Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.


Chapter 9 – The Joyous Day


Arthur returned to Camelot with a new determination to do right by his people, and the people of Britain, regardless of if it meant that one day soon he would no longer be a king. He knew that regardless of the Alliance of Albion peace would never truly reign in Britain until the people were united as one kingdom. As a king, Arthur's priority was his people. He may be rich and live in a castle but he was a servant to his people, sworn to protect them and help them live and prosper, not to gather more riches for his own gain and lord his title and power over them. With that way of thinking Arthur knew that if the right thing for his people was to step down as king and allow The High King, whoever he may be, to rule Camelot as part of a united Britain, then he would do it. However, Arthur knew that not all the Kings of Albion would share his view. Sure they were all dedicated to protecting their people and bringing about peace, it was the reason the Alliance of Albion had been formed in the first place, but not all of them would see uniting the land as the way to go about bringing peace, nor were they all so altruistic as to give up their title and power. With the knowledge that The High King of legend would be revealed soon came the realization that some of Albion's Kings would claim the title for themselves, as would Mordred, and it may cause more harm than good; if the fight for the title of High King came to blows, the Alliance of Albion could be broken and war could breakout on all fronts, not just against the Saxons and Morgana. Deciding to test the waters, Arthur spoke with King Rodor about what The Lady of the Lake had said. Rodor was one of the few that Arthur thought may be of a similar mind as him for as far as noble kings went Rodor was one of very few. However, even he was sceptical and would not give up his kingdom or his kingship unless he was absolutely convinced that there was no other way, and even then Arthur knew he detected hesitation when Rodor said he'd give up his throne if it was right for his people; there was no guarantee that The King of Nemeth would follow through if, when, the time came.

oo00oo00oo

Not long after the visit to The Lady of the Lake, winter arrived with a vengeance and Yuletide was upon them before they knew it. The celebrations were kept quieter than when Uther was alive, Arthur not feeling the need to display his wealth and power so opulently, though several banquets were still held throughout the season. As the New Year arrived Gwen could no longer deny that her clothes did not fit her anymore, the bump where her child grew now being quite obvious even through the heavy, layered clothes of winter. Arthur was quite amused the day Gwen admitted she would have to let out some of her dresses to accommodate the babe for she'd thrown an un-queen-like, and un-Guinevere-like, tantrum. At least he had been amused until her ranting had turned into crying and she had spent the next hour sobbing on his shoulder, saying she was fat and he would no longer love her. Eventually Arthur was able to convince her that that was entirely untrue, that he would love her no matter what she looked like, and, if it was possible, he found her even more beautiful with her belly rounded with his child. After that scene Arthur had immediately gone to Gaius wondering if something was wrong with Gwen and the pregnancy to have her acting so out of character and had been met by laughter as the Court Physician informed his King that such changes in mood were common for women while with child and it would most likely get worse before it got better as the babe grew heavier in Gwen's belly. Merlin had laughed heartily at his friend's expense when he'd learned what Arthur would have to deal with, though it did not last long when Arthur reminded him that given how close he was to Gwen and with how much time he spent around her that no doubt he too would be faced with her mood swings.

As the snow began to melt Merlin discovered how right Arthur had been as Gwen stormed into his chambers one day looking like she would be breathing fire if only she could. Till now Merlin had been quite lucky and had not suffered any of the strong and unpredictable mood swings Arthur spoke of, though the entire castle had witnessed mild ones; it seemed like finally his luck had run out.

"Gwen." Merlin greeted

"Don't you Gwen me!" She snarled and Merlin wondered what he had done.

"Alright, what can I do for you, Your Majesty?" Gwen made a scoffing sound and Merlin knew that her title was not the issue; she had not come as his Queen.

"Tell me, Merlin, when was the last time you saw Princess Mithian?" Merlin froze at her words and decided to tread very carefully.

"At dinner last night?" It was more of a question than a statement and Gwen raised her eyebrow at it. "Yes, it was dinner last night." He tried again, though futilely for The Queen clearly did not believe him.

"Well that is interesting because I ran into Mithian this morning. She was hiding, or trying to, out on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, thinking it was still too cold for anyone to venture outside."

"And you did?" Merlin all but demanded. "Whether the snow is starting to melt or not it is still freezing out there and you know Gaius told you to rest. Where was…is it Leon or Percival's turn?" He referred of course to the guard Arthur had set her when she had entered the final couple months of her pregnancy. Arthur's protective instincts were on overdrive once her belly grew to the point where it looked as if a feather could push her over and he was insistent that she rest constantly and have someone with her at all times; it did not help that Gaius too had said she needed plenty of rest. To see to this Arthur had assigned her a guard to follow her around and see to her needs. Gwen had thrown a fit, her pregnancy hormones showing themselves once more, and so Arthur had relented, though only so far as making the guard either Leon or Percival, the many years Gwen had known them making it feel less like having a guard and more like spending time with friends. The two First Knights switched off each day, spending one day with The Queen and the other training with the other Knights or going about their other duties.

