The Act of Unmasking (1/2)
Title: The Act of Unmasking
Author: miss_chevalier
Beta: miss_chevalier
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: about 5,400
Warnings: this is pure fluff and utterly cheesy
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, I simply borrow the show’s characters and play with them. No money is being made of this.
Summary: Merlin and Arthur go to a masquerade feast.
A/N: Okay, so this is a present for one of my friends. Happy Birthday again, honey! I hope you like it. (I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she gave me the prompt ‘mask’)
The Act of Unmasking
“The Grand what?”
Merlin wasn’t facing his prince as he was cleaning the fireplace. Spring had begun and it was not likely that Merlin would have to carry all the wood upstairs to Arthur’s chambers any time soon. Momentarily though he had to clean out the old ashes. Arthur was sprawled on his bed, rambling on about some celebration Merlin had never heard of.
“The Grand Masquerade, Merlin.”
“Ehm... which is?”
“It’s a night during which everyone wears a mask. There are several feasts, in the castle and some noblemen also open their doors.”
“And why is everyone wearing a mask?”
“For this one night of the year, your social position is not important. You can go to whichever feast you wish to and no one will recognize you. Although that last part probably doesn’t work for everyone as they can most likely guess from the clothing and the value of the mask what kind of person they have in front of them. But this year it’s going to be different.”
Arthur had mumbled the last sentence but Merlin had heard it anyway.
“Why?”
Arthur sat up from his lying position on the bed and turned his gaze on Merlin. The afternoon sun shone through the window and made him look even more beautiful than usual.
“Because this time I have you around.”
Merlin’s heart skipped a beat and he only just prevented a besotted smile from passing his face. Surely Arthur didn’t mean it in that way.
“Ehm...” Very coherent Merlin. “I’m not sure I understand, Sire...”
“I’m tired of going to the castle’s feast every year and being recognized by everyone because I’m the one sitting next to the throne, wearing expensive clothing.”
“And how will that be different?”
“You, Merlin, will obtain two masks for us. Don’t buy expensive ones. I want two simple masks a peasant could afford.”
“And then?”
“Then the two of us will find a nobleman who is not a knight of Camelot - because they would instantly know it’s me - and we will celebrate this feast without anybody knowing who we are.”
“Tell me again why we do this?” The plan didn’t sound bad and Merlin didn’t have any plans for the next day but he had never seen Arthur drunk except once. And Merlin really wanted to forget that one time because Arthur had mistaken Merlin for a serving girl which had led to the prince wanting to sleep with Merlin. Definitely not the way Merlin imagined his first time with Arthur and so he had quickly found a false pretence to leave his master’s chambers.
“We’re doing this, Merlin, in order to enable me to have one single night for myself.”
“Which means you want to get utterly drunk and sleep with some stranger whose name and face you won’t remember the next morning?”
“Actually I thought of eating and drinking without people telling me how to behave adequately, but your version is much better. Seems you do have something in that head of yours.”
Merlin had the strange feeling that during the night of the Grand Masquerade he would not have the time to enjoy himself because he would be hiding in some corner, observing his secret crush fucking someone else, in order to prevent Arthur from getting himself killed - because Arthur Pendragon would get himself killed somehow while having sex.
Great. Now, that sounded like loads of fun.
* ~ * ~ *
The sun had already vanished behind the trees of the forest when Merlin and Arthur were on their way to some nobleman’s house. Arthur had forgotten his name as it had been Merlin who had pointed out the place. The dark haired man had heard some kitchen maids gossiping that certainly no one from the royal household would go there, only people from the lower town and peasants.
Merlin had been very efficient with the masks, too. He had bought two different ones though. The first was turquoise with elaborate swings on the surface and a golden seam. The whole mask looked used but still utterly beautiful. Just as the second it covered the upper half of the face, ending at the middle of the cheeks and had two fine, black strings of cloth to secure it on the face. The second one was similar in shape, but of a dark blue and the only adornments were a white spot in the middle a little above the eyes and a black seam.
Although these masks looked expensive, Arthur knew they hadn’t cost a fortune. They were nothing compared to what he had worn the last years and Arthur knew that the masks for the Grand Masquerade were as cheap as possible so that everyone had the chance to obtain one.
