AN: I'm loving the comments always!!
Welcome Fudgequeen72! And the guests who commented too. :-)
mersan123, an irl friend of mine literally called me and said, "what have you done to my Merlin?!" lol Sorry / not sorry!
Please stick with me through another OC. I promise it will all come together soon. And...more Gwaine!
CHAPTER 17: Outrageous Fortune
Lionel scratched the back of his neck and watched a fly climb up the wall. Like everything else since he'd arrived in Camelot, this was not what he'd expected. The seventh son of a family that was noble in name, but not fortune, when he'd topped six feet by age 15, he'd been too expensive to feed. His father had written a request to King Arthur to consider Lionel to be a knight's squire. Then he paid a passing merchant caravan to let LIonel tag along and sent him off to Camelot with a lot of hugs and as much food as he could carry.
He'd had the misfortune to arrive just before a war, however. He'd submitted his letter, but had been told it would probably be a while before the king had a chance to review it. Then, the king had left with the army, and he hadn't been back.
An undercook had felt sorry for him and offered him food and a corner to sleep in in exchange for him spending his days working in the kitchen. The hope he'd felt when the spires of the great city had come into view was sinking by the day. He didn't mind the work so much, but he didn't see an end to it. It seemed the noble name didn't mean anything after all.
Then, today, there had been an argument in the corridor outside the kitchen as he'd been coming in with a load of potatoes. "Somebody has to do it!" a maid was complaining. "I can't leave her majesty, but the girl who's supposed to come is sick."
"I don't have anyone to spare," hissed Cook in response, trademark scowl in place. Lionel has ducked instinctively, having long since learned of her temper, but he was too big to escape notice. "Wait, he can do it." She stabbed a thick finger toward him. "I don't know what he does around here anyway!"
The maid had looked relieved. "Follow me, then," she instructed, so he'd dropped off the potatoes and followed obediently. He had never in a million years expected to end up in the physician's chambers tasked with keeping an eye on a sleeping knight. "Do not leave him," had been the sum total of his instructions.
On one hand, it was the closest he'd actually been to a knight. On the other hand, he'd never been so bored in his entire life. The knight brushed his nose with a hand as if the fly Lionel had been watching had landed on it. It was the first thing he'd done other than snore. Lionel sighed. It was the most excitement he'd had in hours.
Inside Gwaine's head, that annoying voice was calling his name again, drawing it out with a teasing drawl. "Oh Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaine."
"Bug off," he responded, his intent to ignore the dragon losing out to his temper.
"You must wake now, dragon lord."
"I said shut it, lizard breath."
"This is extremely important!"
"Yes, it's all important. Haven't I listened to you enough? If I'm going to sleep, I want to dream about a beautiful woman, not you."
"GWAINE! You must wake up now." Kilgarrah was sounding angry, but Gwaine couldn't find it in himself to care.
His own voice was dry as a bone. "I. Can't. Remember? Your dear physician drugged me."
Now he could hear frustration. He supposed if the dragon were there physically, it would have been intimidating. "You can, if you so choose. You must will it so. You must wake up now."
Gwaine sent the sound of a yawn. "Nope. Tired. They left me behind, I'm staying behind. I'm not waking up until I'm ready for a pint."
Kilgarrah didn't bother to say anything else. Instead, he ROARED.
With an "Aaaaaah!" Gwaine burst off the cot, sending Lionel flying backward and his stool bouncing in the opposite direction. Gwaine himself landed with one foot on the floor and the other stuck in the bed clothes, causing him to pitch forward and fall over a bench. Ears still ringing, he jumped back to his feet – or he tried to. Only instead, he smashed his head into the underside of the table he'd rolled under. Various glass implements of unknown purpose slid down the tilted top and smashed to the ground.
Cursing like a sailor and calling the dragon names he bet Kilgarrah had never heard in his 'more than 1,000 years of living', Gwaine grabbed the top of his head with one hand and scowled. He came up on his other hand and knees. He found himself practically nose-to-nose with a young man he didn't know. The boy's blonde hair stuck up in tufts, and his eyes were wide. "Uh...you're awake."
"Yeah, good observation. I gotta go." He crawled out from under the table and shoved his feet in his boots. Luckily, he had a lot of experience with dealing with an aching head.
"Um, wait, sir...what was it? I'm supposed to stay with you until someone comes to relieve me." Nobody had told him what to do if the knight woke up. Gwaine looked around and located his sword and bag.
"Well, then I hope you can ride. I'm leaving. Tell Gaius I'm not staying for tea next time." Gwaine strode toward the door, strapping on his sword as he went. The boy trotted doggedly at his side. "And it's Gwaine."
"Lionel."
"Nice to meet you. Good-bye."
"No, no," Lionel was near panic. He finally had a job to do that didn't involve produce. He wasn't about to lose one of King Arthur's knights. "If you're leaving, I have to come with you."
They had reached the stables. "Saddle my horse," Gwaine called to the closest stable boy.
"Two horses!"
"Lionel, you are very persistent," grumbled Gwaine. "I hate persistent."
"Sorry, sir. If you leave, I have to leave."
The knight sighed with his whole body. "It may be dangerous."
"Yes, sir."
"Exhausting."
"Yes, sir."
"But incredibly boring."
"Not more boring than watching you sleep."
"That's creepy, Lionel."
"Yes, sir."
Taking his horse's lead from a stable boy, Gwaine turned and waved a finger under Lionel's nose. "Lionel, you are the second most annoying...creature...I've ever met. And trust me, I know annoying."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to do the job I was given, and that means keeping an eye on you." Lionel was highly relieved when he was handed a lead as well.
Gwaine mounted the horse and shook his head. "Fine. Fine. Follow then, Lionel. But I'm not going to feel sorry for you if you get eaten."
