The longer Morgana and Arthur stood there staring at the other one in silence, the more Morgana could feel herself starting to boil. Her entire body was achingly hot, the rush of blood powerful and strong in her veins. She felt as if she was a lioness, a creature they would end the life of any who meant to do her cub harm. And that was what the prince did …he'd hurt her friend. And Morgana was definitely not in any kind of forgiving mood. Especially not with the way that the other man just stood there, blinking at her with doe eyes as if he had done nothing wrong. As if the most shocking thing that had happened to Arthur was Morgana hitting him as he deserved. But Morgana wanted to do more…she wanted to be the one to inflict the same kind of pain on Arthur that he had forced on Merlin. Show him what it was like, show him it was unacceptable…she wanted to shove Arthur right down a bloody flight of stairs! And maybe then…maybe he would be able to feel even a fraction of the pain that Merlin had been going through. Morgana doubted it, but at least she would get the pleasure of watching Arthur limping around for the next month while his body healed at the same slow pace her friend's would.
But Arthur wasn't answering her, he wasn't even trying to do that thing where he explained himself and made excuses for how it was okay for him to display such awful behavior. She had definitely seen a few things about Arthur that she would never agree with, the way he strutted around the place as if he had done anything to earn the title of prince, other then being born to the king would have to be one of them. A draw of the straw, but nothing one could say was all their doing. It was not as if people could go around deciding on who they were born too, but if they did, maybe she would not be here trying to pay back the king for taking her into his home all of those years ago when he had no reason too, other then the promise to her father to look out for her if something would ever happened to him. And god, for Arthur to not have tried answering her…the mere idea that Arthur thought there was nothing wrong with beating Merlin to the point of his bones cracking…the powerful rush of anger that washed along her nearly made her head spin. Arthur had done a lot of stupid things in the ten or so years that she had known him, but for once, the prince's actions had actually stumped her. She'd known him to torture the servants before, laughing while he gave them impossible duties in time frames in which they'd never be able to complete them, just to watch them panic or run around like chickens with their heads cut off. But she'd never known Arthur to get physically violence with one.
So why, Morgana thought…why was Merlin so different from any other person Arthur had ever came across. Why was the consort-Arthur's consort-so different, that he would get this kind of special treatment from the prince. What had he done to deserve Arthur's wrath, other then showing up and doing what he was told by marrying the fool. Why, if this had been Morgana, she would have caused one hell of a fuss. There is no chance that she would have married before making sure Arthur regretted agreeing to the union before either of them had even gotten to the altar. But Merlin had not done a thing like what Morgana might have done, once it was time for the actual wedding, to purposely cause the prince a heavy dose of embarrassment, just to give him an idea that she was no precious flower or dainty lady that would sit back while the big, strong man did everything. She would have given Arthur absolute hell. And he…it was sweet and innocent Merlin who had to deal with this fool, who would forever be a target just because Arthur couldn't get over himself and admit that he was in a gay marriage. Why…Merlin was the same boy who'd once shrieked and covered his eyes the first time the two of them had ever met, when he had accidentally walked in her chambers while she was changing. Morgana might've been offended to the way he was reacting to her naked nobody, if she had not realized he was only a sweet fella and trying to protect her modesty. Who in the world, what kind of bastard could look at a boy like that, and decide he was somebody that needed to be smacked around. Who was Arthur to have decided his consort needed anything other then happiness.
"How…how dare you…" Morgana clenched her hands tightly in the folds of her skirts, trying to control how hard the pair was shaking from her mounting anger. Her voice had barely been above a whisper, and yet, it was obvious that the other man had heard her. From the way Arthur opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking gobsmacked…was this how Merlin had looked after Arthur had broken him? Was this the way Merlin had expressed himself, in front of a man that had no feelings or emotions or compassion. Morgana could have cried because of how horrible this situation was, she could have raged and screamed until the thunders of heaven was answering her call and casting a tsunami down upon her in her pain. But her pain was nothing when compared towards her friend, and Morgana had never been the type to cry as things didn't go her way. She was the kind of woman who'd get angry, who would get even. Who would make sure such a thing would never happen again for as long as she lived in this place. And Morgana threw herself forward, as if she was a wild animal who needed to defend and protect and care as it was clear Arthur couldn't do the one thing that a husband was supposed to do. "How could you! You absolute beast! I would have never taken you to be nothing more then just a monster, Arthur Pendragon! But that is exactly what you are, a dreadful, dreadful person! You…you…"
Each and every word she shrieked at Arthur-and probably looking like a madwoman as she did it-was emphasized with the harshest hit she could get against Arthur's chest. She was punching and punching him in the chest, being way too pissed to think straight. In fact, she was probably doing far more damage to her fists then she was to the actual prince himself. Her angry fueled the strengths behind her hits, but it was probably no match for a warrior like Arthur, who was now trying to grab her wrists to stop her attacks with loud exclamations of 'Morgana, what on earth-'. But Morgana did not stop, shrieking about how horrible of a person he was to everyone, how absolutely horrid he was, how she could not believe a man such as him existed. And her rage was fueled when she managed to catch the look Arthur was giving her, a look that said he might fear she had woman hysteria. This awful disease that caused woman like her to be sent off and live in an asylum. When in reality, it was only a home for the women like her. Brave and strong women who would never allow themselves to be treated like cattle under the whims of men. Who would do what they wanted and damn all these consequences that would come later. Who would take their own anatomy and sexuality and willpower, and refuse to play the games men used them for. Who refused to be used as if their purposes in life was for nothing more then being used as trade and breeding the next generation…Morgana would be proud to be known as one of those women. But…there was one thing that Morgana knew would always be stronger than a man with a bruised ego, as Arthur finally managed to get a good grip on her wrists and force her assault to stop. And that would be a vengeful woman…
"MORGANA!" Arthur practically shouted in her face, which broke the spell of madness that had overtaken Morgana, as he jerked her closer to him by her wrists. Morgana couldn't help but scrunch up her face in disgust, trying to twist her wrists out of Arthur's grip. But Arthur-while gentle to make sure he did not harm her-was firm and strong. Not allowing her to pull free on the chance that she could start assaulting him again, or run off before Arthur had a chance to fix what was going on. And Morgana scowled dangerously up at him as if she was a woman scorned, she couldn't help but think if this was the same position Arthur had held Merlin in. Was this how Arthur had held his consort, until his gentle grip on him started to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze, until the prince jerked his wrist out of place? What an utter bastard, he was! And Morgana's opinion of Arthur couldn't shrink no lower then it already was, when the prince had the nerve to look as if he was concerned…for her. "What on earth do you think you are doing? What is all of this?" Arthur nodded his head down to the slim wrists in his hands. "I know that you have a temper, Morgana, but you need to control yourself. I do not pretend to understand what I have done to cause you to react like this, but unless you are hurt, unless somebody has hurt you and you are taking your anger out on me, then you need to crease this now."
Morgana's jaw dropped in dismay when the prince leaned in closer to her, his eyes scanning up and down her body…this was not a sexual look. Morgana was a beautiful creature and she knew when a man desired her, but Arthur was looking at her clothes and body with a keen look in his eye. As if Arthur was trying to discern for himself rather somebody had went out of their way to try and hurt the king's ward. Only an idiot would think he could have gotten away with trying to assault somebody in Morgana's station. But Arthur must have come to the conclusion that she was fine-her hair wasn't any kind of mess, she had no visible injuries that would've indicated she had been in some kind of struggle, her own dress didn't have any rips or tears in the fabric, she looked as if she was as pristine as ever-because Arthur leaned back so that they had a bit more space between them. So that Arthur was not hovering over her like some kind of obsessed pervert for the wrong people to assume if they came across them. But that absolute bastard also didn't let go of her wrists, taking a pro active approach to make sure the lady didn't have any kind of opportunity to go after him again. And Morgana was only able to feel another spark of rage returning to her, her eyes alone could have lit Arthur on fire right where he stood, had the fates allowed such a thing.
