I don't usually like updating my stories after 5:00 PM, but...I'm bored and I want to update one of my stories. XD In case you guys didn't know, I'll be updating this story once a week. (Or later, depending on my schedule these days. O.O But for now, we'll stick to once a week.)
Enjoy!
When Guinevere declared that she was pregnant with another child, Elyan and Ella were both confused. Merlin suspected that they would – they were still only five years of age and could hardly understand why people needed to do their sums and read, no matter how hard their parents and tutors tried to explain. How would they be able to understand the concept of having another member of the family?
Arthur and Guinevere were looking at Ella and Elyan with such proud, happy expressions that the twins only looked more bewildered than before. It was Elyan who spoke first.
"Why?" He asked, crossing his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you and Ella might have another brother or sister, Elyan." Guinevere replied gently, placing a hand tenderly over her stomach. "It's growing and my stomach will get larger – you might even be able to feel it move around in a few months."
Elyan's brow furrowed. "Ew," was his only comment. Guinevere sighed and looked over at Merlin and Arthur for help. Merlin shrugged – to be honest, he wasn't quite sure how the entire pregnancy business worked, either, and he wasn't in the room when Ella and Elyan were delivered. (He was supposed to be there, but he er – got held up. In the end, however, he managed to watch Ella and Elyan in their mother's arms. He was also there to see the parents name them, so Merlin supposed his late arrival wasn't too bad.)
"It's not ew, Elyan," Arthur said lightly, wrapping an arm around Guinevere's shoulder. "Don't you want another sibling? You might have more people to play with."
Ella said the words before Elyan did – "But we don't want to play with anyone else, Father," she said crossly. "I only like playing with Uncle Merlin and Mother and you – playing with another child won't be fun."
"Yes, it will, Ella." Arthur countered, though his voice never lost the same, soft note to it. "Besides, aren't you getting tired of just playing with us?"
Ella stamped her foot and cried, "No! I won't ever get tired of it! I don't want another brother or sister! I don't want a baby! I like our family the way it is!" Angry tears forming in her eyes, Ella stormed out of the room. Naturally, Elyan followed her, looking just as upset as his sister.
Arthur sighed and immediately moved forward to go after them, but Guinevere held him back. "No, Arthur – let them think about it." She said quietly, eyeing the spot where the children were with sad eyes. "They'll be fine."
The blonde looked prepared to argue, but one more glance at his wife forced him to remain where he was. "I don't understand it," he murmured. "I thought those two would love the idea of having another sibling." Arthur looked over at Merlin helplessly. "What did we do wrong?"
Merlin bit down on his lower lip. "I'm really sorry, Arthur," and he truly was, "but I don't think I can answer that. Like Gwen said, they probably need some time to think about this." Merlin paused and crossed his arms. "The announcement came as a surprise to some of us." At the last part, he stared pointedly at Guinevere and Arthur.
The married couple cringed in unison. Arthur clapped a hand over Merlin's shoulder and said apologetically, "I know we should have told you beforehand, but we were so excited to get the news out and…we thought it'd be easier to tell the news to the three of you at the same time."
"Yes, well, Ella and Elyan don't know how to react like adults yet, Arthur. Surely, you know that by now." Merlin replied dryly, causing his friend to roll his eyes. "Do I ever," Arthur said tiredly, dropping his hand from Merlin's back. He glanced around the room, almost as if he was hoping that the children would run back into the room in a minute.
Merlin smiled sympathetically at Arthur when the next few moments passed by. "I'll be in my work-chambers if you need me," he said, and with a nod at Guinevere and another smile at Arthur, he strolled out of the room. Merlin was actually so distracted on the way to his work-chambers that he didn't even sense a person already in the area.
However, when the warlock swung open the door, Ella was already sitting on the bench, her little legs swinging over the wooden floor. Her head of curls was lowered to her chest so she couldn't do much except stare at her feet. Her hands were clasped neatly over her lap, though they kept shifting from time to time. (Such was the behavior of an already-energetic five-year old, after all.)
