Chapter Text
When Merlin first informed Arthur (informed, not asked- Merlin never actually asked) that she was going on a trip back home to Ealdor he never imagined that all his worst fears would come true. Every (well not every, that’s a tad dramatic) bad thing he stayed up at night worrying about would play out over the several day trip and confirm every worry he’d ever had. But Arthur had no way of knowing that and so he excitedly decided to tag along. What a fool.
“Arthur, you are not coming with me. None of you are.” Merlin stared bewildered as the knights loaded up their stuff onto their horses.
“I am the king, Merlin, and as such I can do whatever I want.” Rubbing at her face and pushing the mat of hair she had promised herself she’d comb out, away from her face, Merlin resisted the urge to scream.
“And what you want is to follow your servant on a two day trip back to her home village, sleep in someone’s barn for two days because heaven knows my mother cannot house you all, and then journey the two days back just because.” Arthur looked smug as he sauntered up to Merlin, leaning into her face as he answered.
“That sounds about right.”
“But why?”
“Because I’m the-”
“The king yeah I get that part.” Merlin interrupted and pushed past Arthur towards the horse that was in all but name hers. Kings don’t give servants horses, but Merlin always rode the brown, almost peachy colored horse on all trips with the King and had jokingly claimed the horse right after riding him for the first time. What she didn’t know is that the horse was actually a gift specifically for Arthur back in his Prince days and was trained and broken by him. But that’s how Arthur knew the horse was safe and wouldn’t buck off someone who was never actually taught how to ride. That’s the only reason he made sure Merlin rode the horse. Safety. Really that’s all. And if he made sure the horse was checked out before all their trips then that's for him to know.
“Exactly. And as the king I have a duty to check on my outer villages which are all on the exact path to get to Ealdor.” Merlin paused before spinning around to face Arthur once more.
“Please tell me you are not turning my little bit of time off into a long trip of check ins. Do you know how long it’d take to actually stop at the villages we’d be passing?”
“Don’t be such a girl Merlin. It’s only three or four villages.” Merlin resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Arthur. She knew that she wasn’t the pick of the litter when it came to being a ‘proper’ woman, but sometimes it stung when all those around genuinely forgot she was a woman. Sure she did some… unconventional things. Like wearing trousers (but really it’s impossible to keep up with the king and his knights in a dress) and keeping her hair short and pulled back in a low ponytail. What hair did fall loose knotted up around her face, making the cut seem even shorter. And yeah, technically she was an old maid. Being 24 years unmarried and with no children didn’t help her cause either.
“Yes but each of those villages will require some travel out of the way and certainly will all insist upon a feast or performance to commemorate their king coming. Each visit will take at least a day each. Especially if we wanted to do it properly and make proper use of our effort and meet with each village’s elders and head men.” A servant that was helping Sir Gwaine’s belongings to his horse stopped and stared at Merlin in some confusion. Servants weren’t expected to know much about politics. Arthur on the other hand just looked a little annoyed.
“Yes, I know Merlin.” The two stood for a moment among the chaos of the courtyard and stared at one another. After a moment Merlin finally broke away with an annoyed groan.
“Fine. But we do that all after. I can not be late to meet my mother.” Most of the knights cheered, eager to have a few days with no politics and rules all while getting to make sure their queen made her trip safely. Arthur didn’t cheer though, instead he took note of Merlin’s twitchiness and her stiff shoulders. She almost acted as though she had something to hide, Arthur could not even begin to fathom why she would act like that.