Author's Note: My first attempt at Merlin fanfiction. I've been a fan since the show began, so I'm surprised with myself that I haven't written anything for it before. Any advice in the form of a review would be very helpful. Thanks. :)
The royal court wasn't much of place for children. Of course, there was that nice maid that always brought him an apple from the palace kitchens in the middle of the day, or that knight that always let him hold his sword and sometimes even the king himself would play with him. But he had no mother to run around with, to comfort him when he fell and scraped his knee.
Some people would even say that he had Morgana. But that wasn't true. She was a girl, and she did girly things with her hair and played with dolls.
He would never say it in front of his father, but Arthur was bored.
Certainly, he had his toys. A wooden horse and a wooden sword, now just a stub of a stick blunted from overuse. He dared not to ask his father for another, as he would just point out with an air of snobbishness that there is no place for greed within the monarchy. Arthur would huff, but not for long. He would find a potato in the kitchen and carve himself a miniature sword when no one was looking, as seven-year-olds aren't supposed to use knives.
One morning, Arthur heard an almighty racket coming from the courtyard. Yawning, he stretched and all but ran out of bed to find the source of the noise. It wasn't long past dawn, and the sun was still low on the horizon. He pulled apart the curtains and leaned as far as he dared out of the window.
The courtyard was buzzing with people. There was a colourful group in the middle, with the duller clothes of the families who lived near the palace lining the edges of the courtyard. There was drumming and music blaring from a band in a corner. It appeared that there were more colourful people coming, as a glance at the roads leading to the courtyard revealed. As Arthur watched, a man in the colourful group jumped onto the back of a horse, moving to stand in the saddle. He then proceeded to 'eat' a stick of fire. Arthur couldn't hold back a gasp of wonder.
He got dressed as quickly as he could, practically throwing the clothes onto his back, not waiting for his servant who would soon arrive with his breakfast. He ran from his cambers, along corridors, underneath arches, making his way to the courtyard via the quickest route he knew.
He rounded the final corner and slammed into his father's leg at full speed. The man let out a grunt of surprise, before kneeling down, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Ah, Arthur," he said fondly. "How are you this fine morning?" King Uther's brown hair was rapidly turning grey, and this morning he sported a new shorter hair cut, which Arthur stared at for a moment.
"I'm fine, father," Arthur said formally. His father smiled.
"Now where are you going to in such… a hurry?"
"I just wanted to see the funny people outside," Arthur replied, looking at the floor. He remembered how he came to a stop and added, "Sorry about running into you."
"It is quite alright. Would you like to join me?" He stood up again, looking down on his blond-haired son and holding out a hand. Arthur took it automatically.
"Where are we going?"
"To see the carnival," Uther replied, leading his son on the way to the courtyard.
Arthur looked puzzled. "What's a carnival?"
They arrived at the top of the steps leading down to the cobbles of the courtyard. If anything, there were more people than Arthur had seen before. Uther waved a hand in the crowd's direction dramatically.
"This, Arthur, is a carnival," he announced, grinning down at his son.
Arthur gaped as they descended the stone steps. He was lost for words, which was impressive for him. A man was juggling no less than five leather falls while standing on a horse, high above the crowd. Another man was performing acrobatics atop a heavy carthorse. Men danced in funny costumes all around. The crowd cheered so loudly it was defining.
"Once a decade," Uther explained as they walked, "we celebrate ten years of successful harvests and high yields. This is the first of hopefully many such celebrations for you."
Uther blended into the crowd surprisingly well, despite his bright red cape and heavy armor. He kept hold of Arthur's hand as they made their way to the front of the crowd. The people of Camelot stepped aside at the sight of their king and prince, creating a path for them to walk in. Uther nodded thanks to the crowd as they passed by.
Now at the front of the crowd, Arthur's view was unhindered by his height. He was still in awe of the amazing tricks that the men in front of him were doing. A knight of Camelot that Arthur recognized as Sir Goris came to stand beside Uther, and the king let go of his son's hand.
"Go and watch the festivities," Uther said in dismissal. Whatever Sir Goris had to say was obviously not good, as his face was creased into a worried frown.
Arthur made his way along the front of the crowd, watching every move the men in tight clothing made. Now one was throwing knives as another man was spun around on what looked like an upturned table. Arthur giggled at the sight of the apple in the spinning man's mouth. His stomach grumbled to remind him that he had not yet ate, so Arthur left the courtyard in search of something to satisfy his hunger.
The celebrations seemed to continue away from the courtyard as well, as the narrow roads were bustling with crowds. Some people were watching the action in the courtyard from the outside, while others went about their daily business, carrying baskets and buckets. Some of the colourfully-dressed people where here too, and a man showed off his tomato juggling skills to a group of women who laughed at him.
Arthur shrugged and walked on.
He kept walking until he was in the lower town, people from the palace, recognising him, said; "Hello, sire."
Arthur waved them off as they weren't carrying any food.
A dark-haired boy with scruffy clothes, carrying a basket of apples, didn't see Arthur coming and bumped into him. Several of the bright red apples fell to the ground. Arthur was quick to pick them up.
"S-sorry," the boy stammered, looking nervous.
"It's fine," said Arthur, now holding a handful of the fruits. "Can I have an apple?"
"I... I suppose. They'll be bruised..."
"Don't worry. If I eat them fast enough, they'll be fine." Arthur took a colossal bite out of one of the apples, so big that he could hardly bring his teeth together to chew. The skinny boy giggled at the resultant expression. "So where are you from? I haven't seen you around before," asked Arthur trough yet another mouthful of apple.
"Ealdor. I don't live here. My mother and I visited for the festival."
"Carnival," Arthur corrected, taking another bite of apple. The boy nodded.
"Do you like apples, then?" Arthur nodded to the basket of apples in the boy's hand.
"Yes," the boy said sheepishly. "I haven't had an apple in a long time."
Arthur held an apple out to the boy so he could have it. "Have that. I have enough for now."
The boy took it in his hand, setting the basket of apples down. He bit into the rapidly-bruising apple. "Mm," he said, grinning. "Better than I remember."
"These are good ones. I'm an expert in apples," boasted Arthur. He took another mouthful of his apple.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah," confirmed Arthur, nodding smugly.
"Merlin!"
A woman's voice, coming from behind the boy startled him. He quickly picked up his basket of apples, dropping his half-eaten one in as he went. Arthur saw a brown-haired woman in a simple green dress call out again.
"I better go," said the boy sadly, turning away and disappearing from view.
"Bye," Arthur said, unable to wave without dropping his precious cargo of apples.
Morgana wasn't going to get one.