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!

16. Chapter 16

After what Markus had just said, Arthur shot his friend a look of confusion. It took him a moment to realize that his long time friend wasn't looking at him any longer. He was looking just over Arthur's shoulder, nodding at something behind him. His eyebrow's furrowing in confusion, Arthur glanced over his shoulder to see what was up.

It actually took an embarrassingly long moment to recognize Merlin on the other side of the hall, leaning in a peasant like manner against one of the food tables. A true born noble never would have been caught dead leaning in such a way. The clothes that Merlin wore had made him blend in with the fanciness of those who were near him which was why Arthur hadn't seen him immediately. It was...disconcerting, to say the least, seeing Merlin dressed to fit in instead of his usual peasant clothing.

But it was those stupid ears sticking out that made Arthur realize just who it was that Markus had been staring at.

It was a humiliating moment for Arthur to realize that he'd forgotten all about Merlin because he had been to busy entertaining his friends. He should have been keeping a close eye on Merlin, making sure he didn't say or do anything stupid to somebody important. He knew how uncouth peasants could be, not watching their language or doing something that would cause a noble to laugh scornly at them as if they were a pet failing to do a trick. And that was only if they weren't punished harshly as if they were a misbehaving pet.

It was made even worst because Arthur already knew that Merlin wasn't exactly the kind of person that would hold his tongue. He said the first thing that came to mind, even if it sounded completely idiotic or surprisingly witty.

He didn't even know when Merlin had run off. He just kind of assumed that the boy was hanging out somewhere behind him in his shadow, trying to seem important by clinging onto his princely husband. He should have known the peasant wouldn't have done what was expected of him.

Instead, he had to run off and do the exact thing that could ruin what reputation Arthur had gotten over the years.

Like talking to a servant.

Arthur didn't know what kind of nerve Merlin had that he would talk to a servant. Didn't he realize that he was royalty now? Merlin shouldn't be talking to a servant unless he was instructing them to get him something. Although that pissed Arthur off just the same because the servants would listen to Merlin. They would listen to him because he had some kind of status now. They would listen to him because Merlin was pretty much hanging off the coattails of Arthur's birthright.

The only constellation of this whole situation was the fact that the servant Merlin was talking to was one he recognized instantly as Guinevere, Morgana's personal handmaiden. That meant Merlin hadn't dragged some random servant away from their work just so he could have a chat with them. Gwen legit didn't have anything to do at these events other than wait on Morgana, but clearly the lady didn't need the serving girl's attention at the moment. Not if Gwen was hanging out by the food talking instead of collecting a plate for her lady.

Servants should be working, not socializing. That was something that Arthur had always been taught. The only reason he wasn't demanding for Gwen to get back to work is because her sole responsibility was to Morgana.

Then things just got worst when Arthur realized a particularly large noble that he recognized instantly came lumbering out of the woodwork. It was clear what he was after because he made a beeline straight for Merlin and Gwen. All he could feel was the growing dread, knowing that something was about to happen. After all, they always seemed to when Merlin was involved.

On the other side of the room, Merlin and Gwen had their conversation interrupted when a suddenly large man stepped up to Merlin, maybe a little to close. Merlin jolted back startled, frowning as he looked up at the man. He was taller than Merlin was, and four times as wide, with beady looking eyes. The man was breathing hard as if he'd just run an entire marathon to get there. Or you know, just walked a few steps until he reached the new member of the royal family.

Confusion was etched onto Merlin's face, glancing over his shoulder to where Gwen now stood just slightly behind him. Her brown eyes were opened wide, looking just as startled as he was.

Merlin shifted his eyes from Gwen to look at the beady eyed man who seemed to be waiting for some kind of signal that he was allowed to talk. "...Can I help you?" Merlin finally asked when the man didn't say something.

The beady eyed stare was really starting to make Merlin feel awkward and the man was still standing far to close. If it wasn't for Gwen standing right behind him, he might have tried to step back but Gwen couldn't step back either because she was right up against the food table. It was like the two of them were trapped by the beady eyed man's penetrating stare. The man didn't seem to notice Gwen at all, having eyes sorely for Merlin.

What Merlin said seemed to be the right thing to say though because the big, beefy, man finally started to talk.

At first, he bowed. But it was a half bow, more like the guy didn't want to waste his time with it but did it just to get it over with. And then the man practically steamrolled to get what he wanted to say out. "It's an honor to meet you, sire." He started.

Merlin winced at the sudden title. "Oh, I'm not, you don't have to-" he started quickly. Calling him sire? That was going a step to far for Merlin. It was like he was...above them. And yes, technically, Merlin was. But he sure didn't feel as if he was above anybody. In fact, he kind of wanted Gwen to hit him if he ever in any way, started acting like he was better than anyone else just because he was married to a man that had a crown. Merlin didn't even have a crown, he was just married to somebody who did.

Merlin didn't get to finish what he was saying though because the man practically plowed straight over his words. "I just wanted to ask you what it's like going from a peasant to a royal." The man started, his words so fast that Merlin could barely understand them.

"Oh," Merlin said surprised. He had to admit that that would have been the last thing he would have expected. "I mean, it's been a really weird experience but-"

The man interrupted him, clearly not interested in hearing his actual answers. It was more like he was trying to go somewhere with these questions but wasn't actually asking what he wanted to. "I wanted to know what laws you would like to see in place or change, now that you have the power to do so."

The man was eager, watching the consort with rapid attention. His eyes were almost greedy with anticipation. Because he had a great law he wanted to enact and have been trying to do so for years. But that stupid king didn't know a great idea when he heard one and kept denying him. But who knows, the kid seemed to be more reasonable. Surely he would see what a great idea it was and could put in a good word for him to the king. And if not, then maybe he could manipulate the consort into agreeing with him, he didn't look all that bright and being new to royalty, surely he would want to do something that he wouldn't have been able to do as a common peasant.

Merlin looked confused. What was this man talking about? He didn't have that kind of power? The first law that flitted through his mind was one that he wouldn't mind seeing changed. The law that said he could be burned alive if he was even suspected of something like having magic. Nobody would care that he was born with it, just that he possessed it. But it didn't matter either way. From the interactions he'd had with Arthur and Uther both, they clearly weren't going to change a law that's been around for almost two decades just because of him. Besides, he couldn't just go around changing laws or whatnot...could he? "I really should-" Merlin tried to excuse himself.

"Because-" the man interrupted before Merlin could make his big escape. "I have the perfect law that I believe should be in place. Actually, it's an old law that we don't use anymore but I believe that it never should have left in the first place. There's just been so many problems since the king's grandfather decided to change it that I feel we have no choice but to allow it into the kingdom once again."

Merlin was stumped. Did this man really want to talk politics and all? If it was that big of a problem, surely the king would have changed it by now...

That was when he felt Gwen leaning against his back, whispering in his ear. "He's probably trying to enforce his law to start branding servants again."

Merlin felt himself stiffen at that, his jaw dropping. "What?!" He said loudly, loud enough to get several people's attention. Branding the servants? People hadn't branded servants in over a hundred years! No wonder the king had told this lunatic no. Who the hell thought it was okay to burn their marks into the people that worked for them?

The nobleman though, seemed to believe that Merlin's exclamation was a positive thing. That it meant that he was paying attention, that he was agreeing over the fact that it was 'desperately' needed to be enacted today. Because the man started talking about why it was such a great idea, his porky face going all excited. "I know! It's such a marvelous idea! I truly don't understand why the king won't see reason and agree with it! It would be really beneficial towards the servants. It would really enforce into them where their loyalties lie. And I have had so many servants run off, it would help me in a long run. With a brand, the guards can track them down easier and bring them straight back to me instead of me paying some guards to find them for me. And sometimes they don't even succeed." He gave a long and heavily annoyed sigh, as if it was a pain having to find these wayward servants. As if the only hardship he'd ever known was having to find these servants of his. "I was oh, so hoping that you would be smart enough to know what needs to be done. These servants need a firm hand. I would greatly appreciate you bringing this matter before the king, seeing as you know that it's needed as we-"

"Actually," Merlin interrupted, truly baffled that such a man could exist. Who in the world thought that it was okay to put a brand on people, especially in this time and age. "It's not a good idea at all." He continued bluntly.

The man literally bristled, his eyes narrowing into slits and his porky face dropping into a scowl of anger, his fists clenching at his side.

Merlin didn't care, he kept talking. "I mean? Have you ever even met a servant? The ones that you feel have to be 'branded'? Have you ever had a conversation with them? How do you think they feel about having a burn forced onto their bodies? Because my friend Gwen is a servant and I think she'll have a lot to say about a burn on her body."

Merlin heard Gwen's breath hitch at the mention of her name. The peasant boy had his hands planted firmly on his hips, glaring daggers at the nobleman. He was standing directly in front of Gwen, shielding the serving girl from the nobleman's growing ire.

The man twitched, eyes flashing when he heard that Merlin dared to have a friend that was 'below his standards'. He didn't even spare Gwen a glance herself, as if she was invisible to him simply because she wore the garments of a servant instead of the finest dress around that a noblewoman would be wearing.

"Why would I waste my time talking with the servants?" The noble man hissed, looking as if he wanted to attack Merlin right then and there. "They are there to serve me, not the other way around. Besides, servants aren't smart enough to know what is necessary. They need to be reminded of just where their place is in this world. They will do as they are told."

Merlin felt his jaw lock, "And where is that place? Under your foot? Because they are servants, not slaves. Do you not know the difference? Servants are paid help and slaves are indebted servitude. I mean, what happens if a servant changes jobs and works for another home? Are they supposed to have a list of brands up and down their bodies? Are they supposed to be burned every time they change homes?"

"Of course not." The man snarled, the veins in his neck practically bulging. "Who would dare leave my household?"

"You did just say that you've had to pay the guards to capture your servants." Merlin said bluntly. "Maybe they run because you suck."

Merlin heard Gwen gasp behind him but he didn't turn to look. He was to distracted by the way the large man's hand twitch as he started to raise it. Almost as if he was about to bring it down and slap Merlin clear across the face.

Merlin felt his own eyes flashing as everything seemed to slow down around him. His eyes shimmered for the briefest of seconds but before they could shift effortlessly to gold, Merlin was jolted back into reality, time speeding up and his eyes staying firmly latched onto the blue that they were.

Because a firm arm had just wrapped its way around his waist, tugging him firmly against a very broad chest. Merlin's head jolted up, his mouth already opening to protest the rough treatment. When his voice died in his throat but only because he had been interrupted before he could get the words out.

"Excuse us, Sir Hamilton." Arthur said easily, an easy going smile spreading across his face. But Merlin could see just how forced it was, the way it was straining at the edges. Not to mention how hard Arthur was holding him, practically pinning him to his side. It forced Merlin to feel every muscle against his side, the warmth practically burning through his own clothes. "I apologize for interrupting your conversation with my consort but I am afraid that dinner will be served soon."

Sir Hamilton straightened up, his lips pressed tightly together, shifting his attention entirely to Arthur. "Of course, sire, but if I may be so bold, I believe it will be best if you teach your consort how to talk to his betters."

Arthur was almost tempted to correct the man, which he knew Sir Hamilton hated with a passion. That through their marriage, Merlin was actually Sir Hamilton's better. But Arthur didn't, he didn't care nearly enough about Merlin to bother doing so. Besides, Sir Hamilton had a point. Merlin couldn't go around mouthing off to nobles as he just did.

"Of course, Sir Hamilton. We are working on correcting his behavior." Arthur said easily. "But you know how peasants can be, so hard to understand the simplest of things." He joked.

Sir Hamilton relaxed, bursting into a belly laugh. "Well you are right about that, sire."

Merlin felt himself bristle, his eyes flashing. "Excuse m-" he started to snap loudly, glaring daggers at Arthur.

But just as easily as he started, the arm wound around his waist pulled away and slid itself across his shoulders, tugging him close into Arthur's chest. It forced him into silence when his face was suddenly pressed against Arthur's neck. The prince had a firm hand on the back of Merlin's neck, easily keeping him in place.

Merlin snarled under his breath, trying to pull his head up. But the rough pad of Arthur's fingers pressed against the back of his neck send sudden shivers down his spine. All it did was make him take a big, deep breath of Arthur's scent and fuck, did the guy even have to smell good. And the thick, tan neck filling his vision did absolutely nothing to help. He could feel Arthur's heart beating at a steady rhythm under his palm.

And fuck, did he want to punch the prince right now, forcing him into this awkward position.

Excusing themselves again, Arthur practically dragged Merlin away from the scene. As soon as they were a few feet away, Arthur's grip finally loosened enough for Merlin to shove him away. "What was that?" Merlin hissed through clenched teeth.

"That was me saving your arse." Arthur hissed back, his eyes flashing. Now that they were walking away, the easy going smile that had been on his face was gone. Now it was just a pissed off expression. Arthur had his eyes narrowed onto Merlin, feeling the anger pulse through his body. If he hadn't acted when he did, Merlin would have made things so much worst.

Did he think just because Arthur was forced to marry him, that made him somehow untouchable?

It was obvious that he would have to keep a closer eye on Merlin than he wanted to. If that was what happened just because he had left the boy for ten minutes, what could happen if the boy had an extended amount of time to himself to cause damage.

"I did not need saving!" Merlin snapped, feeling his face flush in anger. That was the one thing he hated about his physical appearance the most. The fact that every minute emotion was clear to see on his face.

Arthur scoffed, "And what would you have done if he had actually managed to hit you? It's not like you could defend yourself." He gave an obvious look to Merlin's slim frame.

Merlin wanted to spit out exactly what he could have done to that jerk. He wanted to tell Arthur exactly what he wanted to do to him. But he couldn't. He practically had to bite back the retort that had been forming on his lips. The retort that would have revealed to Arthur exactly who it was that he had married to. He managed to hold it in, but just barely. He had to force something else out in its place. "So you did see it? You saw that man was going to hit me."

Arthur waved him off, clearly not taking his anger to serious and that just pissed Merlin off more. "Don't get to excited, he wouldn't do that. He would have stopped because it would have been considered an assault on the royal household. And then we would have no choice but to execute a very profitable member of our community."

"Pr-profitable?" Merlin stuttered. "So if I hadn't married you, it would have been very okay for him to hit me if I was just a peasant off the street. Because he brings gold in?"

"You are just a peasant off the street." Arthur said bluntly. Glancing around, the prince saw that they were starting to gather some looks. So annoyed, Arthur put a hand on the base of Merlin's spine and forced him to walk with him towards the front of the room. "Besides, what did you think he was going to do. You can't just go around telling nobles that they suck."

"Even if it's true." Merlin demanded.

"Especially if it's true." Arthur snapped. "Now it's obvio-" Arthur was cut off by Merlin swerving his head to look behind them. Arthur felt his eye twitch, "What are you do-" he started.

"Where's Gwen?" Merlin demanded, jolting to a stop, forcing Arthur to stop with him. "We did not just leave her back there with that vile man, did we?"

"Stop calling the nobles names." Arthur snapped. "Just because you seem to think you can get away with calling me an arse, doesn't mean others will be so lenient."

"Lenient?" Merlin demanded, head whipping around to glare at him. "You call attacking me with a mace lenient?"

"Yes, I actually do." Arthur said honestly. If Merlin wasn't his consort, then he would have had the boy in the dungeon for a week, or spend every day in the stocks. But as luck would happen, it wasn't exactly something he could do now. He lamented internally at his luck, as doing that now that Merlin was his consort would probably be frowned upon by his father.

"Figures," Merlin scoffed, doing nothing to hide his disdain, going back to looking around for Gwen. "And you can get your hand off me now." He snapped, ignoring the warmth that seemed to spread out from Arthur's hand and across his lower back.

Arthur startled, he'd almost forgotten that he had put his hand there to lead the boy towards the front tables where the royal family was expected to sit. "Well you need to-" Arthur started, voice harsh as he practically snatched his hand away, almost worried that somebody had noticed and had seen him 'favoring' his husband. He was cut off but only because it was clear that Merlin was no longer listening. Arthur rolled his eyes, "There, are you happy? Gwen's right over there." Arthur finally said, having already known. He had kept an eye on her and saw her make her escape as soon as they had left.

Merlin's head practically snapped around to look in the direction Arthur was jutting his thumb. He relaxed as he saw Gwen across the room. She was standing just behind Lady Morgana now, having retreated to the safest spot a servant could go to, behind her mistress. Nobody would dare disturb Lady Morgana's mistress without asking the mistress herself first for permission to use her servant for whatever reason.