"Percival, but that's not the point! The point is I found Mithian sobbing. She would not tell me exactly why but I got enough out of her to know that you had something to do with it! And what's more, that whatever it was you did, happened in her bedchamber last night!" Merlin's eyes widened at the implication.

"No, no, no, no, no. Gwen I swear it was nothing like that!"

"You had best hope not. Arthur would flay you alive if he ever found out you'd lain even one hand on a visiting princess, and let's not even mention what King Rodor would do!"

"It wasn't like that, Gwen." Merlin repeated, though this time he looked more tired then scared.

"Convince me then. Tell me what happened." Her tone softened somewhat as Merlin's look turned defeated, a look he'd worn any time he was about to confess something he'd rather not.

"Since coming to stay in Camelot, Princess Mithian has been very kind to me." He began. "We would talk, end up going for walks around the castle, she makes me laugh…I enjoy her company. We became friends."

"Oh dear." Gwen whispered, moving to sit down, thinking that she now knew where this was going.

"A couple weeks ago, after the feast Arthur held in honour of my birthday," Merlin could not help smile at the memory. While a servant his birthday had gone almost unmarked, Arthur, Gwen and Morgana joining Hunith and Gaius for a small celebration; however, as the Lord Mage, and clearly a good friend of The King's, his birthday was now apparently a lavish affair. "I was walking Mithian to her chambers, as I'd done many times before, however, this time when we arrived she did not merely say goodnight but…she kissed me."

"Alright…and what did you do?" Merlin blushed.

"I kissed her back." He admitted quietly and Gwen didn't know whether to feel happy for him or to smack him for being so foolish. "Afterwards, she admitted she had feelings for me. I-I was in shock. I left without saying a word…and spent the next two weeks avoiding her."

"Until last night." Gwen stated as the story caught up to the reason she was here.

"Her maid asked me to go see her, I was told that The Princess had found something she believed to be magical and didn't know if it was safe or not. It was a trick, of course, to get me to talk to her."

"What happened, Merlin?"

"She said she loved me." His voice was thick with emotion and Gwen at once wanted to comfort her friend, and to smack him again. "She asked if I felt the same way about her."

"And do you?" It was a few moments before Merlin spoke.

"I care for her." He said finally though Gwen suspected he was downplaying what he felt. "I told her as much, that I cared for her, as a friend-"

"I'm assuming she did not believe that last bit."

"No." He agreed. "She did not. She said she knew I was lying and she was convinced I loved her back. I tried to tell her I didn't. And I said that even if I ever did come to love her that nothing could come of it. She is a princess and will one day be Queen of Nemeth. She both needs and deserves a husband that will benefit her kingdom, and be able to help her rule, not a former servant who's destiny it is to protect and serve The Once and Future King, and Queen," He amended remembering The Lady of the Lake's words. "Who cannot leave Camelot nor devote himself entirely to her."

"And you told her this?" Merlin nodded. "Well it is no wonder she was crying. She knows you love her-"

"No, I care for-"

"Yes, yes you care for her, which translates to you love her but are unwilling to admit it yet. And that's exactly why she was so upset. Through your own stubbornness you are refusing to admit your feelings and be with her."

"You cannot mean to tell me that you approve of a relationship between us?!" Merlin was incredulous.

"I want the both of you to be happy." Gwen said. "And I feel partially responsible for Mithian's feelings."

"Why? You don't think she could love me on her own?"

"Oh Merlin, you know that is not it. Any woman would be lucky to have you." Gwen paused to ensure Merlin believed her before continuing. "No, I feel responsible because she admitted her feelings to me before you returned from the siege and I encouraged her. My only defense is that she admitted she had such feelings when she was little so I thought it was a passing fancy from childhood and saw no harm in encouraging her flirtations."

"But had you known her feelings were genuine you would not have encouraged her so." It was not a question.

"I don't know." Gwen answered truthfully. "If the two of you decided to pursue a relationship the path ahead of you would be a difficult one. And you, Merlin, would then have a difficult path no matter which way you turned. As Arthur's friend and with your destiny as Emrys your life is difficult enough as it is. But I was not lying when I said I want the two of you to be happy." Gwen leaned over and grasped his hand. "If you decide you want to be with Mithian, we will support you, Merlin."

"How can you say that?!" Merlin jumped up and began pacing. "She's a princess and future queen, while I'm little more than a servant, regardless of whatever title you tack on to my name. She deserves far better than me and I am not meant to love. Not in that way at least."

