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Merlin fic: Tread Carefully
Title: Tread Carefully
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Morgana (suggestive)
Spoilers:
Inspired by 2x01 and 2x03, but no direct references. Takes place in the near future.
Disclaimer: The show Merlin is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary: Arthur is driving Merlin insane. Well, two can play at that game. Unfortunately, Merlin plays it a little too well.
Author’s Notes: Arthur and Gwen both know about Merlin and Morgana’s magic in this.
I wrote most of this a few months ago and I just finished it off recently. This has a bit of an unresolved ending, but you would hope Arthur would resolve the situation…
~ * ~
“You’re the new servant?” Morgana asked as she halted the man’s walk down the corridor.
“Yes, my lady.”
“What is your name?”
“My name is Oliver.”
“Well, a word of advice, Oliver – don’t make Merlin mad.”
“Merlin? Isn’t he the Prince’s manservant?”
Morgana nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Just trust me – you will do well not to cross him.”
“What can I possibly do to anger him?”
“Oh, believe me. There are plenty of ways.”
And then Morgana swept past him without another word.
~ * ~
Merlin narrowed his eyes upon finding someone most disagreeable in Arthur’s room. There appeared to be a servant attending to Arthur.
He just resisted the urge to bang the tray he was carrying at the servant’s head. Maybe then the servant would know his place.
Arthur looked up from his seat. He was helping himself to a handful of grapes from a fruit plate that the servant held before him. “Ah, Merlin. You’re here.”
“Who are you?” Merlin gritted out, pointedly ignoring the prince.
The servant looked up, suddenly appearing ill at ease when he saw the tight, unwelcoming look on Merlin’s face.
Arthur, the prat, looked on bemused. As if this were entertaining to him.
“I’m Oliver. The Prince asked me to attend to him for the rest of the day.”
“Did he now?” Merlin said, glaring at the prince.
Arthur just stared back at him.
“Why don’t you go muck out the stables, Oliver?” Merlin said with force.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Oliver protested, though upon seeing Merlin’s angry look, he wished he could take back those words.
Merlin’s fists clenched tightly – he was sorely tempted to wrap his hands around Oliver’s neck and squeeze. Hard.
Arthur sighed. He decided it would be best if he would intervene. “Oliver, you may not be aware of the customs we follow here at court, but Merlin is in the right. As my manservant, he is allowed to give orders to lower servants. As you are new here, that would place you under that category of ‘lower servant.’”
Merlin felt vindicated.
“Goodbye,” Merlin said as he pushed Oliver out the door.
Once he shut the door, he rounded on Arthur, directing a furious look toward him.
“I won’t take this anymore,” Merlin announced in a tone that was firm, unyielding.
Arthur gave him an inscrutable look. “What are you on about, Merlin?”
“This is the third time in a month that you’ve been playing this – this ridiculous game! I’m tired of it. If you just want something from me then you only have to ask! You do not want to make me truly angry!”
With those last words, Merlin’s eyes flashed gold.
“You’re jealous,” Arthur said, all matter-of-fact.
“No! I am NOT jealous. You utter – royal – I can’t stand you right now!”
How could Arthur even think that?
When Arthur didn’t respond – instead choosing to let the silence fester, Merlin decided to speak.
“I’m leaving. Enjoy Oliver Bootlicker. I have plans to practice magic with Morgana in her chambers. You’re not invited because you’re a complete arse!”
“If this is your attempt at making me jealous, then it’s not working.”
But Merlin only continued on, heedless of Arthur’s words. “And maybe if things go well, other things will happen…” He let his last words trail off, a hanging threat directed at Arthur.
Arthur’s eyes darkened and narrowed. “That’s enough! Get out!”
“Gladly, sire,” Which really sounded like, “Gladly, you royal wanker.”
And Merlin left – narrowly missing a boot thrown his way before he shut the door.
The boot fell to the floor with a dull thud.
Arthur glared at the door.
~ * ~
Oliver felt decidedly uneasy when he saw Merlin coming toward him. A girl, he presumed another servant by the look of her, was beside him. She had a disapproving look upon her face.
“Oliver?” Merlin addressed him when he neared.
