Flowers: Arthur and Guinevere (3)

    “Merlin, I need you to… Merlin? Merlin!” Arthur starts yelling for his servant as soon as he notices the other man is nowhere to be seen. He was expecting him to be waiting for him in his chambers when he returned from his evening council meeting.
    “MERLIN!” he yells again, irritated now, dropping his belt on the table.
    “I gave him the night off,” a soft voice drifts out of the dim. It is coming from the direction of the sleeping quarters.
    “Guinevere?” Arthur says, puzzled. And intrigued....

    Arthur is standing at the front of the throne room. He is waiting, and he is not alone. The throne room is filled to capacity with courtiers, knights, servants,
and commoners. There are flowers, ribbons and bunting in abundance, and the room has never looked more festive. He waits, barely noticing his surroundings. His attention is fixed on the large set of doors at the back of the room.
    To the casual observer, the young king appears calm. Merlin, Arthur’s trusted servant and closest friend, knows otherwise. He sees Arthur’s tapping foot, his...