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!

25. Chapter 25

Standing side by side, Gwen and Merlin took in the mess before them. The armor that Merlin had brought to her home was spread out in a disarray over the handmaiden's dinner table. Not one more item could have fit among the mess.

Frowning, Gwen looked understandably confused, having no idea why it was in her arm.

Merlin just crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head a little with his own look of confusion at the armor. But that was only because he had no idea what he was looking at. He wouldn't have been able to tell you what some of the pieces were for if his life depended on it.

"Okay," Gwen finally said, when she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. "I give up, is there a reason you brought armor to my doorstep?"

Merlin smiled sheepishly, bringing up a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "I was actually hoping that you wouldn't mind helping me out."

"With what, exactly?" Gwen asked, lifting her eyebrow up at him. Was Merlin going to train to become a knight, was that why he had the armor? She really hoped not. He didn't have that much of a build for it, and she really didn't want to see him get hurt because he was trying to keep up with the other knights. They were all just so much bigger than the dark haired boy was.

"I need help learning how to put it on." Merlin explained. "I thought you might be able to help me out." Looking at everything spread out before him, it was more obvious than ever that he had no idea what he was doing. And for once, he just wanted to make sure that Arthur couldn't make some kind of snide comment about his abilities.

As Arthur had felt the need to point out during their training session, there were a lot of things that Merlin just couldn't do with his limited education. But he wanted to learn. And if the first step meant he had to figure out how to put Arthur in this stupid armor, he was going to do it.

Especially if it kept Morris and his grubby paws off His Husband.

But at his side, Gwen stiffened at his words. Oh god, she really hoped this wasn't happening again. Had Merlin only come to her because she was the blacksmith's daughter?

For most of her childhood, many people had called her the 'blacksmith's daughter', as if they couldn't be bothered to remember her name. It got to the point where she absolutely hated anything to do with her father and the job he did. But that had been when she was smaller, still a young child. She had grown in the last handful of years.

Now, she was proud of being her daddy's daughter, there was no mistake about that.

But at the time, it had gotten to tiresome being referred to like that. It was as if her being 'the blacksmith's daughter' was her only identity. As if it was all that she was.

It was why it was such a relief when she was twelve, and she had been the one chosen for the job as Morgana's maid. Because at least people would know her as that instead of 'the blacksmith's daughter'. At least people knew her because of her own accomplishments instead of what her family did for a living.

It was why she always introduced herself with her job title included, so people wouldn't make the connection and start calling her 'the blacksmiths daughter' again. It was nice, having her own identity, and she didn't want to go back to where it felt as if she was only known because her father often made the swords and weaponry the knights would use.

Clearing her throat, Gwen stuttered out a weak, "W-what makes you think that I can help with that?" And god help her if it was because she was the blacksmiths daughter. Just because she was, didn't mean she knew anything about armor.

Well, she did actually, probably more than any peasant girl ever should. Her father had taught her practically everything there was to do with it. She probably knew more than the people that worked with her dad. But that wasn't the point.

As proud of her family as she was, she didn't want to go back to being 'the blacksmith's daughter.'

Merlin just gave her a look, his lips quickly upward into a small grin. "Well, you're pretty much the only person around here I could bring all of this to. And you're pretty smart to. I figured between the two of us, we could figure this out."

Gwen felt herself relaxing, her tensed facial muscles easing up as a soft smile appeared on her lips. She should've known. Merlin was still far to new around here to really know her history. Especially something she hadn't been referred to in years.

It may have been forever since people called her 'the blacksmiths daughter' instead of by her name. But it still gave her instant flashbacks of how much she had absolutely hated it. She had even blacklisted hanging out with her father for a few weeks there in her youth, because all he wanted to do was teach her how to make the things he did.

Heck, she could probably make a living as a blacksmith herself, if only people would trust a woman with such a job.

Clearing her throat, Gwen stepped forward to the table. Just to have something to do with her hands, she picked up the belt that usually had the sword strapped to it. And as she looked closer at it, she froze, feeling the color drain out of her face. "I-is there a reason you have A-Arthur's armor in my home?" She asked shakily, nearly dropping the belt she held.

It was a really good thing her father was working today. He would have had a heart attack if he knew the prince's armor was in their home. Her father had always wanted to get his hands on it, because it had been made by some specialty blacksmith that lived in the middle of nowhere, on the other side of Camelot. This particular blacksmith was so skilled, that only the highest of noble's could afford to get commissions from him. Only a small handful of Camelot's nobility were able to spend that kind of gold.

It was every blacksmith's wet dream to be able to get their hands on an armor so exquisitely made. And here she was, keeping it on her very small and dirty table.

Merlin though, didn't know any of this. To him, any armor was just like any other, they all functioned just the same.

Looking at Gwen, Merlin asked, "How did you know that it was Arthur's?" He turned back to the table to study the armor spread out in front of him. But he couldn't see anything that would indicate it belonged to Arthur. It was just armor, plain and simple.

Gwen was careful with the belt, making sure not to crease any marks into it. She was afraid that just her touch alone would damage the thick, red leather belt. But working slowly, she was able to flip the belt buckle to the side so that Merlin could see the inside of it. On the smallest corner of the buckle, one could barely see the carving of a crest lined in gold. It was a beautifully detailed, for being so small, Phoenix.

Gwen patiently explained, "Only the royal family has this crest carved into their belts like that. Uther has one carved just like it on his own belt." It was one of the first thing her father had ever taught her, how to identify metalwork, and her father had used the Pendragon's as an example.

One of the most important things to know was where something came from before you actually used it. Some blacksmith's were known for having their metalwork fall apart, and should be avoided for long term use. But Gwen supposed, if you were in a pinch and there was no other option...

"Dang," Merlin mumbled, taking the belt from Gwen. Gwen couldn't stop her wince, when she saw how carelessly Merlin was handling it. "Even his armor is fancier than all the other knights."

Running his thumb over the Phoenix, Merlin didn't take his eyes away from the small intricate design as he asked Gwen, "What does it mean?" It was so small, that he hadn't noticed it before she had pointed it out. Not that he had spent much time studying Arthur's belt, and it wasn't like he was going around trying to see the inside of it, but still.

"It represents the designer." Gwen explained, not taking her eyes off the belt. Armor like this had to be treated with delicacy and the upmost care. Even if it was better made and could withstand more than regular armor, it deserved to be treated as if it had been made out of polished gold. She had to stop herself from snatching the pristine belt out of Merlin's clumsy hands. "It uh, the Phoenix is a symbol that the royal blacksmith uses. It's something that blacksmith's do, they put their symbol somewhere on their work so you can tell who made it. But only if you know where to look."

Most blacksmith's would put their symbol somewhere out of the way. So really, only the person who owned it would know that it was there. And the people who cleaned it, of course, because heaven forbid a knight clean his own armor.

Her own father had his own symbol as well. It was supposed to resemble a stone, but Gwen was sure that it could be mistaken for a number of other things. The guy who had sketched it out wasn't exactly the best artist, but it was all they could afford.

The symbol itself was suppose to represent being a tough and unmovable force against your adversary. Or at least that was how her father had explained it to her when she was a little girl.

Merlin went to put the belt back on the table but the buckle was set to close to the edge. And when he let go, pulling his hand away, the heavy buckle nearly caused the entire belt to be weighed down off the edge of the table.

Gwen nearly snatched the belt up just before it could fall to the floor, and possibly scratching up its pristine surface. She was slow, carefully stretching it so that it was laid out on her table. She took her time to make sure that there was no creases in the worn leather that wasn't already there from Arthur's everyday use of it. Not that there were many knicks in it, Morris had been taking good care of it.

Merlin watched Gwen as she made her way around the table. She was working slow and careful, straightening everything up in a row so that it wasn't just one big pile. At least this way, they'd be able to see everything that had.

Realize he was watching her, Gwen flushed, having to practically drag her fingertips away from the helmet she was straightening, just so she would stop touching it. "So..." she had to stop to clear her throat. "You uh, you needed my help? With, what was it?" She stopped to raise an eyebrow at him. "Putting it on you? You're not trying to be a knight, are you? Because I'm not sure how you would stand up against the other knights. I mean, I'm sure you'll do an...okay...job but they have trained most of their lives and you...haven't." She trailed off, the words dying on her lips.

And during her spiral, Gwen really did try her best to keep eye contact with Merlin, but her gaze kept being drawn back to the table. She refused to admit it, but as more modern day people would refer to it as, she was 'fangirling' over this exquisite piece of work.

"...Thanks." Merlin said awkwardly, looking very confused.

