I've never written Merlin before and, honestly, it's been a long time since I watched any of it, and I only ever really got into seasons one and two.
When I first started writing this I didn't remember that Elyan was the name of Gwen's brother and it was just because it was the first name that came into my head. I'm not going to change it now though so we can just pretend they were sentimental.
(four)
"Sorry father, but you know how it is." The sword point dipped down gracefully to where the older man was tied and slit his throat.
The deed done and the sword sheathed, the young man stepped over to the doorway and gestured to the guard posted there.
His guard. Loyal to him and him alone. "Fetch Merlin," he barked at the guard, "The king has need of his assistance." He smirked at his friend and went back to the prone body on the floor.
The man stroked back his father's hair and gazed into his eyes, "I didn't want to." He began, almost petulantly, "But you never would have gone along with me. At least you're with mother now." He smiled, cold and empty, and stood.
His mother had died four years ago giving birth to Helga. His sister. He grimaced at the thought of the princess. She was hardly a worthy substitute for his mother; she could barely even cover a fingernail.
But all they saw was her magic. Her precious, precious magic. Even in his head Ellyan spat the word. Magic; which had taken his mother and corrupted his father.
But he knew of the days before his father's rule; when Uther reined and magic was in its proper place: the spilt blood of traitors.
A knock sounded on the door knocking Ellyan out of his musings, "Enter." He commanded.
The door revealed Merlin in all his glory and Helga clinging to his leg. An unexpected but no less desired victim.
Ellyan unsheathed his sword and stepped towards them, kicking his father's body away as he did.
Merlin lifted a hand in pacification, "Ell? What's wrong? Put the sword down and let me see Arthur." He took a step forward but was pushed back by the tip of the blade sinking into his chest.
The sorcerer's eyes widened, "Ell?" His voice wavered, "Let me see Arthur."
"Step back." The prince's words held an unfamiliar commanding tone. "And it is Prince Ellyan to you. I am not a child." The blade sank deeper. "And there is nothing wrong, sorcerer, not for me."
Helga whimpered, reminding both men of her presence.
Ellyan bent down to her level and stroked her cheek with his free hand, "Hello sister." His hand trailed down her neck and lifted her chin so that she looked straight at him, "Is it not a glorious day? The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is a new king!" He pulled his hand back and slapped her cheek. Small tears began to fall. Ellyan straightened and looked back at Merlin.
"She took away my mother," he hissed, "Magic took away my mother. And now it has taken my father too. Camelot welcomes a new reign and with it, The Second Great Purge of Magic!"
He laughed and pushed the doors wide, gesturing at the wide, expanse of corridor behind them, "No guards," he smirked, "They are busy with the executions!" Merlin swallowed, "All my father's followers are dead or dying but the two of you are my victory!" He stepped forward again, forcing them into the corridor. "Do you know how long I have waited for this? How long I have planned?" Another step, "I got you to secure the castle from magic," his features twisted into a parody of a pout, "I play the worried child well, would you agree?" He simpered at the two, "Even with your magic you are nothing Merlin. But without it you. Are. Even. Less!" They were up against a wall now, Helga cowering behind Merlin's legs.
Ellyan spat at their feet. "Run."
"What?"
"RUN! LEAVE CAMELOT, LEAVE YOUR PROPHECIES AND YOUR PEOPLE AND RUN! I give you one chance because you are family but if we cross again I will strike you down. Now run!"
Merlin gazed at him a moment longer before finally seeing the madness in his eyes and understanding that he would not be able to talk his nephew back from insanity. He scooped up Helga and ran.
(eight)
Prince Ellyan had kept true to his word; magic was hunted with even more fervour than Uther had shown.
Four years had passed since the new king took the thrown and Merlin and Helga had long since left Camelot.
They were hiding in the remains of a druid cave in Scotland when she found them.
"Morgana!" Merlin grinned and opened his arms for a hug.
She rolled her eyes and strolled past him, "Not so loud you fool, unless you want them to find us?" Her tone was biting but her face showed how pleased she was to see him. The meetings of the small family were few.
Helga started and looked up from the text she was studying, "I thought they were all gone?" She questioned fearfully looking from one face to the other.
Morgana's features softened as she looked at her niece, "There are none close by but it does not hurt to be careful, dearheart."
Helga was her mother in miniature and every time Morgana looked at her she was filled with both an aching sorrow and the purest love she had ever felt.
When the feeling had passed enough to become bearable she spoke again, "I did not stop by on chance." Merlin nodded, he had not expected many pleasantries, "I have a gift for you," she murmured.
Morgana whistled and for a few minutes there was silence. Then the bushes covering the cave's entrance rustled and a small boy stepped out.
For the first time Helga looked up from her book and paid attention.
"This is Salazar, formally of the Slytherin household and now a refugee like us. I promised him safety and I can think of no safer place than with you two."
Helga grinned at Salazar and beckoned him over; he hesitated for a moment before hurrying over and carefully seating himself next to her. She eyed the adults for a full minute then turned to her new friend and began introducing herself.
Merlin wanted to refuse Morgana, wanted to say that their life had no place for another child, to remind her of how much danger they were in daily but he knew every argument he could post would already have a rebuttal devised.
And in truth he had known he would give in the moment he had seen Helga smile at the boy.
(twelve)
Salazar was older than Helga by only a few weeks; their birthdays being on the 13th of December and the 5th of January respectively.
Helga gathered a pouch of rare herbs for her friend from the places they travelled to and then got scolded by Merlin for going into apothecaries.
Salazar, having recently seen his friend cry over her brother again, painstakingly puts together a voodoo doll of him and doesn't understand why it only makes her cry harder.
Merlin sits him down and explains about family and loyalty and how Helga thinks Ellyan could have been saved.
Slytherin doesn't understand of course.
