Alaia Skyhawk: Here we go, the next part of this sub-ep :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Music: The Forged Seal (Merlin OST)

"Whom History Won't Remember" Episode: N/A

~(-)~

Chapter 11: How Not to Impress a Prince ~Part 2~

The horse had been almost too happy to see him, especially considering he'd walked into Arthur's stable while it was giving one of the men who worked down here a hard time. It had been nipping at him every time he turned his back, the man clearly on the verge of becoming irate with it until he had entered.

The horse had halted mid-bite to look at Merlin, before letting out a whicker of greeting and turning round to face him. The stablehand was staring at him, starting to frown when the servant walked towards the horse to distract it before it realised he was now in prime aiming area for the creature to kick him.

Merlin eyed him nervously, hesitating before deciding perhaps a friendly approach would be best in this situation. And so, with that in mind, he put on a polite but open smile and offered his hand in greeting.

"Hi, I'm Merlin. I haven't had to chance to meet many people yet, so I guess I should introduce myself since I'll probably be coming down here a lot more over time."

Speech done, he tried not to wince... It had come out as awkwardly as it had sounded, and from the slight deepening of the grumpy expression on the other man's face, it hadn't had the effect he was hoping for.

The stablehand let out a single disdainful snort, before jerking his head to indicate the horse now nuzzling Merlin's shoulder.

"So you're Prince Arthur's new servant, the guy who's responsible for this annoying git... I've no doubt this fellow will learn his place with time, but it don't change the fact it should have been Bern who got him. Not some skinny wimp with more luck than he deserves."

Merlin winced again. Yep, being given the horse was going to add to his problems. Trying to pacify a guy who clearing already had his mind made up was going to be pointless, so better to go with Plan B and just stay polite.

He moved to untie the horse from the wooden bar at the back of the stable, before taking hold of its bridle and giving the man a short glance.

"Bern and I have already come to an agreement about all this. I won't brag about getting the job, he won't hold a grudge, and we're both just going to get on with our work and see how things turn out. Neither of us asked for this to happen, it just did... Now I'd best get going, or the person who's going to teach me how to ride this guy will wonder what's keeping me."

He led the gelding out of the stable as fast as he could without looking like he was hurrying, still inwardly cringing at the confrontation even if the mention of Bern and him having an agreement had caused the stablehand to react in surprise. With any luck, once he'd confirmed with Bern that it was true, as he almost certainly would given his apparent instant dislike, the guy wouldn't do anything except glare and grumble from now on.

Or so he hoped...

Merlin let out a long sigh, resigned to the fact that there would be plenty others who thought the same as that guy. He just had to stick out the stupid probation period and things would get better.

"Hello, Merlin... Got a lot on your mind?"

He flinched in s surprise, lifting his head to see Gwen walking towards him. She reached out to pet the horse, only saved from a nip when he yanked on the gelding's bridle.

"Uh, he tends to bite... unless he's decided to like you. It's apparently the 'quirk' he was sent here for me to use for since it made him unsellable."

Gwen tilted her head, smiling in slight bemusement while she looked from the horse to him.

"I've already heard where this fellow comes from... You know, if anyone gives you trouble, either about you becoming Prince Arthur's servant, or about the horse..."

Merlin shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm not going to use my rank among the staff to complain to the chief of staff. It would only make things..."

"Worse, I know." Her smile became supportive. "I was going to say, if they give you trouble, tell me and I'll set them straight. I've served the Lady Morgana since we were both ten years old, and I'm well respected among all the staff because of it. I'll set them straight."

He returned the smile in gratitude.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I can manage. I was already expecting things like what the guy in the stable said."

They started walking again, heading for the smaller stable just down the way, Gwen frowning.

"What did he say?"

"That Bern should have been the one getting to use this horse, and not a 'skinny wimp with more luck than he deserves'."

She stared, aghast.

"Now that's uncalled f..."

"It's just words..." Merlin interrupted her, shaking his head. "It's just words, Gwen. Words can only hurt you if you let them. If that guy wants to be an ass, he can be an ass, and I'll just ignore him." He hesitated a bit, the two of them nearing Morgana's stable. "Um, Gwen... What's she like? The Lady Morgana."

Gwen, seeing his sudden display of nerves, chuckled.

