All right, here's my newest MerlinFem Fanfiction. This one is set several years after Magic and Family. It's written from the point of view of Mackenzie Pendragon, Merlin and Arthur's youngest daughter. This one will be a little bit more intense than the first two. The first two were pretty lighthearted. This one has some more difficult trials that the characters have to go through.

MAY 1

I sat between my two sisters as my dad drove toward the bowling alley. I had my arms folded over my chest. I was sulking.

The bowling alley. Seriously.

"This is the lamest sixteenth birthday party in the history of sixteenth birthday parties," I grumbled. "Dad, why couldn't you let me and Maddie go to that new teen club? It's not like they have alcohol there or anything." I would have tried the puppy-dog face if he'd been looking at me.

Dad just sighed, apparently not wanting to argue with me again.

"Mackenzie," Mom said, putting her book in her lap to look at me. Mom was almost always reading. She was the biggest booknerd in the family. Maddie had totally inherited that from her. My twin and I had both inherited Mom's black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and magic. Though I'd decided to show my individuality recently by dying a large streak of my hair cobalt blue, and cutting it into a very choppy, uneven style, while Maddie kept hers shoulder-length. Harper got Dad's blonde hair, which hung nearly to her butt, and lightly tanned skin. Though her eyes were a blue that was right in between Mom's and Dad's.

"Your father and I already said no. A bunch of hormonal teenagers crammed into a dark space? Alcohol or not, that's a terrible idea."

"Whatever."

"Besides," Harper sneered, "who would you have gone with? You have no friends."

"Ugh!" I reached around Maddie and punched my oldest sister. Hard.

I was satisfied to see her wince and grip her arm, pulling out of my reach.

"Harper! Mackenzie!" Mom exclaimed, and suddenly, my hands folded neatly in my lap. I couldn't move them, though I certainly tried.

Great.

I hated my mother's magic sometimes. It was stronger than mine, so I couldn't break free of it. "Harper, that comment was uncalled for. Mackenzie, I've told you before not to hit your sister."

I tried to give some snarky remark, but no sound came out. She'd used her magic to keep me from talking, too. Sometimes, I wondered if the way that Mom used her magic on us could be considered child abuse. I'd never know, though, because who would I ask?

Yes, officer, I was wondering if it's considered child abuse if your mother uses magic to keep you from talking and moving…No, I don't have a history of mental illness in my family. Uh, why are you getting out a straightjacket?

Yeah, right.

Okay, I knew that my mother would never hurt me. I would be the first to admit that I deserved it when she did something like this. Mom didn't do it to hurt us. She did it to keep us from hurting each other. Harper and I didn't get along. We often resorted to hitting each other. Or I often resorted to hitting her. She wasn't usually able to hit me back.

But it just got so annoying, Mom's magic.

She didn't release me or Harper until we got to the bowling alley. As soon as I was able to, I launched myself out of the car and got away from my eighteen-year-old sister. Why couldn't she be like normal college students and move out already?

"It's the birthday girls!" I heard someone exclaim, and then Grandma Ygraine was pulling me and Maddie into a tight hug.

"Grandma, you're smothering me," I complained. I was not a fan of physical contact with anybody except my twin and my boyfriend.

She laughed, but she let go. She wrapped an arm around my twin's shoulder as we walked into the alley. Maddie, unlike me, liked human interaction.

Pretty much all of my family was already there. Harper had made us late, as usual, hogging the bathroom. As usual.

Grandpa Uther and Grandpa Balinor were talking to Great Uncle Gaius. Grandma Hunith, Aunt Morgana, and "Aunt" Guinevere were talking together, while Bethany and Callum chased each other around. "Uncle" Lancelot was reprimanding Samuel for something or other. Uncle Mordred was laughing at something that Daniel, Harper's obnoxious boyfriend, said.

I made my way to my own boyfriend, who sat at a booth with a plate of fries in front of him.

"Hey, Jon," I said, cuddling close. Jon was one of the cutest guys ever. He had super curly, dark brown hair and these amazing grey eyes. It was hard to tell that his eyes were actually grey, though. A lot of times they looked blue or green, depending on the light. His skin was smooth and lightly tanned. He wasn't much taller than me, which was nice because then we could easily kiss. And the best part was that he was a skater boy. Totally my type.

Jonathan wrapped his arms around me. "Hey, Mac. Did you decide what kind of car you wanted?"

I grinned. My dad was the CEO of Camelot Corporation, and he was rich. Not to mention the fact that my mom had published five bestseller novels in the past decade or so. We had a lot of money, and my parents had this tradition. On our sixteenth birthday, they got us a car of our choice. Harper had gotten a Ferrari FF, in cherry red, when she turned sixteen.

"Maddie chose a Ford Fusion. You know how she is. She's not real big into the flashy stuff. I'm getting a Chevy Silvarado High Country. Midnight blue. Chrome wheels. Oh, it's beautiful."

"Nice. Hey, I have something for you. Before it gets crazy in here."

He handed me a small piece of paper. I tried not to squeal as I read it. "A coupon for a tattoo?" I whispered. "How did you manage that? Don't I have to have parent permission since I'm under eighteen?"

He shrugged, smirking slightly. "I know a guy."

I put the coupon in my pocket before hugging him tightly. "Thank you. I love you."

"Love you, too. Which is actually why I have something else for you." He pulled out a small jewelry box. "It's not an engagement ring," he warned, opening the box. Inside was a thin golden band, twisted into the infinity symbol. Inside the words "always and forever" were engraved. "It's a promise ring. Someday, I'll replace it with the real thing. We're gonna be together forever, babe."

He kissed me, and slipped the ring onto my left hand, right where an engagement ring would go. "Forever," I agreed. We'd been dating for six months now, but I knew that Jon was the guy I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Being with him just felt right.

"Kenzie!" Dad called, ruining my totally perfect moment. "Come get your shoes."

I rolled my eyes. I had asked him last week to stop calling me Kenzie. How hard was it to say Mac instead? Seriously. But no, he refused because Mac was a "boy" name. So what? Like he hadn't always wanted a son.

"Dad," I said. "Don't call me Kenzie. Mac. I prefer Mac." I couldn't stop them from calling me Mackenzie, since it was my birth name, but I hated how girlie Kenzie sounded.

He scowled. "Mac is a boy name. You are not a boy, so I won't call you that."

I turned to my mother. "Mom, please talk some sense into him."

"Oh, Mac," Mom replied calmly. "You know how your father is. Stubborn as an ass." My parents didn't swear a lot. So it was always a bit of a surprise when they did. Especially Mom. "It's a miracle he hasn't grown matching ears and started braying like one, too." She sent Dad a sweet smile.

Dad shuddered, touching his ears. He glared at Mom. "I hate you," he muttered.

Her smile widened. "It's just a name, Arthur."

"Fine," he grumbled.

I had no idea what that was all about, but it was awesome.

Bethany is Lancelot and Gwen's daughter. She's eleven now. And Callum is Morgana and Mordred's son. He's ten. They hadn't been born yet when I finished Magic and Family. Morgana and Mordred only have the one son. They don't have any daughters.