Title: Anastasia [Merlin AU]
Author: TheAmazingCory
Disclaimer: I am not BBC, Netflix, nor the directors of Merlin. And so, I do not own Merlin. I also do not own the plot for Anastasia. All I own are the words that I use to write this tale.
Warnings: character death, darker themes, fluff, boyxboy
Main Paring: Merthur
Summary: An evil sorceress called Morgause puts a curse on the royal family, Ambrosius. The young prince, Merlin, disappears when their palace is overrun. Years later, the King's Ward offers a reward for Merlin's return. Two scheming paupers of Camelot, planning to pawn off a phony, hold auditions and choose an orphan boy with a remarkable resemblance to the missing prince. They bring him to Draconia for the reward, not knowing he's the real Merlin.
Anastasia
A Merlin AU
In a table, adorned with a ruby red mantle encrusted in swirls of golden thread, lies a beautiful golden-sphere music box with its royal blue topper. This music box, with black flowers and pearls that line the edges, plays a soft musical tune as it lays open with a King and a Queen waltzing peacefully over a white horse with a Swan Queen in its background.
The music stops as an elderly woman's hand reaches into the frame and closes it shut. Gently with careful poise, the woman places the golden-blue music box into a velvet hand bag.
"There was a time," a woman's voice narrates. "Not very long ago."
The scene changes as the elderly woman steps into a carriage and is off to her destination. Passing threw a stony, snow-covered path, in a cold winter night.
"When we lived in an enchanted world..." the woman's voice continues to narrate. "Of elegant palaces and grand parties."
The carriage, which the elderly woman rides on, enters threw a grand pare of iron gates that lead into a massive court yard covered in a soft sheet of snow. Millions of carriages from all over the kingdoms can be seen parked in perfect rows as the guests ascend the steps, into the palace.
"The year was 1916," the narrator speaks. "And my son Balinor..."
The elderly woman descends gracefully from her carriage and climbs the steps to the palace, guards bow to her in respect as she passes threw the grand oak doors, open grandly for the guests.
"Was the King of Ambrosia."
The scene changes into a grand ballroom that seems to have walls of gold encrusted with more gold, and a huge chandelier that hangs from the vast ceiling. Guests, dressed in beautiful gowns can be seen dancing to an orquestra of music, while others stand to the sides of the ballroom and mingle with each other.
"Hello, Darling." the elderly woman greets, as she sits down in a thrown, in a stage which lies at the head of the ballroom.
"We were celebrating..." the woman's voice, who is now revealed to be the elderly woman, narrates. "The 300th anniversary..."
The frame switches from the stage to the ballroom floor, wear King Balinor, and his young son, Prince Merlin, can be seen dancing to the orquestra. They are who the elderly woman has greeted.
"Of our family rule." the woman concludes.
"Oh, papa!" the young prince, with hair of raven that reached his shoulders and a soft feminine face, exclaims as the King pics him up and twirls him before setting him down to continue the dance.
"On that night, no star burned brighter..." the narration begins again, and the young prince breaks away from his father and makes his way quickly up the stairs to the stage and towards the elderly woman. "Than that of our sweet Merlin."
Prince Merlin runs towards his grandmother, the elderly woman, and shows her a drawing of a dragon he made. The elderly woman takes the drawing and holds it close to her chest as she nods to him in thanks.
"My youngest grandson," the elderly woman opens her velvet hand bag, and takes out the golden-blue music box. "He begged me not to return to Draconia."
A young boy, near the age of our prince, dressed in expensive formal robes of ruby, trots down the stairs to the side of the stage. In one hand he holds biscuit, which he eats as he runs his other hand threw his golden-blond hair.
"So I had a very special gift made for him..." the elderly woman explains, "To make the separation easier for both of us."
The boy, who turns out to be the Prince of Camelot, watches as young Merlin gasps at the sight of the beautiful music box. "For me? Is it a jewelry box?" he hears the young prince ask his grandmother as he admires the gift.
"Arthur, you belong besides your father!" a man exclaims, dressed in a tux bearing the crest of Camelot. He picks up Arthur, who drops his biscuit and is taking to his father. The scene changes back to the Prince of Ambrosia and his grandmother.
"Look." the woman says, as she uses the charm of her necklace to open the gift. Young Merlin gasps as a soft tune plays, a tune he very well recognizes.
"It plays our lullaby!" he exclaims cheerfully.
"You can play it at night before you go to sleep and pretend that it's me singing." the woman explains, smiling happily to her beloved grandson.
As the tune to 'Once Upon A December' continues playing, they begin to sing to it. "On the wind, 'cross the sea," the woman begins. "Hear this song and remember."