“You will take the turquoise one and I’ll put on the blue.” Arthur hoped his voice didn’t allow any backtalk but Merlin wouldn’t be Merlin if he kept quiet.
“No. You’ll take the turquoise mask. I already got the more expensive clothing.”
Arthur had asked the court tailor to make two tunics and two breeches. The breeches were almost the same except one being black and the other one brown. The two tunics were simple without any remarkable features but the fabric of the white one was more expensive than the one of the violet. Arthur had forced Merlin to put on the white tunic and the black breeches - no, he had not thought about how delicious Merlin’s buttocks would look in them, thank you very much. Although Arthur had to admit that the cut definitely brought out some parts. Anyways, Merlin had put these on and Arthur the violet tunic, the brown breeches and his blue mask. Arthur was sure no one would know who they were beneath their disguise.
They were now standing in front of the house where the feast was already in full swing.
“What do we say if someone asks about our names and where we’re from?”
“We pretend to be two peasants from a village that’s one hour ride on horseback away from Camelot. Names won’t be necessary, that would defy the whole point of this event.”
“Right. Two peasants from a village one hour ride on horseback away from Camelot.”
“Relax, Merlin. It will be fun. And don’t think too much. Although that won’t be a problem for you, I suppose.” Arthur lightly shoved Merlin who in response hit Arthur on the shoulder. They smiled at each other for some seconds and then stepped over the threshold.
Inside there was a rather large room (nothing compared to the castle of course) and there were tables and benches. Merlin and Arthur sat down next to each other on a long table loaded with food and lots of mead and immediately began to pig out. Arthur decided not to drink too much, he would most likely pour his heart out in front of his overly adorable manservant, which would definitely not end in snogging.
Merlin would never kiss him - not even out of loyalty. Arthur’s mood darkened at that thought but the rich taste of mead and the roasted game that filled not only his stomach but also scented the whole room got Arthur into a sense of festiveness. Soon he was laughing whole-heartedly about some joke Merlin had made. Arthur had never quite noticed how beautiful the dark-haired man was. Alright, he had considered him good-looking before, but just not that overwhelmingly. When Merlin laughed, he threw his head back, exposing his bare neck - a very kissable neck. His opened mouth formed a handsome smile and his eyes seemed to sparkle from behind the mask. Arthur repeatedly had to remind himself to breathe and not to gape at the other man.
They were still eating from their first plates when two giggling maidens walked up to them. They wore colourful dresses and matching masks. One of them turned to Merlin.
“Fancy a dance?”
Merlin’s eyes quickly darted towards Arthur before answering. “I’m terribly sorry, but no. I’d like to sit here a bit longer.”
“As you wish. But if you change your mind, I’ll be here the whole night.” A flirtatious smile adorned her lips. It made something rise in Arthur’s stomach that felt confusingly like rage.
“Sure.”
When they were gone - possibly to ask someone else - Arthur enquired why Merlin didn’t want to dance.
“Well, I can’t let you sit here on your own all evening. Imagine if someone recognized you and tried to kill you.” The curve of his lips indicated that Merlin didn’t find it very likely and Arthur couldn’t hold back the laughter spilling from his mouth.
“It’s good to know you care so much about my well-being.” It was supposed to be a joke but when Merlin answered “Of course I do.” with such sincerity and honesty in his voice and face, Arthur couldn’t do anything but stare into the blue orbs. They could show so many emotions in different situations. At the moment they looked kind of embarrassed and unsure.
“Arthur?”
...
“Arthur, is everything alright?”
“Hm? Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?”
“You just had that distant look in your eyes.”
Arthur waved it off. “It’s nothing. You should go dance with her. She will be waiting the whole evening.”
“No, she won’t. Why should she wait so long for me to dance with her?”
“Because she likes you. Or some part of you. I don’t know, it’s not that easy to know what women think.” Neither is it to know what you think...
“But I don’t want to dance with her.”
Arthur shrugged. “No one forces you to. Tonight it’s all about fun. You can do whatever you want to.”
“Whatever I want to?”
“Yes? And no one can hold you responsible for anything because they don’t know it’s you.”
“You know it’s me.”
I would recognize you with that mask on even if you didn’t tell me that it was you. “What do you want to do? Not something against the law I hope.”
