AN: I don't own Merlin. I am definitely grateful that the writers managed to make such a great and popular series, which I just fell in love with!
Warning: English is not my mother tongue, so it is entirely possible there are spelling or grammar mistakes in my story. Do not hesitate to point them out to me. Enjoy!
Spoilers for a few episodes: 5.12-5.13, but also 4.11.
Update (05-15-2013): Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story and/or put it between their favorites.
William was pouting while his nanny, Sara, was preparing him a bath. He didn't want to take a bath! Normally, the young prince liked his baths, but this time, he was forced to take one because a foreign Queen was arriving today. And he did not like foreign Queens. When Sara called him from behind the screen, he stubbornly stayed on his bed. At the same time that Sara stuck her head around the screen to look for him, the door to his room opened. "Oh, My Lady, I was just calling William to get into the tub." Queen Guinevere smiled at the girl and went up to her son. "That's alright, Sara. Have you had breakfast yet?" When the girl shook her head, Gwen continued "Well then, you can take an hour while I bathe my son. Can you bring our breakfast in an hour?" Sara curtsied, thanking the Queen and leaving the room.
Gwen turned to face William. "Well, aren't you going to get in? The water won't stay warm forever." The prince crossed his arms and stayed on the bed. Gwen had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Her son's antics reminded her way too much of his father when he was being stubborn. Fortunately, the boy was just like Arthur, so she knew how to handle him. The best thing to do was to humour him, while steering him gently in the direction you wanted him to go at the same time. And it was even more simple with her five-year-old son than with her late husband.
She walked up to him and sat down in front of him. "Now, what's wrong? I know that face." The boy quickly climbed into her lap, hugging her. Gwen smiled sneakily, that was exactly what she wanted to achieve. "I don't want to take a bath, mommy." Gently tugging at the boy's nightshirt, the Queen asked: "Oh, and why not?" William lifted his arms to help her remove the shirt. "I don't feel like it. And I'm a big boy now, so I can decide when I need to take a bath." "Really now? Stand up, so I can see how big you are." The prince stood on the bed in front of her. "Oh, yes, I can see now," came Gwen's answer while she was busy pulling his pants down. William still hadn't noticed what she was doing, even though he was completely naked now. "Now that you've gotten so big, I probably won't be able to lift you anymore…" The boy's eyes widened. "Yes you can! I'm not that big yet. See!" He jumped into her arms.
Realising that now was the moment, the Queen moved in the direction of the bath with her son in her arms. It was only when she dumped him into the water that William realised he had been tricked. "Mommy! I don't want to go in bath!" He tried to climb out of it, but his mother, who was standing next to the tub, was preventing it. "Yes, you do. You like bath time. Now tell me the real reason why you were pouting." The prince's shoulders dropped. "I don't want to meet the Queen that is visiting today." Gwen heaved a sigh. "So you thought that you wouldn't have to meet her when you were filthy? Well, think again, sweetie. Queen Mithian is a very good friend of mine. And she's very nice. I bet you'll like her."
William, stubborn as he was, shook his head. "No I won't, mommy." "Why not?" "Because she's a girl. And I don't like girls. Only you. And sometimes Sara, when she lets me have strawberries and when she doesn't stop me from coming to see you. 'Cause she does that a lot, mommy. She always tells me you're in a meeting with the nights. But how can you meet with the night when it's day? And when I asked her about that once, she laughed at me, mommy! She laughed! And I didn't thinked that she was nice then, even though she explained that you were meeting with the men with the red capes, like uncle Leon and uncle Percival."
Gwen had let him ramble, hiding her own smile. Moments like this always showed her how innocent her son was, and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. But she realised it was time to interfere. "So you don't like girls? But Mithian is not just a girl, she's a Queen." William was quick to answer. "Then I don't like Queens either." Guinevere changed her expression to one of mock hurt. "I'm a Queen. Does that mean you don't like me anymore?" The prince sighed deeply. "Of course not, mommy! You're different. You're my mommy, and I love you!" To show how much he meant it, he stood up in the tub and threw his arms around his mother's neck. The Queen felt as if the size of her heart had doubled at that proclamation. "I love you, too, sweetheart." At that moment, she noticed that her dress was getting wet from the hug. She was thankful for the fact that she had put on one of her old dresses to visit her son.
