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English
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Part 17 of The Raven-Haired Warrior, A Raven-Haired Child
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Published:
2021-09-14
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1,506
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1/1
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Cobblers, Kids, and Concern

Summary:

Arthur decides it's finally time to talk with Merlin, but has some trouble starting a conversation. Merlin visits some friends.

~Part 17 of the series~

Series Summary: To protect Mordred, Merlin confesses to having been a child soldier under Cenred's rule before coming to Camelot. This causes ripple effects throughout their lives that culminate into a tidal wave of disaster for the kingdom and its resident warlock.

Notes:

Ah, I'm so happy to be posting. It's been busy lately, and I'm currently trying to finish two stories for the TWFF, and that's taking longer than expected, and life is just all over the place, BUT I am extremely pleased to have written this chapter today, and I hope you all like it!

This part is dedicated to RSeamonster for their encouraging (and amusing) comments on this series! Thank you for reading!

No TWs for this one!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

     Arthur had decided that enough was enough. He was tired of the odd dance he and Merlin were doing around the griffin in the room. Today Arthur was actually going to talk to Merlin about what the servant had told him. As soon as Merlin came in through his door with breakfast, he’d sit down with him so they could talk things out.

 

     The door opened suddenly, startling Arthur from his thoughts as Merlin walked in with his morning meal.

 

     “Breakfast! Bread is good today. Make sure to eat it while it’s warm.” Merlin told him, one cheek stuffed with a mouthful of bread while he talked. The servant moved towards the fireplace, polishing off the rest of his pilfered snack as he grabbed the broom and started sweeping.

 

     Arthur opened his mouth to reply, to ask Merlin to stop sweeping and sit down with him, but the words got stuck in his throat. Merlin hadn’t even been able to look at him when he came into the room. How could he expect him to hold a real conversation?

 

     No. Arthur had had enough. He was going to talk with Merlin. He had to.

 

     “Merlin-”

 

     Blue eyes shot to his, and the tumultuous storm of emotion within them had Arthur’s chest squeezing painfully.

 

     “My armor needs cleaning.”

 

     That was not what he meant to say, and from the odd look Merlin gave him, his friend knew that as well. Still, with the way Merlin’s shoulders had slumped in relief, Arthur couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.

 

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

 

     Before he left, Merlin promised to have Arthur’s armor cleaned by the end of the day, and Arthur watched him go, kicking himself for backing down at merely a look. He needed to talk to Merlin, and even if Merlin didn’t want to have said conversation, Arthur was literally going to go mad if the tension between them didn’t ease somehow.

 

     With a huff, he tossed the remainder of his bread, which was quite good, onto his plate and stood, intending to chase Merlin down and talk with him.

 

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

 

     It was the first day of the week, and that meant that, barring any emergencies, Merlin went to the cobblers. There was always a soldier or three that needed their boots mended or replaced with the way they wore them all the time. Shining and polishing fell to the servants like himself, but when buckles needed replacing, straps wore too thin, and holes were found in the soles, then it was the cobbler’s job to care for such things.

 

     Today Merlin headed to the cobblers with a bag containing not one nor three, but nine pairs of boots that needed mending or replacing after the last quest Arthur and his men had gone on. Still, despite the heavy bag he carried, Merlin had a smile on his face as he greeted the cobbler and set the bag down on the floor of his shop.

 

     “Merlin, my boy! It’s been a few weeks since you’ve come by.” Walter Shoemaker boomed. He was a man with big shoulders that seemed more suited to working the fields than crafting footwear, but he had made a name for himself in the business after his father had passed the trade onto him. “What have you got for me this week?” He asked, abandoning his current project for a moment.

 

     “Nine boots this week,” Merlin said, producing a sheet of paper from his pocket to hand him. “Three need replacing. The rest should be minor repairs.”

 

     The man grabbed the paper, humming as he skimmed it over. “Should be doable by your next visit, and here are the ones Hamblin dropped by last week.” He said, passing a smaller bag with just a couple pairs over.

 

     Merlin took the bag and passed a small cloth pouch containing the wages due for the service over. “And here is your coin.”

 

     The man took it, weighing thoughtfully in his palm but not bothering to count it out. He knew the king’s manservant was trustworthy. “And when are you going to join us for dinner, Merlin? You know my Meggy has been waiting for you to take us up on the offer for some time. She seems to have decided you need a good home-cooked meal.”

 

     Merlin smiled, warmed by the determination of the older woman that tried to feed him pies and cakes whenever she saw him, claiming that he ‘needed some meat on his bones!’

