This is my first multi-chapter Arthdel story (Arthur and Forridel) and I hope you'll like it as much as I do.
I believe I'll write four-five chapters, perhaps more. Oh, and perhaps I should mention that the story takes place between season one and season two and that the prince do not have feelings for Guinevere - well, not yet, though.

Don't forget your review!

Chapter one

Actually, he enjoyed strolling around in Camelot, the crown prince admitted to himself with a smile upon his lips as he reached the crowded market. He could still remember how he as a young kid used to run up and down the many streets and lanes pretending that he was protecting his defenseless kingdom from outlaws and enemy forces.
"You thief-", the angry voice of the towns baker made Arthur turn his attention towards the bread stand. Curious citizens had gathered there to see what was going on. "Send me the knights; she won't get away with this, not this time!"

With his hand resting on the sword Arthur started walking through the crowd which immediately made way for him, bowing and curtseying, as they saw who it was.
"Take it easy baker", he said as he reached the old man. "Do not trouble your old heart; tell me what's going on."
The baker stared at him for a moment, not expecting the crown prince himself to turn up.
But then, he collected himself and bowed deeply.
"This is the third time I catch her stealing my bread", he said, his cheeks burning red of frustration as he tightened his grip around a young girl's arm. "And I demand that someone punishes her!"

The girl turned her head and stared at the old man with eyes like slots, a newly baked loaf pressed against her chest. "Like if it isn't punishment enough being accused doing something you haven't; I've paid you and you know that!"
A blank expression fell over the man's face and it seemed like if she was right, that he'd just forgotten about the money, but then he shook his body like a wet dog and stared angrily at the girl.
"You're lying, you crook", the baker shouted, recklessly shaking her arm; not caring if it hurt.
"I'll pay for the loaf", the crown prince interrupted as he started to search through his pockets for money. The baker and the girl turned their heads and stared at him.
"No, milord", the old man stuttered, suddenly blushing, "that's not necessary, I just wanted this-".

Arthur shook his head and reached him the silver coins.
"Take the money and let the girl leave, if you ever caught her stealing your bread again; let me know and I'll deal with it."
The old man nodded and bowed gratefully as the girl jerked herself from his grip and made her way through the crowd; her long, pale arms shielding the warm bread from invisible threats.
Arthur saw her leaving and tried to catch up with her, but all by a sudden; the girl was gone.

With a sigh he continued his strolling and tried not to think so much about the girl and how similar she was to him – if he only could remember from where he'd seen her before.
"Hey you", suddenly, as Arthur walked through an unusually dark and narrowed lane, he could feel someone grip his arm and he immediately draw his sword, trying to get a better look of the dark figure standing next to him.
"Oh come one, you and your nerves Arthur Pendragon", the female voice said with a sigh before she let go of his arm. "I won't kidnap you or rape you in this dark lane, I promise!"
Arthur frowned, now recognizing the girl's voice from the market. He placed the sword back in its sheath.

"Who are you?" He asked as he got a glimpse of her bright eyes.
"Do you not recognize me?" She asked with something sounding like hurt in her voice, he wrinkled his forehead as it sounded like he should. "Well, it's been a couple of years since we spoke to one and each other, so perhaps I shouldn't have so high expectations, but when you looked at me in the market-"
Then, a memory stroke him and he remembered a young girl who smelled like autumn and rain that he used to sneak out to play with when his father thought that he was in his chambers and studied the ancient history of Camelot.
"Forridel?" He asked with hesitating voice, remembering that the girl and her family moved away sometime around his twelfth birthday.

She laughed, like if she was relieved that he finally recognized her.
"Come, let's get out of here, I want to see your face", she said and dragged him with her along a small uphill. It wasn't until they reached the castle wall that she turned around and their eyes met.
Arthur blushed slightly as he found himself staring at her, how unlike she was that dirty little girl in ragged dresses that he used to explore the city with.
She had grown a lot since then and was almost at the same height as him. Her hair was long and went in the same golden tone as a sunbeam, her eyes as green as jade.
"You've grown", he said with a low voice, stunned by her natural beauty.
Forridel gave him a sparkling smile which made him feel like if he was eight once again.
"So have you", she said, twitching her neck so the hair fell over her back. "Missed me?"

