A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

3. Chapter 3

While Merlin and the knights were up on the hill, looking down at Camelot from above, there were other things happening inside the castle.

Several floors up and high into the castle, there was a simple hallway. I say simple but it was the most extravagant area in the castle, except for the Grand Hall, the training grounds, and the throne room.

This hallway was very significant though because this entire wing of the castle housed the royal family of Camelot. There was at least half a dozen rooms more extravagant than the last but only three were in use at the moment. Although that number would soon go up to four.

One of the chambers housed King Uther, the most powerful man in all of Camelot. The second chamber housed his ward, Morgana, who the king had taken in after the sudden death of her parents when she was a young girl. And the last room in use belonged to Uther's only son and the next in line to take the throne after Uther stepped down, Prince Arthur.

Prince Arthur who was currently pacing back and forth in his rooms, looking more frantic than ever. He ran his hands through his short blonde locks, musing up his usually straight hair even more than it already was. When he wasn't pulling at his hair, he was tugging on his clothes, trying to keep his hands busy.

Every few minutes, he would stop and look out the window as if expecting someone to be arriving at any moment. When he didn't see anyone though, he would start pacing from one end of the room to the next. He had discovered that it took a good thirty steps to reach from one wall of his room to the other. He would do this a few times and then stop to check the window again. Rinse and repeat.

"Arthur, I'm sure it won't be all that bad." The Lady Morgana, his father's ward said. She was sitting perched on the edge of his bed, wearing her new lilac dress as she watched him go back and forth across his room.

"Not that bad?" Arthur echoed, stopping in the middle of the room where he had been in mid-pace. "Not that bad?!"

Morgana gave him a look, brushing her long dark braid of black hair over her shoulder, "Yes, Arthur. I think we've established that I said it won't be that bad." she said dryly.

Arthur looked at her in disbelief, "How could it be 'not that bad?' I am going to be married in a few days! Married!" His father had seen fit to inform him of this barely two days ago when a letter from Sir Leon's squad that had left a year ago had arrived.

"Well it's not like you never knew that this was going to happen." Morgana pointed out. "You always knew that you would have an arranged marriage."

"Of course I did!" Arthur exploded. It was one of the first things that his father had explained to him once he was old enough to start noticing girls. That he had better have what fun he could now because someday, Uther would have a spouse arrive that he had chosen for him to marry. He should have known then when Uther has always carefully used the word spouse and not bride. But it hadn't occurred to him at the time that it made any difference.

All of this was happening because that dreaded letter had arrived during breakfast almost three mornings ago. That letter was the only reason that Uther had told Arthur about his upcoming nuptials.

"Then why are you so upset about it all?" Morgana asked.

"Because he knew!" Arthur exclaimed, throwing his hands over his head in his frustrations. "I always figured I had time but how was I supposed to know that my so called marriage was already decided when I was a baby. I didn't even know he had decided on someone and it turned out he already found someone twenty years ago!"

"How much time exactly were you expecting?" Morgana asked dryly. "You're not getting any younger."

Arthur shot her a glare, "I am only twenty summers."

"And turning twenty one in a few months." Morgana pointed out. "I'm honestly surprised Uther waited this long to bring your fiancé here."

"It's not like he had much of a choice but to wait." Arthur grumbled, turning his back to her and putting his hands on his desk, bowing his head.

Morgana frowned at his back, "What do you mean he had no choice but to wait?" Morgana hadn't been in there during the actual conversation. She had only heard about it later when rumor got around that Arthur was seen throwing his stuff around his room, smashing anything he could in a fit of rage. Luckily, his manservant Morris had already cleaned up his rooms and replaced what was broken.

Arthur didn't feel anger anymore. No, that wasn't right, he was still angry. But now he was just tired. He had spent the last several days being furious and now today was the day that his intended was supposed to arrive. Now he was just filled with a nervous energy. He didn't want this, he would rather anything but this. To be tied down to one person, somebody that he didn't love?

But he had no choice.

His father had shown him the contract that he had signed all those years ago. It was legally binding. Arthur and his fiancé could both face serious repercussions if one or both of them didn't comply.

Arthur knew why he didn't want this. He was to young, he wasn't ready, he didn't love this person. He didn't know if this other person wanted to marry him either. They probably did. He was a prince, who wouldn't want to marry him? And that wasn't just bragging. He was the highest station that anybody could hope to aim for other than the king itself but that was only a matter of time before Arthur would take that slot. Other than being born, or taken in like Morgana had been, the only way was to marry in.

"Arthur," Morgana said from behind him, slowly standing up from where she was perched on the edge of his bed. "What did you mean by, he had no choice but to wait?"

Arthur sighed, finally turning around to face her before leaning against his desk. "The agreement stated that we would marry once we reached adulthood. I may almost be twenty one but my fiancé just turned nineteen."

"Nineteen?" Morgana echoed. "Shouldn't she had been brought here then when she turned eighteen? Why wait an extra year?"

Arthur winced when Morgana said 'she'. He still hadn't gotten his mind wrapped around that part yet. That was the most horrifying part out of all of this. He had never once been interested in a guy in all of his life. Sure, he knew one or two of his knights had expressed interest towards other men but they also understood that they would one day marry a woman to pass the family bloodline down.

Arthur didn't even want kids, at least not for many years, but he had used that in his argument with his father over why this shouldn't happen. It hadn't gone over to well, the contract had been signed and sealed before they realized the other baby was also a boy. Uther had even suggested Arthur just bed a woman when it came time for him to have kids.

He would probably have to do it to even though it made him feel slightly ill. He loved a girl as much as the next guy but...he was about to be married. Could he really be with a woman when he had a husband waiting for him? Obviously Arthur wouldn't have any affection for him, he was a man after all. But still, in the eyes of all they would be a married couple and with that came everything a marriage brought.

Like commitment.

Could Arthur be committed to a man?

His nursemaids as a child had told him about how his parents had fallen in love. It was a loose arrangement between his grandparents but only his parents got to decide if they were going to go through with it. They had courted for almost a year before they had married. Even though their parents had set them up, they had ultimately fallen in love and married because of that.

Arthur would never have that.

He would never fall in love because he had a husband waiting at home for him.

Arthur finally answered Morgana as she stepped up to him. "My...fiancé," he felt ill again as he spoke the words. "Left the kingdom when they were a baby. My father had some kind of falling out with his mother when we were babies. That was why father sent Sir Leon and those other two knights away over a year ago. His eighteenth birthday had just passed so they went to find him. And now that they have, they're due to arrive any time now."

Morgana went quiet for a moment, "...Him?"

Arthur nodded solemnly, "Him."

Morgana looked at him confused, "I didn't know that you liked men as well."

Arthur gave her a very annoyed look, "I don't Morgana. I am going to marry a man and I don't even feel any desire towards them."

Morgana was stunned into silence by this, lost in her thoughts as she leaned against the table beside him, "Arthur," she finally said after a few minutes of silence. "Maybe this could be a good thing."

Arthur gave her a look, wondering if she was a bit touched in the head. "A good thing? How on earth could this be a good thing?"

Morgana gave him a look, "Well, as much as I hate to admit it, men do have a better education than women. Maybe he can help you run the kingdom someday when you are king better than a queen could."

But Arthur just shook his head, "No, that won't work."

Morgana scowled that her thoughts were basically being dismissed, "And why not?"

Arthur looked at her before avoiding her dark eyes by flicking his own light blue ones to the floor. "Because he's also a peasant."

Morgana was speechless after that. A peasant marrying into the royal family? It was unheard of! It was almost more shocking than the fact that he was a man. It was a scandal!

Just who was this boy and his parents that had made Uther agree to this?

Arthur threw his head back with a groan, "How am I going to do this? I don't even know what to do with a guy." He knew exactly what he was doing when he flirted with the daughters of noblemen, ladies that he would never have to see again once their fathers finished up their business. But a guy? A guy he had no desire to be with who would never leave? He was way out of his depths.

