Disclaimer: still don't own anything to do with the BBC series, characters or legends
Note: I think this might be going down the angsty road but nothing is certain, hopefully it won't get too bogged down with all this emoting!
It's going to be a long night. Gwen stood discreetly behind her mistress's chair, ready to tend to Lady Morgana's every need during all the revelry that was taking place in the Great Hall and every so often, Morgana would send her a small, reassuring smile. She considered Gwen to be more than just her maid, she was her friend and confidante as well and the noblewoman was not indifferent to the darker girl's well-being during such events. Celebrations such as these usually continued well into the early hours and servants were expected to remain alert to their superiors' needs at all times, remaining on their feet for hours on end and what scant rest they got would be taken long after their lords and ladies had gone to their beds. King Uther's ward quite often took this into account when making her decision to retire from festivities, indeed, she was usually glad to make such a decision as more often than not, the fair-skinned beauty would have been stuck with some arrogant young buck trying to impress her with tales of heroic adventures but succeeding only in boring her close to tears.
The maid appreciated her mistress's concern but wished she would relax more and find a suitor deserving of her attention. Gwen knew, through hearing talk from the ladies of the court, that people found Morgana to sometimes be aloof and unreachable despite it being far from the case. When she turned her cool grey eyes on somebody, many interpreted it as an appraisal of them rather than a defensive measure on the Lady's part. Morgana did not give her affections frivolously and she was savvy enough to know that there would be many men who saw her as an advantageous attachment rather than a genuine love interest. As a result, there were few who viewed her as a real prospect for courtship.
Looking around the Hall, Gwen never ceased to be amazed at the colourful confections that were the costumes of the assembled guests. The bright colours and flowing materials of the ladies' gowns and the (only slightly) more muted colours of the gentlemen made her think of the exotic creatures described in the fairytales of her childhood. Despite the number of people present, Gwen continually found her eyes drawn to Camelot's Prince and it troubled her to see the not-unexpected sight of attractive young noblewomen flocking around him, trying to catch and keep his attention. She pulled her gaze from him as Morgana signalled quietly to her and asked her to fetch a shawl whilst also gently suggesting that she need not hurry so that she might take a well-earned rest from her duties. Gwen gave her mistress a grateful nod and quietly slipped away towards her Lady's chambers.
True to his station in life, Prince Arthur was charming his way around the guests but in a new twist to his behaviour, he no longer sought the rapt attention of his audience, rather he was more than happy to aim such attention at the official recipient of the party, Sir Leon who was happily basking in the congratulations and good cheer of the assembly.
As he circulated around the many revellers, Arthur couldn't help but watch Gwen out the corner of his eye. He knew that she was pretty much invisible to everyone present but her gentle beauty constantly drew his gaze to her as surely as a moth to a flame. Subconsciously, he kept looking for her, worrying when he was unable to spot her then relieved when she reappeared in his view. The Prince suddenly became aware of the expectant air around him as he realised that his mind had wandered from the high-pitched gushings of the vapid blonde daughter of the Duke-of-somewhere-or another and she was now awaiting a response from him. The problem was, he hadn't the faintest idea what she had been babbling about. He gave her what he considered to be a politely amused look, smiled and commented on what a charming story she had just related and excused himself from her company on the pretext that he still had many other people to meet. The petite blonde was left with a confused expression – she had only asked him his opinion on the merits of blue clothing over green when out hunting.
"I can't take much more of this," muttered the Prince to his servant as Merlin refilled his goblet with wine.
"Sire?"
Athur gestured expansively around the Hall. "Silly women prattling on about the beauty of the summer and how lovely it would be to go for moonlit walks and 'oh, don't you think so too?'" He said this last part in a high, mocking voice. His top lip curled in a barely disguised grimace.
Merlin, shrugged slightly. "You never used to complain so much before…" He stopped as Arthur fixed him with a flinty look. "Um, well, at least Sir Leon is enjoying himself, right?" Merlin recovered quickly.
"I suppose so," Arthur grudgingly conceded. He walked over towards Morgana, Merlin a couple of paces behind as befitted his station.
Morgana looked up at Arthur, "Taking a rest? I thought you would have been lapping up the attention from the ladies of the kingdom." She grinned slyly at him, she had teased him about his popularity with the opposite sex for as long as he could remember.
