Lady Lavender
Title: Lady Lavender
Author: mostly_a_reader
Word Count: 3,238
Theme: “Fairytale”
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Gwen, Arthur/Gwen, Morgana, Uther
Spoilers: None; Modern AU
Disclaimer: By a cruel twist of fate, I do not own Merlin or its characters.
Summary/Prompt: Merlin plays ‘Fairy Godfather’ by dressing Gwen up for a masked ball.
Author’s Notes: This is my first ever Merlin Fic, so I’m really excited and nervous at the same time! I would love to hear feedback and your thoughts. I hope you enjoy it :)
~
“Gwen, come on…Please?” Merlin begged.
Gwen glanced around at the empty restaurant and then back at her friend. His blue eyes stared back imploringly.
“Merlin, I can’t just leave.”
“Elena said she would cover for you.”
“But - I have nothing to wear,” Gwen pointed out as they both looked down at her hideous diner outfit. The mix of neon green and pale orange made her stomach churn.
Merlin lifted his gaze and gave her a mischievous grin. “I knew you would play that excuse card. So, I took the liberty of picking out a dress for you.” He turned towards the bag of dry cleaning that was resting over the chair next to him and, with bravado, pulled out a lavender ball gown.
“Ta - da!”
“Merlin!” Gwen gasped without thinking. “It’s beautiful.”
Instinctively her hands moved to stroke the dress. It was such a light lavender that it almost looked white. It was strapless, and cinched at the waist so that the bottom poofed out like a ball gown. When she looked even closer, she could see intricate gold threading around the neckline and down the back.
The color would look great with my skin tone, Gwen thought. And it does look like the right size…
She immediately shook her head. “Where did you get this dress?” Gwen tried to sound stern, but even she could hear the admiration for the dress creeping into her tone.
Merlin gave her a sweet smile as he could see her resolve crumbling. “My mother. She had bought it for a costume party at work, but she ended up getting sick and not going. She wants you to have it. She said to have fun.”
“I can’t Merlin. I -“
“Gwen,” Merlin said with as much authority he can muster, which really wasn’t much. But immediately after his eyes softened as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve been working too hard. You of all people deserve to have one night of fun.” He then gave her a playful smirk as he continued, “Besides, you’re all out of excuses anyway.”
She sighed. He did have a point. Since her father’s death nearly a year ago, she had worked harder than ever and in the process had avoided hanging out with her friends. Eventually her friends stopped invited her to go out. But not Merlin. He didn’t go out much either, but he always made sure to invite her, even if it was a night in. She gave him a warm smile as she studied his suit and the way his eyes sparkled from excitement. He had been talking about this party for weeks. She really couldn’t find the heart to turn him down.
“Fine,” she sighed, failing miserably at trying to hide her own smile of excitement.
“Great! Now hurry up; go put the dress on.” Merlin gently pushed her towards the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she opened up the bathroom door to a wide-eyed Merlin.
Worried, she glanced between the dress and Merlin’s shocked expression. “Is it that bad?”
He quickly composed himself and picked his jaw from off the floor. “No! You look - gorgeous.”
She gave him a shy smile and looked back at the dress hoping to hide the flush she could feel rising to her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“But we are going to have to do something with your hair,” he said in all seriousness as he turned her to face the bathroom mirror. He immediately started to take down the messy bun atop her head and gently run his fingers through it. She continued to watch as he took out a good sized make-up bag and dug through it until he found some hair pins. Before she knew it, he was twisting and pinning her hair in a complicated way. She was about to open her mouth and comment on his strange knowledge of the female world but was interrupted.
“Freya. When we first started dating I used to watch her do hair for hours.” A sad smile came across his face and Gwen gingerly reached behind her and grabbed his hand. He met her gaze in the mirror and Gwen gave him a gentle smile. Merlin gave her a small smile before giving a little cough and broke from her gaze.
“Um, there should be some make-up in the bag too. You can probably do something with it.”
Gwen raised her brow in question.
