CHAPTER 23 : HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Gaius stood on the station waving as the Paris train left. He smiled to himself. The boys were so excited and Hunith seemed relaxed and happy. Miles was an excellent travelling companion and would see to everything including their train to Cardiff.

Merlin had hugged him before leaving telling him to look after himself and not to work too hard on his return to England. He had also asked for Gaius's address as he wanted to send him some photos of his summer.

Gaius knew that he would miss Merlin. He'd thoroughly enjoyed the young lad's being around. Hopefully, next summer would be a repeat of this one. He decided to invite Hunith and Merlin to spend Christmas with him in Oxford and possible arrange for Arthur and Miles to visit as well. He knew he was a silly old man but he felt that if he had ever had a grandson, he would have liked to have had one just like Merlin.

He drove back to the institute and later in the afternoon Geoffrey joined him and they had a drink together. They laughed over some of the happenings over the past five weeks and Geoffrey finally said with a shake of his head, "…and now we have to face the girls!"

-0-0-

In no time, the train had arrived at Le Gare du Nord and Miles secured a taxi to move the four of them to their hotel.

Hunith was very impressed. It was luxurious and she worried that Arthur's father was going to face an enormous bill for three rooms and meals. She had a suite of rooms which included a bedroom and a sitting room. The boys were in the adjoining suite and already they had decided to keep the interlocking door open, if Hunith was agreeable.

Hunith smiled, she would have been quite willing to have shared her suite with Merlin and if necessary Arthur.

Miles had laughed kindly, when she had suggested sharing her room with Merlin and he could have Arthur in his room or if he was unwilling to do that, she would be quite happy to let the two boys share her suite.

"I think that I need to give you a little information about Arthur's father." Miles explained who he was and Hunith was shocked, "But you gave me the impression he was a business man."

"Well, in a way he is and that is how he prefers it to be for his son's sake. He is quite capable of settling for three rooms and if Arthur and Merlin decide they don't want to sleep together then we can get another room. He was able to downplay his son and his wife's death as the House was not in session. He would deny Arthur nothing so do not be surprised if Merlin is invited later in the summer to visit Arthur at home. I will be the contact person so there is no need to worry about helicopters and the police descending upon your house."

"Miles, I never realised that Arthur was the surviving grandson in the PM's family. He is so unassuming and happy with all we do for him." Hunith laughed, "As to helicopters and police, I can assure you our garden is not big enough for a kite let alone a helicopter. They'd have to land on the football field and then only with permission of the local club. I can remember reference in the news to the accident and deaths. But how did you ever land the job of looking after Arthur?"

"I told you that a friend recommended that I freelance. Well, school ties are very important and my name was recognised by the powers that be and I was screened and deemed suitable. My references passed muster and my qualifications were accepted. I have no immediate family of my own just various brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. Only my closest brother knows who Arthur is. It's a world of shadows and mirrors."

Hunith smiled as she realised that should Merlin and Arthur remain friends, he was going to be thrown into that very world.

-0-0-

The boys loved their room. Two queen sized beds and a large flat screen TV with a mini-bar and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath, double sinks, heated towel rails and a 360° shower. Merlin started to giggle, "Just like home!" he said.

Arthur decided to turn on the shower and didn't move back soon enough and got soaked. "Let's fool in the bath." They turned on the taps and filled it and then started playing with all the various knobs for the pressure feeds. They stripped down to their underwear and plunged in.

"There should be bubbles!" Arthur said and before Merlin could stop him he'd emptied two of the little bottles of soap into the water. Things got a little out of hand and finally Hunith arrived to see what all the noise was about. She just shook her head but said that they had better both have a proper shower before bed to get rid of all the bubbles and not to forget their teeth.

"When you're in bed, let me know and I'll come in to tuck you in."

Merlin said, "Oh, Mummy!"

But another little voice said, "Yes, please!"

Hunith's breath caught in her throat and she glanced at her son, who shrugged. "Very well then…one half hour and I'll be back." She smiled to herself as she left their suite.

True to her word, she returned when she heard them settling and walked across the room picking up discarded clothes. She went to Merlin first and he put up his arms and she leant over and kissed him. "Goodnight, Merlin My Love, sleep tight!"

