Waking up in pain wasn't a rare thing for Gwaine. Heck, waking up without any pain was the rare thing. Usually, that pain was in his head though, not his leg.

He cracked his eyes open to see he was lying on a cot in a small room. Not a prison this time, thankfully. It looked like a bedroom that doubled as a storeroom.

A girl was sitting at a table under the window doing some sewing. On the table was a black cat and the two were watching each other like they were having a silent conversation. The girl looked a match for the cat; all slim curves, lithe limbs, and silky hair.

The cat's ear twitched and as one they turned to him.

"Good morning," the girl said, setting aside her sewing and standing up.

"That it is," he said, looking her over as she approached and giving her a charming smile.

Her dark red dress may have covered everything but her wrists and head, but it was also very flattering for her figure.

Her lips pulled up in what might have been a smile, but felt more like an animal baring its teeth. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"Nothing I can't handle." He sat up and looked around. "Where am I?"

"In Camelot. Merlin brought you here to be treated by the court physician."

Merlin? That sounded familiar. "Merlin's the mouthy one that started the brawl, right?"

Her smile became more genuine. "That sounds like him."

Well, that explained that.

The court physician though. He hadn't pegged Merlin for nobility. He guessed that explained his fighting skills and confidence. "You can thank him for me, milady -"

She caught his shoulders as he tried to get up and pushed him back down with a surprising amount of strength. "You need to stay off your feet until Gaius or Merlin can check your leg. And I'm not a lady. I'm a serving girl. Arthur asked me to watch you until you woke."

"Arthur?"

"The prince. Merlin said you saved his life."

"If I'd known who he was, I probably wouldn't have. He's a noble."

She nodded as she poured some water into a cup. "That's fair. He can be a bit of a prat."

He chuckled as he took the cup. "You seem pretty familiar with the nobility for a serving girl."

"Spend a day around Merlin and Arthur and you would be too."

"I've only eyes for you."

"I'm sure," the dark-skinned beauty said as she walked off.

"You're quite the hound, aren't you?"

Gwaine turned to see Freya watching him and smiled. "What can I say, pretty faces are my weakness."

She giggled and shook her head. "Leave Gwen be. She has too many relationship problems as it is to have a dog like you chasing after her."

"Does she carry a torch for a noble as well?"

She frowned, adjusting the basket on her hip. "Does that happen to you a lot?"

"It's starting to seem like it." Although perhaps it's just a Camelot thing. "You know, it's not going to work out in the long run. Nobles stick to other nobles in the end."

"In Uther's reign maybe, but Arthur's a different sort."

Gwaine didn't buy it, but far be it from him to crush the hopes of a beautiful girl. "Do you have plans for the night? I'm thinking of getting some drinks at the tavern."

She rolled her eyes. "I may not have Gwen's problems, but I'm just as unavailable."

"Some drinks between friends then."

"I'll consider it."

"Is Merlin here?" Freya asked, peeking into Arthur's chambers to see him working at his desk while Mordred cleaned up.

"No, he's helping Sir Oswald right now. Why?"

"Gwaine invited me out for drinks at the tavern so I wanted to tell him I'm leaving early."

"You're going out for drinks with Gwaine," Arthur said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"Considering his idea of a good time is getting into bar fights and flirting with women, I thought it best he does not go alone."

"Fair enough." Arthur opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a coin bag. He checked inside then tossed it to her. "Here. Gwaine turned down any kind of reward from my father, so the least I can do is give you two a fun night in the tavern."

"Thank you. I think a few tankards of mead is the only reward he'd actually accept from a noble."

"He doesn't like nobles?" Mordred asked.

"Let's just say him and Merlin have quite a few things in common on that front," she chuckled and bowed her head to Arthur before slipping out to track down Merlin.

"Then he spent the next hour walking around with it on his back. He only even realized it was there because Leon happened to mention it!"

Freya watched the two men burst out laughing with a shake of her head and downed the last of her mead.

Merlin had decided to join them for drinks after the day he'd had with Oswald, though he'd stuck to a single mug of wine given how much a lightweight he was. Her and Gwaine, on the other hand, were in a bit of a competition. To be precise, Gwaine was trying to out-drink her, not realizing she had a bit of a leg up when it came to not getting drunk. Honestly, they were just lucky she and Merlin had talked Gwaine out of buying drinks for the whole tavern. Arthur's purse wasn't unlimited and the two of them had drunk quite a bit just on their own.

