... Okay... so no reviews, a few alert adds... maybe I am not making this interesting enough? Again, I only own Vincent! Please enjoy~
The morning had been one of the rare occasions Merlin had convinced Arthur to join him on his morning run. After the first time Merlin had woken him before dawn just to go running he had refused to do it ever again, more so after the fact the Merlin insisted they run 10 miles before breakfast. However Arthur wanted to know what was in Merlin's mind in giving the young boy such a challenge.
Merlin smiled lightly, now his King was in on this. He was sure Arthur could think of a few tasks to have the boy do. Merlin looked up from his plate of food at Vincent stumbled out of the small room Merlin had given him for the night. "Up late in the morning…" He said as if already evaluating him. "Not a good sign for someone wishing to study Magic."
Vincent just stared at Merlin in slight disbelief. Where was the friendly, kind and helpful Merlin he had heard about. "You had me up all night organizing your herbs!" He said in his own defense. "I barely slept a wink!"
"Did you finish it?" Merlin asked already knowing the answer. The boy had fallen asleep in the middle of the task. Merlin himself had moved the boy into bed after shaking his head lightly over the matter.
"No!" Vincent said throwing his arms in the air. "You said no magic! I used no magic and fell asleep while working. No idea how I ended up in the bed!" Merlin's expression did not change.
"The armory staff is in need of some help with cleaning the armor." Merlin said calmly. "Help them by cleaning what you can this morning. Be careful not to get fingerprints on them. The nobles do not like even the smallest smudge on their armor." Merlin had finished his meal and was standing already. "There is some more food on the table if you are hungry, but I suggest you get there as quickly as you can. A tournament starts this afternoon and nobles hate to be kept waiting."
Merlin then left the boy alone again, a slight smile tugging at his lips. He had convinced Arthur to let the servants in the armory the morning off. After hearing Merlin's plan the King had carefully agreed. Really sometimes there was no telling what was going on in that wizard's head. Arthur had just dismissed it as something that would become clear later on and let the servants have the morning off.
Vincent entered the Armory to find no one in the room, as well as there being more than just a few pieces of armor to be cleaned. Really what was Merlin thinking? There was no way all of this could be cleaned by lunch! Then again he had said as much as he could do. He sighed as he picked up a breastplate and began cleaning. Maybe the others were just late.
Vincent was getting frustrated. It was nearly midday, no one had shown up and he was only on his second piece of armor! This was an inhuman task; no one would be able to do this in one morning unless they used magic! He was very tempted to just cast the cleaning spell he had picked up from a local witch in his town, however, Merlin had said no magic. The boy sighed as he continued to work on the armor. Maybe he would get it done by some stroke of luck.
Merlin entered the room and looked around. He sighed lightly at the fact that the armor was not done. He looked at Vincent who was polishing away at what appeared to be a third piece of armor. "Well, time is up for this task…" Merlin said softly. "I must say I am a bit disappointed…"
Vincent looked up at him in disbelief. "No one showed up!" He yelled loosing his temper already. "I was the only one in here! You also said no magic!"
Merlin raised an eyebrow at that. The boy had not taken his rule at face value. That was just fantastic. Merlin sighed lightly again. Her muttered a few words and with a flash of his eyes all the armor was clean and gleaming brightly. "Come." Merlin said remaining calm. "Lunch and then you can muck out the stables."
Vincent rolled his eyes as he carefully set the now polished bit of armor down carefully. He followed Merlin through the halls grumbling to himself. He had so far been told to organize an entire herb cabinet that had looked like it was not organized for over five years, and this morning he had to clean armor, with no help in a ridiculously short amount of time!
Arthur watched as Vincent ate his food angrily and raised an eyebrow at Merlin expecting an answer. He took me too literally… Merlin said in thought to the King. Both men where used to this by now. Even the royal court knew not to question the silent conversations the two had, even if they both cracked up from something one said.
Don't you think your being a bit unfair though? Arthur asked in response. I mean he certainly seems willing enough. And need I remind you that I have removed the ban on magic?
Merlin visibly sighed at the questioning. Need I remind you that when I was first in Camelot your father would have had my head chopped off without a second thought about why I had used magic? Merlin looked at the boy with slightly saddened eyes. He does not know what that was like, and thankfully never will know. This is the only way I can see if he is serious or not.
Arthur let the argument go. There was no use trying to sway Merlin in this case. He had his mind made up. The King sat back in his chair and thought, blocking his mind to Merlin who did not seem to care that he wanted his thoughts private. Surely Merlin would not mind if hints where dropped for the boy? Wouldn't just make things more interesting for this game Merlin decided to play? Arthur smiled slightly, yes, there was no way he was going to let his friend play this game alone.
Read and Review! I stress the Review! It makes me update faster!
