In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy.
Only it's not a great kingdom – it's a secondary school in the depths of the English countryside. Camelot School is the cream of the Surrey educational crop: outstanding Ofsted reports and teachers who went to Cambridge, as well as state of the art facilities and a tennis court made of concrete painted to look like grass. Woe unto anyone who falls over. The head teacher is one Uther Pendragon, a fearsome man with grey hair the colour of granite and a smile just as cold. He runs the school with an iron fist. He would do anything to keep standards high. Oh – and did I mention that he's also part of a secret organisation that knows about the existence of magic and will murder any sorcerer audacious enough to cross his path?
Merlin is one such sorcerer. He attends Camelot School because he lives in the catchment area and he doesn't really care much about the omnipresent threat of immediate death. Nobody else knows about the existence of magic – not Uther's son Arthur, not Gwen the girlfriend of afore mentioned Arthur, not even Gwaine who uses his chiselled nose to scrape into everybody's secrets. Lancelot knew, but he got expelled. So it's just Merlin and Uther, each bearing the weight of the world's biggest secret, neither knowing that the other is in on it. It's a game of cat and mouse, but Merlin is willing to risk it. He would do anything for a first class education.
"Merlin!" The voice whipped across the room. Merlin snapped his head up from where it rested on the desk and searched around frantically. There were a few snickers from the class when they saw that Merlin's cheek was stained blue from where he had rested it against wet ink.
"Waa…yuh?" Merlin asked intelligently. Gaius, teacher of chemistry and lover of learning, sighed with exaggerated weariness.
"Ah, the sleeper awakes." That drew more sniggers from the assembled teenagers. Merlin swept back his coal black hair morosely, a slow, abashed smile teasing his features. "Have a nice nap, did you Merlin? Dream anything… enlightening?" The teacher's words dripped acid sarcasm. Merlin shook his head.
"No, sir."
"Can you at least complete the symbol equation on the board?"
"No, sir."
The class giggled as Merlin squirmed and Gaius crossed his arms. They knew trouble when they saw it.
"Merlin, see me at the end of the lesson." The teacher gazed down on his favourite pupil sternly, then turned back to the board.
Merlin sighed and rested his head against the text book once more. Once he ensured that his face was angled away from his classmates, he whispered a word of power and gasped as his eyes flared gold, fire lanterns beneath the electric lighting. Information streamed into his mind at a fantastic rate, sums and facts and atomic numbers swirling through his brain like autumn leaves caught in a gale. The final fact needed for the upcoming chemistry mock exam zapped into his memory, and Merlin closed his eyes, content with the world.
It was only later that he would find out that Gaius had witnessed the whole thing.
Hey guys :) If you like what you read, let me know. If this little old Merlin fic gets enough interest I'll continue with it :)