Author's Note: This story takes place in a world that is the mix between Camelot and the Wizarding World. None of the characters from Harry Potter are included in this story, I just took the setting and placed our favorite Merlin characters into it. Hopefully any questions that you have about the world will be answered in subsequent chapters, but if you have any pressing questions please leave a comment asking it. Enjoy!
As darkness started to settle over the land, Hunith was already regretting her decision to go out alone. The winding road that she had walked hundreds of times before seemed longer and more frightening when she carried a lantern in one arm and a baby in the other. She knew, however, that there wasn't anyone that she could trust to walk with her must less carry the secret that she was going to reveal. The rumors were already starting to spread about her and the questionable parentage of the child that she carried. She didn't need anything else to make them grow into something dangerous, if only for her child's sake. As it was the only person that she could trust with something this important and terrifying was Gaius, the very person that she had headed out to meet in the first place. She had trusted his request to meet far away from the town as possible, but she wished that there was a way that they could have met without putting herself or more importantly her baby at risk.
As this thought crossed her mind, she slowed down for a moment and looked down at the sleeping child in her arm. How he was asleep was beyond her; she had constantly needed to readjust herself while walking on the road, attempting to balance herself, the child, and the lantern all at the same time. She was grateful for his ability to sleep her jostling though, giving her one of those rare moments of peace of being able to see her son as peaceful and, well, normal as he could be. So long as his eyes were closed and he was unmoving she could imagine that just for a second he was a perfectly average child...
She quickly chastised herself for her uncharitable thoughts. Just because he was a difficult and unusual child with difficult and unusual gifts, he was still her son. Her beautiful, gentle, wonderful son with an adorable laugh and bright blue eyes. She loved her little baby boy unconditionally, and even in the worst moments she knew that it wasn't his fault that he had the gifts that he had. He was born special and she was grateful for him, difficulties and all. "My special Merlin," she whispered to the child softly, not wishing to wake him. For a moment he stirred slightly in her arm and she was worried that she had managed to disturb him from his slumber. However, after a moment he settled back in her arms, albeit a little less comfortably for her, and smiled his adorable baby smile to which she had no choice but to smile back at.
It was the whistle of the wind as it shook the trees around her that brought her attention back to the world around her. The sky had gotten even darker than she had realized, making her lantern a necessity rather than a luxury. In a few minutes it would be fully night, giving all of the dark things in the world full cover to come out. She looked around her to make sure that no one suspicious was nearby before picking up her pace. She could see the intersection that Gaius had instructed her to wait at ahead with made her let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't see any sign of Gaius or his incoming arrival, but she knew the man long and well enough that he come soon enough.
As the wind picked up some more and shook the trees even more violently, she began to wonder if it was a good idea meeting outside like this. There had been no signs that a storm was coming, but these days after nightfall there was more often a storm than not. It was a sign of dark things to come, the townfolk whispered, and Hunith couldn't help but agree with them. Something evil was starting to stir and all she knew was that she had to protect her son from it.
Once she arrived at the intersection with the old worn sign, she placed down the lantern in her left hand and used it to get Merlin into a more comfortable position. Again, he shifted in his sleep but did not awaken. The wind continued to shake the trees around her and although the sky was completely dark she could tell that storm clouds were starting to roll in. She looked around for Gaius or anything that might signify his arrival, but the area around her was as barren as when she had been walking. Merlin shifted in her arms again and when she looked down at him she saw that his blue eyes were wide open and he was smiling up at her.
"Well hello Merlin," she said softly with a smile. "Did you have a good nap?" At the sound of his mother's voice his smile grew even wider and he let out that endearing laugh of his. How could anyone think that he was a monster, she thought. He was such an innocent child and she knew that no darkness could ever take a place in his heart. He started to laugh more and clap his hands, which he only did when someone that he liked was around or he had performed a particularly impressive (and messy) piece of magic. "What's so funny?" she asked him, not expecting him to be able to answer. However, to her surprise he lifted a tiny arm and pointed down the road. Looking up, Hunith saw an older man standing about twenty feet away from her. "Gaius?"