“Yes?” He asked with trepidation.
“I just wanted to let you know that you’re Prince Arthur’s manservant now. I’m resigning. You should check with the steward as soon as you can to get up to speed on your duties. Or, of course, you could just ask the prince himself--” Merlin stopped suddenly when the girl jabbed him in the ribs.
Merlin only looked at her. He appeared unaffected by her obvious display of displeasure. Turning his attention back to Oliver, he said, “This is Guinevere. She’s Lady Morgana’s maidservant,” He introduced her.
Guinevere gave Oliver a small smile.
“How do you do? You can call me Gwen.”
“All right. I’m--”
“Oliver, yes. I know,” And with that statement, she gave Merlin a stern look.
“Well! That’s all settled. Gwen and I are going to leave you,” Merlin said. He turned to leave, but Oliver’s voice stopped him.
“Wait – I’m not stupid. You clearly don’t want me around. Why are you doing this all of a sudden? And does the prince even know about this?”
Merlin faced him once again. Gwen now looked undeniably annoyed. “Merlin, this is madness.” She hissed at him.
“Oliver, you should just be happy you’ve been promoted. The prince would love to have you. Now I really have to go.”
And with that, Merlin left him. Oliver could hear Gwen’s obvious berating of him as they turned a corner and then he couldn’t see them anymore.
Oliver was starting to regret coming to Camelot. There clearly was something going on here that he couldn’t even begin to puzzle out. And he hadn’t done it intentionally, but somehow, he was sure of it, he had angered Merlin – the Lady Morgana’s warning to him coming true far too fast than he had expected.
Whatever was going on, he was stuck in the middle of it. And he knew that that was the one place he never wanted to be in.
~ * ~
Gwen was outside of Arthur’s chambers when she very clearly heard a, “He said what?!” from the prince.
She had seen Oliver enter the prince’s chambers earlier, so she knew that he had just finished explaining Merlin’s ‘resignation’ to Prince Arthur. And Arthur was absolutely not happy at this unexpected turn of events.
It looks like Merlin’s plan had worked.
But she feared that Merlin wasn’t done yet.
~ * ~
That evening, Gwen closed the door to Morgana’s chambers softly. She headed in the direction of the inner chamber, where she was surprised to find them already at it.
“You couldn’t wait, could you?” Gwen said out loud, announcing her presence.
Gwen had caught Merlin and Morgana sitting, cross-legged, across from each other on the bed. They were in a state of deep concentration, which she had come to be familiar with as how they usually were when they practiced a particularly intricate spell…
At the sound of Gwen’s voice, Merlin almost fell off the bed in his shock. He was really too close to the edge.
“Gwen…good to see you,” Merlin said as he reasserted his balance on Morgana’s bed.
Morgana was shaking her head, looking on the verge of laughter, but respectfully keeping it inside.
Gwen sighed and sat down in a chair by the bed. “What do you need my help with then? You said you had some sort of spell in mind.”
Morgana left her bed and waved her hand at the table. “I think it would be best if we sat down properly to discuss this.”
Merlin shrugged and climbed off the bed after her.
Gwen noticed that they were lacking a chair for Merlin. She voiced this, to which he responded by sitting on Morgana’s lap.
“Get off me!” Morgana cried, though the amusement in her tone was unmistakable.
With a twinkle in his eye, Merlin turned to look at her, still sitting on top of her. “What’s wrong with this?”
She rolled her eyes and then shoved him off of her. In the blink of an eye – Gwen just caught the golden glint flashing in Merlin’s eyes – he conjured a chair beside Morgana. He settled into the chair.
“There, that’s better,” Merlin said as he made himself comfortable.
Morgana just stared at him, then at the chair and finally back at him, a knowing look in her eyes. “That’s Arthur’s chair.”
Merlin took a closer look at the chair and he nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is. Serves him right.”
“Could we get back to the matter at hand?” Gwen asked, trying to draw their attention back to her.
“Honestly with how you two act, it’s a wonder that people don’t see it. Or at least gossip about it.”
Morgana gave Gwen a thoughtful look. “Really, Gwen, anything to do with Arthur is far more interesting. Oh, the things I’ve heard!”
