Soooo this is my first fanfiction and I hope you like it! English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.
Arthur wondered, not for the first time logically, why he hadn't thrown Merlin to the lions by now? An excellent question, to which he has no answer.
To make a long story short. Yes, he is that Arthur Pendragon, the legendary King of Britain and host of the Round Table. But his current situation is, to put it mildly, ... ... ... ... complicated.
He died, or so he thought, only to wake up in the body of a newborn baby (Merlin is 100% to blame for this).
From what he could gather by eavesdropping on his mother's ladies' conversations and observing his surroundings. His new mother (you could say his first mother, Igraine doesn't really count.) is the Queen of England.
(Did England separate from Wales and Scotland in the future?) His mother's name is Catherine of Aragon and she is a Spanish princess. He has an older sister, Mary, and their current position is very unstable.
His "father" wants to divorce his mother because of his mistress and male heir. The church doesn't want to give it to him, so the king thinks it's a great idea to make his own church. Arthur can only pray that this decision does not lead to war. Who is he fooling, he already sees future bloodshed in his country!
He hasn't even met his "father" and the man is already annoying him. Not only does he risk war because of the lover and heir he already had all along. I mean, come on, what about Mary? Just because she's a woman, doesn't mean she can't rule. His relationship with Morgan aside, Arthur is certain that his sister would have been a good ruler if the others had given her a chance from the start. He better stop slandering his "father" now. After all, hadn't Merlin always said not to judge people he'd never met?
To stop his baseless anger at the King of England. He focused on the irony of the whole situation. He has the same name as in his past life, and it is also the same name that his mother's ex-husband had, that is, his uncle. Merlin, God or whatever was responsible for his rebirth, must be laughing at him right now.
--
November 25, 1531
Mansion of The More in Hertfordshire
Catherine could not believe her eyes. If it weren't for the pain and exhaustion she feels, she would think that this was all just a dream. Even that did not prevent her amazement, joy, and gratitude.
She just gave birth to a healthy son!
Since she was driven from the court and separated from her beloved daughter, her health has deteriorated significantly. She got frequent headaches and fatigue was constantly present in her body. Mood swings were as frequent as her weight gain. Catherine of Aragon would not last long, she was dying of grief. That's what others thought, what her loyal ladies-in-waiting thought, what her daughter and husband thought... ... what she thought. But no, they were mistaken, every one of them. All this time she carried life inside her.
About 2 hours ago, her court ladies realized that she was pregnant, and that the child was coming any minute (why did it take them so long?). Under normal circumstances, it would be good news accompanied by laughter, congratulations and tears, but now it terrified everyone.
It was no secret that Catherine's health was bad, and her age only contributed to it, the chances that she and the child would die were huge. It would be a miracle and a gift from God if only one of them survived. They were all wrong again. Both are alive and well!
She knew that it was God's blessing that she was such a sincere believer and wife. God decided to take her five children too soon, but she never stopped praising and loving him. This was her reward, for all the suffering she had experienced until today. The Lord gave her a son when everyone believed that it was not possible. He gave Catherine the future king.
She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked at the little bundle of joy in her arms. His cry was like the most beautiful melody to her ears. He was the normal size for a newborn baby, with a tuft of golden hair and clear blue eyes. He had her peachy cream skin and the shape of her lips. His nose was just like Henry's. And in some strange way, he reminded her of the late queen, Elizabeth of York. She was not the only one who was enchanted by him, her ladies also joined her. She could see them arguing over who would get the better look at him.
The king's spies stationed in the mansion must have already set out to inform the king about this unexpected event by now. Under normal circumstances, she would wait for the king to hear the news before naming her son. However, something in her made her give him a name. The logical choice would be Henry or Edward. No, those names didn't feel right. She herself doesn't know why, but as she looked at him, a name immediately came to her as if it were created just for him,
"Arthur"
--
Arthur felt genuinely uneasy, and no, it wasn't because he was in a newborn's body, it was the way his mother was holding him and looking at him.
As if he were the greatest treasure in the world, Arthur had never seen anyone look at him like that. He guesses Merlin is right, there is rarely anything that compares to a mother's love for her child.
He is sleepy, maybe because he was just born, but he would rather not fall asleep yet. A small part of him wonders if that's how his ex-mother looked at him? And it wasn't just his mother, her ladies were jostling to get a better look at him.
Now he knew he was handsome,if Lancelot was to be believed, but weren't newborn babies supposed to be ugly?
There is no need for them to push to see him. Slowly, their discussion becomes boring to him, so he turns his head towards his mother again.
Her long red golden hair is gorgeous, and her eyes are like the sky. She reminds him of Guinevere hastily, but unlike Gwen who is playful, his mother has the dignity of a real queen. With that thought, he closes his eyes at the end because he can't stand being awake anymore and enters the world of dreams.