[FIC] Late Night Reading (Arthur/Merlin; PG-13)
Author/Artist: angelqueen04
Title: Late Night Reading
Pairing(s)/Character(s): minor Merlin/Arthur, Morgana
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After a long day, Merlin unwinds by reading a new story from one of his favorite authors on Camelot Forums. He gets a little more than he bargained for.
Warnings (if any): N/a
Total word count: 2,075 words
Original prompt number: 60 - Submitted by renrenren3
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by the BBC and Shine TV. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's/artist's notes (if any): Seriously, I think this is probably the crackiest thing I’ve ever written. Good times! *bg*
Beta(s): lone_pyramid
Late Night Reading
The evenings in Camelot were growing quite cool as autumn settled in. It had gotten to the point where Merlin had started closing his single window at night, trying to keep at least some of the chill out while he bundled under his down comforter. Still, the nip in the air wasn’t uppermost in his mind as he sat down in front of the computer in his room, the plate of lasagna Gaius had left for him in the microwave in hand.
He was thrilled to be home. He’d been busy all day, alternating tasks for both Gaius and Arthur. There had been purchasing the healing waters from Caerleon down at the market, polishing swords and armor, cleaning leech tanks, cleaning Arthur’s chambers - thank the gods for lemon-scented Pine-Sol - and collecting herbs in the forest. Merlin had just finished putting Arthur to bed - the prat had been in a royal snit about not being able to find Pudsey, who had fallen underneath the pile of pillows on Arthur’s bed - so only now did Merlin have a moment to himself to eat his supper and enjoy himself. Gaius was already fast asleep and had no other tasks to throw at him, thank goodness.
Typing in the password, Merlin waited for the computer to boot up. Now that he thought about it, Arthur had been particularly cranky this evening, complaining about his infernal bear, the state of his wardrobe - even though Merlin had spent nearly an hour organizing it today - and the lemon scent in his chamber. Never mind that Arthur hated any other clean scene Merlin had tried to find for him. There was just no pleasing the clotpole. Plus, if that wasn’t enough, Arthur had studiously refused to look anywhere near Merlin, as though seeing him would make him catch something.
Clearly, something had put Arthur’s nose out of joint. Oh well, Merlin would figure it out tomorrow.
Accessing Camelot Explorer, Merlin clicked into the Camelot Forums and into the Entertainment sub-forum. Scanning the various threads that had been updated and added throughout the day, Merlin grinned. The ‘Anonymous Fiction’ thread had an update! Clicking into it, he began to cut into his lasagna.
FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by BetterThanArthur
Title: The Prince and the Manservant (1/1)
Author: BetterThanArthur
Rating: Two Rabbits
Summary: When Prince Artorius’ manservant, Marlin, drinks a poisoned drink meant for him, the prince must obtain a special flower for the antidote in time to save him.
Notes: Some people need to take a hint, and that’s all I’m going to say.
His horse’s hooves pounded the dry, hard ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as Artorius raced across the countryside toward the Forest of Balin. He had to get that flower. He wasn’t about to let Marlin die for him, the idiot. Though he consistently drove Artorius mad with his irritating tendency of insulting him, Artorius had grown fond of the younger man in spite of himself.
Artorius knew that his father, Uter, would be furious over his sneaking out of the citadel against his express orders, but he also knew that his brilliant, amazing, and clever foster-sister, Morgaine, was right as well - sometimes you have to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences…
Merlin continued reading the story, happily ensconced in it once he’d finished his meal. Leaving the pewter plate on the floor next to the desk, he continued reading. The prince did indeed obtain the flower needed to save his friend and manservant, though not before he encountered the dark-yet-misunderstood sorceress, who left the prince at the mercy of cave creatures whose favorite meal was apparently human flesh.
Artorius rushed back to the castle with the flower in hand, but was thrown into the dungeons by his tyrannical and unfeeling father, Uter. Fortunately, Morgaine and her brave maid, Gwendolyn, hatched a cunning plan to get the flower from Artorius and up to the castle physician so he could create the antidote for the dying Marlin…
Morgaine was known to be an outstanding actress when the occasion called for it. Once she saw that Gwendolyn was in place, Morgaine went down into the dungeon corridors and promptly started screaming. "Guards, guards!"
Camilard’s guards were not particularly noted for their intelligence, something Morgaine had complained about to Uter more than once, and thus several seconds passed before the two men on duty found her. "My lady? What’s wrong?" one of them asked.
