So what started as a silly little one shot seemed to expand as I wrote it so this is going to have a least one more chapter depending on how carried away I get. For any of you who read my fic Pause For Thought this came from the fact that in the slash ending Arthur's shirt reappeared half-way through (thanks to those of you who pointed that out so I could change it). Anyway when I realisedplot bunnies kind of went crazy in my head resulting in this. I'd love to know what you think so please review. Btw this isn't slash, well i suppose it could be seen as it if you tilt your head to the side and squint slightly. I doubt any of you have bothered to read this far through my ramblings but I'll stop now. Enjoy! x

Merlin was walking through the castle with a spring in his step and his trademark goofy smile on his face. Camelot hadn't been attacked since the great dragon had left, he was no longer having his nights interrupted by the angry dragon demanding to be freed and Arthur was too preoccupied with overseeing the castle's rebuild to pile too much work on him; things were looking up. Well the castle was still half destroyed after the dragon's attack which meant that Merlin had to clean up the leaks coming through the holes in the ceiling when it rained, which was most days at the moment, and the ache in the pit of his stomach reminding him of all he'd lost never seemed to fully disappear, but Merlin found that he could distract himself from the pain by staying busy. Apart from that life was looking good.

With a sigh Merlin rounded the corner. His smile had slipped and there was no more spring in his step. The moment the bad thoughts rushed in Merlin never seemed to be able to get rid of them. He knew Arthur was at training at the moment so he was going to be left on his own with just his depressing thoughts for the next couple of hours while he cleaned his pratness' chambers.

Pushing the door open slightly Merlin yelped in surprise as a hand grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him into the room and slamming the door shut behind him. Merlin's eyes darted round the room as he went instantly into full alert, looking to see if his assailant was alone. However one look at the man who had dragged him into the room told Merlin that there was no real danger; it was Arthur.

"Oh for god's sake Merlin, there's no need to look so scared. I'm not going to hurt you." Arthur scoffed, releasing his shirt and stomping over to his bed.

Merlin eyed the prince warily; he could see the furious look on Arthur's face and knew he was in a foul mood. He half considered making a run for it before Arthur started off on what looked like it was going to be a long rant about something Merlin didn't doubt he cared nothing about. Though, he thought with a sigh, the consequences would probably be a lot worse in the long term if he did run. And he really didn't want to visit the stocks; he'd successfully been avoiding them recently and was reluctant to break the habit.

He stood quietly by the door, a rare occurrence for him, and waited for whatever Arthur clearly wanted to get off his chest. However the prince remained silent, a rare event for him as well. Merlin frowned and took a few tentative steps forward, not wanting to bring Arthur's wrath upon him. Frowning in confusion Merlin was just about to speak when Arthur spun round and scrutinised him. Merlin gulped at Arthur's gaze but stayed put, waiting for Arthur to come to whatever conclusion he was looking for.

"I can trust you can't I Merlin?" Arthur asked suddenly.

Merlin frowned at the question which appeared to have come out of the blue. He wasn't sure what had prompted this sort of behaviour from Arthur. He briefly feared that Arthur had found out about his magic and this was how he was going to broach the subject, in the usual roundabout fashion he was so fond off. However he dismissed this as he hadn't used his magic in weeks. Well had needed to mend the smashed window in his chambers and polish Arthur's armour the previous day. And then there had been that time he'd had to use it to mend Arthur's favourite tunic because he was horrible at sowing the normal way. But truly they didn't really count.

"Yes?"

Merlin's reply came out more as a question than an answer but Arthur didn't seem to notice. Seemingly satisfied with the answer Arthur turned away from Merlin with a sigh and sank into a chair. The expression on his face looked to Merlin as if he was having trouble expressing his next thought. Merlin thought it best to leave Arthur with his internal battle and remained silent.

Eventually Arthur seemed to come to some decision at looked at Merlin with a pained expression.

"Merlin I need your help." Arthur said sounding uncomfortable.

The young warlock sniggered as he realised that asking him for help was causing the prince so much pain. Arthur glared at Merlin but other than that his expression seemed to become defeated, something that was unusual for him.

"Of course Sire, what can I do for you?"

From the look he shot Merlin Arthur clearly wasn't pleased with the sarcastic way Merlin said 'sire'. But he was used to his manservant's insolence and let it slide this time. Instead he rose from the chair and stepped into the middle of the room. Merlin wasn't sure what had gotten into the prince as he was acting stranger than usual. However he decided pointing this out would definitely end up with him in the stocks and so kept his mouth closed, he seemed to be getting better at controlling the thoughts that would get him in trouble.

