Happy Birthday!!! ššš Can I have a Merlin prompt? ššš
a continuation ofĀ 1Ā 2Ā 3Ā 4 5
Merlin manages to avoid the arrival of Nimueh and her kidnapped apprentice and itās not even suspicious at all because everyone is avoiding them, and Tristan, because of the huge fight they had about the actual legitimate kidnapping of an unwed, barely of age lady from a neighboring kingdom.
āDoes it count as kidnapping if they go along willingly?ā Elyan asks, standing above Merlin while he polishes his armor and being no help at all despite being the son of a blacksmith.
He shrugs. āHow would I know?ā
That gets him a snort of laughter and a slap on the back that only has him stumbling a little bit. If nothing else, his time as Arthurās servant running around doing chores, and usually running after Arthur and Elyan and their newest terrible idea, has made it so he sort of has muscles now. Access to the castleās kitchens certainly hasnāt hurt either.
He feels sort of guilty about it. Sure, heās barely earning any wages himself since itās mostly going to Ealdorās debt, but theyāre out there working hard to irrigate the land and fix up the village and heās eating well and sleeping in the nicest room he probably ever will, and sure, heās working, but he also spends a lot of time just hanging out with Arther and Elyan.
āSheās pretty alright actually, for a noble,ā he continues. He hasnāt been going to nearly the lengths Merlin has to avoid her. āEspecially for one that grew up in Camelot.ā
āYou grew up in Camelot,ā Merlin says.
For a moment Elyan looks a strange cross between forlorn and wistful. āYeah, but me and my dad and my sister are just commoners. It wasnāt so bad for us, after the queen died and the prince went missing, but the nobles got it the worst. The king had never been the most comprising of men, but he really became something else after all that. I assume thatās why the de Bois left.ā
Merlin startles. āThe de Bois are from Camelot? They said that this was their grandfatherās castle!ā
Elyan blinks at him. āWhat? Of course they are! And this was his castle, itās just that familial relations broke down,ā sometimes Elyan says things that make it so clear he spends too much time with Arthur, āand so their fatherās was in Camelot. Is in Camelot, and still abandoned because no lord is willing to take up there and risk the kingās ire.ā
āWhy would the king care if someone else lived there?ā he asks.
āWell, he took his brothers-in-law fleeing his kingdom a little personally, Merlin,ā he says, rolling his eyes.
Wait. Wait ā āTheir sister was the queen of Camelot!?ā
Elyan stares at him for a long moment then reaches out to rap his knuckles on the side of Merlinās head. āWhat kind of schooling does that village have over there? Iāll tell Arthur to add it to the list.ā
Better schooling wouldnāt be a bad thing, but, āI know her name was Ygraine! Ygraine Pendragon. No one told me her maiden name was du Bois!ā
āWell,ā Elyan says, looking uncertain, āmaybe they just didnāt want it spread around. Itās not like they left under the best of circumstances. But Iām from the city proper, and everyone knows about the queenās family there.ā
āRight,ā he says faintly.
How do things just keep getting worse?
Heās serving the king of Camelotās nephew!


