"LET GO OF ME!" Morgana shrieked in Arthur's face, with a snarl that could have been mistaken for a wolf that wouldn't have a problem biting back the nuisance that had gotten in her way. Morgana would not be ordered to 'crease her awful behavior' as Arthur had instructed. He was no prince to her, he was an abuser and he deserved no such respect, least of all from the girl that had seen him through the awkward and horrible phase that had been his early teens. The prince had winced at her shrink ringing in his ears, but he also gave her back her freedom, letting her wrists slide free from his much larger hands. Morgana didn't hesitate to step back, bringing her hands up to rub the feeling back into her wrists, "Who in the world do you think you are, Arthur Pendragon…" the lady growled under her breath, narrowing her eyes darkly as she realized her wrists weren't actually hurting her. Arthur didn't grab her tight enough for that, but that only made her even more angrier. Arthur would not dare to touch her as he had Merlin…how dare Arthur show her more courtesy than he'd shown his own husband. Morgana's head whipped up, with her green eyes alit like glowing emeralds, "Was that the way you held Merlin? Was that what you did just before you took a hand to him? Right before you brutalized him!"
By the time the last word Morgana said had fallen from her lips, her voice had risen into another shriek. One that was so loud and high pitch, it was hard to fathom such a sound was able to come from the human female. It was enough to have a man's eardrums rattling and ringing about in his head, but Morgana hardly cared about such a thing. The least the man in front of Morgana could suffer with-after everything he'd done forced Merlin to suffer through-was having to live with sore ears for a few days. But Arthur deserved far more, and she wanted to be the one to deliver that pain onto him. This feeling inside of her chest-something dark and twisted and angry, so very angry-seemed to intensify when she saw the way the prince reacted to her accusations, doing nothing to mince her words so that Arthur couldn't deny or hide behind what he had done to Merlin with word games. But Arthur did not even seem interested in hiding what he had done. In fact Arthur seemed almost annoyed, the concern he'd had when he thought Morgana had somehow been hurt draining out of his body completely, when she had brought up his husband. It was as if Morgana was the one irritating the prince by not just sweeping what he had done underneath the rug so that he could pretend it was no big deal.
"Is that what he is calling it? He is claiming that I brutalized him, that is absolutely absurd." Arthur spoke with this light hearted chuckle, hands on his hips as if he had nothing in the world to be ashamed about. It set Morgana's teeth on edge in an instant, and Arthur waved a dismissive hand in her direction, "I would hardly call what I did as brutalizing. It was embarrassing but needed to be done. Merlin was out of line with his behavior so I simply corrected him." But the girl did not believe a word uttered from the prince's mouth. She had seen the injuries that marked the consort, had seen him holding his wrist gingerly as if it might break apart if he tried to move it too fast. Had seen the bruising and the cut on his lip, and had seen the pain and the sadness echoing inside of his eyes until it could have ripped this hole straight through her soul. Arthur could call it whatever the hell he wanted to call it, but Morgana would call it what it was. And she would tell everybody if she had too, ruin the great prince's bold or proudly crafted reputation…let them know what kind of man they were willing to give this kingdom too. "Why on earth do you care anyway? I suppose Merlin has gone off and tattled, hasn't he? Perhaps I did not teach him as much of a lesson as I thought I had, if he's running his mouth to other people. I suppose it happened when you went up there, didn't it? I suppose I should have just taken the trunk myself, have one more talk with him about sharing our private information."
Morgana jolted where she stood, her face taking this ashen shade as she took a step back…she had known Arthur was a lot of things. But she had not expected the proudness which he spoke with, nor the indication that he would have done it again in the boy's own makeshift chambers. With Gaius right downstairs most likely…Morgana could feel her ribcage as it started to rattle somewhere inside her chest. This prince…it really wasn't the prince she had known her whole life. She'd known he was a bully and crude and rude until the situation forced him to behave proper, but she had never known him to take pleasure from physically harming another outside of a training session or jousting match. Whoever this man was …he might wear the face of the boy she had grown up with but it was not him. To just imagine what Arthur would have done to further traumatize Merlin…if she had allowed him to take the trunk from her and Gwen and bring it up to Merlin himself. If Morgana hadn't been so eager and excited to see the boy properly dressed, to have a real time of it…to have a bit of fun with her new friend…Merlin might have gone down to the dinner in a far worse state then how Morgana had left him moments before.
"He didn't have to tell me a damn thing, I saw the evidence of it all with my own eyes. And considering nobody else out there is dumb enough to have struck the consort, there was only one person that it could have been." Morgana said in a harsh and fierce tone that could've torn actual buildings out of the ground they stood on. If her voice controlled the wind and could summon a storm that would better show off all of the anger swirling within her. But Arthur could only look with a bland expression on his face. Morgana rose to what had to be an unspoken challenge the prince was issuing her, more determined than ever to make Arthur feel…something! Some kind of regret over his actions…but Morgana supposed only a man with a soul could regret the things he had done. And Morgana suspected whatever soul Arthur might've been in possession of at one point, had been burned away by Arthur constantly trying to seek approval from his father by going out and agreeing to the most outlandish of things. Like how they should both hate Merlin because of where he'd came from and who he was…a bunch of hypocrites, every one of them! As if Merlin would have even been here, if not for the likes of them dragging him away from his home. The Lady strode forward with a confidence in her step that she could not say she felt, but damn it if she would ever let the prince forget what he had done to Merlin. "You are angry and you are vicious, and I don't pretend to know why. Yes, you are in a gay marriage with Merlin, and yes you are straight, you go on about it and behave horrendously as if everybody else is trying to tell you different! But nobody is, and you are taking it out on the wrong person! Your father is the one to blame…not Merlin! Who is a perfectly lovely creature, which you'd know if you took one second to open your eyes and look at him, instead of only seeing whatever it is you want to see!"
Arthur jolted violent as the words 'gay marriage' came from Morgana's lips so boldly. He had thought he had grown use to the idea, or more like-there was nothing he could do that would change this-so his horrific reactions from their earlier days had faded away from him. But to hear them now, as the word came from a lady's mouth…gay…something that Arthur had always been taught was dirty and wrong and would go against everything his father wanted for him…how could any lady of Morgana's status talk so boldly about something the both of them knew was filthy. After all, Morgana was taught all the things that Arthur was, and she would turn her back to those teachings just because she had made a friend…she would dare to suggest that his father was the one to blame for it all? Sure, Uther had been the one to sign the contract in the first place, but it was not his father who had decided on Merlin's personality. It was not his father who had known Merlin before the signage, and decided to go ahead with it anyway. It was not his father who stepped out of line with so much in-eloquence, that Arthur had lost count. Arthur might not be happy about it, but his father had every right to sign Arthur's hand away in marriage. He was their king, and what the king decreed is what he would get. Even a gay marriage between his only heir and a righteous brat…a lovely creature his father's ward had called the brat. Merlin must have done a number on Morgana's head for words like that to have left her lips. Arthur had seen lovely creatures, beautiful women or animals…and Merlin could not even scrape the bottom of a barrel when it came to 'loveliness.' How dare Morgana for basically calling him blind for not seeing Merlin for what he was…it was not him that was blind. It was Morgana, and she needed to open her damn eyes before Merlin dragged her in his wrongness.
"Morgana, do you not see what his influence is doing to you right now? Do you not see how much he is changing you, for you to come charging in on me like you did…for a lady to be sprouting off about…unladylike things. For you to speak of what Merlin's wrongness is, and for you to speak with curse words on your lips as if they are natural…Merlin is changing you as we speak. And you do not see it, just as you claim I do not see things that aren't really there. Merlin is a danger and I dare say it's probably a good idea for you to not near him again. It will clear your head and stop you from forming habits that are not your own. Habits that come from him…" Arthur trailed off and shook his head. All this time, the man had thought Merlin had only been wrecking destruction with himself, it never occurred to Arthur that Morgana could also be suffering from the force of nature that was Merlin. But he knew he was far stronger then Morgana, she'd always loved to be the one that went against whatever authority, like King Uther, told her to do. If somebody told her to go right, then she'd go left on sheer principle alone. It only made sense for her to be drawn to Merlin, who seemed to have been ripped from the same cloth if his defiance was anything for him to go by. But perhaps it was Morgana who needed Arthur to lift her into the light and show her that being Merlins anything…was not a place she should want. Arthur had already spoken in a way that avoided saying the word 'gay', though he'd left it up to Morgana's imagination to figure out what wrongness Arthur had been talking about. And Morgana having gotten a potty mouth on her, would not endure her to the nobles in the court if she allowed one to slip out. It was a miracle she had not spoken out of turn yet…and Arthur was ashamed to admit that he had suffered the same affliction. Because he had allowed Merlin to poison himself, had allowed for these trace amounts of his personality to seep through his pores until he was exhibiting them as well. But no more…it might be too late for Arthur, but he would be sure to protect Lady Morgana before she was ruined as well. The prince stepped forward and didn't hesitate to drop his hands on top of her shoulders, bearing his eyes down into hers, "You don't have to worry about a thing, Morgana. I am going to take care of Merlin, and he won't ever be able to inflict anything on you again."