The strangeness continued as Arthur seemed to hesitate for a moment before starting to pull his shirt off. Merlin's eyes widened in surprise at this. It wasn't like it was anything he hadn't seen before, he was Arthur's manservant for crying out loud, but the fact that Arthur had asked him for help and then started to strip caused all sorts of thoughts to run through his head.

"Err Arthur, I don't think..." He started to say before the prince cut him off.

"Good, let's keep it that way." Arthur teased, "Just shut up and watch."

Merlin shifted uncomfortably on the spot, undecided over whether this scenario was really bad or really good. He watched nervously as Arthur dropped the shirt on floor, staring at it intently. He took a steadying breath and turned his back on the item on the floor.

A gasp left Merlin lips as Arthur turned to face him. He stared at Arthur, shock written all over his face. The moment Arthur had taken his eyes off his shirt it had somehow reappeared on him. Arthur was now, once again, wearing the red tunic he had removed. A small frown creased Merlin's brow as he replayed what had just happened. The tunic had just disappeared from the ground and Arthur had mysteriously been wearing it once again without making any movement. Merlin was sure this was the result of magic but why anyone would want to curse a shirt so that Arthur could never take it off was a mystery to him.

Suddenly the realisation of what this truly meant hit Merlin and he doubled over laughing. Arthur growled angrily at his hysterical manservant but realised that it was probably better to let Merlin get it out of his system if he wanted any real help from the idiot. Merlin was clutching his stomach as he struggled for breath. He couldn't believe that the huge problem Arthur had been looking so serious about was the fact he couldn't get his shirt off. For some reason Merlin found this hysterical and not even Arthur's furious expression could dampen the joy he was going to get from this.

After a couple of minutes Arthur's impatience got the better of him. Merlin was still laughing and it was really pissing him off. He was having to restrain himself from hitting his manservant. Instead he took a less violent path.

"Oh shut up Merlin, it's not that funny." He snapped, "I need your help. If I'd wanted someone to laugh at me I'd have gone to see Morgana."

That instantly sobered Merlin up as he remembered what had happened to the girl. Pain shot through the pit of his stomach as he remembered her betrayal and the terrible decision he'd had to make. Arthur seemed to realise what he'd said and he felt sadness well inside him. He missed the girl that was practically his sister and sometimes forgot that she had been taken by Morgause and managed to convince himself that she was still in the castle trying to come up with another way to annoy him. He sighed and closed his eyes to prevent the tears that were welling up in his eyes from spilling over. He refused to cry in front of Merlin. He had told the boy that no man was worth his tears, though on reflection Morgana wasn't a man no matter how many times she tried to persuade him that she was far superior to any man. Nevertheless he refused to show weakness in front of anyone, even Merlin.

"She would have loved this." Merlin whispered softly, "She'd think it was hilarious."

Arthur opened his eyes to meet Merlin's gaze. He could see the agony in his friend's eyes and wondered, not for the first time, if there had been something going on between his manservant and foster sister. Merlin had certainly seemed to take her kidnapping much harder than their casual friendship should have proven.

"Yeah, you're right." Arthur replied, a fond smile played at his lips as he remembered her.

"So," Merlin said, swiftly changing the subject before the guilt and betrayal tore him apart, "Tell me how this happened."

Arthur seemed to hesitate and Merlin rolled his eyes at him.

"Come on Arthur; get it off your chest. Oh wait you can't, that's the problem."

Merlin burst out laughing again at his joke and it was Arthur's turn to roll his eyes. Although Merlin was sure he saw a smile tug at the corner of Arthur's mouth, though it was gone so quickly he could have imagined it.

"Oh for god's sake Merlin, grow up." Arthur huffed, "What am I going to do?"

"Well the obvious option is to wear the same tunic for the rest of your life. Though you might start to smell a bit." Merlin choked out through his laughter.

Arthur narrowed his eyes dangerously at his manservant and turned away from him angrily.

"I don't know why I ever thought you'd be any help. Shut the door on your way out." Arthur said coldly, his back to Merlin.

The other boy took a deep breath, calming his giggles, and wiped the tears of laughter that had been pouring down his face. He finally managed to get his laughter under control and took a couple of steps towards the disgruntled prince.