"Oh! Not that I don't think you'd do a good job!" Gwen said quickly, finally dragging her eyes away from the armor. "I just meant that you might find it easier to do...other things." She trailed off again, trying to find a nicer way to say what she wanted. That Merlin would probably get the crap beaten out of him if he tried going up against any one of the knights.

"What I need," Merlin said quickly, before Gwen could say something else that would probably be mildly insulting. "Isn't help putting it on. I need help putting it on someone." When Gwen looked as if she was more confused than before, Merlin went on his own spiral. "I just need to know how to put it on someone. Because I have no idea what half of this stuff is."

"And you came to me to help you...learn how to put it on...someone else." Gwen said slowly, trying to make sense out of what Merlin was telling her.

But Merlin seemed relieved that she was 'getting it'. "Yes!" He exclaimed loudly, looking excited and much more relaxed than he had been a moment before.

Gwen blinked at him, before shaking her head. That one stubborn curl she had, that was to short to tuck behind her ear, fell straight into her eyes. She'd sighed heavily, "The next thing you'll tell me is that you stole it."

Merlin's silence was a very telling answer.

"You stole it!" Gwen exclaimed, looking at Merlin in disbelief. "You stole Prince Arthur's armor!" Oh god, did this make her an accomplish? This had to make her an accomplish!

"I didn't steal Arthur's armor!" Merlin exclaimed, protesting, trying to defend his actions. It wasn't his fault that Morris thought he could put his grubby little hands on someone that was supposed to be Merlin's. That was what had compelled Merlin to go through with it, after all.

"Does he know you have it?" Gwen asked, bringing her hands up to rest on her hips. And she was giving Merlin such a look, that it vividly reminded him of the way his own mother looked at him when he was in trouble.

Which had been more often than he would have liked.

Merlin looked away, "It's not stolen if I'm going to return it before he even knows it's missing. I just needed to borrow it for a quick minute."

Although Merlin supposed he could have just grabbed a spare set of armor from the armory, wherever that was because he had yet to find it in his exploration of the castle. But Arthur's armor had been there, and Morris sure hadn't been looking after it. It had been far to easy for Merlin to leave with it.

And besides, wouldn't it be easier to learn by using Arthur's actual armor. Instead of a random set that might be designed differently, and would just confuse Merlin by the time he was ready to assist Arthur.

Gwen sighed heavily, bringing a hand up to rub at the bridge of her nose. "I just know that I'm going to request asking this, but why exactly, did you have to 'borrow' Arthur's armor? His very expensive armor, that our grandchildren would still be paying off if it got the smallest scratch.

Merlin winced, he was almost scared to ask how much the armor was actually worth. Because if it cost even a fraction of what he thought it did, then Gwen was right. Their grandchildren would never get out of debt.

"I'm only doing it because of the tradition." Merlin explained, thinking that would be a good reason to take it. And he also didn't want Gwen coming up with her own wild theories over what he could be doing with the armor.

Gwen frowned, looking confused and contemplative, before she finally seemed to realize what he was talking about on her own. "Ooooh, where people help their husbands into their armor? People still do that?" The tradition was a lot more common back during her grandparent's time. She was surprised to learn that it was still a thing, during this modern time that they were living in. Where the knights were more inclined towards using their manservants.

She was even more surprised that Merlin was apparently participating in it.

Merlin, in response to her inquiries, gave a heavy huff. "Apparently only the traditional ones. So, you know," he stopped to give her a cheeky grins. "The really pretentious people." He shrugged, his cheeky grin growing a touch wider. "Like Arthur."

Gwen just barely held in the bubble of laughter that threatened to burst free from her throat. "Well," she started. "As...pretentious...as Arthur is, I'm sure he will still have you arrested if he finds out you took it."

"Nah," Merlin said, throwing his arm out in a dismissive manner. "I'm a consort, right? I'm not gonna be arrested. What's his is mine...right?"

Gwen gave him a dubious look, "Weren't you the same guy that got put in the stocks like, the first day you rolled into town?"

Merlin paled just a little bit, "It was the second day." He corrected weakly.

The stocks had not been an experience that he wanted to repeat, although he had met Gwen there. And a few of the local children as well. Maybe the stocks weren't that bad after al-no! He definitely did not want to go back to the stocks. It had taken what felt like forever before his back had snapped back into place after being in that hunched over position for so long.

"For something that you did on the first day." Gwen said dryly.

Merlin quirked a little grin, "Well Arthur did deserve it." Gwen raised an eyebrow at him as Merlin continued. "I mean, he 'really' deserved it."

Gwen shook her head, "Well, if he 'really' deserves it or not doesn't matter. What matters is that the tournament is happening today." She waved a hand at the collection of armor sitting on her table. "I'm not sure we'll have time to teach you how to get everything on Arthur." She bit her lip worriedly.

As long as Merlin did his part and returned the armor to Arthur on time, maybe neither one of them would have to be arrested. But at the same time, the tournament was this afternoon. She should know, she was supposed to meet Lady Morgana where it was being held to watch the first rounds.

"I don't need to know everything." Merlin said, almost pleading for her to help him with this. "I just need to know the basics. Just so I don't look like I have no idea what I'm doing."

He could just imagine Arthur's scathing comments if Merlin got this wrong. And no doubt, it would develop into yet another fight between them. How was anything going to happen between them if they did nothing but fight?

Arthur was his husband, his only real chance at happiness since the moment the prat slid his ring onto Merlin's finger. He had to at least try.

Seeing the look forming on Merlin's face, Gwen sighed before she finally relented. "Alright, then let's do this. And quick, because I don't think we have that much time left before he starts looking for it."

Merlin's face practically split in half when a grin erupted onto his face. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He gave a huge and heavy breath of relief. "I swear Gwen, you won't regret this."

"I'm sure I won't." Gwen said, with an almost soft smile. "Besides, I kind of owe you one. This is the very least that I can do."

Merlin frowned confused, watching Gwen's back as she approached the table, looking at the pieces set out before her, as if trying to decide what to start with.

"You owe me?" He asked, sounding incredulous, having a absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Of course!" Gwen said, as if it should have been obvious. She let her fingers trail over the arm guards, her touch so light that they barely brushed across the cold metal. She was really going to do this, she was actually going to get her hands on Arthur's armor.

As much as a jerk she knew Arthur could be, Gwen had always held a deep admiration for his armor.

"For what?!" Merlin exclaimed, a frown tugging deeply at his lips. He didn't like the sound of that. He hadn't done anything for Gwen to think she 'owed him one.'

Gwen gave him a look before shifting her eyes back to the armor guard. "Well, I never got the chance to thank you for what you did." As she said this, she finally got her nerve up enough to wrap her fingers around the gleaming metal arm guard.

"Thank me?" Merlin repeated, his voice softer as Gwen approached him with the arm guard in hand. "What'd I do?"

Gwen shook her head, wondering if Merlin had somehow forgotten what he had done for her. "For what happened at the party." Merlin still looked confused. "...Your wedding party." Gwen clarifying, as if Merlin had been to any other party since he got here. "...Where you defended us mere servants from that tyrant's cruelty. The nobleman."

It hit Merlin like a bulldozer, what she was talking about. That night, he'd been with Arthur who was busy ogling Morgana, not that he blamed her for it. But it had still hurt, surprisingly so, to know that Arthur had his eyes on someone literally minutes after he'd married Merlin.

It still hurt, Merlin might not had even gone through with the wedding if it had happened before he'd said 'I do'. But what's done was done, and Merlin was moving on. As long as he didn't catch Arthur ogling other people...

Anyway, Merlin had approached Gwen. And while the two were talking, that arrogant nobleman had approached them. The one that had so brazenly talked about branding servants.

Merlin had nearly started a fight with the man for the way he had been talking about Gwen and the other servants. The only reason he hadn't gotten into a fight with the middle aged man was because Arthur had found them and drug Merlin away from the scene.

"You don't have to thank me." Merlin told Gwen. He hadn't thought that it was a big deal, what he'd done in response. And definitely not something he should be thanked for. "I didn't do anything that anyone else wouldn't have done."

Gwen shook her head, almost amazed by Merlin's faith in people. "You'll be surprised." She said quietly. Gwen was just a handmaiden, she knew all to well that nobody would defend her or her fellow servants. It was just the way of life, the way it had always been and always would be. She had long since accepted that her station in the world meant that she was below the notice of the more 'important' people.

Merlin, not hearing her, continued to talk. "I mean, that guy was a total creep. Somebody had to tell him off. I mean, who thinks something like 'branding servants' is okay to do!"

Merlin knew that he'd only been in Camelot for just over a week at this point. He didn't really know much about Camelot or the things they were okay with allowing. But he did know that 'branding servants' would never be okay. Even if Camelot had been a kingdom that allowed it and everyone thought that it was 'normal', that still wouldn't have made it okay.

