A/N: This is the first fic I have started in a while, so apologies if it is a little rough around the edges. I'm posting it because I hate to have it just sit as a file in my folder, but this is more of a side-project for my own creative purposes than anything.

Future Fic: The time has come for Arthur to find out who he truly is and become the champion of Albion once again. But the key to finding and reuniting everyone comes in the form of a girl Merlin meets in a chance encounter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Merlin, Merlin, the BBC, or any of its affiliates. I only own Daria and this story.

Chapter One

Merlin sat at the local pub, hidden by the shadows at the table in the back corner where he always sat. A mug of ale sat in front of him, his eyes focused on the intricacy of the designs on it. It reminded him of something from home, something from when life was filled with friends and loneliness was something he couldn't imagine.

After around 1500 years, it was almost impossible to remember what life with companionship held. It wasn't that he hadn't had the opportunity for friendship, or dare he think it, love – it was moreso that after watching Gwen, Percival, Leon, and even Gaius grow old and die while he remained, he felt he couldn't handle it time and time again.

He had sought out the spirit of his father in the crystal caves many times after Arthur's death. Words of wisdom, warnings and explanations of things to come were revealed each time. The worst revelation he felt he had received was when he was told he would never age until Arthur returned to save Albion again.

Sighing, Merlin took a sip of his ale, and allowed his mind to float back into memories. He had seen it all – the world, ten times over. Moving from place to place as he used magic to make it appear he was aging, before disappearing somewhere else and starting again. His fingers and tongue itched to use some magic, to bring some reminder back of what was, but he knew he couldn't.

This world, the world with automobiles and plastic money, knew nothing of magic. It seemed Arthur's death had done more towards permanently eliminating magic than it had towards creating a world where both those with and without magic lived in unison.

He had tried to keep track of the druids, to keep some link to magic, but it was as if they had all vanished. He knew some had pledged their allegiance to Morgana, and had disappeared into hiding, but he didn't know what had happened to those who didn't. Some, he had found to be wiped out, but others were simply gone without a trace. He was, and would be completely alone for who knew how long.


Daria wiped the top of the bar dry, over and over again, staring at the young man in the shadows with a curious look on her face. Night after night she saw him there, sitting with an ale that he barely touched, staring at it as if it held all the secrets to the world. There was something that drew her to him, but she had yet to work up the nerve to speak to him.

"He's cute, huh?" said Jana, one of the other bartenders as she elbowed Daria. "Why don't you go talk to him, you've been staring at him every night for the last week."

Daria flushed slightly and pretended to busy herself with wiping the bar again. "I hadn't noticed – I just thought it was curious that he sits there without speaking to everyone every night." She paused and glanced back over at him. "Besides, I'm in England to focus on my studies, not on boys."

Jana threw back her head and laughed. "No-one ever said you can't have both." She took the cloth out of Daria's hands. "His name is Merlin," she said as she shoved Daria out from behind the counter. "Oh, and one more thing –"

Daria yelped slightly as she felt her hair-tie pulled out of her ponytail, followed by her long, brown hair being fluffed.

"Now you are ready – go girlie!"

Daria stumbled forward, not quite sure what to do. She had been watching him for weeks, since she started this job, but he had never noticed. Not that she took it personally – it seemed he never noticed anyone. In fact, he hardly even noticed Jana when he ordered his ale each night, which was surprising since every male in the place noticed Jana.

She took a deep breath and walked over.

"Everything okay with your drink?" she asked.

He had hardly noticed her approaching and was startled when she spoke to him. He glanced up at her for only a moment before looking back down at his mug. "Oh, uhm yes, it's fine thank you," he replied.

"Are you ever going to actually drink it?"

"Maybe one day," he smiled faintly.

She wondered if she should continue talking to him, or just leave. He didn't seem bothered by the conversation, just distant. He was young, maybe only a couple years older than herself, but his eyes seemed to hold many more years in them than he appeared. Wisdom, age and loneliness.

