Arthur had been right, most of King Alined's men had been knocked out of the competition the first day, which Alined was less than pleased about. Most of the men left were Knights of Camelot, a few lone Knights, who showed up to fight on their own accord, from other Kingdoms, and only two of Olaf's men. Arthur was doing well today, the third day of completion, he only had three fights himself, which all three he had won. Now, he stood in his chambers, while Merlin removed his armor. They did not speak again about the letter Merlin was writing. Merlin has shown up the following morning in a good mood and even had cheered Arthur on at the tournament, so Arthur thought, being a Knight after all, he would choose his battles and it would not be this one. Truthfully though, Arthur just really didn't want to know who Merlin might be writing letters to. Just silently, and selfishly, Arthur hoped it was no one important.

"I have to be accompanied by the Lady Vivian again, at the feast tonight," said Arthur, once he was shirtless and Merlin was rummaging through his wardrobe for something to wear. Merlin didn't comment on this, as he pulled a red tunic out and offered it to Arthur. "I don't think I can stand another night of her...she's the worst."

"At least she's petty."

"You think her pretty?"

"No..." said Merlin. "Not me I think she's awful, she looks at people like they're dirt. I don't care how you look on the outside, the inside reflects. But I am sure someone thinks she's pretty..."

"Yeah, someone being herself," retorted Arthur and Merlin smiled at him, as he tied his cape around his shoulders. Merlin never did manage to get it entirely straight. "Will you be serving me tonight?" Arthur asked, because the last two nights Merlin had not. All servants were always told where they would be positioned that night, almost as if they were Knights, only wielding jugs of wine instead of swords. "I need the company..."

"I will be serving Lady Morgana tonight," said Merlin, with a little smile, which meant he was rather pleased about that. Arthur rolled his eyes. "You will have Gwen though, just talk to her instead."

"I would prefer you," complained Arthur, and Marlin grinned at him then rather knowingly. "I can mutter insults about Vivian to you...and you'd actually appreciate it."

"Gwen would, too," said Merlin then, as he offered Arthur his dulled celebrating sword, which was only really there for looks, as it couldn't probably kill a fly. "She can't stand Vivian, she says she is nasty to her all the time and makes her do stupid things."

"That's not fair, Gwen doesn't deserve that."

"Yes, well...it was you who put Gwen in charge of her," commented Merlin, slyly. Arthur glared at him, as they left his chambers together.

"I couldn't very well put you..." argued Arthur then, as they walked down the halls and then the stairs, side by side. "Not even because you're a man...as you hardly are one, but because Guinevere is an actually good servant. You would have just ignored her."

"Probably," commented Merlin, ignoring Arthur's jab, and only smirking, amused by it. He turned and looked at Arthur then though, as they were about to enter the feast. "I am a good servant...to you."

"Sure, whatever you say, Merlin..."

"I AM!" retorted Merlin, as he pushed open the double doors, and allowed Arthur to enter and nearly get slapped in the face with a closing door. Merlin followed in after him, and Arthur had to admit, he really did wish he would be serving him tonight, he just wanted Merlin around and he really didn't like when they were apart. As pathetic or as love struck as that may sound, Arthur just felt the closest to him, and there was really no denying that he was also very love struck. They parted ways at this point, Arthur went to take his seat next to Lady Vivian, and Merlin went to take his position behind Lady Morgana. Who grinned and greeted him, upon seeing him.

The food was good, but the food was always good, it was the company Arthur didn't like much. She didn't say a word to him for the entire meal, only looked over in dislike whenever his fork would hit the plate a little too loudly. He really wished she would go back home, where was Gwen with that horse? Gwen, herself, was actually standing behind Arthur, making displeased sounds whenever Vivian demanded something from her, which was quite often and put rather rudely. Arthur had to bite his tongue, so he didn't snap at her, more than just once. But he also knew he had to be on his best behavior, so the Kings would sign their treaties.

The entertainment tonight was King Alined's servant, conveniently named 'The Trickler,' Arthur really hoped that wasn't his given name, because it was stupid and his Mother must have been a cruel woman, if it were. Though, Arthur had not heard Alined call him anything else, the six times he had heard him shouting at him since they had arrived. He preformed a fake magic show, which given the thoughts of Magic in Camelot, and even more so by Uther, Arthur thought that was rather ill fitting. But Uther was so drunk at this point, he didn't seem to really notice the show at all. The Trickler had pulled butterflies out of the Lady Vivina's ear and that was the first time Arthur had seen her smile since she had arrived. It didn't make her face any more appealing however, she still looked like an angry bitch, who misplaced her pups.