 

     “My next day off if I manage to get one.” Merlin promised, waving goodbye as he headed towards the door, hearing Walter’s shout of ‘don’t be a stranger!’ on his way out.

 

     “Merlin!” The shout of a young voice brought a grin to Merlin’s face as he exited the cobbler’s shop, the man kneeling down as a group of young children ran up to him.

 

     This. This was why Merlin loved coming to the cobblers whenever he could manage it. The kids that lived on the floor above the fletcher’s place across the street never failed to make him smile.

 

     The fletcher and his wife had four children, one older at twelve and three younger ones at four, six, and seven.

 

     “Merlin! Merlin!” The six year old and only girl of the group chanted. “Father let me shoot a bow and arrow yesterday!”

 

     “That’s great, Aalis,” Merlin said, ruffling her blonde curls before smiling as the youngest, Jasque, lifted his arms to be held. He picked the boy up, and stood, letting Aalis take his hand as they walked, the oldest boy, Marc, taking the bag of shoes from him.

 

     “Well, that’s nothing. Father’s showing me how to make the arrowheads.” Henri, the seven year old, told him.

 

     Merlin chuckled softly. “Well, that’s pretty great too, Henri.” He told him, earning a large grin from the boy as he puffed his chest out proudly.

 

     They walked him to the end of the street, which was as far as their mother let them go without supervision, and Merlin traded Marc for the bag, handing the boy’s brother off to him, grinning at the way Marc exaggerated how heavy his brother was compared to the shoes. He promised the four of them they’d get some sweets together next time before watching the children head back, waving to them as they walked away.

    Seeing them had felt like a reprieve from everything going on the past few days, their innocent and happy smiles just as bright as sunshine, reminding him of one of the main reasons he loved Camelot. Here, the children smiled and made jokes like Marc, they boasted proudly of their accomplishments like Aalis and Henri, and they freely asked for affection like little Jasque wanting to be held. Here the children were so different from those in Essetir, who were afraid to laugh too loudly and too scared to smile. Children who were too sick to brag about their accomplishments because they learned the darkest trades and were too used to being abused and mistreated that they didn’t expect affection at all.

 

     Spending even just a couple of minutes with the kids felt like a breath of fresh air, and as soon as they were gone, Merlin’s shoulders slumped. Though being with them had brought a smile to his face and eased the aching in his heart, now that they were gone, it only reminded Merlin of how much better things were here and how he wished he’d been allowed to grow up as carefree as them.

 

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

 

     By the time Arthur caught up to Merlin, he was just coming out of the cobbler’s store. Arthur was still further down the street and was about to call out Merlin’s name when a young boy beat him to it. He watched in surprise as Merlin grinned and knelt down to meet a group of kids. His feet coming to a halt so he wouldn’t interrupt the peaceful scene as Merlin picked up one little boy and handed his bag off to another as a tiny girl tried to hold his hand.

 

     It was the first time he’d seen Merlin smile since his story came to light, and Arthur felt ashamed to have not realized just how tired and worn Merlin looked until a smile turned creases of worry and exhaustion into laugh lines.

 

     Still, it did his heart good to see Merlin looking cheerful and happy as they walked down the street with Arthur watching from behind the corner of a store so they wouldn’t notice him.

 

     He hadn’t realized just how worried he’d been about Merlin until his concern seemed to ease as Merlin spun the little boy in his arms around, encouraging the boy to giggle loudly.

 

     But as the kids left and Merlin’s shoulders immediately fell into a despondent slump, Arthur’s worry came back in full force, his chest squeezing painfully when, for just a split second, Merlin looked like he was about to cry.

 

     He had to talk to Merlin, but what could he possibly say that would help him?

Notes:

Word Count - 1506. Arthur is trying, guys, but feelings are difficult. (Cue some help from another character?) Also, Merlin is so sad it's making me sad, but if I can toot my own horn a little, I just love how Merlin is still stealing food from Arthur's breakfast, even though he's unsure where they stand at the moment. <3 Aalis is pronounced like 'Ah-lease.' Let me know what you guys think about this chapter!

Also, just a side note here: I have a few stories planned for some indiscernible point in the future about Merlin and Arthur's lives in this AU when they were kids. It'll probably be a long while until that happens, but I'd love to hear from you guys about what you'd like see in that side-series. If there's anything you're wondering about Merlin's past, or if you'd like to know more about Arthur's life growing up, that sort of thing. Let me know! :D