Sorry about the hold up these past few weeks. I've been up in the mountains taking samples for my lab and didn't have any internet connection or time to edit and post this. I hope that everyone is having a great week and that they are enjoying October.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Merlin stood in the arch of the door that led to Prince Arthur's chambers. His private chambers. The chambers that Merlin would be living in and working in for the foreseeable future. Merlin wiggled his toes in his boots. They were barely touching the interior of the room. Just a small portion sticking onto the stones that became Arthur's room. Merlin took a deep breath and attempted to calm his beating heart. Was it always this hot in Camelot? He felt that it should be colder for this time of the year. Maybe the heat was caused by his nerves. He read that somewhere.
Merlin shook his head to try and clear the thoughts. This wasn't what he should be thinking about now. He had a job to do. Though, he wasn't entirely sure what that job entailed. Manservant was a weird word. Did this mean Merlin was a man now? He didn't think so. And what was Arthur expecting him to do? In all his life, Merlin had never served anyone. Well, his previous master probably didn't count. Whenever Merlin served him, it would be to hurt others.
Once again Merlin shook his head to get rid of the thoughts that were floating around. He didn't want to remember something that was so sad and scary. He didn't like living with that man. He was in Camelot now. And Camelot was a happy place. He was friends with a prince and a princess and knights and even the court physician! They were nice people. They didn't ask Merlin to hurt his friends or learn how to do scary things like curses. Merlin's life would be better here. He just knew it. And he couldn't wait to start helping Arthur out.
There was a special sort of hum with his magic whenever Arthur was near it. It was pleasant and tingly in Merlin's fingers. Something told him that Arthur was a good person. Something told Merlin that he and Arthur were going to do great things together. Merlin got butterflies in his stomach just thinking about all the cool stuff the pair could do. But, to do cool stuff, he first had to get through the door. That was easier said than done as his feet didn't seem to want to move. Merlin glared down at his feet. He was considering ordering them to move, but he didn't want Arthur to think he was crazy.
Oh no. What if something went wrong? What if something bad happened? Merlin felt his stomach twist back into knots just thinking about bad things. His master, previous master, had said that if Merlin ever disobeyed him, bad things would happen. What if Arthur was nice on the surface but mean once Merlin really got to know him. Some of his old friends told him stuff like that happened all the time. Maybe Arthur would beat him for the smallest thing. Maybe he would send Merlin to the whipping post for dropping his breakfast. And Merlin was clumsy. He would probably slice his hand off on Arthur's sword. He would trip over the rug and break his neck. He could…
"Merlin," Arthur called out . "While I am well aware these are rather impressive chambers, you actually have a job to do. Don't just stand there and gawk like an idiot."
"I'm not an idiot! You're just a dollophead!" Merlin squawked. His previous fears were forgotten. If Arthur really was mean, Merlin could easily run away. Arthur crossed his arm.
"What on earth is a dollophead?" he asked. Merlin opened and closed his mouth several times before glaring at Arthur. Arthur fought back a laugh. Poor little Merlin looked more like a stray puppy. He thought he was more threatening than he really was. It was kind of cute.
"You are!" Merlin finally spat out. Merlin then clenched his fists at his side, screwed his face, and sucked in a deep breath. He was going to prove to Arthur that he could do this job. With one last glare directed at Arthur, Merlin stepped through the threshold. Upon realizing that he wasn't about to be punished, or insulted, Merlin took a chance to look around. Leon and Gwaine were also in the chambers. Gwaine was sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on the table. He was happily munching on an apple. Leon was standing beside him, looking through some papers.
"Relax, Merlin," Gwaine said after swallowing a bite of apple. "If princess here bites, let me know. I'll bite back," Gwaine said with a wink. Merlin giggled and Leon smacked Gwaine on the head. "Ow," Gwaine said, massaging the spot Leon had just hit.
