Masters of the Scene

Olwen may be the wife of a nobleman, but that doesn't mean she's not above gossiping with her handmaids.

The winter solstice celebration at Camelot is an event attended by all the upper ranks of the kingdom, some families trekking for days to arrive at the castle. She and her husband have brought both their children, in the hope that Arthur will take kindly to both of them – a prospective wife and a prospective knight. She knows that it's a selfish move, but all the noblewomen are doing it these days.

They arrive two days before the banquet and spend their time in their chambers or wandering the castle and its ground, and really they're employing an awful lot of servants – Olwen wonders if perhaps they've searched the town for more people because an event like this takes so much preparation. She encounters so many servants that she stops getting annoyed when they do not address her correctly, but for all the people that she bumps into, there's only one that she actually wants to see with her own eyes.

It's not until the actual feast that she sees him though and she's shocked. He's sat beside the Prince, eyes bright and quick and amused, darting around the room and taking everything in as Arthur whispers in his ear. There's a short, sharp laugh in reply to something that the Prince says and Merlin nods his head, still surveying the tables.

Olwen's heard the stories – a peasant boy raised to manservant, then to the high position of court advisor in the space of one year.

But there's no trace of the peasant within the young man sat at the top table. His motions are smooth and graceful and he makes small talk with the surrounding guests, but always turns back to Prince Arthur on his right. Every now and then, their fingers will brush and Olwen's been watching long enough to notice the brief glow that comes from skin-on-skin contact.

She continues to watch them as she eats, close to ignoring those around her because she's just enthralled by the two young men. Frequently, one will turn to the other with no warning, a smile or a frown upon their face, as though something silent has passed between them. Olwen's heard that they use magic – both of them – and it may or may not be true; every time she looks away she sees something in the corner of her eye that could be sorcery, but as soon as she turns to them whatever they were doing has stopped.

The maids have told her that Uther dislikes Merlin, and was reluctant to promote him. If that's true, it's not obvious – he's conversing with the advisor across the Prince, who occasionally adds to whatever it is that they're talking about. They seem at ease, and every now and then the Lady Morgana will lean forward and join in as well. Olwen isn't sure about what goes on when they're in private but here, at least, they act like a well-oiled family unit.

It's something that she could be jealous of.

**

Later, after the meal and when the servants have cleared the large tables (Merlin showed his origins by nearly trying to help them before Arthur laid a hand on his arm, and he desisted), music strikes up and fills the room and for a moment Olwen thinks that finally, Merlin or Arthur is performing magic publicly – but then she spots the band hidden away in the corner, and her hopes fall.

The men stand and each reaches for a woman's hand, leading them away from the table and towards the large space that has been cleared for the after-dinner entertainment, and whilst the Prince takes Lady Morgana, Merlin holds out his hand to the nearest young woman and with a dazzling smile, he's dancing with her before the girl has time to process what is happening.

Olwen allows her husband to take her towards to dance after a brief talk with her daughter on how to ensure that Arthur asks her to dance, but even in her husband's arms, she's still watching them both. And she can watch them both, even though they're dancing with different people, because they rarely seem to be too far apart. It's almost as though they're connected somehow.

After the first dance they both leave their partners and the floor – Morgana has plenty of other men to choose from – and both head towards Olwen, weaving in between guests as though they've planned this. She briefly hopes that one of them has come to ask her daughter to dance, then looks closer, and realises that she couldn't be further from the truth.

Their hands keep brushing as they walk, golden sparks jumping between them they're so close. She looks up and sees that their eyes are glowing gold instead of blue, and as they walk past their heads are bent together, whispering to each other. She twists in her husband's grip to watch them.

Before they reach the edge of the room, Arthur glances over his shoulder quickly before flicking his hand and the door swings open silently, and then the hand moves to rest on the small of Merlin's back as the Prince ushers him through the door. It swings shut behind them, cutting off the bark of laughter that one or both of them lets out as they leave.

She feels as though some sort of spell has been broken – she's been captivated by them all evening, and suddenly all the sounds and colours in the room rush at her as though they've been blurred and muted for the past few hours. She blinks slowly, and looks at her husband. He's smiling at her.

Olwen has heard that Prince Arthur was the one to persuade the King to lift the ban on magic. She's heard that he did it for Merlin.

Of everything that she's heard from her handmaids, she knows without a doubt that this is true.

Across the room your eyes are glowing in the dark
And here we go again, we know the start, we know the end