"Well, I bet it was definitely the first time somebody told him that he 'sucked'." Gwen said dryly, her smile growing at the fond memory. She looked down at the arm guard in her hand, loosening the strap with the kind of speed and practiced ease that no other servant would have been able to do.

Merlin's grin turned sheepish, not embarrassed in the least by what he'd done. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" He could see it now. Twenty years later, it would probably somehow still come up in conversation.

"Probably not in this lifetime." Gwen said, the edge of her lips quirking up in amusement. "Now, give me your arm." She said in a commanding tone, holding out her hand as if expecting him to just hand her his arm.

"Uh...why?" Merlin asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion even as he obediently held out his arm.

"Because," Gwen said, as if it were obvious. "The easiest way to learn, is by doing. It'll help you remember." As she said that, she slid the arm guard over his sleeve, easily buckling it into place.

Frowning, Merlin moved his arm up and down, trying to get used to the weight. "I'm not gonna have to put the whole thing on, am I?"

"Of course not, we don't have time for all that." Gwen said dismissively, already reaching for the next arm guard. "We'll just do the important parts, the ones that might take you a minute longer that you'd like to figure out." As she said this, she was easily loosening up the strap of the arm guard.

"And the arm guards are important?" Merlin asked, looking as the cold metal of the second arm guard was slid onto his other arm. It felt like he had a pound on each arm, weighing him down.

"Of course. You bring your arms up to defend yourself." Gwen explained. "Trust me, you do not want to mess up on his arm guards, or have them becoming loose while he's out there fighting."

"Right." Merlin said, still looking down at the cold metal encasing his arm. He needed to pay attention if he was going to get this right, if he was going to impress Arthur.

"Now," Gwen started talking him through how the strap worked. How tight it should be on the arm, apparently it had to be very precise. To tight on the arm and it would cut off circulation, even if it didn't feel to tight. That would cause the knight's fighting abilities to be affected once they really started to feel it. And if it was to loose, it would fly straight off, leaving the knight vulnerable for attack.

"So, do you think you have it?" Gwen asked, after she had finished her long spiral over what needed to be done to it.

"I think so." Merlin said, his face scrunching up together in thought. "Just make sure the arm guards are secured, or Arthur will kill me if it flies off."

"That's...one way to put it." Gwen said dryly, shaking her head. "Oh, and make sure you call them by their actual name. The part that goes on your arms are called voiders. Otherwise, you just sound like you don't know what you're talking about."

Merlin nodded his head, trying to flex his elbows in the metal that just wouldn't yield. "The arm guards are voiders, got it."

Gwen looked dubiously, but nodded. They really didn't have all that much time to go over all of this before the tournament started up. Hurrying to the table, she grabbed the next piece. A large metal plate that was supposed to rest on your shoulder blades, and there was an opening in the middle for ones head.

"Now, the hauberk goes over your chest." Gwen explained, carefully holding it up by the bottom. Merlin had to duck down his tall frame so that Gwen could fit it over his head. The cold metal passed by his head and with a twist and a turn, Gwen was settling it down on his shoulders.

Metal straightened up, looking down at the smooth metal that was encasing his shoulders. If he had thought the arm guards weighed a ton, then they had absolutely nothing on this 'hauberk.' It was kind of large to, probably a good bit wider than it would fit on Merlin's slim shoulders.

Merlin's own shoulders were much to scrawny to fill out the metal frame. But Merlin could easily imagine Arthur's wide and broad shoulders, much larger than his own, would be the perfect fit for it.

A light blush raised to stain his cheeks, and he had to vehemently push those thoughts out of mind. Lest he become to distracted by them. He could think about Arthur's thick shoulders later, when he had more time. Ugh, if only Arthur wasn't thick in the head as well.

The thoughts now pushed away, Merlin reached up to run his fingers over the metal, wanting to feel how smooth it was himself. This was the first time he was really getting to check it out, to touch it and explore some. He was filled with a childlike curiosity, wanting to spend more time than he had available just touching it.

Merlin vividly remembered his days as a child. When he and Will used to play rival knights and used sticks to jab at each other, as if they had real swords. Those were the days, before Merlin had learned just how strongly his magic was viewed to the majority of the people.

Who would have thought that ten years later, he'd be trying on an actual armor.

Gwen took her time explaining the more complicated bit. He had to lift his arms up for her to show him what was underneath. Apparently there were straps hooked to the armor underneath. And those straps were supposed to be fixated under his arms, tying it down to his body so that it would stay in place and protect his collarbone from any damage.

"And the most important part," Gwen said, reaching down to grab the last item that she was going to show him. "I really hope you know what to do with the helmet." She said, raising a teasing eyebrow at him as she held out the metal object.

Merlin's lips stretched into an awkward grin, looking relieved as he caught sight of the one thing he could actually recognize among the gear. "Yeah, that would be the only bit I'd figured out for myself." He admitted, not at all ashamed by his lack of knowledge. It was no secret that he was completely clueless here.

Gwen shook her head, giving a little giggle at that. And then she watched, amused as Merlin slid the helmet onto his own head. She could just barely make out his face, given that it was most shielded by the parts of the helmet that came out to protect his cheekbones.

Somebody would have to be very exact in their aim if they hoped to get through the small gap that allowed the wearer to see and breath.

"So?" Gwen asked, giving him a once over, seeing how he looked half-dressed in armor. It wasn't a bad look on him, just...awkward. But that was probably because she couldn't imagine Merlin actually wearing the full set up. With those slim slim shoulders, there would be no way he'd be able to fill out a regular armor. It would have to be custom made if he ever, for whatever reason, got his own.

Shaking those thoughts out of her mind, Gwen kept talking. "How does it feel? Wearing Arthur's armor?"

If she were a man, she would no doubt be filled with giddiness if she could wear armor. Being a peasant, she would have never be able to do something like that. Not that she could now, but that was more because she was a woman and less because she was a peasant.

Besides, she would have no hope of fitting into that chest plate. The fit would be to awkward, as it was meant to shield the broad chest of a man, and not the rounded chest of a woman's.

A woman's would have to be made differently. Made with more of a curve in mind, to fit a woman's chest in comfortably. But it was a mute point anyway. It was rare that one would find a woman who was skilled with a blade. It was even rarer to find a woman good enough to become a knight.

The best Gwen knew was Lady Morgana, and even then, the lady only knew enough to defend herself from bandits if she had to.

Merlin looked down at the armor that he was wearing. And then he shook his head, feeling the helmet moving back and forth. Well, that definitely proved his theory that Arthur had a larger head than him. Merlin gave a wry smirk, committing that little detail to memory, it might be fun to mention that little fact when Arthur was being particularly prattish.

Just so Merlin could see him get riled up.

"Like he's larger than I thought he was." Merlin said dryly. Everything that he was wearing, had to be tightened up considerably just so it would fit better on Merlin's smaller frame. And even then, there were some places here or there that felt particularly loose.

Merlin didn't realize it, but his grin looked just shy of being naughty, especially in this light.

Gwen, catching sight of that grin, blushed vividly at his words. The burning brightness spread across her cheeks in an instant. Was that-had Merlin just said some kind of sex joke? Was he insinuating that Arthur was, well...she definitely hadn't thought of how...big...Arthur might be.

...Much...

"Gwen?" Merlin asked, looking at her with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?" Was it him? Or was her face getting redder. Was she getting sick, he should do something if she was, right? Maybe get her to go to bed, bring her some soup? His mother had always managed to scrape together a small bowl of soup the very few times he'd gotten sick.

"I'm-I'm fine!" Gwen exclaimed loudly, and her voice came out all squeaky like. Hearing herself, Gwen's face darkened considerably, just knowing her embarrassment was clearly showing. And Merlin wasn't embarrassed at all, oh god, Merlin would know that she'd never lain with a man before if she got so flustered over something as simple as a comment about...Arthur's size.

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked, his frown deepening as his concern grew. Maybe he shouldn't go to the tournament after all, it looked as if Gwen needed him here to take care of her more.

"Oh! I'm fine!" Gwen choked out, starting to play with her fingers. "So, uh, Arthur's...larger...than you thought?" She said weakly, trying to sound as if she knew what she was talking about. But just as much as Merlin was clueless about the armor, Gwen was flustered when talking about the opposite gender.

She didn't exactly spend much time talking to others about things like this. She had friends, but none that were actually close to her. Just people she chatted with as they went about their duties, they weren't people that she actually hung out with.

Definitely not people she talked about boys with.

The closest person she had to that was Morgana. And even then, while they've gossiped before, it was nothing this...detailed.

