A/N: So I was really bored in a tutorial at uni one day (because really, who wants to learn about statistics when you're doing a psychology course?!) and I got the idea of writing a series where Arthur is female, which I then proceeded to write in the same class. The title of the series, and also of this particular story, will be 'Meeting You Was Fate'. Yes, it will eventually be Arthur/Merlin- but not for a while yet! This first one is Arthur's (or Arianna, in this case) impression of Merlin when they first met). Also, for anyone reading 'Born to Serve You', I PROMISE you the next chapter is coming- I've just hit the point in uni where all my assignments are due at once because the semester is very nearly over :( I'll get it out ASAP!
This particular story is kind of drabble-y, and others in the series will be as well, but not all of them will be. At present, though, all of them are one shots- lengths, however, will vary.
Meeting You Was Fate
The crown princess of Camelot having a personal manservant was more than just a little unusual- but then again, Arianna was not a normal princess, and the circumstances surrounding Merlin's appointment weren't exactly normal, either. Merlin had barely been in Camelot for more than a day, and had already saved the princess from a dagger-wielding sorceress. As a reward Arianna's father, King Uther, had named him Arianna's manservant.
Of course, the pair hadn't exactly gotten on like a house on fire at first. Merlin was insolent, and lazy, and just oh so impossible sometimes. And he actually had the nerve to call her Arianna! No one called her that- everyone who was in their right mind called her Ari. The only time anyone ever called her Arianna was when her father was seriously pissed, or when foreign dignitaries were visiting and she was being paraded around like the picture-perfect princess. But every time Ari thought about firing Merlin, she found that she couldn't. There was just something about the man… maybe it was the fact that he didn't treat her like a princess, an object. He treated her like she was human. And he had saved Ari's life, something he hadn't had to do.
Ari had been told by Morgana (who had heard it from her maidservant, Gwen) that Merlin was staying with and also working for the Gaius, and that the physician knew Merlin's mother, which is why he had come to Camelot. The rest of Merlin was an enigma, one that Ari found herself desperate to solve. She didn't like mysteries; Ari was the type of woman who had to know everything. Merlin seemed like the type of man who had secrets, too. He intrigued Ari, something she was loath to admit (and would never actually say to anything else). She found herself wanting to know more about him; like why he felt he could talk back to the future queen of Camelot. Anybody else who did so would find themselves in the stocks. Every day, Ari wanted to ask Merlin why he treated her the way he did. Every day, she chickened out. One day, she would ask him. Or maybe Merlin would tell her before she had to ask.
Ari had thought that her life was near perfect before Merlin had arrived in Camelot. She was the crown princess, she was so beautiful she had men falling at her feet, and she was the greatest warrior in the kingdom- which was especially an achievement for a woman. She thought she had everything. But when she'd met Merlin and had basically been forced to spend time with him, Ari had realised just how much she'd been missing out on. She may have been a much-loved and beautiful princess, but everyone treated her with deference and acted with caution around her because of who she was. Originally, Ari had seen nothing wrong with this. She was the future queen of Camelot, so of course people should treat her this way! But when Ari had first met Merlin, the clueless idiot that he was, he had treated her like she was the same as everybody else.
Ari had hated him for the way he treated her at first- or at least, she'd thought she had. Merlin was definitely driving her crazy, but he wasn't angering her. Yes, he intrigued her, but he also awoke something in Ari, a feeling she couldn't describe except as one she couldn't remember feeling for a long time. This feeling he evoked in her was the reason he kept her around. He was, after all, a very useless manservant. And he was not above insulting her in front of others, either. But there was something about Merlin… something that made Ari want to keep him around. Something that stopped her from clapping him in irons or putting him in the stocks every time he treated her like no servant ever should. Something that made Ari want to find out everything there was to know about him- like why on earth he had saved her life when he so obviously hated her when they had met. And why, even after Ari had nearly taken his head off with a mace, had Merlin stuck around and acted like that never happened.
Ari shouldn't want to get to know Merlin. He was her manservant, nothing more. Princesses shouldn't be close to their manservant. But Merlin was different. He wasn't like the other servants. And a huge part of Ari, one she couldn't silence or ignore, yearned to find out why. Not today, though. Today, Ari was going to yell at Merlin for being late with her breakfast, again.
A/N: So there you have it! What do you think? Love it, hate it, undecided? Be sure to let me know! :)