Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was no question to Arthur that Merlin had to learn how to fly properly. And land without injury to himself, property, or any friend he would choose for a ride on a shoulder. However, trying to get that through to his stupid manservant who couldn't exactly talk back was really starting to stretch Arthur's patience.

After the whole dummy episode in the practice yard where the little falcon was almost crushed to death under said dummy, and further spent a week too sore to move, Merlin had stubbornly refused to leave his room in the Physician's quarters. It seemed as if he was bent on just hiding in his rooms until Gaius found a way to restore him.

The one time Arthur did forcefully take him to the practice yard, the shameless bird had determinedly attempted to *walk* off the training field. Arthur thought that he had never been so mortified in his life. And Morgana and Gwen did not help at all when they fluttered into the yard to rescue the little Merlin from the laughing, 'bullying' knights and carried him the rest of the way home.

Arthur would swear that Morgana and Gwen were practically spoiling his manservant with the way they happily carted him around the castle. And like it as not to admit it, Arthur was not happy to see Merlin spend most of the day perched on Gwen's shoulder, or sitting in the crook of her arm as she moved about her chores in the castle whenever he deigned to leave his room.

At the least, Merlin still let Arthur feed him. Be it in his quarters or at the King's table, where the raptor would spend the meal perched on the head of Arthur's chair where the Prince could casually reach a hand up to offer him slices of meat. Really, Merlin was such a small and skinny little bird that Arthur saw it as a duty to fatten him up and put more meat on his bones.

Teaching him to be a proper falcon, however…

Arthur was truly at his wits end trying to reason with his uncommunicative manservant on why he wouldn't try again. His first flight was a spectacular travesty, but Arthur didn't believe Merlin should give up so readily. However, he just couldn't work out how to convince the stubborn bird—boy to reconsider his decision and learn how to be a proper raptor while they waited for either Gaius or Geoffrey to discover how to turn him back into a man.

Unexpectedly, Gwen played a significant part in delivering Merlin into a situation which did much to prompt his change of mind.

Merlin sang sweetly on Gwen's shoulder as she walked them towards the kitchens. Gwen smiled up at the little raptor as she walked, knowing that Merlin enjoyed visiting the kitchens. He didn't take food from the kitchen help, since that was rather obviously the Prince's privilege to feed *his* raptor, and the staff knew it. But he did take notice that the head cook Mary, was one of the few people in the castle who would talk to him as if he was still Merlin, and not this fascinating freak pet of the Prince.

"Ahh, Gwen, love. Merlin, dear boy? Come for a little natter?" The jolly old maid smiled as she looked up at their entrance.

Gwen laughed, "If we could only be so free. I came to check on how our stores are, Mary. The Prince asked if you needed him to send his knights out to pick up some game."

The Wiley old woman shook her finger at them. "Oh ho! He's not getting one over this head cook. Our Liege is trying to get Gaius to let him out early, isn't he? Thinks he'd just sneak out with his knights for a little hunting rather than be stuck in the castle?"

Gwen grinned at her, and Merlin let out a cry of assent as he bobbed his head at the woman. Arthur could sometimes be a little too obvious.

"No need for the Prince to strain himself, luv." Mary waved behind her where there were several near floor-to-ceiling stacks of baskets full of geese. "We may have run out of venison a day or so back, but we still have several legs of ham and received a flock of birds enough for tonight's feast and several more days of supper too."

Gwen's jaw dropped at that moment. "Oh! Feathers! Oh no. I forgot! M'lady asked me to pick up a new pillow for her at the market." She turned to the raptor on her shoulder. "Oh, Merlin. I'm so sorry, Gaius' quarters are in the other direction and—maybe, do you want to come to the markets with me?

"Of course you don't have to. Not that I don't want you to, but it was such a mess the last time I brought you there. The children were just too excited to see a Merlin up close and kept pulling your tail and feathers, but—"

He hopped off her shoulder to land on the table and chirruped soothingly as he waved a wing at her. Merlin shook out his feathers and shuddered, clearly indicating his reluctance to visit the markets ever again.