"You're lucky to have her show you how to ride. She's an excellent horsewoman, and far more patient than any of the men who could have spared time to teach you. Don't worry about her rank, she's not like Prince Arthur; obsessed with rules and protocol. Just be polite and listen to her."

She strode ahead a little, opening the stable doors and going in.

Morgana turned to face them both, smiling when she saw her maid.

"Ah, Gwen, good timing. Merlin, bring your horse over here and tie him to the rail. We'll start with how to put on and take off a saddle, and how to make sure you've done it properly." She gestured to a rack in the corner, where an ornate and well cared-for saddle was hung with a plain one. Beside them on a bench was a third, as plain as the second saddle yet the same high quality as the first. "That's the saddle Lord Tarven brought with him to go with the horse. He'd intended to present it himself, but decided that since it was no longer Bern it was going to it might not be tactful. He had his servant bring it here this morning, after he heard from Arthur last night that I would be teaching you. Now bring it over here, and we'll get started."

The next half-an-hour was spent in the company of Gwen helping him place, fasten, check, and then remove the saddle over and over to Morgana's patient explanations. Warnings of making sure the horse wasn't sucking in air to trick him, meaning the saddle would be loose and slip once he tried to mount. He was just starting to relax and agree with Gwen that Morgana was nothing like Arthur when the Lady suddenly declared that he'd had enough practice at that and now it was time to go for a short ride.

Merlin blanched pale as he led his now saddled horse out of the stable, following Gwen and Morgana who led horses of their own. Now came the short explanation of how to actually mount a horse, followed by two perfect examples and one case of a warlock almost sending himself head first straight over the back of his horse.

Morgana led them out of the castle grounds, out into the area of nearby woodland popular with nobles for leisurely rides. Both she and Gwen were relaxed, while he was terrified he was going to look like an idiot, sitting so rigid in his saddle that Gwen looked back and frowned at him.

"Relax into the horse's stride, Merlin. If you fight it, you'll only make yourself more uncomfortable and annoy the horse. I doubt a horse from Ulwin would bother about it, but lesser-trained ones can dump their riders in protest if ridden badly for long enough. Let your body rock with the motion, just not too much or you might fall out of the saddle anyway."

Merlin did his best to follow her instructions, managing somewhat yet still more than a little awkward. Glancing back at him, Morgana chuckled and reined her mare's pace in a little, letting him catch up before matching pace alongside him.

"Well, I've no doubt you've been wondering why the king's ward would offer to teach a lowly servant how to ride a horse. Truth be told, it wasn't all out of generosity. I wanted to speak with you, and ask you what you think of our dear Prince Arthur." Merlin blinked in surprise, remaining silent as she spoke again. "Come now, this is strictly between us. Not a word of it will reach that spoiled little princeling."

"W-what? Y-you think he's a..."

Merlin was almost in a state of shock, Morgana laughing again at his reaction.

"Please... He's an arrogant bully, and from what Gwen has told me, and from what I've seen today, you're the best thing that could have come his way. I'm sick hearing people harping on about how one day he'll be king... Well right now all I can say is he's not going to make a very good one. He needs someone to show him that commoners deserve respect, that they are people and not just 'the people'. Heavens know there's no one else among the staff who will do it. Bern just let Arthur walk all over him. A sterling example of a commoner doing a perfect impression of a floor rug. If I ever caught Gwen acting in such a fashion towards me, I'd tell her in no uncertain terms to stop it."

She smiled at her maid, who smiled in return at the gesture, both of them then turning their attention back to Merlin.

He stared at them both, before starting to realise something.

"You planned this, didn't you, My Lady? The both of you."

Morgana flipped a stray tress of hair back over her shoulder.

"So I want to shake things up a bit. I've spent years watching Uther rule with an iron hand, and don't want to see Arthur become a replica of him. One Uther Pendragon is enough for Camelot, without Arthur becoming just like him."

In the quiet that followed, Merlin regarded her thoughtfully. It was obvious she cared for Arthur as if he were her brother, although she didn't want to admit it. She couldn't tell him he should respect commoners, he would never listen to her, and that left her with a bit of a dilemma. How to get through to him when she couldn't do it directly.

He looked down at the back of his horse's neck, shaking his head and letting out a single laugh. When she raised her eyebrows at it, he explained.

