Chapter Text

Peasant Alpha

Part 1

Chaper 1 Beginnings

Merlin tackled Prince Arthur as the knife hit the chair where Arthur's oversized blonde head had been moments before.

With a crash and a yelp, Merlin had the big-headed idiot safely pinned under his body weight. The Prince was staring wide-eyed right into Merlin's eyes, looking rather dazed and slightly horrified simultaneously. Merlin just had time to register that there was no scent at all to the Prince, he just smelled slightly sweaty and of what he had been drinking, which was a dry red wine. Merlin on the other hand was rather aware that he smelled strongly of irritated protective Alpha. Not that a beta like the Prince should be able to pick up more than a faint whiff.

“Get off! You're heavy!” The prince complained, sounding rather indignant, his nose wrinkled and breaking Merlin out of his slightly dazed thoughts. Merlin scrambled upright to only be skewered by Uther Pendragon's contemplative gaze.

“You saved my son.” the king sounded surprised and possibly a little shellshocked for a peasant to be in this position. He recovered himself, and straightened up further in his throne-like chair. “You must be rewarded!”

“No, really, I don't need anything. I am completely content as Guias's apprentice.”

“You can read boy?”

Merlin nodded, only a little wrong footed by what was turning into an interrogation.

“What is your name, boy?”

“Merlin your majesty”

“You're a peasant Alpha I take it?”

Merlin nodded again, becoming more confused.

“Growl for me.”

“P. Pardon?”

“You heard me. To decide your reward I wish to hear you growl.”

Merlin glanced nervously over at Guias. They hadn't discussed his Alpha side, being somewhat sidetracked by the whole magic issue.

Merlin was vaguely aware that he was a particularly strong one. Not that he'd had many to compare to in his village. Guias raised one eyebrow and nodded.

Merlin cleared his throat but nothing came out.

“Come on boy. Imagine someone you care about and imagine they are being threatened by someone very dangerous.” Uther was clearly irritated at Merlin's hesitation. Arthur was gripping the back of his chair where he stood and was looking a little pale but rather smug at Merlin's lack of ability to summon a growl on command. Merlin huffed in annoyance and closed his eyes. He imagined his sweet insufferable Omega mother, imagined her held at knife point by a faceless stranger and allowed the rage to fill him up.

He began to rumble, and his imagination helpfully provided a vision of how he would tear his mother's attacker apart with a combination of magic followed by his bare hands. The growl started to become deeper rumbling in his chest as well as his throat. Then his mother was replaced by a certain wide-eyed blonde twat pinned to the ground by a shapeless assailant. To Merlin's surprise the growl blossomed into a full throated snarl. He could feel his magic thrumming through his body and uncoiling invisibly through the room, ready to attack and intimidate the source of this imaginary threat.

So surprised by his body's reaction and his magic, Merlin quickly clamped down on his instincts, opening his eyes with a jolt.

Uther was looking contemplative. Arthur appeared to have moved and was sitting slumped and sulky looking in his chair, no longer meeting Merlin's eyes. Gwen and a few of the other servants had their hands clapped over their mouths. An Omega lady who had been sitting close by caught his eye, she looked briefly surprised before she suddenly sagged sideways and appeared to faint into her dinner. Her beta friend next to her caught her in time before her head actually hit the plate.

“Sorry?” Merlin said into the silent room feeling rather sheepish, glancing around particularly at the lady who was starting to make a shaky recovery in her seat.

A self-satisfied smile curled across Uther's lips making his hard eyes crinkle at the corners. This did not improve his face in Merlin's opinion.

“It is settled, you shall have a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's Alpha servant.”

Merlin stood frozen and horrified as apparently his reward for saving the biggest prat and bully he ever met was to polish his boots. Arthur looked even less pleased, in fact he looked slightly gray.

#####

Later that evening Arthur seethed his way into his father's chambers. The door banging as he barged in without knocking.

Uther looked up from his desk, lip curling coldly.

“Father I absolutely cannot have an Alpha for a servant. It's not fair….”

“Arthur be quiet”

Arthur snapped his mouth shut sharply at his father's Alpha command. It was considered very poor manners in polite society to use one's voice in this way but it had never stopped Uther, not when they were in private anyway. Arthur had always been pretty good at ignoring other Alphas, but his father was an exception.

“This is the perfect solution, you have no Alpha voice, he will stand at your shoulder and if anyone dares try this with you, he will growl for you. He is from the countryside he has likely never met or come into close contact with an Omega. He can remain by your side and ignorant to what you are. You will need to wear the band at night.”

“But what about me! I can't keep wearing this indefinitely, you know this!” Arthur shouted back, plucking at the thick leather wristband on his right arm.

“We will arrange for you to leave the castle for a few days every month or so, where you can take the amulet off. Can you not see this is an ideal solution? Very few alphas will stand up to that strength of voice and he is young and ignorant.”

“Father it's not fair on me or him to have an Alpha so close to me, I keep my distance for a reason, and it's not fair to deceive him either. It sounds remarkably like what a spouse would do for me, defending my honor in front of other Alphas!”

Uther's expression hardened further and he slammed the flat of his hand down on the red leather of his desk. Arthur was unable to contain a twitch at the sudden sound.

“Arthur, if you cannot keep your hands to yourself around a peasant Alpha then you do not deserve the privileges being the crown prince offers you. Now get out of my sight!”

#######

Not just a peasant Alpha, Arthur snarled to himself, slamming into his rooms, one with no concept of authority, ideas that personal space happened to other people, a ridiculously strong will, no manners and an insolent quick mouth. At least Arthur had the satisfaction of being sure he would be able to beat the skinny man in a physical fight, provided he didn't growl again, or Arthur might have to beat him by fainting or throwing up on him. The amulet helped a little but it mostly stopped his scent and heats from making an appearance, while suffocating him slightly.

George helped him get ready for bed without glancing at him or taking in his mood. Arthur threw himself into bed as soon as George left, but couldn't get to sleep, the lack of his own scent in the room and the concealed stone of the amulet digging into his inner wrist combined to be disconcerting, not to mention the horrifying, thought of Merlin arriving to start his duties tomorrow.

In the morning an Alpha with the strongest growl he had ever heard would likely come storming into his rooms. He would have that stupid smile of utter self assurance and smell of thunderstorms and pine resin and…. Oh dear. Arthur buried his face in his pillow and groaned.

######

Merlin hadn't slept well either and his dreams were inexplicably filled with blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was feeling decidedly uncharitable to the Prince and anyone royal at all that morning really. The leg of Guias's table, upon which he had stubbed his toe hard on the way out, defiantly counted as royalty. Merlin had kicked it which hadn't helped in the slightest. Therefore; dragon or no dragon; Merlin was going to get himself fired as quickly as possible.

“Wakey wakey your royal pratness! Rise and shine!”

There was a moan from the bed.

