6 years later...

"Come now sweetie" Gwen told the young girl "Let's get you up and dressed"

Aurea pulled the covers over her head and snuggled her head deeper into the pillows of her bed. She coughed on the warm, stale air under the thick covers.

"Oh no, you're not sick again are you dear?" Gwen asked. She pulled the covers off the little girls head and placed a hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature.

Merlin will have a heart attack if she's sick again, she thought.

Even though Merlin denied it, everyone in the castle knew that he cared greatly for Aurea as he spent every spare moment he had with her. When he's not chasing after Arthur, doing chores, helping Gaius or on trips with the knights.

Satisfied that Aurea didn't have a temperature, Gwen lifted the covers off the girl in hopes of getting her out of bed.

"No" Aurea protested in a tired voice. She pulled the covers back from Gwen and over her shoulders "Don't wanna get up yet"

Gwen stood up straight with her hands on her hips, shaking her head. "Well I'm sorry but Arthur wants to see you for breakfast" Seeing Aurea shake her head, Gwen added "And Merlin will be there"

Gwen didn't even finish her sentence before Aurea kicked her covers off and ran behind the wooden changing frame, pulling off her silk nightgown, she emerged a few minutes later in a white cotton dress with a pale pink overcoat, decorated with pictures of wildflowers.

She ran to the seat in front of her table and looked at the large mirror. Her long brown hair was a mess which covered her face. You could just about see her blue eyes with the small golden specks. No one really gave her eyes very much attention, except Gaius. He insisted on her having an eye test every month along with her usual check-ups.

Aurea sat on her chair while her maid Gwen brushed her hair.

When she had arrived in Camelot, Arthur had given her Morgana's chambers to stay in until they found a family to take her in.

However no one did, everyone in Camelot were too worried about their own families to take on another child.

Because of this, she was placed under the care of the castle. She lived in the castle and was looked after by the maids and servants.

Arthur had even begun to teach her the basics of swordsmanship.

Although it always ended up with her either hitting one of the knights in the shin with her wooden sword or her lying on the ground with Merlin tickling her into submission.

Gwen finished her hair.

It was all flowing down to her waist with a thick plait down the centre.

"All right Aurea, Let's go see Arthur n-"

"GWEN!" Merlin yelled, crashing through the door. "Arthur had to cancel breakfast and asked me to bring Aurea to the Stables to see the horses"

"But she hasn't had breakfast yet" Gwen protested.

Aurea looked up at Gwen with wide happy eyes "I'm not hungry. I'll go with mummy-Merlin"

Aurea walked up to Merlin and took his hand as they left the room. Aurea waved to the guards outside her door and kept pace with Merlin who was still holding her hand.

"Merlin, where are we going really?"

Merlin looked down at her. It scared him sometimes how she always knew when someone was lying. He knew it was possible to be born with Magic and the thought of what would happen if she was found to have magic made him sick to his stomach.

"We are going to the training yard, Arthur wants to show you how to duel with some of the new trainee knights" Merlin told her.

Due to the lack of knights after the war of Camelot with Morgana, in which Arthur discovered of Agravaines betrayal, Camelot began to take in the young sons of the noble families who wished for them to become knights and train them under the instruction of the current knights of Camelot.

"Are they using toys too?" Aurea asked

Merlin laughed "If Arthur heard you call your training sword a toy again, he'd blow his top"

Aurea laughed along with Merlin as they walked down the stairs.

Suddenly a sharp pain worked its way up her leg.

"OW!" Aurea shouted as she sat down on one of the steps, clutching her leg.

"AUREA!" Merlin sat beside her, rolling up her dress and checking her leg.

"Are you alright?" A voice below them asked.

They looked down to see one of the trainee knights.

An 8 year old boy with thick brown hair and green eyes. He had a strong build for someone his age and was wearing a green top and brown bottoms, along with a deep blue cape with the crest of two swords clashed over a blood red rose.

"She's fine Metrex" Merlin addressed the boy, pulling the dress back over Aurea's leg. "There's no cut or bruise so it must have just been muscle strain from running out of bed too fast"

Aurea blushed, embarrassed at being caught out "oops"

Metrex outstretched his hand to help her up, she accepted and the duo made their way downstairs and outside with a smiling Merlin behind them.