A/N: Oh my goodness, I can't even thank you guys enough for all the positive feedback this story has gotten! You guys are truly amazing! Here's the next chapter, enjoy!
"If anything," Arthur had said, "I believe it's responsible for both."
"I must say," Balinor had responded, "I quite agree."
Merlin paused in the midst of tidying up the young king's bed, and risked a brief glance at the table where Arthur and the visiting prince were talking, discussing the castle break-in that had happened the night before.
The manservant resumed his work, barely focusing on what his hands were doing, his thoughts in a whirlwind. This was a topic that had weighed on his mind since said events took place. He knew, for a fact, that magic had indeed played a factor in at least part of last night's events- He had been the one to cast a spell and detain the intruders –but for as how the mercenaries had gotten so far into the castle, the raven-haired servant had no idea. Perhaps the two other men in the room would come to a sensible and logical conclusion. After all, neither were new to castle invasions (if four men counted as an invasion), or how they worked.
A single corner of Merlin's mouth twitched into a smile. One of the perks to being the personal manservant of the king; he always got to listen in on important conversations.
"I assume all four bodies have been moved to the dungeon?" Balinor asked Arthur.
The blonde nodded. "They were even so lucky as to each get their own cell." With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he added, "no need to give them the chance to come up with a story to stick to."
Balinor straightened his back. "A wise thing to do," he said.
Arthur took one last look at the maps before him. Letting out a deep breath, he looked at the older royal. "Perhaps you'd like to take breakfast with me? That way, we can form an outline about what the treaty should cover, so the meeting session today won't be filled with councilmen arguing over the basics of it all."
Balinor studied the young man in front of him. He knew, that Arthur had the makings of a fine king. He could also tell that the blonde needed a break from the current topic at hand. "I would, indeed," the prince answered, "My reputation and brother may say different, but I do not enjoy long meetings with elderly men yelling at each other."
The young king smiled, and this time, it reached his brilliant blue eyes. "Alright then. Merlin!" he called, drawing the attention of his servant. Merlin looked up. "Go down to the kitchens and fetch breakfast for Prince Balinor."
Merlin nodded. He quickly set the pillow in his hand on the bed, and started walking towards the door. As the manservant did so, the king began rolling up the several maps scattered on the table, and setting them off to the side. As Merlin passed Balinor, the foreign prince turned his head to look at him. The two briefly made eye contact, the older man giving the younger a warm smile. Merlin returned the smile, and proceeded to the door.
Whistling a merry tune, Merlin made his way back to the kitchens via the same way he had come earlier. Luckily, he didn't run into any visiting princesses this time. As he turned the corner where the incident happened, the manservant mused over the small conversation the collision had resulted in.
"There is something different about you, and I can't quite put my finger on it."
The words she had spoken were so similar to ones Arthur had said to him all those years ago, when Merlin had first come to Camelot.
At least she didn't try to take his head off with a mace.
Or put him in the stocks.
Or throw him in a cell.
What stuck out the most in the young warlock's mind, though, was the way she had looked at him. Back then, Arthur had been very unsure about him, but not in a bad way. If anything, he was slightly impressed by the farm boy that had stood up to him, a boy who wasn't afraid to insult the kingdom's prince. Melaina, on the other hand, had looked equally confused and curious. It was almost as if she did know something, but wasn't sure whether to believe it or not.
The thought didn't faze Merlin. Arthur claimed to know his servant better than anyone else. If he hadn't been able to figure out what made Merlin different from every other person in the eight years the servant had lived in the castle, there was no way a princess who would be leaving in two weeks would.
As he turned the corner to the main corridor, the manservant let out a sigh of relief. Almost all of the traffic had cleared from the hall. It would be much easier to carry a platter full of food now, without all the people to dodge.
"Trust in the king's manservant. There is more to him than you will ever know. He will be your closest ally."
Melaina wanted to scream. Literally nothing else had been going through her mind. The princess was sitting at the vanity in her room, staring into the mirror. In her hand, she held a brush.
After she had decided to present her current dilemma to her uncle, she had intended to go and seek him out right then and there. But, when she placed a hand on her door latch, she immediately had second thoughts. Yes, Balinor was not his brother, but who's to say he wouldn't take some offence to Camelot hosting possibly the last dragon in existence? No, she wouldn't risk the future of both kingdoms on her personal problems.
...but she could at least talk to him about Merlin.
The raven-haired manservant to Camelot's king was, by far, the most interesting thing in Camelot so far, what with the way he talked about his master to visiting royalty. But that wasn't what held the majority of her fascination.
No, what had her the most intrigued, was the fact that he looked near identical to her uncle, and uncomfortably similar to her father. The only differences between Merlin and her Uncle Balinor that she could spot, was eye color- the younger of the two having beautiful cobalt blue eyes, while the older had warm brown- and age.
