Alaia Skyhawk: Here's the final part of this short. I hope you guys enjoyed it :D

Disclaimer: I don't own the Merlin TV series or any of its characters, however I do own Liam (OCs FTW)

~(-)~

Chapter 3: A Question of… Gift Wrap? ~Part 3~

"I welcome you all to the Midwinter feast, a time of celebration and family for all in our land. Now, let the feast begin!"

The young woman sat at the king's side fought not to yawn as the feast had begun, wishing more than anything that she could leave this tedious gathering and go right away to her sister.

Morgana sighed quietly, rolling her eyes as she listened to the conversation Uther was having with his son and one of the young lords from the outer estates that happened to be visiting. Swords, tournaments, and general boasting, she'd heard it all before. Soon they would begin to talk about horses, and then about the time Lord Elswith had gambled half the contents of his treasury that there was no horse he could not break to rein on the first try.

"He was so confident that he bet half his treasury, saying there was no horse he couldn't tame on the first time in the saddle... So Father told me I could answer the challenge however I wished. Didn't you, Father?"

Uther chuckled, nodding as he sipped from his wine and Morgana fought the urge to get up and leave the table.

"Indeed, and Arthur responded to Lord Elswith's arrogance by handing him the reins of the yearling war horse that had just been brought in from Ulwin. Lord Tarven inherited a small breeding herd from his late father, Lord Hargren, and as his father did he continues to produce the horses we train for our knights and also for ourselves. They are specially bred to be fearless in the face of danger, and while the majority are submissive to their riders there are a few who are particularly feisty."

Arthur turned back to his guest with a chuckle, concluding the story as Morgana muttered his statement word-for-word under her breath.

"Lord Elswith managed to stay in its saddle for about ten seconds, before it dumped him on the ground, stood on him, and then chased him out of the pasture to make sure it got its point across... The gold he paid up bought new tack and armour for all of the horses in our stables, and the horse that dumped him is the best among my father's personal mounts. He lets me take him out for a ride now and then, but my lord father is rather possessive of him."

Morgana rolled her eyes again, as Uther responded with the same 'Well he did win me a great deal of money' as he always did. Gods please, just hurry up and get this banquet over with.

The other side of Uther, she failed to notice that Arthur had taken note of her boredom. Indeed, she had no idea that he brought that story up at every banquet he could simply because he knew it annoyed her. On previous occasions he'd just done it because annoying her as if she were his little sister was fun... Now that he knew she was his sister, and that she was just waiting to stab him and his father in the back, he did it not because of that but to annoy her just for the sake of annoying her.

Mission completed, he wondered what story he could dredge up next, but was beaten to the punch by his father talking about the last Great Tournament. Yes, trust his father to pick the story that involved bragging about the fact that he'd beaten his son in open combat... Never mind that both of them knew that he, Arthur, had thrown the fight purely so as not to humiliate him in front of his people.

Fighting not to sigh as the tale was told, Arthur began to wish as well that the banquet would soon finish. He had to wonder what Merlin was doing, seeing as he'd given him the time off. He'd bet it was more amusing than sitting here.

~(-)~

Merlin... really... wanted to be at the banquet right now. Serving wine, standing there bored out of his mind against the wall behind Arthur's chair... Bliss.

"Could you please stop chewing on me? Alynian ceowung me!"

The trio of baby reptiles stopped chewing on fingers, shirt, and hair respectively... for precisely three seconds before promptly resuming the activity. Meanwhile their parents watched with tilted heads from nearby within the cave, and Kilgharrah chuckled at the sight of the warlock being munched on by three inquisitive baby wyverns.

Merlin had called him so they could chat for a bit and so he could also wish the dragon a merry Midwinter's Day, but it had started to snow again just before the dragon had arrived. So he'd taken the warlock to a cave he knew was nearby, where both of them could shelter from the snow until it was time for Merlin to return home. The problem was that since his last visit the pair of wyverns had taken up residence and built a nest inside the cave, and while they showed no objections to the dragon and Dragonlord's presence, their offspring had naturally taken an interest.

...And Merlin had quickly learnt that in the face of the rampant curiosity of youth, no magic, not even his powers as a Dragonlord, could fend the three little darlings off for very long.

Kilgharrah chuckled again, altogether amused by this scene.

"They seem to like you, young warlock."

Merlin glared at him as he prised his finger from the luckily mostly toothless maw of one of the babies, one of the others had still managed to chew several holes in one of his sleeves though.

"And what makes you say that?"

Kilgharrah tilted his head with a draconic smile.

"If they didn't they would be screaming in distress... and their parents would be trying to kill you."

Merlin stared at him flatly, while the baby on his head started to take an interest in one of his ears.

"Thanks, I really needed that... ow, you little!" He reached up and grabbed the baby wyvern off his head, pulling it away from the ear it had decided to chew on next. "Ok, this is seriously getting old." He looked at their parents. "Could you apply some discipline over here? Me ben uncer alynian ure baern ceowung me."

Both adult wyverns got up and came over, plucking their protesting youngsters from the warlock and herding them to the nest further into the cave. When the babies tried to get out and resume their activities, their mother nudged them firmly back into the nest and curled up over them making it clear that it was 'nap time'.

Merlin breathed a deep sigh of relief, before beginning to inspect the damage that had been done to his clothing. Touching his hair he also found it had been slimed up somewhat, meaning if he didn't want questions he was going to have to clean up before going back to Camelot.

He got up and headed for the exit of the cave, Kilgharrah raising his equivalent of an eyebrow as he did so.

"And where are you going?"

"To use the snow to scrub the slime out of my hair... and then I'm going home. If I'm not here, then the temptation for them to keep trying to eat my clothing won't be there."

Kilgharrah chuckled.

"I'm sure their parents would appreciate that."

"Besniwe!"

A surge of snow rose up outside the cave, and launched itself into the entrance and over the front half of the dragon. One of the baby wyverns poked its head out from under its mother's wing at the sound, tilting its head and chirping inquisitively.

Kilgharrah shook some of the white covering off his head, turning it to glance at the infant.

"And that, little one, is why you must listen to your mother and go to sleep... The young warlock is not in good humour at present, it seems."

"I heard that!"

Another clod of snow launched itself into the cave, hitting the dragon on the back of the head. Kilgharrah moved so he could peer out of the cave, to see the sight of Merlin stalking off into the lightly falling snow... muttering under his breath.

~(-)~

The end of the banquet brought an instant sense of relief, and the knowledge that she wouldn't be expected to put in an appearance for the rest of the day.

Morgana let out a long sigh as she changed out of her formal gown, glad that the ordeal of the Midwinter's Day feast was over. Everything else she had planned today would be the complete opposite of that tedium, she would spend a far better evening with her sister than she'd ever spend if she joined her fellow noblewomen in the private gathering chamber within the south tower. Let them fuss over lace and the latest scandals. She wasn't interested.

"That's all, Gwen, you may go. Have a nice time this evening, whoever you decide to spend it with."

Gwen smiled from the doorway.

"Thank you, My Lady. Gaius has invited me to have supper with him, Liam, and Merlin. There must be someone else coming, though, because I'm not the guest who's been asked to bring the log."

Morgana hesitated at the mention of Merlin, forcing herself to smile despite the urge to throw something.

"Give them my good wishes, that the coming year will be a prosperous one."

"I will."

Gwen left the room, her expression showing her true reaction to that statement only after she was out of sight. Much could also be said of Morgana, whose smile disappeared into a deep frown as she stood up and retrieved a knee-length tunic dress from one of the more obscure parts of her closet, putting it on along with a pair of leggings, boots, and a thick cloak. There was no way she was going to go trudging through the snow-covered recesses of the Darkling Woods in a full-length dress.

Her attire now suitable for the trip, she slipped out of her chambers and made her way down to the stables. With the banquet now over and most of the resident staff in the staff dining hall stuffing themselves with the fancy leftovers, they were empty but for the horses themselves.

It took mere minutes to saddle her horse and ride out, through streets that were mostly empty but for a few patrolling guards and the handful of people on their way to visit friends or relatives.

~(-)~

The soft knock on her door had her turn to face it in surprise, Gwen breaking into a smile when Merlin opened the door a little and stuck his head inside.

He grinned.

"May I come in? I'm on my way back to the castle, but I figured I might as well see if you were ready and wanted an escort." He glanced at the man who had come into view behind her, even as he entered and closed the door behind him. "Hi, Elyan. Where are you having your supper?"

Elyan smiled, picking up the small oak log he'd left on the nearby table and hefting it.

"Just at a friend's house. I would have tried to wrangle coming with Gwen, but I'd already been asked and accepted when Gaius invited her... Maybe I'll come next time. See you around, Merlin."

