DISCLAIMER:
The characters in Merlin
(BBC) belong to Shine
Television and the BBC, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a
while to spin a tale
Incentive
to Learn
By firewolf
March 2009
@>;-'-
It was no question to Arthur
that Merlin had to learn how to fly properly. And land without injury
to himself, property, or any friend he would choose for a ride on a
shoulder. However, trying to get that through to his stupid manservant
who couldn’t exactly talk back was really starting to stretch Arthur’s
patience.
After the whole dummy episode in the practice yard where the little
falcon was almost crushed to death under said dummy, and further spent
a week too sore to move, Merlin had stubbornly refused to leave his
room in the Physician’s quarters. It seemed as if he was bent on just
hiding in his rooms until Gaius found a way to restore him.
The one time Arthur did forcefully take him to the practice yard, the
shameless bird had determinedly attempted to *walk* off the training
field. Arthur thought that he had never been so mortified in his life.
And Morgana and Gwen did not help at all when they fluttered into the
yard to rescue the little Merlin from the laughing, ‘bullying’ knights
and carried him the rest of the way home.
Arthur would swear that Morgana and Gwen were practically spoiling his
manservant with the way they happily carted him around the castle. And
like it as not to admit it, Arthur was not happy to see Merlin spend
most of the day perched on Gwen’s shoulder, or sitting in the crook of
her arm as she moved about her chores in the castle whenever he deigned
to leave his room.
At the least, Merlin still let Arthur feed him. Be it in his quarters
or at the King’s table, where the raptor would spend the meal perched
on the head of Arthur’s chair where the Prince could casually reach a
hand up to offer him slices of meat. Really, Merlin was such a small
and skinny little bird that Arthur saw it as a duty to fatten him up
and put more meat on his bones.
Teaching him to be a proper falcon, however…
Arthur was truly at his wits end trying to reason with his
uncommunicative manservant on why he wouldn’t try again. His first
flight was a spectacular travesty, but Arthur didn’t believe Merlin
should give up so readily. However, he just couldn’t work out how to
convince the stubborn bird—boy to reconsider his decision and learn how
to be a proper raptor while they waited for either Gaius or Geoffrey to
discover how to turn him back into a man.
Unexpectedly, Gwen played a significant part in delivering Merlin into
a situation which did much to prompt his change of mind.
*~*~*
Merlin sang sweetly on Gwen’s shoulder as she walked them towards the
kitchens. Gwen smiled up at the little raptor as she walked, knowing
that Merlin enjoyed visiting the kitchens. He didn’t take food from the
kitchen help, since that was rather obviously the Prince’s privilege to
feed *his* raptor, and the staff knew it. But he did take notice that
the head cook Mary, was one of the few people in the castle who would
talk to him as if he was still Merlin, and not this fascinating freak
pet of the Prince.
“Ahh, Gwen, love. Merlin, dear boy? Come for a little natter?” The
jolly old maid smiled as she looked up at their entrance.
Gwen laughed, “If we could only be so free. I came to check on how our
stores are, Mary. The Prince asked if you needed him to send his
knights out to pick up some game.”
The Wiley old woman shook her finger at them. “Oh ho! He’s not getting
one over this head cook. Our Liege is trying to get Gaius to let him
out early, isn’t he? Thinks he’d just sneak out with his knights for a
little hunting rather than be stuck in the castle?”
Gwen grinned at her, and Merlin let out a cry of assent as he bobbed
his head at the woman. Arthur could sometimes be a little too obvious.
“No need for the Prince to strain himself, luv.” Mary waved behind her
where there were several near floor-to-ceiling stacks of baskets full
of geese. “We may have run out of venison a day or so back, but we
still have several legs of ham and received a flock of birds enough for
tonight’s feast and several more days of supper too.”
Gwen’s jaw dropped at that moment. “Oh! Feathers! Oh no. I forgot!
M’lady asked me to pick up a new pillow for her at the market.” She
turned to the raptor on her shoulder. “Oh, Merlin. I’m so sorry, Gaius’
quarters are in the other direction and—maybe, do you want to come to
the markets with me?
“Of course you don’t have to. Not that I don’t want you to, but it was
such a mess the last time I brought you there. The children were just
too excited to see a Merlin up close and kept pulling your tail and
feathers, but—”
He hopped off her shoulder to land on the table and chirruped
soothingly as he waved a wing at her. Merlin shook out his feathers and
shuddered, clearly indicating his reluctance to visit the markets ever
again.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay getting back to Gaius’ on your own?” She
bit her lower lip nervously. “I could nip down that way first. I’m sure
I won’t be too late getting to the markets before the stores start to
pack up.”
