And another Cycle is here! This one people should be able to read without any prior information other then that the main character is a Cyclist and has Rina as his/her inner self, or first self or whatever.
The first of the Eternal Cycle series is 'Massacre Managing' so if you want a further idea of what's going on then go ahead and read it. Any other Cycle can be read as its own story.
BTW, here I underlined only those terms that might occur in the story.
Terminology:
Cyclist: A person who repeatedly gets born into different worlds.
Cycle: One life for a Cyclist.
Can Cycle: Cycle with canon story and next to no changes. It doesn't matter what time it starts.
Trick Cycle: Cycle with story differences, small or big. They have to be noticeable.
Mix Cycle: Cycle with two or more stories somehow combined. Crossover.
(Trace: The first Cyclist. A girl, most of the time.)
Rina: Trace's other self/inner self/first self.
Drew: Trace's sibling/brother.
Frisk: Trace's sibling. Gender neutral.
CYCLE 903:
Can Cycle, Merlin.
Oh. She was a boy. A boy with magic it seems. Not like the magic Hermione, Harry or anyone from HP-verse but similar. Instinctive instead of one that needed concentration and means to access it. But that wasn't the whole case here either. He was different. Mama told him he was. And that he had to keep magic secret because otherwise big bad men with red capes would come and make him burn like wood in the fireplace. Until nothing but ashes were left.
Merlin was afraid of that. A fear inflicted by the child's body that he scoffed at in exasperation.
It was going to take ages to get over. Ages meaning years. Maybe three. Three was a long time for an almost three year old who still doesn't quite get what or who he is. Millennia old girl, or a boy with magic. But memories were making their way through and making more sense day by day. An already prodigy child would be a child with an immortal's mind in maybe two months.
Hunith was a good mother. Not the best he, she, had had but a good one. One that cared.
But two months went by and Merlin finally understood where he had heard that name before. He almost groaned.
Prophecies were such a pain. Especially when you don't know what they are.
xXXx
"Really?", the 17-year-old Merlin asked Hunith, "He lives in Camelot as a court physician. I'm to learn magic at the heart of Camelot?"
His mother smiled sadly, encouraging, "Yes. He can teach you control over your gifts and how to hide them"
Merlin smiled back determinedly. He decided not to say he'd been practicing his magic and could easily destroy a big chunk of forest with a few gestures while controlling exactly how far the destruction went or what shape (though it would probably knock him unconscious). Or about the beautiful ornaments he'd carved in stone with it. Or how he'd helped the crops secretly with control and precision of a master. Or the spells he knew off the top of his head to hide or conceal magic or just divert attention. Or all the acrobatics and fighting stances that were now etched to his muscle memory. Never knew when they were needed.
He had a feeling his mother would send him to Camelot anyway because she thought his gifts didn't belong to a poor farm village.
He appreciated it.
"I'll go"
xXXx
Execution of a man right when he stepped into this city. Right.
A quick application of a modified legilimens, the art of reading one's mind, and Merlin got answers to whether the man was innocent. He was. Ugh. Now then… how to get him out of there without anyone noticing? He would have to make it look like the man was executed and probably have a body to burn afterwards… Why was this so hard? Oh, right. He was attempting to vanish a bound man in front of at least forty witnesses while in the crowd watching the execution.
Luckily, he was used to using energies like chakra and ninja abilities were his with a little shift in the flow of magic. A discretion spell hid the glow of his eyes as he practically vanished to produce a body double from a sack of… something. Potatoes, maybe. He hoped it wasn't missed too much later. He'd make up to it somehow… Another burst of magic-chakra, stopped time, and he had swapped the man and was rushing past rooftops with incredible speed, an invisibility spell making sure they weren't seen, and he was in a forest a mile away from the city. He jumped into the trees, leaving a very shell shocked Thomas Collins to process what happened. The shackles had been put on the body double.
"Wha- ?", he asked, a waver in his voice, "Am I dead?"
Merlin swallowed slightly before altering his voice and throwing it out there, "No. You're a mile away from Camelot. They are witnessing your execution right now. I created a body double to fool them"
Thomas jumped and tried to see who spoke, "Who are you? Why did you help me?"