"Don't encourage him," Leon said, not even looking up from the documents. Gwaine muttered something that Merlin couldn't hear and continued to eat his apple. Merlin peaked at the table that was in the room. One it, there were two dishes. One was full of meat, cheese, and fruit. The other was a bowl of steaming something. Gwaine had called it something else a few days ago, but Percival threw him out the door before Merlin got to hear what the word was. The scraping of a chair brought Merlin back to the room. Gwaine stood up and dusted himself off before walking over to Merlin.
"Here we go," Gwaine said, lifting Merlin off the floor and setting him on the chair.
"He can use his legs, you know?" Arthur griped before popping a grape in his mouth. Merlin looked down and doubted he could actually get on the chair. His feet were dangling helplessly off the edge of it and he could barely see over the table. Why was everything in Camelot so big?
Actually, Camelot was a lot different from where Merlin used to live. It was much cleaner than his cave or his other home, if you could call it that. His little room was actually a dungeon shared by five other people. They rarely bathed and the cell was never cleaned. In the winter, the wind and snow would sweep through the holes in the walls, making freezing to death a very real possibility. Merlin remembered going to be with five people once, but only three woke up the next morning. He felt sick as he remembered their lifeless corpses, too stiff to even move properly. And when it rained, the water would seep in through the cracks, making everything moldy and smelly. It was always dark to. You never saw the sun rise or set. You never knew what time it was. Merlin felt a hand run through his hair, bringing him back to the present. He was no longer in that place. People weren't going to freeze to death here. And the castle didn't smell like mold, sweat, and blood. Merlin looked up and realized that Gwaine was the one who was absentmindedly running his hand through Merlin's hair. Merlin smiled and relaxed. He was safe here.
"Merlin, eat your breakfast and then I'll send you off to George to get properly trained," Leon said. He was staring at Merlin. Leon knew that Merlin was probably remembering his old home. He could see the look of fear and sadness on the boy's face. Hopefully Merlin would open up to the knights one day. The boy deserved to move on from his past. He deserved to be happy.
Merlin looked down at the bowl in front of him and pulled a face. Leon cracked a smile and Gwaine openly laughed. It was another bowl of porridge.
"Don't make that face, Merlin," Arthur said, looking over his schedule for the day. "Gaius says you need to eat it for a couple more days before we can move you to real food."
"But…it's so mushy. And bland. Arthur! It doesn't taste like anything! Not even water!" Merlin cried. He waved his arms dramatically. His eyes widened and he looked towards Arthur with such a sad look, Arthur almost relented. Almost. He did enjoy torturing Merlin a bit.
"Eat your breakfast and maybe you can eat something better for dinner," Gwaine said. Leon sighed.
"Bribery is not a good way to raise kids," he said. Merlin paid no attention and began digging into his porridge, still grimacing every time he took a bite. Gwaine looked at Leon, his hands still playing with Merlin's hair.
"Have you ever had to eat porridge for a week straight?" Leon smiled and shook his head.
"No, I have not," he answered.
"Have you, Gwaine?" Merlin asked, his mouth full of mushy food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Leon scolded. Gwaine laughed and wiped some of the porridge off of Merlin's cheek.
"Yes I have, Merls. But the reason will have to wait until you're older. It involves a horse," Gwaine said.
"That's enough. Don't say another word!" Leon gasped. Gwaine and Arthur laughed. Merlin grinned and spooned another bite of the mushy glop into his mouth. He was glad his friends all seemed happy here. He could be happy here to. Merlin finished eating the porridge and proudly showed his empty bowl to the two men in the room.
"Alright, Merlin. You are going to be training with George until noon. Then you're to go to Gaius for three hours. After that, resume training with George. Come back to the prince's chambers at dinner time and if anyone gives you any trouble, come straight to me or one of the knights," Leon explained.
"And remember, no magic. Only use it when Gaius tells you to," Arthur warned. Merlin nodded happily and went skipping out the door to find George. Arthur sighed and sank back into his chair.
"How much do you want to bet that running the kingdom won't be as difficult as keeping that kid out of trouble?" Gwaine laughed. Arthur was about to answer when a crash was hear out in the hall.
"I'm okay!" Merlin shouted. Leon sighed.
