Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

The Fourth Tale

"You want me to what?" Merlin asked incredulously.

Gwaine looked at him with a grin and a sparkle in his eyes. "Enchant them," he answered, his voice matter-of-fact. The two were crouched behind a building where a small, muddy pond had formed. When they had told the owner they had come to help with his frog problem, the man hadn't questioned them too much; they were noisy buggers.

Merlin blinked a few times. "You want me to enchant frogs."

"That's what I said." Gwaine was now digging through the bucket that held the large number of frogs he and Merlin had caught. Mud streaked his face, making him look even more ridiculous when his face lit up after finding the one he had been looking for. It was particularly ugly. "Start with this one."

"What exactly do you want me to make it do?" Merlin exclaimed, more confused that someone was urging him to use magic on such a trivial thing than against the idea.

"Use your imagination, Merlin!" Gwaine held the frog out toward the young warlock, looking between it and Merlin expectantly.

"Gaius wouldn't approve," Merlin said.

"I'm not going to tell him."

"You know I'll probably be the one who has to clean this up after." But he was grinning now.

Gwaine's eyebrows rose and fell quickly. "But it will be worth it, won't it?"

"Alright, you've convinced me. Put that one back with the others."

Gwaine chuckled and dropped the frog back in the bucket. He clasped his hands together and leaned forward like an excited child.

Merlin held his hand over the frogs and thought for a moment, then spoke a few words. He paused and then added a couple more.

Gwaine listened, not knowing the meaning of the words, but recognizing their sound. He pushed away the memories the magic language brought to mind. "Well?"

Merlin looked very happy with himself. "Well, first I made it so they wouldn't track dirt or slime all over the floor," he explained.

Gwaine's smile faltered slightly. "So… you cleaned them." He knew he had recognized a couple words specifically. His mother hated cleaning.

"Yes, well, you're not the one who'll have to clean it, remember."

"Just tell me you did something else, too."

"Of course I did. These frogs are now uncatchable." He sat back and waited for Gwaine's response.

The rugged knight's grin shone. "Brilliant!"

"What's brilliant?"

Gwaine and Merlin both twisted around to see who had spoken. It was Lancelot.

"And why do you have a bucket of frogs?"

"What bucket of frogs?" Gwaine asked seriously. Lancelot gave him a look.

"We're going to…" Merlin started. He noticed Gwaine shaking his head and making a face to get him to stop talking. But it was too late, and Lancelot was a good friend. "We're going to… let them loose in Arthur's chambers."

For a moment, Lancelot looked shocked and appalled. Then he looked thoughtful.

Gwaine stood up and wiped some grime off of his hand and onto his pants. Then he held it out to Lancelot. "You in?"

Lancelot remained silent for a moment, and then finally he shrugged. "I suppose… Just this once." With the last words, he gave Gwaine a stern look as he quickly shook his hand.

Gwaine raised an eyebrow in contest.

Merlin looked between his two friends. Stopping on Lancelot, he grinned and said, "I've made them uncatchable."

Lancelot looked quickly at Gwaine, worry showing on his face until Gwaine snorted a laugh. "He knows?"

Merlin nodded.

Gwaine turned and bent down to the bucket. "Shall we test it then?"

"Sure. But you won't be able to catch any."

"Not even in the bucket?" Gwaine reached in and grabbed for a frog. Somehow, he kept missing. Did his hand just go through that one? Certainly not. "This is good!"

Lancelot had leaned over them to watch. "But how do we get them in without anyone noticing?"

"Arthur's having some sort of discussion with Uther, so he won't be in his room."

"Right," Gwaine said. "We'll have to come up with some way to…" He trailed of, his attention drawn to something in the distance. His face lit up. "Wait here."

Lancelot and Merlin both watched as Gwaine jogged away and it didn't take long for them to see what he was heading for. Rather, who he was heading for.

Guinevere looked up and saw him coming, that easy feeling he carried with him making her smile. "Hello, Gwaine. Can I help you?"

From their spot behind the building, Merlin and Lancelot watched as Gwaine turned on the charm. Lancelot frowned as Gwen laughed at something the new knight had said.

"What's he doing?"

Merlin shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Gwen gave him a strange look and handed over a square piece of cloth. Gwaine winked, thanked her, and started moving slowly backwards toward their frog pond. Gwen gave a little wave and walked on. Gwaine waited until she was past the building before turning around and running to the others.

"Here we are," he said happily, holding up the cloth as if they should know exactly how it was going to help them. He let out a weighty sigh as they looked at him blankly. "We just cover the bucket with this, tie it down and if anyone asks, it's a gift for the prince. You can silence the frogs, right Merlin?"

Merlin nodded slowly. "Yah..."

"And then when we let them loose, you can make them even louder!"

Lancelot and Merlin shared a look, then shrugged. Merlin beamed and even Lancelot was smiling. "Let's get started then," Merlin said, clapping his hands together.

-o-O-o-

The trio was not stopped, though that might have been because of Gwaine's "approach and die" expression and Lancelot's less-than-pleasant body language. With the two distractions, no one really noticed Merlin shuffling along with them, holding a bucket covered in a pretty cloth that was starting to stain with mud near the bottom. The two dropped the guise once they reached Arthur's room. Handing the bucket off to Gwaine, Merlin poked his head inside the room just to make sure Arthur wasn't within.

"It's clear."

All three men stepped inside the chamber and Gwaine quickly removed the cloth, tucking it under his belt. He took a quick look around and his eyes landed on the bed. He walked over to it. "Good a place as any to start, right, friends?"

Merlin had the sneaking suspicion Gwaine was addressing the frogs rather than him and Lancelot. "Hurry," he said, fidgeting and turning to look at the door every couple seconds. "Dump them and let's go."

Gwaine did so, watching the frogs fall onto the fabric, bouncing and hopping silently. Some were already moving to the floor before he had finished dumping them all out. There were at least thirty.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he quickly said the word to give the creatures their voices back and then once more as he said the words to make them louder.

They all cringed at the heightened volume. "Let's get out of here," Lancelot said.

"Go. Don't let anyone see you," said Gwaine.

Lancelot slipped out first, making sure no one was coming before disappearing around the corner. Merlin went next, following in Lancelot's steps. Gwaine waited a moment, surveying his work before chuckling and heading to the door. Then he heard them.

"Arthur! Uh, what, uh, are you doing out so soon?"

"I need to get a document from my room." The prince's voice was dry and verging on suspicious.

"Oh really? And what document is that?" It was good Merlin was talking in a loud voice.

"The one that's none of your business."

Gwaine had the impression Arthur was trying to push Merlin aside with that last bit.

"But I saw some documents in the library. Maybe it's one of them. And you're all the way around the corner from your room, after all. It would definitely be faster to go to the library first."

"No, Merlin, it wouldn't. Now move."

Gwaine had taken Merlin's help. As soon as the warlock had said Arthur was still around the corner, he slipped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him. Just as he started walking toward the three others, Arthur rounded the corner, determined to get what he needed without any more distractions. But he stopped short when he saw Gwaine.

"What are you doing here?"

Gwaine seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging. "Just taking a stroll on this lovely day." He flashed a grin and then continued calmly on his way.

Arthur furrowed his brow and then shook his head, letting it go.

Gwaine rounded the corner and heard Arthur's door begin to open. "Run!" he hissed, and all three took off, trying to get away from the prince's room as quickly as possible.