AN: Happy Christmas Miktap! I hope you enjoy this surprise Mergana Christmas gift. Also note that I'm messing with history bit when it comes to the origins of Boxing Day, but whatever. And I'm pretty sure they made Arthur's birthday not Christmas in the show, but in the legends…
Christmas day was especially horrible for Merlin. All the servants of Camelot (and probably other kingdoms as well) were working frantically. There were balls thrown. Presents bought and delivered. Food cooked. Everything seemed to need to be perfect. It felt like every chore they did the rest of the year had to be done in one day on the 24th, and done by nightfall when the festivities started.
But it was even worse for Merlin because not only was it Christmas, no, it was more than Christmas. It was also the Prat's birthday. So not only did Merlin have to do all the things for Christmas, but he also had to do all the things for Arthur's birthday as well. And he couldn't even yell and grumble to Arthur while doing it, because Merlin didn't want to be rude on Arthur's birthday. It was terrible!
And to make it even worse there had been a disaster involving a pooka which may or may not have been living as Merlin's horse for well over a year. Arthur almost died. Merlin had to save him. Uther tried to have a few magic users executed. Merlin had to save them. It was really quite tiring. Normally he could take it, but doing all the saving while also being a servant on the busiest day for servants was terrible.
He hadn't even gotten to eat the fancy meal Gaius made because he'd given it to the druids he helped escape from the dungeons. So if Merlin was right miserable, then honestly it wasn't really his fault then, was it? He had the right to be miserable after such a horrible Christmas.
He remembered Christmas in Ealdor. The Village was too far from any Church so none of them were particularly religious, but they still knew of the holiday. There was dancing, and gift giving. They didn't have much, not with the winter just starting, but it was joyful. They lived in the splendor of each other's company, not things, and that was what made it so good.
It was nothing like that in Camelot. Even those who weren't bone tired and worked far past reason didn't feel the joy of Christmas the way Merlin had in Ealdor. Arthur laughed and smiled at the parties held in his honor, the gifts given to him, but he didn't enjoy them. They were temporary pleasure. The memories of the joy that came from being with those you loved were a far more substantial and long lasting joy.
The person who seemed to enjoy it the least was Morgana. Merlin had seen her standing there in her red gown, smiling courteously at lords, laughing at the knight's jokes. Morgana was always a bit sad, Merlin knew that, but she seemed downright miserable at the Christmas feast. Any other time and Merlin would have forgotten propriety and gone to cheer her up, but he just hadn't had the time. Saving the lives of everyone in Camelot, Morgana included, had to come first. Merlin felt terrible for leaving Morgana sad on Christmas, but he hadn't had a choice.
Perhaps he'd bring her a gift the next day. While whatever he could afford would be trash to her, maybe she'd be happy during the moments Merlin kept her company. He actually had the day off, as many servants did, as a thank you for their hard work the day before. Arthur hadn't given Merlin the day off the year before, but the near death experience made him feel generous. Merlin was grateful for the time off, and would probably spend it all catching up on the sleep he desperately needed.
He didn't manage to sleep in though. Merlin awoke with the sunrise as normal and couldn't fall back asleep. He just didn't know how Arthur did it, sleeping straight into the morning. Merlin was completely exhausted, and yet he still couldn't fall back to sleep. It was terrible.
Still, now that he was up, Merlin figured he could go and fulfill his plan to cheer Morgana up. Arthur had given him a Christmas bonus after all. A part of Merlin felt bad for not sending the extra money back to his mother, but he knew she'd want him to use it for more important endeavors. So he went into the marketplace, bought a fake flower hair clip, dumped the rest in the alms box, and made his way up to Morgana's chambers.
Gwen was just coming out as Merlin arrived, and she smiled at the box in his hands. Carefully Merlin knocked, and entered when Morgana prompted him too.
She looked much better than she had the night before. Her hair glistened down her velvet dress, begging Merlin to touch it. And her green eyes were bright as emeralds, glistening with life instead of sadness. It made Merlin's heartache; she deserved to always be happy.
"Merlin!" Morgana greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here?" He blushed, realizing that she probably thought him bring her a present was stupid. And maybe it was stupid. Merlin always felt a little stupid around Morgana.
"I brought you a gift," Merlin admitted handing over the box. "It's not much, but I thought it would look nice in your hair."
Morgana pulled it out, grinning from ear to ear. Merlin couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was when she smiled. Or when she frowned. Or when she had no expression at all really. Merlin thought Morgana just looked beautiful no matter what.
"Thank you Merlin," she whispered, carefully placing the rose in her hair. "I feel bad though. I know Arthur doesn't pay you well enough that you could really afford this."
That was true. Morgana had all the money anyone could ever need from her estate, and Uther would buy her whatever she wanted. Gwen got paid double of what Merlin did, and Merlin worked twice as hard. Arthur wasn't trying to be cruel by paying Merlin so little, but that was just the way things were. Morgana felt the need to be extraordinarily generous, to help people. That was something Merlin loved about her.
"It made you smile, so it was worth it," Merlin finally promised smiling as well. "I had better go. Arthur will never let me live it down if he finds I spent my day off in the Castle. Maybe I'll help deliver the poor boxes…"
Morgana smirked, a mischievous grin on her face. "You know, I was just going to help deliver the poor boxes as well. Perhaps we can go together."
Merlin couldn't believe she would suggest it. Morgana wanted to spend time with him? "I would like that a lot."
"I didn't get to say it yesterday, but happy Christmas Merlin."
"Happy Christmas Morgana."