Disclaimer: I own nothing related to BBC's Merlin or any reference made in here. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update but I was having trouble trying to put into words the tournament between Arthur and Laya in this chapter. Like, I had it planned so well in my head but when I tried to put it into words, I was having some trouble. Then on top of that I had to be an adult and then Pokemon Go came out and that takes up a lot of my time as well.
I'd also like to thank those of you who followed the story, it made me really happy. Do not be afraid to review even if it's just to let me know that I screwed up somewhere. I hope you enjoy this next chapter and I'll get started on the next one as soon as I can. Thank you again!
Gaius awoke the next mornin to the sunlight streaming through the thin curtains, which meant that Merlin had not awoken yet. With a stretch, he went to go wake the boy and what he saw made him smile. Merlin and Laya were snuggled close under the blanket in Merlin's single bed. He knew that his adopted son prefered men to women and that was alright by him; as long as Merlin was happy.
He gently shook the boy, telling him that he would be late for waking Arthur for the day. Merlin shot out of bed, getting dressed quickly as he headed for the door. "Do not forget to come back for Laya." Gaius called, chuckling to himself.
Laya emerged from Merlin's room a few moments later, rubbing her eyes. "Remind me to strangle Merlin after I beat Arthur." she said, sleep still laced deeply in her voice. "Thank you." she said, accepting the cup of tea handed to her.
"Why would you?" he asked, before taking in what she was wearing.
"He hid all of his tunics and breeches from me, leaving me with this!" she said angerily. "How am I going to beat Artur with this in my way?" She made the skirt move with her knee, glaring at it. "I mean, I'm not one to be trifled with in a skirt or in pants but still! Maybe I can frighten him a bit..." she mused, a smirk on her lips.
"And how would you go about that?" The older man asked, sitting across from her at the small table, setting some bread.
"Well, I thought of two ways. The first is, basically, I pin my skirt on either side here, so that it shows my knees, letting the rest of it fall behind me. Judging by the outfits I have seen thus far, seeing my knees might distract him and that thought would scare him." She placed the mug down. "Now, the second. Arthur is a man of action; you are a man of healing and science," Gaius nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
Without another word, she reached into her mouth and pulled out her front teeth, causing the man to jump towards here with a towel, attempting to find the blood that should have been in her mouth.
"Remarkable!" he exclaimed, "How did you do that?"
"They're false." she said, her words lisping slightly. "If I didn't get them pulled out, they would have caused an infection. So, my brother, Artie and I decided that it was for the best."
Gaius was holding the false teeth, examining them when Merlin came back.
"Hello, Merl!" Laya said, flashing him a smile.
Seeing the sudden massive gap in her mouth caused him to scream and stumble back slightly; he calmed slightly when he noticed his 'family' laughing at his reaction.
"Consider that payback for making me wear a skirt!" she said, still giggling as she popped the teeth back into her mouth.
They ate together before Merlin told her that it was time to head down to the knight's training grounds. Laya pinned her skirt the way she had told Gaius she would so that it wasn't in her way and headed towards the door with him "I will be watching from up here." the physician called after them, waving them off. Laya waved back with a smile.
"So," Laya said, falling into step with Merlin. "The knights have no idea that I'm dueling with their Prince or that I am your cousin?"
"Nope!" Merlin said, cheerfully. "What are the stakes?"
"No clue," Laya said. "We'll discuss it when we get there, I suppose." She linked her arm with Merlin's, his hand covering hers. "I was thinking something entertaining though."
"Oh?" Merlin asked, glancing at her.
"Yep!" she made the 'p' pop.
They reached the training grounds a few moments later.
"Ah! There they are!" Arthur said, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Knights, this is Merlin's cousin...Merlin's cousin, these are the knights of Camelot."
"Okay, honestly, it's Laya. You'd think you'd remember a name that only has four letters in it; let alone the girl who is planning on kicking your royal ass."
"Oh, I like her." One of the knights said, smiling.
"That's my cousin you're leering at Gwaine." Merlin said with a dark tone in his voice.
"Right!" Gwaine said, bowing slightly. "My apologizes, fair lady."
Laya looked at him. "Keep it up and you might be next."
One of the other knights hid a laugh with a cough. "The reason behind all this?" Laya turned to Merlin. "Sir Elyan." he supplied.
"Well, Sir Elyan, his royal highness over there barely gave me a glance and then had the gaul to assume that I was a boy from behind, even though my hair is longer than 'Sir Flirts-a-lot' over here." She jerked a thumb in Gwaine's direction.
Arthur cleared his throat as some of his knights gave him a questioning look. "The stakes?"
"Well, if I win. I'd like two things, one; a bed or a job, I'm not overly picky."
