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!

47. Chapter 47

Okay, so maybe Arthur had just been caught up in his panicking to realize that he was also over reacting. That the key to all of this was to act as normally as possible, and not like he had just been sentenced to death by doing what his father asked of him. But then again, his father knew well of his feelings towards his consort, so maybe acting as if he had just been sentenced to death had been the right reaction to make.

And as it would turn out, he'd been panicking for nothing.

All his father had done was reach out and grab his arm right under the favor so that he could yank it closer and get a better look at the silk cloth. Arthur had waited with baited breath, not sure what Uther would do when he realized Arthur had been parading around the place with somebody else's favor. What would the king do when he realized that his son was essentially playing with fire if word of this betrayal towards his consort started to spread: the civic unease that it would cause as the kingdom fell into chaos just because he hadn't been able to stomach wearing that neckerchief around his arm. His only saving grace would be that Merlin had never been privy to seeing the actual contract, and as long as that stayed true, Merlin would never know the clause inside: that Arthur would be forfeit to losing his kingdom if Merlin pressed the matter and had hard proof that he had betrayed their marriage in some way.

Arthur publicly wearing someone else's favor would actually be a pretty good leg to stand on. Even Merlin-as poor as he had been before he had married into Arthur's wealth-would be able to win the legal battle easily if he pointed out this single action out. Even when going against the best lawyer's on the council that Camelot had to offer.

Arthur was cursing at himself in his head, not able to believe that he had actually risked his entire kingdom for this fool's errand he was on.

But as it would of course, turn out, all of his worry had been for naught. Despite grabbing his arm and dragging him closer to inspect the favor, his father had given it what one would say was barely a courtesy glance over before he was dropping his arm.

"It's nice to know that your consort does seem to have some taste." The king said in a gruff tone as he went back to his meal, and he was already running his perfect, prepared bite of meat through the generous bit of sauce that had been scooped out of a nearby bowl and onto the edge of his plate by his manservant. "I suppose Madame Teresa had a hand in getting one prepared for him?" He asked as he slid that piece of meat on the edge of his fork into his mouth.

Merlin, Uther thought, must have taken what he had said to heart back when he'd had that talk with him. Instructing him to carry on the charade, to make the relationship between Arthur and him look good to the people.

Arthur smiled, weariness curling at the edges of said smile, "Uh, yes, I uh...I do believe that he may have said something to that effect." It would have to be official now, Merlin had completely, absolutely, ruined his life. Arthur had not once lied to his father like this before Merlin had came into the picture, he had never had a reason to. But Arthur was smart enough to know if his lies got out: the favor, their failed consummation, his deal with Gaius...then it wouldn't just be Merlin who would be facing trouble. Arthur would be going down for all of this as well, probably even worse if his father realized that Merlin had absolutely no idea that half of this stuff had even been going on in the first place.

"Arthur," Valiant said casually from across the table, giving Arthur a side eyed look as he seemingly copied the king by dipping his bite of meat into the sauce and easing it behind his teeth to bite down off the fork. "Forgive me if the question is unorthodox, but did your consort design it himself, or did he have your royal tailor make it up herself?"

Arthur did not look happy with having Valiant inject himself back into the conversation, this whole conversation had been his fault to start with. And seeing that the other knight was looking down at Lady Clarissa's favor, Arthur was quick to casually readjust his cape so that it fell back over the front of his shoulder, to hide it from view.

"He designed it himself." Arthur forced out with an almost spiteful tone, obvious to only himself that he was lying on the spot. "I do believe that he spent many hours before the tourney started going over what he wanted with Lady Teresa so that he could surprise me in these latest of rounds."

Arthur didn't care that he was lying, not to him, he would be more than happy to do it to Valiant's face over and over again if he had to. Anything to make Valiant believe that-despite whatever he thought had been going on during this 'mysterious conversation' between him and Merlin, that the boy's affections laid clearly in Arthur's side of things.

Heaven forbid Valiant believed for even one possible second that Merlin would ever go for him when he was in love with Arthur, and the blonde even found himself puffing out his chest in superiority before he remembered that his consort being in love with him wasn't a good thing. Arthur deflated, because while some may see it as a good thing to have-Arthur may even be able to use it as leverage to get the boy to do something he didn't want to do-he would rather Merlin just be left to his own devices then bugging Arthur for his time and attention when he had none to give. He had a very busy life, he didn't have the extra time for a proper relationship, let along trying to fend off whatever Merlin's future attempts at getting his feelings across may be.

"Is that right?" Valiant asked, looking vaguely amused by this. As if on some subconscious level, or maybe he did actually know, that the blonde had been lying to him.

Arthur could feel the tinge of heat building under the skin of his cheeks as he gave the other knight an annoyed scowl, "Yes, that is right." He said each word forcefully, as if each word were a sentence of their own. Like hell he would tell the man that Merlin had literally just grabbed the first thing he saw in his room this morning, instead of actually having something crafted to fit Arthur's statue. Who knows, he may had been a lot more inclined towards keep it if that were the case.

"Then I suppose, if he spent all that time with the tailor, he must truly care for you. " Valiant said with a casual smile. He didn't look as if he were the least bit jealous that Arthur was getting his own share of Merlin's attention. It was not the reaction Arthur had been hoping he'd get.

Arthur forced a smirk at him as he said with a touch of snakiness, "Yes, he does. Obviously, more than he does others." He said, giving Valiant an obvious once over of disdain, and before the other knight could reply, Arthur was turning back to his father. "Father, there is something that I would wish to discuss with you, it's about the security protocols of our castle."

Uther glanced over towards his son with a mildly curious frown, "Castle security? You have never shown an interest in that before, why show concerns for it now?"

Acting as if he couldn't feel Valiant's steady stare on him, Arthur was quick to say, "Well, my consort has recently brought some of his concerns to my attention." And then at his father's raised eyebrow, clearly confused by Arthur's attentiveness to someone that had been forced upon him, Arthur reacted even quicker to say, "All of these new people have been making him nervous, and with him still adjusting to such a difference in...life style, I believe that it might be becoming to much for the boy. As his husband, I'm sure that there is some small token that I can give to alleviate his worries..."

Maybe this made Arthur sound as if he cared to much about Merlin's sake, but at least it had sounded good for anybody that could be listening in. Like Valiant. Nobody would think that Arthur was anything less than a doting husband if he was seen doing some small security changes for Merlin's benefit.

And speaking of Valiant, Arthur casually glanced over in his direction, only to frown at what he saw. On the outside, Valiant didn't look any different than he had been seconds before. But there was something off about him that Arthur just couldn't pinpoint, maybe it was the look in his eyes as Arthur started to talk about an upgrade in their security, but for the first time since they'd sat down to dine, the other knight actually looked the slightest bit annoyed by this.

But Arthur brushed it aside as his father was now asking him for his suggestions. And he may be dumb for doing it, but the suggestion that Merlin had given him were what he told him: like how it was probably best to have a twenty four hour security watch on the royal wing during these tournaments. With all of these strangers in the castle, one may just find themselves where they aren't supposed to be.

And even though it had been Merlin that had been the one to suggest it, Arthur had been forced to admit to himself that it wasn't a half bad idea.

X

Merlin-for probably the tenth time in the last two minutes-shoved a frustrated arm across his eye's. His eye sockets had probably been rubbed raw at this point, they almost hurt to the touch, but he couldn't afford to just sit so that he could wallow away in his misery. Even if it pissed him off that Arthur could go off to his fancy dinner as if he hadn't just broken Merlin's heart in what would probably be the cruelest way he possibly could, it wasn't like this was the time nor the place to draw this attention to it.

That dinner was only going to last so long, so this might be the only opportunity that Merlin had before the finals to find that undeniable proof he needed to take Valiant out of the proceedings. He could allow his embarrassed tears to resurface when he wasn't on a time limit, his only worry right now should be if he would be able to get in and out without any problems.

It was obvious that despite Camelot's many greatness, it's security was most obviously lacking. He was able to get down the hallway where all of the visiting knight's were staying this week with relative ease, nobody there to stop him even if they wanted to. He wasn't exactly sure how much of this 'power of a consort' he actually had, so he didn't want to waste the time it would take if a knight had stopped him from going any further.

