The Edge of Darkness (2/7)

[mialoco]

Part One

Arthur jerked awake with a pounding heart. He rolled over toward the other side of the bed trying to get away from the cold feeling of fear-induced perspiration and realized that it was not just the sheets, but also the nightclothes he wore. He lifted his hips to bunch the shirt up to his waist then sat up and lifted it over his head, dried his face and chest off with it, then tossed it across the room in the direction of the chairs. He slid his night breeches over his hips and down his legs, dropped them beside the bed, and lay back down. It wasn’t cold enough to worry about getting up and lighting candles to find more clothes. He couldn’t seem to get comfortable. He rolled over the other direction and saw a large white shape near the window. The shirt he had thrown must have caught on a chair. The white shape in the darkness looked eerily like the unicorn he had killed. With a rush, his dream came back to him.

He and Merlin had been hunting and Arthur had sent Merlin ahead to flush out whatever animal they heard tromping around in the woods ahead of them. When the beast did not run in his direction and Merlin didn’t call, Arthur cautiously crept forward to see what was going on. That is when he saw Merlin riding a unicorn, leaning over to stroke its neck and speak in its ear in a low voice.

Just as he was wondering if he could believe his eyes he heard someone yelling, "Sorcerer!" from the other side of the clearing.

He looked up and saw the woman from the court, who had accused the little girl. She was pointing and yelling. "See that. He is not a normal person. No normal person has ever touched a unicorn, let alone ridden one."

Arthur looked back at Merlin to see him still sitting astride the unicorn rubbing its neck with one of his all-over-the-face smiles. "Look Arthur. It is magical, but it is only beautiful and good. No evil. Do you see? Come pet him Ar..."

Suddenly there was a bolt sticking through Merlin's chest with red blooming all around it and Merlin was toppling from the unicorn as Arthur screamed and ran toward him. The faster Arthur tried to run the slower and further away he seemed to get.

He heard the woman screaming, "Sorcerer. He must die. All sorcerers are evil."

Gaius appeared on the other side of the clearing yelling, too. "Only someone completely pure of heart and innocent can ride a unicorn. Only the purest can even touch a unicorn, completely pure."

Arthur was still running toward Merlin, trying to go faster, but not getting any closer.

Then Arthur began yelling at the woman, "No, all magic is not evil. He is pure of heart or he could not touch a unicorn. You cannot kill him. Don’t you understand that all magic isn’t evil?"

Arthur sat up quickly. His heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it was in his mouth. He swung his legs over the side and headed toward the window. He stood there naked just staring at the darkness, until his heart rate returned to normal and the nauseated feeling in his stomach settled down somewhat.

In the dream, he had told the woman that not all magic was evil. Did he believe that? He remembered telling Merlin the same thing once, just before Morgause had played her tricks on him. What Merlin had said today about some people being evil, whether they had magic or not, and magic just being a tool, made more sense than he wanted to admit. He did have to admit that whether he believed his father's stance or not, it seemed that his father's stance had brought more evil magic to Camelot than to the other Kingdoms. If his father was right, why had the Kingdoms that allowed sorcery not fallen already? Arthur couldn’t tell that any of them had a weakness. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the only weakness he had seen lately was in Uther himself.

Finally, a shiver brought him back to the present and he fumbled to find a striker to get a candle lit. After several unsuccessful attempts, he gave up. He was unsure if his hands were shaking because of the dream or because he was cold. He made his way toward the great dark lump he knew to be his cupboard and felt for the latch. He grabbed what he thought was a nightshirt and took it back to the window, where it wasn't quite as dark, to try to makes neck and tails of it. When he had finally shrugged it on, he climbed back into bed under the blankets to try to warm back up and find sleep again. The day kept going through his head.

That woman from the Lower Town that he realized he now thought of as Crazy Woman and what she had said must have been what had made him dream that strange dream. That had to be the reason.

He and Merlin had talked with many of the townspeople. No one, other than those who had come forward, had anything to tell them about the girl having any magic.

