Gwen glanced down at her phone, then back up at the peeling paint and weather beaten signs that advertised healthy shakes and juices. The signboard said Charl s. Biting down on her lower lip, Gwen stepped into the cafe. It was small and while clean, definitely was in need of an update. Maybe a coat of paint and chairs that didn't look like they were salvaged from the dustbins of the past decade.

"Hello!" The man behind the counter was a handsome one and the smirk on his face suggested that he was more than aware of his attractiveness. With a quick toss of his head, he flipped the hair out of his eyes, leaned forward and smiled at her. "How can I help someone as gorgeous as you?"

"I bet you have a bunch of those compliments to hand out," said Gwen. "I'll have a banana smoothie."

He turned his back on her, presumably to get started on her banana smoothie. "I don't normally give out compliments. Yours is the only one."

Gwen laughed. Since she was early and Mr Emrys was not, she perched on a stool at the counter. "I'm sure."

The loud whirl of the blended put a stop to any conversation for a while and Gwen simply enjoyed the view of the man's muscles as he moved around the small area. How long had it been since she had been with a man? Certainly, Helios had been her last serious boyfriend and he had turned out to be a jerk of the highest order. And the only man who seemed interested in her was Lance, but even then, she couldn't quite tell for sure with how subtle he was being.

"A banana smoothie for the princess."

Smoothie man wasn't too bad and he seemed interested. "Thank you." She let her fingers brush against his, then smiled up at him.

"I'm Gwaine."

"Not Charlie?"

His smile was wide. "No. Charlie is, as I was told when I bought over this place, a dog."

"Hmmm."

"You still haven't told me your name. You look like a princess to me. So it's probably something like Sophia or Esmeralda."

Gwaine's words reminded her why she was seated in his rundown little café and all thoughts of a quick flirtation disappeared. Glancing at her watch, she realised that Mr Emrys was running late. She was a fool – there was no job with the royal Penn family. For all she knew, it was like one of those email scams she read about in the news every now and then. Thank goodness all she was wasting was time and she hadn't done anything like send him a cheque in the mail.

"Penny for your thoughts, Esmeralda?"

Taking a large gulp of the smoothie, Gwen slid off the stool. In her mind, it was a smooth action that would land her firmly on her two feet. In reality, her skirt caught on the stool and she had to grab the side of the counter so she didn't fall. "This was really good. How much –"

"Merlin!" Gwaine was no longer looking at her. Instead his wide smile was directed at the new man who had just walked in. Merlin Emrys, Gwen supposed.

It was Vivian who had the most dealings with the upper crust of society but it didn't mean that Gwen was completely ignorant, and this man who had just entered, with messy hair and ears that stuck out, and did not look the least like he belonged to that part of society, was definitely the crown prince's assistant. He shrugged off a long coat, which he draped carelessly on an empty chair.

Gwaine leaned across the counter, his smile getting bigger when Merlin sighed and kissed his cheek. So much for a fling, thought Gwen.

"I'm here on business," said Merlin, just as his eyes landed on Gwen.

"Esmeralda, this is Merlin. The silent partner of this wonderful venture."

"It's Gwen, actually." She stuck out a hand.

Gwaine made a noise but Gwen ignored him, her attention on Merlin. He did look a little like the man who was often photographed at Prince Arthur's side. Perhaps she wasn't here on a fool's errand after all.

"Merlin Emrys. You must be Gwen Degrance. Sorry I'm late."

Pushing a cup to Merlin, Gwaine looked curiously at them. "So you're here to meet Merlin for another stealth royal family matter. And here I thought you were interested in my shakes."

"Your smoothie is very good," said Gwen, amused by the exaggerated disappointment Gwaine displayed. "Very banana-y."

A smirk formed on Gwaine's face. "I'm a natural at this. The office is empty. Want some sandwiches?"

Merlin nodded. "That would be great. Thanks." He looked at Gwen. "Come. We can talk in the office."

The only reason Gwen could see that this place was termed an office was because it had a table with a computer on it. Movie posters covered the walls and a stack of paperwork perched precariously at the edge of the table. Merlin swept some books off a chair, then gestured for her to take a seat.

