MERLIN - CONTACT

AN: Hey, here is the next chapter :) Hope you enjoy it. Sorry if I have made any mistakes.

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It had been a very long and tiring morning. Not just for the villagers but for Arthur as well. And for Merlin who always had to stop him and show him how the task should be done. Despite being a prince who could track, hunt, and swordfight, he was complete clueless when it came to things that involved common sense, like shutting the door to the pigsty. As expected, four of the fat little things escaped and it took everyone nearly an hour to round them all up again.

At one point Arthur was helping hang a flag the children made over a set up washing line, forgot to pin in there, it blew off the line, and to save it from landing it a puddle Arthur actually leaped for it, and ended up stomach first into the puddle himself.

The villagers around him stifled their laughter and a couple helped him up, while Merlin walked near by dragging a cart behind her as she threw a hand to her face in shared embarrassment. The prince just smiled breathlessly and held up the flag he'd managed to save nevertheless, shirt and chin dripping with mucky water.

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The maidservant approached her master while he struggled to get a tunic one of the men had leant him over his head. A greyish blue tunic that was a bit on the smaller size.

Merlin giggled and went to help. "You should have taken Henry's. He is of bigger build but you can always alter it with your belt."

"Nathaniel's looked the cleanest... and less scratchy," Arthur exhaled when his head was eventually forced through the hole, his hair sticking out in all directions. Now for the arms. "Plus the colour suits me more."

"You'd go with a tunic that looked the most fetching rather than the comfort or if it made you look fat? That's not surprising."

Finally getting the prince's arms through too, Merlin ran her hands down his sides without thinking, attempting to smooth the fabric down. Arthur stilled, his heart rate picking up. Merlin brought her hands down, only to bring them up to his hair to tidy it. She didn't even realise what this was making the man feel. Arthur just stared at her as she did it, her eyes were focused on his hair. He snapped out of it and took her hands away with his, startling her.

Her hands were cold. Clasping them in his felt right. Like he was meant to hold them and keep them warm. Seeing Merlin looked from their hands to his face cause him to jolt, to realise what he was doing and let go. His skin tingled and yearned to take hers again. He cleared his throat.

"I, err, I got you something."

He dashed to where their make shift beds were behind the curtain separating the sides of the hut. Merlin went to follow him when she heard crashing.

The prince was on his knees taking something out from underneath an overturned pot on the floor. She'd seen it there before, but didn't think anything of it.

Arthur jumped up, not bothering to dust off his knees, and held the item out. It was small, wrapped up in very fine red silk material and tied with golden string. A little too fancily presented for something that was just going to be opened and put aside, in Merlin's opinion.

The girl took it slowly and held it in front of her, switching it from hand to hand, feeling the shape and weight of it. What was this for? What could Arthur had possibly bought for her?

Undoing the string and peeling the corners of the silk away, it was revealed to be a small wooden box. And a very nice box too, glazed and hinged, with little gaelic symbols carved into the surface. "It's lovely..."

"It's just the box, Merlin. I mean, keep the box too if you want, but..." Arthur gestured nervously to the box to say 'just get on with it'.

Merlin huffed. This must have cost a fortune alone! Or least a fortune that would make anyone who wasn't a prince skint.

Not wanting to wait any longer, her fingers prized open the lid. Laying comfortably on a bed of soft cloth, the gift inside was another wooden object. A beautiful oval pendant crafted with different coloured wood. But apparently that wasn't all of the present either.

"Open it," Arthur ordered softly. This is a locket? So Merlin took it out of the box and did so carefully. And she gasped.

Fixed inside the locket was a golden pendant along with a fine chain. Only a few centimetres in length and width, it was perfectly shaped into the resemblance of the dragon of the Pendragon crest, complete with a couple of tiny red gems for the eyes. It shone and glistened in the afternoon sun as though the creature itself was alive. The necklace on its own was a truly wondrous thing to behold, but it was the meaning behind it that also came to Merlin.

It was a very special honour. This was expertly cut and welded from solid gold and precious stones. Only the very wealthy could ever afford this, let alone the costs added on to have it made.

Merlin had seen noble women and head staff walk around the castle wearing these symbols in some form. Guests or loyal residents of the kingdom would be gifted with these as either reward for a great service to the royal family or simply to 'stamp them as property of Camelot', as Merlin would see it. Usually sewn into servants' clothing, or forged as jewellery for lady visitors, a golden dragon piece given to her of all people was obviously not the done thing. Why Arthur was giving it to her was confusing.

As if reading her mind, the prince spoke up.

"I wanted to give you something that not many people have, and something that you have deserved for many years. Carrying the Pendragon crest on your person means you are very much appreciated by the royal household, and more specifically... me.

"My father, or anyone, would not react well to seeing my maidservant walk around wearing something so expensive. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble and accused of stealing, or hurt by someone trying to steal it for themselves. Hidden inside the wooden locket, you can still wear it with confidence."

Merlin looked up at Arthur, opening and closing her mouth in shock.

"But- But Arthur, I mean... why? Just why? Why me, why now, why gold?"

"You are just... you, Merlin. Just being yourself is reason enough, but you are selfless, kind, compassionate, brave, and have risked and lost so much for me and the kingdom. This pendant being a representation of that is the least you deserve. Now? Because... I know certain truths about yourself have come to light and at first things were hostile, but now I really feel that everything is alright again and when better to give you a gift than for your birthday, even if it is a bit late. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for forgetting it was your birthday, and I'm sorry for the way I treated you when first I discovered your magic, and I'm also sorry for what I said to you before we left Camelot. You are wonderful, Merlin, and... beautiful. Both inside and out, and you should be allowed to show it. I was, to be honest, just talking aloud to try and shut out my head thinking just how lovely you looked in that dress, you caught me unawares, that's all. And gold, because that is you. You are gold, Merlin. Your personality, your worth to this kingdom is priceless, no, to the whole world, and it's also the colour of your eyes when you do what you do best. It should be celebrated, not hidden away... but for the meantime, like this pendant, it will have to be."

Another second longer and Merlin would've teared up. So before she did, she snapped the box shut, threw her arms around the prince's neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Arthur brought his arms to circle her waist and rest his chin on the top of her soft hair. Another hug in such a short space of time? He could get used to this.

The prince thought he heard her saying something, it was muffled but he caught it as "Thank you so much".

He'd finally done something right.

"Oh sorry! Am I interrupting...?"

The two reluctantly broke apart to see who had walked in the door behind them, and were met with an unfamiliar face.

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AN: Well this is the end of the chapter. Hope you like it. Were you happy with the gift? I'd really like to know. So please do review, I love hearing from you :)

Thank you very much for reading. See ya next time. Happy New Year, people!