To know your place

Don't listen to them

Merlin isn't mine, sadly enough.
Enjoy reading!
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His pounding head and sore arm were the first things that reminded Merlin of what had happened the night before. He grunted and buried himself under his blanket, not wanting to get out of bed, at all. Not that he was able to stay in his safe cocoon because Gaius threw his door open not a second later.
"You're going to be late, Merlin. Get up."
The young warlock mumbled something but pushed his covers away anyway and placed his bare feet on the cold floor. He shivered and laid his head in his hands. His head felt like something was drumming inside of it. It wasn't going to be a good day, he thought.
He quickly got out of bed, got himself dressed, took a potion from his mentor that would help ease the pain and hurried off to the kitchens. He made his way to Arthur's chambers in no time, without spilling anything, thank God for that, placed the tray on the table and pulled the curtains open like he did every morning.
"Up and at 'em!" He shouted in a cheery voice. When the King refused to respond, the young man quickly strode over to the bed and pulled away the covers.
"Merlin!" the royal shouted and tried to grab his blankets again but the servant was much faster and threw them off the bed before his master could get a grip on them.
"No time to hang around today, sire! You've got a lot to do. First there's training, again. Then you have a council meeting, though I don't think they will actually need you, you have to be there anyway. And of course you can't forget you still have a few papers to sort out. Ooh and yes Lord Carrick..."
"Merlin! Shut up!" Arthur shouted while he threw the closest thing he could grab towards his manservant. Luckily for the latter it was just a pillow, because he didn't see it coming, hitting him in the head. The startled man narrowed his eyes at the King. "Ass" he huffed. It was enough to get the royal out of his bed. Seeing the look his master was giving him made him run to the other side of the room. Arthur, who was obviously faster than the clumsy boy, catched him and gave him a reprimanding slap against his head. Merlin's face contorted in pain for a second but he quickly schooled his expression. The blonde man did notice it though.
"Don't tell me that hurt you." he said. The raven haired man gazed at his friend and shook his head. "No." he answered dryly and turned away from him, towards the wardrobe. The King followed him with his eyes and wondered why his always so happy servant seemed so down. He sighed as he saw Merlin laying his fresh clothes over the screen, pushed the uneasy feeling he suddenly had away and walked behind the changing screen. He could hear his manservant rummaging in his room. Probably picking up the thrown pillow and making the bed. When he was fully dressed he came from behind the screen just in time to see how Merlin yawned while leaning against one of the bedposts. He ignored it though and strode over to the table where he silently started to eat. The raven haired boy walked to the table in order to fill Arthur's goblet and managed to pour the water without spilling a single drop. He smiled to himself, at least his tired and pounding head wasn't affecting his work that much. Merlin watched as his King ate his breakfast in silence, like he did every morning. It didn't take long though before the royal was done and he could clear the table. After that he helped Arthur in his armor, for the second time that week. The blonde had ordered that they would train every morning now, not only to help the new recruits get in top shape but it was mostly the upcoming threat from Morgana and her band of thugs that helped him make that decision.
Not half an hour later they were both standing on the training field, surrounded by the other knights.

"Good morning Merls!" Gwaine shouted happily while he gave the man a friendly smack on his shoulder.
"Morning, Gwaine." the young warlock answered in return. He tried to look a little disturbed by the sudden touch but couldn't help but grin at his friend.
"Good morning, sire." the others said while making a small bow towards Arthur.
"Good morning." the King answered with a smile and nodded his head. "I hope you're all well rested? We have a lot to do today." It wasn't really a question. All of them knew that, no matter how tired they were, they wouldn't get out of practice.
"Don't be too hard on them, Arthur." Merlin said with a big goofy smile on his face. "They had a hard training yesterday after all."
"Indeed! With such a fierce opponent!" Lancelot laughed. The others joined in when their friend started to pout. He couldn't keep it up for long though and started to laugh with them.
"It wasn't my fault the prat wanted to use me as a dummy." he said between breaths.
"Oi!" was all the royal said and smacked Merlin around the head for the second time that day. This time he was able to mask the pain that shot through his head though. As the knights laughed some more, the boys eyes shifted to where his three nightly aggressors were standing. They were looking at him, a badly concealed anger gleaming in their eyes. He quickly averted his gaze and turned his attention back on his friends. 'Ignore them.' he thought silently. In the meantime everyone had calmed down again and Arthur had started to give his instructions for that day. They would be sparring against each other. Leon was teamed up with Elyan, Percival with Lancelot and Gwaine would be going up against Arthur himself. The other knights had paired now too and the King gave the signal to start.
"Are you sure you want to get up against Gwaine?" Merlin asked when the royal landed his first hit. It distracted the blonde enough for the sturdy knight to land a hit for himself.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted and both men chuckled. The raven haired boy placed himself on a bench and watched his friends train with a fond smile on his face.

