i never listen to you, TAG: Arthur Pendragon

[Merlin]

Oh God - he'd slept in...again!

Gaius hadn't woken him up when he was supposed to and it wasn't like he could magic up a cockrell to wake him at dawn - he was sure someone would notice. He was still pulling on a boot when he appeared out his bedroom door, tunic tucked over his belt as he tried his hardest not to topple head first down the stairs. He was pretty sure Arthur might resent having to break in a new manservant - God knows the Prince didn't have enough patience for him let alone a stranger. Waving a distracted goodbye towards Gaius he left the Physician's quarters with a tug of his tunic.

The castle's courtyard was bustling with servants already rushing about doing their duties, something Merlin really should be doing instead of wandering across the flagstones very slowly. He couldn't help but wonder the Prince's reaction if Merlin didn't show until lunchtime. It would be funny to see his face but really - the lifetime he'd be spent in the stocks really wouldn't be worth it.

Shouldering open the door to the kitchens, he flashed a half-smile at the cook as a tray filled with food was thrust into his waiting hands. He was pretty sure Arthur never actually ate this much but, taking a look at the scary looking cook, he wasn't about to argue with the woman. Stumbling back up the servants stairs, he almost lost Arthur's water on several occasions. He'd have magicked it onto the tray but with so many eyes around, that would be a surefire way of getting a first class ticket to the gallows.

With his back, he pushed open Arthur's bedroom door and promptly fell backwatds onto his butt. With a series of panicked grunts, and trying to ignore the vibrations shooting up his spine, he wobbled the tray to keep the plates and goblet from falling on his lap.

He glanced to the side and frowned at the rug he'd tripped over.

"Who moved the rug!?"

If those annoying servants who wished they were Arthur's had done this to annoy him then they'd succeeded. He'd turn them into toads when he got his hands on them. Growling, he got to his feert; surprising himself with managing to keep the tray stable; and turning about to face the general direction the Prince was without looking up and bowed in his usual mocking way.

"Breakfast is served, sire"

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

As far as manservants went, Merlin was undeniably the worst Arthur had ever had the misfortune of dealing with. The boy was in fact a complete prat with all about as much potential to be a good man servant as his horse, in fact, the four legged animal would probably be a darn site better. Yet, even after this many months he was still rocking up in Arthurs room 3 times a day and was usually at hand when he was needed because Arthur just couldn't get rid of him. Not couldn't, wouldn't, the boy had saved his life, possibly more than once and though that wasn't a reason to keep someone as your 'man servant' he couldn't find the heart to get rid of him, or the common sense to promote him to something more fitting..like Princes Bitch. Even his father, as much as Merlin had riled him in the past, was keen to keep the boy in the castle and in all honesty..he was getting better at the idea of being someones servant.

Getting better yes, but being able to be on time for absolutely anything was still an epic fail. For the fourth consecutive morning Arthur sat up on his bed, fully dressed because he got bored of waiting around in his night clothes and nibbled on an apple from the bowl in his room. Really it was a good job that bowl was there because if he was stuck relying on Merlin for feeding him he'd be dead by now...or atleast a lot skinnier than he was. With a sigh he cut another chunk out of the apple and looked absent mindedly out of the window as he ate. Perhaps another round in the stocks might improve of Merlins tardiness..or maybe just a good kick would do it.

A small smile crossed his face as, amongst the rest of the noices filling the castle he could hear the clatter of his breakfast arriving. Looking at the clock he shook his head and tossed the apple in the bin, and flopped dramatically back on his bed, arms splayed and a rather absent look on his face. Just because he was a Prince, that didn't mean he was going to act like one all the time. Especially not around Merlin at least, as far as Prince-ness went Arthur was a rebel and Merlin had witnessed many un-prince like displays from in the past, so him pretending to be dead from the hunger was hardly going to shock the boy..maybe just amuse him alittle.

Though, when he heard the slight trip and grumbled he couldn't help but laugh just a little before his face went still again. ”I'm sorry the Prince has died from hunger” he lay still for a few minutes before sitting up with an almost playfull glare. ”Really Merlin is it that hard to get up on time, would another go in the stocks help wake you up or perhaps we should have you sleep with the chickens” he said getting up off the bed and stretching his arms over his head, exposing his navel before he settled back down again, fixing his attire.

Walking over he sat down on the table and indicated for Merlin to put the food down on it too before he looked to the brunette. ”My boots needs cleaning, my sword needs taking to the armoury to be resharpened, I want it razor like before I beat you with it” he smiled a little ”Then I want my armour readjusting, room cleaning and..my horses mucked out” he finished realing of Merlins list of chore's the last three having been made up just to show Merlin not to be late again or the list would just keep getting bigger. ”What kept you anyway?” he asked, spooning sugar into his porridge.

