Magic in Camelot

Sweet Dreams

Months passed and Merlynn slowly overcame her grief with the help of her friends. She had told Morgana what had happened, how she freed Freya, not knowing she was a Bastet and had fallen for her. How Freya had been killed before she could figure out how to help her. Morgana was extremely supportive, and as Merlynn came out to her, Morgana admitted that she had always found women more attractive than men. It comforted Merlynn to know that she wasn't the only one who felt differently than it seemed everyone else did, and she was glad Morgana once again made her feel less alone.

Not long after Freya's death, peace talks between the Five Kingdoms started and Uther started having more and more council meetings. The Five Kingdoms were the five most powerful kingdoms in Albion: Camelot, Northumbria, Kent, Deorham, and Anglia. Calum's marriage to the Princess of Bernicia had ensured that Northumbria had risen in power, and Broderick had managed to take Tir Mor from Saxon control, securing Kent's spot among the powerful Kingdoms. The talks and correspondence between the kingdoms had gone on for months and it was summer before the kings decided to come together in Camelot to finalize their plans for peace.

The entire month before the talks were to be held, the castle was in a frenzy. Merlynn was constantly torn between her duties being Arthur's servant and her duties as Morgana's Lady-in-Waiting. Both girls were subjected to hours of dress fittings and etiquette, history, and cultural classes, brushing up their knowledge of the other kingdoms. Merlynn and Arthur were subjected to hours of council meetings and discussions of the kingdom's needs and what kind of compromises they could agree to for the other kingdoms and all sorts of other political maneuvering. By the end of the month, both Arthur and Morgana were agitated and Merlynn was frayed, stretched thin between the two. Until finally, she'd had enough.

"Morris, will you please go and wash every bit of clothing you can find of Arthur's? We're not really sure how long these talks could go and I'm sure there's stuff that hasn't seen the light of day since the last celebration. Then will you please take tomorrow off and prepare yourself as well?" Merlynn had run into Morris in the hallways carrying empty dishes back down to the kitchen to be washed.

"What about Arthur?" Morris asked.

"I'm sending him on a hunt or something tomorrow. He needs to get away from the castle for a day or else he's going to start driving me mad. Not to mention it'll help his nerves about the upcoming peace talks."

"Okay."

"Morris, please wash the uniform, I know you dislike it and I'll talk to Arthur about getting it altered, but as I have to be with Morgana for the duration of this thing, remember that you're the only one representing Arthur as the Crowned Prince and future King of Camelot."

"Yes, I know."

"I know you know, and I'm sorry I keep hounding you about this."

"It's fine. If I'm getting a day off tomorrow where I don't have to deal with Arthur, I'm okay." Morris reassured her.

"Thank you." Merlynn gave him a small smile before heading to Arthur's chambers. She closed the door behind her and turned to face Arthur where he was sitting at his desk, buried under piles of paper. "Arthur, we need to talk."

"Not now, Merlynn, I'm busy."

"Arthur, you're fried. I know there's a lot going on and I know you have a lot to do, but you have got to take a day off. The Kings are testing you, that's why they agreed to come to Camelot. If you show up and you're still agitated from all the planning, they're going to notice. You need to take a day to forget about Camelot for a moment. I have already talked to the King and gotten him to agree to let you go on a hunt alone. Spend some time out hunting, the Kitchens could use the buffer of whatever you catch. And when you've tired of that, find something else to do. Spend some time with Gwen, I know you haven't had a chance to for a while and I know things were weird between you after Hengist, so now's your chance to spend some time with her and fix it."