So, here it is! My first EVER chapter of my first EVER story on fanfiction. Exciting times :D I hope you enjoy it- please review :)

"If you don't run, then what's the point Merlin?" Arthur called out across the training field. His manservant, Merlin, could barely hear him, he was so far away. Merlin had, in fact, been running... or jogging, at the least. Apparently that wasn't enough for the high and mighty Arthur, the prat. Merlin turned around, trying to hitch the heavy target higher on his shoulders as he did so, making him stumble. He only just managed to regain his balance by waving his arms wildly.

"I am running! Why don't you try and see how far you get, you stupid, lazy, bossy..." Merlin began to yell back, certain that his master wouldn't hear half of what he was saying

Arthur's ears, however, were trained better than Merlin's from years of being abused by the sounds of battle, and the exercise of having to pick out his own men's voices among the cacophony of fighting, and dying, knights. Therefore, he heard very clearly the torrent of abuse coming his way from his servant's mouth. How dare he? He wondered, even as he stood there, gazing incredulously at the skinny, dark haired boy. Not even the bravest knights of Camelot stood up to Arthur way Merlin did.

Merlin stopped yelling rather abruptly when he realised that Arthur was marching towards him. When he squinted, the warlock could see the sour expression on his face, and he noted with some apprehension that Arthur still hadn't thrown the spear he was meant to be aiming at the target on his back. Merlin considered starting to run again, but it was a rather undignified prospect... then again, being forced into the mud by a foot long spear wasn't very dignified either. He sighed and swiped a hand across his sweating forehead. Why Arthur had to choose today, when the sun beat down on both their backs (well, Merlin's back was pretty protected) and faces was beyond him. He guessed that the only real reason was to torment him and make him suffer for Arthur's own enjoyment. For some reason, Arthur didn't mind the heat as long as Merlin did.

"I'm tired," Merlin groaned, quietly to himself, and then louder so that Arthur would hear "can we finish now?" of course, it was a stupid thing to say. Arthur actually laughed: like he would end the practice if Merlin wanted to. What a foolish notion. Merlin sighed and turned back to gaze towards the castle, imagining being inside and protected by those strong, stone walls, casting thick protective shadows... suddenly there was a 'thud' of metal on wood and Merlin was sprawling on the ground.

"Get up, Merlin," Arthur said as he strolled past, yanking the spear out of the target as he went. Merlin lay still for a second, getting his breath back, before heaving himself to his feet. The moment he was standing, Arthur hit him round the head and he fell over again.

"Ow!" Merlin grumbled.

"Don't ever call me lazy again." He said, coolly.

"So I can call you stupid and bossy?" the servant asked, hopefully, "because that really is what you are. No point being in denial...

"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur said, so Merlin shut up, but only reluctantly. Arthur let out a sigh of relief: the moments when Merlin didn't talk were to be treasured and regarded as worth more than the entire Kingdom. Well, not quite the entire Kingdom but goodness knows they were worth a lot.

"Arthur, look," Merlin said. Arthur rolled his eyes, moment over, and then looked at where Merlin was pointing. Coming towards them was another young man, his build similar to Arthur's; tall and thick set with finely toned muscles, but he wasn't as obviously handsome as Arthur. He had dark hair, almost black, and his eyes were a little too watery; his lips a little too thin.

Arthur thrust his spear into Merlin's arms and then strode forward to meet the stranger. Merlin trotted along in his wake, curious.

"Who are you?" Arthur wasted no time with formalities, staring openly at the man's slightly gaunt face.

"My name is Jared Arkright, son of Raol Arkright, sire. Your father told me that you'd be here. He offered to send out a servant to fetch you, but I preferred to have the opportunity of meeting you myself." The casual use of flattery worked in the man's favour, and Arthur relaxed his tense stance.

"Jared," he murmured thoughtfully, "my father spoke of you. Didn't your father design the underground prisons?"

"Yes, sire. I have come to share some of my own ideas with the King. I have been mainly focussing on servants and how to keep them in place. I know that they can be difficult sometimes and that a Prince, such as yourself, deserves the highest respect." At this Arthur cast Merlin a patronising glance.

"You hear that, Merlin?" he said. Merlin didn't reply; he was too busy glaring at the new arrival. He could already tell that he and Jared were not going to get on too well.

After that, Merlin was left to trudge behind Arthur and his new friend while Arthur spoke about how, yes, his servant did often forget that he was allergic to pear skin and, that's quite right, he did hate it when his servant made his bathwater too hot. In fact, by the time they reached the castle, Arthur seemed to have forgotten every good thing Merlin had ever done for him, including the last four hours he's spend running around that blasted field, and could instead only think about how Merlin occasionally forgot to tuck his bed sheets in.

"Of course, you're quite welcome to him," Arthur was saying when the ascended the steps to the entrance of the castle, "he's not the best but he can do the basics while you stay here." Merlin let out a gusty breath of annoyance. As his reply, Arthur slapped him lightly across the back of the head.

"Go make up Jared a room and make sure you do anything he asks you. Ok?" he said, barely glancing at the servant, knowing that all he'd see was a stubborn expression of indignation.

"Ok," Merlin said, pushing past the two other men, "do you need me to get you ready to see the King?" he asked. Arthur flushed red, and Merlin was amused at his embarrassment.