Merlin made it to the door that would lead into Valiant's chambers with relative ease, and with nobody the wiser as he stopped outside the same door he had been at the first time he had came here. Merlin's nose wrinkled up in disgust because he could still picture in his mind's eye at how those snakes had literally ripped apart that field mouse.

And if they would attempt to do the same to him if they caught wind of what exactly he was doing there.

But no matter, Merlin just had to get inside of the room before he could worry about what to do when he was actually in it. He glanced down either side of the hallway, just to make sure that nobody was going to make a sudden appearance and catch their consort in the act of breaking into a 'noble knights' quarters. He doubted that even being a consort would have saved him from Uther's wrath now that Gaius had pointed it out to him. Hell, the king may even use it as the opportunity he needed to toss Merlin out on his arse, but then again...the king may not be allowed to do it if that stupidly binding contract said something different in the case of the consort breaking Camelot's laws.

Well, he doubted it did but one never knows, right?

But then again, wasn't he breaking the laws by just existing within Camelot's borders anyway...there was just to many variables for Merlin to purposely get caught on the off chance that they may send his 'thieving arse' home. And besides, getting sent home now-if that would even happen-wouldn't help Arthur survive whatever it was that Valiant planned for him.

Merlin checked the door first, grabbing the rounded handle that hung off the edge and tried tugging it open. But all he heard was the sound the door would make when it had been locked up, the rattling of the door as it shook but would not yield. Maybe Valiant wasn't as dumb as Merlin thought he was if the knight had taken to locking his door after he'd been caught the last time he'd left it open.

With not much time left to spare, and with no idea if the dinner was finishing up or not, he was quick to step back away from the door. It might have been a good idea after all to leave George stationed by the main doors that was being guarded by two knights. His job was to distract Valiant if the dinner finished quicker than he thought it would, to buy Merlin just a little more extra time if he needed it. Although really, George just thought Merlin was trying to keep tabs on the knight after they had their 'disastrous' first meeting where Valiant had threatened to bring Merlin up to the king to face charges for 'damaging' his armor after they had ran into each other during the first days of the tourney.

Things had changed a lot in these last few days: he hadn't known yet what a creep that Valiant could be, he hadn't known that Valiant was willing to kill off his competition just to win a simple tourney. He had just started to like Arthur, he had only been playing around with the idea of giving him a favor at that point, and he hadn't been left heartbroken because of it.

Merlin gave one last glance around just to make sure that nobody had entered the hall in the last few seconds, before he turned his sights back to the door. If he couldn't get in the old fashione way-by opening it-then he was just gonna have to open it up with what was an even older method. After all, what could be older than the old religion that his magic had came from?

Merlin raised his hand, and took a steady breath that left his lungs shaking. He hadn't been able to do this spell when he'd been practicing in his room, but it was also the only actual spell that he knew...sort of.

Merlin kept his gaze trained steadily on the door handle in front of him, could almost see the locking mechanism through the small gap between the wooden door and the stone wall it was connected to. He could feel a stirring under his veins, a small flood of warmth that shot through his body. To others, it may feel as if they were starting to be overwhelmed and couldn't even begin to handle the flood of power, but to him it just felt like he was coming home. As if he could walk into his mother's hut at any second and smell the bit of ham she managed to get her hands on cooking over the fire.

And then he squashed that warmth. Well, not the warmth itself but the power that would be causing it.

That had been his main issue when he had been doing the spell in the first place. His magic would start to build up because he was putting to much into what was a simple spell. It was a spell that other sorcerer's may find a struggle with because they didn't have as much magic as him, but because Merlin had so much of it in his system, well...he was just lucky he hadn't blown his door sky high instead when he'd been practicing.

But things were different now. This wasn't him practicing in the solitary of his room and needing to hide his craft. This was the real deal, and any mistake could lead to him being caught. So he needed to make it look as if he had never even been there, he needed this lock to open.

"An'lak." He whispered, the old Latin word of the unlocking spell coming off his tongue with practiced ease, it should after how long he had spent practicing his punctuation alone. The word was old and ancient, something that only somebody who could speak the old tongue would have been able to translate if they had been nearby to hear it, if anybody had been nearby to hear it.

Merlin could feel the surge of concentrated magic erupt through his body, going straight out of his chest and down his outstretched arm to center through the palm of his hand poised over the lock. And the only thing one could have seen to indicate Merlin's sorcery, was the golden amber-like molten lava-that his normally dark blue eyes had overtaken.

That, and the solid sound of the lock on the door unclicking. And just like that, it was over with. The surge of warmth faded from him, even if he could still feel the hovering of it in the background, but that was no different than normal. He could always feel it sitting there, just hanging out until he needed to use it. The magic that had just been shining ever so brightly in his eyes, faded entirely, leaving not even a spark of gold in his blue irises.

His mask of humanity was his only defense and protection from a cruel world, from those that would want to prosecute him if they had witnessed what he'd just done, not even a question of why he would be breaking into a knight's room on their lips.

Merlin cast one more glance around just to be on the safe side, before he was ducking into the room. He almost slammed the door behind him in his hurry, before his brain was catching up with him, and he slowed down his movements so that the door shut behind him with a gentle click of the latch.

Just as Valiant had been smart enough to lock his door this time around, Merlin was smart enough to not do his snooping with it wide open. After that was in, he only took a moment to analyze the room in front of him.

With the large bed and wide windows, with tapestries hanging on the walls and a large fireplace, the small table and a couple of chairs scattered around, it truly looked as if it was a fit room for a guest belonging to the royal household to stay in. Except for one thing, but that was probably just because he wasn't tricked by the harmless equipment the magic was contained in.

The shield was sitting perched on top of one of the chairs facing the doorway, it could be seen almost as eerie how it just sat there as if it were waiting for him to arrive. But at the same time, despite the three snakes painted on it, it looked completely harmless. As if it really was nothing more than just a shield that was meant to defend the body from an unwanted attack, and not a powerful magical object that could kill you in the blink of an eye.

Merlin wasn't getting anywhere near it, not even paying him could have convinced him to go up to it empty handed. That was why he snatched up a sword, sitting precariously on a rack nearest to the door. He didn't know if this was the sword that Valiant used in his matches, or if this was just one of many that he may carry around.

Either way, he supposed that it didn't matter, it was going to be his saving grace today. He readjusted his grip, trying to remember if Arthur had instructed him how he was to hold a sword proper back when they'd have their first and only training session together, but nothing came to mind. It did feel large and awkward in his grip he knew, and his sweaty and clammy hands were holding tightly onto the handle of the blade as he held it out in front of him. He didn't know what to expect but he did know it would be better for him to be prepared for anything.

He found himself to be creeping up to the shield with a weary look in his eye, almost waiting for them to pop out of the shield themselves and attack him. But the closer he got, and still, nothing was happening. The tip of the blade was poised at the uppermost top snake, but there wasn't even a shimmer or a hiss to indicate that the snakes even knew that he was there.

Cautiously, he started to lower his sword away from the shield, still tense and ready just in case they did make their reappearance.

But they didn't, and Merlin slowly kneeled down to the floor, examining every inch of the shield that he could see. This...this was the right shield, right? Valiant didn't have a duplicate copy of the real one just lying here in wait for somebody that may want to take the original, right?

But no matter what angle he tried to look at it from, nothing happened. If Merlin didn't know already what it could do, it would be easy to dismiss it as nothing more than a normal shield. Even if the snakes painted on it, the way their red eye's gleamed with an almost knowing light and the venom was practically dripping off of their open mouthed fangs, was a disturbing sight to see.

Merlin didn't even notice when his own head started to lower so that he could get a better look, the grip of his hand around the handle of his borrowed sword starting to lax until he was barely holding it at all. But still...nothing.

There was the sudden sound of movement going on outside, and it was close by. Far to close by actually, for comfort.

Merlin, still low to the ground, whipped himself around with his eyes rounded. His hand on the handle of the blade tightened up as he half raised it in his defense. Had Valiant came back to the room, was he standing right outside the door about to come in and catch Merlin red handed? What had happened to George, shouldn't he have been distracting him? Had Valiant done something to George!

