Title: Something is A-Miss With Merlin

Author: tinyrose65

Summary: Or What Happens When Merlin Tries To Adjust To Her New Role As Court Sorceress And The Knights Discover That Not All Nobles Have Noble Intentions (Fem!Merlin/Gwaine, Arthur/Gwen, Lancelot/OC).

Notes: I promised this to y'all way too long ago. I planned on waiting until I had it all written to post, but I am suffering the worst block. So, in order to prove that I am working on it and that I am not dead, I'll go ahead and start posting the chapters I go. This is the sequel to Voldemort Makes a Miss-Stake.

Chapter 1) In Which Merlin Makes A Wonderful Discovery

Merlin supposed that the whole mess all started the morning after her ceremony and the feast, since, even after finally achieving her dream of seeing magic free in Camelot, she apparently didn't get a break.

Merlin didn't remember much of the feast, to be honest, or the celebration going on the lower town, which Merlin and Gwaine snuck away to after a few hours. It was far more fun down there. Sorcerers from the outlying villages and those who had escaped Uther to the nearby kingdoms had all gathered to celebrate, and it was beautiful and wonderful and Merlin remembered grinning far too widely with Gwaine grinning back at her and the light feeling all over her- or was that because of the ale?- and then…

Well.

That was how she came to be in Gwaine's bed, currently huddled deep beneath the covers, head on his chest, and his arm thrown over her. When she woke up, her head slightly fuzzy, it took her a moment to remember where she was. Any embarrassment she should've felt was negated by how nice this all was. At least, it was until Arthur barged in, effectively shattering the moment and bringing back the embarrassment full force.

"Arthur!" Merlin squeaked. She pulled the covers up to cover herself as Arthur stopped in his tracks. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

Arthur was stuttering badly. "I- the guards- Ah, I was told that you had come this way last night. I didn't realize you'd be- What I meant to say-"

"What'd you think we'd be doing in here, mate?" Gwaine spoke up, apparently awake, and not looking too pleased with the disturbance. "Braiding each other's hair?"

Ignoring Gwaine, who had sat up a bit behind her, and whose gaze Merlin could feel on her, she asked Arthur, pretending as best she could that everything was normal, "Did you need something, Arthur?"

"Yes," Arthur said, standing up straighter. "Guinevere is unwell."

"You couldn't get Gaius for that?" Gwaine grumbled, falling back onto the bed. Merlin rolled her eyes at him.

"Gaius is busy dealing with the multiple hangovers in the lower town. I simply thought Merlin would enjoy her first act as Court Sorceress," Arthur drawled. He was right. Merlin perked up and said, "I'll be there in a moment."

Arthur nodded. "Unfortunately, I have a meeting to attend. Apparently, some pigs got out last night during the celebrations and caused a bit of a mess between a few farmers. I'll need to sort the dispute out out. The queen is in her chambers."

With that, he left and closed the door. Merlin got up and began to search for her clothes, which were littered on the floor. Suddenly, she realized something: Gwaine was still there. To be exact, Gwaine was still there, and she was changing and he, if the events of last night were anything to go by, was watching her change.

Using her gown to cover herself, she turned to Gwaine, who, sure enough, was looking at her with more than just mild interest. "What are you doing?" she screeched, flushing from her nose to her toes (a fact which Gwaine could fully appreciate, considering Merlin's state of undress). "Don't look!"

"There's nothing there that I didn't see last night," Gwaine said with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk on his face. He seemed to find the whole thing more amusing than anything else, although his smile was tinged with something softer. Affection, maybe, but stronger.

Merlin stuttered, "It was dark last night."

"Not that dark," Gwaine pointed out. Merlin glared at him and he sighed, turning the other way. In fact, he got up and began searching the floor on the other side of the bed for his clothes. Satisfied, Merlin shrugged on her gown from the night before.

It was there that she realized that she had a problem. With a resigned sigh, she called out, "Gwaine?"

