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!

50. Chapter 50

"The only reason I told you about what was happening at all, was to show you how awful Valiant's character was! So that you would believe me when I tell you he really does have a magical shield!" Merlin was shouting at him, the frustration leaking out of his voice as he waved the snakehead around as if it were some kind of weapon. "The least you can do is bloody listen when somebody is trying to tell you something important!"

Okay, so maybe Arthur had forgotten all about how Valiant was 'allegedly' walking around the city with a shield. Which was to be expected from a normal Knight, a shield was as important to a Knight as a bite of food was to a peasant. One just didn't wander around an unfamiliar territory without some means of protection. But no, it was more than that. This shield was a 'magical one' that had the ability to summon out live snakes so they could attack whoever the owner deemed was important enough for it. The painted snakes that had a slow acting venom that could kill a grown man within days as the people around them scrambled to find a solution. Only, they would be unable to because the snakes had already disappeared back into their hiding place undetected.

Arthur didn't know much, okay, anything about magic. All he knew was that it was evil and wrong and could be used to hurt people, his father had made sure that he had learned that lesson. And while he may not know what exactly magic was capable of doing, he had seen other's using it before they were being surrounded by guards. And they had always been trying to hurt somebody else with it. But a magical shield being carried around by a Knight was a little far fetched, and hadn't been high on his list of concerns right now.

"I was a little to busy trying to make sure that Valiant hadn't done damage to you!" Arthur snarked back at him. And even now, he let his eye's wander Merlin's form one last time, just to be positive of that himself. But just like the last time he'd checked-which was every few seconds in case something had gone amiss the first dozen times-he couldn't see anything.

"Well Valiant isn't exactly here right now, so it's not like I'm in any immediate danger!" He was shouting back at him. "Maybe if you just bothered listening for once, you might realize that if you don't stop it, then Valiant is going to kill you come tomorrow!"

There was a moment of silence between them as that statement seemed to hang in the air between them. As if the reality of it all was hitting both of them at the same time. It was a moment in time where they both just stood there, breathing hard with heaving chests as they glared at the other. And then like a more modern day VCR player, it seemed as if everything sped back up and they were back to arguing with each other.

"That's what I've been doing!" Arthur snarled back at him. "I've been listening, haven't I?" It wasn't a question though, Arthur was just stating the truth. He had sat here, listening to everything that had been going on with his consort behind his back. There hadn't been some secret courtship like he'd been thinking but it was something much worse. At least with a courtship, everything being done was proper and consensual. Even if it was an affair.

"Well clearly not well enough." Merlin said in a snarky tone, his hands back on his hips. "Or maybe you'll realize just how important all of this is!" Couldn't Arthur just see that he was trying to help him? That this wasn't all about Merlin and his own issues with Valiant, this included Arthur as well. And unlike Merlin, it was Arthur that was supposed to be fighting him come morning. It was Arthur that was in the perfect position for being killed in the midst of battle, with nobody the wiser or even smart enough to question the truth of the events that were going to happen.

"You're one to talk about importance!" Arthur snapped, glaring daggers at the boy. "You are the one that's been sneaking into armories you have no business being in! And the one that got all of this started in the first place!"

Maybe it wasn't fair for Arthur to put all of this on Merlin, but he did it anyway. It was the only thing he knew how to do at this point, to throw any and all blame on who was probably the only innocent party there.

Merlin scowled, feeling his own rage stirring restlessly in his veins. At this point, he didn't even know what it was they were fighting about. It was as if all they knew how to do was fight, as if it was the only thing they were able to do when they'd been in each other's company for to long. But for them, just looking at each other seemed to be the one thing that would set the other off.

Merlin found himself practically thrusting the snakehead into Arthur's shirt. If the red paint on the inside of the snake, that looked quite similar to blood but wasn't, it would have hit him with a loud splat. But as it wasn't, there was no sound as Arthur raised his hands and scrambled to catch it, his fingers curling over the head before it could fall.

"Just look at it!" Merlin snapped, bound and very determined. He didn't care if he had to shove this thing down his throat to get him to listen. If Arthur could believe him about Valiant's...misconduct, if you will...then he'd damn well believe him about the shield.

Arthur scowled himself, not appreciating the rough handling of his person. But Merlin had been right about one thing, they had been arguing for long enough. It was clear that if Arthur was ever going to get alone, it would just be faster to listen than it would've been to start another fight. So grudgingly, he made his irritation known on his face as he glanced down at the snakehead in his hand. It wasn't the first time Arthur had handled the body parts of an animal, he went hunting all the time and often carried back his gain before passing it off to some of the serving boys to carry it off towards the kitchen. But there was something distinctly different about what he was holding now, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What am I looking at?" Arthur finally asked as he glanced back up at Merlin. And then he frowned, not liking what he had just seen. It might have been his imagination, or maybe it was the way the firelight from the lit torches on the wall had caught Merlin's face, but he could have sworn that it looked as if...Merlin had been crying? The boy's eyes had a very distinct redness to them that he somehow missed before. Maybe it was because he had been so overcame with his own anger, far to busy with using the wine to scrub Merlin's face clean, that he hadn't even noticed. Was he...had he been...Arthur went stiff as he got stuck with a thought. Please tell him that he hadn't made the boy cry! Yeah, he'd wanted to hurt him and make him pay for humiliating him with that favor, but he hadn't thought for one second that he'd go home crying about it!

Then Merlin was at his side, leaning against Arthur's shoulder as he was trying to point at something on the snake. Arthur went stiff, as he subconsciously leaned away from the boy. Merlin didn't seem to notice, his entirety was focused on the snakehead in Arthur's hand.

"Just look at the designs on it, and the patterns." Merlin said, running a slim finger over the top of the snakehead, ignoring the way his skin was catching on some of the scales.

The new position forced Merlin's face out of direct view of the firelight, hiding the red in his eyes.

Then Arthur looked back down at the snake even as he wondered why Merlin had to stand so close to him to point that out. It was enough to have him dismissing his earlier thoughts. There was no way that he had literally made Merlin run off crying. He didn't seem the type to take things so seriously, or maybe that was just what he had convinced himself of. But if there had been any redness in Merlin's eye, then it had probably just been from the wine. It was quite possible that Arthur had gotten some in his eyes when he'd been scrubbing him, it wasn't like he had been going gentle.

But seriously, why did he have to stand so close to him? Merlin must have really been in love with him that not even Arthur switching the favors was enough to deter how touchy feely he was. How pathetic...it made Arthur uncomfortable.

"Have you ever seen any snakes like this in Camelot?" Merlin asked as he withdrew away and gave Arthur a little bit of space so that he could think with a clear head.

Arthur glanced back up at Merlin, and although he could see him easily, he didn't detect any redness. No, his eyes were like they always were, clear and dark blue. Arthur shook his head and turned back to the snake, taking a few steps away from Merlin on his own as he studied the snakehead in his hand. If only so he could stop trying to get a good look at Merlin's eyes. The last thing he needed was for Merlin to misunderstand and think Arthur checking his eyes for any sign that he'd been crying was actually him trying to...serenade him! Or something. Merlin was just stupid to think that to, as if him switching the favors weren't the biggest indicator about where his feelings lied.

So he did what he did best, and distracted himself before he got the urge to drag Merlin's face over to one of his torches, while probably leaving his actual body behind from the force of it, so that he could get a good look at his eyes.

With his back to Merlin, Arthur gave a brief examination of the snake. He had just been humoring Merlin at first, acting as if he was taking this whole 'snake coming out of some kind of magical shield' business seriously. It was then that he started to actually pay some closer attention to the snake, and he could feel a frown forming. This snake...Arthur had seen a great many snakes on his many and well traveled hunting trips into the forest that surrounded the city. But this snake in particular...it's scales were a shade of green he'd never seen before in his region. He didn't think he'd seen it in any region-the few times he'd visited other kingdoms for one political reason or another-before.

There was a certain...vibrancy, that made it seem almost unnatural. The way the torch lights bounced off the scales almost made them seem reflective. It was strange, and he gave it an even closer inspection, seeing a bit of something else on the scales, or perhaps... under them? There were black lines that he could just barely see, that spread all down the snake's head. They looked similar to how a person may see the veins on the underside of their arms. Was it veins, or was the correct term for this...the way one may see a brush stroke on a painting. He turned it over and over in his head, trying to make sense of it. It was clear that Merlin may have a point. Now, he was no expert on snakes or their species, but he did know that he had never seen one quite like this.

