Two Rabbits in Camelot and One That Wasn't
I.
The sound of her cry sent a shiver down Uther's spine and he was running forward before his head had even registered the fact. He stumbled to a halt on the grass, the glorious summer sunshine pressing hard against his back, and managed to gasp out her name.
"Look," Igraine said softly as she turned toward him. "It's in pain Uther, I can just tell it's in pain." Cradled in her hands she held the soft, trembling body of a young rabbit. Relief flooded through Uther and an almost overwhelming sense of love for the soft hearted woman sat on the grass before him.
He glanced round as other members of the court rushed up, stirred into a sense of panic by their king's own concern. He smiled ruefully and waved the guards away, but Nimueh ignored him and instead knelt down at Igraine's side.
"Let me see?" Nimueh asked, but she was already reaching out to take the injured animal from her queen's hands. She frowned, all her concentration focused down on the little creature as Igraine sat beside her with hopeful expectation radiating from her. Not for the first time Uther found himself thinking how they were like chalk and cheese, and not just in their appearances but in their very manners too.
"Can you help it?" Igraine asked, the slightest of catches in her voice. She hates to ask anything of Nimueh, he knows. Uther stepped forward, reaching down to take Igraine's hand in support, but it was Nimueh he couldn't take his eyes from.
She murmured something in a language he would never understand and looked up at the pair of them, "Oh yes. I can help him."
Her movement was so swift, rattlesnake swift, but the sound of the creatures neck snapping seemed to linger in the air. Igraine gasped and turned her head into Uther's cloak. It was Nimueh's eyes that burned into Uther though as she spoke directly to him,
"Now he isn't in any more pain," she said with a shrug.
They walked back to the castle in silence.
#
II.
"Merlin," Arthur said in a long suffering tone. "Can't you sit still for more than five minutes?"
Merlin began a stuttering reply, but Arthur changed his mind and waved him into silence instead. They were both damp and tired, huddled round the pitiful fire that Merlin had managed to coax into life even though all of the wood was wet. It smoked terribly, but after a day of slogging through the woods in the rain it was the only real comfort they had.
"Next time, I'm leaving you at the castle." Arthur grumbled.
It was fair to say that Merlin was tempted to agree. He was uncomfortable and his legs were aching, if he'd stayed in the castle he could have spent the day with friends and be sat in the great hall in the warm right then. Instead, he'd spent the day hiking back to the castle after their horses had managed to run off with all of their supplies when they stopped for a rest in mid-morning. It seemed that someone had decided to tie them to a rotten tree branch which had snapped and set them free.
Someone like Merlin.
It wasn't that he didn't try, because he really did. He was beginning to come to the conclusion that he just wasn't designed for the sort of adventurous life that Arthur seemed set upon living. Destiny had a cruel sense of humour if it thought it was going to drag Merlin along into it as well. His stomach growled loudly and Merlin fidgeted uncomfortably again.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Arthur huffed. He stood up and glared at Merlin when he moved to follow. "No, you stay here. Right here where you can't cause too much mischief. I'm going to go see if I can trap some rabbits, there must be plenty of game around here. Just stay as quiet as you can, won't you? We won't be eating anything at all if you scare them all off."
Merlin watched him trudge off into the growing dark, as he pressed a hand hard against his stomach to try and stop it rumbling. He wondered briefly if Arthur was really mad at him, but quickly decided that he probably wasn't. After all, Arthur secretly loved this sort of thing and if he managed to catch a rabbit and bring it back for supper he'd feel even more like the gallant knight. The hero saving the day. With a smile Merlin leant forward and prodded the fire into a little more light, his eyes glowing briefly with inner flames. He'd make sure that it was large enough to cook on for when Arthur returned with his prize.
#
III.
"You hit something!"
It was amazing how quickly the cry went up throughout the car as Uther concentrated on staying on the rain slick country road. "It was nothing," he said firmly, hoping to sweep the little incident under the carpet before the two children could cause a fuss.
"Yes you did!" Of course it was Arthur that pressed the subject. His little voice filled with boysih glee at the prospect of something 'interesting' having happened.
"Was it an animal?" Morgana asked, just a trace of concern creeping into her voice. Uther risked a glance back in the mirror and sighed. Her eyes locked with his, she was staring right at him. For a six year old she had amazingly adult eyes.
"It was an accident," Uther began, hoping to assuage the growing seed of guilt he felt over the incident. "It ran out into the road before I could do anything about it."
"Did you kill it?" Arthur asked with all too much zeal. He craned around in his seat and tried to peer out of the back window to see if he could see it. He had to climb up onto his knees in order to do it, somehow managing to wriggle around in his seat belt, his shock of blond hair bobbing up and down in the mirror.
"Arthur!" Uther snapped, "Sit down properly in your seat. That's dangerous."
"But did you kill it?" Was the only reply, but thankfully the boy listened for once and sat back down. Uther chose to ignore the question, his knuckles whitening on the steering wheel as they hit a puddle and aquaplaned for an instant. He hoped the rain would ease of soon or they'd be spending their entire holiday sat in the cottage. The children would end up climbing the walls. Then again, so might he.
It wasn't long before the drone of the car's engine and the constant drumming of the rain had eased both of the children into sleep. He was grateful for the respite. Any long family journey was always a trial, and holiday's were the worst. But they ate up the miles along the motorway and as they crossed the county border into Cornwall, from there it didn't take long to reach Gaius' cottage.
As they pulled up on the gravel drive his old friend was waiting at the door with a smile and a wave for them. The children cheered, climbing out of the car with bubbling excitement. Arthur raced off wrapping a fierce hug around Gaius' leg. The older man laughed and patted him on the back.
"I was wondering if you'd make it in time for tea," Gaius called. "Oh! I nearly forgot, my nephew's staying as well. Arthur, I'd like you to meet Merlin. Merlin, this is Arthur, the boy I was telling you about."
Merlin pushed his way past Gaius' legs and for a second the two boys stood on the doorstep and stared at each other. Then, in the blink of an eye they were tearing off round the back of the house, laughing and screaming as they went out to play.
"We'll have to keep an eye on those two," Gaius proclaimed with a rueful chuckle. "They're going to get themselves into all kinds of mischief I'll wager. Come on in, I'll put the kettle on."
Uther began to follow him inside, slowing his stride down only a fraction as a little hand slipped into his. He looked down and Morgana stared straight back up at him unblinkingly.
"What was it?" she asked quietly.
Uther knew instantly what she was talking about, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her.
"A rabbit. It was a rabbit."
"Oh,"
She didn't say another word and they both let the subject drop. Uther hoped that in all the excitement of the holiday and the places they were going to visit she would soon forget about it. As he tucked her into bed that night though, he knew it was futile. Whenever she looked at him all she could see was Uther The Rabbit Killer, and it settled a weight on his heart to think that she could see him that way. He switched off the light and closed the door gently behind him.
In the main room Gaius handed him scotch which he accepted gratefully as he asked,
"Do you know if there are any pet shops near here? I was thinking of buying Morgana a bunny."