Disclaimer - Just so you know, I don't own Merlin and I am using the characters merely for entertainment purposes.
I'm not sure about this story. It is my first Merlin story, in fact its the first Merlin story on this site! Whoop! But you know the saying 'First the worst...' well you and I will have to hope that is not true!
The stable was quiet and warm with a musty smell that came from the straw that was strewn across the stone floor. All that could be heard were the occasional quiet whinnies or a snort from one of the horses tied up in their spacious stalls. There were around seven animals in total in this private quarter; all magnificent thoroughbred beasts with shiny coats and strong muscles.
Rain hammered down, heavily, on the roof like a rhythmic drumbeat. The sound, although loud, was somehow relaxing and could easily lull you to sleep. It was dry inside the building; a perfect shelter from the terrible weather. Occasionally the howling wind would batter at the entrance but the heavy wooden door would hold steady; barely creaking. It was almost as if the stables had its own little tranquil world; a world entirely separate from outside.
Deep in the hay of the stall that belonged to his favourite horse laid a man. His eyes closed and his chest rising and falling to a steady rhythm. It was hard to tell whether he was asleep or awake. In this instance he was awake but lost in thought but it wasn't unusual for him to slumber in the safety of the stable. After all it was the only place he could sleep undisturbed and untroubled.
The large horse by his side shuffled slightly, kicking up a swirl of dust from the ground. This movement alerted the man and he open one eye to view the scene around him. The eye wandered lazily over the shiny, shoe studded hoof of his stallion and across the flagged stone floor, picking out the spider-web of cracks that had enveloped one slab in particular; cracks which were filled with blades of straw and grains of fodder.
Eventually the other eye followed the previous and opened slowly adjusting to the light of the stables that was being cast by flickering torches mounted on brackets well away from the flammable hay. That was one of the major problems with illuminating a stables, it was liable to go up in flames at any moment. You just had to be extra careful.
The man sat up and pushed back a stray hair that had fallen onto his forehead. He then ran the same hand through the rest of his blonde hair, mussing it even more than before. With a yawn he clambered stiffly to his feet and brushed down his tunic, dislodging any stray bits of hay that had found their way there. He would have to look presentable when he left the building; he was the King's son after all.
You may have guessed by now his name was Arthur Pendragon and he was eighteen years old. He was also my idol.
With a friendly pat on the flank of his trusted companion, the tall young man left the stall, not bothering to undo the latch but leaping gracefully over the low fence; landing cat-like on the balls of his feet, before striding out of the stables. I watched him go, immensely disappointed by his sudden departure. Usually he stayed much longer, all night even, but obviously he had something else to do.
A cold blast of air entered the cosy building upsetting several of the horses. I quickly stepped in to calm them down. Animals never did like storms and there was always a chance of them hurting themselves if not tended to. I stroked one horse's tense muzzle whilst whispering soft words in another's pert ear. That always soothed them. Then I stole out into the night, following the fast disappearing figure back into the castle.
Footsteps echoed noisily down the initially quiet corridor and I jerked back into a hidden alcove, aware that if I was seen in this part of the castle without reason I would be punished severely. Peering round the wall I caught sight of the back of Arthur's head, he was knocking on Morgana's bedchamber door. I felt an irrational feeling of hatred welling up inside of me; it made me feel sick.
The door opened and there was a hurried exchange of hushed words before the door was slammed shut. I heard a torrent of curses after that and realised that poor Arthur had been refused entrance. Good. A smug smile crept across my face. It was wrong of me to be pleased at the young prince's misfortune but it didn't matter; Morgana had turned him down – again. I could sleep easy tonight.
Morning came much more quickly than I anticipated. Warm rays of sun were already seeping through the cracks in the stable, bathing the ground in a pattern not dissimilar to that of a prison – black and white bars. However, that would not dampen my spirits. It was a new day in Camelot.
The first job of my day was to let the horses out into the paddock to allow them some exercise before they were used in any of the day's activities. Once they were gone I would begin the mucking out of the stalls, clearing away the mouldy hay and stagnant water. I never could understand how horses could make their quarters so disgusting in one night. After that was done I was given orders about which ones to tack up for what activities and so on. That involved catching the unruly beasts from their frolicking and trussing them up in the royal garb like turkeys on Christmas day. It was ridiculous they amount of decorative pieces they had to wear.
