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!

48. Chapter 48

Arthur was sitting down in his chair again, looking at Merlin with a dry expression. This just wasn't right, none of Merlin's story was making any sense to him. But he'd sat there and muddled through it, looking up at the boy on the other side of his desk as he went on and on. About how he had been in the armory a few nights ago and had heard the hissing coming from what would be Valiant's shield, and how he'd grown suspicious after Gaius had reported that Ewan had clearly been bitten by some kind of snake. Which was just strange considering he'd been in the middle of the arena and not one person had seen a snake. And from the size of the puncture marks, it had clearly been a decent sized snake as well, or at least that was the story Merlin was trying to lead Arthur to believe. So with his interest peaked and his curiosity risen, Merlin had snuck into Valiant's room-not because he wanted anything to do with the man (Merlin had been sure to enunciate that fact to Arthur several times)-but to just get his suspicion's confirmed.

And true enough, it was when he approached the shield did the snake attacked him. And he used one of Valiant's own swords to chop off the head of the beast and he'd brought it to Arthur as fast as he could. Which was where they were now...with Arthur staring dubiously at Merlin during his entire story.

Arthur rapped his fingers against the edge of his desk as he didn't say anything for a long moment, reeling over the story from every different angle that he could, trying to make heads or tails of it. At some point during the story, Arthur had shoved his plate aside as he figured he wasn't going to be eating tonight. He really didn't think he could eat at all, not with that...thing...looking at him.

Ignoring Merlin who was looking at him and clearly expecting some kind of reaction from him, Arthur shifted his gaze down to the head sitting in the dead center of his desk. It had eyes that almost appeared to be following him, despite it clearly being dead. So, Arthur thought grudgingly, the snakehead wasn't some kind of makeup gift from Merlin trying to apologize for giving him a neckerchief as a favor. It wasn't some kind of weird peasant custom-that Arthur hadn't heard of before-to show him that Merlin was still interested.

It was just a snakehead. A snakehead that had came out of a magical shield that was in Valiant's possession, the possession of his competitor who was 'apparently' planning on using it on him during their fight tomorrow.

And speaking of Valiant, Arthur's eyes shifted back to Merlin. He could still feel the shimmer he'd been feeling earlier when he'd accused Merlin of having a crush on Valiant. The rush of anger that had been in his veins moments before were still there, just...sedated, at this second. He didn't believe Merlin of course, not when he was claiming that nothing was going on between him and Valiant. And the idea of chaining Merlin to the leg of his desk had actually looked more tempting the longer Merlin's story had gone, if only so he would no longer have to hear about how his consort had snuck into another man's room.

"You?" Arthur finally said, his voice both slow and drawled out. Not even his voice was free from how dubious his face looked, and then he was giving Merlin's scrawny body a clear once over. "You really chopped it's head off?" He asked, just to make sure. He couldn't be faulted for his skepticism, the one and only time he'd tried to teach Merlin how to use a sword had ended disastrous. He was more liable to chop his own head off then he would be able to chop off something else's.

Merlin looked at him in exasperation, as if it was somehow Arthur who was making up tall tales, and the blonde did have to wonder if this really was just some kind of ploy that the boy had cooked up with his wayward lover in an effort to distract Arthur so he wouldn't be at his best come tomorrow. But they'd have to try a lot harder than this if they thought he was going to fall for any of this crap.

"Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant!" Merlin said for what must have been the umpteenth time, as if he was trying to drill that message harshly into Arthur's blonde head. "You can talk to Gaius, and you can even look at the puncture wounds in Ewan's neck where the snake had bitten him!"

At this remark, Arthur gave the snake on his table a slightly repulsed look, ignoring how he'd barely been able to keep up. It was clear that Merlin was getting agitated from how his words were starting to run together as he'd rushed to get everything out. Okay, Arthur thought bitterly, maybe he would have rather the snake be an attempt at a courtship gift. It would have at least made things a bit more clearly, and Arthur would know exactly what to do about it. Toss the snakehead in the can and throw Merlin out his window for thinking he could be won over with something that was as disgusting as this was.

As if sensing that Arthur's thoughts were wondering off, Merlin rushed in with his final sentence, "Ewan was beating him, he had no choice but to cheat." That had been the only explanation that Merlin had been able to come up with as for why Valiant had used the snakes so early on in the contest instead of waiting for the bigger game. He had to use the snakes, if he had wanted any chance of reaching Arthur later on.

If Arthur wasn't so positive that Merlin had some kind of thing for Valiant and that this was just some kind of trick to cause him to lose in the tourney, he may have been more inclined to believe Merlin's wild accusations. As luck would have it though, he just couldn't find it in himself to actually believe such an outrageous story. And as if to show this, the prince shook his head as he gave Merlin a disarming look, "Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot."

As sure as Arthur had breath in his body, he knew this to be a solid fact. He would be the last person to defend somebody like Valiant, but the man also seemed way to smart to go about using magic. Especially in a city where one could be killed if they were accused. But then again, could he really be that smart if he was trying to get with Camelot's consort?

Merlin could feel his frustrations starting to build up. He had known that it wouldn't be easy to convince Arthur, but somehow he'd thought the prince would at least be taking him seriously. "Ewan was pinned right under Valiant's shield. No one could have seen it if Valiant conjured up the snake that bit him."

But Arthur just shook his head at him, looking almost as if he was just humoring him at this point just for listening to him, "I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's cheating." He said as he finally stood up from his own chair so Merlin would no longer be looming over him like he was.

It would be so easy, Arthur thought, if Valiant was cheating. It would definitely be a change of pace for him. Instead of chaining Merlin up to his desk, where he'd be forced to look at him at all hours of the day, he could just have Valiant dragged down to the dungeons with chains around his wrists.

But if Arthur thought pushing away from his desk and stepping away from his chair would put an end to this ridiculous conversation, he would be wrong as Merlin just circled around the desk this time to follow him across the room, "Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom." He said, his voice coming out just as rushed as before as he stopped at Arthur's side. And Arthur had to wonder how bad it would be if he really did chain Merlin up, if this was the kind of trouble he started up when left to his own devices. Maybe it'd be better if he just had guards on him for all hours of the day.

It would at least be an alternative solution, so Arthur wouldn't have to hear what Merlin had to say about being chained up.

Arthur leaned forward to put his hands on the back of his chair as Merlin got closer, leaning closer towards him as he started talking again, speaking in a voice that was so rushed that Arthur found it hard to understand him at all, "When Ewan regains consciousness, he'll be able to tell you himself what happened."

If Arthur wouldn't believe him like Gaius had suggested he probably wouldn't the first time, not even he would be able to deny it if Ewan came to him with the exact same story. One person could be seen as a liar, but two or more and a pattern would start to form.

Merlin took a steady breath to slow his voice down, he knew that he always talked in a hurry whenever he got excited. So he had to calm down his rapidly beating heart for him to get the next part out, "If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you."

That at least seemed to get Arthur's attention because he finally looked up towards Merlin, and he had a frown tugging at his lips. Merlin had spoken not as if he'd just been weaving a tale, but he had spoken with words of finality. As if he truly thought if Arthur went out there, then he wasn't going to return.

Arthur sucked on his inner cheek, his doubt finally starting to creep in. Because what if he actually was telling him the truth, could it be possible that Merlin wasn't just telling him a story to throw him off his game. Could he just be...trying to warn him.

Arthur shook those thoughts out of mind as he felt his hands clenching down around the carefully crafted wooden edge of the top of his chair. He'd been resting against it since he'd decided to stand up, if only so he would no longer have a snakehead staring him down so intensively focused despite it's dead state.

"It's nice that you have so much confidence in my winning this." Arthur grumbled instead, trying to make light of this situation. It made things...easier...in a way, to not take what Merlin said with anything more than a grain of salt.

"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, voice much louder than it had been previously, and this time Arthur could literally hear the frustration leaking out of it. "This isn't some kind of joke, and I'm not doing this for whatever reason you are thinking!"

Arthur looked back at him, blinking almost surprised because he hadn't thought Merlin would be able to tell. Or apparently knew him so well that he knew Arthur wasn't believing him. Or it could have just been because he wasn't doing a very good job at hiding his doubt.

