Authors Note: Okay, so consider Part 4 the end of the 1st act, i was going to do a stand alone sequal but decided I'd stick it here.
Enjoy :D
Merlin
Love by any other name
Part 5
"Now remember Merlin, you close your mouth when you chew, you always allow the ladies to lead when they dance and you never, ever, insult heads of state" Arthur said as he sat with his once serving boy, wondering why, for the tenth time his father had shouldered this responsibility on him of all people. Merlin however, was doing his best to take it all in.
"Heads of state, Arthur, no matter how well I do, I doubt I'll ever be invited to a ceremony involving heads of state" he said, shuffling slightly in his chair, wincing as he did so. It had been over three weeks since the witches crones had nearly killed him, and he was still suffering from the wounds they had inflicted. Sometimes when he became to agitated or excited he would grow short of breath, and Arthur would have to take time to calm him down. Add to the fact that he still needed the makeshift crutch Gaius had given him to get around. He sighed and shook his head.
"Merlin, you're courting the lady Morgana, and if she goes to all the state ceremony's you can bet a horses head you'll have to as well" Arthur said. Merlin nodded.
"So, if I'm spoken to it will be yes my lord, no my lord, thank you my lord" he said. Arthur looked at him out of the corner of his eyes.
"Okay, that's a start, but if I was to say, lets see…. Okay no. You are the noble and me, I'm a visiting diplomat" Arthur said. Merlin narrowed his eyes.
"Okay" he said, drawing the word out.
"Right. The banquet, meeting, whatever is coming to an end, the guests are mingling and I walk up to you and say-" he thought for a moment, then nodded. "I hear rumours that Mercia is preparing to sign a treaty with Alinor, and then attack Camelot, how do you think your army would fair? What would you say?" he asked. Merlin frowned then nodded.
"Ask Arthur" he replied. Arthur blinked then slapped himself in the face, drawing the hand down slowly. Merlin grinning at him.
"You're joking aren't you?" asked Arthur. Merlin smiled and nodded.
"Yep" he agreed. "What I would say, is this :- since the treaty between us and Brayard, he has done quite well for himself, true he lost a little land, but the trade between us more than makes up for that. Add to the fact that if any of Balinor's other allies see him reign in on his treaty with us and declare war with no obvious reason, then he risks alienating them as well, it would cost him more than he would ultimately gain" Merlin said. Arthur looked at him, mouth opened.
"Merlin, that was almost-"
"Brilliant" said Uther from the doorway. Merlin turned, too quickly, wincing again.
"Sire, forgive me I did not hear you enter" Merlin said. Uther walked in but shook his head.
"I see you're serious about this then" he said.
"Yes sire, and" he glanced at Arthur. "I have a good teacher" he added. Uther looked at him, eyebrows raised.
"And humble too" he said. "Well, we will soon get to see how you do soon enough" Uther said.
"Oh, I'm not sure I'm ready" Merlin said, hesitantly. Uther smiled, but shook his head.
"Well, unfortunately, word is slowly getting around the kingdom, and Lord Godfry is arriving next week for a visit, and he is most eager to meet the Lady Morgana's suitor" Uther explained. Merlin looked at him, then at Arthur, then at Uther.
"Then I would be honoured to attend" Merlin said. Uther nodded, then with a glance at Arthur and a bow from Merlin, left the chambers. Merlin slowly turned around to face Arthur.
"A week?" he muttered. Arthur was also frowning.
"We'd best get on then" he said, then he sighed.
"What?" Merlin asked. Arthur stood up and looked at Merlin.
"Well, you can't go dressed like that" he said. Merlin looked down at his servant's clothing.
"I could be a poor noble" Merlin suggested. Arthur chuckled at Merlin's attempt at lightening the moment.
"Not to Worry, we can get Gwen to make you something up" Arthur said. Merlin nodded, then slowly stood, grabbing his crutch from beside the table.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked.
"I'm just going to get something for the pain from Gaius" he said. Arthur nodded, and watched as Merlin attempted a bow as best he could, before he turned and moved away, the soft clunk of the crutch on the floorboards. Arthur sat back down, picking up the quill from the ink blotter when Merlin spoke up.
"Arthur"
Arthur looked up, seeing Merlin looking at him.
