Disclaimer - I do not own Merlin
Merlin's POV
"MERLIN!"
Arthur's shout reverberated through the castle walls, causing several maids in the corridors to throw me looks of sympathy. The sun was well into the sky and I was supposed to have brought his royal pratness his breakfast hours ago. I'd figured I'd have a couple more hours with Gwen occupying his time, but apparently not. Rushing to the kitchen, I grabbed Arthur's breakfast tray, dashing out just as quickly to avoid Audrey, the head chef's, scolding. I ran up the stairs, balancing the tray, and burst into Arthur's chambers.
"There you are, Merlin." he scoffed.
I set the tray down onto a table and shot him a grin.
"Miss me already, sire?"
I ducked as he threw his goblet at my head, which hit the door with a loud bang. Straightening up, I looked around the room and finally noticed the lack of Gwen's presence. That'll be why he's grouchy.
"No Gwen?" I asked, turning back to Arthur, who was now seated and stuffing his face with sausages.
"Not that it's any of your business, Merlin, but yes. She went out this morning to visit her brother." With that he went back to scarfing down his breakfast, leaving me to make his bed.
Once Arthur had finished eating, I dressed him for a day of training with his knights. Thinking of his close bond with them, I felt a hollow pain in my chest; I missed my own knights. As Arthur and I walked down to the training grounds, my mind remained focused on the past. I was still bitter about being forced to leave my kingdom, my people. If I had stayed, perhaps some of my knights would have been here today.
I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of Arthur calling my name. Again. Looking up, I saw them all staring at me.
"Hmm?" If I was any other servant I'd probably have been sent to the stocks for this. Instead, Arthur rolled his eyes and gestured impatiently at the rack of throwing knives on the other side of the training grounds. Percival and Gwaine were eyeing me worriedly. Ignoring their stares, I turned and jogged over to the rack of knives. Presuming that Arthur had been asking for me to fetch them, I picked up a handful and made my way back to him.
He had just lifted his throwing arm, preparing to let the knife fly, when one of the servants from the castle came running up beside us. He was out of breath and panting; whatever he had to say must have been urgent if he had run all the way here.
"Sire," he began upon regaining some composure, "there's a party of knights requesting your presence at once."
Arthur sighed and placed his knife onto a bench beside him.
"What kingdom do they hail from?" The boy's eyes darted around nervously.
"I - I'm not sure sire. I did not recognise their crest... but - but their cloaks are blue!" he stuttered, trying not to disappoint Arthur, who just nodded. I racked my brain, trying to think of a kingdom whose house colour was blue. It had to be a new kingdom, or somewhere up north that we had never encountered. They were surely looking for an alliance, if they wanted to attack they wouldn't have requested Arthur's presence. Still, I felt jittery with anticipation as we walked back to the castle.
As we walked, the knights began to laugh amongst themselves again. It seems that no one else shared my worry. I started to relax, listening to Gwaine as he spouted another terrible story about the tavern. In fact, my worry had almost completely gone when Arthur pushed through the doors of the main hall.
That was until I saw who was standing there.
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See you in the next chapter :)
-GazelleRLG