It seemed as if the girl was from a good family. Well-mannered and sweet were the descriptions that most people gave them when asked about her. She seemed liked by everyone that knew her. He had found out that the girl’s parents had recently betrothed her to the son of the cobbler. Actually, he was the Royal Cobbler, so it was a prestigious betrothal for the girl’s family.

From several people they learned that Crazy Woman had been trying to betroth her young daughter to the same boy, but the cobbler had not cared for the woman and had dismissed her daughter’s suit in favor the other girl because he felt it was a better match.

Arthur smiled as he remembered Merlin's indignation that children as young as nine were already betrothed. When Arthur explained that some royal families betrothed their children soon after birth, Merlin had shook his head and ask if no one believed in love in Camelot.

When Arthur had spoken to the cobbler, he was afraid that the whole business might now bring disfavor on his family and his business. The whole family feared execution for joining their family with the girl through betrothal.

Hearing this, Arthur began to realize what a powerful weapon the laws against sorcery could become in the hands of the people, owing to Uther's fear and hatred of magic. If one of the townspeople with little money or power had a grudge against someone, especially someone of a higher class, all they had to do was start rumors of sorcery and stand back and watch Uther exact revenge for them, leaving their hands, if not their hearts, clean. As long as they could convince Uther that a person was a sorcerer, they did not have to worry. Dead people take their secrets to the grave, even when their secret is that they are innocent. Unfortunately, it took very little to convince Uther. Arthur could see that, whether his father was right or wrong, his stance was creating a major problem for Camelot.

Through further investigation, he had also found out from several people that the second witness who had spoke up had owed Crazy Woman a large debt and the young girl that had spoke up was her daughter. Crazy Woman had made a big deal about the debt and the fact that the other woman would not pay her. Neighbors doubted that the woman could afford to pay the debt and several believed the debt unfair and involved trickery.

Arthur had spent the time during dinner telling Uther of all that he had found out. Uther had reluctantly agreed that it sounded as if the woman had used the laws against magic to get the girl out of the way for her daughter to have an advantageous betrothal. Uther still held firm that he needed to talk to the other woman tomorrow and see if he could make her or one of her witnesses admit what was going on or the execution would stand.

Uther had seemed irritated at Arthur. "Don't you see," he had said in that voice that made Arthur feel as if he was a complete failure in his father's eyes, "evidence has been given against someone using magic. Unless that evidence is withdrawn it has to stand and the girl and her mother will be executed."

"The mother? She is to be executed for crying?" Arthur had questioned, confused. "I thought you were using that as an excuse to be considerate and not leave a child in the dungeons alone."

Uther scoffed. "A mother would know if her child had magic before anyone. If she did not report it, she is guilty of protecting a sorcerer. She must die, too." Uther explained, as if speaking to an imbecile.

"I still think that with all that we have learned we should make the woman prove the charges before we summarily kill a little girl and her mother that claim to be innocent."

Uther had sighed loudly and set his empty wine glass down with a thump. "Of course they claim they are innocent. They always do." If we went around trying to find all the details about every accusation of sorcery we would never be doing anything but going around gathering evidence. We risk other Kingdoms perceiving us as lunatics and the Kingdom would fall. Arthur, you will be King one day. It is time that you matured past these ridiculous ideas that you harbor and learn what will be best for your people." That conversation still made Arthur feel like a chastised child thinking about it.

Arthur rolled over again and tried to quit thinking and get some sleep. At least there was hope for the young girl tomorrow if he could use what he knew to get Crazy Woman to break. He would hate to think of the little girl put to death and always feel that it was because someone had found a way to use Uther's hatred of magic for her own evil advantage and wonder how many more would attempt it.

As he was drifting off he thought about the Merlin in his dream, so radiant astride the beautiful unicorn, smiling with his whole face telling him to see how there was no evil in it, it was magic and held only beauty and purity. He heard the echoes of, "Completely pure of heart," and fell asleep wondering if it was Merlin or the unicorn.