Maybe Merlin's story wasn't as...outlandish... as he first thought it was. It was at least something that warranted a second look at. It was a mystery as to where this snake could have came from, Arthur doubted one could even have a snake like this transported into the city. It had to have been something that had been specially made, breeded, for a special purpose. Like the way animal handlers may breed certain breeds to try and see what traits would pass down onto the young. Or you know, maybe it hadn't been exported into the city at all. Maybe it really had came from a painting, it certainly felt like a real snake. But what did Arthur know about how a snake that came from a painting was supposed to feel like?

It was the little touches that made Arthur doubt what he knew, or thought he knew. It's vibrancy, and the odd vein like lines that shouldn't be there.

Merlin was back again, against his side, and trying to look at his face to see his reaction. It wasn't something Arthur was sure could even be seen on his face. He was conflicted. On one hand, Valiant assaulting a member of the royal family was one thing. But using magic? It was something so foul, so forbidden, Arthur almost felt dirty just for saying the word. But still, he could feel himself starting to doubt it. If Valiant saw no problem with assaulting his consort, then was it really that big of a stretch to make? That he could have fallen into the dark arts at some point during his travels.

Merlin sighed, looking almost defeated when Arthur didn't say anything. "I know that even though I'm your consort and everything, I haven't exactly earned my place here, so my word probably means less to you than a servant's would." He couldn't help himself, paraphrasing what his uncle had told him earlier. It had stayed there, hovering in the back of his mind all this time, just like a heartbeat. Something that he knew was there but didn't really focus on till he needed to. "I know we have had our issues..."

That was probably an understatement to the extreme. If this wasn't happening, if Valiant wasn't trying to kill Arthur, Merlin probably wouldn't be here to begin with. He'd be holed away in his room, trying to hide his face for the night with embarrassment, before he ultimately confronted Arthur the next day about the favor. But things were a little different right now, they were a little more pressing. He didn't have time to bitch about a favor when there were literally lives at stake.

"I know that I'm probably the last person you would want to believe..."

That finally made Arthur look up, his frown prominent at Merlin's words. They weren't something that he had been expecting to come from Merlin. He would have thought the boy would start a big fuss, demanding to be heard and listened to, which was his right as consort. But no, Merlin's eye's were clear and serious, and they never wavered away from Arthur's own. It sent a little shockwave to Arthur's system, to hear Merlin speak so lowly of himself when he had all the power of the Pendragon's at his disposal.

"I wouldn't lie to you."

And for the first time, Arthur actually believed him. Merlin's face was set, his lips thinned in a grim expression. Even if Valiant didn't have a shield, it was more obvious than ever that the boy thought he did at least. So he must have really seen something, he must have truly fought against a snake-and won-to bring it's head to Arthur's attention.

Arthur licked at his lips, not looking away from Merlin. Not because he wanted to look at him, but because he was trying to sense it there was any deception within the slightest twitch of his features. But just like he was suspecting, Merlin didn't even twitch an eyelash.

"I want you to swear to me, what you're telling me is true." Arthur thought for sure that it was, but he just needed to hear it from Merlin's lips. He needed to know everything before he approached the council come the morning's light. During this conversation, he had been speaking as he always did to Merlin, with sharp or callous words and a dismissive attitude. Now, he was approaching this from a different angle. He was taking this seriously. He was talking to Merlin as a prince would talk to one of his knights who had just informed him of danger approaching.

Merlin didn't even hesitate before he said, "I swear, it's true." And his blue eyes-so blue-they never strayed away from Arthur. They never looked away like somebody would if they were lying. There was no twitching of his body that would indicate his lie. He either had one hell of a serious poker face, or he was telling him the truth.

There was a moment of silence where they just stood there staring at each other. Both of them were waiting for the other to make the next move, to determine which direction their conversation was going.

Arthur glanced away, back at the snakehead in his hand. "Then I believe you." He said, soft and quietly as he set the snakehead down on the edge of his desk. It was like a resolution, like him putting the snakehead down spoke out in volumes that he couldn't quite put into words. Like a final part of him that still shown a shrewd of doubt was being slipped away.

As both a prince and a Knight, Arthur knew how important and strong of a vow one was making by swearing their word. Arthur could only hope that Merlin understood just how important his word was as well. One didn't have to be a Knight to swear their honesty, to speak their truth.

Merlin could feel the grin starting to form on his face. It was almost enough to make him forget all of the other shit that was going on. He didn't realize just how strong a feeling it would be for him, to know that Arthur was finally trusting him, if only a little. It didn't forgive or ignore what he had done, not by a long shot. But at least now he knew Arthur wouldn't die, not if he could stop Valiant before the tourney. That would give Merlin an ample amount of time to yell at him for it later.

But for now, it had been a long and tiring day. Merlin didn't think he could handle another argument, he was sure that Arthur would say a few things in response that he didn't want to hear. He'd have a tough enough time going to bed tonight, no, it was best to wait. Get what he wanted to say into order, and all that jazz...

"Now, come. I'll walk you back to your room." Arthur said, making it sound like one big pain even though he was the one to suggest he do it. And then he was grabbing Merlin by his shoulders, and turning him around to lead the boy to the door. Well he called it leading, but Merlin was more prone to calling it shoving.

At least this time, they made it to the door before Merlin spoke up again. "My bed? You mean the one right next door...?" He asked as he lifted an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at the blonde. It wasn't like Merlin couldn't find his own room, he'd been in the castle for weeks now. He knew exactly where he was going.

"...Shut up." Arthur grunted, giving Merlin one more harsh shove towards the door before he finally stopped touching him.

"I'm just saying," Merlin said slowly, in that weird way he did when Arthur just knew he was about to say something that would drive him crazy. "I don't know why you're going to walk me next door. You can stand in your own doorway and see me. It's not like I have very far to wal-"

At this point, Arthur was reaching passed Merlin so that he could open the door for him. But Merlin's nattering in his ear was just enough to set him off again. "Will you just let me walk you to your damn room!" Arthur was shouting at him, loud and snappish.

Arthur could feel the flush starting to rise up the back of his neck when he noticed Merlin blinking dumbly at him. And he was quickly turning his head away so that he wouldn't see it, before he yanked his door open for Merlin to go through first.

Neither one of them noticed the hissing snake, identical and alive compared to the snakehead Merlin had brought to him, curled around one of the rafters high above their heads.

Merlin gave him a level eye'd stare, scowling at him even as he was looking at Arthur with confusion. As if he didn't quite know what to make of him. After a long moment's pause where Arthur was starting to get impatient, Merlin finally muttered a low, "You don't have to be so bossy about it. But fine, if you want to walk me 'home'" he sneered this word as if it pained him to say it. "Then go right ahead. I won't be stopping you."

Then Merlin was storming past him, almost stomping past him in a fit of sudden rage that Arthur couldn't place the reason for. Rolling his eyes, Arthur walked out after him with his own scowl of disdain plastered onto his face. Here he was, just trying to do the gentlemen thing by keeping Merlin safe-walking him to his room-on the off chance that Valiant may be lingering near. And all Merlin wanted to do was give him grief about it. Well, fine! Two can play at that game...Arthur still sullenly trailed after Merlin the two feet it took to reach his door.

Merlin had just reached it when he spun around, nearly clocking Arthur in the head again with his own head. This time though, it was Arthur that reeled back-he liked to think he was getting better at recognizing where Merlin's uncoordinated limbs were going to be. But Merlin just acted as if he didn't notice it at all.

"There you go," Merlin said with a sneer in his voice, throwing his hand out towards his door, as if Arthur couldn't see where they were. "I made it to my room, a whole two feet away without any incident." Merlin didn't know where his spike of anger had came from. He had thought he was doing so well conversing with Arthur. He hadn't started to yell at him for how cruel he had been, nor had he started throwing things at him. He would have considered that a plus. But now that the bulk of their concerns seemed to have been addressed, and Arthur was going to be doing something about Valiant in the morning, it was as if a sudden rage seemed to spike in him. It wasn't the overwhelming sadness he'd been experiencing this whole time. He was just...pissed.

