The clockroom

Magic boxes

A.N.:// Chapter 2 has been edited

The next few weeks had Arthur turning in his sleep. 
Merlin was now his manservant. What had Uther been thinking when he made THAT decision? It's not like Merlin was the first person who ever saved Arthur's life!
Granted, it's usually not commoners who manage such a feat.... STILL!
Merlin had saved his life! Had pushed him out of the way when a knife had been thrown at him.
And Arthur had been shocked enough, when KNOWING that Arthur was the crown prince didn't stop Merlin from insulting Arthur to his face.

"How long have you been training to be a prat, my LORD."

What was WRONG with him? It made no sense! Why save someone you obviously despised as a person?
Arthur was conflicted. One the one hand, he admired the courage of that commoner, on the other hand he couldn't understand.
And all that happened just one day after Arthur had run the old man in his vision through. Arthur had killed this Emrys... or Merlin person.
And now he had saved Arthur's life!
The guilt and shame and confusion didn't mix well in his head. Sorcerers were supposed to be evil!

And yet, Arthur was the bad one in this story, wasn't he? The old man had done nothing but die. He had been patient. He had allowed Arthur to do what he MUST do, by the laws of Camelot.
Arthur wasn't quite sure yet, whether or not the clock showed him the real future or just visions that were supposed to be lessons of some kind.
Dream or not, Merlin or Emrys, Arthur continued to see his new servant impaled in his dreams. 
He saw the blood dripping from his sword, the light fading from Merlin's eyes. Arthur woke up in cold sweat every time.

He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to question whether or not he had done the right thing in his vision. Damn it, he had seen the end of the world!
And here he was, trying to pretend nothing was wrong and failing spectacularly. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, from overthinking and wondering what else the future may hold for him.
If, and if, then WHEN Merlin would start betraying him.
Perhaps the future him had been so calm, because he had already killed Arthur in his past????
Did that make sense? The fact that he felt like shit proved just how reasonable he found that hypothesis.

Arthur closed his eyes and tried to imagine Merlin as an evil person.
Merlin was clumsy, kindhearted, if ignorant of people's status. He lacked the whole evil-sorcerer vibe that was so visible, once you detected them.
The woman who had tried revenge on Uther – a woman who impersonated and killed lady Helen – had announced her murder. Had called Uther out on her planned revenge. An eye for an eye and so on. 
She had changed her appearance to fool them.
And sorcerer's seemed to do that often. Dramatize their revenge plans. Announce them, and kill as soon as they got the chance to do so.

Merlin didn't seem capable of pulling of a disguise. Even if he were, that old man hadn't attempted to lie to him. This Merlin obviously couldn't know anything about the future, unless he had somehow invented the clockroom, which was impossible, since the man was clearly younger than Arthur and the clockroom had been there for generations.
Or was he?
Arthur gnawed on his lip.
But Merlin was too obvious in his mistakes. Too loud to be ignored or overlooked. But maybe that was his plan. The perfect disguise. Nobody would suspect him, if he was so obviously incompetent.
Arthur wasn't so sure.
He was wary of him.

Of course, he had no proof. He couldn't very well go to his father and tell him that he deliberately sought out the clockroom against Uther's orders. Uther had SAID the room was made to deceive him.
Otherwise he might have asked his father for advice.
All he knew for certain was that this boy had risked his own life to save Arthur's. That was all he could proof.
Arthur's suspicions on the other hand, were based on hallucinations and superstition. So he owed Merlin the benefit of the doubt.
Murdering and damning one man for something that happened in a dream, was against everything Arthur was taught. Everything he believed in. Against everything that was right and just.