I'm back! I know, the title wasn't that creative, but that's not what matters :D
This chapter is a bit of a taster one, but still has pranks of the most taboo kind... Mwahahaha! And the other chapters will be back to my normal length, hopefully :D
Anyway, hope you enjoy and that it was worth the wait!

Monday

Arthur groaned as he downed another goblet of water, the knights around him doing the same.
Since the poultry incident-as people were calling it- yesterday, there had been a lull in the action, though the knights and his guards had refused to leave him alone. Until a few minutes ago that is. Direct on the noon bell, the servants had started serving dinner in the hall, for Arthur and the knights.
Right then, he should have realised something was wrong, but his nerves had been wound up so tight he was missing the obvious.
It took a few bites before the heat of the food, which must have been filled with the hottest spices they could find, kicked in, but by then it was too late.
Half the knights were spinning on the floor with their tongues hanging out, gasping for breath and looking like idiots, the other half had tears streaming down their cheeks and likewise looked like idiots, Arthur included.
A few dozen glasses of water later and the burning had faded to a light tingle.
The message couldn't have been clearer.
Lets get this party started.
Fine, that was just fine...
Merlin was going down.

Though that was easier said than done.
They tried to rig Merlin's quarters, but the damned hawk was on guard. It was a source of amusement for weeks that the best of Camelot's knights had been beaten back by a bird...
Then they tried Gwaine's quarters, only to find that Buddy was on guard...
Then Arthur had an idea... He shouldn't... But he could... But he shouldn't...
"Alright men, I have a plan. It will take disguises and ingenuity, but we can do it..."
"Sire?"
"Leon, men, we are going to rig... the tavern!"
They all shared looks, as they looked at their king, sure he had gone mad.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. Think about it, they wouldn't think us stupid enough to-"
"I wouldn't think us stupid enough" Leon mumbled, then said something about how he should have been a Merlinian, causing Arthur to glare at him.
"They wouldn't think us stupid enough to, so that's what we'll do. If we want to send the message, this is the one to send..."
"That we're all idiots?" Peredur asked, and Leon snorted.
"Seems like it."
"Oi! Focus! This is going to take a lot of effort and ingenuity..."
"And a huge dose of luck..." Leon sighed, giving in. "Okay Sire, what do we do?"

Leon was pouting. No, he was pouting and close to crying as he ran a hand through his, now short, hair.
Okay, it wasn't short, short... but... but... His beard was gone! It was all gone! GONE!
He sighed, and pulled himself together. It was for the good of Camelot... The good of Camelot...
Or he kept telling himself that.
He took a final look in the full length mirror and sighed. Not only was his hair short, but Gwen, who had decided to stick with Arthur on this one, had created some kind of ash and paste that turned his hair... Black! His hair was short, and black.
And he was dressed in a normal, peasants outfit, with some kind of powder on his face that made him look younger-damn it, Gwen was actually a genius- and he couldn't even recognize himself.
Tristan, Owain, Daryn and Caleb were likewise disguised, and Leon was pretty sure they could get away with this. But that wasn't the plan.
The plan was for them to head in, and give the others a chance to catch them out, then, in the general tumult, he was to go in, get an idea of the plans and what-not, rig their trap, which was really quite simple, and head back out again.
Of course, he would have to be kept out of the next few bouts, and kept as their secret weapon...
Not that he minded... Much...

He nodded to the others, who all kept sneaking glances at him, as though trying to reconcile themselves to his new look, before they all head off.
The other three went half an hour before Leon, and he eventually followed on, arriving in time to hear something kick up in the tavern. He slipped inside to find that the others being rounded up by a group of Merlinians and sidled to the bar as they started shoving them to the door. A quick vial of liquid into a few of the barrels and Leon was left grinning. Perfect...
The only one it would really effect was Gwaine, seeing how much he drank of the stuff, and a sleepy second in command would mean they had a stronger chance of getting something done, as well as making everyone paranoid... Perfect.
He sidled out of the back, just as the others were being booted out, and took a seat at the bar, asking for a drink from the, now focused barmaid.
He'd left the nearest barrel untouched, knowing she would give him a drink from that one, and it wasn't like one drink would do much harm anyway...
A few questions were shot at him from a few different men, to which he responded that he was just visiting Camelot, and that he was only here for a few days. He even slipped back into the old country accent he hadn't used since he was a child living away from Camelot.
Seriously, maybe he should just volunteer his spy services instead of being a knight, because they weren't in the least suspicious.
Well, maybe Gwaine glanced at him once or twice, but never any of the others...
The only thing that worried him was that Merlin was nowhere in sight...
An hour later, he bid farewell to the few people he'd been talking to and head out, instantly suspicious as he realised someone was following him. He winked at a hooded figure in the shadows, letting Peredur know he was going to plan B, and was rewarded by their agreed upon signal and the figure spinning away. He had even hired a room at the boarding house down from the Tavern, and let the person following him watch him go inside, before he took the back door and ran out of the city, using the old tunnels to get back into the castle and coming out in the weapons room.
They never could be too careful after all...
This was Merlin they were talking about...

That evening, word reached them that Gwaine was in some kind of half sleeping trance, the rest of the taverns customers were woozy, and Merlin was still nowhere to be found.
Arthur gave each of his knights a grin.
Sure, Merlin could probably fix it, but it would create paranoia, as they realised that they had somehow got into the centre of their operation...
And even Leon said it was worth the trouble to create that kind of unrest. They might even be in with a chance of winning this...
Of course, it was at that point that it started raining in the hall, from storm clouds that had most definitely not been there before... Or rather, from Storm Clouds that had to be of magical origin, considering they were inside and all that.
Merlin's voice echoed through the hall.
"That's for making Gwaine a sleepwalker!"
Then it lay off a bit, until it was only a light drizzle.
"And that's for shutting him up..."
Arthur grinned, but it turned to a frown as the rain continued... for quite a while.
He was still scowling as they decided to just leave the hall and return there in the morning. Still, they didn't head to their own quarters, not prepared to risk it. They head to the council room and decided to sleep there.
Of course, the guards at the door didn't see the rain cloud that started forming in that room as well...

Merlin was just heading out of the castle when the voice echoed down through the halls.
"MERLIN!"
He grinned.
And to think it was only Monday...

Okay, Any ideas for pranks? If I'm going to attempt a fortnight's worth of this civil war, I'm going to need a stock of them :D :D
Don't worry, there will be other things too... a few rogue sorcerers, a visit from Kilgarrah maybe... a few other things here and there... And how do we all feel about Gaius going Rambo?
And I know... Leon was OOC... but I've kinda evolved him to my own character, where he has a much less serious side, so hope that's okay with you guys?
And I know some of the knights names aren't from the actual legends, but yeah... I was in a writing craze and couldn't remember any more...
Review and let me know your ideas and opinions, or even just to give me a thumbs up or down :D

Raven xx (Oh, and it may be a while till I can update again, sorry... I have so many other fics and things in real life that it's getting irritating...)