"Drenched" (Rose)
"What in the world?" I burst into giggles when Merlin appears in the doorway of our chambers, drenched and rather grumpy looking.
"Arthur kindly demonstrated the use of my cloth and bucket," he sighs.
"Oh," I nod knowingly, "Say no more." I traipse into our room, pulling out a fresh shirt for him. "Here," I hand it to him once in front of him. "I figured you might need this. I did the wash earlier this morning so it should be nice and dry."
"Thank you," he smiles gratefully. He retires behind the screen to switch garments, in and out in no time. "Do you think things around here are going to settle once more?" he inquires my opinion.
"Maybe," I say, trying to sound hopeful, but something inside me still doubts Morgana. I have developed a sense for these sorts of situations, and she has a lot of convincing to do with me before she regains my complete trust. "We shall see."
"I think they might," he smiles. "Do you think you could step away from here and accompany me tomorrow? I thought it'd be nice for you to spend some time with all of us as we celebrate the Lady Morgana's return."
"Um," I consider, "I'm not sure."
"What is there to be done? I'll help," he offers.
"There's always something," I comment, attempting to get out of coming with without raising questions. I don't want to discourage him. Besides, I have no evidence against Morgana's proclamations ... yet.
"Please," he pleads further, "I really want you to be there." I bite my lip, pondering the decision. "It'll be fun."
I choose to cave, "I don't see why not."
"Yay," he grins that boyish grin.
"On one condition," I hold my finger up.
"What's that?" he looks at me sideways.
"You have to help me with supper."
"You strike a hard bargain," he purses his lips, "But I'll do it." We laugh together, playing more than cooking. He keeps tossing bits of carrot into my hair, so I do the appropriate thing and flick flour in his face. Things get a little out of hand, and potato and eggs splatter on the wall. Once I smack Merlin in the face with a raw chicken leg, the chase is on. He charges after me with the other leg and we duel each other to the death ... of the poor slaughtered chicken. I finally best Merlin in our "fight," and he begs for mercy at my feet. "Please, my lady, I have so much left to live for."
"Like what?" I challenge, waving my piece of fowl in his face.
"Well, you're still around, aren't you?" he smiles coyly.
I softly laugh. "Sometimes," I give a half-smile, releasing him from the death grip of my mighty weapon of uncooked meat.
"Are you alright?" I don't answer at first. "Rose?" he urges gently.
"I will be," I say over my shoulder.
"What is it?"
I curse myself for being so readable to him most times. I open my mouth to reply when Gaius steps through the door, shaking his head at our brilliant spectacle. "I can't leave you two alone!" he exclaims as Merlin and I erupt into hysterics. "Laugh all you want," he scolds, letting a little chuckle out as he does, "I'll be the one laughing when you two clean this mess up."
"Yes, Gaius," we play the part of disciplined children simultaneously, resulting in more giggles as we do as we're told.
"Little Digs" (Merlin)
Rose joins me for the day as she said she would. She's now witnessing Arthur train blindfolded for the very first time, and he may be a show off, but even I must say, I'm impressed by his skill with the blade. He parries and lunges with clean cuts and smooth effort, not overly exerted at all, not seeing a thing and still standing against two other knights. My face forms an expression of approval as I polish away. "He's extremely fluid," Rose comments as he disarms both the men. I nod with an affirming grunt.
"Let's change weapons," Arthur approaches, peeling off his blindfold. I begin to comply to his request as he asks, "What'd you think?" he tosses the fabric at my head, grabbing his chalice full of refreshment.
I make a face indicating his display to be mediocre at best. "I've seen better."
"Course," he tips his cup, "Well, you are the expert at fighting with your eyes closed."
"But you didn't see what I did when we rescued Morgana," I protest.
"Because you were hiding behind a tree," he explicates.
"No," I scoff, "I was not." Usually, his little digs don't bug me so much, but I am increasingly aware of their potency at the moment. That may be due to the gentle gaze I feel switching from Arthur to me. She tries her hardest to suppress laughter at anyone's expense in the case of potential humiliation of the genuine type.
He purses his lips, signaling the truth to be otherwise, but not arguing any further. "I'm not gonna use the blindfold," he announces, returning the session. "I'm just gonna fight like Merlin here." He crouches holding his sword upright and in a high mocking voice, he mimics what he believes of me in a battle. He whimpers and pleas, "I'm Merlin, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me," squirming around with a pitiful face and waving his sword in little pathetic movements. Even I crack a smile, but it's more of a smile that is tight and concentration lies behind it.
"There's so much he doesn't know," Rose mutters under her breath.
Arthur laughs at his own teasing, and then gets back to business. "Ready?" he raises his weapon, preparing to go up against the knight equipped with a mace. As his opponent begins to swing the mace in circles above his head, the wheels in my mind turn in time with it. My favorite thing about Arthur's little digs is my own retaliations at his expense. Sometimes they're spoken ... Other times, they're done in total secret, normally only known to me, but it was enough satisfaction for my liking. He blocks a couple of blows before I strike back with a trick of my own. One flash of my eyes and his sword was in the ground, and the mace smacking into his gut. He falls flat on his face in the mud.
I attempt not to laugh, afterwards failing miserably to do so as I help him up. "Told you," I taunt.
"Shut up, Merlin," he pushes me away from him, stomping off toward the way back into the castle. The remaining soldiers clear out.
"I saw that, you rascal," Rose lightly shoves me from the side as I laugh again.
"Come on," I chuckle, "You have to admit that was good.
She shares in my laughter, "I need not admit to a thing."