"Are you sure you'll be okay getting back to Gaius' on your own?" She bit her lower lip nervously. "I could nip down that way first. I'm sure I won't be too late getting to the markets before the stores start to pack up."

The Merlin shook its head at her and hopped down to the floor this time. It waved its wings a bit to assist it in taking a longer hop across the floor to land in front of the corridor which would lead it towards Gaius' quarters.

"Well—if you're sure?" Merlin chirruped at her and raised a wing as if to wave her off. "Okay, I'll see you later then, Merlin. And you too, Mary, I'm sure the feast will be just fabulous with your excellent cooking.

"Oh, M'lady might be looking for me. So if you do meet up with her on the track back, Merlin, please try to convey to her that I won't be too long?"

The raptor whistled to her in assent. It made the kitchen help chuckle softly around them. Truly, watching the little raptor with the few who talked to him often gave many the impression that Merlin had lost very little in making himself understood despite his transformation.

Merlin looked up at the cook after Gwen went out the other corridor. "Well, you best be off too, boy." She made shooing motions at the little raptor. "We're about to start on the geese, and you don't want to be around to get mixed up in that."

Merlin whistled as he bobbed his head at her and turned to start walking down the corridor. Behind him the cook and her kitchen helpers politely stifled a laugh at this incongruous sight of the little bird of prey walking instead of taking to the air and flying.

Unfortunately, one of the boys was not very careful since he was paying too much attention to the departing raptor to watch where he was going with his pile of chopping blocks. So he walked into a tower of cages with enough force that the whole stack started to sway.

Merlin was almost started into flight by the enormous crash that boomed behind him, and he turned in time to witness piles and piles of cages bursting open and releasing a whole gaggle of geese; all which flocked for 'his' corridor in a bid for freedom. A yell from cook had one of her kitchen helpers diving for and slamming the door. However, one rather determined bird slipped through in a flurry of feathers. And Merlin was suddenly feeling rather small in comparison to this huge specimen sharing his corridor; a bird which had probably spent quite a few months being fed and fattened to be as large a size as a goose could possibly grow.

Arthur was bored. Being strictly confined to the castle and having his hours of training and supervision of his knights severely curtailed, while he was still recovering from the wound dealt to him by the Questing Beast, left him greatly out of sorts over all the free time he had. On top of that, with Merlin's unfortunate transformation, he didn't even have a manservant to be snarky with for entertainment.

He rather thought his only hope for some relief was with Mary to agree that she could do with some game. Maybe then he'd be able to sneak out of the castle to ride with his knights for a bit of hunting. If his men objected, Arthur thought he could persuade them that he'd just be joining them for company and that he wouldn't try to take part and overexert himself. While he had sent Gwen to talk to the cook, Arthur was restless enough that he thought maybe a personal visit from him might produce better results; which was what brought him down the corridor towards the kitchens.

A bit lost in his thoughts, Arthur hadn't noticed the commotion ahead of him until he was five feet away from the spectacle that appeared screaming around a corner. And when he saw it, the Prince wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry to see a huge snow white goose chasing and stabbing its beak at a little raptor which was squalling quite pathetically as it desperately tried to out run its pursuer.

"Merlin!?" Arthur's mortified yell served to distract the goose, making it stop to stare at the human who suddenly appeared in their path, providing its harassed quarry a respite from attack.

Not missing a beat, Merlin ran and hopped towards his Prince until he reached Arthur's boots and started clawing his way up his breeches. Arthur hastily reached down to catch at the Merlin's feet before his talons could penetrate the cloth and do serious damage to his leg.

Safely lifting the wild eyed bird on his right arm, Arthur stared at his transformed manservant in grave disappointment. "Honestly, Mer-lin. A goose? You were *running* *away* from a *goose*?"

The bird panted as it screeched at Arthur, making him roll his eyes at the raptor. "Yes, yes. I did notice you were smaller. But you're a bird of prey, Merlin! You have *claws* and a *sharp* beak! You *eat* meat! Not like that--"

A menacing hiss sounded from down the corridor. Man and raptor instantly turned their heads towards the goose which had now unfurled its wings and started to—stalk towards them. Arthur found himself taken aback. In all honesty, the Prince couldn't quite recall ever seeing a goose that was this remarkably large. And—in comparison, Merlin really was pathetically small and scrawny. Arthur was reminded again that he needed to be more diligent in feeding his falco—manservant.