The Merlin shook its head at her and hopped down to the floor this
time. It waved its wings a bit to assist it in taking a longer hop
across the floor to land in front of the corridor which would lead it
towards Gaius’ quarters.
“Well—if you’re sure?” Merlin chirruped at her and raised a wing as if
to wave her off. “Okay, I’ll see you later then, Merlin. And you too,
Mary, I’m sure the feast will be just fabulous with your excellent
cooking.
“Oh, M’lady might be looking for me. So if you do meet up with her on
the track back, Merlin, please try to convey to her that I won’t be too
long?”
The raptor whistled to her in assent. It made the kitchen help chuckle
softly around them. Truly, watching the little raptor with the few who
talked to him often gave many the impression that Merlin had lost very
little in making himself understood despite his transformation.
Merlin looked up at the cook after Gwen went out the other corridor.
“Well, you best be off too, boy.” She made shooing motions at the
little raptor. “We’re about to start on the geese, and you don’t want
to be around to get mixed up in that.”
Merlin whistled as he bobbed his head at her and turned to start
walking down the corridor. Behind him the cook and her kitchen helpers
politely stifled a laugh at this incongruous sight of the little bird
of prey walking instead of taking to the air and flying.
Unfortunately, one of the boys was not very careful since he was paying
too much attention to the departing raptor to watch where he was going
with his pile of chopping blocks. So he walked into a tower of cages
with enough force that the whole stack started to sway.
Merlin was almost started into flight by the enormous crash that boomed
behind him, and he turned in time to witness piles and piles of cages
bursting open and releasing a whole gaggle of geese; all which flocked
for ‘his’ corridor in a bid for freedom. A yell from cook had one of
her kitchen helpers diving for and slamming the door. However, one
rather determined bird slipped through in a flurry of feathers. And
Merlin was suddenly feeling rather small in comparison to this huge
specimen sharing his corridor; a bird which had probably spent quite a
few months being fed and fattened to be as large a size as a goose
could possibly grow.
*~*~*
Arthur was bored. Being strictly confined to the castle and having his
hours of training and supervision of his knights severely curtailed,
while he was still recovering from the wound dealt to him by the
Questing Beast, left him greatly out of sorts over all the free time he
had. On top of that, with Merlin’s unfortunate transformation, he
didn’t even have a manservant to be snarky with for entertainment.
He rather thought his only hope for some relief was with Mary to agree
that she could do with some game. Maybe then he’d be able to sneak out
of the castle to ride with his knights for a bit of hunting. If his men
objected, Arthur thought he could persuade them that he’d just be
joining them for company and that he wouldn’t try to take part and
overexert himself. While he had sent Gwen to talk to the cook, Arthur
was restless enough that he thought maybe a personal visit from him
might produce better results; which was what brought him down the
corridor towards the kitchens.
A bit lost in his thoughts, Arthur hadn’t noticed the commotion ahead
of him until he was five feet away from the spectacle that appeared
screaming around a corner. And when he saw it, the Prince wasn’t sure
whether to laugh or cry to see a huge snow white goose chasing and
stabbing its beak at a little raptor which was squalling quite
pathetically as it desperately tried to out run its pursuer.
“Merlin!?” Arthur’s mortified yell served to distract the goose, making
it stop to stare at the human who suddenly appeared in their path,
providing its harassed quarry a respite from attack.
Not missing a beat, Merlin ran and hopped towards his Prince until he
reached Arthur’s boots and started clawing his way up his breeches.
Arthur hastily reached down to catch at the Merlin’s feet before his
talons could penetrate the cloth and do serious damage to his leg.
Safely lifting the wild eyed bird on his right arm, Arthur stared at
his transformed manservant in grave disappointment. “Honestly, Mer-lin.
A goose? You were *running* *away* from a *goose*?”
The bird panted as it screeched at Arthur, making him roll his eyes at
the raptor. “Yes, yes. I did notice you were smaller. But you’re a bird
of prey, Merlin! You have *claws* and a *sharp* beak! You *eat* meat!
