CHAPTER TWO: Of Princesses and Magic
"Merlin, there you are" The court physician grinned up at the lad "Where have you been? Your lunch is stone cold."
The bedraggled boy limped over to the thick wooden table and folded into a chair. "Arthur had me clean his armour" he moaned melodramatically. "Then the stables, then his bedroom, then the stables again because the stupid animals mussed it up."
Gaius merely laughed, "You're a servant Merlin, that's what you are supposed to do."
His chuckles were cut short when the servant's eyes flashed gold and his pie was piping hot again. "Merlin!" He scolded.
"Sorry Gaius" Merlin quipped automatically as he shovelled another load into his mouth. His mentor tutted and turned back to his work.
"So I heard there was a meeting today." He threw over his shoulder, anything to disturb the horrible sounds of Merlin inhaling his food.
"Mmmm" the warlock replied, interest piqued. "Something about -" he swallowed "- A king visiting," he waved his fork around elaborately, "a King Carmen, or something?"
Both men jumped as the vial Gaius had been holding shattered onto the worktop, spewing nasty purple liquid over the tired oak. "Carmen? Did you say Carmen?!"
"Ummm… yes?" Merlin tentatively replied, peering over at the old man hastily amending the mess "Is there something I should know?"
"No, no" Gaius gasped, wiping up the liquid with new found agility. "It's nothing just," he swept up the last of the glass and faced the warlock at last. "It's just a surprise, that's all."
"How come?" Merlin, now sure there hadn't been any side affects to the potion spill, pushed his chair back and dumped his empty plate in the sink. His elder scowled at his actions before replying.
"Well, King Uther and King Carmen have never really gotten along." Gaius sighed, it was right for him to know. "King Carmen has always had a much more… lax approach to sorcery."
"Oh." Merlin grimaced. "That's really something to disagree on."
Gaius nodded. "Indeed, he still has a court sorcerer."
"What? Really?!" Merlin actually looked dumbfounded. You could see the cogs in his brain processing the information "I didn't think any courts would after the purge."
"Well, I happen to know that during the purge King Carmen's realm became the safest place for warlocks and witches. He took them all under his wing… unknown to Uther of course, but he suspected Carmen."
The warlock blinked stupidly, overcome by this image of a gilded king, a friend to magic, someone who didn't fear Uther's wrath. He smiled at the thought.
Gaius frowned at Merlin's grin. "Anyway, Carmen has most likely left his court sorcerer behind to guard his realm. They're not known to be that close, there's actually a rumour circling that Princess Rosaline isn't the kings at all, but the product of an affair between the warlock and his wife."
The boy started. "That would mean she would inherit his magic..." Merlin stated incredulously. It was one this to have a King that tolerates magic but another to have a potentially magical bastard child as his only heir.
"If hearsay is anything to go by, yes."
The mentor and warlock exchanged nervous glances. This was going to be no ordinary royal visit.
~o~
Uther paced up the grand hall, crown on his head, hands behind his back. As if to further emphases how little work he was doing whilst the servants around him had been up long before dawn, he yawned loudly and sent one off to get him a glass of water.
Everyone was in a flutter about the upcoming royal visit. Chambers had to be prepared and many grand feasts were to be arranged. Uther himself didn't seem so worried about the hospitality of his guests and was causing trouble with odd requests, like ordering the guards release some of the more pitiful prisoners, in order to "make room just in case." and doubling the security shifts. It wasn't the first time the servants just wished he would leave them to it.
Arthur appeared more affected by the abrupt increase in servant workload. He was suffering from what Merlin cheekily tagged as 'Gwen withdrawal symptoms', which, in all fairness, was partly a helping of dread for the upcoming interactions he may have to endure with the princess. Although, Guinevere hadn't been picked to be her maid, something he was very grateful for indeed. He couldn't stand the thought of his Queen serving some… princess.
Finally, the time had come.
The king, the castle, and the court arranged themselves in the chilly courtyard. Not all the castle were present of course, the servant mass in particular flitted back and forth, endlessly worried over forgotten chores and abandoned routines. A handful of the knights had shown - whether by choice or force was anyone's guess but they looked sourer by the minute. Servant or knight, they all looked like they'd much rather be somewhere else.
