Author's Note:

Hey guys! So this isn't my first ever fanfiction, but it's the first one I'm posting. It's set somewhere between the first and second seasons of the show, before Arthur starts falling for Guinevere and all that jazz. So, I hope you enjoy it! I'll try and stay consistent with my adding of chapters (every Sunday) and please feel free to follow it or favorite it…:P

And now, I present the first chapter of Eve:

Smoke.

She could smell it before she could see it.

At first she wasn't alarmed at all, the scent was familiar. It was probably someone cooking in preparation for the harvest festival set to take place in a week's time. She felt slightly uncomfortable for some reason, as if the scent was unnatural or bad in some way, but she brushed the feeling off and continued gathering the flowering herbs her mother had told her to fetch. It was her favorite chore because it allowed her to get out of the village, into the forest, and just be by herself so she could breathe.

So she could practice.

As she thought of practicing, the strange feeling came back with a vengeance, feeling like an irritating itch that she couldn't scratch.

And then she realized what the smell was: burning hay. It was so familiar because she had grown up smelling it at the end of every harvest; it was her favorite time of year, the Great Bonfire to celebrate another year of crops. But, they never burned hay any other time of the year, and this was a stronger scent than what she was used to, as if more than ever was being burned.

And then she heard screams.

She dropped the basket of herbs and broke into a sprint in the direction of the village, praying that the idea forming in her head was wrong. The closer she got to the edge of the forest, the stronger the smell was and the louder the screams were.

Reaching the forest's edge, she broke through the trees and-

"No!"

She shot right up, jolted by the vividness of the dream.

Of the memory.

Taking in sharp, shallow breaths, she tried to remember where she was. She wasn't in her bed, or in her room, or even in a house. Shadows danced around her in the blackness of the night, frightening her senseless. Where was her sister? Her mother? Her-

Oh.

Suddenly the surrounding area wasn't a mystery; she remembered stumbling upon this small grove sometime earlier in the night. She'd been running all day and she hadn't been able to take another step. It was either sleep or pass out involuntarily. This grove, with its large oak trees encircling the soft bed of grass, at least offered protection and a small amount of comfort she was unlikely to find anywhere else for the next couple of miles. So, she found a shadowy area under the biggest tree and fell into a restless sleep.

After assuring herself that she was safe-at least for now-she settled back down and stared up at the stars until the first fingers of dawn stretched across the sky, unable to shut her eyes again.

(Camelot)

"Left. Right. Down. Left."

Each word was punctuated with a hard blow from a dull sword.

"Up. Right. Left. Come on, Merlin, aren't you ever going to get any better?" jeered the blond young man.

Desperately trying to block each attack, the skinny, black-haired young man was unable to answer until he was knocked to the ground. Again.

Pulling up his helmet, Merlin glared at his sparring partner and said, "I wasn't raised being taught how to kill people, Arthur, and losing to you is hardly a way to learn."

They were outside the city walls, away from all the distractions of everyday life. Out here, near the forest and completely alone, they trained. Well, really it was more one training and the other being beaten to a pulp, but both preferred to say "training".

Prince Arthur laughed and offered his hand to his friend, saying, "I'm not asking you to try to beat me or even parry a blow; I just want you to at least block one."

Merlin tried, in vain, to keep glaring at Arthur, but it was impossible to stay angry at his best friend, no matter how arrogant he might be. It was a wonder that they were such close friends, considering how extraordinarily different they were.

Arthur, son of King Uther, was the Crowned Prince of Camelot, while Merlin was his servant and assistant to the court physician, Gaius. Arthur was arrogant, prideful, and pampered, but was also extremely intelligent, merciful, and put the needs of his people before his. Merlin was clumsy, disobedient, and always acted before thinking about the consequences, but he was brave, caring, and selfless. Even their physical appearances were as different as night and day, for while Arthur was extremely handsome with his strong arms, broad shoulders, dark blond hair, and blue eyes, Merlin was more boyish with a very skinny physique, high cheekbones, black hair, and blue eyes. And even though there were times Arthur swore he would sack Merlin, or Merlin wanted to strangle Arthur, they were best friends and needed each other for balance.

So, Merlin accepted Arthur's hand and stood up, wincing. He was sure he had many bruises and was aching in places he didn't know could ache. Gaius was going to have to give him some sort of draught so that he'll be able to sleep tonight. As such, he pleaded with Arthur to be done training for the day. Arthur gave in, and with a wicked smile, started listing all the chores Merlin needed to complete before the end of the day.

They turned to walk back to the castle when they heard twigs snapping and the rustling of leaves in the forest. Arthur spun around in time to see her stumbling out of the tress, looking back over her shoulder as if to see if someone were following her. She appeared to be limping, her garments were ripped to shreds, she had scratches all over her body and a wild, terrified look on her face.

Merlin and Arthur were paralyzed with shock, standing ten yards away from the terrified woman.

When she turned face-front and saw them, she let out something like a sigh of relief and started moving towards them with all the power she could muster, which apparently, Arthur noticed, was not much. Realizing this, he rushed over to her and upon reaching her, grabbed her arms.

"Who are you? What happened?" he asked urgently.

She looked at him with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were the color of the clouds during a raging storm, and had a thin circle of dark yellow around the irises. He couldn't make out much else of what she looked like because she was covered in several layers of grime, and there were twigs and leaves matted throughout her hair.

She was crying and trying to catch her breath as she looked up at him, and gathering all the strength she could, whispered, "Help…me…"

Then she collapsed against him.

"Merlin, run and fetch Gaius and some guards and meet me at the castle gates."

Leaving all the training equipment behind, Merlin broke into a sprint towards the city while Arthur picked the woman up into his arms and started running as fast as he could.