Sorry in advance, but this one's shorter. Still, I hope you all like it.
SEVEN: NOT AGAIN (319 days)
Arthur watched Guinevere as they ate their breakfast together. Merlin still hadn't arrived for work. The meal had been brought up by George. Fortunately, the servant hadn't made any remarks about brass this time.
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.
Guinevere looked up in surprise. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You've hardly eaten a thing." Most of her food was still on the plate in front of her.
"I'm just -"
The door clanged open, interrupting her. "Sorry, sorry!" Merlin apologized. He rushed in, carrying an armful of sheets. The manservant closed the door with his foot. "Merlin! Do you ever knock?" Arthur looked around. His gaze landed on his empty goblet. With a small grin, he threw it at Merlin.
The servant just barely ducked his head enough to avoid being hit with the missile. He smirked at his master. "You missed."
He didn't see the nearly empty bowl of strawberries flying through the air in his direction. It hit the back of his head with a dull thud. "No, I didn't."
Guinevere gave him a stern look.
Merlin scowled. "Ow," he grumbled, getting to work changing the bedding.
Arthur smirked slightly. He had to keep throwing things at Merlin, or his servant would get suspicious. Besides, it was part of their routine. And he had no intention of changing that routine anytime soon. Well, not too much. He was trying to ease up on Merlin a bit, seeing as the sorcerer was busy helping him in secret. But he couldn't ease up entirely.
"Arthur," his wife reprimanded. "Be nice to poor Merlin. Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I'm just feeling a little nauseous. It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it will pass soon."
Merlin stopped what he was doing and openly stared at the queen, his eyes narrowed slightly. He was not even attempting to be subtle about it, which was highly inappropriate behavior for a servant.
Then again, nearly everything Merlin did was highly inappropriate behavior for a servant. Merlin never seemed to care much. It was one of the things Arthur liked about his friend.
Merlin continued to study Guinevere closely, a look of concentration on his face. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened. His mouth formed an O shape.
"Merlin. Is there a reason you are staring at my wife?"
The servant ducked his head and rushed to finish his work. "No, sire," he said, his voice muffled slightly. Arthur couldn't pinpoint the emotions there. Only a minute later, Merlin was done with the bedding. He left the chambers, not saying another word.
Arthur whistled. "I believe that's the fastest he has ever changed the bedding. What was that all about?"
Guinevere shrugged. "I don't know."
"Why was he staring at you?"
"Arthur, I don't know."
The king sighed, tapping his fingers on the table. "We need to find him a wife," he announced suddenly.
His own wife didn't seem to agree with this idea. She rolled her eyes. "Leave Merlin's love life alone, Arthur. He'll find a wife when he's ready."
"What love life? He doesn't have one."
"That you know about."
Arthur stared at her. "Do you know something that I don't?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm simply saying that you don't know whether or not he has a love life. Just because he hasn't told you about one does not mean that it doesn't exist. He doesn't tell you everything."
Scowling, Arthur slumped back in his chair. He folded his arms over his chest, fully aware that he was pouting like a child. "I realize that." Merlin never told him anything, even though Arthur told Merlin everything. "Merlin is a very secretive person, apparently. I just don't think that he gives himself enough time for a love life."
She arched an eyebrow in amusement. "As his employer, you do have some control over his spare time."
"I can't just give him time off. He knows me better than that. He would wonder why I was being so nice to him, since it's not how I usually treat him. I wish he would just tell me about his magic so he didn't feel the need to sneak off in order to do what he needs to. He's wearing himself out at this rate. I'm sure he's spending all of his spare time talking to other sorcerers."
Guinevere nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he is. He must be out at all hours of the night, searching. I can see the circles under his eyes every morning. Arthur, now is not the time for you to try to interfere with his love life. There is too much going on. I'm sure he would appreciate it if you didn't interfere at all. And you know that Merlin probably won't tell you about his magic. He's too stubborn. Perhaps you should just tell him that you already know."
The king didn't reply. He had informed her that he wanted Merlin to tell him, but he hadn't told her why. It was a silly reason, and he knew it, but he wanted Merlin to trust him enough to tell him his biggest secret. He wanted Merlin to want to tell him. He didn't want Merlin to fear him.
Guinevere studied his face knowingly. "He trusts you, Arthur. But he has spent his entire life hiding that part of himself from the rest of the world. He was born of magic, didn't he say? Perhaps he just doesn't know how to tell you. You might need to give him a small push to get him to tell you."
Arthur sighed. "What annoys me is that he's admitted to being a sorcerer in the past. And I didn't believe him." He shook his head. He couldn't believe the truth had been right in front of him for so long. "I was so oblivious."
Guinevere smiled into her goblet of water. She didn't say anything, but Arthur took her smile as an agreement. He huffed. Even his own wife was teasing him.
Merlin whistled as he rode into the forest. He'd finished with his chores for Arthur as quickly as he could, and now he was on his way out of Camelot. It was only about mid-morning, so he was going to make good time. He wouldn't make it to the camp before nightfall, but he didn't plan on stopping before he got there.
He'd heard back from a druid sorceress named Treasa - from what he'd heard, she was a promising candidate for the job - confirming a meeting with him. But it was nearly a day's ride to the druid camp where Treasa lived, and he knew he would have to stay for a few days to get to know the woman. He hoped he wouldn't be gone for more than a week, but he wasn't sure.
Arthur probably wouldn't notice his absence until the third day, maybe the fourth. He just hoped the king didn't ask Gaius where he was. Gaius always seemed to say he was in the tavern. If Merlin had had more time to prepare for this journey of his, he would have asked Gwaine to cover for him. The knight didn't ask any prying questions, and he was a good friend to Merlin.
Merlin was enjoying the ride. He preferred the quiet, which was a little ironic considering he was usually the one doing most of the talking when he followed Arthur and the knights anywhere. Well, Gwaine actually did most of the talking. But Arthur usually only told Merlin to shut up. But when it was just himself, he was able to think better.
Maybe once a Court Sorcerer was appointed, Merlin would visit his mother in Ealdor. It had been far too long since he'd seen her. He missed her.
He sighed. He wouldn't be able to visit her anytime soon. It would take a while to get a Court Sorcerer settled into the role, and to get the kingdom comfortable with magic being legal again. And, of course, he had Morgana to worry about. She needed to be stopped. She hadn't launched any major attacks, but Merlin was sure it was only a matter of time. And, of course, there was Gwen's little secret. That was going to cause quite a lot of chaos around the castle.
No, he'd have to wait a while to visit his mother.
He was perhaps an hour away from the druid camp when it started to get dark, but he was still able to see where he was going, with a little help from his magic.
If he had been more focused on his surroundings, he might have realized that someone was following him. He didn't realize it until he was thrown off his horse by an invisible force.
Magic.
He collided with a tree, hitting the back of his head hard. He blinked, his vision blurry. He could feel his consciousness begin to fade. This wasn't good. He couldn't concentrate enough to say a spell.
Just before he passed out, he saw a figure walking toward him, smirking. "Hello, Merlin."
Not again, was his last thought before he went unconscious.
Yes, a cliffhanger. But, to be honest, I'm usually pretty good at updating quickly, so hopefully it won't take me long to get the next chapter up. Hopefully.
