Hello! See, I told you I'd update around this time :)
Thanks again to my awesome beta, the lovely Paralelsky
o}O{o
The smell of rain clung to the air, promising a damp and dreary day. Clouds built a fortress over Camelot, keeping the rising sun from view and morning dawned laboriously, grey light smeared over the sky, leeching the day's blue away. A draft settled over the city, causing the already unseasonably chilly day to become almost bitter and the people of Camelot to combat the cold with fire.
Mordred helped Gaius bustle about the physician's chambers lighting candles while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He glanced often at the porridge, simmering in the pot over the fire and his stomach rumbled when he caught the smell of oats. A small laugh came from the far end where Gaius had set two candles on the table. "Why don't you see if you can get Merlin up, and then we can eat."
Mordred smiled and nodded, setting the candle he was holding down on a pile of books before heading up the stairs to their room. He let the door squeak loudly open and called Merlin while walking to where the boy was curled up on the bed farthest from the window. Mordred went to sit on the other bed and he leaned in towards the boy. His eyebrows shot up when he met Merlin's gaze.
"You're up," Mordred said surprised. He then smiled and tweaked Merlin lightly on the nose. It produced no reaction save for Merlin blinking and looking away from him. The servant frowned at the child's behaviour. "What's wrong, Merlin?"
Merlin pouted and turned over so his back was facing Mordred, and he curled tighter so his head sunk below the covers. The older boy sighed and strode around the bed. He knelt and spoke softly to the boy. "Are you feeling sad today?"
The covers bobbed in what Mordred took as a nod and he sighed. It was not the first time Merlin had been morose throughout the day, but Mordred had hoped those bouts would have stopped when they came to Camelot. "You don't want to come see Prince Arthur?" Mordred ventured. He pulled back the covers slightly so Merlin's face could be seen. The boy shook his head and leant further into the bed so only half his face was visible. Mordred's heart sunk at the desperate sadness in Merlin's eyes. There were no tears, for he had shed them all during a nightmare last night.
"What about Kilgharrah?" Mordred tried. He waited, but Merlin did not answer and only pulled the covers over his head again. When the older boy drew them back down he whined wordlessly and tried to wrestle the covers back from Mordred's hands. Mordred kept calm while Merlin tried fruitlessly to pry open his fingers.
"Merlin, come on," Mordred said softly when Merlin's breath began to come ragged with approaching tears. The boy only tried harder and when Mordred did not relent, his eyes flashed golden. The guardian let go in alarm when their meager belongings flung themselves out of the dresser and onto the floor. Merlin turned over once again and hid himself under the blankets, ignoring Mordred who was gazing sadly at him. The older boy bit his lip, not wanting to leave Merlin, but knowing that he had to attend the prince. "Gaius is outside and breakfast is there if you want it." But he knew from experience that Merlin would not eat until at least lunch time. "I'll be back later, alright?"
Mordred hesitated a good while, but Merlin did not respond in any way. He sighed but did his best to smile at the back of Merlin's head. Mordred got up and patted the boy's shoulder. "I love you, Merlin."
He wandered out the room but made sure the door was left open. Gaius looked around as Mordred made his way down the stairs and looked confused at the boy's forlorn expression. Mordred spoke before Gaius could question him. "Merlin isn't feeling well today," he explained, "he probably won't eat for a while."
"Is he sick?" Gaius asked worriedly.
"No, just...sad. He gets like this sometimes. I just thought-" Mordred sighed. "Will you look after him?"
"Of course. How often does this happen?" He got up from the table which was set with three bowls.
The servant shrugged. "Not so often anymore, last time was almost two months ago." Mordred looked toward their room but could not see Merlin from his angle. Gaius made to go check up on the boy, but Mordred took a step forward to block him. "Just- just don't touch him unless he comes to you. He probably won't answer but talk to him occasionally. And don't make him do anything, he'll get upset. And-"
"Mordred," Gaius interrupted and laid a hand on Mordred's narrow shoulder. "I can manage, do not worry." When Mordred casted his vivid blue eyes down unappeased, Gaius continued quietly. "I have seen this before. I know how to take care of him."