The prince takes the music box in his right hand and grabs his grandmother's with his left as they sing together. "Soon you'll be, home with me," his grandmother gives him a twirl as they conclude the verse, "Once upon a December."
Merlin bows playfully as he lets go of his grandmother's hand and they both laugh softly and merrily. "Read what it says." his grandmother says as she hands him her necklace, which holds the charm that opens the music box.
The young boy holds it close to his face as he reads what is carved into it, "'Together In Draconia'." he gasps and exclaims, "Really? Oh, Grandma!" The elderly woman laughs as her grandson gives her a warm hug in thanks.
"But we would never be together in Draconia." the woman narrates, her voice grave. "For a dark shadow..."
All the lights in the ballroom switch off, the people gasp in fear and murmur to each other. A woman drops her cup of wine, and the glass shatters as the wine spills over the decorative floors of the ballroom.
"Had descended upon the house..." the elderly woman continues, her voice grave to match the event. "Of the Ambrosius'."
A woman enters the hall, the quests making way, wary of her. She is dressed in a cloak of midnight, all that can be seen are her long, bony fingers. Her dirty blond hair in a braid that can be seen falling out the front of the cloak, rugged bangs framing her face, that holds a dark smile. On her shoulder, a small faerie can be seen, nothing like those of fairy tales. This faerie was dark, corrupt, and was called Mordred.
"Her name was Morgause." the narrating continues. "We thought she was a holy woman, but she was a fraud. Power-hungry and dangerous."
The woman walks to the steps of the stage, her eyes glowing with malice. The King quickly descends the steps and exclaims, "How dare you return to the palace!"
"But I am your confidant." she says mockingly, almost teasing. She pulls down her cloak to show her worn face as she dramatically moves her hands to express herself.
"Confidant? Ha! You are a traitor! Get out!" yells Balinor.
"You think you can punish the great Morgause!?" she exclaims, her face an ugly mask of anger. "By the unholy powers vested in me, I banish you with a curse!"
The guests gasp in horror. Young Merlin and his grandmother hold each other in fear, to the side of them, once again by the steps, can be seen Prince Arthur who seems frozen in place, shocked by the event.
"Mark my words, you and your family will die within a fortnight!" she proclaims. "I will not rest until I see the end of the Ambrosius line, forever!"
As she concludes her vow, she makes a fist to the ceiling, in which she holds a vile of a smokey-green liquid, that glows eerily in the darkness of the ballroom. A beam shoots from the vile and hits the chandelier, which falls to the ground. Guest can be heard screaming and shouting as they scatter, the chandelier crashing where they were mere moments ago.
The scene darkens and changes into a chamber, where Morgause can be seen over a small well, working on something dark and devastating.
"Consumed by her hatred for Balinor and his family," the woman narrates. "Morgause sold her soul for the power to destroy them."
A dark mercury beam shoots from the well and Morgause can be seen, as her soul is sucked in. Her body seems to be but a skeleton as she looks herself up and down in shock. A vile full of smokey-green liquid emerges from the well, where the beam has been long gone, and lands on her outstretched hand. Her body turns back to normal, seemly normal, and she holds the vile with a dark smile open her face.
"Go." she whispers to the vile. "Fulfill your dark purpose..."
Wisps of smokey-green, almost emerald, that look like small dragons come from the vile.
"And seal the fate of the King and his family..." she continues, "Once and for all."
The scene changes to show a mob of citizens by the gates of the palace, holding torches and shovels. The little dragons of smokey-green, unlock the gates to let the mob in.
"From that moment on," the narrating starts once more. "The spark of unhappiness in our kingdom was fanned into a flame..."
Gunshots can be heard, the citizens can be seen, pulling down statues and destroying miscellaneous.
"That would soon destroy our lives forever." the narrator concludes.
The scene changes into a grand hallway where the people of the palace and its guest can be scene making an escape. Few are left, for many have a run for their lives, but the young prince and his grandmother can be seen making their way towards an exit.
"Help! Help!" cries of help can be heard.
"Hurry, Children!" a brave man, who has stayed behind to lead the people to safety, exclaims. The situation turns dire, and he too, makes his way to the exit.
"My music box!" the young, 8 year old, prince exclaims. He quickly turn and runs towards his bedroom.
"Merlin!" his grandmother yells, devastated. "Come back! Come back!" she tries to catch up to prince, but her old years are not on her favor.
The scene changes into a room, the prince's room, Merlin goes up to a toy castle and is just about to look threw it when his grandmother comes into the room and closes the door. "Merlin!"
