Author's Note: Wahh, it's so late… But I've let all those lovely people who were kind enough to review and/or put me on alert wait long enough so I'd better make sure this goes up tonight. Thanks for beta to -bare-footed-muse- and Girl With a Pearl Earring, as always. And BBC haven't gotten back to me on that email about giving me the rights to Merlin as a Christmas pressie so I still don't own anything.

Sunlight streamed into the bedchamber of one Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince. It highlighted the golden hair of said prince and, rather more surprisingly, the dark, messy mop of his former manservant. An objective onlooker might have admired how their colourings complemented each other, before noting how they were snuggled close together. Arthur's head was pressed into the hollow between Merlin's collarbones and Merlin's arms were around him. They looked quite peaceful.

Merlin was the first to stir, woken by Arthur's quiet snores. He lifted his head from where it had been resting on Arthur's and blinked in the sunlight. After a second or two a smile spread over his face as he looked at the sleeping prince. Trying not to move the rest of his body so as not to wake Arthur, he bowed his head and smelled the blonde man's hair. Funny, he thought, I never knew how good unwashed hair could smell. Carefully he extracted his arms from under Arthur and stretched them as well as he could without waking his bedfellow. Just as he was carefully pulling up the blanket to cover Arthur's shoulders there came a knock on the door.

"Sire? Breakfast is ready. May I come in?"

Ooooh, no, no, no! This can't be happening… Why always me?! Now what? Merlin thought as he frantically looked for a place to hide. His rapid movements woke up Arthur, who sat up straight in his bed when he realized who else was in it.

"Sire? Are you awake?" came the voice from the door, along with the alarming sound of wood scraping against the ground - the servant was clearly on his way in. Arthur was staring at Merlin in horror and was of absolutely no use. Deciding that exposure could wait at least another minute, Merlin ducked under the covers just as Tom, who was fortunately concentrating on carrying plates of food while simultaneously shutting the door behind him, entered the room.

"Your breakfast, my lord," the manservant announced as he put down the plates. Turning to face the bed, he continued: "I trust you have slept w - oh. I didn't realize you had company, sire. Shall I fetch some more food?"

"Mwah," the prince squeaked, a look of horror still on his face. "Eh? Oh. Yes, uh, please do, Tom. And, um, could you peel some carrots while you're at it and now that I think of it I seem to have this - this… Yearning for something… Cold. Yes. Something very cold."

Tom, understandably, looked very confused.

"Something cold? Like sorbet, sire? I suppose I could get you that, my lord, but it would take anawful lot of time…"

"Oh, that's quite all right," Arthur answered quickly. "Now run along will you."

"Yes, sire. Erm - perhaps something for the lady also? My lady? Would you also like some sorbet?"

Arthur paled. After a short pause the body under the covers moved a little.

"Yes," a falsetto voice replied.

Arthur closed his eyes and drew a breath of relief. However, the trial was not yet over.

"Would that be another sorbet, then, milady? Or do you have any special requests?"

Arthur was by now clutching the duvet covering him so hard that his knuckles had gone white.

"Just sorbet, please," the falsetto replied graciously.

"Very well then. Sire, milady, I will be along with the sorbet" - Tom looked uncertain - "in just some time." He turned on his heel and left the room, and Arthur could finally start breathing again.

A dark head appeared from between the sheets. Merlin made sure Arthur was still breathing and not about to faint, and then cleared his throat. In the same screeching falsetto he'd used earlier, he declared:

"Oh Arthur, dear, I do believe I've changed my mind. I'll have an apple instead of the sorbet. Would you mind calling that servant back?"

Suddenly the room was filled with the giggles, yes, giggles, of the prince and his former manservant.

"What was that about the sorbet anyway," Merlin panted as soon as he could breathe."He was about to leave before you brought it up!"

"Ah, yes, but you see now he'll be down in the ice-cellars most of the day. You'll have plenty of time to leave without risking further witnesses."

"Ah, clever," Merlin said, lifting an eyebrow and smiling.

"Well, you're the one who's the idiot."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"I did do a rather convincing female voice, though."

A smile tugged at Arthur's lips.

"Convincing? You're lucky that Tom is stupid as well as ugly or he'd have known something was off the moment he heard you."

"Well, actually, why make such a fuss? I was just keeping you warm, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that."

