vi.
The day dragged on, yet there wasn't nearly enough time for everything Arthur needed to do. He was still working by candlelight, writing letters to his men's families, when the bell for mid-night tolled. The door to his right opened, and he was sure it was Guinevere come to chastise him before a different familiar voice spoke.
"You did not send for me."
He looked over at Merlin, opening his mouth to respond, then just closed it again to finish writing his sentence. He placed the quill back into the inkpot and turned to Merlin, crossing his arms. He was too tired to suffer through the fairy's biting remarks.
"I have been busy. I thought you would be asleep by now."
"You look far more tired than me and you are not asleep."
Arthur sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I have responsibilities. You do not."
Merlin plopped himself onto the floor right where he stood, crossing his legs and gripping his ankles. Arthur bit back his annoyance. The rudeness of it was one thing, but the implication that the man would be staying there for a while bothered him more. "This 'wife' of yours found me and talked to me. She had a lot of questions."
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing. She answered many of mine, though. I like her."
Arthur smiled at that. Gwen was too charming to be disliked by anyone. But he was more surprised to hear Merlin had kept his mouth shut. It belied a diplomatic intelligence he hadn't thought the man capable of. Not that anyone would believe the stuff he spouted. Arthur almost didn't believe it, and he had experienced it.
He stretched his arms up and back, then with a labored sigh stood from his chair. Merlin alighted to his feet and followed Arthur out of the room.
"I am going to my bed chambers," Arthur told him, trying to keep impatience from his voice. "You should go to yours."
"What are bed chambers?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't know why he assumed Merlin had any grasp of cultivation. "It is the room where your bed is. It is where you sleep. You were shown to yours earlier."
"Oh, that horrible place," Merlin said, his lip curling up in disgust. Arthur stopped walking and looked at him. It was the best guest chambers in the castle, lavish and comfortable and with anything anyone could possibly need. Merlin just stared back at him, innocuous and confused. "What?"
"Nothing." Arthur shook his head and kept walking. "Can you find your way there again?"
"I thought I would sleep with you."
Arthur stopped again, this time turning on the man. "You may not!"
Merlin smiled in the face of his appall. "You sound horrified. But we have already slept together."
Arthur hissed under his breath, grabbing Merlin's arm. Thankfully there were no servants or anyone else wandering the halls so late at night. "Do not say that, you don't know what you are saying! We did not share a bed. We slept in proximity, because there was no other choice. Now, there are choices. And I am choosing to sleep next to my wife. Only my wife. If you do not want to stay in your given quarters then you are free to… fly… back to your cave." He released Merlin and stormed off down the hall, his face flushed red with what he hoped seemed like anger and not the fluster brewing beneath the surface. He half-expected the fairy to follow, irritatingly oblivious as he seemed to be, but Merlin only stood and watched him leave.
He lifted the covers and got into the large bed as carefully as he could. It did not matter. Gwen shifted and made a small noise, then sat up and blinked at him through tired, squinted eyes.
"What time is it? You are only getting into bed now?"
"Don't fret," Arthur soothed, pulling her into his arms since she was already awake. He kissed her hair, frizzy and unkempt from sleep. "I actually slept last night. I am sure I cannot say the same for you." It was the wrong thing to imply. She tensed and hit his chest with a fair amount of force.
"No, I did not! Because my husband and king did not return from the battle he promised he would send word over! They all died, Arthur! You could be dead, too! What would I do then?" Her voice broke at the last sentence and she buried her face into his chest.
He set his jaw, willing himself not to cry either, and held her. "I know, Guinevere. I am sorry. But I am not dead, and I don't plan to be any time soon." He rubbed her shoulder, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "It is my fault our men are dead. But I will not be taken by surprise again. Merlin is a… traveler. He has seen many things, and he has seen magic like this before. He can help us. We will win this war."
Arthur noticed Havor was more unsettled than usual as his manservant dressed him, but he thought nothing of it. The man already had a nervous disposition and changing the color of his bed sheets could set him off. But as Arthur walked the halls to the audience chamber, he noticed the way other servants murmured nervously to each other before stopping to bow to him, and castle residents cast him anxious looks as he strode past.
The guards by the chamber doors were the first to address him about the state of unrest in the castle. "M'lord…" one said, his palm on the door handle as he hesitated to open it. "Your guest has… redecorated."
Arthur snarled. Merlin. "Open the door," he commanded. The guards looked at each other, then swung open the doors.
