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!

14. Chapter 14

Inside the throne room where the wedding was taking place, all of the people stood and turned around as the door flung open. Many people were leaning over to try and see the figure in the doorway or trying to look around taller people in front of them to get a good look at their prince's bride.

Only, there was no bride.

Instead, a man walked in. Well if you could call him a man. He looked more like a boy really, wearing clothes that only a noble could afford.

The people started to whisper among themselves in confusion, wondering who this boy was and where was the bride. Most nobles run in the same circles so pretty much everybody knew the other nobles in the vicinity if not by name then at least by face from the many parties they have attended or thrown themselves over the years. But nobody recognized this boy. He was young, that was for sure, many people assuming he had to be the son of one of the nobles although whose was a big question.

Most nobles knew the children of other nobles once they'd reached a certain age, old enough to start attending their sophisticated parties and partaking in their oh, so very important conversations. But within seconds, it was clear that nobody knew who the boy standing in the doorway was or why he was here.

Where was the bride? Why wasn't she starting to walk down the aisle? The trumpets were still playing, surely that meant that she was supposed to arrive. But no woman stepped out of the shadows, no woman in a beautiful Pendragon red dress coming out of the woodwork to accept her place by the prince. Just this boy in his Pendragon red cape, looking more like an uncertain child than anything else really.

Merlin glanced around, stopping mid-step when he realized just how many people were in there. It hadn't occurred to him that so many people would show up for what was a farce arrangement. But they had and it was clear that they were all nobles. Merlin glanced towards one of the corners of the room where a handful of servants were waiting for their masters to call them if they needed anything. He almost wished he could make a beeline straight towards them. The servants were more his kind of people anyway.

But he couldn't, at least not right now.

What did it say about Merlin that he would rather spend his night with the servants instead of the members of high society. Probably that he was a good person who valued quality over riches. But nobody would see it like that. It may be considered an insult to some that Merlin, with his new found status, would rather interact with the 'filth of their society' instead of with the ones in actual power.

Merlin glanced away from the servants to look back towards the crowd of noblemen and ladies that had stood from their seats to watch him enter. He looked all the way down the red carpet that had been laid out just for him to walk up. Merlin, personally, thought it was overkill. He would have been happier if they'd been outside and the wedding was more of a fun event with friends and family instead of this overelaborate event. Hell, he would have accepted a wedding just like this one if there was a guy he truly loved at the end of the aisle. But there wasn't a guy he loved at the end of the aisle waiting for them to begin their lives together.

It was going to be Arthur Bloody Pendragon.

But he couldn't even see Arthur on the other side of the hall. Fuck, if that prat had literally left him at the alter, Merlin was going to do more than try to punch him. If anybody was going to leave this wedding, it was going to be him.

He didn't belong here after all. Not with these people who wore clothes made out of silk or velvet, who wore jewels that cost more than his entire life did. He belonged in the corner with the other peasants, wearing the clothes he knew and working to make a little extra coin so he'd get dinner.

Merlin felt Leon stepping in the doorway behind him. When Merlin still didn't move as the doors shut behind them, trapping him inside this grand room, the knight nudged him as a way to force Merlin to start walking on his own.

The people who had been whispering among themselves, questioning who this boy was, went hushed as he walked further into the room.

Merlin swallowed hard and lifted his chin a little higher, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. He met the eyes of many as he passed them by before looking away again only to meet the eyes of another. The nobles had a variety of looks from confusion, amusement, or just plain disgust as a handful concluded that there was no possible way that he could be from noble stock.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder to where Leon was standing in front of the closed doors, his hands folded neatly together in front of him. And Merlin knew on the other side of the door were those two guards, blocking off the main exit. Was it him or did this feel less like a wedding and more like a prison?

He felt as if he was being marched off to a jail cell instead of to an altar. Yes, the room didn't look anything like a jail cell, it couldn't even be mistake as such. Not with the banners swung everywhere, each with the Pendragon crest on it, the vases with flowers sticking out of them, each rose that seemed to be redder then the last.

The flowers looked luscious, thicker and fuller than any he'd ever seen before. They almost seemed to come out of the vases that they were in, the vases to small to contain their voluminous stems. Merlin usually didn't mind roses to much, they were as beautiful as any flower in his eyes. The red to their petals could mean things like life and passion, fire and joy. But to Merlin, all that redness seemed to represent fire in a different light. As in the kind of fire that was set as the pyre burned beneath him, smelling his own scorched skin as his body erupted from the flames that overtook him.

It was the first time he'd ever thought of something as simple as a rose like that. Hopefully he wouldn't always, they really were quite pretty. But that was before there was so many set about on this day that brought him anything but joy or passion or such.

Camelot had already ruined everything by bringing him here. They'd ruined him by forcing him to leave his mother, forcing him to reside in a castle that he did not want to live in, to wear these clothes that stuck uncomfortably to his skin, and forced him to marry a man he did not love.

He really hoped Camelot wouldn't ruin what little joy he got from seeing something as simple as a rose growing.

He still would have preferred wildflowers over roses, if he'd gotten a say in the wedding preparations at all. But he didn't because they didn't care to hear for his opinion on how he wanted his own wedding to go. They'd gone with roses because roses were the most romantic flower, even Merlin knew that much about them. It was a simple choice to make no doubt, easy. It was probably made easier by the fact that these roses were just as red as the Pendragon color that seemed to be draped everywhere.

It was a perfect match in the eyes of many.

But Merlin couldn't help but think about the patch of wildflowers that grew near his home in Ealdor, a small field that grew on just one side of the village, the side that headed further into Cenred's kingdom as opposed to the forest that grew on the side of the village that led to Camelot. Not even Will liked to go there with him, mainly because the wildflowers aggravated his hay fever. He couldn't blame him for that one. That still hadn't stop Merlin from going out there every few weeks just to lay in the field and watch the stars erupt in the sky as night fell before him.

The beauty and grandness of the room around him did nothing to deter the fact that he was feeling as if he were a prisoner.

As if the red carpet was the walkway and the nobles sitting on either side of it were congregating to see the 'fresh bait' just now entering their domain. Even though the crowd was silent as he walked, he could almost imagine them jeering and laughing at him.

It was a surreal experience, feeling so disconnected, so lost, within your own body. Feeling so out of place, as if you just didn't belong. He knew better than anyone else what it felt like to be different, to know you're different and nothing in the world was going to change what you were. But this was something else entirely.

Nothing but discomfort all around for everybody involved. Nothing but trying to force him into a place where he just didn't belong. It was like having a puzzle piece and trying to force it into a different puzzle. No matter how hard you forced it or try to get it to fit, it just didn't go.

Like him. Merlin just didn't fit, not with all of these 'high society' people.

Merlin's eyes met Gaius as he passed him on the end of one of the benches. Gaius gave him an encouraging nod and Merlin raised his chin just the tiniest bit higher, taking his steps just the slightest bit faster.

He didn't belong here, he would be the first to admit that but still, it was nice to know that he wasn't entirely alone. That maybe he wouldn't have to be completely alone.

Arthur probably hated this marriage as much as he did. And if he didn't, he surely would after he saw it was Merlin standing at the altar. After all, who would want to marry the guy that tried to hit you the first time they met. Maybe Merlin could try and convince Arthur that they could be friends, bonded and forced together by circumstances out of their control. If they couldn't be an actual couple, maybe they could get a new friend out of the arrangement.

Merlin doubted that Arthur would go for it. He didn't seem like the type that would be 'friends' with a commoner, even if that commoner was his new husband.

Merlin was halfway up the rug now and he would swear to his dying day that the altar was getting further and further away. It was like the more he walked, the longer it seemed to take to get anywhere. He'd only walked half the length of the room but he could swear that it felt like miles and miles. Like an endlessly long trek that he couldn't reach no matter how much he walked. He'd had dreams like this before, dreams where he was trying to get somewhere but never seemed to actually go anywhere before he woke up.

Only this wasn't a dream. It was reality, his reality and all of the noble people watching him were anxiety inducing. It was like each pair of eyes on him left a stinging spot on his skin. As if they were somehow engraving themselves onto his very soul, just waiting and watching for something to happen. Most were probably still wondering who he was, others who'd figured out that he was the 'bride', were either gaping or glaring. It was an unsettling feeling, to say the least.