Morgana gave a wry smirk, "You know, there are books for that kind of thing." She had come across one or two in the very back, forgotten, and dust covered corner of their own library. What little she had seen when she had flipped through it before realizing what it was, that it had talked very clinically about how a man should be with another man.

Arthur looked at her startled and felt his disgust, "That is not what I meant!" He snarled. He knew how to pleasure a nobleman's daughter. He wasn't exactly all that interested in learning what pleasured a peasant boy. He would do his duty and consummate their marriage as fast as he could and send the boy on his way never to have his attentions again.

Morgana shook her head as her thoughts wondered back to this peasant boy. She had no way of knowing who this boy was, not until he arrived. She only hoped that he would be good for Arthur but she doubted it. What were the odds that Arthur would actually come to enjoy his intended's company? Probably a million to one.

Morgana and Arthur would soon stand side by side in front of his windows. But they were too far away to see the main gates that led into the city. They had no way of knowing if his intended had entered the city yet and Arthur was getting more anxious the longer time passed.

He had to do something, anything, to get his nerves out.

Arthur headed towards his door, bidding Morgana fair well. He didn't know where he was going but he knew that he couldn't just stay locked up here. Maybe he could find something to distract himself with in the lower town. The peasants always amused him.

It never occurred to him that he probably shouldn't be thinking things like this, with his own fiancé being a peasant and all.

"Arthur," Morgana called before he could leave. Arthur looked back over his shoulder at her, now hovering in his own doorway. "This boy, your intended, what's his name?"

Arthur opened his mouth to answer before he froze. It took him a moment to realize that his mind was blank. He literally had no idea what his own fiancé's name was.

"...You have no idea, do you?" Morgana asked dryly. She knew that Arthur could be self centered a lot but surely knowing the name of the person that you would soon be married to was something that you should know.

Arthur groaned, putting a hand to his head before finally leaving his room. Morgana wasn't sure if she should be amused or disappointed in him.

Arthur started walking down the hallway towards the stairs, not really paying attention to where he was going.

As the hours had passed by since he had been told, Arthur had almost been tempted to run away. To just leave his entire kingdom behind, as long as he didn't have to do this.

But he couldn't.

He was the prince and he had a duty to his people to see this through.

Even if it was tearing him apart inside.

Down by the gates of Camelot, Merlin's eyes were wide. He was zipping his head from one side to the next to take everything in. He almost wished that he had several more eyes just so he could make sure that he wasn't missing anything.

Two knights stood posted at the gates, straightening up as they saw them arrive. "Sir Leon!" One of the knights called, a grin spreading across his face as he instantly recognized the knight. "You're back! Was your mission successful?" While a few people who Leon knew, known that he had gone off on a mission, only the king had actually known what that mission entitled.

"Yes, Derrick." Leon said. "We had a very...fruitful mission." He started to climb off his horse. Tristian and Dorian had already done so and were disappearing into the town. The other knight standing at the gate was now holding onto the reins of their horses.

Merlin looked after them excited. There was so many people here. There had been only a handful back home but here, there had to be dozens of citizens. And that was just what he could see from the few that passed him by. Who knew how many people actually resided in the kingdom as a whole.

"I see you've brought company." The man known as Derrick said brightly, smiling at Merlin.

Merlin looked down at him, still sitting on the horse, startled to be suddenly addressed. "Oh, I'm Merlin!" He said quickly, snapping to attention and holding out his hand.

Derrick's grin widened, "Hello, Merlin." He said cheerfully, taking his hand in his to shake.

Merlin grinned happily. At least it wasn't just Leon that was nice. Merlin swung his foot over the horse and tried to climb off himself. He was doing great, until his foot got caught on the horse's stirrup and he hit the ground on his back with a sudden oof.

"Merlin," Leon said with a heavy, exasperated sigh. He bent over and grabbed Merlin under his arms, dragging him to his feet. "Will be...staying in Camelot for a while."

"Is that so?" Derrick asked. Merlin quickly grabbed a hold of his bag, untying it from the horse as the other guard took its reins. Apparently he was going to take them to the stables. "Well Merlin, I do hope that you enjoy our fair city. Let me know if you need a tour guide."

Merlin was watching the other guard take the horses away so it took him a moment to realize that Derrick was talking to him. "What? Oh, yeah! That would be great actually." He had never been anywhere near this big. Having somebody who could show him around would actually be a huge help. He could just imagine how many times he was going to get lost.

Leon placed a heavy hand down on Merlin's shoulder, "Well this was great Derrick. We need to meet up at the tavern soon but I have to go and report to the king about the mission."

"Alrighty!" Derrick waved them off. "Oh, and Merlin, I hope you like it here in Camelot!"

But Merlin was no longer paying attention. He had a cold numbness spreading down his body. All the way to his fingertips and down to his toes. He had been so excited to see all of these new sites and sounds, all these new people. New people was a luxury to meet, not many strangers passed through their little neck of the woods.

But then Leon had mentioned that they were going to see the king. It brought back the sudden reminder of why he was here in the first place.

How could he have forgotten that he was here to get married?

It was the only reason that he was here and he had all but forgotten about it completely.

He was lost in his head, feeling numb. Like maybe this was a dream and he was just walking through it without really paying attention. Merlin didn't get to look much at the city. Everything was a daze, just a blur of color and people walking around him as Leon led him further through the city.

He did start to come out of it as they exited the lower town, walking across a large drawbridge that separated the poorer town from the inner city where the castle was.

Then he was lost to his thoughts again. People were talking as they passed them by but their conversation was nothing more than a mumble. He couldn't understand or pick up on anything. He was honestly surprised that he was still walking straight and hadn't just collapsed at this point. Not with the way his heart was starting to pick up as they neared the castle.

The only reason he had made it this far was because Leon kept a steady hand on his shoulder, guiding him to where they need to go.

"-lin? Merlin!" Merlin could feel the sudden awareness as he came back to himself. It surprised him more than anything else when he realized that he was now standing at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the castle.

"Merlin?"

Merlin's head turned to his side startled. It was Leon that had been calling to him and was now watching him with a worried frown.

"Merlin, are you alright?" He asked with a touch of concern in his eyes.

"What?" Merlin said confused. It took him a moment to register what the question was. "I mean, yeah, I'm fine. Better than fine! Why wouldn't I be fine?" He rambled nervously.

Leon's frowned deepened, "It's just that you haven't talked since we've entered the city." And wasn't that a bad sign. A quiet Merlin had to mean that something was wrong.

"I can be quiet!" Merlin protested. "I mean, I like the quiet sometimes, it's peaceful!"

Leon gave him a skeptical look. Even after only knowing the kid for three days, he knew that to be a lie. "Merlin," he said sternly.

"Let's just...let's just get this over with." Merlin said shakily, starting up the stairs. He was about to meet King Uther, the man that had him brought here so that he could marry his son. Was it supposed to be this nerve racking? It wasn't even the fact that Merlin was a peasant and Uther was a king that made him nervous. It was the whole, Uther forcing him into the family. Not to mention he figured that he would probably screw this all up somehow. One wrong mistake and Uther could find out that he had magic. He would be put on the pyre before the day was out!

Merlin had to take several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. Everything was going to be okay, this was going to be okay. He had spent almost twenty years keeping his magic a secret. Only one person had ever found out, Will. One person in nineteen years other than his own mother? That had to be a good thing, right?

Surely he could hide his magic for the next, say, a lifetime.

Leon was still watching him with a frown but followed after him.

The two men reached the top of the stairs and entered the castle.

Merlin's eyes widened, taking everything in. There was statues of knights along every wall. There were decorative little tables with flowers or vases as they passed. Huge holes were in the walls to make a fancy opening. They would walk along expensive looking rugs that were spread across the hallways here and there. They passed by a servant or two hurrying by, carrying a basket of dirty laundry or fresh linens. There were gargoyles at the foot of a grand staircase that they passed and Merlin's eyes locked on something pinned to one of the many walls that they passed. A long tapestry that hung down from the top of the wall.

He stopped to look at the mark on it. The color itself was a deep red, brighter than any shade that he could have found back home. And right in the middle was a golden dragon, blowing a jet of fire from his mouth.

