Merlin One-Shots

Sword Fighting

*requested by Jung-Seoyung *

"Okay, the sun is beginning to sink so that's the end of training!" Arthur announced as he swiped sweat off his forehead.

Many of the knights sighed in relief as they were exhausted from the vigorous training they did for around five hours. Arthur scoured the training fields and smiled when his eyes landed on Merlin. The scrawny serving boy was making his way over to the King, a goofy smile plastered on his face. Arthur frowned a bit as he noticed lines of sweat rolling down his friend's face, but he just shrugged it off.

"Knights go a little too hard on you, eh Merlin?" Arthur smirked, throwing an arm around his friend.

"No, not really," Merlin replied, his smile never fading. 

Arthur raised an eyebrow at this, and some movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Leon and Elyan huddled close to each other, whispering. Merlin gave them a little wave, and the two knights froze up instead of waving back. Now this caught Arthur's attention. He told Merlin to get supper ready for him before wandering over to Leon and Elyan.

"What's wrong with the two of you?" he asked, folding his arms. "Last time I checked, Merlin was the least threatening thing in Camelot."

The two knights looked at each other before Elyan spoke up.

"You wouldn't believe us even if we told you, sire," he smiled sheepishly.

"Try me," came the short reply.

"Leon and I decided that we could practice with Merlin," Elyan chuckled a bit. "However, he's surprisingly good and even managed to knock Leon and I down to our knees."

Arthur blinked before letting out loud laughter.

"Merlin?" he laughed. "You can't be serious!"

Leon elbowed Elyan in the ribs and whispered "I told you he wouldn't believe us" into his friend's ear. Arthur waved the two knights off before heading back towards the castle. Merlin? Good at sword fighting? Hah! As if!

***

Arthur was going to have a long chat with his friend. They had been on a hunting trip, just him, Merlin, and the Round Table knights, when bandits attacked him. Of course they couldn't just have one peaceful hunting trip. He brought a bandit down and was about to turn when he heard Merlin shout his name. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw Merlin standing in front of him, easily blocking the attacker's weapon. Arthur watched in amazement as Merlin single handily brought down the man before turning towards his friend. He gave an apologetic smile before helping out the rest of the knights. After a quick battle, most of the bandits were dead, while the others had fled. Merlin was the one who was sweating the most, while the others were just looking at him in amazement. Of course, Gwaine was the one who spoke up first. 

"That was incredible Merls!" he grinned, slapping Merlin on the back. "You'll have to go up against Percy and me some day!"

The other knights began to question Merlin, while said person flushed in embarrassment and tried to answer the questions. Arthur had enough, and, without saying anything, he grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him away, daring the others to follow them. The two of them finally stopped at a clearing, and Arthur faced the raven haired boy.

"Talk."

"W-Well, I began teaching myself how to handle a sword when I was little," Merlin began, stuttering a little. "I thought that if I could fight with a sword, I could fit in with the other boys in Ealdor. However, Will still remained my only friend, and the other kids, both boys and girls, didn't even dare come near me."

"Because of your magic," Arthur muttered, getting a nod in confirmation.

"However, I trained with Will almost everyday, until my mother sent me here," Merlin finished. "I acted clumsy around you all because I don't think your father would want you to have a servant who can most likely fight better than you."

"Or one with magic," Arthur chuckled. "But, I'll take you up on that bet. First thing tomorrow, after breakfast, the two of us will duel." Arthur took off one of his gloves and threw it at his manservant's feet. "Do you accept?"

Merlin grinned and picked up the glove. 

"Yes, sire."

***

"Never speak of this to anyone," Arthur glared up at Merlin.

Merlin just chuckled and held out his hand for the King to take it. Said person did so, but instead of standing up, he pulled his friend to the ground before sitting on his back. Arthur folded his arms and smirked as he looked down at his struggling friend.

"See? I still win," he smirked.

"You're just a sore loser, Arthur," came the short reply.

Arthur just laughed before standing up and hoisting Merlin up to his feet. 

"Now, we're even," he said, sticking out his hand.

Merlin smiled at him before shaking his hand.    

"You just keep telling yourself that, Arthur."