"I'll go make sure he doesn't break anything of value. Or his neck," he said before leaving the room. Arthur looked back at Gwaine.
"Don't you have training to do?" he asked. Gwaine laughed and left the room as well, not really answering his question. One thing was for sure, Merlin was going to be a new kind of trouble.
oOoOoOo
Merlin was exhausted. That was a new word he learned from Linda, a maid. The reason for Merlin's exhaustion lay in his job. Everyday he had to wake up before the sun to get breakfast for both him and Arthur. From there, he would sit there and work and work and work until it was time to go help Gaius. He polished, groomed, laundered, and did all sorts of stuff. Merlin had tried to convince George that Arthur didn't need his shirts to be washed every day. George just sat there sputtering for about ten minutes. Merlin got bored waiting for the man to regain his grip on the world and went off in search of pretty flowers he could give to Gwen and Morgana. Percival found him three hours later in a panic. Merlin really didn't mean to stay out that late. But there were so many pretty plants Morgana and Gwen could use to decorate with.
Merlin didn't get the chance to wander off again. George was almost constantly hovering around Merlin, criticizing almost everything he did. And when George wasn't hovering, it was Gaius or one of the knights. It was getting exhausting. The only fun thing Merlin got to do was groom the horses, and that was only because he could talk to them. Apparently, he was the only person Arthur's horse, Myddrin, would allow to brush him. Well, the horse told Merlin his actual name was Lucinda, but Merlin didn't think anyone would believe him.
And then there were the baths. Merlin had to bathe almost everyday. Why would anyone need to bathe that much? What was the point? Leon had tried to tell Merlin that it was important because of something called hygiene. Merlin thought he was just making stuff up. At least the water was warm. And Morgana had given Merlin a special kind of potion that made bubbles in the water. Except, he accidently poured too much in and Arthur's chambers were filled to the top with bubbles. Merlin thought it was fun. Leon was panicked that King Uther would be mad at Merlin. And Arthur just sat there hitting his head against the wall while Gwen and Elyan worked for nearly an hour to get the bubbles to go down. Merlin wasn't allowed to have bubbles with his bath again.
Merlin also got to learn more reading and writing with Leon. It was important since he would once day be Court Sorcerer. Well, no one had told him that he was going to be court sorcerer, but he knew it was going to happen. So he needed to study so that he could one day be Court Sorcerer? Though, he wasn't really sure what Court Sorcerers do.
Merlin stopped at the top of the stairs and sat down. He really was exhausted. It had been two weeks since he had started his job. Arthur said that he might get to stop training under George next week, which would be nice. He wondered how Freya was doing back at the castle. He really should have taken her with him. But the only people who could help her were at the castle. Who know? Maybe Merlin would come back and Freya would be cured.
He heard a familiar howling in the distance, making him perk up. Rowena was back from her trip! And she wanted to visit with Merlin! Merlin stood up and did a little dance. He would ask Arthur later tonight if he could go visit Rowena. He wanted to ask, since everyone seemed so worried about him when they didn't know where he was at. It was kind of weird, but nice at the same time. Merlin bent down and picked up the tray that held Arthur's dinner. Arthur would surely say yes. Merlin was sure of it.
He stepped into the chambers with a bright smile on his face. Arthur looked up from his papers.
"What's go you so happy?" he muttered. Merlin sat the tray on the table and crawled up on the chair across from Arthur. "Sorry kid, I'm not eating your vegetables. Leon and Gaius would kill me and I don't care for them either," Arthur said. Merlin rolled his eyes.
"It's not that!" he said.
"Then what is it? Did Morgana give you more bubbles?" Arthur said, looking slightly worried.
"I'm visiting Rowena tonight," Merlin said. He was positively beaming. Arthur tilted his head to the side and stared at Merlin for a few minutes before speaking.
"Rowena is the wolf?"
"She wolf."
"And you want to go into the forest to talk with her?"
"Yes."
"You're going to go whether or not I give you permission."
"Yes." Arthur sighed and sank back in his chair.
"Alright, when and where are we going to meet this wolf?" he asked.