But the sounds of the voices continued on walking, going straight past Valiant's room, not a clue that their consort was behind the door and prepared to fight back if he had to.

It was only after the sound of footsteps were starting to fade away did Merlin's hand on the sword start to relax. And he cautiously rose to his feet, still keeping a carefully trained eye on the door just in case Valiant did burst in on him.

That small movement was probably the one thing that had saved his life.

When he had been standing, he had also been straining his ears, trying to listen in for any movement that might indicate that someone was coming in. But he couldn't hear anyone outside the door any longer, the sound of the hissing coming from behind him was to loud for him to hear anything else.

And just like that, Merlin could see because of the moonlight streaming in through the windows were causing shadows on the wall in front of him. He could see it now, the movement of something long-and growing longer-starting to emerge from somewhere behind him over his shoulder. The snake was slithering, it's slim body-cast by the shadows-was going back and forth and he could have sworn he even saw the brief hint of a tongue flicking out to taste at the air.

To taste the stench of Merlin's growing fear.

But fear or not, if Merlin didn't react, he was going to end up just like Ewan. Unconscious and near the brink of death, with no hope if he wasn't able to get this antidote.

Merlin's sweaty hand tightened around the handle of the blade, and when he saw the shadow of the snake coiling up and prepared to strike him down where he stood, he reacted, and not a moment to soon either.

With one smooth slice of his blade, Merlin was whipping around and he could hear the sound of the air as his sword cut straight through it. Then there was a thud, and Merlin was staring down at the body of a snake laid out on the floor. It's head had been severed off completely by his sword, the mouth still open and frozen in mid-bite.

The strangest thing about all of it? There was no blood, not even the smallest trickle that would indicate it had once been a living and breathing creature. But Merlin supposed that was just the magic of it all, magic had clearly created it so there was no use for blood if the magic was keeping it alive.

Before he got the chance to truly inspect it though, and wonder if it would still be able to attack him even though it looked dead, the harsh sounds of more hissing permeated the air.

Merlin's head whipped up, eye's going wide as he saw not even a ripple on the shield. As if sensing their friend had fallen, the other two snakes had started to withdraw out of the shield. They hissed at him, their tongues flicking out threateningly, and Merlin wasn't confident enough in his skills with a sword to think that he could take them both out before one of them was able to bite him.

He flinched when of the snakes struck out to snap it's jaws at him, only to pull back at the last minute. It was either playing with it's own dinner (him) or it was warning him of what was to come. Either way, Merlin wasn't going to be staying around long enough to find out.

Merlin threw his sword to the side, knowing that he wouldn't be fast enough to take out the snakes but also knowing that it would do nothing but weigh him down if he bothered to carry it. Then he was throwing himself to the ground, literally feeling the second snake as it struck out like it's companion had mere moments before. It brushed the tips of his hair before it was jerking back to hiss angrily at his miss.

But Merlin wasn't going to stay to give it any satisfaction of being able to bite him. With one smooth motion, he was snatching up the fallen snake head from the first snake tightly in one hand before he was making a break for the door.

He didn't even check to see if anybody was in the hallway, he didn't even have the time to check if he wanted to. He was throwing himself out of that door, and slamming it shut with a resolute thud behind him. And with his back pressed up against it, Merlin could hear the harsh sound of something bang against the door, and the frantic, angry sounds of the snakes hissing at him through it.

But no matter, Merlin had gotten exactly what he needed. This snake head-and he glanced down at the head the size of his own fist just to make sure and reassure himself that he had truly gotten it into his possession. It was hard to think that this thing had been inside of that shield, it felt so weird for something that bad came out of a painting, he thought with a frown as he ran his thumb over the top of it's scaly green head.

Merlin's head snapped up when he heard the soft hit against the door at his back. The snakes clearly weren't pleased with what he had done to their friend.

With no time to waste, Merlin took off running down the hallway, his heart pounding away in his chest as he ran as fast as he could. He had to get this snakehead to his uncle so that he could get the antidote and save Ewan.

Maybe it was bad timing, and maybe it wasn't the right call considering what Arthur had done to him just hours before, but not even Merlin could help himself when he blandly thought: if Arthur fought Valiant, then Merlin was gonna end up as a widow not even a full month into their marriage, and that had to be some kind of record for the shortest lived marriage ever. It might not be so bad though, being a widow...no. Arthur may be an cruel jerk, but not even he deserved to be murdered in a tourney in front of his entire kingdom.

Merlin was so caught up in getting to his uncle, that he never saw Valiant and George walking out of a side hallway towards the rooms he'd just left from.

"So, what do you think? It's a great idea, isn't it Sir Valiant?" George was asking, as if he hadn't just seen his master running away like a chicken with it's head cut off. "I think that it'll be a good call to implement servants having a casual dress Friday. It'll boost the morale of everybody if we got to dress how we wanted one day a week during working hours."

"You already dress how you want." Valiant grunted, not even paying any real attention to the gnat at his side who'd been following him ever since the dinner had came to an end mere minutes before. He was to busy staring down the hallway with narrowed eyes, where Merlin had just disappeared around the corner.

"Oh, I know." George said with a light hearted giggle, as if he thought that Valiant was just being obtuse on purpose, still trying to stand in front of him to stop him from going any further. "But I do have this wonderful ascot just like this one." He said brightly, bringing up a hand to rest on the one around his neck. "And it's only a slightly different shade of red, but it feels marvelous against the skin. It's not nearly as scratchy as my every day one! So I only wear it during special occasions of course, I don't want to wear it out or anything."

Valiant couldn't take it anymore, the prince's consort had been running for some reason and he wanted to know what it was. He had also no reason to be down this hallway in the first place, not unless he needed something... "Get lost." The knight grunted, literally pushing passed him to get down the hall to his room.

"Oh, as you wish, Sir Valiant." George said as he vanished down the hallway. It was getting late and he still needed to turn down his master's linens before he returned to his room for a night of well deserved sleep.

But Valiant didn't hear him over the roaring of his ears as he reached his doorway and was reaching down for the handle. Something wasn't right, and he was gonna find out what it was.

X

"Uncle Gaius! Uncle Gaius!" Merlin was shouting out before he had even reached the door to his uncle's quarters. His uncle could hear him coming from halfway down the hall, and every muscle in his body seemed to lax in relief at what sounded like his nephew's safe return. Only for him to flinch startled when Merlin literally threw the door to his chambers open. The door made a loud crash as it slammed against the wall before Merlin was throwing it closed behind him.

"Merlin, what on earth?" Gaius exclaimed, throwing himself to his feet as he cast the door a look of concern. Was there somebody chasing Merlin, and that was why he had came running in here like the hounds of hell were lapping at his ankles.

But Merlin didn't say anything of that nature.

Instead, he hurried across the length of the room to where Gaius had been sitting at one of his many tables, flipping through a book on how to alleviate the poison of a snakebite. Now, it wouldn't cure the symptoms or help the victim without the actual antidote, but at least it would ease their pain and suffering as they headed closer and closer towards their death.

"I've got it, I've got it!" Merlin said, with a wide and ever growing smile. It was a huge turnaround of what he'd been looking like as he'd been leaving the hour before. And Gaius could see why when Merlin planted a large snakehead down onto the table in front of him, as if he was presenting his uncle with the head of a great beast that had been spending it's evenings terrorizing the townsfolk.

But then again, Gaius supposed that actually wasn't to far off the mark. Reacting quickly, and with no actual time to lose, Gaius was snatching up the snakehead and one of his many empty jars strewn all over the place.

Merlin watched with rapt attention as Gaius poised the snakehead until it's fangs were over the lip of the jar and pointing downward into it. And then he was grimacing from the sickening crack that seemed to echo through the chamber when Gaius pressed down hard enough that it looked as if the snakehead had cracked into two.

But it was working, because Merlin could see the trickle of a deadly liquid easing it's way down the snake's fangs and dripping steadily into the jar. It was almost fascinating to watch, and he couldn't stop staring at it, as if he thought the snakehead-and with it, his proof-was going to disappear if he took his eyes off of it for even a second.

