Arthur waited until Merlin was out of the room and the door was shut before he rolled his eyes and gave a huge sigh. He looked down at his bed and then bent over to look under it. It took him a few moments before he saw it. It was a small smudge in the dust, but it was there.
He straightened and sat down on the edge of his bed. He wondered what it had been. An amulet, ring, rune, or some other small item that had been cursed or magic-ed to cause hard to the crown prince of Camelot. He shook his head at the thought of Merlin thinking he could sneak in, get the item and then sneak back out without Arthur finding him. There was no question that Merlin was an idiot.
Oh he was brave and no question that he was a loyal servant, but he was still an idiot. When would he start to question his luck at the prince luckily being unconscious or not looking or just plain blind, deaf, and dumb when ever he used his magic. It was starting to reach the point of absurdity. Fortunately the King, for all of his hatred for magic, was for the most part blind to magic happening around him. Arthur wasn't sure what he would do if Uther ordered him to have Merlin executed.
He winced as he remember the look on Merlin's face after he ordered the servant to work. He wished he could go easy on the boy, but he'd always been demanding of his servants and if he wasn't just as hard on Merlin it could lead to questions that he really didn't want to answer. He had thought of trying to be nicer to Merlin when they were alone in Arthur's rooms, but Merlin was already overly familiar with his prince and Arthur didn't want to run the risk of getting used to treating the servant well and forgetting to be tougher on him in public. The most he could do was to every once and a while give him a sign that he was appreciated.
Merlin had already brought far too much attention to himself. Uther knew Merlin's name and the idea of the king knowing a servant's name was almost unheard of. If Arthur treated Merlin any differently than any other servant it might bring even more focus. He told himself that it was only for a finite period of time. Eventually he would be able to treat Merlin as a friend in public.
Someday Merlin would be able to use his magic in front of every one. Once Arthur was king, Merlin would take his proper place as Court Sorcerer. Some day everyone would know just how many times Merlin had saved his prince's life. Arthur had no doubt that one day Merlin would be one of the most powerful Warlocks in the history of the world. For a boy to be as powerful as he was, there could be no question. But it didn't matter just how powerful or wise Merlin would eventually become, he would always be an idiot to his king.
End