“C’mon, c’mon! You can do better than that! I know a goat that can throw better than you!” The face in the wooden plywood shouted at a man who was standing about fifty feet away from him, throwing rotten tomatoes at the yeller. Another tomato was hurled down the grassy pathway and slammed against the wooden boards, narrowly missing the grinning face. The man being thrown at gave a wicked smirk as he ducked away from the juicy shrapnel. “Nice try, mate! Give the lady another fiver and try again!”
The contestant frowned and shook his head, throwing up a middle finger before stalking away from the smirking faces that had driven him away. The small crowds that had already started congregating around the spectacle laughed at the response and cheered for someone else to go up to the pretty assistant and try their hand at it.
Merlin couldn’t believe that people actually played that game. He stood on the grassy hill overlooking the whole debacle, arms crossed over his chest as he watched another sucker stagger up to the booth and exchange a five-pound note for a handful of squishy tomatoes.
The general public were right idiots sometimes.
He shook his head and started down the hill, giving Gwaine, the man who was currently trading tomatoes for insults, a wave and receiving one back before disappearing through the crowds that milled a bit away from the entertainment.
“Unbelievable, that people would pay to be insulted like that… and for Gwaine to like sitting in that hot box for hours on end, being pelted with tomatoes.” Merlin muttered to himself as he dodged a few people that were merely strolling through the market areas.
“It’s not like they tend to hit him,” a distinctly female voice ventured, making Merlin jump. He turned and looked down to come face to face with another grin, this one belonging to one of his closest friends, Gwen. “And besides, he doesn’t have enough discipline to do anything else. He surely wouldn’t be joining Arthur and his lot jousting.” She nodded in the direction of the jousting arena, where Arthur and his cohorts could be seen on horseback, trotting up and down the length of the fence.
Gwen adjusted her blue dress, gripping the fabric and bringing the hem above her leather shoes as they made their way across the market place. Merlin frowned as he turned his gaze away from the flexing knights that were always attracting the attention of the visitors, and focused on his path. He had to dodge the crowds of attendees that had already begun to show up that morning, although most didn’t give him a second look since he wasn’t dressed like Arthur and his group. Their clothes were always more regal than Merlin’s were. Silks and capes when they weren’t in their armor, glinting metal and clanking weapons when they were getting ready for mock battle and jousting. Merlin always tended to lean towards his wool clothing and a simple scarf to keep his neck from getting sunburned in the summer light. Even Gwen was not outlandishly dressed. Not like the royal party that was cavorting around somewhere else on the grounds. Her own dress was made of wool and other sorts of simple fibers as well.
They never really attracted attention. They looked too much like the other people that milled around the marketplace and the rides and the arena. They were sometimes mistaken for visitors, but their accents were just a little bit more formal than those that came to see them every day and the small details could detach them from the crowds that surged through the front gates every morning at ten o’clock.
They weren’t celebrities like the knights and their leader. Arthur was, for all intents and purposes, the star of the faire. Everyone stopped what they were doing when he and his group of knights flaunted themselves and strode through the grounds, cloaks flapping dramatically in the wind. Arthur drank up the attention and Merlin was pretty sure that was how the blond man thrived.
“Merlin!” Gwen’s voice shook him out of his sulking reverie and Merlin glanced over at his friend, who was standing outside of the game booth they ran together, about ten or so paces behind where he stood now. “What is going on in your head?” He smiled slightly and gave a silent shrug before tracing his steps backwards to the booth.
“Sorry. Thinking about today, is all.”
“Nothing big is planned… what, are you expecting someone to come take you away from me and the booth?” She asked, her tone fake with accusatory inclinations. Gwen shook a finger at him. “I see how it is, Merlin. You want to go play with the knights, is that it? Leave me all by my lonesome to run this whole operation.”
She waved a hand at the group of booths they were standing in front of, each one of them featuring a different game. Those that were feeling lucky could throw knives, darts, shoot arrows or attempt a rather complicated lever system to shoot fake canvas frogs into buckets for a small prize. Gwen and Merlin ran the series of booths, jumping back and forth between them. Sometimes they shared the spaces with a few others, but other times, especially when it was slow, they just kept the peace with the two of them.
