Iris: Okay, it's time to kick off the Colours oneshots. The basic idea behind the series is that it will be a series of oneshots, each one based on a colour. So, to start it all off, we have Gold. Both me and Artemis will be writing the one-shots and no doubt, we'll work on a few together. We have set ones planned, however, requests are welcome. :P
Enjoy
Warnings: Light slash. No likey, no ready...
Gold
Money doesn't grow on trees. Aurum pomesta est. All that glitters isn't gold.
The phrases floated through Arthur's mind as his stallion trotted onwards. He took a deep breath through his nose, relishing the feel of fresh, cold air chilling his face. Beside pursuing 'witches', 'sorcerers' and various other weird and wonderful "magical beings", Uther's main focus right now was improving the woeful state of the treasury. The palace was full treasurers, bursars and a multitude of other men who spoke the language of 'finance'. Arthur had been surprised to discover that these men did not, in fact, travel from outlying kingdoms, but had lived in the palace the entire time. His mind conjured images of wrinkled, hunched, old men locked away in the gloomiest corners of the castle, occasionally giggling in the dark. He really didn't understand why his father needed them all. They even had a 'Treasure-watcher' for God's sake. If the man had been doing his damn job the kingdom wouldn't be in the state it was in.
The atmosphere in Camelot was stifling and there was only one way Arthur could escape. It was time for a hunt.
The forest around Camelot in the harvest season was truly a sight to behold. The forest floor transformed from a woody brown 'mess' into a deep golden carpet stretching as far as the eye could see. The trees glistened after the downpour last night so the leaves shone in the bright light of day.
"Your father isn't exactly in the best of moods, is he?"
The voice broke through the monotonous silence of the woods and Arthur's thoughts. Sometimes, only sometimes, it was possible for Arthur to believe that he was alone. Of course, that was never the case. Merlin followed behind Arthur on a black mare, bearing almost everything and anything that could be needed on a hunt, including two pillows and a candle. Merlin couldn't help but wonder if Arthur's only purpose in life was to make his more difficult.
Merlin's question was met with stony silence.
"Arthur? Why did we bring pillows out with us? I mean, what purpose could they actually serve in the middle of the forest? Are we supposed it fight off bears with them or something?"
"You know Merlin," Arthur attempted to make his voice as scathing as humanly possible, "there's an old saying that I think applies rather well here."
Merlin looked confused.
"Silence is golden. And considering the state those idiots have got the treasury into, I think we need all the gold we can get."
"Was that a roundabout way of telling me to shut up?"
"Yes Merlin, it was. Besides, how are we supposed to catch anything when you insist on making more noise than a tortured bullfrog?"
It took Arthur a full hour, give or take a few minutes, to actually track down anything worth hunting. He absolutely refused to go back to Camelot empty-handed, and despite what Merlin said, a rabbit wasn't "good enough", even if it did prove to be rather ferocious...
In other words, it was an hour of stumbling through the forest, brushing away leaves to see tracks (Did he say they made a golden blanket earlier? Stuff that, it was a pain in the backside), telling Merlin to shut up and Arthur swearing colourfully under his breath.
Arthur's breath stopped when he caught sight of the doe he'd been tracking. It's rear left leg stuck out awkwardly. At this rate, the creature would be dead within a few hours. Arthur was doing it a favour really. Arthur froze, gave Merlin a quick "shh" before slowly, tentatively, drawing his bow.
This was the reason Arthur enjoyed hunts as much as he did. It wasn't for the love of the chase, or the killing, it was for moments like this. Moments that felt as if the world held its breath, that time stood still. Moments that felt as if the slightest movement would cause lightning to crackle through the air and to so much as blink would break magic of the moment. They were better than jewels, these spilt seconds that Arthur would treasure forever. At times like this, Arthur could forget about Camelot and protecting the people, forget about his idiot of a manservant and over-bearing hypocrite of a father. He could forget everything and anything, escaping into the golden glow of that single, perpetual moment.
More gold... shame they couldn't put it in the treasury. Apparently it was more common than the treasurers thought.
Arthur could feel Merlin come closer to him, as quietly as his manservant could manage. No, no, no, no, no! Arthur shouted in his thoughts. Stay where you are. Don't you bloody dare come closer. One single noise and I swear to God, I'm going to...
The crack of an under trodden twig broke both the silence and the spell. The doe looked up, it's good back leg tensing, ready to spring. Arthur fired, and missed.
Well, not technically. The arrow was embedded in the deer's flank. Arthur cursed... he'd been aiming for the neck.
The doe sprang through the underbrush leaving both young men to rush after it. Well, one running after it and the other stumbling forwards, tripping, falling, picking himself up again and trying to find Arthur.
Arthur sprinted forwards, dagger in hand. He'd lost sight of the doe mere seconds after it shot off. Cursing colourfully, Arthur began the tedious task of tracking it once again.
He found it around four minutes later. The doe was lying over the roots of a large tree, as to be expected. Arthur came up behind it quietly, hoping to finish the deer without it noticing. Then Arthur spotted something that wasn't to be expected.
Merlin.
His manservant was kneeling beside the doe's head, staring intently into its' liquid brown eyes. A look of serenity crossed Merlin's face as a series of harsh, sharp syllables rolled of his tongue, turning them into a primitive type of music. His eye's clouded over, flashing gold under the filtered autumn light. "Sleep", he murmured quietly, his eyes softening once again, returning to their normal sapphire hue.
Yes, Arthur thought as he watched the doe sag, all energy leaving its body, Gold certainly is more common than we thought.
Iris: Hope you enjoyed that. Requests for particular colours are welcome E.g. Sapphire, Topaz etc etc... Any unusual colour you think we wouldn't have thought of…