The process lasted for several long minutes, until it was clear that Gaius had now drained the last of the snake's venom reserves. At first, the steady draining of the venom had started to slow until it was just dribbling into the jar. And then it slowed down even more until it was just a light drip, drip, drip, every other second off of it's pointed fangs.

Merlin looked up from the jar only when his uncle carefully tugged the snakehead off of it, being cautious not to prick his fingers against the fangs just in case there was still a little something left over. Setting the snake's head aside on the table, Gaius lifted up the jar and swirled around it's contents. It didn't look like much, only the bottom was filled up a few inches.

"Will that be enough?" Merlin asked urgently as he wasn't sure how much venom would be needed to cure Ewan, whose time had been growing shorter and shorter. He still had his heartbeat, but it no longer looked as if he were breathing. His shallow and desperate breaths for air he'd been doing earlier was all but non-existent at this point.

"It'll be enough." Gaius told him with a solid nod, and he sure sounded confident enough for Merlin. His uncle had had the jar raised up to his eyes so that he could study the deadly toxin inside, but now he was lowering it down so that he could look at his nephew, "I'll get started on the antidote right away."

Gaius had barely finished his sentence before Merlin was pushing away from the table, "I'm going to tell..." he stopped, feeling as if his heart had just dropped into his stomach like a particularly heavy stone. "...Arthur."

With everything that he had to do just to get the snakehead into his possession, he had almost forgotten that he would actually have to talk to Arthur at some point. It had been hard enough just seeing that glimpse of him at his fancy dinner, what would he be able to say or do when they came face to face.

"You're going to need this." Gaius spoke up, and then he was picking the snakehead back up and placing it in Merlin's hand. Merlin let his fingers curl around the snakehead, feeling every bump of it's scales even with how numb his fingers were feeling.

Fucking hell, Merlin thought even as he was walking to the door, his fingers curled so tightly around the snakehead that he almost feared the scales would be sharp enough to cut into his hand.

He wasn't even sure he'd be able to make it to Arthur with the state he was in, or how he was going to react when he actually had his attention. If he even wanted his attention with what Arthur had done still playing vividly in his mind like a modern day video loop, but he knew he had to anyway.

Who else was gonna warn Arthur of the danger Valiant possessed. His shield still had at least two active snakes, and if he got into his match with Arthur...it would all be going downhill after that.

"And Merlin," Gaius called out after him just as Merlin was reaching his door. Merlin stopped in place and looked back towards his uncle, almost wishing that he would have some kind of solution that wouldn't involve having to talk to Arthur. Or maybe some kind of advice on a situation that he knew nothing about on what to do when talking to the boy that took pleasure in shattering his heart.

But Gaius didn't tell him any of that. Instead, he gave him an almost fatherly looking smile before saying, "What you did was actually very brave."

Not many young men would have had the guts to confront venomous snakes that already had one victim under their belt-that they knew of-just because it was the right thing to do. And maybe that was why Merlin was still trying so hard even after what Arthur had done to him, because it was just the right thing to do.

In another universe, Merlin may have smiled a lot more broadly. He may had even been downright giddy, knowing that his uncle was proud of him would have sent a surge of warmth through his body.

But it didn't. Not this time.

Merlin's smile was a lot more weary and uncertain in the face of what he was about to do. Even if his uncle did have some kind of wise words of advice for him on how to not either breakdown or go off like a lunatic after you'd been rejected so harshly, it probably wouldn't have helped his nerves anyway. He still had to go up there and confront Arthur on his own, he still had to go up there and act as if he hadn't been affected by Arthur's cruel treatment of him.

"...Thanks, uncle." Merlin said quietly, before he finally slipped out of the room. As much as he wanted to stay here and hash things out with Gaius-to figure out a more detailed plan on how this would help get rid of Valiant-if only so he could waste some more time, that wasn't going to solve his problems. Valiant would still be on the loose and Arthur would still be completely unaware of the situation. It wouldn't help because one way or the other, sooner or later, he would still have to talk to Arthur again.

Merlin was halfway down the hallway before he heard his uncle calling out after him, "Wait a minute, where's George!" It might had been funny, a small comment that would lead to shared grins and bits of laughter when Merlin knew that George had probably already done his grand escape to get away from Valiant, as they had planned it before Merlin had left him behind.

But Merlin didn't stop walking.

In his hand, he was holding solid proof about Valiant's treason. He had actual evidence on his side of things, not just his word which could be denied as nothing more than false claims of a boy trying to stir up trouble.

Arthur may had denied his favor, and in a strange way that also meant he was denying Merlin completely. But not even Arthur would be able to deny him when Merlin brought him the head of the beast that he'd slayed to save his life.

X

Arthur was sitting at his desk, and had a full plate in front of him for his dinner. The bread and water he'd subsidized as his meal earlier obviously wasn't going to be enough to fill his stomach, especially since the servants had only given him four or so-albeit thick-slices. It was why he had taken a second dinner up in his room, a more proper one that Morris had fetched for him to enjoy in the privacy of his own chambers.

It had been funny at first, seeing what Merlin had done, it still kind of was actually. He was sure his father hadn't approved of Arthur when he'd kept it, but it was a good thing he had. He wasn't sure rather or not he'd be able to keep down the rich and hearty food he'd grown up with while Valiant was smugly staring him down from across the tabletop.

"It was pure ridiculous! I can't believe your consort actually thought such a thing would be appropriate, and at such an important dinner!" Morris was off to the side, ranting away as he was putting Arthur's clothing into the wardrobe.

Speaking of wardrobe, Arthur was no longer in his ceremonial armor. That had been the first thing to go when he'd returned to his room after they'd had dessert, and his father bided everybody a goodnight and warned them to get a fair bit of rest, for-as his father had worded it-their two champions would need all the rest they could get before tomorrow afternoon. So now Arthur, whilst not prepared for bed itself, was prepared to stay up just a little bit longer as to get his mind into working order-to figure out at least ten different strategies to beat Valiant in the final rounds, that he could go with if the first nine failed. So he wore his brown walking boots, shined to perfection instead of being all scuffed up despite wearing these some days ago. His soft brown trousers were tucked into them, and his long sleeve light blue shirt he wore when he was just trying to relax in his rooms complimented his figure well.

Not that he had anybody he wanted to compliment, he thought as he glanced towards the basket of dirty laundry against the wall waiting for Morris to take care of. He knew that Lady Clarissa's favor had been placed in there, lost somewhere among the many clothes. But whatever, he wasn't too keen on digging it out. He actually wasn't too keen on seeing it at all, he'd already gotten the use he needed out of it anyway.

"I mean, was he purposely going out of his way to make a laughing stock out of you, sire!" Morris was complaining again as he slid a full hanger into Arthur's wardrobe.

Arthur paid him no attention as he allowed his fork to pierce a piece of cooling meat. Then he was lifting it up to look at it as if it were the most fascinating thing on the planet, his other hand had his cheek resting against it to hold up his head. Although he knew that he should be hungry right about now since he hadn't eaten much at dinner, he just couldn't bring himself to actually eat. His mind was to far away, enjoying the peace and quiet as the candlelight on the edge of his desk flickered.

Morris' nattering was nothing more than background noise to him at this point in time.

"And forgive me if you believe that I am showing impudence, sire." Morris was ranting as he kept going on. "I still cannot believe he didn't even bother to turn up at your latest fight. It's not very proper for a consort to not show his support."

But Arthur just tuned him out as he went on and on about what a disgrace it was for his consort to not be at his last fight. But Arthur knew that he had been, had came to see him even before the fight had begun. And he had no doubt that if he hadn't been seen after-because Arthur hadn't been looking for him at that point, riding off the high and feeling pretty satisfied that he'd gotten his point across-it had only been because Merlin had left due to his own actions.

And while yes, Arthur did consider that his actions may be regrettable, it had been one that he had needed to take. It wouldn't do for Merlin to waste his time with fantasies that were never going to happen, he needed to be thrown back into the real world and find a hobby or something that would actually be a better use of his time.