He exited through the back door of the house, Gwen shaking her head after he was gone.

"Thinks are going to be awkward enough as it is with Liam there, I don't adding my brother would improve things. It's just a pity that Liam being there means we won't be able to talk properly about the past year. We're all going to have to watch what we say."

Merlin shrugged, getting her cloak from the hook near the door and offering it to her.

"Maybe next year, but for now I'm not going to let it dampen my spirits... Seeing Arthur fall out of a tree this morning was just too good for me to let myself feel down."

Gwen stopped what she was doing and stared at him.

"He fell out of a tree? What was he doing climbing one?"

Merlin grinned.

"I'll let you find out at the supper tonight. I don't want to spoil his surprise, especially seeing as he doesn't know I saw his glorious fall into a three foot snow drift." He offered his arm. "Now, if My Lady is ready, your ride awaits."

She shook her head in bemusement, setting her hand on his arm and letting her lead him from the house. He still teased her with the 'Lady' remark now and then, and no amount of her telling him to do otherwise had stopped him. Instead she just went along with it.

He was just helping her into the saddle of his horse when she caught sight of the state of his sleeve beneath his jacket, and frowned in puzzlement at the number of holes in it.

"What happened to your shirt?"

He followed her line of sight, wincing when he saw the holes.

"...Don't ask..."

She took the hint and let the subject drop, sitting there in silence as he led the horse up to the castle and round to the stables. She then stood waiting as he brushed the horse down and topped up the hay net in its stall, leaving it munching happily on its snack while he and Gwen entered the castle proper.

It was nearly deserted, only the guards remaining unchanged from their routines. Everyone who didn't have to work was at home or with friends by now; as the short winter day faded into dusk barely an hour after the banquet had ended. It was peaceful and quiet, the snow coating the courtyard in a blanket that muffled every sound until it was almost like a dream world dusted by the falling flakes of snow. The peace was shattered though when they arrived at Gaius' chambers, to find the physician standing over his giggling apprentice looking rather bemused by the whole situation.

Gwen and Merlin stopped in their tracks, the former bringing a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile.

"What on earth happened to him?"

Merlin let out a splutter of laughter, hurrying over to pick his friend up from the floor where Gaius had been forced to leave him.

"I haven't seen him this drunk since that night I bought him seven mugs of cider. What have you been giving him?"

Gaius looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"Well we were making mulled wine this morning, recreating an old recipe of mine for Uther, and as a result by the time we were done he was rather tipsy. I'd intended to have him drink some of the fruit juice you bought from the cook, but..."

Merlin dumped Liam on a nearby chair, arranging his limp-limbed friend so that he wouldn't slide off it.

"You gave him the cider by accident, didn't you?" Merlin began to chuckle. "I bought that to mix with the fruit juice. It's five times stronger than the stuff he usually serves to his patrons!" He looked down at Liam, patting him on the head. "I won't want your hangover in the morning."

Liam looked up at him, still sozzled out of all sensibility despite having drunk the cider nearly three hours ago, and smiled before falling sideways off of the chair.

Gwen looked at him where he now lay, raising her eyebrows as she addressed the warlock beside him.

"I think you'd better just sit him in the corner or something, on the floor. You never know, he might sober up enough to hold a conversation... later."

Merlin snorted.

"Trust me, he won't... I speak from experience."

The three of them, physician, warlock, and maid, then glanced at each other. Merlin then dragged Liam to the pile of sacks in the corner, while Gwen and Gaius started setting out the food that had been bought and brought up the previous day.

~(-)~

The snow muffled the passage of her horse, allowing only a faint thudding to resound among the trees of the Darkling Woods. Dusk had fallen, the world around her becoming an image etched in white and black, but it held no fear for her. Not when she knew her sister was waiting for her.

Morgana arrived at the usual meeting spot, Morgause already there and waiting. The sisters greeted each other warmly, the elder of them leading the younger through the trees for a short distance.

Following her sister, Morgana looked around for any sign of the small pavilion tent she expected would be set up for this, but instead saw no sign of one. It was with a sinking feeling that she followed Morgause all the way to the place the sorceress had set up a candle lit supper with food fit for a king. There was just one problem Morgana had with it.

Morgause had decided to set it up in a cave...