When they separated, Gwen set about washing her little boy. While doing that, she decided on her course of action in convincing her son to meet Mithian. "Okay, let's make a deal. You're a big boy now, and you know that one day, you will be King of Camelot. That means you'll have to meet with a lot of important people, like other Kings and Queens. I want you to learn how to do that. This is the first time that you will have to stand by my side for an official meeting. It's the first time in four years that Mithian has come to visit, the first time since she became Queen, so I want her to feel welcome. You think you can do that?"
William thought about it. "What's the deal?" Gwen sighed fondly. Sometimes, the boy was too smart. She'd hoped he would have forgotten about that after her little speech about Kings and Queens. "Well, if you behave, and by that I mean no tricks, no grumpiness and no pouting, I will convince your uncle Merlin to take you to see Aithusa for a whole day." William's eyes had brightened at her words. "A whole day?" "A whole day. But you need to behave for the whole visit, so a week long. And I want you to be your charming self to Mithian. She's really looking forward to meeting you, since I've told her quite a lot about you in my letters. And if you don't behave, you'll have to spend an extra hour every week for a whole month with Gaius, to learn about history. Agreed?" It was a tough decision for the young prince. In the end, his desire to see Aithusa won over his dislike of history, so he agreed.
After the bath and breakfast, Gwen went to her chambers to change out of her dress into one of her beautiful gowns. William was left in his room until she came to get him, giving him some time to think on what he was going to do. She wanted him to be on his best behaviour? Well, he could do that… He would show his mommy that he could be very charming…
An hour later, the two of them were waiting in the courtyard with Merlin for the arrival of the delegation from Nemeth. William was fidgeting. His pants were itchy, but he loved his vest. Gaius told him it had belonged to his daddy when he was still a young prince. He was shaken out of his musings by the sound of horses riding on the cobbles of the courtyard. He looked up, and on seeing the dozen men, all wearing armour, he quietly shuffled back behind his mommy. He wasn't scared, oh no, but the men looked like the nights when they went to fight against bandits. Only, they weren't wearing the red cloaks like his uncles, so he didn't know if they were going to fight.
The men scattered and a woman came into view. She was wearing a beautiful dress, just like his mommy, so that was probably the Queen his mommy wanted him to meet. His uncle Merlin went up to the lady and helped her from her horse. She smiled at him, which made her look very nice. Only, she wasn't supposed to be nice! William didn't want to like her, but he needed to be nice to her so he could see Aithusa… When uncle Merlin guided her to where he and his mommy were standing, the first thing the lady did was hugging his mommy. When they parted, the women turned to him.
"Mithian, this is William. William, say hello to Queen Mithian of Nemeth. She's a very good friend of mine." The lady smiled at him gently and extended her hand. "Hello, William. I've heard so much about you." William bowed like he had seen his uncles do, and pressed a kiss to her hand. "Hello. You're very pretty," he said innocently. 'Hah! See, mommy, I can be charming!' Gwen looked at him in surprise, while Mithian smiled at him widely. "Why thank you. You're very handsome yourself." The boy blushed and bit his lip. Around him, he could see his uncles biting back their smiles. Gwen decided it would be better to go in, so the two Queens linked arms and walked up the steps, William trailing after them. He was supposed to stay with them to have lunch.
The women were talking in front of him. "He's very charming, Gwen." "I was so surprised! I practically had to bribe him to meet you." When she saw Mithian's face, she continued. "Oh, it's nothing personal, he just doesn't like girls, he says. But anyway, I don't even know who taught him that. Leon and Percival wouldn't do that, and Merlin… Well, it's Merlin, he doesn't need any words to charm girls. Although I've never even seen him with a girl… If Gwaine had been alive, I'd say he was the one who taught him, but he's not, so…"
Mithian laughed (A very nice laugh, if William had to admit. Not that he would ever tell anyone.) and spoke again: "Well, I'm sure his charms coupled with the fact that he is the prince of Camelot will get him many girls later." Gwen groaned. "Oh no. I really don't want to think about that yet. Great, he's only five, and he's already chasing girls. I thought he was innocent." That sparked another laugh from the visiting Queen. "I'm sure you don't have to worry about that yet. If he's anything like his father, he'll just fall in love with one girl and never look at anyone else again. Although I do have to admit, he's more eloquent than Arthur was when we first met." William's eyes widened. 'Queen Mithian met my daddy? Could she tell me stories, then?' Apparently, this disliking the visiting Queen would be hard work…
While the three of them were having lunch, William was listening intently to the conversation between his mommy and Queen Mithian. And the more he heard, the more he was convinced that Mithian could tell him about his daddy. So he would have to be extra nice if he wanted to hear. Maybe he should start now. When his mommy was in the hallway for a moment, searching for a servant, he spoke up. "My Lady, I'm glad you're here. You make my mommy smile, and I like it when mommy smiles. She's very pretty when she smiles, just like you." Mithian looked at him with a soft smile on her face. "Thank you, prince William. I see you love your mommy very much." The prince nodded fervently. "Oh yes, I love her lots and lots! Just like my daddy did." "Yes, your daddy did love your mother very much. You look very much like him, you know."