Morgana could feel her mouth dropping open in disbelief as she tried to work through what Arthur had just said to her…there had to be something wrong with her ears. Perhaps all of her earlier shrieking had inflicted some kind of damage to her own hearing? Because there was no chance that Arthur had suggested all of the things he just had…but it was true, and Morgana knew that she had not misheard a single thing from the prince. Morgana felt as if she was going nuts trying to talk to Arthur…he'd gone completely off the bend, he had gone and lost his mind and Morgana had somehow missed it until it was right in front of her eyes. But because Morgana'd gone and dismissed the signs of hostility she had known the prince was brewing on the inside, her friend was now having to suffer for her own inaction. It was almost laughable, to be the one hearing just how deranged Arthur sounded while he tried to be her savior from the danger that was Merlin. Why, Merlin, the weeping mess and horrific state she had left him in, was no more dangerous to her then a wet kitten was! And it was really ironic for Arthur to make such claims, since the prince had taken far more lives on battlefields then she knew the consort had taken in his entire life! But what made the chills go down her spine, was what Arthur had said right at the end of his deranged spiral…with his eyes promising to give Morgana retribution for allowing Merlin to rub off on her some. Was Arthur…was he still planning on hurting Merlin in the coming days? Had Morgana not stopped anything from happening after she had taken the trunk off his hands…one would have thought Merlin had been the one to hit Morgana with the bizarre way Arthur was behaving. Morgana quickly recovered and shook off Arthur's hands from her shoulders, the palms feeling hot and stifling and making disgust curl its way through her belly. But the disgust didn't do anything to quell her anger.
"Do you somehow think that I do not know my own mind, do you think I do not know rather or not I am being influenced to act a certain way when I otherwise wouldn't. I know that my behavior is unladylike, but in case you have forgotten all about me, maybe I should remind you that I've always been this way! Long before Merlin came to this land, before either of us even knew his name I was like this! I have never once kept my mouth shut, and I can assure you that I'll continue to come at you like this everyday of our miserable lives until you finally get a clue!" Morgana shouted at the prince, while stopping only long enough to take in a large breath of air to fill her lungs with as much air as she could, so that she was able to continue her spiral, "And i find it really offensive that you would call Merlin being gay as 'wrongness'. Just bloody go ahead and say the word, you aren't fooling anybody with trying to hide it. Your bloody well married to the man! I don't care if you have to beat one of your knights in training every day for you to get a handle over yourself, but you need to go and make some bloody peace what has happened! I'm not saying you have to be gay with him, but you cannot just go and smash him in the face just because you bloody well feel like it. But until you are able to control yourself, I don't even want you thinking about going near Merlin. Not until there's some kind of improvement in your behavior! Are you hearing what I am telling you, Arthur Pendragon! And even then, I'd not trust you with a dog, yet alone with Merli-"
Morgana cut herself off abruptly when she realized…Arthur was not actually listening to a word she said. The prince was shooting glances over her head, looking like he was able to freak out on her again. God, Morgana had always known he was quite sensitive about the whole gay thing, she had even thought it funny to watch him squirm about it during the first few days of their marriage. But that was before Arthur went and resorted to gay bashing to get all his overly constipated emotions out of himself. Or perhaps Arthur was just upset at her again, because she was not afraid to admit that she was no delicate lady of the court. Because Morgana would never be afraid to stand beside somebody just because they loved a little differently then she herself did. Hell, Morgana would not even be opposed to being with another woman herself, if only for the shock factor it would give everybody that was standing near her. It might even give Uther a heart attack…it was also not something he could publicly have an issue with as he had damned Arthur to his own gay marriage. Or Arthur might be upset because… Morgana glanced behind herself to see where Arthur was staring, and felt her teeth grinding down when she saw the closed door to the grand hall…the prince didn't want anybody coming out and disturbing their conversation. Or more specifically, didn't want anybody to come out and hear Morgana sprouting off all these words a Lady was apparently forbidden to speak. Well…fuck that.
"Stop worrying yourself to death about everybody else and what they think, Arthur Pendragon!" Morgana exclaimed as loud as she could, because that had always been a problem with Arthur. He was obsessed with how people saw him, and was obsessed with being seen as the proper prince who got away with anything he wanted. Morgana supposed married or not, talking about gay things when it was still something most people dismissed or shoved aside, would've to be one of those things. But Morgana wasn't going to be dismissed or shoved aside in a similar manner, and she snatched out a hand to place it against the reddened skin-from her slap-of Arthur's cheek. Before pushing his face back down so that his eyes were forced to lock with hers, instead of the door that anybody could come out of at any minute and walk into their own family drama. "First off, Arthur. I will always talk to whoever I damn well please, do you understand that?" Lady Morgana demanded harshly. She didn't think she would ever be able to forgive Arthur for merely suggesting she stopped being around Merlin because of his 'influence' on her. There was no chance in hell she would ever listen to such a horrid thing like that. First, Arthur hurt Merlin. And now the prince was trying to isolate him, take away the only friends he had just because he didn't like his 'influence'. Talk about an utter load of hogwash, in her humble opinion. "And I will fucking curse as much as I fucking want! Especially if numbskulls like you think it's okay to make Merlin cry! If Merlin's done anything to change me, then trust me when I say that I will gladly welcome the change! I think we can all benefit a bit by having Merlin rub off on us some!"
Arthur didn't think he could have blanched harder if he had actually tried, when Morgana dared to insinuate they could all benefit from Merlin rubbing off on them. Maybe it wasn't what Morgana actually meant, but Arthur-still raw after he'd found out Merlin had been spending his time doing only god knows what with who knows who-couldn't have stopped his mind from going to forbidden places that were definitely not welcomed to the prince. The image vivid and strong and not something Arthur would ever want stuck in his head…Merlin straddling some large man whose features might as well be nothing but a blur for how well Arthur focused on the other imagined blond haired man. The Merlin in his mind wore this confident and easy grin, playfully rolling his hips to force the other man to gasp as their private hardness laying between their legs collided. Forcing Merlin to do it again to elicit the same response, rolling his hips in a way that somebody the prince knew was clumsy and awkward, shouldn't be capable of doing. But doing it he would, a skilled seductress as they behaved like some kind of belly dancer-as Merlin behaved in a manner befitting of a belly dancer-as he swirled his hips to the tune of the blond man's gasping. The blond man resting his hands on the lower half of Merlin's hips, low enough that his fingers were resting on the top swell of Merlin's bottom, encouraging the boy to keep rolling his hips just like he was doing. Forcing Merlin to continue rolling his hips, until either the blond man or them both, were able to reach satisfaction in the other.
Arthur squeezed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to take this bracing breath to rid the image from his mind. So he would no longer see Merlin's slim hips captured with much larger hands as he went back and forth to please another and tried to focus on anything else. But unfortunately, Arthur's mind got stuck on the wrong thing to focus on. "You said that the moron was crying…?" Arthur croaked out, his throat feeling raw for some odd reason. Morgana glared at him for calling her 'best friend' a moron, but the prince barely noticed her as the image shifted in his mind. No longer was the Merlin in his head sliding his hips smoothly against the other man's…he was crying. Tears streaming down his cheeks to imitate a harsh river, catching on the dimples formed in his cheeks as he sobbed-not because he was hurting because the man in his head was forcing him to do things he didn't want him to do. But because the pleasure was so great, his body shook as he was unable to contain himself. And the man would be the one leaning up, forcing Merlin's clothed hips to stop and purposely delaying his pleasure, making Merlin to hiccup in sobs after being denied. But the man would only grin before shushing him, leaning forward to cup one of his wet cheeks in his hand. And Arthur nearly shuddered when he imagined the blond man sticking his tongue out, gently licking all the tears from Merlin's face. Tasting his desire and desperation and delayed gratification with every tear that coated across his tongue. As if Merlin's tears were his to take and his tears were his to own and his tears belonged to only him, "Why…why was he crying?"