"I'm sorry Arthur, but you have to admit this is a little bit funny."

Arthur turned to face him with a look on his face that clearly said he was going to admit no such thing. Merlin rolled his eyes once again, smiling fondly at Arthur's stubbornness. The prince's eyes narrowed as he inspected Merlin suspiciously. However he seemed to dismiss whatever thought had crossed his mind as he leant on the wall behind him casually.

"You know if I didn't know better I'd think that you had something to do with this, you are clearly getting way too much enjoyment from it." Arthur mused.

Merlin flashed him a cheeky smile while inside his stomach clenched. If only Arthur knew that he could be the one behind it. He thanked whatever being that was out there, not for the first time, that Arthur thought him too idiotic to even consider the fact that he could have magic. He sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew he'd have to tell Arthur one day, and wasn't expecting the outcome to be good.

"So, how did this" – he waved his hand to indicate Arthur's predicament – "happen?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know!" Arthur exclaimed exasperated, "You didn't turn up this morning when you were supposed to so I just grabbed the first tunic off the pile you have yet to put away and put it on. Then I came up here to get ready for training, which you were supposed to be here to help me with, and I couldn't get this damn thing off."

Merlin chose to let the fact that he was helping Gaius to look at some of the victims of the dragon's attack who had to come and collect more burn ointment every week, which somehow seemed a little bit more important than helping Arthur get dressed which he could clearly do on his own, go. A small frown creased his brow as what Arthur had said at one point hit him.

"Wait a minute you took the shirt off a pile that I hadn't put away?"

Arthur nodded at him patronisingly, confused as to why this was the point Merlin managed to pick up on.

"But I put the clean stuff away yesterday and I haven't done any of your laundry today." Merlin said slowly.

Both boys stood in silence for a moment, the implication of what Merlin had said sinking in. Arthur turned towards his table and Merlin followed his gaze to see a seemingly innocent pile of clothing sitting on it. Merlin moved over to it and riffled through the pile. He recognised all the items as Arthur's; his favourite blue tunic and a lode of red ones that looked identical to Merlin but Arthur was convinced he could tell apart.

Satisfied that none of these items were new Merlin turned to inspect the one Arthur was wearing. He moved over to Arthur and took the bottom of his tunic in his hands, running it through his fingers. Frowning he inspected the rest of it. At first glance it looked like one of Arthur's many red tunics, his obsession with them astounded Merlin, however when he looked closer, the material was much rougher than the expensive one the rest of his wardrobe was made from and the neckline was slightly different.

"Arthur this shirt isn't yours."

Arthur looked at Merlin as if he was stupid, which on reflection he probably was, and restrained the urge to cuff him round the head.

"Really Merlin? I hadn't noticed that." Arthur said sarcastically.

"I just meant that it's not one of your shirts that have been enchanted, someone planted this one." Merlin said calmly, ignoring Arthur's tone, "Though it seems they did some of your washing for you so it's not all bad."

Sighing in exasperation Arthur glared at Merlin who really didn't seem concerned enough about the whole situation.

"Merlin that is your job, not some crazy sorcerers." He glanced at the pile on the table, "Are you sure you didn't wash these?" He asked.

"I don't know, I could have done." Arthur just looked at him, eyebrows raised, "Well how am I supposed to tell each individual shirt apart? Let's be honest Arthur half your wardrobe looks practically the same as this!"

He waved his hand to indicate the one Arthur was wearing. With another sigh Arthur sank onto his bed feeling disgruntled. Merlin remained where he was, his mind spinning as he tried to work out how this shirt got into Arthur's room and why anyone in their right mind would go through all this trouble just to enchant Arthur's shirt so that he couldn't take it off.

"Right well I think our first priority should be to get you out of that shirt permanently."

Arthur propped himself up on his arms and glared at Merlin angrily, again.

"Why Merlin that's genius, how did I not think of that?"

Merlin chose to ignore the patronising tone of Arthur's comment and instead held his hand out, palm up.

"Give me your shirt." He instructed.

Under any other circumstances Arthur would have made a comment about how it was his job to give orders not Merlin, however he just sat up fully and pulled the shirt over his head. Handing it over Arthur made sure he kept looking at it, knowing from experience that the moment he looked away he would end up wearing it again. Merlin took the garment and turned round, surveying the room for a way to dispose of it. However the moment he turned far enough round that his back was blocking Arthur's view of the shirt Merlin found his hand inexplicably empty. He looked back at Arthur to see that the disgruntled prince was once again wearing the tunic.