As soon as the show had ended, Arthur made to leave. He stood up and bowed at the Princess, who rolled her eyes at him and looked away. He didn't care, really, he just wanted to leave. He shot a smile at his Father and Uther only nodded, eyes rolling a bit in his head as he did, as if they were swimming in ale. Just as Arthur started to leave, King Alined did as well, and acting as if he had not seen Arthur walking behind his chair, he bumped into him as he stood up.

"Oh, do forgive me, Sire," he said, in a slinky sort of voice. Arthur didn't say anything and started to walk again, but Alined cleared his throat, making Arthur stop. "I do wish to give you my best wishes, for your fight tomorrow. Olaf's man is a skilled fighter...but I am sure you will win, My Lord."

"As I am sure I will, too," said Arthur, turning around and offering the King a pleasant smile. "Thank you for your well wishes."

"Of course..." said Alined with a coy smile. "Of course you could win on skill alone, you are very skilled. That is, if Sir Gwad does not do as most do and allow you to win."

"No one ever allows me to win!" Arthur shot back suddenly, face done up in lines now. "The tournaments games are fair, just...everyone participates the same, no matter their rank."

"Of course, those are the rules..." said King Alined. "And they are wonderful rules, should people follow them..."

"They do!" Arthur argued, feeling anger fill him suddenly. What was Alined suggesting? That Arthur was allowed a pass because he was the Prince? No, that wasn't true. Arthur fought and won because he was skilled, that was all. Alined bowed his head at this and smiled still, but now it was rather dark looking.

"Of course, Arthur..."

He stalked away then, out of the doors and Arthur watched him go, dislike bubbling inside of him as if he were boiling water and it was about to overflow. Someone else came up to him now, and touched him on the arm, he looked over to see Merlin there, looking concerned.

"What was that?" he asked, Arthur didn't want to answer him, he didn't want to talk about it. Mostly because, he was sure it wasn't true. He turned to look at Merlin then, he held a jug of wine and had a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," said Arthur, after a long moment of not answering. "Come on, I want to leave."

"I can't go with you," said Merlin then. "I have to serve-"

But with a quick glance over to Morgana, they noticed her in a deep conversation with Gwen, both of their eyes narrowed across the way, at Lady Vivian. Merlin turned back to him and sighed. Arthur knew he had already decided.

"Bring the wine," said Arthur, and they left together. They didn't talk as they walked to Arthur's chambers. Arthur's mind was still leaching onto the things Alined had said, he was sure they were not true, but what if they were? What if all this time Arthur thought he was so great, yet it was all a lie, all of the brainless Knights allowing him to best them. But no, he thought, as he and Merlin walked through his door, Merlin first and then Arthur, Leon bested him all the time. It was not true, it just simply was not. It was Alined being a sore loser, and that was all.

Merlin set down the jug of wine on Arthur's table and turned to him then, yanking at the string of Arthur's cape and removed it from his shoulders. He did this slowly, and stared at Arthur while he did. "Are you going to tell me what Alined said to you?"

"No, it wasn't important," said Arthur, and then took a few steps away from Merlin. Over to the fireplace, where the fire was lit. It must have been another servant who lit the flames, as Merlin had been busy at the feast. Arthur sat at one of his red chairs. "I'm not ready for bed yet, I just wanted to leave."

Merlin smiled at this and walked over to him. "You didn't have a good night with Lady Vivian?"

"She didn't say two whole words to me," said Arthur. "It must be so awful for her, having to be in the company of a dashing, talented and handsome man..."

"It sounds nice to me..." commented Merlin then, with a grin. "Too bad I don't know any."

Arthur let out a hearty laugh at this, after all, he had only be goading Merlin with those words anyway. He leaned back into his chair and look up at Merlin, feeling so much endearment for this man he wanted to puke. "The wine!" he said then, as if he had forgotten and he had, honestly. "Do we have goblets?"

"One...from your breakfast this morning, I forgot to take it," said Merlin, bashfully. So, Arthur's words earlier, about Gwen being a better servant, had just been proven right now and Merlin knew it. Yet, Arthur ignored it.

"We will share then."

"You want to share it...?" asked Merlin, as he walked over and found the cup on Arthur's bed side table and then walked over and got the jug of wine. He was back, in front of Arthur, before the had answered him.

"Yes," said Arthur, and pointed to the red chair next to him. "Sit."

"Why...?"

"Don't question it, Merlin," retorted Arthur. "Just sit."

