Birthday fic
Happy Birthday lantean_drift. I hope you have a fabulous weekend.
Here's a little something I wrote for you. Hope you like it.
Title: I’d Be Dropping No Eaves
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None that I’m aware of
Beta: lavvyan did a lightening quite beta, for which I’m grateful. thisissirius, for giving me the necessary encouragement
Summary: The King and his advisors on a rare night off.
Notes: Title comes from one of my favourite lines from LOTR:FOTR
-------------------
Flora ran quickly and quietly towards the kings chambers, praying to all deities that she would find them empty, allowing her to finish her work. After carrying the laundry downstairs she had been distracted by a game of tag - her aunt would say that Flora was too old to indulge in such activities, but Flora thought you could never be too old for tag - and now she was late lighting the fires.
It was possible that she might still be able to light the fires if there king was there - he’d not notice her. But if his advisor was there - and really, when was he not? - she’d be lucky to get a toe in the door before he looked up and saw her, smiling as he did so.
She had no idea how Merlin always seemed to know when a servant was trying to be discreet, but he did. When she had first arrived at the castle she heard all the rumours - country boy appointed manservant to the then Prince of Camelot, after saving his life - but she had quickly learnt that to put any stock in castle gossip was a very foolish thing to do.
However, there were times when she thought that maybe the rumours about Merlin could be true. He was the only person she knew (although saying she knew Merlin might be stating it a bit strongly) who was aware of the workings of the two different classes in the castle - the servants and the nobility. She had to concede that Merlin’s knowledge did suggest firsthand experience.
She opened the door, cursing under her breath at the candlelight - the king was definitely about, and slipped inside. She stayed in the shadows, moving as unobtrusively behind the pillars as she could.
The king was sitting at his desk, head bowed, working through a stack of papers. He had obviously retired for the night as he was dressed casually, wearing his favoured long brown coat. It was so worn that ladies Morgana and Guinevere had banned him from wearing it in public.
Flora had be late finishing her chores that day as well (it might be something of a regular occurrence), so she had witnessed the…discussion. What she always remembered was that Merlin had been behind the ladies, just out of sight of the king. He’d had tears running down his cheeks, his fist pressed against his mouth, trying to stop himself from laughing out loud.
It had been a bizarre and yet strangely ordinary scene to have witnessed. It had also been something she’d kept from the castle gossips. No doubt she could have been hugely popular with a story like that, but every time she thought about telling, she got a sick feeling in her stomach.
Flora tensed as the king spoke.
‘Do you think it would be wholly unreasonable of me to outlaw paperwork?’
An amused sound came from the other room and Merlin walked in. Flora’s mouth dropped open slightly. She hadn’t expected to see Merlin here. It was well known that the king and Merlin were close, and that Merlin was rarely away from his side during the day, but what was he doing in the king’s chambers? He was also dressed down for the night and he was wearing a neckerchief. Flora raised an eyebrow. That certainly wasn’t part of his everyday attire. Flora and everyone else in the castle believed that Merlin spent his evenings in his room unless there were official feasts or matters of state to attend to. Apparently the entire castle was ill-informed. To her rather practiced eye, it looked as though there was a lot more to the king’s relationship with his advisor than was previously thought.
‘Unreasonable, no. Impractical, yes. Instead of sending you reports that you can palm off to someone else, they’d demand time with you.’
The king pulled a face and Flora swallowed a giggle. The king was rarely in his room while she attended to them so she never really got to see him as himself.
‘That would be totally unacceptable.’
Merlin rolled his eyes at the king. ‘Yes, it would be,’ he agreed mildly.
The king grunted but didn’t reprimand Merlin for his insolence. His lack of a reaction seemed to suggest that such behaviour was normal. But surely it couldn’t be normal for Merlin to treat the king with such irrelevance?
Merlin then picked up a chair and set it next to the king’s, but facing the king, which would make it difficult to do any paperwork, Flora thought.
The king had paused in his writing and was watching Merlin. But instead of looking outraged at Merlin placing his chair on equal footing with his own, he was looking amused.
