Disclaimer:I own nothing. At all. 'Cept maybe Beatrice and Samuel. Dang, why don't I own any good characters?

A Meeting

Merlin was not a happy boy. Not a happy boy at all. Hunith had forced him to go to the neighboring community of Camelot to plead the king for help on the farming of Ealdor. Bandits had been continuously ransacking the village, so they had no crops to bring forth. Seeing as all the other villagers were cowards, Hunith was sent to get help from the king. But the king couldn't care less about the village, so in a last ditch attempt, she decided to go to Camelot, to beg King Uther for help.

"Why can't I just use magic to make the crops grow?" Merlin asks, as Hunith drags him through the market. He couldn't understand why he couldn't just make it rain. He knew he could do it; last time he got in a fight he just made it rain, and Samuel (the mean kid who made fun of his ears) just pushed him in the mud and left.

"Merlin, don't say the M word" Hunith whispered.

"What M word? You mean magic?" Though already a gifted warlock, Merlin was only six harvesting seasons; he hadn't really learned how to spell yet.

"Yes" Hunith said distractedly, looking onto the crowd already gathered for a chance for the king's ear. She thought that she had arrived early enough to get a fairly good place in line, but apparently not. Hunith sighed, knowing that as such a young and hyper active boy, Merlin would never be able to stand in line for as long as the wait. He already was jumping up and down, trying to see if he could jump hard enough to crack the floor. "Why don't you look around the market for a while? When the crowd gets smaller, I'll call you. Remember to listen in for my- ahem- voice?" Merlin nodded, knowing that by "voice" she meant mind. "And if anyone gives you trouble, you can do magic. Just make sure it's not obvious." Merlin nodded more vigorously, before walking off. Hunith watched him for a bit longer before walking off.

Merlin was having a great time! He wasn't supposed to be using magic, but the market folk were just asking for it. He had already made two men trip and land in horse manure and another accidently grab a woman's butt!

He froze. Crap, I mean shoot! I forgot to make it so the link between mom and I was closed. She can hear everything I'm saying. Darn my pension for talking to myself! He shrugged. Ah well. Better close it off now. Bye, mommy! He knew somewhere his mother was yelling at whoever was in front of her right now. Poor sap.

Looking around for more victims, he spotted a girl wearing a forest green dress. Normally, his attention span would cause him to look away, but something about her drew him in. She had hair that was darker than even his, which was uncommon and sharp bone structure. He didn't know why, but she seemed almost sad to him. This didn't make sense, since her nanny was yelling at her. It's not like she had a sad expression on her face. She actually had a slight smirk on her lips and her head was tilted up in defiance. It seemed like it was something she did often. She seemed to have had enough of the nanny, so she started to walk away, throwing back a comment to the nanny. The nanny, mouth agape and face red with fury, walked away screaming "I quit!"

The girl, seeing that the nanny was gone, let the triumphant smile fall from her face.

Well I can't have that. Merlin thought. So he began to walk towards her.

Morgana was having an awful day. Actually that's not true. It was perfectly fine until she woke up. When she tried to put on her blue dress, it had a hole in it. And not one of those holes that you accidently make. No, it was an Arthur hole. So, she put on her green dress which (luckily) didn't have any holes in it. Good thing to, if it had, Arthur would have looked into his bed to find the one thing that scares him most. A list of chores, signed by Uther himself. He might still get one. Morgana also had to sit and watch another magic user burn. He was a young man with a child on the way. He wouldn't even be able to see the child. Just because of Uther's obsession with magic. She couldn't handle seeing another innocent die so, like a true professional , she held in her tears and ran.

And that's how she ended up here; with her Nanny Beatrice, yelling at her. "You're lucky you're not my kid, or I would slap you. Just because you're the king's ward, doesn't mean you can just run out of an execution. You should be thankful that you have the privilege of sitting next to such a handsome and noble king." Beatrice states, dreamily.

Morgana, having been tuning out most of what Beatrice was saying, turned and walked away. "Oh, and Beatrice? Next time you sneak out of Uther's bed, try to be quieter." Morgana smirked, knowing she had won. But that satisfaction only lasted a little while, before the sad and loneliness crept in. At least until she heard a small "Hi." behind her. She turned to see a boy with a disarray of hair and the most astonishing eyes. Azure with flecks of gold.

When the girl turned, Merlin said the first thing that popped into his head. "Hi, I'm Merlin. Why are you sad?"

Morgana was shocked. Usually, when she was out in the market, people parted. No one had ever walked up to her. Especially not to ask such a blunt question. It took her a moment to gather herself. "I am the Lady Morgana. You should not ask questions like that to a lady of court."

It took a moment for him to reply. "I'm sorry. It's just you looked so sad. I thought I should try to cheer you up. You have the most wondrous eyes. " Merlin was not lying. Her eyes were the lightest shade of green he had ever seen and they had flecks of light in them.

Morgana blushed. "Thank you. Yours are quite astounding too. Are you from around here?"

Merlin shook his head. "My mother is here to appeal to the king. Our village, Ealdor, is having our crops stolen from us. She's hoping he will be willing to help us."

"I'm sorry. Would you like to play with me? I've never met anyone like you. You treat me as an equal. That's rare for me." Morgana chuckles, "You're lucky it's me you met and not anyone else in my station. They would put you in the stocks for even talking to them."

Merlin scrunches his nose. "That sounds rather prattish to me." Morgana laughs. "But yeah, I would like to play with you. Just wait a – Merlin! It's time for our audience with the king. Merlin sighed. "I can't. My mother's waiting for me. But here. I have something for you. To make you happy."

Merlin turned around.

Morgana was just about to ask what it was that he was doing when Merlin faced her again. In the palm of his hand, was a ring. The ring had a heart clasped between two hands and a crown perched on top. The heart was the exact color of Merlin's eyes, right down to the flecks of gold. "When you're sad, just hold the ring. It's a Claddagh ring. I saw some men in my village give them to women. Don't worry about out growing it. I made it so it always fits your finger." He gently puts it on her finger."I have to go now." Merlin began to walk away.

"Merlin, wait!" He turned.

She took off the handkerchief she had used to keep her dress from flowing too freely. "Here," She reached around so that she could tie it to his neck. As she let go, she let her lips brush against his cheek. "To remember me bye." Letting go completely, she ran off.

Merlin stood there for a moment, holding the cheek she kissed, before running off to his mother.

"Merlin, what took you so long?" Hunith asked as he came up. "Never mind. What did you get up to, other than what I already saw?"

Merlin thought for a moment, hand still resting on his cheek. "Nothing you would find interesting."

Yeah, I know they don't sound very child like. Well at least Morgana doesn't, but I did my best.

I might add another chapter that has to do with the ring. If you know what a Claddagh ring is used for, you'll know why. But for now it's finished.

I used a ring because Morgana always has some type of jewelry on and the handkerchief is the one Merlin always wears. Even if he wears different colored ones , it's always the same hanky. That's what magics for, people.