In front of her, Merlin was nodding rapidly, feeling the helmet bounce back and forth on his head. "I swear, I did not realize he was this big!" He exclaimed. He could feel just how much space he had under the chest plate. Even though Gwen had adjusted the straps to make it fit better, it was still way to loose. Every shift he made had it moving back and forth, banging almost painfully against his shoulders.

Gwen though, felt as if her heart was going to beat right out of her chest, and she felt a drop of nervous sweat going down the back of her neck. It slid straight out of her hairline and down the back of her dress.

"H-how b-big is he?" Gwen stuttered, feeling the embarrassment closing in on her. She didn't want her new friend to know how inexperienced she was, that even just the mere mention of a man like that sent her into a tizzy.

Merlin didn't seem to notice that she was growing increasingly more flustered than she already was. "He's huge!" Merlin exclaimed, reaching up to try and readjust the helmet. But no matter how much he pushed it back, it still slid forward into his eyes. "And his head!" Merlin exclaimed, growing frustrated with the helmet. His eyes were going cross eyed, trying to look out of the helmet without having to readjust it again. "It's probably the biggest part on him!"

Gwen couldn't stop the squeak from leaving her mouth. Now all she was thinking about was...Arthur's neither regions, and how big the head was if Merlin was so brazenly talking about it.

The handmaiden had overheard a serving girl or two gossiping over the years, just speculating. But Merlin must have actually seen it, and that was an entirely different story than idle gossip.

"Gwen!" Merlin exclaimed, frowning in response to her sudden squeak of distress. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh, I-I'm fine!" She stuttered, her doe brown eyes opened wide as she reached up to fan herself. "It's just...is it hot in here?" She cast a look to her windows, wanting nothing more than to open the shutters just to cool off her heated skin. But she couldn't, and she cast a look towards the armor. Because heaven forbid Arthur already discovered that his armor was missing and sent the guards out searching for the thief. And then they found it right out in the open as they passed by her home.

"No," Merlin answered her, pulling the helmet back for the umpteenth time after it slid forward into his eyes. "I don't think the temperatures changed all that much since I first got here."

"...Oh..." Gwen said weakly, her slim fingers toying anxiously with the ends of her dress. "It must just be me then." And seeing Merlin's still concerned expression, Gwen quickly shifted her eyes away before her face could start flushing worse than it already was. "I'll be fine, really."

"...If you're sure." Merlin said slowly, thinking about the different things he could do for her if her heatwave got worse.

"We better take this off." Gwen said quickly, clearing her throat. "Before we run behind and you won't get it to Arthur in time." Gwen had to stop her hands anxious movements. She has to get a hold of herself, she had to calm herself down and get a better handle over her emotions. So what if Merlin had no problem talking about Arthur's...neither regions. That was what friends did, right? They talked about their relationship.

"Yeah, we don't want him sending the guards on us." Merlin said, looking down to try and fiddle with the arm strap one handed to get it off. Only to yelp in surprise a minute later when the helmet slid back down into his eyes.

It was just a silly sight, that Gwen's flustered appearance started to fade, and then she was giggling. Just a little, light hearted giggle that rung throughout her small hut. "Here." She said, stepping forward. "Let's get this thing off first before you break something trying to get everything else off."

Gwen reached up and Merlin bowed his head, so that the handmaiden could pull the helmet off of his head. And seeing Merlin's disgruntled expression, his hair sticking up in jagged points here and there, she started giggling again.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Merlin grumbled, reaching up to pat his hair down. It wasn't much of an improvement, but at least it looked somewhat back to normal.

Gwen stepped back, setting the helmet down on the table among the leftover armor that was waiting for Merlin to return them to their rightful armor.

"So!" Gwen said, in an overly chipper tone as she turned away from the table in a snap, her dress swirling around her ankles. "You and Arthur are getting along better than?" She asked, trying to force their conversation in a different direction than what Merlin had been going on about.

Merlin glanced up from where he was sliding open the strap on his arm guard. "Not really," he admitted, sighing heavily. Merlin hadn't really gotten the opportunity to get along better with Arthur. They hadn't really spent that much time getting to know each other. And the little they were around each other, always seemed to erupt into some sort of argument or fight. "Why?"

"I-I just meant..." Gwen stuttered, feeling herself starting to flush again at the insinuation that Merlin was making. "I just mean, well, the way you..." she trailed off, uncertain.

There were several instances that could have led Gwen to believing that Arthur and Merlin were getting along. Like how Merlin saw no reason as to why he shouldn't just take Arthur's armor, as if he was already accustomed to a relationship where everything was give and take. And then there was Merlin who had talked so brazenly about Arthur's...down there, as if he was very well acquainted with said object.

Oh god, unless Merlin was one of those people who had no problem with having sex with strangers, and he'd partaken in such acts with Arthur. Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course! But Gwen couldn't see herself doing it.

Gwen swallowed hard, feeling a nervous sweat break about her hairline. "Well you and Arthur," she forced out. "I just thought you might have started really getting to know each other, since the wedding. I mean, I certainly couldn't be married to a man I barely knew." Gwen's mortified feeling amplified, as if she had just realized that she probably shouldn't have said that. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" She said quickly, her words coming out in a nervous rush. "I just meant that I would definitely be trying to spent more time with someone if we were married. And trying to get to know them..." Gwen trailed off, her lips turning downward into a frown as a thought occurred to her. "...Merlin...how much exactly do you know about Arthur?"

It hadn't occurred to her before, but from what little she had seen of the two boys, they certainly didn't act like a couple in love. They acted more like strangers, as if they had no idea how to interact with the other.

Merlin felt his own face flush uncomfortable, almost ashamed to admit that he didn't know much about Arthur. He didn't know his favorite food, or his favorite memory, or what he did in his free time. Hell, he didn't even know what the prat's favorite color was... "I don't need to know him." He answered Gwen, probably a little more defensively than he should have.

Gwen's frown tugged harder on her lips, "Merlin...did you even know Arthur before you married?"

"Of course I did!" Merlin exclaimed, a little to forceful for it to be genuine. When he saw Gwen giving him a dubious look, Merlin sighed heavily. "I mean, I did meet him like two or three days before the wedding..." that was the day Merlin had tried to punch Arthur, and he'd gotten thrown into the stocks for his troubles.

"Two or three days!" Gwen exclaimed, her every feature etched in shock. Sure, she was smart enough to know that there was something off about their marriage, but she hadn't realized that the two boys literally didn't know each other.

Merlin stiffened at her exclamation, huffing loudly. "It doesn't matter! I know everything I need to know about him!" He still didn't know Arthur's favorite color, but he did know other things. "He's arrogant! And rude! And I swear, his ego seems to grow by the hour-"

Merlin went on with a few more things, each one increasingly worse than the one before. And as he did, Gwen seemed to realize something. There was no way somebody could keep on talking like Merlin did, if there wasn't something there.

Raising a curious eyebrow at Merlin, Gwen said, "Well, this honestly sounds like a love story in the making." It reminded her vividly of her own parents. Gwen had never really knew her mother, she had died when she was still a small child. But her father used to tell her stories about her.

Her favorite part had been that her mother hated her father when they first met. It was odd, that this was her favorite part, but it just made sense to her.

Gwen's mother, just like Merlin with Arthur, had thought her father was an arrogant man. She had forced her father to win her affections, making him grow up from the man that he was in his youth. Now instead of being that cocky kid, he was a gentle giant.

She had always thought that it had made their love story stronger, and also more tragic when she had died suddenly.

Merlin though, didn't seem to think the same as she did. His jaw had dropped, and he was looking dumbstruck as he stared at Gwen. "L-love story!" He exclaimed loudly. "How does any of this make you think I'm having a love story with Arthur?"

Frustrated, and needing to have something to do, Merlin started clawing at the arm guard, trying to undo the strap one handed.

But all Merlin's exclamation did was make Gwen smile. "I know it doesn't seem like one." Gwen said softly, even she could admit that meeting and hating somebody, only for them to turn out to be the love of your life someday, it was a strange thought. "But how do you know that this isn't just the beginning of your love story with Arthur?"

"How do I know?" Merlin demanded, his fingers starting to fumble more than they would have if this was a different conversation. "Did you not hear anything that I said? Arthur is...he's..."

"Rude? Arrogant? Has an ego?" Gwen countered easily enough. Those were the three points she remembered vividly from Merlin's spiral about Arthur.

"Yes! To all of that!" Merlin exclaimed, finally giving up on the arm guard. He threw his arm out in frustration. "And I can't get this stupid thing off!"

