Gone to the Dogs - part 1
Author: archaeologist_d
Title: Gone to the Dogs - part 1
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, Uther
Warning: talk about puppies dying in the past
Summary: As far as Merlin could tell, Arthur hated dogs, refused to go near them. They were for hunting and work, never for play. That was about to change.
Word Count: 1000
Camelot_drabble Prompt: 509 in public
Author's Notes: unbetaed, I'm on a roll, mainly because I'll be on vacation next week and not sure if I can write while I'm gone.
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
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It hadn’t been Merlin’s finest hour.
Yes, he had been told by Arthur to go feed the dogs. But the puppies were just so lively that Merlin forgot about closing the gate when he was inundated with wagging tails and happy little paws trying to climb up his legs. Was it his fault that he was laughing so hard that before anyone could shout ‘Merlin’ the dogs got loose?
It didn’t help that no one would give him a hand, just stared at him as he chased one dog after another in the courtyard. At least the older dogs understood commands and mostly went back into the kennels when told, but the puppies just scampered across the courtyard, yipping at his heels, bringing him sticks and chewing on his boots.
As they chased each other around, Merlin trying frantically to gather them all up before Arthur found out, Merlin had two in his arms but there were more running around at his feet. As he tried to avoid stepping on them and yet capturing them at the same time, one persistent pup grabbed his sock and pulled. Toppling to the ground, as he protected the puppies in his arms, he hit the cobblestones hard, pain flaring across his back. There would be bruises later, but at least Merlin knew that the puppies were unharmed. And a moment later, he was covered in wet tongues and soft fur, little bodies wiggling for attention.
Of course, the prat was furious. As if it was Merlin’s fault that he was besieged by puppies and hadn’t heard Arthur yelling at him. Grabbing onto his tunic, pulling him up and shaking him as if he were some kind of chew toy, as Merlin’s back turned rough with pain, Arthur snarled, “Are you utterly incompetent?”
“Umm, is that a rhetorical question?” Merlin said, wincing, his back really hurting. Thinking to hand Arthur the pups and maybe check to see if he were bleeding, when Merlin tried to give him the animals, Arthur let go, backing up, his hands out as if to protect himself from horror.
“Just get the damn things back to the kennels, you fool, before you make things worse. I swear you are the worst servant in the Five Kingdoms,” Arthur snapped. “And go see Gaius. You’re bleeding all over the cobblestones.” With that, Arthur stalked off.
Ignoring the prat, picking up a few puppies, trying to get the rest to follow him back to the kennels, Merlin muttered, “You could help, you know.” But that wasn’t going to happen.
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It took a good hour before he was able to see Gaius about the bruises. At least, he’d stopped bleeding. Just a scratch really when he hit the cobblestones.
Sitting down, muttering curses at Arthur as he winced in pain, Merlin finally said, “Why is Arthur being such an arse?”
“You will have to be more specific,” Gaius said, rubbing that ghastly paste he always used for bruises onto Merlin’s back, then sat down next to him.
“I thought everyone liked puppies but no, not Arthur. Arthur is a prat. He hates everything,” Merlin grumbled, grunting a little as he put on his tunic. The cloth was already sticking to the paste. Great. Merlin would have to wash it out later along with the blood stains, and mend the tear in his sleeve, too.
“Ah, well, Arthur learned his lesson long ago,” Gaius said, giving a little hum as he looked away, out into the distance beyond. “Dogs are for hunting, nothing more.”
“Well, yes, but puppies are for playing. If they trust you, they’ll be better hunting dogs,” Merlin muttered, then looked at Gaius. “What lesson?”
“Ah, Arthur won’t tell you himself, but when he was a boy, he loved to play with the puppies. With Uther ignoring him or his nursemaids dismissed or executed, he often visited me or would go to the kennels to pet the dogs.” Gaius didn’t sound happy at it. “But one day, Arthur was giggling about something or other, a puppy in his arms, and Uther was livid. Tore the pup out of Arthur’s arms and threw it out the window-I later had to put it down because its leg was broken-, and Arthur blamed himself for it.”
“Oh, that’s awful. Poor Arthur,” Merlin said, feeling a little bit of sympathy. Uther really had been a horrible father.
“That wasn’t the end of it, though.” Gaius sighed, a long sad sound. “Uther forbade him from interacting with the dogs at all. That’s what handlers were for, it would seem. But one night, after a particularly furious rebuke from Uther about Arthur not learning his sums properly, Arthur snuck off to visit the puppies. He was discovered.”
Merlin swallowed hard. From the look on Gaius’s face, it didn’t end well. “What happened?”
Gaius just grunted. “Arthur was beaten with a cane. I thought for a while, he might be permanently injured from it. But worse, Uther had all the puppies killed in front of him and told Arthur that it was his fault for disobeying him.” Gaius turned a sombre face toward Merlin. “Arthur refused to go near the dogs again.”
Scowling at the very idea, Merlin said, “That man was a monster.”
“That man was king of Camelot and Arthur’s father. His commands were law, but I had hoped that when Arthur grew up and no longer under Uther’s stern eye, he would soften.” Gaius shook his head. “In many ways, he has, but he still refuses to even touch the dogs.”
“Is there anything we can do? I mean, Arthur may be a prat, but he deserves… well, puppies licking his face,” Merlin said, thinking of how awful it must have been.
“Nothing for it, I’m afraid,” Gaius said, shaking his head. “And don’t you interfere either. It’s Arthur’s choice. Pushing him would only bring his fury down on your head.”
“Well, no change there, then,” Merlin said, trying to look innocent, giving Gaius his best idiotic grin. “I won’t make him play with the puppies, if that’s what you are worried about. I’m not that stupid.”
