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!

75. Chapter 75

Gwen swallowed hard with this anxious nerve to her, looking back and forth between the personal manservant to Prince Arthur and the Consort to Prince Arthur. Both men who were only connected together at all because they had both been tied-rather that be through fate or circumstance-to another. There was a palpable tension to the air that set her teeth on edge, and she was fearful that something was about to go down, her hands clenching and unclenching around the purple garment belonging to Lady Morgana.

The lack of noise in the room seemed to be accompanied only by the sound of their own personal heartbeats. But then Morris slowly turned back around from where he had been facing the door to look back at the two of them. Morris blinked, looking as completely baffled as could be. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about." The manservant answered the consort.

Gwen's eyes darted back and forth between the two frantically, her grip on her Lady's dark purple garment tight enough to nearly rip the delicate lace in two. The handmaiden found it hard to believe that Merlin had brought up that ancient history. It wasn't something that people bothered to bring up anymore, things had gone back to normal so quickly after that bit of gossip started flooding the city. Gwen herself didn't know exactly what had went on about it, but she had started looking at him a bit sideways after that. But he'd only seemed to grow more and more cocky ever since that day, making Gwen secretly wonder rather or not he really had done it. And now he'd been reeling in the benefits of having gotten away from it…

"Oh, I think you do." Merlin spoke up as he kept Morris in his sights. He didn't know how dangerous-if at all-Morris was. But after what he said, he kept his eye on Morris. He didn't know for sure how Morris was going to react to his brazen accusations. The sad part was, Merlin might have actually believed that the manservant's confusion was real, if the man hadn't already seemingly threatened him just a second ago. 'Friendly' threatened him, as he'd claimed it had been. But Merlin liked to think he was smarter than to fall for such an obvious act. Nobody looked that innocent unless they had something worth trying to hide behind. "But," Merlin nodded towards the door after seeing exactly what he wanted to. Despite Morris facade, he was obviously no innocent. "I think it's time that you go."

He'd almost forgotten Gwen, and that he was supposed to be defending her against what had to be an unhinged bully. At least until she leaned in against his side, watching Morris as if she thought he was able to explode. Gwen was biting on her lip, looking shaken over the fight that had started because of her. Merlin had to remind himself there was some more important things than trying to one-up that manservant. Like making sure Gwen was still alright. After her father, and now Morris…the girl hadn't seemed to have gotten a break in over twenty four hours, not even one just to catch her breath.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" the manservant said boldly, crossing his arms on over his chest. But that was Morris, just one of the many who were happy to defy Merlin's 'power' as a consort. "Flex your position over me? I thought I had made myself quite clear the last time we talked. You don't have any real power around here. You are nothing more than a figurehead for the crown, whose sole design in life is to make the prince look good after taking on a peasant as a consort from down in the streets."

Merlin squared off his shoulders, knowing this was only Morris' way of trying to taunt him again. Trying to gain some kind of weird, misconceived power over him by making him doing himself all over again. But Merlin knew exactly what his 'lot' in life was, and he didn't need Morris to tell him so. But clearly Morris didn't know as much as he thought because Merlin hadn't been making anyone look good to the people, especially not Arthur. Hell, he had probably made Arthur look worse than he already did himself since the day Merlin had said 'I do.'

Merlin strode forward so that he was only a few steps away from where Morris stood, "I am telling you this one time," spoke former peasant boy. He talked not as a consort, the one that was 'supposed' to have all of the power in the room. But power like that only came when there was somebody else around to enforce it. So Merlin was forced to talk as a man-raising his voice up a notch-a man that fought back after witnessing blatant bullying of someone he cared about. "Leave.

And if Morris didn't leave on his own two feet, then with how Merlin was feeling, he would be more than happy to toss him out himself. If only to give Gwen a safe and stable place to finish off her work, someplace that wasn't being overran by egotistical arse-wipe.

Morris couldn't just scamper off though and leave them to whatever came next. No, that would've been too easy. And Morris 'hated' to do things the easy way when instead, he could assert himself as the 'dominate' male in the room. The manservant finished walking up the rest of the space in the room until he and Merlin were standing nose to nose, and glaring into the other's eyes.

"I do not answer to you." Morris said with this snide tone. Although yes, in actual normal circumstances, Morris being a servant would have had him referring straight to Merlin if the consort told him to do something. A good manservant would have never disobeyed the partner to their master. Sadly, these were not normal circumstances and Morris had gotten it into his head that he could do whatever he wanted with no consequences. It hadn't been too hard for his brain to swell with this huge self-importance considering he had been in a constant state of testing his boundaries with the prince. Talking with more and more of his growing disrespect right in front of the prince just to see if he would do something to put a stop to it. He never did, which is what gave Morris the nice and shiny backbone that he had. "I-" Morris brought his hand up onto his chest, right over his heart. "Am the personal manservant to Prince Arthur. His orders and that of the king's are the 'only' ones that I will listen to."

He'd clearly left Merlin's title out on purpose, leaving Merlin on the outside when he should have been on bended knees and begging the consort forgiveness for his impudence. But the manservant was having his fun, behaving as if he was 'daring' for Merlin to try anything that he could run off and tattle to the 'proper' people about. Morris was quite special indeed, he didn't even have to waste his time reporting to the Head Quartermaster. Whose job it was to pass out the duties of the day to the normal servants who'd bounced around the castle before they hadn't been important enough to give permanent duties to.

And Merlin…Merlin was gritting his teeth down so hard that he could feel a headache forming in his temples because of then harsh pressure. This whole thing had clearly gone on for long enough, and Morris' whole 'I'm better than you' attitude has been trying to push it's way under his skin this whole entire time. He'd largely resisted it for the most part but now…enough was enough. And Morris needed a damn good reality check. Before he could really think too much on it though, and knowing that he was going to end up largely regretting this later: he used his power, or at least the one that he could use publicly and not the one he had to hide.

"And I'm married to Arthur Pendragon," spoke up Merlin, hardening his voice so that it had been raised higher, but not so loud that he'd been shouting. His voice took on a sound of indifference, going cold as his eyes hardened down as well. If Morris wanted to play the, I'm more powerful that you game, then Merlin wanted to show him who did. "Which means I'm entitled to everything that the Pendragon family has, which includes having a voice that is meant to be heard. And I am commanding you, Leave. Now."

As soon as the last words left his lips, Merlin felt as if he was going to be sick. As if he was going to spew vomit all over Morgana's pretty cream colored rug. He…had he seriously just made a 'command'? And official order. Merlin feared this more than anything, he feared the road something like that might lead to. Could it be that this command was just a gateway to something so much worse. One command could lead into two, and then three, and then by this time next year, Merlin could have been someone he didn't want to be. What if, by the time it was next year, Merlin looked himself in the mirror and realized he didn't recognize the man staring back at him. He didn't want to get too comfortable here, to load over the fact that the stupid fucking ring on his stupid fucking finger made him more special than all the rest. He wasn't special. He was just a boy with extraordinaire bad luck. He didn't want to by like one of the many knights who took glee with shoving him into walls just because they thought it was funny. He didn't want to be like the people in the streets who turned him away from their stands because they had thought something of him that wasn't true in the least. He didn't want to be…Arthur…who thought he was the best thing that has ever happened to the world. To Merlin's world.

But before Merlin was forced to decide what to do, like should he apologize?-because he knew very much what it was like to be seen as the weaker one, the least powerful in the room, as less then, just because he didn't have blood that ran as blue as his noble title would suggest-the door was being slammed open. Fast enough that it rammed itself right into the wall behind him-it was mere luck that it did not leave a dent in Morgana's wall-and all three of them flinched by the presence of another entering the room.

"Consort Merlin, are you alright? I thought I'd heard raised voices." Gregory demanded with his gruff tone as he stepped into the room to observe the three of them. The three of them in the room stared back at him, or with more specifically, spared at the large spear he had in his hands. Looking as if he was prepared to thrust it straight into the gut-and out through the other side of them-if he thought that they posed a danger to their consort.

"…No." Merlin forced his jaw to move to get the words out. Morris was an arse that Merlin needed to keep an eye on, but until he had any actual proof that he was still up to his old tricks like he had been doing before Merlin had walked up to the castle, then Merlin was not going to through him to the wolves. And Morris could look at this as Merlin's own kind of weak apology. He wouldn't set Gregory on him after-his stomach churned restlessly at what he'd just done-commanding him like he was one of the nobles. "Morris here was just leaving, weren't you Morris?" Merlin asked as he turned to look at the manservant with his wide blue eyes.

Morris seemed to get what he was trying to say-to take this chance and run while he still could, because Merlin would still be watching him-because his eyes hardened. Like a steel cage falling over his eyes to reveal nothing to his misconceived enemy. "Of course, I don't want to be seen neglecting my duties. Arthur is looking for me, I'm sure."

And he looked at Merlin with a barely conceal expression of taunting, his tongue absolutely 'curling' around the prince's name. That was his way-no doubt-of showing Merlin that he was more familiar by Arthur. More welcoming to the heir of Camelot's throne because that manservant felt comfortable to use Arthur's given name instead of his title. It made Merlin feel this sourness in his belly, and wonder if he had been wrong to so Morris the mercy he just had if he still felt so comfortable mocking Merlin to his face.

Merlin supposed this was whenMorris was supposed to leave. But instead of heading to the door, Morris was walking forward with his arms flying wide open. Merlin's eyes boggled and almost fell right out of his head when the manservant enveloped him into a hug, pulling him close together chest to chest. Merlin felt his face scrunching up in disgust, his hands twitching at his sides as he thought only one thing…what. The. Fuck. Was happening right now. Morris definitely hadn't looked grateful that Merlin hadn't sent him right underneath the carriage by outing his disgustingly bad behavior to Gregory. Fuck, he had only done that much because it had felt too 'blue blood' for his taste. A noble-one who was not on the actual knight squad-running to the first one they saw for a slight made against them. No, they could handle this themselves like they were supposed too. Like peasants.

