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!

31. Chapter 31

Oh, so that's what he was going to do.

That was the one sentence that ran through Merlin's mind when he, once again, found himself in a situation out of his control. It seemed to repeat itself in his head over and over again till the words were practically blending together. It felt like forever, but in reality, it only lasted for a few seconds.

The heat of the torch was strong enough that Merlin could feel it on one side of his face, making a strong contrast compared to the other side hidden in the cold shadows. The torch was just so close that he could feel a bead of sweat forming in his hairline, but he was also far enough away that he wasn't in any real danger of being burned.

After what had happened with Chase, who must have had some nerves of steel to try talking Arthur into authorizing a-what was it again-a sanctioned duel? He had all but forgotten what he'd come down here for in the first place.

Being pinned against the wall though, was a pretty strong reminder.

Arthur's reaction.

All Merlin had wanted to see was what Arthur would do now that he knew he was serious about rooting for his competition. And with his new position against the wall, it was exactly what Merlin needed to push that arrogant knight, who had been reduced to blubbering under Arthur's punishment-was it strange that he felt all gooey inside because Arthur had thrown out the knight who had tried to assault him-out of his mind.

The torchlight flickering was enough to cause Merlin to bring his attention to Arthur's face, watching as the shadows shifted and danced across it. Merlin's eyes dropped, letting his eye's trail down Arthur's long arm until he reached the blonde's hand that was pressed against the sandstone on the other side of his head from the torch on the wall.

Merlin licked his incredibly dry lips before turning to Arthur with a raised eyebrow, "Do you like this or something?" And he was really proud of himself as his voice held steady, not cracking and giving away that he was really starting to like being pinned up against thing's. As long as it was Arthur who was doing the pinning, of course.

Arthur looked down his nose at his consort, a baffled expression on his face as he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

The prince had been prepared to give the boy a lecture that he would never forget, the kind that was just vaguely threatening, that Merlin wouldn't dare to something like this again.

But now, every word he had so carefully memorized in his head, was completely gone, as if it had never even existed. It felt as if Merlin's question, had completely wiped his mind clear.

"What?" Arthur was almost ashamed to admit that this was the only word he could come up with.

Merlin was grinning at him, and looked far to cocky for his own good, as he needed at Arthur's stiff form. As if to point out just how close he had gotten. "I'm just saying, for someone who seems to want nothing to do with me," Arthur avoiding him ever since their wedding was still fresh in his mind. "You have spent a lot of time today getting up close and personal with me."

It took Arthur a moment to register what he was saying. It took another moment to realize that what he said was true, he really had gotten to close to the boy again. Just like he had earlier that afternoon when he'd been trying to force answers about his armor out of the boy.

But this situation was entirely different, because he didn't have to excuse of trying to force answers out of the boy to fall back on.

There was no reason for him to be this close when all he was intending to do was threaten the boy within an inch of his life, warning him what he would do if he ever did it again.

There was a pause that only lasted for as long as a single heartbeat as they stared at each other. And then Arthur was wrenching himself back, almost as if he couldn't get away fast enough.

Merlin's cocky grin dropped in an instant, recognizing Arthur's urgency to get away from him as he felt the front of his body growing suddenly cold as Arthur's warmth was no longer there. Clearing his throat, Merlin brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head, "You don't have to act as if I'm diseased."

He said this in a grumbly tone, slumping against the sandstone wall behind him.

But Arthur largely ignored that last remark, making sure that no part of him was touching Merlin as he cleared his throat, trying to sound more reasonable instead of hostile, "I do believe that we still need to have our talk. About what you did with Sir Onslot."

What he did with Sir Onslot? Merlin glanced over at Arthur with a raised eyebrow. He made it sound as if Merlin had made some kind of move on the knight, as if he'd been caught kissing the guy when he was a married man. "Is this just so you can distract yourself from the idea that you might not completely hate me." He asked bluntly, no longer feeling like talking about the other knight.

It wasn't exactly a secret that Arthur carried a sort of disdain for him, that much was clear since the day they met. And it had only grown since they married, but Merlin had hoped that the day they'd spent together, was softening Arthur up some towards him. But with the way Arthur had flung himself away from him when Merlin had merely mentioned how close he was, clearly they still had some more work to do.

But still, did he have to hurt so much? He thought having a crush on someone, as he was just now coming to terms with it, was supposed to make you happy. He thought having those feelings were supposed to make you giddy and feel as if you were walking on air.

But all he felt was this intense urge to clobber Arthur on principle alone, for making him feel this pang in his chest. It made the sinking in his chest worsen as he was forced to realize that just because he had been feeling something, didn't mean that Arthur had as well.

That was proven true as Arthur went stiff, "What are you going on about?" The blonde demanded in a harsh tone. His eyes were wide as he glared down at Merlin. Of course he wasn't distracting himself! He really did hate-strongly disliked-the boy! There wasn't a single trait that Merlin had that was desirable in a husband.

He didn't like that Merlin was a commoner, who couldn't follow simple instructions like not rooting for his competition. He didn't like how Merlin had came into his life at all, throwing anything and everything he knew off to the wayward as Arthur was forced to rearrange everything just to account for the boy. Like now having Merlin putting him into his armor instead of Morris, or having to convince Gaius to lie to his father because Arthur hadn't been man enough to take the brat's virginity.

He didn't like Merlin's stupid blue eyes, or his stupid dark hair that always stuck out, or that ridiculous smile that he only seemed to flash in Arthur's direction when he was making jokes at his expanse.

And more than anything else, he didn't like that stupid red neckerchief that Merlin seemed so fond of wearing.

Merlin shrugged, trying to look casual as he leaned against the wall, forcing himself to try and not look as interested in this conversation as he was, and failing at it spectacularly. "I'm just saying. You seemed to be forming a habit where you press me up against things and demand answers from me."

Those words practically forced the memory of him pressing Merlin against that stupid table to the forefront of his mind. The only reason he'd done it was to get some answers, and maybe he had taken a sick pleasure in playing with Merlin's feelings to get them.

Merlin gave him a very pointedly expression as he finished off with, "I have honestly never had somebody in all my life, been in my space as much as you have been."

Arthur didn't think he could get any stiffer if he tried, and there was an odd expression on his face. It wore a cross between glowering, and looking as if he was seriously contemplating the benefits of killing Merlin.

When Arthur didn't say anything, Merlin started again, "Which can only bring me to one conclusion." He stopped just long enough to give the prince a playful looking smirk. "That maybe you are starting to like me a little bit."

Maybe all they both had needed was a little bit of time to get used to their unconventional situation. And now that they were coming to terms with their new lives, in their own ways, they could move on to a new chapter together.

"Like...you?" Arthur repeated slowly, looking dubious by the strange conversation that he had found himself in.

Arthur really hoped that this conversation wasn't going where he thought it was going. Merlin couldn't seriously be thinking that there was something more between them, could he?

Arthur had figured the boy was a moron, but he hadn't thought that he was delusional as well.

And okay, maybe Arthur had taken advantage of Merlin's emotions when they had been on that stupid table, but that was only because Merlin had such an obvious crush on him. And it was probably the easiest way to get any answers out of him.

But obviously, Merlin's little crush on him was only because of who he was. Merlin wasn't the first, and certainly wouldn't be the last to have some kind of crush on the Prince of Camelot.

Who wouldn't have a crush on him?

But there was something seriously wrong with Merlin if he thought that Arthur felt the same way in any form.

Merlin's smile started to dim as he recognized the incredulous in Arthur's voice, "Just a...little bit?" He suggested, in a weakened tone.

Arthur opened his mouth to say just how ridiculous that was. But maybe it was a good thing that there was a sudden roar from somewhere inside the nearby room, cutting him off. It was loud, breaking straight through the thick red curtain separating them. It was obvious that somebody had just run their match.

Arthur turned back to Merlin, watching as the shadows of the flickering torchlight danced across the boy's features.

"I don't have time for this." Arthur said dismissively, scratching a through his thick blonde locks. He wasn't overly concerned about Merlin's apparent crush on him, it wasn't like the boy would be stupid enough to actually approach him on the subject.

And if he was that stupid, Arthur was more than happy to get him all of the space he needed for Merlin to get over it when Arthur ultimately rejected him.

Merlin gave Arthur a dry look, as if he was silently asking himself if the prince was a dumbarse. "Oh? Why? Because you have such a busy schedule watching all these other guy's fight." He asked in a tone that was so sarcastic, it had Arthur bristling.

"Which is what you should be doing, in the bleachers and not here." Arthur said firmly. "We aren't girl's, I'm not going to sit here and listen to you rambling on about feelings, or whatever it is."

Merlin just barely held back a flinch, and he bit down on his bottom lip, hard enough for pinpricks of blood to return to the surface. "You're right."

Arthur had just flashed him a triumph look, maybe liking those words a little to much. But of course, Merlin had to continue talking.

"We wouldn't want to upset your delicate sensibilities by talking about something as fragile as your own emotions."