"It leaves me wondering if he will even show up for your final match tomorrow, sire." Morris said in an obnoxious tone as he shut the wide doors to Arthur's wardrobe closed with a click of the metal on the door latching it shut. "It just makes me wonder what kind of consort he could possibly be if he can't make it when you need him."

Arthur doubted that he would see Merlin much after what he'd done, if ever. He most likely wouldn't show up to the final rounds at all, which he considered was probably for the best.

And speaking of his finale match, Arthur was thinking as a hint of agitation finally started growing in him. It was only seen from the way he had dropped his fork back into his plate, no longer interested in even pretending that he was considering eating it. His eyes had just narrowed the slightest bit, staring down with a bit of distaste at the gravy pooling under his meat in the plate.

Who did Valiant think he was, making the kind of remarks he had right over the dinner table? Making suggestions and indicating that he and Merlin may be having some kind of illicit affair right under his nose.

Arthur felt his nose flare in disgust, was that really the kind of man that Merlin would be interested in? The kind of man that was all smug face with a cocky attitude to match. A man that clearly thought way to highly of himself, and made sure to let others near him know it as well.

The kind of man that-in all but looks-was actually quite similar to Arthur himself. And didn't that just make him even more annoyed, because why was Merlin going off giving him favors if he actually was interested in Valiant? What was so fricken special about Valiant?

Did Merlin just believe that Arthur was so dumb that he wouldn't stop to question his motives for this whole charade of his?

The questions just kept on coming for him, was Merlin actually in love with him? Or had it just been some kind of ploy to get Arthur off his case so that he'd be free to be with his real lover.

"Now Valiant," Morris said in a tone that was quite a bit more cheerful than it had been when he'd been talking about Merlin. "That is the kind of guy people can look up to, a real leader of the people kind of guy. I wouldn't mind so much having a man like that on the throne."

If Morris thought that this statement would do anything to make Arthur feel better about what his life had become, he was obviously mistaken. If anything, it caused a spike to go off in his chest, making it feel as if his heart was twisting in on himself. Maybe that was Merlin's play, maybe he was planning on killing Arthur for the throne and then he would be marrying Valiant so that the two of them could rule together.

It was almost as soon as that thought entered his mind did Arthur cross it out. No, he was just being delusional and paranoid over such silly matters. Who cared if Merlin was having secret rendezvous with another man, while Arthur was forced to sit alone in his suite and listen to Morris ramble on about god-knows-what.

But that thought also brought another to Arthur's mind. What if Merlin was off with Valiant at this very moment, having their own second dinner with each other. Arthur could just imagine the kind of dinner Merlin would have enjoyed. Something that a girl may like, with the quiet and the privacy and the bits of candlelight to make the mood more romantic.

It almost made his own dinner seem quite dull, and just a little bit more lonely than it had moment's before. Despite Morris' non-stop nattering, there was a silence to the room that was just starting to get to him. But Arthur stubbornly stabbed a piece of meat onto his fork, almost acting as if he was going to stab a certain knight instead. He stuffed the bite of meat into his mouth and chewed forcefully, almost as if he had some kind of point to prove only to himself.

If Merlin wanted to go on secret dates with Valiant, then he should just go. At least then Arthur could stay by himself whilst knowing that Merlin wasn't off getting himself into trouble. He probably was off with Valiant, doing whatever it was that two guys would do on a secret date...what did two guys do on a date anyway?

Arthur knew all about how he was supposed to treat a lady when he would take her out for the evening, but did those same rules also apply when one was with a man? Was Valiant keeping his hands off of Merlin like one would a lady for the sake of propriety, or was he the type to not keep his hands off of what wasn't his to touch?

As he considered this answer, Arthur's chewing started to slow and he started to tap his fingers across his table. It was an agitated motion, something that he felt he had to do to get some kind of energy out of his body if only so he wouldn't do something stupid and order to have a mass search done by the guards to track Merlin down.

No, he was just being stupid. Even if it was killing him to know where Merlin was at that exact moment, to know exactly what he was doing, how far he had gotten when he had gotten nowhere with Arthur, and who he had gotten this far with. But no, if Merlin was out there with Valiant, the last thing Arthur would want was for the guards to stumble upon them doing whatever it was that they were doing together.

X

Merlin hesitated just outside of Arthur's door, not entirely sure if he wanted to do this after all. His own room-he shot a glance over in it's direction-was right next door. It would only be all to easy for him to go to bed instead, for him to pretend that he hadn't been hovering outside the door for the past minute or two.

Was he ready to go in there and face Arthur after what had happened? Could he talk to him with a straight face, without acting as if his heart didn't feel as if they were torn into ribbons by callous hands? He didn't feel as if he were about to cry anymore so that was a good sign, he didn't think that he would have been able to live it down if he started blubbering in front Arthur. But he feared that he may not be crying right now just because he was numb to everything. It was as if his tear ducts just weren't responding to him or his emotions at the moment.

Merlin raised a hand up to the door to knock, feeling more awkward than he probably ever had his whole life. Was he supposed to knock before he just walked into Arthur's room? He supposed he would like it for people to knock before walking into his own, just in case he had forgotten to lock the door and was doing something that he wasn't supposed to be doing. But then again, what could Arthur be doing that he wouldn't want Merlin to see?

He'd already shown where his feelings for Merlin lied to the entirety of the court.

But still, even when Merlin had his closed fist up to the door, he couldn't bring himself to knock. What if Merlin didn't like what Arthur had to say for himself when he went in there, what if the blonde started screaming at him about how he should just 'take the damn hint and leave him alone' before Merlin got to tell him about the snake.

And speaking of the snake, Merlin glanced down at his other hand to where he was holding the snakehead. Right, there actually was a reason that he hadn't just retreated to his room so that he could try to put this entire awful day behind him. If he didn't suck it up and go in there, then Arthur would have no time to do whatever it was he needed to do to drop out of the tourney and have Valiant arrested.

As much as it hurt him to be here, Merlin also knew that there were just some things in life that were a lot more important than some hurt feelings.

But who said that he had to mention the favor at all? There was only one reason he was here in the first place, and that was to warn Arthur about what Valiant was doing. It would be out of his hands after he'd done that. He wasn't here to start a fight when he had already made it very clear to Merlin what his feelings were on the subject.

So, Merlin thinned his lips and slowly lowered his fist away from the door. Maybe...maybe it was a good idea for him to just come back later. For all he knew, Arthur was already in bed and wouldn't take to kindly to being disturbed by Merlin.

...Fuck.

Merlin didn't even bother to try knocking this time. He knew that if he did, and had to wait for Arthur to answer him, he probably would have chickened out. Would have left just so he wouldn't have to face Arthur before he was ready to, would have left just so there would be no chance of Merlin's mistake being mentioned. Or to see Arthur laugh and mock him for thinking for one second that he may have actually had a chance.

So, he threw the door opened with all his might-probably a little to much since it did end up slamming into the wall behind it-but he ignored that bit as he strode into the room. Almost acting as if he were the one that owned the place and Arthur was the unwanted guest that was just taking up his valuable space.

He did this before he had the chance to stop himself.

"Arthur, we need to talk!" He exclaimed, his voice way higher and almost yelling more than he had meant for it to be. But hey, from the shared looks of surprised on both Morris and Arthur's face, it had at least gotten their attention.

X

Arthur had always kind of considered his room as a safe space, a sort of safe haven that he could retreat to if he wasn't lucky enough to make his escape into the woods to go hunting. His room was a place where he could just be himself with no judgement from anybody else, he could do whatever he wanted-behave-however he wanted. And he didn't have to be concerned with the opinion of the masses. He could just be...himself, he could relax in a way that he just wasn't able to do when he was in the public's eye.

But that sanctuary had just been stomped on, practically decimated before he had even known that it was. Within seconds, a second loud clang filled the air as Arthur dropped his fork harshly onto his plate, looking panicked when he saw the whirlwind that had just stormed into his room, looking almost like a billowing cloud that would not be deterred from where it wanted to go.

"What on earth!" Arthur bellowed back in his shock, throwing himself to his feet before he had even registered that it was Merlin. Sure, despite it being his 'safe space' Arthur was used to the occasional guard bursting in on him if there was some kind of emergency that needed his sudden and immediate attention.