‘You really are very strange.’ His voice sounded fond.
‘Why?’ asked Merlin warily. ‘What have I done?’
‘You have so much power at your fingertips but you chose to pick up a chair.’
‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about,’ retorted Merlin, sitting down. ‘I remember a time where you would bemoan me if I used my magic for anything that could be done by hand.’
The king just smiled at him.
‘You’re infuriating, you know that, right?’ said Merlin.
‘You’ve mentioned it before in passing.’
‘And a prat,’ added Merlin, reaching for a quill and some of the kings paperwork.
Flora felt her eyes go impossibly wide. Merlin had just insulted the king but all the king was doing was laughing.
Merlin was watching the king laugh with obvious affection, the quill dangling uselessly between his fingers.
‘Are you just going to sit there or are you going to actually help me?’ enquired the king.
Merlin slid down slightly in his chair before lifting his legs and slipping his toes under the king’s thighs. He rested the papers against his own thighs and started to read. They both looked so relaxed and at ease in each other’s company, as if this was how they spent their evenings - or would if they could. Flora watched the scene for a few more seconds, realising that what she was seeing was the man behind the king; who he was in private, instead of the imposing being she was used to.
Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to leave; she was intruding on the scant personal time the king got and it felt wrong. However, she couldn’t leave, couldn’t move from where she was hidden in the relative quiet of the room. The last thing she wanted was for the king or Merlin to think she had been purposely spying on them.
She enjoyed her job, enjoyed being one of the few servants allowed to attend the king’s chambers. She didn’t want to get into trouble, which meant she had to stay there until she had a chance to escape. From now on she would never let her friends distract her from her work again and, unless she knew where the king was, she was always going to knock. Much safer that way.
Having made such heady declarations to herself, Flora nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the door.
The king paused in his writing and raised an eyebrow at Merlin.
‘Morgana, Gwen and Lancelot.’
Flora shivered. She knew that Merlin’s magic was nothing to be scared of; King Arthur trusted him unerringly. It was still slightly scary witnessing Merlin using his magic so casually.
‘Enter,’ called the king loudly and then said quieter to Merlin, ‘Do remember to call her Guinevere.’
Merlin glanced up as the others walked in. ‘Oh. Sorry. I forgot.’
The king didn’t say anything, just rolled his eyes.
‘Lord Ackron is an ass and should be thrown in the stocks at the earliest opportunity,’ declared Lady Morgana. She abandoned all pretence at decorum and flung herself into the chair opposite the king and Merlin.
Sir Lancelot retrieved the last two chairs in the room and after ensuring that Lady Guinevere was seated next to Morgana, he sat on her other side. He was turned slightly to her and Flora noticed that the lady’s hand was resting hardly an inch from Sir Lancelot’s. That was certainly interesting.
‘Good evening to you too, Morgana,’ said the king dryly. ‘You seem to be in a particularly pleasant mood this evening.’
‘Oh, shut up, Arthur,’ snapped Lady Morgana. ‘The man is insufferable. You don’t have to smile pleasantly while he leers at you.’
Flora’s eyes widened again at Lady Morgana’s casual use of the king’s name.
‘It does make him look rather constipated, doesn’t it?’ piped up Merlin.
Lady Morgana snorted in a very unladylike manner and the tension that had been building dissipated immediately.
The king, though, was staring intently at Merlin. ‘What do you know about Ackron leering?’
Flora couldn’t quite understand why the king was so interested in Lord Ackron’s potential interest in Merlin. Then she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Of course she knew why the king cared.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur. He hasn’t-’
Flora was distracted by Sir Lancelot and Lady Morgana rolling their eyes and Lady Guinevere smiling indulgently at them. Evidently they were all well aware of the relationship between Merlin and the king because none of them were batting an eyelid. They seemed to approve whole-heartily. It seemed to Flora that the people who were talking about the possibility of a marriage between the king and Lady Guinevere might be waiting for a very long time.
‘Then how do you know-’
‘Because I have eyes, Arthur.’ He smiled smugly. ‘Plus, I think he’s scared of me.’
