Order to Disorder

"Merlin, my bed needs fresh linens." Arthur Pendragon stood, his form curling over himself as though he hadn't fully woken up yet, as Merlin did up the laces on his clothing.

"Right."

"And I want a hot lunch from the kitchens. Are you running impossibly slow this morning or are you just getting worse by the day?" Arthur rolled his shoulder, wincing as bones popped from sleep. "Soon and you'll be moving like a slug and then I'll have nothing done."

Merlin huffed, unnoticed by the blonde as he was now standing behind him, fixing his shoulders and the hem of his shirt. "Says the one who's woken up later and later by the day," he muttered.

Arthur turned his head. "What was that?"

Merlin snapped his head up, grinning. "Nothing, sire."

Arthur looked at him for a moment longer before looking ahead again. "We'll set out at ten hundred hours for the hunting excursion, so I'll need my armour prepared by then. Also, my weapons needs polishing before I can even think about being seen with them in public view. The horses need grooming and watering and you will inform my Knights to bring bow and arrow."

"But it's already eight thirty!"

Arthur quirked an eyebrow. "Best get a move on then, Merlin." He stepped away as Merlin finished dressing him, stretching his arms above his head. "You know what they say. The early bird gets the wild boar."

"I'm pretty sure they don't say that," Merlin muttered, stripping the bed free of its linens.

Arthur looked over at him. "Merlin, I'm pretty sure they do."

Merlin balled the linens up in his arms. "I'm pretty sure they don't."

"Well, Merlin," Arthur said, turning away again as he rummaged through his bureau, "we won't have the time to find out if you don't get a move on."

Merlin glared at the back of Arthur's head for a moment. Then his eyes flashed to one of the pillows on the bed, his eyes flashed golden-brown, and the pillow shot the few feet from the bed to hit Arthur on the back of his blonde head.

Arthur's head pitched forward slightly before he snapped up, whirling around to look at the brunette. "Merlin!"

Merlin pushed the linens more firmly into his arms. "What?" he asked innocently, pressing his lips into a thin smile as he looked down at the bed.

"Oh, did the pillow just fly off the bed itself and hit me around the head?" Arthur grabbed the pillow off the floor, whipping it back.

Merlin didn't have time to duck nor the ambition to use a spell directly in Arthur's line of sight, so the pillow hit him straight in the face, but he was grinning again as it fell.

"Stop smiling," Arthur ordered, crossing his arms. "I could have you put in stocks for a week."

"For smiling?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin."

Merlin forced himself to keep a straight face. "I'll do the laundry and scrub your chamber floors as soon as we get back from the hunt. Presently, I am going to tend to the horses and ready your armour, if you find that agreeable."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just get out of my sight."

Merlin bowed his head, the corners of his lips twitching. "Yes, sire." He stared for the door.

"Merlin."

"Yes?" Merlin glanced back at the Prince.

Arthur clicked his tongue, looking down at the pillow. "I don't recall saying that I planned to sleep on the floor tonight. Honestly, what am I to do with you?"

Merlin stooped to pick up the pillow and fluffed it to dislodge any speck of dust that it might have picked up from the floor. Then he very pointedly laid it back on the bed, holding his free hand up afterwards.

"Now, go." Arthur waved him to the door.

Merlin went, bed sheets in his arms and a grin on his face.

Arthur made a comment in The Once and Future Queen where jousting was supposed to hurt, it 'wasn't a pillow fight' and I was like how many of those had you had, Arthur Pendragon? I just started watching Series Two of this lovely programme last night; yes, I'm terribly behind but the point is that I have now met the inhabitants of Camelot and I'm pushing through the series excitedly.

(PLEASE do not mention anything past Series One because I haven't seen it. I know, at this point, you couldn't really call them 'spoilers', but still: don't spoil me, please. Want to discover it on my own as I watch it.)

I do not own Merlin. Thanks for reading!