I enjoyed Merlin thoroughly, but the fifth season broke my heart. The reveal (in the last episode!) was beautiful and sad, but it left me wishing for what I always wanted. Magic free in Camelot, while Arthur was still alive to see it and fully able to accept Merlin. Maybe that's a spoiler for where this story is going. Except, it's not much of a spoiler because there is so much story to tell.
Usually a story like this is done with big battles or evil magic-users storming the castle, but neither of those things will happen here. Remember, this is the three years in between. It's a story of behind-the-scenes, and days in the life of Camelot. There will be a few tweaks from the original storyline—I need it for the reveal—but the characters will grow to who they were meant to be. There will be plenty of politics and jokes and friendship and, of course, magic.
Welcome back to Camelot.
Half-Penny Hero
Ostara (March 20)
The sun shone through his threadbare blankets, and Merlin tried to ignore the light and Gaius' intentionally loud sighing as he made his way up the rickety stairs to Merlin's small room. He did feel a swirling sense of guilt…or was that his stomach? Ugh. Too much mead.
There was the sound of the door banging open, the creak of another loose floorboard, and the blanket was tugged from his face. Merlin immediately swung an arm over his eyes and grimaced. "How much of this morning are you planning on wasting?"
"No wastefulness here. I'm very busy hating Gwaine and sleeping."
Gaius rolled his eyes. "Did you forget you gathered ingredients for this?" He waved a vial under Merlin's nostrils, which wrinkled.
"Is that a leech?"
"It's the nausea potion."
Merlin grasped it with eyes still closed and poured it down his throat. He could specifically remember the last time he'd put himself in this situation, and he'd promised to prevent it at all costs for the rest of his life. Alas, he'd failed.
"Feeling better yet, or do I need to get myself a new apprentice?"
"I'm up," Merlin retorted as he gagged around the taste in his mouth. He swept the blanket fully off his body and folded himself carefully into a sitting position. "Where's my tunic?"
"Really, my boy, you call this a tunic?" Gaius nudged the purple pile of rags on the ground. After last night's festivities it was in dire need of a wash, though the stains and smudges told quite the story. "You are very late for Arthur might I add."
"Arthur gave me the morning off. He did only marry Gwen yesterday."
"More reason for you not to waste it. This opportunity is never going to come again." Gaius stood and tottered back to the door. "I could use some turnips."
Merlin's blue tunic lay folded on the wooden stool at his bedside, and he yanked it over his head. "I'll run to the market," he conceded. Though the thought of more turnip stew put a fire under him, and he jumped quickly into the rest of his clothes after Gaius exited. He'd have to hurry for there to be any worthy grain left, and he'd still have to stop by the Hall of Records to pick up his salary.
In his rush, he hopped down the stairs on one foot, stuffing the other into his boot as he went.
"Anything you need besides turnips?"
"Better pick up some Feverfew as well if you're going to make these nights with Gwaine a habit," Gaius smirked.
The rest of Camelot's castle slipped along like molasses, all nobles and many of the servants still recovering from last night's new year's feast. They had much to celebrate this Ostara: the completed rebuild after reconquering Camelot from Morgana and Helios, the second year of King Arthur, and of course, Gwen's return and crowning. Merlin walked the nearly empty halls feeling a bit proud, and truly happy for Arthur and Camelot.
His feet took him to Arthur's—well, Arthur and Gwen's—chambers. He knocked and shouted something silly about a termite infestation and then waited half a beat for Arthur's shout of "Merlin! Do you have the memory of a dayfly?"
Merlin grinned and loped away, cutting through the kitchens to grab some of yesterday's bread from Audrey on his way to the library.
The Hall of Records, where the paperwork involved with the castle's finances were kept, resided alongside the library. So, Merlin passed Geoffrey of Monmouth with a wave as he ducked through bookshelves to get to it.
"Good morning, George!" He boomed as he walked in, enjoying the way the other man's eyebrows drew to a pinch.