"You are an innocent. There is no wrong in saving your friend from harm. Who I am is of no concern", he intoned with warmth, "There is a druid camp three miles north, if you wish to find shelter"
He knew. He had felt them in his magic and checked from afar. It looked peaceful. The man was confused, still in shock, and grateful as he bowed.
"Thank you. I am in your debt. But what of my mother?"
Merlin stiffened. A mother. Oh. How stupid of him, he should've seen this coming. Nothing for it now. He'd check for this in a bit.
"I shall find her and tell her of your escape", he told Thomas who nodded, tears in his eyes from relief and limbs shaking from the sudden change in circumstances. Merlin pondered for a moment before deciding he needed nourishment more than him and teleported his pouch of food and skin of water in front of him, "Here. You need them more than me. Wait for an hour. If your mother isn't here in that time go north. Go to the druids. They will protect and guide you. I'll cast a spell that doesn't let the patrols find you"
"Understood. Thank you", his voice shook with suppressed emotion and relief. He was still probably trying to process all the strange happenings. Nothing like this happened very often so Merlin didn't blame him.
"If you have something to ask of me, ask", he said, unsure if he should do something else.
Thomas shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his lips, "You've done more than I could ever hope for. But if it's no trouble, I would like to know who I am thanking"
Merlin floundered for a moment before grinning slightly, "You may call me Harry", and he cast the protection spell on the area, anchoring it to his rescueé, and jumped away to find the man's mother.
Wow. This was making him a bit winded. Using so much magic in such a short period. If he hadn't been practicing every moment he got he'd be wheezing after only the body double.
A whirlwind of magic captured his attention. It was distraught and full of hatred, rage, anger and sorrow and he knew it must be the mother grieving for his son. The thing felt like a portkey kind of transportation but more… windy for lack of a better word.
Merlin stopped a little ways away from a clearing, panting hard. This was the most intensive he'd used his magic in… ever. At least in this world. Pumping it through himself like chakra took concentration and it taxed muscles like nothing else. An old woman stood in the middle of the trees, shaking with all the emotion like her son had. Catching his breath and flushing his aching limbs with healing magic Merlin let his altered voice bounce around.
"Do not grieve, for your son is not dead", he used such fanciful statements to make himself sound older as the woman jumped in fright and surprise, "I saved him and brought him here. Let me show you to him"
Rage flared as did magic, though not that powerful, "You lie! I watched him die with my own two eyes"
"That was an illusion I painted. A bag of potatoes is what was brought to the block, enchanted to look like him", Merlin explained, "Now come, for he is waiting. Druids can protect you and he knows how to find them"
He saw the old woman desperately wanted to believe but couldn't bring herself to.
"If you are so powerful why are you not bringing the slaughter to an end? Why does Uther still live?", she accused and Merlin grimaced. He'd arrived in Camelot a little under twenty minutes ago and he was supposed to get into gruesome political and moral messes? Still, he answered.
"Bloodshed doesn't bring about peace. Revenge is not the answer. It leads to an endless cycle of hatred and innocents will get caught in the crossfire", he explained but didn't know if he was heard and didn't wait to find out. Instead he tugged the woman with his magic in a certain direction, "This way. Your son awaits"
It seemed the woman was at least willing to comply which was a relief. Perhaps it was the hope that he was speaking the truth… Well, whatever the case it was good. In silence they trudged through the forest, Merlin still keeping out of sight but tugging the woman's magic in the direction her son was at. It was only maybe half a mile and they were there. Merlin took no little satisfaction in seeing the two embrace. The reunion was beautiful and emotional. Though… Merlin still had something to ask.
"While I am happy to see you both alive and together, I have a favor to ask of you", he said seriously and Thomas immediately looked up and smiled in gratitude.
"Anything for you, my savior"
Merlin was caught a bit off guard at that little title but shook it off in order to continue, "Please do not seek vengeance against Camelot"
Thomas agreed immediately. His mother… Her eyes were shining with gratitude but his request was met with a flash of disagreement. He didn't get a verbal reply from the woman.
Well. He'd look out for her if it came to that.
"Thank you. The protection will last for two hours. Take care and farewell", he thanked and didn't wait for a reply before rushing through the trees and back towards the city.
