AN: Starting the final arc of this book everyone!
Spring arrived late after a long and cold winter. But when it arrived, it came in full force. The trees exploded in colour. Every flower was in bloom and the hills of Camelot were bright. The weather was warm enough for couples to enjoy long romantic strolls through the forest and the bushes were thick enough for anything else they wanted to do.
Arthur and Gwen were one of the couples to take long rides out in the country as soon as the snow melted. But when the first messages arrived from farther away, Arthur became really excited. Merlin was happy to hand over the message that was from Queen Annis up in Carlisle.
Arthur nearly tore the letter in his excitement to break the seal. As he had hoped, it was an invitation to visit. She wished to renew the treaty between their two lands and meet him in person, now that he was king. Arthur explained to Merlin that she had visited Camelot thirteen years ago; everyone here knew that Arthur had changed quite a lot in the past four years, let alone the last thirteen.
So it was with a grin and an excited bouncing of his leg that Arthur penned back a message accepting the invitation. And although it would be a large party travelling, with gifts of goodwill to pack and food to prepare, Arthur made sure they were ready to set out just after dawn in two day's time.
He left Leon as his regent, advising him to rely on the collective advice of the council and to trust his own judgement. Leon was confident he could handle the day to day running of things for the couple weeks Arthur would be gone.
And so it was a large group that travelled west to Carlisle. Arthur and Merlin were of course going, with Chet also coming along on his first trip beyond Camelot's city walls. Arthur told him he could stay home and take the time to be with his daughter, but he insisted on coming. He said he would need some good stories of adventures to tell her when she grew older. Lancelot, Percival, Tristan, and Drin also came along to be their guards on the trip. They would be the ones to teach the Carlisle knights how to use the Camelot crossbows they were being given as gifts. Merlin was mostly happy that several squires looking for experience would be joining them. It meant that he would not have to do all of the cooking, the packing, the firewood collecting, or any other chores all by himself while the knights lounged about.
The journey was swift; no one got stuck in the mud. The rains of spring had not yet started, and the nights stayed dry enough to sleep outside in the forest rather than trying to hunt for a dry cave.
Merlin even was able to tell the others what he remembered of the city of Carlisle from the one time he had visited.
"When did you go to Carlisle?" Arthur asked as they sat around the small campfire and the squires cleaned up.
"I think it was maybe fifteen years ago." Merlin shrugged. "Mother offered to help bring something to the market to trade one summer, and I begged her to take me with her."
Arthur stared at him for a moment, not blinking. "I forgot you grew up in Carlisle, not Camelot."
Tristan laughed. "You've travelled further than our king, Merlin."
"Only the once. And really Arthur, how did you forget? I'm always telling you I don't have to listen to you."
"And you also tell me how I'm your king the occasional times when you are acting wise. So what am I meant to believe?"
"Both," Merlin replied. Obviously.
Tristan rolled his eyes. "I acknowledge that my father is who he is, but that doesn't mean I always listen to him."
"It's not the same thing," Arthur insisted.
"You clearly don't know my father well enough."
They bickered, and the original conversation was lost. Merlin exchanged looks with the others, and they all moved their bedrolls a little further from the fire and lay down, trying to block out the increasingly convoluted squabbling happening over there.
Thankfully the discussion was put to rest in the morning. Conversation instead turned to general expectations of behaviour since most of the party had never been on a diplomatic mission. When they crossed over the border, two knights sent by Queen Annis escorted them the rest of the way. It was nice to be welcomed so efficiently. To their surprise, one of them knew Percival, and the two were able to catch up on the years since Percival had last passed through the country, making for pleasant conversation rather than stilted small talk.
