Merlin

Chapter 1

        Merlin woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pumping furiously in his chest. His wide, blue eyes darted back and forth trying to find the invisible threat, until he remembered that it only existed in the depths of his scarred mind. He put a shaky hand up to his chest and tried desperately to catch his breath- he could see the sun begin to wash the earth in its orange glow through his window, which meant that he was late once again to wake up Arthur. Standing carefully on wobbly legs, he threw on his clothes and raced pass Gaius to grab the King's breakfast. He'd just have to skip his breakfast today, the ghastly nightmares had kept him in a restless sleep for too long. 

       Running as fast as he could to the kitchens, Merlin was too distracted to see a couple of knights heading the same way. 

"Oy, Merlin! Not even going to say good morning?" Asked Gwaine jokingly. 

Slapping on the widest smile he could muster onto his still pale face, Merlin jogged backwards for a moment and waved.

"I'm late to get the King's breakfast again! I've got to hurry before he decides to put me on the chopping block instead of the stocks this time."

       Gwaine, Percival, and Lancelot laughed heartily, and didn't notice Merlin's smile fall swiftly from his face as soon as he turned around. Most of his smiles had been forced lately, not that anyone seemed to notice. His nightmares were growing stronger by the day, and he wasn't sure how much longer it would be before he stopped sleeping entirely. Shaking his head, Merlin grabbed Arthur's breakfast and ran as fast as he could to his chambers without spilling it everywhere. 

       Bursting through the door, Merlin set the breakfast on the table and threw open the curtains.

"Rise and shine!" he exclaimed, faking another grin.

       Groaning, Arthur rolled over and opened his eyes. Merlin waited on a snarky comment or some hurtful remark about his appearance or clumsiness, but was greeted only with a stare that seemed to burn straight into his soul. 

"What is it?" he asked warily, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

       Arthur sat up and shook his head, walking over to his breakfast table. Halfway there he stopped and looked back at Merlin, who slapped on another grin that didn't quite reach his unusually dull eyes. 

"That! That's it. What's wrong with you today?" asked Arthur suspiciously. 

       Merlin felt his heart stop and his breath catch in his throat. Could Arthur see through his facade? No, surely not, he wasn't observant enough to notice a change in a mere servant's attitude. Besides, this cross was Merlin's to bear alone. 

"Nothings wrong, just overslept a bit. Now hurry and eat your breakfast, you've got to get down to training as soon as you finish."

"You can't tell me to hurry up Merlin, I'm the King." said Arthur, as condescending as always, but one would have to be blind to miss the worry in his eyes as he gazed upon his servant. Eating and dressing quickly, Merlin and Arthur made their way down to the training fields where all of the knights were waiting for them. 

"Finally!I was starting to think you would never show up." exclaimed Gwaine dramatically. 

"Well, I would have been on time if it weren't for my bumbling idiot of a servant." said Arthur as he and all of the knights turned to look at Merlin. His face went from deathly serious to joking in playful as a matter of seconds as he realized everyone was looking at him, but it was seconds too late. Everyone had seen his grim features and even as he called Arthur a prat they could tell his mind was somewhere else. 

       Concerned for his friend, Arthur let Merlin sit on the sidelines for once as he and the knights trained. As the sun rose higher in the sky and the training activities came to a close, the knights of Camelot had come to an unspoken agreement- they were all going to try and figure out what was making they're clumsy, happy-go-lucky friend so glum. And why in the world did he feel like he had to hide it from them?