A/N: Hello, well, welcome to my very first Merlin fanfiction. I began watching the show Merlin, huh I can't even remember when, but it was a few years back when I was browsing Netflix. I finished the show in a few months time, and afterwards began browsing fanfiction because I was completely disappointed by how they decided to end the show. I recently decided to begin rewatching on a whim to alleviate the stress of final exams and a bunch of essays to keep my sanity, and this little plot bunny popped into my head. This will be a young!Merlin fic. I have this fascination with kid fics, and couldn't help wondering if Merlin had met Arthur at a different age and under different circumstances, would that change how Arthur approached things (*cough* magic *cough*)? This is my take on that.

Chapter One: The Offer

"Mother, I've finished-!" The boy stopped short at the back door of their small cottage ducking back as he saw the man's shadow, hulking and cruel, occupying the front door frame. Merlin dropped the basket of crops he held, his eyes flashing with a strange light as he fell to his hands and knees snaking backwards toward the open window pulling the somehow still-standing bin with him. His need to know what was happening was so great that he didn't even feel the usual pull of guilt that came from using his tricks to hear better.

"Where is it Hunith? I am not going to ask again!" The growl of the man's voice nearly sent Merlin sprawling backwards and if he hadn't been frozen with fear he just might have. For, leaning much too close to his dear mother, was Kanen. Kanen was a man who prided himself on his utter boorishness, and his high standing with Cenred which caused the king to turn a blind eye to his bullying. Rumor had it, according to Merlin's friend Will, that the king and the Brute (a nickname all the children were fond of using behind the man's back) were childhood mates, a thought that wasn't too far off as Merlin really pondered it.

"I'm not letting you take our food." Hunith said.

"Who said you had a choice Sweetheart?" Kanen grinned, all black and yellow teeth as he shoved his way through the door and began raiding their kitchen. "It's your duty to your king."

Merlin gasped biting down on his tongue to keep from being heard as his mother was pushed to the side like a rag doll.

"Cenred is no more a king than I am, stealing from the subjects he is supposed to protect!" Hunith cried.

Kanen shook his head. "Perhaps you should have considered my offer then." Kanen looked toward the window. Merlin could barely duck his head in time. "The lad needs a father, and you need to be able to feed your boy, do you not?"

"I will never marry you." Hunith spat at his feet causing Kanen to laugh.

"Just as well." He shrugged and opened the back door. Merlin struggled to his feet picking up the basket of crops, just before Kanen wrenched it from his grasp . "I'll give you time to consider your options."

"You…" Merlin's arms pinwheeled. "You great ox!"

Hunith pulled Merlin back slamming the door shut behind them as Kanen's laughter echoed in the distance. "Get in, and be quiet." She was breathing heavily as she peeked through the window.

"Mum," Merlin glanced up. "I…" Coughs wracked the boy's small frame as Hunith ran over tapping her son's back firmly. "Could handle 'im."

Hunith shook her head as tapping turned to rubbing gentle circles. Her son had been getting sicker and sicker, and at ten years of age, appeared as one much smaller than his age. Even the gift he had been granted did little. Without proper nourishment, she feared for his life. "No my boy. It's not your responsibility."

"You know I could! If you'd just let me. I knocked Wodsworth on his rump with a tree branch without even touching it. Will saw." Merlin persisted before being overtaken with another fit of coughing.

"Merlin!" Hunith gripped her son's shoulders. "You know how dangerous it is. I've told you. Even doing it in front of Will puts you in harm's way."

"No one else sees. They're all too dense." Merlin pouted. "And it's only tricks, nothing big."

"Tricks or not, you can't be seen using magic."

Merlin nodded. He could see he was scaring his mother. He didn't like seeing his mother scared. "I understand." He smiled. "I won't do anything."

"Good boy." Hunith went over to the stove where a meager bowl of broth, left from before Kanen's intrusion sat warming. She placed it in front of Merlin.

The boy squinched his eyes. "Why does the Brute get all our food?"

"I don't know." Hunith sighed. "But you mustn't talk that way."

"He is a Brute though." Merlin scooped up a spoonful. "You know it."

Hunith laughed. "I suppose he is."