The goose hissed at them again. He gulped. With Merlin starting a mincing climb up his right arm to his shoulder in an attempt to reach higher ground, and his left still in a sling, Arthur didn't exactly have a free hand to reach for his sword. Then he suddenly remembered he *wasn't* carrying a sword that day. Gaius still hadn't cleared him to carry arms again yet.

The hissing goose took another purposeful step towards them, making Arthur take an involuntary step back. By then, Merlin had made it to his shoulder and his trembling body was pressed tight against Arthur's head.

Now this was plainly ridiculous. Arthur knew his manservant wasn't a coward. The idiot boy had followed him on missions and quests and ran *towards* danger to be at his side more times than Arthur cared to count. However, he could practically taste the fear in the air as the demonic goose stared them down with its beady little eyes.

The pint sized monster advanced another step and Arthur felt his back hit the wall behind him. They could sense their adversary gathering itself for an attack. Merlin chirruped worriedly in his ear. Arthur could hear himself swallow hard. He dared not to break eye contact with the demon. And this was why he missed noticing the flash of metal that suddenly flew at their enemy from the side corridor and neatly sliced clean through the neck of the beast.

"Ha! Got you!" A triumphant cry came from the said corridor which was mercifully completely out of sight of Arthur and Merlin's position.

Old Mary bore down on the headless goose which flopped and jerked in its death spasm. "Thought you could escape my roasting pit, did you?" The plump old cook jerked her cleaver from the stone and snatched up the dead goose in her other hand.

Man and bird barely dared to breath, afraid that they'd catch the woman's attention and reveal themselves and their ignominy. Fortunately for them, Mary was only concerned with the runaway goose and turned around in the opposite direction, and so did not notice their presence at all, allowing the pair to shamefully beat a quiet and hasty retreat.

Once safely away, Arthur turned his head to glare at the little falcon that had moved to sit properly on his shoulder instead of pressed up against his head as it had been earlier, "We are *never* speaking of this. Ever!"

Merlin chirruped in agreement as he tucked his head under a wing. But the bird jerked his head out from hiding again in alarm as he turned to stare further down the corridor. Arthur looked in the direction Merlin indicated to find Morgana watching them with hands clapped over her mouth. Her eyes danced in wicked delight. It was very clear to the humiliated pair that the King's ward had very likely witnessed the entire confrontation.

Merlin let out a soft whistle while he hunched his shoulders and let his head hang down. Arthur gritted his teeth as he stalked towards his 'adopted' sister. His eyes fairly glowed with the chill of promised death.

Uther was sensitive enough to notice the tensed atmosphere in the dining hall during the feast. He was quite sure he was missing something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. The only thing he could discern was the near murderous look of warning his son would frequently throw his ward from across the table. It was an impressive glare at that. And Uther actually felt quite proud of his son for developing this subzero look of death.

Morgana, however, didn't seem the least bit intimidated. In fact, she looked like a cat which found a whole barrel of cream, and her lips were twitching almost constantly through the whole feast. Still, under Arthur's steady glare throughout the night, her smile did eventually falter and die. Especially whenever Uther tried to get her to reveal what had amused her so much. The King thought that they were being utterly unfair to him.

Morgana's maid and the little falcon were no better in enlightening the King. The girl stayed very respectfully quiet and timid around the Prince. As for Merlin; for once his son wasn't spending part of the meal trying to coax the skinny bird into eating every morsel offered from his hand. During this feast, Merlin gleefully tore into the generous slices of cooked goose with quite a bit more fervour and pleasure than Uther could ever recall of the little raptor during any other meal. Uther thought the bird must have been especially hungry since it was usually a dainty eater.

Come to think of it, Arthur seemed to be stabbing into his share of the goose with great relish too. Uther didn't know his son enjoyed eating goose that much. He had always thought Arthur's favourite meat was venison.

The next morning when Arthur appeared at Gaius' quarters determined to bring Merlin out for a flying lesson, the little falcon went quietly and without protest.