His family never taught him about love. (He doesn't really understand why he cares this much about his new family either.)
Helga apologises for crying later and thanks him for his thoughtfulness with a kiss on the cheek. He doesn't talk about his family to her but he mentions the land where he was born. (Wet, flat, bland.)
It's more than he's ever volunteered before and he can tell she appreciates it.
Morgana visits on both days and whispers to him that she wants pain for the man too. But when he tries to explain that he doesn't care what happens to Ellyan, even she looks at him oddly.
Salazar can't help but think that he will never understand family.
(sixteen)
In four years their family hasn't changed save for Morgana being found amongst them a little more often.
The adults have begun teaching them more advanced magic. Merlin teaches them theory and how to channel their power. He shows them useful everyday things like levitation and summoning. He goes into detail about all the protective magic he uses to hide them. He shows them how to see if there is anybody nearby and what to do if they were in danger
Morgana teaches them potions and how different spells interact with each other. She shows them how to disguise themselves quickly and efficiently. She regales them with tales of the stars and the trees and the water. She shows them the quickest ways to attack and escape when losing. And in secret she teaches them the darker enchantments she knew to make sure that they would always be safe.
Merlin lays down a rule he hopes he will never have to implement. That if they are found the children must run as far away as possible and not look back.
Salazar says that they aren't children and they can fight.
A month later Helga takes his hand and vanishes them both. They reappear in what was once Camelot and it takes them another three months to get to safety.
She is not a coward.
(twenty)
It is springtime when they meet the Gryffindor family.
Eight days ago Ellyan died and magical people everywhere are celebrating. The friends sit together on a half broken wall and drink cider.
They are not celebrating.
Helga weeps for her brother, the same as it has been for the past sixteen years, and Salazar holds her to him and remembers Merlin's talks about love.
Two days later and they are running again. Down alleyways to hide in corners, through crowds to lose their pursuers, over bridges and out of the city, they run until they find themselves in the gardens of a house that should be invisible.
They stay there and eat rabbits from the grounds. It is not long before they are found.
A boy, perhaps a year younger than themselves, is staring at them curiously as Helga strips the rabbit of its fur.
After a moment of awkward silence, in which it becomes apparent that the boy is not about to do anything, the small family go back to preparing their meal.
He introduces himself as Godric and asks if he can try skinning the rabbit. They do not offer their names.
He comes back the next day with a loaf of bread and a casket of ale.
Salazar does not drink, and instead watches their new (friend?) acquaintance get steadily drunker.
Helga pours ale over the new rabbit and lights the fire under the spit with a whisper. Salazar curses and points his knife in Godric's direction.
"You will tell no one."
Godric smiles and bats at the knife in puzzlement. Salazar watches in astonishment as the blade, sharpened each day by his magic, bounces off the boy's palm. He sinks back down and observes the two as they dance round the fire like heathens.
Could Godric be the same as them?
(twenty-four)
They stayed at the Gryffindor House for three years before moving on. They were too used to running to keep still for any longer.
Helga had refused to follow his plan of leaving in the night to avoid goodbyes and so he had had to endure the first tearful goodbye of his life.
Those three years of not just love and family, but also the stability his second family had lacked, had changed the man far more than he would have liked.
He felt more, understood more, was more. It frightened him.
Helga was, had always been, so much lighter than he was. He worried that if he could not keep his unique brand of darkness within him then he would not be able to protect her. Protect them.
The knowledge that he was losing so much of himself had been what convinced him to leave. If Helga had wished to stay he would not have argued but she was loyal to a fault and insisted that he came first.
He had been too selfish to fight her decision, even if it could have meant her safety.
They had only been gone for two weeks when Godric caught them up.
He could not bring himself to fight that either.
(twenty-eight)
They met Rowena two years ago. It was Godric's fault. Well that was what Salazar said anyway. Godric was drunk though, so he couldn't dispute anything.
Not that meeting Rowena was a bad thing. It was more that Rowena's meeting them was unfortunate.
Schools were inclusive places and Rowena had not met the requirements. But the woman wanted to learn and she was not giving up.
Helga's first thought upon meeting her was that Morgana would have liked her. The thought of her aunt had pushed the anger at her boys to the side to make way for a rush of pride and joy.
She resolved to fix Rowena's mess if it was the last thing she did.
The next year finds them with a pile of stolen schoolbooks and a fourth member.
During the next few months the magical community becomes more and more open and the four of them, the four of them being Salazar, decide that they need to help their fellows.
-interim-
(After leaving Camelot, Helga had shortened her name to Penn but upon Rowena becoming a close friend and realising that her closest friends were all alliterative she changed it again, this time to Huffelpenn which was misspelled as Hufflepuff by a drunken Godric. The name stuck but she didn't really mind.)
-and back-
They had a home now: an abandoned townhouse near a plot of land Godric swears belongs to him. The other inhabitants of the area mostly ignore the four friends in favour of more interesting things, such as not being killed by the newest craze of magic hunters.
"NO!" Her cry comes quite suddenly, while her friends are discussing ways to help. Godric has mentioned battle and the idea has not yet been discarded. It has been brought up before of course, but usually Salazar, who is somewhat the leader of their group, shoots it down.
"No." Her voice is softer now, and trembling, "I have seen war and it will not help us now. If we want the future to be better then why can't we set the building blocks for that future, instead of tearing them down?"
She faces them each in turn, imploring for them to listen. Salazar backs down first, then Rowena and finally, Godric.
That night Helga Pendragon, now Hufflepuff, tells her three friends about the Camelot she remembers and how the world once was.
She promises to bring that world back.
They promise with her.
This was going to be longer but here felt like a good ending. (And I don't think it ever would have ended if I'd continued.)
I do have some oneshots I'd like to write, set in the same universe.