Arthur's look dropped in an instant, scowling at his mouthy consort, and he could feel that damn muscle in his jaw jumping again. "You are out of line."

"I'm out of line," Merlin repeated slowly. "I'm out of line!" His voice got louder and more hysterical sounding as he threw out an arm to point at Arthur. "You're the one whose mood swings are starting to show again!"

Mood swings, that was what Merlin had claimed Arthur had back when they had been training together. And just like it had the first time, the accusation infuriated the blonde.

"For the last time, I do not have mood swings!" Arthur exclaimed.

"There you go, yelling at me again! You are always yelling at me!" Merlin shouted back.

Arthur opened his mouth to yell something back, but then Merlin had the audacity to interrupt him and keep shouting.

"You just had to go and ruin what was supposed to be a decent conversation!" the dark haired boy exclaimed, biting down harder on his lip when he was done screaming.

"What decent conversation!" Arthur bellowed back. "Whatever conversation you thought we were going to have, was just in your own head!" If Merlin thought for one second that Arthur was just going to fall into his arms before the blonde claimed he felt anything for him, then he had another thing coming.

"It could have been a decent conversation!" Merlin exclaimed in protest. "If you got your head out of your arse for once!" Was it really so hard for Arthur to admit that Merlin wasn't horrible to be around? Was it really so hard for Arthur to just not be a jerk all the time?

"There's nothing wrong with my arse!" Arthur exclaimed loudly, at the same time that the curtain pulled open. Both Merlin and Arthur froze in place as the statement sunk in. And then they both turned to the curtain where two knights were just about to walk out.

"Uh...I was just going to grab some food..." Dorian, one of the knight's that had brought Merlin to Camelot in the first place, said weakly. He stared at the strange scene that had been awaiting him just outside the curtain.

"...Dorian..." Merlin nodded to him. He was really wishing that this conversation with Arthur had been done in a more private setting.

"...Merlin..." Dorian said awkwardly, before looking at Arthur and clearly avoiding his eye's. "...Sire..."

Arthur cleared his throat, "You're dismissed." He said grudgingly. He tried to ignore the heat he could feel starting to creep up the back of his neck.

"Yes, sire." Dorian practically threw himself back through the curtain. Apparently, he'd lost any and all interest he had in gathering himself a snack.

The other knight on the other hand, was smirking as he glanced between Arthur and Merlin. "So, you two seemed to be getting close?" He said teasingly. "Having a little romantic moment in between matches?"

Arthur stiffened, and felt his heart freeze up in his chest for a moment there. And then he took an even larger step away from Merlin, looking as if he was trying to melt into the shadows. Because that would have been a much better alternative than being caught even talking to Merlin.

"Tristian!" Merlin exclaimed, looking horrified. This was not his idea of a romantic moment, and he was almost annoyed that the second knight that had brought him to Camelot, thought that he would settle for something like this.

Tristian grinned cheekily, "I'm just saying, if you wanted some alone time, you could have done so much better than the hallway where a bunch of rowdy knights are just next door." He gave Merlin a saucy grin. "I know several closets that would be a much better alternative..."

Merlin just looked at him blankly, not having any idea what he was talking about. How was a closet supposed to be in any way better, for this conversation? It would probably be way to cramped to have a decent conversation. But maybe Arthur would like that, even if he apparently had the emotional range of a tea spoon.

In a closet, the blonde could have a real excuse for being close to Merlin, instead of just making thing's up to get that close.

"Tristian!" Arthur snapped, his voice far to harsh, the name only coming to him because Merlin had said it. And it wasn't the first time he had heard that name either...Tristian. That was the name Merlin had said that night, the night they were supposed to consummate their marriage.

Tristian was the one that had told Merlin all of those inappropriate jokes. Arthur's eye's narrowed just a hint, to little to be noticed by anybody, as another bout of irrational irritation flossed through him.

Tristian seemed to realize that he had overstepped, and he straightened up his lax expression, looking as if he didn't know what to do now with both Merlin and Arthur glaring at him.

"...I just beat Dorian in our match, so I'm in the next round's." Tristian said in a rush. There was a moment of silence, and then the flutter of the curtain as the knight hurried back through to the safety of the other side.

"...Weirdo..." Merlin grumbled, staring at the closed curtain after the knight. He hated that Tristian had indicated than him and Arthur were having some kind of moment, more like another argument. And at this point in their fight, Merlin wasn't interested in any kind of romantic moment with Arthur right now.

Arthur scoffed, turning back to Merlin, even as he made sure to keep his distance. He didn't care if the whole world knew that he was married to Merlin, it was impossible to hide something like that. But he also wasn't going to feed rumors that he felt more for this marriage than he did.

Feeling his temples starting to throb, Arthur reached up to squeeze at the bridge of his nose. "We have fallen way off topic," he said forcefully. "We are here to talk about Sir Onslot."

Merlin's head whipped around to look back at Arthur, and it took him a minute to remember the knight that he had been rooting for during Arthur's fight. "Oh, him."

Arthur didn't look very impressed by this answer. He had been expecting something a little more...frantic. Like Merlin begging for his forgiveness and swearing on his life to never do it again. But no, Merlin just said, "Oh, him." In a very bland tone. Almost as if he had forgotten what he had done in the first place.

"What do you mean by, 'oh, him.'" Arthur exclaimed. "You don't get to sound so bland about the fact that you were cheering for some other man!"

Ugh, hopefully nobody else had realized it as well. Did Merlin not realize how humiliating it was for Arthur to look out in the crowd and see his own husband clearly wanting somebody else to win. God, what would the people think?

Merlin put his hands on his hips in a defensive gesture, "What are you getting so mad about?" He demanded, more annoyed than he thought he would be by this conversation. "I told you I was going to do it, warned you even! It's not my fault you apparently didn't believe me."

And Arthur would eventually learn that Merlin really did go through with the thing's he said he would.

Frustrated, Arthur threw his arm out to the side, still keeping a respectable distant as to not feed the rumors if they were stumbled upon again. "Do you know what it looks like?" He demanded. "When my own consort is seen cheering for my competition."

"I don't know what to tell you!" Merlin exclaimed, throwing his own arms out. "Other than be more impressive!" And now he was chewing on his damn lip again, feeling the coppery taste of blood forming in his mouth as his lip was assaulted by his own teeth.

"Be more impressive?" Arthur repeated, feeling as if he was going mad by this conversation. "Be more impressive!" He damn near shouted. "How much more impressive can I be! I won my match!"

"Against an unmatched opponent!" Merlin shot back. "You and I both know that the guy didn't stand a chance against you." He finished, his bottom lip popping out from between his teeth.

Arthur's eye's were drawn to the torn up flesh, before he was flashing his eye's back to Merlin's just as fast. "And yet, even knowing that he wasn't going to win, you were still on his side."

Merlin shrugged, not looking the least bit ashamed by his actions, "I like the underdog, so sue me." And then he was biting down on his lips again, feeling it split open just a little bit more.

Arthur saw this action, and scowled. It was bad enough that Merlin was who he was, but was he really going to go outside with his lips looking as swollen as they were getting? People were going to start talking again if Merlin looked like he'd been punched in the mouth.

"But really," Merlin said dryly, his lip popping out again. "If you want me to be seen rooting for you," he raised a mocking eyebrow at Arthur. "For the public, of course." Because Arthur apparently wasn't man enough to just say he wanted Merlin to root for him. "Then you'll going to have to fight somebody a little more your speed."

And then he was biting on his damn lip again, and it really shouldn't be getting Arthur's attention like it was. But he tried to shake it off and kept talking, "You are going to root for me rather you like it or not." And then he was taking an almost threatening step towards Merlin, as if he was trying to reassure his dominance over their relationship.

But all that did was make Merlin roll his eye's, and scoff in a way that made Arthur's blood start boiling.

"I'm not one of your subjects that you can just order around." Merlin said bluntly. He was Arthur's husband, rather either of them agreed to this union or not, and he was looking for a more equal partnership between them then whatever dominance Arthur was trying to pull. "If you want me to do something," he stopped just long enough to grin cheekily. "Then I expect for you to show me you deserve it. Show me how good you really are, against an actual opponent, and I might just consider rooting for you the next time."

All that cheeky grin did was make Arthur's blood feel hot, and his eye started to twitch in that irritating manner that had only started when Merlin had shown up in the first place.

Feeling his fists clenched and unclench at his sides, it took everything he had to really not throttle his consort. Muttering half under his breath, Arthur grunted out a dark, "I'll show you fucking good enough."

And maybe he really had been around Merlin for to long if his bad habit of language was coming out more and more in Arthur. But no matter, he had other thing's to be concerned about . If this brat wanted to play this game, then Arthur would go along with it...for now.

Just to show Merlin he really was better than all of those other guy's that he could be rooting for instead.

Merlin smirked playfully, watching Arthur's clear irritation growing. He was going to hold Arthur to that, and the prince better damn well impress him in his next match.