Gwen shook her head, reaching up to brush the erect curl that always fell into her eyes. "Oh, let me." She said, reaching forward to take Merlin's arm. She didn't take her eyes off of the strap as she easily undid it, even as she started to talk again. "As I was saying, maybe it won't be so bad to be a little optimistic. If you and Arthur don't really know each other, whose to say that something can't grow between the two of you when you finally have that chance?"

Merlin sighed heavily, watching Gwen's slim fingers as the strap fell loose and the handmaiden slid the guard off of his arm. "I'm not exactly Arthur's biggest fan, but-" Merlin stopped as a flush rose on his face again, and he hesitated, as if he were about to admit some great sin. "I have been...opened...to the possibility...of something happening between us..."

And here, Merlin waited with baited breath. Almost as if Gwen, who was now setting the arm guard (the 'voided' he reminded himself), onto the table, was about to tell him how stupid it was.

Gwen looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Oh, really?" She asked, with a growing smile. "You're opened to it?"

Merlin held out his other arm, letting Gwen take it to help undo the strap for the second arm guard. "I was just considering it." He said, his tone a tad more on the defensive side than was warranted.

But all his defense did was seem to make the amusement in Gwen's eyes grow. "Just considering it?" She asked, as she slid the voided off of his arm. "But surely it's more than just that. You must feel something for our prince, you did steal his armor, after all."

She held up the arm voided in her grasp, as if she had needed to show him some kind of proof to her claim.

"Borrowed it! I borrowed the armor, it wasn't stolen!" Merlin said quickly, trying to make that distinction clear. It wasn't really stealing if he was planning on bringing it right back, right?

"I'm sure Arthur won't see it like that." Gwen said. The one thing Gwen knew for sure about Arthur, was that he was very passionate about his training. So much so, that only his manservant was allowed to touch his armor and equipment. And even then, it was only when Morris had to clean, sharpen, or put it on him.

Merlin reached up, grabbing at the chest plate covering his shoulders. "Well it doesn't matter if he won't see it like that." Holding the bottom of it, Merlin lifted the metal over his head. "I'm going to get all of this back, and he'll never even realize that it was gone." Merlin grunted, his words had been muffled as the chest piece passed over his head.

Gwen still looked dubious by that plan, but she took the chest piece from Merlin without a word. She turned her back to him, setting it down onto the table among the rest of the metalwork.

As her back was to him, Merlin sighed, a faraway look in his eyes. And when Gwen turned back, she frowned confused, as she saw the conflicted look Merlin's face had shifted into.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked. "Is there something on your mind?"

Still looking conflicted, Merlin seemed to snap back to attention as Gwen's voice brought him back to reality. And then his voice got away with him, and he was talking before he'd even thought it through.

"I don't like him!" Merlin blurted out, his words fast and quick. As if he had to make sure that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he wanted to.

It shouldn't be a big surprise that he'd just blurted that out, really. It was a nasty habit of his, always talking without thinking through what he wanted to say.

Gwen blinked, looking startled by Merlin's sudden exclamation. As if she didn't really understand what Merlin was saying, or why he was saying it.

Merlin winced, knowing that he probably shouldn't had just thrown that out there like that. But it was to late for the 'genie to go back into the bottle' as his mother sometimes said when secrets among the villagers got out. Like how old man Jenkins was having a decade long affair with Misses Homer across the lane.

So since he'd already started this, he might as well finish.

Merlin walked up to stand beside Gwen, who looked up at him with a curious frown. The dark haired boy looked down at the table, with all of the gleaming armor set up neatly on top of it. He reached out and started tracing his fingers softly along the sharp points or smooth arches.

"Arthur..." Merlin said slowly, trying to think of where to start. But really, there was only one place that he could start. "He's just a little to much of an arse for my liking."

Gwen nodded, "So I've noticed." She said dryly. It was the one word that Merlin used whenever he referenced Arthur. Either that, or he was calling him a prat.

Merlin looked up, his eyes showing every emotion that he was feeling. And it took Gwen's breath away, seeing all of the doubt and worry that Merlin no doubt thought that he was hiding.

But he wasn't hiding it, because Gwen could see every bit of it swimming around in his blue eyes.

"I just," Merlin sighed. "I just don't want my marriage to be a failure. I don't want to wake up in ten years and realize that nothing's changed. That there are still times where I feel like I just wanna kill him."

Gwen shifted her eyes away, so that she was now looking at the table. She couldn't take looking into his eyes anymore, not with all of the self-doubt in them. Her fingers curled around one of the armor pieces, merely so her hands had something to do.

Had Merlin been feeling all that doubt and worry this entire time? And why was she just now seeing it? Could Merlin hide his emotions better than she thought he could?

Swallowing hard, and stowing her questions for some later contemplation, Gwen said quietly, "I'm pretty sure that all couples feel the urge to kill each other every now and then. Couples fight and get mad at each other, it kinda comes with the territory."

Merlin shook his head, "Not like us." He said heavily. He could admit that he didn't know much about marriage life, or how couples interacted with each other. But he also knew that it shouldn't be like how him and Arthur have been behaving.

Gwen reached forward, giving Merlin's shoulder a little pat with her hand. "Well, the hardest part is already over." She pointed out. "He's already married to you."

There was really no going back after that. All Merlin and Arthur could do was try and learn how to co-exist together. Rather that's as a couple or not though, remained to be seen.

Merlin wanted to point out that he and Arthur didn't have much of a choice in the matter, but he didn't. He wanted to point out that he was pretty much coerced into coming here, forced to leave in the dead of night where nobody would be able to see him go, but he didn't. He wanted to tell Gwen all about the struggles he'd been going through since the day those knights shown up at his home, but he didn't.

He didn't want to put his troubles, and his burdens, on Gwen's shoulders. After all the help that she was giving him, the least he could do was not make it worse.

Seeing the surprisingly solemn expression on Merlin's features, Gwen frowned. It just didn't look right, seeing that kind of look on Merlin. She looked back at the table in front of them, and then back up to Merlin.

"Here," she finally said, picking up one of the random pieces that they hadn't gone over. "We've got the major pieces out of the way, why don't I talk you through how to do the rest?"

Merlin glanced over at Gwen, and his lips started to crack upward into a small smile. He knew exactly what Gwen was doing.

Relieved, Gwen started going through the other armor pieces one by one. She pretty much gave him a basic rundown for how the rest was supposed to go. It wasn't much, with the limited time they had before Arthur's armor was discovered missing, but it was still more information than Merlin had before.

And hopefully, that would make all the difference, and he could get that stupid Arthur Pendragon into his stupid armor without embarrassing himself as much as he would have before.

It was as they were winding down, Merlin asked a question that had been in his mind since Gwen started teaching him. Turning his head to look at her, he asked, "How are you so good at all of this?"

Merlin had thought that maybe Gwen would be able to help him figure it out. She was smart, so maybe it wouldn't be so hard for Merlin if he had the extra helping hands.

But as it turned out, Gwen didn't need to help him figure it out. She already knew exactly what to do, how to do it, and even gave him a tip or two that only somebody who knew what they were talking about would have been able to give him.

At his side, Gwen stiffened, remembering her earlier problems. When Merlin had first gotten here, and Gwen had mentally freaked out because she thought her reputation as 'the blacksmith's daughter' was coming back. But as it turned out, Merlin didn't know about any of that.

He still didn't.

But maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to be called that, just this once. Especially not if it would have Merlin coming back if he ever needed help like this again.

That was when Gwen said the words that she had always hated. "I'm the blacksmith's daughter."

It may not have seemed like much, especially not to an outside person. But to Gwen, it was actually a momentous step forward that she had been able to say those words. That they didn't feel her with dread like they did as a small child. Because now, she was a grown woman. And she could say those words without flinching, because she was more than just the blacksmith's daughter. She had come up in the world, being the personal handmaiden to Lady Morgana herself. And that was better than other servants could say.

At her side, Merlin looked excited by this, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "Wow! I really did come to the right place for help then!"

It was such a relief, seeing Merlin brighten up from his solemn expression. Not to mention, his reaction when she had told him. Not many people reacted so favorably when they realized her father had taught her things they thought should only be taught to a son.

And maybe Gwen couldn't help herself, bragging just a little with her next words. "I know pretty much everything there is to know about armor." It was only after she said the words, did her smile start to dim. "Which is...actually kind of sad."

She was no fool, she knew how life was. She knew that no man, no knight especially, would take her assistance. She was a woman, and that was all there was to it. A knight would rather have a man that knew nothing, than a woman who knew more than any man did.

"No!" Merlin exclaimed, startling her out of her thoughts. "I think it's absolutely brilliant!"

