The conversation lasted far longer than the wine did. There had only been enough to lighten moods and draw out laughter, and Arthur didn't mind that. Revelry was fine. Drunken revelry was less so, but there was no danger of that tonight. The worst that had happened so far was that Linnet had made an offhand remark about Gwaine that set his cheeks ablaze before he buried his face in his hands, as though that would shield him from the embarrassment of whatever she had said.
Arthur hadn't heard, having wandered away for a while to watch them all celebrate… Well, they were celebrating nothing, really, save for the fact that they were healthy and happy enough to celebrate at all.
That seemed like enough of a reason for a party.
"Are you trying to hide?"
Arthur looked up and found Merlin standing there watching him, his eyes sparkling. "No, I'm just wondering how long my great hall is going to look like a forest. I have a feeling the council is going to be irate if they have to conduct the kingdom's business with butterflies flapping all around them."
Merlin grinned. "I'll only last until dawn. Once the sun has fully risen, the light of the new day will wash away the enchantment, butterflies included."
"That's good."
"Don't you like it? Everyone else seems to."
"I didn't say I didn't like it. I said the council would find it odd," Arthur said. "You should take your own advice and listen to what I said, not what you think I said. You're always telling me that."
Merlin laughed and raised his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. I was just teasing. I figured you'd be with Guinevere and the others if you were having fun, and not lurking over here in the shadows."
"The same could be said of you," Arthur said. He gestured toward where Niniane was trying to coax an illusory blue butterfly onto her finger, just like Elayne had. "She's over there, and you're over here."
"I'm glad you could figure that much out," Merlin said.
Arthur batted him on the arm. "I'm just saying that you should be over there with her, not lurking over here in the shadows with me. Who did you make this all for, anyway? Guinevere, or Niniane?"
Merlin's ears reddened. "Gwen just said she missed the forest, and that she wished there could be a celebration where everyone at court wasn't staring at her."
"And Niniane doesn't miss the forest, either?" The red blush moved into Merlin's cheeks. Arthur chuckled, took him by the shoulders, and gently pushed him in the direction of the Druid girl. "Go on. Spend some time with her. It won't kill you."
He followed the sorcerer, though it wasn't to make sure he did as he was told. He simply wanted to sit with Guinevere and see if she would spare some of those smiles for him. She did, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, too.
"Niniane?" Elayne's voice echoed through the forested hall. "Will you sing for us?"
"Of course," she replied and let her captured butterfly return to the air in a flash of blue. "What do you want to hear?"
"Hmm." Elayne had a thoughtful expression on her face as she plopped back onto the blanket next to Lancelot. "Sing something sad," she said after a few moments.
"Why do you want me to sing a sad song? Why not something happy?"
"Because sad songs remind people to be happy," Elayne said. "If a person in a story is mourning the loss of someone they love, then maybe you'll remember to be grateful for the ones you have."
Arthur looked at Elayne like he'd never seen her before, and he wasn't the only one. The girl seemed so flippant and ridiculous so often that it was easy to forget that she had a brain in her head.
"You simply must sing a sad song then, Niniane," Guinevere said. "It's times like these that we need to remember how blessed we are to have our friends and family nearby. And we need to remember, too, those who are far away." Her smile turned sad. No doubt she was thinking of Elyan in far off Tintagel.
"A sad song," Niniane said. She stood up straight and tugged at her sleeves, lost in thought. "Ah. I know," she said and took a deep breath.
"My young love said to me,
My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind.
And he stepped away from me
And this he did say:
It will not be long, Love,
'Til our wedding day.
As he stepped away from me
And he moved through the fair
And fondly I watched him
Move here and move there.
And then he made his way homeward,
With one star awake,
As the swans in the evening
Moved over the lake."
Her voice was sweet and clear, and quietly mournful. Just like it had been the first time Arthur had heard her sing- the night after the battle at Blackheath, when she and two of her kin had saved Merlin's life. And it was easy to get lost in the rise and fall of her voice and not hear the lyrics at all.
"The people were saying
No two e'er were wed
But one had a sorrow
That never was said.
And I smiled as he passed
With his goods and his gear,
And that was the last
That I saw of my dear."