"Aye?" He asked, slipping into his breeches.

"Can you help me with the back of this dress?" Merlin asked. She heard him chuckle and walk over behind her. "Oh, shush!"

At this, he laughed outright and began to do up the ties with plenty of ease. She tried to pretend that she didn't know how he'd gotten so good at that. Instead, she instructed, "Don't worry yourself too much about it. I'm going to go back to my chambers to change."

"I thought you'd want to see straight to Gwen," Gwaine grunted, as he struggled a bit with a fastening.

"I have to go back to my chambers to get some supplies anyway," Merlin said with a thoughtful frown. Or, at least, what Gwaine guessed what was a thoughtful frown, since her back was turned to him at the moment. However, he'd spent enough time staring at Merlin's face to learn most of her expressions (although every now and again a new one popped up to surprise him). Merlin's thoughtful frown was tied for second place as his favorite Merlin-face, along with, well, every other one of her expressions, save two.

Merlin's sad face was last, obviously.

And her smile was one of his favorite things in the world. Period.

He thought back to the night before and decided that he might have to amend that list a bit.

Gwaine was so distracted by his musings that he was startled when, after he had finished, Merlin leaned up on her tip-toes to give him a quick kiss. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Of course," Gwaine said, grinning a bit sillily.

Merlin smiled shyly and left, headed straight for her new chambers (given to her by Arthur, along with a lovely attached room next to them for her to conduct her Court Sorceress-y business), avoiding the knowing eyes of the servants and some of the knights. Merlin had been hesitant about leaving Gaius, but upon realizing that he could have his room back, she accepted Arthur's offer on the condition that the physician's quarters get some much needed renovations. Gaius would now sleep far more warmly in the winter on a new bed, perfect for his aching joints.

As for Merlin, right now, she didn't think she'd ever been happier to see the privacy of her room. It took her a moment upon entering and closing the door to realize that she actually wasn't alone and didn't have any privacy whatsoever. A woman- Merlin recognized her as a young servant from the kitchens named Millie- was waiting expectantly for her. On the bed, she had even taken the liberty of laying a dress out for her.

"Can I help you?" Merlin asked unsurely.

"The king assigned me to be your personal maidservant, m'lady," Millie said simply. "I came to help you get ready this morning.

"It's just Merlin, Millie. We've known each for years," Merlin said absently. Arthur had mentioned something to her about that, Merlin realized. Then she noticed something else: the dress Millie had placed on the bed was decidedly lovely (with a soft blue skirt, a red corset and delicate white sleeves), but decidedly not hers.

Merlin knew this because she only had two dresses, and this one was neither.

"That dress isn't mine."

Mille explained, "The queen had several dresses commissioned for you. You can pick one of the others if you don't like this one, but I thought it would be the most appropriate for your meetings later today."

She supposed she would have to think about things like that now that she had a position in court, although her first instinct was to shoo Millie out and go about her business as normal. She was halted by the realization that she knew next to nothing about holding a position in court, or what to wear, or what to do, or anything.

Merlin had known, on some level, at least, that she would be treated differently now, but she hadn't given it much thought. She was so used to no recognition that the thought of being given a title for her work was, well, rather silly to her. And she wasn't after a title. She meant what she'd said: she would gladly be Arthur's servant until the day she died.

But Arthur had been rather insistent, something about how she could serve him and Camelot far better if she was free to do it openly and had the resources she needed. Merlin still thought that he was taking things a bit far (giving her her own servant was absurd, since she'd been a servant herself not too long ago), but all that would have to wait for now.

If anything, it could wait until after all the visiting nobles had left, when she and Arthur would be free to yell at each other and argue about it to their hearts' content.

Except- she needed some semblance of normalcy (it was all too much) so she said hesitantly, "Actually, I think I'd like my normal clothes back."

Millie seemed taken aback, but then, as a good servant should, went about following her mistresses's orders and began to lay out the clothes Merlin had asked for.

