AN:

Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this story because I've literally spent a year on it! AJsRandom gets props for being my beta and doing my cover photo. You are a saint, thank you so much to her and dealing with my terrible punctuation and grammar :)

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The sun rose high into the middle of the light blue sky, not a single cloud could be seen in the vastness of the area above. The white tops of the jagged mountains in the east could barely be seen in the distance and the green hills of the west rolled in waves just like the sea.

A majestic castle stood regally in the middle of the grand setting, towering above it. The castle of Camelot was a mighty and powerful sight where anything was possible for the common man. Flags sporting the Pendragon crest stood tall and Knights marched through the kingdom as protectors of the people and keepers of the peace.

Inside the castle walls, past the guards, the knights and the flags the lower town bustled with people. The peasants of the lower town hurried their way through the market to get their hands on the freshest bread and the ripest fruit. Their children stayed at home not daring to leave despite the beauty of the day.

The shop owners bellowed and bantered as they sold both trinket and food to any passing person who took an interest in their wares. However, they gripped their money a little tighter and kept it out of sight from prying eyes and nimble fingers.

The nobles strode through the middle of the town smiling knowingly as the paupers bowed their heads in respect to their superiors. Yet their smiles would falter as they watched for movement in the narrow alleyways. Their servants and maids trailed behind them, heads permanently bent down signifying their obedience to their masters. However both master and servant feared the walk home tonight.

Every single person did what was expected of them every single day except one rebellious royal and her timid maidservant.

Morgana Pendragon, the Princess of Camelot, and Guinevere Leodegrance, her maidservant, strolled side by side, arm in arm, trading smiles and laughs like the best friends they were.

A ray of light cut through an opening in a silk curtain. A man peeked through and quietly snarled in disgust as he watched the Princess break propriety with a maid, the daughter of a blacksmith no less. It was unspeakable. A friendship forged with someone of the lower class taught them they could be equal to those above them –this could not be tolerated in his perfect world.

He let the curtain fall so the light was cut off, allowing darkness to consume the chamber once more. Shadows stopped any sort of feature from becoming obvious to anyone in the room who looked directly at him. A sly smile tugged at his lips as he watched the man who stood at the door. His arms lay behind his back and eyes never made contact. Only true obedience could be tolerated.

"Wait until the moon rises. That way Miss Leodegrance will be but another unfortunate murder in the night. The Princess will suspect nothing of an intervention." The underling nodded and left. The only sound heard was the door clicking shut. Silence fell.

He heard the other man in the room shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. "I do not think this would be wise." The man in shadow did not bother to suppress his chuckle at the pitiful sound of the once mighty man's voice.

"I assure you that this is the right choice; she has flaunted propriety and therefore her place in Camelot. She must learn such connections cannot be made." He smirked as he watched the red stone glow brightly around the man's neck.

Then, as if nothing happened at all, the other man continued to stare blankly at nothing.

Elsewhere, on the training fields, battalions of knights trained and sparred for the day they might be called to war. Sir Leon, Captain of the Guard peered across the training fields to see the very best of them all. Prince Arthur, an expert of the highest calibre in swordsmanship and other forms of combat. He calculated each blow and coordinated them to defeat his opponent in the quickest way possible..

"Arthur!" Leon called. He grinned with pride as Arthur floored yet another opponent. Leon had trained Arthur since he was just a boy and it didn't take long until Arthur had surpassed him.

"Sir Leon, what is it?" The Prince asked barely out of breath.

"I believe we should talk about the missing people sire, the children especially," he whispered. People had been disappearing for a very long time but only now had it become enough of a problem for King Uther and his personal advisor to take notice.

"I have a theory about that, Leon." Arthur sheathed his sword and turned to face him directly. "I think someone is trying to make a lot of money. Slaves will go for a good price, especially if they are healthy children." Leon winced slightly as he thought about all those children being put to work as labourers.

"With the recent thefts of precious jewellery that theory might just be correct. Unfortunately that would mean that the jewellery has been sold and the children taken out of the Kingdom and out of our jurisdiction." The Prince growled and swung at a punching bag.

