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The Oblivious Merlin
Want a Flower?
Leon’s P.O.V.
Sir Leon, Knight of Camelot.
Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
That is what Leon had always thought, ever since that glorious moment many years ago, when he had heard it for the first time coming out of King Uther Pendragon’s own lips.
Lately though, he had seriously started doubting that the melodious sound of a title could be worth all the trouble that came with it.
Leon had witnessed his fair share of strange things in all his years of service to the crown. He had overcome problems and tragedies, starting from bridal trolls to fire breathing dragons up the battlements. There had been enchantments, love potions, undead black knights, explosions in the throne room, exorcisms, immortal armies and Leon had lived through all of it.
He had even escaped death itself by drinking from a bloody cup !
After all of this, he never could have imagined that to make him lose his patience, potentially his sanity and to dream of a better life as a farmer would be a possessive Prince and his oblivious manservant.
Leon blamed this situation on Gwaine.
One of the basic rules unwritten by the knights was, when in doubt, always blame Gwaine.
It had been Gwaine’s idea to celebrate the umpteenth heroic act by drinking themselves silly in the Prince Regent’s private quarters, encouraging said Prince to drown in alcohol with no qualms whatsoever, using a simple ‘it’s just us, anyways!’ as an excuse.
It had been his idea to get the Prince drunk and it had been him the one to start on that subject .
Merlin.
Merlin, that was nowhere in sight at said moment, probably already fast asleep under the covers of his little room. That had not been lost on the Prince. After various moans and grunts and whining, such as “Why is he not here?” and “He should be here, right?” In the end Gwaine, damn him, had asked “Why do you need him here so badly?”
And from there had began the world’s longest, most pathetic --full of hiccups and embarrassment-- and sickeningly sweet love confession; a confession that the prince only had to pray not to remember the following day while his knights desperately wished for him to forget, if anything for the sake and dignity of their sovereign.
There had been embarrassing statements, such as “eyes as blue as the ocean” or “lips to die for” or even “lickable cheekbones” –that had Leon choking on his mead, while an amused Elyan tried to help slapping his back– and then endearments on Merlin’s loyalty, his trust, his help, his brightness -- ”That smile! Have you seen that smile?” -- and just about how Arthur would not survive a day without him.
In the end, it had been quite an interesting evening. Definitely different than usual.
And yes, Prince Arthur had unfortunately recalled the events of the night, much to his dismay and Gwaine’s glee, transforming the next day’s training routine into pure hell.
Back to the main topic. Since that day, life in Camelot—especially inside the castle, and particularly for the Knights of the Round Table—had changed. For Leon more than anyone. There are those who claim for the better and those who claim for the worse, but either way something snapped inside the Prince Regent that eventful evening, freeing him. Be it finally confessing his feelings, or venting, or admitting them out loud or the simple fact of not having to hide it anymore, leaving him free of being himself. The love, the affection, the trust.
The jealousy.
Leon had asked himself more times than he could count just how in Heaven’s name had he not noticed anything before. Arthur’s feelings were so pathetically obvious that it was bordering on embarrassing.
For all parties involved.
-------------------
Leon spoke distractedly about the upcoming training and tournament, occasionally gesturing to emphasize a point. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the Prince beside him.
Arthur simply nodded occasionally, casually turning an apple in his hands.
He was standing under the porch outside the castle, leaning with his left shoulder against one of the pillars, his left ankle propped on the right one. He seemed completely intent on listening, if it weren’t for his eyes, fixed directly in front of him.
Leon followed his gaze, not at all surprised to find himself looking at Merlin, who was animatedly chatting with Gwen in front of one of the small side doors of the castle, usually used by servants. He was holding a vase full of beautiful colored flowers in his arms, the base of it pointed at his right knee to support the weight.
He was laughing, calm and carefree, and Leon wondered how it was possible for the boy not to feel the power of Arthur’s stare drill him behind the skull.
Then he remembered who it was exactly that he was talking about.