Merlin’s face reddened visibly. “I don’t want to know. I don’t even know how it’s been getting around.”
Morgana gave him an amused smile. “I have you to thank for helping me through my most trying of days. It’s hard being so pure…”
Merlin just stared at her weirdly, mouthing, “Pure?” and appearing sincerely baffled at that admission.
Gwen had about given up trying to control the conversation. She tried not to listen too hard as the Lady Morgana went on…
“…the thought of you and Arthur like that…” She mused, smiling like she was recalling a good dream. Merlin looked like he wanted to make a mad dash for the door. He could almost forget Arthur’s frustrating actions as of late as he vividly remembered this one time when they…No. He stopped that train of thought right away. He wouldn’t let himself get distracted so.
But then Morgana continued on, “It almost makes me forget about my unfortunate fate of being sold off to some ‘honourable’ rich man like cattle. Honestly, I could almost forget I have to be a ‘good and proper lady’. It’s absolutely infuriating.” She finished, disdain evident in her tone.
Gwen gave a long sigh. She clasped her hands together on the table and donned a serious look on her face.
She spoke in an authoritative tone, trying her best to be firm and not to notice Morgana grinning widely for some inexplicable reason. Meanwhile, Merlin appeared to be having trouble sitting still. “All right. Thank you, Morgana, on informing us that you’re turned on by Merlin and Arthur doing something that is far too private to mention in polite conversation.” Morgana looked thoroughly unabashed. Merlin, on the other hand, looked wistfully at the doorway.
At this rate, the debacle Merlin was setting up would never get accomplished. “So, can we please get back to the spell? What sort of spell is it exactly? How can I help you?”
So Morgana explained, “We’re going to start a rumor, well, we need you to initiate it – spread it amongst the servants. The rumor will be false, of course, but the trick here is that we will control the spread of the rumor.”
Merlin clarified, “So that it doesn’t reach the King – that’s the last thing we would want to happen.” He looked uneasy for a moment before he continued on, “This is all for Arthur’s benefit. Once he finds out the rumor, he will surely hate it. Hopefully, he’ll finally be compelled to tell me why he is driving me mad.”
Gwen couldn’t help but wonder though. Why all this trouble to get Arthur to admit to something?
“Merlin, you know how Arthur cares for you. There’s no need to feel so threatened by the string of manservants that he’s ‘testing out’ as he says. Surely he means nothing by it.”
But Merlin shook his head fiercely. “No, he refuses to tell me why he’s doing it. I have no choice but to force my hand. If Arthur wants to be a prat, then I won’t let him get away with it.”
Morgana turned to him and she reminded him, “You did tell me earlier that Arthur thought you were jealous yesterday because of Oliver. And then you went ahead and resigned…”
“No, if Arthur was simply trying to inspire jealousy in me, then I wouldn’t have this feeling that it was something more. Really, if it was just jealousy, he’s doing a shoddy job of it. He’s not even shagging them or anything in front of me. No, I’m sure of it – it’s something else.” Merlin said firmly.
Gwen decided it was best to let the matter go, no matter how much she was bothered by this course of action. Surely there were other ways to get Arthur to confess? Ways that did not require magic? “What exactly is the rumor then?” She asked anxiously.
Merlin told her. There was a quiet, determined look in his eyes. But Gwen knew very well what he was risking, what would happen to him if this spell turned sour.
~ * ~
“And what is your back up plan? If the rumor does reach the king?”
“That won’t happen.” Merlin said, firm in his conviction. “I – Morgana and I – can handle it.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just – something could happen. You never know how things can turn out…”
Morgana touched his hand for a moment, trying to calm him.
She looked to Gwen. “It’s the usual back up.”
“But--”
“It’ll be fine, Gwen. Trust us,” Morgana tried to reassure her. “Just make sure that the rumor is spread and Merlin and I will take care of the rest.”
Sensing the note of finality in Morgana’s voice, Gwen stood up to leave.
She headed toward the door, only looking back to see Morgana staring intently at Merlin, who let out a small sigh. Morgana said something softly to him and he nodded, his jaw clenched, resolute in his decision.
With not a little trepidation, Gwen left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
~ * ~
“Sire, there is a rumor about your former manservant.”