Merlin came from a place where gender roles were irrelevant. When everything needed to be done, nobody cared if it was a man or a woman who did it, as long as the job was done. It had never even occurred to him that Gwen might not be able to help, just because she was a woman.

Even though Gwen smiled at Merlin's excitement, she didn't think much of it. She hadn't known Merlin for very long, but she had a feeling that he was easily impressed.

Together, Gwen and Merlin started gathering up the armor. The handmaiden worked with careful movements, not wanting to risk even the smallest of scratches made by her own hand. Merlin worked a little clumsier, and nearly knocked over the growing pile several times. But over the next few minutes, they were able to get a small pile formed, ready for Merlin to take with him.

It was like playing a modern game of Tetris, having to make sure that all of the angles were right so that it wouldn't fall over at the slightest of movements. At least this way, the pile wasn't just thrown together and Merlin would be able to see where he was going.

"So." Gwen said, as she set the last piece on top. The small pile seemed to move for a minute and she froze with her hand on top of it, ready to catch it at a moment's notice. But then it seemed to settle, and her shoulder's dropped as a breath of relief exited her mouth. Since that was done, she turned back to Merlin. "So," she started again. "You said that you were considering trying things out for real? With Arthur?"

Merlin felt his heart pick up the slightest bit, and the back of his neck was starting to feel hot as a flush try to work its way up to his cheeks. "Uh, yeah." He admitted. "I suppose it wouldn't be so awful, if things worked out between us."

And who knows? Maybe he could learn to like Arthur, learn how to appreciate things other than his shoulders and slightly crooked teeth...maybe.

"How are you going to do it?" Gwen asked, leaning her butt against the table. Only to flinch forward when the rickety table gave a light shudder under her sudden weight. The pieces of armor let out the light twinkling sound of metal on metal before it settled down. Clearing her throat, Gwen made sure to take a step away from the table before trying again. "Are you going to approach him? Let him know what you want?"

Gwen didn't think she could have done it if it was her. She never would have gotten the nerve up to approach a prince and tell him that she wanted him.

Merlin nodded, "I actually was going to do that!" He exclaimed. But he hadn't gone through with it, he'd decided that Arthur had looked like he deserved some kind of break. Of course, he knew now that Arthur didn't deserve one at all. But that wasn't the point. The point was, that he still needed to have that conversation with Arthur. And drawing it out wasn't going to stop Arthur from laughing in his face if the blonde had absolutely no interest in having something spark between them.

Gwen almost felt mortified on Merlin's behalf. She couldn't imagine just approaching Arthur would have a positive outcome. Things like this mattered, everything mattered. From the setting, to what he said, to the situation going on around them.

"No,no, no, no." Gwen said sternly, waving her arms back and forth. "You can't just approach him! I just can't see Arthur agreeing if all you do is have a conversation with him."

"What's wrong with having a conversation?" Merlin asked, his tone going defensive. What else was he supposed to do? If he wanted to make things work, than Arthur and he would need to have a lengthy discussion about what they both wanted from this marriage.

Gwen shook her head, "Think of it this way. When people ask how you and Arthur fell in love, do you really want to tell them it was because you had a talk with him? Or do you want to tell them something else, something more romantic?"

Merlin wrinkled his nose, "Okay, I guess I see your point." If things did work out between him and Arthur, he wanted there to be some kind of grand gesture involved. In his daydreams as a child, he'd always imagined some faceless man doing the grand gesture for him.

It doesn't surprise him that of course, Arthur would make him do all of the work.

"Okay," Gwen said slowly, bringing her fingers up to rub just below her lower lip in thought. "So we just have to think of something else, some way for you to get his attention..."

"Well, I'm open for suggestions." Merlin said, waving his hand, as if indicating that she should go on. "What do people usually do around here to get a guy?"

Merlin didn't exactly have much practice on the dating scene, none at all, actually. So he was basically entirely in Gwen's hands at the point. He was completely helpless when it came to these matters, he'd take any help that he could get.

Lest he do something, which he would, that would just embarrass not only himself, but Arthur in the process.

Gwen looked down at the armor beside them, "Well you're off to a good start already." she said, gesturing towards it. "Arthur can't deny your there if you're literally helping him get prepared." She grinned. "A few lingering touches, a long held meaningful eye contact..."

Gwen didn't know much about the opposite sex herself, but she did know what she would like. And maybe she'd been completely ruined by the love stories she'd heard growing up. The kind where a simple touch was better than any growing passion.

But Merlin was the exact opposite of that.

His cheeks reddened at the thought of touching Arthur, of lingering on those biceps that Morris had deemed himself able to touch anytime he wanted. But still, there was something off putting by just putting on Arthur's armor. Merlin had been planning on doing that anyway.

It just didn't feel...right. He had to do something else as well.

"He's not exactly the brightest." Merlin admitted, looking so completely serious that Gwen almost started to laugh. "There's no way he's going to catch what I'm trying to say if I just rely on things like meaningful looks." Although Merlin definitely didn't mind looking at Arthur. He was pretty fun to look at it, it was just his mouth that was the problem. If Merlin only knew some kind of spell that could keep Arthur from opening his mouth, than they would be golden. "I'm gonna have to do something...bigger." He said slowly, looking contemplative.

If Merlin was going to make some kind of gesture to show Arthur that he was interested in making things work, then he would have to go big just to drill it into his head. Like he said, Arthur wasn't the brightest. He wouldn't get it if Merlin just tried to be subtle about it, and he wasn't very good at subtlety anyway. Merlin would have to do something big, or he might as well just go home.

Merlin turned to Gwen, "Is there anything you can think of? Me doing Arthur's armor because I'm his consort, that's like a tradition, right? Is there any other tradition or custom or something that Camelot does?"

"Let me think," Gwen said softly, trying to think of what little she knew about romantic gestures. Mainly things she'd heard in love stories, or what the other serving girl's gossiped about when their conversation always inevitably turned to boy's.

Gwen didn't know much about how the nobility courted, and what little she did know, it hadn't struck her as very romantic. All they did was pass around gift's far more expensive than her entire life would ever be. There was no meaning behind it, no thought, it was usually always just a pretty trinket that shined like the stars. And while yes, it was usually quite beautiful, it could have literally been for anybody. There was nothing about it that said that it had been picked because of how well you knew the one you were courting.

She had always thought that the serving people had more romantic ideas. Because they couldn't afford much, they usually stuck to small outings or handmade gifts. And while the nobles would probably stick their noses up at such things, it was also way more romantic. It forced you to get to know the one your courted, to really think about what they may like or what they wanted.

But then again, there was one traditional that the nobility did, that she had always particularly liked. Something she herself would never get to do, because what knight would accept it from a serving girl? But Merlin...Merlin's husband was a knight. He could get away with it, probably be encouraged to do it.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed, looking excited.

Merlin nearly jolted in surprise, being shaken out of his thoughts. Not that they were going anywhere, he wasn't lying when he said he was helpless at this. What little he had thought of, hadn't sounded like something that Arthur would go for.

A walk through the woods where they could get some much needed privacy? He didn't think Arthur would agree to go that far from the castle with him.

Merlin could make him something? Like a carving...he didn't think Arthur would be that impressed. Merlin wasn't the best at carving anyway, that was more Will's talent than his own. And Arthur was a prince, he could have anything he wanted. What would he want with a poorly done carving?

"Well, the tournament is coming up, right?" Gwen asked, with an almost excited grin. Even though she herself would never be able to do it, she was excited that Merlin could have the opportunity.

"Yeah..." Merlin said slowly, giving Gwen a squinty look of confusion. He didn't know where she was going with this.

"Well," Gwen said, rolling her eyes and sounding exasperated. "Why don't you use that to your advantage!" Merlin was still looking at her with that squinty expression, as if he didn't know what quite to make of her. "Give him a favor." She practically spelled out, making sure to enunciate each word. "He'd know your intentions right then and there."

But Merlin didn't really registered the last part. He'd gone stiff, and his face was probably redder than its ever been. "A-a favor?" He asked, his voice sounding weak to even his own ears.

A favor was something that was kind of a trademark among the nobility. Even Merlin, as isolated as he was in his little village on the edge of the kingdom, had heard of it. It was usually done by the daughters of nobleman, trying to show their interest in a young knight. It had started off as just young woman handing over their handkerchief, as a way of saying good luck to their chosen knight. But in more recent times, favors had risen in popularity. Nowadays, noblewoman would have pieces of cloth specifically made for the sole purpose of becoming a favor. And in the last few years alone, they've had favors become more and more glamorous. They've gone from plain white silk cloths, to beautifully designed and decorated exquisitely.

