Hello and welcome to my to my first Merlin story i would just like to say a couple of things before you get started with his story..
1st) big thanks you's to my lovely beta sarahelizabeth1993
2nd) I'm planning on doing a 3 part one shot type story based around Arthur and the lady of the lake relationship. this is the first I've done and the others are still in planning so who know how long it will take to get done
and 3rd) its about the lady of the lakes name, I have not found anywhere her name being Rose but Vivian and other names that are similar to her true name have already been used in the Merlin show so I gave her a new name it to confuse people even though I have and done so anyway just in another way lol
now please enjoy...
So my twenty second birthday is fast approaching, and despite my wishes my father has arranged a ball in my honour. Every noble man and lady, lord, count and countess will be attending and all I wanted to do was spend some quality time with my father, which didn't involve politics or evil magic trying to kill us; such as hunting perhaps. But no, Morgana came up with this splendid idea of having a masked ball and father completely approved. Sometimes I think Morgana has some sort of spell on him to make him agree with every stupid thing she suggests. Now don't get me wrong, these fancy events are great; they help build with relations and what not, but I'm going to be expected to know who everyone is even thought they have masks on, I'll be expected to chat with ladies and future wife potentials. Even though I'm in love with someone who I shouldn't be and doing so crushes my heart. It will be exhausted and I'll probably won't enjoy it all that much.
"Good morning Arthur and happy birthday!" Merlin entered with a platter of food for his breakfast. Arthur had been awake for a while enjoying the silence, which was short lived.
"Merlin." Arthur greeted while pulling off his blanket. He walked towards the table and chair in his room. After staring at his food for a few minutes he reluctantly pushed his plate away. Merlin had a confused exasperation upon his face.
"Is there something wrong with the food?" Merlin inquired.
"No; No there's nothing wrong with the food." Arthur said, rubbing his face with both this hands. Merlin's face looked a little more confused than before.
"Umm, then what's wrong?" There was a long silence and Arthur made his way to the window and gazed into the countryside.
"Do you know what today is?" Arthur asked
"It's December 21st, your birthday" Merlin said in a-matter-a-fact tone.
"That's right Merlin," Arthur said in a sarcastic tone and then there was another long gap before he spoke again. "It's also the anniversary of my mother's death." He took a much more serious tone now; never taking is gaze away from the dull dead countryside. It was late winter all crops and plants where dead and yet still no snow had fallen.
It was like any other day in Camelot; or at least what she thought a normal day in Camelot was like. It had been just under 22 years since she last stepped foot in this ground, walking through these streets it was like no time had passed since she lived here, still shopper haggling over the best products and sweet smells from the bakers floated along the breeze. The only thing that was missing was the magicians' amazing children and people of all ages on street corners. The air almost seemed thicker than before with the lack of magic. But still this was so much better and much more beautiful compared to the last memory she has of here, the last remembrance she had of her beloved home before it turned against her and she was running for her life, chocking on smoke from the firers consuming other magical persons homes. She shook her head hard and noticed she had stopped walking, she no longer wanted to remember that time. She had lost so much more than a home and royal lecheries that day but also a true friend.
At that moment she got a tingling sensation. She sensed magic, it was weak so it was still at a distance from her but it was coming from a strong source. She was aware that the dragon still lived at the heart of Camelot but it wasn't powerful enough to be noticed when so deep underground. She walked towards the source, every step closer and a wave seemed to wash over her. She stopped abruptly at a corner and peered around it. The first person she noticed was Gaius, he had aged so much since she last saw him, he had had a much handsomer face back then although it had still had riddled with wrinkles. But the young man that was with him carrying pots, buckets and bags, almost had a glow around him. A magical glow. Which was very bad news for him; if ever a hunter witch/warlock comes to Camelot who has betrayed their kind would no doubt enlighten Uther of this and gain a shiny reward, with the end result having this kid killed. She would have to do something about this before she left again. They had both left now and she turned the corner and got a wonderful view of the castle "Well at least some things don't change."