"You seem to be taking this magic in Camelot thing very well," Merlin noted as she walked over to the screen in the corner of the room to change.

Millie blushed. "My older brother practiced magic. We were never allowed to talk about him. He went off to live in another kingdom once he was old enough, but now he gets to come home. I haven't seen him in almost ten years."

When Millie offered to help Merlin get her clothes on, Merlin stepped in.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Merlin waved Milly off. "I'll be faster on my own and I need to tend to the queen. Thank you, Millie, that's all for today."

"Oh," Millie said, surprised. "Are you sure, m'la- I mean, Merlin?"

"Of course," Merlin said with a frown. "I've been taking care of myself for years. Just because Arth- I mean, the prat- I mean, the king suddenly gave me a title doesn't mean I suddenly can't do things for myself. Besides, you need to prepare for your brother's arrival!"

Millie, speechless with happiness, gave a quick curtsey and hurried out the room.

After changing, Merlin went about gathering a few potions and herbs and putting them in her rucksack, realizing, rather belatedly that she hadn't asked Arthur for any details on Gwen's condition, which meant she now had no idea what Gwen'd be needing.

To be honest, Merlin wasn't even sure if Gwen was sick. Walking the corridors towards the chambers Gwen shared with Arthur, Merlin reflected that this would not be the first time Arthur had overreacted in regards to Gwen's health. He had once been convinced she had a deadly infection because she sneezed during council session.

(She hadn't.)

Merlin soon realized that Arthur, in this case, was not overreacting. Gwen looked awful, still in bed, sweating a fair amount, and a bucket of- actually, Merlin didn't want to look in there- next to her bed.

"Oh, Merlin," Gwen said, "I didn't want to trouble you, but Arthur insisted-"

"And a good thing he did," Merlin said gently, pulling up a chair to the side of Gwen's bed (gently nudging the bucket out of the way with her foot). "You don't look too well."

"It's my stomach," Gwen admitted. "It's been acting up all morning. I tried some tea, but I couldn't even keep that down."

Merlin looked at Gwen's bedside table to notice that her cup of tea was still mostly full. There was also an uneaten piece of bread on the saucer. Merlin frowned, cataloguing Gwen's symptoms and running through a list of possible causes. "Too much to drink last night?"

"No," Gwen said shaking her head. "Barely a drop. And not nearly as much as you," she added teasingly. Her smile, though, was a bit pathetic, and Merlin resolved to get Gwen better and smiling prettily again soon.

Merlin placed her hand on Gwen's brow. "You don't have a fever," Merlin noted, "So an infection is unlikely. A virus, maybe, or-"

She paused, remembering the most common cause of nausea in women who came to Gaius. "Gwen, have you been feeling at all strangely, lately? Maybe some mood swings, or an increase in appetite?"

Gwen frowned and shifted underneath the blankets. "Well, now that you mention it, yes, I suppose so. But I assumed it was stress. Learning how to be queen hasn't been easy."

"You're doing brilliantly," Merlin assured, although she had a feeling it came out a bit distractedly. Her mind was too busy putting all the clues together because, contrary to Arthur's opinion, it did actually do some thinking every now and again.

"How about," Merlin paused for a moment, unsure how to ask her best friend of so many years such a personal question, but then she realized that she was Court Sorceress now, and that she had to do her job (whatever that job might entail, although it apparently involved helping Gaius tend to the sick and injured of Camelot, which she didn't mind in the least) to the best of her ability, no matter how odd it may seem, "any soreness in your breasts?"

Despite her obvious embarrassment, Gwen didn't blush. Merlin made a note to get the queen a fresh pitcher of water- or, rather, get another servant to fetch one, since Merlin could do that now. Gwen was obviously dehydrated and she didn't want to leave the queen unattended while she looked so poorly.

"Now that you mention it," Gwen said hesitantly, "Yes. I assumed it was because my dresses have gotten a bit tighter recently- all of the feasts, you know- and I haven't had a chance to go to the seamstress."