"Alright," Mordred muttered.
"Now, why don't you eat some breakfast," Gaius smiled.
Mordred glanced to the porridge sitting on the table and then back at Gaius. "I'm not very hungry. I have to go anyway." He walked past Gaius and out of the chambers, listening to the rain starting to patter on the castle. By the time he got to the courtyard, the clouds were pouring in a steady downpour and he very nearly turned back to go check on Merlin. But he had a job to do and could not take a day off no matter how much he wanted to. To his shame he felt tears prickle the corner of his eyes and he ruthlessly banished them. He hated the fact that he would not be able to be there for Merlin, when he always had been before. Mordred kept his head down on the way to the kitchens and retrieved Arthur's breakfast, not responding to greetings or reacting to Ivor's jibe. The middle aged servant seemed happy to mutter a slur under his breath as he passed. Though it wasn't particularly insulting, if Mordred had been in a normal mood he would have retorted with something twice as scathing. But he just carried on and left the kitchens in a hurry.
Arthur's chambers were a bit cool when he entered so Mordred started a fire after he put the breakfast tray down. "Sire?" Mordred called. The prince was fast asleep in his bed, with his mouth agape and the blankets wound around his legs. The sight almost caused Mordred to smile as he went into the wardrobe to pick out Arthur's clothes, when he remembered he didn't actually want to be there anyway. And just like that, the helpless anger that had been floating inside him suddenly found a target. He flung the clothes on the dressing screen and went to stand beside the prince's bed. Mordred drew in a breath and called the prince in a loud voice. Arthur jolted from his dreams and stared at Mordred like he never seen him before. But then he blinked and then yawned before sitting up to stretch.
"Good morning, my lord. Your breakfast is ready." He ducked his head and stepped back, waiting for the prince to move.
"Ah, I'm starving," Arthur declared and extricated himself from his clinging blankets. "Where's Merlin today?" He inquired when he noticed that there was no five year old boy in the seat across from him.
Mordred hesitated before answering and it caught Arthur's attention enough for him to pause in eating. "He isn't feeling well today, Sire. I hope the food is satisfactory."
The prince's brows furrowed. "He hasn't caught a chill has he?"
Mordred looked at Arthur when he realized his attempt at diversion was unsuccessful. "He's not ill. But... he... sometimes remembers before when his village..."
"When his village was attacked?" Arthur finished.
"Yes," Mordred replied quietly.
There was silence as Arthur looked to Merlin's spot. "Will he be alight?"
"Perhaps tomorrow."
Arthur inhaled as if he were about to speak, but closed his lips around the words wanting to get out. The prince should not have made eye contact with Mordred if he had wanted to keep silent, but the boy's eyes forced him to speak. "I was wondering," Arthur started and then thought over his words. "That druid-" He winced. Isaac was a forbidden topic with the prince. "-said something about Merlin's throat just having a scar..."
Mordred shifted and looked down. "It was-was cut," he eventually managed. He licked his lips and his gaze found Arthur's again. "Isaac healed him. They cleaned most of the blood, but I thought it was a rash or something when I first saw Merlin. I was young. It's a miracle he survived."
The prince nodded and pushed away his breakfast no longer hungry. "Do you know anything of the ones that did it?"
Mordred shook his head. "Just that they were bandits. Selwyn said a large group if they managed to slaughter an entire village."
Arthur looked at him oddly due to his blunt words but nodded in agreement. He seemed lost in thought as he got up from his chair to go change behind the dressing screen. As he dressed, Mordred went to make the bed. The boy looked up at the sound of Arthur clearing his throat but the prince was still behind the screen. Mordred finished the chore and waited with a curious expression as Arthur gave a few more coughs which sounded false to the boy.
The prince came out and Mordred was quick to fix Arthur's rumpled shirt collar. At least it wasn't put on backwards today. "I do believe I am getting ill," the prince announced. He did not appear ill in the slightest, and Mordred thought he looked as strong as ever. When Mordred only blinked at him, Arthur engineered a short cough. "I should go see Gaius."
