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Chapter 16: To Market, To Market

A few days after the tournament, Arthur was escorted to the market by a knight, so he could spend his prize money. Merlin tagged along with them, as he usually did with Arthur these days. Arthur didn't mind so much this time, he had promised to buy Merlin some sweets after the tournament, after all.

Arthur was still feeling the glow of his win. Beating Kai, who liked to tease him, had been particularly satisfying, though the best part of all had been seeing his father smile and tell him he was proud of him. Merlin's enthusiastic cheering on his behalf had felt nice too, Arthur had to admit (at least to himself), as had Hunith's kind words, both before and after the tournament. At lunch that day, she had helped him feel less nervous.

As they walked along the streets to the market, Merlin was as chatty as ever.

"Sometimes Mama and I went to the market back in Essetir," he told Arthur, "We'd get a snack and then walk around looking at things until we got tired of it. I liked looking at the toys best."

Arthur had never gone to Camelot's market just to look around. In fact, he'd only rarely come here at all. Usually, if either he or his father wished to purchase something, a servant would be sent with money to fetch it for them. But today, with his prize money, Arthur had wanted to be able to choose something for himself.

"Are you going to buy a toy?" Merlin asked him.

Arthur shook his head, "I don't think so." He didn't spend a lot of time playing with toys. Between his various lessons and training, he was often busy, and what free time he did have, he prepared to spend outside, riding or doing something active, rather than in his room playing with toys.

"What I'd really like to get is a knife," he added.

Merlin's eyes widened, "A real one? But won't that be dangerous?"

"I asked Father, and he said I was old enough," Arthur answered, "I'm not a little kid anymore, you know. I can handle a knife." Hopefully soon, he'd be allowed to start using a real sword as well.

"Mama won't let me even touch a knife," Merlin said. Given how little and clumsy Merlin was, Arthur thought that was probably smart of Hunith.

"What would you even use a knife for?" Merlin asked, "Cutting your food?"

Arthur shook his head, "No, any old knife would do for that, I wouldn't want to mess up a good one. I'll use it for.." Come to think of it, he wasn't actually sure what he would use a knife for.

"I bet there's all kinds of ways to use it," he said, not wanting to let on to Merlin that he didn't have a proper answer to the question.

Merlin shrugged, "Well, if it was me, I'd rather have a toy than a knife."

"That's because you're a little kid," Arthur said, shaking his head.

"I'm not that much littler than you," Merlin protested, though he sounded cheerful, rather than annoyed, as Arthur would have been.

"Are too," Arthur told him. He was a whole three years older, so it wasn't like Kai, who was only a year older, calling Arthur a baby. Well, he'd definitely proved he wasn't a baby at the tournament.

"Am not!" Merlin protested, and Arthur heard their escort, who up until now had been walking quietly behind them, chuckle.

Before the argument could escalate any further, they arrived at the market, and Merlin was instantly distracted, craning his neck to look around.

"Is the market in Essetir like this one?" Arthur asked him.

"Kind of," Merlin replied, "It's the same but different too."

"What does that even mean?" Arthur asked, but Merlin only shrugged.

"The first stall Mama and I pass back home… I mean back in Essetir, is run by the baker," Merlin said, "That's where we get our snacks. I think his tarts are even yummier than the ones they make in the castle. Do you think there's a baker's stand here?"

"Probably," Arthur answered. He knew there were food stalls, though he had never bought food here himself, though sometimes a servant would bring him back sweets from a market trip.

As they walked through the market, Arthur kept his eye out for a stall that might sell weaponry. It was slow going, because Merlin wanted to stop at every stall and examine the wares. Arthur didn't see what was so interesting about cups and plates, or fabrics, but Merlin seemed fascinated by it all, though he didn't linger long by the smelly fisherman's stall.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur said impatiently when Merlin stopped to linger once again, this time by a stall selling jewelry, "I want to find the knives. You don't even have any money to spend."

Merlin frowned, "I was just thinking maybe I could come here to buy my mama a birthday present," he told Arthur, "Back in Essetir, Grandfather and Grandmother would give me some money, and Seren would take me to the market to pick out a gift every year."

"Who's Seren?" Arthur asked.

"She was my mama's maidservant back in Essetir," Merlin replied, "I think she was Mama's best friend too."

Arthur frowned, "My father says I shouldn't be too friendly with the servants."

Merlin finally looked away from the jewelry to look at Arthur in surprise, "Why not? Seren's really nice!"

Arthur shrugged, "Father says it isn't appropriate. I'll be their king one day and they need to respect me, not think of me as a friend."

Merlin frowned, "Why can't they do both? I always used to play with the children whose parents worked in the castle back in Essetir. It was fun. They were nicer than the noble children. The nobles liked to tease me like Cenred did, and some of them wouldn't even play with me. They said their parents said they weren't allowed. But the servants' children always played with me."

Arthur frowned. Sure Kai called him a baby sometimes, but none of the other boys had ever refused to play with him (though sometimes they did act funny because he was the prince.)

"Well, maybe it's different for you," he said at last, "You're not going to be king, so maybe it's all right for you to be friends with servants. Not me though."

Merlin shrugged, "I still think that's silly."

Arthur felt a prick of anger, "It's not silly. Are you saying my father is silly?"

Merlin giggled, "Your father is too grumpy to be silly."

"No he isn't!" Arthur paused, "I mean… he isn't grumpy or silly. He just takes his duties very seriously. As a good king should."