Arthur looked around at the crowd inside the throne room as someone droned on and on about something to the King. Since Uther frequently asked his opinion and what he might do to solve the dilemma presented before him, it would behoove him to pay more attention. That was hard to do when this was probably the most boring and hated job that he had to endure and looking out over the room it looked as if the crowd was growing by the minute.

Thankfully, the training of a lifetime allowed his outside demeanor to appear calm while his insides were fidgeting to do something physical. There was no doubt in his mind that he was good at fighting. He had trained until he did not even have to think about his movements. His body seemed to know what to do before his mind even registered what was happening. Sitting still and listening to other people’s problems that often times seemed petty to him was another thing altogether. Then there was the feeling that almost consumed him at times that he didn’t feel that he would ever be wise enough to do the right thing when handing out judgments. No wonder his father couldn’t be proud of him. He was a great warrior but he would never be good at the other things a King had to do. He wondered sometimes how his father knew how to be a great King without training his whole life for the job. Uther had become King by being a great warrior. His spirit took another nosedive when he remembered that his father was about his age when he had become King of Camelot. Arthur, having the benefit of a lifetime of training to be King, was not fit at the same age as his father had been when he became King without preparation.

Indicating that Merlin fill his water goblet, he tried to pull his mind back. The soft voice carried on a warm puff of air in his ear startled him. It was all he could do to keep from jumping and squeaking like a mouse. Training that had started when he was a toddler was all that saved him from utter humiliation.

“Do you require a pain potion?” He finally figured out what the voice had said. He shook his head slightly then almost changed his mind as he noticed that his father glanced his way as if to gage his discomfort for himself. If he had agreed to the pain potion, maybe he could complain after a bit that it had not helped and leave early. A glance out of the corner of his eye at the King strengthened his resolve not to show any weakness. He would learn to do this and do it well. He would make his father proud of him.

As he drank the water Merlin had poured, he brought his attention back to the two farmers bickering over a cow. It seemed that the owner of the cow had bad fences, which he did not fix properly, and the cow kept knocking them down and getting into the neighbor’s garden. Finally, the neighbor had fixed the fence properly with the cow on his side and kept the cow for payment of his expenses for the repair and recompense for the garden that the cow ate. He also claimed that the cow must like it better on his side anyway since he kept coming over.

Arthur inwardly rolled his eyes thinking that there must be a way to settle things like this without involving the King. It seemed that with so many things needing the king's attention at this time it was a total waste of the King’s day to have to deal with petty childish bickering.

“What say you to this situation, Arthur?” Of course, Uther would pick the most mundane thing of which to ask his opinion. Perhaps mundane things were the only ones with which his father felt he could be trusted.

“I think that since the owner of the cow cannot keep his fences up and his neighbor used his resources and labor to fix them that should be taken into consideration. If the repairs and the damage to his garden were not worth the price of a whole cow, perhaps the owner could reclaim the cow and give the neighbor half the milk every day for a year.

“But the milk is my means to support my family, Sire. I already could not afford to repair the fence, how can I feed my family without all the milk?” Arthur thought fast. Never having to worry about feeding a family or being poor, he had little to go on.

“How many children do you have?” Arthur queried the farmer, more to give him time to think than out of interest.

“Ten, Sire; seven boys and three girls.” The man answered.

“And the ages of the children?” Arthur was still stalling hoping that something would come to him quickly.

“The boys are aged two months, six years, eight years, nine years, two at ten years, twelve years and fourteen years. The girls are two years, four years and five years, Sire.”

Arthur fought a battle with his eyebrows that wanted to climb to the top of his forehead. The poor wife of this man was almost like a brood mare having children every year. Peasants must have more time on their hands than nobles because they seemed to have many more children. Arthur noticed that there seemed to be an expectation in the crowd and realized that they were waiting on him to come up with a solution to the problem. Mind flailing he offered up the only thing he could think of. “It seems that you have sufficient hands as well as mouths. You may choose to either leave your cow with your neighbor or to loan your neighbor your sons except the infant for an hour each day of the growing and harvest season this year to help out as he sees fit.” He looked at the neighbor to make sure that he understood the next part. “Within the boundaries of what can be expected for the age of each child.”

