How To Train Your Dragonlord

Arthur?

A/N ~ I'm sorry, but this is gonna be one of my rare, relatively long chapters. There is a lot that I wanna fit under this one title, and I'm not prepared to make this a two-sectioned chapter. So, yeah. Sorry if it takes you forever to read. A/N (from a later time) ~ Ha, yeah, this 'rare' 'long' chapter. Because I haven't written any elsewhere that are much longer.

Merlin P.O.V:
Eventually, Gwen was dismissed. I turned to Arthur. "Does that sort of thing get any easier with experience?" I asked him. It felt weird knowing that I was now more Arthur's equal than his servant. Arthur shook his head. "Oh, I meant to ask, who's your new manservant?"
"Unfortunately, I couldn't find anybody other than George in the entire Kingdom."
I laughed and smiled. "I'd be happy to continue, if you feel that you would be unable to cope with the jokes about BRASS."
Arthur playfully punched my shoulder, laughing. But, he also went red. "You can't make offers like that anymore, Merlin," Arthur explained to me. He almost sounded downcast. "So no more searching through cupboards for women's dresses, okay?" he added, jesting once again.

Arthur P.O.V:
Where the hell did that come from?! Why was I saying that?! Just because he was the prince now, why was I saying things like that?! I laughed along with my supposed joke. Really, I was inwardly dying at the awkwardness of that memory. I may have teased him at the time, but I felt like I had been betrayed. I know that it wasn't my place - how apt! - to feel like that, but he was my manservant, no one else's.

Merlin P.O.V:
Arthur seemed to have regretted making that joke as soon as he'd said it. I decided that I wouldn't make things any worse than they already were.
I acted like he hadn't just said anything. "What do we do now?" I asked him, feeling strangely bored. Don't get me wrong, I was glad that I didn't need to get everything exactly perfect - polishing, cleaning, dressing, everything - but it was so time consuming that I'd never had time to be bored.
Arthur looked at me, obviously glad that I was ignoring his terrible joke. "Well, we don't have anything to do, so why don't we go for a ride in the forest?" he asked me.
"Please tell me we won't be hunting," I replied, smiling awkwardly.
"Okay then, Merlin," he answered me. "We won't go for a hunt. We could always just ride and come back." I nodded. That sounded good to me.
We changed into clothes appropriate for riding in. While we did, George was sent to ready the king's horse and prepare a horse for the heir.
By the time we reached the stables, two horses were saddled and ready to go. George asked if he should come. Arthur declined, saying that we would be fine.
I caught myself about to smirk at George, then remembered why he was saying that we'd be fine. We had done a lot more dangerous trips together, just the two of us, and came back alive and in one piece.
Arthur dismissed George and we mounted our horses. We rode out of Camelot, the common people now stopping and commenting to each other.
They said things like: "Hey, there goes the king and his heir, the warlock!" They seemed excited by the prospect of this new chapter in Camelot's history. I was really excited about this job promotion, but it was a terrifying prospect, as well.
Arthur and I waved to people as we left the gates, neither of us saying a word. A short while after we'd left Camelot, I talked to Arthur about what was on my mind.
However, I didn't start the conversation. Arthur did. "Merlin," he said at one point, as we rode into the woods.
"Your... I mean, Arthur?" I was still getting used to being able to just call him Arthur.
"You've been a lot quieter than usual. Are you okay?" he asked. Quieter, he added: "I didn't freak you out, did I?" thinking that I wouldn't hear.
"I... I'm scared about my new future, Arthur," I replied, slowly. I had been thinking about this for a while. I wasn't king-material. I didn't know the first thing about being a king.
We stopped. Arthur claimed that we'd been riding for a while and that we should rest. So, we dismounted the horses, tied their reins onto tree branches and rested side-by-side against the base of a tree.
Then, Arthur continued our conversation. He took my hand in his, meaning it reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Merlin. I know that this lifestyle is new to you, but as your predecessor and king, it is my job to ensure that, by the time you come to rule the kingdom, you know what you are doing.
"Leave the worrying to me. So long as you try your hardest to be good to the people and to defend the kingdom, you'll be a great king." That's when Arthur realised that he was holding my hand in his, against his chest, right above his heart. We both blushed, profusely, before realising that there was no one around to catch us.
Still lying on the base of the tree, I turned my head to face Arthur. He did the same, not moving our hands from above his heart. I could feel his accelerated heartbeat through his clothing and my hand. Hearing this, invariably, caused my heart rate to increase.

Arthur P.O.V:
Merlin and I looked to each other from across the base of the tree. I held his hand - in mine - close to my heart. Knowing that he was my heir, and that we finally had no secrets from each other, made my heart race.
It was a foolish thought that occurred to me in that moment. 'Maybe,' I thought, 'just maybe, we could be together.' But I didn't know Merlin's feelings for me. Still my heart raced.
"Arthur?" Merlin asked, breaking the silence between the two of us.
"Yes, Merlin?"
"..."
"What's wrong, Merlin?"
"This moment..." he whispered. "Can we stay in this moment forever?"
I locked my eyes onto his blue-green ones. "What if a better moment comes?" I asked, not believing it for myself.
"What could be better than this?" he asked me. I had no answer and he knew this. He smiled and let his head move from resting against the tree to against my shoulder.
I looked down upon his ebony hair and smiled. In that second, I had an answer to his question. "This moment is much better than the last," I replied, resting my head on his. I smiled, never wanting to leave that second.