Merlin wakes up to a sound of his alarm clock. He turns it off and presses closer to Arthur. They moved during the night so now Arthur is behind Merlin. He tightens his hold on Merlin's waist, snuffling his discontent into Merlin's neck.

“We should get up,” Merlin says.

Arthur grumbles something in response.

“Okay. Ten more minutes. But then I'm dragging you out of bed.”


* * *


The day goes fine. Sun is shining, their visit of Brno is interesting, especially the exposition at the Spilberk fortress. They get to walk through the casemates which are basically dark tunnels and halls designed to serve as housing for garrison and also for the people if the land was attacked, but mostly served as a storage. In the late 18^th century, the place was turned into a prison. It used to be the hardest prison for the hardest criminals in the whole of the Austrian monarchy.




Merlin would say the day is perfect, but there’s still that little nagging thought in the back of his mind, telling him it’s just a silence before the storm.

And he is right.


* * *


Merlin is leaning on the wall, waiting for Arthur to return with their ice-cream.

“Merlin, I wanted to talk to you,” Jasmine, one of Vivian's friends, says as she joins him.

“Why?” he asks, distrust apparent on his face.

“Just to get to know you better,” she says and shifts a little closer.

“Right, but why?”

“Do I need a reason?” she says with an innocent expression.

“You've always looked at me like I was a pile of garbage, so I'm not buying it.”

“He's coming,” says the girl standing nearby, another Vivian's friend.

Merlin's brows furrow in confusion, but before he can say anything, Jasmine enters his personal space, presses herself to him with her leg between his and kisses him on his neck. Then she pulls away, trailing her finger across his chest suggestively.

“See you later,” she says and leaves.

Merlin is in shock, staring at Arthur standing a few meters away. Arthur turns around and Merlin sucks in a breath.

“Tell Vivian it was a nice try,” Arthur shouts after Jasmine, and Merlin starts breathing again.

“You alright? You look a bit shaken,” Arthur says.

“Yeah... uh...”

“That bad? Or good? Should I be worried?” Arthur asks teasingly.

“Only if you're worried I'll be suffering from a deep psychological trauma.”

“Take this. Sugar's a perfect medicine,” Arthur says, handing him one of the cones.

“Sure, doctor Pendragon,” Merlin says with a grin. “Anything else you'd prescribe to avoid psychological damage?”

“There are a few methods, but they require privacy.”

“Let's hope my condition won't get worse until evening then,” Merlin says, grinning.


* * *


“There won't be any privacy,” Arthur sighs as he enters the small cabin for four. “Do you think your psyche can wait two more days?”

“Absolutely not,” Merlin says and drags Arthur into the forest for an evening snogging session.


A/N: There's official page for Spilberk castle: http://www.spilberk.cz/index.php?lang=en

Day Eight (WiP)