It was a nice bit of responsibility that didn’t take too much worrying about. Merlin could watch the crowd, while at the same time doing his job. He never remembered volunteering for the games booths, nor did Gwen, but it had just kind of happened that way. And if he was going to be stuck for hours on end with someone, he was glad it was Gwen at least and not one of the knights.
“No, no! Of course not. I’m just… never mind. It’s stupid. We should be setting up anyway.” He ducked behind one of the wooden counters and began placing the bows at each station of that particular game. The arrows were hidden safely away from out of the reach of anyone who wanted to play that game. Gwen shrugged and moved to another booth, placing the frogs on their particular platforms and getting them ready for their attempts at flight.
A few families were lurking around the game booths, but despite Gwen’s charming smile that attempted to lure them closer, they were not interested in the games at the moment and wandered away to find something a bit more thrilling. Her smile faded and she glanced at Merlin as the boy continued to set up the games they were in charge of.
He couldn’t remember how long he and Gwen had been running these booths, but it had always been that way. They were partners in crime, so to speak, and always relied on one another to keep things running smoothly. Merlin generally ran the booths with the weapons and Gwen attempted to wrangle in the kids who were enthralled with the flying frogs and the popping balloons. That was always how it had been underneath the summer sun, for as long as Merlin could remember.
Straw snapped beneath his feet as he moved back and forth behind the wooden countertop of his booth.
“C’mon, you! You know you want to impress that lady of yours!” Merlin heard Gwen call out and he looked up just in time to see a man flush and the woman hanging on his arm laughing at the challenge.
“Or perhaps a crossbow is a better challenge than merely flinging frogs into buckets!” Merlin cried out, joining the leering. The woman giggled and buried her face into her escort’s arm and the man took the moment to glower at Merlin before ushering his date away from the two booth minders. Merlin let out a quick laugh and looked over at Gwen who had crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. They were sure signs of her being angry with him, but the smile on her face betrayed all of that.
“You know, every time you do that, I lose a sale,” she scolded, shaking a finger at him once more. But Merlin merely grinned and shrugged at his friend. “Gaius is going to really follow through on that threat of separating us one of these days!”
Merlin brought up his hands and shook them, creating a bit of a draft in the summer heat. “Ooooh no. I’m not scared of that old buffoon anyway. What’s he going to do, send me off to serve food? He knows I’m the reason people come around to these booths as it is.”
Gwen let out a bark of laughter and shook her head. “You’re the one that brings in the customers? I’m pretty sure I’m the one that does that.”
“Yeah, only because of your ti--” But Merlin broke off at the sound of a throat clearing behind him. His teasing smile dropped from his face, but he could see Gwen’s grin only growing wider.
“Hi, Gaius,” she greeted before going back to work. Merlin’s stomach sank and he slowly turned to find the old man staring at him with a glare that could both freeze Merlin’s insides and melt him into a puddle of flesh and gore at the same time.
“Oh… Gaius… sorry… didn’t hear you come up…”
The old man tapped his foot in the dirt and shook his head as he came around the counter.
“You don’t hear a lot of things, Merlin, which is what is going to get you into trouble one of these days,” Gaius warned him, shaking a finger at him. It seemed to be a common theme that morning and Merlin couldn’t help rolling his eyes and praying that Gaius hadn’t seen the motion.
“I can’t help it, Gaius. No one spends time at the game booths like they used to. The frog game is boring for children and no one wants to play with these pitiful things you call crossbows,” Merlin turned, following Gaius as he waved a hand at the wooden weapons that were settled on the counter behind him. Each crossbow was tied to the counter so no one could make off with it, but it wouldn’t do much damage. It was made of wood and not nearly as lethal as something a real hunter would carry.
They were all for show as it was.
“Maybe I should send you off somewhere else where you might not be so bored!” Gaius crowed, turning on his assistant with a flash in his eyes that made Merlin take a step back. Gaius never really raised his voice at his employees and really found them more entertaining than anything else. But it was entirely possible that Merlin had finally struck that nerve.