"I don't think it's all the eating that's making you gain weight," Merlin denied. Gwen didn't look as though she understood, so Merlin held out her hand over Gwen's stomach. "Let me just check something."

Gwen nodded, completely trusting Merlin, and watched as Merlin performed magic for her for the first time. Her eyes glowed bright, molten gold, and a pale shimmer encircled her hand, which Merlin then placed on Gwen's abdomen. It felt strangely warm through the thin cotton of her nightclothes as it it slowly turned a delicate copper color.

Merlin, Gwen noticed, was grinning so widely it looked as though her face would fall off.

"What is it?" Gwen asked anxiously as Merlin removed her hand. She knew it couldn't be terrible since Merlin was grinning so widely, but she just felt so terrible and wanted to know why.

Merlin, for her part, couldn't help but let out a delighted laugh.

"Gwen," Merlin said happily, "I am happy to inform you that you're pregnant."

For a moment, it was as though Gwen's world stopped, and she managed to whisper only, "With a baby?"

"What else?" Merlin asked, bemused as she watched the news sink in.

"With Arthur's baby?"

"Well, I'd imagine so," Merlin said wide eyed. Gwen brought her hand to her brow and she rested her head back on the pillow, clearly too overcome to speak. Her smile and wet eyes told Merlin all she needed to know.

"Congratulations," Merlin said gently. "I can't think of two more worthy people."

Deciding to give Gwen a moment alone to accept the news, she patted the queen's hand and stood up. "Just give me a moment."

She headed towards the door and stuck her head out and called to a passing servant. "Meredith!"

"Yes, m'lady?"

"It's just Merlin," she corrected out of habit. Then she shook her head to clear it. "Right, I need you to bring a few things for the queen immediately- unless you're not too busy, then send somebody else with them, please." Merlin was terrible at this ordering thing. Then she realized she hadn't actually told Meredith what it was she wanted.

"Right: a pitcher of cold water and a glass, a pail filled with fresh water and a clean cloth, and stop by Gaius's to get a small satchel of dried lavender on the top shelf of the back cabinet. He'll know what I want, if he's there. Understood?"

Meredith bowed, ignoring Merlin's protests as she did so, and scurried off to do so. Merlin let out an annoyed huff. This position in court business was going to take some serious getting used to.

Merlin turned back to Gwen and walked back to the bed, admiring the smile on her queen's face. Gwen's joy was short lived, because suddenly she was leaning over the bed and reaching for the bucket, which Merlin had shoved away. Unable to hold back, she retched over Merlin's shoes, despite Merlin's best attempts to avoid it.

"Oh, Merlin!" she said, mortified, but unable to keep the joy from the earlier news completely out of her voice, either, "I am so sorry!"

"No harm done," Merlin denied, banishing the vomit away with a wave of her hand, thanking her lucky stars that Gaius had made sure she was well trained in dealing with the not so glamorous side of healing. "And, anyway, it's my fault. I should have given you something to steady your stomach the minute I walked in here. Gaius would be very disappointed."

"I doubt that, Merlin," Gwen tutted as Merlin rifled through her bag. She pulled out a small brown bottle and measured out a dose of a thin, yellow liquid and offered it to Gwen.

"It'll help with the nausea. Take one spoonful a day right before bed time, and half a spoonful during the day as needed. You shouldn't need more than two spoons total a day. If you do, let me know and I'll find something else for you."

"I'm sure it will do fine," Gwen assured her, taking the spoon that Merlin, in a rare moment of foresight, had thought to bring.

"Fair warning," Merlin said, before Gwen drank, "It will make you rather drowsy."

"Some rest is exactly what I need now," Gwen muttered. Merlin smiled as Gwen took her medicine.

Merlin got to work with making the room more comfortable. The air had grown stale, which wouldn't make Gwen feel any better, so Merlin went and opened the window a fraction, knowing that it was a cool morning, but that a light breeze would help matters considerably. She then drew the blinds shut to hide the light.