"Hello, Ella," Merlin said conversationally, walking over to the young girl. Ella's head lifted to look up at the warlock, though she didn't smile. She was still thinking about the pregnancy, by the looks of it. "Hello, Uncle Merlin," she replied quietly. Merlin gave Ella a small grin and sat down next to her. "Where's your brother? I thought you'd be with him."
Ella shrugged. "He said that he wanted to talk to Sir Leon. I said that I wanted to see you, but Elyan told me that he wanted to see him first. Since I didn't want to see Sir Leon first, I decided that I'd go to you without him." She said matter-of-factly. Merlin's heart warmed at Ella's words – just as Ella had a particular soft spot for Merlin; Elyan was rather fond of Sir Leon. Merlin was rather grateful for that, too – Elyan had cheered Leon's world considerably, especially since Guinevere's brother and Gwaine died.
Merlin looked down at the girl. "Do you want to talk about anything?" He asked quietly. "Or…do you want to help me work?"
Ella glanced at the pile of large books and potions on the table and slowly shook her head. At that, Merlin grew worried – Ella Pendragon always wanted to help Merlin when he was working. She was such a curious child that Merlin couldn't ever deny her the chance to obtain more knowledge in this room. (Again, Merlin was always careful about what he showed Ella, and so far, those practices seemed to be doing well.)
"Can I ask you something, Merlin?" Ella asked softly.
Merlin nodded, though he had an odd feeling about what was going to come next. Or at least, what the question was going to be related to. (You didn't need magic to guess.)
Sure enough, Ella asked, "Why are Mother and Father so happy about getting another child?"
Merlin hesitated – Ella was still an impressionable child and he was frightened about what he would have to say next. His entire life had revolved around the decisions he had made, and he wasn't quite sure if this one was going to be another one of those life-changing decisions. Somehow, Merlin managed to say, "Another child is another addition to the family. They'd be happy to see their family grow."
Ella pouted. "I don't want our family to grow," she retorted. "Our family is perfect right now. I only need Mother, Father, Elyan and you."
"And I love our family like this, too, Ella," Merlin replied patiently, "but don't you think it'd be cool to see another member?"
Ella's face crumpled. "But what if Mother and Father like the new child better than me?" She asked. "Mother and Father can get cross with Elyan and me sometimes and their new child is probably going to be perfect and no one's gonna love me anymore."
Merlin gave in – he wrapped his arms around Ella's tiny shoulders and pulled her close. The little girl welcomed the warlock's gesture gratefully, immediately bursting into quick, heartbroken sobs. "I d-d-don't want Mother and Father to s-stop loving m-m-me!" She wailed. "I d-don't want a stupid baby!"
Merlin shook his head and started murmuring in quiet, soothing tones, "Your Father and Mother love you, Ella. They love Elyan, too and nothing in the world could stop that." When Ella didn't acknowledge his words, he went on, "Remember that pretty bamboo plant that we saw a few days ago?"
Merlin felt the young girl give him a small, slight nod from under his chin and continued, "It's like that – the bamboo plant has all those shoots surrounding it but it can't die – the old bamboo shoots don't fall apart." He gave Ella's hand a squeeze as she lifted her head. "So…we're the bamboo?" She asked quietly.
"In a way, yes," Merlin replied. "We're the bamboo and the little baby in your mother's stomach right now is the new bamboo shoot. When it comes, none of us are going to fall down or break. We'll be just fine – we'll just have one more piece of the family to love."
Ella wiped at her eyes and asked, "Uncle Merlin, you said that Mother and Father will always love Elyan and me…no matter what." She hesitated. "Would you…would you love us like that, too? Or…would you be the bamboo shoot that falls?" Her eyes grew wide at the concept, but Merlin quickly shook his head.
"Your mother and father love you more than any other human beings on this earth and no one – no one, not even me – can replace that love." Merlin said softly. "But I love you, too, Ella – and that goes for Elyan and the baby. And I would love you even when you get into trouble or do something wrong."
