Ikahorse: I don't mind Gwen/Lancelot. However, I'm not partial to Merthur. I promise it'll be implied, but I personally don't really like the ship. Gwen/Lance will be written in. Merthur will be referenced, but never outright stated. Also, Merlyne will fall in love with someone else, and until Arthur falls for someone it'll be a one-sided relationship, romantically speaking. Technically, Arthur will crush on Merlyne for a long while until someone snaps him out of the delusion anything'll happen with him and Merlyne. Also, said crush will never be explicitly mentioned, just constantly referenced.

That being said, Merlyne will find love eventually.

Enjoy.

(The Dragon's Call)

Merlyne was ecstatic to meet the other threads. She knew it was rude to refer to them as 'threads', but she knew there wasn't just humans, but various magical creatures, and once she followed one of the threads and it was attached to a raven (Merlyne didn't bother telling her mother about the inexplicable connection Merlyne felt between her and the raven. When she touched the bird, it seemed to solidify their relationship. The raven Merlyne named Corvus, she could feel, was always watching over her from that day). Merlyne followed the cords with care until she arrived at Camelot to see Uther Pendragon, the king of Camelot, executing a man for being a sorcerer.

Cruelty is far more vibrant here than in Ealdor. It was shocking to think so, Ealdor being in Essetir and all, but after having decided to leave us alone from his merciless reign, it became peaceful and tranquil. Quite nice, actually. However, people constantly attack us for resources (honestly, we have very little. Could they not pick on a different village?), so I make it a point to always stay alert.

Merlyne looked up to the block and envisioned herself, then shuddered. Being executed for magic wasn't necessarily on the top of her to-do list. She pitied the man on the block. It could have been her just about to be executed.

Sorcery? Couldn't this man have used sorcery to defend himself, or to escape before the guards caught him? How abnormal.

Merlyne's POV

I gasped when the axe was brought down on the sorcerer's neck. How cruel.

When Uther stopped speaking, an old woman, Mary Collins, stepped up, wailing.

"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic!" she exclaimed. "It is you, with your hatred and ignorance!" she pointed up to the bleeding beheaded corpse. "You took my son!" she cried. "And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a child for a child!" she declared through her sorrow. Uther ordered his guards to seize her, but she used magic to teleport away before they could take but one step towards her.

See what I mean? Shouldn't the newly executed man have been able to teleport away, too?

I went up to Gaius's chambers and left my bag by the door, not wanting to disturb him, then set the letter my mother gave me for him on his table by his ink pot.

With that done, I decided to follow the blue thread.

I came to a training area outside the castle courtyard. Around a blonde's pinkie finger was an electric blue thread. I stared down at the thread, an instinct I had picked up over the years, then approached the boy with increasing doubts and hesitation. He was special, someone Merlyne never thought she would meet. 'Can he see the threads? Can he see me? Why is his thread different?' Were the most recurring thoughts. The blonde stopped tormenting his servant to spare a glance at me, only to turn his head back at me again in shock, then back down to his own pinkie where the end of my thread was tied, and the already porcelain skin lying on his face went even lighter from the shock of meeting the other side of the unique blue thread.

Answer to question one: It seemed he could see the threads, too, or perhaps just the blue one.

I approached him, and he came closer to me, too. I held out the hand bearing the thread and tied it around my hand in a gesture that I could see the thread, then held out the hand to him. He seemed to take the hint and twisted his own hand around the blue thread and clasped his hand in mine. I smiled, which was mirrored by the boy.

"It seems this was supposed to happen." the blonde told me. I nodded, then took my hand out of his.

"My name is Merlyne." I introduced myself.

"Prince Arthur." the blonde told me.

"What the hell is this?" one of the knights asked, making us both jump. Though his was less visible, he still jumped.

"Nothing!" we both responded a bit too quickly, Arthur turning around to face one of the other knights. We had temporarily forgotten that the threads were invisible to everyone but us, the 'blue thread-bearers', and tried to hide the glowing blue string.

Arthur's face hardened from the embarrassed smile he once wore. It seemed he had also forgotten that there were other people here. "Why are you all just standing there? Get back to training. There'll be a spar later; all of you against me."

"How very bold, dear prince." I addressed the other side of the blue thread once the knights had scurried away, leaving myself and the prince alone, save for the servant Arthur had been bullying earlier.

"I can handle these people." Arthur told me with arrogant confidence that, to him and the knights, seemed to be warranted.

I sighed. "Very well. Well, I should really get back to Gaius. Till next time, Sir Arthur." I told him, leaving.