‘He would be scared of you and not of me, wouldn’t he?’ said Morgana. She was glaring at the desk and pouting.
Flora could see her point. Merlin, for all the power he controlled, rarely looked formidable. The lady Morgana, on the other hand, could flay you alive with one look. Not literally, obviously, but she certainly wasn’t someone who you wanted to anger unnecessarily.
‘Perhaps he doesn’t realise how dangerous his position is,’ suggested Lady Guinevere, a smile playing across her lips.
‘It strikes me that very few people appreciate how dangerous the lady Morgana is until it’s too late,’ said Sir Lancelot.
‘You two should be more careful if I’m so dangerous, shouldn’t you,’ said Lady Morgana pointedly.
As the ladies Morgana and Guinevere joked around with Sir Lancelot, Flora found her attention being drawn back to the king and Merlin. Merlin was laughing as he listened to their friend’s bicker, while the king leaned back in his chair, smiling broadly, even chuckling occasionally. From where she was hiding, Flora watched in fascination as the king wrapped a hand around one of Merlin’s ankles, his thumb making small circles on the bone there.
Merlin’s laughter trailed off and his smile was soft as he looked at the king. He sunk a little further into his chair and pushed his toes a little further under the king’s thigh. Flora had witnessed the king being kind many times before, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him being tender.
‘Maybe you should throw him in the stocks,’ said Merlin quietly. ‘It would make Morgana so happy.’
‘Nothing would give me more pleasure. Unfortunately the stocks are reserved for impertinent servants who don’t know how to follow orders.’ He was grinning at Merlin and it seemed to Flora that there was probably a private joke there.
‘You’re hilarious, my lord,’ said Merlin dryly.
‘It’s one of my very many charms,’ replied the king.
‘You have charms? How come I’ve never noticed them?’
Before the king could reply, Morgana cut in. ‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ she said to the other two. ‘Arthur is a king and Merlin is a powerful warlock and the king’s most trusted advisor, and yet they still bicker like children.’
‘We aren’t bickering,’ protested Merlin.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, was this foreplay for the pair of you-’
‘Morgana!’ exclaimed Lady Guinevere, sounding scandalised. Sir Lancelot, though, was covering his mouth with his hand and was quite evidently trying not to laugh.
Lady Morgana continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. ‘-because if it is, that explains so much about you both.’
The king choked slightly while Merlin laughed, not sounding in the least bit embarrassed.
‘Morgana, you can’t say things like that,’ said the king.
Lady Morgana raised an elegant eyebrow. ‘And why not?’
‘You mean apart from the fact that I’m king?’
‘Yes.’
‘Umm…’
‘You don’t have anything, do you?’ Flora wondered about their childhood, for the lady to be so assured that the king wouldn’t be angered by the glee in both her eyes and her tone of voice.
‘Give me a moment, will you?’ snapped the king. ‘I’ve been going through reports for the last few hours.’
‘Any idea how long we’ll have to wait for your witty repertoire?’ asked Morgana. ‘Some of us would like to go to sleep before the court is convened tomorrow.’
The king shot her a truly irritated glare. ‘Remind me while I bother keeping you around,’ he growled.
‘Because you know it’s good for you to be treated like Arthur every now and again instead of like the king,’ she replied, her voice soft.
‘I wasn’t looking for an explanation,’ retorted the king.
‘Then don’t ask questions if you don’t want the answers,’ suggested Morgana.
Lady Guinevere stood, Sir Lancelot also standing and offering her his arm. ‘I think we should leave you both for the night,’ she said softly.
Flora stood up straighter; they were going to leave? Perhaps this would be her opportunity to escape unnoticed.
‘You don’t have to,’ said Merlin, earnestly.
‘I think we should.’ She glanced meaningfully between Morgana and the king.
Merlin’s eyes widened in understanding. ‘Ah, yes. I see what you mean.’
Obviously the fights between the king and Lady Morgana were not as exaggerated as Flora had assumed.
‘We’ll see you both tomorrow.’
