Callum was but a little boy when he first became a prince… by then, having been the king's ward beforehand, he'd had some training in royal social graces… but he didn't know everything he would have known if he'd been born a prince, rather than adopted into the role.

Arthur was well aware of that, and did his best to teach Callum what a prince's duties were, along with manners, and expected social rules.

But, unfortunately, Callum was only a boy… and all boys make mistakes. A few days after Callum's twelfth birthday, Arthur had the leaders of several nearby villages come for a feast. The leaders were coming to discuss what to do about the recent heavy hail storms that had swept over the land, destroying crops and dwindling Camelot's food supply.

During the dinner, Callum sat on one side of Arthur, while Gwen sat on the other. Arthur was talking to one of the farmers sitting nearby, when he noticed the table was rattling.

The king glanced over at his son. Callum was slouched in his seat, kicking the table leg. Arthur nudged him gently.

"Stop that." He warned. "That's not how you behave as a prince, and you well know it."

Callum instantly stopped. He gave his father a pitiful look.

"Sorry, but I'm so bored." The boy sighed. "Why do I have to be here? I can't do anything about the hail storms, and-."

"Because one day," Arthur told him, taking a sip from his wine goblet. "It will be your responsibility to deal with these things, and I want you to get in the habit of learning how to handle such affairs."

Callum nodded grudgingly. Arthur returned his attention to Lewis Smith, one of the village leaders. The dinner carried on, and Callum held perfectly still. Arthur was proud of him. He knew how the boy felt. He'd been the same way as a child when his father had forced him to come to some dreary royal meeting. Arthur had been bored to death, never understanding half of what was going on, and puzzled as to why he had to be at such a thing.

After this, Arthur decided. I'll do some fencing with him before we get off to sleep.

"I'm glad we could reach such an arrangement," Arthur declared, after Lewis and the others agreed with his plans to have the villages who'd fared better through the storms than the others share what they could with their suffering neighbors. "To celebrate, why don't we bring out the desserts!"

Arthur nodded to a servant waiting patiently by the table, and she rushed off with a bow. The king was smiling, when his son suddenly tugged at his arm. Arthur glanced down at Callum, who's face had gone deathly pale.

"Yes?" The king frowned in worry. "Is something the matter?"

"Umm, well… I…" Callum chewed his lip, his feet kicking. "When you say dessert… you're not talking about that strawberry cake that they had sitting out in the kitchen at lunchtime… right?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes." He chuckled. "Along with other baked goods… why?"

Callum looked like a criminal being sentenced to death. He ducked down in his seat.

"Callum?" Arthur's voice turned firm. "What is it?"

"Uh…" Callum swallowed. "You're gonna be mad."

"Going to be mad." Arthur corrected out of habit. He frowned, shaking his head. "And I won't… if you tell me now."

"I…"

"You what?"

"Umm, well, the cake was just sitting in the kitchen! And I thought it was for lunch! And… Rowan and I..." Callum looked about ready to sink into the floor. Arthur blinked slowly.

"You and Rowan, what?" He asked. Before Callum could answer, the servants entered the dining hall with plates upon plates of desserts… along with one big platter which held a great white cake, with red icing decorating its edges.

"Oh, no.." Callum whimpered. "Father, that cake-."

One of the servants began to cut the cake, before yelping in surprise as it caved in. He stood there, blinking in shock.

Because the inside of the cake was hollowed out. Someone had cut out the middle before covering the hole with a layer of scroll paper and putting icing over that.

"What in the world?" One of the farmers coughed, covering up laughter.

"Oh…" Gwen laughed uncomfortably. Arthur opened and closed his mouth as the servant stood there, horrified.

"Sire! My apologies, I don't know how this happened!" He squeaked. Arthur cleared his throat. He saw Callum sink below the table.

"It's quite alright… Just take that cake and… and dispose of it."

The servant nodded, before quickly snatching up the platter and rushing from the hall.

"My lord," Lewis Smith smiled good-naturedly. "It would seem your royal kitchen might be overrun by pests."

"Pests, huh?" Arthur gave his son a sideways look. "Cake-eating pests?"

"I'm sorry." Callum whispered, slowly rising back up in his seat. The farmers laughed and smiled at one another. They were all humble men, unagitated by the harmless actions of a little boy. Arthur was glad they were. If this was a meeting of royals, he knew they would act as though Callum's actions had been criminal.

"Well, I hope this has been a lesson to you, little warrior… You don't take anything without asking." Arthur warned. Callum ducked his head.

"I know, sire. It won't happen again." He scrunched his nose. "It was Rowan's dumb idea."

"Alright, that's enough. It happened, no use fussing over it. Sorry my friends," Arthur addressed the table. "Afraid there'll be no cake at this supper."

"What a pity," Lewis said, without any real annoyance. He gave Callum a wink. "I must know though, my prince, how was it?"

Callum flushed, before running his finger over the tabletop. Then, he glanced up with a sheepish smile.

"Truly, sir… It was one of the best cakes I've ever tasted."

Of course, in the years to come, Callum became less and less like the serving boy he once was. He grew into the role of a prince, and no longer participated in the childish joys he once had.

And as Arthur watched him grow, his pride was tempered only by the sorrowful knowledge he had of the trails that his son was bound to face in his future. Being a prince wasn't easy… and being a king even less so. It broke Arthur's heart to know that one day, the responsibility of all of Camelot would fall on his boy's shoulders.

So, Callum's boyish mistakes, each and every one, was something Arthur always looked back on with a smile. And he knew Callum one day would too… because one day, his cake caper, as ridiculous as it might seem, may just be that one joyful memory to keep him going through the darkest of days.

Hey, you all! Hope you guys enjoyed this little short from Callum's childhood… Let me know what you think, and feel free to comment story ideas you have for upcoming works!