Merlin walked down the corridor, whistling. Arthur was going to be busy all day with paperwork, so Merlin didn't have a heavy workload. He was walking past the East Wing when he heard a quiet sob. He paused, on alert. Crying probably wasn't the start of an evil, sorcerous plot, but he should still probably check it out. Just in case.
He quickened his pace until he rounded a corner. Sitting on the floor underneath a window was… Ruth? One of the kitchen maids? What was she doing so far from the kitchens and why was she crying?
Well, standing and silently watching her wasn't going to answer any of those questions. Besides, Ruth clearly needed to be cheered up. Merlin was good at that! He sat down next to her with a thump and she flinched.
"What's wrong?" asked Merlin. He disliked it when people asked 'are you alright?' to someone who was clearly not. Ruth was clearly not.
"I'm fine, Merlin," she gave him a smile.
"Really? Because, no offense, Ruth, but you're currently on the floor in the middle of the East Wing in the middle of the work day. You're a sensible girl, you'd only be here if you had a reason." She still looked pensive, so he quickly added, "And talking about things helps, usually, even if you don't do anything to fix it." He bumped her shoulder with his.
"Well," she hesitated, then apparently gathered up her resolve and continued, "It's two of the squires. They were...making advances. I had to make a run for it." Ruth fixed her eyes on the brightly colored tapestry across from them, determinedly not meeting Merlin's eyes.
Merlin froze. This was not where he had expected this conversation to go. It wasn't like he hadn't heard the stories, of course. Knights so proud of their power they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. And it was very hard for a kitchen girl to say 'no' to a knight in the first place. He shifted against the stone wall.
"Are you okay? Really, I mean," Merlin asked.
"Yes I'm fine," Ruth gave another shaky smile, "Just a bit shaken up."
"Well, this never should have happened in the first place. Come on." Merlin stood up and brushed imaginary dirt off the front of his trousers. It was an odd habit-because how would the front of his trousers get dirty unless he was lying on his front?- and he wasn't sure where he had picked it up.
"Where are we going?" asked Ruth, standing up as well. She was much calmer now, readying herself to get back to work. The head cook would forgive her the absence if Ruth explained what had happened, but Ruth didn't want to discuss it anymore than she already had. She began to walk alongside Merlin out of the halls.
"The training ground. Leon'll be there. He'll fix this." Merlin had a determined look on his usually unconcerned face.
Ruth stopped. "No Merlin, I don't want to talk about. I just want to forget it happened. Besides, I shouldn't bother Sir Leon."
Merlin shook his head and didn't pause in his strides. "No, he'll want to know about this. Future knights bothering a kitchen maid? Oh, it would never stand," he offered her a reassuring smile as they turned out a door and into the field, both blinking in the sudden sunlight, "Besides, would you rather they don't get punished? Once they're real knights, they'll get even more untouchable. Better to stop this kind of thing now, right?"
By this point, they had arrived at the side of the field, near Leon himself. It was too late for Ruth to actually comment on what he had said. It was also too late for her to argue, which was exactly what Merlin was going for. And now it was too late for her to change her mind. Leon had seen them and jogged over, thinking that perhaps Arthur had sent a message through Merlin.
"Hello, Merlin. Does Arthur need something?" Merlin might just visit one of the others in the middle of the day, but he wouldn't come to Leon without a reason.
"No, but there is a problem you should be aware of. This is Ruth." Merlin turned to Ruth, who immediately dropped into a curtsey, avoiding eye contact.
"Hello, Miss Ruth. Can I help you with anything?" Leon asked, confused.
"I'm sorry, Sir Leon, sorry to disturb you." Ruth cut herself off before she cut blabber, blushing and still avoiding eye contact. She shot an uncertain look at Merlin. What was she supposed to do?
Merlin, luckily, took the hint. "There's a problem, like I said. With two of the knights in training. Which ones was it, Ruth?"
Ruth let out a breath. "Squire Tennyson and Squire Hastings. Sir," she added hastily. Was she supposed to do that? Oh, dear, she was blushing again. Ruth was suddenly very aware that she probably still looked a fright from crying. This was a terrible idea. She was going to be very cross with Merlin, later.
"Right them," said Merlin, "They were behaving inappropriately to Miss Ruth. Very inappropriately."
Ruth forced herself to focus on her breathing. She did not want to discuss this. She wanted to forget it had ever happened. She just had to get through this one terrible, awful, awkward conversation.
Leon's face had hardened similar to how Merlin's had earlier. "They were making advances of a sexual nature?" he asked. Ruth gave a quick nod. Did he really have to say it out loud like that? "Did anyone else see?"
"One of the other girls from the kitchen saw them approach me. She left immediately though," said Ruth.
"And they might've made comments to some of the other squires. Those types often do." Disgust was evident is Sir Leon's tone, and Ruth looked up in relief. He believed her. He was on her side. He was going to help.
"All right," said Sir Leon, "That should be enough to send them packing to their father's estates. Any knight who takes advantage of someone with less power than them isn't a knight Camelot needs, or wants. And this will be a good reminder to the others not to abuse their power in a similar way. Thank you, Miss Ruth. I know talking about it can feel difficult, but now we can solve the problem. If it ever happens again, to you or others, by anyone, please let me know. I want to protect Camelot, and how can I do that if I can't even protect the castle-workers? See you around, Merlin," Sir Leon added.
"Thank you, Sir Leon." Ruth curtseyed again.
"Bye, Leon," said Merlin. He was so informal. It was no wonder he was always getting in trouble, Ruth decided.
He smiled and began to walk back towards the field. The squires would be training under him in two hours. He would make a speech then. But he could go find Tennyson and Hastings now, and tell them in no uncertain terms to leave Camelot. They're training was over.
"Are you okay, Ruth?" asked Merlin.
"Yeah," Ruth said. She let out a heavy breath. "I'm glad that's over, anyways. And thanks, Merlin."
"No problem. Now when Arthur asks what I did today I can say I helped with the squire elimination process. I'm pretty sure that's a thing."
Title: California recently passed a law that requires college students (only the, sadly) to have verbal or written affirmative consent before any sexual acts, rather than a lack of saying 'no'. This is considered groundbreaking.
Some perpetrators of sexual assault aren't punished because the survivors are shamed into silence. It is never the fault of the victim.
Remember: Don't be scared into silence. If someone confides in you, believe them and don't shame them. People of all genders can be victims of sexual assault.
Sexual Assault Hotline: 800. (4673)