The Dragon's Debt

     The light from the torch cast eerie shadows on the walls of the tunnel as the young woman
made her way to the cavern beyond. Her long red hair glistened like liquid fire as she steadfastly
placed one foot in front of the other.How Morgan wished someone else could have performed
the troublesome task. She knew her duty to her grandfather and the truth was that this task fell
to her. She would and could do this for her grandfather. He lay dying and all hope for him to
live rested on her shoulders. Morgan would do this or die trying.

     Her blue eyes filled up with tears as she clutched the dragon's scale in her hand. The scale
represented the debt that the dragon living in the cave owed her grandfather.When he was
scarcely older than she was now, he had helped this dragon. The dragon gave one of her scales
to him as a token and told him to send for her if ever he had need. Her grandfather had
cherished the scale and kept it in a pouch he wore around his neck.Now he lay dying and
his grandfather carried his greatest possession to call in a dragon's debt.

     She hesitated at the mouth of the cavern. This was a dragon she was going to ask a favor
of. Suppose the dragon refused? She was no dragon slayer.The dragon could laugh at her.
the dragon could eat her. No she wouldn't eat her. The dragon had never eaten anyone. No,
that wasn't true. She had eaten a few people but they were horrible and cruel people that had
terrorized her village. So the dragon only ate people that should be eaten. The dragon was
peaceful and only wanted to live here in this cavern. She protected the land when it was in
danger and only asked to be allowed to hunt in peace. What were a few head of livestock
in exchange for a dragon's protection? The village didn't know of the dragon eating innocent
people, but who knew what she did in the privacy of her own lair? Maybe she lured people
there and then ate them. the thought made her stomach twist in fear. But her grandfather
knew the dragon and had only told Morgan nice things about her. The dragon couldn't have
fooled her grandfather. He was too wise and would have known if the dragon tried to mislead
him in any way.

     Still, Morgan hesitated. The dragon did not like people coming to her secluded home
unannounced. She left the people alone and expected to be left alone in return. The young
woman slowly walked into the cavern and gazed around in amazement. Instead of the gold
and jewels most dragons prized, the cavern was filled with books. And in the middle of the
cavern, a blue dragon lay on the biggest pillow she had ever seen. On a pedestal before the
dragon was a book and a fairy was turning the pages. The dragon turned her head toward
Morgan and gazed at her with large golden eyes. Curiosity was in those warm golden eyes
and Morgan approached the dragon with the scale in her upturned palm. She knew she had
nothing to fear from this wonderful creature.

     Suddenly, she couldn't go any further. It felt as if a wall of air was blocking her way.She
tried to press on but she could not. The dragon shook her head as if remembering something
and waved her claw in the air. Morgan almost fell flat on her face as the air she had been
pushing on vanished. She managed to catch herself and made her way to the dragon. Morgan
stood before her, holding the precious scale in her hands. Her knees trembled as the dragon's
warm eyes swept over her. Morgan felt herself weighed and measured in that penetrating
gaze. She bowed her head, humbled by the knowledge and wisdom radiating from the dragon.

     "So, Anthony has finally called in his favor," the dragon said in a soothing voice. "But why
would he send a wet-behind-the-ears child to do so? Is my friend in trouble or harmed? He
knows I would never refuse a request from him. I do so love his visits and he has not come
in a very long time. Tell me child, who are you and why should I not eat you for invading
my home?"

     "I am not a child and my name is Morgan," Morgan answered in a firm voice. "If you are
such a good friend of my grandfather, you would know who I am. He lies in a deep sleep,
placed there by an evil sorceress named Selene. His only hope is a potion made from one
of your teeth. Please help him, you are the only one that can save him. Once he is well, I
shall go after Selene and make her pay for what she has done to him."

     "I see you have your grandfather's spirit," the dragon laughed. "Of course I know who
you are. The last two decades, your grandfather has spoken of you often. He is very proud
of you. But you don't have to worry about Selene. I have already killed her. I owed her a
blood debt and when i heard about your grandfather, I knew the time had come for her to die.