But Merlin felt his jaw lock and he could swear he felt his eyes flashing as the shimmer of anger he'd had before he left his room flared up. He just hoped his eyes were flashing his anger and not flashing gold. Well nothing abnormal had happened so that was a good sign at least. Merlin felt his fingers twitch at his side, clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His shirt had been made to fit him perfectly so the sleeves ended just passed his wrists. If he wasn't wearing the cloak that hid his hands from view, everybody would have seen the anger and irritation that was starting to course through his veins.

He was actually thankful for the cloak for once. At least he didn't have to hide his rage but nobody would be pointing it out to him either.

But still, Merlin felt his jaw relax and he forced his fists to unclench before his nails could start forcing beads of blood to the surface from where he had dug them into the palms of his hands. It wouldn't do to be married with bloody hands, which was probably the only reason he allowed himself to let go anyway.

Merlin, under the scrutiny of the court, raised his chin a little higher. He straightened his spine so that he wasn't walking with his usual slouch. He would be damned if he allowed a bunch of people who no doubt, hadn't done a hard day of labor in their lives, shame him into being the 'sad sack' as Morris had called him that one time. He'd be damned if he let Arthur think he had some kind of leverage or pull on him since they were going to be married.

He would be damned if Arthur or anybody thought he was lesser just because he wasn't a noble like the rest of them.

He still had to force his legs to walk and not knock together from a growing uneasiness that erupted from the pit of his stomach.

Two noble women Merlin was passing was leaned into the other's space whispering to each other urgently. They were obviously sisters. They wore the exact same thick and modest dress, the exact same color. Their hair was pulled up in the exact same hair style, not a curl different from the other. Hell, they even wore the same exact jewelry. They were probably twins if their similar age and exact facial features were anything to go by. The only difference was that one of the girl's had thick brown hair and the other looked more like platinum blonde.

"Whose he?" The brunette noble woman whispered over her shoulder to her sister. "I thought the bride was supposed to be coming out."

The blonde glanced over to look at her sister with a bemused frown, the dots connecting together, "You don't think..."

The brunette looked confused for a moment before what her sister was saying struck her. She gave a loud and startled gasp, drawing the attention of several people that sat near her. "No! But I didn't think the prince was into men!"

"It's the first I'm hearing about it." Her blonde haired twin whispered back. No wonder nobody knew who was marrying the prince. No wonder the king was keeping it under wraps. When was the last time a nobleman married someone of the same gender, hell, when was the last time that noble was a prince.

"But a peasant, really?" The brunette frowned. "Is the king serious?" Because despite the rich clothing, it was obvious that this boy was anything but a noble. A true noble would be able to spot it in an instant. Maybe it was the way he walked or his wide eyes as he looked from side to side as he passed them by. But whatever it was, it was obvious that there was no nobility in this boy's lineage.

"I don't know." Her blonde haired sister whispered back, lips quirking into a wry grin. "He must be something special if the king is approving of their marriage. He wouldn't just marry his heir off to anybody."

The brunette haired sister scoffed, always the cynic, "Or he has something on the royal family and somehow blackmailed them into steamrolling this union. It would definitely explain why it was so rushed and put together last minute. I barely had time to order our new dresses."

The blonde, more of a dreamer than her sister, scoffed. "I'm sure a common peasant wouldn't have been able to do that. The king could just have him thrown into the dungeons to silence him if that was true."

"Then you tell me why this union between the prince and a peasant instead of the bride we were all expecting." Her brunette haired sister demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" The blonde haired sister asked amused, eyes twinkling. "It's true love, of course!" The brunette scoffed, shaking her head and turning away to watch the boy pass them by.

Across the hall, against one of the corners, was a bundle of servants waiting in the background. Most of them were servants that worked in the castle that had been instructed to serve the party after the wedding. Although a couple of them were servants from other households that had been brought in by their own masters. Either way, most every of them were excited, being the handful of servants that were able to witness this historic event. Not many people who didn't have a proud lineage that went at least ten generations would get to see it.

Although despite the excited mutter going on amongst the servants of the court, only one of these servants was seething.

Morris stood against the wall, mostly hidden by the other servants. He had his jaw locked and his head ducked down to hide behind his bangs. He was using his bangs to hide the flames that seemed to be forming in his eyes.

Watching Merlin walk up the carpet, watching him take what was supposed to be Morris'...it was infuriating, it made a rage unlike any he'd ever felt before form in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to storm across the room and rip off that cloak so that he could wear it himself. How dare that idiot be able to wear such expensive clothing. Morris wouldn't have even been able to afford a square of the fabric the boy was wearing, especially not on a manservant's salary. He may earn more than the average servant but it still wasn't more than an extra few coins, nothing of any real substance.

He couldn't stop thinking that it should have been him. That it should have been him who was walking in front of all these people, he would have walked in with a cocky swagger. He should have been the one that the prince was marrying, pledging his loyalty to in front of all these people. If only so that the people that were lower than a prince, pretty much everyone but the king himself, would know just how important and how much higher in status Morris was compared to them all.

That was when Merlin stumbled. It wasn't a big one but it was clear that he'd stumbled just a bit. Morris felt a stir of amusement hit him, smirking. That boy wouldn't last long, he'd give him a week before he tried to leave. The court would tear him apart. He just wished that the fool had fallen on his face, that would show him just how much the court 'respected' a peasant in power.

Merlin felt his face flush when he tripped, hearing the people he was passing giggle under their breaths. He locked his jaw and kept going as if he hadn't just tripped, looking straight ahead. He should have known that he wouldn't have made it across the room without something happening. At least he hadn't fallen straight on his face, that would have been the icing on the cake. This night, this terrible and horrible night, couldn't end fast enough for his taste.

Just a few people over from Morris, Gwen was slinking against the wall, trying to hide herself as she saw Merlin walking. She could feel another sting of embarrassment from how she had treated the boy when she'd met him in the stocks. But then again, she hadn't been prepared to meet someone who was now so much higher in status than herself locked in the stocks.

She was cringing so hard at the reminder of the easy going way she'd spoken to him. She couldn't believe she had talked to him so normally instead of the formality she was supposed to use when addressing those higher than her. She had talked to him as if he was a new friend instead of a new member of the family she worked for.

The flush on her face made her feel weird. She felt worried, she was probably going to lose her job over this! She loved her job! Lady Morgana was so much nicer than any of the other ladies Gwen could have worked for instead.

Merlin was probably not wanting somebody to talk to him the way she had, not if he was having a sudden raise in status. Gwen knew all to well how those in power got more arrogant the higher up in the social chain they went to.

Crap, Gwen really was going to lose her job over this, wasn't she? She had worked under Lady Morgana since she was twelve years old, it was pretty much the only job she'd ever had. She knew full well how lucky she was to have worked under such a kind mistress, not every maid was as lucky as she had been. But now it was going to end and all because of a five minute conversation where she hadn't treated him like she should a noble.

She couldn't believe she hadn't known who Merlin was when she had approached him. It was pretty much ingrained in all of the servants to know all of the new people in the castle. Just so they could know which nobles were a 'must avoid'. That was why all of the confusion and gossip going on in the castle the last few days had been worst than usual. Nobody had known who Arthur was marrying and something that huge should have been passed around within seconds of Uther announcing it.

But then again, no wonder nobody had known that the 'bride' was Merlin. Gwen doubted that anybody would have thought the boy in the stocks would be here today, getting up there to marry Arthur.

Gwen didn't think she would have been able to do it. Not to Arthur at least, not with how cruel he could be. But then again, most people probably would overlook something like that to get their chance at having the crown.

She just hadn't thought Merlin would be one of those people.

Up further into the room, there was a handful of knights that were standing guard against one of the walls. They were waiting just in case the worst happened and something like an assassination attempt happened. Or you know, they were mainly on crowd control if one of the nobles drunk to much and started causing problems.

One of the knights chosen for this duty was Markus, Arthur's main 'friend'.

Markus was frowning, his eyebrows furrowing together as he watched the boy walking further into the hall. Who the hell was this guy? He looked familiar but Markus couldn't think of where he had seen him.

