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!

45. Chapter 45

Merlin had told Arthur to not remove the red neckerchief from around his bicep, had all but outright said that it was a symbol that he was wanting a relationship with him. And that was probably why-was probably his deciding factor-that Arthur decided to fuck it. Merlin wasn't somebody who could give him orders, and Arthur was almost indignant that for one second, he thought he could.

Arthur could have just taken the neckerchief off, could have just left it fallen somewhere on the ground before marching out onto the field with every intention of showing off his bare arms. It might had been better if he had done that, it probably would have saved him a lot of grief later on.

But he didn't know any of what was to come.

He did know just one thing though, it was the one factor that Arthur found himself clinging to. He wanted to hurt Merlin. Everything had gone wrong ever since the boy had arrived and tried to take a wild swing at him. Arthur had been humiliated by having to wed the boy in front of everybody, and then again the time that Valiant had stumbled upon them in the hallway. Arthur had gone through hell and high water just to make sure that they would most definitely not have to consummate their marriage, and to make sure that his father wouldn't discover the truth. He'd been forced to spend time with him, and had pretty much detested every minute.

And then Merlin just had to go and make everything worse with the latest stunt that he had just tried to pull.

So yes, Arthur wanted to hurt Merlin. To do something outrageous that would really drill in the message, something that only the boy would understand his meaning by doing. He was the only one (other than Markus)-at least Arthur hoped that Merlin hadn't gone around blabbing what he was planning-who would know what Arthur had done. He would be able to hurt Merlin, and save himself from having any embarrassment by using this false favor as he drilled the message into Merlin's thick skull.

Arthur looked down at his arm, watching with a numb fascination as Lady Clarissa's slim hands with their painted fingernails started working on untying the knot Merlin had made of it. Just like his cape, Merlin clearly had no idea the proper way of tying things.

"Whoever put this on you really did a number on it, didn't they?" Lady Clarissa said in her thick and accented voice, her smile a little to forceful even as she tugged just a little more roughly than she had been before to loosen up the knot.

"Tell me about it," Arthur said quietly, talking more to himself than he was talking to the woman. His eye's didn't leave her fingers as she finally managed to worm a fingernail into the knot and wiggled it looser.

"There we go," Lady Clarissa said, giving him a gentle and womanly smile as the prince felt the favor slacken up. Arthur didn't look back up at her, if only because he could feel the way the heartstrings in his chest starting to ease up as the neckerchief was.

Arthur cleared his throat, he'd had this awful tightening in his chest the second that it had registered to him what Merlin had just given to him. But watching it be removed now, and watching Lady Clarissa toss it over her elbow so that it was out of her way, he couldn't take his eyes off of the red cloth clashing horribly against the color of her dress.

"...Your favor..." Arthur spoke up, his voice sounding almost croaky, and he had to clear his throat all over again to make it stop. He glanced up just in time to see the slow smile working across her face.

"Careful, Prince Arthur." Lady Clarissa said with her pleased smile growing just a touch, as she tried to tease him, "You sound almost eager to have the favor of somebody who is not your consort on your arm."

Lady Clarissa was the perfect woman for him to use, the perfect person to give him this replacement favor, somebody who he didn't even have to track down for himself. She couldn't have arrived at a more fortunate moment, even if she asked a lot of unwanted questions.

"My consort..." Arthur said slowly, choosing his words very carefully lest she decide to withdraw her favor if he said the wrong thing, "...does not exactly have the best taste when it comes to things of this matter." He glanced back down at the neckerchief slung over her elbow, almost as if he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

Lady Clarissa seemed to follow her eyes, and an almost graceful blush decorated high on her cheekbones as she seemed to realize just who it was that had given the neckerchief to Arthur. But instead of embarrassing herself with given him a thousand of apologies for possibly speaking out of turn and insulting Camelot's consort, she just shook her head with a dreadful expression, "Oh my, oh my, I can see what you mean by having absolutely no taste. Tell me, how did he win your heart enough for a marriage to be possible if this is what he has to offer?"

Arthur felt his face go blank, a mask that he had perfected a few years ago when it came to making unwanted small talk, "My consort has other worthy attributes that does not take away from his lack of taste."

As much as it pained Arthur, he could almost feel the ash on the back of his tongue-and his tongue did twist easily as they formed the pretty words-but it was just one more thing for him to lie about. He could see that the Lady Clarissa was going to be his temporary salvation, but that was not a good reason for him to go spilling his guts with the truth.

"I do hope that is true, I cannot wait to meet the man that managed to find his place within the royal family." Lady Clarissa said, as she finally reached out and put a hand on his bicep, and along with it came the delicate looking and clearly feminine favor.

"Oh, don't look forward to that," Arthur said dryly, looking almost eager as he watched as the maiden took her time to casually tie her favor in the same spot that Merlin's had just been resting. "He's terrible really. He doesn't know how to take a joke, and he's always getting in my way, and even though he's only held a sword once I don't see him having a promising career with it, not even to save his life."

The woman blinked, looking confused as hell by these sudden words, and Arthur really did wish that he could swallow his tongue in that moment. It wasn't like anything he had said this time was actually a lie, but he also hadn't meant to say that out loud. At least not to a Lady, instead of to his Consort's face.

He smiled wearily, and Lady Clarissa seemed to take that as to mean he was just joking about with her. "Oh, you are such a character, Prince Arthur." Lady Clarissa said, the sound of her laughter was light and twinkling when Merlin's was loud and irritating to him ears. It was a sharp contrast to be sure, and Arthur forced his smile to be just a little wider at her sound. "I am glad that I came down here when I did." She finished off, giving a sharp tug onto her favor to secure it around his bicep.

"And you have no idea how pleased I am that you did." Arthur said, feeling something in his tense shoulders start to relax as he glanced back down at the newest piece of cloth on his arm.

It was just long enough to be tied around him, and the edges poked out because of how short it was. The end's weren't long enough to reach down to his elbows like Merlin's had been. The color-even though standing out against the grey steel of his armor-was sheer and could be easy to miss due to the delicacy of it. It didn't stand out like a sore thumb with the brightness of it, looking as if it could go through the worse conditions (if it hadn't done so already) and still stand out. The Lady Clarissa had only tied it tight enough to keep it secure, but not so tight that it would be a constant reminder that it was there.

Arthur could almost forget that it was there in the first place.

"So, Prince Arthur," Lady Clarissa's voice had to drag Arthur away from looking at his new favor. She was holding Merlin's red cloth with two dainty little fingers, by the edges, as if she was considering she might get a disease if she touched it more. "Whatever shall we do with this?"

Arthur's eye's dropped down to the cloth in her fingers, and for just a second, he briefly considered what Merlin would think when he saw the blonde walk out onto the field with a favor given to him by somebody else. Sure, Merlin would be the only one to know that he had replaced his, but would he still feel the embarrassment of knowing that he'd been rejected-would he feel it publicly?

Arthur's doubt over his decision to switch the favors only lasted for the blimp of a heartbeat before he shoved it aside. He forgot to have his decorum about him as he practically snatched Merlin's favor out of her fingertips.

"Don't worry about it," he grunted as he rolled it up into a ratty looking ball. And then after a moment's of hesitation where he was considering just dropping it on the floor so it could be picked up diligently and tossed out by the cleaning staff afterwards, he opened up his cloak and stuffed the neckerchief into the pocket where his wedding ring was. "It's unimportant."

He watched blandly as the Lady Clarissa started to delicately wipe the ends of her fingers, the ones she had been using to hold the cloth with, on the skirt of her dress.

X

Outside of the curtains that blocked off the knight's quarters, the knights Charles and Justin watched as Lady Clarissa of the Beckett family left down the hall, looking as if she were the cat that caught the canary.

"I can't believe you actually allowed her to go in." Justin said, looking as if he was greatly disapproving off this move, giving a glare to his guarding partner.

Charles didn't look as if he thought he had done anything wrong by doing this, "She is a Lady, I was not going to deny her entrance to where she wanted to go. The status of a lady from her family is much higher than either one of ours."

Justin still didn't look very impressed by this, "She may be a lady, but she still should not have been permitted. You fought to not have Sir Merlin go in, but you practically held the curtain open for Lady Beckett."

