In the Land of Stories Old

Chapter 25

King Uther wasn’t ashamed to find himself tearing up during the wedding ceremony. Specifically when Merlin knelt, taking his bride’s hands in his, and pledged his heart, his magic, and his life to her. The soft explosion of golden magic that accompanied the vow left a good many of the guests gasping in shock, wonder, and in one quarter utter disbelief. Luckily most of them hadn’t been looking at the bride’s father or that last one might have caused some problems.

They’d raised a good boy, he and Bors. Or a good man, rather. A stubborn one, and that not always to his benefit, but good through and through no matter what his cowardly bastard of a father-in-law thought about it. He wiped the tear from his eye as the magic from the marriage oath dissipated, noting that the ghostly guards had also absorbed some of it—he’d have to speak to the boy about that, or at least to Arthur—and was glad in a mean way that the stupid King of Kaise was not privy to witness such a beautiful moment. He’d already planned to caution the new young queen that Kaise was owed nothing if they ever happened to come sniffing around after trade or aught else in the future, and he meant to tell her the full story of how her husband had come under the protection of the House of Pendragon to make sure she wouldn’t be swayed. Assuming Merlin hadn’t told her himself, which he most likely had, but Uther would still tell her his own version just in case. Snow was good to the core too, of course, although how she’d gotten that way with a father like hers was a mystery to Uther.

Bors came back from where he’d been speaking with the captain of the very dead guards and took Uther’s hand. “Well, that’s one of ‘em married off. And Arthur looks like he’s taken quite a shine to that pretty little sister of Prince Jack’s.”

“Oh believe me, I noticed.” Uther wasn’t sure what the story was there, but Princess Serena was decidedly skittish in the crowd of guests, small though it was, and hadn’t given a family name. Not to mention he knew for a fact that Jack was the third of four brothers, and those were all the royal children Fantastique could lay claim to. So, probably a rescue of some sort? He was sure Arthur or one of the other boys would tell him eventually. “They’d make pretty grandchildren for us to spoil.”

“Aye, that they would.” Bors sighed. “You need to have stronger words with Kai when we go back, Uther. It’s one thing for him to be a jealous brat in our castle, but he’s not doin’ a very good job of keepin’ it to himself in this one. And if he flirts up that little Moon Princess one more time I think her brother’s goin’ to hand him over to the guards. He’s already told Kai to his face that he’s choosy about who approaches her and Kai doesn’t meet his requirements. I thought they were goin’ to end up with crossed swords over it. The guards are watchin’ Kai rather more closely now, and I’m not certain he realizes they’ll gladly hurt him if they feel his behavior warrants it—he was still down at the docks when we came upon them fightin’, after all. And I’ve noticed the elves are keepin’ an eye on him too.”

Uther sighed. “I hate my sister.” Morgana had spoiled Kai, and raised him with the idea firmly fixed in his head that he should certainly be the one to claim the throne of Avalon since Uther’s interests didn’t lie with the fairer sex. She’d been furious when he’d taken a consort and fathered Arthur—Bors’ doing, all of it, but Morgana didn’t know that. “I’ll speak to him, and make him apologize for his behavior.”

“To Prince Jack? I already did.”

“No, to Queen Snow and her consort.” Uther grinned. “The boys are currently actin’ as her vassals, officially or not, which means Princess Serena is under her protection. Not to mention, I’m sure Merlin and Arthur have told her all about their cousin, so he won’t be able to flatter her into excusin’ his behavior.” Then something occurred to him. “Moon Princess?!”

Bors snickered and squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I have it on good authority that Arthur isn’t.”

“Well, that’s good.” Breeding shapeshifters into the line wouldn’t be a bad thing—magic was magic, and magic made the line stronger. And that the Moon Princess also happened to be the adopted baby sister of another of the boys was just icing on the cake.

Wedding ceremonies, for anyone not an active participant or the family of one, are mostly just a prelude to a fine party with good food and dancing; the wedding of Princess Snow White to Prince Merlin Emrys was no different, and the coronation which was tacked on to the end of said ceremony was not long enough or enough of a surprise to change anyone’s mind on that score. Princess Snow became Queen Snow White the Second, Prince Merlin became Prince-Consort Merlin, more golden royal magic appeared to surprise everyone, and then everyone got on with the serious business of enjoying as much party as they possibly could. Bors laughed to see the newly-crowned queen’s surprise at how much her new husband liked to dance—Merlin had always adored dancing, and the dancing master they’d hired to teach the boys back in Avalon had once confided that he thought the king’s ward might just be channeling his magic into the movements, basically using the music to cast a spell with his feet. It was certainly true that other dancers tended to become more joyous and graceful after Merlin had been out on the dance floor for a while.

