Percival couldn't believe how much Merlin could put up with Arthur but hey, it wasn't his place to say was it? He watched Gwen talking to the King and wondered how hard it was for the two to keep their hands off each other. Now don't get him wrong but it was no secret in Camelot that the day they got together they weren't seen the entire day.
Percival never viewed himself as the ladies man that the rest of his friends liked to be, especially when Gwaine was around who could get a lady with just a single smile.
Wondering what he did to deserve such an uneventful love life, the knight put away his armour. Training was something to help ease his mind from this trivial stuff which explained his brawny exterior. He, like many other knights had been training with Arthur as they often did on a nice evening – using Merlin as a target, as usual.
"Hey, Perce!" Gwaine called as he poked his head into the armour tent. "We're going to the tavern, want to join us?"
"Be right there!" Percival called as he attempted to put his boot on. Being brawny meant big feet which meant big shoes that only just fit him.
He finally put on his boots and met up with the rest of the knights that made up King Arthur's closest friends – they liked to think that anyway.
They looked they had been waiting rather impatiently for Percival to join them. "The tavern's going to be closed if you don't hurry up!" Gwaine grinned.
"The tavern never closes." Percival stated as he joined them.
"Ah, but all the good ale shall be gone, my friend!" Gwaine replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world as he patted him on the back in that way most men tend to do.
"He's got a point there." Elyan agreed as they walked over to the tavern that was coincidently 1 minutes walk away from the training grounds. Suspicious...
"Are you finally going to make a move tonight, Perce?" Leon asked as they sat down in their respective seats in the corner of the tavern.
"I don't know... She doesn't seem to be interested!" Percival practically wailed as he stared in a rather beautiful woman's direction. The woman in question had blonde hair that fell to her waist and she was well known for her no-stupid-business attitude she had as she worked. This woman was the reason Percival had been trying to spend as much time as possible in the tavern recently.
You see, this woman had captured Percival's attention and his heart it seemed to the other knights, even if Percival didn't know it yet. It wasn't one-sided for once, but Percival was so stuck in his mind that she didn't settle for men like him that he was having a hard time to see anyone else's point of view on the matter. Percival wasn't to say... experienced when it came to love due to his brawny side bringing the ladies who never cared for his personality just his high status.
"She practically stares over at every chance she gets!" Leon tried to persuade Percival for the thousandth time that month but he seemed pretty set with his view.
"You're one of Arthur's closest friends! She's bound to like you!" Elyan tried to argue too.
The knights (save Percival) shared a look as they had planned for Percival to finally get the girl tonight in a very simple way.
"Percival, come help me with the next round!" Gwaine grinned and hauled him from his misery to the bar. The bar maid walked over and Gwaine immediately said "Hey... Have you met Percival? You two would look perfect together! Why not get to know each other a bit more? I'll take over the bar!"
Percival raised an eyebrow at this for two reasons. 1. Gwaine can't work to save his life and 2. He doubted the barmaid would actually accept.
She stared at Gwaine for a few seconds, looked over at Percival and relaxed a little. "Alright, the rules are pretty simple. Don't let fights happen and make sure everyone is happy. Got it? Come on then, if he's right, I WOULD like to know you! Oh and don't drink all the ale." She walked around the bar and grabbed Percival's hand. The knights in the corner wolf whistled at the two and Gwaine grinned and jumped behind the bar.
"WHO'S READY TO ORDER?" Gwaine yelled and a rush of people ran up to the bar. The friends made no move to help the doomed knight.
"Will he be alright?" Percival asked the woman concerned for his friend's safety as they walked out the door.
"That's nothing, he'll be fine. I'm Cara and I've heard all about you! The strongest knight in all of Camelot! Percival. Who also spends a lot of time in the tavern." Cara grinned at Percival who looked a little shocked.
"I feel bad for not knowing anything about you..." Percival frowned; He really should've known her name at least. They began walking – to where, Percival did not know.
"Well, the name's Cara as you know, I was born here in Camelot to the original owners of the tavern and I know everyone who lives round here. You included!" Cara poked Percival's chest and laughed.
Percival liked the sound of her laugh. It reminded him of his childhood when everything was simpler – especially love.
