enchanted | a. pendragon [on hold]

iv | gwaine

Lia's cheeks heated up and she purposefully avoided looking at Arthur, whose expression had darkened. Of course, Merlin thought he was only making a teasing remark in front of two people who had not acknowledged their feelings to each other. He was still none the wiser to the fact that Lia and Arthur were together in secret. And bringing up the other man that they all knew Lia once loved certainly made things uncomfortable.

"Merlin," Lia said, clearing her throat. He smiled cheekily at her. "Shut up before I ask Uther to have you thrown in the stocks."

| | |

Lia's estimation had been correct as Gwaine woke early the next morning. He was leaning up in bed just as Merlin was bringing him his breakfast.

"What am I doing in this bed?" Gwaine asked, staring at Merlin with a confused expression. This wasn't exactly the first time he had woken up shirtless in a bed he did not recognize.

"You were wounded. Arthur wanted to make sure you were treated by his physicians," Merlin explained.

"Arthur?"

"Prince Arthur. You saved his life."

Gwaine rolled his eyes and groaned before sitting up fully in the bed. As he moved, he held his leg, which was in a lot of pain. "If I'd known who he was, I probably wouldn't have. He's a noble."

"Yeah, but he's a good man," Merlin defended him.

"If you say so," Gwaine said, snorting. As Merlin sat the breakfast tray down, he grabbed the goblet of water to drink.

"You're a hero. The King wants to thank you in person," he told him.

Gwaine grimaced at the thought. "Please, no. I've met a few kings. Once you've met one, you've met them all."

"He'll probably give you a reward."

"I'm not interested. Besides, I've got everything I need right here," he said, patting his bag which was hanging on the wall.

"Why did you help us?" Merlin asked, tilting his head and studying Gwaine carefully.

"Your chances looked between slim and none," he said, grinning and leaning his head against the wall. "I, uh, I guess I just kind of like the look of those odds."

Merlin smiled and shook his head. It seemed Gwaine would certainly keep things entertaining during his stay in Camelot. "There's a pain reliever that Lia fixed with your breakfast. It should help with your leg and head."

"Lia?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"Ah, one of the court physicians and my best friend," he explained. "The other is Gaius, who will check on you shortly. Lia is out buying supplies in the market, but I am sure you will meet her later."

"Looking forward to it," Gwaine said, already smirking. Any day he got to meet a woman was a good day. "And Merlin, thank you for helping me."

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After eating breakfast and being cleared by Gaius to get up and walk around, Gwaine got dressed for the day. Once done with putting on his boots, he opened the window and looked down on Camelot. Before leaving, he glanced around the room he was in, taking note of the nice-looking blue dress laying on a perfectly made bed. Based on that and the flowers on the one side of the room, he figured that the Lia that Merlin mentioned lived in the room as well.

Ignoring the slight pain in his leg, Gwaine set off to explore Camelot. He had never been to such a large city and knew he would find lots of entertainment in it. He made his way to the lower town and to the markets, taking in the sights — and the sights included Gwen. When he walked past the young maiden in a purple dress, Gwaine found himself stopping in his tracks. As a woman walked by with a basket of flowers, he snatched one and chased after Gwen to present it to her.