Fic: Proving His Worth (Jared/Jensen, Arthur/Merlin)
Title: Proving His Worth [Part 1/?]
Author: auroraprimavera
Rating: PG [This part]
Fandom: Merlin/SPN RPS crossover
Pairing(s): Jared/Jensen, Arthur/Merlin
Summary: The title of Knight of Camelot is not one easily given.
Word Count: 1,583
Warning(s): -
Beta: shiny_starlight - You rock my twin! ♥
Author's Notes: I blame this all on elandrialore and sillyshy - The idea sprang from this lovely manip by elandrialore & this comment by sillyshy: this really makes me crave a J2 knight!AU. Damn it - And well, here you are. Just - yeah. More to come soon.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction - none of this ever happened. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this work. Please observe your local laws with regards to the age-limit and content of this work.
Jared grunted as he let the heavy metal fall with a thud to the ground. His back was killing him and he was sure that he'd pulled something in his arm, the pain making him wince. He looked around his small house and sighed, wishing once again that he had a great enough fortune so that he could afford a squire to assist him. Then again, thanks to Mercia, his family had lost everything.
He was lucky that King Uther was understanding and had at least gifted them with some small form of accommodation. And at least Jared himself had his own house, tiny as it was.
A soft knock on his door caught his attention and he glanced quickly around his one room home before answering. He hated when others visited and his house was less than tidy.
When he opened the door and saw who was standing there, an involuntary smile came out. Sir Ackles smiled back at him and raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting to be let inside.
Right, inside.
Jared stepped back and gestured inside, "Come in, Sir Ackles."
"Thank you."
After Jared closed the door, there was a short moment of awkwardness in which neither of them knew what to say or how to act. Then Sir Ackles grinned, bright and sunny, and put his dirt stained helmet on the table.
"Please, I insist that you call me Jensen when we are in the privacy of our homes. Otherwise, we just sound too formal."
Jared swallowed and managed a nod. "All right, Jensen. And please, call me Jared."
Jensen's eyes shone with mirth and he nodded, "Jared."
For a moment they stood staring at one another before Jared pulled himself together. "What may I help you with, Sir...um...Jensen?"
A small laugh and Jensen seated himself at the table, adjusting the armour he was still wearing so he could sit comfortably on the bench. "I have a favour to ask, if you please. I - I noticed your footwork earlier and couldn't help but notice how light on your feet you are. Despite your size."
Jared blushed and scrubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He knew that all the knights talked about him and his abnormal height, about how much taller than everyone he was. It seemed fitting that the captain of the guard was here to chastise him for something. "I see."
"Jared, it is not what you think. I merely wished to ask if you wouldn't mind training me and the men under my immediate care. They are far too heavy footed for guards of the palace."
"Train... you? And. Your men?"
"Yes, if you don't mind, that is."
"I -" Jared sat down and stared at Jensen with wide eyes. "Well, I - what about the Prince? Surely Prince Arthur would object to my training his men and -"
Jensen held a hand up and silenced him with a raised eyebrow. Jared couldn't help but think that maybe Jensen had learnt the trick from the old court physician, Gaius. "I have already spoken to Prince Arthur about it and he agrees with me. He, too, is quite impressed with you."
Jared blushed again, harder. To have the Prince recognise him? That was humbling, to say the least. And with that revelation, he knew he could never say no. He nodded and grinned at the small smile Jensen sent his way. "All right, I will train you and your men."
Jensen stood up and gathered his helmet, the smile growing on his face. "Wonderful. I shall set up an area on the training grounds. The sooner we start, the better. See you tomorrow, Sir Padalecki."
And then he was gone, leaving Jared blinking stupidly at his shut front door. Well. This would be interesting, to say the least.
The next morning one of Sir Ackles' squires called on him early and led him to the corner of the training grounds where he would be training the Castle's elite Royal Guard. Jared shook his head and focused on the task at hand. This could either end very well for him and his family, or it could send him down into absolute failure.