Morgaine raised a hand that she forced to tremble. "I saw an intruder down there," she said frantically, pointing deeper in the dungeons. "He was wearing a black cloak and wouldn’t stop when I called him. You should investigate."
The two men glanced at each other uncertainly. "The king ordered us to guard the prince," the second man said. "He said no one was to see him -"
She tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. "I’m sure His Majesty would be more concerned with an intruder in his dungeons than sending his son to bed without his supper," she informed them as calmly as possible.
Merlin laughed. Morgaine sounded so much like Morgana, it was just… uncanny!
A cough from outside his room made Merlin look up, alarmed that he might have woken Gaius. He waited for several moments, but aside from a few sniffles, Gaius didn’t call his name. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Merlin returned to the story.
Thanks to Morgaine’s distraction, Gwendolyn was able to get the much-needed flower from the imprisoned Artorius. They’d nearly been caught by the returning guards, but managed to outrun them and make it to the physician’s quarters, where Marlin was waiting, unconscious and unmoving. The physician, Garrick, was an efficient potions maker, and was able to mix together what Marlin needed. Morgaine and Gwendolyn held Marlin up while Garrick forced the potion down his throat. Thankfully, the potion worked, though there was one terrifying moment when it seemed that Marlin had stopped breathing.
The next morning, when Uter had convinced himself that his rebellious son had learned his lesson - that servants weren’t worth a prince risking his life for them - he ordered that Artorius be set free. Once Artorius cleaned himself up - without the help of a servant, much to his credit - he walked to Garrick’s chambers to visit Marlin. The manservant was weak, but still offered the prince a bright, happy smile, much to Artorius’ relief.
The two men stared at each other for several moments, unsure what to say. Before the silence could become awkward, however, Garrick cleared his throat. "I’m going to deliver this salve to the king," he said. "Marlin, try not to do anything strenuous. You’ll just make yourself weaker, and it will take you longer to recover."
Marlin glanced over at him briefly before his eyes were drawn back to Artorius. "Yes, Garrick," he said as convincingly as he could manage.
"I’ll watch him until you return," Artorius volunteered. "If we leave him alone, he’s liable to do something idiotic, and then my work will have been for nothing." He grinned at the indignant squawk from Marlin.
The old physician smiled at them and shuffled out, closing the door behind him and leaving the two of them alone. Artorius moved closer and sat down at the table, next to Marlin. He glanced at the thin soup Garrick had left. "You should eat that," he said.
Marlin wrinkled his nose, but picked up his spoon.
The next several paragraphs covered Marlin eating his soup while he and Artorius traded barbs. It was after the servant had finished his food and had grown visibly tired that had prompted the prince to order Marlin to get himself to bed. He hadn’t had the strength to argue with him…
Marlin stumbled just a few feet from the table, nearly crashing into Garrick’s desk but instead caught himself before he could collapse in a tangle of limbs. Before he could right himself, though, two strong hands gripped him, one on the arm and the other on the shoulder.
"Honestly, Marlin," Artorius chided. "Only you could manage to trip over air."
Marlin opened his mouth, fully intending on insulting the prince in turn, but was cut off when Artorius began to tug him toward his room. He maneuvered him through the door and to the bed, pushing him down on it. "Get some rest, Marlin," the prince ordered. "I expect you to get in better health in a timely fashion. I’ll not have any servant of mine lollygagging about." He knelt down beside the bed, helping him lie down.
Marlin rolled his eyes as he pulled his blanket over his body. "Yes, sire. Of course. I wouldn’t dream of lollygagging. Loitering, maybe, but never lollygagging."
Artorius laughed, and the two exchanged grins. Silence descended between them, but it was a comfortable one. Marlin was actually quite happy to have Artorius next to him. The past several days had been a haze of fear, fever, and confusion. Artorius, for all of his abrasive, condescending behavior, was a rock in his life, one he wouldn’t do without for all the gold and jewels in Camilard.
Though, if someone asked him, Marlin would sooner bite his own tongue off than admit to that…
Merlin laughed again, this time a little more quietly. Poor Marlin. He sounded a bit like Merlin himself, and how he felt about Arthur. He wasn’t one for admitting to how he felt about Arthur either, no matter how much he really cared.
The story was almost finished, which was good. He was rather tired, and had to get up early to make sure Arthur’s morning protein shake was prepared just right by the kitchen staff. Last week, they’d put too much of… something in it. Merlin wasn’t sure what exactly, he’d been too busy dodging the tankard Arthur threw at his head to listen to what the prince was actually howling about.
