If I owned Merlin, do you think I would be writing fanfiction?
I don't own the Kingdom Games AU either, that honor goes to the lovely Wryter501, who has given me leave to play in her sandbox.
The title for this chapter comes from 1 Corinthians 13. If you read that, it will probably explain a great deal about this chapter and my views on the matter.
This chapter, unlike the first, is cannon up to the point Kingdom Games has been published. (Translation, no Balinor. *We will now have a moment of silence*)
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On with the show!
Ygraine sits in her own rooms, listening to the rain on the roof of the castle.
Upon Uther's death and Arthur's coronation, Ygraine and Hunith had been moved from the old house she had dwelt in for some twenty-five years and into a beautiful suite of rooms for each of them in the citadel.
"My lady."
It is George, Arthur's manservant, assigned to replace Merlin upon the latter's elevation to the official position of Dragonlord. In reality, Merlin continued to care for Arthur's arms and armor and deliver his meals, leaving George as a sort of assistant manservant.
The poor man is standing stiffly by the doorway, hands behind his back, staring straight ahead at nothing. Not even almost ten years of being up close and personal with the extended "royal family" have served to loosen him up, though not for lack of trying on Gwaine's part.
"Yes George?"
"The Queen requests your presence in the parlor, my lady." He says, in that chipper yet bland tone he seems to have perfected to an art form. "If you are amenable."
Ygraine can't help the smile that comes as she set aside the spindle that has been laying untouched in her lap the past candle-mark.
"I will come gladly."
Rainy days in the parlor are always a great deal of fun.
XxXxXxX
When Ygraine enters the smallish room lit by a roaring fire, she is pleased to note that nearly everyone is there. The children are scattered throughout and the adults sit clustered near the fire chatting away or simply enjoying the company.
Merlin is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall beside the fireplace, grinning at something that Gwen has said. Arthur is also on the floor, his head on his wife's knee, eyes closed and looking very tired.
That isn't a surprise. Odin has been difficult lately and Arthur has been struggling to resolve it peacefully. Ygraine spares a moment to give thanks for Queen Annis, a constant ally for her son in such matters as in all else.
Freya is on the other side of the fireplace, deep in conversation with Lady Clarissa, baby Ceri asleep in her arms, with little Bran sat by her feet, amusing himself by making his toy horse move on its own. There was once a knight to ride upon it, but Ygraine suspects that her youngest grandson is behind the doll's disappearance.
Sir Leon sits beside them, one arm around his wife, most of his attention on an animated conversation he seems to be carrying on with Sir Gwaine and his brothers concerning the benefits of fighting with a shield vs wielding a sword two handed.
The other ladies are gathered around, cooing over the other two new babies, Finnean, Gaheris and Linnet's, and Saraid, Gareth and Lyonnesse's.
The unmarried knights, Sirs Percival and Elyan, are giving the children piggy-back rides. Currently Percival carries Prince Amhar, and Elyan bears Thomas, Sir Leon's eldest, as the two boys wield wooden swords wrapped in thick layers of material to cushion the blows they do land on each other. It is a tournament then.
It does not escape Ygraine's notice that the scrap of fabric tied on Thomas' upper arm bears a great resemblance to Anna's second favorite scarf.
"Lady Ygraine."
That is Ragnelle, Gwaine' new wife, her inhuman beauty made much warmer by her joyful smile as she catches Ygraine's attention, gesturing to the empty chair beside her, her sisters-in-law having departed for seats nearer the fire, most likely to keep the babies warm. Alice also has relocated, leaving Ragnelle and Hunith to their own devices.
With a nod, Ygraine acknowledges the gesture and seats herself beside the golden-haired Sidhe woman. The two of them sit in comfortable silence for a moment, simply watching the fire as Merlin plays with it, conjuring unicorns and dragons and human figures from the flames and sparks. Bran watches wide-eyed, his horse forgotten.
The squeals of the older children draw Ygraine's attention back to the mock tournament on the other side of the room.
Anna, mimicking her mother's quiet dignity, is crowning Thomas as champion of the joust. Elyan and Percival are leaning on each other trying to catch their breath, and Amhar is watching sulkily from the corner, ignoring Will as the younger boy pokes him repeatedly.
"Many of my people believe human-kind to be uncivilized." Ragnelle says in a low tone, her gaze resting wistfully on the children. "But I have not found it to be so."
Gwaine chooses that moment to loose a loud belch, causing his brothers to laugh uproariously, making comments in Gaelic, and Leon to roll his eyes, looking pained.
"But then again," Ragnelle says, her laughing eyes glancing fondly at her husband. "I could be mistaken."
There are surprised cries from the fireplace, as it seems that Bran has decided to attempt to mimic his father, resulting in the fire greatly increasing in size of a sudden. The next few minutes are spent patting the flames out of carpets and skirts and Gaius' robes, and Merlin being scolded by Freya (as much as that sweet girl can scold anyone, which isn't much) for not making sure that such a thing wouldn't happen. Hunith is laughing, and Gaius is shaking his head, but failing to hide the smile on his face.
"Merlin nearly burned the house down once," Hunith says, her eyes dancing. "I believe he was about…three summers, four?"
And the story-telling commences.
They begin with embarrassing childhood recollections, something that Ygraine is only too happy to contribute to. Even Gwaine shares one about his brothers, (half-brothers in truth, but no less the loved for that) enjoying the laughter as their faces turn a shade of red to match their infamous hair.
Then Merlin mentions one of the incidents that happened on a hunting trip, and the knights are off, attempting to out-brag each other. Sir Percival has just turned to Leon's wife Clarissa, his sister, to appeal for confirmation of one of his more outrageous claims when little Will pipes up.
"How did Da and Uncle Arthur meet?"
Instant silence falls.