The food in the castle wasnt that bad in all honesty. And though he knew it was his birth right he did feel slightly grateful that he wasn't eating some of the stuff the poorer parts of Camelot had to contend with. A full meal of nice food was just what he liked, and what he got, he could call Merlin to him at any time and ask for something and it would be in front of him almost instantly..or whenever Merlin got around to bringing it too him. There was nothing he could do about more food to the poorer communities because they had to fend for themselves, as they did, but he tried to help in whatever way he could, like increasing land for farming out of the meadows that belonged to the castle.

[Merlin]

”I'm sorry the Prince has died from hunger”

The young warlock let out a snort of disdain as he rolled his eyes, "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to eat your breakfast then. Can't have it going to waste now right?" he commented with a shrug, taking a step back while remembering not to fall over the rug again when Arthur next spoke. He considered the Prince's words before shaking his head slightly, "No sire, the stocks haven't taught me anything so far so what's another trip going to do?" It was true; he'd spent so long in the stocks that he was actually beginning to see the fun side of them. As much as he hated to say it, it was nice to see the children smiling - even if it was at Merlin's expense. The only downside to the stocks was the fruit - does anyone have any idea how hard it is to get tomato pips out your hair? Now as for sleeping with the chickens? Merlin didn't even like chickens so sleeping with them - and that sounded crude even in the servants ears - was not an option.

”My boots needs cleaning, my sword needs taking to the armoury to be resharpened, I want it razor like before I beat you with it”

A dark eyebrow raised as he nodded slowly, "Beat me? Riiiight. I was letting you win - I told you once I could take you apart with less than a blow and maybe one day I will but, until then, I'll keep letting you beat me". He placed the tray on the table beside him and began to shuffle round the room. He pushed open the window and took a minute just to look out it. He could see people walking about underneath and he had to admit, it was nice feeling the sun on his face. Behind him, he could still hear Arthur speaking but he let it wash over him, he'd just take a guess as to what Arthur wanted later. It was the same everyday unless he said they were going hunting.

”What kept you anyway?”

He turned his head, squinting slightly as the sun blinded him in one eye. He watched the prince for a couple of minutes before shrugging, "I slept in as usual. Gaius left before dawn to search for herbs and therefore wasn't around to wake me up. He only just got back to wake me up", he answered, leaning over the bed to shake out the bedcovers; a sneeze passing his mouth as the dust hit it.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur rolled his eyes, sometimes he wondered quite what it was that was keeping them together..not in the prince-servant sort of way, but in the friendship kind of way. As much as it was uncommon for it to happen in a way like this, Arthur had actually found that Merlin had become almost like a friend, a confidant. Arthur was liked in Camelot, loved even by many, but friends for a Prince were few and far between, you were in a position of power and authority and as the future king he had to behave as such, befriending the court or those below his ranking was not heard of. Indeed, within the Court Morgana was the only one he trusted and even with her there was more friction than not. But with Merlin, as the boy polished his boots, or followed him around awaiting his next task he actually found himself conversing with the boy, trusting him with things and Merlin responded, though Arthur sometimes got the feeling there was something..big..huge even that the brunette was hiding from him, and he didn't know what it was.

The Prince had always been one to trust his instincts, like the boy his father had imprisoned, almost executed, his instincts told him above his fathers rule that the boy was innocent, more innocent than most and he deserved to live. Of course he had almost failed due to Merlins tardiness but the boy had gotten away and Arthur felt much more reassured for it. In fact, now he came to think about it, a lot of the problems that Camelot had faced recently, Merlin had cropped up unexpectadly behind the scenes, and though Arthur hadn't always noticed the strange brunette boy had always been around..lurking. Arthur shook his head, dismissing the thought as his man servant spoke. ”Well if you weren't late then it wouldn't be an issue would it” he almost snapped. Arthur was not known for being overly warming in the morning. ”No it won't teach you anything but it'll satisfy me” he commented, stirring the bowl of now almost cold porridge in a vain attempt to dissolve the sugar.

His eyes rolled sarcastically once again and he shook his head ”Must you always be such an idiot Merlin” he said disdainfully, unwilling to rise to the bait. Arthur was the best in the country, he knew that, he was so far undefeated and held his title proudly. He had trained some of the best knights in the country and his skills with a sword were undeniable. Both he and Merlin knew there was no real competition, having once tried to teach the younger boy to use a sword bu to know avail. But, as much as he loved putting Merlin in his place, he was simply too tired and slightly irritable right now so it wasn't the time to do it.