If Arthur were being perfectly honest, he didn't know why. All he really did know, is that he had no need to be at the feast, he was not yet tired and he wanted Merlin's company. Why did he need more reason than this? Arthur decided he didn't. Merlin sat, looking confused and kind of suspicious, as he poured a goblet of wine and offered it to Arthur. Arthur took it and took a long drink from it, before offering it to Merlin. He took it, eyeing the cup with some sort of questioning glare before bringing the it to his lips. Arthur watched him and Merlin watched him over the goblet, while he drank.

"Why is this so odd for you?" Arthur asked, after a few moments of them passing the cup between each other. Merlin paused, before drinking again and shrugged.

"We never do this, Arthur."

"We spend plenty of time together," Arthur argued. "I've taken you to festivals...we have accidently gotten married, we visit the town together...your Mother together," Arthur commented, counting on one hand, the things they do together. "I realize we are not exactly friends...but sometimes, Merlin, I like to pretend."

Merlin huffed at this, a smile forming, even if he hid it behind the goblet, Arthur could still see it. "I like to pretend sometimes, too."

"Oh...?" said Arthur, as Merlin offered him the cup again. "What do you pretend?"

"I pretend that I am the prince and you are my servant. So I throw plates at you and make you muck out my stables for a week straight."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "How lovely..."

"Sometimes I pretend neither of us are who are are..." Merlin continued, and bit his lip as he did so, looking from Arthur, into the fire instead. "And you're just a peasant, and we live on a farm together..."

Arthur let out a soft, humming sort of laugh at this. Because he too, has had the same exact thought before. "I like that idea."

"You wouldn't miss being a Knight...or a Prince?"

Arthur shook his head. "I don't think so."

"You would," retorted Merlin then. "You would miss bossing people around all the time."

Arthur only rolled his eyes. They continued to drink for another hour. Until Merlin's eyes had become hooded and his looks lingered more than they normally do. Arthur heard a buzzing in his ears he was fairly sure didn't belong there and he no longer could see perfectly straight. And lastly, and most sadly, their wine had run dry, but neither of them made to stand up. Arthur saw it fit to stay there all night.

"Tell me something you've never told anyone," he said, not exactly sure why. Merlin looked over at this with a pout and only shook his head no. ""Come on, don't be shy. I'll go first...everyone used to think I fancied Morgana, before you that is...but I never did.."

"Ew," said Merlin, rather quickly. "And I know...Gwen used to say you two would get married. I guess I replaced her."

"That is disgusting, I see her as a sister, why would anyone think that?" said Arthur, Merlin only shrugged with a grin. "You're turn, Merlin."

"Hmm...I don't always use soap when I wash your clothes. I just sort of...dunk them in the water and call it good enough."

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know...you don't seem to notice."

"I will now..."

"Probably not," Merlin grinned.

Arthur shook his head, making himself a little dizzy as he did. "Fine...tell me something you've never done before."

"I never kissed anyone, but you already know that," said Merlin, biting his lip now, as his eyes landed on Arthur once more. "And I don't count the kissing booth, I mean really kiss someone..."

Arthur nodded, frowning now. "I shouldn't have done that to you, it was a cruel joke."

"No you shouldn't have, but you're a prat," commented Merlin, but he didn't look very upset about it. "And it's your turn."

Arthur paused, trying to think of something, He shrugged then. "I have never held a baby before..."

"Really?" asked Merlin, as he sat up a little bit, to look at Arthur better. "You should...it's nice. Babies are warm and always smell good."

Arthur turned up his nose at this idea. "No, I can't...how could I hold such a tiny thing? It's life would be in my hands...what if I dropped it?"

"You hold all of Camelot in your hands all of the time, Arthur," said Merlin then, looking at him as if Arthur himself was a child and Merlin was schooling him. "You don't fear dropping it, so why should a baby be any different?"

"That is not the same, it is my life I am risking..."

Merlin sighed. "You don't make any sense, Arthur," he said, and then looked around the room, as if he were lost. "I should go. It's late and you need to get up early for your fight." Merlin stood up then and took the empty jug and the empty cup and put them on Arthur's table. Arthur stood up too, and watched him, rather unhappily. Merin turned and noticed his look, he stare back, confused. "What?"

"Don't leave," said Arthur then, he just blurted it out like that, and then walked very quickly, making himself very dizzy again. But he ignored it, as he reached Merlin and grabbed his arm, yanking him back the other way. "You don't have to...I mean."

"I do...I-" Merlin sighed, looking rather troubled and a lot less drunk, all of a sudden. "I don't think it is a good idea that I stay."

"Why?" asked Arthur, and he knew the drink was making him stupid and thoughtless, but he couldn't hardly care right now. "Everyone already think you do anyway...you might as well."