Knight Charles scowled as he narrowed his eyes, proudly defending his point as he said, "Sir Merlin is a commoner, despite the title he has been given. Lady Beckett was born into class, and deserves to be treated as such."

Justin just scoffed at that, turning away so that he could be facing forward, "Even if you are using her to draw the prince's eye's away from his Consort? As if she were a whore that is being used for your own gain."

"Bite your tongue!" Charles snapped with a defensive air about him. "A Lady should never be talked about in such a disgusting manner." Because it was apparently impossible for a Lady of wealth to give up her virtue before she was married.

Justin shook his head, knowing full well just how stuck up Charles was when it came to people's roles in society. According to him, everybody was just supposed to stay where they had been born. It was unnatural to him for somebody to move up in the ranks that were between commoner and noble. And for Merlin, who had been raised from a common farmer with nothing more than the dirt he had been raised with to his name, to become not just a noble but a Royal as well, with all of the gold that he hadn't had to work for now at his disposal...it must have been a nightmare for him.

Neither knight flinched as there was the sudden sound of the horns blowing. This was the sound that meant the match currently in the works had come to an end. It meant that there was now somebody slotted into the final rounds.

X

Merlin found himself struggling to wade through the crowd as everybody surged to their feet to scream as Valiant won his match, throwing his opponent roughly down onto the ground. He yelped, eye's going wide when he tipped over as he was jostled by the people, nearly going down the stairs before he could catch himself.

A hand grabbed him from behind by the scruff of his neck, jerking him back to his feet, "Sir Merlin, come with me." The knight that usually guarded Morgana as she hung around with so many commoners, said with his stiff scowl. But he was pretty sure that was just the knight's personality and not with him personally. "Lady Morgana and her handmaiden have been most anxious about you."

The knight didn't look amused as he nodded his head down the stairs, to where Merlin could just barely see the back of Morgana and Gwen's heads in the first row. The two girl's were clapping politely as Valiant raised his fists into the air to mark his winning. It was clear that the knight could have seen him from where he was usually posted, standing vigilant over his king's ward.

"Er, thanks, I think I can handle it from here." Merlin said quickly, not wanting to have to deal with another 'escort' when he could very well walk himself. He didn't give the knight any time to answer before he was spinning around and heading down the stairs more carefully than he had been before, he didn't plan on breaking his neck before he could break Valiant's.

Maybe he had just been distracted by his concerns over Morris, trying to figure out how a man who was a busybody was also the same man who could deliberately poison another. It just...didn't add up with what little he knew from his interactions with Morris. He was definitely squirly, and was quick to insert himself into things that didn't concern him, but some people could also argue that Merlin was the same way.

It just didn't add up to someone who was secretly a cold blooded murderer.

But none of that mattered right now, not things that had happened over a year before he had even arrived in the city. He would find himself worrying about Morris at another time, he had problems that were a lot more pressing to the present.

Merlin stopped walking when he reached the bottom of the bleachers, knowing that the guard was trailing behind him to make sure that he really didn't meet his end from a broken neck, and stood at Morgana and Gwen's side.

He watched solemnly as a serving boy was placing the little shield on the wall that had Valiant's symbol on it, into the slot that was marking the final's spot. The serving boy took off the second mini-shield, the one that had belonged to the fallen knight Valiant had just won against, and tossed it to the ground to be returned to the knight.

Other than Valiant's shield, there were two more that were still on the wall, fastened to the row below the shield of snakes, in the slot for the semi-finals. It was a shield that clearly belonged to the large knight Merlin had been dumbstruck by back in the quarters for the knights. And the third was Arthur's, the red coloring and golden dragon shining even brighter with the way the sun was catching up on it.

"Merlin!" Morgana called out to him when she finally realized he was standing there. But that may have only been because the guard following him had cleared his throat before giving an announcement, "Consort Merlin has arrived."

Merlin dragged his eye's away from Valiant so that he could take his seat beside her, the two girl's scooting down to make the extra room for him to join them. But then he was looking straight back to Valiant, scowling as he saw the way the knight moved cockily as he started heading back to his quarters.

"Oh, I can't wait anymore!" Gwen exclaimed, her voice loud and squealing as any girl would when caught in what she considered a love story. "Did you give your neckerchief to the prince? Was he pleased when you gave it to him? How did you ask him if he was willing to accept it..." she trailed off as she noticed his expression, the one he had on his face as he had been watching Valiant leaving. "I hope that look on your face doesn't mean that he turned it down!"

Merlin didn't answer at first, watching as Valiant disappeared among the thatch of knights waiting for him at the entranceway to their quarters.

Well, there went his hope that the knight wouldn't make it through the semi-finals. And he hadn't even had to use the shield this time, he still didn't know why he had used it on Ewan. From what Merlin could have seen from the fight, there didn't seem to have been a reason for him to use it, not when he had the upper hand right from the start. But maybe he was smarter than Merlin liked to admit, and that was why he hadn't used it again.

He probably just didn't want to be caught early on if the second knight he fought with caught the same injuries as the first. Not when he had to save his winning hand for his match against Arthur.

"Merlin! Give us some answers!" Morgana exclaimed, giving him a sharp nudge to the side with her elbow. "What happened back there?" Even though she was looking at the consort with hopeful eye's, she was biting down on her bottom lip, a clear sign of her impending nerves. It was a nervous habit of hers, just like Arthur when he would bite his thumbnail in the privacy of his own rooms.

Merlin looked at them baffled, his head was moving back and forth as he found himself glancing between the two girl's near rabid expressions.

"I-yeah...I suppose I did." Merlin said slowly, turning to stare out at the field with a blank expression as the horns started up again, to announce that the next fight was preparing to start. After what he had heard about Morris, and then when he had came out after leaving Mary with her friends who had been standing in the bleachers nearest to the door, the first thing he had seen was Valiant. He had almost forgotten that he had done the one thing that he'd been considering the last few days.

And Arthur hadn't said a single word when he had done it.

But then again, Merlin didn't think that he had given Arthur much of a chance. What he had done was tie it around his arm and demand that he wear it.

Merlin groaned, dropping his forehead into the palm of his hand. He was such a bloody idiot, and he could feel the flush working it's way onto his cheeks when he realized that the girl's were still staring him down. And-another groan built up in his throat-because he still had to figure out what he was going to be doing about Valiant, how he could stop him from whatever he was planning, both with him and with Arthur.

"And so...what was his reaction?" Morgana asked, not sure if how Merlin was behaving was a good sign or not. He didn't look as if he'd just been rejected, and the obvious flush on his cheeks was certainly telling. But also knowing Arthur as she did, she wasn't sure that she wanted to jump to conclusions.

Merlin peeked out from his fingers, looking at the two girl's with an awkward expression, "I don't think you want to know..." he admitted, wondering if Arthur thought he was some kind of coward for ducking out as fast as he had after giving him the favor.

Morgana and Gwen shared a look with each other, clearly deciding with that single look alone that yes, they really did want to know what had happened. And then they were turning back to Merlin, that decision written all over their faces.

Gwen was the first to speak up, that gentle smile of hers on her face, "Merlin, I'm sure that whatever happened back there isn't nearly as bad as you think it was. You don't have to tell us of course-"

"Yes he does!" Morgana cut in. The Lady was already planning Arthur's death if he had done something to upset Merlin. In the short time she'd known him, she actually had found herself liking him more than she thought she would have when she had first heard that the prince was to be married. He wasn't that bad of a guy, better than Arthur for sure, and was probably to good for the blonde man. And if Arthur had let his callous words get away from him this time...yeah, she was gonna kill him.

Gwen glanced towards her mistress, before she was turning back to Merlin, "But you should know that we are here to listen if you want to get something off your chest. I mean, I don't presume to mean that you want to tell us but if you did well, we're..." she trailed off, looking awkward as she finished off in a much weaker tone, "Here." Feeling as if she'd just put her foot in it.

"Well, I didn't exactly give him the time to respond. I...don't think I even asked," Merlin ran a frustrated hand through the thickness of his hair. It hadn't exactly been the romantic gesture he had been hoping he could pull off, he was feeling like he'd just made one big mess out of it all.

