Chapter One – The Dragon's Call - Arrival

No young woman, no matter how great, can know her destiny. She cannot glimpse her part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, she must live and learn. And so it will be for the young sorceress arriving at the gates of Camelot. A girl that will in time mother a legend. Her name...
...Merlin.


"Merlin?" someone called from outside the door. Her mother, Hunith, walked in with a backpack in one hand, some bread in the other one. "I've packed some more food for you, just to be on the safe side."

"Thank you," Merlin smiled softly at the older woman.

"Let me help you with that," Hunith said, motioning towards the piece of cloth her daughter was holding between her hands. Handing over the cloth, she held up her blue, slightly too big tunic so her mother could more easily get access to bind her breasts tightly.

That particular day had been planned for some time now – ever since Merlin's best friend, Will, had found out about her having magic. She knew her friend would never tell anyone, but how long would it take for someone else to figure it out – someone who might not be that nice about it? Though Ealdor wasn't the most magic-hating place in the lands, such practises were still heavily frowned upon. That was why she was now getting ready to leave.

Being a young girl – barely sixteen years of age – travelling alone so far along practically deserted roads could be dangerous. Because of this she would dress up as a boy, to keep any men she might meet along the way from getting any ideas by the sight of a lone and seemingly helpless young maiden walking along the road.

With the bindings in place, Hunith started to work on her girl's long, somewhat curled dark hair. She brushed it back and made a knot at the back of her neck, revealing her larger than average ears, which she had kept hidden behind her long tresses for years to escape the merciless teasing from the other children in the village.

When her hair was done, Merlin turned around to face her mother, who drew her into a warm and firm embrace. After pulling back, Hunith placed her palms on each of her daughter's cheeks and looked straight into her eyes.

"Now, you take care of yourself. Be careful with your magic, and try to stay out of trouble," she pleaded.

"I'll do my best," the young girl replied, putting on a brave face for her mother's sake and raising her hands to hold the ones on each side of her face.

A few moments later she grabbed her backpack and flung it over one of her shoulders.

"Here, take this as well," Hunith handed her a newly forged dagger. "Just in case."

"Thank you," Merlin said gratefully and placed the dagger in the belt keeping her almost black, manly breeches in place. "I'll send word as soon as I've reached Camelot and settled in."


The morning sun had just started rising in the horizon when Merlin made her way along the road over the hilltop, lighting up the castle in the distance in an ethereal glow. It truly was a magnificent sight, especially for a village girl who had never seen any buildings grander than old Bran's stable.

The journey from Ealdor to Camelot had been long and tiresome, but finally seeing her goal brought her new energy and a tired, but genuine smile to her face. In her hurry to finally reach the end of her journey, she managed to stumble over quite a few loose pebbles in the road, but never quite falling down.

When she entered the city walls she almost wished she had a few more heads, or at least eyes in her neck. With a grin so big it almost split her face in half, she whirled around for her blue eyes to be able to take in as much as possible of the sights greeting her. The streets were full of life. There was a markedplace where people – both the young and the old – were rushing in every which direction.

Distracted and in awe by her surroundings, she walked straight into a customer standing in front of one of the stalls, but even that couldn't put a damper on her good mood. Apologizing profusely, she helped the old woman pick up the basket she had made her drop by bumping into her.

"Don't worry, my child. I may not look like it these days, but I know how it is to be young and carefree," she said with her creaking old voice, before continuing down the road in the opposite direction.

Merlin was left staring after her, wondering what that was supposed to mean, but after a few moments she just shrugged her shoulders and continued on her own way.

Soon she arrived at a large open place filled with people that were not moving around, but rather seemed to be waiting for something. There was an eerie feeling hanging over the area, making her ever-present smile fade into nothing. Merlin made her way through the throng towards the centre of the square - accompanied by the sound of trumpets and drums - trying to figure out what was going on there to catch the attention of so many.

What she saw filled her entire being with dread. There, in the middle of the main square of the city was a platform where people gathered around, on top of it was something that reminded her strongly of the chopping block behind her mothers house in the village she left only a few days previously. This one, however, clearly wasn't used to something as practical and meaningful as chopping firewood, even though a large, bulky man wielding an axe was standing beside it. A pair of guards was manhandling some poor, scruffy-looking bloke towards it.

Merlin's eyes widened when her brain added up the indications of exactly what was about to happen. She hadn't ever really seen a man die before. Her mother had always made sure to shield her from as much as she could of the cruelties of the world. She certainly hadn't ever witnessed anything like an execution. She wasn't stupid, though, she knew such practices existed. Being the curious person she was infamous for back home, she went to ask the person next to her, but before she could utter a single word a strong, unwavering voice started speaking with twice the amount of authority the village elder of Ealdor could ever hope to muster up.

