It was in the middle of one of the darkest nights in Camelot, a night of October, frighteningly close to all Hallows eve, and thus the trees outside were almost bare, the harvest almost over, and the winter, very close, as the wind seemed to suggest, freezing cold as it was, going straight to a persons bones.
The bitter wind clashed against the castle and made the old stones squeak and the little holes whistle almost sounding like ghastly ghost screams.
It was cold and dark, every-one but the guards were a sleep at this late hour, as the full moon shone brightly, and lithe up the city..
Every-one but the guards, and the young boy who sat in the middle of the physicians work shop, at the table, surrounded by papers, books, remedies and all those things that belonged in a physicians workshop.
All though as he sat there he didn't particularly looked that young, neither foolish or immature, as was what people often had come to connect him with; clumsy, awkward and immature.
None of that was apparent right now.
He just sat there, on the wooden chair, completely still with a frown on his young face, starring at the little flame of the white candle wax, his hands folded firmly, his eyes so very serious, and his mind obviously far away, at a dark serious place.
"Merlin?" an older voice cut across the room. "What on earth are you doing up at this hour." Gaius asked from the door way that lead to his own little bed room.
For some moments Merlin didn't move, nothing indicated that he had even discovered that Gauis was there.
Gauis blinked, looking oddly at his special apprentice, for a special apprentice Merlin was indeed, nothing about him was ordinary.
And then at last Merlins eyes moved and looked up at Gauis. "To sleep would be impossible for me right now." He responded in a very matter of fact kind of voice.
"And why would that be Merlin?" Gaius asked as he yawned stepping closer. "You worked yourself pretty well yesterday, and I have plenty of chores for you tomorrow, as well does Arthur if I know him right, so by all means, if you want to be picked fun of tomorrow for being clumsy and lazy on the job, go ahead, I wouldn't advice it how-ever. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you decided not to sleep."
What would normally have happened was that Merlin would have retorted or at least smiled, his nature was that of a trickster, enjoying to provoke and tease those around him, whether they were royal or just farmers, whether it was his close friends or complete strangers, Merlin loved to tease and mess around with every-body, and if he were destined to become the greatest warlock there ever was, Gaius could only dread what kind of trickster he would become as well. But Merlin was not in his trickster mood right now, and that was a bad sign, instead of smiling and retorting, Merlin frowned as his head finally moved and looked directly at Gaius. "Don't you fell it?" he asked. "Sense it? It's like the entire world is shuttering, and it goes directly to my bones."
Gaius shrugged. "I don't fell anything special, other than that it's the middle of the night, and that I am tired." He told honestly.
"It rings in my ear, and it's giving me a head ache." Merlin continued as he frowned seriously. "My heart is racing and my body is shaking simply because of it."
"Because of what?" Gaius asked, now also frowning.
"The wind of change." Merlin responded. "A lot of changes, big changes, changes that will affect everything, the country, the future, but mostly the people at this place, at Camelot."
"And when." Gaiuas frowned as he sat down in front of Merlin, at the opposite side of the little table. "Do you suppose such big changes will take place?" he asked.
"Soon." Merlin responded in a silent voice, that yet clearly cut through the space between them. "Very soon."
"What kind of changes, may I ask." Gaius then asked looking seriously at Merlin.
"Seeing the future is not my thing, it's Morgana's, you know that." Merlin responded honestly. "I don't know what it is, I don't know when it's going to happen, if it's tomorrow or in a week, but it's going to happen, and very soon." He frowned even deeper as his eyes turned to the flame at the candle ones more, funny how his eyes seemed genuinely orange in the candle light as he starred. "Thankfully I all ready know my destiny, so that will guide me, though the destinations are still unknown to me, that is the future."
Gaius frowned, looking out in the air as he thought for a bit, Merlin not only did not look like his bumbling self, he did not talk like it, he was talking as the outer worldly warlog that he was and then Gaius eyes returned to Merlin. "All the better reason to get some rest wouldn't you say?" he asked.
"I told you I can't." Merlin responded. "Honestly I wish I could, but I can't."
"Why don't you at least try?" Gaius asked as he stood up. "After all, it's better just to go along as if nothing is different, so I can't really go easy on you, and I am certain neither will Arthur."
"His day is coming Gaius, it's all ready been long overdue, that the change fells so great.. it can only mean one thing." Merlin responded in a louder more serious voice.
"Well yeas perhaps Merlin." Gaius turned around in the door. "But when we don't know where it comes from what can we do to prevent it?" he asked. "If you really must, take one of my sleeping draughts, you know where they are, but for pities sake, get some sleep boy."
And at that, at last that smirk was back on Merlins face as he amused chuckled for himself. "Boy?" Merlin asked amused. "You're the only one calling me boy any longer."