”Perhaps you should actually start taking responsibility for yourself then?” he suggested, finishing the last few mouthfulls of cold porridge he could stomach before pushing the tray away and getting up. He walked into what was essentially the bathroom and poured water from the pale into the sink, it was Merlins job to prepare that for him but Arthur really had got tired of waiting. Reaching down with his hands he cupped them and splashed his face with the cold liquid, hissing a little at the temperature before drying his face off and walking back into his room, picking at some of the grapes still on the tray, sitting back in his chair.

[Merlin]

”No it won't teach you anything but it'll satisfy me”


Merlin paused, his hands jolting slightly to stop the pillow from smacking him in the face as he thought that over. 'Humphing' as a small smile tugged on his lips, he nodded more to himself that Arthur, "And of course, that didn't sound dominating of course", he mused, fluffing the pillow and setting it down on the now flat sheets. It was amazing how Arthur could be royalty, but still speak in a matter befitting servants. Amusement caused him to shake his head as he walked round the back of Arthur's seat, eyebrow raised at the pathetic looking bowl of porridge. He had to admit, it resembled something Gaius would cook so yes, Merlin could understand not eating it.

”Must you always be such an idiot Merlin”

A short snort escaped the boy as he crouched down to prod at the cold embers with the fire poker. The fire had obiously gone out sometime during the night and it was bloody freezing in here. The god thing about being a sorceror is that you can be warm anytime, anywhere - providing no-one saw you of course. "Arthur, you know it's one of my most endearing traits", he pointed out before pulling out the ash and replacing it with fresh logs, ready to be lit that night. Most servants left putting the new logs in until it was about to be lit but not Merlin. No, he liked the way the logs gave the room a homey feel - none of this blank Prince malarky Arthur had before he arrived.

”Perhaps you should actually start taking responsibility for yourself
then?”

Watching Arthur move to the sink, he frowned. He could take responsibility - it just wasn't often Gaius let him. The older man decided that if Merlin was going to be responsible and look after himself, then he may as well book front row tickets to the boys beheading as magic was sure to be involved. And yes, while that was mostly true - except the beheading part, Merlin didn't look forward to that - he could survive without magic. Sort of. Sometimes. Oh fine - not really. Choosing instead, not to indulge Arthur with an answer, he chose to gather all the dirty washing for the laundry girls. And really - he'd only done a washing yesterday; did prince's really need to wear so much in one day?

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Dominating? Wasn't that how their relationship was supposed to be. Wasn't Arthur meant to be the one in charge and Merlin doing what he was told, however begrudgingly. It was the strangest relationship Arthur had ever had, he had gone through manservants, many of which did the job a lot better than Merlin, but he hadn't enjoyed any of them as much as he enjoyed Merlin. Not in the physical sense of course because that would be completely out of line, he was his servant and things like that just didn't happen between people like him and people like Merlin..not to mention the fact they were both male and he couldn't possibly be..gay..now could he. That was just silly, he had heard of some of the Knights being 'close' with their manservants, closer than close but that's just how things were, you learnt to trust the man that was serving you unconditionally because otherwise there was simply no way that you could pretty much live together for all intents and purposes.

Arthur frowned slightly at how Merlins use of words had taken his thoughts of on a complete tangent, associating thoughts he generally tended to ignore. He was a Prince, and as it was done a Prince married a Princess before he took the thrown and they sat together as King and Queen. He had never disputed his destiny, his father had brought him up, yes without a mothers love, but he had brought him up into knowing his position and what his future held. Even as a child he had been aware of what was to come when his father either died or became simply too old and frail to serve Camelot. But now, what if he wanted to dispute it, what if he didn't want to marry, what if he wanted to flirt with the novel concept of love. His father had adored his mother, they were the best of friends and to an extent the had loved each other, but it wasn't the same hopeless love that you felt when you found the right person. But Arthur refused to toy with such an idea, for now at least. ”Well that's how it's supposed to be..” he mumbled, more to himself than in response to what Merlin said.

Now sat back down Arthur pushed the spoon absent mindely through the bowl of porridge before he set back and nibbled at a slice of toast, which, not to his surprise had gone cold. He was getting quite used to a cold breakfast since Merlin had began to work under him, he in shock when it was actually luke warm. ”I certainly wouldn't use the word endearing he said, lifting the goblet of water and taking a sip as he watched Merlin roam about his room, attending to various tasks. In all honest, perhaps Arthur was a little harsh on the brunette sometimes, yes he was late, scruffy half the time, and generally a bit of a prat, but he did try and Arthur had certainly seen infinate improvement since he had first taken him on. On the whole he could be stuck with a lot worse, and as he couldn't get rid of Merlin as his father thought it fitting for the boy to be practically attatched to him for saving his life, he was sort of happy to settle with him. Things could only get better after all.

