Chapter Text
For most people, winter is a peculiar time of year. The air is nippy and cold, the weather is harsh and unforgiving and there is hardly any work to be done as no crops could grow in the stiff, frozen soil. Yet, despite all this, the people that were walking around, both peasant and noble, were all going about their day with smiles on their faces. Despite the red in their cheeks, despite their thick itchy clothes and despite slippy, frosty ground that was actually quite dangerous to walk on, the hum of excitement in the air was unmistakeable, as people chatted merrily to their neighbours and to the stall owners in the market, all with one topic of conversation on their tongues.
It was still the bitter beginnings of the morning, but the people of Camelot were already up and going about their daily routine. The merry chatter of the market ambled its way into the air, the atmosphere so warm and cheerful that the people hadn’t noticed the cold, sharp wind blowing through.
The castle of Camelot was no different, and in every corridor there were at least two servants chatting to each other, talking about the preparation for the bountiful feast at the end of the month. However, even something as stressful as a preparing a feast wasn’t enough to bring a servant’s mood down, and they could be seen striding down the hallways with smiles on their faces as they attended to their master.
That is, most of the servants. One of them, as usual, had chosen to lie in and deal with the repercussions later. Of course, after managing to sneak in a half-hour lie in, later meant now.
“Merlin!” Came Gaius’ call from the physician’s chambers, “Get out of bed!”
The servant in question groaned, the dim sunlight sneaking under his eyelids. He could hear Gaius cluttering around the room attached to his, but didn’t do anything to get up. Why should he? It was freezing. If Arthur wanted breakfast, he could go get it himself, the stuck-up prat. Content with his resolve, Merlin snuggled back down into his sheets.
He had spent another minute in blissful silence when a curious purring began. Merlin’s smile only grew wider when he realised who it belonged to.
Sure enough, Merlin began to feel something cold and scaly press into the palm of his hand, cautiously nudging him to make sure he was still alive. Merlin chuckled, opening his eyes slightly to stroke the head of the small creature.
“Hey Aithusa.” Merlin grunted, “Want to get under the covers? Come on, then.”
Merlin lifted the blanket and, with a small chirp of delight, the baby dragon dove under and curled up into Merlin’s chest. The warmth that Aithusa gave only added to the argument of Merlin staying in bed, and so Merlin snuggled up to Aithusa and felt himself slowly slip back into sleep.
At least, that would have been the case if the door hadn’t burst open only a second later to reveal a very flustered and annoyed Gaius.
“Merlin!” Gaius announced as he stormed into the room, “Didn’t you hear me? You need to get out of bed, you’re late enough as it is!”
Merlin groaned and opened his eyes, his vision still slightly bleary from sleep. As he sat upon, he was vaguely aware of Aithusa moving around under the covers and popping out a second later, only to hop on Merlin’s chest and straighten her wings, looking at the window expectantly.
“Sorry Aithusa.” Merlin grumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand and petting Aithusa with the other, “Your exercise is going to have to wait.”
With that, Merlin shoved Aithusa of his lap, to which Aithusa have an indignant squawk, and climbed out of bed. He hissed as his bare feet touched the floor, the harsh bite of the air almost enough to persuade himself to climb back into bed again.
“Get dressed.” Gaius demanded, throwing Merlin’s clothes at him, “And let’s hope Arthur isn’t awake.”
Merlin sighed as Gaius left the room and, after exchanging a look with Aithusa, at which she cocked her head at, he started getting changed.
“Come on, you.” Merlin gave a soft smile as he tied his neckerchief around his neck, ready for the day, “Let’s go wake up that idiot.”
Aithusa gave a squeal of delight before making herself at home on Merlin’s shoulder. With a quick goodbye to Gaius, Merlin left the room and made his way to the kitchen to collect Arthur’s breakfast.
While on his way to the kitchen, Merlin smiled at the passing servants, who returned his smile with full vigour. The ambient and friendly atmosphere that seemed to be contagious around the castle seemed to cheer Merlin up considerably.
After he had received a scolding from the cook that was alarmingly similar to Gaius’, Merlin collected the breakfast and made his way up to the King’s chambers.