Merlin stared. His mother was pretending to be amused, and perhaps she was, but the boy could tell something was bothering her. His mother hadn't been the same since he had fallen ill, always flurrying about in a constant state of worry. Kanen's more frequent intrusions hadn't helped, always taking what little crop they managed to secure from their land in the name of King Cenred, and always with the same offer.

Merlin feigned ignorance, but he knew. Will, being one whole year older than he, had told him as much a fortnight ago.

"So, has your Mum seen Kanen again?" Will held a blade of grass in between his fingertips, and at Merlin's shocked look tossed it in his best friend's face.

"I'm not sure." Merlin shook his head. "Mother sends me on errand more and more often. Doesn't like me seeing the Brute being a bully I think."

"Don't tell me you haven't heard the talk." The boy scowled in an entirely self-important way.

"What talk?" Merlin asked.

"Kanen wants to take your Mum as a bride. Stop folks blabbing about her and all."

Merlin pulled a handful of grass as his voice came out small. "What do they say?"

Will shook his head quickly. He'd said too much already. He didn't want to put things in his friend's head. "Forget it. It's not important."

"Don't be a prat Will. You brought it up." Merlin shoved Will in the shoulder. "What do they say?"

"You're sure?" Will said.

"Stop your shifting and tell me." Merlin huffed.

Will exhaled. "They… they say your mum can't raise you on her own. They say if she can't even afford to get you a proper doctor, she shouldn't be caring for you at all. That she should be married." He recited each item he'd heard as if he were reading the order for an execution. In a way it felt as though he was.

"That's… it isn't…" Merlin shook his head shutting his eyes to stop his anger from overwhelming him.

"That's why Kanen keeps asking your Mum to marry him."

"Mum hates Kanen, why would she…?"

"It's obvious you Dolt!" Will said putting an arm around his mate's shoulder.

"Lads, come inside! You'll catch your death of cold." Merlin's mother shouted from the doorway. As Merlin felt his mom's polishing cloth hit the back of his forehead in jest, Merlin could barely muster his usual smile. Whatever it took, he would make sure his mother didn't have to marry Kanen.

"Mum…" Merlin started to speak.

"Merlin…" Hunith replied in much the same tone with a smile, but seeing the seriousness on her son's face caused the smile to drop. "What is it Love?"

"Did Kanen ask again?"

Hunith's face changed, her brow creased and the frown grew more pronounced. Merlin could see she was trying to decide what to tell him. "You know he never asks. He just takes what he wants."

She thought Merlin meant the crops. Merlin shook his head. "I mean, did he ask you to marry him?"

Now it was Hunith's turn to choke. "Wh...where did you hear such a thing?"

Merlin shrugged. "People are talking."

Hunith sighed. "Oh my boy," She took his hand. "You shouldn't let it get to you."

"Will says you're considering it!" Merlin said. "He says you would even though you can't stand him, just to protect me!" Merlin felt himself shaking, his throat burned with the beginning of another bout of coughing.

His mother pursed her lips. What her son was reporting was true. Every time Kanen came to collect, he would sneer, mock, and then finally use her love for her son, to make a marriage to him seem like the only option. As she glanced at him, she felt herself actually considering Kanen's offer...request...order. She didn't know what it was, but William had been right about one thing. She wanted to protect Merlin, for he was her heart, the only thing she cared about in all this world, and if she had to face Kanen to do it, she would, whatever it took.

Hunith waited until Merlin was asleep, grabbing a stub of a candle, the one they had used that day. She would never waste a new candle on such a short task. She had yelled at Merlin countless times for the same offense as he read by candlelight. It had never taken her long to write letters, but as she stared at the parchment, she felt her throat closing. Was she really going to ask this of him? She hadn't seen him in years. She shook her head and pursed her lips dipping her quill in the inkwell before she lost her resolve. It had to be done before she spoke to Kanen at first light. She would ask William's mother to deliver the letter on her trip into Camelot, and her son would be safe.

A/N: So? What do you think? Any guesses as to who Hunith is writing to? What do you think Merlin is going to get into? What about Arthur?

Next Chapter: Hunith talks to Kanen, Arthur is introduced, and Merlin begins causing trouble.