"Thank you" he said with a slight smile. Arthur shook his head.
"Go on, before you collapse in my chambers" he said with a smile of his own. Merlin turned and hobbled out.
Gaius looked up as Merlin hobbled into the room, wincing.
"Well, by the look on your face I would say-"
"I pulled the stitches" Merlin said. "sorry" he added.
"Come on, sit down and take your tunic off" the old physician said. Merlin sat on the edge of the cot, resting the crutch up against the nearby table, then struggled to remove the tunic. Gaius sat next to him, ointments in hand and carefully began to probe the wounds.
"slight tear is all, noting too serious" Gaius said as he applied the ointment, Merlin wincing as he did so.
"So how are the lessons going?" asked Gaius as he worked. Merlin shrugged.
"Uther said I was doing well" Merlin replied. Gaius nodded.
"Well, that's something at least" he replied as he moved to Merlin's other side.
"Yes, in fact he wants me to go to some hello how are you meeting with Lord Godfry next week, as Lady Morgana's suitor" Merlin said. Gaius stopped working briefly.
"Are you ready for that?" he asked. Merlin shrugged.
"That's what I said, but apparently news is spreading of the noble who has captured Morgana's heart" he replied. "They want to meet me" Merlin said. Gaius just grunted and stood up.
"Done?" Merlin asked. Gaius nodded.
"For the moment, I've had to re-tighten one of the stitches, but no permanent harm was done , I'll just get you something for the pain" he said, moving away as Merlin pulled his tunic back on.
"Arthur is getting Gwen to make me some suitable clothing" Merlin said sadly.
"not surprising, Gwen is an excellent seamstress, but you sound troubled" Gaius said, turning around with a poultice.
"No, just… sad in a way" Merlin said. Gaius frowned as he walked over to him.
"Whatever for?" he asked, Merlin taking the poultice from him. Merlin smiled and shook his head.
"It just feels like, this is what I've been all my life" he said gesturing to his clothing. "It feels like, as soon as I put those cloths on I'll be saying goodbye to this Merlin" he admitted. Gaius nodded in understanding.
"Change is never difficult Merlin, but with help, its always possible" he said. Merlin looked up at him. "And I'm always here if you need anything" he added. Merlin smiled at him, then picked up his crutch, slowly standing.
"Thanks Gaius" he said with a smile. Gaius returned it, watching as Merlin hobbled out, before he turned back to his work.
"He didn't!" said Gwen mortified, hand over her mouth. Morgana was laughing, and nodding.
"Hormonal Dragon, at first I was livid, then I thought about it and I found myself loving it, I mean Arthur's thrown a few insults at me, but nothing that original" she said with a laugh. Gwen was doubled over.
"And this…. This is the man you're in love with?" she asked through her gasps for air. Morgana nodded.
"Strange isn't it. I mean when he first arrived I think I saw him once, and that was it, then we had that talk and all of a sudden, I don't know. I didn't feel that different anymore" she said. Gwen wiping her eyes nodded.
"You mean your backgrounds?" she asked. Morgana nodded, and sat down on the chair.
"It gave us something.. to connect, something that both of us could understand and talk about" she said, "I think when he admitted to me how he felt, how, out of place, that's when I first realised he wasn't a servant" Morgana said.
"Even though he called you a hormonal Dragon?" Gwen asked. Morgana smiled.
"Even though" she agreed, turning as her door opened after knock and Uther walked in. Gwen composed herself and bowed, busying herself with tasks around the room, even as Morgana stood to greet him.
"My lord" she said with a bow. Uther smiled and nodded in return.
"I heard you two laughing and thought I might see what the big joke was" he said.
"Just woman talk" Morgana said with a smile. Uther nodded and looked around.
"Is there something you wanted?" Morgana asked, Uther turned to face her again, nodding sharply.
"Yes, as you are aware, Lord Godfry is visiting next week, and he has expressed and interest in meeting the man who tamed the Hormonal Dragon" he said, bursting into laughter. Behind him Gwen clapped a hand over her mouth. Morgana remained composed for all of three seconds then broke into a smile.
"Indeed, well, I'm sure we can work something out" Morgana said. Uther nodded.
"Have you…seen Merlin recently?" Uther asked, still not entirely comfortable with the situation, but trying to make the best of it for his Ward and son. Morgana shook her head.
