"Once upon a time, there lived a King's Ward and a serving boy. The serving boy had a good, kind heart, and was liked by everyone in the castle — even the mean prince. The Princess had a good heart too, but she was constantly plagued with troubles — her nightmares, which were awful, and constant oppression by the evil King. The Princess hated the King with almost all of her heart, and she began to plot his death, for she knew that that was the only thing that would free her from her sadness.
Her first plan was to poison the evil king's food. It was quite a good plan, really — the poison was untraceable, and who on earth would suspect the king's loving ward? - but the serving boy walked in just as she was stealing the poison from the physician's chambers. He held no love for the King either, being oppressed by him himself (although not as much as the Ward) but he knew what was right, and killing was not. He told the Ward that, and she stormed out in a flurry of skirts.
The Ward's second plan was even better than her first. The King was delivered medicine every single day from some wound he had picked up in his younger days. It would not be totally out of character for the Ward to request to deliver it to him herself 'to give them time to bond,' and she could easily poison it. Again, the serving boy stopped this plan. He walked her from the physician's chambers to the king's chambers, because he 'desperately wanted to talk about flowers with her.' The Ward had no opportunity to spike the medicine, and she had to listen to the King for an hour before she was permitted to leave. She wasn't sure what she was most furious about.
The Ward had one final attempt. This time, she steered away from poison — she had had enough of being thwarted by the rather annoying serving boy. She decided that she would stab him whilst he was sleeping. Surely the serving boy couldn't monitor her every move?
Unfortunately for her, it seemed that he could.
"Boy," she hissed, glaring at him angrily, for she could not understand why he was doing this. "Why are you following me? Leave me alone. I'm not doing anything wrong."
The servant raised his eyebrow, and she glared harder. She could not believe she had once thought this servant friend — he was almost as annoying as the Prince!
"Why do you wish to kill the King, my lady?" He asked, for he did not know that she had magic.
"I do not wish for any such thing!" The Ward lied, backing away slightly. "That's treason you're speaking, boy - I'll have your head!" The servant continued staring at her, and the Ward growled. "I have magic. There. What are you going to do - tell the King? Good. I shall accompany you to his chambers."
The servant stared at her in shock, and the Ward backed away even further, wondering if she had made a big mistake. But the servant's face quickly stretched into a smile — the Ward just watched him confusedly.
"I shall not tell anyone of your magic, my lady." He promised. The Ward frowned — she did not understand this boy, whatsoever.
"Y-you won't? I mean. No. You won't. Good." She said, attempting not to sound too grateful. The boy was not her friend — he was merely a pest. "Well…goodnight then, boy. I expect I'll see you soon. Unfortunately."
As the Ward was walking away, the servant whispered something. He said it very quietly — the clacking of the Ward's heels almost drowned it out - but the Ward heard, and she turned around, her face contorting in shock and wonder.
For the servant had just revealed his greatest secret.
"You're - you're magical!" She exclaimed in shock.
"Why thank you." The servant replied nervously, pulling at one of his ears. The Ward blinked, and then laughed, hard, and soon the servant was laughing as well, and they put their arms around each other and strolled away from the King's chambers, whispering and chuckling, for once utterly content.
The King died in a plague merely 5 years later - 5 years, and the Ward had not attempted to kill him again once. She had had better things to do. She and the servant would huddle together in her chambers, over one candle — too scared to light more than one, in case someone came in and they were clearly visible — studying magic together. The servant's raw power beat the Ward's by far, but the Ward was a much quicker learner, and soon knew how to control her magic much better than he. Together, they were unstoppable. They defeated monsters, cured plagues, brought forth food during famines, all without the knowledge of others. For five long years, they had only each other. And after the old King died, and the Prince - no longer quite as annoying — became the new King, the first thing the Ward and the servant did was ask for permission to marry, for they had fallen in love with each other. The new King, realising just how happy they were together, allowed it, and the Ward and the servant lived happily forevermore, never killing, only using their magic for good."
Merlin closed the storybook, and smiled down at his daughter. She grinned back sleepily, her green eyes half closed, her black hair sprayed across her pillow, looking exactly like the tiny witch that she was.
"I love that story, daddy." She whispered hoarsely. "Tell it again?"
Merlin laughed. "Not for tonight, my darling. Hush now. Go to sleep." He put away the story book, kissed his daughter goodnight, and walked away.
"Daddy?" She called after him, yawning. "Who are the Ward and the servant? In real life?"
"They're…they're nobody. It's just a story, my love. Rest now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She replied disappointedly. Her eyes screwed shut, and a second later Merlin heard soft snoring.
"Just a story, eh?" Morgana chuckled as he gently closed the door behind him. Merlin rolled his eyes and kissed her.
"Well she's only six. Doesn't need to know that her Mummy was once a vicious killer." Morgana laughed, tiredly resting her head on her husband's shoulder.
"I don't regret it. I don't regret anything I did. Because if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have you, or her. And you two are just absolutely - "
" - Magical?" Merlin interrupted, grinning.
Morgana smiled. "Yes. Absolutely magical."