Leon turned as something caught his eye. He quickly nudged his Prince to follow his gaze. Arthur watched in annoyance and worry as his sister and maidservant once again beat propriety with a big stick. "Damn it. She's going to get Gwen fired from her serving duties." The Prince jogged up to his sister and called her name.

Both Princess and servant turned upon hearing Morgana's name being yelled out. "Ah Arthur, how are you this fine morning? Oh and look, Gwen, he has managed to wear his armour the right way round today, aren't you all grown up now?" Morgana teased as she tugged on his cheek. Gwen did her best to cover a giggle which Arthur was grateful for.

"Oh hardy ha you are just so humorous," Arthur took a quick look around them before moving forward so they could hear him whisper. "Listen, I know that you two are close. But if our father, or worse, our uncle saw you anything could happen to Gwen." He had tried to warn them before about hiding their friendship but Morgana would not back down. He didn't know how Gwen coped with Morgana's stubbornness. He almost respected Gwen for it.

"Arthur, I do not care what father thinks and if he still wants to spend what little time he has with his daughter and son then he will not do anything to Gwen. As for Uncle Agravaine, he has no control over what I do. He is but a lord." With those sharp words his sister turned on her heel and stormed away. Gwen bowed and quickly left to catch up to her mistress.

"I hope Morgana is right about that, for Gwen's sake if not her own," Arthur muttered as he trudged back to the training fields. He felt rather defeated.

Meanwhile, the Princess and maid entered Morgana's chambers and she vented to her only true friend in Camelot. Whilst she mingled with the noble women of the court she found them all bland and boring. The worst part was that they were snobs and boot lickers who would do anything to elevate their own status.

"How dare he warn me about who I choose to be friends with? I mean why should I have to hide my best friend from the world? And as for my father, what can he do?" Morgana snarled as she paced angrily up and down her chambers.

Gwen smoothed out the sheets of her mistress's bed.

"As King, I believe he can do whatever he pleases," Gwen stated rather flatly.

Morgana sighed and sat in front of her vanity and threaded her fingers through her long black locks nervously. "Yes, but, he wouldn't do that. Would he Gwen?" Morgana looked at her pleadingly through the mirror.

"It is not my duty or place to know the King's mind." Gwen had dodged the question and Morgana didn't blame her. Neither actually wanted to know the answers to her questions.

"He never spends time with Arthur and me anymore. Instead, he sends his lap dog Agravaine to give us his excuses. They could be anything from paper-work concerning the Kingdom or sorcerers that need punishing. He just doesn't have time for his children." Morgana said. Gwen decided plat the Princess's hair and Morgana felt the tension slowly release as she completed each plat. She exhaled deeply.

"We can only hope that the King doesn't have time to persecute his daughter's maid." Morgana hummed in response as they lapsed into comfortable silence.

Morgana smiled slightly as she turned her head to see the plat which fell perfectly down her spine. "Have you heard anything of the young girl that dissapeared last week? Didn't you know her?" She didn't mean to pry but Gwen had been looking so glum lately.

"Her name was Abigail." Her maid recalled wistfully. "A sweet girl, only twelve last Samhain, but she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one has been found since it started a year ago. I doubt Abigail will be a different story." A stray tear ran down her smooth chocolate skin as Morgana brought her into a tight hug.

"Maybe it will change, one day is all it takes for everything to change Gwen. You just need hope." Morgana had begun to lose hope herself but she would not because to do so would mean giving up. Morgana refused to give up.

As the Princess consoled her friend a young man trekked through the forests that led to Camelot. His face appeared childlike, his sharp cheekbones stood out against the evening sun, and his ears made the boy look strangely like a mouse. His bag made of cow hide hung loosely off one shoulder and his right hand gripped a plain white staff. The boy stared in awe and amazement at the sheer magnificence of the castle. He grinned from cheek to cheek but decided he should make camp as the sun began to dip behind the hills in the west.

Once he collected his firewood, the young stranger looked around him quickly. Then all of a sudden, his eyes glowed like honey and flames sprung to life. The boy smiled in pride of his achievement before he sat in front of the fire to keep himself warm.

Unexpectedly, men on horses came out from behind the trees and bushes and circled the boy's little encampment. They wore dark clothing and had covered their faces. He knew they must be bandits.