Merlin figured out why exactly Morris had decided to hug him now two seconds after he did, when the manservant hissed darkly in his ear, low enough so that his guard had no chance in hell of hearing, "I don't know why the prince had to marry you," Merlin shivered in disgust, his stomach coiling as he felt the manservant's breath hitting the side of his neck. "As you do nothing but drag him down with you. And I hope I'm there the day Arthur realizes that, and can watch him throwing the torch down on your pyre just to get rid of you and your failures."

Merlin was too surprised to react properly as he felt like a stone had just dropped into his stomach. Morris was more…twisted than he had first originally thought. And because of the awful gasping sound coming from right behind him, he was pretty sure Gwen was still standing close enough that she'd just heard every word.

Merlin didn't have to do anything thought, as Gregory was jerking Morris away from Merlin by the nape of his collar, treating him as if he was some kind of rag doll. "Do not. Put. Your. Hands on. The. Consort." Merlin's guard was practically spelling out to them. In much more normal circumstances, Merlin may have been annoyed all over again. Detesting the mere idea that Arthur had stuck a guard to him and said guard was deciding who Merlin should be allowed to touch. But right now, he found himself to be grateful. Anything to get Morris out of his sight. Off of his body, his stench-a normal smell but to Merlin it was cloying right under his nose-sticking to his clothes like a giant neon sign made of oder.

"I apologize sincerely," Morris was practically simpering in front of the guard, looking for all the world to see as nothing more than some star struck servant. "Sometimes I just cannot help myself. I would never be so bold as to do that to my prince, but the consort is also so much nicer. I just cannot contain my joy that our prince picked such a great one to hound himself with in holy matrimony."

Gwen and Merlin could hardly believe all the words that came from his mouth, spilled out with so much ease that it was obvious he'd done things like this before. Rather Gregory fell for it or not remained to be unseen as the knight just grunted at Morris. But he had also kept his strong stance in front of Merlin as he made sure Morris had no conceivable way to reach the Consort under his care.

"I really must be going now," Morris acted in haste, quickly bowing down lowly to Merlin at his waist. And then Morris was spinning on his heel and heading out the room. With his back now to the knight, Morris allowed a slow smirk to grace his face before he masked his features into a more neutral expression.

Morris felt quite pleased, behaving like some kind of shadow after casting down darkness on Merlin's life. He felt quite confident that he had gotten the last word in successfully. With any luck, Morris wouldn't actually have to get his hands dirty with getting rid of Merlin once and for all. He 'truly' believed-with just barely a nudge or two courtesy of Morris-the prince would get rid of Merlin on his own. After that stunt he'd just pulled-trying to pull rank over him-it was clear that Merlin had gotten 'way' too comfortable with his new station in life.

He supposed he could always use his trump card-completely spread Merlin with what the prince and the king might be planning, he'd never trust the prince again if he knew Arthur was going to pretend to love him (he'd known that marriage wasn't the real deal!)-but no. It was not something that should be wasted on this moment of anger. This was something he should save in his back pocket, he'd keep this bit of information close to the vest. He'd been far too calculated than that, his very carefully thought out plans involving Arthur had been years in the making before Merlin had shown up and ruined it all.

So he'd do what he always did. He would wait and continue planning, and one day he knew that the 'perfect' opportunity would show up to him. And Morris would take great glee by having a front row seat to watch Merlin and his entire world blow up.

God, things would have been so much easier if Valiant 'had' managed to have his 'fun' with Merlin before Arthur had killed him off. Morris had no doubt that Arthur-as any noble would do to escape the shame and embarrassment of such a thing-would send Merlin away. Not any 'blue blood' would want to sully out their reputation by shacking up with someone who had been ruined in such a way…

Arthur just knew that this was the end of all things. He felt like such a crook, skulking on around his own castle. Looking back around in the direction he'd come from, head going ninety to nothing as he kept close attention to his surroundings to make sure nobody was watching him. Which ironically, might have made him look even more suspicious.

"…Can't believe I'm sneaking around my own bloody castle." Arthur grumbled agitatedly as he hurried down the hallway. He made it fairly quickly to Gaius' chambers door-why did the door have to be directly in the middle of the hallway leading up into the tower it resided in, it just felt far too open in a way it hadn't ever been before-and he looked back and forth to make sure nobody was watching him.

Bloody ridiculous! He thought. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong. He just needed to get something and then he could be gone, it would take less than two seconds. And on the off chance that somebody ask, well…he's their bloody prince! They shouldn't ask him what he was doing sneaking around where he had no reason to be! But he did have one reason, a grudging reason that he knew he had to do now.

Arthur didn't know if he'd be getting another break anytime soon.

Arthur still made sure to duck quickly inside and close the door behind him as quickly as he could. "…Hello?" He called out across the empty room, but there was nothing but the simmering of potions left out in stasis there to greet him. Good. He had managed to get here before either Gaius or Merlin returned.

It only took him five large strides before he'd made it across the room, and he was taking the steps two at a time. Just like he did when he got there, he rushed into Merlin's room to escape being seen and slammed closed the door behind him.

…Why the hell was Merlin staying here again? The prince asked himself as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. Everything in here looked to be a mess, a pigsty with Merlin's extremely few possessions tossed about here and there across the room. It was sooo small too, all of the space practically enclosed in on itself. He almost got claustrophobic just from being in here.

Better question though…why the hell was he 'letting' Merlin stay here. So what if he had a few outbursts here and there, his adjusting to his new life problem roaring up at every little opportunity that he saw. Arthur could handle it, just like Arthur had handled it when Merlin brought up his father to him.

…No. Arthur wasn't even going to go there or he'd probably wreck the rest of the room and not do what he'd came here for. Fucking little brat that Merlin was, questioning what kind of relationship Arthur had with his king. Merlin had been lucky he'd only gotten away with a quip about his clothing choices instead of the punch to the face that was Arthur's very first instinct. Maybe if Merlin was just some kid off the street, Arthur might have punched him to get his message across. His father was 'very' off limits for speculation. But Merlin wasn't a kid off the streets, he was his Consort. Who Arthur was supposed to be 'showing a good time too' and 'making Merlin think he actually liked him' or whatever else it was that Uther insisted he do.

Walking away before things got too heated-as they tended to do whenever he and Merlin were involved in pretty much anything under the sun-was the better alternative. His father had torn into him just because he'd danced in a very public manner with Lady Clarissa. He'd probably be publicly shamed the next time, if Uther caught sight of the purpling bruise that would swell up on Merlin's jawline…

Arthur shook his head and strode two lengths across the room-it was so bloody small, that the Royal suites would've taken at least ten strides-before he was throwing open Merlin's wardrobe door. Only to freeze when he saw something situated on the floor of the closet, his face draining of color as his eye started to twitch violently.

Merlin's underwea-no-Arthur felt it when his shoulders sagged in relief because that was definitely not Merlin's underwear rolled up on the floor of the wardrobe. It was just one of those ridiculous neckerchiefs that Merlin had always worn. God, he felt like such a creep all of a sudden. Was this how the peeping tom's started? Sneaking into someone's room and rifling through their stuff until they found the underwear drawer?

Well, Merlin could rest easily. Arthur was only here for one thing, and it wasn't to put hands all over Merlin's-ahem-delicate items. And he was definitely' not going to be looking for the dirty ones so that he could press them up to his face and sniff at them like what an actual creep would do. And he most 'definitely' was not going to be stuffing a few in his pockets to take home with him like some kind of freak souvenir.

Okay-Arthur decided with mild disgust, and a sudden urgency to get out of here before he was caught by Gaius. Or even worse, Merlin himself-it was time he hurry this along. God forbid he be caught up here, and god forbid if they thought Arthur was taking advantage of his consort being out so that he could feel up Merlin's probably scratchy and threadbare underwear. Judging from the clothing he took to wearing, Arthur probably wasn't off from the fact.

Arthur kicked the neckerchief out of his way-the thing that had started all of those wildly inappropriate thoughts in the first place-and jerked what he'd been looking for down from the top shelf. His face lit up when he saw the stupid box of Merlin's-lid all crooked with a few items poking out through the opening. It was just the thing he needed to turn things around. Merlin would practically worship him-like he had back when he'd given Arthur that stupid neckerchief as a favor (the one that seemed to be lost to time as Arthur never did find it)-once Arthur could triumphantly return it to him. Fixed and brand new. Arthur would even be generous and get the boy some new items to stick in it although…maybe he would skip the Arthur doll.

It would be unseemly for Arthur to encourage Merlin's mutilation of his person in doll form.

Arthur stuffed the box underneath his arm before he made his way out, not being nearly as careful leaving as he had been going in. It was why the guard managed to sneak up on him so easily as he was shutting the door to Gaius' chambers.

"Sire! We've been looking all over for you, we have something that requires your immediate attention!" The standard guard said, making Arthur flinch violently in surprise. For just this brief second, Arthur actually felt as if he had just been caught with his hand elbow deep in the pits of Merlin's underwear drawer. Good god, somebody kill him now if Arthur was still stuck on such an awful thought…and he most definitely should not still be thinking about Merlin…or his underwear…especially with the guard now looking at him strangely.

Arthur cleared his throat, readjusting the box under his arm so that it would look a bit more inconspicuous. "What's going on?" the prince asked, figuring his small 'break' was now over and done with…Arthur felt like he was carting around stolen goods. Which most definitely wasn't true-at all!-because he was carrying around a box of junk that for some reason he couldn't fathom, Merlin actually cared about.

The guard straightened up, "There's a fellow in the lower town, his name is Tom and he's the local blacksmith down there. He's been reported by peasants at the gate, saying he's returned to working in the forge this morning. It's suspicious enough that we thought it'd be best to inform you immediately, sire." And the guard looked at him expediently, waiting for Arthur's next orders. But the problem was, he didn't know what the guard was going on for.

