A/N: Remember this is fifth in a series about the kiddies of Camelot; the others are "A Normal Day in Camelot", "Twins are Twice as Nice", "A Mother's Tears", and "Warlock Takes a Wife". They don't have to be read first, but it would be nice so you know who these characters are. It's time for Will! Yes, I know, exciting. He's got to be my favorite, bar none.
Next time I post it will be the multi-chap about these kids. If you want to know when it is up, alert this and I'll post a notice. In the multi-chap I'll explain people more fully the timeline and all.
And, by the way, just to clear this up, Katherine is NOT me. Her name is just based off my pen name because I couldn't think of one.
Does anyone think this feels sort of incomplete? It was originally planned to actually have Hannah in it, but she just didn't want to fit. It's just two scenes with Will in them.
A Royal Favor
"Aunt Hannah is coming!"
All the blood drained from Will's face, and he looked over at his sisters, next to him in the main room of their house, as though wondering if they had all heard the same thing.
Hunith's eyes were the size of plates. Even stoic Lexi looked like she wanted to cry.
They had definitely heard their mother say the same thing. Aunt Hannah.
Oh, gods, as their father would say. (Their mother leaned towards the monotheistic swearing, but of course not now—she couldn't be anything but delighted that her sister was coming.)
It wasn't like the children didn't love Aunt Hannah. They did, really. But she was a bit of a fault-finder. Will would walk around for days looking scared, waiting for her to jump out and begin berating the ever-present blue neckerchief that Merlin had given him a few years ago for his birthday. Hunith wouldn't bring any of her friends home – especially the male ones! – because she lived in fear of Hannah's appraisals and criticisms. And Lexi had it the worst. Lexi could do no right for her aunt, what with her temper and inability to show softer emotions, and even worse, Hannah would always disapprove of the way she was being brought up. Hannah usually blamed Merlin for this.
Needless to say, by the end of her visits, Will wanted to throw away all of his clothes, Hunith was ready to run away, Lexi wanted to break someone's neck, and Merlin's nerves were so frazzled that the king could get no sense out of him.
Make no mistake, it was because Hannah loved them, and in her mind, if you loved something then you tried to change it for the better.
The children really preferred her to love from a distance. Merlin secretly concurred, but he'd never say that, of course. Katherine's feelings would be hurt.
"She's… She's coming here?" Hunith's voice squeaked on the last word.
Katherine nodded, pushing her blonde hair out of her face and revealing the sparkle in her brown eyes. "It's been months, can you believe it?"
"Seems much shorter," said Hun slowly. "Her visits are so vivid in my memory."
Katherine's eyes narrowed, and she gave her oldest daughter a look that was almost a glare, opening her mouth to give an answer that would probably not be very quiet or very complimentary of sarcasm, but Will came to Hunith's rescue.
"That's great, Mum! When will she be here?" Will rushed forward as he spoke, wrapping his thin arms around his mother's waist and hugging her tightly, distracting Katherine at least for the time being.
Hun gave him a look that spoke of possible irritation (why did he always have to look like the good child of the family?) and definite gratitude. She hadn't thought before she spoke.
Katherine patted her son's hair, so like her own. "Tomorrow, dear." She looked towards Hunith again, and her teenaged daughter bit the inside of her cheek – hard – and smiled at her mother, nodding.
"I do like seeing Aunt Hannah."
Saying the words hurt a lot more than the bite, but it had to be said.
Katherine glanced at Lexi, who gave her a small smile and a shrug. "Okay." She would wait to complain to her father. As young as she was, Lexi knew were sympathy could be found.
Katherine smiled, relieved.
\-_-BREAK-_-/
"William," called the voice.
Will, chewing his lip, pulled up short when he heard it, for there was only one person it could be—the only person in Camelot who called him by his full name. King Arthur had never been one for nicknames; he wouldn't even call Alexandra 'Lexi'. He only called his son, Tom, by his nickname whenever very worried (and with Tom and Uther, he was quite often worried).
"Sire?" He turned around, looking respectful.
Arthur, who had been approaching him, stopped short when he saw that polite incline of the boy's head. It never got any less strange, seeing Merlin's child so well-bred. Thank heavens for Katherine's influence.
"Where are Thomas and Uther?" asked the king.
"I don't know, Sire."
"Aren't you supposed to be with them now?"
Ever since the twins ran off and nearly got themselves killed by the castle's very own skeleton in the closet, Will had been given a light job taking care of them around midday. Will was not liable to do anything dangerous, despite being just as much of a trouble magnet as his father used to be, and so the king and queen thought that the young warlock – another thing Will got from his father – would keep the young princes alive. Will felt like he spent a good deal of time taking care of his peers anyway, so his schedule wasn't messed with too much.
And his father had been so grateful to him. Will liked it when his father thanked him liked that; it made him feel special.
So far the plan was working, but only as long as Tom and Uther stayed alive. That really depended more on them than on Will.
"Yes, Sire, I should…" admitted the young boy, playing with the fabric around his throat.
"Then why aren't you?" Will didn't look at the king. He'd never met the old King Uther, but he'd heard that the old king was a lot scarier than the one they had now, even at Arthur's most furious. Will, personally, didn't believe a word of it.
"I… had something I wanted to do," he answered evasively.
Silence. After a moment, the boy looked up and winced at the expression on the face of the monarch.
"Like…?"
Will felt his brown eyes widen, staring at the king nervously. "You… you can't tell my mother."
Arthur folded his arms and raised his eyebrows. "What is it that I can't tell your mother?"
"I'm hiding something away."
Arthur sighed. He might look like his mother, but this boy was Merlin all over again. "William, tell me what you are hiding and then I will decide whether or not to tell your mother."
Will sighed, playing with the cloth around his neck again and slumping slightly. For a king, King Arthur was such a parent.
In a small voice, he told the imposing blond man.
"Louder, William; I'm getting older, you know."
Arthur was smiling now. That was good, right?
"I'm looking for a place to hide my neckerchief, Sire."
"…Why? You've worn that thing for years."
"My Aunt Hannah is coming for a visit." Will looked up again, His eyes like large, warm orbs, full of pleading, trying to gauge the King's reaction by his face.
To Will's shock, the king laughed. Yes, laughed! "Ah," he said. "That explains it." Then, he reached out and ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "Your Aunt Hannah." He'd heard she was coming. Merlin had requested a day off to get drunk. "Now, about telling your mother…"
"Please, Sire, I…" begged the boy, but he never finished.
Arthur held up his hand for silence. "Don't worry, it'll be our secret." After looking at the boy's face a little longer, he commented, "You know, you are lucky that you have your mother's eyes. Merlin's are so happy all the time."
And with that odd comment, he turned and walked back down the hall, off to find his own boys.
"Wait, Sire?"
Arthur turned back around.
Will, newly confident now that he had a king on his side, spoke clearly. "I was wondering if you could do something for me, Sire." He tugged at the cloth around his neck.
Arthur's grin split his face.
A few hours later, Gwen would ask her husband why he was carrying around a faded neckerchief and wanting to leave it in his room where no one would touch it, but Arthur, always true to his word, just told her that maybe his former manservant had managed to start a fad. It just took a decade or so to catch on.
A/N: Review?