Title: Gone to the Dogs - part 1
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, Uther
Warning: talk about puppies dying in the past
Summary: As far as Merlin could tell, Arthur hated dogs, refused to go near them. They were for hunting and work, never for play. That was about to change.
Word Count: 1000
Camelot_drabble Prompt: 509 in public
Author's Notes: unbetaed, I'm on a roll, mainly because I'll be on vacation next week and not sure if I can write while I'm gone.
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
-------------------------
It hadn’t been Merlin’s finest hour.
Yes, he had been told by Arthur to go feed the dogs. But the puppies were just so lively that Merlin forgot about closing the gate when he was inundated with wagging tails and happy little paws trying to climb up his legs. Was it his fault that he was laughing so hard that before anyone could shout ‘Merlin’ the dogs got loose?
It didn’t help that no one would give him a hand, just stared at him as he chased one dog after another in the courtyard. At least the older dogs understood commands and mostly went back into the kennels when told, but the puppies just scampered across the courtyard, yipping at his heels, bringing him sticks and chewing on his boots.
As they chased each other around, Merlin trying frantically to gather them all up before Arthur found out, Merlin had two in his arms but there were more running around at his feet. As he tried to avoid stepping on them and yet capturing them at the same time, one persistent pup grabbed his sock and pulled. Toppling to the ground, as he protected the puppies in his arms, he hit the cobblestones hard, pain flaring across his back. There would be bruises later, but at least Merlin knew that the puppies were unharmed. And a moment later, he was covered in wet tongues and soft fur, little bodies wiggling for attention.
Of course, the prat was furious. As if it was Merlin’s fault that he was besieged by puppies and hadn’t heard Arthur yelling at him. Grabbing onto his tunic, pulling him up and shaking him as if he were some kind of chew toy, as Merlin’s back turned rough with pain, Arthur snarled, “Are you utterly incompetent?”
“Umm, is that a rhetorical question?” Merlin said, wincing, his back really hurting. Thinking to hand Arthur the pups and maybe check to see if he were bleeding, when Merlin tried to give him the animals, Arthur let go, backing up, his hands out as if to protect himself from horror.
“Just get the damn things back to the kennels, you fool, before you make things worse. I swear you are the worst servant in the Five Kingdoms,” Arthur snapped. “And go see Gaius. You’re bleeding all over the cobblestones.” With that, Arthur stalked off.
Ignoring the prat, picking up a few puppies, trying to get the rest to follow him back to the kennels, Merlin muttered, “You could help, you know.” But that wasn’t going to happen.
-----------------------
It took a good hour before he was able to see Gaius about the bruises. At least, he’d stopped bleeding. Just a scratch really when he hit the cobblestones.
Sitting down, muttering curses at Arthur as he winced in pain, Merlin finally said, “Why is Arthur being such an arse?”
“You will have to be more specific,” Gaius said, rubbing that ghastly paste he always used for bruises onto Merlin’s back, then sat down next to him.
“I thought everyone liked puppies but no, not Arthur. Arthur is a prat. He hates everything,” Merlin grumbled, grunting a little as he put on his tunic. The cloth was already sticking to the paste. Great. Merlin would have to wash it out later along with the blood stains, and mend the tear in his sleeve, too.
“Ah, well, Arthur learned his lesson long ago,” Gaius said, giving a little hum as he looked away, out into the distance beyond. “Dogs are for hunting, nothing more.”
“Well, yes, but puppies are for playing. If they trust you, they’ll be better hunting dogs,” Merlin muttered, then looked at Gaius. “What lesson?”
“Ah, Arthur won’t tell you himself, but when he was a boy, he loved to play with the puppies. With Uther ignoring him or his nursemaids dismissed or executed, he often visited me or would go to the kennels to pet the dogs.” Gaius didn’t sound happy at it. “But one day, Arthur was giggling about something or other, a puppy in his arms, and Uther was livid. Tore the pup out of Arthur’s arms and threw it out the window-I later had to put it down because its leg was broken-, and Arthur blamed himself for it.”
“Oh, that’s awful. Poor Arthur,” Merlin said, feeling a little bit of sympathy. Uther really had been a horrible father.
“That wasn’t the end of it, though.” Gaius sighed, a long sad sound. “Uther forbade him from interacting with the dogs at all. That’s what handlers were for, it would seem. But one night, after a particularly furious rebuke from Uther about Arthur not learning his sums properly, Arthur snuck off to visit the puppies. He was discovered.”
Merlin swallowed hard. From the look on Gaius’s face, it didn’t end well. “What happened?”
Gaius just grunted. “Arthur was beaten with a cane. I thought for a while, he might be permanently injured from it. But worse, Uther had all the puppies killed in front of him and told Arthur that it was his fault for disobeying him.” Gaius turned a sombre face toward Merlin. “Arthur refused to go near the dogs again.”
Scowling at the very idea, Merlin said, “That man was a monster.”
“That man was king of Camelot and Arthur’s father. His commands were law, but I had hoped that when Arthur grew up and no longer under Uther’s stern eye, he would soften.” Gaius shook his head. “In many ways, he has, but he still refuses to even touch the dogs.”
“Is there anything we can do? I mean, Arthur may be a prat, but he deserves… well, puppies licking his face,” Merlin said, thinking of how awful it must have been.
“Nothing for it, I’m afraid,” Gaius said, shaking his head. “And don’t you interfere either. It’s Arthur’s choice. Pushing him would only bring his fury down on your head.”
“Well, no change there, then,” Merlin said, trying to look innocent, giving Gaius his best idiotic grin. “I won’t make him play with the puppies, if that’s what you are worried about. I’m not that stupid.”