“It’s my mom’s. She said you could use whatever you wanted.”
I’m going to have to go over and cook Hunith dinner sometime soon for doing all of this for me…
Gwen started to look through the make-up. She wasn’t really into the stuff, so she decided to just use a little. She used the mascara, touched up her eyeliner, and put on a little bit of clear lip gloss. It took longer than it should have because she couldn’t really move with Merlin constantly giving gentle tugs to her hair if she moved too much. But by the time she was just about finished, Merlin was pulling out something from a plastic bag.
“Lavender!” Gwen smiled.
“I know they’re your favorite, and I thought it would be a nice touch.”
He then started to weave them though her hair as he used a few more pins to keep them in place.
“For the final touch,” he pulled out a tube of glitter and sprinkled some over her hair, “a pinch of pixie dust!” As she turned to face him, she was shocked to have glitter blown into her face.
“Sorry,” Merlin said sheepishly. He gently brushed at her face before replying. “Perfect.”
Gwen suddenly threw her arms around his neck and gently whispered, “Thank you, Merlin.”
She could feel tears starting to come and tightly shut her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone did something so special for her. And right when she needed it most.
Merlin gently patted her back.
“Well - we better be going.”
She gently pulled back and was greeted by another one of his excited smiles.
“Wouldn’t want all that beauty wasted just on me.”
Gwen rolled her eyes and got a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror before facing the mirror fully.
I look like a Princess. Gwen smiled at her reflection.
~
Gwen wasn’t paying much attention on the ride over. Merlin had been talking non-stop about the different obstacles him and his co-workers faced with the music and decorations. He said something about all of the guests being high-class, so everything had to be perfect. She nodded appropriately, but she couldn’t keep her mind on the conversation.
She found herself suddenly nervous. It had been a while since she had been at a party; let alone with people of her own age. Anxious thoughts ran through her head.
What if I spill something all over myself? What if I forget how to dance? What if I trip and fall flat on my face?
As if sensing her worry, Merlin placed a comforting hand on her knee. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” He gave her a reassuring grin and she squeezed his hand.
“Thanks.”
“Ah, we’re here!” Merlin hopped out of the car and graciously opened her door to help her out. She lifted the dress and revealed the same shoes she had been wearing at work.
“Crap! I almost forgot!” Merlin ran to the back of the car and brought back a pair of slippers that matched her dress. “Here.”
Gwen discarded her work shoes and slid into the slippers. Honestly, she was happy that they weren’t heels. It limited a plethora of embarrassing situations she could get herself into. They were a bit too big but, she didn’t plan on running a marathon or anything so she should be fine.
Merlin helped her out of the car and they started towards the door. Gwen stopped short.
“Merlin wait. I totally forgot! I told Vivian that I’d cover her morning shift tomorrow. It starts at 2.”
Merlin raised a questioning brow. “What kind of diner do you work at? Never mind, I’ll take care of it.”
He swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket and Gwen saw as something fell out of it. She knelt down to pick it up and realized it was a masquerade mask. It was the same shade as her dress.
“Is this for me?” She watched as Merlin shut his phone and looked back at her. Recognition suddenly spread across his face.
“Oh yeah! I forgot.” He gently placed the mask across her eyes and pinned the sides into her hair with the pins.
“I should have one around here somewhere…” he mumbled while digging through his jacket pockets.
“Ah, here it is.” He slipped his on and turns to face her. “There we go!”
Gwen laughed affectionately. “Oh Merlin. What kind of Fairy Godfather are you?”
He laughed with her. “One of a kind.”
“Shall we?” He gave her a deep bow and offered his arm.
“We shall.”
Still beaming, they walked through the double doors together.
~
Arthur was bored.
The men were having the same boring conversations about business and golf. The girls were all the same with their skimpy outfits and chat up lines. So here he was. Sitting in the corner. By himself. Trying to avoid everyone.
“Still sulking Arthur?” a playful, familiar voice said next to him.
Without turning towards her, he replied, “I am not sulking Morgana. I’m just bored out of my mind.”