     "How can a dragon owe a blood debt? That is the silliest thing I have ever heard," Morgan
Morgan exclaimed. "Dragons are immortal and very hard to kill. A person would have to be a
fool to try to tangle with one of you. I don't see how you can be killed, but to owe a blood debt
to Selene, she had to kill someone very close to your heart."

     "Your grandfather has never told you how we met," the dragon said softly. Morgan shook
her head. "Sit down on those pillows and I will tell you the story. It is a hard tale to tell but you
must know before we continue."

     Morgan sat on an overstuffed deep purple pillow and made herself comfortable. She leaned
forward, eager to hear the dragon's tale. Her grandfather rarely spoke of the time when he had
found the dragon. All he had ever told her was that he had saved the dragon from a fate worse
than death. She often wondered what that could be, but she did not press him for answers.

     "Many years ago, when your grandfather was just twenty, he came across a sight few
people ever see. A dragon was taking her young daughter on her first hunting trip. My mother
was a purple dragon. All the shades of purple were in her scales. I thought she was the most
beautiful dragon I had ever seen. My father was a red dragon and he seemed to glow when
the light hit his scales in a certain way. My mother was different. Peace rolled off of her in
waves. All of my fears were calmed with one look in her deep blue eyes. I was just a few
years old, old enough for my first hunting trip but my mother couldn't bring herself to teach
me to kill. Finally, my father demanded she teach me or he would. So she took me from the
safety of our cave and led me to a wide meadow where many deer were foraging. She told
me to never pick a mother or a young deer. They still had a lot of living to do. I choose a big
male that looked as if he had seen many years. As i swooped down on him as my mother had
taught me, I heard her scream."

     A tear rolled down the dragon's face. Morgan's heart went out to her. She had also lost her
mother at an early age and the pain was still in her heart. It had lessened over the years but it
still caught her unawares at odd moments. Her father had given her to her grandfather to care
for. Her grandfather had wrapped her in love and guided her as she grew into adulthood with
understanding and patience that her father did not have.

     "I still her scream in my dreams sometimes,: the dragon whispered. "It was a scream of
unimaginable pain and terror. I whirled around to help her and saw a woman with long black
hair standing before my mother. Her arms were raised over her head and she was chanting
strange things. Lightning ran down her arms as she extended them toward my mother. It
surrounded her and she screamed as it ran through her body. She writhed on the ground as
the woman laughed and pulled a huge sword out of a scabbard at her side. She raised it high
and plunged it into my mother's heart. My mother screamed one last time and then her body
lay still on the ground. I was frozen in mid-air, grief and terror warring in my heart. Slowly, I
flew down behind some trees and waited for the woman to do the same to me. Life didn't
matter to me anymore. A part of me had died with my mother.I didn't want to live without
her and didn't know if I could."

     "A hand appeared out of nowhere and rested on my face. I stared into eyes just as blue
as my mother's. But those were in a human face. I gathered myself to run but his eyes stopped
me. I didn't sense any evil from him, whereas the woman had radiated evil. He beckoned me
to follow him and I did. Somehow, I knew he was a good man that meant me no harm. He led
me to another cave high in the mountains. Your grandfather read everything he could find on
dragons to help me, but I think he learned most of it by trial and error. He taught me to hunt,
read, talk and looked after me until I could live on my own. For the first few years, he seldom
left my side. He taught me that all humans are not alike. There are good humans and bad
humans, just like with dragons. When I could live on my own, he brought me to this cave. I
help to protect your village and the villagers leave me alone. There are times I go away to
find others of my kind and new books, but I always come back. This is my home."

      "But how did you learn who Selene was?" Morgan asked. "And why did she kill your
mother? What purpose did that serve?"

