Deep in the Preserve, Tuesday Late Afternoon

[bitch_prince]

They had gone for a hunt. At least, that had been the general term. The honest truth was that Arthur needed to get away from his room for a while, away from the building, and into an area that made some senseThat may have explained the lack of any insults thrown at Merlin's head, but for the few that were actually needed. It also explained why he

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[bigdamndestiny]

"It's about me," Merlin started, looking away. Perhaps a wandering deer would stop him before he did something utterly stupid. "I'm not--"

He wasn't what?

"I mean, I'm not what you think."

[bitch_prince]

A complete idiot? was thrown up as a possible response, weighed, and judged not entirely workable.

"A completely rubbish servant?" he said instead, kindly, in as much as that statement could be said kindly.

[bigdamndestiny]

Thank god for Arthur being utterly Arthur about this sort of thing. "Arthur. This isn't easy to say."

[bitch_prince]

"I think you might be attracting the deer," Arthur said, equally kindly (and he was. Arthur could distinctly spot blue fur between the trees). He made a decision to tone it down, though. "Spit it out, then."

[bigdamndestiny]

"I'm magic."

Oh god, he just said that out loud. To Arthur. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

[bitch_prince]

The long, long silence on Arthur's part no doubt helped drive the deer away. They scattered with a distinct rustling of underbrush, setting off the silence some more.

[bigdamndestiny]

Merlin glanced up once to check his face. "Arthur, I--"

Tried to tell you before and then never objected when the wrong conclusions were drawn?

[bitch_prince]

Finally, Arthur shook his head rather abruptly. "Merlin," he started, "You are, by far, the dumbest sorceror I have EVER MET in my ENTIRE LIFE. Every day, I become more and more convinced that you are actively trying to get your head cut off. 'Oh, I'm magic, let's move to Camelot and hang about the royal family, I'm sure nothing will go wrong!'"

He'd get to the you lied to me part when he wasn't busy being so astonished at the sheer level of idiot.

[bigdamndestiny]

"My mum sent me there," Merlin said, a bit taken aback at this response. But he was recovering!

Slowly.

"But you--would be dead if I hadn't?"

Okay, so now he was just confused.

[bitch_prince]

"Oh, your mum sent you here!"

Any sense of dawning betrayal in his heart? Still overshadowed by the fact that Merlin was the biggest moron in the history of complete and utter idiocy. He gave Merlin his best what the fucking fuck, you idiot? expression.

"Well. I'm sure that if we simply explain that to my father, he'll be far less inclined to see you executed!" His eyes widened. "Why, he might even invite the both of you to tea!"

Arthur could, at times, put the campest modern gay men to shame in his bitchiness.

[bigdamndestiny]

"I didn't want to be around the royal family! I certainly never wanted to be your bloody manservant!" Merlin snapped, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that was utterly mature and manly. "But I could hardly let you get killed, could I?"

[bitch_prince]

Arthur rubbed along his face. Now that his first instinct - affront - had been done with, he had to deal with the rest of this whole... thing.

"So you have been keeping this from me this entire time," he said.

[bigdamndestiny]

"I--" Merlin let his shoulders slump, dropping his eyes to the ground. "Yes."

[bitch_prince]

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You lied to me," he said, to affirm that part again.

It was this bloody place: he didn't know what the hell to do about anything.

[bigdamndestiny]

"Yes." Because there was no point in trying to dress it up. He'd be no better than that damned dragon.

[bitch_prince]

"Well," Arthur said, and let go of his nose.

He eyed the trees. "At least you didn't go about blurting it out in front of my father," pause, "Again."