He could feel her smirk. “Poor, poor Arthur. Constantly being surrounded by booze and beautiful women. How you must suffer.”
Just as he was about to turn to continue bantering with his sister, something caught his eye.
Rather, someone.
She descended the stairs as if she were walking on clouds. She held her head high, but not with pride, it was with dignity. There was a slight, sweet smile on her lips that caused Arthur to smile as well.
Her escort whispered something in her ear and as she started to giggle, causing the curls that framed her face to bob up and down. The dark curls played beautifully against her skin. Even in this terrible lighting, he could tell her skin was dark, somewhat of a bronze tone. She looked so different than all of the other girls who had approached him previously, that he couldn’t help but stare.
In fact, she dressed differently too. Instead of some slinky mini-dress, she wore a full length gown and some simple slippers. He couldn’t help but notice how well the dress accentuated her voluptuous figure. His eyes wandered her well shaped chest, her tiny waist, and further down to her curvy hips.
His whole assessment lasted only lasted a moment, for it was interrupted when she reached the bottom of the stairs to be submerged in a crowd of people.
Morgana had followed his gaze and couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips as she watched Arthur’s reaction. “It looks like your evening won’t be so boring after all,” she teased as he came out of his trance.
Just about as he was about to go in search of her, he heard a loud, booming voice that could belong to no one other than his father.
“Arthur! Morgana! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you two. Olaf wants to meet the both of you.”
Arthur was about to argue but his father turned and gave him “the look.”
“Fine,” Arthur mumbled. “Let’s just make this quick.”
Arthur wasn’t paying attention to Olaf’s ramblings. He really wasn’t trying to hide it either, much to the chagrin of his father. But he didn’t care. His eyes kept searching the crowd, hoping to get another glimpse of her. He was reaching for another drink when he caught sight of the end of her dress. His head snapped back and he saw her on the dance floor. She moved gracefully as she chatted pleasantly with her partner. He could hear her laughter this time, and it was breathtaking.
He mumbled something like an apology toward the general direction of his party and walked off. He moved recklessly through the crowd, never taking his eyes off of her. As he reached her on the dance floor, her partner twirled her around and she landed face first in his chest. He quickly put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
“I am so sorry!” she says with so much conviction that Arthur can’t help but give her a sweet smile.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
Her cheeks instantly flushed a dark red. At this range, he could see her eyes. They were a deep brown, but so warm that they reminded him of honey. He felt a growing sense of warmth in his chest, and he relished it.
~
Gwen took a moment to admire this handsome stranger that she had so unceremoniously bumped into. His suit looked like it was specially tailored to accommodate his broad shoulders and chest. He was in good shape, with muscular chest and stomach (as she had experienced firsthand.) His arms were also firm on her shoulders. She dared to look at his face. He had very chiseled features, with a strong jaw and cheekbones. Even with the mask that he also had a prominent, but handsome, nose. But his eyes. They were a deep blue, almost like the ocean waves on a summer day. They were piercing, but somehow soft at the same time.
She quickly recovered herself and took a small step back, expecting him to release her. He didn’t. He was staring at her in a somewhat uncomfortable way. She looked at his arms and looked back at him. Seeming to understand her implication, he dropped his arms.
“Ahem.” They both turned toward the sound. Gwen saw Merlin standing next to them, with a quizzical, somewhat amused, expression on his face.
“Right. Sorry.” The man extended his hand towards Gwen. “I’m Arthur.”
“Guinevere,” she smiled and took his hand. His eyebrow slightly rose.
“Or just Gwen. For short,” she tried to explain.
Why did I just say my full name? No one ever calls me that…
Arthur smiled. “If you don’t mind, I prefer Guinevere.” She couldn’t help but smile in relief, once again feeling a slight blush on her cheeks.
“AHEM!”
“Oh yes. Sorry Merlin. This is my friend, Merlin.”