"That's the Pendragon crest."

Merlin's head shot up to look at Leon who had finally noticed that he was no longer following.

"What?" Merlin asked confused. He had been so focused on the tapestry that he hadn't noticed Leon walking back to him when he realized that he was gone.

"The Pendragon crest." Leon repeated. "It's the symbol for the royal family of Camelot. King Uther and Prince Arthur Pendragon. And I guess yours to soon."

"Mine to." Merlin repeated faintly, eyes flicking back up to look at the crest. No way. There was no way that he could possibly be tied to that crest in anyway. The whole situation seemed to hit him again. Only this time he wasn't panicked. It was more like he just felt sad.

Sad that he had no choice.

Sad that all of this was happening.

Sad that he would never get the chance to fall in love like his parents had.

This was happening and for the first time in his life, he was absolutely helpless to stop it.

Leon put a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, the king will be wanting to meet with you now that we've arrived."

Merlin nodded solemnly. He finally tore his eyes away from the tapestry and let Leon lead him down several more hallways and closer to the center of the castle.

Merlin tried to keep track of where they were going, he really did. But there were just so many hallways that they went down that he lost track pretty easily. Camelot was just so much bigger than Ealdor. He had no idea how he would ever find his way around this castle and its many twisted hallways.

The two of them passed by several more servants the further in that they got. But they all kept their eyes focused on the floor, making sure not to make eye contact with either Leon or Merlin who was with him. Leon didn't seem to notice the servants averting their eyes as the knight walked passed but Merlin sure did.

Merlin frowned.

They didn't have servants in Ealdor. Everybody was equal and had to work together to make ends meet. So to be here and seeing how the lower class were bowing their heads when someone of a higher ranking passed, just made a pit form in his lower stomach.

He really wasn't in Ealdor anymore.

Merlin and Leon only stopped walking when they reached a grand door, fancier than any other that they had to pass to get here.

"Sir Leon." One of the two knights guarding the door said. "You've arrived. King Uther has been expecting you."

Leon nodded his head to the knight, "Yes. I've just arrived only minutes ago. Now if you don't mind, the king will be wanting my mission report."

The other knight nodded, "Of course Sir Leon, I will let him know that you are here." Before he slipped into the grand doors.

Merlin shifted uncomfortably on his feet, readjusting his bag to fit more comfortably on his shoulders. The first knight was watching him with a curious expression, wondering if Leon had picked up a new servant while he was gone on whatever special mission that he had been sent on a year ago.

It was only moments later that the doors creaked open again and the knight stepped out. "King Uther will see you now." He announced, stepping to the side.

Leon nodded before heading into the throne room, completely confident. Merlin hesitated for a moment, seeing the two other knights watching him with unimpressed frowns. Merlin made to follow Leon and one of the knights looked like he wanted to stop him but didn't only because Leon was now turned around looking at them. He was clearly waiting for Merlin to join him so they allowed him to pass.

The room they had entered had to be the biggest room that Merlin had ever been in in his life. It had large stone pillars lined up beside each other on every wall. It was completely polished, he could almost see his face reflecting on the floor. On either side of the door held a table with a decorative cloth over it. Clearly more for looks than for any practicality. The ceiling was so high and vaulted, much taller than any of the huts back home could have been built. This place had clearly been built to last, to remain standing for many generations to come. It was also more empty, barren, then he had expected.

Well almost completely barren.

On the far side of the room was a set of stairs. It didn't go up to another room though. No. These stairs only went up about ten steps and at the top was a platform. On this platform was a single chair. It was grand and ornate looking. A chair made especially for a king.

And on this chair was a man. He wasn't paying them any attention though. He was looking over a parchment in his hand, conversing with an elderly man wearing ornate robes. Clearly a nobleman or councilman. Either way, clearly someone of much higher status than Merlin.

Merlin was focused though on the man in the chair. He wore clothes that were made of rich fabric, richer fabric than anything Merlin had ever seen before. And they had clearly been tailor made to fit him. Merlin tugged on his sleeves.

If Merlin was anybody else, he would have been subconscious about his own clothes. His pants were a size to small, showing a little of his ankles. His shirt was slightly to big and would have shown off at least one of his shoulders if he wasn't wearing the slightly to loose jacket or the dark red neckerchief around his neck.

But he wasn't anybody else. He was Merlin and he had bigger concerns than his clothes. Like his upcoming marriage. Or his upcoming marriage into a family of royal magic haters. Or you know, just keeping his magic a secret in general.

The man sitting on the ornate chair was obviously the most powerful man in the entire kingdom. It was easy to see that this older man with graying hair was the king that he had been told about.

Not only was he the one sitting in the chair, Merlin also doubted anybody else would dare sit in the chair made for a king. But he also had an ornate golden crown on his brow.

Leon stepped forward, walking straight up to the stairs that led to the king. Merlin hung back awkwardly, not sure what he should be doing right now.

Leon put a closed fist over his heart and bowed. "Sire." He said simply, waiting to be addressed.

The king finally noticed their entrance even though he only had eyes on Leon. "Ah, Sir Leon. You have arrived." He handed the parchment off to the councilman.

The councilman bowed before his king before leaving the room. He didn't even acknowledge Merlin was there as he passed.

"So," the king started. "I heard that you have had a successful mission." He didn't even spare Merlin a glance. "Tell me, have you brought him?"

Merlin briefly wondered if the king's crown was a touch to tight. Because he was standing right here and the king clearly hadn't noticed him. As if he was nothing more than one of the decorative pieces in the background.

Leon had no expression on his face as he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Yes, sire. May I present to you, the son of Hunith."

King Uther's eyes finally drifted over to Merlin. The king looked down his nose at what was obviously a peasant boy. Only because of his intense training in nobility stopped him from scrunching up his nose in disgust. This was Hunith's son? This small little boy who looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over? His clothes alone were terribly off putting and the boy isn't well, Uther was less than impressed.

The boy clearly had no idea how to interact with nobility because he raised his eyes to meet the king's. A peasant should never be permitted to look a noble in the eye but this wasn't just any ordinary peasant, not anymore at least.

This was his son's betrothed. He may still be a peasant but within days, he would be married into the royal family. Still a peasant but with a higher station than all of the other unkept peasants.

This stick thin little boy was going to be in his family and he felt his lip start to rise to sneer at the thought before he straightened his features. He never regretted that contract more than he did now, looking at who he had promised his son to. What on earth had he been thinking all of those years ago?

Those eyes.

Those dark blue eyes that met his.

He could tell that the boy was nervous. Who wouldn't be nervous to meet a king? Even if you took away the whole situation that brought him here to begin with. But even though the boy was clearly filled with jittery nerves from the way his hands were twitching, he still rose his eyes to meet with the king's.

Uther wasn't sure if he should be impressed now by this boy's boldness or if he was an utter moron. He watched as the boy glanced between Leon and himself, clearly unsure what to do with himself now. Utter moron it was, he ultimately decided.

Uther glared down into the blue eyes of this boy's, bringing his thoughts into another direction. He hadn't seen those eyes in over twenty years but as much as he hated to admit it, he recognized them instantly.

They were identical to Balinor's, the man that he had chased out of his kingdom all of those years ago. There was no doubt that this was Balinor and Hunith's son. As much as he loathed to admit it, this kid was the one that his son would marry.

Uther kept his eyes locked on Merlin's as he asked, "Does he have magic?"

Balinor had been strong, a dragon lord of the highest regard. It was entirely possible that his offspring inherited that. But at the same time, while it was clear that he had inherited his father's looks, it was also of equal possibility that he had inherited something from his mother, like her lack of affinity for magic.

Merlin looked up startled by the question. He could feel his heart pick up speed the slightest bit. His eyes had widened just a touch at the sudden question. He, not for the first time, wished that his mother was here. She had protected him when Leon had asked.

But she wasn't here with him. She couldn't protect him like she had done all his life. He had to protect himself now, just like she had tried to teach him. Keep his magic a secret, rung through his mind.