"Merlyne." Arthur said, turning around to face me. I twisted my neck to look back at him.

"Yes?" I asked, genuinely curious about why he was addressing me.

Arthur approached me for theatrical purposes. "The next time we meet, I might not recognise you." I almost scoffed at this. There was no way he could miss me, not when I was the other side of that special blue thread, but I restrained myself from speaking out of turn, as no one else could see the threads. He handed me a dagger. "I want you to carry this around with you around your neck. It will allow me to recognise you." Arthur smiled.

I took the dagger. It was well-crafted in the extreme, the Pendragon crest carved into the end of the hilt, and a very ornate pattern of jewels leading up to the dagger, making the blade seem threatening. Arthur was right. Threads aside, he would never be able to not recognise me wearing this. "I can't possibly accept this." I said, trying to give him back the intricate blade. I could fully appreciate it, but it wasn't just for a prince to be giving a woman like me gifts like this, things that could be considered courting gifts.

I involuntarily shuddered. I couldn't possibly imagine being married to Arthur. Better explanation: I can't see myself being Uther Pendragon's daughter-in-law.

Arthur took it back from me, then slipped it into an equally flashy sheath and handed it back to me. "I insist."

I sighed, then took the blade. "You promise you won't let them put me in the stocks for this?" I asked.

"For what?" Arthur asked.

"If I take this and people don't know you gave it to me, then they'll think I stole it from you and sooner or later people are going to arrest me for it." I said, holding the dagger carefully, the blade pointing downwards.

"You will not be put in the stocks. If you do get dragged to my father, I get you out of prison myself." Arthur promised.

Satisfied with his declaration, I slipped the dagger over my head after attaching it to a sting sturdy enough to keep it suspended.

I bowed to Arthur and went on my way.

The night of the feast

I sat on the steps wearing a sleek purple dress identical to Morgana's that she had insisted I take (I had quickly become friends with her and her maidservant, Guinevere when Gaius had ordered me to take a sleeping draught to the king's daughter for her nightmares). I will, without any hesitation, admit my complete and utter soul-encompassing boredom. I had already been here at least twenty minutes and nothing had happened but some pointless chatter.

While I wouldn't consider myself mentally unbalanced by any means, I generally hated companionship and instead loved lakes, preferring solitude and peace over getting constant headaches from annoying children or people trying to bother me. It especially happened since people found out about my true gender. My voice was somewhat deep for a woman, and I wore baggy clothes and pants, and add the fact that my hair was normally tied up into such a tight bun and in a hat or headscarf. However, by now, people probably will recognise my face as Merlyne, female, new resident of Camelot from Ealdor who befriended the king's daughter and changed Prince Arthur so as to not bully his manservant.

Hey, word gets around fast. One of the servants must have been eavesdropping on mind and Arthur's conversation a few nights past, because I don't think Gaius would reveal that I'm from Essetir of all places.

I think he's just relieved to finally know who's on the other end of the blue thread that had plagued both our thoughts for years. I am still incredibly curious where the green thread is, though. 'Vert' feels interesting.

These past nights, myself and Arthur had met up and talked about our lives. He had to hide his thread-seeing since birth from a father who killed everyone who had such a special talent. Talents like DragonSpeaking, the gift of prophecy (that is to say Seeing), and thread-seeing; the talents far too close to magic (in Uther's not-so-humble, but correct, opinion).

He grew up with no one knowing at all what those threads meant or could even see them. He had even asked Gaius to examine him for mental illnesses over twenty times and asking for eye exams twice that amount.

Each time he left, he wrapped his hand around the thread and clasped my thread-bound hand in his, a silent promise he would come back.

Uther came out from behind a stone archway, behind him a woman dressed in yellow and white.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity," Uther started. "And this has brought myself and my kingdom many pleasures, but few can compare with the honour of introducing the Lady Helen of Mora!" Uther declared, gesturing towards the woman clad in the yellow dress under the pseudo-spotlight.

The woman began to sing in the old tongue, the language of sorcery and enchantments. A cool wind began to blow softly, carrying a warmth that started to lull the others to sleep. I stayed awake as I had slapped my hands over my ears to block out the noise. As Arthur fell asleep, I assumed it wasn't magic keeping me awake, but the fact that I had blocked out the noise. I could hear the song crescendo when the woman pulled a dagger from her sleeve and pointed it at Arthur. Panicked, I dropped a chandelier on her. 'Helen' looked up in shock and allowed the chandelier to fall on her, as she couldn't utter the proper enchantment to levitate it before it hit her.