"Yes, Hunith, its me," Gaius said, his voice far wearier than she remembered hearing it. It was unmistakably the voice of Gaius, though, and she was relieved to hear it.
"Thank goodness its you, Gaius," She said, taking a few steps towards him with Merlin in her arms. "I was worried that the storm would have scared you off." She was more worried that he had decided not to help her after all. He had mentioned in the letter that he sent her (which had arrived from an owl, oddly enough) that helping her might be difficult or even dangerous for him in a way that he couldn't explain in a letter. Hunith didn't understand what would be dangerous about it and she was thankful that he was willing to help her despite the risks.
"I wouldn't let a mere storm keep me from helping an old friend," he replied, closing the distance between them. He put hand on her shoulder and hugged her as well as he could when there was a child in one of her arms. "Besides, I know a few tricks that should keep us dry." With that the wind picked up even more, enough to make the light in the lantern start to flicker and make Gaius and Hunith unstable. Instead of looking frightened, however, Merlin just smiled and giggled at Gaius, reaching out to him with his baby arms. "And this must be Merlin, then," He said almost warily, taking a step back to take a proper look at the child.
"Yes, yes it is," she replied, smiling down at her bundle of joy. He didn't seem at all afraid of Gaius, or of the situation at all. He was always her fearless child. Looking back up at Gaius, she let her smile drop and the worry enter her eyes. "Please tell me that you can help us."
Gaius didn't answer her for a second, still studying Merlin. He seemed troubled by something but he let no indication of what it was. "I'm not sure. Raising a magical child without magic of your own is difficult in its own right, but if what you say is true, then..." He trailed off, either not knowing how to finish that sentence or not wishing to. "Would you be able to have him show me the things you spoke of in your letter?"
"Oh, of course!" She said. She reached into the pocket of her dress to retrieve a perfect blue feather. "He loves to play with this," she explained to Gaius. "I don't know where it came from, but the day that he was born he—well, I'll let him show you." At that, she raised the feather over Merlin's face and let it fall from her fingers.
Before it had even completely fallen out of her fingers, golden dust surrounded the feather, preventing it from falling. He laughed as he made it slowly drift downwards towards his face but never letting it completely touch his head. The feather then flew up towards Hunith's face, then Gaius's, and finally settling down in a steady orbit around their heads. With each pass it took it changed to a different color. "He did the exact same thing minutes after he was born, only he managed to make more feathers appear somehow. They all were dancing around our heads, just like this, and that's how we—that's how I knew that he was special. And I knew what to name him. Merlin, after the bird that all of the feathers came from. I thought it was only fitting."
To Hunith's relief, Gaius seemed more amused than worried. "That's something very common for children with the gift for magic do as infants. They find something that they like and make it float around for awhile. Granted, its usually not quite as early and to quite the same scale as Merlin is capable of doing, but its quite normal." As they talked, the feather slowed down until it went completely still in the middle of Hunith and Gaius, having changed back to its original silvery blue color. "However, you said that there were other things that he could do?"
"Yes," she replied, still sounding nervous. This was the part that seemed to worry Gaius, and if she was being honest with herself she was worried about it too. "He communicates with me sometimes. I mean, he's far too young to talk, but sometimes he can put...pictures into my head, and based on what they are I can tell what he's trying to say."
Gaius nodded thoughtfully, his eyes settling on Merlin again. "Can you get him to do that to me too?"
"Of course, he is usually very open about it," she replied, snatching the feather from out of the air and putting it back into her pocket. "Merlin, sweetheart, would you be able to show Gaius the pretty pictures that you like to show me?" She asked looking down at him, using the voice that a mother uses on her child. He looked back up at her quizzically and then to Gaius.
Gaius took a step towards him and bent down slightly so that he was more at the child's level. "Come on Merlin, show Gaius some of your favorite things," Hunith said a little more forcibly this time.