At the centre of this already foreboding sight, not helped by the punctuation of guards stationed at every window, was the King. Uther couldn't hide the smirk on his face, something that was intimidating enough without an unhealthy portion of his Army tucked behind him.
"Is it me, or does it look like we are preparing for the start of war, rather than the arrival of some royal family?" Gwen whispered to Merlin, keeping her face straight and her pose proper as she leaned over to talk to him. They were at the fringe of the 'welcoming committee' and overlooked the scene with amusement.
Merlin grinned, she was more than right. If it weren't for the smirk, he'd thought King Uther was rather scared. The extra security was more than enough to back him up.
Gwen peered into the crowd. "Where's Arthur?"
"He said he'd come down when he sees them come over the horizon." Merlin shivered "I wish I'd stayed with him, to be honest. It's warmer inside."
The conversation was cut short as a fanfare piped up. Simultaneously, the servants subtly clambered over each other in an attempt to see the guests first. After a bit of squinting, you cold make out an ornate carriage winding its way down over the surrounding hills. It was flanked by dark brown steeds and a party of smaller horses trailed behind, heavy footed as they were laden with belongings.
The town parted for them at the first sign of the royal crest, mothers ushering slip-shod children inside and stall owners fighting to save their wares from the crushing wheels.
"Finally!" Merlin jumped as Arthur appeared behind them. Gwen merely flushed scarlet, trying to ignore how close he was. The crowned prince slipped over to his father, who glared at him, just as the gates opened.
"Welcome to Camelot" Uther looked as benevolent as he could manage, arms thrust wide as the party filtered in. At the head was the crest bearer, followed by the king then the carriage.
The other king looked down from his steed, his face unreadable. He had a similar build to Uther, but was the taller of the two. He was seemingly ageless, only the speckles of grey muzzling his hair suggested he was old. The crown on his head held an eerie glow which any average sorcerer could tell had been tampered with to enhance the shine.
King Carmen leapt down from the horse easily, clasping Uther's waiting hand. They exchanged pleasantries, but the veins rose in their wrists as they grappled each other, a well disguised test of strength. All they while their servants twittered around, bumbling with Camelot's servants to get the job done.
The carriage door had been swung open, and the queen had stepped out. She held a bountiful smile, but had a slightly forgotten feel with her simple gown and hair. To anyone, she could appeared broken inside, but for the sake of the bands of gold around her finger and around her head, she stood tall and proud.
Princess Rosaline was the last to emerge from the carriage. She had a flowing, traditional gown that was a fine as a newborn baby's hair and long, brunette curls that held tight to frame her face, but fell away into mismatched waves around the back. Arthur hated to admit she was rather pretty, in damsel in distress kind of way. A sharp jab in the back later and he realised he was supposed to be helping her out. Shooting a glare at his father, whose eyes flashed from behind his false grin in response, the prince walked over and offered his arm.
Gwen let out a long sigh as the two greeted each other. He stiffly welcomed her, and she shyly responded, clutching a book to her chest as if her life depended on it. She freed one hand and placed it delicately on his arm, she smiled up at him. He held the gaze longer than necessary, a smile curling at his face too. Gwen folded her arms across her chest and desperately fought the wave of self-doubt that drowned her in that moment, suffocating like that odious waterfall of curly brown hair was twisted around her throat.
The royal party was led inside, Rosaline still holding Arthur's arm, and in turn, holding power over the cascading feeling of doom inside of Guinevere.
"Gwen?" She felt Merlin tug at her elbow. The courtyard was slowly emptying, servants filtering out in mismatched directions to the stables and kitchens. "You okay?"
She twisted to look up at her friend. "Yeah, I'm okay Merlin." She felt so tired all of a sudden, looking at the shadows under his eyes.
"Sure?" His face creased with worry.
"Yeah. I just need some sleep, that's all."
=| I was going to add more, but i'm just having difficulties getting it together. Better this than nothing! Thank you for all your positive responses so far :)