"And I will continue to my dying day, even if I life to see you become hunched, gray and wrinkled with a long white beard to match." Gaius responded flatly. "In my eyes, you'll always be that bumbling troublesome boy who stumbled around the castle not able to figure what was up and what was down, and don't you forget that."
"It's good to know." Merlin responded in a smile.
But as Gaius was gone back to bed, Merlins face had long since returned to its frown as he starred at the little candle. "Boy?" he asked himself in a whisper and then blinked one single time, which magically turned out the candle. "Oh do I wish." He mumbled standing up to try and take his mentors advice, and at least try to capture a few hours of sleep.
Merlin though, was still in that mood in the morning as he began his routine, which was first carrying up the food to his prince, somehow Merlin couldn't help but think that one day he would surely be well above these kinds of chores, he was meant for something quite different, something a little more dignified, which didn't course him to smell of horse every other day, as he saw Arthur laying on his stomach in his big royal goose feather and silk bed taking a snooze, the side inside of Merlin that always longed for trouble just irked uncontrollable, to teach that royal arse a lesson, to just lay there all morning when Merlin himself was forced to scrub a cauldron in half an hour, determined to teach the prince a lesson Merlin eyed the window, and smiled to himself by the sight of the sparse snow that had fallen doing the late night of October, it would probably melt within minutes.
Hurrying Merlin went for the window and opened it, to collect what-ever snow he could in his hands, then with a big childish grin on his face, he tiptoed over to Arthur, still laying looking just as lazy in the royal bed,to plummet the snow down on Arthurs neck.
With a big shriek Arthurs eyes opened wide as he sat up and moved his hands to his neck. "What's happening? Get it off!" he yelled sounding genuinely scared.
"Look, the first snow of the year has fallen!" Merlin pointed out at the window with a big grin plastered on his face.
Suddenly Arthurs faced turned dark as his eyes turned to Merlin, and a sneer playing on his lips. "You." He hissed in a dangerous tone.
"Me?" Merlin asked sounding like he was genuinely surprised as he pointed at himself. "What are you accusing me for now?" he asked.
"This for instance!" Arthur held up what little water and snow there was left.
"Oh that." Merlin nodded. "Did you see it has been snowing?" he asked again, still looking as an idiot as he stood there with that grin that made so many people cringe, plastered all over his face.
"Merlin are you ever going to grow up?" Arhtur asked shaking his hand which was now purely wet from water of the melted snow.
"No I don't think so." Merlin shrugged none careringly. "Breakfast your highness?" he asked holding up the little tray before putting it down again on the table and went for the closet. "So what are you planning today? Sword practise, hunting or the more formal?" he asked sorting through the clothes trying to determine what to lie out."
"I'll start the day with some sword practise." Arthur stated. "Have formal wear ready for the afternoon."
"So more acting like a brute around the court yard?" Merlin asked finding the white practical torso needed.
"You know I should fire you for comments like that." Arthur responded as he sat down with his food.
"Yeah, but you wont, so stop pretending otherwise." Merlin shrugged coming with the clothes to lay it on the chair before heading to the bed to make it up.
"Why not, you must be the worst servant in history." Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Keep telling yourself that." Merlin absent-mindedly responded as he shoke up the pillow. "Something tells me history will remember me as the most valuable servant there ever was." He chuckled to himself.
"Oh really?" Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeas really." Merlin blinked laying the covers neatly on top of the bed.
"Well that must be put to the test then." Arthur responded in a pleasant voice. "Please make sure my armour is polished, my room moped, my pants fixed, my horse shoes changed, my sword milled and my shield tempered before the end of the day, thank you that will be all trusty servant."
With each chore Merlins face faltered an exstra turn, before he mumbled. "Yeas… sire.." and to Arthurs great satisfaction, walked kind of hunched towards the door, only to there turn around. "Weren't your horse shoed last month?" he asked. "And I seem to recall I milled your sword last week."
"Just do it Merlin." Arthur sighed.
"Is there any reason?" Merlin asked seriously.
"It's just a feeling I have." Arthur muttered sourly. "Something just tells me it would be a really good idea to have my horse freshly shoed and my sword milled sharp, so just do it okay?"
"Well, your premonitions may just be justified." Merlin hesitated. "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything is in finest order, your sword shall be sharper than ever sire." And he bowed his head slightly before vanishing through the door.
Leaving Arthur blinking. "What did he mean by that?" he asked to himself, and then sighed poking to his food, his most trusted servant and friend, just made so little sense from time to time, you just never knew where you had him.
From his window, Merlin had full view over the court yard, he could see the knights practise, how they swung with their swords and fell down on their knees, Arthur of cause, was the best fighter of them all, making the older knights fall on the ground, over and over.
"You really have time for gazing?" an amused man asked Merlin.
"Sir Percival." Merlin greeted pleasantly without even turning around. "What are you doing all the way up here, shouldn't you be down there."
