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!

90. Chapter 90

Four Hours Until their Original Execution:

"I…well…well I…" Arthur started to stutter, trying to not show Merlin how panicked he was. But he was pretty sure he was failing, when he saw Merlin had narrowed his eyes further down on him, into what seemed like more dangerous levels. "I…" the blond brought his hand up to scratch roughly along over the back of his head, only to immediately wince in pain and jerk his hand away. Arthur had forgotten about his injury, the area on the back of his head was still soft and tender from where Merlin threw the sack of gold at him. The pouch itself had been nothing more than pocket change to him, kept for an emergency or to be used on a rainy day when one needed to find entertainment when stuck in these walls. But Arthur had also just learned it was able to make a decent weapon should somebody use it correctly. "Well…"

Arthur couldn't get more than those two words to come out his mouth, he realized horrified. He was a prince, one of high standard and caliber, should not find himself with a lack of words. Not inside of his own kingdom, his own bed chambers, the one place he should feel the most confidence in. If his father could only see him now, stuttering wildly as if he was some kind of uneducated fool, unable to string two sentences together without making him look even more of a fool. Two sentences did seem to be a bit excessive though, Arthur would've liked just putting the two little words he was stuck on in some kind of semblance of order. Or maybe it was a better option if he had the choice to sink right to the floor beneath his suite. Landing himself down in whatever unused room that rested beneath his own would have been preferable to standing here, and still stuttering his way, unable to add another word into his vocabulary.

"Yeah, I do!" Merlin suddenly exclaimed, his voice whipping out like a smack against the blond's face as the consort got tired of waiting for Arthur to be able to make some semblance of sense. He knew he was supposed to be grateful for Merlin taking up the reins, but Arthur could only feel humiliated with knowing Merlin had to speak up over his own incompetence. Arthur knew if Merlin could scream at him, then it was going to be about how much of a pervert Arthur was. Arthur felt the sinking dread returning full force, knowing how unlike him it was to feel this way before anybody other than his own disappointed father. If Merlin was smart enough to realize Arthur was about to spank him before he'd managed to get one hit in, then it wasn't too much of a stretch for Merlin to assume Arthur had been planning on something much worse. Maybe there was some kind of knowledge in Merlin's brain that he had hidden away, maybe he was smart enough to realize a spanking session between adults was often seen on a more sexual note. Arthur was left to wonder frantically rather or not he had anyway of getting out of this…would Merlin even believe it when Arthur denied vehemently that his spanking was sorely for discipline. And would have nothing to do with sex! Arthur was supposed to be safe! It wasn't supposed to come a day where Arthur had to actually explain himself!!!! "And I think I've got the message pretty loud and clear!"

Merlin scrunched his nose up in a way Arthur was someday going to nickname 'adorable'. But for the moment, Merlin's icy glare would be considered to be anything but adorable. It just sent a long string of unpleasant shivers down the prince's spine, the moon it must've dipped behind some clouds since it grew darker in the room. Arthur actually wished he was back in his father's throne room, and being told the execution plans were changing. Maybe if Arthur had done the right thing and tried to argue against the change, he would still be there under his father's strong disapproval about Arthur trying to argue against him. He wouldn't be 'here', being forced to question everything he thought he had known about Merlin's supposed innocence? For a man who had no idea what sex was, he seemed to have connected it pretty easily to being spanked.

"…It's not what you're thinking!" Arthur blurted out in quick succession, before Merlin could say one more word on the matter, trying to get ahead of it before things spieled out of control. But he would have to say it looked as if it already was spinning in a direction Arthur didn't like. But there was still a chance for Arthur to salvage this to make it look less indecent. He just needed to explain to Merlin it was nothing more than Arthur trying to give him the proper discipline. Like a father would for what was an unruly child who needed a firm hand on his backside, before he ended up getting himself into a situation he couldn't get himself out of. That was the same principle in play here, now. Arthur hadn't wanted to spank Merlin for adult games he wasn't even supposed to know existed! God, Arthur had made the biggest mistake in his life when he tried to actually go through with it…

"Oh?" Merlin drawled out, lips thinning in distaste, as if he hadn't approved of Arthur trying to speak up in his own defense. In any other situation in the world, Arthur would have taken offense and tried to show Merlin exactly who was the one in charge around here. But now, the prince could only wince when realizing Merlin wasn't going to believe any hurried explanation he tried to give him, even if it was true and Arthur wasn't trying to-oh good god, the prince felt ill just thinking of the words as they passed through his mind-start up something like a kinky dominance role playing game. He almost felt fear just wondering how worse was Merlin thinking about this, and if they were as graphic as Arthur's own thinking was. Or if Arthur had jumped straight into worse case scenario made. Knowing him, this would be entirely possible, and he was blowing it all out of proportion. "So you weren't just trying to do weird things to me again?"

Arthur could feel the flush when it tried forming up the back of his neck, when he noticed Merlin had darted his eyes down to the desk, clearly making sure it was still there and had not spontaneously disappeared, so Arthur wouldn't have the chance to grab him again. Weird things…Arthur could feel himself starting to freak out again…was that what Merlin was really calling it, of all things? It seemed a tad excessive, but even Arthur could see it was a bit…weird. Arthur could say all he wanted: he did it only because he needed to drag some answers he had to know and thought it was the better option compared to beating his arse publicly. He would do it because it was a fun way to knock Merlin off-centered when he was usually trying to backtalk him in some way or the other. He would do it only because it stopped Arthur himself from going off the deep end, giving him something to do with his hands and body before he did something that was truly regrettable and detrimental to Merlin and his already frail mental health-but should he still do it, since things were starting to get out of hand. After what he had almost went through with, and now it was this conversation he was stuck in…this would only get worse if Arthur tried to do something like this again because he got too comfortable, and he wanted to push for more than just pinning the boy down to something.

There was a million different excuses that died off on his tongue long before they could be born. But nothing he thought of would explain away just how weird things have gotten because of how free and comfortable Arthur had gotten with putting hands on Merlin. The cold terror filled his body as Arthur started to realize…anybody could have seen them or what they were doing. How many times had he done this to Merlin in more public settings than he did in private? The first time he'd done it, on top of that rickety table during the tourney, happened in the middle of such a huge crowd. And than all the times Arthur had done the same in empty halls he knew was in no way private. Anybody could've just stumbled upon them and saw what was going on with the prince and his consort. And oh god…this was just hitting Arthur…he had done it 'again' only inches from his clueless father. With nothing but a pillar to stop them from being seen…how stupid it was for Arthur to only realize now, that he'd gotten out of hand already. If he'd gotten so carried away to do this in front of his own father, if the king had gotten out of his seat and came to get the two of them instead of calling out for them…Arthur could only shudder in horror at the ensuring scene that would have played out. His father-anybody would really-would have assumed Arthur was partaking in weird public sex games with Merlin. Not even Uther would believe Arthur was just trying to give his husband proper discipline, not with Arthur the aggressor in this situation…always the aggressor in fact.

"And I'm gonna tell you this one time, Arthur." the consort spoke up, apparently not willing to wait till Arthur's freaking out had managed to pass. It was icy blue eyes that turned away from the desk as it only caused an uneasy shudder to shoot down the consort's spine. Merlin was never going to be able to look at that desk again, without remembering a time where he was on his belly, unable to see or to predict what Arthur would be doing next. It almost felt as if he was blind in the most intimate of ways, it was disgusting and left him chill as he was only able to imagine the worse of what Arthur would've done if he hadn't managed to break free. But this was a freak out Merlin would have later, he would clearly need to establish some ground rules here with Arthur. Just as the prince had once tried his darnest to push onto Merlin back when the young consort had still been putting his armor on for him before one of the fights. "This whole thing where you are pinning me down onto stuff, it's not going to fly anymore. I am putting my foot down-" Merlin even emphasized this by stamping his own foot on the ground, not like a toddler throwing a fit but far more like a grown man telling Arthur exactly what is what around here. "It is not going to fly anymore because I swear, if you even try it-"

Merlin's eyes might have shimmered with just the barest hint of magic, golden sparks appearing into the blue, indicating exactly what he would do if his husband ever laid another hand on him. It may not have been Merlin's biggest concern before, but he knew it was now. Because it was distracting them from Gwen, and because-Merlin realized-being on the desk facedown had been a lot scarier than he had ever been when he was actually looking up at Arthur. And could see his face and his reactions to Merlin yelling and fighting back. Arthur seemed to have missed the brief emergence of magic, or was not able to see it in the dark-as the clouds in front of the moon finally drifted past and allowed more moonlight to flood into the room. But by then, the gold shimmers had faded and Arthur was already nodding eagerly, completely on the same page as Merlin was about their little…who could flinch first, games, if one wanted to call it that.

"Well…" Merlin cocked an eyebrow up, looking put out over Arthur taking this so smoothly. Usually by this point in the argument, the prince would have been throwing some kind of fit. Demanding Merlin not be allowed to tell him what to do, would have probably done it again just to prove a point to say he could, rather Merlin wanted it or not. But Merlin shook off his surprise, he wasn't going to look any gift horse in the mouth. If it was that easy, then he was gonna take it and run, ie: he was going to be holding this moment over Arthur's head for a long time to come. If Arthur ever tried to go back on his word, Merlin would fucking end him before he was going to allow Arthur to lie to him about this. "I will be sure to remember you said that. I really do not care how pissed you are that I hate Clarissa. I was the one that walked in on you locking lips! So, no! You did not have any right to put your hands onto me! Not pinning me down for your weird touches or whatever you thought you were doing this time! Nor do you ever get to-"

Merlin had thrown his hands up above his head to get some of his frustrations out, unable to flex his magic as it wiggled restlessly inside of him. But he cut himself off abruptly before he had the chance to finish his own sentence. Merlin knew enough on what he and Arthur would do-if he dared to bring up the threat Arthur had made about striking him down, something that still weighed heavily in the back of his mind even as he looked at Arthur now. Seeing nothing but an abuser in the making, and Merlin was not okay with that-but it would've only ended up in another fight. And that would be quite possibly hours of them yelling at each other until one of them broke or left before the rage could be overcome. Gwen didn't have that kind of time on her hands, and Merlin cast a glance towards the window anxiously, suddenly filled with worry that it was already too late. But surely, even as high up as they were, Arthur and him would've been able to hear some kind of commotion from the guards if Gwen was being led out. But then again…they were probably still looking for him.

"Wait a minute!" Arthur suddenly said, something about what Merlin had said standing out to him. It caused Merlin to whip his head around, and Merlin mentally cursed himself out for being so stupid as to turn his back to Arthur again. He should know by now to never turn his back on Arthur, he was lucky Arthur seemed receptive at the moment and hadn't launched himself over the desk and tried to tackle him in one of his fits. But Arthur had walked forward, slamming his hands into the desk-Merlin leaned back in disgust, thankful the prince hadn't made to come onto the other side, leaving Merlin without a barrier between them-and now had his eyes trained on Merlin with the most serious look on his face, "What do you mean by…whatever I'd thought I was doing…"

Arthur kept his eyes trained on Merlin, forcing his eyes not to waver away as he tried to read Merlin's expression. The way Merlin had said that line was tickling at his senses, nagging around the back of his mind. Arthur had been sure of things before all of that, and now he was wondering if he had been wrong. Arthur's eyes were darting back and forth between Merlin's own, trying to see exactly where Merlin was on this while leaning half over the desk to get a closer look as the shadows of the flames from the fireplace would block Merlin's eyes for a moment before lighting back up. Merlin, who was frowning at him baffled, and Arthur felt the urge to grab him by that stupid neckerchief-Arthur would be close enough to snatch his hand out and grab it before Merlin had the chance to back away-and jerk him down so they were face to face. But that sudden urge made Arthur curl his hands into fists on the desk before he could act. He needed to kill that urge, work himself until he could get his body on the same wavelength as his mind. Rather or not he had been wrong earlier, Merlin wasn't wrong on this. And what he had been doing had been 'very' weird, and needed to be stopped.