She turned to Arthur who was peeking at her. She walked over and leant over him and kissed him saying, "Goodnight, Arthur Love, sleep tight." She was not surprised when Arthur's arms snaked around her neck and she gave him a little hug before straightening out his blankets and winking at him. He smiled bashfully and ducked his head. She walked out of the room leaving the door open a crack and crossed their sitting room calling, "Goodnight Boys!" as she entered her own suite.

"Merlin!" whispered Arthur. "This bed is awfully big and you're so far away…"

"All right, you can share mine but I really am tired, so no talking…" Silence descended on the room.

-0-0-

After the boys had turned in, Hunith and Miles sat in her sitting room planning the next few days.

"Merlin seemed disappointed that you wouldn't be getting the chance to travel with him through the chunnel then Arthur also decided, he'd rather return to London by train. If it's agreeable with you, I can purchase Eurostar tickets."

Hunith nodded. Merlin had been so excited about the train that she'd be happy to take it again. "Leon seemed a very nice young man. He met me in Paris and brought me to Pierrefonds."

"Yes, he is. His father is also in the government. You have to agree that the boys who attend the institute have scholastic achievements in common but there are a varied bunch."

"Our family is very ordinary," explained Hunith. "We never take holidays on the continent and we only went to Northern Ireland because my best friend is married to a doctor in Belfast. I worry that Merlin is a little out of his depth."

"Banish that thought. Merlin has one of the finest minds; he is personable and well liked by everyone. In my books, he's a hero for what he has accomplished with Arthur."

"He whispered to me that Arthur had awful nightmares and that he let him sleep in his bed so he would stop crying. It broke my heart to think of what that poor boy has had to cope with in his twelve years."

"Exactly…and because of Merlin, he is on the road to recovery. He told me that he can now think of his mother and brother without hurting and added that he thinks of Merlin as his younger brother whom he will protect with his life if necessary. I have a strange feeling that Merlin reciprocates that feeling."

Hunith smiled, "He's always wanted a sibling. As a youngster, he used to plead with me to have a baby. It was only as he grew older that he realised that that wasn't going to happen. My husband died when Merlin was three and although I think he might have slight memories of him, he is now used to being in a one parent family. Merlin's father was a doctor and he was attacked in the emergency one night and shot dead.

"It was a vicious attack which left our family bereft. My in-laws never really got over it, both dying before Merlin was nine. We never kept what happened to his father a secret but it's a heavy burden for a youngster to carry. I have seen him cringe as shootings are reported on the news. When he was younger, he always wanted to know if there had been any little boys in the person's family. Now that he is more grown up, he thinks less of himself and has becomes more sensitive to my feelings."

Miles moved to sit beside Hunith and said, "I think that is what has made him so attentive to Arthur. It must have been hard for you left with a toddler!"

Hunith smiled, "I coped and people were very kind, our local doctor hired me as soon as Merlin was of school age and we have managed. Payment to victim's families is seldom great but by being very careful; I have put money away for Merlin's university fees."

"You, Hunith, are the reason that Merlin is who he is today. You have done a wonderful job as a single parent…"

He turned and looked at the woman he was sitting beside and marvelled at how brave a mother could be." He stood up, offering her his hand. "If you don't turn in soon, you'll have only just put your head on the pillow and the boys will be waking you up."

He walked across the room and put his hand on the door knob. "Goodnight! See the three of you at breakfast around nine…Remember to lock the door after me." He walked down the corridor and realised that Merlin's family unit was special to say the least.

-0-0-

France had been fun and anyone watching the little group would have seen a family unit, not a single parent with a son and a psychiatric nurse with his patient.

Just as Arthur and Merlin seemed destined to be friends, Hunith and Miles got on well together and enjoyed each other's company. It made travelling so much easier.

Years later, Merlin would look back fondly on that first 'Summer in Pierrefonds', realising that both Arthur's and his life-long friendship and his mother's acceptance of Miles' marriage proposal, had had their beginnings in Pierrefonds.

He smiled remembering that special day years ago when he had been fourteen. The château had been cloaked in a mantle of snow. He could close his eyes and hear the bells of the village parish church of Sainte-Sulpice and Father Labonté officiating at the Nuptial Mass. Gaius had acted as the Lector; he himself had walked his mother to the altar and given her to Miles and Arthur had been Miles' Best Man. The small wedding reception, a present from Arthur's father, had been held at the Château.

He woke from his daydreaming and smiled; he glanced across at Arthur dozing in his chair near the fire. He felt loved and secure in his present life.

Merlin had known from the beginning that the château was a magical place.

THE END