Arthur had finished dressing and was placing his mask across his face; it was a simple design with the colors black and red. He was dreading this party, he forgot to add dance to the list of why this was a stupid idea. He hated dancing, he was sure it wasn't all bad but the memories of when he first learnt where almost painful. And all of a sudden he felt very down, thinking that it was the mother's job to teach the sons to dance. Just another thing he missed out on. Taking a deep breath, he forced a fake smile and headed to the ball room. When he arrived the hall was already packed with people dancing and having a swell time. He made his way towards his father who was drinking with other lords.
"Arthur isn't this grand!" Uther said with much enthusiasm. "Go have fun my son." He smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder and his alcohol soaked voice drenched Arthur. He wasn't having fun, the best bit of the night so far was when Merlin slipped and the platter of food he was carrying flew up in the air and he became competently covered in food. But now it seemed the celebrations have developed into a slow tempo and hot environment. He had danced with every girl and spoken to every man, he just wished he could disappear into the background. And at the moment someone caught his eye; a girl. Her hair was short compared to the other women, it came to just below her shoulders. A rich chocolate brown, in ringlets and beads sparkling in the light. Her dress was a deep blue that draped gracefully on the floor. The mask was golden and blue feather which match her dress perfectly, she seemed to enchant him. And she seemed to be bored also; or was it sadness he saw in her eyes instead? Without knowing it he had moved towards her and was now standing right next to her. Another song started with a slow tempo and he noticed a soft smile grow across her lips when she heard the music.
"Would you like to dance?" Asked Arthur, but to her he was just a tall blond stranger. She wasn't usually one to accept but she truly loved this song and his sky blue eyes seemed so kind and familiar. His hand was outstretched awaiting hers, and with a slight blush she took it and bowed as did he in return. He led her to the center of the dance floor they stood close enough to feel each other's breath. Arthur was about just less then a couple of centimeters taller than her. He look straight into her eyes which where a dazzling emerald green and she looked into his intense blue orbs. His heart seemed to tighten as did hers. But still what he felt at this moment was nothing compared to whenever he looked at Guinevere. They started moving to the beat of the music, Arthur leading with a firm grip on her waist and her hand gently resting upon his shoulder, they moved so gracefully with the rhythm of the music, as if they were floating. He'd never enjoyed dancing so much and he believed she was enjoying herself as well, observing the beautiful smile that was gracing her lips. "What's your name?" Arthur inquired, she giggled slightly.
"What's yours?" She asked back. Which got Arthur thinking, she didn't know who he was and telling her his name would certainly give away that this party was being held in his honour and it was kind of nice, having someone who didn't have any expectations of you. So they both remained silent, just enjoying being in each other's company. Their dance continued even after another three songs before she finally pulled away.
"Are you alright?" Arthur asked worried about her abruptly stopping. They looked at each other for a moment.
"Yes, I just need a drink" She tried to smile but her face refused to change. She watched Arthur make his way through the crowd and felt bad about lying to him but an odd feeling came over her compelling her to leave. She quickly went in the opposite direction Arthur had and left the hall.
Merlin had been watching Arthur and the mysterious girl dance. He had been watching her since she first entered the hall, her beauty had captivated him, there was also something else about her which captivated him, so he instantly wanted to know more about her. But when he saw her push away from Arthur he couldn't understand what had happened and spots Arthur make his was towards him.
"She's pretty." Merlin pointed out.
"And how do you know that Merlin? You haven't even seen her face since she's wearing a mask or did you think that was her real face with the blue and gold feather?" Arthur mocked. Merlin put his hands up in defense and took a stepped back and looked back over to wear the two were previously dancing.
"She's gone." Merlin said a little dumb struck.
"What!" Arthur whirled around and scanned the hall for her. "She's gone." He echoed.
