Merlin hurried through the castle hallways, his arms piled high with Arthur's armor. Arthur had been practicing his swordsmanship with some of the other knights, but it had rained the night before and the ground was muddy and slippery. Each one of the knights had ended up coated in brown goop, and Merlin had been assigned the task of cleaning Arthur's set. There was someone-or-other being awarded something-or-other tomorrow in front of the court and Arthur had to be there. Merlin didn't really care what was going on, simply that he had a whole lot of mud to clean off in not all that much time.
It wouldn't have been that bad, if only Gaius had allowed him to use magic… it would be so much easier to do, and it would leave him time to read his book of sorcery. But Gaius would not have it. It would be too dangerous, he said. What if someone walked in as a brush scrubbed the helmet unaided by human hands? What if Arthur became suspicious at the speed at which the job was accomplished? Uther would have his head for sure. So Merlin was stuck lugging all the armor down to the armory to clean it there.
As he came around the corner, he walked straight into another person holding a bunch of flowers. Both armor and blooms flew everywhere. Merlin scrambled to his knees to . "I'm so sorry about that, wasn't looking where I was-" Then he saw who he had bumped into.
Guinevere was on her hands and knees, attempting to scoop up the flowers around her. Dark frizzy brown hair fell into her face as she looked up to face him. "Oh, Merlin! It's only you. Haven't seen you in a while, just need to pick these up and I'll be off…"
"What do you mean, 'it's only you'?" Merlin asked, bending down to assist her. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Of course not," Gwen said. "It's just that…" She shook her head and stood up. "I don't know. It's not important." She blushed and hung her head, starting to walk away.
"Wait!" Merlin exclaimed. "What is it? I don't care if it's not important. I want you to tell me."
"Well, to be honest," Gwen murmured, looking around to be sure no one else was within earshot, "I think life around the castle can get, well, boring. I know there have been a few interesting things lately, with all the sorcerers and various villains out to get the king and prince, but I guess I always wanted more." She glared at Merlin. "Don't you dare laugh, but… I've always imagined myself turning a corner and bumping into somebody who will take me on an adventure, with action and magic, and maybe even a little romance, like in all those legends and stories." She half-smiled. "It's not like that is ever going to happen though. What am I thinking? Just daydreaming again. I really should go."
She began to turn away once more, but Merlin gently took hold of her arm. His face was completely serious.
"Gwen?" he said, almost in a pleading tone. "What if… what if I was interesting? What if I had… special powers… that made me interesting? Would you be happy then?"
Gwen tilted her head and laughed. "Oh, Merlin," she said. "Of course I would. But I'd prefer the regular old Merlin than anyone else, no matter how special." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, turned, and walked away.
Merlin watched her and put a hand to his cheek where her lips had touched it. Regular old Merlin? He smiled. Maybe today isn't so bad.