But either way, was this supposed to be some kind of joke? Some kind of prank and this fool was the entertainment before the bride herself came out. Because there was no way this fool was the one that Arthur was marrying.

For one, he was a guy. Markus would have known if Arthur had any interest in guys. Markus prided himself on being the closest to Arthur in terms of friendship. He thought he'd known everything he had to know about the prince and how to maintain a close friendship with him. How could he miss the obvious? How could he miss Arthur being attracted to other men?

He would have slept with Arthur ages ago if he'd known that. Maybe sleeping with a prince would have given him some higher promotions that he'd been aiming for. He already got noticed for his close friendship with the prince and had risen up in the ranks, probably a little faster than he usually would have if he'd been any other knight.

Markus got greedy, thinking about what stuff he could have gotten if he'd been sleeping with the prince all this time. Then he scowled to himself, he should have thought about doing that years ago. Knowing Arthur though, he'd probably ruin what ever process he made on the prince if he tried something now. Then he could say goodbye to the status he got among the other knights by being so close to the prince.

Fuck, now he was stuck as just the friend. He couldn't risk losing what he had by trying for more. One wrong step out of line and he would probably end up at the bottom of the barrel if he went about things the wrong way.

Besides, Arthur would undeniably be a top, he couldn't picture the prince bottoming for anybody else. And Markus himself was a top, that was non-negotiable. They just wouldn't be compatible, not as fuck-buddies at least.

It never occurred to Markus that he was thinking these thoughts at Arthur's wedding. Him being at Arthur's wedding to another wouldn't have even been a deal breaker. That if it wasn't for the reasons above, he probably would have tried to get some extra favors out of Arthur by sleeping with him, he had no qualms with that.

Hell, if Markus could get something out of it, he wouldn't have minded having a go with Arthur in the back room while this boy was waiting at the altar all alone.

Sucks that Arthur was most definitely a top as well.

In the front row of the benches, Lady Helena was sitting as a guest of honor. Like most of the other ladies in the room, she had her hair styled in what had become a very popular hairdo this year. It was mostly pulled up but she had a lot hanging down as well, neatly folded over her shoulder. She wore a floor length, long sleeve, honeyed yellow dress flowing out neatly around her ankles.

Helena was standing along with the rest of the crowd, watching Arthur's fiancé make his way down the hall. She had her jaw locked, looking in disbelief at the boy that had everyone's attention.

'Lady Helena' was a master of disguise. She knew more than anybody how to keep herself hidden, it was what had gotten her through many troubles in her youth. She had gotten even better once she'd mastered using gems to focus her magic. She brought her hand up to finger at the deep red gem hanging above her breasts.

It didn't matter that the boy was wearing such elaborate clothing, she would still recognize him anyway. That idiotic serving boy that had been in her room, the one that had almost caught her reflection as he turned around to grab the real Lady Helena's bottle off her vanity.

Did the king lower his standards for the type of person he would marry his only heir off to? Helena felt the disgust course through her. Someone who was no better than a serving boy, having such close ties to the royal family...it was outrageous! How did this peasant boy get so close to the throne when her own son hadn't even had a proper burial?

How was this fair? How was any of this fair? Lady Helena had to tuck her hands into the folds of her skirt in an effort to hide how clenched her fists had gotten.

Arthur Pendragon was her main priority, the one that she had to kill above anything else. But if she had time, if there was an opportunity for her to do it, she would take out this boy as well. Simply because of the audacity he had to be getting married into such a prominent family while her own son was rotting away wherever the king had his body thrown out to.

And that was only if it wasn't put to fire outright to get rid of it.

Lady Helena raised her chin just a little, forcing her jaw to relax, if only to keep up her disguise. It wouldn't do for the demure Lady Helena to be seen glaring death at someone so close to the royal family. Not until she was able to put the finishing touches of her plan in motion.

And then, and then she could make this boy a widow before his marriage life actually begun.

Patience, she had to keep telling herself, patience. Her time would arrive soon enough. She just had to get through the wedding, and then her revenge would literally be in the palm of her hand.

Standing in front of the benches and just to the side where the family was supposed to stand was Uther. The man watched the crowd of his citizens and their reactions to the boy's entrance.

He had expected a mix of reactions, you never know what the response could be when introducing something new to such a variety of people. Especially when it was something so unheard of as a peasant of the same gender marrying a prince. Every now and then a peasant may marry a noble but it was a once a generation occurrence but even then it was usually different genders. A same gender marriage with someone as high up as his son...he hated to admit it but this probably wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon. It would probably be written in their history books, the prince of Camelot marrying a male peasant...

It wasn't exactly something he would have wanted his son to be remembered by. Maybe if they were lucky, an accident would happen and the boy would die. Then they could sweep this whole incident under the rug as if it had never happened. Before the news could spread to the other kingdoms.

But alas, he doubted him and his family would be so lucky as to get rid of this stain on their family.

Uther had his face of stone on, not a single emotion flickering to the surface. In that moment, it was clear where his son had learned it from. Uther was a king, he couldn't afford to have his subjects see any emotion that would give away what he was actually feeling.

He could feel disgusted, his princely son having to marry a common boy. His son who was so much better than the common filth of their society and yet had to settle with a boy like this. A boy who was probably as common as they come.

He could feel annoyed because Merlin apparently hadn't inherited Balinor's gift of magic. Then he could have just had the boy rightfully executed as were their laws and been done with it. Then none of them would be here today.

He could have felt anger, once again remembering how stupid and trusting he'd been when he'd first become king. He should have listened to his father who'd been king before him. The man had always told him to never trust anybody. Turns out he was right, why couldn't he have learned that lesson before all of this? He sure did know it now.

He could have felt regret because his son would probably hate him. Uther knew he didn't have a close relationship with his son, he blamed himself for that, but this passed week it had been even more strained than before. He didn't know if what little relationship they had before would recover from this.

But he didn't feel any of that. Instead, all he felt was relief. Relief that things were moving along and nothing had happened to postpone this wedding. That everything was going as smoothly as possible and that this would all finally be over soon.

Uther cast a look towards the door near them, now if only Arthur would come out already. He briefly wondered if he would have to send someone in after him. The prince was taking longer to get himself together than the king would have liked.

Standing right beside Uther was Lady Morgana. The Lady had her hand up, playing with the ends of her wrap as she watched Merlin make his debut in front of the nobles of Camelot.

She was smirking to herself, enjoying this far more than she actually should. She let her eyes wander over Merlin's form, smirk widening just a little. Who knew the boy could clean up so nicely?

Why yes, it was obvious that he was anything but a noble, it was almost kind of cute. Like a baby deer walking on gangly limbs for the first time. She would enjoy bringing up this moment for years to come, thinking about the moment that Merlin became a part of their little family.

And if she could torture Arthur with the fact that yes, Merlin was one of them now, well that just made this whole thing more amusing than it should be.

Morgana met eyes with Merlin when he was almost to the altar. She gave him an encouraging head nod, thinking that he would probably need all of the encouragement he could get. He definitely wouldn't be getting any from Uther and she highly doubted that Arthur would give him any. Not with the mood that he was in when she'd left him.

Morgana had to drag her eyes away from Merlin's to look towards the door where Arthur was hiding away. It wasn't like Arthur to hide, she wondered briefly if something was wrong but shook it off. Surely if something had happened then everybody would know about it. There would be some kind of ruckus or noise from inside the chambers. With how quiet everybody was being, the eyes of everybody sorely focused on Merlin, surely they would have heard something.

Morgana dragged her eyes away from the door and back to what was happening in front of her. To Merlin who was just reaching the first of the benches. Just a few more steps and he would be at the altar. The empty altar because Arthur was taking his sweet time getting out of here.

Maybe he had run, Morgana thought. But that room didn't have any windows, it was a room for the servants so their ancestors hadn't bothered to put windows in when the castle was being built. But that was also when servants were treated way worse than they were now, not that now was much better. But at least their servants were no longer branded and made to wear collars so that others would know which house they belonged to.

At that moment, the door to the back room swung open and Arthur took a step out, letting the door close behind him. His eyes were strangely blank as he stared ahead of himself. He couldn't see beyond the crowd of people, many who had turned to watch him as he exited the room.