Arthur scowling back at him didn't help him alleviate any of those feelings, "Just lock your door when you get inside." Arthur grunted at him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to Merlin's door. He wasn't leaving this spot until he knew Merlin was safely locked away.

"I'll lock my door if I want to lock my door." Merlin grunted back. He didn't say another word to Arthur before he was storming into his room, slamming his door shut behind him with a resolute thud.

Arthur brought a hand up to rub at his nose, it was just so tiresome dealing with Merlin. It might be because Merlin was scared of what was going to happen, he was probably worried that Valiant was going to come after him tonight. It was the only reason Arthur didn't say anything when Merlin started to get snappish at him. He supposed, just this once, he could allow Merlin to be a little lippy. It wasn't like he wasn't already like that long before all of this happened...or like he could stop him...

Arthur pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning against, and gave a sharp hit to Merlin's door with his closed fist. Just once, loud and firm to get Merlin's attention, "I didn't hear that lock click!" It was the only reason he hadn't left yet. He couldn't stand guard out here all night, but he needed to make sure Merlin was as protected as he could be.

Valiant would not be getting another shot at Merlin without him knowing about it.

There was a moment of silence where nothing happened. And then Arthur heard the solid click of Merlin's door. He didn't know if Merlin had been waiting on the other side of the door for him to say something, or if he was only doing it because Arthur was yelling at him for it.

Arthur stepped back away from the door, and he kept his eye on it until he backed into the wall right across from Merlin's room. He nearly upended the painting that was on the wall, hung by his grandmother decades ago in an attempt to make the place look a little more 'hospitable.' It was nothing special, just one of those old paintings where there was a bowl of fruit. Grapes hanging out of the bowl, a banana poking out somewhere among it, an orange and a few apples sitting on top.

Whatever.

Arthur was about to leave when he heard something. It was soft, and he had to strain his ears to hear more. But it sounded like it was...footsteps? Within seconds, Arthur had his ear plastered up to Merlin's door, trying to figure out what he was doing in there. It was starting to sound as if he were...pacing?

He was probably just nervous, Arthur told himself, wondering what tomorrow would bring and all that. It made sense as to why he wasn't preparing himself for bed. Arthur wasn't going to get any sleep tonight either.

The footsteps stopped, and there was a creak right in front of the door. Arthur frowned, looking down at the floor where he could see a shadow moving under the crack in the bottom of Merlin's door. What was he...

"...Arthur...?" Merlin's voice was hesitant, as if he was testing the waters to try figuring out if Arthur was still just outside his door. Arthur nearly fell backwards in surprise, and threw himself away from it, nearly knocking that stupid fruit painting off the wall in his haste to get back. His racing heart made it feel as if he'd just been caught going through a ladies underwear drawer. "Arthur! I know you're there! I can hear you!"

"...yes..." Arthur called out to him, feeling as if he was a teenager again-a young one-when his voice cracked in the middle of the word. It was a second later that Arthur was clearing his voice and trying again, "Yes? What is it? Is something wrong?" In a much deeper and more manly kind of voice. He wondered if the boy was on the other side of his door, also putting his ear up against the door and trying to hear for him.

"You bet there is something wrong!" Merlin huffed from his side of the door. "And it's all your fault!" He practically shot this out, and sounding huffy about it.

Arthur practically raced to the door, trying the door handle. But of course, it was all locked up nice and tight. "What is it, what's going on in there, Merlin!" He snapped, and started banging his fists on the door loud and heavily. Oh god, what if Valiant was in there waiting for him? Had Arthur really just sent Merlin in there just to get raped? Some prince he was. A protector of the people, and yet, he couldn't even protect his very own wayward consort.

"...I haven't forgotten about my neckerchief." Merlin grunted. And that was all Arthur was able to get out of him. Arthur was quick to back away from the door after that, disbelief on his face. How was it, with everything else going on, Merlin still found the time to be upset with him over that.

Arthur shook his head and stomped back down the hallway towards his room. If Merlin was going to be a child and pout about him turning him down, then let him. Arthur had some actual grown up things to do, like having a missive prepared to call for all of the council members for an emergency council meeting in the morning. Merlin's favor was the last thing on his list of concerns right about now, and he found it sort of outrageous to know that Merlin was thinking about it.

At least now he knew for sure that Merlin had actually realized he'd changed out the favors. He had been wondering earlier if the boy had actually seen it, considering he hadn't mentioned it once since he first marched his way into his room.

Reaching his doorway, Arthur hesitated before he went in, setting a hand on the edge of his door. Maybe he should go and apologize, that would be the honorable thing to do, right? He did feel a touch guilty, not for doing it to begin with but for doing it the way he did. He didn't have to tell Merlin he wasn't interested by waving someone else's favor in his face, he could have just said something before he left, turned his down or whatever.

He could have still gone out there with Lady Clarissa's favor, but at least Merlin would have been warned that his just wasn't good enough for a man of his station to wear...no. Call him paranoid, but he just really didn't want to give Merlin any delusions over the possibility of anything happening between them. The faster Merlin got over his little crush, the faster they could learn their roles in their little charade of marriage.

But...Arthur mused to himself as he looked down the hall...there might be something that he could do instead. Just a little something to get the ball rolling on this whole Valiant thing earlier than the morning. It wasn't an apology perse, Merlin would probably never even know about it, but he was taking this whole thing very seriously.

Just down the hallway, the Knight Gregory was standing guard at his post in front of the stairway. He was stiff, and looking straight at the wall in front of him. Acting as if he hadn't just bore witness to Merlin and Arthur's antics.

Arthur left his door and hurried down the hall. It was uncomfortable to admit, but Merlin had been right about his security. They needed to beef it up, to make sure that nothing like this happen right under their noses again. Some things were clearly going to have to change.

"Gregory!" Arthur barked, when he got down the length of the hall. The Knight inclined his head towards him, but gave no indication that he was the least bit concerned by how harsh Arthur's voice was. "Did anybody come on this floor last night?"

It was time he did some investigating, and found out what happened to the guard on duty. Gregory was the Knight that usually guarded their floor during the nights, and there should have been no reason for the man to have left his post. Let alone leave for long enough that Valiant had managed to get onto this floor, try to break into his consort's room, and then leave without being noticed. Something wasn't right here, and Arthur was going to get to the bottom of it.

Gregory, as if sensing just how serious this topic was, bowed his head in reverence to his prince, "I wasn't on guard duty last night, my prince." The dark skinned knight said in a gruff tone. "My wife was having labor pains, so somebody else filled in for the night."

Arthur narrowed his eyes, rolling over that in his head. Yeah, okay, it sounded believable. It was no secret that Gregory's wife was about to give birth, the knights had their fun taking a mickey out of him when the news first came out that she was expecting. And Arthur had never had a problem, disciplinary or otherwise, with Gregory. The man did an excellent job as a Knight.

Arthur nodded his head before looking back at Gregory and said sternly, "Somebody has allowed one of the competitors of the tourney onto this floor." His eyes were like ice, staring a tundra straight into Gregory's eyes, his tone alone saying this matter was of the most grave important, and needed to be taken care of discreetly and immediately. "Find out who was here last night."

Gregory bowed down low at the waist, not talking to a fellow Knight that he could often be found training with. No, he was talking to his prince who had just given him a direct order to be follow. And he would make sure that his orders would be met. "Yes, sire."

Arthur gave one firm nod of his head, every one of his movements clipped and stern as he turned and walked back to his room. He had full confidence that Gregory would find the Knight that had allowed Valiant the means and opportunity to terrorize his little consort. And once Arthur found out who it was-his eyes went just a little bit icier as he slammed his bedroom door shut behind him-there was going to be hell to pay.

The first thing Arthur did was make his way to his desk. He ignored his now frozen dish of food, untouched and uneaten, still sitting on the edge of his desk. He grabbed the first of his drawers and harshly yanked it out, nearly making the entire wooden drawer jerk out from how hard he had yanked it. But he just ignored that, reaching in and pulling out a fresh piece of scroll parchment, his ink, as well as his ring. The huge one that had the crest of his family on it, he was supposed to dip the symbol into a bit of wax and stamp his seal as a way of closing the parchment for his important papers. It was how he marked certain papers, his desk on it marked just how important the letter was. He would definitely be needing it if he was going to send out this missive for an emergency council meeting.

