A/N: Silverseed and eset prompted this for the birthday fics, so here it is. This is a continuation of "Hana," chapter 50 from Merlin Headcanons. If you don't remember that one, you can either go reread that, go read StarlightInHerEyes22's excellent remix called "Legacy (The You Can't Hide Forever (But You Can Certainly Try) Remix)" from Hana's point of view over on AO3, or you can read the quick summary below.
Summary: Arthur finds a toddler in Merlin's wardrobe who he quickly learns has magic and is, in fact, Merlin's daughter. This spirals into Arthur learning about Merlin's magic. The story ends with Arthur deciding not to hurt Hana just because she has magic, and the ending implies that the laws against magic are going to change.
. . .
It was all very well to get the immediate concern of execution out of the way, but of course things got more complicated than that. Things always got more complicated once you got the nobility involved.
In this case, complicated meant an awful lot of Merlin being incredibly busy, which didn't strike Gwaine as fair. Hana was only now being allowed outside Gaius's rooms, and she couldn't even take advantage of it because there wasn't anyone to watch her.
Gwaine decided to fix that.
. . .
" . . . and these are the battlements. Don't fall off them, or your father will have my head." He tightened his grip on Hana's legs a little. She was plenty safe from her perch on his shoulders, and she might just bounce for all he knew, but best not to take the risk.
Hana's hands tightened one his hair. "It's big."
Gwaine looked around at the view with fresh eyes. To a little girl used to only two rooms with windows she was probably taught to avoid, it must seem impossibly enormous. Even Gwaine had to admit that the view of the city was impressive.
"It is," he said. "You know what else is big? The pastries they were making down in the kitchens. Let's go see if we can steal some."
. . .
They were enjoying the answer to that question in a nice tucked away alcove when Percival showed up. Hana shrunk away from the unfamiliar knight with his hulking muscles.
Percival knelt down to her level, face softening with a smile. "Hi, there."
"Hi," she whispered, peeking out from behind Gwaine.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Hana. I'm almost four," she said proudly.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Lady Hana," Percival said gravely. "My name's Percival. I'm afraid I'm not quite sure how old I am."
"You're about as tall as three Hana's put together," Gwaine said with a grin. "Maybe you're twelve."
"Twelve's big," Hana said. She frowned. "Your name's big too."
Percival shot Gwaine a look that promised pain on the training yard later, but he smiled at Hana. "You can make it shorter if you want."
The noon bell tolled. Gwaine bit back a curse before young ears could hear it. He was not going to corrupt her, no matter what Arthur said.
"Arthur asked me to break in our new knightly hopefuls since he's busy," he said. "I don't suppose - ?"
"I've got this," Percival assured him. He settled in just outside the alcove. "Lancelot's been telling me all about you," he told Hana, who had instantly latched on to Gwaine's side when he tried to leave. "I made you something." He drew outa neatly stitched rag doll. It had a tiny neckerchief.