“Shhh” Merlin grinned as he fed a piece of ham to Aithusa, “Don’t tell anybody.”
Aithusa gobbled the ham up happily and burped, a small wave of heat coming out as she did so. Merlin only laughed and rubbed his finger on her nose, enjoying the small purr that came from her chest when he did.
With both his hands occupied, Merlin kicked the door open, leaving it to swing wide as he strode up to the desk and placed the breakfast on top of the paperwork. After that, Merlin walked up to the curtains.
“Rise and shine!” He called as he yanked them open, not caring to warn the figure that was still sleeping in the bed.
“Ugh!” Arthur grunted as he squinted his eyes shut, turning to face the other way, “Gods, Merlin it’s cold! Didn’t you start a fire?”
“What an excellent idea my lord!” Merlin grinned, an idea coming to mind, “Aithusa?”
With a small chirrup, Aithusa glided over to the fireplace and, after gagging a little bit, managed to ignite the piles of logs that were inside. Unfortunately, Aithusa hadn’t actually controlled her fire yet, and so a little more than intended came out. The excess of fire caused a wave of heat to wash over the room, which caused Arthur to groan in discomfort.
“How many times have I told you not to use that lizard of yours?” Arthur exclaimed, throwing his covers off in indignation, “Now I’m too hot!”
“You’re too hot?” Merlin gasped mockingly, ignoring Arthur’s glare, “That just won’t do, Sire!”
With a wave of his hand, the fire was immediately extinguished and, with a bit of manipulation from Merlin, the room plunged to the temperature it was a minute ago. With yet another groan, Arthur dove back under the covers.
“Gods, it’s cold.” Arthur whined. When he heard Merlin laughing at his plight, he turned to glare at him, “Well don’t just stand there, Merlin!”
“Of course, Sire.” Merlin chuckled. This time when he waved his hand, a small fire ignited in the firepit that fit perfectly.
Arthur clambered out of bed, rubbing his hands, “What are the plans for today?”
Merlin rolled his eyes, “I told you the plans for today last night”
“Then tell me again!” Arthur rubbed his hands for warmth and, when he got to the centre of the room, stretched his arms out and waited patiently for Merlin to start getting him dressed, “Well?”
Merlin sighed and fetched Arthur’s clothes from the private screen that was tucked away in the corner of Arthur’s chambers. After he had done that, he started reciting what he had told Arthur last night, “There’s training in the morning, and then in the afternoon there’s a council meeting where you have to decide the theme of this year’s festival.”
Arthur groaned and Merlin tugged his chainmail on, “Why do I have to decide what the theme is?”
Merlin raised an eyebrow, “Because you’re the King?”
Arthur sighed, “Why do I have to do it? Surely Morgana or one of the other ladies would be more capable of choosing a better theme than I am.”
“Then maybe you should consult Morgana on the matter before the meeting? You’ve got about enough time before you need to be out on the field.” Merlin suggested.
“That’s not such a bad idea, Merlin.” Arthur squinted at him suspiciously, “Cast a good-idea spell on yourself, did you?”
“No.” Merlin huffed, “I talked to Gaius about it last night.”
Arthur laughed as Merlin fastened his chainmail. Then, when Arthur saw Merlin trying to hold back a smile, his glare once more turned suspicious, “And what are you smiling about?”
“Nothing, Sire.” Merlin said with mock seriousness, trying desperately to try and hide the tint of laughter in his voice. Behind Arthur, Aithusa was now perched on the table and eating all of Arthur’s ham. Before Arthur could get the chance to look behind and catch Aithusa red-handed, Merlin leapt to distract him, “So, while you’re talking to Morgana about Winter Wonderlands and Serenading Snowfields, I’ll go take everything down to the training grounds?”
“Off course.” Arthur nodded, “Unless you wanted to help discuss the theme? I’m sure you’re enough of a girl that this type of thing is important to you.”
“Very funny.” Merlin deadpanned as he stepped away from Arthur, who was now dressed in his armour. As Arthur turned and made his way back to the desk, Merlin saw Aithusa slink across the floor, crawl up his leg and onto his shoulder, her mission complete.