"…What are you talking about?" Merlin demanded in a frustrated tone, glancing out the window once again to try and estimate the time. He could guess it would probably be morning in a few hours time, it was a miracle in itself that Arthur was even still up and about, rather than Merlin waking him up in his bed where he would no doubt, be much more grouchy than he was now. But whatever mood he was in, had no bearings on Merlin who only rolled his eyes and tried to get things back on track with what they 'should' have been discussing. He had no wish to rehash old things about 'Clarissa', "You just need to listen. I know what's been causing-"

"No!" Arthur shouted, before Merlin could explain what was ruining their water supply, emphasizing his shout with a bang of his fist against the harsh flatness of his desk. Merlin immediately went onto the defensive, his spine going ramrod straight and his jaw and fists clenching, eyes going down into narrowed little slits. Oh, hell no was Arthur going to start screaming at him like that, but Arthur was already speaking to him in a rushed tone, while he demanded answers of his own. "You're gonna tell me what you meant by 'whatever I was doing'. You need to tell me what you thought I would be doing to you!"

Merlin's jaw went tighter, a muscle jumping around in his jawline somewhere, "You want to know what I thought you were going to do to me?" repeated the consort, eyes flashing again with the danger level increasing. If Arthur wasn't going to shut his damn trap and allow Merlin to speak his peace, it was perfectly okay. He would just have to be sure it was a question Arthur would regret ever asking him during a life or death situation. Especially with that tone, like Merlin was a dog who was meant to jdirectly at his orders. "I thought you'd pin me down like you always did. And then touching me in places that was weird. Like here," Merlin did make sure to touch at his collarbone, resting the tips of his finger between his neckerchief and his adam's apple. It would have been a seductive move, had it been done by anybody else, bringing the prince's attention straight to the area. Reminding Arthur of the time he had him pinned to the pillar, and had taken his time running his fingers down the flesh as he contemplated rather or not it would've been worth it to squeeze just a little. But the effect had been ruined by Merlin's innocent glare. Pissed off more than a raging bull, but no less innocent with the ways of the flesh than a young child. "Or even here," Merlin lowered his hands down onto his hip bones, reminding Arthur of the fight he and Merlin had right in this room, the evidence of the trashed room still all around them. When Arthur had been climbing on top of him, and had used those same hipbones to push Merlin down before he was able to rub his rear end against Arthur's front, before it gave him purchase to flip the consort over to face him head on. "Or you were gonna touch me right here," Merlin continued as he held out both of his wrists together, the wrist bone jutting out sharply in an alluring manner as his sleeve slid up just an inch. Bringing Arthur's attention to the thousands of times he had held onto those wrists, holding to them tightly so Merlin could escape him. Even at this moment, Arthur imagined the wrists may look good with red silk ribbons binding them together to keep Merlin in place. Arthur was almost afraid to find out what would be the final thing the boy would tell him. And true enough, Merlin lowered his hands away from under Arthur's nose before resting them on the edge of the table. "And all of that was when I was frontside. And then you were turning me on my stomach. So you tell me, Arthur, what exactly were you planning on doing with me in that position!"

"Uh…" Arthur's jaw nearly came unhinged, and he continuously darted his eyes between one eye of Merlin's and to the other. But Merlin's eyes were remaining steady, no hint of deception in them. No hint of Merlin just playing games and trying to play innocence so Arthur would accidentally admit the truth of what he had been doing. Which he almost had admitted it…Arthur felt like nothing more than a bloody idiot, thinking Merlin actually knew he'd been planning on spanking him. No…it was Merlin who was the bloody idiot! Unable to put together the pieces of Arthur's actions. Arthur was still able to feel the tension leaving his shoulders, because he knew he was safe with Merlin's inexperience to literally…anything. Arthur's little secret would have a chance to be buried in the dirt, never having any chance to see the light of day again. Even if Merlin didn't know what had happened, it didn't stop the prince from wanting to keep his word. What'd they been doing had been very weird, and Arthur would need to keep his distance away from Merlin, at the very least, until he could keep his urges under this lock and key in his mind. But that would obviously have to wait until tonight was over, the prince was gonna have to stick it out and prove he could last an argument with Merlin without trying to touch him. Yeah, this would be a good little practice run right now, prove to himself…if he could last tonight without grabbing Merlin in anyway (and that would include grabbing him and bodily dragging him out of his room just to get rid of him) then that would give him hope that it was possible for him to force down his urges overtime, before things started to build up again like they had, and Arthur come this close to doing something horrific. Arthur's mind felt as if it came to a standstill, as he struggled to move through it like one would quicksand, and he had Merlin staring at him, waiting for an answer to an impossible question. But he was ashamed with admitting he could only come up with one, "…I did not actually 'lock lips' with her. You interrupted us long before we could get to that part…"

Returning to the topic of Clarissa would forever be the last thing Arthur wanted, but it was either that or try to explain a plausible reason for turning the consort so his backside was in the air. Besides, he had to make that little fact perfectly clear before it was Merlin who started feeding the rumor mills by passing that falsehood around among his people and his kingdom. He was more scared of what his father would do though, if he got wind of Clarissa making herself at home in his personal suites after his father had deemed her a liability to then losing the kingdom. But maybe it wasn't his father Arthur needed to be concerned with at the moment, the prince realized as he saw Merlin's eyes turning as frosty as a glacier by the reminder of Clarissa. But then again…Arthur realized as he leaned further in on his palms on the edge of the desk. The ice blue crystals of a glacier floating in the coldest oceans might have been the friendlier option, when it was compared to the coldness of Merlin's eyes in that moment.

"Do you even bother to hear yourself whenever you start talking?" Merlin demanded, tone spoken so frostily, it was like whatever warmth drawn from the fireplace was being sucked out of the room, in which brought the temperature of the room down a few degrees and caused Arthur to shiver with a violent turbulence. "Because all I hear is a bunch of hot air whistling as it comes out. You don't have to act like I can't see what's happening. You might not have 'locked lips' but that was exactly where it was headed before I came in. Although, I wouldn't know why I should be so surprised." And Merlin's lip started to curl up, showing only a hint of teeth as he dove down into a rabid snarl. "You had no problem with dancing with her so publicly! It was only a matter of time before you invited her up to your suite!"

Maybe it was dumb for Merlin to be so completely irrational over this, knowing he and Arthur weren't actually a couple. But for once, Merlin didn't care if his behavior was irrational. He was bloody angry and pissed, and was not going to let his anger be swept under the rug or ignored as nothing but one more childish tantrum. He wasn't a child throwing a tantrum. He was a man who felt the sting of pain burning through him, the betrayal of knowing that Arthur giving his word meant so little to the prince himself. Clarissa should have never came up here, and Merlin didn't care what piss poor excuse he'd be given, he wasn't going to let that go. He wasn't going to let Arthur get away with thinking he was too stupid to see where his life was going. Merlin might be a peasant, and might not understand the complexities of royal life, but Arthur was going to learn one way or the other, that 'this peasant' was far from defenseless. Even if the only weapon he had at his disposal was his smart mouth, Arthur would learn that some peasants-especially those with nothing to lose and everything in the world to gain from stepping out of the line they try to force him into-had more bite to them than others.

"Good god!" Arthur seemed to roar, slamming his fist down onto the table again, making a few small items still clinging to the surface that hadn't been thrown to the floor after Arthur had thrown Merlin onto it, rattle with alarm. It shook the table, almost violently, and Merlin's eyes dropped to a bent out of shape quill, almost snapped and broken in half after Merlin had landed on it earlier, near the edge of the desk. Merlin rose his eyes from the quill, not flinching under Arthur's furious gaze. Merlin didn't even flinch back when he saw the blond's face as it started turning red with anger and frustration as if it wasn't him who'd brought Clarissa around into their conversation again. "Will you and everybody just shut up about the dance! It was a month ago, for god's sake! For all of five minutes! Which 'you' told me to go ahead and do! People need to stop acting as if I tried to kill you that night!"

Arthur hadn't even enjoyed her company the night of the desk, he just used her then as he had used her the day she came into his chambers. She was only there to distract him, give him something that he could think about that wasn't how much he did not like Merlin or wished him away. Clarissa being there was only an excuse for Arthur to get a bit of much needed stress relief, but the only thing any of this had given him was nothing but this endless grief from Merlin. And Morgana. And even his own father had gotten involved with it. Though he want to be honest, Arthur hadn't particularly cared one way or the other rather or not he had sex with the lady that day or not. A beautiful lady who literally thrown themselves at him…Arthur should've been more thrilled than reluctant. It wasn't like adulterer wasn't an uncommon sport among the older noble men who had been married far too young. But did it make him defective…only being willing to lay on a woman because she would offer him the perfect distraction from his life. When there was definitely nothing…defective…about him, down there. Thank you very much.

"If there has been anybody giving you grief about that night, I can assure you that it has nothing to do with me." Merlin said in a steely tone, thinning his lips. He was smarter than Arthur would bother giving him credit for, and had caught immediately onto the word Arthur had used 'people'. More than just Merlin had given him 'grief' as Arthur had call it…and Merlin wasn't even going to entertain what Arthur had said about him telling Arthur going off to dance with somebody else was okay. That was just going to lead to another argument and then to another one, again and again as they always did. It wasn't something Merlin felt was necessary to be wasting his time on. He had said he was okay with Arthur going after all, it wasn't his fault Arthur was a moron who didn't see anything wrong with going off and leaving his consort alone at his first official Royal shindig. "But if things like that bother you so much, it might just be a good idea to stop trying to make a public spectacle of yourself. Oh, and if we are throwing around past mistakes, let me just say it wasn't the 'one dance' that has me wound up. It is 'every time' you've done something to me since the day we've met with the sole purpose of trying to hurt me that's got me pissed! 'Clarissa' is only the top of the iceberg."

Merlin stepped back up to the table, slamming his own hands down onto the flat surface, the glint of his silver wedding ring shimmering in the firelight caught his eye for a moment, before he turned his glare back onto the prince. Throwing himself right off the top of the tallest tower looked to be more desirable, the urge born from one desperate man and his need to get away, than admitting to Arthur of the pain he was going through. The ache in his heart fueling the fire in his belly and his desperate need for justice against the things he'd endured in the prince's 'care'. He was ashamed to admit how deep in his bones he felt, the memories flooding in his mind of everything Arthur had done since he'd walked through the gates made his head fall to his feet and feel heavy in his chest. But if this was the only chance Merlin had to state his truth, because it was quite possible he would die before the rising of the sun, then he was going to take it. Let Arthur wallow the same way he had been, let that Prince in front of him know he was absolutely shit at this whole husband thing, and should probably take a few years off before trying to find the next consort of Camelot. Hopefully they had far more patience in them then Merlin had in himself. And if the next consort happened to be Clarissa…well then, power to her and Arthur. Even just the sound of her name was far classier than his own, maybe that was one more sign he and Arthur would have never worked out, even if they'd gotten off to a better start when they first met. Arthur would always be this straight prick with a stick up his arse, and Merlin would be the sorcerer he was always meant to hang openly on the battlements as a warning against any other sorcerer's who might try to enter his extremely oh so precious domain.