'Check mate'

The word flooded into Merlin's mind. Earlier, he had played around with the interactions between him and his husband being similar to a chess match. Merlin would say check by rooting for Arthur's competition. And then Arthur would do something that would top him, making him-figuratively-say checkmate.

But things hadn't turned out that way at all. And now it was Merlin left-figuratively-saying check mate.

Biting down on his lip again, Merlin thought that he quite liked this version of events better than what he thought could possibly happen.

Maybe there was something in the air, or maybe Arthur was just reaching his boiling point, but Merlin biting down on his lip once again was just the last straw for him.

"And will you stop that!" Arthur exclaimed, making Merlin jump with startled surprise. And before he knew what was happening, Arthur was getting into his space again, but he wasn't nearly as close as he had been the first time. He was only close enough for his hand to reach Merlin, grabbing him roughly by the chin and jerking his swollen lip free from between his teeth. "How is it going to look if you come back with a bruised lip! People are going to start thinking I hit you!"

Merlin looked at Arthur in disbelief, his chin clasped firmly between Arthur's finger's, making his slim cheeks puff out some. Almost as if Arthur thought he'd start biting his lip again if he let go.

"...You mean I'm going back in there with you?" Was the first thing Merlin said, sounding more dumbly than he wanted to. "I thought you wanted me back in the bleachers..."

Arthur felt that stupid muscle in his jaw start jumping again, and his fingers clamped down harder on Merlin's chin, refusing to signify that with a response.

And of course, that would be the exact moment that somebody else came out of the curtain. Both Arthur and Merlin whipped their heads around at the flutter of the curtain, the blonde's hand still firmly pressed against Merlin's chin. Merlin was staring with rounded eye's, cursing in his head at Arthur for not choosing a better spot for privacy as they were once again interrupted.

And Arthur already had his mouth opened, ready to scream a harsh, 'get lost' at their next interrupter. But his voice died in his throat, and Arthur narrowed his eye's harshly when he saw that it was that knight again.

The one that had given him that strange feeling out on the field. The knight with the yellow shield of snakes.

X

Valiant raised an eyebrow at the scene that he'd come across, before he made his face go as blank as an empty canvas. As if there was nothing out of the ordinary about the scene in front of him.

When Valiant had finished his match-he'd won of course-he'd felt the same irrational pulse of anger that he often felt everyday, when he realized that Arthur wasn't there.

The prince should have been in the crowd of knight's watching him, he should have shown concerned when he realized what a skilled opponent Valiant was. He had shown off for the sheer purpose of showing the prince that he had something to be worried about.

But that was blown out of the water as he saw that the prince was nowhere to be seen. One of the knight's had pointed him in the direction of the hallway, but had also warned him that it was probably best to not go out there.

Valiant hadn't heeded his warning, but at least he understood it now.

The prince had a plaything.

No wonder that stupid serving boy has gotten so mouthy with him. He was warming the sheet's of the prince's bed, and was probably allowing that fact to go to his head. But then again, maybe the prince got off on that sort of thing, being mouthed off to.

It wouldn't be the weirdest kink Valiant had come across.

Although really, he did have to wonder what the prince's new husband thought about sharing the prince's attention with his plaything.

Arthur forced himself to keep his tone as even as he could as he said, "Was there something you needed?" And there had better be some kind of tragedy on the field if he was being interrupted again.

Valiant ignored the fact that Arthur hadn't moved away from his plaything. He ignored that it looked as if Arthur had been in the middle of guiding his plaything's face up into a kiss.

"I wished to offer my congratulations," Valiant said casually, largely ignoring Arthur's plaything. "On your victory today. May I make a note that I have also won my own match, so there's a chance we may be fighting against each other in the next round's."

Valiant was betting on it actually. Maybe not the next one, but the championship for sure.

Arthur nodded, feeling his finger's twitching against Merlin's face, "Then I look forward to it." Trying to hurry this along.

Valiant nodded, a slimy smirk spreading across his face, "I hope to see you at the reception this evening." This evening was supposed to be a sort of meet and greet kind of thing. All of this round's winners would be able to meet and briefly talk with the members of the royal family.

Valiant was especially looking forward to it, maybe even moreso now that he knew Arthur had a plaything. If the prince's husband was feeling lonely with his husband's affection so clearly elsewhere, Valiant would be more than pleased to show him some attention.

The only thing better than beating a prince in combat, was stealing away his consort as well.

"Is there something else that you needed?" Arthur asked gruffly, when he noticed that Valiant hadn't left to leave after what had sounded like departure words to the prince.

Valiant shot his eye's over to Arthur's plaything, and smirked. "Yes, sire. I just thought that you should be aware that some of your servants aren't respecting the knight's as they should be."

Now that Valiant knew the same serving boy that had mouthed off to him was also warming the prince's sheets, the knight felt as if the serving boy should have done thing's differently if he wanted Valiant's forgiveness.

The boy should have dropped to his knees and been grateful when Valiant shoved his cock between his lips. If the boy could whore himself out to get the luxuries of bedding the prince, then he could do the same for Valiant.

Arthur narrowed his eye's, having no idea what Valiant was talking about. "Is that so?" He drawled out, because one of the servant's apparently getting on the bad side of this particular knight was the least of his concerns. But still, he diplomatically said, "I'll see to it that it won't happen again."

Valiant smirked again, "That is all I ask, sire." Before giving a short nod to the prince. "I'll leave you to attend to your plaything then." And then he was leaving, going back through the curtain with a superior look on his face.

Fucking whore, Valiant thought cockily, the prince would surely punish the serving boy for how he had treated Valiant. And who knows, Valiant licked his lips, maybe Arthur would send his whore up to his own room to apologize for the rudeness the servant had shown him.

Valiant had no idea of the chaos his parting words had left in his wake.

Both Merlin and Arthur were left staring at the now closed curtains for vastly different reason's.

"What a creep." Merlin said, looking more confused than ever. His voice came out all funny because of the stiff finger's on his chin making his cheeks puff out. "What was it that he said, Arthur?" But when there was no answer, Merlin looked at the prince. "...Arthur? Arthur!"

Arthur could hear Merlin calling for him, but it was also like he couldn't understand him either. He could hear, but he couldn't respond. His ears were muffled as if he had cotton in them, or as if he was underwater and Merlin was screaming from the surface.

Starting in his chest and spreading throughout his entire body was a very cold feeling. It felt almost as if ice was forming in his veins, his own blood feeling as if it had frozen solid and was no longer moving.

Plaything, plaything, plaything.

Those were the words that Valiant had said, and those were the word's that kept racing through his mind over and over again in a never ending loop.

Plaything, plaything, plaything...

"Arthur!" Merlin damn near shouted, practically shaking the prince at this point. Just so he could get some kind of reaction out of him, something other than this weirdly blank stare the prince had going on. Was there something wrong with him? Oh god, what if he really had been hurt in his match! What if it was just now hitting him? Should he go get Uncle Gaius? He should probably go get Uncle Gaius.

"Ar-thur!" Merlin shouted one more time, forcing each syllable out as if it was it's own word.

Arthur felt himself coming back together. It was as if everything had restarted, as if his entire bodily systems had been jerked back to normal. His heart jolted in his chest as it started beating in a rushed pace, and his brain flooded back to a restart. But the ice in his veins...that hadn't left. It wasn't as strong, but it was still there.

And just now, Arthur was realizing that he had his finger's still clamped around Merlin's delicate looking chin. Almost as if he couldn't get away fast enough, Arthur practically wretched himself away, jerking his hand away from Merlin as if he'd been burned.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, not sure if he should be relieved or not. On one hand, Arthur was clearly not injured from his fight. But on the other hand...he didn't know what could have caused that look of upmost terror on Arthur's face. "Are you okay..." he asked softly, reaching out to cup Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur practically jerked away again before Merlin's finger's could even brush the shoulder plates of his armor. "Don't touch me!" He said frantically, his words coming out fast and panicked.

Merlin jerked back startled, holding his hands up in a placating manner, clearly indicating that he wasn't going to touch Arthur. "Okay, okay! I won't touch you." Merlin glanced around the deserted hallway, and he almost wished that somebody would come back just so they could help him figure out what was going on. Trying to keep his voice soft, as if he was talking to a scared animal, he said, "Arthur, something's not right. Should I go get someone, is that what you want. Maybe your dad..."

"No!" Arthur blurted out before Merlin could finish his sentence, but all that did was make Merlin more baffled.

That was the first thing Merlin had done whenever he'd been scared growing up, he would go to his mom and she would seem to make it better somehow. How was he supposed to know that she'd been more terrified than him, knowing that they could be found by Camelot at any minute. She must have been so much more scared when she realized her son was a sorcerer.

He found an all new appreciation for his mother in that moment. Because Merlin found himself getting scared as well, simply because he didn't know what he could do to help Arthur.

Or why he didn't want his father?

