DISCLAIMER: I do not own the world of Merlin, nor any of BBC's wonderful characters.

Chapter 1

Title: Moral Merlin

Before season 1 episode 1 (Merlin and Will are about fourteen years old)

EALDOR—

Merlin entered the hut sweaty and covered with dirt. Hunith fed and praised him, forgetting that she was dirty too, and had been hard at work right beside him. After the food and brief rest, he left the hut regretfully, knowing exactly what lay in store for him: plowing, plowing, and more plowing.

But that slumping walk sure didn't take him very far. Merlin daydreamed, the twelve-year-old boy wishing he could use magic to whisk away all of his worries. It stunk having to hide his powers all the time—to pretend they didn't exist. And it was hard. Controlling magic is not nearly as easy as it sounds; Merlin was afraid that one day he might get caught. While Magic is not exactly prohibited in Cenred's kingdom, it's not well-respected either. If any of the villagers found out, the best he could hope for would be for them to run him and his mother out of town, doomed to fend for themselves. The worst he could expect…well, that depended on how creative they were. Wrapped up in these less-than-happy thoughts, Merlin didn't know he was being stalked until a carefully-timed hip-check sent him stumbling through the doorway of another hut.

Merlin spun around, surprised enough to hurl the guy through a wall or three—until he recognized his attacker's face and thought better of it, hastily choking back the urge to use magic. Unfortunately, his magic is a natural part of him that he's constantly trying to suppress. Constant suppression makes him so bottled up inside that when an instance such as this pops off the lid, the pressure is too great for his unpracticed mind to control. It's an odd feeling best described to a normal person as trying to stop a sneeze (which is impossible) and knowing that failure to do so would expose the person he loves the most (his mother) to unbelievable prejudice. All Merlin can do to is try to contain it and not allow the instinctual magic-sneeze to get too out of hand.

Luckily, Merlin has had a lot of experience doing just that. When he turned around and realized hurling his attacker through a couple of walls was less-than ideal, he gave his best impression of a shove to the shoulders and tried with all his might to hold back the tide. It worked! The would-be assailant only flew against the wall (instead of through it) and tightly squeezed eyelids hid the otherworldly flash of gold in Merlin's eyes. He stood for a moment, ashamed of his lack of self-control…but still unable to ignore the humor in it, too. Walking over to stand over the mousy boy, Merlin offered him a hand up from the hut's hard dirt-floor.

His assailant chuckled, taking the proffered hand and bouncing up in a burst of energy. Merlin thought based on his friend's easy manner that he did rather well. The guy looked as though he could go for another round. "Sheesh, Merlin. Look before you shove." His friend teased.

"Will!" Merlin laughed. "I should have known."

"You call that a proper greeting?" He said, dusting himself off. Anyone else would have been more disturbed by the strength behind Merlin's shove, but Will was more than used to odd things happening around Merlin. In fact, he chalked it all up to his own ability to bring out the best in people. "I didn't know you could push that hard. Maybe you should take a turn behind the plow, I'm sure the horse could use a break."

Merlin grinned, encouraged by his friend's good humor. "Didn't you know? There is no horse; it's been me the whole time!"

"You? So that's why things are going so slow."

"No, thats why you shouldn't have snuck up on me like that. I could've hurt you bad if I'd had my way."

Will rolled his eyes. "Ha! Merlin, you couldn't hurt a fly."

He thought ruefully how true (and yet how wrong) that statement was. "Maybe not," he agreed, "but buggers like you are up for grabs."

"Speaking of bugs, sick of digging in the dirt like a worm? How 'bout a break?"

Merlin noticed that compared to himself, Will was only mildly dirty. "I take it you're pretty tired, huh, Will?"

He winked cheekily. "You know it!"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Oh nothing big, just to the creek for a brief swim, then we can rush back to work like the dogs we are."

"Work? You? You're the laziest dog there ever was!"

"I know I know, I'm the worst. But you'll come?"

