Merlin took Arthur’s clothes and sheets to the castle’s bathhouse to wash them. It was privately owned and had several bathing buckets along the hall. Just as Merlin was finishing up, he received quite a surprise.
Arthur stumbled into the bathhouse. At the sight of Merlin, he grinned a stupid grin. “Merlin!”
A question mark seemed to appear above Merlin’s head. “Arthur?” he asked. He peered over his shoulder at Arthur, who continued to grin.
“I’ve missed you!” Before Merlin could fight him, Arthur suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. “I looked all over the castle!”
“Arthur!” Merlin felt like his spine was going to break. He quickly pulled away from his friend so he could catch his breath.
“You work so hard!” It was weird hearing a compliment coming from Arthur’s lips.
“Thanks?” Merlin questioned.
Arthur held up his index finger, saying, “You know what? I’ve decided! When you’re done with my laundry, you can have the rest of the day off!”
“What?” Merlin never got a day off. What on Earth was going on with Arthur right now? “What about the Feast of Peace?” he wanted to know.
Arthur sniggered. “Poppycock. I’ll have the cooks prepare. Why don’t you spend the rest of the day in the tavern?” With that, he patted Merlin’s shoulder.
He stumbled out of the bathhouse, leaving Merlin to merely stare. Okay, that was literally the weirdest encounter he’s ever had with Arthur Pendragon. Nevertheless, he finished with his laundry and delivered his clean clothes and sheets to his room.
On his way to Gaius’s, he found Arthur in the throne room with the Knights of the Round Table, particularly Sir Leon, Sir Elyan, Sir Gwaine, and Sir Percival. They were listening to a speech. A young woman was standing in front of the throne, giving a monologue about how Camelot has changed her and her family since they’ve moved here. It actually wasn’t a bad speech. In fact, the knights were interested.
Arthur, though… Merlin noticed he was struggling to stay awake. His eyes kept drooping, and he had to constantly shake out his head. Merlin doubted he was even paying attention. He prepared to step inside so he could check on him, but then the speech ended.
Arthur snapped awake. Together, he and the knights clapped their hands, congratulating the woman.
She blushed and gave them a quick curtsy.
From where he was hiding, Merlin muttered, “Hm,” under his breath.
***
“Uh oh, what’s bothering you now?” Gaius asked Merlin when he came home. He was working on making another potion from some herbs he picked up that morning.
“Arthur gave me the day off,” Merlin explained.
“Did he now?” said Gaius. “Well, perfect. That means you can finish herb gathering for me today.”
“He complimented my service,” Merlin added.
“Really? Well, that certainly is new,” Gaius admitted.
“He never compliments me!” Merlin said. He tried to get it through his thick skull what may have happened to Arthur between the time he was in his chambers and when he met him in the bathhouse.
Gaius tried to make him feel better. “I’m sure the king meant nothing that he said.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Geez, thanks.”
“Now, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. Excuse me, Gaius. I just need to think.” Merlin gave Gaius a quick head bow before he slipped into his room. Closing his door, he plopped down on his bed.
Back in the main room, Gaius chuckled. Kids. He would never understand them.
***
The Feast of Peace was held that night at 6:30.
Before it started, Merlin headed into Arthur’s room. He usually had to help him with his armor before a special occasion. He tried to hold back a laugh when he saw Arthur struggling to put on his chain mail. It kept on dropping from his hands, and it took the king with it.
Arthur constantly said, “Ow, ow, ow.”
Finally, Merlin spoke up. “Do you want me to help you, sire?”
“Merlin!” It was strange. Arthur may have been proud of his servant earlier, but he certainly wasn’t proud of him now. “Where have you been? What happened to mucking out my horses and polishing my boots?”
“Um, you gave me the day off,” Merlin explained.
“I did what?” Arthur’s voice cracked. It sounded absolutely hilarious. “Oh, I see how it is. You’re using this as an excuse to say you had a good time with your friends in the tavern.”
