I'm a little early ey.. But alas..miracles do happen! Update time is upon us! And I won't stall the moment, so happy reading, hope you enjoy, and don't be sparse with feedback ;) ~

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"I.. I can get there on my own!" he stammered and tried to pry himself loose from their grip before either of them would notice, knowing he will never live it down, but it was just too late.

"My, my, Merlin.." Gwaine started. "Having tension issues?"

Arthur looked up to his knight with a curious look and a motion of his eyes he too gave a better look at his servant who was desperately trying to bend forward and get his arms loose in the same time.

Merlin nervously glanced at the door wondering just how fast he could reach it to get away, but the two men still had their grip on him and there was no way he could shake them off, with how the world wobbled before him, and he felt just too out of breath.He had no idea how he will explain all this.

The king's eyebrows wandered up towards his hairline, observing his servant up and down. Now he was certain the usually pale man wasn't as flushed and panting when he walked in, and with his eyes wide and dark, and blood dripping from his nose down his lips and chin, his hunched form looked rather pitiful.

And then Arthur saw it too. The tent of his trousers; and it came to him as some kind of sudden realization, that indeed the servant was no longer a boy, and the man, as any man, had needs and desires; however he couldn't shake the feeling there's something odd about him. Merlin was always odd, but he certainly didn't want to imagine things about his servant, so he stopped the thought-line before it trailed off too far.

"Maybe you need a maid's skirt to fan your fever instead of a potion, mate!" Gwaine broke the silence, grinning at him and Merlin felt his face just can't possibly burn any more than this, more so when he heard Arthur snicker; thinking the knight was having way too much fun for his own good. "Unless you prefer the chainmail type to bed you.."

"Let go of me!" He snapped and shook himself loose with renewed power, then stood as straight as he could, adjusting his trousers while glaring at each of them in turn then wiped his nose again and headed for the door a little swaying but with a growl sounding very much like an "I don't have time for this."

"Merlin! Don't run away!" Arthur called after him, barely concealing his laughter this time, but all he got as answer was a slam of his chamber door.

"Least we know he's alright." He said eventually, earning him a questioning look from his knight. "Well, he's still a clumsy idiot." The king said matter-of-factly, sitting back to his desk.

"Are you sure he's alright? He looked a little.. jumpy." Gwaine stepped forward fiddling with his glove, giving a glance towards the door where his friend had disappeared moments ago.

Arthur shrugged uncomfortably. "He's been very efficient today."

"Oh, that's bad." The knight commented mockingly.

"He is doing his job for once, but it is a little worrying. Perhaps you should take him for a round at the places you visits at times., to help him work off some steam."

"Sire, I'd never.." Gwaine gasped, faking how hurt he was of the sovereign would insinuate such a thing about him, but his mischievous smile gave it away, and Arthur smiled as well, shaking his head.

However the idea was one the knight made not to forget, thinking perhaps the servant is just too bashful in the king's presence. Unless..

"Or maybe you should bed him.." Gwaine chanced.

"Me?" Arthur's eyebrows resembled that of Gaius's as he looked at the knight. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I may have." the man shrugged. He was never one to deny such accusations when in jest. "But your servant might be losing his from all that work you pile on him.." he added with a slightly more serious tone. Merlin's been running around the castle since the day Gwaine had met him.

"I'm not one to judge other's preferences.. but, if I may, Sire, when was the last time you've seen Merlin with a girl? ..or a lad?"

Arthur gave his knight a glare.

"I don't exactly keep track of my manservant's romantic affairs and personal life, Sir Gwaine."

"Does he even have one?" Gwaine pushed it just a little further.

"I'm trying to run a kingdom here." The king said giving a pointed look at the knight. "That's just Merlin, anyways." Arthur continued, not looking up from the parchment in his hand, feeling a slight burn on his cheeks. "He'll probably make up an excuse of going to pick herbs, and spend the day in the tavern." Then he looked at the man standing in front of him with the utmost conviction on his face. „He doesn't know, he has no idea, that Gaius always tells me exactly where he is. So I know."

Gwaine found that to be odd. If there was one person who'd know when Merlin was at the tavern it would be him. "Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because.. Merlin hardly ever smells like ale."

Arthur considered it for a moment then shrugged it off. "Perhaps he takes one of those foul concoctions of Gaius to cover it and shake him from the crapulent state."

