The Promise of a Future
Summary: Guinevere falls ill a day before her wedding to Arthur. After she dies, Arthur begins to realize he has feelings for Merlin. Merlin has always known he was in love with Arthur, but content to see him happy with Gwen. When a young woman, a princess, makes her way to Camelot after her own kingdom is destroyed, but dies shortly after her arrival, her infant daughter has no one. Will Arthur realize that he needs Merlin by his side as more than just a servant, to help him take care of the special child who is now his ward?
AN: I'm sorry this has taken a while, but I've been putting most of my time into finding a job. So, here we are, finally, the tournament! This was carefully planned out. I'm sorry if it seems too much like the tournament held for Gwen, but I get the feeling that it was traditional and the basic outline never really changes. So, read, review and enjoy!
Chapter 3: Flowers and Laughter
Merlin fidgeted in the ornate chair that had been set out for him under the canopy where the King usually sat. His clothes were brand new, and very nice, but not very comfortable. He wished he could just wear his normal shirt and trousers, with his beloved neckerchief, but Arthur had insisted he wear the new clothes that had been made for him. The tournament had yet to start and Merlin was already bored and quite annoyed. He really wanted no part of this tournament, even if it was supposedly in his honor.
"Merlin, sit still." Came a voice from next to him. Merlin looked up at Gaius, who stood next to his chair.
"Is this tournament ever going to start? And why must I wear these clothes?" Merlin whined to his mentor.
"Tradition." Was the only reply he got, as well as a disapprovingly raised eyebrow.
"Yes, tradition, everyone keeps saying that." Merlin muttered darkly, which only earned him a glare from Gaius. Shaking his head at the disgruntled warlock, Gaius turned and walked away.
A trumpet fanfare sounded, calling Merlin's attention back to the field in front of him. The knights and Arthur were lined up on their horses, facing him. Their helmets were off, so Merlin could see all their faces. Arthur was in the middle of the line, directly in front of Merlin, his horse standing a few paces in front of the rest. Gwaine was on his left, Leon on his right. Elyan was beside Leon, and Percival was next to Gwaine. The other knights were a few paces behind even the four knights, showing their elevated status as Round Table Knights as well as Arthur's most trusted and arguably the best knights of Camelot.
Gwaine winked at Merlin, which earned him a glare from Arthur, and a sarcastic eye roll from Merlin. Arthur gave Merlin a pointed look and the young warlock remembered that he was to announce the start of the tournament. With a small, hardly noticeable sigh, Merlin stood and took two steps towards the railing. He suddenly wished he was holding Ariadne. The young girl always managed to keep him calm. But she was with some maids today, while the tournament was going on. Merlin cleared his throat.
"Let the tournament begin!" He announced, his voice loud, but quivering a little bit. Arthur gave him a reassuring smile. Merlin managed to return the smile as he returned to his chair. The knights rode back to the sides of the field. A structure with a flower ring was set up in the center of the field.
Arthur was the first one to go. He expertly guided his horse to line up with the ring. He swiftly put his horse into a graceful canter and headed towards the ring. He easily caught it on his outstretched lance. He trotted his horse over to Merlin, who stood and leaned over the railing to take the flower ring from where it rested on the end of his lance. Arthur smiled lovingly up at the warlock and Merlin smiled back and nodded his head.
Leon, Elyan and Percival all took their turns without incident, and Merlin felt himself start to relax, and possibly even began to enjoy himself.
But then it was Gwaine's turn. Arthur did not miss the wicked gleam in the feisty knight's eyes, but Merlin did. He had been lulled into a false sense of security. But Gwaine had not thought through his actions, only intending to embarrass Merlin, not hurt him. So, when he backed up a little as he lifted his lance up for Merlin to take the flower ring, he just meant for Merlin to grasp at the air and maybe glare down at him. He thought it might look funny. So he was so surprised he just stared in horror as Merlin tumbled over the railing, having leaned out a little too far. The platform was raised and he fell a good ten feet to the ground, landing with a thud. Gwaine blinked a few times and stared at the young warlock lying still on the ground. Then he tried to dismount as quickly as possible, ending up tumbling off his horse in his haste. But Arthur got there first, dashing across the field to his fallen lover.
"MERLIN!" He cried, pulling the warlock into his arms. Merlin slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at Arthur.
"Arthur? What happened?" He asked in a weak voice.
"You fell over the railing, you idiot! You aren't supposed to lean out that far, you clumsy fool! You should have known Gwaine would try something stupid!" Arthur rambled on, staring into Merlin's eyes trying to see how much pain he was in.
"I didn't mean for him to fall! I thought he would just grab at the air and it would be hilarious!" Gwaine was now crouching beside the two, as he tried to defend himself.
"That is no excuse Gwaine! Can't you act normally for once and not endanger Merlin's life!" Arthur snapped at him. Gaius made his way over to them and began to examine Merlin.