With jerky movements, each one more erratic than the last, Arthur slammed each item harshly down on the surface of his desk. And then he was slamming his drawer shut with enough force, the entire desk seemed to shake under his ministrations.

And then Arthur stopped.

His hands were braced on his desk, and he was breathing hard. All he could do was stare down at the items he had gathered onto his desk. His breathing was harsh as he felt what was nothing less than pure anger start to flood his body. It felt nothing like it had before, when he'd been pissed off when he'd first heard what Valiant had been doing.

It was so much more intense.

And all he could do was stare at that bloody snakehead that had been left on his desk. It was the one thing Merlin had came bursting into his rooms with, no idea if Arthur would come to believe him or not when it was all he had. But believe him, Arthur did. And that didn't help his anger at all, in fact, it seemed to almost fuel it till the all consuming rage was the only thing that he could feel.

What the hell was he supposed to do with a bloody snakehead?

With a loud snarl of rage, Arthur found himself snatching up the snakehead and then throwing it as hard as he could at his wall, just to the side of his fireplace. It hit the wall with a soft thud before it fell to the ground, unnoticed and unbecoming. But it wasn't enough, nothing was going to be enough for him to let this rage out.

But he tried anyway.

Arthur snatched up his tin of quills and threw it hard in the direction of the fireplace. The noise it let off was much louder and sounded more destructive than the snakehead had. It was a sound that Arthur could barely hear, it was muted due to the rage of his anger that was literally pounding away in his ears. Fuck, why hadn't he just demanded some real, and true answers from Merlin the first time he had started asking him weird questions, back when they had been in his dressing room and Merlin had been preparing him for the semi-finals.

Arthur shot his hand down into his drawer after he slung it back open, reaching down and grabbing whole stacks of his parchment paper. Without hesitation he started ripping them up piece after piece, the sound of the parchment tearing was like music to his ears. The kind that he couldn't get enough of, the kind that made him want to play it again and again until his ears fell off from listening to it nonstop.

Had his loathing for Merlin really gotten so bad, that he had put him at risk like that. He should have known the moment it happened, he should had trusted his gut back when the boy had started asking him all those weird questions about the guards, and if Arthur had heard anything during the night. God, he had been so stupid! He should have known that it was because of something deeper than the boy just being weird again.

Arthur snatched up his tin of ink and threw it as hard as he could at his door. The clang of metal as it smacked against the door seemed to make something in his muscles clench up. Seeing the splatter of black ink staining his door was a good thing, it was a mark to point out Arthur's failures. It was a reminder that he had failed in what seemed like the most basic duty a married man could have: keep your spouse safe.

He had known it in his gut that Merlin had been acting that morning, had known that it was there. But all he'd done was dismiss it, to caught in his own problems and tribulations to bother giving Merlin two thoughts.

Arthur snatched up his dinner plate and threw it with just as much strength at the wall where that stupid ink stain was. The glass of the plate completely shattered, breaking into several large pieces and raining down in front of his door. His now frozen meats hitting the ground and soaking up the ink puddles that were forming.

He had been in that bloody dressing room with Merlin for over an hour. And all he had done was...was...absolutely nothing! Merlin had been scared, scared enough to bring him his questions about the guard's scheduling, it was a fear that made him question if Arthur had been awake and...what? Had Merlin been considering that Arthur was awake and heard what was happening next door, but decided to just what? Turn back over in his bed and leave Merlin to his fate? Did he think that Arthur was that kind of monster? A man who heard a rape and just rolled back to sleep some more?

Arthur let out a loud and guttural scream, and before he realized what he was doing, he was yanking at his bedsheets. With one mighty yank, he was ripping the entire mess of thick red blankets, and pillows till they decorated the floor more than they did his bed.

And to think, he had been feeling so grateful to know Merlin didn't want to kiss him, when Merlin had told him for the first time that his kisses were a 'hard no boundary.' How was he to know that it was all because of Valiant, who had marched straight passed those boundaries and decimated them. Valiant who didn't seem to understand that 'no meant no' and that he wasn't allowed to touch Arthur's consort. Hell, he shouldn't even be allowed in the same room as Merlin-allowed to breathe the same air as him.

Arthur let out another scream as he nearly ripped one of his smaller pillows in two before he was angrily tossing the ruined cloth at one of his bedposts. The canopy that would hang around his bed was now down on one side, it was in one heap on the floor while the other sides of it barely clung onto the railings over his bed.

It was only when he had literally nothing left to give, when his voice had gotten so hoarse that all he could manage was weak little off-putting sounds. When his fingers had became so numb that they were literally sending off tingles that shot straight up his arm. When the rush of anger had drained out of him, making him feel almost like a pitiful shell of nothingness. Only then did he allow himself to collapse to the floor. Right by his bed, and he leaned up against the rack where he kept all his keys hanging on the hooks.

Right behind that rack was the connecting door that led into Merlin's room.

Arthur sighed, heavy and frustrated and just plain...exhausted. He leaned his head back till it hit the key rack with a dull thud. He brought his knees up just close enough to where he could rest his forearms over the tops of them.

He could see his sword from here, but made no move to pick it up. It had gotten knocked to the floor at some point during the destruction of his room. It actually looked quite similar to how it did the first time he had destroyed it, back when he had first heard of his impending gay marriage. Who would have thought that he'd do the exact same thing just weeks later, only this time it was because he knew Merlin hadn't thought that he could come to him for help in the first place. That he only had now because Valiant was about to make his move on Arthur.

Well, that was going to change. Until Valiant was out of the picture, Merlin was going to be glued to his side. The boy could bitch and moan all he wanted to, Arthur would handcuff him to his wrist if he had to.

Anyway, his sword. He could see it now just poking out from under his bed by the handle. He didn't even remember throwing it, had he thrown it? It had been sitting on his bedside table, but now it wasn't. Now it was under his bed. Maybe he had just knocked it off when he'd been throwing things. He didn't know. It was like his mind was just one big blur of true nothingness. All he could remember was the rage, and how he had literally been seeing nothing but red.

Just like he was now.

While he stared at his sword, making no move to actually go for it, it was still within arms reach, so he could snatch it up easily if he needed to. Which he would need to if he heard even the slightest suspicion of noise coming from next door. Anyway, he blinked and his sword looked different.

The tip of it was coated in a fresh layer of red blood, and it was slowly slipping down the length of the blade. It was Valiant's blood he knew, it was what his sword would look like after he stuck it deep into the other man's gut, after he twisted it to make the man feel every bit of the agonizing pain, and after he yanked it out with brutal force. Watching in some kind of sick satisfaction as the man crumbled to the ground, no longer a threat to him or his.

And then Arthur blinked, and the scene was gone. His sword wasn't covered in a sickening amount of blood, it looked just as pristine as it always did after Morris had freshly polished and sharpened it. He hadn't struck Valiant in the gut-not yet at least-and the man was still out there roaming free. As if he hasn't just committed treason by attacking a member of the royal family.

Arthur leaned his head back against his key rack again, ignoring the dull thud. He closed his eyes and strained his ears, to listen for any signs of movement coming from Merlin's room. There wasn't any, Arthur wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

How was Arthur to know that Merlin was on the other side of his door doing exactly the same thing. Like a mirror image-one blonde and the other dark, one with light eyes and one with dark but the same color nonetheless, one much bulkier and the other scrawnier. Each boy sat on their side of the door, leaned up against it as they listened for any sign of life from the other.

Merlin had a much easier time of hearing things than Arthur did. He had heard Arthur's screams as they had started, had almost-for just a second-thought that something had been wrong. But it hadn't been, nobody was attacking Arthur. Arthur was doing this to himself.

So, he had sat at his door and leaned his back against it to listen to the wreckage that was coming from the other side. It was only when the sounds had stopped did Merlin feel his chest easing up some. It wasn't fair. Why he still felt this way, why he wanted to go in there and get Arthur to stop destroying his own belongings. He should be pissed at him, and he still was, he hadn't forgotten about that.