Ok, I currently feel really bad for leaving him. By now he will have noticed that I'm missing, but he seem like he had a handsome face under his mask and will most defiantly get over me quickly, I mean there's really nothing to get over anyway, hell he's probably dancing with another girl by now. But now that I think back on it there was a strange energy running through me, something I've never felt before. I highly doubt its love, I don't know him well enough for it to be that and it's hardly love at first sight I didn't even see the whole of his face, just his strong jag and thin lips and his ocean blue eyes. Stop it! I don't want to think like this, my heart should be broken with today being the anniversary of my best friend's death. It shouldn't tainted at the thought of a man, no matter how amazing his eyes were.
But the guilt she now felt masked the other feelings that swam around her body. The hallway she had been walking down came to an abrupt end. And before her lay a beautifully complex patterned carving on the wall. The air smelled damp, telling her that this corridor has been undisturbed for a very long time and it made her happy that she and Igraine's secret hideout had stayed that way, a secret. Within the carving was an undisclosed button which locked a hidden passage behind it, where it lead was a mystery to all but those who had the smarts to find it and the courage to enter it. Her fingers gracefully fallowed the pattern and released the trigger. The stone wall opened and a spiral stair case appeared, the steps themselves were covered in a thick dust and the long cobwebs swayed to and fro from the draft. The only light was from the dim moon that came through the diminutive windows and the small candle she carried. Overall this path looked positively frightening, someplace from a horrid dream or story with a haunting lost soul. But for her it just made her smile all the memories that she had connected to this one place over whelmed her, as they all came flooding back, with every step another memory, childhood games, ghostly stories, Igraine's tears on the day she lost her parents, where she first showed Igraine her magical powers, the day she found out about her true past and the day Igraine told her about Uther's marriage proposal. All those memories that she held close to her happened at the top of the stairs and behind the dark woodened door that shares the same pattern as the wall has.
Arthur had finally found the perfect window of opportunity to slip away unnoticed from his party. The ball room had become too hot and stuffy for him to cope anymore, the drunken laughter deafened him and the girls that swooned over him just made him feel even more heartbroken over Guinevere. He needed air, but mostly he wanted to be alone, to collect himself. Knowing that everywhere would be guarded because of his perfect security plan he had no other choice but to go to his almost forgotten place of escape. It was an unknown platform that was positioned atop the tallest tower in Camelot's Castle. No one ever questioned the reason why they could never find the stairs to it and just said there was a flaw in the design, but Arthur had discovered his mother's old journal from her younger years when he was playing in his father's room as a child. The journal contained wonderful adventure stories and her day to day life, which he expected was not all that different from Morgana's, and at the very back, in different handwriting, was a map of the castle. This map showed a path that Arthur had never noticed before and he had chosen to explore it. And what he found was almost beyond belief. The view from such a height was amazing, you where able to see all of Camelot and miles of land surrounding it, the farms and the forests. It was simply breath taking.
A few minutes later Arthur arrived at the abandoned hallway. The air was thick with a cold, damp smell but there was a familiar sweet scent to it which Arthur couldn't quite figure out where from. He out stretched his arm and roughly tracked two fingers along the pattern pressing the hidden button and the wall moved. When he was younger he had always thought that it moved by magic but after thorough investigation he discovered it was a complex machine. But what lay ahead was almost unthinkable; there were foot prints in the dust. Who could they have belonged to? The only person that he was aware that knew about it was his mother. At that thought his heart stopped and he went cold. Without a second notion he ran up the stairs and burst through the door and saw a youngish girl standing on the wall, back to him and arms out stretched, snow was falling gently and she looked like an angel. She swiftly turned but to him it was in slow motion and he instantly recognized her, she was the girl he had just been dancing with. She still wore her mask, unlike himself, but he could tell she was shocked because her mouth was slightly ajar. They stared at each other for what felt like hours but was only minutes.
"Arthur?" she said in barely a whisper. He gently nodded his head to confirm and she squeaked and covered her mouth to muffle her gasp. The snow was still gently falling, their eyes still locked. She slowly removed her hands from her mouth but her breath was still heavy and so was Arthur's.
