Merlin knocked on Gwen's door.
"Merlin, do you need something?" she asked and then she seemed to remember the clearly visible frog sitting on the table behind her and became defensive. "I know this looks a little strange, my having a frog, but this one's a talking frog. I promise you."
"I believe you," Merlin said with a small smile.
Not believing that he believed her, she continued, "No, really. He even rescued my ring from the well."
Pitying her, he had Arthur say, "The beautiful queen is right. I do talk."
Seeming satisfied, she forgot to finish asking Merlin what he was doing there. "Well, I've got a speech to write, and I didn't say anything about entertaining you," she said, speaking to Arthur.
"You want me to write your speech for you?" Merlin offered, needing an excuse to stay around to work his magic.
"No, I believe the people should hear my own words, not the words somebody writes for me. Why, does Arthur not write his own speeches?"
"Most of the time he does. I just wrote it once when he didn't know much on the subject, but it's not his favorite activity. He believes in his actions doing the talking."
She smiled blushingly. "Don't I know it."
She sat down to write and looked up at him oddly when she saw he was still hanging around.
"I'm bored with Artur being gone. Maybe I can dust in here for you," he suggested.
Gwen didn't get a chance to respond because there was another knock at the door.
It was a messenger for Merlin. The council wanted a full report on Arthur's whereabouts.
Gwen saw his reservation. "I'll be fine. Despite his peculiarity, he's a just frog."
Arthur hadn't moved from the table since Merlin had come in. Perhaps he was becoming a tame frog or he sensed he belonged with Gwen. If he made a quick report, maybe everything would still be fine when he got back, and it was not like he had a choice as not making the report would arouse the council's suspicions and taking the frog with him would arouse Gwen's.
When he got back to the room, Gwen was alone still writing furiously.
"Where's the frog?" he asked.
"He hopped off the table and left the room," she said in an unconcerned tone.
"And you just let him go?" Merlin asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
"He's a talking frog. I figured he could make up his own mind where he wanted to go," Gwen said with a shrug.
Merlin dashed out of the room. Arthur could be anywhere by now. He frantically searched the castle, looking into empty suits of armor and calling his name as softly as he dared.
The serving girl scrubbing the floors paused to look at him like he'd lost his mind.
He gave a sheepish grin. "Everyone likes a good game of hide and seek now and again."
Gwaine and Percival came down the hall at that moment with plates of food that they had just stolen from the kitchen. Horror crossed Merlin's face when he saw the frog legs on the plate.
"They're really not so bad," Percival assured him. "They taste like chicken wings."
"And they go great with mead," Gwaine said, taking a huge bite off of his frog leg.
Merlin took off in a heated run toward the kitchen, hoping he wasn't too late to save Arthur's legs.
"I guess we must have convinced him," Gwaine said with a shrug to Percival at Merlin's abrupt departure.