From where Merlin was walking and Arthur was coming out, it was impossible to see the other due to the crowd of people standing in between them.

Arthur took in a deep breath but only through his nose, trying to be subtle about it. He wouldn't allow his people to see any trace of nervousness in him. He was strangely numb to what was happening, almost as if he was somewhere else instead of at his own wedding. He could have been sitting in on one of the many boring council meetings.

Arthur didn't meet the eyes of any of his people, nor did he try to look for his fiancé through the gaps in the crowd. Instead, he stared straight ahead at where Geoffrey was standing next to the altar. His eyes were trained forward, refusing to move from Geoffrey's as he walked up to stand in front of the altar.

Arthur had his back to his citizens, not turning around even when he knew that he should. If he turned around, he would see his fiancé. The man that he was going to marry right here and right now, the man that he felt not an ounce of love for. A man that he would have no chance of ever falling in love with. It would be hard to do that when Arthur had never felt the slightest bit of attraction before in the male form.

Arthur didn't want to admit it, he almost refused to admit it, even to himself, that he was scared to turn around. Scared to see the face of the man that would probably end up haunting his nightmares in the next few weeks to come.

Merlin had stopped walking when he'd reached the end of the red carpet, freezing as Arthur somehow reached the platform before he did. It had led him straight towards the platform he would have to stand on. The platform that Arthur Bloody Pendragon now stood on top of with his back to him.

When Arthur had arrived mere moments ago, Merlin had felt his breath catch when he'd first caught sight of him. He would never admit it, not even to himself, that Arthur cleaned up nice. It didn't matter that all he could see was the prince from the back, it was a surprisingly nice and broad looking back. He felt himself cringe in disgust at those thoughts.

No, no, no. No way, not happening, not in this lifetime or any lifetime was he going to admit that there was anything attractive about Arthur Bloody Pendragon. Not his stupid clothes that fitted over every muscle he had, and he could definitely see more of them than he'd realized the prince had. Not his stupidly straight blonde hair and seriously, how did he get his hair to lay flat when Merlin couldn't even half-tame his own.

Merlin looked down at his feet ahead of him, so he could take the first step up onto the first stair of the platform. He'd already stumbled once walking up this way and that had been humiliating enough. He had a feeling that if he tripped on the stairs, he would either end up going backwards onto his backside. Or he would go forward and land on his belly at Arthur's feet, his backside to the crowd of haughty nobles.

Arthur tensed up just the slightest bit when he heard the creak of the platform as more weight was added to it. The weight of his fiancé, god, what if he was fat, to be making the wood creak like that? Arthur hadn't even thought of the fact that his fiancé might be bigger than him. As it was another man, it was entirely possible that this mystery fiancé would be bigger than him.

Merlin stepped up onto the second stair, flicking his eyes up to look at Arthur's broad shoulders. How was it fair that he was both a prince and looked like that? The platform only had three steps so he was literally just a step below the prince. It was strange, looking up at the prince. During their last two minutes, it was clear that Merlin was just the slightest bit taller, their eyes meeting easily due to their similar height.

Arthur finally couldn't take it anymore. Enough was enough. He was the Prince of Camelot, hell if he was going to be seen as the slightest bit of a coward, especially because of a peasant boy.

Merlin brought one foot up onto the last step, about to take his place at Arthur's side, as much as he didn't want to. Arthur who was refusing to look at him, that much was clear.

Before Arthur could stop himself, before he could talk himself out of acknowledging the man at his side, his head moved on its own accord. His neck snapped around as he felt the weight of his fiancé stepping up to his side.

Merlin froze, only one foot on the top of the platform, feeling caught off guard as Arthur Pendragon's blazing blue eyes met his own. The golden crown that Arthur wore on his brow only seemed to make his eyes all that much more of a deeper blue than Merlin had remembered.

And just like that, Arthur felt as if he wasn't standing straight, as if he had been knocked straight off his feet and on to his arse as he caught eyes with the startled blue of that one irritating peasant that had tried to fight him. That one irritating peasant that he'd allowed to be brought to the dungeons when he'd tried to punch him. That one irritating peasant that had said he was new to town, just days after his own fiancé had apparently arrived. That one irritating peasant that was standing there before him in clothes he clearly could not have afforded if the state of his other clothes were anything to go by. The irritating peasant boy that was standing beside him on this platform...expecting him to marry him.

Even with the new clothes he wore, Arthur would recognize that boy anywhere. From that stupid hair that stuck out oddly, the way his ears stuck out as if they were to big for his head, the blue of his eyes that seemed to hold Arthur prisoner with their depths. And Arthur got the strange realization over the fact that the boy, Merlin, wasn't wearing a neckerchief.

Arthur felt dizzy, shocked, like the world had suddenly turned upside down, as if-as if...as if his entire world and everything he knew had suddenly turned on its axis.

It took him far to long to realize that his locked jaw had become loose, hanging open in an undignified manner. Then the shock and drawing horror at realizing what this all meant, came crashing upon him. The horrible discovery of realizing that he was going to be married to a mouthy peasant boy. At that thought, his eyes dropped down to the pale pink lips the boy had before flicking back to his eyes. He remembered himself, just barely, and forced his stone mask back into place, hoping that no one had noticed his lapse in decorum.

Merlin was frozen under Arthur's gaze as the prince's shell shocked look hardened, going blank. He was almost relieved when Arthur forced his gaze away from his own, turning to Geoffrey standing in front of them. He had felt strange under Arthur's gaze, with his breath caught in his throat, almost as if he was naked and Arthur was trying to find all of his secrets out just by looking at him. Merlin had almost been panicked, thinking Arthur really could tell his secrets just by looking at him. As if he had been able to tell that Merlin had magic brimming under his skin, that he had an unnoticed power at his literal fingertips.

What little...excitement or interest that Arthur had gotten caught up in by meeting a peasant who actually mouthed off to him...it vanished in a heartbeat. It disappeared as soon as it arrived, as if it was never there. Instead, it was replaced by something harsher, something harder. On the outside, not one person would have been able to tell what he was experiencing in that moment. But on the inside, there was a cold and dark rage brimming in his chest that Arthur hadn't even been aware that he could possess.

Had he known? Had that-that...peasant! Actually known who he was that first day they met? Had that been why he had tried to punch him? Because he thought he could get away with it being that they were to marry? Arthur felt a thrum of disappointment at that before hardening his heart again.

He blamed Merlin for this wedding happening. He blamed Merlin for him having to be here today. It didn't matter that Merlin was younger than him, that he hadn't even been in the womb yet like Arthur was when the contract had been struck.

He laid everything at Merlin's feet and it was Merlin that he made sure would have to pay for it.

There was a cough, subtle and barely noticeable. But it was just loud enough to force Merlin to drag his eye's away from Arthur's form. It was just loud enough for Merlin to realize that he hadn't taken the last step onto the platform. He scrambled to correct himself, the tip of his new boots catching the edge and he flailed for the briefest of moments to catch himself.

It was only Arthur's strong composer and intense training he'd had as a prince that stopped him from scoffing in front of his people. He probably wouldn't have given Merlin the courtesy of holding back had they been alone.

"Noblemen and women." Geoffrey announced. His voice was just loud enough to gain everybody's attention. All at once, the nobles took that as their cue to be seated.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder watching, it was strange, how everybody had moved all at once. It was almost unsettling really and he started to feel disconnected again. It was more obvious than ever that he didn't belong here.

Merlin and Arthur were facing one another now as Geoffrey kept talking. Merlin felt his fingers twitching at his side, unsure what to do with his arms or with himself. He eyes would flitter from Arthur's to glance around the room but they always returned to Arthur. Like some strange magnet that refused to allow his eyes to go very far or for very long.

"With the sun dropping below the horizon ending yet another day, we begin something anew-" Geoffrey was saying.

Merlin tried to follow along, he really did. But he kept tuning out, his eyes returning to meet Arthur's. He shivered in discomfort whenever he would. The blonde's eyes were completely blank, almost as if he wasn't really here at all. Merlin hated to say it but he almost wished that the Arthur from the other times they've met was back.

Yes, he was a bully and a prat. But at least there had been some kind of life to him. He'd gotten some kind of amusement from messing with Merlin but at least his eyes had been full of life and mirth. They were nothing like that now.