A smile immediately formed on Mordred's lips as he realized Arthur's ploy. "Of course, Sire." The guardian felt a rush of not affection, but not dislike for the prince and he bowed to let Arthur take the lead. Perhaps Morgana was wrong, and Arthur was not a complete jouster after all. The prince's next statement certainly went a ways in convincing Mordred.
"Bring my breakfast," Arthur ordered.
"Yes, Sire." Mordred grabbed the tray and followed along. He could not resist warning Arthur of Merlin's behaviour and what the prince should not do. Only when Arthur sent him a look did he quiet, but he had to work hard to stay that way. Mordred was no longer sure that this was a good idea since Merlin's magic was unruly on the best of days, but he did not try to dissuade the prince. The skies themselves felt Merlin's pain and Mordred wanted to be with the boy. And if Arthur made Merlin feel better then Mordred thought it was worth trying.
He only hoped nothing would go wrong, and that the prince knew what he was doing.
o}O{o
Arthur Pendragon had no idea what he was doing. His eyes glanced through the castle windows as he and his servant strode to the physician's chambers and he tried to come up with a good reason for his decision. Mordred had blessedly ceased cautioning him, but had lapsed into an uneasy silence, something which did not exactly ease the prince's nerves. But Arthur jerked his head as if to deny the fact that he was nervous about going to comfort a child, which was exactly what he was doing. His father would have thought him enchanted. At the thought of his father, Arthur's resolve strengthened - he knew how it felt to be alone and though Merlin had Mordred, the servant was still just a child as well. Merlin needed all the support that could be given to him considering his background. And as the prince it was his job to look after his subjects. Arthur nodded to himself as they entered the hall to the physician's chambers. He was only doing his job.
He noted the sign tacked to the door expressing a need for visitors to knock but he disregarded it and opened the door as if he owned the place. Which he technically did. Gaius looked up swiftly from his work table and swallowed a reprimand when he saw who it was. "Oh, good morning, Sire. What can I do for you?" He glanced at Mordred who shuffled nervously behind the prince and cast a glance around the chambers for Merlin. He looked unsurprised at the boy's absence.
The prince cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm feeling a bit under the weather," he lied, "I think it best if I spent the morning here just in case."
Gaius immediately scanned him with his practiced eyes and paid rapt attention when the prince spoke again. "But I do not want to get in your way, I shall spend my time in the back room. I hope you don't mind." Arthur did not wait for an answer and walked towards Mordred's and Merlin's room.
The servant followed with the breakfast tray and gave a nonplussed Gaius a look as he passed. The physician eyed Arthur's back and almost smiled as he went back to work. His hawk like eyes remained on the doorway even after Arthur went through, though the prince was unaware.
Arthur quietly passed the threshold and looked almost hesitantly at the lump that must have been Merlin, hidden underneath blankets on the bed. Mordred placed the breakfast tray on the desk and glanced at Arthur before leaning in toward Merlin.
"Hey, Merlin," the boy greeted. Arthur looked on as Merlin did not move. "Prince Arthur has come to see you."
The prince had time to regret his decision as Mordred's words did not stir any reaction from the boy. Even despite Mordred's warnings, he still expected to at least see Merlin's face. He did not even think of ordering the boy to respond though.
Mordred sighed and looked at the prince before making a decision and turning back to Merlin. "The prince is going to stay here for a bit, you have to say hello." Mordred straightened and swallowed at the glare he was receiving from Arthur.
The prince would have words with Mordred for his immense presumptuousness later for daring to dictate his actions. But for now, Merlin hiding under the blankets was too pitiful a sight for him to ignore and he nodded. "Thank you, my lord," Mordred said to him, hiding none of this gratefulness.
Arthur cleared his throat and sat down on the bed opposite Merlin and placed his elbows on his knees. There was barely any room for Arthur's legs between the beds. The prince stared at Mordred when the boy only stayed at the doorway. When his servant did not move, Arthur pointedly inclined his head. Mordred blinked and his jaw tightened and he only swayed indecisively instead of moving. Before Arthur was going to get annoyed, Mordred gave a final glance to Merlin before leaving and shut the door behind him.