Refraining from rolling his eyes, Leon was looking for something to say to distract the Prince –and to make the weird silence that was now between them slightly less awkward– when he saw Merlin carefully picking a beautiful red rose from the vase he was holding, offering it to Gwen with a bright smile and then wondering off after a quick goodbye.
He heard Arthur snort next to him, but when he shifted his gaze on the Prince, his attention was completely dedicated to his shiny red apple. Arthur reached for the knife he always kept tied to his waist and proceeded to cut a wedge of the juicy fruit.
Leon wished he wasn’t armed.
“Very… gallant of him,” Leon murmured, just to say something at all.
Apparently the wrong thing, because while the Prince kept silent, he cut into the poor apple with such force that some of the juice splashed on the Knight’s cheek.
Leon was smart enough not to clean his face and stay put, merely greeting Merlin upon his arrival, the still-incriminating vase tucked awkwardly in his arms.
“I’ll find a nice place for this then I’ll take care of your armor, Sire” was the first thing Merlin said, smiling at them both. Arthur didn’t answer, fixing him with a cool gaze.
Leon watched the staring contest with rising uneasiness.
Merlin was the first to back down. “Urgh… you saw me, didn’t you?” he sighed heavily. “Well, what do I do?”
“What are you talking about?” Arthur asked with his best fake innocent expression.
“You saw me give that rose to Gwen,” Merlin snapped. “Now. If I put this vase away and ignore this, you’ll spend the rest of the day nagging me— ‘Where are my flowers, Merlin? No flowers for me, Merlin? Am I not worth a little flower, Merlin?’” he said, mimicking Arthur’s tone with frightening accuracy. Leon would have laughed if he didn’t care for his life so much. “Then again, if I give you a flower, you’ll spend the rest of the day making fun of me in front of the knights, telling me you are not a woman, telling me that I am a woman, making my duties generally miserable. Either way, you’ll have me pay for this. So, what do I do?”
Arthur didn’t answer immediately; he simply stared at him, chewing deliberately slowly, as if thinking about the problem at hand.
After a few minutes, the Prince swallowed and smiled innocently. “Find out.”
Merlin groaned. Leon felt bad for him. “Why are you always like this?”
Leon didn’t feel so bad for him now.
Merlin was seriously the most naive person he had ever met and the poor Knight could hardly believe anyone could be so blind.
He watched as Merlin looked at the Prince, waiting nervously, and then after evidently realizing he was not going to get any answer, he gave an irritated snort. “I don’t have time for this,” he murmured, annoyed, while moving away.
Leon sighed. So training was going to be hell again today.
Sir Thomas and Sir Garrett joined them soon after Merlin’s back disappeared behind the servant’s door and Leon took the chance to dismiss himself from the Prince, with every intention to gather the other knights and begin their daily duty.
As Arthur greeted the new knight recruits, Leon caught sight of Merlin quietly slipping out the servant’s door where he was previously chatting with Gwen.
He was holding flowers between his hands.
Leon smiled and stopped to watch the scene.
And he watched as Merlin took a little step towards the Prince, then stopped, uncertain, walked back to the door and halted again. He turned around for a second time, with a thoughtful expression at first, then determined, taking a couple of steps forward and stopping.
The scene itself could have been funny if it wasn’t a little pathetic.
Leon watched Merlin turn towards Arthur for the fourth time, the flowers still tightly held between his hands. His expression now wasn’t hesitant, nor determined, but annoyed. As if he found it unfair to go through all this just to avoid one of the Prince’s tantrums.
Leon couldn’t find it in him to argue with that, honestly. He smiled ruefully as Merlin frowned, took a deep breath and then schooled his expression with an innocent smile that heralded trouble.
Leon did not like that smile. Leon had training to go through, from which he very much intended to come out alive, thank you very much.
Watching Merlin trotting merrily towards Arthur, he knew that was not going to happen. Merlin stopped in front of the Prince, murmuring something most likely about his training gear, and bowed swiftly. He then proceeded to offer the flowers to Sir Thomas and Sir Garrett, leaving right after.