It did, however, help that Sir Ackles was there to keep his men in order. Jared hated the looks he received from the other men. He'd never felt fully comfortable as a knight of Camelot, but it was the only thing keeping his family fed and safe.
He was able to keep some authority over his fellow knights for most of the day. Mostly they smirked at him and sent withering, patronising looks his way. So what if he was younger and less experienced than most of them. Just because they were the Royal Guard didn't mean...well - okay, it did.
At the end of the day, he had new bruises blossoming over his chest and back, his arm still stinging from the harsh training Prince Arthur had put them through the day before. Jared was in the armoury, putting away the training swords and shields when a loud taunting voice called out to him from outside.
Sir Seymour. There was no one Jared disliked more than that man and now he was going to have to deal with him alone. Great, just what he needed.
He turned and met the other knight's hard stare. "Sir Seymour, how may I help you?"
"It seems that you have gained favour with Prince Arthur and with Sir Ackles."
Jared fought hard to keep his blush down, "So it does."
"Tell me, Sir Padalecki, whatever did you do to gain it?" Sir Seymour was smirking and looking altogether too gloating.
Jared suddenly felt an odd rush of fear and distrust. "What do you mean?"
The other knight advanced on him, cornering him against the decorative shields lining the armoury walls. "You know perfectly well what I mean. You are nothing but leftovers from Mercia, worthless to even be considered a knight of Camelot and yet - here you are. Training us."
A sound at the door had Jared looking away from Sir Seymour's cold brown eyes. What he saw made his blood chill and his heart beat loudly. The rest of the Royal Guard was standing at the door, cold looks making the temperature inside the overly warm armoury fall a few degrees.
"So, we think, considering how suddenly you gained your new position, that you should gift us as well. We are still, as a matter of fact, your superiors. No matter what illusions of grandeur you may have."
Jared swallowed and pushed further into the wall. He knew he could easily take down Sir Seymour and possibly Sir Geldrid. But he, alone, against the other twenty men would be disastrous. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else, anything else, as the men made their way to him. Just as he felt a hard hand take hold of his shoulder a loud clatter had him opening his eyes and looking towards the door once again.
Merlin.
Thank the gods. Merlin, Arthur's stupidly loyal manservant was glaring at the knights, his blue eyes narrowed and hard. Jared had had little interaction with the other man, but, from what he'd heard, he was something else all together.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The knights laughed and Sir Seymour released his painful hold of Jared's shoulder. "Why, Merlin, do go on. Nothing but knightly business going on here. Nothing you'd understand, I'm sure."
Merlin smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh really? Maybe I wouldn't understand, but Prince Arthur would."
"As if he'd believe a word of anything you could say to him. You are nothing more than a servant."
"That may be true," the new voice caused the men to jump and look around them guiltily, "but considering that whatever he would say is undoubtedly true, I don't see why I wouldn't." Prince Arthur stepped out from behind Merlin and glared at the men gathered in the armoury. "Leave at once, I shall deal with you lot later."
The men shuffled out, Sir Seymour shrinking back from Arthur's cold look. Once the last of them had disappeared from the door Jared felt himself melting back into the wall. He turned to look at the Prince and smiled at him, "Thank you, Sire. You didn't have -"
"Of course I did. You are under my care as much as those men are." He turned to Merlin quickly before looking back to Jared, "Merlin, take him to my chambers and have a decent meal brought up for him. Also, fetch Sir Ackles; he needs to be informed of this. Have dinner sent up for the three of us. After that, have a message sent to all the Royal Guard that they have additional training starting tomorrow before dawn."
Merlin grinned and nodded, his head bowed slightly. "As you wish, Sire."
The Prince rolled his eyes, his mouth tugging into an obviously involuntary smile. "Cease the dramatics, Merlin. Now hurry along." Arthur cast one last look at Jared before sweeping out, his read cloak swinging around his legs.
Merlin turned to him and smiled, wider and brighter. "It seems you really have gained the Prince's favour."
Jared closed his eyes. "You heard that?"
