MERLIN - CONTACT
AN: Hey everybody! Sorry I haven't updated for a while, but I'm here now. Yay! Hope you enjoy :)
...~~C~~...
With him, she'd had some wonderfully stable times... then there were times she actually had to work IN a stable. Feasts and banquets in Camelot were very high-level social events. And it mainly involved her standing to one side holding a pitcher and never really getting to talk to people. But that in some way was a blessing. The type of people that turned up wouldn't exactly match the class of the evening. Not that she thought all nobles were snobs, she only meant she felt they just... didn't get it like she did. They looked the part, but didn't act like it. They didn't seem to appreciate everything about a feast because they went to one nearly every day, and they were maybe all the same. The same type of wine, the same bard playing the same music, hearing the same pompous anecdotes about poor people...
But Merlin was different. When these feasts and balls were held, her eyes would gravitate around the room. At the food, the beautiful women in their ornate dresses and the men in rich colours (and dare she witnessed tight breeches), the fake grins on some faces and stuck up scowls on others... then her eyes would always return to Arthur.
Sometimes they would catch the other looking, sometimes it was just coincidence, sometimes it was so Arthur could get a refill on his wine. But most of time it was to make sure the other was still there and alright, they'd exchange a smile, or a nod of the head, or a shared expression of 'God, doesn't this evening go on forever!'
The comparison between that kind of feast and this regular folk one wasn't preferable to the other, it was just enjoyable in different ways. No one cared about manners or had to watch what they say in case it offended someone important. There had been an AberFest held in Ealdor every two years for decades and because people came and left over time, there was always entertainment and fresh conversation. There must have been a dozen children running around that Merlin had never seen before, but their parents she did know. They were villagers who were happy growing up and living for the rest of their lives in the same place, attending fields and procreating over and over again. Merlin was one of the rare ones that wanted more than that. But sometimes she'd wonder to herself, if it wasn't for her magic, would she have stayed?
...~~C~~...
The prince, as predicted, had already laden a plate with as many types of meat and cheese as possible and sat to the side, people watching as he scoffed. He didn't notice Merlin settling on the grass beside him until she spoke.
"Of course, why not? It's a celebration isn't it, no need to watch your figure. You're the prince, you could just exile the fat from the kingdom if you wanted to, it would listen."
"Hah hah," Arthur turned his head to see his servant hadn't gotten anything, just sitting there leaning back on her arms. "Why aren't you eating then, you'll blow away with the wind."
"I have got plenty of time to eat, Sire, the evening has merely begun. I prefer to work up an appetite."
"Strange one, you are. Always thought so..."
"Still haven't put your finger on it yet?" She teased.
"... What's that?" Arthur's attention had gone half to his plate again.
"When we had that duel in the market when we first met? You said there was something about me," Merlin mocked in the deepest her voice could go.
"Oh that. Well, I suppose I just narrowed that down to your gift."
Merlin hummed in agreement as she looked around. "Ah, yes. My gift to make a man I just met trip up in a fight against a girl."
"You cheated!"
"How else was I going to win, you were really coming at me."
"That's not my fault, you shouldn't have looked like a little boy-"
Merlin turned fully to Arthur where she reclined. "You weren't looking hard enough..."
"... At what exactly?"
The girl smiled devilishly and gestured dramatically down herself, from chest to toes. Arthur stared and followed the curves of her clothed hips to the top of her thighs before snapping back to her face. "To be fair, you didn't have all that," he tried as best he could not to look or say what he meant directly, "when we met."
"Ah, so you did look," Merlin giggled and got up as quickly as she could before her master attempted to remark back.
He didn't reach for her at all, and had an expression of mock shock on his face at first until Merlin was out of sight, then inwardly smiled at the fact she was sort of right. Plus, with... this grown up appearance he shall say, he's discovered his maidservant had quite the flirty, teasing side he admittedly yearned to see more of.
...~~C~~...
William was also on his own, picking at the food on his plate while leaning against a wall. He had accidently witnessed the conversation between the prince and his future step sister, from afar only, never heard a word said.
But he was simply curious to see just what Merlin's deal was. He had never met her until now, only heard the odd detail here and then about her from Hunith from before. As far as he knew this girl just lived in Camelot with a family friend and worked as personal servant to the future king. Why did they have such an manner with eachother every time he glanced their way? It wasn't his business, and he shan't pry. He probably would never have to seriously converse with the girl as long as they live. This wasn't his family. His old family plus their mother was his family. Hunith would never replace her and Merlin would not become the sister he never had.
And the nerve of that girl looking at him like she wants to be life long friends!
Everything has its balance, and it's shifted. And William didn't like it at all.
...~~C~~...
AN: Thanks to everyone who's hung on there :) I can't guarantee you a time when the next chapter will be up as I'm quite busy at the moment, but I hope to still dip in every now and then when free to get another up. Hope ya'll are having a fab summer, and if in Australia, winter haha.
Please please review and I'll see you later. Thanks :)