"It's like he doesn't trust me with you," the prince joked.
Arthur was thankful that no one would be witness to his no doubt inept attempt at whatever this was. He cleared his throat and called out a gentle greeting to the boy. When Merlin only twitched, Arthur fell silent and was left to plot his course of action. It was not unlike planning a battle strategy, only the prince's objective here was to earn a welcome from a defensive and possibly hostile entity.
After a moment of silence muffling the room, Arthur cleared his throat. "Hiding the day away then? I can leave if you want me to. But it's usually better if you have company." The prince made sure to keep his tone hesitant.
Arthur smiled as the blankets rustled and Merlin's head rose out from underneath them. "Hello, Merlin," he said when the boy's sad eyes met his. There was no trace of a smile on Merlin's face and he only gazed at Arthur despondently. The prince felt a strange feeling make his chest constrict but he offered a smile to the five year old. "Can I stay?" Never had Arthur asked that question of anyone.
Merlin nodded his head and sat up, something which Arthur counted as a great triumph. The boy made sure to arrange the covers so that they were across his shoulders and hiding his scarred throat from view, an action which Arthur realized the reason behind. Unsurprisingly he only stared at the prince.
"Thank you," Arthur smiled. He caught sight of the blue scarf Merlin wore when not wearing his cloak and stretched to retrieve it from the battered trunk at the end of the bed he was seated on. "Would you like this?"
Merlin glanced at it and nodded, reaching to grab it from Arthur's offering fingers. He ducked his head and went to tie it around his neck. The prince watched him try unsuccessfully for a bit before standing up and reaching to do it for the boy. "Here, let me." Merlin went very still as Arthur tied the scarf for him and did not immediately look up when Arthur sat back down. The boy brushed a hand against the blue scarf and looked at the prince. "There you go," Arthur stated.
Merlin did not smile but the prince would have been surprised if he did. The child looked down and fiddled with his dragon pendent. Arthur's gaze drifted to his uneaten breakfast and he was provided with a new topic for conversation. "Are you hungry, Merlin?" the prince asked. Merlin shook his head after eyeing the breakfast tray.
"Alright, maybe later," Arthur conceded. "You know, Morgana never liked eating breakfast either when we were younger."
Merlin looked up and Arthur spotted a small spark of interest in his sapphire eyes so the prince continued with the train of thought. "Very picky she was, well still is actually. Always used to dump everything she didn't like on my plate. When my father wasn't looking of course."
Merlin tilted his head and Arthur could not deny him a smile. He picked out a memory that he held a fondness for. "But we got caught once and Morgana blamed it on me." Arthur laughed upon remembering how furious he got at the girl. "So I threw her eggs right back at her."
Merlin's eye brows shot up and Arthur was happy to continue. "It got all in her hair, and she loves her hair. So she threw her entire plate at me, can you believe that?" The prince smiled when Merlin leaned forward slightly. "You want to hear the rest?" He asked so he could get Merlin to give some sort of response. Arthur was pleased, but also severely alarmed when Merlin crawled to the other bed to sit beside him. The boy leaned against him and folded his legs to better curl up. Arthur's arm went to support the boy on its own and he managed to continue while pondering the strangeness of the situation he had gotten himself in. The prince was not one for talking about the past but here he was doing exactly that all for the interest of one five year old who he had strangely became fond of. Let alone the fact that he was speaking with a child at all. Merlin was aware of none of his thoughts as Arthur explained a monumental food fight which ended with a bowl of fruit jelly flying splat into King Uther's face. Arthur laughed at this and beamed when a very miniscule smile touched on Merlin's lips.
"Father was not pleased. We were banned from eating with one another for months," Arthur finished with a grin. "Hm, all this talk of food has made me hungry. Do you want some?"