Merlin walked across the room and reached into Gwen's wardrobe to pull out some clean blankets from the back. She knew the fresh air would make Gwen a bit chilly and Gwen's current sheets had been soaked with sweat. Merlin cleaned the old ones with a quick burst of magic, before settling the new blankets on top. Gwen watched everything gratefully through her closing eyes.

"Oh, Merlin, thank you for all this," she muttered. Merlin ignored it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin denied. "You're my first patient as Court Sorceress and I couldn't think of a better one- or a better way to start out my first day. Besides, you better get used to it. Once Arthur gets wind of your condition, he'll spoil you worse than I am now."

"I hope he doesn't treat me too differently," Gwen huffed, as a knock on the door, no doubt from Meredith, sounded.

Merlin chuckled as she went to answer it. "Don't worry. If he does, you send him to me and I'll straighten him out."

Opening the door, Merlin came face to face with Meredith, who held all the things Merlin had requested. "Thank you."

"Of course, m'lady," Meredith curtsied as Merlin took the things. Meredith placed the pail of water on the ground next to the door. "Is there anything else?"

"Um," Merlin thought. "Yes, actually! The king is currently in a meeting-"

"About the pigs, yes," Meredith acknowledged. Merlin blinked in surprise. She forgot how fast news traveled in Camelot.

"Yes, right. Well, can you go wait for him and, once he's done, let him know that Gwen- I mean, the queen- is fine and that he can visit her, if he'd like."

Meredith bowed (Merlin made a face), and left.

The pitcher was placed on the bedside table, where Merlin also placed the glass and filled it with water. She grabbed the pail and placed it next to Gwen's bed and dipped the cloth in the water. After checking that it wasn't too cold, she gently wiped her friend's brow, cleaning her off. Gwen seemed to know better than to try and thank her.

"There," Merlin said, satisfied. She pushed the pail aside- in case Arthur or whoever else came to visit Gwen should want to nurse her, which Merlin had no doubt they would- and made sure that the other bucket was within Gwen's grasp, although she doubted Gwen would need it anymore.

The medicine was already taking effect.

Merlin grabbed the satchel of dried lavender and hung it on one of the posts of Gwen's bed. "The scent of lavender will help with your stomach. And, when you wake up" (there was no doubt that Gwen was going to fall asleep) "the tea here will be nice and warm for you to try and take a few sips. The bread will help too, if you can manage to get something in your stomach later."

As Merlin spoke, she heated the tea up with a simple spell and sat back, pleased that Gwen now looked far better than she had when Merlin had first arrived.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I'll say it anyway," Gwen said softly. "Thank you, Merlin."

"You're welcome," Merlin assured her, standing up and tip-toeing to the door. When she turned back, Gwen was already asleep. Putting out most of the candles, except for a few, with a flick of her hand, Merlin left the room and shut the door softly behind her.

When she turned around, she was faced with two, worried, guards.

"The queen is fine," Merlin announced, both to their relief. Gwen might've been worried about being queen, but the people loved her already. "She simply needs rest. Let nobody in there but myself, the Court Physician, her husband, or her brother."

She reconsidered. "Unless, of course, there is an emergency. But it better be a very good one."

"Understood, m'lady."

"Merlin," Merlin stressed. "It's just Merlin."

With that, Merlin turned around and walked away, not letting them get a word in edgewise. The problem with dramatic exits, though, is that one didn't usually consider where one was going, and it took Merlin only a few seconds after turning a corner to realize that she had no idea what a Court Sorceress was supposed to do next.

In fact, what did Court Sorceresses even do at all?

AN: So there. Not thrilled with how this turned out, but I'm not thrilled with how any of my Merlin stuff is coming out lately. I'm hoping I'll get the rhythm of it back soon enough, but in the meantime, enjoy! I'd love your opinions :)