Hello again! This can be considered a continuation of Walking the Path Alone.
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC
Oh, and did you see episode 1! Epic, was it not? Can't wait to see the next one. * jumping in excitement*
"Arthur is going to kill me!" thought Merlin as he ran through the fields that surrounded Camelot's walls.
"Oi, Merlin, late again are you?" a shout rang out across the path and Merlin jumped at the familiar noise.
"Oh go bother someone else Arden!" Merlin yelled but did not manage to suppress a smile as he stopped jogging and turned back to face the farmer.
A toothy grin was shot his way as the man lifted up his scythe and managed to almost seem angry as he pointed it in Merlin's direction "You best get back here soon enough Mr. Manservant, can't have my crops withering away now, right?"
" Am I just everybody's dogsbody then?" Merlin yelled as he started running back up the steps of the castle and out of the line of sight of the farmer.
"Please let him not be up, please let him-"
"Merlin"
"Ah, um, yes, Arthur... funny story actually, as it turned out..." Merlin's mind was trying to catch up with his words, " and um farmers! and this lady in the square..."
"Merlin, I really don't care about your frolicking through town, what I do wonder about is how my, MY, manservant seems to be working for everyone else and not doing his job." Arthur was dressed and looking over his schedule for the day, not entirely paying attention to the way Merlin seemed to be dithering about his room, until he heard a noise so loud it was only possible that one man in the entirety of Albion would be able to make, "Merlin, what have you...Merlin?" The boy had disappeared out of Arthur's view before returning, completely red-faced and was holding a large plate of Arthur's breakfast.
"Yes, Arthur?" Merlin's smile spread wide across his entire face, and for that reason alone Arthur decided not to question his manservant's actions.
"Just place that on the table and go Merlin, I wont be needing you back until later, around noon, and don't forget that you will have to be presentable for the meeting this evening with the ambassador from the French delegation."
"Of course, when am I not presentable?" Merlin seemed to be stunned at the idea, but Arthur knew better not to turn around, or he would see "that" grin on Merlin's face, and he knew he would not be able to stop grinning either. "Just go, idiot, you always complain about not getting enough free time."
"I'm gone!" Merlin started leaving the room, before turning back and saying " ...thanks"
Then he ran as fast as his legs could take him back to the fields.
Arthur was not able to suppress a smile at Merlin's words, ever since Merlin had been hurt on that lone battlefield, the tension that was usually between them seemed to have mellowed. Their playful banter continued, but it was easier to talk about some things then before, or to ignore them whenever it got to awkward. Arthur sighed as he lifted his hands above his head to stretch out his shoulders, and then collapsed in a fit of laughter as he saw Merlin run through the town running into 6, no, 7 people on his way out the gate. Could that boy get any clumsier.
"I'm back" Merlin exclaimed between puffs as he fought to get his breathe back under control. He had started spending more and more time with the farmers, and they in turn had seemed to adopt him into their group.
"Wow, did you jus' ditch your job then?" asked one of the farmhands.
"No, when would I ever do that?"
"The real question, is when wold you do it and actually say you did."
Merlin turned around as once again that same someone was able to sneak up behind him. "Arden! Can you stop doing that!"
"Oh, is the little manservant high strung? Anyway, I need you to look at beans, the don't seem to be sprouting as much."
"I don't see why you need me to look at them," but Merlin got no response as the joke played out as usual and he was towed to look over at the beans
"Arden, can you guys please stop hinting that I might in some way be helping your crops? I really do not want to be accused of sorcery..." Merlin had just finished looking at rows and rows of beans, and knew he would have to return to Camelot soon.
"You don't need to worry my boy, this is only between you and us. We aren't gonna let the king know about this little trick of yours."
"It isn't a trick!"
"Of course not, it just so happened that whenever you came down past the fields, everything started growing larger, taller, and when it was picked was juicier then any other year," Arden was used to this fight, but they both knew that neither would give up on their sides of the argument, and so kept repeating the same lines.
"Hmmph," was Merlin's only reply as he watched the magic that seemed to surround him ever since the famine that occurred two months back, slowly worked its way into all the crops that he could lay his eyes on, "Well, I am probably going to be busy the next few days, so don't expect me to come when one of the beans decides not to flower."
"Of course not, my boy."
Merlin and Arden walked in a comfortable silence for a while, before Arden grabbed Merlin's shoulder and turned him around, "Trust me, boy, no matter what happens, we aren't gonna do anything about you, you're one of us, and we don't turn in our own, now go on, get don't want his highness to get angry now do we?" and he pushed Merlin off once again towards the castle, as Merlin was trying to figure out whether to smile or be worried "Ah well," Merlin thought, " I can always say that I am learning some stuff from Gauis and that is helping me learn more about crops...right?"
As Merlin trudged back up the steps, Arden watched as the small weeds that lined the road seemed to move closer as Merlin walked by, "And may the gods help you to boy." A small smile played on his lips, and he turned back towards the farm hands, "Let's get back to work you lot!"