The Wheel's Always Turning Part 2
Title: The Wheel's Always Turning
Author: lycoris
Pairings/characters: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen, Morgana, Gaius, Uther, Leon, plus pretty much everyone who appeared in Season One. Also contains Arthur/Others and off-screen Merlin/Will.
Rating: Light R
Word Count: 67, 094 words
Warnings: Non-graphic prostitution. About the same level of violence you get from Season One. Character death.
Summary: Merlin arrives at Camelot to start his new life working for Gaius. First he meets Arthur, then he meets a dragon who tells him that it is Arthur's destiny to become the Once and Future King of All Albion. The only problem is that Arthur is only a servant and Camelot already has a Crown Prince ...
Author's notes: Thank you to my betas, emeraldsword and robert_frogg for their help, con-crit and suggestions. Thanks also to la_localfreak and versipellis, both of whom said the right things at the right times! And, finally, thank you to thisissirius for her wonderful artwork! This fic fills this prompt at the kink meme.
Art link: Here.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Merlin and make no profit from any of this.
Slowly, Merlin slipped out of bed. Yanking his jacket on, he sneaked out through Gaius’s room, trying not to disturb the old man where he lay sleeping. Naturally, since he was trying to be stealthy, he knocked something off the bench which clattered to the floor. Somehow, his attempts to be stealthy always seemed to make him more clumsy than before. Sometimes, Merlin thought that his ridiculously strong magical powers made him less good at other things. Maybe that was how life was. But at any rate, Gaius didn’t wake and Merlin continued his venture, slowly padding through the castle, using some of the short cuts Arthur had pointed out to him on his first day. The voice continued to call his name, soft and urgent. It got louder as Merlin went deeper, louder and clearer. Something below the castle?
He found himself at what was clearly an entrance into the dungeons. Two guards were sitting there, playing dice. After a moment, Merlin reached out his hand and let his magic blossom inside him. The dice sailed off the table and rolled part-way down a dark corridor. When one guard darted after them, Merlin gave them another flick, sending them clattering off. He watched with a small smug grin as the other guard followed, trying to see what was taking his friend so long. Moving quickly, he grabbed a torch, lit it and then headed into the dark, dank dungeon entrance. The voice was still calling to him, louder than ever now. Merlin followed it down a long staircase and then through a strange, twisted corridor. It was extremely creepy and Merlin was beginning to rather suspect that he was making a horrible mistake. Who knew what was calling his name? Who knew what was waiting for him in the dark?
But he wasn’t going to turn back now.
He took a few more steps and found himself standing in a huge cavern that seemed to go on forever. He was on a stone ledge, staring out over huge space. Laughter rippled out from somewhere, seemingly overhead.
“Where are you?” he shouted.
His voice rang out into the space beyond, sounding very small. Merlin swallowed and took a tighter grip of his torch. There was a swoosh of wind, a rattle of chains and a rush of movement. For a moment, Merlin couldn’t take in what had just settled in front of him. It was just too big. Slowly, his eyes registered the dragon that now sat on a pinnacle of rock in front of him. It was huge, gold-scaled with a strangely gentle expression in its heavy gold coloured eyes. It was the most incredible thing that Merlin had ever seen. Terrifying but incredible.
“I’m here,” it said, staring at him intently. “How small you are for such a great destiny.”
Merlin felt a thrill rush through him.
“Why, what do you mean?” he asked. “What destiny?”
“Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason” the dragon said.
Merlin couldn’t believe it. So long questioning, so many doubts and he was finally going to get an answer?
“So there is a reason?” he asked eagerly.
“Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion,” the dragon said calmly.
“Right,” Merlin said after a beat. “Um.”
“But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike,” the dragon said before Merlin could continue. “Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion.”
“Um,” Merlin said again. “Look, I think you may have got this wrong.”
“There is no right and wrong,” the dragon said calmly. “There is only what is and what isn’t.”
“No, but listen,” Merlin said, a little pleadingly. “Arthur isn’t going to be king. He’s not even a prince! He’s just a servant, like me! His brother is going to be king, not him. Are you sure you don’t mean Aurelius?”
“I know exactly who I mean,” the dragon said, not sounding at all worried. It even sounded rather amused. “Arthur is destined to become king. This is what will happen. And you must help him. None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin. And none of us can escape it.”
“But I can’t,” Merlin said. “I don’t know what you know but the king doesn’t want him! He threw Arthur out! Arthur’s a servant, he’s a … he’s a nobody.”
“Perhaps it’s your destiny to change that,” the dragon suggested.
“No,” Merlin said, desperate now. “I don’t think you understand - ”
But the dragon had evidently grown bored of the conversation. With another laugh, it leapt back into the air, flapping great wings.
“No!” Merlin shouted after it. “No, please, wait, I need to know more!”
But the dragon didn’t answer. It disappeared out of sight and after a few long minutes, Merlin slowly turned and walked out of the cavern, feeling totally bewildered. He couldn’t take in what had just happened to him. It didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be real.
Somehow, he made it back to his room and collapsed, falling into an uneasy sleep, filled with dreams of a fiery dragon that roared and laughed at him as he struggled and stared and tried to understand.
Gaius woke him in the morning with a loud complaint about the state of Merlin’s bedroom. Sitting up, Merlin had to admit that it was a bit of a tip. Somehow, that always seemed to happen to him. He pretended to tidy it up a bit, then got dressed and went out for some breakfast. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t mind at all that Arthur hadn’t come to rouse him that morning.
Once finished eating, he obeyed Gaius and took the tincture he’d prepared for the Lady Morgana. Merlin had to admit, he was quite excited about seeing the Lady Morgana up close. He’d caught a brief glimpse of her and she was very beautiful. Perhaps she’d be more friendly than Lady Helen had been. He could hope.
He allowed himself to get slightly way-laid on the way to the Lady Morgana’s room, thinking that he’d caught a sight of Arthur. It wasn’t him - just a random servant. Merlin hoped that Arthur wasn’t hiding from him. He wanted them to be friends again. He was thinking so hard about it that he forgot where Morgana’s room was and ended up walking into the room of one of the knights who was very much otherwise engaged. Merlin dodged the boot that was hurled at his head and fled, resolving to pay more attention to what he was doing.
Having finished that little detour, he got himself back on track and reached what, this time, had to be the Lady Morgana’s room. The door was closed but Merlin could hear voices inside. Suddenly anxious that he might be at the wrong room, Merlin reached with his magic. The voices inside were suddenly loud and clear to his ears. He meant to only listen long enough to check that it was the person he wanted but the conversation was interesting and he found himself lingering and listening.
“He asked me to go to the ball tonight, you know. Terribly stilted, naturally. Poor thing. I didn’t exactly agree though. I don’t see why I should after all, do you Gwen?”
“The king might like you to,” Gwen’s voice was thoughtful. “And won’t the prince be upset that you didn’t agree to go with him?”
“I don’t think he really wants to go with me,” Morgana said, her voice as thoughtful as Gwen’s had been. “He just thinks he should ask. I don’t enjoy being used so he can look good in front of Uther. He’ll probably spend most of the night talking to other people that he thinks he should be talking to. Anyway, just because I’m the king’s ward doesn’t mean that I have to go with him, does it?”
“No,” Gwen agreed. “You certainly don’t. But I can’t help feeling sorry for the prince, you know. He does like you.”
“Does he?” Morgana said, a sigh in her voice. “I think he likes what I represent more than what I am. And you know he doesn’t always approve of the company that I keep.”
“You mean Arthur,” Gwen said and Merlin listened harder.
“Of course I do,” Morgana said. “Aurelius tows the party line as far as his brother is concerned.”
“Can you blame him?” Gwen asked gently.
“Yes,” Morgana snapped. “The way Uther treats Arthur is a disgrace and if Aurelius had any sort of decency, he’d acknowledge it and try to change it, not encourage his little friends to make Arthur’s life a misery!”
“It’s not really like that,” Gwen reproved. “It’s more complicated. And Arthur doesn’t make it easy, does he?”
“You think I don’t know that?” Morgana said. “I know better than anyone what Arthur is like, except maybe Gaius. Sometimes, I think he doesn’t want friends at all. But I don’t plan to stop trying. Arthur is the one who has been wronged here, not Aurelius, no matter how he sometimes tries to paint it!”
