Chapter Ten: In which Merlin goes swimming and makes some new friends

Saturday was Christmas Eve, and Mum didn't have to work at all. It was her first day completely Arthur-free. Merlin was thrilled. Mum didn't work a lot of hours in a day, but she had to work everyday and was on call even when not officially on duty. Having a whole day with his mum, no turnipheads in sight, was a lovely Christmas present.

The two of them listened to Christmas carols and played card games. They ate fudge and popcorn and Christmas cookies. They watched a bit of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the telly. After a lunch of thick vegetable soup and garlic bread, they went to the palace pool to go swimming. Mum had gotten special permission to use the pool, and Merlin was ecstatic. He'd never had much opportunity to go swimming. Occasionally Mum had taken her charges to a pool and Merlin would tag along, but that had been rare.

The swimming pool was in what was essentially a large greenhouse on the roof of the palace. When they walked in, they were hit with a wave of warm, steamy air. The walls and roof were almost entirely made of glass. The pool was a crystalline blue, surrounded by a deck covered with glass tiles arranged in complex patterns. The deck was large and had chaise lounge chairs and tables scattered about. Around the deck was a mini arboretum, with colorful flowers, berry-laden bushes, and all sorts of exotic trees (Merlin only recognized a few, like the ones bearing oranges and lemons). It gave the illusion that the pool was in a forest clearing, though no normal Albion forest could ever have such a strange assortment of plant life.

Many of the trees had been strung with fairy lights, and some were sporting large, brightly-colored Christmas ornaments. Outside the windowed walls, the day was grey and drizzly; inside it was sparkling, brilliant, magical.

Merlin fell instantly in love. He hadn't realized until now how little time he'd spent outdoors since his move to the palace. When he did go out, it was only to walk along dreary city streets whose sparse plant life had died with the approach of winter. The air here smelled of life, of happy little growing things living in peace and beauty. There was a hint of chlorine, too, but that was mostly masked by the scent of pine and rose and . . . a whole lot of things that Merlin couldn't recognize. He wondered if he could get permission to come and help the gardeners sometime; then he could learn more about all that was here.

His mum smiled at him, eyes beaming with joy. "Gorgeous, isn't it? I can almost imagine a tiny forest dryad peeking out at us from behind those ferns over there."

Merlin threw his arms around her. "It's lovely, Mum. Thanks for bringing me here." He planted a kiss on her cheek. She chuckled at him, and then said, "Get on with you, then. We can't stay for too long; other people will be coming for a swim in a little while, and they'll need their privacy."

Merlin grinned, then ran over to the pool and jumped in feet first. Well, he tried to go feet first. At the last moment he slipped on some wet tiles near the edge, and flopped into the pool on his belly. It stung, but he was glad no one was there to see but his mum, who was digging in her bag for a book, paying him no attention. It'd be hard to endure the ribbing Arthur would have dispensed had he seen.

Merlin was shocked by how warm the water was; almost all his experience swimming had been in outdoor pools heated only by the sun, which essentially meant they weren't heated at all. It was delightful. He paddled around a bit, before deciding to experiment on the diving board. He wasn't a strong swimmer, knowing no formal strokes, but he could doggy paddle well enough to get out of the deep end after jumping in.

Merlin experimented with different ways of jumping off the diving board. He went frontwards and backwards and sideways. He tried spinning jumps, cannon balls, and belly flops. He attempted somersaulting in the air, but splatted flat on his back (ouch!) or crashed into his face, which thrust water painfully far up his nose.

He was so enthralled in figuring out how to complete an entire flip without hurting himself that he didn't notice that there were other people in the pool house until he climbed up the ladder and saw his mum curtsying and bobbing her head. He was surprised to see a couple of teen-aged girls in brightly-colored bikinis standing by his mum.

"I'm so sorry, your Highness," he heard his mum say, more nervous than her wont. "I was so engrossed in my book, I didn't realize what time it was. We'll leave right away."

Merlin, wondering what was going on, climbed out of the pool, grabbed the towel he had left nearby, and headed over slowly. The closer he got to the girls, the more uncomfortable he felt: they were both several years older than he was and gorgeous. As for Merlin, he was a scrawny, awkward, dripping wet ugly duckling. He pulled the towel tighter around himself.

"No need to worry, Miss Hunith," said a tall, pale girl with a long dark braid—Princess Morgana, Merlin realized. "We don't mind if you stay the rest of the afternoon, do we, Gwen?"

