At Your Service Mister Pendragon~

Stage 1: Chapter 9

Merlin carefully placed the alcohol inside the cabinet, and closed the cabinet doors. He looked back at Arthur and waited for him to tell him what to do next.

"Finish cleaning up." Arthur said to Merlin, sounding a bit more commanding and in charge of the situation now. He walked away and headed up to his room, leaving Merlin to continue cleaning up and preparing for the party.

Merlin was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen, when Gwen appeared in the doorway, which startled him a little.

"G-Gwen? Oh, I'm uh... cleaning because Arthur told me to." Merlin responded nervously, surprised to see Gwen.

He was a little bit worried that Gwen would find the alcohol hidden in the cabinet, but he tried his best to stay calm and just do his job of cleaning.

Gwen's suspicious look caused Merlin to feel even more nervous and worried, and he tried his best to think of a way out of going with Gwen and the other servants.

"Oh, umm. I have some work to finish here, so I won't be able to come." Merlin replied, sounding as believable as he could. He tried his best to come up with a believable excuse for not being able to go with Gwen and the other servants.

Gwen frowned, having noticed something off about Merlin's explanation as to why he wasn't going with them. Although he sounded convincing, she could tell something was up.

After giving him a suspicious look, she decided to leave him to it and went back to getting ready for the outing with the other servants.

~~~

Arthur and Merlin were alone in the house, getting the drinks and snacks and decorations ready for the party. The two of them were busy setting up the decorations in the ballroom as well as organizing the snacks for the food table.

Merlin was setting out dishes, silverware, and drinkware, and Arthur was setting out the chips, appetizers, and other snacks. They were both focused on their work, and there was a sense of urgency in the air, as they knew that people would be arriving soon for the party.

Arthur handed Merlin the bottle of tequila and told him to place it alongside the other beers and alcohols on another table.
Merlin took the bottle of tequila and went to put it alongside the other drinks on a side table, putting the tequila with the other alcoholic beverages.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a very... interesting party." Merlin said with a nervous half-laugh, looking at the large amount of alcohol on the table. He was worried that things might get a little out of hand.

The door bell rings, and Arthur and Merlin heard a bunch of people outside cheering and music starting to play. They both looked at each other, surprised to see that the guests had already arrived before the scheduled start time for the party.

"I assure you, Merlin, everything is going to be-" Arthur started to say, before getting cut off by the door bell. He headed towards the front door and told the guards at the gate to let the guests in.

Merlin looked shocked as the guests continued to arrive for the party.

"You told Morgana only a few friends would be here! How are we gonna explain this?" Merlin said, sounding panicked. He knew that they hadn't run the party plans by Morgana beforehand, and he knew that there were going to be lots of people there, which could cause some problems with Morgana and possibly with the guards.

"There's nothing we can do now. Let's just try to have some fun. We'll deal with Morgana and the guards later." *Arthur replied calmly.

As the music got louder and everyone inside started eating, drinking, and talking, Arthur noticed his friends, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and Lancelot over at the punch bowl. They were hanging out, eating some snacks, and talking over some drinks, and they looked like they were enjoying themselves. Arthur noticed that Merlin was nearby and decided to introduce them.

"Merlin, you've met my friends before? These are Percival, Leon, and Lancelot, and Gwaine's over there."

Arthur said, gesturing to Gwaine who was nearby.

Lancelot smiled at Merlin as Arthur introduced him. He stepped forward and greeted Merlin, sounding friendly and polite.

"You're Arthur's servant, right?" He asked, sounding curious and interested.

"Yes, I am." Merlin replied with a nod, sounding a little bit awkward but still friendly.

"Nice to meet you." Lancelot continued, sounding polite and welcoming. He reached out his hand for Merlin to shake, wanting to make a good impression on him.

Merlin smiled and shook Lancelot's hand, happy to have met him. Gwaine then approached the group and immediately started flirting with Merlin.

"Hey, you're pretty cute for a servant." He said with a smirk, his tone slightly suggestive. He continued with a charming smile, looking Merlin up and down.

Upon hearing Gwaine's comment and seeing him start to flirt with Merlin, Arthur gave him an annoyed look and stepped forward. "Hey, come on, Gwaine. Leave Merlin alone. He's just a servant." He said, sounding serious and annoyed.

Gwaine gave Arthur a smug look and turned to the rest of the group, as if to say "Can you believe what this guy's saying?" Then, he asked the group, sounding genuinely curious.

"What? Do you like him or something?"

His tone and his facial expression showed that he was joking, but Arthur was clearly uncomfortable and annoyed with the situation.

He shook his head and said sarcastically. "No, I'm not gay. I would never date a worthless servant." He sounded frustrated and defensive, as if he really thought that Gwaine was asking if he liked Merlin.

Arthur was clearly annoyed and frustrated, but the group was starting to chuckle at the conversation that was happening between Arthur and Gwaine.

Arthur rolled his eyes and decided to try to ignore it.

"Well, then I don't see a problem with talking to the guy." Gwaine said, sounding confident as he continued to joke around with everyone. He turned to Merlin and said, with a charming smiled.

"Hey, what's your name?" He asked.

Merlin felt a bit awkward about being the subject of the conversation, but he politely introduced himself.

Merlin was starting to feel uncomfortable at the attention he was getting from Gwaine and the other group of friends. He decided it was time to retreat from the group and head over to the kitchen to get more snacks.

"Merlin, um, I've got to go head over to the kitchen to get more snacks." Merlin said, sounding nervous and awkward.

Gwaine offered to help, and Merlin felt a little bit nervous about his kindness. But he didn't want to be rude and say no. "Sure, um...you can help me if you want to," Merlin replied.