Warnings: AU story – will likely not follow the original episodes, FemMerlin (Don't like, please don't read), I have not decided on a pairing for Merlyn as of yet, but it will be explored throughout the fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or anything belonging to Merlin. I only own the plot, story, and pretty much anything you don't recognise from the original series.

As Merlyn made her way into her Kings chambers in the morning se was fully expecting him to be fast asleep in his bed. Spread out to cover the entire thing, as though the space would be stolen from him if not covered. She was, therefore, extremely surprised to find the King sat at his desk, glaring quite dangerously in her direction.

"You're late, Merlyn." He spat.

"No Arthur, you have simply arisen early. You can't blame me for that, you prat." She replied quickly. She could see that he was not in a good mood, but neither was she. And she was not going to take any of his crap. Not today. Today was the day that a year ago her brother was banished from Camelot. Mordred and her relationship was kept a secret for a long time. They themselves only knew as they could feel it, the moment they met, they knew that they were connected. After some research and a little magic, the truth finally came out. They were half siblings. It appears as though Balinor did not go directly into hiding after running from Ealdor…

"You should not speak back to your king Merlyn. It is not good etiquette for a young woman such as yourself. You will need to learn some decent manners before our trip."

"Trip? What trip?"

"We're going to Ea. Apparently quite recently the King died and his oldest son has taken up the throne and wishes to discuss a possible alliance. Merlyn's heart raced in her chest, pounding so hard she could almost not hear the words that left her mouth.

"Ea is a kingdom where magic is legal and… accepted, right?" She stuttered.

"Yes it is. But with a new king on the throne, that may change. Especially if a powerful alliance such as Camelot is on the table." Merlyn's hope died in her chest, leaving her with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes as she quickly turned away from her king.

"When do we leave?" She almost whispered.

"This afternoon. An escort shall be arriving shortly. The two of us, plus a few knights will be going. Leon, Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan." Merlyn simply nodded before dismissing herself to pack. Arthur didn't notice how quiet his hand-maiden had become. Nor did he notice the tears running down her face as she rushed from his chambers…

A group of 7 were gathered at the steps before the castle. 5 were dressed in full armour, already mounted upon 5 tall, strong horses. The knights all stood talking happily to the sixth member of the gathering.

"So, Merlyn, where is the Princess?" Gwaine called loudly. The bitter mood radiating from the sweet girl he spoke to was clearly not expected.

"How the hell should I know?! I'm not his mother. If you want to find him you can damn well do it yourself, I'm sick of running around after him." The poor knight almost fell from his horse as all of Merlyn's misplaced anger was directed towards him. Most of the others all seemed to laugh it off, only one seemed genuinely concerned about the small women stood to the side of our own steed. As she angrily looked around he caught her eye and with a sad smile and a small shrug it was as though the two knew exactly what was going on with each other. Lancelot simply nodded to her and looked up in time to see a dark yet familiar shape moving towards the group.

"Is that who I think it is?" Leon asked, sounding thoroughly confused.

"Yes it is." All six members of the gathering jumped as the voice spoke from behind them.

"Sire, we didn't notice you there." Leon spoke first. Arthur continued as though Leon had never spoken at all.

"Apparently our very own banished knight took refuge in Ea. He is here to act as our guide." Arthur spoke quickly, only a slight hint of bitterness in his voice. Merlyn whipped her head up to search for the approaching figure, and as he eyes landed on his tall frame she released the breath she hadn't even realised was held. Mordred. He's safe.

Thank you guys for reading this chapter, sorry it's slightly short but I think this is probably the best place to leave it for now. I hope you like it so far and leave a review and/or continue reading