"You have no idea what I'm thinking." Arthur said grudgingly, turning back away from him so that his back was to him. He wasn't about to admit that he'd been wondering just how much Merlin would distract him from his work if he really got some chains out. If he could just tune out his insistent nattering, it may not be so bad...or not, Arthur thought as Merlin circled around him so that he now stood right in front of him.

"Arthur," Merlin said, his voice surprisingly firm and grim in that moment. "I know that you don't like me, nor do you trust what I'm telling you, but this is the truth! This is really going to happen if you go out there!" His eyes were dead serious, not even a hint of deception was in them.

Arthur felt his earlier doubt sinking into his skin, his own expression finally going more serious as he took in Merlin. It would have been so easy to just dismiss him as having an overactive imagination, but the look in his eyes were the one thing that was stopping him.

Arthur breathed out a heavy sigh, feeling as if a weight was settling down on his shoulders, "Okay, what makes you so sure that Valiant is doing this? Couldn't it be somebody else who is just using Valiant?" If he was going to have to do something about it, he needed to make sure that the facts were straight. He wasn't going to make a fool out of himself if there was something else that was going to show up.

"...I don't think so." Merlin said as he took his own steady breath, really feeling it as he was starting to rock back and forth on his feet. He could do this, if only to show Arthur that Valiant wasn't the Knight he was portraying himself as. It wasn't going to be nearly as hard as he thought it was...the last time he'd told anything about this was to Gaius, but it had came out accidentally. He didn't want to just spit it out like he had last time. This time it was going to be on his own terms, this was the time that he was just going to tell Arthur. Now, all he needed to do was get his voice to start working...any minute now...

Arthur though, apparently got tired of waiting for what he was trying to say because now he was looking at him with an annoyed face, "If you are going to say something, then just say it!" He demanded. Arthur could practically see that something was balancing on the tip of Merlin's tongue, the way he was rocking on his feet strangely reminiscing of a small child as he held back whatever it was.

"I'm trying!" Merlin blew up at him, as if he somehow thought it was Arthur that was being the frustrating one. "It's not exactly all that easy to say, you know!" It should have been easy to tell somebody Valiant wasn't all he seemed to be. It had been easy for him to tell Arthur about the shield and the snake's, it was just a lot more harder than he thought it would be to just...say it. It would be admitting to Arthur that he was weak, that he needed his help, that he didn't know what to do if things came to a head between Valiant and him.

He'd never been in a situation like this before, never wanted to be in one like it again.

"Ohhh," Arthur drawled out, all the while he was giving him a sarcastic look, "But telling me the man is carrying around a magical shield that summons snakes is somehow easier for you?" He almost wanted to laugh in Merlin's face, because whatever it was that he was holding back couldn't be worse than that. In fact, he could feel the sarcastic lilt of a smile starting to form.

But Merlin didn't find him funny in the least if his scowl was anything to go by. "Just so you know, it actually is tougher!" Merlin snapped, putting one hand on his hip and bringing the other hand up to jab it roughly in Arthur's face, he actually had to lean back just so the finger wouldn't catch him in the eye. And as if all of the fire had been washed out of him, Merlin was leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest in an almost defensive manner, "I just don't know if you'll believe me."

Merlin said that so lowly that Arthur had to strain his ears just to hear it.

Arthur though, was getting just as frustrated about all of this as Merlin was, and did nothing to hide how hard he was rolling his eye's. "Oh, please don't tell me this is about the talk you had with Valiant last night!" It had came out before Arthur had even realized he was saying it. But there it was, now out in the open between them like something that was supposed to remain unmentionable. It made perfect sense to Arthur though, now that he was thinking about it. That was why it was so hard for Merlin to get it out, he was here to give his confession to Arthur. He was here to let him know that the whole favor thing had just been some kind of trick, something to throw Arthur off his scent so that he wouldn't know that Merlin had been seeing Valiant behind his back this whole time.

How long had this been going on? Maybe it started as soon as Valiant had entered the city all those days ago? Did the connection between them only form after Valiant had been bold enough to give Merlin his stupid kiss at the meet and greet. Or had he been blind this entire time and was just missing the big answer? And the most important question: what had been so damn special about Valiant, that Merlin would risk losing everything that he had by being married to a prince?

Merlin seemed to straighten up at that, and his shoulders sagged as he looked at Arthur with surprise. "...You know I talked to Valiant?" He asked, blinking dumbly. It was as if he'd been thinking Arthur was to dumb to have seen the signs, to have noticed that Merlin's attention was being caught by somebody else.

Arthur scoffed, "Of course I know you talked with Valiant!" He barked out, the earlier anger he'd been feeling starting to spike. "He made sure to let me know all about it." And then he was rolling his eyes as if it was no big deal to him, as if he didn't want to gorge Merlin's eye's out for looking at somebody else. And it took a surprising amount of effort for Arthur to not look in his mirror so that he could start sizing himself up. To try and see if Valiant was bigger than him muscle wise, and maybe that was what had caught Merlin's attention.

Merlin frowned, not liking the way Arthur had said that at all. It had sounded accusatory, as if Arthur was two seconds away from flaying Merlin where he stood if he said the wrong thing, "What exactly did he tell you?" He said slowly, a sinking feeling erupting down into his gut. Maybe he should have just sucked it up and told him earlier, before Valiant had the chance to fill up Arthur's head with whatever lies he had spun.

Arthur huffed, pursing his lips out as he turned his head away. He waved a dismissive hand, acting as if he didn't care one bit, even though he knew his ears were straining so he could hear whatever pathetic excuse Merlin was about to spill, "Just that you've been really...nice," he practically spit that last word out with disgust. "To him. Something about wanting to have some more time with you."

As if Arthur was going to get into the details with Merlin. That little bit he did say was the only thing Merlin was going to get out of him, Arthur wasn't going to be some kind of accomplice to his own husband's apparent affair.

Merlin's face screwed up in disgust, and Arthur could just barely see it from the way he was peeking out the corner of his eye, "I was not nice to him!" He exclaimed loudly-if only for a second, he looked as if he wanted to disembowel either Valiant for saying it or Arthur for believing it-waving his hands about in that jittery motion that he did, as if it would literally pain him to hold still for all of two seconds. "He was the one that cornered me in the armory!"

That was all Arthur needed to feel the rush of anger shoot off through his veins, and he felt warm all over his body, as if he were about to erupt, "Aha!" He shouted, his head whipping around as it was now his turn to jab his finger at Merlin, as if he'd just admitted something incriminating before the entirety of the court itself, "So you admit it! You did talk to him," he stopped so he could stare at him. "...in the armory? What were you doing in the armory?"

Maybe Merlin could have taken the time to explain that he'd ducked in there after Clara, the Madame of the kitchens, had accosted him with false allegations of being a whore and trying to steal his own wedding ring, but it just didn't seem nearly as important considering the other topic they were on.

"I told you already that I was there, that was where I heard the hissing the first time!" He was yelling back at Arthur, and he sounded extremely impatient at this point.

Arthur was looking at him with narrowed eyes of suspicion, "No, you told me that you were there, not why you were there in the first place. Were you meeting Valiant there, is that like your secret meeting spot?" Arthur was demanding an answer from Merlin, practically bearing down on him as his accusations came quick and fast, looking as if he would be more than willing to choke the answers out of Merlin if he had to.

Merlin found himself spluttering, looking as if he were trying to decipher what exactly was happening. As if he thought this entire argument was just some kind of sick joke. But it was just like Gaius had warned him about, what it would look like if he tried to explain his story, only it was now his reality and he didn't like it one bit.

"Arthur, I didn't do anything!" Merlin hissed at him, his voice coming out just as rushed as it had been earlier. "I was leaving when he came in and he...he..." Merlin's voice broke off, vividly remembering just how close the other knight had gotten to him. How weird it had all been, how disturbing, before Merlin had deduced that the knight wanted to kiss him. And even after realizing that, things had only gotten so much worse.

"What?" Arthur demanded, even rolling his eyes again at what sounded like nothing but Merlin just making excuses for his affair. "Is that when he asked you to start a courtship with him?"

Merlin's jaw dropped in horrid disbelief that Arthur had said this out loud, had actually proclaimed that Merlin would willingly want to have anything to do with that...that...that pig!

But before Merlin could argue his case, the prince started to pace in front of him. Only a step or two before he started again in the other direction, never going to far away from Merlin.