George sat at a squat desk, to his left perched a lockbox filled with coins, and at his back was the bookshelf that held the scrolls for every worker in the castle.
"Name," George replied haughtily.
"You don't remember me, George? I thought we bonded over your cutlery jokes."
George sorted silently through other servant's names until he found the scroll with Merlin's history. He dashed off a few marks then looked up. "You cannot break the rules just because you are the king's manservant."
Oh, the irony. "Merlin of Ealdor."
George's face crimped in the way Merlin now knew meant George was feeling victorious, and the man dropped three pennies into Merlin's hand. "I'll see you on Beltane."
"I look forward to it," Merlin said with an innocent smile to which George only scowled at.
Merlin swept from the room amusing himself by seeing how high he could flick a penny using his thumb, and running minor calculations in his mind. The market would already be in full swing by this time, and he hoped to still see worthy seeds and vegetables available for sale.
As he left the white walls of the citadel, he passed a bleary-eyed Leon who gave him a half-hearted nod of greeting.
Merlin clapped him on the shoulder. "Gaius has outdone himself with this morning's hangover cure. Though I'm certain I noticed a leech missing from the tank."
Leon shuddered and waved him away while Merlin grinned.
He strode through the wide streets of the noble's Upper Town and into the winding, grimier paths of the lower. The stocks stood at the peak of the market's main street, really taking advantage of the unsold wares of the week. Luckily, no luckless fool had garnered its punishment, and Merlin could pass his old haunt without grimacing.
While he continually hoped Gaius' turnip craving would pass, the physician's quips on nutrition and this all-important vegetable meant that Merlin had better buy extra. Between Elizabeth and Henry-the-Hermit, Merlin was able to gather a handful of new seeds and year-old plants ready for flowering. If he didn't get too distracted with destiny this year, then his three farthings may have just bought him a continuous cycle of turnips. Joy.
Another halfpence got him a pound of barley, and he nearly made it away before a bolt of cloth caught his eye. It was a sweet sky-blue that he knew his mother loved, and he sighed as thoughts of her bubbled to the front of his mind.
Ever since Tristan had mentioned King Lot's hobby of hanging his enemy's heads on the walls of his keep, Merlin had wanted to make sure his mother was well. He had mentioned to Arthur that he wanted to at least be in Ealdor when Lot's men came through for tariffs, but that had been before the wedding and he doubted Arthur remembered. Besides, the larger problem was how to leave Arthur alone for a week without the prat putting on a poisoned necklace or turning into a donkey.
"How much for a yard?"
The woman eyed him so he gestured towards the blue fabric. "A pence."
He expected as much, and while he had a bit of money stored in his chambers, he couldn't help the wince that crossed his face. The woman caught his look and unrolled the rougher serf's cloth that he'd grown up wearing.
"A farthing."
Merlin shook his head. "It's a gift for my mother." He smiled brightly, "would you take a half-pence?"
In the end he traded another three farthings, and a future bottle of blackcurrants once his shrub produced fruit in the summer, for a generous yard of the blue cloth and a handful of scrap fabric that would make good thread.
He carried his spoils back to Gaius' chambers and didn't trip even once. However, because he was fate's plaything, as he swung into the room he collided with a green-faced Leon and turnips rolled everywhere.
"I regret this already," Leon muttered with a sour twist of his lips.
"You'll feel much better once you get over the bad breath," Merlin replied conspiringly.
Leon turned back to the physician and thanked him for his help.
"Of course, Sir Leon," Gaius responded as the door closed behind the Captain of the Guard. He waited for the good knight's footsteps to fade down the corridor, then turned and smacked Merlin in the head. "Boiled leeches?"
Merlin grinned sheepishly and shuffled around on the floor looking servile. It didn't fool Gaius, but the handful of turnips won him over. "So…" he began suddenly, "what do you know about scrying?"