“So you won’t be attending the ball with him then?” Gwen asked, a little tease in her voice.
“No,” Morgana said, sounding cheerful again. “Although I shall certainly be going! Now, which dress do you like better?”
Merlin ended his spell, feeling a little stab of guilt. He shouldn’t have listened and he knew it. Doubtless this was exactly the kind of thing that Gaius would disapprove of him using magic for. He knocked sharply at the door and after a moment, Gwen opened it and blinked at him.
“I was told to deliver this to Lady Morgana,” Merlin said, holding out the bottle.
“Oh, thank you,” Gwen said, smiling at him. “My lady, this is Merlin - I mentioned him the other day?”
Lady Morgana was just as beautiful as Merlin had thought she would be. She gave him a warm smile and accepted the bottle.
“So, you’re Arthur’s new friend?” she said.
“Yes,” Merlin said. “At least, I hope so.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Morgana said. “Arthur needs friends.”
“Yes, I heard,” Merlin said and then wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Morgana gave him a considering look and Merlin found himself blushing a bit and staring at his feet.
“Just don’t let him lead you into bad ways,” Morgana said lightly. “He’s a very bad young man.”
“So charmed,” a voice drawled and Merlin whipped around to find Arthur standing there, leaning against the doorway. He looked as though he was trying to be very nonchalant but there was something a little defensive about his posture. He was glaring at Morgana. “Anything else you’d like to say about me?”
“Only that you have a tendency to be rude and a reputation for doing stupid things,” Morgana said calmly.
“Oh, so sweet,” Arthur said. “Swallowed your daily dose of poison then?”
“I see that you’ve swallowed your own daily dose of unpleasantness,” Morgana snapped.
Merlin stared between them, completely baffled. Morgana had sounded so nice when she’d been talking about Arthur earlier, like she was on his side. Now she sounded as though she wasn’t at all. She sounded rather like she hated Arthur and it sounded like he hated her back. He glanced at Gwen and she shrugged and rolled her eyes. Clearly, she was used to this sort of thing.
“And yet I just couldn’t ever reach your heights,” Arthur sneered.
“Oh, I’m sure you could if you really, really tried,” Morgana snapped back.
“Um, my lady?” Gwen said quickly. “I think we need to carry on sorting out your dress … ”
“Yeah, and I should go and see if Gaius needs anything else,” Merlin said hastily. “Arthur, do you want to come with me? If he doesn’t, we can go and have some fun, if you like.”
Arthur and Morgana seemed to deflate slightly. Morgana gave Merlin a curt nod and turned on her heel with a swish of her skirt. Gwen patted Arthur’s arm in a friendly way and gave them both a sweet smile. Merlin walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, staring at Arthur who stared back.
“She’s evil,” Arthur informed him.
“She doesn’t actually seem evil,” Merlin said.
Arthur gave him a murderous glare. Merlin shrugged his shoulders and grinned disarmingly.
“You might just be biased,” he said.
“Oh shut up,” Arthur said grouchily. “I should have left you there to be eaten.”
“Oh, so she eats people too, does she?” Merlin said.
“Of course,” Arthur said but there was a little grin on his face now. “She’s like a spider. She lures men into her lair and eats their heads.”
“I’m beginning to suspect that you’re a bit of a liar,” Merlin said.
“Pfft!” Arthur snorted. “Well, if you don’t want my pearls of wisdom, I shall not drop them! But when someone eats your brains, don’t come crying to me.”
“You know, Arthur,” Merlin said consideringly. “You’re a bit of a prat, you know.”
“A prat?” Arthur spluttered. “I’m not a prat!”
“You’re a massive prat,” Merlin said comfortably and dodged Arthur’s lazy swing at him. Arthur was grinning properly now, clearly relaxed and Merlin grinned back.
“So,” he said. “Are you - what did Gaius call it? - shirking your responsibilities?”
“Ugh,” was Arthur’s response to this. “Everyone’s bloody busy preparing for this stupid feast. I don’t see why I should help since I don’t get to go. I suppose Gaius has already roped you into helping?”
Merlin nodded. Gaius had made it plain that he expected Merlin to work during this celebration. Merlin wasn’t quite sure what he would be doing … probably standing helpfully around and serving the drinks. He didn’t really mind - he was looking forward to hearing Lady Helen sing and seeing a Camelot feast in action. Arthur sighed.
“Want to pretend to help in the kitchen and steal some food?” he suggested.
“I’m sure Gaius would approve of that,” Merlin said with a snort. “Can we do something slightly less likely to annoy the man who is very kindly letting me stay with him?”
“Goody-goody,” Arthur said. “All right. Let’s see what we can do.”
They ended up helping set up the hall for the night’s feast, despite Arthur’s complaints. There were a lot of people there and Merlin found himself uncomfortably aware of the difference between the way they treated him and the way they treated Arthur. They clearly saw Merlin as a useful pair of hands, even if they didn’t know who he was. Arthur on the other hand, was treated with barely disguised scorn. Some of them even aimed cuffs at his head if they felt he wasn’t moving fast enough. Arthur always dodged these and the look in his eye suggested that he had plans of getting his own back when it was least expected. He seemed to take the treatment very well but it left Merlin seething. No wonder Arthur had originally reacted in such a hostile manner when Merlin had crashed into him. Most people would probably have done it on purpose.
“Don’t waste your time,” Arthur murmured in his ear. “I don’t care.”
“Who said anything about caring?” Merlin muttered back.
Arthur gave him a relatively gentle nudge with his shoulder. Merlin nudged him back but couldn’t help grinning. Arthur really did remind him of Will.
The day went on and eventually, they both went down to Gaius for food. Gaius gave Arthur a glare, muttered about how other people were supposed to feed Arthur and gave them both something to eat anyway. He then informed Arthur that he needed somebody to do some work for him that night and since Arthur happened to be there …
“You really don’t have to find me work to do,” Arthur said. “I’m not going to cause any trouble.”
“That is what you said last time,” Gaius informed him. “Besides, since you apparently are still intending to be fed by me, you can do some actual work for me too. Now, these are the bottles that need re-labelling … ”
Merlin couldn’t help feeling rather guilty when they left. It just didn’t seem right, going to spend time in a feast while Arthur stayed all alone in Gaius’s rooms.
“I could stay with him,” he offered. “I mean, they won’t really need me, will they?”
“I might need you,” Gaius said firmly. “Besides, you should take a look at the court in a less serious time. There may well be more important feasts while you’re here and you’ll need to have an idea of how to behave.”
“But Arthur … ”
“Arthur is quite used to it,” Gaius interrupted firmly. “Merlin, don’t let him think that you pity him. He won’t forgive you for it, no matter how unhappy he might be.”
Merlin could see the sense of that. He tried to push his anxieties away and let Gaius usher him into the now beautifully decorated hall. Merlin had to admit, it did look good, even if he had helped decorate it. It was filled with people in rich outfits, talking and chatting with each other. There were smarter servants than Merlin moving around serving drinks and providing food. Merlin eyed a tray of rather delicious looking tarts and Gaius gave him a dark glower. Apparently, they weren’t supposed to help themselves to any of the food. Typical.
It was quite fun to watch though. Merlin caught sight of Prince Aurelius standing stiffly amongst others. He didn’t look like he was having much fun. No wonder Morgana hadn’t wanted to be escorted by him. She looked like she was having the time of her life. The dress she was wearing was incredible and Merlin found himself staring at areas that he probably shouldn’t have been staring at until Gaius gave him a dig in the side and a murderous glare. Merlin quickly drifted off to try and look useful elsewhere and bumped into Gwen, who was looking pleased.
“She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” she said. “Some people are just born to be queen!”
“What, really?” Merlin said doubtfully, turning his eyes back to the prince. “He looks … well, kind of totally … not really her type.”
“Well, maybe not really,” Gwen said. “But she’s the king’s ward and well, I think it’s expected, you know.”
“You know, I’ve only known the Lady Morgana for five minutes and I really don’t see her getting married because it’s expected,” Merlin said with a grin. Gwen grinned back at him and shrugged her shoulders.
“No,” she agreed. “But you never know. Things work out strangely sometimes, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Merlin said doubtfully. He looked over at Prince Aurelius again. He was talking to someone, looking anxiously attentive. Merlin looked over at Morgana. She was talking to one of the knights and as Merlin watched, she threw back her head and laughed. Merlin shook his head. No. Definitely not a match he could see working.