"How can you say that, Merlin?"

"Because it is true! I am Emrys, The Immortal Mage of prophecy, my destiny is to help you and Arthur bring peace to the land and live long enough to see you both do it again and fulfill your destinies as The Once and Future King and Queen. My life is sworn to yours and what's more, I am also The Last Dragonlord, charged with ensuring the survival of dragons, of which there are only two left, and on top of that, I have a price on my head for angering Morgana. It is only a matter of time before she comes for me, believing as she does that only I as Emrys can destroy her and so if she destroys me first then no one can harm her. I have all of that to contend with, I am not meant to fall in love and have a family. And even if I did, how could I knowingly put Mithian through all that?" He stopped pacing and looked Gwen in the eyes, quite defeated. "How can I watch her grow old and die as my destiny as The Immortal Mage keeps me alive?" Whether for her sake or his, Gwen rose and went to his side, pulling him into her arms and letting him cling to her as he cried, as all his emotions surrounding his destiny, the future that lay before him, and the future he clearly wanted instead, came out while Gwen cried right alongside her friend. After a few minutes the crying stopped and Gwen pulled away and forced Merlin to look her in the eyes.

"If you take nothing else from here, know that you do have a family. No, Merlin, listen to me." She said when he turned away. "It may not be the type of family you want, but know that you are loved. You have your mother and Gaius, you have me and Arthur, Percival and Leon too. And you will be the most favoured Uncle Merlin when this little one arrives. You will never be alone, Merlin. Not as long as we have anything to say about it. I can't tell you what to do in regards to Mithian save to not give up if you love her. And if you do love her, share all you have told me with her and let her decide on her own whether she still wants to be with you or not. Do not make that decision for her." Merlin nodded though Gwen wasn't entirely convinced she'd gotten through to him in regards to letting Mithian choose for herself. However, anything else she may have said to convince him was cut off as the door flew open to admit Percival.

"Merlin have you seen-" He stopped short seeing the two of them grasping each other's hands with still puffy eyes and tear stained faces. "There you are, Your Majesty."

"Yes, here I am. I do apologize for slipping away. I hope you didn't-"

"GUINEVERE!" A voice boomed from somewhere in the castle.

"Inform Arthur." She finished redundantly.

"I did not know where you were, Your Grace." The First Knight replied sheepishly, knowing how Arthur overreacted where Gwen and his child were concerned.

"My fault entirely." Gwen put a smile on her face, preparing herself for the coming confrontation as she led the way out the door.

oo00oo00oo

If Merlin took any of Gwen's advice regarding Mithian neither he nor Nemeth's Princess showed it over the following weeks. They continued to act cordially in public, but Gwen suspected it was an act and that nothing had been resolved between the two of them. It did not help that Arthur had found out and now watched Merlin like a hawk whenever Mithian was around. The warlock's only consolation was that he had confided in his friend and so had brought it upon himself knowing what was likely to happen when Arthur found out; he was merely glad Arthur had listened to him and not gutted him then and there. As the days grew longer and warmer training began again in earnest as all knew that it would not be long until Morgana and the Saxons attacked once more. However, before that a much anticipated event was to take place and it certainly did not disappoint when The Queen's labour pains began one early morning in the middle of April; Arthur having been roused from sleep by his wife who had calmly informed him that her time had come. The King immediately went into a panic and it was up to Gwen to remind him to summon the midwife and Gaius. He did as instructed bolting from the room in nothing but his sleep pants, yelling for Gaius and the midwife as he went. Once a servant had been suitably found to carry the message Arthur quickly returned to Gwen's side and held her hand through her pains until the midwife arrived and kicked him out. Arthur spent the first few hours pacing in the antechamber only a closed door away from where he could hear Gwen's cries of pain as the babe prepared to be born. Merlin, Leon and Percival watched him pace until they could stand it no longer and forcibly removed The King from the room and down to the presence chamber.

"I need to be there!" He protested.

"No, you don't." Percival said calmly. "You have already been told you're in the way more than once and it is doing you no good to hear Her Grace go through her labour."

"We can use this time to plan." Leon suggested. "Heralds have yet to be sent into the city to announce the imminent birth, no celebrations have been planned yet should The Queen give us a Prince."

"Or Princess." Arthur corrected. "No matter the sex of my child there will be celebrations." His three friends nodded, glad at least that progress was being made. Just then, the doors opened and King Rodor walked in.