"Why does this involve my direct matter!" the prince snapped harshly at his guard, clearly irritated. He had to get this stupid box back to his room and order Morris to fix it up to be in a more acceptable state. Preferable before Merlin caught him with it or before Gaius had come back and caught them both standing outside his quarters. Besides, they had this whole channel of command thing going on. It held at least a dozen or so knights they could have gone too before bothering Arthur with something so trivial. He had a witch to track down, and was spending the extremely few minutes he had to take a breather on getting this stupid box of Merlin's. He didn't have the time to deal with some guy opening up shop in the lower town. Good for them, pretending everything was normal instead of shutting down like the rest of the shopping distract had for fear they would be the next to catch the sickness.

"Er…well sir," the guard stuttered, clearly a lot less confident after Arthur's disapproval. "He, the man I mean, it was reported that he had caught the sickness just before the town was cut off. We were expecting his body delivered to the gates any day now, along with another three that are also sick. But according to our informants keeping an eye on the town, he's showing no sign of the sickness now. Such a strange phenomenon was suggested we put the matter to your immediate attention."

Well, that certainly got Arthur's attention. The guard had been right, that was something he needed brought to his attention. If Tom-and now that he was thinking about it, wasn't the lower town blacksmith Gwen's father-caught the sick. And now he wasn't sick, and healthy enough to even be working in a forge…had he been cured in some way? Or maybe this had other forces at work. And if that was the case then Arthur 'needed' to get down there.

Luckily, cordoning off the lower town didn't stop Camelot's very own prince from being able to leave, not if he was following up on a lead. It was mainly to stop the peasants from being able to wonder in and effect the entire castle with their sickening diseases. Peasants were often unwashed creatures, after all. He found it quite the miracle that Merlin seemed to at least understand enough to keep being reasonably clean.

And speaking of Merlin, Arthur couldn't go anywhere with this box clutched underneath his arm. What if this Tom guy did something that would cause a chase to ensure when he realized he'd been caught. Arthur couldn't go chasing after him while keeping hold onto the box, and he couldn't risk ditching it for fear it might not be repairable if it got broken more than it was. Then Arthur would have to take even 'more' time out of his busy day to get an order put in to the Royal carpenter to make a new one. And that would take even longer to return to Merlin and by then, the brat might be looking for it after discovering it had gone missing.

"…Fuck," Arthur muttered under his breath but not quiet enough because the guard was quite startled to hear the uncouth word fallen from Arthur's mouth. Nobles were supposed to be better than peasants after all, and using that language was unacceptable in most of the noble circles. Arthur was just lucky that it hadn't slipped out during something that was actually important, like…during some meeting with a Princess who had accompanied her kingly father to discuss trade agreements or such. Fucking Merlin's influence, striking up when Arthur didn't need it to the most. And to think, Arthur was going out of his way just to get this box fixed-the first step preparing Merlin's 'treat'-and Merlin still found a way to screw it up. Without even being here.

Before Arthur could think twice about it, he was shoving the box into the knights chest so harshly that the other knight had to scramble to catch it. "I need you to bring that straight to my room. Do not stop for anybody and do not question it. I want to see it on my desk by the time I returned. And-" here was when the prince narrowed his eyes full of mistrust and scorn. "Do not look in it. And trust me, I will know if you had."

Arthur's blood was already boiling just seeing the other knight holding onto the chest. The stupid thing that Merlin apparently loved 'so' much, being held in a clumsy manner by the other knight. It looked small and dingy in the knight's larger hands, and Arthur wanted to snatch it back out. The box wasn't safe in any hands but his own, not since Arthur was now taking responsibility for it by taking it out of Merlin's quarters without his permission. But if he found one scratch on that box that had not already been there after Merlin made him drop it, then there was going to be hell to pay for it. Arthur didn't even care that he would be getting it fixed anyway and one scratch on it would hardly matter compared to the many it had sustained from the earlier fall.

But he had other things to attend to now and the box would only be a distraction. And if he found the contents of the box had been dug through, the knight wouldn't have his head attached to his body any longer. He might be spending the next month hung with chains by his thumbs right next to Knight Charles, the guy that had allowed Valiant onto their floor that night so many weeks ago.

X

Merlin waited impatiently until Gregory shut the door behind him, escorting Morris out of the room with the only sound being the solid click of the door closing. The sound was just enough to proper Merlin into action, and the consort was whipping his head around with wild eyes until he found Gwen's. She looked to be just as shocked and disturbed as Merlin knew he was.

"Did he just threaten me? That wasn't me just imagining things, was it? He actually wants to see me put on the pyre!" Merlin exclaimed as he threw his arms up into the air. It definitely sounded like a threat to him, and it felt more like Morris would have been only more happy if Arthur had 'graciously' allowed Morris to be the one to throw the torch at him. Should that awful thing actually come to pass.

"I think he did! Oooh, I cannot believe Morris had the nerve-" Gwen fluttered anxiously as her hands started clutching at the creases in her skirt. She shook her head as she let that die down, focusing her entire attention onto Merlin. "Are you alright? I'm sure that Arthur isn't planning on having you burned down at the stake! That was just Morris taking big…"

"And who can blame him for it!" Merlin said as he dropped his head into his hand. He fell back on Morgana's bed as well, sitting down on the edge of it to mourn what had just been happening. "I can't believe I tried to…tried to command him or something!"

The sick feeling in his stomach hadn't left him since the second that last word had left his mouth. In fact, he was pretty sure he was feeling worse. He had all but loaded his so-called 'power' over a manservant. Merlin may not have ever been an official servant but he was still a peasant boy. He knew how people looked down on him for it, just another one of the million commoners milling around with not one thing to his name. And being here in a place where nobles were frequent, Merlin had seen how peasants were treated with an up close view. Closer than he could have ever gotten in Ealdor, where zero noblemen would past by every decade or so.

"Merlin, Morris was the one being extremely unreasonable," Gwen said, sinking down to sit on the edge of the bed beside him. Now normally, servants were not allowed to go off disgracing themselves by making themselves comfortable on their master's and mistresses bed. But Gwen and Morgana had a far closer bond than that, and figured her lady wouldn't mind it.

Merlin just muttered something inaudible underneath his breath, shaking his head in a weary movement. He just knew that this was going to blow up in his face, it was going to come back and bite him in the arse in some way. And oh god…Merlin had been doing so much to try and separate himself from Arthur and his Royal lifestyle. He'd tried to get a job and when that didn't work out, he had moved out just to get away. But him trying to go and boss Morris like that-little creep deserved to have 'something' done to him for how he had been taking to Gwen when he'd walked in-but Merlin hadn't expected to take the matter into his own hands. And it felt as if all his hard work was unraveling. What was the point in sticking to his roots and where he came from if all he was going to do was boss someone around…

Gwen bit down on her lip, rambling just a bit inside of her own mind as she watched Merlin falling down the rabbit hole, so to speak. The Consort obviously didn't realize how much it meant to her that he'd stepped in. Morris had made her 'so' uncomfortable and was making herself doubt her own abilities. And knowing the two of them were closed in the room with Morris blocking the only exit-unless jumping from the window was a viable option (it most definitely wasn't)-had been scary. Especially when he had started getting aggressive, just snatching the cloth out of her hands so hard it had nearly ripped. And she couldn't allow Merlin to go sit there stewing in his misery as he'd already helped her so much…Gwen was reaching out to touch his shoulder to get his attention. But her fingertips hadn't even so much as brushed the cloth of his jacket when Merlin's head was whipping up, not looking at her but straight ahead instead.

"Oh, my god!" Merlin exclaimed, making the young handmaiden give out a startled yelp in surprise, jerking her hand back. Merlin didn't seem to notice, his head jerking around so he could look at her with a wild expression. "Am I like Arthur? Quick Gwen, how do you check if you're becoming an under sensitive prat who takes pleasure in being an arse!"

At this point, Merlin was really starting to freak himself out. He couldn't be like Arthur, he just couldn't be! For one, Merlin didn't go spending his afternoon's tossing blades at a servant because what-he was bored?-or for some other reason that would never make it okay. Merlin also didn't go out of his way just to hurt other people, but maybe that was also just something Arthur did to Merlin? But the point of the matter stood…Merlin might now be a 'Pendragon' but he wanted nothing to do with the lifestyle. It 'killed' him that it was now a part of his name and it made him want to rip it out by the teeth.

Something inside of Gwen seemed to soften up-mirrored by the expression on her face-as she saw Merlin freaking out. He really had no idea that he was 'far' too sweet to end up any thing like the bully Arthur was. The young girl reached out and put her hand onto the crook of Merlin's elbow, silencing him as she hoped she could relieve some of his stress. Just like he had relieved her fear when he'd came and bursted in here to help her. "Merlin, trust me, I've known Arthur for years."

She gave a little roll of her eyes, feeling at ease with the other boy. Knowing that there was another Royal in the family to get to know had struck concern in her chest when she'd first heard of him and still had no idea who he was. Finding out that the Royal consort was also a commoner, one of their own had given her hope for a better life in their kingdom, but she figured they'd probably just end up loving the gold they got more than helping people. Knowing that the consort was 'Merlin' specifically…now that was someone who gave her hope. The only type of person that would freak out after he'd given a direct order to somebody else-which he had only done to protect her from a bully-had to be somebody with a kind heart.

Gwen shook her thoughts out of her head as she gave Merlin's elbow a little squeeze, "And you are 'nothing' like him. You have far to big of a heart. One command because you were trying to help me doesn't change that. And besides," she pushed a bit more at his elbow to keep his attention focused sorely on her and not his spiriting of thoughts. "You are the consort. You had every right to order him to leave. Especially after the way he was acting like…" she shook her head. She could never understand how Morris had been able to stay on as Arthur's manservant after all these many years. But she supposed Morris was just that good at playing the system. Able to see how far he could go without punishment and adjusts himself accordingly. Morris might act more bold in front of Arthur-because the prince had already shown how little he cared for his consort-but he would never have done the same in front of Uther.