"Who are you?" He asked in a deep voice that seemed to frighten her. He could see her eyes start to water. He then noted she was still standing on the edge, and a question aroused in this mind. Was she going to jump? Shock ran through him again, and he outstretched his hand to her "Come down from there." He said in a much gentler tone. This made her focus and look at her surroundings, she saw that she was right at the edge of the wall, one wrong move and she would certainly fall to her death. She took his hand gratefully and it gave her déjà vu form earlier that evening when he had asked her to dance.
"Good idea." Now that she had stopped looking at him it was hard to look at him again. She wanted to get away but he blocked her exit.
"So?" He asked, she looked up, his chin, his lips, this nose and then to his eyes which made her heart beat fast again.
"What?" She asked, she remembered that he asked her a question but she was so shock that she hadn't really heard him.
"Who are you?" it was a gentler tone then she expected or deserved. Her lack for concentrating would have given him a good enough reason to be annoyed, but even his look was gentle. She pondered for a moment to weather she should tell him the truth. It wasn't like he would have known who and what she really is, but there was still a chance that Uther had spoken poorly of her, perhaps even a bad guy in a child's story.
"My name is Rose." She said, it wasn't a lie, that was her real name but she had held back her true name. The name everyone knew her as. The Lady of the Lake, Gate keeper of Avalon.
Arthur continued to look at her. That wasn't really the questioned he asked, he may now know her name but he didn't know who she was. He could also tell that she wasn't sharing everything. It was the same feeling a got from Merlin when he knew that he was skimming the truth.
"Why are you up here?" He realized he had asked the wrong question, what he really wanted to know what how she knew about this place.
She frowned at him. Was he not curios about how she knew about the secret passage? Or was it no longer secret, did everyone know of this place but not care about it?
"To watch the snow." Yes that was the truth and the only reason she was back in Camelot. To watch the first snow, like she use to with her best friend, on the anniversary of her death. She looked up, neither had noticed that the snow was now falling rapidly.
He noticed her eyes sadden and had an overwhelming feeling to comfort her, but before he had a chance to react on his feelings she moved away back towards the wall, looking out at the kingdom. She wrapped her arms around herself. She was cold, that much was obvious. Just at that moment a huge gust of wind blew and the door slammed shut, which drew their attention to it. Arthur moved towards it to reopen it, only to find it was stuck. He used all his might but the door didn't budge.
"No way, we'll freeze to death up here!" Arthur said, worried. The green eyed girl stared at him like he was an idiot; he often gave this same look to Merlin.
"It's just the cold damp weather making the wood expand." She explained.
"How do we shrink it then" he asked in an off tone. This made her pout.
"It needs heat." But before he could retort she continued "Body heat, if we lean against it for awhile it should work. Hopefully" She said under her breath but she highly doubted it and although she already had a plan she couldn't use her magic straight away, it would be too suspicious. What she needed was a good lie, or at least a semi believable lie, and time. She walked towards the door and leaned her back against it and watched Arthur copy. It took Arthur less then 10 seconds to ask the question that has been at the tip of his tongue since he saw her standing on the ledge.
"How do you know about this place?" It was softer then he had anticipated but at least he didn't bark at her. She didn't look at him but keep her gentle gaze observing the city that was slowly turning white. He waited a minute and thought that she didn't hear; he was about to ask again when she finally gave him an answer.
"I used to play here with my best friend. It was our haven." She whispered. His mother often wrote about her best friend in her journal but she never used anyone's whole names, the reason unknown to him, perhaps the names where long and time consuming to write or more likely she didn't want to implicate anyone after writing tales of almost criminal fetes. All he knew was that her best friends name started with a R. Wait wasn't her name Rose?
"How old are you?" he asked before he could stop himself, not that we would have. He knew that for some reason this was a touchy subject for most women. He turned and looked down at her she was already looking, staring emerald daggers at him. Apparently she was in the minority of women that disliked this question. But with closer exception, her face was a picture of youth or what he could tell from the parts he saw. Her lips were full and thick, no sign of skin sagging around the mouth and her eyes had no wrinkles around them either, if she was to take off her mask he wouldn't be surprised if she was any older then he was.
"How old do you think I am?" She frowned.