"The union between Prince Arthur Pendragon and Merlin will begin a new era in Camelot-" Geoffrey kept going on, unaware that he'd lost the focus of the two he was marrying. Although Geoffrey had said Arthur's full name, Merlin's name was only a reminder of how he didn't belong. He didn't have a last name. He was lower born, most peasants didn't bother with having something like a last name. Not to mention he didn't know much more about his father other than the name Balinor. He was a bastard child, unable to have a last name even if his father had one to begin with at all.

When Merlin's eyes flicked away from Arthur again, Arthur was observing the other man. Well he wasn't bigger than him, he could say that much. As much as he hated the fact that Merlin was half an inch taller than him, he mellowed out over the fact that Arthur was clearly the bigger man. The prince had muscles that Merlin didn't even know existed, yet alone be able to have himself.

Arthur didn't get to far in his observations though. He had gotten stuck on that one piece of hair on the side of Merlin's head that stuck out differently from the rest. He had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. Had the peasant even bothered to brush his hair? He did realize that this was an important event, right? Not just something you showed up to last minute looking as if you'd just rolled out of bed.

"Arthur and Merlin." Geoffrey suddenly said, snapping both boy's to attention, forcing their thoughts away from each other for the briefest of moments. The two turned to face the man, strangely in unison with each other, and now stood shoulder to shoulder.

Geoffrey glanced between the two boys before continuing. First, he turned to Merlin. "Merlin, do you hearby swear to love-"

Love? The word rung through Merlin's mind. He glanced over towards Arthur before looking back at Geoffrey. How could he love Arthur? He didn't even know what love was, he'd never been in love before. His chest felt heavy at the thought, wondering if he truly could make a life with Arthur.

"-and protect-"

Protect? Merlin doubted the prince would want his protection. Not with what his protection entailed. He couldn't fight, he didn't know how to use a weapon. All he had was his magic and Arthur would probably follow in his father's footsteps when it came to sorcery and put him on the pyre before accepting his help.

"-to have and to hold-"

Merlin glanced over, his eyes flicking briefly to Arthur's biceps. They were a good several sizes thicker than his own. He could imagine it, trying to hug his new husband, trying to get some kind of affection. Arthur would probably shove him off if he tried. Merlin scoffed to himself. Hell, Merlin would probably shove Arthur off a cliff himself if for whatever godforsaken reason, the prince tried to touch him.

"-in both sickness and in health-" Glancing over at the prince again, Merlin doubted that the blonde would be getting sick anytime soon. Not a deadly kind of sick that left you bedridden at least. Not with how strict he was standing, not with the way his chin was tilted out. He looked anything but sick. Well if he did end up bedridden, Merlin might at least get a break and could roam the castle without running into him. As long as he recovered eventually of course...he'd only known the blonde for probably two days now and already knew that he would welcome any kind of small break he could get.

"-to Prince Arthur Pendragon. To protect his assets, his throne, and his kingdom-" Merlin felt the mind numbing fear start to cloud his mind. His assets? Throne? Kingdom? He knew what all of those words meant and yet, he couldn't comprehend them. He'd never imagined that his wedding would be with someone who had so much more than he'd had his entire life. Once again he questioned himself, how in the world was he going to make it in this strange new place he'd found himself in.

"-and should Uther fall, and Arthur be incompacitated, take command of the kingdom to the best of your abilities?"

Merlin felt like his head was in a fog. Like he could start screaming right now and not one person would even look up. He opened his mouth but his voice got caught somewhere. Was this really happening? Was this what his life had come to? He was going to fail at whatever life would bring him next. He was going to fail and look like a fool. Not that he wasn't used to looking like a fool but only now, he would be watched literally by the entirety of the kingdom. He almost felt as if they were just waiting for him to make another mistake, for him to give them even more to gossip about him they already had.

Merlin briefly came out of the fog as Arthur leaned into him. To anybody else who didn't know them or know their circumstances, it might look as if they were a couple leaning in together, enjoying a nice day out together.

But that was anything other than what this was.

They were already standing so close together, Merlin could feel the warmth of Arthur's body next to his own. He felt the warmth of his breath against the shell of his ear as the blonde whispered something into his ear.

"You do realize that I won't love you?" Arthur hissed under his breath, just loud enough for Merlin to hear. Merlin's eyes shot up to meet Arthur's. The blonde's eyes were no longer blank but Merlin almost wished that they were. They were cold, like ice, almost as if he was trying to kill Merlin with just a look alone.

Merlin clenched his jaw so tight that he felt his teeth grinding together. He clenched his fists at his sides, eyes flashing dangerously. He wasn't numb anymore, he was just pissed. Pissed and tired, the last few days having been a hurricane of emotions. Merlin jutted his chin out a little, meeting Arthur's eyes head on.

"I do." He spoke out, voice loud and clear. It echoed throughout the room. While Arthur's eyes were as cold as ice, Merlin's was like a blazing fire that refused to be put out.

Merlin hadn't expected anything less. He doubted Arthur had a single bone in his body that had an ounce of kindness. Merlin would never fall for someone as cruel as Arthur was.

Merlin had almost forgotten that he was at his own wedding. He'd forgotten all about his surroundings and the people watching them. He'd forgotten that Geoffrey had been waiting for his response at all. He had been answering Arthur more than he'd been answering Geoffrey.

But Geoffrey seemed to take his words as the answer to his own question. He took it as Merlin consenting to this farce of a marriage.

"Do you Arthur Pendragon, take Merlin-" Geoffrey's voice started again, forcing Merlin and Arthur out of their glaring match. "To love-"

Arthur felt his jaw lock again, feeling as if he was holding his breath without actually meaning to. Love? Him love this fool? Ha! When pigs fly maybe. If Arthur ever did fall in love with someone someday-somehow, this Merlin would be the last person it'd be with.

"-and protect-"

Protect? As much as it pained Arthur to admit it, he'd be forced to protect Merlin if the moron was actually attacked. He was duty bound as a prince to do so if he could to protect his people. And as much as Arthur hated to admit it, Merlin's marriage to him made him an official member of Camelot. Which placed him under Arthur's protection. That didn't mean he wouldn't take his own sweet time doing it.

"-to have and to hold-" Arthur almost couldn't hold back his scoff in time. Hold him? Arthur didn't even want to touch him when they were forced to his bed chambers tonight. He wouldn't be wasting his time holding him. That was something you did to romance a girl. Arthur wouldn't be wasting such pleasantries on someone as uncouth and as male as Merlin was.

"-in both sickness and in health-" Arthur almost wished Merlin was sick. At least then he'd be forced to stay in his rooms and out of Arthur's hair. And who knows, maybe that'd be one way to get rid of this thorn in his side and he could pretend that none of this ever happened.

"-to protect Merlin's...assets-" here was where Geoffrey trailed off. It was a painful reminder to Arthur that he was literally getting nothing out of this marriage. Because Merlin didn't have anything of any value, not even Merlin himself was valuable.

Arthur wouldn't be getting more land or gold or an army or anything else his marriage to a foreign princess should have gotten him. If only Arthur was marrying a foreign princess he'd never met before instead of this peasant boy. At least he would have gotten something out of it. Instead, all Arthur felt was as if his marriage had just been wasted.

Merlin glanced up at Arthur when the prince didn't answer, taking just as long as he had when it had been up to him to answer. His eyes flashed in annoyance. Arthur better not do something dumb like renounce him in front of the whole kingdom. Although if anybody could get away with it during these circumstances, it probably would be Prince Fucking Arthur Bloody Pendragon. Merlin wouldn't have minded if Arthur did if only to stop their marriage from happening. But it would probably be yet another humiliating experience for Merlin. He'd already said his 'I do's'. He'd already done the hard part.

Although if Arthur did stop this wedding then maybe Merlin would be able to get home. As much as he'd liked seeing these new things he'd never before seen, as much as he'd enjoyed meeting his Uncle and Gwen and even Morgana, he'd much rather be at home. He wanted to return home to his mother, to somewhere familiar. He had always been different, everybody knew it even though they didn't know why that was, but at least he knew exactly what he was doing back home. At least he knew exactly where he stood.

