Werewolf of London: Chapter 4
London, England, December 1850
Merlin paced in the sitting room of the Pendragon home. It was lavishly furnished with the most modern furniture that Uther could afford. The house was a study in the Pendragon colors: red and gold. Merlin suspected the rare spots of blue or green were mostly Morgana’s doing.
The sitting room itself had two long mahogany couches lined gold filament and they had big, fluffy red pillows on them. The couches were next to a fireplace on the back wall. There were some mahogany chairs with gold or red fabric covering the seats, but they were near a small table and the small bar towards the end of the room. Even Merlin’s favorite spot in the sitting room couldn’t lure him to sit down; he was far too anxious to relax into the window seat that faced the front garden and driveway. It would just remind him of all those times he’d lounged in front of the large window and read while Arthur worked at the nearby table.
Today, however, Merlin couldn’t sit down. He was worried about Arthur; no one had heard from him in two months. Merlin had sent numerous messages to Arthur updating him on Hunith’s health, but he’d heard nothing in return. Even Uther, who had sent messages yelling at his son, had heard nothing and those kinds of messages usually got a response of some kind.
Morgana walked into the sitting room and rolled her eyes at Merlin. “Please sit down, you are making me sick walking back and forth like that,” she said as she settled herself on one of the couches.
“I cannot sit, I am too worried,” Merlin replied. He did stop pacing though.
“Do not be worried. We will go and find Arthur and bring him home. Then I will beat him for making us worry.”
Merlin snorted. “I do not know if you and Gwen should come with me.”
“Do not be stupid Merlin,” Gwen stated as she came into the sitting room with a tray of tea and cakes. “Do sit down. It is rude to eat while standing.”
Merlin made a face at the women, but finally sat down. “It could be dangerous. We do not know what Arthur got up to alone.”
Morgana arched an eyebrow at Merlin. “That is why Gwen and I must go with you. You boys are magnets for trouble.”
Gwen giggled and began to serve Morgana and Merlin tea. Morgana lightly smacked Gwen’s hands and pulled her down onto the couch. Morgana then picked up the teapot and finished serving the tea.
Merlin rolled his eyes. “I think you are mistaken.”
“No, I am not. It was you and Arthur that caused the ruckus at the Pendragon Ball. It was you and Arthur that nearly got expelled from University. It was you and Arthur-”
“Yes, yes, all right,” Merlin cut Morgana off quickly. “I see what you mean.” He shifted on the couch. “Let us talk about how we will save Arthur.”
“That,” said Gwen as she passed a plate of food to Merlin, “is where you come in.”
“Me?” asked Merlin incredulously. “What can I do?”
“Arthur’s friends like you and will help us get to wherever Arthur is.”
“You two cannot ask them?”
Gwen glanced briefly at Morgana, who was looking around the room. Merlin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Arthur’s friends will not talk to me or Morgana, for various reasons. They will not even tell us where he was last, but they will tell you.”
Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. “Fine. I will go around to their homes and see if they can help.”
“Lancelot and Gwaine might be the most helpful,” Morgana said as she took a sip of tea.
“Lance came back to England already? I thought he was going to stay until the New Year.”
Morgana shrugged. Merlin narrowed his eyes once again. “You two are up to something.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Morgana widened her eyes and fluttered her lashes at Merlin.
Merlin huffed, stood up and bowed to the women. “Right then. I am off to talk to Arthur’s friends, since you two cannot be bothered.” He turned and left the room.
Gwen winced as he slammed the door behind him. “Morgana, are you sure this is right?”
Morgana grinned at Gwen. “My plans are never wrong.”
Gwen hummed and sipped her own tea. “We shall see.”
“Sorry to bother you so late, Lance,” Merlin said as he stepped into Lancelot’s home. “I had meant to come earlier, but my mother needed me and then I was needed for a consultation at the hospital.” He took off his coat and gave it to Lancelot’s butler.
“It is no problem, Merlin. Have you heard from Arthur yet?” Lancelot asked. He led Merlin into the nearby sitting room. It was the exact opposite of the Pendragon sitting room. This one was warm and welcoming, while the Pendragon one was off putting, as if the homeowner didn’t want anyone to be there.
“No. That is why I came to you. Morgana said you might know where Arthur was. She and Gwen said you would not tell them,” Merlin frowned in confusion as he sat down on a beige lounge chair. He put his head in hands and sighed. “This whole thing is driving me crazy.”
“I agree,” replied Lancelot. He took a cigarette case out of his robe pocket, took out a cigarette and lit it. “Want one?” he offered.
“No thanks.”
Lancelot closed the case and put it on back in his pocket. “Now, as for Morgana and Gwen, they never came around to ask and if they did, I would have told them.”
“Has Uther come by?” Merlin looked up and watched the smoke from Lancelot’s cigarette float in the air.
“No. No one has, which is strange. Gwaine and I were discussing it and we find the whole thing odd.”
“You know I would have come by sooner...” Merlin began.
Lancelot cut him off, “I know. You had other things on your mind.”
Merlin smiled wryly. “Hopefully Arthur can forgive me.”
“He usually does,” Lancelot chuckled. He blew out some smoke and walked towards a nearby desk. “Here. This is the last letter I received from Arthur.”
Merlin stood up and walked over to Lancelot, he grabbed the letter and looked at the postmark. “Romania! Why would he go to Romania?”
Lancelot shrugged. “Who knows? Arthur has strange flights of fancy at times.”
“My god. How am I getting to Romania, with Morgana and Gwen no less?” Merlin leaned against the wall and sighed.
“Very carefully is my guess,” Lancelot smirked as he took another puff of his cigarette.
Merlin glared at his friend. “Great.”
Merlin tapped his foot and checked his watch as he waited at the train station. “Come on, ladies,” he muttered. “The train leaves soon and I will leave without you.”
“Merlin!” he heard Morgana shout through all the people.
“Finally,” he sighed. He glanced around, saw no one was watching and whispered a magic spell under his breath. A woman in the middle of the crowd shrieked and it parted so Morgana, Gwen and their luggage could pass through quickly.
“I wonder what happened,” Morgana said. She flagged down a train attendant and asked for help loading the bags aboard the train.
“I do not know.” Merlin looked at all the bags and asked, “Do you really need all this luggage?”
“Merlin, do not be silly,” Morgana sniffed. “Of course I do.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, swept around, and began to board the train.
Merlin rolled his eyes at Gwen, who giggled softly. “Come on,” she said quietly. “Let us get on board before she leaves without us.”
He nodded and helped Gwen into the train. He turned and looked back out over the platform before boarding the train. I will find you Arthur. I promise.
Halfway across Europe, bright blue eyes popped open.
Chapter 5