"She wolf," Merlin replied. Arthur stared at Merlin. "Around ten tonight in a clearing right outside the castle," Merlin said. He smiled innocently at Arthur. Arthur fought back a groan. He needed help if he was going to keep Merlin out of trouble in the dark.
oOoOoOo
"Merlin, kiddo, can't your wolf-friend visit us during daylight hours?" Gwaine asked, yawning as the group of knights shuffled their way through the forest to visit the she-wolf.
"No, silly," Merlin giggled. The group had gotten two feet out of the castle before Merlin had tripped, causing Percival to pick him up and place him on his shoulders. It was kind of nice being so high. Merlin hoped that he would grow to be as tall as Percival one day. "People would wonder why I'm talking to a wolf if that was the case."
Gwaine nodded absentmindedly and continued to trek through the forest. He hadn't gotten very good sleep these past few nights. Morgana's visions continued to haunt him. Gwaine wasn't even having them, he was just being told their content. He couldn't even imagine what it was like for Morgana to have to live through them every night.
"I, for one, think this is a good idea," Lancelot said. "Merlin can catch up with an old friend and we can meet someone who has helped him survive for so long." Gwaine cast a worried glance at Lancelot, which went unnoticed by the majority of the group. Morgana had only confided in Gwen and himself what her terrifying vision was about. And it hadn't gone away either. In fact, it had gotten more descriptive. Now, there was a blond chick reeking havoc in Morgana's dreams. That was just what Gwaine needed. More descriptive visions from a seer who was rarely wrong. Now he couldn't go to his favorite tavern without suspecting Henrietta was some conniving bitch who wanted to take Camelot down.
"Gwaine!" Leon's voice cut through the memory. Gwaine jolted and turned towards Leon. He flashed a charming smile. "You seem distracted. Is everything alright?" Leon asked in a hushed tone. He had noticed Gwaine was spending a lot more time with Morgana and Gwen than usual. It was starting to worry him. Both Gwaine and Morgana were starting to get dark circles under their eyes. Something was going on between them. There was an underlying fear that seemed to linger around the trio. What was worse is that Morgana wouldn't confide in Leon or Arthur. If something was going to happen, they needed to know in order to help prevent it. But Morgana was constantly afraid of self-fulfilling prophecies. She didn't want the future to be misused and tended to suffer alone because of these beliefs.
"Nothing's wrong, mate," Gwaine said. He had promised Morgana not to tell anyone about her visions unless absolutely necessary. Gwaine figured that the moment she had them was the proper time to tell everyone, but the lady insisted that Gwaine not breathe a word to the other knights. Leon nodded, clearly not believing Gwaine. The group reached a small clearing and stopped.
"Rowena!" Merlin shouted. He jumped off of Percival's shoulders and shot across the clearing like an arrow. A large, white wolf was sitting patiently on the other side. Gwaine assumed this was Rowena as the wolf allowed Merlin to wrap his arms around her neck. "Sorry I didn't come earlier, but I had so much work," Merlin said, his arms hooked around the wolf's neck. Rowena turned and began nuzzling Merlin's head before licking his hair. The wolf continued to groom Merlin, making the boy giggle.
"Stop, Rowena, that tickles." The knights stood awkwardly at the edge of the clearing, not quite sure what they should do in this situation. Rowena wasn't hurting Merlin, so there wasn't really a problem. But the knights did feel awkward just sitting there and watching Merlin get licked by a she wolf.
"Oh! These are my friends," Merlin said suddenly, gesturing towards the small group. "That's Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Arthur, Elyan, and Lancelot. Morgana, Gwen, and Gaius aren't here right now. But maybe I'll introduce you to them later!" Merlin said happily. He started chatting with Rowena about what he had been up to, how he had met the knights, how much magic he had learned, etc.