Arthur rolled his eyes again. How somebody could be so worried for a mere servant when there were dozens more to take their place was beyond him. The only reason he had kept an eye on Gwen to make sure she got away safely was because Morgana would have had his balls if she knew he was nearby and did nothing if the nobleman tried to turn his ire on the petite serving girl.

"If we are going to be married," Arthur forced out, his jaw clenched. "Then we will need some grounds rules." That would be a good start. Something to live by, or for Merlin to live by as to keep him out of his hair.

Merlin swirled his head around to look back at Arthur, "Damn right we do." He could think of a dozen rules right off the top of his head for Arthur. Like no more going after people with maces. Or no more bullying peasant's. Or no more being an all around arse. And those were just the first few things he wanted to throw out.

Arthur winced at the peasant's mouthy response. "First off, no more cursing. Nobody is going to take you serious if your cursing like that during important events where you have to be proper." Not that anyone would take him serious in the long run anyway. The only thing going for him was that he had somehow been able to marry a prince.

Merlin scoffed, "I will only if you stop talking. I swear, every word out of your mouth is to ridicule somebody." Merlin couldn't think of one genuine nice thing that he'd seen Arthur do.

"Excuse me." Arthur snapped. "When did I say this was a negotiation?" Who did this brat think he was? As if Arthur would negotiate when the boy should just take what he said and do it.

"Well you did say that we needed some ground rules." Merlin said bluntly, rolling his eyes a little. What else did the prince think that he was going to do?

Arthur felt his eye twitch, "I meant for you." He hissed through his clenched jaw. He was a prince! He was not going to listen to whatever nonsense Merlin was going to try and unleash on him this time.

Merlin cocked his hip out, bringing his hands to rest on them, "I thought these were ground rules. Not a dictatorship." He would be damned if he just followed whatever rule Arthur put down.

"Big word for a peasant." Arthur shot back. He was only mildly surprised that Merlin knew the word and could use it in the right sentence. Merlin rolled his eyes again, sending Arthur's frustration through the roof.

The two boys had stopped walking in the middle of their conversation and now stood in the middle of the room. But seeing that they were starting to garner more looks than he wanted, Arthur had no choice but to once again put his hand on the small of Merlin's back and lead him towards the table.

"I can walk myself." Merlin hissed, jerking away from the offending hand that made the sudden shivers return to his spine in an oddly uncomfortable way.

"Then do it." Arthur snapped back, letting his hand drop. It didn't matter either way. Now at least he didn't have to touch the boy. That was the only good thing about this arrangement. Merlin not wanting to be touched meant that Arthur wasn't forced to wrap his arm around him more than he had to.

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's response before walking forward. Arthur followed even as he felt an intense desire in that moment to just throttle the boy. He briefly wondered if he could get away with it without his father saying something like 'you have to show decorum in front of your people and throttling your husband is not the way to do it.'

"One ground rule," Arthur started again as soon as he fell into step with Merlin. "You shouldn't talk to anyone." Merlin scoffed because yeah, that wasn't going to happen. But Arthur kept on going although from the slight narrow in his eyes, it was obvious that he had heard. "You're new around here." He kept going, his voice a touch more forceful than before. "People around here will descend on you, trying to talk you into things that you either do not understand or that the king has already said no to. They will use word games into making you think something sounds good and means the exact opposite of what you thought."

Even though Merlin acted as if he wasn't listening, he did take a note about that one. Not the whole no talking part but he definitely wouldn't be agreeing to anything.

"Besides," Arthur finished up. "You'll probably just say something dumb instead of the proper response in a situation like that. Like you did when you told that very important noble who has more gold than you've seen in your entire life that he sucked."

Merlin's eyes flashed and he shot a glare in Arthur's direction. "So what? You want me to grovel or something at his feet just because he has gold."

"Of course not." Arthur scoffed. "If you were an ordinary peasant than yes. But you're not. You're my husband which means you have to show some kind of leadership." He gave an obvious look over Merlin's slight form, making the boy bristle. "If you can, of course."

"You do realize what that guy wanted, don't you?" Merlin demanded. "He wants to brand servants! Put a burn on their bodies and-and...disfigure them! He wants to do that to people like Gwen just because they aren't lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth."

Merlin didn't say it but he also thought 'people like me'. If he wasn't married to Arthur through some weird circumstances, he would have lived his entire life as a peasant. Hell, in another life he could have came to Camelot for a different reason entirely. In that life, he may had even had to find work as a servant. He knew about farming but their weren't exactly many fields he could find work at in the inner city. Just a few gardens here or there. Knights would have to bring food from the fields on the outer regions of Camelot and transport it back to the city for its citizens since there were no real place to put an actual field for harvesting. And with no farm work required inside the inner city, Merlin would have to find the next thing which would have been as a servant.

He could have been the one that was branded if that nobleman got his way. And no work or gold would be enough for Merlin to allow someone to mark his body like that. He would rather find a spot in the woods and make his own food than work somewhere where a brand was required. And what had that man been talking about, servants needed to know their place. It made a rage he had never realized he could have flow through his body.

Arthur rolls his eyes some, "Don't worry so much. It'll never happen anyway. He's been trying to push that through for years." Literally, the first time he heard about it was when his father asked his opinion about it when he was sixteen. Not that his father was going to do it if he had approved. It had just been some kind of test, just to find out how what answer he would have given the man if he was king.

Arthur hadn't approved at all. The thought had actually sickened him. There were hundreds of servants that worked around the castle and the thought of having the Pendragon Creat seared into someone's skin had made him surprisingly nauseous. Especially considering his normal attitude towards those lower than his higher status.

"But what if he does try something like it. What's to stop him from approaching me again." Merlin demanded. "Because I am not going to hold back if that creep tries doing it again."

Arthur snorted, imagining Merlin holding back. He didn't know if the boy even knew how to do that. "You won't have to. He's only here for the party. He'll return to his estate afterwards on the far side of the kingdom so I doubt you'll be running into him again."

"Oh," Merlin said, his shoulders relaxing some. He didn't know how he would have been able to stay here in the castle if the man was a permanent fixture, someone he had no choice but to interact with everyday. "That's good."

But then Arthur just had to keep talking. "Now, even though I don't approve of his methods, I do know that you shouldn't waste your time talking to the servants."

Merlin glared at him, "Excuse me?" He demanded.

Arthur rolled his eyes again. Why did his 'husband' have to be a total moron. "You are royalty now." Merlin still looked at him blankly. "Do I have to explain everything to you? Think of it as another ground rule. You shouldn't talk to people that are below your station."

Merlin looked at him blankly for a moment before giving a loud snort. Arthur looked startled by the obvious dismissal. Was he really dismissing him like that? Arthur scowled, wanting to drag the boy to the dungeons himself for the rude way that he conducted himself.

"So," Merlin started, the amusement clear on his face as he gave Arthur a teasing look as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't want me talking to the nobles. And you don't want me talking to the servants? Can it be safe to assume that this means you want me all to yourself."

"W-what?" Arthur spluttered, eyes going wide. How in the world had the moron gotten that idea. He would sooner scrape his own eyes out with a rotten spoon than want this boy's company. "That is not what I meant and you know it!" He raged. He had to glance around to make sure that none of the nobles had noticed his sudden rage. It wouldn't do for the older nobles to see him acting with anything less than decorum. But he couldn't help himself. This boy just somehow forced his way under his skin with every interaction they had.

Merlin gave another cheeky grin, making Arthur once again wish that he could just throttle the boy and be done with it. "So," Merlin started cheekily, leaning in a little to close for Arthur's liking. "I guess I'll just talk to whoever I damn well please, won't I?"

Arthur felt a muscle in his already tight jaw twitch and it was probably easily seen all over his face how much this boy got under his skin. How was it that one boy caused him so much annoyance in the little time that he met him? He'd never met anyone that drove him so crazy in such a short span of time. "You will not talk to 'whoever you damn well please." Arthur hissed.

Merlin's eyes seemed to twinkle, the amusement growing on his face with every passing second. It was almost surprisingly fun watching the arrogant prince get riled up all because of him.