Arthur looked up. “Really? And what is that?”
“Lady Morgana’s maidservant, Gwen, has been saying that her mistress is with child. His child.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow, a disbelieving look in his eyes. “Morgana’s pregnant with Merlin’s child?” He asked incredulously.
His current manservant, Oliver who Arthur could not wait to get rid of, nodded.
“I thought you would know. Apparently, they’ve been sleeping together for quite a while now.”
Cursing Merlin, but keeping his head enough to realize something was clearly amiss, Arthur said curtly, “It’s a lie. I don’t believe one word of it.”
Oliver looked puzzled. “Their actions betray otherwise. Lady Morgana is said to be inconsolable, sequestered in her chambers… and Merlin, well, he’s gone. The court physician found his bed empty this morning. No one has seen him since yesterday evening.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous. Merlin can’t be that much of an idiot. And Guinevere--” Arthur stopped. He knew that Guinevere would not be inclined to spill delicate matters such as this and allow it to spread widely in the castle gossip.
No, there was a much more pressing concern plaguing him. If his father found out…things would take a turn for the worst. And he thought that keeping the fact of Merlin’s magic a secret was the only thing he had to worry about.
He looked carefully at his manservant.
“Oliver?”
“Yes, sire?”
“Has word of this reached my father?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think so.”
“And who is looking after Morgana?”
“Gwen, I think. Gaius, the court physician, too.”
“And yet, the king is unaware of his ward’s condition?”
“I suppose so, yes…”
“Right. You’re dismissed for now.”
Oliver left after a curt bow, closing the door behind him.
Arthur knew what he had to do.
Kill Merlin.
And maybe bring him back to life.
And kill him again.
Leave it to his idiot manservant to pull a ridiculous stunt like this.
Arthur sincerely hoped this was some magical – utterly nonsensical and asking for something unfortunate to happen – spell. And if it was, then the prince would have a good, long talk with Merlin on what spells to cast and which ones to avoid at all costs…
So with that in mind, he set off to Morgana’s chambers to begin rectifying this matter.
~ * ~
Sequel: Enchanted
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Morgana (suggestive)
Spoilers:
Inspired by 2x01 and 2x03, but no direct references. Takes place in the near future.
Disclaimer: The show Merlin is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary: Arthur is driving Merlin insane. Well, two can play at that game. Unfortunately, Merlin plays it a little too well.
Author’s Notes: Arthur and Gwen both know about Merlin and Morgana’s magic in this.
I wrote most of this a few months ago and I just finished it off recently. This has a bit of an unresolved ending, but you would hope Arthur would resolve the situation…
~ * ~
“You’re the new servant?” Morgana asked as she halted the man’s walk down the corridor.
“Yes, my lady.”
“What is your name?”
“My name is Oliver.”
“Well, a word of advice, Oliver – don’t make Merlin mad.”
“Merlin? Isn’t he the Prince’s manservant?”
Morgana nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Just trust me – you will do well not to cross him.”
“What can I possibly do to anger him?”
“Oh, believe me. There are plenty of ways.”
And then Morgana swept past him without another word.
~ * ~
Merlin narrowed his eyes upon finding someone most disagreeable in Arthur’s room. There appeared to be a servant attending to Arthur.
He just resisted the urge to bang the tray he was carrying at the servant’s head. Maybe then the servant would know his place.
Arthur looked up from his seat. He was helping himself to a handful of grapes from a fruit plate that the servant held before him. “Ah, Merlin. You’re here.”
“Who are you?” Merlin gritted out, pointedly ignoring the prince.
The servant looked up, suddenly appearing ill at ease when he saw the tight, unwelcoming look on Merlin’s face.
Arthur, the prat, looked on bemused. As if this were entertaining to him.
“I’m Oliver. The Prince asked me to attend to him for the rest of the day.”
“Did he now?” Merlin said, glaring at the prince.
Arthur just stared back at him.
“Why don’t you go muck out the stables, Oliver?” Merlin said with force.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Oliver protested, though upon seeing Merlin’s angry look, he wished he could take back those words.
Merlin’s fists clenched tightly – he was sorely tempted to wrap his hands around Oliver’s neck and squeeze. Hard.