The other girl—Gwen— giggled a bit, which shook her long black curls, then said, "Of course not! It's not like we were going skinny-dipping or anything. Not that we would go skinny-dipping, of course. . . . I just meant we wouldn't be doing anything untoward today. . . . Not that we ever—!"

"What Gwen means," Morgana said, "is that we would love to have company."

Merlin's mum wasn't convinced. "But Merlin there is making quite a racket with all that jumping and splashing and whatnot. You can't possibly—"

But Morgana was not dissuaded. "I, for one, think it looks like fun. And I would love the chance to get to know Merlin a bit better."

"You would?" Merlin squeaked. He had finally arrived, clutching his towel tightly around him.

Morgana beamed at him. "Of course I would. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get under Arthur's skin the way that you do. I need you to give me lessons!"

He felt some of the tension drain away from his body. Gwen giggled with Morgana, and even his Mum smiled. Merlin felt his face breaking into a grin. The boys at his school would wig out if they knew he was going swimming with the princess who was gorgeous and wearing a bikini and had brought her cute friend with her. . . . Not that Merlin would ever tell them. He was still trying to maintain the illusion that he was just a normal kid, at least at school.

Morgana eyed him critically. He could feel himself blushing to the tips of his unfortunate ears. She continued, "I didn't have much of an opportunity to talk to you at the party, what with all the distractions. Now that I'm paying attention, I would have to say that you're taller in person. And I would never have guessed about those ears. Interesting. . . ."

Merlin frowned, confused. "—Taller in person? Why would you guess anything about my ears?"

Morgana ignored him. "Forgive me for not introducing you to my friend. Merlin, Miss Hunith, this is my best friend, Gwen. She's the daughter of the head of the Camelot Palace maintenance department. She's lived here at the palace since before I arrived when I was nine.

"Gwen, this is Miss Hunith, Arthur's new governess, and her son Merlin."

Gwen giggled again (must be a girl thing, Merlin thought) and said, "Pleased to meet you both. I remember you from the party, Merlin. I thought you were so brave, standing up to Arthur like that."

Mum's sharp voice cut into Merlin's happy daze. "What did Merlin do at the party?"

Well, crap. This was going to be the end of his lovely afternoon, since Mum was going to drag him back to his room by his ears. (And damn those ears for being so large and grabbable!)

But Gwen continued, "Oh, no, Miss Hunith. Merlin was fine. Arthur was just being a bully as usual. Trying to show off to his friends, no doubt."

Morgana chimed in, "Oh, absolutely, Miss Hunith. Arthur was being an arse and Merlin didn't put up with it. All the girls thought he was a real hero."

Merlin felt his face burning with a strange mix of pleasure and shame. Mum didn't look convinced, but said, "Yes, of course, your Highness." Then she shot Merlin a look that said that they would be having words later. Later was good. He could deal with later. Just as long as this brilliant afternoon didn't have to end yet.

"Race you to the pool!" Morgana shouted, and they were off, Merlin dropping his towel as they ran. This time, though, he was careful not to slip as he threw himself into the water. He didn't think either Morgana or Gwen would be the type to mock him relentlessly (unlike certain prats he knew), but it would be safer to limit the teasing fodder as much as possible, just in case.

Once in the pool, Morgana and Gwen spent a lot of time splashing each other and shrieking about it. Merlin didn't feel comfortable enough to roughhouse with them, so soon went back to jumping off the diving board. He was surprised when Gwen came to the board and nailed a one-and-a-half somersault, entering the water with barely a splash.

"That was amazing!" Merlin called to her, once her head reappeared above water.

"You think so?" Gwen called back. "It's not that amazing really. . . . I mean, I'm sure anyone could do it—okay, maybe not anyone, I mean, you're doing a great job trying! I'm sure you'll get it soon!"

By the time Gwen had made it back to the diving board, Merlin was laughing and wasn't sure he could stop. "You're so sweet, Gwen! It's okay. I know I'm pants at diving and swimming. I haven't had a lot of practice."

Gwen had blushed a brilliant rose color. "I could teach you. . . ? Not that I'm a great teacher or anything, but it might be better than nothing . . . not that what you're doing is nothing, of course—"

"That'd be wonderful, Gwen! I'm sure you're a wonderful teacher." She beamed at him, and then started the job of giving pointers right away.