Seeming to understand that his mother wanted him to do, Merlin smiled again and looked into Gaius's eyes. Gaius had just a moment to register the fact that Merlin's eyes flashed a bright gold before his mind was bombarded with pictures. Of a woman who could be no one else other than Hunith, with a beautiful gold aura surrounding her, the feeling of love and pure happiness; of a too-small cabin, slightly cluttered with the mess that he made, the feeling of warmth and safety; of a man with long dark hair, kind of blurry, the feeling of love and confusion to why he isn't there; of the sunrise and sunset and stars in the sky, the feeling of wonder; of a flock of birds flying high in the sky, the feeling of freedom. Then, as soon as the pictures started, they stopped again, leaving Gaius to look at Merlin's smiling face and normal, blue eyes.
For a few moments Gaius didn't say anything. Even though he knew what to expect, he had hoped beyond hope that there had been a mistake and that Merlin wasn't cursed with this after all. But after that show there was no mistaking it; Merlin had both physical and mental magic, for better or for worse. "This is troubling," he mused out loud before looking back up to Hunith's worried face. At that moment, as if in response to his words, the wind blew again and rain started to fall from the sky. Everyone seemed surprised at this, forgetting that the world existed beyond their conversation.
Quickly, Gaius drew his wand from his pocket. "May I?" he asked her, motioning to the rain above. She nodded in response to him, drawing Merlin closer to her to protect him from the rain. He made a quick motion with his wand and spoke the word "Impervius." Hunith didn't feel any different after the spell was cast, but as she looked down at herself and Merlin she realized that the water wasn't hitting her clothes or her skin anymore, but rather being reflected with a faint blue aura. Her eyes widened as they always did when she saw him, or anyone else, do magic. It still amazed her how humans could be capable of such amazing things. Just like her son.
"You know what is going on with him, right?" Hunith asked Gaius, unable to forget for long the reason of their meeting. "You can help him?"
"I know what this is, yes," He replied slowly, seeming to choose his words carefully. "There are two types of magic in this world, physical and mental, and Merlin is blessed with both. Mental magic has long since been mistrusted along with its practitioners, and recently it has been hated and feared by most of the magic community. Thus not many people understand it very well...not even the people that have access to it.
"Merlin is even more special with his ability to use both. Most people can only use one type, if any at all. The fact that he can use both will cause many to persecute him if anyone were to ever find out." He finished, never taking his eyes away from Hunith. She deserved to know the truth, even if it would hurt.
With each word her eyes grew larger with worry. "You mean...he is in danger?"
"I'm afraid so. You'll find that people no matter where they are dangerous towards those who are different." He replied sadly, finally breaking eye contact.
"You have to help me then," she pleaded, grabbing Gaius's hand with her free hand. "I can't do this by myself, I don't have any idea how to help me. Please, for his sake, help us. Help him."
Gaius was forced to look her in the eye again and see her pain and anxiety. He knew that it was going to be hard to refuse to get involved with their plight, but he didn't think that it would be as hard as it was. He knew it would be better for both of them if they didn't have magical interference to draw attention to them. "I'm sorry..." he began apologetically before looking down at Merlin again.
Merlin had settled down from his earlier fit of laughter, seeming to realize the solemnity of the situation. He reached out with his little hands, mesmerized by the blue aura that surrounded his skin. He tried to grab the raindrops, and looked confused and slightly frustrated when he couldn't. Gaius looked at the boy and saw an innocent, pure child with a power that could rip him apart from the inside out. He knew that without any way of controlling his power at best Merlin would grow insane and at worst perish before ever having a realized life. He couldn't let either of that happen.
He put his other hand on top of Hunith's and continued speaking. "...I'm sorry that I don't know much about this form of magic or how to help him. However, I will do everything in my power to help you and the boy."
"Thank you! Thank you so much," She exclaimed, smiling widely, relief evident in her eyes. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I knew that I could count on you."
"Yes, well, I haven't helped you yet," Gaius said, slightly embarrassed at her sudden show of emotion. "I'm not even sure if I can help you. Like I said, I don't know much about mental magic much less someone with both. But I will help you if I can."
She looked back at him fondly, replying "That's all that I can ask you to do."
Now that the decision was made, Gaius grabbed the lantern and walked with Hunith back to her cabin on the outskirts of town.