The nobles awoke in shock to the fake Lady Helen turn back into Mary Collins, the mother of the man Uther had executed two days previous. Mary lifted herself, ignoring her physical pain, and threw the dagger with her last scrap of energy.

Time seemed to slow and my fear rose at an alarming rate.

'-There will be no Albion-' Kilgharrah's voice echoed through my mind as I threw myself towards Arthur.

I couldn't let that happen!

I ran over to Arthur even as the dagger got closer by the millisecond. I quickly wrapped my arms around his right arm and his neck, then pulled him backwards onto me just as the dagger split into the back of the chair into where Arthur's head had been just a millisecond before, a deafening crack echoing through the room. Thankfully for me, Arthur's instincts kicked in and he twisted himself so I would land on him and take the full force of the fall.

I sighed and let my head fall over his heart, muttering a soft 'you're okay' that no one but Arthur would be able to hear. "Thank goodness." I said, relieved I had been successful in my endeavour to get him out of harm's way. Arthur let his head fall to the ground with a sigh. Being a prince, near-death experiences had to be common, but no one had come quite that close before, as witchcraft had been used both to save him and make an attempt on his life. Despite popular belief, the guards are semi-competent and were trained to stop an attack on Camelot, especially if it involved sorcery. Just not in this case, or perhaps sometimes in the future.

No one in the room dared move an inch as Uther lifted himself from his chair and went over to me. I was scared for a moment until I caught sight of the beaming smile on Uther's face. "You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repayed." Uther said, lifting me to my feet by my shoulders.

"Sir, that's really not necessary." I replied, helping Arthur up from his place on the floor.

"No, no. I insist. This merits something quite special." Uther said setting a hand on my shoulder, which immediately made me tense. "You will be my son's maidservant." he clapped his hands, along with the multitude of people in the room.

Arthur tried to protest, but couldn't find it in him to do so, he was quite happy with the fact that I had a legitimate reason to visit him each day. I smiled, then wrapped my hand around the blue thread and held my hand out. Arthur's features softened. He wrapped his own hand around the thread and clasped his hand in mine.

"Intertwined destinies?" I asked.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Was Arthur's response, releasing my hand after a minute of playing with the thread around my finger.

This seemed to confuse a lot of people, but they chose to ignore it, instead focusing on the food in front of them. Arthur returned to his seat while I chose to go back to my room to think. Gaius came back about an hour later to find me reading a book on herbs claiming it was for research. I had changed out of the dress Morgana had given me, swapping the clothes for a pair of black pants, brown boots that went up to my knees, a blue long-sleeve shirt, a red headscarf to tie up my hair, and the dagger given to me from Arthur around my neck.

Gaius took a book wrapped in red cloth off the shelf. "This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it'll be of more use to you than it ever was to me." Gaius said, handing me the book.

I picked the red fabric off of the book, then flipped through the pages. "But this is a book of magic." was my response, the smile still not fading.

Gaius nodded. "Which is why you must keep it hidden." he said.

I chuckled, then turned back up at Gaius. "I will study every word." I promised him.

A knock came at the door. "Miss Merlyne, Prince Arthur wants to see you immediately."

Gaius nodded towards the door. "Destiny is calling. You'd better go find out what he wants." Gaius told me. I smiled and hugged him after setting the book on the table, then went on my way.

I rushed up to Arthur's chambers, then knocked on the door. "Arthur?" I asked.

"Come in, Merlyne." Arthur responded. I opened the door to the room and looked over at Arthur. He was dressed in a white shirt and black slacks with no shoes and no socks.

I wrapped my hand around the thread and held it out. Arthur did the same, then clasped my hand in his. "If we're not careful this is going to become a regular greeting." Arthur remarked, to which I giggled.

"I think it already is." I said, taking my hand out of Arthur's and letting the thread around my hand fall to the ground.

Arthur let his own hand fall to its side, and the thread fell from his hand.

"What did you need me for?" I asked the blond, clasping my hands behind my back.

"I think we should talk about your duties as my maidservant." Arthur said, sitting down on his bed. "You will bring me my breakfast, choose my clothing, polish my armour and sword, train with me, clean my room, make my bed, and once a month you must clean the stables."

"Once a month?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Morris, my manservant, will share your duties. He will clean the stables on a more regular basis than you, sometimes attend feasts and celebrations, assist Gaius with his errands, and once a month will assist me with training." Arthur paused. "You will be learning how to learn your dagger, and such an intricate blade is not the only one you'll be keeping. You'll also learn how to wield a sword."