He scrolled down through the last paragraphs, and as he read, his eyes began to widen.
…lips met tentatively…
…fingers brushed Marlin’s cheek…
…Artorius moaned when Marlin’s hand met his skin…
"Marlin…"
…bed creaked…
…clothes tossed to the floor…
…groans muffled against each other’s shoulders…
…lay spent in each other’s arms on the narrow cot…
Merlin’s jaw almost rested on his chest as he gaped at the computer screen. Holy… BetterThanArthur’s stories had always had a bit of a racy edge, but she’d never gone this far before. Artorius and Marlin… Merlin blushed just thinking about it.
He scrolled down, reading the responses that had already been posted.
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by i<3flowers
Wow! Excellent installment! So it took Marlin drinking poison for Artorius to finally see what was right in front of him. It’s about time!
Lovely story, BTA! :)
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
Who is writing this? Morgana, is that you?! I’ll have you in the stocks!
Merlin blinked. It wasn’t difficult for people to figure out that Arthur’s screen name was Prince_of_Camelot. Did he really think that BetterThanArthur was Morgana? He scrolled further down again.
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by BetterThanArthur
Posted by i<3flowers
Wow! Excellent installment! So it took Marlin drinking poison for Artorius to finally see what was right in front of him. It’s about time!
Lovely story, BTA! :)
Thanks so much, i<3flowers! You say the kindest things! :)
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
Who is writing this? Morgana, is that you?! I’ll have you in the stocks!
Honestly, Arthur, grow up. It’s fiction! What do you see that’s so offensive?
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
What am I supposed to think? It isn’t hard to see who you’re really writing about! Merlin and I aren’t like that!
Merlin blushed bright red. Arthur thought Artorius and Marlin were them? That was ridiculous! Oh sure, there were similarities - Artorius was a right bastard sometimes, and Marlin was a selfless man who gave everything he had to look after Artorius, but he and Arthur weren’t… they didn’t… not that Merlin hadn’t thought about it…
Oh, hell. This was why Arthur had been in such a mood earlier this evening. He’d seen the story, and had assumed that Morgana was really writing about them?!
Merlin’s forehead hit the keyboard. Tomorrow was going to be hell, both in terms of dealing with Arthur and his own fantasies.
Title: Late Night Reading
Pairing(s)/Character(s): minor Merlin/Arthur, Morgana
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After a long day, Merlin unwinds by reading a new story from one of his favorite authors on Camelot Forums. He gets a little more than he bargained for.
Warnings (if any): N/a
Total word count: 2,075 words
Original prompt number: 60 - Submitted by renrenren3
Disclaimer: This story/artwork is based on characters and situations created and owned by the BBC and Shine TV. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's/artist's notes (if any): Seriously, I think this is probably the crackiest thing I’ve ever written. Good times! *bg*
Beta(s): lone_pyramid
Late Night Reading
The evenings in Camelot were growing quite cool as autumn settled in. It had gotten to the point where Merlin had started closing his single window at night, trying to keep at least some of the chill out while he bundled under his down comforter. Still, the nip in the air wasn’t uppermost in his mind as he sat down in front of the computer in his room, the plate of lasagna Gaius had left for him in the microwave in hand.
He was thrilled to be home. He’d been busy all day, alternating tasks for both Gaius and Arthur. There had been purchasing the healing waters from Caerleon down at the market, polishing swords and armor, cleaning leech tanks, cleaning Arthur’s chambers - thank the gods for lemon-scented Pine-Sol - and collecting herbs in the forest. Merlin had just finished putting Arthur to bed - the prat had been in a royal snit about not being able to find Pudsey, who had fallen underneath the pile of pillows on Arthur’s bed - so only now did Merlin have a moment to himself to eat his supper and enjoy himself. Gaius was already fast asleep and had no other tasks to throw at him, thank goodness.
Typing in the password, Merlin waited for the computer to boot up. Now that he thought about it, Arthur had been particularly cranky this evening, complaining about his infernal bear, the state of his wardrobe - even though Merlin had spent nearly an hour organizing it today - and the lemon scent in his chamber. Never mind that Arthur hated any other clean scene Merlin had tried to find for him. There was just no pleasing the clotpole. Plus, if that wasn’t enough, Arthur had studiously refused to look anywhere near Merlin, as though seeing him would make him catch something.
Clearly, something had put Arthur’s nose out of joint. Oh well, Merlin would figure it out tomorrow.