     "Dragons are not immortal, but we do live a very long time," the dragon replied. "Your
grandfather had run into Selene once before, when she was killing a red dragon. He did not
know it at the time, but that dragon was my father. He followed her to try and see what she
was doing. He knew he could not stop her but hoped one day he could. When she attacked
my mother,he saw me on the other side of the meadow and thought he could save me while
she was distracted. He made his way across the meadow and led me to safety. In books he
read, he learned that wizards once drew power by killing other wizards and dragons. Selene
wanted to live forever and also have great power, so she learned the places where a dragon's
scales could be pierced and proceeded to kill as many as she could. Your grandfather studied
and became a powerful wizard so one day he could stop her. Selene snuck up on him and
placed a powerful spell on him that can only be broken by a potion made from the tooth of
a dragon. She thought the only way to get  a dragon's tooth is to kill a dragon. But if the
tooth is freely given, the potion works better. She didn't know that he had once saved a
dragon that would give up a tooth gratefully. When I heard what had happened, I went
hunting. I snuck up on her just as she did to my mother and ate her. Then, I hurried back
to wait for you. I couldn't go into the village without raising a panic and maybe getting
killed, so I waited for you to come to me. I am glad you finally made it. Now take this
piece of tooth and go save your grandfather. Tell him he owes me a visit when he recovers
and take my scale back to him. Come with him the next time he visits and I will tell you
some good tales about him when he was your age."

     The dragon handed Morgan a piece of one of her teeth wrapped in cloth and gave her
a gentle push toward the cave entrance. Morgan turned back and waved to the dragon.
Then she hurried on her way back to the village. She had asked a favor of a dragon and
lived to tell the tale. Her feet carried her home to brew the potion for her grandfather.
Then, when he was well, they owed the dragon a visit.

Mother's Day

I have two mothers. Or I should say I have a mother and a mom. My mother is the woman
that gave birth to me and then chose a man over me and my brother. My mom is my
grandmother who took me in and raised me from the time I was four. They are both lost
to me. My mother because it was her choice and my mom because dementia has taken
her from me. I feel the loss the most on this day that celebrates mothers.

My mom is a wonderful person but I so seldom see the woman I have known in the
woman she now is. So strong, so fierce, now fragile and weak. Her iron will has left
her, leaving a shell of the person she was. Her speech was stolen by her stroke, leaving
her to babble nonsense words. We can make out maybe one in five. I miss the strangest
things. I miss the love she had for her roses that lined our split rail fence in the front yard.
I was the one that mowed the yard. I used to hate having to make sure they were all
fixed so I didn't accidentally mow over a branch. Those flowers were her pride and joy.
Heaven help you if anything happened to them. But I would love to hear her yelling at
me about them now. Or to see her face as she tended to them. I miss her fried chicken
and banana pudding. I even miss her going into a huge craft store and staying for hours.
I miss her laugh, her talking endlessly on the phone, sharing a bed with her and falling
asleep to the TV. So many little things and they are mostly gone now. But I still have
her here where I can go and see her. I can still put my arms around her and tell her that
I love her so very much. I give her my smiles and love, never showing her the tears or
pain. Just as she has always done for me.

My mother.What to say about her? She is a vague memory of a scared and trapped
woman. A woman so sure she could never find another person to love her that she
stayed with my stepfather. He beat her and broke her spirit, binding her to him with
violence and lies. I have forgiven them both but I can never fully understand. I do
understand her somewhat because he branded my soul with the same lies and
pain he showed her. When you are told you are nothing, worthless, useless and a
mistake enough times, you start to believe it. It worms its way into your heart and soul.
Years later, I still wake up sometimes with his voice in my mind. You can never fully
fix pain like that. It is written on your heart and woven through your soul. She still
deals with that every day. Knowing the effect it had on me, I can't hate her. I pity her.
And knowing that she does not have her children to turn to, I weep for her. She is
bound in unbreakable chains that she sent me and my brother far away from. In my
heart, I hope she sent us away to save us. But I don't know where she is now to try to
save her. I doubt she would go if I tried. But I would like to see her face again but there
are things that cannot be. She wishes to be lost to me and I shall honor that wish.