"But don't you get it?" Merlin blurted out, as he threw his hands out with a restlessness he felt he couldn't escape from. "One command leads to another. And then another. And what if by this time next year, I really will be…him? I will become someone I'm not, someone I do not want to be."

Arthur…he wanted to say but couldn't force the word out from his lips. Ugh, just the mere thought of getting so comfortable that he'd end up like him sent a displeased shiver right down his spine. He…he had to do something, anything to stop that from happening. Merlin would 'never' become as self-centered as he was…never. He didn't want to look in a mirror next year and see himself draped in gold and silks, a cocky arse smirk on his face with the plan of strolling through the castle like he had owned the place. Nope, no, nada. Not gonna happen. Just the idea of him giving in-taking all the stuff Arthur had tried to offer him back when he'd been looking for a job-made him want to upchuck his lunch all over Morgana's fancy carpet.

"This isn't necessarily a bad thing." Gwen said slowly, pushing her hand more firmly on the crook of Merlin's elbow. "Now, just hear me out." She insisted when he looked at her surprised. She knew exactly what she meant to say and now she just needed to get those words out to Merlin, a bit of 'actual' friendly advice. Unlike whatever that was Morris was trying to give him. "Yes, you did command him to leave. And that's your right as our new consort. But you also did it for good, to help me. Just because you took charge does not mean your anything like Arthur. A good and strong leader knows how to do what needs to be done."

Merlin wanted to laugh-a crazed laughter-at that. A good and strong leader? That was the thing Gwen was taking from this whole mess up encounter? Trust him, Merlin wasn't good no matter how much he tried to be. He was a monster-or at least that was what the rest of the world, probably even Gwen herself, would see him as-if his magic ever got reveled. Due to his own slip up or some other way. And the life he had, it was hard not to believe it when he caught people going on about the 'evils' of sorcerer. It was hard not to feel the stinging of those words, hard not to let the weight of it come crushing down on his shoulders. And a strong leader? Merlin 'wasn't' a leader. Not if everything he did seemed to be deemed one failure after the next. A strong leader should be able to talk to his own husband without his first instinct being to fight. Somebody-the strong leader Gwen talked about-would have been smart enough to convince Arthur that all this fighting was getting them nowhere.

Gwen tightened her grip on Merlin's elbow as she saw his attention waning. She needed to let Merlin know 'just' how much he had done for her in this one moment. "Merlin, I really do want to thank you. I know your a good leader, you'll be a good co-ruler to Arthur, because you jumped in when you didn't have to. You really didn't have to, nobody would have seen fault in a Royal ignoring a dispute among the servants."

Merlin shook his head and turned to look at the closed door where Morris had left just a few minutes before. Ignoring the 'co-ruler' bit of Gwen's words-because really, did he still have to do that even though Arthur hated him absolutely-he turned back to Gwen, "There is no reason to thank me. There's no reason he should ever talk to you like that."

Even though Merlin had been going 'crazed' over rather or not he had behaved like Arthur might, Morris was clearly the problem. And it was Merlin who had to make sure that Gwen was alright, that Morris hadn't don't anything worse to her before he had walked in.

Gwen shrugged, her eyes turning downcast as he sighed, more pitiful than she had been during their conversation, "Morris isn't wrong exactly. I am just a maid." Gwen knew that the manservant Morris was no better than her, no matter how boldly he thought he could walk around the place. A servant-even serving the prince himself-was still just a servant. Gwen had never felt shamed of her position before, she was quite grateful to be serving the Lady Morgana of all people. Someone that was so kind and really, this was the best Gwen could hope for due to her poor low born birth. But Morris though…he had a way of seeing a weakness in people-sometimes a weakness that the person themselves didn't even know they had-and then exploiting it for his own fun and games.

Merlin put a hand on her shoulder, knowing it was now his turn to offer the handmaiden just a bit of the kindness that she had given him a moment ago. He waited until her brown eyes rose to meet his blue ones before he said this with stern conviction in his voice, "Don't ever say that you are 'just' anything." Gwen could go on and be whoever the bell she wanted to be. If she ever wanted to leave Camelot or try her hand at something else that wasn't being a maid, then Merlin would be glad to help her out. Or if she was happy working underneath Lady Morgana, then Merlin would just have to make sure it wasn't a toxic environment. If he ever caught Morris alone with Gwen again, he didn't know what he would do to make sure it was stopped. Merlin jutted his thumb over his shoulder towards the door, "You're worth 'far' more than Morris is."

It was quite ironic that Merlin would say this bit, and how much he hoped for Gwen to see her own self-worth. Especially since he was unable to see any of that same worth when it came to himself. They were just two peas in a pod, weren't they? Each one working through their own struggles, their self-esteem having been practically thrown in the gutter only to be tossed out with the trash. It was really no wonder the two of them got along so well. A kindred spirit in a way, and something that would lead them through many hardships in the future…

But it Merlin's words made Gwen smile all the same. Morris might have this way of making a person feel awful about themselves, but she realized, Merlin had a way of doing the exact opposite. An ability to make somebody feel good about themselves, and there wasn't all that many people who had a gift like that. But she was also concerned…Merlin probably did not know that he had all but kicked the wasp nest with Morris. Sure, Merlin's newness to their city was starting to wear off, but he also had so much that he 'didn't' know. The least she could do was try to warn him about the manservant…

"Just…watch out for him." Gwen said with a soft quietness to her words. There was this reason as to why she never allowed herself to be alone with Morris. Today had just been a one-off, an unexpected encounter that was going to make sure Gwen was more aware of her surroundings than she had been. Gwen hadn't even known Morris was there until he had shut the door, trapping her inside with him. "What you said about him poisoning the nobleman…"

Gwen had honestly been surprised Merlin had heard of that unfortunate event. It was an open secret among the servants, a reason as to why Morris was left out in the cold rather than invited anywhere after work like Gwen occasionally was. Not often as Gwen, despite often helping the other girls with their own work, had never connected with any of them. At least not the way she was connecting with Merlin. Have you ever met someone and even though you haven't known them long, knew it could grow into a friendship that lasted a life time. That was what she was starting to see when she saw Merlin, and him standing up for her just seemed to cement that.

"He was never convicted of it, most of these noblemen that were there seemed to think it was a joke actually. That someone chosen as Arthur's manservant could have done it, the position is carefully chosen you see. He had to go through all kinds of background checks and tests before he was even allowed within ten feet of Arthur." Gwen continued to talk as she waved her hand, before realizing she had gotten a bit off-topic. "But the servants, it's made most of us a bit weary since when he's near." She tried to give him a bit of an insight as to what the servants had thought of the whole matter.

Merlin nodded his head as he listened to her explaining it. From what Gwen was saying on the matter tracked quite well with what he'd heard from Mary. All those weeks ago back in the tournament stadium, when he had come across the kitchen girl crying into her knees in the hallway. Morris was a creep, plain and simple. And quite possibly a deadly one if the nobleman wasn't a one-off. And who knows why Morris had even done it in the first place, what was the point in giving the man a bit of food poisoning? Cause from what Merlin had heard, that was the only thing that happened to him.

"And he's extremely weird," Gwen said as she hushed her voice, trying to stay quiet even if they were the only two in the room. "But I do not mean that in a mean way. I meant to say he's weird around Arthur."

Merlin frowned, leaning closer to talk just as quietly as she was, "How so?" He asked, not knowing 'just' how weird Morris was. But the little behavior Merlin he'd seen when Morris interacted with Arthur, he could only imagine the badness that he hadn't seen yet. And he might be able to piece together exactly what was up with Morris if the girl was able to tell him some important piece of the puzzle that not even Gwen might know she knew.

"He used to be normal when he first started working here about five years ago. Or I don't know, I thought he was normal. Stuck mainly to himself. But ever since he got promoted to Arthur's personal manservant just three years ago," Gwen stopped to shake her head with wonderment. "I thought maybe he was being starstruck at first. I mean, I can't imagine that it would be much fun to work with Arthur but he's still the prince, you know. I thought that he would calm down after a few weeks, but I feared the promotion must have gone right to his head. He hasn't been the same since."

"So tell me," Merlin said firmly, ready to hear all of the actual 'details' about what made the manservant so strange. And if there was any person to ask in all of Camelot, Gwen would be the one to go to. With her sweet and kind disposition, Gwen could often by overlooked by most people when they didn't need her as most people knew she wouldn't say no if they asked for help. Which was perfect for seeing or noticing things that others would overlook themselves.

"He's grown quite…possessive of the prince." she explained hesitantly, looking unsure how to get the words out at first. But once Gwen started, she grew bolder and explained better in more detail. "He's taken to following Arthur everywhere, which isn't unusual for a royal's personal servant which is why none of those nobles seem to take notice of it. But Morris is reminding me like a possessive lapdog, and it has gotten to the point where he goes above and beyond the duties of a normal servant. It is unsettling because he's always…there…and he's always watching the other servants. Like he's waiting for one of us to come and try our hand at serving Arthur ourselves. You would think he was terrified of one of us going after his job or something with the way he acts but it's quite possibly worse than that. And some of the servants even say that they feel like he is trying to make some kind of claim on the prince. The only time Morris 'isn't' by Arthur is when the prince makes him leave by giving him extra work or something. But that works only half the time because Morris will often toss those chores onto someone else so that he can spend even 'more' time at Arthur's every beck and call." Gwen took in this large breath since she hadn't breathed at all while getting this tirade out of her system.

Merlin stared at her in shock. He obviously had known Morris must have some kind of issue. But that seemed to be going further then he'd been thinking. First off…who the hell got obsessed like that over somebody like Arthur. Not even the whole 'star struck' because he's a prince was a good excuse in Merlin's book. That just made Arthur even more undesirable. But surely something like that would have worn off after three years or so. Unless Morris' obsession had only grown and weren't people like that dangerous? Had the noblemen he poisoned did something to Arthur that nobody noticed or cared about as it was such a small offense? But something that Morris retaliated again…delusional, that had to be Morris.

