AN: Hey guys, so this is the first Merlin fanfic of mine that I'm publishing. I wrote the layout for each chapter a couple of years ago. And although the time is never right for me to write anything, the first chapter is here! Hopefully the next will be out sooner rather than later.

In this story, Merlin has been working at the castle for almost two years, Arthur and him have had many adventures together, and are good friends. Arthur and Gwen are kinda together, but also very careful to keep their relationship hidden. Also, english is not my first language, so I apologize if there are sentences in the story that makes no sense, it would be really helpful if you point that out to me, so I don't continue making a mistake :)

When Merlin woke up he quickly became aware of two things. One, Gaius was calling his name and shaking his shoulder to rouse him. Two, something really smelly was close by and it only intensified when he turned on his side and cradled his pillow in his arms, or did he? This thing seemed far too hard to be his pillow, and sure enough, when he cracked his eye open he was horrified to discover that it was in fact Arthur's boot he had been cuddling with in his sleep.

He jerked away from the prince's left boot and nearly fell out of bed. Meanwhile Gaius opened the window in his room and let sunlight fall on his apprentice's confused body. Merlin shot up when he felt the suns warm light on his forehead. "What time is it?" He asked disoriented and put on the newly washed shirt he had laid out the night before.

"Late! You should have been up an hour ago." Gaius said and handed him the other boot which had fallen under the bed while Merlin had slept.

The young warlock took off as soon as he had both boots in his possession, and hurried out of the court physician's chamber and into the main part of the castle. While hurrying towards Arthur's room, he noticed how the castle was buzzing with life – everywhere around him people were bringing in newly plucked flowers, or dusting of the floors – it seemed he was the last person to be up.

He reached Prince Arthur's chamber breathlessly, and waited a minute before entering to calm his beating heart. When he opened the door it nearly hit the prince who had been standing on the other side.

"There you are Merlin! I have been waiting for you for the last hour! Been to the tavern all night have you?" Arthur exclaimed and pulled his manservant inside.

"What? No! I was up all night polishing your boots!"

Arthur looked at said boots and ripped them out of Merlin's grip. "Well it's a about time!" The prince said, "I had to dress myself."

"What a disaster." Merlin muttered and closed the door behind him. When Arthur had gotten on the boots, he turned to his manservant, "Well, how do I look?"

Like you dressed yourself for the first time in years, Merlin thought. "Excellent Sire, although I think your tunic could be bound a little better." He said and helped his friend with the few things he had forgotten or done badly.

A horn sounded from outside by the gates, and the both of them looked up. "Seems they're here already," Arthur said and walked out the door with Merlin right behind him.

The warlock noticed the skip in his friend's step, and how quickly he had forgotten about him being late, and he could only think that is was because of their guests. "Are you excited to see your uncle?" Merlin asked as the two of them walked down one of the many stairs in the castle.

"Very," Arthur said with a smile. "I'm hoping my cousins decided to come as well; I haven't seen them in two years!"

"Where did you say they were from my Lord?"

Arthur laughed, "Did you flush that out of your head with all the drinking Merlin?" The prince received a bump on the shoulder which he surprisingly did not return. "They're from Cornwall, my uncle Gorlois is the duke." Merlin nodded his head, vaguely remembering Arthur having told him some time yesterday.

They made it outside just as a smaller delegation of men on horses rode into the castle's courtyard. King Uther was already there, standing with a smaller army of nobles and servants behind him, Merlin could see Gwen amongst them. Arthur took place beside his father, and Merlin stood slightly behind the both of them.

A kind looking man was in the lead, dressed in blue robes with beautiful patterns and with what Merlin believed to be the crest of Cornwall. He was the first to get down from his horse and Uther stepped forward to greet him with open arms. "Gorlois!"

"Uther!" The slightly shorter man said and accepted the King's hug happily.

Arthur had followed close behind, and as soon as Uther stepped back from the Duke of Cornwall, the prince greeted Gorlois with just as much energy as his father had, "Uncle!" He said with his head buried in the older man's shoulder.

Merlin was surprised to feel the need to look away, with such a blatant display of love between two people who had not seen each other for years, he felt like he was intruding on something private.

Gorlois broke away from the embrace, but did not let go of the young prince, instead he held him outstretched in front of him and looked him over.

"My, you have grown up to be quite the man Arthur. You must have a throng of suiters, eh?" He joked.

Arthur blushed and thanked his uncle.

"They grow up too fast, huh?" Gorlois said with a smile to Uther.

"Certainly," The King said, and looked his son over as well. Merlin could see his friend's embarrassment as he shuffled from foot to foot. "Speaking of children," Uther said and turned back to the duke, "haven't you forgotten to bring someone with you?"

Arthur's interest piqued at this, and both he and Merlin leaned closer to hear his answer. Although he had forgotten where this extended family came from, it was impossible to forget about Arthur's cousins Morgause and Morgana, for the prince had been talking nonstop about them since it had been announced that a delegation from Cornwall was visiting. And now the warlock could see the disappointment written across his friend's face at the prospect that none of them had come along.

