A/N: Hey, this is my first story. I am really nervous about this, so tell me what you think. Be aware of some swearing, and violence. Also, some OOC, and this is an AU. Also, if someone wanted to beta this story for me, that'd be great! I will try to update as much as I can.

The characters of Merlin do NOT belong to me.

I am running, running from someone, or can they really be considered a person? I am almost away, when suddenly they grab my arm, forcing me to trip. I look up for help, but all I see around me are bodies. I scream as they drag me away, suddenly passing out from being hit hard in the head.

I wake up gasping and shivering, covered in sweat. When I look around, I find myself in a random alley in a random town. 'I must have passed out last night while I was wondering…' I think as I leave the alley, looking around for somewhere to get water. As I am walking, I notice a large sign, in which I can see my reflection. 'I look dreadful. I'll need to find new clothes soon' I think as I look at my dirty, holed covered clothes. I keep on my search, when I find myself at the edge of the town. The entire town is surrounded by a forest, it seems, and where there is nature, there must be water.

I enter the forest, and find many berries and nuts. I gather them in a small pouch I keep as I continue looking for some form of water. Finally, I find a small lake, a good distance from the town, in my path. I run up to it, scooping water into my mouth as quickly as I can. I had run from people again yesterday, so I hadn't had anything to eat or drink.

When I finally have had enough water for what seems a year, I settle down under a large weeping willow, and snack on my collections. I take the time to look at myself and see how I'm doing. I wince as I see the blood and dirt mixed on my skin, as well as all the cuts. I have a particularly large gash on my side, but that can be dealt with later. I crawl over to the lake again, and look at my reflection more clearly.

My hair is horribly matted, covered with blood and dirt, looking almost brown, although it is supposed to be black. I have lots of small cuts on my face and a very large one running down my right cheek and across my chin. I sigh, as I strip down, placing my clothes, or what's left of them, on the bank, to be cleaned later. I lower myself into the lake, wincing as the cuts hit the clean water, and letting out a small cry when my gash hits it. As soon as my body is submerged, I take my time to slowly scrub myself clean, being extra careful with my gash. I finish with my face, then climb out, exhausted from all the pain.

I go to get my clothes and carefully wash them, making sure they don't fall apart more than they already should. I then walk back to the tree, hanging them up to dry, climb up, and eat some berries. As I sit there, I start to nod off, tired from all the running, dehydration, and mental stress. I finally fall asleep, hoping for some quiet.

Crunch, Crunch. I wake up in a start, having heard something not very animal like. I scramble to pull on my clothes, gather my things, make sure that there is no way someone would know that I had been there, then hide and watch whoever has found my little hideout.

I watch as a young, bright blue-eyed boy comes into view, followed by many friends. They are all laughing, and seeming to be having a great time. They all walk to the lake, when one of them scoops up some water and splashes it on the others. They all start laughing and yelling, jumping around in the water, splashing and having fun.

Although they all seem quite normal, my eyes keep being drawn to the bright blue-eyed boy. He has thick, though short, golden hair, and looks to be a few inches taller than me. He wears simple clothes, but they look more like someone who is richer would wear as casual wear. As they are all playing, one of them with longer brown hair turns around, and sees a partial footprint I had left. How stupid am I? I decide I should leave, and quietly start climbing down, praying they won't notice me.

"Hey guys! Look at this! Someone else has been here!" The brown-haired one yells, drawing the attention of the others. They all group around it, mumbling things I can't hear, when suddenly they all scatter. I am almost to the ground now, and take a chance, jumping down to the last branch. I luckily make it without a sound, jump to the ground, and run.

As soon as I leave, I hear one of them shout out, and hear footsteps. 'Oh God, please don't let them have seen me' I think as I race away. "Hey! Wait up!" I hear one of them yell as I run. 'Shit' I think, running even faster, not wanting to have to deal with this today. As I run, I start to hear them catching up, and try to run as fast as I can. Big mistake.