Seeing the amusement reflecting off of every inch of Merlin's face just made Arthur's irritation spike. "Every action you take," Arthur bit out harshly. "Is like a reflection on myself. Which means every breath you take, could do something to ruin my standing among my own people."

Merlin started giggling, "Seriously?" He asked cheekily. "That's what your worried about." Arthur straightened up, his lips thinning as he glared at the boy. What was so funny? He didn't find anything amusing about the situation the two of them had found themselves in. Merlin kept talking, "Well don't worry about that," Arthur followed Merlin's hand as he raised it up, patting the prince on the shoulder with no hesitation or reservation. Arthur glared at the offending hand but Merlin didn't seem to notice when he finally pulled away. "You ruin your own standing all on your own." He said cheerfully, turning away as they finally reached the dining table the royal family was going to sit at.

The table was large, surprisingly large since it would only be the four of them sitting at it. And it was laden down with more food than all four of them could possibly eat in one sitting. Merlin wondered what they would do with the extra food and hoped it wouldn't just be thrown out. He knew a lot of peasants that wouldn't mind having somebody else's leftovers, they would just be happy to have anything.

"What?" Arthur demanded, following Merlin around the table to where the chairs were set up, overlooking the crowd of people. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Merlin scoffed and didn't bother answering him, pissing Arthur off. But really, it didn't take a genius to figure out. If Arthur treated all peasants like he had treated Merlin, like he had treated Morris that first day they met, it would only be to obvious that not many people liked the prat.

Arthur, eyes flashing, reached out and grabbed Merlin's wrist, stopping the boy from moving away. He felt the slim wrist under his grasp, slim enough that he was able to wrap his whole hand around it. But he paid it no attention, "No, I want you to tell me. What is that supposed to mean?" He demanded. He worked hard to make sure that the nobles didn't doubt him. He worked hard to foster his relations among the noble folk, doing his part as prince. And for a peasant to question that?

Merlin turned to face him, glaring daggers at the hand around his wrist. "Maybe," he said forcefully, trying to jerk his hand out. Arthur didn't even notice the weak tugging. "You should get your head out of your arse long enough to realize that there are more people in your kingdom then just those with money."

Arthur looked baffled. "Excuse me?" He demanded, trying to figure out what the boy was going on about. Was he questioning how he interacted with his people? Was he actually questioning how Arthur conducted himself around others? Didn't he know that the people with gold were the ones that mattered? They were the one's that kept the kingdom running after all.

"You're not excused." Merlin shot back, jerking his wrist a little harder. "Now if you don't mind, as much as I know you care very little for the peasants in your kingdom, I'm sure you don't want your 'noble friends' to see you manhandling your 'consort'." He finished off mockingly, giving another jerk of his wrist.

Arthur's eyes shot down to the wrist in his hand, seeing the way that his much larger hand was literally overlapping Merlin's slim wrist. And he finally took notice of the way that Merlin was trying to jerk his hand away. Arthur practically dropped the hand as if it burned him.

Merlin hadn't been sure that it would work but it did. When the prat let him go, Merlin snatched his hand up to his chest, bringing his other hand up to hold it against him, giving Arthur a death glare. It hadn't hurt, Arthur hadn't held him nearly as tight as Merlin knew he could have. It still pissed Merlin off that Arthur thought he could just 'manhandle' him. Arthur Pendragon had another thing coming if he thought that he could try that again.

There was a subtle cough down the table from them, bringing both boy's to turn around and see where it came from. Uther was just standing behind him, by his own chair. Morgana was standing further down where her own chair was with Gwen standing just behind her waiting for when her lady needed something.

Uther gave Arthur a pointed look, clearly telling the blonde to do something without actually having to say the words. Merlin felt himself stiffen, wondering what was going to happen now. Because the last time Uther did that, it was to have Arthur 'escorting' Merlin to the party. As if he couldn't walk here himself. God, what could it possibly be now?

Arthur's jaw locked, a muscle twitching in his lower jaw as it did so. He knew exactly what his father wanted. It had been engrained into him by his tutors. Merlin was his 'date', if you could call it that when they were just forcibly married to each other, so he was supposed to be treated like one.

Arthur reached for the chair on the end of the table, pulling it out for Merlin. As was proper for a gentleman of his status. But even as he gestured to it, his lips had a mocking sneer to it. And on the inside, he was positively seething at having to put on this charade for their guests. To act as if they were some kind of lovey dovey newly weds, it was ridiculous to think that anybody would believe this. Not to mention, he was still pissed off about the brat's comment earlier. Who was he to insinuate that Arthur didn't care about his people? He'd barely been here a week, what did he know about anything?

It took Arthur a minute to long to realize that the brat hadn't taken his seat. And when he turned to shoot the boy a glare, he saw Merlin already scowling at him. And then the brat turned his back to his prince and pulled his own chair out. Merlin took the seat beside Uther, the one that was supposed to belong to Arthur as Uther's only child.

Arthur felt his eye twitch again, having to do everything he could to resist the urge to shove the boy out of his chair. "That is my chair." Arthur hissed, even as he took the chair he'd been trying to give Merlin when he saw people starting to look over. He sounded just a tad to possessive over something like a chair.

Merlin purposely turned his head away from Arthur, tilting his chin in the opposite direction as to avoid looking at him. Arthur wondered if Merlin would still wear that disgruntled look if Arthur started shaking him hard enough to get his brain to work. To make him realize that this was not how you treated your prince, especially not your princely husband.

"I wouldn't have taken it," Merlin said bluntly, still refusing to give Arthur his attention, purposely keeping his eyes averted. "If you weren't such an arsehole." If it had been anyone else, Merlin probably wouldn't have minded having his chair pulled out for him. But then again, he probably would have done the exact same thing. He didn't like being treated as if he were a woman. He was a man, damn it. One hundred percent man and he had all of the body parts to prove it.

Uther brought his hand up to his temple, rubbing it as if he had a headache. "Merlin," he lectured sternly. "It's highly inappropriate to call your husband an arsehole." It was almost amusing, hearing a king use that language, especially in the presence of a lady.

But Morgana didn't care if the growing smile across her face was anything to go by. "Unless it's about Arthur, of course." Merlin couldn't stop the growing smile if he'd tried because she was absolutely right. Arthur gave them both a scowl, feeling as if he was being ganged up on.

"Morgana," Uther said tiredly. "Not now." The festivities were almost over. All they really had to get through was dinner and then they could all return to their rooms. Well, Arthur and Merlin would be returning to Arthur's room as to consummate their union. And then they could put this unfortunate event behind them all.

At that moment, there was the sounds of trumpets going off. The musicians stood against the wall on either side of the grand doors, trumpets to their mouths as they blew out a celebratory song. Ironically enough, the people that this event directly affected was doing anything but celebrating. The crowd of noblemen started finding seats, taking empty spots at the random tables spread about as dinner was about to start.

Merlin looked up as the trumpets started to play. But he didn't get to enjoy the song at all because of course Arthur Fucking Pendragon had to ruin it.

Arthur had used the trumpets as a distraction to get some much needed answers from his extremely frustrating husband. So when they started to play, he leaned over as inconspicuous as he could, getting into Merlin's space as he asked, "Why exactly do you think that I'm an arsehole?"

Being who he was, his behavior had never been called out before by anybody other than his father. And even then it was just to lecture him about being proper among those who deserved his attention. Arthur knew he had a strong personality but he'd never considered himself an arsehole before.

Merlin scoffed, leaning as far away as he could from the prince who apparently had never heard of personal space before. "I've got a list a mile long." He said bluntly. "So which should I start with?" There were dozens and dozens of reasons why he would call Arthur an arsehole but at this moment, the one thing that was bothering him the most was the only thing he could bring to mind. But he didn't say anything, opting to turn his head away from Arthur as to ignore him.

The tension between Arthur and Merlin in that moment was unreal. It was amazing that nobody else seemed to notice it.

Arthur glared daggers at his new husband, "Why don't you tell me the most pressing reason." He bit out. He couldn't think of one thing he did that would be an arsehole move. He was all about making sure the nobles of his kingdom saw him as the great leader he wanted to become when he would someday be king. As much as it pained him, if he has missed something, he wanted to know what it was so that he could correct it. Although the better question would have been, how had a peasant noticed something that he hadn't been aware of?

