"Do try to keep up, Merlin. I'm not going to wait around all da- Merlin!"
Merlin looked up from the flowers he had been observing. He tilted his head quizzically at Arthur, not having heard a word he said. "Yes, sire?"
Arthur bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from insulting his friend; but really, sometimes Merlin was just a plain idiot.
"Let's go, we haven't got all day." He glanced down at the roses Merlin was looking at and scoffed. "What? You want flowers? I'll buy them for you another day, princess."
"Oh, ha-ha. Very funny, Arthur." Merlin made a face at the blonde's sarcasm. "I was thinking maybe the actual princess might like a couple of flowers -she is a girl, after all." He suggested, picking them up once more. A small bouquet of, no more than five, red roses was beautifully wrapped, a little yellow ribbon keeping them together. Merlin certainly thought they were worthy of a princess.
Arthur rolled his eyes, although he was quite unsure of what to do. He hadn't seen Accalia in five years; he didn't know what flowers she liked or if she even liked flowers at all. Merlin sensed Arthur's hesitation and shoved the flowers at him. "Just buy them. If she doesn't like them, you can always give them to Guinevere."
Arthur watched as Merlin walked off without another word and decided that he'd figure out a way to get rid of the disrespectfulness somehow. For now, however, he had to figure out what he was going to say to his 'cousins.' After all, they hadn't seen each other in a long time -they might not even like him anymore, or remember him.
Arthur, on the other hand… Arthur never forgot them, nor the day they ceased visiting Camelot. His father had gotten into a dispute with both kings about the way he was raising Arthur. Exasperated, the other two men had grabbed their children, barely saying goodbye, and left, never to return again. Yet now they were back, for some odd reason, and Arthur was going to enjoy the moments he had with his extended family. He only hoped that he would be able to act properly, so as not to insult them -they were all royalty and therefore should behave as such.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts some, Arthur began walking back towards the castle, wondering just where Merlin had wandered off to. Skimming the crowd of people with his eyes, he caught no sight of his companion. Really, it seemed that he was finding everyone except Merlin. How hard was it to find this kid -Merlin really did look like no other.
Once Arthur reached the front gates of his father's palace, he saw Merlin standing in a doorway, chatting with a girl. Eyebrows shooting up, Arthur chuckled silently. So Merlin's got it in him, eh? Lovely.
Upon approaching the couple, the prince decided he should intervene and take Merlin back inside with him. "Excuse me, ma'am…" He began, stopping short upon seeing the face of the young woman.
As the girl whirled around gracefully, her long, flowing, blonde hair flipped over her shoulder, as if with a mind of its own. Green eyes shined back at Arthur, slightly crinkled, displaying the utmost joy in them along with her wide smile. Her stunning looks caught Arthur off guard and he suddenly felt very guilty for thinking this way of a woman besides Guinevere.
The girl was quite tall, he noted, approximately a mere four inches shorter than himself. Her features were sharp, so she looked older, and she had an aura of sophistication mingled with juvenileness. Her slouched shoulders and boyish clothes made her look younger, so Arthur was unsure of how old she could have possibly been.
Once the mystery girl's gaze locked with Arthur's, her grin seemed to grow impossibly wider. "Arthur, is that really you?" She squealed, launching herself and enveloping him in a tight embrace, not even waiting for a response. Once the initial shock of the situation had passed, Arthur hugged back.
"A-Accalia…" He half-whispered, not quite believing this gorgeous lady could be the same freckled-face little girl that used to pretend to be the Cinderella to his Prince Charming. She imitated what he supposed was to be a giggle.
"The one and only, love." She replied, releasing him. He observed her for another moment before awkwardly holding out the flowers he had just purchased. She took them with grateful eyes. "Red roses are my favorite! Oh, thank you, Arthur! You really shouldn't have bothered though." Accalia kissed her old friend on the cheek, watching as he turned every shade of red possible.
A moment passed before Arthur cleared his throat and spoke. "I see you've met my manservant. Merlin, this is Princess Accalia of the Southern Isles." Making sure to pointedly emphasize the term princess, Arthur continued. "My lady, this is Merlin. He is my servant, and will be yours as well for your stay."