Far away and away from the rain that was plaguing the lower villages, another baby boy was in the arms of a woman. However, unlike Hunith and Merlin, this child looking nothing like the nurse that was holding him. He had a thin layer of golden hair and brilliant blue eyes, whereas the woman had brown hair and even darker eyes. The child seemed to be able to tell that this woman was not his mother by the way that he was crying incessantly for the past few hours. The nurse continued to rock him in her arms in an attempt to lull the child to sleep. She knew that Uther was going to check in on the child soon and the last thing that he would want to deal with was an inconsolable child and the nurse who was unable to calm him down.
As if sensing the nurse's wishes, the baby quieted down his wails so that they sounded more like whimpers. Relieved that something had soothed him, the nurse put him down in a beautifully ornate cradle fit for a prince. The wood had the finest quality craftsmanship with the name "Arthur" engraved in pure gold on its side. Above the cradle hung a mobile with lions and all sorts strong creatures the child reached up to grab. Seeing that Arthur had settled down enough from his long fit of crying, the nurse went about to tidy up the room for the arrival of Uther.
Seeing that reaching up to grab the toy lion from the mobile wasn't going to work, Arthur had to find another way to keep himself entertained. Getting an idea, Arthur concentrated on making the mobile spin, imagining how much fun that he would have once it started spinning. Very slowly, the mobile started to spin around his head, as if a wind were blowing it. That was as much as he was capable of doing as an infant and it was more than enough for Arthur to be entertained. He smiled and laughed at the golden mobile above his head, his arms still reaching up in an attempt to grasp it.
As soon as he was started to have fun trying to make it go faster, the door slammed open and a man came in with a frown on his face that Arthur knew to be his father. "Your majesty," the nurse said from across the room, going into a deep curtsy. "I fed and changed Prince Arthur, just as you requested, and finally was able to get him to stop crying. I had put him in his crib to—"
"Yes, thank you for doing your job," Uther said gruffly, cutting her off by walking over to the crib. "Any sign of sickness or weakness?"
"No, sire," she responded quickly. "No sign of anything related to the...difficult birth. He seems as healthy as any child his age, if healthier."
Uther's frown softened a little at this news, relieved to hear that his son at least would be okay but unwilling to show it. Taking her cue, she continued to tidy up the room around her. Instead of asking any more questions, he looked at the child and the spinning mobile, studying his one and only heir. With a sharp motion and grabbed the mobile that was spinning on its own accord, stopping it. Arthur's smiling stopped and he turned slightly to look at his father. Arthur could tell that he wasn't happy about something and hoped it wasn't because he was moving the mobile.
"There will be no more of that," Uther said, his voice stern and strong. Arthur's smile instantly disappeared and he stared up at his father as solemnly as a child could muster. "Magic is not a toy, and it is just as well that you learn that now. You will have no more time for magic tricks. You are going to become a warrior." Uther shifted himself so that he was looking directly down at Arthur, trying to ignore the fact that the eyes of his son were so similar to the eyes of his diseased wife.
"I need you to be strong, Arthur," he began, trying the words in his mouth. He knew Ygraine would have wanted their son to have been raised both in compassion and strength, but he didn't believe in teaching his son compassion in a world that obviously didn't have any. "When you're older I'm going to need you to help me find those responsible for—for your mother's death."
Uther could feel his throat start to tighten at the mention of his love but he couldn't let his weakness show. So instead of sadness he replaced the emotion with a far more useful one—anger. "Together you and I will rid the world of their kind! We have been far too lenient with those sorcerers. I should have never let them—" He cut off again, his anger not enough to contain his other, weaker emotions that threatened to creep up. Not knowing what else to do, he slammed his fist on the side of the crib. "They. Will. Pay!" He yelled at the child, his face contorting into something truly awful.
At the sudden noise and shaking of the crib, Arthur's face contorted as well and he began to cry and awful wail. Realizing what he had done, Uther stepped away from the cradle and sunk to the floor, looking at the hand that struck the cradle. The nurse took this opportunity to grab the prince from the cradle and rush away from the room, fearful of Uther and what he might do to the child if he had remained.
The only thing that you could hear above the loud wails of the child was Uther himself, crying out the name of his wife over and over again until his voice grew hoarse.