King Olaf had only stayed for a few days, in which time Merlin had managed to steer clear of both him and Lady Vivian without too much difficulty.
But with him now gone and only Sir Donalt, Lady Vivian, and her maid remaining things had returned to normal and Merlin could almost forget about the whole thing, except that it seemed Lady Vivian was trying to seek him out and he found it much more difficult to avoid her.
He knew from Sir Donalt and King Olaf that Lady Vivian wished to court him and no matter how many times he thought it over it sounded just as absurd as when he first learned of it. When last he had seen her it had seemed she was perfectly content to forget about the whole soulmate thing and move on with her life and well he firmly believed that everyone should marry for love no matter their birth. He hadn't thought Lady Vivian would be of that opinion.
And then there was King Olaf. Merlin had heard and even witnessed first hand how protective he was of his daughter. What promise had he made that would persuade him to allow such a match to even have the slightest chance of occurring. After all, he had made it clear that he did not approve of his daughter's desire to pursue this match, but was still choosing to let it go where it may. When only a year ago he was happy to run Arthur through for laying hand upon her and Arthur was a prince.
With all these thoughts rumbling around in his head plus his own confusion of his mixed emotions for her. He had found his best option was to avoid her altogether. After all, you didn't have to confront what you didn't face.
He had just delivered a tonic to one of the noblemen and was heading to Arthur's stable when he caught sight of the Lady who occupied so much of his thoughts this last week and quickly darted back the way he had come and ducking into Arthur's room he almost collided with the prince.
"Watch where you're going!" Arthur cried.
"Sorry," Merlin said in a hurry and his eyes darted around the room looking for an excuse as to why he was there and in such a hurry.
"Aren't you supposed to be mucking out my stable?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, that's what I'm doing." Merlin said quickly, nodding.
"These are my bedchambers." Arthur said, giving him a pointed look.
"Yes they are." Merlin agreed. "I just forgot…I forgot…" He trailed away as he turned to face Arthur.
"Your brain," Arthur suggested. "Or maybe your common sense."
"No." Merlin shook his head. "Not those. I forgot-" A light knock at the door cut him off.
"I wasn't here." Merlin hissed, diving under Arthur's bed.
He could only see Arthur's boot from where hiding, but he could imagine the confused look on his face before he moved to answer the door. Merlin was afraid it might be Lady Vivian and didn't want to risk it and his fear was soon confirmed.
"Lady Vivian." Arthur greeted. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering where I might find Merlin." She said and Merlin pressed himself deeper under the bed. "I haven't seen him since I arrived and I wished to speak with him. I asked Gaius and he said you might know."
There was silence for a moment and Merlin feared Arthur would give him away, but his fears were quickly put to rest.
"I told him to clean out my stables earlier." He said. "You could try there, but I recommend another time might be better as that tends to be an unpleasant smelling task."
"Thank you."
Merlin heard her footsteps retreat and Arthur closed the door. He rolled out from under the bed to find Arthur staring down at him.
"You can't avoid her forever, you know." he said.
"I'm not avoiding her." Merlin protested as he got up. "I just happen to leave rooms before she enters them. Arthur made a pointed look at his bed and Merlin sighed. "Alright, maybe I am, but I'm not ready to face her, at least not yet."