“You literally said I could have the day off,” Merlin argued.
“I would never do such a thing! That’s preposterous!” Arthur continued to struggle with his chain mail. “Ow.” He clenched his teeth, but the armor once again dropped him onto the floor.
Merlin crossed his arms and chuckled. “You look stressed, sire.”
“I am not stressed!” However, Arthur ended up chucking his belt over Merlin’s head. It smashed into the wall.
“Let me help you,” Merlin continued.
A sudden voice behind the two boys, though, caused him to leap out of his skin. “Allow me, Merlin. After all, you technically do have the day off.” It was Agravaine. He literally just appeared from out of nowhere.
“Ah, Uncle. Come on in,” Arthur said.
“Thank you, My Lord.” At his command, Agravaine came into the room. “Leave us,” he said to Merlin.
Merlin tried to protest. “But—”
Arthur interrupted him. “You heard the man. Don’t worry, you’ll be extra busy tomorrow.”
“Yes, sire,” Merlin said in between clenched teeth. He headed out and whispered under his breath, “Yep, there is definitely something fishy going on.”
***
“Can you believe I gave him the day off? Ridiculous,” Arthur said to Agravaine.
Agravaine shrugged. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to, My Lord.” He picked up Arthur’s belt, helping him with his chain mail instead. “You do look a little stressed, though. Maybe you should take another sip from that potion.”
Arthur nodded. He went over to his nightstand next to his bed and picked up the vial. It was almost empty. Arthur finished it off. He twisted the potion’s top back on before he set it back down on his nightstand.
Agravaine turned away from him, so Arthur couldn’t see him smiling. Now it was time for the fun part—the Feast of Peace.
***
Things only got weirder from there. The next time Merlin saw Arthur was in the banquet hall. Even though he sacked him for the day, he remained in his presence. This was just in case something happened, and he needed to use magic to save him.
The feast was very festive. Commoners were also allowed to attend, not just the royal court. There was music, dancing, laughing, and playing. Members of the royal court wore red capes that had Camelot’s symbol on them. King Arthur even sported his crown.
As he made his way over to the banquet table, his eyes landed on Merlin. “Merlin! There you are!” This time, he did not look mad.
Merlin gave him a quick nod. “Sire.”
Like what he did in the bathhouse, Arthur gave him a tight hug. Letting go, he clutched his shoulder and said, “You know what I love the most about you, Merlin? The fact that you’re such an idiot!”
“I thought you were mad at me,” said Merlin.
“Mad? How can I be mad when I have the best servant in the world? Man, I’ll tell you, Merlin! That potion Gaius prescribed for me is working wonders!”
“Potion? What potion?” Another question mark seemed to appear above Merlin’s head. He didn’t recall Gaius giving Arthur a potion. If he did, he would’ve told him.
“I feel terrific! Come on! You need to join us for the feast!” Arthur said. He let Merlin’s shoulder go and stumbled back in the direction of the banquet table. He was very unsteady on his feet. He looked drunk.
A lady even stopped him and asked, “Sire, how much have you had to drink today?”
Arthur again smiled stupidly. “I’ve had nothing!” Which was true.
“Are you sure about that?” the lady said.
“I feel terrific!” Finally, Arthur joined the Knights of the Round Table at the banquet table.
Merlin paced back and forth on the outside of it, observing the king’s behavior.
“Hello, Percival!” Arthur told Sir Percival. He smacked him in the back of the head for his greeting.
Percival was taken by such surprise that he spilled his wine all over his chain mail. He gave Arthur a funny look.
The young king plopped down in his chair and did something Arthur in his right mind would never do. He picked up his wine goblet and put his boots on the table.
The knights gagged, and the commoners in the crowd stared.
“Isn’t this fantastic?” Arthur asked. “This is what I call a true feast of peace.”
Merlin moved quickly. He approached Arthur’s back and leaned into his ear. “Sire, maybe you should take your feet off the table. It’s not exactly… kingly.”
