Gwaine watched Arthur drag Merlin away. He heard her say, "Where are you taking me?" and the king's grunted answer. He tried to follow, but Lancelot had grabbed his arm, claiming his cousin needed to meet "the charismatic Sir Gwaine."
"Lance," said Gwaine, stopping him. "I can't right now-"
"C'mon, Gwaine," slurred Lancelot, obviously tipsy. "It's my wedding. Dance with some girls. Have a drink."
"I can't now, Merlin is-" Gwaine was interrupted again.
"Sir Gwaine turning down a drink? What has this world come to?" asked Lancelot. "HEY EVERYONE, GWAINE TURNED DOWN A DRINK!"
That comment eared cheering, shocked looks, and a few boos. Gwaine sighed and glared at his fellow knight. It didn't matter if this was Lance's wedding; Merlin might be in trouble, according to her panicked sounding voice and Arthur's angered face. Gwaine broke Lancelot's grip and stormed off, with the other knight yelling after him. The night was brisk, but dark, as Gwaine noted. Out of the chaos of celebration, he realized he had no idea where to go. He started down on street.
"Go to her," he heard a voice say. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just a man giving relationship advice. He walked on to the castle, the most likely place. Merlin's and Gaius' chambers probably would be a safe bet, so he headed there.
"Love, you are now mine."
He froze, hearing this. He was about ten feet in front of the physician's chambers. Gwaine peeked in the door.
"You are pretty, my love," he heard a man in dark clothing say. "But these clothes do not flatter you enough. I will fix that shortly"
What? thought Gwaine. He peered in again, to take in the scene correctly. A man (that needs that smirk whacked off his face, as the knight thought.) had a sleeping Merlin curled in his lap. She muttered something and giggled in her sleep, while the man had smiled down on her. The next thing he did made something in Gwaine's chest hurt.
"Love, my love," said the man, stroking her face. He pressed a kiss directly on her lips. It was a long one, too, one filled with many amounts of tongue.
Merlin, was Gwaine's only thought as his heart shattered. Merlin was seeing someone. And a good looking someone at that. Someone that she fell asleep with, even if he was awake. That dance, the kiss on the cheek- had it all been to deceive Gwaine? The knight thought they almost had something.
Of course, he knew, she had something with Arthur, but he hoped it was more of a brother-sister type of relationship. He could see it wasn't. But….she had fooled them both. Arthur and Gwaine were smitten with her and she probably knew it. She had led them on.
Gwaine couldn't take it. Turning, he barreled down the corridor, not caring if anyone was calling out to him. He went to his chambers and looked under his bed, pulled out some mead, and drank.
Gwaine should know it by now, never trust anyone. Especially woman. Especially woman that were once men that you once had a thing for. Never trust anyone; they will only hurt you. Mead was always there. He trusted the alcohol.
He wasn't sure how long he had been drinking. It felt like minutes, but seeing the sky lighten a bit made him unsure. Something didn't feel right. In the back of his mind, a thought was nagging him.
Go to Arthur's chambers, it whispered in his head. It sounded like Merlin.
"Can't you see I'm trying to forget you?" he slurred to the air, while taking a swig of mead.
Go to Arthur's chambers.
"No."
Go to Arthur's chambers.
"Merlin, get out of my head."
Go to Arthur's chambers.
Go to Arthur's chambers.
Go to Arthur's chambers.
Go to Ar-
"Alright, I going," said Gwaine standing and swaying. Drunkenly, he made his way to Princess' rooms. The king was not there. He looked around, with blurred vision, finding nothing unusual. The room started spinning. He sat at Arthur's table and rested his head on it. He did not feel wood, however, but instead felt the dryness of parchment. He lifted his head and the paper stuck to it. With a groan, he peeled it off and tried to read it.
Several minutes of drunkenly try to decipher the note, Gwaine was rushing through the halls, trying to reach the stables. Rightful King of Camelot, dark clothing, that familiar smirk. Morgana. Gwaine ran faster, almost falling because of his intoxication. Finally he reached them, only to find an old man brushing his horse.
"Can I help you, Sir Knight?" asked the elder.
"I need-" started Gwaine.
"You smell of alcohol. Woman trouble?" The man was pestering, but Gwaine had too much respect for the elderly to not answer him.
"You could say that."
"Is it that servant girl?" asked the man, now strapping a saddle on the horse.
Gwaine was shocked. "How'd you know?"
"I'm an old man, people tell me things," he stated. "But she wasn't always a she, correct?"
"Umm….." Gwaine didn't know if he should answer.
