AN: So… this is a fanfic that is actually a part of a series of fics involving the same OC's in several different fandoms. Corinne and Mary are characters that will be appearing in several other stories by me, so be on the look out and in the know. Merlin and all its plots and characters do not belong to me, nor do any pop-culture references that may or may not sneak their way into my writing. Story wise, this takes place after season 3 when the knights are formed, but before season 4 when the tear to the other world happens. I apologize beforehand for language. Enjoy.
CRA-ccccck! A bright bluish-white light exploded into the countryside, expelling two girls into a tumbling heap at the foot of a nearby hill. The first of the two hit the ground with a dull thud and remained where she fell, while the second began to roll down the incline before coming to rest in a tangle of bushes near the foot of the hill.
"Ow…" Corinne sat up slowly and rubbed her arms which were still sore from the impact of her very uncomfortable landing on rocky soil. Her blue eyes turned to scour the terrain with caution as she called out to her currently unhappily-in-a-bush companion. "Hey Mary, still…um, kicking? I guess." She said with a slight chuckle, as Mary 'kicked' and squirmed her way out of her captive bushes.
"Sonofabitch." Mary mumbled, as she picked bits of leaves and sticks out of her hair. After a few seconds of struggling with her short messy, brown hair, she threw up her hands in frustration and stood fuming and glaring at the very green tundra with her equally green eyes. Corinne giggled and shuffled over to pick up the task of removing the remaining nature from her friend, wind shifting her short blond curls.
"Where do you think we are this time?" Corinne asked as she worked a particularly stubborn twig out from behind Mary's ear. Mary grimaced.
"Well…," She said, eyeing Corinne for a moment and then squinting back at the hillside, "I'm gonna go with…somewhere medieval."
"WAT." Corinne stopped her nitpicking and stared down at herself. She was now wearing a plum colored dress embroidered with green vines and yellow flowers, and a brown petticoat with soft leather slippers. *Gasp* "OhmygodMary, what if-"
"Calm down. We have no way of knowing that for sure, and we need to keep ourselves from assuming." Mary shifted uneasily. She too was wearing medieval garb, a deep red dress embroidered with yellow and white flowers, a brown petticoat that matched Corinne's and tall dark brown boots. While Mary narrowed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows, scanning the hillside and eyeing the nearby forest with distrust, Corinne spun in a circle with wide eyes sparkling with hope and excitement.
Mary jumped as Corinne squealed. "WE TOTALLY ARE IN MERLIN- I CAN SEE CAMELOT!" She started to dash towards the edge of the forest, her inner fan girl rewiring all her brain circuits towards finding her beloved main characters, until a foot shot out and tripped her. "AAArrggh!" Corinne yelped as she ate-shit into mossy hillside grass and rocks.
"Not on my watch you don't." Mary growled, as she stood over her friend with her hands on her hips. "We made rules about this Corinne, for a reason. No fan girl mode unless it's well thought through, by BOTH of us, and helpful." Mary sweat dropped as Corinne sat up and gave her a glare made of flames-of-fury. "Worth it." She said as she turned to face the woods, just spotting the turrets visible over the top of the tree line.
Corinne mumbled very angry and inappropriate commentary to herself as she stood and brushed herself off, glaring at Mary's back all the while.
"Do we really have to go through…the woods…?" Mary asked.
"Yes, of course. That's like, THE most common route taken to get in to Camelot." Although Corinne sounded just as tense at the thought. The two shared a look that can be summed up as, 'if we run into any trouble in the form of spiders I'm out', then set off side-by-side into the forest. Destination: Camelot.
The knights clambered to a halt at Arthur's raised hand. The young prince scanned the trees warily.
"Something wrong, then?" Gwaine asked, taking a well timed bite out of an apple he had apparently been carrying on him since they left the castle on patrol. The other knights smirked as Arthur turned in his saddle to give him a scathing glare.
"If all you're going to do is sit and stuff your face with stolen kitchen goods, then next time I call for a patrol I'll make sure all you'll be patrolling are the dungeons." Arthur turned to Leon, "Hand me your spyglass." As Leon handed it over Merlin shuffled his horse closer, squinting into the trees at the spot that had apparently drawn Arthur's attention. It almost looks like people… Merlin thought to himself. Arthur stared through the spyglass for a few minutes, pursing his lips in thought before closing it and handing it back to Leon.
"Travelers. Two of them, both women, no escort." Arthur said decisively, although he looked puzzled.
"No escort, eh?" Gwaine said with a mischievous grin. "How's about we give them one then. You couldn't ask for a better guard." Percival chuckled and nudged Elyan, who laughed as well.
Arthur frowned. "Well, we can't just let them wander around in the woods without at least knowing what they're up to… Follow me then." Arthur straightened in the saddle and started forward, Merlin and the others trailing after him.
Corinne and Mary jumped at the sound of horses headed straight for them. Without even a word between them, the two sprang behind the nearest trees. Corinne froze, nails creating deep gouges in the elm bark. Ohno, ohno, ohno, Corinne thought frantically, mind racing towards the conclusion of bandits. Mary was silently panicking as well. Shifting her feet slowly so she wouldn't rustle any leaves, Mary lowered herself into the lush shrubbery at the foot of her tree in order to peer cautiously through the branches. WTF, Mary was shocked, excited, and horrified at the fact that the seven men now surrounding them in the woods were the very main characters her and Corinne had both hoped/feared to find. Arthur, Leon, and Gwaine were approaching from the front, Percival and Elyan on the left, and Lancelot and Merlin on the right. In a few moments they would close in and Mary had no clue what Corinne's reaction to this was going to be… Damn.
Mary sighed and worked her way out of the bushes and into the open, arms raised to show she had no weapons. With a rueful glance at Corinne she spoke up, "We're unarmed." and waited. The horses halted, and Mary found herself face-to-face with a chestnut brown warhorse. Corinne slowly edged out from behind her tree and stood arms raised side-by-side with her disgruntled and newly 'nature' covered friend. When she saw who they were captured by her face turned a very bright red, but thankfully she remained silent. Arthur paused and looked them over. His face betrayed nothing of his thoughts about what two strange women were doing wandering aimlessly through the woods. Mary and Corinne exchanged worried glances, this could be a problem.
"Who are you, and what is your business here?" Arthur asked, though it sounded more like a command.
"Um…" Corinne and Mary looked to each other. "what are we supposed to tell them?!" "i don't know- it can't hurt to tell them our names right?" "shit if I know- what business do we have?" "well, we have to tell them something!" The two straightened and Mary cleared her throat. "My name is Mary, and this is my friend Corinne… We're, um, on our way to Camelot to- er, look for work… yeah…" Corinne and Mary squirmed under Arthur's firm stare. This is not going well, Mary sweat dropped.