I'm going away for a week so no updates until then.

MM

Merlin panted heavily as he skidded to a halt outside of the door to his home. His cheeks were flushed a bright pink after the exertion, and from the warm midday sun. His hair was swept back, loose ends sticking in every direction.

"I win!" he gasped out looking behind himself, as not a second later Will almost came crashing into him, being unable to stop in time. Merlin shrugged out of the way, giggling at his friend. His giggle quickly broke off, becoming a grin as he watched his friend.

Will batted at his trousers in a futile effort to remove the dust and long dried mud from the fabric, but gave up after he was almost unable to shift any of the mess.

"You cheated," Will accused, a scowl on this face.

"I did not!" Merlin pouted. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood defiantly in front of Will.

Will met Merlin's eyes straight on, initiating a staring contest between the two.

The two children remained absorbed in their contest, blocking out the world around them. Blue remained trained on green, as seconds ticked past. Soon enough water began gathering in both pairs of eyes, forcing the blue eyes to flick closed.

"Ha! You blinked," Will cried, happy over getting back at Merlin. Merlin puffed out his cheeks but refused to answer.

"We should go inside, it's hot." Merlin changed the topic, opening the door without waiting for Will's response. The other boy shrugged to himself before entering as well.

MM

Inside, Merlin quickly fetched a cup and dunked it in the bucket of water next to the cupboard. He ran over to Will taking a large gulp as his did so. Will then took the cup off of Merlin, finishing the rest of the water.

"Now we're inside, so little Merlin won't get sunburnt. What do you want to do?" Will teased.

"Shut up." Merlin took the cup back off his friend, dumping it on top of the cupboard counter.

"I know! Let's make a secret den." Merlin's eyes lit up at the suggestion, and he jogged over to the bed, grabbing all the blankets his small arms could carry. He dropped the blankets in a heap near Will's feet, before turning tail and running to get more.

Whilst Merlin was gathering equipment, Will set about sorting through the blankets Merlin had already gotten, pulling the largest one out. He dragged it over to the table, then tossed the fabric on top of the surface. He then set about bringing all the chairs in the house over to join the table.

Meanwhile, Merlin had finished collecting blankets and pillows, and was busy draping the blankets off the edges of the table. The boys quickly pulled the edges around, tying them onto chairs to creating a larger space. They then took the remaining blanket and pillows and set them out on the floor inside of the den, making the space comfortable. Then finally they pulled the ends of the blankets down and into the den, so that all sides were covered.

Merlin grinned at Will before he ducked, and practically dived into the den.

"Come on Will! Get in here."

The other boy rolled his eyes at Merlin's enthusiasm, before he crawled in to join him.

Inside, Merlin had surrounded himself with the majority of the pillows, making a sort of nest for himself.

"Hey! Don't take all the pillows, Merlin," Will said, grabbing the few that remained. He arranged those pillows on the floor for himself, but kept glancing at the frankly massive pile Merlin possessed. "You know what? I'm going to get more." He got up, and left the den before Merlin could reply.

MM

Outside of the den, Will crossed his arms as he searched for any extra pillow or blankets that Merlin had forgotten. His eyes quickly landed on a small pillow leant against the wall, half hidden behind a flower vase of simple design.

"You forgot a pillow."

"Did I?" Merlin joined Will out of the den, a confused expression on his face.

"Yes, that one over there." Will pointed across the room as he spoke.

"That's mum's special one."

"I should use it then, seeing as you have stolen all of the other ones."

Merlin pouted crossing his own arms. "I didn't steal them all. Anyway, you can't have that one."

"Sure I can." Will started towards the pillow.

"No! It's fine, you can have one of mine." Merlin disappeared back inside of their den. He uttered a sharp "ouch" as he misjudged the height of the table in his haste, and banged his head on the way in. Meanwhile, Will had begun to cross the room and was almost at his destination, when Merlin emerged carrying one of the other pillows. "Here," Merlin said, drawing his arm back to throw the pillow. "You can have this one."

Unfortunately luck was not on Merlin's side. Even though Will tried to catch the pillow, it's trajectory was wrong, and it crashed into Hunith's vase knocking it over, and onto the floor where it shattered.

"Merlin!" Will exclaimed.

"What? You were supposed to catch it." Merlin hurried across the room, carefully lifting away the pillow he had thrown from the remains of the vase.

"I would have, it you weren't so bad at throwing things."

"Mum's going to be so angry."

"At you, you mean," Will said. His voice was confident, although his posture gave away his slight uncertainty.

At that moment the front door creaked open as Hunith returned from her errand. She quickly spotted the den in the centre of the room. Smiling to herself at her son and his friends antics, she deposited her bundle out of the way. She turned to the rest of the room, seeing first Will, then Merlin, and finally the broken vase.

"Boys." She spoke for the first time since arriving, voice an almost deadpan. "What have I told you about being careful around the house?" Her eyes travelled back and forth between both of the boys waiting for one of them to say something.

When neither boy responded, she moved her attention to the bundle she had brought with her, unwrapping it and not sparing even an ounce of attention to the children, instead leaving them to stew in her disappointment. She meticulously set out all of the herbs from the bundle, dividing them based on their uses. Behind her she heard the scuffing of shoes on the floor, and after finishing her task she turned back around to see both Merlin and Will had started to approach her slowly - Merlin with his eyes cast down, and Will with as much bravery and confidence as he could muster.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident," Merlin muttered, glancing up briefly before looking back down to the floor.

Hunith nodded at her son before looking to Will who stubbornly remained tight lipped. She raised one eyebrow at the boy, expectantly.

"Sorry, Hunith," Will eventual said, shoulders dropping slightly.

"Thank you for apologising boys. Now I just need you to remember if you want to play inside that you have to be very careful."

"Yes Hunith." They chorused.