Hello! I've been toying around with various fanfics for a while, but only recently decided to try and publish. This first chapter is very short; I'm just testing the waters, so let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my imagination.
"Destiny," muttered Merlin as he lugged an over-flowing laundry basket from Arthurs room, "I never knew that my great destiny was to cater to an enormous child!"
That morning had found Arthur in a foul mood, with him chucking a pillow at Merlin when the servant opened the curtains. He had then proceeded to dump his breakfast on the floor ("It's not cooked properly, Merlin!") and then tearing his night-trousers when they became tangled around his ankles ("Don't you know how to mend a tear, Merlin?") Now Merlin was all but fleeing the room, having been told that Arthur had better not see his "dolt-ish" face until his laundry was done and the effigies in the entrance hall were scrubbed. In anticipation of the Royals of Kenith's annual visit, the castle was being re-decorated and scrubbed till even the dungeons gleamed. Merlin had been tasked grooming all the horses the previous day, and he still had fur in his hair.
Hurrying with the wash (and probably neglecting a few food stains), Merlin collected a bucket and rag and headed for the obnoxious statues in the entrance hall.
Merlin
"Milady, I have already tended the horses. There is nothing wrong with your steed,"
"Insolent girl! It had a limp! It nearly threw me off! Do you want to see me and my unborn child thrown to the earth? Now fix it!"
"Yes, Milady," Akasha have a stiff curtsy and flounced away with no intention of checking that horse again. What her royal highness failed to understand was that when one rode a horse, there would be bumps and the ride would not be perfectly smooth. She had expected a certain amount of nagging during this trip to Camelot, but this was just absurd. Or maybe it was her trepidation at entering a kingdom that so vehemently opposed magic that made her hypersensitive to her queen's high-maintenance tendencies. Whatever the case, she would be glad when this trip was over and they were back in their own palace with only the usual threats to deal with.
"Her royal highness giving you grief, Akasha?" Leroy, a stable boy, set down the stirrup he was fixing and sat beside her on a rotting log.
"When is she not?" Akasha said, and immediately regretted it, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't say such things. She is good to have given me a job and pay." She looked around nervously, but they were far enough from camp that no one else could have heard her.
"Akasha, it's me, you don't have to do that proper stuff." Leroy said with a crooked smile. He knew that adjusting to life in the palace had been difficult for her, but he had no clue why. But he was a good friend, and sometimes Akasha forgot she could have such things.
"I know, I know. Have you looked at her horse? Is there actually a limp?"
"Of course not," he snorted, "she's just fine, rides like a dream. Now stop worrying about her highness, she's all bark and no bite." Leroy went back to his work with a smile, and Akasha wished she could be completely open with him.
"Destiny," she muttered, going to fix something important, like lunch.
Like I said, obnoxiously short. Really more of a teaser than anything else. The next chapters will be longer, with the real conflict starting in chapters 4 or 5. Reviews please! Even if it's just to say this is terrible! (but, you know, in a nice way)