"Give us whatever money you carry and you'll be spared." The leader, the boy assumed, got off of his horse and stood with his palm open waiting to receive his payment.

"I carry no money," The boy said plainly, not one bit fazed by the bandits that surrounded him.

"What's your name, boy?" One of the rougher ones growled out. He stepped off of his horse and his three compatriots followed, so now all five stood above him.

"Merlin," he stated simply.

"Well, Merlin, we'll have to take your possessions instead, including that staff of yours. It looks ever so fancy with its posh scripture." The bandit went to grab it but his hand hovered over the staff as if waiting for a reaction.

"I really wouldn't touch anything. Get back on your horses and leave whilst you still have the chance." The bandits completely missed the sincerity and deep seriousness in Merlin's voice as they laughed at his threats.

"I think I'll take my chances Merlin." The bandit tried to take the staff but as soon as his fingers brushed the staff Merlin's eyes shone a pure gold and the bandit flew backwards.

Before any of the bandits had the chance to unsheathe their swords Merlin called the staff in to his hand and used it to pole-vault to the leader, knocking him out cold. Swiftly Merlin twirled the staff around to hit another bandit in the stomach before moving it back around to knock him in the head. The other two bandits charged at him at once. Their swords were drawn but Merlin simply raised his hand. They both flew back and were immediately knocked unconscious.

Merlin ran speedily to the leader's horse and took out all of the bandit's possessions - which were no doubt all stolen - before he replaced them with his own. Whilst rummaging around the bandit's possessions, Merlin picked up a soft cloak, it was softer than his bed back at home and he marvelled at it. It was pitch black and something about it made him put it on and raise the hood over his head. It just felt right.

Merlin also slipped a few pouches of gold in the other side of the saddle before taking the saddles off the other horses and letting them escape into the forest.

With great haste Merlin leapt on to the horse before galloping rapidly through the dark forest towards the great city behind the tree line. He missed the two druids amongst the unconscious bandits who watched as the young sorcerer rode into the distance.

"The tides of destiny have been changed and Emrys is on a very different path." The younger-looking druid worriedly looked to his elder beside him

"Then we must hope that he makes his choices with accuracy and haste, for this path rests on Merlin's choice in the end." Then, just as the bandits began to regain consciousness, the two druids disappeared back into the woods.

Back in the castle Morgana sat up in her bed fidgeting a little with the lining of the covers. She hadn't had a nightmare for a while but her fear never once wavered because showed the strangest and scariest of things.

"Here you go milady." Gwen handed Morgana a vial of liquid which Gaius had prescribed for her since she'd come to the castle years ago. Sometimes it worked, other times it did not and those times Morgana wished it did. "Will there be anything else milady?" Her maidservant looked on worriedly but Morgana never enjoyed being fussed over, so she shook her head and declined.

"Gwen, you may return home now. Your father must hate me. I keep you in the castle till the late hours of the night. Go and be with him." Morgana sighed and tucked herself in.

"No, Morgana, he thinks you're a saint actually, treating me as well as you do." Gwen smiled down at the royal she called friend and bid her goodnight before she blew out the candle on the desk and quietly crept out the door.

The dark-skinned servant quietly travelled through the many hallways of the castle, nodding toward her fellow servants and maids whose masters and mistresses were not as lenient as her own.

Guinevere recalled the warning Prince Arthur had given her and Morgana. It made her increasingly concerned about her relationship with her mistress. She would love to continue being a friend to Morgana but with the King and Lord Agravaine around that seemed more dangerous than not. Many nobles did not like the closeness that the two of them shared but Morgana simply ignored them. Unfortunately her friend didn't seem to realise that Gwen didn't have the kind of protection she had as the Princess of Camelot.

As she stepped out of the castle, Gwen looked out into the night. The stars seemed especially beautiful and bright tonight, maybe it was a sign. She doubted it though. She offered tea to the knights who stood guard at the door and as always they declined for fear of looking lazy. She nodded understandingly and had almost turned away when she noticed a figure on a horse.

Almost no one arrived at Camelot at night but it was probably nobody important, at least, no one she would have to associate with. Gwen found herself in the company of her mistress or father most days but it never bothered her. She enjoyed her simple life; it felt just right for a simple girl.

