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The day dawned happily as Camelot prepared for it's ball– the first since Arthur had been crowned King. It was also the first time in forever that Camelot’s Queen would be in attendance. It had been a dreadfully long while since Ygraine.
Queen Guinevere was decidedly not nervous about it.
“They will all be watching,” she moaned as Merlin comfortingly pat her back.
“You got through your wedding. You'll manage this.”
Gwen turned to glare at him. “Not helping.”
“Apologies, my lady.” Merlin bowed with a teasing grin.
Gwen slapped his arm. Her brows quickly furrowed as worry overtook her once again. She'd gotten used to sitting for council meetings, petitions, the occasional lowkey feast. She'd even given a speech to the public once.
But this? This was different. It was utterly social . Gwen knew first hand how servants and nobles alike loved to judge and gossip during such events.
She could handle it, she would . She just needed a little something so it wouldn't be so entirely awful…
“Come to the ball,” she said abruptly, cutting off whatever Merlin had been nattering on about.
Merlin raised an eyebrow. “I will be there. Pouring wine. Hopefully into the goblets.”
Gwen shook her head. “As a guest.”
Merlin stepped back in alarm, shaking his head slightly. “Gwen…Arthur’s not going to be happy.”
She grabbed his hands. “Please, Merlin.”
“I don't have anything to wear. I'll probably end up with chores before I can even blink.”
“I’m sure you'll come up with something.” She tilted her head pointedly.
“Magic isn't legal yet, technically.”
While the death penalty had been rescinded, the actual laws permitting magic were still a topic of debate among the council.
“Now you're just making excuses.” Gwen crossed her hands with a huff. “You can have the rest of the day off to prepare,” she offered.
Merlin sighed. “Arthur's really not going to be happy.”
“What did you do?” came Arthur's voice from the doorway as he entered.
“Eavesdropping, are we?” Merlin asked.
“These are my chambers, I’d hardly call that eavesdropping.”
Merlin nodded in mock sympathy. “It's a big word, sire, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.”
Arthur greeted his wife with a kiss on the cheek, before turning to Merlin. “I distinctly remember giving you a list of chores this morning,” he said warningly.
Merlin grinned widely, eyes darting to Gwen. “Actually, sire, I won't be doing any of those,” he declared, slowly stepped backwards.
Gwen’s amusement turned to exasperation as she realised where this was headed.
“The Queen gave me the day off.” Merlin finished, running out the door without a backward glance, gleefully ignoring Arthur’s summons.
Searching for Merlin in a crowd of masked people was unsurprisingly difficult. Gwen hoped she herself would be recognisable enough. A Queen’s mask hardly provided anonymity.
A loud bang captured everyone's attention where an old man stood.
Arthur groaned in defeat, turning to Leon. “It's your turn.”
Gwen recognised those eyes.
“T’is I, Dragoon the great!”