He chatted with Gwen for a while as they worked, then Gwen moved off to attend to Morgana. Merlin was about to drift back over to Gaius when someone whistled softly. Merlin turned automatically, somehow knowing exactly who it was even before he saw Arthur lurking in a stairwell, beckoning to him. Making sure no one was really watching, Merlin headed over to him.
“Arthur! What are you doing here? You said you weren’t allowed here! And you said that you were working for Gaius!”
“I got bored,” Arthur said dismissively. “And I wanted to hear Lady Helen sing. C’mon, no one will notice me here. And we can see the High Table.”
Merlin considered saying that he didn’t think that was such a good idea but bit the words back. It didn’t seem really a good idea to stick his nose in when it wasn’t really wanted. Besides, spending time with Arthur would probably be amusing. Arthur was already peering around the corner and grinning.
“Oh ho! Look who Lady Grace is speaking to. She’s supposed to be betrothed to Sir Gallant so why she’s flirting with Lord Ivos, I don’t know.”
Merlin couldn’t help settling to listen to the gossip. He tried to look like he ought to be standing by the stairwell and tried very hard not to laugh too noticeably at Arthur’s rude observations.
“You are terrible,” he informed Arthur softly as people began to head to their seats.
“I only speak the truth,” Arthur retorted. “Hush now. The king is going to announce Lady Helen.”
Merlin looked at Arthur rather than Uther as Uther spoke. Arthur stared at the king with a hungry look in his eyes, seemingly catching and treasuring every single word. Merlin wondered if he’d look like that if he ever met his own father. He supposed it was possible. It certainly made sense.
Lady Helen began to sing. Her voice was deep and beautiful and Merlin thought vaguely that he could see why everyone had made such a fuss about her. It was a captivating voice too and the song was strange and haunting, rather like some sort of rather dark lullaby. Merlin tried to concentrate on the words to see if he could translate them but he was finding it hard to focus. His head suddenly felt heavy. He wanted to lie down more than anything. So tired …
Arthur suddenly thumped against him and Merlin stumbled and turned to look at him. Arthur slid down the wall, his eyelids drooping closed. Bewildered, Merlin twisted round and looked at the room. Everyone was falling asleep, slumping over the tables. Merlin clapped his hands over his ears, pressing them as tightly as he could. Magic. She was doing magic.
The words of the song were trying to worm into his head. Merlin furiously tried to push them out, concentrating on the cobwebs that were slowly growing everyone. She couldn’t do this to him. She couldn’t. Why was she doing this at all?
She was moving forward now, still singing, taking a knife from her sleeve. Her eyes were fixed on Prince Aurelius who was slumped in his chairs, his head slightly to the side, completely defenceless. She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him.
Merlin didn’t really think. He looked around frantically for something that he could do and then caught sight of the chandelier that Lady Helen was standing beneath. His magic flashed and the chandelier crashed down. Merlin looked away before it hit. He couldn’t quite believe that he’d done that. He watched people waking up and clawing cobwebs from their faces, whispering in shock. At Merlin’s feet, Arthur jerked awake, murmuring something bewilderedly and wiping his face. Merlin tried to find Gaius amongst the crowd. His eyes fell on the old woman who now lay where Lady Helen had been before. She was struggling up, her eyes filled with hate, still fixed on the bewildered prince. The knife flashed in her hand and Merlin didn’t stop to think. Time slowed to a crawl and he threw himself forward, seizing the prince’s arm and wrenching him sideways. Then time was back to normal, he and Aurelius were lying on the floor and there was a knife buried deep in Aurelius’s chair.
Merlin’s head was spinning for the next bit. He caught that Uther seemed to think the best reward that he could get was being made Prince Aurelius’s manservant. He could see that Gaius was raising an eyebrow at him whilst applauding. He caught the chilly, uncertain smile that Prince Aurelius threw at him. And he caught the look of pure, bitter jealousy that Arthur threw in his direction before moving back up the stairwell.
Damn.
“Seems you’re a hero,” Gaius said, affectionately, once they were safe in his quarters again.
“I don’t think Arthur thinks so,” Merlin said. “He’s furious with me.”
It occurred to him that, in theory, Gaius hadn’t known that Arthur was at the feast but Gaius didn’t look at all surprised. Obviously, he was used to Arthur.
“He’ll recover,” he said comfortingly. “He may even like you better for it, in the end.”
“I’ve known him three days and we seem to be fighting a lot,” Merlin commented.
“Well, you appear to be someone who finds it hard to stay out of trouble,” Gaius said. Merlin gave a rather sheepish grin and tried to look innocent. He suddenly wondered what Gaius would think if he knew what the dragon had said. What Arthur would think. It didn’t seem a wise thing to dwell on at all.
“I have something for you,” Gaius said, interupting his thoughts. He moved over to the table and picked up something wrapped up in a red cloth. “This book was given to me when I was your age but I’ve a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me.”
Bewildered, Merlin pulled apart the cloth. He was holding a beautiful leather-bound book with golden clasps. He flicked them open and stared at the pages. Spells. A book of magic.
“You must keep it hidden,” Gaius warned. “You may have noticed that Arthur doesn’t necessarily respect other people’s space.”
“You really are sure that he’ll talk to me again, aren’t you?” Merlin said.
Gaius paused for a moment.
“Arthur doesn’t have much in the way of real friends,” he said at last. “He can see a potential ally in you. I don’t think that he’ll throw that away over this.”
Merlin was about to answer this but someone banged on the door and called for him. Apparently, Prince Aurelius wanted to speak to him. Merlin hid his new book under his bed and then slowly walked up the stairs to the prince’s chambers, trying to look as though he was totally confident, calm and relaxed about working for a prince.
The prince’s chamber was even more impressive than the lady Morgana’s but more depressing. Merlin glanced around at the bare stone walls and then at the huge canopied bed. Shields hung everywhere and there was a tapestry of a dragon being slain on one wall but it felt strangely impersonal. The prince sat at a huge table, looking at a blazing fire. He turned and stared at Merlin with doubtful eyes.
“You haven’t been in Camelot very long, have you?” he said.
“Um,” Merlin said. “No, sire.”
“I’m afraid that you’ll find yourself rather thrust in at the deep end,” Aurelius said with a small, stiff sort of smile. “I’ll try to be understanding of any mistakes but I expect you to try to learn quickly. If you disappoint me, I will send you away. Is that understood?”
“Oh yes,” Merlin said, nodding. “I get it.”
“Good,” Aurelius said. “Now, these are the duties that will be expected from you as my manservant. You’ll need to be up here each day to bring up my breakfast, dress me and so on. You’ll be required to tend to my armour, my clothes, my horse and do any other small jobs that I should wish. Now, I understand that you’ll still be apprenticed to Gaius so I shall do my best not to take you from those duties, although obviously you will sometimes be conflicted. I expect you to use your judgement at these times.”
Merlin wondered if now was a good moment to make a joke about his judgement. Looking at the prince’s blank face, he decided maybe not. He wasn’t sure Prince Aurelius had any sense of humour at all. He nodded his head instead and tried to look like someone with great judgement. Aurelius continued in his dry, quiet voice.
“You will be expected to wait on me, certainly in official functions and sometimes on normal days. You will bring my food each day unless I am out. You will doubtless come on expeditions with me. And of course, you’ll be helping me in the tournament.”
“Tournament?” Merlin said.
“The Grand Tournament,” Aurelius said. “I am currently the champion and shall be fighting for my place so I expect you to be perfect. The knights will begin arriving any day now. Your first priority therefore, is to get yourself up to speed with the rules of the tournament, etiquette and so on, as well as the armour of course. Do you understand?”
“Um,” Merlin said. “Yes. All of it, gone right in.”
“Good,” Aurelius said. “Now, there are … certain things that are expected of you as a servant of the prince. You’re required to keep my secrets, should you learn any of them. If you are caught gossiping about confidential matters with anyone, it will go the worse for you. Do you understand?”
“I don’t gossip,” Merlin said quickly.
“Good,” Aurelius said. He paused for a moment. “You’ll have to be careful who you trust. People … people may try to … use you.”