"Oh, boo hoo." The prince sneered, clearly taking nothing Merlin had said to heart. He saw this fight as nothing more than Merlin trying to get attention from him again. Merlin offering his arse for Arthur to give it a proper whipping would have been more adept at getting his attention, but no, thought the prince as he curled his hands into fists around his desk. He would have to deny Merlin if he would do that, as a sign of proof to himself that he had beat the urges that racked through his body even now, even after the weirdness of it was pointed out for him. "It's always about you, isn't it? You've always got something going on! From your stupid favors-" that stupid red neckerchief Merlin had tied onto his arm during the tourney, before it was lost and never found even to this day. "To stupid flowers-" the innocent flower-bud that had clung onto the collar of Merlin's neckerchief burned into Arthur's mind as if it happened moments ago, making him grit his teeth in irritation. "Bursting into my rooms as if you have any right, and then getting pissed at me because you don't like what you see-" he was not even going to try denying anything happened between him and Clarissa. They both knew where that had been going, and Arthur wasn't going to do them a disservice by trying to deny it yet again. "Always vying for my attention like a lost little pup not knowing what to do for myself. While I am left looking like the bad guy! When hello, it's none. Of. Your. Business. What. I. Do!"

Arthur would take the time to emphasize each one of his final words with a sharp bang of his fist onto the table, showing Merlin how pissed he was while keeping his hands to himself this time. And Merlin only stared him down, not reacting to a single one of his words, making Arthur start glowering at him in return. Once upon a time, not that very long ago in fact, Arthur had shown Merlin a certain kind of protectiveness the boy had always craved. When Valiant had tried to touch what was his…the blond had thrown himself off the deep end to make him pay for such a ruthless act. But those days would be long before them, as Arthur would force Merlin to realize…Arthur would never be Merlin's, not like Merlin was His. And Merlin could throw all of these tantrum's that he wanted, but that would never be changing. Arthur would even start working around with certain things…his weird urges for one…since it was entirely possible Merlin could discover that weird sexual component usually accompanied on adult spankings, by other means one day. It would be best to cut that aspect of their relationship out long before Merlin got those ideas in his head and Arthur could play dumb if the consort ever tried to bring it to his attention. Besides, Arthur did figure a day would come where Merlin's tantrums would draw his father's attention-more than Merlin had already-and Merlin would be the one who came to him, begging for help.

Arthur would eventually realize how stupid it was to scream at Merlin like this, and he would realize banging his fist on a table would not give him any favorable outcome when Merlin was involved. But today was not that day. And when Arthur saw this look of pure devastation briefly cross Merlin's face he didn't react favorably. Most husbands would've raced to their spouse's side before demanding to know what was wrong, while taking their love into their arms and whispering into their ear about how everything was going to be okay. Because he was going to fix it, and make things right, anything for that look to never grace his love's face again. Even if he had to promise to lasso the moon and bring it to his doorstep to get his love smiling again. But it wasn't Arthur's style, and the prince simply rolled his eyes at the theatrics Merlin gave him. "Just go ahead and tell me, what's the problem with what I said this time?"

'Everything' Arthur had said was a problem. From the way he yelled and barked at Merlin, to treating him like he was an incompetent underling at best, to becoming aggressive the second Merlin spoke up on his own behalf. But Arthur didn't see it that way, he only saw himself delivering some of those harsh truth's onto Merlin as a kindness. Because one way or the other, Arthur was going to teach Merlin that this wasn't a 'partnership'. Merlin was not going to be his 'equal' or whatever the crap he thought he was doing by bringing his issues right to Arthur's door. But then Arthur watched, almost amazed when he saw Merlin shutting down, face going blank. Not even his own father could've got his emotions masked so quickly…

"You don't wear your ring anymore." Merlin said in his frosty tone, staring down at Arthur's bare, and very much naked ring finger with dead eyes. Now, the consort didn't sound accusatory, and he didn't sound as if he was gearing up for a fight. He'd did nothing but state a simple fact. Merlin had wanted to rage before he had seen Arthur's bare ring, the banging of his fist against the table had brought it to his attention. Preparing to say his final piece to the prince, to point out to Arthur that 'yes, it would be his business what Arthur was doing'. If it wasn't Merlin's business, then whose was it? Because he thought he had every right to know Arthur saw not one problem with bringing women to his room, for the sole purpose of doing naughty things…had he done naughty things on this desk that Merlin was touching right now? How many women were there or had it only been Clarissa, would Merlin only end up watching as more and more noble women were walking from the prince's bed chambers? He may not mean anything to Arthur, but Merlin had every right in the world to not be left wondering rather it was Clarissa Arthur was with…and then he saw his husband wasn't wearing the ring that defined their marriage. And it all seemed like game over to him.

Arthur looked startled by the softness of Merlin's words, the anger raging inside of him draining into nothing as he followed Merlin's gaze right down to his naked finger. Where there was no glint of silver that should have accompanied Merlin's own gleam around his pale finger. "…Merlin…" he said, at least he now knew why Merlin had just looked as if he'd had his heart ripped out and fed to the dogs right before his very eyes. Although, one wouldn't have known that now. If Arthur wasn't so sure he'd seen the horrified look on Merlin's face, he was sure he could have imagined it, now under a frosty glare.

"Don't." Merlin spoke the word once, tongue sharp and lashing out like he was the one wielding along a whip to decorate his husband's skin. Arthur was able to feel a wince forming, it was strange how a simple word could hold so much strength. 'Don't' you dare talk about it. 'Don't' you dare try to make excuses for not wearing a piece of jewelry marking you as a married man. 'Don't' patronize me, or try any of your backhand comments where it ends up somehow being my fault that your a failure as my husband. Arthur was starting to get a clear picture on Merlin and his behavior, and he was pretty sure Merlin's frosty tone meant he was mad. But it was icier than the time he had used it when he'd first walked in on him and Clarissa, so did that mean he was madder now than he had been then…?

"…Merlin," Arthur tried again anyway, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. He jerked away with a hiss when his nose started throbbing, and he remembered Merlin had smashed in his nose with his hard head earlier. He could feel the flaky bits of drying blood under his nose, and was sure he made quite an un-attracted sight. But, he was sure he had caught Merlin staring at the sight, the briefest hint of smug satisfaction appearing in the blue gems he called eyes. But when Arthur turned to look fully, he could see nothing but an endless void waiting to suck him in, turn his insides to his outsides, and then spit him out again while leaving his bodily organs spilling out of his chest cavity. It was unsettling, and Arthur did not like to have the feeling of…unsettledness. So the prince gave a big show about clearing his throat, making sure he'd gotten Merlin's full attention-which wasn't a thing he had to do, as Merlin was already looking at him as if he was some kind of lecher than was about to pounce on him. And something Merlin would quite be happy to exterminate underneath the heels of his boots the second he tries-before Arthur tried to reassert himself as the dominant one within the relationship. "This is something we're gonna have to talk about, isn't it?"

"No." Merlin said bluntly, not even entertaining the idea of falling into yet another argument against the blond over something as stupid as no longer wearing a matched set of rings. Because unlike the prince, Merlin had no interest in having his ego stroked with Arthur giving him false reasons as to why his ring couldn't be worn. He had no interest in having a conversation like this, where the both of them would be fighting for dominance over who was in the right. Arthur, who never wanted to get married to the peasant boy in the first place, and had the option of removing his ring. Or Merlin, the boy who had been all but kidnapped and brought here as some kind of bride for a spoiled man child who had thrown a fit when Merlin had tried to take off his own ring only hours earlier. A flicker of light seemed to appear in Merlin's eyes at the memory of Arthur climbing on top of him and forcing that ring back onto his hand. Had Arthur already taken to not wearing his ring then? And had Merlin only been a fool for not taking his own off the second he'd left the room, where Arthur could no longer try to stop him. "There's nothing to talk about."

Merlin supposed he could have raged and threw an epic bitch fit about all of this. He could have demanded answers, thrown some things around the room to keep his undivided attention until the guards finally found him, drawn to their prince's bed chambers from the noise. He could have even yelled about how much of a hypocrite Arthur had shown him he was: who other than Arthur would throw a fit, tackle Merlin, and force him to keep on the ring he had started to hate for the reminder it brought him of where he was, and who exactly he was, and how trapped he was. But Merlin wouldn't allow that kind of anger get through the tight and impenetrable mask he had concocted over time to protect himself from Arthur and his fits. He wasn't going to do any of that, he wasn't going to involve himself in anymore fights where he already knew the outcome wouldn't change. They fought and fought and fought every live long day, and nothing changed. Even now, they were fighting so much, Merlin hadn't even been able to tell Arthur why he had came here in the first place. It started to get tiresome a while back, but now, Merlin felt it was getting boarder line ridiculous.

"What-" the prince didn't seem to share nearly the same sentiment as his consort, jerking against the desk hard enough that the entire table seemed to shake before settling. "What do you mean 'we are not going to talk about it?' You aren't really telling me your just gonna let something like this go! Your angry, right! You should be yelling at me right now for it! I mean, I took off our wedding ring!" And the prince shoved his left hand until it was right under Merlin's nose, as if Merlin would need the extra bit of visual to know…yep…Arthur had disgraced their already shameful marriage by having became the first one to take off the jewelry that marked them as a pair instead of a single. "You've gotten mad at me for less than that!"

Arthur almost felt cheated in a way, because it had taken so much courage for him to take the ring off that first time around. He'd been convinced Uther was going to come out of nowhere and rip straight into him for the action, demanding Arthur play his part correctly. And what man in love opted to take off his ring only weeks after receiving it in the first place. But nothing had happened, and he'd grown comfortable without it, even more comfortable as the days wore on and Merlin didn't notice it. Even when his father had later confronted him about it, he'd worn it only briefly before deciding to get rid of it again. Even now, Arthur knew it was in one of the many drawers of his desk waiting for the next big event in the castle that would cause him to put it on again.

"Well," Merlin spoke slowly, tone as glacier as ever when he dragged his eyes away from the hand the prince had shoved into his face to look back up at Arthur himself, "Maybe this should be a sign that I have grown up some. I don't bother myself with all these petty little fights anymore. Fights like this is stupid, and they've accomplished nothing." Merlin could feel the fresh sting of betrayal trying its best to situate itself under his skin, pulling open wound after wound, deeper and deeper, sliding under his skin as if somebody had taken a knife to his inside just because they wanted to get a closer look and see what made him tick. But his face was hard as he appeared to age years within those short, brief moments. No longer the little child who had came to Camelot, still slightly optimistic that everything would be alright. This was a loveless marriage, the lack of ring on Arthur's hand proof in itself of how much of a sham this all was. Arthur'd already took to ripping his heart out like a sociopath would like to take the heart out of its victim. With nothing but a rusted butter knife for the maximum pain factor, the screaming and the crying nothing but music to a man like Arthur.

