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!

124. Chapter 125

"But hey, why don't you just tell me, where did you get the ridiculous idea that Merlin is sleeping with somebody off on the side." Morgana suggested with a sneer, her hands going to rest against her hips, deciding to amuse Arthur for only a second here. Hopefully he would say something and realize just how ridiculous he was. Maybe she was underestimating Arthur here, but surely nobody could be that blind. Nobody who talked to Merlin for all of five minutes would have tried associating him with something as crude as a hooker. She'd only ever seen how gentle the boy was, and whores couldn't exactly be gentle in their line of work. Not if somebody tried to get rough with them. And any markings-consensual ones or not-she had ever seen on Merlin…had been from the man in front of her. If anything, Arthur was the whore! Knocking Merlin around just because Merlin didn't want to do what he would be paid for-and that was basically for his housing and his upkeep. Morgana had thought it had been quite a scene when Merlin had decided to move into his own room, to not rely on anymore then he had to from the Pendragon's. That spoke of character and inner strength, all things that Arthur would never know. And traits one would be hard pressed to find in the average whore wondering the street. But if Arthur wanted to play such a stupid game, then Morgana would be a force to be reckoned with, until even Arthur had to admit it was the stupidest thing in the world. Merlin…standing along on street corners until some man decided to pay for having the pleasure of his company for the night. If a thing like that was Merlin's actual choice, then Morgana would've cheered him on, if only so the people could stop being so repressed when it came around sex. But she also knew it was a lie, and Arthur needed to see that before he did anymore damage to her friend. "Because I am truly curious to know how a word like that could leave your lips when in association to Merlin, and you still not see how absolutely stupid it is to suggest a thing like that!"

Arthur's head was going to combust, he knew it was going to end up combusting. Which was strange. Arthur would've thought if his head was going to combust, then it would've been because of Merlin. But it wasn't. It was Morgana that was going to make his head explode, because she kept on arguing in Merlin's defense. Which probably made his head combusting…Merlin adjacent. Did that mean his head really was going to combust because of Merlin…yeah. It would be Merlin's fault, definitely. Even if he wasn't present. Morgana could call him stupid all she liked, but Arthur knew the truth of it all now. He knew what he had seen…how close Merlin'd been to Knight Erick. Like some damn horn dog who wasn't able to keep it in his pants for long enough for them to go at least somewhere where they wouldn't be seen as some kind of spectacle for the townspeoples watching. And while Lady Morgana was bound and determined to make Arthur see the idiot boy like the innocent and stupidly naive consort Arthur had thought him to be…Arthur was equally as determined to taint that vision of Merlin for Morgana. Determined to let the lady see behind the curtains of Merlin's little innocent act as Arthur had. Hell, Morgana might even encourage the prince in reigning Merlin in, if she saw just how bad Merlin was. But she would need to take off the rose colored glasses that she seemed to wear whenever Merlin was concerned. They plan together 'one time' to fin aa way to get Arthur to come with them to slay a monster in the water system, and suddenly it was like Merlin could do no wrong in her eyes. Well…he was just gonna have to rip those rose colored glasses away from her damn face if she wasn't going to take them off herself.

"Here's an idea, why don't you just tell me why you think he can't be a whore? Why do you think he's innocent and pure and, ugh…so sweet? You have only known him for only three months. The same as me, do you think it is impossible for a whore to hide themselves for that long without somebody to see them for who they are? Without me-whose been forced to interact with the boy when I have too-seeing him for who he is?" As far as Arthur was concerned, whores seemed to be nothing more than cockroaches. One could try dressing them up as they pleased, make them look as something that was not nearly as disgusting, but it would do nothing to hide the horrid crunch one made when stepped on. Because not any amount of beauty or glam smattered on top would have been able to change what they were on the inside. It'd been only a matter of time before Merlin had started to slip up on his own innocent charade. Hell, he should have already seen it for himself long before it had gotten to this point. But he'd been blinded by Merlin's innocent act, just the same as Lady Morgana was. Nobody that was as innocent as the consort had claimed himself to be, would have tried jumping him as many times as Merlin had. Nobody else as naive as his little consort was, could have cussed him out so badly that it was enough to have the ears of sailors ringing. Nobody that was as pure as Merlin was said to be…would have been able to bury themselves so throughly underneath Arthur's skin that even now, Arthur could feel him there. Like an irritating little buzzing that Arthur wanted to smack to get it off of him, but it was impossible because of how deeply Merlin's presence lingered in him. Filthy whore…was this what he did with the men who actually sought his company? Portrayed himself as whoever they wanted him to be so they would keep coming back for more? Was that what Arthur was doing…constantly seeking him out because of what he'd done to him…the man shook his head violently, refusing to believe he had been the one marked by a whore. Not when he knew it was the whore who should be marked by him…with his brand and his future markings and his blood streaming out because he would be the one to make it so. "…don't you think for one second, that you are being blinded by your friendship with the boy? Don't you think for one second…Merlin has managed to hide from you the same as he has hidden from everybody else? Or do you think you've got some hidden…sixth sense-" the prince gave a flippant wave of his hand at that, "That would tell you differently if he was lying to you all this time."

Morgana wrinkled her nose distastefully when she heard the prince say something as ridiculous as having some kind of sixth sense. As if Morgana needed something extra that was going to tell her rather or not somebody was spending all of their extra time with another. She knew what the expression on a man was when he was getting it on the regular, and she could say with upmost certainty that she had never seen an expression like that on Merlin's face. Merlin probably would not be nearly as wound up or as stressed out as he was if he was doing the things that Arthur claimed he was. She would much prefer calling it…female intuition. There was just a few things that a woman could just tell when they would look at a man, and being a sexual deviant would definitely be one of them. But Arthur would have called it hogwash if she tried to explain how some women were more in-tuned towards other people. Able to recognize when somebody would be casting lingering looks to somebody else. Able to figure out why two people had mysteriously disappeared at the same time, and returned only minutes apart, when people like Arthur would have dismissed it. It wasn't some extra sense…it was only a woman using the brain she had been given. Something that most men-Arthur-seemed to be seriously lacking. She was almost worried those red capes Arthur would have to wear on occasion, was too tight and had started cutting off blood flow to his brain. It would definitely explain Arthur's idiocy.

"No, I know that Merlin hasn't been lying to me because he has got nothing to lie to me about." Morgana said boldly and when Arthur opened his mouth to start spitting out his rabid protests, she cut him off by raising her hand, "I know this as the truth. Because like I told you earlier, if Merlin was doing anything like this, it would still be his body and his choice to do it. He doesn't have to tell you, and he doesn't have to tell me. Because it is His decision. I also know that Merlin hasn't done what you said, because like YOU said. You only spend time with him when you have no choice. You're willing to go and attend banquets such as this one with him because it is expected of you. You're willing to have him stand directly at your side during meetings because where else would Merlin be if not by the side of his husband? You are willing to bring him out to one of your precious training sessions and teach him a few things because your father has commanded it to be done-"

Arthur straightened up, opening his mouth so that he could demand to know how she knew that. Demand to know how she knew Arthur had been forced to bring Merlin with him to his private practice back before the tourney. That had been a private conversation between him and his father during a brief breakfast. Uther had wanted Arthur to pay back what his debt was for Merlin saving his life from the wicked witch who tried to end it with a dagger to the heart, by spending a bit of personal time with him. But Arthur had even taken the whore to a less used practice field where they wouldn't end up being seen. Anything to hide the fact that he was forced to spend time with his apparent male lover. But this was also Morgana, and she had always seemed to know everything in the castle as it was happening. Arthur could only figure she really did have some sort of sixth sense, or she had her own spies running around the castle and feeding the lady bits of information. But as this was Morgana, she steamrolled right on ahead, not giving Arthur a chance to demand any kind of answer from her. She was not Merlin. She was not going to stand here and argue with him. She was going to tell Arthur her piece and that was it…

"And all of that, and much more, was only done because you had to do it. You didn't choose to spend your time with him like I have done." Morgana said, finally lowering her hand so that she could look Arthur dead in the eye, forcing him to try and see her point in this. "I have spent my personal time just talking to him because I wanted too. And I have yet to regret a single time I have done so. Merlin is actually quite fun just being around, but I suppose you wouldn't know that, would you? When was the last time you talked to him that haven't resulted in some kind of fight? Have you 'ever' talked to him without it resulting in some kind of fight-" Arthur opened his mouth to insist that 'yes' he has, and he still hadn't liked the words coming from Merlin's mouth. But Morgana stepped in his space, and Arthur took a step back as she continued her spiral. "When was the last time you have a meal with him, a time where you sat down and enjoyed some good food and took the time to listen to what he says. How long ago was it when you took him for a walk through the marketplace, and when was the last time you took him riding throughout all of the woods surrounding Camelot. You actually enjoy doing all of that, but heaven forbid your consort accompany you only so you can see he's not nearly as bad as you make him out to be. Ah, yes. I'll tel you exactly when you have done all of those things. Never! At least Merlin tried in the beginning to get to know you. But did you ever try. No! No! No! Not even once was something you did with him done because of your own violation and desires to at least know the real truth that lies in your consort's personality!"

