meridian_rose

Fandom: Merlin
Characters: All
Pairings: Gwen/Arthur implied
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2423
Spoilers/Warnings: none
Prompts: For

merlin_land holiday fic prompts challenge and

100_tales prompt 003 "Snow"
Summary: Fluffy, somewhat tongue-in-cheek Yule fic. Merlin's encounter with a Yuletide spirit brings festive cheer to Camelot.

The rat skittered across the floor by Gaius's desk, stopped, sat on its hind legs and sniffed the air. Merlin crept up, bucket in hand, ready to catch the creature. Just as he was about the drop the empty bucket over the rat, there was a bright flash of light and Merlin threw one arm over his eyes.
When he could see again, the rat was gone, and a woman was there. She was tall, with long hair the colour of newly fallen snow. Her dress swept to the floor, and it wasn’t just white; it shimmered like early sunlight on fresh snow drifts.
"Who are you?" Merlin demanded.
"I am one of the spirits of Yuletide," the woman said. "Come to bless Camelot with festive cheer. The time of the longest night is upon us, and when the sun rises again, great celebrations should be had."
Merlin looked at her suspiciously. "Why were you disguised as a rat?"
The spirit of Yuletide shrugged.
"It's easy to move about a castle unseen as a rodent. I've been to the kitchens, the servants quarters, the royal chambers, and the dungeons. The dragon says 'hello', by the way."
"Does he now," Merlin muttered darkly. "I know what he wants for Yule and he's not getting it. Anyway, I'm sure Camelot doesn't need any help being festive and gay."
"Funny you should say that," the spirit said. "Festive and gay. Cheerful, yes, but gay…you and Arthur are gayer than a unicorn wearing a rainbow patterned sweater, but you're both more blind than a snowman with no coal for eyes." At Merlin's bemused expression she laughed. "Never mind. Future usage of the term. I was just trying to be funny."
"Trying," Merlin agreed. "What are you doing here, anyway? Gaius and I are cheerful."
"Really, young magician? All morning you've complained about cleaning up after Arthur, and wondering what present to get for Gaius before the Yule evening deadline, and bemoaning the fact that it's too sunny to be winter. Cheer up."
The woman clapped her hands together. "I know, I know. Some snow would help, wouldn't it?" Seemingly from thin air, she pulled out an umbrella. This was white, covered in glitter, and the handle seemed to be made of ice.
"What's with the parasol?" Merlin asked.
"It's an umbrella," she corrected haughtily.
"What's the difference?"
"Waterproofing, mostly." The spirit opened up the umbrella and shook it a few times. Snowflake shaped glitter fell to the floor, vanishing as it reached the rough stone. "That should do it. Merry Yule, Merlin."
And she was gone. Outside, clouds gathered. Merlin ran to the window and watched in amazement as snow began to fall.
Gaius entered, brushing at the flakes of snow on his cloak.
"Merlin! I don't suppose you had anything to do with the sudden change in the weather?"
His apprentice gave him a hurt look.
"No, Gaius! It wasn't me, not this time! It was this rat – expect she was really a woman; and the woman was the spirit of Yuletide and she said, be gay, and cheer up, and have some snow! And now it's snowing!"
Gaius shook his head. "Really, Merlin. You do attract trouble, don't you?" He shuffled over to the fire. "Uther will not be happy."
"Snow at Yule," Merlin said. "What's not to like?"
"It will disrupt the archery tournament for one," Gaius one. "No-one wants to shoot in a blizzard."
Merlin had managed to forget about the archery contest. Arthur said he wasn't participating this year, ostensibly to give the other knights a chance at winning. Personally, having seen Arthur practising, Merlin as of the opinion that while Arthur with a sword was deadly, Arthur with a bow was likely to take someone's eye out, and that it was a matter of not wanting to risk humiliation that was making him so graciously withdraw.
"Could be worse; it could be hail. At least snow is soft. Gaius, I just need to go out for a bit," Merlin said.
"Well, take your warmest cloak," Gaius advised, warming his toes by the flames. "And bring back more firewood, would you?"

