Lady of Magic

XXIV

Merlin drags Ava through the kitchen, causing the princess to giggle. The woman in charge yells at them, which causes them to laugh even more. They finally make it through and go into an alcove. The couple start kissing a bit. 

"Arthur is going to be angry if you're gone too long," Ava teases. 

"I think you also have a meeting in a bit," he responds. "That is why we took a short cut. So I can have my wife for a little bit longer."

The two kiss a couple more times, enjoying their moment. They pull away for a moment. 

"We should probably get to the meeting soon," the red head states.

"Always so serious," he laughs. Arthur walks by, but stops when he sees the two of the them.

"You have a room," he states. "Come on."

The couple roll their eyes and follow him down the hall. Merlin starts rambling on about whatever pops in his mind. The entire time he keeps smirking at Ava. The king stops and looks at his friend.

"Merlin."

"Yes my lord."

"Can you do something?"

"Yes my lord."

"Shut up."

Ava snickers as they continue to the throne room. Everyone is there, waiting for whatever the king has to announce. The married couple stands by Gaius as Arthur stands in front of the crowd. He starts the announcement.

"Knights. Members of the council. As you know, Camelot has been struggling for the claim of Gedreth. The princess of Nemeth and I had been discussing between each other a way to solve this. Princess Mithian will be arriving here soon tomorrow and I shall marry her."

There is a slight murmur at this news. Merlin and Ava look at each other before Arthur continues with the announcement. At the end, Gaius tells the couple to fake a smile and applaud. Once everyone is dismissed, Merlin runs after the king. 

"You didn't tell me about this," he states.

"That was the point," Arthur calls over his shoulder. "So blabber mouths like you don't go telling people."

"I just think it's a bit early for you to be marrying."

The blond stops and looks at his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"It is just so soon after Gwen."

"I will not hear another word of this. I am marrying Princess Mithian, end of story."

"Yes my lord."

"Good. Another word of this and I would have to make you leave as well."

With that, Arthur leaves Merlin standing in the corridor, shocked. Ava finds him standing there, grabbing his arm to make sure he is okay.

~~~

Everyone stands on the steps, ready to make their best impression. Ava smooths out her red dress, contemplating what may happen. She knows Merlin is against it. She would have loved to have Gwen as her sister-in-law, but it maybe too late for it. And maybe Mithian is a good person. They will just have to wait and see. 

The traveling party soon arrives. Knights under green banners ride up. Her mind strays to when she rode under green banners when she use to visit here. Different symbol of course, but still makes her think of it. The princess pushes it to the back of her mind as Arthur welcomes the group. She hasn't thought about that in a long time. And now is definitely not the time for it. 

The knights of the other kingdom step aside to reveal a veiled maiden. She moves it to show her face. Mithian is quite pretty and the ideal look for a princess. She is helped down from her horse. Arthur seems to be unsure what to do for a second, stunned by her beauty. But he quickly goes to welcome her.

"It is a pleasure to finally see you in person," Arthur states. 

"Same can be said for me," she smiles. "You are a lot more handsome than I expected."

"My sister will show you around as we finish preparations for the feast tonight."

Ava steps down and properly lowers herself as a sign of respect. Mithian copies and the two women go to walk through the castle. These are the moments that Ava hates about politics on a woman's end. But she does ant to get to know her future sister-in-law and queen.

"Is it true you married a serving boy?" the foreign princess asks.

"Straight to the point," Ava laughs. "And yes."

"You were willing to give up everything for him?"

"Yes. And I would make the same decision again."

"I would have never consider that."

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?

The two princesses spend the rest of the day discussing various topics before getting ready for the feast. Mithian is not that bad of a person honestly. In some ways, they seem a bit similar. Both are actually tough though know when to play the 'princess' side. Just the bigger difference is Mithian seems more committed to that one side of her than Ava.

 Everyone meets down in the dining hall, which is full of life. Everyone seems cheery. Merlin smiles at his wife before going to pour Arthur's wine. The king swats him off and starts talking to Mithian. He spills his food on his spoon onto him, which the princess cleans. Ava looks at Merlin, who looks away.

"I'm not feeling too good," she lies to her brother.

"Get some rest. And tell Merlin he can have the rest of the night off."

She quickly gets out of her seat and go up to him. She asks him to go dance with her. He sets the pitcher down and they leave. Once so far down the hallway, they slow down some to enjoy the emptiness and quiet.

"We may need to give her a chance," she tells him. 

"It is Gwen who is suppose to be on the throne."

"There is nothing we can do about it. And at least Mithian is a good person."

"You know as well as I that Gwen and Arthur are destined to be together. Also I figured you would care if your brother is fooling himself in thinking he doesn't love Gwen still."

"It doesn't matter what we think. Plus if they are destined to get married, it will happen. Now excuse me, but I need some rest."

Slightly annoyed with her husband, Ava goes straight to the chambers and changes. Curling up in bed, she lay there, trying not to over think anything. A little while later, Merlin enters and soon in bed. He pulls his wife close.

"I'm sorry for being stubborn," he tells her. "I will try to be open minded tomorrow."

"Thank you."

They give each other a quick kiss before blowing out the candle.