Merlin had a sudden horrible feeling that he knew what Aurelius was trying to say - or rather, who he was trying to talk about. He put his biggest, most cheerful smile on his face and nodded, as though he was accepting what was being said. Aurelius looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
“I hope you will feel able to come to me should you need to,” he said stiffly. “You may go. I will see you tomorrow.”
Merlin nodded, bowed and fled, feeling utterly rattled. A tournament? He remembered people in Ealdor talking about a tournament. It had always been a big deal, a huge draw. And he was supposed to be helping someone win it?
Crap.
He slept badly and only woke when Gaius told him anxiously that he was going to be late. Sleepily, Merlin threw clothes on and staggered down to the kitchens to collect a breakfast tray for the prince. People stared at him in a very different way than they had the previous day. Strange, uncertain looks that made Merlin feel uneasy. He took the tray up to Aurelius’s room and found the prince already dressed and waiting.
“You’re late,” Aurelius said, quite gently. “You’ll need to get better at that.”
“Sorry,” Merlin said. “I overslept.”
“That’s irrelevant to me,” Aurelius said. “Just don’t be late again.”
Merlin pottered uneasily around the room as the prince ate. He made the bed as best he could and tried to work out if there was anything else that needed doing. Aurelius didn’t mention it if there was. He just sat and ate with neat little bites, not looking at Merlin at all. Merlin eventually just stood quietly and waited for him to finish.
“I shall need my armour cleaning,” Aurelius said quietly, laying down his knife. “See to it, please.”
“Y-yes,” Merlin stammered. “Um … right. Where is your armour?”
Aurelius gave a soft sigh and gestured. Merlin stared in horror at the great pile of armour. What on earth was it all? What was he supposed to do with it? Was he allowed to ask? A look at Aurelius’s bland face suggested that he probably wouldn’t take it well. Slowly, Merlin gathered up the armour, trying very hard not to drop any of it. Aurelius watched, one eyebrow raised, clearly not over-impressed.
“Have it done by lunchtime,” he said.
“I will,” Merlin croaked and then wondered how to get out of the door with his arms full. Aurelius raised one eyebrow just slightly and Merlin shrugged and promptly dropped several items that clanged unpleasantly. Aurelius closed his eyes.
“Try to get rid of any dents,” he said.
Merlin nodded miserably and did his best to pick the bits up without putting everything else down. When he looked up again, Aurelius had left, leaving the door open. Quickly, Merlin glared at the metal and it leapt onto the top of pile of armour in his arms. Then he slowly tottered out, used magic to close the door behind him and then slowly staggered down back to Gaius’s rooms.
“You can’t do that in here,” Gaius told him promptly. “You should do that in the armoury.”
“I can’t carry them to the armoury!” Merlin said. “Where is the armoury?”
Gaius gave him a look that wasn’t very sympathetic at all and pointed him in the right direction. Merlin resisted the urge to think horrible thoughts and staggered down several flights of steps. He was almost at the armoury when a knight strode out, letting the door slam behind him. He didn’t even seem to notice that Merlin was standing there. Merlin muttered a few curses that Will had taught him and wondered if he could do a spell that could balance the armour while he opened the door. Before he could try this experiment, the door to the armoury opened and Arthur was standing there.
“Oh,” he said. “Hi.”
It wasn’t the most enthusiastic of greetings and Merlin felt his shoulders droop a little. He did his best to smile in a cheerful sort of fashion but somehow, this seemed to lead to him dropping some random piece of armour. Arthur’s lip twitched.
“Could you maybe hold the door?” Merlin asked, trying to bend his knees so he could pick up the armour piece. His balance wobbled rather dramatically and Arthur grabbed him before he could fall.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll help you.”
“Thank you,” Merlin said, sagging with relief. He staggered into the armoury, leaving a trail of metal behind him. Finding an unoccupied table, he dumped his burden on it and then turned to pick up what he’d abandoned, only to see that Arthur had already gathered it up for him.
“Thanks,” he said.
“No problem,” Arthur said, not really looking at him. He put the armour neatly down on the table. Merlin swallowed. He wasn’t sure if he ought to apologise (even though it had hardly been his fault!) or act as though there was nothing wrong (even though there clearly was.) In the end, he chose neither of these options and stared blankly at the armour. It looked like a misshapen pile of metal to him. He turned to look at Arthur, who was heading towards the door.
“Arthur?” he said.
“What?” Arthur asked.
“I … I have to have this ready for lunchtime,” Merlin said, aware that there was a pleading tone in his voice. “And I don’t know what to do with any of it. I don’t even know what most of it is! And Aurelius wants me to learn how to put it on him and I have to be perfect for the tournament and … ”
He stopped there because Arthur had burst out laughing.
“You?” he spluttered, entirely unsympathetically. “Oh God, you’re going to be helping him in the tournament?”
“You’re not helping,” Merlin said irritably.
Arthur snorted and grinned. Apparently, Merlin’s anxiety was extremely entertaining to him. Merlin considered all his options, then picked up one of the smaller pieces of armour and hurled it at Arthur’s head. Annoyingly, Arthur caught it.
“All right,” he said easily. “Let’s get you sorted out then. It’s not that hard anyway; you’ll pick it up pretty quickly, even with your brains!”
“What about my brains?” Merlin said indignantly. “I have excellent brains!”
“Yes, of course,” Arthur said lazily, moving over to the table and beginning to rearrange the armour. “This is the helmet. You may recognise that and you may be able to work out where it goes.”
“Just about,” Merlin said dryly. “And this is … the chest plate?”
“Breastplate,” Arthur corrected. “Now, you have to make sure you get it the right way around. This is the front and this is the back.”
“What happens if it’s the wrong way around?” Merlin asked.
“It doesn’t fit properly and everyone will laugh at you,” Arthur said. “Depending on the situation, the second part is the worst bit. Now these are the gauntlets and you need to learn to fasten them tight or they’ll slip.”
He continued pointing out each bit of armour and explaining where it went and what it did with ease. About half way through this, Merlin wondered vaguely where Arthur had learned so much about armour. Did the knights let him help out sometimes or did you just pick this sort of thing up if you lived in a place where you had grand tournaments? Either seemed possible really.
“Now, do you think you’ve got all that?” Arthur asked and Merlin nodded, not totally certain. Arthur raised a doubting eyebrow and then fetched Merlin a cloth and some polish which he showed Merlin how to use. To Merlin’s relief, Arthur then took a cloth of his own and began polishing some of the armour too.
“I enjoy cleaning armour,” he said lightly. “Anyway, you’re clearly going to end up messing up if I leave you to it. You’ve really no idea of what it’s going to mean for you, have you?”
“Aurelius gave me a lecture,” Merlin said, trying to get into a small crevice on the breastplate. “He told me that he’d be understanding for the first few weeks … ”
“Oh sure,” Arthur said with a snort. “He says that now. Merlin, nobles have no idea what it’s like to be a servant. They don’t know that you can be grabbed by anyone and ordered around. They don’t care if you’re confused or sick or don’t know what you’re doing, they expect you to be perfect fast and if you’re not, you will be in trouble. And you’re working for the prince which means you represent the royal household. You’re going to need all the help you can get and you’ll need it fast.”
Merlin gulped. He couldn’t quite believe it was that bad but at the same time, he was suddenly very nervous. How was he supposed to cope with this? He barely knew his way around the castle and now he apparently had to represent the royal household?
“You’ll help me, right?” he blurted out.
Arthur blinked at him.
“You want me to?”
“Why wouldn’t I want help?” Merlin asked, a bit confused. “You don’t have to help me, I know you’re busy too and I won’t mind, I just … feel kind of over my head and you grew up here so … ”
He trailed off. Arthur was staring at him, a confused sort of stare as though Merlin was talking another language altogether. Merlin didn’t know what to say so he went for his usual standby; a cheerful grin and a shrug. Arthur raised an eyebrow and then grinned himself.
“I might help you,” he said lazily. “If I’m feeling kind.”
“Oh right?” Merlin said, going back to polishing. “Does there happen to be anything that makes you kind?”
“Food,” Arthur said promptly. “Food is good. Especially fancy food that is totally wasted on princes … ”
“Are you encouraging me to steal food from my master before I’ve even worked for him for a day?”
“Why yes, Merlin. Yes, I am.”
“You are a bad man.”
“Why yes, Merlin. Yes, I am.”