"I mean, is this just some kind of joke to you!" Arthur was bellowing, actually being the one to wave his hands about in a jerky motion, and looking as if he didn't know rather he wanted to hit Merlin or not. "Do you even know what kinds of problems you would cause for me if word got out that you were seeing somebody else! Do you even care what kind of political and social issues something like that would cause!"

Merlin looked at him in disbelief, not truly believing that he was the one being lectured about all of this. Not when it was Arthur that was off being with some floozy-if the new favor had been any indication. His eye's were narrowing into slits as he watched Arthur bury himself into the ground with every word he spoke, "Is that your fancy way of saying that you'll look bad in front of your people?"

It wasn't like Merlin was trying to humiliate Arthur, it was just Arthur who refused to listen to a word Merlin had been trying to tell him. And it was Arthur now who'd finally stopped his pacing so that he could glare at Merlin full on.

"Merlin!" Arthur snarled, bringing a hand up to rub harshly at his forehead, but that was only because he knew he needed to do something with his hands before he tried to shake some literal sense into this boy. "Now I know you don't care nearly as much about the complexities of my life-"

"I do care!" Merlin shouted back, trying to cut in. "Stop putting words in my mouth and will you just liste-" but he was once again cut off by the prince of all things pratness, who was refusing to give even an inch to listen.

"But the least you can do is not purposely cause a scandal!" Arthur was ranting, looking almost mad as he planted one hand on his hip and threw the other arm out, as if he was trying to emphasize just how much of a dumb arse he thought Merlin was. "If word of this starts to spread, I swea-"

"ARTHUR!" It was probably the loudest that Merlin had ever screamed in his presence but it was loud enough to easily top over his exaggerated ranting. "Will you just shut up!" It might be because this was the first time somebody had ever seriously told him to 'shut up' before, but Arthur found his jaw locking shut as he looked at Merlin with a dumbstruck expression.

Merlin's chest was practically heaving, the flat planes of his chest moving up and down in a frantic motion as he took large breaths to try and calm himself down. But he still wasn't calm when he started talking, "Now," he said with a false expression of sweetness that disappeared as soon as it came, even moreso when he started stalking forward towards the blonde. "I am going to say this one time, I am not-nor will I ever-be. Courting. With. That. Man!" He said each word, giving a firm poke of his finger to Arthur's chest.

If Merlin wasn't so pissed, he might have been a little more curious about poking at said pecs, the hard muscle not yielding to his furious poking. But Arthur's eyes sure was following the gesture, before glancing back up to give Merlin an 'I dare you to keep doing that' look.

Scowling, and still feeling the faint sensation of being poked even though Merlin had already lowered his hand to sit against his waist, Arthur boldly said, "You don't have to lie, anybody with eyes can see-"

"That you are a moron." Merlin interrupted the blonde before he could say something else that would start him up all over again. "Now, are you going to stand there and make your wild accusations, or would you actually like to hear the truth?"

Merlin was more than willing to walk out of here at this moment, more than willing to just forget the whole thing. He'd done his duty by warning Arthur, he didn't have to actually tell him what had happened with Valiant. It would now be up to Arthur rather or not he'd believe him. But still, there was something that made him stay. Maybe he just wanted to know that Arthur actually cared, or maybe it was more than a want but a need. He needed to know that even if Arthur didn't want him, he would still care enough to do something. If not to protect Merlin his husband, than at least make a stand for Merlin, one of the citizens in his kingdom.

And sure, Merlin didn't need his protection. It would just be nice to know that Arthur had his back, that he wasn't the spoiled and selfish prince that he'd found himself falling for. That even if Arthur didn't want to accept him or his favor, that he wouldn't just allow an injustice like this to rein in his kingdom.

Arthur, looking mildly curious and amused, made a big show about leaning against the edge of his desk. He crossed his arms over his broad chest before using one hand to give Merlin a 'go on' gesture, before tucking it back against his chest. It almost looked as if Arthur was patronizing him, as if he were amusing a child instead of speaking to a man.

Merlin huffed, his cheeks puffing out as he straightened his spine, feeling mildly insulted by this. "First of all," he said firmly, raising up a single finger to emphasize his point. "Like I said, there is no courtship between the two of us. Not now, not tomorrow, nor will there ever be, got it?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at his little consort, not entirely sure if he would believe him or not. Even if there wasn't something going on between them now, it didn't mean that Arthur was entirely wrong. It just meant that nothing had happened 'yet'. And was it so wrong for him to feel as if his chest had just eased up a little, knowing that he'd somehow cut Valiant off at the pass. But not letting Merlin see this, he said a bland "Got it." It was briefly amusing to see the way Merlin's face went red with his anger at Arthur's nonchalance.

Merlin fought back his towering rage so that he could continue on, now holding up two of his fingers instead of one, "And two, I wasn't in the armory to 'meet up' with Valiant. I was there, and then suddenly he was there out of nowhere and then he..." Maybe Merlin was just rambling, but he cut himself off abruptly before he could finish his sentence.

And then he was looking at Arthur, he wasn't entirely sure if the blonde could take this. The blonde already looked as if he were one second away from destroying him, depending entirely on what he was going to say next.

As if realizing his hesitation, Arthur let a bit of a sneer creep into his voice, and his arms were tightening up, "Oh, don't stop now." He said, mockingly. "We're just getting to the good stuff, what did he do to you in there?"

Arthur could almost imagine the horrific things they could have gotten up to. How much of a mess did they leave behind for the servants to pick up after they had finished with their 'rendezvous'. He would never admit it, but he could feel his fingernails digging into his inner elbow, straight through his light blue sleeve. And he wondered if he would be able to even tell if Merlin had lost his virginity in the last day or two.

Merlin scowled back, feeling something in his chest settling, as if he knew that Arthur was challenging him to say something to get his attention. And if Merlin was good at anything, it was rising to the occasion.

"He tried to kiss me."

Merlin's word's rung out in the room, that was so still they could have heard a pin drop, or maybe a quill if only Arthur bumped back into the small tin of them sitting on the edge of his desk. And then nothing happened for the longest time. Hell, at this point Merlin wasn't even sure if Arthur was breathing.

He even found himself leaning forward just a little, trying to see if he were. Just the slight movement of his chest would have been good enough to satisfy Merlin, but it was like Arthur was holding his breath. And he wasn't even blinking either, just staring at Merlin with a blank expression. Merlin wasn't even sure what Arthur's reaction was, he was just... blank.

"Arthur..." he said slowly, reaching a hand over to wave in his face, if only to get some kind of reaction out of him. But still...nothing. "Did you hear what I said?"

It might have been the sound of his voice that managed to break whatever spell Arthur had fallen into. Because all at once, it was as if the sound resumed in the air, and Arthur was blinking. That was the only warning Merlin would get before Arthur was coming up off his desk. And then the blonde was in front of him, looking kind of...strange. It happened so fast that Merlin took a step back, startled by the sudden speed of his appearance.

"So let me get this straight," Arthur said in a low tone of voice. The kind of voice that sent shivers down one spine, a warning of true danger to come. But rather that was directed at himself or Valiant, Merlin wasn't sure. He could even see Arthur's eyebrow start to twitch. "You went into the armory, for some reason that you refuse to disclose to me."His jaw locked in answer to that. "But while down there, Valiant stumbled upon you where he-what...out of nowhere just decided to kiss you?"

Arthur could feel the incredulousness leaking out of his voice. His eyes were like freshly sharpened daggers, and they pierced right into Merlin's very soul as he tried to look for any hint of deception. The rush of initial anger was still there in his veins, shimmering and growing as it waited for just the right moment to come out.

"It was a little more complicated than that." Merlin protested. Arthur had made it sound so easy, so simple, as if Merlin was just being a child who imagined the whole thing. But he definitely hadn't imagined Valiant trying to get in his door later that night, nor did he just imagine Valiant stalking him through the halls of the castle while he referred to him as 'little mouse.'

"Well, did he kiss you or not!" Arthur barked out, his eye's shooting down to look at his lips for himself, as if they would be able to tell the story better than Merlin's words were. But the two soft petal looking lips didn't give him any indication over rather or not they had been kissed.

"No, he tried to but I left before he could! I wasn't going to stay there when he was trying...that..." Merlin couldn't even say the word. The memory still sent uncertain shivers of discomfort down his spine, leaving him itchy and uncomfortable.