Morgana and Gwen shared another uncertain glance, not entirely sure what to make of that comment.

"...What did you do?" Morgana asked slowly, the hesitance clear in her voice. Maybe it was just a gut feeling to her, but Merlin sounded really serious, as if he had just been caught choking Arthur instead of offering him a favor.

"...I told him he better not dare take it off..." Merlin groaned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He looked out at the empty field, the sounds of the crowd around them echoing in his ears, and he shook his head in disbelief.

The crack of a smile involuntarily started to form on his face, as he shook his head. It was just so bloody ridiculous, that there was no way to stop the smile if he tried. And his smile grew even wider when the two girl's looked back at each other before giving their own reactions.

Gwen looked absolutely mortified, as if she couldn't have possibly imagined anything more horrible. Had Merlin actually did what he just claimed, and had demanded that Arthur wear his favor? It was supposed to be an offering! Asking the desire of your heart to accept your gift and subsequently, yourself.

"And then I forcibly tied it around his arm..." Merlin finished off, his grin widening when Morgana at his side, burst into a loud and rumbustious laugh. The girl practically broke into crackling, leaning into Merlin so that she wouldn't fall off the bench she sat on.

"Maybe Arthur actually is right for once, I am such a moron." But from the way Merlin's shoulders were shaking, it was clear that he wasn't doing a very good job at suppressing his own amusement. He was leaned over with his elbows on his knees to keep his balance, and he lowers his head to rest on top of his intertwined hands as he fought against his laughter.

"I can't believe you did that..." Gwen said, sounding almost faint. It was crazy to her that somebody would demand that somebody else wear their favor. And then to not even give them the option of accepting or for them to reject it...anybody else probably would have been arrested for some kind of assault for tying such an important piece of clothing around the arm of a noble knight. And for it to be Arthur, who she knew could be particularly quick with his punishments towards those who had simply annoyed him.

The sounds of the horns started up again, this time it was the announcement for the people to know that the last round before the finals started up tomorrow were starting now. The horns were the one thing that was needed-the one thing that probably would-was enough for it to cut through the waves of chatter erupting all over the bleachers. One by one, everybody shut their mouths as their attention reverted back to the field where the next two opponents were about to emerge from their quarters.

Merlin's head shot up from his lap, and he was straightening up before he realized that he even had. His eyes shot out to look in the direction of the doorway where the knights were going to exit. He leaned forward in his seat, sitting on the very edge of it while he waited with a growing impatience.

"Ooh, look, there they come!" Morgana said, her grin growing wide as the two knights emerged from the doorway. The first to come was the large knight, the one who had biceps that were larger than Merlin's head. And even at a distance now, they still looked kind of intimidating.

"I hope Arthur really is as fast as he claimed." Merlin said quietly, his eye's shooting up and down to take in just how large that man really was. Even though Merlin had just breeched the six foot line and was a tall man himself, this man had to be at least a solid seven foot, if not more. And that wasn't even counting the width of his actual body mass, it was no wonder or mystery how the man had made it so far into the tourney.

"As good as Arthur is, do you really think that he could beat this guy?" Gwen asked with a startled gasp as she saw who the prince's opponent was going to be. Her eyes were large and rounded, a hand raised up to her mouth as she looked at the newest knight.

"Oh, who cares! I wanna see Arthur wearing his favor!" Morgana exclaimed, and then she was nudging Merlin teasingly in the side in her excitement. She had seen Arthur wearing favors before in the last few years, but there was something that was completely different about today. With this particular situation, it was all so new and exciting.

"Don't get to excited, it wasn't exactly my best work." Merlin muttered, reaching up a hand to rub at his shoulder where Morgana had nudged him. But the motion didn't last long because that was when Arthur emerged from the room he was in and out onto the field.

X

Down on the field, Arthur marched out with steady steps, looking as confident and as proud as any Pendragon ought to look. Even facing this new opponent, and with growing nerves twisting in his stomach when he knew that there was a possibility that he could fail, wasn't enough to break his mask of humility and strength.

He had a lot more at stake than just winning a simple tourney. How could he expect his own people to believe and trust in him if he failed at something like this?

The new favor on his arm certainly took some of the anxiousness out of him. He found it easier to walk knowing that it was a floral and ladylike favor instead of feeling the long ends of the one Merlin had given him brushing against the crook of his elbow.

Arthur only stopped walking when he finally reached his destination, standing on the sand in the direct middle of the field. His opponent stood across from him, looking at him with the same calculating look that Arthur had.

His opponent started removing his cape, and Arthur took this as the cue to do his own. Of course, he had to lift it over his head because of the knot Merlin had made of it. But at least this time, he already knew that and didn't waste his time trying to untie it. He just lifted it over his head and tossed it to the guard waiting on the side for it.

The favor on his arm-previously hidden by his thick cloak-was revealed to the public as he was lifting his arms over his head to slide his helmet into place before reaching down for the sword strapped to his hip. His opponent mirrored the movements step by step.

Arthur took a large breath, feeling his lungs as they expanded in his chest. He pulled his sword out of it's scabbard, wielding it with a practiced ease as he held it out in front of him at the ready. He found it easier to breath now, his tensed muscles relaxing at the feel of his blade in his hand. He only felt his best when he had his sword, it was the one thing that he knew that he was unquestionably good at.

It didn't stop his nerves from spiking when he knew that the entirety of the kingdom was watching him, looking for any mistakes that he may be making. These weren't the things that a prince should feel, not when he was next in line for the throne. But no matter how many times he had said that to himself over the years, it didn't stop the doubts from emerging as he studied his opponent. If he lost this...

But, for the first time since the tourney had started, he found that it was easier to not go looking up at the bleachers and trying to track down Merlin with his eye's. He didn't matter in the long run, not in the least...or at least that was what he told himself.

And he had his new favor to prove it.

X

"Look!" Gwen squealed, straightening up as her head swirled around to look at Merlin with the excitement etched on her face. "Prince Arthur is wearing your favor!" And then her head was swirling back around to look back at the match that was just starting.

Arthur's opponent made a big arch with his sword, swinging it straight at the prince's head. The blonde brought his shield up as he did, easily blocking it as the loud sound of metal hitting metal rung out through the stadium as the match finally commenced.

Gwen hadn't noticed the slightly green sheen that Merlin had overtaken. Or just how stiff he had gotten, his eye's following Arthur's every movement as his fists subtly clenched over his knee caps.

"What happened to using your neckerchief?" Morgana asked, not looking at Merlin as she leaned forward in her seat to get a better look at what was happening down below. "I didn't think you had anything else, where did you find such a beautiful piece of cloth?"

Merlin didn't answer, he honestly didn't think that he could have answered if he wanted to. It was as if his vocal cords had frozen up and he couldn't have screamed even if he had just been stabbed. All he could do was watch as Arthur parried against his opponent with easy movements.

Behind him, he heard the whispering of a couple of gossiping maids, "Did Sir Merlin give him that favor!" He could barely hear it over the roar of the crowd as the other knight landed a hit against Arthur's side. But it may as well had been as clear as a bell with how loud that question was echoing in Merlin's mind.

"I suppose he's rich, he can afford such a pretty little thing." The second maid said with a begrudging expression, not that Merlin was able to see it because not even his muscles seemed to be working. After the tourney was over, everybody would leave and he would probably find himself still sitting there. Alone.

Just like he apparently was in his marriage.

For hours upon hours, unable to move as he struggled to wrap his mind around what he was really seeing.

"But is it kinda girly, isn't it?" Her friend asked as she squinted to try and get a better look but the knights on the field were moving to fast for her to really see. "I don't know what a guy would give as a favor, but did Sir Merlin really have one designed that looked like that?"

"Oh, whatever!" The second maid said with a giggle. "So Sir Merlin got him a girly looking favor! I'm just here to see the prince get all sweaty!" She said this with a cheeky grin, looking all playful and happy with herself.

In other words, the exact opposite of what Merlin was going through. He wasn't even sure if he was breathing at this point, as his mouth was clamped down so tightly that he almost thought he was tasting blood as his teeth nicked against his bottom lip. Pounding of his heart, that was all he could hear as it beated harshly inside of his eardrums.