Gwaine wasn't convinced, being all too familiar with said concoction, but let it slide, instead presenting the king with a patrol report, and getting on with what he originally came for.

.

"My treat, mate!" He grinned wide and proud. „What do you say?"

"I don't need a woman!" Merlin spat and his ears were burning something terrible, when the knight met him in the stables and presented him with his offer.

Okay, so that didn't go too well, Gwaine figured. Thinking he'll approach the young man without the king present would let him be more open, but it all marvelously backfired. Merlin seemed very very nervous and bothered by the suggestion.

"Merlin, you hardly look the hermit type. And trust me these women know what they are doing.."

"IF I need something, I know how to get it." He hissed and stormed out the stables almost knocking over two guards, and the knight was left scratching his head.

.

He was angry, furious even, and what annoyed him even more is not knowing why and what from. His temper was close to Arthur's on a hunting day without a catch; he was impatient and overall agitated. And that vision.. and the incident.. It felt embarrassing, but maybe Gwaine was right about this.. Maybe everything was becoming too much and always focusing on the same thing, it was starting to effect him more then he could handle, and his own body was protesting. Maybe he did need something, to do what other men do, to ease up and enjoy life and let some steam off - but without the presence and involvement of nosey drunkard-turned-knights or mocking kings.

No.. just.. no. Not yet. Not now.. – Who knows where the enemy is lurking.. perhaps this is the enemy's doing! To get him distracted, to get him to lower his guard and become vulnerable. Because how on earth could he protect the king if he's lazing around in someone's arms..

He stopped in his tracks in the hallway and took a deep calming breath, realizing he was just working himself up again.

In someone's arms.. It felt crushing to think how much he longed for that.

NO. - He marched ahead a moment later with new resolve and soon he buried himself in work; getting chores done one after the other with incredible speed, as energetic as he felt. However his thoughts were harder to control than his body; wandering to that vision he had, - and what was in it, what it could mean, - and just making things difficult. Suddenly it make him aware that, incredible as it was, low and behold: maids were girls and women working in the castle and he found himself ogling at the opposite sex with a heat he felt embarrassed about.

.

Later that day he had tried to excuse himself from the meeting. Eventually Arthur sent him off to fetch water, when 'oddly' all the cups and pitchers turned out to be empty, and a very strange thirst rose in everyone present at the council.

Merlin acknowledged the success of his spell, tasked the first servant he came across in the hallway to fetch the water, then ran for his dear life, thinking he would have lost his head first in the meeting room and then on the chopping board of an executioner; so obsessed was he with Guinevere's dress. - Her décolletage was driving him mad.. Every breath she took he seemed to view in slow motion, every time she spoke her bosoms rose in that tight fit red dress, he fought the urge really hard not to rip it all off, and he traced her soft skin with his eyes, how some loose threads of hair played around her ear just above the flawless smooth skin, the motion of her delicate lips as she spoke...

... Merlin dipped his head in a bucket of cold water.

That certainly wouldn't have ended too well..

What was he?! An animal in heat? He had never experienced such a thing. He was in love when he met Freya, he was.. off his head; dancing and humming while he had his breakfast, he giggled while Arthur was busy tossing things at his head; he nearly got beat up in an interrogation but he still felt butterflies in his stomach the moment he stepped out of the cell and an incredible relief to finally just be himself around someone. He would have left Camelot; he would have abandoned destiny itself, but this was nothing like that; and there was no one he could be drawn to.. no one could take Freya's place.. No one..

He wiped his face with a palm and slumped down on the floor, and prayed his guardian won't decide to come back too soon.

Unfortunately, luck decided not to join him that day and not sooner then he finished the thought there was rustling around the door and his guardian came in; more than that, he wasn't even alone, as a young, slightly nervous looking, woman was trailing after him.

Gaius was in the middle of an apology for forgetting some medicine, then asking questions of her, before his glance fell on his ward on the floor.

„Merlin!" The elderly man looked at him surprised. „What are you doing?"

„I.. I was trying to wash my face and I.. slipped." He said and got on his feet, hoping the old man will not ask any more. Thankfully the physician caught up on his ward's unease, more so with someone else in the room, and instead motioned to the young woman to sit, then stepped closer to the young man.

„Are you alright?" Gaius asked in a shushed uneasy tone.

„Yes. Just really needed to cool my head."

