Only For You

Chapter 15

To say that people had stared when the Crown Prince of Camelot rode back into the kingdom with his servant slumped on the horse in front of him would be a dramatic understatement. The bustling life of the lower villages seemed to pause for a moment as Arthur and Merlin rode by. Eyes widened and mouths dropped open. Murmured whispers and beginnings of rumors floated through the air in wake of the Prince and the beaten boy.

Arthur tried his best to ignore it, though it was anything but easy. Before they'd entered Camelot, he'd told Merlin to pretend to be unconscious. That would aleviate any suspision that would have surely been there should Merlin have been riding in front of Arthur, awake.

As soon as Arthur reaches the stables, he dismounts from the horse the Druids had given him, instructing the stable boy to take good care of it. Then, with Merlin cradled carefully in his arms, he rushes through the courtyard and up the steps that led to the double doors of the castle. He wondered briefly if the guards there had been instructed to stop him from entering, but they made no move to block his entrance, so he continues down the corridor as fast as he can to Gaius's.

He bursts through the door to the physician's chambers without knocking, startling the old man who had been sitting at his desk pouring over an old volume of forgotten lore. Gaius quickly rises to his feet, his eyes widening with horror at the sight of Merlin.

"Keep him safe, until I can convince my father to let him stay." Arthur says before Gaius can open his mouth in question. The Prince tenderly lies Merlin down on the bed, resting the dark head gently upon the pillow. 

He straightens, prepared to go immediately to his father to seek his counsel, but is stopped by thin fingers wrapping around his wrist. He looks down, and his eyes soften at Merlin, who's eyes are open as he holds Arthur's wrist. The raven haired boy looks up at him, worry in his expression. 

"Be careful..." Merlin murmurs quietly. "Please."

Arthur spares a half glance to Gaius, briefly worried of what the old man would think, then deciding that Gaius would tell no one. He smiles down at Merlin, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine. Stop your worrying," he tells him affectionately, lowering his head to press a kiss to the back of Merlin's hand before he releases it, turning and crossing the floor of the chambers. He gives Merlin one last look before he turns and disappears down the hall.

Gaius slowly walks to Merlin, an eyebrow raised in silent question. Merlin smiles faintly, the corners of his chapt lips tugging upwards in wordless affirmation to Gaius's nonverbal inquiry. Gaius blinks, surprised for a moment, but then he smiles too, pleased. "I'm happy for you, Merlin," he says, touching Merlin's head for a moment. "But you must be careful. If Uther ever found out-"

"I know." Merlin's voice comes out sharper than he had intended, and he winces, biting his lip. "I'm sorry, Gaius, I didn't mean......."

"Not to worry, Merlin." The old man pats Merlin's hair affectionately. "I shan't tell anyone. But for now," he eyes Merlin up and down, frowning. "You really are quite a mess."

Merlin laughs quietly, though it's short lived as pain aches through his chest. "If I had a coin for every time you said that..."

"You'd no doubt be rich enough to move far away from here and keep yourself out of trouble," Gaius finishes with a wry smile. "I'll see if I can get you something for the pain."

Merlin rests back against the pillows, closing his eyes and smiling slightly. "You're the best, Gaius."

Later on that day, in the late afternoon/early evening,  Arthur storms into his chambers, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself on his back on top of his bed, tugging off his boots. He lets out a pent up sigh of frustration, draping his arm over his face, the crook of his elbow covering his eyes.

After over two hours of arguing with his father, Uther had finally agreed to let Merlin stay in Camelot. Arthur had managed to convince him that it was solely because he was drunk that he'd been about to kiss Merlin. 

"I harbour no feelings towards him, father," he had assured Uther earlier.

Uther had bought it completely, but also made Arthur promise that he would start courting suitable wives as soon as possible. "I shall invite our closest allies. All of them have beautiful daughters. You will court all of them. I expect a decision and a proposal of marriage by the end of the year."

Though it was only the beginning of summer, Arthur felt that the end of the year was undesirably close. He was hopelessly backed into a corner; he'd promised his father that he'd find a wife by the year's end so that Merlin would be allowed to stay, but he couldn't imagine being married to someone he didn't love.

"For Merlin..." he mutters to himself, exhaustion tugging at his eyelids as the stress of the past two days catches up with him. "For Merlin...." He falls asleep like this, murmuring those two words to himself, like a promise.