Me: My first Merlin fic! I got the idea by reading another fiction, mentioning Merlin playing with kids and, yeah. Just wrote it…

I have only recently finished the series (Im still in shock, and possible denial) and I love it to bits. If any of you are looking for a good music video to watch on how amazing Merlin is/was, then I recommend the one on Youtube, Merlin tribute We have had the time of our lives. It is amazing and makes my heart swell with happiness just thinking about it. And it eases the pain. A little bit.

Enough rambling! On with the show!

~Apologies for any and all grammatical mistakes, especially for misspelling of names, which I'm sure I did.~

''Well, another good training session, yep?'' Gwaine said as he and the other knights walked down the hallway. He rubbed his sore muscles. ''Punching some sacks for two hours really strengths one up, doesn't it?''

Elyen was the only one who chuckled at Gwaine's subtle complaint, while the others groaned. ''Since you enjoyed it so much, Sir Gwaine,'' Arthur said, ''why don't you shoot for four hours?''

Gwaine opened his mouth to give a no doubt snarky reply, when Percival spoke. ''Do you hear that?''

The other knights stopped and listened. Sure enough, they heard the sound of children's laughter.

The sound of children's laughter wasn't strange; you heard kids laughing and playing all throughout the castle. The children of servants often accompanied their parents to work, helping them here and there with their work. And the children of some of the lords often tagged along, playing with the children their own age. What was strange about the sound was that it was coming from below, in the armory.

Leon frowned. ''They know they aren't supposed to play in there,'' he murmured, annoyed that the children were ignoring the rules.

Arthur nodded, agreeing, though also remembering how many times he and Morgana ran to play in the armory. He went to the stairs, prepared to go and shoo the children away, when Lancelot held up a hand. ''Wait.'' He motioned them to follow. ''If I'm right, they aren't in there for the weapons…''

Lancelot lead them down past the stairs a few steps, to a large grate in the floor. He smirked, and pointed down below.

The knights could see a small circle of children crowded around a work bench. Sitting on the bench, holding a helmet he had been polishing before being ambushed by the little people, was Merlin.

''Please won't you tell us another?'' a dirty faced little boy asked. Arthur recognized him as the cook's youngest boy.

''We'll help you polish!'' A girl with a brown braid offered. One of the twins belonging to Sir Chanlore.

Merlin laughed. ''Have you ever polished something before?''

''We're quick learners!'' The other twin stated. The other children nodded, agreeing with the girls' assessment of their abilities.

''I thought that once,'' Merlin nodded sagely. ''Right when I started working here. 'Nothing to polishing,' I thought. Turns out there is something to polishing, something I didn't posses in my 'dimly lit mind,' as our dear Prince said while whacking me over the head with a ladle.''

''Why did he have a ladle?'' Another child asked. The daughter of the man who transported goods to and from the castle.

''Because he had just found it mixed in with his clothes, where my 'hands of an oaf' had dropped it when I was meant to return it to the cook.''

The children giggled below. Arthur felt his face go red as his knights behind his stifled laughter. ''What are they doing down there?'' he whispered to Lancelot, who brought them here in the first place.

Lancelot chuckled. ''They like Merlin,'' he said lowly. ''They'll follow him around and talk with him and joke. He tells them stories and such.''

''Do they do this everyday?'' Elyan smiled.

Lancelot nodded. ''I've seen this happen in town,'' Gwaine interjected. ''All the kids seem to know Merlin.''

''Probably from how much time he's spent in the stocks,'' Leon said, not unkindly.

The knights chuckled and turned their attention back to the scene below.

Apparently, the kids had gotten their wish and Merlin was in the middle of telling them a story. A little girl (the daughter of one of the maids) was sitting next to Merlin on his bench, leaning against him. She tugged on his shirt to get his attention. ''What happened to the bad spies next?''

Merlin smiled. ''While, the bad spies, being bad spies, were terribly clumsy! They didn't notice the rickety shelf behind them and it toppled right on them!''

Another little boy (the son of one of the gate keepers) stood up excited from his seat on the end of the bench. ''Is this a true story, Merlin?'' he asked.

''What makes you ask that?'' Merlin said. In an odd tone, thought Arthur. Like he was feigning innocence…

''Because I think I found the Bad Spies!'' And the little boy pointed up to the grate.

The children laughed at the knights startled faces. ''Well look at that,'' Merlin said dryly. ''But no, it can't be a real story, because the rickety bookcase didn't fall…''

…..

''So I suppose it was just pure coincidence that the bookcase fell during your story?'' Gauis asked over supper that night.

Merlin shrugged as he took another bite of bread. ''I mean, I noticed it was loose on the way down to the armory,'' he said innocently. ''That's where I got the idea. But for it to fall right after— yeah. Pure coincidence.'' Gauis snorted. ''You don't believe me?''

''Oh, I believe you,'' Gauis said. ''It's just that Gwaine hit his head pretty hard.''

''Hmm?''

''Yes. A book hit his head so hard that it made his eyesight go funny. He said he could've sworn that your eyes glowed yellow.''

''Wow,'' Merlin took another bite. ''He must've been hit hard.'' He ate in silence as Gauis continued to glare at him. ''Look on the bright side.''

''What bright side?''

''If he really hurt his head that bad, I'm sure it will get him out of training for a while!''

Me: hope you enjoyed! I would appreciate a review if you can! And seriously, watch that music video, it is pure beauty!

Happy Writing!