The whole thing hadn't taken even forty minutes. He sighed. Something told him this wouldn't be the last time something happened.
xXXx
Merlin walked up the staircase to the court physician's chambers with weary steps.
That had taken a lot out of him. More than he expected. Maybe he should step up his training. Wait, no. He definitely should. These executions would probably happen in the future too and he would be living here.
Oh. The door. It was slightly ajar. He knocked. No response.
I'm too tired to be polite…
He opened the door and stepped in, admiring the messy surfaces filled with work and projects. Ooh, he could learn more medicine here! And the local illnesses. It was annoying how they changed in different worlds. Anyhow, he was here for Gaius.
"Gaius?", he called out.
The physician was standing on a platform of sorts and sorting stuff. After hearing his voice he turned and stumbled to the railing… that broke under his weight. A startled sound escaped Merlin as he instinctively cast a powerful spell reminding arresto momentum from HP-verse while jumping to catch the guy. Whoops. Reflexes. Love them and hate them for all they're worth. At least Gaius actually should know about his magic.
"Um. You okay?", he asked as the old man brushed himself off from the scare and turned to him with intense eyes.
He didn't answer his question.
"What did you just do?", Gaius demanded.
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and shrugged, "Reflex?"
The look stayed, "No, not that boy! How did you learn? If anyone had seen-"
"I know", Merlin interrupted quietly, "I just saw an execution" And thwarted it, he didn't say.
That shut the old man up and left him a concerned looking Gaius. This time he asked with less intensity.
"Where did you study?"
Merlin sighed. He doubted here and there around the multiverse would do.
"It's instinctive. Inborn ability. All the control I have is self-taught", which was true in this universe.
"That's impossible!", Gaius exclaimed before frowning, "Who are you, boy?"
He smiled while taking out a letter, "I'm Merlin"
Immediate recognition, "Hunith's son!", there was a pleased note to his voice with a hint of confusion, "But you're not meant to be here until Wednesday"
"Yes", Merlin said to the first remark before blinking, "Uh. It is Wednesday?"
Dawning realization, "Oh"
Well. Merlin thought he'd rather like living with this guy.
xXXx
'Merlin'
The boy was awakened by a call. A mental one. His eyes opened to the morning light as he searched for the cause. Nothing. Oh well.
'Uh… hello?'
Vague sense of amusement, 'You know how to answer. Come meet me'
Well. Rina was great practice. He got a sense of 'Thanks' from the presence in his mind that was somewhat… numbed this Cycle. They couldn't really talk unless in their mindscape.
'Where? When?'
There was no response. Merlin's eye twitched.
'I'll just let you call me when', he told the one who was mentally talking to him. It was a neat trick. He'd have to learn it. Right now he wasn't even sure if the other even heard.
Sighing he got up to dress himself. Mystery caller would be responsible if he didn't know where to meet.
xXXx
The water bucket fell. Merlin absently reached a hand out and put it back on the table before resuming eating. Gaius gaped. The boy noticed.
"What?", he asked before his brain caught up and grinned, "Told you it was reflex!"
xXXx
Whoever the blond knight was he was mean. A bully. Unknightly. At least to Merlin who had an idea of what a true knight was supposed to be, to do. And that was protect people 'lesser' than them, those who couldn't protect themselves. Like the servant they were ridiculing and throwing knives at. Well, it was target practice and the servant had a shield but still. They were forcing him to run around without first discussing it. That was a bad idea from the beginning. What if their hand slipped? The heavy shield escaped the servant boy's grip and rolled to Merlin's feet and he put his foot on it. The laughing knights stopped.
He gave the blond one an even stare, "That's enough"
"What?", the knight asked, still smiling. It had a warning undercurrent.
"You've had your fun but take a while to think of this from his perspective", he gestured to the servant.
That smile was still in place as the man lazily sauntered up to him, stopping only a meter away. Merlin watched impassively.
"Who are you", it wasn't a question. Not a sincere one at least.
The secret sorcerer still quirked his lips upwards, "Merlin"
Mister knight nodded, sarcastically understanding, "Well, Merlin, what right do you have to interrupt our training?"
"That wasn't training", the boy's amusement vanished, "You were being a bully", he started walking away.