Not that Merlin had ever seen one of those special ones in person, but he had heard all about them. Favors were a very big deal among those in high society, giving one wasn't to be given lightly.

And if the knight accepted it, then that meant that they to, were open for more. But if it was rejected, your advances were basically spurned.

"I don't know about that one." Merlin said, frowning hard. "It's kind of more public than what I was going for..." not that any of his other ideas had been much better.

"Well you can always take him aside before he goes out there." Gwen suggested. "Do it in private, just to see if he'll wear it."

Merlin sighed, leaning back so that he was against the table. Gwen panicked briefly when she heard the sound of the metalwork moving against each other, but Merlin didn't seem to notice it at all.

Looking up towards the ceiling in thought, Merlin said, "He probably won't accept it, right? I'll do it and he'll just throw it back in my face."

Gwen frowned, "He won't do that!" She protested.

Merlin gave her a look, wondering if she knew the same Arthur that he did. "And how do you know that?" He asked, dryly.

"Well...because..." Gwen stopped before trying again. "...because..." it was clear that she didn't have an actual answer, but she was still trying. "Well, he's your husband! You'd think he'd be excited to get a token of your affections."

Merlin couldn't have stopped the snort from escaping if he tried. "Somehow, I don't think Arthur will be to pleased with my 'token of affection." Then Merlin stopped, and a cheeky grin started to spread across his lips. "But then again..." in that moment, his grin almost looked conspiring. "It's not like it's going to hurt anything if I do this. He already seems to hate me."

If Merlin did go through with this whole favor thing, then he would definitely know what was going on between Arthur and him. He wouldn't be questioning it anymore, he wouldn't be wondering. He would know, and then he could decide on where to go from there.

And like he said, even if Arthur rejected him, it wasn't like Merlin didn't already know that Arthur didn't like him. This whole thing really, was just to see if Arthur could move pass that and actually take the time to get to know each other. Instead of Arthur just dragging Merlin off to training because his father told him to.

And he still had to consider that Arthur didn't like men but you know, one problem at a time.

But just as quick as Merlin started to seriously consider it, his expression dropped almost instantaneous.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, catching the look on his face immediately.

Merlin glanced up at her, "I can't give him a favor." And before Gwen could ask him, why not? Merlin was talking about. "I could never afford one of those fancy ones!"

Merlin didn't know how much it would be to get one of those made, but it had to be expensive, especially to get one made on such short notice. And as Merlin barely had two coins to rub together, he doubted he'd be able to get one custom made.

Not like a noble's daughter could, who probably had one made since she was ten and first started daydreaming about boys.

Gwen just looked at him as if he were a dumbass, "Didn't you marry a prince? Surely Arthur has the money for something like that."

Merlin looked absolutely mortified by this suggestion, "I am not using his money!" He exclaimed, horrified at the suggestion. It brought up the whole gold digger thing again. Merlin glanced away from Gwen, muttering, "Especially not to buy him his own gift."

Merlin didn't care how poor he himself was, he was never going to stoop so law as to take Arthur's money. If Merlin couldn't afford to do it himself, then he wasn't going to take it from Arthur.

Now since Merlin had said that, Gwen could see how terribly crass it was. To buy someone their own favor by using their own money. Merlin would be a laughingstock if that ever got out. And honestly? That would probably give Arthur one good damn reason to turn Merlin down.

Gwen looked at Merlin in thought, "Well," she said slowly, trying to find a solution to their latest problem. "There has to be something that you could use! It doesn't have to be all fancy like the other girl's." She gasped, looking excited. "In fact, giving him something less expensive might actually be even better than anybody else trying to give one of the other knight's a favor.

Merlin scoffed, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "How is that any better? I'm gonna be the bloke that can't afford to give my husband anything more that whatever shoddy piece of cloth I can find! Hell, he'll probably turn me down not because he doesn't like me, but because I picked something so absolutely horrendous!" Merlin groaned, letting his head fall back, feeling very inadequate. "Hell, at this point, I would turn myself down to."

Gwen gave Merlin's shoulder a little shove, getting his attention again. "You just have to think about it with a different perspective." Gwen started, her tone insistent. "Whatever you pick, it'll be unique, something that only you could have gotten him. All those other favors, they have no meaning. Yes, they'll be beautiful, but there's no actual feeling behind it. Noble daughters have them made as soon as they start liking boy's, so they have absolutely no idea what the man they grow up to like, would even like his favor to look like. You will have the advantage."

Merlin snorted, shaking his head in vague amusement at her trying to make him feel good about this. "I think the word your looking for, is poor." He said dryly. "My favor would look poor in comparison to anybody else's. All of those other knights will be going out there with favors that have literal diamonds sewn into it. And here comes Arthur with nothing more than whatever rinky dinky thing I can find. And that's only if he agrees to wear it in the first place."

"Well at least you won't poison him with your favor." Gwen said dryly. "About two or three years ago, we were having this tournament. Arthur was fighting some guy when he suddenly started having some kind of fit in the middle of the field. They had to call off the fight and get Gaius out there. Apparently, one of the noble daughters had given him her favor. It was a known fact that she sprayed it down with strawberry scented perfume every week, even long before she met the knight. Apparently, he didn't know this. As it turns out, he's allergic to strawberries."

"What!?" Merlin exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes. "Are you serious?" But Gwen was obviously deadly serious, and Merlin looked at her in disbelief. "Was that seriously supposed to help me decide if I was going through with this?"

"This might," Gwen said as she leaned forward in an almost conspirator manner.. Merlin had to lean forward to hear her better. "The noble daughter retired to her family estate right after. She was absolutely mortified."

"I bet she was." Merlin grumbled under his breath.

Gwen kept talking, as if he hadn't interrupted. "Well, when the knight recovered, he went after her. Last I heard, they'd married and are now expecting their first baby."

"You're kidding!" Merlin blurted out, looking surprised. "He actually chased after her after she nearly killed him."

Gwen nodded, "Yeah. Before he left, I believe he said something along the lines of," the handmaiden tilted her head as she thought back to it, trying to make sure that she got this line right. "That he just met a girl who literally took his breath away, and that he wasn't going to let her go that easily."

Merlin shook his head. That knight must have really loved her if he went chasing after her after she essentially poisoned him. Poisoned...Merlin felt a wave of humiliation come upon him, on the girl's behalf. He could actually see himself doing the exact same thing. He'd try to actually do something nice for the prat, and end up almost killing him in response.

"...Gwen..." Merlin said slowly, turning his head so that he could meet eyes with her.

"Hmmm?" Gwen asked, giving him a curious look when he didn't say anything at first.

"...Arthur's not allergic to anything, is he?" It would be just Merlin's luck to, that he would give Arthur the one thing that he could die from.

"No, I don't believe he is." Gwen said, running her hand over the front of her dress. "Arthur's as healthy as can be."

Merlin nearly sagged over in relief, "Oh, thank god. I won't be poisoning him myself then." It was bad enough that Arthur would probably reject him, he didn't want to be known as the guy that tried to kill the prince because he spurned his attention. Or at least that was what everyone would say happened if Arthur collapsed from an allergic reaction right after Merlin gave him a favor.

Gwen looked at Merlin confused, her eyebrows coming together as she tried to find out what Merlin was going on about. But she shook it off, "So, will you?" She suddenly asked Merlin. "Give him one, I mean?"

Merlin bit down on his bottom lip, wondering if he was really going to go through with this. Was he really going to, what? Put everything out there on the off chance that Arthur was willing to try something more?

Would it be worth it? Or would it just be yet another humiliating moment to add to the list of moments that Merlin had. And that list were just the things that had happened since he'd been in Camelot. It wasn't even telling all of the moments he'd had back home.

Merlin looked back at Gwen before asking a sudden question, "Has anybody ever given Arthur a favor before? I mean, has he ever accepted one?"

For all Merlin knew, receiving a favor was something that Arthur was used to. He probably had a chest full of them somewhere, all more beautiful than the last. And he could just imagine how beautiful the women were that gave them to him.

Did Arthur have a revolving stream of favors? Being a prince, Arthur probably did get a lot of attention like that. Merlin's would probably be just one out of many, looking plain among the other's.

And the more Merlin thought about it, the more annoyed he got. His face started scrunching up with his annoyance, and his eye was starting to twitch. He clenched his jaw, glaring down at the floor as he was just imagining Arthur accepting a favor from some girl.

His already dark blue eyes, seemed to shift to just the slightest shade darker.

He only looked up when Gwen answered his question with a, "Not really." But before Merlin could feel the relief, Gwen continued. "I mean, girl's give them to him all the time. But he never accepts one. I can't remember ever seeing him wear one before."