Gaius' eyebrow twitched upward. "What brought this about?"
"Since Arthur and Gwen—" Gaius' eyebrow inched even higher, "Since Arthur and Gwen will be staying in Camelot while I visit Ealdor," he said emphatically, "I need a way to keep watch over them."
"Are you certain spying on them at sudden moments is how you want to monitor their safety?" Gaius' voice dripped with skepticism.
Merlin grimaced, "Probably not. But what other choice do I have?"
Gaius put a hand on his back and lowered himself into a stool with a sigh. "Then let's discuss the theory behind scrying. Do you understand the Law of Contagion?" Merlin's quirked head bade him continue. "It explains how a magical link can be formed between two people or objects once they have been in contact." Gaius paused and frowned at him. "Didn't you just tell me you used a link like this to freeze Morgana's magic?"
"I used a binding spell and a poppet."
"That sounds very near a curse."
Merlin reached into his pocket and pulled his remaining coins into his hands so he could avoid looking at Gaius. "It was a curse."
It was to Gaius' credit that he did not react in any way. Instead he continued slowly, "Scrying is a similar art, though all accounts I've heard are for speaking with the dead." Gaius startled as a potion began bubbling, but turned back to the conversation. "Did you use Morgana's hair to enact the curse?"
Merlin rolled the silver and copper through his fingers. "I didn't use anything of hers."
He reached across the table and grasped Merlin's wrist. "The way you bend these rules continues to shock me, Merlin. To have bound a sorceress as strong as Morgana with a contagion through straw is stunning. If anyone could bind a living spirit to an object it would be you."
While the words had been meant to soothe, Merlin instead stood in agitation. "Just because I can do it, doesn't mean I should." He clenched his fist. "How could I even think of cursing Arthur?"
A tense silence swallowed the room as he fumed at himself. Gaius waited warily for Merlin's shoulders to unwind as the young man calmed before placing a careful hand upon him. "Merlin, you would never hurt Arthur. Peace in Albion is both of your destinies."
Merlin froze and Gaius removed his hand. He needn't have worried, though, because moments later Merlin whirled around with a huge grin upon his face. "Yes, because we are two sides of the same coin! Brilliant, Gaius!"
"What are you on about now, Merlin?"
Merlin bound from the room, heading to his chambers. "Coins!" He dove under the bed to pry at the loose floorboard.
This boy is exhausting. Gaius huffed. He ambled over to the bubbling potion and poured it into a larger pitcher, then held it to the light to check its color. He heard the rustling of pages and the mumble of magic.
He nearly dropped the pitcher on his own face as Merlin barreled back out and flung a halfpenny at him. "Were you being literal?"
"It's a sigil," Merlin beamed and held a similar coin in his own hand. "I made two, and I bound them together." He pressed a finger to the coin, and Gaius felt his own halfpenny warm. "Since they're sigils, I can charge them!"
Merlin looked so pleased that Gaius didn't have the heart to bring him down with his own confusion. "Very good, my boy."
"You have to help me test them."
"And how do we—"
"We put Arthur in danger," Gaius immediately turned away with a No! "Just a little bit of danger!" He reached over and grabbed the halfpence from Gaius. "This one is a maintenance sigil, and this one here is a shield sigil. I'll be able to tell if Arthur gets hurt. I'll be able to protect him. Well slightly…I haven't completely worked out all the kinks…" Merlin trailed off, but beamed again. "I just need to test it once before I go."
"Absolutely not," Gaius said severely. "I don't condone this reckless behavior."
Merlin waved him off with a laugh and hopped to the door. "Well then, I'm on a mission for destiny. I'll be taking the rest of the day off."
Gaius shook his head in exasperation and again raised the pitcher to the light. This time he swirled slightly to bring air into the mixture and felt blindly along his desk for the vial of powdered sage. Merlin nearly gave him a heart attack when he sprung back in.
"And don't tell anyone I'm at the tavern!"