Riding through the lower town, Merlin realised it wasn't so different from Camelot. It had seemed overwhelming years ago, but now that he was used to city life he was able to notice the order of it. The streets were more grid-like and ordered, but the houses were much the same. A widening road lead them across a grassy strip of land and then across the wide moat into the main castle. It was an imposing building. It held none of the warmth that was in the white stone of Camelot. Instead a darker, rougher stone rose straight into the sky, and the black wolf flag on a blue field snapped in the wind. Rigid square doorways, unadorned with motifs, watched their progress through the stone courtyard. Simple black stone steps lead up to the main entrance, and on those steps waited the queen.
To Merlin's eye, Queen Annis only looked slightly older than Hunith, though the sharp lines on her face were surely caused by stress rather than laughter. Her face was set in a stern frown, a resting expression weathered and worn as the stone of the castle. She wore a simple dress, secured by a thick belt and a long cloak over that. Around her neck was a thick fur mantle, made from two red foxes, their bushy tails hanging down on either side.
Arthur dismounted, and the rest of the travelling party followed suit. Queen Annis stepped down the last few steps and greeted Arthur. "Welcome to Carlisle, Arthur Pendragon," she said as they clasped arms. "I'm pleased you were able to come so soon."
"The honor is all mine, Annis. I have wanted to visit your lands for many years. My father always spoke highly of your cook's lamb roast."
Annis smiled with a quick twitch of her lips. "He did enjoy them. I have already requested that to be on the menu for tonight's feast. Aelfric here can show your men where to stable the horses, and I can show you to your rooms if you follow me."
Arthur turned around to his men. "Merlin, Percival, you're with me. Everyone else can choose."
Merlin was surprised to be singled out of the group and told to follow Arthur. He supposed Arthur figured Merlin would naturally lead the horses to the stable with Chet and the squires. It wasn't an inaccurate assumption. But Merlin swung his one pack off his horse and then handed the reigns to Chet. "Don't give Umbra too many sweets; she will try to get as many as she wants."
Chet laughed, thinking it would be fine. Merlin figured he would learn. His horse was a sneaky one.
Smiling to himself, Merlin fell into step just behind Arthur. The queen lead them up the main staircase and down along the main corridor. Tapestries of battle scenes and victorious hunts lined the walls, seeming to flicker and come to life in the torchlight. Queen Annis said little about them, choosing to instead explain the schedule for the rest of the day. They would have some time to rest and see the town on their own before the feast that evening in the great hall. After that the negotiations would begin.
Up a wide staircase, they were led into a guest corridor. Blue banners proudly hung at each end, reminding visitors whose territory they were in. Queen Annis nodded to the guard at the end. "Your chambers are here, Arthur. The rest of your party can take any of the other rooms in this corridor. There are enough for your knights to sleep alone but the others may need to share."
"We are grateful for any beds you have," Arthur smiled. "Each spring I must get used to sleeping on the ground while camping again and I fear this year it seems to be taking longer."
Queen Annis did not smile at his joke. She merely informed him what time supper would be served and said she would make sure the rest of his men found their way here. She then turned on her heels and left. Percival and Drin walked further down to claim rooms.
Arthur and Merlin walked into the largest room and shut the door behind them, leaning heavily against the door and both letting out a sigh. "Well that went well," Merlin said dryly.
"Which part? Surely not the joke I tried to make?" He shook his head. "I don't know what possessed me. She is known for being no-nonsense about everything. Why did I make a joke?"
"You were nervous." Merlin pushed off from the door and looked around the room. It was a simple layout, but then again not much was needed for a guest. He imagined Annis did not receive many long term visitors so deep in the mountains. The towering range blocked most of the cold winds from reaching Camelot, but here the full force of the winds made even the sunniest day feel chilly. No wonder everyone seemed to have a fur lined cloak. Even the people in the town had made their own of whatever small animals they had hunted.
"I don't get nervous, Merlin," Arthur scoffed. There was a knock on the door and he opened it to Chet with his luggage. "That's what you do."
"I'm not the one who stands in front of the mirror for an hour before going for a ride with Gwen," Merlin retorted as he walked to the door. "But by all means continue lying to yourself. I am going to go claim a room for myself."