But Gwen started talking again before Merlin had the chance to ask about the noblemen, her slim fingers digging around in the folds of her skirts, "And he's been getting worse the last couple of months. He's been pushing his chores off more and more so that he'll be by Arthur more. I was honestly surprised when I saw him just now because he's been glued to Arthur's side for over a week now. Not even I spend that much time with Morgana. And this is just what little I know. Who knows if there's more that I haven't heard about yet…"

Merlin felt this sinking feeling in the pit of his gut, and an icy chill going down the length of his spine. Maybe he was just overthinking the whole 'Morris threat level' but then again, the timing seemed far too odd to just be a one in a million chance coincidence, "A…couple of months, you say?" And there had been only one thing Merlin could think of that happened a couple of months ago, one shift happening in Camelot that for some reason, Morris had been effected by it.

Gwen winced when she realized Merlin had latched onto that piece of information, but she didn't deny it also. She nodded her head as her fingers tightened up into these little fists between her legs. "Yes, Merlin. He got worse when you showed up. Or specifically, once news of your impending marriage had hit the streets and started to spread around."

Merlin narrowed his eyes, lips thinning into this tight slit. Obviously, he was going to keep a more watchful eye on Morris. Especially as this seemed to go 'above' somebody having an inappropriate crush on their boss. He had accused Morris of liking Arthur the last time they talked but…he wasn't sure exactly if that was the case anymore. Or maybe it was for all he knew! But clearly it was Merlin who was the escalated figure in the mix…

And tossing one's chores-which was wrong because what exactly was Arthur paying him for if others were doing the work-didn't seem like much. But what if this was Morris starting out, and it escalated even more. Merlin had already had a bad feeling about the guy, but all of these puzzle pieces didn't seem to fit in together all the way. Or maybe they fit in too well and Merlin just wasn't seeing the entire picture yet?

Merlin shook his head, clasping his hands on his knees as he strengthened up, "Well, I for one doubt that Arthur is going to allow Morris to go making 'any' kind of claim on himself." It was clear that Merlin was trying to make light on the matter. Morris was clearly a freak but he was a freak that could wait until different matters had been taken care of. He'd waited this long without doing anything 'too' crazy to Arthur, so Merlin doubted he would go off the deep in anytime soon. Besides, this was also 'Arthur' they were talking about. Arthur who cordoned off an entire town of peasant people under his father's orders. There was no reason to think Arthur would do anything to encourage whatever infatuation that the manservant probably had for him. Arthur was not the type to go within ten feet of another peasant…

Except for Merlin. But that would be a whole different matter altogether. But he was done wasting his time talking about Morris, until he made a tangible move that Merlin witnessed, there wasn't anything he could do. Merlin had learned his lesson with the Valiant thing. Even when he 'had' the snakehead as proof, Merlin hadn't been believed until everyone was able to bare witness to it. There was no denying it after all.

Gwen appeared to agreed with him because she brushed off her skirts and stood herself off the bed, "What were you doing here, any way? We're you looking for Lady Morgana?" Correctly assuming that Merlin hadn't been just walking into Morgana's room for the fun of it.

Merlin shook his head, deciding to put any and all thoughts of Morris that was lingering still in the back of his mind, pushing himself up to follow her off the bed, "No, I came here to see you, actually." Remembering why he'd came here in the first place before he'd got himself distracted with Morris. To check on Gwen and how her father was doing. With it being his first healing spell, he 'really' wanted to make sure that nothing had gone wrong.

"Me?" Gwen asked with a bemused smile in his direction. She hadn't been expecting that but it did make sense in a strange way. It was obvious that Gwen would probably be here, if he needed to find her then Morgana's room would've been his best bet. She had so much work to do with straightening, dusting, doing away with the odds and ends that had gotten taken out during the week. The laundering or hemming any malformations in the cloth and putting them away. If she hadn't been here in her working hours, then she would have been with Morgana herself, tending to her personal needs. "Whatever for?"

"Your father," Merlin said, looking at Gwen's face for any sign that things may have gone wrong after he'd left last night. "Is he doing any better?" His eyes roved over Gwen's face but he couldn't see anything there. And that had to be a good sign. Her eyes didn't have any splotchiness like it had when she'd ran to Gaius' for help. The tears tracks that stained down her cheeks were gone as well, which it seemed to give her face a fresh glow. Happy disposition was all over her, those eyes were as bright as the day they met. Gwen wasn't shaking either, her hands and shoulders as she felt her entire world caving in around her when she'd thought her father was dying.

Gwen looked surprised by this, before she'd reminded herself that Merlin wasn't any kind of Royal. Like Arthur probably would've never thought to ask after her family like that. And Lady Morgana had when she'd woken her up just that morning. But Merlin…Gwen had her face softening up, her eyes shining, flashing him a grateful smile, "Yeah, he's back up and working today. It's…it's truly a miracle."

Gwen still couldn't shake off the trauma she had gone through. Realizing that she would be stuck in this world all alone had shaken her down to the core. But she was doing so much better after having spent hours holding onto her father, curling up at his side right in his cot so that she could hear his heartbeat underneath her head. She'd wanted to stay with him today, just to make sure he didn't relapse or something. But he insisted on her coming into work, saying he had plans to go himself. That one day of work he had stayed home for when he'd got the sickness could put their finances back a few days. And that hadn't been decided a moment too soon as their neighbor came beating on the door for Gwen's help.

Mrs. Johana had been their neighbor for years, and that was how she knew Gwen was able to read. Because Gwen worked inside of the castle, directly under Morgana, one of the things she'd been required to learn was how to read. And Morgana, with how much writing she did, sometimes wanted Gwen to read her finished product when she tried her hand at something other than journaling. Mrs. Johana had woken to a notice on her door-the whole street did in fact although Gwen couldn't find the one they had. There was a piece of paper stuck to the door still that indicated that it's been there but must have gotten ripped off at some point, the wind she was guessing-and had needed Gwen to read it to her.

Gwen was lucky enough to make it inside the gates just as the drawbridge was being shut in. She'd wanted to stay but nobody'd known how long this sickness could last. They could have lasted a week or two on the savings she had, but if they were going to be in lockdown for weeks or even months, well…her and her father couldn't afford something like that.

Merlin started firing off more questions to her in rapid succession, making her head feel like it was spinning, "And his skin's all cleared up now, right? No veins popping out? No whited out eyes? He's all back to normal?"

What Merlin really wanted to ask was a whole different series of questions. Had Tom grown a bunch of suspicious looking warts that had not been there before? Had Tom's skin grown green like puke and now forever stained that color? Maybe, did he grow a lizard tail out his rear that trailed on down to the floor. Merlin didn't know what the side efforts for this spell would be if he had gotten it wrong, so what he wanted to do was check all the boxes. But for all he knew, Gwen would start growing far too suspicious if he started asking questions a bit more on the magical side of things.

Gwen didn't seem to find Merlin's-who had started to fidget as he forced back the urge to ask all of the additional questions-behavior odd, because she just smiled at him. "Yes, he seems to have made a full recovery." She was practically giddy as she said this, wanting to shout the news to everybody in the castle as she bounded on the balls of her feet. It was a true miracle! She had yet to hear of anybody surviving the sickness, she had thought that contracting it was pretty much signing your own death warrant, but clearly that was not always the case.

Merlin brightened up, feeling his shoulders sagging down. He was absolutely amazed and relieved that he hadn't somehow messed up Gwen's father. She would have never been able to forgive him if she ever found out he'd been the one to screw up her father if things had gone bad. Heck, he would've never been able to forgive himself if he'd somehow sped up the death process or something like that, giving Gwen even less time with her father than she otherwise would have had. But that was something he didn't have to worry about any longer. Hopefully, Gwen would now get to have 'many' more years with her father.

"Great!" Merlin exclaimed to her, probably a bit more excited than she was. But he could not help it, he'd done it! His first healing spell had been a complete success. He'd known Gaius wasn't right about this one, the way he tried to talk him out of it. Seeing that he'd got the answer, Merlin started to step back to the door. He still had to get those vials for Gaius after all, and didn't know if he should linger in case Gaius needed them 'now'. Or if he could make due with what he had for a bit longer. It didn't stop Merlin from bringing up a certain manservant that should not be named, "Er…if Morris bothers you again, let me know and I'll handle it."

He didn't know exactly what he would do yet but he would have a few things to say if she had to come to him about it. Probably more than a few words, fists were probably going to be flying the next time. Merlin saw her nod slowly and that was good enough for him.

Merlin turned back to leave, already reaching for the door handle when Gwen stepped after him, "Merlin!" She called out just as the tip of his fingers were brushing the door handle. He turned back to her, frowning confused as he wondered if there was more she had to tell him about Morris. Something she had been holding back earlier for whatever reason. But no, that wasn't the reason she had called him back at all. "You…don't seem that surprised, about my father that is."

Gwen's smile had turned more bemused as she'd realized this. She herself had been very surprised when he'd asked her about her dad and his well being. But…Merlin hadn't look at all surprised with her answer. He looked as if he'd been hoping for it. Expecting it, with an almost certainty. But that was just strange as Merlin had absolutely no reason to believe her father would pull threw when nobody else had. It didn't make any sense to her, neither was the way Merlin was acting.

Merlin, who stumbled over his own feet as he walked back to her, glancing over his shoulder towards the door nervously-he was worried about Gregory possibly overhearing so he kept his voice leveled, remembering he had busted in here last time because of their raised voices, "No, no I am. It's a miracle." He stumbled through the lie. He didn't want to toot his own horn and admit that the only miracle had been his own interferences. She couldn't be told the truth, Merlin thought with panic. Gwen was a really good friend but his only concern was keeping his secret. But how good would his secret hold up if Gwen would start putting the pieces together?

"But," Gwen spoke up in quiet contemplation, clearly not buying what Merlin was trying to sell her. Her smile had dropped completely by this point, her forehead wrinkling together as she stared at him hard. Gwen was looking for something in his expression, but whatever it was she apparently couldn't see it because she was shaking her head just a second later before finishing her question, "You already knew that, didn't you? Before you asked me if he was…how?"

