A/N: Hi guys! This is my first ever Merlin Fanfiction, so I hope I did a good job at it. This story is going to be about how things would be different if the prophecy didn't exist, at least the bit about the Once and Future King. But more importantly, what would happen if Merlin didn't meet Arthur, at least not yet. This will be a multi-chapter fic, and just so you know, my updating schedule will be random. I will try to update as soon as the next is written.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Merlin. If I did, Arthur would still be alive.
Prophecy is No More
Chapter 1
Merlin stared at the burning stool in fear. He didn't mean to do it, he really didn't. It just . . . happened. One moment, he was getting angry at his friend, Will, and the next moment, he felt his magic slip and the stool was burning. Just like that.
Merlin moved his eyes to look at Will, who fell on the floor in shock the moment the stool started burning. Will stared at the stool . . . then at Merlin . . . then back at the stool . . . then at Merlin again. Merlin watched his expression change from shocked to confused to panicked when the fire started spreading on the floor.
Will instantly grabbed a bucket of water and doused the fire out, all while Merlin stared at the burnt patch on the floor with panicked and fearful eyes.
Will dropped the bucket by a corner with a sigh. He looked at Merlin with wide questioning eyes. "Ok, what the hell was that?"
Merlin looked up at Will. "I didn't mean to do it." He whispered, "I didn't, I really didn't. It just happened. I'm sorry."
"Did you just use magic?" Will demanded, the bewilderment evident in his voice.
Merlin nodded reluctantly. He watched his friend's eyes widen, growing bigger than the last time.
"It all makes sense now." Will said thoughtfully looking over to the side.
Merlin blinked, not exactly understanding what Will is saying. "What?"
"To be honest I suspected that you had magic for a long time."
No, it can't be. Merlin thought he and his mother were doing a decent job of covering it up, but guess not. If Will knew, then who else did? Merlin really needed to learn to control his magic, or Sooner or later, more people will start to take notice. Then he'd be dead, and Merlin really didn't feel like dying at 17. Especially for something he couldn't control.
"There were many incidents that pointed to you," Will looked Merlin in the eyes. "But I chose to ignore those signs, telling myself that you couldn't possibly be a sorcerer." Will continued, with an unreadable expression on his face.
Merlin gulped, fearing that Will will go out and tell people that he was a warlock. Then he'd be as good as dead.
"But then again, you seem to barely be able to control it. So I'm guessing it wasn't on purpose?"
Merlin shook his head, "No, of course not. I would never do anything like this on purpose."
"Of course," Will's lips quirked up a into a slight smile."Don't worry I won't tell."
Merlin exhaled, letting go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. Then he wondered why Will would be willing to keep his secret, especially when sorcerers were believed to be evil by most people. "Why?" He settled on asking.
Will shrugged. "Well, because, I know you and you won't do anything 'evil'. And the magic looked more like instinct than you, doing it on purpose." Will smiled a little. "So, don't worry, I won't tell."
Merlin exhaled once more, feeling gratitude towards his friend.
"If . . ."
Merlin tensed up again, almost expecting Will to make him do something horrible. Almost.
" . . . you make me a cup of never ending ale."
Merlin exhaled once more and laughed along with Will, relief washing over him.
"I don't even know if you can do that. And I'm not that good of a sorcerer." Then Merlin added, "Thanks Will."
"No problem Merlin, Sorcerer Extraordinaire."
Merlin frowned, "Yeah, I really don't deserve that title."
"Whatever you say, Merlin Uptight Sorcerer Extraordinaire."
"I'm not uptight!"
Will patted his shoulder in a friendly way, "Sure, Merlin, sure."
They joked around for awhile longer until Will stopped and stared at the stool, which was all charred wood and ash by now. "You know, we should clean that up before your mother comes back."
Thinking of his mom and her reaction dampened his mood, she is not going to be happy when she find out. "Of course! She is going to have a heart attack when she finds out."
And so, Merlin went to grab a broom to clean up the ash while Will proceeded to throw out the charred wood. Merlin was just starting to sweep the floor, when the door swung open, revealing his mother.
Merlin and Will froze their movements, they shared a fleeting glance at each other and waited for Merlin's mother, Hunith to notice the charred object.
"So, Merlin, I brought some bread and chicken today. And I was hoping we could invite Will over for dinner . . ." Hunith continued talking, setting down the bag of food, not even looking at Merlin and Will. Finally after much talking, she noticed Merlin and Will with the charred objects.
