So… this is my first attempt at a Merlin story let alone a Merlin crossover, so I'm crossing my fingers here I don't totally screw this up. I just started watching the series three weeks ago and I've been absolutely hooked, and I was very inspired to write this when this idea came to mind. By the way, this takes place before The Coming of Arthur.
Chapter One
Merlin flipped through the book of spells and enchantments, eager to obtain all the knowledge this invaluable volume had to offer. He had not really had a chance to study it, only in emergencies when someone's life was in need of saving, but luckily for him Arthur was away training the knights the entire morning, an entire morning all to himself. Gaius was busy as well; experimenting on a few herbs the physician thought would be quite useful for future remedies.
To be honest though, he was merely skimming the pages and glancing at pictures that proved to be intriguing. Mythical beasts, ancient plants, all entries seemed the same except… a boot. Illustrated in the two right corner of page one hundred and two was a boot. He rose his eyebrows up at this, and began to study the account given. However as Merlin read; the intention of the inanimate object was not for use of wearing, but for means of transportation. It was called a 'Portkey', an odd title to be sure, but not the strangest name the warlock had gazed at in this book.
"This could possibly be handy," he mumbled aloud quietly. Gaius would most likely argue with him about the whole thing, saying that Uther would having his head if he ever found out that his son's servant had magical transportation boots, surely conjured for threatening the stability of the whole of Camelot. But, if there was ever a situation where he would need to escape, and no one there to witness his sorcery, well then that was entirely a different matter. Of course the enchantment was difficult; it would take him all morning to figure it out. It would be worth it in the end, hopefully.
The sorcerer started on his little project, pulling off one of his own boots and performed the steps necessary for the process to be completed. Merlin worked diligently though, and after about two hours work, his boot was now a Portkey. The book had warned him however; that if any person lay a single touch on the boot they would immediately be transported whether they wanted to be or not. Carefully, Merlin slipped one of his blankets under the boot, and tied the two ends of the sheet to make a pitifully hand-made bag, and slung the bag over his shoulder exiting his room into Gaius's chambers.
"Ah! Merlin, there you are! It's a good thing you're here now, I need you to try these two potions to see if they taste the same," Gaius instructed as Merlin entered the room.
"Sorry Gaius, I need to run an errand."
With this he set off, he needed to test the object in questioning in order to see if functioned properly, though it would have to be somewhere outside of Camelot's borders in order of him not to be discovered. He journeyed through the lower town, but acquiring a horse was not something he had thought about before his walk. It was quite crowded especially today, and eventually he clumsily bumped into a stranger with his shoulder.
"Sorry," he muttered not catching a glimpse of who the man was, and was about to continue striding until a familiar hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Merlin!" a voice cried presumably to the hand which was on his shoulder, a voice Merlin recognized all too well. Arthur. "I thought I was going to have stop by Gaius's to fetch you, but it seems you have saved me the trouble. Come here." Arthur yanked him by his sleeve into a less crowded ally and pulled off his left boot. "Do you see this?" the prince questioned pointing to the opening in the shoe where only remnants of loose tethered leather remained.
"Yes," he responded.
"Well, you see Merlin I having to beginning to notice a trend, if you will, of these same sort of dilemma such as holes in my bed sheets, or my socks, and I'm also beginning to wonder who's job it is when there is an animal infestation in my quarters!" his master paused here and then asked with a fake tentativeness, "Mine or yours?"
"Mine," Merlin murmured gazing down at the ground.
"That's right. Luckily for you, I have eased you the burden of having to make up a petty excuse as you always do, and I will take your shoes instead while you buy me another pair," Arthur ordered.
"No, you can't do that!"
"And why not?"
"Well… because I was just taking them to get cleaned. Put them in a bag. They're awfully dirty; I stepped in mud on the way into town. You wouldn't want these," Merlin babbled.
Arthur objected, "I'll make do, besides if I did happen to clumsily step into mud like you, my feet wouldn't feel it like they would with the current pair of boots I have now, so just give me your shoes."
"And what am I supposed to do then, walk around barefoot while I go buy you boots at the market?" he posed.
