Chapter 1

Uther stood upon the balcony, overlooking Camelot. Leon, his loyal servant, stood with him and bowed. The ranks of his subjects, who crowded the courtyard below, follow suit and bowed low. Gaius, the old wise man, joined the pair while leaning heavily on his crooked staff. He embraced the king before turning to his queen, Ygraine. In her arms was a golden infant with big blue eyes. Gaius blessed the new born prince, rubbing a red mixture on his brow. The older man took the baby in his arms, walked to the edge of the balcony and raiseed the child over his head for all to see. The people let out deafening cheers and applause when they saw their future king. Uther and Ygraine beamed at their mewling son who was bewildered by the noise.

"It moves us all, through despair and hope, though faith and love, till we find out place on the path unwinding, it's the circle of life."

Leon found Agravaine terrorizing a servant in rooms at the top of the dark tower where he chose to live.

"Uther is furious you missed the ceremony," the king's councillor scolded.

Agravaine ignored him and the frightened servant took this as a chance to flee. In his haste, he nearly bowled over Uther.

"Ygraine and I did not see you at the presentation of Arthur."

Agravine feigned astonishment. "That was today? Must have slipped my mind."

"As the king's brother, you should have been first in line," Leon chided.

"I was first in line until that little brat was born."

Uther narrows his eyes at his younger brother, "That brat is my son and your future king."

The darker haired man sneered. "I shall practice my curtsy." Then he disappeared further into his cave-like rooms.

The young boy scampered around, flaxen hair windblown and eyes bright. Uther laughed and continued patiently up the mountain with his guards following at a distance. The father and son looked out over the summit as the sun crept up, illuminating their kingdom.

"A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Arthur, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king."

The prince's eyes widened. "And this will all be mine?" he asked incredulously.

"Everything."

"What about that shadowy place?" Arthur pointed to an eerie shimmering corner of the darkling woods with a river cutting through it.

"That is beyond our borders. You must never go there." Uther fixed his son with a stern look.

The boy pouted. "I thought a king can do whatever he wants."

"There is more to being king than getting your way all the time. Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all your subjects."

Arthur had already lost interest in his father's lecturing. He was trying to sneak up on an oblivious songbird, the wooden sword Uther had given him was held high over his head. The little prince slashed down and missed his prey, causing the bird to twitter indignantly and fly off.

"What are you doing son?" Uther finally noticed what Arthur was doing.

"Pouncing," he replied guiltily.

The king chuckled. "Let an old expert show you how it is done." He motioned for one of his men who lingered in the trees to bring him a bow. With a practiced hand, Uther strung up an arrow and crept into the underbrush. "Stay low to the ground and try not to make a sound."

Arthur nodded and watched in awe when his father shot down a squirrel cleanly through the eye.

That was when the alarm bells began to ring. Uther and Arthur hurried down the mountain to rejoin there entourage.

A horseman raced up to them. "Sire! Druids! In Camelot!"

The king's face hardened. "Leon, take Arthur home."

"Can't I come?"

"No son." And the prince's hopeful face fell. Uther jumped on his prized stallion and galloped off.

Arthur and Agravaine dined alone in the cavernous hall. Uther was still hunting down the sorcerers and Ygraine had retired early feeling ill.

"Uncle Agravaine, guess what?"

"I despise guessing games," he muttered darkly.

Arthur didn't hear this and continued to ramble happily. "I am going to be king of Camelot. Father just showed me the whole kingdom and I am going to rule it all."

"So your father showed you the while kingdom did he? He didn't show you what is beyond that rise at the northern border?" The king's brother gave his nephew a shrewd look.

"Well no," Arthur said, eagerness deflating. "He said I can't go there."

"And he is absolutely right. It is far too dangerous; only the bravest men go there," Agravaine announced histrionically.

"I am brave!" the boy protested.

"The Valley of Fallen Kings is no place for a young prince."

Arthur perked up immediately. "The valley of what?"

"Oh dear, I have said too much. Well I suppose you would have found out sooner or later, you being so clever and all. Just promise me you will never visit that dreadful place."

"No problem," the Prince replied but the gears were turning quickly in his little head.

"There's a good lad. You run along now and have fun. And remember, it's our little secret."

Arthur entered his mother's chambers and found three people residing there.

"Hey Merlin."

"Hi Arthur." The skinny, pale, dark haired boy gave his friend a grin that turned into a grimace. His mother was rubbing at a spot on his face with her kerchief. "Geroff Mum, you're hurting me!"

Hunith was the lady-in-waiting to Queen Ygraine who was also in the room, smiled fondly at the other occupants.

"Come on. I just heard about this great place."

