Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, any of the characters etc. If I did, certain characters from series five would definitely be still alive.

Two boys raced down the corridor, knocking over a table on their way into another room. The younger of the two was a scrawny, dark-haired waif, dressed in a blue cotton shirt that dwarfed him completely, while the elder was blond and broader and infinitely better dressed. In one hand he held a short wooden sword, with which he jabbed his younger companion, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall over.

"Ha! You've been slayed, monster!" The elder cried victoriously, resting one foot on the dark-haired boy's back. His unfortunate victim tried to wriggle away, but he was pinned down by the blonde's foot. "Merlin," the blonde said critically. "Dead things aren't supposed to move."

Still, he let his companion up, sheathing his wooden sword clumsily in his belt as Merlin got to his feet and looked at the newly-acquired graze on his elbow. He shot the other boy a wounded look.

"When do I get to be the knight?" he asked with a plaintive keen. Just as the elder was about to reply, there was a knock and then the sound of the door creaking open. A girl with long, glossy black and strangely light eyes peered around the wooden door.

"Arthur," she said, stepping into the room. "There you are."

"What do you want, Morgana?" Arthur demanded, the chivalry of the knight promptly forgotten in the face of this new adversary.

"I'm bored," she said languidly. "Can I play with you?"

Arthur looked at Merlin, and then back at Morgana. His eyes lit up with the light of an idea.

"Alright," he said, and pointed to an ornately carved wooden chair. "Go and sit over there."

"Why?" the girl asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You be the princess," Arthur explained, "and I'll rescue you from the dragon."

"No!" Morgana cried. "I don't want to be rescued, 'specially not by you."

"Well you can't be the knight," Arthur pointed out, with what he considered to be a very reasonable air.

"Fine," Morgana replied, lifting her chin in the air. "Then I'll be the dragon."

"You can't be the dragon either!"

"And why not?" Morgana said with a dangerous glint in her eye. Arthur looked at his companion for support, and finding none turned back to her with an exasperated sigh.

"You're a girl," he explained. But the Lady was not to be deterred.

"So?" Morgana asked, raising one eyebrow with all the imperiousness that her seven-year old self could muster.

"So you've got to be the princess!"

"I don't want to be the princess. Make Merlin be the princess," she said stubbornly. Arthur, being a smart child despite all evidence to the contrary, knew when the battle was lost.

"Fine," he said. "Merlin, you're the princess."

Merlin gave a start. Mirth was quickly replaced by shock, and he looked at Arthur with a beseeching air.

"Arthur, not again," he whined. "I'm not a girl, and I'm not royalty either. Why do I always end up being the princess?"

"If I say you're a princess you're a princess," Arthur said grandly. There was another knock at the door, and they all looked around.

"Sire?" Gwen's voice echoed from outside of the room.

"Come in," Morgana said, beating Arthur to it. He gave her an affronted look for having the nerve to dictate who could enter his own room, which she responded to by sticking her tongue out. "What is it, Gwen?"

"I ah…" Gwen paused, faltering under the weight of the prince's glare, and smoothed her dress down. "I was just sent to ask whether-"

"Never mind," Morgana interrupted. "Do you want to play with us?"

"We're being overrun," Arthur whispered, disgruntled.

"Ignore the boy," Morgana said regally, waving her hand dismissively at him. "We're playing knights. Arthur's the knight, I'm the dragon, and Merlin's the princess," Morgana explained.

Merlin looked at Gwen with an expression of hope.

"Maybe Gwen could be the-"

"Nope," Arthur interrupted him, and Merlin's face fell. Morgana's lit up, however, and she smiled at Merlin in a way that would worry any sane person.

"You can't be a princess if you're not wearing a dress," she said slyly.

"You're right," Merlin beamed. "I'm not wearing a dress, am I Arthur? So I can't be the princess," he finished, pleased with his stroke of genius.

"Oh, don't worry, Merlin," Morgana said in a voice that was too innocent to be anything but evil. "I've got a dress you can borrow."

