The plot bunnies are killing me! I'm sorry that I'm not sorry.
Hey, it goes like this: story = reviews. Reviews = happy me. Happy me = more chapters. ^^' :)
"Rise and shine, King and Queen!" Merlin shouted gleefully, yanking back the window's large, ornate curtain. Sunlight filtered into the room and over the bed, illuminating Camelot's finest. After a few minutes with no response, he went over to the bed and shook Arthur until he groaned. Then he went to Gwen, who was currently between handmaidens, again, and shook her gently.
"Come on, out of bed! You've got a large knighting ceremony today, we need you up and awake!"
Merlin bounded giddily around the room, arraigning Arthur's armor, deciding on Gwen's dress – not his favorite task; the Queen needed a handmaiden, and quickly – generally just floating around.
"Merlin?"
Gwen's voice broke through his reverie. "Guinevere?"
"Are you well?"
"Wonderful! Get him out of bed, would you?" the boy pointed to the King, and began to set the breakfast table.
"Arthur, King, o' great leader, out of bed! You need to knight about seven men in, oh, two hours. Come on, come on!"
"Merlin!"
"Oh, there's that warm voice I was looking for!"
Merlin stood by the table, grinning ear to ear, hands clasped behind his back. He was so inexplicably and incandescently happy; he had no clue what brought it on. He had woken with the most pleasant feeling.
"Why are you so damn happy?"
"I don't know sire. I'm just happy."
"Well, stop. It's scaring me."
Merlin handed his master a white tunic, which was snatched roughly from his hand.
"I couldn't if I wanted. And I really don't want to!"
Arthur groaned and shoved his forever loyal servant forward, toward the Queen.
"Make yourself at least remotely useful and help Gwen with her dress."
"Breakfast?"
"Excellent idea. Now, go. Gwen."
Merlin walked over to where his friend was looking carefully at the elegant yards of fabric before her, gently rubbing a section of it between her fingers.
"Is there a problem Gwen?" he asked.
"This doesn't match," she said, holding the mint green corset away from the yellow dress Merlin paired it with.
"It doesn't?"
"Yellow and a bright green never go together." she went to her wardrobe, locating a purple dress and held it out to Merlin. "A bright green looks good with darker colors."
"This is why you need a handmaiden."
Gwen laughed as she switched dresses and went behind the screen set up in the far corner of the room. "You're learning. Few more months and I'll appoint you my handmaiden," she teased.
"For which he's more qualified than manservant. Soon you'll be matching your tunic to your boots," Arthur helpfully added from the breakfast table, waving a sausage for emphasis.
Merlin grinned, and as Arthur turned away from him, a familiar powerful feeling surged through him, the room filled brilliantly gold, and then Arthur's chair pulled from under him. From behind the screen, Gwen giggled madly, and Merlin couldn't repress a laugh and the small, sly grin that formed at his mouth. There was no harm in the occasional prank. Especially today, given he felt so giddy.
"Merlin, give me a hand with this?" Gwen asked, still giggling.
"What happened sire? I thought you had more coordination than that," Merlin teased, having more fun at his friend's expense, heading behind the screen with Gwen.
"Shut up, Merlin."
He laughed again, then stared, clueless, at the crosswork treading on the back of Gwen's corset, tugging at the strings gently.
"Merlin?"
"Uh."
"Take the left string and put it through the next open hole on the right..."
The image of Merlin slowly faded away, leaving the water in the basin its normal clear blue. Morgana gently lifted her head up, staring back at her reflection in the mirror. Her spells sometime had a habit of taking an unexpected turn, but she successfully instilled the increased happiness in Merlin. Something, of course, that seemed out of the ordinary, but the happiness would draw him more to Emeline when the time came. Behind her, the door slammed shut, and Morgana spun around quickly, armed with her jeweled dagger; Emeline threw her hands up in shock.
"You know better than to scare me like that!"
"I'm sorry Morgana!"
Placed the dagger on the table, calming her heart rate, she turned back to the basin. "I trust you bring me news of the boy," Morgana said sternly.
"The knights are soon going on a hunt. That'll provide ample opportunity for them to find me."
"You've done well. Remember, you must be very careful with this Merlin. He's far too troublesome, far too meddlesome. You could find yourself in a sticky situation with this one."
"This servant will be no trouble for me to rid."
"I have every faith that you will succeed, my dear." Lifting her head back up, she began, "edwende thin hiw. Edwende aet cwead." Turning momentarily to see her spell had worked, she was satisfied, and went back to the water. "Dregol chytte, gewitte me yst, tha tachion me yst, thonne ieceth icle. Swilte ar ond calan, draedon mordhor, to Camelot he cymth."
The water swirled and twisted until Merlin's form was shown once again, this time atop a horse, apparently on their hunting trip.
"Go now, and good luck."
In a quick moment's decision, she stopped Emeline and embraced her tightly. She refused to think this could be the last she saw of her friend.
"Do be careful. Please."