But now that he was alone in his room, the achingly loneliness as the shadows creeped in on him from every corner of the room, it just made him feel sad again. He hadn't even had a chance to properly breathe since it had happened, he'd been to busy running around trying to save the life of a husband who didn't want him.

He was alone for the first time since Arthur had switched out his favor. The silence now that Arthur had stopped seemed to scream out at him, pounding away in his head.

Merlin curled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them as he rested his chin on top of his knees. He ignored his glassy eyes, they'd been like that on and off since he had left the tourney after Arthur...did what he did. His eye's were probably red rimmed again, he'd been rubbing at them so much earlier that they were probably permanently stained to look that way.

Merlin just stared blankly ahead into the darkness of his room, straining his ears for any sound of Arthur's continued destruction of his room. As sad and as pathetic as it was for Merlin to try and seek comfort from the man that had hurt him so much, this was also the first time he'd been in his room since he'd left it the morning after Valiant tried to get in.

He didn't want to be alone tonight, to fear that Valiant may come back at any second to finish what he tried to start. At least when he had been destroying his room, Arthur had been making some kind of noise that allowed Merlin to know that he was there. It didn't feel so lonely anymore.

As sad and as pathetic as it was...as hurt as he was...the noises Arthur had been making had calmed him somewhat. It gave him something to listen to other than the aching silence that seemed to overwhelm him.

Merlin ducked his head, burying his forehead into the crook in his arms as the tears started to brim in his eyes again. Why, after what the prince had done to him, did he also seek the man's comfort? What was wrong with him?

It was clear, as Merlin and Arthur sat on either side of the door trying to listen for the other, that neither boy would be getting any sleep that night.

X

Just down the hall, and somehow not hearing any of the destruction going on, Morgana was laying under her bedcovers. She wore her favorite purple dressing gown, and her hair was down and spread out in soft waves across her pillow. She huffed and fumed to herself, she'd been in a mood ever since the semi-finals of the tourney had ended and Merlin never came back.

She had retired to her rooms not long after but had spent the better part of hours ranting and raving her disgust to Gwen as the young handmaiden had went about her business and doing her chores around the room. But Gwen had retired from her duties a while ago, returning to the small hut that she shared with her father in the lower town district.

Morgana would have loved to go with her, if only so she could rant some more. But she understood that her handmaiden's time off was a precious commodity, and didn't want to make her feel as if she were still working instead of just listening to a friend.

She just couldn't understand how Arthur was so moronic! To literally take the favor of the first girl who'd just walked by? Just so he wouldn't have to wear Merlin's! It was just so childish. Arthur was acting like a spoiled child instead of a married man who did things they didn't want to because it made their spouse happy.

Morgana flipped over onto her side, tucking her arm under her pillow. She hadn't seen the prince since the tourney ended either. And she wondered if he was off, thinking of new and different ways to make Merlin's life miserable.

As if Arthur thought he was the only one that had been affected by this marriage. They all had been in some way but in small, little shifts. But Morgana personally thought Merlin had it worse than all of them. She couldn't even imagine how nerve wracking it would be if Uther came to her one day and claimed he had sold her hand in marriage to some...some...barbarian masquerading as a man!

Morgana sighed, burying her head into her pillow. Sooner or later, she was going to track Arthur down, and beat into his skull how he should treat people. There was no excuses for what he had done to someone as sweet as Merlin was.

X

It was many hours later, about six actually, when Merlin kicked George out of his room. It was apparently going to be the same every morning, where George came in and insisted he help Merlin with his dressing for the day. Only for Merlin to kick him out so that he could do it himself.

And sooner or later, George was going to start questioning why he found Merlin asleep against his wall instead of his bed. Because that was where he had found him, just like he had the morning before.

Merlin had been curled up on the floor in front of his shared connecting door, no blanket in sight, and had only been asleep for an hour or two before the sun had risen. The piercing light had broached through his windows, the sunlight inching closer and closer towards his face across the room as the sun rose higher in the sky.

And then bam, George was there, having used that key of his to get in-he really should take that away at some point-and shaking him awake. It hadn't been the most dignified moment of his life, but the night had also been suspiciously quiet.

Valiant hadn't came for him. And Arthur had been quiet for the rest of the night.

Merlin cursed loudly as he struggled to jerk his last boot on, bouncing on the other foot. It was so hard to get dressed when one was in a rush, wasn't it? With the morning light came the sudden reminder to Merlin what today was supposed to be.

Today was the day they got rid of Valiant. It was today that Valiant was finally going to pay for all the sins he'd committed the short time he'd been in the city. And Merlin wanted to be there to see it, to look Valiant in the face as he was taken away. To see that look of rage when Valiant realized it had been him who had stopped him. The little peasant boy who 'belonged in the mud'. The boy whose own husband was 'trying to hide him away' because he was ashamed of Merlin's commoner heritage. Those were all things that Valiant had told him during the meet-and-greet, when Merlin had popped whatever delusions Valiant had by thinking he was somebody important. Somebody noble. Somebody who was worthy of being married off to a prince.

Well now, Merlin was ready to put Valiant in his place. To make sure that he could walk through this castle without looking over his shoulder, wondering if the man was stalking him just as he had stalked him to his room that night. He was ready to be the one who Valiant looked at with surprise, panic, and confusion when he realized he didn't have anything on Merlin.

Merlin readjusted the collar on his jacket as he walked to his door. He flipped the flap down over, feeling the skin of his neck rub against his knuckles as he did so. He didn't have his favorite neckerchief anymore, the red one that was god knows where, so he had decided to forgo any of his other neckerchief's as sort of a reminder to himself. That Arthur may be putting Valiant away for him, but that didn't mean he still wasn't as cruel as he had before any of this happened.

And then Merlin was at his door, his hand just hovering over his door handle. It was a strange reminiscent of how he had been the same way the morning before, when he had been hesitant to leave his room because he had thought Valiant would be outside waiting for him to just come out.

But things were different now, too. The sun was shining, and it was a whole brand new day. He wasn't as scared because he knew that at some point in the day, everything was going to be fixed. There would be no more Valiant stalking the halls, no more looking over his shoulder to see if he was coming for him, and definitely no more having to deal with Arthur.

...Arthur...Merlin shook his head in distaste for the prince. He remembered how Arthur said he was going to take care of everything, but he couldn't help that bit of doubt coming through. It wasn't like he didn't believe him, he did, especially after the little show he had put on yesterday. He had just been...different, not like the Arthur he had came to know. The one that was so standoffish with him, or in his face if he thought Merlin was getting on his nerves. It wasn't a side of Arthur he had seen before.

Merlin sighed heavily, it would have been kind of interesting to see more of it. But with the light of the morning, Arthur was probably already regretting the way he had behaved last night. Merlin would probably never see that side of Arthur again.

He had already decided at some point in the night that he didn't want to get his hopes up all over again. After Valiant was put away, and no longer the problem, it would be all to easy for them to start ignoring each other again. It was probably the best call, just because they were married didn't mean that there was anything there. That thought had hit him over the head like a sledgehammer around three in the morning, and it was a thought that had been his only company as it had stayed with him for the rest of the night.

If only he had came to that conclusion before he had embarrassed himself with the favor.

Merlin shook those thoughts out of mind. He had been in a constant battle of thoughts all night before he had finally submitted to sleep around six in the morning, did he really need to spend his morning going over the same things?

Dressed for the day, and ready for the possible battle that may be happening later on-after checking his face in the mirror on his wardrobe door just to make sure his eyes were no longer red or puffy, he had spent a good bit of last night holding back the tears as the weight of an unloved marriage drug him down-he threw his bedroom door open.

He had his back to the hallway as he turned towards his door, firmly shutting it behind him as he did so. He made a mental note to either take that key from George so that he could use it, or get one for himself made. It might make him feel a little bit safer, although he really did doubt that anybody would find his magic book, secreted away in the little cubby hole behind his headboard. Still, Valiant had found himself in this hallway when he wasn't supposed to be, whose to say that somebody wouldn't find their way into his room when they most definitely weren't supposed to be.

