"Alright, see ya Douxie!" Bella waved to him as she left, her shift over.
"See ya, Bella." Douxie's first shift was over, but because of his triple shift, he was still there for a while. He got a break though, another employee taking over his part temporarily.
Checking his texts, he saw that he'd gotten quite a few more birthday wishes from his friends, bandmates, and acquaintances. The group chat he had with the Trollhunters was flooded with well wishes, and he was surprised to see that Dr. Lake had also texted him, likely finding out about his birthday from one of the others.
He used up most of his break sending replies, lots of 'thx' and 'tysm' with heart emojis to save time.
When he texted in the group chat, he was surprised to see that Jim was typing out a response within seconds.
U working right now or did u just wake up? A raised eyebrow emoji, followed by a smiling emoji accompanied it, telling Douxie that Jim was just being playfully curious.
Working :(
He saw Toby join in. Man, that sucks
Ikr Douxie replied, smiling at how his friends seemed to have been waiting for him to text them.
When r u done? Claire asked.
7 pm
K, thought so. Working tomorrow 2?
Thought so? What did that mean? He hesitated before replying.
Yeah but a late shift. Y?
She didn't answer, and he had to forget about it for now because his boss had just walked in.
"Douxie, you on break right now?"
"Uhh, yes Mr. Connors."
"You have the whole day shift anyway today right?"
"Yeah, what do you need, mate?"
"Julien called in sick today. Think you can handle the front counter and the bookstore? I told Cassie and she said she'd try to come but she might not get here until later."
Douxie sighed. "Yeah, I can manage."
He saw Mr. Connors visibly relax. "Thanks, man. You can have a coffee on the house if you need it."
"Thanks. I might just take you up on that." Douxie blew out a breath, taking a gulp of water before going back to the counter, seeing some customers already lined up. He nodded to Aaron, who was another young employee, taking care of the counter next to Douxie. As the wizard opened the counter, the line split and half went to him, the two getting through the customers quicker.
Mr. Connors checked in on him every once in a while. And by checking in, that meant piling on more work for Douxie to do that Julien would have done. He knew Mr. Connors didn't mean to, but the work had to be done, so Douxie did it without complaint. Not that he had time to complain if he wanted to; he barely had time drink any water, always on his feet doing one thing or another.
While he dutifully completed the tasks assigned to him, he thought about how this wasn't even the first birthday where he'd been working non-stop, his boss piling task upon task for him to do. Except the last time, it hadn't been Mr. Connors.
First Year in Camelot:
"Hisirdoux!"
Douxie bolted awake at his master's shout. Scrambling to change out of his nightclothes, and to tame his messy hair, he called back. "Be there in a minute, Master!"
Archie was also woken up by the shouts and stretched out, first as a cat before turning into a dragon to stretch his wings. "Morning, Arch. Sorry, Merlin's calling me."
"Hmm, I hear that. Oh, but, before you go…" Douxie stopped in the doorway, turning around, waiting. Archie looked to his familiar fondly. "Happy birthday."
Douxie blinked in surprise, not realising that it was August 17th once again. He hesitated, torn between not angering his master more than he was already and hugging Archie. In the end, he decided on a quick snuggle with his familiar before rushing to his master's workshop. "Thanks Arch!" He called behind him.
"So late, so late." He muttered, racing to the room down the hall.
In doing so, he almost ran right into Morgana, who seemed to be heading out from Merlin's workshop. "Oh, my apologies milady." He said hastily.
Morgana smiled at him. "Think nothing of it, young one. I'll let you be on your way. He's in a bad enough mood already, even at this early hour." She looked knowingly at him, then walked past him, ruffling his hair fondly as she left.
Thankful for the bit of information she'd given him, he proceeded to walk into the workshop, trying his best to be indiscreet. Immediately he started working, hoping to avoid Merlin's wrath by showing that he was taking initiative. Not wanting for the plan to backfire, he didn't do much, just little things like tidying up and whatnot.
"Hisirdoux!"
"Right here, Master."
Merlin turned to look at the boy, frowning. "You were supposed to be almost done with the herbs already! And you still have to milk the Slorr…" Douxie groaned inwardly. "And we are to accompany the King in his meeting with the Heads of State."
"I thought just you were going?" Douxie interrupted, before he saw Merlin's glare and promptly shut his mouth.