"No, he's been too determined to do his best with Arthur" she admitted. Uther nodded. Then perked up. He was going to have to get his head around the situation sooner or later, so he knew the next step had to be taken.
"In that case, why don't you both join me and Arthur tonight for dinner?" Uther asked. Morgana broke into a beaming smile.
"I'm sure he would be delighted" she said. Uther smiled and then kissed her knuckles, before he left the room.
"Merlin the tyrant slayer, that's a nice title" said Gwen, then her eyes went wide and she glanced at Morgana.
"Oh my lady, I didn't think" she said.
"Don't worry Gwen, I won't tell anyone" Morgana said.
"Dinner? Tonight?" Merlin was panicked. Morgana smiling at him as he sat in her chamber later that afternoon.
"But, what do I do? What do I wear?" he asked. Morgana took his hand gently.
"There's nothing to be afraid of" she insisted.
"But he's the king!, I've never eaten with the king before!" Merlin protested.
"Merlin, it will be fine, as for clothing, we can sort you out something" she said.
"if its anything like that suit I've seen in Arthur's Wardrobe then no thank you" he said. "I'd rather turn up naked" he added. Morgana, slowly smiled.
"Now that would be a topic of conversation" she admitted. "Not that it will happen" she added, smiling at Merlin's reapproving look. Slowly she stroked his cheek, then kissed his forehead.
"Merlin, It will be fine" she said again, moving away from him. Merlin watching her, wondering for the hundredth time that day what he had let himself in for. Meeting Godfry was one thing, dining with Uther, that was vastly different. He closed his eyes and sat back as Morgana moved quietly around the room, soon finding himself falling into a soft doze.
"Here, these should suffice" Morgana said suddenly, jolting Merlin awake. He looked over to her as she held up a suit fit for a prince.
"Will they even fit?" he asked. Morgana's eyes flashed playfully.
"One way to find out" she said.
It took Merlin closer to half an hour to change into the clothes, Morgana was sitting at her small table, writing something, and Merlin was behind the dressing screen. Slowly he moved out, using the wall as a support.
"well?" he asked. She turned to him, her breath catching for a moment. The sleeves of the shirt were a little too long, but the trousers fit perfectly along with the shoes. The shirt was a beep blue, while the trousers were black. The only real problem was, of course his hair, with, as usual was tossed all over the place, but that only added to the overall charm.
"I think, I might have to make you wear that all the time" Morgana admitted. Merlin rolled his eyes, flapping the sleeves of the shirt around just over the palms of his hands.
"I feel like a sparrow" he said.
"don't worry, we can soon fix them up" Morgana said, even as Gwen entered from the servant's entrance. She stopped short, seeing Merlin dressed like he was.
"My Lady?" she asked, turning her focus to Morgana.
"I'm sorry to call you back Gwen, but it would be the greatest favour if you could sort the sleeves out on Merlin's new shirt" Morgana said. Gwen smiled and nodded.
"Of course my lady, Merlin?" Gwen said. He looked at her blankly.
"Gwen?" he asked.
"I need the shirt" she said. Merlin blinked then nodded, before moving behind the dressing screen, slowly unbuttoning it., self conscious as he was, he had to lean past the screen to hand it to Gwen, who promptly took it and moved away, even as Merlin put his old clothing on. He stepped out about twenty minuets later, clutch in hand. Gwen was still on the first sleeve.
"It'll be ready" Morgana assured him. Gwen, not looking up, nodded, as she pulled the needle through the sleeve.
"Well, I guess that's clothes taken care of, I should really go and wash as well" Merlin said. Morgana smiled and they kissed briefly, before with a farewell to Gwen, Merlin hobbled out of the room. As the door closed, Gwen smiled up at Morgana.
"I never thought I would see the day" she said. Morgana looked at her blinking.
"What day?"
"The day when you and Arthur of all people would be dressing Merlin" she chuckled. Morgana smiled, then frowned.
"Arthur is dressing Merlin?" she asked.
"Yes. No, not literally, I mean that would be, you know wrong" Gwen stammered, as she usually did when her mouth engaged before her brain. Morgana smiled and chuckled.
"I know Gwen, I was teasing" she assured her.