Merlin stared at her, horrified.

"Go on then Merlin," Arthur said, with something approaching sadistic glee. Merlin stared at Arthur in horror, shaking his head as Morgana and Gwen advanced upon him.

"Arthur, please," he said, as if he was being led to the gallows. They grabbed his arms, and started frogmarching him to the door. "Arthur, make them stop," Merlin begged.

"Bye Merlin," Arthur said cheerfully.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried, casting one last despairing look over his shoulder before he was dragged away. Morgana rolled her eyes.

"It's just for a little while," Gwen said comfortingly.

"It's long enough," Merlin said in the voice of one already dead. "Arthur will never let this go."

The next few minutes were a blur of pale blues, silk and terrifyingly pink dresses, before Merlin was stuffed inelegantly into a long, deep purple gown with silver embroidery and unnecessarily dangly sleeves. On their return to Arthur's room they found lying on the floor, absently throwing a ball into the air and catching it again. He glanced up, and on catching sight of Merlin, burst out laughing. The young prince leapt up, ball all but forgotten as he strutted over.

"Aww, you look adorable," he grinned, pinching Merlin's cheek. Merlin muttered something under his breath and shoved Arthur's hand away. "Tie him to the chair!" the young prince commanded, unperturbed, and Merlin allowed himself to be trussed up with one of Arthur's mostly clean undershirts.

"Squire," Arthur said, pointing to Gwen. "You can be the bait."

"You can't have Gwen. Gwen's with me," Morgana said defensively, grabbing Gwen's arm.

"But there can't be two dragons," Arthur said. "Not that I couldn't defeat them," he added, "but that's not the point."

"Why don't we be a two-headed dragon?" Gwen suggested, ever the diplomat.

"Or Gwen could be the princess and I could be a knight," Merlin said.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur and Morgana said simultaneously.

"You can't threaten me, I'm a Princess. It's bad manners," Merlin sniffed.

"Right, you're getting gagged," Arthur said, procuring one of Merlin's scarves from behind his back.

"Where did you get my-" Merlin said, but the rest of the sentence was obliterated as Arthur shoved the scarf in his mouth. Arthur looked around for his sword, and turned just in time to see Morgana leaping off the four-poster bed and flying through the air towards him.

xxx

A while after this, King Uther happened to pass his son's room, and was distracted by shrieks coming from inside it. Narrowing his eyes, he flung open the door, and stopped dead. The Lady Morgana had her arm around her serving maid, their ankles tied together with napkins and a moss green quilt draped over their shoulders. With their outer arms they clawed at Arthur, hissing wildly, while the young prince bravely fought them off with a fork. Behind him that scrawny servant of Arthur's was tied to a chair with a red scarf stuffed in his mouth. Worst of all, he appeared to be wearing the gown that Uther had bought his ward for the upcoming feast.

"Exactly what…" he said slowly, "Do you think you are doing?"

The four children froze, and looked up.

"We were just playing knights," Arthur said in a small voice, shrinking slightly under his father's disapproval.

"With servants," he said, lingering on the word. He gave Gwen a look of distaste, and she quickly looked away, stooping to untie the napkins. "What have I told you about playing with servants?"

"Not to," Arthur mumbled.

"But they're our friends!" Morgana protested, barely restraining herself from stamping her foot with the injustice of it all. "Gwen and Merlin go everywhere where we go – how can you expect them to be anything else?"

Uther was silent for a moment, warring between his desire to shout at his wayward ward and not wanting to make a scene in front of the Common Folk.

"Morgana, Arthur, if you would follow me," Uther said after a short pause. "You - I believe you are needed in the kitchens," he added curtly, looking at Gwen. She curtsied and rushed out of the room, not daring to look him in the eye again. Morgana and Arthur looked at each other sheepishly, and followed Uther as he swept out of the room. Merlin was left tied to the chair.

"Hawwow?" he called. There was no answer.

Merlin gave a long-suffering sigh.