"I think I can get myself ready" he said "we're not all idiots." Merlin frowned,

"Well, I usually help you-"

"Go sort out Jared's room, Merlin!" Arthur interrupted. Merlin shrugged, the smallest of smiles on his lips and, just before he vanished through the castle doors, called back

"I'll lay your favourite robes out for you though- the pink ones right?"

"MERLIN!" Arthur roared, beginning to advance after him, but Merlin had already hurried off.

"You really shouldn't let him talk to you like that," Jared said, quietly, once Merlin had gone.

"What, Merlin?" Arthur was also staring at the space the young warlock has recently been filling, "that's nothing. Sure, he's a lazy idiot and a bit of a girl most of the time, but he's bearable."

"But a Prince shouldn't have to put up with 'bearable'! You should have the best- someone who doesn't have the cheek to answer you back, for one thing, and someone who can actually carry a couple of spears for another." Arthur smirked as he thought about the amount of times Merlin had dropped his spear as they walked, but then it began to become clear to him what Jared was actually saying.

"You think that I should get another servant." He stated: it wasn't a question.

"Maybe," Jared shrugged, "or maybe what I show you and King Uther today will help to simply improve Merlin." Arthur frowned as they headed down a long stone corridor, leading to Arthur's chambers. Merlin was a nuisance, and there wasn't a day that went when Arthur didn't get angry at him or when Merlin didn't fall over and drop something, but he didn't want a new servant, and he didn't really want to change Merlin either. Merlin made life interesting; maybe he deserved a kick up the backside for being such a pain, but that was all. Arthur didn't say any of this to Jared though; he didn't want to seem soft, after all. Instead he told the newcomer that he would see him in around fifteen minutes, in Uther's meeting room.

When Arthur entered his chambers, he automatically opened his mouth to shout for Merlin's assistance, before remembering that he had sent the imbecile off to prepare Jared's room. He strode over to his bed, determined to remain nonchalant, and to seem like he knew what he was doing, even though there was no one there to see the charade. On the bed was a deep, pink robe and, on top of that, a scrawled note which simply read 'good luck', undoubtedly from Merlin. Making a note to throw something at the servant when he next saw him, Arthur delved into his wardrobe to find something else to wear. It was typical that Merlin should have come across his one and only pink garment, hidden at the very back of the wardrobe, and he had not ceased talking about it since, saying how Arthur was one to talk, always calling him a girl, when he owned that!

It was half an hour later, not fifteen minutes, when Arthur finally joined his father and Jared, as it had taken him a lot longer than he thought it would to dress himself. Jared raised his eyebrow when Arthur entered, but Arthur ignored it.

"Arthur, you're late," Uther said, doing a splendid job of stating the obvious.

"I'm sorry father- my servant has disappeared," Arthur replied, instinctively blaming Merlin. Jared's eyebrow rose even father. Uther huffed, noisily and angrily.

"That boy really is useless. I can't remember why we hired him in the first place."

"It was because he saved my life," Arthur replied, testily.

"Ah... yes," Uther said vaguely, but Arthur had a feeling that he could not even remember the incident. He rolled his eyes and turned to Jared,

"So, what have you come to Camelot to show us?" Jared smiled, widely but, somehow, it did not give an impression of the man's happiness, more of his assurance in himself and that he had something that was not necessarily nice to offer.

"My father was a great designer," he started "he designed and helped to build the very dungeons beneath this castle. I myself, am a designer, but less of an architect, and my speciality is weapons, but I came to Camelot with the simple wish of improving the Royal family's household. Therefore, I would like to present you this." and, with a flourish, he produced a long, thin strip of leather, which had a thicker, leather handle at one end. Arthur had the impression, when he looked at it, that it glinted slightly in the light. Uther let out a bark of laughter.

"I think whips have all ready been invented Jared," he said, smiling.

"I know that, my Lord," Jared replied, not put off, "but this is a whip with a difference." Now he held up the instrument of torture and brought it closer to the Prince and King. At closer inspection they could both see the miniscule, shining stones, woven into the material. "Diamonds," Jared said, in a hushed, dramatic tone, "the hardest substance on earth." Arthur couldn't help but lean away in something close to revulsion, his respect for Jared quickly ebbing away.

"You expect us to use this on the servants? You expect us to use this on anyone?" He asked in disbelief.

"It will be effective, sire. You must admit that the stocks hardly make any difference to a criminal's behaviour."

"None of the men or women serving in this castle are criminals," Arthur positively spat, and then turned to his father, expecting to see a similar expression on his face. To his horror, his father instead looked thoughtful, as though actually considering the instrument before him.

"I like it," he said at last.

"What? Father, you cannot be serious! How could we possible get away with torturing our staff?"

"Arthur, what really is the difference between this and the stocks?"

"The difference? The difference is a bit of humiliation and actual, real pain. You can't allow it."

"I would like to see it used," the King said, practically ignoring his son, "Arthur, why don't you fetch the boy, Merlin? You're always complaining about him- let's see if we can't set him right."

And so that's the end of the first chapter. I've decided that I shall write more even if no one ever reads it because I had LOADS of fun. If you have read this chapter, I'm gonna try and update as soon as possible, so you can find out if Arthur would ever let Jared or Uther use that thing on him, and why the hell this story is called 'that's one Arthur too many'. All will become clear if you keep reading :D THANKS GUYS