The words came spilling out of Merlin's mouth before he even got the chance to stop them. "What else am I supposed to call my husband when he clearly has no reservations about checking out others. I mean honestly, at our wedding party?"

Arthur looked at him blankly for a minute, trying to figure out what he was going on about. Merlin glared at the boy when he saw the blank expression on his face, scoffing in disbelief as he turned away again. How had he married somebody so insufferable?

That was when Arthur's eyes drifted passed Merlin and saw Morgana further down the table, the woman paying them no mind. Then his lips cracked into a grin of disbelief as the realization hit him. "Wait a minute? Are you talking about Morgana? That's what's got you so riled up?"

Merlin felt his indignation rise up. "Well what do you think?" He snapped. "Is it really 'proper' for a prince to be looking at others when he's married?"

"There's nothing wrong with looking, especially when my husband is nothing to look at." Arthur snapped, making Merlin flinch. He already knew that he was scrawny, nothing like the muscular soldiers that roamed around Camelot. But it still hurt to hear. "Besides," Arthur leaned back in his chair. "You do realize that I like women right? So whatever you were thinking about this marriage, it's not going to happen."

Merlin felt the disappointment once again well up inside of him. He already knew all of that of course but still, did he have to go around saying it? "I'm well aware." Merlin said quietly, turning away to look out into the crowd listening to the trumpets playing.

Arthur paid him no mind, to busy laughing at Merlin's stupidity. Had he really thought that there would possibly be something between them? Arthur had been well aware that he wouldn't find love in his arranged marriage. He was even more certain when he learned who he was marrying. And he had no doubt once he'd actually met the boy.

But then another question popped into his head. One that had bothered him during the wedding and the more he thought about it, the less that he could ignore it. "Did you know?" Arthur suddenly asked, making Merlin shift his gaze from the people and to him. "When we met," Arthur clarified when he saw the blank expression on the boy's face. "Who I was?"

That was the one thing that had gotten Arthur's attention when they met. The one thing that had baffled him the most. Even if he was new in town, how could he not recognize the prince of Camelot on sight?

Merlin shot him a confused look, staring into those blue eyes of his. "Of course not." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Not until you said your name the day we met. You know that."

Arthur felt the relief hit him like a punch to the gut. That was what had pissed him off the most. The idea that Merlin had somehow played him, had made him think he truly didn't know who he was. That it had all been some kind of idiotic act in order to get his attention in a way that no other had before.

Another thought struck him, "Hey! That meant you knew who I was the second time we met!" He wasn't sure how he felt about that one. The fact that Merlin had known exactly who he was and still tried to fight him. Even someone as idiotic as Merlin had to know that he wouldn't have won.

"Yep." Merlin said, smirking. It wasn't like it was some kind of secret. "I thought you were an arse the first time we met. And the second time just confirmed that you were a royal one." He may have lost but even then, he could feel his heart rate increasing just the slightest bit at the memory.

Arthur remembered vividly of when Merlin had called him a royal arse just before the prince had attacked him with a mace. The way the boy had grinned cheekily, bowing low in a way that was so mocking it was unreal. Arthur felt a strange shiver that went down his spine as he remembered how cocky Merlin was when he'd gotten a hold of Arthur's mace. And how it had been far to easy to knock him on his arse.

Arthur pushed those thoughts out of mind, setting a glare onto Merlin although it was a surprisingly weak one. It just made a little grin appear on Merlin's face. He wondered if it would ever get boring riling up the prince? He hoped not. He kind of liked this Arthur, a lot more than he had when the blonde had been blank faced through pretty much their entire wedding. The way the blonde had his blue eyes narrowed on him. How he kept locking and forcing his jaw to relax. The way he was looking at Merlin, as if he was trying to figure him out and just couldn't get the pieces to fit.

Arthur didn't take his eyes away from where they were staring into Merlin's own. He didn't even notice that he was surprisingly close to the boy. Not so close where he could feel his breath on him but still close enough that he was leaning into his new consort's space. Merlin hadn't moved an inch, still sitting in his own chair. It was Arthur that had leaned closer when they were talking as to hear each other better over the playing of the trumpets.

"You really need to stop calling me that." Arthur said, voice almost to soft to be heard.

"Why?" Merlin asked. "Afraid that I'll embarrass you in front of your buddies?" His face soured at the thought of the people Arthur called friends. Merlin thought that he would rather have no friends than have them be like those guys Arthur hung out with. But then again, he cast a look towards Gwen on the wall standing behind Morgana's chair. Maybe he just chose better friends than Arthur did.

He almost felt bad that Gwen was standing while he was sitting. He didn't like it. There were no other chairs at their table but he would have been more than happy to offer her his own chair for her to sit. And look at all of the food on the table. Merlin wondered if the servants were allowed to eat leftovers or if it all just went to waste. He really hoped it didn't, he hoped Gwen got to eat some after having to smell the freshly cooked food this entire evening.

Casting another glance towards Gwen, Merlin leaned forward, sliding his elbow onto the table. He actually was prepared to stand up and offer Gwen his seat. He didn't care about what was 'proper' or other such nonsense. It didn't feel right that Gwen should be forced to stand while he got this chair.

He was completely ignoring Arthur at this point, paying the blonde no mind at all as he was about to scoot his chair back and offer the serving girl a seat at the royal table.

He had no idea that it was practically driving Arthur wild behind him, his blood pulsing through his veins at a rapid pace as he realized he was being ignored. When was the last time anybody had ever ignored him?

So in order to get his consort's attention, he spat out the first thing he latched onto. Which unfortunately, happened to be on Merlin's elbow up on the table. His tutor would have a heart attack if she ever saw the manner in which he sat. Rule one of table etiquette was to never have your elbows on the table. It was uncouth and improper and entirely...peasant.

Merlin was leaning forward on his arm to push himself up from the table when Arthur snapped loudly, "Stop acting like a commoner!"

Merlin's attention immediately flew back to the prince, having no idea what he was talking about this time. He fell back into his chair, having barely been far enough for it to have been taken notice anyway. "In case it escaped your notice." Merlin bit out, feeling his own jaw lock. "I am a commoner!" And he was pretty damn proud of it himself. He would rather be a commoner than a spoiled prince any day of the week.

"And we can all tell." Arthur shot back. As if anybody would mistake Merlin for being exactly what he was.

"Good." Merlin said back just as easily. "Rather be a commoner than a stuck up prince."

"Stu-" Arthur started to splutter but got caught off guard, his voice dying in his throat, when the trumpets suddenly died down.

Uther was relieved as he stood up from his chair. Arthur and Merlin hadn't been nearly as quiet as they thought they were, not that they had done much either to lower their volume. Now that the song the trumpets had been playing was over, Uther could address his people and hope the two boys to his left didn't do something stupid in the meantime.

When his father stood, Arthur did so as well, followed by Morgana on the other side of him so that they could all appear as a united front in front of their people. Merlin was the only one still sitting, having not realized that the other two had stood as well.

Arthur shot a look towards Merlin, seeing that the boy was still sitting. But Merlin didn't see it, his back was to Arthur because he had turned in his chair to watch Uther. It took Arthur nudging his leg with the toe of his boot under the table to get his attention. And even then, it was just so Merlin could glare at him before turning his back to him again, clearly not getting it.

Arthur felt a headache coming along as Uther purposely drew out clearing his throat. With every one focused on Uther, Arthur took this moment to grab Merlin by the arm and jerk him to his feet.

Merlin hissed under his breath at the sudden yank on his arm. "You don't have to manhandle me." He hissed at Arthur, jerking his arm free.

"Well then you should have stood yourself." Arthur hissed back. "By the way, you sit when my father is finished talking." He finished mockingly.

Merlin turned away, feeling the back of his neck warm up. "I knew that." He grumbled under his breath. How was he supposed to know that, he thought at the same time. It's not like anybody else was standing. Just the royal family. It would take some time to wrap his mind around the fact that the royal family now included himself.

Arthur smirked though, not glancing towards his people. He had his eyes focused sorely on the lithe boy at his side who was very obviously avoiding his eye. It was surprisingly amusing, the way Merlin was acting.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity." Uther suddenly started talking, making Arthur and Merlin forget their confrontation. "It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures."

