Royal Pain In The Posterior

[Arthur Pendragon]

Really? REALLY?! Arthur was not happy about this. Of all the men that could be his servants . . . his father had assigned the town's idiot. Granted, he did save the Prince's life, but Arthur's pride stood in the way of accepting him. Especially after he had called him a prat, and an ass. Arthur was not willing to forgive him that easily, and this was going to be apparent in which tasks he was going to make him do. He had to give him a tour of the castle, or well, the necessary places. He was going to give him hell! As if throwing him in the dungeon and fighting him with a mace was not enough. No. He was going to make him regret the day he insulted him. Oh how this was going to be so exciting!

It was morning, and the Prince was waiting for his new victim, aka servant to arrive. Though he was not late, Arthur would make a big deal about his lack of punctuality. Anything negative he could find to say to him, he was going to say it. He supposed the proper thing to do was to thank the man for saving his life . . . but Arthur was not that kind, not right now anyway. He felt like tormenting someone, and that someone would be Merlin. He had been forced to dismiss his previous servant, Morris, who seemed far too relieved to be dismissed of his duties. Arthur wasn't sure why. It should be an honor to serve him as his personal manservant. Which was why his father had appointed Merlin in this role. A reward for saving his life. Though it seemed that it would be more as punishment for both men involved in this new arrangement.

Arthur sat at the table in his chambers, drumming his fingers impatiently at his desk. Despite the prince's disapproval in the way that Merlin had addressed him -- by telling him not to do something so publicly -- Arthur had to admire the man's courage and audacity. Or perhaps it was sheer stupidity. Either way, Arthur would never admit it to Merlin. He would only find fault in his actions, rather than praise him for being a brave idiot . . . even if he had used such words to describe him. He didn't know how this was going to work out and he wasn't particularly looking forward to finding out. But he could not argue with his father's judgment. He would have to accept it and now welcome Merlin into this role that destiny seemed to lay out for him. Even if it was short term, for Arthur doubted that Merlin would be able to last long . . . and was determined to break him down as much as he could.


_{Setting: Camelot Castle
Time of Day: Morning, lets say around 7:00 am
Timeline: Shortly after The Dragon's Call, Merlin's first day on the job
Tag: Merlin
Note: Better layout soon to come!}

[consultingwarlock]

As Merlin gradually woke up, he lay there, listening to the sounds of Ealdor starting off the new day around him. People were beginning to move around; he could hear the shuffling of feet outside his window, and in the distance the tower bell chimed- Hold on. When did Ealdor acquire a tower bell? Opening his eyes, he blinked rapidly in quick succession to allow his eyes to adjust to the strong morning light filtering in through the window. Glancing around at the objects adorning his room, it took him a few moments to register where he was. And then the memories of the past few days hit him. He was in Uther's Kingdom. In Camelot Castle.

Letting his head thud back against his pillow, he stared at the ceiling, recalling the events that had happened since he had arrived. To start with, he'd been welcomed to Camelot by a rather stark warning; a warning that had involved the death of one who practiced magic. After seeing that, it took all of Merlin's willpower not to turn around and head straight back home. And having revealed his magic to someone after 5 minutes of being within Camelot's walls (granted, it was saving the man's life), Merlin's willpower was in serious danger of being overrun. But prevailed it did, and the next day saw him coming face to face with the most arrogant prat that ever graced Albion. Arthur Pendragon. Not that Merlin knew that at the time, of course, otherwise he might not have been so hasty in throwing a punch at the Prince. Not that he didn't deserve it. He couldn't believe the audacity the Pendragon had at publicly rebuking his servant like that. It was just cruel, and Merlin disliked him all the more for it.

The next few days were when things started to get really interesting. After being summoned deep beneath Camelot Castle to have a chat with a dragon (which Merlin wouldn't quite believe himself, were it not for the memories of the incessant voice inside his head), and another altercation with the Pompous Prince (which left Merlin a bit more worse for wear; if only he'd been able to use magic), he ended up saving Arthur's life. And to top it all off, he did so by using magic. In front of the whole of Uther's court. Luckily for him, no one seemed to notice, and the King was so grateful that he bestowed Merlin with what he thought was a great honour: a position in the Royal Household as Prince Arthur's manservant. Merlin couldn't think of anything worse.

