Notes: The idea came from watching Shakespeare in love. This is for Mal. :)
Prologue
Merlin looked around the round theatre, with boredom written all over his face. The guy on the stage was worse than the one before. Why were these people even trying to audition for his next play? Well, of course he knew why. These actors were so bad, nobody would take them, except for maybe someone unfamous, who didn't (or couldn't) pay them much, but enough to live. Maybe.
Merlin dismissed the actor, after he had perfectly destroyed a poem, which Merlin had written a few years back. Granted, there wasn't much to destroy, but this guy...Merlin shook his head. "Thank you, er," he looked down at the list of names, "er, Valiant. Erm, that was...nice. Why don't you go and join the others? We'll contact you, if we have need for your...talents."
Valiant nodded, and turned away, and Merlin slumped in his seat. "I can't do this," he complained. Gaius, who sat a few feet away from Merlin, ignored him completely in favour of writing some notes next to Valiant's name. Merlin groaned: "Gaius, come on, I know this is your theatre and I know that you can chose whomever you want for your plays, but these guys, they will ruin my play!"
Gaius merely raised an eyebrow. Granted, he always did that. Merlin jumped from his seat. "I know that there is nothing to ruin, alright? No need to rub it in!"
Someone below on the stage cleared their throat, and made Merlin spin around: "What?!" He called down, annoyance radiating off him.
"My name is William," said the blond gentleman, who was clad in grey clothes that fit him very badly, and a greyish blue cloak, which fluttered a bit in the light breeze. "I'm here to audition." It sounded more like a question, while he pointedly looked at the list that was still in Merlin's hand. "So this is your play, huh?" William continued, "I always wanted to meet you, Mr. Shakespeare."
Merlin groaned. He would kill Will for this. Well, not this William-guy on the stage, he'd done nothing wrong, well...not yet. No, he'd kill his best friend Will, for giving him this pen name. When Merlin was a little boy, all he'd ever wanted, was to read a flyer, which would say: 'The Gratest Play of them All! by Merlin the Great' Instead, now all his plays were shown under the name of Shakespeare. Thanks, Will!
William, the on-stage-one, cleared his throat again: "Shall I begin?" His voice wasn't at all unpleasent, Merlin mused, and nodded. And William began.
He was good, Merlin thought, and glancing at Gaius, he saw the same impression. William was fluent, with a presence on stage that would easily capture all the attention, but at the same time seeming humble and modest. This was what Merlin was looking for! His heart began to race at the prospect of finally finding someone to play his main character. And while William performes, his clear, blue eyes never wavered from Merlin. Merlin should feel uncomfortable under the stare, but the truth was that it made his heart race just a tiny bit more. William wasn't only a great actor, but he also looked great. Well, Merlin knew this whole situation must have a catch. Merlin knew that people would talk, if he'd start something with one of the actors, but damn him, if he didn't at least try. If only for the beautiful eyes.
Arthur looked up, at where Mr Shakespeare himself discussed something with an elderly man. Shakespeare had black hair, blue eyes and perfectly shaped cheekbones. His hair stood up in all direktions, after he ran his fingers through it. He had big ears and was too thin, and Arthur couldn't help but wonder, how he was responsible, for the finest poetry Arthur had ever read. Arthur remembered the first time he had read one of Shakespeares poems, where he fell utterly in love with the poetry, and this man. After that he had willingly accompanied Morgana to watch her beloved plays, because he couldn't get enough of them either. Of course he didn't say so, cause a prince is not supposed to like theatre.
Morgana was his father's ward. His father of course being Uther Pendragon, King of England. Which made Arthur the future King of England. And while he knew that it was an honour to be King, he also wanted to spent the rest of his life, watching Shakespeare's plays. Morgana would call this escapism, and she would be right.
But since he started to watch the plays regularly, he began to notice that most of the actors the Caerleon Theatre could afford, were so bad it made him cringe. That's why he was here today. He wanted to show them all that he could do better than them. And he also wanted to show them that he could achieve something, even if nobody knew who he was. That's why he stole some servant's clothes and called himself William. He definitely didn't call himself so, because of William Shakespeare. He loved his poetry, but he wasn't some lovestruck girl. Probably.
Shakespeare turned around to Arthur, a huge smile spread across his face, and Arthur decided then and there that this smile would be his downfall.
"Okay, you got the part," Shakespeare called down, and it was all Arthur could do, not to jump up and punch the air. Instead he inclined his head and smiled back at Shakespeare. This broadened his smile and made his eyes sparkle, and Arthur felt the need to punch himself for thinking like this about a big eared poet in oversized clothes. He knew that his father would scream his lungs out, if he knew about the theatre thing. How would he react, if Arthur started something with a poor, mostly unknown writer? But damn Arthur, if he wouldn't at least try. If only for the beautiful poetry.