Chapter 12: Getting Discovered
"Merlin let me see..." Arthur ordered, with a touch of concern in his voice. He had thought all of Merlin's wounds had been attended to. The thought that Caldor had missed one didn't sit well with him. He once again reached for his servant's bandaged arm, but his fingers met air as Merlin jumped from the bed.
"It's fine Arthur; I already attended to it. I have learned a thing or two working as Gaius's assistant." Merlin nervously replied back, as he moved to gather something to cover himself with. Though they had just made love for the second time and Arthur had clearly seen every part of him, Merlin still felt shy about being naked in front of his King.
Arthur sighed, but decided to drop it for now. Merlin was clearly not going to let him see it and was trying to make a run for it. He wasn't about to let that happen. Arthur planned to spend most, if not all, of his day with Merlin, preferably in bed. The thought of that and a fully naked Merlin bending down trying to gather his clothes made Arthur forget about the bandaged arm.
Merlin looked up at his King, when he was met with silence, and the little clothes he had managed to gather fell back to the floor near his feet. Arthur was looking at him as if he was a piece of chicken and he hadn't eaten in weeks. His face turned a beet red and he stepped back a few steps. "We just finished doing....you can't be serious?" Merlin struggled to say as Arthur, still completely naked as well, moved from the bed towards him. This was all too new for Merlin.
XXX
Ivor entered the servants' quarters and stumbled on three servants sitting around a small table in the far end of the room. They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. He walked loudly towards them, making sure his brown boots scrapped against the floor, and threw a few gold coins on the table. He bent down towards them, setting his hands on the edge of the table, and looked at the two men and woman. "I am looking for some information and am willing to pay handsomely for it."
The older male servant and woman quickly rose from their seats and moved towards the door. "Sorry sir, but we like our jobs and would like to keep them." The man commented as he opened the door for the woman and shut it behind them loudly. They had been in Lord Godwyn's service since they were children; their parents had served the King as well and no amount of gold would make them betray their King.
Ivor nodded at the closed door, he respected their loyalty and he had to admit his rugged unshaved appearance had the tendency to scare most people away, at least those in their right mind. Plus, he was quite well built to rival Arthur's knight, Percival, if he said so himself. Ivor looked back at the younger man. "Well, how about it? Want to earn some extra coins?" He asked the remaining servant as he pushed the gold closer to him, a devilish grin plastered on his face.
"What do you want to know?" the young man asked as he picked up the coins and slipped them into a small pouch he got out from under his jacket. He waved his hand towards the bench in front of him, offering Ivor to sit down. Ivor rubbed his injured shoulder, the new stitches already itched and the bandages were probably a bit too tight for his liking. He sat down and leaned closer to the young man with a serious look on his face.
"I want to know in what room Merlin is in and what the real reason King Arthur Pendragon is here." Ivor said as he licked his lips. They suspected that the young King was not here for the same reason they were, but were clueless to what it was. He had failed to follow through with the original plan, but he intended to make it up to his master. Roderick would be pleased to know he was able to get the information he sought so quickly.
"You want to know where King Arthur is keeping his manservant, that fellow that arrived injured just this morning?" the servant asked a bit confused as he moved slightly back from the table. After receiving an empty stare from Ivor, he cleared his throat and continued. "Well, he is staying in the same room as King Arthur; it is located in the west wing of the castle, the second room to the right. It's quite weird if you ask me." Then when he got nothing, but another empty stare from Ivor, he rose from his seat and leaned closer to the man.