‘Okay,’ said Merlin.
The king nodded to them all. ‘Oh, and Lancelot?’
The knight stopped and looked back at the king, who was grinning widely. ‘Don’t let the ladies get you into too much trouble, huh?’ Flora blinked; the king couldn’t be alluding to what she thought he was alluding to, could he?
‘Of course not, my lord,’ replied Sir Lancelot with a grin of his own.
Flora moved over to the door, wanting to be close, but aware that she would have to wait long enough for the three nobles to walk away. She didn’t want to get caught at such a late stage in the evening.
As the door closed Flora saw Merlin roll his eyes at the king.
‘You know, you don’t need to bait Morgana every evening.’
‘Why not? It’s fun.’ The king stood up and extended his hand to Merlin. ‘Come. I want to retire for the evening.’ He sounded as though he were both issuing a command and asking a question.
‘What about all this paperwork that needs to be done?’ Even as he spoke, Merlin took the king’s hand and stood.
The king gave him a gentle tug, so that they were pressed up against each other. Flora felt her face flush and heat streaked through her body. She really wanted to get out, but by the sounds of it, they would be leaving the room soon, and if that was the case then her chances of getting out without being detected increased significantly.
‘I think it will still be there in the morning,’ he muttered, before chastely kissing Merlin on the lips.
‘You’re probably right,’ agreed Merlin. He walked slowly towards the king’s bedroom, taking the king with him. ‘I think bed is an excellent idea.’
As the door closed, Flora let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. As quickly and quietly as she could she opened the door and slipped out, thanking the gods that she and managed not to get caught. She was also conjuring up a plausible story to tell her friends where she had been for so long. Servants could latch onto a lose thread in a lie far too quickly, she had learnt. If she was going to be believed, she had to think quickly and thoroughly.
She was about to step away from the wall when a hand grabbed her arm and slammed her back into it.
She tried to scream but she couldn’t.
‘What were you doing?’ the Lady Morgana demanded, coming to stand in front of Flora, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Flora felt her blood turn to ice. ‘N…nothing, my Lady,’ she stammered.
‘Do not lie to me, girl. I know you were in the room. I thought I heard noises while I was in there and I have just watched you sneak out of the king’s chambers. So, I ask again; what were you doing?’
‘I was…was late completing my duties. I was supposed to light the fire in the king’s study. I didn’t realise the king and his adviser were already there.’
‘And it never occurred to you to walk back out?’
‘They were talking, I didn’t want to interrupt.’
Lady Morgana rolled her eyes, but she let go of Flora. ‘So you stayed in there for..?’
‘Over an hour.’
‘An hour?’
Flora nodded.
‘That sounds remarkably like something Merlin would have done in his early years.’
Curiosity burned through Flora but she knew better than to ask questions at this moment. She was much more interested in getting through this in one piece.
‘So what are you going to do now?’ demanded Lady Morgana. ‘Go down to the kitchens and tell everyone what you saw and heard?’
‘No!’ Flora was appalled that Lady Morgana would think she could do something like that. Although, there were definitely servants who wouldn’t hesitate to tell the entire castle everything they had seen.
‘And why wouldn’t you? Am I wrong in thinking that you would gain a certain status among the servants if you revealed all of this?’
‘No, my lady, you aren’t wrong.’ She made sure she looked Lady Morgana straight in the eye. ‘But I’m not going to do that.’
Lady Morgana narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I like my job, because it’s not my place and because what I saw was private.’
Lady Morgana took a step back and Flora found it significantly easier to breath.
‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘But, if I ever hear-’
‘You won’t,’ Flora interrupted. She had no desire to hear any of the threats Lady Morgana could come up with. She probably wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week.
‘That’s good. Make sure it stays that way.’ With that Lady Morgana turned and walked off down the corridor without looking back once.
Flora’s knees gave way and she slid to the floor. She was definitely never going to be late to clean the king’s chambers ever again.
Standing up, she glanced once at the closed door. A part of her was pleased that she knew something about the king that no other servant did and another part of her was glad that in amongst all this chaos the king was managing to create some happiness for himself.