Arthur felt himself straighten up with pride over what his father had done to keep their kingdom safe over all these years. Merlin kept his head even, refusing to let the trickle of fear come back like it had when he had witnessed that execution. Although he didn't think he was very successful, he had never been very good about keeping his emotions off his face. He could only hope that everyone was to focused on Uther to notice the boy beside him.

"And on this twentieth anniversary, we also celebrate my son's marriage." Uther announced. "I want to thank all of you for coming on such short notice to celebrate the young couple." He stopped to hold up his goblet already filled with wine. "Now a toast, to the happy couple, and may they have many anniversaries to come." And then he drunk. Maybe a little more than what was necessary. He needed to get a little alcohol in his system to survive his announcement.

The people all grabbed their own drink and raised it to their lips, drinking just as much as their king did and not a sip more.

Arthur and Merlin looked at each other, feeling the awkwardness of this situation. As if just now realizing how close they were standing together, both boys took a step away from the other.

As if he had been called, Morris suddenly appeared with a pitcher filled with a deep purple wine. "Here you go, sire." Morris said gleefully, carefully pouring the wine into Arthur's empty goblet. He made sure not to spill a single drop. Then he took his place behind Arthur's chair. If Morris was anybody else who wasn't vindictive, he would have taken the liberty of filling Merlin's cup as well since Merlin didn't have his own manservant. Since Morris was Arthur's, it would have fallen to Morris to fill in for Arthur's husband.

But Morris was a little shit and this small act of spite was pretty much the only thing he could get away with in front of so many people.

Morris had barely taken a step away before Arthur snatched up his goblet, taking a much larger sip than his father had. He needed all of the liquid courage that he could get. He felt the slight burn as it went down his throat, settling somewhere in his stomach. He would probably need a whole pitcher to get through this dinner, carefully avoiding looking anywhere near Merlin.

Merlin glanced over the table. He had never drunk before. Nothing more than the poorest quality of alcohol that didn't even give you a buzz but it was pretty much all they had available in Ealdor. It had been all that some of the folks were able to make with what little supply they had.

Seeing a pitcher on the table as well, Merlin reached for it to fill up his own goblet. He had to admit, he was curious to know what the wine nobles drunk tasted like. And he admitted only to himself, he needed it if only to distract himself from Arthur. The blonde hadn't escaped his mind since the day he heard his name for the first time, when Leon had come to get him.

Before he could grab it though, a hand came from behind him and snatched up his goblet. Startled, Merlin looked over his shoulder just to see Gwen filling up his cup with the pitcher that she had.

"You don't have to do that." Merlin protested. "I can pour my own cup." It felt weird, being waited on. He didn't like it. It wasn't like he was injured and needed the help.

"Don't worry about it." Gwen hissed back quietly, trying not to look at him to much. It wouldn't be proper for the servant to be talking to someone with a higher status now that she was actually working. "How would the royal family look if they couldn't spare a servant for their newest member? Besides, my lady asked me to."

Merlin glanced over to see Morgana grinning at him from further down the table. He shook his head and turned back to Gwen. "Well thank you but you don't have to. I'm perfectly capable of doing my own things." He said as he reached out and took the drink from her before she could set it back down on the table. "Would you like some actually? There's so much here, I can get you a plate?"

Gwen felt herself flush. She was a mere serving girl, she couldn't be seen getting favors from the prince's consort. There would be all kinds of rumors about their intentions towards each other, even encouraged because of the fact that Merlin was married. "Oh no," she said quickly when she realized that Merlin was dead serious about gathering her a plate. "I'm alright, thank you though." Besides, the servants would be having their own little get together as they cleaned up after the party. The servants would eat whatever leftovers there were before the extra food was thrown out to the hunting dogs.

At the same moment, they both seemed to notice Uther had gone silent, glaring at them both. Gwen quickly curtsy and said a fast M'lord, before hurrying to take her spot behind Morgana. Merlin almost wanted to join her, smiling innocent under Uther's harsh glare.

Uther finally turned back to his people as everyone started putting their drinks back down. "Now," he called the court to attention. "May I have the honor of introducing a wonderful singer that shall welcome my son and his consort into the next stage of their lives. Lady Helena of Mora."

The doors on the other end of the great hall opened and Lady Helena stepped in. Her thick hair fell around her shoulders and her honey colored dress swirled around her ankles as she walked deeper into the room. The hall of people broke out in applause at her arrival. Merlin did so as well, a little less enthusiastic than everyone else. Although Arthur didn't clap at all, he just set his goblet back down onto the table.

Helena stepped just a few feet into the room. The entire hall was dead silent when the lady opened her mouth and started to sing. Helena stepped further into the room, never breaking stride in her song even when she stopped in the middle of the room.

Merlin frowned at the unfamiliar song, it definitely wouldn't have been one that he would have picked. It was...strange. There was some kind of eerie quality about the way she sung it. It was almost haunting, beautifully so. But it didn't stop the disturbed chills from going down his spine.

Arthur felt his eyes start to droop and he relaxed further back into his seat. He tried to fight the sudden sleepiness that overcame him, forcing his eyes to open back up. He couldn't fall asleep right now, not in front of the entire court. But with each new blink that came faster than the last, the heavier his eyelids got until he just couldn't bring himself to will them open again. Helena's haunting song was the last thing he heard before he let the darkness overtake him.

Merlin straightened up in his seat, his frown tugging down into a more concerned one. Was it him or were...people starting to fall asleep? He could see several members of the court resting their heads on the tables, drifting off to sleep. A few were still awake but resting their heads on their hands as if any second could see them drifting off. Several servants were standing against the walls, leaning on each other as to not fall over in their sleepy states.

With a glance to the side of him, he could see that Uther had fallen asleep as well, slumped against his chair. And just beside him, Morgana had her head resting on her folded arms on the table. Another glimpse behind him revealed that both Gwen and Morris were slumped against the wall. Both of them looked as if they would fall over in any second, eyes already closed as if they were in a deep sleep.

"Arthur, what's going on?" Merlin said quietly, head looking around frantic, his confusion growing. But everywhere he turned, more and more people seemed to be falling asleep.

It took Merlin a minute to realize that there was no answer from Arthur. His head snapped to the side, his eyes landing on the prince sitting beside him. The prince that had his eyes closed as well, slumped back into his seat. The prince's crown glittered under the firelight of the candles and his eyelashes, just as blonde as his hair, brushed against the top of his cheeks.

"Arthur?" He asked, reaching over and shaking the blonde by his arm. The prince made no indication that he even felt Merlin.

The haunting song was still ringing in his ears. The only one that seemed to still be awake other than himself was Lady Helena. That was when Merlin felt his own eyes start to droop. His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and all he could hear was that damn song ringing in his head.

Merlin slapped his hands over his ears, trying to block out the sound. It muffled it mostly but he could still hear the faint echo of it. He forced his eyes open, blinking quickly several times as he tried to force the sudden sleepiness away.

That was when he saw it. His goblet on the table in front of him. Was it him or was he starting to see silver strings worm it's way across the cup? And it wasn't just his goblet. It was everywhere. The entire room seem to be overfilling with the silver strands. It spread out covering all of the tables in the room. It even started forming on the sleeping people, encasing them all like a bubble of silky strands.

The silver strands formed over Uther and Morgana within seconds, covering them so completely that it was almost impossible to see them through the gaps in the strands. And Merlin watched with drooping eyelids as it did the same to Arthur.

He felt the itch first, a phantom sensation of something on the back of his neck. He was almost to tired to be alarmed when he saw the strands start to weave themselves over him.

He was so out of it that he almost couldn't place the fact that these silver strands were spider webs. Although it would have to be a spider that was bigger than him to make such a thick web.

And the entire time, Helena was still singing her stupidly haunting song. No matter how hard he held his hands over his ears, he could still hear that damn music breaking through. And now his hands were starting to get lax, a weariness filling him that made him just want to give in and go to sleep like everyone else had.

Merlin shifted his dazed eyes away from the table to look at Helena who had stopped in the middle of the floor. She was the only one that didn't have spider webs growing off of her and the only one that actually seemed to be fully awake.

Helena didn't notice Merlin, the only one that was still fighting her sleeping curse. She had eyes only for Arthur. She never let her eyes leave his sleeping form. It was infuriating that the young prince would sleep straight through his death when her son was forced to be aware throughout his own. But no matter, as long as the job was done in the end.