Merlin took the room next to Arthur's and closed the door before throwing up a few subtle protection spells, extending them to cover Arthur's rooms as well. While he did so, he changed out of his riding clothes and into a nicer set of clothes. It was still strange that he was able to do that. Changing clothes during the day always seemed like an exorbitant luxury.
But Gwen had been correct; the new clothes felt nicer and kept him warmer. He had considered wearing them while riding, but he knew he didn't want to dirty them by sleeping on the ground. He would rather make a good impression.
Although now he wasn't sure what sort of an impression he was making. Because Queen Annis had requested some entertainment from Arthur's 'fool' and she had indicated Merlin. Arthur naturally hadn't corrected her, he only goaded Merlin on, saying he made a fool of himself all the time, it shouldn't be so hard.
Merlin leaned over. "Do I really have to?" he whispered to Arthur.
"Do you want to say no to someone who is tentatively renewing a treaty with us?" Arthur hissed back through a wide smile.
Merlin glared but pushed back his chair and stood. The challenge was set. Merlin walked up to the front of the room. His eyes quietly flickered gold as he walked, scanning the room for someone with a skill he could use. Ah there, a person who had learned how to juggle. It felt a little intrusive, but Merlin was only reaching into his mind to borrow his knowledge of the skill, not to discover anything else.
The rest he could do with his own magic. He snagged a single egg from a basket held by a servant as he walked past. Then he stood at the front of the room and bowed deeply. "Your majesties." He straightened with his widest, most idiotic grin on his face — the one he used when he was lying to Arthur's face about saving his life and nearly dying because of it.
With a flourish, he held out his hands. Look, look closely. They are empty. He crossed one leg over the other and then twirled once in a circle, a blink of his golden eyes duplicating the one egg into two eggs in his hands. He held them up between his fingers, then held them up to his eyes, sticking out his tongue.
That got some titters from the ladies in the audience. Then with a flick of his wrists they were both soaring high in the air. He followed them up with his head, and then back down, catching them and beginning to juggle the eggs.
Again he crossed his legs and, tossing the eggs extra high, he spun in a circle, manifesting another egg to add to the circus. Let them wonder where he hid them. The applause began, happily enjoying his performance. Merlin let it grow and fade before tossing the eggs higher and twirling again, this time adding two eggs to the circle as well as changing the pattern to let the eggs cross in the air.
Someone, possibly Lancelot, whistled above the applause. Merlin glanced quickly at the high table and he thought it looked like Annis was impressed. Arthur definitely was. His eyebrows had nearly disappeared into his hair. He then caught the gaze of a young woman from Carlisle and threw her a wink, followed by an egg. She reached up reflexively to catch the egg, or maybe to shield her face from the splatter, but as it hit her hand she realised it was not an egg at all, but a copper penny. She gasped in delight and showed it to her friends around her.
Turning his attention back to the other eggs, Merlin altered the pattern of the tosses to let each egg fly straight up in the air. He arced them perfectly and when the top egg came down it crashed into the one below it, which cascaded into the one below that. But instead of breaking, they magically merged into one egg. As they fell, Merlin spun around again and caught the lone egg as it fell, facing front again with only one egg between his thumb and forefinger, showing his other hand as empty. Then waving one hand over the other, the egg vanished out of sight and Merlin bowed again to roaring applause. With a smug smile firmly in place, he walked back to his seat, placing the single egg back in the basket.
He said nothing to Arthur, waiting instead for the king to pick his jaw up off the floor. Percival gladly poured him another glass of wine and congratulated him on stunning Arthur silent.
"It's not actually as hard as he wants you to think," Merlin returned.
The musicians had returned and had struck up a tune before Arthur finally remembered how his vocal chords worked. "You can juggle?" he asked incredulously.
Merlin rolled his eyes. Evidently the mouth had higher priority than the brain. Surely the slight of hand magic would've been more suspect, but apparently the hand-eye coordination of juggling had interrupted Arthur's brain processes first. "I'm full of surprises."