Chapter One: The Girl and the Stag
Yvaine watched in horror as everything she had ever known, everyone she had ever loved, burnt to the ground. It had all happened so quickly, she wasn't even sure how she had gotten out. She was the lucky one, the only one left to tell the tale. But telling tales had never been her forte, nor was she what one might call lucky.
In the back of her mind she knew she wasn't lucky to survive. The survivors were always the ones who were simply fortune's pawn, left alone in a vast uncaring world while the others watched from beyond the veil, silent observers to their loved one's plight. She would never hug her mother again, never hear her father singing in the fields, never visit with Mistress Ianthe and learn all she had to teach that day. Daniel would never cause mischief again, never lose himself in the woods for her to search for him until dusk. She alone would continue to walk the earth, the only witness to their fates.
Lancelot. I need to find Lancelot. He needs to know what happened. He... maybe he can help. Help with what she didn't know, but at least with him she wouldn't be that thought she spun around to the road. I need to go to Camelot.
TWO WEEKS LATER
"Hurry up, Merlin. You're even slower than usual." Arthur called out behind him as he trekked through the forest. Merlin grumbled unintelligibly from where he followed behind, muttering about clotpole princes and unnecessary hunting trips. Arthur had been particularly restless the last few days and had insisted on a hunt to clear his head. Unfortunately, said hunt was in one of the thicker portions of the forest where their horses would be unable to traverse without making too much noise. As such the party navigated on foot.
Arthur held up a hand as they approached a lighter area of woods and the party stopped, silence falling where there had been quiet chatting among the knights. The prince signaled to them to surround whatever it was he had spotted amidst the trees. Merlin was happy for the rest, quietly setting down the load of weapons he had been carrying for the prince and passing him his bow and quiver. He crept beside Arthur to see what it was that they had found.
In the middle of a small copse of ash trees stood a stag of snow white, its coat seeming to shimmer from within. It's antlers stretched high above its head, their prongs like silvery branches arching between the two main shafts. An ancient beast of the forest. Merlin felt his stomach drop as the knights readied to fire their arrows.
"That's a white stag." He whispered harshly.
"So you're not as blind as you are dumb." Arthur retorted derisively.
"You can't kill it."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just because they're hard to hunt doesn't mean we can't kill it. We have it surrounded. Now shut up." He leveled his bow and prepared to fire when another figure stepped up beside the hart, causing him to lower his weapon just a fraction. "Dammit."
Merlin peered above the shrubbery they hid behind to watch as a young woman appeared from the trees, her fiery hair plaited over her shoulder the only thing to distinguish her from the forest. Her skin and clothes were covered in dirt and foliage, but it seemed as if she either did not know or did not care as she made no move to wipe the dirt from herself. Slowly she approached the stag, a single hand outstretched holding an apple. Merlin was mesmerized as the deer, though wary of the girl, took a step forward and took the fruit from her hand. As long as these idiots don't kill it this must be a good omen.
He adjusted his feet below himself and heard a loud SNAP. He froze. Arthur sent a glare in his direction just as both the stag and girl spun their heads in his direction. Less than a heartbeat later the stag was bounding away, the girl turning and bolting back into the trees.
"Dammit, Merlin!" Arthur shouted before jumping up to follow the stag. The rest of the knights followed him, their feet thudding against the ground as they laid chase, leaving Merlin behind to grab Arthur's weapons and follow. At the copse he paused to look through the trees where the girl had disappeared into. There was no sign of her.
Yvaine bolted into the trees once she heard the twig snap. In her periphery she could see red cloaked men leap from the bushes to chase after the stag, bows ready and intent clear. She prayed the creature safety, though she did not stop running to check or even look back. She had had too many encounters these past couple weeks with both hunters and bandits alike to have the least bit of desire to pause long enough to be caught by them.
As she continued through the trees she allowed herself to slow down, aware that none of the men had deemed her a suitable enough prize to follow. Of course next to a White Stag no one would bother with following me. That stag alone is worth more than any kingdom's entire wealth.