Arthur turned to face Merlin with an incredulous look on his face.

"I am not going to be seen in bed with a male servant, no matter what the circumstances. Not. Ever."

"Hey, no need to be like that! After all, out of all the male servants you could have had warming your bed, I'm hardly the worst." When his brain caught up with what he'd just said, Merlin blushed.

Arthur stared at him. Then he inched away.

"…Right. Well, I'm feeling much better now so there's really no need for you to stay."

Merlin felt a flash of anger at being discarded again, but then his embarrassment overruled the anger and he got out of the bed, fast.

"Yeah, I've got…things to do. Better get going."

At the door he stopped. This might very well be his last chance to find out.

"Arthur," he said without turning around. "Why did you sack me? Was it something I did?"

In his bed, Arthur pulled a hand throughhis hair, suddenly feeling very tired.

"No. I just needed a bit of change, that's all."

Merlin hesitated at the door. Then he turned around and smiled at Arthur.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again. Even though you're still an ass."

**　

Some hours later Morgana came to visit Arthur in his quarters. He had managed to get out of bed and get dressed and was now sitting at the table, feeling infuriatingly weak.

"Hello, Arthur. You look better today."

"I feel better."

There was a pause during which Morgana kept her dark eyes on Arthur. Then she turned around and said something which made him jump.

"I hear you called for Merlin yesterday."

"Yes, I… I was bored and he is rather entertaining with his clumsiness."

"I'm surprised he agreed to come."

"I'm the prince. Of course he came."

Morgana turned to look at him again, her eyes blazing.

"He has every right to be angry, the way you've treated him!"

"Morgana, he's just a servant."

"No, Arthur, you know he's more than that. He has been a loyal friend to all of us. I'm surprised I even need to remind you!"

Arthur looked away.

"You don't."

"Well it certainly seems like I do! How can you treat him like that after all he's done for us?

After all he's done for you?"

"I am the prince! I can't go around worrying about the feelings of a servant!"

Morgana gave him her best icy stare.

"Arthur, if you really believe that then you are not the man I thought you were."

Arthur threw his arms out in resignation.

"What do you want me to do? Apologize to him? Because I sort of did that already."

"You can give him his job back. You haven't seen him mope around, but the rest of us have.

He's bored out of his mind!"

"Morgana, I can't. There's a reason why I fired him."

"Well, what is it? What are you hiding fromme?"

Arthur smiled that annoying smile of his, the one that implied he thought the person he was talking to was less intelligent than he.

"Morgana, I'm not hiding anything from you."

Morgana leaned forward and tried to look into his eyes.

"There is something you're not telling me."

He met her gaze without wavering.

"Nonsense."

**　

Merlin sat under a tree looking out over a field. He'd left the city to avoid having that talk with Gaius about where he'd spent last night.

He sighed as he traced the roots with his finger. Why did everything have to be so complicated? As if it wasn't enough that he couldn't tell anyone that he was a sorcerer, he also had to keep schtum about his feelings for Arthur. Arthur, whom he wasn't allowed to see on a daily basis anymore. It would be a hell of a lot harder to save his life all the time, that much was certain. And without Arthur… It was unthinkable.

"Why did my destiny get it into his head to start avoiding me?" he asked the empty field. Unsurprisingly, there was no answer.

Merlin smiled sadly and looked at the ground. There was a remnant of an old camp fire there, covered in ashes. Merlin's smile changed and became happier as his eyes began to glow gold. The ashes floated into the air and formed the shape of a beautiful bird, flying around gracefully. Then the bird dissolved and turned into a human shape, a man with broad shoulders and a sword.

"Arthur," Merlin whispered with longing in his eyes. "Why can't you just trust me…?"

A shrill scream interrupted his thoughts and the ashes fell to the ground. On the other side of the field stood a woman covering her mouth with her hands. Then she turned and ran away.

Merlin felt dizzy as he stood up and looked after her. She did not see me. She couldn't have, he told his rapidly beating heart. Could she?

You like? You don't? If this is going in a bad direction, then tell me now before it's too late. Do I need to tone down the romance? Please, please review… Remember, virtual cookies… ;)

EDIT: I'm sorry I won't be able to update this story very soon but in the mean time, why don't you check out my Merlin Advent Calendar if you want to read more?