Banquet Hall, Camelot, Friday Night

[bitchprince]

It had been a week since certain... events. Arthur's position had been reinstated, and he had very, very subtly informed his father that he really did not want to know any of the details about his marriage bed.

Ahem.

(It had been harder than he'd anticipated to keep a straight face, which was probably relief.)

Now, King Uther had ordained a feast in Arthur's honour, to celebrate the return of his titles. The servants in the castle preferred to refer to it as the 'Thank-God-I-Am-No-Longer-Married-To-A-Troll feast', though none of them would be caught calling it such out loud. Perish the thought.

There was plenty of wine, there was plenty of food, and as the night went on, the nobles loosened up -- which meant the servants got to dip into their fair share of drink, too.

It was a good night.

[[ for they who are here! ]]

Comments

[bitchprince]

Arthur was present by Uther's side for most of the first hour of the feast-- but by now he had wrenched himself loose from his father. He walked the hall, chattering at knights and courtiers he knew.

He'd had a fair bit of cider and wine, yeah.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Of course they could, and Katchoo wasn't really drinking much these days, but tonight a glass was okay, right?

Right.

And if anyone came close to calling this party the "Thank-God-I-Am-No-Longer-Married-To-A-Troll feast," well, just guess. Go on. Guess which one that was. And then be glad she'd only had one glass of cider. (The nobles could have the wine; as far as she was concerned, if this'd been modern times they'd be wearing suits and chattering about their stock portfolios. Frikkin' sheep.) Milling about was not exactly her thing, so she was drifting along the edges of the party, sipping at that glass of cider slowly.

She was also . . . wondering how much time had passed back home. She wasn't exactly raring to go back, but it'd be a shame if they got kicked out of school for non-attendance after everything it'd taken to get in.

[bitchprince]

"Oi, serving girl!" hollered one particularly inebriated knight across a distance that was a fair bit greater than he'd thought it was. "I have a rather large issue that requires your attendance!"

He grinned lecherously in Katchoo's direction; a second later he was wincing loudly under the force of Arthur's hand, coming in for a shoulder-pat that was a little too hard.

"Like you can even keep yourself up, let alone what's in your breeches, Erwyn," Arthur said, pleasantly. "Nevermind that this one might cut it off. Not that you'd miss the difference. Now go on, my lad."

He gave the knight a shove.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin had also gotten into the cider this evening. Despite this being a truly horrible idea.

So, if he was smiling like an idiot, it was for a reason.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo gave Erwyn a particularly smug smirk, and was not above waving a limp leaf of some sort of vegetable at him.

"It's never any fun when you warn 'em about the possible mayhem, Arthur," she complained mildly.

[bitchprince]

Arthur turned his head towards her in a motion that was fairly exaggerated. He grinned. "I can't have a serving girl damaging my knights," he said, and ambled towards her. "Though I've no doubt Sir Erwyn's about to spread some rumors about me picking favourites."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Not even one?" Katchoo wheedled playfully. "I'll even find you a replacement for 'im, come on."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo loved truly horrible ideas. What was wrong with that?

She had no ulterior motives whatsoever -- and by the way, would you like to buy a bridge? not Bridge -- about wandering Merlin's way with another tray of cider and drawling, "Can I not offer you another one, there?"

[bitchprince]

"Not a single one," Arthur said, and opened his mouth like he was feeling about ready to lecture her about knights and discipline and fortitude and all that again--

--but instead he sort of leaned over. "They wouldn't be entirely wrong about the favourites," he informed her, "but no one can know about that. It would be unfair, and Francine would give me eyes. Also, I'm a prince."

A very plastered prince. Thank you.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Aw, gee," Katchoo said, thereby forestalling any need for commentary in the narrative. "Are you? You don't say."

She halfway wondered what would happen if she poked him. Would he fall over?

She shelved the idea for the time being and grinned at him in a way she wouldn't have if he were sober. "I heard nothin'. Your whatever-it-was is safe with me."

[bitchprince]

"Good," Arthur said, and cleared his throat quite loudly. "Good. You Fandom folk and all your liberties, for a while I thought it might be contagious..." He shot a glance over her shoulder that held elements of besotted (Merlin did look sort of fetch-- ahem, special when he was drunk, didn't he?) and lost his train of thought. "Whatever you said," he repeated, "It's good."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Yep." And Katchoo really couldn't resist the urge to pat him a little too vigorously on the back now. (Speaking of liberties.) "Now who's making eyes, geez. Tone it down, I'm gonna go into a sugar coma here."

As if she had to ask who he was looking at to get that look on his face.

[bitchprince]

"Don't be an idiot, Katchoo, dessert was hours ago," Arthur muttered (or rather, coughed. She was strong for her size). He was, possibly, contemplating some end-of-feast manservant-dragging. "And it would hardly send you into a coma. Oh god, he's been at the cider, hasn't he?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Two and a half sheets to the wind, trundling happily along toward three, yep." What? It was frighteningly adorable. Katchoo cast an exaggerated glance skyward and held up a hand. "I had nothing to do with that, your honor, I swear."

[bitchprince]

"It's your highness," Arthur corrected, because obviously he'd fixate on that. "Honestly. I'm surprised he hasn't made a right arse out of himself yet, considering how good he is at it. Aren't you?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"It's your face," Katchoo retorted in fine playground style. "Me, I'm just regretting I don't have a camera on hand for the inevitable entertainment."

[bitchprince]

Arthur blanched a bit, and leaned over. "No cameras," he hissed (not as soft as he thought it was). "None."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"All right, all right, don't get your princely panties in a wad," Katchoo objected. "I'm not stupid, for cryin' out loud! Speaking of which, tone it down, will ya?"

[bitchprince]

"You can't talk to me like that either," he muttered. It hit petulant more than anything. "You people. You people need to stop doing stupid things in public."

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine knew better, after two years in Fandom, than to get drunk at dances or anything that vaguely resembled them. Things of questionable intelligence tended to happen, especially when Merlin was in the same room. Then again, things of questionable intelligence tended to happen when the two of them were in the same room anyway, and that cider smelled really good.

She'd only had one! Right before that stableboy had tried to waltz around the edge of the hall with her. Or was it after? No, before, but then somebody had replaced her cup, so, okay, maybe it was two, but she hadn't entirely finished the first one, so this one in her hand didn't really make three.

She might have been dancing a little in place now.

There might not have been any music.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Aw, you love it when we do," Katchoo persisted. "But maybe I'm startin' to go a little stir-crazy, y'know?"

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Katchoo, you're a horrible person.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

And you love it, Merlin. "Well, y'know," she said, in her best impression of one of the flightier serving girls (or an airheaded celeb groupie at one of Darcy's parties, it was really the same principle), "this tray's awfully heavy with all these drinks on it."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin giggled snickered like a manly man. "You should never do that again," he informed her, but took a drink to help out.

Okay, two drinks.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Never do what?" asked the horrible, insidious enabler.