merlin returned and handed Arthur a plate. Arthur ate at his desk, finding even the sound of the fork on the plate annoying. He just wanted to go to bed, but he didn't think he could, with this racket...

"You look ill," commented Merlin, when Arthur had finished eating. "Are you alright?"

"No," said Arthur, honestly. Merlin stopped, set the plate down and titled his head to the side, looking Arthur over. Arthur refused to meet his eye.

"Are you still upset...from earlier?"

"You mean when you assaulted a fellow Servant and then shouted at me?" retorted Arthur. "No."

Merlin smirked, for just a second, and then looked serious once more. "Is this about your Father?"

"No...yes," Arthur was truthful, for a third time. Merlin smiled at him, Arthur didn't want to say sweetly, but that was what it was. Almost like Arthur was a cute dog and Merlin fawned over it. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" retorted Merlin. Arthur narrowed his eyes, because Merlin knew exactly what. His smile turned to a grin then, one that started slow and spread across his face so fast it might have always been there. "I think you need a good nights sleep, Sire," he said, and he never called him Sire, so clearly something was wrong here. "And a good hug!"

"No hugs!"

(A/N: I have had a secret goal, as for this story, I have been paying more attention to word count. Each chapter, at least most of them, are over 3000 words, and my goal I have been working on, has been to have more published words than The Sorcerer's Stone, which has 76,944, with this chapter posted, I have reached that goal. Anything over 40k is considered a small novel, (this is important to me, as I want to write books,) so...bros, I am smashing that novel game right now! And we ain't even done, I am basically only working on 3 episodes from the show right now, there is another 10 alone, in season 2, that need to be at least touched on, there is a year between season 2 and season 3 and then 13 episodes that need addressing in that season, and I mean...they still aren't even dating. I mean NO, they ARE dating, but THEY don't know they're dating, gotta work on that...but yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!)