Merlin's blunt nails started digging into his knees right through his pants, and he could feel the sting of tears start to brim under his eyelashes before he started going numb to the sensation.

"Merlin, you didn't answer me." Morgana said, smiling as she saw Arthur ducking under the arm of the other knight as he was swinging his shield at him. "Where on earth did you find such an exquisite piece of cloth? I thought you said you didn't want the crown to pay for Madame Teresa to have you one made?"

Merlin's jaw clenched and unclenched before he was finally able to get those dreaded words out of his mouth, "That's not my favor." And was it just him or did those words come out kind of faint, as if he was saying them but not saying them all at the same time. He had his hands on his knees, but now he moved one of them up to his neck blindly, feeling the bare skin of his pale throat. So it really wasn't just some kind of messed up dream, he really had given Arthur his neckerchief, had tied it around his arm and told him that he was hoping for something real to form between them.

But Arthur wasn't wearing it, he was wearing some kind of slinky looking sheer cloth that Merlin was just barely able to see from this distance. But he was close enough to note that it wasn't the bright red cloth that he had worn for years.

Morgana seemed to stiffen just a touch after she registered his words. And her head was swishing around to look at him with widening eyes, "What did you just say?" She asked him, her voice having gone soft. But that was probably what made it sound so deadly in the first place.

"That...that's not..." Merlin couldn't even get the words to come out again. He didn't want to say them, to know that they were real as he started to feel the humiliation settling into his bones. Arthur couldn't have just taken his off and gotten rid of it if he had hated it that much, he had to go and get himself a whole new one to really get the message across.

Arthur didn't want him, and Merlin had been spending his entire time just kidding himself. It almost didn't seem real to him, it almost felt like he was in some kind of dream. It just couldn't be possibly for him to feel this kind of ache in his chest. This...this hurt, as it sunk in what the blonde's little switch meant for them as a couple.

Absolutely nothing.

Arthur didn't even have the decency to tell him to his face.

Gwen seemed to have gotten the message as well. She'd been clapping, especially when Arthur had easily managed to duck another blow so that his giant of an opponent's shield could fly over his head as it came at him. But now her hands had slowed down, looking at him with a cautious frown appearing on her face.

"What do you mean it's not yours? I know it's not your neckerchief but surely you just must have found an alternative to use." Gwen said slowly, not wanting to know what the truth was looking more and more like, especially with the way she was just noticing the slight green to Merlin's face. "I mean...do you really think somebody else offered Arthur a favor and he would take it instead of yours? He... wouldn't, he's married!" But Gwen's voice had faded as the slow realization dawned on her.

"I'm gonna kill him." Morgana said, her head swirling around so that she could glare down at the field where Arthur was slamming his shield into the side of the other knight's head.

"I think I have to go." Merlin said quickly as he felt his stomach starting to churn in a dark and twisted motion. He didn't know when he had exactly decided that he couldn't remain here any longer. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment as he finally got his the answer to all of his relationship questions, but he was already on his feet before he could contemplate that he was moving.

If he didn't get out now, there was no telling what he was going to do. Maybe he'd climb down onto the field mid-battle and use the blonde's own shield to beat him in the head until there was nothing left. Or he might just throw up here and now, all over the shoes of the unfortunate people who stood nearest to him. With how much twisting his stomach was doing, it definitely felt like a possibility he really didn't want to make true.

As if he was going to give the satisfaction to Arthur of seeing just what his little stunt had done to him.

"Merlin, are you okay?" Gwen asked, and she rose to her feet as well with her eyebrows knitting together in concern. She ignored the people in the seats behind her screaming at them to sit down.

Merlin smiled, the best he could but from her face, he was sure that she didn't buy it, but he tried anyway. "Yeah, I couldn't be better actually..." but maybe he just couldn't keep up the act as he felt a little crack forming in his heart, because he hadn't realized just how much he had grown to like Arthur until this moment.

Strangely enough, he did like it when they argued, he enjoyed seeing Arthur as he grew more and more frustrated because he couldn't predict what Merlin was going to say next or stop him from saying it either. He liked watching Arthur out there on the field and acting like he completely owned everybody as he won round after impossible round. He liked teasing him, trying to get him to fluster up as much as Merlin knew that he had been. He liked his stupid blonde hair, and his muscles, and his blue eye's, and even his stupidly slightly crooked front teeth. And he hated that he'd never-would never-get that proper kiss from him since it looked like the blonde really 'would' never want to try kissing him. Not when he had whoever owned that new cloth around his bicep, the same spot that Merlin had placed his originally.

Was Arthur already full blown cheating on him and he just hadn't seen it? Or was all of this just some kind of spur of the moment thing where Arthur thought he'd happily take the first favor that had been offered to him.

Merlin was sure he didn't want to know, while at the same time, it was nearly driving him to insanity to know.

Merlin was moving now, pushing passed the maidservant without stopping to say that he was going. He didn't think that he would be able to get another word out, didn't want to be seen by Arthur just standing here when he won his battle and turned up to look at him from the field. Why had the arse always been looking for him if he hadn't wanted him as much as Merlin had been hoping for?

He'd let his idealistic dreams get ahead of him, and only now was he realizing just how wrong he had been. Everything Arthur had done that would make Merlin think that he liked him (pinning him up against the first flat surface that he could find was one thing that stuck out to him starkly) didn't mean a lick of anything.

Merlin rushed passed the guard that looked after Morgana, and then he started pushing himself passed random people as he stepped and trodded on their feet in his hurry to get to the door. They were yelping and shouting at him, some people barely able to yank their feet out of the way as he came barreling passed them, but he didn't stop. Nor did he shout his apologies over his shoulder like he had the first time he had grown through the bleachers. He just knew that he couldn't stay here.

He had told Arthur that he wanted things to work out between them. He had all but told him that he wanted their marriage to be real instead of just their names on some random document that nobody was going to bother reading as it sat covering dust in the achieve somewhere. Well, it appeared that he'd got his answer, forcefully and hard enough for his heart to beat like a jackhammer in his chest.

He couldn't stay here and finish watching the match, not when he knew that Arthur was the reason for this crack starting to form on his oh-so innocent-heart. He couldn't smile and cheer for him (not even for his opponent) when he was in this state, when he knew that Arthur had literally gone out of his way to hurt him like this.

X

"Merlin!" Gwen called after the boy only as she registered that he was leaving, he had already disappeared into the crowds nearby when she took a step after him. "Wait!" Her head whipped around, looking worried and panicked as she turned to her mistress, "M'lady, I need to go after him!" She hadn't liked the look on his face one bit, it was clear to anybody with eyes that he was roughing it through a horrible heartbreak. She wasn't so sure if he should be alone right now, she had known that Arthur was cruel but only now was she realizing just how little he cared about the emotions of other people.

Gwen was cut off as Morgana put a gentle hand onto her wrist, stalling her movements from going after Merlin. "No, Gwen, leave him be." Morgana said, her voice soft and solemn as Gwen's mouth popped open just a little in a mild protest. "I think he just needs to get himself together, a moment to take a second breath is all he needs. I'm sure that he won't want us intruding on that."

Gwen looked like she wanted to protest and argue against this suggestion. She was his friend, or at least she liked to think that she was despite their differences in status and how little they'd known each other. But her Lady had already turned to look back down at the field, her eyes focused surely on the prince as he was swinging up his shield to block the sword coming straight at his side.

Morgana had both hands clenched tightly together, half-hidden by the folds of her long and pleated skirts. Her lips had thinned until there was almost nothing but a sliver of red where her lipstick had been. And her eyes, her eyes had gone so dark that it could have looked as if she were staring into the abyss with how insanely focused on Arthur she was. She may know the truth of the marriage, but it still didn't give Arthur any right to go out of his way to hurt Merlin.

Gwen bit down on her lip, looking off in the direction that Merlin had gone. But he was long gone, and she couldn't see a single sign to indicate that he had even been here in the first place. So, trusting her Lady, Gwen slowly lowered herself back down into her seat even as her stomach churned with guilt at not making sure that Merlin was going to be ok. It just didn't make sense to her why Arthur was being this way to his own husband, the one person that he was supposed to love above all else.