By the time Morgana was done screaming at him, the young woman had started jabbing Arthur in the chest to enunciate her words with force. And each jab to his chest made Arthur take a step back, not because she was strong enough to be able to push him, but in an effort to get himself further away from her, and her sharp pointy nail. But Morgana had ended up following him, not seeming to notice they had walked till Arthur had his back pressed against the wall. So tight along the wall that Arthur almost felt as if he could've slid straight through it. Morgana stopped screaming at him long enough to take a large breath to feed her lungs with air, and Arthur turned his head to the side as a subtle way of snubbing her and what she was saying.

Morgana hadn't lied, she was definitely speaking the truth of the matter. Arthur had 'never' been around Merlin unless he needed too, in one way or the other. Or if Merlin was the one that came searching for him. He'd never ate a meal with the boy, unless one wanted to count the disaster that had to be their wedding dinner, that'd been interrupted by a far too overzealous witch. Arthur had never taken the boy on a walk around the marketplace, the only times the two of them had been down there at the same time was whenever Arthur had to come and drag him away, like when Merlin had insisted he wanted a poor man job's. Or now…when Merlin's punishment had been too great to match Merlin's large offense. And the prince had never taken Merlin on a tour through the forests just outside the city, something that had always been his go to move when asked to give the child of a visiting noble the local tour. Arthur knew those woods like the back of his own hand, and there was no reason for Merlin to learn it as well…to ruin the one of the very few places where Arthur could be Arthur…and not Prince Arthur of Camelot. Merlin didn't need to get his hands on Arthur's safe space, since he seemed to be well on his way to tainting every square inch of Arthur's castle as his own. Stinking up the entire place with his own whorish stench.

But there were a few things that Arthur could admit that he wanted to learn about his consort. But those were things he could not learn by 'talking' to the boy, things he wouldn't be able to learn by taking him for walks around the castle. All of the things Arthur wanted to learn…were not things he would ever tell a Lady, the details to gruesome to give to anybody who had more…delicate sensibilities. Even a Lady that was as crude as Lady Morgana had turned out to be, would most likely turn green if Arthur spilled the truth. Would turn green with sickness if she knew Arthur dreamed about what were all of the different screams Merlin would make…would start throwing up if she knew Arthur often wondered what would draw out a high pitch scream. And what would cause a more endless sort of scream. Would Merlin jerk his body about to escape the sting of Arthur's lash? Or would he just go lax in his chains-his body hanging from the ceiling-while the tears streamed down his face. Flinching, but only grunting when a fresh hit would smash across his back to join the fresh scars decorating him up his back and down along the naked back of his thighs and bottom. Would the scent of Merlin's blood-sticky and thick, if he dared to touch it-perfume the air, and hover and linger until Arthur was dizzy and overwhelmed by it all.

Yes…those were the things Arthur wanted to learn about his consort. But there were other things as well…how good was Merlin going to look once he had the boy right where Arthur wanted him. Would the gold chains Arthur had made for him specifically, look as good as they did in his mind? Would the consort think they were pretty…would he also come to enjoy the sight of them decorating his wrists? Would he see those chains the same way Arthur saw them…as a new beginning for them both, as a physical sign of Arthur's ownership over the boy. Would there ever come a time where the boy would be the one to approach him, asking for Arthur to put the iron shackles on him. Knowing that as long as he wore them…the prince was going to take care of him. Because as long as he wore them, there wouldn't be a reason for Merlin to think of anything else other then what Arthur was going to do to him today…as the prince ran his fingers gently along the sides of Merlin, gently enough to cause goosebumps as he decided on what he would do to the boy…and don't even get Arthur started on the actual collar part of the equation. The idea of Merlin walking around in front of people, the idea of the life they had carrying on with the day to day challenges…there was this sense of power that washed over Arthur…knowing not a soul would know Merlin was hiding a collar underneath his usual neckerchiefs. Reminding the boy who he belonged to even as he talked to another, being reminded every time he swallowed that it was there. And it was never going to go away…not as long as Arthur held the only key to the lock on it.

And accompanied with the rush of power…it brought with it a dull sensation in the pit of his stomach. There was a harsh warmth building just below his belly button…perhaps Arthur had eaten something that didn't agree with him. Though he had hardly eaten since an early lunch he'd eaten hours ago, and had only picked through. Though it could've also been indigestion…or maybe this was Merlin's fault as well. Merlin and his whorish faults being revealed had caused Arthur to be physically unwell, causing symptoms to his body that he was unaccustomed to feeling at all. It was strange, but also easily dismissed once Morgana made this loud huff through her nose, being impressive with her reigned in temper after Arthur had snubbed her. Arthur knew he sure wouldn't have been good at keeping his temper in check, at least not when his consort was involved.

"Now, I am fully aware that Merlin is not perfect, so I'm most definitely not 'blinded by my friendship with the boy' as you so eloquently put it earlier, but I have hard proof that Merlin is not cheapening himself with the first man he sees, if you would like me to share with you." The struggle was audibly heard in Morgana's voice, how much restraint the lady was forcing herself to have. But Arthur perked his head up a bit, narrowing his eyes on her…hard proof, she said? What kind of hard proof could Morgana possibly have, that would have the prince ignoring the way Merlin had been flirting with the knight before he knew Arthur was there? What kind of proof would Morgana possibly have, that would have him starting to backpeddle away from his accusations. Morgana noticed his interest immediately, and smirked at him, which caused Arthur to scowl in response. But Morgana took pity on him…or as much pity as she could whenever she sounded as if she was bragging for knowing something that Arthur clearly did not, "For one, I'm pretty sure that Merlin has way more nobility in his little finger then you do in your entire body. So no…Merlin strikes me as a one man kind of guy. Not exactly a man that goes out looking for others to soothe the ache in between his legs."

Arthur wrinkled his nose in disgust when Morgana finished those last words…she truly had no idea how the visual in his head formed by her words made him sick. Arthur would not say he was used to Merlin having…autonomy. Arthur hadn't once considered Merlin might have the same problems that all guys do…not until it occurred to him earlier that he might need to re-address certain things if Arthur was going to be taking control of him long term…like the sexual needs that a healthy male had. The only reason he would consider trying to get some-ahem-toys, for the boy, was so Merlin had the opportunity and chance to keep himself busy while he could do other things in the next room. It had been so much easier when Arthur had thought Merlin was innocent…Arthur had just assumed Merlin was defective…down there, if he didn't have any kind of urges to…join his body with another…by the time he was nineteen. But now that he 'knew' Merlin had the same urges he did…it was off putting to imagine Merlin may wake one morning with…morning wood, that would need to be taken care of before they started the day. It was far more off putting to know his consort hadn't just taken care of the urges within his own chambers, instead of having a stranger …soothe the ache in between his legs. But Arthur had spent many nights stressed out with his duties as a prince…it was nothing his own hand hadn't been able to help. The activity did help Arthur more than if he had an actual woman to see to his needs sometime. An inexperienced woman never did hit the right spots Arthur wanted them to hit, though they'd never left unsatisfied themselves. Merlin might also have a chance to…de-stress himself, as long as Arthur saw a clear difference in his attitude after he was done. More willing to do what the prince wanted him to do without any fuss, now that he was more relaxed.

The only good part about Morgana's spiral was that it had caused Arthur to lose interest almost immediately. With the Lady's little crack about Merlin having more nobility, he was able to say with confidence that Morgana was just pulling on his leg. Trying to make a joke or be funny, when she should most definitely not be. Arthur had heard funnier things that came from Merlin himself, which was quite a feat. Though…Morgana really wasn't all that bright in the head if she truly thought Merlin had more nobility then him. Merlin had not a trace of noble blood running through his veins! Trust him, he had checked with his father several times before he had met the boy, and Uther had been adamant. Merlin's parents had no trace of noble ancestry between their bloodlines, not for three generations at least. One couldn't just 'act' noble, the person needed to be 'born' noble. And Morgana needed to have her head examined if she thought Merlin had excluded even a trace of nobility during the three months he'd been in the kingdom.

But right when Arthur was about to sidle pass Morgana, and right when he was about to demand to know which part of Merlin's dressing had she left him with-to estimate just how much time left it would take the boy, Morgana decided she would continue with a second point, "And two-" and the lady even held up two of her fingers to enunciate her point to the prince, stopping him from going anyway, a more serious sort of note causing her voice to go firm. "I know that Merlin has not been getting it on with other guys, because he has been a little bit too busy with other things this pass month, he can not even think about going out to prowl for guys down in the streets. Let along actually have the time to go out with a one of them for hours of pleasure."