He opened his mouth to answer before realizing a second later that the king hadn't even been talking to him. He was talking sorely to Leon. He let his mouth snap close as Leon stepped up to the king.

"No, sire." Leon said. "Both his mother and him have disclosed to me that he does not have magic."

Uther nodded but was not convinced. He had seen to many sorcerer's that he never would have thought could be one. They were far to easy to hide among his people and he detested the thought of one residing literally, in the heart of Camelot and nobody being the wiser.

But then again, Balinor had never been able to stop using magic. He practically loved it more than life itself. They had been made a bet when they were young to find out how long Balinor could go without using his magic. He hadn't even lasted a day.

This boy would no doubt be the same if he possessed the same curse of magic.

"Do you have magic, boy?!" Uther suddenly barked at Merlin.

Merlin flinched back, startled, when he was suddenly snapped at. "No!" The word spilled out of his mouth faster than his brain could think them. Maybe even a touch louder than he had planned.

Seeing them watching him, Merlin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, no, I meant. No, I don't have magic." He stuttered, rambling.

Uther gave him a look as if he didn't believe him and Merlin could hear his own heart starting to skyrocket. He hadn't just screwed himself over, had he? Did Uther know?

Merlin was just about to start talking again, rambling under the king's stare. Something that probably would have led him to accidentally outing himself.

But before he could get a word out, Uther gave a sniff of disdain before nodding in satisfaction. The boy would be stupid to lie to his king in such an obvious way. Plus if he did have an affinity for magic, surely Sir Leon would have noticed him using it in the three days they were traveling together.

Sorcerer's never could resist using magic for any little thing.

Merlin could feel himself relax somewhat when the king seemed to believe him.

Uther suddenly stood up from his chair. Merlin tensed up immediately, watching apprehensive as he started walking down the stairs towards him. He wasn't sure what the king was going to do but the longer he took, the more nerve wracking it was.

King Uther didn't care if the peasant boy was waiting on him or not. He walked at a sedate pace and didn't say a word till he made himself comfortable at the bottom of the stairs.

Merlin swallowed hard, looking at the king. He was so much taller than him. Even as he was leaving his prime and getting older, he still had thick arms as if he was several years younger and his expensive shirt was hiding his muscles.

Another man would have felt nothing more than pure intimidated to have the king staring him down. Merlin just frowned with confusion, wondering what was going to happen now.

Uther finally spoke, "Your name, boy." It wasn't a question. He wasn't asking for it, he was demanding for Merlin to tell him his name.

Merlin was startled by his sudden statement and quickly held out his hand, "I'm Merlin."

The king stared down his nose at his hand as if he wouldn't be caught dead touching it. It took Merlin a minute to start feeling ridiculous when it became clear that the king wasn't going to even entertain the idea of shaking his hand.

Were all nobles so rude or was he missing something?

He awkwardly started to lower his hand when he saw Leon standing just behind the king. He made a small bowing motion and mouthed something to Merlin.

Merlin quickly dropped his hand to his side and made a very awkward and graceless bow. "M'lord," he stuttered. "My name is Merlin."

Uther looked at him unimpressed but figured that it was passable being that he was a peasant. Uther would have to hire a new tutor to train the boy on how to behave in proper society, lest he embarrass the Pendragon family.

"Marlin," the king started.

"Uh, Merlin." He interrupted before he could stop himself. Leon winced behind the king and Uther scowled, eyes flashing at the sudden interruption.

Merlin swallowed hard, falling quiet.

After a moment of the king glaring down at him, Merlin had started to shift from one foot to the other. This meeting wasn't going to good, was it?

Finally did the king speak, "Merlin."

Merlin's head snapped up, for the first time in his life, not daring to say anything while he waited for the king to say something. Then he realized that the king wasn't actually talking to him. He was just saying his name as if trying it out.

"Prince Arthur and Merlin." The king was saying with a frown of distaste. "It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue together, does it?" The king gave a light chuckle.

The king had laughed, was that a good sign? It had to be, right? Merlin opened his mouth to say something only to shut it again. What do you even say to a king?

But then Uther shrugged, "I suppose it will have to do anyway." Merlin frowned, had he just been insulted?

The king suddenly gave an almighty clap of his hands. "Marion!" He called out. Merlin flinched at the sudden yell.

Who was Marion?

Before he could ask, one of the doors in the back behind the throne swung open. A young girl hurried out of the room. It was actually a young woman no older than him and she was wearing an old, stained, patched up dress. It was obvious that she was a serving girl. She had pale skin with a spot of dust here and there on her face that she hadn't noticed. She had blonde hair that fell in messy braids over her shoulders and her bangs were held out of her face by the worn out cloth headband.

The young girl quickly curtsied before her king, "Your majesty?" She said it like a question.

Uther ignored her curtesy and immediately set to giving his orders, "Take Merlin up to his room. He is to be given the one next to Prince Arthur's in the royal wing."

Merlin's heart leapt into his throat at this knowledge. He hadn't realized that he would be so...close, to the prince. Although different rooms were definitely a good idea. Oh god, he hoped that they got to keep separate rooms. It was only now that his room had been brought up did it bring him to the question, did he and Arthur have to share a room after they married? That's what married couples did, right? They shared a room.

The huts back home were so small that they only had one room for the entire family. One room to sleep in while also having a corner as a sitting area and another corner for a kitchen area. But this castle was so big, surely Arthur and he could keep separate rooms.

He didn't want to bunk with a prince! What if he really was horrible. Having his own room might just be his only escape. And what about his magic? How could he have privacy to do his magic if he constantly had a prince underfoot?

'Marion' looked startled by Uther's command. The Royal Wing? The one right next to Arthur. But that room had been untouched since Queen Ygraine had moved in, back when Uther had lived in Arthur's room before he was born. But Uther had moved into the bigger room after his father had died and he had become king.

The room next to Arthur's had been closed ever since Queen Ygraine had moved into the king's rooms with King Uther twenty years ago. It was now supposed to be waiting for when Prince Arthur was ready to take a bride. It was the room that was literally waiting for the future Queen of Camelot.

So why was she taking this strange peasant boy to stay in it? It was clear that he was a peasant from just his clothes alone. No nobleman would be caught dead in the clothes this boy was wearing.

There were dozens of rooms in the royal wing even though only a handful was ever used in a generation. Surely if this boy was somehow a royal guest, he would be more comfortable in one of the many other wings around the castle full of empty bedrooms. The royal wing was the most well guarded area in the castle. The royal family had to be protected or warned immediately in case the kingdom was attacked.

Was King Uther taking this boy in as his ward? Like he had done with Lady Morgana several years ago. But that didn't make sense. This boy was clearly a peasant and even Lady Morgana had clearly been a well breed noble when she had arrived, even at the tender age of twelve. Besides, if he was to become King Uther's new ward then why would he have him in the room made for Prince Arthur's future bride. It was the third best bedroom in the entire castle. King Uther's was first, followed by Prince Arthur's. But they were all elaborate and beautiful bedrooms. Even Lady Morgana hadn't been given that room when she arrived.

Marion awkwardly cleared her throat, trying to get her king's attention. "Uh, the one next to the Prince's, my lord?" She asked shakily, scared that he might be mad at her for making sure that was truly what he had said. "As in the one Prince Arthur's bride is meant to someday reside?"

Merlin swallowed hard. The room next to Arthur's was for his bride? Well, that was him, as much as it loathed him to refer to himself as a bride. This was happening. He was about to be escorted up to his new room by this servant girl. And it was right next to Arthur's own room.

"Yes Marion." King Uther said firmly, tone sharp. "The one meant for my son's bride."

Marion's eyes widened shocked. So she had heard right?! Her head swiveled over to the side to connect wide eyed to Merlin's, not afraid to meet his eyes because of his peasant status. Something she never could have done to an actual member of the royal family.

Everybody was silent as King Uther made his way back to his throne. Nobody dared to make a sound as the king made himself comfortable.

And Marion," King Uther's voice called, no louder than he had been speaking to Merlin even though he now sat at the top of the stairs, on his throne. "I will be making an announcement on all of this later. Do not talk about this." The threat was just barely there, hidden in his voice.

