Lost in Albion 3 (Merlin) - Completed

Chapter 19: Unrequited Love

Chapter 19

"High ho, high ho, it's off to work we go," I sing, adding the whistle to the end. Merlin, the poor thing, has been putting up with my nonsense singing all morning. I've just had this urge to sing random tunes that happen to cross my mind. "High ho, high ho, high ho."

The past few weeks I've been swamped with work, barely able to leave my room. There was only one night I wasn't tired and gathered enough energy to drag Castor off for a training session. Other than that, my fingers are the only things that have been working hard. That and my arms, lugging around heavy material.

Merlin and I are both carrying laundry baskets, both finally having a chance to do our own washing instead of waiting on the needs of everybody else. I beam, noticing the soft blue material of his shirt.

"You're wearing the shirt I made," I note, tugging the basket back up higher. "Does it fit alright?"

"Yeah," he grins. "It's really nice. I feel like I need to save it for a special occasion."

"I think doing our own laundry is a special occasion at this stage," I snort, pushing the door open to the castle washroom. "Let me know if any of your shirts need mending and I'll make a note to grab them when they're dry.

"Will do."

The next hour of our lives is spent scrubbing hard and playing harder. With nobody else around, we are free to muck around, splashing water at each other. I even twist one of my shirts over Merlin's head, dripping all the dirty water onto him. He gets his revenge, throwing soggy socks at my face which I fail to deflect. I gag, throwing them back at him.

By the time we leave, our whole bodies have a random assortment of wet patches and the floor is slippery enough that we have to tread carefully not to slip over, feeling sorry for the next people to enter.

A servant knocks into me as we round a corner, her head down.

"Sorry," she squeaks quietly and continues to walk around us to the laundry room. My eyes flicker to her chest, seeing a glint of green on there but she's already gone by the time I can open my mouth or even see where the green came from.

I've seen her around before, a quiet girl who doesn't really speak much but she's there. I shake my head, deciding that it's not worth the effort of thought.

"You alright?" Merlin asks.

"Yeah, just thought I saw something." I glance back but she's gone, the door already closed behind her. "Is Arthur busy tonight?"

"I don't think so. He has a meeting with the knights just before dinner but from what I know he's free. Why?"

"Might drag him out to do some training," I muse in thought. "I haven't been out much."

"I think he would like that too," Merlin replies. "He's been grumpy lately."

I pout, not wanting to fight with a grumpy Prince. "So, shouldn't I avoid him then?"

"Nah, I think he needs it. He hasn't had a break either. He won't be grumpy to you."

"Are you kidding," I scoff. "He yelled at me for doing my job once. I was literally putting his clothes away." I let out a breath of air, shaking my head at the memory.

"He was stressed then, not grumpy. Two different emotions," Merlin protests. "Besides, I'll make sure he gets his favourite dinner. That always puts him in a better mood."

"You're a legend, Merlin," I laugh. "Quite literally actually," I add in afterthought.

The rest of the day goes by slowly, with the anticipation of tonight since it's the only event I'm looking forward to. I swear that somehow, time has slowed down, and each minute becomes a second but maybe it's just because I don't have a clock.