With his back being to the hallway, and being as distracted as he was by his multitude of thoughts, it was probably the only reason he hadn't seen the man standing behind him. He was leaning against the wall across from his room, with his arms crossed over his chest as he stood in front of that stupid portrait with a bowl of fruit on it. And there was a scowl that seemed to be permanently on his face that betrayed just how irritated he was. But that was nothing new, this man always seemed to be irritated for one reason or the other.

"Well," a sharp voice said from behind him, making Merlin jump so violently that he felt as if he had just made the jump to ten feet. "It is about time you get out here!"

As if he had been waiting outside his door all night, and Merlin was inconveniencing him by not leaving his bedroom till seven in the bloody morning, when the sun was just now meeting the morning sky.

Merlin whirled around, his eyes boggling when he saw Arthur standing there. Although he shouldn't be as surprised as he were, the prince had basically said the night before that Merlin wasn't to leave his sight. But this also wasn't what he had been thinking. He hadn't been expecting to find Arthur already dressed and prepared for the day, Morris nowhere in sight, and just waiting for Merlin to get a move on.

"W-what are you doing out here?" Merlin asked blankly. He supposed he should have known he'd be out here, Arthur had literally told him he would be. But somehow, after he had 'metaphorically' thrown the reminder of his favor-the only mention he'd been able to force out of himself-he had figured that he wouldn't keep to his word. He'd been half expecting to drag Arthur out of his room this morning so that they could get a move on with this Valiant situation.

Arthur's lips thinned as he pushed himself off the wall, rolling his shoulders as the stiffness in them caused a spasm of pain to go up the back of his neck. He didn't like that his actions were being questioned by Merlin of all people. "You knew I was going to be out here. Did you think I was lying when I said you were going to stay glued to my side?"

Merlin felt his own lips thinning, a little curl of disgust appearing on his lips as Arthur and him seemed to be sizing the other up, "Why not, you lie about everything else." Merlin said in a low tone. He was vividly remembering their wedding vows, and how Arthur had vowed to-how had it gone?-to protect, and honor, and...Merlin didn't even know how it went. He had been a little too caught in, this was really happening to him, to remember the exact words the guy had said.

He just knew Arthur wasn't holding up to his end of the vow.

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked, his voice eerily silent as he stared Merlin down. He'd had one hell of a night, the last thing he needed was to hear Merlin's mouth first thing in the morning. It was way to early for him to deal with it.

"Nothing, nothing." Merlin scoffed, figuring it wasn't worth the hassle of getting into it with Arthur so early. Then he stopped and raised an eyebrow at the prince, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, and his stiff posture. "Have you been waiting out here all night?"

It certainly looked as if Arthur had plastered himself to that stupid portrait for the duration of the night. Which was just strange, right? It wasn't like Arthur had any real reason to be at his door for all these hours. Merlin had locked himself in, so it wasn't like he was planning on going anywhere in the night.

"Of course not!" Arthur barked at him, but the flush on his face was very telling. "I had some actual work to do while you'd been in that bed my family so graciously provided for you." He said this with a jealous scowl. He may not have been at Merlin's door all night-okay, he had been for the last two or three hours because he couldn't risk falling asleep and not waking up it something happened-but he hadn't been in his bed at all before that either.

Plus, he hadn't known when Merlin would usually wake up, he wanted to be able to catch him before he up and disappeared during their first council meeting as a married couple. He should have known the boy was a late riser, being soddy lazy and all. Although most people probably wouldn't call seven in the morning a late hour, Arthur was just annoyed enough to do it...but he would remember this time just so he wouldn't have to play this waiting game the next time Merlin got himself into a spot of trouble.

Merlin who...was looking at him suspiciously, and with that glimmer of identical annoyance in his eyes.

"If I remember correctly," Merlin said with his lip curled into a sneer, vividly hearing the bump of his heart going off in his ears. It just wasn't fair that after what he'd done to Merlin, that Arthur could still somehow look that good, while Merlin just felt like one hot mess. He blamed the arms, it was totally the arms that made Arthur look good. It was probably just because of the jacket he wore, it was a burnt red leather kind that went all the way down to his ankles. Yeah, it was just fitted to his form, which was why Merlin hadn't been able to stop starting. He turned his head away as if he wasn't affected by them, "I could have helped you with some of that work. But somebody decided to send me to that bed as if I was being an erect child."

He was still a little bitter about that, not being able to put in as much help as he thought he could do. He was still bitter about the favor, if only they weren't in the middle of this whole 'Valiant' situation, maybe he wouldn't feel so bad about his whole failure of a 'love life' if one could call it that. Hell, at this point, he was entirely bitter about their marriage altogether.

"Next time," Arthur said with a sneer of his own. "I'll make you stay up all night and do the work." It was definitely a thought to take into consideration. He would love to lay about in his bed and see Merlin on his floor, acting in a way that was befitting for him: he'd find a better fit in being a servant, then a consort. It was all to easy to imagine the boy polishing up his shoes than it was sitting at his side and going through the daily reports that seemed to always end up on his desk.

"Oh, I've already stayed up all night, so at least giving me something to do would have been better than staring at my walls." Merlin said with a fixated scowl. He hadn't even been able to drag up the will to get his magic book out, to shaken by the day's events to do anything else but sit against that stupid connecting door and trying to hear Arthur on the other side, if only so he wouldn't feel so alone.

As messed up as it was to seek confront from the one person that seemed to take all of his enjoyment out of Merlin's misery.

"...What?" Arthur asked, his voice sounding just as eerie as it had been before, and maybe even a touch more deadlier. As if he were trying to warn Merlin to tread carefully with his next words.

But that was probably the exact reason that Merlin didn't. Instead, he just lifted an eyebrow at the prince and said in an obvious tone, "Did you really think I just went to bed with everything that was going on?"

He had hours to spend worrying about all of the things that were going wrong in his life. It was a million in one thoughts, all mainly about how exactly they were going to get rid of Valiant once and for all. But many times in the night, his mind had drifted to his favor: of all the different sceneries that may happen. If Arthur was sorry for it, would he even admit it to Merlin. Or would Arthur think he was being stupid for not just 'taking the hint' and walking away with his heart still intact. It was a good chance that it wouldn't be if Arthur took pride in his actions, and took pleasure in squishing what remained of Merlin's heart under the heel of his dragon hide boots.

"Wait," Arthur straightened himself up and looked at Merlin with threatening eyes. The hand on the hilt of the sword hooked onto his belt seemed to send out a message it hadn't been moments before, "I've been out here, waiting for your for hours, and you've been in there this whole time... awake?"

Arthur had spent the last couple of hours on high alert, waiting to hear any noises that may indicate an intruder was on the move. It had gone back and forth in his head on rather or not he should just start banging on the door and force the other boy up as the sun had started to breach the sky. He'd thought he had been doing a good thing, by allowing the boy to rest some while knowing that no harm was going to come to him with Arthur just outside guarding his door.

...But Merlin also hadn't known he'd been outside his door this entire time, standing guard and being vigilant. Gregory had done left his post an hour ago to start searching for the Knight that had done their kingdom dirty by allowing a 'guest' into the royal wing. It had literally just been him and his thoughts for the better part of an hour, and Merlin was just in there...hanging around this entire time?

It would teach him to try and show the boy some mercy for once.

Arthur's word's seemed to make a brief look of triumphant shoot across Merlin's face, and the boy was throwing his hand out and pointing a finger at him, "I knew you'd been out here for longer than you said!" It sent a little sadistic glee of pride to go through him, knowing that this time it had been Arthur who was waiting on him. If he had known that, he may had taken a little bit longer on purpose.

He would have probably made an excuse as to why he couldn't leave his room quite yet. If only he wasn't so anxious as to find out what was going to happen to Valiant today. There were just so many possibilities, and Merlin was ready to put at least one of his problems to rest.

Arthur flushed at Merlin's declaration, he hadn't actually meant to come clean about how long he had been standing here. He had been prepared to play it off, and act as if he'd just walked outside when Merlin did. Bloody Merlin had to go and ruin that though, didn't he?

"Shut up and get a move on, we've got some place to be this morning." Arthur barked at him, if only to hide how uncomfortable he was. But his hand clenching and unclenching around the hilt of his sword seemed to betray those nerves. He didn't want Merlin to know that, for just a second (okey, maybe hours) he had been worried that the boy would need his protection at some point in the middle of the night.