"Morgause decided to stay in Cornwall, you know how she is, never takes the time to have some fun for once, she's all business that one." Gorlois said. "Morgana should be here in a couple of hours, she had an errand to do on the way here, and we split up last night."

Both Uther and Arthur looked relieved at this and the King sent some stable boys to take the horses to the stables. Arthur put a hand on Merlin's shoulder and pushed him forward. "Uncle, this is my manservant Merlin, he will show you to your room, and if you need anything at all he will help you."

The Duke of Cornwall gave him a smile and a nod, "Well Uther, I would like to get settled in my chambers before we start catching up."

"Of course," the king said "I will have your baggage carried up to your room, and then we can meet in the dining room in half an hour?"

"Excellent!"

And so Merlin guided Arthur's uncle through the castle and to the wing where they had the most extravagant guest rooms. On the way there the duke suddenly asked the manservant a question.

"Merlin, how long have you been working as Prince Arthur's manservant?"

Surprised that the Duke of Cornwall wanted to know anything about him at all, Merlin paused before answering. "I've been working here for almost two years now my Lord." He said quietly. "Ahh, well then that's why I can't remember you, I haven't been here in two years."

They were nearing his assigned chambers, when Merlin decided to ask "Do you like it here my Lord?"

The Duke stopped walking and looked at him thoughtfully, and for a second Merlin was afraid that he had offended him by asking. "Camelot is certainly a beautiful place, although it has a violent history. I must say, I come here only for the company."

Surprised by how honest Gorlois was with him, Merlin fell behind a couple of steps. "My Lord, if I may ask, what is Cornwall like? I've never been, and I can't say I've heard much about it."

"Well," the Duke started "Cornwall, is right next to the ocean, so you can always hear the sound of the sea. It is what I miss the most whenever I leave, and I have a hard time falling asleep without it." Merlin, who had never travelled farther than from Ealdor to Camelot, listened carefully. "Almost half of the citizens are fishermen, and if you concentrate hard enough, you can always catch the scent of fish no matter where you are."

The young warlock was so fascinated by the other man's description of Cornwall that he nearly led the two of them past the guest room meant for him. He didn't notice until the duke himself stopped walking. "I believe this is where I'm staying Merlin, am I right?"

Surprised, Merlin looked to where the other man was standing, and his cheeks turned red in embarrassment at having not even been able to lead someone to their room. "Yes, I'm sorry," He muttered, "what you said of your home just captivated me."

"I'm glad," the Duke said with a smile and opened the door to his chamber "and I hope you get to see it one day, you would be very welcome."

Shortly after, Merlin was headed back to the dining room, where he and Gwen half an hour later helped serve a light lunch for Arthur, his uncle and the King. Both he and Gwen listened carefully as Gorlois told about how Cornwall just six months ago had destroyed a fleet of ships led by the Danes. Gwen, just like he himself, had never seen the ocean and the two of them laughed at each other's expression caused by their rapt attention, whenever Arthur's uncle told one of his entertaining stories.

After a couple of hours, the King and Gorlois retreated to talk more privately. When it was only Arthur, Merlin and Gwen left in the room, the two servants took the abandoned seats by the table.

"Arthur? Have you ever visited Cornwall?" Gwen asked and put her hand on his arm. Arthur blushed a little at the intimate touch in front of Merlin. But he ignored it, well knowing that his manservant had seen them act much more scandalous.

"I have. From when I was eight till I turned eleven, I spent all of my summers there." He said, smiling fondly at the memory of it.

"Why did you stop?" Merlin asked.

Arthur turned his gaze to the table, "Vivienne, Gorlois' wife, and Morgause and Morgana's mother died just before I turned twelve. It was very hard for my uncle and the girls. We attended the funeral of course, but Gorlois needed time to overcome his grief, and I don't think he could handle looking after Camelot's only heir just after having lost his wife."

Gwen squeezed his hand in support, and he gave her a grateful smile. "The next year I was welcomed back for a couple of weeks, but father had me compete in the jousting tournament for the first time that year. And he never said it, but I think he thought it too risky to send his only son so far away, so that was that."

They sat in silence for a while, with Merlin thinking over what his friend had said. He wondered if Vivienne had almost been like a mother to Arthur, the way he had talked about her, certainly suggested that he had cared very much for her.

"Do you think she'll remember me?" Gwen asked suddenly, and the young warlock felt like he had missed something, which his face probably expressed.

Arthur, who was just about to answer, was interrupted by his manservant.

"Whom?"

"Morgana," Gwen answered "I was here the last time they visited. I've worked here a lot longer than you have, remember?" She teased.

Just then, a faraway sounding horn broke the silence of their evening and not a minute later, Sir Leon poked his head inside the room and announced that a single rider was approaching the castle.

"That will be her." Arthur said and stood up, suddenly full of energy again.

AN: So that's the first chapter. If you liked it please leave a review, and if you didn't like it please leave a review anyway ;)