This party was no exception. Even the nervous little Moon Princess got caught up in it after a time, although part of that was due to Arthur being used to ‘picking up’ the dance-magic being shed by his adopted brother and letting it flow through him as well. And this also seemed to have called to the fey wildness within Princess Serena, which made for a really spectacular sight once the two of them really got going. Bors made a mental note to have Uther speak to Prince Jack about making a slightly more official agreement before they went back to Avalon. Not necessarily to carve anything in stone just yet, but at the very least a serious discussion about expectations on both sides was definitely in order.

They needed to have a serious discussion with Merlin too, but that would be done in private and once the dead guards had been dismissed. Needs-must was one thing: fifty dead guards halfway to reanimated smacked of desperation to Bors, and he wanted to hear what had been going through their boy’s head from the boy’s own mouth. Arthur was still a bit too…conflicted for Bors to entirely trust his assessment of the situation. He noticed the quarter-fairy wench being settled by her lovers—those boys! Bors didn’t know whether to be proud of them or box their ears—at a table, and he made his way over to it and offered her a bow. She was glowing a bit. “My lady,” he said. “I see you’ve recognized another special talent our Merlin possesses.”

“Oh yes,” she agreed. “Every time I think I have him figured out…”

Bors laughed. “He has that effect on people. Arthur does too, but his is a bit more subtle.” She indicated that he could have a seat, so he took one. “I’m not sure where Uther’s got to.”

She sighed. “I did mean it when I apologized to him.”

She’d done more than apologize: she’d gone to her knees in front of him, which had neatly derailed Uther’s desire to kill her for what she’d almost caused to happen to his sons, even though he’d already been told she hadn’t done it on purpose. “He knows that. He’s avoidin’ the dancin’, at this point—we’re too old to get sucked up in that without payin’ dearly for it tomorrow.”

She smiled. “Merlin has a lot of power to spare.” Her eyes flicked over to the nearest clump of guards, some of whom were tapping their feet to the music, and a slight frown crossed her face. “Although maybe he spares a little too much, sometimes.”

“I’m plannin’ to have a long talk with him about that,” Bors told her. “They’re a bit too here, aren’t they.”

“Definitely. But I’m still not sure why that is.” The triplets came back then, bringing punch and cake and making enough fuss over their princess that Bors had to hide a smile even if it did mean the end of the conversation. He wasn’t exactly sure how that relationship was going to work for them in the future, but the future wasn’t now and Princess Elana seemed to be honestly overwhelmed by the amount of affection the boys had for her, so he was just glad they were all happy with what they currently had. A bit of honest fun didn’t hurt anyone.

His eyes strayed back to Merlin, who was spinning his bride around as though she weighed nothing at all, and he spared a thought to wonder how tired the boy was going to be the next day. He was using an awful lot of magic tonight already, and he still had to release the guards back to their rest once the party was over.

Which ended up being quite late into the night. The last of the guests were ushered out in the hour before midnight, finally, and everyone who was left followed Merlin and Snow into the throne room. Merlin saw his wife seated on her throne, then took up his place just behind it on her right—her father was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot on her left—and stood stiffly at attention. “Royal guards, to me!” he called out in a strong voice.

The sound of boots began to echo through the air, and everyone was quick to move back as the ghostly guards streamed into the room from seemingly everywhere until all fifty of them were standing in neat ranks with their captain straight and proud at attention in front of their formation. The captain took a knee and the rest of the ghosts did likewise. “Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

“Captain, you have done my kingdom a great service,” Snow told him. The crown she had put back on—not like you could dance with one on and have it stay on save for the most sedate court dances—gleamed in the candlelight, all polished ebony and mother of pearl inset with glowing rubies and delicate swirls of gold and silver. Jack had made it for her, as the ancestral jewels she should have had to choose her wedding and coronation adornments from were long gone. “And now, as promised, you will be released to go to your rest. Know that you have more than earned it, and we are forever in your debt.”

“It was our pleasure to serve the line one last time with honor, Queen Snow,” the captain responded. “May your reign be long and fruitful.”

Merlin stepped forward and held out his hand. “Captain, I release you and all these gathered here from your duties, and by the command of our Queen bid you to go to your rest. Begone.”

Magic flared, and the guards disintegrated into a flurry of lights like blue fireflies, swarming up into a graceful swirl which vanished as it touched the ceiling. The captain stood, saluted, and then he vanished as well. Merlin dropped his hand and stepped back. “It has been done, my queen.”

“Thank you, Prince Consort,” she replied, and then she smiled up at him. “I believe I am ready to retire, will you escort me?”

Merlin bowed and offered his arm. “It would be my pleasure, Your Majesty.”

fanfiction In the Land of Stories Old