Arthur, Merlin noted, dropped both his hand out of his face and his jaw, looking stumped by Merlin, or maybe stumped by his resolve not to fight. But, he stood strong in his decision, not allowing Arthur to get underneath his skin again. It was a long time in the making, but maybe Merlin should finally pluck the rusted butter knight out of Arthur's hand. And start doing some cutting of his own. Merlin had on his hands, only so much time he could watch with the barest minimum of satisfaction as his husband stuttered with incomplete sentences, looking as if he was baffled by Merlin not raising up to fight as they always did. Merlin should have gone stoic on Arthur ages ago, if he had known how riled up this would have made him.

"What are you….it's not petty….we don't….are you saying I'm the child….what…." Nothing Arthur was able to get out made a lick of sense. And the royal knew this very well, feeling the heat creeping slow up the back of his neck, trying to hide the redness behind the collar of his fancy ankle length leather red coat. It was a little too late for that though and far too late for Arthur to do something silly, like he was contemplating: diving forward and jerking out his drawers to shove his ring in his face seemed to be a strong idea. Arthur was sure Merlin wouldn't be able to stay stoic-was even surprised the man who were his heart on his sleeve was able to stay so emotionless for so long-when he had the ring itself in his face. Arthur was sure this would break Merlin, showing he actually did care about Arthur taking off the prized jewel. But, Arthur had to work to clench his jaw, knowing something like that was only a gateway. It started with simple things like it always did, Arthur doing something to draw a real reaction out of Merlin. And then before he'd know it, Arthur would be dragging Merlin across his lap to try and spank the sass out of him. Arthur could not-under any circumstance-allow that to happen again. "…Are you really not going to say anything about it?" The prince opted to say instead, taking the short and calming breath he knew he needed to remain strong.

Merlin cocked an eyebrow at Arthur, wearing only the briefest hint of a sinister smile, "You want me to talk now? You are usually much more interested in keeping me quiet." The words had barely came out of him in a whisper, caressing against Arthur's skin and causing another uneasy shudder through his body. The prince had a feeling he was walking on thin ice, and any wrong word could cause that glass to shatter before dropping him straight into the freezing depths. And Merlin would watch from the surface, grinning that sinister smile of his from the safety of shore as Arthur beat on the ice he'd gotten trapped under. Trying to escape until even he realized it was no use, his clothes getting more and more water logged, dragging him down deep into the ice until his lungs started to burst and fill up with water. His last sight being the light of the sun as black dots started filling his vision, a dim figure shaped like Merlin still watching him until it all went dark. It was amazing how one boy Arthur hated, who couldn't even lift a mace without being smacked in the face with its own hand, was able to inspire this sudden surge of fear. An itch under Arthur's skin formed, warning him to run as Merlin only grinned wider-absolutely no life or warmth or anger like he usually had was contained in him. He was a prince though, and Arthur wouldn't admit to being scared of a mere…peasant boy… "How long has it been?"

Arthur sputtered for a second, surprised by Merlin suddenly asking him this. He had been thinking of something a bit more…full of rage. Something that Arthur felt he could have worked with. Something that would have broken the ice and freed Arthur to breathe in fresh gulps of air, where he wouldn't be left feeling as if he had to keep watch over each of his steps, lest he be forced back under the ice. To hear a simple question, something rather different when compared to their usual fights, made Arthur feel as if he was already treading on thin ice, "How long…?" Arthur forced himself to ask when he saw Merlin wasn't going to say anything more. He was going to be the first to say it…Arthur didn't like to see this new Merlin. The quietness was quite the improvement, although it would have been better appreciated if it was in front of the council instead of in here, where the quietness seems to speak up in volumes more than it should. The iciness could have been forgone from ever returning, if he had things his way. "…How long what?"

Merlin's question didn't make a lock of sense to the usually quick witted Arthur, who had came to expect such oddness from Merlin. Was his moron trying to ask him how long it had been since he'd came to Arthur? Surely Merlin could keep up with the time himself, he wasn't so stupid he wouldn't know a simple thing like that. But Arthur had been trying to gauge Merlin's reaction about his lack of ring…Arthur was annoyed Merlin wasn't showing himself to be more upset. Arthur had known him as an emotional creature, not this…random block of ice that didn't entertain Arthur or fight back.

"How long," Merlin repeated, leaning further over the desk so that his and Arthur's faces only had a few inches between them, the small breath of air coming out of his mouth and fanning across the lower half of Arthur's face caused another shiver to go down the prince's spine. His breath was just as cold and as frosty as his eyes. "How long have you been going around, without a ring that marks you a married man…" Merlin supposed Arthur did not have to wear a ring for people to know he was married, their wedding had been quite the public affair for one. Nobody was forgetting their prince was married anytime soon. But if Arthur wanted to have this conversation, than Merlin would be sure to make it as awkward and as uncomfortable and as blunt and as horrid as everything in his life had been. This would be his very own little revenge on the prince, for everything he'd done to him…it was not enough to truly feel satisfied. But Merlin would enjoy what little he got from it. Arthur would never ask him a thing again, and wouldn't that be a thing to marvel over. A life without Arthur trying to take the reins from him…

"Oh," Arthur said, in this very small voice when he realized where Merlin was going with this. Well, he didn't know exactly why Merlin wanted to know a thing like that, it seemed so small compared to all the other things Merlin could have asked him. Like why didn't he wear his ring, or what had made him take it off in the first place, or why he made Merlin wear him when he didn't wear his own…but even a man like Arthur could see the slow smirk working it's way on Merlin's face. Could see only a glimmer of wickedness in Merlin's eyes, barely detectable through all the ice but still noticeable enough for the prince to feel hot under the collar. Arthur knew enough to know Merlin was going somewhere with this, and it made his heart jolt inside of chest with fear, or was it excitement, nah, it couldn't be. As Arthur didn't appreciate the icy way his consort studied him, like a hawk prepared to swoop down and snatch himself up a tasty morsel before flying off, on his way to the heavens… "…Since mid-way through the tourney."

If Arthur thought this information was enough for Merlin's icy facade to break, he would find himself surely disappointed when the opposite seemed to happen. Merlin didn't show any outward reaction, not even a noticeable twitch that would have gave away his anger. Arthur could feel his hand when it twitched against the table, once again needing to force himself to relax before he reached out to try and jerk Merlin to him by his neckerchief. He was sure if he shook Merlin hard enough, he would be able to rattle loose a few brain cells and get more emotion out of him then what he was showing to him now. But that would be breaking his own vow to not do weird things to Merlin again, knowing he could not do anything that would turn into another 'gateway', allowing Arthur to fall back into all those weird habits again.

But god, did Arthur have to struggle not to give in and do it anyway when he saw Merlin leaning back away from him now that he had gotten something from Arthur. But the moment was broken as Merlin raised his hand off the table a few inches, looking down at his silver ring contemplative. Arthur could feel his stomach twisting itself into knots, and the prince narrowed his eyes sharply at Merlin; trying to size him up and discern what was going on in that mind of his…it was incredibly difficult to get a read on him though, more than it ever had before as Merlin usually yelled about his feelings and all that jazz.

"…A whole month." Merlin finally said, startling the prince who hadn't expected for the consort to say anything without Arthur having to do something to drag something out of him. But Merlin didn't make a move to look up, or acknowledge his husband in anyway. He kept his eyes fully trained onto his ring with an almost enraptured expression. Or that was how Arthur read it, until Merlin's hand tightened to a fist, finally betraying an actual hint of anger. "An entire month, you haven't worn your ring. And you are telling me I haven't noticed that…"

Merlin found it hard to believe he could have been that blind. Mid-way through the tourney…that was when Arthur had said he'd taken the ring off. That would mean Arthur had probably taken the shared jewel off during the height of Merlin's stupid crush on him. Merlin had been wearing his rose-colored glasses, and was almost dying as he followed the prince around, trying to spend time with him while learning what his new role would entail. He'd been stupid, blushed far too many times, and had done too many stupid things to get Arthur to show him favorable attention. And yet somehow, days went by without Merlin noticing Arthur's lack of ring on his finger, while he had been dutifully wearing his own this entire time. Even after the favor incident which had started Merlin's slow descent into the madness he hadn't truly succumb to quite yet, he hadn't noticed. Too busy with his own problems as he tried to get away from Arthur, or too caught up in his own anger and his little 'precious' broken heart of a first crush to notice rather or not Arthur was wearing his ring.

"…Yes…it's been a month since…" Arthur agreed to Merlin's words, painstakingly slowly. He could see the gears practically turning in his consort's head as he decided his next move, and Arthur wouldn't say he particularly liked Merlin's face right now. It was more than the usual 'I hate his stupid face as it's everywhere I turn' hatred. And more of his…it's gonna kill me not to grab Merlin by the shoulders of his jacket and drag him over the top of the desk so I can sit on top of him and distract him before he did something exceedingly stupid. But since he knew that option was out the window, Arthur tried to talk Merlin into a distraction. If only Arthur had remembered talking when Merlin was concerned was not his strong point. He had been the one to claim Merlin was in love with Gwen after all, which had almost gotten Merlin killed when he had been actually trying to help… "But really…what is time all about? A month…a day…does any of it really mean anything…"

Merlin still didn't say anything, turning Arthur and whatever he was saying until it was nothing but a light buzzing sound in the back of his head, kind of like an annoying fly that you kept slapping away but for some reason always returned back for the soul purpose of annoying you. Arthur himself did not matter right now, only his actions did. And the actions Arthur had taken was why Merlin was now so insanely focused on his own ring. The consort knew he should have expected this at some point, but it still felt like a slap to the face. Having Arthur actually slap him probably would have hurt far less than this had. At least then, Merlin could've gotten a good hit in himself before Arthur put him into the armlock he did, where he held Merlin's arm tightly between his shoulder blades. But there seemed to be something off about this interaction, it seemed final, in a way. Arthur not wearing his ring, this was almost like saying the prince was completely done with him. As if Merlin hadn't already been done for weeks by this point. And yet, it was Merlin himself who was still wearing his ring. Why had Merlin just been torturing himself, wearing Arthur's ring like it was something to be proud of. If Arthur taking his ring off symbolized how done with Merlin he truly was…then did Merlin wearing his, meant he looked as if he was still carrying a torch for the guy?

Merlin felt ill at the prospect of this, carrying some kind of torch for Arthur? Merlin would rather put a torch to the ground and watch the flames start to circle around Arthur. Until the prince finally broke and begged Merlin for his help, admitting that he actually needed him for something. But until then, Merlin wouldn't even waste peeing on the fire to crease it's flames and smoke from rising until the burning overtook the prince. Unlike people, flames didn't discriminate what they took down. The fires were hungry, and were greedy, and they would eat everything in it's path until something finally took them down. In this scenario: Arthur was the fires, a raging inferno who spread his hatred onto all his people. The people did the job for him, eating and nurturing his hatred with their beatings and harsh words and general disgruntlement shown before their consort, spitting at his feet as he passed as one more method of spreading their flames. And Merlin could either lie down and allow the flames to take him out. Or he could be the rain, pouring down from the heavens and cleansing the land as a new day started.