Arthur took in a shaking breath, trying to ignore that the sudden intake of air just seemed to freeze up his lung's. He made sure there was a respectful distance between Merlin and himself before he brought an almost shaking hand up to cup over his eye's. He could feel his bang's falling over his hand as he rubbed tiredly at his face.

"I need...I think I need to go. I need some air." Arthur forced out, his voice almost coming out all gurgled.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed, looking relieved by this. "Great." He took a step closer to Arthur as if he was approaching something that may attack him if he got to close to fast. He kept his hands in the air, making sure that no part of him touched Arthur. Especially not after the reaction he got the last time Merlin touched him. "We can do that. I'll help you outside, and then you can get all of the fresh air you nee-"

"No!" Arthur practically shouted, his head shooting up frantically. Merlin's word's died in his throat, looking just as scared when he saw that flash of terror on Arthur's face.

Merlin didn't think he ever wanted to see Arthur looking that scared again.

"I need to go alone. You just...go back to the bleachers or something. Do whatever...just go." Arthur said weakly. And then he was carefully circling around Merlin, sliding across the floor on the tip of his toes. As if he seriously thought Merlin was going to attack him or something, as if he thought Merlin was capable of hurting him even though the blonde had won every physical fight they'd had.

Merlin watched helplessly as Arthur disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels.

X

Arthur was quick to move, practically running into the darkness of the chambers. His breath came out harsh, and he could almost see the fog coming out as he exhaled because of how cold it was. His only saving grace was that he didn't hear the accompanying footsteps of Merlin trying to follow him.

Arthur didn't know what he would have done if Merlin had ignored him.

Arthur didn't know how long he ran, but he knew it couldn't have been far since he hadn't come to an exit yet. But he was alone, and that was all he needed.

Arthur threw himself forward, slamming his hands onto the stone wall in front of him. He curled his finger's, feeling his nails trying to dig into the sandstone. He kept his head bowed, his eye's focused on the ground below him.

One, two, three...Arthur chanted that in his head, trying to calm his breathing. One, two, three...He could feel the cold sweat sliding down his back under his clothes, and it had absolutely nothing to do with his earlier match. One, two, three...Arthur felt his heart start to slow down into a more normal rhythm.

Arthur took in one more shaking breath before he slumped against the wall. And then using it as leverage, because he felt as if he could fall off of his feet at any moment, Arthur carefully turned around so that his back was pressed up against it.

Plaything, plaything, plaything...

Those words that the knight Valiant had spoke had returned full force as he was forced to take in the problem at hand. Valiant had caught him with Merlin, he had caught him touching Merlin. Oh god, he could see the scene replaying in his mind all over again. Thinking back on it, he could just imagine what it would have looked like, as if Arthur had been trying to pull his consort in for a kiss.

A kiss...to a man...to Merlin.

It had been one thing to do it on his wedding, it had been expected and practically forced upon them both. He could live with that, even having done it in front of Camelot's most elite families. Because at least then he could say he'd been coerced into doing it.

But to be caught looking as if he was going to do it somewhere private, that was something different. That scenario meant that Arthur had wanted it, it looked as if Arthur really had been trying to get some 'alone time' as Tristian had put it.

As if Arthur was eager to be greedily kissing his consort. It was a whole new ball game that Arthur just wasn't ready for.

Arthur squeezed his eye's shut, his head leaned back against the rough wall behind him. And then he slammed the back of his fist into the wall behind him, practically relishing in the pain as he tried to ignore the slight brimming of tears forming behind his squeezed eyelids.

The sad part about all of this?

It was when Arthur came to an almost scarier conclusion, more terrifying then it had felt when he had been caught apparently trying to steal a kiss in the privacy of a dark hallway.

The only thing that had scared him so much was that he'd been caught. That somebody had actually had the nerve to comment on the position him and Merlin had been in.

But actually being that close to Merlin, holding him down and cupping his chin between his fingers...it didn't scare him as much as it should have, as much as it had not that long ago.

And that was probably more terrifying than anything else.

X

The tournament was over, and the stadium had emptied out completely. All of the peasants had returned to their daily chores, most of the nobles had met up with other nobles and left together for a cuppa of tea and gossip, and all of the knight's had retreated to rest up for the reception being had that evening.

Only two people remained in the stadium after all of the matches were over and done with.

Uther was standing in the knight's quarters, the one room that all of the knights had been situated in as they waited for their matches to begin. Only now, it was bare and empty.

The king took his time as he glanced around the spacious area, only the best for the young knights in his kingdom. As he glanced around, fond memories came to the forefront of his mind from when he was young and a prince himself, when it had been him who had stood in this room and waiting for his own fights to begin.

Just like his son had been doing for the past few years, every time this tourney came around.

Uther stopped as he saw a very familiar although now faded, bloodstain on the floor, and shook his head amused. They still hadn't gotten that bloodstain out of the floor after all these years.

Uther had put it there himself almost twenty five years ago when he had punched the young Prince Bayard in the face. The prince had come to compete in that year's tournament, and their father's had wanted the two prince's to form a bond of friendship that would hopefully transcend when the two became king's. That plan had fallen off the wayside in this very room mere days after Bayard had arrived when it became clear that the young prince was trying to steal the interest of the young Lady Ygraine who Uther had just started courting.

Uther had won both the fight and the girl, although Ygraine had given him a firm tongue lashing when she had found out what happened. She had stormed into the physician's quarters where Uther was getting a splint put around his fingers from where he had broken them on Bayard's face.

God, he still hated Bayard to this day. But hopefully, the peace treaty that they were scheduled to have in a month's time, would be a new beginning for both of their people.

Uther shook his head, an almost sad smile on his face as he remembered that day vividly, the way Ygraine had lashed out at him even as she gently touched his splint to make sure that he was alright. He'd always hoped that Arthur would have ended up with someone like his beloved wife had been. A strong woman who wasn't afraid to tell him he did something wrong, but also gentle enough to care for him when his own stupidity was what had gotten him injured in the first place.

He had hoped that the daughter with the genes of someone like Balinor and Hunith would be that woman. Uther shook his head, once again cursing in his head because of the mistake he had made. How had he not had the foresight to realize that there was every possibility of Hunith giving birth to a son instead.

And now, he had tied his son and doomed him to a loveless marriage with...that boy.

"Sire?" A soft voice said from behind him, the flutter of the curtains closing as another person entered the room. "You wanted to see me?"

Uther cleared his throat, reminded of why he was here. "Yes, Gaius." He said, turning away from that faded bloodstain to look at the physician standing behind him. "I have called you here because I have a request for you."

Gaius nodded, giving a little incline of his head to resemble a bow, looking both serious and stern as he said, "Of course, sire. What is it that you would have me do?"

"You are aware of my son's new husband." It was only because of Uther's many years of experience at being a king did his face not screw up with childish distaste for the situation. That boy, the only good thing Uther could appreciate about him was that he had saved his son's life that day they had wedded. It was probably the only reason Uther hadn't decided to lock him in his rooms with armed guards to keep him there so that he couldn't embarrass their family.

Gaius nodded, "I am aware, sire. I have met with the boy several time's since he has arrived. He seems to be a very nice young man." He spoke his words very carefully, already having an inkling as to why he was here in the first place.

"Good, good." Uther nodded, looking distracted. Because rather Merlin was 'nice or not', he was still a man, and that was all Uther needed to know about the boy to know that he would never be good enough for his son. A serving girl would have been a better option, even if the boy had somehow been born a prince and could actually offer their kingdom something in return for the marriage.

Uther could be cordial to the boy, but only because he had saved Arthur's life. If he hadn't and Arthur had died, there would have been hell to pay. But if that witch had managed to kill his son, then at least Uther could live knowing that his own stupidly with this contract nonsense, hadn't forced his son to dirty himself by sleeping with another man.

"Sire?" Gaius asked, a touch of uncertainty in his voice when Uther hadn't said something for the longest time.

Uther finally looked up, realizing that he had been lost in his musings for longer than he'd wished to be. "Yes, Gaius, as I was saying." Uther stopped to clear his throat. "As my son is now married, there are certain steps that need to be done."

"Of course, sire." Gaius nodded. "Let me think, Merlin will need some new clothes for when important dignitaries visit the castle. The one's he wears now simply will not cut in. I suppose he will also need to be educated more about Camelot itself and other nearby kingdom's, we wouldn't want to embarrass the throne because Merlin did something he was unaware of. That book on tournament etiquette was a good first step towards his education, but he will definitely need more of you wish for him to carry on a conversation with any visiting nobles."

Uther looked at his physician before giving a heavy sigh. Right, Merlin was a peasant and would need all of that, and probably more than he had yet to think of. "Has the boy not requested for new clothing to be made?" He asked tiredly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose in a very similar fashion to how his own son did it.

"Honestly, sire? I don't believe it has even occurred to him that he could." Gaius admitted. It would be hard to break Merlin out of the mindset that he could only have the thing's a peasant could have. Gaius honestly doubted that it could be broken out of at all, but these were still thing's that he needed to have.

