Author's Note: This is mostly told from the point of view of Corri; an OC (but a few other POVs may slip in too). Spoilers for all 5 seasons are possible, and definite for the show's finale. Speaking of the finale... hmm, well it didn't quite happen like that in this story! You'll be able to tell what was different pretty quickly and this is basically an AU continuation (feel free to assume no one died, I'm not saying they're all still alive (Merlin totally killed Morgana, that was my favorite death scene ever! So no changing that) or will play a part in this story but I'm still writing it, so who knows! Just don't be surprised if Mordred shows up.
The village of Murton
I always watch the knights as they ride by on patrol, it doesn't matter whether it's raining or the sun is so hot it burns my face, I just want to be close to them for one second, it's the nearest I'll ever get to riding, training, and fighting beside them, not because I'm not of noble blood (the King has knighted commoners before) but because I'm not a man. Mother always says I'm such a lucky girl, and in some ways I guess I am, but as a well-off farmer's daughter my future is pretty much planned for me; marriage to a local boy, raising chickens and then children, growing old (well... hopefully, that's one thing that's never sure), and dying right here where I started. The whole thing makes me want to both cry and kick something. The one thing that made it tolerable was my older brother, he trained in sword fighting with the local blacksmith and when we weren't doing our chores he would show me what he had learned and eventually he started to actually teach me, he reasoned that everyone should know how to protect themselves from bandits and Mother reluctantly acquiesced but he and I both knew it was more than that for me, the feel of the sword in my hand felt so natural and it wasn't long before I started to beat Myres in our mock duels. Myres encouraged me to study with the blacksmith and every day I practice with the sword he left when he rode to Camlann, the battle is the stuff of legend now, how King Arthur and his men fought so bravely, how Emrys commanded lightning to come down from the sky, how King Arthur was gravely wounded, and how his manservant Merlin not only saved his life but was revealed to be the great warlock; Emrys. It's been four years since then and I still hurt every time I think of the day Myres left to join King Arthur's army, he came home only once and it was during that visit that he was called up to go to Camlann, it was also the last time I saw him, we'll probably never know what happened to him.
Finishing my chores early means I can run down to the village and continue my lessons with Sudol the blacksmith, he always smiles when he sees me and asks if I've been practicing even though he knows not much could ever stop me. Today we spent an hour in his yard, the sound of metal crashing together is enough to draw any child not working and we usually have an audience for most of our workout, they like to cheer us on and sometimes we teach them a trick or two. After our last duel we stopped to stretch and I smiled when one little girl shyly asked me to teach her how to properly hold the little knife her father gave her. It had been a good day and I was feeling euphoric as I walked home, there was to be a tournament in Camelot in honor of Queen Guinevere's birthday and Sudol had offered to take me with him so I could watch it, I knew Mother wouldn't approve of me traveling so far with just Sudol but the offer still thrilled me and I thought with some clever wheedling I might be able to talk her around and if not... well, they'd never say no to a knight of Camelot...
Camelot
Gwen's laugh echoed in our chambers as she pushed back the curtains and the early morning sunlight seeped into the chilly room, I groaned a bit and tried to hide beneath the pillow but she grabbed it away.
"Arthur! You have a meeting in just twenty minutes, and don't you want to eat breakfast with your wife?" she put a hand on her hip and mock-glared at me.
The look on her face caused me to chuckle and she leaned in to kiss me, it would have led to more than just breakfast if Merlin hadn't come bursting in the door.
"Don't you ever knock?" I asked, exasperated even though I knew he never did.
"You're going to be late, no scratch that, we're going to be late if you don't get up. I don't think the lords will be happy if they're kept waiting and I'm not facing them alone again!" he said, giving me a very real glare.
I chuckled again as I remembered Merlin's very first meeting as more than a servant, I'd been late and the lords had been anything but kind to him, still... I'd enjoyed it from my vantage point behind the door, especially when Merlin had finally let them have it with the worst and most sarcastic tongue-lashing any of them had probably ever had. But we both knew that wasn't really a possibility anymore, the people of Camelot had not only adjusted to the new laws on magic, but even the nobility had learned to treat Merlin with the respect he deserved (and admittedly still never really got from me, I wouldn't tell him this but I appreciated him all the more because our relationship hadn't changed any and he still seemed like the incompetent but wise and loyal manservant/friend he'd always been).
I swung my feet out of bed and pointedly looked at Merlin, "my manservant isn't here yet so I can't get dressed"
His eye roll was classic and pronounced but he proceeded to the wardrobe and began pulling out shirts. Gwen shook her head at us as we kept the banter going and eventually I was dressed and sitting at the table with my wife. Merlin pulled a chair out and began helping himself to our breakfast.
I paused as he shoved half a roll into his mouth, "doesn't Gaius ever feed you?"
He shrugged, "sure, but it's a long time 'til lunch!"
The village of Murton
The morning was half over when I put my plan into action, I knew the man I was looking for would be at the tavern, every other month when the patrols came through our town the tavern would get a boost in business, mostly from the locals coming to hear one knight in particular who always told such good tales when he got drunk (to be honest he was the only knight that ever actually drank anything, the others mostly avoided the tavern), When I entered the dark room I saw him sitting in the corner talking to some of the local farmers whose wives probably thought they were in the fields. The men laughed coarsely and for one second I debated on turning right around but the knight looked up and saw me.
"Lads, it appears a lady is looking for one of us" he said to the men, his dark eyes twinkling when I said I wanted to talk to him.
We walked outside and he leaned casually against a fence as I took a deep breath and launched into my planned speech.
By the time I'd finished the knight was trying hard not to laugh, "You said your name is Corri right?" he asked.
"Yes" I replied, lifting my chin a little to look him squarely in the face.
"Ah hm, well a knight cannot refuse to help a lady" he stood up straight still smirking, "why don't we go visit this Sudol and then I'll talk to your parents, you'll be perfectly safe traveling with our patrol back to the castle".
Just two hours later it was settled, I'm going to Camelot!