Merlin sat in the king's throne, legs tossed unceremoniously over an arm and braiding flowers into a circlet. The throne itself was unrecognizable, grown over with ivy and flowers. Tall, wispy grass carpeted the throne dais, even flooding over its sides and down the steps. On the walls, overtaking the tapestries, more ivy crept along the stones. Some early-rising nobles and knights stood on the floor, their confused and excited chittering not appearing to bother Merlin.
Arthur stormed up to the dais, his subjects scrambling to part for him once they realized he was there.
"Merlin!" he roared. Merlin peered down at him, a delighted smile splitting his face at the sight of the king.
"Finally, you arrive." He swung his legs down and stood, giving Arthur a flourishing bow, the arm with the flower circlet held straight to the side. "Do you like my work?"
"No. I. Do not." Arthur growled through clenched teeth. He marched up the stairs in two strides and snatched the flower ring from Merlin. "What could have possibly made you think this was a good idea?"
"Your wife," Merlin said with a smile. Arthur paused, not having expected that as an answer.
"What?" he snapped.
"She told me last night how she used to love escaping to nature, and how she hasn't had the chance because she's been stuck in these dreary halls. I thought I would surprise her."
Arthur opened his mouth, then shut it without saying a thing. He glared at Merlin as he tried to assemble his thoughts into a coherent rage that would wipe that infuriating grin off his face. He didn't get the chance. Merlin swiped the flower ring back from him as he passed Arthur to hop off the dais. The crowd below parted for him like he had the plague, which he either didn't notice or didn't care about.
"It is intolerably stuffy in here. I've no idea how you live and work within these suffocating walls. No sunlight, no grass, no color. I have improved it."
"Merlin," Arthur said. The flat chill of his voice was enough to catch the fairy's attention, and he turned an inquisitive frown to the king. "This is my castle. My chamber. My throne. You had no right to do any of this." More than the desecration of his throne, Arthur could not believe Merlin would so blatantly expose his abilities. He would have to think of a preposterous explanation for the council. If they found out what Merlin was, he could not imagine the repercussions.
"Everyone, leave!" Arthur ordered, his voice booming throughout the room. "Except Merlin," he added, leveling a cold, furious gaze onto the man. The room emptied as people rushed out to avoid the wrath of their king.
Merlin dallied closer, the guileless and self-satisfied look on his face making Arthur want to strangle him. How could he not realize?
"You have not been here even a day, and you have already put me in an impossibly difficult situation. How could I possibly explain to my council why or how this mess has grown inside a stone room, overnight no less?"
"Mess?" Merlin repeated, affronted. Arthur's eyebrows sunk low, and Merlin flicked his hand to dismiss the offense. "Very well, I will clean it up."
"That does nothing to solve my problem."
"You seem to think yourself clever, I am positive you will come up with something." Merlin smiled, sweet as honey. "It will take some time to clean, though. I help things grow, not die."
"Don't bother," Arthur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The servants will clean it up."
"Arthur?" Gwen's voice broke the tension, and he looked up to see her standing hesitant by the doors. "The guards almost did not let me in. What on earth has happened to the room?"
Merlin looked to Arthur. Arthur sucked his teeth for a moment, then rolled his eyes and waved his hands in approval.
Merlin bounced over to the queen, taking her hand. "A gift for you," he said, charming and genteel. He whisked her across the room and up the steps, and she followed quite at a loss for words. He gestured with a bow for her to take a seat, in Arthur's throne. She looked to Arthur, bewildered.
"Go on, my love," he encouraged, unable to hide his smile. She sat, looking around at the grass and flowers.
"This is remarkable," she whispered. She looked up again, startled, as Merlin lay the circlet of flowers onto her head. "Oh, a flower crown," she sighed wistfully, brushing her fingers against one of the delicate purple blossoms. "I used to make these as a child." She bit back a laugh, pressing a hand to her lips as her eyes sparkled. "I forced my brother to wear them with me and pretend to be fairies."
Merlin's grin widened. Arthur shouldered him aside and took Gwen's hand, kissing the top of it. "You need not pretend, my queen," he spoke, remaining bowed over her hand. "You are more ethereal and beautiful than a fairy could ever hope to be. Much more intelligent, too." He smiled against her skin when he heard Merlin's quiet 'hmph.' The look of wonderment and joy on Gwen's face had him grinning like a fool despite his aversion to looking like Merlin. Maybe the man's impudence was not the worst thing in the world. His queen's happiness was worth a thousand impossible explanations.
"Let us make one for Arthur, too," Merlin said, tugging a flower from the grassy carpet.
Arthur's smile dropped and he opened his mouth to protest, but Guinevere exclaimed in elated agreement and set to work picking blossoms. Arthur sighed and resigned himself to his fate. His duties could wait an extra hour.