These characters don't belong to me.

Also, this is in no way meant to be historically accurate.

oO*Oo

Arthur looked up at the roiling gray clouds, decided it was near enough to noon and called a halt to the work. The villagers flocked under the canvas canopies for some small shelter from the driving rain while they ate, drank and recovered from a morning of hard labour. Merlin shook his head like a dog, spraying water from his dark hair before flopping down beside his prince. They were all of them soaked, dirty and exhausted from working to halt the advance of what could be devastating floods, but Merlin somehow appeared extra bedraggled, rather like a drowned rat. He also somehow remained disgustingly chipper.

"A good start, sire, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur hated being wet and cold. He pulled a handkerchief from inside his tunic – it was as drenched as the rest of him, but at least he could eat with clean hands – and fished around in his pack, coming up with a single apple and a hunk of now sodden bread.

"We'll have to share, unfortunately, Merlin." He cut the apple cleanly in half with his dagger and offered one section to his manservant.

His finely tuned hunter's instincts picked up instantly on the sudden expectant silence from the villagers and he stared around, seeing nothing but a pack of suddenly rapt peasants interspersed with his knights, who mostly looked bewildered, but he saw the odd expression of hilarity.

"Why are they staring?" he demanded of his (useless, idiotic) servant, only to find that, under the mud, Merlin was blushing scarlet. The flush traveled intriguingly across Merlin's prominent ears and down his neck under his dripping jacket.

"They think you've just asked me to marry you!" hissed Merlin, breaking Arthur's contemplation of exactly how far that blush reached.

"What?"

"It's what they do in the country, when they can't afford rings to propose like they do in the city! Apples are much easier to come by. Sharing an apple is like becoming betrothed."

Well. That was … unexpected. Arthur pulled the half of the apple back towards himself.

"Looks like you'll have to go leech off somebody else." He let out a laugh and Merlin rather thought that he was the only one who could tell it was faked. Arthur turned to address the crowd.

"I apologise; my manservant has just informed me of your custom. I fear I have made a rather embarrassing faux pas. I have no intention of marrying this idiot."

A quiet rumble of laughter rippled through the villagers and they turned back to their own affairs. Merlin went off to badger one of the knights for some provisions. Arthur watched him go.