"I was on my way." Percival promised. "Just needed to finish some early business, so, you really have time for gazing? Should I tell Arthur?"
"You may." Merlin nodded, still without looking at Percival at all. "Something tells me it's not going to matter that much that quickly."
"What do you mean?" Percival asked.
"Look." Merlin stretched out an arm and pointed to the horizon.
Lifting an eyebrow Percival looked oddly at Merlin and then took a step to look at the appointed destination, and over the hill came.. people, many people, more than a town, of dirty ill looking people, going very surely in the direction of Camelot. "I wonder what's happening." he commented.
"Look at their faces." Merlin replied. "Of cause they are scared, but more than that, they look angry, these people come in anger, that's different from what we have faced before."
Percival swallowed. "We'll better alert the king." He stated.
"And Arthur." Merlin injected as he finally turned around. "I'll run down get him."
"Good." Percival responded, and quickly the two started walking side by side. "You know Merlin."
"Yeas." Merlin responded.
"There's something really weird about you." Percival stated.
Merlin shrugged. "Is there?" he asked. "Well, if you find a word more specific than just weird, remember to tell me." He smiled mischievously.
And Percival was left to blink, as him and Merlin parted ways, still looking like a man trying to figure out what had just happened in front of him.
"So." Uther spoke as he sat on his throne in his big throne room, Arthur by his side, at always, and Merlin by Arthur's side, also as always. "What brought you here?" the king spoke to his people.
The people in front of him, standing looking very pathetic in the big room, surrounded by nights, looked angrily back at Uther. "We are from each our village and we want to speak our case." a man spoke as he took a step ford, his looked like your usual calm farmer, with pleasant eyes and a round stomach, but right now he looked annoyed.
"And that is your right." Uthor nodded. "I am here, for you, the people, don't ever think otherwise."
"Oh good." The man responded crossing his arms. "Then listen, Uther my lord and king, as I grew up as a lad, there was one thing my mother kept reminding me off, don't ever upset the spirits or the outer worldly, they'll have their way of returning the favour." and he lifted an accusing finger at Uthor. "For years now, you have done nothing but upsetting the spirits, and who's to pay?" he asked. "US! all of us! our villages have been attacked more and more frequently, by monsters, and ghouls, and spirits! You have cursed all of England with your fear!"
"If your village was attacked, I will send my men to deal with it, at ones even." Uther assured.
"And do what?" A woman asked as she stepped ford. "Kill whom-ever you think perhaps had something to do with it?" she asked. "My daughter, she was special, very special, and because of that, you killed her! you're a cursed man." she spat.
"Over and over!" a younger man stepped ford among them. "I was here, I saw it when Dracoon cursed this land, swearing revenge, because he was angry, because you had hunted down his kind." he accused Uthor.
Merlin frowned slightly by the mention of his old alter ego, but kept his stern eyes on the scenery.
"Magic, is evil." Uthor stated grimly.
"Magic is a part of this world, of the forest." the first men argued. "You can't get rid of it, ever."
"You are out of line." Uthor made aware. "I can have you all thrown in prison in a minutes notice."
"Father." Arthur cut in.
"No Arthur." Uther responded. "It is clear, it may be harsh but it must be done, Magic must be fought, you've seen the harm it's done Arthur, all the bad things which happened to Camelot, it happened because of magic."
"Because you upset it." the man, the leader of the group spoke. "But we all ready knew you wouldn't listen, Uthor King, we just came here to tell you." he gestured at the rest. "We represent each our village, and we don't want you as king."
Suddenly there was stunned silence, the knights blinked, Arthur looked wide-eyed at the farmer. "Don't what?" he asked.
"That's treason." Uthor stood up. "Guards!" he held up a hand, and all the knights pulled their sword.
"So putting us in prison now?" the man asked. "Why is that not a surprise?" he asked. "And what about our families, our villages? you are going to take them away to? suddenly there's no one left to rule sire."
"You're saying the entire people is revolvting against me?" Uther asked.
The man was silent for a while, and then looked directly at Uther. "Yeas." he answered. "That's what exactly what I am saying, it has all ready begun."
"You are talking treason." Uther spoke. "And I cannot let that go unpunished, how-ever, as a sign of good will and that I mean you no harm, I will merely shortly imprison you, and then send you back to your families, I am here to protect you, I only wish that you let me."
And at that the man spat at Uther.
"Very unwise." Uther said in a lower voice. "But I will prove I am the better man, take them away." he nodded at the guards, who grabbed all the villagers and dragged them away.
Darkly Merlin looked at the scenery, the feeling of dread growing in his chest.
Arthur was obviously filled with furiouse energi as he walked back and ford in his room, Merlin as his witness simply sitting in a chair as he was sewing Arthurs pants.
"Can you believe this?" Arthur asked.
"Yeas I can." Merlin responded making another sting.
