Happy Thursday everyone! Apparently, people DO read my Author's Notes because I got lots of lovely comments yesterday (Unfortunately, I don't have any cookies, virtual or otherwise, to give the reviewers, so you'll just have to settle for my immense gratitude instead.). Now I TOLD myself that, after doing a two-parter and a four-parter, my last drabble was just going to be a stand-alone, but this sequel just BEGGED to be written! So here it is: The sequel to Arthur Walks into a Bar... (Requested by Lost Hope and inspired by a conversation with writing-at-random)
Description: Merlin tries to convince Arthur that he really WAS at the tavern... (Yeah, good luck with THAT!)
Disclaimer: It's getting kind of depressing to write these over and over, but: I don't own Merlin!
Talk Your Way Out of This One…
It was late when Merlin returned to Gaius's chambers, and so he was surprised to find his mentor pacing the room, muttering to himself and looking anxious.
"Merlin!" Gaius cried as soon as he saw the boy standing in the doorway. "Wherever have you been?"
Merlin sighed. "Oh, Kilgharrah decided we needed to have another chat. Nothing too serious– It was pretty much the same old Destiny spiel…" The young Dragonlord leaned forward with a grin. "To be honest, I think he was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to."
Gaius frowned and shook his head.
"Well, I'm afraid you're in a bit of trouble now. While you were gone, Arthur came looking for you…"
"And what did you tell him?" Merlin asked, although, from the look on his face, he already had a pretty good idea.
The physician cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well, you see, I may have… given him the impression that you were at the tavern…"
"The tavern? Gaius, do you have any idea what he's going to do to me?"
"It's worse than that, I'm afraid," Gaius replied solemnly. "After I told him, Arthur decided to actually go to the tavern."
"What?" Merlin yelped. "But… But he never checks the tavern!"
"Well, he has today, and I fear the consequences will be grave indeed. If Arthur sees that you are not there, he may begin to question what else you've been hiding from him…"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Later that night, Arthur stormed down the hall leading to his chambers, after having spent the last three hours searching every alehouse in Camelot for his incompetent manservant.
No one from any of them– whether owner or patron– had ever seen or heard anything about a young man named Merlin!
There was only one conclusion– Merlin did not frequently go to the tavern. In fact, by all accounts, the servant had never so much as stepped through the door of one.
These thoughts plagued Arthur as he shoved his door open and strode angrily into his room. He was stopped short, however, by a very unexpected sight.
His table was laden with enough food for several people, and there was even a small cask of wine to wash it all down. Most surprising of all, though, was the fact that Merlin stood right beside his chair, grinning as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Merlin!" the prince exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Merlin adopted a confused look. "What do you mean, Sire? I've brought you your supper…"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "What I mean is, where have you been? You were supposed to bring me my food hours ago!"
"Didn't Gaius tell you?" Merlin asked innocently. "I was at the tavern. I guess I must have lost track of the time…"
"Merlin, I was just at the tavern!"
"Well… I suppose we must have just missed each other, then."
Arthur resisted the urge to wring the other man's neck. Then he had an idea.
"So…" he said casually, as he sat down before the table and began to fill his plate. "You've been at the tavern."
"Yes, Sire," Merlin confirmed.
"All day."
Merlin nodded.
"And, presumably, you've been drinking this whole time, correct?"
Again Merlin nodded, though more warily this time, unsure where the prince was going with this.
Arthur smirked. "Alright, I have one more question for you, then… Why aren't you drunk?"
A look of panic flashed across Merlin's face, but he quickly hid it behind a huge smile and a slightly unfocused gaze.
"I'm afraid I don't [hic!] know what you mean, Shhire…" he slurred.
So, in the actual conversation, writing-at-random and I were talking about whether or not Merlin fakes having a hangover whenever Arthur thinks he's been at the tavern (I would so totally DIE if that happened in the show!). Now, this story doesn't actually go that far, but I could try and write a third-part if people are interested...
Lost Hope: Thanks for the comment! I hope you like this sequel, too! Oh, and about the "Complete" thing: When I first started this drabble series, it wasn't actually going to BE a series. The first story was just going to be by itself! But then I wrote the second, and it just kind of went from there, and I haven't gotten around to changing it to "In-Progress" yet! :) So yeah. There will be more!
Thank you again everyone who reviewed (And to those of you who just read it!). All the comments made me VERY, VERY happy, and I hope you all continue to enjoy and respond!
Till tomorrow!