Uther nodded, he would have Madame Teresa make the boy a few new outfits. Nothing extravagant or grand, nothing that his own son would wear. And not many as well, there was no reason to waste even more expenses on their unwanted house guest. But at least the boy would have something he could wear when it was needed.

"Yes Gaius, he will get all of that in due tie." Uther waved a dismissive hand. The protective gleam in Gaius's eye's that Uther never noticed, seem to dim as the physician nodded in content. "But there are more important matters that need to be done first."

Uther glanced out the open doorway leaded onto the battlefield so that he could estimate the time. He still had at least an hour before the reception started tonight and Uther still had to be prepared himself. It would not be nearly enough time to get the boy something suitable to wear, but he could at least instruct Madame Teresa on his way to his chambers to have something suitable prepared for their next event.

Or have a servant do it for him.

Uther shook his head and keep talking, "As I was saying, I know that you are as aware as I am that a marriage like this has never taken place before."

Gaius nodded, "A marriage between a common boy and a prince. A bond formed in holy matrimony that should have never happened." If only because neither boy agreed to it, but nobility rarely actually got to marry who they wanted to if it wasn't a wealthy match. And poor Merlin, tossed into the crossfire through no fault of his own. "A marriage that wouldn't have happened because of their status' in life, as well as the fact that they are both men." It would be hard for Merlin to be accepted by the more traditional nobles, simply because he was a man and not a woman.

Uther was one of those traditional men, only forced to allow it because his hands were tied by the contract that he himself had signed so many years ago.

"Gaius," Uther said, making sure that his word's wouldn't be questioned. "I cannot have anybody questioning the legality of their marriage."

"What would you have me do, sire?" Gaius asked, keeping a carefully blank expression on his face, lest he give anything away by his expression alone.

"I know that it is unorthodoxed in this day and time, but I do believe that our forefathers had a point in having it done." Uther said. "I need you to do an inspection on the boy. I need to check if he is a virgin or not, I need to know if Arthur did his duty and made their marriage binding."

"You do not trust your son, sire?" Gaius asked, carefully, recognizing how dangerous this situation was if he spoke to much out of turn. "You do not believe that he would fulfill his duty as a prince and a husband?"

Uther turned his back to Gaius, so that the other man wouldn't see the conflicting emotions on his face. Yes, he trusted his son to do what was needed for the sake of their people. But he also liked to think that he knew his son well enough to know when he was lying. And he had been when they had breakfast together, the king knew it. Arthur could talk a good game, he'd been trained by the best after all, but Uther always knew.

He just prayed that it was only Arthur's nerves about being with another man that had caused Uther's radar to go off, and that his son really hadn't been stupid enough to not go through with it.

"Just have it done, Gaius." The king said, not giving his physician a straight answer to the question he'd asked.

Gaius bowed, keeping his eye's respectfully on the ground before his king. "It will be done, sire."

Uther nodded, looking out at the field. Gaius would make sure that everything was done properly, the older man had been the royal physician for many years, and was very skilled at what he did. He would be able to tell in an instinct rather or not Arthur was really lying to him, and if the boy had truly been taken or not.

It took Uther a moment to realize that Gaius hadn't left the room. "Was there something else?" He asked, finally turning back to look at the aging physician.

Gaius hesitated for a moment before going through with what he was about to say. "Will you be sitting in for the inspection, sire?" And then he waited with baited breath for the king's response. If the king truly did wish to sit in, to make sure that everything was done properly, then what was Gaius supposed to do? He couldn't make Merlin go through with something like this! It was a very invasive process, and probably even more humiliating for Merlin to know that not only was his uncle seeing him like that, but so was his father-in-law.

"No." Uther answered immediately. It was bad enough that all of this was happening to their family, to his son. It was horrible enough that they needed to have something like this done in the first place. But he was not going to sit there and watch his 'son-in-law' undress, so that he could lay out on a table before spreading his legs so that Gaius could inspect his hole for signs of penetration. Besides, he trusted the physician, there was no need to sit in.

Gaius let out the brief exhale of relief before he bowed again. "Yes, sire." And then bowing again, Gaius backed out of the room, leaving Uther alone to his thought's.

X

Deep within the bowels of Camelot castle not even half an hour later, "What?" Madame Teresa exclaimed, looking as if she was about ready to throw arms. She threw her marking stick and measuring tape onto the table in front of her, and threw herself to her feet before she slammed her hands onto the table. "The king is requesting us to make a garment for Consort Merlin?"

The servant in front of her was shaking like a leaf, as she had always found herself intimidated by the older woman. "Y-yes, Madame Teresa." The serving girl said in a shaking tone. "The king pulled me away from my duties so that I could inform you. Consort Merlin will need something suitable to wear for the winner's celebration party after the tournament is completed."

Madame Teresa got straight to business, spinning around to glare daggers through her wired frame glasses at her two assistants kneeling on the floor, struggling to hem a dress, "Rebecca! Rachael! Drop everything! Consort Merlin needs our expertise and we only have a few days to pull something together."

"That's more than the day or two we had for his wedding clothes." Rachael remarked dryly, more than happy to drop her threading needle. This particular dress was made out of a sheer material that practically made hemming it far more difficult than it should be.

"Which means it has to be perfect since we have extra time to work on it. And luckily, we already have his measurements!" Madame Teresa said, snatching open one of the drawers in her desk that had her more important paperwork in it. She had another drawer just like it with all of he extra necessary paperwork, but this drawer in particular only held four scrolls.

The one with the red ribbon tied around it was for Uther's measurements, redone every year to mark for growth or change in the body. The one with the pale pink ribbon was for Morgana, and the bright yellow one was for Arthur's. The newest one, held a vivid blue ribbon tied around it, marking it as the one that held Merlin's.

She jerked the newest scroll out with a flourish, waving it around in an overexcited demeanor.

"Let's get started! I want him to love this just as much as he absolutely adored his wedding clothes!" Rebecca naively said in a bright tone, grabbing for one of the many rolls of colored fabric they had stacked around the room.

As the three ladies got to work, the serving girl was quick to duck out while she still could, grateful that she had made it before Madame Teresa tried to give her fashion advice for clothes that she could never afford herself.

X

It had been hours since the tournament had ended, and the sky outside his window was starting to darken as the minutes passed by.

Merlin had retreated to his room in the castle after what had happened with Arthur. He was sitting cross legged on his big and luxurious bed, with his magic book opened in front of him.

"Come on, damn it." Merlin grumbled under his breath, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He took what must have been his umpteenth calming breath, forcing himself to relax before he tried again.

Merlin raised his head and looked at his door where he had the lock firmly put in place. He raised his hand and whispered the unlocking spell for the thousandth time. But just like before, all the lock did was wiggle before it went still.

"Ugh, come on!" Merlin exclaimed, shoving the book away from him to the foot of his bed. And then he was throwing himself back to lay across his sheets.

He stared blankly up at his canopy.

If all he was doing was thinking about it, the lock would have already flipped over and unlocked. But since he was trying to master the actual spell, it was just so much harder than he thought it would be.

A spell as small and as simple as the one Merlin was attempting to do, didn't take much magic to use in the first place. But the problem was that Merlin had so much magic flowing through him, that he wasn't able to concentrate hard enough to force his magic down to the tiniest participle. He supposed he should just be happy that he hadn't made the lock explode with how much force he kept trying to put into it.

Not to mention...Merlin sighed, raising his hands so that they rested on the pillow above his head. He stared sullenly up at his canopy, knowing exactly why this spell was causing him so many difficulties.

Arthur.

How was Merlin supposed to concentrate on something so simple, when he still had Arthur swimming around in his head. It was like every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that look of upmost terror on his face.

And no matter how many times he went back over it in his head, he couldn't figure out what exactly had happened. One minute they were doing what they did best, arguing. And the next, Arthur refused to let him anywhere near him.

Merlin let out a deep exhale of breath, struggling to understand what had gone so wrong in such a short expanse of time. He knew that it couldn't be him, he hadn't done anything to Arthur.

So why had he suddenly looked so terrified by Merlin's mere presence?

A sudden and quick paced knock was suddenly on his door, and Merlin jolted up on his bed, looking both panicked and startled. Almost as if he thought whoever was at his door would know what he'd been thinking about.

And Merlin felt strangely...protective, over what had happened with Arthur. He didn't want anyone else to know what had happened, to start asking questions and doubting their prince because of how he'd reacted to something terrifying.

Even though Merlin wanted to know himself, he had other thing's to worry about. Like making sure Arthur never looked that terrified, and stricken, again.

The knock was back, sounding impossibly faster and more frantic than it had been moments before. "Sir Merlin! Sir Merlin! May I come in?" It was George, and Merlin felt the tense muscles in his shoulder's start to relax.

It was just George, who was now wiggling his locked doorknob trying to get in.

"Sir Merlin? Are you there? Why is this door locked?"