X

At the top of the bleachers, Merlin found his back to the crowd as he stood in the doorway of the stadium. He had one hand on the edge of the door, mainly because he wasn't exactly sure how long he could keep standing. Not when he was seeing his future going up in flames all around him, just like his body would be if he ever ended up on the pyre.

But he couldn't move either, his feet felt as if they were practically frozen onto the stones of the ground below him. He could feel this awful lump growing in the pit of his throat as he stood there, and his eyes felt strangely wet even as he tried to blink his growing tears away. But he couldn't leave yet, there was still something that he needed to do, and Arthur's little act of defiance didn't stop that.

Merlin took a large breath, literally having to force his lungs to exhale because they also felt just as frozen as everything else on him did. But he knew that he couldn't leave when he still didn't know what his next move was supposed to be. He felt his hand clench up just slightly around the doorframe, before he forced his stiff fingers to let go of it.

He was turning around before he could stop himself. He stood high above everybody else, on the top step of the stairs as he looked out onto the field. And there he was, the prince of Camelot: Arthur Fucking Pendragon.

The prince looked as if he hadn't just broken Merlin's heart into two sharply shaped shards, as if everything was alright in his perfect little world. Especially after he rounded around his opponent and slammed the side of his shield into his helmet. The ox of a man, the one that he thought was much to large for Arthur to have to fight, dropped to the dirt in an unconscious state.

And then Arthur was raising his fist clenched around his sword as the crowd surged up to their feet to roar in excitement. The standing bodies shielded Merlin from Arthur's view, if he had even been looking for him in the first place. But Merlin could see between the gaps in people's arms as the stable hand moved out onto the field to rearrange the shields on the wall.

The boy took off the one that belonged to the blonde's opponent, and was dropping it to fall and hit the ground as his feet. Dust kicked up at the fallback before it settled back down in seconds, but Merlin didn't really pay it any of his attention.

He was to busy watching with a newfound dread as the boy took Arthur's little shield and moved it up into the section that marked the finalists. It sat perched on the wall right across from the three snaked shield that said it was Valiant's.

Arthur Pendragon and Knight Valiant were going to fight in the finale rounds tomorrow afternoon. It wasn't just a thought that Merlin had the misfortune of worrying himself half to death with.

Now, now it was a certainty.

"Valiant's going to use the shield, and he is going to kill him." He couldn't have said the Prince's name if he wanted to, he had barely gotten those words to come out of his cold mouth and up passed the harsh lump in his throat. And even then, he had said it so softly that one would have had to literally be on top of him to be able to hear it.

Arthur had humiliated him-he could feel the sting of that betrayal all over his skin-as if he had been struck by lightning. He had, with his simply action, degraded Merlin as if he was somehow less than. He hadn't even had the nerve to have someone send for Merlin so he could tell him in person that he wasn't going to be wearing his favor.

And yet, Merlin was still gonna have to save his life.

X

Not long after Merlin had bared witness to the prince's victory did he retreat to the one place that he had found sanctuary in all of this forsaken castle: Gaius' chambers. The potions wafting off of old cauldrons set into stasis seemed to permeate the air, and there was the smell of crisp old parchment that seemed to relax him, if only just.

He had taken off his jacket as soon as he had arrived, unable to take the heat from where he had started to sweat as his body reacted to what he saw as a betrayal. His jacket was now slung off somewhere, barely clinging onto the back corner of a chair where it had fallen. At least it had something to hold onto, Merlin was feeling as if he didn't know which way was up or down anymore.

And he had his hand up, the one that bore his wedding ring (or what he was now looking at as a sign of his imprisonment) to scrape his blunt fingers against his neck. He felt naked and strange without his neckerchief, as if it had been some kind of anchor holding him down, but now he felt as if he was free falling knowing that he'd given it to such a jerk.

He stood hovering over Ewan's beside, the knight that Valiant had tried to kill that had started this whole mess, because it was the only thing that he could do. He could stand here and stare down at Ewan's prone and sweaty body while Arthur was off celebrating his victory and Valiant was off god know's where planning his next move.

He had thought if he'd been turned down when he gave Arthur his favor, he'd be pissed not because he'd been rejected but because he was now trapped in a loveless marriage that had no end in sight. And he wondered as his mind flipped and flopped in all directions, where he had gone so wrong. Had he really just been seeing things that he wanted to see? Imagining what would happen next if the signs Arthur had been giving him meant that he had feelings for him as well. Had it really all just been in his head?

But despite how much his heart was aching-he hadn't known that it was even possible to feel this way when one was rejected-all he could see was Arthur laying where Ewan was now. All he could see was Arthur's tan skin coated in a layer of sweat as his body shook with the fever, his blonde hair plastered to his forehead and his eye's never opening again.

He hated Arthur for making him feel this way after such a harsh and public rejection, he hated that he was still trying to kill himself by trying to save Arthur. But he also knew that no matter what Arthur had done to him, no matter how much it hurt him, he couldn't just allow Arthur to die without even trying to save him. Rather he was a jerk or not, he still thought that Arthur didn't deserve to die like Ewan was: with no cure in sight as he was left struggling to take his breaths through the pain as he laid unconscious and waiting for the Angel of death to take him.

This betrayal and pain, people said that time healed all wounds so maybe someday-soon rather than later he hoped-he'd be able to forget that this awful day had ever happened to him. But he'd never be able to escape the guilt that would be whirling in his veins at all hours of the day for the rest of his life if he didn't try everything that he could.

Merlin could have stood there for hours just staring down at Ewan's body like a vigilant Angel even if there was nothing that he could do if death really came for him. But at least he could do it for Ewan, because it was clear that Arthur didn't want him standing beside him.

He was so involved in staring down at Ewan, so focused on imagining what he would do if it was Arthur in this very same spot tomorrow afternoon, that he didn't even flinch or look up as he heard the door opening. He knew that it would be Gaius, who else would dare to enter the physician's personal chambers, even if it doubled as the infirmary, without knocking.

"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed when he saw the boy standing there. "I have been looking for you everywhere!" And it really was such a true statement. After he had left Arthur in the knight's quarters, he had spent his time nonstop searching for Merlin. He had almost thought that the worse had happened and maybe Valiant had gotten to him first. But no, Merlin was here safe and sound in his own chambers, he really probably should have checked here first now that he was thinking about it. The boy had taken to spending an uncomfortable amount of time in here, not that Gaius was complaining, he had found himself enjoying the company for once in a way that he usually hadn't with others.

Merlin just had this whole thing about him that he seemed unaware of, this aura of sorts that drew people to him. But while it would draw others, it seemed to be the very thing that repelled Arthur.

Gaius signed, feeling heavier than he usually did as he lumbered over toward's his one and only nephew. But Merlin didn't even look up at his approach, he simply crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eye's trained on the unconscious knight that had been resting in his chambers.

"Merlin, about what I told you earlier," Gaius said slowly, figuring out what he wanted to say. He had stuck around the stadium just long enough after his conversation with the prince to see-to no surprise-that Arthur had won his fight. The hour was drawing later now, and the sun was barely an hour away from setting. The final round was due to start tomorrow, and he needed to get an idea of what they should do about it. "Look," he only stopped before he could finish his sentence when he saw the sulking expression on his face. "What's happened to you?" The aged physician exclaimed, feeling a shot of worry shooting through him.

"Nothing." Merlin said, but he sounded off and he still didn't take his eye's away from Ewan, who had now developed the shakes since the last time Gaius had checked on him. It was just yet another symptom of the poison getting closer and closer to his heart.

Merlin supposed he could always just break and talk to his uncle about his problems. He could tell him that Arthur had turned him and his offering down, that maybe if he had been able to get him something better than a worn neckerchief things between them would have gone in a different direction. He could just let loose and have Gaius be that listening ear he could use right now, somebody that would let him ramble on and on about how hurt, and angry, and humiliated he was.

But he also feared that he knew that it wasn't his neckerchief that had been what Arthur's problem was: it was him. Sure, Arthur may not had wanted his neckerchief to use as a favor (he was so stupid thinking that it would be acceptable), but he also figured that it might just be because Arthur didn't want him. Period.

