A/N: So, in this chapter we get to meet Neela's lovely adopted family, and there's even a hint of hungover!Merlin; excited yet? :)
Merlin groaned heavily as he rolled onto his side, and he draped his arm over his face to block out the early-morning light that streamed in from a nearby window. His stiff muscles ached as he shifted his weight, and he let out another grunt of displeasure as the slight movement sound sent his head pounding. He'd always mocked Arthur for his disgruntled grumpiness after a night of celebration, but Merlin could now whole-heartedly empathize with the post-ale headaches Arthur always complained about. Perhaps he shouldn't have accepted that challenge proposed by Neela's adopted brother Yoland; in retrospect, agreeing to gulp down an entire pitcher of ale had not been a wise choice.
He let out a heavy sigh as the sounds of the farm house greeting the morning rang in his ears—beds creaking, animals stirring outside, a fire kindling in the kitchen. Neela's family had allowed him into their home after a night of dancing, feasting, and—especially in Merlin's case— drinking, and they had even provided him with their warmest blanket to snuggle into on a padded layer of hay. He wished he could remain wrapped in the fabric's warmth forever, but he figured his hosts might be a little offended if he slept the day away.
Merlin sat up slowly in an attempt to not to worsen his headache, and he blearily took in his surroundings from his position on the on the main room's dirt floor. Although he hated to admit it, Merlin could remember very little of the previous night, other than the fact that he'd had the most fun he could ever remember having. There were bits and pieces—Neela's eyes shining bright in the firelight, her dress flying around her as she spun in circles with her head thrown back to look at the stars, and her hands clasped in his as she'd pulled him into the circle of cheering villagers for a dance held in their honor. But the last memory he had was Neela's eldest and by far largest adopted brother, Earnshaw, hefting Merlin over his shoulder and assuring him that he'd have a place to rest his head.
The house, he realized, was one rather large room, and he supposed Neela's family must've been rather well off in comparison to the rest of the town. The house was divided into sections by the beams that held up the roof as well as a series of cloth curtains draped from various twine strings. He was currently seated in the house's center area, still cocooned in his blanket as he watched Neela's mother bustle around the kitchen a few feet away. The table was only a yard away from Merlin, and he quickly untangled himself and stumbled to his feet as he realized his sloth could easily be taken as rudeness.
They seemed to be the house's only current inhabitants, as one of the curtains had been pushed aside to reveal three empty cots, and Merlin did his best to pat down his hair as he pulled on his shoes and approached Neela's mother. Reena looked up at him with a friendly smile, the skin wrinkling around her kind brown eyes as she hefted an iron pot of water onto the fire.
"Here, let me help," he offered, but she emphatically shook her head as she straightened back up and wiped her hands on her apron.
"Oh no, Merlin, you're our honored guest! Just sit down and make yourself comfortable," she told him with a gesture towards the table surrounded by chairs. He stood motionless for a moment, not sure if he should give into her demands or offer to help again, when he heard someone enter from the back door.
"Here's the freshest milk, Mama," a small voice called from his left, and Merlin turned to see Kimble, Neela's youngest brother, enter with a sloshing bucket of white liquid. Merlin smiled at the boy, and Kimble grinned back with a smile missing three or four teeth as he shook back the mop of dark curls that fell into his eyes.
"Did you sleep well?" Kimble asked him, hurrying over to Merlin's side after he handed the bucket over to his mother, and Merlin's smile widened. Kimble had been his shadow the night before at the feast, and the boy had enthusiastically told Merlin that he wanted to be exactly like him when he grew up. That had greatly warmed his heart, and as Merlin squatted down before the grinning boy all he could think about was how Neela was the real hero. She'd been the one to summon him from Camelot and devise a plan for healing the people of Largon, and yet as the 'physician' he was the one given the most credit for the town's recovery. He'd spent the past few years having his life-saving achievements go unrecognized, but now that he was getting some recognition he realized the admiration was bitter-sweet.
"I slept very well," Merlin told him when he realized he hadn't answered the boy's question, and Kimble gave a little bounce of excitement.
"I made sure Mama gave you our very best blanket," he told him, and Merlin gave his curls an affectionate ruffle.
"That's very kind of you, Kimble; thank you," he said, and Kimble beamed.
"Ah, Earnshaw, I've found the slumbering maiden—it appears she's finally woken from her great sleep," a voice called from behind him, and Merlin straightened to see Yoland enter with an armful of dried meat. His wild curls flopped into his eyes just like his younger brother's, and his lanky arms strained to hold onto the bundle of jerky.
"Slumbering maiden?" Merlin asked with a grin as he came forward to help Yoland carry the load, and the other boy stared at him with a look of mock confusion. His long nose and smattering of freckles made for a quite comical expression, and Merlin couldn't help but giggle.
"Why yes, milady. The rest of us have been up since dawn and where have you been? Drooling all over my favorite quilt in the most unladylike manner," Yoland huffed as they placed the meat on the table in the spot designated by Reena. He stretched his arms above his head with a dramatic yawn, and Merlin laughed as Kimble and Reena both rolled their eyes.
"Don't worry, Yoland," Merlin heard Neela call from the doorway. "Next time you save the entire town from a terrible sickness, we'll be sure not to let you sleep in." They all laughed at that, including Yoland, as Neela entered the room with a basket of large red tomatoes at her hip and a grin on her lips.
Earnshaw followed her into the house with a large sack over his shoulder, and although Merlin knew he should have stepped forward to help, he just continued to watch Neela. Yoland gave a dramatic roll of his eyes in Merlin's direction and muttered something about a lazy-arsed princess before he went to assist his brother.
Neela smiled warmly at Merlin as she placed the vegetables at the far end of the table, and she came over to stand beside him once she'd deposited the load.