Merlin's words seemed to set a lid down on Arthur's shimmering anger, because only then did he finally back away, "So, you only thought he was trying to kiss you? He didn't actually do it?"

Arthur was settling himself back against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest all over again. He couldn't believe how worked up he had just gotten, it had been one thing for him to suspect something was going on, it had been a new battle field entirely when he thought something was actually going on. He also couldn't believe that Merlin was making a big deal out of what was nothing. Valiant had probably just been reaching over to grab something, gotten to close, and now Merlin was in his rooms-which he hadn't been since their awful wedding night-freaking out on him. Valiant's cryptic words himself were most likely just an exaggeration of what had happened in the armory, and this whole thing had just been one big poor attempt at making a distraction so Arthur's mind would be on anything other than the match tomorrow.

Merlin blew out a hint of breath, born out of his frustration more than anything else. "He didn't try to kiss me! He WAS going to kiss me, and would have if I hadn't left!" It was hard to believe that he was really here, trying to convince Arthur than he'd been the victim of an attempted assault. And maybe it would have been best for him to just leave, but now that he started this, he didn't want to just go and have things be unfinished. Hell, he wasn't exactly sure if Arthur was convinced that Valiant did have a magical shield that he was going to use to kill him in the finals. And he definitely couldn't leave before that issue was fixed up.

But Arthur was skeptical about everything at best. Which was indicated by just how hard he rolled his eyes at him, "Not everybody is going to want to kiss you just because they look at you."

Arthur could still vividly remember the times that he had gotten to close to Merlin, far to close. Like when he'd pinned Merlin down to that table the first time he'd been dressing him, how he had seen the boy glancing down at his lips because of their close proximity. It was clear then that Merlin had wanted to kiss him, and back then, Arthur had done nothing to stop the thought because at the time, he had been trying to get answers out of him. He had probably thought that Arthur wanted to kiss him then to.

"I know what wanting to kiss somebody looks like!" Merlin blew up at him. He would be the first to admit that he didn't know much when it came to relationships or being physical with someone, he was practically as weak as a newborn kitten when it came to matters like that. But Valiant had made it more than clear what he wanted to do, mocking and jeering at Merlin, claiming that Arthur would 'never have to know' what they were doing in the privacy of the armory.

Arthur scoffed, "Oh, I'm so sure you know all about that." He said this all sarcastic, making it clear that he thought the exact opposite. It was-in no way possible-that Merlin could know anything. Even with how short of a time he'd been there, Arthur knew that Merlin was prone to reacting to the littlest of things. Hell, he could probably profess his 'undying love' to Merlin right here and the brat would forget that Arthur had been wearing another's favor just hours before.

Not wanting to hear anymore of this dribble spewing out of Merlin's mouth, Arthur stood up off from his desk. It would be a lot more prudent for him to send Merlin and that dreaded snakehead he brought with him, off to do whatever it is he did in his spare time then waste his own listening to this.

"Now, I think it's time that you left." Arthur said, reaching out and grabbing Merlin by his upper bicep. He ignored the way Merlin's arm was so small that Arthur was able to hold the whole thing with one hand, his fingers on either side touching. Ignoring Merlin who had started stuttering his protests, he reached to his desk and snatched up the snakehead. He ignored the blood coating his fingertips and shoved the snakehead into Merlin's chest. He scrambled to catch it as Arthur started to drag him towards his door.

"Arthur, I'm not finished! I haven't even told you the worst part!" Merlin was protesting as Arthur had to drag him back to his feet several times since he kept stumbling and tripping on the short walk to the door.

"And while I'm sure it will be very fascinating to hear whatever story you're weaving this time, I have more important things to do than listening to a failed courtship attempt." There, Arthur thought, looking quite pleased with himself as they were reaching the door. He had made it sound as if he didn't care, as if Merlin could do whatever he wanted one way or the other. He made it sound as if...Merlin wasn't going to get his attention this way, so he'd better stop whatever he was trying to do with Valiant because it wasn't working.

Arthur was just reaching for the door handle so that he could toss Merlin out on his arse, when the other boy screamed something that had the room freezing all over again.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer!"

Merlin's chest was heaving again as he was breathing harshly, and Arthur had his hand hovering over his doorknob. The prince had yet to look back at him, his head was ducked with his blonde hair casting a shadow over his eyes, and Merlin couldn't even see around his broad shoulders to get a good look at them. All Merlin knew was that he wasn't being dragged to the door anymore, although Arthur did still have an impressive grip around his arm. So he did what he did best, and continued talking, rushed and rambling as the words he'd spent all of this time hiding came pouring out of him. He knew that if he didn't say all that he wanted to now, there was a good chance that he'd probably never would.

"He wouldn't leave me. I tried to leave and he would just drag me back or get in my way to stop me! And when I finally did manage to get away from him, he stopped me at the door and said weird things: like how I wasn't protected just because I was married to you! It sounded like a threat."

As Merlin rambled on, he tried to tug his arm out of Arthur's grip, but the prince's fingers were like steel iron: compressing and being unyielding to his efforts.

"And that's not even the worse part! I got to my room and went to bed, but I'm pretty sure he came after me! I woke up that night to my door shaking. He was out there for almost an hour trying to get in, and even after he finally left I wasn't able to go back to sleep! I don't know if he was trying to beat me up for denying him, or if he was just coming up to try and finish what he started, but he was there Arthur! You have to believe that!"

"...And the next day, that was why you were asking me all those questions about the guards?" Arthur said slowly. He still didn't raise his head to look at Merlin, but the dots were slowly starting to connect in his mind. It was clear in his mind, remembering how Merlin had thrown himself into his dressing room the very next morning: how exhausted and tired he had looked, as if he hadn't slept at all the night before. Only now was Arthur realizing that he had also been more fidgety than normal, asking his questions about the guards and insisting they should have one when there were strangers in the castle. It hadn't been because Merlin was being nosy or showing an interest in the runnings of his castle, it was because Merlin had been fearful. It was because Merlin had truly been worried of somebody coming into his room as he slept.

And Arthur hadn't seen any of this. He hadn't bothered to ask Merlin what had gotten him so riled up, he hadn't bothered to demand to know why Merlin had been questioning him about the guards. He hadn't done anything but brush it aside as just one of Merlin's odd little traits.

"...yes..." Merlin said slowly, honestly looking as if he wasn't sure what to say. But that was because there seemed to be something that was in the air between them, hovering silently and still, as if even the softest of sound could burst the bubble that had formed around them. It was even worse than the silence that had covered them not even a minute before, when Merlin had first broached the subject and admitted Valiant had tried to kiss him. It was because this time, the silence seemed to drag throughout the entire room, he couldn't even hear the birds as a handful of them flew pass the windows. And Arthur wasn't saying anything, Merlin wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

"...Arthur..." Merlin asked slowly, when the silence seemed to be dragging on for far to long. It was starting to get creepy, and weird, and Merlin could feel the sense of dread that was returning low in his gut.

"...did he touch you?" Arthur finally said, but it wasn't with the words that Merlin had wanted him to say. Although really, he wasn't entirely sure what he would have wanted to hear from Arthur, he was just hoping for a little more... emotion? Something that told Merlin despite everything-despite how they had ended up here and despite the favor incident Merlin was refusing to bring up with everything else that was going on-that Arthur wasn't the kind of man that stood by when something like this was happening right in front of him.

Arthur was just...stiff, as if he didn't care one way or the other.

But still, Merlin could feel it as his brows were creased together in thought as he stared at Arthur, still turned away from him, "What are you-" he started, because he had thought he had made himself very clear with his earlier ramblings. How he had left before Valiant had managed to do more than stalk him up to his quarters.

"Did he touch you!" Arthur barked, just loud enough that it made Merlin jump. And finally, did Arthur turn his head to look at him. There was something in his eye's, some kind of fire-unspoken as it was-that shined deeply in them. And was it him, or did Arthur's grip on his bicep become just a touch more gentle. It was still impossible for him to get loose, but the grip didn't seem as harsh as it had been moments before. In fact, if Merlin hadn't been so depressed over the favor incident, he might have even found himself swooning a bit...okay, maybe he wouldn't go that far. But it was a close enough feeling to swooning.

"No," Merlin spoke up, his voice softening when compared to how it had been when he had yelled at Arthur moments before. "I was able to get to my room and locked the door before he was able to get to me."

