Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters or locations. Wrote this in my head on the way home from school in the snow. Enjoy.
It was, Merlin had to admit, rather cold. Snowflakes fell like feathers from the pure white sky, floating down to land upon the frozen ground. The lake to the east of Camelot had frozen over, and people were sliding around on it , laughing. There were merchants selling hot pies and mulled wine, and even Arthur had-
THWUMP.
A snowball flew through the air and hit Merlin in the side of the head, sliding down his neck and into his clothes. He flinched, slipping on the icy ground and landing in a pile of snow nearby. As he picked himself up, he noticed how cold and wet his clothes were becoming. He looked around to see where the snowball had come from, but couldn't see anyone.
"Merlin! Come on!" Arthur cried from a little way away, "we're meant to be training!" He swung his sword as if to emphasise the point, and moved forward to strike. Merlin brought the training shield up to meet Arthur's blade, and they collided with a thud. Merlin warily brought his arm down, ready for the next blow, but none came. He looked up. Arthur was bent double, shaking snow out of his armour.
"What happened?" Merlin asked, looking around again. He thought saw a head of brown hair duck behind a wall a short way away. Evidently Arthur had seen it too, as he held up a hand and motioned for Merlin to follow. They crept slowly closer, their footsteps making faint crunching sounds on the powdery snow. They reached the wall.
Arthur held a finger to his lips and gathered a handful of snow. He threw it in an arc so that it landed just on the other side of the wall. There was a muffled shout and Merlin peered over the wall to see Gwaine lying on his back with a face full of snow and slush. He laughed, and prepared another snowball to throw.
Arthur darted backwards with the reflexes of a swordfighter, grabbing another handful of snow and rolling it into a ball. He quickly gathered more, and before long he had amassed a pile of them. Merlin, meanwhile, had fetched the shield he had been using earlier, and was shielding himself and Arthur from Gwaine's next onslaught. Arthur leapt out from behind the shield and threw three consecutive barrages at their attacker, who dodged and threw one back. Merlin blocked it with the shield and the two of them chased Gwaine out from behind his hiding place and into an open field. Arthur threw a few more snowballs and Gwaine fell backwards onto the ground. He grabbed Merlin's arm as he fell and pulled him down at the same time.
"Now's your chance," he whispered, as they both rose to their feet. Merlin clutched at another handful of snow, but wheeled around and catapulted it at close range straight at Arthur. The prince spluttered and recoiled, turning to run. He found himself face to face with his father.
"What are you doing, Arthur?" Uther asked, frowning. "You're supposed to be training."
Arthur hesitated. "I was just... training my reflexes, father."
Uther's face split in two with a smile wider than Arthur had seen in a long time. "NOW!" he called.
From the gates of the castle, all the knights of Camelot charged, each with a handful of snowballs. For the next hour, the air was full of snow flying in all directions, and nobody was safe. Arthur hit Uther, Uther hit Arthur, Arthur hit Leon, Leon hit Gwaine, Gwaine hit anyone he could reach. Merlin smiled. Today was a good day.