A/N: This is set in the Prince of Magic universe. Merlin is 11, Arthur is 13 and Morgana is turning 14.
Merlin and Arthur stood chatting near their father in the banquet hall, waiting for the birthday girl to arrive. Eventually, people began turning to the door and whispering. Arthur looked up, and his jaw dropped. "Whoa."
Merlin craned his neck. "What is it?" He tried to see what was so exciting, but all he saw was Morgana entering in a pretty red dress.
Uther hurried forward to greet his ward. "Morgana, you look absolutely wonderful." He offered her his arm and led her to the royal table.
After the feast, servants moved the tables to the side of the room, and musicians set up to play music for dancing. Uther offered Morgana the first dance, and he was followed by many of the other attending lords. Arthur spent a fair portion of the night dancing with a young lady on whom he had something of a crush.
Merlin kept to the side of the hall, bored by the festivities. Eventually, Morgana joined him, out of breath. "My feet feel ready to fall off," she complained. "I think every lord in Camelot means to dance with me tonight!"
"Maybe you just look…enchanting?" Merlin suggested with a giggle.
Morgana laughed with him. "Yes, and my birthday has to be absolutely magical."
"They must all be under your spell," Merlin continued.
"Obviously. I've bewitched the court," Morgana added, now in stitches.
Arthur's voice sounded behind them. "That's not funny, you two."
Both Merlin and Morgana turned to him. Morgana scowled. "Just because you have no sense of fun, that doesn't mean you have to spoil ours."
"You're talking about magic like it…like it's a good thing!" Arthur objected. "You just don't do that!"
"You don't," Merlin corrected. "We do."
"Father would be furious if he heard you," Arthur warned.
"Yeah, well, he's busy dancing with Lady Margaret," Merlin pointed out. "I'm not an idiot."
"That's debatable," Arthur retorted. "I suppose you'd rather be a sorcerer than a knight."
"Sorcerers can do all sorts of neat things," Merlin replied, completely unashamed. "All knights can do is hurt people."
"We defend the kingdom!" Arthur protested.
"You protect some people by hurting others," Morgana countered. "What use are you against plagues or famines or things like that?"
"Yeah, well, magic is never the answer," Arthur insisted. He stalked away to ask his crush for another dance.
Merlin and Morgana looked back at each other. "If you had magic, what would you do with it?" Morgana asked.
"Give Arthur a sense of fun," Merlin replied. "And maybe a pair of donkey ears, 'cause he's such an ass." He and Morgana collapsed into giggles again as they continued discussing what they would do if they were sorcerers.