She leaned against a tree to catch her breath. No bandits wear such bright shades, and certainly no normal hunters do. They must have been nobles. She mused, thinking back to the vivid – and quite frankly unnecessary – red cloaks the men had worn. She hoped they had been nobles of Camelot and not wayward lords of one of the other kingdoms. Bending to pick up a stone from the base of the tree she thought, Perhaps I should have stayed if they were of Camelot. It would certainly make the trip easier. She chuckled humorlessly. Even if they were men of Camelot that did not ensure her safe arrival. Or my finding Lancelot.
Last she had heard of her friend he had been accepted as a knight of the realm, though that had been months ago and he had not stated much else in his letter. She felt ashamed for never writing back to him, and even more so for her reunion with him to be to bring such ill tidings. Still, she channeled her need to find him into the stone she held for a moment more before tossing it directly up into the air. Much to her dismay it flew back the way she had come, toward the clearing and the hunters. Bloody hell.
With a groan she pushed herself off the tree to follow the stone, taking care to be much slower than when she had fled the clearing. At least she had been going the right way before.
By the time they circled back to the clearing they had initially found the White Stag in it was gone. Merlin would have been quite happy with the development were it not for Arthur ranting about how his carelessness had lost them their game. Never mind the fact that Percival had caught another – normal – deer. No, that was not enough for Arthur when he could have had the elusive White Stag if it weren't for Merlin's clumsiness and inability to stay still for once in his life.
"Give him a break, I'm sure Merlin can keep still when he's sleeping." Gwaine chuckled, earning a grin from the other knights.
Merlin rolled his eyes and kept silent. "What, no response about how you can stay still for hours?" Arthur goaded.
"He was probably scared by a girl showing up." Gwaine waggled his eyebrows. "Pretty little thing, don't you think, Merlin?"
"You think every girl is pretty." Merlin shot back with the slightest grin as even Arthur nodded in agreement. "I'd be surprised if you didn't like her." The knights went to teasing Gwaine, mercifully taking the attention away from Merlin. He thought back briefly to the girl, to the odd way the stag had seemed to trust her. The White Stag, the most difficult beast to capture in all the realm, trusted her enough to allow her to approach him. Maybe she was a druid?
The party had just returned to the clearing they had found the stag in when they spied the girl sitting on a fallen log, looking for all the world like she had been waiting for them. She tossed a stone up in the air, allowing it to fall back into her hand lazily. The men quieted to watch her warily. For a moment she continued her game of boredom before becoming aware of her audience. Neither they nor she moved, merely staring at each other and sizing one another up.
"Are you knights of Camelot?" She asked, her voice rough but holding a musical quality to it at the same time.
Arthur stepped forward, ever the leader of the group. "Yes we are. Who might you be?"
Before she could answer Lancelot spoke, having recognized the girl's voice. "Yvaine?" He pushed past Leon to stand closer and get a better look at the girl. He furrowed his brow in confusion at the sight of her. Last he had seen Yvaine was before he had first come to Camelot as he had passed through her village. He recalled her being much more lovely then, though now even she paled in comparison to Gwen. Just as before her vibrant hair escaped her braid, haloing her dirty face with loose curls refusing to be confined, offsetting the grey-blue of her eyes.
At the sound of his voice her eyes widened and all cautiousness seemed to leave her. "Lancelot!" She ran forward and flung her arms around his middle, tears forming in her eyes. The others watched in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Lancelot asked, holding her out at arms' length to take a look at her dirt stained face and watery eyes. Then another thought occurred to him. "Why isn't Daniel with you?"
Her brother's name was like a knife to the gut. Tears began to overflow and trickle down her cheeks, forming tracks in the dirt that stained her skin. "Lancelot…Daniel…Mother, Father…The village…" She swallowed hard and fought to say the words Lancelot dreaded hearing next. "Bandits came. They burned it all to the ground. Ianthe…She must have known they were coming…she sent me into the woods to collect herbs for her…they came while I was gone. No one else survived." No one except herself. The only one left to tell the tale.