At that, the little girl's lips twitched into a small smile. "Even if I took your things a few times?"
Merlin chuckled lightly under his breath. "Even if you took my things," he promised. "It doesn't mean you should, but…that's the point, yeah."
Ella beamed at the warlock and slid off hesitantly off the bench. "Thank you, Uncle Merlin." She said and paused. "I think I'm gonna talk to Mother and Father now."
Merlin nodded and stood up. "Do you want me to take you to them?" He asked and when Ella bobbed her head for a yes, he took her hand and started out the door. They only walked a few steps before they caught sight of Arthur, who was just walking down the hall himself.
"Merlin, there you are! I've been looking all over for –" He stopped short when Ella broke away from the warlock and sprinted for her father. Ella launched herself into Arthur's arms and the blonde smiled (though he looked rather surprised), and spun her around.
"Father, I talked to Merlin! He said that our family are bamboo shoots and the baby is another bamboo shoot and we're gonna be perfectly fine!" She said enthusiastically. Arthur lifted his eyebrows at Merlin, who smiled sheepishly. The king shook his head, though he replied, "That sounds great, Ella."
He bounced his daughter in his arms and asked, "So, are you telling me –"
"I'm alright with Mother having another baby, Father." Ella nodded. A moment passed before she went on, "But I want a sister. Not a brother."
Arthur laughed lightly under his breath and planted a soft kiss on Ella's forehead. "We'll see," he replied. And then, in the next second, Elyan came running into the hallway, dragging none other than Leon behind him. Merlin flashed the knight a grin, who looked something of a mix of bashful and joy-ridden as Elyan pulled him along.
"Father! I've made my decision! A baby is alright, as long as it's a boy!" Elyan declared breathlessly, stopping short in front of Arthur's feet. He smiled proudly at his father and glanced back at Leon, who grinned back. "Sir Leon said that our family was a flock of birds!"
Merlin resisted the urge to laugh – instead, it came out as a half-snort/half-chuckle. He looked over at Leon, who shrugged with the same expression that Merlin had worn just minutes ago.
Ella, however, was not impressed with Leon or Elyan's analogy. "Well, Merlin said that our family was a bunch of bamboo shoots!"
"No way! It's a flock of birds!"
"Bamboo shoots!"
"Birds!"
"Bamboo!"
"Birds!"
Arthur shot Leon and Merlin a tired look, murmuring, "I only hope that when the baby is born, Ella and Elyan won't fight as often." Merlin and Leon both cracked a smile at the king, though the comment immediately shut the children's mouths. Ella and Elyan both turned to their father in unison, their eyes narrowed with such annoyance that Merlin snorted in laughter.
"We're not done yet, Father," Ella said, sticking her tongue out. "And it'll be a baby girl, remember?"
Elyan glared at his sister. "What are you talking about? It's obviously going to be a baby boy!"
Merlin, Leon and Arthur had to pry the children apart before any bruises could form.
xXx
The nine months of waiting was extremely horrifying for everyone – especially for Arthur, Guinevere and Merlin. Strangely enough, the reason for the edgy behavior didn't come from the expected baby, but more so the twins. Every night, Ella and Elyan would walk into their parents' room and curl up by their side, hungry for their love before the new addition to the family could be born. Not that Ella and Elyan weren't excited for the baby, of course, but Arthur and Guinevere figured that there were still little bits of fear lodged in their hearts.
And who could blame them? Ella and Elyan were afraid of being replaced, just like every other human being that ever walked the earth. And while Arthur and Guinevere welcomed their children with loving arms, it grew tiring and increasingly terrifying as the months passed. For one, any warrior would be nervous about hearing his bedroom door open at midnight, even if that warrior was Arthur.
Many nights were Arthur and Guinevere startled out of their sleep, only to see that their children wanted to come into bed with them. Again, they were glad that their children were so innocent, but all the while, the two were only human…
At last, Arthur had to put the children's beds in their bedroom, for the king was beginning to worry that the surprise wasn't going to be healthy for Guinevere or the unborn child.
