Boy From The Woods

Moon

Arthur sighed. "How about you come with me. You can wait in my chambers."

Merlin's face lit up. "Really?!"

Arthur nodded. The patrol would have to wait.

*****

Arthur pushed open the door to his chambers and lit the few torches needed to illuminate the room. Merlin grinned at the large space.

"You have so many windows!" He said with excitement.

"I mean... I suppose."

The boy ran up and pressed his face against the glass. "You can see everything!"

Arthur couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "That's nothing compared to the citadel's north tower. I can take you up there another time if you'd like. It's a great deal higher."

Merlin nodded. "I'd like that very much."

"You know," Arthur began as he walked over to his wardrobe. "You're very strange, Merlin."

"Am I?"

"Yes. You seem to be excited by the little things."

"Little things like what?"

"Like the windows for instance."

"Well, I only ever had one window and it was too high for me to see out of."

"And the moon?"

"I'd never seen such a thing before."

"You've never seen the moon before?"

Merlin shook his head. "Never."

"How could that possibly be?"

Merlin looked away. "I don't know..."

"I think you do."

"You never told me what you were doing down there in the first place."

"Oh... I was..." Arthur paused as he considered lying. However, he decided there was no point in not being truthful. "I was trying to follow the patrol that left earlier in the night. I wanted to go with them, to help save those knights Cenred has prisoner."

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I feel it's my fault. I led them to you."

"It's useless to think like that. You couldn't have known. Besides... It's not your fault Sir Leon's group got captured."

"Uhhh... right."

As they spoke, Arthur noticed the dusty cat slinking around Merlin's ankles.

"So... what's with that cat?"

Merlin looked at his feet. "Oh that's just Cat."

"You call it Cat?"

"Well... yeah," he said confused. "She's a cat."

"Obviously it's a cat. Usually cats have names."

"Oh okay. I'll call her Arthur."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because that's my name."

"Yes. She's remind me of you and you're nice. So that's good."

"You can't call it Arthur."

"Then she's Morgana."

"No."