MERLIN – CONTACT

AN: Hey people, this just popped into my head right now so I hope you like it. Just to remind, I HAVE NOT abandoned 'Thursday, Thursday'. I have just hit writer's block with it at the moment and will be making small changes to it, but can't guarantee I'll have the time to update soon. So I'll be working on other stuff in the meantime. This is called 'Contact', it's got FemMerlin in it so if you don't like it, you don't have to read. This was intended to be my first one-shot, but if I get enough reviews asking for it to continue, I'm up for it :) So enjoy.

…~~C~~…

Arthur wasn't a 'touchy' person. Neither was Merlin, really. Though she had grown up in a more social and affectionate background than Arthur. And since Arthur was a prince, then it seems hard to believe.

But to Arthur, being prince meant that you can only see and never touch, not until the last vital moment when it counts. A mother's presence is usually where a child learns to show love and kindness. Without that presence, or one like it, children wouldn't know any different.

Growing up with only his father and knights to rear him, it was hard to show any love and enthusiasm for anything. The king would say in those rare occasions they did talk, that publicly expressing interest in anything would be showing weakness for that something, and it would either lead to a disrespectful and humiliating reign in the eyes of possible allies, or it would be used against him in the most horrific way.

That's why Prince Arthur didn't have friends. He only had his knights and servants to boss around and in return they would just agree to everything he said and obeyed to his every whim. How was he supposed to be a good king if he didn't know what to do if anyone challenged his opinion? Because there will be many of them, guaranteed. In the end of it all, young Arthur came to the conclusion that everything he did was right, and even if once in a blue moon someone did disagree with him in the smallest matters, off to the stocks or dungeons they'd go. Because, basically, no-one was there to stop him, to tell him that it wasn't the kingly thing to do.

His father wasn't a father. Even though Arthur was his own son, he didn't treat him any differently to the knights. If Arthur lost at a tournament or didn't bring much back from a hunting trip, there was no "you did your best, son" or "well done for trying, my son" with a warm embrace. It was always only "I hope you'll do better next time, Arthur" or "You've shamed me, Arthur" or "Go to your chambers" with a cold shoulder.

The most contact Arthur exchanged was a pat on the shoulder or back from or to his knights while training, or the gentle brush of a lady's hand in his while a lord's family was visiting. Of course when he was a 'princeling', his nannies would carry him or hold him, or run their fingers through his hair to sooth him when he scraped his knee or cut his forehead. But as he got older, the woman in his life, girls his own age or aged childminders, disappeared. His father would say that the nannies had done their duties and were not to see him again, that they weren't there because they loved him, but because they were paid to be there. That was when Arthur was 7 years old. That, to Uther, was an old enough age to begin his training to be a knight. Small scrapes on his elbows from falling from his bed turned to bleeding gashes in his arms or thighs from sparring with his army. They would leave ugly permanent scars that no child his age should have. Contact then is from the physician, Guias. The only person that proved to Arthur that not all men had to be hard, cold rulers, killers and sorcerers. Yet he still never understood why the old man was the only exception.

Then there were the women. Most humans are born with the developing instinctive knowledge of what the differences between males and females are, and what they're meant to do together. And Arthur was no fool. He read books from the library, naughty books. He occasionally caught a knight and maidservant fooling around in an abandoned corridor. He would with every chance he got, slip away from his duties to try and consort with other children, some were girls.

But then he would realise exactly what his father meant by not to get too attached to someone and not have friends. Because at some point, for some reason, those children would too disappear, like they suddenly had to go away. That, or Uther sent the families to the flames for being sorcerers, or simply for getting close to his son. Because of course to Uther, anyone being friendly to him or his son, or Morgana who were not royalty just couldn't be friendly for the hell of it. They had to have some plan to overthrow or harm the royal family, which meant there was a chance they used magic.

Of course some day he's going to have to court a woman, who will one day be his wife and queen. It's so hypercritical of the king to not let his son woo a woman in his own time, that he only wanted Arthur to marry someone who was worth his while, like for a treaty between Camelot and some other kingdom that probably won't last a week. Even though Uther had fallen in love with the woman of his dreams, he had lost her, so it was almost as if he wouldn't let Arthur do so himself because if he married some purely for business, he wouldn't get hurt.

But to the prince, it seemed to him that if Uther couldn't be happy, then no-one could be.

But what about after marriage? What then? What about when it comes to the awkward situation everyone expects of him? Making an Heir. His father hadn't let him associate with women or girls much during childhood, or even done so much as sit him down and educate his son on how to behave around them, so when it comes to the time of marriage and (shudder) …procreation, then he's just expected to go through with it and know what to do? And how many times? If Uther had been a good father, Arthur would feel comfortable talking to him about this. But he knew that if he showed he was nervous or hesitant about approaching a woman in this way, or in any way, what will he been seen as? Weak!

And now, thanks to his short childhood with such lack of contact, the Prince learned to fend off anyone who wanted the closeness he was deprived of himself. Someone younger, more innocent and so much more used to feelings than him.

When it comes to living a normal social life, Arthur can't win. He sometimes wishes he was in Merlin's shoes.

…~~C~~…

AN: Hope you liked it. Creative criticism is welcome. I'm a new writer so advice is appreciated :) Like I said, this was going to be a one shot but if you want this to continue a bit further, just click that lovely looking blue button below and tell me so. Thanks again.