Merlin spent that evening helping Gaius while Arthur sat with Morgana as she recovered and they did not return to what was now, basically, their rooms until late. It had been a day full of revelations as far as Merlin was concerned, but Arthur seemed to have just taken everything in his stride. Apart from the one tiny exchange, it was too short to be called a conversation, Arthur had spoken to him very little about the incident.

Arthur did have a new manservant, but Arthur has shooed the young man off to bed hours before, so Merlin started to help Arthur undress without even thinking about it. It wasn't that Arthur couldn't dress and undress himself when he needed to, it was just comfortable for Merlin to do it and it felt far more normal than thinking about what had happened during the day.

He had removed Arthur's outer tunic and was about to kneel down and help Arthur remove his boots when Arthur's hand came up and cupped the side of his face. When he looked up, Arthur was regarding him with a very serious expression.

"Cedric tried to take you away from me today," Arthur said in a voice so low that Merlin could barely hear it.

"Morgana was the only one ever in danger," he replied, a little unsettled by the intensity in Arthur's eyes.

"That doesn't matter," Arthur told him, stroking the side of his face slowly with his thumb; "his aim was you and you would have let him have you if it would have saved Morgana."

It was almost an accusation, but not quite; they both knew they would sacrifice themselves for others, it was part of who they were and why they matched each other so well.

"I can never let that happen, Merlin," Arthur told him, voice suddenly intense, "I cannot lose you."

Arthur's other hand came up then and rested over his heart.

"I feel this too," were the words that made Merlin's breath catch in his throat.

He had seen Arthur looking at the dragon on his chest, but until now Arthur had never really spoken to him about it. It had been a silent reminder of what Merlin had done in pledging himself to Arthur, but to know it affected Arthur as well changed everything.

"I can never leave you," he said, knowing it in the depth of his being; "no matter what my head tells me, I can't do it, my magic won't let me. I didn't melt the braces deliberately, my magic just did it; the only human being who can ever bind me is you."

"And I never will," Arthur said, bringing their heads together so their foreheads touched, "I am glad those wretched things are gone; no one will ever bind you again, Merlin, on that you have my pledge."

That meant more to Merlin than he could express, because he knew that Arthur would never break his word. Only Arthur could ever have asked that of him again and now he knew that moment would never come. It lightened the air between them and Merlin realised that he had been carrying a weight he hadn't even been aware of. He looked into Arthur's eyes seeing only sincerity there and he wanted to open his mouth and say "I love you", but he knew he didn't need to. Then the moment broke as Arthur smiled.

"I never knew you were such a good actor," Arthur told him, but did not increase the distance between them; "I almost believed you would do those things to Cedric."

A small voice at the back of Merlin's mind said: "I would have for you," but he just smiled back.

"I'm a bit slow," he said, turning it into a joke, "but I finally realised that I have to pretend to be less of an idiot."

That made Arthur's smile morph into a grin, but a fond one.

"Well pretended," Arthur said and then leant forward to kiss him lightly on the lips.

Merlin was pretty sure it was supposed to just be a quick peck before they finished getting ready for bed, but, almost without their conscious consent, it deepened and Merlin found himself winding his arms around Arthur. This was still so new, but it felt so right and right about then Merlin needed to know that his actions that day had not changed this. However, Merlin was unwilling to let Arthur lead everything this time.

Pulling back slightly he broke the kiss and looked into Arthur's eyes and then slowly lowered himself to his knees. They had touched each other in different ways since that first time, explored each other's bodies and each other's reactions, but there was something Merlin had been thinking about that he wanted to try. He had heard other men talk about how a mouth could be even more incredible than another body when applied to cock, although he had no first hand experience, and he wanted to be the one giving Arthur pleasure this time.

He was all too familiar with Arthur's clothes and it did not take him long to unfasten Arthur's tunic and move it out of the way before unlacing Arthur's breeches and carefully lowering them slightly. Arthur did not try to stop him or to help, but, where Arthur's hand was resting on his shoulder, he felt Arthur's fingers tighten a little as he pulled out Arthur's cock.

Arthur was already half hard given their kissing and as Arthur's cock twitched in his hand, becoming fuller as he watched, he felt himself smiling. That Arthur trusted him this much despite what he was and what Arthur had been taught all his life filled him with a joy he could not explain and desire caused his own body to throb as he licked his lips. Leaning forward, he darted out his tongue, tasting the very tip of Arthur's cock and recording the memory in his mind. It was not a taste that was quite like anything else and it occurred to him that he could become addicted to it very easily.

"Merlin," Arthur whispered his name with a reverence he didn't think he deserved, but it did encourage him and he opened his mouth, sliding his lips slowly over the head of Arthur's cock. "Oh god," was Arthur's moaned response.

Merlin sucked experimentally, after all he didn't really know what he was doing, and he took Arthur's low gasp as a positive response and tried again, running his tongue along the underside of the head as well. That time he actually saw Arthur's thighs tremble and he smiled around his prize. He was in control now and he liked that he could give Arthur as much pleasure as Arthur gave him.

His performance was not perfect, after all he was learning, but he used Arthur's reactions to tune himself to what Arthur liked and it took a while, but Arthur was grabbing onto his shoulders and barely standing on his own sooner than Merlin would have expected. He did not really want this to end, but he also wanted to see Arthur come undone, so he pushed Arthur on as well as he could. He sucked and hummed, a combination he had discovered made Arthur tremble from head to foot and unlike the first time when he had pulled back a little, this time he drove on.

"Merlin," Arthur spoke in a hoarse broken but urgent tone, "I'm ..."

Merlin didn't need telling, he knew what Arthur was about to do and he did not try and stop. He took as much of Arthur into his mouth as he could and employed his tongue firmly to the slit of Arthur's cock and then Arthur was shuddering and groaning and spilling his seed down Merlin's throat. Far from being repelled, Merlin was entranced and he suckled on Arthur's cock until there was nothing left and Arthur was begging wordlessly for him to stop. The connection between them was warm and happy and Merlin only pulled away reluctantly, coming to his feet as Arthur urged him to.

He did not kneel unless he had to, but he would kneel for Arthur any time Arthur wanted him to. Eye to eye he could see the emotion in Arthur's soul and it made him so happy.

"I love you," he said, forgetting himself in the moment and letting the words that always hid behind his smile escape.

What surprised him was that Arthur did not pull away as he had expected, shrugging off the womanly sentiment. Instead Arthur pulled him close and cupped the side of his face with one hand.

"You own the heart of a prince, Merlin," Arthur said in little more than a whisper, "keep it safe for me."

And Merlin smiled.

"Always, Sire," he said and accepted the gentle kiss Arthur placed on his lips.

Things had changed so much in scant weeks and Merlin was sure fate was playing with his life, but for the first time he didn't mind at all.