Chapter Ten

Once Uther had ever so reluctantly changed into…peasant's clothes, the men set out to train Merlin in the ways of being a king. Uther informed Merlin on how to talk like a king, walk with importance like a king, and most of all, make significant king-like decisions. Merlin learned all about the life of a king. Whether he was able to retain that knowledge and put it to good use, no one was sure. Arthur was of course quite skeptical, but it was Merlin who doubted himself the most. Could he really be king? Could he really fool people by pretending to be Uther? The thought was unfathomable. Still, he did was he was told, and tried his best to drink in everything Uther told him. That was not all he did, however, for after Uther had spent a great deal preaching and teaching, Gaius pulled the king-in-training aside and filled in all the details Uther had missed: his stubbornness, ability to quickly lose his temper, so on and so forth. Arthur had even volunteered (or, to be more accurate, was forced) to train Merlin in sword fighting, so if a problem were to arise where 'King Uther' needed to use his sword, he would not look like an utter fool. Oh, how he was looking forward to being king.

Merlin's first session of sword training ended with Arthur giving him painful pat on the shoulder and making a not-so-amusing remark about how he still had a long way to go before he was going to win any tournaments. They both parted their ways, Arthur looking as if he had barely broke a sweat, while Merlin stumbled away with aches, pains, and bruises all over. It didn't help that his new body was way past its prime. Never before had he wished to crawl into his own bed and sleep for five days straight, which was something he intended to do. He limped his way through the castle and to his and Gaius' chambers, where he immediately headed towards his room, ready to collapse the second he caught sight of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" came a perplexed voice; Gaius sat behind a large stack of books, his eyebrows furrowed.

"To sleep until next week," groggily replied Merlin as he reached to open his door.

Gaius quickly stood up and hurried towards Merlin, "No, you cannot do that."

"And why not – " Merlin opened his door, then froze.

"Because you are already asleep," Gaius whispered.

Inside Merlin's bed, asleep and snoring, was his own body, although currently occupied by Uther. Merlin was hit with the reality that he wouldn't be sleeping in his bed tonight, "But, Gaius, I – "

"I am sorry, Merlin," Gaius slowly shut the door, "but until you are back in your own body, you must sleep in Uther's room. Would it not be more comfortable, anyway?"

"Yes, except – "

"Really, Merlin," Gaius lead the protesting king to the exit, "of all the things you should be worried about, I did not expect sleeping in the king's bed would be one of them."

"Gaius –" Merlin was lead out of the room before he could officially finish a sentence. He turned back to say one last thing to Gaius, yet the door had been shut, causing a frown to form on his face. He was now alone. So, he saw he could do nothing else but to shuffle through the castle and into Uther's chambers. Eventually he scuffled his way into the foreign room, changed into the appropriate night clothes, and crawled into bed. It was soft, alright. In fact the royal bed was so soft and comfortable that the moment Merlin shut his dreary eyes he drifted off into a deep sleep.

However, he did not get the peaceful night he was hoping for.

A nightmare haunted his dreams. Actually, it wasn't really a nightmare – it was more of an experience. There were colors, tons and tons of bright, vibrant colors that were probably so bright they would have blinded someone. And then there was the laughter. Maniacal laughter that sounded as if it was…mocking him. Why it was laughing, he was unsure, but he was sure of the face that had suddenly appeared. Right out of the sea of colors a somewhat young face materialized, grinning like a mad fool. Merlin suddenly awoke with a start, eyes darting around the room. Once he realized he was no longer being haunted by a myriad of colors, he began to relax. Could his life get any more confusing?

A knock on the door shocked him back into reality. A young, timid maid slowly entered the room, looking as white as a sheet. Wonder why. Merlin put on his best smile, beckoned the girl to set her tray of food down on the table. Wide-eyed with shock, she did as she was told, set the plate of warm food down, and braced herself for whatever rage Uther had in store for her. Nothing bad ever came. Instead she was rewarded with a pleasant thank you, and because Merlin felt pity for her, he gave her the day off. It took her a few moments to realized what had happened, but when it clicked in her mind, she thanked the king over and over again before rushing out of the room. Seeing the woman's face light up at the mention of 'day off' caused a smile to sweep across Merlin's face, filling him with a sort of pride. With a small feeling of accomplishment, he tried his attempt at picking out an appropriate outfit, changed into said outfit, then sat down in front of the glorious plate of food. Just one whiff of the various meats and bread made his mouth water with delight. He grabbed a fork, stabbed it into a large piece of sausage, and –

"Merlin, good, you are awake. Come, we have lots to do today," said Gaius, after having entered the room at the worst moment possible, "Hurry, we cannot delay."

