A/N : Hey you guys, I'm back with another chapter. I just want to thank you all so much for the amazing support - you deserve all the cookies, pies or pastries I hurl at you! (smiles) I'm sorry for not updating yesterday, but I kind of had a lot going on.. That being said, I'm feeling inspired today, so I might continue writing on tomorrow's chapter!
Pleaaase let me know what you think? It means the world to me! Cookies again, because y'all seem to like 'em!
XO, as always
Merlin
"Did you believe him?" He threw it out as casually as he possibly could, but Arthur's eyes were wide in honest knew at that very moment that he had been right all along : Arthur did care, though he may not want to admit it. He could just imagine the prince's response when someone asked him if he did. "Don't be ridiculous," he'd say, and – depending who was asking the question – they would either choose to believe him, or they would not.
Believing in a truth that could be concealed, that HAD been concealed for an entire lifetime, wasn't the easiest thing to do. Especially when it went against everything you had ever known to be true. "Do you?" he questioned, and was met with a small shake of the head, a barely recognizable sigh.
"I don't know who he is, Merlin, or even who he imagines himself to be… But there's something there that… I don't trust him. He claims Hunith lied to you about all this?"
Merlin closed his eyes briefly, recalling his mother's face, her kind eyes and caring spirit. "I can't imagine her doing that to me."
"Well, neither can I." He paused. "I'm sure she was very protective of you when you were young, Merlin – she still is, even today , but I really don't think she'd keep your father away from you." He glanced at Merlin, momentarily raising his gaze from his stacked plate, and when their eyes connected, an understanding passed between them.
Arthur sipped his cup. "I can send for her." He offered.
Merlin shook his head. "And have her in the same place as Garreth? That would be a really bad idea, on every possible level." He paused for a moment and looked at Arthur to gauge his reaction. He'd just come out and called the prince on one of his truly stupid plans, and it would all depend on the mood Arthur was in – he could be coming down on his servant, hard and fast, of he could choose to ignore the remark and let him off with a slight raise of the eyebrow. "..my lord." Merlin cast his eyes to the floor, and when he raised them again he saw slight amusement playing around the prince's lips.
He sagged into his chair, enjoying his servant's skittishness. "Alright, Merlin. What's your brilliant idea, then?"
"I'd like to visit her, if that would be alright with you."
Arthur's brow furrowed, concern written all over his face. "How long would you be gone for?" Merlin groaned inwardly. Concern for himself, then. His royal behind would have to be waited on by some other servant.
"Three days. Maybe more." Arthur's eyes travelled across the room before he grinned, and cheerfully announced that he was going with. Merlin's eyes nearly bounced out of their sockets when he did. "Really?" His beaming smile lit up the entire room, before the suspicion set in. He tilted his head slightly, squeezing his eyes to tight slits. "Why?"
"Because, Merlin, my father wants me to have me travel to the Northern boundaries with the guard and pay the local towns a visit. It's a smile-and-wave-occasion." He looked victorious. "Traveling with you would be a great excuse not to go – and besides, I have a duty to protect you. I wouldn't want you fall over yourself and become completely useless to me."
Gaius
He supposed it was foolish of him to feel this threatened by the new arrival to the lower town, but his foster son had always been a tender point to him, a small chink in his armour. Maybe Merlin could fix it, himself. Or maybe he would turn away…tell him it was a lost cause. The armour would never shine as it once had, and it was silly to think that it would.
His eyes travelled to the raised platform, to the door that led to Merlin's chamber. Imagining it empty broke his heart, a little, and he didn't want to think about that, any longer. He needed to act to make sure Garreth knew that he was here to stay. And so was Merlin.
-
The palace's kitchen was a place he had frequented often when he'd been slightly younger, and he still knew his way around, occassionaly visiting when the time was right. Mostly, Merlin and he got along just fine, but at special occasions he liked to give his foster son something better than just … baked beans and meat loaf. "You deserved this," he'd tell Merlin, and he meant it with all his heart. No one knew how difficult it must be for the young sorcerer but he, and even Gaius underappreciated it at times.