There was something odd about Merlin in this moment. Merlin was always odd actually, but an oddness that she found refreshing among the court. It really seemed to stick out to her in this moment though, something calling out to her in the back of her mind. Something out there that said…this wasn't right. Something was off. She just…didn't know what her mind was trying to tell her.

Merlin seemed to take her accusations-were they even accusations or gentle questioning-in stride, because he smiled at her with bright honestly, "Because you're smiling!"

Merlin had spit out the first thing he'd been able to think of: the smile Gwen had worn as she told him her father was fine. But the cold sweeping fear of panic was still surging right through his veins and he could only hope that it wasn't mirrored on his face. He hadn't felt a fear like this…probably not since he saw that Thomas guy being executed his first day here in Camelot. And it took everything he had to keep that fear locked inside of him, if only to stop himself from hyperventilating. Protect himself…he had saved Gwen's father so now he had to protect himself…just like his mother had drilled into his head since the day he had been born…he just had to keep a cool head.

"But that's really weird because I haven't told anyone except for Morgana, and I know she's having tea with some of the noble daughters at this time so you didn't run into her…" Gwen trailed off. And the only reason she had told Morgana was because her mistress had been so surprised to see her walking into work this morning. News of her father had seemed to spread like wildfire among the servants of the castle so it was only a matter of time before it got out that he was okay. But this was faster than she would've thought, even for the ever moving rumor mill of Camelot city that spun constantly. "And yet, you know…how could've known? And don't tell me it was because of my smile."

There was no way Merlin-or anybody-could be so perceptive. To be the first to guess that her father had lived just because she'd been smiling…sure, Merlin had seen her when she was at her worse. When she'd been shaking so much in Gaius' chambers that she could hardly walk, didn't even remember how she'd gotten home because of the state she'd been in. Tears clouding her eyes and flowing down her dark cheeks in rivers, she almost couldn't even see…was Merlin really so perceptive he would assume her smile could only mean her father's recovery? Unless…no, there was not a chance Merlin actually had something to do with her father's swift recovery. If Gaius had some kind of remedy or cure in the works, he would have told her.

Merlin took a step closer towards her and let out the most weary sigh she had even heard in her life, looking downtrodden as shoulders sagged down, "Yeah, alright. I suppose you finally found out."

Gwen seemed to freeze, her face going slack as she stared at Merlin horrified. Oh my, 'did' he have something to do with her father and his sudden recovery? But why would he look so guilty-as if he was about to confess that he had cut out the heart of an infant so that he could sacrifice the newborn to save her father's life-if he had. That would have been a good thing! Unless…unless he really had gone and sacrificed a newborn baby to do it.

Gwen could almost feel the color draining out of her cheeks when Merlin stepped closer to her again and said, "I'll tell you." Gwen didn't know what she was expecting to hear from him but she did know that she feared it. Was able to feel anxiety induced sweat working it's way down her spine under her dress. And she was scared…the mood in the room was so somber and serious that she just knew he was going to tell her something…absolutely terrifying.

"I'm psychic."

There was a moment of silence that hovered between the two of them, Merlin's smiling at her amused. Even as he held his breath right under her watchful eye. Merlin didn't know if Gwen had bought his sudden spur of the moment joke, but he prayed to every deity out there that she would. He didn't have any idea what he would do if she guessed what his truth was, and from the look of her face as she had been questioning him…Gwen had gotten too close for comfort. Being a psychic was still too close to being magic for comfort, but it was easy to feign it as a joke. But being a fake psychic was also far better than being a very real sorcerer…

And Merlin felt pure relief when Gwen let out a little giggle-the somber air filled in the room popped as if it was never there-and Gwen relaxed herself as she realized he was joking with her. "No, you're not." She said with this teasing smile. What had she been thinking…well, Gwen didn't know what she had thought Merlin may have done. That just goes to show that she should put a stop to her imagination. The way it ran wild would get her into trouble one of these days. But it wasn't going to be today, at least.

"It's true!" Merlin insisted, keeping up with his lie like his life depended on it. Which it pretty much did. That was the thing about having a power like he did. He didn't know who he might be able to trust, didn't know if Gwen was going to freak out on him if she'd found out. Not even saving the life of her father may stop her from screaming for the guards to come help her from the 'evil' sorcerer in their midst. Protect himself, the simple sentence that had been drilled inside his head seemed to go off like an echo, reminding himself why he had to lie to such a sweet girl like Gwen.

"Alright," Gwen decided, apparently wanting to play along with Merlin's lie. And daring him to convince her what he was saying was the god-honest truth. "What am I thinking?" She challenged him, watching him with a teasing grin and a raised eyebrow. She was thinking: she really should thank Merlin. Obviously he hadn't cured her father, that thought was just too crazy to go back to. But Merlin was good at getting her mind off her worries. Worries that her father might relapse or something as she was stuck in the castle, unable to leave until the lockdown had ended. Worries that Morris might come back as soon as he was gone to finish whatever it was he was trying to start with her.

Merlin put on his thinking face, like he was actually trying to read her thoughts and he had to concentrate to do it. Gwen lifted her chin a little, waiting for him to tell her what her thoughts were.

"That I'm…" Merlin trailed off slowly as to draw out the suspense before he finished up his sentence, "Not psychic." Merlin felt pretty sure that by this point, he had distracted her away from his truth. But he kept the game up anyway. Besides, real psychics would have to be harder to track down than a sorcerer who hid beneath the mask of Consort that he did not even want…

Gwen burst into a new round of giggles at his expression, finding his behavior-so different from all the other royals-extremely amusing to her, "You're strange." She exclaimed loudly because she had never met somebody like Merlin in all her life. Someone witty and funny and could make her laugh and forget what her worries were…she froze completely and her smile dropped in a panic. Realizing Merlin could take that the wrong way. "I don't mean that in a nasty way. You are just…funny." She smiled. She hadn't meant to call him strange, hadn't meant to let it slip out at all. But Merlin was just so 'easy' to talk to. Easier company than she'd felt in such a long time. "…I-"Gwen felt like she was probably making a fool out of herself but she finished anyway, her smile softening around the edges. "I like that."

Merlin didn't know which way he should look now. If he should look at her or let his glance keep darting around the room, feeling like he was embarrassed, smiling awkwardly. Merlin had been called funny before, but it had also always been accompanied by this jeering kind of laughter from the other boys back in Ealdor. Funny looking was a common phrase, and a smart mouth was another. Nothing that was exactly complimentary. But Merlin didn't think Gwen really had meant it in a bad way. It was strange, being complimented instead of being told how he did everything under the sun was wrong like Arthur insisted on telling him. Every. Live. Long. Day.

"Er, well I'm pleased for you. And your fathers good fortune." Merlin said, trying to hide the embarrassed red tint from forming on the top of his cheekbones. It wasn't his fault! That he was so unused to compliments that a simple one caused him such an embarrassment. He didn't really know how to handle it, but Merlin couldn't deny that he was pleased with it.

And then Gwen had to go and bring Arthur up into it, completely ruining the happy flush of awkwardness going through Merlin.

"You know," she spoke up. "Arthur might not know it, but he's 'really' lucky to have you by his side." If Gwen had been the one married off to somebody-not Merlin because god no, Merlin was…he was Merlin! It felt too strange to imagine him as something more than her newest best friend-but if she'd been married to somebody like Merlin, she didn't think she would ever let them go. Not someone who is sweet and nice and goes out of their way just to check on her. That was a chivalry that died long before she'd been born. Despite what the knights roaming around the castle liked to preach.

Merlin smiled wryly, already knowing that was not true. Arthur would only be lucky if Merlin croaked in the next few days, just one more death added to the roster of the people who had lost their lives due to this sickness that wrecked the city. But still… "Would you mind telling him that, I don't think he'll believe me if I told him myself."

Honestly, Merlin doubted Arthur would even believe Gwen. Probably not. But it was nice to know he had 'someone' in his corner. Another person who saw the hell he was forced to be dealing with. Being married to Arthur…it was a hell Merlin didn't think he would wish onto his worse enemy. Well…maybe Morris. Merlin was sure Arthur wouldn't be so agnostic with him if he had to be forced into a marriageable bond with that little bastard. A manservant waiting on him everyday was a far cry from a husband like Morris would probably be…little bastard probably thought he could do better than Merlin was. Well, Merlin would love to see him try to survive under all of the harsh pressure he was under.

Gwen smiled at him sadly, "I'll do my best." She said, but they both knew it was just this placate. Arthur didn't even listen to Merlin who was supposed to be his Consort, his one and only, his chosen. Merlin felt anything but chosen. He often felt neglected and left out to wade through an ocean of job on his own more often then not, while desperately trying to look for a lighthouse that might guide him home. Well, it looked as if Gwen was his own little lighthouse at the moment.

Merlin flashed her a smile before he tried to leave again. As much as he wanted to stay in this nice and safe little bubble with Gwen, he really couldn't stay. He was sure there would be more work for him to do, something that he could find to help out during this crisis so he wasn't just sitting around and twiddling his thumbs while he waited for it to be over. If it would be over.

Gwen had formed this habit though, the way she would stop him before he would reach the door, "Merlin!…Thank you." she said when he turned back to her. Gwen didn't know why exactly she was thanking him. She'd already thanked him for stopping Morris from the way he was all but attacking her. But…she knew she'd regret it if she didn't. She couldn't have stopped picturing the look that had been on Merlin's face when he'd been solemn. Before he had cracked a smile and claimed being a psychic as a joke. There was just something…there. Something more intense that had shot the panic and confusion down her spine. She was sure he'd been holding something back, but what that something was…she couldn't have told anybody.