Merlin struggled to escape his mother's hands. "I'm clean. Can we go now?" Hunith reluctantly let him go. He turned to Arthur, "So where are we going? It better not be anyplace dumb."

"No. It's really brilliant," he assured Merlin.

"So where is this really brilliant place?" The queen cut in.

"Oh..uh," the prince floundered, "around that field outside the city."

Merlin look surprised. "The field? What's so great about the field?"

"I'll show you when we get there," Arthur hissed.

"Mum, can I go with Arthur?"

Hunith looked to Ygraine. "What do you think milady?"

"It is all right with me," the Queen relented to the cheers of the children, "As long as Leon goes with you." That wiped the smiles off the boy's faces.

"Step lively. The sooner we get to the field, the sooner we can leave," Leon called from behind.

Merlin slid closer to the prince and lowered his voice, "So where are we really going?"

"The Valley of Fallen Kings," Arthur whispered keeping a wary eye on Leon.

The dark haired boy glanced at his friend conspiratorially "Right so how are we going to ditch the bootlicker?"

The young prince shrugged and turned to surreptitiously peek at the knight.

Leon observed them from behind and frowned at Arthur, "As much as I like Mr. Emrys, your highness, I believe you should spend more time with Lady Elena. What with your being betrothed and all."

"Be-what?" Arthur earned a disapproved look from the knight.

"Betrothed. Intended. Affianced," Leon explained.

Merlin gazed at them curiously, "Meaning?"

The knight regarded the boys imperiously. "One day you two are going to be married."

"Eww. I can't marry her. She's too weird. I'd rather marry Merlin. When I'm king, that'll be the first thing to go."

Leon sniffed. "Not so long as I'm around."

"Well in that case, you're fired." Arthur announced cheekily.

The knight chucked. "Hmmm. Nice try, but only the king can do that."

"Well, he is the once and future king," Merlin piped up.

"I'm going to be a mighty king so enemies beware. I'm going to be the main event like no king was before. I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my roar. Oh I just can't wait to be king." The young prince sighed dreamily.

Leon shook his head in exasperation. "You've a rather long way to go, young master, if you think-"

"No one saying do this!" Arthur announced.

He spluttered. "Now when I said that, I-"

"No one saying be there!" Merlin remarked.

"What I meant was-"

"No one saying stop that!" declared the prince.

"Look what you don't realize-" Leon tried to explain.

"No one saying see here!"

Now the knight was frustrated. "Now see here!"

"Free to run around all day." Arthur added.

"Well that's definitely out," the knight muttered.

The prince threw his arms up and whooped, "Free to do it all my way!"

Leon reigned in his horse, blocking their path. "I think it's time that you and I arranged a heart to heart."

"Kings don't need advice from knights for a start," Arthur replied scornfully.

He sighed and decided to ignore that jibe. "If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out. Out of service, out of Camelot, I wouldn't hang about," Leon teased. "This child is getting wildly out of hand."

"Everybody look left, everybody look right. Everywhere you look, I'm standing in spotlight!" the prince crowed.

"Not yet!" Leon retorted.

Merlin grinned. "It's going to be King Arthur's finest fling!"

"Oh I just can't wait to be king!" On that cue, the two boys swerved around Leon and raced off. Before the knight could gather his wits, they disappeared down the road. He sighed and set off to follow them.

Arthur wore a broad smile on his face. "All right, it worked!"

"We lost him!" The boys slid off their mounts and tied them to a tree off the path.

"I am a genius." The prince bragged.

"Hey," Merlin whined, "Genius, it was my idea."

"Yeah, but I pulled it off."

"With me!" he protested.

"Oh yeah?" Arthur had a wicked grin on his face. The prince tacked his friend and they roll to the ground.

"Ha. Pinned you!" Merlin comes out of the tussle on top.

The prince gave him a sour look. "Hey. Let me up."

Merlin smirked at Arthur, who tackled him again. Once again, the skinnier boy pushed the prince to the ground. "Pinned you again!"

"Idiot."

"Prat."

Suddenly Arthur stopped. "This is it," he said awed, "We made it."

The clearing is eerily silent and empty of forest life. A thick fog blankets the ground and the boys can barely see the forest around them. Two enormous statues flank the narrow trail.

"It's really creepy." Merlin commented.

Arthur laughed, "Yeah, isn't it great?"

"We could get in big trouble." He said nonchalantly.

"I know, huh."

Merlin kicked a skull laying nearby. "I wonder if its brains are still in there."

"Come on. Let's go check this place out." Arthur led the way into the valley.

"Wrong!" Both youths whipped around to see Leon striding after them. "The only checking out you will do will be to check out of here."

"Aw man," the prince groused.

"We are way beyond the boundary of Camelot," the knight reprimanded.