"To be honest I wouldn't say you were much older then 20 but I also think you're old enough to know my mother."
"Igraine" she barley whispered.
"I'm right!" He couldn't believe it. All his life he had wonted to meet his mother's notorious best friend, R, but he had never thought it would happen. All thoughts of her age left his mind and all feelings where orbiting around his mother and the stories she had written about. Rose was searching his face for anything that would worry her but there was nothing but pure happiness and joy in it. It made her glad and she couldn't help but smile. They shard an intense stare. It made her heart swell and tighten.
"Tell me about her." He sounded so eager and her smile just grew.
"What do you want to know" She teased.
"Everything" He practically shouted with excitement.
"Well it's quite a story," She smiled, it had been so long since she had spoken of Igraine, she was always to afraid that it would be too pain full. "We met when we were nine. She had just moved to Camelot with her mother and you know she was the countess of Cornwall. After her father became ill and passed away they where invited to live in the castle and her uncle inherited the title of Duke of Cornwall." Rose tightened the grip she had on herself, she was become unmanageably cold. "My adopted parents worked within the castle and I was occasionally brought in to help and what not. I was allowed to play as long as I kept out the way and one day I came across Igraine, crying. The king's son was rude to her and she was already homesick, but because he was the king's son she wasn't able to confront him, not without a beating by his mother to put her in place." Rose sighed.
"The king's son was my father, wasn't it?" Arthur asked disappointed.
"Yes, as a child he was…" she paused, about to insult the king in front of his son. "a, um, bully." And at this Arthur chuckled.
"Anyway, I convinced her to take revenge. I told her it wasn't fair that he could get away with making such a pretty girl cry even if he was to be the future king."
"What was the revenge?"
"We found out what he was most afraid of, which at the time was snakes. Luckily for us it was late spring, so they were in season. I took her to a secret exit I had found a few weeks back and we caught a snake and placed it into Uther's bed. The next day Igraine came to me and told me all about his girlish scream, which awoke the entire castle. Everyone had thought we where under attack and a group of armed guards rushed into his room." Rose had the biggest smile across her face and Arthur was still laughing. "Later she also told me that that afternoon was the first time she had ever left the castle grounds since her arrival, and I was the first person her own age, besides the prince, to have spoken to her and from that day we were inseparable. We didn't care about social class difference, nor did her mother; I think she was just relived that Igraine had made a friend." Rose felt something warm being placed around her shoulders; Arthur had given her his coat. She would have rejected it but she was freezing, so she just smiled and thanked him.
"As a child what was she like?" He asked.
"When we first met she was shy, always afraid of getting into trouble, which would make people look poorly upon her and her mother. But slowly she came out of her shell and started to do more daring acts. She was also smart and had an overactive imagination, however almost constantly felt smothered and unable to be herself, so we came up with a fantasy world, where all we had to do was close our eyes and we could be ourselves, truly free. And not long after that we found this place, which was a true dream. As we got older she became more kind hearted and even more beautiful. Actually you to look quite similar, I see more of her in you then I do of Uther. Your hair; your eyes and defiantly your smile. Your compassion and trusting nature also. "
"Did you know who I was when we were dancing?"
"No, I only figured it out when you walked through this door;" she gave the door a little knock. "I was completely shocked." Suddenly her legs gave out and she slowly slid down the door and sat on the hard floor, Arthur knelt beside her.
"What's wrong?" He sounded so concerned.
"Nothing." She replied, but there were tears running down her cheeks, she had the same feeling as before, when she had pushed Arthur away when dancing, this strange feeling to run. He placed his hand on her face and rubbed his thumb under her mask. His hand was so warm that it partially burned her but she placed hers and on his and held it in place.
"You're so cold."
"I'll be fine, as soon as I warm up I'll be fine." She said the words to ease him; she knew she was going to be all right not even sub-zero temperatures could kill her, probably maker her very sick but not die. "You never told me how you found out about this place."
"Neither did you." He shot back playfully. She laughed
"True. But you first." She smiled with blue tainted lips. When he spoke, concern still filled his eyes.