Hunith gasped, her hands flying to her open mouth. "W-What happened?" The her eyes widened in an unusual size. "Merlin, did you-" She trailed off, but Merlin knew exactly what she was asking.
Merlin nodded his head, suddenly interested in his boots.
"MERLIN! How often should I tell you to be careful with your magic! Do you have ANY idea what will happen if people find out? MERLIN, look at me!" He lifted his head and looked into his mother's worried gaze. "I can't afford to lose you." She whispered as she approached her son and affectionately cupped his cheek in her hand.
The she rounded on his friend, who was respectively standing by and letting them have their moment. "Will-"
Hunith was cut short when Will said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Hunith sighed in relief, and smiled at him. "Thank you, Will. You've always been a good friend of Merlin's."
"Uh . . . No problem."
After an awkward silence where nobody knew what to do, Hunith finally spoke up, "Will, will you excuse us? We have to talk about some things."
"Of course." Will said walking out of the house. "Good bye, Merlin. See you later." He waved and was gone just as soon.
Merlin held his breath and waited for the tirade of yelling he was about to receive from his mother.
]_[ ]_[ ]_[
Six months later . . .
Merlin arrived home earlier than expected. He was hanging out with Will, when Will's mother asked him to help him out with something. Merlin had to leave to let Will help his mother with that mysterious something. So, Merlin had to come back home, having nothing else to do outside.
He silently opened and closed the door, not wanting to disrupt whatever his mother was doing. Merlin froze when he heard an unfamiliar male voice coming from a different room. Merlin hid behind the half-closed door and listened to the conversation.
"I am here to talk to you about your son."
Merlin suppressed a gasp. They were talking about him.
"I-is it about his magic?" Said the nervous tone of his mother.
"As a matter of fact, it is."
"W-What do you w-want with him?"
"We don't |want anything from him. I am just here to offer him a chance to live with his kind in the Druid camp."
"Why?"
"He is a very powerful sorcerer. He is destined to be our leader."
There was a pause, a very long pause. Merlin resisted the urge to peek in the room.
"Do not fear, dear Hunith. Merlin shall be safe with us."
Another long pause followed and soon he heard a silent footstep leaving the house.
Merlin sat down by the door, contemplating what he just heard. Who was that? Why had he come? Who were the Druids? We're the Druids some sort of group consisted of magical people? Was his mother really going to send him to them?
Ever since that day Will found out about his magic, his mother has been eager to get him away from his friend, afraid that Will will reveal him. So, Merlin thought his mother was going to send him to Camelot, where he was supposed to learn to control his magic with an old physician. Maybe she was considering to send him off to the Druids. Whoever the hell they were.
Right now, Merlin decided to simply ignore his little eavesdropping and let his mother tell him whenever she was ready. Merlin snuck to the outside door and closed it rather loudly to make it seem as if he just arrived.
His mother came out of the room and greeted him with a hug. "Merlin, I'm glad you're here." She said, relief lacing her voice. "You're rather early today." Hunith added with a smile.
"Yeah, Will had to help his mother with something."
Hunith smiled, then she started ordering him to do some of the chores around the house.
]_[ ]_[ ]_[
Three weeks later . . .
Merlin was shaken out of his sleep by a firm hand and a vaguely familiar voice calling his name.
"Merlin"
Merlin sleepily turned over to his side and feeling annoyed, swatted the hand away. "Not now, I need to sleep."
"Merlin, please wake up, sweetie."
Merlin grunted, not willing to wake up at /ll. He grudgingly opened his eyes and as the world came into focus, saw his mother's concerned gaze on his sleeping form. By further observation, It was still quite dark, probably a couple hours away from dawn. He slowly sat up in his confusion, looking at his mother with a questioning gaze.
"Mother, what's going on?" He asked.
"Come Merlin. You must get dressed. We are going to a place where you'll be safe." Hunith lovingly smiled at her son, truly believing what she said.
Merlin frowned, "Where?" Where could his mother possibly be taking him at the middle of the night? Why couldn't they just go there in the morning?
Hunith didn't answer but simply continued smiling, then she handed her son a bag, telling him to pack some clothes, and to get dressed.
Merlin did as he was told, sensing that his mother won't answer his questions. As he was fixing his neckerchief, her mother came up behind him and handed him a dark cloak. Surprised, but still taking the cloak. Merlin wore the cloak and slung his bag over his shoulders.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, Merlin and his mother made over to the depths of the forest. After half an hour of trailing after his mother through the unfamiliar part forest, Merlin finally worked up the courage to ask the question that he'd been denied answers to in the house. "Mother, where are we going?"
