Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, unfortunately…

Author's Note: Welcome all to my first Merlin fanfic! I promised myself that I wouldn't follow the absurd Arthur/Merlin pairing, but…here I am. *sigh* oh well. At least it's better than I originally thought :) Anyway, news for all of you – the US is getting cheated out of Episode 12! They are not planning on airing it here…at least not this season. I'm trying to find it online, but until then, don't give anything away (except a URL of where to find it, of course!).

Prologue

"Arthur is your destiny…your destiny…destiny…" the dragon's voice echoed in Merlin's head. He awoke with a start and covered his ears.

"No!" he shouted silently. "Arthur is not my destiny! He can't be!" but he heard no reply.

Chapter 1

Merlin was awakened by a loud crash outside his room. He groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. "Not yet…" he groaned. "It's too early for trouble to have started already…"

"Merlin!" His good friend and mentor, Gaius, called him. Gaius came into his room and smiled tolerantly at the young sorcerer. "Prince Arthur requires your services…I think it would be a wise idea to get up. You know how he can be."

All too well, thought Merlin, but he smiled a quick thank you at his friend and went to see what Arthur needed.

*~|~*

When he went to Arthur's room, he found him contemplating the field outside his window. "I thought you were going to sleep all day," Arthur said in a bored tone of voice.

"That's not really an option around here" Merlin replied, feeling a little annoyed at the Prince.

Arthur's only reaction was to smile. Sometimes he found the things Merlin said to be quite amusing. But he didn't really want to let Merlin know that. "I'm glad to see that we understand each other," he said finally, looking at his servant and friend. "So now that you're here, I've decided to draw up a list for you…"

*~|~*

Merlin looked at the list Arthur gave him in disgust. How could he possibly do all of those chores in the hour before the tournament today? Or, he thought with a smile, I could just use magic to do them again.

He knew that Gaius would disapprove – if he ever found out, that is. Merlin poked his head out the door and looked around. The coast was clear – for now. And now, he had plenty of time to get himself ready for the tournament, and not just the Prince.

For some time now, Merlin had been looking for a way to put Arthur in his place. The man was way too sure of himself in a battle. He tortured the poor innocent young men who wished to play at being knights, and he was an absolute terror on the field. It may have been a good thing that the crown prince was such a good fighter, seeing how it had saved his life several times, but did he have to brag about it so much?

And so Merlin had thought of a plan. If someone could be powerful enough to beat Arthur – not really hurt him, just win the tournament – maybe Arthur wouldn't be such a prat. But there was a small problem with that plan. First of all…who could beat the best fighter in Camelot? And second…even if he could find someone, why would they listen to a servant? So the only solution was for Merlin himself to try and beat Arthur.

For months and months he had been training in the dead of night, learning how to properly use a sword and shield and how to handle wearing chain mail. A few weeks ago, he had finally decided he had gotten good enough to enter the tournament. "Sir Emrys" was a new knight of the realm of Camelot, originally from a land to the South. He dared not reveal too much of his fighting ability, in case it turned out to not be so good. But he always had magic to fall back on – which, he reminded himself, could only be used in case of emergency.

Startled out of his thoughts, he checked the time. Thinking had wasted half an hour…it was time to get ready for the tournament.

Author's Note: I feel like that moved a little quick. But I had no story ideas, and then this idea intruded on my thoughts. Without it, there would have been no chapter one so…sorry if it just seems stuck in there. I'll try to make it smooth sailing from now on. Also, this is a pretty short chapter. That's the way I write, though...with short chapters. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon...although it will be up sooner if you review :)