Merlin was used to the constant abuse from Arthur. After calling him an ass the first day they met, a growing dislike for each other was becoming prominent. It was not helped by the fact that Merlin was assigned to be Arthur's manservant, more of a punishment than a reward in her mind. It was also a problem because she was a girl with magic so being the crown prince of Camelot's manservant created a load of secrets. Merlin despised secrets; they led to a lack of trust, betrayal, and in the end, when secrets are revealed, no one can escape without getting hurt. Merlin was planning on leaving Camelot very soon; this job simply wasn't worth the trouble. She would return to her mother in Ealdor and convince her that Will would never put her in harms way; he would never reveal her secret. Maybe if she was incredibly lucky, Merlin could start a family of her own.

The night before Merlin planned on leaving, she woke with a start. She heard a voice, calling out to her.

"Merlin…

…

Merlin, come find me"

"Where are you?" Merlin asked aloud.

"Follow my voice, and you will know where I reside"

Merlin listened to the voice in her head, now slightly concerned that she was going crazy. She followed the voice to the best of her ability, considering it was in her head, and it led her to a door. She knew it was one of the areas of the castle that was restricted, but she had to find out who was calling her. The door led her to a long spiral staircase. As she descended, she realized she was entering a huge cavern, its only light source being a torch that had long gone out. Merlin took the torch and muttered the words "Forbærnan," lighting the torch.

"Merlin, at last, you have come."

Merlin almost dropped the newly lit torch when a dragon made itself visible in the cavern, appearing out of the shadows. The dragon then told Merlin what she desperately didn't want to hear. He told her of her destiny, and why she couldn't leave Camelot. Then, when Merlin thought she had heard the worst of it, the dragon finished it off with a statement that could never be unheard:

"In the end, it is prophesized that you will be the queen of Camelot"

Merlin's jaw dropped, and she was then able to sputter out words that sounded something like, "but... how?…clot pole…me?... queen?… marry Arthur… but… clot pole…" With that, Merlin had had enough. She ran upstairs, and started packing. "Screw destiny" she thought, "no way am I going to marry that pain in the arse."

By the time Merlin was ready to leave, it was the early morning and most of the servants were already up, starting to wake those they served. With a silent prayer that she wouldn't see anyone on the way out, she closed the door to her room, its only contents being the bed, chest, and a note for Gaius, explaining why she left.

Merlin was almost in the clear, but whether it be the gods or fate messing with her, as Merlin turned the corner, she walked straight into Arthur.

"Merlin!" The prince said enraged, "You were supposed to wake me up AN HOUR AGO!"

The hunting trip. Of course Merlin forgot that the royal prat had to be up early so he could spend today traveling to a more remote area to hunt."

"Merlin, why are you packed, but I'm not? That's not how this works. You need to pack for me too."

With that, Merlin snapped, she could never feel anything for Arthur, let alone be his queen.

"You are a clot pole that doesn't even realize that everyone around you thinks it! You are the most self absorbed, egotistic, condescending, pompous, conceded person I have ever met! Destiny got it wrong, find another girl!"

With that, Merlin stormed off, leaving Arthur speechless and wondering: A) What destiny got wrong, B) Why Merlin called himself a girl, C) What caused this incredible outburst, and D) Where the hell Merlin was going.

Months Later:

They were going to leave Ealdor with nothing. By the time the Harvest was over and the bandits had taken what they wanted, there wouldn't be enough to feed the village or plant more the next season. Merlin had gone to the king of Essetir for help but to no avail. Ealdor was nothing but an outlying village with little worth to their king. The village's only hope was to receive help from Camelot. Hunith had offered to go in Merlin's place to Camelot to receive an audience with the King, but Merlin refused. She knew that travel was hard on her mother, and with the trying times, Merlin worried her mother couldn't take the extra strain. It was Merlin who went, praying that in a nice dress and with her hair now down to her shoulders, no one would recognize her.

As if she was lucky enough for that to happen. Merlin wasn't even 10 meters into the inner city before she found herself, once again, walking straight into Arthur.

"Arthur! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention and-"

The start of Merlin's rambling was instantly cut off by Arthur's inability to filter between his mind and his mouth.

"You're a girl!" Then Arthur proceeded to pull her into an alleyway and shout whisper at Merlin to avoid attention. " YOU SAW ME NAKED, AND YOU'RE A GIRL! YOU WERE MY MANSERVANT, AND YOU'RE A GIRL! YOU LEFT WITH A CRYPTIC MESSAGE, AND DIDN'T FEEL THE NEED TO MENTION THAT YOU'RE A GIRL!"

"I think it has been well established that I'm a girl, Arthur."

"That's Prince Arthur or Sire to you, I hardly know you enough to "

"I've given you bathes Arthur, er, Sire if you must, I think we are past the formalities but have it your way. Now since I have conveniently received an audience with the highly esteemed prince, Ealdor needs Camelot's help."

Should I continue with this?