And with those words, Morgana had somehow managed to do the one thing only one other person (that fucking brat of his) had managed to do…and held his complete, undivided attention. The prince's head had whipped around so fast, he was sure he could hear a bone in the side of his neck crack dangerously, but he paid it no mind, his gaze wondering the lady's face to try and see if this was another trick of hers. To find out if she was just playing around with him, but dare he think it…Arthur could see no hint of deception in her face at all. Her features were clear, her eyes not wavering the way a liar might…her fingers still straight in front of her to form the 'two' until she finally lowered them down to her dress. But it was only when Arthur realized Morgana wasn't going to give him anymore information without him literally dragging it out of her, did the prince speak up.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me what the hell you are going on about this time? Or do you expect me to beg you just to get a clear answer out of your lips?" Arthur demanded with a heated tone. He literally could not take this…the idea that Morgana might actually know something about his consort that he didn't, was enough for him to forgo the usual way he played disinterest whenever his consort came up. Morgana had said his consort was 'too busy' to be prowling the street looking for somebody dishonorable enough that they would take a hooker to their bed. But Merlin was too busy…Merlin was too busy doing what! Was he too busy nurturing what stupid interest he had in Gaius' work…or was that only some ploy Merlin planned on using on Arthur to explain why Merlin was absent when he was needed. So Arthur wouldn't guess his…hobbies, if Arthur could call hooking that. Or was Merlin too busy…hanging out with Madame Teresa so the lady may fit him in better clothes that would attract men to him like a fly would go to the sweetened smell of honey. Or was Merlin too busy doing some other nonsense activity that the blond prince didn't know of…the itching that took shelter under his skin seemed to be worse with all of this not knowing. Merlin was like this drug, and Arthur was an addict…he needed to know what Merlin was 'too busy' doing for him to get the hit he'd desperately needed, "You're the one that brought all of this to me attention. The least you can do is stop playing all of these games you like to use on me and just go ahead and spit it out. So I can prove to you that it's nothing more then a lie Merlin concocted so that you wouldn't figure out about what he's really been doing in the night as everybody else is sleeping."

Morgana would have rolled her eyes at what was becoming a very predictable answer when it came to the prince, who had taken on the new hobby of 'exposing Merlin as a fraud to anybody who would listen.' Morgana would've taken time to roll her eyes so hard, they could've fallen right out of her own head. If she currently wasn't biting down on her own lip hard enough she could have sworn she tasted the beading of blood (an action that would have had Arthur furious if he caught his consort doing it, but went unnoticed as Morgana slid her bottom lip out from between her teeth). Unlike how Arthur was…Morgana knew that there were some things she should not share to others. Unlike Arthur, who saw no issue with abusing and mistreating his consort to the public's eye, she was not going to spill the truth for the prince's ears. Did Arthur care enough to visit his consort even once when he'd been too depressed to get out of bed? No! Did Arthur try to come see him after he'd hit him…Arthur would have followed her and Gwen straight up to Merlin's room with that trunk in between them, if he had truly wanted to see him that bad. If Arthur couldn't bother to get off his high horse long enough to see that Merlin was 'not' alright-a blind mule wasn't blind enough to be able to not tell-then why should Morgana end up being the one to break it to him. Morgana wanted to have Arthur knew exactly how much he had ruined Merlin but she could also not lay Merlin's vulnerability out for somebody to sneer at. Not without Merlin's permission at least…the blond had already wrecked Merlin physically. The very last thing in the world she would want, was to wreck Merlin verbally, and be just another person whose betrayed him.

Morgana didn't hesitate to turn her head away, holding her nose high up in the air as if Arthur was the one that would forever be beneath her, "Don't go acting as if you care a lick about him. There's not one thing you can find out about him from me, that you can't find out about if you bothered to go and ask him for once. And when I say, I mean Asking. Going in there half cocked and starting a fight is not how you ask a man tell you about what they've been doing. Or is starting a fight just the way you communicate. Uther must be greatly upset, knowing he's spent a fortune on your private lessons only to find out his own son doesn't know how to articulate himself without throwing childish tantrums, still. But I don't suppose you'll have to worry about that. It's going to be the longest time before you see Merlin again." Morgana strode forward with a confidence in her step and a seriousness in her green eyes, "After this banquet is over, I think I may take over Merlin for a little bit. Do the job of a husband when you have clearly been lacking. There's no reason for you to ever be near him again…not until the next event happens at least, I'm sure you'll enjoy the extended freedom without worrying yourself to death over what-or who-" Morgana gave Arthur a far too cocky smirk, seemingly unaware that she was about to start a fire that wanted to light in Arthur's stomach, "He's doing. In light of recent events, I do think it's best if the two of you…spent some time apart."

There was this violent muscle jumping somewhere inside of Arthur's jawline, a pulse like a tiny heartbeat trying to help him because his regular heart was pumping too fast for it to be normal. Something he should have seen Gaius for…it was not the usual irritation Morgana would end up drawing from him with her spitfire rage. Arthur struggled to temper down his rage, Morgana's cocky smirk blurring his vision until the prince could only see half of her face, the other half starting to bleed red from his tented vision. But no…Arthur knew far better then to attack a Lady…he was better than that. Within his twenty summers of life, Arthur had never once tempted himself with the idea of hitting a woman. This woman wasn't his consort, and he'd never get away with hitting the prize of his father's eye. But no woman had ever tempted him as the Lady was…she had unknowingly threatened him with words-the only words-that could test Arthur's restraint.

Forget about Morgana suggesting he bother with the absurd and ridiculous idea of 'asking' Merlin what else he's done in his abundance of free time. Forget about Morgana dropping fun at him for how he 'articulates' himself, and Arthur would even forget how she claimed his father would soon be upset with the money wasted if Arthur wasn't going to follow with his private childhood tutoring lessons. Morgana had literally just threatened to take Merlin away from him…Arthur could feel his heart literally pounding away in his eardrums. Arthur didn't care who Morgana thought she was…she wouldn't be taking Merlin away from him. Merlin wasn't going to go hide and retreat in HER room, like some kind of bitch. Merlin was going to go to HIS room, and let Arthur teach him how to be a proper-subservient-man. Morgana thought she could do a much better job of teaching him like a husband should…the prince almost shuddered at what Morgana would want to try teaching him. Shuddered at the mere horror of having BRAT locked in a room with somebody that was not him. Knowing Morgana, she would probably even encourage Merlin to try sneaking strange men into her chambers…Arthur felt a large pulse-another one-flood through his system. Imagine trying to sleep only to hear the sounds in the room next to him…a headboard on a bed knocking against the wall connected to Arthur's room. The guttural sounds of a man who sounded more like an animal…the softer and quieter…breathier gasps escaping the much smaller man that would echo right into his chambers. Morgana would probably gladly give away her bed for a night or two, if she knew Arthur would hear exactly what she was allowing his consort to do.

…Allowing his consort to be a slut to fulfill her own agenda and viewpoint when it came to sex.

Merlin didn't need anything that Morgana was going to give him. Morgana liked to push the rules and the limits and all of the reasonable boundaries she had been given. She'd take a certain pride in encouraging Merlin to do the same. To go on and follow her lead, as if Merlin hadn't caused them enough issues when he didn't have somebody outwardly doing their hardest to encourage such bad behavior. Morgana would be the one to ruin his work, and his process on Merlin, before a chance came for Arthur to do anything substantial. What his consort needed was rules-strict ones that would need to be listened to and followed to the letter. What he needed was a strict boundary, things like who was safe to talk to and then those who Arthur would not allow him to be in direct contact with. And he needed consequences when he didn't listen to the rules that the prince thought were very reasonable after everything Merlin had done. And that was where the chains and collar was going to come in at…where the whipping and the flogging would make him bleed…it was all very simple if one thought about it. Merlin could listen, or he could end up chained to Arthur's ceiling and beaten until he did. Hell…the hope was that Merlin wouldn't even be able to take a minute on the chamber pot without Arthur explicitly telling him that it was okay to do. Watching him squirming, rubbing his own thighs together to prevent any accidents, would certainly be an interesting pastime. But Arthur also firmly believed, if his consort could not follow along with regular day to day rules …consistent rules…then how could Arthur seriously expect him to follow the rules during bigger events. Times where he should not be questioned when given an order. And none of it was going to be possible if Morgana thought she could go sticking her nose into things that didn't belong to her.

"Now then…now that we've got that little debate settled, I do have something that I would like to ask you." Morgana said, as she took a step back out of Arthur's space, turning her back to him as her dress swished around her ankles, as if everything was a done deal. As if Arthur had agreed-as if he would ever trust Merlin's upkeep and care to somebody who made it her mission to go against the fold-with allowing her to take Merlin off of his hands. As if she hadn't noticed the way Arthur was watching her like a hawk may watch it's prey, just before swooping down and snatching it up out of the grass. Arthur watched…as if Morgana had any capability to snatch Merlin up by the wrist the second he appeared on the staircase, and vanish long before Arthur had a chance to gain control. As if the both of them would vanish, like smoke sliding through his fingertips when he tried to touch it. "You claim that Merlin is a whore. But what I want to know is why you think such a thing. Did you see something that I think is wholly taken out of context. Or did you hear it from another, because I would have you know that the rumor mill spins all these stories about him daily. Have you heard about the one theory that says-remember the witch at your wedding who could change her appearance. Some say she's not dead at all, even though we burned her body, and that Merlin is just the witch in disguise trying to take control of the throne. A bunch of conspiracy nut jobs if you ask me, considering we all saw Merlin and the witch in the same room together, but I suppose that's what we get when we cram dozens of people in a room together with nothing to do other then just gossip all day long.