And when she was finished, she would probably have extra time to do away with that annoying consort boy before her sleeping curse ended. She could be gone, off to the next kingdom while the king and his people tried to find out what had happened to the young prince and his new consort.

Merlin gave a very slow blink, just barely able to see because of how low his eyelids had fallen. Had he been drugged? Was that what happened? The next time he forced his eyes open, it was just in time to see Lady Helena slide out a long dagger that had been hidden in her sleeve.

Her singing was getting louder and louder, impossible at this point to even muffle.

But even in his growing state of dazed confusion, Merlin knew that she was a threat. And when Lady Helena raised her arm above her head, she had every intention of throwing it straight into the prince's heart.

It was only to bad for her that she didn't realize there was another sorcerer in the room.

When she raised her dagger up, Merlin's eyes glimmered with a molten gold before fading back to blue just as fast. He was to out of it to really know what he was doing. He just wanted the ringing in his head that her haunted song was causing him to stop.

Lady Helena jolted her head up, looking horrified as a large crack was all the warning that she got. The chain holding the large chandelier alit with candles suddenly snapped free. And then the chandelier was falling just as Merlin's eyes were drifting shut, finally allowing himself some sleep now that the awful song was over.

Lady Helena didn't even get the chance to scream or dive for safety or anything. The chandelier came crashing down on top of her. The hundred ton metal chandelier pinned her down to the floor by her waist. She couldn't even move, but from the way her nails were scratching at the ground as she weakly reached for her dagger, she was still alive.

In her weakened state, the sleeping curse that had spread throughout the room from her song lifted. One by one, members of the court were raising their heads. Everyone was muttering to each other confused, trying to figure out what happened as they pulled cobwebs out of their hair or clothes.

Uther was the first at the royal table to awaken and he jolted to his feet, ignoring the cobwebs that clung to him as he stared horrified at the scene in front of him. Morgana was the next to awaken barely seconds later, climbing to her feet as well. But she wasn't looking at the scene before her. She had turned around, making sure that Gwen was okay. The serving girl was on her knees, having fallen over in her sleeping state, and brushing cobwebs out of her hair. But it was obvious that she was okay. Morris was beside her, a disgusted look etched on his face as he shivered in disgust when pulling a long cobweb out from where it had fallen down the front of his shirt.

Arthur was the next to wake mere moments later. He jolted up in his seat, looking confused at the cobwebs that covered him. And then his eyes landed on the chandelier and the woman under it as he cautiously rose to his feet. His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion because how in the world had the chandelier come loose? His father made sure those were checked at least once every year to make sure that something like it falling wouldn't happen.

Amazingly enough, the woman trapped underneath it only held his attention for a few seconds. His eyes fell to his side, onto Merlin who's eyes were just now fluttering open.

"What in the world-" Merlin muttered, raising his hands to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. Although really, he felt surprisingly normal. Not sleepy in the least as he had been mere moments before. Merlin raised his head and met eyes with the standing and wide eyed Arthur. "What happened?"

"I'm-I'm not entirely sure." Arthur admitted. As much as it pained him to admit, he was pretty blank on what just happened. Had he blacked out? Arthur shook that thought away and reached down, grabbing Merlin by his upper arm in a loose grip.

Merlin didn't protest, to baffled over what had happened that he let Arthur help him to his feet without protest. He was to busy brushing cobwebs off of him to argue that he didn't need help getting out of a chair overfilling with cobwebs.

Arthur still had his hand in a loose grip on Merlin's bicep when a sudden noise made both boys look over. They had been the only two not watching as the woman raised herself by her arms as high as she could. It wasn't far though, it was amazing enough that she was still alive.

But the fact that she was alive wasn't the startling part. It was that she no longer looked like the young and beautiful Lady Helena. Her wrinkled skin and rats nest hair was on display for everyone to see.

Mary Collins had come back and infiltrated the castle.

Mary Collins used the last of her strength to throw her dagger as hard as she could at the prince. And then she was dead, falling face first on the floor before she even saw if her dagger had landed its hit.

Arthur felt his breath get caught somewhere in his chest, his fingers froze around Merlin's bicep. He couldn't think, he couldn't move. He was usually so good, his reaction time in his training sessions were spot on. But this wasn't training, this was real life. And one wrong move could mean his death. Or in this case, the lack of moving could mean his death. But there was no time for him to react. No time for him to do anything that could get him out of this. All he could do was watch helplessly as the dagger flew at him. Arthur Pendragon literally felt as if he was staring at death itself.

So this was it, this was how he was going to die.

Or at least it was supposed to be, if fate hadn't intervened and sent a sorcerer to completely uproot his entire existence.

Merlin felt his body reacting before he even registered what happened. One minute, Mary Collins was throwing her dagger at the prince. And the next, Merlin was throwing himself to the side. His slimmer body collided with the prince's and down they went, hitting the floor hard. Well Arthur did, Merlin landed on top of him.

Merlin wasn't a minute to soon because there was a loud thunk as the dagger pierced itself into Arthur's chair. It sunk in deep right where Arthur's chest had been moments before.

Arthur gasped, bringing his hands up and grabbing Merlin harshly by the waist, harder than he had to. He was staring over the top of Merlin's head, staring with wild eyes at the dagger that should have killed him. Would have killed him if it wasn't for...his eyes drifted to the smaller boy sitting on his stomach.

Merlin let his muscles relax, letting out a breath of relief. He dropped his head, letting it fall onto Arthur's shoulder. He was alive, Arthur was alive, that was all that mattered right now. He was clutching fistfuls of Arthur's shirt, hearing the rapid heartbeat under his ear.

That was when the startled cries from the crowd of people reached him. Everyone had jumped to their feet, trying to figure out what was going on. If their prince was okay.

Arthur shifted underneath Merlin, making the boy lift his head from the blonde's shoulder. Not far enough, only far enough for their eyes to meet. Both of them were breathing hard, the adrenaline kicking up in their bodies over what had just happened.

Arthur let out a breath, his head falling back onto the floor. He stared up at the boy above him, the stunned look on his own face saying it all. All he could think was, he hadn't moved one bit to save his own life. And yet somehow, the peasant boy had managed to do it. To think, right now, he could have been dead. Lights out, that's it.

Merlin was just as stunned as Arthur was, everything had happened so fast. Within minutes he'd been arguing with Arthur and the next, he was saving his life from the crazy witch that was trying to kill him.

"Arthur! Arthur!" Uther was calling over the noise. And then he was there, by their side, trying to access the damage.

Merlin and Arthur drew their gazes away from each other to look at Uther. And him looking down at them was what made them both equally aware of their awkward position. Merlin was sitting on Arthur's stomach, spread out on top of him. Arthur's hands were low on Merlin's waist, his fingertips brushing the top of his thighs.

Arthur reacted quicker than Merlin did. In one fell swoop, Arthur had rolled Merlin straight off his lap, practically shoving him off, leaving him sprawled out on the floor as the prince jumped to his feet.

Merlin scowled up at Arthur, watching the blonde sweep a hand down his clothes, as if he was brushing off dirt. "I don't have any diseases, you know." Merlin said offended, rising to his feet. Now his arse was sore from where he had landed on the cold, hard floor. It had hurt more than when he had knocked Arthur over.

"Could have fooled me." Arthur said back, but it sounded weaker than his usual snark. Not nearly full of the arrogance he always seemed to wear.

Merlin shot him a glare, "Well I don't exactly know where you've been." Arthur could be the diseased one for all he knew. Who said a prince couldn't get sick? He was just as human as the rest of them.

Arthur shot him a glare, refusing to accept that he may possibly quite owe this boy a life debt. It wasn't often that someone who wasn't a trained soldier saved the life of the kingdom's heir. He opened his mouth to tell Merlin exactly where he thought the other boy has been.

But he didn't get the chance to because Uther got between them. "Boys, boys, calm down." He said, putting a hand on their shoulders. He turned to his son first, "Now Arthur, that is no way to talk to the man that just saved your life."

Arthur slid his eyes over to the dagger still sticking out of his chair. He swallowed hard before looking away. He loathed admitting that his new consort had saved his life. But there was no way to twist the story, no way to say that he could have gotten out of it himself. He was all to aware that he was only alive because of Merlin. He still refused to admit it though.