“You’re dismissed.” Arthur called out as he took the paperwork from out under his breakfast. However, when he got a better look at what was on his plate, Arthur frowned, “Merlin, where’s my-“
But the servant had already gone.
O=II==========>
Morgana was humming to herself softly, brushing a comb through her hair when she heard a polite knock on her door.
“Come in.” She called. Her smile only grew wider when she saw Gwen step in.
“Gwen.” She greeted.
“Milady.” Gwen smiled into her curtsy, “I wanted to give you something.”
“How sweet.” Morgana’s heart fluttered with joy as she rose from her seat and approached her servant. Seeing the blush that was rising up in her maid’s cheeks, Morgana couldn’t
help but tease her a little, “But I thought gifts were for the end of the month.”
“I-I know, but…” Swallowing down her nerves, Gwen thrust out the white rose that she had been hiding behind her back, “I’ve noticed that you like wearing that green dress on the first of every winter month, so I thought…” Gwen swallowed once again as she cleared her throat, “I thought that this flower would go well with it.”
Morgana took the rose and smiled as Gwen’s hands immediately started fiddling with themselves, “Oh, Gwen, it’s beautiful, I’ll be sure to wear it.”
“You don’t have to!” Gwen stuttered out, “You don’t have to just because I said I thought you’d look better in it, I mean I’m not saying that the dress is bad on its own, it’s absolutely beautiful but then again what do I know, my word doesn’t really count for anything since I’m a servant but I just thought you’d like this flower because I thought that green and white would go well together and-“
“Gwen.” Morgana chuckled at yet another infamous hole that Gwen had dug up through her rambling alone, “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Gwen beamed at the praise and gestured towards the wardrobe, “I’ll go and get your dress.”
With that, she scrambled off. Smiling dreamily, Morgana sat back down at her vanity and sniffed at the white rose. It was fresh, and smelt of the frosty air that had been blowing through the halls of Camelot long into the night. Morgana loved it.
When Gwen emerged with the correct clothes, the two engaged in the gossip that had been going around the castle, Gwen smiling at whatever one of the knights had said and Morgana giggling at whatever idiot antics her brother and his manservant had gotten themselves into.
Once Morgana was fully dressed, she thanked Gwen and, just as she was about to leave her room for a walk in the gardens, there was a knock at the door.
“Arthur. Where’s Merlin?” Morgana asked, hiding her surprise. The two had gotten so close now that it was rare to see one without the other.
“Dragging everything down to the training grounds.” Arthur said as he marched into Morgana’s chambers, “With some luck his muscles are killing him.”
“I see.” Morgana said through gritted teeth, not even bothering with the effort of chastising Arthur into walking into her chambers uninvited. And he claimed Merlin was rude for never knocking, “What’s happened this time?”
“Merlin’s dragon ate all my ham.” Arthur scowled as he reclined back into the seat, “I’m starting to think it’s as dumb as he is.”
Morgana sighed. It was way to early in the morning to deal with Merlin and Arthur’s latest pranks, “You’re a prince, Arthur, you can go down to the kitchens and get some ham whenever you like. Besides, Aithusa is not dumb. She’s a baby, and she’s growing quickly.”
Arthur rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything more on the matter. Morgana, already exasperated, placed her hands on the hips, “Well then, is there any good reason as to why you’re here or did you just come here to complain about a harmless baby dragon?”
“Actually, yes.” Arthur’s expression flickered as if he had just remembered something and he shot up from his seat, “I came to ask about what the theme should be for this year’s feast.”
“And why would I know that?” Morgana asked, slowly losing her patience with her brother.
Arthur looked at her oddly, “Because you’re a girl. Girls know these kind of things.”
Morgana sighed, “Aren’t you supposed to be deciding that this afternoon? Why are you asking me?”
“Because I don’t know anything about this kind of stuff!” Arthur confessed.
“People aren’t going to think you’re a bad king if you choose a bad theme, Arthur.” Morgana smiled slightly, secretly pleased that Arthur was taking the more mediocre tasks of ruling just as importantly, and that he just wasn’t constantly thinking about swords.