"What for?" Merlin asked, with a baffled little smile. He could've just left, knowing that he'd had things to do. But he didn't. If Gwen didn't want him to go…Merlin was content staying in the bubble. He was gonna have to leave soon anyway, so why not enjoy the safety of it until he had no choice. He had to tell himself that he wasn't…running away, or hiding out so he wouldn't have to run into Arthur again. It was not like he was 'scared' of Arthur. There was nothing to be scared of, Arthur was just this dick on epic proportions. But he knew if they did one into each other again, they were just going to get into another fight. And over god know's what this time. He had to start being serious about avoiding Arthur, if only for his own well being and mental sanity. He could almost feel himself ripping apart at the seams if he had to have one more fight with Him…

"I…" Gwen stuttered, not knowing what she should say. It wasn't like she could just come out and say 'what is it you weren't telling me the first time?' Or 'I know you were holding something back and you know something'. It would make her look like some kind of kook if it was just her imagination running wild again and again. "…don't know. Just for asking." she felt so lame when she finished saying it. Okay so maybe it would have been better if she'd not said anything at all. At least she wouldn't have bored her new friend with such a lame response.

But Merlin looked just as lame when he was shrugging his shoulder, giving her a little half-smile full of awkwardness. "I don't like to see you upset." He admitted, feeling a rush of red going up to his cheeks. He felt open and odd, vulnerable. He really hoped he didn't sound like some kind of creep…or like he was trying to hit on her or something. Gwen was pretty and sweet but…obviously not his type. Merlin seemed to flush even more after he said, "I…I have to go. To get on…places to be."

And as if to shoot himself in the foot with an even lamer response, he lifted up his hand to wave at her. God, could this be at all anymore awkward than it was. And he couldn't be the only one feeling the awkwardness in the air, because Gwen was waving back even though they were only like a foot from each other.

Gwen watched as Merlin nearly tripped over his feet, stumbling on his way out the door to where Gregory was waiting for him right on the other side. The door closed behind him, leaving Gwen in the room by herself. During a moment of privacy, Gwen's smile softened to a fond look before she got back to work.

Picking up Morgana's nightdress, she started shaking out all the wrinkles in it, dismissing anything odd she might have picked up from her encounter with Merlin. Merlin was just an odd person, but there wasn't anything wrong with that either.

Many, many years from this moment, Gwen would look back on this time where she had been innocently folding up Morgana's gown like she always did-and not how Morris had wanted her to-to put in her wardrobe. Future Gwen would wish that she had the power to reach back in time and rip that purple dress right from Past Gwen's hands. Future Gwen would want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, to scream at her to open her own damn eyes and see the truth right in front of her. To discover the secrets hidden behind an awkward smile years before she originally would.

Maybe if she had poked and prodded at him just a bit more back then, if she'd pulled until his secrets came spilling forth, maybe Merlin wouldn't have been alone for as long as he'd been. Maybe she could have helped him to shoulder the burdens a lifetime of secrecy had forced him into carrying.

But she was didn't. And it was a good thing she didn't. She was still so young, and not yet ready to take on the responsibilities she had not been born holding. There was no telling how she would have reacted to such news.

So Gwen hummed on, closing the doors to the wardrobe before continuing on with her next task. Never knowing just how close she had came to discovering Merlin's biggest and darkest secret…

X

Arthur stomped throughout the town, already in a really foul and awful mood. He walked in the center of the ground, with the six knights he'd ordered to accompany him to where the lower town's blacksmith's shop was located at. To see this Tom fellow in action. Which had been made all the more difficult because of the crowd formed outside the gates. That was why Arthur had ordered so many of his knights to come with him, as the means for crowd control, forming a semi-circle around him to keep the riff-raff from being able to accost him when he had business to attend to.

And speaking of the riff-raff, that was why he was in such a foul mood. He already was up in arms about his mood because that knight had caught him sneaking out of Gaius' rooms with Merlin's box tucked under his arm. But he had every right to do that! Arthur was very adamant about that if it was ever asked why of him. How else was he supposed to throw Merlin a bone-a treat-and encourage some kind of good behavior from the boy? Nobody would have the kinds of outbursts to him that Merlin did if Arthur was giving him stuff that he actually wants. And since the gold and the jewels he had offered him not that long ago wouldn't work out, getting that stupid box all fixed up was the only thing he could think of.

But he was in an 'especially' foul mood after learning Merlin had been right. It was so easy to ignore the people gathering at the gates right outside-many of them clutching papers they didn't know how to read-when he was inside doing important princely duties. But it was so much harder to ignore them when he was on the side of safety and sanctuary and could actually see them more clearly. Where their gaunt faces had made an impact on him when many of them got riled up after seeing his appearance, clearly expecting some kind of announcement from him. And then he had been forced to admit to himself that the brat-really-had been right when he'd saw many of the guards standing at the gate with bloody crossbows. None of the peasants looked to be capable of climbing the gates, let along staging some kind of break in so all the bows really did seem like overkill.

…Arthur had ended up yelling at his men to drop the bows-which they did-building this large pile off to the side. And then assigning one of the guards to breech the barrier onto the other side and reading one of the many parchments out loud to the forming crowd so that they would know what was going on. He then made a hasty retreat with his team of six knights before the townspeople could get too riled up after the news started to spread on the lockdown. With a mental note to himself to 'never' let Merlin know that he had actually been right. The brat was mostly insufferable as he was now. Having a new win underneath his belt…Arthur would never hear the end of it.

Which is why he decided to focus sorely on his work, which involved watching the much smaller crowd of people then the ones who'd been clogging up the gates, separating as to make room for their arrival. Gone were the days of people hiding out in their homes, as it was decided they would get sick rather or not they hid away. The people had been drawn from their homes and formed a loose circle around Tom to watch him work. But now they were splitting apart so they formed a large pathway for him and his group of knights to wade through and up to the forgery. His six men then formed a straight line right behind him so to keep the peasant people from interfering if things went south.

If Tom had used magic-like what his father had suggested many people might turn to if they couldn't get a handle on things (but had the people started turning to magic already, it had only been a few days since the city fell into a crisis mode)-then he might try to run to evade execution. Or…he might not even know why they were there, considering the look of confusion the man that must be Tom shot at them upon their arrival.

Tom stopped banging his hammer onto the sword he was trying to straighten out into a hammer, standing at full attention when he saw the prince approaching his stall.

"…The story is that you were sick." Arthur said as he allowed his eyes to rove over the man's form. He certainly didn't look as if he'd been suffering through the sickness. Those who'd contracted it were often on their deathbeds in a matter of moments. But Tom showed no sign of the sickness at all, making the prince wonder if the reports he had been given were grossly exaggerated. He even had to wonder if the man might have some kind of personal effect-that was really a magical object-that staved off the sickness. But what Arthur may know about magic couldn't fill up one single teacup. The most innocent object that would never be suspected could be the one key to finding what had healed Tom.

But Tom just shrugged, "I'm not anymore." he answered. Arthur's felt his eyebrows creasing together at the answer. This didn't sound like a man, nervous and tittering because he may be caught any second now. This didn't sound like a man who had something to hide. Well, not unless he had hidden whatever possible enchantment-if magic had truly been the cause of his healing-somewhere so good he thought Arthur and his men would never be able to find it. But surely that was excessive, Tom would be showing some level of fear or concern…execution was no joke, after all.

"Perhaps you were suffering from some other ailment?" Arthur suggested, looking for any possible answer other than magic. Maybe the reason Tom wasn't scared was because he'd thought there was no reason to be. If he had not used any magic, then him and the knights would figure that out and allow Tom to go on his way. Especially if it turned out this was all just some kind of mistake and all Tom might have had was a really bad case of the flu, and it knocked him out for a day or two instead of killing him like the sickness would.

"Oh, you're joking!" Tom exclaimed, and he looked pretty adamant about this. He had no doubt on his face that he had been suffering from the same sickness that had killed every other person who had came down with it. "I felt like death itself, not enough strength in my bones to stir the air around me!" Tom felt more grateful than ever to be here working on his swords. He had thought he'd never be able to feel the blistering heat coming from the coals in the over he put his blade into to harden them. Had thought he'd never feel the straining of his shoulders as he lifted up his trusted hammer and beat the blades into the shape they were supposed to be.

"Then…what happened?" Arthur questioned him, his eyebrows furrowing even deeper as his confusion grew. He'd figured Tom must have some kind of clue or theory as to how he had gotten better-cured from the sickness when no other had-so there had to be something there that he was missing. If it wasn't magic, then what? Because magic was the one and only conclusion he could think of to explain this odd phenomenon. Tom didn't even look as if he had ever been there. There was no sickly paleness to his face, no fading blue veins that may take a few days of the proper medication-if they even had such a thing-to go away. His eyes were also bright, no sign of the weary sickness in them. So all of this was just…strange, and he didn't know what to make of it.

And it didn't help him when Tom shrugged as he clearly had no explanation at all for what had happened to him, "I don't know. Just one moment had me on my backside, positive I've been breathing my last and I was set to go at any moment. And then it was gone. Hell, I do think I'm even fitter than I was before."

-Whatever spell Merlin had done to Tom was powerful magic. It healed more than just the sickness from Tom's veins. Tom always had this soreness prominent in his biceps, a kind that never seemed to go away and caused an aching in his shoulders. But that was actually to be expected when one was lugging around hot and heavy metal tools like he was. When he was banging metal into the proper shape or standing in a hot forge day in and day out. It was the life he had chosen, what he'd been good at to keep his family afloat, but it didn't come without those drawbacks. He'd woken up that morning fit as a fiddle, with none of the usual aches and pains he would suffer by with. And Tom didn't know it yet, but when he would be changing his clothes later on, he'd notice that even some of the scars he'd got in his childhood had faded away to make room for smooth skin.

Arthur wasn't entirely convinced though, that Tom had just healed overnight. There had to be something there, had to be some kind of clue that he was just overlooking. There was an answer for everything, and if there wasn't-like now-then the 'only' answer could be that magic was involved.

"That's…remarkable." Arthur said slowly. But Tom clearly had no idea what had happened to cure him so he must have not had any kind of involvement in the matter. Especially if the man 'had' been on his deathbed. "Was there anybody there with you when all of this was happening?"