He just felt so stupid and ashamed of himself, but he felt it even more-so when he would realize that here he was thinking of his love life when there never was one, and there was a dying man in front of him. That Arthur, the one that made him feel as if he'd just taken a hit to his heart, would be the one lying there come tomorrow. If he even survived long enough to be transported off of the field to Gaius' chambers.

Didn't this make him selfish? In a way that he had never considered before, when what he should do was just put all of his emotions in a box and wait until Valiant was no longer a threat and Arthur was safe. Then he could hide himself in his room so that he wouldn't have to face the subject of his own leading embarrassment.

"Don't give me that, clearly something has happened. What was it? Was it Valiant?" His uncle demanded harshly. "Has he tried to do something again?" Gaius wasn't really all that concerned with the gossip of the court, or who was courting who. The last thing that he would have noticed was the favor on Arthur's arm, not when the prince was already having his win and leaving the field when Gaius had gotten to the bleachers. All he had seen was Arthur's back as he walked away, and the prince's shield on the wall marking him as a finalist.

A surprisingly bitter smile filtered across his nephew's face for only half a second before it was gone, so fast that Gaius almost had to wonder if he had seen it at all.

"If only it was him," Merlin said quietly, not sure if he really meant that or if he was just going through his first heartbreak and saying stupid things. The fear that Valiant invoked in him made him want to run away, his instincts practically screaming at him that something horrible was going to happen if he didn't get himself to safety. But in a way, Arthur could invoke the same reaction from him, especially now after what he had done. Merlin cleared his throat, shaking his head as he allowed himself to straighten up just a little.

"Uh, yeah." Merlin said quietly as he cleared his throat, quickly moving away from his bitterness before Gaius started asking him questions, because there was no chance in hell that he was going to get into his failure of a love life with his uncle, not when there were other things at stake, when lives were hanging in the balance. Especially not when this hurt was so recent, and Merlin felt as if he were raw. He didn't think that he could take somebody seeing just how empty he was feeling at this moment. So he went for a different approach, "Why didn't you warn me about Morris?"

Maybe Morris wasn't his biggest concern right now, especially when it didn't seem as if he had actually done something and what he had done was not only a year ago, but were also lost rumors and the like. But it was also a safe topic, safer than talking about Arthur or Valiant, or hearing Gaius to basically tell him to mind his own business because nobody was going to believe him as he said his truth anyway.

"Morris?" Gaius asked, feeling his eyebrows as they creased together. "What are you going on about?" He'd been hoping that he and Merlin could talk about what they could do about Valiant, how they could get rid of him quietly. Or at least what their options were for what they should do next. So when he heard Morris' name, it just completely threw him for a loop.

"I've heard rumors and such." Merlin said, as he tapped his fingers against the crook of his elbow. It took him a second to realize that he was using the hand with his wedding ring on it, and he dropped his arms to his sides half a second later just so he wouldn't have to look at it. It was just a reminder, a forceful and harsh truth that his marriage really had been nothing more than a sham. "I heard that he poisoned somebody a year ago, that people were concerned with how close he is to...uh, and everything..." Merlin felt another wave of stupidity wash through him. He was such a coward, being unable to even say his name because he knew the ache in his heart would just deepen and throb.

"Oh, that." Gaius said, shaking his head but not looking all that concerned about Merlin or his inquiries. "Yes, there were some very brief accusations back then when everything was happening. But there was never any proof that he was involved with what happened to the king's guest."

Merlin nodded, as if he was actually paying any attention to the conversation instead of the dull beating of his heart. Was it him? Or did it just not sound the same, or was it now beating in a different rhythm? Almost as if it were muted and numb, a sharp difference when compared to the rush of newfound nerves and excitement he'd been feeling just hours before.

"So, they just let him get away?" Merlin found himself asking, if only so he would be able to ignore it as the crack in his heart got just a little bit deeper with each ragged breath that he took. Morris had ended up just like Valiant probably was going to, like Arthur was: the somebody that got away.

"There was nothing that tied him to that crime, nothing that spoke of even a hint of him committing it." Gaius explained, shaking his head as he wondered how something that had happened long before Merlin had even arrived in the city was relevant to what was going on now. "And trust me, because he sits so close to Arthur-" Merlin bit down harshly on his lip, barely able to stop himself from flinching at the sound of that name. "He was searched throughly. The guards didn't find anything, so it was let go. There's no reason to concern yourself with him, he's harmless."

Merlin nodded, "Okay, then." He said simply, but only because he was thinking that there were people who were probably saying the same thing about Valiant as they speak. His uncle had been right after all, nobody had a bad word to say about the knight. But Merlin couldn't say the same thing about Arthur bloody Pendragon. People had warned him from the start that he was a bully, that he was often cruel to those he deemed lower then himself. Merlin had even witnessed it when he had first came to Camelot, when Arthur had been bullying Morris and Merlin had no choice but to intervene on his behalf.

But Merlin had decided to ignore all of the warning signs that had all but been positively screaming at him that this was a bad idea to even attempt. He had put his heart on the line, and had found it crushed under Arthur's leather skinned boots. It wasn't Arthur being a bully by rejecting him, Merlin knew that it might hurt but things could still be okay. Even if he'd been rejected, maybe Arthur and him could still have a friendship and learn to work together if they weren't able to be together as a real couple.

But Arthur had ruined that with his response to Merlin's confession. Instead of just turning him down, or even just taking off the favor as an answer, he had gone out of his way to get a new one. He had known that Merlin would be out there watching, and he had flaunted the silky number on his arm while Merlin's favorite neckerchief was probably crumbled into a ball somewhere where he would never get it back. Hell, he didn't even know if he would want it back at this point, not with all of the new memories attached to it and all.

Gaius decided to get them back on track, to the problem that was at hand right now.

Gaius put a hand on his shoulder, which was probably a good thing because it broke him from his train of thoughts, it was something that he had desperately needed, anything would have been a welcomed distraction at this point.

"Uther wouldn't listen to you, not when you have yet to earn your place in the eye's of the court." Gaius said, with a heavy sigh as he turned the conversation back to what they were going to do about Valiant. It was such an unfair situation: if Merlin had been born into a noble family than there was no doubt that Uther would have listened without question. But Merlin's common birth was the one thing that was holding them back from speaking the truth, all it would do was get Merlin put on room arrest if he tried to push the matter after Uther had already dismissed his claims. "Nor will be listen to me."

Gaius was one of Uther's trusted advisors and had worked as the Court Physcian for the passed many years, but even he doubted that Uther would trust him over a noble guest when they should show nothing less but the hospitality that they had to offer. Gaius may not be common born since his parents had both been nobles (not that it mattered since his 'noble' father still found it acceptable to cheat on his noble mother which was what had resulted in the birth of Hunith) but he was still from one of the lesser families, and the only one other than Merlin that was still alive. He was still 'apart of the club' but had just scarcely been above the commoners in term of wealth and such.

Gains patted Merlin on the shoulder, the boy still steadfastly looking down at the shaking knight, "But you are right." That was what made Merlin finally look up. His face was still a mask of solemnity but at least now he was looking as if he were paying attention.

Gaius sighed, "We can't let Valiant get away with this." Now that it was clear Arthur was gonna have to fight with Valiant, things had gotten a lot more pressing. But Gaius still wasn't sure what they could do to fix this. He didn't want his nephew anywhere near the knight, but they may have no choice if they were going to do something about all of this.

Merlin shook his head, pointing out what Gaius had pointed out to him the first time, "But we don't have any proof." His uncle had been right, there was no doubt about that. Uther clearly didn't like him, and Arthur apparently didn't want anything to do with him, he just didn't see how he would be able to stop Valiant, or what he was going to do the next time he saw the arse that purposely wanted to hurt him.

"Well," Gaius said slowly, speaking with some carefully chosen words. "If we could cure Ewan, then he could tell the king that Valiant was using magic." Surely Ewan had seen the snake that had attacked him, had seen the other knight controlling it. Ewan just needed to wake up first, so that he could speak his truth. It really was their only option for getting the truth out there, by having a noble witness.