Gwaine refilled her mug and gave her a wink before turning to Merlin to slap his back. "You know, you're a pretty good guy for a noble."

Merlin choked on his water. "Wh-Me? Noble? I'm not noble."

"Really?"

"Merlin is Arthur's servant," Freya said, rubbing her boyfriend's back. "Should we feel insulted that you thought we were nobility, considering how you feel about them?"

"Not at all." He tipped his mug in Merlin's direction. "I only thought that because you'd brought me to the court physician. Not many servants have access to a court physician. And not many servants have the skills with a sword you do, either."

"Gaius is my uncle and mentor. Besides, Arthur wanted you brought to him too. Said you were to be given anything you needed. And my skills aren't that good. Arthur and the knights are way better, and you should see our friend Lancelot, he can give Arthur a run for his money."

"Should have known you weren't a noble just by how modest you are," Gwaine snorted, knocking his fist against Merlin's shoulder.

Freya leaned against his other one as he pouted and rubbed the injury. "He's been training with Arthur for years now. He always goes along on patrols and quests so Arthur wanted to be sure he could protect himself."

"What is it with you and nobles?" Merlin asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Oh, nothing." Gwaine took a large gulp of mead. "My father was a knight in Caerleon's army. He died in battle, leaving my mother penniless. And when she went to the King for help, he turned her away."

"You didn't know him?" Merlin said softly and Freya grabbed his hand.

"Just some stories I've been told."

"Yeah, I know how that feels. I met my father just briefly before he died."

"Why?"

"He was banished. Lost his status as lord."

"What had he done?"

"Nothing. He served the King."

"But the King turned against him? That doesn't surprise me."

"Arthur's not like that."

"Ha! Maybe. But none of them are worth dying for, heh?"

Freya spat out her mead and started laughing.

Merlin blushed and Gwaine looked between them. "What?"

"Gwaine, Merlin has tried to die for Arthur so many times."

"Freya!"

"Sh! One time, barely a month or so after he'd come to Camelot, he found out Arthur's cup was poisoned, then drank from the cup to prove it!"

"Now that sounds like a story," Gwaine said, leaning closer.

"There's more to it than that," Merlin muttered and Freya patted his chest.

"Then Arthur went and disobeyed his father to get the antidote. He nearly got eaten by giant spiders and spent a week in the dungeons afterward."

"Really?" Gwaine asked, surprised.

"Yep. And this other time -"

"I liked it better when we were roasting Arthur," Merlin muttered as Freya continued on.

"You and Freya are the best friends I've ever had," Gwaine slurred as Merlin dumped him onto his bed.

"That so?" Merlin snorted, pulling his boots off.

The drunk hummed. "Probably my only friends really."

"I'm not surprised," Merlin said with enough teasing in his voice that even Gwaine could hear it through the alcohol.

The man laughed and slapped him on the back before Merlin pushed him down and covered him up.

"I think it's time for bed. You need to sleep off the mead and I've got to be up early to help Arthur."

"Thoroughbred little braggart," Gwaine chuckled. "Can't even let you have a morning off. My father always treated his servants well."

"You didn't know him."

"Well, I like to think that he did. What about yours?"

Merlin frowned as he settled down on the pallet he'd spread out to sleep on the night before. "I don't know about when he was a lord, but by the time I met him, he didn't have any servants. He didn't have… well… anyone."

"When did he die?" Gwaine asked, his voice suddenly somber and serious.

"About a year ago. I just wish that I had the chance to know him better. There's so much he could've taught me."

"But you did get to meet him."

"Yeah."

"If there's one thing that I learned from my father's life, it's that titles don't mean anything. It's what's inside that counts."

Freya smiled when she came upon Gwaine leaning against a window overlooking the training fields. She peeked out to see Arthur and Merlin sparring. "Having fun?"

"Just keeping an eye on things. They really are something else."

"They are. It's mostly Arthur though. I doubt Merlin would have lasted this long as anyone else's servant. He's too stubborn to put up with how they'd treat him. And Arthur, he might like to pretend he hates how Merlin never listens, but there's a reason all the bootlicking servants he had before Merlin never lasted."