"We both did. You are lucky that Arthur is actually quite accommodating. Now, let's get on. Wouldn't do to have the Prince being all angry at us for being late to dinner, now would it?"
|TBC|
Author: auroraprimavera
Rating: PG [This part]
Fandom: Merlin/SPN RPS crossover
Pairing(s): Jared/Jensen, Arthur/Merlin
Summary: The title of Knight of Camelot is not one easily given.
Word Count: 1,583
Warning(s): -
Beta: shiny_starlight - You rock my twin! ♥
Author's Notes: I blame this all on elandrialore and sillyshy - The idea sprang from this lovely manip by elandrialore & this comment by sillyshy: this really makes me crave a J2 knight!AU. Damn it - And well, here you are. Just - yeah. More to come soon.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction - none of this ever happened. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this work. Please observe your local laws with regards to the age-limit and content of this work.
Jared grunted as he let the heavy metal fall with a thud to the ground. His back was killing him and he was sure that he'd pulled something in his arm, the pain making him wince. He looked around his small house and sighed, wishing once again that he had a great enough fortune so that he could afford a squire to assist him. Then again, thanks to Mercia, his family had lost everything.
He was lucky that King Uther was understanding and had at least gifted them with some small form of accommodation. And at least Jared himself had his own house, tiny as it was.
A soft knock on his door caught his attention and he glanced quickly around his one room home before answering. He hated when others visited and his house was less than tidy.
When he opened the door and saw who was standing there, an involuntary smile came out. Sir Ackles smiled back at him and raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting to be let inside.
Right, inside.
Jared stepped back and gestured inside, "Come in, Sir Ackles."
"Thank you."
After Jared closed the door, there was a short moment of awkwardness in which neither of them knew what to say or how to act. Then Sir Ackles grinned, bright and sunny, and put his dirt stained helmet on the table.
"Please, I insist that you call me Jensen when we are in the privacy of our homes. Otherwise, we just sound too formal."
Jared swallowed and managed a nod. "All right, Jensen. And please, call me Jared."
Jensen's eyes shone with mirth and he nodded, "Jared."
For a moment they stood staring at one another before Jared pulled himself together. "What may I help you with, Sir...um...Jensen?"
A small laugh and Jensen seated himself at the table, adjusting the armour he was still wearing so he could sit comfortably on the bench. "I have a favour to ask, if you please. I - I noticed your footwork earlier and couldn't help but notice how light on your feet you are. Despite your size."
Jared blushed and scrubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He knew that all the knights talked about him and his abnormal height, about how much taller than everyone he was. It seemed fitting that the captain of the guard was here to chastise him for something. "I see."
"Jared, it is not what you think. I merely wished to ask if you wouldn't mind training me and the men under my immediate care. They are far too heavy footed for guards of the palace."
"Train... you? And. Your men?"
"Yes, if you don't mind, that is."
"I -" Jared sat down and stared at Jensen with wide eyes. "Well, I - what about the Prince? Surely Prince Arthur would object to my training his men and -"
Jensen held a hand up and silenced him with a raised eyebrow. Jared couldn't help but think that maybe Jensen had learnt the trick from the old court physician, Gaius. "I have already spoken to Prince Arthur about it and he agrees with me. He, too, is quite impressed with you."
Jared blushed again, harder. To have the Prince recognise him? That was humbling, to say the least. And with that revelation, he knew he could never say no. He nodded and grinned at the small smile Jensen sent his way. "All right, I will train you and your men."
Jensen stood up and gathered his helmet, the smile growing on his face. "Wonderful. I shall set up an area on the training grounds. The sooner we start, the better. See you tomorrow, Sir Padalecki."
And then he was gone, leaving Jared blinking stupidly at his shut front door. Well. This would be interesting, to say the least.
The next morning one of Sir Ackles' squires called on him early and led him to the corner of the training grounds where he would be training the Castle's elite Royal Guard. Jared shook his head and focused on the task at hand. This could either end very well for him and his family, or it could send him down into absolute failure.
It did, however, help that Sir Ackles was there to keep his men in order. Jared hated the looks he received from the other men. He'd never felt fully comfortable as a knight of Camelot, but it was the only thing keeping his family fed and safe.