Arthur hesitated, glancing towards his father who had a 'well, get on with it' expression on his face.

Merlin leaned against Arthur just as the prince had against him earlier.

Arthur shivered in disgust as he felt the thin body pressing against his side. What he wanted was to shove the boy aside. The boy would probably fall straight off the solid platform made of thick and dark wood. If anybody could fall off of it, it would probably be Merlin.

Merlin ignored the hard body against his side, thinking maybe he could somehow convince Arthur to speak out, to stop this wedding. Merlin didn't have much of a choice, even his mother had agreed that he had no choice but to come. But maybe Arthur knew something he didn't, maybe he could do something to stop this from happening.

"You do realize that I won't be the husband you want, right?" Merlin whispered dryly against the prince's earlobe. He didn't know what kind of husband Arthur did want although that was when he recalled what Morris had mentioned earlier. About how Arthur didn't like guys at all so even if the blonde hadn't been a prat, there wasn't much of a chance for them anyway. The prince probably wanted some princess. Someone beautiful and fair and dainty and probably had every personality trait that a prince would want in his princess.

Basically the exact opposite to Merlin in every way possible.

Arthur shivered in disgust at the feel of the cold breath against his ear. Why did he have to stand so close? Why couldn't Arthur just not be a prince for once and be allowed to shove him away from him without the scandal that would follow.

Although he didn't shove Merlin, he did lean his head back some for him to look at the boy, his eyes already glaring. The blonde's eyes resembled more like ice than anything else right now.

Arthur clenched his jaw so hard, he was almost worried that his teeth would crack. He practically had to force the words out of his throat.

"I do." The prince spoke, sounding surpassingly regal and strong. Other than the ice in his eyes, there was no other indicator that he was upset about this arrangement. As far as anybody was concerned, they were just two people who had fallen in love and had somehow been given the king's blessing. After all, what other reason could there be for a prince to marry a peasant boy?

Merlin flinched when the prince suddenly said that, eyes narrowing into slits. Not exactly what he was hoping would happen but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Maybe he should have talked to Arthur earlier, before the wedding. He could have told him who he was and they could have come up with some kind of plan to get out of this arrangement. Track down that bloody contract that was the reason for this and find their own loopholes in it.

Maybe things would have been different.

"And now," Geoffrey started again. The two boys had to practically drag their glares away from each other to look back at Geoffrey. "We present the rings that will be a symbol of the marriage between these two."

Merlin jolted in surprise, rings? Was he supposed to have a ring on him? Because nobody had given him anything and he sure didn't have any money to buy one. The only thing Merlin could afford was plucking a piece of twine off the ground somewhere and tying it into a ring. But somehow, he didn't think a prince would go for a ring like that.

Arthur on the other hand, while still blanked face for the crowd, was seething inside. The ring, a ring he would have to wear. An identical ring that would match the one that Merlin would wear on his own left hand. He'd known it was coming of course but still, did he really have to wear a matching ring with this boy? He felt to much like he did back when he was twelve and all of the noble men's daughters had gone through a phase where they passed out friendship bracelets. Arthur had gotten so many from giggling girls that he had thrown them out as soon as he had the privacy to do so. He'd just started an intensive regime in his royal trainings since he was getting older which was the only reason he hadn't thrown them back in their reddening faces. It would have been considered rude and improper of him to do so.

Before Merlin could spend to much time panicking over if he should have brought something to act as a ring, one of the knights against the wall walked in front of the benches of nobles to stand at the bottom of the platform.

To Merlin's relief, he recognized the knight instantly as Derrick. He was the first knight he'd met when he'd first entered Camelot with Leon, Tristian, and Dorian.

"It is I, Derrick of the family Cambrosia, who presents the royal rings made for Arthur Pendragon and Merlin." The knight spoke formally. Much more formally than Merlin remembered him being back at the gates when he'd first arrived. He didn't meet Merlin's eyes, instead keeping his own eyes respectfully focused down on the floor before him as he gave a slight bow. Then Derrick reached into the pocket of his Pendragon red cape and pulled out a small but beautifully carved wooden box. Still bowing respectfully, he held the box out to Merlin and opened it up.

Merlin's breath caught as he looked at the small black velvet cloth folded up inside the box. And resting inside was two glittering silver rings. They were simple wedding bands about an inch in width but damn, Merlin thought, just one of those rings probably could have fed his entire village for years to come. He had thought the clothes he was wearing were expensive but just one of these rings probably cost more, let alone both of them.

He was almost scared to touch it. He would probably buff it up or somehow scratch up the silver metal. The wedding rings were surprisingly simple although that made them no less beautiful. He just would have thought they would have been something...more, although he didn't know how much more you could put into a pair of rings. But that was the relieving part, knowing that he wasn't wearing some ornate gem bigger than his fist on his finger.

There was a very soft and subtle cough, forcing Merlin to drag his eyes away from the rings and up to Derrick. The knight was still respectfully bowed but he had his eyes cocked up, giving Merlin a playful wink.

Merlin cracked a grin, having to bite his lip to stop from laughing outright. It was almost relieving to realize that Derrick wasn't always so formal. He probably was just because of the circumstances happening around them. Merlin wasn't used to their being times where you had to be formal and times where you could just be yourself.

Merlin finally reached forward and tugged out one of the rings. He held it gingerly between his two fingers, almost scared that he was going to drop it. That would just be his luck. He'd drop it and they'd have to pause the wedding and end up spending at least an hour looking for it. Just his luck he'd lose something that looked ridiculously expensive.

Merlin straightened up, letting the ring fall into the palm of his hand. The cold metal was warming up against the palm of his hand.

"With this ring," Geoffrey started. "It shall symbolize the promise that Merlin has made to our prince and to our kingdom."

Merlin swallowed hard, really feeling all of the eyes that seemed to be drilling in on him.

Arthur silently held out his left hand, his stormy eyes meeting Merlin's as the boy raised his head.

Merlin scowled when he got caught up in the blue of the prince's eyes. And maybe he jammed the ring a little harder onto Arthur's finger than he meant to. Nah, he thought almost sardonically when the prince winced at the suddenly harsh treatment, he deserved it.

Merlin didn't let go of the ring immediately, almost like he was caught in a trance when Arthur's eyes flashed. It was the only sign of his irritation. Merlin smirked at him, looking more than a little amused at his discomfort.

Merlin drew his eyes away from Arthur's eyes to look down at their hands connected together. The blonde's hand was pretty much in his own and he shivered at the touch. The prince's hand was surprisingly rough, callouses on his hand. He would have thought a noble would have had smoother hands. But this, this was the kind of callouses he would have thought somebody that spent all their days working would have. It was probably from all that time spent with a sword that Merlin had heard so much about. Whatever it was, Arthur was no slouch if the roughness of his hand was anything to go by.

Merlin caught a glint of red glinting off under the candlelight on the ring's surface that he hadn't noticed at first. He didn't get much of a good look before Arthur practically wretched his hand free as soon as the ring was on his finger. Merlin jolted his head up, yanking his hand back as if he'd been burned by the sudden moment.

The blonde haired prince looked down at the ring on his hand. The cold metal glittered up at him from his wedding finger. He felt sick looking at it. He felt sick knowing what it represented. And he felt sick the longer he had it on. He had to swallow down the bile that was forcing its way up his throat. But still, his face gave nothing a way. Even his eyes had gone from cold to that unsettling blank look.

Arthur didn't spare Merlin a glance, turning his stone look to the box that Derrick was now presenting to him. He plucked the matching silver ring out of the box, much more uncaring than Merlin had. He had grown up with such finery easily assessable to him. He'd never worried about having to get something replaced or fixed. Hell, he'd never worried about losing something that was clearly so expensive.

Merlin scowled when Arthur reached forward, practically snatching his hand up. He wanted to yank away, even tried to snatch his hand away by force. But Arthur had his hand captured in a death hold, refusing to relinquish it. It wasn't near enough to hurt but it was firm, easily holding the much scrawnier boy into place.

"With this ring," Geoffrey started again, almost in a rush since he hadn't expected the prince to go ahead without his prompting. "It shall symbolize the promise that Arthur Pendragon had made to his husband."