Merlin shook his head, pushing his thoughts about Arthur to where they would stay lingering in the back of his mind, before pushing himself up off the bed. "I'm coming, George." He called to the door as he walked across the length of the room. Not for the first time, he wondered why one person like himself needed this much space.

Merlin had barely opened the door an inch before George was squeezing through the gap, rounding around Merlin and turning his back to the rest of the room.

"Oh, Sir Merlin! Thank goodness I found you!" George exclaimed, sounding relieved and breathing hard. As if he had ran all over the castle looking for Merlin before he finally decided to check his room.

Merlin frowned, "Is something wrong? Did something happen?" He asked, baffled by George's frantic response. And his first thought shot to Arthur, and he could still see that terrified expression burned into his brain, it was something that he'd probably never be able to unsee every time he closed his eye's.

"You are needed in the grand hall." George said plainly, and Merlin felt himself stiffen at those ominous words.

"...Needed?" Merlin asked weakly, a shot of nerves shooting down his spine. Being needed was never a good thing for him. He was needed in Camelot to be married, he was needed to be near Arthur to save his life that day, and he was needed to leave the tournament stadium to come across Arthur's terror. "...Whatever for?"

"Why, the reception, of course." George said obviously. "It's preparing to begin and you are the only one that has yet to arrive. As consort, we should have gotten there long before everyone else has. But I do apologize as I have lost track of you after the tournament ended."

That was probably more Merlin's fault than it had been George's. If George had stuck around looking for him, then no wonder he hadn't found him, Merlin had never gone back after what had happened with Arthur.

Merlin could feel himself start to relax some, "So this is just another consort thing?" He said relieved. He hadn't known what he had been expecting instead. To be thrown on his knees before the king and forced to admit that yes, he did have magic. Or maybe something horrible had happened to Arthur. And then he'd spend his entire life wondering if he could have somehow prevented it if he'd just followed Arthur instead of giving him the space he had clearly needed.

He still wasn't entirely sure if being needed for a 'consort duty' was any better than the first two options.

"Yes, Sir Merlin." George said, giving a little bow of his head. "It's the reception, and everyone in the royal family is necessary. It would probably be a high insult for the noble knights if somebody skipped out on it. And they are greatly eager to meet their new Consort."

"I'm sure they are." Merlin grumbled, already dreading what this 'reception' was supposed to be about. It was just more arrogant knights to what, parade 'the commoner' in front of them, like he was some kind of side show freak.

George smiled, and started to turn around to face the rest of the room. At the exact same time, Merlin's eye caught something just over George's shoulder, laying spread open at the foot of his bed. Merlin went stiff as his nerves shot down his spine again.

"The reception!" Merlin blurted out before George could fully turn around. George whipped his head back to look at him startled. Merlin laughed sheepishly, forcing himself to calm down even as his eye's darted back over to the book constantly. It was a thick and leather bound book with weird writing on the cover, and it was obvious that it wasn't an ordinary book. One glimpse and George might be able to tell what it was in an instant. Seeing George watching him with a perplexed expression, Merlin cleared his throat, forcing himself to stop looking over George's shoulder. "What exactly is this reception? What do I have to do..."

Merlin cut himself off by giving an over elaborate cough, bringing up his elbow to cover his face as he coughed into it. Behind George, the book flipped shut with a dull thud.

George seemed to brighten up at Merlin's question, "Oh, it's very simple really! It's pretty much just a meet-and-greet. The winner's of the first round are meeting the royal family, it's a great honor to be included."

Merlin let out a loud sneeze, bringing his hands up to cover at his face. Behind George, the book started sliding across the sheet's toward's the head of the bed.

"Are you sick, Sir Me-"

"No, no!" Merlin said quickly, glancing around as the book stopped on top of his many pillows. "I was just, uh, wondering...do I really need to be at this thing?" He asked weakly, just trying to buy himself some more time to get the book out of view. Any second now, George could spin around and then it would be game over for him.

"Oh, yes!" George nodded eagerly. "It is the sacred duty of a consort to be at important events such as this. As a member of the royal family, your presence is all but required. And I'm sure everyone would be highly disappointed if they could not meet you."

Right, member of the royal family, Merlin always seemed to forget that this referred to him as well. And he was pretty sure that George was just exaggerating, nobody would be disappointed just because he didn't show up. And a 'meet-and-greet' didn't sound very 'sacred' to have as one of his 'duties', anyway.

Merlin glanced away from George while he was talking, awkwardly scratching at the side of his neck, using his elbow to briefly hide the flash of his golden eye's.

At the same moment, the book started to move again. It slid until it was pressed up against the headboard, before it started sliding up it in a steady pace.

"Plus, it would be a really great idea to go." George said brightly. "It will really get your face out there, and the more people who recognize you as Camelot's consort, the better everything will be."

The book froze halfway up the headboard of the bed as Merlin turned to look at George confused.

Merlin's eyebrows creased together in confusion, "What do you mean?" And the entire time, the book just hovered on the headboard, as if it had been stuck there by glue.

"Well," George patiently explained. "If more people know your face, and know who you are, then there will be less misunderstanding's. Like with that knight in the hallway..."

It took Merlin a minute to remember what George was talking about. That knight in the hall that Merlin had pantsed to escape after he'd bragged about how he could get the king to punish him in a *snap*. The same knight that had busted in on him and Arthur later that same day. He'd all but had forgotten him after Arthur had freaked out on him.

"Oh, him." Merlin scoffed dismissively. And when George averted his eye's, Merlin's flashed gold. The book started making it's way back up the headboard.

"Yes, Sir Merlin. Are you sure that we shouldn't involve the king in the matter? I'd be more than happy to inform him on your behalf..."

Merlin waved a hand, glancing over George's shoulder as the book reached the top of the headboard. "I said don't worry about it. It's none of his concern." It wasn't like it was anything to worry about anyway, it wasn't like the knight had done anything worse than the king's own son had done to him. Arthur seemed to like manhandling him as well, and giving him empty threat's.

"But-" George was cut off by a loud thunk as the book fell into the little cubby hole behind the headboard. He started to turn, "What was tha-"

"Arthur!" Merlin blurted out before George could question anything more on the strange noise. George whipped back around, looking at Merlin confused. Merlin grinned sheepishly, "You uh, you said that this reception was for all of the first round winners? So doesn't that mean that Arthur will be there as well?"

Still frowning, George nodded, "Yes. The prince will be among the first round competitor's."

"Perfect! Then let's go!" Merlin snatched up George's wrist and started dragging him out of the room. Merlin glanced back inside the room, making sure that there was no sign of him having been practicing magic, before he slammed the door firmly shut. Turning back to George, he said, "The Grand Hall, right?"

And before George could answer, Merlin was already hurrying down the hall. George was quick to follow, practically falling all over his heels so that he wouldn't be left behind in Merlin's wake.

As Merlin started down the stairs, his steps picked up the pace just the slightest bit. Maybe he was a bit to eager to see Arthur, nothing he had done since he'd last seen him had gotten the blonde out of his mind. He'd worried and fidgeted, wondering if Arthur was alright.

Maybe he just needed to see him for himself, to know that Arthur was okay.

X

Arthur had to use everything he had to stop his finger's from twitching at side, from thumping and rapping against his thigh as a thrum of anxiousness shot through him.

He was a prince, damn it, he didn't get nervous. Especially because of some peasant boy, even if said peasant boy was also his husband.

But the longer the wait was, the more anxious he felt.

Arthur had spent the last several hours since he'd left the stadium, holed up in his room so that nobody would see him in the state that he was in. He'd even had to send Morris away when the manservant kept trying to come in and help him prepare for this reception. As if that hadn't sent more of an anxious vibe threw him, knowing that Merlin would be here tonight.

That was why he'd taken his time cleaning up, trying to waste as much time as possible before having to come down here. It was why he'd sent Morris away, because he didn't want his manservant to do thing's faster.

But no matter how slow it took, eventually, his time had run out.

The last time he'd seen that brat of his, was when Arthur was having a mental freak out. But really, who could blame him for freaking out like he had? He'd just been accused of having Merlin as a, what? A plaything?

Arthur didn't even want to admit that he didn't totally hate it when Merlin was nearby, when he was close to Merlin. But doing all of the thing's that one might with a 'plaything?' Those were things that were so far out of the realm of possibility, that it had shaken Arthur to the core.

And made him want to stay away from Merlin.

If Merlin had somehow managed to make Arthur not totally hate being around him, then he was almost scared to find out what else Merlin would make Arthur not totally hate.

And he did not want to find out anytime soon.

Arthur waited with baited breath as he and the line of first round winner's started being led into the grand hall where he knew his family was waiting. The dark room was lit up by the dozens of candles spread around. It was empty except for a few guards standing off to the side, and his family that stood on the far side of the room to welcome them. His father, Morgana, and...nobody?

Arthur with stiff, and he felt something harden in his chest. His father and Morgana were waiting in the front of the room, but Merlin wasn't with them. Here he was panicking, and Merlin hadn't even bothered to so up?