Arthur's voice sounded far away even to his own ears, as he was still caught up in his little fantasy, imagining the man as his tongue licked a line up Merlin's face, taking the fluids as his own, causing Merlin to shudder in his arms and go pliant enough to allow him to do it. But it wouldn't have mattered if Arthur had been paying more attention, because…Merlin did not have one thing to be crying about, as far as the man was concerned. Not yet at least, but he would be…it would most likely take many tears shed before Merlin finally understood the message, but it would be worth it. The first thing Merlin needed to know, the first lesson Arthur was going to teach him, was to keep his trap shut. If Arthur was going to do this for real, he couldn't be worried about Merlin running around the second Arthur felt comfortable enough to let him out of the room, and spilling the secrets of what happened inside his chambers. But the tears…Arthur might just be willing to mock Merlin with the lover he would never have again. The prince might just be willing to lean forward-with his consort bleeding and broken, bound and gagged, unclothed and on his knees after Arthur had just finished a session, the blood coated whip clenched tightly in his fist-and lick those tears away himself. If only to see what the hype was about. If only to see if Merlin would go as pliant as the Merlin in his mind would. Or if that kind of behavior would only be reserved for Merlin's actual lovers…no matter. Arthur was determined to possess Merlin in every way he could. And that meant he'd take responsibility for those tears. And dispose of them the proper way…with his tongue and his lips and his teeth as he playfully bit at Merlin's cheeks, reminding him that Arthur'd own him in every way possible before they were done.
"Of course he was bloody well crying! What did you think he was doing? Did you think he just brushed himself off before going back to whatever he was doing, as if he wasn't going around sporting bruises that you gave him!" Morgana yelled at him roughly, shoving Arthur hard against his chest, which jolted Arthur back into reality. Right…the prince thought…he had almost forgotten Morgana was busying herself with this yelling business. Arthur stared her down with an aggravated expression, tuning her out when she started fussing…Arthur could see her lips moving and her waving hands but he was not able to actually hear her. Thank god, because he didn't know why Morgana was here in the first place, or why she's so caught up in getting involved in his life. Sure, Arthur may have roughed Merlin up a bit, but Morgana was throwing up a fit about nothing. It wasn't as if she could actually do one thing, other then yell at him apparently. Merlin was his, and it was his marriage to do with what he pleased. Because as far as Arthur was aware, his marriage only involved him and Merlin. There was no reason for Morgana's involvement. He wanted to see Merlin cry, then that was his prerogative. If he wanted to see Merlin just a little banged up but no worse for wear, then that was his choice too. And should Arthur want to do a few…not so friendly…things to Merlin whenever he got him on his own, then again, Morgana didn't have a say in that. And speaking of Morgana, she lowered her voice as Arthur tuned back into what she was saying, "You actually called him out as a whore, Arthur. You acted as if he's just this cheap thing that you can play around with. Do you even see him being a human being? Or are you too busy torturing him to see him as anything you want to see him as?"
Alright, Arthur could admit it…perhaps calling his consort a whore in front of the entire kingdom-or at least in front of an entire marketplace of people-hadn't been the smartest idea he had. But he didn't regret it, either. If Merlin didn't want to be treated like a whore, or called out as one, then perhaps it would remind Merlin to keep better company. Company that didn't want to get in Merlin's pants…or perhaps no company at all, was the only thing Arthur would feel comfortable with, seeing as he couldn't even trust his own knights to keep the grimy paws they had off of him. Fucking whore that Merlin is …Arthur was probably gonna have to keep a leash attached to him. Or maybe something more inconspicuous, maybe he could teach Merlin to respond to certain commands for real, that was an idea he wanted to try. Maybe the clicking of his tongue could have Merlin returning to his side, where Arthur could better monitor his reactions with other men. Now, the prince didn't exactly know how strong the moron's sex drive actually was-he'd, grudgingly, probably figure that out since they would be in close contact and locked up together as he trained Merlin proper for the next several weeks at least-but it wouldn't surprise Arthur if Merlin actually tried something with one of his men right in front of him. Try convincing his idiot-but very human and very male-knights to walk off with him somewhere. As if his princely husband wasn't an angry man that would not take kindly to seeing Merlin's seductive act being played in motion right before his eyes. But whores liked playing dangerous games, and Merlin had tempted the prince into playing with fire. It only made sense that the boy would burn for his sins as Arthur branded him, and tortured him, and made him his own…
"I suppose while Merlin was running around saying that I've "brutalized" him-" Arthur made sure to say this in the most sarcastic voice he could, even using his own fingers to add actual quotations, to mock Morgana for taking the fools side without even trying to get the full story from him first. As he doubted Morgana knew her precious innocent Merlin would take time out of his busy days to bend over so that he could have his greedy body played around with by even greedier man, who would happily take a pound of flesh out of such a young thing offering himself to them. Morgana would be on his side for sure, if she knew Arthur hadn't just been pulling random words out of the sky. Merlin hadn't been getting any physical contact he may have wanted with Arthur-as if he'd soil himself by doing such indenting and depraved acts-and thought Arthur wouldn't mind him finding somebody else in the world who would give him what he wanted. But he most definitely minded, probably even more than he thought that he would. "He also told you all about my calling him a whore but I bet he didn't tell you why I called him a whore. Hell, all you have to do is gone down in the marketplace-" Arthur let out a crazed little laugh as if he'd lost any willingness to be reasoned with, throwing his arm out in the vague direction of the marketplace. "And everybody down there would most likely be very happy to fill you in on what's been going on. At least half of them bore witness to his appalling behavior."
And while Arthur's aggravated mind replayed the absolutely viscous scene he had caused in the marketplace-having this grim sort of satisfaction over finally having been the one to walk away from Merlin, instead of the other way around-the prince completely missed the way Morgana's face turned an ashen color. The lady's lips started moving up and down in a wordless manner, but once again, Arthur didn't noticed this at all. He was too busy wondering just how weak willed any of his men were-he didn't think he'd ever be able to look at one of his men without wondering if they had also laid down with his husband-if they were willing to risk it all over laying with a pretty face. Would they risk banishment, because not a soul who could be lead around by his cock, had the honor a knight of Camelot should have. Would they risk the shame that would bring upon their family name…all because Merlin may have fluttered his stupidly thick eyelashes to try getting their attention. Would his men follow him into battle, if they were too busy thinking about the way Merlin had the stupid little jump and sway thing he had going on with his hips. For all Arthur knew, Merlin was now going to be the unbidden of topic of choice to discuss around the campfire. It wasn't an unusual thing for the men to discuss the women they might be seeing-rather simply for fun or wanting to have a formal courtship in the future-whenever they went on hunting trips in the woods. And Arthur shuddered to think of what any of his men would say about his consort, the inappropriateness of what they would discuss right in front of the prince…there was no reason for his consort to be discussed in such a way. At least since Arthur would be beating all the whorish traits out of him. He might even be a proper nobleman by the time Arthur was finished with him.
"You…you didn't." Morgana's trembling voice once again had Arthur returning to the earthly plane, and he watched as the woman took a few steady steps backwards as if she wanted to get away for him. For a moment there, Arthur was almost worried that she might have fainted…and that wasn't a thing that should happen on today of all things. How could Arthur explain to his father that he had made the lady actually faint to the ground…it wasn't as if he could explain how they had both been arguing over how much of an absolute whore his consort turned out to be. But luckily for Arthur, it didn't end up coming to that, because Morgana had never been a type of dainty flower that would faint to try escaping her reality at the first signs of danger. Most women were usually kept out of dangerous situations for a reason, as there was really no telling how they would react to intense stimulations. And the last thing a knight needed to worry about was protecting an unconscious female on the battle field. But Morgana pushed back her shoulders and tried making herself look taller then she actually was, throwing out her arm again in dismay, "Tell me you didn't do what it sounds like you did. Tell me you did not assault Merlin in public like that! Tell me you did not just attack him, and beat him, and then…then…called him out as a whore in front of an entire audience. What…" and her eyes were darting around frantically, trying to put her mind on the one, and probably only, thing that would get through to the prince's mind, "What would you father say when he hears of this! Have you not done enough to that boy, that you would pull all of this! On a day that is meant to promote peace?"
