***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.
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