"Easily done as your cousin is a bit of an idiot and can barely do his chores alone."
Merlin rolled his eyes as she continued. "The other is that you have to do whatever I say for the rest of today and all of tomorrow."
"Deal!" Arthur said, certain of his victory.
"And in return, if you win, feel free to do whatever you see fit."
She held out her hand to him, "Agreed?"
"Agreed." he shook her hand.
"Well, then, what first?"
Arthur indicated to where some of his knights stood. "Each knight has been given a word, pick a knight and that will be how we decide..."
"Laya!" she snapped. "Really? It's four letters! Four; for Christ's sake!"
She walked over to one of the knights, her thick braid whipping by Arthur's face. "What's you name?"
"Lancelot," he replied with a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you...Laya." he added with a smirk.
"Alrighty then, I choose Lancelot," she said, smiling at the cheek in his voice. "What was your word, then?"
"Arrow." he replied.
"Archery it is then." She turned back to Arthur and asked him in a falsely sweet voice. "I do hope you have a spare bow for me, sire, for I have left mine at home. And, no, I do not mean in Uncle Gaius' chambers." she added with a wave of her hand.
Elyan came forward, again hiding a smirk. "It is my sister's. She has agreed to let you use it, may it serve you well for this," he looked at Arthur, "As loyal as I am to you, my leige, I'm afraid that I am siding with her in this battle."
"Your sister?" Laya asked, thinking of her brother back home.
"Aye, Gwen." he said, nodding over to where she stood. Laya waved to her. "When I officially meet her, I will thank her personally. This is a beautiful bow." She tested it. "Sturdy."
Elyan beamed, nodding his thanks for the compliment.
She grabbed the nearby quiver and strapped it to her back, feeling comfortable as the strap sat perfectly between her breasts.
"Ladies first." Arthur said with a mock bow.
Laya didn't move at first until she noticed the look on Arthur's face. "Oh, forgive me. I thought you said ladies first, so I was waiting for you to shoot."
Merlin and Gwain collapsed onto each other for support as they laughed silently while the knights smirked more and shook their heads.
"Fine," Arthur said. "I'll set the bar then." He aimed his first shot, hitting the center of the target. He smiled smugly, turning to her.
Laya nodded. "Nice shot, sire." She winked at Merlin before aiming her shot, taking a deep breath in. When she released the breath the arrow let loose and hit the target with a thump and a tear.
"Woah." Merlin breathed out.
She had split Arthur's arrow clean in two.
"Lucky shot." Arthur mumbled, shooting the second target, hitting the center yet again.
"Hmm," she mused. "And here Merlin said you were bad at this." Her innocent cooing was obviously making him irritated.
"He is..when I'm the target." Merlin mumbled.
Laya hadn't been lying when she said she was good at this, Merlin couldn't help but be impressed.
"I know you cannot land the same mark twice-" Arthur began but his jeer was cut short as Laya split his arrow again.
"You were saying?" She replied, tilting her head towards him.
"Nothing." He grumbled something about luck. "Merlin!" She saw the warlock jump a bit. "The last target moves."
"Digging your own grave?" He asked, walking over to the target. "Laya, you have won this round already."
Laya chuckled. "Now, now, dear cousin, let the prince take his final shot."
Arthur lined up his final shot, training his arrow at the now moving target.
Thump!
He missed.
"Nice try, sire," she said, taking out another arrow. "Shall I show you how to do it?" She looked at her cousin. "Merl?" she called out to him. "Can you toss that thing up into the air without it coming back down on you ?"
He told her that he could. "Alright," She lined up the shot. "Now!"
Merlin tossed it up and she relased her arrow.
Thunk!
"Lay a wins," Lancelot said as the knights applauded.
She flashed them a smile and curtsied. Merlin came over to her, wrapping her in a hug. "You pick the next one, Merlin."
"Percival." he said. Percival nodded and merely handed her a sword.
"Sword fighting, got it." she replied, testing the weight of the sword. "Not bad."
:First bleed then?" Arthur asked.
"It won't land me in the cells, will it?" Laya asked, half teasing.
"Nonscence!" Arthur replied, teasing her in return.
"Just avoid his face." Merlin said, blushing slightly.
"Not a problem," Laya replied. "However, I must point out that we are unevenly matched."
Arthur looked at her closely, golden eyebrow arched. "Is your swordplay that terrible?" he asked, hoping that was her problem.
"Oh, not at all, my dear prince." she twirled the sword with ease, a gentle smirk playing on her lips. "My brother made sure that I was able to defend myself."
The knights watched in awe while Merlin just grinned. "However," she continued. "You are wearing armor and I am defenseless. All that armor would weigh me down and how would I attempt to scratch you." she asked innocently.