"Let this serve as a lesson to all." Merlin's gaze was pulled towards the source of the words. Standing tall and proud upon a balcony facing the crowd were an middle-aged man, clad in royal garbs in the red colour distinctive of Camelot, with a golden crown on top of his head, demanding the attention of his people.

"This man, Thomas James Collins, is judged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic."

Merlin bit her lip and swallowed nervously, waiting in suspense to hear what the man had done.

"I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death." The king inhaled deeply. "I pride myself as a fair and just king. But for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." The king of Camelot nodded to the guards, and they brought forth the prisoner and harshly put his head down on the block. The man with the axe proceeded ro lift it over his head, aiming for the kneeling man's neck.

Her eyes widened even further and her mouth fell open, her jaw going slack in shock. The man hadn't actually done anything! He was to be executed for planning to use magic. He could have been planning to use magic for evil, against the crown, but still. Why had her mother sent her here? Didn't she know about the law? How could the young sorceress be any safer here than she had been at home? Even back there she'd had trouble keeping her secret - prone to act without thinking as she was – how was she going to survive here, where they were actively searching out people like her to execute as examples?

The ominous sounds coming from the drums sent shivers of dread down her back, making her shudder and tighten her arms around her chest, hugging herself in an attempt to find some thread of comfort. There seemed to be a certain chill in the air as well, in the breeze that ruffled the leaves on the ground. King Uther raised his arm, signalling for the executioner to get ready to strike. The drums picked up their rythm, the silence spread over the crowd, the people holding their breath for a fellow citizen.

The mighty king's arm cut through the air, just like the arm that followed, ending with the horrible sound of metal forcing its way through flesh and bone, before meeting wood, marking the end of a man's life. There was a collective gasp from the audience as they turned their heads away, a few of them whispering a quiet prayer for the unfortunate man's soul, or perhaps the soul of the hateful king.

The head had barely stopped rolling when Uther continued his speech, like there had been no interruptions. "When I came to this land, this kingdom wa mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed form the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin," he stated and looked down upon his people with a tight-lipped expression that was probably trying to pass as a smile, yet somehow failing to do so.

People scattered about to leave the main square, when an awfully long and sorrowful wail pierced through the air. Everyone drew to the sides to reveal an old and wrinkled woman, crying out her heartache.

"There is only ine evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You killed my son!" The desperation was prominent in her voice, bringing forth Merlin's sympathetic side. When the old mother continued, her voice had hardened, letting everyone felt her anger and hatred towards the king. "But I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son," her voice broke at the end of the sentence.

"Seize her!" the king roared at the threat towards his only son and heir.

Before the guards had any time to react, the woman gripped her necklace in one hand and a whirlwind started whipping up dust around her, seeming to be controlled by her chanting. Soon she couldn't be seen behind all of it, and when the whirl of dust and smoke disappeared, so had the old witch.

The crowd was left with their jaws all the way down to their chests, fearful of the magic-hating king's reaction. Not wanting to stay behind and watch the king ordering a search for the witch, in addition to the way the body of the executed was surely to be treated, Merlin left to continue her search for the man her mother had told her to find. Apparently this man, Gaius, was her mother's uncle, but she could vaguely recall meeting him once a long time ago, and having him tell her he could be her uncle too. Not really knowing where to find the man, she gathered all the courage she could muster and strode up to a couple of red-clad, armour-wearing guards keeping watch at one of the doors into the great castle.

"Excuse me, where would I find Gaius, the-the court physician?" she stuttered to the one standing closest to her, not managing to appear as confident and nonchalant as she would have liked. The guard just grunted something unintelligible and waved his hand at the door behind him.

"Thank you," Merlin said and sent the man a grateful smile. Walking through the door she found herself at the bottom of a staircase spiraling up through the tower, and a sign on the wall told her she was on the right path for finding Gaius' residence. Of course i wouldn't find the sign until after I've asked for the way. She ascended the stairs at a slow pace, anticipating meeting the physician again after so many years. When she reached the top she found the door wide open, but knocked carefully anyway.

"Hello?" she called softly, peeking her head around the door, but not seeing anyone. Having a look around the quarters - taking in all the smells and the sight of various herbs and different coloured liquids, and walls covered with shelfs containing books as well as bottles of potions - she called out out again. "Gaius?"

Still she did not get any reply, but the young girl spotted an old white-haired man rummaging through books on the bookshelf on a balcony further up the wall. Trying to attract the attention of the court physician, Merlin cleared her throat loudly. Finally the older man noticed he had company, but at the same time he tripped and fell at the creaky old railing, which couldn't take the pressure and allowed him to fall backwards straight through, headed for the floor more than a man's height further down.

