AN: I don't own Merlin. I am definitely grateful that the writers managed to make such a great and popular series, which I just fell in love with! I only own William! Warning: English is not my mother tongue, so it is entirely possible there are spelling or grammar mistakes in my story. Do not hesitate to point them out to me.

Summary: William goes on a picnic with Lynn

AN: I'm going to put this on top, because I'm pretty sure I owe all of you an apology. I am SO sorry for not updating for so long. I kind of got stuck with the writing of the picnic, which meant I couldn't update when I said I probably would. And then I left on holiday, which meant no computer or internet access (I force myself to stay away from anything to do with computers on holiday). I probably should have informed you of my holiday, but I just kind of forgot. Anyway, no worries, I have NOT abandoned this story. Definitely not! Although I would understand if a lot of you abandoned me. I can't even blame you. It's all on me. And I'm very ashamed of myself.

Now, on with the story! Enjoy.

Gwen was changing the sheets on the bed she shared with Arthur when she saw William enter the room from the corner of her eye. She turned to face him.

"Mummy?"

"Yes, love?"

Her son fidgeted a little before speaking. "I want Lynn to be my girlfriend."

Gwen wasn't really surprised. She had been there a few days ago when he was talking to Arthur. It looked like William wanted to say more, but he couldn't get it out. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. Guessing what he wanted to ask, she spoke. "Do you need some help with that?"

William nodded gratefully. While he was more open about his emotions, William was still his father's son, and both of them didn't like asking for help. Now that he knew his mother was offering to help, he started explaining. "Daddy said he took you on a picnic. I want to do that with Lynn today, but daddy said I couldn't go alone with Lynn. Will you come with me?"

The Queen smiled. "Of course I will. Although I thought you'd rather ask your father."

William shook his head forcefully. "Oh, no. He said you yelled at him before you kissed, and I don't want Lynn to yell at me. And then I asked daddy what flowers to give to her, and daddy said he didn't know. Do you know, mummy?"

"Well, do you know what her favorite flower is? And her favorite color?"

William thought on that for a minute. "I think she likes daisies. There's always a vase of daisies in her room, yellow ones. But her favorite color's pink."

"Hmm, well then, why don't you and I go down to the market and look for some daisies, preferably pink ones. And in the meantime, we'll ask the kitchen to prepare a picnic and send an invitation to Lynn."

William beamed up at her. "Thank you, mummy!"

"Oh, don't thank me yet, sweetheart. I want you to write the invitation yourself."

The prince frowned and stuck out his bottom lip. "But mummy…"

"She has to see you are the one inviting her, William. And Gaius told me your writing is improving."

"But I don't know how to spell all of the words! And then I'll write them wrong and then Lynn will think I'm stupid."

"Oh, honey, she won't think you're stupid. She'll think you're sweet. And if you want, I'll write it down first, so you can copy it. Just tell me what to write."

William considered it and sighed after a moment. "Okay, I guess."

Gwen took a piece of paper and a quill. Together with her son, she managed to come up with an appropriate, if somewhat awkward, invitation.

It read:

Dear Lynn,

I'd very much like to take you on a picnic in the palace gardens. Will you please come? We'll have a great afternoon. I promise there will be sweets. We can meet on the courtyard at noon.

Sincerely,
William

P.S. Mary and Dan, mummy is coming with us, so don't worry. Can Lynn please come?

After William had copied the invitation in his own handwriting, they went in search of Arthur, who had the royal seal with him. They could have sent it without a seal, but this way, Lynn and her family would be sure it came from the royal family and not from some other man who preyed on young girls. When they found him, Arthur read the letter over and smiled.

"Sweets, huh? I'm getting jealous." He sealed the letter and called for one of the servants so bring it over to Lynn's house. "You're going into town now, aren't you? Be careful, both of you. And William, have a good time this afternoon. I'm sure Lynn will like this. I'll see you tonight." He kissed his son's head and embraced his wife quickly.

"Arthur, will you…" Gwen was interrupted by her husband.

"Of course, Guinevere. Don't worry, I'll take care of Lyra."

She kissed his lips briefly, making William grimace, before stepping out of her husband's arms. "Come on, then, William, we still have to go to the kitchen before we can search for the flowers."

AxG

By the time it was noon, William and Gwen had accomplished everything they needed to do. Gwen had gone to the kitchens to fetch the picnic basket while William was standing in front of the stairs on the courtyard, waiting for Lynn. She had given her reply to the servant, saying that she would love to. When she walked through the gate, William smiled widely. She was wearing her yellow dress, which he knew was one of her nice dresses, but not so nice that they would have to be extremely careful not to ruin it. He stepped closer to her.

"Hi."

Lynn blushed a little. "Hi, William."

The prince bit his lip before blurting out "You look nice."

He was rewarded with a large, warm smile from his friend. The blush on her cheeks became a little more pronounced.

"Come on, let's go to the garden already. Mummy will come after us." He took her hand and tugged her inside the castle and through the halls. Once arrived in the garden, they went to sit down on the picnic blanket that had been positioned under a tree by a servant. They started talking. Gwen arrived ten minutes later with the picnic basket. She waved William over when she was about ten meters away.

"Didn't you forget anything, sweetheart?"

William frowned and thought about it. "No, I don't think so."

"The flower?"

His eyes widened and he bit his lip. "Oh! Now it's ruined. I left it in my room." He pouted.

Gwen laughed softly and pulled it from the basket in a way that Lynn wouldn't see it. "You did, but I saw it earlier and I went to get it for you. Here." She handed it over.

"Thank you, mummy! You're the best!"

"Thank you, love. Now, off you go, offer it to Lynn."

Gwen decided to stay behind for a few more minutes. William ran off with the flower behind his back. Once he was standing in front of the girl, he bit his lip again. His cheeks got a bit more color.

"Lynn? I have something for you." Quickly, he pulled the daisy from behind his back and offered it to her. Lynn started blushing too, but her eyes started sparkling when she took the flower from him.

"A daisy! And a pink one too! They're my favorite. I love it, William. Thank you!"

"You're welcome." William plopped down on the blanket again, a little closer to Lynn than he was before. He was pleased she liked his little gift. A few moments later they were joined by Gwen, who started setting up the many sorts of food the kitchens had prepared for them. When everything was set up, they started eating.

After their lunch, Gwen stayed on the blanket, while William and Lynn ran around in the garden, staying close to her. They were playing hide-and-seek. When they got tired of that, William gathered his courage and stepped in front of the girl, not realizing they were in full view of the Queen.

"Lynn? I… I like you. A lot. And, uhm, will you be my girlfriend?" By the time he was finished with his sentence, his cheeks were almost as red as the tomatoes that had been included for the picnic.

Lynn's eyes widened and her face almost matched his. But then she nodded. William almost whooped.

"Can I kiss you then?" he asked. Lynn bit her lip before nodding again. William slowly stepped closer to her and gave her a very short peck on the lips. They both blushed some more, even though it seemed impossible. Gwen had seen everything and had to refrain from cooing. She eagerly kept watching, but the only thing that happened was the prince taking Lynn's hand and the two of them starting to wander some more around the gardens.

At around four o'clock, they returned to the castle. When the two children had to say goodbye before the girl was accompanied back to her house by one of the guards, Gwen was hoping to see them kiss sweetly once again. Her wish was only halfway fulfilled, when William kissed her on the cheek instead, before waving and watching until Lynn had disappeared out of the castle gates. Then he turned to his mother with a hopeful look on his young face.

"Can we do that again?"

AN: Thank you SO much for reading!