Uther turned to the smaller boy, "And you, Merlin." Merlin stiffen, not sure where this was going. But Uther was wearing a stunned look on his face now that he was looking at Merlin. As if he couldn't quite believe that the scrawny peasant he had detested upon their first meeting had actually done something worthwhile. "You saved my boy's life."

Merlin ducked his head, wanting more than anything to brush this aside. He knew he had used magic to break the chandelier. What if somebody saw or figured it out and alerted the king? "It was no problem, your highness." He said quickly.

"Nonsense," Uther dismissed. "You must not be so modest. Especially when it comes to your victories. Everyone shall know what you have done for my family." Well if that was Uther's attitude towards succeeding, it was no surprise that Arthur was as arrogant as he was.

"Really," Merlin said quickly. He had used magic to stop the witch, he didn't need something like that spreading around. He didn't need people asking questions or looking into things more closely. "You're family has been...so kind to me." He had to practically spit out the lie. Arthur was standing behind Uther and could see through it in an instant. He had to hold back a snort at the pained look Merlin wore. Merlin refused to even look in his direction. "I mean, you gave me such a nice room and-" he tried to think of something else. "These nice clothes and...such an amazing wedding." He finished weakly. "It was the least that I could do."

But Uther didn't seem to think those were big deals. After all, the room had always belonged to the partner of the heir. And the boy couldn't exactly show up to his own royal wedding while wearing those rags he seemed to favor. And the wedding was thrown together so last minute, they could have gone bigger and better had they taken the time to actually plan it.

"We must do something to get you better acquainted within our family." Uther decided. "It's only right that we learn everything we can about our newest member." Maybe saving Arthur's had just been a fluke, a one off. Maybe the boy had just been at the right place at the right time. But still, it did make him curious to know what else Merlin could bring to the table.

Merlin smiled with a little to much force, "Of course, sire." He said with a gracious tilt of his head. "It would be...an honor, to learn more about you and your family."

"Wonderful!" Uther said, patting Merlin on the shoulder. He gave the boy a thoughtful look. "Perhaps you will find your place here among us."

Merlin smiled weakly, avoiding eyes with the king. Somehow, the king hadn't noticed that he had used magic. Nobody was screaming about another sorcerer so he could only assume that nobody else had seen either. The entire hall really had been unconscious. But still, he didn't want to jinx what little luck he was having right now. He didn't want to risk something else happening and the king finding out.

"Father," Arthur interrupted them urgently. "I really don't think it's necessary for Merlin to join us for anything. I mean, surely he has his own interests that he may be more interested in spending time on." He shot Merlin a look, clearly urging him to agree with him.

"Right," Merlin said quickly. "You don't have to go out of your way on my account." He'd do just about anything to avoid having to do anything that involved either Uther or Arthur. Morgana was alright but Merlin wasn't sure that he could spend any large amount of time with the two men.

"Nonsense," Uther brushed them off. "It will be no trouble at all to have you included the next time the family gets together. It should be expected actually, now that you are a member."

"Of course, sire." Merlin said humbly. He would have to think of something to get out of whatever Uther was thinking later.

Uther nodded, "Now that this is settled, I will have the guards get rid of the witch." And then he was walking away. "Come along, Morgana. Leave the new couple alone." He called over his shoulder.

"Coming, sire." Morgana said, following her king. But as she did so, she shot an amused look over her shoulder. Arthur would certainly have his work cut out for him with Merlin around. Thank God Uther hadn't chosen one of those simpering princess's that did nothing but kiss up to get favors.

Gwen gave Merlin an almost pitying smile as she passed by, following Morgana.

Arthur and Merlin stood side by side, watching as the party started to disperse. The people were starting to say their goodbyes to friends and others, taking their time with heading for the doors. Apparently a dead body on the floor and the near assassination of their prince was just the thing they needed to break up a party.

Arthur let out a huff of breath. Merlin turned to give him a look. Arthur didn't look at him though. He actually looked as if he was avoiding his eye. "Just because you saved my life doesn't change anything." Arthur grumbled. "I still don't like you." There. He had said his piece. If Merlin thought his actions had changed anything, then he would be sorely mistaken.

But Merlin wasn't impressed at all with his suave attitude. He actually had the nerve to snort and roll his eyes. Arthur shot him a glare, wondering how in the world could one peasant, one consort now, be so frustrating. He'd never thought the one he married would give him more headaches in a single encounter than he ever had in his entire life.

"Heaven forbid I change the mind of the Great Arthur Pendragon." Merlin said sarcastically. As if he wanted that prat's attention. Maybe he had hoped things could be different before, maybe he hoped that he and Arthur could at least be friends. But damn, the prince was more annoying than he was worth.

Arthur and Merlin's eyes met as they shared a disgruntled look with each other. Then they turned away from each other as if they couldn't bare to look at the other for a second longer.

Across the great hall, Gaius was standing in the doorway prepared to return to his chambers. He watched Merlin and Arthur turn away from each other before shaking his head. He wondered if the two boys would ever be able to get along. That was a question though that only time would tell.

Before he left, he shot a glance towards the chandelier. The knights were surrounding it, trying to figure out how to lift all of that weight up so that they could drag the body out from underneath it. It was no great mystery to Gaius how the chandelier had fallen. And it was very well known by the people that Merlin had saved the prince's life.

Maybe Merlin had finally found a use for his gift. Maybe, just maybe, Merlin had found his purpose in life.

And he didn't even realize how strong that purpose would become in the years to follow.

Gaius cast one more look towards his nephew before he left with the crowd. Hopefully, he could talk with Merlin tomorrow. Find out how he was handling everything that had happened.

Back on the other side of the hall, "So," Merlin said slowly. "This has been some wedding, huh?" He had definitely never considered there would be a murder attempt at his own wedding. And that was before he realized he would be married to a prince. Assassination attempts were the norm for those as high up as Arthur, wasn't it?

"Yeah," Arthur grunted, "Some wedding." But it was obvious that he wasn't paying any attention to Merlin at all. He had his eyes latched firmly onto the woman the knights were now pulling out from under the chandelier. It was hard to imagine that this woman had almost been his murderer. It was hard to imagine that it could have been him that was so easily dead if that stupid chain hadn't somehow broke. It was hard to imagine that this fragile old looking woman had been strong enough to do such enchantments to hide her form and put them all to sleep.

But what did Arthur know about magic? For all he knew, it was one of the first enchantments that a sorcerer learned because they were so easy.

Merlin rolled his eyes when he realized Arthur wasn't paying him any attention. Merlin reached over and nudged the boy with his elbow, forcing the prince out of his thoughts. "Well I don't know about you but I think I need some sleep." It had been a pretty rough, emotional day. And the sorcerer trying to kill Arthur hadn't helped matters at all.

"Yeah, you could use it." Arthur said dryly, glancing over at him, pushing Merlin back with his own elbow. Maybe a little harder than the other boy had because Merlin had to catch himself on one of the nearby table. And now that Merlin mentioned sleep...wasn't there something Arthur was forgetting?

Merlin didn't stop the cheeky grin from spreading across his face. "You're one to talk. Have you seen your hair?" He asked amused, looking at the bangs that fell over the crown and onto Arthur's forehead. The bangs that were askew from Arthur's fall to the floor.

Arthur frowned, "What's wrong with my hair?" He said confused, reaching up to run his fingers through his bangs, trying to fix it.

Merlin started to laugh, a laugh that made even his eyes lighten up. "No, no, no. You're making it worse." He said, seeing the bangs going off in different directions. Maybe the prince didn't have as perfect hair as he thought. Merlin playfully rolled his eyes, unable to take it anymore. "Here, let me." He reached up for the blonde locks.

Merlin had to swat Arthur's hand away when he wouldn't move to give Merlin the space he needed. Arthur jerked his hand out of the way startled. Had that boy actually swatted his hand? As if he were a disobeying toddler? What nerve did this brat have?

Merlin paid him no attention, taking a step closer to make it easier for him to reach. He ran his hand through the silky blonde locks, feeling the softness under his fingertips as he tried to smooth it out. "No wonder you need a manservant." Merlin said quietly, so quietly that only the two of them could hear. His mouth had barely opened at all, this was just for Arthur's ears. "Not being able to fix your own hair."