Rowena stopped nuzzling Merlin and stood up, shaking out her coat before trotting up to the knights. Merlin spun around to face the wolf and continued to talk about his bubble bath. Rowena sat proudly in front of the knights and inspected each with her steel grey eyes. The gaze was intense and made Gwaine shiver. She was inspecting each of them, making sure that they weren't a danger to her pup. Gwaine didn't even think that this was possible for animals to do. Yet, here Rowena was, inspecting them and making sure they could take care of something as precious as Merlin.
About thirty minutes later, Merlin yawned and walked back over to Percival.
"Sorry I couldn't stay longer, Rowena," he said. Percival scooped him up and cradled him in his arms. "Maybe we can visit more often now that you're back from your trip. I'm glad Khan's pack made that treaty with yours," Merlin said. Gwaine exchanged glances with the others. Apparently, wolves had a much more complex system than anyone had suspected. Rowena walked up to the knights and stared at them once again. Lancelot stepped forward and knelt in front of Rowena.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of him," he promised. Rowena turned and stared at Gwaine, making him feel even more guilty. How could Lancelot protect Merlin when he wasn't going to be able to protect himself? Gwaine foolishly hoped that Morgana's visions were not going to come true.
oOoOoOo
"Sire," Leon knocked on the door to where the other knights, Morgana, Gwen, and Merlin were all sitting around. It was a round table meeting. Merlin had insisted of coming to it, though Arthur assured him that it would be boring. But, Merlin was stubborn. However, ten minutes in and he started drawing on pieces of paper that were lying around. Honestly, Arthur was surprised Merlin had lasted ten minutes.
"We have a visitor that will be coming to Camelot in about a week's time," Leon explained. Everyone groaned. Merlin, however perked up. He liked meeting new people. Maybe this one would be play with him.
"We just had a visitor not that long ago. What was her name again?" Elyan asked. Gwen slapped his arm and glared at him.
"She was a highly respected noble woman. Show some respect," Gwen hissed.
"You don't know her name, do you?" Elyan said. Gwen glared at him but said nothing. Leon sighed and shook his head.
"Yes, well, this one has a surplus of barely that he's hoping to sell to Camelot. He wants to open a trading system between his estate and the crown," Leon explained. Arthur groaned and massaged his brow.
"What's his name?"
"Lord Ulric," Leon responded. Gwaine sucked in a sharp breath. It appeared to have gone unnoticed by the rest of the occupants. Not that Gwaine would care. His mind was racing with panic, anger, and fear. If this was the Ulric that Gwaine thought it was, then he needed to leave Camelot…now. He glanced around the round table at his friends and wondered how they would react to knowing the truth. How would they react knowing who this man was, and what Gwaine tried to do. How would they react knowing that this was the man Gwaine had tried to kill.
oOoOoOo
"Tell me again why we're visiting the scaly beast this late at night?" Arthur grumbled. Leon rolled his eyes and continued to walk to the dungeons.
"I think something's going on with Morgana, and Gwaine seems to have grown quieter the last few days. I want to see what he knows," Leon responded.
"He'll just respond in a riddle. What's the point in asking him?" Arthur muttered. Leon glared at the prince and lit a torch.
"Honestly, I'm surprised Kilgharrah hasn't tried to contact Merlin yet," Leon said, ignoring Arthur's previous comment. While it was true the dragon was often less than helpful, he still provided information when absolutely necessary. Arthur mumbled a response and continued down the rocky pathway. When the reached the small ledge, the two men waited for the dragon to land. A beating of wings could be heard as the beast appeared and landed on his usual rock.
"Well, well, young Pendragon, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Is something going to happen? To Camelot?" Leon called. The dragon turned his head towards the knight and sighed.
"As much as you and the other knights would love to think that I know everything, I do not. I assume this has something to do with the witch?" he asked.
"First off, why do you hate Morgana so much? Secondly, yes. Leon and I think she's having visions and they seem to be worse this time around," Arthur responded.
"I do not hate the girl, only what she will become. However, if she stays on the path she's on now, we should have no problem. If she strays, young Pendragon, you must be prepared to face the consequences," the dragon warned.
"What about the visions she's having now?" Leon asked. The dragon sighed dramatically, as if the men had interrupted something important he was doing. What that would be, Leon had no idea. It wasn't like the dragon had any books or anything around his cave to pass the time.
