So, HEY GUYS! I've been following Merlin since the very beginning :3 I felt a bit of me die when it ended, but THE MAGIC MUST LIVE ON! And so, the idea for this came to me. My friend encouraged me to write it, hey Tilly, you go Tilly XD Anyways, I own nothing (as much as I want to) and on with the show!

Arthur, Prince of Camelot, heir to the throne, man who had never cared about anyone else apart from himself (until Merlin waltzed oh so nonchalantly into his life), allowed his brow to furrow as he watched his manservant shuffle around the room. Lately, he'd been looking...lifeless.

Don't get him wrong, he didn't especially care about him.

It was interfering with his work.

Or so he told himself.

The boy had been repeatedly showing up with a sunken expression, dark circles carved deeply under his eyes. At first, Arthur had assumed that it was just lack of sleep, but after Merlin had come in looking like a dead man walking for the twelfth time in a row, even he could sense that something was wrong.

That and Merlin was currently trying to polish his armor with a piece of paper.

He sighed and walked up to him, shaking the boy's shoulder to drag him out of his thoughts. Merlin looked dazedly up at him, his eyes meeting the prince's.

"Huh? Oh, Arthur, what do you want?"

He huffed irritably and cuffed the boy around his head, taking care not to hit him too hard- he looked a state already.

"It's not about me, you idiot it's about you!"

Merlin looked at him, confusion filtering across his face. Groaning, Arthur yanked the grubby piece of paper out of his hands and shook it.

"This! Look at this, Merlin. Tell me what you see."

"...A piece of paper?"

"Yes. And what were you using this piece of paper for? You were using it to polish my armor! What is this anywa-"

Arthur stopped abruptly, his expression changing into one of horror, before fury dominated his face.

"MERLIN! You idiot! This was a court document! A. COURT. DOCUMENT."

The boy stepped back nervously, scanning the surrounding area for any possible projectile items. All of clear, save for a few pillows and a rather menacing silver jug.

He figured that it wouldn't hurt too much if it missed his head.

"W-was that an important court document, Sire?"

The man stalked up to him, thrusting it into his face. He hissed,

"You tell me, you incompetent baboon."

Hesitantly, Merlin said,

"I-It looks like a speech of some kind...?"

"Well done. You can read. It was just the speech I am due to read out in front of the entire court tomorrow. The speech I spent three nights working on. It's just that. Or, at least, it WAS."

Making sure his head was out of range, Merlin answered,

"I'm sorry...?"

"I'M SORRY MY ASS!"

Apparently, even when it did miss your head, silver pouring jugs dealt quite the hit.

Merlin shut the door of Arthur's chambers gently and made to walk to Gaius'. However, he only got three steps down the corridor before stumbling, leaning on the wall to steady himself. He moaned let his head fall back to hit the cool stone. He was exhausted. He'd had about 10 hours of sleep the past 7 days, and he put it down to his magic that he was still able to function, let alone do all of the tasks his Royal Pratness assigned him.

"I...I cannot give up now... not when I'm so close..."

He murmured weakly, forcing himself to carry on walking.

Maybe, if he hurried, he could catch a few hours of sleep before he had to leave again.

Inside his room, Arthur groaned exasperatedly. He had gotten so worked up over the speech that Merlin had ruined (actually, he practically knew the blasted thing off by heart so he could easily make another copy) that he had forgotten to send him back to his room to sleep, or even ask if he was alright.

He sighed again and collapsed onto his chair, leaning his elbows on the desk and resting his head on his hand. For the second time that day, he allowed his brow to furrow. He was such an idiot. Instead of asking his manservant (because Merlin was obviously nothing more than a manservant to him, certainly not a friend) to take some time off, he had ended up piling him with more work in a fit of annoyance.

But what was wrong with the boy? Merlin's usually bright, laughing eyes had lost their shine, dullness setting in. Signs of exhaustion were clear, the dark rings under his eyes contrasting starkly with his pale skin.

But it wasn't just obvious things such as using paper to polish his armor and dark circles. No, it was as if the boy's carefree, look-for-the-silver-lining way of perceiving the world had been tainted. The boy's every action had been sapped of its usual enthusiasm, and

his eyes.

His eyes struck him the most. They had lost their light, almost as if his will, his iron strong, unwavering will, had been crushed and simply disappeared.

He briefly wondered how he had noticed all these minute details, before he banished the thought, anticipating that it would only give him a headache.

Though, his head was steadily throbbing already.

Arthur moaned and rubbed his temples, cursing the niggling worry that simply refused to leave him alone. Stretching, he glanced outside, surprised to see that it was already dark. He would have to dine with his father in less than 4 hours, he guessed. Just long enough to have a quick nap to relieve his headache. Merlin would wake him when he came up to prepare him for the dinner.

He frowned, scolding himself inwardly for relying on the tired boy once again. He considered simply staying awake to relieve Merlin from more work, but his forehead throbbed stubbornly. Resigning, he decided to wake himself up an hour prior, through some miracle of nature. He was about to lie down when his eyes spotted something out of his window.

It was a hooded figure, and it looked like they were in a hurry too.

Curious, he walked closer to the pane, scrutinising the person scurrying away from the castle. All of the servants save for those living in the castle's servant quarters and those attending directly to members of royalty had long been dismissed. He wondered who it was, before he caught sight of a familiar red neckerchief poking out from under the tattered cloak.

His face twisted in confusion.

"Merlin?"

WHOOOO! We're done! Normally my chapter are double this length, but I think this is okay for a prologue/1st chapter. Reviews would be welcomed with open arms :3 thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter!