Chapter Text
“Please Merlin, do try to remember that this is royalty that’s visiting. Any rude remarks will not be tolerated by my father and your clumsiness is unbecoming of Camelot staff, so your feet on the ground rather than your backside would be much appreciated,” The commanding voice of Prince Arthur rang through the impressive halls of Camelot’s castle as his regal presence glided towards the main hall. The less impressive form of Merlin stumbled behind him, the Prince’s prattle going in one ear and out the other, maybe he would listen if he hadn’t got the whole speech memorised by now.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry about me, worry more about making a spectacle out of yourself when you can’t fit your royal head through the doors of the hall, ‘oh sorry your Majesty, you’ll have to come back when we’ve managed to lodge the crown prince’s head from the doorway,’ that’d be hard to explain,” Merlin sassed back absentmindedly, not even looking at the rather sharp glare he received from said crown prince because he was pushing open the doors to the hall.
“Just behave,” Arthur hissed venomously whilst flashing his father a smile before joining him on his assigned throne, Merlin taking his designated spot behind him and placing his arms behind his back (mostly because the other servants were doing it).
Once everyone was present and things had quietened down in the hall, a young servant boy stepped forward from where he stood next to the double doors. The tunic he wore was dyed a rich midnight blue, the stitched crest of a falcon balanced on the hilt of a sword was overwhelmingly familiar to Merlin and he realised belatedly that he should have asked the actual identity of the visiting royal. The curling dread in his gut told him that he already knew the answer because that crest is the crest of his home kingdom; Ealdor.
“Introducing Queen Irene Adler of Ealdor!” The servant’s boy’s voice bellowed through the room. There it was; the final nail in Merlin’s coffin.
The king stood as two of Camelot’s knights opened the double doors to reveal Ealdor’s queen and even though he was expecting it, it still caught Merlin off guard at the sight of his friend. Irene looked much more mature, her rich chocolate hair was pinned up in a flattering wavy updo, serenely intelligent, lapis blue eyes danced over each member of the court before remaining fixed on the king. One thing that hadn’t changed was the mischievous smirk presented on her signature painted ruby red lips. Her scarlet dress glided with the click of her heels against the marble floor, the deep red dress left the pale expanse of her shoulders and décolletage exposed before flaring out on her upper arms. Gold accents cinched her dress at the waist bellowing out into the impressive bell shape of the bottom of the dress.
It was then that Merlin noticed the timid form of one Molly Hooper following Irene into the court. She had been Irene’s maidservant and best friend since they were both fifteen and she hadn’t seemed to have changed to much. The gentle sun kissed almond colour of her skin had become a slightly more pink hue as she flushed under the eyes of the court. Her head remained bowed, hiding the honey brown of her eyes and her mousy hair was strung up with a pale yellow ribbon. Her simple white dress with a brown corset paled in comparison to the queen’s scarlet but she was still pretty in a gentle, unassuming way.
“Queen Irene, welcome to Camelot, I hope your journey wasn’t too trying?” The king exclaimed in a friendly manner as Queen Irene bowed at the foot of the throne. The stunning woman looked up from the floor with a playful smile pulling at her deep red lips.
“Nothing I haven’t done before, your majesty, I assure you,” she answered, the regal melody of her voice flowing freely through the court. The king smiled down at her.
“Of course, may I introduce you to my ward; Morgana,” At the mention of her name, Morgana rose from her throne and curtsying respectfully and receiving a curtsy in return, “and of course, My son; Arthur,” Arthur bowed deeply and kissed the back of Irene’s hand. The queen smiled down at the Prince.
“Of course, they’re both so lovely, you should be proud my Lord,” At this moment, Irene’s sharp eyes locked on to the figure standing nervously behind the prince. The playful smile fell from her lips and her eyes widened comically. At the change in behaviour, Arthur looked behind him to see what had caught the Queen’s attention, only to see the guilty form of his manservant. Arthur looked back to Queen Irene.
“Ah, don’t mind him, that’s just my useless manse-“ Arthur was abruptly cut off by the high pitched squeal and beaming grin of the Queen as she grabbed a flustered Merlin by the arms and pulled him to her; encasing him in a tight hug. Arthur was mentally floored at this and the rest of the court seemed to be in a similar state.
“oh my goodness Merlin! Nobody told me you would be here, is this where you have been hiding? You’ve been working here as a serving boy!?” the queen asked incredulously after thoroughly swinging the slight boy around. She pulled away to poke and prod at his face concernedly. Arthur felt as if he was having a bizarre dream as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. “Have they been treating you well, not working you too hard? My word Merlin, if you were so desperate to be a skivvy, I could have found you something in my castle. Goodness Merlin, Mycroft will,” At this Irene paused and a shiver visibly went up her spine and all colour drained from Merlin’s face at the mention of ‘Mycroft’, Arthur had no idea who that was, all he could do was watch with his mouth agape as the Queen of Ealdor manhandled Merlin “ oh my¸ I despair to think as to what Mycroft will do. Your mother refused to tell him where you were, said you could do without his ‘meddling’. That being said, it didn’t stop him from sending parties of knights out looking for you in every surrounding town. I think he wants us to think it’s because he’s a control freak but we all know he’s worried about you. The one time he didn’t have his men trailing you, you disappeared, I thought he was going to commit homicide or at the least have a seizure, I think I actually saw his blood pressure go through the roof. If he sees you here, working as a servant no less, I dread to think what he’ll do, maybe put you on a leash. That seems too mild, actually, doesn’t it, he’ll certainly no-“ she was cut off by merlin grabbing her hands and removing them from his face and he looked at her gently.
“Irene, you’re babbling,” At this, Irene’s face turned a gentle shade of pink and she looked over the flabbergasted members of the court, especially the floored looks of Prince Arthur and King Uther.
“Ah, yes, I apologise sire, I merely got excited,” at this Uther calmed down, but the stricken crease in his brow remained, Arthur on the other hand, was still looking at the pair as if they’d both grown Second heads.
“What the hell is going on!?” Petulance seeped into the Prince’s desperate tone and he ignored his Father’s sharp look. “How do you know Merlin!?” The blonde looked wild with confusion.
The Queen’s playful smile return.
“Well, he’s my future brother in law,”
“WHAT!?” The Blonde prince squawked in shock. At this, Merlin let out a breathy laugh and shook his head.
“You and I both know that Sherlock only shows interest in people if he suspects them of murder or theft, I certainly doubt he’s going to marry anyone,” A laugh similar to the noise of a quality bell left Queen Irene’s lips and they both ignored Arthurs ongoing crisis.
“He’ll cave to my charms, all do eventually. I see you’ve got the same cheekbones, honestly I could slice bread with them, you really have grown into your looks, can’t say the same about your ears though,” She pinched his ear playfully and he mock glared at her. This banter caught Arthur’s attention, despite all the zooming thoughts going around in his confused brain, the sudden stab of jealousy hit him. He was the only one allowed to insult Merlin and he personally thought his ears were charming and so painfully Merlin.
“We both know that Sherlock’s looks have very little to do with your infatuation, its precisely his adverseness to your charms that keeps you interested,” he smiles cheekily at her, before frowning “you mentioned Mycroft?” he grimaced.
At this, Irene’s smile turned perfectly sinful, “Sorry Merlin, he was just sorting the Knights, they’ll both be here any moment,” She didn’t seem very sorry.
Merlin bit his thumb nervously and looked at the doors;
“I’m so dead,”
Arthur was watching the exchange with rapt attention, internally he was screaming In confusion and demanding that they answer his questions.