Arthur sighed. He decided it would be best if he would intervene. “Oliver, you may not be aware of the customs we follow here at court, but Merlin is in the right. As my manservant, he is allowed to give orders to lower servants. As you are new here, that would place you under that category of ‘lower servant.’”
Merlin felt vindicated.
“Goodbye,” Merlin said as he pushed Oliver out the door.
Once he shut the door, he rounded on Arthur, directing a furious look toward him.
“I won’t take this anymore,” Merlin announced in a tone that was firm, unyielding.
Arthur gave him an inscrutable look. “What are you on about, Merlin?”
“This is the third time in a month that you’ve been playing this – this ridiculous game! I’m tired of it. If you just want something from me then you only have to ask! You do not want to make me truly angry!”
With those last words, Merlin’s eyes flashed gold.
“You’re jealous,” Arthur said, all matter-of-fact.
“No! I am NOT jealous. You utter – royal – I can’t stand you right now!”
How could Arthur even think that?
When Arthur didn’t respond – instead choosing to let the silence fester, Merlin decided to speak.
“I’m leaving. Enjoy Oliver Bootlicker. I have plans to practice magic with Morgana in her chambers. You’re not invited because you’re a complete arse!”
“If this is your attempt at making me jealous, then it’s not working.”
But Merlin only continued on, heedless of Arthur’s words. “And maybe if things go well, other things will happen…” He let his last words trail off, a hanging threat directed at Arthur.
Arthur’s eyes darkened and narrowed. “That’s enough! Get out!”
“Gladly, sire,” Which really sounded like, “Gladly, you royal wanker.”
And Merlin left – narrowly missing a boot thrown his way before he shut the door.
The boot fell to the floor with a dull thud.
Arthur glared at the door.
~ * ~
Oliver felt decidedly uneasy when he saw Merlin coming toward him. A girl, he presumed another servant by the look of her, was beside him. She had a disapproving look upon her face.
“Oliver?” Merlin addressed him when he neared.
“Yes?” He asked with trepidation.
“I just wanted to let you know that you’re Prince Arthur’s manservant now. I’m resigning. You should check with the steward as soon as you can to get up to speed on your duties. Or, of course, you could just ask the prince himself--” Merlin stopped suddenly when the girl jabbed him in the ribs.
Merlin only looked at her. He appeared unaffected by her obvious display of displeasure. Turning his attention back to Oliver, he said, “This is Guinevere. She’s Lady Morgana’s maidservant,” He introduced her.
Guinevere gave Oliver a small smile.
“How do you do? You can call me Gwen.”
“All right. I’m--”
“Oliver, yes. I know,” And with that statement, she gave Merlin a stern look.
“Well! That’s all settled. Gwen and I are going to leave you,” Merlin said. He turned to leave, but Oliver’s voice stopped him.
“Wait – I’m not stupid. You clearly don’t want me around. Why are you doing this all of a sudden? And does the prince even know about this?”
Merlin faced him once again. Gwen now looked undeniably annoyed. “Merlin, this is madness.” She hissed at him.
“Oliver, you should just be happy you’ve been promoted. The prince would love to have you. Now I really have to go.”
And with that, Merlin left him. Oliver could hear Gwen’s obvious berating of him as they turned a corner and then he couldn’t see them anymore.
Oliver was starting to regret coming to Camelot. There clearly was something going on here that he couldn’t even begin to puzzle out. And he hadn’t done it intentionally, but somehow, he was sure of it, he had angered Merlin – the Lady Morgana’s warning to him coming true far too fast than he had expected.
Whatever was going on, he was stuck in the middle of it. And he knew that that was the one place he never wanted to be in.
~ * ~
Gwen was outside of Arthur’s chambers when she very clearly heard a, “He said what?!” from the prince.
She had seen Oliver enter the prince’s chambers earlier, so she knew that he had just finished explaining Merlin’s ‘resignation’ to Prince Arthur. And Arthur was absolutely not happy at this unexpected turn of events.
It looks like Merlin’s plan had worked.
But she feared that Merlin wasn’t done yet.