Accalia frowned slightly, her brow furrowing when Merlin nervously bowed. She preferred him much more when he wasn't treating her like a goddess. Shaking her head, she bid Merlin to stand properly once more. "Please, don't. I may be a princess, but I'm not a god. You don't have to treat me as such. I'm a mere teenager, same as you, Merlin. Please don't feel obligated to serve me the way you might Arthur; I'm not your ruler. I'm a guest here but I can most certainly fend for myself. While I'm here, just be my friend, okay? Nothing special."
Merlin was in shock. A princess who didn't want to be treated as one? Truthfully, she had seemed like a decent person when he was first talking to her but he expected something different; a snob, perhaps. A complete girl who demanded more respect than deserved. Anything but what Accalia was like. When he noticed her raising a quizzical eyebrow, he hastily nodded.
"Yes, Madame. I - I mean, Accalia…?" He corrected hesitantly, unsure of himself and of Arthur's reaction.
"Accalia," Arthur began, "You are a princess. Why would you allow anyone to treat you as anything less? In our kingdom, we are not rude. We love the people, we interact with them, but we are to be treated with a certain degree of respect. You can't just tell everyone to treat you like a commoner."
Accalia huffed indignantly. "I can and I will. Oh, don't you dare say that it's not proper of a princess again. You know very well that I've never been the best example of one anyways. Besides," she added. "The boys are the same way. Arthur, we may be royalty but we are kids above all. You might want to remember that, at least during our stay."
Before Arthur could respond to Accalia's mini-speech, three young men appeared on horseback. They expertly pulled up their horses alongside them and dismounted them with the grace of a professional. Arthur assumed that these were the princes.
"Arthur!" Prince Jason bellowed, and Arthur was surprised at the lack of formality amongst these kids. Really, they were all around his same age; how could their upbringing have been so different to the point where their views on their royalty differed so greatly? Could that have been the argument between the kings all those years ago? Pushing those thoughts aside, Arthur allowed himself to be enveloped in three more hugs.
"It's so great to see you boys again." He proclaimed, grin spreading from ear to ear. "I've really missed you all."
It was William who spoke up this time. "As have we, Arthur. It's been far too long." The others nodded in agreement as Arthur looked them over.
"Jason, you've gotten taller!" Arthur observed. Jason snorted and rolled his eyes.
"I was ten the last time you saw me, Arthur; of course I've grown!"
"That's not what I meant, dollophead."
The three teens looked at Arthur with confused expressions. It was James who voiced the unspoken question. "W-what's a dollophead?"
Merlin was unsuccessfully choking back laughter, capturing the attention of the three remaining princes. They glanced at one another, momentarily forgetting their original question, and instead inquired who the interesting fellow was.
"Who are you?" William demanded, not unkindly. Merlin's laughter immediately ceased as he addressed the guest.
"My name is Merlin, Your Highness. I work as Arthur's servant and assistant to the court's physician, Gaius." He responded, gaze lowered slightly, head bowed in respect. Although the boys smiled at the mention of Gaius, they frowned once more taking in Merlin's stance.
"They must have you heavily trained, eh Merlin?" James teased. "As I'm sure my sister would have already told you, we're royalty but we don't expect to be treated larger than life. Got it?"
"Yes, sire." Merlin responded immediately, wincing when William sighed disappointedly. He and James exchanged glances, ignoring Arthur's explanation of the comical word to the younger ones of the bunch.
"Merlin, how old are you?" He suddenly asked.
"I… I'm seventeen."
William nodded thoughtfully. "Seventeen… Right, I'm the oldest of us four and I'm only sixteen. You don't need to bow down to younger children, alright? I'm sure that's at least understandable."
Merlin tried to suppress a smirk at how vehemently they were trying to be treated like normal people. He decided immediately that he liked them.
"Alright, William." Merlin nodded as the other two boys smiled. James draped an arm over his shoulders.
"Now that that's settled, I think we're going to get along great, Merlin."
The conversations between the six teens droned on until Uther arrived, followed by the other kings and their respective queens. They were completely ignored.
"Arthur." Uther waited. Getting no response from his son, he tried again. "Arthur.." His boy continued to ignore him as he spoke with the others. "ARTHUR!"
All six children visibly flinched and Arthur looked up sheepishly. "Yes, Father?"
