A/N:I don't own Merlin-All rights go to the BBC etc.
I think anyone of us, fan girls that is, would react like this-I may be wrong, but this idea popped into my head and I just couldn't put it into my dusty old box of a brain.
My first fanfic, so please, any reviews are gold dust! All mistakes are my own. IIG25 x :D
Merlin walked through the castle corridors, planning on how to get to his destination.
The King's Chambers.
Merlin knew that Arthur would be mad at him-he usually was when Merlin did something surprising, followed by the usual insults, but now they had grown closer together and now accomplished many things together. Well, Arthur was only one side of Albion's coin and Merlin the other after all.
A few weeks back, Merlin was in the surrounding forest looking for herbs that Gaius had sent him to collect when he bumped into a girl. The girl was dressed in clothes that were very un-ladylike: She wore blue trousers that clung to her legs, with small boots, but the most surprising thing was she had a shirt cut off mid arm that clung to her slender body, with a low neckline. Women weren't really expected to dress like this, yet the girl looked comfortable in the tight fitting clothes that she wore. She looked lost, and Merlin, the ever helpful warlock, had to know who she was.
Merlin walked up to this mysterious looking girl and tapped her on the shoulder. She span round, something rectangular in her hand that she clutched tightly to her chest.
"H-H-h- who are you?!" she said, her voice trembling from fear.
"Merlin. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that, but you looked lost, so I thought I could. . ." Merlin rambled on, making the girl feel ever so slightly more comfortable, but still had a look of wariness in her eye.
"It's okay," the girl cut in, making Merlin look up, "My name's Charlie. Well, it's Charlotte, but I go by Charlie," Charlie stuck her hand out while talking and Merlin shook it.
"Nice to meet you," Merlin said. The girl looked around un-easily, obvious discomfort or embarrassment colouring her features. "Um, this sounds really weird, but do you, er, know what date it is?"
Merlin did think it was a weird question, but let it go. "It's the 25th of June."
"What year?"
Merlin raised his eyebrows in a very Gaius like manner. "502." Charlie visibly paled. "What is it?"
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my-"
Merlin's patience was waning with the strange girl, "What? What is it?"
"How the h-." Charlie gulped and looked into Merlin's eyes and felt something in her gut tell her that she could trust this Merlin with his red neck chief and high cheekbones. "There is something I need to tell you and you're going to think I'm mad, but, please, this is the truth." Charlie looked into Merlin's eyes and saw a flicker of understanding in them.
"Go on."
"I was on a school trip and I wondered off as I dropped my watch. I kept walking and everything went silent. I turned round and saw that nobody was there, like they disappeared and everything! Then I find you tapping me on the shoulder telling me that the god damn year is 502! Do you know how many stupid years have got to happen to get me home! I can't... I can't..." Tears slowly leaked from Charlie's eyes as she sobbed. Her fears of staying here were too much for her. She was only fifteen. How on earth was she going to get home when she didn't know how she got here in the first place.
"Shhh," Merlin soothed, giving her a friendly hug, rubbing her back slowly. "It's all going to be okay, I promise you."
"How do you know?"
Merlin didn't know the answer, but when he had this feeling in the pit of his stomach, it was usually accurate. "I just do." Charlie smiled.
"So, where do you come from? No, wrong question, when did you come from?"
"2012." Merlin paled. Wow. That's what how many years? That's-
"1510 years from now." Charlie finished his thought for him. Maths had never been his strong point, but Charlie was doing okay in her maths exams. So far so good, eh?
"Okay I can see why you were crying now," Merlin said.
"Do ya really?" Charlie replied dryly. Ah, a girl with my sense of humour.
"So, where are we?"
"Camelot. Well a mile from Camelot."
"No way! No cheesing way!"
"What?"
"Is this the Camelot. King Arthur and all that?"
"Yes," Merlin replied slowly.
"And you're THE Merlin. Warlock. Wizard. Old beardy wizardy advisor, defeater of- hang on, you should be an old man? What?"
Merlin huffed, "First of all I'm not a wizard thank you very much. I'm not a warlock either, I'm King Arthur's servant." Charlie's mouth opened up and she had the expression of a fish.
"You're a liar."
"Excuse me. I know whether or not I'm a warlock, thank you very much." Merlin however knew that he was lying, but couldn't put his finger on how she knew what he was.
"But you're in legends!" Charlie shouted-that would explain how she knew then-, "To unite Albion with bloody King Arthur with the sword from stone, around the Round Table, with the Holy Grail and the Lady of the Lake! How can you say you're NOT a cheesing warlock now, mister!" Throughout the whole rant Charlie was pacing up and down, flying her hands around her, conveying how angry she was with Merlin, who just stood there dumbfounded. He was exceptionally confused with the Holy Grail thing, but he supposed that was going to happen in the future at some point.