He lift his leg and rest his foot on his knee, watching Merlin move his washing about in vague piles. ”Make sure to take my sword to be sharpened as soon as possible, I need it for a practise this afternoon, one which you will be attending by the way.” he added. Someone needed to rotate the dummy that Arthur would be 'killing' whilst mounted on his horse. Obviously he rarely, if ever, missed it but he wasn't one to be complacent, because in his mind that led to him being lazy and slacking, and that certainly would not do, he didn't want to be out of practise should he and the other knights be needed to defend the kingdom. ”We'll make a swordsman out of you yet Merlin....and if that fails you'll make a wonderful target” he said, his smile slightly teasing.

[Merlin]

”Well that's how it's supposed to be..”


Merlin rolled his eyes. Now, he wasn't completely adverse to domination - sometimes it was even a turn on - but to be dominated by Arthur? Well that was a...new concept? Oh who was he kidding, of course he'd thought about it - he's only human after all. He did dress, strip and bathe the prince; he'd seen it all. "Yes well, it would be nice if I was asked now and again, 'hey Merlin, how do you feel about getting down on your knees'", he paused a moment, "'to clean my hearth'" he finished, wiping sooty hands on his tunic before turning away to fetch the whetstone from it's spot beside the dresser to begin the boring process of sharpening the prince's sword. Looking towards his master, he bit his lip, "Shall I polish your sword too?" he asked, a cheeky twinkle in his eye as he picked up the sword - making sure not to cut his hand like last time.

"...one which you will be attending by the way.”

Merlin tried not to groan but he was fighting a loosing battle, "But Aaaaarthuuuur..." he whined, a pout firmly on his lips as he sighed, "Do I have to? I was going to help Gaius", he grumbled, drawing the blade along the stone, wincing at the metallic scraping sound it produced. His tongue peeked out from between his lips as he concentrated on not mortally wounding himself. Really - what good would he be if he lost his hand? Or maybe his head? Least that way he wouldn't have to be Arthur's target.


”We'll make a swordsman out of you yet Merlin....and if that fails you'll make a wonderful target”


Merlin sighed loudly, "Yeaah I know. Why can't I just be an archer? Why is everyone determined to make me use a sword?" he complained, finishing the sword and sliding it into it's sheath and placing it on the bed carefully.

<

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur signed, resting his head on his hand. It was honestly work having Merlin around sometimes, work he just didn't need, the boy didn't want to be here just as much as Arthur didn't know what to do with him when he was here messing things up and as much as he wanted to keep his father happy, he just thought it was a little bit pointless when Merlin could be learn things from Gaius, become his assistant as such because as much as he hated to admit it, Gaius was getting old, and when he was gone it would be at a great loss to the city. So perhaps it might be good to have someone standing by in reserve for when that time came, they couldn't afford the whole city getting sick and nor did the people deserve it. ”Well if you're really that unhappy with me I'll have you restationed” he said standing up with a shrug. ”Father will understand if you're better off somewhere else”. Usually it wasn't a question of how unhappy a servant was, it was how well they would do their job, but, well his and Merlins 'relationship' was certainly far from conventional so if he could help Merlin, have him working somewhere he wanted to given not working in the castle was unlikely then he would.

To be honest, though a manservant was useful, Arthur was far from dependent on them, all of the stuff that needed doing in general had about ten people assigned to the task, cleaning, cooking, looking after the horses and swords, and for specific stuff he was sure he could find someone to attend to him, he was a Prince after all. It just seemed that Merlin spent more time complaining about all that Arthur asked him to do than was strictly necessary so why shouldn't he stick him some place he might actually do some good without throwing a tantrum about it. It was definitely not the conventional thing to do, but, well, Arthur tended to break all the conventions of being a Prince as it was, so one more probably wouldn't hurt, in fact, it might bring a bit of amusement into his life, actually having to dress himself in the morning instead of relying on someone else to do it as if he were incompetent.

”Well you're needed on the field, it wont be for very long then you can get back to whatever it is you do when you're not complaining” he said walking over to the window and watching the people walk down below it on their daily chores. It was honestly hard to believe sometimes that this was all going to be his, the responsibility of looking after an entire city, protecting the people from threats ensuring they were fed, it was a massive and daunting task. But he felt..prepared, well as much as you could, his father had moulded him into a younger, slightly more wreckless version of himself and he hoped he would do even half as well as his father, though, with much looser ruling. His father was sometimes a bit..tight about things.

