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DISCLAIMER: I WISH I own Merlin

…

CHAPTER XI: Complications

GAIUS'S CHAMBERS

A few days passed since Lancelot's initial failure, and after a surprise attack Lancelot had finally passed Arthur's was innocent and peaceful cleaning of the stocks (he was assigned to do so by Arthur when he lost) when he was suddenly attacked by no other than the prince himself from behind.

Fortunately, he had the reflexes to defend himself from imminent pain (at least for the moment) and managed to dodge his swings.

Flop

Okay, now he was holding a broom against his wooden stick. Classic.

He didn't quite remember the details after that, he just knew they were exchanging rather (admittedly) very impressive swings. The last hit made Arthur's stick fly and he officially won that spar.

It felt magnificent.

He was officially Sir Lancelot, now.

And about an hour later, he realized that Merlin thought of a way to celebrate his win. What better way, the brunette stated proudly, than to have a little party in the Royal pharmacist's chambers?

Merlin grinned. "Right?"

"Y-Yeah." Lancelot just uttered as they sat at the table, chatting.

Gaius was reluctant at first, of course, considering he was against Lancelot illegal entry into knighthood. But Merlin made quite an argument and he couldn't refuse. The old man just sighed and turned to the Lady Morgana to speak nonchalantly with her.

It was originally supposed to be just the four of them – Merlin, Lancelot, Gwen, and him. But somehow Morgana was there. The lady inconspicuously entered the room while the younger ones were socializing.

"I hope you don't mind." Morgana whispered anxiously and Gaius, being the first to notice her presence when she entered. He shook his head to deny her shy claim.

"No, No child… But what about Arthur? I'd be expecting him here since you are."

"He's… busy." She lied. She didn't say a word to Arthur. She did not want a prat who wanted his servant all to himself here. Merlin intrigued her, to the point that she so wanted to befriend her. The situation never fully arose, though, until now. She made the opportunity herself, of course, as always. Albeit this time she had to play mind games with her maidservant to squeeze out this little detail.

"Oh. Lady Morgana?" Merlin called out catching their attention. It pulled Morgana out her trance. The other two immediately greeted her.

"No need for formalities." She smiled and looked at the table. "May I join you?"

"O-Of course!" Merlin smiled. The more the merrier, the brunette probably chanted.

The more the merrier…

Merlin unconsciously looked behind her.

"No, dear, Arthur isn't here. It seems that he was already tired and went to bed earlier than usual." Morgana smirked, answering her unvoiced wondering.

"I see…" She muttered, disappointed. Morgana grinned reassuringly.

"Besides… who would want their masters ordering them around in a party?" Merlin blinked and gaped, before laughing prettily.

"Good point."

...

Morgana drank her wine gracefully and stole glances of the mysterious brunette. She had always watched Arthur and Merlin's interactions, yet they never failed to amuse her. Right now, though… with Arthur especially reluctant around Merlin she needed to find another way to spice things up.

Morgana stared at the girl as she pondered. She had never questioned why Arthur was so attracted to the girl. She was charismatic and beautiful in her own way. But now she had first-hand experience of the girl's charms.

Then, she had an idea.

Oh no

That was the predominant phrase that ran through Morgana's beautiful head the very next day. She had her plan all thought out—but sadly something happened that would render her plan to be an impossible task.

Well not impossible per se, it was just that she couldn't add problems to their already miserable day just to ease her boredom, now could she?

She disliked seeing them like this. They were her friends, and they were all very important to her.

A few hours prior and just a little after the party, Uther found out about Lancelot's trickery and sent him to jail. It was a shock—to all of them, and her heart constricted so tightly when she saw their reactions.

Merlin and Gwen were devastated—the blood on their faces just enough to keep their brains running—while Arthur tried his best to convince Uther that it wasn't a fair judgement. He even questioned the first code right in front of Uther, which to Morgana, was another one of the manifestations of Arthur's future greatness.

Still, Uther acted as if he didn't hear a thing.

Morgana was truly starting to hate the 'King'.

…

After his vain conversation with his father, Arthur indignantly walked out of the courts to calm himself. Lancelot was such a great warrior. He felt betrayed – yes – but he understood why he did it. In this case the first code was nonsense—he was certain, but his father would never admit that.

The first person he saw when he opened the door was his manservant staring at him hopefully. He just shook his head telling him it was no use and continued to walk away from that blasted court.

Merlin followed him in silence.

After passing several corridors, they had reached isolated hallways. Arthur's mind had started to wander and for that he was thankful-He needed some other things to occupy his mind. He shooed away the thoughts of that night when he caught his servant's lover cheating on him. It was too… trivial in comparison to the issue they were handling then.