Merlin threw the curtains open. This got him a highly satisfactory pathetic whimper.

“Come on your highness, people to bully, papers to sign, Swords to swing around your head!”

Arthur opened one eye, glared at him, and put the blanket over his head.

Merlin whipped it off the bed in one fell swoop. Arthur, trying to hang onto it, fell out of the bed and onto the cold stone floor letting out a squeak of shock as he was winded.

Arthur scrambled to his feet tired, awake now, and furious.

#####

The next few days continued in this manner and culminated with Merlin spending another night in the stocks. He was now on a first name basis with some of Camelot's resident, somewhat feral, children. The type who were let out the door in the morning to entertain themselves, with instructions to return at dinner time. But despite grinding his teeth, shouting and throwing his smelly boots at Merlin's head Arthur still hadn't fired him.

Then one evening everything changed. Arthur was no stranger to minor injuries on the training field, the odd bruise, and he struggled with his shoulder on occasion. After his dinner that evening Arthur was called away to his father's chambers.

Merlin was taking the time to stuff various articles of Arthur's clothing down the back of Arthur's headboard in his latest attempt to get himself permanently removed from the royal household.

He'd managed to misplace one of Arthur's favorite shirts last week by accident. The incandescent rage that had achieved made him want to do it again.

Arthur had been gone for a while and by now Merlin had arranged things so that Arthur would have no matching socks for the next week.

Arthur came back into the room quietly for once. Merlin looked up guiltily from where he was holding one of Arthur's socks. It was a thicker knitted one for wearing inside boots. It looked like it had started out life red but was now a faded pink colour.

Then Merlin caught sight of Arthur's face and started in shock. Across the lightly freckled skin was an unmistakable hand print, blooming pink across his cheek. It was clearly fresh; this was not a training injury.

Before he could think any further Merlin dropped the sock and crossed the room in two large strides.

“Arthur! Who did this to you?” Without thinking he grabbed the Princes' chin to better look at the handprint. It was clearly a man's handprint and Arthur hadn't seemed the type to harass the maids in any case. Then the horrible conclusion hit Merlin as Arthur angrily wrenched his chin free from Merlin's grip. This was Uther's doing.

“None of your business Merlin! And it's your fault in any case!”

“My fault! How is your Alpha father smacking you about my fault! I thought you gentry were supposed to be civilized! Does he use his Alpha voice on you too?”

Arthur stood frozen. Nobody had ever spoken about Uther that way but unfortunately his stunned silence gave Merlin the confirmation he needed.

“He bloody well does! doesn't he! Alpha voice on a beta, and on his own son!”

“Well if you weren't such a useless excuse for a manservant and actively trying to get yourself fired I wouldn't be taking the flak for being unable to control my useless peasant Alpha!”

Merlin paused.

“Seriously? Is that why you haven't fired me?”

Arthur inclined his head stiffly and stepped away from Merlin.

Merlin ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath to make sure he kept himself under control. He hadn't done anything that would have bothered a robust Beta like Will but his scent right now would have earned him a smack from his mother.

“Okay…., does he do this when you're alone or does he do it in front of the servants?”

Arthur appeared conflicted, biting his lip and backing up further from Merlin before he shook his head as if to clear it.

“Luckily for me he hadn't seen fit to humiliate me in front of anyone at this point.” Arthur bit out. Merlin felt wrong footed again through this whole miserable conversation.

“Arthur.” He said softly, “ if that was the case the only one he would be humiliating would be himself.” Arthur was looking at Merlin with wide eyes that Merlin hadn't seen since the evening with the sorceress that had got them into this mess in the first place.

Merlin broke the spell.

“Right, that does make this easier though. When you go see him, just take me with you and I promise I will behave myself.”

Arthur was giving him an odd slightly sideways look, clearly hesitating. No doubt wrestling with some macho internal monologue.

“Come on Arthur, we might not enjoy each other's company but I don't want your own father mistreating you. Nobody deserves that.”

Arthur hesitated again and Merlin held his breath. Before Arthur finally softened and breathed:
“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes okay, don't let yourself think this means we're friends or anything MerLin.”

#####

Life reached an easier equilibrium after that. Merlin had quietly retrieved Arthur's clothes from where he had hidden them including the partner to the pink sock which he took great delight in making sure Arthur was wearing, peeking out of the top of his boots, now the weather was drawing in. Lucky Arthur didn't seem to notice our care.

Then some jerk tried to use magic in the tournament and all hell broke loose.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - Water 3

Arthur just about swallowed his tongue. Many four-letter words, that his father would have felt he shouldn't know, running through his mind. Merlin the heroic little tit had just announced that he was the sorcerer poisoning the water and Gwen, the little Omega servant girl, and his childhood playmate, cowering on the floor, looked equally horrified.

Arthur thought quickly. It was going to be difficult but he would try to turn this around.

Arthur started laughing; it wasn't too difficult. Along with the horrible thought of Merlin being executed, he had recognized jealousy curling its green trail around his chest, making him feel trapped and short of breath. The thought of Gwen enjoying the smell of pine trees and thunderstorms, with no consequences and no problems, being able to kiss him, go to bed with him and bond with him….

What could Arthur offer an Alpha like Merlin? Arthur abruptly stopped laughing and focused on persuading Uther that Merlin was not only a simpleton but in love with Gwen.

#####

It wasn't long before Morgana discovered what had happened to her maidservant. She burst into Arthur's chambers without knocking, smelling strongly of upset Omega. Merlin was off helping Guias try and track down the source of the poison, so luckily he didn't have to deal with his Alpha reaction to this. Arthur wasn't sure he would have survived it.

He held Morgana as she yelled at him about the unfairness of it all and he wished he could tell her. He wished he could pull a blanket over both their heads and whisper together like they had when they were small. It was horribly inappropriate for a female Omega and a beta like Arthur to be alone together. Arthur had always wondered if Morgana suspected his dynamic wasn't quite what it seemed. She knew him best of all and for the longest.

She had also witnessed the first few times Uther had laid a hand on Arthur. It was after he had presented at 14 years old. He had started wearing the amulet Uther had dug out of the vaults, having survived his first and only heat in secret. He had been back in Camelot for a week and had struggled with training, his muscles feeling like water.

Uther had come into Arthur's tent, where Arthur was trying to recover, and had shaken him so hard he had bitten his tongue. Morgana had followed Uther, screamed at him, and spent the next two weeks glaring at him. It hasn't been a good time, but Uther learned his lesson and only punished Arthur in private after that.

Merlin returned later that evening, nose wrinkling as he picked up the scent that Morgana had been there.

“Wow you had an Omega in here? What on earth did you do to her? I could smell the upset from down the hall. I guess looking at your mug could have done it but even you aren't that ugly.”

“Harhar” Arthur laughed sarcastically.

“It was Morgana, she's upset about Gwen. Any news on the water?”