He quickly dropped his hand to his side to hide that as well, and started to go down the hallway, confident that Merlin was following him close behind.

"Like what?" Merlin asked eagerly, nearly walking all over the back of Arthur's heels as he followed him down the length of the hallway. "Where are we going? Has Valiant been arrested?"

Had he somehow missed it? Merlin may had been in his room this entire time, but he hadn't been asleep either. Surely he would had heard some kind of commotion if there were an arrest going on in the castle. But he hadn't heard anything. Not even from Arthur, after all of the smashing he'd been doing in his room the night before.

Arthur rolled his eyes as they reached the top of the stairs that would take them out of the royal wing, "Of course not, there's a process to these things." Arthur had acted as quick as he could. He'd given his prepared missive to Gregory this morning, and the members of the council should be waiting for them in the council chambers right about now. His father should had been informed of these changes to the schedule and would no doubt start to look into them. Since these were criminal charges implied in his missive, the guards should had collected Valiant right about now and be escorting him to the council room so that he could 'defend himself' against these 'accusations'.

Right about now, Arthur should had been getting himself prepared for the final battle. Instead, he was about to go in front of the entirety of the court to defend his wayward consort from the advances of an unwanted man. Things were happening a little too fast as well, it usually took weeks for a missive report to be filed before it even reached the king's ears. But being the prince of the entire kingdom did have it's advantages, and Arthur had been able to pull some strings to get the ball rolling as fast as...now.

"The first thing we have to do is prove that what you said is true." Arthur said, as they were starting to go down the stairs. It may be harder than he anticipated, but Arthur had gone over every possible scenario that he could think of for how this could go. And he'd thought of several moves he could make himself to counteract anything that could go wrong.

Merlin nodded as he trailed after Arthur because yeah, that did make sense. Nobody was just going to take the word of a 'newcomer' over the word of an 'esteemed Knight.' "Right, we have to prove that Valiant is trying to kill you." Which shouldn't be to hard if Valiant had his shield with him. All they had to do was prove that the shield was magic, and then bada bing, there was the proof the king needed.

Arthur stopped mid step, only halfway down the grand stairs, and gave Merlin a stern look, "Yeah," he agreed dryly. He'd thought of that several times himself during the night, but it had always been like a background noise in the back of his head. He'd been more focused on a different problem. "We've also got to collaborate your assault." That was why he had sent a separate report to Gaius, asking not only how Knight Ewan was doing, but requesting his presence in the chambers this morning. It would have been better if Merlin had told somebody when it had first happened, but at least he had told Gaius the next day. It at least proved that something had happened. Now it was just up to Arthur to convince everybody else that it had.

Arthur had barely taken another step down the stairs before Merlin was at his side, and grabbing onto his forearm. Arthur's head whipped around to glare at the offending appendage, but all that did was make Merlin tighten his grip on his sleeve. "Wait, you are not going to be bringing that up in court!" He exclaimed loudly.

Merlin had found it hard, and frustrating, and painful just to tell Arthur, especially since he had also been nursing a heartbreak at the time. But then to stand before this entire 'court' and tell them what had happened, that would be an all time new 'low' for him. He was so not going out there and explaining how he had narrowly escaped from Valiant and his disgusting lips that first night.

"I'm not?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin with a confused frown. Because wasn't that the whole point of this council meeting in the first place? So that Valiant could get his justly deserved punishment for trying to lay his filthy hands on his consort? But then Merlin was glaring at him, as if Arthur should have known what he wanted long before any of this. "Of course I'm not." Arthur quickly corrected himself, as if he had known that all alone. He shot another glance down at the hand gripping his arm, and clearing his throat, he shook the other boy off as he said, "Just to be clear...why aren't I telling them?"

"Because!" Merlin exclaimed, looking as if he couldn't stress this enough to get it though Arthur's head. "This isn't about me! We are going so that Valiant doesn't kill you in the finale!"

Right, Arthur always seemed to forget about that part, that he was also somehow involved in Merlin's story. That his life was apparently also in danger even though, while he hadn't liked Valiant particularly from the get go, he also hadn't got 'I'm planning to kill you' vibes from the man either.

"No," Arthur found himself arguing back with the boy. "The whole reason I'm doing this is because of your assault!" If it hadn't been as serious as that was, Arthur probably wouldn't have even brought it to his father's attention. He could have armed himself accordingly, on the off chance that Merlin may actually have a point about Valiant trying to kill him. But then again, his father had always warned him that magic was not to be trusted, and those who used it were tricksters and devils in disguise out to corrupt your soul with their petty tricks. It may be best to bring up the whole 'magical shield thing' after all.

But Merlin wasn't nearly as impressed with Arthur's 'chivalrous' behavior. If anything, he actually seemed to be even more annoyed about it, "Oh, you're doing all of this because of me?" He demanded harshly. "Not because the man is trying to kill you?"

Had they really stooped this low? Were they, for all of their problems and issues and the endless arguments, really having yet another argument? Only this one was different, more focused on the other. Were they really trying to argue over which matter they should bring up to the council, were they really arguing on who mattered most? Was it Arthur who was insisting they bring up Merlin's assault? Or was it Merlin who was firm on ignoring it and focusing sorely on Arthur's would-be murder.

"I can handle myself!" Arthur said, firm and proud as he brought his hand down to his sword. As if to remind Merlin just how good of a swordsmen he were. After all, he had managed to make it to the finals, against the best their kingdom had to offer, and without cheating with the help of a magical shield that sent venomous snakes out to strike at your opponent. "You can't." And as if to add salt to the wound, he gave a more than obvious look toward's Merlin's scrawny arms.

Merlin followed his gaze to his own arms, and then he was snapping his gaze straight back to Arthur. "...You're gonna need to rephrase that right now." Despite this sudden 'protective' streak, Arthur appeared to be on out of nowhere, it seemed as if he was just the same as he was before: when Merlin's biggest problem was rather or not he should risk it all to give Arthur his favor.

Well, he had risked it all. And he had lost it all as well. And Arthur was just the same as he was before all of this, he was still an ugly and mean bully that Merlin had seen his first day in the city. Even if he was acting weirder than normal now. This protective streak was just plain...odd. Acting as if he actually cared a lick about Merlin.

It was hard to believe that he had forgotten that first time he had seen Arthur, being the bully that he was, with everything else that was going on in his life. But it seemed to be hitting him full force, with all the weight one may feel if they'd just been hit over the head with a sack filled with ten pounds worth of just solid stone.

Arthur didn't seem all to threatened by Merlin's demeanor, if his harsh eye roll was anything to go by. "What? You can't handle yourself!" Arthur said, as if this was a solid fact that Merlin wouldn't be able to dissuade him from thinking. After all, Arthur had seen Merlin fight and it was clear that he didn't have a single idea how to use those limbs of his. "It's why you came to me, begging for help!"

Merlin felt his jaw drop open in horror as he realized what Arthur had just said, "Now hold on, I didn't come 'begging for your help!" He exclaimed, looking nauseated with the thought of it. If Arthur's life hadn't been in danger, Merlin would have never approached him about his own problems. He would have found some way to handle Valiant on his own, and away from Arthur's prying eyes that were looking as if they were trying to dissect him where he stood.

"Well what would you call it?" Arthur asked, waving about his hand as if he was flippant about whatever response Merlin would give to him. As if it didn't matter one way or the other what he said.

Merlin felt his cheeks puff out with his irritation, not believing that he was still trying so hard to save somebody who clearly didn't want to be saved by him, "I'd call it, 'saving an arse.'" And then Merlin was stomping back down the stairs.

Arthur shook his head, watching him go, because he just didn't get that boy. He would have thought he'd be excited that Arthur was showing more of an interest, was showing some kind of concern for him that he hadn't shown previously. But no, Merlin didn't seem to be to trilled with the prospect of Arthur taking the time out of his busy, busy day to deal with his problems.

It was only as Merlin was reaching the bottom of the stairs did Arthur remember himself and he was hurrying down them himself to catch up.