~ * ~
That evening, Gwen closed the door to Morgana’s chambers softly. She headed in the direction of the inner chamber, where she was surprised to find them already at it.
“You couldn’t wait, could you?” Gwen said out loud, announcing her presence.
Gwen had caught Merlin and Morgana sitting, cross-legged, across from each other on the bed. They were in a state of deep concentration, which she had come to be familiar with as how they usually were when they practiced a particularly intricate spell…
At the sound of Gwen’s voice, Merlin almost fell off the bed in his shock. He was really too close to the edge.
“Gwen…good to see you,” Merlin said as he reasserted his balance on Morgana’s bed.
Morgana was shaking her head, looking on the verge of laughter, but respectfully keeping it inside.
Gwen sighed and sat down in a chair by the bed. “What do you need my help with then? You said you had some sort of spell in mind.”
Morgana left her bed and waved her hand at the table. “I think it would be best if we sat down properly to discuss this.”
Merlin shrugged and climbed off the bed after her.
Gwen noticed that they were lacking a chair for Merlin. She voiced this, to which he responded by sitting on Morgana’s lap.
“Get off me!” Morgana cried, though the amusement in her tone was unmistakable.
With a twinkle in his eye, Merlin turned to look at her, still sitting on top of her. “What’s wrong with this?”
She rolled her eyes and then shoved him off of her. In the blink of an eye – Gwen just caught the golden glint flashing in Merlin’s eyes – he conjured a chair beside Morgana. He settled into the chair.
“There, that’s better,” Merlin said as he made himself comfortable.
Morgana just stared at him, then at the chair and finally back at him, a knowing look in her eyes. “That’s Arthur’s chair.”
Merlin took a closer look at the chair and he nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is. Serves him right.”
“Could we get back to the matter at hand?” Gwen asked, trying to draw their attention back to her.
“Honestly with how you two act, it’s a wonder that people don’t see it. Or at least gossip about it.”
Morgana gave Gwen a thoughtful look. “Really, Gwen, anything to do with Arthur is far more interesting. Oh, the things I’ve heard!”
Merlin’s face reddened visibly. “I don’t want to know. I don’t even know how it’s been getting around.”
Morgana gave him an amused smile. “I have you to thank for helping me through my most trying of days. It’s hard being so pure…”
Merlin just stared at her weirdly, mouthing, “Pure?” and appearing sincerely baffled at that admission.
Gwen had about given up trying to control the conversation. She tried not to listen too hard as the Lady Morgana went on…
“…the thought of you and Arthur like that…” She mused, smiling like she was recalling a good dream. Merlin looked like he wanted to make a mad dash for the door. He could almost forget Arthur’s frustrating actions as of late as he vividly remembered this one time when they…No. He stopped that train of thought right away. He wouldn’t let himself get distracted so.
But then Morgana continued on, “It almost makes me forget about my unfortunate fate of being sold off to some ‘honourable’ rich man like cattle. Honestly, I could almost forget I have to be a ‘good and proper lady’. It’s absolutely infuriating.” She finished, disdain evident in her tone.
Gwen gave a long sigh. She clasped her hands together on the table and donned a serious look on her face.
She spoke in an authoritative tone, trying her best to be firm and not to notice Morgana grinning widely for some inexplicable reason. Meanwhile, Merlin appeared to be having trouble sitting still. “All right. Thank you, Morgana, on informing us that you’re turned on by Merlin and Arthur doing something that is far too private to mention in polite conversation.” Morgana looked thoroughly unabashed. Merlin, on the other hand, looked wistfully at the doorway.
At this rate, the debacle Merlin was setting up would never get accomplished. “So, can we please get back to the spell? What sort of spell is it exactly? How can I help you?”
So Morgana explained, “We’re going to start a rumor, well, we need you to initiate it – spread it amongst the servants. The rumor will be false, of course, but the trick here is that we will control the spread of the rumor.”
Merlin clarified, “So that it doesn’t reach the King – that’s the last thing we would want to happen.” He looked uneasy for a moment before he continued on, “This is all for Arthur’s benefit. Once he finds out the rumor, he will surely hate it. Hopefully, he’ll finally be compelled to tell me why he is driving me mad.”