Merlin sighed and Arthur was suddenly struck by how tired he looked.

“We are still looking, we have a few ideas though.” Merlin was running his hand through his hair. Arthur wanted to reach up and smooth it down. In fact his hand moved without his permission. He quickly covered for it by roughly ruffling Merlin's hair further.

“Keep doing that and it will stay that way” he cautioned slightly too loudly. Merlin gave him a weird look.

“Thanks, prat.”

“Anyway MerLin, we have to go and see my father, you can't escape all your duties despite this magical disaster.”

Grumbling slightly, the Alpha followed Arthur out of his rooms.

Stopping outside Uther's door, Arthur shivered when he realized Merlin was still rumbling ever so slightly and giving off a subtle protective scent. It should have been undetectable to a beta, so he steadfastly ignored it. It gave him some rather unexpected and strange urges, possibly involving throwing himself at the tall Alpha. It was nice having him there though, urges aside, and he felt so much better knocking on the door of Uther's chamber with Merlin beside him.

Merlin stood respectfully in the corner. It was one of those conversations where Arthur's contribution didn't need to be much more than “Yes father” as Uther raged at him about magic in his own household referring to Gwen as some sort of insidious interloper and temptress. Arthur did try to point out that Morgana was devastated, but Uther was not interested and waved him away believing Morgana would soon get past it.

“I really don't think she will father. She believes Gwen is innocent and…”

Apparently this was enough of a challenge for Uther to turn towards him and begin to snarl. Arthur jumped though because immediately, from behind him, Merlin growled back. The room froze. After a moment of making sure his knees weren't about to give way, Arthur was still frozen to the spot and, by this time, furious. The stupid bastard, Uther would have Merlin gelded or fired or both for a challenge like this. Arthur's mind was whirling as Uther drew himself up to his full height.

“How dare you challenge me! I am your king!”

Merlin blinked and the young Alpha took a moment to collect himself before speaking in a surprisingly deep and gentle tone of voice.

“Excuse me your majesty, I believed your brief lack of discretion towards your Beta son to be a mere momentary lapse of judgment due to the stress of losing your people to this curse.”

Arthur could see his father processing, it was unusual for Uther to speak to Arthur in this way with a witness present. Perhaps his usual disregard for servants had led him to forget Merlin was there.

“I understood my duties are to break the order when an Alpha forgets themselves and uses their voice in this way.”

Merlin, who had soaked himself with a bucket full of dirty bath water by walking into the door post yesterday, was standing calm and collected under Uther's furious gaze. Luckily the spell was broken by Morgana banging furiously on the door. Arthur and Merlin were able to make a graceful escape from that particular battle of wills.

#####

Arthur endured the practice of changing for bed, hiding behind the screens from the Alpha in his room who, oblivious to the effect he was having on Arthur's stupid little Omega heart, was grumbling around his room while tidying up.

Water was getting scarce very quickly. Arthur was thirsty, deeply missing his bath, despite the fact he had to hide behind the screen for that as well, and exhausted from listening to Uther's theories which had become more unhinged as the day progressed.

He fell into bed uncomfortable, hot and slightly itchy.

It seemed like he had only just dozed off when he was being dragged out of bed again by his ankles. Emitting a noise he would deny for the rest of his life, he hit the floor.

He cracked open crusty feeling eyes to see the beaming faces of Merlin and Morgana laughing at him.

“We figured it out Arthur! There's an Afanc in the water!” Merlin announced as Arthur bleary-eyed dragged himself upright.

“Yes, and we need an idiot with a sword to come and chase it into a trap.” Morgana added.

Merlin threw some breeches and some socks at Arthur's head. Arthur was annoyed to see they were the pink ones again. Honestly, Merlin clearly thought they were his favorite pair. But he didn't complain and stuffed his nightshirt into the breaches and grabbed his sword belt just in time to dodge sideways as Merlin tossed him his boots as well, much to Morgana's amusement.

They ran down towards the tunnels that gave access to Camelot's water supply.

“What the hell is an Afanc?”

“Magical creature, a sorcerer has stolen a dragon egg, cursed the embryo inside, removing its fire and bewitching it with water and earth elements. The result is a mutilated poisonous creature which has brought down a curse on Camelot.”

“Why though?”

“I can't possibly imagine Arthur” Morgana sprat. “Probably just another sorcerer who's loved ones and life have been destroyed.”

“Fair enough, how do we defeat it?”

“I found the eggshell a few days ago before I knew what it was.” Merlin said, panting slightly as they stopped to unlock the gates to the tunnels.

“We are going to try and trap it back in the egg which will undo the curse. If that fails we'll have to kill it.”

“Why not just kill the bloody thing?”

“Hardly seems fair, it didn't ask to be cursed”

“You are the weirdest Alpha I ever met Merlin.”

“Err, thanks, I think.”

The tunnels were damp and threatening. There was a distant sound of claws scrabbling on stone.

“Did you hear that?”Arthur whispered.

Morgana nodded silently.

“We need to drive it downhill back towards the water.” Merlin whispered suddenly very close. Arthur suppressed a shiver.

“I've hidden the egg shell just in the shallows and marked the sand with a large stone where we need to get it to enter the water. It doesn't like fire, so we'll use the torches and drive it there.”

Then everything was a blur. The monster was terrifying, all sharp teeth and skin like a toad. They split up, shouting to each other. Arthur dodged teeth and delivered a stinging blow to the wet hide that sent shocks up his arm into his shoulder which would no doubt voice its complaints later.

Finally the beast turned tail in the face of their torches. The three of them burst into the larger cavern, torches lighting up the creature and the dark water. It made a nasty screeching roar that drove into Arthur's eardrums. Arthur signaled to them to fan out. Having to wave at Merlin twice to get his attention. The creature tried to charge Arthur but as he waved his torch in front of it, luckily a freak breeze caused it to flare, scorching it in the face.

Arthur spotted the deliberately placed rock in the sand and advanced, flanked by Merlin and Morgana. Their torches flared again caught in the same freak breeze from the tunnels and the Afanc backed into the water.

Without warning Merlin darted forward and there was a snap and the creature disappeared into the water.

Up to his calves in the water Merlin fished around and triumphantly brought up a large blue egg.

#####

Morgana was talking excitedly as they made their way back to the castle, or squelched their way in Merlin's case, his boots full of water.

Merlin looked sideways at Arthur.

“Arthur, what shall we do with the egg?”

“I am not sure, but I imagine my father will have it destroyed. Dragons are evil creatures after all.”

Merlin clutched the egg closer to his chest and frowned, his lips in a thin line.

“Why? You are attached to it already Merlin you big girl.”

Merlin rounded on him, drawing himself up. But Morgana intervened.

“Stop it, the pair of you. I can only take a single dick measuring contest in one night, and let's be honest, Merlin will win that one.”