He was able to keep some authority over his fellow knights for most of the day. Mostly they smirked at him and sent withering, patronising looks his way. So what if he was younger and less experienced than most of them. Just because they were the Royal Guard didn't mean...well - okay, it did.
At the end of the day, he had new bruises blossoming over his chest and back, his arm still stinging from the harsh training Prince Arthur had put them through the day before. Jared was in the armoury, putting away the training swords and shields when a loud taunting voice called out to him from outside.
Sir Seymour. There was no one Jared disliked more than that man and now he was going to have to deal with him alone. Great, just what he needed.
He turned and met the other knight's hard stare. "Sir Seymour, how may I help you?"
"It seems that you have gained favour with Prince Arthur and with Sir Ackles."
Jared fought hard to keep his blush down, "So it does."
"Tell me, Sir Padalecki, whatever did you do to gain it?" Sir Seymour was smirking and looking altogether too gloating.
Jared suddenly felt an odd rush of fear and distrust. "What do you mean?"
The other knight advanced on him, cornering him against the decorative shields lining the armoury walls. "You know perfectly well what I mean. You are nothing but leftovers from Mercia, worthless to even be considered a knight of Camelot and yet - here you are. Training us."
A sound at the door had Jared looking away from Sir Seymour's cold brown eyes. What he saw made his blood chill and his heart beat loudly. The rest of the Royal Guard was standing at the door, cold looks making the temperature inside the overly warm armoury fall a few degrees.
"So, we think, considering how suddenly you gained your new position, that you should gift us as well. We are still, as a matter of fact, your superiors. No matter what illusions of grandeur you may have."
Jared swallowed and pushed further into the wall. He knew he could easily take down Sir Seymour and possibly Sir Geldrid. But he, alone, against the other twenty men would be disastrous. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else, anything else, as the men made their way to him. Just as he felt a hard hand take hold of his shoulder a loud clatter had him opening his eyes and looking towards the door once again.
Merlin.
Thank the gods. Merlin, Arthur's stupidly loyal manservant was glaring at the knights, his blue eyes narrowed and hard. Jared had had little interaction with the other man, but, from what he'd heard, he was something else all together.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The knights laughed and Sir Seymour released his painful hold of Jared's shoulder. "Why, Merlin, do go on. Nothing but knightly business going on here. Nothing you'd understand, I'm sure."
Merlin smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh really? Maybe I wouldn't understand, but Prince Arthur would."
"As if he'd believe a word of anything you could say to him. You are nothing more than a servant."
"That may be true," the new voice caused the men to jump and look around them guiltily, "but considering that whatever he would say is undoubtedly true, I don't see why I wouldn't." Prince Arthur stepped out from behind Merlin and glared at the men gathered in the armoury. "Leave at once, I shall deal with you lot later."
The men shuffled out, Sir Seymour shrinking back from Arthur's cold look. Once the last of them had disappeared from the door Jared felt himself melting back into the wall. He turned to look at the Prince and smiled at him, "Thank you, Sire. You didn't have -"
"Of course I did. You are under my care as much as those men are." He turned to Merlin quickly before looking back to Jared, "Merlin, take him to my chambers and have a decent meal brought up for him. Also, fetch Sir Ackles; he needs to be informed of this. Have dinner sent up for the three of us. After that, have a message sent to all the Royal Guard that they have additional training starting tomorrow before dawn."
Merlin grinned and nodded, his head bowed slightly. "As you wish, Sire."
The Prince rolled his eyes, his mouth tugging into an obviously involuntary smile. "Cease the dramatics, Merlin. Now hurry along." Arthur cast one last look at Jared before sweeping out, his read cloak swinging around his legs.
Merlin turned to him and smiled, wider and brighter. "It seems you really have gained the Prince's favour."
Jared closed his eyes. "You heard that?"
"We both did. You are lucky that Arthur is actually quite accommodating. Now, let's get on. Wouldn't do to have the Prince being all angry at us for being late to dinner, now would it?"
|TBC|