"...Oh..." Merlin said, looking downtrodden, although he didn't know why. Wasn't it a good thing that Arthur didn't accept favors? Because at least Arthur wasn't going to go out there wearing somebody else's.

But at the same time, why would he wear Merlin's then?

Merlin looked over at Gwen, a frown tugging his lips downward. "What happens if he turns me down?"

It was honestly, what was probably going to happen. Merlin knew it, down to his bones, that Arthur probably wouldn't accept him. So why did he still want to try? Why was he still holding on to the smallest, what if?

Gwen gave him her signature soft look, her eyes almost sad as she reached out and took Merlin's hand in hers. "Well, then you'll know."

It wasn't the inspiring pep talk that Merlin wanted to hear. But it also wasn't something that would make Merlin so confident, that he wouldn't see it coming until Arthur had already turned him down.

It didn't give him a false hope.

She had a point, after all. Either way it went, whether Arthur accepted it or not, Merlin would know. He would know if Arthur was ready to move towards greater things...with him. Or he would know that there was nothing there, and he would have to be okay with that.

And knowing which one it would be, was way better than just a fleeting moment of the false hope that Gwen could have chosen to given him.

Merlin opened his mouth, to tell Gwen something else although he didn't know what. Probably a thank you. Not only for helping him out with the armor, but also for choosing to be realistic with him instead of sending him out there with unrealistic expectations.

But before he could say any of this, there was a sudden knock on the door. The sound broke through the silence of the hut, bringing both Merlin and Gwen's attention to it. It was sharp and quick, almost urgent in its sound. Their eyes went wide and shot to the door, their heads snapping around to look at it.

There was nothing for the longest moment, where they both hoped that they had just imagined it. But then the knocker returned, just as loud and frantic as it had been the first time.

Both Merlin and Gwen turned to look at each other with identical expressions of panic. And at the same time, their eyes shot to look at the armor sitting on Gwen's kitchen table. It was out in the open, with not even something in front of it to shield it from view.

"Oh gods, is it the guards? Did they find out you stole it!" Gwen hissed, voice soft and quick. As if she was afraid that if she spoke any louder, the knights would hear and bust in on them. Then they'd both be arrested for the crime.

"Don't panic! Just don't panic!" Merlin hissed back, his voice louder than her's, clearly struggling to keep it any lower. And from his expression, it was obvious that he was panicking more than she was, as he had committed the actual theft. "We just...we just need to hide it." Merlin said urgently, looking back at the armor before turning away from it.

"Hide it? Hide it?!" Gwen hissed back, casting a scared look at the door as the knocker returned again. "Where are we supposed to hide it?" She had never been in trouble with the law a day in her life. Was she still going to be able to say that after today?

Merlin didn't answer her, to busy digging through her small house. He tried the kitchen cabinets, but they were filled with clutter, and there was no empty space for anything extra. He checked her chest at the foot of her bed, but it was filled with extra dresses that looked like they had been sewed together from other dresses that she had outgrown as she got older.

Then Merlin's gaze drifted to her bed sheets. "The blankets. We'll wrap it up in a blanket and then..."

"And then what?" Gwen hissed, taking panicked steps towards him. Because she would rather be at Merlin's side when they took her, instead of in a corner by herself when they dragged her away.

"We'll throw it out the window!" Merlin exclaimed, already dragging her thin and scratchy blanket off of her small cot. "Just until they leave. And then we can go get it."

Gwen looked at him as if she thought he was the stupidest person alive. "You mean that window?" She pointed to the closed shutters behind him. "The ones that are on either side of the door? Where the guard is waiting for us?"

"...Right..." Merlin said, letting the blanket drop from his fingertips and back down on the bed. Only, it was now in a heap of fabric instead of carefully folded. "So what do we do?"

"You're asking me?" Gwen exclaimed, before slapping a hand over her mouth, worried that she'd been heard.

The knocker returned, and Merlin and Gwen froze again.

"...Maybe if we're really quiet, they'll go away." Merlin hissed under his breath to the handmaiden. Gwen nodded in agreement, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. But they didn't have to be quiet for long before something broke through the silence.

"Sir Merlin, Sir Merlin!" A frantic voice finally called out from the other side. Merlin felt all of his muscles relax instantly, exhaling deeply when he realized who it was. And it was definitely not somebody coming to arrest them.

"Oh, good lord! They know you're here! We are in so much trouble!" Gwen moaned, burying her face in her hands. Oh, her father was going to be so disappointed in her when he heard she'd somehow gotten herself tangled up in all of this.

"Don't worry," Merlin said, moving on to the door. "It's just George."

Gwen's head popped up out of her hands. "George?" She repeated faintly, a touch of incredulous to her tone. "You mean George, the servant?"

"Unless you know another George." Merlin said dryly, before he was tugging open the wooden door. And true enough, George was standing there, looking as puffed up and as professional as he always did. He was also carrying a pitcher of grape juice in his hand.

"Sir Merlin," George said with a low bow, moving careful as to not spill the juice he carried. And then he turned to Gwen and gave her a tilt of his head. "Miss Guinevere, wonderful to see you again."

(Gwen had long since stopped trying to get George to just call her Gwen. She was 'Miss Guinevere' to him, and considered it a lost cause to protest anymore than she had when they'd first met.)

Gwen walked up to stand beside Merlin in the doorway, looking baffled when she saw that it was really George. And not the army of guards she was sure would be busting down her door at any minute.

George turned back to Merlin, getting straight to business. "Sir Merlin, I do believe that Prince Arthur needs to prepare for the tournament. He is looking for his armor."

Merlin's eyes widened, and he shot his gaze up to the sky, roughly estimating the time. Shit, he'd spent far longer talking to Gwen than he'd thought he had, and the tournament was about to start any minute.

But still, he turned his panicked look onto George. "I don't have his armor!" The words spilling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What makes you think I have it? Does Arthur know that I have it?"

"I know everything about you, it's my job." George said, speaking sternly. Almost as if he was trying to reprimand his master for not knowing that, while also not overstepping his boundaries as a manservant.

Merlin went still, a little creeped out by that statement. Because no, George didn't know anything about him. He didn't know that Merlin had magic, he didn't know that Merlin's first thought had been to turned to Gwen for help, and he didn't know that Merlin might possibly be giving his husband a favor at some point.

George kept talking, looking as prim and as proper as any manservant should desire to become. "And no, Sir Merlin, I don't believe that the prince is yet aware. But he is sure to realize any minute now."

Merlin hung his head, cursing at himself for having lost track of the time. He was prone to doing that. Even when he actively tried to make it on time, he was still always somehow late.

"Just one minute." Merlin grunted, and then he was closing the door in George's face, ignoring any hint of protest the manservant made.

Merlin spun around on his heels, turning to face Gwen with the upmost urgency. And then he asked her something in a rush, trying to not waste anymore time before Arthur discovered what he'd done.

"Do you really think I should do the favor thing? I mean, I don't have anything fancy to give him. He probably won't accept it, right? I'd just be fooling myself."

"I think," Gwen said, raising an eyebrow at him. "That you are thinking about this to hard. I say you just go for it, what's the worse that could happen?" Famous last words.

Merlin could actually think of millions of things that could go wrong. Arthur could reject him, and throw what little trinket Merlin managed to scrape up back into his face. Arthur would see Merlin handing him a cloth, and probably blow his nose in it, not realizing it was Merlin's attempt at a favor. The entire world could explode beneath their feet right as Merlin held out his favor for Arthur to take.

Okay, maybe the last one wouldn't actually happen...probably. Maybe Gwen did have a point and he was thinking way to hard about this. He should just let things go, let Arthur be the deciding force between what happened between them.

The best thing would probably be if he just didn't think at all, if he just did it spur of the moment, before he could stop himself from wondering if he'd just made a huge mistake.

"Thanks Gwen," Merlin said, with a soft smile. "I think I will give it a shot." Because after all, what was life without a little risk anyway?

Gwen's smile grew, stretching across her face. "Just go!" She said laughing, practically shoving him towards the table with the armor. "Get your stuff and get going before it's to late. I don't think Arthur will be impressed with you if he has to forefeit. And trust me," she said with a teasing grin. "You'll never get him to like you like that."

"Who said anything about wanting him to like me?" Merlin asked, with a cheeky grin as he scooped the pile up in his arms. "Maybe I just want to see his face when he realizes I'm giving him a favor."

Merlin was almost way to excited about this now. He wanted to see that taunting expression that the prince always seem to wear, start to crack.

Merlin grinned stretched wider as he headed towards the door. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, giving Arthur a favor. Even if the prat rejected him, he'll at least see the look of shock on Arthur's face when he did it.

And that was almost worth more than what Arthur's actual answer would be.