Arthur spluttered indignantly at her but she spoke over him before he could form a response.

“Merlin, take the egg with you. Guias will know what to do with it. Arthur, you and I are going to wake Uther and get Gwen released. We can argue about dragon eggs later.”

Merlin frowned at Arthur and stormed off towards his chambers.

#####

This was the advent of their first real fight. Arthur did not understand why Merlin was so attached to the egg and didn't think Merlin understood either.

The situation was not helped by the flaring hot jealousy Arthur was subjecting himself to. Arthur had stumbled on Merlin comforting yet another Omega who had dropped for the beautiful Alpha during their recovery from the disease spread by the Afanc.

Arthur had barged into the makeshift hospital room to demand where Merlin had been all day and found himself caught between embarrassment, seething jealousy and an odd fascination. Merlin was gently cradling the back of the man's head while the Omega shuddered into his chest. Some of the knights talked about Omega drop with a horrible sort of lust which made Arthur's stomach curdle in horror. Merlin however was touching the shivering creature in his arms with almost reverential respect, quietly keeping up a stream of gentle encouragement as he ran gentle fingers through dark brown curls.

Merlin spotted Arthur and glared at him over the Omega's curly hair and made a shooing motion over his shoulder with one hand without breaking the gentle motion of the other. Arthur feeling rather put out and dismissed, despite it being for a good reason, stomped back out again.

Everything came to a head that evening after a day of bickering, snide comments regarding intelligence, and memorably, a boiled egg thrown at Arthur's head. It was shelled, thankfully, but it had been runny in the middle, Arthur felt like he would be finding crusty bits of it in his hair for a week.

“It's not dangerous Arthur! You have to be a dragon lord to hatch one! There are none of those left, thank-you Uther Pendragon….”

“But look what this sorcerer did with it! What else can be achieved with a dragon egg? It makes sense to destroy it!”

“Dragons are mythical creatures, the eggs aren't dangerous and this one might be the only one left! You want to destroy what could be the last egg of its kind. There are stories, Arthur, they are intelligent, they can speak, they are people!”

“They are magic, they are dangerous! What if a dragonlord appears one day and hatches it? He could destroy us and subjugate all of Camelot!”

Merlin threw his hands in the air and made a frustrated noise that was all Alpha. Then Arthur realized, if this had been his father Arthur would have been standing frozen on the spot under his Alpha voice and likely reeling from his hand as well. Not once had Merlin's voice strayed into that territory. Not even a single growl had passed his lips and heavens knew Merlin would grumble around his chambers collecting laundry, but this was serious.

Merlin took a deep breath. Arthur realized he'd been gazing wide-eyed into Merlin's deep blue eyes and hastily schooled his expression back into one of casual indifference.

“Look, time out, Guias has it safe enough for now. I'm going to get your bath sorted then we can talk about this some more.”

Arthur nodded, and sat down at his desk as Merlin left, leaving a lingering smell of fresh rain and thunderstorms. Arthur tried to focus on the report he was meant to be writing, a review of the current status of the lookout posts along Camelot's border and their strategic value in the current political climate. But he could hear Merlin's laughter ringing out from the courtyard below, so he abandoned the desk and went to the window seat.

There was Merlin carrying three empty buckets towards the water pump located just outside the courtyard. There was a gaggle of street children running around him. As Arthur watched a small scruffy girl separated from the group. She had a toy bow in her hands, luckily no arrows. She drew the bow back and twanged the string at Merlin before yelling into a shrill voice.

“I shot you! I shot you! evil bandit!”

Merlin looked around before dramatically staggering, dropping all three buckets, clutching an imaginary arrow in his chest and lurching around the courtyard. Delighted, the children chased after him before Merlin allowed them to drag him down to the dusty ground in a giggling pile. Arthur found he was laughing too.

The sight of Merlin attempting to carry three buckets full of water at once with only two hands and a small child hanging onto his leg had a similar effect a few minutes later.

#####

Merlin became aware of small, not very royal, expletives being voiced behind the changing screen and some splashing.

“What's going on back there? Are you trying to drown yourself? I mean, if I looked as much like an arse as you, I might try to drown myself too…..”

“Shut up MerLin. And for your information this is all your fault. I am trying to get that bloody egg out of my hair! I am going to end up half bald at this rate!”

“Yesh and you call me a girl, a little egg won't hurt your perfect golden tresses Arthur.”

“Are you jealous of my hair MerLin? …. Ouch fucks sake!”

“Seriously stop bitching, I'm coming in.”

“No! Don't you dare! “ Arthur yelped but Merlin had already stepped around the screen. Arthur was deliciously pink in the wooden tub and looking mortified.

“Seriously Arthur I'm here to wash your hair, not gaze and your bits. Not that you have anything I haven't seen before. Unless they paint it gold for you or something to entice princesses?”

Arthur had now taken to spluttering incoherently and was hanging onto his flannel for dear life.

Taking advantage of Arthur's brief moment of incoherence Merlin pried the flannel out of Arthur's fingers, dunked it in the water and plopped it directly on the royal head. Water streamed over Arthur's face. Arthur yelled at him, but it sure beat whatever self-conscious crisis was going on in Arthur's head.

Merlin soaped the protesting perfect blonde head making sure to run his fingers through Arthur's hair checking for any residual exploded boiled egg and unceremoniously rinsed him off with the flannel. Arthur seemed to have recovered himself during the process. Feeling a little guilty Merlin turned back to Arthur before he went to step back to the other side of the screen.

“Sorry about the egg, I thought it was hard boiled all the way through.”

Arthur looked up at him with those wide baby blue eyes.

“Can I tell you a secret Merlin?”

Merlin scowled, slightly suspicious.

“Okay?”

“Come closer…”

“A little more…”

Then with battle honed reflexes Arthur's hand darted out of the tub grabbed Merlin's unsuspecting head by a handful of his hair and dunked his whole head into the bathwater.

“Ha! I cannot believe you fell for that Merlin!” Arthur shouted gleefully. As Merlin spat out dirty bath water before narrowing his eyes and splashed him back.

Chapter Text

Chaper 3 - Poison

King Bayard arrived with a lot of unnecessary pomp in Merlin's opinion. There were trumpets and posh clothes. Merlin had to stuff a very reluctant and extremely embarrassed Prince Arthur into some ridiculous red and gold get-up earlier. Arthur still was not over hiding behind the changing screen. Merlin had no idea what he had to be so self-conscious about. If he wasn't sure that Arthur would punch him so hard he couldn't see straight for a week, Merlin would very much like to bite his perfectly smooth lightly freckled skin. Arthur probably had some funny ideas that being ‘tumbled’ by an Alpha, particularly a servant, would in some way cause him to lose his claim to masculinity.

Though frowned on by some, relationships between male Alphas and Betas wasn't unheard of, though infertile. Relationships between the crown prince of Camelot and a servant however was perhaps less acceptable.

