Fic: Arthur's Favorite
Title: Arthur's Favorite
Author: CrabbyLioness
Summary: Arthur and Merlin's relationship as seen through various eyes. Might be seen as a sequel to A Change on the Wind, but it doesn't have to be.
Disclaimer: The Arthurian Legends belong to the ages. This retelling belongs to the BBC and Shine.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 505
Spoilers: I've only seen through Episode 7.
Warning: there might be a sequel to this story after I finish watching S1. You have been warned.
Any group of five or more people runs on gossip, including castle staff. A favorite topic downstairs at Camelot Castle lately had been the unusual relationship between the young Prince and his new manservant.
The downstairs parlor maid sniffed that he was no better than you could expect for an ignorant clodhopper from Eolder.
The blacksmith and the lady's maid would not hear a word said against him.
The head valet was just glad to have the finicky Prince off his back. Now there was someone else the young royal could harass about doing his kit up to his exacting specifications.
The gaoler spoke for many when he called the manservant "the Prince's whore" and spoke of them as "Her Royal Highness and Her New Queen".
The butler muttered to the librarian that he wouldn't be the first cupbearer to do double duty. No one else got the joke.
The upstairs chamber maid countered that if the Prince had taken the boy for his concubine, why were they sleeping on opposite sides of the castle? No one would bat an eye if the fussy nobleman ordered his manservant to sleep on a pallet in his chambers in case he needed him through the night. And if the pallet went unused, who besides the Prince and his manservant would know?
The herbalist spoke archly of young men's love for overly complicated subterfuge.
The laundress was asked for her professional opinion, took offense, and began describing the state of her interrogator's bedding at the top of her lungs.
The Captain of the Guard noted that if the Prince wanted to take a lover, he could not have picked a more convenient one than a mild-mannered, common, male foreigner with no connections and no family to get above their station, save for old Gaius who wouldn't take a piss without the King's permission. He added that Prince Arthur was a very careful and deliberate young man.
The physician would only say that his nephew had come to Camelot to look for work.
Uther was overheard to speak of "Arthur's puppy" when his son was not around.
The head groom opined that young men and young stallions both felt the need to kick the traces occasionally. Compared to excessive drinking, gambling, or promiscuity, Prince Arthur was engaging in a very mild form of rebellion. He added that the King was wise not to send the servant boy away, and thus prompt his son to seek out more overt foms of rebellion than spending time in the company of a genial young fool.
"It would be nice to have a real Fool again," Cook sighed. "We haven't had one in ages."
"Merlin could do that," the gardener replied. "He's charming enough, and good at making people laugh."
And thus it came to pass that the castle staff reached a consensus that after Uther's death, Arthur would appoint Merlin the new Court Jester.
"Mark my words," said the baker, "that boy will be wearing a pointed hat before it's over with."