Best Day Ever
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
Note: This is a companion piece to my story 'Doing It Over', but it can be read alone
"Arthur, stop bouncing," Uther said, chuckling slightly.
"Sorry," Arthur said, tilting his head back to smile widely at his father. "I'm just excited!"
"I know you are, but I doubt the pony is appreciating your excitement," Uther said, smiling.
"Oh, sorry," Arthur said again as he stopped bouncing, "Where are we going?"
"There's a clearing, it's not much further," Uther told his son, "I used to take your mother there when I could get away from Camelot. I thought we could have lunch there. Does that sound good?"
Arthur nodded happily and Uther chuckled again. They rode a bit farther, Arthur babbling away and eventually they reached the clearing.
"Oh," Uther sighed, sliding off the horse. He hadn't been here in years, not since...
"Daddy?" Arthur squirmed, wanting off the horse. Uther snapped out of his reverie and lifted the boy down.
"Daddy are you okay?" Arthur asked, gripping his father's hand.
"Yes," Uther replied faintly, "It looks exactly the same." He stood, staring for another moment before shaking his head. He grabbed the pony's reins and then led them over to a spot in the clearing where they sat down to eat lunch. They were there for about half an hour, Uther looking around and remembering all the times he had visited there with Ygraine.
"Daddy?" Arthur finally said, "Do you miss mama?"
"I miss her every day," he admitted, "And I see so much of her in you."
"You do?" Arthur said, eyes wide.
"I do," Uther nodded, "She had blonde hair just like you and you have the same blue eyes." Uther stared at his son, the five year old had his mouth slightly open and was staring at his father with rapt attention and Uther realized this was the first time he had really spoken to his son about his mother. The king was sure others had told Arthur about her, but he himself had never spoken of her. It was just too painful.
"You have the same smile, same laugh, she was incredibly stubborn, just like you," Uther said and Arthur giggled.
"Really?" he said, crawling closer to his father.
"Oh yes," Uther nodded, "She told everyone long before you were born that you'd be a boy. The midwives tried to tell her you might be a girl, but she knew and she wouldn't say otherwise."
Arthur smiled widely for a moment, but it quickly dropped.
"What's the matter?" Uther asked.
"Do you ever wish mama was here instead of me?" Arthur asked quietly.
"No, absolutely not," Uther said firmly, "I wish both you and your mother could be here so that you could know her, but I would never wish you away Arthur, understand?"
Arthur nodded, hugging him tightly.
"Your mother would have loved you," Uther went on, "She would have loved to spend days with you and take you to places like this. She loved being outside and knew all about different plants and trees and animals. She used to tell me all about them."
"Do you remember any of it?" Arthur asked hopefully and Uther thought for a moment.
"You know, I believe I do," Uther replied, "Finish your lunch and then we can take a walk and I'll show you some of the things your mother showed me."
Arthur smiled widely and hurried to finish his lunch. When he was done Uther grabbed the pony's reins and Arthur's hand and they made their way into the forest. Uther pointed out the different flowers and trees that he could remember Ygraine telling him about. He finally stopped in front of some small, purple ones.
"These are called Ground Ivy," Uther said, crouching down, "They were your mother's favourite."
"Really?" Arthur said, kneeling down.
"Mm hmm," Uther nodded, "I used to bring them to her after I'd had a long day dealing with the court. It was my way of apologizing for not seeing her all day."
"And she liked them?" Arthur asked.
"She loved them," Uther smiled at his son. Arthur started at the flowers for a moment.
"When I'm older, I'm going to give these flowers to a girl," he declared.
"Is that so?" Uther said and Arthur nodded solemnly.
"Well, I'm sure whoever she is, she will love them," Uther said, "Now, come on. We need to be heading back to Camelot before it gets dark."
Uther stood and helped Arthur onto the horse and they set off.
"Did you have a good day?" Uther asked.
"Uh huh," Arthur said, leaning back sleepily, "It was the best day ever."
Alright, so originally I had no plans to write this. However, when I wrote 'Doing It Over' a few people had said they'd wished I had written the full day out that Arthur and his father had and then I struck with this idea last week.
I'm uploading it today because today marks me being on for six years! It's so crazy to me that I've been writing stories here for six years. It started off as just something I did for fun because I loved writing so much and it's literally inspired me to pursue writing as a career. Thank you so so much to everyone who has read any of my stories as well as to anyone who has favourited/followed/reviewed! It means so much to me so thank you!
Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you think!