—
"Arthur you must let me go," Guinevere giggled lightly. "I don't believe I've been in bed this long since I was a child."
"If you insist, my queen." Arthur fell back onto the bed with a smile as he watched his wife slip a sheet around her body and head for her folding screen. So modest—too bad, he grinned to himself. "If the nobles last night are anything to go by, I'm not going to have you to myself for quite some time, so forgive me for dallying."
"Oh, Arthur," she said in her melodic voice, "they were following custom. I expect they want to gain my favor."
"Or they were entranced by how beautiful you are."
She poked her head around the screen and gave him a reprimanding look. "If you're planning on taking up poetry, you could use a spot of coaching."
He laughed and rolled to his side, content to stay in bed as long as he was able. "In all seriousness, we will need to introduce you to our allies. Perhaps we shall call on Lord Godwyn, then make our way around Camelot's borders."
"Would it be wise to be away from home for so long?" She peeked at him while dressed in her chemise and he smiled at her again.
"You will be a wonderful queen, Guinevere."
Knocking at the door pulled both of their attention, and Merlin's voice called to them. "Are you decent?"
Arthur's head fell back into the pillows as he groaned and Gwen's laugh tinkled from behind the screen.
"You're not? Don't you both have a kingdom to rule? People to put in the stocks and all that?"
"Don't tempt me."
"Gwen?"
"You can come in, Merlin."
The manservant opened the door with a flourish, his blue eyes twinkling and his raven hair ruffled. As he swept into the room the door shut with a bang, and he dropped the platter of cheese and bread onto the serving table with another clang. He placed the goblet from his other hand on Arthur's desk while kicking yesterday's clothes into a neater pile, and then pushed open the curtains. The man was a storm, Arthur thought.
Merlin turned to Arthur with a raised brow. "I see you've forgotten how to dress without my help."
Gwen giggled again and appeared from behind the screen wearing a simple gown of purple. While it would have been highly inappropriate in the Great Hall, around her friend, and formerly fellow servant, it was more than enough clothing. "Thank you for the food, Merlin. You didn't have to do that for us."
"It's too early in your marriage to deal with a cranky Arthur."
"If the both of you are going to girl talk, then you can leave."
Merlin ignored Arthur's jibe as he was too intently watching Guinevere lift the goblet from the table and raise it to her lips. Just as it touched her mouth he cleared his throat and snatched the cup from her hands.
Gwen looked at him questioningly as he moved to the window and poured the goblet's contents out of it. "It was for Arthur," he explained.
She responded by glancing furtively at the back of his neck, and he turned to her with an innocent smile. "Nothing like that Gwen, just a prank." He looked slyly at the king still under the covers. "I knew he wouldn't be able to chase me."
Gwen swatted at his arm and he laughed, but then held it out to her. "Can I escort you to the kitchens for a better drink?"
She looked softly at her husband and asked, "Will you be alright on your own, Arthur?" A twinkle grew in her eye and he realized she was teasing him.
He threw a pillow at them both. "You'd think you both get paid for harassing me."
"Only I do now," Merlin said cheekily. "Nice thinking marrying Gwen though; I don't think the coffers could have afforded us both much longer."
"Tell me Merlin, are any of the prison cells available?"
"No, your highness, they're booked until Yule."
By this time Gwen had finished slipping an embroidered tunic over her shoulders, its intricate designs falling elegantly to her waistline. She placed her hand on Merlin's elbow just as the man swung Arthur's scabbard onto his back.
"Where are you going with my sword?"
"To do servantly things," Merlin replied as the door closed behind them.
Arthur blinked at the disappearing footsteps, and then at the growing silence in his chambers. Well, this is new.
—
Gwen and Merlin walked down the stone corridor arm-in-arm. They could barely make it five feet without another servant or noble giving their new queen a small bow, and Gwen was much too nice to not acknowledge them. After Sir Geraint nearly slobbered all over Gwen's hand, Merlin decided to intervene.