Accessing Camelot Explorer, Merlin clicked into the Camelot Forums and into the Entertainment sub-forum. Scanning the various threads that had been updated and added throughout the day, Merlin grinned. The ‘Anonymous Fiction’ thread had an update! Clicking into it, he began to cut into his lasagna.
FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by BetterThanArthur
Title: The Prince and the Manservant (1/1)
Author: BetterThanArthur
Rating: Two Rabbits
Summary: When Prince Artorius’ manservant, Marlin, drinks a poisoned drink meant for him, the prince must obtain a special flower for the antidote in time to save him.
Notes: Some people need to take a hint, and that’s all I’m going to say.
His horse’s hooves pounded the dry, hard ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as Artorius raced across the countryside toward the Forest of Balin. He had to get that flower. He wasn’t about to let Marlin die for him, the idiot. Though he consistently drove Artorius mad with his irritating tendency of insulting him, Artorius had grown fond of the younger man in spite of himself.
Artorius knew that his father, Uter, would be furious over his sneaking out of the citadel against his express orders, but he also knew that his brilliant, amazing, and clever foster-sister, Morgaine, was right as well - sometimes you have to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences…
Merlin continued reading the story, happily ensconced in it once he’d finished his meal. Leaving the pewter plate on the floor next to the desk, he continued reading. The prince did indeed obtain the flower needed to save his friend and manservant, though not before he encountered the dark-yet-misunderstood sorceress, who left the prince at the mercy of cave creatures whose favorite meal was apparently human flesh.
Artorius rushed back to the castle with the flower in hand, but was thrown into the dungeons by his tyrannical and unfeeling father, Uter. Fortunately, Morgaine and her brave maid, Gwendolyn, hatched a cunning plan to get the flower from Artorius and up to the castle physician so he could create the antidote for the dying Marlin…
Morgaine was known to be an outstanding actress when the occasion called for it. Once she saw that Gwendolyn was in place, Morgaine went down into the dungeon corridors and promptly started screaming. "Guards, guards!"
Camilard’s guards were not particularly noted for their intelligence, something Morgaine had complained about to Uter more than once, and thus several seconds passed before the two men on duty found her. "My lady? What’s wrong?" one of them asked.
Morgaine raised a hand that she forced to tremble. "I saw an intruder down there," she said frantically, pointing deeper in the dungeons. "He was wearing a black cloak and wouldn’t stop when I called him. You should investigate."
The two men glanced at each other uncertainly. "The king ordered us to guard the prince," the second man said. "He said no one was to see him -"
She tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. "I’m sure His Majesty would be more concerned with an intruder in his dungeons than sending his son to bed without his supper," she informed them as calmly as possible.
Merlin laughed. Morgaine sounded so much like Morgana, it was just… uncanny!
A cough from outside his room made Merlin look up, alarmed that he might have woken Gaius. He waited for several moments, but aside from a few sniffles, Gaius didn’t call his name. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Merlin returned to the story.
Thanks to Morgaine’s distraction, Gwendolyn was able to get the much-needed flower from the imprisoned Artorius. They’d nearly been caught by the returning guards, but managed to outrun them and make it to the physician’s quarters, where Marlin was waiting, unconscious and unmoving. The physician, Garrick, was an efficient potions maker, and was able to mix together what Marlin needed. Morgaine and Gwendolyn held Marlin up while Garrick forced the potion down his throat. Thankfully, the potion worked, though there was one terrifying moment when it seemed that Marlin had stopped breathing.
The next morning, when Uter had convinced himself that his rebellious son had learned his lesson - that servants weren’t worth a prince risking his life for them - he ordered that Artorius be set free. Once Artorius cleaned himself up - without the help of a servant, much to his credit - he walked to Garrick’s chambers to visit Marlin. The manservant was weak, but still offered the prince a bright, happy smile, much to Artorius’ relief.
The two men stared at each other for several moments, unsure what to say. Before the silence could become awkward, however, Garrick cleared his throat. "I’m going to deliver this salve to the king," he said. "Marlin, try not to do anything strenuous. You’ll just make yourself weaker, and it will take you longer to recover."
Marlin glanced over at him briefly before his eyes were drawn back to Artorius. "Yes, Garrick," he said as convincingly as he could manage.
"I’ll watch him until you return," Artorius volunteered. "If we leave him alone, he’s liable to do something idiotic, and then my work will have been for nothing." He grinned at the indignant squawk from Marlin.
The old physician smiled at them and shuffled out, closing the door behind him and leaving the two of them alone. Artorius moved closer and sat down at the table, next to Marlin. He glanced at the thin soup Garrick had left. "You should eat that," he said.
