Fic: Four Times Merlin Needed Saving (and one time he didn't)
Title: Four Times Merlin Needed Saving (and one time he didn't)
By: Auryn
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: MA15+
Summary: Four times Merlin needed saving, and one time he didn't.
Warnings/ spoilers: Jealous and in denial Arthur (not sure if that's a warning), bad language. Attempted non-con. General references to the first and second episodes, but no other spoilers I can think of.
Beta: The wonderful kuhekabir
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters within. They belong to the BBC.
This was a present for guardianangel_x in the Merlin Secret Santa competion. Aside from a couple of the anonymous kink meme responses that I don't know if I'll ever be game enough to put my name to, this is my first attempt at Merlin fic.
1.
Arthur knew the castle could be confusing for people who hadn’t been there for long. It was a twisting mass of corridors, dead ends and secret passageways, so it was perfectly understandable for someone to get lost if they were still learning their way around. It wasn’t that difficult for him, or anyone really, to show them the way out.
It definitely wasn’t princely to spend five minutes teasing the poor unfortunate soul before relenting and promising to help them navigate the tunnels. Of course, when the poor unfortunate soul was Gaius’s new helper, that dark haired boy who had called him a prat and challenged him without even knowing who he was; Arthur felt it was completely justified.
Once Arthur had calmed down, he asked the boy, not bad on the eyes, his mind registered, where he was headed, before proceeding to show him the way around. And of course, completely accidently-on-purpose going to some dead ends, so he could follow the boy back to the last intersection. It had nothing to do with watching his behind.
Arthur left the boy with strict instructions to have learnt his way around the castle before Arthur next saw him, hinting at punishments if his orders weren’t carried out.
He mumbled out a ‘yes, Sire’ before darting away, giving Arthur one last good look at that bottom that he most definitely wasn’t looking at before it disappeared around a corner.
“Prince Arthur,” a guard said, coming up to him, “Your father requests your presence in the war room.”
Arthur nodded at the guard, dismissing him, before making his way to where his father was. He wondered what his father could want. It was probably something about Lady Helen. She was due to arrive the next day, after all.
2.
Merlin was, Arthur decided, utterly useless. Arthur and his knights were on a hunting trip, and he had dragged Merlin along, purely because he could, and it was often amusing to watch his manservant flounder and fumble whenever Arthur or one of the others called for him. He really was a terrible servant.
So when there was a noise in the woods, a screech that was definitely not human or any kind of animal Arthur had ever encountered, the group of knights immediately left the camp, Arthur leaving strict instructions for Merlin to stay put.
He really wasn’t surprised when Merlin followed them.
By the time Merlin caught up with them, they had already found the beast. Which was tiny enough to fit in Arthur’s hand. Not that Arthur was holding it - one of the other knights had that task.
The thing, whatever it was, was small. Arthur would have called it a fairy, one from a children’s book, if it wasn’t for the very distinct snake-like lower half the creature had. Its upper half was human-looking, a bare-chested male with strong facial features and a mass of green hair. Translucent wings fluttered constantly from its back.
Arthur noticed Merlin first, waving him over, silently telling him to stay quiet. Of course, that proved to be too great a task for Merlin, who promptly stepped on a branch, cracking it loudly.
The entire forest seemed to freeze, as the creature turned to look at the new intruder to his domain, and obviously judged him not worthy. He hissed something, teeth bared, forked tongue showing and launched himself into the air, straight at Merlin. Merlin stood, pale and frozen.
Arthur didn’t realize he could move as fast as he did. He was by Merlin’s side in an instant and knocking him out of the way of the creature. The creature came back for a second try, trying to duck behind Arthur where Merlin lay on the ground. In one smooth move, Arthur cut it with his sword.
Legs shaky, Merlin stood. Arthur glanced at him for a moment. “Are you alright?”
Merlin nodded.
“Good,” Arthur said, before hitting Merlin across the head.
“Ow! What was that for?” Merlin whined, rubbing his head.
“For being an idiot.”