Leon was seriously tempted to throw a rock at his head.
Maybe just a little one. And edgy. Sharp.
*
Half an hour later, Leon had gathered the Knights and was waiting for the Prince to join them.
He was not happy.
He was especially not happy when he gazed at the beautiful flowers that Thomas and Garrett had attached to their armor.
“Hey, lovely ladies!” Gwaine laughed, effectively attracting the attention of the others. “Where do those come from?”
Leon cursed under his breath. He was hoping to convince the new recruits to take them off before anyone noticed anything.
And he thought Merlin was the naive one.
His only comfort was knowing he wouldn’t suffer alone.
“Beautiful, aren’t they? Merlin gave them to us.” Garrett explained with a smile.
The Knights looked at them surprised.
“Merlin? Why is that?” Percival asked, curious as ever.
“I don’t know, just to be nice I guess.” Thomas poked at the purple petals softly. “He came to tell Prince Arthur his armor was ready and just gave them to us.”
There was a strained silence for a moment.
“Let me get this straight,” Elyan coughed awkwardly. “Merlin gave you those flowers?” The recruits nodded. “In front of Arthur?” The two recruits nodded again, glancing at them with confused eyes, finding themselves basically surrounded by the Prince’s favorite and best knights.
Gwaine laughed. “Well, I hope the flower he gave the princess was the prettiest of all!”
“He didn’t-- well, no he, uh, only gave them to us?” Sir Thomas gazed perplexed as the four of them looked at him horrified.
Leon, to the side, said nothing.
Leon did not exist.
“Merlin gave you flowers in front of Arthur? And he got nothing?”
“Yes?”
More silence.
“Take them off!”
“What?” Garrett looked at Gwaine, his hand going to the rosy flower protectively.
“Take them off!” Percival said again, making nervous gestures towards the flowers with both his hands.
“He’s going to kill you! Off! Now!”
Thomas and Garrett didn’t seem to know what to do, other than standing there looking uncomfortable.
Leon, resigned, watched the scene.
“You don’t understand--”
“Are you all ready?” Arthur was approaching them with a small smile, cutting Percival’s warning.
Everyone felt the exact moment Arthur’s eyes locked onto the sodding flowers.
The knights all collectively took a step away from the two very perplexed recruits.
“Well then,” Arthur started, fumbling with his gauntlet. “Leon, with Elyan. Gwaine, you’re with Percival.” He stepped to the side, taking the maul in hand. The big one. “Thomas. Garrett. You’re with me.”
Leon decided that maybe, just maybe, he should say something.
*
He managed to see Merlin only three hours later. Not that he found himself visiting the court physician just for Merlin.
“Sir Leon!”
“Merlin,” he greeted the joyful manservant as he stepped outside of Gaius’s chamber. “I thought you were with Arthur.”
“Yes, I just needed to speak with Gaius for a moment.” Merlin smiled at him, then seemed to think of something and frowned, checking him up. “Are you alright? Why did you need Gaius?”
He looked so worried that Leon had to smile. “Oh yes, I’m fine, do not worry. I only had to accompany Thomas and Garrett to see Gaius.”
“Heavy training? Is everyone alright?”
“Just a bruise too many,” Leon answered, raising a meaningful eyebrow. “The others are all completely fine. It’s just those two who got the beating.”
“I see,” Merlin nodded.
Leon nodded back at him, hopeful. “Poor sods. Thomas and Garrett.”
Merlin glanced towards the closed doors with a sympathetic smile.
Leon cursed inwardly. “Just them. Alone. Against Arthur”
Merlin frowned, confused.
“Thomas and Garrett."
Now Merlin was looking at him like he was a bit of an idiot and Leon made himself take a deep breath. He was starting to feel quite irritated, considering that those two men were in there because of a stupid plant and a naive manservant.
Leon couldn’t say he really blamed Merlin for this though, even if he did give those flowers just for the sole purpose to annoy Arthur.
To Merlin it was all one of their little clashes and petty impositions, nothing more than a little game.