The man wasn't having that as he gave a burst humorless laughter, "Hah! Tell me, Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?"
Merlin stopped and turned to raise an eyebrow, "Who wouldn't? And who would do that?", he knew where this was going and resigned himself to it.
The knight lifted his chin haughtily, "You. Let me help with that"
A few ways to beat the young looking man coming to him flashed in his mind as he smirked lazily, switching into a 'casual at a glance' position. Muscles relaxed. Breathing even.
"That's not a good idea", he warned.
"Well, what are you gonna do to me? Huh?", the blonde spread his arms, inviting.
Merlin snorted, "You're trying to goad me. I'd be stupid to fall for that"
His 'opponent' attacked abruptly but he had already twisted away and danced around the knight's follow up. Dodging was easy. Though the attacks were pretty fast for someone who hadn't had ninja training. Or almost every other type of combat imaginable. Well, there were many holes here and there in his attacks. The fighting style was balanced but clearly falling into a pattern. Predictable. Standard. With a few own additions but not enough.
On a whim, Merlin corrected an arm's position and then a kick's. The knight was clearly getting frustrated if his wilder swings were any indication. Merlin was nimble like a cat and fast as a snake's strike. Though he wasn't attacking he made the other's fighting a bit better. The knight hadn't even noticed yet.
Ah. There it was. The realization he's being taught in the middle of combat. Outrage for it. And now he was even more predictable. Merlin felt like sighing. This was boring.
A nifty kick to the blonde's side and a sharp palm-strike to the center of his chest and the knight was down.
Right. Lesson time, "Your offence is pretty good. Precise and no movement wasted. Defence about the same. But they were predictable. A pattern. Easy to match and counter", the man he'd downed gaped up at him, "You need to improve your speed and reflexes. Also, some of the strikes were a bit sloppy and left you vulnerable on the next move. I'm guessing you're much better with a sword. Your footwork is nearly flawless. Just practice kicking because those you just showed could've easily cost you your balance and then your life in battle", he paused to see if his impromptu student had taken it all in, which was maybe if he came out of his stupor, "And work on your temper. I think that's it. Have a good day"
Merlin turned to walk away but was stopped by the blonde's call.
"Wait!"
He glanced behind him to see the man scrambling to stand up.
"Where did you learn?", he asked with suspicion.
Déjà vu, much?
He smiled a bit, "Self-taught", and walked away.
xXXx
'Merlin', the rumbling voice called in the middle of the night, 'Come meet me under the castle'
The boy blinked blearily before replying, 'Okay… You're a dragon?', he now remembered part of King Uther's 'story' the other day. About a dragon captured twenty years ago. Only place with enough space for something like that would be underground in a cave.
No answer. It almost ticked him. Almost. Whatever the case, soon Merlin was up and dressed before casting an invisibility spell and getting downstairs. Silently, like a proper ninja should be able to. Even without the help of chakra.
Where are the guards? I could do this with my eyes closed! While visible!
It didn't take long for him to arrive at the dungeons, though it did take a little searching. He quietly sneaked past the guards, though for him his 'sneaking' would've been quite blatant. Well, they weren't used to invisible ninja trying to kill them so they deserved pity points.
Anyway. Merlin reached a giant cave. Not as giantic as in some places he'd seen, but still pretty big.
"I'm here! Couldn't you have sent a map?", he asked, letting it echo.
Powerful wings flapped. A dragon in all its majestic glory landed on a nearby rock.
"Young warlock", he greeted.
Merlin neglected to inform the ancient being was using the wrong word. He was by no means young. Actually, he'd bet he was older than the dragon in front of him… so what did that make him? Ancient was a bit mild… Oh well, he'd figure it out.
He rolled his eyes at the dragon, "You have this nasty habit of ignoring questions", his attention was drawn to a clinck. A chain. The dragon was chained. Of course, he should've seen that sooner! Dragons had magic, right? So this chain was material that could hold one and not let them use their powers.
"How small you are", the dragon felt the need to inform him, "For such a great destiny"
Merlin grimaced, "Destinies are a pain… Especially with prophecies attached"
He could've sworn the dragon's eyes twinkled in amusement. He was proven right when a rebounding laugh erupted from his belly.