Not like that--”
A menacing hiss sounded from down the corridor. Man and raptor
instantly turned their heads towards the goose which had now unfurled
its wings and started to—stalk towards them. Arthur found himself taken
aback. In all honesty, the Prince couldn’t quite recall ever seeing a
goose that was this remarkably large. And—in comparison, Merlin really
was pathetically small and scrawny. Arthur was reminded again that he
needed to be more diligent in feeding his falco—manservant.
The goose hissed at them again. He gulped. With Merlin starting a
mincing climb up his right arm to his shoulder in an attempt to reach
higher ground, and his left still in a sling, Arthur didn’t exactly
have a free hand to reach for his sword. Then he suddenly remembered he
*wasn’t* carrying a sword that day. Gaius still hadn’t cleared him to
carry arms again yet.
The hissing goose took another purposeful step towards them, making
Arthur take an involuntary step back. By then, Merlin had made it to
his shoulder and his trembling body was pressed tight against Arthur’s
head.
Now this was plainly ridiculous. Arthur knew his manservant wasn’t a
coward. The idiot boy had followed him on missions and quests and ran
*towards* danger to be at his side more times than Arthur cared to
count. However, he could practically taste the fear in the air as the
demonic goose stared them down with its beady little eyes.
The pint sized monster advanced another step and Arthur felt his back
hit the wall behind him. They could sense their adversary gathering
itself for an attack. Merlin chirruped worriedly in his ear. Arthur
could hear himself swallow hard. He dared not to break eye contact with
the demon. And this was why he missed noticing the flash of metal that
suddenly flew at their enemy from the side corridor and neatly sliced
clean through the neck of the beast.
“Ha! Got you!” A triumphant cry came from the said corridor which was
mercifully completely out of sight of Arthur and Merlin’s position.
Old Mary bore down on the headless goose which flopped and jerked in
its death spasm. “Thought you could escape my roasting pit, did you?”
The plump old cook jerked her cleaver from the stone and snatched up
the dead goose in her other hand.
Man and bird barely dared to breath, afraid that they’d catch the
woman’s attention and reveal themselves and their ignominy. Fortunately
for them, Mary was only concerned with the runaway goose and turned
around in the opposite direction, and so did not notice their presence
at all, allowing the pair to shamefully beat a quiet and hasty retreat.
Once safely away, Arthur turned his head to glare at the little falcon
that had moved to sit properly on his shoulder instead of pressed up
against his head as it had been earlier, “We are *never* speaking of
this. Ever!”
Merlin chirruped in agreement as he tucked his head under a wing. But
the bird jerked his head out from hiding again in alarm as he turned to
stare further down the corridor. Arthur looked in the direction Merlin
indicated to find Morgana watching them with hands clapped over her
mouth. Her eyes danced in wicked delight. It was very clear to the
humiliated pair that the King’s ward had very likely witnessed the
entire confrontation.
Merlin let out a soft whistle while he hunched his shoulders and let
his head hang down. Arthur gritted his teeth as he stalked towards his
‘adopted’ sister. His eyes fairly glowed with the chill of promised
death.
*~*~*
Uther was sensitive enough to notice the tensed atmosphere in the
dining hall during the feast. He was quite sure he was missing
something, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.
The only thing he could discern was the near murderous look of warning
his son would frequently throw his ward from across the table. It was
an impressive glare at that. And Uther actually felt quite proud of his
son for developing this subzero look of death.
Morgana, however, didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. In fact, she
looked like a cat which found a whole barrel of cream, and her lips
were twitching almost constantly through the whole feast. Still, under
Arthur’s steady glare throughout the night, her smile did eventually
falter and die. Especially whenever Uther tried to get her to reveal
what had amused her so much. The King thought that they were being
utterly unfair to him.
Morgana’s maid and the little falcon were no better in enlightening the
King. The girl stayed very respectfully quiet and timid around the
Prince. As for Merlin; for once his son wasn’t spending part of the
meal trying to coax the skinny bird into eating every morsel offered
from his hand. During this feast, Merlin gleefully tore into the
generous slices of cooked goose with quite a bit more fervour and
pleasure than Uther could ever recall of the little raptor during any
other meal. Uther thought the bird must have been especially hungry
since it was usually a dainty eater.
Come to think of it, Arthur seemed to be stabbing into his share of the
goose with great relish too. Uther didn’t know his son enjoyed eating
goose that much. He had always thought Arthur’s favourite meat was
venison.
*~*~*
The next morning when Arthur appeared at Gaius’ quarters determined to
bring Merlin out for a flying lesson, the little falcon went quietly
and without protest.
~end~