Morgana had known of Merlin's bruises, and she had known of the cheap name calling, but she had not known the other man had done something like this in front of an audience. It was horrifying to even think about-had Merlin told Gwen or Gaius about this fact after her absence-and she could only imagine the pure trauma Merlin had been going through as Gwen was helping her dress for the banquet. Morgana had been slipping her dress on while Merlin's wrist was forced to fracture. Morgana had been applying her makeup as Merlin had been being slapped across the face. And Gwen was the one fixing her hair into the loose ringlets it was in now, when Merlin had been being called a whore. God, it was as if all of the facts she learned about the incident, the more and more gruesome it turned out to be. Would it ever end, or had she finally heard the worse of it. Morgana was almost too afraid to even ask Arthur if that was all, or if there was something else she had yet to hear about. She only hoped that Uther's presence, the mere mention of his name and what the three of them were supposed to be doing today, would at least be able to shock some kind of reasoning into Arthur. Uther had always been the only one Arthur would be willing to listen to with blind faith. And this proved true, when Morgana wasn't able to miss the way the prince stiffened at the mention of getting Uther involved in all of this. Morgana wasn't sure at all how Uther would react when he found out. The king was so caught up in parading the boys around for the court, but Merlin was also a former peasant. It wouldn't have surprised the lady at all if Uther victim blamed Merlin, and decided he must have done something to deserve all of these misdeeds against him.
"Do you think I don't know what today is!" Arthur ended up bellowing, though he felt as if he could have strangled the lady if he could get away with it. How dare she bring up his father when it was Arthur's marital problems. Arthur was a married man now, and the days where Morgana would try to tell falsehoods to Uther just to watch Arthur squirm like she had done when they were children, were long since over. "I didn't exactly expect that I would have to discipline my own consort on the one day we have royal guests visiting us. We are supposed to be on our best behavior while they are here and yet, I couldn't do anything because I was a little busy in trying to teach Merlin how to not be the utter and complete embarrassment that he was being!" Arthur had nearly gone red in the face, the anger pulsing through his veins seemed to be quite strong. He wanted to more then ever now, forget about the entire banquet and just use his bloody belt on the consort's back. Beat him and show him what it would be like to be really brutalized, if he was going to tell that kind of fib to Morgana. Arthur would cherish seeing the next few drop emerge from Merlin's back as his father was signing on the dotted line of the treaty without his required presence. The consort would be much more interesting to observe then a piece of old parchment, "And trust me Morgana, my father is going to understand exactly why I did what I did. I will even tell him myself just to prove to you that I did nothing wrong to that boy."
Arthur spread his arms out, as if encouraging Morgana to take a little walk inside the grand hall with him so that they could tell his father together. With the adrenaline that was being pumped directly through his veins, Arthur was most definitely up for it. His father would probably be angry with him for acting rashly and doing it publicly, but he wouldn't care about the actual punishment Arthur had done when he found Merlin. Nor would Uther care about Arthur continuing to punish Merlin, as long as he agreed to only cast all those punishments in the safety of his chambers, which he'd been planning on doing already. Merlin would be in a lot of horrific and vulnerable positions over their time together, and there was probably going to be a side of himself that nobody had seen before once Arthur started getting into it. He wouldn't want to carry out the reputation of being a brute by doing all the things he planned for Merlin somewhere where others would be able to see and observe and watch. Besides, once Uther heard what Merlin's actual crime was, Arthur was sure his father would overlook his rash actions. And then leave it to Arthur to carry out the rest of his punishment. Hell, there was nothing Arthur was doing that Uther hadn't told him to do. Maybe a little more intense then Uther had said, but how many times had the king told Arthur it was his job to control Merlin and get him in line. How many times had Uther said it was Arthur's responsibility to make sure Merlin was doing all the right things. And how many times had Uther warned that he would take over if Merlin continued to make disruptions throughout his kingdom? Arthur was only taking charge and teaching Merlin-albeit violently-that his behavior was going to be tolerated no longer.
"What…what on earth are you talking about." Morgana said with horror in her voice, looking as if Arthur had struck her for all to see instead of Merlin. Once again, she was struck with realization…this man might be carrying the face of the prince she had known for the better part of a decade, but all the words he spilled from his mouth sounded as if it was the most vilest of poisons. How could anybody talk about Merlin that way, how could he ignore the peace talks themselves…if Arthur didn't care to treat Merlin with respect, one would have at least thought he'd wait till their guests had gone out of the kingdom. That would have perhaps given Morgana a bit of time to warn Merlin, to let him know it sounded as if it was not going to get better. Did he not even care to know all his behavior reflected poorly on Camelot itself, did the other man not even consider that Bayard might pull his side of the treaty from their grasps if he got wind of Arthur's deplorable behavior. It might not be wrong or illegal for a husband to go punishing their spouse, but it was still not something a soul would talk about in polite company. "I know that you wish to have things differently, and you wish that you had not had to marry Merlin! But surely even you can see how awful this all is! Like it or not, Merlin is your husband! He doesn't deserve to be…to be punished by you just because you do not like all that is happening! It's not your job to discipline him for what little slight he's apparently caused you!"
But Morgana attempting to throw a bit of reasoning into the prince's face, only seemed to backfire, because Arthur was a man that was a loss cause at this point. And no amount of Morgana trying to interfere was going to change his mind on what he planned to do later on. Morgana had already gotten away with taking the trunk from Arthur, preventing the blond prince from seeing his consort one more time before they'd both be needed at the banquet. Arthur was not going to just allow Morgana to try taking away the one thing that he could feel sure about. Merlin was a bleeding whore, and as whores should be…they should be punished. It was offensive for the lady to call Merlin's whorish tendencies 'a little slight'. It was like calling Arthur only 'slightly a prince'. There was no slight about it, they were who they were. But unlike Arthur, he was at least able to beat Merlin's problems out of him. It was not as if Merlin had 'accidentally' laid down on a bed or tripped in his normally clumsy fashion while he wore no pants. And it was not as if another man 'accidentally' tripped so that his cock fell directly in line with the hole hidden between those cheeks Merlin had. And it wasn't as if Merlin had ended up being violated so many times, that he decided to go ahead and embrace the whore lifestyle, if only so it would now be a choice of his own on rather or not he was taken by another man. One didn't just 'become a whore.' Merlin had made the decision all on his own, and it was Arthur's job to have him crucified until his ways were corrected. A consort could not be seen offering himself as bait to the first man who might share the same gay-ish tendencies that he did.
"Well please tell me Morgana, whose job do you think it is to correct him when he does wrong! Who do you think is going to have to deal with all of the backlash just because the brat cannot get his shit together? Who do you think will have to work double time to make sure Merlin hasn't wrecked what we are doing again!" Arthur demanded in a harsh tone. The few things Merlin had managed to do-warning him about all that Valiant was doing (Arthur couldn't believe he bothered to save a whore, when Merlin would have probably enjoyed the attention), saving the kingdom from annihilation during the Sickness (Merlin was probably only upset because all of the men he was seeing behind Arthur's back was starting to die off)-seemed to pale when compared to the one and only simple fact…Merlin was a whore. Arthur could ignore and he could forget or he could dismiss a lot of things, but the one thing he would never overlook was Merlin trying to seek out pleasures from some outside source. Surely Merlin could've entertained himself with a few choice toys in the privacy of his rooms where nobody would be able to see how he would look when he arched his back. How he would taste as a man licked his way down his body. How he would sound when he was being played with, screaming for even the angels up in heaven to hear him. This was the main issue for Arthur…just knowing there was an unknown amount of men who'd seen his consort in varying displays that Arthur himself had never seen…there were just some things only a husband should be allowed to see rather he wanted to or not, and that idiot had gone out of his way and ruined that. "Merlin has been in this kingdom for three months, and I've given him more freedom than any other would have allowed him. But clearly showing him generosity while he adjusts wasn't good enough for him to do the few simple things I've asked him to do. It is time to have him reigned in, and force him into the proper role he's been given."
Arthur could feel his mouth starting to water with the mere idea of Merlin finally behaving proper, because Arthur had been the one to make him. He could just imagine the moron following behind him half a step wherever he went, as would be the proper way when one traveled with a prince. Instead of looping ahead without a care in the world, until he found some dangerous situation Arthur would have to waste time saving him from-just like when Merlin had ran ahead in the caves and Arthur had to save him (aided with that sudden wind tunnel). He could imagine Merlin sitting by his side in council meetings and quietly listening to what everybody in the room had to say, without getting himself involved in the actual work of nobles. Arthur could see his father's solemn nod of approval when they managed to leave every banquet and feast and meeting and event, without Merlin making up a fuss and dragging attention to himself. And all because he himself had put his foot down, and demanded no more from his consort. Because Arthur was brave enough to do what it was that was needed to get Merlin's corporation. Because it was Arthur that was strong enough to pick up a whip, could ignore Merlin's shrieking when he started begging for Arthur to lower him to the ground after he got a hook installed onto his ceiling and bounded Merlin there by his wrists. He would be able to do it all with no problem. Tell Merlin the new rules he would come up with, and had a stomach that was strong enough to enforce them if he tried testing Arthur by walking over the line. Merlin would be an entirely new person by the time he was done, and Arthur couldn't wait to see what the final result would look like in reality.