He nudged her with his shoulder and said loudly, "So, my lady," and then he grinned, "is Arthur as good with a sword as he thinks he is?"
"Merlin!" Gwen looked about them aghast, and then hid her smile behind her hand as she tried to look sternly at him. "I haven't heard that kind of talk since I was a serving girl."
"Good reason to keep me around then," he replied cheekily as he steered them through the bottom of the stairwell.
"Well, it certainly is a long story," Gwen continued, not one to back down around Merlin. He nearly doubled over in laughter at her secretive smirk. "Though I don't think I could explain it properly without having to reference a few of your mother's stories."
Merlin's disgusted expression spoke for itself.
Gwen giggled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I do miss just gossiping with the other girls between chores. I wonder how they're all doing."
"Ask them," Merlin said nonchalantly.
"I'm sure it would be different." She sighed and Merlin studied her out of the corner of his eye. "It's already all so different."
"Gwen," His blue eyes tore from her to stare unfocusedly down the hallway, and he ran a hand through his hair as he mulled over his words. "People are going to expect a lot from you. They'll praise you and question you and throw titles at you. Despite all of that, you're still Gwen, and you always will be." He smiled his disarming grin at her, "You were my first friend when I came to Camelot. You are one of my best friends now. That will never change."
She took a moment to think over what he'd said, but the small smile forming on her face meant he'd done his job. "You really can be so wise, Merlin. When is Arthur going to smarten up and make you an official advisor?"
"When he gets tired of watching my rear end while I fetch water."
Gwen admonished him again and a flush rose to her cheeks as she laughed. At that moment the wooden door for the kitchens burst open and Elyan appeared carrying a jug and a handful of cups.
He greeted them both before Gwen snatched a cup from his hand. He filled it for her with a fond smile, then pulled her into a one-armed embrace and kissed her on the forehead. "Are you hungry, sister?"
As she shook her head, Elyan glanced to Merlin.
"Can I steal the queen as I make some rounds to the on-duty knights?"
"Wonderful idea, Elyan," Gwen beamed.
Merlin waved them off and they both left for the battlements. He hoisted Excalibur higher onto his back and thought on what area of the castle he could get a quiet moment with Arthur's scabbard.
Eventually he decided the place he could come up with the quickest excuse was the armory, and he entered the familiar room as Sir Cador was hanging his halberd. He turned quickly at Merlin's entrance, but upon recognizing him didn't acknowledge the servant.
That was well enough for Merlin, because he needed a bit of space to break the law. He went to sit on a bench so his back was to the door and removed Excalibur from its sheath. He grabbed a whetstone and ran it lightly along the blade until Sir Cador left, then set both aside. He took the sheath and held it before him.
Arthur rarely carried a shield, so the shield of the sword would be best able to carry his spell. Though now he had to puzzle out how he was going to actually do that.
He took the halfpence from his pocket and placed it into a circlet within the embroidery. It didn't quite fit, but he shoved the filigree with his magic until he could wedge in the coin. He could just imagine the verbal lashing he would get when Arthur discovered it.
He shrugged. It wouldn't be worse than anything before. In fact, it would probably be amusing. Though if Arthur's track record were to be referenced, the oblivious king would never find out.
Merlin glanced over his shoulder, looking supremely suspicious if anyone had cared to watch him. He was alone though, so he slipped the other coin into his hand and his eyes flared gold. He felt his magic slip from the twin halfpence into the sheath, and wobble delicately around the metal's form.
With another flash of gold he shoved, and his magic expanded explosively around his body and—by accident—the bench he sat on. Small bonus, he now knew there was a leg very near to rotting through.
He retracted until the magic held loosely around his body. He'd used similar magic after being struck by the mace last year. It wasn't anything near a healing spell, but it had kept most of the blood within his body, and thus kept him conscious enough to create that last rockslide.