Arthur nodded his head in an almost jerking fashion, feeling his grip loosen and slip down Merlin's arm just slightly, closer towards his elbow. There was a crease forming between his brows, showcasing his concern as the fire in his eyes dimmed down till it was a small but smoldering flame, but he didn't care.

When Valiant had eluded to Merlin being 'nice' to him during their dinner, Arthur had been thinking of a much different scenario. It was as if Merlin had been some kind of vixen in his mind, coyly stringing Valiant along like a cat on the string as he tried to do the same to Arthur with the favor. Only Arthur was much smarter than Valiant and hadn't allowed pretty *cough-bossy-cough* actions to sway him from doing what he needed to.

But it hadn't been like that at all, had it? His consort, Merlin...he had been cornered like a rat in a cage. He had been mistreated, he had been treated as if he were a prized geisha whose job it was was to entertain a man like Valiant, instead of the coveted consort. That title alone should have protected Merlin from any such threats, but it hadn't, had it? He had been alone, and forced to defend himself the only way that he could. Running.

"Uh...you can let go of me now..." Merlin said awkwardly, not sure what to make of Arthur going all silent again. He tugged on his arm as if to emphasize his point, but Arthur still didn't let him go. His fingers loosened up but it still wasn't enough for Merlin to slide his arm out, not without dislodging Arthur to do it.

Arthur didn't let go because Merlin's voice had made him look up from the floor to his face. And he frowned. He wondered just how scared Merlin had been that night, had he ran through the halls looking for a protector that would never come? Had he been confused as to what it was Valiant had wanted from him. It wasn't something that Arthur wanted to think about, but it flooded his mind all the same.

Merlin had only mentioned Valiant trying to kiss him, but all Arthur could think about was how the man had tried to get into his room. It was clear that he was after much more than a kiss if he had followed Merlin up the stairs. It was a thought that would stay with him for the next many nights: What would happen if he had gotten in, would he had taken Merlin right on his bedsheets? Or would Merlin had fought back and tried to get away, leaving the knight with no choice but to take him on the floor like some kind of animal.

And all the while-the fire that was smoldering in his eyes seemed to dim down till the blue in his eyes looked almost black-Arthur would have been right next door, fast asleep in the safety of his bed. Had that been why Merlin had been asking him if he heard anything the night it happened, had he called out only for no one to come because Arthur was dead to the world and the guard had apparently taken off.

"...And you're sure that he didn't touch you?" Arthur found himself asking again. His voice had gone all soft, and his hand was barely holding onto Merlin's arm at all, except for the soft circles his thumb was making on the fabric of his jacket in the crook of his elbow.

Arthur knew that he had already asked this question-twice, actually, but he needed to ask it again just for his own sake. All he could think about was Merlin in that dusty, void of any warmth armory, as a lion stalked after him like he were prey.

"...Not unless you count when he had put his hand on my face." Merlin said sarcastic, only half serious. It hadn't been a pleasant experience for him, feeling Valiant's slimy hand as he rubbed his thumb under his eye, but it wasn't like that was nearly as bad as a kiss would have been.

He didn't realize that Arthur had gone all stiff again, until it was to late.

"...You said he didn't touch you!" Arthur snarled. His hand on Merlin's arm suddenly felt like a steel cable, and Merlin yelped when Arthur used his grip to jerk him closer, and was grabbing his other arm as well. Merlin felt as if his head was addled, looking up at the blonde with a shocked expression. Was it him, or did Arthur look damn near feral when just moments before, he had been calming down.

Merlin felt his heartbeat increase, as if he knew that there was danger in the air but not what to do about it. "...Well, it wasn't like him touching my face is nearly as bad as a kiss, is it?" He exclaimed, trying to figure out what he was so angry about. He had been-hopefully-expecting some kind of concern from him, despite everything. He'd been expecting for him to do something, for this to just start a pattern that proved Valiant couldn't be trusted. It would have given Merlin a little more credibility when he pointed out what Valiant was doing with that shield. He hadn't expected...this.

"Your face, he touched your face?" Arthur demanded harshly, his voice going all low and deep again. As if he was trying to contain his all-consuming rage, but not doing a good job of it. His hands started to loosen from where he was gripping Merlin's elbows, and before Merlin could be relieved, Arthur was grabbing at his face.

"Hey!" Merlin protested, loud and furiously as Arthur ignored him. Arthur's face was all scrunched up in concentration, looking as if he were inspecting Merlin for any marks, flaws, or imperfections that could have been left behind from Valiant's mishandlement of him. Arthur's calloused hands had a never ending grip on his cheeks, pressing in tight-so tight-as he tilted Merlin's head this way and that way for his inspection, trying to look at it from every angle. And he was close, far to close, his face dropping so low to his own so that he could get a better look.

Merlin felt that humiliated burn go through him as he realized that this was an almost strange re-enactment of their first kiss. When Arthur had put his hands on his cheeks at the wedding and dragged him close to give him the barest peck of a kiss to seal the deal. But there was no kiss this time, because Arthur wasn't getting close to kiss him. And Merlin may have hit him if he did try it, the pain of his rejected favor still buried deeply into his heart. Even though it was appearing to be an unspoken topic between them, neither one of them acknowledging what had happened just earlier that day, Merlin knew he wouldn't be letting that go for a long time to come.

"Where did he touch you exactly?" Arthur grunted, not paying any attention to just how close he had dragged Merlin. They were practically chest to chest, Arthur's arms bent at the elbow between them as he held onto the boy's face. He was just so angry, angrier than he had been in a long time actually. He didn't like this one bit, he felt as if there was some kind of stain on his face that hadn't been there before, but it was something only he could see and not see all at the same time.

Merlin tried to pull his head back, but all that did was make Arthur make a low growl in the back of his throat, causing him to freeze as the blonde jerked him closer, as if he was somehow punishing Merlin for trying to get away from him. "He uh, he just brushed his thumb under my eye...and down my cheek."

Merlin stuttered this out awkwardly, his heart speeding up so fast he could have mistaken it for a heart attack about to form. Arthur-with how damn feral he looked, his eyes bright as the previous fire was now a burning inferno-it would have been glorious if any of this had happened before Merlin had gotten his heart broken. He would have been so excited to be this close to Arthur, to know that he wanted him this close since he refused to let him move away, but all of this was just a false enactment of what could have happened.

Still though, even with his broken heart, it didn't feel nearly as sickening or as horrible as it had been when it was Valiant pulling his strings.

"Your eye's, huh?" Arthur asked, his voice low as if he were talking to himself instead of to Merlin. And then he was readjusting his grip on Merlin's face, moving his hands up so that he could rub harsh circles under the boy's eyes. He ignored Merlin's squawking protests as he did, moving his hands down so that he could run his palms just as harshly down the boy's cheeks, trying to erase any and all physical evidence of Valiant ever being near him. Even if it was only physical evidence that Arthur felt was still there, despite the lack of actual marks.

All Arthur could think as he rubbed on his face was how vulnerable Merlin had been to a man like Valiant. How naive the boy was, not knowing the kind of dangers somebody like that could be, how...unprotected...he was.

"Arthur! What are you doing to me!" Merlin squeaked out in defiance, trying to wiggle himself free. But it was like every move he made to get away, Arthur was already two steps ahead and pulling him back into this position.

"I'm trying to get him off you!" Arthur barked as he struggled to keep Merlin still. Valiant's stench probably was off of him by now, had been long before Merlin had told him the truth, but how was he to be sure that it was all gone? He needed to be sure, needed to be positive that there was nothing left behind on Merlin's face, unseen to the naked eye.

Merlin had frozen in Arthur's grip, and all he could feel were those hands moving all over his face as if it were his to touch, treating his face as if it were 'only' his to touch. He could feel really warm all of a sudden, a spark of this warmth spreading throughout his entire body as if somebody had just lit the fire to burn at full capacity. But there was no fire, the logs resting in their basket next to the fireplace going untouched. It was just him, as if he were burning from somewhere within.

But no, Merlin swallowed hard as he felt a harsh circle starting back up under his eye even though Arthur had already done that area, he wasn't going to allow himself to fall for these small tricks again. Where Arthur pulled him close as if he wanted to be a lover, only to reject him when he made the first move.