"…What kind of delusional world are you living in. Yes, Merlin has done things that most nobles wouldn't have bothered to even try. But are you really going to just stand there and tell me that everything he's done hasn't made the kingdom any better in anyway! You're literally only standing here because Merlin's a good man and wouldn't see you dead! And I think it is quite clear that Merlin is a far better man than you have turned out to be, Arthur Pendragon!" Morgana steamrolled ahead, bringing her hands down to clutch tightly at the folds of her skirts, striding forward like she was now some kind of she-beast who needed to defend. Arthur stiffened at being so boldly reminded that Merlin had also-time and time again and again-saved his life. It was now the upmost humiliation for Arthur…being saved by a no good whore. As if they were meant for anything more then opening their legs up so that men could play with their neither regions. Furious lightning blue eyes met frighteningly crystal green eyes, and the lady Morgana shook her head with a snarl on her face, with all of her disgust and disappointment written for all to see across her face, "The Arthur I knew wouldn't take somebody who'd save their life lightly. The Arthur I knew was cruel and a bully and self centered and arrogant, but even he could recognize when something wasn't right. Where is that Arthur? I would like to have him back, instead of this absolutely poor excuse of a man that stands before me now."
Arthur clenched his teeth down so tightly, that even he was surprised when they didn't shatter under the force. And his shoulders were starting to shake, he was so furious with the lady for trying to dictate his behavior. Morgana might be the most powerful woman in the kingdom, loved and cherished by the king above all others. But Arthur Bloody Pendragon is the most powerful man in the kingdom…right below his own father, of course. But no matter. Morgana might try and pick fights with his father whenever she saw something that her feminine delicacies disagreed with. But even she would stop arguing when Uther made it clear that it was not a topic the two of them would discuss, the King's mind already decided and being put into motion long before Morgana could try to protest. So why should Arthur be any different. Why did the lady think that she could turn away from his father, but she apparently thought Arthur didn't deserve the same rights as the king? Arthur was going to take his place one day, and so the least Morgana could do was not throw one of her awful and horribly aggravated hissy fits every time Arthur made a decision for himself. Arthur was confident that there would not be one single word Morgana could say that was going to make Arthur set his plans aside once again. Arthur had been thinking of these things for over a month now, and the lady would not stop him from seeing things through now that he was putting them into action.
Not this time.
"Maybe this is just the new me? Have you ever considered it could be that? Maybe whatever version of myself that you'll gotten into you're head is just something you came up with and not something that I'm willing to pretend to be." Arthur demanded, trying to emulate the same kingliness and grace his own father would elude when telling Morgana to stay in her place and out of his decisions as king. But his wording only made him sound like a spoiled child throwing what had to be the ultimate tantrum. Something Morgana seemed to notice immediately, as she scoffed and looked away. Arthur made his eyes narrow so thinly that only a slit of blue from his eye color could be seen, his lip curling in disgust. God, Merlin really had Morgana fooled, had Morgana thinking he was some kind of innocent little lamb that needed her to be the one to coddle him like a child. When a child Merlin most definitely was not. No child would do the indecent things his consort had done. No child would be dumb enough to think he was smart enough to fool Arthur with the innocence that he continued to portrayed. "Have you ever considered-" the prince took a ragged breath that shook his lungs inside him, determined to make Morgana admit that her little boy wasn't a little boy. "That maybe this is what Merlin brings out inside of me? Have you ever considered for one minute that Merlin is the one that pushes my buttons, and forced me to behave wildly just to keep up with him?"
Arthur could hardly remember a time where Merlin wasn't in his life, wasn't a part of it. He could hardly remember any of the days where he could spend his free time with his friends messing around with the servants-how long had the prince took the time to have just one afternoon off to do things like he used to do them. But he couldn't, because that brat had him all twisted up into knots. Arthur couldn't remember ever being this angry before Merlin had walked into his life. There was once a time where Arthur wasn't spending every one of his days in frustration because Merlin had done did another thing that required his immediate attention. Arthur couldn't even attend this fucking banquet properly, couldn't sit down in his chair and clap along with everybody else whenever his father and King Bayard signed the treaty. And why was that …because Merlin apparently deemed this banquet to be too far beneath him to bloody well show up on time! What did all of these things have in common? Merlin. MERLin. MERLIN! It all came down to Merlin. And his stupid interference. And all his stupid talking. And his stupid clumsiness. And his stupid hair that was never properly combed. And those stupid blue eyes Arthur could feel piercing through him whenever Merlin was in a particular mood, or whenever he thought Arthur did something that was particularly dumb. THAT! That was the kind of boy Morgana was defending. How could anybody go out of their way to defend somebody like that. And that was not even getting into the worse sins Merlin had done during his time in Camelot. Arthur could literally write a novel-if he had the time to waste-on the aggravation Merlin had caused him. And don't even begin to get him started on that stupid neckerchief Merlin insisted on wearing wherever he went…
But Morgana didn't seem to agree with a signal word he had just said, didn't even try to take into consideration what he'd been having to do to keep up with Merlin. The Lady seemed to care only for her precious little Merlin, leaving her blinded from the many faults Arthur could see as clear as day. But it did become clear to Arthur that Morgana was analyzing him with her eyes, the type of knowledgeable expression across her face was not one Arthur had often seen on a woman and it made him deeply uncomfortable. Imagining her looking for his faults just as Arthur looked for Merlin's. Only Arthur was sure she would find none, Morris had dressed him up nicely, impeccable, one might say. But it looked as if Morgana had found what she was looking for, as a soft, "No." escaped her lips. Lips that were pressed into a thin line, turning the color of melted darkness-Morgana always did have this flair for all the dramatics, coloring her lips with the boldest shade she'd been able to track down-into stalk white. An impressive feat considering the dark shade. "I think that is just an excuse, a reason to explain why you hurt him when in reality, you don't have a real reason. You're angry and Merlin is nothing but a convenient target for you to take that anger out on. But I will wager a guess and say it's easier for you to hurt him and for you to degrade him and treat him like dirt. Then it is for you to sit down together, and actually work out your issues in a way that doesn't come to passing blows."
Arthur honestly didn't know if he was going to start yelling in Morgana's face again-loud enough that the patrons inside of the grand hall would venture out to see what him and the lady were fighting about-or start laughing because he could only see Morgana's suggestions as ridiculous. Morgana was expressing a desire to see him and Merlin sitting at a table…together…to basically talk out their feelings. But hadn't she learned anything by now? Arthur could hardly stand looking at the boy now, since he knew he was dirty and tainted and probably diseased from the seed of other men. And in all of the time the two of them had known each other, the prince could probably could on less then one hand, just how many times they had conversed and it hadn't ended in some kind of fight or the other storming out. And here Morgana was…acting as if Arthur wasn't going to launch himself right over the table so he could grab Merlin around his scrawny neck, sitting on his chest and pinning him to the floor so he could not escape him, the second the other boy arrived. Since the prince already knew he was going to be late, it wasn't going to be surprising if Arthur ever learned the boy would be late on purpose. Simply because he knew it ticked Arthur off to high heaven. Fucking Morgana…she'd probably read way to many romance novels like noble girls might do in their spare time, and thought the bullshit was real. Like the way they all seemed to say communication is key or some similar sort of similar drivel.
"I can assure you that what I did to Merlin isn't me going off and having some kind of misplaced aggression towards him about our unique situation." Arthur decided to go with, only to save them both the trouble should his father find out they were too busy fighting to put on the happy expressions one should wear during a party. The prince did gave a little sniff of his nose though, because he did fully blame Merlin for all that had happened between them since his arrival. But none of what Merlin had put him through, had resulted in the man taking his 'misplaced aggression' out on the boy. He had the most reasonable reason for disciplining his husband in the marketplace. What else was Arthur supposed to do with the boy after learning about his whorish ways? Maybe there was more people like Morgana who thought he was just meant to ignore it, turn a blind eye to the situation. And then pretend as if he didn't know what Merlin was doing whenever he was not in his sight. Pretend he didn't know what the people had taken to whispering about whenever he would pass them by in the hallways. Live with being known as a weak prince who was so love struck by his consort, that he would even put up with his cheating…not in this lifetime. "I smacked him about for one reason and one reason only. And let me once again reassure you, it is not because we're married! It's what that idiot did that ruined our marriage!"
