Set in Season 4, before the first episode, sometime in the year Arthur is Regent

Audrey Cook was what some might call a large woman. She held iron control over her kitchens and drove respectful fear into the hearts of all she surveyed. The only exception to those who feared her wrath was that cheeky manservant of the prince, Merlin. He swanned in and out of her kitchens, occasionally snagging a roll here or a sausage there as he watched the cooks make the prince's meals. Almost as bad were those knights he seemed so fond of.

Knights! They were no better than little boys, the lot of them. All of them acting like little children, thinking she wouldn't notice when they invaded her kitchens looking for food or a flirt with a nimble kitchen maid. Those jumped-up commoner knights had even corrupted that good boy, Sir Leon. He had never caused her the trouble growing up that the lot of them did now.

Audrey snapped out her hand and whacked the spit boy with her ladle to wake him up. "Wake up, boy, or I'll have you cleaning pots for the next week. If you let that pig burn, I'll have your head on a platter."

He gulped and nodded, starting up the turns he was responsible for. Audrey watched him for half a minute before turning her attention back to the pies she was preparing. There was so much to do that she could neither afford to let her attention slip too far from any one of her workers, nor concentrate too much on any individual. Everyone outside the kitchens seemed to think their food just appeared magically. Hah! If Audrey could have used magic to make the food for the people of the citadel she would have done so, legal or not. It would have been easier than having to keep track of as many workers and tasks as she did.

After the feast was over, Audrey sat, eyes closed, against the wall of the kitchen garden with a couple of her cooks. The three women had small mugs of ale and were just trying to cool down from the constant heat of the many ovens and fires. None were speaking, just enjoying the cool, crisp night when they heard a light step. Audrey looked up to see Gaius approaching. She moved over on the bench to give the smaller man some space.

He smiled gratefully as one of Audrey's assistants handed him another mug filled from the ewer at their feet. "Thank you, Selene." He tipped the drink in her direction and sipped. "The meal was excellent, as usual, ladies. I think Lord Maren was impressed."

"Thank you, Gaius. We try our best." Outside the chaos of the kitchens and with the feast over Audrey was able to relax a bit and let her kinder side show.

The youngest of Audrey's assistants leaned around the other two to look at the Court Physician. "How did they like the honey bread? I tried a new recipe for it."

The three women smiled at the slow, sheepish grin the torchlight revealed creeping across Gaius' face. "I'm afraid I ate more than I should have. I know the Prince did, as well. It was delicious, Mary."

Audrey nodded at the young woman, blushing from more than the dying heat of the kitchens, "Good girl. You had a good idea to change the recipe." Mary smiled happily at the praise of her notoriously hard to please superior. The four let the night sounds and the simple camaraderie wash over them for a few minutes before Audrey turned back to Gaius. "As much as I love it when you tell us we're doing our jobs well, I know you too well to think that and an ale are why you sought us out. What's on your mind, Gaius?"

"There's a family that needs some help. Do you remember the fever that came through a few months ago? Well, one of the cartwrights died in it, leaving three children and a young widow. She's trying her best, but the youngest is only a year old, so she's having some trouble making ends meet. Her oldest is apprenticing to one of the other cartwrights, so he's taken care of, but the other two are still too young to apprentice."

Audrey hmmmed. "How old is the middle one?"

"Six. Another boy."

"Well, we can probably get him a job as a page somewhere, or even find room for another spit boy. It'll take a bit of time, though. Right now I have some produce that's close to turning. I can make sure it ends up in the stocks basket if you can make sure they get there first thing tomorrow morning."

Gaius smiled. "I hoped you would say that, Audrey. I can send Merlin to tell them after he gets back from taking care of the prince."

Audrey snorted and shook her head. "That boy of yours. He's a cheeky little bugger." Her mouth quirked a bit. "But he's actually a good boy. I'll talk to the seneschal and the head maid about finding a job for the cartwright's boy or his widow and let you know soon."

I guess this is where I'll start going back and forth in time. The timing of the story will always be at the top. Hopefully I won't confuse you all too much. I know the relation to the stocks was sort of random here, but I always liked the cook. Also, I know a lot of fics call her Mary, but looking on the Merlin wiki I saw her name listed as Audrey. Mary was the owner of the tavern/inn that Gwaine, Arthur, and Merlin busted up.

And a thank you to everyone following, favoriting, and reviewing this fic. It really just started from the Leon plot bunny that was the first chapter, and was a way to keep writing now that my non-fanfic story is giving me fits, but now I have a real chapter story in the works thanks to this one. It'll be a while before it gets put up, as I want to get most of it written first. I learned that lesson with my story Dudley's Tale. It's an AU that sort of rewrites the ending a bit (a lot). Hopefully, you'll enjoy these stories until I get the other one up. Cheers.