Merlin grinned, thinking again how much he'd love to use magic and get the fields plowed and planted right now—but as always, his magic was of no use to him, he had to keep it hidden. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't still have some fun once in a while. "Yeah, I'll come."

"Well, let's go then. I don't want Mathew to see us sneaking off. He'd be all, "I am the great and powerful leader—you shall wash my socks and plant the corn. Off with you, now, off with you."

The boys laughed, slapping each other's backs like brothers. Ecstatic, the two boys wasted no more time wrestling each other out the door and heading for the woods as discretely as they were able. Unfortunately, Old-Man Simmons caught sight of their retreating backs and hobbled after them; spry for seventy going on eighty.

"Hey! Where are you two mongrels going?" He cried. He had never liked those boys, especially the dark-haired one, Merlin.

The two friends had just reached the fringe of the surrounding forest and thought they were in the clear. Then the old mad called after them and they flinched like startled deer. Merlin started to turn guiltily, but Will grabbed his jacket by the scruff of the neck and bolted for the hills.

They reached the creek. "Did we lose him?" Will panted.

"I think so," Merlin replied heavily.

"Good." He smiled crookedly and jumped into the murky-brown waters below.

Merlin hesitated then crossed himself. "We should go back."

"Back!" Will cried incredulously, backstroking into the center. "After I ran all the way over here? No way!" He flicked wet hair out of his face.

"We shouldn't have left. They need us."

"Getting cold feet Merlin?" He chuckled. "Stick 'em in the water, they'll feel better. It's just right in here!"

"No." Merlin said, adamant now. "We have to go back. We can come back here when the work's done for the day."

""But we're here now! At least wash all the dirt off."

Merlin just shook his head, arms still crossed. He had felt the first twinge when irate Old-Man Simmons had started calling and hobbling after them. Then they had run away like thieves and cowards…like someone to be ashamed of something. Now, at the water's edge, he was disgusted with himself. He should have laughed off Will's invitation to go at that exact moment and promised to go with him this evening…contrary to popular belief, it was possible to resist Will the Incorrigible.

Speaking of which, Mr. Incorrigible himself started to get frustrated with his friend. "This is because of Old-Man Simmons, isn't it?!" He cried. All he had wanted was to go for a swim to cool off and have some fun for a change, then one little thing goes wrong and all of a sudden his horribly moral friend had to balk and make him feel guilty. Moral Merlin was no fun.

He was just about to say as much when, speak of the devil, he saw Old-Man Simmons stalking up through the trees behind Merlin's line of sight. Horrified, he cried, "Merlin, he's right behind you!"

Merlin hesitated, expecting a joke. But in the end, he couldn't resist the urge to glance back. Old-man Simmons really was there, breathing heavily and brandishing his cane like a club.

"A couple o' able-bodied boys skipping outta work is we! Well, we'll see what Mathew has tuh say about that! Maybe ya kin just fix up yur own fields from now on and we villagers won't share nuth'in o' what we get wid yew! Now get outta the water, yah young rascal!"

They didn't want to go with him. Will's face especially was stony and rebellious. They met each others eyes, however, and both acknowledged the futility of it all. If they resisted, eventually Old-Man Simmons would leave only to rant and rave at Mathew, the village leader, until he came to get them. A few indignant villagers might even take old-Man Simmons's side and march down here, too. In the end, it would be an embarrassing fuss over something that had already turned into such a fiasco. Their fun was definitely ruined.

"Fine!" Will said, sloshing his way towards the bank. Merlin did one thing before they left; he jumped in too, shoes and all.

This is just a precursor to the adventures our boys are going to have…a chance to get familiar with the rhythm to their relationship, you could say. But as you can see, Merlin's powers are far less than stable, as untrained as he is. Beyond is where the story truly lies. How will Will learn of Merlin's Magic? What is his reaction? What's the story behind Will's allusion in season 1 episode 10 to Merlin not needing an ax to fell a tree? Why was Merlin sent away to apprentice to Gaius? All answers based off watching Merlin, Season 1 Episode 10 : The Moment of Truth.