Geoffrey had barely finished his sentence before Arthur forced the ring onto Merlin's wedding finger, practically jamming it on. Merlin hissed under his breath at the harshness, the ring pushed roughly onto his finger.

Arthur didn't let go for a moment, staring down at the silver ring that now adorned this peasant's hand. The peasant's hand that was...surprisingly soft. The skin under his hand was smooth, almost surprisingly soft. Peasant's usually had rougher hands so it was an odd discovery to be made, especially at this time. But the discovery just made Arthur scowl. His hands were probably smooth because he didn't do much work. He was probably lazy, to busy going around trying to punch his betters instead of doing whatever work he was actually supposed to be doing, Arthur thought sardonically.

Arthur didn't know and wouldn't know for a long time to come that it was Merlin's magic that kept his skin so smooth. That it was the magic inside of him that healed his injuries from leaving any lasting marks. Sure, if it was a life threatening injury then it would leave its mark. But for the smaller things like callouses, they disappeared before they were even noticed. If a regular person got hurt and it took them a month to heal, it would take Merlin only half a month. Faster than other people but not where it would be noticeable to remarked on.

Another thing that drew Arthur's attention from the ring on Merlin's finger and the smoothness of his hand was their skin tone. Their colors were completely different that it was unreal. Where Arthur was tanned to a golden sun kissed color, Merlin was as pale as the moon itself. It was strange, noticing something like that.

And maybe that was exactly what brought Arthur out of his musings. He yanked his hand away, almost as if he'd been scalded. Only his intense royal training kept his mask firmly in place so that nobody would see the disgust he was experiencing.

Merlin paid Arthur no attention at all, not even sparing him a glance. He was to busy staring at the ring on his left hand marriage finger. The ring that he was expected to wear for the rest of his life. He tilted his head to the side, trying to decide if he liked it or not. The cold metal was warming against his skin. The ring fit perfectly, surprisingly well actually. It made him wonder how they knew what size to make the ring. Had it been just a lucky guess or had whoever made the ring saw him at some point roaming the castle and was able to make an educated guess on which ring size would fit him. Although for all he knew, someone had snuck into his rooms as he was sleeping and measured his finger.

And then his eye caught onto the red on the top of the ring. It was no doubt the exact thing he'd seen on Arthur's ring. Only now, he could see it much more clearly on his own ring, able to look without it being snatched away. Embedded into the silver band, carved into it like stone, was the Pendragon family crest.

Seeing the dragon of the Pendragon family carved into his ring left Merlin with an unsettling feeling. It wasn't curiosity that made him look at it. Now, it felt more like he was entrapped by it. As if the ring itself that was surprisingly lightweight, had all of the weight in the world. It felt like a chain, as if this ring was tying him, trapping him, inside this castle. It was a suffocating feeling and he couldn't even open a window to get some air.

"And now as a way to seal their union," Geoffrey announced. "The two husbands may kiss before our beloved kingdom."

Merlin's head jolted up from looking at his ring and both Arthur and Merlin felt their insides freeze at this proclamation.

Arthur was absolutely horrified and for only a brief moment, it had shown on his face before he had shut down completely. When they had to put the rings on, he had known that it was coming. It was a marriage, what marriage didn't include rings. But the kiss, it hadn't even occurred to him. In hindsight, he should have known that it was coming. It was one of the last things in any marriage ceremony that Arthur had ever witnessed. A way of showing the people their physical connection with each other.

Arthur looked at Merlin next to him. At that stupid lock of hair that didn't angle right with the rest of his hair. Those blue eyes of his that were so wide he'd thought they would have fallen out of his head if they weren't attached. Merlin didn't have the same training he did, hell, he obviously didn't have any training. Every emotion was on his face plain to see. Only Arthur had no interest in seeing what emotions the peasant boy had. His eyes dropped from Merlin's eyes and down to his pale pink lips. The lips that he was about to kiss...there was no emotion on Arthur's face even as he swallowed the bile that was about to force its way out of his throat. It wouldn't do for the prince of Camelot to be witnesses throwing up all over his new husband just because they'd been asked to kiss.

Kiss...the word rung through Arthur's mind. The last person he'd kissed had been that visiting princess over three months ago just before she left for home. She had been all sweet and smelled like honey while she'd tasted of the strawberries they had just ate. He had thought about trying his luck for more but she had left pretty soon afterward.

Merlin was going to be nothing like that. There would be no delicate curves pressed against him, just a lean body that looked like it had more bone than meat on him. There would be no long hair for him to get his hands caught in, just short dark locks that he didn't even want to touch. There would be no honeyed smell or taste of fruit. It would be...what did a man taste like anyway.

It almost made him ill again just thinking about it.

Merlin though, was panicking all on his own. And that panic was reflected in his bright blue eyes. Kiss? They had to kiss?! In front of the entirety of Camelot's high society? Him? A peasant boy, had to kiss the prince of Camelot? Was this some kind of joke? They couldn't really be expecting Merlin to go through with this, could they? Merlin might be forced to marry the prat but he would be damned if he had to kiss him to. As if they were this happy couple who was marrying because they wanted to and not because a damn deal had been struck before either of them had been born.

He had also never been kissed before. It was embarrassing, being nineteen without even something as seemingly small as a kiss to his name. He wasn't even entirely sure how to kiss, wasn't there something Will had said he could do with his tongue to make it feel better? There hadn't exactly many options back in Ealdor. There was only a handful of people in his age group and he'd pretty much known them his entire life. Half of those people had been girls so that had pretty much marked them out in Merlin's mind. He wasn't interested in kissing a girl, never even had been.

The few times he had thought of kissing once he'd gotten old enough that it had been an actual possibility and several other people had started having their firsts, he'd already realized that he didn't want his to be with a girl.

At least that was one thing going on in his life that he wanted which was apparently going to happen...right here and right now if this farce of a wedding went the way they wanted it do.

But why did it have to be Arthur Bloody Pendragon?

Merlin didn't want to run his hands through long and feminine hair. He wanted to clutch his hands into short hair. He didn't want to taste whatever little concoction the girls had managed to make and dabbed onto their lips. He wanted smooth lips, with no concoction to distract from what he was feeling under his own lips. He didn't want the over cloying smell of the girl's whenever they got fancy and tried to mix up their own perfumes. He wanted something thicker...more of a man's smell. He didn't want a soft and curved body under his touch. He wanted to feel under his hands the hard muscular planes of a male body, feel thick biceps holding him close as the life was literally kissed out of him. Call him a romantic or whatever you wanted but he wanted a kiss that was desperate and heart stopping, feel rough hands holding onto him as if he could disappear at any minute if he let go. He never considered for one second that he'd be able to feel that kind of...heat and desperation with a woman.

Well the heart stopping part was gonna to be right. Merlin could already feel his heart drop like a stone to his feet at the realization of there probably being a kiss between him and Arthur. First he was married off and now he had to give him his first kiss to...Merlin could feel the rage that had been simmering under the surface of his skin jolt.

Like hell was he going to give Arthur Bloody Pendragon and yes, that was a good name to call the prat till he came up with something better, his first kiss. Screw Arthur and screw this wedding and screw everything in between.

Merlin's eyes flashed dangerously and he opened his mouth to tell Arthur exactly what he thought. To tell Arthur that if he even tried, it would be the last thing he did. It didn't matter that Arthur had already beaten him not once but twice. What was it that they said? Third tries the charm?

Well Merlin didn't get the chance to argue that this was going a step to far for him. As soon as Arthur saw Merlin open his mouth, he completely panicked. It was like an instant flashback to the day they met, when Merlin had opened his big mouth by calling him an arse and then trying to punch him. Another instant flashback was the second time they met when Merlin had called him a royal arse and then had briefly gotten the upper hand when Arthur had humiliatingly been tripping over stuff in that small shop. And now Merlin was opening his mouth again, no doubt to say something stupid. Something that would probably humiliate Arthur in front of the highest people in his kingdom. Something that would make people question why exactly Arthur was marrying this boy. Nobody except the council knew about the contract. They would all just think that their prince must have really bad taste in marriage prospects. And that was only if they weren't already thinking it just from Merlin being a peasant alone.