A grand explosion can be heard from outside, and Merlin can be seen taking out the precious music box from the toy castle. His grandmother runs up to Merlin and grabs a hold of him. In that moment, Prince Arthur of Camelot, who is the Prince Merlin's best friend, comes into the room threw a secret passageway. By the window, Mordred, Morgause's faerie, can be seen observing the scene.
"Please, hurry!" yells Arthur as he grabs the elderly woman by the elbow. "Come this way! Out of the servants' quarters!"
In the hustle to make an exit, Merlin drops the golden-blue music box. "Hurry, Merlin!" the elderly woman exclaims, as Arthur follows behind them.
"Morgause, she's getting away!" Mordred yells.
"My music box!" Merlin yells as he comes back out the passage before Arthur can enter.
"Go! Go!" Arthur warns and he pushes Merlin in and locks the entrance to the passage.
"Comrades, in here!" a man dressed in a long coat calls out, entering the room with his fellow comrades. "Where are they, boy?"
Arthur, who is dressed in his sleepwear, attempts to fight back, but gets knocked to the ground as the man hits him with the base of his rifle. The scenes fades, showing the prince fainted in the ground, with the golden-blue music box at mere reaching distance from him.
"Grandma!" the prince is shown in the castle grounds, making an escape with his grandmother.
"Keep up with me, darling." his grandmother warns.
Morgause, who had been previously standing in a bridge a ways above them, jumped down and landed behind them, taking a hold of the prince's robe. Merlin screams as he trips and lends on the snow, his robe clutched in the hands of a mad woman.
"Morgause!" the elderly woman exclaims as she turns around to the scene. She quickly grabs a hold of Merlin's arm and starts to pull against Morgause's grasp.
"Let me go! Please!" Merlin yells in fear.
"You'll never escape me, child! Never!" Morgause proclaims, laughing darkly. She gasps in horror as the ground beneath her breaks. The prince escapes from her grasp, as he lets go of his robe in fear, trying to hold herself up.
"Mordred!" she calls to her minion and faerie, who quickly flies into the situation.
"Mistress!" exclaims Mordred, as he gases upon the scene in horror.
The struggle soon becomes too much and Morgause slips into the cold waters beneath the ice, eventually drowning. The little faerie is left unsure of what to do and just stares at the spot where his mistress once was.
Close to the scene, a few feet from the faerie, lies the smokey-green vile.
A ways away from the scene, Merlin and his grandmother can be seen making a run for the train station. The train whistle blows loudly as they hurry to threw the crowds of people gathered in the station.
"Merlin, hurry! Hurry!" his grandmother yells, pushing her way threw the crowd. She quickly grabs a hold of the moving train and is pulled in by fellow escapes. Others reach out towards Merlin, but he is too far to reach.
"Oh!" the elderly woman exclaims as she watches her grandson struggle to catch up to the train.
"Grandma!" Merlin yells.
"Here, take my hand!" she yells as she reaches out as far as she can, trying to reach her beloved grandson. "Hold on to my hand!" she insist as Merlin finally gets a grasp of her hand.
"Don't let go!" Merlin exclaims, tears in his eyes as he tries to push himself closer to the moving train.
"Oh! Merlin!" his grandmother exclaims in anguish as he slips from her grasp.
Merlin screams as he slips and hits his head on the hard ground of the station. As he lands on the ground he is knocked unconscious and a necklace, which had been previously hiding under his sleepwear, is exposed. The necklace is the key to the golden-blue music box.
"Merlin!" the cry of his grandmother is heard, as the train speeds off into the horizon. The whistle of the train is a constant echo as the scene changes to show a tapestry, a grand painting, showing the royal family of Ambrosia.
"So many lives were destroyed that night." the elderly woman's voice narrates.
"What had always been was now gone forever," the scene zooms in to the image of the young prince in the painting. "And my Merlin, my beloved grandchild, I never saw him again."
o-0-o-0-o
And that concludes the Prologue! I hope it was good, I was a bit unsure about the whole thing but I just went with the movie.
Important: The reason Prince Arthur was in the castle and knew his way around was because he practically grew up there himself. He and Merlin have been friends ever since they were 3 year olds and he pretty much liked to explore the palace, so he knew the ins and outs. He was there that night because he had been visiting with his family for the week, to celebrate the whole 300th anniversary thing.
Also Important: Another thing to note is that Merlin is androgynous, which means he's male but he has a feminine face and a feminine body. Not quite looking like a girl, but it's enough to get mistaken like one. His hair that's soft and reaches his shoulders, quite frankly doesn't help make him look any more boyish.
That's all I have to say, I believe. I'll see you all next chapter!
Signed,
TheAmazingCory