As if there was any actual marriage to ruin. As far as Arthur was concerned, their 'marriage' had been dead and buried a mere second after his father had informed him he would be marrying a male peasant from some nowhere land. But just because Arthur did not approve of his marriage-he would be adamant about this always-didn't mean it gave his idiot one right to do what he did. He Humiliated Arthur! Merlin'd been literally flirting with one of his knights directly in the middle of the marketplace, as if every eye hadn't been on top of the consort the second he arrived down there. Such a brave and brazen act of defiance, proof to anybody watching that he'd not been taking care of Merlin's-ahem-sexual needs, that he thought he could seek it elsewhere. Obviously, such an bold and awful display as Merlin had been doing had deserved an equally brazen reaction from Arthur. Maybe Morgana would be content with whatever poor sap ended up marrying such a shrewd running around on her, but Arthur was clearly a far more possessive man than that. He would NEVER allow any consort of his to be sexually active. He would NEVER allow a knight to touch milky flesh or suck marks into skin that none of them should have ever seen. But mark his words, and he would be willing to swear this with his dying breath, the boy would not ever humiliated him like this again.
"Oh my god, what could he have possible done to upset you so much other then simply existing! What reason could you possibly give me that would make me willing to accept why you hurt him like you did! You called him a bloody whore to an entire audience of people! And yet, you dare to claim that he did something to you first!" Morgana finally behaved as if she'd had enough of Arthur, throwing her hands into the air as she ranted and ranted and ranted at the prince. Because Morgana was wholly confident that there was nothing in the world Arthur could tell her that would make his behavior be okay. Every time Morgana closed her eyes, she only saw all the discoloration of Merlin's skin, saw how he could barely move his own wrist because of how bad it hurt. Saw how he acted as if everyone of them were the enemy because that so called husband of his, he'd completely traumatized him! And now Arthur wanted her to believe Merlin had gone out and actually did something to deserve it? Morgana did not care if Merlin had went out looking for work again, or he had been somewhere Arthur didn't want him to be, or whatever pitiful reason Arthur had came up with in his head. There's not one excuse for him EVER laying his hands on Merlin. Not now, not ever. Morgana shook her head in disgust while she came up with her own conclusions for the prince's appalling behavior, "The only reason I can think of for you 'assaulting' him like you did, is because he is gay and not ashamed and trying to hide it like you think people like that should do! But let me tell you Arthur Pendragon, you need to start growing up! Because I swear, there are probably dozens of people in the kingdom that share those same inclinations, rather you see it or not! How are you supposed to lead them if you are too busy treating them like vermin. Like the way Uther treats those with magic!"
Morgana's last word seemed to echo around the hallway all around them, and this time…Arthur was positive he heard a tooth cracking in his mouth from the pressure of his tightly clenched jaw. Morgana was really going to sit there and try to claim Arthur disciplining Merlin like a husband should was in anyway comparable to his father's law on magic? True, he might share the same view as his father when it would come to people with…not normal inclinations-though that was far more because it was expected of him, rather than any real hatred-but he also wasn't going to start a genecide and see them all dead. Arthur had trained to be king all of his natural life, and how dare Morgana claim he wasn't doing all that he could to be ready for that day. Arthur could bloody well put aside his personal feelings on the matter, if somebody who shared those inclinations sought actual help from the King that would be Arthur. In fact, Merlin might be useful on that matter, as he seemed to have some knowledge on things of that nature, should a day come where Arthur was confused by something. But he hardly thought he would get confused too easily, Arthur knew how to follow along with an audience to the king, even when listening with half an ear. But none of that really mattered because…Arthur hadn't 'gay bashed' on his consort. If Merlin was a normal peasant trying to get this one up in life by sleeping with his knights, he would've done nothing more then dismissed him as being a stupid fool for thinking any of his knights would risk their position among the court to marry him and bring him into their fold. But the prince was the one that had married him, and considering it was his ring Merlin wore…it made things a bit more personal to him.
"Will you bloody well stop saying that! For the last and final time! I did not bloody hit Merlin because he is gay! That is the last thing that was on my mind when I was disciplining him!" Arthur snapped loudly, and he had to take himself this deep breath to calm down before he slapped a hand across the mouth of his father's ward, stopping the young woman from saying another word on the subject again. The prince reached a hand up to pinch harshly at the bridge of his nose and yes, he was fairly confident that he didn't care anything about what Merlin 'preferred' in the bedroom. The only thing he cared about was that it had happened at all. If things had been any different, and Merlin was more normal and liked to be with women as a man should be, then Arthur would have been just as pissed. The image of Merlin on top of this little and dainty female gave him the same displeasure of seeing him on top of a man. The image of Merlin sliding his hand up to cup a rounded breast, the imagined sounds the girl would make as Merlin tweaked her nipple into a hardened peak…it left him with the same unpleasant and sour taste Arthur had gotten in his mouth when he imagined Merlin being the one taken by a man. The image of Merlin pushing up the heavier folds of a lady's skirts so that he could sit between her legs and press his tongue hotly against the heated core of some bitch who apparently hadn't saved herself for marriage like she should…it should have filled Arthur with relief. Because if Merlin was looking for women, he would've never started bothering Arthur at the beginning of their time together. But it only made Arthur want to punch the wall hard enough to break a few of his knuckles. But Morgana was still standing in front of him and still waiting for a proper answer while she tapped her foot, making a sound of 'clack, clack, clack' that just irritated him, "…I didn't call him a whore just because it was the first word that came to mind. I called him out as the whore he was because he has apparently been sleeping his way among my knights. I called him a whore because he has touched and been touched by only god knows who. So yes, I do believe him trying his luck on my idiot knights, was just cause to do what I did. Are you going to tell me different?"
When Arthur finished his sentence, he arched an eyebrow up high on his forehead. Literally daring her to try and argue against him on this one. Daring her to tell him he should just let it go, and should have at least waited until him and Merlin were somewhere more private. But hey, if his consort didn't have a problem with everybody seeing him cheapen himself in front of the entire marketplace with that knight, then why the hell should Arthur wait? Merlin had started everything by it becoming public knowledge, the least the prince could do was finish it in public. But Morgana wasn't answering him as the lady could only blink dumbly at him, her mouth opening and closing several times, making her look almost like a fish of some kind. But no matter, Arthur would wait until the lady got her faculties back together. If only so he could hear the thousand of apologies that should rain from her dark lips as she now knew the truth. The humiliation Arthur had felt after he had uttered Merlin's sin for her, would be dulled with the intense satisfaction he would be given from Morgana having to eat her words. That would teach her to throw a fit before she got all the facts. Arthur hadn't exactly wanted to admit his consort was a whore, but he was sure it would only be a matter of time before Merlin's sin worked its way from all the servants of the castle and up to the nobles. So there really wasn't any point in hiding it. And besides, this way…he'd be able to see Morgana's reaction when she realized her small, perfect little snowflake, wasn't so perfect.
But Morgana didn't give him the reaction he wanted. He had expected deep bows and embarrassed blushes and horrific expressions. The kind of reaction a lady of her status should have when confronted with the mere idea of anybody going around and having sex outside their marriage bed. But Lady Morgana frowned deeply, her voice calm but unsure about it all when she spoke up, "You…your angry because…you think Merlin slept with somebody else?" And Arthur nearly bulged his eyes out at her in offense, what did she mean by 'Arthur thought Merlin slept with somebody else.' There wasn't one thing to think about! Arthur knew for a fact that Merlin took to sleeping with somebody else. Hell, the boy had written a stupid love letter to the man! So yeah, Arthur would say he'd been pretty confident about Merlin's betrayal. And that was exactly where another issue laid…not only had Merlin been lying to him about his virtue, and was really a whore within his outer personality (he had managed to trick Arthur for so long, perhaps he had practice if his customers paid extra for Merlin to put on the whole blushing virgin act), but the brat had breached the trust that was meant to be there. He had gone out and had himself a swell old time, while throwing a fit when Arthur had tried to do the same that one time with Clarissa. What a bleeding hypocrite. "What, are you jealous that Merlin may have found companionship with somebody other then yourself, since his husband isn't giving him any of the proper attention? It's not like you are ever around him unless you need to be. If he found somebody else, then I'm almost proud of him. Anybody would be a step up from you as a husband. I say let him be happy with this mystery man that's got you so wound up."