"That's your problem, not mine. Plus, you're already walking around barefoot with one foot," Arthur asserted and Merlin gazed back at his feet to realize he did indeed forget to take off his other shoe and fetch a new pair, so he had been roaming Camelot with one foot exposed.
"Yeah, I just forgot to take off the one boot," he claimed.
"I don't want to hear anymore of it, now just give me the bag."
"No!"
"Merlin," Arthur growled as he wrenched the bag from his grasp and untied the knot.
"What were you even talking about, this doesn't have any mud on it at all?!" Arthur demanded and picked up the boot with his hand.
The air started to whirl about them, and with one hand Arthur even pulled out his sword. Merlin tugged on the boot as well, because it was never meant to be that Arthur was to touch it, and since he did, the warlock was not letting him go alone. And there was a slight complication as well with his Portkey. He hadn't been able to program one specific location where the Portkey would take him like it should have been, so Arthur could be going anywhere. The boot levitated and swirled about as they both held on, and the object increased its velocity as it revolved in the air.
"MERLIN, WHAT IS HAPPENING?" Arthur shouted over the noise.
"I DON'T KNOW, JUST HOLD ON!"
They continued to spin like this, their vision of everything else besides each other and the boot and virtually all noise seemed to be incoherent, until finally they both untightened their grasp on the magical item and fell onto what seemed to be grass, but Merlin knocked his head on a rough object, most likely a stone, and soon darkness invaded his vision.
OoO
The sensation of consciousness was returned to Merlin as his face was bombarded with a considerable amount of water. He flashed his eyelids open to be met with the not so happy face of Arthur, holding a now empty pail, who then proceeded to pull him to his feet.
"Where are we?" Merlin inquired.
"I don't know, how about you tell me Merlin?"
He glanced around at his surroundings; trees, plants, a few patches of grass here and there, the rest of it covered by twigs and branches, and he thought he may have spotted a little stream a bit farther out.
The warlock stated, "We're… in a forest."
"Very good Merlin; it's nice to see you haven't lost your eyesight along with your wits! Now let's see if you can narrow it down further. Which forest are we in?"
"Um, I don't know Sire."
"Which means one of two things. One being that we were drugged, dropped off here, and neither one of us having any recollection how, why, or who did this or—"
"Or?" Merlin questioned.
"Or this is the work of sorcery. That would explain how we were transported here," Arthur theorized.
"That's, that's, that's just ridiculous! Everyone in Camelot knows that magic is banned!" Merlin chuckled weakly.
"That doesn't mean people don't practice it illegally," Arthur replied.
"Well, I think you forgot one option," Merlin responded.
Arthur queried, "And what's that?"
"Sleepwalking," he purposed.
"Merlin?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up," Arthur commanded.
"Right. Shutting up now."
"While we're here, we might as well find out exactly where we are," Arthur mentioned and began walking North, Merlin tagging along beside him. They didn't have to walk long for Merlin to find a safe haven where they could possibly stay at while they figured out their whereabouts. A giant castle towered over a lake, a castle grander than Camelot's.
"Isn't that amazing?" Merlin marveled.
"What are you talking about?"
"How could you miss it?! It's almost as obvious as me pointing out the sky!" he claimed.
"What is so impressive about a shack?" Arthur quizzed.
"A shack? You're calling that a shack?"
"Yes Merlin, because it is in fact a shack," Arthur asserted.
"No, it's not!" he argued.
"Alright, obviously we're seeing two different things. So that means one of us is right and one is wrong," the prince explained.
"So, we should go up to it, and see which one of us is right," the wizard added. Arthur nodded his head in agreement, and they journeyed to the undetermined object. Merlin was the first to approach it, and pulled on the door handles to reveal this was indeed a castle. Arthur stared onward bewildered that he was proven wrong, obviously heavily before being under the impression that it was a shack.
"Merlin?"
"Yes?"
"Do not say: 'I told you so'."
"Wouldn't dream of it, your Highness. But in all fairness—" Merlin had started but stopped when he realized a death-glare was shot at him from his master meaning that he unintentionally had started to do exactly what he had been told not to do.
Multiple candles were lit throughout the entrance hall, but the passageway was vacant of any occupants, even the slightest hint of sound did not fill their ears.