"I don't care what people think," Merlin retorted. "I only care what you think...and right now you aren't thinking properly."

"I am probably thinking more clearly now than when I am not like this," said Arthur, and even to himself, that didn't make any sense. Merlin glare at him now. "Just stay, Merlin...stay, at least until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone."

Merlin's face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed, but he was caving and Arthur knew it. "...alright, I will stay until you fall asleep."

(A/N: So, I think it is very important that I have a serious conversation with all of you real quick. If you don't care or if you don't want any even minor spoilers for this story you don't have to read anymore. The things I want to go over with you all are 1: The Vivian plotline. 2: The Merthur plotline. 3: How long this story is and when the ending should be. So, if you are not interested in that, that's so chill...I don't blame you. Thank you sooo much for reading, love you all! However, I have been struggling with these thoughts for several days now, so I want to quickly talk about them now.

(A/N: So, I think it is very important that I have a serious conversation with all of you real quick. If you don't care or if you don't want any even minor spoilers for this story you don't have to read anymore. The things I want to go over with you all are 1: The Vivian plotline. 2: The Merthur plotline. 3: How long this story is and when the ending should be. So, if you are not interested in that, that's so chill...I don't blame you. Thank you sooo much for reading, love you all! However, I have been struggling with these thoughts for several days now, so I want to quickly talk about them now.

1: The Vivian storyline. Basically, I have seen some comments, (I post this story on two different sites, this one and A03, just fyi) where they are talking about the true loves kiss thing and I am sooo sorry to say, I'm not doing that and I will explain why. The purpose of the kiss in the show was to prove Gwen was Arthur's true love (even if that was BS, I know...I'll shut up,) but I have already done that. The ribbon thing proved their true love already, I don't need this to, which I will get to more in a minute when I talk about the Merthur arc. Another thing is, as a storyteller, I just did a whole arc about someone (Uther) being under a love spell/enchantment, why do I want to do it again so soon? Merlin the TV show reused the same ideas a lot. I mean this episode was #10 and the Troll episodes were #5 and 6, that's so soon for doing the same sort of storyline. I don't want to do that, even if I do a little bit about a love enchatment...it will not be any of our main characters under a spell. (And yes, that is a spoiler.)

2: The Merthur storyline. One of the other reasons I do not want to do the true loves kiss storyline is because I want both Merlin and Arthur to be equals when they kiss. (And I don't think any of you are like IF it happens, I mean it WILL happen, it's not a spoiler.) I want them to be on even ground. There has been a running theme in this story so far where one of them is on top of the other. Meaning whoever is on top (which both have been one time or another) has the dominance and how it goes between them, eventually balancing them out in the end. So, if I did the storyline like the show, Arthur would be enchanted and Merlin would be in his right mind, that's giving Merlin the dominance, if that makes sense. This being said, I am currently at chapter 51 and there has still been no kiss. I know this is going on for a long time, I am worried some of you might get angry or annoyed that it is taking so long. I would be, if I were a reader. But I am trying to be realistic, I am allowing Arthur to fall in love with Merlin slowly, to figure himself out before he goes off to love Merlin. I want to show Arthur's growth as a person. Yes, the Merthur arc is the main arc, but there are so many things, so many storylines I am not even sure you all have picked up on yet.

3: When this story should end. Listen, I never wanted to make a sequel to this story, but I also never imagined I would be on part 51 and it still be so far from over. Like, I have solid and really good ideas (in my opinion) all the way through season 4. So, this is what I want feedback on, I mean no pressure or anything to say anything. But my plan is this; Once they kiss, (which will happen at some point,) I will end this story and start another one. Because if I don't, this thing could end up being like 150 chapters, and I am afraid someone who hasn't followed along with me as I wrote it, might be like no way am I reading that, why the hell is it so long? And they have every right to feel that way, I wonder that myself. I adore this story though, I want to take it all the way, no matter how long it takes or how many chapters. Just hopefully some of you want to go along for the ride with me. Basically, I just want to know is if you all think it is a good idea to make a sequel? It will pick up right after this one ends, as this one will end at the end of season 2, (since I did the dragon storyline already, it will be the ep about everyone falling asleep, I forget the name right now.) And the story will start out with the year between season 2 and 3 (with a storyline I don't think anyone has picked up on yet. ;P) and then will go from season 3 to the end of 4. Just saying, btw...I am just letting you all know all this stuff, because I want to be honest with you all about what I have been thinking lately. So, if you got through this...congratulations! Let me know your thoughts!