"Yes, but the meeting is now being held at the Moors Estate..." At Douxie's blank look, Merlin sighed and continued. "And I don't trust you in my workshop alone when neither I or Morgana are even in the Castle."
"But Master…"
"Don't 'but Master' me. Now, there is still much to be done before we leave. I've left the list on the bookshelf, and I expect it to be completed by noon."
Douxie considered protesting - noon was only 4 hours away - but thought better of it and walked over to the bookshelf. "Yes, Master."
The list was long, so Douxie got to work right away.
He milked the Slorr first, deciding to get it over with so he wasn't spending the day in dread.
It went terribly and he ended up covered in the blue liquid, though thankfully, it didn't get in his mouth - unlike last time, he remembered with a shudder. Trudging back into the castle, a bucket of the milk in his hand while he left a trail of it behind him, he happened to encounter Morgana again. This time, she was in the throne room, speaking to someone who was facing away from him. As he passed the two in the shadows of the side hallway, Morgana's eyes caught his and he saw her hide a smile. While still talking to the person, she quickly waved her hand in his direction, her signature amber magic coating her fingers.
Looking down, he saw that the sticky liquid had disappeared from his clothes; a quick glance behind him telling him that the trail of it was also gone. He gave Morgana a grateful look which she acknowledged with a small smile.
Heading back to the workshop for his next task, slightly happier now that he knew he wouldn't have to waste time cleaning himself up, he set the Slorr milk down and grabbed the herbs to refill the various jars full of them. As he got through the list, Merlin adding more tasks as he went, Douxie barely had time to relax.
At some point, he'd realised that he hadn't had breakfast. Unable to take a break though, he ignored his hunger until Archie brought him some bread and butter to eat while working, knowing that he was hungry either through their familial bond or just from making an educated guess.
Running around the castle, Douxie only just managed to complete the list before noon. Even then, the work wasn't done. Now, they had to ride with Arthur, Morgana, and Merlin, accompanied by some knights as always - Lancelot among them - to the Moors Estate, an hour's ride away.
Merlin had managed to still give Douxie some jobs to complete when they got there, the terrain apparently providing some different ingredients for spells and potions. When the meeting would be taking place, Douxie was to find these ingredients and also run some errands for Merlin in the surrounding village that the wizard had been meaning to do at some point.
The ride over was tiring, Douxie's backside sore especially since he was unused to it. But he got to get out of the castle after a while and see the landscapes, Archie flying around and stretching his wings, making some of the newer knights stare at the dragon among their ranks. Morgana and Arthur had been staying up front, Merlin behind them with Douxie slightly behind him, the knights on all sides.
He watched as the two royal siblings in front as they talked, their voices getting louder as the conversation seemed to become an argument. None of the others made any indication that they'd noticed, which didn't mean that they were ignorant or not looking, but that they were used to the arguments between Morgana and the king. Even though Douxie had only been there for a little more than a few months, he could tell that the two didn't get along well.
Morgana seemed to give up on the argument, and fuming, she dropped back so she was now in line with Douxie. They stayed in silence, Douxie occasionally glancing at her.
He still wasn't sure exactly how to act around her. Their relationship was… complicated, at least from his side. They hadn't had too many interactions where it was just them, otherwise they just met each other when Morgana came to the workshop or he saw her around the castle when he was with Merlin or running errands. Whenever he encountered her, alone or otherwise, he always tried to maintain respect and treat her as the royal she was, because even if she wasn't Queen, she was still the King's sister, and still royalty. For her part, she'd always been kind to Douxie, though sometimes he felt like she was jealous of him or didn't like him, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.
They were both Merlin's apprentices, though Douxie didn't exactly know what that meant for them. Sometimes they were both really formal with each other, sometimes she treated him as if he was like her younger brother, like earlier when she'd ruffled his hair. He wasn't even sure that was appropriate considering he was a peasant - or well, was until he became Merlin's apprentice. Relationships were so confusing, even if they weren't romantic, he sighed.
"Something the matter, young one?"
It seemed Morgana had noticed him being lost in thought. He looked over to see her watching him.
"No, nothing's the matter. Milady." He added.
She raised her eyebrow, but not the way that Merlin did where he was either angry, awaiting a response before he got angry, or when he was really confused. No, her expression was more like she was telling him that she knew it wasn't the whole story, but would wait patiently for him to continue.