Merlin nodded and shook Arthur’s hand. She couldn’t help but notice his somewhat wary expression as he glanced between the two. He moved to take Gwen’s hand and resume dancing, but Arthur beat him to it. Before Gwen could protest, Arthur had his hands firmly around her waist and had turned toward Merlin.
“Mind if I cut in? Thanks.” Without waiting for Merlin to respond, he led them to a different part of the dance floor and gently started swaying to the music. Gwen looked around somewhat nervously, but he flashed an oh-so-charming grin, and her nervousness dissipated. She gingerly placed her hands on his shoulders and they continued to sway.
“So, Guinevere,” Arthur began. She could tell by the playful smile around the corners of his mouth that he enjoyed saying her full name; and for some reason, she took pleasure in hearing it.
“So,” he continued cautiously, “do you have a last name?”
“Why, do you plan on Googling me?” she teased.
Arthur threw his head back and laughed. “Well, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
Gwen shook her head slightly. “In that case, no deal. Who knows what you’d find.”
“Hm. So you plan on remaining a mystery?”
“That’s right,” she replied with a mischievous grin.
“One thing I know for sure is that I’ve never met you before. There’s no way I could ever forget meeting you.” He gave her a kind smile and she could feel her cheeks flame up, and an ever so slight weakening of the knees.
Who does he think he is, Prince Charming?
The music quickly changed pace and they dropped their arms from each other. “Would you like to get a drink?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Arthur placed his hand lightly on the small of her back and led her off the dance floor and towards the bar. She couldn’t help but feel shivers crawling up her spine.
“Anything you want, on me.”
“Um, can I just have some water please?”
“Water?” He looked at her in surprise.
Somewhat embarrassed, Gwen replied, “I have to work in the morning.”
“Ah, I see. Well, two waters then.” He handed her a bottle, and she smiled her thanks.
“That Merlin guy, is he your boyfriend?”
Gwen had just started drinking and started to choke. “Merlin?” she squeaked. Then she started laughing hysterically. When she opened her eyes and saw his questioning look, she settled down. She couldn’t help scrutinizing his facial features. She was trying to get a read on him, but it was rather difficult when he was still so close to her.
“You’re rather forward aren’t you?”
Arthur gave a little shrug and replied with a smirk, “What can I say?”
“To answer your question, no. He’s my best friend, like my brother.” She looked at him suspiciously as she saw his shoulders relax.
“Good,” he let out in a sigh.
She looked at him innocently, “Why is that good?”
His eyes immediately shifted to her lips, and he started leaning in. She instinctively licked her own lips and tilted her head back.
They barely knew each other, but neither could deny it, they had a connection.
They were just close enough to feel each other’s breath when-
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP
Gwen immediately stood up straight, and felt like she was pulled out of a trance.
Arthur let out a frustrated sigh and straightened up to glare at his watch. “Sorry about that,” he gave her an apologetic smile.
“It’s okay,” Gwen replied. She couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or grateful for the interruption. Trying to prevent things from feeling more awkward she asked, “What time is it?”
“Um,” he glanced back at his watch, “just past midnight.”
Gwen’s eyes widened in horror. “I-I have to go.”
She avoided his gaze and started to push her way through the crowd, trying to find Merlin.
Where the heck is he?!
She finally spotted him chatting with some people she guessed were guests. “Merlin!” she said in a low, tight voice as she reached his side. He excused himself and she pulled him away with desperation. “It’s midnight!”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “No, it can’t b-Crap!” Sure enough, he hadn’t heard his alarm go off.
Merlin bid the guests good night and took Gwen’s hand as they made their way through the crowd. They had just made it to the top of the stairs when she heard his voice.
“Guinevere, wait! Where are you going?” He grabbed her hand and she looked up at him. He clearly looked hurt and confused. But she really couldn’t explain.
“I’m sorry Arthur. I have to go.” With that she turned and quickly sped down the hallway with Merlin, trying not to trip over her dress.
Arthur stood watching them leave. After watching them disappear, he regretfully turned to return to the party. But he stopped short when he saw something purple out of the corner of his eye on the ground.
