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Arthur has no idea how he manages to get into these types of situations. One moment he's searching for his Court Warlock, the next he's stumbling upon what seems to be some sort of stand off between said Court Warlock and a man he'd never seen before. He wisely ducks behind the nearest collum as he hears "i must ask to be sure, my lord. Did you do something to them?" Whatever conversation they were having must have been going on awhile then.
Arthur peeks around the corner, just in time to see Merlin putting on his best innocent look, before he asks "who, me?" If the king didnt know him so well, he'd believe he was truly being an idiot "all i did was reveal their true forms" Merlin sounds strangely amused by whatever he'd done to this mans friends "you turned them into pigs" there it was. Arthur didnt know why he was expecting any different.
Arthur barely gets a chance to react to the quiet noise Merlin lets out, somewhere between a mocking huff of amusement and a scoff, before Merlin is taking a slow, calculated step towards the man, who Arthur is now realising is a sorcerer "i dont know who you are, nor why you're here. But let me make one thing very clear" Merlin says, his tone growing increasingly deeper as he becomes protective.
The sorcerers eyes grow slightly wide as merlin's glare all but roots him to the spot "ive got a kingdom to protect. A king i can't neglect. So I'm not taking any changes dear" the way Merlin says the word 'dear', some how manages to turn the usual term of endeament into a genuine insult. Arthur's heard his friend use the same sort of tone on his titles over the years but he knows for a fact that Merlin's never ever meant it like this before!
Arthur watches as Merlin takes another, rather threatening step towards the man in front of him. Whilst he can't actually see the look on his friends face, he knows its turned dangerous by the way the sorcerer's eyes go even wider than before "if you make one wrong move then you're done for" his voice drops to a growl as he says "anything i don't approve, you're done for" Arthur's 100% sure that Merlin's eyes go gold as he grabs hold of the mans tunic to pull him closer, before he says "ill cast a spell on you and you're done for" there's a smirk in his tone as the sorcerer is reminded of his friends.
He lets go of the man just as suddenly as he grabbed him, as he all but snarls "boy, you better run or soon you will be done for" Arthur watches as the sorcerer does exactly that, very obviously pissing himself as he goes. He watches as Merlin turns his head and keeps his gaze on the corridor the sorcerer had just disappeared down, before turning fully away when the footfalls grow silent.
Arthur takes that as his cue to make his presence known, before Merlin feels it an does something stupid. He lets out a huff of amusement when Merlin startles slightly, before he raises an eyebrow "how long have you been there?" He asks, looking for all the world that he hadn't just scared a man half to death "long enough to know that you turned his friends into pigs and made him piss himself" Arthur responds, raising an eyebrow when Merlin has the decency to look sheepish for all of a few seconds before shrugging.
He looks back down the corridor the sorcerer had run down as he says "he'll think twice before trying to do something he'll regret next time" before heading back into the main castle "and his friends?" Arthur asks, walking beside him, so hes able to catch Merlin's amused smirk "the spell will wear off in few hours, though they will remember everything they did during that time" he says, that innocent look back on his face once more.
Arthur shakes his head in fond exasperation as they reach the council chambers, the reason Arthur had been searching for Merlin in the first place "you, my friend are a menace" is all he says, making merlin burst into laughter just as the council chamber doors open.
If things to do with sorcerers, who are still distrusting of Arthur and the law changes quieten down for a while, Arthur doesn't dare look in Merlin's direction as hes sure to find that proud 'i told you so' look on his face that amuses the king to no end.