“Not now, Merlin. Who knew being a king would be this luxurious?” Arthur said. He took a sip from his wine goblet. Lowering it, he burped loudly. That got the guests’ attention.
Movement in the banquet hall stopped. Commoners, even servants of the castle, stared at the king. 13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbesVQ2pjNt
The knights were absolutely humiliated. Their faces turned a bright shade of red.
Agravaine was having the best time of his life. He sat on the other side of Sir Leon and hid behind his hand, so nobody would see him laughing.
Poor Arthur. It wasn’t his fault that he was acting this way. To Merlin, he asked, “Do you think you can get me a pillow, Merlin?”
It did not take long for Merlin to realize he was slipping into sleep, just like what had happened with the speech earlier. “Sire,” he said. He shook Arthur’s shoulder, but it was already too late.
Arthur fell fast asleep. Before the guests and knights knew it, he was snoring as loudly as he burped. Drool ran down the sides of his mouth.
Gaius and Gwen, who were present during the incident, exchanged weird looks with one another.
Some of the guests were so embarrassed by Arthur’s behavior that they left early. It just wasn’t often that the king spent the entire day in the tavern.
Merlin tried to wake Arthur up. “Arthur. Arthur!” He slapped his face, shook his shoulders, and bopped him on the head. He also picked up a napkin and rubbed the drool from his lips.
Arthur kept on snoring.
Merlin chuckled nervously. “Sorry, gentlemen,” he said to the knights. “He’s just unwell. I think he needs to go to bed.”
“Yes, maybe he should,” big man Percival growled. He was still upset that he had spilled wine on his chain mail.
Merlin took Arthur’s feet off the table and pulled him out of his seat. His crown ended up falling from his head, but Sir Elyan caught it. People merely stared as Merlin put Arthur’s arm over his shoulders. He dragged him out of the banquet hall, followed closely by Gaius and Guinevere.
***
Merlin, Gaius, and Gwen took Arthur to his chambers. They worked together to pull off his armor and push him down on his bed. Since he was the king, Merlin put two pillows under his head.
Since leaving the banquet hall, Arthur had not woken up, but at least he was no longer snoring.
Gaius examined him and pulled up his eyelids, admitting, “Hm, just as I feared. Somebody’s drugged him.”
“Drugged him?” Guinevere frightfully asked. “But who would do such a thing?”
Merlin crossed his arms. He tapped his foot to think before asking Gaius, “Gaius, did you prescribe him something to take for his stress?”
“What are you talking about, Merlin?” Gaius was so confused. He removed his hand from Arthur’s eyes and turned to face him.
“Well.” Merlin kept his arms crossed. “He told me in the banquet hall that the potion you gave him has been working wonders.”
“But I never gave him a potion,” Gaius argued.
“Then who did?” asked Guinevere.
“We won’t be able to ask him until morning,” Gaius explained. “Right now, he needs to rest.” At this sentence, Gaius picked up his medicine bag and left the room.
Merlin and Gwen exchanged curious looks with one another, as they tried to figure out what on Earth happened to Arthur during the Feast of Peace.
***
Halfway through the banquet, Agravaine snuck out so he could speak with Morgana. He rode his horse to her hut, meeting her in the front yard. She had just returned from a hunting expedition for her pet. She gathered up some rabbits and deer and was cutting out their innards. After all, her pet loved the innards of prey. The heart and liver were particularly tasty.
“Ah, Agravaine,” Morgana said.
Agravaine tied his horse up to a tree and approached her. “My Lady.”
“I trust you bring good news?” Morgana asked. She was holding the heart of a deer in her hand.
“I do,” Agravaine said. “Everybody thinks that their wonderful king spent the whole day in the tavern. It was literally the best thing I’ve ever seen. The potion worked like a charm.”
Morgana smirked. “Perfect. That means Step 1 of our plan is complete. Now it’s time to move on to Step 2. We need to lure him to the Death Lion.”
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