A/N: This is set when Arthur is king and Gwen is queen.

I don't own Merlin

"Meow!"

Arthur looked down and saw a black-furred, blue-eyed kitten staring up at him. "Shoo," he scolded.

"Meow!"

Arthur gritted his teeth. "Merlin!"

Merlin pulled his head out from under the bed, where he had been cleaning. "Yes, Sire?"

"Get this…kitten…out of here!" The kitten had begun nuzzling Arthur's ankle, purring loudly.

Merlin walked over and crouched down. The kitten hissed at him. Merlin cautiously extended a hand, but the kitten swatted at him with claws out. He quickly pulled away and stood up. "Sorry, I think you're stuck with the little guy."

"I am the king of Camelot!" Arthur cried indignantly. "I have no use for a kitten!"

"You should keep him," Merlin suggested, obviously amused. "I'm sure the people would love to see how their king is so kind-hearted he would take in a stray kitten."

"Absolutely not," Arthur retorted. "It would completely tarnish my reputation as a warrior."

At that moment, Guinevere entered the room and immediately zeroed in on the kitten. "Oh, who's this?" she crooned, rushing over to the kitten. She held a hand out for the kitten to sniff, but it hissed again.

"He only likes Arthur," Merlin told her. The kitten jumped on Arthur's lap and made itself comfortable.

"Awww, that's adorable!" Guinevere exclaimed, looking as if her heart was about to melt. "Oh, Arthur, you've got to keep him!"

"I am not keeping him!" Arthur insisted, putting the kitten back on the ground. The kitten immediately showed signs of wanting to return to his lap, and Arthur quickly stood up. "Merlin, fetch a basket."

Merlin threw some laundry onto the floor and brought the now-empty basket to Arthur. Arthur put the kitten into the basket and glared sternly at it. "We are finding you a home, and it will not be with me!"

"Meow," the kitten replied, sounding so pitiful that Arthur almost changed his mind. Almost. He quickly picked up the basket and walked out the door, determined not to let the plaintive mews change his mind.

"Maybe Gaius will take you," Arthur muttered, heading in the direction of the physician's chambers.

"Arthur, have you completely lost it?" Merlin demanded, following. "Not only did Gaius leave to help that village yesterday—accompanied by a group of knights that you personally assigned to his escort—our chambers are full of breakable bottles of potion! The kitten would probably manage to kill himself within a week!"

"Small loss," Arthur muttered. The kitten mewed, sounding indignant. Arthur looked at it in surprise. "Did you actually understand that?"

"Mrow." The kitten stared at Arthur with big, innocent eyes, then began to wash itself.

"You are not getting in my head," Arthur said sternly.

Five minutes later, they arrived at Gwaine's chambers, and Arthur pounded on the door. A few moments later, Gwaine answered. When he saw who had called on him, he swooped into an exaggerated bow. "Well this is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do you for, your majesty?"

"I want you to take this kitten off my hands," Arthur stated, holding out the basket.

Gwaine reached out to take the basket, but the kitten hissed at him. "Sorry, mate, I don't think the kitten agrees with that idea."

"You're obeying the wishes of a kitten over the wishes of your king?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"What can I say? Those big eyes are quite adorable."

"Fine," Arthur grumbled. He looked at the kitten. "Maybe you'll like Leon."

The kitten did not like Leon. Nursing his bleeding hand, Leon calmly faced his king. "I'm sorry, Sire, but I believe it would have a negative impact on my duties if I attempted to take care of a creature that constantly scratches me."

Elyan also received a hiss and a swat, though Elyan was quick enough to dodge. "I'm sorry, Arthur, I don't think I'd be any good with a kitten—as the kitten himself has just proved."

Percival almost got close enough to pet the kitten, but then the kitten clawed him too. "Sorry, Arthur, but I think the kitten is trying to say that he belongs with you."

"Very well." Arthur gritted his teeth and returned to his chambers.

When he arrived, he found Guinevere setting up several ribbons to hang off his desk. "What are you doing?" Arthur demanded.

"I thought the kitten could play with the ribbons while you do paperwork," Guinevere explained. "Have you given him a name yet?"

"How about Sir Shadow?" Merlin suggested. "Because he's quickly becoming Arthur's shadow."

"Fine!" Arthur snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "I guess I'm keeping Sir Shadow!" Sir Shadow promptly leaped out of the basket and began nuzzling Arthur again. "Merlin, bring a bowl of chopped meat and a bowl of water. And make sure I don't begin finding cat hair everywhere!"

"Right away," Merlin replied, leaving for the kitchens.

In the morning, Arthur was woken by a ball of black fur staring intently at him, inches from his face. Arthur jerked upright. "Argh!"

Guinevere looked over at him, her gaze bleary with sleep. "It's only Sir Shadow, Arthur, calm down."

"There's a kitten in my face and you're telling me to calm down?" Arthur griped.

"Is the castle under attack?" Guinevere asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…No."

"Then yes, I'm telling you to calm down."

After Arthur and Guinevere ate breakfast, Merlin went to refill Sir Shadow's dishes. Once he returned, he looked around for the kitten. "Sir Shadow! I've got your drink!"

Sir Shadow came racing out from under the bed and began greedily lapping at the water. Much to Arthur's shock, the kitten began to transform. Moments later, Mordred sat on the floor where Sir Shadow had been. "Thank you, Merlin," he said in a heartfelt voice.

"Hold on a moment, what is going on here?!" Arthur demanded.

"We ran into a sorcerer less than an hour out from Camelot," Mordred explained. "The other knights sent him fleeing for his life, but he managed to curse me before he left. Gaius told me to go back to Camelot because Merlin knows how to make a potion that can turn me back. Trouble is, the potion takes a long time to make. So I figured I'd have some fun."

"So, what you're basically saying is, this was all a prank?" Arthur asked incredulously.

Mordred smirked. "You should have seen the look on your face." Guinevere and Merlin burst into laughter.

After a few minutes, Merlin turned away to clear up the cat dishes, still smiling in spite of himself. Although he wished he could have left Mordred as a kitten, even he couldn't deny that the prank had been hilarious.