CHAPTER 22 : JOYEUSES PAQUES
Arthur woke to Merlin standing by the window studying the château. He saw that he had awoken and as the early bells started to ring from the parish church across the lake, Merlin's head snapped up, "Arthur, it's Easter Sunday, let's go to church!"
"I can't get out of bed. I'm too tired. Someone was very insistent last night, begging and begging."
"For me, Arthur…?" Merlin walked over and pulled off the blankets and Arthur reluctantly put his feet on the floor.
He turned and grinned at Merlin who in the light of day had the decency to blush. He then glanced at Arthur with a smile that sparked Arthur's heart into racing. Ignoring his pounding heart, Arthur said softly, "Are you OK?" Merlin shyly nodded. Arthur walked over to him and put his arm across his shoulder, kissing his ear and whispering, "I love you…"
Merlin put his arms around Arthur and pulled him close not kissing him, just resting his brow against Arthur's. He whispered "Thank you, Arthur…"
Arthur said quietly, "I'll never forget this weekend" Of all the experiences he had had in his life, last night with Merlin eclipsed them all.
-0-0-
They left the hotel and walked around the lake climbing the hill across from their hotel. Looking for scraps, a small flotilla of ducks came across the lake making Arthur smile.
They could hear the choir as they reached the church. They slipped in the back and Merlin knew that there was still one reading before the gospel which would be the Easter story. The church was old, flagstones on the floor and undecorated white plastered stone walls. They sat close to the spiral staircase that led up to the empty choir loft. As it was Easter, the sanctuary was decorated with flowers and there were many candles.
Arthur had picked up a parish bulletin as he had come in. He read that the Saint-Sulpice Catholic church had been built in 1060 around the same time as the original chateau. The king Philippe Augustus had donated land in Pierrefonds to the monks of Saint-Sulpice in the late twelfth century. The choir was made up of six elderly sisters of the Apostolique de St. Jean. They sang Gregorian chant from an area behind the sanctuary. He glanced over at Merlin but he was listening to the sermon. The church was quite a spectacular building for such a small village.
As an Anglican, the bells, the incense and the candles were familiar and he had on occasion attended Mass with Merlin. He looked around and realised that most of the congregation at this early Mass were locals but he could pick out a few tourist types. The congregation knelt and Arthur sat and put his head in his hands. The Mass finished with the final blessing. Arthur bowed his head and blessed himself as well. He found it welcoming to be included in the priest's final prayers.
Arthur knew that Merlin prayed nightly for his mother and his great-uncle and smiled because he knew deep down that Merlin also prayed for him. It was comforting.
As they left the church, the priest standing at the door said, to them "Welcome to St-Sulpice, Pierrefonds. Glad that you joined us for Mass. Joyeuses Pâques!" Arthur smiled and returned the greeting.
On the way down the hill, they walked side by side but not touching. Arthur glanced at Merlin, "You didn't receive communion. Was that because of me?"
Merlin looked at him and said sadly, "No, Arthur, it was because of me."
Arthur reached to put his arm across his shoulder but Merlin pulled away. Arthur said nothing but suddenly the day got colder. Merlin continued walking beside him however by the time they'd returned to the hotel he seemed more relaxed. Breakfast was still available and they sat eating and talking.
"We're going back to the château today, right?"
Arthur nodded, "Yes, we can go, whenever you're ready."
"I'd like to get one of the large guidebooks."
"With the number of photos you've taken, I think you could write a guide book of your own."
Merlin grinned happily, "Arthur, I love this place...when I first saw it on Friday evening, I was shocked. How could I not have known about anything so beautiful?"
Arthur smiled, "I believe you have mentioned that before."
"It's as if I belong here, Arthur. I'm conscious of some underlying history, layers of lives, people and events. Anyway, I need lots of photos to show my mother, Gaius, Leon and of course Gawaine."
Arthur laughed, "Merlin, did you know that he tried to wangle an invitation to come on our little holiday regardless of where we were going? I had no intention of letting him. Can you imagine…so typically Gawaine? He promised to stay out of our way but I wanted it to be just the two of us."
Arthur was so pleased that he had decided to spend Easter in Pierrefonds; he had a feeling that Merlin would be impressed and he certainly had been. They had known each other since late October and he blessed that day in Paris when the rain was so heavy that he had decided to give a man a lift.
"I want to take some photos of the houses close to the walls. They are very old, then we can walk up the long way. Let's get some sandwiches and we can picnic up there." That is what they did once Merlin was satisfied with his photos of the village, they bought sandwiches at the little snack bar and some bottled water before making their way up to the château.
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Slowly they made their way through the rooms open to the public. Certainly for Arthur the empress' private quarters known as La Salle de Roi Arthur, was his favourite. He was impressed with the Jesse tree decoration on the chimney breast with the Knights of the Round Table descending from the King who was painted in the uppermost position.