"You are quite right, young warlock", and Merlin's eye twitched because apparently the dragon was capable of not ignoring him, "Though this one will bring about peace. Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the lands of Albion and bring magic back to this country. But he will face many threats, friend and foe alike"
By now Merlin was deadpanning, "Let me guess. I'm to keep him safe until Albion can happen?"
The dragon eyed him with a critical eye, "You're not as dense as I first believed", he commented, "But you do not really accept what you know"
"Well… firstly, who is Arthur?", Merlin asked.
"That blond knight you defeated today"
Raised eyebrows. This dragon knew his stuff, he'd give him that. Merlin thought it over, "That attitude has got to change if he is to be king"
"I'm glad you see it my way", the dragon said with that same amusement. He was about to rise to his wings again when Merlin stopped him.
"Wait! If I release you from here-", the dragon almost froze in surprise, "-what will you do?"
There was a short pause as he thought the implications of that over.
Then he started laughing, "Ahahaha! What makes you think you can?"
Merlin sighed at the evaded question.
"I can and will if you give your word not to attack Camelot or seek vengeance against it"
In the end it wasn't that hard to wrangle a promise out of him. What proved to be a little bit harder was to see what would break the chain. Merlin had to come down to the dragon's leg and see what material it was to do that. Magically suppressing, it seems. Like he'd thought.
"Okay. I think I might be able to overpower it", he said, "It'll leave me weak, but I can do it"
Without further ado he got to work, weaving his magic through the magic suppressing material and starting to push back the ability to block it. Like he'd done with chakra in another world. In a minute the part around the dragon's leg was just a normal cuff and he crushed it without hesitation. Coming back to himself he felt his body shaking with exhaustion.
The dragon roared in triumph, flew up in two massive wing beats and made much faster circles then he had before. Merlin watched happily from the ground. Then he landed right in front of the warlock and smiled.
"I, Kilgharrah the Great Dragon, give my thanks to you, Merlin Ambrosius", the dra- Kilgharrah bowed, "I shall keep my word and give you means to contact me at any time"
Wow. That was more than Merlin expected from the being and he grinned, "No problem. And thanks to you too"
Kilgharrah chuckled good naturedly and breathed fire at him. Not the normal kind but a spell. A powerful one.
"This will open a link between us when you learn telepathy"
Merlin gave him a hopeful look. The dragon complied easily enough.
"Of course, I will teach you. Tomorrow night. Right now you need sleep to recover"
And that was that. Merlin still marveled at the dragon's ability to just know stuff.
xXXx
"Hey!", a familiar and maybe unwelcome voice called out to him on the streets right after he'd went to give Lady Helen her honey 'medicine' for her singing. She was a lovely lady. Good manners. Had thanked him kindly and asked to give Gaius her thanks too, "Show some respect to your prince!"
Merlin paused to raise an eyebrow at the blond, "How come you singled me out of all these people?"
Some surprise. A sneer, "Because you clearly don't know who to respect"
"Of course I do, Your Highness", Merlin drawled sarcastically with a mocking bow before eyeing him critically, "You do know you practically ooze arrogance right now, don't you?"
A growl, "Watch your mouth, peasant, or I will have you thrown in jail"
Narrowed eyes, "So you're going to explain to your father how some peasant got under your skin and beat you in a fist fight?", a beat and then as a lazy afterthought, "Your Highness"
Arthur bristled, "Let's settle this. Fight like a man, Merlin. Not that… playing around you did last time!"
Merlin blinked and shrugged, "Eh… Whatever you want, Prince Arthur", he smirked, relaxing in that almost lazy looking stance, "Don't say I didn't warn you"
To his pleasant surprise he was a bit more unpredictable. But not nearly enough to beat him. And this time Merlin didn't hold back his own sneakiness and hand-to-hand prowess. It took less than five seconds to beat the prince. He seemed humiliated as Merlin reached down to help him get up. He ignored the hand and Merlin didn't know why he bothered. Still, congratulation was in order.
"You got better", he smiled happily. Arthur didn't seem to like that.
"I'll admit, you're good at hand-to-hand", he said before giving a not so nice smirk, "But what about weapons?", and he threw a mace at him.
