Hey, I recently got addicted to the BBC show Merlin, so, I wrote a one shot for it, including my character and two of my other friend's OCs. My character, Marigold, looks like Claire Holt, my friend's OC, Alethea, looks like Molly C Quinn, and my other friend's OC, Valissa/Lissa, looks like Amy Lee. This was edited by my amazing friend whom I love very much. :)
The knights gathered around the small camp fire as dusk began approaching. The seven men were each preoccupied with their own thoughts and duties as they made ready to stay the night in the wilderness. Merlin, the only one that wasn't in chain mail armor, made himself busy by cooking food for the other men. He tried to get it done as quickly as possible, knowing how the knights could get when hungry, especially Arthur (the royal prat). Lancelot helped Merlin best as he could, but listened in on the other knights' conversation.
Arthur, Percival, and Elyan had all burst out at a comment Leon had just made about Gwaine, causing said man to grin and roll his eyes.
"Alright, that was one time," he said, chuckling himself as he took off his shoes, the action making Leon and Arthur move away from him and join Percival and Elyan on the other side of the camp fire.
"Food's done," Merlin called. He picked up the pot of stew as Lancelot passed around bowls and spoons to the other knights. Merlin went around, filling their bowls up, not daring to give someone less than the other. After he was finished, he rejoined them with a bowl of his own.
They ate in comfortable silence for a moment until Gwaine broke it. He dropped his bowl to the leaf covered ground, and then dropped the spoon, letting it make a loud 'clank' as it hit the bowl.
"Well, I'm glad that Sir Edwin is gone," he commented, not bothering to hide the tone of hatred that seeped into his voice at the mention of the name.
Elyan nodded in agreement, "I thought a few of you were going to kill him if he stayed any longer," with that he gave a few pointed looks to two certain knights.
"Well, they might have killed him, but I thought Alethea was going to murder the maid he brought with him," Leon said, giving a smirk to Merlin. This caused Arthur to bust out with a fit of barely contained laughter and confused but intrigued glances from the other knights.
Merlin sighed and shook his head at Leon, silently cursing the man for bringing this up. The knights would never let him live this down. Ever. "It's not funny…" he grumbled, looking down at his half empty bowl.
"What happened?" Percival asked, raising his eyebrows at Leon's smirk, Arthur's laughter, and Merlin's look of disapproval and annoyance.
Leon glanced back at Arthur and, seeing that the blonde was trying to catch his breath, took it upon himself to explain to the others. "Well..."
Alethea glided down the hallways of Camelot's castle with her maid, Valissa. Her elegant emerald gown flew behind her as well as her fiery red curls; the clicks of her heels on the floor echoed down the stone halls as she walked with her head held high. Lissa followed close behind, her simple dark purple gown fluttering behind her from a sudden breeze that blew in the nearby open window, her long hair in an ebony braid over her shoulder.
"What do you think of the knight that came in today?" the maid asked, her blue eyes looking up at the LeFay with curiosity. The maid was never one for much gossip, but she enjoyed talking with her mistress and hearing thoughts on the current events. With them both coming from such different backgrounds, it was fascinating at times to hear what the young noble lady's thoughts and opinions were.
"He's given me no reason to hate him," Alethea shrugged before her green eyes glanced back at Lissa's blue ones, sly smile playing on her lips, "Yet."
Lissa gave a smile and slight laugh at her friend's antics as the two rounded a corner. What they saw made her raise a dark eyebrow and, as she glanced at Alethea's expression, her mistress wasn't pleased.
At all.
Just down the hall, Merlin was being cornered by the blonde maid that Sir Edwin had brought with him. The two girls were close enough to hear pretty much one-sided conversation.
"What do you say you an' me go down to the tavern, drink a few drinks, and then do whatever we please," said the maid, running her finger along dark haired boy's chest.
Merlin tried his best to back away from her, but had to stop when he was met with the wall. He looked around uncomfortably and swallowed hard. "Um, I'm sorry, but I kind of like someone else right now..." he said, trying to decline the girl's offer as politely as possible.
"She doesn't have to know," said the maid, leaning up a bit and giving what Merlin thought was supposed to be a seductive smile. In actuality it looked downright awkward.
Alethea narrowed her emerald eyes, shooting daggers at the blonde maid. Lissa glanced up again, but this time she took a small, fearful step away from her mistress. She knew this couldn't end well. Alethea wasn't exactly the person you should anger, and the maid just found one of the easiest ways to get on the red-haired noble's bad side.
Alethea marched gracefully over, Lissa following slowly. The dark haired girl was in absolutely no hurry to hear her mistress explode on the poor blonde. Sure she was a bit of a tramp, but no one deserved Alethea's wrath. And the red-haired girl's yells weren't exactly comparable to the birds chirping on a Sunday morning. Alethea smiled convincingly as she glanced at Merlin, then back to the maid. "Is there a problem here?" She sounded utterly calm, which shocked Lissa.