Part three here. Link to the Masterpost here
Author: lycoris
Pairings/characters: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen, Morgana, Gaius, Uther, Leon, plus pretty much everyone who appeared in Season One. Also contains Arthur/Others and off-screen Merlin/Will.
Rating: Light R
Word Count: 67, 094 words
Warnings: Non-graphic prostitution. About the same level of violence you get from Season One. Character death.
Summary: Merlin arrives at Camelot to start his new life working for Gaius. First he meets Arthur, then he meets a dragon who tells him that it is Arthur's destiny to become the Once and Future King of All Albion. The only problem is that Arthur is only a servant and Camelot already has a Crown Prince ...
Author's notes: Thank you to my betas, emeraldsword and robert_frogg for their help, con-crit and suggestions. Thanks also to la_localfreak and versipellis, both of whom said the right things at the right times! And, finally, thank you to thisissirius for her wonderful artwork! This fic fills this prompt at the kink meme.
Art link: Here.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Merlin and make no profit from any of this.
Slowly, Merlin slipped out of bed. Yanking his jacket on, he sneaked out through Gaius’s room, trying not to disturb the old man where he lay sleeping. Naturally, since he was trying to be stealthy, he knocked something off the bench which clattered to the floor. Somehow, his attempts to be stealthy always seemed to make him more clumsy than before. Sometimes, Merlin thought that his ridiculously strong magical powers made him less good at other things. Maybe that was how life was. But at any rate, Gaius didn’t wake and Merlin continued his venture, slowly padding through the castle, using some of the short cuts Arthur had pointed out to him on his first day. The voice continued to call his name, soft and urgent. It got louder as Merlin went deeper, louder and clearer. Something below the castle?
He found himself at what was clearly an entrance into the dungeons. Two guards were sitting there, playing dice. After a moment, Merlin reached out his hand and let his magic blossom inside him. The dice sailed off the table and rolled part-way down a dark corridor. When one guard darted after them, Merlin gave them another flick, sending them clattering off. He watched with a small smug grin as the other guard followed, trying to see what was taking his friend so long. Moving quickly, he grabbed a torch, lit it and then headed into the dark, dank dungeon entrance. The voice was still calling to him, louder than ever now. Merlin followed it down a long staircase and then through a strange, twisted corridor. It was extremely creepy and Merlin was beginning to rather suspect that he was making a horrible mistake. Who knew what was calling his name? Who knew what was waiting for him in the dark?
But he wasn’t going to turn back now.
He took a few more steps and found himself standing in a huge cavern that seemed to go on forever. He was on a stone ledge, staring out over huge space. Laughter rippled out from somewhere, seemingly overhead.
“Where are you?” he shouted.
His voice rang out into the space beyond, sounding very small. Merlin swallowed and took a tighter grip of his torch. There was a swoosh of wind, a rattle of chains and a rush of movement. For a moment, Merlin couldn’t take in what had just settled in front of him. It was just too big. Slowly, his eyes registered the dragon that now sat on a pinnacle of rock in front of him. It was huge, gold-scaled with a strangely gentle expression in its heavy gold coloured eyes. It was the most incredible thing that Merlin had ever seen. Terrifying but incredible.
“I’m here,” it said, staring at him intently. “How small you are for such a great destiny.”
Merlin felt a thrill rush through him.
“Why, what do you mean?” he asked. “What destiny?”
“Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason” the dragon said.
Merlin couldn’t believe it. So long questioning, so many doubts and he was finally going to get an answer?
“So there is a reason?” he asked eagerly.
“Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion,” the dragon said calmly.
“Right,” Merlin said after a beat. “Um.”
“But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike,” the dragon said before Merlin could continue. “Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion.”
“Um,” Merlin said again. “Look, I think you may have got this wrong.”
“There is no right and wrong,” the dragon said calmly. “There is only what is and what isn’t.”
“No, but listen,” Merlin said, a little pleadingly. “Arthur isn’t going to be king. He’s not even a prince! He’s just a servant, like me! His brother is going to be king, not him. Are you sure you don’t mean Aurelius?”
“I know exactly who I mean,” the dragon said, not sounding at all worried. It even sounded rather amused. “Arthur is destined to become king. This is what will happen. And you must help him. None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin. And none of us can escape it.”
“But I can’t,” Merlin said. “I don’t know what you know but the king doesn’t want him! He threw Arthur out! Arthur’s a servant, he’s a … he’s a nobody.”
“Perhaps it’s your destiny to change that,” the dragon suggested.
“No,” Merlin said, desperate now. “I don’t think you understand - ”
But the dragon had evidently grown bored of the conversation. With another laugh, it leapt back into the air, flapping great wings.
“No!” Merlin shouted after it. “No, please, wait, I need to know more!”
But the dragon didn’t answer. It disappeared out of sight and after a few long minutes, Merlin slowly turned and walked out of the cavern, feeling totally bewildered. He couldn’t take in what had just happened to him. It didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be real.
Somehow, he made it back to his room and collapsed, falling into an uneasy sleep, filled with dreams of a fiery dragon that roared and laughed at him as he struggled and stared and tried to understand.
Gaius woke him in the morning with a loud complaint about the state of Merlin’s bedroom. Sitting up, Merlin had to admit that it was a bit of a tip. Somehow, that always seemed to happen to him. He pretended to tidy it up a bit, then got dressed and went out for some breakfast. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t mind at all that Arthur hadn’t come to rouse him that morning.
Once finished eating, he obeyed Gaius and took the tincture he’d prepared for the Lady Morgana. Merlin had to admit, he was quite excited about seeing the Lady Morgana up close. He’d caught a brief glimpse of her and she was very beautiful. Perhaps she’d be more friendly than Lady Helen had been. He could hope.
He allowed himself to get slightly way-laid on the way to the Lady Morgana’s room, thinking that he’d caught a sight of Arthur. It wasn’t him - just a random servant. Merlin hoped that Arthur wasn’t hiding from him. He wanted them to be friends again. He was thinking so hard about it that he forgot where Morgana’s room was and ended up walking into the room of one of the knights who was very much otherwise engaged. Merlin dodged the boot that was hurled at his head and fled, resolving to pay more attention to what he was doing.
Having finished that little detour, he got himself back on track and reached what, this time, had to be the Lady Morgana’s room. The door was closed but Merlin could hear voices inside. Suddenly anxious that he might be at the wrong room, Merlin reached with his magic. The voices inside were suddenly loud and clear to his ears. He meant to only listen long enough to check that it was the person he wanted but the conversation was interesting and he found himself lingering and listening.
“He asked me to go to the ball tonight, you know. Terribly stilted, naturally. Poor thing. I didn’t exactly agree though. I don’t see why I should after all, do you Gwen?”
“The king might like you to,” Gwen’s voice was thoughtful. “And won’t the prince be upset that you didn’t agree to go with him?”
“I don’t think he really wants to go with me,” Morgana said, her voice as thoughtful as Gwen’s had been. “He just thinks he should ask. I don’t enjoy being used so he can look good in front of Uther. He’ll probably spend most of the night talking to other people that he thinks he should be talking to. Anyway, just because I’m the king’s ward doesn’t mean that I have to go with him, does it?”
“No,” Gwen agreed. “You certainly don’t. But I can’t help feeling sorry for the prince, you know. He does like you.”
“Does he?” Morgana said, a sigh in her voice. “I think he likes what I represent more than what I am. And you know he doesn’t always approve of the company that I keep.”
“You mean Arthur,” Gwen said and Merlin listened harder.
“Of course I do,” Morgana said. “Aurelius tows the party line as far as his brother is concerned.”
“Can you blame him?” Gwen asked gently.
“Yes,” Morgana snapped. “The way Uther treats Arthur is a disgrace and if Aurelius had any sort of decency, he’d acknowledge it and try to change it, not encourage his little friends to make Arthur’s life a misery!”
“It’s not really like that,” Gwen reproved. “It’s more complicated. And Arthur doesn’t make it easy, does he?”
“You think I don’t know that?” Morgana said. “I know better than anyone what Arthur is like, except maybe Gaius. Sometimes, I think he doesn’t want friends at all. But I don’t plan to stop trying. Arthur is the one who has been wronged here, not Aurelius, no matter how he sometimes tries to paint it!”