But what he wasn't used to was his consort making himself at home, allowing himself the authority he didn't have to enter Arthur's room whenever he pleased. And Arthur could only hope that he didn't also do it whenever he wasn't here. The last thing Arthur wanted was to come in and see Merlin going through his things as if they were his own.

But it was as if everything had just came to a startling and screeching halt, quite similar to the sound of a more modern day record player as the needle of it slid across the disk it was playing. And that was only because he saw Merlin, could really see him in that one moment. The way he was breathing hard as if he had just ran all the way there, his chest heaving up and down. Arthur didn't know him all that well enough, but he was looking either really pissed or really freaked. It was like it was all blended together, and Arthur wasn't able to pinpoint which was the dominant emotion.

"I know your new around here and everything but don't you have any class?" Morris cut in through his thoughts, apparently getting real defensive real quick. "You can't just come into the prince's room whenever you please!"

Maybe Arthur should have stepped in, not to reprimand his manservant, but to demand to know what his consort was thinking by just bursting in here. But even though he had thrown himself up out of his chair, he still didn't say anything. He didn't think he would want to, not with the way Merlin was looking: This was most likely the conversation that he'd been dreading, the one where Merlin had finally gotten up the courage to approach him and start demanding answers from him. He had been hoping that Merlin would just forget, or maybe decide this fight wasn't worth getting into.

Merlin didn't even seem to realize that Morris had spoken to him, he made a straight beeline across the room to Arthur. The prince would forever deny that he had flinched back, sure that he wasn't going to like whatever Merlin's newest outrageous stunt to get his attention would be. But Merlin didn't round the desk he had been sitting at, he stopped right in front of it.

Arthur was grateful he didn't try to come to his side, he liked the idea of keeping the table in front of him like some kind of barrier. Some object that would stop Merlin from trying to touch him, or be with him, or...oh god, he hoped Merlin hadn't been crying over losing him. What was he supposed to do with a crying man, hell, he didn't even know what he should do when he caught a girl crying.

"Arthur," Merlin said from across from the desk, and his voice sounded rushed and certain, as if he knew exactly what he was about to say. Arthur stiffened, knowing that Merlin had most likely spent the better part of the evening going over what he wanted to say to him. He just really hoped that Merlin wasn't here to beg Arthur to take him on as a real husband, to degrade himself as if he thought begging Arthur to change his mind would do any good. "I'm not entirely sure how to say this, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. I think that you're, no I know, that your in dang-"

He was cut off by Morris getting in between him and his desk. "I think that you need to be going now." He said, his voice firm and harsh.

Merlin's eye's snapped down to look at the smaller man in dismay at his interruption, but all Arthur could feel was relief. Maybe all he had to do was keep Morris with him, to stop Merlin from making even more of a fool out of himself by pleading to do whatever it took to win Arthur's favor.

"Wait, what? Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, his head snapping up to look at him as Morris was trying to herd him to do the door. It was almost as if he thought Arthur was going to stop Morris from trying to make him leave, as if he thought Arthur would actually want him here.

But if Merlin thought that he was going to do that, then he was clearly mistaken. Because Arthur wanted Merlin out of his room, well he actually wanted him out of his life but he'd settle on just having him out of his vicinity. So feeling awkward and unsettled by Merlin's sudden appearance, Arthur gave the boy a cocky and superior grin.

"You can't just come bursting into my private rooms, the door being closed meant that I clearly don't want you here."

Arthur wasn't sure if his self-fulfilled grin hit the mark, even he could tell that there was something lacking about it. A certain type of heat or anger that would have made it to the other boy like a punch in the gut. Instead, it just seemed to fall short.

"You heard your prince, it is time for you to leave." Morris said boldly, sounding a little to self-confident for a serving boy who'd made decisions on behalf of his prince to escort his own consort from his rooms.

"But I need to talk to him!" Merlin exclaimed, as he finally turned his attention onto the boy even when he felt himself stumbling over his own feet as he was herded backwards to the open door. He honestly didn't know if he was wanting to punch Arthur right now, but he did want to do something unmistakable horrible to him for trying to toss him out. Merlin did know that he didn't want to cry, he felt way to pumped up and anxious for something like that.

"And he doesn't want to talk to you." Morris said as he got Merlin to the door. There was a wide and cocky smirk on his face that should have looked out of place, but it didn't. Not to him at least. Morris felt almost superior right now, proud and strong in the knowledge that Arthur wanted his company more than he wanted his own's husband's. He'd spent the evening blabbering away to the prince of all the things he thought were Merlin's biggest faults-which was hard only because there had been to many to choose from-but he thought his plan was working. Focused as he was, he'd been carefully planting the seeds of doubt into Arthur's mind, trying to make him realize even on a subconscious level, that Merlin was nothing more than a hindrance that would cause him more headaches than anything else. That there were no reason to keep him here if he was causing more trouble than he was actually worth.

Once Morris was able to convince Arthur to do away with the boy, then he could put the second phase of his plan into motion: getting Arthur to notice him. Clearly it hadn't worked out that first week before the marriage, when Morris had been trying to get his attention by flirting with him, so he had allowed those actions to die off. Morris knew a losing battle when he saw one, and it was clear that Arthur was so distracted by his upcoming nuptials that there was nothing Morris could have done to get his attention in that short of a time frame.

So now, he was working on things in a little more...indirect light. Behinds the scenes, so to speak, to make Arthur wonder why he was putting up with all of Merlin's faults when he could just get rid of the boy. Once Merlin was out of the picture, then he could make his next move.

Which was why Morris was now trying to shut the door in Merlin's face, pushing with all of his strength as he put the entirety of what little weight he had against the thick, wooden frame. But Merlin was on the other side, and he was pushing back just as hard and it made the door wobble back and forth in between closing and not closing.

Merlin narrowed his eye's, ramming roughly into the doorframe with his shoulder even as he felt his feet sliding out from under him. He couldn't believe that he was literally fighting his way to see Arthur. But he had seen the way Morris was smirking at him and it made him all the more determined to get back into that room. Even if he had to go to his room and start beating on their shared connecting door until Arthur allowed him in just to get him to shut up.

He hadn't forgotten what Mary had said with her concerns about Morris, he just hadn't been bothered to be worry with everything else that was going on. It was still in his mind but so far on the back burner that it hadn't even been a blimp on his radar, until Morris started kicking him out of the room. Now it came back full force, and was probably why Merlin was still trying so hard to get through the small opening still left in the doorway. He didn't feel...safe, leaving Arthur alone with Morris. Whose to say Morris wasn't working with Valiant, and was planning something to help him do away with Arthur.

Did everybody want to kill this guy?

Merlin was able to slip his head into the gap between the door and the wall, which might be a bad idea because if Morris got the upper hand, well there went his head. But Merlin kept his hands up and pressed against his side of the door so that wouldn't happen.

"Arthur!" He called out, spying over the top of Morris' head to look at the prince who had stayed behind his desk watching them. "This is important!" He wouldn't be trying so hard to get in if it wasn't, he wouldn't be nearly killing himself with this damn door if he didn't genuinely think Arthur's life would be forfeit if he left now. "Your life is in danger!"

Maybe he should have said that earlier, since it actually made a shockwave go throughout the room. It was dead silent after that, not a sound to be heard over their own heartbeats. Morris had even stopped pressing so hard on the door, still keeping it in position but with no actual weight on it that would stop Merlin from pushing himself in if he wanted.

And then all at once, it seemed as if their lives had started back up. Arthur could be seen straightening up from where he stood behind his desk, his eyes narrowed in on thought. As if he was really considering on rather or not he should allow Merlin entrance to explain himself, or if he should just dismiss his claims and send him on his way.

Merlin could feel the muscles in his forearms clenching and unclenching as the full force of the door was suddenly pushed back into him, nearly trapping him in the little opening left. It would be a tight fit for him to squeeze out of now, and he probably wasn't going to leave without an extra scrape or two that he hadn't arrived with.