"I found my mother's journal when I was, well probably nine, and there was a map at the back that lead me here." He told her.
"I drew that map." She smiled a wide grin. Arthur smiled in return.
"I thought as much, the hand writing differed a lot."
"Where did you find her journal? As far I as I was aware Uther had hidden them or perhaps even destroyed them." She asked, trying to change the subject away from herself.
"No, you have to tell me how you and my mother found this place." He softly demanded. He found himself being very kind to her, more so then he was with anyone else, even Gwen. Her smile was now gone and her eyes diverted from him. "I don't wish to tell you." She said simply, her voice hard. He knew he shouldn't press that matter, but he was too curious to stop himself.
"Why not?" He said, even harder then her.
"I can't tell you that either." She replied. He just rolled his eyes at her like he had known she was going to say that, but how could he have? He was acting like they had been long time friends, even though they had only met the same night.
"Then what will you tell me?" he asked, half joking.
"Your mother is proud of you." She said gently, and she saw his eye soften once more.
"How would you know?" he stated, again gentler then he would have expected. But her next action shocked him. She had propped herself onto her knees and embraced him in a hug, and gently whispered in his ear.
"I know her better then anyone, so I know how much she loves you and to what large extent she is proud of you." She said softly. He found his arms moving on their own and hugged her back and he rested his head on her shoulder.
"But," He all but breathed, not thinking any normal person would have heard, although unaware to him Rose was far from normal.
"Gwen," She said simply. Arthur pulled her back, completely shocked.
"What; How?" Arthur babbled. Making her smile.
"I could tell when we were dancing, I saw you look at her a few times and put the pieces together." Her smile grew but her heart felt a slight prick when she said it aloud. He just continued to stare at her with a shocked expression. "Anyway I have a gift that might help with your situation. Well I think it would be more a gift from your mother then me." Still shocked he watched her hand reach for her bag that was beside the candle which almost had 6 inches of snow on it, which made him look around at the white surroundings. The hills and houses where all white, even his clothes had snow building on them. "This was your mothers favorite book." She said, causing Arthur to divert his attention back to her. "and I know she would have wanted you to have it." She added. He took the slightly battered book from her cold, soft hands and thought he saw a blush escaping from beneath her mask. "Also I have another gift for you." She whispered. He thought a kiss perhaps; and when she moved closer to him thought for sure he was right but she kept moving in till she reached his ear and whispered such soft words that the wind couldn't carry them. Then something was placed around his neck, looking down he saw a smooth emerald stone which matched the color of her eyes, attached to a long silver chain. She pulled back and gave him a sweet smile. "I'm sure that jewelry isn't something you where hoping for." She gave a slightly wicked smile. Did she know what he was just thinking?
"What you said; does this mean its-" She put a finger to his lips and stopped him midway.
"If you say it then you don't have deniability in the future." He just blink a few times not really sure what to make of the new direction this conversation had taken, all he knew was that her finger on his lips made them tingle and he wasn't 100% sure it was just because they where ice cold. But she pulled away in a flash now seeming to tower over him. "Shall we try the door again?" and she reached out her hand to help him up. He took it grateful but didn't really us it to help himself up but he did like holding her hand even if it only lasted a few seconds. Arthur brushed the snow off his shoulders while glaring at the door as if it was an opponent for a sword fight. Then with a breath he straightened his back and walked towards the wooden object and turned the latch but the door was still stuck. Even when Arthur pulled with all his strength it still wasn't enough. Rose watch at the side lines thoroughly amused at his feeble attempts. With one last tug Rose's eyes glowed a dazzling green and the door swage open, causing Arthur to stumble back. He quickly corrected himself and glared at Rose who let a slight laugh out. No one had ever really laughed at him before perhaps of course Morgana and Merlin whom where the only exception. No one else really dared too. Rose now held her tongue but a wicked smile was in it place. "Perhaps we should go before the door decides to close on us again." So they both did, the hidden stairs now had two stets of footprints leading both up and down it, and that was the way it was to remain for another year.