Stifling the laughter that was welling up inside of him at this sight, Merlin just held out his hand again waiting for Arthur to hand over the offending item. Scanning the room while Arthur stripped Merlin's gaze landed on the half open window and a plan formed in his mind. Making sure to move so that Arthur could still see the tunic Merlin made his way over to the window. He pushed it open and gazed out to see the practically deserted courtyard miles below.

Hoping that, if this didn't work no one would notice the disappearing shirt, Merlin threw the item out the window. It flew through the air for a few seconds and Merlin had a brief period of elation where he thought that it had worked. However this was short lived as half way down the shirt disappeared. Merlin quickly ducked back inside so that no bystander who might have noticed the shirt disappearing would connect him to it. Turning round he saw that it had magically reappeared on Arthur who was looking at Merlin eyebrows raised.

"What?" The young warlock asked confused.

"Well I could have told you that wasn't going to work; I've already tried throwing it out the window."

Merlin huffed in response and cast around for another solution.

"You could have told me that earlier." He sighed.

"And spoil my fun? You looked so pleased with yourself, it was funny." Arthur said with an evil smile.

Merlin stuck his tongue out childishly and held his hand out expectantly. Arthur looked at him confused for a moment before realisation dawned on him and he quickly divested himself of the shirt.

Absently running his fingers through the troublesome material Merlin chewed his lip in contemplation. Spotting the dying flames in the fireplace Merlin made his way over to it. Dropping the shirt next to him he knelt down and poked at the embers, coaxing them back to life. Making sure his back was firmly to Arthur Merlin's eyes flashed gold as the silent spell made the flames roar into life.

"As nice as it is to see you fulfilling your duties for once Merlin, it would be even better if you could focus on the problem at hand." Arthur complained exasperated, too distracted to notice how unnaturally fast the flames had returned to life.

Said warlock decided not to dignify Arthur's comment with a response Merlin picked the shirt back up and threw it into the flames. His knees complained slightly as he stood up and he shook out the ache of having kept them bent too long as he watched the material blacken.

He noticed Arthur move to stand next to him and glanced up to see him staring into the fire. Merlin could see the flames reflected in the prince's eyes as he watched the material burn.

"You know that's actually a good idea, I can't believe I didn't think of that." Arthur said quietly.

"We don't know it's worked yet." He replied softly.

Arthur waited a couple more moments to be sure that the tunic had well and truly been reduced to ash before he closed his eyes. The moment he did he knew it hadn't worked, as he felt the material on his chest, but he kept his eyes closed as if he could fool himself into believing otherwise. However he couldn't hide from the truth for long and eventually he dragged his eyes open to be met with Merlin's blue ones. He could see his despair mirrored in his friend's eyes but there was something else behind it, was it guilt?

Merlin sighed in despair as the shirt reappeared on Arthur looking none the worse for wear for its trip into the fire other than the slightly smoky smell that was filling the warlock's nostrils. He turned away from Arthur, running his hands through his hair angrily. He knew that there was a simple solution to the problem at his fingertips but he really didn't want to have to resort to that, there must be another way.

However no matter how he looked at it he couldn't come up with another solution that didn't involve magic. It had been cursed by magic; it only made sense that magic would be the way to reverse it. Merlin knew that Arthur was not going to take the news well, especially considering his current condition.

Merlin resolved that he would only resort to magic if he was one hundred percent sure that there was no other way to fix it. However as he turned back to face Arthur that resolve faltered. The utterly despondent look on Arthur's face made Merlin's heart ache to see his friend in such despair. He had seen so many people hurt recently, many of which was his fault, and he couldn't stand to see Arthur looking so depressed when he knew he could fix this with a snap of his fingers. Well maybe that was an exaggeration but it was the principle of it.

"Arthur?" He started hesitantly, "If I told you that I think I know a way to fix this you have to promise not to get mad."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin's suspicious words and scrutinised the other boy. He'd always known Merlin was hiding something, there was something about him that Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on, and he felt a childish excitement that he might be finally finding out what it was.

"Ok I promise, what is it?" He asked, practically bouncing with excitement inside. Practically being the key word, princes did not bounce excitedly.

"Arthur, I'm a warlock."