"The events for building Albion have had to be altered a great deal since the young warlock's past had been commandeered by individuals who stand to destroy the Once and Future King. Now that destiny is moving in the right direction, once again, things will begin to unfold more quickly and dangerously than before. The Old Religion does not want to wait much longer. Because of this, the path the young Warlock walks is going to be very dangerous for one so small. It is his job to protect his king. And, sir knight, it is your job to protect Merlin," the dragon explained.
"So bad things are going to start happening?" Arthur asked. The dragon rolled his eyes, something Leon didn't think dragons should be able to do, and turned back towards Arthur. Honestly, Leon would feel bad about coming to meet with the dragon. But he had nothing else to do. The stupid, scaly, oversized bat shouldn't be so rude when guests did decide to stop by. Though, now that Leon thought about it, maybe they should stop by more often. It had to get lonely down here.
"Yes, those that wish peace to be destroyed will be coming after him. Dark magic will begin seeping into the world, trying to consume his soul. You must be prepared to deal with these threats. I believe that is enough for now. Goodbye, Sir Leon, King Arthur." And with that, the dragon flew up into the cavern away from Arthur and Leon.
"So we didn't really get any new information?" Arthur said, walking back towards his chambers.
"Other than the explanation about what the Old Religion wants, no," Leon replied.
"Fantastic."
oOoOoOo
Merlin silently tiptoed down the hallway of the cave. Something had been calling out to him in his sleep. He hoped that it was friendly. When he snuck past Arthur, he had thought to wake the sleeping man, but thought better of it. He wanted to visit the thing below the castle by himself. There was something magical about it, Merlin could just feel it. Arthur was great and all, but he just didn't understand the connection Merlin had with the magical community. Merlin supposed he could wake up Morgana, but she hadn't been sleeping well these past few weeks. It would be very gentlemanly for Merlin to disrupt that sleep even more.
It was a long trek through the halls. Each twist and turn brought Merlin deeper into the castle. Finally, Merlin got to a narrow hallway. It looked dark, so he conjured one of his light balls. He giggled as the light bobbed excitedly next to him. He liked it when they were more lively. It made for more fun. But he wasn't having fun right now. He was on a mission. A Court Sorcerer needed to constantly focus on his mission. Merlin straightened his back and walked bravely into the dark tunnel. After a few more minutes, he ended at a small ledge. He got down on his hands and knees and looked over the edge.
"Wow, it's so deep!" Merlin explained. The little light he had created bobbed impatiently next to his head. Merlin straightened up and looked around. "Hello?" he called out. Suddenly, a large leathery creature that looked like a larger wyvern landed on a rock in front of the ledge.
"Hello young Warlock. I believe it is about time that we met," the thing said. Merlin smiled and looked at it.
"I'm Merlin. Who are you?" The beast chuckled.
"I am Kilgharrah, the last great dragon. You, young warlock, have a very great destiny resting upon your small shoulders," he answered.
"They're not that small. Gaius says I'm still growing!" Merlin said. The dragon smiled before settling more comfortably on the rock.
"Young Warlock, I am here to tell you that it is your job to protect Arthur. The young king faces many threats to his power. If magic is to return and Albion is to be united, then you must keep him safe," the dragon said. Merlin blinked up at him before breaking out into a smile.
"Alright! I'll protect Arthur to the best of my ability, Sir Dragon," Merlin said. He saluted the dragon.
"It's Kilgharrah," the beast said with a sigh.
"Kilgar-, Kil, Kilgarr. I can't pronounce that."
"Just get back to bed before Sir Leon yells at me for having you out so late," the dragon sighed again.
"Alright, Sir Dragon!" Merlin said. He gave Kilgharrah once last smile before scampering back to his small room in Arthur's chambers. He was Arthur's guardian! That was amazing! He would be the best guardian Arthur ever had.
I hope you all enjoyed this. I liked writing about Merlin's bubble bath. Maybe I'll make a one-shot or something about it. See you guys next week.