"Hello?" Arthur called out in a vain attempt to announce his presence in the castle, though there was no one there to hear it. Suddenly, a young boy no older than thirteen came rushing down the corridor inelegantly who wore black robes and carried a strange, bulky device with him.
The boy fussed aloud seemingly to himself, "Oh, I'm always late for these things!" As the unknown boy passed them, Arthur placed his hand on the child's shoulder as to draw his attention towards them.
"Sorry to intrude, but we were lost around these parts and were wondering where exactly we were," Arthur announced.
"Oh! You two must be from Durmstrang! It's nice to meet you, I'm Colin Creevey! I've never met anyone from Durmstrang before; can I take a photograph of the two of you?" the boy squealed in delight.
"A what?" both Merlin and Arthur asked simultaneously, but before they knew it, the boy apparently called Colin held up the strange device he had been carrying beforehand directly at their faces and a white flash blinded their eyes for a few moments.
"Perfect! I didn't know the students from Durmstrang were supposed to come this early in the year, not that I'm complaining or anything. Oh, and to answer your question, the Great Hall is straight ahead, that's where I'm going. I'm not sure whether your school is already there, but I'm sure everyone would understand if you two got lost," Colin answered.
"No, I don't think you understand—" Arthur started but Colin Creevey interrupted,
"Sorry, I'm late enough as it is! I can't miss my brother Dennis's sorting! I would suggest you head to the feast as well!" With that, their brief encounter with Colin Creevey ended as he ran down the hallway, slipped through an enormous set of doors, and vanished from their sight.
"Well, that gave us absolutely no clue to where we are! I just want a straight answer from someone!" Arthur fumed, impatient that he had not yet found out their current location.
"He said something about us being from a school," Merlin noted.
Arthur reasoned, "But there are no schools near Camelot, at least to my knowledge. For all we know, that Great Hall that boy was mentioning could be our only clue to where we are." On deciding this mutually, Merlin and Arthur strode down the corridor to the set of doors where the boy had slipped through. Merlin pressed his face against the wall gazing through the tiny crack in between the set of doors to view the room on the other side.
"What are you doing?" Arthur hissed at him.
"Making sure we don't just burst in there having no idea who or what we're dealing with," he whispered back.
On the other side was a giant expanse of a room lit with many, many more candles, but they weren't ordinary candles. They were floating, no doubt held up by some kind of magic, but that wasn't the only oddity in this Great Hall. The ceiling wasn't a ceiling. At least he didn't think it was a ceiling. Above, a starry night sky illuminated the Great Hall along with the candles. The only thing that tipped him off that this wasn't a room with no ceiling was the fact the sky outside had few to no stars out this night. Five elongated tables lined the space, one at the head where adults sat, and children ranging from, oh, ten to seventeen maybe were seated at the four other tables grouped together. And then the biggest tip of all came. Drifting in the air was a transparent man, or to put it in more simplistic terms a ghost. This castle, wherever they were, was full of magic. Which is what terrified Merlin. Because standing just a mere two feet away from him was Prince Arthur Pendragon, son of the man who executed anyone with any involvement with sorcery; even if it was giving a sorcerer a bed for the night.
An old man was delivering a speech to his audience, from the looks of it. If Merlin could do a count, there were hundreds of children there, and he hadn't counted the adults at the table.
Arthur finally demanded in a hushed whisper, "Merlin, what's going on in there?" He snapped his head back to face the prince. How could he sum this room up without revealing its magical qualities?
"It looks like it's an opening ceremony, for the students. There are hundreds of them," Merlin reported.
"Hundreds? Here, let me take a look," his master ordered trying to look through the crack, but Merlin stepped in front of the doors.
"You know what, on second thought, I was a bit afraid to tell you this before, but it looks like there's a ritual going on in there. A bit of an abnormal one," Merlin objected.
"Abnormal. Abnormal how?" Arthur interrogated.
"You know, they're all wearing black cloaks. Doesn't that strike you a bit odd? They might be involved in a strange cult; it would probably be best we don't associate ourselves with those types of people."
"It's called wearing a uniform Merlin," Arthur deadpanned and continued, "Merlin there's something you're not telling me."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't try and deny it, you got the face," Arthur protested.