Both men seemed to wait along with Arthur for the King to overrule that and tell him how stupid that solution was. Arthur thought he was more shocked than anyone was when the King gave a single nod. "So be it." He proclaimed, and then dismissed the two men. They gave a quick movement of their heads that was more a bob than a bow and thanked the King before backing away then turning to leave.

"Sire." The next man bobbed his head to the King.

"You may speak." Uther gave a vague motion with his hand.

Oh, Arthur thought. He recognized that motion. His father was bored and getting impatient. Maybe his father was not a perfect king all the time. Perhaps he just covered it well. Arthur felt a stirring of hope well up inside him.

"Sire, I believe that someone has ensorcelled my children."

Uther sat up at attention. “What makes you believe this?" Uther inquired. "We have had no evidence of a sorcerer in Camelot of late.”

“The children, Sire, have been acting in strange ways. They see and talk to ghosts or people that are not there, fall down on the floor shrieking and contorting, sometimes even soiling themselves though they have been out of their infant cloths for years.”

Arthur felt his body as well as his mind snap to attention. This was different.

“Sire, if I may?” Gaius received a nod from Uther. “I would like to examine the children before we continue any further. It sounds as if they may have an illness, rather than being ensorcelled.”

“You may examine the children, Gaius.” Uther complied.

After that, there were more boring petty squabbles and a few pleas for help in reconstruction from the dragon damage. Arthur fought to pay attention as his mind tried to drift away from time to time. There had to be a better way of dealing with the less pressing issues of the people that would leave the King to deal with only the most pressing. At times like this, the King could hardly deal with all the things that he needed to do even if he didn’t hold court. Arthur determined to look into the situation and have a different plan by the time he became King.

Finally, Uther dismissed the last of the people and he could escape to his room.

* * * * *

Arthur was standing at his window when Merlin barged in without knocking as usual with his dinner tray.

“So you seem to have been feeling better today. You wouldn’t let me put any pain potion into your water. Headaches gone?”

“Mostly. They are manageable today. I just wanted to see if I could get by without them. I don't like how even the mild potions leave me feeling.” Arthur left the window and seated himself in his chair at the table. Automatically setting out some food, he gestured for Merlin to join him.

Seeming to feel it his right and duty Merlin launched into conversation as if they were simply dinner companions, which perhaps in this room they were. “I cannot believe that someone else was accused of sorcery today. Why is sorcery always the first thought when anything different happens in this Kingdom?”

“Merlin, you have been in Camelot for over two years now. You have seen many sorcerers since you came here. Why would you not believe it?”

“Yes, there have been sorcerers here, but they were all from the outside, except for Tom and he turned out to be innocent, but it wasn’t found out until too late.”

Arthur sat with lowered eyes. He still felt guilty for his part in that debacle. Unfazed by his silence, Merlin prattled on.

“No one has seen any new people hanging about lately. You would think that after a purge of the magnitude that Uther launched that all sorcery that was in Camelot would be already known. It would be hard to hide something like that for over twenty years. Sorcery would have to come from someone new that came from another Kingdom where sorcery is allowed.”

Arthur looked up and quirked a brow at Merlin.

“What? You think I am a sorcerer just because I came from outside Camelot?”

“Relax, Merlin, you are such an idiot that if you were a sorcerer you would have been executed long ago.”

Merlin threw him a strange look then smirked at him. “Well, maybe I am just a better sorcerer than what you are used to.”

Arthur threw his head back and laughed while Merlin just gave him an unusual looking grin. When Arthur was able to stop laughing Merlin continued their previous conversation. “There must be something medically wrong with those children. It doesn’t sound like they act ensorcelled.”

“And just what do you know about how ensorcelled people act?”

“Um, I saw you with that Vivian, the one you fell in love with and wanted to run off and marry two minutes after you met. You and that Sophia girl that you wanted to run off and marry two minutes after you met her.”