Marlin wrinkled his nose, but picked up his spoon.
The next several paragraphs covered Marlin eating his soup while he and Artorius traded barbs. It was after the servant had finished his food and had grown visibly tired that had prompted the prince to order Marlin to get himself to bed. He hadn’t had the strength to argue with him…
Marlin stumbled just a few feet from the table, nearly crashing into Garrick’s desk but instead caught himself before he could collapse in a tangle of limbs. Before he could right himself, though, two strong hands gripped him, one on the arm and the other on the shoulder.
"Honestly, Marlin," Artorius chided. "Only you could manage to trip over air."
Marlin opened his mouth, fully intending on insulting the prince in turn, but was cut off when Artorius began to tug him toward his room. He maneuvered him through the door and to the bed, pushing him down on it. "Get some rest, Marlin," the prince ordered. "I expect you to get in better health in a timely fashion. I’ll not have any servant of mine lollygagging about." He knelt down beside the bed, helping him lie down.
Marlin rolled his eyes as he pulled his blanket over his body. "Yes, sire. Of course. I wouldn’t dream of lollygagging. Loitering, maybe, but never lollygagging."
Artorius laughed, and the two exchanged grins. Silence descended between them, but it was a comfortable one. Marlin was actually quite happy to have Artorius next to him. The past several days had been a haze of fear, fever, and confusion. Artorius, for all of his abrasive, condescending behavior, was a rock in his life, one he wouldn’t do without for all the gold and jewels in Camilard.
Though, if someone asked him, Marlin would sooner bite his own tongue off than admit to that…
Merlin laughed again, this time a little more quietly. Poor Marlin. He sounded a bit like Merlin himself, and how he felt about Arthur. He wasn’t one for admitting to how he felt about Arthur either, no matter how much he really cared.
The story was almost finished, which was good. He was rather tired, and had to get up early to make sure Arthur’s morning protein shake was prepared just right by the kitchen staff. Last week, they’d put too much of… something in it. Merlin wasn’t sure what exactly, he’d been too busy dodging the tankard Arthur threw at his head to listen to what the prince was actually howling about.
He scrolled down through the last paragraphs, and as he read, his eyes began to widen.
…lips met tentatively…
…fingers brushed Marlin’s cheek…
…Artorius moaned when Marlin’s hand met his skin…
"Marlin…"
…bed creaked…
…clothes tossed to the floor…
…groans muffled against each other’s shoulders…
…lay spent in each other’s arms on the narrow cot…
Merlin’s jaw almost rested on his chest as he gaped at the computer screen. Holy… BetterThanArthur’s stories had always had a bit of a racy edge, but she’d never gone this far before. Artorius and Marlin… Merlin blushed just thinking about it.
He scrolled down, reading the responses that had already been posted.
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by i<3flowers
Wow! Excellent installment! So it took Marlin drinking poison for Artorius to finally see what was right in front of him. It’s about time!
Lovely story, BTA! :)
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
Who is writing this? Morgana, is that you?! I’ll have you in the stocks!
Merlin blinked. It wasn’t difficult for people to figure out that Arthur’s screen name was Prince_of_Camelot. Did he really think that BetterThanArthur was Morgana? He scrolled further down again.
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by BetterThanArthur
Posted by i<3flowers
Wow! Excellent installment! So it took Marlin drinking poison for Artorius to finally see what was right in front of him. It’s about time!
Lovely story, BTA! :)
Thanks so much, i<3flowers! You say the kindest things! :)
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
Who is writing this? Morgana, is that you?! I’ll have you in the stocks!
Honestly, Arthur, grow up. It’s fiction! What do you see that’s so offensive?
RE: FIC: The Prince and the Manservant
Posted by Prince_of_Camelot
What am I supposed to think? It isn’t hard to see who you’re really writing about! Merlin and I aren’t like that!
Merlin blushed bright red. Arthur thought Artorius and Marlin were them? That was ridiculous! Oh sure, there were similarities - Artorius was a right bastard sometimes, and Marlin was a selfless man who gave everything he had to look after Artorius, but he and Arthur weren’t… they didn’t… not that Merlin hadn’t thought about it…
Oh, hell. This was why Arthur had been in such a mood earlier this evening. He’d seen the story, and had assumed that Morgana was really writing about them?!
Merlin’s forehead hit the keyboard. Tomorrow was going to be hell, both in terms of dealing with Arthur and his own fantasies.