A sad look flitted over his face. "I know. Everyone always tells me. But I never met him, because he died before I was born. Mommy and uncle Merlin say he's always with me, though. And I think I saw him once when I was attacked in the forest and he protected me, but no one except mommy and my uncles believes me. Do you believe me?" "I believe you. Your mother told me about that in her letters. And I think that the people we love always stay with us. It wouldn't surprise me if your father was there to protect you." William beamed at the Queen. Until he realised that he was starting to like her even more with everything she was saying, which was not good, since he wanted to keep disliking her because she was a girl. Then his face turned contemplative. Would it be okay to like her, even though she was a girl, if that meant she would tell him about his daddy? He decided that maybe liking her a little would not be that bad.
"Could you… Could you tell me about my daddy?" William looked up at Mithian uncertainly. "I can't right now, I have a meeting this afternoon." When the Queen saw his face fall, she hastened to continue. "But would it be okay if I tell you a story tomorrow? I have some free time then." The prince frowned. He'd prefer to hear the story now, but if she promised to tell him tomorrow, maybe that would be okay too. "You promise?" "I promise, William." He flashed her a smile. "Okay then!" After that, he continued telling her about all his 'big' adventures in the castle and the lower town, occasionally making the Queen laugh. (Which secretly made him feel a little proud. And happy, because he started liking that laugh more and more. But no one needed to know that, it was his own secret.)
When Gwen entered the room a while later, having been gone longer than she thought, she was surprised to see her little boy talking animatedly with her friend. She had expected to find them in silence or in the best case, William answering Mithian's questions with as few words as possible. She did not expect him to have warmed to the Queen so quickly, especially since he was adamant that he disliked girls that morning. She watched them for a moment, both too engrossed in the conversation to notice her, before she joined them again.
After lunch, William was taken to his room by his nanny, where his uncle Merlin was waiting to teach him how to write. He liked those lessons more than maths or history, but he would have rather stayed with his mommy and Queen Mithian. When the boy had left, Guinevere turned to her friend. "How did you get him to like you so quickly? I thought he'd need a few days at least. He can be very stubborn when he wants to." Mithian smiled. "I promised him I'd tell him what I knew about Arthur. He warmed up right after that." Even though it was improper for a Queen, Gwen rolled her eyes. "Of course, I should have told you that from the beginning. The way to William's heart is stories about Arthur. He hero-worships his father. Probably quite normal for boys his age, but still… He's easily bribed." "Hmm, yes, maybe he is. But he misses his father, even though he never knew him. And this is the only way to get to know him, so he'll take anything he can get." Their conversation turned to other topics after that, until they had to attend the meeting.
Mithian kept her promise and told William about the first time she met Arthur, when she was supposed to marry him. He was stunned to hear that his father had turned her down, even though she told him it was because of Arthur's love for Guinevere. His words had made her laugh, too. "Daddy was dumb! He should have made you stay, because you're very pretty. I would have married you!" The boy was really very sweet.
At the end of her visit to Camelot, it was obvious that William had thrown away all his dislike of her. When she was ready to get on her horse, he ran up to her and threw his arms around her legs. He looked up at her pleadingly. "You'll come back, right?" She sighed. The boy really had her wrapped around his finger. She convinced him to let go and lowered herself until her face was level with his. "Of course I'll come back." "And will you tell me another story about daddy then?" She smiled softly. "I promise." That made him happy. He threw his arms around her neck this time and hugged her tight. She returned the hug before pulling back. "But you need to promise me you'll take care of your mommy for me, okay?" His answer was quick. "Okay, I promise" She smiled at him one last time before standing up again and nudging him to go stand at his mother's side. When the Nemethian party left the courtyard, William was the one who kept waving the longest. He couldn't wait until the nice Queen would be back.
AN: Thank you for reading!
BTW: If anyone is interested in reading more about William, you could check out my other stories 'Of Princes and Guardian Angels' and 'His Father's Legacy'. He's four in the first one, so rather cute in my opinion (although your opinion might differ). He's seventeen in the second one, so he's more mature.