King Bayard's procession swept to a halt in front of the steps of Camelot and Uther greeted them. An especially pretty maidservant towards the back of the procession caught Merlin's eye with her deep blue eyes and dark hair. She appeared to be a beta from a distance, she graced him with a slightly shy luscious red-lipped smile. Merlin returned it making sure there was no doubt as to his dynamic when he did so, raising his chin slightly. She would distract him very nicely from the occasionally overwhelming issue that he fancied the pants off Prince Arthur.

He did not notice, said Prince, scowling heavily at him, having caught sight of the direction of Merlin's attention.

#####

“No Arthur, I am not wearing that!”

“Oh yes you are, it's the traditional servant’s uniform. Everyone will be wearing it. I have to wear a tunic which looks like a spider has had a golden vomit over it. You are wearing this!”

Arthur was biting the inside of his cheek hard to stop himself from laughing at Merlin's horrified face. This little scheme may have taken up the best part of half a day to orchestrate, but it would be worth it for several reasons.

Firstly the multi-layered get up Arthur had been stuck in all day had required lacing up at the back, which meant Merlin helping him. George had been extremely respectful in these circumstances, eyes averted, calmly requesting Arthur lift one arm or the other and so on.

Nobody had clued Merlin up on this and he certainly wasn't going to listen to Arthur's opinion on the proper deportment of a servant. So Arthur had found himself with a face as red as an autumn sunset being poked, prodded and manhandled into his clothing, heart beating a mile a minute to make sure Merlin didn't catch sight of his lower back.

They had a routine with armour that Arthur was just about surviving, but this, with bare skin and Merlin standing so close to him, had been torture. The fact the man had winked at him and told him he had nothing to be ashamed of, had been the opposite of helpful.

In short, Merlin thoroughly deserved to spend the evening looking like a complete tit for that comment alone, there was a hat with feathers in it. Which brought Arthur onto the other reason Merlin should spend the evening looking particularly stupid.

Arthur had spotted an extremely pretty maid with eyes as blue as Merlin's smiling at him and Merlin, the bastard, had smiled back, his ridiculous, dimpled, self-assured smile that Arthur hated to see bestowed on anyone except for himself and maybe Guias.

With renewed vigor and determination Arthur shoved the clothes into Merlin's arms. Merlin turned to leave looking sulky but Arthur stopped him grinning ear to ear.

“Wait, don't forget your hat!”

#####

Merlin was in such a mood, Arthur just got to him. Wormed his way under his skin and lodged there. He stomped through the halls while plotting the imminent demise of the hat, when he ran straight into the lovely young servant girl sending laundry flying every which way.

“I am so sorry! Here let me help you.” and he bent to help her feeling a little flustered under her gaze.

####

It was official, not only was Merlin the weirdest Alpha he ever met but he was actually insane. Arthur found himself blinking away blurry vision as he looked down at the lovely face, normally so expressive, lying still and cold. Suffering so horribly with poison that was meant for Arthur. The little, much ignored, voice in the back of his head was clamoring at him demanding he save his Alpha. His stupid, brave, ridiculous servant who he really couldn't afford to get close to.

Arthur squared his shoulders and marched out of Guias's rooms and straight to Uther's chambers, alone, with no Merlin beside him. Remarkable how it now felt like entering the dragon's den.

He knocked and barged in before Uther managed to say enter.

“Arthur! What do you want?” Uther bit out annoyed at the door banging off the wall from Arthur throwing it open.

“Merlin can be cured. We simply need to collect a mortius flower, which can be found in the forests of Balour. I just need a small contingent of knights…..”

“The forest or Balour! Arthur, you cannot be serious!”

“Merlin saved my life, again! I have to do something!”

“I forbid it! You must learn! Noble though his intentions in saving you were, his life is worth less than yours.”

Arthur stood frozen again as the Alpha tone in his father's words tried to choke him.

“You are dismissed Arthur, I don't want to hear any more about this.” Uther said this a little more kindly, but all Arthur could hear was a ringing in his ears.

Arthur walked a little unsteady out of the room. He leaned his back against the door breathing heavily. The little voice in the back of his head cried at him no, no, no. My Alpha, Mine!

For once, the rest of him was in agreement. This was not fair. Merlin's still face floated through his mind again. Part of him still wanted to obey his father, and go and hide in a corner until it was all over, a cowardly little thought.

No he would not mope around the castle and watch Merlin fade away, no matter how Uther tried to force him. With purpose in his step he pushed off the door and marched around the corner and straight into Morgana, no doubt on her way to try exactly the same thing with the immovable object that was Uther Pendragon.

#####

Despite his protests Arthur found himself riding out in the middle of the night, or possibly early morning, alongside Morgana. He didn't want to examine it too closely, but today was the first time he had managed to break the stranglehold his father's Alpha command had in his head. He hadn't mentioned it to Morgana, but here they were, sneaking out like they were children again, despite Uther's orders. This time with real swords instead of wooden ones, and with far more serious a quest then sneaking off to go swimming with Gwen and pretending to defeat monsters (read haystacks) with Leon.

He had tried to protest but she had insisted as only Morgana could. Ripped him a new one about thinking Omegas were powerless and vapid. He sometimes wished he could tell her his own dynamic, if only to see her face, but the only people who knew on the entire face of the earth were his father, and the governess who had been in the room when he first presented. The governess had been paid off and banished from Camelot, so she didn't really count.

Arthur's presentation was not the happy memory it should have been. His father had wanted an Alpha, would have settled for a beta, but an Omega was unthinkable. Arthur had similar feelings on the subject, he had sworn he would never have an Alpha to his father. Someone who would have total dominion over his free will, like his father did, was not an attractive prospect to say the least. He got away with it at Camelot; nobody would dare speak to the Prince in that tone unless they were training to fight or fighting. In that case he normally found he could resist somewhat adequately provided the Alpha in question wasn't his father. Not that Uther had taken this into consideration when forcing Merlin on him. As far as Uther was concerned, all Omega's were weak willed and bowed to any Alpha that commanded them. Arthur hadn't found this to be the case at all.

Once they successfully rode out past a sleepy looking guard at the gate, they urgently picked up the pace and there was no breath left for talking over the thundering of hooves.

They made camp that night talking of no more than their directions for tomorrow, giving each tired horse a nosebag and efficiently getting into their bed rolls. But Arthur couldn't immediately fall asleep, despite a hard day's ride which was normally enough to knock him straight out. He turned over to see Morgana looking back at him from the other side of the fire. He had to ask. It was a question that had been quietly niggling away at him in the background. It would be scandalous but not outside of all possibly.

“Morgana, why have you come?” He took a breath and paused as she looked back at him confused. “Are you in love with Merlin?” He could just about see Morgana's unimpressed eyes in the glow of the remaining coals.