Automaticly Merlin slowed down time and quickly sent her eyes on a search through the room for something soft for the man to land on. Fixing her eyes upon a bed at the other end of the room, she mentally moved it into position beneath the physician frozen mid-fall, all the while her normally sky-blue eyes were glinting a deep amber. Then she started time again and let him fall and land safely on the cot, but the impact still left him winded. When he got his bearings back, he shot up to his feet and started shouting at her.

"What did you just do?" he exclaimed in equal parts anger and shock. There was also an underlying hint of confusion.

Merlin stammered and spluttered, trying to make up a quick – and hopefully believable – excuse, not wanting to end up beheaded on her first day in Camelot.
"Tell me!" Gaius demanded urgently.
Merlin hesitantly went with the first explanation that popped into her head. "I - I - I have no idea what happened."

But Gaius wasn't listening to her, being busy talking to himself. "If anyone had seen that..." he shook his head in exasperation.

"Er, no!" the dark-haired girl protested. "That – that was – that was nothing to do with me!" she denied hurriedly. "That – that was..."

She was saved from finishing that sentence – and most certainly making a complete fool of herself with some ridiculous excuse – by Gaius, who cut her off mid-sentence.

"I know what it was," like it was the most obvious thing. "I just want to know where you learned to do it!"

"Nowhere," she answered truthfully, but still a tad too quickly to be believable for someone who was already doubting her.

"So how is it you know magic?" the physician inquired, clearly not believing a word she was saying.

"I don't," she denied again, knowing already when the words left her mouth that this was not so truthful.

"Where did you study?" He took a step towards her, eyeing her suspiciously. "Answer me!" he barked.

Quite intimidated by the little old man, the sorceress didn't manage to keep her voice firm. "I – I've never studied magic or – or been taught."

"Are you lying to me?" There was a hint of threat in his tone of voice now.

"What do you want me to say?" she sighed in defeat.

"The truth," he said in a way that demanded a straight answer.

"I was born like this!" she shouted in frustation.

"That's impossible!" the man yelled at her, getting angry. "Now, boy, tell me the truth!"

She exhaled loudly to calm herself, before she realized exactly what he had just called her. "I'm not a boy, I'm a girl!" she exclaimed, feeling gravely insulted.

The aging physicians expression morphed into one of confusion. "Who are you?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh... I have this letter," she said while pulling her backpack from her shoulder and searching through it for the aforementioned letter. After finding what she was looking for all the way down at the bottom of the bag, she handed it to Gaius.

"I – I don't have my glasses," he said expectantly.

"I'm Merlin," she revealed brightly, giving him her widest smile.

"Hunith's daughter?" he asked with a spark of recognition in his eyes.

"Yes!" she replied eagerly.

Gaius furrowed his brows and acquired an expression of confusion yet again. "But you're not meant to be here 'till wednesday!"

"It is wednesday," she frowned and started to wonder whether it was her or him who hadn't kept track of the days right.

"Ah. Right, then. You better put your bag in there," he pointed towards a door directly opposite the one she arrived through. Merlin made her way across the floor, trying desperately not to stumble in the process. Before she went through the door she suddenly remembered something important, something that could mean life or death for a person like her.

"You – you won't say anyhting about..." she trailed off, leaving the half-finished sentence hanging in the air while gesturing towards the balcony with the broken railing and the bed now covered in pieces of wood.

"No," he replied firmly. "Although, Merlin, I should say thank you," he thanked her gratefully.

She smiled and went back to the task of finding her new room, when Gaius called for her one last time for the day. "Hey, Merlin? You're allowed to call me uncle Gaius, you know."

"Thank you, uncle Gaius," she added cheerfully, her smile stretching so wide it threatened to split her face in two. That smile was dangerously contagious, and her uncle couldn't have kept the grin off of his own face even if he wanted to – which he didn't.

She turned back to the door in front of her, entered, and ran the last few steps up to her own room. Her new bedchamber might not be very luxurious, but it was a lot more than she had ever known. There was a small bed, a bedside table and a cupboard in the corner. She set about unpacking the few items she had brought with her from home. It wasn't much, but it was a simple life living in a small village like Ealdor.


The dark of night spread like a blanket over the lands, bringing with it a peaceful silence. Merlin opened her window and admired the sight of Camelot, her chin situated on her folded hands on the windowsill. The city was swathed in darkness, a bright full-moon and the sparkling stars the only sources of illumination, the reflections glinting in the girl's eyes.

When her eyelids started to slip shut, she took a deep breath and closed the window. Fully clothed she instantly fell asleep on her bed, not even removing her boots.


AN: I'm really excited right now - I have never written anything this long before! *giving myself a pat on the back* I know this kind of story has been done plenty of times already, but I just wanted to give it a try myself. I have read several such stories, but I'll try not to steal anything from any them (if I do, just tell me).

Please let me know what you think! Anything - whether it's good or bad, or just telling me that you've read it. Constructive criticism will be welcomed with open arms!