Reflexes grabbed the handle and chain and he inspected the weapon. A spiky ball at the end of a chain. He'd never used one of these before. Nunchakus were different.
"Huh. Never used one before", he admitted, purposefully making it sound like he hadn't used any weapons, "Any rules?"
Arthur paused as if not expecting him to ask. Duh. What did he take Merlin for? A bandit? …Wait. Ninja did consider sneaky tricks fair game, so… But well, he was used to honor in other worlds… kinda. He did what he had to but he did respect honor.
"No serious injuries and only until the other surrenders or falls down", Arthur finally decided.
Merlin nodded thoughtfully and considered the weight in his hand, "Should I hold back?", he offered generously and was answered with a scoff. He thought so.
The fight started and Arthur charged. He was an expert with a weapon, Merlin thought as he dodged the two strikes. It was more difficult not to give crippling attacks then to do so. And Arthur was clearly aiming for 'incapacitate' and not 'kill'. Unfortunately, his attack-dodge-strike was still textbook with a few own additions. This one was better than hand-to-hand though. And Merlin was at a slight disadvantage in not being allowed to show he had experience with his weapon. Well, he made it look like he learned instinctively. It would strengthen his cover of being able to learn self-taught martial arts. And magic. But that was secret.
Dodge, block, make the chains wrap around each other, and jank. Ten seconds of fighting and Arthur's mace flew in an arc as Merlin swiped his legs from under him, in the same motion putting a knee on his chest and tightening the chain over his throat like a ready-to-choke-you warning. His lips quirked.
"Do you yield?"
Anger, annoyance, humiliation. All that flashed in the prince's eyes as he growled. Merlin let the chain press a bit. Not dangerously. Just a warning.
"...I yield", Arthur conceded grudgingly.
Immediately Merlin was off him, gathering the maces and giving them back as the prince stood up. He bowed appreciatively.
"Thank you for letting me try one of these, Your Highness", he said, not at all mocking.
Arthur, for a second, didn't seem to know how to react before ripping the weapons from Merlin's hands. The black haired boy frowned. That was rude. He really needed to change his attitude if he was to rule. Then he 'noticed' the crowd gathered around them and blinked. He blinked again when he saw Gaius at the back of it and smiled sheepishly at his disapproving look.
It seems he was going to get a talking to.
xXXx
Merlin woke up next morning to Gaius opening his door. He mumbled a good morning and sat up. Normally he would wake before him but this night had been the lesson with Kilgharrah and he… overstayed. Because apparently he would have to smuggle the dragon's food out to make it look like he was still there. And that meant unexpected planning sessions. Annoying.
"I'm surprised you've managed to keep your room tidy", the old man said, "And that you're still in bed"
Well. Merlin had mastered that lifetimes ago. Sometimes he barely even noticed he was keeping everything in its proper place. That meant he was an 'angel child' or the odd one out in many universes. Though, sometimes 'proper place' meant 'organized mess'. Literally.
As for that second remark, excuse you! …Maybe he should just be honest about it.
"You didn't have a magic lesson with a dragon last night, I bet", he muttered.
Gaius paused in getting out and turned around, "A what, Merlin?"
The sleepy warlock closed his eyes. Gaius was about to demand an answer when a voice rang in his head.
'A magic lesson. With Kilgharrah'
He jumped in surprise before sighing.
"Since when do you know him?", the old man asked.
'My second night here. Freed him. Made a plan to smuggle his food out last night'
Gaius rubbed his eyes. Of course Merlin would do that. The boy had blatantly beaten the prince in fighting and challenged him to change attitude. He clearly disliked injustice. Honestly, Gaius was a bit surprised (and relieved… or was it disappointed?) he didn't foil the execution the day he arrived.
"You don't need me to tell you why that was a horrible idea. You're a smart boy"
Merlin opened his eyes and looked at him oddly, "I can turn invisible, you know?"
Gaius took a second to wrap his mind around that before voicing his other concern, "You freed the Great Dragon. He could've easily turned on Camelot for killing his kin and imprisoning him for twenty years"
His ward waved a hand dismissively, "I made him swear he wouldn't. Usually I know if someone lies to me"
And that took almost all of Gaius' worries. If it was true. He just sighed again.