Merlin didn’t meet his eyes. “No, not exactly. But you won’t like it.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes and watched Merlin expectantly. Then he realised that Merlin couldn’t see his entire face behind the mask. “Spit it out, Merlin.”
* ~ * ~ *
It was now or never. Merlin was sure that Arthur hadn’t drunken enough mead yet but maybe ... maybe it was - no. There was no chance Arthur was drunken. Great, here came Merlin’s doom.
“I want to - ” Merlin cleared his throat. Where was that lump coming from? “I want to dance.”
“Alright ... Didn’t you just - ”
“I don’t know how you dance here in Camelot. I mean, I saw you at banquets but I’ve only ever danced in Ealdor and that was a different sort of music.”
“This is not a royal festivity, it’s the people’s. It isn’t important how you dance, there’s no protocol.”
“I don’t know. You know my sense of coordination.”
“Yes, I do and it’s already horrible without a tune to move to.”
“Thanks, that’s really cheering me up.”
“Fine then, come on.” In one swift movement, Arthur stood up and dragged Merlin towards the spot where people were dancing.
“What?” Merlin didn’t want to dance. Well he did - especially with Arthur - but not in front of all these people.
Before Merlin had any chance of protesting, Arthur’s hands were settled on his hips.
“What are you doing?” What was Arthur doing? Had he drunken enough after all? Surely, Arthur didn’t think he was a maiden again.
“I’m trying to show you how to dance, so that you can ask this lovely maiden later.”
Right, that was it. Arthur was already bored of him and wanted him to amuse himself with some maiden, so that he himself could do the same.
The music was slow and Arthur was pulling Merlin’s body closer to his own. The dark-haired man felt his hands sweating and his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
“Put your arms around my neck.”
“Excuse me?” Maybe Merlin’s voice was a little higher than usual...
“It looks stupid if they just hang there by your sides like dead somethings.”
Merlin did as he was told and thought he might burst because of the happiness filling him. Arthur was still pulling him closer.
“Don’t be so tense, just let it go. There’s no one here except the two of us and the music.”
“Right.” Merlin tried to forget the people around them and the buzz of happy laughter and singing. Just the music and Arthur. That was all that mattered now. And suddenly Merlin’s head was buried in Arthur’s neck and Arthur’s in Merlin’s black curls. From that moment on, Merlin didn’t concentrate on anything except Arthur and his body. He tried to mirror Arthur’s movements which wasn’t actually that hard because the slow music didn’t demand that much. They swayed a little from one side to the other and that was it. But to Merlin this dance was so much more. It was one of his dreams coming true because he was touching Arthur again. Some weeks ago, Arthur had insisted that Merlin only helped him with his armour and not with his daily clothing. Merlin didn’t know what he had done wrong but he knew that he missed dressing und undressing Arthur every day.
He willed his thoughts back to the presence to notice the way Arthur’s hands rubbed little circles through the soft fabric of his tunic to his hips. Merlin closed his eyes and pressed his head more firmly against Arthur’s skin. He took a deep breath and the scent of Arthur made him feel slightly dizzy. Here he was dancing with his crush. Merlin’s hands started to fondle Arthur’s golden locks at the back of his head.
Surely this couldn’t be real. Maybe Merlin had had a drink too much? Yes, that had to be it. Actually Merlin wasn’t dancing with Arthur, he was dancing with someone else - a total stranger - and Arthur was most likely still sitting on the bench laughing about Merlin’s stupidity. Oh God, this was not good. Luckily, there was a way to be sure.
“What’s my name?”
“What?”
“Tell me my name.”
“Merlin.” It was a sigh, muffled by his own hair and it sounded slightly irritated.
Maybe it was coincidence that this person knew his name. He was the Crown Prince’s manservant after all.
“What’s yours?”
The weight was lifted off Merlin’s head but Merlin let his own buried in the other man’s neck.
“Are you feeling alright?” Concern and insecurity mixed in the voice. Arthur’s voice.
He was dancing with Arthur. Oh no. The prince wouldn’t be happy about that in the morning. “No. I think I need some air.” Without further ado, Merlin quickly stepped out of the embrace and headed for the door, still feeling light-headed. Outside, he walked around the next corner and rested his head on the stone wall. What had he done?
