There was only so much polite chit chat Gwen could take with the other noble ladies. As a servant, she had been trained to view such activities as frivolous, taking up time that could be better spent sewing and cleaning. Yet as Queen, she was expected to entertain the noble ladies who pass through the kingdom, and with her wedding and coronation, there were many curious to see the servant turned Queen.
When Lady Penelope hid a yawn behind her gloved hand, Gwen took the opportunity to suggest that they retire for the night. After several minutes of farewells, it was with great relief that Gwen made her way to her chambers.
As she walked down the endless corridors of the castle, she thought she caught sight of her husband turning the corner. Her heart started to speed up and she knew she was probably grinning. But she hadn't seen Arthur in days, after he and Merlin set off to look into a mysterious object found in one of the outlying villages. She missed him.
Her footsteps quickened as she hurried after him. She briefly wondered why he wasn't walking towards their chambers but dismissed it. Arthur probably had some other duties to see to before he could go to bed. He stopped briefly to talk to a very confused looking servant and that pause gave her the chance to catch up with him.
"Hello," she said, slightly embarrassed when her voice came out huskier than usual. Her eyes devoured him as she appreciated how good he looked. While she wouldn't admit it aloud to anyway - it wasn't proper - she missed having him in bed with her and the anticipation of this evening was lifting her heart.
"Oh hi! How have you been?"
Gwen frowned slightly at the tone. It was affectionate but distant, not the tone Arthur used with her when they were alone. More surprisingly, he made no attempt to touch her. Perhaps he was tired.
"I've been good. The entourage from the Kingdom of Bodham has been taking up most of my time." She fell into step with him.
"I can imagine. All these nobles, thinking we have nothing better to do but to fuss over them and indulge their nonsense." Arthur grumbled gently. "Oh, sorry. You're noble now aren't you?"
Slightly taken aback by his words, Gwen stopped walking. "Are you alright? Did something happen on your trip?"
Turning back to her, he grinned. "I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be after three days travelling alone with that cabbagehead. Anyway, he has missed you so instead of dilly dallying with me here, maybe you should go to your room." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"He missed me? Umm … that's nice." Gwen had the distinct feeling that she was missing a key part of this conversation. "I was actually thinking that -"
"Oh! Sorry to have to run but I promised Gwaine that I would see him in the tavern." He lifted an arm in farewell and hurried off.
Three days away from his wife and he made plans to spend the evening in the tavern with his knights? Gwen couldn't deny the disappointment that settled in her stomach as she made her way back to her room alone.
The walk to her chambers didn't take long but by the time she reached the door, her disappointment developed into annoyance with a hint of anger. When Arthur returned from the tavern later, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. She was still deep in thought when she entered the room.
"Guinevere!" Merlin walked from behind the changing screen, wearing a smile on his face and little else.
"What are you doing?" She squeaked, quickly squeezing her eyes close. "Put something on!" She heard the sound of cloth against skin but kept her eyes shut, just in case. As it was, the image of Merlin naked was burnt in her brain.
"You can open your eyes now." Merlin sounded sullen and when she opened her eyes, he dressed somewhat haphazardly and was sprawled in Arthur's favourite chair, pouting. "I thought you would be happy to see me."
"Are you possessed again?"
"No. What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. It's just that you're acting a little strangely."
Merlin shifted in the chair. "Maybe it's because I haven't seen you in three days. Can you blame me for missing you? Now stop hovering at the door and come here."
When Gwen didn't move, Merlin sighed and walked to her. "Are you upset because I didn't come see you immediately after I arrived?" He lifted a hand and cupped her face.
Before she could do anything, he leaned over and kissed her as his hand tangled in her hand. Shock kept her standing stiffly. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. "I missed you so much," Merlin murmured as he moved even closer to her.
She shoved at him and Merlin reluctantly moved away. "What's wrong?" Confusion coloured his eyes and Gwen grew even more worried.
"I forgot that Lady Anne wanted some - things. I have to go see her now." Without waiting for him to respond, she darted out of the room.
Something was afoot and she needed to think.
Arthur stared at the closed door. What had he done? He didn't believe for one minute that Gwen had to go give something to Lady Anne. It was clearly an excuse to get away from him and that hurt. He hadn't seen her in three days and he had been dreaming (too loudly according to Merlin) of a wonderful reunion in bed. Instead, his wife had freaked out at seeing him naked and practically run away.
Maybe she was pregnant.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was.
A long time ago, one of his knights had lamented how once his wife got pregnant, she refused to share a bed with him. His wife had also become a lot more emotional. Perhaps Gwen was the same.
Him and Gwen having a baby. He smiled. With his courage and good looks and Gwen's intelligence and sensibility, their child would be perfect. He just had to keep Merlin away from his child.
Excitement churning in him, he practically skipped out of their room in search of his wife. He would call his son Arthur Junior. Or if it was a girl, then - hmm, he didn't know how exactly to name girls. Something pretty like -
His thoughts were cut short when he thought he saw someone who looked suspiciously like himself across the corridors. Shaking his head, Arthur stared at the now empty corridor. He must be imagining things. Still, one could never be too careful. Drawing his sword, he walked towards where he saw the figure.
It occurred to him that this was the way to Merlin's quarters. It then occurred to him that this was probably Merlin's fault. Without knocking, he barged into Gaius and Merlin's accommodation.
"Alright. What have you done now?"
And then he, not him but him or someone who looked a great deal like him, walked into the main area.
The other him stopped.
"You're me!" "Why do you look like me?" Both of them spluttered at each other, mouths agape.
The other Arthur was the first to recover. "You look like me."
"You mean you look like me," Arthur retorted angrily. This must be Merlin's fault. And even if it wasn't, it was still his fault. "You're Merlin aren't you?" Then he poked Merlin for good measure although he wasn't sure why.
"Of course I am Merlin! And why do you look like me? What did you do?"
"I look like you because you look like me!"
"That's what I said!" Merlin huffed as he reached out to pull at Arthur's face. "I knew it was too realistic to be a disguise. What on earth did you do?"
Swiping Merlin's hand away, Arthur looked frantically around the room. No wonder Merlin constantly looked such a mess. He did not seem to be in possession of a mirror. His eyes landed on a dull metal goblet. That would have to do. Grabbing it, he shoved it in Merlin's face.
"I'm not thirsty," snapped Merlin who was now frowning at him as if he was the one who had done something wrong.
"Don't be a fool. Look at yourself!"
"What for? I know - oh." Merlin squinted at the blur image in the side of the goblet, then touched his face and hair gently. "Well, this is interesting."
"Interesting? This is a disaster! We can't have two of me running around the castle."
"We won't," muttered Merlin dryly as he returned the goblet to Arthur. "Look at yourself."
Arthur sighed and took the goblet. Peering into the cloudy metal Arthur noted with growing horror that his hair was black.
He also had large ears.
And a skinny face.
It was his worst nightmare come true - he was Merlin.