It was different than when she was in the workshop with Merlin, the both of them impatient with each other and the world.
When he didn't continue, not knowing what to say to the sorceress, she spoke instead.
"You know, you don't have to call me 'milady' all the time. So formal. You're Merlin's apprentice, like me, a creature of magic. We are kin. You may call me Morgana."
"Thank you mila- Morgana." She shook her head in amusement at his antics.
"Is Merlin making you work too hard?"
Douxie didn't know what to say, not wanting to speak ill of his master, but also not wanting to lie to Morgana. "I wouldn't say he's making me work 'too hard'."
"But he is treating you like his page boy?" Her voice wasn't mean, still light and soft, lilting, but Douxie still felt like he was on thin ice.
"No, not really."
"Ah, so you milk the Slorr for fun then?" Douxie opened his mouth, then shut it, making Morgana chuckle.
"Relax, young one. I mean nothing of it. I merely wonder why Merlin took on an apprentice."
"You were his apprentice." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but Morgana didn't look offended.
"Yes, I suppose I was, though how he treated me and how he treats you seem vastly different. Has he taught you much? How to control and use your magic, I mean?"
Douxie thought about it, and the more he did, the more he realised the truth. "Not much." He admitted. "But I know he's busy, with trying to end the war on magic and everything. He has taught me some things though, like how to make some potions and how to find different ingredients for spells."
"Hmm. Well, if you ever want to learn more about your magic that he is unwilling to teach you, then my door is always open." She smiled at him kindly, and he returned it.
"Thank you, mil- Morgana." He corrected himself again.
They spent the rest of the ride talking about little things, Morgana seeming quite interested in his life before Camelot, especially with his magic and with Archie, who had flown down onto his shoulder after seeing him and Morgana talking for quite a while.
She shared some stories about her, too, and how she and her brother used to be so close until Guinevere had died. They talked about Merlin, and different magical creatures they'd encountered, and even their favourite foods somehow, making promises to make the other taste the different dishes.
Soon, they reached the Moors Estate, and Morgana had reluctantly gone back to Arthur's side, for the sake of appearances. Their small entourage entering through the main gates to be introduced to whatever officials Arthur was meeting with. Merlin had told Douxie to stay with their group until the knights also left, most unneeded in the political part of the journey, then he was to complete his errands.
They were led inside to the Estate's stables so their horses could be cared for, then their group split up. Arthur, Morgana and Merlin accompanied by Lancelot and a few of the knights continued on into the large house itself, while the remaining guards and Douxie stayed behind.
Once the royals were out of sight, the knights with Douxie left to go into the village for… he wasn't entirely sure what, but that was their business. For now, Douxie's only concern was to get his errands finished before they left in a few hours, hopefully finishing early so he could explore a bit.
"Come on, Arch, let's get going." He held out his arm so his familiar, now a cat, could climb it to sit on his shoulder. "Still got a lot to do."
"Ow."
"Douxie! Are you alright?" Archie's voice came from his left side, and he felt the cat nuzzle his cheek.
Getting up slowly, Douxie was glad to feel no damage apart from soreness. "I'm fine Arch, it was just a small fall. Though, I wish Merlin had warned me that some of these ingredients were up high. In a tree. On a hill."
Archie looked relieved that his familiar was okay, but he still looked angry, likely at Merlin for putting Douxie in danger. "Well, I think that's enough for today, don't you."
Rubbing his backside, Douxie agreed. "I think I got pretty much everything anyway."
They walked back to the Estate, where most of the knights had returned to as well, sitting around and talking. Douxie walked past them to get to the stable, placing the things he'd collected for Merlin in the saddle before walking back and sitting down.
"You alright there, lad?" One of the knights seemed to have noticed Douxie sitting down tiredly, and looked over.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. And sore."
"That's alright, you'll be fine come morning." The knight slapped a hand on Douxie's back, which almost made the young wizard fall over from surprise and the sheer force, but he managed to stay sitting.
"Thanks." He wheezed, as the knight walked back over to where a few of his buddies were discussing something.
A little while later, he saw some of the knights stand at attention, the others following suit as soon as they noticed. For a second, Douxie was confused, until he saw Arthur, followed by Morgana, Merlin, Lancelot, and the rest of the knights. Standing up too, he noticed that Arthur's expression wasn't angry, which meant that whatever had transpired inside the Estate had gone well.