Unfortunately, though, what came to mind afterwards was definitely connected to his problems: Merlin's huge part in the whole issue.

He glared at his manservant and punched the wall right in front of his face. The boy backed away immediately by reflex and then stared at him in befuddlement. "Arth—"

"You knew about this, didn't you? You asked that hypothetical question not for you but for him, didn't you?" He growled not taking his fist away from the wall. When Merlin comprehended why he had such a condescending tone of voice, she urged herself to calm down.

"I'm sorry… but he saved my life and it was his dream to serve Camelot – how could I not help him trick the Kin—"

Arthur's eyes widened as she spoke and he immediately ran to her to cover her mouth with his palm.

Then, he started nagging her."SSSSSSSHH…! Do you want to die!?"

She vehemently shook her head in reply.

"Then stop being an idiot and think before saying anything! What will you do if he finds out?!" He yelled at her with passion, but with a volume that only they could hear.

Merlin flinched at this and she put her hand over Arthur's to pull it out of her face so that she could speak. And breathe.

"He'll find out?" She squeaked consequently making Arthur wince.

"…No—" He opened his mouth and then saw Merlin's relieved expression. He thought it was an adorable sight, but he just had to say it.

"—but don't push your luck you… idiot."

…

Merlin later went to Lancelot in the dungeons again to apologize. But Lancelot never blamed her, he knew it was his choice and hence the punishment is his and his to carry alone.

"I am so sorry…" She mumbled for the nth time that night and she unconsciously put her hand over the bars. Lancelot smiled sadly at her and held her hand.

"No need to punish yourself. You're a good lad – and this event did not change that."

"Why are you the one doing the comforting?"

Lancelot laughed heartily. "You're my friend, Merlin. I don't want you sad."

"And I don't want you to rot in jail."

"It's fine Merlin. I can't be a knight anyway, I don't see why rotting in jail is any different than never to be able to reach your dreams."

"Lanc—"

"I'm sorry. I'm ranting aren't I?" Merlin shook her head immediately.

"I think you're a great, great person Lancelot. You will always be that way to us – no matter what happens."

He let out a fond smile. "Thank you…" But then noticed guards approaching to tell her it's time to go. He wanted to be the one to tell her. "You should go now."

Merlin didn't say anything at first but then she noticed the guards. She held his hand tighter for a second. "I'll come visit tomorrow."

He nodded.

And yet that statement was proven to be false the very next day.

For Lancelot escaped the dungeons.

Who would she come to visit, then, hm?

…

Merlin and Gwen prayed for Lancelot's safety but then they found out it wasn't all there was to it. Arthur was sent to his death the next day. Not literally, but there was no question it would, indeed, happen.

He was sent to kill the griffon – a creature of strong magic. Something that couldn't be harmed by normal weapons.

Merlin looked fervently looked for a spell to kill the Griffon the whole night. Once she found it though, she realized that it was a high-level magic that normal magicians couldn't learn within a day. But she was not a normal wizard—Gaius told her so.

And it wasn't the time to believe otherwise.

…

Merlin woke up feeling lethargic, but a rush of energy flowed through her once she remembered why she was up for all those hours. She immediately took a sword and ran towards wherever Arthur, hopefully, was. She willed herself to keep calm – which was to say, not easy. Hell - it wasn't easy at all.

What if she was too late?

"MERLIN!" An all too familiar voice yelled her name in a mix of surprise, relief, and urgency. His silhouette was soon recognizable despite the forest's current lack of lighting. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"Lancelot?!" She exclaimed, mostly gasping. "Wha—how?" She asked, but it was practically rhetorical. She knew who did it, and she wouldn't be surprised.

She looked at him sternly. "Let's go save Arthur."

…

Lancelot stood up for his name and magnificently ran to the creature with his Lance, again. They had reached the setting in the nick of time. Every one was unconscious, but most of them were still visibly alive. The griffin was there hovering over there, and so there he was—stabbing it with all his strength.

And with the stab that hit, the griffin disintegrated like magic. Magic. He could swear he heard Merlin chant. He stared at the boy who was really just letting all the tension out. He'd save his questions for later. He would savour this moment with Merlin, and almost went in for a hug. He stopped himself, though, with his imminent interrogation he didn't feel like he deserved it.

Merlin, on the other hand, was relieved that she was able to do the spell in the end despite having so much trouble with it. She felt so much panic the first times it didn't work, completely forgetting the possibility that he may hear her chanting the spell.

She mentally berated herself when he told her that he really did hear her near the door of the King's court just after dawn.