Defeated, Merlin dropped his fork back down onto the plate and followed Gaius out the door, but not without snatching a piece of sausage on his way out.

———

The morning went better than Merlin could have expected. Not much went on. Planning with Gaius and Uther for most of the morning, and a few times he was supposed to talk with his military advisors, but luckily Arthur took care of them. It was indeed a slow morning.

And then came the audiences.

Every once in a while, King Uther took a few hours to meet with the people of Camelot. Whether it was a shortage of food, water, or a problem with bandits, he would help them all – sometimes. Unfortunately, today happened be that day.

Merlin anxiously sat upright in the throne, his grip tight on the arms of the overly large chair. He was nervous. Everything he had previously been told about being a king was gone, and it obviously showed. Never before had the king look so frightened of making ever important, life-changing decisions for the citizens.

"Remember…sire," Merlin was jerked out of his thoughts by the whisper of his own voice. Looking up to his left he saw the current Merlin standing next to him, clearly having trouble addressing Merlin as a royal, "you have no problem sparing them men to protect their village, but at the moment you cannot afford to give them any provisions."

Merlin nodded his head in understanding. With a quick glance to Gaius, who in turn gave him an encouraging nod, he beckoned to the guards to let in the first person. A scrawny older man with salt-and-pepper hair and tattered clothes shuffled in, looking no older than the king himself.

"My lord," the man bowed deeply, "it is an honor to be in your presence. My name is Ular, and I hail from the village of Archet."

"Ah, um, yes, I have heard of Archet. Continue, Ular," Merlin lied, having absolutely no idea where Archet resided in Camelot.

Ular seemed to grin at the fact that the all mighty king heard of his small village, "Well, your majesty, out fair village of Archet has not been flourishing with crops as we had hoped. We are low on food, everyone is starving, and it will be at least a month before we are able to get back on our feet. We are afraid the children will die of hunger before then. Please, sire, I beg for your help."

Not only had Ular looked pitiful, but now he sounded pitiful, too. Merlin shot a glance towards Uther, who was already shaking his head no. The current king looked back to the pleading Ular, unsure of what to do. The peasant simply stared at him with wide eyes, clutching his rag-like hat in his hands in anticipation. After what felt like hours, Merlin finally spoke.

"I shall immediately send a month's worth of provisions to your village, as well as a few bags of seeds which should sustain your people for quite some time."

Gaius sighed, Uther stared at Merlin with shock and anger, and Ular bowed so low his nose almost touched the ground.

"Thank you sire, thank you! You have saved many, many lives! Long live King Uther!" Ular cheered as he was escorted out of the room, practically dancing with joy.

The instant the peasant left, Uther rounded on Merlin, "What was that?! Did I not specifically say we cannot afford to – "

"Silence! You will speak when spoken to," Merlin suddenly snapped, causing Gaius' eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

Uther was as equally surprised, but more furious than anything, "How dare you speak me in that manner – "

"Guards! Remove this child from my sight," Merlin snarled as he waved his hand. Two guards appeared out of nowhere and seized the fuming servant. He was then dragged out of the room, his face a deep red crimson shade, "place him in a cell overnight; that should teach him some manners."

The doors slammed shut and the place went quiet once more. Merlin sat upright in the throne with a hard, intense stare, challenging anyone and everyone to try and speak to him. Thankfully, Gaius had taken the momentary silence to quickly usher everyone out of the room. He then turned to face the incensed king.

"Are you aware of what you just did?"

"Of course I am aware!" Merlin spat, "Why wouldn't I be aware that I had just – I had just…" his voice trailed off, the gears in his head starting to turn. It took him a moment to fit all the pieces together, "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

Merlin sank down into his chair, "Then I guess I should go and – ?"

"I believe that would be for the best."

Sighing, Merlin hoisted his old bones out of the chair and made for the door, wondering if there was any way his day could possibly get any worse.