„Alright, then perhaps you could assist me." He said motioning towards his patient. "This young woman came to us with a problem. She has been having difficulty conceiving and I think it would be a good time for you to start learning about this, sadly not too uncommon problem, and the ways of treating it.."

Merlin panicked.

"No!"

Gaius turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

„Maybe.. not right now. I just... came back from the stables." The warlock mumbled and glanced in the woman's direction, sending her a kind smile and a nod, and inevitably noticing just how fair her skin was on her exposed neck. He swallowed, tearing his eyes from the white flesh, feeling traces of that heat. He felt confident, that assisting an examination of a female patient was a bad idea at this moment.

„I can come back later, Gaius.." she said shyly.

„No, no! You need help, and Gaius will help you!" Merlin interrupted. „He's good at what he does.. I mean.. He's.. a good physician." It was getting painfully awkward so he clamed up, motioned towards his room and started off before anyone could stop him. "I'll.. be in here." And the door slammed, leaving the physician and the patient alone, and Gaius made a mental note to get back to his ward's odd behavior when he finishes.

Merlin sat against the door, cursing himself that he should have left the chamber instead. Despite barricading himself in his small room, his hearing decided to get incredibly sharp and he could hear every rustling of fabric and quick breath and every word spoken in the other room and he felt a sweat drop trail down his brow. It felt like flames under his skin and the need was getting his thoughts messed up and his mind hard to control, pushing forward the images of that vision.

Then something caught his attention in the conversation.

"..there is a chance however that the problem might not be with you, but your husband. I know Jacob is a stubborn man, but perhaps few drops of this tincture could help along.."

It got the warlock thinking.

"What did you give her?" he asked the moment the woman left and he came out of his hiding place.

Gaius was calmly checking his medicine bag and merely looked up at his ward before answering.

"Sometimes the blessing of a child doesn't only depend on a woman's body. The tonic I gave her will help her husband perform better, and perhaps grant them with a baby. I'll teach you about it.. when you feel ready for it."

"Is there something .. opposite to that?"

"What are you getting at, Merlin?" The old man turned to face the warlock.

He swallowed.

"I.. need to focus, but keep getting ideas.." Gods, this was difficult to talk about when Gaius was looking at him like that. "I need something.. calming the urges."

"Merlin, you are a young man, there's nothing wrong with.."

"No! This isn't like that! This has something to do with those dreams and.. until I can figure out.."

"Perhaps those dreams are trying to tell you something that you've been ignoring! I know how you felt about Freya, but.."

"NO!" he shouted; stepping back and holding his hand out.

It was still too delicate to talk about it. Even after so many years he couldn't mention the druid girls name out loud without feeling overwhelmed by the emotions he had felt at losing her; and he certainly didn't want to think of her when he was in such a state. It would be wrong.

Gaius understood; in a way. It was one thing to know that his Alice was out there somewhere, surely living to her passion that was the healing arts; but it was heartbreaking to think that the young man he looked upon as a son, so much younger and had already lost that one person in his life.

"I just.. need something to help me focus." The warlock said almost pleadingly.

Gaius let out a heavy breath. He was pretty sure Merlin was way passed the time to need telling about birds and bees and he wondered why can't his ward just deal with his needs like everyone else; the brothel was a thing everyone knew about but nobody talked about; nonetheless he dug out his notes and informed the young man that he will get started on the potion. He didn't make a secret out of his disapproval of the idea, but Merlin obviously felt too happy about the possibility of an easy way out of a problem for once, to care.

The manservant hid himself in the darkest, most hidden corner of the armory and busied himself with polishing boots and armor and just about anything polishable to pass the time and avoid any company; specifically drunkard-knights or female company, till the concoction is ready.

"For Camelot!" he winked at Gaius a few hours later and downed the potion, then headed to fetch the royal's next meal from the kitchen; feeling confident and assured that his 'problem' is under control for the time being.

The physician just shook his head. Has his ward learnt nothing? – Since when has anything been 'easy' in Camelot? Little did he know that Merlin actually was far from relieved; he knew very well what side effect of any oppressing draught is: whatever the symptom, it will intensify when the potion wears off. But the warlock had it all planned out, he will deal with the rest of his chores, and by the time the night comes, he will be ready to take on the nightmares.

Or so he thought..

.*.

So there ya have it.. My my, what could be awaiting our warlock in the night? *gasp* Anyways next chapter is 'under construction', however next up is ch.4 for "The Blood Potion"~

Have a nice week :)