"What face?"
"That shifty look you sometimes get. Like you have something to hide."
"How could I hide anything? I'm just idiot," Merlin said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Arthur agreed.
Merlin purposed, "How about this: we wait for their feast to end and then we go question the highest authority here?"
"Merlin, you never cease to amaze. You're an idiot one minute and then you actually show signs of intelligence," Arthur remarked and smirk grew on Merlin's face.
Though this plan proved to be quite excruciatingly tedious, and they, knowing no where else to go, stayed positioned outside the Great Hall doors waiting for the feast to end. It had gotten to the point where Arthur was in a non-stop repetition of knocking his head against the wall in hope in rousing some entertainment, but alas none was provided.
"I would stop doing that if I were you; you'll lose the very few wits you have left," Merlin warned jokingly but instantly regretted the words as they left his mouth. Arthur glared at him, but took no further heed of the insult and fiddled instead with his sword performing tricks with it Merlin could only dream of doing. He peeked through the crack again to find a swarm of students rushing towards the doors and would surely stampede the both of them on the spot without a second thought. He yanked the prince by the arm and pulled him into a nearby corridor away from the mob.
"Merlin, what are you—" Arthur had started but understood as the crowd of students flooded the entrance hall and other various corridors.
"Just act natural," Merlin advised and they walked in the direction the students were headed in hope that would lead them to who owned the establishment. This however proved to be an especially difficult task considering the people among them all wore the same black attire while he and Arthur stuck out like a sore thumb; he in his brown jacket and bright red scarf around his neck and Arthur was significantly much more noticeable due to the fact that he still wore his chain-mail and armor.
A boy, probably fifteen, passing them by clumsily bumped into them dropping all items he had been holding in his hands.
"Oh great," he grumbled under his breath as he picked up the materials, and feeling at fault Merlin and Arthur helped him gather his supplies.
"I apologize for any inconvenience we have caused you—" Arthur had started.
However he was interrupted by the boy, "Oi, watch where you're going next time! Honestly, it's enough of a mania in here with Peeves around let alone all the other weird kids in this school! Anyway, shouldn't you be dressed in robes? How could you forget that; you both look like you're in your seventh year?! If there are not enough weirdoes here."
"Sorry, must have slipped our minds," Merlin responded in return hastily ignoring the insult directed at both him and his friend and continued, "It's been a while since we've been here, we were wondering if you could tell us where…" he had to pause here and think about what he had heard in the room to make himself sound believable; the old man from before had stated he was the headmaster and in remembering this he added, "the Headmaster's quarters are?"
The boy answered, "Right now he's chatting with Mad-Eye Moody, but if I were you I wouldn't disturb him presently. In half an hour perhaps he'll be upstairs on the seventh floor in his office and maybe then you can see him if the matter is so urgent. Now excuse me." The mysterious boy brushed past them and continued in his striding.
"It's safe to say we're not dealing with the most hospitable of people," Merlin commented.
"It would appear that way. I suggest we head up to the seventh floor to where this headmaster is," Arthur noted and located a nearby staircase to where a large group of students were headed. That seemed like a good start. Once on it though, the staircase shifted its position and merged itself on a landing leading to another corridor all the while he and Arthur desperately hanging onto the railing for support trying not to panic at the sudden move. So much for keeping the school's magical qualities secret from Arthur. Merlin spoke up first to a young student asking where this corridor was located and learned that this was the seventh floor. Hastily, both the master and the servant departed the staircase hastily, and not a moment too soon since the staircase moved again to another level rendering Arthur to a state of shock.
"This whole time… we have been in a castle… of magic. And we have no idea how get back to Camelot."
"It appears so, your Highness," Merlin replied.
"That means that there is no doubt that a sorcerer sent us here. Obviously, everyone in this school aside from ourselves have magic which means if we ask them for help we would be consorting with sorcerers."
Merlin snapped, "The way I see it is that we are stuck here, wherever we are, until we receive help from someone! All I know is that if we are in a school of sorcerers we are far away from Camelot, and maybe you could consider that your father's laws don't apply here! Consorting with sorcerers is the least of our problems!"
