(disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters. BBC does)
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The bells sounded throughout the kingdom. It was peaceful. The citizens of Camelot had begun working, doing their thing to survive and live a good life. It pleased Arthur to see. This was one of the things he enjoyed most of all - looking out the window, seeing his people happy. Ever since he became king, he had worked hard to make sure his people were happy and satisfied and made sure no harm came to them. With that being out of the way, his regular morning routine could not be completed without the disturbance of Merlin running around and talking nonsense as usual.
Arthur let out a sigh and found himself wanting to go back to sleep. It was too early for his liking. And yet, here he was, making ready for one of the most boring chores he had as a king: the council meeting. Sure, there was a lot of important information to go over. But what could go wrong on a day like this? The king found it hard to believe that anything bad could come out of a meeting.
"you know, the downside of being king is all of these responsibilities," Arthur took a few steps towards his servant, and soon found himself wearing his cloak with the Camelot sigil sewed onto it. "yea? what about the king's servant? Maybe you should have thought of this before you decided to be born a royal" Merlin responded with a slight smile, fiddling with Arthurs collar, adjusting it to look better.
"Merlin... I didn't choose how I was born" Arthur frowned at his servant's choice of words but was not surprised. Merlin always said things like these whenever he tried to hide the fact that he was unsatisfied with something. And yet he never shared his thoughts. He was a riddle, Arthur thought.
"Hm. Right. will you be needing me to attend the council meeting with you, sire?" Merlin asked. Clearly, he was changing the topic, but then again, Arthur was not surprised. If anything, he would be surprised if his servant did not say a word. It had happened a few other times, and nothing good ever came out of it. Arthur didn't like to admit it – thinking about it, he never had – but his toad of a servant was often right, and Arthur couldn't help but consider his choice of words wisdom. To a certain extent, of course.
"uh, no. I think I can handle that myself, Merlin. Although that gives you some time to make up for your lack of knowledge, by cleaning my chambers" Arthur smiled jokingly, and gave his servant a friendly pat on the shoulder, before leaving. Or, trying to leave, "um, I'm afraid I don't have time for that, sire" Merlin stood awkwardly and awaited an answer, knowing Arthur would not be happy with whatever his 'excuse' was.
He often avoided doing his job – not really on purpose, but because of the... Well, the reason he showed up in Camelot at all, all those years ago. There were too many dangers lurking in the shadows, which often caused Merlin to not return for days. Arthur, of course, found it very annoying, and often just assumed Merlin was extremely lazy. What he didn't know, was that Merlin basically was the reason Arthur was able to shout at him in the first place. Arthur didn't know about Merlin's magic. And hopefully, he never would. It pained Merlin more than anything, because, underneath all the shouting and teasing, Arthur was his friend and the other way around too. That's what kept him going. But if Arthur ever found out who he really was, Merlin wouldn't know what to do with himself. He would either be banished, spend the rest of his days in the stocks, or Arthur might even have him executed. Obviously overthinking, Merlin thought. But he didn't want to put Arthur in a position where he had to decide between those possibilities.
So, he kept his little secret to himself.
"and why is that?" Arthur asked. He almost sounded offended.
"I have uh, some errands to run for Gaius, it involves herbs, you know, he's run out of mugwort and saffron" Merlin's fast way of speaking came to life once again, which only made his excuse harder to believe. Sometimes Arthur really didn't know what Merlin was doing, even though he said he was going to gather herbs.
"surely that can wait?" Arthur asked, and made sure Merlin knew just how bewildered he was.
"sure. Yea, sure," Merlin nodded to himself, "I mean, then you can just go find some saffron if, I don't know, someone was to fall ill, let's say, Gwen?" Merlin said. Arthur was sure Merlin had been on the cider, there was no other explanation for his sudden speech about herbs.
"That was very specific, why would she fall ill?-" Arthur frowned at Merlin's words, but had no chance to finish his sentence properly, before Merlin once again opened his mouth, "see, you should let me find those herbs!" Merlin was eager to leave, it seemed. Why? Arthur had no idea. The king was starting to get impatient, "Merlin, is there somewhere you have to be?" he asked, his voice firmer by every word. Merlin recognized his tone and knew he had to calm down. Not that there was a specific reason not to be calm, Merlin knew he was one of the only people in Camelot able to stand up to the king, both as a servant and as a friend. Merlin's words were gold to Arthur, and it had been that way for years, "yes! The woods!" he answered, and Arthur rolled his eyes.
"you seem a bit too eager to search for plants, Merlin" Arthur responded in his typical 'Merlin-is-up-to-something' tone and hesitated before looking back at his manservant. Merlin didn't seem like he wanted to be asked a million questions, so that was exactly what Arthur was intending to do if he had the chance.