She continued walking, ignoring the question. Merlin asked again, with the same result. He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from walking any further. "Mother, where are we going?"
"To a Druid camp."
A Druid camp? Is it about the man she talked to three weeks ago? Seeing his confusion, Hunith elaborated on her answer.
"The Druids are sorcerers, but peaceful ones. They are going to watch over you like their own."
Shocked, Merlin stood still. What? Mother was going to send him off to some strangers? Let alone, sorcerers? Why?
"Merlin, it is for the best. They are going to teach you to control your magic. I think it will be good for you."
Merlin simply nodded. Not exactly sure how he should feel over the situation. It wasn't exactly something simple, he was about to go to a whole new place with other people like /him. Should he be happy? Sad? Angry even? He didn't know, so he followed his mother deeper into the forest, to a place he's never been.
]_[ ]_[ ]_[
They've been walking for more than 4 hours (taking a break, once in awhile), until they finally arrived at the Druid encampment. Well, more like a village . . . with tents. Merlin looked around him with wonder, adults were freely using their magic to do basic chores while children played magical games, their laughter spreading to make the scene look more peaceful. Merlin turned to look at his mother and found that she looked awed as well.
As Merlin followed his mother into the camp, the people around them stopped their activities to stare at the two newcomers. It was probably unusual to see anyone new entering the camp. A hooded figure approached the newcomers seeing them coming in their camp.
The figure put his hood down revealing a man in his 40s with short brown hair, brown eyes and slight wrinkles from stress. When he spoke, Merlin recognized the man's voice from the time he eavesdropped on his mother.
"Welcome to our Druid camp, Hunith." The man said. "I believe we should go somewhere more private." He added looking around to see the Druids staring at them.
Hunith nodded and they were led into a larger tent near the centre of the camp. Once inside, the three people sat around a low table.
"Welcome Emrys, we've been expecting you for quite some time." The man said, confusing Merlin. What's even more confusing was the fact that the Druid said it looking right into his eyes and to make it even more confusing, he bowed his head in respect. To Merlin. To him of all people.
"I am Eldric, the chief this Druid camp." The Druid man, Eldric, continued ignoring Merlin's obvious discomfort. "I am honored to have you here, Emrys."
"I-I think you've got the wrong person. You see, my name is Merlin, not Emrys."
"Indeed, it is. Merlin is merely your given name, but Emrys is the name that's been foretold, Emrys is the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth."
Merlin chuckled at the irony of the situation. Him? A powerful sorcerer? He could barely get his magic under control! "No, no. That's definitely not me."
Eldric raised his eyes brows, "I see you doubt your powers."
Merlin looked to his mother for help, to tell Eldric that he is mistaken. Maybe after hearing this, his mother would change her mind and they would go back to Ealdor. But his mother just gave him a 'look', he wasn't sure what to make of the 'look'. One thing was obvious, his mother seemed concerned.
"Merlin, even if you are not the one they are talking about, I think staying here, with the Druids will be good for you." Hunith said, looking her son straight in the eyes.
Merlin's shoulders sagged, he really didn't want to stay with them. But his mother seems to think its a good idea. And if all those years being raised by her taught him anything, is that his mother would never change her mind if she thinks something is a good idea.
Hunith cupped her hand on his cheek. She spoke, her voice comforting and soft. "Merlin, don't worry, they promised me that you would be safe. They are going to teach you the good you can do with your magic." Hunith kissed her son's forehead. "I think I should be going now." Hunith said, standing up. "Please keep him safe, Eldric."
Eldric bowed his head in acknowledgement. Merlin stood to hug his mom, they stayed like that for a moment, his mother whispering comforting words to him and finally saying goodbye. Taking one last look at her son, Huntih walked out of the tent.
Merlin watched her leave with sadness filling his eyes. He stayed like that for a moment thinking about the drastic change in his life. Even with something like this happening, he couldn't help but get the feeling that it wasn't supposed to be like this.
]_._._[
A/N: Ta-da! So what do you think? The first chapter. To make things clear, there is no Once and Future King (but there is Arthur). But there is Emrys, who is just a powerful sorcerer that doesn't have a destiny to bring back magic and to unite Albion. That's all. Ok? Good! ('Cause, who doesn't like the idea of Merlin being an all powerful sorcerer?)
Anyways, what do you think? Merlin is a Druid now. Interesting, eh? At least it's going to get interesting. Things are going to change, not all the episode are going to turn out the way it was. It is going to be very different. I hope you guys are going to like it.
Thanks for reading! Please review, I would love to know what you think of it.