AN: A series of short, really pointless, painfully fluffy stories about young!Arthur shenanigans. Anything you recognize I don't own. Usual disclaimer for historical/medical/canon innacuracies applies.
1. A Whole Chicken!
Age: 5
Main Characters: Arthur, Gaius, unnamed guards
"Gaius? Gaius!" Gaius was pulled from his slumber by insistent tugging on his shirt. Looking down, he saw a small head of blond hair peeking out above the edge of his bed.
"Arthur?" The physician shook the last vestiges of sleep from his mind and looked down at the young prince. "Arthur, what are you doing down here? You're supposed to be in bed." The prince blushed slightly, squirming. "How did you get past the guards? Goodness, child, the moment they find that you're gone there'll be trouble."
"I threw a rock, Gaius! I… I threw it down the hall and the guards thought something was moving over there and then I ran!" His tiny hands gestured wildly, his bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement. While the prince was preoccupying himself with his successful escape, Gaius heard a soft rap on his window. Keeping one hand on the prince's shoulder he turned his head surreptitiously, just enough to see out the window. He saw the edge of a helmet – a uniform helmet worn by the castle guards – and he fought to keep the grin from his face. He turned back to the young prince. "Well you're certainly a clever one, aren't you!" He gave the boy a gentle pat on the head.
"Father says I have to learn to st…sta…str…strage…"
"Strategize?"
"Yes!" The prince looked up at him with wide blue eyes. "Because I'm to be a knight one day. The best knight in the land!"
Gaius smiled down at the boy. "I don't doubt it, lad, but to be a good knight you have to grow up big and strong – and for that you have get enough rest. So come on, then." And with that he picked the little boy up and settled him on his hip. Arthur wrapped his tiny arms around Gaius's neck and rested his head on the physician's shoulder.
"I thought you weren't tired, sire."
"M'not," came the muffled reply. Gaius shook his head, smoothing down Arthur's soft blond hair.
"Let's go, then."
The physician made his way back to the prince's chambers, the guard following at a respectful distance behind. He put the now very obviously sleepy child on the bed and tucked him in snugly, smoothing his hair one last time before leaving the room and shutting the door softly behind him. The two guards were snickering softly before one of them noticed Gaius and coughed meaningfully.
"That boy…" Gaius murmured, shaking his head, and the guards dissolve into quiet laughter once more. "My lords, you shouldn't humour him… little rascal that he is. I shudder to think what else he's gotten up to…"
One of the guards gave a rather undignified snort, "Physician, last week he played the same trick and came back with an entire chicken! Uncooked, at that – the thing was almost as big as he was. I haven't the slightest idea how he managed to lug it all the way back with him, much less how he managed to free it from wherever it was being stored in the kitchens…I suspect one of the servants probably had something to do with it."
"You let him go alone?" Gaius said, frowning.
"Oh, no, I followed him. I hid behind the kitchen doors."
"I heard from Sir Auden, who was guarding his doors last week, that he charmed candy from the cook after dinner – and even stopped to share it with the guards!" the other guard, who had so far been silent, chimed in.
Gaius shook his head. "That boy…"
The guards laughed again, and the one that had followed Arthur to Gaius spoke, "Yes… he's got the entire castle at his beck and call."
"He's five years old!"
The guard grinned, "Could you say no to those eyes, Gaius?"
Gaius looked back at the closed doors, behind which the sleeping prince lay. "No, I don't suppose I could."