"Maybe, you should have let Gawaine come," said Merlin, "As look, his and Lancelot's namesakes are opposite each other in third and fourth positions.
"We can tell them about the paintings. This is our holiday with no hangers-on. Make yourself useful, take a picture for them."
Arthur whispered something to Merlin which caused him to blush and glance hurriedly around in case someone else was in the room. It was empty so he just smiled slipping his arm around Arthur for a hug. "Your camera is a nuisance, it gets in the way," complained Arthur."
"Maybe a good thing in case you decide to get other ideas."
"Merlin Love, I always have other ideas, it's just finding the right time and the right place that is a problem." Merlin laughed and led him out of the room.
As they walked into the next room, Arthur stopped suddenly and said, "You know, Merlin, given my choice that is where I would sleep, la Salle du Roi Arthur."
"No, Arthur, as the king you have to sleep in the Emperor's bedchamber, not down here!"
"Down here?"
"Yes, the empress slept on the floor below the emperor."
"She had to sleep on the floor? That wouldn't be comfortable for either of them," Arthur raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"Arthur, you know darn well what I mean, we are one storey below the Emperor's chambers."
"Was there a secret staircase?"
"Maybe...I think that would have been civilised. But his royal secretary probably wrote in his agenda when he would be visiting the queen's chambers." Merlin added with a touch of a French accent, "Ce soir, Votre Majesté, you will make a visit to your queen. It is decreed!"
Arthur bust out laughing, "They were strange people, Merlin. I would be tired having to run down and up a spiral staircase to be with you." he punched Merlin in the arm, "Maybe even twice a night."
"I wouldn't have let you...if the mountain, won't come to Muhammud... Anyway this way, it allowed the emperor to entertain his male friends all night without bothering his wife."
"…or a special servant he might have felt the desire to honour by inviting him into the royal bed!"
Merlin was relieved that the rooms were empty of furniture as the way he felt, he might have caused a scandal by dragging Arthur onto the nearest bed. He thought of the headlines, 'Two Brits accused of questionable behaviour in the Salle du Roi Arthur in Pierrefonds. The article continued, 'We were carried away by the decorations!' said the senior of the pair…'
They continued along the corridor laughing. Merlin was fascinated by stairs which led nowhere and ceilings which made him want to go back to the 1840's to see the rebuilding of the château. "This place is really spectacular; I wonder what the original castle looked like in the eleventh century?"
"Nothing like this, look at these photos of 1840. You can recognise the outline but the damage is horrendous." They continued around the exhibit marvelling at the work that had been done to bring the castle back to its present condition.
They walked into the Salle des Gardes. Arthur after reading a display board about the rentals of various rooms suddenly said, "I think they should turn some rooms into an exclusive hotel. Can you imagine being here after everyone goes home? Wedding guests could return to the village but the bride and groom could sleep in the empress's chamber."
Merlin looking at the photos and rental rates of various rooms said,"Set up for a wedding reception of one hundred guests, the chapel certainly looks wonderful. But look at the rates for this room! It will seat three hundred and the rental alone is nearly 4500€. That's close to ₤3600 ($6500). You'd have to be filthy rich to be able to afford that."
Arthur looked at Merlin with love in his eyes as he said, "For you, Merlin, I'd pay that! I'll start saving when I get back…"
Realising what Arthur had said, Merlin had to blink to keep away the tears. He let Arthur wrap his arms around him. He pushed him away slightly saying, "Wait a second!" He swung his camera over his shoulder and returned to Arthur's embrace.
As he held Merlin, Arthur realised how little about the Pendragons Merlin actually knew. He'd only seen his London flat. Whether or not he had looked up Pen-D, he didn't know. Surely he realised that a company jet reflected a successful business. He had never mentioned his family home to him or his father's million pound condominium overlooking the Houses of Parliament at Westminster Bridge.
Arthur knew that to Merlin, money was not important. as long as he had what he needed to live. Apart from mentioning once that he was saving to give his mother a new kitchen, he never harped about the cost of things. He lived within his means and was happy at that.
One day, Arthur intended to take Merlin to his family home. He would, before that need to explain a few things. He'd been raised there but seeing it for the first time usually caused people to stop dead in their tracks saying, 'You live here?' He knew that he would have to tread softly around his father about his friendship with Merlin. He smiled sadly to himself thinking, 'When I think about my father, I can't even say the word relationship.'
He looked around, the room was empty, he kissed Merlin and soon he responded. They broke away and Arthur said, "Merlin, do you really know just how much you mean to me?"
Merlin smiled as Arthur released him, saying, "I have a suspicion that it might be half as much as you mean to me." He then blushed and took off, running across the room and down the corridor leading to the crypt. Arthur knew that Merlin wouldn't have gone far. He followed along the corridor.