"Papa's out getting your horse ready, but I told him you'd be staying for breakfast," she told him, but Neela didn't meet his eyes as she watched her brothers work. Earnshaw, with his broad shoulders and close-cropped hair, held a sack of oats steady for Yoland to scoop them into the cauldron of boiling water. Kimble stirred the oats with a long wooden spoon, and Reena watched her sons with a pleased smile as she supervised the entire operation.
"That, uhm, that sounds good to me," Merlin told her when she still wouldn't look at him, and he wondered if perhaps he'd done something wrong…again.
Neela refused to meet his eyes even after her father, a large mild-tempered man by the name of Jelrik, entered the house and started up a conversation with the two of them about how well Merlin and Neela's horses seemed to get along. Neela continued to avoid his gaze as they helped Kimble set the table for breakfast, and as they ate and Merlin joked around with Yoland. Even when Jelrik gave a little speech about how proud he was of his daughter, Neela's smiling eyes fell on every face but Merlin's.
This continued neglect put Merlin in a rather despondent mood as he got ready for his journey back to Camelot, and he even considered trying to convince Earnshaw to relay his goodbyes to Neela so he wouldn't have to face her himself. She clearly wanted nothing more to do with him, although he honestly hadn't a clue why, and he wanted to avoid the disappointment of her half-hearted farewell at all costs. But despite his best efforts, Merlin couldn't bring himself to leave without seeing her just one more time.
After Jelrik handed him the reigns of his horse, the now saddle fully loaded with supplies, he gave the man's hand a hearty shake and repeated the gesture with Earnshaw. Yoland gave him a back-slapping hug, and Kimble snuggled his face into Merlin's hip and pleaded with him not to go. Merlin gently patted his wild curls, and when he promised that he would one day come back to visit, Kimble beamed at him and released his tight hold on Merlin's waist.
Merlin hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and handed Yoland his reins before heading back into the main house. Reena bundled him into a hug the moment he crossed the threshold, and he gave a gasping laugh when she finally let him go and the all too important oxygen was allowed back into his lungs. It wasn't until Reena took a step back from him that he caught sight of Neela standing across the room with her back leaned against the window sill.
She still wouldn't look at him as he approached, and Merlin let out a huff of frustration as he came to a halt before her.
"Are you just going to let me leave without saying goodbye, then?" he asked with a little more harshness than he'd intended, and he felt his breath catch when her gaze finally met his. Her eyes brimmed with tears and the corners of her mouth tugged downwards, and Merlin felt a wave of guilt crash over him. He still didn't know what he'd done, but whatever it was had made Neela cry and he knew he'd never forgive himself for…whatever it was.
"I'm sorry," she told him softy, and Merlin frowned in surprised confusion. Neela was sorry? Wasn't that what he was supposed to say to her? She hadn't done anything wrong—but then again, neither had he. Merlin decided then and there that there was absolutely no chance of him ever understanding women.
"I'm making this so hard for you when I should just smile and tell you good luck. But I can't," she told him, and the strain in her voice only made him feel more confused.
"Well why can't you?" he asked, and when she stared at him with that familiar 'you're an absolute idiot' face, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. But what else was he supposed to say?
"Come with me," Merlin blurted suddenly, without thinking. But even when her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell slightly agape in disbelief, Merlin knew that that was what he was supposed to say. He didn't want to be without Neela, and although he still wasn't totally sure, he figured it was safe to say Neela didn't really want to be without him either.
"You could live with Gaius and me in our apartment," he told her, and the more Merlin talked about it the better the idea sounded to him. With her skills, Neela could give him the proper education in magic he was going to need if he ever wanted to defeat Morgana. Gaius would be completely fine with her living with them, Merlin was sure. It was a perfect solution, and he could tell by the way Neela's tears were quickly drying that she liked the idea as well.
Neela glanced over his shoulder, and it took Merlin a moment to remember that they weren't alone in the room. Reena had been bustling around the kitchen, keeping herself busy while they'd talked, but it was clear she'd been listening in on their conversation the entire time. When she felt her adopted daughter's gaze on her, Reena looked up at Neela with a smile.
"Your father and I have only ever wanted what's best for you, dear. If you want to go back to Camelot with Merlin and live a life adventure, all I can do is require that you write back to us boring folk here in Largon once a month," she told her with a smile, and Neela laughed as she pulled her mother into a hug.
"I'll write to you once every fortnight," Neela told her mother as she held her close, and Merlin couldn't help but smile as he watched their affectionate embrace. "I'll use up all of Gaius's parchment on rambling letters to you all until he's forced to lock away his stationary with a hidden key," Neela said, and Reena laughed heartily as she held her daughter close.
"You take care of her," Reena told Merlin once she pulled away from Neela, and although her face was still spread into a smile, her voice was stern and serious.
"It's more likely that I'll be taking care of him," Neela quipped before he could answer, and Merlin laughed because she was, of course, correct.
But although Neela was by far more skilled, more knowledgeable, and more beautiful (Merlin didn't really know why that fact was relevant, but it was still true) than him, Merlin would sacrifice his life in a heartbeat if it meant keeping her safe. It wasn't his destiny to protect her, and he no longer felt like he was indebted to her because of the atrocities done to her family. It was so much more than fate or guilt—it ran through his veins, he could feel it in his bones. And although he would probably never admit it aloud, Merlin was pretty sure it was love.
A/N: Next chapter: the journey back to Camelot begins, and those pesky green orbs make another appearance (but not in a dangerous way, don't worry- the sickness is over!).
I'm actually kind of in love with Neela's family, and although I'd only planned on having them in this scene I think I'm definitely going to have to bring them back into the story eventually. They're just too lovable to go be a one-time thing in my opinion! I hope you guys liked them as much as I did :)