“So you won’t be attending the ball with him then?” Gwen asked, a little tease in her voice.
“No,” Morgana said, sounding cheerful again. “Although I shall certainly be going! Now, which dress do you like better?”
Merlin ended his spell, feeling a little stab of guilt. He shouldn’t have listened and he knew it. Doubtless this was exactly the kind of thing that Gaius would disapprove of him using magic for. He knocked sharply at the door and after a moment, Gwen opened it and blinked at him.
“I was told to deliver this to Lady Morgana,” Merlin said, holding out the bottle.
“Oh, thank you,” Gwen said, smiling at him. “My lady, this is Merlin - I mentioned him the other day?”
Lady Morgana was just as beautiful as Merlin had thought she would be. She gave him a warm smile and accepted the bottle.
“So, you’re Arthur’s new friend?” she said.
“Yes,” Merlin said. “At least, I hope so.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Morgana said. “Arthur needs friends.”
“Yes, I heard,” Merlin said and then wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Morgana gave him a considering look and Merlin found himself blushing a bit and staring at his feet.
“Just don’t let him lead you into bad ways,” Morgana said lightly. “He’s a very bad young man.”
“So charmed,” a voice drawled and Merlin whipped around to find Arthur standing there, leaning against the doorway. He looked as though he was trying to be very nonchalant but there was something a little defensive about his posture. He was glaring at Morgana. “Anything else you’d like to say about me?”
“Only that you have a tendency to be rude and a reputation for doing stupid things,” Morgana said calmly.
“Oh, so sweet,” Arthur said. “Swallowed your daily dose of poison then?”
“I see that you’ve swallowed your own daily dose of unpleasantness,” Morgana snapped.
Merlin stared between them, completely baffled. Morgana had sounded so nice when she’d been talking about Arthur earlier, like she was on his side. Now she sounded as though she wasn’t at all. She sounded rather like she hated Arthur and it sounded like he hated her back. He glanced at Gwen and she shrugged and rolled her eyes. Clearly, she was used to this sort of thing.
“And yet I just couldn’t ever reach your heights,” Arthur sneered.
“Oh, I’m sure you could if you really, really tried,” Morgana snapped back.
“Um, my lady?” Gwen said quickly. “I think we need to carry on sorting out your dress … ”
“Yeah, and I should go and see if Gaius needs anything else,” Merlin said hastily. “Arthur, do you want to come with me? If he doesn’t, we can go and have some fun, if you like.”
Arthur and Morgana seemed to deflate slightly. Morgana gave Merlin a curt nod and turned on her heel with a swish of her skirt. Gwen patted Arthur’s arm in a friendly way and gave them both a sweet smile. Merlin walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, staring at Arthur who stared back.
“She’s evil,” Arthur informed him.
“She doesn’t actually seem evil,” Merlin said.
Arthur gave him a murderous glare. Merlin shrugged his shoulders and grinned disarmingly.
“You might just be biased,” he said.
“Oh shut up,” Arthur said grouchily. “I should have left you there to be eaten.”
“Oh, so she eats people too, does she?” Merlin said.
“Of course,” Arthur said but there was a little grin on his face now. “She’s like a spider. She lures men into her lair and eats their heads.”
“I’m beginning to suspect that you’re a bit of a liar,” Merlin said.
“Pfft!” Arthur snorted. “Well, if you don’t want my pearls of wisdom, I shall not drop them! But when someone eats your brains, don’t come crying to me.”
“You know, Arthur,” Merlin said consideringly. “You’re a bit of a prat, you know.”
“A prat?” Arthur spluttered. “I’m not a prat!”
“You’re a massive prat,” Merlin said comfortably and dodged Arthur’s lazy swing at him. Arthur was grinning properly now, clearly relaxed and Merlin grinned back.
“So,” he said. “Are you - what did Gaius call it? - shirking your responsibilities?”
“Ugh,” was Arthur’s response to this. “Everyone’s bloody busy preparing for this stupid feast. I don’t see why I should help since I don’t get to go. I suppose Gaius has already roped you into helping?”
Merlin nodded. Gaius had made it plain that he expected Merlin to work during this celebration. Merlin wasn’t quite sure what he would be doing … probably standing helpfully around and serving the drinks. He didn’t really mind - he was looking forward to hearing Lady Helen sing and seeing a Camelot feast in action. Arthur sighed.
“Want to pretend to help in the kitchen and steal some food?” he suggested.
“I’m sure Gaius would approve of that,” Merlin said with a snort. “Can we do something slightly less likely to annoy the man who is very kindly letting me stay with him?”
“Goody-goody,” Arthur said. “All right. Let’s see what we can do.”
They ended up helping set up the hall for the night’s feast, despite Arthur’s complaints. There were a lot of people there and Merlin found himself uncomfortably aware of the difference between the way they treated him and the way they treated Arthur. They clearly saw Merlin as a useful pair of hands, even if they didn’t know who he was. Arthur on the other hand, was treated with barely disguised scorn. Some of them even aimed cuffs at his head if they felt he wasn’t moving fast enough. Arthur always dodged these and the look in his eye suggested that he had plans of getting his own back when it was least expected. He seemed to take the treatment very well but it left Merlin seething. No wonder Arthur had originally reacted in such a hostile manner when Merlin had crashed into him. Most people would probably have done it on purpose.
“Don’t waste your time,” Arthur murmured in his ear. “I don’t care.”
“Who said anything about caring?” Merlin muttered back.
Arthur gave him a relatively gentle nudge with his shoulder. Merlin nudged him back but couldn’t help grinning. Arthur really did remind him of Will.
The day went on and eventually, they both went down to Gaius for food. Gaius gave Arthur a glare, muttered about how other people were supposed to feed Arthur and gave them both something to eat anyway. He then informed Arthur that he needed somebody to do some work for him that night and since Arthur happened to be there …
“You really don’t have to find me work to do,” Arthur said. “I’m not going to cause any trouble.”
“That is what you said last time,” Gaius informed him. “Besides, since you apparently are still intending to be fed by me, you can do some actual work for me too. Now, these are the bottles that need re-labelling … ”
Merlin couldn’t help feeling rather guilty when they left. It just didn’t seem right, going to spend time in a feast while Arthur stayed all alone in Gaius’s rooms.
“I could stay with him,” he offered. “I mean, they won’t really need me, will they?”
“I might need you,” Gaius said firmly. “Besides, you should take a look at the court in a less serious time. There may well be more important feasts while you’re here and you’ll need to have an idea of how to behave.”
“But Arthur … ”
“Arthur is quite used to it,” Gaius interrupted firmly. “Merlin, don’t let him think that you pity him. He won’t forgive you for it, no matter how unhappy he might be.”
Merlin could see the sense of that. He tried to push his anxieties away and let Gaius usher him into the now beautifully decorated hall. Merlin had to admit, it did look good, even if he had helped decorate it. It was filled with people in rich outfits, talking and chatting with each other. There were smarter servants than Merlin moving around serving drinks and providing food. Merlin eyed a tray of rather delicious looking tarts and Gaius gave him a dark glower. Apparently, they weren’t supposed to help themselves to any of the food. Typical.
It was quite fun to watch though. Merlin caught sight of Prince Aurelius standing stiffly amongst others. He didn’t look like he was having much fun. No wonder Morgana hadn’t wanted to be escorted by him. She looked like she was having the time of her life. The dress she was wearing was incredible and Merlin found himself staring at areas that he probably shouldn’t have been staring at until Gaius gave him a dig in the side and a murderous glare. Merlin quickly drifted off to try and look useful elsewhere and bumped into Gwen, who was looking pleased.
“She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” she said. “Some people are just born to be queen!”
“What, really?” Merlin said doubtfully, turning his eyes back to the prince. “He looks … well, kind of totally … not really her type.”
“Well, maybe not really,” Gwen said. “But she’s the king’s ward and well, I think it’s expected, you know.”
“You know, I’ve only known the Lady Morgana for five minutes and I really don’t see her getting married because it’s expected,” Merlin said with a grin. Gwen grinned back at him and shrugged her shoulders.
“No,” she agreed. “But you never know. Things work out strangely sometimes, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Merlin said doubtfully. He looked over at Prince Aurelius again. He was talking to someone, looking anxiously attentive. Merlin looked over at Morgana. She was talking to one of the knights and as Merlin watched, she threw back her head and laughed. Merlin shook his head. No. Definitely not a match he could see working.