If anybody had noticed the hesitance between Arthur and Merlin, if anybody had noticed that neither moved to kiss the other, nobody said anything. If there had been a brief moment of confusion where neither boy moved, it completely evaporated in the next instant.

When Merlin opened his mouth, Arthur reacted before he could think things through.

Merlin froze before he could get the first syllable to come out of his mouth. And that was only because a pair of hands had suddenly come up. He jolted startled as the hands cupped his cheeks, far gentler than he would have thought, despite the rough feel of the fingers on his cheekbones.

They were only gentle because Arthur was trying not to touch Merlin to much, doing the first thing he thought of to get the boy to shut up before he ruined the blonde's credibility to his people.

Merlin's voice got caught in his throat, trapped somewhere inside him as he was suddenly dragged forward by his face. His eyes were wide in disbelief and he could feel his cheeks heating up. Arthur was right there, their faces close, far to close. Merlin could feel his heart as if it was about to pound straight out of his chest. Arthur couldn't be about to kiss him...could he? No, not the Arthur Pendragon that he knew. There had to be some other reason that he had dragged Merlin closer as he did. Merlin had no choice but to follow his head and lean against Arthur as to not fall over. The space between their chests was so small that only a sheet of parchment could have fit between them.

Merlin's lips parted on their own, eyes going half lidded when Arthur got so close that he could feel his breath on his lips. The blue of Arthur's eyes...had they been that vibrant the last times they'd met. Arthur had gotten so close that he could literally smell him, the mixed scent of pine and metal. Their foreheads were brushing, Arthur's bangs falling forward to brush against Merlin's.

And then it happened. And then it was over.

Before Merlin could even comprehend that Arthur had done it, the prince was drawing back. The blonde dropped his hands from Merlin's face and took a large step back, as if he was trying to get as far and as fast away from Merlin as he possibly could.

Merlin's half lidded eyes shot open, a full out frown on his face while he tried to work out what just happened. That was it? That was all his first kiss was? It hadn't been...anything. It had been chaste, quick, hurried and over with before he'd even really felt it. Like the briefest of pecks before Arthur had pulled away, as if he couldn't stand to even be in his presence.

Arthur had no choice but to step back when he did. From the close proximity he'd had to get to Merlin, all he'd been able to smell was soap and something else...the kind of smell that wafted off of a crackling fire. Or maybe it was the smell that permeated the air just after a lightning storm. It was a strange mixture that he just couldn't pinpoint. It had been...overwhelming and to much for him. He felt overheated and strange, like he needed some air. Like he needed anything that would get out the smell that seemed stuck in his nose. And even though his lips had only touched Merlin's for the briefest of seconds, he could still feel it as if they were still kissing. His lips felt warm, uncomfortably so.

It was not an experience that Arthur wanted to have again anytime soon. And hopefully he never would have to set his lips anywhere near Merlin again.

While Arthur had stepped away, Merlin was feeling unsettled. Worst that unsettled, he was feeling disappointed. His first kiss, what had all the hype been about? In one quick second, it had been over and gone, taken from him faster than the blink of an eye. Did all kisses feel like that? If they did, then he wasn't sure why people kissed at all. Just for a fleeting press of lips before he was all alone again? There didn't seem to be any point to it at all. Maybe he was just missing something although he didn't know what he could have done that would have made the kiss any better.

It was still Arthur Pendragon giving it to him. It was probably doomed to suck straight from the beginning. Hey, maybe it wasn't Merlin that was missing anything at all. Maybe it was Arthur. Yeah, Merlin decided to go with it being Arthur's fault. Maybe the prat just didn't do it right. Was there a 'wrong' way to kiss? How many different ways could people kiss? Well if there was a wrong way, Merlin had no doubt that Arthur had just done it.

Maybe he had done it on purpose, Merlin thought as his irritation spiked. Damn it, as much as he didn't want it to be Arthur Bloody Pendragon giving him a kiss, the prat could have at least made it memorable. The only thing remarkable about it had been that they were at their wedding. The kiss was so lackluster that it was a disgrace.

There had to be more to kissing than just that.

Arthur had averted his eyes away from Merlin and the longer Merlin watched him, the more that it was obvious that the prince was avoiding his eye on purpose.

Arthur kept his carefully concealed expression towards Geoffrey, refusing to acknowledge Merlin. It took all he had to not show any emotion on his face. He had to keep up his charade because it was literally the only thing that was stopping his hands from shaking, from showing the panic in the pit of his stomach as he was forced to acknowledge that he had actually kissed another guy.

Nothing could have prepared him for it. Not even knowing all this time what would be expected from him later tonight when they retired prepared him for a moment like this. If this was what he felt now from just a brief kiss, if the brief brush of their lips could be called a kiss, how would he get through tonight?

He wasn't sure if he would be able to.

The longer Arthur avoided Merlin's flashing eyes, the more Merlin got pissed. It took everything he had to stop that shimmering rage brimming under his skin from exploding. From just completely upending onto Arthur. He bit his lip so hard that he had pierced through the flesh and he was pretty sure pinpricks of blood would start blooming up, his lips darkening to a shade of lightly rose pink from him biting it.

It was that kiss that sealed everything. They were marked by the rings on their fingers and witnessed before the entire court of Camelot, Arthur Pendragon and Merlin were married. Their fates were sealed and whatever happened now, the actions that both boys would take in the next upcoming weeks, months, or even years, could change everything for them and for their kingdom. For better or for worst, only the upcoming days would tell.

"I give you," Geoffrey called out as Arthur and Merlin turned around, shoulder to shoulder, to face the high society of Camelot. Arthur still had no expression on his face and Merlin had his head tilted to the side to look at him from the corner of his eye, a scowl planted firmly on his face. "The Prince and his Consort, Arthur and Merlin Pendragon!"

Both Merlin and Arthur looked out at the crowd that started to cheer or clap. Several people had stood up and even a few of the rowdier nobles gave a sharp wolf whistle although with the excitement in the crowd, it was impossible to tell who did it.

They both jolted as well when Geoffrey said Arthur and 'Merlin Pendragon'.

Arthur didn't let the scowl flicker onto his blank face no matter how desperately he wanted to shoot a glare at his husband. At least he couldn't right now, not in front of his people. It would have to wait until he wasn't in a decorum role. But still, Arthur felt the disgust curling in his stomach as he realized that Merlin now shared his last name. It felt like Merlin had stolen a part of himself in a way.

Arthur tilted his chin up a little, confident and full of pride for the name he'd been born with. A name that he had no doubt that Merlin would in no way, ever be worthy of having.

The Pendragon name belonged to kings, soldiers, warriors, leaders. The Pendragon name belonged to a man who could lead his kingdom when war was on the horizon or to a woman who could keep the peace within the kingdom even as fire reined down on them.

A peasant boy didn't have any right to carry his name. Merlin didn't have any right to carry his name.

Merlin meanwhile, was feeling something totally different. While Arthur was cursing on the inside over having his name given so freely to the unworthy, Merlin was taking a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down some.

Just like with the ring and the kiss, still a huge disappointment by the way, Merlin hadn't thought about the fact that he would be given a last name. Although really, he should have thought of it. Arthur was a Pendragon. As his husband, it only made sense that the Pendragon name was now his.

While Arthur was thinking about how unworthy Merlin was for the name, Merlin was thinking about how much he didn't want the name. He would be more than happy to just be plain old Merlin, no last name needed. Especially not if that last name was Pendragon.

Pendragon was a name that carried a crown, a throne, and even an entire kingdom. Along with it came the knights and the citizens, the buildings and the land. Everything on this side of the country belonged under the Pendragon name, belonged to Camelot.

And for the first time, Merlin felt that crushing weight in his chest, his heart constricting painfully for a moment. The responsibility of the kingdom rested in the hands of the Pendragon family, Merlin's new family. It almost stole his breath away just thinking about it. He remembered his view from his window, he remembered seeing the city spread out before him. It was huge and that had only been what he had been able to see from his window. The kingdom as a whole...it was so much larger.

For the first time, Merlin felt a large responsibility settling in on his shoulders. It was bigger than even his magic.

And as he stood there with Arthur stoically by his side, the higher end of society cheering for them as if they were something to celebrate, he wondered if he would be able to survive his new life and all that it entailed.