In The Hearts Of Men

Chapter 9

Merlin was alone in Arthur's bedroom that evening.

The prince was in the grand hall in an important meeting and Merlin had been excused from serving them on the notion that "they would be discussing delicate matters"; by which Uther meant he didn't trust any of his staff and wanted to keep them out of overheating anything important. All the Knights were down there with Arthur, Morgana and the king, as well as half a dosen members of the Royal Court.

Merlin didn't mind. He didn't take it personally, and this meant he had a little extra time to catch up on his last chores of the day. He had already eaten his dinner, and now he was folding all Arthur's freshly washed and dried (by him) clothes.

As Merlin looked at the huge pile of clothes he still had to get through, he sighed deeply. Wouldn't it be so much easier if...

He stopped.

Now if ever would be the safest time to use his magic to speed his chores up.

No one was around- they were either in the meeting or in bed, as it was relatively late. No one came into Arthur's room apart from Arthur and Merlin, and occasionally Uther, Gwen, Morgana or Gaius, but they were either in the hall, or they had no reason to come to Arthur's room, or it was Gaius, who obviously wasn't a problem.

Merlin stood and crossed to the door, made sure it was secure, and that no one was around outside in the corridor. There weren't any guards on duty outside tonight. The coast was clear.

He took a deep breath, focused, and then splayed his hand over the stack of clothes, whispering a complicated word as his eyes flashed golden.

The clothes jumped into life and immediately began folding themselves enthusiasticly.
Merlin grinned.

Feeling more confident, he looked around the room to see what else needed doing.

He set the candlesticks polishing themselves, the tops of the wardrobes dusting themselves and the bed straightening it's covers.

He looked around the room once more, very pleased with himself, and sat down on Arthur's bed. He rested his head for a moment.
The day hadn't, in all fairness, been as stressful as usual... but Merlin was still tired. And he was probably more upset about that execution than he realised himself.
He began to lizard blink, and after one particularly long time with his eyes being closed, he found he struggled to open them, and subsided into a light snooze.