"Arthur," Merlin said quietly, his voice low-so low-as he moved his hands up to grab Arthur around his wrists, to stop him from touching him without using any actual strength to get him to stop. "...I think he's gone now." If there had been any trace, if Merlin had felt remains of Valiant's grip on him anywhere, it would be long gone now. It would be replaced with the harsh but warm grip of Arthur, all-consuming as if he really had been lit by a fire within. The warmth of those hands on him felt as if they were ingraining themselves into his memory, knowing that this would probably be the last kind touch he got from Arthur. As soon as he came to, as soon as his feral state had subsided and he realized what he was doing, everything would go back to normal. Arthur would act as if he hadn't just held Merlin into place and done whatever it was he wanted to him, and how all he had wanted to do was get the touch of another man off of him.

But Arthur wasn't one that would be swayed so easily. He did stop moving when he felt the soft touch of Merlin's hands on his wrists, and he looked down at the pale flesh that was loosely encircling around his tanner skin tone. It was enough of a distraction for Arthur to realize that Merlin was right, that while the traces of Valiant were probably long gone, he didn't have to stand here scrubbing at his face as if he were diseased.

But one more look into Merlin's face, the way it was being all smushed up because Arthur still had his hands on his cheeks, it was just enough to send another spark of that roaring fire through him. Because it wasn't enough, it would probably never be enough. Arthur hadn't protected Merlin from his near assault in the armory, Merlin had to protect himself-but he would make sure that whatever Valiant had done would be replaced.

"We're not done yet." Arthur hissed, and his voice was all gravely. It was a sound that would have done something to Merlin's insides, if it didn't sound just as much of a threat as it did a promise.

"Er...we're not..." Merlin asked weakly, entirely sure that he didn't want to know what Arthur was planning. He tugged a little, giving some of his strength into trying to tug Arthur off his face, but his hands were relentless.

"Not by a long shot." Arthur grunted at him, but he was all smiles. Not the good kind of smile though, the kind that boy's like Merlin may imagine being flashed in their direction by somebody they once liked. No, this smile was a lot more teeth and bite, threatening to give retribution and pain. Maybe not to Merlin himself, but there seemed to be an unspoken promise in that grin. As if Arthur was already planning Valiant's death in his head, and he would happily plant his head on one of his fancy silver platters before presenting it to Merlin as a gift.

Merlin swallowed hard, an uncertain lump in his throat making it that much harder. He just wasn't certain if he liked this new Arthur all of a sudden. The Arthur who had been both hot and cold to him since they'd met seemed to have taken a step back. This new Arthur...he was all heat and fire, both relentless and unstoppable. Pressing into him in ways that Merlin wasn't near ready for, yet not choking or smothering him like he'd felt when Valiant had tried to strong-arm him in the armory. It didn't send shockwaves of fear through his system like Valiant.

Don't get him wrong, it still sent plenty of fear flooding through his system. Only there was no shockwave of fear that made him cold all over, disgusted with himself and what was happening, completely powerless despite his powers to stop what was happening. It was a kind of new fear that...he wasn't even sure if he could put it into words. It made his heart leap into his throat and his palms seemed to start sweating like crazy. There was warmth in his belly that coiled up-threatening to burst before lowering into a simmer, just waiting for something to force it to boil over. It made him feel just as powerless as before, only the kind of powerless that made him want to curl up all softly underneath it and let whatever was going to happen...happen.

And in one swift motion, Merlin was yelping as Arthur rearranged his body to his liking. It was no longer Merlin standing as Arthur was trying to wipe off Valiant's germs with his own hands, but that was only because Arthur had done bent Merlin over at the waist. It was awkward and uncomfortable as Arthur dragged Merlin by the head, fitting it under his arm.

"Let go of me you absolute arse!" Merlin was yelling into Arthur's side, his soft shirt now being the one thing pressed against the side of his cheek, ignoring the smell of freshly cleaned linens and the hint of something else that had to be uniquely Arthur wafting off of the material.

"Oh, sod off with all that!" Arthur barked as Merlin pelted his side with his small fists as he tried to get free. Merlin might be getting free rein to hit him as hard as he liked at the moment, but Arthur had been trained by the best and Merlin still couldn't throw a decent punch to save his life. He would need to fix that, not that he was planning on letting Merlin out of his sight after what happened with Valiant, but it was still a good skill to have.

"You arrogant, overly righteous, absolute... tool!" Merlin was screaming out random words as Arthur dragged him over towards the dining table. The snakehead that Merlin had been holding, the reason he had came in here in the first place, was rolling off across the floor to parts unknown.

Arthur ignored the name calling, and the small pelts of fists against his side (he trained with the best knights in the kingdom, even without his armor to protect the vulnerable parts of his body, Merlin's fists weren't skilled enough to do any damage. Although he would deny to his dying day that Merlin had gotten a good hit in to the underside of his ribcage that startled a grunt out of him) to park Merlin at the side of his table.

"What do you think you're doing!" Merlin was wailing, trying to tug his head out of the gap in Arthur's arm. But Arthur held firm, keeping Merlin's head tucked under his armpit as he used his other hand to grab what he needed.

The first thing he grabbed was his white cloth napkin sitting all neat and folded on the table off to the side of his still full but now cold plate. It was some hard work, trying to keep Merlin settled into place with one arm while he used the other to shake open the napkin.

"Knock it off, will you!" Arthur barked as Merlin was able to give a sharp kick to his shin. And fuck, that actually did send a shock of pain through him. What Valiant would want with a wildcat like this, Arthur would never be able to guess. But he supposed he didn't have to guess, he just had to make sure that it never happened again.

So, without further waiting and not trusting himself to be able to dip his napkin into the goblet with Merlin kicking at his side, he just grabbed the whole goblet and threw the liquid inside all over the napkin. He watched as the deep purple color of the wine spread out, soaking into the white cloth and staining it. It would probably never be able to come out, even with the best cleaners the castle had to offer, so it would have to be thrown out when it was done. But no matter, the cloth napkin had been used for a worthy cause.

Merlin's eye's boggled, watching as so much of the wine spread and left large splotches of color on the cloth, leaving a puddle or two on the table itself as some of the drink didn't make it onto the napkin. What a waste, to be in possession of that kind of expensive wine and to just throw it out so easily...that spoiled and arrogant toerag, Merlin thought spitefully as he jumped and tried to wiggle himself free.

But if Merlin thought Arthur's hands on his face had been relentless, it was nothing to this steel bar that Arthur's arm seemed to have manifested as.

"What was that for!" Merlin shouted, even if he doubted Arthur was going to give him a straight answer. He honestly never expected this from Arthur, this kind of response to the crisis he'd been struggling with. And it both worried him that Arthur was going to do something crazy, and made him want to see just what he would do to 'avenge him' or whatever shit it was that prince's did when their unwanted spouses were in trouble.

"I don't exactly have any water to use!" The prat holding him barked, as if it was Merlin that was doing something odd by not letting him do whatever it was he wanted. "Besides, wine will be better. It's like a weaker version of straight alcohol, this should make sure the Valiant stench is completely gone."

Then Arthur was picking up the thick cloth, watching as large globs of the wine dripped off to the floor beneath them. Merlin groaned loud and disgusted as Arthur used his grip on Merlin to hold him still before he started to give a long wipe of the rag down Merlin's face as if he was trying to scrub him clean.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, with his nose all scrunched up in disgust. The smell of wine was nearly overpowering, made all the much worse from the harsh way Arthur was rubbing the cloth on him, making sure to get directly under his eyes. "I'm gonna smell like I've been in a brewery!"

Arthur found himself struggling to keep Merlin in place under his arm as the boy's wiggling grew harder and harder to keep up with. "As if you've ever been in one!" Arthur barked back at him, giving long swipes of the rag down Merlin's cheek, causing the scent of wine to permeate the air.

Merlin groaned again as he felt a drop of wine that left the rag starting to slide down the length of his neck before it was disappearing somewhere under his shirt. "You don't know where I've been!" He wailed back at Arthur as he scrubbed down to his chin. Merlin bucked hard, trying to force Arthur into letting him go but all that did was make it all the more impossible for him to make his grand escape.