Merlin was having too much fun with this and it seemed as if he was about to run away with the subject, so Arthur sought his tired mind for something to change the subject.

“I have got to come up with a better way for the people to be heard without using up so much of the King’s time, before I become King. If I had to sit through something like today everyday I would be all for abdicating or for giving away portions of the Kingdom so that I would have less people to listen to.”

Merlin sat and looked at him silently for a few minutes. “Why does the King have to hear them all?” He finally asked.

“Because he is the King.” Arthur’s tone almost made the obvious statement into a question.

“Does the King grow all the crops?” Merlin popped a piece of bread in his mouth and chewed. Perhaps he was letting Arthur think it over as if the answer was not also a given.

“You know that he has lords who oversee the growing of crops on their manors.” Arthur shot back at him, and then thought again. “You do know that, don’t you?”

“Why can’t a similar system be set up for the smaller things that are normally brought before the King and have him only hear the most serious crimes or things that cannot be decided by his emissaries? Merlin took a sip of water with total nonchalance, but Arthur felt astounded by how simple, yet workable that sounded.

"That just might work. In fact, if I can think up something good enough I can talk to Father about it tomorrow in the Council meeting. We could certainly set up something for the re-building projects that the people keep asking for money on. If there were a few ground rules and guidelines for different things, someone besides the King could meet with the people. It would speed things up since they wouldn’t have to wait through the other kinds of cases heard by the King. I think that the people and the King, as well, should be pleased over that. Perhaps Father and his Council members could think of other ways to parcel out the smaller cases that Father has to sit through now, such as that case with the broken fence and the cow."

Arthur paused in his excited planning and looked up at Merlin for a few moments. "Sometimes Merlin, you really surprise me with how much sense you make."

Merlin shrugged and stacked his dirty dishes on the tray. "I guess I am just not as attached to the traditions as the people who have been around them all their lives. It allows me to see other ways to do things without feeling bound by the way it has always been."

Arthur sat looking at Merlin while he put the last piece of cheese into his mouth then nodded when Merlin motioned at his plate to question if he could put that one on the tray, too. Merlin was a puzzle to him. Sometimes he seemed to be the biggest bumbling idiot in Camelot and sometimes he seemed better equipped to sit on the throne than Arthur did.

"Since you are so full of good suggestions tonight, perhaps you might assist me with a way to find replacements for the Knights and soldiers that we lost." Arthur quipped as he picked up his water.

Merlin poured himself more water and sat back in his seat in a relaxed pose as if they were old friends talking and Arthur realized that he was never this relaxed with anyone else.

"You may not like what I have to say about that as much as not having to listen to complaints all day. I really don't know much about how you do obtain men right now. I have watched you train Knights and choose Knights that come to try out, but not much else. I know that when Lancelot came to try out he was one of the best that you have tested. You said so yourself. Yet, your father rejected him because he didn't have noble blood. That seems much too limiting to me."

“Lancelot was rejected because he lied. I think I could have convinced my father except for that.” As Arthur spent a moment thinking how to explain it all to Merlin he saw Merlin bite his lip and wondered what that was about.

"The simplest way I can explain is that training to be a Knight is an expensive and arduous endeavor. Not everyone is suited for it and of those suited, not everyone chooses it. In royal houses, all children are taught manners and royal etiquette as well as basic education from infancy. When boys turn seven, if they seem interested and well suited, they are sent to the castles and homes of wealthy family members or lords where they start their Knighthood training by becoming a Page. You have seen Pages around the castle; you are familiar with some of their job?”

Arthur watched Merlin nod and continued. “You have probably also seen them on their field playing, too, and seen that all their play is similar to tournaments, only their weapons are safer and don't usually result in harm to one another.” Another nod came from Merlin. “This teaches them proper use of weapons and builds their strength, flexibility, balance, equestrian skills, endurance and all-round fighting skills.”

"So your father sent you away when you were seven?" Merlin asked.