Emrys…..

It was like a whisper through her mind, and Daria blinked, unsure of where it had come from or what it was. Her blood tingled at the word, which sounded faint and distant, as if it were being spoken many years ago.

Merlin flinched, sensing something he hadn't felt in a long time. Somewhere in this very room, there was magic. It was faint, so very faint, but he could feel it. It had been just a flash. He looked up at the girl who had been speaking to him, and saw her gazing at him intently. Her eyes were a piercing blue, much like his own, or even Mordred's had been.

Not that piercing blue eyes were limited to those with magic, but there was something about them.

"Would you like to join me," he found himself asking, not entirely sure why.

The girl looked surprised, but nodded and sat down. "I'm Daria," she greeted.

"Merlin."

Daria smiled at him. "Tell me Merlin, why is it that you sit here, night after night, staring at your ale and looking as if you wished you were anywhere but here?"

Blinking, Merlin looked at her curiously. She was far blunter than the people who usually attempted to converse with him. Most simply made small talk before getting bored and wandering off.

"Everyone I know is far away from here," he replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. It wasn't entirely a lie. The far away, however, was more through time than distance.

Daria smiled sadly back at him. "I know the feeling," she said. "My friends and family are an entire ocean away."

She began fidgeting with a ring on her finger and Merlin glanced down, surprised at what he saw. The ring was old, ancient even – a faded brass, with a flat, round top instead of a stone, and the Druid triskele etched into it. He hadn't seen anything like it in a very long time.

Catching his gaze, Daria pulled it off and held the ring out to him. "Interested in Celtic symbols?" She asked. "It's a family heirloom. I don't know how old it is. But it's been passed down for at least over a hundred years. My mother said that her side of the family was once part of the Celts."

Merlin hesitated a moment before reaching out and touching the ring. The moment his skin came in contact with it, a female voice spoke crystal clear in his mind.

Emrys… The time has come.

He saw a flash of light and an image of Arthur. At least, it was Arthur, but not the one he knew. This Arthur was in modern-day clothing, mounted on a white horse with a cricket bat in his hand. He recognized the crest on his polo shirt, but couldn't quite place it.

Emrys… Arthur is waiting.

He dropped the ring on the table, a rush of emotions flowing over him. Arthur was alive – and his time had come. Albion's greatest need. But what? What was the need? There was nothing going on – the world had been at peace for the most part for over 60 years, and as far as he knew, there was no magic present.

"Are you okay?" Daria furrowed her brow in concern. Merlin had looked shocked the moment he touched the ring, and had dropped it instantly, paling as he did so.

"I'm—I'm sorry, I have to go." Merlin was flustered. He had to find out what was going on. He stood quickly and tilted his head in farewell to Daria before turning and walking as quickly as he could out of the pub.

Daria flushed, slightly embarrassed. She had no idea what she had said or done, or if it was even her who had caused it. Glancing around the room to make sure no-one else had noticed, she breathed a deep sigh of relief when everyone seemed enthralled in their own business.

The young man was so strange. Their encounter had been off-putting to say the least, yet she still felt drawn to him. She shook her head. Maybe she really did have a crush, and it was simply manifesting itself in this strange need to know more about him.

"Silly girl," she muttered. She reached for the ring, and as she touched it, she heard the voice again.

Help Emrys… it is your destiny.

Was she going crazy? The voice sounded exactly the same as before – distant and faint, as if from another time or place. She had to have imagined it. And who was Emrys?

She slid the ring back on her finger and stood up, grabbing the mug of ale before returning to the bar counter.

Emrys is our only hope…

The voice again. She looked around the room, wondering if anyone else could hear the voice, but no-one seemed to notice. Maybe she had eaten something funny earlier. She shook her head again, trying to clear the strange voice from her mind before returning to work.

Still, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that somehow, she had stumbled into something that would change her life forever.