Merlin visibly calmed a bit and went to stand by his sister. Lissa shot him a questioning glance, but turned her attention back to Alethea, shuddering a bit. It was like the calm before a horribly deadly storm.
"I was jus' asking this fine man out on a-"
"I believe this 'fine man' said no. So, I advise you to walk away before you anger me even more," Alethea said with a sugar-sweet smile, advancing on the maid, making her back up. "And you won't like me when I'm angry. Are we clear?"
It was clear that Alethea was giving one of her best glares, radiating energy of pure anger because the maid, wide eyed and pale, nodded quickly, muttered something inaudible, and began to hurry off.
"What was that? Speak up, I didn't quite hear you," Alethea said, her voice a bit louder than before as she caught the maid by the arm, but dripping with sweet sarcasm.
"Y-Yes, My Lady," she said, bowing slightly, "I apologize."
Alethea released her arm and the honey-sweet smile was present once more, the hostile look never leaving her eyes, "That's what I thought. Have a nice day," she said, watching the maid turn and flee down the corridor.
Lissa and Merlin shared a frightened glance, knowing it was best if they didn't speak until she did. From the other side of the hallway, though, the three heard laughter. They turned to find Arthur and Sir Leon standing there, witnesses to entire thing.
Alethea glared and raised an eyebrow; clearly not over how the maid had come onto the guy she was almost positive she loved. The reaction was instantaneous, both paled and Arthur pushed Leon in the direction of another corridor, "Go, run, now," he exclaimed before following his most trusted knight, stumbling in his haste to get away as quickly as possible.
Alethea then turned to nearby twin and smiled, actually in a better mood now that she had scared the wits out of the harlot and her step-brother, "I don't think that maid will be bothering you anymore, Merlin," she said, voice as calm and sweet as usual, but this time there was no edge in her eyes.
Merlin nodded, "Thanks," he said, bowing his head slightly.
"It's what I'm here for," Alethea said before suddenly turning away and walking down the hall, "Lissa, come along, we have things to do."
Lissa sighed and gave her twin brother one last glance, then she quickly followed in the red head's footsteps, "Coming, My Lady."
At hearing the tale, all the men were filling the once peaceful night with their loud laughter. Merlin glared as Arthur and Leon almost cried because they were laughing so hard, and as Gwaine fell of the log he was sitting on.
"I guess we know who the man in that relationship is," Gwaine commented as he got up off the ground, making everyone even laugh harder than before.
Merlin sighed and pursed his lips, shaking his head at the knights. Once he was sure the men had calmed down a bit, he glanced over at the knight who had recounted the story, "Thanks, Leon. Really, I appreciate it."
"'It's what I'm here for'," Leon said, quoting Alethea, and using the same tone of voice as she had used not a few days before. Once again, the knights erupted with laughter.
Merlin quickly bussed himself with cleaning up the food, trying to ignore them. And his urge to turn them all into toads. He stayed quiet, letting them get it out of their systems. Besides, turning them all to toads would probably result in his head on a spike. The knights really weren't worth the hassle.
"If we're going to talk about jealousy, we should at least talk about Gwaine and Percival," Lance said, giving said knights pointed looks.
"Okay, Percival didn't get as jealous as Gwaine and Alethea did," Elyan pointed, coming to his friend's defense.
"I don't care, I was finally able to lay a hit on this big man here," Gwaine said, slapping him on the back, "Although, I am sorry about cutting your arm."
Percival looked down at his arm and ran his hand over the thin, pale scar. He opened his mouth to say something but Leon cut him off.
"It's alright, Marigold cleaned that for him," he smirked, causing Percival to sigh and roll his eyes.
Percival let out a small grunt as Leon was knocked to the ground, pointing his sword at his throat, panting slightly. Leon looked up at him, sweat on his brow, hands out in a surrender.
"Well done, Percival! Well done!" Arthur called, clapping his hands. Percival let out a small smile and helped Leon up, which was returned, "Alright, Gwaine and Percival!"
Gwaine smirked as he took his sword in his hands and twirled it about. All the other Knights rolled their eyes at how Gwaine liked to show off. It was normally what he did when women were around, but lately it had been for just one in particular.
Percival shook his head a bit and got in a ready position. Gwaine grinned as he faced Percival, also getting ready, waiting for Arthur to start the match.
Once King told them to begin, the two began fighting. It got pretty heated, each proving a match for the other. However, half way through, a sight caught Percival's eyes, distracting him from Gwaine's swinging sword.
Not too far from them was Marigold. She was wearing her normal blue gown with a brown corset belt. Her blond hair was braided, making it look as if she was wearing a head band, and the rest fell in waves to her lower back. As usual, she had red and yellow flowers dotted throughout her hair.
