A Question of... Short Stories.pdf

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A Question of…
Short Stories
Alaia Skyhawk
Contents
2
Questionof…GiftWrap?
Chapter 1
Gently the white flakes had descended from the skies, blanketing all that lay below in a
covering of pristine splendour unblemished by a single footprint. Only now as the sun began
to rise did people set out to leave their trails through that white blanket, but one young man
who had no need yet to set foot outside in the cold, now made his way through the hallways
of the great castle that dominated the landscape of the area. The castle that presided over the
city beside it, here in this great kingdom of Camelot.
The young servant whistled to himself as he walked, breakfast tray in hand, his
expression cheerful while he idled his way to his master's chambers. He could afford to take
his time, after all he was actually early for a change, not that he was usually late, but he didn't
see why he had to rush when there was no need to. It was thus, hot porridge and hot mulled
apple juice in hand, that he arrived at the chambers belonging to Arthur Pendragon, the Crown
Prince of Camelot.
He opened the door with a smile on his face, choosing to sing at the top of his voice
instead of his usually 'good morning, Sire!'
"In the bleak mid win-ter , frosty winds made moan! Earth stood hard as ir-on , water like
a stone! "
His singing was cut off as the prince in the bed sat up and threw a pillow at him, Arthur
glaring at his manservant through the gloom of the chamber.
"You head is a stone, Merlin!"
The warlock smirked, having blocked the pillow with a touch of his magic and let it fall
harmlessly to the floor while he set the tray on the table.
"Merry Midwinter's Day to you too, Sire. Do you need me to get anything for you? A
sense of humour perhaps?"
Arthur continued to glare at him.
"Merlin..."
The warlock then plucked a thin package from the back of his belt and waved it.
"So you don't want this then?"
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The sight of it seemed to startle the prince, who had never received a Midwinter gift from
his servant in the past, and he slid out of the bed and walked over.
"You got me a gift? But you never have before."
Merlin sighed, shaking his head.
"Because up until a few months ago you were a prat who didn't know about me
protecting your ass all this time. Here, open it, and don't ever say that I'm not nice to you."
Arthur accepted the package that was held out to him, eyeing the warlock warily as he
pulled open the plain paper wrapping. His expression then became bemused as he stared at
what had been inside it.
"It's a painting... of Camelot..."
Merlin rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically.
"As if I would ever give you a normal painting, clot pole... Say 'Your secret is mine to
see' in the Old Tongue, then blow on it gently. The real picture will fade back to that one
when you take your hands off it afterwards."
The prince hesitated for a moment, wracking through his memory for the right words
seeing as he knew Merlin was expecting him to remember them on his own. It took him
several seconds before he was sure, and he was especially careful to pronounce them right
once he had them. The last thing he needed right now was an enunciation lesson from his
servant.
" Do run ta mo cheannsa go feic. "
He blew on the painting, confirmation of his correct pronunciation appearing in the form
of a perfect image of Gwen. So perfect that it didn't look like a painting, but rather it looked
as if the real woman were staring up at him from within the frame.
Into the stunned silence that followed, Merlin raised his eyebrows and grinned.
"So, are you annoyed at me now? "
Arthur looked up at him, almost speechless.
"How did you do this?"
The warlock shrugged.
"I followed her around for a while until I actually managed to catch her standing still in a
pose that I liked, then used magic to capture her image on the board. I figured you wouldn't
want a picture of her carrying sheets or a laundry basket... The rest of the enchantment, I just
made it up." He then patted Arthur on the arm. "No need for over-the-top 'thank you's, your
expression tells me all the thanks I need. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold."
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