He was making Arthur feel this dread for their next meeting, and he couldn't even make it to the one event that he was supposed to be at?

Arthur felt that muscle in his jaw twitching again. That brat was probably off making a spectacular of himself. Maybe he was off laughing, and having himself a good old time, telling everybody what had happened back in the stadium.

Arthur felt the color draining from his face and he nearly stumbled in an uncharacteristic action before he righted himself up. He hadn't even considered that Merlin might not have any reservation's about spreading it around.

God help that brat when Arthur found him.

X

"I must apologize for your state in wardrobe, Sir Merlin." George was saying, and Merlin nearly stumbled over the bottom step as he reached the end of the grand staircase.

Merlin's head whipped around, "What about my clothes?" He asked, confused. He glanced down at his worn out wardrobe, and tugged on the bottom of his shirt that was clinched around his waist by the belt his Uncle had given him.

"I mean no disrespect, of course." George was saying. "I would have had something prepared for today if I had realized that you didn't have any fitting clothes. Luckily, the king saw that something was being fitted for you. So we'll have to make do today, but Madame Teresa should have something prepared for you the next time it's needed."

Merlin felt himself pale a little, remembering the last time he had worn such wealthy garments, his wedding clothes. The rich silk had made his skin itch, unaccustomed to wearing such soft fabrics. And he had felt clumsy and awkward, as if he was nothing more than a child playing dress up in his mother's clothes.

"I don't really need new clothes, I'm fine in the one's I have." Merlin said quickly, as they started walking down the long hall that would lead them to the Grand Hall, just trying to find any excuse as to why he shouldn't be wearing any of that rich stuff that nobility was so fond of.

"And as great as they are." George said, glancing at Merlin's clothes with an uncertain tone to his word's. "There are just some events that will be unavoidable. And yes, they do require some semblance of getting dressed up."

Merlin sighed, raising a hand to scratch his nails roughly through his hair, "I don't have to be dressed up again by Madame Teresa, do I?" As much as he liked her, she was also a bit intimidating for such a small woman.

"Of course not." George answered brightly. "Madame Teresa already has your measurements from when she did your wedding clothes. So I'll be the one to dress you when they are needed."

Merlin stared at George blankly, not really sure that his manservant was getting the point of what he meant. He didn't need help being dressed up, not now and not ever. "Nope, no, no, no. Not happening, I'm perfectly content with my own clothes."

And then Merlin was hurrying ahead, ignoring George's protests about protocol and how thing's needed to be done a certain way for certain events.

"Don't you at least want to be prepared for the reception?" George finally took a breath to ask as they were nearing the Grand Hall.

Merlin finally glanced back over his shoulder at the boy that was staying half a step behind him. "...Like what?" He asked, not certain that he wanted to hear what was expected from him. But then again, any bit of advice would probably be good, lest he embarrass himself again.

George brightened up, happy that his very difficult master was opening up to his help. "Well, first thing first is your posture." Merlin frowned, and George gave him a sharp poke in the small of his back, making him yelp with surprise. "Stop slouching, nobody will respect you if you walk as if you just came off the field's."

"I did just come off the fields!" Merlin protested. "My entire home is nothing but field land." But despite his complaining, he felt himself straightening up just the slightest bit. On his own accord, of course, and not because George had pointed it out. Nope, of course it wasn't because of George...

George kept talking as if Merlin hadn't interrupted, "Now, there are several things you could do with just your body language alone. I wish we had more time to go over acceptable thing's to say, and things that should be avoided-"

"Like not talking to any champion more than the other as I don't want to show favoritism." Merlin said sarcastically, his tone dry, as he recalled that tidbit of information he had read from that stupid book on tournament etiquette that Arthur had given him.

George didn't seem to register his sarcastic tone before he was saying an excited, "Exactly!" Merlin dropped his head in disbelief before a sharp poke to his back forced him to straighten back up. Were manservants supposed to be this aggressive? Or was it just his?

"Now, there are other things to remember other than your posture." George was saying again. "First thing to remember is that you are important now. You're not a commoner, you're a noble."

Merlin's head whipped around to look at George, feeling as if there was a chain tightening around his heart. A noble, as much as Merlin protested being one, that was exactly what he was supposed to be now. And he hated it as much as he hated being married against his will.

Even if he had started to grow...fond...of Arthur, that didn't mean he appreciated his choice in life partner being taken out of the equation.

George kept talking, taking great pains to explain exactly what Merlin should do as they neared the hall. "Whenever you speak, you need to make sure that you speak clearly and firmly. And do try not to insult anybody with your responses."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but then stopped and thought for a minute. Then Merlin closed his mouth with a clank of teeth against teeth because okay, that was fair.

George took this opportunity to explain, "As long as whatever you say is clear and concise, nobody will dare question you or your answers."

Merlin had a feeling that this whole thing was going to end very badly, and probably for him more than anybody else. Shaking his head, he commented in a dry tone, "That'd be a first." But that was probably just to hide his nerves. The more George talked, the more nervous he got about what was going to be happening.

It was just like his wedding, where he was being thrown into the deep end without actually knowing how to swim.

George finished off his explanation with a firm, "The most important thing to remember is that you are not just a commoner. You are one of them now, so act as if you're just as important. Make sure to look them in the eye when you talk, because as consort, you're much higher in status then any of them are. The only people higher than you in this entire kingdom, is King Uther and Prince Arthur themselves, so do try not to be scared when you're faced with the knights our nobility has to offer."

Merlin's head whipped around, "Scared? Who said anything about being scared?" But his voice cracked somewhere in the middle. It wasn't that he was scared, he'd done been married off in front of half the noble population of the city so this would probably be a piece of cake compared to that. But he was definitely anxious, not sure what to expect or what everyone was expecting from him.

He didn't really know much of anything. But he did know that they were probably expecting more from him than he was able to give them. Whatever expectations these knights had, he just knew he was doomed to disappoint them.

To disappoint not only them, but the king and Arthur as well. And the worse part? He knew that he was probably going to disappoint himself.

And this entire time, as Merlin felt himself starting to drown in self-doubt, George was giving him tips and things to remember before he got there. But he couldn't understand a single word the manservant said, feeling that thrum of anxiousness going through him.

"Merlin! Thank goodness!"

Merlin's head snapped up, his expression freezing as he saw Gwen standing in front of the doors to the Grand Hall. She was wringing her hands anxiously in the folds of her skirts, looking relieved as she saw him and George approaching.

Gwen hurried down the length of the hall so that she could walk the rest of the way at his side. "Everything has already started. Lady Morgana sent me to make sure that you were coming."

Merlin felt a spike of nerves go through him. So, not only was he going to have to go out there and entertain some knights that he had no actual interest in entertaining, he was also coming in late to do it. Could this get any worse.

"How is everything in there?" Merlin asked, looking with drawing horror as they stopped in front of the door's. He just needed a moment here to take a breath, and to calm himself down. All he needed was to make sure that he didn't look as if he was about to walk into his own execution.

"A few people have already gone. I don't think anybody's really mentioned you being late, but I think they'll think it's bad form if they comment on it." Gwen explained, looking as if she was almost more anxious than Merlin actually was.

Merlin nodded, staring up at the door's and really not wanting to go in at all. What he wanted was to go back to his room and drown in his own worries over rather or not... "Arthur." Merlin said, whipping around to face Gwen. "He is there, right? How did he look?"

Merlin couldn't imagine Arthur going through with this whole thing if he still looked as terrified as he had been earlier. He may still be getting to know the prince, but he was pretty confident that Arthur wouldn't allow his own people to see him in that state of terror. Surely he would have made some excuse to get out of this if he hadn't managed to calm himself down in the hours since Merlin had seen him.

Gwen was looking at him with a frown of confusion, "Yes, he's in there. He looks...nice." She sounded uncertain, as if she didn't know what Merlin was asking. "I mean, he's looking very handsome tonight. He's all cleaned up and his armor has been freshly polished after his figh-"

Merlin felt himself flushing uncomfortable because no, he had definitely not meant to make it sound as if he was wanting to check out Arthur. "No, no!" He said quickly, feeling the heat growing on his face. "I mean, does he look okay? Does he seem as if everything's okay?"

And this was really verging on Merlin telling Gwen about Arthur's sudden spike of terror. But at the same time, he just felt as if he needed to know if everything was okay with the blonde, before he actually saw him.

Gwen was still looking at him confused, but nodded her head. "Yeah, he looked fine. Maybe a little irritated but..."

"That's nothing new." Merlin said dismissively. And knowing Arthur like he did, it was probably somehow his fault that the blonde was irritated at all. Most likely because he was late, but then again, Merlin always seemed to be late even when he was aware of things beforehand.