“I think the fact that he has twice saved the person I view as my idiot baby brother, has more to do with it. Besides I think I should be asking if you are in love with Merlin?”

Arthur sat up in his bedroll taking the blanket with him.

“Don't be ridiculous Morgana I'm a beta for a start and a male one at that.” Arthur gaped further when she laughed at him.

“So, all of the fun and none of the consequences!”

“I don't fancy Merlin! I don't like Alphas!”

“You keep telling yourself that. My money is on him tumbling you before yule.”

“Morgana!” Arthur spluttered.

“I have never and will never be tumbled by an Alpha! And certainly not Merlin!”

“The lady doth protest too much.” She shot back at him smugly. “Something tells me Merlin is a special case.”

If looks could kill Morgana should be dead three times over.

“Oh put your knickers back on Arthur. I think I'm the only one I'm this whole castle who knows you well enough to notice, except maybe Gwen and she is far too nice, if that's what you're worried about. Now shut up and go to sleep. We have your lover boy to rescue from certain death in the morning.”

“Fine. But I don't fancy Merlin, and he isn't my lover boy.” Arthur shot back before lying back down huffing in his bedroll.

“Always needing the last word….”

“Shut up Morgana!”

#####

They awoke with the grey early sunrise to a heavy September dewfall and a sinking sense of urgency. They packed up their site quickly and efficiently. Though Morgana did still shoot Arthur the occasional haughty supercilious look that only an Omega princess could achieve with aplomb.

They made it to the forest in the early afternoon, it was gloomy and forbidding despite the September sunshine.

It wasn't long before they heard a disturbance through the moody lichen laden trees.

They both looked sideways at each other drawing swords quietly.

There was a huge scaly monster with wings towering over a sobbing woman with black hair. The monster rounded on them and it became clear that Morgana hadn't forgotten how to use a sword despite all Uther's lectures on ladylike decorum.

Monster freshly slain, they went to discover the cowering woman was the very servant from King Bayard's party that had been making eyes at Merlin. While Arthur could appreciate her beauty in the way one would appreciate a sunset or a landscape, he found he hated her already even as she simpered at him. Morgana was making frantic faces over her shoulder and Arthur couldn't help but agree with her. Something wasn't right with this. But Kara told him she knew where the mortius flower was, so with a reluctant Morgana trailing behind, they followed her into a cave.

Morgana and Arthur forgot Kara for a minute when they spotted the little golden trumpet flowers nestled in the rocky wall and rushed to the edge of the precipice separating them from their goal.

“Well that was easier than I thought” Kara's voice had changed suddenly, no longer the stuttering blushing maiden, to strident and full of danger. Arthur and Morgana turned slowly on the spot together to look back at her, her silhouette picked out by the light from the entrance behind her.

“My my, I thought I would be lucky to get one of Uther's children, but I seem to have lucked-out and got both!”

“Uther's not my father.” Morgana cut in surprisingly calm for the situation.

Kara threw back her magnificent head, laughing.

Arthur used her moment of distraction to lunge for her to try and overpower her. There is a terrible blast of magic which threw Arthur away from her and pinned him flat to the rocky stone floor.

“Arthur!” Morgana shouted and started towards the sorceress, but Kara froze her in place without even looking at her.

“And what have we here? The brave little prince.” She crooned, approaching the struggling Arthur on the floor.

“You aren't lovers are you? That would be embarrassing seeing as you didn't know you were related.” She added with a sneer. Then, as she got closer to Arthur, her eyes snapped to his leather wristband from where his sleeve had ridden up.

“Oh what fun, and what have we here?”

Arthur's struggle on the ground became frantic as her hand dropped down to his wrist.

“You are hiding something little prince. What could it possibly be?” she said in a teasing playful voice.

Long nails undid the laces holding the leather tight to his skin. Arthur made an angry noise though his lips which were sealed shut by the spell.

“My goodness.” Kara said as she inhaled deeply as the leather came away.

“An Omega. The brave Prince Arthur is an Omega. This is just delicious!” red lipped smirk curling across her face. She tossed aside the leather wristband with the ruby amulet hidden on the inside.

“No matter, you will be dead soon anyway. I can see it is not my destiny to kill you but I think I will seal you in with our little friends here.” Arthur can't see what she is referring to but he can hear lots of little legs skittering on the rough stone. The opening to the cave closed off with a bang behind her, leaving them in total darkness. After a few seconds, the magic pinning Arthur and Morgana in place evaporated. Arthur immediately gasped and started scrabbling around on the ground until he located the leather wristband. He couldn't fasten the laces back up in the dark but he stuffed it in his pocket.

The skittering of many tiny feet on stone seems to be getting louder.

“Arthur…. What is that?” Morgana said softly.

Neither of them would admit it until the day they died, but together in the dark they moved closer together and grasped each other's hand tightly.

“I don't know but I really really don't intend to die here.. .”

Arthur was cut off when a beautiful blue orb of light gently faded into existence in front of them. He didn't have time to dwell on this new magic though because it unfortunately illuminated the gigantic spiders crawling up the walls from the sucking void below.

“Quick!” Arthur shouted and took a standing leap across the precipice to grasp onto a ledge. With a yelp Morgana followed him.

They started to climb. Arthur kicked down at the spiders following them, the blue light proceeding them. It accelerated straight past the little yellow trumpet flowers nestling in a corner without slowing.

“Wait!” Arthur yelled.

“You can reach it! Quick!” Morgana spurred him on.

Arthur stretched for them, grunting with effort. His remaining hand was sliding on the rock though. But he felt Morgana's smaller hand grasp his wrist, steadying him. He stretched the last inch and grabbed a handful of yellow flowers that almost glowed.

He felt something tickle his boot and he kicked down on instinct. A spider fell into the depths below.

He pushed Morgana up ahead of him with urgency now.

“Follow the light, it's our only option!”

Scrambling, slipping, gasping and occasionally swearing on Morgana's part. They pulled themselves upwards and into the light.

The glowing blue orb seemed to rush around them in a happy dance like a puppy before it disappeared.

Morgana threw herself down on the grass with shaking arms and lay there for a second before Arthur joined her.

“Why did I come with you again?” She gasped.

“No idea, but you didn't exactly give me much choice!”

As though just remembering she sat up abruptly.

“You!” She punctuated by hitting him in the chest. “Have some explaining to do!” She hit him again.

“Ouch! Stop that!” Arthur whined.

“On second thoughts I can't believe I didn't guess.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!” Arthur sat up abruptly.

“Whiney, short, cute, follows a certain Alpha servant around like a lost puppy….”

“I do not! And I'm not cute, I kill people on a regular basis! I can't believe this is what you're focusing on after she told us we were related.”

“Nope, this is more fun. I will interrogate Uther when we get home. Now let's go rescue your beloved Alpha.”