Merlin had barely reached the last step, with his hands clenched angrily at his side as he tried to come up with a reasonable answer as for why he was still trying so hard to save the prat's bloody life, when Arthur grabbed him from behind. The prince grabbed a fistful of the back of his jacket, and nearly yanked him right off his feet as he jerked him back before he could step off the staircase.

"W-what are you doing?" Merlin stuttered, and he was fidgeting and scrambling, trying to wiggle himself out of Arthur's hold. He was clearly doing it to much, because then Arthur was shoving him towards the rail of the stairs. Merlin's mouth opened in shock, not able to catch up fast enough, and it seemed as if Arthur was trying to shove Merlin right over the rail. Surely he wasn't that pissed off at Merlin! Or maybe he had just decided that Merlin was to much of a hassle to deal with on the daily.

There was a loud shushing sound, and Arthur had a hand planted firmly on his chest. Merlin stared at him confused when he realized that Arthur had stopped shoving him, no longer trying to force him over the rail. If he had ever been in the first place, Merlin glanced over the rail in question. Okay, so maybe he could admit that Arthur hadn't actually been trying to shove him over, not that it would really hurt if he did because they were at the bottom of the stairs already, so it would have only been like a foot drop.

But still!

"What are you-" Merlin started again, trying to lean himself up. But Arthur just shushed him again, a finger coming up to his mouth to indicate that Merlin should shut up. Merlin scowled, finding the urge to protest coming out in him.

But then he stopped, his brows creasing together as he took Arthur in. Or more specifically, Arthur's stance. The prince was tense, looking as if he was ready to go to war with how serious his face was. His brows had creased together, and he was craning his head to see in every direction before he'd allow Merlin to take the final step. He even lowered his other hand not on Merlin's chest, down to the hilt of his sword, every muscle and bone in his body looking as if it were prepared to spring into action at the slightest of movements.

But there were no movements. The stairwell was empty, as was the landing beneath them. The entire hall was bare of life, not even the slightest of sound was there to stir the air.

After a second, where nothing seemed to be about to happen, Merlin watched as Arthur seemed to relax. It was as if the strain he was under just seemed to drain out of him, his white-knuckled grip around the hilt of his blade loosening until he had stopped holding it all together. "Alright." The prince said, his hand dropping from Merlin's chest as he took a step back. "Let's go now, before they start without us."

And then he was finishing the final step he'd just stopped Merlin from taking, before he was off. His pace fast and certain, as if he knew exactly where he was going and how to move his body to get there quicker. Merlin was left boggling his eye's at him, staring in his direction as he tried to figure out just what he had been doing. But Arthur just kept walking, as if nothing happened.

Arthur was already halfway down the hall before Merlin got his wits about him back. But even then, the only reason he did was because of the sharp whistle that seemed to echo off the walls of the stone hallway. And Arthur was looking at him over his shoulder, as if to say 'well, get a move on already.'

Merlin quickly followed after him, until he was once again nearly on Arthur's heels, "Wait, what was that?" He demanded, throwing out his hand back behind him towards the stairs. As if Arthur needed this reminder to realize exactly what Merlin was talking about.

Arthur kept his eye's trained ahead when he gruffly said, "I just needed to make sure that Valiant isn't lurking around here. The guards should have collected him this morning and escorted him to the council chambers. But on the off chance that he wasn't in his room and they haven't found him yet..." he trailed off, as if he realized he may have said to much.

But it was enough for Merlin's steps to slow down as he took in what Arthur was telling him. He really was taking this Valiant thing seriously, not the death threat towards him but the threat he was posing to Merlin. Arthur had stopped him on the staircase because he wasn't taking any chances if Valiant was still roaming the castle. He had stopped Merlin in case Valiant was there, waiting to attack him before they could go into the council meeting and have his arrest ordered. Arthur thought Valiant was going to try to kill him, and had taken it upon himself to act as if he were his bodyguard.

Merlin's only thought?...who the hell was this guy? And where had he been hiding when Merlin had been having his heart ripped out. It would be all to easy to fall for him again if that was how he acted, but his heart literally throbbed with pain, as if it was trying to scream at him that it would be an extremely bad idea.

It didn't have to, and Merlin knew that it would be. So he shook his head, feeling his heart when it hardened just the slightest bit. Crap, he thought his eye's were starting to feel wet again, he had thought he'd gotten all of his crying out the night before. But no, he hadn't really cried, had he? No, he'd just sat there and stared at the wall, allowing the tears to brim his eyes but to not actually fall.

"Arthur," Merlin said gruffly, deciding on his own to just dismiss what had happened. He wasn't going to fall into Arthur's trap again, where he acted like he cared only to throw Merlin aside the second he tried to make a move.

The prince tilting his head in his direction as they walked was the only indication he got that he was listening.

"Just..." Merlin sighed. "When we get there, can you not bring up what happened between Valiant and me. Just let this whole meeting thing be about how he's trying to kill you." Which it should be to begin with, Merlin thought bitterly. It made things feel more real, solid, as if Merlin could feel the actual ground beneath his feet. If Arthur started to talk about his assault, it would just make Merlin feel things that he didn't want to feel right now, maybe never after how his first attempt at starting something had gone.

It would be as if Arthur had only pulled this entire council meeting together for him, if he started in on his assault. As if he was only taking this seriously because it was Merlin that was in danger. As if Arthur had little to no concern over his own life, not when it was Merlin who needed his help. And Merlin didn't know how much strain his heart could take, he didn't know if he'd be able to stomach it if Arthur just turned around on him again when he was starting to feel things for him all. Over. Again.

Arthur stopped walking and they had just reached the grand hallway. The large doors that stood at the end of the hall were where they were supposed to be. They were grand, and as beautiful as the rest of the castle with their deeply red wood, and it was also eerily still. As if nobody was there, nobody but the two guards that were standing in front of the doors with their spears at the ready. As if they thought somebody was going to storm the room to get in at any minute.

And then Arthur was looking at him, his face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed in thought as he looked Merlin in the face. He looked as if he was studying him, as if he were trying to figure out the truth of just why Merlin was so insistent on keeping his own reasons for this meeting-quiet. Merlin was sure that all Arthur would be able to see was his misery.

His misery that they had to do this, that not only was the same person who horrified him in ways he didn't even know he could feel was also trying to kill his husband. His misery that said husband was only showing this level of concern for Merlin when it had to do with Arthur's reputation. It was just like before, when Knight Chase had been trying to force him into a duel, Arthur had been forced to act as to put on the role of 'doting husband.'

Only now was Merlin fully understanding just how much 'acting' Arthur had put into that role to make it believable. And believable it did, Merlin had fell for it hook, line, and sinker. No doubt this whole Valiant thing was just like that, only on a much bigger scale because it was a much larger threat level.

Merlin didn't know for sure what Arthur had seen in him, but the prince seemed to have taken notice of something. Because that was when he nodded, "Alright, I'll make you a deal." Arthur said. "I'll stay clear of the assault, and only talk about Valiant's attempt on my life. But If it looks like we're losing, if it looks like Valiant may walk free if we can't convince the council, I'm going to be bringing it up."

It wasn't an actual deal. Arthur had clearly already made up his mind. He may not bring up Merlin's assault at first, but he would if it meant changing the hands into their favor. It still made something in Merlin relax. As much as he hated to admit it, he still had a little-just a little-semblance of trust that Arthur would keep his word.

"How can we lose?" Merlin asked him with a curious expression. "It's the truth!" And god, he wondered how he could still trust Arthur to keep his word after the pain he'd caused him. But it awasn't like Arthur had 'really' ever lied to him. As much as all he wanted to do was scream that Arthur was 'betraying' their wedding vows to 'love each other.' Arthur had never claimed that they had anything between them, Merlin had just made it all up in his head. He saw one thing that Arthur did and misconstructed it in his head as he saw fit, to make it fit into his narrative.

Merlin watched with solemn eyes-probably looking like a kicked puppy-as Arthur turned his back to him, the prince would probably always keep his back to him. Because Merlin wasn't good enough to have by his side, not like whoever had given him the other favor probably was.

"Clearly, I should have taught you something after all." Arthur said dismissively, as he strode forward towards the knights guarding the council chamber doors, leaving Merlin to trail after him. "You obviously don't know how all of this court stuff works."