A single stalk of lavender.
Author: mostly_a_reader
Word Count: 3,238
Theme: “Fairytale”
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Gwen, Arthur/Gwen, Morgana, Uther
Spoilers: None; Modern AU
Disclaimer: By a cruel twist of fate, I do not own Merlin or its characters.
Summary/Prompt: Merlin plays ‘Fairy Godfather’ by dressing Gwen up for a masked ball.
Author’s Notes: This is my first ever Merlin Fic, so I’m really excited and nervous at the same time! I would love to hear feedback and your thoughts. I hope you enjoy it :)
~
“Gwen, come on…Please?” Merlin begged.
Gwen glanced around at the empty restaurant and then back at her friend. His blue eyes stared back imploringly.
“Merlin, I can’t just leave.”
“Elena said she would cover for you.”
“But - I have nothing to wear,” Gwen pointed out as they both looked down at her hideous diner outfit. The mix of neon green and pale orange made her stomach churn.
Merlin lifted his gaze and gave her a mischievous grin. “I knew you would play that excuse card. So, I took the liberty of picking out a dress for you.” He turned towards the bag of dry cleaning that was resting over the chair next to him and, with bravado, pulled out a lavender ball gown.
“Ta - da!”
“Merlin!” Gwen gasped without thinking. “It’s beautiful.”
Instinctively her hands moved to stroke the dress. It was such a light lavender that it almost looked white. It was strapless, and cinched at the waist so that the bottom poofed out like a ball gown. When she looked even closer, she could see intricate gold threading around the neckline and down the back.
The color would look great with my skin tone, Gwen thought. And it does look like the right size…
She immediately shook her head. “Where did you get this dress?” Gwen tried to sound stern, but even she could hear the admiration for the dress creeping into her tone.
Merlin gave her a sweet smile as he could see her resolve crumbling. “My mother. She had bought it for a costume party at work, but she ended up getting sick and not going. She wants you to have it. She said to have fun.”
“I can’t Merlin. I -“
“Gwen,” Merlin said with as much authority he can muster, which really wasn’t much. But immediately after his eyes softened as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve been working too hard. You of all people deserve to have one night of fun.” He then gave her a playful smirk as he continued, “Besides, you’re all out of excuses anyway.”
She sighed. He did have a point. Since her father’s death nearly a year ago, she had worked harder than ever and in the process had avoided hanging out with her friends. Eventually her friends stopped invited her to go out. But not Merlin. He didn’t go out much either, but he always made sure to invite her, even if it was a night in. She gave him a warm smile as she studied his suit and the way his eyes sparkled from excitement. He had been talking about this party for weeks. She really couldn’t find the heart to turn him down.
“Fine,” she sighed, failing miserably at trying to hide her own smile of excitement.
“Great! Now hurry up; go put the dress on.” Merlin gently pushed her towards the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she opened up the bathroom door to a wide-eyed Merlin.
Worried, she glanced between the dress and Merlin’s shocked expression. “Is it that bad?”
He quickly composed himself and picked his jaw from off the floor. “No! You look - gorgeous.”
She gave him a shy smile and looked back at the dress hoping to hide the flush she could feel rising to her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“But we are going to have to do something with your hair,” he said in all seriousness as he turned her to face the bathroom mirror. He immediately started to take down the messy bun atop her head and gently run his fingers through it. She continued to watch as he took out a good sized make-up bag and dug through it until he found some hair pins. Before she knew it, he was twisting and pinning her hair in a complicated way. She was about to open her mouth and comment on his strange knowledge of the female world but was interrupted.
“Freya. When we first started dating I used to watch her do hair for hours.” A sad smile came across his face and Gwen gingerly reached behind her and grabbed his hand. He met her gaze in the mirror and Gwen gave him a gentle smile. Merlin gave her a small smile before giving a little cough and broke from her gaze.
“Um, there should be some make-up in the bag too. You can probably do something with it.”
Gwen raised her brow in question.
“It’s my mom’s. She said you could use whatever you wanted.”