"No broken bones, luckily. He will have quite few bruises though. No serious injuries as far as I can tell." The old physician assured them. Arthur sighed in relief.
"On with the tournament then!" He said cheerfully, and Merlin rolled his eyes. Arthur smiled at him and lifted him into his arms. He carried him all the way up into the stands and insured he was comfortably seated. Then he kissed his cheek softly. "No more leaning over the railing. We'll just skip ahead to the jousting." He said, and Merlin smiled gratefully at him.
The tournament went on. The first joust was between Leon and Percival.
Percival broke his lance on Leon, but did not manage to knock him from the saddle. Leon broke his lance the next go, but on the third round, Leon skillfully managed to knock the bigger knight from his saddle.
There were a few more matches, mostly between the Round Table Knights, with a few others thrown in, but the Round Table Knights won any match against another knight. Finally there was a match between Arthur and Gwaine.
Arthur brutally knocked the knight from his saddle, sending him flying, and as promised, he did indeed land flat on his arse.
"That was for hurting Merlin, and for trying to make him look stupid, only I'm allowed to do that." Arthur spat at the man as he sat on the ground, but he wasn't really angry. There was a satisfied smirk on the King's face. Merlin didn't hear his words, but rolled his eyes at Arthur's actions.
Gwaine got up, brushed himself off, and turned towards Merlin.
"Enjoy the show, my lady?" He shouted, with a laugh. Merlin glared at him, his face bright red. Gwaine kept laughed and tossed his hair. Then out of nowhere a helmet was soaring through the air and collided with his head. Arthur stood off to the side, glaring. Merlin just shook his head. Arthur proceeded to discard his armor and made his way into the stands. He swept Merlin into his arms, and, with a final glare at the knight who still stood in the field rubbing his head, returned to the castle.
Once there, he made his way to his chambers and laid Merlin on the bed.
"Do you want anything?" The King asked his warlock.
"I would rather not be wearing these annoying clothes." Merlin told him, managing a weak smile.
"That can be arranged." Arthur replied, his voice wickedly seductive. Merlin squirmed as Arthur lifted the young man's arms to remove his shirt.
"Ow. Arthur, please be careful. I hurt all over from that fall."
"Oh I'm sorry, love." Arthur whispered. He carefully removed the warlock's shirt and began to kiss the bruises forming on his torso and arms. Merlin sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of the feather light kisses on his bruised body. Arthur worked his way down the young man's chest, kissing each and every bruise. He slowly removed Merlin's trousers, careful not to hurt the man.
Then the sounds of a crying baby echoed through the room and Arthur let out a groan.
"Arthur, could you see if Ariadne is alright? Please?" Merlin asked, blinking up at his King. Arthur grumbled, and did as Merlin asked, but not before pulling the blankets up over Merlin.
Arthur returned a few minutes later with a still crying Ariadne.
"I don't know what she wants!" He said, exasperated. Merlin hauled himself up with difficulty to lean back against the pillows.
"Here, give her to me."
"Okay." Arthur handed the baby to Merlin carefully. Merlin held the young girl to his chest and began to soothe her.
"Sleep, little princess, sleep now, my little love, sleep." Merlin sang softly to the child. He gently rocked her back and forth and her cries slowed until finally they ceased.
"How do you do it Merlin?" Arthur whispered in awe. Merlin smiled.
"I guess she just likes me better than you." He whispered back. He lifted the young girl back up to the King, who took her gingerly. The baby was now asleep and did not object as Arthur carried her back to her room and laid her in her cradle.
"Now, where were we?" He asked, as he came back into his room. But then he sighed as he saw that Merlin was fast asleep. Shaking his head, he undressed himself, and got into bed next to his warlock, gently pulling the young man towards him and then draping the covers over both of them. He fell asleep with a smile on his face as he pressed light kisses to the side of Merlin's head.
AN: Okay, that turned out way differently than I had planned, and much longer. I'm sorry if the tournament didn't end up as funny as I had hoped, I just felt we needed a bit more angst. Also, it kind of ended up writing itself, and I decided it needed more Ariadne, thus the adorable scene at the end. I just think Merlin makes such a cute mommy (he's more mother-like than father-like in my mind). Again, I'm sorry it was so late. Next up is the wedding, which, unfortunately, may take even longer to write. Plus, I have a job now, so updates may be even more sporadic than they already are (I AM SO SO SORRY). But I love writing this story so I will continue it, just be patient. Also, the ideas for two more Merlin stories are bouncing around in my head begging to be written. One is and AU modern reincarnation fem!Arthur fic, which I'll admit, is a bit strange but I just have such a good idea! The other is ironically something I will probably never read, and AU fem!Merlin, it will be VERY AU, hardly following the series at all, except perhaps for the introduction of certain characters, and some of my more favorite episodes. Usually I hate Fem!character fics, but these two are demanding to be written (it seems as if I must do one for most of my major fandoms, according to my strange plot-bunny fueled mind). Don't forget to review, please! More reviews=more motivation to write!