Stable boys fetched their horses, Merlin walking over to Douxie to ask about his errands. As they got on their horses, Douxie recounted the day, Merlin reluctantly listening with a bored frown, until they started riding back to Camelot and he went to the front.
Douxie didn't exactly know why, but he urged his horse a little faster so he was now beside Merlin. The old wizard sighed, not even looking at his apprentice. "What now, boy?"
"Umm, well, I was hoping, that maybe - if you have the time, of course because I know you're busy and everything…"
"Spit it out, boy and stop wasting time." Merlin interrupted.
"Well, do you think that maybe you could teach me more magic? Like how to cast spells and stuff?"
Now Merlin looked at him, eyebrow raised, though Douxie couldn't tell if it was because the wizard was surprised, unamused, or angry. Still scared either way, Douxie started rambling.
"Not that I don't think I'm learning much from you - I am - but I'm your apprentice and I always thought that meant that I'd learn magic from you and…"
Merlin held up a hand to stop him from talking, before turning to face the front again. "You've been talking to Morgana." He said it as an observation, without emotion, though Douxie sensed that his master had expected it at one point or another.
They were silent, Douxie fidgeting as he waited for his master to say something, the old wizard seeming to consider something. Finally, he spoke.
"Very well. Perhaps I can teach you a spell after you've finished your work for the day. I cannot guarantee it though."
Even the small chance was enough for Douxie. "Thank you, Master, I appreciate it…"
Merlin sighed again and waved a hand in Douxie's direction, who found himself with a green tinted muzzle over his mouth that stopped him from talking.
"Before I teach you any spells, perhaps I should begin with how to stay quiet."
Douxie let his horse drop back to behind the wizard, slumping in his seat, resigned to silence. He didn't bother trying to use magic to remove the muzzle, learning from past mistakes. It would remove itself in an hour or two anyway.
They reached Camelot by evening, the sun only just starting to set. As Douxie had predicted, the muzzle had disappeared a few minutes before they arrived in a poof of smoke that had left him coughing. The stable boys quickly took away their horses, and Merlin gestured for Douxie to follow him with the satchel of ingredients, back to the workshop.
"Leave them to dry in the storeroom, then take the rest of the day off."
Douxie froze, sure that he had heard wrong, but Merlin had already turned to his table, starting to fiddle with some metal alloys. "Sorry, Master? I must have misheard you…"
"You did not. I said to leave the ingredients to dry in the storeroom, then to take the rest of the day off. Learn to listen, Hisirdoux."
"But Master…"
"Don't 'but Master' me. It is your birthday, is it not?"
"How…?" Douxie stared in surprise.
Merlin raised his eyebrow again, making Douxie snap his mouth shut. "I have my ways. Now, put those to dry before they wilt, then stay out of the workshop. I don't want to see you here until tomorrow morning." The end of his sentence was cut short as Douxie wrapped his arms around the wizard.
"Thank you, Master."
"Hisirdoux…" Douxie quickly let go, realising the truth of what he'd actually just done, and scurried off with the ingredients to the storeroom, his face bright red.
Though his face eventually returned to its usual colour, the goofy grin on his face remained for the whole night.
And if he'd stayed in the workshop for a little longer, he would have seen Merlin hide his own small smile.
But the joy only lasted until the next morning.
"Hisirdoux!"
Douxie scrambled out of bed, almost falling over in the tangle of sheets. "Oh, fuzzbuckets, late again. Merlin's gonna fire me."
A/N: Sooo, yeah, that was a pain to write. Still not completely happy with the ending, or the middle, or even the beginning, but it's something.
Okay, explanations. Morgana and Douxie's relationship in my head is like sibling type, but also kind of formal to start with because Morgana is still royalty. That was super difficult to write, but I somehow managed, so apologies if it felt inconsistent or confusing in the end. I also think that there should have been more of their relationship in canon, especially since later, she was calling him 'servant' (?) but oh well.
Merlin and Douxie's relationship was also a hard one to write since even Merlin himself is such a complicated character, but again, somehow I managed. If anyone out there has tips for writing these two relationships (especially Morgana & Douxie since there's like, 0 canon reference), it would be greatly appreciated if you could share them.
Anyway, halfway there. 3 more chapters to go! So stay safe, and see ya soon.
-CrowofArcadiaOaks