"The Grandchildren", as Hunith and Ygraine have named them, have heard many stories of their parents and their friends. But none of the Games.
Will's face looks troubled, enough that Amhar notices and forgets his recent sulk in order to find out why.
"What's wrong?"
There is a moment of silence as Will picks at the carpet, avoiding everyone's eyes.
"Is this about what That Boy said?" Anna demands, and Ygraine does not think that she has ever seen that level of fury in an eight year old.
"What boy?" Gwen asks, her tone low and soothing, attempting to coax some facts out of the children.
"That stupid Prince Meven from Brittany." Anna is only too eager to explain, her usually gentle brown eyes flashing with indignation. "He said all sorts of horrible things Mama. About Daddy, and Uncle Merlin and Uncle Gwaine and Uncle Tristan."
"He said," Will speaks so quietly that they almost miss it. "He said that Da begged for his life like a coward, and that he's just an uppity slave. And that Uncle Arthur didn't deserve to be High King."
Anna breaks in. "He said that Daddy was supposed to kill Uncle Merlin!" It is clear that the very concept is foreign to her, the idea that anyone could expect her father to harm a hair on his sorcerer's head. "And that Uncle Gwaine fought like an animal for the fun of it and Uncle Tristan was just a no-good smuggler and-"
"That's enough Anna." Merlin's voice is calm. "I believe we get the picture." He and Arthur exchange grim looks before Merlin crouches down to look his eldest son in the eye.
"What did he say that bothered you the most Will?"
The boy says something so quietly that Ygraine can hear but Arthur, standing behind Merlin obviously can, if the way his face reddens with suppressed fury is any indication. Gwen, sensing the impending explosion, tugs him down to sit on the settle beside her.
"Will." Merlin says, calm and quiet. "There is no shame in service."
His son looks up at him, confusion in his eyes.
"But Prince Meven said that only someone who's weak serves."
"Prince Meven is wrong." Merlin speaks with all the authority granted to him by his Dragonlord birthright. "The only weakness is in someone who is too proud to see the value in helping others and thinks that it is shameful to do so."
He pauses a moment, seemingly to collect his thoughts.
"Will. Why do you think that I do what I do?"
The boy blinks. Obviously he has never thought of anything like that before. His father has always tended to the king. Anything else is beyond the child's comprehension. He shrugs. "Because you have to?"
"No," his father replies. "Because I want to. I care for the king's armor and weapons so that I know they will be the best they can be and will not fail to keep him from harm. I take him his breakfast so that I know it is safe for him to eat."
He lets the children think about that for a moment.
"I don't want fame, or glory, or power." The Dragonlord makes a light face. "Though I don't have much choice there I suppose."
Little Teleri giggles.
"What do you think makes someone weak?" Merlin asks the children at large. There is a moment of silence before Breaca speaks up, the usually confident seven year old unsure.
"Someone who doesn't stand up for themselves?"
"So what if standing up for yourself will get someone else hurt or killed?"
None of the little ones seem to know what to say to that.
Merlin is sitting cross-legged on the rug now, the children clustered around him, Will, Amhar, and Anna at the front.
"Someone is weak when they only care about themselves, and what they can do to benefit themselves." Merlin says clearly, meeting the eyes of each child, from Thomas to little Gràinne, who isn't much more than a year old.
"Strength is caring about other people so much, that you want to do whatever you can for them. Even if it is something that people see as demeaning. If you do it because you want to, then it is not so, no matter what they think."
"Love." Teleri pipes up, her little six-year-old face lighting up with understanding. "Mam said that's what love is. Giving things up for someone else and being willing to work together and com-pro-mice." She sounds out the last word carefully, which makes her innocent mispronunciation all the more adorable.
There is the obligatory uncomfortable shifting from the boys at the mention of the dreaded "L-word."
"That's right Mermaid." Merlin smiles at her. "I don't do what I do because I have to, or because of destiny, or social obligation." Merlin finishes up, drawing his eldest in for a hug.
"I do it because he is my brother, I love him, and he's worth it."
Ygraine pretends not to see the tears in her son's eyes and pushes aside the thought that Will's question about Arthur and Merlin's first meeting has not yet been answered.
A/N:
So this was originally supposed to be called "Family History" and be about the children learning how their parents met. (The Games)
And then several different factors got me thinking about Arthur and Merlin's relationship, and Merlin's status…and this happened.
I apologize if it seems a bit incoherent at times, I tried my best. Mostly, this is chapter is a rant against the common misconception that simply because Merlin doesn't get his name shouted from every rooftop that he is mistreated.
Anyway, the families as they stand. (Oh yeah, in the last chapter, Gwaine hadn't met his wife yet! They've only been married a couple of months in this one, she is a new addition to the family and yes, she is Sidhe.)
Arthur and Gwen
Same as before, just two years older
Merlin and Freya
Will - 7, Teleri - 6, Cenn - 4, Bran – almost 3, Ceri – between 6 and 8 months
Gaheris and Linnet (The elder of Gwaine's half-brothers and his wife)
Aidan - 5, Gràinne – 15 months or so, Finnean – weeks old
Gareth & Lyonesse
Ruairidh 'Rory' - 5, Cailean – almost 3, Saraid – weeks old (Cailean is a boy, Saraid a girl)
Leon and Clarissa (Clarissa is Percival's sister. If you want to know the details behind my reasoning for that, PM me.)
Thomas – 9, Gerralt – 6, Caedmon – on the way (they just don't know it yet. Well, Merlin and Alice know. Probably Ragnelle too, but she isn't telling.)
Tristain and Isolde still have only Breaca, now 7.
And Elyan and Percival are still bachelors. They adore being uncles though. They spoil the kids rotten.
Yes, I am assuming that Gwaine will survive the Quest for the Fisher King.
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