Merlin felt ridiculous. Here he was, standing outside the audience chamber that also served as the place where the royal family took their meals, all decked up in an outfit fit for a prince, and a crutch under his arm, Lady Morgana's arm entwined in his other arm. The Guards opened the doors, Merlin not missing the look one of the guards gave him, before they entered the room, the doors closing behind them. Uther and Arthur were already there, Morgana nodding her head in greeting, Merlin giving a bow.
"My lord" they both said, then looked at Arthur. "sire" Merlin said, Morgana merle nodded her head to him. Uther stood and gestured for them to come forwards, Merlin pulling Morgana's seat out for her so she could sit, Uther and Arthur looking at each other sharing a brief smile, before Merlin moved to his own seat, which was opposite her, next to Arthur. Arthur, smiled slightly, and held Merlin's crutch while he settled himself down. Uther sat down, as did Arthur, none of them speaking until the food was brought in. Merlin waited until the others had started eating before he himself began.
"So Arthur, what news on the bandits in the outskirts of the kingdom?" asked Uther suddenly as they ate.
"Apparently they are rumours father, of course, news has reached us that apparently some of the villages have been attacked, but again those are just rumours" Arthur said. Uther nodded as he sipped his wine.
"Bandits?" asked Morgana. Uther nodded.
"We've been getting incoherent reports that a small group of rouges have been making hit and run attacks at some of our furthest reaching villages" Uther said.
"But-" added Arthur, "we have not had anyone come in from the villages that claimed to be attacked stating that was the case" he finished.
"what villages?" asked Merlin, eyes suddenly going wide. "Sorry, please forgive me" he said.
"No, you are part of this meal, the villages in question are Sutton, Tal'Damia and Clifton" Uther said mildly. "Why do you ask?" Merlin looked to Morgana who gave a slight nod of encouragement.
"Just wondered if they villages were along any particular stretch of Camelot's borders" Merlin said.
"why would that be important?" asked Uther, with a frown.
"Well considering the distance between the villages, say six miles from Tal'Damia to Clifton, then another four to Sutton from there, I would say, add to the fact that between Tal'Damia and Clifton is the village of Twyine, which hasn't reported any attacks, then it might well be the rumour mill is at work" Merlin said. Arthur nodded, smiling slightly.
"You might have a point" he said. Uther however looked away briefly.
"But then of course, it could all be real" he said. "What would you do in that case?" he said looking at Merlin. Merlin swallowed briefly, unaccustomed to being under Uther's scrutiny.
"Well, there's nothing to stop us sending out a small band of knights, just to check" Merlin said.
"What would that prove?" asked Morgana, Merlin looked at her and smiled, then back to Uther.
"Well?" asked Uther.
"If there is something out there, then we would know for sure, and if not, if the rumours are not true, then we'll still be seen to be doing our best to look after the people, even those not within the city" Merlin said. Uther sat back and slowly nodded.
"just over a week and already thinking of the grander scheme of things" he said with a smile. Merlin frowned, then looked at Arthur.
"Of course Arthur could have told -There are no bandits are there?" he asked.
"Not one" Arthur said shaking his head. "Sorry Merlin, we decided to see if you could think on your toes like you did this morning" he admitted.
"That was a low trick" said Morgana looking at Uther and Arthur.
"My lady, its okay, I need to learn this" Merlin said looking at her. Morgana looked over at him, but she was not happy. Merlin had seen many people wilt under that look, and he could feel himself wilting.
"This was why you invited us to dinner, to see how he's 'getting along?'" she said, turning her attention back to Uther.
"Among other things, but the boy- sorry, Merlin is correct" Uther said, "even he has admitted he needs to learn things"
"Well next time at least give me some clue" she said.
"And you could tell him what we had planned" said Arthur.
"Please" said Merlin softly, everyone turning to look at him. "Let's not argue it's done, no one is hurt, and it was done in my best interests" he said. Morgana huffed and then looked away, before nodding.
"Well done" whispered Arthur, so only Merlin could hear. Merlin frowned, well done for what?
Far away on the Isle of the blessed, Nimueh watched the dinner taking place.
"The arrogance.. the boy who would be more than he ever could be" she said, she stroked the font and smiled. "Well see just how far you get Merlin. And we will see just what Uther thinks of you by the time I'm finished" she added, before looking away.