Arthur turned away, trying to calm his racing heart. He would never admit to anyone how much the thought of losing Merlin, of not getting to him in time, had scared him.
3.
Of all the visiting nobles in residence at the castle at the moment, there were none Arthur hated as much as Lord and Lady Smythe.
Lord Smythe was an insufferable man, middle-aged, bad tempered and believing too much - incorrectly too - in his own worth. His lady was just as bad, but added to her sins by taking lovers, as many and as young as she could get. There were rumors abound that her husband watched or even participated, but no one had been able to verify the claims.
Lady Smythe had requested Merlin and Gwen as her attendants for the duration of their stay - knowing exactly to whom the pair normally answered - and Uther had granted the request.
Which was why Merlin was currently across the room, seeing to each whim that the abominable woman
could think of. Bending here and there, showing off that tight ass, and that long pale neck just begging to be marked - the lady had forbidden Merlin from wearing his scarf in her presence.
Just then, she beckoned Merlin with a perfect finger, and he crouched near her. As Arthur watched her speak to his servant, he saw Merlin pale, an action that wouldn’t have been noticeable unless one was
watching very closely or knew Merlin very well.
Both of which Arthur would deny.
Merlin glanced at Arthur, his expression vaguely troubled before turning back to Lady Smythe and shaking his head. He bowed and stood, returning to the wall as Lady Smythe spluttered in what could only be outrage. Next to her, her husband’s face was red with fury.
A heartbeat later, Lord Smythe stood, stalking over to stand in front of Uther.
“King Uther, I request an immediate audience. A great injustice has been done.”
“Of course,” Uther murmured, putting aside his napkin and standing. “Morgana, will you oversee things until we return?” though phrased as such, it was not a question. Morgana, beside Arthur, merely nodded.
Arthur bristled slightly. He was the elder, he was the Crown Prince; surely he should be left in charge. His frustration disappeared, from his face at least, when Uther turned to him.
“Arthur, as this no doubt concerns your servant,” the emphasis on ‘your’ was clear to anyone who listened; Uther had never had fondness of any kind for Merlin, “you should be present for this accusation.”
Arthur nodded and rose, following his father and Lord Smythe out of the banquet hall.
***
In the war room, Uther sat in his normal chair, his son standing beside him. Arthur could see Lord Smythe glance between them.
“Now,” Uther began. “What is this complaint you have?”
“The servant boy, Derin-”
“Merlin,” Arthur corrected him instantly.
The lord seemed to falter. “Er… yes, Merlin. He insulted my wife.”
“Nonsense,” Arthur interrupted again before Uther could comment. He made sure to sound quite bored and disdainful. He knew that for a servant of Merlin’s talents, that response was quite normal. “Merlin doesn’t have the intelligence to insult someone.”
Privately, Arthur thought that when Lord Smythe spluttered he looked remarkably like his wife. It wasn’t a pretty image.
“How has the boy offended your wife?” Uther asked.
“Lying,” Lord Smythe returned. “Your Majesty, my wife told him to report to our rooms tonight after the banquet. We have a chore for him to do. He refused. Told us he was needed elsewhere. A complete lie. He was given to us for the duration of our visit. He should be ready to attend to us no matter the hour. His only task is to make sure we are content!” Lord Smythe raged. Spittle flew from his lips, although both Arthur and his father were too far away to be hit.
“The boy was lent to you for the duration of your visit,” Uther corrected. “He is still my son’s manservant and as such, Prince Arthur’s duties must be fulfilled before yours. Therefore, if Arthur gave him a previous order, the boy is within his rights to refuse. Arthur?”
Arthur didn’t hesitate. “I ordered Merlin to polish my armor for the tournament tomorrow,” he lied. He hadn’t; had in fact given Merlin the night off, had arranged for another servant to tend to his armor, but he wasn’t about to tell his father or Lord Smythe that. He could guess exactly what the lord and lady wanted with his manservant and it sent a cool ball of something to settle in his stomach. It wasn’t jealousy. Arthur was the prince; princes didn’t get jealous.