Now that Gwen was also using the diving board, Merlin would occasionally have to wait his turn. Mostly he watched Gwen, trying to learn how she managed to make somersaults look so easy. But he also spent time admiring the "forest". Once when he was admiring the view, he noticed movement underneath a tree. There was definitely a person hiding over there. His heart started pounding.

When Gwen rejoined him, he whispered urgently to her, "Gwen! There's someone behind that tree over there!"

Gwen looked over in the direction he had glanced, and then giggled (again!). "Oh, don't worry, Merlin. It's just Morgana's guards. They follow her everywhere. She hates it, so they try to remain as unobtrusive as possible. They've gotten so good at it that I usually forget they're even there."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, surprised at how much the tense atmosphere in the palace had been getting to him. Then he spun back to the board, ready to practice front dives. Gwen would teach him to do backwards dives once he mastered the standard kind.

Morgana had gone to lounge in a chair, checking her phone. Mum was reading her book and sipping fruit tea from a bottle. Merlin and Gwen kept laughing and jumping, flipping and splatting (well, Merlin splatted; Gwen always entered the water with the elegance of a ballerina). It was the happiest Merlin had felt in a long time. His magic was strangely content, too. For once it wasn't trying to burst out of him. He knew he could probably encourage it to help him master diving, to show off for Gwen. But there was something grounding about concentrating on his physical movements, analyzing where he had gone wrong (more water up the nose, dang it!), and working to improve. He decided to tell his mum how peaceful he felt: maybe he could come back regularly and it could help keep his magic in line?

Perhaps three-quarters of an hour passed in this pleasant way. Morgana had, at some point, cranked up some music through a hidden speaker system. Merlin had just done his best attempt at a somersault yet: he'd gotten all the way around before crashing into the pool, still wrapped up like a ball. It wasn't perfect, but hey, progress! He was under the water when he heard a strange popping sound. He thought that maybe it was water in his ears. But then there were splashes around him, and suddenly Gwen and Morgana were both in the pool with him. He broke to the surface in time to see a couple of security guards running across the pool deck with his mum. And then his mum was jumping into the pool too, even though she was still wearing a sun dress.

Merlin spluttered "What—!" but Morgana shushed him.

"Quiet!" she hissed. "Get over here to this corner with me! Keep your head down!" The four of them—Merlin, Morgana, Gwen, and Mum—cowered in the corner of the pool, bodies completely underwater and heads below the edge of the pool deck, as sheltered as possible from anything coming from the direction the guards had been running towards. Other security personnel pulled out their guns and stood at various positions around the pool house. Merlin could tell there were others running around outside the glass walls, on the roof of the palace. After a moment, everything went still. Even the music had gone silent.

There was a sudden flurry of steps, more popping, a bone-shaking explosion, and then the air directly over their heads burst into a pulsing green sheet of light. Merlin jerked his head up, shocked at the blatant use of magic, then looked around wildly, trying to locate the source. He didn't think he had done it, but then again, magical things sometimes just happened without his knowledge or consent.

He needn't have worried. As soon as he glanced at Morgana, he saw her eyes glowing golden, pulsing in time with the green shield. Merlin had never seen anyone else perform magic before. He gasped at the beauty of it.

They stayed there, under the protection of the green light, for perhaps a quarter-hour more. Merlin had so many questions, but didn't want to distract Morgana from her task. He also wanted to be ready in case she tired before the danger has passed. Since they were in the deep end of the pool, they clung to the edge as best they could. They didn't want to grab on top of the pool deck with their hands to hold themselves up, worried that they would be exposed. Instead they treaded water, occasionally ducking under, and tried to cling to the wall of the pool. Merlin's mum had been wearing clunky sandals, which he managed to unstrap for her. Her long flowy sundress made it hard for her to stay above water. He worked to help her as best he could. It would have been easy with magic, but despite Morgana's revelation, he wasn't comfortable with giving away his own abilities. But he was ready, should they be needed.

Eventually some of the palace guards came over to them, yelling, "It's all clear, your Highness!" Only then did Morgana drop the shield, and they began to climb out of the pool. Merlin made sure to help his mum first, whose wet dress was clinging round her legs and making it hard for her to move them. He then dove down to the bottom, where Mum's sandals had fallen. He wasn't sure if they'd been ruined by the water, but figured she'd want them back anyway.