Gwaine hummed and they watched a knight approach Arthur and Merlin and Arthur broke away to spar with the knight instead. "I've never known a noble that would allow themselves to be treated in such a way."

She smiled and bumped her hip against his. "I told you, you just need to spend a day around the two of them. You should meet Sir Leon. They've worked their magic on him too. He's off on a patrol right now, but he should be back in a week."

"Don't know if I'll be around then. I'm not the type to stay in one place too long."

"That's too bad," she said. "Well, if you do leave, you'll always be welcome back anytime."

He turned a smile on her. "That's something I don't hear too often. Are my charms finally sinking in then?"

She rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder. "Nice try, but Merlin holds my heart."

"He's a lucky guy."

"To the eye, the sword appeared blunt, but when I touched it…" Merlin trailed off as Mordred wrapped his finger.

"You were lucky. I've seen those blades in action. They're forged using sorcery," Gwaine said, watching the group.

"Of course they are," Arthur sighed, rubbing his face. "Why would Oswald have such a thing?"

"I think they mean to kill you in the melee," Merlin said.

"But there'd be so many witnesses. How would they get away with it?" Mordred asked.

"It's the perfect cover. If they succeed, nobody will suspect it was intentional," Gwaine said.

"No, I know Oswald," Arthur said firmly. "He wouldn't do something like that. There must be another explanation."

"I can investigate him," Merlin said, standing up. "We'll need proof anyways if we're going to take this to your father."

"I can sneak in and get the blade," Gwaine offered.

"What if they catch you? What reason would you have to be in Sir Oswald's chamber? No. It's safer if I do it."

"Last time I sent you sneaking about, you ended up in a serket's nest," Arthur pointed out and Gwaine's eyes widened.

Merlin waved it off. "Leon got me out before any serkets even showed up."

"Barely."

"I'll be fine."

"Merlin."

"I'll call if I need help."

"That's a good idea," Gwaine said. "We can be nearby and if something happens we can help."

"R-right, that's what I meant," Merlin said, having forgotten Gwaine was there and didn't realize they didn't have to be near to hear his call.

"What's going on here?" Arthur asked, coming into the room to see Oswald and Ethan shoving Merlin up against a wall, Oswald with a dagger in hand.

"I awoke to find the boy trying to steal from me," Oswald growled.

"I was just rearranging the bedclothes, that's all!" Merlin said, catching Arthur's eye then Gwaine's.

"Merlin may be an idiot, but he's no thief," Arthur agreed.

"I know what I saw. I demand an audience with the King!"

"Of course. Merlin."

The boy came towards him, but tripped over his own feet as he passed Oswald. His hands shot out to catch himself and landed on the knight's necklace. He fell to the ground, the crystal in hand.

Arthur drew his sword and he heard Gwaine do the same behind him as Oswald transformed into the thug from the tavern brawl.

"Are you sure you have to leave?" Freya asked as she accompanied Gwaine to the gates.

"Yeah. It's for the best I don't stick around. People get sick of me too quickly."

"I didn't."

He smiled and took her hand, kneeling to kiss it. "Then I will be sure that we see each other again, milady."

"I told you, I'm no lady," she scoffed, pulling her hand away.

"I don't know. The way I see it, you'll soon be marrying a lord," he chuckled, standing.

"Merlin's no lord."

"Not yet, but I've seen the way Arthur looks at him. I can't imagine he wouldn't allow Merlin to reclaim his family's status."

"Not during Uther's lifetime, but I think he has plans, to Merlin's annoyance," she said, eyeing him. "Does this mean you're rethinking your idea of nobles?"

"Hardley. But perhaps those two are worth dying for."

"Where will you go?"

"I was thinking Mercia."

"Perhaps somewhere safer, like Gwynedd?"

"Anything for you, milady." He gave a teasing bow and headed out the gate.

"They seem very friendly," Arthur noted, watching Gwaine kiss Freya's hand.

Merlin glanced up and smiled. "They are. Why should you care?"

"Doesn't it concern you?"

He shrugged. "I trust her. If she believed there was something between them, she'd tell me."

"And if there were?"

Merlin smirked. "It would hardly be fair to judge, considering…"

"Considering?" Arthur turned to Merlin with a frown. Then a blush took his face. "Merlin…"

"Shut up?"

"You guessed it."