Arthur looked over at Merlin. The sorcerer sat perfectly still with his knees drawn up to his chest, head tilted as he listened. It was hard to gauge the expression on his face, whether he was merely thoughtful or if he was remembering someone he had lost before. God knew there were enough ghosts haunting Merlin's past to warrant his melancholy.
Or did his thoughts run toward the future and the possibilities that lay before him, unseen except by his far-seeing eyes?
"Last night he came to me,
My dead love came in.
So softly he came
That his feet made no din.
And he laid his hand on me,
And this he did say:
It will not be long, love,
'Til our wedding day."
Guinevere's fingers tightened around his and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Arthur brought her hand to his lips and she looked up at him, startled. She dashed the tears away and smiled. "That was lovely, Niniane," she said.
"I wonder if the boy said that because he didn't know he was dead, or if he knew she would be joining him soon in the Land of the Dead," Elayne wondered. She adjusted her skirts with a flick of her wrists, and when part of the silken fabric landed on Lancelot's knee, he didn't brush it away.
"Perhaps it was a little bit of both," Merlin said, but if there was an explanation for his words, he didn't share it.
"Whatever his reasons were, it was a beautiful song. You should sing for us more often," Guinevere said.
"I already sing a lot, My Lady. If I sang anymore, I wouldn't be talking at all. Just singing songs!" she laughed.
Guinevere smiled. "Worse things could happen."
Another hour passed before Merlin found his chance to slip away unnoticed. It only took a whisper of magic to turn their eyes away from himself while Gwaine told some ridiculous joke. Niniane had worked her way to the edge of the group, too. 'Are you ready to go?' he asked her, mind to mind.
'Yes,' she sent back, her eyes sparkling.
'Come on, then. I'd rather not hold this spell longer than I have to.' He took her hand and led her out of the room through a side door, being careful to muffle the sound of the door's latching. It was a shame to leave his handiwork behind- it wasn't everyday he got to play like that, summon the memory of a summer forest and make it seem real, if only for a little while.
But now seemed as good a time as any to spend some time with Niniane. Better than most, actually, as everyone else would be too wrapped up in their own amusements to tease him about it.
"Where are we going?" she whispered as they hurried up a second flight of stairs and down a long hallway.
"You'll see."
"Why are we in such a hurry, then? You haven't dismissed that invisibility spell yet. I can feel it. If no one can see us, why are we sneaking around like this?"
'But isn't the intrigue fun?' he said, pausing long enough to spin her about like they were dancing. Her laughter echoed down the hallway. A guard looked up at the sound, a puzzled look on his face when he couldn't find the source. Merlin put a finger to her lips and muffled his own laughter. 'Come on. We're almost there.'
'There' turned out to be a set of chambers at the far end of the royal wing, one usually reserved for visiting dignitaries and ambassadors from the neighboring kingdoms. Because there were few of those during the winter, the rooms stood empty. While they were unoccupied, the servants only came once a week to dust and air out the rooms.
"What are we doing here?" Niniane asked once Merlin had closed and locked the door behind them.
"Whatever we want to do," Merlin said. "We could play chess or just watch it snow outside. The view from here is lovely. You can see the nobles' homes and the guard towers from here. And some of the forest, too."
"Oh, I see. You sneak us in here so we can play chess and look out the window," Niniane teased. "You're so romantic, Emrys. I don't understand why the girls aren't lining up to get your attention."
Merlin laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I have a special kind of charm that attracts a special kind of girl. What would you suggest that we do?"
She snuggled close and rested her head against her chest. "The room is a bit cold," she said. "And I know you don't care for fire. Perhaps we could curl up together on that very comfortable bed and keep each other warm for a while?"
"We could do that," Merlin said, and kissed her.
"Where's Merlin?" Guinevere asked.
Arthur looked up and then around the great hall, peering through the branches of the illusory trees. "I don't know," he said, suddenly realizing that it had been a while since he had seen the sorcerer.
"And while we're at it, we should probably ask where Niniane is, too," Linnet said slyly.
Arthur grinned. "Well, wherever they are, they had better be together."
They were together, and they kept each other perfectly warm all through the night.
A/N: The song Niniane sings is 'He Moved Through the Fair', though I've also seen it as 'She Moved Through the Fair' depending on who sings it. My favorite version is by Loreena McKennit