He chatted with Gwen for a while as they worked, then Gwen moved off to attend to Morgana. Merlin was about to drift back over to Gaius when someone whistled softly. Merlin turned automatically, somehow knowing exactly who it was even before he saw Arthur lurking in a stairwell, beckoning to him. Making sure no one was really watching, Merlin headed over to him.
“Arthur! What are you doing here? You said you weren’t allowed here! And you said that you were working for Gaius!”
“I got bored,” Arthur said dismissively. “And I wanted to hear Lady Helen sing. C’mon, no one will notice me here. And we can see the High Table.”
Merlin considered saying that he didn’t think that was such a good idea but bit the words back. It didn’t seem really a good idea to stick his nose in when it wasn’t really wanted. Besides, spending time with Arthur would probably be amusing. Arthur was already peering around the corner and grinning.
“Oh ho! Look who Lady Grace is speaking to. She’s supposed to be betrothed to Sir Gallant so why she’s flirting with Lord Ivos, I don’t know.”
Merlin couldn’t help settling to listen to the gossip. He tried to look like he ought to be standing by the stairwell and tried very hard not to laugh too noticeably at Arthur’s rude observations.
“You are terrible,” he informed Arthur softly as people began to head to their seats.
“I only speak the truth,” Arthur retorted. “Hush now. The king is going to announce Lady Helen.”
Merlin looked at Arthur rather than Uther as Uther spoke. Arthur stared at the king with a hungry look in his eyes, seemingly catching and treasuring every single word. Merlin wondered if he’d look like that if he ever met his own father. He supposed it was possible. It certainly made sense.
Lady Helen began to sing. Her voice was deep and beautiful and Merlin thought vaguely that he could see why everyone had made such a fuss about her. It was a captivating voice too and the song was strange and haunting, rather like some sort of rather dark lullaby. Merlin tried to concentrate on the words to see if he could translate them but he was finding it hard to focus. His head suddenly felt heavy. He wanted to lie down more than anything. So tired …
Arthur suddenly thumped against him and Merlin stumbled and turned to look at him. Arthur slid down the wall, his eyelids drooping closed. Bewildered, Merlin twisted round and looked at the room. Everyone was falling asleep, slumping over the tables. Merlin clapped his hands over his ears, pressing them as tightly as he could. Magic. She was doing magic.
The words of the song were trying to worm into his head. Merlin furiously tried to push them out, concentrating on the cobwebs that were slowly growing everyone. She couldn’t do this to him. She couldn’t. Why was she doing this at all?
She was moving forward now, still singing, taking a knife from her sleeve. Her eyes were fixed on Prince Aurelius who was slumped in his chairs, his head slightly to the side, completely defenceless. She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him.
Merlin didn’t really think. He looked around frantically for something that he could do and then caught sight of the chandelier that Lady Helen was standing beneath. His magic flashed and the chandelier crashed down. Merlin looked away before it hit. He couldn’t quite believe that he’d done that. He watched people waking up and clawing cobwebs from their faces, whispering in shock. At Merlin’s feet, Arthur jerked awake, murmuring something bewilderedly and wiping his face. Merlin tried to find Gaius amongst the crowd. His eyes fell on the old woman who now lay where Lady Helen had been before. She was struggling up, her eyes filled with hate, still fixed on the bewildered prince. The knife flashed in her hand and Merlin didn’t stop to think. Time slowed to a crawl and he threw himself forward, seizing the prince’s arm and wrenching him sideways. Then time was back to normal, he and Aurelius were lying on the floor and there was a knife buried deep in Aurelius’s chair.
Merlin’s head was spinning for the next bit. He caught that Uther seemed to think the best reward that he could get was being made Prince Aurelius’s manservant. He could see that Gaius was raising an eyebrow at him whilst applauding. He caught the chilly, uncertain smile that Prince Aurelius threw at him. And he caught the look of pure, bitter jealousy that Arthur threw in his direction before moving back up the stairwell.
Damn.
“Seems you’re a hero,” Gaius said, affectionately, once they were safe in his quarters again.
“I don’t think Arthur thinks so,” Merlin said. “He’s furious with me.”
It occurred to him that, in theory, Gaius hadn’t known that Arthur was at the feast but Gaius didn’t look at all surprised. Obviously, he was used to Arthur.
“He’ll recover,” he said comfortingly. “He may even like you better for it, in the end.”
“I’ve known him three days and we seem to be fighting a lot,” Merlin commented.
“Well, you appear to be someone who finds it hard to stay out of trouble,” Gaius said. Merlin gave a rather sheepish grin and tried to look innocent. He suddenly wondered what Gaius would think if he knew what the dragon had said. What Arthur would think. It didn’t seem a wise thing to dwell on at all.
“I have something for you,” Gaius said, interupting his thoughts. He moved over to the table and picked up something wrapped up in a red cloth. “This book was given to me when I was your age but I’ve a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me.”
Bewildered, Merlin pulled apart the cloth. He was holding a beautiful leather-bound book with golden clasps. He flicked them open and stared at the pages. Spells. A book of magic.
“You must keep it hidden,” Gaius warned. “You may have noticed that Arthur doesn’t necessarily respect other people’s space.”
“You really are sure that he’ll talk to me again, aren’t you?” Merlin said.
Gaius paused for a moment.
“Arthur doesn’t have much in the way of real friends,” he said at last. “He can see a potential ally in you. I don’t think that he’ll throw that away over this.”
Merlin was about to answer this but someone banged on the door and called for him. Apparently, Prince Aurelius wanted to speak to him. Merlin hid his new book under his bed and then slowly walked up the stairs to the prince’s chambers, trying to look as though he was totally confident, calm and relaxed about working for a prince.
The prince’s chamber was even more impressive than the lady Morgana’s but more depressing. Merlin glanced around at the bare stone walls and then at the huge canopied bed. Shields hung everywhere and there was a tapestry of a dragon being slain on one wall but it felt strangely impersonal. The prince sat at a huge table, looking at a blazing fire. He turned and stared at Merlin with doubtful eyes.
“You haven’t been in Camelot very long, have you?” he said.
“Um,” Merlin said. “No, sire.”
“I’m afraid that you’ll find yourself rather thrust in at the deep end,” Aurelius said with a small, stiff sort of smile. “I’ll try to be understanding of any mistakes but I expect you to try to learn quickly. If you disappoint me, I will send you away. Is that understood?”
“Oh yes,” Merlin said, nodding. “I get it.”
“Good,” Aurelius said. “Now, these are the duties that will be expected from you as my manservant. You’ll need to be up here each day to bring up my breakfast, dress me and so on. You’ll be required to tend to my armour, my clothes, my horse and do any other small jobs that I should wish. Now, I understand that you’ll still be apprenticed to Gaius so I shall do my best not to take you from those duties, although obviously you will sometimes be conflicted. I expect you to use your judgement at these times.”
Merlin wondered if now was a good moment to make a joke about his judgement. Looking at the prince’s blank face, he decided maybe not. He wasn’t sure Prince Aurelius had any sense of humour at all. He nodded his head instead and tried to look like someone with great judgement. Aurelius continued in his dry, quiet voice.
“You will be expected to wait on me, certainly in official functions and sometimes on normal days. You will bring my food each day unless I am out. You will doubtless come on expeditions with me. And of course, you’ll be helping me in the tournament.”
“Tournament?” Merlin said.
“The Grand Tournament,” Aurelius said. “I am currently the champion and shall be fighting for my place so I expect you to be perfect. The knights will begin arriving any day now. Your first priority therefore, is to get yourself up to speed with the rules of the tournament, etiquette and so on, as well as the armour of course. Do you understand?”
“Um,” Merlin said. “Yes. All of it, gone right in.”
“Good,” Aurelius said. “Now, there are … certain things that are expected of you as a servant of the prince. You’re required to keep my secrets, should you learn any of them. If you are caught gossiping about confidential matters with anyone, it will go the worse for you. Do you understand?”
“I don’t gossip,” Merlin said quickly.
“Good,” Aurelius said. He paused for a moment. “You’ll have to be careful who you trust. People … people may try to … use you.”