"Okay," Merlin muttered, holding up his hands, surrendering. "I do have magic."
"Prove it." What! Merlin just admitted to having magic after this rant, saying he was from legends and now she wanted him to prove it?! Fine, he would.
Merlin bent down to the ground, "Blóstmá." And his eyes glowed gold. A flower grew into his hand and offered it to Charlie, who once again, stood there, shocked and took the flower and placed it into her hair slowly, mulling over what she's just seen.
Merlin looked at the sky, seeing it darken as the sun was moving towards the west. "Are you satisfied?" Charlie nodded. "Well we better be going. It may take a while, but I'm sure we'll get to Camelot before dark."
Both of them set off towards Camelot sharing stories of childhood and family members. It seemed that in 2012 class didn't have such a prominent set in the world, like it did 502. Family still worked in the same way and Merlin was happy about that as he always loved the people around him and missed his mother dearly sometimes and wished he had more time with his father.
Charlie and Merlin reached Camelot just as the sun started to set, illuminating the castle. Charlie was still in her clothes, so when she walked through the citadel, she wasn't that surprised as people stared at her and her weird looks. Mothers pulled their children out of the way, men glared and everyone stopped talking loudly and a low murmuring took its place.
Merlin sighed, "I really wish people wouldn't do that. Staring is rude." Charlie rolled her eyes. "We better hurry then." They both quickened their pace, reaching the steps to the castle.
"It's amazing," Charlie murmured, awed by the scale of the castle and its magnificence.
"Yep," was Merlin's ever witty reply.
They both walked up the stairs, the guards looking at Charlie strangely, but dismissed the weirdness of her looks as she was with Merlin and, well, Merlin was weird, so they expected nothing less.
"I think you should meet Arthur and all," Merlin said. "No, walk in dramatically, saying from what time you're from and everything-Oh this could be good! Oh yes!" Merlin rubbed his hands together in an overly dramatic manner. Charlie sighed. This could be really dangerous and all, but this sounded like so much fun!
"Okay, what should I do?"
And so they planned.
Arthur was in the throne room, waiting for his manservant and friend to come back. He was going to have dinner soon, or else Merlin's head would not be still attached to his body.
Merlin walked in the room, with a grin on his face, two plates in his hand, filled with food-One plate for Arthur and another for Gwen. Gwen walked in behind Merlin giving Arthur her happy smile and sat down next to him just as Merlin set down the food on the round table.
"Where have you been, then?" Arthur asked Merlin.
"Well, your Royal Pratness, I have been helping Gaius with getting some herbs, it just took too much time, with my amazing coordination and all."
Arthur laughed. "Well at least I have my food." Merlin rolled his eyes. Could he get anymore big headed. No, was the answer. Never.
Gwen and Arthur talked on a wide topic of subjects and just as they were talking about the criminal activity of the lower town there was a kerfuffle outside the throne room.
"I demand to see the king!"
"You're not allowed in there."
"I don't care. I have this anyway. Get out of my way. It's urgent. Camelot's future will be dependent on this! Let me in. NOW!"
The doors opened to find Charlie, standing there with the shiny red rectangle in her hand, a determined look on her face and the guards looked scared, glaring at the red rectangle. The guards closed the doors and Charlie stood there, Arthur half stood up and half sat in a funny squat position.
"What's the meaning of this!" Arthur's voice rang in the throne room, dinner forgotten.
"I mean no harm, sire," Charlie said clearly, curtsying, "I just bring news of further than a millennia in the future, milord." Arthur stood there, flabbergasted.
"There is something that must be said, King Arthur, or Albion will never be formed."
Merlin was almost glowing-She was going with the plan. He couldn't wait to see Arthur's face.
"Emrys is here." What no. NO! Merlin dropped the pitcher he was holding. "Sorry," he murmured.
"Emrys. Who is this Emrys?"
"Emrys will help with the creation of Albion, sire. He and yourself are in so many legends, that we look towards television every Saturday night we shall watch how Albion is created."
"You still haven't answered my question..."
"Charlie, sire."
"Well, who is he, Charlie?"
"Dragoon shall come to your chambers and confess who he is. He shall give you the clue to who Emrys truly is. He shall show you then."
"How can I trust you?"
"Because I have this." Charlie held out the red object, which she new to be an iPod. "This can show you how the legend works, sire. My name is written in here, showing that I must do this now or Albion will be lost to Morgana and Mo-... erm, I really shouldn't say that."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Emrys will tell you when the time is right, but to tell you now will do more harm than good."
"What is this thing." Arthur said gesturing towards the red object.
"An iPod."
"What does it do?"
"It does everything. Touch it." And so Arthur touched the screen and gasped in shock or horror, nobody really knew. "What is this sorcery!?"
"It is not sorcery, sire, it is electricity. Technology."
"When do you come from?" There was a pause.