"I mostly did my training as a Page here in the castle. You may have noticed that it is rarely without a host of nobles visiting. I also spent some time with my uncle." Arthur could hardly keep the smile off his face as his thoughts turned to some old memories. He decided to share them with Merlin. "As a matter of fact, from the time I was about three Gaius allowed me to play the role of his Page often times when I would ask. I would run simple errands for him. I suspect he made most of them up to appease me.

From fourteen to about twenty-one these Knights-in-training are Squires. I know you have been around many Squires with their Knights and know what their duties are.”

Again, he watched Merlin nod and continued. “They have even more rigorous training as you have seen. They learn all aspects of being a Knight such as strategy, process and weapons used in siege warfare. They learn bravery, how to withstand extremes in cold and heat, tiredness and hunger. They sometimes get to participate in battle, especially if they prove themselves especially skilled, strong and fit. Of course, their duties are mainly to care for and dress the horses, but many are struck down by arrows while carrying out those duties.

That isn’t all there is to it, of course, but it can give you an idea of how much it would cost for all the training and equipment. That hasn’t even covered how much the horses and the specially fitted amour cost. Destriers cost a fortune. Coursers are worth a King's ransom. It costs a great deal of money to become a Knight so only the wealthy noblemen can afford it. I honestly don't know how Lancelot managed all that he did, probably hiring out as a soldier for anyone who had a need for him. It is Camelot's loss that he got caught in lying about his parentage."

"Well, if Camelot did not have such a stupid law he would not have had to lie and he did not want to do it." Merlin's voice sounded almost as outraged now as it did when Lancelot had to leave Camelot.

"What you are missing is that by lying he broke the very Code of Chivalry; loyalty to his liege lord, other than that I think that my father was very impressed with him. Had he not done that there may have been a way to work things out eventually. Then again, my Father can be very stubborn in sticking to the letter of the law, even when the law no longer serves him well."

Arthur wondered what the expression that flashed across Merlin's face meant. He waited a few minutes to allow Merlin to voice it. When Merlin finally did speak, it wasn’t what Arthur was expecting, but back to their previous conversation.

"You talk of how expensive becoming a Knight is and the fact that if an apprentice is not strong enough, smart enough, and lucky enough he does not even make it to becoming a Knight, even after fourteen years of training. Does that not cut down on the amount of protection a Kingdom can have? Even though sometime around here it looks as if there are a large number of noblemen, it is really a small percentage of the people in Camelot. Would it not be better to set up a system where anyone could apply to be a Knight? Instead of throwing all that money into sending all noble sons into training, only to find out fourteen years later they might not qualify, why do you not require all your wealthy noblemen to provide the funds needed train soldiers that can be provided when there is a call to arms during a siege or war? They are wealthy, let them to pay to clothe and train them. They can choose the soldiers from anyone who has the skills and physical abilities to become a soldier. As a result, you could pick Knights from the best of the soldiers. If wealthy noblemen wanted to send their sons away, according to the old system, that could be left in place also, but he would still be required to provide for a certain numbers of soldiers according to the size of his holdings.

"Where do you get these ideas, Merlin? That is actually not a bad idea. It needs some refinement, but the concept is a good one. It would certainly be better than paying those Roman soldiers who took off back to their own country without care as to what was happening here."

"Wouldn't hurt to give the soldiers something to work for instead of just King and Kingdom." At Arthur's raised brow, Merlin quickly continued. "Vows are great, but didn't you see how hard those people in Ealdor fought to save their food and Village?" Merlin was becoming wound up. "People with a passion are more loyal than ones with only a promise to a King, anyway."

"But they owe it to the King." Arthur started but stopped when he saw Merlin roll his eyes.

"Arthur, it is hard to be grateful to someone who rewards the rich and allows them to take everything away from the poor people in order to make the King give the rich people more."

Arthur sat for a minute and tried to process what Merlin had said. "What kind of rewards do you have in mind?" He wondered aloud.

