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Arthur was keeping something from him, Merlin was almost sure of it.
Of course there were plenty of things that Arthur didn’t tell him — though, now that Arthur was king, there was a lot that Merlin didn’t want to know. The state of a neighboring kingdom’s infrastructure, for example. Or the fiddly calculations that went into setting taxes. But Merlin could always tell when Arthur was deliberately keeping something from him.
Arthur must not have heard the perfunctory knock, because when Merlin entered the king's chambers he was met with Arthur’s back, his arms braced wide on the stone of the windowsill. Arthur gazed unseeingly into the courtyard, the late afternoon sun silhouetting his slouched form in golden light. When Merlin moved quietly to his side, Arthur straightened up quickly, face shuttered.
“Merlin,” he said curtly. “What is it?”
“It’s time to get dressed for the feast,” Merlin said with a frown. That evening’s feast was the start to a fortnight of discussions with the druids focused on moving forward with a full repeal of the laws that banned magic from Camelot. Arthur had been nervous and excited about it in turns, but ever since he had greeted the envoy that morning, he’d seemed distracted. Hiding something , Merlin thought again. “I thought you would have been ready by now. Is everything all right?”
This seemed to snap Arthur out of whatever thoughts had been occupying his mind.
“What? Yes! Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?” He moved past Merlin and made for the changing screen, tugging off his tunic as he went. “Did you remember to press my shirt?”
Merlin rolled his eyes and followed him, grabbing the deep blue shirt from the wardrobe as he went. “You know, you do have a whole staff at your command, sire . It doesn’t need to be me personally doing your pressing.”
“No one gets the creases right like you do,” Arthur groused from inside the shirt as Merlin gathered the discarded clothes for the wash. When he picked up Arthur’s breeches, there was a dull thunk as something fell to the floor. Merlin turned at the sound and had just enough time to glimpse what looked like a key before Arthur dove from behind the screen to retrieve it.
“What’s that for?” Merlin asked, peering at Arthur curiously.
“Oh, it’s nothing, I’ll just—” Arthur, realizing that he wasn’t actually wearing trousers and therefore had nowhere to stash the key, clasped his hands behind his back.
Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. Arthur slumped slightly in defeat but then a strange expression crossed his face. He turned to Merlin appraisingly.
“Actually … you’re helping Gaius tonight, right? So you won’t be at the feast?”
“Er — right.” Now it was Merlin's turn to be evasive. He had begged Gaius to fabricate a story about needing Merlin’s help for the night to get Merlin out of attending the feast — it had been awkward enough when each member of the Druid delegation had silently greeted Emrys after the king, he couldn’t handle a whole night of mental conversations. Especially not if he wanted to continue keeping his magic a secret for now.
“Then here — will you hold this for me?”
Merlin was temporarily distracted by the warm press of Arthur’s hand against his, but in the next moment Arthur had stepped back, leaving the key in Merlin’s palm. He turned it over curiously. On one side the metal was golden and had a tiny Pendragon crest etched onto the stem, the other side was bronze with a triskelion etching. The imprints were so fine that Merlin knew they must have been done with magic.
“Is this from the Druids?” Merlin asked, meeting Arthur’s eyes. “What’s it for?”
Merlin couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the light, or if there was a faint blush on Arthur’s cheeks, but at his words his face went blank again.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just keep it safe for me tonight.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and slipped the key into his own pocket. “Put some trousers on, sire.”
*
It wasn’t until later when Merlin was making his way back to Gaius’s chambers — it turned out that the price of the favor was having to actually help Gaius with a tricky poultice he was brewing — that he remembered something. Earlier in the day when he’d been busy dashing around the castle to help prepare for the feast, he had noticed a lone guard stationed in a corridor on the east wing of the castle. He hadn’t had the time for more than a fleeting thought that it was odd, considering there was nothing of value in the room he had been guarding, before being distracted by his tasks. But as he thought back, his steps slowed then stopped. He ran his fingertips over the smooth metal of the key in his pocket, considering.
He didn’t think that the druids had any plans to harm Arthur, but still … wouldn’t it be better if Merlin knew what they were keeping locked in the room? And why it was making Arthur so twitchy? He had a narrow window in which to investigate before Gaius would miss him, so he turned and set off before he could change his mind.
By a stroke of luck, when Merlin made his way down the corridor he recognized the boy currently on duty. Tobyn was the youngest of the king’s guards and he and Merlin had bonded long ago over their love of verbal repartee — and certain shared proclivities.
Tobyn grinned when he saw Merlin approach.
“Merlin,” he drawled in perfect imitation of Arthur. “Where have you been, my arse has been itchy for an hour and I need you to scratch it.”
“Scratch your own arse, you miscreant,” Merlin laughed, leaning his back against the stone wall opposite the boy. “You’d better not let Arthur hear how good you’ve gotten at mimicking him; he’ll start sending you to give his speeches.”
“Oh don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of letting Arthur hear me,” Tobyn smirked and Merlin felt his cheeks heat at being caught speaking of the king so familiarly. “Besides, he’s at the feast,” Tobyn looked at Merlin with curiosity. “Why aren’t you?”
“I’m helping Gaius with a poultice.”
Tobyn made a show of looking back and forth down the corridor.
“Now I know I’m not the sharpest of the guards,” he said. “But can say with total confidence that Gaius is not in this corridor.”
Merlin glared, but Tobyn just smiled at him and waited.
After a moment of tense silence, Merlin blurted, “What are you guarding?”
“Can’t tell you,” Tobyn said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the door.
“It could have to do with the king’s safety,” Merlin said, grasping at straws. He had to know what was behind that door and why it was distracting Arthur so much. Tobyn just raised an eyebrow.
“Then it’s a good thing that the king’s guard have it well in hand, isn’t it?”
Merlin blew out a frustrated breath. “Tell me and I’ll get you and Walter a night off. Together.”
At the sound of Walter's name, Tobyn’s expression switched from amused indifference to eager interest. He eyed Merlin for a moment then sighed, moving closer and keeping his voice low.
“I don’t know what it is, if I’m being honest with you,” he said, his eyes scanning the deserted corridor. “But it’s something that the druids brought along that we’re meant to keep safe.”
Merlin glanced over his shoulder, then slowly slipped the key out of his pocket. He held it up for Tobyn to see.
“Let me in, just for a minute?”
“Oh no,” Tobyn said, backing away and taking up his place in front of the door once more. “Absolutely not. I’d be skinned alive.”
“A whole day,” Merlin said, moving closer, desperation in his voice. “The whole day off, both of you.”
Tobyn glared at Merlin, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side, his eyes darting down the corridor.
“Two days,” he said at last.
“Two days! I can’t — wait, no wait,” he said as Tobyn crossed his arms again and frowned. Merlin sighed, wincing internally at the favours he was going to owe. “Fine. Two days.”
Tobyn nodded, then cleared his throat.
“I drank far too much ale before my shift,” he announced. “I need to run to the garderobe before I piss myself. Luckily I’ll only be away from my post for a moment.”
Before Merlin could say another word, Tobyn had turned on his heel and headed off down the corridor then turned at the end of the hall. As soon as he was out of sight, Merlin slipped the key into the lock and turned it, his magic humming as the key caught and turned over.