I’m going to have to go over and cook Hunith dinner sometime soon for doing all of this for me…
Gwen started to look through the make-up. She wasn’t really into the stuff, so she decided to just use a little. She used the mascara, touched up her eyeliner, and put on a little bit of clear lip gloss. It took longer than it should have because she couldn’t really move with Merlin constantly giving gentle tugs to her hair if she moved too much. But by the time she was just about finished, Merlin was pulling out something from a plastic bag.
“Lavender!” Gwen smiled.
“I know they’re your favorite, and I thought it would be a nice touch.”
He then started to weave them though her hair as he used a few more pins to keep them in place.
“For the final touch,” he pulled out a tube of glitter and sprinkled some over her hair, “a pinch of pixie dust!” As she turned to face him, she was shocked to have glitter blown into her face.
“Sorry,” Merlin said sheepishly. He gently brushed at her face before replying. “Perfect.”
Gwen suddenly threw her arms around his neck and gently whispered, “Thank you, Merlin.”
She could feel tears starting to come and tightly shut her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone did something so special for her. And right when she needed it most.
Merlin gently patted her back.
“Well - we better be going.”
She gently pulled back and was greeted by another one of his excited smiles.
“Wouldn’t want all that beauty wasted just on me.”
Gwen rolled her eyes and got a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror before facing the mirror fully.
I look like a Princess. Gwen smiled at her reflection.
~
Gwen wasn’t paying much attention on the ride over. Merlin had been talking non-stop about the different obstacles him and his co-workers faced with the music and decorations. He said something about all of the guests being high-class, so everything had to be perfect. She nodded appropriately, but she couldn’t keep her mind on the conversation.
She found herself suddenly nervous. It had been a while since she had been at a party; let alone with people of her own age. Anxious thoughts ran through her head.
What if I spill something all over myself? What if I forget how to dance? What if I trip and fall flat on my face?
As if sensing her worry, Merlin placed a comforting hand on her knee. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” He gave her a reassuring grin and she squeezed his hand.
“Thanks.”
“Ah, we’re here!” Merlin hopped out of the car and graciously opened her door to help her out. She lifted the dress and revealed the same shoes she had been wearing at work.
“Crap! I almost forgot!” Merlin ran to the back of the car and brought back a pair of slippers that matched her dress. “Here.”
Gwen discarded her work shoes and slid into the slippers. Honestly, she was happy that they weren’t heels. It limited a plethora of embarrassing situations she could get herself into. They were a bit too big but, she didn’t plan on running a marathon or anything so she should be fine.
Merlin helped her out of the car and they started towards the door. Gwen stopped short.
“Merlin wait. I totally forgot! I told Vivian that I’d cover her morning shift tomorrow. It starts at 2.”
Merlin raised a questioning brow. “What kind of diner do you work at? Never mind, I’ll take care of it.”
He swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket and Gwen saw as something fell out of it. She knelt down to pick it up and realized it was a masquerade mask. It was the same shade as her dress.
“Is this for me?” She watched as Merlin shut his phone and looked back at her. Recognition suddenly spread across his face.
“Oh yeah! I forgot.” He gently placed the mask across her eyes and pinned the sides into her hair with the pins.
“I should have one around here somewhere…” he mumbled while digging through his jacket pockets.
“Ah, here it is.” He slipped his on and turns to face her. “There we go!”
Gwen laughed affectionately. “Oh Merlin. What kind of Fairy Godfather are you?”
He laughed with her. “One of a kind.”
“Shall we?” He gave her a deep bow and offered his arm.
“We shall.”
Still beaming, they walked through the double doors together.
~
Arthur was bored.
The men were having the same boring conversations about business and golf. The girls were all the same with their skimpy outfits and chat up lines. So here he was. Sitting in the corner. By himself. Trying to avoid everyone.
“Still sulking Arthur?” a playful, familiar voice said next to him.
Without turning towards her, he replied, “I am not sulking Morgana. I’m just bored out of my mind.”