The crazy one was Arthur.
Merlin was just oblivious. An irritating, oblivious idiot sometimes, but at least he wasn’t a crazy, possessive, jealous, emotionally unstable Prince.
Leon didn’t want to be the one to tell his friend about what was going through the Prince’s head though, that was up to Arthur himself (And if God was generous, that time would come one day) but he could give a little push in the right direction.
He could try.
In his, uhm, his neutrality.
“Well, how did the flower accident end?” he asked casually.
Merlin seemed confused for a moment, then smiled. “It didn’t end yet. I’m not giving in.”
“It’s not really a matter of giving in, though” Leon leaned slightly forward, whispering. “You know, sometimes I think he just wants to feel special.”
Merlin looked very unimpressed. “The Prince?”
So maybe Leon was a bit of an idiot.
“Just because he’s the Prince, and for that he is special, and constantly receives special treatment, it doesn’t mean that just anyone is special enough to give special meaning to the special treatment they give him.”
Leon stared at Merlin’s worried eyes.
He felt a little resentful of that look.
He wasn’t the crazy one here!
The door of Gaius’s chamber opened suddenly, revealing Thomas and Garrett, whom Merlin greeted with a big smile before concentrating on the first knight again.
Out of the corner of the eye, Leon watched pityingly at the horrified looks of the two recruits as they tried to pass down the corridor, making a wide circle to keep well away from the boy, who, for his part, was completely unaware of the situation.
They bolted.
“Well it seems Gaius is free--”
“Listen Merlin,” Leon interrupted him, wetting his lips lightly in a desperate attempt to buy some time, enough to come up with a reasonable sentence. “Gifting flowers to someone is considered a gesture of, uh, affection if you will, towards someone you consider to be special and---” he was now gesticulating frantically, “Like you did this morning with Gwen--”
“Oh!” Merlin’s eyes went suddenly wide, probably finally realizing where the conversation was going. “Oh…” he said again, lowering his gaze.
“Do you understand what I--”
“Yes, yes, of course” Merlin needed to stop interrupting him. Seriously. This was already difficult enough. “You’re right, obviously, Sir Leon. Don’t worry, I know what to do!” he added, but judging by the way he was nervously nibbling at his bottom lip, the knight wasn’t fully convinced. “I’ll make it up to him, really. I have no intention of courting Gwen!”
“What?! No, you don’t–”
“I need to speak with Gaius now. I will see you later!”
Leon bid his goodbye, shaking his head.
Oh, well. He tried.
*
That same evening, Leon realised that he had been the naive one when, after accompanying Arthur through the castle deserted hallways, he opened the door to the Prince’s chamber and instantly froze on the threshold, right beside the astonished Prince.
There were flowers everywhere .
The dining table, the desk, the window frame, the bedside tables, the Prince’s personal chest at the foot of the bed—everywhere around the room stood big and small vases filled with beautiful, colorful flowers. And at the center of it all, seated on the floor and carefully trimming the stems of a few roses, was a very satisfied Merlin.
Leon, pleasantly surprised, silently watched as Arthur gave an awkward little cough, as if to hide a smile, and stepped into the room. Merlin smirked and asked if he wanted to have his supper.
They exchanged a glance, seemingly simple, but knowing and intimate, worth more than a thousand words, and Leon found himself wondering what he had even been so worried about.
Suddenly feeling like he was intruding, Leon cleared his throat, murmuring a soft “If you’ll excuse me.” bowing slightly before taking his leave.
Arthur and Merlin both turned towards him, as if stirred from a daze, and the manservant quickly stood. "I’ll be going too. Better head to the kitchens."
Leon already had his hand on the door handle when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a movement to his left.
Merlin had stepped closer.
He was holding a beautiful red rose.
Leon’s expression instantly turned horrified.
No.
No.
He barely had time to take a step toward the door, toward salvation, when Merlin called out to him, adding a cheeky wink to his friendly tone.
“Sir Leon…”
Leon hated Merlin.