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me." He smiled before they heard dignified shouting from the other side of the door.

Merlin's eyes widened at the change in expression pasted in Lancelot's face. He had just decided on something vital – and she knew she would not like it.

He walked to the door, and after struggling against the guards, went straight to the royals. He quickly declared that he will leave Camelot, bowed, and walked out the door... leaving a surprised Arthur, and a comprehending Uther behind the door.

"Lancelot?" Merlin squeaked, hearing the whole thing. Lancelot's gaze softened and he intertwined his hands with Merlin's for a short and silent moment. She was the one who spoke first.

"I'll miss you."

He smiled fondly at her. "So will I, my friend. We'll meet again, Merlin. I know it."

She could only answer with a weak nod. Lancelot looked at her affectionately and then let go of her hand. It surprised him how much he regretted doing so… But nevertheless—he had to go.

"Goodbye, Merlin."

…

Merlin just stood there for a while and ignored the guards' prying stares. Who knew what they were thinking about and what they would be gossiping about later on. It was only then that Arthur came out when she got released from her daze. He looked around and did not see a trace of Lancelot, but instead saw his manservant looking all depressed.

"Where's Lancelot?"

"He left." She muttered blankly.

Arthur's eyebrows rose. "I know. He told me."

He let out a deep breath and stared at the direction he probably went.

"But why?" He asked himself making Merlin wince. She didn't feel like thinking at the moment, so she answered him with one of her most unconscious thoughts…

"Maybe he wanted to serve you as his King."

And Arthur honestly didn't know what to say.

…

CHAMBER OF THE KING'S WARD

That night, Morgana stared at the window letting her mind wander seemingly to the endless horizon.

Morgana felt really bad for the two other girls and Arthur. They had been very attached to Lancelot and she felt that it was her job to make them feel better. Well except for Arthur, he could take care of himself. When she sighed, Gwen (who was arranging her pajamas) asked her what was wrong. She smiled and asked Gwen to bring Merlin.

"Yes, my Lady?" Merlin asked casually expecting some kind of chore from the beautiful woman.

The lady just smiled. "Call me Morgana."

"…"

Gwen didn't say anything either, and so, the two servant just stared at Morgana and waited for her to continue.

Morgana wore that sly expression of hers and placed her cheek on her knuckle.

"Girls…" She smirked. "Do you want to have a sleep-over?"

...

Silence

"P-Pardon?"

"A sleep over." She repeated, doing a hand gesture to emphasize what she just said (twice).

"I mean about the 'girls' part"

"Are you not?" Merlin stared at Gwen who immediately gestured she had no idea how she found out.

"How'd you—"

"I'm the Lady Morgana, Merlin. I am much more observant than you think."

Merlin's eyes twitched. "You're scary, Morgana…" She said, and the older girl laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

…

Merlin laughed both for the utter oddness of that night as well as the fact that she was, indeed, having fun. It was a weird sight to see 2 servants and a glorious lady playing truth or dare. Soon came Merlin's turn, and Morgana was the one to ask a question.

"So… why are you cross-dressing?"

"I have always worn men's clothing since as far as I could remember."

"How come?"

"Mother and Will said it was to protect me." She answered passively. Are follow-up questions even allowed?

"No doubt from men."

"Are men really that bad?" She asked innocently. She had never really seen a man being especially more evil than women…

Morgana nodded. "Most of them are."

"Even Arthur?" The young wizard blinked.

"Well, he's a prat at least." The lady smiled and Gwen giggled.

Then, there was a knock on the door... making everyone flinch.

"Come in." Morgana stated earning herself a gape from the other two.

"It's fine, whoever it is will just find us… odd, I suppose."

"Aren't we already?" Merlin commented in amusement getting Morgana to grin.

"Precisely my point."

…

Arthur was asked by his father to go check on Morgana before he went to bed. He had to agree, and it was not like it was the first time. He was in a very bad mood that day, though, and he could only hope Morgana was not in the mood to make it even worse.

But seeing his manservant with two ladies was beyond his comprehension. He could barely even give a decent reaction.

"What are you doing here, Merlin?"

Morgana smirked. "He's staying with us for the night."

He scoffed at the statement and looked at the 3 alternatively. "Did I just hear that?"

"Yes, you did. Now state your business and go away." Morgana said with her usual pride, and he could swear the other two stifled a laugh.

"F-Father just asked me to check up on you instead of him since he has a head-ache." He stared at Merlin. "What do you think he'll make up of this?"

Morgana let out a sly smile. "I don't know. What do you make up of this?"

"W-Well… it's kind of obvious."

"No, it's not. Merlin? How do you think he's seeing this?"