Gwen couldn’t help but wonder though. Why all this trouble to get Arthur to admit to something?
“Merlin, you know how Arthur cares for you. There’s no need to feel so threatened by the string of manservants that he’s ‘testing out’ as he says. Surely he means nothing by it.”
But Merlin shook his head fiercely. “No, he refuses to tell me why he’s doing it. I have no choice but to force my hand. If Arthur wants to be a prat, then I won’t let him get away with it.”
Morgana turned to him and she reminded him, “You did tell me earlier that Arthur thought you were jealous yesterday because of Oliver. And then you went ahead and resigned…”
“No, if Arthur was simply trying to inspire jealousy in me, then I wouldn’t have this feeling that it was something more. Really, if it was just jealousy, he’s doing a shoddy job of it. He’s not even shagging them or anything in front of me. No, I’m sure of it – it’s something else.” Merlin said firmly.
Gwen decided it was best to let the matter go, no matter how much she was bothered by this course of action. Surely there were other ways to get Arthur to confess? Ways that did not require magic? “What exactly is the rumor then?” She asked anxiously.
Merlin told her. There was a quiet, determined look in his eyes. But Gwen knew very well what he was risking, what would happen to him if this spell turned sour.
~ * ~
“And what is your back up plan? If the rumor does reach the king?”
“That won’t happen.” Merlin said, firm in his conviction. “I – Morgana and I – can handle it.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just – something could happen. You never know how things can turn out…”
Morgana touched his hand for a moment, trying to calm him.
She looked to Gwen. “It’s the usual back up.”
“But--”
“It’ll be fine, Gwen. Trust us,” Morgana tried to reassure her. “Just make sure that the rumor is spread and Merlin and I will take care of the rest.”
Sensing the note of finality in Morgana’s voice, Gwen stood up to leave.
She headed toward the door, only looking back to see Morgana staring intently at Merlin, who let out a small sigh. Morgana said something softly to him and he nodded, his jaw clenched, resolute in his decision.
With not a little trepidation, Gwen left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
~ * ~
“Sire, there is a rumor about your former manservant.”
Arthur looked up. “Really? And what is that?”
“Lady Morgana’s maidservant, Gwen, has been saying that her mistress is with child. His child.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow, a disbelieving look in his eyes. “Morgana’s pregnant with Merlin’s child?” He asked incredulously.
His current manservant, Oliver who Arthur could not wait to get rid of, nodded.
“I thought you would know. Apparently, they’ve been sleeping together for quite a while now.”
Cursing Merlin, but keeping his head enough to realize something was clearly amiss, Arthur said curtly, “It’s a lie. I don’t believe one word of it.”
Oliver looked puzzled. “Their actions betray otherwise. Lady Morgana is said to be inconsolable, sequestered in her chambers… and Merlin, well, he’s gone. The court physician found his bed empty this morning. No one has seen him since yesterday evening.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous. Merlin can’t be that much of an idiot. And Guinevere--” Arthur stopped. He knew that Guinevere would not be inclined to spill delicate matters such as this and allow it to spread widely in the castle gossip.
No, there was a much more pressing concern plaguing him. If his father found out…things would take a turn for the worst. And he thought that keeping the fact of Merlin’s magic a secret was the only thing he had to worry about.
He looked carefully at his manservant.
“Oliver?”
“Yes, sire?”
“Has word of this reached my father?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think so.”
“And who is looking after Morgana?”
“Gwen, I think. Gaius, the court physician, too.”
“And yet, the king is unaware of his ward’s condition?”
“I suppose so, yes…”
“Right. You’re dismissed for now.”
Oliver left after a curt bow, closing the door behind him.
Arthur knew what he had to do.
Kill Merlin.
And maybe bring him back to life.
And kill him again.
Leave it to his idiot manservant to pull a ridiculous stunt like this.
Arthur sincerely hoped this was some magical – utterly nonsensical and asking for something unfortunate to happen – spell. And if it was, then the prince would have a good, long talk with Merlin on what spells to cast and which ones to avoid at all costs…
So with that in mind, he set off to Morgana’s chambers to begin rectifying this matter.
~ * ~
Sequel: Enchanted