Arthur's head nearly exploded with her words…jealous, he wasn't jealous! Merlin was a little hellion, any man that had shown an interest would probably throw him back at Arthur the second they spent five minutes alone with the guy. Not giving his consort enough attention…what attention did the lady expect Arthur to give Merlin to keep him from allowing his eyes to wonder to other men. Was she suggesting he…that Arthur Fucking Pendragon…swallow his own pride and soil himself by giving into Merlin's pleasures? Did she want him to forget his interest lied only with the fairer sex, so that he could keep Merlin satisfied enough that he wouldn't run off to the first man that offered him gratification? Should he drag Merlin close, keeping his arm locked around the other boy's middle so that his back was flushed with the prince's chest, before grabbling about with Merlin's pants? Did she expect him to force a hand down Merlin's pants, desperately hiding his face against the back of Merlin's neck so he could not see what he was doing, mentally checking out and being somewhere else. Allowing his hand to mechanically work his consort's length up and down, feeling it harden and start to throb in his hand, unable to ignore the way the consort had his body shaking as he sucked on his lips to try holding his moans back. Should Arthur pretend to know what he could do with another boy's junk, imitating the things that made Arthur feel good when he self indulged for a brief time, until he forced the boy to come in his undergarments. Would that even keep Merlin satisfied for a time, or would he need it far more often then Arthur was willing to ruin himself for. Would Merlin expect for Arthur to do more to him, just to keep him and his focus entirely on Arthur. Would Merlin expect for the prince to put his mouth on him down there, or would Merlin expect for Arthur to stick his own length-a soft and floppy mess it would be when he was stuck looking at Merlin's bare cheeks-inside of him. Did Morgana want Arthur to seriously partake in such a filthy activity, in exchange for his consort's upending loyalty towards him.
"You think that my consort's happiness is the only thing that matters? You and I both know that the pressures of the crown isn't meant to be held up by 'happiness." The blond prince laughed scornfully, his throat coming out rough as he shoved his earlier thoughts as far into the very back of his mind that he could get them. Locking them away into a steel box before mentally burning away the key, so that they would never see the light of day again. Arthur didn't exactly know what Morgana expected for him, but Arthur did know that he would never go so far to keep Merlin in his rightful place. He would not dirty himself just so the boy felt as if he had somewhere to go when he wanted to play with another sexually. Arthur would not allow such a thing to form, until it became some kind of awful habit, and the prince would've known exactly what Merlin wanted the second he showed up in his room with his pants tented in the front. No, no, no, no. Arthur was going to stick to his original plans, thank you very much. He was going to use his whips and his chains to encore obedience towards him. And if Merlin was good, the prince might throw him a toy to play around with as one of his rewards for good behavior. As long as Arthur didn't have to stand there and watch the idiot boy trying to play around with himself. "And what do you think I should be doing while my consort is 'finding his happiness'. Should I just sit around and be humiliated when my consort is throwing himself onto every man that comes his way. Should I just sit back on my heels and watch Merlin spread his legs open so that a man could…could…could degrade him! By doing exactly what he wants him to do?"
Morgana had been wearing this mocking smile, unable to help herself from grinning…if Merlin really had met another whose company he enjoyed, this was the first that she had heard of it. And she was eager to see if he was holding that little detail back. But at some point during Arthur's mad and crazed spiral, where he was nearly spitting at the end since he was so horrified at the thought of Merlin trying to go out and 'degrade himself'-seriously, who even said things about other men like that in this day and time. If Merlin had been a woman, they yes, Morgana could see the reason for the man in front of her to be pissed. It was a double standard for the man to do whatever he wanted while the woman was left to be scorned and damaged goods if it was found out that she had partaken in such activities. One that Morgana hated…it was understandable though, in these circumstances. If the consort was a woman and gotten herself pregnant, Arthur'd be force to either raise a child that was not his own to save face. Or throw her out with the dogs to raise her bastard of a child all alone. But none of that was true, and Arthur was genuinely angry about all of this, and Morgana reached up to pinch at the bridge of her nose, a heavy sigh bursting out of her lips. With the way she did it, she looked so much like Arthur had when he had done the same moments before, it was truly an astonishment that they did not actually share a similar bloodline.
"You cannot be fucking serious." Morgana finally said when she had gotten her thoughts together, her brows drawn into the center of her face as she could feel a headache starting to form behind her eyes. "First off, Arthur dear, there is not one reason for you to sit back and watch anything. Were you planning to be in the room or something when another takes his time to give Merlin something you can't satisfy?" And he could feel his eye twitching dangerously…Arthur's lips went thin. Of course he wasn't going to stand inside the room just to watch some ape of a man jabbing Merlin in his hole with a tiny cock…Arthur would kill the guy doing it long before the consort had a chance to come in satisfaction. Why, if Arthur did share those same inclinations and had given it to Merlin on their wedding night like he was supposed too, Arthur was sure Merlin would never have a wondering eye! Arthur was a generous lover the few times he had taken a woman, and he would be the same if his preferences flew off in a different direction. Merlin would have had nothing to complain about if it was Arthur who was touching him, if it was Arthur who'd taken him roughly or gently…whatever the brat would be in a mood for. Arthur would have bloody made sure there wasn't a thing Merlin could complain about on that front. So no, he would not sit there and 'watch' some other man trying to do a poor job at keeping a greedy whore satisfied. "Second of all, you really shouldn't be such a pride. If Merlin wanted to sleep with every man on this side of the kingdom, then that would be his business and his alone. It is not degrading, it is his choice what he chooses to do with his body. You, Arthur dear, lost any right to be upset about what he does the very second you laid your hand on him."
Arthur nearly bared his teeth at her before he managed to catch himself in mid-motion, forcing himself to a halt. But it did not prevent the fresh wave of agitation from running its way through him. What made Morgana so sure that he'd lost his chance…Arthur hadn't lost one damn thing. He certainly hadn't lost his right to put hands on Merlin. In fact, he would be putting his hands on Merlin a lot in the upcoming weeks ahead of them. He would have to, to maneuver Merlin into a new position he wanted to see him in. Needed to run hands down along Merlin's sides and around his back to push him into place. Needed to grab Merlin around his dainty ankles to slip the cuffs he would have on him. Would probably be unfortunate enough to have Merlin's naked cock too close to his face for comfort while he worked around him. Forcing Merlin into something beautiful when there had only been an ugliness to him. But Arthur figured it wouldn't be nothing Merlin would be too embarrassed about, because how many other men had he flaunted his naked body too? The prince was only going to be one in a long line of many, but he'd be the last.
And screw Morgana for thinking Arthur had done wrong. By the time he was done…Merlin would crave his touch. He was going to be discontent and quiet until Arthur rewarded him with a hand on the arm or a hand on the small of his back to guide him to where he was going. Merlin would become this anxious little fella, unable to think properly unless the prince was there to guide him through it. It would be a glorious day indeed, for the prince, when he realized the twisting Arthur would do to Merlin's mind was finally complete. The day that Merlin would seek out Arthur's company. Would happily take the time to sit on his knees and lay his head against Arthur's thigh while he worked at his desk, absentmindedly scraping his nails through the brat's hair. The day where Merlin would not even touch himself in his erogenous zones unless Arthur was asked first…that would be when Arthur knew Merlin had became his completely. When he wouldn't even try touching his own body without Arthur giving permission…it may even be fun to tell him no and watch him squirm as the thing that he called a cock bounced uncomfortably in his lap, going for hours and hours untouched until Arthur finished up his work and took mercy on the boy, allowing him five minutes only of privacy. And if he couldn't finish in those five minutes, well…it looked like he was just out of luck, wasn't he? There would be no other choice then him sleeping like that. But…at least Arthur would know with confidence that he would wake and find Merlin sleeping on the rug at the foot of his bed, Arthur would know before he even looked that his brat hadn't tried to sneak off in the middle of the night to find somebody else to play with. As it would make Arthur greatly upset with him if his sweet little puppy in training ran away from him. But it would be soon…the prince knew that Morgana would eat her words. Because Arthur was not going to rest or relent until Merlin Pendragon was HIS.
In every way that mattered.
