For once in a blue moon, Merlin was free from chores. Not only was he free from chores, but there was nothing currently threatening Arthur's life. He finally had a break. At first, he was excited, thinking about all the free time he had and what he could do with it. He could go explore or visit some friends; the list seemed endless.
However, he realized that now that he wasn't rushing everywhere, his mind wasn't busy. Because his mind wasn't busy, he instantly went to the topic that had been bothering him lately; his home. Camelot was amazing. It was huge and amazing and it had some neat people. He made many friends and he learn many tricks. In itself, Merlin enjoyed staying at Camelot.
But he missed the small village he had came from and he missed his mother most of all. He missed the way she would hug his middle, being too small to properly hug him around his neck. He missed that comfort and security that her hugs gave. And he missed Will. Merlin and Will had grown up together and they were as close as you can get. Many times he wished he could just walked over to Will's house and just forget his troubles and have fun.
Merlin sighed, leaning against the wall and overlooking the town and outside. He had escape from Gaius's quarters and was hiding up on top of the palace walls. It wasn't the most secretive place, since Arthur and many others knew about this spot. But it was quiet and peaceful, which Merlin liked. No one was around and he didn't had to hide his homesickness.
He ran a hand through his hair and pressed his lips together. He felt lonely and exhausted. Gaius was awesome. He was probably the closest to a father that Merlin had ever had. However, he only knew the man for a month or two by now, so they weren't the closest they could be. Merlin was always trying to be on Gaius's good side. He didn't want to disappoint the old man.
Gwen was nice, easy to talk to. But like Gaius, he hadn't known her for a while and didn't want to talked to her about his homesickness. They both didn't know each other that well and he felt as if it would be rather awkward. Arthur? Merlin laughed at the thought. He was a prat. What could he do?
Merlin stayed up there for a while, enjoying the cool Autumn breeze. He wanted to stay there for a while, calm himself down. After a few minutes, he could hear someone walking behind him but he ignored them. Probably a guard checking around. Merlin figured if he ignore the guard, the guard would decide him a not a threat and leave him alone. However, when the 'guard' leaned against the wall next to him, Merlin couldn't help the curse that slipped out under his breath; it was Arthur.
The servant was cursing his luck. Of course, of all the times he didn't want to have Arthur there, he was. Maybe 'fate' or whatever just hated him. Merlin kept staring straight ahead, not meeting the prince's eyes. Arthur was doing the same. They must have been standing there for a few minutes without anyone talking. Merlin never felt so awkward as he did in that moment.
Arthur cleared his throat before speaking. "Nice view."
Merlin glanced at the prince before looking back ahead. "Yeah."
The two males fell back into an awkward silence. He could feel Arthur continually glancing at him, trying to figure out what to say. Merlin could almost hear his brain working. The prince cleared his throat again. "So, where are you from, Merlin?"
Merlin finally turned to Arthur, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Ealdor. Why?"
Arthur eyebrows shot up, looking genuinely surprised. "Quite away from here."
The younger male gave an affirmative sound before turning back to look over the land. If only he could use his magic at that moment. He could almost feel the itch of Magic in his fingertips, but fear held it back. He didn't even want Arthur suspecting him.
"Miss home?"
He yet again mentally cursed Arthur. How does he even do that? How does he managed to know what would hurt him the most and can say it the most hurtful way? That was another one of the quality of Arthur that Merlin hated. He kept his mouth closed, knowing that whatever he would say, his voice would betray the thought.
Arthur cringed, realizing that was a sensitive topic for the younger male. He looked over the edge, studying the people on the ground. An idea came to him and he turned back to Merlin, grinning hugely. Merlin sent him an odd look, wondering what on earth has that prat got in his head now. Arthur told him to wait a few minutes before he took off running. Arthur had the best idea of how to cheer Merlin up.
The prince came back within a minute, holding a bundle of something. He still had a huge grin. Casually leaning again the edge again, he turned to Merlin. "Do you know why this spot is one of my favorites? Especially growing up?"
Merlin slowly shook his head, wondering where this was going.
"Because this is a great target spot," Arthur said, pulling out a small pie from his bundle. Merlin couldn't help but widen his eyes. Was he really going to do what he thought? He watched as Arthur sent him another grin before looking over the edge. Merlin quickly walked over to the edge with him, seeing what he was doing.
Arthur was taking careful aim at the people down below. Once he chose his target, he sent a smile in Merlin's way before hurtling the pastry down below. It took about three seconds at most before they heard an indignant cry from someone below. The prince snorted, stiffing his laughter and peeked to see what had happened. He didn't want people to see him and knew who he was so he had hid. Merlin, out of reflex, also hid. Someone down below was shouting profanities and insults to everyone around him before storming off.
Merlin, eyes still boggled, stared at Arthur in belief. "Arthur! That was horrible!"
The prince hummed thoughtfully, actually taking the time to go through the movements. "You're absolutely right, Merlin. Here, let me try again."
The servant couldn't believe what was happening. Arthur, the great prince who followed every rule, just threw a pie at someone head? He continued to watch Arthur choose his victim. After a moment, the older man smiled again and threw the pastry down below. When it had gone flying, both Merlin and Arthur had poke their heads to see who he had hit. However, when they saw who, both their stomachs sank with dread. It was the one person who was scarier than the king himself.
The cook.
It was as if the woman knew exactly where the two men were. Her eyes shot straight in their direction, sending the coldest, death glare Merlin had ever seen. She doesn't even look that scary when he had stolen a pastry. Arthur made a choking sound as he scrambled to hide before she saw them. He noticed that Merlin wasn't hiding, so he grabbed the servant's sleeve and yanked him down. The two males sat there for a while before they heard a rather colourful curse from the woman before she walked away. When it was safe, Arthur and Merlin slowly looked at each other, eyes still wide.
Merlin let out a snort and before they knew it, they both were on the ground, holding their sides, and laughing up a storm. It had been a long time since both of them even laugh that hard. It took a while for them to gain their composure and to stop laughing.
Arthur was pleased to see Merlin no longer moping, as he would call it. The prince cleared his throat and turn to the younger male, smiling cheerfully. "Merlin?"
"Yes?" Merlin asked curiously.
"You speak a word of this to anyone and you'll find yourself in the stocks faster than you can think," Arthur threaten, however still cheerfully smiling. Merlin knew that he was completely serious. He held up his hands, shaking his head quickly to let Arthur know that he had no intentions of telling.
When night had fallen and it was dinner time, Merlin happily walked into Gaius's quarters, looking forward to dinner. He was on the way to his room when Gaius suddenly called his name. Merlin stopped in mid step and turn to look at he elderly man curiously.
"I've had people complaining about mysterious pastries falling from the sky. Do you know anything about this mystery?" Gaius asked, something in his tone that made Merlin wonder if he really knew or not.
Merlin put on his best innocent face and voice. "Hmm, how very odd! Nope, I don't know anything about such a thing," he said, even going as far as looking surprise.
Gaius raised a knowing eyebrow as he watched Merlin quickly fleeing into his bedroom. "How odd indeed."