Merlin didn't even realize his hand had drifted until there was a loud slapping sound that jolted him to his senses. Arthur was glaring daggers at him over the table, one of his palms had the fingers spread out-large and sturdy fingers-from where the blond had slammed it down onto the table. "I dare you to do what your thinking." Said the prince, eyes lit on fire with the ferocity that could have melted some of the ice surrounding his consort. It was only too bad for him, he still hadn't learned…Merlin didn't take too kindly to orders being barked at him. And it was made even worse by the idea of Arthur and his insane need to control everything Merlin did to the extent that he was literally trying to police his decision's on what 'he' wore. It was hypocritical of Arthur, and Merlin saw right through him instantly. Arthur could spit all the fire he wanted, Merlin was going to need a lot more heat than what the blond would be able to make in order to melt a fraction of his ice.

"You don't control me." Merlin said, strangely calm in the face of Arthur's rage. Nothing more than his husband being a spoiled man-child, but what else was new with the world? Merlin slowly twisted the ring around his finger, the ring sliding down until it was hovering just below his first knuckle, although it didn't cross that threshold quite yet. And Merlin watched as Arthur's eyes were tracking down his every movement, looking like he wanted to launch himself over the table and tackle Merlin, wrestling him onto the ground before once again forcing his consort to wear such a horrid piece of jewelry, the only place a thing like this belonged was tossed in the trash. Where Merlin wouldn't have to look and see it as his own personal shackle, chaining him to the man in front of him.

Arthur growled low in his throat, pissed at the idea of Merlin rejecting the one thing he'd given to him that hadn't already been thrown in his face, before barking, "You bet your sweet arse I do!" Arthur felt it when something inside of him tore loose, and he had been doing so well with keeping his temper in check. Until now, and Arthur was moving foreword before his brain could catch up. Arthur had barely brought one of his knees up onto the desk, hands spread out to steady himself, ready to do the only thing he could do and tackle Merlin to the ground for his impudence. Forget everything he had said about not doing weird things any longer, this was Merlin after all. And doing weird things to him was the only way to get things through his head…but it must have been written all over his face what he'd been about to do. Because Merlin was moving fast and dove down to snatch something up before he could be taken down.

But not for his ring, abandoning the useless piece of metal to its place on his finger for the moment, diving to the side to snatch something up that he thought might be a bit more helpful to contain his raging husband. Maybe one of these days, Arthur would recognize…just because Merlin was smaller than him in terms of muscle mass, just because it was Merlin who was just younger one, or even just because Merlin had been born peasant…doesn't mean Merlin doesn't have traces of dominance in him. Even years from that moment, when the boy would take his pleasure by submitting before the prince and his will, it wouldn't erase some of the dominant traits lingering inside of him. Something that would only come out when needed, because a true dominant knew where their power lied. And didn't feel the need to show off and fight against everybody in sight to assert themselves to being known as the most dominant in the room.

But that was neither here or there. This was now, and now…Arthur could only stare in shock at what had happened. The pain in his hand too numb for him to feel the resulting dull throbbing of what his consort had just done to him. There was a quill on his hand, the same quill that Arthur had used with marking up his maps. The same quill that tethered on the edge of his desk as Arthur barked at Merlin and Merlin…had acted as if it was Arthur who was the nuisance.

"You…" Arthur said slowly, his eye twitching with violent tendencies as Merlin let the quill go, some kind of self-satisfaction showing in his eyes. The feathers were all bent and misshapen, the spine in the middle holding it up was bent and caused the quill to slump over at an awkward angle. But it was still standing, the bottom and sharpened point he used to write with being held up by his skin. "You stabbed me…" the quill wasn't so deep that Arthur wouldn't be able to recover quick enough, it didn't have enough excess space on it to go much more deeper than an inch or two down into the back of his hand. Arthur had a feeling if Merlin had access to a dagger, it would have been so much worse, as the consort would've had more space to work with as a result of the longer length. But just 'knowing' it could have been worse, didn't negate any of the pain or dull throbbing as it started to travel up his arm as the numbness faded away. Little spurts of blood were starting to ease out around the tip of the quill, the dark red looking almost black when seen in the firelight.

"Yes, I did." Merlin said in response, surprisingly chill for a guy that had just stabbed the prince and his husband. Unlike Arthur, who was darting eyes from the quill and back to Merlin with sheer shock flooding his system and telling him to snap out of it and do something about this. Merlin had eyes on him, steady and sure and unwavering in this being the right call of action. Like he'd said earlier, all of this yelling never fixed anything. Maybe drawing a bit of blood on purpose would finally get the blond and his undivided attention. "Now, are you finally ready to listen to what I have to say? Tell me now if I should just call it a day and leave you to deal on your own with…that…" his eyes flicked down to the blood growing along the back of Arthur's hand, so much had already came out that trails of it started to make a slow descent down along the sides of his hand.

Arthur could only stare at him with an expression that said…WTF had he been married off to, "You…" the prince said slowly, hissing as he clenched the fist with the quill stabbing him. The pain didn't do anything to stop him from screaming his head off to his consort, "Are you fucking out of your mind! I'm not doing jack shit or anything else with you! I have a freaking 'quill' sticking out of my hand! You absolute idiot!" Arthur raged and raged, throwing his hands up in the air. But that only cussed him to hiss in pain, the sharp edge of the quill tearing up his flesh. Before Arthur could stop to think it might be the wrong call, he was reaching up and ripping the quill out of his flesh. Arthur nearly fell over, as he dropped the bloodstained quill back down onto the desk, his hand shook as he cupped it gingerly, more blood flowing out of the wound now that the quill was no longer blocking the flow.

"…You probably shouldn't have done that." Merlin said in a deadpan voice, not reacting to Arthur as his array of cursing grew more and more colorful, clearing taking some words he had heard from the consort at some point and making them his own in his anger. "I may have nicked a vein." Merlin didn't know as much as he would like to know about the human body, but that was a lot of blood starting to come out, and trailing it's way down Arthur's wrist bone. But it was no matter to him. Merlin would be able to find peace with himself as he left this room in a matter of moments, content with knowing the prince would never follow him into battle. He was not going to be remembered for much, but now he could confidently say, if he died, Arthur would not ever forget the boy that stabbed him with a quill to the back of his hand…Gaius would have been able to tell him how much blood the human body could withstand losing before going into shock.

Because Arthur looked as if he was going into that shock himself, blinking dumbly at his husband for several long seconds before he got his faculties in order, "WHAT!" The prince screamed so loud, the consort was honestly amazed when the walls did not shake in response. For a prince who claimed it was Merlin who didn't have the mental capabilities to do anything, it sure looked as if Arthur was the one who lost his mind. The way he ran around the room like a chicken with its head cut off, before he find a cleaning rag used for bathing among all the mess on the floor, the room still the disaster area it was after Merlin and Arthur had tussled around in it after Clarissa. And Merlin watched as Arthur used this cleaning rag, ripping it into strips in this surprising show of strength, before tying it around his hand to stem off the bleeding. Using his teeth to grab one end of the cloth to tie it off into a tight knot.

"You're such a big baby." Merlin said bluntly, frown evident on his face as he watched Arthur struggle for a minute to get his knot straight one handed. It was annoyingly satisfying to watch, knowing he'd left a somewhat permanent mark on Arthur's flesh and the prince wouldn't be able to forget him if he tried. But annoying because Arthur would whether struggle on his own than ask him for help. "I would have offered you the use of my neckerchief to get it patched up, but I fear you might have lost it, and I don't have all that many to spare by giving them away." And Merlin brought his hand up to touch at the blue neckerchief around his neck, content to feel it's reassuring presence around his throat, as a reminder that he had 'something' Arthur hadn't been able to ruin quite yet.

Arthur whipped his head back around, lightning all but shooting off of him through his eyes, "Can you just get over it already!" He shouted, knowing this was only a dig about how Arthur had lost that red neckerchief weeks ago. How in the world, did the prince end up being the one bleeding out and his consort was the one unhappy with him? Maybe it was an exaggeration, since Arthur wasn't literally bleeding out, but it was hard to think straight as the blood started staining through the white fabric of the cloth. Maybe the lack of proper blood flow to his head would

"Not until you drop dead." Merlin said, watching as the fire grew in Arthur's eyes. The sorcerer almost wanted to push for more, and see just how long it would take before he managed to make the other man's head explode. It probably wouldn't take him more than a few gentle nods or prods in the right direction, as Arthur already looked like he was half way to madness. "But I think I can let it go, at least until we can clear out the magical beast currently making itself a home inside your watering system."Merlin might as well have just dropped another F-bomb, might as well have cursed out the very king himself, from the way Arthur was staring at him in silence, clearly trying to work out what he had just heard.

"…Your going to have to run that by me again." the prince said, because that little tidbit of information had literally came out of nowhere. Maybe he'd lost some of his hearing, all this yelling they'd done to the other couldn't be good. It only made sense for something to have been lost, and why not Arthur's hearing. It was the only thing that made sense for the prince, a creature in the watering system…this was absolutely, positively, outrageous. And such a wild idea, Arthur really needed to find out who the consort was spending time with whenever he ran amok the castle, and have a stern talking to with them about filling his consort's head with ideas or wild thoughts. "Clearly the blood lost from where I was 'brutally stabbed' by my consort is effecting my hearing." And Arthur brandished the wound he received from his own person war and vendetta as if it would make Merlin see the blood and start his pathetic cooing and asking Arthur is he would be okay. Like one of the noble ladies who would feed him pretty words about how brave he was after he won a particularly vicious fight. "But I'm sure I just heard you say-"

"Beast, you heard me say beast." Merlin told him in a blunt tone, having no patience for getting off track anymore. How many times had he allowed for things to wonder away from what was going on in the moment? The time for such things would be long over, because Merlin was fucking done with playing around with Arthur and his shit. There was just some people that needed their dose of tough love before they got up and kicked their asses into gear. Merlin had came into this room with every bit of intention on acting as somebody he'd never be. He had played the delicate maiden in the best way he could, even if it hadn't lasted long and he'd fail right from the start…he had tried. But the delicate maiden wasn't who Merlin was, and it wasn't who he wanted to be, and Arthur could stick his sword where the sun didn't shine if he thought he would ever give up on his own principles just to do what he had to do to manipulate the prince into coming with him. It hadn't been working to begin with, and it wouldn't work now. But, Merlin considered with slow contemplation as he thought over what was going to be his next move, there had been the one and only time Arthur had ever believed him when he'd said something…

Valiant.

And Merlin hadn't been pretending shit when he'd gone to Arthur and told him about the snakes. Nor had he been pretending when he told Arthur of his near assault under the man's tyranny. Merlin had been as rough, and as uncoordinated, and as loud as he could be, with a sprinkle of 'give him hell' on the attitude. Because that was who Merlin was on the inside, somebody who gave as good as he got and could rein hell down on someone long before they had the chance to do something about it. All those times, when he was a kid, he and Will would race through the forest laughing their heads off as they escaped the other village children throwing their stones and sticks at them. Because Will and Merlin had enacted their own childlike vengeance against those that were being mean to them. That was who Merlin was: somebody who had taken his chance to rig up a booby trap that involved a large bucket of skunk pee-don't ask him how he'd got his hands on it, he still had nightmares of what ten year old him had to be-and times it to fall directly on five of the biggest pricks the village had. Every village had their pricks, even one as small as their little neck of the woods. Let's just say, those five had never called Will a baby again, after he'd been caught crying only days after his father had died in a conflict against a nobleman. Merlin had done that because of who he was, and if he didn't allow a bunch of kids beat him into submission with the years that followed, then he wasn't going to allow Arthur bloody Pendragon be the one that is gonna do him in.