Here's a little something I wrote for you. Hope you like it.
Title: I’d Be Dropping No Eaves
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None that I’m aware of
Beta: lavvyan did a lightening quite beta, for which I’m grateful. thisissirius, for giving me the necessary encouragement
Summary: The King and his advisors on a rare night off.
Notes: Title comes from one of my favourite lines from LOTR:FOTR
-------------------
Flora ran quickly and quietly towards the kings chambers, praying to all deities that she would find them empty, allowing her to finish her work. After carrying the laundry downstairs she had been distracted by a game of tag - her aunt would say that Flora was too old to indulge in such activities, but Flora thought you could never be too old for tag - and now she was late lighting the fires.
It was possible that she might still be able to light the fires if there king was there - he’d not notice her. But if his advisor was there - and really, when was he not? - she’d be lucky to get a toe in the door before he looked up and saw her, smiling as he did so.
She had no idea how Merlin always seemed to know when a servant was trying to be discreet, but he did. When she had first arrived at the castle she heard all the rumours - country boy appointed manservant to the then Prince of Camelot, after saving his life - but she had quickly learnt that to put any stock in castle gossip was a very foolish thing to do.
However, there were times when she thought that maybe the rumours about Merlin could be true. He was the only person she knew (although saying she knew Merlin might be stating it a bit strongly) who was aware of the workings of the two different classes in the castle - the servants and the nobility. She had to concede that Merlin’s knowledge did suggest firsthand experience.
She opened the door, cursing under her breath at the candlelight - the king was definitely about, and slipped inside. She stayed in the shadows, moving as unobtrusively behind the pillars as she could.
The king was sitting at his desk, head bowed, working through a stack of papers. He had obviously retired for the night as he was dressed casually, wearing his favoured long brown coat. It was so worn that ladies Morgana and Guinevere had banned him from wearing it in public.
Flora had be late finishing her chores that day as well (it might be something of a regular occurrence), so she had witnessed the…discussion. What she always remembered was that Merlin had been behind the ladies, just out of sight of the king. He’d had tears running down his cheeks, his fist pressed against his mouth, trying to stop himself from laughing out loud.
It had been a bizarre and yet strangely ordinary scene to have witnessed. It had also been something she’d kept from the castle gossips. No doubt she could have been hugely popular with a story like that, but every time she thought about telling, she got a sick feeling in her stomach.
Flora tensed as the king spoke.
‘Do you think it would be wholly unreasonable of me to outlaw paperwork?’
An amused sound came from the other room and Merlin walked in. Flora’s mouth dropped open slightly. She hadn’t expected to see Merlin here. It was well known that the king and Merlin were close, and that Merlin was rarely away from his side during the day, but what was he doing in the king’s chambers? He was also dressed down for the night and he was wearing a neckerchief. Flora raised an eyebrow. That certainly wasn’t part of his everyday attire. Flora and everyone else in the castle believed that Merlin spent his evenings in his room unless there were official feasts or matters of state to attend to. Apparently the entire castle was ill-informed. To her rather practiced eye, it looked as though there was a lot more to the king’s relationship with his advisor than was previously thought.
‘Unreasonable, no. Impractical, yes. Instead of sending you reports that you can palm off to someone else, they’d demand time with you.’
The king pulled a face and Flora swallowed a giggle. The king was rarely in his room while she attended to them so she never really got to see him as himself.
‘That would be totally unacceptable.’
Merlin rolled his eyes at the king. ‘Yes, it would be,’ he agreed mildly.
The king grunted but didn’t reprimand Merlin for his insolence. His lack of a reaction seemed to suggest that such behaviour was normal. But surely it couldn’t be normal for Merlin to treat the king with such irrelevance?
Merlin then picked up a chair and set it next to the king’s, but facing the king, which would make it difficult to do any paperwork, Flora thought.
The king had paused in his writing and was watching Merlin. But instead of looking outraged at Merlin placing his chair on equal footing with his own, he was looking amused.
‘You really are very strange.’ His voice sounded fond.