"King Uther was very impressed by the gothic party you organised," said Merlin. He picked up a pen and twirled it. "He thought that it showed that you were a person who was able to deal with the unconventional."

"I didn't realise his highness would be at the party. His name wasn't on the guest list."

A smile softened Merlin's face. "No. It was a personal event and he didn't want to attract the media."

Gwaine bustled in at that moment, dropping a plate of sandwiches on the table, grabbed a handful of papers, then left.

"Have a sandwich," said Merlin as he offered her the plate. "Gwaine's sandwiches are very good."

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would like to know why you wanted to meet with me. Surely it isn't just to praise my work."

"Before we do that, I will need you to sign a confidentiality agreement. Whatever we discuss here, whether you agree to do the job or not, will remain within these walls." As he spoke, he dug into the bag he carried and produced a thick document.

Gwen frowned. "I can't sign contracts with you without consulting my company lawyers. But I assure you that I will not divulge anything we speak about."

"I'm sure you can understand that I can't just take you at your word, as inclined as I am to believe you. Plus, I'm sure your boss will understand."

What harm could it do, wondered Gwen. It seemed perfectly reasonable that anything the royal family wants done would be kept hush-hush and Merlin was right, just the idea of working with the royal family would definitely cause Catrina to forgive anything. And, she was really curious now and she suspected that if she made a fuss about signing the agreement, Merlin would simply look for someone else to do whatever he wanted.

"Ok," she said.

"Great," said Merlin as she signed beside all the little, coloured tabs on the document. "May this be a start of a fruitful working relationship."

"I reserve judgement until I hear what you want me to do. I may handle unusual requests well but I draw the line at organising murders."

Merlin's grin was sudden and bright. "You'd be glad to know that this doesn't involve murder of any kind. It's worse. What I need from you is to organise the prince's romance."

In her years working for Catrina's lifestyle management company, Gwen had been asked to do many things from organising children's football leagues to buying gifts for loved ones, but she had never been asked to organise a romantic relationship before.

"I don't understand. Did you want me to organise dates for him and his girlfriend?" The prince had managed to keep his romance under wraps, a massive achievement, Gwen thought, in today's world. Ideas raced through Gwen's head. Intimate dinner dates, fun yet unusual activities. Perhaps a game of laser tag or a romantic overseas trip.

"Something like that. I need you to assist the prince in falling in love."

Gwen blinked. "You want me to play matchmaker?"

Merlin leaned forward. "Almost. You don't have to find the women. The King already has a list of women he has deemed suitable. What I need you to do is to organise the dates and make it such that the situation is right to encourage Arthur to fall for one of them."

"Isn't there a TV show that does this? One of those reality type shows that -" Gwen clamped her mouth shut. Here, the royal family was offering her a somewhat ridiculous job and she decided to mock it. Brilliant strategy.

But instead of taking offense, Merlin burst out laughing. Then he gulped in a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry but I just thought of the King's reaction to seeing Arthur on The Right Match. Plus, as fascinated as the tabloids seem to be by Arthur, he really isn't that interesting."

"Really?"

A smile tugged the edges of Merlin's lips. "He's pretty boring, but don't tell him I said so. Anyway, back to business, he needs to get married and you need to make it happen. We'll pay you your usual rate but there's a nice bonus if Arthur marries one of the women on the King's list."

Gwen thought of the partnership she was chasing. She thought of Viv's face when she learnt that Gwen was working directly with the royal family. She thought of how love and romance was messy and painful and perhaps this was the way to a happy marriage.

"This isn't very romantic, is it?"

"No. But that is the royal family for you," sighed Merlin and for the first time, Gwen suspected he didn't approve of this whole scheme. "And I am sure you appreciate the fact that the royal family would prefer a practical arrangement rather than a romantic one."

Gwen nodded. She definitely understood the appeal of a practical partnership. "And Prince Arthur is amenable to this?"

One side of Merlin's lips quirked upwards. "Of course not."

"He does like women, right?"

"Very much," said Merlin on a laugh. "It's just that he is a bit of an earnest romantic and this is, as you pointed out, far from romantic. If you're successful, the royal family will also hire you to organise all events pertaining to the wedding. It's a very lucrative job."