If that wasn't enough, Ella and Elyan required for Arthur and Guinevere's attention to be on them for every waking minute. And if Arthur and Guinevere were busy with other duties, Ella and Elyan would run to either Merlin or the knights, peppering them with questions about pregnancy and how the baby would come out.
Needless to say, Merlin and the knights were all rather red-faced and nervous about answering those questions. Merlin's own strategy was to distract the children with playthings or magic so the thoughts of pregnancy would fly out of their heads. The knights, too, tried leading the children's attention to playing with 'swords' (made of sticks, of course) or talking about famous battles.
So, Ella and Elyan's actions were beginning to tire everyone out and it was a miracle that Guinevere had finally given birth to her child. And this time, Merlin was actually in the room. Ella and Elyan were being kept outside by one of the handmaids for the sake of not seeing their mother in the pain of childbirth.
Throughout the entire process, Arthur gripped Guinevere's hand with such ferocity that Merlin was fairly sure that her hand was going to pop off the wrist. However, Guinevere didn't say anything – she couldn't. She was shouting and wailing above the gentle, soothing words of the midwife. Merlin was doing what he could to calm Guinevere down as well, though Guinevere cried all the same.
And finally, suddenly, the clamor of a baby crying and yelling was woven into Guinevere's screams. After a few passing moments, the umbilical cord was cut and the child was immediately washed of blood and other mucus-like substances.
"A boy," Guinevere breathed as the child was wrapped up in clean cloths and handed over. "It's a boy, Arthur."
Arthur didn't answer right away. He couldn't. Just as he had the last time Guinevere gave birth, tears were silently running down his face. Arthur brushed away the tears quickly, though it didn't help much. He simply held tighter onto Guinevere's hand and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "A boy," Arthur echoed quietly. He tenderly fingered his new son's face.
Merlin himself was crying, though he couldn't find any motives to wipe them away. He cleared his throat and finally said, "Well…Elyan's going to be happy. Ella might be a bit cross, though."
At those words, Arthur and Guinevere started laughing.
Moments later, Ella and Elyan burst into the room, eyes wide. The maidservant trailed behind them, gasping, "I'm sorry, your Majesties! I was trying to hold them back, but –"
"It's fine," Guinevere said gently. She looked down at Ella and Elyan, who were staring curiously at the bundle in their mother's arms. "We heard you screaming, Mother," Elyan whispered. "We thought the baby was killing you."
Guinevere shook her head. "No, Elyan, the baby wasn't killing me."
"Then why were you screaming?" Ella asked, lifting an eyebrow. She shot a few glances at Arthur and Merlin. "And why are Father and Uncle Merlin crying? Did something sad happen?"
Arthur walked around the bed and brought Ella and Elyan together for an embrace. "No, nothing happened – these are happy tears, see? We're smiling," Arthur replied and sure enough, a smile lit up his face. Ella stared at her father and tilted her head. "I suppose so…" She murmured and looked back up at Guinevere. "Is it a girl? Oh, please say it's a girl!"
Merlin had to bite into his knuckle to keep himself from laughing when Guinevere responded, "No, Ella – it's a boy." Elyan immediately cheered, while Ella frowned in annoyance. However, Arthur quickly said, "But look at him!" He hoisted Ella and Elyan onto the bed so that they would have a better look at their new brother.
Merlin couldn't help but to smile at Ella and Elyan's reaction. Elyan's face was thoughtful, as if he was deciding whether he truly liked the baby or not, whereas Ella's eyes widened in surprise. "Look, Father! He's got Mother's eyes! Like mine! And Elyan's!" She said excitedly. "And he's got a tiny nose!" She paused and leaned closer to the baby. "It kind of looks like yours, Father."
The baby, which had remained relatively silent after his loud entrance, started cooing, as if he knew of the words that Ella was speaking. Ella giggled and waved her hand. "Hello, little baby," she whispered. "I'm your big sister and I'm gonna be the best one in the world."