"What do you mean? I don't see any other way to see this."

"And this is…?" Arthur retorted and pointed at the bottle.

"We're playing truth or dare."

He scoffed (again). "In a Lady's room in the middle of the night…?"

"Yes." The girls answered simultaneously. He frowned at the way they are handling this and glared at his manservant.

"Oh, come here Merlin. Go sleep in your own room." He ordered. Merlin was about to stand up when Morgana grabbed her arm and made her sit back down.

"For goodness sakes Arthur! Don't you think you're being possessive of Merlin? He's not just your servant, you know. He's my friend as well."

Arthur's eyes twitched. He looked at his almost-sister's determined stare. He knew her; she wasn't going to back down. He also knew that if he didn't back down, she'll probably think of something to make him miserable for a whole week.

He sighed in defeat.

"F…Fine." He said, and begrudgingly closed the door behind him.

…

After a few more rounds of truth or dare, they actually found out a lot of things about each other like how Morgana ended up as the King's ward, how much Gwen loved Lancelot, and since when the two had known each other.

Soon enough it ended up to Merlin again. She was scared that maybe they'll be on to her magic so she decided to do 'dare'.

Oh how she would regret that choice…

Morgana leered and Merlin shivered.

"I dare you..." the lady initiated grinning like hell.

"To wear a dress."

...

Morgana stood up and went onto her closet. After rummaging her plethora of dresses, she finally reached a decision. She smiled.

It was a beautiful green dress. What made it more interesting was it was strapless and practically had a bare back. She remembered it was a gift from one of her admirers and Uther absolutely forbade her from wearing such a revealing dress.

But they were in a slumber party, for goodness sake. No harm in making Merlin wear it, no?

She giggled internally.

…

Arthur could not get into his room. He simply did not like the fact that Merlin was staying in a woman's room for a night—no. He disliked the fact that a man was staying at his adoptive-sister's room. Yes, that must be it.

So, now that he had found an excuse to check up on them, he definitely would. He walked hurriedly to the other room and was about to knock when—

He heard a squeal. For a moment he associated it with Merlin, and so he unthinkingly opened the door without as much as knocking.

He did not know what to make of what he was seeing.

.

.

END OF CHAPTER XI

Coming Soon:
CHAPTER XI: Changes
The former King Arthur and Lancelot finally meets.

REPLIES TO ANGELS

Cheekysorcerer- Aw~ Thank you for your review! I'm glad you still paused to tell me what you thought. :D

Magpie09- Hehehe. I won't say anything about Gwen appearing in the present times. *wink* Thanks for the comment, btw!

Dzuljeta- (Ch2)lool. I wanted it to be a mystery but I understand it was confusing. XD *Still learning* (ch3)Yay! At least I made you sense it. XD (ch4) i did? hehe. That's good to hear! And btw, you should really watch this show more it's awesome! XXD (ch5) Thank you. I loved making them~ ;D (Ch6) Ahaha. In this fandom? not being in a mess is abnormal. lololol. (Ch7) I'm glad you thought I made the mixed emotions sound realistic! It's one of my biggest aims. XD (ch8)Yes, poor arthur. It'll never end though hahahah. (ch9) Naaahh, haha. I liked them confused. *Troll-mode* (ch10) Hehe. Indeed! And Thank you for the reviews~!

frBalloon- (Ch10) Oh haha. For starters I'd like to apologize the inconvenience my disable PM gave for both of us. XD I appreciate the thought though! (Ch9) Once again, you are not a horrible person. And yeah, we're the same with regards to Yaoi. I'm slowly (very) softening up to it when I read one of my loyal reviewers esp. when they don't write anything else. Haha P.S. I don't mind ur English at all! XD

ChibiSoulEater- (Ch1) Now that I think about it... didn't we speak about Merlin in the groups a few days before you reviewed? Loooll. So are you watching it again? (Ch2)Thanks! But I'm still learning on how not to mix mystery with confusion. haha (ch3)High-five! *I'm into fluff too, obviously* (ch4)Yay! Glad you thought soo! (ch5)I actually just read the 'I can't log-in part so I guessed and asked the group if it was you. Hahah. (ch6) Hope its the latter! hHahah (ch7) That's a relief! Thanks~ (Ch8)Ahaha. Dunno until when I'd make him suffer tho. (ch9)'Every guy is gay' according to someone who likes yaoi. ahahah (ch10) Here it is and I hoped y' liked it! Thank you for the reviews~

...

Thank you for reading, guys!

I would love it if you pause for a moment and let me know what you thought. :D
And:

So THIS is the chap I stopped before I put it up for adoption. Shall I continue?