No…Arthur hadn't heard that particular rumor, though that had to be the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Arthur did tend to stay away from the rumor mill considering there was always something that seemed to need his attention in one way or the other. He could hardly afford to distract himself with things that would only give him a headache. But there were some times-like now, in particular-where there was a specific rumor that turned out to be true. But Arthur would be damned is he admit to Morgana the ungodly sight he'd witnessed between Merlin and that other knight standing so close to each other…blasphemy, he would have been willing to call it. Arthur himself didn't want to remember it, though it felt as if the sight had been engraved into his brain, which refused to be ignored or forgotten about. Though, Morgana might be willing to pretend she hadn't threatened to kidnap his consort for her own purposes, asking him questions that hardly mattered in light of that. It could've been considered a treason of the highest order, even just threatening to hold Merlin from him. But Arthur wasn't so far gone that he'd try to have Morgana arrested for such crimes, Uther would not have allowed it even if he tried. But Arthur wouldn't forget it anytime soon. He clearly needed to watch her, more then he had thought. Which was why he stayed silent for too long…just watching her. Trying to see how fast she would be able to run to Merlin in those death traps she called shoes, when compared to how fast Arthur could run to grab him as soon as he saw him. To the victor goes the spoils, and all that.

"Morris was the one that saw fit to inform me the second the rumors reached his ears." Arthur said in this gruff tone, sounding as if he wanted to talk about pretty much anything else on the planet. Like…why Morgana thought she had any right to try standing between him and his husband. Why did Morgana think Arthur wasn't going to put up any fuss over it and just allow her to take him. Arthur had his rights, he's the bloody prince! He knew what rights he had very well, even a basic and the lowest of nobles were afforded the same right that Arthur would enforce if Morgana tried pushing against the matter when Merlin came into the picture. Uther might spoil the girl, but not even he would give into her whims the second she started throwing one of her arguments. Though those arguments were usually about how she thought Uther wasn't making the right choices as king, and less about her trying to get something that Arthur had. "The rumor mill has been sparking about this all day, from what I am told. And I'll only have to hope that our royal guests have been too busy getting back their bearings after their long travels to pay the servants any attention if they talk in front of them. But might I suggest you care a bit more about that, and less about this idea of taking away my consort. You know as well as I do of how important this treaty is, how much we need Mercia and their support in the future. If one word of my consort and his indiscretions are heard by them through the grapevine, then all father has been working towards will be over. And that is going to be thanks to Merlin. Mercia can hardly be faulted if they don't want to work in tandem with a kingdom that has a consort so dishonorable, he cannot stick to his own marital bed."

Morgana had been very single minded when she had asked the prince who had started the rumor…determined to track down and find this person in a heartbeat, at the first chance she had to step away from her own obligations of attending this event as the king's ward. It could be her own little game of follow the leader, something she hadn't played since she was a small child. But the principle was the same, and she'd backtrack her way through the names she was given-Morris was the first, and of bloody course it was-until she reached the final one at the end of the line. The person who started this horrid rumor up in this first place. They wouldn't escape her wrath once she had set her designs on them. She would have every intention of dragging them-and most likely them kicking up a huge fuss, as if they were going to get out of it-and perhaps might even wrangle a few guards into helping her get them up to Merlin's room. While yes, Arthur was the one to blame when it came to Merlin's injuries…he was not the only one that had caused them to happen to begin with, and Morgana was going to sink her claws into every person who had some kind of involvement in this. But anyway, once the guards got them to Merlin's room, it would only be quite easy to have them forced onto their knees, while their face was pressed painfully into the ground, so they could have a …proper chance…to apologize to their consort for the horrid damage this rumor had done to him. It would do very little in the long run as the damage was already done-and when one considered what Arthur had done publicly-it would have been impossible to try containing it. But at least her friend could get a much deserved apology, that little she was able to offer him. Though it was hard to think of her original plan, when she had the rest of Arthur's spiral filling her mind.

"Oh?" Morgana asked him, turning her dangerously sharp focus back onto the prince, the disgusted sneer was firmly in place on her lips. "Your consort is the one to blame if they are smart enough to take their treaty and deal to a kingdom that is not ours? I would have betted they would have turned away after hearing that the prince is a sad piece of shit who abuses his husband. You might not be arrested for causing an offense such as that, but trust me, it is not something a real person-with a heart and feelings and an actual soul that lives in their body-would be comfortable making any kind of dealings with." And Arthur could feel his color of his cheeks were starting to rise, though he vehemently refused to call it embarrassment. What did Morgana know! She'd never been married a day in her life, so how would she know of all of the complexities that came with it. Hell, the woman was twenty-three winters old, and she'd never even been involved in any proper courtship, but that was mostly because the king was protective enough to chase away any potential suitors who failed to meet his standards. "But I suppose I shouldn't have been all that surprised to hear you say those things. That is the kind of men you've became, isn't it? One who cares way more for the sensibilities of his guests, then offering a bit of emotional support towards his own husband when they are dealing with the repercussions that follows a rumor such as this one."

Arthur could feel his face growing steadily redder, his fists curled into tight balls directly on either side of him. He knew exactly what Morgana was talking about…people didn't take a thing such as adultery lightly. Even if a marriage had been well known for being arranged, it was two people who stood in front of an entire kingdom, and in front of God himself, to pledge to spend the rest of their lives together. People took such a thing, usually, very seriously. The first step would've usually involved The Shunning, as not one single soul would acknowledge them, turning their backs on the betrayer as a solidarity to support the one betrayed. Isolating them until it became a simple fact of life…such a thing as this was known to drag the more emotional people into madness. Relocation was usually what followed next, where the wrongdoer would take a sudden and spontaneous vacation to check along the estate their birth family-or their spouse's-owned. Though it was a vacation that never seemed to end, as they refused to step foot in the place that all but shoved them out. Now, the prince would not mind the shunning. It would be nice to see Merlin walk outside after weeks of Arthur doing his personal brand of punishment, and watch the hope drop straight out of his face when he realized nobody cared he'd been gone for as long as he had. The relocation was a deal breaker, but it was hardly an issue and not exactly a requirement for any whore to leave. Especially since Merlin's days was going to be spent in his chambers, and out of the eye of the public.

"…What do you want from me Morgana?" Arthur demanded of the lady. Because unless Morgana had been dealing with the same thing he was, an uncooperative consort, then she had no business still standing here. She had already said all that she wanted too, so why was she still here? If Morgana had any expectations of Arthur apologizing, or admitting he was wrong, then they were going to be here for a very long time to come. "You complain because I bothered to point a simple fact out…how we need to keep Merlin's actions from being added gossip to the men of Mercia. And you pitch up a fit about how I have seen fit to treat my husband. You can sit here and speak until you are blue in the face, but I assure you that there is nothing you can do. Merlin is Mine, and I do care very little about how that upsets you." Arthur could see the way Morgana's eyes narrowed so sharply, he could only just see the glimmer of green in her irises. But good, let her be mad. And let her be powerless or stop him like she would want. Let her know her pitching a fit did nothing but ensure Merlin's punishment would be worse the more Morgana was bothering him. "I do not know what kind of delusions you've involved yourself in earlier, but I can assure you…you will not be able to take Merlin from me. No matter how much you do desire it. He is my Husband, and therefore he is Mine to do with as I wish."

It was there, in the word's Arthur spoke…so clearly that even a blind man could have heard the possessiveness coating all his words. The prince had said mine, and my, and husband…all words that would have indicated exactly who the consort forever belonged too. But Arthur felt strangely calm, as if he no longer needed to-metaphorically-pee on Merlin's leg like a dog would pee on a tree to claim it as his. Far calmer then he would have thought he would have felt when he decided to confront Morgana about her trying to sweep his consort right out from under his nose. His fists even went looser at his sides, unclenching as if they'd never been an indicator of how angry he'd been. Because like Arthur had said… there's literally nothing Morgana could do. And the prince could feel the sureness of those words settling into his bones. Maybe she could whine endlessly to Uther, but Merlin wasn't an old toy Arthur could be forced to share to appease his newest playmate. And Morgana could even try to get creative, and come up with some plan that would leave Merlin just out of his reach. But Morgana couldn't leave the castle, so it's not as if she could disappear with him. For one, Arthur wouldn't give her an opening to even try it. And two, if Morgana tried her hand at beating him for his consort's presence, then the prince would simply brush aside her childish attempts. One word was all it would take, and Arthur could have a dozen or so of his men at his doorstep with Merlin in tow. But perhaps Morgana would be smart enough to realize by now, that she should tread lightly. It was Arthur, that had been allowing all of this unfiltered communications between the two until this point. And it was Arthur who could take all of that-would be the one to take it all away, as soon as Arthur's real fun with the whore started-away with a single snap.