Apparently Arthur hadn't heard Merlin at all as he just continued ranting. "Treason? After all father has done for them?"
"Arthur." Merlin interrupted.
"Those ungreateful peasents."
"Arthur." Merlin spoke a little louder.
"Who do they think they are? Surely."
"ARTHUR!" Merlin yelled, actually making Arthur stop and look stunned at Merlin. "Arthur you are sounding like the little prat I first met when I first came to Camalot, not the king and leader I came to know the last couple of years." Merlin made aware before he leaned forward and bit the string over. "Quite frankly I thought that prat had been gone a long time, I'm very sad to be proven wrong."
Arthur blinked, to say it mildly, stunned, as he gaped at Merlin, who just as calmly as before folded together the pants, as if nothing had happened. "So I suppose you have nothing to say about this?" Arthur asked.
"Oh come on sire." Merlin rolled his eyes. "This has been going on beneath the surface for a long time, you must know that." he responded. "Nothing but catastrophe after catastrophe has happened to Camelot, ever since I came, many of those catastrophes only to easily connected with Uther, people are afraid, and they are tired, they have been revolting silently for a long time, magical people have been hiding in fear, and fear turns people dangerose, desperate, ready to do anything to be able to strike out at the common enemy.. Uthor, and the times the magical people have stricken, each time a little stronger a little more desperate I may add, the people are the ones caught in the cross fire." Merlin snorted as he was neatly packing his things away in the sewing kit. "And I really shouldn't have to tell you all of that, you must know."
"Merlin you are talking treason." Arthur exclaimed.
"How?" Merlin asked as he stood up. "Arthur, can you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't know that is how it is?"
"I don't need this." Arthur turned around, avoiding the eyes.
"Uthers ways are self destructive Arthur! they always were, don't deny it." Merlin spoke to Arthurs back.
Arthur twirled around looking at Merlin with genuinly mad eyes. "My father, loves his people, all he wants to do is to protect them."
"Yeas he does, but his own love have blinded him." Merlin responded. "Hate love, Love hate, it's the driving forces of Uther, it's the doom of Uther, without reason, those things destroys, there is only one way to go from here, he wont be able to sit on the throne for much longer, he must go."
Arthur laughed dryly. "What are you suggesting, that I kill my father?" he asked.
"No." Merlin shook his head. "History will just see it as another slaughtering, a son killing his father in the pursue of power, that is not the way." her looked seriously at Arthur. "But perhaps it's time to take a stand, Arthur Pendragon, you have fought for your own beliefs in secret, perhaps it's time to come out in the open, and do it now, before Camelot falls and the family of Pendragon is driven out, it will happen, it's been cooking for years."
"I don't need to listen to this." Arthur hissed. "I'm the crown prince, I have previously acted as king an entire year."
"And why, because your father was heart broken?" Merlin asked. "Because Morgana turned against him, Morgana turned against him because she was scared, because of how he rules his kingdom, with fear, of magic. Giving magical people a reason to fear him, Your father created the black witch, and she have all ready killed so many in the pursue of revenge."
"And since when have you become such an wise expert?" Arthur yelled. "You're a man servant for crying out loud."
"Why do you listen to me then?" Merlin asked in a shrug. "Arthur, I am with you not against you, what-ever you chose, I am behind you, even when I don't agree I'm behind you, because you are my leader, and I trust you, I trust the king I've came to know over the years, so be that king." he sighed deeply. "Don't turn into that prat that uses servants as target practise just to show off and feel on top." he spoke as he reached the door and slowly opened it.
"Merlin." Arthur sighed deeply. "What has come over you?" he asked.
Slowly Merlin head turned around, and his eyes meet Arthur's, then suddenly Merlin cracked a mischievous smile, completely altering his entire presence, from that of person of wisdom far exceeding his age, into that of a boyish bumbling fool who was never worth taking seriously. "I have no idea!" he smiled sweetly. "What-ever could you be talking about your royal prattyness?" he asked, before closing the door, effectively separating him from Arthur.
AN; yeah, this is my first time trying to write a Merlin fic.
And well, I like the show, but there is a lot of things that frustrates me about it to, yet I keep watching because I like the universe and characters so much, this is just me trying to write what I fell like should happen next, if I could have just one wish with the show, I so just want it to move forward, but it probably wont, perhaps rewrites will happen now and then, I now where I am going, but I am not entirely sure that this first chapter is just right yet.
And yeah, I am trying to write both Arthur and Merlin as more mature people, more like their adult selfs, though, Merlin alter quite a bit between the two, when he's serious, he really is serious, but then suddenly he alters back to be bumbling, and well, I like to think that he does it to mess around with the people around him. And well, Merlin is supposed to be Arthur's guidance and sort of mentor in the legend, so that's what he is here to... sometimes.. when he isn't a nuisance. Which he enjoys being.