Merlin ran down to the market and hunted about for a suitable gift for Gaius. What did you get someone his age, anyway?
"Merlin. I hope you've finished cleaning my boots for tomorrow," Arthur said. Merlin whipped round to see the Prince, who had crept up behind him.
"Yes, they're clean. Although Gaius said Uther might call off the archery contest because of the snow."
Arthur shrugged and picked up a dagger from the stall. "maybe." He replaced the dagger. "Looking for anything in particular?"
"A gift for Gaius. But he doesn't smoke a pipe, or need any ointments, and he's not big on jewellery, so I don't know what to get."
Arthur chewed his lip thoughtfully. "What about some mead?" he suggested. "There's a stall over there selling high quality spiced mead, best in Camelot. A warm glass of that on a cold night is bound to cheer even Gaius up."
Merlin agreed and let Arthur lead him to the stall in question.
"Have you bought all your gifts?"
"Yes," Arthur said. "All the knights are getting a dagger with the Pendragon crest on the hilt as a reward for and symbol of their loyalty to Camelot."
"That's nice."
"And my father says everyone's getting a half day off for Yule, which should be considered a gift from him," Arthur went on. "Servants have to take shifts, see, so everyone gets a few hours off, but we all still get fed."
"And more personal gifts?"
"A ring for my father, ruby to go with his cloak; earrings for Morgana, with sapphires to match her favourite dress." Arthur came to a sudden halt. "Actually, I did think of getting something for Gwen, but I don't want to make a big deal about it. I don't want to overstep my boundaries; giving servants gifts is tricky. You don't want to seem cheap, but you don't want to go overboard and embarrass them."
Merlin nodded and said cheekily, "I'm very hard to embarrass, did I mention that?"
Arthur clamped both hands on his shoulders. "Merlin, your gift has been chosen and it will not embarrass you, I promise. Now, I've got a necklace for Gwen. Do you think jewellery is too much for her? It's an emerald cabochon."
"Might be. I mean, she'd love it, but she'd say you spent too much and she couldn't wear it in public." Merlin blinked snow from his eyelashes.
"I knew it." Arthur released Merlin and pointed to the stall. "Here. Let me help you choose. I assume you know nothing about mead."
"S'made from honey," Merlin said sulkily.
"And?"
Merlin shrugged. "That's about it, actually."

When they'd chosen suitable mead, they began heading back towards the castle. The stalls were getting emptier as people decided to head home early.
"Wait," Merlin said. He dragged Arthur to a craft table. "Look."
Arthur picked up the brooch. "Are you sure?"
"Gwen can use this to fasten her cloak," Merlin said. "It's got green stones in it, still."
"They're pebbles, not emeralds," Arthur scoffed.
"Better this than a necklace she'll never wear," Merlin argued. "Trust me."
With a sigh, Arthur paid for the brooch.
"What are you going to do with the necklace?" Merlin asked.
"Keep hold of it and palm it off on Morgana for her birthday," Arthur said.

The next day, the snow had stopped falling and the sunlight made it gleam. Icicles hung from window sills, the ponds were frozen solid, frost decorated every bare tree branch. The snow made a delicious crunching noise as Merlin walked to the stables, whistling. This was perfect; the archery contest could still go ahead, and the snow made it seem more like Yule than ever.
A whole roast hog was already being turned on a spit, ready for the feast. Hot mead was being kept warm in a cauldron. Sir Leon was supervising the setting up of the butts for the contest. A few eager people were already waiting to watch the display, clutching their mugs of mead for the extra warmth.
Merlin waved at Gwen. She was wrapped in a cloak and two scarves, her mittens damp from the snow. She was playing with some of the children, helping them finish building a giant snowman. She picked up a little girl so the child could stick the carrot nose into the face.
"Lovely," Merlin called. "But he needs a hat. Wait here."
Merlin jogged into the stables and came back with a battered cap that had left hanging on a peg for several months, unused. He took it to Gwen, who had wound one of her scarves around the snowman's neck. Merlin added the hat.
"He looks fantastic," he said.
"What shall we call him?" Gwen asked the children. Several names were shouted out and Gwen giggled. "What do you think, Merlin?"
"Mr Cole," he suggested. "Because of his eyes."
Gwen curtseyed. "Good morning, Mr Cole," she said, making the children laugh in delight. "Happy Yuletide."

Uther and Arthur made the parade route in the open carriage, pulled by four black horses with their manes in tight braids with the winter flowers of chrysanthemums and irises plaited into the braids. Holly boughs decorated the sleigh, and Arthur had an early snowdrop pinned to his lapel. They waved, they wished their people a Happy Yule, they gave small purses of coins to the very needy, and baskets of bread and cheese to others, and bags of toffee to children.
Then it was time for the archery contest. It was a close thing, but Sir Leon claimed the top prize and received a silver arrow as his reward.
Everyone feasted and drank. A huge fire kept everyone warm and a minstrel sang Yule songs as he strummed on his lyre. As the sun set, Merlin went to find Gaius and give him his gift.
Arthur also took the opportunity to press his offering into Gwen's hands. She opened it and looked at him in surprise.
"It's lovely," she said.
"Really?" Arthur asked in surprise, caught himself and said, "Well, yes, of course." He couldn't help but add, "They're just pebbles, from the river."
Gwen pinned the brooch to her cloak, drawing the fabric's edges closer together. "It's a lovely gift, Sire. Thank you. I didn't get you anything."
"No need," Arthur said quickly. "I just wanted to…I mean I wanted to say…that is, er, Happy Yule."
Gwen smiled warmly. She leant in and brushed her lips against his cheek. "Happy Yule Sire."