By now, I thought I would be a mother. When I was younger I could see my children
so clearly. Three of them, two boys and a girl. Twins run in the family but skipped
my mother's generation so I just knew I would be the one to have twins. The oldest
twin a little boy with brown hair like me. The younger twin a little girl with the red hair
I had always wanted.And the youngest a little boy with golden blond hair. But now
that dream is fading. At 37, my chance at having children is quickly vanishing. I look
at my cousin's three beautiful and wonderful children and I wish I could be her. Her
oldest son just turned 16.  Seems like it was just yesterday that he was born. With
each year I feel I will never getting to hold my own children in my arms. I will never
look into their trusting eyes and know I am the center of their world. Never hear
their first words, watch their first steps, send them off to school, watch them leave
me behind. I will also never change dirty diapers, lose days of sleep, worry constantly
about them, hear them tell me no or have them break my heart in any of a hundred
different ways. I guess it just isn't meant to be for me and this is the day I feel it
the most. Any other time, I can deal with it. But not today. Today is the day I want
to take my children to see their grandma. And to be able to see the mom I have always
known smile at me. But that is not to be. So please forgive me if I cry today. I'll be
fine tomorrow.

So be good to your moms and mothers today. Show them how much you love them.
And enjoy this day all you moms. You don't get enough credit for all you do.

If and Should Have Beens- Chapter 13

***Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the Merlin characters. I am just borrowing
      them for this story. This story is not for profit. It is for entertainment purposes only***


     The door to Arthur's chambers flew open and Merlin backpedaled into the room,
followed closely by Arthur. Arthur's face was flushed and his blue eyes flashed with anger.
Keeping his eyes on Arthur, Merlin didn't see the chair behind and went sprawling on the
floor. Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin scrambled to his feet. His eyes never left Arthur.

      "Do you mind telling me what all that in the dinning hall was?" Arthur asked, trying to
keep his anger under control. "You were supposed to be keeping Sir Samuel company
but it looked to me as if you spent most of your time chatting with Grace. Meanwhile,
Leon spent the whole banquet talking to Prince William. I thought he was interested in
Charlotte but she was across the table with Percival. They seemed to be getting along
just fine. But Leon should have been paying attention to Grace, not you. Care to explain
all of this to me, Merlin?"

     "Um, Leon and Grace don't have that much in common?" Merlin answered. "He
was talking to Prince William about training methods and Grace grew bored. So she
started talking to me and her grandfather. I couldn't be rude to her."

     "Why not?" Arthur shouted. "Leon certainly was. A Knight should never ignore a
lady like he did. He should have tried harder. Talked about the weather or something
like that. I will deal with him in the morning. And as for you, a servant has no place
chatting with a lady like that. She seemed to laugh a lot. Did you cast a spell on her?"

     "What are you talking about?" Merlin replied. "How could I cast a spell on Grace?
I don't have magic. You would have known if I did."

     "Does all of Camelot think I'm a stupid and blind prat or is it just you and my Knights?"
Arthur questioned, his eyes narrowing. "I've known you have magic for years. Almost
from the time we met. I'd have to be a clotpole not to. All the things that just happen to
fall and knock out our enemies. All the fires and other stuff that allow us to escape. I
know your little secret, Merlin. Just admit you cast a spell on Grace."

     "Fine!" Merlin shouted. "I have magic. Happy? But I did not cast a spell on Grace.
Is it so hard to believe she might actually like me? A poor servant? We like each other
very much. I think I may even love her and I hope she feels the same way. But I guess
you wouldn't understand that, would you, King Arthur? You can fall in love with a maid
but I couldn't ever get a princess to fall in love with me. Because there are special rules
for you and the rest of us can just live with it or else!"

     "Careful, now, Merlin" Arthur replied in a cold voice. "You are about to say things
you really should not say. Maybe you should think about what you are doing."

     "No!" Merlin yelled. "I'm sick of playing nice and you always getting your way.
I do everything for you. I clean your room, polish your armour, clean your stables
and for what? Just to have you deny me the one person I could be happy with? No,
Arthur. Not this time. You are going to listen to me for a change."