‘Why?’ asked Merlin warily. ‘What have I done?’
‘You have so much power at your fingertips but you chose to pick up a chair.’
‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about,’ retorted Merlin, sitting down. ‘I remember a time where you would bemoan me if I used my magic for anything that could be done by hand.’
The king just smiled at him.
‘You’re infuriating, you know that, right?’ said Merlin.
‘You’ve mentioned it before in passing.’
‘And a prat,’ added Merlin, reaching for a quill and some of the kings paperwork.
Flora felt her eyes go impossibly wide. Merlin had just insulted the king but all the king was doing was laughing.
Merlin was watching the king laugh with obvious affection, the quill dangling uselessly between his fingers.
‘Are you just going to sit there or are you going to actually help me?’ enquired the king.
Merlin slid down slightly in his chair before lifting his legs and slipping his toes under the king’s thighs. He rested the papers against his own thighs and started to read. They both looked so relaxed and at ease in each other’s company, as if this was how they spent their evenings - or would if they could. Flora watched the scene for a few more seconds, realising that what she was seeing was the man behind the king; who he was in private, instead of the imposing being she was used to.
Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to leave; she was intruding on the scant personal time the king got and it felt wrong. However, she couldn’t leave, couldn’t move from where she was hidden in the relative quiet of the room. The last thing she wanted was for the king or Merlin to think she had been purposely spying on them.
She enjoyed her job, enjoyed being one of the few servants allowed to attend the king’s chambers. She didn’t want to get into trouble, which meant she had to stay there until she had a chance to escape. From now on she would never let her friends distract her from her work again and, unless she knew where the king was, she was always going to knock. Much safer that way.
Having made such heady declarations to herself, Flora nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the door.
The king paused in his writing and raised an eyebrow at Merlin.
‘Morgana, Gwen and Lancelot.’
Flora shivered. She knew that Merlin’s magic was nothing to be scared of; King Arthur trusted him unerringly. It was still slightly scary witnessing Merlin using his magic so casually.
‘Enter,’ called the king loudly and then said quieter to Merlin, ‘Do remember to call her Guinevere.’
Merlin glanced up as the others walked in. ‘Oh. Sorry. I forgot.’
The king didn’t say anything, just rolled his eyes.
‘Lord Ackron is an ass and should be thrown in the stocks at the earliest opportunity,’ declared Lady Morgana. She abandoned all pretence at decorum and flung herself into the chair opposite the king and Merlin.
Sir Lancelot retrieved the last two chairs in the room and after ensuring that Lady Guinevere was seated next to Morgana, he sat on her other side. He was turned slightly to her and Flora noticed that the lady’s hand was resting hardly an inch from Sir Lancelot’s. That was certainly interesting.
‘Good evening to you too, Morgana,’ said the king dryly. ‘You seem to be in a particularly pleasant mood this evening.’
‘Oh, shut up, Arthur,’ snapped Lady Morgana. ‘The man is insufferable. You don’t have to smile pleasantly while he leers at you.’
Flora’s eyes widened again at Lady Morgana’s casual use of the king’s name.
‘It does make him look rather constipated, doesn’t it?’ piped up Merlin.
Lady Morgana snorted in a very unladylike manner and the tension that had been building dissipated immediately.
The king, though, was staring intently at Merlin. ‘What do you know about Ackron leering?’
Flora couldn’t quite understand why the king was so interested in Lord Ackron’s potential interest in Merlin. Then she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Of course she knew why the king cared.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur. He hasn’t-’
Flora was distracted by Sir Lancelot and Lady Morgana rolling their eyes and Lady Guinevere smiling indulgently at them. Evidently they were all well aware of the relationship between Merlin and the king because none of them were batting an eyelid. They seemed to approve whole-heartily. It seemed to Flora that the people who were talking about the possibility of a marriage between the king and Lady Guinevere might be waiting for a very long time.
‘Then how do you know-’
‘Because I have eyes, Arthur.’ He smiled smugly. ‘Plus, I think he’s scared of me.’