"Don't worry, I know," said the old man, eyes alight with wisdom. He was now tying on saddle bags. "And you seem smitten with this girl."
"I am," he sighed. "I was even when she was a man."
"Really, now?"
"Yes, but she loves another."
"But do you love her?" said the man, giving him a piecing look.
"Yes," Gwaine whispered.
"Does the one she love, love her?"
Gwaine knew the answer without thinking. "Without a doubt."
"Then set her free," said the old man. His eyes looked familiar.
"What do you mean?"
"Ever heard the phrase 'if you love something, set it free and it if comes back to you it's yours?'" The knight nodded. "Well, set her free. She may or may not come back to you."
"What if she doesn't?" asked Gwaine, feeling slightly inferior, but grateful for the advice.
"She will," said the old man, handing him his horse's reigns. "Your love for each other may be different from what you expect, though."
Gwaine accepted the reigns and mounted his steed. "What do mean?"
"You will see in time," smiled the old man. Gwaine looked away for a second and the old man was gone. Feeling unnerved, he rode to the dark side of the woods.
It was an hours ride. In that hour many things happened. Merlin fought against her curse, Arthur remained unconscious, and Gwaine set Merlin free. He thought about how the time he first saw him, how his heart fluttered. He let that go. He remembered being jealous of how close the servant was to Arthur. He let that go. He thought of every time Merlin's grin made his heart do a backflip. He let that go.
He still cared for Merlin, though not in the same way as before. He thought of Arthur stealing a kiss from the servant from the time she had been stabbed and did not feel jealous. Something was in that love's place. A new love. A different one.
Gwaine guessed Morgana's hovel was where they'd be. He tried to remember a path to it, but nothing surfaced. He went in circles for hours. Nothing. The wind suddenly picked up.
"Last words, Morgana Pendragon?" drawled a loud voice as the wind howled louder. Gwaine rode towards it. "Swil-" he heard someone start. The wind stopped. He rode faster.
Chaos was everywhere. Merlin looked to be landing from the air, while a man, that Gwaine guessed was Morgana, cowered on the ground. His eyes took in the scene. Morgana's hovel was in pieces everywhere. Shards of glasses littered the ground, along with various things used in potions. Something gold caught the knight's eye. He ran towards it and stooped down. It was Arthur's hair, which was attached to the king himself.
"Arthur," he hissed whilst Merlin was threatening Morgana, "Wake up."
Gwaine started to uncover the king of the decimated walls of the hut. He cursed as he discovered Arthur was in chains. He used his sword to break them, which surprisingly worked.
"Gwaine?" asked a weak voice. The knight looked down. Arthur was awake.
"Hey Princess," he said as cheerfully as the situation required.
"Where's Merlin?"
Gwaine looked up, only to glimpse a flash of bright light. He looked away until it was gone. He stood up, Arthur slowly following him. He looked around.
"Found her," Arthur said, picking up a pink limp form. Pink? Merlin hated pink, why would she wear so much of it?
As the knight walked over, he remembered something. "You are pretty, my love. But these clothes do not flatter you enough. I will fix that shortly." Morgana's words rang through his ears. That little pervert thought these clothes had flattered her? She was half naked!
Arthur set her down by a tree and made some moves to set up a camp. Gwaine followed his lead, though not before wrapping his cloak around Merlin.
"So," started Arthur as they collected firewood, "How did you find us?"
"Read the note in your room," said Gwaine, "and followed Merlin's screaming."
Arthur's eyes widened. "Screaming?"
"Not like that. She was using magic. Nearly killed Morgana," Gwaine shrugged like it they were talking about the weather.
"Merlin?" asked Arthur, looking at Merlin in shock. She muttered something along the lines of "how long will it take?" and rolled over.
"She didn't, though. I don't think Merlin would have," said Gwaine, rolling his eyes. Typical Merlin, seeing value in every life.
Arthur's eyes traveled to Merlin's form. "Oh Merlin," he muttered.
By the time their talk ended, they had a roaring fire and had sat down. Arthur sat next to Merlin, nearly pulling the servant on his lap by the force of him wrapping his arms around her. Gwaine surprisingly didn't feel jealous; but he did feel like something of a third wheel.
"Arthur? Gwaine?" asked a bleary eyed Merlin. She sat up, despite Arthur's arms encircling her. "What happened? Where are we? What I am wearing? Is this make-up on my face?"
Yep, Merlin was awake.
So? What'd you think? Revenge of the old man! I actually have no idea who he is... So anyway thank you to Book-girl-fan, Don-V, Luka-Knight, jwolf18791, dhh, and Lady-Blade-WarAngel for reviewing! :D