     Merlin eyes flashed golden and the chair he had tripped over flew across the room.
It hit the back of Arthur's legs, forcing him to sit in it. He tried to rise and could not. He
opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Arthur glared at Merlin.

     "Calm down, Arthur," Merlin said calmly as he stood in front of Arthur. "I am going
to explain everything to you. Then I will set you free. I just need you to be quiet while I
do so. Since you know I have magic. This is the easiest way. Nod if you understand."

      Arthur nodded, anger radiating from his body. He shot Merlin a look that could kill.
Merlin smiled grimly, knowing Arthur just might kill him when he set him free.

     "Now then, to begin with, Aurora and Gwaine love each other. Leon loves Beth the
barmaid back home. Percival and Charlotte are smitten with each other. I love Grace
and I think she loves me. Grace and Sir Samuel have magic. King Thomas just wants his
daughters to be happy. He married below his station so Aurora and I both think that he
won't care I am your servant. If Grace and I marry, we shall return with you to Camelot,
if you let us. Aurora and Gwaine will also. I'm not sure about Percival and Charlotte, but
I think they will also. You won't lose your Knights or your lowly servant. All will continue
as before, except we will all be happily married and you will have made your ties to King
Thomas stronger by three marriages. I think that sums it up."

      Stepping back Merlin released Arthur from his spell. They stared at each other for
several minutes. Arthur shook his head and sighed. Then he began to laugh. Merlin looked
at him in shock. Had his spell somehow damaged Arthur's brain? He should be yelling at
him, not laughing. Merlin didn't know if he should be relieved or worried.

     "Nicely done, Merlin," Arthur laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes. "I wondered
how far I could push you before you finally had enough. I have been trying for years to
get you to do something like that. You just took everything I dished out. I think you
summed everything up nicely. I know about Beth and I was pretty sure Charlotte and
Percival would make a good match. I could see as soon as we arrived here that Gwaine
had lost his heart to Aurora. I just never thought you and Grace would hit it off. Nice
match there if you are sure King Thomas will approve. I could use another magic user
at Camelot. Well say something, Merlin. Don't just stand there with your mouth open."

     "You knew all of this and didn't say anything?" Merlin asked. "You knew I had magic
and never said anything. I've spent these last few years trying to hide who I am from you
and you knew all along? Why didn't you say anything?"

     "Well at the start, my father would have had you put to death," Arthur replied. "And
you are the one that chose not to tell me. I keep waiting for you to say something but you
never did. You just keep saving my life and protecting me. You never took any credit
and never once told me you had magic. Each time you used magic to save me, I thought
that would be the time you would say something. But nothing, not one word. I can
understand why you didn't tell me at first. I was a huge prat and you thought I would tell
my father.  Fear of death has a way of making people keep secrets. But after all we have
been through together and you still couldn't tell me? To be honest, that hurts, Merlin. I
felt we had built up some trust between us. I've told you things I have never told anyone
before. I thought we had become friends. Guess I was wrong."

     "I don't know what to say," Merlin answered, still in shock. "I should have told you
but it never seemed like the right time. I thought you still hated magic and will banish me
or have me burnt at the stake. Every time you attitude toward magic changed for the better,
something would happen to change it back. Morgana didn't help. I know she hurt you a lot.
Your father's death, the thing between Lance and Gwen, Morgana trying to take over the
throne again. Always something happening. Never the right time to tell you. And I thought
you mostly saw me as a servant, not a friend. I hoped we were growing closer but I figured
you just told me all that stuff because you had to tell someone. And you knew I wouldn't
tell anyone. So, where do we go from here? Am I banished from Camelot?"

     "Of course not, Merlin," Arthur said with a laugh. "If I wanted to banish you I could
have a long time ago. When we go back to Camelot, I will lift the ban on magic. Well, good
magic at least. The harmful, dark kind like Morgana practices will still not be tolerated.
But you and Gaius have shown me that all magic is not evil. It is about time we start to right
the wrongs my father has done. I will need some people to help guide me on the subject of
magic and its uses. I was hoping you and Gaius could do that. How about it, Merlin? Will
you be my magic advisor? I could use a good friend by my side. And you wouldn't have
to clean my room any more."