“He's not my Alpha!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - Return

Uther's open hand slammed across Arthur's face. Arthur's head snapped back, his ears were ringing.

“Uther!” Morgana screamed!

Arthur brought his head back around again so he was facing forward. He'd taken worse on the training field.

“Get out Morgana, go to your rooms!”

She froze horrified.

“Your own son Uther, and when were you going to tell me I am your daughter too!”

Uther stormed over to Morgana. Arthur tried to grab his arm but his face was stinging and he felt a little blood trickling down his chin.

“Stay out of this Arthur.” Uther shouted, stinking of enraged Alpha shaking Arthur off.

Uther grabbed Morgana's slender wrist and she tried to twist out of his grip but they had ridden all night; after finding the Mortius flower and climbing out of the cave. They are both wrung out, exhausted and in dire need of some sleep and a hot meal. They just needed to get the flower to Guias first.

Uther opened the door.

“Take my ward to her chambers. She is not to leave under any circumstances” Uther instructed the guards.

Morgana was marched away, she looked back over her shoulder at Arthur who was standing stoically; hands behind his back. Uther turned back to Arthur and walked slowly across the room, a predatory look in his eyes.

“Give it to me.” He means the mortius flowers hidden in Arthur's pocket.

“No, it is for Merlin. We successfully retrieved it and came home safely. Why are you refusing this father?”

“You disobeyed me! You deliberately risked your life, not to mention Morgana's for that of a servant.”

“Now, for the last time: Give it to me.”

Arthur's body froze against his will, but he was thinking quickly. He had at least three slightly squashed flowers in his pocket. But it occurred to him that Uther didn't know that.

Shaking slightly he carefully withdrew one flower.

Uther snatched it from his hand, threw it on the ground and crushed it under his boot. Arthur had been expecting it but clearly some small part of him had hoped that things wouldn't happen this way, had hoped that his father, his Alpha, cared about his thoughts and feelings. Arthur felt that little part of himself die in that moment, crushed quietly without a sound or protest in his heart, just like the flower under Uther's heel.

He was looking at the sad little smear on the ground so he hardly noticed when Uther closed the space between them. He did notice however when; for the first time; his father landed a close fisted punch to the side of his head. Uther had never punched him before, the occasional open handed slap for his worst transgressions had been the sum of it.

Arthur, feeling shocked and dizzy, staggered down onto his knees. Uther grabbed a handful of his hair forcing Arthur to look up at him. No words this time, just Uther's cold hard eyes.

He could feel the Omega part of himself welling up under Uther's gaze. He tried to keep it down, he really did, but Uther started to drag him towards the door by his hair. Arthur grabbed his father's wrists, not out of any hope of throwing him off, just to lessen the pressure on his scalp.

Arthur was a powerful young warrior, but Uther had been a champion in his day, just like Arthur was now. His knees and boots scrabbled on the stone floor for purchase, becoming tangled in the rug there which whipped his legs out from under him.

Arthur was exhausted, unable to resist the enraged Alpha scent and rumbling growl his father was filling the room with. His backside hit the floor hard and against his will he cried out, it was a strange sound, unique to Omega's, half way between a sob, a gasp and a yelp. Under normal circumstances it would bring most Alphas, and the odd beta sensitive enough to recognize it, to the area at a run. There was a reason, however, he never uttered a sound of this nature in front of Uther. It was normally enough to earn him a tirade on the weaknesses of the Omega sensitive nature at the very least.

This time Uther shook him by his hair.

“Stop that pathetic nonsense!” Uther shouted.

Uther yanked the door open and threw him out of the room into the arms of the surprised guards waiting outside.

“Take him to the dungeon and make sure he stays there! He is to see and speak to no one!”

#####

Gwen had a plan, she had seen Arthur and Morgana reenter the castle. They had seemed happy and healthy, if exhausted. They had immediately been swept up by guards and brought straight to Uther. She had waited with Guias with bated breath expecting a sweaty frantic Arthur at any point with the flower, but the sun had continued to climb in the sky and there was nothing.

Leaving Guias with the shallow breathing unresponsive Merlin, she had begun a quest of her own.

She located some guards she was friendly with and, in her gentle smiling way, had managed to extract that Arthur and Morgana had been dragged into a shouting match in Uther's chambers. What about was anyone's guess apparently but Gwen had a horrible feeling she knew exactly what the issue was. Arthur was now in a cell and Morgana confined to her rooms. She just hoped Arthur had the flower still.

Heart in her throat she made her way to the kitchens.

“Lunch for Prince Arthur please. Tin plate please, apparently he is in the dungeons!”

“I heard!” Exclaimed Sara the maid who was generally responsible for plating up food.

“You're closest to Morgana, any idea what that is all about? I heard it was something to do with Merlin? Is he any better?” the fondness in her voice for the funny Alpha, always with a smile and questionable joke, clear in her voice.

“Well I'm not sure I'm supposed to say…” but the soft look in Sara's eyes stopped her. Uther was cruel and did not deserve her to shield him from the opinion of his staff. She squared her shoulders.

“Merlin is going downhill. Arthur and Morgana went to find a cure. But they haven't been down to Guias.”

Sara's eyes were wide and brown. She pressed the food into Gwen's hands.

“You best hurry then!” Sara was clearly sharper than she let on.

Gwenevere hurried down to the dungeon. Took a moment to compose herself before walking unhurriedly to the grim faced guards on the door. One of them was Oswald, an older Alpha and friendly with her father.

“Lunch for the Prince.” She said with a smile

The guard she didn't know frowned.

“Orders are that he is to see no one.”

Oswald intervened.

“Didn't say we shouldn't feed him though. I don't want to be on the wrong end of Prince Arthur's boot, or sword for that matter, when this all blows over.” he shot Gwen a small wink.

“Okay, fine, just don't speak to him.”

Gwen smiled brightly at them both before they unlocked the main door for her.

She caught her breath when she stepped inside.

Arthur was chained by his ankles in his cell. He was standing proud and looking as arrogant as ever. However he had not looked like this when he walked up the steps a few hours ago. There was dried blood on his chin from a split lip and his left eye was swelling up, looking slightly blue already. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from calling out to him.

Without speaking Gwen slid the food under the door.

Arthur picked up the plate, looked at the sliced bread roll, opened it and closed it again. He appeared thoughtful for a second, then sneered in disdain.

“This is rubbish. Take it back and bring me something else.”

He disdainfully placed the plate on the floor and nudged it back under the door.

Gwen silently collected the plate relieved to see her hands weren't shaking and quietly left the dungeon.

When she rounded the corner she opened the bread roll and had to muffle the squeal of happiness at seeing the little yellow flower nestled inside. She took off running.

#####

Arthur had been stuck in the dungeons for 3 days now. On the morning of the second day Gwenevere had brought breakfast, again without speaking, but her sunny smile, contented Omega scent, and eyes had told him all he needed to know, Merlin was making a recovery.