Setting her brush down on the vanity, Melaina rose from her seat, walked to the door, and stepped into the hallway. She was feeling much less stressed now that she had a plan, of sorts.
"Princess Melaina," a voice called in greeting behind her.
She turned around. Approaching her from not too far away was a knight of Navenna.
"Sir Aldis," she replied, happy that this was the person she crossed paths with. Out of all the knights who had come to Camelot with her and her uncle, Sir Aldis was, by far, her favourite.
The youngest of three brothers, Sir Aldis Bordel was a master with any weapon, because he always wanted to outdo his older siblings (who, in return, worked hard to top his skill). He was also the most optimistic and humorous person she knew, even if he was, at times, easily distracted. Sometimes, it was hard to believe he was nearly the same age as her father and uncle, what with his youthful face and cheerful eyes (and his behavior, from time to time).
"You look determind," said Aldis. "Are you embarking on a quest?" he added, with a good natured smile.
"Of sorts," Melaina answered.
"And why is the princess questing alone? Surely such an important young Lady of the Court has a traveling companion?"
Melaina smiled and rolled her eyes as she turned and continued down the hall. That was one of the things that made Aldis, well, Aldis. He seemed to have the uncanny ability to sense a person's mood, and always felt compelled to help boost one's morale.
The knight fell instep beside her. "So… where are we going, and what dangers will we face?"
"To find my uncle," replied Melaina.
"Well," said Aldis, "If that's the case, then we are headed in the wrong direction."
The princess sent a questioning look at him.
"He's currently in King Arthur's rooms. Been there for a while, infact."
Melaina raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"He went to find out why the warning bells were ringing earlier."
Melaina stopped walking forward, and turned to look at the hallway behind her. Before she could move any father, Aldis reached out and turned her, so that she was facing forward once more.
"Oh, no you don't," he said, "There are many things that one of your status can get away with, but dragging your uncle, the prince, away from our host, the King of Camelot, is not one of them.
Taking one short glance behind her, Melaina let out a small sigh. "I guess you're right," she admitted. The princess felt discouraged that, once again, her uncle was busy.
The two stood in silence for a few seconds before Aldis clapped his hands together.
" I know just what you need!" he exclaimed.
"And what would that be?" asked Melaina, a little startled from the sudden noise.
"A trip to the physician!"
"A trip to the… what?" Melaina was officially confused.
"Come, it will do you a world of good! As it is, I was just headed there myself."
Melaina stared at the knight beside her. There were times when she wondered if his brothers had hit him over the head a time to many. This was one of those times. And what was it with members of the delegation visiting Camelot's physician? First her uncle, now Sir Aldis. Before she knew it she would be visiting the physician just for the heck of it.
"Um… okay," Melaina managed to say.
Aldis smiled at the confused princess before him. "Gaius, the Court Physician, is my mother's eldest brother. It's been a while since I've last seen him, and I'm sure he'd love to meet you," explained the knight.
"Is he really?" asked the princess with a hint of disbelief.
"He is," replied Aldis, "You can ask either one of my brothers, both will tell you the same thing."
Well, thought Melaina, at least one thing makes sense.
If this Gaius was Aldis' uncle, that meant he was also Hunith's uncle. That was most definitely why her Uncle Balinor was there yesterday. It seemed that all of these small pieces of a puzzle were finally starting to form a picture.
"Well in that case, I would love to meet him," she said with a smile.
Merlin was whistling along to the same tune as earlier, caring another silver platter weighed down with food to Arthur's chambers. The young warlock felt a brief sensation of déjà vu as he approached the king's door.
Once again, it was slightly ajar. Using his elbow, the manservant pushed it open. Inside, Prince Balinor was seated at the table, while Arthur stood next to his chair, listening as a red-caped knight orally gave his report to the king.
Must have finished his assigned search section, Merlin thought to himself.
As gracefully as he could, the manservant crossed to the table, which had been cleared save two lengths of parchment and two quills. He then set the platter in front of the prince.
"Thank you, Merlin," said Balinor, his gaze lingering on the young man. Oh, how he wished they could've finished the story…
With a nod, the servant stepped away from the table, and went back to his chores.
"…and make sure to keep me posted," said Arthur, as he finished the conversation with the knight. With a nod of respect and a swish of his cape, the knight exited the room.
"I apologize for the interruption," the young king said as he sat down.
"Oh, don't fret over it. The safety of your kingdom is what matters," said Balinor.
"And now the fun part," said Arthur as he reached for one of the pieces of parchment, "Outlining a treaty."
A/N: So I realize I've been really pushing off the big reveal, but don't worry, there is a method to my madness (hopefully). And yes, it will actually happen!
This was more of a filler chapter, if anything. More action in the next chapter, I promise!
And thank you, thank you, thank you so very much to all of you wonderful people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed! I smile like a complete idiot every time I get an email notification from !
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