When practice was over, Merlin helped Arthur out of his harness and into his fresh clothes. When they were ready it was already time for the council meeting.
"Merlin, this meeting is a closed one. You can go and muck out my stables." Arthur said with a grin. He knew how his servant disliked that chore.
"Ooh, fun, thanks Arthur." the boy answered sarcastically and he rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome." the royal replied while he left the room. The grin still plastered on his face.
"Clotpole." Merlin huffed to the now empty room. With a sigh he headed towards the stables.
As he walked over the courtyard, three pair of eyes were following his every move. He didn't notice it though, he was too caught up with his complaining about royal prats and stupid chores to see them.

There was no one in the stables, save for thehorses who were eating peacefully. They just had been fed so it seemed. Merlinshook his head and sighed. This was going to make his job just a little harder.Cleaning out empty stables was one thing, but doing it with a hungry, eatinghorse inside was just asking for trouble. He was just about to get thepitchfork when he got pushed. Stumbling over his own feet he fell to theground. Shocked about the sudden attack he turned around quickly, only to seesirs Ethan, Thomas and Ulrick towering over him. Merlin crawled backwards, hiseyes flickered to the now closed stable door.
"We warned you, didn't we?" sir Ethan growled.
"Yet you ignored our order." sir Ulrick said, his voice dangerously low.
All of a sudden sir Thomas grabbed the frightened servant by his collar anddragged him back to his feet. The young warlock tried to get away and steppedbackwards but his three assailants followed his movements until he felt thewall against his back.
"What do you want?" he asked. His voice sounded braver than he had expected.
"Do not speak unless you are asked something, boy!"
"You clearly need to learn your place!"
Merlin bit his lip and balled his hands into fists. His magic was bubblingunder his skin, ready to protect him but he pushed it down again.
"They don't mind me talking to them." the young man said. "I'm their friend!"
"Hah! Nonsense! You're only a servant!"
"You're nothing but a peasant, an irritating pebble in their shoes."
"They only pretend to like you. Probably out of pity."
"That's not true!" Merlin shouted desperately.
"Silence!" sir Ethan shouted back, pushing him hard against the wall to givehis words more force.
The servant's knees gave out and he fell back to the ground.
"You're worthless! They don't care about you!" sir Ulrick said. Emphasizing theword 'worthless' with a well placed kick to his stomach. Merlin pressed his lips together. He wasn't going to cry out. He was not going to give them that satisfaction. He rolled himself to a ball and tried to protect his ribs.
Sir Thomas kneeled down beside him and grabbed his throat.
"This is your last chance!" he hissed. "I suggest you'll do as we say."
The young man struggled to breath, he tried to pull the knight's hands away and kicked violently with his legs. Sir Thomas stood up again and the three of them left the stables without another word, leaving Merlin gasping for air. The raven haired boy curled himself to a ball, a single tear rolled over his cheek.
"They're my friends, they're my friends,..." he whispered over andover again. His head was pounding like someone had been knocking him with a hammer and the room was spinning around him. He closed his eyes to make it all stop and let darkness take over as he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

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And another chapter! I'm not really happy aboutthis one, I had some trouble finding the right words. Anyway, I hope it's whatyou all expected.
Reviews are more than welcome. If you have any remarks, let me know! :)