He could feel her smirk. “Poor, poor Arthur. Constantly being surrounded by booze and beautiful women. How you must suffer.”
Just as he was about to turn to continue bantering with his sister, something caught his eye.
Rather, someone.
She descended the stairs as if she were walking on clouds. She held her head high, but not with pride, it was with dignity. There was a slight, sweet smile on her lips that caused Arthur to smile as well.
Her escort whispered something in her ear and as she started to giggle, causing the curls that framed her face to bob up and down. The dark curls played beautifully against her skin. Even in this terrible lighting, he could tell her skin was dark, somewhat of a bronze tone. She looked so different than all of the other girls who had approached him previously, that he couldn’t help but stare.
In fact, she dressed differently too. Instead of some slinky mini-dress, she wore a full length gown and some simple slippers. He couldn’t help but notice how well the dress accentuated her voluptuous figure. His eyes wandered her well shaped chest, her tiny waist, and further down to her curvy hips.
His whole assessment lasted only lasted a moment, for it was interrupted when she reached the bottom of the stairs to be submerged in a crowd of people.
Morgana had followed his gaze and couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips as she watched Arthur’s reaction. “It looks like your evening won’t be so boring after all,” she teased as he came out of his trance.
Just about as he was about to go in search of her, he heard a loud, booming voice that could belong to no one other than his father.
“Arthur! Morgana! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you two. Olaf wants to meet the both of you.”
Arthur was about to argue but his father turned and gave him “the look.”
“Fine,” Arthur mumbled. “Let’s just make this quick.”
Arthur wasn’t paying attention to Olaf’s ramblings. He really wasn’t trying to hide it either, much to the chagrin of his father. But he didn’t care. His eyes kept searching the crowd, hoping to get another glimpse of her. He was reaching for another drink when he caught sight of the end of her dress. His head snapped back and he saw her on the dance floor. She moved gracefully as she chatted pleasantly with her partner. He could hear her laughter this time, and it was breathtaking.
He mumbled something like an apology toward the general direction of his party and walked off. He moved recklessly through the crowd, never taking his eyes off of her. As he reached her on the dance floor, her partner twirled her around and she landed face first in his chest. He quickly put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
“I am so sorry!” she says with so much conviction that Arthur can’t help but give her a sweet smile.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
Her cheeks instantly flushed a dark red. At this range, he could see her eyes. They were a deep brown, but so warm that they reminded him of honey. He felt a growing sense of warmth in his chest, and he relished it.
~
Gwen took a moment to admire this handsome stranger that she had so unceremoniously bumped into. His suit looked like it was specially tailored to accommodate his broad shoulders and chest. He was in good shape, with muscular chest and stomach (as she had experienced firsthand.) His arms were also firm on her shoulders. She dared to look at his face. He had very chiseled features, with a strong jaw and cheekbones. Even with the mask that he also had a prominent, but handsome, nose. But his eyes. They were a deep blue, almost like the ocean waves on a summer day. They were piercing, but somehow soft at the same time.
She quickly recovered herself and took a small step back, expecting him to release her. He didn’t. He was staring at her in a somewhat uncomfortable way. She looked at his arms and looked back at him. Seeming to understand her implication, he dropped his arms.
“Ahem.” They both turned toward the sound. Gwen saw Merlin standing next to them, with a quizzical, somewhat amused, expression on his face.
“Right. Sorry.” The man extended his hand towards Gwen. “I’m Arthur.”
“Guinevere,” she smiled and took his hand. His eyebrow slightly rose.
“Or just Gwen. For short,” she tried to explain.
Why did I just say my full name? No one ever calls me that…
Arthur smiled. “If you don’t mind, I prefer Guinevere.” She couldn’t help but smile in relief, once again feeling a slight blush on her cheeks.
“AHEM!”
“Oh yes. Sorry Merlin. This is my friend, Merlin.”