They descended to the crypt taking advantage of the dark to hold hands. Arthur was impressed by the lights and shadows but Merlin was mesmerised by the sounds as each funerary sculpture when approached whispered a phrase or two from their lifetime. One said, 'I was poisoned,' another 'They took my only child.' He realised that as a child, he would have been clinging onto his mother's hand possibly refusing to come down the last flight of stairs but as an adult the feel of Arthur's hand in his although not necessary was comforting all the same. He didn't even try to take photographs as the lighting was not good.
Taking advantage of the dark, Arthur clasped Merlin to him and kissed him soundly. Merlin went to argue but Arthur whispered, "Only the dead will see or hear us!" Merlin for a moment wondered if Arthur realised that these were only funerary monuments and not actual graves. He responded to Arthur's kiss and forgot about everything else. They were finally disturbed by the voice of a man telling his teenagers about Louis d'Orléans the builder of the original chateau in the late fourteenth century.
Arthur relaxed his hold on him and suggested that they hide behind the figures in the back of the crypt and he would be able to have his wicked way with him.
Merlin played along by saying, "But I'm scared of ghosts and knowing you, you'd probably waken them!"
Arthur had the decency to grin but ignored what Merlin had said "No, you won't be scared, because I'll be here with you." It was these moments of game playing that Arthur enjoyed. Merlin had never told him not to be silly, when he had suggested something. It was as if he had found in the millions of people in the world, a kindred spirit and this he knew would see them through any rough times in the future.
They climbed the stairs and were back on terra firma. They exited a door onto the portico. Sunlight streamed down on the main stairs and the statue of the horse. Merlin turned once to take it all in and then they walked toward the portcullis.
-0-0-
By the time, they got into the village Merlin was again starving. They walked past the crêperie next to the hotel and Merlin said, "I feel like crêpes. Let's eat now and have an early night."
Arthur raised his eyebrows saying, "Is that what you call it now, 'having an early night'?" Merlin could feel the heat creeping up his face but he got Arthur back as he crowded him in the door way and managed to brush against him.
Under his breath, Arthur said, "Be on your guard, two can play that game…"
Merlin grinned, maybe he wasn't as hungry anymore but the waitress had arrived and they ordered. They sat opposite each other at a table in the window. Arthur had positioned his legs so that Merlin's fitted neatly between them. He smiled at him and Merlin's heart began to race. If Arthur kept this up he'd never get through the meal. They sat and talked, Merlin showing Arthur some of the photos he'd taken."
"When do we have to leave for Paris?"
"Well, I thought we might drive behind the chateau so you can get some photos from the east. Someone was also mentioning a tower in ruin sounded like a great photographic opportunity. Mind you, it might be useful for something else as well." Merlin just shook his head. "Your train is at four in the afternoon so to avoid any problems with traffic we should leave here no later than noon."
Leaving the restaurant, they walked across to the outside patio in front of their hotel and looked at the paddle boats and the lake. The castle was still clearly visible against the sky and Merlin took a few more pictures. Arthur slipped his hand around Merlin's waist and said, "Ready to turn in?" By the way, Merlin leant into him, Arthur knew that he was in agreement. They walked across the road to their hotel.
-0-0-
Merlin huffed contentedly as Arthur lay sprawled across him. He entwined his fingers in Arthur's hair, marvelling at the colour in the light of the village lamp outside their window. He wondered why he had waited so long and then he realised…it was staring him in the face, he'd been waiting for Arthur…waiting until he found him. He smiled considering himself among the chosen few who meet someone and know that he is the one. No sad skipping from person to person; no giving your heart to have it thrown back at you; no second thoughts nor feeling taken advantage of; no regrets, no feeling inferior…he knew that regardless of what the future might bring, he had given himself to the one person who was destined to be his.
Arthur moved and murmured, "All right, Merlin?"
"Umm yes…! Arthur, can I ask you a question?" He felt Arthur nod his head. "Who was your first…?"
There was silence. Finally cuddling into him, Arthur said, "Why, are you worried?"
"No! I was just wondering if you had felt the same way I feel now."
"I can assure you that I never felt the way I feel now and that one day, maybe sitting in front of a roaring fire at home, I will tell you all about my earlier life. But not know, because I only have space in my heart and in my mind for you. I love you, Merlin, however; we have to get some sleep. I know that by the time it's light, you'll be coming up with all sorts of wonderful ways to welcome the new day…"
Merlin smiled shyly, Arthur knew him so well.
-0-0-
Around noon the next day, as they drove out of the village, Merlin looked back at the château; he knew they would return one day to the village which held such special memories. However, as the château disappeared, he turned looking at Arthur the man with whom he intended to spend the rest of his life.
THE END