I bit back a remark that I didn't think I needed to practise how to use a dagger.

I took a step back. "Such a thing would likely be rare to teach a woman, much less a servant."

"Yes, but how to wield weapons is something you should learn if you're going on hunts with me." Arthur told me. I could sense no maliciousness in his tone, or any form of deception.

I nodded, then turned around to leave. "Good evening Arthur. Sleep well." I told him, leaving his bedchambers and going back to my own room.

I was still incredibly curious as to who owned the other end of the green thread. Kilgharrah compared us to two sides of the same coin. If the other end of the blue thread was someone fated to be the 'other side of her coin' as Kilgharrah put it, what would happen with the green thread? My soul mate?

Somehow, it kept coming back to this topic: mates. Over the years, I had always theorised that if only these two threads would be on my upper limbs, and in different colours than the ones on my ankles no less, that the owners of the other side of those threads would be important figures in my life, my reason. Since Arthur was one 'side of my coin', Arthur would be the reason I remain in Camelot or protected him wherever he went until I find the green thread, who she could feel was likely more important to her than Arthur. I have no clue why, but I've felt a connection with the green thread since I was six, when I felt someone 'pop' into existence, which means the threads are created long before someone's actual birth.

This likely means 'Vert' is six years younger then me.

I had taken to calling the unique threads by their names. 'Vert' would remain 'Vert' until I knew the name of the person at the other end of the cord that would influence my life so dramatically.

My feet stopped and it took a minute for me to realise my feet were on autopilot, leading me straight to a random room in the western wing of the castle.

I grew confused. This was an empty room. Why am I here? Confusion grew, but I shook my head, then forced myself to leave the presence of the room to the shared chambers between myself and Gaius. My feet grew heavy with a tiredness I hadn't realised was there before now. I had arrived back to my room and slipped under the warm covers and managed to get a full three hours of sleep before roosters crowed and Morris came, saying it was high time he taught me how to deal with Arthur in the mornings.

Rule number one: don't annoy the man.

Rule number two: don't be loud.

Rule number three: keep your head down.

Rule number four: do what needs to be done, then get the hell out of there for your other duties.

I carried the silver platter to Arthur's door, opening it as quietly as I could. Completely throwing the first three rules out the window, I threw open the curtains with a loud 'GOOD MORNING!'.

Arthur groaned and turned around. "Merlyne?" he asked groggily, a hint of annoyance seeping through his sleepy state.

I threw his selected clothes on him, then practically ran out of there carrying his chainmail, armour, sword, and his boots.

I mended the places that needed to be mended, the carefully polished the chainmail and armour. Every single link was inspected in a way that seemed natural and would likely soon become habit. The armour was fiercely polished until you could see yourself in it. I couldn't help imagining someone being beheaded while looking up at Arthur's armour. Would they be able to see their own last facial expression?

I shook away that thought and returned to the work in front of me. When I was satisfied with the mending of the armour, chainmail, boots, and that the sword was sufficiently sharpened, I sped off towards the training grounds where Arthur sat on the sidelines. He quickly threw on his armour after the chainmail, then walked with confidence to the middle of the training grounds.

"Merlyne?" Arthur asked, extending a hand. "Let the lessons begin." he declared, taking his sword from the belt and darting towards me in a run.

Shit.

Sorry for making chapter 1 so short, and also sorry for leaving it on a cliffhanger. Please leave a review.

Preview for the next chapter.

"Dare tell anyone about this, and I'll cut your throat."

"Arthur, I fear you're in grave danger." "Merlyne, leave me alone, for heaven's sake!"

"Why do you have blue hair?"

"Valiant must be exposed. He's a threat to Arthur, which means he's a threat to the kingdom." "Agreed, but how do we stop him?" "We need to go to Uther."

"I will have your head!"

"In accordance with the laws of Camelot, I hereby sentence you to death for the use of magic and sorcery." "YOU'VE GOT IT THE OPPOSITE WAY AROUND, I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG! ALL I'VE DONE IS TO PROTECT THE KINGDOM!" "Father, isn't that sentence a bit harsh?" "Concerning sorcery, only one sentence is acceptable to me, even if she is your maidservant."

*LOUD SCREAM ECHOING AROUND THE CITADEL IN MORGANA'S VOICE*

*Theme song*

To all a good night and I hope you did great on your exams! :

-Sapphy Ink.

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