Arthur was exhausted. The dungeon was not the place to get a good night's sleep to recover from a journey. Not a single person had spoken a word to him either on his father's orders.

On the afternoon of the third day a guard opened the door and, bowing, stated that the king had allowed him to return to his chambers.

Luckily the castle was fairly quiet at that time. His father would be holed up with his council, the knights would have completed physical training and now be attending to their more specific roles, either in meetings, planning patrols or training squires.

Only a few servants saw him dirty and bruised, still in his traveling clothes, stumbling on slightly numb legs back to his chambers. He slumped against the door to push it open.

He could smell that Merlin was in his room before he spotted him unfolding long limbs from where he had wedged himself into the window seat. His face breaking into a big smile. Arthur hadn't realized it, but some small part of himself had needed to see Merlin alive and well, if a little pale, to believe it.

“Arthur. You're out! I don't….” Merlin had crossed the room in his bounding energetic strides but he cut himself off when he spotted Arthur's face. The dungeon was decidedly short on mirrors so he had no idea how Uther's less than ideal reaction had panned out on his face. He knew that his eye had been swollen to the point that keeping it open had been uncomfortable the day before yesterday and was still rather tender, his split lip had been decidedly unpleasant as well, but now mostly felt scabby and gross rather than painful.

Before he knew what was happening Merlin was standing right in front of him reaching his hands out towards Arthur's face. Arthur flinched slightly but Merlin either didn't notice or care and cupped Arthur's face in his hands anyway.

“Arthur… I don't think it was retrieving a flower that did this to you.” Arthur tried to open his mouth to speak but found himself unable to make a sound so he just shook his head slightly.

“Was this Uther?” Merlin asked with more gentleness than usual in his normally sharp and teasing voice. Arthur felt like he might choke if he tried to speak; he didn't nod either, just found that he could no longer meet the Alpha's questioning deep blue gaze and lowered his eyes away from Merlin's.

However this meant he was not prepared for what Merlin did next, which was wrap his arms around Arthur's shoulders and pull him into a hug gently guiding Arthur's head onto his shoulder.

Arther stood there stiff as a board, mind in overdrive. Merlin's scent seemed to envelop him, soothing and safe. Arthur hadn't felt safe in about 6 days at this point, existing on a knife edge and brushing shoulders with death. It was a place where he flourished, but he couldn't stay there forever. The process of stepping away from that high, when his body felt like it was on fire and his mind burned bright and awake was always difficult.

“It's a hug you tit. I promise I won't question your masculinity or breathe a word to anyone else.” Merlin's teasing voice broke him out of his freeze. Arthur mentally stepped back from the knife edge, and promptly felt like he was drowning. He held onto Merlin for dear life and felt his body start to shake.

It felt like forever and no time at all when they broke apart. Arthur surreptitiously wiping his eyes and nose; Merlin's eyes looking oddly bright.

“You stink!” Merlin declared breaking the tension. This startled a scratchy laugh out of Arthur who hasn't spoken a word for several days at this point.

“Food, bath and bed for you I think.”

“I assume you are up to resuming your duties with your usual level of incompetence? You were dying only four days ago after all.” Okay Arthur was maybe hiding behind supercilious arrogance again but Merlin just laughed at him.

“I am touched that you're worried about me, but I'm fine, a bit tired but fine. Go get your stinky clothes off and I'll be back with dinner and a bath.”

Merlin bounded out of the room while Arthur retreated behind the screen, embarrassed to think about the wet patch he had inadvertently left on Merlin's shoulder.

Arthur's clothes really had to be scraped off his skin rather than taken off. He nearly choked, due to his sensitive nose, when he pulled off his socks.

His lower back ached from nights outside and then on the dungeon floor. He rubbed it tracing the tell-tail tiny line of little light blue scales that ran down his lower back stopping just above his tail bone. Subtle, but really not subtle enough not to be obvious if anyone saw them. The slightly varied sky blue color matched his eyes

He covered himself very quickly with his bathrobe that generally lived tossed over the screen. Covering his scent was easy enough with the amulet pressed against his skin under the leather cuff but the actual physical evidence had to be kept carefully hidden. Not that he had any fantasies about Merlin inadvertently finding out, not at all.

He was aware of a flurry of activity on the other side of the screen. He recognized Gwen's voice and Sara's, clearly a hot dinner and a bath was rapidly being organized.

He slunk out from behind the changing screen when he heard the door close and, rearranging the screen so the bath wouldn't be visible from the door, he hurriedly removed the bathrobe and climbed into the blissfully hot water.

He made a start on giving his skin a good scrubbing, grimacing as he realized he was already turning the water slightly brown. Luckily there was another large bucket of clean water by the fire.

He went to soap his hair, wincing at the pull in his right shoulder. His insistence at fighting the longest and hardest at training did take its toll. The typical ache where his shoulder blade met his rib cage was telling him, very firmly, that the cold hard dungeon floor after hauling himself up a cave wall and riding through the night, had done it no favors whatsoever.

He squeaked a bit when he tried to level the pitcher of clean water over his head to rinse it, gave up on the pitcher and dunked his head under the water instead.

######

After tucking a clean, fed and extremely tired Arthur into bed Merlin went storming home to the chambers he shared with Guias.

The older man looked startled when Merlin came in fuming, banging the door against the wall.

“That man Guias!” Merlin knew he looked dreadful, still recovering from his run in with poison, he had lost some weight, slightly damp from emptying Arthur's bath and his hair standing up while being incandescent with rage. He had hid it from Arthur as best he could. Nobody wants to hear their parent is a tyrant and dangerous, so Merlin had kept his rage to himself and did his best just to be there when he realized what had happened between Arthur and his father. At Guias's questioning eyebrow Merlin clarifies, slightly more calmly.

“Uther hurt him, Guias. His face is black and blue. All because he went and saved me.”

Guias sighed no doubt looking for something comforting to say.

“I don't know what to tell you Merlin, Uther is a hard man. If it's any consolation, he does love Arthur, he thinks he's helping him, toughening him up to rule one day.”

Merlin deflated slightly sitting down on a stool with a huff.

“He's achieving the opposite…. Arthur, there's something about him, he's trusting, almost a little naive. Uther treating him this way is just making him reach out to other people and look for approval in all the wrong places. Before he met me, he was bullying servants just for Sir Garett's approval.”

“Well thank goodness he's running around after yours instead now Merlin.”

Merlin looked up looking confused.

“Arthur doesn't run around after me.”

“He very much does Merlin, but I suppose you wouldn't have known his habits before you arrived. I never thought I'd see Arthur stand up to Uther like he has for you. But you need to be very careful. Uther is still Arthur's father and it is very hard for a child to cut a parent out of their hearts particularly when that parent is a king. I do not want to see Arthur having to choose between you.”