"My grandfather is a good king, but he's really silly when he plays with me," Merlin countered cheerfully, "He makes silly faces and does funny voices."

Arthur couldn't imagine his father ever making silly faces or doing funny voices. It would be too undignified. Something stopped him from saying so though. Merlin's words had given him a queer sort of pang. At first he wasn't sure why, and he forgot about his argument with Merlin as he tried to sort through his own thoughts. Why had what Merlin said made him feel almost jealous? It wasn't because he wanted someone to make silly faces at him. That seemed babyish. No, Arthur realized, it was what the younger boy had said about his grandfather playing with him. Uther took Arthur out riding or hunting sometimes, when he wasn't too busy, but Arthur couldn't remember his father ever playing with him. Was it normal for grown-ups to actually play with children?

Arthur shook the thoughts away. He didn't like these feelings and he didn't want to dwell on them. "Come on, let's go," he said quickly to Merlin, "I still want to find the knives."

He didn't mind that his father didn't play with him, he told himself firmly as they started walking again. He was too old for that sort of thing anyway.

Just a couple stalls down from the jewelry stand, they found what Arthur was looking for. A metalworker was displaying various crafted pieces; most of the merchandise consisted of tools and household objects like plates and cups, but displayed near the front of the stall was a small collection of knives, ranging from small, simple ones, like one might use for a meal, to long, lethal-looking daggers. Arthur picked up the largest knife he could see, a huge dagger that looked almost long enough to be a sword. He swung it experimentally and it made a satisfying swish. Arthur couldn't help but imagine himself back in the tournament arena, with a real sword this time instead of a wooden one. A smile curved over his lips.

Arthur was tempted- very tempted- to take the big knife. But the more practical side of him knew it was bulky and would be awkward to carry around. He reluctantly set it down.

The vendor who ran the stall was watching him with a small smile. "Why don't I help you find one that's more your size?" he suggested.

Arthur nodded, "All right." He noticed the vendor was reaching towards the smallest knives, at the left end and quickly added, "I don't want it to be that small though."

In the end, the vendor, with a few words of input from Sir Taran, helped Arthur pick out a knife from nearer the middle of the collection. It was longer than the little table knives, but several inches shorter than the first knife Arthur had picked up. It was slimmer as well, and when Arthur held it in his hand, it fit there comfortably. The handle was etched with a swirling design that reminded Arthur of a river flowing.

"I'll take this one," he told the vendor confidently, and the man smiled, "An excellent choice, my lord." He produced a sheath for the knife- the design on it matched the knife's handle, and told Arthur the price. Arthur carefully counted out coins from his pouch of prize winnings and handed them over. He has a couple of small coins left. It ought to be just enough to buy Merlin the sweets he had promised him.

It wasn't until after Sir Taran had helped Arthur fasten the sheathed knife to his belt that he realized he hadn't heard Merlin's usual chatter in a while. He looked around, and couldn't see the little boy.

He felt a small spark of worry. What if Merlin had gotten lost? He was still so little. How would Arthur explain this to Hunith? Or to his father?

However, before Arthur could panic too much, Sir Taran spoke up, "Don't worry, sire. The little prince is just across the street. I told him he could go over there to look at the toys. I've been keeping an eye on him."

Sure enough, as someone who had been perusing the stall moved aside, Arthur spotted a familiar small dark head. He sighed in relief, and hurried across the street.

He could see why this stall had caught Merlin's attention. It was filled with bright and colorful toys of every shape and size. Even Arthur had to admit that it was interesting to look at them all. There were even a few he might have enjoyed playing with himself, like a line of toy soldiers, standing straight and tall. He wouldn't have chosen any of the toys over his knife, however.

"Are you ready to go find the sweets stall?" he asked Merlin. Merlin looked up from the little cart he had been pushing along the length of the stall.

"Well…." he said slowly, obviously torn between the allure of toys and the promise of sweets.

"We'll be expected back at the castle soon," Arthur pointed out, "I still have lessons this afternoon, and your mother will wonder where you are if you're gone too long."

Merlin nodded, "All right." He handed the cart back to the vendor with a smile, "Thank you for letting me try it out. I'll come back soon and maybe I can buy something!"

The vendor smiled back at Merlin, "You are welcome here any time, little one." He looked at Arthur, "Your little brother has been very sweet and polite."

Arthur blinked in surprise, "Oh, he's not my…" He glanced down at Merlin, "He's my stepbrother, actually. I'm Prince Arthur," he added, surprised that the merchant hadn't recognized him.

The toy merchant's eyes widened in surprise, "The prince? Well, I apologize for not recognizing you, sire. Of course, I had heard of your father's recent marriage to Princess- now Queen- Hunith."

"That's all right," Arthur said politely. He supposed not everyone in the kingdom could know what he looked like.

"Were you upset that he called us brothers?" Merlin asked Arthur as they walked away, "I didn't mind. I thought it was kind of nice. I've never had a big brother before. And we are kind of brothers now, aren't we?"

"Well… kind of, I guess," Arthur said slowly. He glanced down at Merlin, "No, I wasn't upset. Just… surprised, that's all. You really think it was nice?"

Merlin nodded, grabbing Arthur's hand- a gesture Arthur was getting used to- even if he still wasn't quite comfortable with it, "I think you make a good big brother. Or step-brother."

Arthur felt embarrassed and pleased at the same time, "Well… thanks. I… I guess you don't make such a bad little step-brother either."

He grinned and nudged Merlin's shoulder, "For a little kid, I mean. Now come on, let's go find your sweets."

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