Arthur approached the pair, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Where was this?"
Yvaine took a shuddering breath and looked at him, seeing her pitiful reflection in his eyes. "Bera, to the south. There's nothing left but ashes."
"We should go at once to find the culprits." Lancelot declared, his jaw set in determination. Bera was a second home to him, the place he had gone to after his own village had been ransacked and destroyed.
The prince shook his head sadly. "We have to get my father's approval before we go anywhere, Lancelot." He turned to Yvaine, "You are welcome to stay in Camelot for as long as you need. We will do what we can to find the culprits."
Yvaine shook her head and let out a humorless laugh. "I did not come here for revenge, milord. I only came to tell Lancelot. That's the job of sole survivors – we tell those who knew the others what happened and we keep their memories alive." She glanced away toward the trees, listening as Lancelot stepped back from her.
A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to look back up at Arthur. "I may not be able to return your village to you but I can offer you a place in Camelot. A friend of Lancelot's is a friend of ours."
She inclined her head graciously. "Thank you, sire, but I cannot accept your offer without giving something in return." The idea of living off someone else's pity despised her. Yvaine had spent all of her life working alongside her family and other villagers for everything. She could not and would not freeload.
"We will find a job for you if you would like then." Arthur asserted, not leaving room for argument. She nodded her head obediently, unsure why she was taking orders from the knight. If Lancelot trusts him then so will I.
Arthur clapped his hands together and addressed the knights, "Now then, let us return at once. It seems I must speak to my father about this matter as quickly as possible." The men nodded and followed him as he began to make his way back to where they had left their horses previously. Yvaine noticed with some relief that the deer two of the men carried between them was not the White Stag she had encountered earlier, but rather a normal stag with only a few prongs on its antlers rather than the multitude of the white one.
As they trekked through the forest Yvaine ventured a glance through the trees. A patch of white caught her attention and she paused, long enough for Lancelot and the other knights to pass by her. She stared into the trees at the beast who watched her, shadows of silver and gold casting him in an ethereal light. The Stag bowed his head at her before turning silently and walking away. Yvaine smiled and mimicked the creature's movement. Turning to catch up with the rest of the party she found herself being scrutinized curiously by the man in the brown jacket. He tilted his head to the side, a slight smile on his boyish face as if in an attempt to comfort her in some way.
"We should catch up with the others. Arthur won't be happy if you get lost here." He said gently. Yvaine nodded and fell into step beside him. Unlike the other knights this man didn't wear armor, nor even a cloak. Instead he wore a brown leather jacket over a dull blue shirt and red neck scarf, a bag slung across his body.
"Are you not one of the knights?" The question spilled out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
The man laughed as if the notion of his being a knight was more a joke than a genuine question. "Ah, no. I'm just the servant Arthur drags around everywhere."
Yvaine felt her lips curl up in response to his contagious laugh. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Merlin. Merlin." He stated, the tips of his ears turning red.
"Well, Merlin," She drew out his name as if to taste the feel of it on her tongue, "Tell me, what do you make of White Stags?"
Her question left him silent for a moment, pondering over his answer. Yvaine took the time to study him, to see what she could make of this servant boy. He was tall with messy dark hair and vivid blue eyes, even brighter than her own or even the knight's leader. He had an awkward charm about him, the innocence of a man unaccustomed to the company of nonrelated women. But he seemed kind, which she found to be important. His name had seemed familiar – Lancelot had likely mentioned him in one of his letters.
"They are good omens." Merlin's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand, what little there was of one anyway. "I'm glad Arthur didn't catch it. It belongs here, not stuffed and mounted like a trophy."
And just like that Yvaine found the young man beside her more interesting than the Stag itself. What sort of a man would forgo the chance of capturing the White Stag?
So a little short for the first chapter, but then again it's just an introduction. Only some of the chapters are going to coincide with the episodes themselves so even if you aren't caught up or its been a while you can still keep up with this story. For reference though its after Morgana betrays Camelot but before the Dorocha attack.