He thought of testing it with a knick on his finger, but that sounded too morbid. Instead he felt for the scab on his knee, and for the healing abrasions on his hip from when he'd stumbled the night before.
Merlin looked to the sword by his side then rapidly shook his head. As the magic released, he was careful to stuff it back into the sheath's sigil. It made the halfpence warm in his left hand, and all seemed in order. He put the paired coin in his pocket and sighed deeply while he leaned his head back onto the coat of arms behind him.
Then he gave in and shoved his hand for the sword at his side. Magic jolted from the sigil, completely out of his control. The coin in his pocket jumped to cold and he felt the shield crackle around his body as the sword gouged him.
He snatched his hand back quickly and held it loosely, cursing himself. Well, now he knew a few things. One, still an idiot. Two, the magic in the sigil was no longer his. It would protect anyone holding the sheath.
That didn't sound as safe as he'd like, but this was the best plan he could come up with on short notice. If he got a chance he'd ask Kilgharrah later, though he doubted the dragon would be very helpful on something like this.
Someone stumbled into the armory then changed direction to walk directly for him. Eventually he felt that someone hovering over him, and he glanced up to see Gwaine's sleep-deprived eyes peering at him blearily.
Percival followed behind, and walked around the bench to look at the injury Merlin was cradling. Merlin mumbled an incomprehensible excuse before trying to change the subject. "What brings you two to the room of stink?"
"We're avoiding Elyan. He dumped half a pitcher of water on me for skipping patrol," Gwaine said with a scowl.
Percival reached one arm to his new tunic and ripped his entire sleeve off. He held it out to Merlin who smiled abashedly.
Gwaine rolled his eyes. "Percy, do you own anything with sleeves?"
The large man shrugged and stood to his feet as Merlin wrapped the large bundle of fabric around his hand. With Gaius' help he was sure it could fully heal in a day or two.
Merlin tilted his head at his friend, "You're in a bad mood."
Gwaine grumbled again and stomped on the bench in a parody of testing its strength.
Merlin winced and said "Ah—Don't—!" just as Gwaine flopped bodily onto the frame. The wood splintered and the entire bench angled as it tried to collapse atop the knight. Merlin stood in a hurry and Percival grabbed Excalibur before it could cause anyone else harm.
Gwaine rolled to his side and put his face into the grimy stone floor. "Leave me here, I'm dead. This is the worst day ever."
Merlin began to chuckle and even Percival cracked a smile. "Come on you lazy bum. I'll take you to Gaius."
Footnotes:
(1) I'm going with the modern pagan calendar here. Ostara is the Spring Equinox and was the beginning of the year for Celtics.
(2) Feverfew is an herb that helps with headaches.
(3) Audrey is the head chef from the show.
(4) Not sure if halfpence or farthings even existed in the Middle Ages. I know pennies were made of silver and existed in the 5th/6th centuries. I've modified wages/prices from the 1300s to give myself something reasonable to go off of for Camelot, but yes, Albion's entire monetary system is largely based out of my head.
(5) I'm sure you all remember George.
(6) According to legend, Arthur's sheath could protect the wearer from bleeding. I've decided Merlin is not very good at healing spells or we'd have seen him use them more often in the show. I'm also taking a page from Harry Potter and saying healing magical ailments is much harder than physical ailments. I think with some focus Merlin would speed along the healing of his hand.
(7) Sir Geraint and Sir Cador are both minor canon characters.
Author's Note:
Wow, I needed quite a few footnotes in this one. I guess that makes sense for a largely plotless introductory chapter.
I wrote most of what I wanted to say in the introductory author's note. I think that information needed to be at the beginning instead of at the end here where it will be from now on. Hopefully you guys got an introduction to my writing style and think it's okay enough to come back and see what else is in store. By the fourth/fifth chapter you should have a better feel for how this story is going to move, so hopefully people stick around until then.
Well, thanks for reading! I'm excited for this!
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or profit from this story.