Turning he walked to his bed and picked up his sword, unsheating it and running his finger flatly but lightly up the blade with a satisfied smile. ”Because the point is, if you're with me you're not going to be carrying about a bow and arrow, you'll be carrying a sword and you'll need to be able to look after yourself if i'm otherwise occupied” he explained softly, though not really paying attention to his words. It was a fair point though, they were often outside the castle walls, just the two of them with the odd guard and if someone decided to attack Arthur would want Merlin to atleast stand a fighting chance of not dying, though, he would do everything he could to protect his manservant, as strange as that might be for a Prince to do, but, he did care.

[Merlin]

”Well if you're really that unhappy with me I'll have you restationed”

The whetstone he hadn't quite managed to put away yet clattered the the floor as his grip became lax. Re...Restationed!? He'd never thought of that - could that even happen? If he got restationed, how was he supposed to protect Arthur? He couldn't do that running after some other knight. A knight who'd probably expect him to warm his bed every night - he'd heard the talk from the knights servants and what they were expected to do. He belatedely realised he was staring at Arthur, mouth ajar as he made a grabbing motion at the whetstone - he must have looked like slightly retarded.

”Father will understand if you're better off somewhere else”

Merlin shook his head furiously as he finally grabbed the implement, "No sire, I'm great where I am. Perfectly fine, all the other people in the castle have servants and you know I couldn't work in the kitchens - I'd burn the castle down or poison your food or..." he paused to take a deep breath before he stopped himself from starting again, "I think I'll stay here, you know, least here I can keep you out of trouble", he finished with a failing attempt at cheeky, placing the whetstone on the cabinet and looking about shiftily, "If you want me to find soemwhere else to work I can", he motioned at the door, "Go find somewhere".

He'd been spending way too much time with Gwen, he'd started babbling whenever he got flustered.

”Because the point is, if you're with me you're not going to be carrying about a bow and arrow, you'll be carrying a sword and you'll need to be able to look after yourself if i'm otherwise occupied”

He stared at Arthur, chrewing the inside of his mouth, his head bobbing gently in agreement, "If you think that's the smartest move Arth; don't come moaning at me when I, oh I don't know, cut off my hand? Or your head?" he offered as examples, turning to fully face his Prince, a dorky lopsided smile on his lips as he rested his hands on his hips.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Life without Merlin. It was an entertaining thought that was to be sure, he had grown up without his manservant around him and with other people doing everything that Merlin did now. It hadn’t been awful, he had been fed, clothed, armoured and pretty well looked after but being a Prince wasn’t all it was cracked up to be all of the time. There were benefits like a life of luxury and getting almost anything you wanted but with that came responsibility and loneliness. One day it would be up to him to rule Camelot, to ensure his people were safe, happy, and able to provide for themselves and look after one another at all times. He would have to follow in his fathers footsteps and people recognized that, they knew that it wouldn’t do to upset Arthur, even if it was telling him the truth because it could be more than their lifes worth. Aside Morgana and to an extent Gwen, Arthur’s list of friends was pretty much non-existent. He never had anyone he could talk to, like really talk to about anything that was on his mind because if he did it always seemed to have consequences.

Like, he couldn’t just sit down with his Dad and tell him magic surely wasn’t all that bad because, after all, without it he wouldn’t be here. He couldn’t talk to him about lowering taxes to help the people or helping them with their food, looking after them like a king should. It was a pretty lonely existence for the prince..until Merlin came along. Sure he was dim-witted with big ears, no sense of time restrictions and generally just a bit of a prat, but underneath the master-servant relationship there was something stronger, something good that kept them together and allowed Arthur to open up to the boy in more ways than he had with anyone else. He didn’t want to loose him, as bad as it sounded and he would never admit it but he sort of loved him in a weird way, he liked having him around, not least because he would get fed and have his swords sharp, but, because he enjoyed his company.

”Well if that’s what you want then get on with the job and stop complaining, or I’ll find a new way to practise jousting..with a human target” he grinned before spooning his porridge into his mouth and swallowing. Aside the fact it was grey, and a bit lumpy, it actually tasted pretty damn good. Putting his spoon down he stretched up out of his chair and into the bathroom, deciding whether he wanted a bath before or after his training with Merlin that afternoon. That’s a very good point…though, if you can handle those big ears of yours a sword should be no problem” he grinned before pulling off his night tunic and getting his one for that day of the rail by the fire where it had been keeping warm. ”We also need to exercise the horses so I was thinking I ride into the forest might be useful” it wasn’t an order as such, but Arthur new Merlin would come.