Cara sighed blissfully. "The sky is so beautiful at this time, don't you think?" She stared up at the night sky in awe.
Percival was surprised at this. He didn't think many people actually liked the stars these days.
"See that star? The brightest one?" Percival pointed up to said star which was impossible to miss. "That star is how we knights never get lost coming back from a quest or something with King Arthur." Cara didn't need to know that he wasn't the one who actually did this sort of thing. They usually just camped somewhere.
"Wow..." Cara looked at said star with a bemused smile. "It must be so cool to be a knight." She stated.
Percival shrugged. "If you like to pretend to be strong then yes, it is!"
"I like to think I'm strong!" She held up her arm to show she had muscle.
"I'm impressed! Not many women can actually lift more than a pillow these days..."
"Well, you know, working in a tavern has its advantages every now and then." Cara mock shrugged as if it was no big deal. Percival had a strange feeling in his tummy that he had never had before... what did Gwaine describe it as? Oh yes, tiny horses walking on your tummy.
"Tell me, oh noble knight, what's it like to know King Arthur himself?"
"Well, you know... hard work." Percival grinned which caused Cara to laugh. Didn't Elyan say that making a girl laugh is a good thing?
"I never thought I would meet a guy that was funny AND wasn't too shabby either! My lucky day." Cara grinned and before Percival knew it, he was bowing dramatically.
"I try my best for the ladies." He winked for added measure causing another onslaught of laughter from the barmaid.
"You should've just talked to me sooner, Percival; you're a really nice guy!" Cara stopped walking and turned to Percival. "I would love to stay and talk till dawn, honest, but I have a feeling the tavern will be in ruins if we don't get back soon..."
"Gwaine isn't a very good barman." Percival mused, probably wondering if Gwaine just gave up and tried to drink free ale. It seemed like something he would do.
They began walking back to the tavern, Percival hadn't even realised how far they had walked – Cara just seemed to always distract him from his surroundings.
Without warning, Cara put her hand in his hand and grinned at him. The surprised knight hid his surprise and smiled back; He was definitely enjoying his evening – especially since this morning he had drawn the short straw to help Merlin get out the equipment for training, not that he hated Merlin.
They arrived back at the tavern way too soon for Percival to be content but a crash from inside brought Percival back to his senses. "What do you think happened?" He asked Cara as she stared at the tavern shaking her head laughing.
"Maybe that friend of yours tried to drink an entire barrel of ale. Let's find out!" She laughed and dragged Percival into the tavern and well... let's just say that the mood was ruined.
The entire tavern was covered in beer with a drunken Gwaine stumbling around the room with the rest of the knights simply laughing from the corner. When they saw the fuming Cara they immediately sobered up.
"I LEAVE FOR 5 MINUTES. YOU ARE A NOBLE KNIGHT. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!" Cara yelled as she stormed up to the grinning knight.
"How you - *hic* - doin'?" He pulled a lopsided grin.
"..." The silence from the anticipation for Cara's reply was deafening.
"How am I doing?" Cara asked calmly. "Well, I'm wondering why you aren't trying to CLEAR UP THE MESS YOU MADE IN MY TAVERN. GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK!" she pointed towards the door and the knights (minus Percival) stood up and dragged a laughing Gwaine out the door mumbling apologies as they left.
"THE TAVERN IS CLOSED." Cara finalised and any loitering people took their cue to leave.
"Cara...?" Percival asked tentatively once everyone had left.
"Yes, Percival?" She asked in a strained voice.
"I'll help you clear up." He stated as he began to place various stools around the room back in their original places.
Suddenly he was swept into a kiss by the barmaid that soon turned into a rather passionate kiss indeed...
The knights who were watching from outside were high-fiving and handing each other their money from various bets that had been placed on the soon-to-be couple.
~*~THE NEXT MORNING ~*~
"My head..." Gwaine groaned from his current bed which wasn't as comfy as he was used to. "Wait. Why am I in a trove?" Gwaine sat up (slowly) and focused on his surroundings. The rest of Arthurs closest knights were grinning over the now hung-over Gwaine.
"We just thought you'd like to know that you can't go to the tavern anymore." Leon grinned.
"WHAT?"