Forcing herself to return the happy smile Morgause directed at her, Morgana seated herself on the cushion-topped rock which was to be her seat, all the while aware that somewhere towards the back of the cave she could hear the chirp of bats... And that to her left an icy trickle of water ran along the floor of the small cavern.

As cosy as the candles made this setting, it didn't change the fact that her sister had set up supper for her in a cave... and she didn't seem to think that it was a problem!

~(-)~

Hands smoothed over the plain but good quality tunic, before resettling the belt that secured it and moving to the pouch that hung from it.

Arthur smiled to himself as he looked into it at the sprig of mistletoe, fully looking forward to spending supper with Merlin, Gaius, and the others. Every year before now he'd always been stuck spending supper with one noble or another, or on his own in his chambers. For the first time ever he was now going to be spending it with friends, and he didn't doubt that the evening was going to be a good one.

The prince left the room, picking up the small oaken log from the table as he did so. He then strode through the nearly empty hallways of the castle, making his way to and then climbing the stairs to Gaius' chambers. He then knocked on the door, waiting where he was until it was opened and a grinning Merlin stood there.

Arthur returned that smile, offering up the log with the traditional words.

"The Oak King goes to his slumber, as your guest I offer this to honour him on his way as the Holly King takes the throne."

Merlin accepted it, still grinning.

"Then he will sleep soundly, our wishes for the time of the reborn sun going with him."

Merlin ushered Arthur into the room, the prince murmuring to him expecting Liam to be up and about.

"The log is a little bit damp, so you might need to... dry... it." He stopped in his tracks, tilting his head to match the teetering angle at which Liam presently sat across the far side of the room. "What happened to him?"

Merlin ran a hand over the log, his eyes glowing golden for a moment as he happily used magic to dry the log in Liam's presence... He knew the apprentice physician was far too out of it to remember anything that would happen tonight.

"Gaius accidentally got him drunk... really drunk. He's going to have a beautiful hangover in the morning." Merlin pointed to the silence book, which had been situated on a stool next to Liam, also drawing attention to the fact the young man was sprawled with his mouth open and clearly sound asleep. "He kept giggling constantly, so I figured I'd just knock him out and let him sleep it off. We'll make sure to save him some of the supper so he can have his share in the morning. There's no way I'm going to let him wake up and giggle his head off again before then."

Arthur turned to him, still a little bemused.

"But why use the silence book on him as well?"

Gwen piped up from across the room, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"He snores when he's drunk... loudly."

Arthur gave both of them one last long look before he shrugged and left it at that. He'd seen and experienced far stranger things in the months since learning about Merlin's magic.

"Well I guess that means we can celebrate the proper way then. That is if you and Gaius are up for it?"

Near the hearth, Gaius started to smile and with a click of his fingers and a murmured word he conjured a butterfly out of embers rising from the fire. He then had it settle on those fingers, as he addressed Merlin who eagerly followed his instructions.

"Get out everything you need to bless that log, Merlin, and warm up your singing voice. Our Yule Fire will burn tonight with songs of the Old Religion to send the Oak King on his way."

Merlin rushed to the cupboards and started pulling down jars of herbs, while Arthur took the opportunity to sidle over to Gwen and tentatively pulled the mistletoe from his pocket. When she saw him wave it, she smiled... inwardly chuckling when she realised now why her prince had been climbing a tree.

It was Gaius who watched this scene, of happy yet illicit couple, cheerful warlock, and snoring drunken apprentice, with a feeling of contentment. No where else but Camelot would you find such an odd gathering, yet not a single one of them found anything to be particularly strange about it.

He chuckled, dismissing his conjured butterfly and moving to start serving up the supper. While meanwhile a certain king sat in his chambers sipping wine and thinking of his departed wife... and far away a bemused and sulking witch sat in a cave with her sister sorceress. Yes, only in Camelot could Midwinter's Day be this strange, and not a single person here even notice.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehe, I hope you enjoyed that. I'd just like to point out that I found a "modern English" to "old English" translator site last night, so all the spells I make up from now on will be in old English like the show instead of in Irish-Gaelic. If I re-use any of the spells I've already made up, I'll keep the old versions, but all the new ones will now be accurate :D

On that note, here's what Merlin was saying in the proper 'Old Tongue'. Hehehe, I'm going to have a lot of fun making up more spells in future XD

Alynian ceowung me! = Stop chewing me!

Me ben uncer alynian ure baern ceowung me. = I request you two stop your children chewing me.

Besniwe! = To bury with snow (direct command)