"There's a beast swimming around in your water systems." Merlin clarified for the prince, pushing his shoulders back to give the illusion that Merlin knew what he was doing. If Arthur didn't listen to the meek Merlin, then he would be forced to listen to reason by the strong Merlin. "We already know what it is. It's called an afanc, and it's something that can only be summoned into existence from a powerful sorcerer. Meaning there's absolutely no chance Gwen could have summoned something like it. Even Gaius will tell you she's too young to have the magical abilities needed to conjure up a thing like it-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Arthur interrupted him when the consort started speaking too fast, words coming out far faster than his brain was able to keep up with. The prince even held up a hand to get Merlin to be silent, the white cloth wrapped around his hand standing out against his tan skin. "Are you telling me you've gotten Gaius involved in what ridiculous story you've concocted to free Gwen from her sentencing?" It was the only thing that made sense to Arthur, as he realized why Merlin was here. Clearly, he'd heard of Gwen's execution being moved forward, came up with whatever this ridiculous story was. And then brought it straight to Arthur's door, obviously hoping Arthur would be fool enough to run with it and try to stop what was happening before his little friend could perish by the flames. And while Arthur was sure it may have been a very rehearsed story-or thrown together in the last minute, knowing his consort-Arthur found he was a little too busy bleeding out to care with listening to such lies. Maybe Merlin should have thought twice before stabbing him with his own quill if he wanted him to listen.

Merlin narrowed his eyes sharply, realizing he may have to go bigger, because at this point, he didn't care if he had to drag Arthur out by the stupid red collar of his stupidly expensive leather jacket, this prince was coming with him. Rather he would like it or not, "Its not a concocted story, and I didn't sit around thinking what lies I can come up with just to get her free." Merlin said, with his teeth grinding down in sharp succession. The last time he'd gone out of his way to tell Arthur about the beast, he'd gotten his arse handed to him and had only been laughed right out of the room. Arthur's only worry had been for 'her' and 'her reputation' as Merlin had spit insults like venom at the Lady. That was why Merlin hadn't given Arthur a chance to chose to come with him, he'd just upped and left without looking back. Things were different now, and they had lived that were depending on him to get one thing sight. "Gaius was there, I saw it! This afanc is big, and can take out a grown man with nothing but a swipe of its claws. It's magical, so it doesn't have normal skin like you or I. It's made entirely of clay and muck, able to swim under the water who knows how long because I don't think it needs to breath properly-"

Merlin had thought, if he took the time to explain a few things he couldn't possibly know if he hadn't lived through it himself, Arthur might've been able to see reason. And realize Merlin wasn't lying, but surely even Arthur could see it would have been stupid for Merlin to lie about something like this. It could be disproven so easily, and all anybody had to do was take a peek down into the water supply to check for themselves. But this was Arthur who he was talking to, the biggest moron on this side of Camelot who heard things and rearranged the information to however he saw fit.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed at him, cutting him off before he could fall deeper and deeper into what would have been a tirade. The prince resisted the urge to reach out and grab Merlin by the shoulder and shake him, he'd already failed at keeping his hands to himself when he tried to launch himself over the table. Only the pain of a quill piercing his flesh had been enough to stop him from falling to his old habits of doing weird things to Merlin. He would need to press his thumb harshly against the knot of the tied cloth to remember, keeping hands to himself stopped himself from receiving more of these little wounds from Merlin. He still had blood flanks clinging underneath his nose, he could feel them ripping and tearing at his skin every time his face moved the wrong way. But his little marks of battle hardly mattered right now, as he focused all his attention onto Merlin, as it had been since the day they'd met. "What your saying is obviously preposterous! A creature made out of muck, that walks around as good as you and I can? Have you heard yourself lately! Such a thing cannot possibly exist!"

Arthur wouldn't put it past Merlin to be making the whole thing up. But surely Merlin could have came up with something a bit more realistic, something that he could believe if he was going to go making things like this up. And on the off chance that the boy was serious…it was entirely possible that he'd just dreamed the entire encounter. Merlin did have that whole mental illness thing going on, so it may be that he was confusing reality with dreaming. It was something Arthur couldn't see as healthy, the way Merlin would be able to carry things like that in the waking world. People would start behaving as if Merlin was a loon, if he started sprouting his mouth off about magical creatures just setting up shot in their water supplies. Things like that didn't happen. Merlin was a loon, of course, but people didn't need to know that.

Merlin rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, looking as if he wanted to take something to bash the prince across the head with. But luckily, nothing seemed to be within hand's reach, or Arthur would've been dodging something. "Arthur," Merlin said slowly as he steadied his eyes back onto the prince, finally rounding the table. He no longer needed such an object to keep Arthur at bay, because for once, he was the one in charge. Not the other way around. And he didn't stop, not even when Arthur started to watch him nervously as he neared. The Prince was tense, looking as if he thought he may need to use one of his fancy knight moves to subdue Merlin if he attacked again. But Arthur didn't move until the toe of his and Merlin's boots brushed up against the other.

And even then, the only move Arthur made was a breathy, "What are you doing?" Merlin was far too close to him, this inappropriate amount of space where there was barely a crack between the two of them and their bodily forms. Uncomfortable as it was, Merlin seemed to glow with the light from the fireplace casting across his face, and Arthur seemed to sink further into the shadows. He did not like this newfound boldness of Merlin's, and wish the consort would go back to the quiet self he'd been when he had first entered the room. At least that Merlin wouldn't go around stabbing him with writing utensils.

Merlin ignored the question, focusing on far more important things, "That creature was this close to me. I could feel the air as it swished by me when it attacked me with its claws. I could feel the breath coming out from where a mouth should be, it uses stones literally for teeth. It was a gruesome sight to see, hideous in the worse ways. And yet, you'll stand there and try to make me believe I just what, imagined that thing coming after me? Imagined it as I ran through the tunnels and escaped toward the surface? Don't you think I would come up with something a bit more plausible? Why would I claim something like an afanc, a creature I haven't even heard of before Gaius looked it up in one of those books of his, was doing this if I didn't really see it with my own eyes?"

Merlin stepped away without another word, while breaking the little bubble of pure tension that had been surrounding them during that time. He would leave Arthur to do what he will with whatever he'd gleam from that information. There would only be so much hand holding and leading Arthur through like one would a blind man, before he would have to let go and allow Arthur to find his footing on his own. Or sink, which was Merlin's preferred option if he had a choice. Let the prince see exactly what it's like on the outside, forced to look on the inside where the faces of others would peer out and jeer at you for even thinking yourself would be allowed to enter their domain unharmed. Merlin had not an ounce of sympathy for the man who had started up the charge against him, it was Merlin's turn to leave Arthur sputtering and drowning with no life preserver in sight. Let Arthur know what it felt like to kick and kick and kick, only to be pushed down beneath the waves.

And Arthur was struggling, trying to wrap his mind around what Merlin had told him. He watched with a derisive mind as Merlin took a seat on the edge of his desk, acting as if there was absolutely not a thing wrong with this scenario. Merlin shouldn't be in his room, trying to convince him the impossible was true. He shouldn't be making himself at home on the edge of Arthur's desk-he would have to get his manservant to scrub the surface and any other thing Merlin touched to get the stench of peasant off his belongings-behaving as if it would be sheer stupidity to expect him to be anywhere else. AND, Merlin should not be casually picking up his quill off the edge of the desk, the tip still stained with droplets of his blood, and toying it casually around his hand. It was some kind of taunt, he decided on his own, obviously Merlin's way of urging him to do something stupid again so he could stick him in a new place. Arthur cleared his throat, trying to be non-suspicious as he eased himself behind his chair, as if to hide his groin from Merlin's wrath. A phantom ache sensation already forming, getting kicked in the groin made some people more aware when the kicker was holding sharp objects. Arthur had probably been more than traumatized by that experience, never wanting to go back to that time.

"Okay then," Arthur said, avoiding Merlin's eye as the consort cocked an eyebrow at the high pitch way his voice had gone. Arthur cleared his throat and corrected himself, before Merlin thought this was him agreeing with what was going on instead of seeking more definite answers. "Let's back up for a minute and say this…" he trailed off, his mind going blank on the name for a minute there. He'd been sure Merlin had said it, but for the life of him, he could not remember exactly what it was. It had been something odd, he knew that for sure. There was one thing Arthur knew about sorcerer's, they had a bad habit of naming their witchery the most oddest of names. It was no wonder many of them had gotten caught during the early days, when the Great Plague had first started. If people had gone around with names like that back then, it would be no wonder most of them had been rounded up so easily. Before they had gotten smarter and taught themselves how to adapt, disappearing right into the woodwork more easier. Though he knew he'd never heard the name before, so that was another point against Merlin's favor. It was hard to imagine Merlin knowing anything about anything that the prince wouldn't know about himself.

"Afanc." Merlin seemed to have noticed when the prince hesitated, that he had forgotten the name he'd just said, and decided to fill in the blank for him. It seemed to be the wrong call though, and the consort wasn't even surprised when he saw Arthur glare at him. Merlin didn't rise to the bait, or the injustice of being brushed aside yet again when he was only trying to help. Merlin rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing, which was rolling Arthur's quill between his fingers, as he impatiently waited for Arthur's whole 'I believe you now' to finally hit him. It had to happen some time, as Merlin wasn't leaving this room until the prince was on the same page as himself. Even if he had to puncture a few more holes into his skin, one by one, until Arthur finally admitted defeat for fear of blood lost after Merlin would stick him one to many times.

Merlin continued to ignore Arthur even as the man grumbled an annoyed, "I knew that," underneath his breath. Which Merlin took to mean, no, I didn't know that the word had been afanc at all. If Arthur wanted to play, and pretend he was smarter than he actually was, Merlin wasn't going to entertain it one bit. He'd done enough entertaining of Arthur's moods to last him a life time, and it would be best for Arthur to figure his own shit out. Arthur looked to be annoyed with him-but that wasn't anything new-although it was probably because Merlin was now ignoring him, looking to be cool as he started picking at his nails, waiting for Arthur. The prince in question grumbled something under his breath, and while Merlin couldn't hear it entirely, he was pretty sure it was Arthur cursing him out. A thing like that only made Merlin smirk inwardly, while he looked blank on the outside. "Let's back up for a minute here, and go over some questions about this story of yours."

Merlin looked back at him, fighting back the urge to snap that it wasn't a story. He was speaking the god honest truth when he said this afanc really did exist, and wasn't going to rest or stop until it had managed to kill off the entire city. But he knew the prince enough to know it would only lead to Arthur brushing him off or ignoring him again. Something he definitely couldn't afford, so he bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from going off on him in this moment, "What questions?" He asked instead while making sure his tone was as indifferent as it could be. Merlin might not have cursed Arthur out like he wanted too, but the consort still preened a little when he saw Arthur glaring at him. It looked to be apparent that Arthur didn't like Merlin's not caring attitude…he could use that.

