Over The Years | Merlin

ii |Valiant

Even though Elara had teased Merlin about all the martial duties he would now have to perform as Arthur's servant, she did in fact feel bad for him when he staggered through the door into Gaius' chambers at the end of their first working day.

He looked utterly dishevelled as his shield and helmet fell to the floor, his head hung low in defeat. He was dressed in training gear; a full-length coffee-coloured gambeson and chainmail gloves, his metal breastplate hung half off his body.

A hearty chuckle escaped Gaius' lips as he and Elara looked Merlin up and down, "so, how was your first day as Arthur's servant?"

Lifting his right arm up, Merlin banged it against his head a few times, his face still contorted in confusion, "do you hear clanging?"

"Oh Merlin, how you get yourself in these situations never ceases to amaze me," Elara chuckled, as Merlin disappeared into their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.

When he returned no more than ten minutes later, he slowly made his way over to their dining table, where Gaius began to massage his shoulders and upper back.

"It was horrible," Merlin described, he now wore his blue overshirt, "and I've still got to learn all about tournament etiquette by the morning."

"Ugh," Elara groaned, taking a seat on the opposite end of the table, "I couldn't think of anything worse."

"I take it your day wasn't as bad as mine?" Merlin inquired, looking at Elara as Gaius twisted his arm to relieve any built up tension.

"No actually, it wasn't too bad at all," she answered, a cheeky grin formed on her face as Merlin rolled his eyes and scoffed, "other than bringing Morgana breakfast and helping her pick out a few dresses, I wasn't really needed."

"So you're telling me that all you did today was deliver a few meals and help Morgana with her clothing choices?" Merlin's eyes were wide in bewilderment.

"Yep!" Elara responded with a grin, popping the 'p' as she did so.

"You have to remember Merlin that both Elara and Gwen serve Morgana, so the work gets divided between the two of them," Gaius informed him.

Merlin rolled his eyes playfully and chuckled, "perfect, so that means that you have plenty of extra time to help me with my duties."

"I am at your service whenever you require my assistance, My Lord," Elara jokingly curtseyed, a hearty laugh escaped Merlin's lips.

As his eyes flashed gold, the book in front of Merlin travelled across the table and stopped in front of him, flying open to the page on military gear.

"Oi!" Gaius scolded, smacking him across the head, "What have I told you about using magic like this?"

"If I could actually feel my arms, I'd pick up the book myself," Merlin defended.

"Never mind your arms, what do we do if you get caught?"

"What would you do?" Merlin turned his head to look between Gaius and Elara, his voice low in genuine curiosity.

"Hmm," Elara pretended to ponder the question, "well, I would get my own room," she joked, throwing an apple at him, which he only just managed to catch.

"You just make sure it doesn't happen... for all of our sakes," Gaius instructed. Elara could tell from the lowness of his voice that there was a level of genuine concern in that statement.

Her and Merlin had only been living with Gaius for a week but the three of them had already begun to form a unique family-like bond.

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