Arthur stumbled over a few words for a moment before looking at Merlin for help.
"I am sorry sire, but my cousin is right. Here, allow me." he began to step forward and began to strip the prince of his armor. "After all; what was it that you said this morning?"
"Merlin, you are perhaps the worst servent ever?" Arthur said, shrugging.
"Yes, and then I called you a prat." Merlin set the armor down gently. "But I believe that you said,also, that Laya would never stand a chance because she is 'just a girl'."
Laya raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips. "Oh really? You didn't say that over breakfast, Merl. Oh, now I am really going to enjoy this. Unfortunately, I have to do something slightly...well for lack of a better word, disusting, but seeing as these cost my brother a good deal of money. Merlin? Hold my teeth." She pulled them out and wrapped them in a scrap of cloth.
She smiled widely, showing only her canines as Merlin took them. She thought that Gwaine and Elyan were going to wet themselves; they were in a fit of laughter over the look on their prince's face. Merlin smiled and pat Arthur on the back. "Best of luck."
"My leige." Laya said with a mock bow, her sword extended to her side.
"Begin!" Lancelot said.
Arthur and Laya circled around each other for a few moments before testing each other a bit.
"Enough playtime." he said. "Let's go."
He lunged at the girl, mildly surprised when she parried and twirled away from his sword, thumping him in the back with her elbow. She watched the prince and smiled a bit. "Did I move too fast for you?"
Arthur turned bac to her, his sword raised, rushing towards her. She dodged him again by jumping onto a nearby bench before bringing her sword down against his, the metal clanging loudly.
"Never." the prince smirked, pushing back, his sword coming down by her ankles. She jumped over it, taking advantage of their positons to push on his shoulder with her foot, getting the leverage she needed to jump over him, landin in a crouch.
"How did you?" he asked, befuddled.
"I am also a dancer." she said, standing at full height once again. Their swords came together again and again and their battle continued.
"So, Merlin." She is your cousin?" Lancelot asked, turning to the man, ignoring the ongoing fight. It had been going on for the better part of an hour already, neither once giving up.
"Yeah," Merlin replied, keeping an eye on the girl as she moved. "On my mother's side. I mean, well, it's not like I know my father's side, being a bastard and all."
They looked up at the sudden silence between Laya and Arthur, whom were both in a state of disarray as they panted.
"Take a short break, both of you." Merlin called out. "Arthur, if you keel over, your father will put me and it the stocks with Laya and Gaius will kill me." He brought them both some water.
Arthur guzzled it down, ready to begin again but Merlin has already went over to Laya, fixing her hair so that it no longer fell in her face.
"Sire?"
Arthuer looked up and saw Gwaine had moved next to him.
"Yes. What is it?" Arthur snapped, this match should have been over already.
"While red is the color of Camelot, it does not look as good on your cheeks." He teased. "But, honestly, do you really need to keep going? Surely at this point it is a draw?"
"I'm wearing her down." Arthur said, holding the empty goblet out to the knight. "Almost done now."
The fight resumed and the knights sighed. Their prince was stubborn and they were all ready to head inside and call it a day. That was until a blade came flying towards them.
"Merlin!" the fighters called out in warning.
The blade never hit him for Laya had managed to catch it and Arthur had tackled his manservent to the ground.
"Are you alright?!" Laya asked, throwing both blades to the ground.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said.
Laya flew into his arms, holding him tight. "Hey, hey. I'm alright." He said rubbing her back, turning his face to Arthur and the knights.
"It's my fault." she whispered softly. "I tore the blade from his hands too hard. I could have hurt you!"
"I'm fine, Laya. I promise." he said, smoothing her hair.
"He's had worse," Gwaine said, squatting down beside them, looking her in the eye. "We all get a bit rough with him." He ruffled Merlin's hair and then brushed her bangs out of her face.
"It's a draw." Lancelot said.
"Actually, I won almost when we began." she said quietly.
Every pair of eyes turned and looked at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, raising his eyebrow and looking over his exposed skin. "I see no scratch, no blood."
"If you would kindly remove your chainmail." she replied, still sitting on Merlin's lap, loosening her grip a bit. She was not about to let her new friend go...just in case Arthur changed his mind about killing her.
Sure enough, once he removed his chainmail, there had been a thin trail of blood, trickling from a cut on his back.
"How did you manage that one?" Merlin smirked, patting her head like a small child.
"Well during the archery contest I noticed that a small section of his chainmail was broken." She showed them the piece that she was talking about. "So, I knew that if I hit it just right, it would cut him." She shrugged. "The only reason I didn't say anything sooner was because it had been awhile since I had a decent fight."
Merlin rubbed her back, smiling proudly.
"Your brother did not want to train with you anymore?" Arthur sneered. "There is only so many times a man can lose before he gives up and does not care anymore."