"I would appreciate it if you told me of your plans next time", he told the youngster and got a blinding smile in return.
"Noted"
Gaius smiled, "Now get up, would you. I want you to get me some herbs", he rattled off a list before giving him a medicine to deliver to Morgana against nightmares. Merlin hadn't known these times had a cure for nightmares. He had a lot of reading up to do.
xXXx
Morgana. Some Arthurian legends said that she was either Merlin's apprentice or lover… neither of which he really wanted to have. Well, maybe the apprentice part… Then there were many other 'modern day' stories that stated her to be Merlin's enemy. Whatever the case she had magic. He would keep an eye on her. For her, too, as he now knew her to be a passionate young woman with no qualms about fighting for what she believed to be right.
Her maid, Gwen, was a gentle soul with a compassionate heart. They made a good pair of friends. Merlin would fight to keep it that way. And perhaps befriend them too…
Well. Today was a feast. Maybe he'd see the two then?
xXXx
He was right. Gwen was one good and compassionate woman. She seemed to appreciate that he stood up to Arthur when the prince acted like a bully and it didn't take long for them to engage in a lighthearted conversation. It seemed she had some trouble explaining herself properly in some cases, like her love life, but Merlin only found that to be one of her charms. The girl was special. 'Born to be queen' as she stated it. If not a leader, then a queen at heart. A true queen, one that held up the ideals of fairy tales… that weren't such a rarity in Merlin's past lives… But truly, it was hard to come by someone who thought in as pure a way as this maid did.
Merlin could see himself having her as a friend in this world.
xXXx
Lady Helen had a beautiful voice, that much was true. But this particular song was a sleeping spell. Literally. Merlin blocked his hearing with magic and frowned to get stock of the situation.
Everyone was now asleep. Helen had a… dead look in her eyes. Dulled. Like someone was controlling her or just blocking her to be herself. She had a knife in hand and was steadily walking towards Arthur. Merlin murmured a counter spell to get her to stop singing, which luckily worked. Basically the mind control was only a confusion spell with an anchor, but easily disrupted by someone's casting if noticed. His backup plan was to just silence her.
Thomas' mother!, was his first conclusion as to who would've done it. At least it was who had to be behind this if not exactly present… He searched for magic in the room and his eyes widened as he realized someone sneaking behind the royal seats, a sword in hand. Everyone rose as Helen screamed when she came to and saw her guard raising a sword above Arthur's head.
Merlin was quick and quicker with a little time control. He lunged at the man and easily pushed him on his back, the sword twisting from his grip. He noticed a necklace and snapped it. Immediately a glamour dropped to reveal an old man with a sneer on his face and dying pallor too. He had magic that was alike to Thomas' mother, like a brother to hers. He was probably the man's uncle then. And already dying of sickness.
What happened to the original guard, he didn't know. He should've defined 'vengeance' better.
"Restrain him", Uther said in a cold tone and pointed at the man flattened to the floor as guests gasped at what had happened.
Then the king turned to Merlin who gave a polite bow to him. He had stood when the guards came for the man.
"You saved my boy's life. A debt must be paid", he said, looking at the dark haired boy in the eyes as said boy looked uncomfortable and humble, "You shall be rewarded"
"You don't have to, Your Highness…", Merlin started to protest weakly. Why did he even say that? It would only spur Uther on!
"No, absolutely! This merits something quite special. You shall be rewarded a position at the royal household", Merlin had a bad feeling about this, "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant"
Called it.
Arthur seemed to have similar thoughts in mind, "Father!", he protested. Uther didn't hear.
The prince he turned his head distrustfully to his new manservant before looking away with a scowl.
Merlin looked at the prince's back for a moment before sighing and resigning himself to it. Actually, it gave him a pretty good position to teach the blond man some facts about the world and maybe about decency or… well. He'd cross that bridge when it came. Gwen gave him a sympathetic look from her corner and Merlin smiled slightly. He'd made a good friend. And… who knows? He stole a glance at the clearly quietly fuming prince.
Perhaps he'd have another after some time.
xXXx
First episode of Merlin: Done. And no, I most likely will not be doing them all. If updates come, then I decided to write more of this Cycle. I have some already written but it's not yet ready to be published.
This is the fifth Cycle I've published.