It was the only thing Arthur could think of and the one thing he could latch onto that might make a lick of sense. Maybe Tom didn't know anything but that didn't mean that magic was totally out of the question. Thinking about the situation…it was quite possible that another person could have been there as Tom laid out in a dead state. Tom would have never even known if magic was being used on him. But it did bring up the question…who out there had cared for Tom so much that they wouldn't be able to see him dead. Somebody that would risk dealing with such powerful, ancient, and darkening arts-risk their own execution after they'd eventually get caught. Who could love Tom so much as too…

Tom shrugged, a nonchalant look on his face before he relied, "Just my daughter, Gwen."

And just like that, it suddenly made so much sense in Arthur's mind. And yet, it had also made no sense at all. Gwen…Guinevere…the same girl that had been Morgana's personal attending-her handmaiden-for what had to be the better part of a decade…was dabbling in magic? She was a sorcerer?…a sorceress? But…how…Arthur felt his head spinning as he tried to fit that kind of evil in the girl he knew.

Gwen loved her father, so of course even she would have turned to magic to save him. But had she started the mess as well? No, Gwen was someone he had known for years. Surely she had not-for some unknown reason-cast a curse to harm the people. People she knew in passing or knew more closely…but there was a chance that she had done it. What had his father always warned him about sorcerers or their trickery ways: a sorcerer can mask their true intentions behind a friendly exterior. That is why we must never welcome strangers too closely into our inner circle. A friendly, gentle smile might be hiding the hand that pours the poison into your drink.

But…Gwen…wasn't a stranger. He knew her, she'd worked under the Royal household for years…so maybe she'd only turned to magic to heal her father from someone's else's own sorcery. But it didn't matter one way or the other. Sorcery was still sorcery, rather it had been used to curse a city with a terrible, dark plague. Or it was used to heal the ailing from dying in agonizing pain while loved ones were forced to watch.

"Sire?" One of the knights leaned forward to talk in his ear. "What is it that you would like us to do next?" He was clearly asking rather or not they should take Tom into custody for being a victim of his daughter's own sorcery. For all they knew, Tom had begged his child to turn to sorcery for he knew it was the only way to save himself. Or-the guard might have been asking-did Arthur believe Tom really did not know how low his daughter had stooped to bring him back from death's door. If they should leave the blacksmith to his work and find proof of the daughter's treason against the crown.

"…Let's move out." Arthur called out to his men, not giving out anymore information then that. Lest someone in the crowd, or even the blacksmith himself, might see fit to warn the daughter before they had a chance to see to her punishment. And it would be best for the handmaiden to be caught unaware, lest she may have found more than just a healing spell out there.

All six of the knights nodded in this perfect unison moment before turning back around at the same time. And following a formation, started walking back down the pathway the villagers had formed.

"Sire!" Tom called out to him before he was able to follow. Arthur's back muscles were tense and his eyes harsh as he looked back over his shoulder at the blacksmith. His gut was telling him that Tom truly had no idea of the deceit his daughter-no matter how hard it was too believe, the truth practically stared him straight in the face-but it was better to approach all things involved with that family with a touch of caution. Gwen had to get her magic spell from someone, whose to say it wasn't Tom who had some kind of magical spell book hidden away. Somehow saved from the great purge where his father had all of that kind of material burned.

But all Tom did was smile at him, having no idea that he had just betrayed his daughter and condemned her to death. "I just wanted to say thank you for combing by to check on me. It's quite an honor for the prince to take the time to do so." Arthur stared at him while Tom had clearly made his own conclusions for this sudden visit of their's. None the wiser of what he had already revealed to them. The blacksmith's expression seemed to shift into something even more pleasant for some god forsaken reason. Or at least it was a mystery to Arthur until the man spoke up again, "And I had the great honor of meeting your Consort for the first time in person barely a few days ago, my sire. When he stopped by to visit my Gweeny. I hope you forgive me for being so forward, but I do think Consort Merlin must be having a positive impact on you."

There was a moment of stunned silence as all Arthur could do was stare at Tom. Tom who'd been all smiles-just like his daughter-and he clearly saw nothing wrong with what he was saying…Merlin, Arthur wanted to growl that name out. Even when Arthur was hard, doing his working, Merlin managed to worm his way into it. It was only at the last minute-when he had opened his mouth to say something that was scathing, probably about how there was no reason for his consort to be visiting what little hovel the man lived in-that he was able to remember 'not' to do that. Loving couple and all that nonsense he was supposed to be portraying, right? But what, was he supposed to grin and bare it in front of the man whose daughter they were probably going to arrest later that day…?

Arthur did end up forcing a half grin, although it looked far more pained than a man in love was supposed to look. But Arthur comforted himself with the knowledge that it also looked strained. The sickness was a perfect excuse to get away with it, how could he be 'happy in love' when they had this stressful situation going on. But as Arthur stalked away to follow his men to the housing district of the lower town, he knew one thing for sure.

One day…one day he was gonna just give in and end up killing Merlin for putting him into these type of awkward situation. He'd wrap his hands around that little scrawny neck of his and…ugh. Arthur had work to do, and he couldn't get sidetracked by Merlin…again.

X

Tom watched them go, frowning curiously as the dark red tail of Arthur's ankle length and leather coat disappeared around the corner of his shop. Heading off after his knights in some unknown direction. But Tom shrugged to himself, deciding the prince was obviously far too busy to discuss his love life with one of the many peasants in his city.

So Tom went back to work, picking up on his hammer and smashing it down hard against the sword laid out on his stone work table. It was therapeutic, seeing the way the sparks of red shot off between the hammer and the sword every time he connected. Tom knew he was quite content on ignoring the town's people as they conjugated around his stall all over again to watch him work. Each and every one of them staring at him as if they'd thought he was some sort of God, who had clawed his way back from the brink of death.

X

A few streets over, the six guards stormed in Gwen's house. Arthur followed in as the final man, face an impenetrable mask before he closed the door behind him. He didn't want any kind of spectacle forming on the streets before his team was able to conduct their own investigation and examine any evidence they might find.

The house was located right in the middle of what was probably the last three streets in the entire city that they had yet to check through. Which would explain why they had yet to find anything of value if Gwen really was the witch. Arthur had almost expected to find nothing because the idea of somebody like Gwen-somebody who had been with the family for years, and somebody who'd never even hurt a fly-was actually a witch was hard to wrap the mind around. But all of the facts were right there, practically screaming at him in the face…and he couldn't ignore his due diligence.

If Gwen was the witch, then she needed to pay for her crimes. No matter how extremely crazy the idea was.

Arthur crossed his arms over his broad chest and observed his men as they worked, even as he stayed by the door because of just how crowded the small hut was. He watched with close regard as one of his knights snatched up a jewelry box. He didn't hesitate before he was flipped the box over, the off colored and decades old pieces of baubles, most of them looking to be hand-me-down's, clattered on the surface as they bounced onto the floor and rolled off in different directions. Arthur narrowed his eyes, watching closely as the guard started shifting through it. There was another memory of what his father had told him about sorcerer's and their trickery when he was young: never trust a piece of jewelry from a stranger until it had been thoroughly inspected over. Witches liked to use stones-pretty ones that draw the eye-as a conductor for their wicked, evil spells. And something pretty always had this catch to it. Like a witch trying to cast some kind of enchantment over an unsuspecting prince to a larger kingdom.

Arthur turned his eyes away from the stones-all scratched over and dull from disuse-and watched as another knight picked a helmet up off the floor. Clearly it was one that Tom must have made himself, and not a standard issued helmet's the knights would use. Or it could have been one of the knights decided to use cheap labor-some of the richer ones could, amazingly enough, be quite the stingy one about their gold-and was having Tom fix it up. The helmet was all dented like it had taken a battering ram to the head a good few times, and the knight holding it checked over the inside to make sure nothing was hidden away inside of it. A gem or a ripped up piece of parchment with an incantation on it. Baby bones or a bowl of blood, whatever witches needed to get their spells going.

The knight put the helmet onto the bed, and it was clearly he hadn't found anything inside of it. The knight stepped over a third knight that was digging around underneath the bed, flipping up the sheets to find if there was any contraband under there.

Arthur turned his gaze and watched as the forth knight started throwing over cabinets and jerking their contents-bowls and cooking utensils-out onto the floor. Not caring if they broke in the crossfire. And then the knight was flipping over chairs at the rickety kitchen table, dropping to his knees and running his fingers over the underside. Looking for any hidden caches that might be holding magical trinkets inside of it.

The fifth knight was over by the wall, jerking threadbare jackets or dresses off the wall. He would search around through the pockets to check. Then when they came up empty, he'd toss the garment abandoned onto the floor before snatching up the next. And repeating the process all over again.

The sixth knight started helping the knight on the bed, planning to flip the mattress up and get a good look at the underside. He made it only so far as he jerk some of the pillows off the bed, throwing them at his feet before he pulled to a stop.

"Sire." The guard said the one word and like he had screamed, the entire hut stopped at a standstill and turned to him in unison. To see what kind of monstrosity he must have found that indicated magic had been used. And yes Arthur decided when the knight-slowly and cautiously, fearful the item might be volatile-picked it up and turned around to face them all. The item was definitely magical in nature, there was no denying that.

It was something wrapped in a white ball of cloth, forming a lump inside of the fabric. By itself, it would have been inconspicuous and nothing worth noting. But it was shining, this pure golden simmering light coming off of it beautifully. Somebody naive might have been in awe, might have felt the healing touch that came off of it. But Arthur was naive, and the ball of light was pure demonic. He didn't want to touch it for fear of the power coming off of it might effect him in some way. His face was a blank mask, not revealing the cold and icy shiver that shot down his spine when he saw the glow of it.

His father was right. If this feeling coming off of it was magic-this low thrum of seduction in the air, the gentle caress across Arthur's skin as it tries to pull him in, tried to seduce him in to the dark side-it was nothing but pure evil.