Merlin followed his gaze down to the body on the bed, and frowned. Ewan certainly didn't look up to the task, not with the way his body was in a constant shaking motion. But maybe things would improve once he woke up.

"The king would believe another knight." The physician said slowly. That was the one thing that Gaius had always believed was Uther's greatest flaw. He would believe another noble without question even if they were lying to his face. But if a peasant with nothing to lose got the courage to speak up, they were often met with being brushed aside or ridiculed or even considered having nothing but an overactive imagination. And that only happened if the wild accusation that they were making wasn't serious enough to warrant some time in the stocks.

"So how do we wake him up?" Merlin asked, already ready to go and do whatever it may take to do it. Not only would him actually doing something get Arthur off his mind, but he could get Valiant off his back as well. Even if he had to see him again to do this.

"Well, we would need the antidote, but the only way to get that is to extract the venom from the snake that bit him." Gaius explained, "And I'm not all to sure how we could go on about this-"

"I can get it." Merlin interrupted, already he was moving towards the front door. He may not have an exact plan figured out, but just being able to do something may him feel a little bit better. Well, not really, but at least this would be a good distraction so that he wouldn't break down crying. He didn't want to cry over a jerk like Arthur, even though that was all he felt like doing right about now.

"Merlin!" Gaius stopped him before he could get to the door. "Wait, there's something you need to be prepared for, you need to think things through! You can't just go off half-cocked and expect to get what your after! If Valiant...what are you planning on doing?"

Merlin stopped in the doorway, his hand was reaching out for the door handle, "Easy, this night is when all of the knights are having the dinner with the king, right? I'll just swing by and see if he has his shield. If not, I guess I'm gonna check his rooms next."

It may not be the best or most well thought out plan, but it was also the first thing he had thought of. Plus, if Valiant was a little to busy getting himself closer to the king, that left his room free gain for Merlin to dig through.

"Merlin, think about this!" Gaius started to protested, not wanting to see Merlin leaving the room. But what could he do, with his old and aching joints, there was no way that he could keep up with Merlin. If he needed to run, if he got caught anywhere near Valiant's room, he didn't even want to think of what the punishment would be. Or what would be happening if it was Valiant that caught him.

"What's there to think about!" Merlin shouted loudly, but that was probably more because of just how frayed Arthur had left his nerves than he was actually upset with Gaius, "I'll go in and I'll get the snake and get out."

"And if the snake bites you instead?" Gaius asked darkly. The last thing he needed was to have two unconscious bodies in his home, yet along a third if Arthur's dead body was the next to show up because Merlin hadn't been able to do what he set out to do.

"Then I'll just have to bite him before he bites me." Merlin said dryly. To anybody else, this might be considered a suicide mention. But Merlin wasn't that desperate to escape his situation, or at least he wasn't desperate enough to go that route. He just needed to put his Valiant problem to rest, so he could finally have the time to mourn his relationship that never was.

"Merlin," Gaius said tiredly, sounding more weary then he wanted to because he was just about to give in and break. It didn't matter if Arthur had made his little deal and promised to tell the boy what he needed to know. He couldn't allow Merlin to run off, not when he could run into Valiant, and god knows what would be happening if Merlin didn't escape.

Merlin's safety was a lot more important than making sure that Arthur kept his word. Merlin needed to know what could happen to him, if only so he'll be able to fight back properly.

But then Merlin was interrupting him before he could get another word out, "I'll be fine! I can take care of myself!"

Besides, Valiant may be a creep but Merlin had been figuring out how to handle him. He'd done managed to escape two, no...make that three times. What he didn't know how he was supposed to handle was his impending heart break. So he did what he did best, he was gonna wander off for a good cause but most likely find himself in some kind of trouble.

Merlin whipped around to the door, reaching his hand back out to grab the handle. But before he could, there was a loud knock from the other side and the door was swinging open on it's own. Merlin nearly reeled onto his backside because of how fast he had to move before he could get hit by the door.

"Ah, Sir Merlin, there you are!" George said in that professional tone of his. He was carrying a laundry basket against the side of his hip, and Merlin could just barely see a familiar blue tunic poking out the top. It seemed to be his clothing, all of his clothing apparently, and they filled up the basket easily. "I just thought I would find you, and let you know that I have finished your laundry today. I'll be returning up to your chambers to put them in your wardrobe, Sir Merlin."

Merlin blinked, looking at him with a more than confused expression, "But...they weren't even dirty." He should know, he'd done his laundry himself just a couple of days ago, he knew that he hadn't even worn that blue top yet so what had been the point in having it washed?

"Oh, I know!" George said casually. "But then I started thinking, freshly laundered clothing is better than clothing that has been sitting in that stuffy old wardrobe for over a day as it gathered dust. By the way, Sir Merlin, I know how much you loved it when I told you about my joke involving brass! Well, I just heard an excellent one that includes laundry soap! It goes like..."

"Oh, look at the time. I have someplace to be, but I'll listen to it later George." Merlin said in a rushed tone, mainly just to get George to stop talking. That brass joke that he had the nerve to make right after they'd just met had nearly driven him into insanity. It wasn't even funny! Just painfully dull and worded in a way that was supposed to make it sound like a joke.

Before Merlin had to listen to anymore of his manservant's 'jokes', he was quick to duck around the lad and out the room he went. He was already halfway down the hall before anybody could blink.

"Oh, there he goes." George said with a large and heavily put out sigh. "My Sir Merlin is always so busy, it's quite an honor to work under him! Do you ever get that excitement by being in his mere presence, Gaius?" He asked, looking up at the physician. George literally got tingles every time he thought of his new position. It was a great honor to be able to do the laundry of such an important figure.

Gaius stared at him blankly, before shaking his head as he once again realized that he'd had a missed opportunity to tell Merlin why he should never be around Valiant alone. It was no telling what the man would do to Merlin, and yes, he did have his magic to defend himself if he had no choice. But the boy was also so scrawny...

"George," Gaius commanded in a sharp tone that he hadn't had to use in years. "Leave the basket here and follow Merlin. He may find himself in a spot of trouble going where he is alone." And he wasn't even talking about what Valiant could have planned for the boy. There was really no telling what would be happening if the guards caught Merlin, who was their consort and therefore higher up then themselves, breaking into the rooms of an honored guest. It would be a great deal of relief to Gaius to know that George was at least keeping watch, and was able warn the boy if anybody was coming.

George seemed to sense the urgency in his voice and straightened up, "Oh, right away, Sir! I'm more than happy to assist in any way that I can with Sir Merlin's endeavors's!" And then he was leaving Merlin's laundry basket to sit precariously on the edge of one of Gaius' many overfilled tables before rushing off in the direction that Merlin had gone.

Gaius watched the manservant go, and felt his eyebrows creasing together in concern. It was going to be a long night for him, as he had no choice but to sit here and wait for his nephew to arrive with the antidote so that he could administer it to his patient. He could do little else other then pray to Hecate to protect her chosen. She was somebody that Gaius hadn't prayed to in years, and even when he had been involved in the going on's of sorcery back in the day, he hadn't taken it nearly as serious as he should have.

He was a man of science, so he rarely took part in religion. But now he found himself doing it...for Merlin.

Hecate was the goddess of magic and the very start of the old religion. There were some people who, when sorcery was more open before the Great Purge had started up, claimed that she was the first of their kind. It was said that she was the first that had been gifted with the magic of the earth centuries ago, and after her human form had passed away, she spent her afterlife gifting certain people with the affinity for magic.

Those who had not been chosen, the people like Arthur and Uther, would never be able to learn how to use magic even if they had given their whole lives to studying it. But those that had been lucky enough to be blessed by her gifts, even they had to choose for themselves if they were going to use it or let it fade.

Merlin though, Gaius believed that Merlin had never had any choice in the matter. He just... felt like magic in a strange sense. And that was why Gaius would sit here at his table, so that he could pray for the first time in over a decade, to the goddess of the old religion who had blessed Merlin with such a potent version of her gifts, a gift that seemed to rely sorely on Merlin's instinct in a way that had never been seen before.