As it turned out, Morgana was not smart enough to tread on him lightly, as she took a step back from him, "What do you think I want from you, Arthur?" She asked him in this hushed voice, as if speaking any louder would break the spell of soft quietness that had fallen over the empty hall. She raised her hand up to press against her chest, where she could feel as her heartbeat pressed through her body and clothes until it could be felt against her hand. "I think you are asking all the wrong questions here. It is not about what I want, or do you honestly think I would bother being here if you had slighted me in some way. I would already be finding the perfect way to get back at you. But somehow, I don't think Merlin is very much for doing the same. The question you should've been asking, was what does Merlin want from you? And I'll be the first to tel you, since I doubt anybody else would bother the prince with such things…he does not need a brute who does not have two brains cells to rub together. A brute who does not think before he attacks. A brute that calls him a whore because he heard a few measly rumors, something that isn't exactly known for being reliable!"

Arthur didn't bother to stop himself from rolling his eyes so hard, he almost felt as if they were going to fall straight out of his head. This conversation had almost been interesting at first, it had certainly gotten Arthur distracted enough so he was no longer pacing like a madman in front of the large staircase. But this conversation felt as if it was starting to go around in circle after circle, always going back to the issue that had brought Morgana to him in the first place…Arthur's treatment of his consort. But there was only so much time the prince was willing to try forcing Morgana to see what lay in front of her…only so much energy he was willing to spare into getting those rose colored glasses off Morgana. There was obviously not going to be any change with her behavior, no matter how hard he pushed and pushed at it. The Lady was one of those people who only saw what they wanted to see. And would deny everything else, even if she was being slapped over the head with the truth. But at this point…the prince would have much preferred returning to his pacing at the foot of the staircase. Instead of listening to Morgana, as she started up yet another spiral about how 'self centered' or 'controlling' he was. It wasn't wrong to be controlling! Not if the situation demanded it, which it did very much so…

"Maybe this has gone on for long enough. I think that you should stay in your lane Morgana and go back to doing what you are told to do. I'm sure there are some people inside the grand hall that would be absolutely fascinated to hear all the things that come up in your mind." Arthur said, while giving a flippant wave of his hand near his ear. He saw Morgana's cheeks going stark red, her lips thinning, and he was really confident he had gotten the final word in. Arthur knew just how much Morgana hated being reminded that she was just a woman, somebody meant to please others with stories or songs or art…instead of being allowed to do anything she'd want to do. Like joining the men and being taken serious as she gave her opinion on the latest political shitstorm that'd rain down on them. Because being born without a cock was some kind of indicator that a woman would lead their entire castles to ruin. But Arthur was a man, and as such, he cared very little for the actual trials and discrimination a woman-a woman even in Morgana's status-faced. The prince decided to take his leave, walking pass Morgana and allowing for their shoulders to brush without looking back at her, putting himself fully in control of the conversation. Acting as if Lady Morgana had not managed to get underneath his skin even once during their…enlightening…conversation. Though, the prince only made it as far as a few feet away, before he was not able to resist a comment casually thrown straight over his shoulder at her, "By the way, if you ever do get a chance to speak to Merlin after all of this, might you try finding out a bit more about his background for me? I'm sure there are several men that I don't know about that he's been messing around with, and I would like to know their names. For a man you claim is innocent, Merlin sure didn't bother protesting a word I was saying when I was yelling at him. So maybe that's something you can chew on…an innocent man would do his best to protest if he was being unjustly accused, right? But he didn't…further proof that you don't know a thing you are talking about."

Arthur could feel the gloating ebbing out of his voice, which was definitely the wrong call. He should not be pleased that Merlin most definitely had more men then just Knight Erick to keep him pleased-whores were never satisfied whenever they were only given one cock to play with. But Arthur also supposed he could let it go, just this once…the feeling that he'd gotten one up on Morgana was too good for him to be able to ignore. And Arthur cast a glance over his shoulder to the lady, when she didn't immediately come back with some kind of quick and sharp witted comment that would've most likely boggled the mind. The Lady still had her back towards him, she hadn't moved a single inch from where he had left her. She had her head ducked, so that her hair fell in front of her face, shielding her expression from Arthur's pleasure to tease it. But Arthur could feel the bubble of satisfaction as it started to bubble in his stomach, as he took his place at the bottom of the stairs. Ignoring Morgana now, Arthur glanced up at the darkly shadowed staircase, casting dark images or figures to dance across the room as the torchlights flickered from their places on the wall. This was the perfect place for Arthur to wait. Rather Merlin arrived by the staircase or took the same path that Morgana had, where he would enter the grand hallway through the side hallway, Arthur would still be the first to see his arrival. And Morgana would have no other choice then to get over it, once Arthur claimed him by a hot and possessive grip around the boy's wrist, carting him with him wherever he went…

"Arthur…" the sound of Morgana's voice from down the hall was so soft, that Arthur almost missed it. It held sort of an echo to it, floating down the hall like a spirit trying to touch the human plane but not quite sure how to do it. Though it still caused Arthur to poke his head up higher, looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow…what in the world did she want to do now? Had it taken that long for Morgana to finally come up with something witty to say? She was losing her touch if she had to stand there and think about it for a minute. Lady Morgana still kept her head down to keep her face covered. Though she had turned her body slightly so she did end up half facing him, it was still in eerie sight with all of that dark hair protecting her from Arthur's view. Thank god Merlin did not have hair nearly as long, Arthur would've been liable to cut it all off if he thought he could do the same trick and use it to hide his face from him. "I would bet you anything that a reason, probably the only reason, that Merlin didn't try and fight back against you, was because he was in some kind of state of shock. If you came at him angry…then I would have honestly expected him to do what he could to not make you even more angrier. Not if he somehow sensed you would be getting physical with him this time."

Morgana stopped talking, and Arthur narrowed his eyes…he could see between the thin gaps in her hair, that she looked to be chewing on the inside of her cheek. As if she was truly mulling over rather or not she should say what was next on her mind, and Arthur's eyes narrowed even more sharply. It was not like the lady to hold her tongue, Arthur wasn't able to think of one instance in where Morgana had bothered to keep her opinion to herself. Even when everybody else had made it clear that they weren't interested in listening to the other girl. So this alone would have been enough for him to be unsettled. And then she went and claimed Merlin was in shock…Arthur knew what shock was. It's happened with his men once or twice…if one of his men fell into an icy river as they passed during the coldest winter months and needed to be fished out. They wouldn't move away from the fires for hours. Or when a battle had just finished and there were far too many bodies spread out across the land…it might have been the first time one of the men he'd brought into battle with him had taken a life. It was a disconcerting experience, Arthur had went through the same when he was seventeen and marched into his first battle. You just sit there, and stare into nothingness until somebody forced them to move…what Merlin had done wasn't shock. Merlin had only been scared because he knew his gig was up. Because Merlin knew that he couldn't trick Arthur anymore. Because Merlin's whole 'I am a pitiful virgin who doesn't know the difference between my cock and my anus' kick was over with.

"You claim-" Morgana started talking again before she was abruptly stopping, clearly trying to figure out how she would word what she was about to say. The girl finally lifted up her head and shaking out her hair, so that all her long thatch of dark curls were flipped over her shoulders, where they fell somewhere in the middle of her back. Even with Morgana's face now fully revealed to him, Arthur still wasn't able to tell what she was thinking. Especially since she wasn't looking at him, but was instead focused somewhere on the ceiling…looking, but not really seeing. Arthur determined after he'd followed her gaze and found nothing of interest in the dark corner of the ceiling. "You claimed earlier that Merlin should stick only to your marital bed, and nowhere else, but I think that's actually quite funny for somebody like you to say. We both know the truth, after all."

Arthur's eyes shot down from the ceiling and straight back to Morgana so fast, the room almost seemed to swim before it righted itself. He hardly noticed, his gaze locking onto the other lady…she was finally looking back at him this time and she held a certain note of solemnity in her green gaze. As if this piece of information had been something she had been holding in for a very long time. But…Arthur could not say he knew what she was talking about. Unless it was some kind of joke about how Arthur had almost broken the one rule he had when bedding a girl, and had almost bedded her in his actual room. Right next to the marital bed that had not ever actually seen any marital action. But that would hardly have been something that could hold water when compared with Merlin's crimes. For one, Arthur could actually lose his own kingdom if he was caught, and he had made sure not to be caught…by anybody other then Merlin who liked to bust his door down whenever he liked. At least his indiscretions had not ended up being on the lip of every servant in the castle, and carried straight to the ear of the next. At least Arthur'd been far smarter, and clearly thought more with his actual brain, unlike Merlin who seemed ruled by his more…lower faculties. But that hardly seemed to be a reason for his one time childhood friend/nemesis, to look so solemn about. It was not as if anybody had died or been brutally murdered-though Arthur had come close several times whenever that idiot boy got near him-during these indiscretions.