Merlin looked up at Arthur and shrugged. The prince took that as an affirmative so he got up and grabbed the breakfast tray. He sat down beside Merlin again and placed it on his own lap, gesturing for the boy to pick first. Arthur felt extremely guilty for being reassured that Merlin did not talk and therefore could not speak of this to anyone. The boy blinked and turned to hide his face against Arthur's arm.
"Alright," Arthur said as he scanned the food. He decided on the honey roll and he offered it to Merlin. "Here."
The boy did not even look at the bun Arthur was holding out and just shook his head against Arthur's arm. The prince's brow furrowed deeply in thought and he eventually decided to tear the honey roll in two. "We can share, what do you think?" Arthur nearly held his breath and he smiled when Merlin met his eyes. The blonde man proffered Merlin's half toward the boy and smiled when he took it slowly.
Arthur had won duels with senior knights, he could hunt any animal on foot and make it look easy, he was the best fighter in Camelot, and he was the crown prince. Yet, he had never had such a hard time as trying to get one little slip of a boy to eat. A long half hour later, the prince was a bite away from finishing his own honey roll and after yet another try, Merlin finally nibbled on the bun in his small hands. The prince wanted to cheer out loud but after undergoing a rigorous exercise in patience, he settled for doing it in his head. Arthur grinned and praised Merlin.
The boy took a larger bite this time and then held it out to Arthur who took it with a contained sigh. "You don't want anything else?"
Merlin shook his head and tightened his hold on Arthur's arm, settling in to use him as a piece of furniture. The prince glanced down a little bewildered, but quickly picked out another story from his childhood to regale Merlin with. The boy listened as Arthur ate his breakfast and didn't seem bothered to move even after the prince was finished. Just as Arthur placed the breakfast tray down beside him, the door opened and Mordred walked through. The prince was confused as to why the boy looked relieved when he entered. Like he was expecting Arthur wouldn't have been able to last this long, the prince thought.
Merlin looked up and practically flew away from Arthur's side and towards Mordred. The older boy caught Merlin and cradled his arms like a seat so the child could hang onto him. Mordred glanced to Arthur and smiled slightly. "Thank you, Sire."
The prince nodded and stood up. "Of course."
Mordred spoke quietly to Merlin and smiled when the boy nodded. Arthur cleared his throat and regarded his servant. "He only ate a bite of food..."
"Really?" Mordred exclaimed. The dark haired boy glanced down at Merlin and then stared at Arthur suspiciously. "He usually doesn't eat at all."
"Yes, well I must be tending to my duties," Arthur declared and then glanced at Merlin. "Thank you for letting me stay, Merlin." His eyes flicked downward awkwardly before he caught Merlin's gaze. The young child offered him a wave before he reburied his face in Mordred's shoulder.
The cloaked boy bit his lip and gave Arthur a fleeting look while pacing to the bed to place Merlin upon it. But the younger boy did not want to let go and he tightened his grip on Mordred's neck.
Arthur spoke as soon as the thought entered his head. "I'm going to do a surprise inspection of the guard barracks. You aren't needed until you bring me dinner. And I will eat lunch with my father today."
The prince had to admit he was surprised at seeing Mordred grin at him. "Thank you, Sire." His normally cool ice blue eyes thawed for a moment. Arthur only nodded and bid goodbye to Merlin. As he exited the chambers and made his way to the barracks, Arthur marvelled at the person that had taken over his body. He was supposed to be a prince, not some brother figure to two peasant boys. A sigh passed through his lips and took his mild annoyance with it- Arthur could manage without a servant for a few hours anyway.
o}O{o
Fluffy enough? Tell me if you liked the chapter :)
So two orders of business next, first, I probably won't be able to reply to reviews as much now that school has started again and is promising to be a duesy of a semester. I'll still try though, but if you don't hear from me, I'm pulling my hair out trying to learn 3D programs.
And second…. Wait for it….. A NEW HARRY POTTER FILM IS COMING. OR SERIES. JUST MORE HARRY POTTER! I'm excited, okay. It's going to be about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! Look it up, look it up! But not before reviewing, hint hint.
See you guys!