"Prince Arthur is one of the best fighters in our nation, and has a platoon of excellently trained knights, all of which are more armed and dangerous in their own rights. If he were in danger, then he is more than capable of either taking care of it himself, or sending off one of his men to take care of the problem for him." Morris said, the sneer in his voice audible only to Merlin. "What does he need you here for?"

He clearly thought very little of Merlin, but it wasn't something that Merlin cared much for to address. He wouldn't be fighting nearly as hard as he was to get into this room if the situation wasn't nearly as dire as it was now. In fact, he still wished that he could just walk away and let the cards fall wherever they may. But he knew that while it looked like a very tempting idea right now, he would rather face Arthur now then face him never. He was willing to fight his way into this room because it was clear that somebody had to look after Arthur, and retiring to his room now would mean that he was allowing Arthur to walk to his death tomorrow.

"Other than the fact that I know what's going on?" Merlin asked, his voice coming out dry and irritable. He did not risk going into that knight's room, fighting against a snake that shouldn't even exist, and then having to put his own heartache out of the way just so he could save Arthur's scrawny arse. Well, not scrawny, but Merlin had the right to be pissed off and say whatever he wanted to right now. He was not going to be turned away before he got out what he needed to say. And then after that well, after that what happened would be sorely in Arthur's hands, Merlin had done his duty just by telling him.

"I bet you don't know jack shi-" Morris was starting to tell him, looking boisterous and angry all at the same time. It was clear that he would have never listened to Merlin if it was him that he had came for. But it wasn't Morris that Merlin was interested in, it wasn't him that he was fighting so hard to try to see.

"Morris!" Arthur's voice rang out sharply, and it almost felt as if a whip had gone down both of their spines. Morris and Merlin each froze in their motion, neither wanting to make the first move now that the prince had spoken. It was clear that now wouldn't be a good time to test Arthur's patience.

Morris bit back the sharp retort he'd been making to Merlin, before awkwardly turning to look over his shoulder at the royal, "Er... yes, my lord?"

"Allow him entrance, and then be gone with you." Arthur said, leaning forward to plant his hands firmly on the desk in front of him. He wasn't sure what this was about, but if there had been a threat made against him then he needed to take it seriously. While he was very used to having death threats and the odd assassination attempt made towards him, he knew that he needed to take every claim as seriously as he could. It wouldn't be doable for Camelot's only heir to die before there was a succession in place-a child-who would take the throne when they became of age. It would cause a civil war among his people as they fought to decide who would be the next in line to rule the country after his father had stepped down, and that could all be avoided if he just swallowed his pride for two seconds and heard the boy out.

Besides, if he didn't like what Merlin had to say, there was nothing stopping him from just tossing the boy out on his arse.

Morris seemed to realize this as well, if the downward dip of his lips were anything to go by. It betrayed just how much he didn't want to allow Merlin entrance, but who was this serving boy to go up against what his master had decreed? "Yes, sire." He bit out in a deep and grudging tone before he finally loosened his hold on the door. Which was probably a bad idea because it nearly conked him in the head since Merlin was still leaning so heavily on the other side in case he tried to slam the door in his face instead.

Morris gave Merlin a dirty look, the kind that probably would have been enough to send him to the stocks if it had been directed at either Arthur or the king. Merlin just matched his stare easily, and it became clear that neither boy would probably ever get along. If matters weren't so pressing, Merlin might had tended to be smug about it. But no matter, Morris was leaving anyway. So, with another spiteful glance, Morris took his leave for the evening, quietly stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

Standing out in the hallway, Morris probably would have stayed and waited to see what would happen. To see if Merlin and Arthur would come out anytime soon, and trying to determine on rather or not they were in there having 'private couple time.' It would make sense to Morris that Merlin was just using this whole 'danger' thing just to get Arthur's attention. Which was actually kind of brilliant, why had Morris never thought of that? Fake an emergency and act terrified, so Arthur would feel pressured into comforting you, which could lead to a little something, something.

Morris had barely put his ear up to the door to try and listen in, when there was a gruff clearing of the throat that came from somewhere behind him. The manservant scowled in an instant, grudgingly looking over his shoulder to where tonight's guard was standing at the end of the hall.

Gregory gave him an unimpressed stare, and Morris sighed. Despite the way he talked to Gregory, all tough and better than thou, he knew the knight would have no problem tossing him out on his arse down the stairs if he thought he was being a nuisance.

"I was just checking...for woodworms..." he said awkwardly, already knowing just how dumb of an excuse that was. And from the knight's solemnly raised eyebrow-but then again he was always kind of solemn-it was clear that he thought so as well.

Morris stomped off after that, knowing that he had to work some more on what he was planning on doing about this situation. Merlin couldn't be allowed to stay forever, he clearly had to go.

But what else could he do to have Arthur toss him out? Now, that was the question.

X

Arthur's elbow bumped roughly into the tin cup on his table that held his collection of quills. And it was a really good thing that his collection of ink was already put away in one of the drawers of his desk, or it would have been a pain to call Morris back and get the dark patches of ink out of his desk. It didn't stop him from scrambling to catch his quills before they could scatter everywhere.

"I was just...I've been eating dinner." Arthur said awkwardly, straightening up his quills and waving his hand down to his plate as if Merlin needed some kind of proof that he was doing something innocent.

Arthur tried to act strong, tried to be the prince that he knew he was. But as soon as Morris had left, everything just went downhill for him. It was as if a stone had dropped into his stomach, and he could feel a bit of sweat forming at the base of his hairline. Because it was only after his manservant left did Arthur realize that he was now alone with Merlin. As in totally alone, not a single person in his room other than the boy and himself. And that was when the nerves had started erupting in him.

It wasn't his fault! He'd never been alone with somebody that was in love with him, it would have been improper to not have a chaperone in those circumstances, to make sure that nothing inappropriate happened to ruin the girl's reputation. But Merlin and he were also married so the need for a chaperone was a moot point.

And maybe Arthur was just a little more nervous because Merlin was a guy. At least with a girl he knew how to act, he knew how to turn them down politely and with words so flowery that they didn't even realize they had been turned down until long after he was out of their sight. But he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do with Merlin, or how this was going to work. If his statement with Lady Clarissa's favor hadn't been clear enough, then what would be?

"...I can see that..." Merlin said slowly, and he was frowning as he looked at Arthur with a confused and baffled expression. He had no idea what the prince was doing, all he knew was that was the third time he knocked the quills over with his elbow in the last twenty seconds or so.

Arthur's eye twitched, knowing that he was making a fool of himself but somehow unable to stop it either. It wasn't everyday that he found himself trapped in a room with another man that was bloody in love with him! He could only just image how-all this time-Merlin had been fantasizing about him and their 'future relationship'. It was embarrassing, and he didn't even want to know whatever it was that would go on in Merlin's mind.

Arthur cleared his throat, trying to steel his nerves and move on, casting a glance down at his plate, "As I'm sure you're very much aware, my meal tonight wasn't exactly very filling." And Arthur knew that Merlin was to blame for that one, he had a perfectly good reason to be showing his ire off to Merlin. At least this way, there was no way that Merlin could be given the impression that Arthur had liked what he'd done. And Arthur would just have to never tell him that he'd kept the plate even when it had tried to be taken away from him.

"Hmmm?" Merlin raised his hand, giving him a raised eyebrow in return. "What was that?" It was clear that Merlin hadn't been paying it any attention, and there was sort of air about him right now. He was looking distracted and kind of unsure of himself, and his ill-fitting clothing made him look all the much smaller.

Arthur scowled, feeling his cheeks puffing out a little as he huffed, "You legit gave me bread and water!" He exclaimed loudly, trying to get Merlin's attention, barely glancing back down to the plate where his meats had gone untouched. He quickly averted his gaze back to Merlin, finding seeing some kind of clarity and awareness come back to Merlin.

"Oh, that." Merlin said, glancing down at the plate on Arthur's desk himself. He was going back and forth on his feet, and was it just him or was Merlin holding something behind his back?