Merlin made his way back to the party, wearing a knitted sweater from his mother. The sleeves were long – apparently she thought he was still growing and would fill out to fit the garment. Gaius had given him a lockable box, specially crafted, with his initial on it.
"So you can keep your secrets a secret," he'd told Merlin. Arthur's gift was a new neckerchief; the note said "So you can wash that other rag you wear every day". Still, Merlin smiled and folded the cloth carefully and put it into his clothes chest with glee.
"Sorry," Merlin said as he bumped into someone, so lost in his thoughts he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going.
"That's quite all right." It was the spirit of Yuletide again. "So, how is Yule?"
"It's been great," Merlin said. "Thanks for the snow."
There was a yell as Sir Bertram slipped on an icy path and landed on his rear.
"Not everyone is enjoying it," the woman said. "But then you can never make everyone happy."
The minstrel ran over. "Brr, brass monkeys today, innit?" He nodded to Merlin. "Evening, squire."
"I'm not a squire," Merlin said.
"Never mind." The minstrel rubbed his hands together briskly. "So, we done here, or do I get to seduce the milkmaid?"
"Honestly, Allan," the woman said. "Must you seduce someone everywhere we go?"
"Well, must is a bit strong, but, yeah," he replied. "Here, guv, you know that guy who won the silver arrow?"
"Sir Leon?" Merlin asked.
"Yes, him. Tell him to watch his back. Always a catch where there's a silver arrow involved in my experience. I mean, I'm not being funny, but it's hardly aerodynamic is it, a projectile made from a precious metal."
Merlin blinked a few times, lost for words.
"Please excuse Allan. He forgets himself," the spirit woman said. She turned to Allan. "Off you go. But we leave at midnight, Allan. No excuses."
With a broad grin, the man ran off into the crowd.
"Is he a spirit of Yuletide too?" Merlin asked.
"Not exactly," she replied. "I tend to visit those who will be one day legendary, and there was this card game…" She looked somewhat embarrassed. "I'm fairly sure he cheated. Anyway, now he gets to travel with me. We drop in on the Yules of past and future; other holidays, too, when we get bored. I must admit, Yule is my favourite, but there was a very nice Fourth of July party we went to last week. Well, I say last week, but it won't actually happen until 1994…time is relative for immortals."
Merlin studied her a moment. "So, Arthur will be the stuff of legends?"
"Oh, yes. You too, Merlin. The dragon is right about that. Not for a while yet – and you'll need Excalibur, of course, to take the throne." She clamped one hand over her mouth. "Forget I said that. The sword's supposed to be a secret."
Honouring her wish, and looking to change the subject, Merlin glanced over to where Allan was whispering in the milkmaid's ear. "And is he legendary?" he asked sceptically.
"Oh, yes. He and his friends, Robin of the Hood, and Will Scarlett, Little John; their names will not easily be forgotten."
Merlin heard his name being called. Gwen had two mugs of mead and was hoisting them aloft, offering him to come and join her.
"I'd better go," he said apologetically. "Will I ever see you again?"
She smiled sadly. "Not for many a year," she said. "Things will be very different by then. Merlin, enjoy this time, won't you? Next Yule will not be this merry."
He followed her gaze to where Morgana was laughing as Sir Leon played charades, recreating his winning shot. He turned to ask the spirit what she knew about the future, but once again, she'd vanished.

Merlinland prompt list
01.. Hat
02. Flowers
03. Snow
04. Ice
05. Hail
06. Snowman/woman
07. A person falling over
08. One of Camelot's Knights (no, Arthur doesn't count in this prompt) [Sir Leon]
09. A secret is revealed
10. A character from another fandom [Allan A Dale, Robin Hood]
11. A piece of jewlery
12. A mode of transportation
13. Uther giving a gift to the whole of Camelot
14. A present
15. A unicorn
16. A deadline
17. A character doesn't understand another character's sarcasm
18. A rat
19. Some kind of display (such as tournamount or jousting)
20. An umbrella