An announcement? Merlin could feel the tips of his fingers going cold. An announcement. Of course there would be some kind of announcement. This was the prince that was getting married. Why wouldn't there be an announcement? Even the people back home would announce it before the entire village when two of them had decided to get married.

This would be just like that.

Only on a much larger scale and he was now one of the two people getting married.

Everything was going to be okay, everything was going to be okay. He kept repeating that to himself in his head like a mantra. Everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

He was just getting married. It wasn't like it was some huge thing. He had always thought that he'd get married someday.

So why did he feel like his heart was caught in his throat?

He knew why of course. He had never imagined his upcoming nuptials occurring like this. Married off to a prince in a foreign kingdom, someone he didn't know. Hell, if this was another life where his parents had never crossed paths with Uther, then he never would have even heard of Prince Arthur.

Now here he was, soon to be married to the guy. He wondered if he was anything like his father. Strict and kind of cold. Could he live tied down with somebody like that?

He hoped Arthur wasn't like that but he didn't have much hope for it either. Especially as he recalled what little Leon had been able to tell him.

Meanwhile, Marion quickly bowed her head to her King, making sure to keep her mouth shut as to not ask any questions. Marion swallowed hard, carefully curtsying.

She was just a servant, it had been incredibly rude to had asked the first time. Even if it had been just to clarify that he had truly said what she thought he had.

She could literally hear the threat in his voice if she dared to tell anyone about this. The curiosity was killing her, making her wonder why this boy was being given the room that belonged to the prince's future bride.

But she easily tampered it down, keeping her eyes glued to the floor in front of her feet. She knew that she wouldn't mention this to anybody. Not even spreading gossip like this would be worth it. Uther would surely know that it was her doing if he got wind of word of this going around.

She liked her job. Not much but it was better than what the other members of her family had. Not many people got to be one of the many servants that the king employed. She was lucky to be one of them.

Plus, she was well aware of the possibility that she could be flogged if she told. It had only happened to her once two or three years ago when a visiting nobleman demanded she be because she hadn't been fast enough to bring him his evening tea. Despite the fact that she had went straight down to the kitchens to retrieve it and had returned straight after.

Maybe if a similar situation happened, she'd be lucky and spend a few hours in the stocks instead.

But she shook those thoughts away. No. She would keep her head down, do her job, and then go home. There was no reason to worry about such things right now.

Marion gave her king another curtsy and bowed her head further down than she already was. "Yes, m'lord." She answered simply before turning to the boy. "Follow me, please. I will bring you to your accommodations."

Merlin looked a little nervous about following this strange girl but he didn't exactly want to stay anywhere near King Uther either. He looked anxiously back to Sir Leon, the only one he actually kinda knew, who stood at the foot of the stairs that led up to the king's throne.

Catching Merlin's eyes, Leon waved him off. "Go on, I need to debrief with the king." Leon had to give King Uther his mission report. He usually sent a letter at least once a month to let the king know of his status for finding Merlin. Now that he was here in person, he would have to explain to the king what this following week had led to.

Merlin still looked nervous about this whole thing but nodded. He honestly didn't want to be in the king's presence anymore. It was no wonder that he was the most powerful man in the kingdom. He had an aura all around him that practically said that the king was very used to getting his way.

So Merlin was quick to turn on his feet and follow Marion out into the hallway.

Marion didn't say a word. She kept her chin tucked down towards her chest and started leading him down the hallway and away from the throne room.

Merlin glanced around, seeing portraits of different landscapes that hung on the wall as he passed. There were more tapestry's and they passed endless hallways that seemed to lead to other hallways. There were more tables with vases on them and dozens of opened windows. It truly was remarkable just how much stuffed was crammed inside without it looking like it was just so much stuff.

Although Merlin supposed, a castle would need a lot of things as to not look empty. Not to mention, the king had way more money than anybody he ever knew so it made sense that his home would be elaborate.

They passed by many statues of armor lined up down different hallways but separated by a window in between each one. They finally came across the grand staircase that Merlin had passed on the way in. The staircase had two gargoyles perched at the end of each railing at the bottom.

Marion stepped up onto the stairs in front of him, moving so quietly that it was almost as if she wasn't there at all. Merlin's eyes wondered around the vast building as he followed her up.

But the quiet was starting to get to him so he did what he always did when it got quiet. He started to talk. "So," he said casually to Marion, who practically jumped out of her skin when he suddenly talked to her.

Merlin frowned but shook it off. He had almost thought that she was about to go down the stairs because she had been so startled. But she didn't, she had a firm grip on the railing of the staircase they were going up.

"Your name is Marion, right?" Merlin asked, unsure if that had been what the king had said.

Marion glanced over her shoulder at him before quickly averting her gaze. "Uh, it's Mary, actually." She admitted.

Now It was Merlin's turn to look startled, "Mary?" He asked, trailing his hands up the railing of the staircase in a loose grip. "I could have sworn it was Marion." He muttered, half talking to himself.

Mary started to wring her hands nervously stopping when they reached the top of the stairs, "The king never remembers the names of the servants. He calls me Marion even though it's Mary. I'm luckier than Victoria. The king calls her Leah. At least mine is somewhat similar." She cut herself off abruptly as she realized that she was starting to ramble. "I mean-you can call me Marion if you want."

Merlin frowned as he stepped up beside her when he reached the top of the stairs just a half second behind her, was it really so hard to remember somebody's name that the king got it wrong all the time? "Why would I do that? I think I'll just call you Mary." He thrusted his hand out. "I'm Merlin."

Mary looked startled by the sudden hand in her face. Whoever this boy is, he clearly wasn't one of the many pompous nobles that would visit the castle from time to time. Still cautious, she held out her hand and grasped his.

Merlin's grinned widened, shaking her hand. He wondered if he had just made a new friend. Maybe this castle life wouldn't be so bad if he had some friends around. Mary could feel the faintest hint of a grin briefly hit her face. Whoever this boy was, his boundless energy was clearly contagious.

Realizing that they had been standing there for to long, Mary cleared her throat. "Uh, please follow me. We are almost there."

Merlin nodded happily, following her up another flight of stairs. Mary, the name echoed in his mind. Why did that name sound so familiar?

Merlin shook it off though and kept talking as they walked, "So, do you like it here? In Camelot, I mean?" He still wasn't sure about this place. It didn't seem to bad though. He was still concerned about the king finding out about him and he hadn't even met the prince yet.

Mary glanced back at him, starting to tug on the ends of her hair, "It's fine. I mean, it's the only home that I've really known."

"Really?" Merlin asked brightly. "Me to! I mean, I've never been anywhere but my home. This is my first time in Camelot."

Mary nodded, glancing back at him but unsure what else to say to that. She normally talked a lot but that was usually only with her family or the other servants. This boy was clearly an honored guest if the king had instructed her to get him set up in the room for Prince Arthur's future bride. Although he definitely didn't act like any noble guests that she had ever met.

Besides, no matter how noble the guest was, they had never been allowed to sleep in the royal wing. That wing was meant for the family only. There was another wing on the opposite side of the castle for when important guests visited.

It was as they reached the last hallway that Merlin finally recalled why Mary's name sounded so familiar.

FLASHBACK:

Tristian started to smirk, "I can't wait until we get home. I'm going to check out Mary. I haven't seen her in a year, I have to go and make sure that she hadn't married in the year I've been gone."

"Mary?" Dorian asked. "As in that servant girl from the kitchens that you hook up with at least once a month."

END FLASHBACK:

Merlin wondered briefly if this was the same Mary, although Mary was a fairly common name. There was at least two Mary's in Ealder. One was an old lady and the other one was barely a babe.

He opened his mouth to ask and then thought better of it, shutting his mouth back closed. There really was no way to ask if she was the one that Tristian 'hooked up' with at least once a month. He still didn't know what that expression meant since Leon had stopped him from asking Tristian. Maybe it was some kind of Camelot expression because he definitely couldn't recall ever hearing it in Ealdor.