As he tossed the shoes onto the deck, he realized he was shaking. There was a strange tingling from his arms that stretched across his back. His breaths were shallow, and he realized he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He grabbed into the side of the pool and took a couple deep breaths before hauling himself out of the water.

As soon as he did, he was hit with an icy wind. Then the shivers attacked with a vengeance. He wrapped his arms round his torso and stood frozen, trying to take in the scene. An entire wall had shattered, and shards of glass were scattered everywhere he looked. Some were as large as his hand, some smaller like marbles, but much of it had blown inwards in drifts of powdered glass. It looked like snow had fallen over many of the plants, sparkling amongst all the fairy lights, which were, surprisingly, still lit. It would have been beautiful if he could stop thinking about how deadly those shards could have been.

Around the area he could see some of the princess's security guards with rivulets of blood streaking down their faces. Apparently not everyone had been protected from the explosion. One guard had her hands pressed over her eyes, blood seeping out from underneath, and Merlin wondered if there were bits of glass slicing through her eyeballs. The idea was nauseating. He closed his eyes and bent over at the waist, trying to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged. As he did, he felt the warm tingling of magic, flowing down his legs and away. He felt colder than he had before. But when he looked up again, the security guard had lowered her bloodied hands and was staring dazedly at the scene around her, eyes intact.

None of their group had moved after climbing out of the pool, being barefoot and surrounded by broken glass. They stood there completely soaked as the winter wind curled around them, looking to pull away any remaining body heat.

The room flooded with guards and other personnel (who were—surprise!—all conveniently wearing shoes). One of them came scurrying from a side room, bringing a stack of fluffy-looking towels. Merlin wrapped his around himself as tightly as possible, but the shivering didn't abate. His teeth were chattering together so fiercely he worried one might chip.

It took longer for someone to bring them footwear. Their shoes were covered with shattered glass just waiting for the opportunity to cut into tender flesh. Someone finally arrived with an armful of flip flops, which was as close to a one-size-fits-all kind of shoe that they were likely to find, and dumped them in a pile. They all grabbed at the shoes. Merlin tried, but couldn't get the second one on to his foot.

He was frozen and wet, shaken, tired, and confused; he needed shoes so he could walk away to somewhere warm, and the stupid flip flop wouldn't go on his foot right. Something in him snapped. He screamed at that shoe, slammed it against the pool deck three times, and then chucked it across the room as far as he could throw it. Tears prickled in his eyes, and he pressed his towel to them so no one would notice.

And then his mum was hugging him, whispering encouragements to him, kissing his hair as his face was hidden away. She asked gently about the flying flip flop and quickly realized he'd been trying to put on two left shoes. This struck him as hilarious, and suddenly he was laughing . . . and laughing and laughing . . . laughing hysterically . . . and not stopping. Tears were streaming down his face as he laughed on and on. He was vaguely aware of his mum getting a second shoe on him, then they were walking out to the warm hall, Merlin giggling like a lunatic the whole way.

The guards wanted them to go with them to the guard house to give statements and discuss "the mishap in the pool house", as they referred to it. But Mum refused, saying they would go nowhere till they were warm and properly clothed. Several of the guards looked ready to force compliance, but then Leon was there, ensuring that they had someone to accompany them back to their rooms. The escort would wait for them to dress properly before going to debrief.

Arthur was nowhere around when they made it back home. Merlin was grateful; he really didn't need any more added complications. Mum took Merlin straight to the bath and turned it on hot. He jumped in, swimming trunks and all. Mum disappeared for awhile, saying she was very sorry, but she really needed to go talk to the security guards, and would he be okay on his own for awhile? He nodded, still shaking, all of the hairs on his arms and legs standing on end at the shock of the heat against his frigid skin.

As he sat there, his brain unable to process much of anything, his magic kept leaching out into the water, acting in unpredictable ways. The water would heat up till it was painful on his skin and then rapidly turn lukewarm. It would bubble or swirl, send up great clouds of steam, and then go still. Merlin supposed it had something to do with his emotions, but was too tired to worry about it.

Eventually he was mostly warm again. He hauled himself out of the tub, left his swimming trunks in a puddle on the floor, wrapped himself in a towel, and went to find some clothes in the bedroom. He expected his mum to be there, but there was no sign of her. The bed looked inviting, with Kilgharrah, the stuffed dragon, peeking out at him from underneath the fleecy blankets. Merlin decided he'd cuddle up there just for a moment before getting dressed. He was asleep as soon as his head settled on the pillow.