"Well, it had better not be in a brewery!" The blonde snapped down at him as he started to work on the other side of Merlin's face, just to make sure that he wasn't missing anything. It was hard to imagine Merlin (naive, little Merlin who may not know what sex was, but at least knew when he was in a bad situation and had to get out) inside of something as seedy as a brewery. If he could manage to get himself into trouble inside the castle, Arthur could only imagine what kind of trouble would find him inside of a brewery.

It was only as Arthur was finishing his intense scrubbing of Merlin's face did his grip on the head start to loosen. It was as if Merlin could sense the weakening in his grip, because he wasted no time in using it to his advantage. It was quick and painless, almost before Arthur even realized it was happening. Merlin used one of his hands to grab Arthur's arm around his head by the crook of his elbow, and then he used his other hand as leverage against Arthur's side. In one smooth motion, almost like a pop, Merlin's head was free and Arthur was scrubbing at nothing.

"Okay, you've had you're fun! There's nothing of Valiant left, I'm not even sure if I have skin left there at this point!" Merlin was shouting at him, as he backed away several steps as if he thought Arthur was going to come back for him, which might not be such a bad idea. But later. As for now, Arthur was a little stuck on how he noticed Merlin's country accent as it came out so much more thickly than it had been, betraying just how agitated he was with his actions.

Which was strange, because what did Merlin have to be agitated about? Couldn't he see that Arthur was just trying to help, trying in someway to make amends for not being able to stop a travesty from happening in his own home. Scrunching up the now useless rag in his hand into a ball, Arthur angrily threw it on his desk. But all that did was make him more anxious, since all the ball did was bounce across the surface of his desk instead of making a loud clang as something shattered and broke. Now, that would have made him feel a little better, breaking something so throughly that there would be no way to put all of the pieces back together.

Arthur whipped his head away from his desk to glare at Merlin, a fire fueling in his gut as he saw the way Merlin was using the back of his sleeve to wipe at his face, damp with the wine. Oh god, did Merlin always look like this, how was he just now seeing it? There was no wondering why Valiant had chosen to go after Merlin of all people, despite his title. With the way that Merlin was resembling a wet little kitten, he would have been seen as easy pickings. But with the way Arthur's shin was starting to throb from when Merlin had kicked him trying to get away, he figured that this was just false advertisement.

Merlin clearly had some kind of wildcat inside that was hiding behind all of those baggy and torn up clothing. Arthur knew then that Merlin wouldn't have made it easy for Valiant, even if the other man had succeeded. But that didn't make him feel any better, if anything it made him feel worse. Because Merlin, despite all of the headaches he gave Arthur on a daily basis, didn't deserve to be assaulted in the one place that he was supposed to be safest at. Camelot Castle.

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this earlier?!" The words came out of Arthur like a punch would, practically demanding answers and his tone was clear that neither of them were leaving until he got them.

All Arthur could see in his mind was how he had dined with Valiant not even an hour ago. How he had sat at the same table with a man that was trying to rape his consort, and all he had done was exchange some 'poorly done' witty banter. What he should have done was march straight up to him, with his sword in hand, and taken his head off in a swift motion of his blade in front of the entire dinner.

So that everybody would know that Valiant's crime would not be tolerated.

It would have been a 'consequences be damned' kind of situation after his father got to him. But maybe if he had gotten it done quick enough, he would have time to remove Valiant's dick as collateral for where he had been trying to stick it, while everybody else would be in a state of shock over what their prince had seemingly done out of nowhere.

Merlin gave him a heated glare at his questioning, scowling over where his eyes were peeking out from behind his sleeve, "I didn't know I was supposed to!" Merlin then looked away from him, trying to rub off the wine that seemed to be sticking to his skin. It had taken everything he had to come clean about the whole incident at all, the last thing he was willing to admit was how humiliating the experience had been. He knew full well how Arthur saw him, but it was only now after the favor incident did Merlin see things all the more clearly. He wasn't about to start baring his soul and explaining how the last thing he wanted was for Arthur to see him as weak, to see him as just a burden he had to take on. If Valiant wasn't going to fight Arthur tomorrow, he wouldn't be confessing now. He only was because he thought it might be his only chance to show Arthur that Valiant wasn't the act he put on for others. That there was a dark wickedness brimming under the noble knight's skin that reeked of wanting to spread carnage and destruction through as many as possible, all while keeping his reputation in tact.

After all, nobody saw the snake hidden in the grass before it coiled up and struck.

But all Merlin's response seemed to do was incite another bout of anger through the man, "Of course you're supposed to tell me!" Loud and unnecessary was Arthur's voice, but the prince couldn't care less. He would raise his voice a thousand times louder if he thought it would finally get something through Merlin's thick skull. "You were nearly assaulted by a stranger in your own home!"

That seemed to strike a cord within Merlin, it brought the other boy's eyes straight to Arthur where-for just a second-Arthur could see the spark of danger in them that said he was treading on thin ice. "This isn't my home." Merlin said boldly, slowly lowering his arm from where he'd spent all this time trying to clean his own face.

Arthur seemed to have been brought up short by this remark, his teeth clanging as he shut his mouth with a snap. And then he was looking less angry and more solemn, as if the words had carried some kind of weight to them. He couldn't exactly argue against them and he couldn't lie and claim that this was his home. Merlin may live in the castle, he may have all of the perks and riches that marrying into the Pendragon family had, but it wasn't his home.

At least Merlin knew that much, and Arthur didn't even try to fight him on that. It was the truth, they both knew it even if they hadn't dared to speak it out loud before.

Arthur sighed heavily, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by everything, but he couldn't even begin to imagine what Merlin must be going through if he kept something this huge close to himself. Arthur brought a hand up to rub it roughly through his thick hair, his voice just as weary as his bones felt when he said, "Did you tell anybody else about this?"

As much as he hated to do this, he needed to be able to think about their situation logically and not emotionally, as a good ruler should, or at least that was what his father would expect from him. He felt the drive to snatch up his sword and challenge Valiant to a duel right in the middle of the other knight's room, instead of waiting for their inevitable match tomorrow. But he couldn't, he needed to do this right and if Merlin had somebody that could collaborate this story of his, it would make things so much easier. It would make getting a conviction easier if this story didn't become a he said/he said.

And make no mistake, Arthur was not going to let this go. Even if he had to take Valiant's punishment out on the tourney field, Arthur would make sure that Merlin got his rightful retribution for this slight made against him.

In front of him, Merlin crossed his arms in a subconscious gesture over his scrawny little chest, "I told Gaius about it this morning." He admitted, looking anywhere but at Arthur. He didn't know what he would see if he looked at the prince, he wasn't even sure exactly what he would want to see if he did look.

Arthur's spine stiffened as a surge of energy went through him, forcing his weary bones at a standstill. Before he could think twice about it, he was reaching out and grasping Merlin by the shoulder, and Merlin yelped as he whipped his head around to look at Arthur as the prince shook him.

"You went to Gaius with this? Why? Were you hurt?" Arthur dropped his eyes away from the other boy's face and started doing a full body scan, to see if there had been anything he'd missed the first time he had looked him over. But if there was anything, Merlin was good at hiding it. Or it might just be from the clothing he wore, Arthur suspected the bagginess of them would probably be a good way to hide something one wanted to remain unseen. He did briefly toy around with the idea of trying to forcibly strip Merlin himself, to get a better look at what he was working with, so that he could see what kind of marks he would have to be sure to scar Valiant's body with the next time they met.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a scar on his consort to a matching one on his dead assailant. Or at least he would be dead once Arthur got a hold of him.

Merlin wretched his shoulder out of Arthur's grasp before he could end up in another headlock, "No, I wasn't hurt! I just told him because he was the only one in this whole place that realized I was acting weird!" Then he was giving Arthur an accusing look, as if Arthur should know him well enough to tell the difference between his normal ramblings and when he's being weird ramblings. Then again, Merlin had been strangely quiet when he had first started dressing Arthur that very morning, but it hadn't lasted for very long. He supposed Merlin had decided asking him all those questions about the guards were far to important for him to stay silent about.

Arthur gave him a death glare in return, even when he knew he should have realized there was something wrong sooner. He should, he should have realized something! Long before Merlin had to come here and act as if Arthur was going to throw him under the carriage for speaking up.

