"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Merlyn is sent to Camelot and things get a bit tricky from there.
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Merlyn despised mucking out the stables. Mucking was the one thing she would rather not do. To scoop the feces from the hay, spare portions falling onto garments, and then put it into a wagon that would transport it to a designated section. There were also the bugs, the odor, and the constant gas produced by the horses as she passed them.
This was the task that Arthur had particularly marked and underlined git. Despite Merlyn's affection for the man, he could be an irritating royal prat at times.
Merlyn's eyelids drooped as she completed the task, and she immediately dropped the shovel down to the now clean but not for long hay and rushed back to her quarters for a few, brief hours of rest before returning to the rest of the brand new list Arthur had given her.
It had taken Merlyn a week to complete the first list, and then a short respite of Merlyn merely cleaning Arthur's chambers to spend time with him. He chose to start over. This specific piece of parchment was shorter, yet it still exhausted her completely.
Merlyn had brought up two dishes to Arthur's chambers some nights so they might dine together, and Merlyn had gradually forgiven him.
Gaius stormed up the narrow stairwell to Merlyn's chambers. He hadn't seen her at supper and was relieved to see her collapsed, stretched over the small, single bed, softly snoring. She only snored when she was extremely exhausted. She appeared to have just closed her eyes where she had fallen, which she had done.
"Merlyn!" "Merlyn!" Gauis barked, striking her with the firm stick he kept on hand for such occasions. "Wake up. You need to get to work and I know you aren't finished with your duties! You also need to have breakfast, Merlyn. Working on an empty stomach will get you nowhere."
"Five more minutes, Gaius," Merlyn groaned in reply and snuggled up into her blankets.
Gaius frowned and poked her harshly. "No. Get up! Ugh. You are insufferable sometimes."
"Thank you," Merlyn murmured.
"Get up," Gauis emphasized and, using both of his hands, shoved her off the bed.
Merlyn screamed and fell on the hard surface of the floor, staring up at Gauis.
"What was that for?" Merlyn exclaimed indignantly.
"You need to get up, so I woke you," Gauis replied airily, unconcerned about the minor discomfort he had just caused Merlyn.
Merlyn's thigh might have gotten a bruise by the afternoon, she thought scathingly as she caressed the aching spot. "All you needed to do was ask politely,"
"I tried, but..." Gauis sighed. "Do we really have to do this today? This is the third time this week I've had to force you awake, and you say the exact same thing. Get to work, Merlyn, and stop wasting our time."
Merlyn pouted, but quickly pulled her hair up and stormed out of her chambers toward Arthur's. She wouldn't need food till later because the prince would start whining if he didn't get his breakfast first thing in the morning. Merlyn was also aware that his chainmail needed to be re-scrubbed, as well as his chambers.