‘He would be scared of you and not of me, wouldn’t he?’ said Morgana. She was glaring at the desk and pouting.
Flora could see her point. Merlin, for all the power he controlled, rarely looked formidable. The lady Morgana, on the other hand, could flay you alive with one look. Not literally, obviously, but she certainly wasn’t someone who you wanted to anger unnecessarily.
‘Perhaps he doesn’t realise how dangerous his position is,’ suggested Lady Guinevere, a smile playing across her lips.
‘It strikes me that very few people appreciate how dangerous the lady Morgana is until it’s too late,’ said Sir Lancelot.
‘You two should be more careful if I’m so dangerous, shouldn’t you,’ said Lady Morgana pointedly.
As the ladies Morgana and Guinevere joked around with Sir Lancelot, Flora found her attention being drawn back to the king and Merlin. Merlin was laughing as he listened to their friend’s bicker, while the king leaned back in his chair, smiling broadly, even chuckling occasionally. From where she was hiding, Flora watched in fascination as the king wrapped a hand around one of Merlin’s ankles, his thumb making small circles on the bone there.
Merlin’s laughter trailed off and his smile was soft as he looked at the king. He sunk a little further into his chair and pushed his toes a little further under the king’s thigh. Flora had witnessed the king being kind many times before, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him being tender.
‘Maybe you should throw him in the stocks,’ said Merlin quietly. ‘It would make Morgana so happy.’
‘Nothing would give me more pleasure. Unfortunately the stocks are reserved for impertinent servants who don’t know how to follow orders.’ He was grinning at Merlin and it seemed to Flora that there was probably a private joke there.
‘You’re hilarious, my lord,’ said Merlin dryly.
‘It’s one of my very many charms,’ replied the king.
‘You have charms? How come I’ve never noticed them?’
Before the king could reply, Morgana cut in. ‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ she said to the other two. ‘Arthur is a king and Merlin is a powerful warlock and the king’s most trusted advisor, and yet they still bicker like children.’
‘We aren’t bickering,’ protested Merlin.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, was this foreplay for the pair of you-’
‘Morgana!’ exclaimed Lady Guinevere, sounding scandalised. Sir Lancelot, though, was covering his mouth with his hand and was quite evidently trying not to laugh.
Lady Morgana continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. ‘-because if it is, that explains so much about you both.’
The king choked slightly while Merlin laughed, not sounding in the least bit embarrassed.
‘Morgana, you can’t say things like that,’ said the king.
Lady Morgana raised an elegant eyebrow. ‘And why not?’
‘You mean apart from the fact that I’m king?’
‘Yes.’
‘Umm…’
‘You don’t have anything, do you?’ Flora wondered about their childhood, for the lady to be so assured that the king wouldn’t be angered by the glee in both her eyes and her tone of voice.
‘Give me a moment, will you?’ snapped the king. ‘I’ve been going through reports for the last few hours.’
‘Any idea how long we’ll have to wait for your witty repertoire?’ asked Morgana. ‘Some of us would like to go to sleep before the court is convened tomorrow.’
The king shot her a truly irritated glare. ‘Remind me while I bother keeping you around,’ he growled.
‘Because you know it’s good for you to be treated like Arthur every now and again instead of like the king,’ she replied, her voice soft.
‘I wasn’t looking for an explanation,’ retorted the king.
‘Then don’t ask questions if you don’t want the answers,’ suggested Morgana.
Lady Guinevere stood, Sir Lancelot also standing and offering her his arm. ‘I think we should leave you both for the night,’ she said softly.
Flora stood up straighter; they were going to leave? Perhaps this would be her opportunity to escape unnoticed.
‘You don’t have to,’ said Merlin, earnestly.
‘I think we should.’ She glanced meaningfully between Morgana and the king.
Merlin’s eyes widened in understanding. ‘Ah, yes. I see what you mean.’
Obviously the fights between the king and Lady Morgana were not as exaggerated as Flora had assumed.
‘We’ll see you both tomorrow.’
‘Okay,’ said Merlin.