     "Your advisor on magic?" Merlin questioned. "Are you sure I would be a good advisor?
You call me idiot all the time. I don't think you want an idiot as your advisor. Gaius can do
it. I'll just mess it up. Better if I just stay your servant."

     "Merlin, you are more than just a servant," Arthur replied. "You are my friend. And
you already advise me in a hundred different ways every day. Every time I have wanted
to give up, you are there. You encourage me and never let me give up. I would not be
King Arthur if it wasn't for you. I would have slunk away and Morgana would be sitting
on the throne of Camelot. All of Camelot owes you a debt and when we get back, they
will learn how much they owe you. Now stop being such an idiot and say you'll do it."

     "I'll do it if that's what you really want," Merlin said. Arthur nodded. "And I'm glad you
think of me as your friend. I feel the same about you. And I am sorry about not telling you
about my magic sooner. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

     "Yes, you should have," Arthur replied with a grin. "Now, should we let my Knights
know I'm on to them or let them sweat it out a bit more?" Merlin grinned in reply. "Yeah.
Let's just keep this to ourselves for now. They need to learn its not nice to try to fool
their king. I do have my ways of finding out things. Like who Gwaine's parents are and
that he was already of noble blood when he first came to Camelot. A good king does his
research. I know everything I need to know about all of my Knights and everyone else
close to me. I learned my lesson with Morgana and my uncle. I'm still learning but if you
and Gwen are right, one day I will be a great king. Now, do you think you and Grace
 will be happy together? Are you sure it is love?"

     "I think so," Merlin answered. "I can see myself growing old with her. She makes me
happy. I've never felt like this before about anyone. I want to spend as much time as I can
with her. I would do anything to make her laugh. And when I'm not with her, I can't stop
thinking about her. But I've only know her for a short time. How can I be sure?"

     "Well, I am pretty sure you love her," Arthur replied. "You look like me when I talk
about Gwen. Are you sure her father won't be upset that you are not of noble blood?"

     "Aurora seems to think so," Merlin said. "But I'm not so sure, to tell the truth. She is
a princess. She could have anyone she wanted. I'm just a common servant. How could
ever hope to make her happy? Its a fool's dream."

      "Someone once told me that people should marry for love," Arthur replied. "Not for
status or political gain. I thought that was sound advice. And you're not just a common
servant anymore. You are the magic advisor to the King of Camelot. And its time for
you to start earn your keep. We have much to discuss before I meet with King Thomas
in the morning. Don't worry, Merlin. We shall win you your lady fair. But faint hearts
never win fair maidens. Tell me who loves whom and how much the Lady Aurora knows.
Somehow, I sense her hand behind all of this. If she is on your side, I think we will have
an easier time of it. She is very wise for one so young and her father puts much value on
what she thinks. He listens carefully to what she tells him. she is a good person to have
on your side. Bring that jug of wine over here. We have a long night a head of us."

      Arthur and Merlin talked long into the night. They weighed the pros and cons of each
possible match, coming up with solid proposals to set before King Thomas. They later
stumbled off to bed, each tired but filled with hope for the next day.


   

If and Should Have Beens- Chapter 12

***Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters from Merlin. I am just
      borrowing them. This story is for entertainment purposes only.***