Realizing he wasn’t going to win this battle, Lord Smythe changed tactics. “Your Majesty, he still insulted my wife; if not by the content of his response, then by the manner he delivered it.”
“If the boy bothers you so much, I shall assign you and your wife a new servant,” Uther declared. Lord Smythe spluttered - again. Didn’t this man have any other expressions?
“I demand he be punished for his insult!”
Uther sighed. “Very well,” Lord Smythe’s face brightened, obviously expecting to be the one to deal out the punishment. It fell quite quickly when Uther continued. “Arthur will oversee the punishment.”
Arthur nodded at his father in acknowledgement of his orders, bowed stiffly and left the room. He would have to think of a suitable punishment for Merlin.
4.
Arthur won the tournament the next day. It was surprisingly easy, considering he was supposed to be fighting the kingdom’s top warriors, yet he bested them all with ease.
As he always did, Arthur’s eyes first sought out his father, waiting for the slight smile or nod of approval. Next, they searched for Merlin, standing by his tent. Merlin would always grin and give him a pleased thumbs-up gesture.
Only Merlin wasn’t there.
Gwen was, looking frantic, beckoning him over. As Arthur approached her from one side, Morgana came from the other, noticing her handmaiden’s distress.
“Gwen?”
“Lord Smythe took Merlin!” she cried out. “I don’t know where, he just told Merlin to follow him!”
Arthur swore.
He had told Morgana what had happened, and what he suspected would have happened. She had immediately petitioned the king to have a new servant given to the Smythes for the rest of their stay and Gwen returned to her, claiming she couldn’t function properly without the girl. Arthur asked Gwen to keep an eye on Merlin, just in case.
“Come on,” he said, striding off in the direction of the castle. Morgana and Gwen hurried after him. He suspected Lord Smythe wouldn’t take Merlin back to his chambers, but the rest of the castle needed searching.
He stopped the first servant he saw. “I need to find Lord Smythe,” he told the servant, and saw the boy’s face scrunch up in disgust. Abruptly, he remembered that this boy had been Lady Smythe’s attendant in the pairs’ last visit to the castle.
“He went in the direction of the library, your Highness,” the boy replied. Arthur nodded, thanked the boy and continued.
Near the library, Arthur noticed that the corridor separated into two, one heading to the library, the other down to the servants quarters, dimly lit and the ground uneven.
“Morgana, you and Gwen search the library. I’ll search down here.”
“But Aaden said they were in the library,” Gwen protested.
“No,” Arthur corrected, “he said they went in the direction of the library. They may have turned off. Just go. Hurry.”
Morgana nodded, pulling Gwen with her. Arthur watched them for only a second before turning down the side corridor.
***
Arthur was right. Lord Smythe had taken Merlin down the corridor. He could hear the man talking, his voice echoing down the empty hallway.
“… little slut. Do you spread your legs for the prince too?” he sneered. “Isa was stupid to pass up this, just because you rejected her last night. Stop fighting me! Well I’m not stupid. I wanted you and I’m going to have you. You’ll submit, won’t you, you little whore. You must be a good little lay, a good whore; why else would the brat keep you around? You’re a terrible servant.”
Arthur had heard enough, rounding the last corner only to freeze in shock.
Lord Smythe had Merlin pinned face first against the wall, and was pressed against him, in the process of trying to remove both his and Merlin’s pants. Merlin was struggling, and Lord Smythe was having a hard time keeping him still.
“What are you doing?” Arthur’s voice was deceptively soft, but it had the desired effect, with both Merlin and Lord Smythe freezing where they stood. Internally, Arthur was fuming. How dare this swine, this pig passing itself as a lord of the realm, lay his hands on what belonged to Arthur? Merlin was his damnit!
Merlin, at least, had the sense of mind to extract himself - with some difficulty - from between Lord Smythe and the wall, and stand slightly behind Arthur.
“What were you doing with my manservant?” Arthur asked again.
