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'MERLIN!'

The young warlock sighed as he dragged his feet along the tiled floor. Nothing spelled headache more than Arthur's booming voice calling out his name. This was happening far too much these days, to the point where Merlin wished his name wasn't Merlin. Walking into the Prince's chambers, he fought to keep a smile on his face.

'Yes Arthur?'

The latter was standing in front of his drawers, holding a pink tunic.

'Why is my tunic pink?!'

Pink wasn't exactly the word Merlin would have chosen to describe it. He would have leaned more towards fuchsia. Seeing the Prince of Camelot holding such a feminine looking item of clothing amused him greatly. He had to repress a laugh as he answered;

'I don't know.'

'Oh, you think it's funny?'

'No, no, not at all.'

Merlin put his hands behind his back, keeping his lips tightly shut to avoid the possibility of a giggle escaping. Arthur stared at him, unamused and expecting some kind of solution.

'Just pick another tunic, you have a thousand of them.'

This suggestion enraged the Prince further. He began rooting through his drawer with more force than necessary, discarding tunics on the floor in a dramatic fashion as he pulled them from it.

'THEY ARE ALL PINK.'

This time, Merlin couldn't hold it in. He laughed out loud before clamping a hand to his mouth. Arthur grabbed him by the collar, spitting in his face as he threatened him.

'I swear to god Merlin, if this is your idea of a joke, it is in poor taste.'

He wanted to tease him desperately, but wondered if that was wise in the current situation. Puffing up his cheeks with air, Merlin quickly assessed the pros and cons of saying what he wanted to say. Ah, what the hell, a little fun never hurt anyone.

'No, but at least now the colour of your face matches your tunic.'

Arthur was about to slap him around the head for his remark when Gwen came in, followed by Marina. As soon as the physician's assistant's gaze fell upon the Prince, she gasped, whilst Marina let out unstrained laughter. Now feeling beyond ridiculed, Arthur let go of Merlin. He stood there, unable to say or do anything apart from smile at Gwen. Marina walked closer, still giggling. Stopping in front of Arthur, she pulled a pink carnation from the vase on the chest of drawers and tucked it behind his ear carefully, her tongue sticking out slightly as she made sure it remained in place.

'Princess Arthuria of Camelot. What an honour.'

Curtseying in somewhat of an exaggerated manner, she couldn't stop the giggles from tumbling out. The fact that it was the future King of Camelot that she was laughing at didn't cross her mind once. Arthur, his mood now more than exacerbated, folded his arms across his chest.

'Who is responsible for this?'

The three servants looked away, not one of them responding to his enquiry. He tried again.

'WHO DID THIS?'

His voice echoed throughout his chambers. After a few seconds, a timid voice emerged from the silence.

'I did Sire. I'm so sorry, I made a mistake and washed your tunics in what turned out to be dye, I…'

Gwen's composure crumpled and she dissolved in tears. Arthur now alarmed, forgot all about his anger. Patting Gwen awkwardly in a semi-reassuring manner, he looked at Marina for guidance. She pointed at the shirt, before gesturing that he should put it on, all silently so as not to alert Gwen. The Prince shook his head vehemently as his inconsolable maid sobbed louder, her face buried in her hands. Marina repeated her actions, with Merlin joining in this time, the overall scene resulting in a kind of absurd pantomime. As Gwen's sobs situated themselves increasingly higher on the decibel scale, Arthur gave in and slipped the pink tunic on. Taking Gwen by the shoulders, he smiled brightly, the flower still tucked safely behind his right ear.

'Look Gwen, I can still wear them! It doesn't matter! Look!'

He stretched his arms out and executed a little twirl, earning a few more giggles from Merlin and Marina. Gwen herself smiled, her sobs subsiding. Relieved, Arthur planted his hands firmly on his hips before saying;

'Merlin, clean all this mess up.'

He was referring to the clothes strewn all over the floor. Merlin grinned at him, not moving an inch.

'I'm not doing a thing you ask me to. Not when you're dressed like a giant grapefruit.'

'Oh, really?'

Crossing the space between himself and Merlin, Arthur pulled the young servant's tunic off in one swift motion, before replacing it with one of his pink tops.

'There, now will you do as you're told?'

Marina, now on the floor, managed to squeeze out a few words between gasps.

'Wow, Merlin, your outfit really…brings out…y…your eyes!'

Merlin, vexed, bent down and began picking up the tunics. It was at this moment that Morgana decided to appear. Taking in the scene before her, she snorted in derision. If those fools were the only obstacle she was up against, capturing Camelot would be easier than taking candy from a baby.

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