The king nodded to them all. ‘Oh, and Lancelot?’
The knight stopped and looked back at the king, who was grinning widely. ‘Don’t let the ladies get you into too much trouble, huh?’ Flora blinked; the king couldn’t be alluding to what she thought he was alluding to, could he?
‘Of course not, my lord,’ replied Sir Lancelot with a grin of his own.
Flora moved over to the door, wanting to be close, but aware that she would have to wait long enough for the three nobles to walk away. She didn’t want to get caught at such a late stage in the evening.
As the door closed Flora saw Merlin roll his eyes at the king.
‘You know, you don’t need to bait Morgana every evening.’
‘Why not? It’s fun.’ The king stood up and extended his hand to Merlin. ‘Come. I want to retire for the evening.’ He sounded as though he were both issuing a command and asking a question.
‘What about all this paperwork that needs to be done?’ Even as he spoke, Merlin took the king’s hand and stood.
The king gave him a gentle tug, so that they were pressed up against each other. Flora felt her face flush and heat streaked through her body. She really wanted to get out, but by the sounds of it, they would be leaving the room soon, and if that was the case then her chances of getting out without being detected increased significantly.
‘I think it will still be there in the morning,’ he muttered, before chastely kissing Merlin on the lips.
‘You’re probably right,’ agreed Merlin. He walked slowly towards the king’s bedroom, taking the king with him. ‘I think bed is an excellent idea.’
As the door closed, Flora let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. As quickly and quietly as she could she opened the door and slipped out, thanking the gods that she and managed not to get caught. She was also conjuring up a plausible story to tell her friends where she had been for so long. Servants could latch onto a lose thread in a lie far too quickly, she had learnt. If she was going to be believed, she had to think quickly and thoroughly.
She was about to step away from the wall when a hand grabbed her arm and slammed her back into it.
She tried to scream but she couldn’t.
‘What were you doing?’ the Lady Morgana demanded, coming to stand in front of Flora, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Flora felt her blood turn to ice. ‘N…nothing, my Lady,’ she stammered.
‘Do not lie to me, girl. I know you were in the room. I thought I heard noises while I was in there and I have just watched you sneak out of the king’s chambers. So, I ask again; what were you doing?’
‘I was…was late completing my duties. I was supposed to light the fire in the king’s study. I didn’t realise the king and his adviser were already there.’
‘And it never occurred to you to walk back out?’
‘They were talking, I didn’t want to interrupt.’
Lady Morgana rolled her eyes, but she let go of Flora. ‘So you stayed in there for..?’
‘Over an hour.’
‘An hour?’
Flora nodded.
‘That sounds remarkably like something Merlin would have done in his early years.’
Curiosity burned through Flora but she knew better than to ask questions at this moment. She was much more interested in getting through this in one piece.
‘So what are you going to do now?’ demanded Lady Morgana. ‘Go down to the kitchens and tell everyone what you saw and heard?’
‘No!’ Flora was appalled that Lady Morgana would think she could do something like that. Although, there were definitely servants who wouldn’t hesitate to tell the entire castle everything they had seen.
‘And why wouldn’t you? Am I wrong in thinking that you would gain a certain status among the servants if you revealed all of this?’
‘No, my lady, you aren’t wrong.’ She made sure she looked Lady Morgana straight in the eye. ‘But I’m not going to do that.’
Lady Morgana narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I like my job, because it’s not my place and because what I saw was private.’
Lady Morgana took a step back and Flora found it significantly easier to breath.
‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘But, if I ever hear-’
‘You won’t,’ Flora interrupted. She had no desire to hear any of the threats Lady Morgana could come up with. She probably wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week.
‘That’s good. Make sure it stays that way.’ With that Lady Morgana turned and walked off down the corridor without looking back once.
Flora’s knees gave way and she slid to the floor. She was definitely never going to be late to clean the king’s chambers ever again.
Standing up, she glanced once at the closed door. A part of her was pleased that she knew something about the king that no other servant did and another part of her was glad that in amongst all this chaos the king was managing to create some happiness for himself.