"The water supply." Was the first thing Arthur spit out at his consort. He was still kinda iffy about this whole matter, tethering on the face over rather or not this was a humongous waste of his time. But it might have been the way Merlin had stood against him moment's before, the way the consort slowly and painstakingly explained the way the creature had attacked him. The way Arthur's heart went so tight when Merlin had been explaining how that…afanc, as he called it, had nearly taken a swipe out of his alabaster pale skin and marked it up, Arthur wouldn't even allow some magical beast from this made up conjugation leave a mark on the smaller boy. The way Merlin had described it…made it feel very similar to how Merlin had once shoved Arthur against the very table in his room, and described to him how awful an unwanted kiss was-how some person you didn't know or like would feel or smell as they shoved their wickedly disgusting, and very smile tongue down your unwilling throat. And the consort had been right about that. Arthur was the most stubborn type of man though, so he would get to the bottom of this before he decided what his next move would be, seeing if there was any inconsistencies in Merlin's story that didn't add up to what he was hearing. "Why were you down the hole in the first place? How did you even get into a place like that, because I know you don't have any access to the keys."

Merlin didn't know exactly what the prince meant by calling it 'the hole', but he figured it mig just be some kind of nickname for the tunnels deep under the city that hid their watering supply. Though the thing wasn't exactly hidden all that well, but Merlin felt it was hardly the time to insist Arthur start with beefing up his city's security. But Merlin did open his mouth, prepared to explain how he had gotten into the tunnels. When he stopped, and clicked his mouth closed with a tight shut of his lip. He knew Arthur was unpredictable at most, while irritating at best, but there was no real way to tell how he'd react to Merlin telling him Gaius had allowed him in. Would Gaius get in trouble for bringing him all the way down there, Arthur probably expected for something dumb like asking his permission before doing anything. And while Merlin should in theory, be allowed access to anywhere in the castle he'd want to be-keys non-withstanding because Merlin was pretty sure Arthur would just hand them over if he had been married to somebody like 'Clarissa', Merlin didn't want the risk of Arthur trying to rain his crap over Gaius. Merlin was used to Arthur and his shit, but he didn't want to put Gaius into any of the prince's crosshair's if he didn't have too.

So, before Merlin could say something stupid like he 'picked the lock' or something else Arthur was not liable to believe-Arthur would probably decide he was liar right there if he claimed to have a lock picking skill, or claim he was a criminal since only people who broke in places would have any use to learning it, or maybe even what Merlin to go ahead and 'demonstrate' doing it before his eyes, leaving Merlin to stumble and fail through it, or find some way of subtly using his unlocking charm to get the locking mechanism inside to open without Arthur noticing as he loomed over his shoulder-the dark haired boy was hopping off the desk. Merlin could not help but notice the way Arthur stiffened when he saw that the consort was no longer stationed in one place, but he ignored it as Merlin lacked any amusement as the way the prince seemed almost terrified of him, as if it wasn't usually the other way.

"I was told to find proof, and I found it." Merlin said to the prince, making a big show about turning the accusations of whatever Arthur was getting at by questioning him on the water, before his husband had the chance to turn it on him. "Are you going to tell me you aren't going to honor your half of our deal, and agree to at least take a look at it before deciding rather or not it's worth your time." Merlin already knew Arthur was no stranger to betraying his word-the sting of anger hitting him somewhere below the chest all over again, as if he had walked in on Arthur and Clarissa for the first time all over again-but he figured this was something that was able to distract Arthur. He was just like his father, after all, wanting to do nothing but preserving his image without actually doing anything that would have earned him the image he wanted to portray to his people. Uther had gone back on his word as well, and it was only a matter of time before some of the guards discovered him and his location. Or Arthur could always betray him again-which was a big possibility-and lead him straight to them once they ever got out of this damn room.

"W-wait just a minute there!" Arthur sputtered out as he lifted his hand, silently stopping the consort from trying to step any further toward him. It was still weird, seeing Merlin inside of his room even though he'd already been there many times since they've married, the sting in his marred hand one reminder why he didn't like having Merlin near his belongings. Things seemed to get broken, by his own hand or Merlin's-but always Merlin's fault in some way or the other-whenever he was near. For even that time when Arthur had thrashed his room all on his own, it was still considered Merlin's fault as the boy had just told him what Valiant had tried doing to him. So in a fit of rage, Arthur had taken his apparent anger out on his own belongings, and true enough, the habit hadn't changed now, as he watched Merlin stop taking any steps that would bring him closer to Arthur's form. The sound of a glass bottle shattering caused the both of them to look down, where Merlin had just stepped on top of Arthur's fallen inkwell. The blank ink spilling out along his floor, and Arthur gritted his teeth, while knowing it was very likely he'd be the owner of a new rug soon enough. If Morris couldn't get that stain to come out of the stones, "I didn't make any deal with you. That deal was made between the king and yourself. I had nothing to do with it."

Arthur's words were just an excuse for him to save face and not get involved in any of Merlin's future troublemaking, and Merlin seemed to know this as well if the scoff he gave was any indication, "Yeah, that's right. You only break your own deals, rather then getting involved with your father's. I can see how that makes you so indifferent towards the real problems around here." The boy whipped out, his voice coated in a vile undertone, the sarcasm was laced around the words thickly. Not even his own husband-who preferred ignoring all things that are Merlin-was able to miss it.

Arthur practically burned on the inside, feeling as if his organs were literally on fire, melting into just useless puddles of endless goo. "Don't bring me into your problems." The prince hissed, and while Merlin couldn't see it from the position of Arthur's hands, the prince was digging his right thumbnail into his left hand. Against the bloodstain covering the back of the white cloth, opening the wound up further as his thumbnail caused the soft cloth-just a useless thing now that it was growing sticky and rough to the touch as his blood dried in flakes on it-to rip open and tear apart his flesh. The sting of it grounded him, reminding him…do not touch the brat. Touch is bad. Touch is weird. Touch if really, really wrong. Touching led to other things, touch would lead to more touching, which would lead to pinning, and would lead to yanking and pulling till something gave and he could hear the sweet, light squeals of an uncomfortable Merlin wiggling in his attempts to rascals. Touching…would lead to more attempts at spanking, and since Merlin had nearly broken his nose the last time, Arthur was aware to watch for his head. Just like he would keep watch on his leg, for any indication that Merlin would try to knee him in the groin again. "You want to go off and be a troublemaker, then that's fine. But don't bring me down with you. I mean, for all I know, this is all just some elaborate plan or ruse to have me get out of the way while you come up with other ways to drag attention to yourself."

Besides…his father would probably kill him if he knew how strong of a desire he had to swing the consort across his legs and tan his hide. Even if it was just for disciplinary purposes.

"Out of the way for what!" Merlin demanded of the prince, trying to understand the logical and leaps Arthur would have to go through to get to some of his way off accusations. Or maybe Arthur was just paranoid, and thought Merlin was out to get him in anyway that he could. And the blond seriously had the nerve to claim Merlin was the one suffering to a grave mental disease. But Merlin had never tried to shy away from anything before he came to this city, and if Arthur wanted the attention Merlin was going to wrought on him, than that was just what he was going to get. So, Merlin stepped forward-the glass still crunching under his foot, making the consort wince. He knew fresh ink was a precious commodity, in Ealdor at least, and it pained him to see it going to waste. But Camelot seemed like it had an abundance of such products on hand for whenever it was needed, so he forced himself to not turn back and try using a cloth to get as much of it cleaned up before using supplies to drain the liquid into a new container, something they had to do if somebody got careless back home and loss them what little ink they had for writing down their lists and notices of what needed to be done within the following week. "Maybe I should let you know as somehow, you've seemed to have missed it but the world does not revolve around Arthur Bloody Pendragon! I did not come up here, start all of this up, because I'm planning some nefarious plans to do god-knows-what! I came up here, despite my own reservations because I 'knew' we wouldn't do anything but fight, because I actually need you!"

Merlin's froze, one of his arms flung out with this rabid gesture of frustration, needing something to do with his hands before he went nuts and tried to strangle Arthur, rather than just leave him wounds from their 'battles'. It served him right though, with Arthur being the one to bleed after Arthur went on viciously about how he would 'strike him down' for daring to defy him and his orders. But Merlin was really hoping he hadn't just said what he thought he'd said. He 'needed' Arthur? Merlin needed the prince like a toenail needed fungus, as in, it should not go together. One look at the suddenly quiet of the room, revealed Arthur with this stupefied look on his face, forcing Merlin to bite back a stream of sudden curses that wanted to burst from his lips in response. But that would have only dragged the attention back to him, and Arthur would return far more smug that he had ever been before. He had only used the wording as a figure of speech, since yes, he needed Arthur to shut his trap and come with him before Merlin figured out how to do some kind of mind spell that would force Arthur to follow him around the castle. At this point, it looked as if it would be the only way to get Arthur to walk. But now…Arthur was going to hold this over his head for the rest of his days, wasn't he?

Arthur seemed to come back to his own, looking at Merlin with almost awestruck eyes, "You need…me?" He repeated Merlin's words, the words were tasting funny on his tongue. He never thought he would live to see the day Merlin would admit that to his face. Arthur had imagined sometimes, that Merlin would thank him and nuzzle against one of his legs after a particularly grueling discipline, his body still out on display until Arthur found Merlin an ointment meant to soothe his markings before they scarred. But living the reality, and knowing it had not involved Arthur laying one finger on Merlin or his skin…it made Arthur feel as if he happened to be the most powerful man in the world. He even lessened his thumb against the wound across his hand, letting the cloth soak up the remaining bits of his lifeblood still draining out of him. Arthur did not need such tricks to keep his hands to himself any long. Because Merlin 'needed him'. Like a fire needed air to breathe. Or needed water to cool it down, before the fires grew too big for even him to control.

There was a little smug grin creeping it's way onto Arthur's face, and Merlin exhaled loudly, doing not a thing to hide how exasperated all of this was to him. Because he had really done it now, he'd done the worse thing possible and had just inflated the prince's ego. He had already been insufferable to everybody before Merlin had said anything, so he could only wonder how much worse it could get. It would probably come up for weeks to come, with Arthur showing up out of nowhere and asking him if he needed anything just like he 'needed' Arthur. Forget about ending himself. Merlin would have no choice but to take the prince down with him, so no other person had to run amok and be forced to deal with a smug Arthur. It would have been Merlin doing a mercy killing at that point, to save horrid people from their even more horrid prince.

"I know we've had our differences," Merlin said in a slow tone, considering and choosing his words more carefully than he had any other. He refused to risk saying the wrong thing, having Arthur take it the wrong way, and then watching the prince as he preened like some kind of proud peacock. "But the only reason you doubt me now, is because you don't like me. That gives absolutely nothing on my telling you the truth. So, put your prejudices aside for this one moment-" and Merlin watched as the prince's smug expression dropped, not liking that Merlin had called him 'prejudice'. He wouldn't say he was prejudice at all! Arthur just knew what he liked, and what he didn't like. And unless it was a Merlin who could admit Arthur was right without it being weird and stifled, then he didn't like him. His dark haired consort, continued on talking, "And I'll bet even you, as thick headed as you are, can see that I have 'never' lied to you." Merlin hated lying, and he was bad at it. So he'd only lie when he had to protect himself from being discovered. It wasn't really something he'd had to do majorly since he'd been in Camelot, the city too large and too big for most people to connect the dots with Merlin and whatever weird going-on's were happening at the time.

