We've Had A Ball

AN: So, here it is. (Merry Christmas, Everybody's... NO STOOP!) Anyway, the last chapter. Hope this raps up all the loose ends and adds a nice final finish. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Woowoo for their amazingly kind review and without your encouragement, I'm not sure this chapter would've appeared. Voila! Enjoy!

Music filled the grand hall; both the melodious tunes from the orchestra but also the interweaving symphony from the sounds of delighted life: the chatting, the singing, the laughing. It was the ball granted for the leaving of the Daryan Royals and joy and merriment was everywhere. Arthur Pendragon found himself in a conversation with the 3rd Prince of Darya, known, throughout the stages of their acquaintance, first as the Slime-Prince, later as Morgana's Plotting Prince Assistant and then finally as a Friend. They were deep in conversation, this time where both members of the party actually spoke.

"So, not that I'm angry or anything but, why were you so interested in plotting with Morgana to get Merlin and me together?" Arthur questioned him, having, after going to bed in a daze, not been able to sleep and eventually gave in to the whirlwind of thoughts spinning through his brain, of which this was one.

"To be honest," the Prince replied. "I don't know. I mentioned you first to Morgana because I was mildly curious as…" he coughed self-consciously. "Well, you know. And then as she grew more and more into it, I just sort of felt myself getting caught in her enthusiastic energy and being swept along by this electrified current that she has whizzing around her. At first, I thought… well, no actually, I didn't think anything at first, I just did and that was just so… so… nice. Everything I've ever done has been prepared and planned and analysed down to the smallest, slightest detail and suddenly I found myself doing something completely spontaneous! You know how I was on the first day, all stereotypical, idealistic prince and now here I was doing something that wasn't part of a schedule. And it was just so incredibly… fun." The Prince finished, out of breath, red in the face and slightly shocked by himself.

Arthur patted him firmly on the back. "I know the feeling." They shared a moment of empathy and sorrow at the difficulty of their own lives before Arthur felt a hand slide over his eyes and another slip around his waist.

"Guess who?" the voice said, poorly disguised.

"Err… Gaius?" Arthur offered.

"Nope! Guess again."

"Uther?"

"One last chance…"

"Oh, gosh, I don't know… could it possibly be my silly manservant, Merlin?"

"Ahhh! How did you know?" Merlin swung around his body to face him, pressing a fleeting kiss to his nose before stepping back. No one had commented, or even observed anything out the ordinary, on their new antics. As far as they could tell, everyone deemed this normal behaviour which made them wonder just how long they had been in love.

"I have no idea; I must just be super talented." Arthur stuck his tongue out.

"And so modest too…" Merlin sighed, wistfully.

"Indeed!" Arthur grinned. They embraced again before turning to the, now slightly awkward looking, Prince.

"Sorry…" the couple said in unison.

"Oh, it's alright… Impossibly confusing and sickening sweet but perfectly fine none-the-less." The Prince replied inducing bubbles of laughter to be heard from Merlin and Arthur and a higher, singing peal of giggles from the newcomer to the conversation, Morgana. She was wearing an absolutely ravishing dress which certainly neither Merlin nor Arthur had helped to pick out. They greeted her with inclinations of the head and welcoming smiles.

"Morgana." Arthur exchanged.

"Arthur." She returned before turning to the others. "Merlin," she smiled. "Slymenus." There was a beat where Merlin and Arthur simultaneously rewound and comprehended what had just been said and what it meant. And then, scrawled across both their faces, was the evidence of sheer delight, hilarity and disbelief.

Using more self-restraint he had ever had to practice before, Arthur just managed to maintain his casual exterior. "I'm sorry, your majesty, I don't think, throughout our familiarity, I ever caught your name. Slymenus, is it?"

"Indeed it is, sire." The Prince, Slymenus, confirmed. Subtly, Merlin and Arthur made eye contact and then, when they both realised the other knew and was giving them the same look that they were undoubtedly giving the other, they caved, no longer able keep it in. They burst out with laughter which rang through the hall, cutting over the rest of the music and noise, bringing the most jubilant cacophony of glee to the room that had ever been heard.

"His name's Slymenus…"

"And that's like Slime-enus…"

"And he's the slime-Prince!"

"Oh god, oh god! Can't breathe!"

"Ahahahahaha! Oh my!"

The pair went on and on, cackling like a bunch of school boys, bent in two, tears streaming down their faces. It was really quite a scene to behold and Morgana and Slymenus decided it was probably best to behold it from a distance… and so graciously retreated. Quickly.

…

As the Daryan royals prepared to return home, Slymenus reviewed just how crazy this visit had been. It had taught him so many things; some things were important life-lessons that he would carry always about with him… and others were things he was probably never going to need again in his life. Ever. Things such as how he had never realised what a difficult and complicated business it was planning secret missions… But he had never known just how fun they were. Or how particularly nice it was that, for once, he was able to do something that had no weight to it, no threat lurking behind the jape. Perhaps before he had begun the plan with Morgana, he would have thought it trivial, unimportant to partake in an adventure that had no direct benefit to him. The whole scheme had brought him no glory, no money and no fair maidens and yet that felt, oddly, liberating. Perhaps, before, he might have thought that thinking such thoughts could only lead to weakness in the mind. However, now he knew that they should remain forever and with them, the unsettling yet pleasing feeling that playing a role in the silly, little plan Morgana had devised had to be the most pure, true fun he had had in a long time.

AN: sorry it was a wee bit short but I feel like it got in everything I wanted to include. Sorry it might be a bit cheesy but I'm a sucker for a happy ending and I felt like I didn't want the prince to then go and ruin everything so I made him a nice prince instead. Sappy, cheesy and adorable (I hope). Thank-you all for reading this, you're all fabulous, every one. I plan to write another Merthur soon hopefully involving the knights and a round of dares... oooh spoilers! You know what to do!