"Huh. Look, Leon is scared," Arthur taunted.

"That's Sir Leon to you. And right now, we are all in very real danger."

The prince subtly moved further into the valley. "Danger? Ha! I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha!"

More laughter echoed from somewhere in the dense fog. Arthur jumped and slid closer to Merlin.

Three figures emerged from the forest. When they came closer, it became apparent that they were only a few years older than Arthur and Merlin.

"Well, well, well Morgause. What have we got here?" A haughty girl with pale skin and a raven-haired mane sneered.

A fair girl with blonde waves followed her. "Hmm, I don't know Morgana. What do you think Cenred?"

The third member of their party was a scruffy, dark haired boy. He laughed nervously but didn't respond. They circled menacingly around Leon and the boys.

"Just what I was thinking. A trio of trespassers." Morgause jeered.

"And quite by accident, let me assure you," Leon cut in. "A simple navigational error." He edged away from the teenagers.

"Wait, wait. I know you." Morgana peered at Arthur, who shrank back. "You're Uther's little urchin."

The knight stepped forward and pushed the young prince behind him. "I, madam, am the king's majordomo."

Morgana disregarded Leon, still looking pointedly at Arthur. "And that would make you?"

He jutted out his chin. "The future king."

She leered at him. "Do you know what we do to kings who step out of their kingdom?"

"You can't do anything to me." Arthur said stubbornly.

Morgause's eyes flared gold, her expression dangerous.

Leon tensed. "Technically, they can. We are on their land."

"But Leon, you told me they're nothing but slobbering, mangy, stupid sorcerers." Arthur observed innocently.

"My, my, my. Look at the sun. It's time to go!" The knight tried to pull the prince away.

"What's the hurry? We'd love you to stick around for dinner," Morgana invited while stepping across their path threateningly.

Suddenly Arthur and Merlin ducked under her arms and ran into the fog. In their moment of distraction, Leon slipped around Morgause and pelted after the boys.

Merlin paused at an outcropping of rock to catch his breath. "Did we lose 'em?"

Arthur panted, "I think so. Where's Leon?"

They looked down to see the witch sisters surround Leon. Their hands were up and muttering words at the knight. Merlin made a strangled yelp which Arthur ignored. He knew he had to break their concentration by saying something, anything-

"Hey! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

The spell casting broke off. The boys found Morgana and Morgause snickering up at them. "Like you?"

"Oops," Arthur muttered.

They scrambled through the forest while the sorcerers sent puffs of smoke after them. Dodging branches and hopping over rocks, Arthur and Merlin bolted through the trees.

"Arthur!"

The prince was horrified to find Merlin having tripped on a root and sprawled on the ground. He ran back to grasp Merlin's arm and wrench him off the ground. Morgause appeared over the crest of the next hill and began to shout an incantation. Before she could finish, a large bough fell, narrowly missing her body. Morgause dove out of the way and the boys fled further into the woods. Suddenly Morgana materialized from behind a tree and chased them into a cave.

"Here prince-y prince-y!" Morgause's catcalls joined her sister's voice. Cenred and his deranged grin arrived as well.

Arthur unsheathed his wooden practice sword and brandished it at them while standing protectively in front of Merlin.

"Oooh. That was it? Ha! Do it again, come on." Morgana taunted.

They all heard the swish of a sword being drawn and Uther stood looking thunderous at the mouth of the cave. The king charged at the enchantresses and they are knocked to the ground.

Morgana cringes, "Oh please, please. Uncle, uncle."

"Ow," Morgause mutters.

"Silence!" Uther roars.

"Oh we're going to shut up right now," Morgause said nodding.

"Calm down," Morgana whined with only a shadow of her old additude. "We're really sorry."

"If you ever come near my son again-" He left the threat hanging.

Morgana feigned surprise. "Oh this is- this is your son?" She looked to her sister, "Did you know that?"

"Me? I didn't know it. No. Did you?" Morgause backed away slowly.

"No of course not!" Morgana was terrified. "Cenred?"

The boy nodded meekly.

"Bye!" Morgause cried with false cheer. Then the three of them disappeared in a spinning column of air.

Leon glanced at his master approvingly then withered under the reproving glare.

Arthur approached Uther slowly. "Father I-"

"You deliberately disobeyed me," the king berated angrily.

"Father, I'm-" Arthur stared at the ground, ducking his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Let's go home." Uther swept out of the cave.

Merlin touched Arthur's arm and whispered in his ear, "I thought you were very brave."

In the distance, Leon thought he saw Lord Agravaine watching the proceedings, but when he looked again, nothing is there.

"Leon?"

"Yes sire?"

"Take Merlin home. I've got to teach my son a lesson."