* ~ * ~ *
part 2
Author: miss_chevalier
Beta: miss_chevalier
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: about 5,400
Warnings: this is pure fluff and utterly cheesy
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, I simply borrow the show’s characters and play with them. No money is being made of this.
Summary: Merlin and Arthur go to a masquerade feast.
A/N: Okay, so this is a present for one of my friends. Happy Birthday again, honey! I hope you like it. (I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she gave me the prompt ‘mask’)
The Act of Unmasking
“The Grand what?”
Merlin wasn’t facing his prince as he was cleaning the fireplace. Spring had begun and it was not likely that Merlin would have to carry all the wood upstairs to Arthur’s chambers any time soon. Momentarily though he had to clean out the old ashes. Arthur was sprawled on his bed, rambling on about some celebration Merlin had never heard of.
“The Grand Masquerade, Merlin.”
“Ehm... which is?”
“It’s a night during which everyone wears a mask. There are several feasts, in the castle and some noblemen also open their doors.”
“And why is everyone wearing a mask?”
“For this one night of the year, your social position is not important. You can go to whichever feast you wish to and no one will recognize you. Although that last part probably doesn’t work for everyone as they can most likely guess from the clothing and the value of the mask what kind of person they have in front of them. But this year it’s going to be different.”
Arthur had mumbled the last sentence but Merlin had heard it anyway.
“Why?”
Arthur sat up from his lying position on the bed and turned his gaze on Merlin. The afternoon sun shone through the window and made him look even more beautiful than usual.
“Because this time I have you around.”
Merlin’s heart skipped a beat and he only just prevented a besotted smile from passing his face. Surely Arthur didn’t mean it in that way.
“Ehm...” Very coherent Merlin. “I’m not sure I understand, Sire...”
“I’m tired of going to the castle’s feast every year and being recognized by everyone because I’m the one sitting next to the throne, wearing expensive clothing.”
“And how will that be different?”
“You, Merlin, will obtain two masks for us. Don’t buy expensive ones. I want two simple masks a peasant could afford.”
“And then?”
“Then the two of us will find a nobleman who is not a knight of Camelot - because they would instantly know it’s me - and we will celebrate this feast without anybody knowing who we are.”
“Tell me again why we do this?” The plan didn’t sound bad and Merlin didn’t have any plans for the next day but he had never seen Arthur drunk except once. And Merlin really wanted to forget that one time because Arthur had mistaken Merlin for a serving girl which had led to the prince wanting to sleep with Merlin. Definitely not the way Merlin imagined his first time with Arthur and so he had quickly found a false pretence to leave his master’s chambers.
“We’re doing this, Merlin, in order to enable me to have one single night for myself.”
“Which means you want to get utterly drunk and sleep with some stranger whose name and face you won’t remember the next morning?”
“Actually I thought of eating and drinking without people telling me how to behave adequately, but your version is much better. Seems you do have something in that head of yours.”
Merlin had the strange feeling that during the night of the Grand Masquerade he would not have the time to enjoy himself because he would be hiding in some corner, observing his secret crush fucking someone else, in order to prevent Arthur from getting himself killed - because Arthur Pendragon would get himself killed somehow while having sex.
Great. Now, that sounded like loads of fun.
* ~ * ~ *
The sun had already vanished behind the trees of the forest when Merlin and Arthur were on their way to some nobleman’s house. Arthur had forgotten his name as it had been Merlin who had pointed out the place. The dark haired man had heard some kitchen maids gossiping that certainly no one from the royal household would go there, only people from the lower town and peasants.
Merlin had been very efficient with the masks, too. He had bought two different ones though. The first was turquoise with elaborate swings on the surface and a golden seam. The whole mask looked used but still utterly beautiful. Just as the second it covered the upper half of the face, ending at the middle of the cheeks and had two fine, black strings of cloth to secure it on the face. The second one was similar in shape, but of a dark blue and the only adornments were a white spot in the middle a little above the eyes and a black seam.
Although these masks looked expensive, Arthur knew they hadn’t cost a fortune. They were nothing compared to what he had worn the last years and Arthur knew that the masks for the Grand Masquerade were as cheap as possible so that everyone had the chance to obtain one.