Merlin and Arthur and Guinevere all looked up at each other, exchanging wide smiles. Elyan, on the other hand, continued to stare at the baby. He chewed on his lip and said slowly, "You made my mother cry. And my father. And Uncle Merlin. They say it's happy tears and I really, really hope they're telling the truth."
He hesitated and went on, "I don't really want to see them cry, but since you're a boy and since you're so small, I suppose you didn't mean to make them cry like that." Elyan paused again and added, "Oh, and I'm Elyan. And I'm your brother. We'll play a lot, right? As long as you're the troll in the games, though – I don't wanna be the troll anymore."
At those simple words, all of the adults burst into laughter, causing the baby to startle and cry out. Guinevere quickly covered her mouth with a hand and whispered, "Sorry."
Ella and Elyan, however, simply giggled at their mother's bashfulness. Merlin smiled and leaned against the bed-post. "Well, what are you going to name him?" He asked. "I'm pretty sure you've got a few names picked out already."
Arthur and Guinevere stared at each other with stricken looks. There were a few seconds of silence before Arthur said, "Actually, Merlin, we weren't able to think of any names."
"We were rather busy –"
"And we were more worried about the baby's health than its name –"
"And we kept worrying about everyone else –" (Guinevere obviously meant the twins, but thankfully, she didn't mention their names.)
"How did we forget to think of his name?" Arthur finished dubiously.
It was Ella who spoke up. "I think you should name him Sterling," she said suddenly. All heads turned to her curiously. "Why Sterling?" Arthur asked, confused. Ella shrugged and looked back down at the boy. "Sterling sounds like something from a fairy-tale," she replied at last. "And I think he looks like something out of one of those fairy-tale books."
Ella looked back up at her parents. "Can we name him Sterling, please?" She asked pleadingly. "He looks so much like a Sterling!"
Arthur blinked and turned back down at the baby, who cooed again, though this one sounded a bit sleepier. His eyes were slowly closing to a shut, though every few seconds, they would flutter back open. "Sterling Pendragon," Arthur said slowly. He looked over to Guinevere. "It does have a nice ring to it."
Guinevere smiled. "It does," she agreed and kissed the baby's forehead softly. "Welcome to the world, Sterling Pendragon."
With that, Ella beamed at her parents.
xXx
The next day, Ella and Elyan (expectedly) made it their mission to bring Merlin to every single visit to Guinevere. "You haven't seen Sterling for an entire hour, Uncle Merlin!" Ella would say huffily, grabbing the warlock by the hand. "Sterling is gonna miss you and he's gonna complain if you don't!"
Merlin didn't bother putting up a fight whenever the children popped into the room for that reason. If anything, he rather liked these frequent interruptions. He was just as excited as Ella and Elyan to see little Sterling Pendragon, who was constantly being adored and fussed over by his parents and siblings.
"You know, Uncle Merlin, I don't think I can believe how I thought that I didn't want Sterling in the family." Ella said one day, looking down at Sterling in his mother's arms. "I don't think it'd be possible to think that Sterling wasn't supposed to be here."
Merlin shot Guinevere a small look before he asked, "And why do you say that?"
Ella smiled up at Merlin, and perhaps Merlin's opinion was a bit biased, but he thought it was the most beautiful smile that a child could wear. "'Cause he's my brother – he's Elyan and my brother and he's gonna be your friend and he's Mother and Father's son." Ella replied. "And he's perfect like that."
Ella's gaze drifted back to Sterling, who smiled happily at his sister. "It's like the bamboo shoots, Uncle Merlin," she continued thoughtfully, lifting a hand to touch Sterling's face. "None of us are going to break with Sterling around."
Merlin had to try very, very hard not to cry in joy at those words.
A/N - No, none of these chapters are in any particular order. Some of the chapters might take place a few years earlier than usual, but they'll always include Arthur and Guinevere's children...and Uncle Merlin, of course. XD
Reviews would be great! Constructive criticism is allowed, but flames are not!
