First Slow, Then All At Once

Moore

Morning came, and Merlin felt a lot better. His throat didn't feel as sore as before. He looked to the side, and he saw a soft sleeping face. Merlin fell off the bed from surprise, but scrambled back up. Ethel was sound asleep in Merlin's bed.

"Ethel. Wake up." Merlin called quietly to Ethel. Her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up.

"Why are you in my bed?" Merlin asked. She looked around.

"I got scared." Was all she said. She got out of the bed, and walked to the cot where her day clothes were. Merlin rubbed his eyes, and went to fetch a maid to get her all ready for the day. Merlin walked over to Arthur's room in his own pajamas, and woke him up.

"Hon, wake up. Also I'm going to borrow some clothes since Ethel is getting dressed in my room." Merlin told him. He rummaged through the drawers to find the darkest attire he could find. He found a long sleeve dark green shirt, some brown pants, and brown boots. Merlin set out Arthur's attire, and the signature red cloak.

Merlin headed back to his room, and opened it. The maid was currently brushing her hair, and braiding it.

"Will she get her own room, sire?" The maid asked.

"This situation was just for the night. We are going to bring her around the city to see if anyone would like to adopt her." Merlin told her. Merlin looked around the drawers, and found a brown cloak, made of thicker wool. Merlin felt he looked a lot more like a servant today, but he didn't mind. It was getting colder outside, and it called for wool.

Thankfully Gwen thought about the weather ahead of time, and picked out a long sleeved blue dress for Ethel.

"Could you please go fetch a jacket from Morgana's room for her? It's the only room that still has children's sized clothing." Merlin asked her. She nodded, and left the room. Ethel had her hair braided very carefully. The braid made it look like her hair was cascading, like a waterfall.

"So today you, Arthur, and I are going to walk around the city and talk to the people. Since you have no home, we thought someone may want to have you as their child. Not every family in the kingdom is able to have children, so we think you might be a blessing to them." Merlin told her. She nodded, and looked down at her dress, and tapped her shoes together.

The maid came back with a brown sleeved cloak, just her size. Merlin helped Ethel pull it on, and the two went to fetch breakfast. This time, Ethel helped carry the two goblets. Merlin opened the door with a little magic aid, and placed the food on the table.

Arthur came to sit down with the two, and they ate. Ethel had a very small cup that she drank water from. Once done, the three set out.

They walked around, and stopped by every house.

"Excuse me, are you looking into adopting a child?" Merlin would ask, with Ethel standing in front of him. Usually their response was 'I already have enough children,' 'I don't want to adopt,' or 'I don't like children.' It was pretty hard to find anyone even remotely interested in Ethel.

They were coming down to the last couple of houses, when a young woman did have interest in Ethel.

"What happened to her original parents?" She asked. Merlin recognized her as a maid for the castle.

"We couldn't find them. An old woman found her in a cage on the side of the road. We think she was being smuggled. So we want to find her a home." Arthur told her.

"I would love to adopt her. I was just recently married, but unfortunately my husband has passed. I never got the chance to have children. Maybe this is a blessing for myself." She told them. She invited them inside, and they sat down at her table. The house was very small, but clean.