Arthur narrowed his eyes and his lips were thinning as he tried to spy around Merlin to see what it was that he could possibly be holding. "Yeah, that." He agreed, darkly, but no matter which way he turned, Merlin's body was still blocking his view. He cleared his throat when he saw Merlin looking back at him now, and straightened up as if he hadn't just been looking at him for a little too long, "Now, about this danger you were talking about..." and then he sat down-practically collapsing-back into his chair to regain his sense of control. To make it look as if he were the one in charge, and Merlin was his unwilling servant come to bring him needed news.

That seemed to get Merlin's attention, and he straightened up impeccable, "Right, there is danger!" and then he was rushing across the length of the room to stand on the other side of the desk across from Arthur. It was so fast that Arthur nearly flinched, and was just able to hold it back at the last second.

Still trying to hide the nervous crackle in his voice, Arthur barked out a firm, "And I swear, if this is just some kind of ploy of yours to get me to talk to yo-" because he was still certain that Merlin was gonna bring up the favor, was going to demand answers from him even though switching the favor out should have given him all the answers he needed.

He was cut off by Merlin placing a bloody snakehead right next to his dinner.

There was a moment of silence where Arthur just stared down at it. He blinked at it, trying to contemplate why exactly, there was a snakehead on his desk. But no matter what scenario he considered, he had no definite answer for why this was here.

"...Do I want to know?" Arthur asked with a sinking feeling in his gut. He really hoped that this wasn't just another attempt at Merlin starting a courtship with him. Since the favor hadn't worked, had Merlin brought him the head of an animal to mount of his wall? Was this some kind of peasant custom that he was unaware of? Where you brought your intended an animal as a way of proving you would be able to provide, so that your intended knew that they weren't going to starve while in your care?

An elk, or bear would have been more impressive. But a snake?

"Yes, you definitely want to know!" Merlin exclaimed, leaning over his desk and jabbing his finger roughly to the top of the snake's head. Arthur leaned back in his seat so that the boy wouldn't get to close, and made a mental reminder to make the boy wash his hands after this. Who knew what diseases that thing was carrying. "Listen, I got this snake from Valiant's room! It was-"

But Arthur wasn't listening anymore, not if the screech of his chair as he pushed it away from his desk was anything to go by. "What is this about Valiant? You were in his room?" He demanded, his voice harsh as he rose out of his chair as if a storm cloud had just formed over his head.

Merlin winced, knowing that he probably shouldn't have started it off that way. It was just like Gaius had warned him about, people would want to know why he had been in the knight's room. "Yes, I was." He admitted but he was quick to rush through his next sentence, "But it's not want your thinking! I was only there because-"

"Not what I'm thinking! Not what I'm thinking!" Arthur exclaimed, and it looked as if a vein was about to burst in his forehead as he shoved away from his desk. "How would you know what I'm thinking! There is nothing you could give me that would give you an excuse to be anywhere near his rooms, yet along in them!"

Arthur practically snarled this as he jabbed his finger in Merlin's direction. Valiant's cryptic words during the dinner was running through his mind, of how 'nice' Merlin had been to him while he'd been in the city. He almost wished that Merlin had came here to yell at him about the favor switch, that would have been a better alternative to finding out this way that Merlin was stepping out on him. What? Did the boy think it was only right to tell Arthur in person instead of him finding out another way? Was this whole 'danger ruse' just a way to get Arthur to talk to him at all?

Arthur didn't care that just minutes earlier, he had been shrugging it off and saying Merlin could do whatever it was he wanted to. Now that he was hearing it, now that it had all but been confirmed, it was a whole different story.

"But you don't understand! Valiant's dang-" Merlin tried again, already knowing that this wasn't going right. But all his words seemed to do was drive Arthur's agitation through the roof.

Arthur was throwing his hands in the air, his emotions going from zero to a hundred in less than a heartbeat, and it was only through his own sheer strength of will that he wasn't throwing Merlin into another wall and holding him there like the previous two times, "No! If all your in here for is to tell me about your crush on that, that...Valiant! Then you just better go ahead and leave now!"

Because so help him, if Merlin didn't leave him to his privacy than Arthur would no longer be responsible for what he might do. Hell, he might order some chains be brought up to his room so that he could chain Merlin to the foot of his desk. Like a pet. He'd thought he might be relieved to know that Merlin wasn't showing an interest in him any longer, that he had found somebody new to put up with him. But that was the exact opposite of how he felt, he was pissed and angry and ready to bring up arms against Valiant himself for whatever nonsense he had been filling Merlin's head with to make the boy step out on him.

Arthur was so pissed that he hadn't noticed Merlin had gone stark silent at his sudden proclamation. He was busy glaring daggers at the pale skin of Merlin's throat, watching as his skin disappeared under his tunic. He didn't think he had ever seen Merlin's neck in such clear proximity before, it had always been covered up by that damn neckerchief of his. Had Merlin really come all this way, to what? Not to yell at him for the favor, but he instead wanted to taunt him about his affair?

Or maybe that wasn't it at all, maybe Arthur hadn't done something right and Merlin had yet to realize that his favor had been so easily replaced by another's. Just like Merlin would be himself, easily replaceable.

But the last thing that Arthur had to worry about was the possibility of Merlin being up the 'favor' incident. Merlin knew that he would probably blow up and do or say something he'd regret if he brought that up right now.

He knew that his hurt feelings had to come secondary to Arthur's safety. As fucked up as that was. And he most likely couldn't say anything anyway, not with Arthur's last statement ringing in his ears.

A crush...Arthur thought he had a crush...on, on Valiant of all people...it was mind blowing to think for one second that somebody had actually gotten that impression. It was one thing to worry that might be what people-what Arthur-may think of him. But it was quite another for it to be in his face like that.

"A-a crush..." was the only thing Merlin could say when he finally got his voice box to start working again. His voice sounded so startling and so incredulous that it even got Arthur to start doubting what he knew. "I have better taste in men then that!" Merlin exclaimed so loud that his voice seemed to echo around the room.

Although really, Merlin thought spitefully as he looked at Arthur's sleeve covered arms that had no favor-rather his or the other one-he was starting to question what taste those were if this was the man that had caught his eye in the first place.

Arthur rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively over his chest, because that seemed to answer his earlier question when he had been talking to Markus. Merlin was gay, definitely gay if his go-to response had been referencing just men. But he would forever deny that the only reason he crossed his arms over his chest in the first place was to hide the nervous sweat starting to coat his palms. Why did knowing Merlin liked only men, at least he assumed it was only men, make him that much more nervous. It wasn't like it changed anything, it wasn't like Arthur was suddenly going to change his mind and ask Merlin to give him another favor-that would have been highly inappropriate to ask for, especially considering he'd already (and quite brutally) turned down the first one. But it still made him nervous, all the same.

"Well," Arthur said, clearing his throat as he tried to think of a good comeback. "Your type of men is clearly questionable." He knew how stupid it was as soon as he'd said it, could already feel the wince coming out of him as he knew that remark was going to come back to bite him in the arse.

And how right he was.

Merlin shot him a look, taking a long while to response as he scanned Arthur up and down with his eye's. He took his time with it as well, letting his eye's dip down to Arthur's leather boots before he casually rose them until they reached the top of Arthur's blonde head. And Arthur was stiff, feeling his arms loosening up in his surprise when he saw that Merlin was all but inspecting him. "Well," he drawled out with a snarky undertone, "You are actually right about that one."

Arthur's shoulders sagged and he resisted the urge to slap Merlin upside the head. Even he could admit that he had all but walked into that one. Straight into actually, it couldn't have been more clear if somebody rammed him through with his own sword.

"Well...well...your no prize yourself!" Arthur shot back, already knowing that this come back was no better-probably worse actually-then his original statement had been. He even squinted his eyes a little because he knew how bad it was.

"Oh, nice comeback!" Merlin shot back, but he didn't allow for them to stay on this topic for long. Instead, he pointed a slim finger at the snakehead still sitting lifelessly on the blonde's desk. "You're not listening to me! Valiant is using magic to get ahead in the tourney!"

The room went quiet again after that. Arthur was looking at his as if he had lost his ever loving mind, but Merlin didn't allow himself to waver for even a second. After all, Gaius had been right about one thing: it was his responsibility to say something if he knew that there was something wrong.