"I heard the news." He said having been informed the moment he awoke, morning had only properly broken less than an hour ago. "Mithian has gone to see The Queen and try to comfort her where she can. If you would prefer she not be there, I can send for her." It was unheard of that a member of the royal family of one kingdom be present for the birth of another kingdom's heir. In the distant past such an event had occurred and had ended in tragedy, the heir to the neighbouring kingdom had killed the babe soon after it was born a boy for they'd planned to take their neighbour's kingdom for themselves.

"No, I am grateful for any comfort she can be."

"We were just about to send heralds into the city and plan celebrations for the birth." Merlin informed King Rodor.

"Ah," Rodor smiled, knowing they were trying to distract Arthur. "Well, let me tell you of the grand celebrations we had for Mithian's birth." Although he knew he was purposefully being distracted Arthur allowed it, knowing that continuously thinking on Gwen was only doing him harm. However, that did not stop him from jumping up in anticipation every time the door opened, until finally, several hours later, it was not merely a servant bringing food who entered but Gaius who was smiling quite broadly.

"Sire." He bowed.

"Well?" Arthur could bear the wait no longer.

"The Queen has delivered. Of a healthy son." If it was possible Gaius' smiled brightened.

"A son…" Arthur muttered as he registered what Gaius had said.

"Congratulations, Sire!"

"Wonderful news, Arthur!" Leon, Percival and Merlin said at once, all three clapping him on the back and watching as their King's face changed from one of shock and awe to pure joy.

"I have a son!" Arthur shouted jubilantly before he tore out of the room and ran through the castle to the royal chambers. Had the door to his antechamber not been open in anticipation of his arrival it would no doubt have banged loudly against the wall as it was thrown open for Arthur did not stop until he caught sight of his wife cradling a small bundle wrapped in blankets through the open door of their bedchamber. Gwen looked up when he sedately entered the room, unaware of the attendants who backed out to give them privacy, as she turned her adoring eyes from son to father.

"Come meet your son." She whispered to not disturb the sleeping babe. Arthur came over and very slowly lowered himself to sit beside Gwen on the bed, doing his utmost not to disturb the child either.

"He's beautiful." He couldn't help but mumble as he brought his hand to gently cup his son's head and run a loving finger down his cheek.

"The most precious." Gwen agreed. "What shall we call him?"

"William." Arthur said after a moment.

"Not Uther?" Gwen wondered.

"God no. That is not a legacy I want to bestow upon my son." Gwen said nothing but quite agreed. "No, William is a name all his own yet pays tribute to both our families."

"Our fathers' second forenames." Gwen said, recalling that both Uther and Thomas had William as one of their forenames. "And his own?" Husband and wife looked to each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Merlin." They said together and tried not to laugh too loudly.

"Elyan." Gwen added, knowing it was customary for a royal babe to have several forenames; the unofficial practice within Britain being the more forenames one had the higher in station they were. Arthur nodded liking the idea of honouring his fallen friend.

"Well if Elyan is one we might as well go all the way and not split the three up." He looked to Gwen for approval and she nodded.

"William Merlin Elyan Leon Percival." She murmured her adoring eyes once more on her son.

"Thank you, Guinevere." Arthur said as he leaned over for a kiss. "Thank you for giving him to me."

"I could say the same to you." She teased.

"I think my work in bringing him into the world is non-existent compared to yours." He teased back, though quickly sobered. "I was worried."

"I heard that you had been in the antechamber for awhile. You shouldn't have stayed."

"I wanted to stay longer, I wanted to be in here with you. I wanted to take your pain away."

"I know you did. And I know that if there was a way you would not hesitate. And I love you for it."

"With all my heart." He said the words she had spoken when they'd first admitted their love for each other.

"With all my heart."


A/N - So the baby's been born. When I read the chapter again the names seemed a bit much, going a little over the top with the sentimentality and all that but I decided to hell with it; initially when i wrote this I didn't hesitate in the name so decided to go with my instincts.

With this story I'm building on the Arthur/Merlin bromance (the wonderful and hilarious bromance) as well as the friend/family aspect that was touched on in the show. Let's be honest, a real medieval king would never let his friends talk to him the way Merlin talks to Arthur in the show, let alone his servants, and this is taking it a bit further...and knocking the traditions and propriety of the time on their ass. But it works, so just go with it!

Lastly, I know some of you expressed desire that Merlin would end up with Morgana...unfortunately that was never in my plans. Sorry to disappoint some of you. I know Morgana hasn't even played a huge role beyond the unseen villain, and originally I planned that she was seen more often then she has been, but it didn't work out that way when actually writing, and while she certainly isn't forgotten I don't think she'll suddenly start showing up a lot more. I also did not plan the Merlin/Mithian romance, that just kinda sneaked up on me. Don't know if they actually will end up together, I haven't actually written that far ahead yet, so we'll all just have to wait and see!