Merlin nodded and shook Arthur’s hand. She couldn’t help but notice his somewhat wary expression as he glanced between the two. He moved to take Gwen’s hand and resume dancing, but Arthur beat him to it. Before Gwen could protest, Arthur had his hands firmly around her waist and had turned toward Merlin.
“Mind if I cut in? Thanks.” Without waiting for Merlin to respond, he led them to a different part of the dance floor and gently started swaying to the music. Gwen looked around somewhat nervously, but he flashed an oh-so-charming grin, and her nervousness dissipated. She gingerly placed her hands on his shoulders and they continued to sway.
“So, Guinevere,” Arthur began. She could tell by the playful smile around the corners of his mouth that he enjoyed saying her full name; and for some reason, she took pleasure in hearing it.
“So,” he continued cautiously, “do you have a last name?”
“Why, do you plan on Googling me?” she teased.
Arthur threw his head back and laughed. “Well, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
Gwen shook her head slightly. “In that case, no deal. Who knows what you’d find.”
“Hm. So you plan on remaining a mystery?”
“That’s right,” she replied with a mischievous grin.
“One thing I know for sure is that I’ve never met you before. There’s no way I could ever forget meeting you.” He gave her a kind smile and she could feel her cheeks flame up, and an ever so slight weakening of the knees.
Who does he think he is, Prince Charming?
The music quickly changed pace and they dropped their arms from each other. “Would you like to get a drink?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Arthur placed his hand lightly on the small of her back and led her off the dance floor and towards the bar. She couldn’t help but feel shivers crawling up her spine.
“Anything you want, on me.”
“Um, can I just have some water please?”
“Water?” He looked at her in surprise.
Somewhat embarrassed, Gwen replied, “I have to work in the morning.”
“Ah, I see. Well, two waters then.” He handed her a bottle, and she smiled her thanks.
“That Merlin guy, is he your boyfriend?”
Gwen had just started drinking and started to choke. “Merlin?” she squeaked. Then she started laughing hysterically. When she opened her eyes and saw his questioning look, she settled down. She couldn’t help scrutinizing his facial features. She was trying to get a read on him, but it was rather difficult when he was still so close to her.
“You’re rather forward aren’t you?”
Arthur gave a little shrug and replied with a smirk, “What can I say?”
“To answer your question, no. He’s my best friend, like my brother.” She looked at him suspiciously as she saw his shoulders relax.
“Good,” he let out in a sigh.
She looked at him innocently, “Why is that good?”
His eyes immediately shifted to her lips, and he started leaning in. She instinctively licked her own lips and tilted her head back.
They barely knew each other, but neither could deny it, they had a connection.
They were just close enough to feel each other’s breath when-
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP
Gwen immediately stood up straight, and felt like she was pulled out of a trance.
Arthur let out a frustrated sigh and straightened up to glare at his watch. “Sorry about that,” he gave her an apologetic smile.
“It’s okay,” Gwen replied. She couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or grateful for the interruption. Trying to prevent things from feeling more awkward she asked, “What time is it?”
“Um,” he glanced back at his watch, “just past midnight.”
Gwen’s eyes widened in horror. “I-I have to go.”
She avoided his gaze and started to push her way through the crowd, trying to find Merlin.
Where the heck is he?!
She finally spotted him chatting with some people she guessed were guests. “Merlin!” she said in a low, tight voice as she reached his side. He excused himself and she pulled him away with desperation. “It’s midnight!”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “No, it can’t b-Crap!” Sure enough, he hadn’t heard his alarm go off.
Merlin bid the guests good night and took Gwen’s hand as they made their way through the crowd. They had just made it to the top of the stairs when she heard his voice.
“Guinevere, wait! Where are you going?” He grabbed her hand and she looked up at him. He clearly looked hurt and confused. But she really couldn’t explain.
“I’m sorry Arthur. I have to go.” With that she turned and quickly sped down the hallway with Merlin, trying not to trip over her dress.
Arthur stood watching them leave. After watching them disappear, he regretfully turned to return to the party. But he stopped short when he saw something purple out of the corner of his eye on the ground.
A single stalk of lavender.