The gash on my side suddenly opens again and I cry out as I fall, grasping my side. I can't hear or think anything because my side hurts so badly. I hear muffled yells as I see them kneel beside me, asking me questions I can't hear. As the blood seeps through my shirt, everything looks dizzy and completely out of focus. Finally, I just pass out, after seeing those bright blue eyes right in front of mine.

I am in a cell, handcuffed to the wall. Suddenly a very pretty girl walks in, with hair the color of a raven's feather. "You're awake? Finally." She comes in and grabs my hair, forcing me to look her in the eyes. They are bright, and full of hatred. She slams me back into the wall, making everything fuzzy. She then says something, which I don't hear at all, when I pass out.

I wake up on a bed, in a room colored red and gold. I don't recognize anything, except for the few things I had with me and my clothes folded up next to me on a stool. When I finally look around, I see that it is a well decorated room, with the essentials for living. It has a nice dresser, a desk, a closet, a bookshelf, a bedside table, and of course a bed. I also notice that it has two doors leading out of it, probably one to the hall, and the other is unknown to me. As I am looking around, one of the doors open, and I see the boys who were playing by the lake come in.

Most of them look about 16, so the same age as me. A few look a bit older, maybe 18, but not any older than that. "You're awake" one of them says to me, as the group walk over. I curl up against myself and move back, afraid of what they may do to me. "Hey, we won't bite" says the one who had first pointed me out to the others. "My name is Gwaine. These are my friends. We saw you running and wanted to see what you were doing, when you collapsed. We took you to Arthur's house" he pointed to the blond one "and had the nurses fix you up. You've actually been out for about a day."

When he finished his little explanation, I can only imagine I had a look of pure terror on my face. They all looked at me sympathetically and backed away a bit. They also must have noticed my surprise when I looked down and saw that I was in different clothes than what I arrived in, and that I was completely bandaged up. "Yeah, we had the nurses replace your clothes because we knew they wouldn't be good. They also took care of all of your scratches and stuff, so that you wouldn't die on us." He winked after he said that, making me feel a little calmer.

I just nodded my head, feeling embarrassed that I needed this help, and sat quietly. Suddenly, one with darker skin and black hair spoke up. "So, my name is Elyan, what is your name?" I looked down when he said that, feeling embarrassed and shy. "…Merlin…" I whisper, quietly enough that I'm not sure they all heard me. "Merlin eh?" The one whose name is Gwaine said. "That's nice. So Merlin, where do you come from?" I jerked my head when he said that, they looked down again, not sure what to answer. "I, well, I don't really come from anywhere." I whispered again, not looking any of them in the eyes. "Not from anywhere? What does that mean?" asked one with lighter brown hair. "W-well, I-I can't really remember my childhood…" I answered, looking down as much as my eyes and neck would let me. When none of them said anything, I glanced up, seeing them all staring at me with eyes that showed sympathy, but also curiosity.

The one with light brown hair stepped towards me, and held out his hand. "Sorry for asking such imposing questions. My name is Leon by the way." I slowly shook his hand, my hand shaking slightly. The tall one who was standing in the back came up and held his hand out too. "My name is Percival." I shook his hand slowly too, a bit scared because of how large and overpowering he looked. Finally, the blond one stepped forward. "My name's Arthur, although you probably figured that out when Gwaine told you this was my house. It's nice to meet you." I nodded and shook his hand, slowly gaining up my confidence towards these people. They all backed away slowly, looking at each other. "Well, I guess we should let you rest then. That gash was pretty big." Elyan said. The other ones all mumbled in agreement, said small goodbyes, and left one by one. Arthur was the last one left, and just before he left, he turned around once more. "By the way, if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask one of the maids or butlers." I nodded to him, which he replied to with a quick nod, then left, shutting the door tight behind him.

I lied back down, staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what just happened. As I was thinking, I started noticing how tired I really did feel, and decided to try to sleep. I had just met five new people, been treated for my wounds, and had the shock of waking up here, so I felt extremely exhausted. As I closed my eyes, I could still see the one boy with the bright blue eyes and blond hair. 'His name was…I think it was Arthur…'