Morgana allowed for a breathy exhale to escape through her lips, it was clear that she was exasperated with Arthur's not knowing about things. But Arthur's cheeks bulged out with a childish annoyance, if she wanted him to understand things then it would have been far easier if she'd just bothered with making herself clear in the first place. But the woman made sure Arthur could understand her every word the next time she spoke, striding across the hall with even steps, getting closer to him. And leaning in-forcing Arthur to learn in while he strained his hearing to hear her breathy whisper-as if she thought the walls themselves had ears and would be trying to listen to them, "You and I both know that Merlin has never seen the marital bed you were supposed to share with him,"her breath fanning out against Arthur's earlobe because of how close she had moved to him, the side of her breast was brushing against his arm. "If you had shared a bed with him, then Merlin wouldn't be so helplessly confused about a few of the simpler things that he should know at his age. A man who is a whore should at least know just where certain body parts should go, don you agree? It would be quite the shock and unfortunate event if he tried to squeeze something into the wrong passageway."

Morgana had rested her hand on Arthur's arm to keep her balance, but now she moved away from him, taking the little warmth she had been giving him. But that hardly mattered…a fire that was blistering hot and scorching brighter then the sun itself could not have melted the pure icy dread that had just flooded his body. An entire wave of icy cold that started somewhere in his knees-quite an odd place-but spread out along his entire body within seconds. It was so fast that the prince had trouble catching his breath, but even the muscle in his throat seemed to have iced over, refusing to listen to what he wanted and help him swallow. Out of all things that Morgana could have told him…that would've honestly been the very last thing he would have guessed. Arthur knew that Morgana had a perchance for findings things out, but…how did she know that? How did she know what Arthur's biggest sin was…how did she know that Arthur was risking keeping the kingdom under his family's rule with each day that was passing them by. Each day a missed opportunity to correct a gracious mistake on Arthur's part, and each day a chance for Uther to discover Arthur was putting them all at risk for not bedding his consort. The sheer disappointment his own father would have towards him if he knew Arthur had been disobedient towards his one order…it was unthinkable.

"How do you know that?" Arthur finally managed to ask her after several long minutes of silence, where the two stared at each other, waiting for the other one to make a move. As far as Arthur was aware…Gaius was supposed to be the only other soul in the entire kingdom that knew he hadn't done it like he was supposed too. Well…with the whole revelation of Merlin's lacking virginhood, Arthur supposed that meant his consort knew as well. But Merlin didn't know the details! He thought he'd simply escaped what he assumed would have been bad sex with Arthur-fucking brat. He didn't know that fucking him was absolutely crucial if Arthur wanted to keep his lifestyle and throne. Though…at least Arthur didn't have to go through with his end of the deal he'd made with Gaius so many weeks ago, and explain the finer details of an adult relationship with Merlin. But that fact gave Arthur very little comfort when the lady in front of him had just been turned into an unknown entity. One that Arthur would've been sure to squash if he didn't know her. But Morgana didn't answer his very reasonable question, and Arthur could feel this low growl building up in his throat, "Damn it, Morgana! Just tell me how the hell you know any of this!"

As Arthur yelled this last word, he slammed the pointed side of his fist as hard as he could against the top of the banister of the staircase next to him. But underestimated how much panic he had-all of the ice freezing him to the core melting as his anxiety made itself known-because his fist started to throb in pain. But Arthur ignored this, the room going a quiet that was startling. The echo of his voice dying out down the hall only seemed to bring attention to how quiet it was…not even the sound of crickets could have been heard. But all he did was ignore it, there was only one thought centered in his mind…protect the secret. Be sure that Morgana couldn't go spilling it to Uther at the first chance she got…already, there was this contingency plan forming in his mind that he would need to enact if Morgana actually tried anything. All Arthur could figure was…maybe Morgana planned on blackmailing him with this information, and that was the only reason she was telling him just now that she knew. This was her way of getting Arthur to just hand the brat over to her, without any fuss from Arthur. But Arthur wouldn't do it, and-the pieces of a plan started coming together-perhaps Merlin being the slut he was, might actually work in their favor this time. The prince would never forgive the brat for making a fool out of him, but this could still be used to their advantage. If the girl decided to bring this to Uther, there was a good chance that the king would demand proof that Arthur had already taken Merlin. Physical proof this time, other then the forged piece of documentation Gaius had given him the first time he had needed proof of Merlin's stolen virgin-hood. Maybe Gaius would add salt to Merlin's humiliation and show the king the rounded puffiness a man's hole-Arthur assumed-would turn after they had been defiled many, many times. But not even Gaius could prove it hadn't been Arthur that had taken him. All Arthur needed to do was keep these rumors away from his father so he would not suspect Merlin's virgin-hood had been taken by another man, at least until Uther's suspicions about them had died down some. That wouldn't be too hard to do…right?

Morgana snorted in a way that would have scandalized their childhood etiquette tutor-loud and unladylike-causing the prince's eyes to snap back onto her with a laser eyed focus, "Seriously," she asked as she brought her hands up to rest on her hips. "You have to ask me how I know you never slept with your consort not even once in the three months you've been married?" Morgana seemed to have accepted that the two of them were alone, and did nothing to try to keep down her voice, but Arthur was the exact opposite. His eyes shot from one direction to the other in a frenzy, making sure not a soul would spontaneously appear right about the corner…before Arthur returned his eyes onto her. "I mean, anybody with eyes and half a brain would have been able to tell right off the bat he has no idea what's going on. It's practically stamped across his entire face."

There was a sharp rebuff forming on the edge of Arthur's tongue immediately to deny it, but he swallowed the words before it could form. Morgana wasn't lying, and there was nothing he could say against it. She might still be speaking as if Merlin was the innocent little flower he liked to portray himself to be, but Merlin knew how to do his act. Who would have thought a powerful vixen-with long legs and huge eyes that would blink in wounded abandonment as if he was this lost little lamb that needed a helping hand to guide him right where he needed to go-would actually live underneath the demeanor Merlin put out there for others to see. Now…his consort may literally be horrid at absolutely everything that laid under the sun. But his acting skills were superb. He had managed to fool Arthur himself for so long, after all. If it did not take real skill to pull that off, then Arthur couldn't say he knew what would. But it was no wonder how he'd managed to get people like Morgana and Gaius on his side. A woman would eat the little lamb bit right up. And it was a physicians literal job to help people, Gaius would've never considered turning Merlin away for even a second.

"And perhaps you don't want to know this," Morgana spoke, as she sniffed self importantly, angling her face away from the prince, her hands falling down along her skirts to brush out any imaginary wrinkles crinkling up the fabric. "But I am a woman, and I do have needs myself, despite the rapid and growing population of men thinking otherwise. And I do like to try and vent my own frustrations out once in a while. And Merlin is my friend. He is also gay, so I knew he wasn't going to be weird about it." The lady thought back to one of the far too many conversations she and Merlin had when they were having their daily lunches, before life and other events were seemingly conspiring to keep it from continuing. It'd actually started up well enough, with Morgana complaining just how impossible it was to find a man who didn't think they would marry afterwards. Because apparently Morgana-as the lady of the castle-couldn't possibly only want to scratch an itch. It most certainly did not have to end up with forever…and it all went downhill when Morgana had been brash enough-a few minutes in-to ask Merlin if Arthur was as much of a stick in the mud in bed as he was during everyday life. Needless to say, Merlin had been confused as hell and said something along the lines of how he didn't know how Arthur slept in his bed, they weren't exactly the kind of marriage couple who'd share a living space. She had thought he'd been just pulling her leg at first, but…Morgana had definitely allowed the talk to drop into awkward silence after she realized he was most definitely not joking with her. "Obviously I haven't brought it up ever since I found out."

Morgana reached her hands up over her head and behind her so she could grab her long length of curls. Pulling them out in front of her so they flipped over her shoulder, while also covering up one of her breasts. She tugged on the end of her curls, and Arthur watched her fingers parting through the strands. He was going to be sick…literally sick. The last thing Arthur expected to hear today was about Morgana and her 'needs'. She didn't have needs! She was halfway still the stupid little twelve year old that showed up on the doorstep and immediately demanded for Arthur to move because he had been blocking her way into the castle. And what 'needs' she thought was important enough to discuss…shouldn't be discussed in his consort's presence! Arthur couldn't think of anything more encouraging, then Merlin and Morgana sitting around a table and gossiping about such things. Merlin had obviously been been convincing enough to-once again-have Morgana think he was innocent. But if Merlin wasn't so dead set on hiding his slutty demeanor, Arthur could've imagined how awful a conversation like that would have gone.