“You will take the turquoise one and I’ll put on the blue.” Arthur hoped his voice didn’t allow any backtalk but Merlin wouldn’t be Merlin if he kept quiet.
“No. You’ll take the turquoise mask. I already got the more expensive clothing.”
Arthur had asked the court tailor to make two tunics and two breeches. The breeches were almost the same except one being black and the other one brown. The two tunics were simple without any remarkable features but the fabric of the white one was more expensive than the one of the violet. Arthur had forced Merlin to put on the white tunic and the black breeches - no, he had not thought about how delicious Merlin’s buttocks would look in them, thank you very much. Although Arthur had to admit that the cut definitely brought out some parts. Anyways, Merlin had put these on and Arthur the violet tunic, the brown breeches and his blue mask. Arthur was sure no one would know who they were beneath their disguise.
They were now standing in front of the house where the feast was already in full swing.
“What do we say if someone asks about our names and where we’re from?”
“We pretend to be two peasants from a village that’s one hour ride on horseback away from Camelot. Names won’t be necessary, that would defy the whole point of this event.”
“Right. Two peasants from a village one hour ride on horseback away from Camelot.”
“Relax, Merlin. It will be fun. And don’t think too much. Although that won’t be a problem for you, I suppose.” Arthur lightly shoved Merlin who in response hit Arthur on the shoulder. They smiled at each other for some seconds and then stepped over the threshold.
Inside there was a rather large room (nothing compared to the castle of course) and there were tables and benches. Merlin and Arthur sat down next to each other on a long table loaded with food and lots of mead and immediately began to pig out. Arthur decided not to drink too much, he would most likely pour his heart out in front of his overly adorable manservant, which would definitely not end in snogging.
Merlin would never kiss him - not even out of loyalty. Arthur’s mood darkened at that thought but the rich taste of mead and the roasted game that filled not only his stomach but also scented the whole room got Arthur into a sense of festiveness. Soon he was laughing whole-heartedly about some joke Merlin had made. Arthur had never quite noticed how beautiful the dark-haired man was. Alright, he had considered him good-looking before, but just not that overwhelmingly. When Merlin laughed, he threw his head back, exposing his bare neck - a very kissable neck. His opened mouth formed a handsome smile and his eyes seemed to sparkle from behind the mask. Arthur repeatedly had to remind himself to breathe and not to gape at the other man.
They were still eating from their first plates when two giggling maidens walked up to them. They wore colourful dresses and matching masks. One of them turned to Merlin.
“Fancy a dance?”
Merlin’s eyes quickly darted towards Arthur before answering. “I’m terribly sorry, but no. I’d like to sit here a bit longer.”
“As you wish. But if you change your mind, I’ll be here the whole night.” A flirtatious smile adorned her lips. It made something rise in Arthur’s stomach that felt confusingly like rage.
“Sure.”
When they were gone - possibly to ask someone else - Arthur enquired why Merlin didn’t want to dance.
“Well, I can’t let you sit here on your own all evening. Imagine if someone recognized you and tried to kill you.” The curve of his lips indicated that Merlin didn’t find it very likely and Arthur couldn’t hold back the laughter spilling from his mouth.
“It’s good to know you care so much about my well-being.” It was supposed to be a joke but when Merlin answered “Of course I do.” with such sincerity and honesty in his voice and face, Arthur couldn’t do anything but stare into the blue orbs. They could show so many emotions in different situations. At the moment they looked kind of embarrassed and unsure.
“Arthur?”
...
“Arthur, is everything alright?”
“Hm? Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?”
“You just had that distant look in your eyes.”
Arthur waved it off. “It’s nothing. You should go dance with her. She will be waiting the whole evening.”
“No, she won’t. Why should she wait so long for me to dance with her?”
“Because she likes you. Or some part of you. I don’t know, it’s not that easy to know what women think.” Neither is it to know what you think...
“But I don’t want to dance with her.”
Arthur shrugged. “No one forces you to. Tonight it’s all about fun. You can do whatever you want to.”
“Whatever I want to?”
“Yes? And no one can hold you responsible for anything because they don’t know it’s you.”
“You know it’s me.”
I would recognize you with that mask on even if you didn’t tell me that it was you. “What do you want to do? Not something against the law I hope.”
