Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Ch. 12 and Epilogue

Merlin entered Arthur's rooms soon after.
"Hello Sire."
"There you are, Merlin. How'd Josephine like the dress?" Arthur smirked, but Merlin heard genuine curiosity in his voice.
Merlin debated about teasing him, and then decided against it; he was too excited himself.
"She said she loved it." Merlin couldn't help smiling.
"Of course she did," Arthur said with confidence, "Gwen helped you pick it. Did you raise all the money you needed to get a velvet dress?"
"I did," Merlin mused, "I think half the knights in Camelot are in love with her already."
"Well," Arthur conceded, "They know I'd kill them for looking at Gwen."
Merlin laughed then said more seriously, "How'd the talk with Boknavon go?"
Arthur scowled, eyes sparking with anger. "Don't talk to me about Boknavon. He's down in the dungeon screaming about injustice. I can't even believe he'd..."
"Anyone who is that mean to servants isn't to be trusted," Merlin muttered. He meant to do it under his breath, but Arthur heard.
"What?" Said the king.
Merlin sighed and said, "I tried to tell you last time he showed up, but you told me to stop being a child. He was requesting truly ridiculous things...by the way; the elderly Lady Fortuna wants her own cook to make her something special tonight. Should I let him?"
"Yes, I don't want to alienate any other nobles - but don't change the subject! What did...?"
"Let me tell her cook that."
"Merlin! Merlin get back in here!" But Merlin had already dashed outside and climbed down a flight of stairs. Arthur went to sit at his desk until Merlin came back, then hesitated and followed him.
Apparently the cook had been waiting for Merlin at the bottom of the stairs and Arthur caught a glimpse of the man heading toward the kitchen. Arthur stood at the top of the stairs and crossed his arms. Merlin grinned the cheeky little smile he had when he was expecting to get yelled at and climbed so that he was just out of Arthur's reach.
"What did Boknavon do?" Arthur asked
"To me?"
"To anyone!" Arthur exclaimed exasperated.
"Yelled at the horse handlers for an hour for not polishing a buckle on his saddle, then threw one of them into manure, went down to the kitchens ridiculously late at night and demanded they make him special meals, forced me to polish his shoes a million times and..." Here Merlin's eyes got angry, "And he groped the maids. That's when I lost my temper."
"He...how dare he!? They're here to work not to be his personal pleases toys!" Arthur debated about going down to the dungeon and yelling at the lord for another hour.
"After you lost your temper what did you do, Merlin?"
"Yelled at him," Merlin said with a half-grin. "He didn't appreciate it."
Arthur snorted, but he had to admire Merlin's courage.
"He would have hit me but I was too fast for him. Then he just went out if his way to make my life miserable," Merlin finished.
Arthur rolled his eyes before saying, "You should have tried."
"I did," Merlin said, "You didn't listen past realizing I hated him."
"Sorry about that," Arthur muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, come up here and help me finish getting ready!"
Merlin grinned. He'd heard.

Epilogue:

Gwaine couldn't help laughing when Jo came in for the feast. She looked beautiful in the red dress that he had helped buy; every bit a well-bred lady. However, Jo was holding her quiver in one hand and Dragon flew in a few seconds after she sat beside him. Gwaine glanced to where Merlin was standing and wasn't at all surprised to see him staring at Jo in amazement. Gwaine turned to the lady knight.
"Jonny-boy, what's with the archer's gear?"
Jo looked at him quizzically, "You know I'm a girl and you still insist on calling me that?"
"You may look like a duchess," Gwaine retorted with a cheeky grin, "But you'll always be a boy to me."
"What," Jo replied, "Is that supposed to mean?"
"Gwaine," Arthur wanted, trying not to laugh, "Don't make her mad. She can beat you to a pulp."
Percival snorted into his drink.
Jo grinned and said, "That reminds me." She reached into the quiver before stowing it under the table and pulled out something red with a long blue feather, "I made it smaller and used the extra material for a scarf."
She tossed a red hat to Gwaine and the table exploded in laughter. Gwaine only managed to look indignant for a few seconds before he also laughed and pulled the red hat onto his head.
"But seriously, the quiver?" Gwaine asked once the laughter had died down.
"Bad habit," Jo answered, "My dad always told me a warrior never leaves his sword behind..."
All the knights nodded - they were all wearing their swords on their belts.
"But dresses aren't made for carrying swords. So," Jo reached under the table and held up the quiver, "I got into the habit of storing it in here." She drew her sword from its hidden pocket.
"Clever," Arthur commented.
"Thank you, sir," Jo answered. She put the weapon away.
"About time we got some more clever people around here," Merlin whispered in her ear as he came forward with a tray of drinks.
Jo smiled and whispered back as she accepted a goblet, "Who's the other clever one?"
"Me of course," Merlin replied a bit mysteriously. The two smiled at each other as the feast continued around them.

Sitting on the chandelier Dragon ruffled his feathers and looked on, aware of things no one else knew: Big-Master-with-shiny-thing- on-head is Mistress' master too. So he is Dragon's master almost. One-with-magic trying to mate with Mistress. Mistress must like because no order Dragon to attack like other trying-to-mate-men. This place is home. This place is full of magic...

The End.

Author's note: If you liked the story search fanfic for a story called "After the Lady Knight." It's a one-shot that ties up a few loose ends. Then keep watch for more stories featuring Jo and the rest. Thanks for reading! (BTW: Please review, how do you feel about Jo-Merlin love interest?)