And thinking about it now, in fuller detail…Arthur was almost too scared to ask the questions that popped unwillingly into his mind. What would a woman and a gay man-one that was not hiding how experienced he was in that department-even talk about? Arthur had heard other men being crass, talking about women's breast sizes…Arthur didn't participate since he was trying to set a more noble example for them to start following. But he'd listen…and it had never occurred to him that women might do the same. He always thought they had nothing better to do then talking about courtships, and who they were hoping would wed them…romantic things. Things that were not physical…would Morgana and Merlin be just as crass? And talk about something like cock sizes, or just how long a man lasted…or rather or not they themselves finished before the man rolled off of them. Did-Arthur felt himself as he turned a ghostly white-the handful of women he'd taken over the years, talk about him as well? And what would they say about him…what would 'Merlin' have said about him had everything gone as normal. Had Merlin not been pretending to be the innocent virgin, and had Arthur managed to put his own hang ups to the side long enough for him to slide inside of Merlin. Arthur shuddered to think what details Merlin may have shared with Morgana, if that was the case…there were just some things that never needed to be discussed. Or see the light of day ever again…

Arthur cleared his throat roughly, "You, um…you claimed you didn't tell anybody anything about it, right? Are you positive that you didn't tell anybody?" Though Arthur was sure that he would have heard that rumor floating around the castle if he had. Surely the prince skipping what had to be arguably, the most important step in finalizing a marriage, would have caused up some kind of stir. Intermingling with the rumors that concerned Merlin…it was all about sex. And it felt as if sex-in this moment-was the only thing anybody cared about hearing. Arthur was personally tired of imagining his consort grinning like a Cheshire Cat as he tugged open the ties on a man's pants to get to his cock. There was only so much that Arthur could take, imagining his consort opening his mouth wide-so wide with that never ending mouth of his-and being fed the length of another man. A man who-perhaps the very same blond man Arthur had imagined Merlin being with only earlier-would thrust his cock in and out of those rawly bitten lips as he brutalized the back of Merlin's throat until the slut finally pushed him over the edge with a practiced and very skilled twirl of his tongue. But ignoring all of that…he had to make sure Morgana hadn't said or done anything…anything that would bloody well ruin him! "You haven't said one thing that might elude to the fact that I didn't take Merlin? There was no conversation with somebody…you didn't mention my name and Merlin's and sex in the same sentence…not even by accident?"

Morgana made some kind of non-communal hum at first, so it instantly set Arthur's teeth on edge. His hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, each thud of his heartbeat like a cannon going off in his eardrums. The sense of dread was returning to him, and he could only imagine Morgana telling state secrets-or Arthur's secrets-to the wrong man. And the lady probably would, just to spite him. But Arthur just had to keep calm and remind himself…Morgana wouldn't honestly do something as dumb as say something on accident. And there was very little chance she would actually try to black-mail him with this information…not if Arthur reminded her it would hurt Merlin as well. The only thing Morgana would've accomplished was forcing Arthur to actually bed Merlin, as well as having the added bonus of his father watching to be sure Arthur hadn't failed again. A slut might enjoy having a man-even their aged father in law-watching as Arthur was forced to take care of him sexually, but Arthur would most certainly never be able to face his father again. And beside, Arthur could merely point out that he had not yet reached twenty one summers-the deadline of the contract-and that meant he still technically had a few more months to actually do the deed without being penalized. A few more months to decide…if he could force himself on a slut whose legs were permanently open for sale. Or stay as far away from the boy so he wouldn't catch any diseases, and just hope none of it ever came up again after his next birthday. It would be quite the risky move-a chance, a gamble with his kingdom as the prize-but also one that Arthur didn't need to be concerned about yet. That was Future Arthur's problem…

"Here's an idea. How about you just ask me what you want to ask me, instead of dancing around the subject matter and hoping that I won't catch onto what you really want to know about." Morgana demanded, as she slid her fingers through her hair in a rough manner one last time, undoing the braids she had half-heartedly been creating as Arthur had been in his near state of panic over her admitting she knew the real truth. "The only thing you want to know is rather or not I've went ahead and said anything to your precious father so he can figure it out for himself if he thinks about it."

Morgana's expression had turned into a disgusted sneer, as if she couldn't believe Arthur was so worried about what his father was going to say if he knew the truth. Not when there were other things going on, things like abuse and controlling the already out of control damage of this rumor and figuring out what the next step would be to ensure it didn't continue to spread…but those were all things that Arthur couldn't be bothered with at the moment, as his spine went stiffer then a board. He knew Morgana was always trying to go against Uther, but that didn't mean all of them were! Morgana didn't have to make it sound as if it was a bad thing. So what if he wanted his father's approval, and he didn't want his king to know he'd been lying about bedding Merlin-indirectly and sometimes straight up lying-to cover his own tracks. Not all of them were interested in antagonizing the king! Some of them-Arthur-just wanted to get to live another day without facing the king's fury. And nothing would incense the king more then if he knew Arthur wasn't willing to do his duty for the kingdom's sake and safety. Arthur loved his kingdom but it had felt…as if Uther had been asking too much of him the day he demanded Arthur follow through with the wedding. It sometimes still felt as if Uther asked too much of him…

"-And no, I didn't bloody well tell Uther anything. I actually believe what goes on in the bedroom of a married could, is meant to stay within the bed chambers of a married couple, unless that information is freely given." Morgana said with a pointed look at the prince down her nose, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, for believing the only thing she had to do with her time was stirring up even more issues for Merlin to deal with. But Arthur could only feel as if this huge weight had just been taken off his chest, as if he could finally take a breath of fresh air into his lungs, as he sagged heavily onto the staircase banister. Good, Arthur thought with an almost dizzying sense of amazement…as if there was storm clouds above the kingdom that had been blocking the sun for week after week, and they had just parted for Arthur to finally feel the warmth against his skin…this meant he still had himself a bit of time to figure out what he needed to do about Lady Morgana, and what her own plans concerning this was. The prince might be lucky, and Morgana might accept him giving her something small if she agreed to keep her silence. There was every chance-okay, a very slim one-that Morgana might accept…perhaps some sort of new bauble for her hair that'd keep her pleased and agreeable. Many other women would have happily taken the trade-the bauble for a secret kept in the dark-but Morgana wasn't that type of girl. "I do have to wonder though…there is something that's bothered me with all of this-" and Arthur whipped his eyes around to narrow his eyes on Morgana, his relaxed state popping in that one instant, when he saw her green eyes were searching deeply for something in his expression, as he pushed himself off of the staircase. "…Why didn't you do it? I saw you take Merlin from the party on the night of your wedding, I saw you leave together. And yet…you didn't do it. Why didn't you, when it's well known how important it is to consummate?"

Arthur opened his mouth, but then he stopped…he thought for a minute…and then closed his mouth again. He couldn't say he knew what to tell her…he knew his entire life rode on consummating things with Merlin. But back when he'd first meant to do it-back on their wedding night-Arthur had been convinced by Merlin's innocent act. And he'd been torn right between two main reasons for not wanting to bed Merlin…it was for one-he thought he was going to be literally sick with just the thought of doing it. Imagining himself touching on a unfamiliar body, reaching down only to feel a hard cock as it throbbed against his hand-startling him-instead of finding a wet pussy like his bride should have. Imagining himself in an embarrassed struggle on finding out how exactly he should prepare a man properly…and wondering if he should just go on ahead and dive into him. Arthur had been convinced all those months ago, that it would have been rape-his second reason for not going through with it. Arthur didn't want to be held responsible for Merlin's virginity-and knowing just how important that was to some people-and being the reason it was stolen from him without agreement. If Arthur knew all of the things he knew now…he probably would have ended up going through with it. It wouldn't be nearly as scary-though his own hands would probably be trembling as he held onto Merlin's waist from behind, trying not to remember that this was also a first time for him, as he plunged himself into the other man's body-if Arthur had known Merlin already knew what to expect.

But now it seemed as if those answers didn't fit anymore, as if they were no longer right. Arthur had gotten used to 'brat', and while he would never be willing to take Merlin to his bed to finish what he should have started ages ago, he no longer felt as if he was going to throw up all over the floor. It would give him some confidence that he might be able to finish up the act if he had to do it…unless he instead threw up all over Merlin's back once he had him actually naked and waiting on his hands and knees to do it. Ugh, Arthur wrinkled up his nose…at least he knew for certainty that it would no longer be rape if this all fell to the wayside and Uther discovered all the lies. If Merlin was going to be go ahead and open up his legs up for any random man to wonder between them, then it would hardly matter to the boy if it was Arthur who took a turn with him. Though Arthur did bite back a scowl, he was now asking himself if Merlin had slept with so many men out there…he wouldn't notice who would crawl next into the gap between his thighs. Not even if that next man to do so was a husband he scorned and humiliated…Arthur's insides were burning with rage at the reminder. At least if Arthur did end up forced to consummate…he would be damn sure to make sure the only name screamed from Merlin's lips…would only be his own. If Arthur was going to be forced to do it at some point…then he would make sure nobody questioned why his consort was walking around the kingdom with a violent limp after Arthur made sure to brutalize his inside. Made sure the consort forever remembered the shape of his own cock as if it was still nestled inside of him, leaving his seed so deep in the tiny thing Merlin would call a hole, that he would never be able to clean all of Arthur out of him.

