Merlyn's Last Dream

Gwaine P2

Arthur had seen the blue tunic from his bedroom window as a recognisable knight trotted into the courtyard. He'd rushed down to greet the man, Merlyn not too far behind, the rider an old friend from his childhood.

"Sir Oswald!" he bellowed as he rushed down the steps. "I didn't think you'd be brave enough to show up."

He rushed over to the knight as he dismounted his horse, clasping his forearm in a firm handshake.

Sir Oswald gave him an amused grin. "And miss the chance of putting you on your backside? Never!"

"You've never managed it before." the Prince chuckled, pulling him in for a short hug.

Oswald shrugged, retaining his easy smile. "That was then. This is now."

Arthur punched him on the shoulder before turning to Sir Oswald's companion, his brown tunic bearing some ancient crest the Prince had long forgotten the meaning of. The man smiled blandly, sticking out his hand to shake.

"Sir Ethan." he said, almost crushing Arthur's hand. The Prince nearly winced, but caught himself, extracting his hand from the powerful grip and turning to Merlyn, who'd been standing unusually obediently behind him.

"This is my servant, Merlyn. She loves hard work, so anything you need, just give her a call."

Sir Oswald eyed her carefully in a way that made Arthur quite uneasy. He stepped back and closer to her, putting his hand on her shoulder in what he hoped to be an obvious gesture.

"Oh, believe me, I will." Oswald openly looked his servant up and down, clearly not getting the message. Arthur smiled tightly at him, patting Merlyn's shoulder and turning back to the castle. His servant could certainly hold her own against Oswald and his lazy footwork. He just hoped she didn't stab anyone... He didn't really need another Valiant on his hands.

~

"Merlyn!" Oswald roared obnoxiously, sitting with his feet on the dining table, smirking as the servant staggered in hauling a heavy chest through the door.

"Here it is." she wheezes, tired from carrying the trunk up roughly a million flights of stairs.

Oswald threw a grape up in the air, catching it on his tongue, beginning to chew with his mouth open. These were not the manners that usually came with visiting knights.

"What took you so long?" he asked, watching as Merlyn essentially dropped the case onto the floor.

"What? It's heavy. There's stairs..." she trailed off, sure that, by the look on Oswald's face, he couldn't care less.

Sir Ethan deemed to smile at her vaguely. "That's very kind of you."

Merlyn nodded, taking her first steps towards the door, before Oswald, the prick, spoke up.

"You can't leave it there." he stated, pointing lazily at the trunk with his sword.

Merlyn frowned. "Why not?"

"It's in the way."

The servant sighed, arching her eyebrow. "Well you're big, strong knights. I'm sure you can move it yourselves."

She could've sworn Ethan snorted, but when she looked at him, his expression was blank.

"Move it over there. By the bed." he ordered, his voice emotionless. Merlyn huffed, ignoring Oswald's narrowed eyes, and proceeded to drag the case across the floor, leaving it on the right side of the double bed. She vaguely wondered if the pair were sharing the room, and if so, the bed, seeing as there was only one, but decided not to ask. She wasn't exactly in a position to judge.