Hey, maybe Mary would know what it meant.

He opened his mouth to ask but was abruptly cut off before he could get the first word out when Mary said, "Here we are. This will be your room."

She had stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hall that looked like it was made from oak. Mary put her hand on the handle and pushed it open before stepping aside, letting Merlin enter first.

Merlin cautiously entered his new room, eyes widening as he took it in. It was big, was his first thought. It was bigger that his mother's hut back home and this was just for him? Two or three people could easily live in here.

The floor was made of a hard wood. There was a fire place along one of the walls made out of a thick stone. A large thick rug was spread out on the floor in front of it and it looked more comfortable than his ratty old bedroll that he had used for years. He could just imagine falling asleep on it while listening to the crackle of the flames in the background.

His eyes drifted to other parts of the room. Next to the fireplace was a large wardrobe made of mahogany wood. It had two doors that swung out and several smaller drawers on the bottom.

On the other side of the room on the other wall was a large four poster bed. The bed itself looked larger than the entire corner of his hut where his mother and him had slept together. The sheets and thick comforter on top were a deep teal color, unlike anything he had ever seen. He kind of wanted to touch it because he had never seen such a soft material before. There were at least ten pillows at the top of the bed, leaned against the headboard.

That brought him to the question, who needed ten pillows? Rich people, he swear. All Merlin had ever used was a completely flat single pillow that had been worn out for years. It was honestly better to just bunch up one of his shirts that he wasn't wearing and stick it under his head if he wanted a better pillow.

On either side of the bed was a nightstand.

He was standing in the doorway of his room and in one corner next to him was a changing stand made out of slates of wood. It covered up a good bit of the corner, the perfect place to stand behind to change clothes although he couldn't imagine why he would need to hide behind something while he changed in his new room. It's not like anybody would be in here with him.

Him and his mother would need to string up a blanket in one corner of their hut whenever they needed to change clothes or the other would step outside once Merlin started getting old enough that he didn't need his mother watching him change.

On the other corner of the room was a strong, broad looking bookshelf. It was completely bare and Merlin couldn't even begin to think about how he would fill it. The things in his bag probably wouldn't even fill out one drawer on the nightstand. He couldn't even imagine being here for the next several decades and accumulating enough things to actually fill it.

Across from him on the other side of the room was a large mahogany desk. There was some blank pieces of parchment on it and a thick feathered, fancy black quill laying on top with a large tub of ink set on the corner. A large wooden chair was pushed under it, just waiting for him to sit at it, his own desk. He'd never had his own desk before.

Just behind the desk were three large windows. The teal curtains that each window held were hung open, letting the sunlight in through the glass. It was a window that he could see out of but it was decorative, a stained glass window. All he could see was the endless blue skies. They were so high up. Merlin knew that there were places like this, places that were so tall that it looked like they could reach the sky itself. But to actually see it, to be inside such a building, it was something new entirely.

He wanted to go up to the window and look down. He wanted to know what he could see from his own windows other than an endless sky.

"I hope that your bedroom is to your satisfaction." Mary's voice suddenly said from behind him, making him jump violently. Merlin had been so awestruck by his own bedroom that he had completely forgotten all about her. "Will it do?"

Merlin turned to look at her in disbelief. Will it do? Will it do?! That phrase echoed in his head for a moment. Did she often hear complaints about the rooms she showed to people?

It was outrageous to think that anyone could ever find a reason to complain about a room like this. It blew Merlin's mind to think that anybody would have the nerve to complain about such an extravagant room when they could be sleeping out in the barn. Merlin had actually done that once or twice. Him and Will would sneak out of their homes late at night every now and then just to hang out and explore the woods around Ealdor even though they both already knew it like the back of their hands.

Then they would sleep in old Mr. Rodrickson's barn on the edge of the village, up in the hayloft because they were to knackered to sneak back into their homes. Only to wake up far later than they should and have everyone glare at them the entire day after they finally showed up to help in the fields.

"Uh...sir." Mary's voice said awkwardly just behind him. "Will this room do?" She was wringing her hands into the folds of her dress, looking nervous.

Merlin was brought out of his thoughts at Mary's soft voice. He looked back at her startled before facing his new room. "Um, yeah. This will do just fine." His voice cracked, sounding strained. He honestly could not imagine somebody finding fault in a room like this.

Mary relaxed only slightly, looking relieved. "I'm happy that you accept it. I will leave you now to familiarize yourself with your new room." She spoke formally, bowing low.

Merlin watched her baffled as she slowly backed out of the room, still tucked over in a half bow like state. She shut the door behind her as she left, leaving Merlin to stare at the smooth wood of the mahogany door.

Did she just bow to him?

It definitely made him uncomfortable. He didn't want people bowing to him as if...as if he was better than them or something. He wasn't, he really wasn't.

He was Merlin...just Merlin.

He almost wanted to call her back and explain that she didn't have to bow to him. That it wasn't what he wanted. But he resisted following her.

She had acted so jittery, she probably wouldn't want him following her.

After a minute of staring at the door, Merlin shook it off. He could think about this strange interaction later. He had a room to check out.

Merlin dropped his bag on the floor at the foot of the bed before setting out to explore. He made his way straight over to the rug first, bending down to bury his hands into the thickness. Damn, he could just imagine stretching out on this rug while, his eyes flickered over to the fireplace, the fire burned.

Wondering over to the fireplace, he noticed that it was clean. Way cleaner than a fireplace usually would be. It made him wonder when exactly was the last time anybody had used it at all.

The entire place was actually clean, far cleaner than Merlin was used to. Him and his mother had tried to keep their hut decent but dirt always had its way of getting in and it seemed like the more they cleaned, the more dirt came in.

Merlin would never know that several servants had been very confused just a few days earlier when the king had commanded that they clean this room from top to bottom. The very room that nobody had stepped in for twenty years. The king had only done so because he had just recently received a letter from Leon's squad, telling him that they had found Hunith's son and were in the process of obtaining him.

His inspection done, Merlin made his way over to the changing screen. He ducked behind it but there wasn't much to see. Just a corner in where he could dress while hidden.

Then he made his way over to the bookshelf and ran a finger along the wood. There wasn't a single layer of dust on it and Merlin briefly wondered who could possibly own enough books to fill it up as it was taller than he was and much wider as well.

Next was the night tables but both were empty, waiting for him to fill them up with useless things that he had never needed before.

Merlin went over to the wardrobe next and dropped to his knees. The drawers opened smoothly but just like the rest of the room, it was empty so he didn't stay there long.

Merlin clambered to his feet before grabbing the fancy handles of the actual wardrobe. Then he tugged, harder than he meant to. He was used to drawers and doors being awkward, not fitted right into their frame. Or maybe they were just old but there was no way to replace them. So the doors flung open when he yanked on them, nearly knocking him on his ass.

Merlin righted himself, feeling flushed as he glanced around quickly. Obviously, he was the only one in the room but he still felt awkward. It just occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't be doing this. Snooping.

It felt wrong somehow, as if it wasn't his place to go looking through everything.

He had to remind himself that this was his room now. He had every right to see what was in it. So, shaking off the foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turned back to look inside the wardrobe.

Of course, it was empty as well.

Well, almost empty.

Merlin was startled when he came face to face with himself. Hanging inside on one of the doors was an ornate mirror as long as the actual door was. It was startling to suddenly see himself in the reflection of the glass.

He stopped and leaned in closer, inspecting it. He was almost to scared to touch it, afraid that it might break under his clumsy hands. But he couldn't stop staring at the edges that held the glass. Was the glass encased in gold? It looked old fashioned but that didn't take away its beauty.

But surely people didn't put gold around their mirrors.

After several minutes of contemplating it, he shook it off. He really was in a whole new world.

His eyes drifted from the boarders and back to the glass itself, looking at his reflection. He had never really thought much about the state of his clothes or if there was pieces of his hair that he just couldn't lay flat. But then he thought back to King Uther, looking regal on his throne. Did everybody dress like the king did around here or was it just because he was king that he dressed like that.

Had he really met the king looking like this?