Merlin had a sudden horrible feeling that he knew what Aurelius was trying to say - or rather, who he was trying to talk about. He put his biggest, most cheerful smile on his face and nodded, as though he was accepting what was being said. Aurelius looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
“I hope you will feel able to come to me should you need to,” he said stiffly. “You may go. I will see you tomorrow.”
Merlin nodded, bowed and fled, feeling utterly rattled. A tournament? He remembered people in Ealdor talking about a tournament. It had always been a big deal, a huge draw. And he was supposed to be helping someone win it?
Crap.
He slept badly and only woke when Gaius told him anxiously that he was going to be late. Sleepily, Merlin threw clothes on and staggered down to the kitchens to collect a breakfast tray for the prince. People stared at him in a very different way than they had the previous day. Strange, uncertain looks that made Merlin feel uneasy. He took the tray up to Aurelius’s room and found the prince already dressed and waiting.
“You’re late,” Aurelius said, quite gently. “You’ll need to get better at that.”
“Sorry,” Merlin said. “I overslept.”
“That’s irrelevant to me,” Aurelius said. “Just don’t be late again.”
Merlin pottered uneasily around the room as the prince ate. He made the bed as best he could and tried to work out if there was anything else that needed doing. Aurelius didn’t mention it if there was. He just sat and ate with neat little bites, not looking at Merlin at all. Merlin eventually just stood quietly and waited for him to finish.
“I shall need my armour cleaning,” Aurelius said quietly, laying down his knife. “See to it, please.”
“Y-yes,” Merlin stammered. “Um … right. Where is your armour?”
Aurelius gave a soft sigh and gestured. Merlin stared in horror at the great pile of armour. What on earth was it all? What was he supposed to do with it? Was he allowed to ask? A look at Aurelius’s bland face suggested that he probably wouldn’t take it well. Slowly, Merlin gathered up the armour, trying very hard not to drop any of it. Aurelius watched, one eyebrow raised, clearly not over-impressed.
“Have it done by lunchtime,” he said.
“I will,” Merlin croaked and then wondered how to get out of the door with his arms full. Aurelius raised one eyebrow just slightly and Merlin shrugged and promptly dropped several items that clanged unpleasantly. Aurelius closed his eyes.
“Try to get rid of any dents,” he said.
Merlin nodded miserably and did his best to pick the bits up without putting everything else down. When he looked up again, Aurelius had left, leaving the door open. Quickly, Merlin glared at the metal and it leapt onto the top of pile of armour in his arms. Then he slowly tottered out, used magic to close the door behind him and then slowly staggered down back to Gaius’s rooms.
“You can’t do that in here,” Gaius told him promptly. “You should do that in the armoury.”
“I can’t carry them to the armoury!” Merlin said. “Where is the armoury?”
Gaius gave him a look that wasn’t very sympathetic at all and pointed him in the right direction. Merlin resisted the urge to think horrible thoughts and staggered down several flights of steps. He was almost at the armoury when a knight strode out, letting the door slam behind him. He didn’t even seem to notice that Merlin was standing there. Merlin muttered a few curses that Will had taught him and wondered if he could do a spell that could balance the armour while he opened the door. Before he could try this experiment, the door to the armoury opened and Arthur was standing there.
“Oh,” he said. “Hi.”
It wasn’t the most enthusiastic of greetings and Merlin felt his shoulders droop a little. He did his best to smile in a cheerful sort of fashion but somehow, this seemed to lead to him dropping some random piece of armour. Arthur’s lip twitched.
“Could you maybe hold the door?” Merlin asked, trying to bend his knees so he could pick up the armour piece. His balance wobbled rather dramatically and Arthur grabbed him before he could fall.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll help you.”
“Thank you,” Merlin said, sagging with relief. He staggered into the armoury, leaving a trail of metal behind him. Finding an unoccupied table, he dumped his burden on it and then turned to pick up what he’d abandoned, only to see that Arthur had already gathered it up for him.
“Thanks,” he said.
“No problem,” Arthur said, not really looking at him. He put the armour neatly down on the table. Merlin swallowed. He wasn’t sure if he ought to apologise (even though it had hardly been his fault!) or act as though there was nothing wrong (even though there clearly was.) In the end, he chose neither of these options and stared blankly at the armour. It looked like a misshapen pile of metal to him. He turned to look at Arthur, who was heading towards the door.
“Arthur?” he said.
“What?” Arthur asked.
“I … I have to have this ready for lunchtime,” Merlin said, aware that there was a pleading tone in his voice. “And I don’t know what to do with any of it. I don’t even know what most of it is! And Aurelius wants me to learn how to put it on him and I have to be perfect for the tournament and … ”
He stopped there because Arthur had burst out laughing.
“You?” he spluttered, entirely unsympathetically. “Oh God, you’re going to be helping him in the tournament?”
“You’re not helping,” Merlin said irritably.
Arthur snorted and grinned. Apparently, Merlin’s anxiety was extremely entertaining to him. Merlin considered all his options, then picked up one of the smaller pieces of armour and hurled it at Arthur’s head. Annoyingly, Arthur caught it.
“All right,” he said easily. “Let’s get you sorted out then. It’s not that hard anyway; you’ll pick it up pretty quickly, even with your brains!”
“What about my brains?” Merlin said indignantly. “I have excellent brains!”
“Yes, of course,” Arthur said lazily, moving over to the table and beginning to rearrange the armour. “This is the helmet. You may recognise that and you may be able to work out where it goes.”
“Just about,” Merlin said dryly. “And this is … the chest plate?”
“Breastplate,” Arthur corrected. “Now, you have to make sure you get it the right way around. This is the front and this is the back.”
“What happens if it’s the wrong way around?” Merlin asked.
“It doesn’t fit properly and everyone will laugh at you,” Arthur said. “Depending on the situation, the second part is the worst bit. Now these are the gauntlets and you need to learn to fasten them tight or they’ll slip.”
He continued pointing out each bit of armour and explaining where it went and what it did with ease. About half way through this, Merlin wondered vaguely where Arthur had learned so much about armour. Did the knights let him help out sometimes or did you just pick this sort of thing up if you lived in a place where you had grand tournaments? Either seemed possible really.
“Now, do you think you’ve got all that?” Arthur asked and Merlin nodded, not totally certain. Arthur raised a doubting eyebrow and then fetched Merlin a cloth and some polish which he showed Merlin how to use. To Merlin’s relief, Arthur then took a cloth of his own and began polishing some of the armour too.
“I enjoy cleaning armour,” he said lightly. “Anyway, you’re clearly going to end up messing up if I leave you to it. You’ve really no idea of what it’s going to mean for you, have you?”
“Aurelius gave me a lecture,” Merlin said, trying to get into a small crevice on the breastplate. “He told me that he’d be understanding for the first few weeks … ”
“Oh sure,” Arthur said with a snort. “He says that now. Merlin, nobles have no idea what it’s like to be a servant. They don’t know that you can be grabbed by anyone and ordered around. They don’t care if you’re confused or sick or don’t know what you’re doing, they expect you to be perfect fast and if you’re not, you will be in trouble. And you’re working for the prince which means you represent the royal household. You’re going to need all the help you can get and you’ll need it fast.”
Merlin gulped. He couldn’t quite believe it was that bad but at the same time, he was suddenly very nervous. How was he supposed to cope with this? He barely knew his way around the castle and now he apparently had to represent the royal household?
“You’ll help me, right?” he blurted out.
Arthur blinked at him.
“You want me to?”
“Why wouldn’t I want help?” Merlin asked, a bit confused. “You don’t have to help me, I know you’re busy too and I won’t mind, I just … feel kind of over my head and you grew up here so … ”
He trailed off. Arthur was staring at him, a confused sort of stare as though Merlin was talking another language altogether. Merlin didn’t know what to say so he went for his usual standby; a cheerful grin and a shrug. Arthur raised an eyebrow and then grinned himself.
“I might help you,” he said lazily. “If I’m feeling kind.”
“Oh right?” Merlin said, going back to polishing. “Does there happen to be anything that makes you kind?”
“Food,” Arthur said promptly. “Food is good. Especially fancy food that is totally wasted on princes … ”
“Are you encouraging me to steal food from my master before I’ve even worked for him for a day?”
“Why yes, Merlin. Yes, I am.”
“You are a bad man.”
“Why yes, Merlin. Yes, I am.”
Part three here. Link to the Masterpost here