Merlin clicked his tongue, and continued, "sorry. I just rarely get time off, that's all" he said, turned his back to Arthur, and began collecting the leftovers of the king's breakfast, to return to the palace kitchens. Arthur hesitated for a while. He took a deep breath before letting out a sigh, "if this is you complaining," he started but was trailed off almost immediately. He knew Merlin by now, knew of all the somehow convincing excuses he had in mind, knew how he honestly deserved a day off but was also very familiar with the fact that his pride wouldn't allow it.
"I'm not! I'm just saying a walk in the woods would do me wonders" Merlin's almost humming voice sounded in a response, and Arthur once again shook his head to himself, wondering what kinds of new useless information he would gather, to tell Arthur all about once he returned.
Even with that fact in consideration, Arthur wanted to give him some time off anyway. It was a while ago he had let Merlin off easy. After a subtle sigh or two, he finally answered, and to Merlin's surprise, it was rather pleasing, "make it quick then. You better be back at noon," Arthur didn't want to look him in the eyes after that. Merlin had basically won – defeated Arthur in the battle of Merlin's freedom, that was merely a normal conversation between them.
As the king turned to leave, he spoke the last few words that his sentence held, "sometimes I doubt you're even gathering herbs" Arthur added, not meant for Merlin to pay much attention to.
A little smile formed in the corner of Merlin's mouth as he whispered to himself, "well you'd be surprised".
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"have you got all you need?" Gaius handed Merlin the basket he was supposed to put the herbs in and awaited an answer. He looked at the boy with father-like eyes, and Merlin responded with a smile, "yes I think so"
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The sunbeams danced on the branches, the calm summer wind playing with Merlin's dark raven hair. It was nice. Merlin had a hard time believing Arthur gave him this amount of time off. Noon was hours away, and for the first time in a while, Merlin felt he had all the time in the world.
He hummed to himself, admired the purple flower that stood tall and proud at the bottom of his feet. He squatted down, and carefully ran his fingers over its soft petals before gently picking it up and putting it to sleep in his basket. There. Only many more saffron flowers to pick. Sometimes, when he was out gathering herbs, he looked at the plants and felt at home. It was due to nature, he assumed. His magic boiled in his body, he noticed every leaf, every insect, and every little sound they made, made him feel at ease. Every drop of water hanging from the leaves showed a clear reflection of himself, not to mention the mild summer breeze caressing his skin. He loved it.
The wind in the trees sounded, and Merlin stood up slowly. This was the feeling he was so familiar with. This was the feeling he wanted to share with those he loved, this was the feeling no one else felt. This was the feeling that confirmed his loneliness. He sighed and continued searching for the small purple flowers that supposedly grew in this area.
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An hour or so had passed. Merlin had probably gathered enough saffron for Gaius' liking. No more purple flowers were to be taken away from their homes, and the search for Mugwort now begun.
Mugwort was not a herb that was used a lot, due to its abilities. Sure, it could treat a woman's ailments, but it sure had its fair share of colorful dreams. It was used back in Ealdor, the village Merlin grew up in. He had only been taken on a few short trips to search for this type of plant since the women in his village often fell ill, but it was a long time ago. Way before his time in Camelot, although he still managed to remember their location.
He needed to go south.
They grew near the border of the forest of Ascetir, and the forest of Brechfa which was miles away from Ealdor. Ealdor was in located Lot's kingdom, Ascetir, formerly ruled but Cenred.
Merlin wanted to visit Ealdor from time to time, but never found the time to do so. With that in mind, he began moving.
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The knights were still discussing villages, food supplies, and whatnot, which bored Arthur more than it should, but he managed to hide it well. Nothing exciting happened, but it was not to be expected. At least not until the wide doors at the end of the throne room opened, and a guard stepped in. Leon walked towards him with a semi-worried look on his face and was shortly after given a letter. He read it carefully.
His eyes widened, "sire" he spoke in a firm tone, and not only Arthur, but all the knights turned their heads in confusion.
"Leon. What news do you bring?" Arthur asked. The knight stepped closer, handed Arthur the letter, but was impatient enough to spoil the content in which the letters formed, "the outlying villages have been attacked, even villages located in Ascetir are begging for Camelot's help. It seems the Saxons has invaded most of the south"
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Greetings, traveler! :) This is the Author speaking.. Now, mfirst of all , I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. There's a lot of things that I can do better, so please let me know what you liked and disliked! It will be much appreciated :)
Second of all: here's a map of Camelot. Now, you're able to follow Merlin around on his search for Mugwort ;)