Did Arthur dress in a similar fashion?

Merlin's nose scrunched up. He tugged awkwardly on his jacket as a thought came to him, what would Arthur think about how he presented himself?

Just as fast as the thought came did Merlin chase it away. He took the doors of the wardrobe and slammed it shut, maybe a little harder than he had meant to do it. Why did he care what some prince thought of him? They were only just about to get married.

Still...maybe he wanted his husband to like him somewhat. Wouldn't it be an easier life in the long run if they could at least, tolerate each other. Merlin had a feeling though, that the prince was going to like him or not and it wouldn't be based on whatever his clothes or hair looked like.

Merlin had no delusions. He knew that this wasn't going to be a real marriage. There wouldn't be love, how could there be when this whole thing was just an arrangement. He could only hope that Arthur was tolerable to be around.

Merlin shook those depressing thoughts away and kept on exploring his room. The desk was next. He eased himself down into the chair, shifting a little while trying to get comfortable. This chair was surprisingly hard for such a cushy place. Maybe he would need to get one of the smaller of those dozen pillows on his bed to sit on if he ever actually spent a great length of time at this desk.

The stationary on top of it was straight and neat, Merlin wondered how long he would be able to keep it that way before it got messed up. He never could keep his own space straightened up.

The drawers on the desk were just as empty as everywhere else so it didn't take to long to explore.

After all of this looking around, the last place to check out was the bed.

Merlin approached it, looking down at the fluffy comforter that covered it. The teal blue color was actually quite pretty. He started to grin, curiously. He knew that some of the villagers back home had mattresses on their floor but it was always lumpy and filled with straw. Not exactly the most comfortable thing but it did the job.

Merlin put his hand on the blanket, rubbing the texture between his fingers. It was softer than he had expected. He turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling himself sink in slightly. It really was soft, and kinda squishy but not in a bad way. He bounced himself for just a moment. He had a feeling that the bed would probably move with him if he was heavier.

Merlin wasn't exactly the broadest boy around. It was even more obvious in Camelot where trained soldiers and knights walked the grounds.

Glancing around, unsure what to do with himself, he finally grabbed one of the pillows. It was a little square, ice blue colored pillow with decorative gems sewed onto it. He briefly tugged on one of the little gems, wondering if it was real and really hoping it wasn't. He couldn't imagine sleeping on something with real gems. And it wasn't the only pillow like that. At least a handful of the dozen or so was similar.

Merlin glanced back down at his bed before leaning back. He was sitting on the side with his legs hanging off so he wasn't in the bed properly. He didn't want to put his dirt covered boots on the bed and completely ruin what was no doubt, a blanket that was more expensive than his entire life had been.

Merlin tucked the small pillow behind his head and laid all the way down, testing out his new bed. He wiggled for a moment, trying to get a comfortable position before frowning. Was it supposed to be this uncomfortable? It felt as if he was sleeping on a cloud and for a boy like Merlin who had never felt such luxuries, it felt more than a little odd.

He frowned and wiggled some more, convinced that maybe he just wasn't doing it right and that was why it felt so weird. He put his hands behind his head, trying to move the pillow to make it more comfortable but that didn't help at all. Maybe he actually had to be laying in the bed the right way for it to feel good.

Frowning, more than a little annoyed, he rolled over onto his side. Maybe laying on his side would be better. He was still laying down, trying out his bed, but in a new position.

He wiggled some more but just felt himself sinking in some. Damn, it really was like sleeping on a cloud. How did people sleep on something with no firmness, like the floor of his hut that he usually slept on was.

He was just about to give up on trying to find a comfortable position when he saw something that he hadn't noticed before. Merlin perked his head up off the pillow, making sure that he actually saw what was there.

It was a door.

He hadn't noticed it because the wardrobe was right beside it and had mostly shifted it from view. At least until he had laid down on the bed and was now right in front of it.

Merlin glanced around confused, as if somebody was about to burst in and explain what this door was. But of course, nobody did.

The longer he stared at the door, the more curious he got. Where did it lead? What was it for?

It took him a minute to scramble off the bed, nearly falling several times as the bed would sink whenever he moved. He did eventually managed to get his feet planted on the floor.

It was a good thing nobody was in the room because it took him an embarrassingly long amount of time to get off of it.

Now that he was, Merlin walked over to the door. It was smaller than the thick, fancy door that led into his room. But make no mistake, it was no less fancy despite its slimmer size.

After studying it curiously for a minute, he leaned over and put his head next to the door so that his ear was up against it. He definitely couldn't hear anything so that was something.

He couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. His mother always did say that his curiosity was bigger than he was. So Merlin put his hand on the door handle and turned it, already pushing against the door so that it would swing open.

He walked right into it.

"Ow!" Merlin yelped startled, putting his hand to his shoulder where he had just rammed into the door.

Merlin frowned, glancing back at the door. He tried again and pushed against it a little harder, trying to force it open, thinking it might just be stuck like his front door in Ealdor did.

It took him a minute to realize why it wouldn't open. It was locked.

Merlin fiddled with the handle but it was clear that it didn't have a lock. Which meant that the door was locked from the other side.

The boy scowled, "Alright, I have a mysterious door in my room. Nothing weird about that." He grumbled to himself before finally giving up. He couldn't exactly use his magic to throw it open. He didn't know any unlocking spells.

Merlin finally stepped away from the door and went to his bag of clothes. He might as well start unpacking. He did so, using only the nightstand seeing as he had so few actual clothes. There was no point in using a wardrobe when the nightstand could hold everything.

He didn't bother with folding them and putting them away like his mother would have insisted. Instead, he just dumped the entire bag out into his drawer, watching the few things he own fall in a heap inside.

He dropped his now empty bag beside his bed. He was about to close the top drawer when he stopped himself. There, just peeking out from under one of his shirts.

Frowning, he tugged the shirt out to see better. And then he sighed, having almost forgotten all about them. Merlin reached in and pulled out his money pouch and the letter from his mother to Gaius. It was a good thing he had found it because the letter was already flattened but at least now it wasn't crushed. He carelessly tossed his shirt back into the drawer and slammed it shut.

Merlin tossed his money pouch and the letter on top of the nightstand. He would need those later.

Now that he had literally explored his entire room, he had nothing left to do. So he threw himself back onto his new bed and slung his arm over his eyes. Only then did he give a low groan.

He was getting married soon.

Many floors down, Arthur didn't know that his intended had arrived and was getting settled up in his own room. He was to busy fuming. Now that the panic over his upcoming marriage had faded, all he felt was a new wave of anger.

Could this really be happening to him? He had always known that he would be married off eventually, he just figured that he would always have just a little more time. That his arranged marriage would just be something way off in the future that never actually came.

But that wasn't true. His marriage was coming, and fast. As in, within the next two days fast. And not to some common princess from some far away kingdom who would come to live here in Camelot. She could have at least helped him rule while their kingdoms shared armies and trade.

No, he was getting married off to some country bumpkin from the middle of nowhere. The boy couldn't offer Camelot any lands, money, not even an army. What exactly was he bringing into this marriage?

Not to mention the fact that he was a boy.

Arthur shivered at the thought of their wedding night. What exactly was he supposed to do? It was expected that they would have to consummate their marriage. He would have to do it, as it was his duty. But still, he wasn't even sure if he would be able to...get it up...with a boy.

Arthur had been with a handful of young women before. He knew what he was doing...with a girl. But with this guy, he would have to do it as fast as possible and then send him on his way.

Arthur thought back to Morgana's comment earlier, about how there were books catering towards how to please a man. He shivered in disgust at how exactly Morgana knew that, he didn't want to think about why she would be looking through those.

He also wasn't interested in 'pleasing' his husband. He felt a crawling sensation going down his spine, as if he was about to be ill. Just the thought of laying with another man... they both had a duty to fulfill and that was it. It wouldn't be a pleasurable experience for either of them.

Hopefully afterwards, he could scrub himself clean and Arthur wouldn't have any reason to spend any actual time with his so called husband. Maybe he could pretend that the whole thing hadn't even happened if he could manage to stay clear of him.