Sighing, Merlin went to close his eyes again before freezing, and then abruptly jumping out of bed. He was going to be late for Arthur! And on his first day on the job too! Throwing some clothes on, he hastily wrapped his neckerchief around his neck and hurried out the door of his room, crossing Gauis' chambers quickly and heading out into the corridor beyond. Striding down the halls of Camelot, he had a momentary lapse in memory and forgot which stairwell lead to Arthur's chambers. After a kind handmaiden saw the confused look on his face and pointed him in the right direction, Merlin gave her a grateful smile and a hurried 'Thank you!' before taking the direction given with some speed. By the time he reached the door of Arthur's chambers he was out of breath, and so worried about Arthur's reaction to his tardiness that he forgot to knock; promptly bursting into the Prince's room with excuses on his lips. These excuses, however, vanished as he caught sight of Arthur's reaction. Merlin stood by the door that was hanging wide open, sheepishly trying to think of something that would make the situation a bit less awkward. Finally settling on some words, he said, somewhat hopefully, "Ah. Is there any chance I could try that again and we could forget that just happened?"

[Arthur Pendragon]

While Arthur's impatience grew from waiting for Merlin, he decided to be a bit . . . productive. Or well, counter productive technically. He rose from his chair and wandered over to cupboard where he began to pull out a couple of shirts and toss them to the ground. They were clean, as Morris had just done his laundry the other day . . . but now they were dirty again. So not only was Arthur making a mess that he would force Merlin to clean up, he was also going to make him do his laundry. Just one of the many tasks that the servant would be responsible for. Furthermore, Arthur took out a few pairs of his boots in preparation for them to be polished. Hmmm, now what else could he find. Oh right! His armor of course! Arthur pulled out his various pieces of armor and set it on the table. Even the parts of it that he wouldn't need right away. And of course there was his chainmail . . . couldn't forget that! As he stood near the table, thinking of what else he could find, he turned when he heard someone throw open the door.

Merlin.

Well, a completely out of breath Merlin. Arthur shot him a glare as he stared at him, his words quick to follow. Words suggesting that they could just forget his tardiness. Now why would Arthur ever be that merciful? "If that is your idea of an apology, its utterly pathetic," he informed him, refraining from rolling his eyes. "Apparently apart from punctuality, you need a lesson on manners. It is your first time in my chambers, and yet you find it acceptable to just throw open the door, without knocking?" Arthur's tone was of clear disapproval toward the man. Then again, it was not as if the prince was embracing this new arrangement with an optimistic and positive attitude. He was just forced to endure it because he could not challenge the decision of the king. And unfortunately for one of them, Merlin was going to be the one to feel the full extend of Arthur's frustration.

[consultingwarlock]

... This wasn't good.
Merlin could see that the Prince was not amused, judging from the heavy frown upon the man's face. Unbidden, excuses came tumbling out of his mouth, words said without much thought as is Merlin's way. "Well, you see, I may have forgotten slightly this morning that I was supposed to be here, so didn't give myself enough time to reach your chambers. And then I forgot which stairwell lead to your side of the castle, which made me even later. Luckily, someone pointed me in the right direction, which was fortunate. The need to knock may have also slipped my mind, but then I was trying to make up for lost time-" Merlin's babbling ceased when he realised that he'd perhaps said more than he should. Sure that this day couldn't get any worse, he retreated through the still-open door, saying, "...I'll just go out and come back in again."

Closing the door with a resolute thud, Merlin drew in a deep breath before knocking rapidly on the wood. When no reply was forthcoming, Merlin twisted the handle on the door and opened it with a flourish, stepping into the Dragon's Den as he'd already not-so-affectionately named the chambers. "Sorry I'm late, Sire. I, er, had a bit of trouble finding my way." He closed the door behind him, wincing at the loud echo it made when it shut. Just then, the mound of clothes and armour caught his eye. Gazing at the mess critically, Merlin remarked without thinking, "Did a stampede of horses run through here recently, or do you just treat your chambers like a stable? No wonder your previous servant quit!" The implications of what he'd just said caught up with Merlin a split second later, and he groaned internally. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut? This was not going to be a good day...