Merlin woke up in Arthur's arms and in he prince's bed. He looked around and he realised that Arthur's body was pressed against him. "What the hell has gotten into me?"

Arthur woke up and he saw Merlin "Are you alright?"

Merlin looked over his shoulder and he saw Arthur "Yeah. I'm fine".

Arthur saw the worried look in Merlin's eyes "What's wrong?"

"What did we do last night?" Merlin asked but he already knew the answer.

"That's clear from where I am" Arthur answered.

Merlin sat up "Uther will kill me if he finds out".

"You regret it?" Arthur sat up.

Merlin looked at Arthur "No. Do you?"

"No" Arthur answered.

"I'm just worried about you" Merlin admitted.

Arthur cupped Merlin's cheek in his hand "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself".

'Really?' Merlin thought to himself "Alright. I should go".

"Yeah" Arthur nodded.

Merlin climbed out of the bed and he got dressed. Once he was decent he walked over to the doors.

"Merlin..." Arthur started.

Merlin turned around and he looked at Arthur "Yeah".

"I'll tell the guards to go easy on the constant watching. Nobody likes to be followed around by random strangers" Arthur smiled.

Merlin smiled "Thank you, Arthur". He then turned around and he walked out of the room.
Once the door had shut, Arthur grinned as he bit his lip and he pulled the sheets over himself "Finally".

Merlin crept through the long corridors and he sneaked into Guias's chambers. He made his way over to his bedroom and he slowly opened the door, he tiptoed in and then he slowly shut the door behind himself.

Merlin looked at his bed and a grin spread across his face. He had just confessed his love to Arthur and the prince loved him back. He fell onto his bed and he began to giggle like a school girl that had just had her first kiss. He had just had his first kiss and he must wanted to tell the world how happy he was. But for now he was happy to keep it a secret between himself and Arthur.

Arthur was smiling his head off as he laid in bed he started to laugh and he jumped out of bed. He pulled on some trousers before he sat down at his desk to fill out some papers. That was when his happy mood disappeared.

Merlin pretended to be exhausted and he walked out of his room, he sat down to eat breakfast but Guias saw straight through his act.

"What's gotten into you?" Guias asked.

"Nothing. I'm exhausted and Arthur has me running rings around him" Merlin lied, he finished his porridge and then he walked out of the door. When nobody was looking he smiled and he ran to Arthur's chambers. He could not wait to see the prince.

Merlin opened the door and he walked in but his joyous smile was met with an angry 'prince Arthur' glare. Merlin was confused but he sighed and he walked over to Arthur. "What are you up to?" he asked.

"It's none of your business, so just do your jobs and leave me alone" Arthur answered.

"Did I spend the night with the right prince? What's gotten into you? You were happy just one hour ago" Merlin stated.

"Seeing your ugly mug could never put me in a good mood. I'm the prince so I've got more important matters to worry about, other than talking to the last person I 'had' in my chambers. I have more important things to think about rather than a meaningless fuck" Arthur did not look up from the papers on his desk.

Merlin's heart broke "I was a meaningless fuck? Is that all I was to you?"

Arthur looked up "No. But I cannot allow myself to be distracted by the prospect of meaningless fantasies again".

Merlin sniffled and he ran his hand through his hair "I'm a distraction? What part of what we did was meaningless?"

"I do not have to answer to the likes of a servant? Just do your job, Merlin?" Arthur's heart felt like is was being squeezed as he spoke. The words stung like an arrowhead piercing flesh and muscle.

Merlin sniffled and he walked towards the doors, he opened one of the doors but he looked back at Arthur "I meant it you know? I meant it when I told you that I love you" he then walked out and he started to walk down the corridor. He choked on his tears and he cupped his hand over his mouth, he loved Arthur but he knew that things would never be the same way again. He dried his eyes and he walked towards the stables.

Arthur sat back in his chair and his breathing hitched "So did I" a tear trickled down his cheek. He had not told Merlin how much danger being the consort of a Nobel put him in. He had just been protecting him.

that evening, Merlin sighed angrily as he walked back from getting supplies from the market on Arthur's orders. He could not wait until he got home and got to bed.

"I just want to go to bed, wake up tomorrow and for all of today to be a nightmare" Merlin muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Merlin was jerked into a house by his arm, he opened his mouth to protest but a fist smashed into his face, knocking him out from the sheer force. He fell onto the floor and the contents of his sactual spilled out onto the floor. Arthur would have to go without dinner tonight.

Arthur was waiting in his chamber, practising his mean speech of how terrible Merlin was for when his servant got back. He always became irritable when he was hungry, and his stomach growls were nearly as angry as him. However, Arthur soon fell asleep at his desk and he went without the knowledge to where Merlin was. Little did he know was that he was angry at the wrong person.

Meanwhile, Merlin opened his eyes and he hissed in pain, je looked up and he saw that his wrists were chained above his head and that the chains extended down from the ceiling. He could hear the sound of his captors talking, he pulled against his restraints but it just caused him more pain.

"What are we gonna do with him?" The first captor asked.

"We're gonna batter him even more, until he decides that he's gonna get us into the palace. Mind you... he might have some other uses" the second captor hinted.

Merlin froze at what the men has said, he became terrified. He wanted to be back in the castle and following the orders of the prince of Pratalot. He was just about to use magic to escape when... all four of his captors walked into the room where he was being held prisoner.

"Morning, Sunshine." The third captor snarled.

"Sleep well?" The fourth man asked.

Merlin saw the knives and he gulped 'Arthur, please hurry. Please get me out of here' he thought.

That was when the first captor rolled up his sleeves...