"I see your 'cousins' have found you." He chuckled lowly, while the other nobles approached Arthur and greeted him.
"My, how you have grown! Arthur Pendragon, you are nothing shy of a man." Queen Adelaide commented, tearing up a bit. Arthur merely smiled back at her.
"I'm only seventeen, Your Majesty."
It was then when King Vasilis, her husband, intervened. "Nonsense boy. We are family and you will not address us as if we are your rulers." Arthur, as well as Merlin, were incredibly astounded at who easygoing these people were. Perhaps they were only doing it for show, wondered Merlin.
"Come now, let's go inside; Arthur, why didn't you bring the others in? Merlin, get their bags." Uther commanded, leading the way into the castle. Merlin rolled his eyes but did as instructed, stuttering in a semi-horrified manner when he noticed the princes carrying their own bags.
"I'll get that, don't worry!" He exclaimed hastily, lest he get reprimanded by the king. The boys smiled back at him and shook their heads, making sure to keep their items out of Merlin's reach. He groaned. "Really, let me take that! It's my job. Guys!" He scurried in after them, desperately hoping he wouldn't get into trouble because of them.
Running all through the palace's hallways, the three princes avoided Merlin at all costs. They simply refused to have the poor boy carrying all the load of bags -besides, he was already carrying their parents' things, they might as well grab their own.
"William, come back here! James, Jason! PLEASE!" Merlin screeched, practically begging them. The only response he got was a chorus of "no's". He was about to let his temper get the best of him when Uther's booming voice rang out, followed by Arthur's.
"Why is there running and screaming in my halls?!"
"MERLIN!"
The rulers of Camelot came out and glared at Merlin unmercifully. Uther fixed him with a blood chilling gaze. "Why do you only have half of the luggage? How dare you address the princes that way? I should have you fired, or at the very least, put in the stocks!"
Merlin crumbled under the harsh scolding, knowing he'd only make it worse if he didn't submit to the king. Just then, the other boys appeared, looking bashful.
"Uther, don't yell at Merlin. It was our fault, we wouldn't give him the bags. Please don't fire him." Pleaded Jason, sounding more like a little boy than fifteen years old. His own father glared at him.
"You boys thought you'd save Merlin trouble by dashing and hollering through the halls? Really, you aren't children anymore, so stop acting like it!" He chastised all three, who bowed their heads, mumbling apologies.
Uther paid no mind to the side discussion as he continued to glare down at the worker before him. Arthur chose to spoke up before Merlin really did get fired or worst.
"Father, I'll handle it. Merlin is my responsibility. I apologize for his behavior."
Before his father could answer, Arthur grabbed Merlin by the back of his collar and hauled him off, taking the extra luggage from the boys as they went past. Once they arrived at the bedrooms to drop off the items, Arthur turned to Merlin.
"Merlin."
The other boy raised his head, but did not meet the prince's eyes. Arthur noticed and softened slightly.
"Merlin… I don't want to hear of that childish behavior again. You know very well that my father intends to make a good impression and he's very quick to get rid of people who don't suit him well. Merlin, are you listening to me?" Once he received a nod, he continued. "I'm doing this for your sake, not mine. Heed my advice or don't, I don't care; but this is your first and last warning. Understand?"
Merlin peered up at Arthur through his eyelashes. "Yes, Prince Arthur." He responded before walking away. Arthur winced slightly at the tone with which Merlin spoke. So, he was offended, huh? Embarrassed, maybe.
Sighing, Arthur ventured back into the halls, making his way down to the throne room where he found everyone else gathered. Accalia was the first to glance up.
"Where's Merlin?"
Arthur hesitated a moment. He internally cursed himself for not having questioned Merlin about where he was wandering off to. A good lie…
"He went to see if Gaius needed anything. He'll be back soon." Upon noticing William, James, and Jason's worried expressions, he added, "I didn't kill him. You don't have to look like that."
"No, leave them be. They should feel guilty, getting that poor boy in trouble. I understand you three wanted to help, but that was not the way to go about it." King Vasilis, James and Accalia's father, scolded once more.
Uther rose from his seat. "Well, never mind that. It's the first time you all are in Camelot in a long while -what would you like to see first?"