"Okay, okay." Gwen said, looking as if she couldn't stand to sit there any longer. Tired of fidgeting with her own dress, she started fidgeting with Merlin. Readjusting his neckerchief, and tugging on the collar of his jacket and smoothing out his shirt. "Are you ready for this?" She knew full well how intimidating going into a room of nobles could be, and that was when she was largely being ignored as just the serving girl coming in to tend to her mistress. She couldn't imagine going in and being the actual center of attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Merlin said, staring at the large door's nobody had made a move to go through yet, but he definitely didn't sound fine. "I mean, how bad could it be? It's not like their gonna eat me." He stopped and looked at the two servants standing before him. "They're not gonna eat me, right?" His voice came out all squeaky like.

"Going to." George corrected. "The proper way to say that sentence is 'they are not going to eat me, are they?' You don't want to go in there sounding like a servant. You want to make sure that you sound like you belong, like your just as much a noble as they are."

"...No, I'm pretty sure I don't want to be a noble." Merlin said, looking completely serious. As a child, like anybody had at one point or the other, he had wondered what it would be like to be among nobility, to be one of them. But if he only knew then what kind of things he would have to do, he wouldn't have wasted his time.

"Well be that as it may, this is who you are now." George said primly, stepping forward and waving Gwen's hands away from Merlin's neck with an almost jealous looking frown. And it was from there that George took over, fixing Merlin's neckerchief so that it pointed in the opposite direction from what Gwen had done with it. "Which means you are going to go out there and talk yourself a good game. If there are any knights in there who are doubting Uther's decision with your marriage to Arthur, then it's your job to turn them around on the subject."

It seemed as if George had more confidence in Merlin, then he had in himself. Because while George kept talking, Merlin just felt that anxiousness in his belly growing.

Merlin leaned over so that he could whisper to Gwen as George started dusting off the back of his jacket, "Is there anyway to get a manservant to stop?" Because the more George talked, the less confident that Merlin felt. Yeah, Merlin was one hundred percent confident, confident that something was going to go wrong.

Gwen leaned in to whisper back, looking almost amused by Merlin's grudging distress, "Other manservant's, easily a yes. George? A definite no."

Merlin hung his head, and brought his hand up to scratch through his dark locks of hair as he groaned in defeat, it looked as if George would be sticking to him for a while. But of course, that was when George waved Merlin's hand out of the way and failed when he tried to smooth his unruly hair into place.

Which didn't exactly endear Merlin to the manservant.

"Okay, okay!" Merlin had to wave his hands around to get George to stop trying to rearrange whatever brief changes to his wardrobe that Gwen had done. "I think I've been prepped enough, let's just get this over with."

And before Merlin could talk himself out of this, or before he could change his mind, he stepped forward and pushed one of the doors opened, just wide enough for him to squeeze through followed by Gwen and George.

He had been hoping that he'd be able to slip in unnoticed. He'd thought he could just casually slide his way passed all of the knights and to the front of the room where Uther and Morgana were standing. Being a commoner in Camelot, he'd been hoping would aide him in going unnoticed until he got to where he was supposed to be.

But he forgot one thing.

He wasn't a commoner anymore, and some people actually had been at his wedding and knew exactly who he was.

Merlin clamped his hands over his ears when a sudden horn started to blow right beside his head, easily gathering the attention of everybody inside. As if they'd rehearsed it, every head in the room whipped around to see who was just now entering the room.

"Now introducing," a man called out, lowering his horn from his lips. He was dressed in all armor, but it was obvious that he wasn't one of the competitors. "Sir Consort Merlin, husband to Prince Arthur!"

And if the horn itself hadn't gathered everyone's attention, that little announcement sure did.

X

Arthur had thought that he'd worked through most of his earlier panic. He'd had a few hours to calm himself down, and even though it had briefly returned when he first entered the room when he'd been expecting to see Merlin, he'd had these few extra minutes to work through things again behind a blank face.

Things like, acknowledging that he had no idea when it had started, when he'd stopped feeling sick just by getting near the kid. Maybe it had been when Arthur had been to busy trying to get Gaius to agree not to tell Uther that he hasn't taken Merlin. Maybe it had been when Arthur had dragged the brat off for a quick training session only to insult him before leaving, or maybe it had been when Arthur had dragged Merlin into that stupid alcove and refused to let him leave. Or who knows? Maybe it had been when Arthur had first gotten close to him on purpose, when he'd been trying to force answers out of him after he learned that Merlin had taken his armor.

Or was it when Arthur had to drag him away from all of those staring knights when one of his own knights had tried to attack him.

The point was, he didn't know when it had all started. Maybe it had always been there, lurking in the background since the day they met, and Arthur had been to full of anguish over his arranged marriage to pay it any attention.

All of these memories had been a blur in his head as he had tried to figure it out, but there wasn't one singular moment that he could pinpoint where it had started.

But none of that was important right now, because the moment that horn had started up again after announcing his father and Morgana earlier, his dread had returned worse than it had ever been before.

Arthur knew that Merlin had just entered before the announcer had even said his name. And that was just confirmed when he turned around to see Merlin standing in the doorway.

Watching him across the room, with his hands clamped over his ears and glaring annoyed at the announcer, Arthur was forced to realize something.

He may be forced to be around Merlin due to their common duties, but outside of that, he would have to stay away from him.

Far away.

Because being around Merlin, it had a hint of danger to it that Arthur could practically taste on his tongue. It wasn't the kind of danger that could hurt Arthur physically, it was a different type of danger that he'd never felt before. The type that should be avoided at all cost, the type that Would be avoided at all cost.

Arthur Pendragon would just have to spend the rest of his life, making sure that he was never alone with Merlin again.

X

Merlin moved with the upmost caution, positive that the horn blower would do it again and burst up his eardrums this time. But when the man made no move to do so, Merlin cautiously lowered his hands away from his ears.

"Nobody told me that there was going to be an announcement." Merlin hissed out the corner of his mouth, looking sheepish as he met eye's with the rest of the room. He felt as if he was some kind of alien, some kind of anomaly with some of the looks he was getting.

"You're royal, of course their going to announce your entrance." Gwen hissed back, carefully rearranging herself just behind Merlin on his right.

"Just start walking until you stand on the other side of Lady Morgana." George instructed, rearranging himself just behind Merlin on his left.

"Right, right." Merlin whispered back, half talking more to himself than to them. But really, how was he supposed to know that? It wasn't like he'd spent a great abundance of time with royalty before all of this. He smiled sheepishly, trying to straighten himself up and actually look as if he belonged here. "I'll just...go up there." And he could see Morgana and Uther on the far side of the room, looking at him as all of their knights were.

He'd only taken a few steps across the room before he froze completely, causing Gwen and George to almost run into him from behind. But Merlin didn't feel them, feeling as if he'd been caught and physically could not move.

Merlin had just caught eye's with Arthur.

And clearly Gwen had been wrong, because Arthur didn't look fine at all. Most people probably would have thought that Arthur was fine, but most people probably hadn't spent such a recent amount of time with him either.

Merlin could see it though, in the minute details of Arthur's face. Things like the clench of his jaw, or the way his eye's were ever so slightly narrowed. He didn't look as terrified as he had the last time Merlin had seen him, and that was a relief. But then again, Merlin did have to question how much he was seeing, because Arthur had a strangely guarded expression on his face.

Clearly, Merlin saw more than other's. But he also didn't see as much as he would have liked. He wanted to force that guarded expression off of Arthur's face one piece at the time, until he knew exactly what secrets Arthur was hiding.

Merlin knew all about keeping secrets.

Merlin was willing to wait on all of the secret's that Arthur had clearly been hiding from him back when they had been talking in that stupid alcove. Arthur had been so angry, and looked so tired as well.

But things were different now, because whatever secrets Arthur was hiding, had left him looking stricken. And maybe Merlin was just worried right now, because he had to use everything he had to stop himself from marching straight up to Arthur and asking him if he was alright.

Merlin felt a soft nudge to the square of his back, "Merlin, we really should get moving." Gwen hissed from behind him. And that was probably the only reason Merlin didn't give in and make a straight bee line to where Arthur stood.

"We do appear to be holding up the proceedings." George pointed out. And that was probably the only way that Merlin got his let's to stop feeling like jello long enough for him to force his leg's to work.

It was as he was passing Arthur, that the prince seemed to realize that he was showing to much expression on his face. And he seemed to shut down completely, going from a guarded expression to a strangely blank face. The kind that left chills going down Merlin's spine, because he could not see even a hint of emotion on his face.

Merlin came to the realization that he much preferred the guarded expression Arthur had been wearing. Because at least then, he could see the minute details of emotion that Arthur had been trying to hide beneath the surface.

X

Valiant's expression was even more blank than Arthur's was. While Arthur was blank, Valiant's almost resembled being dead.

Watching the last member of the Pendragon family make his grand appearance at last, he made no noticeable mark that he recognized the boy as that stupid servant that had crossed his path. Nor that he recognized what he had assumed was Arthur's whore on the side.

It was only after Merlin had walked passed him in the line of knights, without seeming to notice him, did his lips twitch upwards into the hint of a cruel smirk.