Gwen knew better than to dawdle out in the open at night, especially these days. She moved briskly towards the hut she shared with her father, Tom the blacksmith. She could hear footsteps behind her and she hastily quickened her pace in fear of those who followed her.

Sweat had begun to cover her brow and her fingers became fidgety as she nervously tugged the lining of her dress. Her breath shuddered every so often and she made a silent prayer to anybody brave enough to help her. She heard heavy footsteps and leather rubbing against bodies in the silence of the night.

Suddenly a man with a horrible smirk sauntered from the shadows and blocked her path home. She turned to see three more men who all wore the same blood-curdling feature on their faces.

Gwen's hands shook as she realised what was about to happen to her. Tears fell freely from her eyes as they came closer and closer.

"Please don't hurt me," she pleaded but they didn't listen. One of them grabbed her arm and she screamed for help. A few people came out of their huts, but one look from her captors sent them back into the false safety of their homes.

"No! Gwen!" She heard her father yell. He ran outside and Gwen shouted for him to stop, to keep himself safe indoors. But before Tom could reach her, the other three men took to beating him non-stop. She cried out for them to stop but she lost her voice as she watched the man in front of her pull out a dagger. Gwen closed her eyes and thought of how she would be with her mother after this was all over.

"Leave them alone!" A male voice boomed. Her eyes flew open to see a person wearing a hooded cloak that he wore came around his sides and covered most of his body. Gwen stared in shock as the three men surrounded him and unsheathed their swords.

"You picked the wrong kind of people to pick a fight with, stranger," one of them spat out. The others chuckled darkly in agreement. The cloaked person stayed silent and only the faint sound of the wind could be heard.

All of a sudden, all three men tried to stab him but the cloaked man ducked only to whip out a staff from under his cloak and jab one of them in the stomach before moving behind him and readying his staff in front of him defensively.

"You'll regret that." The three of them said in unison but the stranger did not reply to their threat.

The biggest of the three charged at him whilst the other two moved to the side. Gwen looked on, worried, but still couldn't move with the dagger so close to her neck. The cloaked figure blocked a blow from the larger man, which momentarily knocked him off balance. He then blocked strikes from the other two before moving back further.

"You thought you could just come 'ere and stop us? Ha, you aren't as tough as I thought you was going to be." The three laughed in agreement whilst the cloaked man steadied himself on his staff.

Gwen watched as the hooded figure stood tall and she could just about see his knuckles whiten around his staff in the moonlight. Faster than she could comprehend, he struck one of them on the head and knocked him out. The staff spun in his hand and the last two men tried to strike at him but were disarmed instead. He quickly hit one of them in the stomach. Gwen cried out in warning but the figure turned to a fist in the face.

He dropped his staff and the two men quickly took to beating him. Gwen tried to cry out for him but the cold of the dagger was moving ever closer to her skin. The maid could only watch in horror as the two men hit him over and over whilst the cloaked man flailed and tried to cover himself.

"It's time you learn!" The man with the dagger shouted. "You don't cross us." His smirk made Gwen want to vomit.

Suddenly, the two men flew into a building and the hooded man stumbled back up. His staff sped into his hand without a word. She was fixated by his eyes though, such golden purity.

"Magic," she whispered.

Abruptly, Gwen's captor forced her to his chest. Before she could make a move, he brought his cold dagger to her throat. She dare not move for fear of being killed there and then.

"Listen 'ere, y- you." She allowed herself a smile at his stuttering. "I've got a job to do and the b- boss says that she has to die, so d- die she will. You understand? It's just business." The cloaked figure said nothing and Gwen almost thought he would simply nod his head and leave.

Just then, his eyes flared golden and Gwen felt heat rise from the handle of the dagger against her skin. The man dropped it and screamed out in pain. She twisted out of his grasp and ran to her father but not before she saw her saviour raise his hand. Her potential killer flew back through the air and landed with a thud on the ground.

"Gwen," her father managed to cough out. She leant down to help him back on his feet before she turned with the intent to thank the cloaked stranger only to find him gone.

Maybe Morgana was right, just one day could change everything. As she led her battered and bleeding father back inside their small hut, Gwen hoped that today was the day everything changed.