Every year was the same when it came to the summer months. In the family, there would be a vote on where the summer holiday would be taken. Everyone but Merlin had voted to stay at Pendragon's; the mountain holiday resort in Camelot, for the next few weeks. Probably the main reason for voting to stay at Pendragon's was that the holiday was free. The owner of the resort, Uther Pendragon - hence the name - was a long-term patient of Gaius - Merlin's uncle - and had literally begged him and his family to spend their summer at his resort for the care he had recieved.
The travel from Ealdor out to Camelot, where the resort was based, took less than an hour. August temperatures reached sky-high as the mercury just plummeted over thirty degrees centigrade, which to the British, temperatures that hot and the sun's rays beaming in all directions would mean a heatwave. Thereby as Balinor grove the group up the main roads through Camelot and onto the Avalon border, all the windows were rolled down as the air mixed.
"Bloody hell. It's too hot!" Merlin moaned as they passed along the main roads, trying to focus on his book.
"Don't worry my boy. Give it about an hour and we'll be cooped up in our chalet," Gaius mentioned, swiping the hand-held fan off Gwen and passing it over to Merlin.
"Hey! Give me the fan back!" Gwen squealed, trying to form a pout.
"You've hogged the fan since we departed Ealdor. If Merlin doesn't recieve a little air, he'll conk out. We've run out of drinks."
"Now children. I understand it's hot and you're bothered, but before you know it we'll be unpacked and cooling down in the pool." Balinor hushed down the disagreement, trying to concentrate on the road.
The radio was blaring away, playing some of the newest tracks on offer and giving reports on the daily news and weather for the week ahead, as they passed the entrance.
The car park had literally reached its plummet by the time the Emrys household had arrived. There were stalls outside selling tailored dresses (probably for the evening, so they must have a ballroom), where Gwen's eyes trailed as one coral dress was being drawn away on a large rack.
"Ah! I should of brought those coral shoes." Gwen whined as she departed the car. "They would perfectly match with that coral dress."
"But sweetheart, you already brought ten pairs!" Hunith replied as they all deaprted the car, waiting for Uther to direct them to their chalet and for the staff to carry their luggage.
"This is not a tragedy Gwen! A tragedy would be our queen dying or Mercia launching an attack!" Balinor muttered, trying to end Gwen's whinging as he'd prefer to enjoy his summer.
"Sorcerers burning themselves in protest with their magic if they reinstated sorcery as illegal." Merlin joined in. Why did people moan about the simplest things in life? What was one more pair of shoes going to do? 'Money can't buy happiness' was Merlin's motto."But out idiot!" That was something that Merlin was called, by literally everyone. Someone might as well change his name to 'idiot' on his birth certificate.
Uther and some tall chap with blond, curly hair came towards the car, where Gaius and Balinor greeted them.
"Well, after all these years I finally got you up on my mountain!" Uther grinned and embraced the pair. Uther turned towards the ladies and gentleman. "If it wasn't for these pair then I'd be standing here dead. Don't worry, I've saved the best chalet for you!"
Merlin quit the group and went to help the young fellow unload the boot, picking up the suitcases. "Hey, would you like a job here?" Merlin only gave a fake grin in return and continued unloading.
One thing that was common about the Pendragon's resort was the amount of dance classes held during the day and evenings. It was known that the resort had some of the best professional dancers the country could offer. Merlin was a huge fan of dancing; well, he'd seen how it was done from the television on boring Saturday evenings and became fond of the rountines. The problem was, he couldn't dance for days. He probably could only just about succeed doing the hokey-pokey!
"Mom? Dad? I'm going out to have a look around!" Merlin abandoned the chalet, flying down the steps and skipping along the path, overlooking the sunset. He passed the outdoor pool, where some were still lounging, and trodded his way to the main house. Walking along the deck and admiring the view from it, Merlin stumbled upon a meeting held between Uther and the waiters in the restaurant. He mentioned that he'd gone to the best universities around the UK to find suitable undergraduates summer jobs that he could reply upon. Clearly his intention had not gone according to plan, with guests complaining about their standards. Uther told them what he expected of them; to be charming and respectful, even try and romance some of the girls if they had to. Live life to the full. That's when some blond guy waked past with a few musicians, leather jacket being draped over his back with one hand, his head propping up, making everyone admire his avaiator sunglasses.
"Well, if it isn't the entertainment staff." Uther gave a displeased look to the blond male and the musicians nearby. Merlin's eyes went wide on the blond figure about to being given a lecture. The bloke looked around the same age as Merlin and was tall. The bloke was sporting a t-shirt and blue jeans; brilliantly toned in all the right places and coated in a golden tan. Joining the outfit was a mop of blond hair, which looked soft and fluffy to the touch. The man was fetching!
Uther continued to lecture the male, who wore a face of 'like I really care what you're telling me' type of face, in order words he seemed an utter prat. "We've been over this before. Look, you can teach the girls and women anyhting they pay for. But that is where it ends. No funny business and keep your hands off!"
Uther left the staff to their own amends and took to a side door. The one waiter gave a smirk at the blond guy, who was laying out bread rolls for the evening meal on one dining table. "So you think you can keep that straight Arthur? What you can and can't lay your hands on?"
So that's his name. Arthur. Arthur what though? Anyway, this Arthur golden gorgeous prat went to make a snigger back at the waiter. "You just pop the pickle on the plates college boy and leave the hard stuff to me." Arthur sighed and dliberately knocked over the oragami napkins already set out on the table. This was Merlin's cue to locate the emergency exit and wield himself away.