Chapter 2: Missed Opportunity
As Merlin woke up from his sleep he opened his eyes as he raised his head from the table. He stared at the armor as if it was somehow out of place. Just then laughter broke out and he turned to see none other than Sir Gwaine, Sir Percival, and Sir Leon standing in the doorway to the armory.
Their laughter was soon replaced with grins as they walked towards Merlin. Shifting his weight Merlin got up from the bench and straightened his wrinkled clothes as much as he could, his high cheeks turning a slight red.
Sir Gwaine was the first to speak. "I guess I win the bet, you all owe me a round." He declared with pride. He slapped Merlin on the back as his grin grew wider, causing Merlin to lose his footing and stumble forward.
"Who knew you could be such a sound sleeper. We came in here earlier to get our equipment for practice and saw you completely knocked out on the table, "stated Sir Leon as he put back his maze and sword.
"We decided to make a bet and see if you would still be asleep once practice was over." explained Percival as he started to remove his armor.
Just then Merlin realized how late it was. "I must get going or Arthur will be lost all day on what to do with himself." He told the knights with a shy smile on his face. He took the armor that he had been polishing the night before and walked as quickly as his legs could carry him towards the direction of Arthur's chambers.
XXX
Arthur was just about to open the door to the tavern, when it occurred to him that being there was indeed a rare sight. How was he to explain his reason for being there let alone who he was looking for? The King going to the tavern to look for a servant was just unheard of.
Yelling at Merlin would just have to wait. After all he had plenty of time to see how Merlin, with his goofy grin, tried to explain his reason for not being on time again. He would have to teach him proper servant etiquette later by giving him tons more duties to attend to.
Just as he turned around to head back to the castle, he spotted Gwaine "or more like Gwaine spotted him". One of his silly grins splattered on his face as he trotted towards him. Once he was standing only inches from Arthur he grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"What is the King doing at the Rising Sun? I thought you only went to those where no one knew who you were." Hinting at the first time they had met. Before Arthur could compose himself and remove Gwaine's hand he found himself inside.
XXX
The young woman sat in the tavern with the red vial in her hands. She shifted it back and forth with a frown on her face. She had only conjured on getting the potion that she had failed to think of a way to get the King to drink it. She looked around the tavern; the King would never be caught alive in such a place. It seemed like she would have to sneak into the castle once again.
Just then the door swung open and in stepped none other than King Arthur himself followed by a scruffy, but handsome looking man. The noise inside the tavern came to an abrupt stop as all eyes fell upon the King. The other man next to the King cleared his throat and demanded a pint of beer for him and his companion, as he made his way to his usual table. As the activities inside the tavern returned to normal, the King glanced around as if looking for someone.
Realizing the great opportunity that had just presented itself Evelyn's face brightened up. She immediately gestured for a bottle of wine. She uncorked the vial and emptied it into the bottle. Putting the cork back on the bottle, she rose from her seat and made her way to the King and his loud companion.
"My King will you be so kind as to accept this humble gift?" Evelyn asked as she presented the King with the bottle. She expected him to accept her offer or at least ponder on it, but the King just murmured something about procedures on receiving gifts and stood up to leave.
Gwaine grabbed the bottle and poured himself a cup. "You can't deny a gift from a pretty lady; here let me taste it for your ease of mind." And with that he gulped it down. He then grabbed his throat as if something was caught in it.
Arthur moved towards him, with a worried expression on his face. Which was quickly replaced with one of frustration as Gwaine burst out laughing saying," There is nothing wrong with it, it's just plain old wine." Arthur grabbed the wine bottle from the table and said a quick thank you to her before quickly leaving the tavern.
She cursed herself underneath her breath as she saw the fleeing back of King Arthur. What mess had she gotten herself into she wondered as she followed suit. It would have been easier to have sneaked into his chamber while he slept, and slipped the potion to him then.
XXX
Merlin pushed open the door to Arthur's chambers and walked in. He looked around for Arthur, but the room was empty and extremely messy. He put the armor on the table with a heavy thud, knocking over a pitcher of water that stood next to a plate of partly eaten meat and cheese. It must have been brought in by another servant when he had failed to show up.
His eyes flashed gold and the pitcher was suspended in midair between the table and the floor. Just then the door was pushed open and the sound of footsteps could be heard. "Merlin there you are." called Arthur as he closed the door behind him.
Merlin looked away from the pitcher and with a loud clang it broke into pieces, spilling the water everywhere. He turned around to face Arthur with a silly grin on his face. "Did you miss me that much that you had to come looking for me?" he asked.
"No, these are my chambers and I have a right to come and go as I please. What could be so important Merlin that you failed to show up all morning?" Arthur demanded as he put the bottle of wine on the table. In his anger and hurry to leave the tavern he had brought the blasted bottle with him and failed to give it to the guards to take it to have it tasted.
"I was polishing your armor last night and apparently fell asleep in the armory." replied Merlin. With his sheepish grin still on his face he bent down to clean up the mess.
"Apparently." Arthur replied sarcastically as he moved to pour himself a cup of wine. He drank it in one shot and then moved to pour himself another. Today had been a very frustrating day for him and he suddenly had an urge for alcohol. Merlin was just about to pick up the biggest piece of the broken pitcher when it slipped and cut his finger. Letting out a small cry of pain he dropped it.
"You really are clumsy Merlin." Arthur stated as he replaced the bottle back on the table along with the cup. He took a step closer to Merlin and demanded to see his hand. Turning it to inspect the cut he saw that it wasn't that deep. Just then he felt a slight tingle run through his hand and up his arm-to his chest. Merlin felt the same tingle in his hand. Thinking it was just the air hitting his open cut, Merlin thought nothing of it.
"Don't be such a girl Merlin; it's only a small cut. Go get Gaius to bandage it up and then come back and finish cleaning the room. You have a lot more things to do once you're done." Arthur said as he slowly let go of Merlin's hand, while avoiding any eye contact. He felt flustered and warm all of a sudden.
With that Merlin finished picking up the pieces of the pitcher and moved to leave the room. "Merlin." called Arthur, causing him to stop and turn around. "Get rid of this wine when you return and bring me a fresh pitcher of water to freshen up." With a nod unseen by Arthur, Merlin left the chambers and made his way to dispose of the broken pitcher and attend to his cut.