“This is going to be my first Winter Yule feast as King, I don’t want to give the people the idea that I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“But you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Exactly!” Arthur shouted, throwing his hands up in the air, “So, Merlin suggested that I come to you for advice.”
“He’s right.” Morgana smirked as she rolled her beautiful white flower between two fingers, “I think me and Gwen would be able to choose a theme much better than you.”
At that, Gwen emerged through the door, dirty bed sheets bundled in her arms.
“Gwen!” Morgana called, “Arthur requires our assistance.”
“Really? I’m honoured, Your majesty.” Gwen went into a small courtesy, but Arthur awkwardly rose and waved it away.
“There’s no need for that, Gwen.” Arthur smiled, “Just call me Arthur.”
“Oh… alright… Arthur.” Gwen tried uncertainly, the name unfamiliar in her mouth, “What did you need help with.”
“The themes for this year’s feast.” Arthur explained. With that, he launched into all the themes that his court members had proposed the previous months and the differences between them. After he had written them all down for Morgana and Gwen to mull over, he straightened and grinned.
“Thank you, Morgana, Gwen.” Arthur nodded to each of them, “I have just enough time after training to come back and discuss the matter with you before the meeting. Could you think about it until then?”
“Of course.” Morgana pulled off one of her more charming smiles, the parchment safely in her hand, “Goodbye, Arthur.”
When Morgana had firmly shut the door, she turned to Gwen, who was loading the dirty washing into the hamper, “Well, Gwen, it seems we have some work to do.” She smiled, placing the parchment onto the table, “But first, do you mind weaving this beautiful flower of yours into my hair?”
Gwen practically glowed at the suggestion, and rushed over to Morgana to help her.
O=II==========>
Back on the training grounds, Merlin and Arthur were watching Gwaine, who had clearly come to training drunk, stagger around Elyan’s sword fighting.
“So Morgana and Gwen are in charge of the decision now?” Merlin asked as he watched Elyan and Gwaine clash swords, “And you’re going to announce their decision In court?”
“Precisely.” Arthur grinned, happy that everything had come together so well, “I’m glad you’re managing to finally keep up with things, Merlin.”
Merlin scoffed, “I believe it was my idea in the first place.”
“You said that Gaius told you.”
“Yes but I told you.”
Arthur opened his mouth to reply, but it was at that exact moment that Aithusa came bounding over to Merlin after enjoying a particularly relaxing nap in the shadow of a shield that had been perched on the rack.
“There you are!” Arthur exclaimed as Aithusa made herself comfortable on Merlin’s shoulder, “You ate my ham!”
Aithusa chirruped at him, wide blue eyes gazing at him innocently as she cocked her head.
“Don’t know what you mean, Arthur.” Merlin’s eyes looked just as innocent, “I didn’t give you any ham.”
Arthur looked at him, not falling for it, “There was grease on the plate.”
Merlin bit his lip. “Okay. There was ham. But Aithusa needed it a lot more than you do.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes, “Are you calling me fat?!”
“No!” Merlin started, then paused. “Well, yes.”
Arthur sighed, watching the creature gnaw on her tail, “Seems like she’s going to need some more. Otherwise she’s going to gnaw her tail off.”
“It would seem like it.” Merlin hummed. He plucked Aithusa of his shoulder and held her to his chest, moving her tail out of the way. Seeing how chewing her tail was now no longer an option, Aithusa now started to chew on Merlin’s neckerchief.
A short spurt of applause brought the two out of their conversation as they saw Elyan standing over Gwaine, who still looked like he didn’t know where he was. Merlin and Arthur joined in the applause, and then Arthur stepped forward to call an end to the training.
After the knights had dispersed, Merlin and Arthur made their way to the kitchens to get some more food for Aithusa. On their way, Arthur thought about the council meeting that would be happening shortly after lunch, and how he would be able to credit Morgana and Gwen on their decision. Once upon a time, Arthur would have claimed that he made the decision himself, but he knew now that this was no longer fair.
Smiling at Merlin and appreciating the way the winter sun warmed the chill in his azure eyes, Arthur laughed along with him as the two walked back into the castle.