     Merlin followed Arthur into the banquet room. He tugged on his sleeves nervously.
His stomach rolled and he tried to calm his nerves. Hopefully, the banquet would go
smoothly but he feared things were not going the way Arthur wanted them to. He
knew Arthur would have a lot to say to him afterwards. And most of it wouldn't be
good. He hoped his head would still be on his shoulders tomorrow.
     King Thomas sat at the head of a long wooden table.In the first place on his left
side sat Prince William. The first empty place on his right was clearly meant for Arthur.
Aurora sat in the spot next to the empty sit with Gwaine on her other side. Charlotte
sat beside him with Percival taking the spot next to her. On the other side of the table,
Leon sat beside Prince William. Grace sat next to him with an empty spot between her
and her grandfather. Sir Samuel motioned for Merlin to take the spot between them.
Merlin took his spot as Arthur took his place next to King Thomas. Grace gave Merlin
a small smile as he sat down. He smiled back at her and glanced at Arthur. Arthur sat
and gazed around the table before turning to talk to King Thomas. Merlin knew by the
look in his eyes that Arthur was not pleased. He shot a look across the table to Gwaine.
Gwaine smiled and gave a slight shrug. Aurora smiled at Merlin and shook her head
slightly, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
       King Thomas rose and everyone came to their feet as he raised his goblet in a toast.
"To King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table," he said pleasantly as the others
raised their own goblets. "May their time here be pleasant and the renewal of the
friendship between our two kingdoms. May you all find what you are searching for."
     "To friendship," everyone replied. Arthur raised his goblet again. "And hopefully,
here's to more than one wedding before we leave."
      The others echoed his words with less enthusiasm. Everyone glanced around the
table, eyes locking for a second before darting to look at someone else. Arthur's
smile turned into a frown. Something was going on here. None of the couples he
thought had hit it off were sitting together. Maybe King Thomas wanted to give
them a chance to talk to other people. He would keep a close eye on his knights.
At least until he could figure out what was going on.
      King Thomas kept Arthur quite busy as they ate, asking questions about Camelot,
Gaius, Gwen and a million other things. When King Thomas wasn't talking to him,
Aurora drew his attention by telling him amusing tales about her siblings and grandfather.
Arthur's head spun with all her stories and the king's questions. If he didn't know better,
he would think they were trying to keep him from noticing what was going on around
him. But he had sat through too many royal banquets to be distracted so easily. He
noted how Percival stared at Charlotte with a look of tenderness he had never seen
him wear before. He heard the soft sigh in her voice as Charlotte gazed into Percival's
eyes. Across the table, Leon smiled and chatted with Grace but spent the majority of his
time talking to Prince William. Grace meanwhile leaned towards Merlin with a look of
rapture on her face. Her lovely face glowed and her eyes danced as she laughed at yet
another of Merlin's jokes. As for Merlin, he divided his attention between King Samuel
and Grace. But Arthur thought he stared just a little too long into Grace's eyes. And that
goofy grin on Merlin's face taunted Arthur. Did Merlin think that Grace took him seriously
or found his little jokes funny? She was probably was just being polite. But that look in
her eyes told Arthur that he was wrong. He sensed trouble. Even if Grace and Merlin
were falling in love, there was no way that Arthur could allow it. Grace was a princess
and Merlin was his servant. It could never be.
     Merlin looked at Arthur and could see what his king was thinking. His heart sank.
Why couldn't he and Grace share a life together? Arthur had found love with a maid in
his castle. He had even risked war by refusing to marry a princess because he loved
Gwen. It wasn't fair. Surely Arthur could see that.
     Aurora caught the look that past between Arthur and Merlin. She drew Arthur's
attention away from Merlin with a tale of how she first learned to ride. She smiled to
herself. Little did Arthur know how much influence she now had with her father. Or
that she had been bending her father's ear about Merlin, Grace, Charlotte and
Percival. She didn't envy Merlin the tirade he was going to get from Arthur after this
meal. She could feel anger and confusion coming off of Arthur in waves. Maybe she
could get her grandfather to borrow Merlin for a few hours. Just to give Arthur time
to cool down. Aurora glanced at Arthur. Poor Merlin. He would be lucky if Arthur
managed not to drag him from the room. With a shake of her head she turned to
Gwaine. She was glad not to be in Merlin's shoes. Gwaine smiles at her and she
tried to enjoy the feast. But her heart was heavy for Merlin. If only the banquet
could go on forever. Then Merlin wouldn't have to suffer what was coming. But
life is seldom fair. She prayed Merlin would be strong enough to withstand Arthur's
rage. If not, he wasn't the man she thought he was.