"Maybe cattle, a sum of money, a small plot of land of his own to work that was exempt from the landlord. Poor people can have a raging passion for anything that can help them feed their children enough.”

"It is my observation that poor people sure have a lot of children to feed." Arthur interrupted.

"They need the children to help them because they can’t afford to pay for help," was Merlin's rejoinder. “When the king levies taxes, where do you think it comes from? Certainly not from the landowners own stores and coffers. The landowner goes to the peasants working his land to collect it, leaving them with barely enough to scrape by. It is as if you don’t deserve to exist if you are born without already having a fortune. The King often rewards those that already have land, money, and standings with more land or large sums of money. When those without do something, he offers them a chance to go from being a free man to being a servant." Merlin shook his head and faked a smile. "There is nothing like an offer to give up your freedom to become a servant to make a man want to swear his loyalty," he said with facetious cheer.

Arthur leaned back in his chair, stretched his feet out and put his hand over his mouth watching Merlin a minute while thoughts swirled in his head. He leaned forward and put both hands on the table without ever taking his eyes off Merlin. "That is exactly what happened isn't it? I had never really thought about it before, but it is. You just came to help Gaius and because you saved my life, my father made you a servant. You must hate him. You must hate me." Arthur leaned forward, raised his right hand and rubbed it over his face then propped his cheek on his hand looking at Merlin again.

"I don't hate you. Well, not anymore. You were a bit hard to stomach in the beginning. You did redeem yourself by saving my life and I think you may be getting better or I have gotten used to you by now." There was that grin that Arthur had been missing lately.

Arthur hardly knew what to say. "I'm sorry, Merlin. I think that my father thought you were already a servant and was rewarding you by moving you up in the ranks by making you one of the highest-ranking servants in the castle. You can leave anytime you want. You know that don't you. You are not indentured."

"Wait, I am one of the highest ranking servants in the castle? Why did no one tell me that?"

"Merlin, to be so smart about how I can change the way the Camelot is run once I am King you are an idiot when it comes to the actual workings of a castle. How can you not know that you are one of the highest-ranking servants in the castle? It is simple. You serve me. I am the Prince."

"How can I...?" Merlin sat forward from his lounging position. "Arthur, when I became your manservant people treated me like I was dirty and I would rub off on them. I have made some friends now, but it was a slow process and some of the servants still give me wide berth."

"Maybe they were jealous or maybe they were angry that an outsider got the job instead of someone being promoted from within. I honestly don't know, Merlin. If someone doesn't treat you well, you can come to me." Arthur sat back against the back of his chair. "No one mistreats you, do they?"

"No, Arthur, everyone treats me well. Some are just a bit odd, that is all. I just want to know why I am the last to know that I have such a high position. There ought to be an instruction book that comes with being a servant if you have not grown up in the castle. There should especially be an instruction book if you find yourself stuck with a prat Prince."

Arthur couldn’t help it; he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Merlin, few servants could read an instruction book if they had one." Suddenly it dawned on him that Merlin could read not only English, but he had seen him poring over Gaius' Latin medical books. He shook his head at the contradiction that was his servant. "The fact that you can read, Merlin, just makes you more of a puzzle."

"Well, no one told me that boys from poor rural villages were not supposed to learn how to read. I picked it up easily enough. It wasn’t hard."

Arthur rose from the table stretching and yawning. "Now, if you can get me into my night clothes, I think I will call it a night."

A few minutes later, he was ready for bed. Just as Merlin reached the door, Arthur called out to him. "Merlin, thank you."

From the light of the fire, Arthur could see Merlin turn to look at him and nod. Arthur continued. "You have given me a great deal to think about and some very good ideas that I will take into consideration when I can set the laws. You have also given me some very good ideas that I may be able to implement very soon if my father approves. I warn you though, I can never tell him that they were your ideas or he will never listen to them. You and I will know though. In the future I can reward you in a better way than taking away your freedom and making a servant of you."

"Arthur, I have always known that I was free to go if I wanted. I am happy to serve you."

The door opened and closed, leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts.

Part Three