Merlin didn’t meet his eyes. “No, not exactly. But you won’t like it.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes and watched Merlin expectantly. Then he realised that Merlin couldn’t see his entire face behind the mask. “Spit it out, Merlin.”
* ~ * ~ *
It was now or never. Merlin was sure that Arthur hadn’t drunken enough mead yet but maybe ... maybe it was - no. There was no chance Arthur was drunken. Great, here came Merlin’s doom.
“I want to - ” Merlin cleared his throat. Where was that lump coming from? “I want to dance.”
“Alright ... Didn’t you just - ”
“I don’t know how you dance here in Camelot. I mean, I saw you at banquets but I’ve only ever danced in Ealdor and that was a different sort of music.”
“This is not a royal festivity, it’s the people’s. It isn’t important how you dance, there’s no protocol.”
“I don’t know. You know my sense of coordination.”
“Yes, I do and it’s already horrible without a tune to move to.”
“Thanks, that’s really cheering me up.”
“Fine then, come on.” In one swift movement, Arthur stood up and dragged Merlin towards the spot where people were dancing.
“What?” Merlin didn’t want to dance. Well he did - especially with Arthur - but not in front of all these people.
Before Merlin had any chance of protesting, Arthur’s hands were settled on his hips.
“What are you doing?” What was Arthur doing? Had he drunken enough after all? Surely, Arthur didn’t think he was a maiden again.
“I’m trying to show you how to dance, so that you can ask this lovely maiden later.”
Right, that was it. Arthur was already bored of him and wanted him to amuse himself with some maiden, so that he himself could do the same.
The music was slow and Arthur was pulling Merlin’s body closer to his own. The dark-haired man felt his hands sweating and his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
“Put your arms around my neck.”
“Excuse me?” Maybe Merlin’s voice was a little higher than usual...
“It looks stupid if they just hang there by your sides like dead somethings.”
Merlin did as he was told and thought he might burst because of the happiness filling him. Arthur was still pulling him closer.
“Don’t be so tense, just let it go. There’s no one here except the two of us and the music.”
“Right.” Merlin tried to forget the people around them and the buzz of happy laughter and singing. Just the music and Arthur. That was all that mattered now. And suddenly Merlin’s head was buried in Arthur’s neck and Arthur’s in Merlin’s black curls. From that moment on, Merlin didn’t concentrate on anything except Arthur and his body. He tried to mirror Arthur’s movements which wasn’t actually that hard because the slow music didn’t demand that much. They swayed a little from one side to the other and that was it. But to Merlin this dance was so much more. It was one of his dreams coming true because he was touching Arthur again. Some weeks ago, Arthur had insisted that Merlin only helped him with his armour and not with his daily clothing. Merlin didn’t know what he had done wrong but he knew that he missed dressing und undressing Arthur every day.
He willed his thoughts back to the presence to notice the way Arthur’s hands rubbed little circles through the soft fabric of his tunic to his hips. Merlin closed his eyes and pressed his head more firmly against Arthur’s skin. He took a deep breath and the scent of Arthur made him feel slightly dizzy. Here he was dancing with his crush. Merlin’s hands started to fondle Arthur’s golden locks at the back of his head.
Surely this couldn’t be real. Maybe Merlin had had a drink too much? Yes, that had to be it. Actually Merlin wasn’t dancing with Arthur, he was dancing with someone else - a total stranger - and Arthur was most likely still sitting on the bench laughing about Merlin’s stupidity. Oh God, this was not good. Luckily, there was a way to be sure.
“What’s my name?”
“What?”
“Tell me my name.”
“Merlin.” It was a sigh, muffled by his own hair and it sounded slightly irritated.
Maybe it was coincidence that this person knew his name. He was the Crown Prince’s manservant after all.
“What’s yours?”
The weight was lifted off Merlin’s head but Merlin let his own buried in the other man’s neck.
“Are you feeling alright?” Concern and insecurity mixed in the voice. Arthur’s voice.
He was dancing with Arthur. Oh no. The prince wouldn’t be happy about that in the morning. “No. I think I need some air.” Without further ado, Merlin quickly stepped out of the embrace and headed for the door, still feeling light-headed. Outside, he walked around the next corner and rested his head on the stone wall. What had he done?
* ~ * ~ *
part 2