The faraway dream of running her own company, the dream she kept tucked in the deep recesses of her brain flickered to life. Getting the royal family wedding would be a huge coup and would definitely boost her reputation, which in turn would make venturing out on her own so much easier. "I'll do it."

Merlin nodded. "Good. I'll arrange for a meeting with Uther and Arthur. Bring your company lawyer but the actual details remain between us. To everyone else, including your boss, you're simply assisting Arthur with his hobby. Helping him organise and plan and whatever else his hobby entails."

"His hobby?"

"Architectural conservation."

Gwen couldn't help the snort that escaped. "Architectural conservation? I was thinking something along the lines of bird watching or hunting."

Again, Merlin laughed. "If he had it his way, it would be more of a career and less of a hobby. One more thing. I know this whole thing sounds really cold and practical but try not to let Arthur get hurt in the process. He – well, he feels too deeply sometimes. Just, keep an eye out for him."

Standing, she wondered what on earth she was getting herself into. "I'll do my best."

"I am perfectly capable of arranging my own dates," said Arthur as he retied his tie. Why was it so difficult to get it straight? With a growl, he undid the tie again and scowled at the crumpled piece of silk.

Merlin deftly took the tie from Arthur and noosed it around his neck. "I still remember your first date with Sharon."

"Sharon?"

"The nice heir of the Powell fortune who your father arranged for you to have dinner with?"

A vague impression of a smiling girl with short, dark hair shimmered in his mind but he couldn't quite remember her face. "I was still hung up on Sophia then. I didn't put in much of an effort."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and yanked at the tie, somehow producing the perfect knot. "And today, you're bringing your step-sister as your plus one. I don't think dating is your forte."

"Hey!"

Ignoring him, Merlin continued. "Gwen will make things go smoothly between you and Mithian or whichever other women your father digs up, help you talk and charm her, and perhaps you'll find that stars and fireworks romance you want so much."

Arthur remembered now. Sharon was the date who had said that while it was nice that he was prince and rich, he had the personality of one of those buildings that he wouldn't stop talking about, which Arthur was inclined to take as a compliment but the expression on Sharon's face suggested it was not.

"I'm charming enough. It's just – awkward." It was always awkward when your dates were engineered by your father.

Merlin tossed Arthur his jacket. "You're awkward. Now, come on. Morgana will have my hide if we are late picking her up."

"She's never on time, herself," muttered Arthur. Another duty party. Another evening full of pointless small talk. At least, it was Morgana on his arm, as annoying as she tended to be and it was held in an interesting Art Deco style mansion. Shrugging on the jacket, Arthur walked out of his room after Merlin.

They were kept waiting by Morgana, as usual.

"Tell me about this matchmaking person," said Arthur as he poked about in Morgana's apartment. It was one of those cookie cutter modern apartments that everyone with money seemed to be living in and Arthur wasn't a huge fan. He did approve of how green it was and his mind wandered again to castles and turning them into green buildings, without losing their unique architecture.

"Shouldn't you be asking about Mithian? She's the first one on the list."

"I already have a thick file on Mithian, courtesy of my father. I want to know about this person who thinks she can wave a magic wand and make Mithian or whoever and I fall in love."

Merlin sank into Morgana's plush sofa. "Well, she works for an event management company and she was the one who put together that Gothic engagement party."

"Oh." It had been a brief conversation but there had been an ease to it that Arthur rarely felt with others. "I think I might have spoken to her during the party."

There was a moment of silence before Merlin spoke. "Did you?"

"Short, hair in a bun, voice like chocolate."

"Sticky and bitter?"

With a laugh, Arthur tossed a cushion at Merlin.

"That cushion isn't cheap, I'll have you know." Morgana leaned against the doorway, the twinkle in her eyes giving away her amusement.

"Morgana. You look nice." It was no lie. Morgana was always perfectly put together, very much like her flat. Cool and untouchable.

She walked towards Arthur and slipped her hand in his arm. "And you have a properly tied tie. Did Merlin do it?"

"You know he did. Shall we? Dad is already texting me about our whereabouts."

AN: I had a great day at work today so I decided to celebrate by updating this. :D Also, my friend A is sick, so this is for her. Thank you for all the comments. They make me happy. :)