"2012 sire," Charlie laughed at the gaping fish face that Arthur pulled. "I will go now, milord, but Emrys will come to find you. I will force him myself or I will be once again hoping for something exciting to happen on Saturday. I'm warning Emrys right now!" And with that, Charlie snatched her iPod away from Arthur hand and started to walk towards the door, but before she made it to the guards, she faded to become nothing but air.
Throughout the entire conversation that Charlie had with King Arthur, Merlin was on the floor, cursing Charlie with words that should never be used on children's TV, especially before 9pm while picking up pieces of the broken pitcher. How could she? How dare she! Charlie was going to pay for this. No, she was trying to help him out, since one of their conversations was about how Merlin tried to keep his magic a secret from Arthur for all this time. Charlie had given him the push that he needed, but it didn't necessarily mean that he liked it.
So this is how our high cheek boned warlock was wandering down the castle corridors to his master's chambers. He was ready to use the aging spell to make himself look like 'Dragoon the Great'. How he came up with that name was beyond him, but he said that name, so therefore it was his fault. He opened the doors of Arthur's chambers, finding it empty like he expected as Arthur was supposed to be training his knights.
Merlin cast his aging spell, "Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum" and his eyes glowed gold to reveal 'Dragoon'. Merlin suddenly felt his back aching. Oh god, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. No, no, Merlin, I have to do this.
Merlin sat down on the table with a glass of water in the goblet he was holding, bringing it to his lips, drinking slowly, contemplating his next move.
Wait.
And wait he did.
Only five minutes after he sat down as 'Dragoon' the door swung open with an angry looking Arthur (which was the usual expression that adorned his face in the past few weeks-he always looked more like a troll than a human, but Merlin only told him that once and was immediately put in the dungeons). Arthur turned to face him, his face still angry, but a softness settled in his eyes.
"What are you doing here Dragoon?"
"I am here to tell you something, sire."
"I am aware. What is it that you wish to tell me?"
Merlin gulped. "I wish to tell you that my name is not Dragoon. That was a disguise for myself and soon regretted, but I could never tell you my true name, just in case the druids recognised me and blew my cover." Merlin slowly stood up, his knees creaking as he did so. "My name sire, is Emrys."
Arthur's face conveyed many feelings, but the most prominent of them all was shock. He was expecting this, but he still his mind could not comprehend what he was being told. Meanwhile, Merlin was shuffling, hurting his frail body in return for his nervousness.
"Who are you?"
"Emrys."
"Don't play dumb with me, sorcerer! Who ARE you!"
"I'm not a sorcerer, Arthur. I am a warlock-I was born with it," Merlin replied calmly. "And to whom I am, well, you should be able to work that one out or yourself." Merlin walked by Arthur, meeting his eyes as he went and walked out through the doors.
Arthur's mind was processing his many thoughts.
It couldn't be?
No.
Maybe?
But, the eyes...
His eyes...
Arthur ran out the door after Emrys, turning to see a cloaked figure going down the corridor, his body hunched as he walked.
Merlin knew Arthur would follow him-He would want answers. He was ready.
Well sort of...
Emrys stopped and in mid turn, he cast his spell to return to his usual self. His eyes flashed gold. His face still hooded, but Merlin knew Arthur could see the difference in his physique-He held his body straight, his arms falling to his sides as he faced his king, master, friend and most importantly the person he viewed as a brother.
Merlin pulled down the hood, grinning as he saw Arthur gasp and again looked like a fish.
Arthur started walking towards Merlin and when he reached him, he hugged Merlin fiercely.
"At least I know why tree branches seem to have the extreme tendency to fall on bandits."
Back in 2012, Charlie was sat on her bed, drawing Merlin and Arthur in the woods, laughing around the campfire. She hoped they were happy. She didn't want to cause much trouble, but before she went to the Throne room, she checked her iPod, having no idea that she would still have internet connection, and searched Arthurian Legend. She found her name written clearly mentioning that she was the one that made Merlin confess his magic to his king and felt a strong sense of pride.
Now the BBC would just have to find an actress to play her... Maybe she should go into acting and, well swoon at Colin Morgan's face... ahh...
Her bedroom door opened to reveal her Mum's face.
"Um, Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something... well, er give you something really." Her mum fidgeted nervously, while slowly walking over to her and sat down at the edge of her bed, a book clutched to her chest. Charlie eyes the book curiously.
"What is it?"
"You need to look at this," Charlie's mum said, passing the book to her. Charlie studied it carefully.
Charlie looked at her mum in realisation.
Her mum nodded back with a, "Have fun," and walked out the door.
Ah, heck.
It was a magic book.
Specifically with the words 'Merlin Emrys' engraved on the front.
And that explained why she had a tendency to trip over twigs.
Must be something to do with genetics, she supposed.
A/N: I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this at some point, but knowing that I'm a lazy bum, it might take a while . . .