Merlin entered Gaius's chambers, slamming the door behind him.

Gaius twirled around, catching sight of his young ward. "Merlin! Don't tell me Arthur put you in the stocks again."

Merlin stormed over to the basin, pouring cold water into it. He splashed his face, gasping at the sudden chill. His clothes, hair and skin were covered in squished fruits and vegetables. "Yeah, he did."

"Well, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing!" Merlin said angrily, rubbing off what appeared to be half a tomato. "At least, nothing important. All I did was drop some stew on him."

Gaius raised one eyebrow. "Nothing important?"

"It was an accident!" Merlin protested. "Arthur left his boots lying across the door, and I tripped over them."

Gaius sighed, going back to his reading. "So he put you in the stocks?"

"Oh, you think?" Merlin replied sarcastically. He continued to scrub at the food stuck to him. "And then I have to get the sauce stains out of his clothes and room..."

"Serves you right," Gaius chuckled.

"While Arthur just sits around the castle, doing nothing!" Merlin concluded. "Why can't he lift a finger for once?"

"Ah, now Merlin." Gaius lowered his book. "I believe I've explained it to you before."

"I know, Gaius, I know." Merlin rested his hands on either side of the basin, his eyes taking on a far-off expression. "I've stood beside him, I've seen what he goes through. But he can be so..." He sighed, continuing to wash himself. "I just wish he knew what I had to go through, that's all. Not just with my duties as a servant, but me having to constantly save him with magic."

"Well, be careful what you wish for, Merlin," Gaius advised, holding up his book again. "It might come true."

Merlin grinned. "I doubt it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Arthur ran his hand through his hair, trying to remove the leftover stew stuck in it. "Oh, I am going to fire that idiot one of these days," he muttered. But he knew he probably wouldn't. Merlin may be a useless servant, but he'd acheived something that no servant had achieved before - Arthur's friendship and loyalty. Merlin was more than a servant now, he was a friend.

That didn't stop Arthur putting him in the stocks, though.

Arthur finally teased out a small piece of meat. Without looking, he threw it out of his window. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have left his boots lying across the doorway, but it was still Merlin's fault for tripping over them.

It's not like he does much, anyway, Arthur thought to himself. All he has to do is clean up after me. He can't complain; some servants have worse jobs than that.

Arthur sighed, leaning against the window sill. He glanced up at the sky, noticing a few stars had appeared since he'd last looked. Arthur liked the stars, although he would never admit it. When he had trouble sleeping (usually when he became stressed about battles the next day) he would climb out of bed and stand at the window, gazing at them. The feeling that the world rested on his shoulders lifted slightly.

Merlin would never have to experiance that. Having to constantly prove, over and over again, that he was worthy of the title of Future King. Arthur had been training for it since birth, and he still worried over it - worried that he wasn't strong enough, brave enough, wise enough, or good enough.

"I wish Merlin could know what that's like, even for just one day," Arthur murmured, then started at the sound of his voice. Had he said that outloud? He glanced down at the courtyard: a few people were packing up their stalls, but none of them glanced in his direction.

Arthur sighed, relaxing. It was stupid to make wishes, anyhow. Arthur was too old for them.

Because wishes hardly ever came true.