However, that wasn't what made Percival get distracted. The Knight, Sir Edwin, that Arthur had allowed to stay for as long as he pleased, was handing her a bouquet of white followers.
Because of this distraction, Gwaine was able to knock his sword out of his hand, cutting his arm in the process, and knocking his feet out from under him, making him fall down. Percival was slapped back to reality when he saw the tip of Gwaine's sword pointed at his face.
He looked confused, as to how he gotten on the ground, and looked over at Arthur and the other Knights. Gwaine, however, was grinning happily, "I finally managed to beat him!" he said.
Percival looked back over at Marigold and Sir Edwin. The knight brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and took the basket that she was carrying for her. This made something snap in Percival. He felt his eyes narrow a bit as he stood up, completely unaware of his bleeding arm.
Without telling Arthur, or looking back at the other knights, he walked over to Marigold and Sir Edwin, "What's going on here?" he asked, making the blonde maid jump a bit.
"Percival!" Marigold declared, looking up at him. He was quite tall compared to her, though he was quite tall compared to most people. She looked down at the flowers in her hand then back up at him. "I-"
"I wanted to walk her home and maybe take her out later," said the Sir Edwin with a grin as he looked Marigold over.
Percival, being the nice man he was, let him finish that statement before replying, "I can take it from here," he said, holding out his hand for the basket. The look on Percival's face clearly stated that he was upset and shouldn't be messed with. And the fact that he had at least a head on the other knight was kind of intimidating.
"You should be getting back to your training," said the Sir Edwin, glancing at Percival then turning his attention back to Marigold.
Percival set his jaw and took a small step forward, stepping in front of Marigold as he did so, "You should leave," he said. He held out his hand once more, "The basket, please."
The Knight looked as if he might argue more, but eventually thought against it. Handing Percival the basket, he rounded Percival and took Marigold's hand in his own. "It was a pleasure getting to meet you," he said, kissing her hand. "I hope we meet again."
Marigold nodded and smiled at the Knight. Once he left, she looked up at Percival, who had watched the knight walk away. "I'm sorry, I told him I wasn't interested but he just wouldn't leave," she said, laying the flowers down in the basket.
Percival shook his head and smiled a bit, "It's fine," he replied with a slight shrug. He'd admit it, he was slightly jealous when he saw the Knight with her, but he didn't want to let it get too far. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he really did, but seeing some other man try and make a move on the woman he loved brought out the darker side of Percival.
Marigold smiled a close lip smile and then blinked a bit when she noticed the cut on his arm. "Someone cut you..." she spoke, making him set down the basket so she could take a better look his injury.
Percival looked down at his arm and saw the thin lines of blood trickling down his arm, "Gwaine," he replied, letting her take his arm in her hands to look it over.
He watched as Marigold bent down and grabbed out a small bundle of cloth that he'd seen her use before, it was for cleaning wounds. She had been studying under Gaius for quite some time now, and she was getting rather skilled at healing.
She smiled up at him as she unraveled the cloth, ripped it, then proceeded to wrap it gently around his cut, "If it hurts anymore, or if it gets irritated later today, come fine me or Gaius, alright?" she asked, looking up at him.
Percival nodded, reaching up and brushing a stray strand of blonde hair behind Marigold's ear, and let his fingers run through her hair. Before letting his hand fall, Marigold took it in her own.
"May I ask you a question?" she asked, her blue eyes getting a certain spark in them. Percival nodded and let her continue, "Were you jealous?"
Percival saw no use in lying, and he would never lie to her, unless it was for her safety, "Yes, a little. I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he said.
Marigold shook her head, bright smile playing on her lips, "Don't be. It shows you still care about me, even after all this time," she said.
Percival couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face, "I can walk you home if you'd like."
"No, it's fine. You should get back to Arthur and the other Knights," the small blonde replied. She leaned down and picked up the basket. She then placed her free hand on his shoulder and, standing on her tip toes, she kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Percival."
Percival watched her leave for a moment, smile still on his lips, before returning to the King and the other Knights of the Round Table.
"I think Percival's jealousy was cute more than anything," Elyan said, nudging Percival with his elbow.
"Anything involving Percival and Marigold is cute," Merlin spoke, looking around at the Knights, who all nodded in agreement, and Percival just smiled, obviously thinking of her.
"Nothing beats Gwaine's jealously though," Lance commented, chuckling at the hot headed knight across the camp fire.
Arthur shook his head, trying to look stern, but grinned anyway, "That was just embarrassing. I thought my best knights would be able to be on their best behavior whilst we have a guest, but clearly I was proved wrong that night."