"No, you're right," Arthur agreed gravely and they continued their journey to the headmaster's office in silence from that point on. They reached a place where a statue of a giant eagle with its wings spread out towered above them. An older woman in dark green robes and a pointed black hat approached them in a stern manner.
"What are you two doing lurking around the headmaster's quarters? I suggest you listen to orders from Headmaster Dumbledore and head to your own chambers," she lectured.
"We need to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore," Arthur declared.
"And why is that?" she demanded.
"It is of the utmost importance," he replied.
"Who are you two? I have never seen you two at Hogwarts before, yet you are much older than first years, most certainly!"
Arthur sighed before announcing, "My name is Prince Arthur Pendragon, and this is my manservant Merlin."
The woman's eyebrows shot up, her contracted, hawk-like eyes widened in shock, and she pursed her lips so tight together they were hardly visible. Panic was evident on the woman's features.
"Come now," she ordered them and ushered them onto the platform where the statue of the eagle stood uttering, "Cockroach Cluster." The platform lifted up slightly and a stairway was created for them to ascend upon, and under her orders they followed the trail to a large wooden door.
"Knock. You must announce your presence to Headmaster Dumbledore," she commanded. Arthur did as told, raising his hand up and rapped at the door slowly three times.
"Come in," a voice from the opposite side of the door greeted. The door swung open of its own accord.
OoO
Morgana sat in her throne next to Uther's. Of course, this was not the throne fit for her; she deserved the throne her beloved father was seated upon. She was of royal blood. Even if he was too ashamed to admit to her freely for almost the past twenty years of her life. Many times, she desperately tried to prevail in her goal of ending Uther's reign; the reign of a tyrant.
But even though she had not succeeded in doing this yet, there was still another person blocking her path to her ultimate victory: Arthur. Uther had been blinded by her lies she had told him and it would a simple task to eliminate him, but when her true intentions were revealed Arthur he would fight for his kingdom to his very last breath. And the worse would come after his death, for the knights were mighty and would exact their revenge upon her if he died at her hand. This was all Morgana thought about, night and day, plotting what must be done to begin her reign upon Camelot, beginning a time where magic was prosperous once again.
As these thoughts tinkered away in her mind, a peasant approached Uther having requested an audience only this morning claiming the matter was urgent. She was young, no more than thirty, but her clothes reflected the poor conditions in which she lived in.
"Sire," she said then proceeding to bow before him and continued, "I've seen a terrible event occurred in the market, just today. Sorcery."
Uther's eyes widened, but he commanded calmly, "Carry on."
"I'd seen it with me own eyes. There he was, both of them—"
"Who are 'them'?" Uther questioned.
The woman carried on, "Your son, you Highness. Prince Arthur. And his servant Merlin. Both of them were in the lower town, and then all of the sudden, the wind swept 'round them like a tornado. Then, they vanished from plain sight."
"Are you sure of this?" Uther inquired.
"Yes."
"Sire, not to impose on you, but my family—they need food and a bed for the night—" the peasant had started but Uther held up his hand to silence her.
"Give her food and beds for the night for both her and her family in return for the information she has given us. I want troops searching the whole kingdom, including the forest. My son must be found! If you cannot find him, find the sorcerer who has committed this crime!" Uther ordered, and the knights hurried away to carry out his bidding. No one noticed as Morgana smirked a wicked grin.
OoO
Morgana slipped from under the blankets on her bed, and dressed in a cloak before she departed her room in the middle of the night. She borrowed one of the horses from the stables and rode out to the forest where her sister Morgause dwelled.
"Sister, it is good to see you," Morgause greeted but then asked, "But why have you come here?"
"Because I bring good news. We can begin the attack upon Camelot sooner than we thought we could've before," Morgana declared.
"How is that possible?" Morgause requested.
"Because Arthur has supposedly disappeared at the hands of a sorcerer. I should like thank whoever was responsible," Morgana said.
"Then Camelot is yours for the taking," Morgause proclaimed cruelly.
So that's where I'm going to stop. Seriously, this is twelve pages long and it's three in morning. The only reason I am able to stay awake right now is because I had dinner at 11:30. But I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please review!