A few weeks later, it seemed like the whole castle forgot about that night.
Of course! Attention from nobility has never lasted more than a few days…
But really Arthur's new manservant was so intriguing. At least to her…
No, snap out of it!
It seems she wouldn't be able to get him out of her mind any time soon. At least, her efforts in the past weeks were for naught. She needs to get over….whatever is going on with her. The only way for that is to face it head on. She is a the first Lady of Camelot for crying out loud! She can't keep wasting her time over a servant, no matter how cute he is.
There's a knock on the door, followed by the sound of footsteps.
"Good morning milady"
"Ah, good morning Gwen!"
"How did you sleep last night?" she asked with a sympathetic smile on her lips. Morgana knew what she was referring to.
"It was a peaceful night, thank you. I haven't had any more nightmares in a long time, and for once , I may be hopeful that they might have stopped". She saw her friend smile even harder at that. "That's good!". She loved how Gwen was always at her side. Her smile was the purest, and she loved how she was honest with her. She had always been way more than just her maid. Maybe even more than a friend. She was like a sister to her.
After having prepared for the day and finished dressing, the two friends sat there by Morgana's table. "Do I have anything scheduled for this morning?"
Gwen turned to her while picking the tray where her breakfast was. "I don't think so, milady. You have dinner with the King and Arthur in the evening, but other than that your day is free." She stops and looks confusedly at her lady. "Why?"
A little smirk on her face, Morgana answers "What do you say we take a stroll in the market?"
They both smile at each other. The answer was obvious.
The only thing that usually take her mind off things was the market, that's why she decided to go there. Maybe getting out of the castle will do her good.
So she went, with her maid, but most importantly best friend Gwen and talked about pretty things and court gossip. Everything was good.
She distanced herself from Gwen a little to look at another stand which had beautiful jewelry.
Maybe I'll buy one for Gwen… she's been such a wonderful friend
She turned around to call for her, but when she did she found her smiling and talking to Arthur's new manservant.
Merlin
He was wearing almost the same close as that day, same jacket and trousers but with a blue shirt instead of the red and his neckerchief was now red instead of blue. He must really like those colours. For such a cute and nice guy he surely didn't care much about what to wear. However, that didn't bother her. It was kind of his thing. His hair was messily brushed and fell chaotically over his forehead. She stood there, watching him from a distance, admiring the way the sunlight caught his hair and how his blue eyes somehow became even more blue in broad daylight. Not that she thought it was possible. The lady had never seen the sea, but read enough about it to be sure that his eyes were just like it. There was so much packed in them and the lady just wanted to get lost in their deepness. Everyone had their minds made up about him, and sure, he was most definitely the clumsiest person in Camelot. But she couldn't be the only one to be curious about him. He smiled most heavenly to Gwen and
Oh right, Gwen...
From where she stood she could see how close the two had gotten. They stood there looking so comfortable around each other, joking and talking. It seemed so natural between them. They became good friends in these few weeks as it looks. It was kind of weird and misplacing seeing her only friend with someone else. She didn't have anyone other than Gwen, but her maid certainly seemed to have plenty of friends, one of which Merlin. She noticed how Gwen acted around him and she knew her friend well enough to know that she had a crush on him. It was so obvious how could she not have noticed before? The way she holds her arms tightly close to her, the spark in her eyes,the shy smile and the way she mumbles confusedly over weird things. Now that she thinks about it her maid has been talking so sweetly about him,
She likes him…
But while Gwen's signs were quite clear to her, Merlin seemed oblivious to it all. The lady had seen how he acts around Arthur or Gaius, always so sweet and polite and friendly and he was treating Gwen in no different way.
No way… I'm just imagining things… I'm sure they are just very good friends…. I might be misjudging here, afterall I really don't have enough male friends to know what this is…
"Oh, milady, I'm sorry, I hadn't seen you there". Morgana was brought back to reality by Merlin, who must have noticed her staring at them from just a few feet away. She quickly composes herself, and steadies her voice to sound as noble and friendly as possible. "That's quite alright, Merlin. So, how's life as Arthur's servant treating you?"
He chuckles at that, and Morgana can't help but smile.
"Are you sure you would like to know my thoughts on that, milady? I can guarantee they would not follow the noble protocol..."
"Well, the noble courtesy protocol does not include honest thoughts and opinions, so I guess we shall only nod in mutual understanding" as she says that, she nods her head mockingly, the way a noble woman should but with a smirk on her lips. She loved the sound of his laugh as he too went to nod in an exaggerated manner, obviously intended as a joke. He then looked up and said with an unnatural deep voice and straightened back, standing tall the way a noble would: "If you'll excuse me milady, it seems my schedule is much preoccupied, and I have errands to run for a certain prat"
She laughs, "Send the prince my greetings, will you?"
He looks at her for a second. "I shall do as you ask, milady" he turns to Gwen, mutters her name with a smile and leaves in the direction of the castle. The lady watches him briefly, as he walks away with a smile on her face.
"I can't believe you two just mocked the entire nobility" Gwen says behind her, as she too watched the boy disappear in the crowd.
"Well, just stands to prove I am not the only one who notices how hilarious these formalities can be" Morgana says, finally turning around to face her.
"Yes, Merlin is the only person I have ever met that would be so bold about it. You should see the exchanges he has with Arthur. One can only laugh at those, and hope he doesn't get himself thrown in the dungeons for being too honest. Oh, bless him..."
The concern in her words stop Morgana from replying. She stares at her for a second or two, and without answering, forces a smile and leads her to the jewelry stand she was looking at earlier to show her the beautiful necklace exposed there.
She still has a gift to buy for her friend. Her best friend. And no boy, no matter how cute and admirable and funny and…..
Yeah… this won't be a problem…