All the men laughed and Gwaine grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry, sire…"
Arthur had invited Sir Edwin to have dinner with him, and instructed his best knights to attend. Arthur had invited Alethea, whom had brought Valissa and Marigold. The red haired noble had spent most of the knight glaring at Sir Edwin's maid. The knights weren't very happy either. Once Percival realized Sir Edwin was there, he immediately sought out Marigold, who calmed him almost instantly. The real reason Arthur had made Alethea and the maids come was so that his knights wouldn't pick a fight with Sir Edwin. He figured they would fear for the ladies' safety, so they wouldn't start anything, though Arthur would never tell them that. If Alethea found out that she was there to keep the other knights in their seats, Arthur was sure it would come with a slap to the back of his head.
So, it was his thoughts that with the girls there, the knights would actually behave. Boy was he wrong.
The night was going well as Merlin, Lissa, and even Marigold served the nobles. Sir Edwin's maid proved herself useless as she stood in the back of the room, flirting with any unfortunate male to walk by. The atmosphere soon changed as Lissa leaned over to refill Sir Edwin's goblet.
"Well, aren't you just the prettiest thing," said the Knight, looking up at the dark haired maid.
Gwaine's head snapped up to glare at the knight and set his jaw. Merlin looked over with an incredulous look, and Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"You look like a princess. You should be sitting down, enjoying the food with us," said Sir Edwin, smirking at the confused looking maid.
Gwaine had half the mind to jump the table and attack the knight, although he knew that most likely wouldn't end well. He felt someone kick him from under the table, looked over to see Leon, who shook his head slightly, giving his friend a warning look.
"..Um, thank you, but there aren't enough chairs," Lissa replied politely as she leaned back up. She had seen the look on Gwaine's face and, even though she didn't exactly know why, thought it best if she'd get away from the other Knight. She turned to walk away, only for her arm to be grabbed by the knight, spinning her around.
"You could always sit on my lap," he said.
Gwaine dropped his fork and knife, his glare becoming furious. His hands clenched on the table and his breathing increased. Gwaine didn't really seem like the jealous type, but when it came to Lissa, he was.
"I hardly think that's appropriate. Let her go, if you will," Arthur spoke up, giving Sir Edwin a pointed look.
"Just a suggestion, my apologies," said the knight, releasing Lissa's arm. She quickly turned back around to walk off and return to her brother, who was standing behind Alethea and next to a shocked looking Marigold.
Gwaine watched the knight carefully, only to see him glance at Lissa's backside as she walked, making Gwaine loose it, "Alright! That is it!" he declared. He stood up, knocking down his chair in the process, and tried to jump the table to attack the knight. Drinks had been spilt, plates had fallen to the floor, and everyone looked up surprised. This action made Sir Edwin fall off of his chair as he tried to get away from the murderous looking Gwaine.
Fortunately, Percival was next to him, and he had quick reflexes. Percival jumped up, also knocking his chair over, and grabbed Gwaine by the waist before he had completely jumped over the table.
"Take him outside, Percival!" Arthur ordered.
Percival nodded, but Gwaine jealous proved to be two times stronger than he normally was. Percival struggled a bit but managed to get him off the table. Elyan and Lance then proceeded to help him, finally getting the angry knight outside.
Lissa watched with a confused look before pushing the picture of water towards Merlin and, not caring if he caught it, followed the knights. Once outside, she saw Gwaine, pacing angrily as the other Knights tried to calm him.
"Do you mind giving us a moment, please?" Lissa spoke, making the four men look over at her. The three shook their heads in agreement and left, going back into the dining hall.
Gwaine looked up as she walked over and leaned against the wall, glaring down at the end of the hall. Lissa walked forward and pursed her lips. "Are you okay, Gwaine?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Gwaine shrugged, trying to play it off.
"Then why would you want to jump a table?" Lissa asked, raising an eyebrow. She was generally confused.
Gwaine looked down at her and sighed. "That idiotic Knight kept hitting on you, and I guess I got a little…jealous..." he said, rubbing the back of his head.
Surprisingly, Lissa looked him over and giggled. She then hugged, him something she really hadn't done that much before. Once she pulled away she smiled up at him, "Jealous? Really, Gwaine? You know I don't have eyes for anyone else, least of all that part in there."
Gwaine raised his eyebrows, "Really?"
"Of course! Now, come on, take a walk with me," she said, holding out her hand.
Gwaine looked back at the dining room, and then took her hand. The two then made their way out the castle, hand in hand, smiling at each other the whole time.
"Alright, I admit, that wasn't one of my best moments," Gwaine said, laughing along with the other Knights.
"You have no best moments when Lissa's around," Elyan said with a laugh.
Gwaine shrugged with a deep sigh, a grin on his lips, faraway look in his eyes, "What can I say? I'm in love."
"Alright, we should all go to sleep. If we wake up early enough, we can be done with this trip and I can get you three lovebirds back to Camelot by noon," Arthur said, interrupting the laughter. He gave Gwaine, Percival, and Merlin pointed looks, "I'll take first watch."