Arthur just smiled vaguely, gesticulating with one hand that they'd continue walking.
She returned the smile and started dancing forward like if she was a little girl, from time to time she turned her head to see that he kept up.
"I bet I'm still faster than you", she said with a challenging laughter, taking a better grip around her small bag as if she was prepared to run.
"Forridel-", Arthur gently shook his head whilst he walked, feeling at least fifty years older than her. "I'm the crown prince of Camelot and captain over the knights, people can't see me running around like a reckless kid. "
"Yea?" She raised her eyebrows with a grin. "You are just afraid that I'll beat you, so stop coming up with these lame excuses."

'Oh I hope that the knights are down in the lower town, strolling around ore something', he thought. 'Not that I'm afraid that she'll beat me, 'cause she won't, but-'
"First to the well", Forridel shouted, already on her way with a firm grip around the skirt to her gown so that she could run properly. Arthur laughed and tried to catch up with her.
She was fast, he had to admit, but his legs were longer so he didn't have to take that many steps before he reached her side.
Forridel casted a glimpse of him and laughed loudly as they came out on the courtyard, side by side they raced towards the well at the center of the yard.
"Hah, I won!" Arthur declared as he touched the cold stones, only a few meters before her.
She breathed hard but seemed happy when she sank onto the ground, her hands searching through the little bag of hers as if she were looking for something.
"And the winner should get his price", she said, looking up at him with shining eyes. "A newly baked loaf"

He smiled as he could see the bread that he'd bought for his own money so that she would go free. But as she reached it out to him, his expression darkened.
"You were about to steal it", he said with a low voice, leaning against the cold stones of the well. "Why?"
She frowned, lowering her hands as it didn't look like he would accept his price.
"'Cause I was hungry", she said and pointed at a place on the loaf where someone had taken a large bite. "And without money you have to steal."
"Can't your mother give you some money, she's working, right?"
"She died, five years ago", Forridel rose from the ground, suddenly had all happiness that she shone of disappeared. "It was nice seeing you again, I have to go now."

"Forridel", he gently grabbed her arm and turned her around so that he could see her face.
Tears made their way down her cheeks and she looked at him with empty eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but if you should need anything, anything at all – let me know, I'll get my servant to send you some food if you wish."
Forridel smiled vaguely but shook her head.
"That's kind of you Arthur, but I don't need that", she said and brushed away some tears before she started to walk backwards. "Actually, I think I'll go and talk to the blacksmith; I've always had a good hand with people, perhaps he'll give me a job at the market."
With that she turned around and started to run towards the city, leaving the crown prince with a formless smile upon his lips.

"Who was she?" Arthur spun around with big eyes as he heard the soft voice of Morgana's. "It looked like you knew her very well."
Her red lips were drawn into a teasing smirk and he felt how his mood fell.
"Just someone I met", he shrugged and started to walk towards the castle, slightly blushing as he wondered how much she'd seen.
"You seemed happy", Morgana teased as she followed him like an irritating puppy.
"Knock it off, Morgana", Arthur gave her an annoyed look as he walked towards his chambers.
It didn't help how much he tried to silent her, there was always new questions thrown in his face.
"Now you have to go", He said with tired voice as they reached the door of his chambers. "I'll take a bath and I'd suggest that you do the same before you start to smell."
Morgana just rolled her eyes but turned willingly around and walked away, Arthur sighted of relief before he closed the door carefully behind him.

Throwing himself upon his comfortable bed he started to wonder where Merlin was; he hadn't seen him since breakfast when he ordered him to mock out in the stables.
Feeling strangely alert Arthur couldn't rest as he planned, so with his fingers itching of doing something he rose to the floor and left his chambers to search for his servant.
Luckily, there was no sign of Morgana as he left the castle and walked down to the stables.
"Merlin?" He shouted, searching through the stable where the horses stood, looking at him with strange eyes.

