Mistaken Purposes (pt 1)
A/N: sorry for the wait! The good news is that this chapter is part one of three so you won't have to wait at all to get the chapters 7 and 8. Also, this is the last tavern escapade I have planned out so if there's any more hijinks that you want to hear about let me know before I post chapter 8. After that, if I receive no objections, Arthur's perception of Merlin as a Tavern-junkie to rival Gwaine will be shattered and things will get a bit more serious (not too serious though!).
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Arthur has to admit he should have seen this coming. Not that Merlin isn't a great servant- ok he's a horrible servant, but damn it, he's Arthur's friend and there's no one else he rather have at his side. So, ok maybe Merlin isn't the best servant, but he's not a knight, Arthur can't see him taking over as Court Physician and he can just imagine what kind of conniptions he'd give his council if he told them to make room for the overconfident idiot. He'd probably have to replace the lot of them five minutes after the announcement was made as they all fell over from heart failure or some such thing.
Yes replacing his father's council with fresher blood while not offending anybody was proving to be a long, arduous process and it would probably be years before he was rid of their influence and mindless preaching. In the mean time he really should have known that something was going to go wrong and seeing as King Pellinore was a jolly old fellow more acquainted with the pint and a story than with political intrigue – or any kind of political sensibility honestly – Arthur should have been expecting Merlin to provide the trouble.
But still, can he not depend on Merlin to be there for once? Whenever Arthur is riding off on some likely-to-die-a-horrible-death quest and would rather his friend not come the man is right there and riding out with him. So why, if Merlin is determined to dog his every step, why can't he be there during politically important meetings with foreign kings. Nevermind that Pellinore hadn't noticed the difference nor would he have likely cared if he had noticed. It's the principle of the thing!
Now – after an incredibly long feast with long speeches that were longer and more sleep inducing than they had any right to be – Arthur blames Merlin for this – the King is finally free to track down his manservant and give him what's coming to him. He's pondering the relative values of the dungeons verses the stocks and has just decided on lending Merlin to one of the visiting dignitaries' when he finally arrives at his destination: The Rising Sun Inn and Tavern.