Arthur opened his mouth on habit, ready to start his yelling at Merlin. Because he wouldn't exactly call himself 'thick headed'. More like Merlin was so moronic-but he 'needed him. The moron 'needed' him, and he wasn't going to allow him to take that back just because he was regretting it now-and he obviously didn't know genius when he saw it. But …the prince closed his mouth with a snap. He did hate to admit it but, Merlin hadn't ever actually got caught in a lie. Not that he hadn't, he could have lied dozens of time and was exceptionally good at it, but Arthur suspected this wasn't true. The boy might have a shifty look about him, but Arthur was able to say with confidence that Merlin was just a weird guy.

Merlin seemed to realize he had finally caught the prince's attention, a wavering look across Arthur's face as he went back and forth, not knowing if this was worth him following up on, or something that wasn't worth his time, because he went in for the kill, "I saved your life, the night we were wed those weeks ago. I pulled you out of the way before the dagger of Mary Collins could pierce you straight in the heart. I was truthful when I told you about the snakes, and took the head off of one of them just to bring it to you as proof. And yes, I know I have much to gain by lying about this-Gwen's execution might be postponed as an investigation is ran. Or maybe I'm just distracting you until Morgana has managed to do her part of some elaborate plan you seem to think we've come up with and they're already making an escape to the games. Or here's a wild idea, maybe I actually am telling you what's the god's honest truth about the afanc."

Arthur frowned, throwing all of what Merlin said in his head. One of the many thing's his father had taught him growing up, was to be suspicious with everybody. Everybody has ticks, his father said to him late one night when Arthur had been a young boy, about the enter his knighthood training. And it was up to Arthur to be able to find and discern what those ticks are. Maybe a wondering eye as a man refused to meet his own, spinning stories and pretty words as he tried to rob him blind. Maybe it was the twitching of an eye, or somebody unable to stop touching at their face. Even a man on the heavier side, sweating at Arthur's table, could try blaming the heat for the perspiration sliding down his thick neck as he tried to talk Arthur into a bad deal. But when Arthur looked at Merlin…he could not see any signs of what his father had said were the biggest indicator that someone was lying to him, trying to take advantage of his youth and his inexperience with kingly duties. Merlin didn't seem to be perspiring, maybe a little bit but Arthur was willing to chalk that up to their earlier fight. And he wasn't spinning Arthur false tales, everything he'd done with Mary Collins and the snakes had been true after all. But the biggest thing that caused for the prince to start wavering in his indecision, was Merlin's eyes. The twin pools of blue were steady and sure, never wavering away from Arthur's own. Arthur had never seen a peasant emulate so much honest sincerity before in his life, and Arthur had a moment where he was jump…stumped, not even a dim throb from the wound on his hand able to kick him into gear.

But still… "I'm…I'm not so sure about any of this. I mean, magical creatures…living in the very waters my people drink from. It sounds crazy." Although Arthur said this, it was him that was now avoiding Merlin's eye. Arthur knew his father would not be pleased if Arthur ran off on some quest or mission of destruction. Not because Uther would be worry about him, showing fatherly concern because his only son and heir to the kingdom could have died in whatever mission this would be. A creature that was made of magic….that didn't exactly sound like the easiest thing in the world to kill. Would his own sword even be able to take out a beast, would the muck forming a creature part like butter as he was taking his blade to it? But his father would still be quite upset with him if he went along with this, as everything was already going according to plan. It was time for the girl's execution, Uther would rein hell down on the both of them if they did anything to delay the execution.

"Okay," Merlin said slowly, his lips thinning with the effort it took not to grab Arthur by one of his ears, jerk him closer until the ear was right next to Merlin's mouth, and then scream as loud as Merlin possibly could at him to: OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES ALREADY AND PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON. But Merlin knew yelling at the prince wouldn't solve anything, it would only make Arthur combative and fear him up for another fight against him. Which was actually something Merlin hoped was avoidable. He just needed to breath to keep calm, remind himself he didn't come here to kill Arthur, and remember what the dragon said to him down in the caves. It was most likely the only reason Merlin hadn't just given Arthur the middle finger before storming out to take care of things on his own. He still needed himself a damn alibi! It was truly a curse when nobody thought a boy like Merlin would be capable of taking down a beast in the water's. And in normal circumstances, it would probably be right, not believing Merlin was able to do it. But Merlin was magic, and magic meant he needed somebody trusted among the court, there to vouch for him not using magic, even as he used magic to finish things. Otherwise this whole thing wouldn't work out and Merlin would still end up on a pyre at the end of the day. "Then maybe you just need something a bit more blunter. Tell me, Arthur Pendragon, do you give a damn about whether or not your people will live to see past tomorrow."

Merlin folded his arms over his chest, waiting for the shit show to begin. He knew Arthur would not be disappointing him. Just as he knew he'd once asked Arthur this very same question not that long ago. Arthur had ignored him and brushed him off to the side as if it didn't matter, but Merlin knew it did. Merlin could only assume that had meant the prince didn't, but casting a look down at some of the scattered remains of other maps flung out on the floor-ripped and torn and looking like one big mess the lot of them, many had large X's scrawled across them-urged him to ask again. This time, he was going to get a definite answer, even if it also meant beating some hard truth's into the prince's head.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Arthur was demanding of him, head whipping up to glare at Merlin with furious anger. His hard work was on display all around them, the shredded remains left behind across his floor. Arthur wouldn't be putting this much work, not to mention getting absolutely no sleep for the third day in a row, if he didn't care about his people. And he was starting to get really sick and tired of Merlin questioning his honor like that. Arthur was Prince! His heart and soul literally breathed throughout this entire kingdom, he knew there wasn't a single thing he would do to keep all within Camelot's boarders thriving just as his own father has for over twenty years. "Of course I do!"

But Merlin wasn't convinced. Somebody who was caring for their people…they didn't turn away the people like Merlin who was coming to him with the real answers to their very real problems. It didn't matter how absolutely ridiculous it sounded for a muck creature to be swimming around right below their feet. A true prince would have searched over every lead they were given, because sometimes, a truth could be found in even the hardest to believe stories. After all, nobody would know scrawny and weak, defenseless Merlin, was more powerful then they would ever know. "Really? Your telling me you care about your people?" Merlin's voice had came out sardonic and cold, looking as if Arthur was the one off his rocker.

Arthur forced his shoulders back, feeling as if this was going to be yet another showdown among the two of them. "Yes, I do!" He snarled, refusing for a peasant boy like Merlin to just come in here like he owned the place, questioning his honor as well as the safety of his people beneath him. He needed to put a stop to this, not even the dull throbbing of his stabbed hand was enough to keep him in place as he stormed up to Merlin, stopping short when he realized he didn't know what to do with him. All of Arthur's punishments had always involved tying Merlin up to something until he was left begging for mercy. But look at what had happened the last time he'd done that. His nose was still throbbing at the memory, the weird, weird…no touching the brat. Arthur was having a tough time remembering that.

Merlin didn't even flinch by Arthur's coming up to him, "The lower town, I'll talking about." the other boy said boldly, half-expecting for Arthur to back down now that he had clarified what he meant. It wasn't all about nobles and alliances and making deals and whatever else noble's got into when the group would get together. Sometimes, things had to mean the lower town as well. Because as far as Merlin was concerned, nobody hiding inside of the castle was at risk for the sickness yet. Nobles had been guaranteed their spot of sanctuary when the walls had first gone up and settled into place. The only servants allowed had been half of the castle staff and only those that were necessary for them to conserve as much of the water and food as was possible. So, who would be the first people to get kicked out once their supplies started to dwindle down to nothing. Nobody was going to fight when the ones chosen were teenaged laundry servant girls or the lower kitchen boys. What would have happened if Gwen had been a noble, and events had played out the same? Nobody could have told Merlin if she was, there wouldn't have been some kind of proper investigation instead of just simply throwing her in the cells the first chance sorcery was conjoined with her name. How many of those peasants on the other side of the walls had their own lives taken… "Do you care about the peasants and their well-being as much as you care about all of the nobles?"

Arthur looked as if he didn't know how to answer at first, torn between smiling and frowning as if he didn't know whether or not Merlin was joking with him. Because honestly, who just ups and asks the prince himself questions like that. The audacity of Merlin's mouth once again surprised him, and the prince could not help but wonder if a day would come where Arthur found he wouldn't be anymore surprised by Merlin's antics. He had a feeling that day would never come, "I…" Arthur's smile started to slip when he realized there was no way Merlin was joking with him, or just trying to mess around with him. Merlin hadn't smiled one bit, waiting for Arthur to answer his question. Arthur sighed with exasperation, reaching up a hand to rub harshly through his blond hair, "Is this your way of telling me you don't approve of the town being cordoned off again. Because I already told you it wasn't my idea, so don't go getting upset with me about it."

Arthur wouldn't be surprised if Merlin was still off about that. The consort always took things far too seriously, or not seriously enough, depending with the situation. Arthur just didn't understand Merlin in the least. One minute, Merlin was trying to force him to believe there was this…this…this…made of muck thing beneath the castle. And then, he was demanding to know where Arthur's loyalties lies. It was one thing after another with Merlin! He would have thought Merlin would have just left by now, it was causing him a headache. Because…touching Merlin was weird. And yet, Arthur couldn't put his hands on him again. But he couldn't have Merlin sprouting off these questions as if he didn't seem to understand how messed up it was to even ask!

"No, you just went along with it!" Merlin exclaimed loudly, doing nothing to mince his words or soften the blow. Arthur could claim how upset he was to see it done, he could claim he didn't like doing any of it, could claim it was all his father's idea. But all the petty words meant shit to Merlin. It was Arthur whose names were on the bloody papers that had been passed out among the town. It was the blond who wasn't going to die left out on the streets, the cold freezing streets until somebody had enough of the smell and moved the body off to the side to become somebody else's problem. The point was, Arthur would 'never' be able to understand any of his own people, because he hadn't ever lived their lives. While he's up there in his room, watching as the world goes by his window, his people actually had lives to struggle through. And some of them were like Gwen, who didn't have anything to fight or vouch for them, so they were tossed and used and discarded as needed. It was disgusting, and Merlin wouldn't stand for brushing it underneath the rug or acting as if it wasn't happening in front of his own eyes. Merlin jerked his arm out, keeping an eye still on Arthur as he pointed out towards the door. "So, just answer my damn question so I can know rather or not I'm wasting my time! Do you care about your people? Or do I have to walk out of here and take care of all of this on my own!" Giving the prince an ultimatum he didn't know if he would take.

Merlin figured if Arthur tried to ignore him or try to brush him aside like he had the last time he had to demand this answer from him, then there was no hope and he really was just wasting his time. The prince wasn't going to help Gwen, and would just be a liability if he didn't care rather or not she was going to die. Screw the dragon, and screw an alibi he would probably need later on. Merlin was good at…not coming up with lies on the spot. But Merlin was sure he could think of something that wasn't going to sound…completely ridiculous…all Merlin needed was one solid answer from Arthur.

The truth.

And the truth would define where their lives were going on in the next few hours…