Arthur came out of his thoughts only as he reached the door to the armory. He put his hands on the large doors and flung them open with as much force as he could muster. He must have misjudged his anger because the doors slammed open and bang loudly on the walls behind them.

Inside was a scrawny boy about the prince's age. He wore servant clothing although they were only slightly better than the average servants. Being the manservant to the prince did come with a significant pay raise.

The boy inside the room had been sitting on the floor, carefully sharpening Arthur's blade. The prince had used it yesterday during training and it was now his job to make sure that it stayed sharp, which meant every few days he was sharpening it. Probably more than was actually necessary but the boy took pride in his work. It wouldn't do for his prince to go out into battle with a dull blade.

The young manservant's dull brown eyes widened, shaken and startled by the door's suddenly flying open like that. For a minute there, he thought that something truly horrible had happened. Although now he wasn't convinced that something horrible hadn't happened, seeing Prince Arthur's face as he stormed in.

Remembering himself, the manservant jumped to his feet, the handle of the sword held in front of him. He quickly bowed as low as he could without falling over. "Sire." He said in acknowledgement, his straight brown hair falling slightly in front of his eyes.

Arthur gave him a glance, just as surprised to see somebody inside. But just as he did, his eyes slid away from the boy in disinterest. It was just his manservant, nobody of any actual importance.

Arthur started looking around the room for what he needed. The manservant never moved from his bowed over position. What kind of manservant would he be if he didn't show his prince the proper respect that he deserved.

The armory was filled with everything they needed. One side of the wall held exclusively blades of all kind. There was one area dedicated to crossbows or regular bows and arrows. Along one wall were several shields stacked up on top of each other or hung on the walls. Many of them bore the Pendragon crest but there were several that had different crests on them, mainly from other noble families within Camelot's borders. There were large crates along the final wall that held different pieces of armor. One for helmets and another for shin guards and so on. There was a large table in the middle of the room that held random bits or bobs that were just dumped there because the servants that actually worked in the armory hadn't sharpened, or cleaned them yet.

The manservant still bowed over was his own personal servant, he was the only one that actually handled Arthur's personal equipment.

But right now, Arthur didn't need his own sword. He wanted something else which was why he went straight over to the wall where the blades were sitting. After a moment of scanning the shelves, he tugged out a large leather sheath. Peeking inside, he smirked as he saw the several large daggers inside.

This would be perfect. A little target practice would be just the thing to get his mind off of all of this. He quickly closed the pouch back up and turned to look at his manservant.

"Morris," Arthur called, authority in his voice.

Morris jumped to attention, quickly straightening up. "Yes, sire?" He asked quickly.

Arthur's eyes glanced around the armory, paying Morris no actual attention before he finally saw what he wanted. Leaning against the walls were one of his old target boards. It was just a large piece of thick wood carved into a circle to make a good target. There were several holes already in it as it had been pelted with blades several times over the years.

Arthur waved his fingers at it, "Go fetch my target board. I need to sharpen up on my throwing skills." Not that he really needed to. He knew that his skills were top notch and in ready form. The one thing his father drilled into him was that you needed to be ready for anything.

He briefly wondered if being arranged to marry a peasant boy counted as 'ready for anything'.

He doubted that it did, what noble could ever be prepared for something like that? It was completely unheard of, unthinkable, laughable even. He would be the laughing stock of all of Camelot and even among their allies once word got out of his hasten marriage.

What would the rumors about why they had married be? He couldn't even begin to imagine what the bored common people would come up with or what the nobles would whisper to each other during their parties.

Not to mention the horror that Arthur would feel going through him by bringing some boy to these parties on his arm? The boy would probably be a better fit working with the servants. But imagine the embarrassment, it would be as if the boy was snubbing other nobles if Arthur just sent him away.

This whole thing would have to be very carefully done.

The boy no doubt had no idea how to behave in polite society. He would be no better than the servants who ran along the castle.

Arthur shivered in disgust, already feeling the embarrassment of having a peasant boy at important functions. Not for the first time he thought, what had his father been thinking, actually signing the contract that had gotten them all into this mess?

At least a princess would know her duties, how to behave...could look good on Arthur's arm. What could this boy do other than give Arthur a headache before they had even met.

Arthur was so lost in his thoughts as he stormed out, paying absolutely no attention to if Morris was following him.

Morris acted quickly, nearly falling over his own feet to get this done. He slid the prince's blade into one of the stands for Morris to deliver to the prince's bedchambers later on. Then he hurried on over to the large target board. It was just shy of reaching his own modest high, much to big for him to carry a long distance. He had to turn the target and roll it across the armory to the door.

"MORRIS!" He heard somewhere in the distance. Arthur had come out of his thoughts and was now impatiently storming towards the courtyard.

"Coming sire!" Morris called, picking up the pace as he rolled the target after his prince.

Arthur was scowling by the time Morris reached him just outside the castle. He gave Morris a death glare, making the manservant wince. He had upset Arthur...again.

Arthur shot Morris a look of pure contempt before storming off towards the lower city. He had been planning his target practice a little more privately. But since Morris had taken himself so long, it might do the boy some good to have a little humiliation. And what better way then to do it in front of the townspeople.

Morris was still trailing along after him with no idea what was to come. He was torn between not letting the large target fall over and admiring the prince's broad shoulders from behind.

Morris had worked hard to be where he was now. Even among servants, there was a certain status. There were the random servants that did whatever needed to be done that day. Then above them were the cleaning servants, then the kitchen servants. After then came the more important servants, those that waited on the nobles specifically.

He was higher than all of the other servants, except for perhaps the king's manservant. But it didn't matter that there was still a single servant with status above him even though it irked him to know that someone with the same standing as him was also considered just slightly above him.

It was only a matter of time after all. Morris worked as Prince Arthur's manservant. It might still be a few years yet but someday, it would be Arthur that was king. Then Morris would be the one with the highest status running among the servants.

And then someday after...maybe be more than just a servant.

Morris let the barest hint of a smirk shine through before it was gone just as soon as it had appeared. After Arthur was king, nobody would dare tell him that he couldn't change the unofficial marriage rules about peasants and nobles. Hell, the people didn't even tell the prince now that they were uncertain about him being king. They definitely wouldn't dare argue against him when he was king.

The only problem was, how to get Arthur to fall in love with him. Morris didn't particularly care for Arthur, he was just a skipping stone, a necessary endeavor to get where he wanted.

On the throne of Camelot.

Morris had worked hard to become the prince's manservant but only because he knew that this was his best way to become familiar with Prince Arthur. To get his attention so that he at least knew who Morris was.

While Morris was doing his duties, he was also paying attention during council meetings or in the background while Arthur talked to his father. He was learning everything he could about what it took and what he needed to know to pass as a noble.

But the only way for him to be a noble, curse his parents for being content as simple farmers, was to marry one. He had no lands, titles, money, nothing that could make it happen. So he had come to the conclusion as a young child that he would have to marry one. And what noble was better than the prince of his kingdom?

Prince Arthur was a bully to his own people, Morris would make a better king than he would. All he had to do was get the prince to fall in love with him so that they could marry and then boom, he'd be the highest person in Camelot. The one that people looked up to instead of down at.

And when Morris got tired of acting like a king for the day, he'd let Arthur take over. Then he could relax in the sun. He could be the one having servants fan him while being fed grapes. He could finally be the one that was waited on instead of the one working.

This whole manservant thing was all just a part of his plan. Nobody spent as much time with the prince than Morris did.

That was why he did everything he could to make the prince happy. He worked his ass off so that Prince Arthur might think of him fondly and that was just one step closer to him falling in love with his own servant. Wouldn't you fall in love with someone who did everything they could just to please you?

And it didn't hurt that the prince was a looker.

Morris was in no hurry. He knew that the prince had to marry someday, probably to some random princess who didn't know squat about running a kingdom like he did, but he had plenty of time.

By the time that the king started looking for matches for his son, Morris would have his hooks so deep into Arthur, that the prince would go up against his own father for him.