When he found Garreth, the first thing he thought of was how often he had seen the back of him. More often than not, Garreth had 'only just left' when Gaius visited Hunith, and he remained in the dim lit room with the kind woman, and the small boy who stared at him wide-eyed. Pure innocence, Merlin had been. Sometimes Gaius wanted to believe he still was, now.
"Gaius." Garreth's voice didn't sound surprised, but there was a sentiment hidden in that timber. Something in there that just spoke of betrayal, and it made him want to crawl into a hole, bury Garreth deep inside and run away, never telling anyone of the secret hiding place where he had stowed away his one great rival. He nearly laughed at himself. A rival, fighting over Merlin's love. It seemed childish. "I was wondering when you were going to turn up here."
Gaius frowned. "Funnily enough, I was wondering why you are here in the first place."
"In the palace kitchen?"
"You're still as amusing as you were when you were younger. In Camelot." Gaius stared at the scrawny figure, looking at the light stubble on the now mature cheek, the twinkle in his eyes and the long arms and legs that looked strong enough to embrace a small tree trunk. "You're not taking Merlin away from here, if that's what your after. He belongs here."
"Gaius." Garreth advanced on him like a predator coming at his prey, the sharp teeth glinstening in the shrill daylight. His hand came down on the older man's shoulder, the steady pressure holding him down. "I know Merlin is the son you've NEVER had, but he IS mine." He smiled wickedly. "And if he decides to trust me, I promise you that I won't let you stand in our way."
Old fingers reached for the younger ones, prying them loose one by one, and holding them in a tight grip. Dear lord, he tried to muster up the force to come off as threatening, but he couldn't. He was becoming too old for this. "What are you really after, Garreth?"
Garreth laughed. "Whatever gave you that idea, physician?"
"You may have forgotten, but I know who you really are. I'll expose you before you get whatever it is you want from us."
"You do that." He laughed. "You do that, Gaius, and see who he trusts. The remorseful father seeking forgiveness or the jealous old man trying to keep him down?"
Gaius peered at him through his heavy eyelids, feeling the vein throb near to his temples. "Don't you try to play games with us, Garreth. I fear you'll be the one who takes the tumble down."
-
Merlin
Before they rode out, Merlin looked behind him - - twice! - - to check if Arthur was actually going to go through with this. He'd learnt the smile-and-wave occasion was pure fiction, secretly having asked Uther if he had anything planned for his son the next few days, which meant that Arthur was actually doing this for him, instead of for his own benefit.
Letting on he knew was the worst option. "Merlin, you do know that we're set to leave today?" Arthur shook him from his musings.
"Er, yeah," he cleared his throat. "'m ready."
-
Later that night, they positioned themselves beside the fire in their usual places..which meant that Arthur's feet rested near his mouth and nose, just like they had the first time they'd left for Ealdor. He groaned. "You're not going to throw your feet in my face again, are you?"
Arthur chuckled. "You mean like this?"
Merlin, having anticipated the Arthur-move, grabbed a hold of the ankle before it could turn away. "Exactly like that."
He cleared his throat menacingly. "Merlin, I order you to let go." He raised himself from the ground so he could glare at his servant. A mean one. "I can have you thrown in the stocks for this, you know."
Merlin only smiled teasingly. "Great." he said, "It's been too long since I've had such fun."
But Arthur wasn't giving up, and he threw in the best threat, knowing it would scare Merlin off forever. "I'll even hand them the potatoes myself."
Merlin's mouth fell open, the shock of such a torturous missile too great to be ignored. "Fine." He released Arthur's foot. "But I just want you to know that you're no fun on field trips."
Arthur squirmed, trying to find the comfortable position he'd found earlier on, and grinned at the stars. "Shut up, Merlin."
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Xo, as always!