"Arthur!" Merlin scolded as Laya stood up. She glared at the prince before standing, grabbing the sword and turning on her heel marching off.
The knights glared at the prince. "What?" he asked, not knowing what he said wrong.
"Her brother stopped training with her because he and their parents died in a fire." Merlin said, getting to his feet. "Gaius, my mother and I are all she has left." He looked down on his prince, anger burning in his eyes. "But she was right, Sire, about one thing about you. You need to stop judging others people and think before you open that damned mouth of yours. I stood up for you, telling her that you weren't as bad. Now, I'm going to go find her."
"Tell her that she won." Lancelot said, not taking his eyes from Arthur, his voice harsh.
Merlin nodded and took off into the forest where she stormed off, silently fuming. How dare Arthur say something like that? After all, he had lost his mother. Even if he didn't know her, he should still should have been a little more sensitive and not assumed anything. He had never been so disappointed in someone in his entire life.
He found her sitting in a small secluded section of the wood and sat next to her.
"You were right, Merlin." she said after a few moments, tears in her eyes. "He's a massive fucking prat."
Merlin wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I know."
"I hate this! I want to go home!" she sobbed into his shoulder. "I want my brother."
"I promise, I'll get you there." he murmered into her hair. "I promise."
He took the little flower that he noticed was in her hand and with his magic began to make it twirl. He watched as she smiled and found himself smiling in return.
"Why is magic banned here when it can be so beautiful?" she asked softly, not taking her eyes off the flower.
"Uther, the King, used magic to save Arthur when he was born...what he did not know was that in the process it would kill his wife instead." Merlin stated, catching the flower in between his fingers, laying it on his palm.
"All magic comes with a price." she whispered to herself. When she noticed the expression on his face she continued. "It's from a show back in my time."
He nodded and continued. "When his wife died, he banned all magic and began the Great Purge; sentancing all magic practicers and creatures to death if they were found on his lands." His eyes flashed golden and the flower caught fire in his palm. "But one day I will show the world the beauty of magic." The fire burned and turned to ash before the fire died out.
Laya smiled. "I know you will." She fell silent for a moment. "Merlin?"
"Hmm?" he replied, letting the ashes fly into the wind.
"Thank you...for helping me."
"What is family for if not to help?" he asked, pressing his lips to her hair.
She smiled after a moment. "True."
They sat in silence for a bit longer before Merlin whispered as a twig snapped behind them. "We have company."
Her hand slowly curled around the hilt of the sword, listening closely to the almost minute footfalls, he eyes closed, focusing.
When they were close enough her eyes snapped open and she swung the sword around, moving to her feet in a graceful movement.
"You fucking moron!" she screamed, lowering her sword to her when she saw that it was Arthur standing behind them, his hands held up in a way that showed that he meant them no harm. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
He shuffled his feet a bit and looked down at the grass before coming back to himself. "Wait, why do I feel like I've been found with my hand caught in the sweets dish?" he asked, crossing his arms. "I had come to make sure that you were alright."
"I think I proved that I can take care of myself, Arthur Pendragon!" she said, putting her hands on her hips.
"True." he said, surprising her into silence. "You won our tournament fair and square."
"I...what?" she asked.
"It's not my fault or yours that you noticed a chink in my chainmail. If anything, it's Merlin's for not seeing it and fixing it." he said with a shrug.
"Excuse me?" Merlin said, getting to his feet. "I was a little busy with the mountain of other chores you gave me!"
"That's no excuse, Merlin." Arthur said with his trademark smirk.
"Pompous." Laya said, cutting them both off.
"What?" Arthur asked, looking at her.
"I was trying to figure out the word that made me think of you." She said. "It's pompous."
Merlin bit back a laugh, as Arthur demanded to know why that was the word.
"Easy." she said. "You think so highly of yourself that you don't care at all about others. From what I've heard from Uncle Gaius, you run Merlin ragged. The days when he messes something up, it's mainly from lack of sleep. You should be more grateful that you have someone like Merlin to do stuff like that for you. Imagine if you had to do it all on your own for a day. You'd be so out of it that you'd do something equally as stupid as you claim him to be."
Merlin stood shocked at her words. No one had ever said that to Arthur before...no one had ever stood up for him.
Arthur looked at her. "I could so do it."
"Oh, really?" she said, giggling. "Fine then."
"Right," Arthur said, thinking that he had won. "Let's head back to the castle. I told my father about you and he wants to meet you."
"Sounds fine to me. I'll announce what I want as my prize then. But first, I think I need to head back to our chamber and freshen up a bit...and I know that since I am meeting the King, Merlin will force me into a dress."
Merlin nodded and took her arm, linking it with his own.