Whoops.
He put up his hands in surrender, an uneasy smile gracing his face. “C’mon, Gaius… don’t be that way… you know I like working for you. Working here with Gwen and everything.”
But Gaius shook his head and struck out with his hand. Merlin first thought he was attempting to hit him, but then saw the pointing finger that signaled the boy should leave. “Go take a walk, Merlin. Get out of my sight for a few hours.”
“Gaius!” Merlin cried, but was silenced once more by another shake of the old man’s head. The boy looked helplessly at Gwen, who could only shrug her shoulders and look down at her frogs. Merlin frowned, feeling the heat surfacing in his cheeks.
“Fine. Have it your way,” He spat before ducking around the wooden countertop and back into the crowds of the faire. The faint voices of Gwen and Gaius could be barely heard under the chatter of the faire attendants. Gwen was surely pleading with their boss to give Merlin another chance and Gaius would eventually buckle. But Merlin didn’t want that right now as he strode off, kicking rocks that had decided to stubbornly be in his way.
He glared at the ground, barely noticing the people that were milling around him. It was only when he slammed into a rather solid form that Merlin started paying attention to his surroundings. His breath was pushed from his chest and Merlin stumbled backwards, catching himself before he could trip over any number of obstacles that would want to put him on his back.
“Hey! Watch where you--” But, yet again, his words were pulled from his lips as he realized who he was talking to. A man dressed as a Queen’s guard held a poleaxe out in front of him, blocking the way just like the other men who were dressed like him. He glared at Merlin and silently dared the boy to continue his threat.
“Your Queen approaches! Pay your respect!” The guard barked and Merlin knew better than to disobey in fear of getting in further trouble with Gaius, at least. The whole charade was stupid, but if he wanted to keep his job, he was going to have to play along. And soon enough, the spectacle was passing.
Lords and ladies dressed with the intricacies of royalty passed slowly through the dusty streets. Their laughter was musical, although Merlin could tell they were sweating through all those layers. They barely glanced at the commoners that were surrounding them on both sides as guards led them down towards the jousting fields.
And then it was the Queen’s turn.
Merlin knew he was supposed to keep his gaze on his feet, even kneel before her since he was one of her subjects. But he couldn’t bring his stubborn streak to an end and remained standing despite the glare from the guard he had collided with earlier.
She passed, clad in a deep green dress that bellowed out so much that it allowed her a bit of personal space from her escorts. Her snow white skin unblemished from the sun, mainly due to the parasol that someone held over her head, allowing a shadow to cross over her face. But Merlin caught the flash of green eyes beneath long lashes and, for some reason, his stomach lurched. He had no idea why and the feeling was gone as soon as it had come, with the passing of the Queen and her escorts.
The crowds began to disperse as the guards turned to follow their queen. The one that Merlin had run into turned on his heel to depart with the rest of the garrison, and as he did so, slammed an armored shoulder into Merlin, nearly sending the scrawny boy sprawling into the dirt. Merlin managed to scramble back and keep his balance, but just barely, glaring at the now smirking guard as the company vanished down the hill.
“Stupid…” Merlin grumbled as he brushed a few wrinkles from his clothes. But there was nowhere to go from there. None of the attractions of the faire entertained him much anymore and since Gaius had all but kicked him out of the booth for the day, he couldn’t go back there. All of the comedy shows had lost their charm and even the trio that tumbled and used one another as counterweights had stopped being entertaining after Merlin had watched their act for about the fifth time. Just meandering around aimlessly was no fun, but he had already watched Gwaine take a few tomatoes to the face that morning.
What else could he do?
Blue eyes followed the group that was heading down to the jousting arena and Merlin groaned. Was it the only thing to do around here? Well, he would at least be able to kill a few hours and return to the booth, hopefully to a calmer Gaius. At least, Merlin could hope. And it wasn’t like he needed to actually pay attention to the festivities, although it was nice that it was one of the few things he wasn’t actually a part of and could watch without having to do much. So he stuck his hands in his pockets and headed down the muddy hill, following the groups of visitors as they all attempted to find seats next to the arena.