The subtle coughing coming from Morgana reminded him that she was still here, and Arthur rose his eyes back to see her lifting an eyebrow at him for taking so long to answer a simple question. Fuck…Arthur really needed to learn how to stop himself from imagining all of the things he was going to do to Merlin. From torturing him, claiming him…and now him thinking of claiming him in an entirely different way, this was starting to become a real problem, he decided as he raised a hand up to squeeze at the bridge of his nose. Hell, if there was a chance that humans could have ever been born with a ability to change their eye color based on their moods-then his would have been a fevered red. A furious red that spoke of the color of demons who would rein hell down onto those in their pathway. Or in Arthur's case…the one person Arthur knew was always going to destined to cross paths with him.

"I think…that it's like you said. The situations that happens between a married couple in the privacy of a bedroom has to stay between the married couple." Arthur finally decided to give her, squeezing his nose one more time before Arthur dropped his hand down to his side. He couldn't help it when he noticed Morgana's…disappointment at his 'not actually answering the question answer', but he rolled his eyes with a disquiet expression on his face. What had Morgana been expecting from him? Did she want him to wax poetry about how he wanted his first-horrid-time with Merlin to end up as more romantic then a forced quicky to solidify the marriage in the eyes of the court? Did she expect him to start talking about giving courtship gifts first, and romancing the boy till he was dropping his pants himself for Arthur, rather then the prince being the one to take them off of him. Or perhaps the lady only hoped that Arthur wouldn't prove himself to be as bad as a guy like she thought he was. But Arthur was done giving false placates to get people off his back.

He liked to think of himself as a realist, and while he had no intentions of bedding Merlin, he could at least admit that it was a choice that may end up taken out of his hands. Which was why Morgana needed to keep her mouth shut about the matter, at least so the prince could delay the inevitable for as long as he could. But then again, doing it didn't mean he had to make it good for Merlin. The fucking slut would most likely enjoy it if Arthur just threw him on the bed, jerked his pants off, lined his cock with the hole trying to hide between those cheeks, and shoved himself inside with no prep. Make him bleed a little as Arthur tore something while he entered. What whore didn't like a bit of pain? What whore would not beg for more like some kind of wicked deviant…it stood to reason to think Merlin was one of those freaks who got off on pain. He was a pain in Arthur's arse, at least…and there it was…Arthur was slipping off into imagined worlds destined to never happen. He needed to get a fucking grip. What the prince needed to do was stop getting off topic, and just ask Morgana, "If we are starting to ask each other questions this personal, maybe you could try answering something for me. Like why, if you are convinced Merlin is the innocent lamb you think he is, didn't you bother explaining things to him?"

Arthur watched when Morgana's face turned a startling red as she remembered her own reasons for not saying a thing to the boy in question. And Arthur couldn't have stopped a smirk from appearing on his lips if he tried. Yeah, it was real easy for Morgana to try and crucify Arthur for hitting Merlin, but it seemed to be an entirely different matter when it was her doing something to damage Merlin. Because was it not Gaius who had warned Arthur-when they had first made the deal to keep Uther from finding out Merlin had never gotten taken on their wedding night-that putting off telling him was only going to damage him in the long run. Becoming a more susceptible towards people taking advantage of him should he not be aware of possible warning signs. But of course, all of that had been long before Arthur knew the truth. And the way it turned out…apparently it was the best decision Arthur had ever made when he decided to keep putting off his end of the deal. Arthur could just imagine himself-and Morgana, apparently later on-trying to explain to Merlin that the hole between his cheeks had more then one possible function if he wanted to use it. It would have been awkward as well as embarrassing as fuck. But that would have doubled if Arthur had known Merlin-as soon as he was gone-would have bust out laughing before finding his third person of the day who'd be willing to take him…

"…Have you seen his face? When he's all confused and just staring at you, blinking his eyes as he's trying to understand what something means? It's like talking to a child! I can't tell a child about those things!" Morgana excused herself, as if she thought her own reasons were perfectly acceptable to ignore what she thought was a glaring oversight in Merlin's education. But Arthur knew exactly what she meant…Merlin had casted that same expression towards him many times in the last three months. Arthur liked to call it his 'deer looking into a torchlight for the first time ever' expression. And then combined with that stupidly goofy smile Arthur would catch Merlin with occasionally…Merlin might've been an adult but it had been near impossible to not feel the same protective urges one would if they had a child in their care. Arthur had fallen prey to it many times in his pursuit to keep the thinner boy from ruining himself. But again, those days were forever gone as Arthur was going to be taking a different approach to how he interacted with his consort…very soon. Morgana seemed to have gotten her bearings back though, because she started up again, not able to resist addressing Arthur's awful attitude towards his consort, "And just for the record, and on risk of repeating myself…I think calling Merlin a 'little lamb' is a far better description then calling him a whore. He is no more then a whore then I am a sorcerer! But I suppose we all must be careful around the Great Arthur-" there was a sneer upon her lips as she started working herself up again over all of this. "If Merlin doesn't tread lightly, you will most likely end up trying to have him burned at the stake! And for what? Not sharing the same views as his increasingly closed minded husband."

There was a low growl starting to build up in the back of the prince's throat at the swift change, Morgana's rage starting to resonate out of her once again. Morgana had clearly been taking things far out of proportion if she seriously thought a burning of his consort would leave him satisfied. Arthur was not ever going to be satisfied until he finally had Merlin start deterring to him in all matters. And a burning would've been far too easy of a punishment for a slut like Merlin. It was too quick and too easy and Merlin would only suffer for however long it took for him to submit to smoke inhalation and all the burns melting his flesh away from his bones. Arthur's plans at least had Merlin regretting the choices he'd been making for many years-if not for an entire lifetime-to come. And no surprise Morgana would try to accuse him of behaving like a narrow minded fool because he was…closed minded?

Did Morgana really think Arthur was narrow minded, simply because there were some things he wouldn't tolerate? Now Morgana might think sex was nothing to be ashamed of, but Arthur begged to differ. There was a major difference in him being 'ashamed' of it, and not wanting to be haunted by the images of Merlin in compromising positions. Arthur had way more important things to do, then being constantly stuck in thought over what Merlin could be doing right now, and who he could be doing it with. Not everybody wanted to think of their husband as the kingdom whore. Not everybody wanted to know everybody else had seen their husband naked as he was the day he was born! Not everybody wanted to be stuck imagining rather or not his own husband had continued with biting their lip raw, in an attempt to muffle the screaming as a stranger took them roughly from behind. There wasn't any man alive who would want to imagine said stranger taking a handful of his husband's dark hair, and jerk him upwards so his back was forced into an arched position, forcing that lip from in between their teeth. Nobody wanted to hear an echo of what the screams of pleasure erupting from his husband would sound like…that wasn't being closed minded!

That was simply not tolerating somebody's extremely high risk behavior. Arthur wasn't going to apologize for that, nor was he going to argue. And he most definitely would not sit here and have Morgana upset with him because he had this firm line in place over what he thought Merlin should be and should not be allowed to do. The prince crossed his arms on over his chest, and glared at the ward, "Why don't we get it over with, and you just tell me what you want?" Arthur asked in a gruff tone, banishing the affronted images of Merlin out of mind…again. But Morgana only looked at his confused, a steady frown on her lip as if she didn't quite understand the question he was asking her. Arthur let out a sharp breath of frustrated aggravation before spelling it out for her, "Tell me what exactly do you want for me to keep you quiet about all this nastiness? Do you want a new bauble for your hair? Or a new dress, maybe? Some decorative item that will keep you happy enough to keep this to yourself?"

With each suggestion Arthur offered to get her, Morgana's face was increasingly turning redder and redder with anger at the insinuation's Arthur was making. Thinking she could be bought off so easily with some kind of cheap trinket she would forget about in less then a week until it was nothing more then something else that took up space in her already spacious room. Turning redder because Arthur thought she would do something that would jeopardize her friend so she would 'need' to be bought just to stay quiet. And Morgana opened her mouth to tell Arthur exactly where he could go and stick his offer, when they both heard this sudden noise of quick footsteps from somewhere above them…from the stairs.

Arthur immediately straightened himself up, making sure to flash Morgana a confident and smug look-there was nothing Morgana could do to keep Arthur from getting his hands on Merlin first, keeping Morgana from trying to take him away from him-before turning back to the stairs. He straightened his back, and smoothed down the front of his red jacket to get rid of any invisible wrinkles. He was determined to look way better than any man Merlin had ever allowed to touch him in anyway. The least Arthur could do was make Merlin regret how he would never be able to get his snares onto the prince as he had with every other man that had crossed his path…

But when Arthur looked up as a figure rounded the corner…he realized it wasn't Merlin at all.

It was Gwen.