"Milord, I think I saw your servant at the market, talking to some blond beauty", one of the horse keepers stood in the door with his bosom studded with straw to the animals. "If you hurry, I think they're still there."
Arthur smiled and thanked the old man before he run off towards the marketplace, wondering which blond beauty Merlin would talk to instead of doing his chores.
As he arrived at the stone yard, he immediately recognized the dark haired boy who was standing at the blacksmith's stand.

Once again, Arthur found himself making his way through the crowd, this time his eyes were attached to the young boy's back and he thought of thousand ways of punishing him for not doing his duties.
"Are you sure, sweetie?" He heard a bright voice as he was a few steps away from the boy. "This necklace would be perfect for the girl of your heart, are you sure you won't buy it?"
Arthur stopped, wanting to hear what Merlin answered, 'the girl of his heart?',he smiled; finally he would find something new to tease him about.
"Oh, there is none", Merlin stumbled. Arthur let out of a sigh, too bad.
"Well, someday you might find her", the girl said in a friendly tone, throwing with her hair so that it reflected the sunlight.

"Arthur?" The girl had caught a glimpse of him and smiled broadly. "Are you stalking me or what?"
Merlin jumped as he heard his master's name and turned around, staring at him with an apologizing look in his face.
"Sire", he said, his cheeks burning read. "Um, I've mocked out in the stables-"
"Yea, and what about my armor?" Arthur asked with his eyebrows raised in the air. "It needs polishing. And my room needs cleaning and after you've done that–"
"Oh Arthur Pendragon, have you no shame?" Forridel asked as she looked at him with disturbed eyes. "It's a nice day, why bothering this boy with boring chores?"
"Merlin happens to be my personal manservant", Arthur said with a swift glare at the bothered boy with raven black hair and sharp cheekbones. "And it's his job to-"
Forridel sighed, rolling her eyes as she moved around with the shining things on the table which the blacksmith had made.

"Mark my words Mr. Pendragon; you've grown up to be a dreary bully!"
He knew that she didn't mean it, if she did; her eyes would be much darker – like the trees after a rain.

From the corner of his eye he could see that Merlin looked at them with wondering eyes, he'd never seen a commoner talk to his master like that without being sent to the stocks, so Arthur straightened his face and tried to ignore him.
"Well, that's my job", He answered with a vague, almost invisible, smile. "But really, Merlin, my armor needs polishing – tomorrow we'll be celebrating the new knights and I can't walk around at the announcement with mud all over me."
The dark haired boy finally nodded and said good bye to Forridel before he started to walk towards the castle with a last, curios look back at them.

"He believe I could get a job at the castle"
Arthur didn't know why he was still there, surely he had loads of things to do, better things than giving his people new stuff to chitchat about.
"Merlin? He's talking dung", he reached out a hand to the table and inspected a small knife with golden badges. "Why would you give up this? Tom must have given you this job at the same time he saw you."
Forridel just smiled.
"What's this awesome feast of yours?" She asked, twining her hair. "Am I invited?"
Arthur laughed, just the thought of Forridel, a commoner which he used to play with as a child, in the great hall together with his father and Morgana?

"Oh come on, Art", she begged, using her old nickname of him. "I'd really like to see the castle from the inside, please?"
He shrugged with a smile upon his lips, why not?
"Well, you'll have to be well dressed; I'll present you as the lady Forridel of King Cendred's court and we'll pretend that you've been sent here to learn about our customs", he could see how her bright eyes started to shine and couldn't help himself from laughing once again. "See you at the feast then."
"Yes, sire."

The second chapter is already written, so post your review and I might be merciful. 'mad laughter'

Oh, and I'd very much appreciate if someone told me if there were some huge grammar mistakes, 'cause then I'll try change it.