"Maybe I should have a talk with Gaius," he said begrudgingly, half talking to himself as he turned away from Merlin. "He should have told me..." he cut himself off as a memory hit him vividly. Back when Arthur was waiting for his semi-final match to start, Gaius had came to visit him. He'd been talking weird, he had said things about Valiant but Arthur had just brushed him aside, interrupting him because he had gotten the gists of Gaius warning him that Valiant was showing an...inappropriate interest in Merlin. But that hadn't been it, had it? He had been there to tell him what Merlin was telling him now, only Arthur hadn't been willing to listen then. It had been right after Merlin had given him the favor, he'd been to caught up in his bitterness and trying to think of an escape route, Gaius literally could not have chosen a worse moment to approach him.

But no, it wasn't Gaius' fault. It had been his, for not being willing to listen for two minutes.

He almost wanted to facepalm, to just bring his hand up and smack it against the middle of his forehead. But he didn't, and not just because Merlin was giving him that squinty eyed threatening glare. Oh, who was he kidding, he knew that was exactly why he wasn't. It was bad enough that he had allowed Merlin to see how angry he was, to let him experience just how furious Arthur's emotions could rise. He hadn't been able to control himself, his anger nearly taking him to new heights that he'd never felt before. But he could control himself now, Arthur needed to keep ahold of whatever decorum he could manage, lest the chains holding him to this mortal world broke free and he reacted with the ferocity of a demon.

"Don't you dare do something to him!" Merlin interrupted his train of thoughts. "You better not do anything! He had my confidence so I told him, which is something you clearly don't have. So you better not be planning anything or I'll...I'll..." Merlin trailed off as if he was just now realizing that he was the lesser party, a threat from him wasn't exactly worrying for Arthur.

"Or you'll do what?" Arthur demanded, while making his chest puff out as if he was just throwing his weight around. But just as he did it did he realize how stupid he was being, and he dropped his chest before bringing a hand up to try and rub between his eyes to get the forming headache to go away. Merlin was the victim and here he was, trying to act like the big man around here. Well, he was, but that was beside the point.

Merlin was scowling at him again, making him feel as if he'd done something wrong. Then Merlin was turning away from him, "Clearly it was the wrong call to come here. I'll deal with all of this on my own if all this conversation is doing is going to get Gaius in trouble." Then he was stomping off to the door, hands being clenched tightly at his side as he strode past the forgotten snakehead on Arthur's rug.

Arthur bit back a curse and strode across the room after him. Merlin was already opening the door by the time he got there, but Arthur was slamming it shut before he could get it open more than a crack. And then he leaned his full weight against his arm pressed on the door so that Merlin couldn't open it again. He was aggravated, and it shown clearly on his face as he glared down at Merlin, "Will you just wait a minute, Gaius isn't in trouble and I'm not letting you out of here before we have cleared things up!"

Like hell Arthur was going to allow Merlin out of this room, he didn't even want him to be out of his sight for a second. He cast another look towards his desk, briefly wondering just how fast it would take for the guards on duty to deliver an extra set of chains to him. With Valiant still roaming the halls and Arthur yet to deliver justice onto him, he didn't feel safe letting Merlin out of this room.

"What's there to clear up!" Merlin demanded, while he threw his arms out in his frustration, glaring over at Arthur blocking his way. "So he just wanted to kiss me, I'm probably just overreacting to everything." He grumbled this, looking as if he didn't believe that last part for even a second. It didn't register to either of them that they had once again found themselves so close to the other, Arthur's arm pressed over the top of Merlin's head to keep the door closed just in case he tried to make another run for it.

Arthur shook his head, "K-kiss you?" It was still so unreal to him that Merlin was dumb enough to not know what Valiant most likely wanted to do with him. One didn't try to get into another's room without a nefarious plan in place. "He didn't want to-!" Arthur cut himself off before he could finish the rest of his sentence.

Merlin was blinking at him, his head tilted just a little to the right, really upping the whole kicked kitten effect. Arthur's jaw clenched as he forced himself to swallow back his words, his hand against the door closing into a tight fist. It would be so easy for Arthur to just tell him, in fact, in light of everything that was happening it was probably for the best that Arthur tell him.

Awkward, embarrassing, and even horrifying aside, it would be safer for Merlin to know the truth. If only if he could get his voice to work, all it would involve was Arthur sitting Merlin down on the edge of his bed...ok, maybe he'll let him sit in his chair instead of his bed, and he would just...come out with it...

"You are the worse gay man alive." Arthur muttered instead, turning away with that damn muscle in his jaw twitching. Fuck, how was he supposed to tell Merlin anything with the way he was looking at him? Merlin's eye's were rounded and innocent, looking more like a child than the man he was supposed to be. He wouldn't call them trusting, he and Merlin had to rough of a time for them to be trusting but the boy had came to him for a reason. He was trusting, on some subconscious level, for Arthur to take care of things.

Not turn his life upside down when Arthur finally got around to telling him.

And speaking of Merlin, the boy's mouth just dropped open in disbelief, "What is that supposed to mean!" He exclaimed, as his glare returned to Arthur full force. He didn't deny that he was a gay man, didn't even try to dispute it in front of Arthur. It was just like it was another fact of who he was, something he knew and had come to terms with long before Arthur came into the picture.

Arthur wanted to hit Merlin upside the head, especially since he at least knew for certain what Merlin's orientation was. It was for one thing to suspect it, for him to even decide that he must be. But at least now, he wouldn't be stuck blank if someone (ie: Markus) asked him again.

Arthur pushed himself away from the door and walked a few feet away from Merlin, his head ducked so that his bangs fell over into his eyes. "Nothing, it's just a really good thing you left the armory when you did." He could feel Merlin's eye's like a modern day drill on his back, pinning and penetrating as if they were trying to figure him out.

Well, Arthur didn't have to worry about Merlin finding anything out. If he had gone nineteen years without realizing how guys got together, then he definitely wasn't going to figure it out just by looking at him.

"Of course it was a good idea." Merlin said from his place near the door, not moving but also not letting his eye's leave from Arthur's back. "I do have them from time to time, you know."

Arthur scoffed, still not turning around to face him as he brought a hand up to scratch it through his hair. Everything was just hard, and complicated, and he didn't know what to do. On one hand, he should just tell Merlin so he could get it over with, Gaius had warned him when they had first breached the topic and Arthur had dismissed him. Gaius had approached him a second time, and Arthur had ignored him. It was now Merlin in his room, and he knew that something was wrong but didn't have the right pieces to put the full puzzle together. It was on the other hand though, that Arthur felt his troubles lied.

How was he supposed to tell Merlin anything when he was looking at him like that? As if Arthur was going to kick him when he was already down, looking as if he didn't know rather he should stay or go while he still had the chance.

Things would have been much easier if the knights had never found Merlin. He would be off living in whatever backwater village he came from, and Arthur wouldn't have to be concerned about his virtue being stolen...

"...Wait a minute..." Arthur's head shot back up. But the picture suddenly became clear as dots he didn't even know he had started to connect in his head. And then he was turning his head around to glare at Merlin.

"What did I do now!" Merlin exclaimed, as he threw his arms out. "And don't tell me your about to yell at me again! Don't you think we have bigger issues that whatever your issue with me is?"

There were a lot of issues that Arthur had with Merlin. He was loud, and obnoxious, he was always in Arthur's way and literally went out of his way to be there. But that wasn't as important as what Arthur had just seemed to realize.

So ignoring Merlin's statement, Arthur found himself watching the boy with careful eyes, as if trying to determine what he would say to this. "Is that the reason you decided I wasn't allowed to kiss you? Because Valiant came to you the night before, and it was the very next day...you were denying me!"

Not that Arthur wanted to kiss him, but it was the point of the matter. Back in his dressing room, Merlin had insisted that Arthur wasn't allowed to kiss him unless he wanted to. And it was just to big of a coincidence for it to not be connected in some way.

He knew the answer long before Merlin could say anything. And he found himself cursing Valiant out in his mind for getting himself in Merlin's head. For being the reason that Merlin thought he was the only one who could dictate what went on in their so called 'relationship'.

But if Arthur was expecting some big, teary confession from Merlin about how the only reason he had denied Arthur in the first place was because of how scared he was to have Valiant retaliate in a jealous rage or some such nonsense like that, he didn't get it.

Instead, Merlin lifted an unimpressed brow at him, as if to ask 'is that really what you got out of this conversation?'

It made Arthur feel as if he were missing something that was a little more important.