"You're asking me to do something I've already decided to try, and believe me I'm already trying, My Lady. I've already managed to get him to accept the changes I made to his meals, and he didn't throw me in the stocks for blackmailing him out of bed this morning by threatening to throw the hangover remedy from Gaius out of one of his windows."

Morgana stared, her expression passing through surprise and on to mirth.

"Now this is just rich... If only I could tease him about it without getting you into trouble. You just keep trying to get through that thick skull of his, and in return I'll make sure your probation period goes without a hitch. Any complaints to the Chief of Staff, from servants trying to get you in trouble during it, will conveniently disappear from the records... It's traditionally the role of the king's wife to preside over the day-to-day running of the castle, but since he doesn't have one it's sort of fallen to me to keep an eye on things. You understand?"

Now if there were ever a stroke of sheer and absolute luck, this was one of them... Or it could just be destiny playing him another hand to help him stay where it said he should be. He nodded in agreement, smiling in gratitude for her offer, before Gwen proceeded to mob him with questions about his home before he came to Camelot. The rest of the short ride was far more relaxed, even if his rear was sore by the end of it... Just a pity he never realised how stiff it would make his legs, since when they arrived back outside Arthur's stable the prince was waiting there for them.

He watched his servant when they came to a stop, just waiting for something to happen, and sure enough... it did. Merlin messed up getting down out of the saddle and succeeded in falling and landing on his backside in front of him.

Arthur laughed, rolling his eyes.

"And I see you're just as hopeless at that as I expected you'd be."

Morgana frowned down at him in reproval.

"Leave him be, Arthur, he did very well for his first ride. Give him a few weeks more practice and he'll have no trouble keeping up with you out on patrols."

"Yeah, well, I'll believe it when I see it. Come on, Merlin, get moving. You're late for preparing my dinner."

He turned and walked away, Merlin giving one meaningful look to Morgana before getting to his feet as she spoke.

"I'll see to it your horse is settled. You go keep our dear prince happy."

He gave her one last nod before hurrying after Arthur. This week was just getting stranger by the hour.

Behind him, Morgana had dismounted from her horse and took the reins of a certain picky gelding who had no problem with her whatsoever, her maid gazing at Merlin's retreating form.

"So what do you think of him?"

Morgana glanced at, wryly and with amusement.

"I think having him around is going to be interesting... Or at the very least seeing him driving Arthur up the wall should be entertaining."

Gwen chuckled.

"I think he's going to be fine... There's something about him that just makes me think he will be."

~(-)~

It was by resisting the urge to walk a bit bow-legged that Merlin arrived at Gaius' chambers, carrying Arthur's second pair of boots, the ones that needed cleaning, with him. His guardian wasn't present, probably already out on his afternoon rounds, and it was just as well considering the ecstatic greeting the statue dog decided to give to his ward.

Merlin was forced to drop the boots, freeing his hands to halt the dog with a gesture before it could bowl him over in its charge from his room and all the way across the outer one. It was wagging its tail madly in glee at his return, and he could only assume that his idea of what a friendly dog should act like was being relayed to it by the fact he was its creator. It was just lucky the thing didn't seem to drool.

He headed into his room, using magic to set a stiff brush to work cleaning the boots while he moved his stool in front of his door and sat on it. There was no way he was going to risk a repeat of Gaius walking in here to see a brush cleaning a boot while floating in mid-air.

Sat there, leaning against the door, he began to flip through the pages of his spellbook while the dog watched him from the bed. Several tried spells later, and it was still watching him, yet now with a head tilted in apparent fascination of his various expressions of effort in casting them.

Glancing at the now almost fully cleaned boots, Merlin grimaced as he realised he was almost out of time and quickly used the book to look up one last spell to try for now.

He pointed to the dog and spoke authoritatively.

"Ic agensende tu be swefn!"

The dog remained there, head tilted, before it slowly canted sideways off the bed and landed on the floor... and then it proceeded to start snoring.

Merlin stared at it feeling utterly deflated. All he'd managed to do was make it fall asleep. He stood up from his stool and returned his book to its hiding place, pausing to give the dog a poke with a foot before grabbing the boots and brush from the air and leaving the thing to its nap. He'd just have to try again later.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehehe, first proper Morgana scene, and I think I've summed up the way she views Arthur in season 1. He's like the annoying older brother (even though we of course know that he is), and yet she still cares about him and wants what's best for him... She just doesn't want to admit it because he'll tease her about it.