"There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I don't wish to overwhelm them so early in the proceedings," he riposted with a quick wink. Even though they did not always see eye-to-eye, they had spent much of their childhood together and thought of each other as siblings, enjoying the easy banter and teasing that came with it. Arthur looked around before casually asking, " Where's Guinevere?"
Merlin cocked an eyebrow at the question before replacing it with a studied mask of impassiveness as Arthur threw him a quick warning look.
"Hmm?" Morgana had been scanning the Hall with vague interest but had become distracted when her eyes met those of a young knight she had only briefly met at the start of the evening. "Oh, I asked her to fetch me a shawl earlier and told her to have a quick rest before coming back."
Merlin adopted an indignant look at her words. "You never tell me to have a rest," he said to Arthur accusingly who returned an equally indignant look.
"You don't do enough to warrant a rest," retorted the Prince, "and close your mouth, you look like a stunned carp."
The sorcerer closed his jaw with a snap as he fumed silently.
Arthur turned to Merlin, a relaxed expression on his handsome countenance. "Tell you what, why don't you take tomorrow off?"
Merlin's mouth dropped open again, this time with incredulity. "You're serious?"
"Yes."
"It's not a trick? You're not going to summon me at dawn to polish your boots and armour?"
"No."
"You're serious?" repeated Merlin.
"Yes!" Arthur's tone had taken on an exasperated note. "If you ask me once more if I am serious, I shall withdraw the offer. Now go bring me another drink."
"Certainly, my lord." Merlin grinned before ducking away to run his errand. Arthur smiled indulgently at his retreating form.
"Arthur Pendragon, you astound me. I never thought I would see the day you would give Merlin a day off," teased Morgana, only half-jokingly.
"My dear Morgana, you always underestimate the compassion I have towards my fellow man," he stated this with such righteousness that the young woman could only regard him incredulously until, "Besides, I think he does need a rest, I know he has been doing a lot of work for Gaius as well and I caught him falling asleep in the middle of grooming my horse the other day." He added with a mischievous smile, "Good servants are hard to come by, you know."
Arthur straightened as a sandy-haired knight began to approach the table, his attention directed at Morgana. Camelot's heir leaned down to speak more quietly to his father's ward. "It seems you are also not short of admirers. Hmm, they said you could be as charming as me when you put your mind to it, I just never believed it." He laughed as he dodged quickly away before she could aim a swat at him. Morgana settled for sticking her tongue out at him good-naturedly before assuming a more regal demeanour to greet the approaching knight.
With Sir Leon's birthday feast going swimmingly, the blond young man took the opportunity to have a quiet moment to himself and he made his way up to one of the closer battlements to enjoy some fresh air. However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the silhouette of a certain curly-haired maid against the velvety blue of the night sky. Uncertain of what to do, Arthur could only let his eyes wander over Gwen's petite form, savouring this rare moment of seeing her at peace, her chin resting in her hands, elbows perched on the top of the stone walls.
He remembered his earlier resolve to try and forget about her in that way even though every fibre of his being strained at him, urging him to scoop her up in his arms and carry her away. Taking care not to disturb her reverie, Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot, crept silently back down the stone steps and once more entered into the bustle of the feast.
Although her eyes had been shut in the stillness of the night air, Gwen's hearing had remained alert and regardless of her best intentions, she was completely attuned to Arthur. She knew his every footfall and his mood depending on how loudly and/or quickly his boots sounded as he moved. Gwen's ears had picked up the faint scuff as he ascended the battlement, no noise for a few moments and then the softest of sounds as he padded very lightly away.
Her heart begged her to call out to Arthur, to ask him to stay with her a while, to pretend that just for a short time, they were the only people on the world who mattered and that nobody cared that he was a prince and she was a servant. But she did not call out, they were far from the only people in the world and it did matter that he was a prince and she was a servant.
Brushing away silent tears, Gwen gulped a few deep breaths, adjusted Morgana's shawl over her arm and made her own way down to the Hall.
Note: a slightly, unsatisfying ending to this instalment but it's just the way the story went as I wrote, I should really plan what I write but I don't :p
Anyways, let me know what u think, u know what to do
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