“He asked for it, my lord,” were the first words out of Lord Smythe’s mouth. “Begged me. I was just indulging him.”
“Which is why he was struggling,” Arthur shot back. “What were you doing?”
Lord Smythe gave up the pretense of Merlin being a willing participant. He leered openly at the younger man, who shivered, but faced him head on. Lord Smythe turned his attention back to the prince. “Nothing I’m sure you haven’t already done, my lord.”
“Indeed,” Arthur said, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer.
“I’m sure he could satisfy us both, if you wished it, my lord. I wouldn’t even mind going second, so long as I get a shot at him.”
Merlin gasped behind him, realizing what Lord Smythe was meaning, was asking for. Arthur silenced him with a look.
“I don’t share,” Arthur said simply, “nor do I force the unwilling. Now get out of my sight. If I see you near my servant again, I shall have your title and lands removed and yourself and your wife exiled.” He cocked his head. “Or killed. It really depends on my mood.”
Lord Smythe had paled considerably during Arthur’s speech. He nodded his understanding, bowed to the prince and left, very quickly.
Arthur turned to Merlin. “Are you ok?” he asked, doing a quick, visual check to make sure Merlin wasn’t hiding any major injuries. He didn’t seem to be. “You know I wouldn’t have let him hurt you, right?”
Merlin gave a half smile. “Yeah.”
“You’re my servant. It wouldn’t look right if I couldn’t protect my own servants, being the prince.”
“Oh. Of course.”
Arthur frowned. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine, sire. Thank you,” Merlin said, looking down. “If there’s nothing else, my lord, I’d like to go back to Gaius’ rooms.” Without waiting for an answer, Merlin turned and left.
Arthur was left standing wondering why he felt like he’d missed something.
-1.
It was Morgana who pointed out his mistakes to him.
“You’re an idiot. He likes you,” were her exact words.
Arthur returned to his rooms in a daze. Merlin liked him, according to Morgana, and he felt something for Merlin in return. His behavior towards Lord Smythe earlier that afternoon had made that quite clear to him.
He remembered the dreams he’d been having for the last few weeks, almost every night. He’d tried to deny them, pretend that it wasn’t Merlin in them (there were lots of skinny, dark haired people around) but now the images assaulted his mind. Him with Merlin. Him fucking Merlin.
Needless to say, Arthur didn’t sleep well that night.
***
Merlin woke him up the next morning. The younger man was still treating him strangely, doing his chores in silence, calling him ‘sire’ and ‘your highness’ and ‘my lord’. They didn’t joke like they normally did, and Arthur missed it. As soon as Merlin had finished his required tasks, he left.
This continued for three days, until Arthur gave up waiting. He had thought about it, and he knew what he wanted now. He wanted Merlin, and if what Morgana told him was true, there was no reason for him to deny himself any longer.
He cornered Merlin one morning, when he was making Arthur’s bed. Arthur shoved him onto the mattress, pinning him down. He noticed, elatedly, that Merlin didn’t struggle against him like he did against Lord Smythe.
“Arthur?” Merlin asked, sounding breathless.
“Tell me what Morgana said is true. You like me?”
Merlin blushed and looked away. Arthur grabbed his chin gently, turning it back. “Don’t.”
It was one word, one command, but it worked. Merlin looked at Arthur, and they could both see the feelings there. Arthur leaned down and kissed him sweetly, softly. When Merlin tried to deepen the kiss, Arthur pulled back, keeping it chaste.
Merlin pulled back with a groan, before flipping them, surprising Arthur. Merlin lent down and attacked Arthur’s lips, kissing him hard.
“Merlin… shouldn’t we go slow?” Arthur asked after a second, breaking the kiss.
Merlin laughed. “Thank you, but this isn’t something you need to protect me from, Arthur,” he replied, kissing him again.
Arthur grinned, flipping them again. “Well then. How about we…” he whispered in Merlin’s ear, relishing Merlin’s blush. It was perfect, Arthur realized. This was perfect; Merlin was perfect.
Then he set about showing Merlin just what they could do…