As soon as that was done the pace calmed down a bit and I was left to polish bits and repair saddles. Sometimes I would have to go on an errand to the blacksmith or the leather maker to fix something or other whether it was a horse's shoe or their reins.
However, by early afternoon I was free to do as I wanted. What I wanted usually involved visiting the castle in search of a certain Prince. Today I was so excited about seeing him, for reasons quite unknown, I did not look where I was going and crashed straight into a rather solid object. This object turned out to be a person.
"Whoa! Careful there," an amiable voice said, a chuckle on his surprised lips. I recognised the voice and looked up into the face of a young man. He had dark hair, the colour of a raven's feathers, and blues so bright and intense they could've been drops of the sky on a summer's day. That's what I always thought anyway. His name was Merlin, the Prince's most valued servant.
"So-sorry," I gasped.
"Emery isn't it?" he smiled crookedly, "The stable boy?"
At this point in the story you may be thinking 'what on earth?!' So let me explain my rather feminine tendencies. My name is Emery Talon and I am a fourteen year old Stable Boy; except I'm not actually a boy. Therefore I guess that makes that title null and void. I should be called Stable Girl, I suppose, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Plus, have you ever heard of a stable girl? Me neither and neither had they, (by they I mean the King and co) and if you look at it they still haven't considering they don't know I am a girl.
I bet you are confused now. I would be if I was in your position. Anyway, how about I start from the beginning? The reason I am where I am which is here in Camelot – if you get what I mean.
So, I was born to a carpenter and a washer woman, both of whom were poorly paid and could barely gather enough money to feed themselves let alone the growing family they were shortly to be producing. I guess I was their first, well first surviving babe, and I reckon it went all down hill from there. After me there were eight more all of whom needed feeding, clothing and caring for, something my mother could just not handle. And the worst thing of all was that we were all female. I'm sure my father wanted to hang himself by the ninth child.
It got to the point where my father turned to me and said, "Right, Emery, you are leaving home." To which I replied.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are, you are twelve years old and you are not welcome in my house anymore. Find your own life." Just like that he shunned me.
The next chapter of my life was pretty dire and I won't go into details. Let's just say I lived as a beggar and did anything I could for food. As you may know there aren't many jobs for woman out there let alone girls so I decided to do the only thing I could think of and turn myself into a boy.
I shaved off all my hair, back then my hair was a scraggly mess of rat's tails anyway infested with fleas and ticks so it didn't really matter – in fact it was more hygienic – and shed my tattered dress in favour of a tunic and trousers I stole from a washing line. Fortunately, my face was young and quite boyish so I didn't need to worry about that and my body was skinny and undeveloped so I didn't need to worry about breasts. Then my transformation was complete.
It was just a couple of days after my alteration that the King led a procession through the town with many of his men and servants all dressed in red uniforms. That was my first meeting with Arthur who sat high and straight backed on his horse looking like a god in my eyes, with the sun shining on his golden hair. Immediately I decided I would work for this man if it was the last thing I did.
And so that is how I ended up in Camelot Castle, working for a man that I adore but who thinks I am a mere stable lad with bad hair and no home. He permitted me to live in the stables because of that. Still, at least I get to see him everyday.
"Yes, I'm Emery," I nodded – it was really quite fortunate that Emery was a generic name otherwise I would've had to change it completely.
"Well, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Merlin asked, staring intently at my face. I blushed and looked away; did he not know what those eyes did to a woman? Even though he was not the complete object of my affections like Arthur, Merlin could still turn my insides to jelly with his mere gaze.
"Um….nowhere….got an errand in the town, have to…um…go!" I made to run off.
"I think you'll find the village is that way," Merlin laughed, grabbing my arm and spinning me in a circle. I gasped, my face turning the colour of a beetroot before I murmured my thanks and sprinted off like a frightened rabbit.
"Odd child," Merlin shook his head as he watched my retreating back.
So what do you think? Comments and critisim welcome. Though you have to excuse me if the characters of Merlin and Arthur are wrong because obviously they havent been on tv long so its hard to judge. Review please!