Chapter Text
Merlin was upset to say the least. He and Arthur had been married for over a month now, and they were no closer to getting the magic ban repealed. They hadn't even brought it to the court yet. Uther had tied his hatred-fueled rants of laws into practically every facet of the Camelot legal system. Before tackling the main issue of the 'if you practice magic you will die!!!' schtick, they had to rework the trial prerequisites that forbade anyone suspected to possibly have sorcery from being a witness, there were laws in place to forbid noblemen from vouching for their households if one was suspected of sorcery, there were library bans, play bans... Uther had made sure that even beginning to rework his legacy would be the most exhausting process anyone could imagine.
But more than that, Merlin was bored. Ever since the wedding all eyes had been on him in a way he hadn't quite seen coming. He'd tried to avoid most of it, fending off the Castle Steward's attempts to foist a manservant on him and narrowly avoiding a 'council meeting' to discuss how the wedding went. For Albion's sake, he wasn't that bad! He tripped once.
Of course, Arthur only laughed at his misery, having had the same treatment for the last 23 years of his life. Meanwhile, Merlin was drowning. So the following events were absolutely, NOT his fault.
Ok, maybe a little his fault.