Hello, everybody! I hope you're all doing good, and I do apologize for being so many days late. Working on that reincarnation fic I mentioned before, and it's steadily growing. As in, 80 document pages, and growing. *passes out and jumps back up to type some more*
I know that, in the end of A Servant of Two Masters, there wasn't actually animosity between George and Merlin, but in this fic, Merlin is a cat (like you didn't know that...hehe), and I imagine him in feline form to be a bit more possessive and jealous than he is in his human form (particularly over Arthur). Also, I thought it made him cuter. Sue me.
Chapter Five
When the requested bowl of milk was finally delivered, Arthur nearly sighed when he saw its deliverer was none other than George, the manservant, who had taken a position as a supervising servant after Merlin had returned from the apparent dead and retaken his duties. Even though he required all servants beneath him to be precise and quick, and did not hesitate to end their situations if they were not up to his standards, George still did not trust anyone but himself to carry out the king's orders if they were to someone other than Merlin.
When he approached, his steps light and hurried, Merlin (who had been sitting, surprisingly well-behaved, for the past several minutes at Arthur's writing-desk) took one, lazy glance at him and promptly acquired a look that was closest to vain the young king had ever seen in the face of an animal.
"Good afternoon, sire," George articulated as he set the bowl down on the desk in front of him.
Arthur, who was not quite as unobservant as some would believe, noticed it when George gave a sidelong look at the unfamiliar cat, held the piercing blue glare evenly for a very long moment, and then straightened his shoulders and looked back to his king.
"Thank you, George," Arthur said, feeling inexplicably awkward at the exchange he'd just witnessed. "I appreciate that you brought it up yourself."
"Of course, sire. I wouldn't allow any less for you, your majesty."
At that, Merlin made a noise which might have been punctuated by the rolling of his eyes should he have been human. He stood with a deliberate show of elegance, flipped his two-tone tail in the air slowly and ostentatiously, and slid his back under the hand of his beloved master, looking only away from the proud manservant's face to dip his tiny, pink tongue in the fresh milk.
Arthur stroked Merlin's back absent-mindedly, unaware that the jealousy-prone feline was relishing in the affection in George's haughty presence.
George narrowed his eyes at the cat, and whether he had a sure idea of who it was or if he just took an immediate dislike to the creature out of nature, we may never know.
"Shall I do anything else for you, sire, while I am here?"
At that, Merlin raised his head to continue glaring.
Arthur ruffled the fur between his perked ears.
"No, thank you, George. You may go."
George bowed, once, curtly, and turned to leave with one, last look into the sharpness of Merlin's eyes.
"Oh, George!" Arthur called out, recalling suddenly Merlin's earlier fascination when the cat began to peer around for the scarlet thread, which had fallen aside. "Will you please bring me some string?"
"String, sire."
"Yes. A lot of it. Get it from the seamstresses, if you can."
Merlin, who had begun purring again with eyes closed now that George was retreating, nuzzled his head against Arthur's fingers in gratitude of the warmth of them. George narrowed his eyes into wondering slits.
"Of course, my lord."
And with that, he left, and several questions which he was too proper and logical to voice bounced around in his organized mind all the way to the seamstress'.
It was less than ten minutes later that there was a knock at the door.
"Enter," Arthur called from where he sat at his dining table.
As the knob turned, he pushed Merlin's long tail out of the way of the paragraph he was attempting to read with a subdued toleration. Merlin, who was extremely captivated by the shiny helmet Arthur had placed in front of him (in hopes to get the time to read at least one page without interruption), did not seem to notice the king's annoyance at his unruly tail or the new person entering the room, and just went on about his business examining the peculiar piece of gleaming metal at all possible angles.
When Arthur looked up to see Guinevere closing the door behind her, Arthur immediately laid aside the book and greeted her with a welcoming smile.
"Guinevere," he said with mild surprise. "It's nice to see you here."
At the sound of Arthur's voice, Merlin peeked up over the top of the helmet.
Gwen giggled at the sudden appearance of his huge ears and curious eyes.
"I had a short reprieve from my duties earlier," said she, putting her hand in the pocket of her simple, dainty dress, "and I made something for Merlin. I thought he'd be here."
Merlin, whose reaction to Gwen's presence was considerably better than his reaction to George's, tiptoed around the helmet and sat before her on the tabletop expectantly, as though he had understood every word of what she'd said.
Guinevere smiled at him and produced a small piece of red fabric.
Arthur could not help but grin with a chuckle of "I cannot believe this" when he realized what she was doing.
Once Gwen had pulled her hands back to get a good look at her work, Merlin tilted his head just slightly to the side. When he, too, realized what the attentive woman done, he meowed loudly with happiness and bounded a little in his excitement.
She laughed aloud, her eyes shining as she watched him thank her in his own special way.
Arthur met her eyes, and could not help but sit back in his chair with a great, hearty laugh as the little creature celebrated over his gift. If he hadn't been a perfectly feline Merlin before, the miniaturized red scarf adorning his fur-soft neck made it undeniably obvious now.
Merlin skipped to his chuckling master and placed both paws against his chest, meowing persistently for his attention.
"I see it, Merlin," Arthur answered his mewls. "It looks just as ridiculous as always."
Gwen grinned wider at the joy of her dear boys, and when Merlin scampered to her and put his paws atop each of her hands, she replied to his silent thanks,
"Oh, you're so welcome, Merlin. Don't listen to him. It's very attractive on you."
Merlin meowed, loudly, once more, and continued to dance around the table, the neck-scarf soft against his back as he did.
"He won't shut up about this for at least another candle-mark, I hope you're aware," Arthur told her, but the laughter in his eyes dispelled any dislikes he could have of this fact.
"Well, we could hardly have Merlin running about without a neck-scarf," she replied evenly. "It would simply upset the balance of nature."
Arthur laughed again, and after watching Merlin nearly run straight into the helmet he'd forgotten was sitting there, he looked back up to her and said, his voice soft and sincere as he smiled,
"I love you, Guinevere."
Her eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat, because in all the times she'd imagined what his voice would sound like saying it, she never thought it could be so beautiful.
"I love you, Arthur," she said in return, once her breath was returned.
Arthur took her hand and kissed it gently; it was not a solemn action, heavy with depth or meaning, but was simple, and easy, and absolutely perfect.
Merlin cantered to them, desiring Arthur's attention once more after his brief interval, and Arthur used the hand which wasn't holding onto Guinevere's to smooth out the scarf against his back.
Gwen didn't think that moment could have been any more wonderful even if Merlin had been human.
To be continued
I just had to do it. :)
And one thing (almost) entirely unrelated to this story: Does anyone reading have a livejournal account, and if so, would you mind terribly informing me on how it all works, showing me what communities I should join, etc. I just made one recently and I really would love to know which Merlin communities there are to explore, who are some good people to follow, and that sort of thing. Thanks so much! :D