He could only pray that-being born in such horrible times such as this-it wouldn't lead to his doom. Especially not when Valiant was prowling the castle, and Merlin may not have any other option but to reveal himself if the knight attacked.

X

Arthur had thought that he had been doing so well, he actually thought that he was doing splendid if one wanted to get technical. It had been a whole three hours since he had let his thoughts wonder off towards Merlin and what the pest must be doing: causing trouble, no doubt, wherever he was.

But whatever, he was in no fair state to care.

After he had won his match and secured his place in the final rounds, Arthur had spent all of ten minutes celebrating with his men before he'd retired to his rooms. He'd had his manservant Morris draw him up a bath where he had spent an uncomfortable amount of time resting his sore muscles in the heat of the water. He had only gotten out when it struck him that he was starting to behave like a girl by soaking in a tub of water for hours on end. His only saving grace was that there were no scented oils dipped into it like he knew the women folk favored.

He'd had Morris fetch him a quick snack after he had been dressed to tide himself over as he waited for the ceremonial knight's dinner that was happening that evening. All of the knights that had competed were invited to come as a way of fostering alliances and to forge new friendships and such. But the meal itself was for the king-his father-to get to know the actual winners on a more personal level that he wasn't able to during a simple meet-and-greet.

But, Arthur supposed, this evening would be mainly for his father to get to know the other finalist, his competition Valiant. Arthur had spent the next hour going over different ideas and strategies that would put him as the winner, thinking over what little he knew of Valiant's fighting abilities.

Merlin always seemed to be in his way when the other knight was fighting, leaving Arthur floundering to find a way to win against what was essentially an unknown enemy. But, the prince scowled as he sat at his window seat and played around with one of the daggers that he had laying around the place, maybe all of that had just been a way to distract him so that his 'precious' Valiant could win.

Arthur had all but thrown Merlin out of his mind after that thought, not wanting to fall into the old pattern of thinking about him. Not when he still had a competition to win, and a strive to prove that he was better than what ever it was Merlin saw in that guy.

Fuck.

Arthur had gotten Morris to return to him as soon as possible and had him prepare him in his armor. Not the one that he fought in, no, that was apparently now Merlin's newfound responsibility. This armor that he wore now was basically the same though, it was just worn for more ceremonially practices than it was in a fight. He'd even had Morris tie that Lady Clarissa's favor back onto him as a new reminder that he didn't need to worry himself half to death with whatever Merlin choose, or who he choose, to busy himself with.

Arthur had gone down to the dining room as soon as time allowed where he wouldn't be seen as 'eager' for showing up to early. But he didn't need to worry, because many of the knights had already arrived and were hanging out in front of the doorway as they awaited for the king to arrive.

Which he did not long after Arthur did, and right on time as the clock struck the seventh hour. It was probably a good thing for Arthur, since he'd been ignoring Morris chattering away in his ear like a monkey of what his schedule was going to look like tomorrow. He had been tuning him out because he'd been to busy casting looks of disdain towards the other knight.

No matter how hard he had tried, Arthur just couldn't get Gaius words out of his mind. Of how Valiant was showing an interest in his consort, and it still baffled him how anybody could show an interest in such an annoying and clumsy fool.

And so he watched, paying close attention as Valiant made nice with the other knights. And Arthur found himself disgustingly annoyed with himself as his thoughts thundered like an open waterway breaking apart.

Did Valiant and Merlin often converse in a more private setting, and that was how this... relationship that Gaius had eluded to, was starting to develop? Or had there just been some kind of attraction there from the start that Arthur hadn't noticed how deeply it ran until it had been brought to his attention. Did Valiant smile the way he was now when he talked to Merlin, was Merlin the type to fall for a person just because they were nice to him?

Arthur scoffed in disgust at himself, knowing that his track record for not thinking of Merlin had all but been trashed right from the start.

It was probably why he crossed his arms over his broad chest so that he could discreetly clench the ends of his favor in one of his fists. The light purples jewels that clung onto the cloth and dug into the palm of his hand was a pretty strong reminder that Merlin was able to talk to whoever he wanted to. Arthur had Lady Clarissa to keep him entertained if he so desired it.

He had no time to worry frivolous over rather or not Merlin enjoyed the company of another knight. As long as he determined that there was nothing serious going on, then Arthur could claim it was just his consort trying to foster relations and good feelings among his knights.

Good feelings, he thought with an air and a firm scoff of disgust.

The sound of a horn started up, and it made the crowd of young knights go silent. Arthur straightened himself up off the wall and got into the lead as the guard lowered his horn.

"My king," the guard bowed lowly to Uther, all of the knights spreading apart to make a path way for the king to walk through. "Upon your command, the feast of the tourney is ready for your arrival."

The king waved his hand at the knight, "Yes, I believe that all of these find young man have worked up quite an appetite for today. Allow them to have their meal and be merry as the tourney prepares to draw to an end."

The guard bowed again, before backing away and opening the door. The king was the first to walk in, his head held high and his crown shining under the candlelight as he made his way to the head of the twenty foot long table they were to dine at.

The rest of the knights followed in, like a well oiled machine as they marched into the great hall.

Arthur took his place just behind his father, and vaguely noticed that Valiant had taken a place right behind him. The rest of the young men followed suit and formed a straight line behind Valiant.

Arthur and Valiant split ways, each one to walk down one side of the table so that the prince now stood behind his chair to his father's left and Valiant stood behind the chair to his king's right. All of the other men split apart, one going down the left and the other the right one after the other until the table had been filled.

The servants, Morris included, took their place along the wall with pitchers of juices and wines in their hands. They would need them to refill their master's goblets whenever they started to go dry.

The table itself had many ornate candlesticks that decorated it up and down. There were plenty of bowls in between the candles and they sat delicately on ceremonial red circle shaped clothes. Some carried extra fruits like grapes and carefully sliced apples, while they had others that had fresh chicken or roasted ham for the knights to help themselves if they wished for extra. And in front of each chair that a knight stood at, there was a carefully arranged tray that was to hold their main meal. It had been artfully made up by the kitchen staff before they had been placed with a metal covering on top to keep it warm.

The servants had then transferred them onto the table itself to await for rather they would have their master's judgement or maybe their acceptance.

Nobody made a move to sit at the table yet, or even to move their chair back as if they were going to sit. Nobody actually said a word as they all averted their eyes up to the king.

Uther didn't say a word for the longest time, his eye's wondering up and down the table from knight to knight as if he was studying then. It made the anxiousness in the room spike for a moment, and then the king started to smile. It was as if there were a switch in the room and everybody could feel it as they started to relax.

"This meal is an opportunity for all of us to foster good relations among our men and to forge alliances that may be needed to call upon in the future." The king announced, his voice spreading throughout the room as it spent a chill down the spines of even the most strong willed man among them. Arthur wondered if he would ever have that kind of reaction when he was giving a speech to inspire his men. "Please, I implore you all to sit and be merry, as we take this time that we have together to wine and dine as we forge alliances and a bond of loyalty that will make our kingdom the strongest in all of the five kingdoms."

And then the king was snapping his fingers to the room without looking back. The king's manservant raced forward and pulled out his chair for him to sit. The king didn't spare his manservant a look as he took his place where he belonged, at the head of the table.

It was only after the king was sorted and was now reaching for his goblet of wine sitting off to the side of his covered plate, did all of the other manservants standing off to the side of the room step forward. One by one, starting with Morris who puffed out his chest at being the first (other than the king's manservant) to move his master's chair back.

Arthur flipped his cape over his shoulder, carefully arranging it so that the favor that Lady Clarissa had given to him was carefully covered as he took his place at his father's left hand. The other knight's started to take their seats along the table, not one person acknowledging their manservant as they did.

The king was the first to raise up his goblet to the room, and following his lead, everybody grabbed up their own wine filled goblet and held it up in the semblance of a toast.

"Now," the king announced. "Let's allow our feast to begin."

Arthur took a sip of his wine as did all the others did, but it had a strange taste left on his tongue. He knew that the only reason for it was because all he could do was stare down over the lip of the goblet at Valiant. The knight sat right across from him, taking a slow and leisurely sip of his drink.